Chapter 3

3. One morning, I was watering the little sprout, thinking I was finally ready to be discharged.

As I was packing my things, the door was suddenly kicked open.

I thought it was Macy, but Asher and Sienna walked in.

He looked at me with a dark expression. "Elara, what are you still doing here? Stop faking illness and wasting hospital resources."

I looked at him. "Asher, I wasn't faking. During the crash―"

"What? Was cursing your mother not enough? Now you're cursing yourself too?"

He cut me off coldly, his face full of mockery.

He continued his verbal assault. "Are you making all these excuses just because you don't want to divorce me? Let me be clear, I only love Sienna. There's no future for us."

I watched him take Sienna's hand and let out a hollow laugh. "What? Can't you wait another day?"

Sienna smiled gracefully. "Elara, don't be like that. Asher and I have been together for years. As long as we have each other, a piece of paper doesn't really matter."

Her tone was calm, but she was rubbing it in my face. Even with a marriage certificate, I had nothing.

Asher's heart was nowhere near me.

I snapped back, "If Miss Sterling is so open-minded, then maybe you two shouldn't bother getting married at all."

She choked on her words, her face turning awkward as she looked at Asher with a victimized expression.

Asher's face darkened. He stepped forward and grabbed my arm roughly. "Enough talk. You're coming with me to the registry office right now!"

He pulled me so hard it hurt.

"Let go of me! Asher, let go!"

"What is your problem?"

He violently shoved my arm away. My elbow hit the table, knocking the vase over.

Smash!

The vase shattered on the floor. The fragile little sprout was snapped in half.

My pupils shrunk. I threw myself onto the floor.

"No... no..."

I began frantically picking through the dirt and shards like a woman possessed.

"It's just a cheap vase. Do you have to be so dramatic? You really have no class."

Asher frowned at me as if his patience had reached its limit. He tried to yank me up.

I pushed him away with everything I had. "Do you even know what you just did?"

He froze when he saw my bloodshot eyes.

Sienna looked displeased. "Elara, it's just a vase. Why are you pushing Asher?"

Her high heel stepped directly onto the broken sprout, crushing my last shred of hope into the dust.

Macy pushed the door open and gasped when she saw the mess.

"Elara! What happened?"

Sienna pointed an accusing finger. "What kind of hospital is this? Letting a healthy person take up a bed. It's a waste of public space."

"But Elara suffered a loss!" Macy shouted.

Asher looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

Macy continued, her voice trembling with anger. "In that car crash, Elara lost her baby. Those were the remains in that vase. Now that it's ruined, what is she supposed to do?"

I felt like someone had squeezed my heart until it stopped. Tears flowed uncontrollably.

I looked at Asher and whispered, "Do you believe me now?"

He just stood there, muttering, "How could this happen..."