Chapter 2

2

In the middle of the night, violent cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea tore through my body, leaving me trembling in agony.

I reached for my phone to call Shane, but the line just rang endlessly without an answer.

In the past, no matter when I called, he always picked up on the first ring.

I had once teased him about what he would do if he was in an important meeting, and he had wrapped his arms around me, saying, "My wife's calls always come first. Nothing is more important than you."

When did those promises become worthless lies?

Just as I was about to hang up, the call finally connected.

Shane's voice sounded irritated. "Didn't I tell you I'm working overtime? Paige, when did you become so unreasonable and clingy?"

Before I could even speak, he hung up on me.

Clutching my stomach, I had no choice but to call a cab to the hospital alone.

The elderly ER doctor hooked me up to an IV and sighed. "You young people really don't know how to take care of yourselves. Drinking milk when you're lactose intolerant is asking for trouble."

I lowered my gaze. "I forgot."

I hadn't forgotten. Shane had.

When we were dating, Shane memorized every single one of my preferences and allergies.

Whenever I craved something I shouldn't eat, he would lecture me gently for half an hour.

Yet slowly, day by day, he had erased all of those details from his mind.

Did he really forget, or did he simply stop caring?

After finishing with the IV line, the doctor looked at me. "Are you here alone?"

I nodded quietly.

It was the dead of night, and every other patient in the emergency ward had someone by their side.

The doctor looked at me with open sympathy.

On the bed next to mine, a couple had just arrived, separated from me only by a thin medical curtain.

The woman had sprained her ankle, and the nurse was dressing her wound while a man gently coaxed and comforted her in a soothing tone.

The voice sounded chillingly familiar, though slightly muffled.

Two young nurses finished attending to the woman and walked past my bed, whispering excitedly to each other.

"That guy is gorgeous, and he's so gentle with his girlfriend! He carried her on his back the entire time they did tests. What an absolute dream husband!"

Once my IV bag emptied, I rolled over and dialed Shane's number again.

When a familiar ringtone chimed directly from behind the curtain next to me, my breath caught in my throat.

The ringtone cut off abruptly, and the screen on my phone flashed to show the call had been rejected.

"Is that your wife calling? She's called so many times, maybe it's an emergency. I don't mind, you should take it," a sweet, delicate female voice purred from the other side.

"No need. What emergency could she possibly have? Right now, your injury is the only thing that matters," Shane's voice replied.

A sharp, cold ache pierced through my stomach.

"Shane, I'm so sorry. Aside from you, I didn't know who else to turn to," she whispered.

He paused briefly before replying, "I told you, whenever anything happens, you can always come to me."

"Shane, all these years, I've never stopped thinking about you. Is there still a chance for us?"

"Lexi, I'm married…"

"Do you really love her, though? Stop lying to yourself. If something happened to both of us at the same time, you would run to me first."

Shane fell silent.