Chapter 3

3

When I woke up, I was in the Intensive Care Unit.

The nurse told me a Good Samaritan had found me and called for an ambulance.

My body was wrapped in bandages, and the wounds that hadn't fully healed were now infected and throbbing.

She asked if there was any family she could call. I just shook my head.

My parents were far away in my rural hometown.

As for Lydia, she was probably basking in Jaxon's affection right now.

I checked my phone. As expected, there were no messages and no missed calls from her.

However, a new post from Jaxon popped up on my feed.

It was a photo of a pregnancy test with the name blurred out, clearly showing "Positive."

The caption read: "Boys, we're in the clear. It's a done deal."

The timing made sense. Jaxon had been back for exactly a month.

Lydia and I hadn't been intimate since the fire.

"Come on, everyone! It's a happy day. Have some candy!"

There was a commotion outside my room.

The nurse leaned in to gossip.

"Young people these days are so extra. They just found out they're pregnant and they're already hand-delivering candy to the whole ward for luck."

I looked up and saw Lydia standing at the door with a huge bag of old-fashioned butterscotch.

I once told her as a joke that when we had a kid, I wanted to give everyone butterscotch.

It was my favorite candy as a poor kid.

She had called me childish back then, yet here she was, doing it for another man's child.

Our eyes met, and her smile instantly froze. She nearly dropped the bag.

Jaxon, standing right behind her, reacted quickly and put on a mask of concern.

"Shane? Why would you do this to yourself just to make Lydia feel guilty?"

"Don't you think you're wasting valuable hospital resources?"

"It's my fault. I caused the misunderstanding, or else you wouldn't have…"

Lydia's face twisted into an expression of pure disgust.

"Shane, are you ever going to stop? Making such a scene over a small argument! You're so pathetic."

"What exactly did I say?" I asked quietly.

I looked down, hiding the bitterness in my eyes.

My heart felt like it was being pricked by a thousand needles.