Chapter 3

3.

I walked out of the restaurant and wandered the streets aimlessly.

I had spent four years in this city for the sake of Hanna Sterling.

Now that I was leaving, a strange sense of melancholy washed over me.

The sky began to drizzle, turning the afternoon gray and cold.

As I crossed a stone bridge, I saw two figures huddled under a single umbrella.

They were leaning into each other, lost in their own world.

Then, they started kissing. Deeply.

This was the "urgent work" Hanna had to run off to.

I felt a surge of pure disgust. I turned to walk away, wanting to erase the image from my mind.

Suddenly, a friend from the firm spotted me and shouted my name.

"Jude! Hey, man! Are you finally out of bed? How's the chest feeling?"

I forced a smile and chatted with him for a few seconds.

Hearing my name, Hanna jumped away from Ashton.

She looked at me, her face pale with shock. "Jude? What are you doing here?"

She looked terrified, wondering if I had seen them.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Did you see… anything?"

I kept my eyes hooded. "See what? I just got here. I was taking a walk."

She let out a massive sigh of relief, believing my lie.

"Jude, you shouldn't be out in the rain right after your surgery."

"Let me take you home."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ashton let out a low groan and clutched his head.

Hanna immediately spun around, her face full of frantic concern.

"Ashton! Is it your migraines again? Is the pain back?"

"Don't worry, I've got you. I'm taking you to the clinic right now!"

She grabbed his hand tightly, ready to run.

Then she remembered I was still standing there.

"Jude, I'm sorry, but Ashton is really sick…"

I cut her off. "Go ahead. His health is clearly the priority here."

Hanna looked relieved, but something about my tone made her pause.

"Jude, you've been acting so weird lately…"

Ashton let out another dramatic cry of pain.

That was all it took for Hanna to forget me entirely. She hurried him away into the mist.

After they left, I went straight to the firm and handed in my formal resignation to the CEO.

He tried to convince me to stay, offering me a raise.

"We've been lucky to have a talent like you for four years, Jude," he sighed.

"I know you're a top-tier academy graduate. I thought you and Hanna would be running this place soon, but then Ashton showed up…"

Hanna thought her little affair was a secret.

In reality, the entire office was gossiping about her and her "work husband."

Even while I was dying in a hospital bed, people were placing bets on when she'd dump me.

The CEO's words stung like salt in a fresh wound.

When I finished my training, I was supposed to join the army and serve my country.

But I met Hanna, fell head over heels, and threw my future away for her.

I had failed my mentors and myself.

Looking back, the regret was a heavy weight in my gut.

But at least I was awake now.

"It's all in the past," I said with a thin smile.

The past didn't matter anymore. Only the exit did.