For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Was I even a person to him? Or just something he owned? My eyes burned but I forced it back, swallowing everything down like I always did.
“…Okay,” I whispered.
The men let go of me.
“I’ll sign.”
The nurse handed me the form. My hands were shaking, but I still took the pen.
Stroke by stroke, I wrote my name. Each line felt heavy. Like I was carving something into my own heart. And I smiled a little, just enough so no one would notice the tears I was trying so hard to hide.
Just before they pushed me in, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Hudson!”
My voice came out weaker than I wanted. He stopped and turned his head slightly, eyes cold, like I’d just interrupted something unimportant. For a second, I forgot everything I wanted to say.
My lips trembled. Then I forced out the only thing I could.
“…Nothing.”
His eyes flickered, just a little. I thought maybe, just maybe… But he didn’t say anything.
He turned and walked outside. The doors closed right in front of me. And that was it. The moment they shut, my vision blurred and the tears I’d been holding back just fell. Quiet. Helpless.
So this was how deep his love went.
Deep enough to throw me onto an operating table without hesitation. Deep enough that even if it was my life, he wouldn’t care.
—
When I woke up, everything felt heavy. My body, my head, even my breathing. It was like I was floating somewhere between awake and not.
The lights were too bright. My throat felt dry.
“…You’re awake?” a nurse’s voice came gently beside me.
I blinked slowly, turning my head. “Mm… yeah…”
“How are you feeling? Dizzy? Pain anywhere?”
“A little,” I whispered. “I-is the surgery done?”
She smiled. “Yes. It went well. The patient is stable now and recovering.”
Good.
That meant she was okay.
I swallowed, my chest feeling strangely empty. “Hudson, where is he?”
The nurse paused for a second, then said casually, “Mr. Hayes? He’s with his wife and her mother right now.”
My heart stopped.
His wife?
Oh.
Right.
I stared at the ceiling, not saying anything. The nurse didn’t notice. She just kept talking, even giggling a little.
“Honestly, I was watching them earlier and I got so jealous,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “They look like such a perfect couple!”
I didn’t move.