Chapter 4

I recovered quietly from my injuries in the hospital.

Unlike before, my attitude toward Ezra turned polite, courteous, and distant.

I no longer asked about his whereabouts, and I no longer lost my temper with him.

As time went on, Ezra seemed to gradually breathe easier.

He started treating me even better, taking meticulous care of my daily needs.

His gentle, attentive manner felt like a return to our best days, before Bailey ever appeared.

For the sake of my recovery, Ezra began teaching himself a lot of medical knowledge.

He was afraid I'd be left with lasting complications.

He consulted countless doctors and made countless efforts.

I never turned down his kindness.

I even played along with his fantasies about the grand wedding we'd throw after I was discharged, the guest list he'd invite, the names of our future children.

But only I knew that every time he brought up these topics, a mocking, venomous voice echoed in my mind.

Ezra went out to buy me the durian I'd wanted.

He forgot his phone.

The chat screen showed Bailey's reply to his message.

"Work's going well, everything's fine."

Above it were Ezra's instructions to her, one line after another.

He told her what to watch out for at her new job.

He taught her how to get along with coworkers and how to handle her bosses.

He said, "If anything comes up, you have to reach me right away, you have to tell me. I don't want what happened to Camila to happen to you all over again."

He worried so much about her, thought of everything for her.

No wonder he'd pushed me out of the way for her back then, without caring whether I lived or died.

A friend came to visit me. In just half a month I'd already lost twenty pounds.

She tried to console me. "After something like this, Ezra will treat you well from now on. He'll spend the rest of his life making up for the harm he caused you."

"Camila, if you break up with him now, it's the same as handing him over to that Bailey. Are you really willing to do that?"

"You should have a clear head by now. Feelings are empty and fleeting. While you still can, ask Ezra for money. He'll definitely give it to you. You can maximize your own interests."

I didn't take my friend's words to heart.

Of course I wasn't willing to accept this.

So when Bailey showed up in front of me, I wasn't surprised in the least.

She said she was pregnant with Ezra's child.

Her eyes were full of provocation as she looked at me.

"Right after your accident, he came to me and said we shouldn't see each other again unless it was absolutely necessary, that he wasn't going to leave you."

"I told him I wanted to keep something to remember him by. You'd never know anyway, so he agreed."

"This child came at just the right time. Heaven means for us to be together. There's really nothing to be done about it."

"So be smart and step aside on your own."

I'd known all along it would end like this.

Over all this time, my feelings for Ezra had long since turned into hatred.

I'd realized the person I loved most was still myself.

So I spoke calmly.

"Congratulations."

After sending Bailey off, I contacted a lawyer and Ezra's competitors.

While Ezra was trying to convince Bailey to abort the child, I sold the fifteen percent stake he'd given me when we started the company.

I calmly signed the contract.

Ezra's name kept flashing on the phone screen beside me.

Bailey refused to abort the child.

Ezra called me again and again, his heart filled with nothing but endless panic.

He didn't dare face me.

Yet he wanted to promise me he would handle the whole thing.

He wanted to explain that this really was the last time.

He would definitely make Bailey abort the child and give me an accounting.

He wanted to say he'd even set a wedding date, that he'd secretly designed an exquisite wedding dress and had the designer working overtime to make it, but he hadn't had a chance to tell me yet.

But for some reason he couldn't understand.

Ezra felt as though the distance between him and Camila had grown as vast as mountains and seas.

She seemed to be turning faint and unreachable.

Something could never go back to the way it was.

The phone buzzed over and over, only to be hung up on, all in vain.

His mind in turmoil, he issued Bailey a final ultimatum.

"Even if you insist on having this child, I won't acknowledge it."

With that, he stopped paying Bailey any mind, grabbed his car keys, and rushed to the hospital.

But what he found was an empty hospital room.

He got a call from his assistant.

"Mr. Gilbert, Ms. Fox has sold her shares. The rival company has already sent people to the office."