chapter 4
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Kevin returned that night, face ghostly pale.
Jennifer turned from pouring water in the kitchen, nearly dropping her glass at the noise.
“You didn’t take the medicine?” Her voice tightened.
“Too severe. Had my stomach pumped at the hospital.” Kevin collapsed weakly onto the sofa, sweat-drenched hair clinging to his forehead.
Jennifer’s hand trembled, scalding water splashing onto her skin, instantly leaving an angry red mark.
Did he love Emily that much? Enough to eat her cooking even if it meant getting his stomach pumped?
She brought over a glass of warm water, kneeling to massage his stomach.
Kevin drank the water, his furrowed brow finally relaxing under her gentle touch as he drowsily slumped against her shoulder.
Just like countless times before.
But this time, Jennifer didn’t linger over his sleeping features.
She eased him onto the sofa, tucked a blanket around him, and walked upstairs without looking back.
When she woke the next morning, Kevin stood in the living room dressed in a suit.
He frowned, scanning the room. “Why are so many things missing here?”
Jennifer opened her mouth to explain, but he swiftly changed the subject: “Emily’s hosting an art exhibition today. She invited us.”
“L…”
“She just returned from abroad and has few friends here,” Kevin cut her off. “Just show your support.”
Jennifer clenched her fingers, then nodded silently.
At the gallery, Emily rushed toward Kevin the moment she spotted him, taking his arm intimately.
“Kevin! This is the piece I most wanted you to see…” She gestured toward an oil painting of snowy mountains, her voice softening. “I painted it in Switzerland, thinking of you every single day…”
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Kevin listened quietly, his gaze fixed on the canvas, unreadable.
Kevin bought all the paintings in the end.
Whispers immediately rippled through the crowd-
“They say Kevin spoiled Emily rotten back then. Seems true…”
“She dumped him once, yet he still does this. Definitely true love…”
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Emily shot Jennifer a smug look. While Kevin went to pay at the counter, she approached. “Hear that? Even after all this time, I’m still the only one in his heart.”
Leaning in until her crimson lips nearly brushed Jennifer’s ear, she lowered her voice. “If you still won’t give up, I’ll gladly make it clearer for you.”
Suddenly, the fire alarm shrieked!
“Fire! Run!”
Chaos erupted instantly. Jennifer got knocked down in the stampede, her ankle twisting sharply. Searing pain flooded her senses as her vision went dark.
Jennifer struggled to rise, only to see Kevin charging against the crowd flow-
“Emily! Emily, where are you?!”
His voice carried a panic Jennifer had never heard before.
The next instant, he found the terrified Emily, shielding her in his arms as he bolted outside without looking back.
Jennifer collapsed onto the floor, watching helplessly as their figures vanished into the thick smoke.
She fought to stand when suddenly-a deafening CRASH!
A blazing roof beam came crashing down!
When she awoke next, dazzling white light assaulted her eyes.
“Jennifer! You’re finally awake!” Her best friend Nancy threw herself at the bedside, tear-swollen eyes brimming with anguish. “You scared me to death! Do you realize you almost died?!”
Jennifer strained to move her neck, every bone screaming as though disassembled and reassembled.
“Where’s Kevin?” she asked in a hoarse voice.
Nancy’s face instantly turned grim: “Him? He’s with Emily right now! You only broke a rib, but Emily scraped her
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skin of course she needs proper care!”
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Jennifer closed her eyes, chest pain making each breath a struggle.
“This Kevin is utterly heartless! When he was paralyzed, who cared for him day and night? Who slept just two hours daily fearing he’d harm himself? Now you’re seriously hurt, yet he…”
Nancy gripped her hand tightly, voice trembling: “Jennifer, he’s fully recovered now but still won’t commit to you. How much longer will you endure this?!”
Only the monitor’s steady beep pierced the hospital room’s silence.
After a long silence, Jennifer spoke softly, “I’m processing my visa.”
“When it’s approved…” She stared at the ceiling, her voice barely audible, “I’ll leave.”
As the words faded, the hospital room door swung open-
“Leave?” Kevin stood at the threshold, his expression stormy. “Who’s leaving?”
