Chapter 8
“Thank heavens, you finally pulled through…”
But before he could finish, Samuel’s assistant stepped forward holding a heart pierced with countless sutures.
“Your uncle instructed us to show you this immediately.”
Jack’s tears fell onto the snow–white sheets, leaving damp trails.
“Samantha, I deserve to die…”
Yet I felt little sorrow.
Perhaps it was the new heart, or perhaps the way my hand brushed my flat abdomen.
The past only filled me with disgust and weariness.
But never sorrow.
“Jack.”
Hearing me speak, Jack lifted his head, his eyes lighting up.
“Samantha, tell me! I’ll agree to anything! As long as you-”
I waved my hand, cutting him off calmly:
“Pass a message to Stephanie’s parents. Tell them Samantha Ramirez is no longer their daughter.”
With that, I sank back into the pillows.
0.00%
Jack’s eyes brimmed with utter despair.
The six–foot–two man hunched over like a shrimp. “What about me? You’re abandoning them, but are you abandoning me too?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Yes. I am.”
Over the next month, while Samuel recovered from heart surgery,
Jack halted all work and guarded my bedside like a nurse.
He refused to leave even when bodyguards pressed guns to his head.
This infuriated Samuel so much he nearly leaped off his hospital bed to confront me.
Watching his frantic reaction, I smiled reassuringly:
“Don’t mind him. He means nothing to me now. Focus on healing so we can spend our lives together.”
Jack seemed to snap upon hearing this, immediately striding into the hallway.
Within seconds, the man’s choked sobbing filled the hospital room.
I felt nothing, quietly picking up an orange from the bedside to peel. Soon, Jack rushed back as if racing against time.
He knew well–the moment his uncle left that bed, he’d likely never see me again.
Like atonement, he showed no resentment, only pausing when his eyes
24,55%
fell on my orange.
“Aren’t pomegranates your favorite? Last summer, I remember juice staining your hands as you peeled one…”
I laughed.
Side–eyed him without a word.
Jack seemed to realize then, murmuring to himself:
“Stephanie… she’s the one who loved pomegranates…”
Jack thud to his knees:
“Samantha, maybe some twenty–year habits die hard–I never meant to mislead you! But I swear, only you live in my heart now!”
“You have no idea how heartbroken I was when we lost our baby! Even Grandpa stripping me of my heir status didn’t hurt one fraction as much!”
I silently pushed the divorce papers toward him. “Sign them.
But Jack refused to relent:
“I’ll sign if you believe I love you. I’ll wait for you to come back. My uncle Samuel… will die before I do. Katherine, I’ll never marry anyone else. I’ll wait for you until we’re old and gray. I’ll prove my love is real! You have to believe me!”
