Chapter 4

Julian smiled indulgently at this, returning to the car to get his phone. I didn't want to play the role of “close sisters” with Cassie, and I tried to wriggle my hand free from her grasp.

But Cassie, using the momentum, stumbled backward.

Just then, a car passed by, crashing directly into Cassie.

By the time I reached out to pull her, it was too late.

I watched in horror as Cassie was thrown to the ground, blood pooling around her.

The next second, I heard Julian’s furious roar. “Sera, you want to die!”

I didn’t know how I ended up at the hospital. When I regained consciousness, Julian was having his bodyguards escort me to donate blood for Cassie.

I instinctively tried to pull away, but Julian fiercely yanked my hand, pinning it before the nurse.

“Sera, you’ll pay for what you did! Cassie is lying in the operating room, fighting for her life. If anything happens to her, I swear I’ll never let you, her killer, off the hook!”

I stood there, stunned.

The adoration Julian once held for me was gone, replaced by a raging hatred in his eyes.

I refused to yield, struggling constantly.

“It wasn’t me, I didn’t push her. Julian, please believe me.”

I shook my head repeatedly, my eyes filled with desperate pleas.

But Julian acted as if he hadn't heard, coldly commanding the nurse.

“Take as much blood as Cassie needs! Do whatever it takes to save her life!”

I knew there was nothing I could do, and I gave a self-deprecating laugh.

In my past life, Julian hadn’t been willing to save me. This life, to save Cassie’s life, he was again disregarding my well-being.

I was wrong.

Neither in my past life nor this one had Julian ever loved me.

Why should I humiliate myself further?

As the blood was slowly drawn from my body, I felt incredibly thirsty and couldn’t stop shivering.

When the nurse finished drawing the last bag of blood, I was already drifting into a daze, my body utterly drained, devoid of life.

Just before I lost consciousness.

I weakly uttered three words.

“That’s number two.”

This was the second request I’d promised Julian.

Just one more, and I could escape this place forever, to somewhere Julian wasn't.

I woke up again in the middle of the night.

I’d been on an IV drip all day.

The moment I opened my eyes, the nurse who had been guarding me rushed out.

“Mr. Harrison, Ms. Sterling is awake.”

A few minutes later, Julian brought in over a dozen top specialists to examine me.

They filled the entire room.

I scanned the room but didn’t see Julian.

After the examination, the nurse accompanied me to the restroom.

Passing by a luxurious VIP room, I saw Julian kneeling by Cassie’s bedside.

“Cassie, even though we lost the baby, you still have me! We’ll get married next week and have another child, I’ll be with you forever, okay? While you were unconscious, I was terrified. I knelt outside your room, begging heaven for you to wake up. I’d do anything if you just woke up.”

Julian frantically slapped himself.

Cassie, lying in bed, turned her head away, unmoved.

“Cassie, you can hit me or yell at me, but please don’t ignore me.”

Cassie still showed no reaction.

Julian knelt for half an hour, and I stood outside watching for half an hour. During the time I was unconscious, I thought Julian would regret it, that he would worry about my safety and wait for me to wake up.

After all, when I had a high fever at twelve, Julian, to bring my fever down, had driven alone in the middle of the night to the most renowned mountain temple, miles away.

Julian, who never believed in deities, had walked step by step, bowing, climbing a full 999 stairs, and knelt there for a day and a night, begging heaven for his beloved girl to recover.

He would run countless red lights to rush back to the hospital before dawn, just so I would see him first when I woke up.

At that time, the nurses all said.

I was Julian’s life.

The person he would protect with his entire life.

I too once thought I was special to him.

But now, Julian, who was once so proud, was humbly kneeling by Cassie’s bedside, begging for forgiveness, promising to be with Cassie forever.

It wasn't until the nurse beside me reminded me not to stand too long that I snapped back to reality.

The moment I turned, Julian saw me outside the door.

He didn't understand how things had come to this.

He thought, after his wedding with Cassie next week, he would explain everything to me.

I would understand his difficulties.

I returned to my room, only to see someone carrying away my bedding.

Seeing me, the person grumbled.

“Ms. Sterling, Mr. Harrison wants me to tell you that this room has been vacated. If you need to recover, please go home.”

Before leaving, I heard the person mumble under their breath.

“Thought she was so favored, but she’s just a jinx clinging to the Harrison family. And now she’s killed the Harrison family’s flesh and blood in Ms. Monroe’s womb. Just had a few bags of blood drawn and she wants to pretend to be pitiful and stay in the hospital.”

I just listened to what they said in silence.

Without Julian’s tacit approval, no one would dare speak to me like that.

Living under someone else’s roof, I naturally understood that principle.

But it was the middle of the night, and there were no cars on the road, so I could only walk home.

By the time I arrived, dawn was just breaking.