Chapter 5

For a moment, I was in a daze.

Jordan had hit me.

Immediately after, he held my face in a panic and began to apologize. "I'm sorry, Hazel. I'd—I'd acted out of impulse…"

Tears rolled down my cheeks. With shaking fingers, Jordan wiped them away, but Landon shoved him aside.

"Jordan, you bastard! How dare you hit her?" Landon swung his fist at Jordan's face, and the latter didn't even try to dodge. If the security guards hadn't come to stop him, Landon might have beaten Jordan to death right there and then.

My footsteps felt heavy as I slowly dragged myself to the hospital room. In the end, my nose started to bleed uncontrollably. Feeling my head grow heavy, I passed out.

Jordan and Josie left afterward.

With reddened eyes, Landon came to see me.

Now, it was exhausting to even speak. "Landon, how come you haven't changed since college? I don't know how someone who loves fighting as much as you even became a doctor."

I teased him for his hotheadedness. The medical profession required a lot of patience and calmness, but Landon had none of that.

"Hazel, you also haven't changed. You're as foolish as ever."

He was always calling me foolish for falling for Jordan. Jordan was someone who only cared about business and profits. No matter what it was, he was only concerned with the people who could bring value to him. He wasn't cut out for dating.

Hence, we never dated.

Before my family fell into ruin, I had secretly helped Jordan out in many ways. I had traced his footsteps everywhere until I turned 24 years old, and then I married him.

In my short and uninteresting life, I'd made many decisions. Among them, there were choices I'd regretted and choices I'd made reluctantly.

The only thing that I'd been more than willing to do was marry Jordan.

"Landon, can you promise me two things?"

"What if I don't want to?"

"But I haven't even said anything yet."

"I already know what you're about to say."

"In that case, I'll take it as a promise."

"I refuse. I'll never promise you that." He walked over and tucked me in. "Just keep on living. Don't think about anything else."

I curled my lips, forcing a smile.

Whenever I was left alone in the hospital room, the feeling of loneliness and emptiness would grow. It would hit me harder than the pains of my illness ever had, spreading through every inch of my body without restraint.

Jordan sent me another text. "See you at the courthouse tomorrow morning."

Suddenly, I was able to let go.

Since I was about to die anyway, I should just fulfill his wishes. I didn't want Jordan's final memories of me to be negative, even if he wasn't going to spare me another thought in the future.

"Okay."

Removing my IV drip, I sneaked out of the hospital without Landon knowing once again.

Jordan seemed to have made all the arrangements for this day. The divorce agreement had been done perfectly; I couldn't find a single thing wrong with it. He'd even initiated the start of the divorce cooling-off period a month in advance so that it'd be over by today.

Nonetheless, I never asked for anything.

"Congratulations. You can finally marry your true love." Pushing through the pain, I smiled at him stiffly.

He stared at me without saying a word. "Why is your face so pale? What's the matter?" he suddenly asked, concerned.

I took a step backward. "We're already divorced. Why do you still care?"

"Are you sick?"

"I'm in the pink of health. In fact, I'm doing much better than Josie. At least I'm clear-eyed and able to see, unlike her, who is blind."

Those words must have touched a nerve because his face immediately fell. "That's enough! Josie is already pitiful as she is."

"It's not like she's going to die. How is she pitiful?"

Jordan's expression grew darker. "How could you be so vile? Of course she's not going to die. On the contrary, she's going to live a long life."

"That's great."Suddenly, I gazed at him curiously. "What if I died?"

His eyes widened. He stared at me in disbelief, because blood had begun to pour out of my nose.