The moment the call connected, Andrius’s impatient voice cut in, instantly crushing the small spark of hope in my heart.

“Calling nonstop… what do you want now?”

I swallowed the pain in my chest, forcing out a whisper. “Andrius… I’m at the hos…”

“Andrius, don’t be like that,” Trisha’s soft, coy voice interrupted. “Sister called you so many times… she must have something urgent. Talk to her properly.”

His tone turned colder, merciless. “What urgent matter could she have? After everything she’s done… maybe it’s just karma. Is she dying now?”

Each word cut into me like a blunt knife, twisting deeper with every word. My fingers clutched the hospital gown, knuckles pale from the strain.

Tears spilled uncontrollably as I choked out, “Andrius… I need surgery… I need your signature…”

“Stop making trouble,” he snapped, paying no attention to my pleas. “I don’t have time for your little tantrums. I’ll be with Trisha these days, don’t disturb us again.”

“If you dare interfere again, I will never forgive you!”

With a sharp beep, the call ended. When I tried calling again, only the cold, indifferent tone greeted me.

I was blocked.

Tears fell freely onto the blue-and-white hospital gown, leaving dark, stubborn stains.

Andrius hadn’t always been like this.

One night, when sudden stomach pain had wracked me, he had driven like a man possessed, running through red lights to get me to the hospital.

While I lay hooked to an IV, he held my hand, his voice trembling with guilt. “It’s my fault… I didn’t take care of you… That’s why you’re suffering like this.”

Afterward, he had learned to make every kind of nourishing soup, ladling each bowl himself and placing it by my hand.

“Drink some soup first, Maxine. I don’t ever want to see you in pain again.”

But now, lying in pain that felt as if death was brushing close, he couldn’t even spare me a single glance.

I should have woken up long ago.

Wiping away my tears, I whispered softly, “Can I sign it myself?”

The doctor, who had witnessed everything, nodded and patted my shoulder, his eyes full of pity.

Finally, the surgery was carried out.

When I woke, someone was sitting quietly at my bedside.

“You’re awake! Sister.”

Trisha sat there in a hospital gown, gauze wrapped around her wrist, light makeup softening her fragile features. She looked delicate, almost ethereal.

“I heard there was some pitiful wretch here who had surgery with no one to sign for her, so I came to watch the fun. Didn’t expect it to be you!”

I ignored her, my gaze instinctively drifting toward the door.

“Looking for Andrius?” She lifted a smug smile. “I wanted pasta from that shop in the east of the city. He worried they’d go cold, so he personally brought the old lady here to cook them for me. Right now, he’s at the hotel next door, overseeing her every move, all for me!”

I closed my eyes, my heart still throbbing painfully after the surgery.

I had once loved that pasta too.

After I became pregnant, one night I craved it unexpectedly. Without hesitation, Andrius had driven off to get it, paying the owner an outrageous sum to wake up, wrap fifty fresh pasta, cook them, and bring them straight back.

“As long as my Maxine wants something, I will give it to you with all my heart.” He had watched me eat, smiling more joyfully than I ever felt. “It’s only you. In this lifetime, I could never be so devoted to anyone else.”

He hadn’t lied; he truly had never treated anyone else like he treated me.

He had only treated Trisha even more indulgently.

Just then, a nurse entered. “Miss Castillo!”

Both Trisha and I turned, our eyes following her.

The nurse paused, startled for a moment, then realized. “Oh, right… You both have the surname, Castillo. So you know each other!”

Her gaze swept over Trisha and me, lingering for a second before she smiled. “You even look a little alike. Are you sisters?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I asked softly, “Is there something you need from me?”

The nurse smiled again. “No, I’m looking for this Miss Castillo.”

She turned to Trisha. “Mr. Velasquez has come back. He’s looking all over for you.”

“Is that so?” Trisha’s eyes sparkled as she gave me a proud glance. “Was he very worried?”

The nurse’s expression softened with envy. “Of course! He said your injury hasn’t healed yet. How could you be running around? He was so anxious!”

“If you ask me, it’s just your wrist, nothing serious, but he worries far too much! Miss Castillo, you’re really lucky. Your boyfriend is handsome and rich and dotes on you endlessly!”

Trisha’s face lit up with delight as she listened, glancing at me once more. After showing off her joy, she said, “I must get back quickly!”

Once she departed, the nurse remembered my own plight, surgery with no one to sign. A flicker of unease passed over her face, and she smiled awkwardly. “Miss Castillo, your surgery was very successful. Rest well, and when you recover, you’ll find a love like his, too.”

Her words, meant to soothe, only made my heart ache more. I forced a faint smile, tasting the bitterness behind it.

Trisha stayed in the hospital for three days, becoming the focus of everyone’s attention.

Andrius had reserved the entire VIP floor for her, bringing in a dedicated medical team to attend to her every need.

In addition to that day’s pasta, he had a Michelin chef on call 24 hours a day at a nearby hotel.

Every day, fresh lavender was delivered by air to scent the hallways, so she could sleep surrounded by the fragrance she adored.

In the hospital, some whispered with envy, while others rolled their eyes behind her back.

“That wrist wound? Barely a scratch. She acts like she had open-heart surgery!”

I stayed silent, my hand pressing against the left side of my chest. The one who had truly undergone heart surgery lay in an ordinary ward, unnoticed and unseen.

A week later, I was discharged and returned home alone.

In the living room, two figures sat on the sofa, Andrius, with Trisha perched on his lap.

When she saw me, Trisha pretended to protest, nudging him playfully. “Let go of me! Sister’s back!”

Andrius only pinched her cheek, gave her a light pat on the hip, and then let her stand.

When his gaze shifted to me, it was cold and detached. “So, you finally decided to come back?”

I turned to the servant nearby. “Tell sir where I’ve been these past few days.”

Before the servant could speak, Andrius cut in, his tone impatient. “No need. You just ran off, throwing a tantrum. I told you, I don’t have time for your moods. Since you’re back, go tidy up the room. The master bedroom faces the garden; it’s perfect for Trisha’s pregnancy.”

Trisha was pregnant.

I looked at her, and she rested a hand on her belly, a bright, carefree smile on her face. “Sorry, sister. I’ll be troubling you for a while.”

Andrius added casually, “You’ve been pregnant before; you can take care of Trisha.”

I remembered the truth I had learned that day, my child could have lived, but because she was a girl and therefore useless, Andrius had stripped her of the right to be born. And now, he expected me to care for his child with Trisha.

I stood frozen, my fingertips digging into my palms, the bitter taste of iron rising in my throat. Yet outwardly, my voice stayed calm.

“Alright.”

Andrius’s expression froze for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected me to agree so easily.

A flicker of panic rose in his chest, and for the first time in days, a trace of guilt surfaced as he remembered his neglect and the harshness of his earlier words.

His tone softened, tentative and almost pleading. “Maxine, I only need a child to appease my father. I know you’ve been wronged all this time. Bear with it a little longer. After Trisha gives birth, I’ll make it up to you.”

I drew a slow, steadying breath, forcing down the nausea that churned in my stomach, and said only, “Alright.”

Without another word, I went upstairs and began packing my luggage.

Since I was leaving, I wouldn’t leave a single trace behind.

Every item in the villa had been chosen by both of us, some even handmade with our own hands.

The ceramic mugs in the cupboard bore our cartoon figures, hand-fired during our newlywed days. Now, a layer of dust lay at the bottom, untouched for a long time, a silent testament to what we once were.

The travel journal lay in the drawer, a relic of promises we once made to explore a new country every year for our “honeymoon.” It held memories of laughter, sunsets, and stolen moments, but it stopped five years ago, abandoned and untouched.

On the bedside table, the faint fragrance of grapes lingered, a trace of a past I could almost reach.

I drifted toward the terrace, remembering how I had once mentioned that as a child, our yard had a grape trellis where my mother would hold me beneath its shade, telling me stories of princes and princesses.

The very next day, Andrius had come home with a truckload of grapevines, and together we built a trellis in the garden.

“If you miss your mother, just sit here. The little grape elves will carry your longing to her.”

Back then, he had seen the quiet ache in my heart and tried to ease it.

Now the garden was covered in Trisha’s favorite lavender. The trellis had been torn down during my five-year coma, never to bear fruit again, never to carry that familiar, comforting fragrance.

Every object decorating this unrecognizable home felt like a jagged blade, slicing into my already shattered, bleeding heart.

I endured the ache, discarding them one by one, packing my things with steady hands, and finally signed the agreement.

As I approached the study door, ambiguous sounds drifted out.

“Andrius, no! Maxine is home!” Trisha’s voice sounded soft and flirtatious, a feigned refusal that twisted my stomach.

Andrius’s lazy drawl floated out, low and possessive. “You tease me, isn’t it, because you want me to take you while Maxine is here?”

“Isn’t that more exciting?”

A sudden, loud cry from Trisha cut through the air. I didn’t need to imagine what had happened next; the sounds alone twisted my stomach. The papers in my hand crumpled slightly from my tightening grip.

Want excitement? Fine.

I stepped back a few paces, letting the sound of my movement echo on purpose.

The noises from the study stopped at once.

I knocked lightly on the half-closed door, then pushed it open with a calm expression.

Andrius’s hand hovered over his buttons, frozen mid-motion, while Trisha stood beside him, both hands pressing down her skirt.

I raised an eyebrow. “Busy?”

His face flickered for a moment, but he quickly regained control. “What is it?”

I held out the documents in my hand. “Sign this.”

“What is that?”

“Property paperwork,” I said evenly, hiding the storm inside. “If you want me to give up this room, then you should compensate me with a house. Reasonable, isn’t it?”