After the surgery, they moved me into a hospital room. I kept my eyes closed and pretended to be asleep.

I didn't want to face Janice.

My head was a mess. I was exhausted.

She came anyway. I felt her sit down beside me, then a drop of something cold hit my face.

Her tears.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I won't ever let you get hurt like this again."

Before, seeing her like this would've been enough to make me sit up, pull her close, and tell her it was nothing.

Now, it just made my stomach turn.

There was a sound at the door.

"Hey, Janice, are you hungry? I grabbed breakfast for you."

It was Tim.

Janice let go of my hand and answered without turning around. "I'm not hungry. You eat. In three hours, you're getting on a plane and heading back. It's not safe here."

"I don't want to go alone. I'm scared. Can you come with me?" His voice softened, almost pleading, thick with a kind of spoiled sweetness.

"No. I need to stay with my husband." She didn't hesitate.

"But I'm really scared…"

Janice went quiet. A few seconds later, she gave in.

"Fine. I'll go talk to the team."

She always said I was the only one she loved.

But when it came to Tim, she never had the heart to refuse him.

The moment Janice stepped out, Tim's expression changed. He walked over to my bed and slapped me, hard.

"You're awake, right? Drop the act. We all know they gave you something to keep you conscious." He looked down at me, smug and satisfied. "So? Not fun, is it? Getting turned into half a man. I heard they wrecked your arms and legs, too. That's rough."

I forced my eyes open and stared at him. "Even like this… Janice still won't divorce me and marry you."

Tim was obsessed with her. Anyone could see it.

Too bad she never felt the same.

His face darkened for a second, then he let out a short, mocking laugh.

"Don't get so proud. Let me tell you something: Janice brought me back here so I can take credit for this mission. The fugitive your team caught is going on my record now."

Rage burned through me. I dragged a few words out of my throat.

"You…are despicable."

This operation was supposed to be ours alone.

Janice said she was worried about me and insisted on coming along.

As it turned out, she wasn't worried. She brought me here to be destroyed.

And now, even the credit for capturing a fugitive, something two of our men died for, was being handed to Tim.

Tim picked up a syringe and pushed it straight into my vein without hesitation.

"You should just die," he said lightly. "Look at you. Living like this isn't living. Better to step aside and let Janice and me have our happy ending."

He smiled, cold and sharp.

"This is a septic agent. Janice didn't want you screwing things up, so she told me to give it to you. Goodbye. Maybe next time, you'll actually beat me."

He laughed and walked out as if nothing had happened.

Less than five minutes later, the machines around me started screaming. Alarms blared, sharp and nonstop.

Doctors and nurses rushed in, the room exploding into chaos.

"This is bad! His vitals are crashing. The clotting function is failing. If this keeps up, the infection will kill him. We need to transfer him back home now. They've got the medication there."

"There are no outbound flights right now."

My teammates all started talking at once, panic spreading fast.

Then someone suddenly shouted, as if they had just remembered something.

"Wait! Janice applied for a helicopter. She can take Samuel back herself."

Hope flickered in my chest.

I wanted to live.

My teammates rushed me onto a stretcher and pushed me toward the runway.

We ran straight into Janice and Tim as they were about to leave.

Katie Hoffman sprinted over and grabbed Janice by the arm. "Let Samuel get on first. He's crashing. If he doesn't make it back, he's not going to survive!"

Janice didn't even pause. "No. The helicopter only fits two. I'm taking Tim out now. This place isn't safe."

Her voice was steady, with no hesitation.

Katie's voice broke as she shouted, "Samuel's dying! He's your husband! How is getting Tim out more important than his life?"

Tim lowered his head, putting on that soft, fragile look. "It's okay, Janice. Samuel's probably just jealous. You should take him back. I'll be fine here on my own."

Janice had been wavering, just slightly.

But after she heard that, her expression settled.

"Samuel's not in danger. The doctors just said he was stable. Don't try to lie to me for him. This isn't the time to act out."

She grabbed Tim's hand and headed for the helicopter.

Katie held onto her, tears already falling. "He's really not going to make it! Are you seriously leaving him behind?"

Janice shook her off. She looked at me, her eyes cold, her tone firm.

"Samuel, be reasonable. I'll come back for you after I drop Tim off. Stop being so jealous."

But I wasn't being jealous.

I was literally dying.

I lay there on the stretcher, pain locking my body in place. I couldn't even speak. I could feel my body slowly shutting down, and my consciousness starting to fade.

Janice walked over and leaned down beside me.

She brushed a hand against my face, her voice low near my ear.

"Wait for me. Six hours."

Her fingers brushed my ruined lips. I noticed the scar on her hand, the one she got when she burned herself making soup for me.

"When this is over, I'll take you to see the flower fields you've always talked about, okay?"

I didn't want to see any flower fields.

I didn't want to wait for her.

I watched as she climbed into the helicopter with Tim.

The blades spun faster and faster, the wind whipping across the runway. Then it lifted, higher and higher, until it disappeared into the sky.

All that was left inside me was a hollow kind of despair.

I never thought she could be this cruel, that she would choose another man over my life.

With what strength I had left, I pulled my phone and my wedding ring from my pocket and handed them to Katie.

"Give the recording on my phone to headquarters. Don't let Tim take our credit. And this…"

I had to pause. Breathing felt like dragging air through broken glass.

"Give it to Janice. Tell her we're done. I'll never forgive her."

Katie froze, her eyes turning red. "Samuel, hang on. We'll find another flight. I'm sorry… We couldn't stop them…"

"It's too late…" I managed a faint smile. I could feel myself fading, piece by piece. "Cremate me. Don't give my ashes to Janice. I don't want to see her ever again."

My eyelids finally gave out and drifted shut.

Around me, my teammates removed their caps and stood in silent salute as a final farewell.

At that same moment, thousands of miles away, the interdimensional communicator Janice carried suddenly blared with a harsh alarm:

[The main protagonist of this world has fallen. A new protagonist will be designated. Designation confirmed. Tim Jenkins is now recognized as the main protagonist of this world.]

Janice froze.

She had been with Tim, pushing hard to transfer our team's credit over to him.

At that moment, everything stopped.