Chapter 4 Richard, I'm Tired

"Michelle, we are standing in a hospital. The blood bank keeps every blood type ready, so there is no reason for you to ask for mine." Brynn spoke with a steady and even tone.

Uncertainty shadowed Michelle's features as she said, "But..."

Even so, Brynn no longer focused on her. She shifted her gaze to the man beside her. "Richard. I've placed my resignation letter on your desk. My things are already packed. Please sign it when you can."

Richard's frown grew sharper. "Resignation letter?"

"Brynn!" Michelle cried out in alarm. "Are you lashing out at me? That was never what I meant."

A faint and distant smile appeared on Brynn's face. "Michelle. I hope you recover soon. I still have to finish gathering the rest of my things, so I'll be heading out."

After saying that, she walked away without paying attention to anyone's reaction.

Right before the elevator doors could seal shut, a broad hand pushed between them.

As the doors glided open again, Brynn lifted her gaze and met a pair of deep eyes.

At times, she found no trace of feeling in Richard at all.

Back then, the only emotion she had ever seen in him appeared on the day the villagers pinned him to the dirt. It was a look she could never erase from her memory.

"Why are you quitting?" Richard stepped into the elevator, his stare sharp and unyielding. "Is it because of the ruined wedding earlier? Or is it because we asked you to give blood?"

He reached for Brynn's hand as he spoke. "I apologized for what happened at the wedding. I've told you we would look for another donor. I won't push you again. So please stop being so dramatic, alright?"

Brynn nearly let out a humorless laugh. Being dramatic? That was what he thought of her.

She had never thrown a single tantrum in front of him. Whenever she felt wronged, she swallowed it quietly.

During the difficult days of building the company, Richard's stubborn ways had driven clients away. She had always stepped in to repair the damage. She forced herself to drink more than she could handle just to smooth over tensions, and her stomach paid the price for it.

Years passed, and she kept tending to the damage. Even then, the dull ache still returned at the worst moments.

Those memories made her exhale slowly. "Richard, I'm tired."

For five long years, she carried the dead weight of that relationship. He couldn't even make the slightest effort.

She kept telling herself she mattered. That if she gave him everything, someday, it would be enough to make him stay.

At this point, she felt worn down to the bone. She no longer had the strength or desire to chase after a place in his heart.

"If you're feeling overwhelmed, I can approve some leave so you can rest," Richard said with a troubled look.

Weariness settled over Brynn like a heavy cloak. "Richard. Let's..."

Right before she could speak the words "break up", his phone buzzed sharply.

The moment he answered, Michelle's trembling voice echoed through the speaker. "Rena collapsed! Come back quickly!"

A subtle shift crossed Richard's face. "I'm on my way."

Once the call ended, he glanced toward Brynn. "Wait for me at my place. I need to talk to you about something. I'll go there as soon as I finish here."

He didn't give her a chance to reply. Within seconds, he strode away without a backward glance.

It was the same pattern every time. Whenever Rena called for him, he never hesitated.

Brynn remained standing in place while she drew in a long breath.

Then the elevator doors slid shut again, sealing her inside. Her reflection stared back. Her face looked drained. Her eyes carried a chill she had grown too familiar with.

She had planned to pass by Richard's home and gather the last of her belongings.

Given the way things unfolded, she believed it was finally time to talk things through and end everything cleanly.

......

Richard's home sat close to the law firm. It was a penthouse tucked inside an upscale complex.

Not long after they made their relationship official, Brynn had gathered the courage to ask for her own key. She often visited, moving through the rooms with ease as she cleaned and cooked for him.

Even if his name was on the deed, the place felt far more like her home.

Since he never paid much attention to his surroundings, every detail bore the quiet mark of her care-from the curtains and the sofa she chose piece by piece, to the kitchen tools she saved up for and the balcony plants she tenderly kept alive.

Once she stepped inside that evening, she pulled out the boxes she had brought and quietly began setting her things aside.

Very quickly, she realized packing was more painful than she expected.

Every object was tied to a memory, and choosing whether to take it or abandon it felt like peeling away part of herself.

When she reached the bedside table and lifted the photo album, a faint crease formed between her brows.

She sank onto the floor and turned through the pages one at a time.

Her face in those photos was full of laughter. She was gazing at Richard with unguarded affection.

Without a hint of emotion, she snapped the album shut and let it fall beside her.

The sheer amount of work took hours. When she finally finished, the sun was already dipping low, brushing the room with a soft orange glow.

The boxes waited by the entrance. Five years of her life reduced to a small stack of cardboard.

After setting everything in order, she booked a moving service to bring her belongings back home. Even then, Richard had still not returned.

Fatigue crept up on Brynn without warning, and a sharp cramp twisted through her stomach. That was when she remembered she had not eaten anything since midday.

She went to the kitchen in a rush and heated a frozen pizza.

However, once she finished the pizza, the pain surged even harder. A piercing ache spread from her stomach and crawled toward her lower right side.

In a panic, she searched for the medical kit.

She had never mentioned her recurring stomach trouble to Richard because she didn't want to burden him. As a result, the little bit of medicine he kept for her was never enough.

On her knees, she dug through the kit but failed to find the bottle she relied on.

The cramping worsened, nausea rose in her throat, and shadows flickered at the edges of her sight.

She tried to push herself upright to get some warm water, though her legs nearly gave out beneath her.

Using the wall for support, she edged her way back to the kitchen and downed a cup of warm water, but the pain refused to ease.

Heat drenched her back with sweat as she curled on the floor, her awareness slipping in and out like a flickering light.

At last, she managed to press her emergency contact. "Richard. I..."

Instead of his voice, Rena snapped through the line, saying, "Brynn, why are you calling again? You said you were quitting. I knew you were only pretending to get attention."

There was no room left in Brynn for pointless arguments. Her stomach throbbed like it was on fire. With a chilled calmness, she asked, "Where is Richard?"

Rena answered with unmistakable smugness, "I told him I had cramps, so he went out to buy me hot chocolate..."

Brynn ended the call before the woman could finish.

Even though September heat hovered outside, the air conditioning in the penthouse hit Brynn like winter. The cold pricked at her skin and made the pain in her abdomen twist even deeper.

When she held her chest, she could not tell if it was her heart aching or her stomach tearing her apart.

A sheen of cold sweat quickly soaked her clothes.

Narrowing her eyes to see the screen, she forced herself to dial 911.

After ending the call, she struggled for air. The pain pressed so hard against her ribs that her mind drifted in and out, and faint footsteps burst through the doorway as urgent voices filled the room.

When her eyes fluttered open, a doctor in a white coat moved across her blurred field of vision.

"Lower right rebound tenderness. This is acute appendicitis. We need to operate at once," he said.

Those words made everything click into place. It wasn't her stomach this time. It was her appendix.

"The patient requires immediate surgery. Someone has to sign the consent form. Contact her family quickly," the doctor said.

The agony made it difficult for Brynn to speak, and when a nurse hurried to her side asking for a relative, she managed only one question. "Can I sign for myself?"

"No family members at all?" The nurse blinked in surprise.

"No one," Brynn whispered as she gave a faint shake of her head.

Years earlier, she had followed Richard to the city of Nuephis with nothing but determination, leaving her family behind to build a life beside him.

Here in this city, Richard was the only person she had left.

The nurse offered her a gentle, understanding glance before placing the consent form in her hand. "You may sign here."

With the pain clawing through her abdomen, Brynn lifted the pen as carefully as she could.

As her signature formed on the page, a memory surfaced. Five years ago, Richard had suffered the same condition. She had been the one to sign his consent form. It was this very document.

During that time, she had read every line again and again, terrified that something might go wrong.

After the surgery, she had kept watch at Richard's bedside for three days and three nights without leaving.

But tonight, there was no one beside her at all.