Chapter 6

Ronda closed her eyes. Tears fell down her cheeks. "But I have one condition. I want to see him one last time, as I have something to return to him in person."

Richard hesitated for a moment before dialing Greg's number.

Half an hour later, Greg arrived.

He seemed to have just come from a celebration banquet, carrying a faint scent of alcohol and perfume, which Rose often used.

"So? Have you thought it through?" Greg loosened his tie as he sat on the sofa. He cast a disdainful glance at Ronda. "It would have been better if you had done this earlier, instead of making things ugly for everyone."

Ronda propped herself up with her left hand with difficultly and took a small black velvet box from under the pillow.

She had planned to give him the gift for their tenth wedding anniversary.

It was a cufflink she bought with her first surgery bonus. Though it was not expensive, it bore his initials.

She had originally planned to tell him about her pregnancy that day.

Now, everything felt like a cruel joke.

"Greg, how many years have we known each other?" Ronda asked softly.

"Fifteen years." Greg glanced impatiently at his watch. "If you're trying to play the emotional card, save it. I have a strict sense of purity. I won't take back a woman touched by another guy."

A knife seemed to have been plunged into her heart, leaving her numb with pain.

"Fifteen years... So you think I am so dirty?"

She opened the box, took out the cufflink, and rubbed it in her palm. "In these fifteen years, I've protected you from disputes with difficult patients, stayed up late organizing data for you, and given up my dream of advancing my career at the best university for you... Greg, did you ever love me, even for a second?"

Greg looked at her pale face and felt a sudden flash of irritation.

He stood up and looked down at her. "Did I love you? Ronda, don't think too highly of yourself. I married you because my grandpa liked you and because you were obedient and useful. But that doesn't mean you can hurt Rose recklessly or betray me."

"Betray you..."

Ronda let out a sad laugh. It grew louder until it turned into a violent cough.

She suddenly raised her hand and hurled the cufflink at Greg's face.

The cufflink hit his forehead, leaving a red mark.

Then it fell to the floor and rolled into a corner.

"Greg, you're the real idiot for not seeing the truth." Ronda's eyes reddened as she pointed at the door. "Take your agreements and get out. Even if I end up in hell, I don't want any ties with you anymore."

Greg touched his forehead. There was blood on his finger. His expression turned utterly dark.

"Fine." He laughed out of anger. Then he took out a pen from his pocket and slammed it on the table. "Ronda, this is the path you chose. From now on, in Cyburris and in the medical world, you don't expect to find opportunities."

Ronda's left hand trembled as she picked up the pen.

Writing with her left hand was difficult. The words were crooked, as if she were drawing symbols.

But she pressed hard. The pen tore the paper and sliced through the fifteen years of time and absurdity.

With the final stroke, she seemed to have exhausted all her strength.

"Take them." She turned her head away and refused to look at him.

Greg stared at the glaring signatures. But he didn't feel as pleased as he had anticipated. Instead, panic and emptiness rose within him.

Something important seemed to be stripped away from his life.

He frowned and suppressed the odd feeling.

"You brought this on yourself."

He coldly tossed the words, picked up the agreements, and left.

At the door, he suddenly stopped and looked back.

On the hospital bed, the woman who once followed him everywhere, whose eyes were always filled with him, now looked like a broken doll, lifeless.

"When your hand... Forget it." Greg hesitated and ultimately steeled himself and walked away.

He had intended to say that once her hand healed, he might arrange a back-office job for her if she admitted her mistakes.

But he hadn't thought that once her heart died, she would never come back again.