The doctor was taken aback. "Is this the first time?"

I shook my head.

"I still recommend that you stay in the hospital for observation."

"No," I said, looking up. "If I stay here in the same hospital as him, I won't be able to stop myself from wanting to see him."

"Please, just let me leave this place."

...

Silas finished asking about the hospital matters and returned in the afternoon.

By then, I had returned to my usual demeanor.

Knowing that Silas had taken on the case, I could only offer my thanks.

"I wanted to thank you back when you donated blood to me, and now I'm troubling you again."

Silas smiled and said, "It's no trouble. This case is a guaranteed win; it's practically free money."

I knew he was trying to comfort me.

Silas continued, "You need to take care of yourself too. You're much thinner than before."

I nodded.

Silence fell for a moment.

"I'll head back now since you're okay. There's still a lot of work to do for the case," Silas said, standing up.

"Wait!"

I suddenly called out to him.

Silas froze and waited for me to speak.

"If I had continued my advanced studies in the capital back then, do you think things would be different now?" I asked.

Silas opened his mouth and finally said, "If you had chosen that path, would you have not loved Julian?"

That was true. Regardless of the path, I would still love him, so the ending wouldn't change.

"But I can't love him anymore," I said slowly. "How can I see him looking like this? He has a bright future; taking a burden like me along would ruin him!"

"My dream of becoming a judge no longer exists. So, at the very least, I must protect his dream."

Chapter 40

Silas walked out of the ward and took out his phone; the screen showed that it was currently recording.

"I was supposed to be recording the doctor's oral evidence, but I forgot to turn it off..." He let out a helpless sigh. "Perhaps even Heaven is trying to help you two."

With that, Silas tucked his phone away and went to another building in the inpatient department.

With the doctor’s permission, he walked to the side of the hospital bed.

He opened the recording on his phone and played that specific segment.

The female voice echoed in the room, ending finally with the sound of a door closing.

Silas withdrew his hand and looked at Julian.

Julian was wearing a ventilator, his body almost entirely wrapped in gauze, and one leg was suspended in a cast.

He was still unconscious.

However, Silas saw a trail of tears escaping the corner of Julian’s eye.

"Julian, although I quite envy you, I can't bring myself to take advantage of someone's misfortune," Silas whispered. "I'll handle the lawsuit for you. You just focus on recovering. When she comes back, have a proper talk with her."

After saying this, Silas turned and left the ward.

As the ward door closed, Silas took one last look back.

The person on the bed moved his fingers slightly, as if struggling to wake up.

Silas let out a deep sigh, withdrew his gaze, and took out his phone again.

On the other end, I received a message from Silas briefly explaining Julian's condition.

He said, "He only reacted when he heard your name."

Those words were like hot water poured into a deep fryer, making it impossible for my heart to remain calm.

I tried to hypnotize myself over and over, but my thoughts moved in the opposite direction.

The attending physician was talking to my parents in the office, and Jude had already gone to the police station to investigate the incident.

I stepped onto the floor with bare feet, opened the door, and looked around.

Finding no one I knew, I snuck out.

I couldn't enter Julian's ward because it was guarded by people from the Procuratorate.

I could only circle around to the glass window on the other side. Seeing the situation inside, my eyes instantly turned red.

The person on the bed was unconscious, injured all over his body.

If I didn't know Julian so well, I probably wouldn't have even recognized him.

"Sienna?"

A familiar voice came from behind.

I turned around to see a middle-aged couple in coats looking at me in surprise.

"Auntie, Uncle."

It was Julian's parents.

Julian’s mother stepped forward, catching sight of the person in the ward, her eyes filled with worry.

Julian’s father patted his wife’s shoulder and said, "Fortunately, he’s out of life-threatening danger."

His mother nodded.

The two watched their son for a while.

I didn't want to disturb their family of three and prepared to turn and leave.

Suddenly, Julian’s mother called out to me.

I turned back in confusion.

"Sienna, regarding you and Julian... both his father and I know about it."

Upon hearing those words, my face turned completely pale.

"I'm sorry..."

Julian’s father said, "You don't need to apologize. You and Julian have always been so close; we had our suspicions before."

I looked up, a trace of nervousness in my eyes.

Julian’s parents exchanged a look.

His mother let out a helpless sigh and said, "However, we cannot agree to you two being together."

I froze.

Julian’s father added, "We hope you can understand. Julian is the last of the Jiao family line. We must prepare an unobstructed path for him."

Though their words were filled with apology and gentleness, they were like a sharp blade piercing into rotted flesh.

The pain left me numb.

I tried to curl the corners of my stiff mouth, but I didn't know if the resulting expression was a smile or a sob.

I said, "Uncle, Auntie, please rest assured. We have never been together."

Chapter 41

I fled in a panic.

I had known for a long time that we were destined to be apart, but the moment reality was laid bare before me, I could no longer hold it together.

No more tears would come from my eyes; they only burned with a stinging pain.

Curling up on the bed, I was nothing but a coward unwilling to face reality.

The fearless version of me from the past had vanished.

Even when my parents returned, I didn't peak out from under the blankets.

Watching me, they were both anxious and helpless.

In the end, the attending physician absolutely refused to let them leave: "Leaving in this condition will only cause her more harm!"

They knew that, but staying in the hospital wasn't good for me either.

Jude had no choice but to promise the doctor that he would take me home to rest and wouldn't take me abroad.

From that day on, I grew accustomed to staring blankly into space, sometimes not even responding to my parents' voices.

Sometimes I didn't even know to sleep.

Jude couldn't stand it and even tried to provoke me with words.

But it was still useless.

My daze was just sitting there, not knowing what I was thinking.

That day, Jude told Silas about the situation, and Silas suggested coming to visit me.

Since the Song family owed a debt of gratitude to Silas, Jude agreed.

Sure enough, when Silas arrived, I was still sitting by the bed, staring at the sky outside the window.

A solitary bird flew across the sky, and my eyes followed it.

Silas crouched down in front of me and said, "Sienna, you can't remain silent forever. Julian is still unconscious, and the criminal who hurt him is still at large."

After he spoke, I moved my fingers slightly, but then returned to stillness.

Silas shook his head helplessly at Jude, and after taking one last look at me, the two of them left.

That night, my mother brought a meal upstairs. Upon opening the door, she saw me standing in front of the mirror.

I was wearing the formal suit Julian had given me, with my hair pinned up, looking no different from a normal person.

My mother was surprised. "Sienna?"

I turned my head at the sound and said, "Mom."

My mother set the tray down and rushed forward to embrace me. "It's okay now, it's okay."

My father and Jude, who had come up after hearing the voices, were relieved to see this.

Jude couldn't help but tease, "I can finally go back to be with my wife and child."

I let out a soft laugh and said, "I'm sorry for causing you trouble, Brother."

He patted my head.

"It’s enough as long as you’re okay."

The siblings smiled at each other, feeling a bit closer.

"But why did you suddenly put on these clothes?" Jude asked curiously.

Ever since I had gone to the Magic City, I had never worn professional attire again.

I looked down at my clothes and didn't respond for a long time.

After a while, I finally said, "I want to go back to the law firm."