"Why aren't you up there keeping Clara company?"

His father, who had come down from the inpatient building, walked over and frowned upon seeing the pile of cigarette butts on the ground.

Ethan withdrew his gaze, his lowered eyes revealing a trace of dishevelment. "She doesn't wish to see me."

Watching his son, who had been arrogant since childhood, filled with such frustration, his father spoke coldly: "This is all what you deserve."

For the first time, Ethan did not argue back.

He took a drag of his cigarette and gave a grunt of acknowledgment.

Seeing him like this, his father felt like he had punched a pile of cotton.

After a long time, his father softened his tone and asked in a low voice: "What are you planning to do?"

"I don't know."

Ethan threw away the cigarette, a mist rising in his eyes. "I feel... she doesn't love me anymore."

In the past, he could see himself in my eyes; even during those four years of misunderstanding, he could still see my loss and love.

But now, even when looking into my eyes, he could not see a trace of emotion.

His father suddenly fell silent and sat slowly onto a bench.

It was a long time before he gave a bitter laugh. "To think, we father and son have walked the same path."

Hearing this, Ethan looked at him in surprise.

His father clasped his hands tightly together, his deep, raspy voice tinged with helplessness.

"Your mother loved me very much once, but in the end, she hated me so much that she refused to even see me one last time."

Chapter 23

Ethan looked at his father, who seemed immersed in painful memories, and couldn't process the information for a moment.

How could his mother have hated him?

He still remembered his mother calling his father's name before she died.

Before Ethan could ask, his father had returned to normal. He stood up and patted him on the shoulder: "Clara just hasn't recovered from the blow yet. Stay with her and give her some time."

After saying this, he turned and left.

Watching his father's lonely retreating silhouette, Ethan's heart was a mix of complex emotions.

He took out my photograph, his fingertips gently stroking the smiling face within.

Whether in school or in society, he had always been arrogant and confident.

But now, there was only indescribable panic and unease...

After a long while, Ethan composed his emotions and entered the inpatient building.

In the room.

I was leaning against the pillows, attempting to move my legs for the seventh time, but I failed again.

"Clara."

I looked up at the sound, seeing Julian walking in with a bag of fruit.

I sighed and said helplessly: "This room is almost filled with the things you've brought."

Julian placed the fruit on the table: "It's because you eat too slowly."

I smiled with lowered eyes; now, I could only joke a bit with Julian.

Thinking of the numbness in my legs these past few days, I couldn't help but ask: "By the way, why can't I get out of bed yet? My legs..."

I pinched my knees and frowned: "They also seem to have no strength."

Hearing this, Julian's expression froze.

He forced a lighthearted smile: "It takes a hundred days for broken bones to heal, let alone such a severe car accident."

He paused, then added: "Dr. Zhang from the Neurology Department has already arranged your treatment plan. Once you are better, you can start treatment directly."

Hearing this, my expression changed slightly, and my thoughts drifted away.

After ten seconds of silence, Julian looked at my distracted profile and spoke softly: "Clara, if you were given a chance to choose again..."

Meeting my puzzled gaze, he took a deep breath: "Are you willing to accept a future given to you by someone else?"

In an instant, the room fell into a subtle silence.

The somewhat blunt question caught me off guard.

Looking at Julian's fiery gaze, I instinctively dodged it.

In the past, my heart was completely filled with Ethan, so it was hard to think of anything else.

But these days, I had clearly noticed Julian's care for me, and that look in his eyes was so much like the look I used to have when I watched Ethan.

"Julian..."

I pursed my lips, weighing my words: "I know your feelings, but I'm sorry, I cannot reciprocate."

Hearing this, Julian's heart sank, and he blurted out: "Why?"

"You know, I am someone sentenced to death with a reprieve by fate. As I am now, being with anyone is a burden."

I gave a bitter smile: "Besides, I have already loved enough."

One Ethan was enough to make me unforgettable.

My heart, which had once loved him deeply, was already exhausted; it was impossible to love anyone else.

Listening to my words of rejection, a trace of bitterness flashed across Julian's eyes.

He had long expected this result, but his heart still ached.

Julian took a deep breath, trying his best to relax: "I understand. I just didn't want to leave myself with regrets. Don't take it to heart."

"And you are not a burden. We all hope that you will get better soon."

Hearing this, I looked up and said sincerely: "Thank you."

As I spoke, my tone carried a trace of apology.

"Then go get some sleep."

Julian stood up to leave. Once he turned away, the smile he had been forcing disappeared into gloom.

Opening the door, the sight of Ethan standing outside stunned the people in the room.

Chapter 24

I looked at Ethan, who was standing at the doorway, not knowing how long he had been there, and my mind wavered.

I don't know what kind of fate the three of us have, but we always end up bumping into each other.

Perhaps feeling that Ethan had heard what I just said outside, Julian did not look pleased.

He glanced at me, passed Ethan, and left.

Ethan walked in with a blank expression and poured a glass of water, handing it to me.

As usual, I did not take it.

Looking at his cold demeanor and recalling my words just now about having "loved enough," the panic surging in his heart made Ethan feel powerless.

"Clara..."

He sat down slowly, the words of pleading lingering on his lips, but he didn't know how to voice them.

At this moment, I was like the wind blowing away at any time, making it hard for him to hold on to me.

Facing this version of me, he was at his wit's end.

Finally, I fixed my gaze on the man beside me.

That look of frustration and sorrow—once it belonged only to me, but now it was in his eyes.

I curled my lips: "Do you feel wronged? But isn't this exactly the attitude you gave me over those four years?"

A light question seemed to open up a long-buried bitterness in my heart.

I looked at the frozen Ethan, my voice trembling: "I had a crush on you since my freshman year of high school, and I didn't dare to reveal my feelings until graduation. You didn't respond, and I thought it was impossible for us. But when we reunited, the first thing you said was that you wanted to marry me. That was the happiest moment of my life."

"Even when my mother cut ties with me, I felt that marrying you was the right thing to do. But I couldn't have imagined that I would commit an unforgivable mistake—a mistake that caused me to lose myself, lose my child, and lose the chance to see my mother one last time. And what about you? In those four years, was there ever a day, even a single minute, where you loved me as Clara? Did you ever respect me as your wife?"

"In your eyes, was I just a gold digger who would ignore anything and tolerate anything as long as I got money? Or was I just a substitute who happened to have Melanie's silhouette?"

As I spoke, my eyes turned red, and I let out the final accusation helplessly: "Ethan, do you know? You made me feel that I am the cheapest woman in the world."

Each word felt like countless needles pricking Ethan's heart.

He clenched his fists, trying to ease the bone-deep sting. All he could manage to say was: "I'm sorry..."

I looked up slightly, exhaling a weary breath to force the tears back.

"Every time I see you, I recall those nightmarish memories. So I will tell you directly: in this life, I will never forgive you, let alone forgive myself. Our best ending is to part on good terms."

"Thud."

The water cup in Ethan's hand fell to the floor from his lack of strength.

Water splashed everywhere; the cup did not shatter, but it was covered in cracks.

I turned away and calmly issued a dismissal: "Thank you for your care these days, but I still hope that when I wake up tomorrow, you won't be here."