Looking at the bed within reach, a sense of unwillingness flashed through my red eyes.

I grabbed the handles and tried to lift my body with all my might.

"Bang!"

As the wheelchair flipped over, I fell heavily onto the cold floor.

In an instant, a sharp pain like countless knives piercing my heart exploded in my bones and blood, but for this kind of pain, my legs felt nothing.

Suddenly, a warm liquid flowed from between my legs.

"Clara!"

Ethan’s worried exclamation came from behind. I looked at the transparent water stain beside my legs, my arms trembling uncontrollably.

"Don't come over, I beg you..."

Chapter 27

Ethan, who had rushed over from the emergency room, stood outside the room, staring in shock at me as I collapsed on the floor, shivering all over.

With my back to him, I repeated in a tear-choked voice: "Don't come over..."

Suppressing the dull ache in his chest, he couldn't help but step forward, only to realize that my crotch was already soaked through...

Ethan’s heart sank heavily.

In the next second, he closed the door and leaned down to pick me up.

But the moment he touched me, I began to push him away frantically, crying hysterically: "Don't touch me! Get out... get out! I told you to get out!"

Fear and helplessness occupied my entire mind.

For twenty-six years, I had never been so humiliated.

In front of the man I had once loved most, I had suffered urinary incontinence due to paralysis...

At that moment, I wished I had died in that car crash.

Ethan pressed his lips tightly, grabbed clean hospital pants from the cabinet, and carried me into the bathroom.

The next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his neck as I bit him.

He let out a muffled grunt but didn't let go.

Ignoring my fierce resistance, he calmly changed my pants: "It’s okay, I’m here..."

Grabbing my trembling hands, he pulled me into his arms tightly, tears streaming down my face.

At this instant, I could no longer hold back and burst into heart-wrenching sobs.

I pounded on Ethan’s shoulder: "What on earth did I do wrong to deserve this..."

Listening to my weak, accusatory questions, Ethan’s heart was torn to pieces.

Tears blurred his vision, but he could only comfort me: "You did nothing wrong; it’s all my fault."

The person in his arms cried for a long time until, exhausted, she fell asleep. Only then did he carefully carry her back to the bed.

When Julian came to see me, he found me sleeping.

And Ethan, who hadn't appeared for days, was wearing a crumpled shirt and mopping the floor like a hospital aide.

Noticing the tear stains on my face and Ethan's bloodshot, stinging eyes, he couldn't help but frown: "What happened?"

Ethan ignored him, instead carrying the basin containing my soiled pants away.

The unusual behavior left Julian completely confused.

But after giving it some thought, his expression shifted.

Could it be that Clara knew she was paralyzed?

By the sink.

Ethan washed the hospital pants with his head down. Slowly, the tears he had been suppressing dripped into the basin.

In his memory, the last time he had cried like this was when his mother passed away.

He lifted his head, looking at the haggard man in the mirror.

Hatred!

A heart full of hatred!

He hated his past ruthlessness, his current incompetence, and his inability to bear all the pain for me.

I had done nothing wrong; I was the most innocent of all...

His long fingers ran through his dark hair, pulling it tightly.

Ethan gritted his teeth, swallowing every sob back into his stomach.

In the evening, dark clouds suddenly gathered, and thunder rolled across the horizon like waves.

In a daze, I felt as though I were trapped in darkness.

I wanted to escape, but my legs felt rooted to the spot, unable to move.

"Clara, the moment you step out of this house to marry Ethan, we will cut ties as mother and daughter!"

"Don't you dare think about bearing someone else's child while holding the title of Mrs. Ethan!"

"Even though she has ALS, it could have been delayed with treatment, but now because of the car crash, she has lost her fertility and is paralyzed..."

Familiar voices came from all directions, sucking away the air around me.

Just as I thought I was going to die in this fatal suffocation, I jerked my eyes open, gasping for breath while staring at the white ceiling.

Ethan, who had been guarding the bed, his eyes lit up: "You’re awake. Are you feeling uncomfortable? Are you hungry? I’ll go get you something to eat."

He stood up and was about to leave when his wrist was suddenly grabbed by a cold hand.

"Ethan, you lied to me."

Chapter 28

Just as Ethan turned around, I loosened my grip.

Staring at the fine rain outside the window, I continued in a hoarse voice: "You promised me you wouldn't appear again."

Ethan clenched his fists, unable to speak.

In the oppressive, deathly silence, my eyes looked as dim as a candle extinguished by the wind.

"I've lost my fertility, and I'll never be able to stand again. You knew this all along, didn't you?"

At these words, Ethan’s heart twisted violently.

He had known I would be paralyzed, but he had only learned about my loss of fertility that afternoon.

The succession of blows left me, already frail, looking haggard and devastated.

"The doctor said it was only a possibility," Ethan replied in a low voice.

Listening to this comforting response, I smiled bitterly: "I would have ended up this way sooner or later, I just didn't expect it to be so soon..."—and that you would see me in the most wretched, humiliated state of my life.

"Clara..."

"Go out, please. I want to be alone for a while."

Looking at my pale face, Ethan hesitated for a moment, but ultimately left the room.

The moment the door clicked shut, I couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

I wiped at them again and again; I never thought I would be the type of person who cried so easily.

Thinking of how Ethan had ignored my abuse and silently changed me into clean pants, my heart, already a tangled mess, ached even more.

Just then, Xu Li walked in with my medicine.

Seeing the person sobbing on the bed, she felt heartbroken and filled with guilt.

If she had helped me back to bed first, perhaps I wouldn't have overheard the truth about my condition.

"Clara?"

Xu Li walked up and called out to me softly: "It's time for your medicine."

I shook my head, feeling the positivity in my heart slowly dissolving.

Everything had come so suddenly that I had no idea how to face it.

Xu Li glanced at the open door, recalling how Ethan’s eyes had been red, and couldn't help but say: "If not for your own sake, you should think about your husband."

As she poured hot water, she mused: "I heard he drank until he vomited blood and had to be sent to the hospital, yet he ran over to find you before his IV was even finished. I saw him spending the entire afternoon in another ALS patient's room talking to the family; I overheard a few sentences when I passed by, and realized he was asking others how to care for ALS patients..."

At this, Xu Li sighed: "Although I don't know what conflicts you two have, I can see that your husband is sincere toward you. Even if he made a grave mistake, it's only right for him to take care of you now."

Hearing this, I froze.

I lowered my eyes, saying nothing, my hands gripped tightly beneath the blanket.

Downstairs from the inpatient building, the patients out for a stroll were gradually heading back.

Ethan sat on a bench, a cigarette held between his fingers, long unlit.

Suddenly, a pair of legs entered his line of sight.

Looking up, it was Julian.

Julian glanced at him and sat on the bench: "I thought you really wouldn't come back."

Ethan replied coldly: "Even if I didn't come, you wouldn't have a chance to 'take his place'."

This time, Julian didn't get angry; instead, he smiled calmly.

After a moment of silence, Ethan stubbed out the unlit cigarette in his hand and changed the subject: "If she didn't love me, would she have suffered so much?"

For the first time, he revealed his regret and self-doubt to someone else—and that person happened to be Julian, who had always loved me.

Julian was stunned for a moment before answering: "Perhaps."

If there were an "if," he only wished now that I would get better and live a life truly of my own.

Before long, a light rain began to drift from the sky.

Watching Ethan and Julian walk into the inpatient building, Melanie, standing under a tree, clenched her fists tightly.