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The doctor let out a sigh. “We’re not sure yet, but there seems to be something wrong with your wife’s blood sample.”
“What does that mean?” Damien said with a grimace.
The doctor said, “We think you might have a disease, but we need to do more tests to be sure.”  “I’m afraid this is a lot more complicated than just a car accident.”
Damien remarked, “But she’ll be okay, right?”
“Mr. Cole, let’s just pray and hope for the best.”
Damien felt the answer sounded quite gloomy and disheartening, and his scowl deepened.
He saw the doctor go back behind the doors of the operating room. Damien sighed and ran a hand through his unruly hair before slumping back into the chair behind him. The elderly man was still sleeping, not aware of what was going on around him. He was also snoring after saying something that didn’t make sense. Damien barely stared at the guy for a second before turning his attention back to the doors of the operating room. His mind was racing with thoughts of this woman he didn’t know anything about, but he had told her he was her husband to make sure there were no delays or legal problems with her treatment.
He felt bad about the state he had discovered her in. He blinked and closed his eyes, and behind them, he saw the memory of all the blood and her pale face. He thought about if she had a family or someone who cared about her and could be looking for her. He was upset because he thought about how she would feel when she woke up and heard that she had lost her kid. The doctor was also talking about this sickness.
But that’s only if she wakes up.
Kellen’s whole body shook with rage.
He never really liked the way Lena and Ryan were friends. He couldn’t help but be jealous of how close they were to each other. He never said anything about it, at least not in words, but the feeling of worry never went away. Kellen hated that his wife was so close to this other man who wasn’t him. But he never made a big issue out of it, keeping his doubts firmly in check.
But now that he has seen the clear proof of the evil thing that has been going on right beneath his nose all this time, he finally lost it. The idea of Ryan caressing Lena in ways that only he had the authority to drove him crazy.
Kellen drank a couple more shots, and the liquor burned as it went down his throat. It had been an entire day since Lena departed. With his crushed heart, an entire day felt like an eternity. Every second of being alone and knowing she was cheating on him hurt like deadly thorns all over his body. And he was bleeding deep down.
He didn’t want to go back to the house where he saw Lena’s ghost, no matter which direction he looked. It stung so much to find out that all of the happy memories they had together in that house since their wedding were falsehoods.
Her love was a lie.
A soft palm covered his rough, trembling fingers, which were holding another shot in its vice grasp. Kellen raised his blood-red eyes to find Selene’s frightened gaze looking at him with pity.
“Stop, Kellen,” Selene said with a sigh. She shook her head, and her long hair fell out of her delicate bun. She didn’t appear to know how her hair had gotten free. “You’re killing yourself! Forget about her; she’s not worth your time. Please don’t waste yourself on her. If you think of me as your friend,” she said. “You would stop this craziness right now.”
Kellen drank the harsh drink and slammed the glass down, ignoring her. The loud bass music in the background made his scalp throb in a dull agony, and he could see that things were progressively turning fuzzy in front of him.
“I… hate her,” he said, his eyes streaming.
Selene’s smooth fingers kept covering his. “You should.” She spoke in a soft whisper. She may have said more, but Kellen wasn’t paying any attention to what was going on around him anymore.
Kellen knew that Selene was holding him up as he walked out of the club on shaky legs. He recalled getting into a car and then going inside a house that wasn’t his. He felt the soft sheets on his chilly, exposed flesh and then the warmth of a woman’s body moving over him. He welcomed it; it was a wonderful diversion.
But as his quick pants of breath finally slowed down, he whispered into her long, silky hair, “Lena—”
Selene’s hand stroked his ribs till her palm protectively rested above his racing heart. The frown that formed on her lips as she heard Lena’s name quickly turned into a confident smile. She moaned and moved in closer to his ear. She assured, “Don’t worry, Kellen. I’ll make you forget her soon.”
********
Is it still pouring outside?
Lena couldn’t open her eyes no matter how hard she tried, but she could hear the sound of pitter-patter against a glass window far away. She could also smell the unique fragrance of dirt that only came out when it rained. It was much like that day in the rear of the shrine, under the cherry blossom tree, when she first noticed him standing in the distance. He seemed so gorgeous that day—handsome and chilly.
Kellen!
But now it was scary for her to think about why it was so dark around.
Why can’t I see?
Then a voice murmured from someplace, “You’ve lost him.” No, not just him. She’s lost everything.
A thick, black wave of negativity hit her spirit, and a crushing sadness sank inside. She attempted to hold onto something—anything—out of the blackness, but she couldn’t reach anything at all. Her whole body jerked. The horrible feeling started to tear her life in half. Her eyelids flickered but never opened, and a tear fell from the corner of her eye.
There was a loud, frantic beeping sound throughout the room.
Damien sprang up from the couch, where he was about to fall asleep outside the I.C.U. Room.
He was worried and confused as he watched a number of physicians and nurses go through the glass doors. That’s when he saw the woman’s corpse, which appeared like it was having a seizure. He could see her face twist in misery through the glass.
He closed his eyes and turned away, not being able to see anymore. It seemed like fate was set on making this poor woman suffer, no matter who she was.
Kellen shoved Selene’s hand away as it slowly slid down his chest and into the south. “Selene,” he said with a sigh as he moved to the other side of the couch. “You said there was something important you wanted to talk to me about?”
Selene let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s your dad. He wants to talk to you.”
“About what?”
Selene took a moment to think about what to say. “Business, and about us. He read what the tabloids wrote about us last week.
Kellen swiped a palm over his face to get rid of the frustration he was feeling. “Selene—
She cut in with a big breath and rose up from the couch, then moved to stand between Kellen’s legs in a sexy way.