Chapter 3

Summer POV

The cleanup of the top-floor reading room continued for three whole days.

I no longer resisted, working like a machine that had lost its sense of pain, silently packing and boxing the books that held the memories of my youth.

The heavy cardboard boxes bit into my thin fingers, leaving bright red marks, but I seemed completely unaware.

My heart's burden was nearing its limit.

These past few days, my painkiller frequency had gone from twice a day to four times a day.

In the afternoon, Audrey brought several designers to the site to confirm the dimensions for the gallery. She wore a refined skirt suit, her fingertips tracing outlines in the air, occasionally turning to flash a sweet smile at Ethan beside her.

"Ethan, Zach used to love ocean blue. Should we paint this wall blue?"

Ethan had one hand in his trouser pocket. I could feel his gaze involuntarily pass over Audrey's shoulder and fall on my back.

I was too thin. The oversized gray work uniform hung loosely on me, as if a gust of wind could snap my spine.

What would he think? I, who used to playfully ask him to open a bottle cap, now lifted dozens of pounds of cardboard boxes without a single groan.

Just then, while sifting through an old cardboard box, Audrey accidentally grazed her finger on a sharp edge.

Audrey let out a small cry, a tiny bead of blood oozing from her fair fingertip.

Ethan's thoughts seemed to snap back instantly.

He strode over, his brow immediately furrowing. He grabbed Audrey's hand. "How could you be so careless? Go sit over there; don't touch these dirty things."

His voice was full of concern. He immediately told his assistant to get a first-aid kit.

Meanwhile, in a corner not far away, I, who had been moving heavy objects for two hours straight, finally reached my physical limit.

A fierce, wrenching pain exploded without warning from my heart, like a barbed knife violently twisting in my chest. My vision suddenly went black, and I collapsed weakly onto the dusty floor.

I clutched my chest, breathing in short, shallow gasps, cold sweat instantly drenching my shirt. My face was ashen, like a thin sheet of paper, showing a deathly pallor.

The dull thud of something heavy falling made Ethan turn his head.

Seeing me curled up on the ground, Ethan's pupils suddenly constricted, his fingers at his side unconsciously clenching.

"Summer, Audrey just scratched her hand, and you're here faking a faint?" Ethan sneered, his voice laced with ice shards, trying to use the most vicious words to mask a flicker of panic in his heart that even he found absurd. "Haven't you worn out your pity play in these three years?"

I was in so much pain that every breath felt like swallowing shattered glass; I had no strength to retort.

I bit down hard on my pale lips, my trembling hand reaching into my pocket, trying to find that life-saving pill bottle.

Ethan looked at my miserable state and coldly tossed out a sentence. "Fake death, and I'll dock this month's salary."

With that, he pulled Audrey and walked out of the reading room without looking back.

The heavy glass door closed behind them, cutting off all footsteps.

In the vast space, only I remained. I finally pulled out the pill bottle from my pocket, shook out two pills, and swallowed them dry.

A bitter taste spread in my mouth. I leaned against the cold wall, looking at the closed door, tears mixing with cold sweat, silently splashing onto my dusty hand.

I wasn't faking. Ethan, I was truly dying.