Chapter 5
Walter looked away and let out a bitter laugh at himself.
Well, it made sense. After all, he'd cared for her for two years with such devotion.
Walter wondered how she could pretend that long without eventually falling for the lie herself, especially now that she was carrying Connor's child.
Just then, a sharp revving sound tore through the air behind him before he could react.
A black SUV slammed into them from behind without warning.
The driver slammed the brakes, but the vehicle still flipped violently onto its side.
Walter's lower body went completely numb as someone dragged him out of the wreckage.
For a few terrifying seconds, he truly thought he was going to die.
It wasn't until he heard a woman's heart-wrenching scream in the distance that his mind started coming back into focus.
It was Macy crying.
Walter struggled to turn his head toward the sound.
What he saw was Macy on her knees, clutching Connor and sobbing like her world was ending.
"Help! Please save my husband!" she screamed.
From the gathering crowd, a man stepped forward.
"I... I'm a doctor—please, make way!" a man said.
He noticed Walter's injuries were more severe and immediately started heading toward him.
But just as he reached Walter, Macy intercepted him. "Doctor, my husband is here. You've got the wrong person."
She cast a distant glance at Walter, her eyes gradually hardening into something cold and resolute.
"Please, save my husband first," she begged, "that guy over there used to be an amateur boxer. He's strong, and he'll make it..."
The doctor hesitated, clenched his jaw, and then turned back toward Connor.
Rain started pouring down, icy drops pelting Walter's exposed wounds.
But he didn't feel any pain at all.
He opened his mouth to speak, but blood gushed out instead.
He was a fool for still harboring illusions this late in the game.
His wife—the real one—had died in that car crash two years ago, body and soul.
By the time the ambulance arrived, the medics were calmly lifting Walter onto a stretcher.
In a haze, he thought he heard someone shouting his name.
It was Macy. She rushed over, blood trickling from a wound on her forehead.
"Walter, don't fall asleep!" she cried.
Her voice cracked into fragments, barely forming words.
"I... I'm so sorry... please hang on... we promised to grow old together..."
Walter almost burst out laughing.
Walter muttered to himself, "Macy, did you even hear yourself when you said that?"
During the week he lay unconscious, Walter kept having the same dream.
In the dream, he and Macy were back in the happiest days of their relationship.
They played and laughed.
They once watched the northern lights together, standing hand in hand beneath the Arctic sky.
They once stood beneath a snow-covered mountain and swore never to betray each other.
But the dream always ended with Macy on her knees, begging the doctor to save Connor instead.
Her eyes—cold and decisive—burned into him.
He had never imagined Macy could look at him that way.
Rain began falling again.
Drop by drop, it landed on his face.
Walter's lashes trembled, and he woke up.
It wasn't rain. It was Macy's tears.
She cried as she whispered prayers over and over.
"God, please don't take him away from me—whatever the price, I'll pay it..."
Walter opened his eyes.
Macy froze, then gasped, "Walter... you... you're awake."
She burst into tears and laughter, throwing her arms around his neck and sobbing, "You're awake... Thank God, you're finally awake."