Chapter 5

Andrew's eyes were unreadable, as if he had a thousand things he wanted to say. After a moment, he just said one word: "Okay."

He transferred the money to me right then and there, 5.3 million dollars, which was 1.3 million dollars more than what I paid for the house.

I looked at the transfer record, then looked up at him. "What's the extra for?"

"Just think of it as compensation for what happened back then," he said.

My chest felt tight, a bitter ache spreading through me.

So, three years of marriage and seven years of waiting could all be settled with money in the end.

Seeing how calm and unfazed he looked, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I finally blurted out the question I'd kept buried in my heart for years.

"Andrew, I chased after you for three years, and you always kept me at arm's length. Why did you suddenly agree to marry me?"

I just wanted to know, after all those years of giving him everything I had, what did it even mean to him?

His eyes were shadowed. "It's all in the past. Does it even matter anymore?"

I stared at him, refusing to back down. "It does matter. I want to know why my marriage even started, and why it ended so abruptly."

He was silent for a few seconds, then finally said, "That day, Emily got married."

Those seven words hit me like a bucket of ice water, drenching me from head to toe.

I stumbled back a step, my lower back slamming into the doorknob. The dull pain was nothing compared to the ache in my chest.

So that's how it was.

Turns out, what I thought was something we both wanted was just him settling for second best.

"Sorry," Andrew said, his tone offhand, then turned and walked away.

I stood in the doorway for ages, letting all those sweet memories splinter into blades that cut me up from the inside out.

I took down the wedding photos from the wall, tore off every last red wedding symbol, and called in a cleaning crew to erase every trace of him from my home.

Three years of marriage, seven years of longing and it all wiped away in just two hours. I put an end to it, once and for all.

After everything was cleaned up, I curled up in bed, trying to force myself to sleep.

My phone suddenly buzzed. It was a message from Dr. Lucia Sterling: [Claire, all the donation paperwork is done. Commander Grant wants to meet the donor.]

I stared at the screen for a long time but replied with only one word: [Okay.]

There's no running from what's coming.

For a second, I couldn't help but wonder if he found out I was the donor, what kind of look would he have on his face?

The next day, before heading out to meet him, I printed out the house sale contract.

If we were going to meet, I wanted to settle everything once and for all. No more loose ends, no more getting tangled up in each other's lives.

At the café, I walked in bundled up in my thick coat and immediately spotted Andrew standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Seeing Andrew, I suddenly felt an urge to turn around and walk out.

Life and death were already set in stone. What was the point in letting him see me like a total mess?

I clenched the hem of my coat, just stood there, keeping my distance.

But my body felt weaker and weaker, my head spinning, and my vision starting to blur.

I turned to leave, but after a couple of steps, my legs gave out and I nearly collapsed.

Before I could hit the floor, a pair of strong hands grabbed me, holding me steady.

Andrew was standing right in front of me, looking genuinely surprised. "Claire? What are you doing here?"

I pulled myself together and blurted out a lie, "Just meeting a friend. What about you?"

"I'm waiting for a donor, but they haven't shown up yet," he explained, his brow furrowing. "Why have you gotten so thin?"

"Try to lose weight these days," I gave him a lame excuse.

His face darkened. "You've never been in great health. Don't mess around with your body. You were fine before."

I forced a smile. "I was 'fine' before, but you still walked out on me, didn't you?"