Chapter 2
"The rescue team will be here soon. There'll be professionals to help you out. Terrell's been afraid of pain since he was a kid. He won't be able to take it," Valerie said.
Not caring about Daniel's ashen expression, she pulled Terrell close and quickly left.
Watching their backs as they walked away, Daniel finally understood.
It turned out that love and indifference were that obvious all along.
Five years of pouring out his heart, even breaking with his family, meant nothing to Valerie.
Even after stumbling onto Valerie's secret, he still wanted to try his luck one more time.
No surprise, he crashed and burned, just like every other time.
"I heard Valerie almost tore the hospital apart for her adopted brother. She even threatened that if Terrell got a single scar on his hand, she'd make the whole hospital disappear from Springale," one nurse whispered.
"If you didn't know Terrell was her adopted brother, you'd think he was her husband!" another nurse chimed in.
The nurses' gossip snapped Daniel back to reality. That was when he noticed the news on TV, Valerie making a scene at the hospital over Terrell.
A nearly healed cut on Terrell's arm was enough to drive her crazy, but when Daniel was bleeding out and almost died in that car crash, she didn't even bother to call and check on him.
Valerie came by the hospital the next day.
"Terrell's situation was really urgent yesterday, so I couldn't make it to see you," she said.
As she spoke, Valerie watched Daniel's expression closely.
"It was all just an accident yesterday. Terrell was worried you'd feel bad, so he even bought you some cake," she added.
Then Terrell came over and offered Daniel a beautifully wrapped gift box.
Each pastry had a bright red double happiness symbol stamped on it.
It was a whole box of wedding pastries.
Daniel scoffed as he looked at the box.
"So, is this supposed to celebrate that I'm still alive?" he said.
Terrell took a step back with a wronged look, clutching Valerie's hand tightly.
"Valerie, I swear I didn't mean it. I specifically told the clerk to get Daniel's favorite cake, but somehow they packed wedding pastries instead," he said.
Valerie quickly moved to shield Terrell behind her.
"Daniel, Terrell didn't do it on purpose. Do you have to be so mean about it? He was just trying to be nice. If you don't appreciate it, fine, but do you have to go off on him like that?" she said.
"It's just a scratch on your leg, not like it's broken. Do you have to make such a fuss? It's not like this is your first time ending up in the hospital," she added.
Daniel stared at Valerie's face, always cold when she looked at him, but now fierce and animated, all for Terrell's sake.
He should've seen it long ago. Everything Valerie felt, whether she was happy, angry, or upset, was always about one person.
And that person was always Terrell.
Daniel first met Valerie at a high-society marriage mixer.
At thirty, Valerie's family basically dragged her there.
She always had this look that screamed 'keep your distance', especially if one were a guy.
But Daniel fell for her, cold as ice and all, at first sight. He didn't even try to hide it. He swore he'd make her his, no matter what.
Brody had tried to warn him.
Valerie was known as an icy beauty, deeply devoted to her spiritual practices, seemingly indifferent to all worldly concerns.
On top of that, she'd adopted a brother with no blood ties, just nine years younger than her.
Rumors swirled that there was something more between them. Some said Valerie kept men at arm's length all these years because of her brother, and some even called her a brocon.
Daniel tore into those gossips, calling them twisted.
And then, out of the blue, Valerie suddenly asked him to marry her.
Daniel was over the moon.
Their marriage was nothing fancy, no wedding, no rings, just a marriage certificate as proof.
Valerie posted their marriage certificate on Instagram, and Daniel really thought his sincerity had finally touched her heart.
Now, looking back, Daniel couldn't help but realize Valerie had only used him to silence the rumors.
After they got married, Daniel pulled out all the stops, but Valerie never even looked his way. They always slept in separate rooms.
Still, for a few days every month, Valerie would just show up in his room out of nowhere. No desire, no affection—he was nothing but a prop for her to vent whatever she needed.
Daniel always tried to comfort himself.
'It's fine. As long as I keep trying, maybe one day I'll finally thaw that frozen heart of hers,' he told himself.
That was, until he discovered the secret Valerie kept hidden in her meditation room.
Valerie never let anyone into her meditation room. On their wedding anniversary, Daniel, hoping to surprise her, snuck into the closet inside.
But what he saw was something he wished he could unsee.