6
Downstairs, Adrian was standing by the roadside, holding an umbrella.
Looking at the smile on his face, I suddenly felt like crying.
When I first married him, everyone said I had married above my station.
Adrian is indeed exceptional, but I never thought I was inferior to him.
Lucas looked down on me, so he never cared about what I really wanted to do. He only thought it was natural for me to revolve around him.
But Adrian is different. He’s willing to understand me, to patiently listen to what I want to say, to accompany me in doing what I want to do.
He held my hand as we walked to the award stage, but he stood below, applauding for me.
He said:
“Evelyn, you’re the best director!”
Because of Adrian’s presence, I truly dared to face my dreams.
Love was never about one–sided sacrifice, but mutual support.
Those rumors and gossip couldn’t shake my feelings for Adrian.
-1
Lucas’s words were the same.
But I still overestimated his self–esteem.
That day, he came to the studio wearing a hospital gown.
6:54 AM C
<
His skin was frighteningly yellow, his eyes bloodshot, mumbling:
“Evelyn, my wife, Evelyn, open the door for me…”
I unplugged the battery of the video doorbell and called the police.
As Lucas was being taken away by the police, he suddenly started screaming like a madman:
“Evelyn! I was wrong! I regret it! I don’t want to be apart from you! Please give me one more chance! Please!”
Just before Lucas disappeared around the corner, I opened the door.
Meeting his expectant gaze, I smiled.
I mouthed to him:
“You. Don’t. Deserve. It.”
V
Perhaps he wanted to say something more, but everything was drowned out by the sound of police sirens.
After that, I never saw Lucas again.
<
“And?”
On the other end of the phone, Lucas was silent for a long time before he finally spoke with a trembling voice:
“Evelyn, I punished Olivia for you. I’m not asking for your forgiveness, but please, can I see you one more time?”
I had anticipated he would say something like this and was about to hang up when a painful groan suddenly erupted from the other end of the
line.
Instinctively, I felt a sense of foreboding.
“Lucas, what’s wrong?”
“Evelyn… I don’t have much time left… Please, can I see you one last time?”
Hearing this, my mind went blank.
Why didn’t he have much time left? Was Lucas sick?
But he seemed fine at the class reunion not long ago, didn’t he?
I unconsciously looked towards Adrian sitting on the sofa. Seeing my expression, he paused for a moment before nodding slightly.
I sighed:
“Come to my studio then.”
“Since you found this number, you should know where the studio is.”
In the afternoon, I opened the door to find Lucas sitting on the sofa, his head lowered and eyes vacant.
Seeing me arrive, he forced a smile and tried to stand up, but collapsed back onto the sofa the moment he got to his feet.
It was then that I noticed his face was completely devoid of color.
Meeting my puzzled gaze, he just shook his head.
“What’s wrong with you?”
nookread.
He handed me his medical report, which starkly read:
[Severe single kidney failure]
The attached CT report showed that Lucas only had one kidney.
In our previous life, we had done thorough pre–marital health checks, and Lucas’s report had shown everything was normal. How could this be…
I suddenly looked up:
“What happened?”
Lucas’s eyes were red–rimmed as he smiled weakly at me:
“Oliver Steven took one of my kidneys.”
Oliver Steven was Olivia’s father, the head of the Steven Group.
“That kidney was the price I paid for the Steven Group’s sponsorship, and for Oliver to allow me to stay with Olivia!”
“After having my kidney removed, I had to take medication for life, but all the profits from the racing club went directly to Oliver. I had no money and could only rely on the Steven family’s hospital for medication.
In our previous life, we had done thorough pre–marital health checks, and Lucas’s report had shown everything was normal. How could this be…
I suddenly looked up:
“What happened?”
Lucas’s eyes were red–rimmed as he smiled weakly at me:
“Oliver Steven took one of my kidneys.”
Oliver Steven was Olivia’s father, the head of the Steven Group.
“That kidney was the price I paid for the Steven Group’s sponsorship, and for Oliver to allow me to stay with Olivia!”
“After having my kidney removed, I had to take medication for life, but all the profits from the racing club went directly to Oliver. I had no money and could only rely on the Steven family’s hospital for medication to sustain my life.””
“But I never expected that all businesses associated with the Steven Group would be investigated. Now I can only wait quietly for death.”
After saying this, he turned to look at me, his eyes flickering with hope:
“Evelyn, I know you still have feelings for me. You won’t abandon me, right?”
“I’ve realized my mistakes. In our past life, I shouldn’t have hastily believed Olivia’s words and ignored your sacrifices. Saying I hoped we’d never see each other again was also a lie. I regret it. Can we start over?”
“We can love each other like before. That unborn child, let’s create them again, give them a chance to see the world, okay?”
I looked at him with disgust, as if I was looking at a pile of garbage.
“Lucas, stop daydreaming.”
“We can’t be together. I have my own happy family now…”
“No!”
Lucas suddenly clutched his head and shouted, wearing a pained expression.
“You’re lying to me. You agreed to see me because you still have feelings for me!”
“In our past life, you gave up everything for me. How could you stop loving me so easily in this life!”
“You’re just still angry, blaming me for believing Olivia’s lies, right? I’ve already said I know I was wrong. Why won’t you forgive me? Why are you still being so harsh?”
He became more and more agitated as he spoke, to the point where the veins on his temples were bulging.
I let out a soft laugh.
6:54 AM &
<
“Lucas, we did love each other briefly in our past life, which is why I was willing to see you when I heard you were sick. If this action of mine has caused you any misunderstanding, I can only say you’re overthinking it.”
“After truly experiencing what it means to be loved in this life, I realized that your love was really nothing to speak of. I’ll tell you one last time: I don’t love you, and I certainly don’t want to have a child with you.”
With that, I turned to leave.
Lucas tried to chase after me, but his legs gave out, and he fell straight off the sofa.
With bloodshot eyes, he lay on the ground, shouting at me:
“Evelyn, do you think Adrian really loves you?”
V
“Look at yourself! What are you worth? He’s a billionaire, how could he possibly be interested in you!”
“When he abandons you, you’ll regret this. I’m the one who’s best for you!”
I didn’t want to hear any more of his belittling words.
So I slammed the door shut.
See? A leopard can’t change its spots. This is Lucas’s true face.
He says he loves me, but he only loves that I was willing to do anything for him.
He says he loves Olivia, but he only loves the resources she could provide him.
In the end, the only person he truly loves is himself.
