Chapter 5

For the next few days, Hayden didn't show up in front of Jacqueline again. The butler, Henry Cooke, said he had gone on vacation with Penelope. Soon enough, Penelope flooded her Instagram with photos. Hayden was with her at the beach, diving into the sea. He went skydiving and car racing with her, too. At every adrenaline-filled moment, Hayden held her hand and said loudly, "I love you and only you!" Jacqueline reached out to touch his image on the screen. A single tear slid down her face. At about 3:00 am, her phone lit up as some messages came in. "Jacqueline, why did you like Penelope's post but not message me?" "I love Penelope." A while later, new messages came in. "Aren't you jealous?" "Jacqueline, what am I to you? Am I just some pet you can carelessly throw away?" "I have money, Jacqueline. You can come love me for that." "Say you regret it. Say you'll never leave me again. That's all I want to hear, Jacqueline." Moments later, all those messages were deleted. In their place, only one message remained. "From now on, I'll only love Penelope." Outside her door, Jacqueline heard Henry talking on the phone. "Mr. Gardner is drunk again? He's drunk every day lately! Doesn't he care about his health? Prepare more of the hangover remedy. Have Ms. Penelope talk to him. He listens to her." Jacqueline felt a lump in her throat upon hearing that. She quickly typed a message, "Hayden, stop drinking." But in the next second, she deleted it. Instead, she wrote, "Pay me more. I don't mind having a pet again." That night, Jacqueline lay awake until dawn. Memories of her and Hayden flooded her mind. She had always hated the smell of alcohol. Every time he drank, she would pretend to be angry. So, whenever he had to drink to socialize, he would set an alarm to remind himself when to stop. After it happened enough times, people began teasing him for being henpecked. But no matter how the others poked fun at him, he smiled proudly and said, "I have a wife who cares about me. You all wish you had someone like that." In just three years, he had become used to drowning himself in alcohol. And Jacqueline had lost the right to be mad at him about it. At sunrise, Jacqueline's phone rang. Penelope's panicked voice came through the line. "Hayden's leukemia relapsed! It's bad!" Jacqueline's mind went blank. It was to be expected, given his reckless participation in extreme sports and his drinking habits. She wanted to grab Hayden by the shoulders and scream at him. Why didn't he care about his health? He had no idea how much pain she had endured just so he could live. But as she sat in the car, she couldn't utter a word. She just wished the car would move faster. At the hospital, the doctor spoke quickly about his condition. "Mr. Gardner's condition is critical. We'll keep his vital signs steady first, but the best solution is a second transplant. We'll need to find the original donor." Before Jacqueline could even catch her breath, she nodded frantically. But Penelope stepped forward first and said, "It was me. I can donate my bone marrow again." Jacqueline froze and clenched her fists. Of course. In her panic, she had forgotten that the name on the donor record wasn't hers. It was Penelope's. Through a small gap between the doctors, Jacqueline caught sight of the man lying on the bed. In just three days, he looked like he had lost considerable weight. Her eyes stung, but she forced herself to hold back the tears and turned to the doctor. "What are the risks?" The doctor replied, "The second surgery is extremely dangerous. Right now, we don't have a qualified surgeon for a case this complex. There used to be, though—the Blanchett family's two expert surgeons. If they were still alive, this surgery wouldn't be a problem. "There was also the Blanchetts' prodigy daughter. But no one knows where she is now…" At those words, Penelope fixed a piercing gaze on Jacqueline. Instinctively, Jacqueline hid her prosthetic arm behind her back. She could use this arm to save lives on the battlefield. But to perform such a delicate surgery with it, especially on the man she loved… It was an impossible task. If she went through with it, failure was certain. But then Penelope suddenly said, "Don't worry, doctor. The Blanchetts' prodigy daughter is right here. She can do it." The doctor's eyes lit up. He followed Penelope's gaze and looked at Jacqueline. Jacqueline froze as every head in the room turned toward her. She couldn't do it! Her mind spun, and her lips trembled as she forced out the most hurtful words, "I won't do the surgery." On the hospital bed, Hayden's eyes flew open. A single tear slid down from his bloodshot eyes as he stared at her. "Jacqueline, you're going to abandon me again."