A few hours later, Yvette's plane landed safely in Shandra City.

As soon as she exited the gate, she saw her family waiting for her and quickened her pace.

From a distance, Sean saw the bandages wrapped around her arm and quickly went up to take her luggage from her, looking concerned. "How did you get hurt? Why didn't you tell us?"

Her parents saw it too. Their expressions fell immediately as they inspected her injury. 

"Does it hurt? You should've told us when it happened. We could've picked you up."

"This looks serious. Forget lunch—let's go to the hospital now!"

It was the first time Yvette had felt such genuine care since she had gotten injured. The grief she had been suppressing for so long overwhelmed her, turning into tears.

Seeing this, her mother, Elizabeth Cowen, teared up as well. Sean and her father, Andrew Giles, panicked and immediately pulled out their phones to co

Argue?

Why would Yvette argue with a doctor for no reason?

Yvette looked over in confusion, only to see Sean's retreating back as he stepped out of the car.

He was clearly sulking as he did not bother to open the door for her. Instead, he strode away and greeted the person at the door.

Yvette might not be the nicest to her brother, but she was still nervous around strangers—especially when the stranger was a doctor.

Her family knew that she was afraid of doctors.

Therefore, she just sat in the car and watched them, hoping to delay the inevitable.

Sean chatted with his friend for a while before realizing that Yvette was still in the car.

Glaring, he marched back and stood in front of the car, beckoning impatiently for her to get out and greet his friend.

Yvette took a deep breath, schooled her expression, and was just about to open the door when the door was swung open from the o

Kade wanted her to apologize to Charlotte?

He wanted the victim to apologize to the assailant.

Yvette's heart clenched in pain. She shook her head firmly. "I did nothing wrong. I will never apologize to her!"

Yvette refused to apologize; Kade insisted on getting an explanation. Neither of them was willing to back down.

Afraid that the prolonged confrontation would expose the truth, Charlotte looked up tearfully and tried to pull Kade away. "Just put the blame on me, Kay. Stop fighting with your girlfriend. Let's all just cool down, okay?"

Kade was unmoved. Seeing no other option, Charlotte gritted her teeth and pretended to trip, twisting her ankle.

Kade's anger was immediately replaced with panic and concern when he saw her getting hurt.

Ignoring Yvette, he picked her up and rushed downstairs.

Yvette watched as the two of them disappeared from sight. Her anger cooled down, congealing into overwhelming grievance and sorrow.

The tears that she had been holding back for a long time began falling. Quickly, she wiped them away and went back to the ballroom to get her bag before leaving the hotel.

The moment she stepped out of the hospital, a car came hurtling straight toward her.

Yvette could not avoid it at all. She was flung onto the side of the road and bled all over the flowers.

Drenched in cold sweat due to the excruciating pain, Yvette was soon rushed to the hospital, barely conscious.

The nurse, seeing that she was seriously injured, used her fingerprint to unlock her phone and called the first person in her contacts.

Seconds later, Kade's voice came over the phone, low and irritated. "I didn't press further because Charlotte's hurt, but that doesn't mean you weren't wrong. You must come and apologize to her!"

The nurse was stunned for a moment. Then, she told him about Yvette's accident.

Still fuming, Kade refused to believe in the coincidence. "Even if she really was involved in a car accident, she will need to apologize to Charlotte before I'll sign the paperwork!"

With that, he hung up before the nurse could reply.

The nurse had no choice but to wake Yvette up and ask if she could call any other relative.

Yvette did not want her family to worry about her, but she couldn't think of anyone else she could call. In the end, she forced herself to sign the paperwork herself, blood still streaming down her arm.

The surgery was a success. Yvette still had to stay in the hospital for a few days for observation.

She was all alone. No one came to visit or care for her. She did everything by herself, injured as she was.

Some of the nurses gossiped about how Kade had rented out an entire floor of the hospital for his girlfriend, who had gotten hurt. He attended to her every need personally. Clearly, he was very much in love with her.

From her bed, Yvette heard everything.

She took out her phone and deleted every post about their relationship, followed by Kade's number.

On the day she was discharged, she handled the paperwork herself at the counter, where she ran into Kade, who was carrying Charlotte back to her room.

Yvette just gave them a cold glance before turning away and heading for the stairs.

Kade caught sight of her from the corner of his eyes. However, by the time he turned around to have a better look, Yvette was gone.

He assumed that he was imagining things.

After all, Yvette had always been delicate and afraid of pain. In school, he once had to comfort her for days after she got hit in the knee by a ball.

If she had really been hurt in a car accident, how could she have hidden it from him?

Back at home, Yvette called in a cleaning service and threw away everything she had previously packed up.

Then, she went to the study and ripped up the diary that she had kept for eight years.

From the flutter of first love at fifteen to the courage to follow him to a different city at seventeen, to the happiness she had felt when she finally achieved her dreams…

All the naive feelings that had bound her to him disappeared that day.

She placed a letter where Kade would see it the moment he got home, grabbed the last of her things, and went downstairs to call a cab.

The cab driver noticed her injuries and quickly helped her with her luggage.

Before getting into the car, Yvette turned around to take one last look at the city she had lived in for six years, only to lock eyes with a familiar face.

Kade had just gotten out of his car as well. When he saw her, his face softened slightly. "Going out?"

Yvette just looked at him silently, her eyes devoid of the love they once held. "What do you want?"

Kade did not notice any change. He just thought that she was still being stubborn. A flash of exasperation crossed his eyes. "I'm just here to grab some things. I was hoping we could talk."

"No…" 

Before Yvette could finish her refusal, Kade's phone rang. He answered the call, his brows furrowing.

After hanging up, he went back to his car. Before he got in, he said hurriedly, "Since you're still upset, we'll talk another time. Be safe and come home earlier. Don't stay out too late."

Come home?

She wasn't coming back.

Once his car was out of sight, Yvette got into the cab at the driver's urging.

She closed the door and stared out of the window. A storm was brewing, yet her gaze was calm.

"Where to, miss?"

"The airport."

A few hours later, Yvette's plane landed safely in Shandra City.

As soon as she exited the gate, she saw her family waiting for her and quickened her pace.

From a distance, Sean saw the bandages wrapped around her arm and quickly went up to take her luggage from her, looking concerned. "How did you get hurt? Why didn't you tell us?"

Her parents saw it too. Their expressions fell immediately as they inspected her injury. 

"Does it hurt? You should've told us when it happened. We could've picked you up."

"This looks serious. Forget lunch—let's go to the hospital now!"

It was the first time Yvette had felt such genuine care since she had gotten injured. The grief she had been suppressing for so long overwhelmed her, turning into tears.

Seeing this, her mother, Elizabeth Cowen, teared up as well. Sean and her father, Andrew Giles, panicked and immediately pulled out their phones to contact a doctor.

Seeing how worried they all were, Yvette was a little embarrassed. She wiped her te

Chapter 10