Lost in her thoughts, Emilia didn’t even realize she had already arrived at the restaurant.
It wasn’t until the owner asked her twice that she snapped back to take an order.
“Alright, just take a seat and give me a moment!”
As Emilia turned to find a place to sit, a guy suddenly tapped her shoulder.
“Emilia?”
His voice was soft, pleasant—familiar somehow.
She looked up at him. Tall, good-looking, dressed casually in a denim shirt. He seemed so easygoing, his smile warm and genuine. His face... it sparked something in her memory.
The man chuckled when he noticed her staring, clearly drawing a blank. Then he made this goofy little hand motion, almost childish. “It’s me, Ethan.”
“Ethan… Grant?” It clicked for Emilia only after that silly gesture. Her eyes widened. “Wow, what are the odds? Funny bumping into you here.”
Ethan nodded, smiling. “Right? At first, I just thought your figure looke

Back at the hospital, Emilia tucked away all those little thoughts she'd been having.
As she spoon-fed her mom, Mrs. Hart looked at her and gave a goofy smile before gently saying, “Sweetie, get married.”
Emilia froze for a moment, forcing a smile. “I’m not getting married. I’ll always stay with you, Mom.”
“Nonsense,” her mom shot back, pretending to be upset, tapping Emilia lightly. “You’re getting married, and you have to look beautiful doing it. I want a grandchild to cuddle!”
“Mom…” Emilia wrapped her arms around her gently, trying to keep her tone light even though her voice trembled, “Then you need to listen to the doctors and get better. Once you’re okay, I’ll get married, okay?”
In her heart, Emilia had never really dared to dream about marriage. She was lying—just to keep her mom’s hopes up a little longer.
Trying to rid herself of lingering thoughts about that man, Emilia tore 

That night, Dominic came back just like he said he would.
Emilia had already told the maid to take the night off. After having dinner with Dominic, she changed into a new black lace nightgown—thin, delicate, a little daring—and stood hesitating for a moment before walking over to knock on the study door.
When Dominic looked up at her, his gaze dark and unreadable, Emilia’s heart skipped a beat.
They’d been together long enough to know each other’s bodies better than their own. Emilia ended up pressed against the desk, her flushed cheeks betraying a mix of embarrassment and desire.
Later, still naked and curled up in his arms, she was breathing hard before she finally said, “My mom's surgery went well. I was thinking of transferring her to the city hospital. Is that okay?”
Dominic ran his hand over her hair, his voice calm. “This hospital’s just as good. You said the surgery’s done, right? Moving her now would just be pointless.”
Emilia bit her lip and didn’t say anything else.
It wasn’t about the money—he could make the call if he wanted. But he just didn’t want her mom moved. Why?
“I'll be flying to New Zealand on a business trip. Around two weeks,” he added. “Pack my luggage for me.”
Emilia blinked, confused. “I thought you said you wouldn't be going abroad anytime soon?”
The second the words left her mouth, she regretted it. Too late to take them back.
Dominic turned to her with a half-smile, lazily buttoning up his shirt. “It’s just a couple of weeks. What, now you’re policing where I go?”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Emilia tried to laugh it off, pulling her robe over her chest. “I’ll go get your stuff ready.”
She rushed out of the study, half-running.
That night, Dominic didn’t sleep at the apartment. He took a shower, got dressed, dragged the suitcase Emilia had packed for him, and left without even leaving her a note—like he couldn’t care less what she’d be doing while he was gone.
Emilia stood by the window, watching him disappear down the path. She sighed, wondering why she’d asked so much just now. Had she upset him?
***
After waking up again, Emilia’s mom seemed a bit better. Sometimes she recognized Emilia, sometimes not. Once Dominic left, Emilia decided to move into the hospital to stay with her.
The nurses mentioned that Dr. Lee’s wife had come back from Hong Kong.
When she heard that, Emilia felt insanely relieved. Maybe she owed the woman a thank-you for showing up when she did—who knows what ugly mess she might’ve ended up in otherwise.
But her relief didn’t last long. On her way out to grab lunch, Dr. Lee suddenly pulled her aside into the stairwell.
Snapping back to her senses, Emilia kept her cool. “Dr. Lee, look, your wife’s back. If anything sketchy happens now, we'll both get dragged down.”
“She won’t find out,” Dr. Lee replied, totally relaxed about it. “Let’s sneak off to the resort for a night. She’ll think I’m out on business.”
Emilia couldn’t stop her eyebrow from twitching.
Seriously? He’s lying to his own wife with zero effort.
After he finally left, she stormed out of the hospital. Walking along the street, her mood was a mess.
She hadn’t expected Dr. Lee to be such a creep. The fact that he was using her mother’s condition to threaten her made her stomach turn. If she’d actually done anything behind Dominic’s back while being kept like this, he would never forgive her when he returned.
But Dominic wouldn’t let her mom transfer to the city hospital… and now Dr. Lee was dangling that over her head, making twisted demands.
She was stuck.

Lost in her thoughts, Emilia didn’t even realize she had already arrived at the restaurant.
It wasn’t until the owner asked her twice that she snapped back to take an order.
“Alright, just take a seat and give me a moment!”
As Emilia turned to find a place to sit, a guy suddenly tapped her shoulder.
“Emilia?”
His voice was soft, pleasant—familiar somehow.
She looked up at him. Tall, good-looking, dressed casually in a denim shirt. He seemed so easygoing, his smile warm and genuine. His face... it sparked something in her memory.
The man chuckled when he noticed her staring, clearly drawing a blank. Then he made this goofy little hand motion, almost childish. “It’s me, Ethan.”
“Ethan… Grant?” It clicked for Emilia only after that silly gesture. Her eyes widened. “Wow, what are the odds? Funny bumping into you here.”
Ethan nodded, smiling. “Right? At first, I just thought your figure looked familiar. Got closer and—bam—it was really you. You still look exactly the same, just as beautiful

Chapter 15