Chapter 5
Ivan swayed, almost losing his balance.
When he looked up, his eyes were bloodshot.
He stood in silence for a long time before finally managing to speak. “What do you mean she’s missing?
Where could Jane go?
“And there’s no way Jane’s mom is dead!”
The assistant was almost in tears but gritted his teeth to keep going.
“After you left with Ms. Simmons that day, Jane’s mom passed away.
“I checked the surveillance footage. She cried for a long time before leaving the room. After the funeral, she went to the rooftop.
“The doctors said she looked like she’d lost the will to live, like a
zombie.”
Ivan stood frozen.
He knew that after my mom fell into a vegetative state, I suffered from severe depression.
During my lowest points, I tried to kill myself several times.
Each time, he grabbed me tightly on his knees, begging me not to leave
him.
He knew the only thing keeping me alive was the hope to see my mom one last time.
Chapter 5
But he crushed that last bit of hope.
The realization that he was the one who pulled my mom’s oxygen tube out drained all color from his face.
His lips trembled, but no words came out.
“And the doctor said Jane had a miscarriage surgery not long ago. She’s very weak.”
The assistant’s words hit him like..
to the chest.
Ivan shook uncontrollably and dropped the child he was holding hard
onto the floor.
The baby’s sharp cries pierced the air, but he seemed deaf to them.
He just grabbed the assistant’s collar, his face full of panic.
“What did you say? Jane… was pregnant?
“That’s impossible. Didn’t she injure her uterus and couldn’t get pregnant again?”
The assistant’s face turned pale but spoke clearly, “Mr. Gibson, you must know how hard Jane tried to get pregnant, right?
“I remember she’s afraid of pain, but she got countless injections behind. your back.
“Every time you left for a business trip, she made me go with her to the church, praying on her knees to have your child.”
Ivan’s mind buzzed.
I tried so hard to get pregnant.
But what did he do?
He used every business trip as an excuse to be with Cathy.
In three years, while hiding it from me, he made Cathy pregnant with three children.
Whenever guilt crept in, he’d reassure himself.
“Jane couldn’t have children. I just wanted children. It wasn’t a big deal.”
But it wasn’t until today that he learned I could get pregnant.
And he killed the child in my belly.
How could he hit me with his car when I was already so heartbroken?
Pain and regret devoured him.
Ivan slumped to the ground, his eyes lifeless.
“I–I didn’t mean it. Why didn’t she tell me she was pregnant?
“If I’d known, how could I-”
His voice suddenly cut off.
My pale face flashed in his mind..
He finally realized it wasn’t that I refused to tell him, but that he never gave me a chance to speak.
During the riot, his first thought was Cathy.
He risked getting shot just to find her.
But he forgot that there was someone in this world who would go through bullets and gunfire to find him.
That day, amid flying bullets, we stared at each other from a distance.
11
He watched as my joy turned to indifference.
I had planned to tell him I was pregnant.
But instead, I saw him shielding another woman in his arms.
Thinking of my bloodshot eyes and wounded gaze, he couldn’t stay still any longer.
Ivan staggered to his feet, gritting his teeth as he grabbed his assistant.
“No matter what it takes, you must find out where Jane is!
“She’s my wife, how dare she leave me?!”
Seeing his desperation, the assistant couldn’t help but sneer.
“Mr. Gibson, I remember you just signed the divorce agreement the day before the incident.
“You’ve hurt Jane so badly, maybe you should just let her go!”
Ivan looked up at him in disbelief.
The tears he’d been holding back finally burst out.
“It’s not like that! I was just angry. There’s no way I’d divorce her!
“No matter what, I have to find her. She saved my life. I owe her. I’ll find a way to make it right!”
Weeping, he pushed the assistant away and stumbled out.
I’d always loved him with all my heart, so he couldn’t believe I didn’t want to see him again.
He was sure he would find me and win me back.
It just needed more time and effort.
He would not let me go this time, whatever it took.
05
