Chapter 4Love Blossomed Like Summer Fire, Then Withered

Jonah stepped out of the bathroom, water dripping from the ends of his hair.

He picked up his phone, glanced at the notifications with a neutral face, and tossed it onto the sofa. He sat down, scrolling through social media and occasionally letting out a soft laugh.

But that night, he was desperate.

He kissed me with a frantic intensity, as if trying to leave his mark on every inch of my skin.

Then, in the heat of the moment, a soft murmur escaped his lips:

"Aria."

The name shattered the room. I froze, my body turning cold.

In the darkness, the only sound was our heavy, ragged breathing.

Jonah froze too. A second later, he scrambled to pull me back into his arms. "Nell! I'm so sorry! I..."

He held me from behind, his hands trembling as he covered my clenched fists. "I zoned out, I swear! I was just thinking about the neurological patterns of her case! It's a highly unusual medical phenomenon, and the hospital is putting a lot of pressure on me. I would never do anything to hurt you."

"Enough," I whispered, my voice cracked and dry.

I did not want to hear another word.

Four years. More than a thousand days and nights, wiped out by the return of an old flame.

Did he know that a tiny life was currently growing inside me? A secret that belonged to the two of us? The words rushed to the back of my throat, but I swallowed them down, bitter and cold.

"Jonah," I said, staring into the dark room. "I am so incredibly disappointed in you."

He fell silent.

After a long pause, his voice returned, low and steady, but each word cut like glass. "I told you, I am only taking care of her because of my duty as a doctor. I didn't have a choice in the beginning, but I left everything behind to come here with you. What more do you want from me, Nell?"

Jonah had always been a gentle man. Even during our worst arguments, he had never spoken to me with such cold impatience. But ever since Aria got divorced and came back, everything had changed.

Beside me, he turned over, his back to me.

Though we were inches apart, he felt miles away. I closed my eyes, praying for sleep, but my tears soaked the pillow. Meanwhile, his breathing soon became deep and even.

He had actually fallen asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, the space beside me was empty and cold.

His suitcase was gone. His shaving cream, his toothbrush, everything was missing from the bathroom. It was as if a sudden gust of wind had swept through the room, erasing every trace of his existence.

He had left.

Between me and Aria, he had made his choice without leaving so much as a note.

Outside the window, the snow we had planned to watch together was still falling, beautiful and silent. But the man who had promised to watch it with me was gone.

I calmly unlocked my phone and booked an appointment at an OB-GYN clinic back home.

I packed my bags alone, navigated the crowded airport alone, and boarded the flight back to Boston alone.

The day of my appointment, some morbid curiosity drew me to the psychiatric wing of the hospital first.

The door to ward three was slightly ajar. Aria's laughter drifted out, completely different from her usual fragile, childish demeanor.

"Don't worry, I'm doing great here. Jonah is taking perfect care of me."

"Of course he still cares. I knew he could never truly forget me."

"Even when I pretended to mistake him for my ex-husband and held onto him, he didn't push me away."

It was all an act.

Anger flared in my chest, burning away my remaining sanity. I thought of Jonah, a man who prided himself on his clinical objectivity, being played like a fool.

Before I realized what I was doing, I pushed the door open, my voice trembling with rage. "You are still lying to him, Aria. Have you forgotten how badly you destroyed him the first time?"

Aria gasped, staring at me in shock. Then, in the blink of an eye, tears welled in her eyes, and she shrunk back, looking fragile and defenseless.

"What are you talking about?" She wrapped her arms around herself, trembling as she looked past my shoulder. "Jonah, I'm scared."

Jonah rushed into the room, his face tight with tension. "What's going on here?"

"I'm sorry," Aria sobbed, beating me to the punch. "I shouldn't keep troubling you. Nell must have misunderstood. But Jonah, you know I can't handle people raising their voices at me. My condition..."

She whimpered, timed to perfection.

Jonah immediately stepped between us, shielding her with his body. He glared at me, his voice cold as ice. "I am the one who insisted on overseeing her treatment, Nell. If you have a problem, take it out on me. Her condition is finally stabilizing, and she cannot handle any emotional distress. Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"

He rubbed his temples, looking thoroughly exhausted. "I know you're angry that I left the hotel without telling you. Just go wait in my office, and I'll handle this."

He actually thought I had traveled all this way just to pick a fight over him.

An explanation?

What was left to explain?

I bit my lower lip so hard the taste of blood filled my mouth.

I turned and walked straight toward the elevator, pressing the button for the OB-GYN wing.