Chapter 6

"Alright," Jayden responded heavily, picking up the medical report on the table and handing it to Juliette. "Here are his medical records. Dr. Caddel, please have a seat." Juliette glanced at me with a complicated expression. When her gaze met my helpless look, she sneered with evident disdain. "You've truly proven that what goes around comes around." "Dr. Caddel, I brought you here today to ask for your help, not to add insult to injury!" Seeing Juliette's continuous mocking, Jayden couldn't help but defend me. I shook my head gently, stopping him from speaking up for me. "It's fine. Let's not trouble Dr. Caddel with my condition anymore," I said, snatching my report from her hands. As I grabbed Jayden and headed for the door, I added, "I'll manage my illness without her help." "Hold on!" Juliette's irritated voice rang out behind me, halting me and Jayden. The next moment, she approached us, grabbed the report from my hands, and declared, "I am a doctor. While I despise scumbags, I agreed to help Jayden's friend, and I'll stick to my word. It's the standard of integrity I hold as a person." I could tell. She was insinuating I was inhuman. Even so, given the chance, I would still make the same choice I did back then. After casting me a sarcastic glance, she turned to Jayden and waved the report. "I'll take these for now. Ensure the patient comes to the hospital tomorrow and follows the treatment plan." With that, she left without a second thought. As soon as she stepped out, Jayden closed the office door and locked it. "Joshua, spill it. What's your story with that spitfire?" "Spitfire?" I raised an eyebrow, repeating the word curiously. He nodded enthusiastically and then recounted Juliette's legendary feats from their medical school days. "You don't know this, but Juliette was famous in medical school for her fiery temperament. Anyone who crossed her would regret it tenfold. She had all sorts of ways to deal with guys who wronged her—enough to give them lifelong nightmares." He shuddered slightly and looked at me with heightened curiosity. Moving closer, he nudged my shoulder and asked, "Be honest. Did you two ever date?" "She was my first love," I admitted with a bitter smile before telling him about our past. "Juliette and I grew up together. We were childhood sweethearts. When we came of age, we naturally fell for each other and got together. Just when I thought life was heading toward happiness, my father returned—along with an avalanche of debt and schemes. "Back then, Juliette had a promising future ahead of her. I couldn't bear to drag her down with me, so I chose to break up with her." Our story sounded simple when I summed it up, but the truth was far more harrowing. She would never know that if I hadn't ended things decisively, the consequences she would face would have been unimaginable. Jayden placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and gave it a reassuring pat. "So, you two are like one of those classic TV couples—meeting the right person at the wrong time, only to find everything changed when you reunite." "Exactly. Everything's different now." Now, I was just a man mocked as a perennial cuckold while she was a cancer research expert. Our lives no longer intersected. She had a brilliant life ahead of her, which was good. That evening, I sent Sophia a message, asking her to meet me at the courthouse the day after tomorrow. After sending the message, I placed my phone on the bedside table. Deep down, I knew she wouldn't reply, yet I couldn't help but lie in bed, straining to hear the sound of a notification. Eventually, I fell asleep in a haze. When I woke up the following day, the first thing I did was check my phone. As expected, there was no reply. I pulled up my lawyer's contact information on WhatsApp and sent him a message in silence. "Mr. Reid, please draft a divorce agreement for me. The house and car will go to my wife." After all, I was dying. Those things were meaningless to me now. Michael responded quickly with a barrage of messages, clearly shocked. "Mr. Palmer, are you really divorcing your wife?" "You love her so much. Why the sudden decision?" "Divorce is a serious matter. Please make sure you've thought it through before proceeding." After replying with a firm confirmation, he assured me he had drafted the agreement and added that my future would only improve. But what future would I have left? … At 10:00 am, I drove to my studio as planned. When I entered the underground garage, preparing to park, I saw a familiar red luxury car at the far end of the lot. It was Sophia's car. Why was she here? Before I could process it, the car accelerated toward me. The speed increased rapidly, and it was too late when I reacted to try to dodge. She crashed into me with full force. In that split second, I saw her face through the windshield. There was a sinister smile on her lips, like a ghost from the depths of hell. But I wasn't afraid. If anything, my heart ached to see how she had changed—from someone as radiant as the sun to the bitter person she had become. The collision reverberated loudly. My body lurched forward from the impact, slamming into the steering wheel. A dull ache spread through my abdomen. Struggling to sit upright, I tried to get out of the car to check on her, only to look up and see her disheveled figure outside my window. Blood trickled from a wound on her forehead, dripping down her face. My heart tightened with worry. "Are you alright? Aside from your forehead, are you hurt anywhere else?" I asked anxiously. She glared at me, grabbed my collar, and stared into my eyes. "Joshua, are you cheating on me?" I froze, finally understanding why she had rammed into me. A bitter smile spread across my face. "Sophia, have you ever cared about me, even a little?" "Never." She sneered, her mocking eyes filled with hatred. "A murderer doesn't deserve a place in my heart. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't have died!" "I didn't kill him!" Frowning, I retorted, once again explaining the events of that day. "He was the one who asked me to meet him there. He couldn't keep deceiving you or pay off his debts, so he chose to jump!"