9 Chapter 9
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“No matter what, he got hurt because of you.”
Despite Leo’s pleas, I refused.
“When I was calling his name, none of you heard a thing”
“Let it go. Why drag this out? The longer this goes on, the worse it is for everyone.”
He was stunned, then awkwardly hung up.
In the hospital room, Kira came to visit him with a fruit basket, but she hesitated at the door, her eyes shifting.
Ethan was weak, but he managed a small smile.
“Kira, you’re here…”
Kira fidgeted with her dress, her voice small.
“Ethan, I… I don’t know how to take care of people…”
Ethan forced a smile.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to take care of me. Just talking is fine.”
Kira looked down, playing with her nails.
“But… my boyfriend won’t be happy about it.”
Ethan froze.
“Boyfriend? Since when?”
Kira blinked innocently, a sweet look in her eyes.
“We’ve been together for a week. He doesn’t like me getting too close to other guys.”
Ethan’s heart sank. He couldn’t figure out if what he felt for Kira was love or just friendship.
He always wanted to take care of her, because her weakness made him feel needed.
Sarah, on the other hand, could handle so many things on her own. It seemed like she didn’t
need him that much.
No, that’s not right. When she was badly hurt, she needed me too.
It’s just… I got used to her being independent.
A tremor went through Ethan as the realization hit him,
Kira sighed beside him.
“Ethan, the healer said your wolf core is damaged. You might never be able to fully shift again… I need someone who can protect me, not someone like you.”
Kira stood up, ready to leave.
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9 Chapter 9
“Besides, we were always just good friends, right?”
Flashes of him changing the ceremony location for her, buying her the expensive necklace, and ignoring Sarah for her sake flooded Ethan’s mind. A wave of nausea washed over him.
I see now… While Sarah was risking her life for me, I was risking my life for someone else.
Everyone else knows their mate is the most important thing. I was the only one who treated a pearl like a stone and a fake like a treasure.
Ethan looked down at his broken body and laughed bitterly.
“Payback… This is payback.”
Kira picked up her bag and opened the door.
“Ethan, you get well… We should probably see less of each other from now on.”
Ethan sneered.
“Get out.”
Kira’s eyes welled up, as if she was the one being wronged.
“Don’t be like this… You’re making this really difficult for me.”
Ethan grabbed the water glass from his nightstand and threw it at the door.
“I said get out!”
The glass shattered. Kira ran off, terrified, and never looked back.
Tears streamed down Ethan’s face as he slammed a fist against his own leg.
Two months later, Gabriel was with me for a prenatal check–up. I glanced over and saw Ethan in
a wheelchair. He quickly motioned for his caregiver to wheel him away, unable to face me.
It was for the best. We were strangers now.
When I got the results, Gabriel wrapped his arms around me and smiled with pure happiness.
Gabriel and I were going to have our pup.
From a corner, Ethan watched, his face a mask of envy and regret.
He finally understood. The woman whose eyes were once filled with only him would never again cry for him, laugh for him, or bleed for him.
Her future now belonged to someone else.
