Gabriella was momentarily stunned before she swiftly recovered her composure. She took her phone back from Owen and explained, "I'm not buying plane tickets. The airline company just sent me a promotional email about discounted tickets."

Owen wanted to question her more, but when he noticed that she had no intention to elaborate, he decided to drop the subject. After all, she had never lied to him.

He nodded as Gabriella retrieved her phone and left to freshen up. However, she stopped him before he could leave. She then grabbed a first aid kit from the cabinet and said, "Your back was hurt by some broken glass just now. Let me bandage it for you."

Owen was stunned by her words, but he still obediently sat on the couch and removed his jacket, revealing the scratch across his back.

It wasn't a serious injury, but no one had noticed that he had gotten hurt because the wound was on his back. He was surprised that Gabriella had noticed it at all.

His thoughts wandered to her letter, which Thomas had read aloud as he watched her concentrate on disinfecting the cut with a cotton swab.

"Gabriella, about your letter—"

"Make sure not to get your wound wet when you take a shower later. You wouldn't want to get it infected. Also, be more careful when you get into fights in the future. Try not to get hurt. No one's going to help you bandage your wounds anymore."

Gabriella interrupted Owen before he could finish his question.

Meanwhile, Owen didn't fully grasp the meaning behind her words after getting distracted by her interruption. "What did you say?" he asked, looking up at her.

Gabriella just shook her head. She made sure the bandages were secure before turning around and leaving the bedroom.

By the time she was done blow-drying her hair, Owen had also finished showering. He wrapped his arms around her waist before leaning down, wanting to kiss her.

However, Gabriella turned her head away from the kiss, saying lightly, "I'm on my period. I'd like to turn in early for the night."

Owen didn't continue his advances after hearing her words. He tucked the blanket securely around her before switching off the lights.

The next day was bright and sunny.

Gabriella was freshening up when she heard a commotion downstairs. She changed out of her pajamas before heading downstairs.

Samantha was standing at the door with an entire posse behind her.

Owen leaned against the doorway. "What are you doing here?" he asked, frowning, sounding a little irritated.

Samantha couldn't get a single word out before her friends approached Owen, matching grins on their faces.

"Sam said you saved her yesterday. She's very grateful, so she wanted to personally thank you."

Samantha pulled out a bouquet of fresh flowers and an exquisitely wrapped gift from behind her back. "Thank you for helping me yesterday, Owen. Please accept these as tokens of my gratitude."

Owen didn't accept the gifts, but it was obvious that his expression had softened.

Samantha shoved the bouquet into Gabriella's arms and said a little rudely, "These Juliet roses are Owen's favorite. Please put them in a vase for me."

Owen frowned. "Don't drag me into this when they're your favorite flowers," he said coldly. "Also, Gabriella is my wife. Don't order her around as if she's your maid."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned cold.

Gabriella's expression remained unchanging. She stared at the bouquet of vibrant roses in her arms, musing to herself that this was the first time she learned their name.

Juliet roses, was it?

It was no wonder Owen spent so much money cultivating them in the greenhouse since they were Samantha's favorites.

Gabriella kept her thoughts to herself as she handed the bouquet to the housekeeper and said, "Please get the vases from the display case on the second floor."

Samantha shot a knowing look at her, but Gabriella simply ignored her and brought her breakfast to the balcony.

Although there was a door separating them, she could hear the conversation in the living room with crystal clarity.

"Isn't this the paper crane I folded for you in middle school, Owen? Why did you store it inside a glass box? I can fold more for you if you like.

"What's this box of dolls doing here? I remember I tossed them into the trash. Did you fish them out from the bin?

"Aren't these the maple leaves that we brought back with us when we visited Cloudfall Mountain? You actually made them into bookmarks and kept them for so long?"

As Gabriella listened to Samantha's excited voice that sounded as if she had discovered a trove of treasure, she couldn't help but think about how she had also asked Owen about the little trinkets when she first moved into the villa.

"I kept them because my cousin, who's in kindergarten, gave them to me."

Gabriella had believed Owen's words at the time, completely missing the complicated look in his eyes.

Love, hatred, longing, and resentment had shone in his eyes, making it clear that each was tied to his love life.

After exploring the villa for the rest of the morning, Samantha told Owen and her friends that she wanted to treat them to lunch.

"No need," Owen said. "Please leave if you're done messing around."

Samantha pretended to be deaf to his words, grabbing his hand and dragging him out the door. Her friends dragged Gabriella along, worried that Owen would refuse to go if she were left behind.

The group's destination was a hot springs resort.

Gabriella rarely interacted with Samantha and her friends, so she found it difficult to join their conversations. She hadn't wanted to join them in the first place, so she sat by herself in a corner and watched them clink glasses and converse happily among themselves.

Noticing how Gabriella was having a hard time fitting in, Owen strode over to her after pouring a glass of fruit juice for her.

Gabriella was just about to accept the offered drink when Owen walked right past her, pushing himself into the crowd.

Owen snatched the glass of whiskey from Samantha's hand just before she touched the glass to her lips. His furious voice reverberated around the room when he said, "You're allergic to alcohol. Do you have a death wish?"

Samantha blinked in confusion, looking at him innocently. "I thought it was fruit juice. Why are you getting angry at me when I just picked up the wrong glass?"

She then plucked the glass of fruit juice from his right hand. "Thank you," she said, her eyes crinkling into crescents.

Owen subconsciously clenched his fist. But in the end, he didn't say anything. He turned around and returned to his original seat before offering the glass he was holding to Gabriella.

Gabriella looked between Owen, who was obviously restless, and the glass of amber liquid that he was holding. She didn't accept the glass from him. Instead, she grabbed her bag and rose to her feet, saying lightly, "I don't drink alcohol. I'm going to soak in the hot springs."

It was only then that Owen realized that he had offered the wrong glass to Gabriella. He had been so distracted with Samantha that he had accidentally offered the glass of whiskey to Gabrella instead. He wanted to explain himself, but Gabriella had already left by then, giving him no chance to speak.

…

Gabriella felt her exhaustion melt away as she soaked in the hot spring. She leaned against the edge of the spring as she watched the rising steam, getting progressively sleepier until she ended up falling asleep right there and then.

Perhaps she had already gotten used to the ruckus outside, but she didn't notice someone knocking on the door.

Meanwhile, Owen grew a little anxious when he didn't get a response, even after calling out to Gabriella several times.

His heart nearly leaped out of his chest when he pushed open the door and noticed her lying in the hot spring, looking half-unconscious. He immediately jumped into the spring and picked her up.

Gabriella blinked her eyes open. The sudden feeling of weightlessness made her reflexively wrap her arm around Owen's shoulders.

Steam filled the air around them. The atmosphere suddenly turned flirtatious when they realized how close they were to each other.

Owen couldn't help himself and leaned down.

Just as the distance between their faces closed enough for their breaths to mingle, a pair of footsteps burst into the room.

Samantha had tailed Owen when he left to check on Gabriella.

The smile on her face stiffened when she saw Owen and Gabriella pressed together. She bit down hard on her lip and didn't bother hiding the shock and disappointment in her eyes. She whipped around and bolted from the room while clutching her hand.

Owen stood rooted to the spot. He hastily set Gabriella down on her feet and chased after Samantha, hollering, "She must have misunderstood what's going on. I'll explain the situation to her."

A misunderstanding?

Gabriella and Owen were married. Why did he have to explain himself to Samantha, even if she did see them kissing?

It was obvious that Owen was still stuck in the past, still thinking of himself as Samantha's boyfriend. That was the reason why he subconsciously wanted to explain the situation to her.

It wasn't easy for someone who had once willingly allowed himself to be trained according to his lover's preferences to break old habits.

As Gabriella stared at Owen's retreating back, she barked out a laugh, her eyes reddening. She wrapped a towel around herself and opened the window to get some fresh air. Coincidentally, she saw Samantha running out of the resort.

Samantha had just wrenched open her car door when Owen grabbed her hand.

Gabriella could hear their heated argument with crystal clarity.

"Gabriella fell asleep in the hot spring. I was just worried about her catching a cold. Why are you causing such a fuss over such a trivial matter?"

"You're right. I don't have the right to get angry because she's your wife. You should go back and accompany her. There's no need for you to explain yourself to your ex-girlfriend."

"Do you have to bring this up, Samantha?"

"Bring what up? I'm just speaking the truth!"

The two of them parted unhappily the moment the words left Samantha's lips.

Samantha's eyes were bloodshot as she shook herself free of Owen's grasp. She then scrambled into her car and sped away.

Owen was only stunned for a few seconds before he got into his own car and chased after her.

Gabriella quietly turned around and headed to the changing room after the dust settled back on the road. She had just changed back into her clothes and exited the room when Samantha's friends grabbed her and exclaimed, "Bad news, Mrs. Wendell! Owen and Samantha got into a car accident!"

When Gabriella and the others rushed to the hospital, they saw Owen waiting outside the operating room.

He was covered in blood, and there was sweat beading across his forehead. His eyes were filled with terror and helplessness.

It was Gabriella's first time seeing him in such a pathetic state.

When Samantha's friends approached him to ask what happened, he yanked at his own hair, explaining in a pained voice that was dripping with regret, "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have made her angry, and I shouldn't have let her leave by herself.

"She was only speeding because she was angry at me. I'm the reason why she got into the car accident…"

Gabriella's lashes trembled as she listened to Owen pin the blame solely on himself.

If Owen had intentionally said those words to anger Samantha, what were his true feelings at the time? Had he been waiting for her to return to the country all this time, so he could reunite with her?

It didn't sound out of the realm of possibility, but Gabriella wasn't willing to spend too much time thinking about it.

Just then, a nurse slipped out from the operating room, wearing a grim expression.

"The patient is suffering from excessive bleeding, but we don't have enough blood. Do any of you have Type O blood? Please help us save the patient."

Owen's friends looked at each other. None of them had Type O blood, so they stayed silent.

Only Owen had Type O blood among them. He immediately removed his jacket and changed into a patient gown. He then followed the nurse into the operating room.

The seconds ticked by.

Half an hour later, the nurse and Owen exited the operating room.

Owen looked extremely pale. He had to lean on the nurse to keep himself on his feet as his head spun.

Gabriella had no idea how much blood they had taken from him, but it seemed that he had been stripped of his strength as he collapsed into her arms.

However, the nurse didn't leave after delivering Owen to them. Instead, she asked again, "The patient's condition is improving, but she needs another 400mL of blood. Could you contact your other friends who have Type O blood?"

Everyone began contacting their friends, but none of them could get a hold of someone whose blood type matched Samantha's.

Panic gripped Owen's heart as the silence stretched on. He forced himself to stand on his own two feet and said, "You just need another 400mL? Let me do it."

The nurse turned around, staring at Owen in disbelief. She was shocked that he would disregard his own well-being like this.

"You've already donated 600mL of your blood. Are you sure you want to continue?"

Samantha's friends' faces twisted in concern as they stepped forward to talk him out of his decision.

"You shouldn't donate anymore blood, Owen. I'll tell my secretary to ask my employees to see if anyone shares the same blood type as Samantha."

However, Owen simply shook his head and stubbornly said, "Sam can't wait that long."

He rolled up his sleeve, revealing the needle mark on his arm that was already turning into a bruise.

Seeing how stubborn he was being, Gabriella couldn't hold herself back anymore and said, "The doctors are doing their best to save Samantha's life. They can contact the other hospitals to transfer blood here. You don't have to do this."

Owen paused but only for a moment. Ultimately, he ignored her words, turning around to follow the nurse.

Silence descended over the group as they watched Owen walk back into the operating room without any hesitation.

Samantha's friends sighed heavily. Their words were colored with irritation as they aired out their frustrations.

"Owen always behaves as if he's lost his mind whenever Samantha is involved. He got into a fight because of her in the past. He ended up hurting his leg and had to be hospitalized for three months. He even wanted to continue the fight after he was discharged."

"You're right. Remember that time in high school when he tried to win a necklace she liked? He made a bet with someone and skydived from 16,000 feet above the ground. He almost lost his life when the equipment started malfunctioning halfway through.

"Now, he's disregarding his own life again to save her. I shouldn't have tried to help him get back together with Sam just because he still had feelings for her. I had no idea the situation would end up becoming such a huge mess."

They had completely forgotten that Gabriella was standing right next to them as they kept talking.

Meanwhile, Gabriella was stuck with a realization as she listened to them recount all the outrageous things Owen had done for Samantha.

Only then did she realize how foolish she had been to think that she would eventually move Owen's heart when she stood up during the wedding that day.

There were only two options—either Owen would fall in love with her, or he wouldn't.

Unfortunately, Gabriella had made the wrong call from the very beginning. It was why she was willing to admit that she had lost as she stared into the undeniable face of defeat.

…

A long time passed before the red light above the operating room went out.

As the doctor wheeled both Samantha and Owen out, everyone swiftly gathered around them, looking at them worriedly.

The doctor wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked at Owen, who had fallen unconscious, and asked, "I'm assuming that they're a couple? It's rare to come across such a foolish man, who's willing to risk his own life for the sake of love."

Gabriella was the only one who hung back. She tipped her head back to stare at the blinding lights above her, barking out a laugh.