After prescribing me some medication for nerve regeneration, Dr. Hart said, "Mr. Osborne, the insomnia treatment you provided to the hospital has passed clinical trials and is now being rolled out across hospitals citywide. On behalf of the hospital, I'd like to thank you once again."

The outcome didn't surprise me.

Many hospitals couldn't do anything about Vivian's insomnia, and this treatment was the only way she could fall asleep. After all my years of fine-tuning it, it now worked as well as ever, if not better.

As I walked out of the rehab room, I ran straight into Earl. He barrelled toward me then stopped short.

"Allen, don't you ever get tired of stalking us? Why is it that everywhere we go, there you are?" he asked. His eyes were full of contempt and disdain.

We?

Right. Where Earl was, Vivian was never far away. Ever since he came back from abroad, these two had been inseparable.

I didn't want to see Vivian, much less watch the two of them being all over each other like something out of a wildlife documentary.

Just as I was about to leave, she appeared right in front of me.

"Are you stalking me?" she questioned in a voice dripping with annoyance and disdain.

To be fair, I couldn't really blame her for thinking that. After all, I'd trailed after her for seven years, from high school all the way through college. Even I would have come to the same conclusion if I were in her shoes.

"Vivian, narcissism is an illness. You should really get that treated as soon as possible," I replied as I stuffed the medical report into my bag and moved to walk past her.

However, as I brushed by, she suddenly seized my wrist. Her long nails dug deep into my flesh.

The sharp jolt of pain caught me off guard, and for a split second, my face betrayed me.

"Let go," I said through clenched teeth.

In the seven years I'd known Vivian, I had never once looked at her with anything but gentleness. Even at my angriest, all I ever let show was hurt.

Vivian took in my deathly pale face and slowly loosened her grip. A flicker of concern and suspicion passed through her eyes.

"What are you doing here? Are you sick? I'll be back in a few days—you don't need to keep tabs on me this closely. And stop pretending to be ill. You're terrible at playing the victim."

So, that was it. In her eyes, every encounter between us was something I orchestrated. She saw every instance of my vulnerability as an attempt to feign helplessness. Even here at the hospital, she thought I was putting on an act, and a painfully unconvincing one at that.

It turned out that when disappointment cut that deep, the will to fight back would simply vanish.

I looked at her and said nonchalantly, "Yeah, okay, sure. Believe whatever you want. Just sign the divorce papers soon so I can leave you lovebirds to it."

Vivian finally lost control of her temper and snapped at me, "Allen, if you don't know what's good for you, you're going to blow the last chance I'm giving you."

I shot her a cold look. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Then, I walked on without pausing. The pain pulsing from my wrist kept jolting my nerves with every step, keeping me ruthlessly clear-headed in the presence of the woman I'd loved for the past seven years.

Vivian looked ready to come after me, but Earl caught her by the hand.

"Vivian, I just got a prescription for insomnia from someone here at the hospital," Earl said, squeezing her palm affectionately. "You haven't been sleeping well the past few days, right? This gives us a perfect chance to try it out."

The hospital bustled with people coming and going. However, Vivian just stood there frozen, staring down at the all-too-familiar prescription for a long, long time.

Over the years, while helping Vivian grow her business, I'd quietly built up a network of my own. Many of those acquaintances still kept in touch with me. Since drawing was no longer an option, I began shifting my focus toward business development.

After handing in my resignation, I set off on a research trip to the state of Zenlora.

Throughout that time, Vivian called me over and over again.

I found myself wondering—this was a woman who never even had time to text me back, so where exactly was she finding all these spare hours to make such pointless phone calls?

Before blocking Vivian's number for good, I decided to answer her call just once.

There was a rustling sound on the other end, and then Vivian's surprised voice came through.

"Are you done sulking yet? I've run out of pillow mist. Time for you to make a new batch for me."

"It's just pillow mist. If you can't buy it, get Earl to make it for you. Isn't an entire vanilla estate enough to keep you satisfied?"

"Can you stop with the snide remarks? How long ago was that? You're still not over it? What exactly do I have to do to make it right?"

I didn't even have the energy to argue with her anymore.

Every time we ran into a problem, she never once tried to face it head-on. Instead, she'd just throw gifts at me, as if she could measure out my hurt and compensate for it piece by piece.

In her mind, as long as I got something out of it, I was supposed to shut up, turn the page, and never bring it up again.

A scornful laugh escaped me. "Vivian, not everything can be settled with money. That old camphor tree helped you for seven years. You raise a dog for that long, and even it learns gratitude in that time. How on earth do you manage not to care at all?"

Vivian was silent for a second, like the calm before a storm.

"Allen, you'd better watch your tone and attitude."

I didn't even acknowledge her anger and just continued, "Vivian, I was with you for seven years as well. But that day, all you cared about was standing up for Earl. Who exactly am I to you?"

When Vivian heard how calm I was, her voice took on a hint of panic.

"You're my husband, of course. I admit I acted impulsively that day. If you come back like a good boy, I won't hold your little runaway stunt against you either. We'll just call it even."

I laughed. "Call it even? Can we write off the feelings between us as well?"

Vivian's patience ran out once again.

"Allen, have you had it so good for so long that you need a taste of trouble to see reality? Without me, you're nothing. What gives you the nerve to divorce me? If we actually get a divorce, I guarantee you'll be crying and begging me to remarry you within a month."

I deliberately let out a mocking laugh, then hung up and blocked her.

Vivian's confidence rested on the market advantage my design patents gave her. However, ruining her would be just as easy.

At a cafe in the city of Oakdale, I agreed to a request from my old college senior, Erica Donahue, and signed over all my latest designs and patents to her.

Once I got back, I packed up my things and moved into a rented apartment. The place wasn't big, but I felt more at peace there than I ever did staying with Vivian.

I was just about to head out when I spotted Vivian posted at my door.

It had only been a few days, but that elegant, put-together woman actually had wrinkles showing up around her eyes.

"Allen, what the hell did you do? How did the company get hit with a lawsuit from Oakdale?" Vivian demanded in a voice filled with rage and disbelief. "They're suing for infringement, and every single piece of work in question was your design!"

I let out a hollow laugh. "Weren't you so confident I'd come crawling back? Well, let's see how that goes. If you don't want to lose more than you already have, I suggest you sign the divorce papers soon."

"When are you going to grow up and stop all this reckless, jealous nonsense? Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused Earl? You can produce countless more designs in the future, so why are you hell-bent on holding these few over me?"

Vivian's eyes were rimmed red. Anger was already pooling in her gaze.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She answered it and put it on speaker without a second thought.

Her secretary's voice came through. "Ms. Lynch, we've looked into the matter of Mr. Osborne's visit to the hospital."

Vivian shot me a loaded glance. "Go on."

"He has nerve damage from a traumatic injury and has been in rehab ever since the surgery to repair it. His first appointment was the night of the family banquet."