Amelia handled her own discharge papers.

The moment she closed the hospital room door, she seemed to glimpse herself lying unconscious on the bed while Cristian hovered nearby with deep worry on his face. He wiped her face one moment, fed her water the next, then kissed her hand and whispered how much he missed her.

A faint smile lifted the corners of Amelia's mouth, but the vision vanished in an instant.

An empty room and two people heading toward separate futures—that was the reality for her and Cristian now.

Amelia returned home and stood in the center of the living room. Memories flooded her of the entire process when they decorated the house together.

They mixed and applied the wall paint themselves. They laid the floors with their own hands.

The sofa, cabinets, and table lamps—they traveled across the country to pick each one out and bring them back.

They dreamed of raising children in this house and growing old together.

Yet they never imagined that after only three years, before the lamps even wore out, everything would fall apart.

Amelia rubbed the ring on her finger and started to remove it. In a daze, she saw Cristian's hand reach over to stop her.

At the same time, his tender murmur echoed in her ears. "Amelia, you're my wife for life. Don't take it off."

Amelia snapped back to reality and moved to pull the ring off again. One of Cristian's men burst in with panic on his face. "Cristian is hurt. He specifically asked to see you. Amelia, come with me."

Amelia reached the hospital and saw Cristian lying on a gurney outside the emergency room, barely breathing. He fiercely resisted the doctors treating his wounds.

His voice was faint, but his attitude remained firm. "I said it already. If my wife doesn't come, I won't have the surgery."

Amelia approached his side. Blood covered his chest. It glued his eyes nearly shut.

Yet he sensed her presence immediately.

"Amelia." Cristian called her name with deep affection and weakly lifted his hand. Amelia instinctively placed hers in it.

He felt the ring. A smile touched his lips. "Babe, I have something to tell you. Wait until I wake up, okay?"

He seemed to have waited for her a long time. After those words, he slipped into unconsciousness.

The doctor who had waited nearby grew tense at once.

He shouted, "Get Mr. Patel into the operating room."

Cristian woke again suddenly. His voice came out hoarse and broken. "Amelia, wait for me when I come out. You have to wait."

The door slammed shut. The operating room light turned on.

Tears reddened Amelia's eyes.

Years ago, the first time Cristian ended up hospitalized from injuries, she froze in terror. She waited outside the room for six full hours until they finally wheeled him out.

The doctor said then that the patient survived only because of his incredible will to live.

Cristian opened his eyes groggily. The moment he saw Amelia, his own eyes filled with tears.

His voice shook with fear and caution. "Amelia, I was so scared I'd never see you again."

Amelia wiped away the tear at the corner of her eye. She turned resolutely and walked away from the operating room.

Suddenly someone rushed up and grabbed her collar. "Amelia, I always knew he risks his life every time because of you. Did he kill your whole family in a past life? Is that why he suffers like this now? He went all out on the job so he could get you away safely. If luck hadn't been on his side, that bullet would have hit his heart. Does he have to die before you'll finally stop?"

The man grew more agitated. He raised his fist to smash it into her face.

But the punch never landed. Natalie blocked it in midair.

She spoke coldly. "The boss's wife isn't someone you can touch casually."

The man spat. "The only real boss's wife in our hearts is you, Natalie. What is she?"

Natalie's lips held a faint smile. She ordered the man to back down.

The smile vanished from her face instantly. "Amelia, have you ever counted? Over these years, how many times has Cristian landed in the hospital to save you? How much blood has he lost? How many wounds has he taken? How many times has he danced with death? Thirty-seven hospital visits. He received a total of 3856 milliliters of blood. Doctors issued critical condition notices three times. Today makes the fourth. Amelia, do you really love him?"

In Amelia's mind, Natalie was a ruthless and venomous beauty.

No one failed to fear her smiling facade that hid deadly schemes.

Her love for Cristian was open and known to all.

Her hatred for Amelia showed plainly in her gritted teeth with no attempt to hide it.

Amelia had no doubt.

If Natalie wasn't worried about angering Cristian, she would have killed Amelia directly long ago.

But now, seeing the slight redness in Natalie's eyes, Amelia couldn't help but ask. "Why do you love him so much?"

Hatred flashed in Natalie's eyes. She let out a mocking laugh. "Why? I met Cristian when I was fourteen. I became his woman at seventeen. If it weren't for you, the one who married him might have been me!"

Amelia's eyes widened.

She always knew Natalie held Cristian's deep trust. She assumed it came from life-and-death bonds that gave them extra understanding.

She never knew about that kind of relationship.

Yet Cristian had clearly said Natalie was just a sister.

Natalie watched Amelia's expression and threw her head back in loud laughter. "Not just in the past. These years too."

She saw Amelia's pupils shake bit by bit. She watched her face crack little by little.

Natalie's mood lifted. "Do you know how many bosses want Cristian dead? How many women want to climb into his bed? No matter how careful he is, he sometimes eats the wrong thing. The drug was too strong and long-lasting. Cristian feared scaring you. He could only turn to me. Amelia, only in front of me does Cristian fully become himself."

Amelia trembled as she backed away step by step until her back hit the wall. She had nowhere left to retreat. Only then did she break down and speak. "No. It's impossible."

Cristian would never betray her. He had clearly said he loved only her.

Pain flickered in Natalie's eyes. She knew too well that Cristian would never let Amelia find out. He couldn't bear to cause her even the slightest heartache.

But things were different now. Though Cristian planned to retire with Amelia, cracks had already formed in his heart. If she didn't seize this chance, she would truly lose him forever.

Natalie pulled out her phone and played a surveillance video.

It showed Cristian and Natalie tangled and rolling in bed.

"This was the first time. Someone used the video to demand a hundred million dollars. Cristian paid on the spot. But he still worried it would leak. He sent me to eliminate the person while he took you on a month-long vacation abroad. There were many more times after that. Do you want to see them?"

Tears covered Amelia's face.

She certainly remembered that vacation. It was the happiest month since she met Cristian.

He chose a remote village in Northern Eldoria where no one knew them.

They could act like a normal couple—holding hands, strolling, kissing on the street.

Yet now someone told her that her happiest time came because Natalie handled his affair back home.

Amelia laughed through her tears.

She took the divorce certificate from her bag and handed it to Natalie. "Keep those videos for yourself. I don't want to watch them. I have no interest. Give this to him yourself when he wakes up. Natalie, even without this, I had already decided to leave Cristian. We were never meant to walk the same path. I've had enough of living in fear."

Natalie barely heard her words. She stared blankly at the divorce certificate in her hands.

An unreal sense of happiness washed over her.

She had finally waited for the chance to have Cristian again.

Amelia looked at her and sighed. "Natalie, Cristian belongs to neither of us. The person he cares about most, from beginning to end, is only himself."

But Natalie couldn't take it in. Her mind filled with fantasies of a happy future with Cristian. "How do you plan to leave?"

Amelia blinked calmly. "While Cristian is unconscious, use the private jet he arranged. Send my mom and me away within the scheduled time. Once we land, we'll handle the rest ourselves. If he wakes too early, you'll have to make him sleep a bit longer."

Natalie narrowed her eyes and studied her up and down. "You can really bring yourself to walk away? Cristian has money and power. He spoils you endlessly. You're truly willing to let it go?"

Amelia met Natalie's gaze. Pity for a fellow woman flashed in her eyes.

She said nothing and turned to leave.

Amelia returned home. She and Ellen double-checked their luggage.

Then they waited quietly for news from Natalie.

On the morning of the agreed day, Natalie sent a car to pick them up.

As soon as they got in, Natalie's call came through. "After all, you were husband and wife. Won't you come to the hospital to see him?"

Amelia smiled lightly but stayed silent.

Natalie continued on her own. "So this is how it feels to wait by the side of the one you love until he wakes. Amelia, you were really happy before."

Natalie hung up. She traced Cristian's features with her finger again.

She clearly remembered the night they first slept together. She had traced his face the same way.

Back then he was young and inexperienced. His movements were clumsy and unskilled.

Unlike now, when he was practiced and considerate of her feelings.

His whole face had grown more mature and resolute with age.

Cristian's brows suddenly furrowed. Pain twisted his expression.

Natalie jumped in fright and ran out to call the doctor.

So she missed the murmur from his lips. "Amelia, where are you?"

Cristian had a dream.

In the dream, for some reason he kept searching for Amelia.

But darkness surrounded him everywhere. He couldn't find any direction.

He reached a cliff with no path forward.

Only then did he spot her.

Amelia stood on the opposite cliff, facing him.

When she saw him, she smiled. "Cristian, goodbye."

The next second, she jumped off the cliff.

At the same moment, high above the airport, a private jet that had just taken off exploded in midair. It plummeted rapidly.

"Amelia!" Cristian opened his eyes and woke up.