Cecilia Jones kept a forgiveness notebook.

Six months ago, on Cecilia's birthday, Jeff Lawrence abandoned her to meet Yvonne Smith.

It was the 93rd time she’d forgiven him.

Three months prior, when Yvonne mentioned she was allergic to cat dander, Jeff gave away the cat Cecilia had raised for years. Cecilia forgave him for the 94th time.

One month ago, Jeff got drunk and woke up in the same bed as Yvonne. He insisted that nothing had happened and accused Cecilia of having a dirty mind. Cecilia forgave him for the 95th time.

Cecilia Jones was lying in her hospital bed today, staring at her right leg that got hurt when Yvonne Smith hit her. She thought back to when the car crash happened and how Jeff Lawrence had rushed to help Yvonne. She opened her special notebook and wrote down:

[I forgive Jeff again, for the 95th time.]

Her notebook only had 99 pages, and Cecilia felt like her heart could only forgive Jeff 99 times too.

If she ever got to the last page, she knew it would be time to say goodbye.

Cecilia took a deep breath and shut the notebook.

Just as she was about to put it away, Jeff stirred on the couch where he had been sleeping. He saw her and asked with a sleepy, scratchy voice, "What's that you've got?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just some notes for work," Cecilia said, playing it down.

Jeff did not ask any more questions. He got up to check on Cecilia's IV drip.

Jeff had been looking after Cecilia non-stop since the accident, and he had only managed to catch about twenty minutes of sleep on the couch.

Cecilia saw the redness in his eyes and finally said, "The doctor said I'm okay, Jeff. You should go home and get some rest."

"I can't do that," Jeff said quickly, like the idea of leaving her alone was impossible.

"You're the one who's hurt. I wouldn't feel right leaving you here all by yourself, not even for a minute."

While he was talking, he made sure Cecilia's blanket was tucked in and her chair was comfy. He looked so careful and kind.

Cecilia watched him and remembered how Yvonne had looked at her with such a mean smirk just two days ago.

"Cecilia, I heard you had a big fight with your brother three years ago, all because of Jeff. You even stopped talking to your brother to come to the capital with Jeff. That's why he loves you so much.

"However, who do you think Jeff would run to first if we both got into trouble at the same time?"

She did not wait for Cecilia to answer. With a sudden push on the accelerator, she rammed the car right into her.

Cecilia was caught off guard. When the car hit, her leg got pinned, and blood came pouring out.

Jeff, not too far away, heard the crash and ran over. However, he did not come to Cecilia. He went straight to Yvonne.

At that moment, Cecilia's dream that Jeff still loved her shattered into pieces.

A person's first reaction could not be faked.

It had been a matter of life and death, and Jeff had made his choice.

Cecilia was about to tell him to go rest when Jeff's phone rang. He looked at the number, hesitated, then looked at Cecilia and said, "I need to take this, it's from work."

With that, he stepped out.

Seconds later, a nurse came in to check on Cecilia. As she opened the door, Jeff's voice on the phone was clear. "Jeff, I'm scared. I had that nightmare again... I keep feeling like Cecilia's going to hit me with her car, hurry over..."

Jeff's face went pale, and his eyes filled with worry.

In a hushed tone, he reassured the caller, "Don't worry, I'll be right there."

A few minutes later, Jeff came back, kissed Cecilia on the forehead, and said,

"I'm sorry, I have to handle something urgent at work. I'll come back to be with you later."

He rushed off before Cecilia could say anything.

Soon after, a young nurse bounced in, all smiles, and whispered some gossip.

"The guy who just walked out of this ward was super handsome. He wasn't just good-looking, he was also super sweet. He kept saying 'baby, baby' into the phone, like he was comforting his girlfriend. I wish I had a boyfriend who was that caring... "

Some of the older nurses who knew about Cecilia and Jeff nudged her, and she realized she should not have said that. She quickly stopped talking and left the ward.

Cecilia bit her lip, pulled out her notebook again, and wrote:

[I forgive Jeff for the 96th time. He promised he'd only call me 'baby,' but he lied.]

Cecilia finally left the hospital after a week.

Jeff was supposed to pick her up, but he got busy and sent a driver instead.

She did not make a fuss. She just got in the car and started scrolling through her social media. She saw Yvonne's latest post:

[The hot springs outside the city are amazing. One soak and all the marks are gone! Now, she won't notice a thing!]

There was a selfie of Yvonne in a bikini, with a man's arm next to her. Cecilia knew right away it was Jeff's arm and what his 'urgent matter' was today. She hit 'like' on the post.

Jeff did not get home until after ten that night. He tried to hug Cecilia and said he was sorry. "Cecilia, I'm sorry I was so busy today that I couldn't get you from the hospital."

Cecilia stepped away from his hug without a fuss. "It's fine. Work is important."

He looked relieved when she did not seem upset and said sweetly, "Have you had dinner? I had my assistant pick up something from your favorite restaurant. Let's eat soon.

"In the evening, as you get ready for your bath, I'll use a waterproof bandage for your wound so that it won't get wet. And when you go to bed, be extra careful not to hurt yourself, okay?"

Cecilia listened to his words, filled with worry, and felt her heart ache. "Okay."

It was so strange. Everything seemed the same, yet everything was different. The person she had known was still here, but the love they had shared was gone.

Jeff went to shower, leaving Cecilia lost in thought.

Her phone buzzed with messages from Yvonne:

[Last night was amazing. We did it four times!]

[How long has it been since he's touched you? Don't you wonder why?]

[If you're looking for answers, check his coat pocket. You're in for a surprise.]

With that, Yvonne recalled all her messages.

The brutal truth stared her down—no digging required.

Cecilia knew Yvonne was trying to upset her, but she could not resist. She picked up Jeff's jacket that was tossed aside.

Inside the pocket was a thong with lace and a bow. It was sexy and bold.

As Cecilia stood there, stunned, Jeff came out of the bathroom and grabbed the underwear, his voice full of panic.

"This has to be a prank from Dick and the others. Cecilia, please don't get it wrong, I, I—"

Cecilia could not listen anymore. She felt sick and ran to throw up, her stomach churning violently.

He rushed to her side with water, holding her and patting her back.

After a moment, he asked out of the blue. "Cecilia, you're not pregnant, are you?"

Hearing that, she paused, then looked up with a pale smile. "Jeff, do you even remember the last time you touched me? How could I possibly get pregnant all by myself?"

Cecilia had known Jeff her entire life.

Back then, Jones Group and Lawrence Group were partners, and her brother, Elias Jones, and Jeff were best friends.

Cecilia was so happy during those times. She had her brother's love and Jeff, her childhood friend who was always by her side.

When she was 17, Jeff told her he loved her. His eyes were shy, full of love. He was determined to stay with her forever.

Those next five years were the happiest of Cecilia's life.

That was until both Lawrence Group and Jones Group wanted the same project, and Jones Group won it by just a little bit.

Jeff's dad had put too much money into it, and when they lost, he had a heart attack and died. Just like that, Lawrence Group went out of business.

Jeff was so angry that he could not stand the Jones family anymore. In front of everyone, he told Cecilia, "It's either the Jones family or me. You have to choose!"

Cecilia loved Jeff so much, and she felt a little guilty about his dad, so she made the hard choice to stop talking to her brother Elias and went with Jeff to start a new business in the capital.

During that first year, Jeff was really touched. He hated Elias a lot, but he never let it show around Cecilia. He even made sure they never talked about anything to do with work.

By the next year, things had changed. Jeff's job was going great, and Yvonne was his new secretary.

Their relationship started to change in a quiet way.

Jeff stopped coming home at night. When he did show up, he would say he had work to do and sleep in the other bedroom.

He was spending more and more time alone with Yvonne.

Yvonne changed too. She went from being all nervous and trying to hide things to acting like she wanted to start trouble.

Cecilia kept telling herself it was not real, until the car crash. It was not a real crash, but it sure felt like one. That was when she knew.

Jeff did not love her anymore. It was the hard truth.

After she asked him that one big question, he stormed out and did not come back.

At that moment, the phone rang.

"Ms. Jones, Mr. Lawrence is really drunk and he's calling for you. Can you come get him?"

"Talk to his secretary," Cecilia said, and hung up.

However, the driver did not give up. After the fourth call, Cecilia could not say no anymore. She went to the club to find him.

When she got to the private room, she saw it. Jeff was not alone. He was hugging Yvonne tight and kissing her like he never wanted to let go.

Their friends were all cheering them on, like that was just another show for them.

Someone who liked to stir up trouble yelled out:

"Jeff, who's better in bed? Your new girl or your old one?"

Jeff just laughed like he did not care, "Who needs the old one when you've got someone new?"

Everyone cheered again.

"Mr. Lawrence, you're the man!"

That was when Cecilia felt it. In Jeff's heart, she was just his old flame who could not stand up to the new one. She was someone he did not even want to touch.

Her heart hurt so bad that she had to hold onto the wall to keep from falling.

In the private booth, Yvonne's voice, sweet and sugary, tested the waters again.

"So, if that's how it is, why don't you just break up with Cecilia?"

"I'll never break up with Cecilia." Jeff's voice was icy and harsh. "She's the only one who can remind me of how horribly my dad died. She's a constant reminder of the terrible things the Jones family did to me."

Cecilia's heart sank like she was plunged into freezing water.

All these years, Jeff had harbored such deep hatred for her.