After being disappointed too many times, that one final disappointment becomes the ending of the whole story.

Wiping away her tears, Irina sent Uriah a single-word reply, [Okay.]

She had decided, too.

...

Three days later, Irina was discharged from the hospital. During that time, Uriah had not sent a single message, and Irina had not reached out to him either.

Anne reminded Irina kindly, "Ms. Charlton, even though it was an ectopic pregnancy, you still need to treat this like a recovery period. When you get home, make sure to keep yourself warm, eat nutritious food, and get plenty of rest, okay?"

Irina thanked her with a heavy heart. "Thank you, I'll take good care of myself."

After saying goodbye to Anne, Irina walked out alone. However, she had only taken a few steps when she heard someone calling her name from behind.

"Irina?"

Irina turned around to see her heavily pregnant best friend, Mia.

Mia asked, "What are you doing at the hospital? You look awful."

"I-I was pregnant." Irina's expression was blank; her tone was as calm as if she were discussing the weather.

Mia was just about to congratulate her, but she could keenly tell something was wrong.

Irina continued, "But it was an ectopic pregnancy. I already had the surgery, and I'm being discharged today."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Mia was upset, but she quickly softened and grabbed Irina's hand with concern. "Wait, where's Uriah?"

To all their friends, Uriah was a devoted husband. He normally could not stand to see Irina suffer even the slightest inconvenience, the epitome of a doting husband.

Not seeing him here shocked Mia.

Irina mumbled, "He's at the hospital with Sophie's mom. He doesn't have time for me."

Mia had heard a little about Uriah and Sophie, but no matter what, he should show up for something this serious.

Then, Irina asked, "It's fine... It's all over now. Why are you here alone, too?"

Mia replied, "I'm here for my final prenatal checkup. James is just paying the bill."

Mia wanted to ask more about Irina and Uriah. However, seeing how terrible Irina looked, she held back.

Irina's ride was about to arrive, and Mia insisted on walking her downstairs. However, as soon as they stepped out of the elevator, they saw Sophie clinging to Uriah's arm, standing right there in the lobby.

All four of them froze.

The next second, Uriah pushed Sophie's hand off his arm, though his expression darkened.

"Irina, I already explained everything clearly in my message. What's the point of stalking and spying on me? When did you become so unreasonable?"

"Irina, please, just stop."

Right there in the crowded hospital lobby, Sophie dropped to her knees in front of Irina, crying her eyes out.

"Sophie, get up! What are you doing?" Uriah immediately tried to pull Sophie up.

"Uriah, don't stop me. My mom and I are the ones who hurt Irina... But Irina, my mom is dying. Please, have some mercy and let me have Uriah for this little while."

As she spoke, Sophie even tried to bow her head toward Irina.

Uriah could not stop Sophie, so he turned his anger on Irina instead. "Irina, Sophie and Ms. White have never done anything to hurt you. They never said a single bad word about you. How can you act like this? Where's your conscience? You make me sick."

Before long, more people gathered around to watch. Everyone was starting to point their fingers at Irina and whispering among themselves.

Without a second thought, Mia stepped forward and slapped Uriah across the face.

She growled, "Uriah, have you lost your mind?"

Uriah had never been hit by anyone in his entire life. He glared at Irina with fury and hissed, "Impressive. You even dragged a pregnant woman here to make a scene with me. Irina, you're supposed to be a big-shot designer. Where are your manners?"

Mia was ready to hit Uriah again, but Irina stopped her. "Let's go, my ride is here."

Irina did not even glance at Uriah or the drama queen kneeling on the floor, pulling Mia toward the exit.

Uriah had never been ignored by Irina like this before, so he furiously grabbed her wrist and barked at her. "Stop right there and apologize to Sophie!"

When Irina did not respond, Uriah tightened his grip. "I told you to apologize to Sophie!"

The pain in her wrist was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. Irina took a deep breath and turned to look at Uriah.

She argued, "Why should I apologize? Did I say anything? Did I do anything? Also, is this your hospital? Are you the only one who's allowed to be here? Prof. Parker, what happened to your basic decency?"

Irina's eyes were ice-cold, as if she were looking at a complete stranger.

As Uriah stared at her, something inexplicably chilling crept into his heart, and his grip loosened.

Not wanting to waste any more time on Uriah, Irina pulled Mia along and headed for the hospital doors.

Noticing Uriah's uneasy expression, Sophie timidly tugged at his hand. "Uriah, did I cause trouble again?"

Uriah snapped back to reality and patted Sophie's hand reassuringly. "It's not your fault. I've just been neglecting her lately."

Yes, that was it. He had simply been too busy recently, and that was why Irina felt upset and made such a big deal out of things. Once he went home and coaxed her properly, everything would be fine. After all, she had always been the most understanding and easiest to talk to.

After giving himself this pep talk, Uriah pushed aside the fleeting unease in his heart and led Sophie into the elevator. That evening, he headed home, stopping on the way to buy Irina's favorite pink tulips.

When he opened the door, Irina was on the phone.

"Okay, once you have the agreement ready, just send it to me. Yeah, as soon as possible."

With that, Irina hung up.

"What agreement?" Uriah asked, trying to act like everything was normal, as if the argument at the hospital had never happened.

"It's just work stuff," Irina replied, not even looking at Uriah before turning to leave.

Uriah hurried forward and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Honey, I'm home."

In the past, Irina would have turned around, gently touched his face, and given him a kiss with a smile. At this point, though, he did not even want to speak to him.

She forcefully pushed away the arms wrapped around her and walked straight into the bedroom, then shut the door.

Uriah stood there in a daze, completely at a loss. He could not understand why Irina was still giving him the cold shoulder when he had already come home.

Over the past three days in the hospital, Irina had barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw scenes of Uriah defending Sophie and Beth.

Before long, Uriah, fresh from the shower, entered the bedroom. He lifted the covers and lay down beside her. His long arm wrapped around Irina's waist from behind, and his face nestled against the hollow of her neck.

"Irina, I know I've neglected you these past few months. You missed me, didn't you?"

As he spoke, Uriah moved to kiss her, and his hand under the covers started wandering.

Irina felt nothing but disgust, so she dodged the kiss and pushed his hand away with revulsion. "Don't touch me."

Uriah thought he had lowered himself enough, but he still could not understand what exactly Irina was so upset about.

He said, "Irina, what more do you want from me? I saw all those messages you sent Sophie. Yes, Sophie and I grew up together, but I only see her as a sister, so why do you have to imagine things so dirty between us?"

He continued, "Ms. White is like a mother to me. You lied about having an ectopic pregnancy, and I didn't get mad. You went to the hospital today to spy on me, and I could still forgive that, so can you stop being so unreasonable already?"

"I'm exhausted. You should just leave," Irina said flatly.

"You're telling me to leave?" Uriah could not believe it.

This was their home, so where was he supposed to go?

Before he could process it, the phone beside him rang. He composed himself and answered the call.

"Uriah, Mom's coughing up blood. Please, come quickly! I'm so scared."

Sophie's panicked voice came through the phone, and Uriah immediately got out of bed. He said, "Don't panic. I'll be right there."

Listening to the sound of Uriah hurriedly getting dressed and then leaving the apartment, Irina closed her eyes.

...

At the hospital, Uriah held Beth's hand, his face full of concern.

Beth opened her cloudy eyes and looked at Uriah pleadingly. "Uriah, the only thing I can't rest easy about is Sophie. I know this is an outrageous request, but I'm begging you... Could you marry Sophie and take care of her for the rest of her life?"

At those words, Uriah froze. He could take care of Sophie for life, but there was no way he could marry her. Besides, he had sworn that he would never abandon Irina.

Seeing Uriah's conflicted expression, Beth immediately started coughing violently. Blood once again soaked the tissue Uriah handed her.

Sophie cried as she tried to comfort Beth. "Mom, Uriah is already married. Please don't put him in such a difficult position."

"But you two are meant to be together. It's all my fault... I shouldn't have taken you abroad. It's all my fault..."

As Beth grew more agitated and struggled to breathe, Uriah stopped hesitating and tightly grasped Sophie's hand.

"Ms. White, I promise you that I'll marry Sophie. I'll take care of her for the rest of her life."

"Y-You have to swear... S-Swear on it..."

Somehow finding strength, she clutched Uriah's shirt tightly.

Uriah had no choice but to raise three fingers. "I swear I will marry Sophie. If I ever break this promise, may I die a terrible death."

Hearing this, a relieved smile appeared on Beth's gaunt face. "I don't have much time left. You have to have the wedding before I die."

Perhaps from talking too much, Beth soon fell unconscious again.

Outside the hospital, Uriah sat on a bench, smoking, something he rarely did.

Sophie came over with two cups of coffee and sat down beside him. "Uriah, I know Mom's request is outrageous, but she's dying, and I don't want her to leave with regrets.

"Don't worry, though. It'll be a fake marriage. I'll explain everything to Irina myself."

"There's no need for that. I'll tell her myself. She's understanding, and she won't be upset."

"Are you sure she won't be upset? But she..." Sophie trailed off hesitantly.

"What about her? Did she message you again?"

Before Sophie could answer, Uriah grabbed Sophie's phone and opened the chat app.

The text read, [Sophie, you witch. Why won't your mom just die already?]

Looking at that message, Uriah almost smashed the phone. He never imagined Irina could be this vicious, because she had never been like this before.

"Don't be angry, Uriah. Irina just loves you too much."

As Sophie cried pitifully, Uriah put out his cigarette and pulled her into his arms. "She's gone too far. I'll make sure she apologizes to you."

Sophie nodded with a choked sob, but in her eyes, hidden from Uriah's view, swirled a triumphant gleam of calculation.