Henley's face turned ashen as he stuttered, "Joanna... w-what are you talking about?"

Joanna looked at him, then glanced at Addison. "Why? Shouldn't the two of you give me an explanation?"

The hallway was bustling with people. Their colleagues were beginning to speculate as the three of them stood in the center of the corridor.

Curious stares unnerved Henley, and he tried to tug at Joanna's arm, only to be flung away.

"Joanna…" he called out.

Joanna ignored him, moving to stand in front of Addison. Her cold, piercing stare made Addison instinctively shrink back, her earlier bravado faltering.

Gripped by growing terror, Henley reached out to grab Joanna's hand again. Once more, she shook him off effortlessly.

For a fleeting moment, his heart stopped. His mind raced with frantic thoughts of what Joanna might say—or worse, what she might do.

Then, suddenly, Joanna chuckled. She turned and smiled faintly at him.

"Why so nervous?" she asked, her tone light, almost teasing. "I was talking about the project, of course."

She wiped the sweat from his brow gently. "What else did you think I was going to say?"

Relief washed over Henley like a tidal wave.

The research project was something he had recently arranged to boost Addison's profile, listing Joanna as a secondary advisor to increase its influence and scope. He had done all this because Addison's father had helped him in the past.

The approval of the research proposal was supposed to be announced today.

"Oh, has the proposal been approved?" Henley asked, relieved, while subtly signaling for Addison to leave.

Having never been dismissed in public, Addison looked wronged, tears brimming in her eyes.

Nonetheless, Henley felt no sympathy.

As she left, her resentment was palpable, though she could only discreetly glare at Joanna before walking away.

Joanna was taken into a lab after that. It was quiet, as the lab was nearly empty with lunchtime approaching.

She produced a stack of documents from her bag, saying, "They didn't manage to contact you, so they called me. I have all the documents printed and ready for your signature."

Henley had started the project specifically for Addison. He'd only added Joanna's name to the advisor list without intending for her to be directly involved, just to facilitate the approval. He hadn't expected the documents to be sent to her directly.

A pang of guilt settled in as he looked at the documents, gripping his pen awkwardly.

Joanna wasn't in a hurry. She settled into a nearby chair and watched Henley go through the documents, signing each one carefully—a habit of his, always serious and responsible no matter what he was doing.

The room was silent except for the sound of rustling pages and a soft breeze from the open window.

"I heard Zachary's wife is divorcing him," Joanna said casually, breaking the silence.

Henley froze mid-turn of a page. "W-What?"

"You didn't know? Apparently, he cheated—with one of his students, no less," Joanna replied, leaning back in her chair as if she were just chatting.

Henley's hand trembled around the pen, his face going pale. "Why are you suddenly interested in gossip?"

Joanna's tone remained light, but her gaze was unrelenting. "The rumor's everywhere. And I've had some time on my hands lately. I guess I've just been paying attention."

She let her words hang in the air before adding, "It's shocking, isn't it? Knowing someone for years, only to realize they're capable of something like that."

She glanced at Henley, then remarked, "Why did you stop signing?"

As if triggered, Henley quickly resumed signing the documents, but all he could think about were Joanna's words. His heart pounded violently, as though it might burst.

Why was Joanna bringing this up? Did she know something? What should he do if she did?

Then again, it seemed impossible.

Time passed in oppressive silence.

Finally, Joanna chuckled. "I'm just glad I married you. My Henley would never betray me, right?"

Henley finished the last signature almost by force.

As he put the pen down, relief washed over him—but guilt lingered. He forced himself to meet her eyes and nodded firmly.

"Of course not. I would never betray you," he said. "If I ever did... let me die a miserable death!"

Henley kissed Joanna's forehead gently before sending her off at the medical school gate.

"Be careful on your way home," he reminded her gently.

A few passing students cast envious glances their way.

"You're the university's famous heartthrob professor." Joanna shyly pushed him back, discreetly ending the kiss. "This kind of public display isn't ideal."

"I don't care," Henley said firmly. "I just want the whole world to know you're the one I love most."

Though Joanna's demeanor remained as composed as ever, Henley couldn't shake the gnawing unease that crept into his heart. It was this persistent feeling that made him express his affection so frequently, as though doing so could ease the turbulence in his heart.

At his insistence, Joanna agreed to have lunch with him.

Late-stage pancreatic cancer had nearly stolen her appetite, but she forced herself to eat so Henley wouldn't suspect anything was wrong.

During lunch, he brought up her missing wedding ring again.

In less than a day, the telltale mark on Joanna's ring finger had vanished, as though the ring had never existed. The absence only deepened Henley's growing anxiety.

"I made that ring with my own hands," he said quietly. "If it's broken, let me fix it."

"That's not necessary," Joanna replied, dabbing her lips with a napkin.

Her tone remained calm, almost indifferent. "You're already swamped, juggling responsibilities at the university and surgeries at the hospital. Don't add more to your plate."

She paused, then added casually, "Besides, isn't the research project's final report due next week? Without your help, Addison won't be able to finish it on her own."

Her gaze flickered toward Henley, watching his reaction closely.

As she expected, the mention of Addison made his composed expression falter, betraying a flicker of agitation.

Seizing the moment, Joanna added lightly, "You shouldn't be so hard on your students all the time. As a mentor, it's only right to help when they're struggling."

Henley's gaze turned evasive. He stopped pressing the issue and merely reminded her, "Just remember to retrieve the ring once it's repaired."

After finally seeing Henley off, Joanna went to a shopping mall alone. She spent the afternoon in the electronics section before settling on a video recorder and a memory card.

As she got into the car, her phone buzzed with an incoming call. It was Addison.

She hesitated for a moment before answering.

There was no immediate response on the other end—just muffled, indistinguishable sounds.

Assuming it was a bad connection, Joanna turned up the volume, accidentally routing the call through her car's Bluetooth system.

Suddenly, the strange sounds amplified, filling the car with unmistakable noises—frantic gasps, the rhythmic thud of bodies colliding, and a woman's moans of ecstasy.

Then Addison's voice followed, sultry and demanding."Henley, honey... tell me I'm the one you love the most! If you don't, I won't let you finish!"

Henley's strained, hoarse voice followed, as though he were struggling to suppress his desire. "No! The one I love most is Joanna! I can never lose her!"

Addison's tone turned petulant, tinged with tears. "Then why are you with me? If you love her so much, go be with her! Stop coming to me!"

There was a shuffling sound before Henley let out a deep, weary sigh. "Don't be like this, babe. You know I care about you too. It's just... every time I look at Joanna, I can't help thinking about the past. It's suffocating. Only with you can I feel truly relaxed and free."

He then said, his voice almost breaking, "I love Joanna, but I'll never be able to live without you."

Joanna rolled down the car window, gulping fresh air to combat the suffocating weight on her heart.

So, this was it.

She finally understood. To Henley, the one who had once saved him had now become the very embodiment of his trauma. People were contradictory and complicated.

Memories of their darkest days together flooded back—the blood-stained walls, the violence, the young man clinging to her as if she were his last lifeline.

His desperate whisper echoed in her mind. "Joanna, I have nothing left. You're all I have. If you ever leave me, take me with you. Don't let me suffer here alone."

No. Someone as selfish and greedy as Henley deserved to be left behind. Let him drown in his past, swallowed by guilt until he fell into the deepest pits of hell.

-

Back home, Joanna locked herself in her bedroom. She set up the new video recorder and filmed a short message. Then, she saved it to the memory card and scheduled its delivery.

"Please send this card back here exactly one year from today," she instructed the courier.

The courier accepted the card and asked curiously, "Is it a surprise for your husband? An anniversary gift?"

Only then did Joanna find the courier familiar.

"Have you forgotten? Your husband always sends you flowers for your anniversary. I'm usually the one delivering them," he reminded her. "And I remember each bouquet came with a long, heartfelt letter. He even handpicked the flowers himself. He really loves you."

The courier's genuine admiration stung like a cruel joke.

Joanna smiled, offering no response.

"Today's your anniversary, isn't it? I thought he might've sent you flowers again. But I guess this time, it's your turn to surprise him," the courier added.

Only then did Joanna realize—it was their wedding anniversary.

In past years, she would've received flowers and gifts.

This year, she received betrayal, wrapped in raw, unforgiving truth.

After the courier left cheerfully with the memory card, Joanna collapsed onto the sofa. The searing pain from her illness clawed at her body.

In desperation, she reached for her medication, but a jagged nail from the drawer scratched her arm.

Ignoring the bleeding wound, she shakily emptied the bottle into her palm, swallowing pill after pill until it was empty.

Finally, the pain subsided just enough to let her breathe.

Before she could have a moment to herself, knocks sounded at the door.

At first, she thought the courier had forgotten something.

Dragging her weak body, she moved slowly toward the door.

The knocking grew louder and more urgent, almost frantic.

Joanna's instincts told her something was wrong. She quickened her pace.

When she opened the door, a blinding flash of lightning lit up the room, followed by the deafening roar of thunder.

Henley fell into her arms, trembling like a bird with broken wings. His clothes were damp, but not from rain—his body was drenched in cold sweat.

He clung to her like a drowning man, his eyes wild and desperate.

"Joanna... Joanna..." he repeated.

Of course. Even now, Henley couldn't escape his past. Thunderstorms always pushed him into the depths of terror, robbing him of reason.

Lost in his fear, he would hurt himself, spiraling into madness. Only Joanna's presence could pull him back from the abyss.

Clinging to her as though she were his lifeline, he let out a guttural cry, his voice raw with desperation.

"Joanna, don't leave me. Never... Never leave me!"