Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Jasper Hawthorne, I’m Tired

"Auntie, this is a hospital. The blood bank has every blood type. There’s no need to insist on drawing my blood." Stella’s voice was cool and detached.

May Wright’s face was full of worry and hesitation, "But..."

Stella didn’t look at her again, instead turning to the man beside her. "Jasper Hawthorne, I’ve already put my resignation letter on your desk, and I’ve packed up my things. If you have time, please sign it at the office."

"What resignation letter?" Jasper’s brows furrowed deeply.

"What’s gotten into you, child?" May immediately became anxious. "Why are you throwing a tantrum with me? That’s not what I meant at all."

Stella smiled indifferently, "Auntie, please rest well and take care of yourself. I still need to go pack up, so I’ll be leaving now."

Saying this, she ignored everyone’s expressions and turned to leave.

She had just walked into the elevator, and as the doors were about to close, a pair of large hands reached in.

The elevator doors slowly reopened, and Stella met a pair of dark eyes.

Stella rarely saw any other emotions in Jasper’s eyes.

The only time was when he was pinned to the ground by the villagers; the look in his eyes then was something she’d never forget for the rest of her life.

"Why are you resigning?" Jasper chased into the elevator, his gaze burning as he stared at Stella. "Is it because of today’s wedding? Or because I asked you to give blood earlier?"

He reached out and grabbed Stella’s hand. "I’ve already apologized about the wedding, and about the blood transfusion, I told you I’d find someone else—I won’t force you anymore. Please, don’t make a fuss, okay?"

Stella almost wanted to laugh—A fuss?

He was right.

She never had made a fuss with him.

No matter what grievance she suffered, she bore it alone.

When they started the business, Jasper’s tough attitude offended many clients; she was always the one cleaning up his messes, even to the point of drinking herself sick and injuring her stomach.

She had nursed her stomach for all these years, yet the pain still flared up from time to time.

"Jasper, I’m exhausted."

In these five years, she had walked ninety-nine steps toward him.

If only he’d take one step toward her, things could have worked out.

It was her wishful thinking to believe she could be special to him.

She was foolish.

Foolish enough to think that by giving her whole heart, she’d win his love.

Now, she was wounded, her heart torn and bleeding—she was tired.

She didn’t want to chase after him anymore.

"If you’re tired, I can give you annual leave to rest." Jasper frowned.

A wave of helplessness washed over Stella.

"Jasper, we..."

The words "break up" hadn’t even made it out of her mouth when Jasper’s phone suddenly vibrated.

He answered, and immediately May’s tearful voice came over the line, "Jasper, something’s wrong! Grace just fainted, come back right now!"

Jasper’s expression changed slightly. "Okay, I’ll be there right away."

After hanging up, he instinctively looked at Stella. "Go wait for me at my place. I have something to tell you. I’ll come find you as soon as I’m done."

He left without waiting for Stella to respond, never turning back.

As always, whenever Grace had a problem, he always rushed to her side first.

Stella stood where she was, taking a deep breath.

The elevator doors closed again, and in the cramped space there was only her, the mirrored walls reflecting her pale face and cold eyes.

She’d planned to go to Jasper’s place to pack her things anyway.

Since it had come to this, it was time to have an open, honest talk, and put an end to it once and for all.

...

Jasper’s apartment was near the law firm, a penthouse in a luxury complex.

Back when Stella and Jasper made their relationship official, she shamelessly asked him for a key, and whenever she had time she’d come over to clean and cook for him.

To call it Jasper’s home wasn’t quite fair—it was more like Stella’s.

Jasper never cared much about his living environment, so everything in the apartment was chosen and arranged by Stella—from the curtains’ color to the style of the sofa, the kitchenware to the plants on the balcony, every detail bore her effort and care.

She brought out a cardboard box and started packing up her things.

The process was much more difficult than she’d imagined.

Every single item carried a memory; every choice felt like heartbreak.

When she took out the old photo album from the nightstand, her brows knit together.

Stella sat on the floor, flipping through it page by page.

The girl smiling in the photos looked so happy, the love in her eyes almost overflowing.

Expressionless, she closed the album and tossed it aside.

There was so much to pack; by the time Stella finished, the sun was already setting, orange-red light filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows, coating the whole room in an unreal glow.

The box sat at the doorway.

Turns out, five years of love could be packed into a single box.

The rest was just rubbish to be thrown away.

Stella loaded everything into her car, and after she finished, Jasper still hadn’t returned.

Maybe it was just the exhaustion of today, but Stella suddenly felt her stomach start to ache.

That’s when she remembered—she hadn’t eaten anything since noon.

She hurried into the kitchen to cook herself a bowl of noodles.

But after eating, the pain in her stomach only worsened.

This time, the pain was different—not a dull ache, but sharp stabbing, radiating from her stomach down to her lower right abdomen.

Stella could only search for the medicine box.

Though she suffered frequent stomach pains, she’d always hidden them from Jasper, afraid he’d worry or feel guilty. There was only a little stomach medicine left here.

Kneeling on the living room floor, she rummaged through the medicine box but couldn’t find the familiar bottle anywhere.

The pain grew more intense; nausea crashed over her and her vision began to blur.

Stella forced herself to stand and tried to pour a cup of hot water, nearly collapsing to the floor.

Leaning against the wall, she slowly made her way to the kitchen, drank a cup of warm water, but it didn’t help at all.

Cold sweat broke out on her back as the pain grew sharper, and curled up on the floor, her consciousness started to fade.

Through sheer will, she dialed the emergency number, "Hello, this is..."

But when the line connected, it was Grace’s voice that came through: "Stella, why are you calling again? Weren’t you resigning? I knew you were just being manipulative!"

It was only then Stella realized she’d dialed the wrong number—her emergency contact was still set to Jasper.

But right now, she didn’t have the energy to argue with Grace; her stomach felt like it was burning up. "Where’s Jasper?"

Grace’s voice was smug, "I’m on my period, my stomach hurts, Jasper went to buy me some brown sugar and ginger..."

Stella didn’t wait for her to finish and hung up.

Late September ought to be the hottest time of the year.

Maybe the AC was set too low, but Stella felt the cold air tearing into her lungs, making the pain in her stomach surge like a tempest.

Holding her chest, Stella honestly couldn’t tell whether her heart or her stomach hurt more.

Soon, cold sweat had soaked her back.

She struggled to focus her eyes on her phone and dialed 911. "Hello... Golden Maple Apartments, Building 3, Unit 1201... Acute stomach pain..."

When she hung up, Stella was hurting so much she could barely breathe.

Just as her consciousness began to blur, she heard footsteps crashing in through the door, chaos erupting in her ears.

When she opened her eyes again, a doctor in a white coat was leaning over her.

"Rebound tenderness in the lower right abdomen—it’s acute appendicitis, surgery is necessary."

So it wasn’t her stomach, but her appendix.

"Patient needs emergency surgery. Make sure family signs the consent form!"

Stella was hurting so much she could barely speak. When the nurse rushed over and asked for her family’s phone number, Stella could only ask, "Can I sign it myself?"

"No family?" The nurse looked surprised.

"No."

Back when she’d followed Jasper to Kenton to make a life, she’d had a huge falling-out with her family just to stay with him.

In Kenton, besides Jasper, she had no one.

The nurse glanced at her with a hint of sympathy before handing her the pre-op consent form. "Then you sign here."

Stella steeled herself and picked up the pen.

She suddenly remembered that five years ago, when Jasper had appendicitis, it was she who had signed the form then too.

The exact same pre-op consent document.

Back then, she’d been so nervous, reading it again and again, afraid something would go wrong.

She had even stayed by Jasper’s hospital bed for three days and nights...

But now—

She was all alone.