"You can marry Jessica and I can live a happy life with Patrick. You'd better mind your business and I will mind mine. Is it what you have wanted?"

Vivian's words wrecked all his joy and hope, like a sharp sword.

He clenched his vein-laced hands. He knew what a heartache felt like for the first time.

With her eyes wide open, Vivian's chest was rising and falling drastically. Suddenly a cold feeling came over her.

"Vivian!" Patrick realized that something was wrong and he quickly took over the baby. Once the baby was in safe hands, Vivian fell.

Patrick caught her in time and put her in his arms. At the sight of her purple face, he cried out in alarm.

"Quick, send her to the hospital!"

Sitting in the car with Vivian in his arms, Christian listened to her unsteady breathing, and unconsciously cried with worry.

Patrick had asked someone in the clinic to look after the baby for fear that the baby might be spooked. Then he went to the hospital with Vivian.

The moment Christian entered the hospital, he cried out for help. Vivian was in great pain, which had nearly driven him crazy.

Fortunately, Patrick was calm enough to call the doctor to send Vivian directly into the emergency room.

Christian now sweated profusely, staring at the wall in the hallway. He was panicked, while Patrick was nervous yet collected. Christian suspected something.

Vivian had had heart disease for many years. Mood swings might lead to angor pectoris. It seemed that Christian's presence had been very shocking. It worsened when she got into a fight with Christian. It had been too much to handle, thus she fell into a coma.

Fortunately, it wasn't life-threatening this time. Vivian woke up after the doctors had taken first-aid measures on her.

Sitting respectively by the bed, Christian and Patrick stared at Vivian, which made nervous.

"Are you feeling all right?" Patrick spoke first. She was very pale and he was worried about her.

Christian was angry at the way Patrick had cared about Vivian.

She had always been weak, yet she had decided to have the baby. Patrick saw Christian's anger, so he was very afraid that Christian might do something radical to her.

"Christian, don't go too far. Vivian has congenital heart disease. She can't be too excited. Please leave if you want to make a fuss."

Patrick had rarely been so serious with Christian, but now he had to be as serious as possible. Christian was impulsive. He had to protect Vivian from Christian.

What Patrick had said was a head-on blow. It took Christian a while to come to his senses.

Vivian had heart disease and he had known nothing about it.

"Vivian...Vivian, why didn't tell me about your heart disease?"

Christian suddenly realized why Jessica had pretended sickness. Perhaps everyone else had known about Vivian's heart disease, except him.

He felt guiltier when he recalled the way he had treated Vivian. He was now fully aware of his stupid mistakes. He had hurt Vivian very much, both physically and emotionally.

Christian's eyes were dull and lifeless.

But Vivian still doubted his sincerity.

"Why would I have told you about it? You would just assume that I had been pretending to be sick."

Recalling how worried Christian had been whenever Jessica pretended sickness, Vivian couldn't help feeling sorry for herself. She had apparently loved him with her heart and soul. What had hurt her the most was that Christian had never trusted her, not even once.

"Besides, has there been anything in the world that anyone could hide from you? You didn't know it simply because you had never wanted to know it."

Christian's face turned pale. She was right. Despite all his doubts, he had eventually chosen to trust Jessica every time. He had chosen Jessica over Vivian unconditionally.

"I'm sorry...Vivian...I'm very sorry..."

Vivian looked at him in disgust. She really didn't want to see him who was a constant reminder of what she had gone through.

"Just go and leave me alone. I'm too weak for your drama. I have my own child and I love him. I'll live a good life for the sake of my baby. Please don't bother me again."

Vivian covered her head with a blanket, which was a signal for him to leave.

Patrick saw Vivian's anger. He dragged Christian out of the room.

"Christian!"

Patrick had rarely been angry, except when Vivian was bullied. He really hated Christian's arrogance and ruthlessness.

"I'm warning you, if anything happens to Vivian, I'll make you suffer. You are my best friend for years, but I won't indulge you."

Christian didn't hear what Patrick was saying. Looking back at what he had done to her, it turned out he had been a bigger asshole than he had ever imagined.

Patrick took his silence as his introspection. He snorted, went back to the room and locked the door.

Through the glass on the door, Christian saw Vivian's smile when she was alone with Patrick. He couldn't help feeling sad.

During the days when he had firmly believed that Vivian had been still alive, he had thought of her and dreamt about her every single night.