Chapter 3
At night, Callum didn’t come home.
Zaria sat in the bedroom, gathering everything related to Callum—photos, gifts, even the buttons he casually tossed aside, but she had treasured—into a box.
She continued tossing stuff inside the box until she saw a soft pink baby onesie.
As she gripped the soft fabric, her eyes reddened.
Back when she was pregnant, she had looked forward to the baby’s arrival. She had hoped they would get married and stay together for life.
However, she found out that Callum had gotten rid of their three-month-old baby.
Zaria suppressed the sharp pain in her heart as she carried the box and threw it into the trash.
The things were gone, and so was all the love she had for Callum.
The next day, Zaria went straight to resign from Fenwick Group.
Back then, Callum had lost the right to inherit the company due to his disabled legs. His illegitimate brother had taken his place.
Later, when Callum recovered, the first thing he did was sign a bet-on agreement. He would have to double the company’s performance within three years to take back everything.
To help him, Zaria worked as his secretary. She accompanied him to social events, drank until she had gastric bleeding, and stayed up so late she fainted.
She did it all out of love.
But in the end, she got nothing in return.
Luckily, from now on, she would never be that foolish again.
The moment news of her resignation broke out, the company was in an uproar. Almost everyone tried to persuade her to stay.
“Zaria, are you really quitting? Can’t you stay?”
“Yeah, the company’s doing just fine. Why did you suddenly resign?”
“You brought all of us up by hand. What will we do without you? Also, Mr. Fenwick definitely can’t do without you!”
Little did they know, Callum was doing just fine without Zaria.
Zaria’s lips curled up slightly in a self-deprecating expression.
“I’m really resigning. These years have been too exhausting. I want to take a good break.”
“No one is truly dependent on someone else to survive. All of you will be fine. He… will be fine, too.”
After saying goodbye to everyone, Zaria left the company with her personal belongings.
When she got home, Callum called.
“You resigned?” he asked in shock, which was rare.
“Yeah, I’m getting married. There’s too much to do. I can’t keep working,” Zaria answered calmly.
Callum didn’t think much of it. He assumed she had agreed to the previous proposal and was busy preparing for the wedding.
His tone softened. “Sorry, I have to go on a business trip for a project. I won’t be able to help with the wedding planning.”
Before Zaria could respond, Cyrene’s voice suddenly came through the phone. “Callum, feed me.”
Callum’s voice instantly grew distant. “Hey, I’m on the phone.”
Cyrene pouted. “Feed me, or I’ll find another man—”
The call was abruptly cut off.
Zaria’s heart ached. Her hands trembled as she opened her Instagram.
Sure enough, Cyrene had posted a photo of Callum feeding her some fruit, along with the provocative caption, “It feels so good to be spoiled.”
Zaria shut her eyes and turned off her phone.
…
In the middle of the night, Zaria’s ringtone jolted her awake.
Jovan’s panicked voice came through the receiver. “Zaria! Callum was stabbed over a dozen times while trying to save Cyrene.
“He’s losing too much blood, and the blood bank is short on type B blood. Both you and Cyrene match his blood type, but she said she can’t donate because she just had a kidney transplant. Can you come save him?”
At his words, Zaria only felt a buzzing in her ears.
A wave of bitterness surged in her chest.
She had also lost a kidney, after all.
Hearing her silence, Jovan grew more anxious. “Zaria, I’m begging you. If you refuse, he’ll die. Cyrene is unreliable. You’re the only one who can save him!”
Jovan pleaded again and again.
Zaria stayed silent. Her thoughts were a chaotic mess.
After a long time, she decided she couldn’t let Callum die.
Putting on her coat, she rushed to the hospital.
At the hospital, Zaria lay on the bed in the blood collection room. There, she watched the dark red blood slowly flow from her body.
She was already weak. By the end of the draw, her vision turned black, and she fainted.
When she woke up, it was already noon the next day.
She propped herself up, wanting to check out and see how Callum was doing.
But just as she reached the door to his ward, she heard the conversation inside between Callum and Jovan.
“Callum, you got seriously hurt because of Cyrene, yet she ran off again. You would’ve died had Zaria not donated her blood to you. I’m begging you. Can’t you just see Cyrene for who she really is and treat Zaria properly?”
Callum was silent for a moment before he replied in a low voice, “Cy just had a kidney transplant. She’s not in good health. It makes sense that she didn’t donate her blood.”
At that, Jovan almost choked. “Cyrene’s not in good health? What about Zaria? Look at what she’s done for you these past years—she’s ruined herself! Aren’t you afraid she’ll leave you for good if you keep treating her this way?”
“She won’t,” Callum stated firmly.
“Zaria loves me, just like I love Cyrene. She would never leave me.”
Zaria stood outside the room, listening to that firm declaration from Callum.
She felt as though her heart had been crushed. The pain was nearly suffocating.
So, this was what it was like to be loved wholeheartedly. Callum never feared that Zaria would leave him.
But he was wrong. Zaria didn’t love him anymore.
She would leave him and never come back.
