08
After hesitating for several minutes, Chase Holloway finally clicked on the profile. The avatar was a photo of Helen Foster and him, taken back when things seemed perfect. The most recent post on the account was from the night he had gone to Grace’s house.
[Goodbye, North City.]
Beneath the post, the IP address was visible–Canada.
Chase’s heart dropped as realization dawned. He clenched his fists, his breathing uneven.
Not long ago, Adam had requested time off from the hospital for a trip. The destination? Canada. While Chase
3:46 PM d
Hi Stole
གའ དངས མྱ ས་་
་་་མ་
་པ ས་་ ་་་་
་་པས་ཡ ད་
222112 31111 Annuna
had been spiraling into chaos, Adam had been by Helen’s side.
At that moment Adam was accompanying me for a prenatal checkup.
The doctor reassured us that the baby was healthy, though they suggested I rest more and improve my nutrition. I ran a hand over my stomach, letting out a small sigh of relief. Adam placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, his voice calm and steady.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I’ll be here to take care of you.”
His gentle eyes and composed demeanor were a source of comfort I hadn’t expected.
Adam had been doing everything to support me lately. Whenever I asked about how things were going back in the U.S., he assured me that everything was under control. For the first time in a long while, I felt at peace.
I remembered how Chase used to talk about Adam–describing him as cold, unfeeling, and unapproachable. He often joked that Adam’s stern demeanor kept the nurses and doctors at the hospital from pursuing him, even though many admired him.
But now, seeing Adam smiling warmly as he wore the cute apron I had bought and prepared dinner, I couldn’t reconcile those descriptions with the man in front of me.
“You shouldn’t be on your feet,” he scolded lightly. “I’ll handle the cooking from now on. Just focus on taking care of yourself and the baby.”
I had asked Adam several times why he was being so kind to me. His answers were always vague. “Because I’m
a good person.”
And I believed him.
After all, what other explanation could there be? He had no reason to open his home to someone like me–a married, pregnant woman whose life was in shambles.
It wasn’t lust, that much was clear. My reflection told me everything I needed to know. With my plain, tired face and growing belly, even I found it hard to look at myself.
Adam didn’t owe me anything. Yet, here he was. When all of this was over, I would make sure to thank him.
properly.
Adam eventually returned to the U.S. Before he left, he hired a personal nanny to look after me.
‘Don’t overexert yourself,” he reminded me. “Let the nanny handle things. Don’t stress, don’t dwell on the past,
and take care of yourself, okay?”
I nodded, watching his plane disappear into the sky. In the days that followed, I did as I was told.
The nanny, despite my protests, insisted on calling me “ma’am.” After a few failed attempts to correct her, I gave
up and let it be.
I lived in a bubble of quiet comfort, detached from the chaos unfolding back home.
Unbeknownst to me, Chase had found the letter I left in the organ donation registry.
The realization shattered him. He wandered the streets in the pouring rain that night, eventually collapsing from
exhaustion.
Grace, furious and heartbroken, confronted Chase at the hospital, causing a public spectacle. The scandal destroyed his reputation. Patients avoided him, and the hospital had no choice but to let him go. Adam seized the opportunity to pressure Grace into a divorce.
Afterward, Grace’s manipulations led her into further trouble. She tried to con another woman, but her schemes
were exposed, and she ended up in jail.
Meanwhile, Chase spiraled further into despair.
The Heart He Stole
I didn’t respond to a single one.
One night, Chase drunkenly stumbled into the apartment we had once shared. The silence of the empty room was deafening. Collapsing onto the floor, he curled up, his body trembling as tears streamed down his face.
