Chapter 4

The doctor hesitated, then finally just sighed.

Outside the hospital, Giovanni's driver was waiting by the door. He opened the car door but didn't get in immediately.

I asked softly, "The three things are done. Will Mr. Giovanni let me go now?"

He had his back to me, his shoulders tense.

After a long silence, a single word came out. "Get lost."

Dead leaves were swept up by the cold wind. My heart died completely, with nothing left to hold onto.

This winter was truly cold.

Giovanni returned to the hospital for another follow-up half a month later.

The doctor pushed up his glasses, his expression grave. "Mr. Giovanni, although I shouldn't meddle in patients' personal affairs, that Miss Gerard who came with you last time—you need to cherish her while you still have time!"

Giovanni paused while adjusting his cuffs. "What do you mean, 'while I still have time'?"

The doctor looked surprised, realizing he'd said something he shouldn't have. He tried to brush it off.

But Giovanni kept pressing him, even threatening his career.

"Five years ago, when you were critical, the only suitable donor was Miss Gerard. She volunteered to donate and requested using an artificial heart as a replacement, even though the technology was still unstable at the time. The surgical risk was extremely high, and the possibility of post-operative rejection and artificial heart failure were both very real."

The doctor's words cut into Giovanni like knives, one after another. His face turned deathly pale. "What did you say?"

"After the surgery, she asked how you were. When she heard the operation was very successful, she didn't ask anything more."

"But an artificial heart ultimately... Miss Gerard doesn't have much time left."

Giovanni thought about all those harsh acts of revenge, those humiliating words filled with hatred.

Those necklaces he'd made her try on under false pretenses. Those moments when she looked pale but he assumed she was just playing the victim.

In an instant, regret mixed with pain spread through his entire body.

The car sped along, running through countless red lights.

Giovanni's hands shook so badly he could barely grip the steering wheel.

He frantically rushed to the building and looked up.

With his own eyes, he saw a familiar, frail figure leap from the rooftop.