Caleb Thorne’s first act upon returning to town was to have his men wreck my little seafood stall. All because five years ago, when he was nothing but a sick, penniless nobody, I’d walked away without looking back. Now, with a gorgeous fiancée on his arm, he scattered a fistful of cash directly in my face. “Eleanor, look at you now. You’re like a dead fish.Where’s all that pride you had when you sold me out for a quick buck” I said nothing. Just bent down to pick up the crumpled bills he’d stepped on. My body was failing by the day since the kidney transplant. This money might just buy me a decent plot to rest in. “Enough!” “Eleanor, who is this pathetic act for? For a few bucks, you’ve lost all your dignity?” Caleb watched my pathetic state, his eyes blazing with fury. I retrieved the last bill from beneath the sole of his polished shoe. Wiped it clean of scales and grime. Then, slowly, I pushed myself to my feet. “Dignity? What does it buy?” “Thank you for your business today, Mr. Thorne. The rest of the fish are on me. If they’re good, feel free to come back.” Caleb’s jaw tightened. The air around him seemed to freeze. “I should have known,” he bit out, each word dipped in ice. “You were always only about the money.” “If Sera hadn’t insisted on fresh seafood today, I would never have seen you again in my life.” At his words, I finally looked up. He hadn’t changed at all in five years. Still handsome. Still radiant. The only thing that had changed was the person by his side-it wasn’t me anymore. Perhaps noticing my silence, Sera Hayes, standing behind him, tugged at his sleeve. “Caleb, don’t talk to Ellie like that. She’s had a pretty tough time these past few years since leaving you.” Then she offered me an apologetic smile. “Ellie, I’m really sorry.” “Caleb just has that temper. He’s not very patient with strangers and can be a bit harsh. Don’t take it to heart.” I dug my nails into my palms, just barely managing to hold back the sting in my eyes. Right, that’s just how Caleb was. “How about this, Ellie? You keep these fish to sell. We only need two.” “Caleb doesn’t really like fish, but I was craving Mrs. Thorne’s special baked cod. Buying too much means we wouldn’t finish it, so two is plenty.” Just as Sera finished speaking and moved towards the fish tank, Caleb stopped her with his arm. “Don’t touch those. It’s so cold today, what if you catch a chill?” “Let her do it.” I skillfully bent down and scooped out the fish. Everything was routine, but when Caleb protectively cupped Sera’s reddened hands to his chest, my filleting knife slipped, slicing straight into my palm. Caleb took the cleaned fish, his eyes full of mockery as he looked at my bleeding hand. “Well, Eleanor, do you regret abandoning me five years ago when I was gravely ill?”
I looked at his face, overlapping with the pale, sickly one from my memories. Regret? Five years ago, Caleb Thorne’s startup failed, and soon after, he was admitted to the ICU with uremia. The funds raised for his startup had practically drained all our savings. To cover the exorbitant medical bills, I took on every job imaginable. At my worst, I ate only one meal a day and slept only three hours. I worked at my office during the day, then delivered takeout at night. I pushed myself to the limit, just barely managing to keep Caleb alive. Without a suitable kidney donor, he was constantly in danger. Watching his face grow gaunt day by day, I practically begged everyone I knew. Until that night, the doctor found me. He said they found a match. But the person who matched Caleb was me. Before I could respond, Caleb’s cold voice cut through my thoughts. “I don’t regret it one bit.” “If you hadn’t left me, I wouldn’t have met someone as amazing as Sera.” “And I wouldn’t have seen through your hypocritical, selfish facade.” Caleb finished speaking and turned away without hesitation, pulling Sera into their car. I replayed his words of relief in my mind, a numb smile twisting my lips. The next second, a nosebleed gushed out, unstoppable. When I woke up, I was already in the hospital. Looking at the sterile white ceiling, I skillfully pulled out the IV needle. Grabbing my things, I walked out. I hadn’t gone far when two familiar figures appeared. My steps automatically paused as I saw the “Obstetrics & Gynecology” sign. Caleb was holding Sera, his eyes full of happiness as he looked at the report in his hand. My heart fluttered, and for a moment, I thought back five years. Back then, Caleb’s eyes were only for me. He said that once he recovered, we’d have a child and build our own little family. Now, he finally got his wish. It just wasn’t with me. I shook my head, and the report in my hand suddenly slipped, scattering papers across the floor. Caleb finally noticed me. He picked up the reports from the ground, his brows furrowed as he read the dense text. “Severe kidney damage… late stage…” “What is this?” I hastily snatched the report, breathing a sigh of relief that he hadn’t fully read it. Caleb scoffed. “Eleanor, who taught you this trick? Faking an illness just to get money? Did you not manage to snag a rich guy after leaving me?” I clutched the report tightly, listening to his taunts in silence. Five years ago, after Caleb received another critical condition notice, I broke up with him. “Caleb Thorne, I want a rich life. Look at you now, you can’t even move on your own. What right do you have to ask me to stay and suffer with you?” My words were cold, final. It was the first time I’d ever seen Caleb cry. He clutched my hand, his own trembling, begging for more time, begging me not to go. That day, I walked away without looking back. And straight into the operating room, where I gave up a kidney. So Caleb, to this day, he still has no idea that the very thing that saved his life… was taken from me.
“If you want money so badly, fine.” “Sera and I are getting married. I remember you designed a wedding dress. How much do you want for it? I’ll buy it.” Caleb tightly clasped Sera’s hand, looking at me with absolute certainty. My breath hitched, and my heart gave a sharp lurch. That wedding dress was my first creation. The day it was finished, Caleb held the design sketch, grinning like a kid. He said he could picture how beautiful I’d look in it just by glancing at it. Now he wanted that very dress for someone else. Even though I knew deep down that I’d never get to wear it for Caleb, hearing him offer it to another woman still sent a pang of pain through my chest. After a long moment, I finally managed to find my voice. “Sure, it depends on how much Mr. Thorne is willing to pay. If the price is right, it’s yours.” Caleb’s expression was filled with scorn. “Eleanor, you really are obsessed with money. I truly don’t know how I ever fell for a woman like you.” With that, he didn’t spare me another glance, pulling Sera past me. I clenched the report so tightly my fingers ached. I thought after that day at the fish stand, we wouldn’t run into each other again. But it turned out Northwood was a terrifyingly small city. Caleb hated me, but even through my pain, I felt a flicker of perverse relief. Hate was fine. If love was gone, at least there was hate. That way, if I ever left, he might forget our past, but he’d remember this hate. Hate lasts longer than love, doesn’t it? I forced a bitter smile, wiping away the trickling nosebleed, and slowly pushed myself up against the wall. But before I could turn to leave, a familiar female voice spoke up behind me. “Eleanor, I thought when you agreed to leave Caleb, you’d finally understood, that you’d be willing to let him go.” “I never imagined you’d remain so stubborn. Five years have passed, Caleb doesn’t care about you anymore, so how dare you shamelessly show up again?” “Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been secretly sending letters to Caleb all these years! Do you know that if I hadn’t intercepted them, Caleb would have been ruined by a terrible person like you?!” Without Caleb by her side, Sera was like a different person. Her eyes were filled with hatred, her face twisted into a vicious sneer. I wasn’t surprised by her sudden change in attitude. In fact, her previous pretense of being gentle and generous had always disgusted me. When I first met Sera, she was already skilled at pretense. Back then, I felt pity for how sweet and mature the girl seemed. Even though Caleb and I were just starting our business and funds were incredibly tight, I still set aside a portion each month to help her with her studies. Sera would always sweetly call me “Ellie” back then, and I was fooled by her act. Until Caleb fell ill, and she immediately cut off contact with us. The next time I saw her, she was by Caleb’s side, taking my place. And I, due to the kidney donation, was deteriorating day by day. I still remember what Sera said to me when she and Caleb were about to go abroad. She said. “Ellie, in your current state, you can’t be there for Caleb, and you can’t share his burdens. You’ll only drag him down.” “Don’t you love him most? Can you really bear to see such an excellent Caleb dragged down by you?” “This opportunity to go abroad is one Caleb has waited a long time for. Can you really bear to ruin it with your own selfish desires? I hope you won’t contact Caleb anymore. Instead of having him fall from his pedestal with a burden, it’s better to discard something useless, don’t you agree?” I hated her hypocrisy, and I hated how easily she took everything that belonged to me. But one thing she said was indeed true. I really didn’t want such a bright and proud Caleb to become bogged down because of me. If he were confined to my sickbed every day, worrying about my illness, that would indeed be selfish. So I endured. For a long time, I didn’t contact him. Only during treatments, when the pain became unbearable, would I send him a letter. For five years, I always hoped. Maybe one day, Caleb would reply to me. Even a word or two of concern? But there was nothing. I thought Caleb truly hated me, but I never expected Sera to have interfered. “Eleanor, why are you so persistent? Didn’t we agree you wouldn’t appear in front of Caleb again?” Sera glared at me, as if I’d stolen something precious from her. I just lifted my eyes, giving her a faint glance. “Agreed? I don’t recall us agreeing on anything.” “Sera Hayes, if your memory is failing, go get your head checked. Don’t waste my time here. I don’t think we have anything to catch up on.” I turned to leave, but Sera quickly grabbed my arm. Seeing I wasn’t budging, she clearly became exasperated. “Eleanor, are you regretting it now? Seeing Caleb has money again, you want to snatch him back, don’t you?” “I’m telling you, don’t even think about it!” “I’m carrying Caleb’s child now. His heart and his side belong only to me!” Watching her agitated expression, I found it amusing. “I don’t recall ever abandoning him. Besides, if I hadn’t wanted to avoid holding him back, you wouldn’t be in the picture at all.” “You’re so tense right now, could it be you’re afraid I’ll tell Caleb what really happened back then?” Sera’s face immediately stiffened as I hit a nerve. After a long pause, she bit out, “Eleanor, do you dare to bet that Caleb won’t care about you at all now? Between you and me, no matter what, he’ll only choose me!”
I thought Caleb’s offer to buy my wedding dress design was just him being spiteful. But to my surprise, he actually showed up. I had just delivered some fish to Mrs. Jenkins, my neighbor, and turned around to see Caleb’s stormy face. “Eleanor, what are you doing living here? Who gave you permission to come back?” “Or do you think I’m foolish enough to forgive and forget, and then coddle you, beg you to come back like before?” I paused, then slowly shook my head. “No, it’s just that the rent here is cheap. Mr. Thorne, you’re flattering yourself.” “It’s just an apartment. There’s no hidden agenda.” I clenched my jaw, just barely managing to keep my emotions from spilling out. This rental apartment was where we’d lived during the two hardest years of our startup. Here, we’d leaned on each other, promising forever. So when Caleb left, I immediately rented it back. Caleb coldly averted his gaze. “You’d better truly think that way. Don’t harbor any other intentions.” “There’s ten thousand dollars on this card. Is that enough for your design sketch?” I stiffened, looking at the card. Ten thousand was enough to buy ten design sketches, and to cover my treatments for a long time. But looking at him, I couldn’t bring myself to agree. I simply couldn’t accept that everything that was once mine was now being given to another woman by him. “What, are you regretting it now?” Caleb sneered, seeing my silence. Ten thousand dollars to sever everything between us-it was more than enough. I subconsciously wanted to speak, but a gentle female voice beat me to it. “Ellie, Caleb isn’t bothering you, is he?” “He said he had a surprise for me this morning, I didn’t expect it was to come here to get your design.” “Don’t mind him, he’s like a big kid sometimes. He just proposed yesterday, and today he’s already impatient to plan the wedding dress.” Sera walked up in a simple white dress, naturally linking her arm through Caleb’s. My throat tightened as I saw the diamond ring she deliberately showed off. It was from Eternity Jewels’ “Eternal Bond” collection, the one I’d fallen in love with at first sight. Back then, we were dirt poor, but Caleb had firmly told me. One day, he would buy it for me. Now he had the means, but the one wearing that ring was no longer me. Caleb skillfully enveloped her hand in his, his face filled with worry. “What are you doing here? You can’t stand places like this. What if you get hurt on the way?” Sera playfully nestled into his arms. “You suddenly disappeared, and I got worried, silly. Besides, I’m not a child anymore.” Then she smiled at me, feigning helplessness. “Sorry, Ellie, for making you watch our little show. Caleb always thinks I’m helpless. Every time I go out alone, he worries for ages.” I numbly twitched my lips, feeling like every second spent standing there was agony. Before I could move, Sera grabbed my arm. “Ellie, are you going to get the design? I’ll come with you. We can see if there’s anything that needs changing.” “Caleb, us girls are going to have some private chat, so don’t come over!” Caleb nodded, his eyes full of adoration for the playful Sera. I was pulled into the room by Sera. As soon as the door closed, Sera scoffed. “I knew you hadn’t given up! What design sketch? It’s clearly just an excuse to see Caleb.” “And deliberately living here, are you trying to make Caleb remember the past and come back to you?” “Dream on!” I was tired of listening to her rant and wanted to find the design so she’d leave. But Sera relentlessly held onto me, ready to slap my face. I instinctively pushed her away. With almost imperceptible force, Sera shrieked and began to fall backward. Before I could react, a strong hand suddenly grabbed my arm. He pulled me hard, and I instantly tumbled down the stairs. In the dilapidated stairwell, my nosebleed wouldn’t stop. I lay on the concrete floor, bruised and disheveled. Caleb, however, acted as if he didn’t see me, only caring to scoop Sera into his arms, repeatedly checking on her. Only after confirming she was unharmed did he let out a shaky sigh of relief. Then his shadowy gaze landed on me. “Eleanor, who gave you the guts to lay a hand on Sera?” “If anything happens to her or the baby, you’ll regret it!” I was in too much pain to think clearly. My nose bled endlessly as I tried to open my mouth.. Before I could speak, the iron door next door clanged open Mrs. Jenkins saw me covered in blood and screamed. “What have you done to her?!” “Eleanor had a kidney transplant! She had a kidney transplant! Her body can’t take this! Didn’t you know that?”
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