The nurse’s words kept repeating in Adrian Zhou’s mind.
“She passed away.”
Five simple words.
But they shattered everything he believed.
For three years, Adrian had been certain of one thing.
Maya would always come back.
No matter how angry she was.
No matter how hurt she felt.
She would always return.
Because she had done it every time before.
When he ignored her calls.
When he canceled their plans.
When Clara Song stood between them.
Maya always stayed.
But this time…
She didn’t.
Adrian stood in the empty hospital room.
The bed was gone.
The photos were gone.
Even the small pink cup Maya’s sister used every day was gone.
Only the emptiness remained.
Just like his marriage.
A nurse looked at him carefully.
“Are you her family?”
Adrian opened his mouth.
But he couldn’t answer.
Was he?
He was her husband.
But when Maya needed him most, he had not acted like one.
“I am…”
The word came out weak.
The nurse looked at him with disappointment.
“Then why didn’t you come earlier?”
Adrian lowered his head.
Because there was no answer.
Five days earlier.
The image returned clearly.
Maya standing outside his office.
Her face pale.
Her eyes red from crying.
Her hands protecting her stomach.
She had begged him.
Not demanded.
Not threatened.
Begged.
“Adrian.”
“I only need three hundred thousand.”
“My sister needs surgery.”
“Please.”
At that time, he was busy reviewing documents.
Clara had already told him Maya was becoming too dependent.
Clara had said:
“She always uses family problems to pressure you.”
And he believed her.
So he looked at Maya and said the cruelest words without knowing they would become the last words she remembered from him.
“Maya, are you really going to use your sister again to ask me for money?”
Now, standing in the hospital, Adrian finally understood.
She wasn’t asking for money.
She was asking him to save a life.
A life that mattered to her.
A life he allowed to disappear.
That evening, Adrian returned home.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
Normally, Maya would be waiting.
She would ask:
“Have you eaten?”
“Are you tired?”
“Do you want me to prepare something?”
He used to think those questions were annoying.
Now he wanted to hear them again.
Just once.
He walked into the bedroom.
Everything was exactly the same.
Except Maya’s things were missing.
On the table was a small envelope.
His hands trembled as he opened it.
Inside were divorce papers.
And a note.
Only a few lines.
“Adrian.”
“I spent three years trying to become the wife you wanted.”
“I learned patience.”
“I learned silence.”
“I learned how to forgive.”
“But I forgot one thing.”
“I forgot that I also deserved to be loved.”
His fingers tightened around the paper.
The next sentence made his heart stop.
“My sister died waiting for the help you refused to give.”
“And my child died because I carried too much pain alone.”
Adrian froze.
Child.
His eyes moved back to the sentence.
His child.
“No…”
The word escaped his mouth.
Slowly, his entire body became cold.
Maya was pregnant.
She had been carrying his child.
And he didn’t know.
Because he had been too busy defending another woman.
Too busy protecting Clara’s feelings.
Too busy believing Maya was exaggerating.
The next morning, Adrian went directly to Clara Song.
She was sitting in her office.
When she saw him, she smiled.
“Adrian, you’re here.”
He placed the hospital documents on the table.
“Explain.”
Her smile disappeared.
“What?”
“Why didn’t I receive Maya’s messages?”
Clara became silent.
That silence answered everything.
Adrian’s eyes darkened.
“You knew.”
“I…”
“You knew her sister needed surgery.”
“She was desperate.”
Clara tried to explain.
“I was only following your instructions.”
“My instructions?”
His voice became colder.
“When did I tell you to hide her messages?”
Clara lowered her eyes.
“You said you didn’t want her using family matters to control your decisions.”
Adrian stepped back.
Because suddenly he realized something.
He had created the situation.
He had given Clara the power.
He had trusted her more than his own wife.
And now he wanted to blame someone else.
A week later, Adrian found Maya.
Not through her phone.
Not through her home.
Through the airport records.
She had left the country.
She had gone somewhere far away.
Somewhere he couldn’t easily reach.
For the first time, Adrian felt helpless.
The same feeling Maya must have felt when she stood outside his office.
Begging.
Waiting.
Hoping.
Only now, nobody was coming to save him.
Six months later, Adrian received a package.
No sender.
Inside was a small envelope.
A photo.
A baby bracelet.
And a letter.
His hands shook as he opened it.
“Maya wanted to tell you.”
“You had a son.”
“He never got to meet his father.”
Adrian stared at the bracelet.
The room became blurry.
For years, he thought money could solve everything.
A transfer.
A gift.
An apology.
But some things could never be returned.
A lost life.
A broken family.
A woman who stopped waiting.
One year later, Adrian finally found Maya.
She was standing outside a small bookstore.
Different.
Calm.
Beautiful.
But no longer his.
“Maya.”
She turned.
For a moment, Adrian saw the woman from three years ago.
The woman who loved him completely.
Then she disappeared.
Only a stranger remained.
“I’m sorry.”
Those were the first words he said.
Maya looked at him.
“I know.”
He was surprised.
“You know?”
“Yes.”
“Then why…”
“Because I believe you regret it.”
She paused.
“But regret is not the same as love.”
Adrian’s eyes turned red.
“Can we start again?”
Maya looked at him quietly.
Then she shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I already started again.”
She looked toward the street.
“Without you.”
Adrian stood there.
The richest man in the city.
A man who could buy anything.
Except the one thing he wanted most.
A second chance.
Because Maya Jiang did not leave him when she walked away.
She left him the moment she realized she was fighting alone.
And by the time Adrian Zhou finally wanted to protect her…
She no longer needed him to.
