Chapter 5
#1
789 Vouchers
As night descended, Jacob returned to the hospital ward.
“Why are you here?” I asked, noting his composed demeanor.
“I’m your secretary,” he replied.
I scoffed, “Oh, so you remember you’re my secretary. Where were you when I needed help earlier?”
Jacob swallowed hard.
“Ms. Eva was upset and crying. It wasn’t safe for her to go home alone.”
If my hands weren’t bandaged, I might have clapped for him.
Such touching devotion.
I gazed at him, my eyes growing teary and red.
“Jacob, while you were gone, I prepared a gift for you.”
Jacob seemed a bit taken aback.
“You don’t have to do this. I mean, I also…”
“Got rid of everything I ever gave you?” I interrupted him.
I clenched my jaw, determined not to let the tears spill.
For a moment, panic flickered across his features.
“Are you crying?” he asked, as if the idea was impossible.
Chapter 5
788 Vouchers
“No way. You’re so strong and feisty. How could you cry?”
I averted my gaze and discreetly wiped my tears away.
My heart was in agony.
When Eva cried, he would move heaven and earth for her.
But when I shed tears, it was beyond belief.
This was the man I had loved wholeheartedly for three years.
I drew in a steadying breath, turned to him, and spoke with a calm detachment. “You can leave. Your gift will arrive shortly.”
Jacob’s hands, hanging at his sides, shook slightly.
“Then get some good rest. I’ll visit you tomorrow,” he said, turning away.
His tall frame remained as straight as it had been on the day of the interview three years ago.
However, my perspective had completely changed.
I now understood that he appeared fair outwardly but was utterly corrupt within.
He was rotten to the core.
Thankfully, tomorrow I would finally leave this place that had taken my mother and tormented me for years.
Due to my injuries, three private doctors were arranged on the Hachett family’s private plane.
I had someone bring my visa and passport last night.
- 18%
Chapter 5
288 (Vouchers
With the Hachett family’s assistance, I passed through security without any issues.
Before boarding the plane, I took a final glance at this familiar yet burdensome place.
I vowed never to return
Even if my future husband were a dying invalid, I wouldn’t feel any nostalgia for it.
After Ronald passed away, I planned to travel the world and fulfill my mother’s unrealized dream with my funds.
***
After leaving the hospital, Jacob returned to his villa in the Boston suburbs.
He was unable to sleep all night.
As dawn began to break, he decided not to force himself to rest and got up to move around.
For a reason he couldn’t explain, he walked into the empty room.
Pushing the door open, he discovered it filled with gift boxes and bags of different sizes.
Among them were hand–knitted woolen dolls with his name on them.
Back then, Lilianna had wrapped her arms around his waist, preventing him from retreating, and asked if he thought the dolls were
cute.
He had replied coldly that they were ugly.
25 11%
Chapter 5
208 Vouchers
Lilianna didn’t get upset. Instead, she playfully tapped his head with a doll and said, “Who says that? Our little Jacob is clearly very cute.”
There were also cufflinks, ties, and shirts from various luxury brands.
She always believed he wasn’t wealthy, so she would take him to luxury stores and shower him with fancy outfits.
She would adjust the tie she had knitted herself and lead him to the fitting mirror, proudly raising her head while asking him, “Do you think this looks good?”
He avoided meeting her teasing gaze in the mirror and dis sed it as dull.
She had climbed all 999 steps of the church to plead for a lucky charm when he was ill.
Once he recovered, she insisted he carry the charm with him out of
concern.
Jacob was aware that Lilianna didn’t typically believe in such things.
Her skepticism stemmed from her mother not receiving her due.
Yet when he fell ill, Lilianna clung to faith fervently.
Unfortunately, he had never actually worn that charm.
Just recently, Lilianna had even checked his collar to see if he had it
- on.
When her fingers found his bare chest, a hint of sadness flickered in her eyes, but she still smiled and said, “Even if you’re not wearing it, I got to feel your muscles, so it’s not a total loss.”
For the first time, Jacob realized how often he had disappointed
Chapter 5
288 (Vouchers
Lilianna.
Yet, Lilianna never seemed truly upset with him.
Even when she got jealous and threw a tantrum because he favored Eva, she would calm down by the next day.
Reflecting on this, Jacob felt a wave of guilt.
“Never mind. I’ll go get her favorite sandwich and take it to the hospital,” he decided.
The place was quite a distance away, and though Lilianna had mentioned it several times, he had never gone there before
Bringing her the sandwich today would surely make her happy.
He considered it a way to make it up to her.
With this thought, Jacob grabbed his car keys, feeling a sense of relief and happiness.
He pictured Lilianna’s surprised expression when she saw the sandwich.
Without realizing it, he pressed the accelerator and drove faster.
The round trip took quite a while, and by the time he reached the hospital, it was nearly noon.
After parking his car and taking the elevator to the upper floor, he felt a sudden wave of excitement.
The VIP ward’s corridor was incredibly quiet, and Jacob could almost hear his own heartbeat.
He knocked softly on the ward door but got no reply.
40%
Chapter 5
2988 Vouchers
Jacob frowned slightly.
Could she still be asleep? Lilianna rarely slept in.
He gently pushed the door open and stepped inside, only to find the bed empty.
His frown deepened.
He wondered aloud, “Strange. With such serious injuries, where could she have gone?”
A feeling of unease began to grow inside him.
He turned around, left the room, stopped a passing nurse, and inquired about Lilianna’s whereabouts.
The nurse’s eyes brightened. “You must be Mr. Kecith, correct?”
Jacob nodded.
“Please follow me. Ms. Caide has left a gift for you.”
Jacob trailed behind the nurse, feeling dazed.
However, after a few steps, he sensed something was off.
He hurried forward and halted the nurse.
“I don’t want any gifts. Just tell me where Lilianna is,” he demanded.
The nurse’s face turned displeased as she pushed Jacob’s hand away.
“Mr. Kecith, you’re being impolite. I can’t understand how someone as well–mannered as Ms. Caide could be fond of someone like you.”
Jacob was taken aback.
Chapter 5
He had always been a prodigy and had never been addressed in such a
manner.
But at that moment, he couldn’t be bothered by it. All he wanted was to know Lilianna’s whereabouts, as she was seriously injured.
The nurse turned around and retrieved a document bag from the
drawer of the worktable.
“This is from Ms. Lilianna for
you.”
Jacob glanced at the document envelope, and a sudden, sharp headache struck him.
Lilianna had given him many gifts before, all beautifully wrapped in gift boxes. What could possibly be inside this envelope?
A strong sense of unease gripped his heart.
He took the envelope and opened it.
A sheet of A4 paper fluttered to the ground, and Jacob caught it.
Upon reading the document’s title, his heart sank.
The sandwich he was holding fell to the floor.
“Certificate of Dismissal”
“Due to Jacob’s inability to perform his duties and having placed
General Manager Lilianna in dangerous situations multiple times, he is hereby dismissed.”
The black signature was Lilianna’s, the one he knew so well.
It was stamped with the group’s official seal.
Chapter 5
11
288 Vouchers
A jolt, like a lightning strike, hit Jacob as he read the words on the paper repeatedly.
He shook with disbelief as he finally accepted the truth: Lilianna no longer wanted him, not as her secretary nor as the person she loved.
