Chapter 74 AVOIDING MORE PAIN

Chapter 74 AVOIDING MORE PAIN
TWO DAYS HAVE PASSED

The hospital has cleared Spade for discharge. He will only need to return for follow-up checkups to monitor his condition until doctors are certain the tumor will not recur.

Spade was getting himself ready, wearing a bonnet he would have to keep on until his hair grew back. Santi had come to pick him up—and in the two days since his last encounter with Isabella, she had not once visited the hospital.

“We can go now if you’re done preparing yourself, boss,” Santi announced. Spade nodded in confirmation.

As they stepped out of the room, Camilla appeared suddenly in front of them.

“Leaving the hospital already?” she asked, and Spade offered her a gentle smile.

“Yeah, the doctor said I’m good to go now.”

“That’s unfair—I still can’t leave yet. I want to be discharged too,” Camilla sighed, and Spade reached out to brush his hand over her forehead. Santi shifted uncomfortably beside him.

“I’ll visit you often, and when you’re allowed out, just let me know—I’ll be the one to pick you up,” Spade promised, and Camilla’s face lit up.

“Really? You swear?”

“Pro—”

“—We have to go, Boss Spade. They’re waiting for you at the penthouse,” Santi cut in sharply. Spade nodded and turned back to Camilla.

“I have to go,” he said before following Santi out.

Once outside the hospital, they climbed into the car without delay. Spade had spent quite a few days confined inside, and he was more than ready to leave the sterile walls behind.

“You’re close with that woman?” Santi asked, glancing at him in the rearview mirror. Spade turned to face his secretary.

“Camilla? Don’t call her ‘that woman’—she has a name.”

“I know you don’t remember Isabella, but getting close to someone else when you’re married is wrong,” Santi said firmly. Spade frowned; he knew Santi had always favored Isabella.

“Are you close to her? Besides, if she really cared about me—if she’s my wife—she’d come see me even if I push her away or say things that hurt her. But she didn’t show up once in two days.”

“How was Isabella supposed to visit when she’s been sick this whole time?” Santi replied as he pulled the car onto the road.

Spade fell silent, stunned by the news.

“She’s sick?”

“Yeah—high fever for two days straight. She refused to go to the hospital, said it was just a common cold. And even if she’d wanted to come see you, do you think she could face the things you’d say to her?” Santi’s voice was steady but serious, and Spade had no reply.

“I know you don’t remember her, but you don’t have to say things that wound her heart. Losing your memories and forgetting her was already painful enough for her—what more when you throw cruel words at her on top of that?”

“You’re lecturing me like my father does.”

“Because we don’t want you to regret everything you said to her when your memories come back. Trust me, Spade—you love Isabella. Feel it in your heart. And that woman in the hospital… don’t make a mistake with her that could drive Isabella away. I’m saying this not just as your secretary, but as your friend.”

Spade said nothing for the rest of the drive, lost in thought until they pulled up at his penthouse. His mother was waiting at the door and pulled him into a tight embrace the moment he stepped out of the car.

“I’m so glad you’re home. Welcome back,” she said, her eyes scanning the car as if looking for someone.

“I know Dad was busy, but you didn’t have to come all the way here to meet me, Mom,” Spade said softly. His mother held his hands in hers.

“Silly boy—you just came out of surgery. Of course I’d be here to greet you. Isabella wanted to be here too, but she’s still unwell. Alina stayed home with her—she said she didn’t want you to see her when you don’t even recognize her.”

“Does that mean Isabella’s at your house?”

“No, she’s here. She didn’t want Alina to see her sick like this. She’s resting in Alina’s room upstairs. You should go lie down in your own room and get some rest.”

Spade noticed the sadness in his mother’s eyes but said nothing of it.

“I’ll go see her first. Thank you for welcoming me home, Mom.”

He made his way upstairs and stopped at the door to Alina’s room. Without knocking, he pushed it open to find Isabella sitting up in bed, wide awake.

“Santi said you’ve been sick for two days—are you alright?” he asked. Isabella turned to look at him, her gaze gentle but distant.

“I-I’m fine. I’m glad you’re out of the hospital… I’m sorry I didn’t visit you these past two days. Santi mentioned you had someone to talk to there—I suppose that’s the woman I saw before.”

Spade sat down on the edge of the bed, and he could feel the weight of her exhaustion in the air between them.

“How close are you and Santi that he tells you everything?” he asked, and a faint smile touched Isabella’s lips.

“Spade, I told you that even if you forgot me, I wouldn’t leave—I’d stay and remind you of everything we had. But I… I’m not as strong as I thought I was. I wanted to fight for us, but it’s so hard when I feel like I’m fighting alone.”

Spade’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve thought about this for two days. It’s not that I’m giving up on you—I just can’t keep hurting like this. I want to fight for what we were, but it breaks my heart to do it by myself.” Even as she spoke, her hands trembled slightly as she reached for a folder on the bedside table and handed it to him.

Spade stared down at the papers in his hands, his breath catching in his throat when he read the words Divorce Agreement.

“I’ve already signed it. I just need your signature now. Thank you for letting me be Mrs. Vasile, even if only for a little while. I want to give you what you want so you don’t have to struggle because of me. When I’m well enough, Alina and I will move out—but we won’t go far. I want to wait for your memories to return… but I don’t want to be in your way if you find someone else.” She fought back tears as she lay down and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

“I-I’m going to rest now. You should get some sleep too.”

Spade could not speak—his mind felt numb, unable to process what she had just said. He stood slowly and walked out of the room, leaving Isabella alone as silent tears streamed down her face.

His mother was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

“Spade…”

“I told her I wanted a divorce, and now she’s giving it to me,” he said, holding out the papers. His mother looked at them sadly—she had already known; Isabella had come to speak with her and Spade’s father about her decision two days earlier.

“Your father and I let her make her own choice. When she came home two days ago, she was crying so hard she could barely breathe. The next day, she just sat there staring into space, not eating anything. Then she came to us and told us what she’d decided. We couldn’t stop her—not when she was in so much pain.”

“Won’t you stop me, Mom? Are you just going to let me sign these papers?”

“She’s already accepted it. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to her to stay married to a man who doesn’t even know who she is. I’m going to rest now,” Spade said, turning to walk toward his room.

“I can’t believe it’s ending like this for them both,” his mother whispered to herself as he walked away.

“My son loves her more than anything, but because of what he’s been through… why do they have to suffer like this?”

Santi stood nearby, his jaw tight. He had no words to offer—there was nothing anyone could say to ease the pain of what was happening between the two people he cared about most.