Chapter 5: Taking Off the Wedding Ring He Gave
Amelia fell hard to the ground.
Countless camera flashes went off, countless lenses capturing this embarrassing moment of hers.
Amelia instinctively looked toward William, only to meet his cold eyes.
She understood what his eyes were saying.
Her heart ached.
He wanted her to tell the media "it's just a misunderstanding. Ms. Taylor is unwell, and my husband just happened to be here. Showing compassion and care for a sick person is what a man should do."
Her hand covering her stomach tightened slightly. Amelia lowered her head and smiled.
The clouds in the sky drifted slowly across the blue expanse, sunlight filtering through gaps in the crowd and scattering down in patches.
But none of it fell on her.
Amelia composed herself and slowly stood up.
With her back to William, she calmly responded: "I sympathize with Ms. Taylor's illness, but that's all there is to it."
"So you're saying you and Isabella are friends?" some clueless person nearby asked.
"Friends?" Amelia laughed lightly.
"No. Who would be friends with someone who's constantly clinging to their husband?" Amelia coldly dropped this line and waved at Mia, who had already driven over.
"Amelia!" William's slightly angry voice came from behind.
But she paid no attention, stubbornly standing there with her back to him.
Mia quickly rescued her. Before leaving, Mia even let out a mocking laugh.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you two were the married couple. Never seen anyone so shameless!"
"You!" Isabella immediately got angry and was about to speak.
But Mia cut her off: "Me what? I'm just telling the truth. If you don't want to admit it, there's nothing I can do."
After these words, Isabella's face looked even worse, as if she was about to faint.
The scene immediately became chaotic.
Meanwhile, Mia got Amelia into the car. Without looking back, the two drove off.
"Don't worry, she's obviously faking it. I've seen this plenty of times, I can tell right away," Mia comforted.
Amelia smiled helplessly and said, "It's not her I'm worried about, it's you. What if they make trouble for your work?"
There was a red light ahead. Mia hit the brakes, then smiled at Amelia.
"Amelia, the hospital director is my dad, remember?"
Amelia rolled her eyes and said, "Didn't someone say she would never acknowledge him as her father?"
"Don't bring that up. I wish all the powerful people in the world were my dad!"
The two joked around for a bit. Once they confirmed Amelia was okay, the light turned green and the car continued on.
"Tell me, I'm free this afternoon. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it!" Mia looked ready to be at her disposal.
Amelia was infected by her mood and smiled mischievously.
"Actually, there is something I need your help with."
"What is it?" Mia looked at Amelia innocently.
"Help me move." Amelia grabbed Mia's wrist. "No backing out!"
In the end, Mia gave in.
So the two of them, along with professional organizers and movers, came to the marital home they had lived in for a year.
Their marriage had been rushed, and everything had been arranged at the last minute.
Like this house.
But over the past year, with her careful decorating, this place had started to feel like a home.
No longer just a cold house.
What a shame...
Mia directed the organizers, keeping them busy. Amelia picked up a bottle of perfume from a shelf nearby.
This was the first gift William had brought her after a business trip following their marriage.
A classic scent.
When he came back, he still carried the smell of mist.
He had rushed back to find her right after getting off the plane.
That day his embrace was urgent, his kiss was urgent too.
Back then, they were just like any normal married couple.
She opened the cap and sprayed it.
Still that familiar scent.
Just like the taste when he had sprayed perfume on her that year and gently kissed her lips.
"Should we pack this up too?" Mia saw the perfume and immediately called someone over.
Amelia shook her head: "No need."
She took off the wedding ring he had casually bought and placed it on the table.
But seeing the organizers moving around, she thought about it and put the perfume, the ring, and a note listing what was there together in a drawer.
After a while, the house was all packed up.
Everything that belonged to her, except for that bottle of perfume and that ring, was moved out.
Moving sounds complicated, but once you've made up your mind, it goes quickly.
The same goes for sorting out your heart.
The car headed toward Amelia's new home. The wind gently blew through her hair, and in the rearview mirror, the house grew more and more distant.
Only by leaving the past behind can you move forward.
She still had many important things to do.
The Martinez family's sudden bankruptcy, the mystery of Jasper's "accidental" death—all needed her investigation.
Her past life seemed to have been lived for others.
She wanted to live as herself again.
Starting with that music variety show. On one hand, she'd get funding; on the other, she could let people who knew Jasper see her.
Thinking this, Amelia took out her phone, found someone's contact, and replied: [That show, I'll participate.]
...
On the other side, Isabella was still crying.
William comforted her gently, his mind full of how Amelia had looked when she left.
She had just stood there, her back to him, saying those things.
She clearly knew what he wanted her to say.
Yet once again, she defied him.
He had sent many messages, and she hadn't replied to any of them.
Here we go again.
In just over a day, she seemed like a different person, deliberately picking fights with him.
When she came to get the divorce receipt, it was like this. Coming to the hospital was like this too.
Inexplicably, William's mind flashed to those eyes of Amelia's last night when she asked him to decide—looking at him steadily.
A bit sad, yet completely calm.
He suddenly felt a little afraid.
"William, don't blame Amelia," Isabella said through tears.
"I know Amelia feels bad. She saw online that the two of us were at the hospital, so she came to confront us. I can accept that. After all..."
Her tears flowed even more.
"After all, I stole this... William, these last six months, I stole them from your marriage. So no matter how Amelia slanders me, I deserve it."
As she spoke, she suddenly started coughing.
Then she coughed up a large mouthful of blood.
"Isabella!" William panicked and immediately tried to call an ambulance.
As for Amelia's strange behavior, he figured she was probably just throwing a tantrum. She couldn't leave him.
But Isabella just shook her head and smiled palely: "It's already late stage, this is just how it is. Don't worry."
Then the caregiver helped settle her in.
Watching William frown deeply as he went to give Amelia a piece of his mind, Isabella casually wiped away the blood and spit out the blood pack she'd hidden in her mouth earlier.
She smiled at the caregiver: "What do you think he'll say to scold Amelia? Haha, I'm really looking forward to it."
Then she happily opened up various video comments online.
Online, everyone was unanimously criticizing Amelia.
"Isabella went to the hospital to get medicine—not even life-saving medicine anymore, just painkillers to help her die with dignity—and Amelia still had to go!"
"Isabella is dying, and Amelia can't even tolerate that?"
"Anyway, I think Isabella and William are the perfect match. They look like the ideal couple standing together!"
"Amelia should just get divorced already!"
"Amelia, get divorced!"
"Amelia, get divorced!"
...
Isabella laughed happily and took out her phone to give instructions: "Keep doing exactly what we did today. Deliberately create topics, do good marketing, and make sure to keep Amelia crushed under our feet!"
"Oh, and find out what Amelia went to the hospital for today."