Beyond Love and Longing

“Sir…”

Several servants cautiously approached him, their voices trembling as they softly inquired, “Are you alright?”

James struggled to control his shaking. He took a deep breath and forced a smile that was more heartbreaking than tears.

“Call an ambulance for me, please. I can’t move anymore.”

Under their pitiful gazes, James was carried into the ambulance.

His injuries were worse than he had expected, with bruises and abrasions covering his entire body.

“These injuries are severe. Don’t you have any family to stay with you?”

The doctor couldn’t help but comment as he treated James’s wounds. “You’ll need help since you won’t be able to move around.”

“I don’t have any family,” replied James, his voice distant and hollow. “There’s no one in this world who’s tied to me anymore.”

His parents were gone and Wendy… she was gone too.

Or maybe, she was never truly there to begin with.

As the nurse wheeled him out, he overheard two other nurses gossiping nearby.

“Did you hear? That livestreamer, Sean, is hospitalized here.”

“I did! His wife treats him so well. She booked an entire floor for him.”

“Wow… she’s the daughter of an affluent family and is still so attentive. I’m so jealous.”

“Although I heard his wife had a lot of scandals before…”

“So what? Can’t someone become loyal again for the person they love?”

‘Become loyal again for the person they love...’

James lowered his gaze and gave a bitter smile.

Yes, Wendy would do anything for Sean.

That was true love.

Exhausted both physically and mentally, James had his driver take him to his seaside villa.

For the next few days, he stayed there to recuperate.

This villa was bought with the first pot of gold he earned back in university through investments made with his part-time income.

It was truly his own.

The ocean roared yet remained serene. Every time James sat by the shore, he felt a rare sense of tranquility.

Watching the waves chase and play with each other before disappearing on the sand brought him a semblance of peace.

It was as though the suffocating weight he had carried for so long was finally beginning to lift.

In this seaside villa, James allowed himself a break from everything.

But when his “holiday” ended, he turned his phone back on, only to be met with a barrage of missed calls.

The majority of them were from Wendy.

“James, haven’t you caused enough trouble? Where have you gone off to, leaving the company’s mess for me to clean up? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to! You’re just trying to use work to keep me from taking care of Sean, aren’t you? You’re so petty and disgusting!”

As James stepped into his office, Wendy was still flooding his phone with messages.

“Where the hell have you been?”

When James finally walked through the door, Wendy threw a stack of documents at his feet.

“The wedding is in a week! I don’t care what excuse you have, but you better drop the attitude! They’re only minor injuries, stop being so dramatic!”

James remained silent. He headed straight for the sofa and sat down.

When Wendy caught a glimpse of his exposed skin—bruised and marred with wounds—a flicker of guilt crossed her face.

But it disappeared as quickly as it came.

“You should feel lucky that Sean’s fine, that his head wasn’t injured. Otherwise, I’d divorce you without a second thought. Sean is kind-hearted and isn’t holding you accountable. But he does have one request that you need to fulfill. For our wedding, you’re going to be the officiant.”

James raised his head, his voice trembling. “Wendy, you want your husband to officiate the wedding between you and your lover?”

He stared at her, his gaze filled with despair and disbelief.

Wendy looked puzzled.

She didn’t understand why James was reacting so strangely.

“It’s just a few words of blessing. Sean respects you. He holds you in high regard. Why can’t you just agree?”

Hearing her words, James couldn’t hold it in any longer. He shoved her aside and ran to the bathroom, retching violently.

How had he never noticed before just how disgusting Wendy truly was?

Clenching his fists tightly, he slammed one into the cold mirror.

Blood seeped from his knuckles as the glass cracked under the force.

James stumbled back and turned around to face Wendy’s astonished gaze.

“Wendy, we once shared something—call it feelings, or whatever it was. Maybe it’s all gone now, but for the sake of what we once had… please, spare me.” James let out a bitter laugh, his voice hoarse. “I won’t officiate your wedding. Consider it my plea to you.”

Wendy’s expression turned unreadable.

In all these years, this was the first time James had ever begged her.

So humbly. So vulnerably.

“Fine, forget it then.” Wendy raised her brows slightly. “James, if you had begged me like this earlier, maybe I would’ve come home more often. You owe everything you have to me. You should be worshiping me. Too bad you figured that out too late.”

Listening to her smug, self-righteous words, James’s fists clenched tighter.

Yes, he had figured it out too late.

The shattered glass cut deeper into his hand, blood dripping steadily onto the floor.

With trembling fingers, he traced a single number in his own blood on the broken mirror, “7”.

Only seven days left.