The Love That Broke Me

When Henry saw me standing at the dermatology clinic's door, his eyes lit up, and he started walking toward me.

But as he got closer, his expression shifted to one of disdain. "What's the rush, Luke? Afraid we'll find out you've got some... embarrassing disease?"

The smile on Jade's face vanished the moment she saw me. "Luke, didn't I tell you to wait for me? What's the point of following me around all day? Even with an injured foot, you can't stop being pathetic?"

I looked up at Jade, and it seemed she was expecting my gratitude. Gratitude for trusting that I didn't have some filthy disease and for maintaining my dignity in front of Henry. But her face showed no embarrassment or discomfort at being caught in a lie. Instead, her expression was full of cold reprimand.

As for the cold sweat trickling down my forehead?

It didn't matter.

I walked past them, heading straight for the restroom, but Henry blocked me. My instinct was to avoid his touch. With a light shove, he stumbled to the ground.

Jade reacted instantly, steadying Henry while shoving me to the ground. "Luke! Haven't you had enough of this nonsense?"

She didn't push me hard, but my foot had just been stitched up, and now that the anesthesia had worn off, all I felt was excruciating pain. I couldn't handle the shove. That slight fall made my whole world spin. The pain from my abdomen and foot spread to my stomach, leaving me feeling nauseous and my temples throbbing. All I wanted was to get up and rush to the restroom to throw up.

After struggling to rise, Jade grabbed my wrist, refusing to let me leave. "Apologize to Henry!"

Her eyes were as cold as ice, completely ignoring the bloodstained bandages on my foot. Every cell in my body screamed in pain. Using all my strength, I barely managed to stand.

Suppressing my anger, I asked Jade to let go. But she dug her nails into my wrist, immediately leaving red marks. I wasn't about to back down. "You couldn't keep your dog on a leash. What's that got to do with me? If you don't let go, I won't hesitate to tell your family about your little affair!"

Jade released my wrist and slapped me hard, her eyes reddening. "Luke, how dare you!"

She seemed to be thinking about how best to curse me. But in the next moment, I vomited. It wasn't intentional. It was purely a reaction to the pain in my stomach.

Standing too close, Jade ended up with a lot of my vomit on her clothes. Compared to my pale face and sweat-soaked appearance, her now filthy dress looked far worse. Oddly, it made me feel a bit better.

Seeing my red, Jade's swollen face and pained expression didn't explode at me for dirtying her. Instead, she seemed to forget Henry was right next to us and instinctively moved closer to pat my back.

"You drank too much last night, didn't you? You're giving yourself gastritis! You just can't go a day without messing things up, can you?"

The sickening smell from her clothes made me pinch my nose and back away from her.

Jade's outstretched hand froze, and the trace of concern on her face vanished. "Luke! You're really taking advantage of me, aren't you?"

I ignored her, limping toward the restroom to clean up my mess. It was only then that Jade seemed to remember my injured foot.

Guilt flashed across her face as she followed me to the restroom door, trying to coax me. "Okay, fine, I shouldn't have hit you! But why are you stalking me like this? Isn't it embarrassing? Let's just go see a gastroenterologist. Stop acting up, alright?"

It was the first time since Henry's return that she spoke to me gently as if she was trying to soothe a kid. But instead of calming me, it made me feel even more nauseous, and I couldn't stop myself from retching again.

In a rare moment of panic, Jade forgot we were in the men's restroom and rushed inside to pat my back.

"Get out! Don't touch me!" I snapped. Without hesitation, I swatted her hand away.

She froze in shock. Her eyes widened in astonishment, quickly shifting to fury. "Can't you be a man for once? You've got the honor of being married to the McKenzie family, so start acting like it! But if you're gonna keep being this insufferable, then let's just get a divorce!"