She felt nothing.
Whatever pain showed on his face no longer reached her.
“Mia, can’t you forgive me? Just once,” he asked hoarsely. “It was my first time being a husband.”
Mia looked at him quietly.
“It was my first time being a wife too, James.”
Her soft words landed harder than anything she had said before.
He looked devastated, as if something vital had been torn out of him. In that moment, he finally understood how badly he had failed her, the depth of the damage he had done.
Mia took a shuddering breath.
“I need you to do one thing for me,” she said steadily. “Stay just as indifferent as you were for those five years.”
Her eyes turned cold.
“Don’t try to get me back. Don’t blame me. I will never care for you again.”
She paused, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“I buried those feelings—the hope I had for us.” Her chest tightened. “I buried it all with my parents. Now, there’s nothing left for you.”
She turned away immediately, lifting a hand to brush her hair back, wiping the last trace of tears from her face.
Then she walked out of the hospital—
And this time, she didn’t look back.
James looked like someone had reached into his chest, squeezed his heart mercilessly, and shattered it in their fist.
He turned away slowly, his steps unsteady as he staggered back into the hospital room. The door closed behind him with a dull click. The silence inside felt suffocating.
The moment he sat on the edge of the bed, his strength gave out. His shoulders collapsed inward, his elbows dropped to his knees. For a second, he just stared at the floor—then his shoulders began to tremble.
Tears fell.
He didn’t bother wiping them away.
With shaking hands, he pulled out his phone. The screen blurred. He stared at the name on the screen for a long moment before pressing call.
The line connected a few seconds later.
“I found Mia,” James said without greeting, his voice barely holding together. It shook so badly that even Neil—who usually never missed a chance to joke—went silent.
“She’s not forgiving me,” James whispered. His voice broke completely. Tears slid down his face as he covered his eyes with one hand. “Neil… how do I get her back?”
There was a pause.
Then Neil spoke quietly. “James, let go of her. She’s a good woman. Just… let her live her life now.”
James’s chest tightened violently. Panic surged through him.
“No,” he snapped. “Why should I?”
Neil’s voice sharpened. “Have you lost your mind? You divorced her. There’s nothing left to fix. It’s over, James. Don’t you understand that?”
