A Decade of Lies

At the hospital.

I stood numbly at the doorway of the ward, watching the scene unfolding inside as pain spread through me. I bit my lip and suppressed the grief with everything I had, refusing to make a sound.

Rudolf's son was having his blood drawn, his face pale with tears rolling down as he cried pitifully.

Rudolf paced back and forth, his face dark with fury, yelling at the row of doctors in front of him.

"You can't even figure out what's wrong with my son? What kind of doctors are you? If anything happens to him, you can forget about continuing to operate your hospital!"

One of the doctors stuttered a reply. "We have a preliminary diagnosis, but we can't confirm it. We need to run blood tests first."

Rudolf wasn't listening, and he exploded again. "Obviously! But by the time you get your results, it'll be too late! He's in pain right now! Find a way to stop it!"

The doctor nodded quickly. "Yes, yes, we'll prescribe something right away."

The doctors started to diagnose the boy for a while before heading off to prepare the medicine.

"Rudolf, you're making such a big scene… What if Ms. Amelia finds out?" Vivian asked, her eyes red, a worried look on her face.

"I can't help it. I get anxious when my son is sick," Rudolf said, looking somewhat exhausted and helpless.

"Why don't you send us away once he gets better?" Vivian suddenly suggested.

"No. I can't bear to leave Sean," Rudolf refused immediately.

"But… What about Ms. Amelia?" Vivian frowned at him, puzzled.

Rudolf became even more frustrated as he rubbed his temples, eyes full of conflict.

"I love her too, and I'll only ever love her. But I can't be without an heir. You must help me keep this from her. I don't want her to get hurt."

He paused, then looked at Vivian seriously. "You're Sean's mother. I won't mistreat you."

"I understand," Vivian said gently.

Then she let out a long sigh. "When Sean gets sick, he just wants to see you. I had no choice but to bother you when you're with Ms. Amelia."

She went to Sean's side and took his hand. Instantly, he stopped crying.

Rudolf let out a sigh of relief.

"I don't blame you. Sean is our son. I haven't taken good enough care of him. I failed both of you." He stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on her shoulder. "I know you wanted to leave so I could be with her, but I can't bear to see you and our boy suffer. I want to see you both whenever I can."

Vivian smiled gently. "I know. I want to see you too."

She raised her hand to smooth the furrow from his brow, then leaned in and pressed her lips to his. The sight of them together was like knives, stabbing into my chest again and again.

My lips trembled as I tried to hold back the crushing grief. My nails dug deep into my palms. No matter how hard I tried to suppress it, the pain was digging into my bones. My eyes felt empty, carrying nothing but despair.

Once again, I ran away like a fool.

Outside, rain poured. I didn't bother to shield myself. I walked straight into it, letting the water soak me through, as if it could wash the pain away.

When I got home, drenched from head to toe, the maid gasped. She quickly grabbed a towel and put it over my shoulders. "Madam, what happened? Should I call Mr. Rudolf? He'd be heartbroken if he saw you like this."

I let out a cold laugh.

Even the maid believed Rudolf loved me deeply. No one knew that his love carried lies.

Or maybe… He did love me.

He simply shared that love with another woman.