Loved Too Late

After making the decision, Kara felt all her strength leave her, and she collapsed heavily onto the ground. She splashed water everywhere.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a hospital.

"Kara, you're finally awake! Do you know how scared I was?" Bennett exclaimed, pulling her into his arms as if he were trying to merge her into his very being. He only released her when she was nearly suffocating. His eyes were red with worry.

"What happened? Why didn't you answer my calls? If it wasn't for our phones being linked for location tracking, I wouldn't even know what happened to you!"

Bennett, usually rebellious, showed unusually deep concern.

So now he was worried?

What would his reaction be if he found out she was marrying someone else?

Kara wearily withdrew her hand and smiled faintly, though her face was a bit pale. "You called me? I didn’t notice. I went out to buy medicine since there wasn’t any at home. I might have put my phone on silent."

"You two really are something!

"On New Year's Eve, when you went missing, Bennett almost called the police. He gathered our friends and drove around Crestmoor all night looking for you. If they hadn’t found you, he probably would have done something drastic!

"Knowing about your heart condition, he even booked an entire floor in the hospital and summoned the top cardiologist with a helicopter to treat you. You had a fever for three days, and he didn’t sleep for those three days. He stayed by your side the entire time!"

If this had been in the past, Kara would've been touched and would've cupped Bennett’s face, urging him to get some rest.

But now, Kara merely asked listlessly, "It was just a little rain. Was it really necessary to call in a cardiologist?"

"Ahem–"

Several of Bennett's friends exchanged glances and then quickly left to give them space.

Bennett called the doctor, and after a thorough check-up on Kara’s condition and confirming there were no issues, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

After the doctor left, Bennett hastily took out two capsules from a medicine bottle. "Kara, take these heart supplements. They’ll help protect your heart. You haven’t taken them for the last few days since you were unconscious. You can't skip them now."

The two capsules lay silently in Bennett's palm. What was once sweet now felt like poison.

Kara’s eyes reddened. "I don’t want to take them now."

"You have to. I know your condition better than anyone. You’ve been out in the rain, had a fever, and if your emotions get too stirred up, your heart won’t be able to take it! You have to take them. I’ll feed them to you."

Before she could say anything else, Bennett decisively placed the capsules in his mouth, then cupped her head with his hands and kissed her forcefully.

He was domineering, pushing her to swallow the capsules, and only then did he release her. "Babe, you’re the best."

Kara struggled to suppress the lump in her throat.

Was that 'babe' meant for her or was it meant for Natalie?

It turned out that many things had been apparent even eight years ago.

Bennett had fallen in love with her at first sight. From that moment on, he had been by her side, following her like a shadow. Every morning, after breakfast, he would make sure she took two capsules for her heart.

He insisted on supervising her to sleep before 10 o'clock every night, warning her not to stay up late or it might cause heart issues.

To take care of her, Bennett even got a nutritionist certification, fearing the high-fat and high-salt meals at the cafeteria would add extra stress to her heart.

It turned out that all of that wasn’t for her. It was because of the heart that was beating inside her.

"Kara, why is your face so pale? Is your heart bothering you? I see your heart rate is rising! What kind of incompetent doctors have you been seeing? I’m going to get them!"

The heart monitor emitted a series of beeps, and Bennett’s expression changed. He rushed out like a gust of wind.

Kara looked down and saw the heart monitor on her finger. She endured the aching feeling in her heart as she removed the device, tossing it away like she was discarding the past and all the love that had once filled her.

Three days later, Kara was discharged.

Bennett organized a gathering to help her shake off the bad energy, and just like after their public announcement, he couldn’t wait to introduce Kara to the people in his social circle.

Kara didn’t want to go, but she couldn’t resist Bennett’s pleading.

Anyway, she was about to leave soon. She wanted to see what Bennett could come up with next.

"Oh, are you Bennett's future wife? You're truly beautiful. No wonder Bennett is keeping such a close eye on you. We’re playing truth or dare. Care to join?"

As soon as Kara arrived, a woman with long, wavy hair pulled her inside.

Kara instinctively turned to look at Bennett, who furrowed his brows slightly.

"Kara’s heart is weak. Take it easy–"

"We know, Bennett. This is the first time we’ve seen you so concerned about someone besides my sister. Too bad my sister passed away when she was only fifteen. She was hit by an overloaded truck, and there wasn’t even a complete body left."

The woman, Vanessa Johnson, pretended to wipe away a tear, not caring that the entire room had gone quiet. She pulled Kara into a booth.

However, Kara couldn’t stop hearing Vanessa’s words echo in her ears.

She didn’t even know what the game was anymore until Vanessa nudged her shoulder. Kara clearly heard her ask, "Bennett, you lost this round! Let’s have a truth question. Is your true love here with us today?"