Loved Too Late

For three days and nights, Kara's messages were completely ignored.

On the first day, Vanessa sent her a photo of a distant figure.

"Stop waiting. Bennett is personally relocating my sister's grave. It's a perfect burial site. Beautiful, isn't it?"

On the second day, Vanessa shared a Facebook account with her. It was Bennett's private account. It was filled with thousands of messages, every single one pouring out his grief and longing for Natalie. The content was dense and overwhelming, and it cut Kara like a knife.

On the third day, one of Bennett's friends suddenly messaged her.

"Kara, you need to get to the hospital right away! Bennett got into a fight this afternoon. It was one against eight guys. He's badly injured and has been calling your name the whole time."

Kara's heart sank.

They had been together for eight years. She couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

When she arrived at the hospital, she overheard a nurse sighing in the hallway.

"Bennett really is something. I heard that when his first love got into a car accident, he stayed by her corpse for over 70 hours. He even insisted on dying with her. It took everything to talk him out of it, and now he's fighting over a grave?"

"Kara, you're finally here! Bennett, he–"

Kara trembled. A bitter taste filled her throat.

Just then, a nurse rushed out anxiously.

"The patient is losing too much blood! We're out of his blood type in the bank. Who here has type A blood? We need a donor immediately!"

Kara stepped forward. "I do."

Inside the blood collection room, the nurse looked at Kara's increasingly pale face and felt a pang of sympathy.

"Miss, you've already given two pints. If we take any more, you'll be in danger–"

"It's fine. Keep going."

As the third needle pierced her skin, Kara's mind started drifting.

Through the haze, she caught a glimpse of a figure passing quickly outside the room.

"Michel, the woman Bennett arranged to be the surrogate for my sister is in the blood collection room right now. Just go in and check her. He's taken care of everything else."

"Bennett is quite clever. Afraid his girlfriend wouldn't agree to be a surrogate, so he faked an injury to trick her into coming to the hospital!"

Kara could clearly hear them mocking her.

For a moment, her mind went blank.

Then the door swung open, and Vanessa entered. She was practically glowing with excitement, and she had a foreign doctor in tow.

"Kara, you really are a fool, huh? Rushing to donate blood for Bennett like this. What a shame. It was all just a setup!"

Kara watched Vanessa talk animatedly, but her vision was growing blurry.

She couldn't help but think back to their first meeting.

Bennett had casually slung his backpack onto the desk beside her, pulled out a chair, and said, "Kara, right? From now on, I'll be your deskmate. I'll take care of you."

Time had flown.

But all along, the person he truly wanted to protect was never her.

Bennett was strong, and thanks to timely medical care, he recovered well.

The moment he woke up, the first thing he did was look for his phone. His friends immediately pressed him back down.

"Bennett! Just stay put. If they hadn't gotten you here in time, you might've bled out and met the Grim Reaper already!"

"Move. Give me my phone."

"Bennett–" His friend hesitated.

Bennett's patience ran thin. Feeling exhausted, he rubbed his temples.

"I left in a hurry and didn't explain things to Kara. I've been gone for so long. She must be worried."

His friends chuckled dryly.

"Man, you really are a romantic. Don't tell me you've actually fallen for Kara."

"I–" Bennett's throat clenched.

For the first time, he didn't know how to answer. Whenever he thought of Natalie's gentle expression, he always felt suffocated.

In the past, he had never dared to confront this question.

But now, having brushed against death, his mind had never felt clearer.

Determination settled in his eyes as he slowly spoke. "Actually, all these years–"

Before he could finish, the door was suddenly pushed open.

"Bennett! Michel just finished Kara's examination. Her body is in perfect condition. As soon as we get my sister's frozen eggs, we can proceed with the implantation this week! My sister's last wish is finally coming true!"

Bennett's words were cut off abruptly.

He was momentarily dazed. "What examination?"

"Oh, come on, don't pretend, Bennett! Didn't you fake getting injured just to lure Kara here for the surrogacy check-up? Remember how my sister's biggest regret was not being able to marry and have kids with you? Well, now her wish is finally coming true!"

His friends all cheered for him.

Their excitement drowned out the words he had been about to say.

A violent storm raged in Bennett's eyes.

His voice turned ice-cold.

"Shut up. All of you."