CHAPTER ONE
1705 Words
CHAPTER ONE
The sharp scent of antiseptic filled the small hospital room.
Alice watched the clear liquid drip slowly through the IV line into her arm, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the thin hospital sheet.
Her lips parted slightly.
“Can I… take nutrition instead?” she asked, her voice soft but strained.
The young nurse paused, frowning as she adjusted the drip.
“No, you can’t,” she replied flatly.
Her eyes swept over Alice with thinly veiled disapproval.
Women these days…
She hadn’t even come for regular checkups, and now she was refusing proper treatment?
Didn’t she care about the child at all?
Alice noticed the look—but said nothing.
How could she explain?
How could she possibly tell a stranger that she wanted this child more than anything?
That when she found out she was pregnant three weeks ago, she had cried tears of joy in Lucian’s arms?
Five years.
Five whole years together… and this was supposed to be their miracle.
But reality was cruel.
Her hand slowly moved to her still-flat stomach, her fingers trembling slightly.
Lucian had been sick for five months.
Five long, painful months.
They had sold almost everything they owned just to keep him alive.
The television.
The refrigerator.
Even the small motorcycle Lucian loved so much.
Yet it was never enough.
His medicine alone drained what little money they had left.
Some days… they couldn’t even afford a proper meal.
So how could she bring a child into this?
How could she watch her baby suffer the same way?
Alice shut her eyes tightly, forcing back the sting of tears.
“I’m sorry…” she whispered under her breath, her voice barely audible.
Whether she was apologizing to herself or the life growing inside her—
Even she didn’t know.
By the time she reached their small, one-room house, the sun was already beginning to set.
The small house looked exactly as it always did.
Old.
Crowded.
Falling apart.
Yet somehow it had always felt warm because Lucian was inside.
Alice reached for the doorknob.
Then froze.
A man's voice drifted through the thin walls.
And it wasn't Lucian's.
“…Mr. Hale, your father said that as long as you leave that woman, he will immediately arrange for the best specialist to treat you.”
Alice froze.
Her heart skipped.
Mr… Hale?
Inside, Lucian’s voice rang out—weak, yet firm.
“I told you before. I will never leave the woman I love. Even if I die.”
Alice’s breath caught.
Her fingers tightened around the doorknob.
“But, young master—please think about it!” the man continued urgently. “You are the only heir to the Hale family! The largest corporation in Newton! Yet you’re living here… in this condition…”
Silence.
Then—
“If you don’t undergo a heart transplant within two weeks… you will die.”
The world seemed to stop.
Everything went silent.
Two weeks.
Only two weeks.
Alice staggered backward.
Her vision blurred.
Her ears rang.
Inside the house, Lucian spoke again.
This time his voice was cold.
Final.
"I said get out."
"Young Master—"
"I would rather die than leave her."
Alice's heart broke.
Completely.
Footsteps approached.
Panicked, Alice quickly moved to the side, hiding behind a nearby pillar.
The door opened.
A well-dressed man stepped out, his face filled with helplessness. He lingered for a moment, then sighed and walked toward a sleek black car parked nearby.
Moments later, the car drove off.
Leaving behind nothing but silence.
Alice stood there.
Unable to move.
Unable to think.
So—
Lucian wasn’t just an ordinary man.
He was the heir to the richest family in Newton.
And yet… he had given all of that up.
For her.
To live in poverty.
To suffer.
To die.
Her knees nearly gave out.
A sob escaped her lips.
"What have I done...?"
Tears streamed down her face.
No.
This couldn't continue.
If loving her meant death—
Then she would become the reason he lived.
Even if it destroyed her.
Even if it destroyed them both.
The door burst open with a loud bang.
Lucian flinched.
He quickly turned away, wiping the blood from the corner of his lips before she could see it. The stained tissue disappeared into his pocket.
When he turned back, a gentle smile was already on his face.
"Alice... you're back."
That smile.
It pierced straight through her heart.
For a moment, she couldn't speak.
couldn't breathe.
The words she had prepared suddenly felt impossible to say.
Then she noticed how pale he looked.
How much weight he had lost.
How tired his eyes were.
Yet he was still smiling at her.
Still trying to make her feel welcome.
Still loving her.
The pain nearly broke her.
"How was the hospital?" Lucian asked softly.
He walked toward the small stove in the corner.
"I made chicken soup. It's not much, but I know you've been craving it lately."
His voice carried the familiar warmth she had fallen in love with years ago.
"I even added extra vegetables."
He smiled proudly.
"You always complain that I don't cook healthy enough."
Alice lowered her head.
Her vision blurred.
This wasn't making it easier.
It was making it impossible.
Lucian noticed her silence and frowned.
"Alice?"
Slowly, she lifted her head.
Their eyes met.
And for the first time, something felt wrong.
Lucian felt it immediately.
The smile on his face faded.
"Alice..."
Her fingers clenched into fists.
"Lucian..."
Her voice trembled.
Then she forced it steady.
"Let's break up."
Silence.
Not ordinary silence.
The kind that suffocates.
The kind that steals the air from a room.
Lucian didn't move.
Didn't blink.
For a long moment, he simply stared at her.
As though his mind refused to process what he had heard.
Then he laughed.
A small laugh.
A confused laugh.
"Alice..."
He shook his head.
"You must be tired."
His voice was gentle.
Careful.
As if speaking too loudly might break something.
"Come sit down first."
He pulled out a chair.
"We can talk while you eat."
She remained where she was.
Motionless.
The smile slowly disappeared from his face.
"Alice...?"
"I don't want you anymore."
The words felt like knives slicing through her chest.
But she forced them out.
One after another.
"We're done."
Lucian stared at her.
"No."
His answer came immediately.
Firm.
Certain.
"No."
"We're over."
"No."
Disbelief filled his eyes.
"You don't mean that."
He crossed the room quickly and reached for her hands.
"They said something to you, didn't they?"
His voice became urgent.
"Tell me who it was."
She looked away.
Lucian gently cupped her face.
The same way he always did whenever she cried.
Whenever she was scared.
Whenever life became too much.
"Alice."
His voice cracked slightly.
"Talk to me."
The tenderness nearly destroyed her resolve.
For a second she wanted to tell him everything.
About the pregnancy.
About his father.
About the transplant.
About how terrified she was of losing him.
But she couldn't.
Because if she did...
He would never let her go.
So she hardened her heart.
And became cruel.
"Look at yourself, Lucian." she scoff.
His expression froze.
"You can't even take care of yourself."
She forced out a cold laugh.
"You seriously think you can take care of me?"
Each word struck like a hammer.
Lucian's face slowly lost color.
"Alice..."
"You're sick."
Her voice grew colder.
"Hopelessly sick."
"Alice, please—"
"You're broke."
He flinched.
"You can't even afford your own treatment.Take alone me."
Every sentence hurt her as much as it hurt him.
Maybe more.
But she kept going.
Because stopping would mean losing the strength to leave.
"I need someone who can actually give me a future."
The room fell silent.
Lucian looked at her as though she had become a stranger.
The woman he loved.
The woman he trusted.
The woman he planned to spend his life with.
Gone.
Replaced by someone else.
"I can change."
His voice broke.
"I can work harder."
He gripped her shoulders desperately.
"I'll get another job."
His eyes filled with panic.
"I'll get ten jobs if I have to."
Tears gathered in his eyes.
"Just don't leave."
Alice nearly collapsed.
She wanted to tell him the truth.
She wanted to throw herself into his arms and tell him she loved him.
That she would always love him.
Instead, she shoved him away.
"Stop embarrassing yourself."
Lucian stumbled backward.
The pain on his face was unbearable.
Yet he still looked at her with hope.
Still.
Hope.
"Face reality, Lucian."
Her voice became ice.
"You're nothing but a burden."
The word echoed through the tiny house.
Burden.
Lucian froze.
Completely.
Something shattered inside his eyes.
Something that would never be repaired.
Slowly, tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Alice..."
His voice cracked.
Broken.
Hopeless.
"I'm sorry."
The sight nearly ripped her heart apart.
"I'm sorry I'm not enough."
A sob escaped him.
"I know I've failed you."
More tears followed.
"But please..."
His hands trembled.
"Don't leave me."
Alice bit down hard on her lip.
Hard enough to taste blood.
Because if she cried now—
She would stay.
And if she stayed—
He would die.
So she forced herself to turn away.
"Goodbye, Lucian."
The words felt like a death sentence.
Behind her, she heard him take a step forward.
Then another.
"ALICE!"
His voice cracked.
Desperate.
Broken.
"Please!"
Her entire body shook.
But she kept walking.
One step.
Then another.
And another.
Until she reached the door.
The moment it closed behind her, her legs gave out.
She collapsed onto the ground.
A sob tore from her chest.
Then another.
And another.
Her body shook violently.
Tears streamed endlessly down her face.
"I'm sorry..."
She pressed a trembling hand against her stomach.
"I'm so sorry..."
The tiny life growing inside her would never know how much she loved his father.
Would never know how much this was destroying her.
Alice lowered her head and finally let herself break.
"I just want you to live."
Inside the house, Lucian's shattered cries echoed through the walls.
And for the first time in five years—
They spent the night apart.
- Writer
