After a full night's rest, Hailey Tang had mostly recovered.
She shook her head, propping herself up on the bed. "What happened to me?" she asked, puzzled.
She had no memory at all of how she fainted last night.
Ethan Yu looked at her, his gaze deepening. "The doctor said it was due to extreme fear—you fainted from cardiac arrhythmia brought on by panic."
Hailey paused, slightly stunned.
Extreme fear…?
His voice carried a trace of probing. "What happened yesterday… really scared you?"
By all accounts, the accident last night wasn't terrifying enough to cause someone to faint. Even a child might not have reacted so strongly.
And Hailey was no coward. How could she possibly pass out from being scared?
It just didn't make sense.
Still, maybe she really had been frightened.
Hailey nodded lightly. "Yes… it scared me. How's Miss Lin? Is she alright?"
Ethan blinked in surprise.
He hadn't expected her to ask about Lin Xiner so directly—and with such a calm, neutral tone. No sarcasm, no jealousy. Just a simple question.
"She's fine. Just some injuries and a fright. Nothing serious."
"Oh." Hailey nodded, saying nothing more.
Ethan's expression became unreadable.
Last night, he had left her behind and taken Lin Xiner to the hospital. Then she collapsed, and now woke up here. Logically, she should be angry, even furious. Shouldn't she be yelling at him for abandoning her?
But she was calm. Almost unnaturally so.
Too calm—like a completely different person.
No… now that he thought about it, she had been acting differently ever since she woke up a few days ago.
At first, he assumed it was a strategy. Playing hard to get. Some form of reverse psychology.
But now… it didn't seem like that at all.
Trying to test her, he deliberately added, "Lin Xiner's in the room next door. She still hasn't woken up."
Hailey glanced at him, then suddenly recalled something.
Didn't a similar incident happen at the banquet in her previous life? Didn't Lin Xiner also save Ethan back then?
Was that why he had stayed at the hospital overnight and never came home?
If so, then… how many times had she misunderstood them in her past life?
Perhaps, in the beginning, it was just a misunderstanding. But the more she fought and lashed out, the more she drove them closer together.
Maybe in her past life… she was the one who destroyed her marriage. Destroyed herself.
In the end, when someone falls into ruin, the real reason often lies within.
If she had been calmer, more rational—if her heart had been stronger—no one could have broken her.
All her suffering, her heartbreak… maybe she'd brought it on herself.
Suddenly, Hailey saw things with clarity. That didn't mean she had forgiven the past or decided to make this marriage work.
She simply didn't want to take that gamble anymore—betting on a happy ending with Ethan Yu.
She had loved him for seven years. Loved deeply, passionately. And still, to this day, he had never once truly cared for her.
That alone proved what kind of man he was—cold, unfeeling.
So why should she keep wasting her time on him?
The fire she once had for him, the obsession, the love—it had already burned out in her past life.
In this life, she no longer wanted to love anyone. She didn't want to lose herself for love ever again.
With this realization, Hailey's heart grew calmer—and stronger.
Indeed, only those without desire… can truly be strong.
…
Ethan Yu had no idea that she had already changed completely.
All his little tests had yielded no reaction at all.
Hailey spoke evenly, "She saved us last night. If it weren't for her, we'd be the ones injured. However you choose to repay her, I won't object."
Ethan Yu: "…"