Mr and Mrs Sim ⋆ s.jake

Chapter 29

Rose's POV

Hours turned into years as we waited for news about William.

Jongseong could do nothing but ask his colleagues about the current processes: hemodynamic stabilization, exploratory laparotomy, splenectomy—medically complex terms I couldn't even begin to grasp. What had my best friend done to Heaven to deserve such suffering?

"Rose, I know what you're thinking." I lifted my head to meet Jay's gaze, the contours of his eyes softening as if to reassure me, accompanied by a faint smile. "He's not in pain, I promise. They've already anesthetized him."

"Willy's not suffering because he's DEAD!" Tears welled up in my eyes like an ocean as I seized the collar of Jay's shirt, shaking him violently, like an apple tree caught in a storm of despair.

William suffered in life, and for nothing in the world could he have deserved to suffer in death too. It was the bare minimum that should've been granted to him, though the world would never have been enough. I hoped my sunshine had an exceptional place in heaven—my dearest wish. And I promised myself to pray morning, noon, and night for him to find Jungkook again.

"Rose, look at me, calm down! William isn't dead." Jongseong took me in his arms, holding me tightly to stifle the distress. I cried more freely against his shoulder, letting my tears soak into the white fabric, reactivating the pigment of the dried blood. "We just don't know it yet."

Those six words, that sentence, altered my brain chemistry for life.

We didn't know, and beyond that, I knew nothing. Why had my husband stabbed my best friend? Why was William in my house at that very moment? Why had Jungkook lost his life so unjustly? How could I be married to the man who had killed—and was going to kill? Why was I still sleeping with him? Why had Jaeyun betrayed his brother at heart, breaking their beautiful promises of children? Why did Jongseong seem so insensitive to the betrayal, preferring to help me instead of facing the truth? And why did I enjoy cheating with Heeseung? Why had my seemingly perfect life fallen apart so suddenly?

I reopened my eyelids, letting fresh tears bloom at their edges as a thick, iron-red drop slid down his back. Blood. I closed my eyes again, the image of me pressing my hands against William's gaping, bleeding wound to try to contain the flow haunting me.

I'd been pushing away the anxiety attack for a while, but my body couldn't fight it any longer. I broke down. "Rose, are you okay? Can you breathe?" All of Jay's muscles tensed at the same time as my larynx, starting with the difficulty of breathing. Then he stopped squeezing me, and his warmth disappeared, leaving me frozen—my body became so stiff that any false move could break a bone.

He didn't know how to react, and I forgave him. When you learn to transplant hearts, you can't deal with anxiety attacks because they seem too easy. He recoiled slightly, analyzing the situation and the pain that was tearing my entire being apart. My hearing was muffled, but someone called his name from around the corner of the hallway. A woman in an impeccably ironed white lab coat, with a tattoo on her ankle—the only significant detail I noticed.

"Park, I need your help," she requested, her tone serious as she kept her distance.

"I can't right now, sorry," he replied.

I motioned for him to go. He shook his head, concerned, but I kept pointing toward his colleague who was waiting. Helping William was far more important. Thank God Jay didn't hesitate long and followed the woman.

On my own to manage the anxiety, I scratched my wrist to stay composed. My only goal was to make it seem painless, so as not to alert the doctors around me or waste their time on my behalf. The thought of seeking reassurance from Heeseung briefly crossed my mind, but I wanted to protect him from the latest events, knowing how he tended to share my pain.