Chapter 27 

That day, Melinda was so out of it that she kept messing up his IV. Not just once, but over and over, until his whole hand was bruised and swollen. 

Last time this happened, how did he react? 

Strangely, he’d found her flustered awkwardness a little bit cute. Even when Melinda broke down in tears, apologizing over and over, he just smiled and told her, “It’s okay. Take your time.” 

That’s when he’d gotten pulled into her orbit–a mess he could never seem to escape from, no matter how many mistakes she made. 

But this time, things were different. As Melinda stood in front of him, apologizing yet again, he just looked at her coldly and snapped, “Get your supervisor. Now.” 

After that, the hospital paid Melinda some compensation and fired her. She disappeared from his life for good. 

When his IV was finally done, someone familiar walked up and held out a hand. 

“Leonard, let’s go home.” 

Patrick looked up and saw Maisy smiling at him, love shining in her eyes. He couldn’t help but smile back. 

He reached out, took her hand, and stood. “Yeah. Let’s go home.” 

Hand in hand, they walked toward the light in the distance, their figures fading until there was nothing left. 

In the real world, Patrick lay in a pool of blood, his breathing slowing. 

Sirens, screams, the wail of the ambulance–all of it faded away, getting further and further until he couldn’t hear anything at all. 

– 

When Maisy heard the news that Patrick had died in a car accident, the bouquet of roses slipped from her hands and fell to the floor. 

Red petals scattered everywhere as her vision blurred with tears. “How… how could this happen…” 

On the phone, Patrick’s voice was heavy. “They caught the person who did it. It was Melinda.” 

After Melinda’s affair was exposed and Patrick broke up with her, she still got to keep the apartment and a million dollars. She and her grandma would never have to worry about money again. 

But then Patrick went after her again, taking away everything he’d given her. 

When her grandma found out Melinda had been “the other woman,” she died on the spot from 

Chapter 

the shock. 

Her grandma had been her whole world. With her gone, Melinda’s life just crumbled. 

She blamed Patrick for everything. In the end, she drove her car straight into him, killing him. instantly. 

Melinda ended up taking her own life in prison. 

Maisy just stood there, frozen, unable to process what she’d just heard. 

The day Patrick’s ashes were laid to rest, it rained nonstop. 

Maisy stood under a black umbrella, staring at Patrick’s black–and–white photo on the headstone. 

Patrick had once asked her when they’d see each other again. 

She’d joked, “Not unless I’m dead.” She never thought those words would come true–Patrick was gone, dead in the first year after his affair, five months after their divorce. 

Patrick hadn’t wanted her to come, but Maisy showed up anyway. 

He’d truly loved her, and she wanted to see him off. After all, this time really was goodbye. 

Maisy looked at his gravestone for a long while, then turned to Grandpa Huffman, who looked like he might collapse from grief. 

“I’m so sorry, Grandpa,” Maisy said softly, bowing her head. 

Losing his beloved grandson so late in life was more than Grandpa Huffman could bear, but he still managed a shaky wave, his silence heavy with sorrow. 

Maisy walked out of the cemetery, feeling hollow. For a second, she thought she heard Patrick calling her name. 

She turned–and there he was, twenty–two again, waving at her from the edge of memory. 

“Maisy, goodbye.” 

She smiled through her tears, whispering, “Goodbye, Patrick.” 

And just like that, they would never see each other again. 

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