Chapter 16

The phone call just took a few minutes.

Dixon went out for a while, but when he came back, he looked worried.

He looked at me helplessly.

I asked him softly, "What happened?"

He sighed and asked me instead, "I'll leave soon. You want to come with me?"

I realized and asked him, "Is it because of Gwen Worth?"

Dixon closed his eyes and said, "She got hurt in a car accident."

I asked patiently, "So you're going back to take care of her?"

Dixon fell silent, but his leaving had already answered me.

Before he left, I reminded him, "We've agreed on this. During the time of our relationship, you're not allowed to see her. Don't you remember that?"

He said in a deep voice, "I do, so I want to..."

"Ask for my permission?"

"Why does he think that I'll let him go?"

"Dixon, if you leave, I'll end this game."

I stopped the movie, rose up, and smiled, "I won't stop you from leaving, unless you want to breach the contract. Dixon, I've never been as thoughtful as you think."

Dixon stared at me with calm eyes and still turned to leave in the end.

He left. I stood behind the windows, watching his back that looked so determined.

I sighed and turned around to lie back on the bed to sleep.

At dusk, Dixon's mother called me for dinner and I dressed myself up to go downstairs. I took my suitcase with me and stood in the living room. Only then did I find that the snow in the yard had built up.

Dixon's mother saw me like this and asked gently, "You're going to leave?"

"Yes. I'll take a flight soon. Sorry to trouble you during this time."

"It's nothing. You're my daughter-in-law. Why are you so polite to me?"

"Aunt, Dixon and I divorced some time ago."

Dixon's mother was shocked into silence.

She looked sorrowful, and I asked smilingly, "Can I build a snowman?"

"Yes. You want some help?"

"It's okay. I'll leave after this."

I found a place where the snow was the thickest to start. Because I had built it with my parents when I was young, I did not find it hard to build one now. After I finished, I took out an almond scarf and gently put it around the snowman's neck.

I turned around and returned to the living room. I was going to take my suitcase and go, but a photo on the wall caught my eye. It was a photo of young Dixon playing the piano. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt in the photo.

He looked gentle, handsome, and peerless.

Before this, I had discovered its existence and I would often stare at it, lost in thought. One time, Dixon caught me and asked me in bafflement, "What are you looking at so seriously?"

I still could not resist it in the end and had quietly torn off the photo to hide in my pocket. Just when I got to the door, Dixon's mother called me. I thought she had discovered my theft of the photo, so I pretended not to hear her and left quickly.

Hence, I did not hear her asking, "Why do you have Lance's scarf?"

I had been having a really bad headache on the plane. It was the flight attendant who had woken me up.

I got up in a daze and headed for the Shaw family.

I felt exhaustion throughout my body. I must have caught a cold when I built the snowman and I had been in poor health anyway. Therefore, I felt feeble all over and had a fever now. I left the Shaw family and took a taxi to the hospital.

My attending physician saw me and asked in surprise, "Why are you so weak?"

I nodded. "I caught a cold. Can you put me on a drip?"

"Yes. How do you feel lately?" He asked.

"I feel a lot of pain and I also bleed a lot."

The doctor said, "I still suggest you have an operation."

I declined with a smile. "You've said I have terminal cancer. Even if I have an operation, I won't heal completely. I will just live a few months longer. If that's the case, what's the difference if I have an operation or not?"

Furthermore, I did not want to spend the rest of my time meaninglessly in the hospital.

The doctor sighed and said, "Miss Shaw, I'll examine your body first."

After the check-up, the doctor arranged the VIP room I used to stay in for me. I lay on the bed feeling dizzy and quickly fell asleep. After I woke up, I suddenly saw a tall figure appearing by the windows.

The streets of Wu City were well lit and he stood with his back to me, staring at the lights outside the windows. I lay on the bed, blinked, and asked him, "Is Gwen Worth also in this hospital?"

He turned around and stared at me with his dark pupils. "Yes, she's next-door. I just passed by and saw your name on the door."

"The hospital belongs to the Shaw family. This room is reserved for me."

I wanted to tell him that I had not appeared here purposely because Gwen Worth stayed here. It was completely coincidental.

Dixon suddenly came to me and asked in a worried voice, "Why do you get sick?"

I had reminded my doctor not to reveal my cancer condition to anyone.

Dixon could only be asking about my catching a cold.

"I caught a cold. I didn't feel well so I was put on a drip."

Dixon frowned. "You were alright when I left during the day."

I said lightly, "I've been in poor health."

No matter what he asked, I would answer, as if the the affairs of the day had not existed. Seeing me like this, Dixon suddenly asked for no reason, "Don't you hate me even a little bit?"

I shook my head and said honestly, "I don't. I just don't care."

"I don't hate him, nor will I forgive him."

"Dixon and I will finally go our separate ways."

I appreciated that he had taken care of me during the past days, though it had all been fake. At least, I knew how it felt when someone cared for me. Plus, I loved that someone.

Hearing me say I did not hate him, Dixon seemed to find it hard to accept. He fixed his eyes on me for a while and finally spoke. "As you wish."

"As I wish?!"

I felt lost. I did not know what he meant.

I closed my eyes and wanted to keep sleeping. However, Summer suddenly called me. Her terrified voice rang out as she said, "Carol, help me."

I asked in surprise. "What's going on?"

"I'm at the police station. Dixon had people lock me up here."

Only when I got to the police station did I discover that Summer had caused Gwen Worth's car accident. I asked Summer for details and she said in a panic. "Gwen Worth forced me. It was her. She caused the accident."

I asked, feeling dumbfounded. "What do you mean?"

"Back then, it was Gwen Worth who knocked into him. She made Joseph lose his legs. I don't know they how they settled that and I don't care, but she asked me where you were today. I didn't know she was Dixon's ex until now!!"

I comforted her by saying, "Don't panic. Then what?"

I held Summer and she explained while crying. "I really didn't want to hit her, but she said you snatched her Dixon and took him from her! She can't find him anywhere, so she came to me because you and I are besties. She thought I must know where you were, but I really didn't! Then she started to mock me and mock Joseph, saying that he's a cripple and can do nothing. He's not like a man! I couldn't hold back and drove into her. I was really angry. Without her, Joseph and I wouldn't have suffered so much like this! Her lawyer just told me I have been charged with homicide, and I will have to do two years at least. Carol, help me! I can't go to prison. I still need to find Joseph. I want to be with him! I don't want to be in prison."

Summer was on the verge of a mental breakdown. I held her and comforted her by saying that it would be okay. Also, I suddenly realized that I had to go to Dixon to fix this, as Gwen Worth relied on him the most.

I went to the hospital for Dixon while I was still sick.

At that time, he was feeding Gwen Worth soup and acting gently, just like how he had taken care of me once.

I blinked and wanted to knock on the door, but Gwen Worth spotted me at the door first. She purposely asked in my presence, "Dixon, do you love me?"

Dixon flatly replied, "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

Gwen Worth insisted, "Well, do you love me?"

"Gwen, you know how I feel for you."

How he felt for Gwen Worth... That must be love.

I refrained from knocking and waited in the hallway. Only about 20 minutes later did Dixon walk out. He was stunned when he saw me. He asked me indifferently, "Why are you here?"

I compressed my lips. "Can you let go of Summer?"

"You and her..."

"She's my bestie."

Dixon thought for a while and said to me clearly, "I have to make things clear to her. If you got hurt, I'd have to do the same to you too. Otherwise, she'd keep pestering me about this and remember it all the time, thinking that she trusted me to protect her while I did nothing."

Dixon was right. If he helped me, Gwen Worth would fall out with him and he would be letting his woman down as well. He had no reason to be on my side because I was not his fiancee.

His tone was light, but it was so light that it sounded cruel.

Because he was telling the truth.

Dixon walked past me and wanted to leave. I suddenly asked him coldly, "Just because I haven't pestered you, you don't have to explain anything to me just for once?"

His feet paused and he looked at me with a calm face.

"Caroline, what did you say?"

He sounded cold, afraid that Gwen Worth in the sickroom would hear him speaking even a little gently to me. I asked with moist eyes, "Dixon, I didn't make trouble for you when you took my child two years ago. I did not, even when the doctor said I would not be a mom anymore! You made me unable to be a mom anymore, so can I ask you to let go of Summer to make it up to me?"

"Caroline, what did you say?"