“Zoe, what's wrong? You're burning up. You have a fever!”
“Why didn't you call me? Why can't you just take care of yourself?”
“Stay right there, don't fall asleep. Let me find you some medicine. Come on, take the pills first, then you can rest.”
My eyelids were impossibly heavy. I forced them open, and the first thing I saw was Damien's face, tight with worry.
Just like every single day for the past two years.
When he saw I was awake, the tension in his shoulders eased. He turned and headed to the living room to grab the first-aid kit.
If I hadn't stumbled onto that scene in the stairwell, I never would have believed that everything he'd done for me these past two years was an act.
When he first started pursuing me, I turned him down more than once.
“The age gap is too big, Damien. Thirteen years. A full thirteen years. When you were born, I was already in middle school.”
“You're only twenty-two. You have your whole life ahead of you. You'll meet so many other girls, better girls.”
“Do you even understand what being with me means? You'd have to deal with your family questioning you, strangers giving you looks. People would think something was wrong with you.”
What had he said back then?
He was just a boy, eyes clear and voice steady, as though I were the only person in his world.
“I don't care what anyone else thinks. All I want to know is what you think.”
“Everything you just said tells me you're worried about my age, worried about other people's doubts and opinions. But what about you, Zoe? What does your heart say?”
“I'm not afraid of anything. As long as you're by my side, I'll take on the whole world.”
I was already thirty-five then. I knew his words were mostly the bravado of youth, the belief that love could conquer all.
But I couldn't deny it either. Faced with that kind of love, the kind that breaks down your door and refuses to leave, I fell for it.
From the day I entered this industry, my career had consumed me entirely.
By the time I was in my twenties, I was already the most renowned designer in Riverside City, arguably the whole country.
That was the first time in my life someone had chosen me so fiercely, loved me so openly.
So I believed him. I let myself fall.
While I was still lost in thought, he came back with pills in one hand and a glass of warm water in the other.
He coaxed me to take the medicine, scolding me gently between instructions.
“I work one late shift and you manage to give yourself a fever.”
“Look at you, still like a little kid. What would you do without me?”
“Be good. Take the pills and get some sleep. If you still feel off in the morning, we're going to the hospital.”
Maybe there was something in the medicine that helped with sleep, because I drifted off not long after swallowing the pills.
When I woke again, the apartment was empty. A sticky note sat on the nightstand.
“There's porridge on the stove, and your medicine is on the dining table. Don't forget to eat. I called the office and took the day off for you. I'm heading to work. Get some rest.”
Signed：“Love, Damien.”
I crumpled the sticky note into a ball and tossed it into the trash can beside the bed.
After what I'd overheard between Damien and Christine last night, every little gesture of his love made my stomach turn.
Maybe it was the fever, or maybe it was the medicine, but I still had no energy. I spent the entire day drifting in and out of sleep.
By the time I woke for good, it was dark outside. I checked my phone. Eight o'clock.
Damien was rustling around, packing something. He turned and caught me sitting up.
“Zoe, perfect timing. Get changed, you're coming with me.”
“Your fever broke, but you still look wiped out. We can't put this off. Let's get you to the hospital.”
