Samuel's answer struck Hailey like a knife being driven deeper into her heart.
They had spent three years as husband and wife, yet she had been alone in their marriage the whole time.
When a nurse walked past, she noticed Hailey standing by herself outside the private infusion suite and stopped.
"Ma'am, is there someone you're trying to find?" the nurse asked in a careful but professional voice.
The three people inside the suite heard her and looked toward the doorway.
As soon as Samuel noticed Hailey at the entrance, a frown formed on his face.
Hailey finally stepped forward and slowly entered the infusion suite.
After seeing her walk inside, the nurse didn't ask anything else and left.
"Did you follow me here?" Samuel demanded coldly.
His accusation made it seem as if he hadn't noticed Hailey's loose hospital gown, the bandage around her forehead, and the small limp she had with every step.
Hailey kept her eyes on the man sitting in front of her. His sharply defined features made him incredibly handsome, and his dark eyes could easily draw anyone in. There wasn't a single flaw anywhere on his face.
Still, he now stared at her with nothing but coldness and clear irritation.
Another wave of pain gripped her heart. Her face remained pale as she took an uneven breath and looked directly into his eyes. "I got into a car accident. They brought me to this hospital by coincidence."
At last, Samuel noticed the bandage and the light red stain that had begun to spread through the gauze.
His forehead tightened into a frown. Although he understood that his accusation had been wrong, he didn't bother to apologize.
The moment Derek saw Hailey, his mouth curved into a mocking sneer.
Then he looked at Valerie. "Take a good look, Valerie. That's the woman Samuel married. She's certainly... hard to forget, wouldn't you agree?"
He drew out the words "hard to forget" so his contempt was impossible to miss.
Valerie looked Hailey up and down.
Hailey weighed close to two hundred pounds and was seriously overweight. Her features looked cramped together on her face. Even worse, a wide, dark red mark ran from her left eye to the corner of her mouth and covered almost half of her face.
Because of that mark, most people could barely stand to look at her.
For a brief moment, contempt showed in Valerie's eyes.
Once she had taken in Hailey's body and appearance, Valerie didn't see her as a threat in the slightest.
Without reacting to Derek's insults, Hailey continued staring at Samuel.
Samuel stood from his seat before looking down at her. He spoke without the smallest trace of emotion. "The divorce papers are inside the drawer in my study. Go home and sign them."
His demand hit Hailey so hard that her body swayed and she almost lost her footing.
All the air seemed to leave her lungs while a terrible pressure weighed against her chest.
Samuel had kept the divorce papers ready all this time.
Did he truly want to get rid of her that badly?
Hailey refused to let go of her last bit of hope. She looked at Samuel and struggled to keep her voice steady. "Samuel, are you saying that you never felt anything for me... not even the smallest amount?"
Derek heard her question and rolled his eyes before giving a harsh laugh. "Give me a break. Have you ever taken a proper look at yourself, Hailey? You're an overweight mess. Why would Samuel find anything about you worth noticing?"
Still, Hailey didn't look away from Samuel as she waited for him to respond.
Samuel showed no reaction, and his gaze stayed painfully cold. "I never felt a thing."
In that instant, Hailey felt as though endless knives had stabbed straight through her heart.
Once again, tears ran freely down her face.
Even so, she didn't break down. A smile crossed her face while she brushed away her tears, and she kept smiling when she gave a small nod. "All right. Now I know."
After saying that, she refused to stay any longer. She turned around and walked away.
During the walk back to her room, Hailey spent a long time thinking before she reached her final decision. She pulled out her phone and messaged her friend, Gavin Warren. "Gavin, I've made my choice. I'm leaving for Meabert."
Hailey understood how difficult it was to receive a training opportunity in Meabert.
For Samuel's sake, she had nearly thrown that chance away.
Only now did she realize how foolish her choice had been.
...
Three days afterward, Hailey's condition had improved enough for her to leave the hospital.
Once she arrived home, she went into Samuel's study and found the divorce papers waiting for her.
Her hand shook while she wrote her name on the document.
Samuel's signature was already on the paper, and seeing it made her accept that she had to abandon every last trace of hope.
There was no point in holding on to something that was never going to belong to her.
Hailey didn't notice that she was crying until a tear dropped onto the back of her hand. By then, her entire face was soaked. At last, she understood that the pain had cut so deeply that all she could feel was an unfamiliar emptiness.
After drying her tears, Hailey showed no emotion as she pulled out her phone and called Samuel.
"What do you want?" His voice held no warmth at all.
She skipped any greeting and went straight to the point. "I signed the divorce papers. Meet me at the courthouse tomorrow morning at nine thirty."
"I can't make it tomorrow. I'll get in touch once I have time," Samuel replied.
Hailey answered in a firm voice, "That won't work. Tomorrow is my only available day. Be there at nine thirty."
Before he could say anything else, she ended the call.
The following morning, Hailey reached the courthouse exactly on time.
However, nine-forty came, and Samuel was nowhere to be seen.
As soon as the clock reached nine forty-one, Hailey walked away without any hesitation.
Her flight to Meabert was scheduled to leave at noon.
From that point forward, Samuel would remain nothing more than a part of her past.
Hailey was finally ready to start living for herself.
