7
I stood there, unsure of what to say as I faced Jasper and Finn.
Jasper looked thinner and more haggard since I left.
Finn appeared well–dressed, wearing a well–fitted suit and the tie I had given him in his first year of work.
Seeing me look at Finn, Jasper snorted and cursed.
“Show–off!”
I sighed and spoke up.
“Jasper, if you still refuse to sign the divorce agreement, I’ll be forced to file for divorce in court.
Jasper’s expression froze, then he acted as if he hadn’t heard and composed himself.
“Adeline, your birthday is in a few days. Should we still have ice cream cake?”
“Adeline, your birthday is in a few days. Should we still have ice cream cake?”
1 frowned at him, about to speak, but Finn interrupted.
“Adeline, I’ve also applied for this school’s graduate program, but this time you’re my senior…”
I felt exhausted by their flattery and ignored them.
Before I knew it, my birthday arrived. After class, I saw them waiting outside the classroom again.
I suddenly remembered my first surgery as the lead surgeon. Afterward, Jasper and Finn waited outside the operating room just like this.
Time has changed us all.
Thinking of this, I gave them a rare smile and gently spoke.
“Hungry? Let’s go eat.”
I noticed them fawning over me and felt incredibly annoyed, so I decided to ignore them.
Before I knew it, my birthday had arrived. After class, I saw them waiting at the classroom door once more.
It reminded me of my first surgery as the lead surgeon. After it ended, Jasper and Finn were waiting outside the operating room just like this
Time has a way of changing us, and none of us are the same people we were back then. But reflecting on this, I softened a bit and spoke to them more gently.
“Are you hungry? Let’s get something to eat.”
They both looked at
me in surprise. Jasper was especially taken aback and tried to reach for my hand, but I subtly pulled away.
At the restaurant, Jasper presented an ice cream cake and a ring box he had ordered in advance. Not wanting to be outdone, Finn also took out a beautifully wrapped jewelry box. They both said in unison, “Adeline, happy birthday!”
I remained indifferent as I picked up Jasper’s ring box first. I opened it and, just as I expected, it was the same simple ring.
“Jasper, after all these years and everything we’ve been through, is this simple ring all I’m worth to you?”
“Last year on my birthday, I wanted you to come with me to pick out a diamond ring, but you said you had to train.”
“Actually, that day, you were with Phoebe, weren’t you? You probably didn’t realize, but the diamond ring I had my eye on is the one Phoebe is wearing now.”
Seeing Jasper’s nervous expression, I waved my hand to stop him from speaking.
“Do you remember? You almost got beaten to death in the ring giving me this ring.”
“I later saw you, bruised and swollen, yet still smiling at me with that ring. I thought of that moment as your get–out–of–jail–free card.”
“So even when you watched those people break my right hand for Phoebe and we lost our child, I still considered giving you another chance.”
“But you left that time too.”
“You need to understand, our separation wasn’t just because of Phoebe.”
“I was a witness to your lowest moments, so every time you see me, you think of that unbearable experience, right?”
“Jasper, I was too young when I met you. I loved foolishly and hated foolishly too.”
“But luckily, I have another chance to live with clarity.”
“Jasper, if you truly hold on to the little affection we had, you shouldn’t stop me from moving towards my new life.”
Jasper listened to my words, tears streaming down his face. It felt like his heart was being torn apart, but he didn’t dare meet my eyes.
“Adeline… I’m sorry for this lifetime…”
I composed myself, turned to Finn, and used my finger to open his box. Sure enough, it was the jade pendant I had left behind.
Finn cautiously watched my expression and spoke.
“Adeline, was the little girl who saved me back then you?”
I looked at him for a while and then scoffed.
“Of course not.”
“This jade pendant is just a replica I found online.”
Finn felt a chill all over and then heard my voice again.
“Is that jade pendant really so important?”
“Is the identity of the little girl who saved you so important?”
“Do you love someone because of a pendant and a favor?”
“Unfortunately, Phoebe isn’t that little girl from back then, and neither am I.”
“And for the sake of a supposed benefactor, you violated your professional ethics as a doctor!”
“Finn, my biggest regret isn’t marrying Jasper; it’s saving you in the Gobi Desert back then!”
Finn said nothing, just silently held jade pendant on the table in his hand.
In the end, they both chose to compromise. Jasper signed the divorce agreement, and Finn returned to the USA after helping me with some lab work for a few days.
Around my mother’s death anniversary, I requested a long leave from my professor, planning to return to the country to pay my respects and finalize the divorce with Jasper.
When I arrived at my mother’s grave, I saw Jasper once again. He spoke nervously.
“Adeline… are you leaving again after this visit?”
I frowned.
“Jasper, I thought I made myself clear that day.”
Jasper quickly shook his head and explained that he didn’t mean anything else. The divorce proceedings went smoothly, and Jasper gave me all his assets.
“Adeline, without you, there wouldn’t be the me of today. These things should be yours.”
After paying my respects to my mother, I returned to the hospital with a few boxes of gifts, planning to visit my university professors and former colleagues.
I didn’t expect to meet an unexpected person–Phoebe, wearing a hospital gown.
Seeing me, she seemed frightened and tried to move her wheelchair to leave, But despite her efforts, the wheelchair barely moved.
I walked over to check her wristband and found her wrist abnormally thin. The wristband clearly read “oncological surgery.”
I silently pushed her back to her room, helped her onto the bed, and stood by her side, just watching her.
She became uneasy under my gaze, her eyes evasive. Then, as if she remembered something, she laughed with relief and removed her wig.
“Adeline, are you satisfied seeing me like this?”
I looked at her bed card. The diagnosis was acute liver failure, the same as my mother’s illness.
Phoebe suddenly began to laugh hysterically, tears streaming down her face.
“I never believed in karma, but I’m so young and have been diagnosed with this illness.”
“This must be my karma!”
“Believe it or not, what happened back then wasn’t intentional on my part.”
“Adeline, please don’t forgive me, so I can feel less guilty.“”
I watched her for a long time, speaking without any emotion.
“I won’t forgive you, but I also won’t hate you because you’re not worth it.”
Hearing this, Phoebe was about to say something else when she suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood.
I quickly pressed the call button. The on–duty doctor was surprised to see me.
“Dr. Sheng, this patient has portal vein rupture bleeding and needs emergency endoscopic hemostasis.”
“But after the professor retired, only you and Dr. Lin could do this surgery.”
“Dr. Lin voluntarily went to Xinjiang…”
I removed the bracelet from my right hand, revealing a ghastly scar.
“But I can no longer hold a scalpel.”
In the end, Phoebe died in the same operating room where my mother had passed away.
I ended my leave and was on a flight back to the UK. I suddenly remembered Phoebe’s words.
“Adeline, this must be my karma!”
On the day I returned to the country after completing my studies in the UK, the passengers next to me were discussing recent news.
Jasper, the former MMA champion, was accidentally killed during his last fight in the octagon.
When I heard this news, my hands froze. After a while, a colleague handed me a tissue, and I realized I was already in tears.
In Jasper’s final moments, he used all his strength to crawl towards his coat at the edge of the ring, just because inside was a plain ring of immense significance to him.
In a daze, he seemed to see Adeline, standing at the edge of the ring holding his coat, just like countless times before the divorce, her eyes filled with tears of heartache.
Meanwhile, Finn remained steadfast in the Gobi Desert in Xinjiang, eventually succumbing to illness and passing away in the health center where we had once volunteered together,
By the age of forty, I had risen to the position of deputy dean. Over the years, many people had introduced me to various men, but I remained single.
Not because I still thought of Jasper and Finn, but because I wanted to devote my limited time to myself.
Not because I still thought of Jasper and Finn, but because I wanted to devote my limited time to myself.
To live clearly and Independently in this world.
One day after work, I drove down a road lined with gardenias, the scent filling the car.
Adeline’s summer was far from over,
