Jade suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Wait."
She looked at her mother.
"That Daniel guy…"
Madame Lee and Gabriel exchanged a quick glance.
Jade noticed.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Who exactly is he?"
Silence.
Gabriel suddenly found the wall very interesting.
Madame Lee's fingers tightened around the blanket.
Jade looked between them.
"…Why are you both looking at each other like that?"
Neither answered.
"Mom?"
Madame Lee panicked.
And before she could think twice, the words slipped out.
"He's the one who hit you."
Gabriel's head snapped toward her.
What?!
Jade's eyes widened.
"…He what?"
Madame Lee immediately realized what she had just said.
But it was already too late.
Jade's expression darkened.
"That man…"
She pointed toward the door.
"That ridiculously handsome man ran me over?"
Gabriel pressed his lips together.
Jade's eyes widened in disbelief.
"So because some crazy man couldn't pay attention while driving…"
She slapped a hand against her chest dramatically.
"…I lost FIVE YEARS of my life?!"
Gabriel quickly intervened.
"Well…"
Jade turned toward him.
"Well what?"
He glanced at Madame Lee.
She gave him a desperate look.
Gabriel understood immediately.
He nodded.
"That's why he came to see you."
Jade stared at him.
"He came here because he felt guilty?"
"Yes."
Gabriel answered a little too quickly.
Jade scoffed.
"He better feel guilty!"
She crossed her arms.
"Five years!"
She looked at her mother.
"Mom, I could have gotten married in those five years!"
Gabriel raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Obviously!"
Jade pointed at him.
"I could have had a husband, two children and a house by now."
Gabriel snorted.
"Knowing you, you'd probably have divorced him within six months."
Jade gasped.
"Excuse me?"
Madame Lee finally let out a small laugh.
But behind her smile…
She and Gabriel exchanged another look.
Because technically…
They weren't lying.
Daniel hadn't been the one driving the car.
But he was the reason Jade had been running into the street in the first place.
And five years of her life had indeed been lost because of him.
Jade, completely unaware of the truth, crossed her arms again.
"That man better stay away from me."
Gabriel's smile froze.
Madame Lee's expression tightened.
Jade frowned.
"What?"
"Nothing," Gabriel quickly said.
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Why do I feel like you two are hiding something from me?"
Madame Lee immediately looked away.
Gabriel cleared his throat.
"We're not."
"That was the fastest lie I've ever heard."
"Jade."
"What?"
She looked between them.
"You both suddenly became terrible actors."
Gabriel sighed.
"You just woke up."
"Exactly."
Jade pointed at herself.
"I've been unconscious for five years. Apparently, I have the right to ask questions."
Madame Lee gently touched her hand.
"You don't have to worry about anything right now."
Jade stared at her.
"Mom…"
"What?"
"You've been crying every five minutes since I opened my eyes."
Madame Lee's eyes immediately became watery again.
Jade's expression softened.
"Hey…"
She squeezed her mother's hand.
"I'm here."
Madame Lee smiled through her tears.
"I know."
Jade looked down at their intertwined hands.
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then…
"So…"
Gabriel immediately groaned.
"What now?"
Jade looked at him.
"What's happened in five years?"
Gabriel blinked.
"What?"
"I lost five years!"
She looked genuinely offended.
"Someone needs to give me a briefing."
"A briefing?"
"Yes."
She began counting on her fingers.
"Who got married?"
"Who divorced?"
"Who got rich?"
"Who got ugly?"
Gabriel stared at her.
"Who got ugly?"
"That's important information."
"You're unbelievable."
Jade ignored him.
"And most importantly…"
She suddenly leaned closer.
"Did anyone invent a cure for Monday mornings?"
Gabriel burst out laughing.
Madame Lee shook her head.
"You're really still the same."
Jade smiled proudly.
"Obviously."
She leaned back against the pillow.
"Five years in a coma couldn't get rid of me."
Gabriel's smile slowly faded.
Neither he nor Madame Lee knew how long that confidence would last.
Because Jade didn't know it yet…
But the world she remembered had disappeared five years ago.
And somewhere in that world…
There was a man named Daniel Ooman.
A man she had once loved.
A man who had spent five years waiting for her to wake up.
And now…
She believed he was nothing more than the handsome idiot who had caused her accident.
Gabriel glanced toward the closed door.
He couldn't help but wonder what would happen when Jade eventually learned the truth.
Because sooner or later…
She would.
.
.
Gabriel eventually had to return to his company.
Madame Lee, on the other hand, had to go back to her shift.
Neither of them wanted to leave Jade alone.
But after promising her several times that they would come back as soon as possible, they finally left.
Jade watched them disappear through the door.
"Don't worry," she had told them with a smile.
"I'm not going anywhere."
She had even joked about making them bring her better food next time.
Anything to keep them from worrying.
But now…
She was alone.
The smile slowly disappeared from her face.
Jade stared at the ceiling.
She didn't want her mother to worry anymore.
She didn't want Gabriel to keep looking at her like she was made of glass.
That's why she joked.
That's why she acted like everything was fine.
But it wasn't.
Not really.
She slowly closed her eyes.
Five years.
Her mind desperately searched for something.
Anything.
A memory.
A face.
A place.
A single event that could explain what had happened to her.
Nothing.
There was only darkness.
Jade frowned and tried harder.
Her breathing suddenly became uneven.
She opened her eyes.
"Come on…"
She pressed her fingers against her temple.
"Think."
Her chest tightened.
The harder she tried to force her memories back, the worse it became.
Her breathing accelerated.
"I…"
She swallowed.
"I can't remember."
The monitor beside her bed began beeping faster.
Jade immediately forced herself to stop.
She took several slow breaths, trying to calm herself.
"Okay…"
"Okay, Jade."
"Don't panic."
She stared at the ceiling again.
Surely she could remember what happened before the accident.
Yet even that was strangely fragmented.
She remembered her mother.
Gabriel.
Her life.
Her ambitions.
Her dream of becoming a successful event planner.
But everything after that gala…
Nothing.
It was as though someone had taken an enormous piece of her life and simply cut it out.
Jade's eyes became glossy.
Five years.
In five years, she should have accomplished so much.
By now, she should have been successful.
Maybe married.
Maybe living in a beautiful house.
Maybe finally earning enough money to give her mother the life she had always dreamed of giving her.
She had wanted to become a renowned event planner.
She had wanted to build something for herself.
She had wanted to change her mother's life.
And now?
She had woken up in a hospital bed…
Five years older…
With absolutely no idea what had happened to those years.
Jade clenched her fists beneath the blanket.
A bitter feeling slowly spread through her chest.
Then she remembered what her mother had told her.
Daniel Ooman.
Her eyes narrowed.
"That damn man…"
Her anger suddenly returned.
"So it's because of him that I lost five years?"
She scoffed.
"Of course."
She folded her arms.
"Of course some ridiculously handsome idiot had to ruin my life."
She paused.
"…Seriously?"
Her expression became even more offended.
"Couldn't he at least have hit someone else?"
Jade stared at the ceiling.
Then she sighed dramatically.
"Five years…"
Her voice became quieter.
"I could have been rich by now."
She paused.
"Or married."
Another pause.
"Preferably rich and married."
She frowned.
"And famous."
She pointed at herself.
"Successful event planner. Beautiful house. Happy mother."
Her shoulders dropped.
"Instead…"
She looked around the hospital room.
"…I'm here."
The anger returned.
And this time, it wasn't funny anymore.
Jade turned her face toward the window.
"Daniel Ooman…"
She whispered his name like it was already a curse.
"I don't know who the hell you are."
"But somehow…"
Her eyes hardened.
"…I already don't like you."