The hand of Jaguar's grandfather trembled in the empty air; that frail, aged hand extended toward her in desperation, yearning for someone to grasp it and ease its loneliness. Yet Fati paid no heed to that hand at first, maintaining her dry, professional tone as she glanced at the documents, stating,
- The results of your medical tests have come out, and... and...
The words withered on her lips. She fell into a sudden silence, trying to process the thunderbolt that had just pierced her ears. In the depths of her mind, she erroneously assumed that the elderly man was calling her his granddaughter figuratively, merely because she was married to Jaguar... but a specific name had forcefully wedged itself into his sentence, a name that shook the very foundations of her soul: "Rose." Taking a step back, she uttered in bewilderment,
- Excuse me?
The grandfather repeated, his voice choked with emotion,
- My dear granddaughter...
Her mind tried to cling to the wall of denial, so she interrupted him with a sharp tone that masked her confusion,
- Yes... I am your grandson Jaguar's wife. That is why you
- No
The grandfather cut her off, clinging to the last ounce of strength in his body, tears tracing the wrinkles of his face.
- No... You are Rose's daughter... You are my granddaughter
Fati stood stunned, frozen in her tracks, utterly incapable of comprehending what she was supposed to do in this terrifying moment. Had she not endured all that agony and betrayal over these past two days had her heart not been so deeply wounded by Jaguar she would have thrown herself into the arms of this weeping old man right then without a second thought. Instead, she remained rooted to the spot, staring down at him with mask-like features, her hesitant heart violently torn between longing and cold detachment.
With a shaking hand that betrayed her strength, Fati extended her fingers and grasped his trembling hand. She was weeping bitterly within the depths of her soul, fighting with every ounce of pride she possessed not to show this vulnerability before the grandfather. Yet, the sudden, genuine warmth of his palm seeping into her skin made her pulse quicken with an overwhelming urge to hold on. She asked hesitantly, her voice faltering,
- Did... did my grandfather the one who raised me tell you that I was your granddaughter... during that ill-fated phone call six years ago?
With eyes drowned in raw regret, the old man nodded weakly and whispered,
- Yes... he did, my dear. He told me everything.
Straining with the remaining strength in his frail body, he tightened his grip and pulled her toward his chest, desperately trying to embrace her. But his weakened frame could not manage to draw her into his arms, and she, in turn, kept her spine rigidly straight, refusing to fully surrender to the moment. And there... her defenses finally crumbled, and tears began to stream down her cheeks, hot and unyielding.
She was not weeping because the wealthy old man lying before her was her grandfather, nor because she had finally unearthed the lineage of her long-lost mother, Rose. Rather, she was weeping out of sheer injustice and grief for her late grandfather that honorable man who had lost his life and paid the ultimate price, simply because he had courageously insisted on bringing the truth to light and vindicating Rose's blood.
At that very moment, when instinct dictated that she should cling to the grandfather's extended hand and embrace him in tears, her body suddenly recoiled. She released his grip with unintended harshness, taking two steps back while exhaling ragged, turbulent breaths, and said in a petrified tone,
- I need... I need time to think
She turned and rushed out, leaving her patient behind without care, treatment, or even the embrace he deserved as a remorseful old man. She was lost... completely lost in the labyrinth of her racing mind. She was violently torn between the shocking realization that her true family had been right before her eyes all along that her late grandfather had deliberately sent her to them and the far more hideous, sinister reality: that Jaguar was her own flesh and blood, the direct cause of her grandfather's death, and the mastermind behind every ounce of agony she had endured.
Questions poured into her mind like poisoned daggers: Did he know she was the rightful heiress of Rose? Did he force her into marriage and make her the victim of his sadistic revenge solely to prevent her from claiming her inheritance, keeping the family fortune intact?! Was he planning to murder her and erase her from existence?! She recalled his desperate refusal to let her perform the surgery on his grandfather, and a fierce suspicion awoke in her chest: Did he refuse because the grandfather's awakening would expose the truth, making the murder and disposal of Fati infinitely harder?
She now realized through the lens of her dark assumptions that she was nothing more than a thorn wedged in his throat, a thorn that had to be extracted at any cost. That was precisely why he had accompanied her on her recent journey to visit her mother's former maid; it wasn't to protect her, but to monitor her, ensuring she wouldn't unearth the truth! She stopped in the cold hospital corridor, her entire frame shivering from the terrifying thought that struck her: What, then, is his next plan? Is he orchestrating a perfect murder... and will she, Dr. Fati, be the next victim?
She stepped out of the hospital gates with heavy, dragging steps and looked at the opposite building standing starkly in the darkness of the night. A biting terror seized her as she wondered: Should she return to that ill-fated apartment and wait for him there? Should she surrender and prepare herself to receive her inevitable punishment, simply because she now posed a threat that could steal the spotlight of the legendary Jack Pike family inheritance from right beneath his feet? Or should she flee immediately... vanish to some remote place where his claws could never reach her?
But... to where?! Her soul crushed, she whispered to herself with utter bitterness: She was just a girl... just a helpless doctor with neither power nor allies against this tyrannical emperor. If the grandfather whom she had just discovered was her own grandfather as well had crushed her family in the past, turning their lives from the luxury of wealth into the hell of poverty after seizing all their property and stripping them of their legacy... then Jaguar, the heir to this absolute ruthlessness, would certainly not stop at merely destroying her. He would erase her existence entirely.
Her surrendered feet guided her through the dark, cold streets, led by sheer aimlessness wherever it pleased, without her remaining aware of time or direction. She kept walking like a body without a soul until she reached a nearby café, stepping inside and slipping into its most secluded corner. She sank into the depths of her silence and desolation, utterly failing to realize that time had neared midnight and the world around her had grown still, until the waiter approached her with a regretful look. In a low voice, he informed her that the establishment's closing time had already passed... and that she had to leave.
She stood outside the darkened café, watching with broken eyes as the waiter and his colleagues hurried toward their homes, enveloped in warmth and joy. A searing tear welled in her eye as she bitterly remembered that she had always been the one standing in the shadows, watching the backs of people as they happily departed from her, while she remained alone like an orphan, wailing in the depths of her soul. She questioned herself in denial:
"What has happened to you, Fati?! Weren't you that fierce girl who never cared about whoever walked out of her life? Why are you so shattered now... like the remnants of a body blown to pieces by a bomb that was strapped to its chest?"
At that terrifying moment, the sky opened up, and the rain poured down heavily, as if arriving specifically to wash her face and conceal her brokenness. Thus, she fully surrendered, letting her tears stream, mingled with the freezing drops. She remained beneath the rain until her clothes were completely drenched, watching the faces of passersby as they hurried past her, gazing at the cars and buses driving by their passengers nestled inside a safe, cozy warmth while she was cast out into the freezing cold.
Her strength failing her, she pulled her knees to her chest, crouching on the wet pavement. She wished for death with all her heart, whispering in a choked tone,
- Jaguar... why don't you just come and kill me now and end this agony?
In the depths of her despair, the dark sheet of rain parted as a figure approached and squatted down directly in front of her, mimicking her exact posture. With a sudden, gentle movement filled with compassion, he took off his jacket and draped it over her shivering shoulders to shield her frail body. Then, in a calm voice she didn't recognize at first, he said,
- Why didn't you leave. You will catch a cold, miss...
Slowly raising her head, she looked up in bewilderment at the owner of that warm voice. It wasn't Jaguar; it was the waiter himself! He had turned back from his way home, and there he was, looking down at her with eyes overflowing with genuine concern.
What do you think, my dear friends? Should I bring in a new lover, or should I let him pass through her life like everyone else who has?