Your Recovery Was My Goodbye

I thought three years of devotion would win Adrian's heart.

When he was paralyzed, I stayed by his bedside, listening to him beg me through trembling breaths not to leave him like his first love did.

I gave him my first kiss and my first night.

He promised me that once he could stand again, he would marry me.

But when his legs finally healed, at his recovery party, he told everyone.

"Scarlett? She's just my housekeeper. She's not good enough for me."

He pulled his first love close and kissed her right in front of me.

That moment, I knew. It was time to leave.

But Adrian, tell me. Why did you search the world for me like a madman after I left?

Scarlett's POV

I always believed Adrian was special to me.

During the three years he was paralyzed, when everyone else abandoned him, only I remained by his side.

I'd seen him at his most vulnerable. I'd been there on those late nights when he'd grab my wrist, his voice shaking.

"Scarlett, don't abandon me like she did."

I thought I'd finally melted through his ice-cold exterior.

But what came wasn't a marriage proposal. Instead, at his recovery party, I heard him laugh casually with a friend.

"What about Scarlett? The one who stayed with you for three years. What's she to you now?" The friend asked.

Adrian brushed off his sleeve carelessly, his tone indifferent.

"She's just a housekeeper. Why would she need any status?"

My mind went blank.

The gift box in my hands suddenly felt scalding hot.

So this was what my three years meant.

I took a deep breath, suppressing the dull ache in my chest, and walked into the ballroom.

The moment I steadied myself, a familiar yet strange figure appeared at the entrance.

Vivian.

Adrian's ex-fiance, who had abandoned him three years ago.

The moment she appeared, the entire room fell silent. Contemptuous gazes landed on her without reservation.

Vivian's face went pale. She stood there helplessly, her eyes reddening.

Adrian cut through the crowd and walked straight toward her.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, he took her hand and pulled her to his side protectively.

From start to finish, he never glanced at me once.

I stood there, watching them become the center of attention, watching him shield her from all those hostile looks.

My heart grew colder by the inch.

Halfway through the party, I excused myself for fresh air and went to the terrace alone.

Soon I heard several women laughing mockingly behind me.

"Vivian, you really have some nerve. You left when you wanted, came back when you wanted. The moment Adrian recovered, you showed up. Your timing is impeccable."

Vivian's voice choked.

"You're misunderstanding..."

"Misunderstanding? Everyone knows how decisively you left back then."

Another sharp voice cut in.

"Coming back now, do you still think you're somebody?"

Several women surrounded her with cutting words.

That's when Adrian's icy voice rang out.

"Since when do any of you get to criticize my companion?"

He had appeared at some point and pulled Vivian protectively behind him.

The women's faces stiffened. They dispersed awkwardly.

Adrian looked down at Vivian crying in his arms, his eyes full of concern.

But when he looked up, his gaze turned cold as it landed on me.

"You were standing here the whole time?"

I froze, then nodded.

His eyes grew even colder.

"They were bullying her like that, and you just watched?"

I opened my mouth to explain I'd just arrived.

But he didn't give me the chance. The disgust in his tone was unconcealed.

"I almost forgot-you're both the same type of person. Scarlett, I never thought you'd be like this."

Baseless accusations.

I felt coldness creep from my feet, freezing my entire body.

"I didn't-"

"Enough!"

Adrian cut me off, supporting the trembling Vivian.

"Vivian, let's go."

He turned to leave. I instinctively stepped forward, trying to grab him.

"Adrian..."

My hand barely touched his sleeve before he violently shook it off.

"Don't touch me!"

The force was so strong I was thrown backward.

My forehead slammed hard against the sharp corner of a marble pillar.

Blood flowed down, blurring my vision.

The commotion startled Vivian. She rushed over, but when she saw the blood on my forehead, her face went pale. She let out a short, sharp scream.

She covered her mouth, breathing rapidly.

"Blood... Adrian, I can't handle blood. I feel sick..."

I struggled to stand, but all I saw was his resolute back.

Adrian didn't look back. He scooped up the swaying Vivian into his arms, his eyes full of anxiety.

"Don't be scared. I'll take you to the hospital right away."

He carried her and left without hesitation.

I leaned against the cold marble pillar and slid to the floor. Blood dripped onto my dress, spreading into dark red stains.

My phone rang. It was Adrian's mother.

I numbly answered, forgetting to wipe the blood from my face.

On the other end, her voice was gentle yet firm.

"Scarlett, thank you for these three years. But Adrian's wife must come from a distinguished family. You're wonderful, but not suitable."

"I've got you a full scholarship to the psychology master's program at Zurich University. There's twenty million on this card. Call it my personal compensation. Let's part on good terms. Just don't let him see you again."

Every word was like a knife piercing my heart.

I gazed at the distant lights and replied softly.

"Alright."

"I agree."

"I'll never appear before him again."

Scarlett's POV

I went to the hospital alone.

The wound on my forehead required five stitches. Though it hurt, I didn't make a sound.

Holding the payment receipt, I walked out of the treatment room and arrived at the VIP ward area.

Through a half-open door, I saw Adrian.

He sat by the bed, carefully wiping away Vivian's tears with a damp cloth.

Vivian's face was streaked with tears.

"Adrian, please don't blame me. My parents fell seriously ill back then. They forced me to go abroad for treatment and wouldn't let me contact you."

Such a clumsy lie.

Yet I watched as the darkness in Adrian's eyes melted bit by bit under her tears.

He raised his hand to stroke her hair.

"I know. I don't blame you."

Vivian sniffled, her eyes glancing timidly toward the door, her voice just loud enough for me to hear.

"What about Scarlett? She stayed with you for three years."

Adrian interrupted her, his voice tinged with impatience.

"I only see her as a housekeeper."

Housekeeper.

I stood there as all the blood in my body stopped flowing.

I immediately turned and left, unwilling to hear another word.

Returning to the villa, the air still carried the lingering scent of last night's party perfume. Cold and mocking.

I didn't turn on the lights. In the darkness, I opened my laptop.

Opening my email, I found the acceptance letter from Zurich. The cursor hovered over the confirmation button for three seconds.

Then I pressed down hard.

After finishing, I opened an encrypted folder containing the only photo of Adrian and me together.

It was taken after his recovery. He'd picked up his phone and captured it himself.

In the photo, he sat in his wheelchair, turning to look at me with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

I dragged the photo to the trash.

Empty. Permanently delete.

Adrian called as if nothing had happened, his tone matter-of-fact.

"Bring that blue emergency file from the study to the office."

I didn't refuse.

I applied light makeup, used my bangs to cover the bandage on my forehead, grabbed the file, and went to Sterling Corporation.

At the CEO's office entrance, I ran right into Vivian.

She held a thermos, and when she saw me, a victor's smile spread across her face.

"Scarlett, you're here too? I made Adrian's favorite seafood soup."

My heart seized. I pushed open the door and shouted a warning.

"Adrian, you're allergic to seafood! You can't drink that!"

Adrian looked up from behind his desk, glanced at me, then at Vivian standing in the doorway looking on the verge of tears. He frowned.

Ignoring my warning, he took the soup bowl and drank a large mouthful right in front of me.

"It's delicious," he told Vivian.

I stood there, speechless.

Before long, his allergic reaction began. His breathing became labored, his face flushed red, and small red welts appeared on his neck.

Struggling to maintain composure, he waved at both Vivian and me.

"Both of you, leave."

I pulled antihistamine pills from my bag, along with a cup of warm water, and pushed them toward him. Then I turned and left.

Outside the company building, Vivian blocked my path. The gentleness on her face had vanished, replaced by undisguised mockery.

"Scarlett, do you see clearly now?"

"You're just a salaried housekeeper."

"While I-"

She smiled slightly.

"I'm the lover he's willing to drink poison for."

I had no comeback. Because it was the truth.

Scarlett's POV

That night, Adrian was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment due to a severe allergic reaction.

When his assistant called, I didn't go.

I sat in the villa's living room, sleepless through the night.

It wasn't until dawn that Adrian dragged his weakened body home.

He froze the moment he saw me.

I looked at his pale face, watched him harm himself for another woman, and felt only desolation.

I said nothing. Just like any night in the past three years, I helped him upstairs, poured him water, and changed his clothes.

The next day, Adrian had regained some energy, but made a request.

"Vivian has a personal photography exhibition at the art gallery. Come with me."

I didn't resist. I agreed.

At the exhibition, camera flashes sparkled.

Adrian spent lavishly, buying all of Vivian's works, attracting media coverage about his devoted love.

Vivian held his arm, basking in everyone's attention.

As she passed by me, she whispered in a voice only we could hear.

"See, Scarlett? This is how he loves someone."

I lowered my eyes without speaking.

Just then, the enormous crystal chandelier in the center of the exhibition hall suddenly emitted an ear-piercing creak.

The supporting steel cable snapped!

Screams instantly shattered the party's tranquility.

The scene descended into chaos. The crowd scattered in panic.

I was violently knocked to the ground by the rushing crowd. Sharp pain shot through my left arm-it seemed dislocated. Then my ankle was trampled by fleeing people. The pain was excruciating.

The pain made my vision go black. I struggled to get up from the floor.

But all around me were panicked legs. No one noticed me.

I lifted my head. Through flying glass shards and twisted, terrified faces, I saw a familiar figure.

It was Adrian.

He was fighting through the crowd.

In that instant, my heart skipped a beat.

Had he come back to save me?

I opened my mouth to call his name.

But the next moment, reality delivered its cruelest blow.

From his mouth came another woman's name, shouted in panic.

"Vivian! Vivian, where are you!"

His gaze swept anxiously over the chaotic crowd, searching for his only target.

His eyes passed over my direction without the slightest pause.

He hadn't come for me at all.

I lay on the cold floor, all strength drained from my body.

I watched him find Vivian, who had been pushed into a corner by the crowd, trembling with fear.

He immediately shielded Vivian beneath him, using his own back to block any falling debris. Then without hesitation, he scooped her into his arms and rushed out of the danger zone without looking back.

From beginning to end, he never once glanced in my direction.

Everyone around had fled.

The entire exhibition hall held only me, collapsed on the floor, and the shadow of death swaying precariously overhead.

I couldn't escape.

The severe pain in my ankle prevented me from standing. My arm was useless.

A massive chandelier component with metal supports, mixed with countless glass shards, grew larger in my pupils. With a shrieking whoosh, it plummeted toward my head.

When I woke again, I was in a hospital.

In the sharp smell of disinfectant, my best friend Riley sat by the bed, her eyes red and swollen.

"Scarlett, you're finally awake!"

Riley told me I had a mild concussion, my left arm was fractured, and wrapped in a thick cast.

Vivian had only suffered a fright.

Adrian had stayed by Vivian's side the entire time in the adjacent VIP room, providing psychological counseling.

Once again.

Once again, at a life-or-death moment, he'd abandoned me without hesitation.

I lay in the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, and finally cried.

Not from sadness, but from liberation.

I grabbed Riley's hand, my voice hoarse but carrying unprecedented determination.

"Riley, I got the offer from Zurich. Once I finish the paperwork, I'm leaving."

"I don't want him anymore."

The moment the words left my mouth, the hospital room door was slammed open.

Adrian stood in the doorway, radiating cold fury, his face terrifyingly dark.

He stared at me in the hospital bed, his voice as cold as ice.

"Who's leaving?"

Scarlett's POV

Adrian's gaze bore into me.

Riley flinched at his intensity, instinctively moving to shield me.

I gently pulled Riley aside and met Adrian's eyes. I told a lie.

"My friend is leaving. She has some family matters."

Adrian's expression softened slightly, but remained dark.

He walked over, looking down at me from his height, his tone stiff.

"About the chandelier incident-I'm sorry. The scene was too chaotic. I didn't notice you."

Didn't notice.

I forced a smile.

"It's fine, Mr. Sterling. I'm just a housekeeper. It would be strange if you had noticed me."

I used such a distant form of address for the first time.

Adrian's brow furrowed instantly. His gaze landed on my cast-covered arm, revealing surprise.

"It's this serious?"

He reached out, seemingly wanting to touch the cold cast, but stopped midway.

"I didn't know you were hurt this badly. I'll stay and take care of you."

His voice finally held a trace of warmth.

But my heart had long since frozen.

Just then, his phone rang.

It was Vivian.

Through the phone, Vivian's tearful voice came.

"Adrian, I'm scared. Every time I close my eyes, I see that chandelier falling. I had a nightmare."

Hesitation crossed Adrian's face.

I saw through his struggle.

So I made the decision for him, saying softly.

"Go to her. She needs you more."

A flash of guilt crossed Adrian's eyes, but he still turned to leave.

"I'll have someone from home come care for you."

With that, he quickly left.

I watched his retreating figure and smiled.

On discharge day, Adrian came to pick me up himself.

Vivian sat in the passenger seat.

He was taking us to a charity gala.

Throughout the drive, Adrian and Vivian chatted happily.

I sat in the back seat like a ghost.

The gala's auction segment became their stage for displaying affection.

Adrian spent lavishly for Vivian, bidding on famous paintings and jewelry.

He finally seemed to remember someone sat in the back seat and asked perfunctorily.

"Scarlett, is there anything you want?"

My eyes landed on a pair of antique cufflinks about to be auctioned.

Men's cufflinks, symbolizing lifelong protection.

I looked at those cufflinks for one second.

Adrian immediately understood and raised his paddle without hesitation.

After several rounds of bidding, he successfully won the cufflinks.

Just as I thought this was his small way of making up for my injury, Vivian spoke up sweetly from beside him. She explained the meaning behind those cufflinks: lifelong protection.

Adrian's hand holding the cufflinks instantly froze.

He glanced at Vivian, then at me.

After hesitating, under everyone's watchful eyes, he made a decision that turned me into the evening's laughingstock.

He handed the cufflinks, originally bid for me, to Vivian beside him.

"These are for you."

Only then did he turn back to me.

"Those aren't suitable for you. I'll bid on something else."

In that moment, I understood.

I didn't even qualify to be given something symbolizing his protection.

I looked at him and gently shook my head.

"No need, Mr. Sterling."

"I don't want anything anymore."

Scarlett's POV

After the gala, in the parking lot.

Vivian, wearing high heels, blocked my path.

She stood there with arms crossed, wearing the arrogance of a victor.

"Scarlett, do you see your place now?"

"The person in Adrian's heart is me. Three years ago, and now too. A housekeeper like you shouldn't have delusions. Just withdraw yourself and keep some dignity."

I looked at her.

"As you wish."

I said softly.

Vivian thought I'd surrendered and curved her lips with satisfaction.

But just as she turned to leave, she suddenly let out a sharp scream, pointing at me with fury on her face.

"My necklace! You stole my necklace!"

Her shrill cry instantly attracted Adrian, who had just walked over.

Vivian threw herself into Adrian's arms, crying.

"Adrian, that's the only memento my mother left me! It was fine just now, but after talking to Scarlett for a few moments, it disappeared!"

Adrian's gaze instantly turned icy.

He rushed over and grabbed my wrist-the one with the unhealed fracture.

"Why would you do this?!"

He demanded harshly, his eyes filled with complete disgust and disappointment.

Pain drained the color from my face. Searing pain shot through my wrist as the bones shifted. I said, word by word.

"I didn't steal it."

"Didn't steal?"

Vivian peeked out from his embrace, crying.

"Adrian, search her bag. It must be in there!"

Without hesitation, Adrian roughly seized my purse with his other hand and dumped everything onto the ground.

Lipstick, keys, tissues, and a plane ticket to Zurich for next week scattered across the pavement.

Finally, with a crisp clink, a platinum necklace fell from the bag.

Caught red-handed.

The last trace of warmth vanished from Adrian's eyes.

He didn't even look at the plane ticket, mistaking it for trash, and crushed it beneath his foot.

"Scarlett, you've disappointed me so much."

He released his grip and pulled the trembling, sobbing Vivian tightly into his arms, comforting her gently.

His gaze toward me turned cruel.

"Find your own way back."

With that, he carried Vivian to the car and drove away.

Abandoning me alone in this torrential downpour at a suburban estate.

Cold rain pounded against my body.

I stood motionless, letting the rain soak me through.

I slowly crouched down and picked up the ticket from the muddy water, covered in footprints.

Alone in the desolate rainy night, I walked with difficulty for a long time before finally catching a ride.

When I returned to the villa, I was soaked through and running a high fever.

I collapsed onto the bed and fell into a feverish sleep.

The next day, I was awakened by the commotion in the living room downstairs.

Leaning against the wall, I struggled downstairs.

Several movers were carrying suitcases into the living room.

Those suitcases belonged to Vivian.

Adrian stood in the center of the living room. Seeing me, his face showed no trace of guilt-only cold warning.

"Vivian will be moving in from now on."

"Scarlett, I'm warning you-behave yourself. Don't try any more tricks."

I nodded.

I looked at this man I'd devoted three years to, watched another woman about to move into this home, and replied softly.

"I won't."

Scarlett's POV

Vivian officially moved in.

The villa filled with her laughter, her perfume scent, every trace of her.

I became the superfluous person in this home.

I witnessed firsthand Adrian's meticulous care for Vivian.

When she casually mentioned wanting cake, Adrian would immediately drive across half the city to buy it.

When she frowned and said she was bored, Adrian would cancel multimillion-dollar contracts to spend the entire day watching mindless TV shows with her.

These were treatments I hadn't dared imagine in three years.

So he did know how to be tender-his tenderness just never belonged to me.

My heart had gone numb.

I spent each day in my room, reading, researching, planning my life after leaving.

Until that afternoon.

I went downstairs for water and inadvertently saw Vivian in Adrian's study.

In her hands, she was playing with a bracelet.

It was a diamond bracelet-a relic from Adrian's late grandmother and his most treasured possession.

For three years, he'd hardly been separated from it.

Without thinking, I rushed in.

"Put it down!"

Seeing my alarm, a flash of malicious light crossed Vivian's eyes.

Not only did she not put it down, she deliberately tossed it in her hands.

"Adrian said as long as I like something, he'll give me anything. It's just a bracelet. Look how nervous you are."

With that, she flicked her wrist, pretending to lose her grip.

The bracelet fell heavily to the floor.

The expensive diamonds immediately scattered.

One of them even cracked from the impact, a clear fissure visible.

Adrian arrived at the sound.

When he saw the mess on the floor and that cracked diamond, his face instantly turned iron-gray.

Vivian immediately changed her expression, pointing at me accusingly first.

"Adrian, it's not my fault! Scarlett rushed in and insisted on grabbing the bracelet from me. That's why I accidentally broke it!"

I watched her clumsy performance and said only one sentence.

"The study has surveillance cameras."

Vivian's face went pale. She immediately adopted a pitiful look, admitting it was her carelessness and offering to compensate with money.

Adrian's anger vanished the moment Vivian admitted fault.

He didn't even glance at the diamonds on the floor. Instead, he quickly walked to Vivian's side, nervously lifting her wrist.

"Are you hurt?"

I stood aside, watching this scene, feeling my heart hollowed out by an invisible hand.

I crouched down and began picking up the scattered diamonds one by one.

The cold diamonds rolled across my fingertips. I found the cracked one.

I remembered.

Three years ago, Adrian's mother accidentally lost this bracelet.

Adrian, with his still-unhealed body, went mad searching for it in the pouring rain that night, sitting in his wheelchair in the garden for half the night.

In the end, it was I who accompanied him, drenched in torrential rain, hands frozen red, finally finding this treasure in the muddy soil.

Back then, he'd clutched the recovered bracelet in his palm, the treasure in his eyes as if it were his entire world.

And now.

His most precious possession had been deliberately broken by Vivian, yet he didn't care-only concerned whether she'd hurt her hand.

I picked up the last diamond, along with the cracked one, and held them in my palm.

I stood and walked before Adrian, opening my hand.

"Your things."

My voice held no ripple.

Adrian frowned, seemingly impatient that I was interrupting his comforting of Vivian.

He casually took the diamonds without even looking and put them straight into his pocket.

Then he placed his hand on Vivian's shoulder, saying gently.

"It's fine now. Don't be scared. If it's broken, we'll just buy another."

I looked at him, finally giving up completely.

Adrian, I truly won't love you anymore.