Chapter 13
Zachary slowly opened his eyes to the sharp smell of disinfectant, staring up at a stark white ceiling. He instinctively tried to raise his hand to rub his temples, only to discover there was an IV needle in the back of his hand.
“Are you finally awake?” A cold female voice came from the right side of his bed.
Zachary turned his head to see Queenie sitting in a chair with her arms crossed, her perfectly sculpted eyebrows furrowed, and her red lips pressed into a thin line. “Real classy of you, getting so drunk with your loser friends that you ended up with stomach bleeding. How old are you again, Zachary?
“And seriously, what’s the point of hanging around those people? They’re completely useless to you. Why do you insist on staying close to them? Why do you always waste your time on pointless things? Have you thought about our future even once?”
N O P S P P A SP9E PENS
Zachary’s throat felt painfully dry, and his gaze drifted to the water glass on the nightstand. Following his line of sight, Queenie suddenly grabbed the glass. “Do you want some water?” A mocking smile twisted her lips as she splashed the water directly at his face. “Let me help you sober up! Maybe then you’ll stop doing such meaningless crap!”
The cold water hit him square in the face, and Zachary instinctively closed his eyes. Droplets rolled down his lashes and soaked his hospital gown’s collar. “Say something!” Queenie slammed the empty glass down on the nightstand with a loud bang. “You ditched me last night to go drinking, and now you’re playing mute?”
Zachary slowly opened his eyes. Looking at the hysterical woman in front of him, he suddenly thought of Yasmine.
She would never yell at him like this. Even when angry, she’d just press her lips together and watch him quietly with those clear, bright eyes.
The realization that he was thinking about Yasmine again made his whole body tense.
“Are you regretting getting back together with me?” Queenie suddenly leaned over, planting her hands on either side of the bed as her expression twisted with rage. “What the hell is your problem? Why won’t you talk to me? Have you gone mute, Zachary?”
Zachary looked at the delicate face inches from his own, but all he could see in his mind was Yasmine’s gentle eyes when she smiled. He suddenly realized that what he’d been chasing all this time was nothing more than a teenage fantasy.
His love back then had been too intense, and the sudden separation had left him unable to accept it. It had been nothing but mere stubbornness and an obsession- he didn’t feel any real love for Queenie anymore.
He met her gaze and finally spoke. “Yeah.”
Queenie’s expression froze, her eyes widening in disbelief. “What did you say? What do you mean by that?”
“I said,” Zachary’s voice was calm, as if he’d finally lifted a weight off his shoulders, “I regret it.”
Queenie’s face went chalk white, and the next moment, she straightened up abruptly. “Zachary! Do you have any idea what you’re saying? You chased after me like a lovesick puppy, and now you’re telling me you regret it? Are you kidding me?”
“I’m perfectly aware of what I’m saying.” Zachary slowly sat up against the bed, leaning back against the pillow. “Queenie, what we had ended a long time ago. What I couldn’t let go of was just an obsession.”
“You’re lying!” Queenie’s voice trembled as she stumbled, nearly losing her balance. “I don’t believe it! Zach, you’re just trying to hurt me, right? You loved me so much! You broke your rib for me, threw competitions, and even…
14
“That’s all in the past.” Zachary cut her off, his expression unnervingly calm. “I’ll admit that when I was younger, I might have had genuine feelings for you. But after we broke up, what I felt became an obsession–it’s not love.
“You understand that, don’t you, Queenie? We both need to move forward now.‘
