Penny was still unable to coax Pei Li to return yet. She herself was in an insomnia spell. Fatigue was setting in, and she felt unwell a few days before Wayne's filming. She was struggling with all these quietly, as she didn't want to worry Wayne. However, that evening when she bravely made her way to the dining hall, putting on her best look, she nearly fainted from her dizziness.
"Penny!" Wayne screamed from across the kitchen as he ran towards her. He carefully examined her tired face as she sat on the dining table, supporting herself on the table.
"I could have brought dinner to you in bed…" He gently said while caressing her cheeks. She shook her head, trying to put on a strong face.
"I'm fine…" She faked a smile, but he didn't buy it. "Sit… I will feed you first." He quickly returned to the kitchen to start serving a simple dinner, consisting of stir-fried dishes accompanied by rice.
"If it gets too tiring for you, you could stay home…" Wayne suggested as they began to dig in.
"No…" Her rejection sounded half disappointed and worried. Wayne smiled and held her hand. "Alright… Eat first." He comforted her. She smiled, knowing he was just teasing her.
They had been taking leaps and bounds to heighten their relationship status. From a slow-burning kiss on the night before, where she had been accustomed to him and his ways of leading her, they finally intertwined into a slow, passionate intimacy in bed, with her being sober for once after dinner.
Violet and Jade were about to land in Lagospool when Jade noticed Violet's sentimental look outside the window. Jade held her right hand in hers. Jade smiled when their gazes met.
"Have you been well?" Jade finally asked, noticing she had been dwelling on Sam's matter while Violet navigated tough driving in the rural area all the way to the airport, that Jade had forgotten to ask about Violet's well-being.
She shook her head. "Why? What happened? Is it because of the divorce?" Jade asked worriedly.
"I had a miscarriage recently… It was only two months old…" Jade was shocked at the revelation as she hugged Violet, who was smiling sadly.
It all made sense now to Jade on Sam's apology message and his strange call a few days ago. Jade wondered about Sam's intentions after yesterday, and yet he was still sending her away.
"I'm sorry, Vi…" Jade sniffed in Violet's arms.
"It's fine… I'm fine." Violet was assuring Jade, whose shoulders shuddered even more, as she silently sobbed. Violet found it strange at first, but figured it must be because of Sam. She still could not quite figure them both out as she gently patted Jade's back to comfort her while they landed.
Violet didn't get the chance to say anything else to her the moment they exited with their luggage. She could only watch her being escorted away by her agent, leaving Violet hailing for a taxi to head to Jade's house alone instead.
Violet couldn't help but feel bad for Jade, who was trying so hard to live her life after Sam left. She wondered what she could do to help, but knew that when it came to Sam, she would never be able to control him.
As she stepped into the empty apartment with traces of both Jade and Sam still around, she sat by the sofa and switched on the television. While changing the channel, the unexpected news channel caught her attention.
"The most prominent actress of Lagospool, Jade Wang, was involved in an accident moments ago, near her agency's tower. She was the driver, with her agent being the passenger. Both were reported to have been rushed to the hospital for further treatment…."
Violet blinked many times in disbelief as she stood wobbly in front of the television. Next thing she knew, she received a call from Sebastian.
"Hel…Hello…" Violet managed to say.
"Vi, where are you?" Instead of hearing from Sebastian, she heard Sam question sternly.
"I'm home… Your home. I mean Jade's home." Violet updated awkwardly.
"Is Jade with you?" Sam knew it was pointless to ask that question, but he still asked.
"No…" She heard Sam inhale sharply, followed by Sebastian yelling at him.
"Sebby!" Violet tried to get him on the line.
"Yes? What's going on?" Sebastian, who was very confused, questioned hastily.
"Jade was in an accident with her agent… I need you to manage Sam. I will rush to the hospital to get updates, alright?" Violet tried to stay calm and navigate the matter.
"No, Vi. It's too late. I think he had rushed down to the airport…" Violet panicked as she rushed out of the house, heading to the hospital while trying to get hold of Sam, but he stubbornly refused to pick up.
Sebastian, who began to understand their situation, was caught with himself being alone while filming, but his anxiety didn't waver much as he was already halfway through the filming with the crew. He forced himself to focus on his job first, though he was worried about his creeping anxiety.
By the time Violet arrived at the Gladglass National Hospital in Lagospool after fighting an hour of jam and another half hour of getting to the hospital lobby, the place was thoroughly packed with reporters and Jade's fans. Violet knew she would have a hard time heading inside.
She gave Sam's number one last call. And this time, he picked up. "I'm flying back now. Update me on the details via text. I will be there in a couple of hours." Sam sternly instructed.
"Bro… Bro, chill…" Violet tried to reason with him, but it was pointless. Sam had already hung up on her.
Instead, she texted him.
Sam, she will be fine. You know you can't do anything heading here now except to wait. I promise I will let you fly, but only when her situation is stabilised. There's Sebastian's filming you need to attend to.
Violet tried reasoning with him, but it was to no avail.
Sebastian is fine. I have sorted out everything before I left. I'm boarding now. He replied as Violet sighed in defeat.
She was already having a headache trying to navigate her way to the reception. A part of her wished Sam was here too, cause he always knew his way to get to the VIP wards. Frustrated, she decided to give Jade's phone a call instead.
To Violet's surprise, she had gotten a response. "Vi?" Jade whispered.
"Jade! Are you alright?" Violet quickly covered her mouth, noticing she was too loud. "I'm fine. Just a little scratch… Where are you?" Jade asked in a lower voice.
"I'm downstairs…" Violet updated.
"Alright, stay there! I will get my assistant to come fetch you. Her name is Mei Jia." Violet quickly hummed in acknowledgement and hung up as Jade made the arrangements.
After a good half hour waiting for Mei Jia to navigate her way to Violet, she finally met with Jade. Violet was teary on purpose as Jade tried comforting her. "I'm fine. It's alright. It was an accident…" Jade repeated several times, but Violet just couldn't stop her tears, imagining what would have happened if the accident had been worse.
"He's here, is he?" Jade whispered as Violet met her gaze. Violet shook her head while sniffing. While she dabbed dry her tears, she noticed Jade was struggling to hide her upset self.
"He is on the plane here…" Violet finally revealed in her whisper. Jade forcefully bit back her smile, knowing Sam did care about her after all.
While the ladies chatted to catch up, Sam had been trying to get Violet to update him for the past hour since he had landed, to no avail. When he arrived, he instantly made his way to the usual route to the VIP wards, only to find himself face to face with a familiar face. Daniel Woo, Jade's ex-manager before Sam, and an outstanding manager for various artists he was in charge of after Jade.
Sam thought he would be able to catch an update from Daniel, only to be harshly greeted with a punch on his left cheek, sending him falling to the ground.
Daniel pulled on Sam's collar before threatening another punch as Sam stopped him.
"What's your problem?!" Sam scolded. "What's your problem?! Didn't you promise you would look after her well?! Didn't you promise you would ensure a smooth handover?! Do you know who she is involved with now?!" Daniel scolded back.
"It's her career. It's the award season. It's best if she just persevere…" Before Sam could spit his nonsense, Daniel punched his cheek again.
"It's Carlson!" Daniel revealed to him before standing in disappointment. Sam knew who he was, and many of his questions were answered.
Her sudden visit. Her sudden proposal. Her reluctance to leave him.
Sam forced himself to close his eyes from his foolish self of taking her to bed last night and pushing her away again like he always did. He felt how absurd the way he had treated Jade all this time.
"It's time to end this…" Sam mumbled as Daniel let him walk towards the ward. His sudden barging in startled Violet and Jade as Mei Jia was feeling guilty for not being able to stop Sam.
"I'm sorry… You can't come in!" Mei Jia insisted as Violet, who was getting angry with Sam, walked towards him.
"Let him. Let's head out and leave them alone." Violet urged Mei Jia as she closed the door behind them.
Jade forced a smile and tried to act like everything was fine when he walked up to her. He sat by the side of her bed and held her hands in hers. He caressed her left cheek as she fixed her gaze on him.
"Let's get married…" He finally agreed. Jade smiled, but was also tearing up.
It was what she wanted, but now it was no longer what she wanted.
"No…" She rejected it with a sad smile.