Stuck in The Marriage Pact
Chapter 57: Just forget about her

Chapter 57: Just forget about her

Joe turned his head, opening his eyes slowly, occasionally grimacing in pain as he tried to move his hand. He glanced around, finding himself in a room equipped with medical equipment, with his body also attached to medical devices like oxygen, an IV, and bandages. He fell silent, taking a deep, strained breath, staring at the ceiling while recalling the moments before he lost consciousness.

"I should’ve just died," he whispered.

"Joe, you’re finally awake!" said a woman who had just entered the room. It was Debby, Joe’s mother.

"Mom..." Joe whispered with a somber gaze as Debby approached him.

"My son..." Debby sat on the chair next to the bed, smiling at Joe who looked so weak, then held his arm. "I was so worried about you."

"How did I get here?" Joe murmured.

"Of course, the medical team brought you here," Debby replied, frowning. "The police called me; they told me about the accident that happened to you. I came here immediately..."

Joe took a deep breath and fell silent again.

"The police said that CCTV footage showed you driving at high speed, even running a red light until a car hit you," Debby explained further. "What actually happened to you? Why did you lose control... You’ve never been like this before."

Joe remained silent, his gaze somber, his mind drifting back to the moment Isabella ended their relationship.

"Is this because of Isabella?" Debby asked.

"She doesn’t want to come back to me," Joe muttered, his face contorted with pain. "She just wants to continue her marriage with her husband..."

"Oh my God..." Debby sighed.

"I’m disappointed, but... I know she also has the right to be happy, especially since I made her wait too long. I want to be angry, but I realize I’m also at fault," Joe continued, then glanced at his mother. "I have to let her go, but this is torturing me!" he added, his eyes welling with tears.

"Son..." Debby extended her hand to hold Joe’s shoulder. "I know this is very hard for you, but I’m so glad you’re willing to accept reality. I believe you can get through this... You definitely can!" she assured him.

Joe stayed silent.

"But would you accept her again if she wanted to come back to you?" Debby said again.

"That’s impossible," Joe replied anxiously. "There’s no reason for her to come back to me. Never... Her husband has fallen in love with her, and so has she. She won’t let him go because she already took him from me, I’m sure of that," he continued.

"But what if he took her from you just for temporary pleasure?"

"Temporary pleasure?"

"Yes!" Debby frowned. "A rich man like him will use any means to fulfill his desires, and sometimes those desires are very strange. Taking someone’s girlfriend, taking someone’s wife, but when he gets bored, he can throw her away just like trash!" she explained harshly.

Joe turned his face away, frowning.

"Isabella is a good girl... We’ve known her since childhood, maybe she was bored with her life full of conflicts... Then faced with the situation of having a wealthy and seemingly good husband... Maybe that’s what she wanted all along, so she didn’t hesitate to leave you... Without thinking that she was falling into a trap," Debby said again, then crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, looking at Joe who seemed pale in his green patient gown. "I’m sure, someday she’ll regret what she did to you," she added.

Joe sighed and looked back at his mother.

"How will she regret it? She’s happy..."

"I’ve already said, that man will only love her for a short time, he will get bored, he’s rich... once he gets bored, he will dump Isabella... He’s rich, he’s perfect, he has everything, and of course, he will look for a woman who is better than Isabella!" Debby spoke sharply and then sighed.

"But Isabella is beautiful... She’s perfect too... They could be a good match, and... And I don’t think I could refuse her if she comes back to me after that man gets bored with her."

"Joe!" Debby immediately stood up, looking at Joe angrily. "What has gotten into your head? How could you accept her back after she discarded you? She doesn’t care about you... She has broken her promise! She promised it was just a contract marriage and then she would come back to you, but after she experienced a life of luxury, she threw you away... Even last night you almost died just thinking about her. How could you still accept her? I know she’s kind, but from now on, to me, she’s evil, and I won’t let you be with her again!" she said firmly, her eyes wide with anger.

Joe remained silent, his head bowed.

"Stop expecting her!" Debby emphasized again, then turned away. "I’ll call the doctor to check on you," she said as she quickly left the room, just as Kate arrived.

"How is Joe?" Kate asked.

Debby said nothing, continuing to leave the room.

Kate frowned, then looked at Joe. She immediately approached him, clutching the strap of her black bag hanging over her shoulder.

"Joe," she greeted.

Joe remained silent.

Kate quickly sat down in the chair, frowning as she looked at Joe, who just pouted. "I didn’t expect you to be in this state now after we met last night, and I thought you were fine," she said.

"How did you know I was here?" Joe asked lazily.

"I went to your workplace, then your friend told me that your mother had informed him that you had an accident and were hospitalized here. So, I came right away," Kate explained worriedly.

Joe was silent again, seemingly reluctant to talk.

"It seems your mother doesn’t like my presence," Kate said again.

"No," Joe murmured. "She’s being curt because she’s angry with me," he continued.

"Why?"

"Because I’m stupid."

"How can you say that?" Kate frowned and shook her head. "I really don’t understand. Please... Explain to me what really happened. But... But I can’t force you; you’re not in good condition." She held Joe’s arm, looking at him with pity.

Joe was lost in thought, looking at Kate, who looked beautiful in her simplicity, dressed in a black t-shirt and gray pants, with her hair tied back.

"Is this because of Isabella?" Kate asked again, occasionally biting her lower lip. "Honestly... I saw her this morning. She... She was at her house with her husband. When I passed by on the bus, I saw them relaxing on the balcony terrace."

"Her husband?" Joe frowned.

"Yes... He’s in this town with her husband," Kate explained, frowning. "I didn’t expect her to do this. I mean... She brought her husband to her house. It didn’t look like a contract marriage, but like... Like a real marriage, they looked like a loving couple," she continued.

Joe smiled faintly and lowered his head, starting to imagine Isabella with Hunter.

"Are you like this because of her?" Kate asked again.

"This is because of my stupidity; I can’t accept the fact that I’ve lost, my loss is also due to my cowardice," Joe explained weakly, looking down at his hand on his stomach with an IV tube attached.

"What do you mean by losing?"

"She chose her husband."

"Really?" Kate widened her eyes.

"Why are you surprised?" Joe smiled faintly, glancing at Kate. "Isn’t this normal since her husband is a perfect man... Her husband is not as bad as we thought."

Kate took a deep breath and shook her head as she continued to look at Joe with a serious expression.

"At first, I was very disappointed and surprised, I was very angry... But I feel it’s pointless because I couldn’t be what she wanted all this time," Joe murmured.

"I just didn’t expect her to do this to you after she promised she would return to you even though she married him. I didn’t expect her to break that promise after seeing that he’s a perfect and wealthy man," Kate replied with a frown, sadness visible in her eyes. "How could she do this to you? Leaving you just like that after you were together for years? It seems like she didn’t have a deep love for you."

"She loves me, but she had a choice."

"No... If she loved you, she wouldn’t do this!" Kate insisted, then took a deep breath as if overwhelmed by emotion. "How could you accept this while I feel so suffocated just imagining being in your position? Years together, but..."

"Years together without certainty is meaningless too," Joe murmured before Kate could finish her rant. He lowered his head again, trying to move his fingers. "Isabella did the right thing... Leaving me, who never thought about our future... She acted realistically, not just following her feelings," he continued.

Kate fell silent, frowning, her gaze intense on Joe.

"Anyway..." Joe glanced around. "I’m really thirsty."

"Oh, wait a moment." Kate immediately took a water bottle available on the table near the bed. She brought the bottle closer to Joe after opening the lid.

Joe drank through the straw available in the bottle, occasionally frowning as he endured the pain in his neck.

"Ugh..." He sighed deeply after drinking and looked up at the ceiling. "My neck feels broken."

"Maybe the doctor should check you again," Kate said, placing the water bottle back on the table. "I’ll call the doctor for you."

"No... My mother is already calling the doctor," Joe replied.

Kate sat back down, watching Joe, who was lost in thought again. ’Isabella has left him... That means he’s a free man now; he can date anyone, including me. I have to do something to make him realize that I love him without saying it,’ she thought.

Joe glanced at Kate again. "Aren’t you working?"

"I don’t think I’ll be working for the next few days," Kate said, then held Joe’s arm. "If you don’t mind, let me stay here and take care of you," she continued.

Joe frowned slightly, smiling faintly. "You don’t have to do that."

"Joe... I can do it. I know you’ll always need help, and your mom can’t always be here because she has to work. She can’t leave her job... She needs money for the hospital bills, even for the fines because you’ve broken the traffic rules." Kate pleaded, showing sadness in her eyes. "Please...."

"But you also have a job; you can’t just leave it to help me...."

"Don’t worry." Kate smiled. "My boss is a friend of mine, so he’ll let me take a few days off without cutting my salary. It won’t be a problem for me." She reassured him.

Joe just stayed silent and slowly smiled faintly.

"Okay... I can’t refuse such kindness."