37 Missed Opportunity

Gemma's POV.

At night, I stay at the hospital to take care of Dad. During the day, Mom also comes by and makes Dad's favorite fish soup.

But every time Mom comes, she brings two lunch boxes, one of which is for Dmitri.

Dmitri, sitting on the bed, takes a sip of the soup and gives a thumbs-up. "Ma'am, it's delicious. This is the best meal I've ever had in my life."

I roll my eyes internally. He's lying without even blushing. Back when we were together, he only ate food prepared by Michelin-starred chefs and wouldn't even glance at anything else.

But Mom doesn't notice and smiles, her eyes squinting. "If you like it, I'll bring you more tomorrow."

After that, we head to Dad's room.

About an hour later, I go to Dmitri's room to collect the empty lunch boxes.

He's finished eating and is trying to push the small table away from the bed, but he's moving very slowly.

I step forward to help him, then pick up the lunch box, ready to leave. But he calls out to me.

"Gemma."

"Yes?" I turn my head.

Dmitri points at the pillow behind his back with his index finger. "I'm tired from sitting. Could you help me lie down?"

I put the lunch box down and walk over to support his arm, pulling the pillow away.

"Is this better?" I ask.

Dmitri nods as he lies down, "Thanks."

Just as I pick up the lunch boxe finally ready to leave, my eyes catch a familiar gleam through the glass window of the hospital room door.

A cool glimmer reflecting off a pair of cold, rimless glasses.

I walk out of the room and ask Luke, "Why are you here?"

"You took leave from work, saying your father had a car accident, so I came to visit him." He pauses, glancing through the window. "I didn't expect your father to be so... young."

"Do you have to talk in such a sarcastic tone?" I frown slightly.

"So why are you entangled with your ex?" Luke asks.

"My dad was hit by a car. Dmitri happened to be passing by and saved him. Now, they're both in the hospital."

Luke looks into my eyes, as if trying to determine if I'm telling the truth.

After a moment, he exhales softly. "But he's hurt you before."

"I know," I nod, "but this time, he saved my dad."

Luke smiles. "Don't you find it a bit too coincidental?"

"What?" I look up at him.

"A man who rose by taking advantage of his ex-wife and then heartlessly turned on her... just happens to be near your house."

"And then, coincidentally, your dad has a car accident, and he happens to save him."

"What are you trying to say?" I ask.

"You know exactly what I'm saying," Luke replies.

I widen my eyes, incredulous. "You can't just maliciously speculate like this."

His heart is dark, so he sees the world as dark.

Luke shakes his head, the gleam flashing across his rimless glasses again. "Gemma, I'm just considering a possibility."

"That possibility is slim, and you dare to make wild accusations without any evidence?"

"Given how many times this man has entangled you, it's not entirely impossible..."

"And who's entangling me now?" I raise my voice. "At least Dmitri didn't lie about the power outage in his house and didn't break in, pinning me down for two hours just to stop me from going to the airport."

In fact, when I found out the flight to Chicago had already departed, I felt a sense of relief, like a heavy weight had been lifted.

But not wanting to date Jacob was one thing; being forced not to by Luke was another.

Luke opens his mouth. "Gemma..."

The next second, a heavy noise comes from the room, followed by Dmitri's painful groan.

I turn my head and see Dmitri collapsed on the floor through the window.

I rush in and kneel beside him. "Are you okay? Did your legs get hurt?"

"I'm fine..." Dmitri gives a weak smile, but his face is pale, and his forehead is covered in sweat.

I immediately press the call button.

The medical staff quickly rush in, lift Dmitri onto a stretcher, and take him for an X-ray.

The scene is chaotic.

It's only after the doctor announces that Dmitri is fine, just some soft tissue bruising, that I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Then I instinctively look down the hallway.

At some point, Luke had already disappeared.

Two days later, Dmitri is discharged, but Dad, being older, remains in the hospital.

The police still haven't found the suspect, but under Mom's care, Dad's face has filled out considerably.

Yet Mom still isn't satisfied and asks me to go out and buy some fruit for Dad to have as an afternoon snack.

I head out with my wallet.

The fruit store is across the street from the hospital. While crossing the road, I remember my dad's car accident and make sure to check both the traffic lights and the cars coming from either side.

But the man standing five meters ahead of me isn't doing the same.

His back is straight, his long legs firm, and his skin is tanned.

Luke.

I don't have time to wonder why he's here, because I see a car speeding toward him.

And Luke seems to be on the phone, completely unaware of the danger.

Without thinking, I rush over and push Luke toward the side of the road.

The car narrowly grazes my clothes before screeching to a halt a few meters away.

A young guy with spiky hair leans out of the car window, shouting, "What the hell?!"

Then he speeds off.

"Miss, are you okay?" A stranger's voice snaps me back to reality.

I turn my head and realize that the person I saved isn't Luke.

He has a similar build to Luke, and his face is just as handsome, comparable to Luke's.

The kind of guy I'd sneak a glance at or even follow for a few steps if I saw him on the street.

The hot guy is clearly grateful, thanking me repeatedly and insisting on taking me to the hospital for a checkup.

But I feel I'm tough and didn't get hurt, so I politely decline.

Yet, he seems very interested in my "kind heart of gold," persistently offering to treat me to a meal.

I turn him down again, using the excuse that I'm on a diet and don't eat dinner.

The hot guy doesn't give up, asking for my phone number and suggesting he'll take me to lunch another day. His eyes are burning with a passion that seems to say, "I'm willing to repay your kindness with my body."

I hesitate but eventually give him a number, then quickly find an excuse to leave.

But the number I gave him was wrong.

Because suddenly, I realized something.

"So," Charlotte asks from New York after hearing everything that happened between Luke and me, "are you going to chase him back?"

That's a good question.

I look down at my shoes, pacing the hospital hallway, stepping from tile to tile.

"I loved him, and he loved me. But it feels like we were never quite in sync, so maybe we just missed each other." I pause. "By the way, Dad is getting discharged tomorrow. His company's leadership came to visit him and gave him some compensation money. my mom says she plans to use it to take him to a great rehabilitation center in Los Angeles. They'll stay there for two months until Dad fully recovers."

"That's great. With professionals taking care of him, you can return to New York and focus on your job," Charlotte says.