Chapter 58 Come See the Ocean with Me, and I'll Share My Secret
The doctor returned with the adhesive strips. "Here, put this on. The cut is quite deep—it'll take a long time to heal properly. Make sure it doesn't get wet."
Juniper nodded with a soft "Mhm."
The doctor advised Magnus, "If your girlfriend needs to shower, help her cover it up with a waterproof dressing. But it's best to stick to sponge baths for a while."
"Doctor, he's not my boyf—"
Before she could finish saying "boyfriend," Magnus had already turned and walked away.
Juniper got dressed and followed him.
Silently, she trailed behind.
"I've been to the hospital; I'm really fine now. I can go home by myself."
He was walking ahead when suddenly, he came to a halt.
Juniper almost bumped into him.
He turned to her, his tone commanding, "I said I'd take you home, and I will. I'm not like you."
"I just... didn't want to be a bother."
Juniper looked down, her expression tinged with melancholy.
It seemed to her that once a person made a mistake, every subsequent action was just another mistake piling on. She felt it was karma coming back to bite her.
That was karma coming back to bite her.
Juniper, back when she flaunted her whims to Magnus, why would she ever need to grovel? She could throw tantrums or act spoilt; unless it was outright betrayal, Magnus seemed to have no limits when it came to her.
By her own hand, she had extinguished his patience.
Once inside the car, Juniper gave her address.
The ride was shrouded in silence.
As they neared the entrance to her neighborhood, Juniper suddenly asked, “If I died, would you still hate me?”
Magnus was taken aback, then he scoffed, “Once you’re dead, what does it matter if I hate you or not? It's not like the dead can sense the living’s thoughts.”
Juniper forced a smile. “You seem to have a point.”
She was merely hoping against hope, wishing to die without regrets.
But then she thought, what does it really matter to die with regrets?
Death is the end of everything.
Yet Juniper couldn’t resist her greedy desires. Knowing her time was short, she longed to be reckless just once.
“Magnus,” she ventured, boldly, her eyes unwavering, “There's something I've never told you – my secret. I’ll share it with you, but only if you do one thing for me.”
Her tone even held a hint of aggressive insistence.
“Juniper, are you negotiating with me?” Magnus asked.
“If you think it’s a negotiation, then it is,” she replied.
Magnus chuckled, his tone dismissive. “Too bad, I’m not interested in your secret.”
“It’s about you too.”
“Get out.”
He didn’t entertain her further.
The car had reached the entrance to the complex.
Biting her lip in a last-ditch effort, Juniper pleaded, “I have just one wish. Accompany me to Sunny Shore. After we see the ocean, I'll tell you the secret, and I promise, I will never bother you again.”
Unbuckling her seatbelt, she leaned over and kissed him impulsively.
Magnus was momentarily stunned.
As she parted her lips slightly, she whispered, “Think about it.”
With those words, Juniper opened the car door and bolted into the rain-soaked night, not even sparing a moment for an umbrella, rushing headlong into the complex.
She feared that if she lingered even a moment longer, Magnus would catch her.
Panting for breath, she jogged into the hallway and leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath.
She had been recklessly daring to kiss Magnus on impulse.
Despite the madness of it, the rush felt exhilarating.
With death looming, there was a kind of frenzied freedom in her actions.
She'd been repressed for too long and refused to hold back any longer.
She wanted to live the rest of her days on a wild streak, savoring the thrill of being a gambler.
As for Magnus, whether he agreed or not, who knows what could happen?
...
The black Maybach sped through the rainy night.
Arriving at Royal View, Magnus stepped inside the house without an umbrella, soaked from the storm.
Paul had returned to the countryside, leaving Royal View in solitude.
Upon opening the door, a cat named Potato ran to his feet, meowing.
Magnus flipped on a nightlight and picked up the cat, heading toward the couch.
There on the couch lay a pair of women's underwear, which Potato had obviously dragged over.
The man's fingers pinched the fabric, his brow furrowed in thought.
Potato looked up innocently, meowing again.
He was about to dispose of the underwear when he spotted them, recognizing that they must belong to Juniper since no other woman had been brought here.
He crumpled the lace panties with his fingers but then tossed them back onto the couch, opting not to discard them.
Potato jumped back into his arms and settled comfortably.
He absentmindedly stroked the cat while the image of Juniper kissing him earlier that evening lingered in his mind.
Accompany her to the sea? In his dreams.
His phone rang, showing a landline number from S City.
Magnus answered, "Hello?"
"Good evening, this is S City Hospital. May I speak with a relative of Juniper?"
"I'm not her relative," Magnus replied curtly.
"But the contact number Juniper provided was yours. Are you aware she was discharged? Her condition..."
Magnus, presuming the caller wanted to discuss aftercare instructions, cut the conversation short: "I'm not related to her. Please stop calling me. I don't want to know or care about her issues."
With that, he hung up decisively.
The hospital staff, hearing the dial tone, stood bewildered.
"He's so heartless. Even just as a regular friend, he should care about someone with cancer. If Juniper doesn't get treatment soon, she won't have much longer to live."
A colleague beside her offered some comfort, "Let it go. If her own family doesn't care, why should we fret? This kind of thing happens every day, we can't take care of them all. All we can do is let them know. Whether they listen or not, it's up to them."
She sighed deeply.
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