Chapter 372

"Mrs. Roland, Mr. Roland has been asking for you." The nurse pushed open the door, urgency lacing her voice.

Stella's fingers tightened unconsciously around the hem of her shirt.

The emergency room door wasn't unfamiliar to her. Four years ago, when she gave birth to Luna, she had lain in this very place—her heart then as barren as a dried-up well, unafraid even of death.

But now was different.

"How is he?"

The nurse handed her an oxygen mask. "The bleeding has stopped, but Mr. Roland refuses treatment. He keeps calling your name."

Stella took the mask, her fingertips trembling slightly.

"Don't be nervous," the nurse reassured softly. "He'll be fine once he sees you."

Taking a deep breath, Stella pushed open the door.

"Stella!"

A scorching embrace engulfed her. Adrian's arms clamped around her like iron bands, the pressure making her bones protest.

"I'm sorry... I came too late..." His voice was hoarse, barely recognizable. "Don't go... please..."

Stella could barely breathe in his crushing hold, yet she gently patted his back. "I'm here."

"You won't lie to me, right?" Adrian suddenly released her, his bloodshot eyes boring into hers. "You won't go to him?"

"Go to who?"

"That man... the one pretending to be me."

Her heart lurched.

She studied the man before her—bandages covering his body, blood seeping from the wound at his temple, his face deathly pale. Yet his gaze remained stubborn, almost frightening in its intensity.

"Put on the oxygen first, okay?" she coaxed softly.

Instead, Adrian grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest. "This hurts more. Stella, I dreamed you promised to stay with me forever..."

The emergency room was in chaos. An IV stand lay toppled on the floor, monitor wires tangled into knots. Four or five doctors stood in the corner, their white coats wrinkled.

"Mrs. Roland," the attending physician wiped his brow, "if we delay any longer, his wounds will get infected."

Stella nodded, then turned to Adrian. "Let me see your injuries."

"You'll stay?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

Meeting his hopeful gaze, she whispered, "As long as you're alive."

Adrian suddenly smiled—weak but radiant, like a firefly in the dark.

"I had a dream," he murmured as she helped him lie down. "In it, you said as long as I wasn't Adrian Roland..."

Stella's hands stilled.

"Stella," he suddenly used her full name, his voice feather-light, "I don't want to be Adrian Roland anymore. Let's take the children and leave. Go somewhere no one knows us..."

Tears blurred her vision.

Those words were too familiar. So familiar it made her heart tremble.

"Do you know what you're saying?" she asked, voice shaking.

Adrian's focus was fading, yet he stubbornly clung to her hand. "As long as you still want me... I'll always..."

Before he could finish, his strength gave out, and he fell unconscious.

Stella watched the fluctuating lines on the heart monitor, tears finally spilling over.

Those words. Those promises. Those secrets only two people could know...

It had always been him.