Chapter 169: His First Love
Daisy came again today. It had been a week since Theo woke up, and all she could do was watch him through the small glass panel on the door. She was still too afraid to face him.
But today was different. Theo had agreed to go out to the hospital garden to get some fresh air.
From a distance, Daisy smiled faintly as she overheard Liam’s playful grumbling.
"Since you believe you’re nineteen again, then call me bro," Liam said, lounging on the bench, one brow arched as he looked at Theo in the wheelchair.
"For all I remember, you never called me bro," Theo shot back, rolling his eyes.
Daisy’s smile wavered. He looked different now... cheerful, brighter, almost carefree.
"I did! I called you bro sometimes," Liam argued, his voice pulling Daisy out of her thoughts.
Liam leaned back with a grumble, folding his arms. "Ah... why am I the one stuck walking you around? This is cringe. Mom should’ve just asked your wife to do this..."
The word slipped out before he realized, and his own brows shot up.
Theo’s head turned sharply. "Wife?"
Liam froze, blinking. He hadn’t meant to let it slip. But since the damage was done, he exhaled sharply and shrugged. "Yeah. You’re not nineteen anymore, Theo... you’re freaking twenty-nine. Of course you’re married..."
Theo was silent for a long while, his brows knitting as though he was sifting through fog. Finally, he spoke. "Who?"
"You mean your wife?" Liam leaned back, almost casual. "Daisy. Her name is Dai...sy..." He paused, then pulled out his phone. "Want to see her face?" He had just swiped to open his gallery when Theo suddenly snapped.
"No!" His voice was sharp, cutting through the quiet of the garden. He shook his head, eyes narrowing. "No. This... this isn’t what my life is supposed to be." His chest rose and fell unevenly. "I promised myself... I would marry her. I definitely won’t marry anyone else."
Liam blinked, confusion flashing across his face. "Who?"
Theo’s gaze drifted somewhere far away, his voice dropping into a murmur. "Elly..." His lips barely moved as the name slipped out, fragile yet certain. "My first love..."
Behind a tree not far from the bench, Daisy froze. The bark pressed rough against her back, but she barely felt it. Her hand slid down the trunk, fingers trembling as though it were the only thing keeping her upright.
"Elly..." she repeated under her breath. The name rang in her ears, over and over, until it drowned out every other sound, the chirping birds, the faint hum of hospital life, even Liam’s voice.
Her lips parted, but no air came. The smile she had carried like fragile glass shattered silently, scattering into nothing, leaving only a hollow ache in its place.
"Elly?" Liam furrowed his brows. "I’ve never heard you mention that name before..."
"Why would I tell you...?" Theo shot back, almost scoffing. Then his expression softened into a faint smile, as though recalling a precious secret. "Julian knew."
But the smile snapped away in an instant. His head jerked toward Liam, eyes narrowing. "Ah, wait... why the hell hasn’t Julian come to visit me? Where is he?"
Liam froze. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, his thoughts scrambling for an answer that wouldn’t crush his brother. A beat too long passed, then he forced a laugh that came out thin. "Uh... you feel that? The weather’s dropping. Kinda chilly, right? Let’s head back inside before you catch something."
Daisy watched where Liam pushed Theo’s wheelchair, the small, easy laugh between the brothers cutting through her like a bright, unwanted light. Theo’s shoulders were relaxed, the careless tilt of his head exactly like the boy he imagined from stories before everything fell apart.
Her throat tightened. This was the side of him she had fought for, prayed for during those endless nights he lay unconscious, only to realize she was no longer part of the picture. He smiled, but not for her. He laughed, but the sound held no trace of the love that had just begun to bloom between them.
She pressed a hand to her chest, steadying the rhythm of her heartbeat as if it might quiet the ache. ’How cruel’, she thought, that after all her waiting, all her hope, she was left as nothing more than a shadow on the edge of his new reality.
"But are you sure you don’t want to see the picture of your wife..." Liam’s voice trailed off as he pushed Theo toward the hospital building.
Daisy gulped, her throat tightening, a hard lump making it difficult to swallow. The word wife still felt fragile in her chest, as if it might shatter if she breathed too loudly. She hesitated, torn between turning back home or following them, between protecting her heart and clinging to the tiniest chance.
"No... I swear... she’s really, really beautiful," Liam continued, his tone somewhere between exasperation and persuasion. "Like... you know... a real-life Barbie..."
Daisy’s hands curled into fists at her sides. The words shouldn’t have made her heart leap, but they did. She wanted to believe that if Theo just saw her face, if he looked at her long enough, something or anything might stir the memories inside him.
"No... I believe no one can top Elly with the word beautiful in my eyes."
Theo’s words shattered the tiniest hope she had. Frustration burned in her chest, hot and unbearable, and she spun on her heel, desperate to escape before her tears betrayed her. She didn’t hear what he said next.
"But since you’re the type to have such high standards for beauty... let me see... just how beautiful this Daisy is."
"Too late," Liam teased, a mischievous grin tugging at his lips. "Just wait for her to come, and I swear your eyes will budge out...toing toing... like in those old cartoons."
Theo burst into laughter, the carefree sound echoing through the hallway as they headed to the elevator. But it was cut short, twisting into a sharp gasp as his hand flew to his side. The laughter died instantly, replaced by a wince of pain.
"Damn it—" Theo hissed through clenched teeth. "What is this wound again?"
"Stab," Liam answered shortly.
"Ah, right... stab." Theo frowned, then groaned in frustration. "I really need to find that bastard. How could he ruin my perfectly shaped six-pack?"
Liam, who had been worried a second ago, burst out laughing. "Six-pack? Please. It’s almost gone. You haven’t maintained it for more than a month. You should praise your older self for keeping it together at all."
Theo chuckled, shaking his head, but then his smile faded into a thoughtful pout. "Yeah... Well, I just hope my older self doesn’t have bad taste either. Because really, what kind of reason could a wife have for not visiting her own husband, right? Ah... bad first impression..."