"Clack—Clack—Clack—"

The sound of high heels on the floor gradually came closer, and Bianca Jennings turned her head at the sound, looking at Gwen Grant standing in front of her.

"I’ve seen you before," Gwen said directly.

Bianca raised an eyebrow in confusion. To her memory, she had no contact or interaction with Gwen.

Gwen’s next words cleared Bianca’s inner doubts: "I saw you in the newspaper, the woman drinking with Miles that day, that’s you, right?"

Bianca nodded openly and replied, "Yes, it’s me."

Gwen sneered and asked, "Were you with Miles when the accident happened?"

Bianca said, "Does that question still matter now? You should worry about whether he will survive, otherwise you’ll become a widow as the newlywed wife, and people will say you bring bad luck to your husband; it won’t be easy to remarry then."

Gwen’s fake smile disappeared, glaring at Bianca, she said, "Don’t act arrogant with me here. I don’t care what relationship you had with Miles before, but now I’m his legally married wife. It’d be best for a dubious woman like you to stay away from him."

Bianca’s smile remained unchanged, she said, "It seems he’s really found a good wife, willing to stay by his side in such uncertain circumstances. I wonder if it’s his charm or the allure of being The Sterling’s daughter-in-law."

Gwen said, "You’re just bitter grapes; women like you don’t have the standing to confront me."

"Gwen," came the voice of Quentin Sterling from not far away, as soon as Gwen finished her words.

Seeing Quentin, Gwen immediately changed her malicious demeanor to a gentle and obedient greeting, "Uncle."

Quentin asked anxiously, "How is Miles?"

Gwen answered with a worried frown, "Not good, he’s still being resuscitated, and the doctors said the injuries are quite severe."

Quentin sighed, looking towards the emergency room with concern.

After a moment of silence, he turned his gaze towards Bianca standing opposite Gwen, asking politely, "This is...?"

Gwen was momentarily stunned, then replied, "Oh, a friend of mine, we happened to meet and chatted a bit."

Quentin nodded and said, "Don’t worry too much, Miles will be okay. You chat with your friend, I’ll go take a look over there."

"Thank you, Uncle."

After Quentin left, Bianca and Gwen naturally had nothing much to say.

With The Sterling family members all present, Bianca didn’t linger and drove away from the hospital.

The next morning, she returned to the hospital to inquire and learned that Miles had only finished surgery after six, and he was still in a coma, lying in the intensive care unit, not yet out of danger.

Bianca had been involved with Vanessa and Miles’ affairs because Audrey Sutton had asked her to, so she often talked to Audrey about Miles’ situation.

Audrey would then filter the information and decide whether to tell Vanessa.

After all, most of the time, Vanessa didn’t want to hear about Miles; mentioning his name visibly altered her expression.

Upon hearing about Miles’ car accident, Audrey hesitated whether to tell Vanessa, only to find the news had already made it to the press.

Vanessa saw the news notification on her phone and clicked in with a hint of curiosity.

The article included several pictures from the accident site, with the front of the car hardly recognizable, car parts scattered everywhere, and faint traces of blood on the ground...

Even with just a few images, the scene’s brutality was evident.

Vanessa felt no emotional stir; Miles certainly had plenty of people by his side, not her worry, nor did she truly care about his survival.

Two weeks later.

In a spacious and quiet single room, the gentle spring sunlight softly fell on the floor.

The man in hospital clothing lay motionless on the bed, seeming peacefully asleep but for the numerous instruments and tubes connected to him.

A nurse entered, replacing the empty bottle on the IV stand.

Gwen, who was resting by the bedside, woke up and gently asked, "Is today the day for checks?"

The nurse nodded and said, "Yes, the chief doctor will come in a bit to review the situation and then arrange the examination."

"Thank you."

Since the car accident two weeks ago, although the doctors had pulled Miles back from the brink, he hadn’t regained consciousness.

The doctors mentioned that his brain injury was quite severe, and becoming a vegetable was highly probable.

There’s a need for several more surgeries, each carrying significant risks.

Gwen remained a relatively dutiful wife; despite a complaint about her newlywed husband ending up in such condition, she spent the entire time at the hospital caring for Miles.

Doctors suggested talking more to patients even when they seem unresponsive, which might awaken them.

Gwen frequently recounted her past school crush on Miles from beginning to end, repeatedly, but perhaps because Miles wasn’t aware of those feelings, he remained unmoved, not waking.

The doctor came by to ask simple questions, then arranged the examination.

The various checks took the whole morning, and eventually, the next brain surgery was scheduled for three days later.

The chief doctor said that if this surgery were successful, the chances of Miles waking up would significantly increase.

During this period, Vanessa was busy with her comics being adapted into films, leaving little room to care about other affairs.

Under the gentle morning light, Vanessa sat on her balcony, having breakfast.

Not far from her residence, a high school was holding a hundred-day ceremony to prepare for the forthcoming summer exams.

Being forced to drop out was always a regret for Vanessa.

Watching the students in uniform lined up on the playground filled her eyes with longing and yearning.

The loudspeaker of the school was loud enough; even from this distance, she could hear the principal’s speech and feel the urgency and excitement of the approaching exams.

Hannah Sue, as a graduate this year, stood amidst the crowd, looking around as if searching for something.

This ceremony invited parents to jointly prepare for the final hundred days.

However, Hannah hadn’t told her family, knowing they wouldn’t attend even if she mentioned it.

She only subtly mentioned it to Evan Sutton on WhatsApp.

Because Evan happened to be on vacation in Rivia this week, Hannah hoped he’d participate in the event at school.

Though Evan didn’t agree or refuse, Hannah held onto a small sliver of hope, continuing to search for Evan’s presence.