The woman's tears finally spilled down her cheeks. Reina's mother felt as though she couldn't bear to see her daughter in this condition. Her love for Aries had turned her daughter into a fool. Now, for that man, Reina was even willing to sacrifice her life.
“I always told Reina not to fall in love with a man she could never have, but the truth is, I never really stood by her. I wasn't there when she was alone. I wasn't there when she needed somewhere to come home to. I wasn't there when she said she was ‘fine,’ even though she wasn't.”
Aries felt his throat tighten. He wanted to say something, but no words seemed worthy of leaving his mouth. He felt like a truly terrible person, like a criminal, and Reina's mother had every right to hate him.
“Ma, I...”
Ambar turned and looked at Aries coldly. Her eyes were swollen and red. The woman couldn't stop crying over the cruel fate that had befallen her daughter. Her gaze was filled with anger and hatred. As far as she was concerned, Aries had no right to see her daughter again after what had happened.
“She went through her pregnancy alone, Aries, without a husband and without family by her side. Do you know how hard these days have been for my daughter? You weren't there when she needed you, even though you're the father of the baby she carried.”
Aries lowered his head deeply. His chest felt as though hundreds of thorns were stabbing it. Just imagining Reina going through everything alone made it hard for him to breathe. Aries cursed himself because, as a man, he hadn't been able to make a firm decision.
“Look at her, Aries. Reina has to fight for her life alone again because you, as her husband, don't care about her suffering.”
“I know Reina has kept so many wounds buried inside all this time. But her deepest wound is you, Aries. The man she loves but can never have.”
Silence filled the room, broken only by the steady beeping of the machines. Reina's mother wiped away her tears, trying to calm herself. It had all happened already. She had vented all the pain in her heart at Aries. Even if she wanted that man's life, her daughter wouldn't suddenly be all right again. Right now, she only wanted her daughter to wake up and hold her like she used to.
Ambar, the woman who had given birth to Reina, gazed at Aries with tears in her eyes. The anger in her eyes gradually softened as she looked at him. Ambar tried to make peace with fate. This was the choice her daughter had made, even though Ambar had repeatedly warned Reina to leave Aries because that man would never be hers, no matter how long she waited.
“After today, I want you to leave my daughter alone. She's lost everything—her love and her child—and I want her to heal from her wounds after she wakes up. If you care about Reina, go as far away as you can, Aries. Don't give her hope you can't fulfill.”
Aries remained silent for a long time, until finally he could manage only one sentence. His voice was faint and resigned. Maybe Ambar was right. He was the greatest wound Reina had carried throughout her life.
“All right, Ma. I'll leave Reina's life, just as you asked.”
Ambar looked away and went back to holding her daughter's hand, as if drawing a boundary: Reina no longer belonged to that man.
Aries stepped backward, leaving Reina's room without saying a word. He turned and didn't look back. Once he had left Reina's room, he let go of the past and walked toward his future. And when he opened the door out of the hospital room, he felt something inside him snap.
From that day on, Aries never came to see Reina again or tried to find out how she was doing. He severed all ties with her, just as he had promised Ambar.