Those words felt like a knife to the heart.
They pierced Liam straight in the chest.
He nodded stiffly.
He didn't dare look into his mother's innocent eyes for too long.
“I'm heading out first, Mom. Get some rest. I'll look after Dad and Yuni tonight.”
Night crept over the capital once more.
A light drizzle had been falling over the grounds of RS Medika Nusantara since sunset.
The air outside the building felt damp.
Liam walked down the deserted seventh-floor hallway.
He had only one destination.
VIP Room 701.
Where Yuni lay.
His heavy footsteps echoed across the polished granite floor.
His thoughts churned the entire way.
He had no idea how he was supposed to act once he entered that room.
Should he sit quietly?
Should he talk?
How was a man supposed to act in front of a strange woman who was now legally his wife, but couldn't even respond except through changes in the lines on a medical monitor?
Liam slowed his pace.
Ten more meters.
The teakwood door to Room 701 had come into view.
But before he could get any closer, the door opened from within.
A tall shadow stepped out.
A middle-aged man wearing a spotless white doctor's coat emerged.
A stethoscope hung around his neck.
He carefully closed the door behind him.
Liam recognized the man.
The gold nameplate on the left side of his chest clearly read:
Dr. Arman Pratama, Sp.N.
Dr. Arman stopped as soon as he saw Liam.
The bespectacled man looked him up and down.
His expression was serious.
Far too serious for a mere greeting to a patient's family member.
There was something different behind his eyes.
Vigilance.
And mystery.
Liam quickened his pace.
He nodded politely.
“Good evening, Dr. Arman. I'm Liam. Yuni's husband.”
The word felt strange again.
Husband.
Even after saying it several times, Liam still wasn't used to hearing it come out of his own mouth.
Dr. Arman didn't answer right away.
Instead, he folded his arms across his chest.
His gaze locked sharply onto Liam's eyes.
As if he were trying to read whatever was hidden behind the young man's face.
“I know who you are, Mr. Liam.”
The doctor's voice was deep.
Quiet.
Yet intensely serious.
“I've been monitoring Mrs. Yuni's condition since the day she was first admitted to the emergency department.”
Liam looked awkward.
“How is Yuni doing tonight, Doctor? Has there been any improvement?”
Dr. Arman didn't answer immediately.
He glanced toward the door of Room 701.
Then he looked back at Liam.
Just as Liam reached for the doorknob, the doctor's hand shot out and caught him by the shoulder.
Liam stopped.
“Mr. Liam.”
Dr. Arman's tone changed.
It was lower.
More serious.
“There is something important about Mrs. Yuni's condition that Mr. Adrian hasn't told you.”
Liam's brow furrowed.
“Hasn't told me?”
Dr. Arman nodded slowly.
“No.”
He glanced left and right down the deserted hallway.
After making sure no one was nearby, the doctor leaned a little closer.
“And I believe that before you enter that room as her husband, you have the right to know everything.”
Liam's heart began pounding harder.
“What do you mean, Doctor?”
Dr. Arman fell silent for several seconds.
Then he spoke quietly.
“Mrs. Yuni's illness isn't an ordinary illness.”
Liam froze.
The doctor's gaze grew even more intense.
“All this time, your family has only been told that Mrs. Yuni is receiving treatment.”
Dr. Arman drew a long breath.
“But the truth is far more serious than you imagine.”
Liam swallowed.
“What is really happening to Yuni?”
Dr. Arman looked at the door to Room 701.
Then he turned his gaze back to Liam.
“If you want to enter that room tonight, Mr. Liam, you have to be prepared to hear something that may change your entire decision about this marriage.”
The hallway fell silent again.
Liam didn't move.
For the first time since accepting one billion rupiah, he felt that money might not have been the price of a marriage.
It might have been the price of a secret.