The drive took only fifteen minutes to reach the hospital James was staying in.

Mr. Williams and Mrs. Williams were probably busy, for they hadn't yet made it yet. Alexander and James's relationship was always very good. When Isabelle asked if he wanted to go upstairs to see him, Alexander thought about it for a moment and nodded. He parked the car in the hospital's underground parking lot, locked the car, and followed Isabelle in.

The nurse taking care of James was waiting for Isabelle in the first floor hall. When she saw her enter, she immediately took her upstairs. As they walked, she described how James woke up.

"Today, at around six o'clock, Mr. Williams moved. Ever since Mr. Williams moved last time, he would move a little every day, but tonight, he moved quite often. We didn't think much of it, but when I came back from the restroom just now, I noticed that Mr. Williams's eyes were actually wide open..."

Following the nurse's description, Isabelle and Alexander stepped into the hospital room. It was just as she had described, James lay in bed with an IV attached to his arm. His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling, as though he was thinking of something.

Even though there was no love or blood relation between them, to Isabelle, James was like her biological brother - a brother who had protected her ever since she was young. Especially after her parents had passed away, James really doted upon her. So when she saw James, who was unconscious for so long, open his eyes, a hint of excitement inexplicably came over her.

She rushed over to his bedside without a second thought and stared at James for a long time. After confirming her reflection in his eyes, she then called out, "James."

James stared at her with a lifeless expression, as though she was a stranger. His look was blank and unresponsive.

Isabelle was frightened by the emptiness in his gaze and continued to call out, "James?" Then she carefully and gently asked again, "James, you don't recognize who I am?"

When James heard Isabelle's last words, his eyes finally moved. He stared at her with a glossy eyes.

Isabelle held her breath, as she looked at James. She didn't dare say a word, her eyes filled with anticipation.

James looked at her for a long time, then forced his hand to touch hers. He wanted to hold it, but he didn't have the strength to do so. In the end, all he could do was stretch his lips into a slight smile. As if it required a lot of energy, he spit out two murmured words, "Hey... Izzy..."

Suddenly, Isabelle's tears fell and she tightly grasped James's hand. She was so emotional, she couldn't really speak. "James, you're finally awake. You don't know just how you scared me. James, I thought you'd never wake up again..."

Alexander, who had followed Isabelle into the hospital room, saw this scene and only felt an abundance of needles stabbing into his heart.

The hand Isabelle held James with shook for a long while, before she remembered Alexander. Then she raised her hand to wipe away her tears. With a red nose, she moved away and said to James, "James, Alexander is here too."

When Alexander heard Isabelle words, he abruptly spent a lot of energy to suppress the agony in his heart. He kept a poised expression, as he called out to James, "James."

James stared at Alexander's eyes with a hint of reliance, as though being comatose for so long had absolutely no effect on the only brotherly love he had in the world. He spent a lot of strength to make the single sound "Bro."

James, who just woke up, had used up his strength. Alexander was very silent, and so in the hospital room, only Isabelle chattered on. However, her words, were mostly for James.

She spoke of everything that had happened these past few months whilst James was unconscious. She also talked about what happened during his car accident.

To Isabelle, he was a very important friend in this world, who had a new chance at life. It was truly a joyous and exhilarating occasion.

Sometimes, some things are unromantic, but when you learn that there is something between the people, you can't help but over think things.

So, in Alexander's eyes, Isabelle's joy and excitement had a different meaning. Her simple call 'James' left him especially rolling with jealousy.

Isabelle said, "James, you have to get better soon. I'll be releasing a new drama soon. You once said that if I made it on TV, you'd be my very first loyal viewer..."

After those words, Alexander finally couldn't take it anymore and said, "I'm going to the restroom." He walked out of the hospital room.

Tonight, after seeing them chat, he finally knew that there were many promises between them.

Even though James's reactions were a little late, but when Isabelle mentioned a TV drama, the emotions in his eyes began to shift. The word "Helen" jumped into mind, and an unspeakable anger broiled in his chest.

As it was the first time James had woken up after a long coma, his body was very weak, and so not long after, his energy ran out. He slowly shut his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Isabelle pulled the covers over him, then turned to order the nurse to take good care of him. Only then did she grab her bag and walk out of the hospital room.

~*~

When Alexander left the room, he never went back in. He stood in the corridor and stared through the glass window at Isabelle by James's bedside jabbering on. Even though he didn't know what she said, envy crept into his heart. So much so that even the thought of him taking James's place in the car accident and becoming a vegetable crossed his mind.

James fell asleep, and Alexander watched as Isabelle attentively pulled the covers over him. Finally, he turned away and left.

~*~

Isabelle walked out of the hospital room and saw no sign of Alexander in the empty corridor, so she grabbed her phone and dialed his number. Nobody picked up, so she went to ask the nurse to find a male nurse to go into the restrooms to look for him. Once she that he wasn't in there, she walked downstairs.

She walked out of the inpatient department but still couldn't see Alexander, and so she pulled out her phone again. This time, when she called his number, she heard it ringing not too far away.

Isabelle followed the sound of the ringtone to find Alexander smoking, as he leaned against a column.

Her eyebrows creased for a moment, and she hung up the phone. She complained, "Why aren't you picking up the phone?"

Alexander snapped out of it when he heard Isabelle's words. A little flustered, he put out the cigarette in his hand and asked in response, "How's James?"

"He's asleep," Isabelle replied. "How come you're down here on your own? I called and you didn't even pick up."

Alexander pulled out his phone to find three missed calls. His lips quivered, and he replied Isabelle's first question, "The habit kicked in, so I came down for a smoke."

He paused for a moment before explaining, "I didn't hear my phone ring just now, sorry."

Isabelle was a little angry at Alexander at first for not picking up or showing up, but the moment she saw him, her anger completely disappeared. Now, hearing his apology, she immediately smiled with curved eyes and lowered her head. She saw a lot of cigarette butts on the bin by the column, and her brows furrowed once more. "You just smoked that many?"

Alexander didn't make a sound.

Isabelle's next words were fairly angry and worried. "Smoking is bad for the body. It's better if you stop smoking. Quit it."

Alexander gave a nod, then strode over to the car. He pulled the front passenger seat door and waited for Isabelle to get in, then he closed the door and got in himself.

Alexander's focus whilst driving was far worse than before. He would have even driven through a red light if it weren't for Isabelle, who reminded him just in time for him to step on the brake.

With Alexander's birthday present and James waking up, Isabelle arched her brows, for she was in particularly high spirits.

Alexander saw Isabelle's smile through the rear view mirror, which made his mood hit rock bottom. James being awake, did it really make her this happy?

During the summer, artificial rain was always scheduled to go off deep in the night. The car hadn't left the hospital for long when the heavy rain came pouring down. It lasted for only ten minutes before it stopped.

Alexander stared at the occasional drops of rain on the window and asked the question that was on his mind all night, "Did the doctor mention how long it would take James to recover completely?"

"Fastest would be one month, slowest perhaps three," Isabelle honestly relayed the information.

"Mm," replied Alexander, then didn't speak more. His thoughts became a little erratic.

If it's fast, then one month, slow, then it's two to three months...

Did this mean that they had at most two to three months together, or as few as thirty days?

Construction work on the streets always took place at night.

The road to York Garden was coincidentally closed off for construction tonight.

Alexander wanted to reverse the car and take a detour, but Isabelle was afraid it would take half an hour to drive around it, so she suggested to just walk over, as it would only take ten minutes.

Alexander didn't have an opinion on it, so he stopped the car by the road and the two of them walked towards York Garden.

As it had just rained, there were puddles everywhere. Alexander was afraid Isabelle would get her feet wet and cold, so he bent down in front of her and said, "I'll piggyback you."

Isabelle was stunned by Alexander's sudden words. She stared at his back for a while in a daze, then heard his clear voice again. "It rained, so the roads aren't easy to walk."

Isabelle thought Alexander was worried she'd be tired from walking in such high heels. She hurriedly snapped out of it and said, a little shocked by his affection, "It's okay, I can walk. What's more, it's not too far."

Alexander remained crouched. "Get on."

After he said this, he turned around and grabbed Isabelle's arms. With a single swing, she landed on his back, with him holding her legs by his dies. Then he stood up.

Isabelle was afraid of falling, so she hastily grabbed onto his shoulders. Without moving an inch, she was carefully spread across Alexander's back.

It was quite wide, and his footsteps were steady. His bright shoes, crossed over one shallow puddle after the other. Isabelle, who was on his back, felt an unspeakable sense of stability, and her stiff body gradually relaxed.

Since it had just rained at one in the morning, it was quite cold. Because of the night breeze, water from the tree leaves would occasionally drip onto Isabelle's face. Her arms and hair were cold, but her heart was particularly peaceful.

Perhaps it was because Isabelle had fallen quite a bit, after walking for about a hundred meters, Alexander stopped in his tracks and pushed her up. With her hands around his neck, she turned to see the perfect outline of his side profile.

Isabelle's chest pressed against Alexander's back. She could feel the heat of his body through the clothes between them. A warm current flowed through her racing heart, and her hands around his neck couldn't help but stiffen up.

As both of them were quite close, Isabelle could smell a mix of tobacco on Alexander's body. The look in her eyes became gentle when she called softly, "Alexander?"

"Hm?" Alexander's tone of voice was as gentle as his extraordinary steady footsteps.

Isabelle stayed quiet for a minute, then quietly said in his ear,

"We've been classmates for so many years."

Alexander didn't quite understand why Isabelle suddenly said that, but he furrowed his brows and made a "mm" again. Then he said, "Including middle school, that's six years."

"So we're considered friends right?" Whilst Isabelle asked this question, she randomly felt nervous and apprehensive.

If they were friends, then even after James left the hospital and they couldn't pretend to be husband and wife like they were now, they could still keep in contact, right?

Even if he really had a woman he was in love with... even if he persistently loved her, that woman was already married. As time goes on and the days go by, he'll need to start a family eventually.

Until that time came, it wouldn't matter if he'd marry for love. If they would always keep in contact, then she would have some hope, right?