Chapter 16: The Most Despairing Ten Minutes of My Life
Fired Without Warning
“Sonya, the hospital fired you for no reason! You can’t just give in! You have to fight back! Or expose them!”
Ashley was furious.
Sonya, on the other hand, was calm.
She bent down, pulled a large bag of snacks from her bottom drawer, and handed them to Ashley.
Ashley blinked.
“Sonya, don’t be so nonchalant! They’re treating you this way because they think you’re easy to bully!”
Sonya just smiled.
“Their severance package is good. I reviewed it and signed it.”
Ashley’s mouth fell open.
“Sonya!”
“I was planning to quit anyway.” Sonya shrugged.
“Cloud River Hospital is owned by the Jennings family. To truly break up with Julian, I had to leave.”
Ashley exhaled, her anger cooling.
“What are you going to do now?”
Sonya stretched.
“Take a break, then find a new job.”
Ashley squinted at her.
“You? A workaholic? Take a break?”
Sonya sighed.
“I’m getting married. I want to renovate our new home.”
Ashley’s eyes widened.
“You’re getting married? You just broke up with Julian! Who are you marrying?”
“My aunt set me up.”
Ashley stared at her like she’d lost her mind.
Goodbyes & New Beginnings
Sonya carried her boxes out.
Doctors and nurses waved goodbye, their expressions filled with sympathy.
Sonya smiled back.
She was fine.
Ashley walked her to the gate.
“Don’t trust men easily. If you need anything, call me.”
Sonya nodded.
“Of course. We’re friends.”
Ashley hugged her.
“You’re leaving. Work won’t be fun anymore.”
Sonya laughed.
“Once I renovate, I’ll invite you over.”
Ashley grinned.
“Definitely.”
A Trip to the Past
Instead of returning to the villa, Sonya took the subway to the West District.
The area had changed.
Most of the old houses were gone, replaced by skyscrapers and busy streets.
But a few quiet alleys remained, lined with decades-old houses.
She walked to a two-story house.
Her childhood home.
It had been empty for years.
The windows were broken, the paint peeled, the yard overgrown.
But—
The pomegranate tree was still there.
Lush, full of ripe, red fruit.
Sonya borrowed a chair to climb the wall.
She picked a large pomegranate, the seeds inside plump like rubies.
A sweet pomegranate.
Her mother had planted it.
Every Mid-Autumn Festival, she’d pick one early, even if it wasn’t ripe yet.
And when her mother asked if it was sweet—
She’d always say, “Very sweet!”
Sonya held the pomegranate close.
“Very sweet.”
But her mother was gone.
The Most Despairing Ten Minutes of Her Life
Sonya’s father had died when she was a baby.
She didn’t even know what he looked like.
Her mother always said he was handsome—
That Sonya looked just like him.
Her mother had been a doctor, too.
An ER doctor.
One rainy night, after high school—
Sonya went to the subway station to pick up her mother.
They walked home.
Then—
A truck lost control.
It skidded, swerved—
And came straight at them.
Her mother pushed her away.
Sonya hit the ground—
And watched her mother get hit.
Flung ten meters.
Falling heavily.
Sonya would never forget that sight.
When she got up, she ran to her.
Her mother was twisted, broken—
Blood mixing with the rain.
“Mom! Mom!”
No response.
The truck driver fled.
It was late, remote.
Her phone was dead.
She ran down the road, screaming for help.
Finally—
A car stopped.
Julian.
He called an ambulance.
Gave his umbrella to her mother.
The ambulance arrived ten minutes later.
The most desperate, terrifying, helpless ten minutes of her life.
At the hospital—
They couldn’t save her.
Julian stayed with Sonya all night.
Before leaving, he handed her a warm soy milk.
“My name is Julian Jennings. I’m a freshman in finance at Cloud University. If you want to thank me later, buy me dinner.”
That summer, Sonya was lost in grief.
But when she enrolled in medical school, she heard his name again.
The famous student at Cloud University.
She remembered him.
And when she finally asked him to dinner—
They started dating.
Her feelings for Julian were complicated.
For eight years, she had forgiven him—
Again and again.
Because of that rainy night.
“Miss, Are You Stealing Pomegranates?”
A child’s voice snapped Sonya back to reality.
She turned—
Several elementary school kids were peeking over the fence.
She smiled.
“This is my house.”
One boy crossed his arms.
“No way! If it were your house, you’d open the door instead of climbing over the wall!”
Sonya laughed.
“Want some pomegranates?”
Their eyes lit up.
She picked a dozen and handed them out.
The boy squinted at her.
“Miss, run! The police will arrest you!”
Sonya ruffled his hair.
“This really is my house.”
For now, it was lost.
But she would get it back.
She took a picture under the pomegranate tree and sent it to Henry.
Only then did she realize—
She shared things with him so naturally.
He sent her pictures every day—his work, his meals, random moments.
He summarized his day like it was important.
And she liked it.
She didn’t have to wait for his reply.
Or guess his feelings.
She liked this kind of relationship.
Jessica Jennings, Again
Back at the villa, it was dark.
And at her doorstep—
Jessica Jennings was arguing with the property manager.
“Contact the owner immediately!”
“I’ll pay top dollar to rent or buy the house—
But he CANNOT rent it to Sonya!”
Sonya clenched her fists.
Jessica wasn’t done ruining her life.
But Sonya wasn’t the same person anymore.
She was done running.
