Belated Moonlight: He Regretted Only After I Left-Chapter 96: She Owes Him Again...

Stella stared blankly at him, tears still clinging to her eyelashes. "Really?"

"Yes." Shane Donovan remained expressionless and calm.

It was a lie.

He was lucky not to have hit any vital organs, but the life-or-death danger—he understood it more than anyone.

Whether Jasper would pull through depended on his own fate.

At that moment, the light of the operating room finally went out.

Stella almost immediately sprang from her chair, her heart leaping to her throat.

The doctor walked out after removing his mask, his expression still rather calm. "The surgery went very smoothly. The scissors missed the main blood vessels of the heart, a blessing amidst misfortune. However, he lost a lot of blood, and there is a minor injury to the lung. He needs to be observed for 24 hours."

Stella’s heart finally returned to its place, her legs going weak as she nearly lost her balance.

Shane Donovan stood firmly behind her, supporting her waist steadily.

"Thank you, doctor."

...

A few hours later, Jasper was moved to a VIP ward.

The anesthetic had not yet worn off. He lay quietly in the hospital bed, his face as white as paper, lips colorless, only the faint rise and fall of his chest proved he was still alive.

Stella sat on the chair beside the bed, her heart a whirlwind of emotions.

She remembered his unwavering figure when he rushed over, the dull thud of scissors piercing his body, and the words he spoke before collapsing. Her heart felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing it, both swollen and sore.

Shane Donovan leaned against the wall by the door, hands in his coat pockets, his eyes lightly resting on Stella. Watching her appear lost for another man, his gaze was deep and hard to decipher.

He neither entered nor left, just standing guard at a distance.

Time slowly passed, and the sky outside gradually brightened.

The anesthetic slowly wore off Jasper, his brow slightly furrowing, as if he were about to wake.

Stella quickly moved closer, softly calling out to him: "Jasper?"

Jasper’s eyelids fluttered, slowly opening.

His gaze was initially distant and unfocused, then gradually landed on her face.

"Stel... la..." His voice was dry and hoarse, almost inaudible.

"It’s me." Stella quickly took a cotton swab next to her, dipped it in water, and carefully moistened his lips. "Don’t move, the doctor said you need to rest."

Jasper looked at her face up close, a complex, indistinguishable emotion in his eyes.

He struggled to move his fingers, seeming to want to lift his hand.

Stella instinctively reached out to hold it, but was intercepted in mid-air by another large hand.

Shane Donovan had somehow moved to the bedside, naturally clasping Stella’s hand, fingers interlocked, then looked at Jasper on the bed, his tone calm and detached: "Attorney Hawthorne, how are you feeling?"

Jasper’s gaze fell on their interlocked hands, his pupils almost imperceptibly contracting, his face appearing even paler.

He tugged at the corners of his mouth, forming a near-mocking arc, his voice weak yet clear: "Not dead yet... Thank President Donovan for the concern."

The gazes of the two men met in mid-air, silent tension instantly spreading.

Stella, caught in the middle, only felt her scalp tingling, instinctively wanting to withdraw her hand, but Shane Donovan gripped it even tighter.

"Attorney Hawthorne, for your selfless act of saving a life, Stella and I will remember your kindness."

Shane Donovan’s tone remained flat, but the words "Stella and I" were particularly distinct, "Innovatech will take full responsibility for your ongoing treatment and recovery, ensuring Attorney Hawthorne is restored to full health."

Jasper let out a cold laugh, which pulled at his wound, causing him to cough uncontrollably, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Stella watched in alarm, unable to help but say, "Just don’t talk for now, rest well..."

Shane Donovan glanced down at her, said nothing, merely lifting his hand to gently brush back a stray lock of hair from her cheek, his gesture intimate and natural: "Are you hungry? I’ll go get something to eat."

At that moment, Stella had no appetite, but his question, combined with Jasper’s pained expression on the bed, made the oppressive atmosphere suffocating. She nodded haphazardly.

Shane Donovan lightly squeezed her fingers before turning to leave the ward.

The moment he left, the air in the ward seemed to circulate more freely.

Stella breathed a sigh of relief. When she turned back, she met Jasper’s deep gaze.

"You and him..." Jasper’s voice was still hoarse, with an undetectable trace of bitterness, "Are you really getting engaged?"

Stella pressed her lips together, not directly answering, just saying: "The most important thing now is for you to recover. We’ll talk about other things later."

But it seemed Jasper didn’t hear her, stubbornly watching her: "Is he forcing you, or... do you really like him?"

His question caused turmoil in Stella’s heart, a flash of anger: "Jasper, does it matter to you now?"

"It does." Jasper’s gaze was intense, "If he’s forcing you, or there’s any other reason, I..."

"There is no ’if’." Stella interrupted him, her tone carrying an unrecognized frustration, "It’s my own choice."

The light in Jasper’s eyes dimmed gradually. He closed his eyes, his Adam’s apple moving with difficulty, saying nothing more.

The ward plunged into a breathless silence.

Stella looked at his pale profile and tightly pressed lips, her heart tangled with emotions.

She recalled the old scar on his chest left from saving her...

Now, she owed him once more...

"Stella..." Jasper took a deep breath, looking up at her, "If Shane Donovan wasn’t in the picture... would there be any possibility for us?"

Stella’s brow subtly furrowed, "Jasper, the issues between us have nothing to do with Shane Donovan..."

Jasper’s body stiffened—yes, when she decisively left him back then, Shane Donovan wasn’t yet in the picture...

"Then..." he swallowed with difficulty, "Can you give me another chance, considering I saved you twice?"

Stella froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting this from him.

For a moment, the air in the ward seemed to completely freeze.

Unseen by her, outside the ward door, Shane Donovan stood there at some point, looking through the glass at the scene inside.

His face remained expressionless, but his tightly pressed lips, and eyes were as deep as a pool.

Saved her twice?

What did that mean?

Was there another time besides this one?

And at that moment, Finn Lockwood, who had just come by to visit, nervously followed behind, not daring to make a sound.

Shane Donovan watched for a while, then suddenly tugged at the corners of his mouth, a smile without warmth: "Attorney Hawthorne’s ploy of self-harm seems quite practiced."

Finn Lockwood: "..."

Oh dear god!

How could he respond to that!

Shane Donovan didn’t say more, instead taking out his phone to edit and send a message—

[Check for me, when did Jasper Hawthorne previously save Stella...]

Putting away his phone, Shane Donovan instinctively covered his chest...

He had also saved Stella...

Shane Donovan’s expression was gloomy—it seemed he got injured too soon, or else he could shamelessly sell his woes to his young lady...