Left on His Wedding Night, the War God Returned

Chapter 4: The Morning After

Sarah's neck screamed as she lifted her head from the hard armrest of the hospital chair. 

The VIP ward was bright with morning sun streaming through the windows, and her cream coat was wrinkled beyond recognition. She blinked, disoriented, trying to remember where she was.

A groan came from the bed.

"Jasper?" She shot to her feet, crossing to him immediately. "Are you okay? Does it hurt? Should I call the nurse?"

Jasper's eyes fluttered open. He looked at her for a long moment, and then his face crumpled. Tears spilled down his cheeks.

"Why are you still here?" His voice came out weak and broken. "Sarah, why didn't you go back? It was your wedding night. Your wedding night with Kevin, and you spent it on a hospital chair because of me." He appeared shocked and guilty, as if he had completely forgotten that it was he himself who had begged Sarah to stay and accompany him the previous night."

"Don't be ridiculous. You were sick. Of course I stayed."

"But Kevin..." Jasper's hand reached out, trembling, and found hers. His fingers were cold and clammy. "He must hate me. He must hate both of us."

Sarah squeezed his hand gently. "He doesn't hate anyone. You're still recovering. Let me check if you have a fever."

She pressed her palm to his forehead. His skin was cool, no sign of infection. Relief flooded through her.

"Thank God. No fever. But Jasper, what were you thinking, drinking so much when you know your stomach can't handle it?"

"I was happy for you." Fresh tears tracked down his face. "You looked so beautiful at the wedding, and I wanted to celebrate, and I overdid it and now I've ruined everything. I've ruined your marriage before it even started."

"You haven't ruined anything."

"I have. I called Kevin last night. Before you got here, I called him because I felt so guilty, and he didn't say anything. Not a single word. He just listened and then he hung up, and Sarah, I think he's furious with me."

Sarah went still. "You called Kevin last night?"

"I did. I tried calling you first, tried to tell you not to come, that it wasn't serious enough to leave your honeymoon for, but you didn't answer any of my calls. So I called Kevin to apologize, to explain, but he wouldn't even speak to me." Jasper's grip on her hand tightened. "The nurse, she went through my emergency contacts without asking and called you. I didn't want this. I swear I didn't want any of this to happen."

Sarah pulled out her phone, checked the call log. There were several missed calls from Jasper, three or four of them clustered together right before the hospital had called. 

But she hadn't heard any of them ring. They must have disconnected too quickly, barely a second each before ending. 

She didn't think too hard about it. Jasper looked so genuinely distressed, so broken by guilt, that questioning him felt cruel. 

"Kevin's just like that sometimes," she said softly. "He doesn't talk much when he's processing things. His silence doesn't mean he's angry."

"Are you sure?" Jasper tried to sit up, his face going pale with the effort. "I need to apologize to him properly. I need to explain that this wasn't your fault, that I'm the one who caused all this trouble."

"Lie down." Sarah put both hands on his shoulders and pushed him back against the pillows. When he resisted, she pressed harder. "The most important thing right now is your recovery. I'll handle Kevin. I'll explain everything to him, and he'll understand. If he was really bothered by this, he would've shown it by now. Trust me."

Jasper sank back into the bed, his eyes searching her face. "You really think he'll forgive me?"