Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Lewis knew Keira was trying to comfort him, so he played along and changed the subject.
Keira then began. âI was also abducted when I was a child and was locked up with an older brotherâ¦â
Abducted?
Lewis was slightly startled. âHow old were you then?â
Keira was about to answer, but Madeleine suddenly coughed, and her body began to twist!
âOh no! Blood has entered the trachea! Arrange for emergency thoracotomy immediately!â
Madeleine was issued the fifth critical condition notice.
Lewisâs attention was immediately diverted, and once again, he stared intently at the hospital bed.
Keira no longer had the mind to talk about the past.
It was hard to tell how much time had passed. It could have been three hours or perhaps five, but Madeleine was finally resuscitated.
When the doctor said there was no immediate danger to her life, Keira let out a huge sigh of relief.
She turned her head and saw Lewisâs clenched fists slowly relaxâ¦
Keira gently patted the back of his hand in reassurance.
Lewis then gave a wry smile.
Madeleine had fractures all over her body, and her internal organs were also ruptured in many places. When she was wheeled out of the operating room she seemed to regain some sense of feeling; even though she was unconscious,âshe was flailing her arms and calling out, âLewisâ¦â
Her thrashing around made it impossible for the doctor and nurses to continue with the IV.
The doctor held her hand, but she kept calling out, âBig brotherâ¦â
She struggled vigorously, trying to grasp something.
The doctor urgently said, âMr. Horton, we must calm her down or else we wonât be able to save the life we just brought back!â
Lewis gazed at her for a long time and finally stepped forward. âIâm here.â
The uneasy Madeleine immediately calmed down, seemingly sensing his voice and subconsciously grabbed Lewisâs hand.
Lewis tried to pull his hand away, but Madeleine immediately furrowed her brows. âBig brotherâ¦â
Those words reminded him of the little girl curling up in his arms to sleep when they were children.
Lewis paused.
The doctor beside him immediately made a pleading gesture. âMr Horton weâve barely snatched her back from the hands of deathâ¦â
Lewis tightened his jaw and glanced at Keira.
His eyes conveyed hesitation and conflict.
Keira clenched her fists tighter.
Without saying a word, she watched as Lewis accompanied Madeleine to the ICU with the doctor.
Keira stood outside the ICU, looking inside through a glass door.
She and Lewis were only a few meters apart, but that glass door seemed to isolate them from one another.
Doctors and nurses shuttled back and forth, checking Madeleineâs vital signs every half hour.
Lewis couldnât hear the outside conversations.
But Keira could hear a group of specialist doctors discussing.
It s a medical miracle that we were able to save her life!â
âThe mam thing is that Mr. Horton is willing to spend the money. Sheâs had the equivalent of four blood transfusions; sheâs lucky to be alive. There was one bleeding point we couldnât find, and in the end, we guessed, but luckily we guessed correctly!â
âBut even though her life was saved, sheâll have a lifelong disability. I just donât understand why she would do this to herselfâ¦â
âYou just came for the consultation and didnât understand. She was brought over from the mental hospital next door⦠I heard from her attending doctorâ¦â The doctor looked around and then said,
âShe has severe depression, and she simply canât pull through, no matter how many medications she takes. It seems that her only hope for living was Mr. Horton⦠but Mr. Horton has now gotten married and doesnât plan to see her anymore, so she attempted suicideâ¦â
The people nearby immediately asked curiously, âWhat was her relationship with Mr. Horton?â
âThey were said to be lovers. Mr. Horton has been treating her for five or six years, and they were previously abroad.â
âWhat? So Mr. Horton has fallen in love with someone else now?â
âHaving a girlfriend with mental illness, who could bear that forever? Itâs quite normal for him to move onâ¦â
âBut it still feels somewhat heartless. After all, he was the patientâs only hope Once he broke up with her, the patient couldnât take it anymoreâ¦â
âMr. Horton has already married publicly, hasnât he? Why is it that the patient couldnât take it just now?â
âI asked the attending doctor, and it seems Mrs. Horton wasnât pleased Mr Horton told the patient that he wouldnât see her again, and thatâs why she was so upset and jumped off the building. The state she was in when she was brought here was unbearable to look atâ¦â
II II
A group of people chatted as they walked away, heading to another ward to continue their rounds.
However, these words made Keira tense her jaw, wanting to say something, yet not knowing what to say.
She understood Lewis.
He had chosen her over Madeleine, which moved her deeply.
But now, it wasnât just about him; even seeing Madeleine lying on the hospital
bed was enough to make her own heart pound with fear!
That was a life!
Just yesterday, she was still alive and arguing with her, and today, her life hung by a threadâ¦
But was a childhood promise really that important? Was Lewis supposed to let
a single promise drag down his entire life?
Keira suddenly thought of that âbig brother.â
Her situation with that âbig brotherâ was actually quite similar to Lewis and Madeleineâs situation.
Back then, she had saved that âbig brotherâ, and he had promised to marry her and take her home to his familyâ¦
But over the years, that âbig brotherâ had never come to find her.
Still, his words had indeed been her only hope to keep living after she returned home.
It was only as she grew up that she understood relying on others could never compare to relying on oneself.
She was doing well now, so she had moved on.
If she had been even slightly weaker or not strong enough, perhaps someone
else in her shoes wouldnât have made it through, right?
She lowered her head, lost in thought.
âWhat are you thinking about?â
Lewisâs voice suddenly rang out. Keira lifted her head to see that Lewis had already appeared before her without her noticing.
The man looked tired, with a sense of powerlessness in his eyes.
Keira didnât want to pressure him with things like âYou promised yesterday that you wouldnât see her anymore.â
She had never been the pitiful heroine of a story.
Keira blinked and then suddenly said, âI was thinking about the older boy I rescued when I was a child.â
Lewis sat down beside her. âWhat about him?â
Keira smiled. âI remembered he said he would marry me and even gave me a marriage token. But I donât need it anymore, should I return it to him?â
Lewis paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, âWhat token?â
Keira blinked. âWhen I was a child, I didnât understand. It was only after going back home this time that I realized it seemed quite valuable. It might even be a family heirloom or somethingâ¦â
As she said that, she took out the well-preserved jade ring from her pocket..