The hum of dical equipnt and the sll of alcohol disinfectant filled the deathly silent hallway of Huma Hospital.
"Hang in there’
A hoarse and piercing scream reverberated within the sterile room. By the side, the nurse couldn’t bring herself to look at the figure.
There was a person barely clinging to life on the hospital bed. His badly burned fingers were clutching tightly onto an ID photo.
"Sophia... Sophia..."
"Your vocal cords are damaged, and they can’t be fully restored even with surgery. Please bear with it and try not to speak as much as possible," the doctor softly reminded, feeling sympathetic.
"Okay." He then buried his face into the pillow, allowing the doctor to attend to his mangled wounds.
"How did he manage to endure it?’
"Why must soone so good-looking have to endure all these?"
"It’s a miracle he managed to survive."
The doctor sighed when he stepped out of the ward.
"He’s suffering from burns all over his body. The pain from those superficial second-degree burns could easily reach level ten, which would greatly affect and overwhelm his senses. Even if he survives them, his sensitivity to pain would numb in the future," the doctor said, watching Dexter through the window. Dexter was lying listlessly on the bed as if he was barely holding on by sheer willpower.
"Sophia.." He slowly opened his fingers, gently wiping the ID photo that was stained with blood. Dexter’s gaze was beyond gentle.
"Wait for ...I’m sorry..."
He hoped that she wouldn’t bla him for making her wait for too long.
"Mr. Black Senior instructed us to monitor him and keep him in the hospital. Bring him back once his condition improves."
"You can’t leave, Mr. Black-
The fire alarm in the hospital went off, drawing the attention of the doctors and bodyguards away from him. Dexter was wearing an oversized hooded sweatshirt, enduring the pain all over as he hobbled toward the exit. Pale pink blood oozed out from his leg wounds as they were aggravated by his premature movents
No one could imagine the pain he was experiencing. But he refused to let Sophia wait for him for too long. "Sophia....
Dexter wasn’t sure what kept him going as he left the hospital, and he spent almost all his effort trying to make it to Sophia’s place. But it was already empty by the ti he was there.
"That family has a tragic fate. Both her parents passed away, leaving only their daughter alive. I heard she was in a coma for a long ti and was brought to her relatives’ house as soon as she regained consciousness."
Upon hearing the neighbor’s words, Dexter turned around and started running ahead with reddening eyes. His wounds were aching, and there was even a risk of him getting infected. Yet, he couldn’t possibly let Sophia suffer the pain of losing her loved ones on her own.
"Sophia..." Dexter finally saw her at the entrance of the university.
However, Sophia was looking at him with an unfamiliar gaze.
It seed like the precise thod of erasing mories was successful. She had indeed forgotten about him.
"Sophia..." he started. His hoarse voice sounded so painfully unfamiliar even to him.
Sophia no longer recognized him. Even though it was what he wanted, why did it hurt so much?
"Who are you? Don’t follow -help!" Assuming that he was a pervert, Sophia started running while screaming for help.
Dexter stood in place numbly. His outstretched arm remained frozen. He slipped into the alley, breathing heavily as he hit his head repeatedly.
Why did his voice change as well? Why did he scare Sophia away?
Why wasn’t he dead yet?
"Sophia..."
From then onward, Dexter started following Sophia around almost daily.
He watched as she attended university and got back ho. He watched as she carefully followed behind Damien, only having eyes for him.
"I don’t bla you, Sophia,’ he continued to murmur during his high fever. Even though Sophia couldn’t hear him, he still continued to reassure her.
He did not bla her for forgetting him or for falling in love with soone else.
That day, despite his high fever and the twisting pain throughout his body, Dexter staggered toward the entrance of the university. He could only be at ease after he saw Sophia entering campus ground.
"This necklace must be valuable, right? So thugs had stolen the money from her backpack, even taking the necklace from her neck."
Sophia was crying as she asked for them to return her necklace. "That was my mother’s gift for !"
Dexter dashed over in a frenzy, yet the thugs sped away on their motorcycles.
He watched her cry while crouching down to slowly pick up her books.
"Don’t cry, Sophia." He wanted to go up and hug her, yet he dared not do so.
In the end, Dexter couldn’t help but limp over, reaching out to help pick up her books. But the horrifying wounds on his arms still terrified her.
He stood in place numbly as he watched the woman he loved run away in fear. He helplessly hid his arms behind his back and opened his mouth before turning around and running away.
Dexter found the bunch of thugs the sa day. He managed to get back her necklace and money while still running a fever and sporting unhealed injuries.
He was no match for so many of them, and he felt pain just like anyone else. They wouldn’t have returned the things to him if it weren’t because of his recklessness. He gritted his teeth and punched the light out of the leader of the thugs.
Eventually, he couldn’t hold it any longer and coughed out blood. He collapsed onto the blood-soaked concrete ground while clutching onto the necklace.
Dexter looked up at the gloomy sky, feeling cold. "I’m so cold, Sophia..."
Sophia was carefully looking around at the entrance of the university after her classes.
She was worried that those thugs might harass and bully her. As such, she wanted to avoid them and find a way to escape.
But as soon as she stepped out of campus, she caught a whiff of the strong stench of blood from soone. She looked up fearfully and was t with Dexter’s gaze.
He had put on gloves in order not to frighten her. He then pushed the necklace and money into her hands before turning around and walking away.
Sophia parted her lips, yet nothing ca out of her.
She was about to leave for ho, to go back to the house of another man. She would forget about him completely and fall in love with another man
Dexter hid in the alley as he endured the pain and slowly removed the gloves with his teeth.
His badly burned hands shouldn’t be covered in gloves. It felt like he was peeing a layer of skin whenever he removed his gloves.
But he was afraid that he might frighten Sophia without them.
"Let’s head back ho together, Sophia!" Since then, Sophia started having friends walk her back ho after classes.
"It’s been so peaceful outside the university lately. Those thugs are gone too. How strange!’
Sophia stood at the entrance of the alley, looking back. She wasn’t sure what exactly she was expecting or anticipating to see.
"It’s good that those thugs who bullied you are gone now, Sophia!"
She smiled and glanced to the corner.
Dexter was hiding in that very corner, secretly protecting Sophia.
"I’ll kill you if you touch her again," he said hoarsely as he stepped onto a thug.
The thug ran away and ca back with a group of people to look for Dexter. They finally cornered him where Sophia was around.
"There are people fighting over there, Sophia! It’s so scary! Let’s go!"
"Soone is dying over there! Let’s leave, Sophia!"
Sophia’s legs felt numb as she turned around to look at the corner of the alley. All she saw was a pool of blood slowly seeping out.
"Co on, Sophia! Stop staring and let’s go!"
Dexter leaned against the wall of the alley with his arms hanging limply by his side. In his hand, Sophia’s ID photo was soaked in blood.
He murmured, "Thank goodness, you’ve forgotten about now, Sophia... Don’t be sad... Don’t turn around or rember ..’
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