âHere, take this.â The nurse pointed to the milk and bread on the table.
âYouâve given a lot of blood and you need to eat something to replenish your strength.â The nurse took out the needle from Rachelâs skin and put the blood bag in order.
âIf you feel dizzy, let us know immediately, okay?â
Rachel pressed the spot where the needle had been, her eyes falling on the two blood bags the nurse was holding. she couldnât believe four hundred milliliters of blood had been drained from her body.
Listening to the nurseâs instructions, Lukas picked up a glass of milk and handed it to Rachel. âMiss Bennet, here. Why donât you have some milk?â
Rachel stood up abruptly and felt dizzy for a moment, not able to find her footing. She stood still and took a deep breath to recover. Maybe she felt this way because of the four hundred milliliters of blood that was drawn from her body.
âLukas, Iâm fine. Donât worry,â she said after waking up from her reverie.
âIâve asked for a room to be booked in a hotel that is close to the hospital. Considering how busy youâve been today, you could use some rest. You donât have to worry. Lukas and I will stay back and keep you updated, okay?â Carson said as he walked over.
Rachel looked to Lukas, and then to Carson. She looked away and said, âIâll wait here. He might need blood later on, and if Iâm notâ¦â
âRachel, unless Iâm mistaken, didnât you want Victor to die?â Carson asked, interrupting Rachel abruptly..
Taken by surprise with Carsonâs words, Rachel completely lost her words and forgot what she was about to say.
Lukas glanced at Rachel shortly, trying to gauge her reaction to Carsonâs words. He didnât want her to get hurt in any way.
âMr. Scott!â he called out firmly. The tone of his voice alone made Carson understand what Lukas was trying to convey to him. He might have understood Lukasâ message, but that wasnât about to stop him from speaking his mind.
âYouâve wanted him to die so much for so long! Isnât this a perfect opportunity that has presented itself?
If youâre scared of feeling guilty if he doesnât survive, you shouldnât. Come on, Rachel! Donât fool yourself! Youâve already donated enough blood for him. You should just sit and wait for the doctor to announce his demise. You know fully well that thatâs what you do best.â Rachel pressed her lips into a thin line, looking into Carsonâs eyes as though she was thinking about it.
Yes, she had to admit that that was what she ought to be doing Why then could she only think of being present to help in case Victor needed more blood later on?
âMr. Scott, I believe you misunderstood Miss Bennet.â Lukas frowned.
âReally?â
Rachel walked towards the operating room.
âI really do want him to die,â she said.
âMiss Bennetâ¦â
âBut not like this.â Rachel looked at her feet dejectedly. What was wrong with her? Her actions were the complete opposite of the things she said. she had lost too much blood in a short period of time and her temples hurt.
Maybe that was why she was acting that way. The more she thought about it, the more restless she became. Tired of thinking so much, she simply blamed her strange actions on Joey, though she knew fully well that it wasnât true. Yes, Joey was actually waiting for her.She had promised to show him a video of a safe Victor when he woke up.
So, of course, she wanted Victor to die. Just not right now. Later maybe.She wouldnât be able to take it if she was the cause of Joeyâs sadness, or if she did nothing to make sure he wasnât sad.
Rachel convinced herself of this. She believed that it was the only reason she was trying to save Victor.
Carson looked at Rachel with an unreadable emotion in his eyes. Finally, he chuckled. She looked at him in confusion trying to understand what was so funny, âI thought you were a heartless person. Rachel, you may art cold and everything, but deep within you really are warm-hearted.â
âLooks like you know me well, Carson,â Rachel sighed and sat down on the bench.
Joining her on the bench, Carson chuckled lightly and said, âLetâs not stretch it, okay? I donât know you very well, but weâve known each other for several years. So, all I can say is I know a little about you and how your head works. Letâs take a rather simple example, huh? You donât want to show it, but I know you actually care about Victor!â
âHmâ¦â A strange sound left Rachelâs throat, but she didnât say any other thing. Carson didnât take her silence wrongly. He put his hands on his knees and said, âBut really, youâve really changed a lot.â
Rachel looked up at him and said, âPeople change, Carson.â
âThatâs true! But youâve changed too much in such a short time. Itâsâ¦â He turned his head and studied her once more.
âHow do I say this? Itâs just like⦠Your face and body are still the same, but your soul isnât.â Rachel didnât understand why her heart skipped a beat when she heard this. She dropped her eyes before looking up again and staring into Carsonâs eyes.
This time, however, Carson looked away.
âAnyways, itâs impossible, right?â Rachel didnât say anything.
Drip.
Drip Victor slowly opened his eyes. He couldnât see anything, but he heard the sound of water dripping.
Water?
Dripping?
Where was that sound from?
Why was he getting it?
The last thing he could remember was jumping out from the window of the second floor with Joey in his arms. How could he be hearing the sound of water? He could remember that he had jumped off just in time, because the building exploded behind him just as he jumped off. That was when he felt something strong hit him hard from behind.
He had felt a burning pain in his back just before he passed out.He couldnât see the surroundings clearly, so he blindly followed the sound. He didnât know how long he had walked or where he was headed to, but he stopped when a white light suddenly shone into his eyes. Instinctively, his hands went up to shield his eyes from the intense light.
However, the light didnât go away or get dim, forcing his eyes to adapt to it. Slowly, he dropped his hands, no longer having a problem with the light. Once he dropped his hands and opened his eyes clearly, he was able to see the scene in front of him. It was no longer blurry. Looking around, there was no doubt he was in an old warehouse.
âAhemâ¦â Someone coughed, attracting Victorâs attention to its owner.
Victor followed the sound with his eyes and saw someone lying on the floor not far away. He didnât need to look twice to know who it was. That was him at the age of 14. Starting to feel strange, Victor looked down and realized that he was in the air, and not standing on the floor. Soon enough, he understood that this was one of his memories that he had deliberately shoved to the back of his mind.
Curled up on the floor, young Victor coughed violently before opening his eyes. He looked around, held his stomach tightly and sat up, trying his damnedest to bear the pain again.
There was a visible stain of dried blood at the corner of his mouth.
That was the day after he was kidnapped.He was supposed to have gone abroad the day before. But he wanted to see his mother before leaving Apliaria. He told Carolyn about it and went to the cemetery by himself. He didnât even get the chance to do what he wanted to do, as the moment he got out of his car at the cemetery, three minibusses surrounded him and the driver, More than a dozen people quickly got out of the minibusses. Seeing that they were at a disadvantage, the driver told Victor to get into the car quickly and got ready to drive off. Someone smashed the front windshield of the car with a baseball bat before the driver could even start the car.
Others smashed the window of the driverâs side, forced the door open and pulled the driver out of the car.
âRun, Mr. Sullivan, run!â the driver shouted. Unfortunately, Victor didnât have the opportunity to run.
Someone opened the door and looked down at him.
âWill you get out of the car on your own, or do we have to pull you out?â
After throwing a swift glance at those present, Victor quietly got out of the car. As soon as he got out of the car, someone tried to tie him up. The kidnappers thought that Victor was scared. Skilfully, Victor seized this chance and pressed the glass fragment hidden in his hand hard against the neck of the man who was about to tie him up.