A Forsaken Soul

That was my last and final wish.

Then, I slowly closed my eyes, used up the last of my energy on making the wish, and finally fainted from the pain.

While in my unconscious state, I somehow heard the worker tell Finnegan, "Your name's quite uncommon, but I feel like I've seen it many times before."

…

The next time I woke up, I was at the hospital. The pungent smell of disinfectant hung in the air, aggressively invading my senses.

Finnegan wasn't with me anymore. I heard from the nurse that the chapel worker had called for an ambulance and sent me here.

My wounds and injuries had been treated and wrapped up in gauze. They had also fixed plates around my knees so I could stand.

I paid for the hospital bill with the last of my savings. The doctor advised me to stay longer for treatment, but I didn't have any more money left on me. In the end, I could only grit my teeth as I painfully hobbled my way out of the hospital.

I walked out to the streets and caught sight of my reflection in the windows. I looked tired, scrawny, and exhausted, like every last drop of my life force had been squeezed dry. It was obvious that I'd lost all of my spunk from when I used to still be the heiress to the Brooke fortune.

I recalled Colette at the dinner party. She didn't seem to have been affected by my family's bankruptcy at all—in fact, she only continued blooming like a rose who'd finally reached her peak.

I kept pausing as I walked along the streets. When I couldn't put up with the pain, I'd sit by the roadside until it subsided. A few kindhearted passersby asked me if I needed any help walking, but I just shook my head and refused their help.

However, I was a little too slow when crossing the street and took about a couple of seconds longer than the green pedestrian light. I was then almost knocked over by a speeding car.

"Hey, are you blind or something?"

I lost my balance and fell to the ground, collapsing on top of my crutches. It dug into my flesh and put me in agonizing pain.

I turned to look at the car and saw that it was a sports car with a very low body. A young man in dark sunglasses stuck his head out of the driver's window and continued yelling at me.

"You imbecile!"

I wanted to get up, but I quickly realized that there was nothing I could hold on to. There was no way for me to stand up, and sweat started dripping down from my forehead. People also started gathering around me.

"Does that man have no heart? Can't he see that the poor lady's hurt? Would it have killed him to wait for a little while? It's not like he's driving an ambulance!" someone yelled from his car window.

"That's right! Everyone has something bad happen to them at some point. Karma will soon get him if he's not careful!"

The onlookers began to shout aggressively at the driver. I hurriedly waved my hands and said, "No… No…"

However, my voice was too soft, and nobody heard me speaking at all.

Suddenly, the loud slam of a car door shocked everyone into sudden silence. The young man had gotten down from his sports car and was now heading toward me.

He scoffed, took off his sunglasses, and looked at me with a complicated expression on his face.

"Sorry. I was in a bad mood earlier and got a little rude with my words. Are you okay? I'll send you to the hospital."

I quickly shook my head and held my hands before me. "No… need… I'm…"

I was fine.

"Do you stutter a lot?"

Before I could even finish my sentence, though, the young man suddenly interrupted with his question, and I immediately went silent. Maybe it would be better if he just treated me as a mute.

He scooped me up in his arms and brought me to his car. "I'm sorry, everyone. I'm sending her to the hospital now."

The onlookers then started praising him for his actions. I felt completely helpless as he buckled me into the front passenger seat and floored the gas pedal after that. I felt as though I was about to fly out of the car.

While he was focusing on driving, I tugged on his spiked leather jacket. He then threw his phone at me.

"Type into it."

I went speechless for a bit. He probably didn't like how slowly I talked.

The phone wasn't locked and displayed a beautiful sunset as the wallpaper. I used the only two good fingers on my right hand to open up his Notes app and type my words into it.

"I'm fine. Just put me down at the junction ahead," I typed.

He glanced at my message and refused at once. "No way. You're a cripple and a mute. What's going to happen if you get into another accident? That would be my fault then!"

The hood of his sports car was down, and the wind kept whizzing by our faces and blowing our hair all around. I said something that immediately got lost in the wind, and he just pretended to not have heard anything as well.

I felt like crying. Did he not know how much effort it took me to walk from the hospital all the way to the center of the streets?

He was just bringing me back to square one again.

"Get down," he said, turning off the engine. Then, he got out of the car and came over to my side, opening the door for me. He reached in, wanting to help me up, but I quickly grabbed my crutches instead.

"Hah! Don't you know how many women throw themselves at me, dying for a hug or a kiss? I'm just being nice to you because you're hurt and all. Yet, you're treating me like I'm some kind of pervert."

I shook my head and got down from the car with the help of the crutches.

"Where are you going? The outpatient clinic is this way!"

I pretended not to hear him and headed toward the hospital exit.

He then rushed up to me with two long strides and stood in my way, effectively blocking my path.

"I… have… no… money…"

I did my best to squeak out these four words.

The guy just went stunned for a brief moment before suddenly bursting into laughter.

Was he laughing at how poor I was?

"Well, my name's Hal Henderson. Heard of the Hendersons before? They specialize in medical technology. My friends never have to pay a dime when they're out with me."

"But… I'm… not… your… friend…"

"Nobody's related to anyone in this world anyway. Since I nearly ran you over, that's got to be some sort of contact already, right?"

Hal chuckled loudly and aggressively. Then, while I was still trying to process his words, he grabbed my crutches and took them away, saying that I could only now hold on to him as he helped me over to the outpatient clinic.

It was very hard and painful for me to walk. After I was done with the preliminary checkups, Hal then left me on the bench in the corridor while he went in to collect my test report.

Suddenly, I heard a loud, angry voice at the receptionist counter.

"What do you mean she's been discharged from the hospital? Her family members never even signed the discharge papers!"

The voice was all too familiar to me. I turned to have a look, not quite believing myself as I immediately saw that it was Finnegan. He looked furious.