A Rebirth of Flames

I saw Raiden when I passed by one of the emergency department rooms. He affectionately placed one arm around Celia's shoulders and softly consoled her.

It was as though nothing had happened between him and me. It was like he had forgotten about me entirely.

One of the nurses, whom I had a good friendship with, checked on my wounds while shaking her head with pity at me. "What have you done to deserve this, Winifred? There are too many broken bones in your body. You may need an entire year before you can fully recover…"

The more she spoke, the more her voice softened like she was about to cry. "Thank God… Thank God you didn't hurt your right hand. You can still perform surgeries after you recover."

I weakly chuckled. Although I wanted to say something, I was in too much pain to muster a response.

The nurse suppressed her voice more, as if she feared someone would hear her. She whispered, "I heard that Celia only has some superficial wounds. Dr. Seager got all worked up over nothing! Tsk!"

Serena had been listening to our conversation. Upon hearing that, she couldn't help but blow up with rage. She pointed at Raiden's nose and barked, "You're a vile piece of shit, Raiden—"

Before the former could finish, Celia let out a few weak coughs. Then, she said with a honeyed voice, "I'm a little tired, Raiden."

Raiden immediately felt bad for Celia. He soothed her with a gentle voice, "Hang in there, Celia. Our colleagues will be here soon."

He then looked up, glanced at me, and snapped with irritation at Serena, "Isn't Winifred all good now? Why do mine and Winifred's affairs concern you? Can you not stick your nose where it doesn't belong?"

I stared at Raiden's repulsive face down before declaring, "You and I have nothing to do with each other from now on. Let's break up."

Serena nodded with passion. "Good! After all, what's the use in reasoning with a scumbag?"

Raiden was briefly stunned. It was like he never imagined I would say such a thing. A frown soon marred his face as he snapped, "What the hell are you up to now, Winifred? Are you messing with me?"

I snorted. "Messing with you? Are you even worthy of such efforts from me?"

I fought back my tears and looked at Celia, who rested behind Raiden. I solemnly stated, "You would rather save another woman than me. Is this how a boyfriend should behave?"

Celia summoned her tears, which streamed down her face right away. "How could you say that about Raiden, Winifred? He just knows that you're better at surviving than me. He's probably just more confident in you, so he chose to save someone else who needs him more…"

The emergency department's ward fell into chaos. Noises of Raiden blaming me and Celia sobbing filled the space. It attracted the attention of countless onlookers.

"What mega-hottie Celia says makes sense! She definitely needs someone to look after her because she's weaker!"

"Yeah! Dr. Seager only did it for everyone's sake. Why's Dr. Zalmer being so stubborn?"

"Exactly! Ms. Lumley here is the darling daughter of Lumley Medical's chairperson. Saving her is more important!"

That was when my dad, Arthur Zalmer, rushed back from abroad.

Raiden's expression instantly changed. He approached my dad and spoke with a friendly tone, "Mr. Zalmer! The medical laboratory has blown up. I, uh… I risked my life to rescue Celia from there. Celia says she can get Lumley Medical to double down their cooperation with our hospital!"

My dad's expression dimmed as he bellowed, "Where's Winifred?"

Raiden thought Arthur would blame Winifred. So, he immediately spoke up, "Celia and Winifred were the only two people in the laboratory earlier, Mr. Zalmer. Celia says she's sure Winifred was behind the explosion.

"Winifred has just been rescued. Her wounds aren't severe, but I suggest we exclude her from the lab experiments. Celia can handle it alone."

Dad's expression withered even more.

Meanwhile, I lay on the hospital bed and sneered in my heart. I thought, "Just you wait, Raiden. You'll have plenty of hardships to face in life now that you don't have me beside you anymore!"