He Stood at Memory's End

Harry's heart skipped a beat as he abruptly turned around to see Celine lying unconscious with a pale face. He immediately turned around and rushed toward her, picking her up and heading for the hospital.

Amid the commotion, Celine slowly opened her eyes in pain and saw Harry instructing the doctor, "My wife is pregnant. She's four months along. Be careful when you administer the medicine."

After being pushed into the treatment room, the nurse lifted her clothes and saw her flat belly. She gasped. "Four months? He must have remembered it wrong! This doesn't look like she's pregnant at all!"

While she was doubting and turning around to confirm it, Celine endured the pain and stopped her. "Miss, my baby has miscarried. Please keep it a secret. I want to tell my husband myself."

Although the nurse did not know the reason, it was still not a good thing for a married couple to suffer a miscarriage, so the nurse respected Celine's wish.

As there was no anesthetic, Celine was in so much pain that she nearly fainted when cleaning the wound and applying the medicine.

The burning sensation from the wound pulled at her nerves, making her breathing extremely difficult. She was soaked in sweat, and every second felt extremely agonizing.

After the medicine was applied, Celine was sent to a ward.

Harry stayed by Celine's bedside, repeatedly apologizing, "Celine, you're burned so badly. Why didn't you call me?"

Celine's clenched teeth ached, and her legs felt like they were on fire. Her body temperature rose, and she could only manage to squeeze out a sentence. "You left too quickly."

"It's my fault. I'm sorry." Harry's guilt deepened, and he placed his hand in Celine's tightly clenched palm.

Her sharp nails scratched the back of his hand, drawing blood.

Watching the blood droplets mingle, Celine grew increasingly drowsy, and she drifted off to sleep.

…

It was late at night when Celine woke up again. She groggily opened her eyes and saw Juniper's back.

"You got burned too. Go get your wound treated now. I'll take care of Celine."

"No, I'm afraid she'll be upset if she wakes up and can't see me. I'll treat it tomorrow."

Juniper's voice abruptly rose several octaves. "I asked you to go now! Harry, don't gamble with your health!"

Hearing that, Harry's furrowed brows instantly relaxed. He grabbed Juniper's hand. "Juniper, don't deny it. You've always had feelings for me, haven't you? If you admit it, I'll drop everything right now. How about we get back together?"

Juniper realized her mistake and quickly withdrew her hand.

Seeing her panicked expression, Harry could not help but laugh. "Alright, I'll stop pressuring you. I have plenty of time to wait for you to relent. I'll do what you say and treat my wounds now."

With that said, he left with light steps.

In Celine's memory of their three years together, Harry had always been the one in control of everything. No matter how angry she was or how outrageous her jokes were, he would always soothe her like she was a child. He was always rational and mature. It was as though he wore a mask, never showing his true self.

She thought it was just his nature, but she never imagined he would lose control of his emotions. He could become furious and lose control over Juniper's indifferent words, be overjoyed by her concern, and unconditionally obey his lover like a boy experiencing first love.

Celine had never seen Harry like this before, so she was somewhat dazed. She met Juniper's gaze when she came to her senses.

Celine noticed the fleeting panic in her eyes and asked, "Aunt Juniper, where's Harry?"

Seeing that she seemed not to have heard their previous conversation, Juniper breathed a sigh of relief. "He went to treat his wounds. Let me know if you're feeling uncomfortable."

The burning pain still tormented Celine, but she endured it and shook her head. "I'm fine, go and rest."

Juniper did not leave. She poured Celine a glass of water. After asking a few more questions, she asked Celine a question, "Celine, did you hear anything before you fainted yesterday?"

Celine's hand holding the glass paused as she calmly met the probing gaze. "I didn't hear anything."

She lied without batting an eye. It was partly to dispel Juniper's suspicions, and partly to tell herself to forget what they had said. After all, she was about to disappear completely from their lives.