Overdue Love

All of a sudden, the door flew open, and Elaine came rushing over in tears.

She kneeled in front of my bed and bowed, saying, "I'm so sorry, Belle! It's all my fault! I had no clue the door to the cold storage would lock by itself. I was just desperate to get a chance to prove myself. I didn't want to be considered an airhead anymore."

She grabbed my hand and started slapping herself with it. Even more tears streamed down her face as she declared, "Go ahead and hit me! I won't be able to live with my guilt otherwise. You can even lock me in the cold storage if that makes you feel better."

Elaine was gripping my wound. Her nails dug deep into my flesh, and the pain made me push her away. She immediately stumbled backward, but Cameron and Ian both grabbed her before she fell to the floor.

Being quick to anger, Cameron immediately rebuked me, "I already told you that Elaine didn't do it on purpose! What more do you want? You're fine, aren't you?"

Even Ian was eyeing me coldly as he declared, "You've gone too far this time, Belle."

Covering her face, Elaine started running out of the room, declaring, "I'll lock myself in the cold storage right now. I'll do whatever it takes to appease Belle."

Panicked, Cameron and Ian ran after her. In the process, they ended up knocking the IV drip off of me, and the liquid dripped onto the floor instead.

As I stared at my blood filling the tube, I felt my heart turning to stone.

Once upon a time, Cameron, Ian, and I were three children who grew up together in the orphanage. When the older kids bullied me, Cameron fought them off with all his might.

Even when he was locked up in a cold room and forced to starve as punishment, he would still limp over to me and do whatever he could to make me laugh.

He opened his palm to reveal the small bell he was holding. It let out a clear chime in the breeze. He had willingly put himself in harm's way in order to save the only thing left to me by my parents before their demise.

I was moved, of course.

The orphanage director forbade everyone from giving food to Cameron, so I secretly saved my food in a container for him. When I saw him wolfing it down hungrily, I smiled, feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside.

At the time, Cameron was a ray of light that lit up the darkness of my life. He was the one who reached out and pulled me back from the abyss.

His presence moved me and gave me hope, reigniting my dried and shriveled soul.

At times like these, Ian would find ways to utilize the orphanage director's fondness for him. To get revenge on our behalf, he would come up with schemes to make sure the mean children were punished.

He was smart and had good grades. Many families who came to the orphanage expressed an interest in adopting him, but he rejected them for Cameron's and my sake.

Nevertheless, there would still be a trace of vulnerability in his eyes—one that he tried his hardest to hide—whenever he saw the other children leaving with their parents.

Therefore, rain or shine, I would always follow Ian to and from school. I would stand at the entrance and look around as I waited for his familiar silhouette to appear.

Ian felt a little exasperated, but he understood why I was doing it. The three of us were each other's salvation, and we relied heavily on each other.

Later on, we got into college together and left the small town we came from.

All of us earned fairly small salaries, but they would spend most of their money on me. We carried on living in this foreign city and worked hard for a living.

Ian was able to rise swiftly through the ranks, eventually becoming a senior executive at a pharmaceutical company. Under his guidance, I became a sales representative for the company as well.

He once pointed at the towering office building and promised me, "Belle, in the future, I'll buy you a house here in this expensive city. It'll be our home. I'll make sure you live a happy life."

Cameron patted me on the shoulder. With an earnest expression on his youthful face, he said, "Don't forget about me. I'll definitely buy us a house before Ian does."

I could still hear their promises echoing in my ear. Alas, everything changed when Elaine showed up half a year ago.