Chapter 4

The next day, I saw that husky again.

The nurse said he was the heir to the Prescott family fortune—Ryan Prescott.

Another unlucky soul. During the earthquake, he'd volunteered for rescue work and got his arm crushed by falling rocks. He'd been laid up in the hospital for a month.

His family kept pressuring him to come home and take over the business, but he insisted on pursuing extreme sports and was currently staging a rebellion.

This plot sounded familiar.

I ignored him and continued practicing my walking.

But Ryan turned out to be a social butterfly—or more accurately, just too bored.

He picked up my crutch and practiced a few moves with it like he knew what he was doing.

"Hey, how did you lose your leg?" He pointed at my leg.

If anyone else had asked like that, I'd have swung my crutch at them.

But his eyes were clear and curious, without a trace of malice or pity.

"Earthquake. Got crushed," I said flatly.

"What a coincidence—I also got injured in the earthquake." He pointed at his arm. "But I was going in to save people. You were the one being saved, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so." I didn't elaborate.

"Well, your prosthetic looks pretty cool. Like the Terminator." He squatted down, studying my carbon fiber prosthetic with great interest.

He made me laugh. "What good is cool when I can't even run?"

"Who says you can't run? Once my arm heals, I'll take you racing. You don't need legs to drift."

Ryan patted his chest in promise, pulling at his injury and grimacing in pain.

Just like that, we inexplicably became hospital buddies.

He was talkative and loved to complain. Every day he found new ways to tell me jokes or curse out his rigid older brother.

With him around, the tedious days of rehabilitation weren't quite so unbearable.

Just when I thought things would continue peacefully like this, certain people had to come looking for trouble.

I went to the mall to buy shoes.

Because my right foot was prosthetic, I only tried on the left shoe.

The sales associate was very considerate, helping me find a pair of soft flats.

I'd just put one on when a familiar voice came from behind me.

"Lucas, do you think those shoes look good? But won't flats make my legs look short?"

My movements froze.

In the mirror, I saw two figures reflected.

Lucas Sterling wore a custom-tailored suit, still looking every bit the polished gentleman.

Chloe Bennett clung to his arm, wearing a white dress.

Enemies on a narrow road.

I didn't want to deal with them. I stood up to go pay.

Chloe had sharp eyes. She spotted me immediately.

"Isn't that Aria?"

She covered her mouth dramatically. Her gaze fell on my prosthetic leg, a flash of satisfaction in her eyes, though her face showed exaggerated shock.

"Oh my god, your leg... you really amputated it? How terrifying. You look like a robot."

She shrank into Lucas's embrace, her body trembling.

Lucas's gaze swept over my leg, his brow instantly furrowing into a knot.

"Aria, didn't I tell you not to come near us?"

"Chloe is sensitive. The way you look—are you deliberately trying to scare her?"

I laughed at the absurdity.

Did he own this mall?

I turned around, looking coldly at this pair of bastards.