Chapter 3

Audrey POV

My mother and I were wheeled into a regular hospital ward, not a private room.

The moment I stepped in, the strong, pungent smell of smoke made me recoil.

The hospital beds inside were simply separated by curtains, and six people were crowded into one room.

I turned to leave, but the nurse behind me spoke.

"Hospital beds are tight lately. Even this one was hard to get."

I hesitated, then turned back.

Mom's face was a little purple from being off the breathing machine for a few minutes.

I meticulously cared for her, making sure the bed was spotless.

Just as I was about to go out for some hot water, I found Skylar waiting by the hot water dispenser.

"Someone who's practically dying doesn't deserve a deluxe private room, does she? I came, and she still had to make way for me."

My fingertips dug into my palms, a searing pain shooting through me.

I forced myself to calm down. It was better to avoid trouble now; taking care of Mom was most important.

My kettle filled with water, I prepared to leave, but Skylar wasn't going to let me off that easily.

"Everything you have now should have been mine! Why did you get to live such a good life for so many years?"

She spoke faster and faster, almost frenzied by the end.

"As long as you're dead, the entire Bennett Corporation will be mine, and Liam will be mine alone."

With that, Skylar snatched the kettle from my hand and threw it at me.

In an instant, the kettle shattered, and most of the freshly boiled hot water splashed onto me.

Skylar wasn't spared either.

The splashing hot water made Skylar scream.

Liam, who was searching for Skylar, happened to pass by. He heard Skylar's screams and saw her exposed skin turn red from the burns.

Ignoring everything else, he scooped up Skylar and ran towards the emergency room.

He didn't even spare me a glance.

I gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Was I really expecting him to abandon Skylar and tend to me?"

I used all my strength to walk to the nearby sink.

I turned on the faucet, letting the cold water run over my burned skin.

Only when the burning sensation slowly subsided did I rush to the examination room.

"With water that hot, it's a good thing you rinsed it with cold water immediately. The scars shouldn't be too noticeable."

The doctor applied burn cream to the wound, and the pain in my arm became increasingly obvious.

I gritted my teeth, enduring it. I couldn't collapse; Mom still needed me to take care of her.

Tiny beads of sweat dripped from my forehead onto the floor.

The pain of the application felt incredibly long.

The door to the examination room was kicked open by Liam, his face a mask of barely suppressed fury.

"What did you do to Skylar? You venomous woman, you're clearly jealous of her! Do you know her leg is going to scar!"

I looked up, my face pale, my lips trembling, barely able to meet Liam's gaze.

"You believe everything Skylar says? What about me? If I wanted to harm her, why would I hurt myself so badly?"

Speaking that sentence almost used up all my strength.

Liam was about to speak when Skylar's pained scream from outside the door, where she was having her dressing changed, interrupted him.

"You better pray Skylar is okay."

Throwing out that threat, Liam turned and left.

I watched his retreating back, closing my eyes, remembering our time together.

I used to squat by the roadside, feeding stray cats, and Liam would say I was the most beautiful girl in the world.

After I bought flowers from a flower girl, Liam would hug me and say I was so kind.

When I went to the orphanage to do charity work, Liam would look at me with a smile.

...

And now he could say such things to me.

It was so obvious when love was gone.

After enduring the dressing, I dragged myself towards the ward.

Passing by a room, I heard Skylar's voice.

"Liam, it hurts so much, but as long as you're by my side, I don't feel the pain."

Liam kept his lips tight, his expression grim.

He seemed to be staring intently at Skylar's wound.

Skylar kept talking, and then Liam suddenly leaned down and kissed the burned spot on her leg.

His eyes seemed to hold an undisguised tenderness.

Liam, so this is how you love someone.

When I was with him, I never saw him care for someone so deeply.

A wrenching pain shot through my chest.