Maria rushed straight to the hospital, standing nervously in the hallway and looking at Kim’s room not far away. She finally clenched her fists and took a deep breath before pushing open the door.
Inside the room, Diana was sitting next to Kim’s bed, peeling an apple. Kim had already woken up and was sitting on the bed, looking surprised by Maria’s sudden appearance.
Especially when he saw Maria.
But Maria wasn’t calm either. She stared blankly at Kim on the bed, feeling like she had a lump in her throat. He sat there quietly with a pale face and eyes full of dark emotions that pierced through Maria’s heart.
Seeing this, Diana put down the apple she had just peeled into Kim’s hand and turned to look at Maria while blocking his body completely from view.
“Miss Marner, are you here to visit Kim?” Diana asked softly.
“I…” For a moment, fear gripped Maria’s heart as she hesitated before finally lowering her head. “I’m sorry.”
It was still that same sentence but with different feelings behind it now.
“Haven’t you already apologized? And I’ve said that this accident wasn’t really your fault,” Diana pursed her lips slightly as she spoke but couldn’t quite understand why Maria kept coming back every day just to apologize again and again.
Kim turned his head away from them both then lowered his eyelashes hiding his lonely expression completely.
“No, Mrs. Ragsdill, I…” Maria shook her head, sweat forming in her palms. “I’ve come to apologize to you.”
“To me? What do you have to apologize for?” Diana asked, her patience wearing thin.
Biting her lower lip gently, Maria suddenly spoke earnestly, “I regret what I promised you before.”
Diana turned her head and glanced at Kim on the bed before letting out a laugh. “So, what do you want to say?”
“I’ve figured it out. I have feelings for Kim,” Maria spoke almost without hesitation.
Upon hearing these words, Kim’s hand on the blanket tightened, but he didn’t turn his head.
“Oh?” Diana’s eyes flickered. “If you’re saying these things because you heard that Kim woke up and you want him to forgive you, then please leave.”
“No!” Maria, noticing the situation, even exclaimed anxiously.
“That’s not it! I don’t think like that… I know it might sound ridiculous for me to say these things now. I thought I felt guilt and unease in my heart, but it’s not true… I like him, I just couldn’t admit it to myself all this time…”
As Maria spoke, her voice became hoarse and even somewhat incoherent.
“I know it might be too late for me to say these things now, but I still want him to know… I’ve been so selfish…”
Maria held her arm tightly, taking deep breaths. After saying these words, she even found herself feeling ridiculous.
She said she didn’t want forgiveness, but was that really what she thought?
In her heart, she even greedily entertained the thought of standing by Kim’s side again.
Thinking this, Maria suddenly wanted to slap herself hard.
“I want to hear it from his own mouth, even if he rejects me in person,” Maria actually wanted to smile and pretend to be relieved, but somehow her eyes turned red.
She wanted to hear Kim’s voice again, to see him.
A trace of anger appeared on Diana’s face, and she couldn’t help but snort, “Miss Marner, don’t you think what you’re doing is selfish? Who do you think you are?”
If Diana hadn’t investigated Maria in advance, she might have truly suspected her ulterior motives.
Maria didn’t speak, standing quietly in place.
“So, does that mean you’re not going to keep your promise to me?” Diana asked once again.
The hospital room suddenly fell silent. Diana turned away, looking at Kim on the bed, and sighed helplessly.
“Is this what you wanted, after all?”
Maria thought that Diana was speaking to herself, and she looked up in confusion, only to find Kim on the bed already turned towards her.
Their gazes met in an instant, and Maria felt her heart skip a beat.
Her cheeks felt like they were burning.
Sensing the tension in the air, Diana’s eyes flickered, and she walked towards Maria.
“Mom…” Kim spoke almost instinctively.
Diana clenched her teeth inwardly, then turned around and looked at her son with a frustrated expression. She had hoped that he would hold out a little longer, but he had already given in.
In fact, ever since the day Diana first saw Maria, she had noticed some things, but she chose not to confront them. She was waiting, waiting for Maria to realize her true feelings.
With that in mind, Diana turned her head and glanced at her disappointing son. “What do you want from me? Can’t I go out for some fresh air?”
Kim hesitated for a moment, wanting to explain, but Diana ignored him and walked out.
Maria stood in place, feeling somewhat lost.
And Kim on the hospital bed had a somewhat elusive gaze, ultimately only able to look at the bandages on his hand.
A strange atmosphere spread throughout the room, causing Diana, who was watching from outside the door, to shake her head and take out her phone.
“Honey, Kim truly is your own son, just as stubborn as you.”
The person on the other end of the phone said something that made Diana sigh lightly.
“He said he let it go, but as soon as that girl came, he couldn’t wait to get out of bed and be by her side.”
“By the way, I’ve been feeling that there was something suspicious about this accident. Have you found out anything?”
As she spoke, Diana walked away.
Inside the hospital room, Maria twisted her clothes, her fingertips involuntarily pinching the palm of her hand, staring intently at her own toes.
“You…”
“Kim…”
Suddenly, both of them spoke at the same time, once again adding an odd tension to the already broken atmosphere.
Maria pursed her lips, staring at Kim’s face, and unexpectedly burst into tears.
This startled Kim, and he almost instinctively tried to get out of bed, but it caused pain in his wounds.
Seeing this, Maria hurriedly ran to Kim’s bedside. “Are you okay? Should I call the doctor?”
Kim pressed his lips together but didn’t say anything, just reluctantly shifting his gaze away.
Observing the expression of pain on his face, Maria cautiously asked, “Does your head still hurt? What did the doctor say? Will there be any lasting effects?”
However, her next words were completely blocked off, as Maria stared with astonishment at the face so close to her own. She blinked her eyes in disbelief.