I pressed my lips together, thinking Dennis was really smart. The driver was totally unreliable. I thought he’d at least call the cops.
I couldn’t help sighing. It seemed that we should never count on strangers.
He looked at me with weird eyes, “Why don’t you ask how Dennis’s doing?”
How could I put it?
Dennis blocked most of the acid for me, and he was no better than me but I didn’t know how to ask him.
I looked up at Leo and asked, “Leo, am I being selfish?”
He frowned and his voice was low, “He planned this for a long time. It’s not your fault. You can’t predict this. You have every right to resent Dennis, but Clara, we can’t deny that he’s done his best for you.”
Yeah, he did everything he could. He was a man, not a god, and he didn’t expect that Mario was still holding his hatred in his heart, or that he would dig such a big trap for us after all these years.
But this was all because of him, and these were the facts!
Leo sighed and said helplessly when he saw me frowning, “Clara, if you don’t put down a lot of things, your road will be more and more tiring.”
I looked up at him and asked, “What about you? Can you put Karina behind you and move on with her?”
He fell silent and frowned, “This is you we’re talking about.”
I nodded, “Yeah, it was me. I’m just talking to you in a different way. In fact, for many things, as long as they do not happen to us, we will feel indifferent, even feel tolerant. But when they happen to us, we will have a different attitude.”
He pursed his lips, probably finding me boring, and chose silence.
After the anesthesia, the burning pain of the face slowly came. As I lay in bed, I had a mental picture of what the scar would look like when it was healed.
Since I would not speak, they had to be silent. Knowing that Dennis was the reason I got hurt, they both looked pretty unhappy.
Fortunately, they also learned that Dennis had saved me from most of the damage, so they looked better now.
But I was injured after all, there had to be an explanation.
With Link’s power, according to the normal means of arrest, even if the Bennett family was powerful, there was nothing they could do. After all, they did hurt me and Dennis.
So, Mario was found guilty of wounding with intent. There was little suspense as he was thoroughly arrested.
Dennis was badly hurt. He was burned with acid, so much so that if he wasn’t careful, he’d be dead.
He spent a few days in intensive care before his condition improved.
When he was transferred to the general ward, he was still in bed and unable to move. The gauze on my face had been removed, there was no serious problem with my eyes, but the scar on my face was left.
It was on the left side of the face, around the eyes. The scar was not big, just a piece the size of the thumb, but because it was on my face, it was particularly harsh.
Because of that, even though the gauze had been removed, I posted a beauty sticker on it. It was recommended to me by the nurses at the hospital as a way to get rid of scars.
I figured if I was going to live, the scar on my face would matter.
Dennis hadn’t woken up yet. The doctor said he needed to rest. The burns were so extensive that they damaged some nerves.
I moved a stool and sat by his bed, watching him. Because the burn was on his back, he was lying on his stomach.
Looking at his still handsome profile, I wondered if he and I owed each other.
Maybe over the years, we couldn’t tell whether what we felt was love or what we owed each other.
Because we owed each other, so, we couldn’t leave each other.
Dennis woke up in the night. The doctor changed his medicine and said, “It hurts a lot after the anesthesia. The patient can’t get out of bed for the time being, remember to change his urine bag and wash his body to avoid discomfort.”
I nodded. I knew all that. This seemed to be the first time I had taken care of Dennis in years.
It seemed that he had seldom been ill before, and had never been seriously ill.
He was miserable, too, to have lived half his life in peace, and yet to be subjected to such an unaccountable change.
After the doctor left, the nurse carefully changed the medicine for his back. He still had fluid on the back of his hand. The nurse took care of it, looked at me and said, “The medicine for the wound needs to be changed every three hours, so you should call us.”
I nodded and lowered my voice to say thanks.
Not long after the nurse left, Dennis woke up. He lay prone on the bed, his thin lips moving slightly as if he had a hoarse voice.
I got up, poured water, and gave it to him through a straw. He shook his head and motioned for me to use the glass.
I obeyed. After drinking the water, he looked better. He looked at me, his mouth white. “I’m glad to see you’re okay.”
It was strange that the man’s first words when he woke up made me cry.
I squashed my voice and looked at him, “Dennis, you’re an asshole.”
He smiled and the corners of his mouth turned up. His face was haggard, but still handsome. “Don’t worry, it’s just a minor wound. I’ll be okay.”
I glared at him, my throat aching. “So, what’s a big wound?” He almost lost half his life, but he said it was a minor injury. He really didn’t take his life seriously.
He smiled and said, “I’m thirsty.” I really wanted to be a cruel wife and let him die of thirst, but when I looked at his eyes, I gave up.
I give him water. I felt sad and miserable. Tears hit the backs of my hands unconsciously.
He smiled and sighed when he saw that, “Why are you crying so much? Girls should not always cry, crying too long would make you ugly.”
I stared at him, my voice choking, “How can I be ugly when I’m already disfigured? Dennis, I don’t need you to sacrifice for me, and I don’t appreciate it.”
He smiled, “I don’t ask for your gratitude, you fool. Mario was after me. You’re innocent. Well, I’m the one who put you through this, so I deserve it. You don’t have to blame yourself.”
I lowered my head and said quietly, “That’s what I was thinking.”
He smiled and took my head. I tried to pull it back, but when I pushed, he hissed in pain. Apparently, he pulled the wound.
Never mind. I was fine with him holding my hand.
My hand was in his. Probably from the anesthesia, his hands were cold. For the first time, I felt his hands cold.
He said, “Clara, I’m sorry I don’t seem to be your hero. Every time you get hurt, I’m not there to save everything for you. This time, too. I thought I could shield you from all the damage, but no, you’re still hurt.”
He raised his hand and tried to touch the scar on my face, but he pulled it back because he was pulling so hard that it hurt.