Chapter 3

The hospital was in chaos.

Caesar almost roared as he grabbed the department head who had rushed over. "Save her! Save her first! Use the best medicine! The best doctors! Hurry!"

His eyes were bloodshot, his hands shook. All his fear and panic locked onto the person wheeled into the emergency room.

When things finally calmed down, a single thought slammed into his half-frozen mind.

Ivy!

His heart seized. He reached for his phone, trying to call his assistant and send him back to the crash site for her, but his fingers were stiff and clumsy.

Then, he turned and saw her. Ivy was stumbling toward him from the end of the hallway. She moved slowly, like every step was on broken glass.

The blood on her forehead had dried into dark streaks against her pale face as dust covered her clothes. She looked wrecked and weak.

Caesar felt a sharp pain in his heart as he almost ran to her, grabbing her arm. "Ivy. Are you okay? Where are you hurt? Just now, I..."

The words became jumbled. Seeing how white her face was, a late rush of panic hit him.

"Florence passed out! I didn't forget you! I didn't mean to!"

Ivy raised her eyes, but her gaze was empty. It landed on his face, but it was like she saw nothing at all.

She gently pulled her arm free and didn't answer.

That silence rattled Caesar even more. His eyes looked down without thinking, then they froze.

A long, ugly gash ripped Ivy's calf. The skin was peeled back in a gory fashion. A whole patch of bruises and scrapes spread around it, with blood and dirt mixed on her bruises. And just above it were older scars, pale against her fair skin.

He knew Ivy scarred easily. Even a small cut would leave a mark.

For a decade, he had protected her well. He had barely let her get hurt at all.

"Doctor! Come here, now!" Caesar's voice snapped as he dragged over a passing doctor. "Look at her! Use the best medicine and the best treatment! You can't leave a scar behind, you hear me?!"

He pressed a hand to Ivy's shoulder urgently, trying to steady her.

"Don't be afraid. It's alright.

Modern medicine has come a long way. It won't leave a scar."

Ivy looked at the fear and confusion in his eyes and felt dazed for a beat.

The door to the emergency room opened, and a nurse stuck her head out. "Mr. Shepherd! Ms. Lane is awake! She's emotionally very unstable and keeps crying. She says she wants to see you!"

Caesar was stunned and turned at once. The worry in his eyes shifted instantly.

The nurse added again in a whisper, "The cut on her cheek is deep and badly infected, with extensive tissue damage. Even after cleaning, it will be hard to heal normally… It may leave a permanent sunken scar and could even affect her facial muscles."

Florence's broken sobs carried from inside, raw and desperate.

Caesar's expression shifted repeatedly. He looked toward the ER, then whipped back to Ivy's leg. Turmoil was in his eyes.

Then, he walked over and stopped in front of Ivy like he had made up his mind. His voice came out dry and strained.

"Ivy... Florence's face is hurt. The doctor says she needs a small patch of healthy skin for a graft."

Ivy jerked her head up, staring at him as if she had misheard. She shook her head and took a step back.

"Just a small patch," Caesar said quickly.

He couldn't hold her gaze as his eyes kept sliding toward the emergency room, like Florence's sobs were pulling him by the collar.

"She's young. If her face is ruined, her life is over! Ivy..." He paused, and the next words seemed to scorch him, but he forced them out anyway. "Just consider it as you returning the favor. I've taken care of you for ten years, after all."

Returning the favor.

Those three words pierced through Ivy and tore her apart.

She stared at the man in front of her, so familiar but like a stranger at the same time. She saw the pain on his face as he worried for someone else. She saw her own torn leg, the wound he had just sworn would not leave a scar.

A bitter wave of hurt and despair rose in her chest and swallowed her whole.

She opened her mouth, but no voice came out.

In the end, she moved slowly and gave one small nod.

Caesar seemed to breathe out in relief. At the same time, he looked like something had caused him pain.

He turned his eyes away quickly and yelled at the doctor, "Quick! Arrange for the surgery! Use the best anesthetics! Don't let her feel any pain!"

Then, he rushed into the emergency room to comfort the crying girl.

Ivy was wheeled into the operating room. She closed her eyes, and a tear slipped down her cheek.

Before the anesthesia took effect, her last thought was that this was fine.

One patch of skin.

To give back the decade she owed him.

-

When Ivy woke up, she could still feel the effects of the anesthesia. Her head felt heavy and thick.

A deep ache pulsed in her leg.

She turned her head with effort.

In the hospital ward, Caesar sat on the couch across from her. However, his attention was fully on the slim figure in his arms.

Florence had gauze on her face. She was against his chest, sobbing quietly.

Caesar held her carefully, his fingers patting her back in a slow rhythm as he soothed her in a gentle voice. "Don't cry. It's over now. The graft went really well. There won't be a scar. I'm right here for you."

His voice was soft, and he was so focused. Florence was his entire world.

Ivy slowly looked away. Her fingers trembled as she lifted the edge of the blanket.

Thick layers of gauze wrapped her thigh.

At the edge, the exposed skin was swollen and red.

She had always been terrified of scars.

Now, she had one for real.

Her heart was in so much pain that she felt like a strip of flesh had been taken away.

But that was everything now.

One patch of skin.

A decade.

They were even now.