Chapter 9

"Ah!"

Cecelia lost her balance without warning as the wooden platform collapsed. Her pupils narrowed. In that split second, her only thought wasn't to protect herself, but to protect the painting.

With the last of her strength, she threw her weight against the scaffolding, pushing it away from the ancient painting.

Crash!

The scaffolding shook violently, then crashed to the ground along with Cecelia from several feet up. A scaffold slammed into her chest and shoulder as she heard her bones crack. A wave of pain swept over her.

Blood surged in her throat and spilled uncontrollably from the corner of her mouth. The loud crash brought people running, and darkness swallowed Cecelia completely.

-

It was the hospital again. It was the same blinding white lights, the same stinging smell from the disinfectant.

Cecelia struggled to open her heavy eyelids, as if surfacing from the floor of an icy ocean. Every part of her body screamed with pain. Each breath caused her tearing agony.

She rolled her eyes; through the blur, she saw Francis's worried, exhausted face and Melody crying beside him.

"Celia, are you awake? How do you feel?" Francis's voice trembled just a little.

Cecelia's gaze went past him and locked onto Melody's tearful face.

"What did you do?" Every word from Cecelia tasted like blood bubbling from inside of her.

"How can you accuse me like that?" Melody cried louder, as if she had been wronged. "I know you hate me…but I only wanted to apologize for what happened on the ship. Fran, you have to believe me…"

Tears ran down her carefully made-up face, making her look pitiful and fragile.

Francis looked at Cecelia lying on the bed, her breath unstable. Then, he looked at Melody sobbing innocently beside him.

Guilt flickered in his eyes. He hesitated, but in the end, Melody's tears washed everything else away. He pulled the trembling Melody into his arms, then spoke in a low voice to Cecelia.

"Celia, I know you're upset, but you can't just accuse Melody because you don't like her. She said she came to apologize. This was just an accident… The equipment wasn't secured properly. That's all."

Francis paused, eyes lingering on Cecelia's pale face and immobilized shoulder, his brow furrowed, voice softening a bit.

"Don't overthink things. Focus on getting better. I'll pay you triple for the painting you lost."

His words were like knives, stabbing straight into Cecelia's dying heart.

He had watched her bleed and nearly died, but still chose to protect her father's killer. All he offered was a cold "I'll pay you back."

To him, everything she believed in, her faith, and even her life, was something that could be measured in money. Meanwhile, Melody's tears would always be the only thing he cared about and worthy of protecting.

Cecelia slowly closed her eyes, refusing to look at the pair holding each other. Silence drowned out every word, shutting out this suffocating world.

Good.

Everything could…finally…

End.

-

The next morning…

Sunlight streamed through the blinds as Francis carried in a homemade breakfast, quietly pushing open the hospital room door. He had gotten up early to make Cecelia's favorite breakfast and some sides.

"Celia?" He walked softly to the bed, his voice low and gentle. "I… I brought you breakfast. It's…"

He pulled back the curtain and froze mid-sentence.

On the bed, the sheets were cold.

There was no one there.