Chapter 3

When Lucian woke again, the sound of an argument outside the door drifted into his ears.

"Vincent, why did you have someone loosen the screws on the ceiling fan? Do you have any idea how much blood Lucian lost after it fell on him?

"But Bianca, you were supposed to marry me. You do not love Lucian at all. I did nothing wrong."

After a long silence, Bianca finally softened her tone as helplessness filled her eyes.

"Enough. You were only jealous and went about it the wrong way. There will not be a next time. I will tell Lucian and his parents that it was an accident."

Lucian’s heart clenched as he lay in the hospital bed, and he gave a bitter smile.

It was just as in his previous life. Even though he was the victim, Bianca chose to protect Vincent.

Back then, even when Lucian accidentally knocked over an elderly woman, Bianca sternly scolded him and ordered him to apologize and make amends.

Yet when Vincent hurt him and actually did something wrong, she chose to cover for him instead.

That was the difference between being loved and being unloved.

After a long while, Bianca walked into the room.

Her gaze fell upon Lucian’s head, wrapped in bandages, and a trace of heartache flashed across her eyes.

"Lucian, I am glad you are awake. I was far away from you at the time, so I thought I should protect Vincent first and then come save you. What happened this time was an accident. Next time, I will not..."

Lucian forced a stiff smile as he watched her pretend to show concern.

"Bianca, do you really take me for a fool? It was Vincent who did it on purpose."

"Lucian, how can you say that? He is jealous because I am marrying you. You are the only man I will ever marry. You do not have to make such a big deal out of something so small. I am doing this for your own good."

Lucian let out a quiet laugh. He put on a bitter, self-mocking smile.

Making a big deal out of it. Doing this for his own good.

He was the one who had been wronged all along.

He painfully turned his face away, no longer sparing Bianca even a glance.

For the next three days, Bianca treated him with the utmost care.

Even when she brought him the best patient meals from the state-run restaurant and bought him the latest fashionable color camera, he kept a cold expression on his face.

On the fourth day, Bianca finally lost her patience and tossed aside the wrung-out towel in her hand.

"Lucian, there is a limit to how angry you can be. I have been putting up with your cold attitude for days. Are you seriously going to keep throwing a tantrum?"

Lucian paid no attention to Bianca’s expression and walked out of the hospital room alone.

The first thing he did was hand the police the evidence that Vincent tampered with the ceiling fan.

When he returned home, he learned that his father had been reported and dismissed from his position.

"Lucian, apparently Vincent offended someone at work, and someone who already had a grudge against your father took the opportunity to report him for abusing his authority. How could this happen?"

Lucian’s heart tightened when he saw his mother with tears in her eyes.

When he rushed to the inspection office, he saw Bianca talking to the investigators.

He instinctively stepped forward, wanting to ask why she was helping his family. Then he heard words that made the blood in his veins run cold.

"You handled this beautifully. After all, Vincent can only have better opportunities if Mr. Chase loses his position."

The investigator hesitated for a moment. "Ms. Rose, you are going to be his future daughter-in-law. Are you not afraid of that..."

Bianca gave a soft scoff, her voice casual and unconcerned.

"Lucian will not find out. Besides, Mr. Chase’s dismissal is a warning. Maybe after this, he will finally learn not to throw tantrums whenever he does not get his way."

Hidden in the shadows, Lucian’s face went pale, and cold sweat broke out across his back.

He never imagined that his father lost his job because of him.

The next day, Lucian saw his father lying there, barely conscious after being tormented by everything that happened. He lowered his head in guilt.

"Dad, I am sorry. This is my fault."

His father forced a smile. "Lucian, I am fine. As long as you are okay, that is all that matters."

Lucian nodded with difficulty. When he rushed his father to the clinic for treatment, he was told that the special medication needed to prevent permanent paralysis was no longer available.

"Mr. Lucian, that medication is manufactured by the Rose family’s factory. We cannot get it without Ms. Rose’s authorization."

Lucian’s heart sank. He immediately ran to Bianca’s office. No one was there.

Even her house was empty.

A crushing sense of helplessness washed over him.

Vincent approached, holding the key to the factory warehouse.

"I heard you are looking for some special medication, are you not? Too bad. Bianca went all the way to the capital to buy me a color TV. By the time she gets back, your father will probably already be permanently disabled."

"You!" Lucian bit down so hard on his lip that it split and filled his mouth with blood.

Bianca hated traveling far from home. Yet she was willing to make the long trip to the capital for Vincent.

She truly did not care whether his father lived or died.

Humiliated, Lucian lowered his head. "Please give me the medicine. I was wrong."

Vincent gave him a contemptuous smile. "I never thought I would see the day you had to beg someone. You stole Bianca from me, and that still bothers me.

"How about this? You help me find the watch I dropped into the pile of garbage in the boiler room, and I will give you the medicine."