Chapter 4

[Isabella's POV]

The car suddenly shot forward in a zigzag pattern, swerving left and right. My heart immediately leaped into my throat.

I reached out to grab control of the steering wheel, but Claudia immediately shoved me aside.

"Let go if you don't want us to die!" I yelled at her.

Claudia didn't let go. On the contrary, she pressed down harder on the gas pedal until it hit the floor.

The massive crash sounded at the exact same time I heard Vincenzo's scream.

"Isabella!"

I endured the excruciating pain in my legs and tried my best to call out to him, "Vincenzo… I-I'm here…"

There was a loud scuffling sound, and everything sounded like noise. However, nobody came to save me even after a long while. I tried my best to open my eyes. My vision was blurry from the blood in my eyes, but I could still see that my car was empty, save for myself.

The person who had screamed my name earlier hadn't come to save me.

As my consciousness gradually faded away, I found myself falling into a dream.

I dreamed about the time when Vincenzo flew all the way to Caraville while he was still pursuing me.

Back then, my motorsports club refused to release me from the team, and he got so anxious that he made a bet with my manager, demanding that I be allowed to go home with him if he won the race.

I sat in the front passenger seat as his navigator, but we still ran into an accident. He lost control of the speed while making a sharp turn, and the car broke through the guardrail and rolled all the way down the hill.

In the catastrophe, Vincenzo threw his arms around me and kept me safe in his hold as we were thrown around in the car, not caring that he was covered in bloody scrapes and cuts. The car ultimately rolled to a stop at the edge of the cliff, nearly falling off.

Then, he used whatever strength he had left and threw me out of the car.

However, he slid halfway out of the wrecked car with the other half of his body dangling off the cliff. He had nearly fallen to his death.

When the rescue team finally hauled him back up, he lay in my arms weakly, mumbling in his half-conscious state that he was bringing me home no matter what.

"Isabella… They're only trying to squeeze out every penny they can from you… I just want you to be safe… I will always… protect you… Come back with me, please…"

I was just about to agree to him when the scene suddenly began to warp out of shape.

I woke up with a start and opened my eyes, realizing that I was now at the hospital.

The person next to my bed immediately grasped my hand. "Isabella! You're awake!"

The nurse, who was in the midst of changing my bandages, smiled as well. "You're finally awake. Mr. Cursley here has been keeping you company all day and night, and he nearly cried his eyes out. We all think that you're so lucky to be his little sister."

I was confused. "Little sister?"

"Yeah. Aren't you Mr. Cursley's younger sister?" the nurse asked as she put the old bandages away. "Mrs. Cursley even came to visit you this afternoon, and she cried so hard the entire time. She also told us to inform her immediately as soon as you woke up."

The glass in Vincenzo's hand suddenly shattered with a loud clink. He then shot the nurse a glare.

The nurse got a huge shock and immediately shut up. Then, she left.

I also jumped at the sudden sharp sound. The fragmented memories from just before I passed out fell into place.

Vincenzo had carried Claudia out of the car and walked away, leaving me behind as I cried for his help. He had abandoned me just like that.

I looked up at Vincenzo. He couldn't hide the panic in his eyes.

The corners of my lips lifted slightly. Then, I said in a hoarse voice, "Care to explain?"

Vincenzo went still for a second. Then, he grabbed my hands in a fluster. "It's not like that, Isabella. It's just a misunderstanding. Claudia was in very bad shape then. That's why I—"

"Okay. I believe you," I said, interrupting him. However, my voice was completely void of emotion.

The rest of his words died in his throat.

Vincenzo thought that I would cry and scream or make a huge fuss, demanding to know why he chose to save Claudia before saving me and why he allowed other people to think that I was his sister while Claudia was his wife.

However, I did none of that. I was as calm as a corpse.

He opened his mouth to say something. I could see that his eyes were filled with guilt.

Instead, I closed my eyes. "I'm tired."

He held my hand for a long time. Finally, he said, "Isabella, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have let her drive. I've already told her off for that. If you're still angry, then you can yell at me or hit me all you like. Don't keep it bottled up inside."

I withdrew my hand from his and said emotionlessly once more, "I'm really tired."

Vincenzo panicked. The elusive feeling of loss felt like a black hole that was sucking him in. Yet before he could apologize to me again, the attending doctor came in and politely asked him to leave. And so he did, though very reluctantly.

After he finally left, my eyes turned red. But this time, I had no more tears left to cry. Maybe my feelings for him had died from the moment I realized he'd been lying to me.

I wiped the corner of my eyes and decided to go back to sleep. I was going to leave him after I woke up.

Just as I had closed my eyes, however, there was a commotion from the ward next to mine.

"Why are you still crying?" a woman shouted. "The lady beside is a racecar driver who broke both her legs and can't even drive anymore, and yet, she didn't even cry a single tear! All you did was twist an ankle! So why are you even crying?"