When Marie regained consciousness, she found herself lying in a hospital bed beneath the harsh glare of fluorescent lights.
Rylan was sitting beside her, his face pale with worry. The moment he saw her open her eyes, relief washed over his features.
"You're finally awake! Thank heaven you're all right. I would never have forgiven myself if anything had happened to you!"
He clutched her hand and showered her with apologies, repeatedly blaming himself for losing control of the steering wheel and failing to protect her.
Marie noticed a jagged wound on his forearm, with blood seeping through the dressing, and froze for a moment.
"Your arm..."
The sight brought back a sudden memory. In the split second before the truck struck their car, Rylan had thrown himself over her, shielding her with his own body.
"It's just a scratch. I'm fine, so don't worry about me," Rylan murmured, gently running a hand through her hair.
Then, as though remembering something important, he quickly got to his feet. "Just rest here for a minute. I'll get the doctor to give you a proper checkup."
Marie watched him leave, her emotions a tangled mess. Before she could make sense of her conflicting feelings, her phone buzzed with an incoming message from Coraline.
It contained a video.
The footage showed the private lounge where Rylan and his friends had gathered earlier. Coraline stood with her arms crossed, her posture radiating cold arrogance, while several of Rylan's friends practically groveled before her.
"Coraline, we're telling you the truth! You're the only person Rylan has ever cared about. Everything he did with Marie was just an act to trick her into handing in a blank exam paper for finals.
"That way, he could get rid of your biggest academic rival. So please, don't be mad at him anymore, okay?"
Coraline raised her chin and fixed Rylan with a suspicious look. "Is what they're saying true? You really don't have feelings for Marie? Everything between you two was just an act?"
"Of course," Rylan answered without hesitation.
A satisfied smirk crossed Coraline's lips, but her expression quickly turned cold again. "You think a few sweet words are enough to fool me? If you want me to believe you, you'll have to prove it."
She paused before making her demand. "I want you to stage an accident. Arrange for a semi-truck, make it look like the brakes have failed, and have it swerve straight into Marie. Do you have the guts to do that?"
When Rylan remained silent, she made a show of walking away. "Forget about it then. I don't waste my time on spineless men."
"Fine," Rylan finally said. "If that's what you want, I'll do it."
The video ended.
Marie's phone slipped from her trembling fingers and crashed to the floor.
The entire accident had been orchestrated by Rylan from the beginning. He'd agreed to put her life at risk simply to win Coraline's favor.
Yet one question continued to haunt her.
When the truck had crashed into their car, Rylan's goal should already have been achieved. So, why had he risked his own life to shield her?
Before she could find an answer, the sound of voices drifted in from the hallway outside her room. It was Rylan speaking with his friends.
"Man, that rescue act was pure genius!"
"No kidding! You killed two birds with one stone. You made Coraline happy by giving her what she wanted, and at the same time, you made yourself look like Marie's knight in shining armor!"
Marie's chest tightened with pain. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by grief, despair, and a crushing sense of betrayal.
Until that moment, she'd clung to a tiny sliver of hope that some remnant of conscience had compelled him to save her.
Now even that last hope had been shattered. Even his apparent sacrifice had been calculated to deceive her.
"What a scheming bastard," she thought bitterly. "How can someone be so heartless?"
Tears slipped silently down her cheeks. She tried desperately to wipe them away, but the sobs kept coming.
Still, there was one thing she could be grateful for: she'd discovered his true nature before it was too late. Whatever affection she'd once felt for Rylan was gone. She would never give him another chance to deceive her.
...
Over the next few days, Rylan stayed by Marie's side, taking care of her every need.
Although his own arm was bandaged and the doctors repeatedly urged him to rest, he refused to leave her hospital room.
Instead, he remained at her bedside around the clock, feeding her soup, peeling fruit for her, and carefully tucking her blankets around her.
His attentiveness was so constant that even the nurse couldn't help commenting enviously, "Your boyfriend takes such good care of you. You're a lucky girl."
Marie felt no happiness at the remark because she knew that every tender gesture was part of the same elaborate deception.
One day, Rylan leaned over her bed and studied her face.
"You look pretty pale. Are you still feeling sick?"
As he reached out to touch her, Marie instinctively tried to pull away. In doing so, she accidentally strained the wound on her back, sending a sharp, burning pain through her body.
"What's wrong?"
Rylan reached over and pulled down the collar of her hospital gown to see what had hurt her. The moment he caught sight of the thick layers of medical gauze wrapped around her upper back, he froze.
His voice rose in shock. "What happened to your back? Did you... have your tattoo removed?"
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