Chapter 4 They Begged Me to Save Her

Not long after they left, I fished my phone out from among the broken glass scattered across the floor and called an ambulance.

By the time I was wheeled into the emergency room alone due to excessive blood loss, I happened to pass Elise, who was surrounded by everyone.

Drake carried her straight toward the doctor, heedless of everything around him. "Doctor, please save her! She got upset and slit her wrists! She needs a blood transfusion immediately!"

The doctor anxiously shoved him aside and said, "Move! My patient is seriously injured too! Can't you see that?"

Drake stumbled backward from the force of the shove and instinctively looked in the direction the doctor was heading. The instant he saw me, his entire body visibly froze.

Mom reacted before he did. The moment she saw me, she rushed toward me and slapped me across the face.

"Layla! How dare you leak Elise's nude photos just to get revenge on her? How did I ever give birth to someone as vicious as you? If something really happens to Elise, do you expect me to spend the rest of my life living with the guilt of knowing my own daughter destroyed someone else's life?"

The slap knocked my head to one side, but my expression remained numb and empty.

I didn't react at all.

Seeing me remain completely motionless, Mom finally broke down. By the end, her voice was almost choked with sobs.

"Elise has an extremely rare blood type. Right now, you're the only person in the entire city whose blood type is compatible with hers. I'm begging you as your mother. Please give her your blood."

The doctor beside us immediately interrupted in a grave voice, "Absolutely not! In her current condition, she cannot donate blood. She has a severe clotting disorder. She herself is already—"

A heavy thud cut him off.

Drake's knees slammed against the floor.

"Layla, please save Elise." He raised his head and looked at me. In his eyes was a humility I had never seen before. "If you help her this once, I swear I'll make things between us the way they used to be."

I stared at him blankly. Suddenly, my entire world seemed to move in slow motion.

I watched my mother, who had always carried herself with dignity, cover her mouth as she sobbed uncontrollably before dropping to her knees in front of me. Then, I watched Andy get pulled down onto his knees right after her, desperately clutching my sleeve and begging at the top of his lungs.

They seemed to be crying and shouting something, but I couldn't hear them anymore.

When it came down to choosing between two people, the three people who had once been closest to me in this world were now joining forces to force me toward death.

A tear slipped from the corner of my eye. And finally, I heard myself say, "Okay."

…

Almost the moment the two stretchers were wheeled into the emergency room at the same time, Drake collapsed weakly to the floor.

He had never been this panicked before. At that moment, the thought of the wound on Layla's head made his heart tighten.

For the first time, fear crept into his heart.

Seeing him like this, Mom and Andy couldn't help but move closer, looking worried as well.

Mom frowned and murmured as though trying to convince herself, "Layla's wound only looked frightening. She should be okay, right?"

Andy lowered his head and twisted his fingers together, his voice muffled as he said, "If Mommy really saves Aunt Elise, I'm going to apologize to her as soon as she comes out."

Drake said nothing. There was only one thought left in his mind.

Before the emergency blood supply arrived, Layla had to be okay. Nothing could happen to her.

He silently vowed that if Layla came through this safely, he would keep his word. From now on, he would keep his distance from Elise, and he and Layla would go back to the way they used to be.

His thoughts unconsciously drifted further away. Suddenly, he remembered how Layla had asked several times before if they could go to the amusement park. But every single time, he had dismissed the idea as childish and flatly refused.

This time, he decided that the three of them had to go together once she came out.

Just then, the doors to the emergency room opened.

A doctor walked out, holding a sheet of paper and a pen.

He held them out to Drake.

The instant Drake saw what was written on that piece of paper, his entire body went rigid. His vision went black, and it was as though every sound in the world had suddenly disappeared.