Watch Out, I'm Radioactive

Frederick Burke's grip made the skin on my arm ache, but I didn't pull away. As I tried to stand, a wave of dizziness hit me. I was about to collapse when Frederick caught me, steadying me in his arms. "You've gotten so thin. Didn't I have food sent to you every week?" he asked. But in truth, no one had brought me a single thing during the five months I had been stranded in this godforsaken wilderness. To survive, I had eaten worms, bugs, and even rotting animal carcasses. Compared to Colette Reeves, standing by Frederick's side, I was unrecognizable. I looked like a homeless woman, my hair a tangled mess.Colette was his secretary and the one in charge of delivering my food. When Frederick turned to her, she bit her lip and put on a wounded expression, saying, "Ana, I know you've never liked me, but you can't accuse me just because you're upset Freddie left you out here. "I spent so much time every week picking out food for you. Look! I even kept the receipts."Having sa

Colette bit her lip and lowered her gaze, masking the jealousy flickering in her eyes. Then, she obediently opened the car's back door. Frederick had originally planned to take me to the hospital. But out of nowhere, Colette piped up from the back seat, "Ana, when I fell out the window five months ago, I was bleeding from the head, too. I still get headaches now and then. If you're feeling unwell, make sure you tell the doctor everything."In an instant, Frederick's expression turned cold. He slammed his hand against the steering wheel before making a U-turn. "Anastasia, if it weren't for Colette's mercy, you'd already be behind bars!" he snapped. "I don't think you need to go to the hospital anymore. "She's been dealing with headaches for five months because of you. So, to make things fair, you should suffer through five months of pain as penance."…In no time, we pulled into the driveway.After five months away, the house no longer felt like mine. The yard I had poured m

The moment the specialist finished speaking, I heard Frederick erupt in fury. He kicked over the chair and grabbed the doctor by the collar, his anger boiling over. "What the hell do you mean by that? How could Anastasia be dying?" he shouted. "I've been feeding her and keeping her safe in the mountains for five months! There's no way she's on the brink of death!"The specialist couldn't get a word out—Frederick's grip was too tight.In the heat of the moment, Colette stepped in to calm him down. "Freddie, someone strong enough to hit me won't suddenly be on their deathbed. Do you think Ana is teaming up with this fraud of a doctor to lie to you?"She slashed my face and didn't want to apologize. Maybe that's why she's pretending to be seriously ill."Then, she turned to me. "Oh, Ana, you're awake! It's okay. You don't have to apologize if you don't want to. I won't hold it against you. Just like five months ago, when you pushed me out the window. As long as you're happy, I'm fin

The train roared past behind Frederick. After sprinting at full speed, his heart thundered in his chest. It wasn't until he saw me, alive and unscathed, in his arms that he finally began to calm down.But as the fear faded, fury took its place. "Anastasia Sherman! Have you lost your mind?" he shouted. "If someone hadn't told me you were here, you'd be lying dead on these tracks—just like your parents! Do you even realize that?"He scolded me the way he always did. Only this time, I didn't argue. I didn't even try to break free. One of his bodyguards couldn't help but speak up, "Mr. Burke… Something's wrong with Mrs. Burke."Frederick froze, then looked down. That was when he noticed how thin I had become. I was barely recognizable. My once-glossy hair had turned dull and brittle. Even with my eyes closed, there was something deathly about the way I looked."Anastasia?" he called, then louder. "Anastasia!" An inexplicable dread gripped him. He lifted me slightly and shook

Colette was in critical condition, too. After Frederick's brutal assault, she had been revived that same day. However, her body couldn't withstand the radiation. It wasn't long before she began bleeding spontaneously. Her doctor merely shook his head. By then, her cells had stopped regenerating. But unlike me, Colette remained conscious through it all. …One day, as Frederick walked past Colette's hospital room, he heard a heated argument coming from inside. He recognized the other voice immediately. It was the family doctor he had hired at an outrageous pay. "Colette, you told me the radiation was only up in the mountains!" the man yelled. "Then why the hell am I covered in black patches? How did I get exposed?"Colette shot back, "I don't know! You're my cousin. Why would I ever want to hurt you?"From outside the door, Frederick heard a glass shatter on the floor, followed by the doctor's furious shout."If we weren't related, I never would've covered for you five mont