Devouring Love in the Raging Fire

The photo showed Ernest carefully lowering his head, tending to Sydney's tiny fingernail-sized cut, applying iodine and placing a bandage.

Ivana found it a bit of an eyesore. Ernest had never done any of that for her. At most, he'd buy her some medicine and a bandage and back then, she had been unbelievably moved.

Once, she clung to Ernest, asking him to apply the medicine for her. But he said he couldn't because he was afraid of blood.

Now that she thought about it, that excuse had been far too obvious. A man who could sever someone's finger without blinking couldn't possibly be afraid of blood.

It was just that, at the time, Ivana hadn't been able to see through it. The difference in treatment between the real one and the stand-in, that was just how it was, Ivana told herself.

She stared at the photo for a moment. Hmm, it didn't bother her anymore. She even liked the post.

That night was particularly quiet. Only her phone buzzed constantly with cloud syncs and activity on her feed. Ivana worked late into the night. The nurse scolded her multiple times before she finally went to sleep.

By then, all her paperwork was filled out, her calls were made and all that was left was waiting for her visa.

The next day, Ivana lazily woke up when the sun was already high in the sky.

The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Sydney placing a bouquet of lilies on her bedside table, with a fruit basket on the chair. Before Ivana could say a word, she started sneezing.

Covering her nose and mouth, she called out, "Nurse! Nurse! Get these flowers out of here! Throw them away! Open the windows! Air it out!"

The nurse, naturally obedient to her employer, quickly removed the flowers and opened the windows to let fresh air in.

Sydney blinked her big, innocent eyes at Ernest with a pitiful expression, "Ernest …"

"Ivana! Sydney came to see you out of kindness and even brought flowers! You've gone too far. She didn't cause you to lose your toe!" Ernest shielded Sydney behind him.

Ivana glanced at her heavily bandaged foot and almost laughed. Wasn't it ridiculous? Did Ernest think someone who could barely walk could harm Sydney?

Ernest turned and stepped out of the room, grabbing the flowers left in the hallway and shoving them back into Ivana's arms.

"Apologize to Sydney!" he commanded.

Ivana's face was buried in the lilies. Her severe pollen allergy made her feel suffocated.

Ernest, seeing her silent, pushed the lilies against her chest again.

Her anger made her breathe harder and the pollen triggered even worse reactions. Ivana began to struggle to breathe. She reached out, gripping the call button on the bed, squeezing it so tightly her hand turned white.

"Apologize! Do you hear me?" Ernest seemed oblivious to Ivana's pale face and bluish lips. He kept pressing the lilies against her, demanding an apology.

By the time the nurse rushed in, Ivana was already struggling for air, unable to say a word.

The experienced nurse immediately saw what was wrong. She shoved Ernest aside, tossing the flowers out of the room, "Quick! Call the doctor! Move! Make way!"

"Who's the family member?" The doctor moved quickly, oxygen mask on, blankets adjusted, pupils checked …

Ernest instinctively responded, "I am."

A piece of paper was stuffed into his hands, "She's in anaphylactic shock, we're resuscitating her. Sign it!"

Ernest didn't even read the paper. He quickly signed, an inexplicable sense of panic rising within him.

As the adrenaline was administered, Ivana slowly regained consciousness.

The doctor gave a few instructions to the nurse before frowning at Ernest, "As her family member, you didn't know she was allergic to lilies? Severe allergies can lead to shock! What kind of family member are you?"

Ivana, now able to breathe again, glanced at Ernest before closing her eyes and turning her back to him. She didn't want to see him or talk to him right now, she was utterly drained.