When the Wind Brought Clarity

Selena made her way to the hospital alone. When the nurse saw her injuries, she exclaimed, "Why are you so badly injured? Where's your family? Did you come alone?"

Selena nodded lightly in response. She had been afraid of pain since young, yet at that moment, not a single tear was shed.

Her tears had long since run dry.

After her injuries were tended to, Selena walked past a hospital room on her way out. When she heard familiar voices coming from inside, she couldn't help but glance inside.

Lucine was seated on the hospital bed, with Martha, Liam, and Zachary surrounding her.

Martha was busily peeling an apple, while the usually stern-faced Liam had tears in his eyes. As for Zachary, he was tightly gripping Lucine's hand, concern starkly written across his face.

A harmonious atmosphere surrounded them, and the heartwarming sight made Selena feel like an outsider.

Just as she was about to leave, the nurse making her rounds spoke up, catching the attention of the occupants of the room.

"Who are you? Are you here to visit a patient?"

Everyone in the room turned to look in the direction of the door. Upon spotting Selena, Zachary instantly let go of Lucine's hand.

Lucine's brow furrowed in response, a displeased look crossing her face, but it was gone in an instant. When she noticed the wounds on Selena, her eyes gleamed slyly.

"Selena, why didn't you come in since you're already here? Don't worry, I don't blame you."

The moment those words left her lips, not just everyone in the room, but even Selena was frozen to the spot in surprise.

Zachary frowned slightly and asked, "Lucy, what do you mean by that?"

Lucine pretended to shoot Selena a wary glance before hurriedly waving her hands. "I-It's nothing."

Liam immediately said sternly, "I'm here, so you don't need to be scared."

Pursing her lips, Lucine hesitated briefly before answering, "I took a liking to a necklace at the mall today, and Zach gifted it to me, which upset Selena. Soon after that, the mall's roof collapsed. I shoved Zach away and was originally able to escape, but Selena dragged me back…"

She trailed off at the end, but there was no need to continue speaking. The aftermath of that was evident.

Liam slammed his hand down on the table, the sheer force causing water to spill out of the glass on it.

"Selena Yane, is it that impossible for you to accept your younger sister? You're not the only daughter of the Yane family!"

Zachary jumped up from his seat and forcefully yanked Selena into the room.

The harsh movement tugged at Selena's injuries, and she bit her lip tightly at the pain.

"Selena, apologize to Lucy!"

Their gazes locked, and that was when Zachary noticed the utterly repulsed look in her eyes. It was something he had never seen in her before.

His heart skipped a beat, but he still ordered, "You've done something wrong, so it's only right that you apologize!"

Selena jerked her arm out of his grip, saying, "Why should I apologize for what I didn't do?"

Hearing that, Liam stepped forward and slapped Selena on the left cheek. The force of the blow was so powerful that Selena had to support herself with the end of the bed to remain standing.

"It seems I've been too lenient all these years and spoiled you too much that you've become this arrogant! If I had known you would turn out like this, I wouldn't have allowed you to be born back then! Why couldn't it have been you who went missing?"

Selena simply found the way Liam was treating her like his worst enemy utterly laughable.

Wiping the blood trickling from the corner of her lips, she retorted, "I wish I had been the one to go missing."

With that said, Selena left the room without looking back.

It was only then that Zachary noticed the wounds on Selena's body and the blood seeping through the bandages. The bright red was a particularly jarring sight.

He moved to chase after her, but was tugged back by Lucine grabbing his hand.

Her brow was tightly furrowed, and a pained grimace crossed her face as she said, "Zach, my leg hurts."

This one sentence successfully caused Zachary to stop in his tracks. Turning around, he continued to comfort Lucine. "Be good now. The doctor has already seen to your leg, so it'll stop hurting in a bit."

After that, he turned to gaze in the direction Selena had left, an indecipherable look in his eyes.