The next day, at six in the morning, Mellisa finally opened her eyes.
She awoke from the constant pain after the effects of last night's anesthetic had worn off. The stab wounds on her back felt like they had been burned by fire, and her waist and stomach ached as well.
Mellisa was breathing hard while trying to move her numb fingers. Her consciousness slowly began to return. She could hear the dripping sound of the IV sac as well as the sound of the nearby vital signs.
When Mellisa started moving, the person sitting next to her bed woke up. She slowly turned her head and her eyes widened as she recognized that person.
It seemed that even staying up all night couldn't ruin Leonard's good looks. The man had watched her all night, with only a few hours of sleep. On the bedside table, there was a basin of water and a damp cloth. Next to it was a glass of water that had been prepared for her when she woke up.
Mellisa met Leonard's eyes. The man's eyes were red from lack of sleep, yet his gaze was filled with great relief. Mellisa opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. Her throat felt like it had just swallowed sand.
Leonard was still wearing his trousers and shirt yesterday. He glanced at Mellisa who had just opened her eyes. Then the man leaned over and whispered in Mellisa's ear, "Does your wound hurt?"
Leonard's breath felt warm on Mellisa's neck and made the woman's body tremble. she couldn't make a sound, so she frowned and blinked.
"It hurts so much!" Mellisa conveyed through her gaze.
Actually, Leonard had given Mellisa first aid after he saved her from the lake. That should be enough to ease the pain. But Mellisa had stood up and kicked Leila last night, which caused the wound on her back to open again. After that, Mellisa could barely remember what happened next.
Leonard stretched out his large palm to grab Mellisa's forehead. After checking the woman's temperature, Leonard took out a straw from the bedside table drawer and put it in a glass.
"Drink water first, I'll have the nurse add pain medication for you," Leonard ordered.
Mellisa moved her head which felt heavy and gently bit the straw. She slowly took a sip, yet she was completely helpless and could only sip little by little. Even so, Leonard waited patiently for Mellisa to release the straw from her mouth.
"Are you sure you only drank that much?" Leonard glanced at the glass in his hand, which had only decreased in content by a quarter. "Your throat must be very dry, right?"
Mellisa slowly shook her head, but her eyes were full of fatigue. Instead of drinking, she still wanted to sleep. However, her body was so sore that she could not sleep well.
Leonard put down the water glass, then he touched Mellisa's cheek. As if that wasn't enough, he also leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Wait here like a good girl, I'll be right back."
After saying that, Leonard got up and left the ward with a calm face. On the other hand, Mellisa's cheeks were slightly flushed as she laid herself back on the bed. She was probably half unconscious last night, but she could still clearly hear Leonard's words.
If Mellisa could speak this time, she would have shouted, "Who promised to be your future wife, huh?!"
The man's words last night were too domineering and too... deceptive.
******
Within half an hour, everyone resting in the other wards immediately bursted into Mellisa's room.
Lilia was the first to hear the news about Mellisa from Leonard. She immediately ran to the next ward regardless of her appearance. When Lilia entered the door, she immediately ran over to Mellisa's side. Lilia's eyes were red and teary.
Lilia's voice was caught in her throat when she saw Mellisa smile weakly at her. She opened and closed her mouth several times before finally saying, "Sister Mel..."
When she called out Mellisa's name, a single tear fell down her cheek. Lilia hurriedly looked away and rubbed her eyes.
When Mellisa saw her sister crying, her eyes felt hot. She blinked to wipe away the tears. "Don't cry for me!" Mellisa said in a weak voice. "I'm still alive, see?"
Lilia nodded, but her tears continued to flow, causing her to repeatedly rub her eyes.
In the midst of their touching reunion, the door suddenly swung open. The door was pushed with such force that the doorknob slammed into the wall, causing everyone's eardrums to vibrate.
Mellisa frowned when she heard the commotion. Then she slowly moved her gaze towards the door. The figure standing in the doorway stunned Mellisa. She looked at Mike, who was still wearing the tuxedo he wore last night.
The two's gazes met for a moment. Mellisa's gaze was filled with shock, while Mike's eyes trembled when he saw the woman wake up.
After a while, a faint smile graced Mellisa's lips. The woman opened her mouth and called Mike's name in a voice she thought she would never hear again after five years.
"Mike... you've become really tall now," Mellisa said warmly.
Mike stood rooted in the doorway, blinking. He could see Mellisa's smiling figure and heard the woman's voice calling his name again. Mike kept wondering if this was reality or just a dream. But the pungent smell of disinfectant and the pain when he clenched his fists tightly told Mike that this was all real.
He took his eyes off Mellisa for a moment and took a deep breath. Then he looked back at the woman, as if testing whether Mellisa would disappear. Volatile emotions rushed to fill Mike's chest at that moment. There was joy, excitement, impatience, worry, and many other emotions that he could not describe.
All of those emotions were so intense that Mike couldn't control them. In the next second, the man turned around and fled the ward.
"Eh?" Lilia and Mellisa were both surprised when Mike suddenly ran away.
Mike stood in the corridor and hit the wall with his fist. Then he covered his eyes with one hand. A few tears flowed between his fingers.
Mellisa had really opened her eyes. And the woman called out his name in a warm voice, as if they had not been apart for five years.
Mike didn't want Mellisa to see his pathetic figure, but somehow he couldn't hold back his tears. He leaned his forehead against the wall and covered his head with one arm.
Even Mike himself didn't realize that he had been suppressing his emotions for too long. That's why when he heard Mellisa call his name, all those emotions exploded out.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed through the empty corridor. Mike thought it was his older brother. He rubbed his eyes and straightened up. But when he looked up, he met the eyes of the man he didn't want to meet the most right now.
Mike was surprised and sharply turned his body around. He hurriedly rubbed his eyes even rougher, trying to erase all traces of his tears. He couldn't let himself look so fragile in front of other men, especially in front of an 'enemy'!
Mike did not think that the man who approached him was Leonard.
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