Chapter 5

Jade's POV

The fire spread incredibly fast. Black smoke poured in through the ventilation ducts. The alarm shrieked piercingly, as if trying to puncture eardrums.

Vivian covered her mouth, half her body draped over Lucas, tears streaming from the smoke. "Lucas, I'm scared..."

Lucas said nothing, just held her tightly, his brow furrowed deeply.

He searched for an exit in the chaos. So did I.

But we quickly discovered the only escape route was half-blocked by collapsed debris, with the remaining gap filled with fire.

The emergency box on the wall was red, especially conspicuous against the gray and black.

Lucas was faster than me.

He yanked open the glass door of the emergency box. Inside lay a single smoke mask.

Only one.

In that instant, time seemed to freeze.

Around us were the crackling sounds of burning and workers' shouts, but all I could hear was my own heartbeat.

Lucas grabbed the mask. Without any hesitation, he fastened it over Vivian's face.

"Cover your mouth and nose. Don't move."

The smoke seemed to come alive, rushing into my throat.

I coughed violently. My throat felt like I'd swallowed a handful of red-hot coals, the burning sensation instantly spreading to my lungs.

"Lucas..." I tried to call him, but my voice came out only as broken gasps.

Lucas picked up Vivian, who wore the mask and was quietly sobbing.

He turned his head and glanced at me through the swirling black smoke.

"Cover your mouth and nose and keep up!"

Keep up? In this smoke density, without protection, every step was stealing time from death.

I clutched my collar, trying to filter out some of the poison, but that suffocating smell was still pervasive.

My head began to spin. My vision gradually blurred.

I watched Lucas's retreating figure. He walked so quickly, so steadily, Vivian in his arms protected impenetrably.

I tried to catch up, but tripped on something and fell heavily onto the scalding concrete floor.

The figure ahead didn't pause, didn't even look back.

The footsteps grew more and more distant.

I lay on the ground, gripping tightly the iron rod I'd used for self-defense earlier.

Heat from the floor seeped through the fabric. My consciousness began to fade.

In his heart, my life wasn't even worth a single hair on Vivian's head.

When the firefighters rushed in, I'd already lost consciousness.

...

When I woke again, I was in the hospital's nebulizer room.

My throat felt like it was stuck with countless knife blades. Each breath came with tearing pain.

I wore an oxygen mask, trying to speak, but could only make a hoarse, ugly "heh-heh" sound.

In the next bed, Vivian sat in a wheelchair.

She was actually completely unharmed, not even a scratch, but that didn't stop her from putting on a weak, post-trauma appearance.

Lucas sat by her bed, holding a bowl of warm pear soup, scooping a spoonful, blowing on it to cool it, then bringing it to her lips.

"Jade inhaled so much smoke trying to save me..." Vivian's eyes reddened, her voice soft, "Lucas, am I a burden?"

Lucas's expression was indifferent. He used a tissue to wipe the soup from the corner of her mouth.

"It's not your fault." He said. "She was just too slow."

I stared at them, my fingers gripping the bedsheet tightly.

Seeming to sense my gaze, Lucas turned around.

He looked at me, his eyes completely devoid of warmth.

"In that situation, there was only one mask." He explained coldly. "Vivian's hands are for writing and drawing-they're works of art. They couldn't risk any fire damage. But you..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over my bandaged neck.

"What's wrong with Jade?" Vivian asked on cue.

Lucas withdrew his gaze, placing the spoon back in the bowl with a crisp sound.

"Your voice being hoarse doesn't matter. You don't say anything good normally anyway."

I didn't speak. Couldn't speak.

To protect that impostor's hands, he destroyed the real creator's voice.

The burning in my throat was nothing compared to the chill in my heart.

"Don't say anything good normally"? So these past years, all my reminders and care sounded like noise to him.

I yanked out the IV, grabbed a glass medicine bottle from the table beside me, and hurled it at the floor with all my strength.

Crash!

The sound of shattering glass was especially jarring in the quiet hospital room.

"Ah!" Vivian dramatically shrank into Lucas's arms like a startled little rabbit. "Jade, don't be angry, it's all my fault..."

I pointed at the door, forcing out a single hoarse word from my throat.

"Get... out..."

The sound was so ugly even I found it foreign.

Vivian covered her face, crying, pulling at Lucas's sleeve.

Lucas stood up, his brow furrowed, clearly having lost patience with my unreasonable tantrum.

He put his arm around Vivian and walked out. At the doorway, he stopped and looked back at me coldly.

"Your voice is ruined, but your temper's gotten worse." He warned. "Reflect on yourself."

Not long after, a nurse came in to change the dressing.

Seeing the glass shards all over the floor and medicine dripping from the IV tube, she frowned and complained. "So difficult to deal with."

I closed my eyes. Two tears slid from the corners down into my temples.

Lucas, you win.