Each of his words pierced her heart like needles, stirring up a dense, stinging pain. She swayed slightly, wanting to leave. After she walked away, someone asked why Danny had come that day.
He pondered for a moment and said, “I came today mainly to meet the person in charge of the Lily of the Valley project. I think she's very talented and should be a leader in our field.”
“Yes, but she’s a bit of a mystery,” someone said. “Her name hasn’t been made public yet. I bet she’s a big figure in the industry. Ordinary people couldn’t pull off research that advanced.”
***
Originally, Ella wanted to find a quieter place, but Sarah found her.
"Why are you here, Ella?"
Ella refused to talk and turned to leave.
“Did you beg someone to bring you here? Can you really understand the content of the presentation later?”
Sarah's mockery made Ella stop in her tracks. When she was about to throw the Lily of the Valley research book that she pulled from her bag at Sarah's face, gasps erupted from the surrounding crowd.
She followed their gaze, looked up and saw that the overhead light had fallen.
At that critical moment, Danny rushed over and pulled Sarah into his arms to protect her.
Ella was not so lucky. Though she darted aside the moment she noticed, shards of glass were still embedded in her leg.
A searing pain shot through her calf. Before she lost consciousness, all she saw was blood spreading across the floor.
When Ella opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was the pristine white ceiling of the hospital room. The moment her eyes fluttered open, a sharp pain shot through her calf.
Frowning, she propped herself up and forced herself to sit.
The door was pushed open and the nurse walked in, then she poured a glass of water for her.
Ella lowered her head and took a sip of water. She heard the nurse say, "Did you not tell your parents about the accident? I don't think anyone has come to visit you in the past few days. Where's your husband? I didn't see him either. Don't you know that the female patient's husband next door visits her every day...”
A touch of bitterness flashed in Ella's eyes. “My husband and I are divorced ...”
The nurse, who was changing her IV needle, paused her movement and asked in surprise, "At your age, you're getting a divorce? Don't you consider your child's feelings?”
“I don't...” she murmured.