She had always believed that once he began to hate her,he would have discarded it,since she had never seen him wear it again.But as it turned out,not only had he not thrown it away,he had been wearing it all along.
While Aurelia sat in a daze,Santino arrived again.Without a word,he pulled Astrid into his arms,his hostile gaze locked on Aurelia as if guarding against her hurting Astrid.
The wariness in his eyes cut deep,and she forced a polite smile.“Then I’ll be going.”
“Hey,Aurelia,since you’re already here,come sit and eat with us!”
Just as she was about to decline,Santino’s cold voice interrupted.“Stay.”
She froze.
“Stay and watch how Astrid and I love each other.”
Knowing he meant to humiliate her,she wanted to leave,but in the end,she only forced a smile and sat down.
Halfway through the meal,a burnt smell spread through the restaurant.Santino was the first to react,his expression tightening as he said,“It’s on fire,let’s get out!”
As he spoke,he instinctively stood and reached toward Aurelia.
“Fire,Santino,let’s go!”
At Astrid’s cry,his hand froze in midair before he forced it away,grabbing Astrid instead as they rushed out together.
Watching Santino’s figure disappear without once looking back,Aurelia’s heart ached bitterly.The taste of blood rose in her throat,the pressure of the pain almost suffocating her.
Thick smoke quickly filled the room,and she coughed until her lungs burned.Just then,the chandelier above came crashing down,and fierce flames erupted beside her.
Shards cut across her skin,blood gushing from her wrist.
Outside,Astrid looked anxiously at the growing blaze.“Aurelia is still inside…”
Santino’s heart lurched,but the words that left his lips were cold.“She’ll be fine.Someone like her wouldn’t die so easily in a fire.”
He ignored Astrid’s frantic cries and pulled her away,yet his grip was so tight his own fingertips dug into his palm until the skin nearly broke.
Aurelia was finally pulled out by the firefighters,but the flames had left severe burns across her back.
The doctor warned that the wounds were too deep and would surely leave scars.
She didn’t care.She was going to die anyway;what difference would scars make?
When she stepped out of the ward,she saw Santino again.He was holding Astrid in his arms,his face tense as he studied the blisters on her hand.