At that moment, I really wanted to scream at them, to ask why they were being so cruel to me. Alas, all the words just froze in my ice-cold heart, turning into dead silence. A few doctors walked over with antiseptic, their faces showing pity and sympathy as they looked at my horribly burned body. "Miss Stewart, the specialist hasn't arrived yet. We'll have to disinfect the wounds first. It's going to hurt a bit. Please bear with it."
Still, "a bit" was a joke. The moment the disinfectant touched my skin, the pain shot through my body like fire. It felt like I was being thrown into the flames all over again. My fragile veins burst open and the entire bed was soaked with blood and pus. My mother stood there watching, clutching her mouth, her whole body shaking as she sobbed. Jacob's eyes were red. His fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white like he wished he could take the pain for me. Their concern looked so real, but I knew the truth. It was all fake. The only real things were the lies and the pain.
When I woke up again, two days had passed. I could hear Jacob and my mother talking outside the ward door. "Jacob, Lily's condition is already this bad. We've been delaying treatment for two days. Do we really have to give her that new experimental psychiatric drug? The doctor said the drug hasn't been fully tested yet. The side effects could be seizures and incontinence."
After a few seconds of silence, Jacob's voice was firm. "That's exactly the side effect we want. Today is Kimmy's celebration party and a lot of important people will be there. Anyway, Lily is already a mess; a little more embarrassment won't hurt. Only when she's completely lost her dignity will she not compete with Kimmy. After tomorrow, I'll announce our engagement. That can be considered my compensation to her."
After speaking, he carefully instructed, "Mom, have those specialist doctors wait outside the house. As soon as the celebration banquet ends, they can treat Lily."
My mother agreed immediately. I stared blankly at the ceiling as silent tears streamed down my cheeks. The salt stung the open wounds on my face, sending waves of sharp, searing pain through me. Still, none of it compared to the pain in my chest.