Chapter 5

The hospital room fell into dead silence as if even the air itself had frozen. Edmund, who had been furiously confronting the mastermind behind the incident, suddenly stiffened. His mind began echoing with those words. "Don't tell me that after all these years, you've actually fallen for her for real?" Fallen for Cecilia? That was impossible! Edmund quickly dismissed the thought. He dismissed it so quickly as if that could erase the inexplicable emotion stirring in his heart. He had always loved Leena. And Cecilia was just a tool he used for revenge. But if Edmund felt nothing for Cecilia, why had he been so enraged when he saw those thugs on top of her? Even when other men flirted with Leena, he had never felt this impulsive! His silence plunged the room into quiet once more. Meanwhile, his friends exchanged glances, seemingly breathing a sigh of relief. One of them patted Edmund on the shoulder as he said lightly, "You should've said so earlier. You scared us. We really thought that you'd fallen for her. "It wouldn't be worth it to get caught up in your own revenge game. Leena would be devastated if she found out." Edmund didn't respond. He simply suppressed the strange emotion in his chest and said coldly, "I could never fall for Cecilia Hardin in a million years." Only then did his friends relax. They smiled as one of them said, "Alright, alright. She's about to wake up anyway, so we'll head out first." After everyone left, Edmund slowly walked to the bedside and looked down at Cecilia, who was still unconscious. Her face was pale, and her brows were slightly furrowed as if she were sleeping restlessly. His fingers unconsciously reached out to brush her cheek, but the moment they made contact, he jerked his hand back as if he had been burned. Edmund turned, walked to the window, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag. He was trying to numb his chaotic thoughts with nicotine. When Cecilia woke up, Edmund was the only one left. He was sitting by the bed while holding a glass of water. When he saw her wake up, he asked in a low voice, "How do you feel? Do you still feel unwell?" Cecilia didn't answer. She simply turned her head away and avoided his gaze. Over the next few days, Edmund stayed at the hospital to take care of her. Even so, he would occasionally step out to answer phone calls, and there was a faint, almost imperceptible softness in his expression each time he returned. Cecilia knew that he was probably comforting Leena. Now that she thought about it, he had always been like this back when they were together. He would step out to take calls, always claiming that it was something urgent. But she had never doubted him. It wasn't until now that she realized the person on the other end of those calls had always been Leena. Just then, a doctor entered the room to change her bandages. Cecilia looked up and noticed that it was a young, handsome doctor. She paused momentarily, then asked softly, "You weren't my attending physician before, were you?" The young doctor, Peter Wilkinson, smiled before gently replying, "No, that was my mentor. I'm his intern. "He's doing rounds today, so I'm here to change your bandages." Cecilia nodded and didn't say anything more. Peter began tending to her wounds. His movements were careful and light, though his face kept flushing slightly. As he was about to leave, he hesitated before suddenly asking, "Can I… get your contact information?" Cecilia was taken aback, but Edmund walked into the room before she could respond. His gaze swept coldly over Peter, his voice carrying a hint of warning as he said, "She has a boyfriend. Can't you tell? "Why are you even hitting on patients? Do you even still want to be an intern here?"