Blood was streaming down Marcus’ face, his gaze unfocused. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He blinked as if he recognized me, and then he fainted.
I pulled out my phone and called the ambulance. “911? Someone’s been involved in an accident. Here’s the address.”
Luckily, we weren’t too far from the city. An ambulance arrived within ten minutes.
I paced outside the operating theater after Marcus had been wheeled in.
Two hours later, the light above the operating theater switched off. The surgeon pushed open the door.
I ran to him in a hurry. “Doctor, is he ok?”
“The airbag protected him. He only suffered external injuries. We’ve sewed him up, but he needs to remain in the hospital for observation.”
Relieved, I thanked the doctor.
Marcus was wheeled out by the nurse shortly after. He looked half-asleep as the anesthetic hadn’t worn off.
I approached the gurney and called to him softly. “Marcus?”
I could see his eyes moving beneath his eyelids, though he didn’t reply.
I only thought of contacting his friends and family after he was sent to the ward.
What little information I could find online stated that he was an only child. His parents were long dead as well. I knew nothing about him beyond this. I didn’t know his relatives or even a single one of his friends.
He seemed just like me, another lonely individual.
I empathized with him in that moment.
The next day, Marcus was finally awake.
I prepared some chicken soup for him.
He sat against the bed as I fed him. He teased, “You look just like one of those model wives.”
I rolled my eyes. “Please, this is nothing compared to you asking me to save myself yesterday.”
Any delay would’ve greatly increased the speed of the vehicle, causing more damage to the driver upon impact. Yet Marcus didn’t think twice about waiting for me to jump out of the car before he rammed the car into the rails.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t touched.
Marcus smiled and finished the soup quickly. He leaned against the headboard and closed his eyes, weakness evident in his posture.
My guilt overwhelmed me. I croaked, “Thank god you’re alive. Or I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”
Marcus scoffed lightly. After some thought, he said, “Under these circumstances, I’m sure you’ll forgive me for anything I’m about to say, right?”
I held back my tears as I asked, “What’s up?”
The smile on his face disappeared. Somberly, he stated, “We were never engaged.”
I actually felt a bit regretful at his words. I looked at him seriously.
I felt frustrated at my inability to blame him despite his deception. Instead, I lowered my head and avoided his gaze. “Yes, I know.”
“If you’re angry, you don’t have to hold it back, you know. Or are you giving up on me completely?” Marcus asked earnestly. He didn’t seem to be panicking at all.
I collected my thoughts before I answered him. “If you really wanted to keep me in the dark, you wouldn’t have let me hang around with Emery. Besides, you saved my life and took care of me for the past six years. I’m forever indebted to you over that.”
Marcus lowered his head and didn’t offer a rebuke.
I poured him a glass of warm water. “I’m curious, though. Why did you make up our engagement?”
He laughed. “In that situation, if I didn’t say we were engaged, would you have trusted me and allowed me to take care of you?”
To a person who had forgotten everything, the world was a scary and unfamiliar place. Since the doctors and nurses assumed we were together, Marcus’ words felt like the truth. Before I left the hospital, there was no reason for me to doubt him.
My discomfort back then made me cautious about many things. I guess Marcus caught on to that.
He must’ve lied to protect me back then.
I nodded and decided to drop the topic of his deception. There were more important things I needed to know. “So am I really the ‘Scarlett’ that Emery has been talking about?”
