Love Burned Out, Farewell Forever

“Garret, that woman’s face, after getting burned saving Lyra… it’s going to be so grotesque to look at.” Outside the hospital room, the brother’s jest was entirely undisguised. Garret Winters exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice dripping with undisguised disgust. “Ghastly. One look is enough to make me sick.” “If it wasn’t to ensure Lyra’s safe escape, why would I lie and tell her to rush into the fire? Once Lyra’s tour is over, a fat check will be enough to send that woman away.” The agonizing pain of changing the dressings on my severely burned back couldn’t compare to Garret Winters’s flippant words at that moment. I touched the blood seeping through the bandages on my face, forcing back tears. To save his beloved, I became this? I pulled out the IV needle from the back of my hand, dragging my injured body towards the heavily guarded, exclusive ward of the Sterling Corporation at the top floor of the hospital. The two well-dressed bodyguards at the door, seeing my appearance, immediately turned red-eyed. They straightened their backs and bowed deeply. “Chairman, the Young Miss has been found!” I leaned weakly against the wall, my voice cold. “Dad, take me back to the estate. It’s time for the Winters Group to disappear.” 1 The hospital room door was violently pulled open from the inside. My father, Chairman Sterling, rushed in. The moment he saw me, this decisive titan of the business world, the chairman of the Sterling Corporation, his eyes instantly welled up. Father extended his hands. They trembled uncontrollably, wanting to touch me, yet afraid to. I was draped in an oversized hospital gown, and the blood and bodily fluids seeping from my back had soaked through the fabric. Half of my face was wrapped in bandages, revealing only one eye. “Iris…” Father’s throat emitted a hoarse sound. “Who did this?” I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. Excessive blood loss coupled with a severe infection made my vision begin to blacken. My legs grew weak. I fell forward. Father caught me in his arms. The place where he touched me was scalding hot with blood. The chief bodyguard beside him, eyes red, clenched his fists. “Chairman, I’ll go cripple that beast!” Chairman Sterling gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. “Summon the top global medical team, now!” I completely lost consciousness. In my delirium, the thick smoke from the fire again filled my nostrils. When the beam crashed down, Garret Winters had grabbed my shoulder and violently shoved me into the inferno. Using that recoil, he tightly shielded Lyra and rolled out of the burning building. Flames licked at my back. The smell of burning flesh filled my mind. I convulsed in pain, suddenly opening my eyes. I saw the ceiling of the Sterling Private Hospital’s exclusive ward. The wound on my back had been cleaned and covered with top-grade burn dressings. But that piercing pain still crept upwards through my bones. Father sat by the bed, his eyes red. Seeing me awake, he immediately stood up. “Iris, does it still hurt?” I shook my head. My phone screen lit up. It was a message from Garret Winters. I stared at the familiar name for a second. I reached out and tapped it open. Two voice messages popped up. I tapped the first one. Garret Winters’s impatient voice echoed in the room. “Amy Winters, where have you gone?” “Lyra’s appetite isn’t good tonight. She wants the dried scallop porridge from that old establishment in South City.” “Your injuries aren’t serious. Stop pretending to be dead in bed and go buy a serving and send it to room 802.” Father’s face darkened, his fists clenching. I expressionlessly opened the second message. “And.” “Wear a hood when you come. Cover that face of yours.” “You’re ghastly now. Don’t scare Lyra.” The voice messages finished playing. The room was silent. I looked at the screen, my eyes devoid of any ripple. Something in my chest was completely empty. I removed the SIM card from my phone. With both hands, I snapped the card in half and threw it into the trash can. I threw back the covers, propping myself up on the edge of the bed, trying to stand. Father pressed down on my shoulder. “You have severe full-body burns. The doctor said getting out of bed now could be life-threatening!” I looked up, meeting my father’s eyes. “Dad, I need to go downstairs.” “The jade pendant my mother left behind, I left it in room 802.” “That is the symbol of the Sterling Corporation’s matriarch.” “I must retrieve it myself.” Chairman Sterling stared at me for a long time. He released his grip. Turning, he took a black cashmere trench coat from the hanger and draped it over my shoulders. “Go.” “I’ll be right behind you.” I pulled the trench coat tighter, dragging my heavy legs, step by step, out of the exclusive ward. The elevator display at the end of the corridor flickered, stopping on the eighth floor. 2 The eighth-floor general ward area reeked of disinfectant mixed with cheap perfume. I walked to the door of room 802, which used to be mine. Laughter emanated from within. I raised my hand and pushed the door open. The bed sheets had been changed to pink silk, Lyra’s favorite color. Lyra, wearing a silk nightgown I had just bought but hadn’t had a chance to wear, leaned in Garret’s arms. He was peeling a grape, feeding it to her. Hearing the door open, both turned simultaneously. Seeing my face, wrapped in bandages and oozing blood, Lyra shrieked, startled, burrowing deeper into Garret’s embrace. “Garret, it’s terrifying! Why does she look so horrifying?” Garret abruptly stood up. The grape in his hand fell to the floor, crushed under his foot. Garret strode over, pointing at my nose and cursing. “Amy Winters, why are you running around? Don’t you know you’re ghastly right now?” “Didn’t I tell you to wear a hood? If you scare Lyra, can you afford the consequences?” I ignored him. My gaze swept past his shoulder, fixing on the jade pendant hanging around Lyra’s neck. Its edge was slightly blackened by the smoke from the fire. Engraved on it were my mother’s name and the Sterling family crest. I took a deep breath, my voice hoarse. “Give me back my property.” Lyra instinctively covered the jade pendant on her chest, her eyes instantly reddening, tears welling up. “Garret, this is the vintage necklace you gave me yesterday. I love it so much. Why is Amy trying to snatch my things?” Garret frowned, his eyes filled with disgust. He shoved my shoulder. “It’s just a broken piece of stone. It’s your honor that Lyra took a liking to it. I’ll transfer the money to you, just don’t make a scene!” Garret’s push was forceful. I was already weak, and with that shove, I stumbled backward, hitting the doorframe hard. The newly stitched wound split open. Blood gushed out, staining the hospital gown under my trench coat, dripping onto the floor from the hem. Drip. Drop. The hospital room filled with the scent of blood. Garret saw the bloodstains on the floor, showing no sympathy whatsoever. Instead, he covered his nose, recoiling a large step back in disgust. “How unlucky! She’s ruined the floor!” “Amy Winters, are you sick? Are you deliberately running to Lyra just to play the victim?” Lyra sat up from the bed. She tugged at Garret’s sleeve. “Garret, don’t blame Amy. She must be upset, being like this. Even if she used to serve us like a maid at home, it’s normal for her to have a bad temper now that she’s disfigured.” I leaned against the doorframe, cold sweat drenching the few remaining strands of hair on my forehead. I looked at Garret Winters. “That’s my mother’s relic. Hand it over.” Garret sneered. “You, an orphan who doesn’t even know who her parents are, where would you get relics from?” “I think your brain got burned, and you’re obsessed with money.” Garret stepped forward, grabbing my collar. “Apologize to Lyra immediately, then get out and clean up the blood on the floor!” Noises of footsteps echoed from the corridor outside. 3 Several people entered from outside the door, all friends Garret usually associated with. The one in front even carried a fruit basket. Seeing me, covered in blood and leaning against the doorframe, they paused, then burst into laughter. “Well, Garret, old man, the wife’s look is quite unique, isn’t it? Halloween came early? With her face wrapped up like a mummy, aren’t you afraid of nightmares when the lights are off at night?” Garret released my collar, clapping his hands as if to shake off something dirty. “Don’t even mention it. Bad luck. I sent her to buy a bowl of porridge, but she had to come here and scare Lyra.” One of them walked to the bedside, putting down the fruit basket. He gave Lyra a fawning smile. “Sister Lyra, you’ve been startled. The wife is also clueless, she should stay in her room after disfiguring herself. What’s she doing wandering around?” Lyra lowered her head, looking utterly wronged. Lyra picked up a freshly brewed hot tea from the nightstand. “Amy, don’t be angry. Have some tea to warm yourself up.” Lyra’s foot suddenly tripped. The scalding hot tea, along with the tea leaves, splashed directly onto my bleeding shoulder and chest. I let out a cry of pain. Piercing agony instantly shot through me. The hot water scalded the freshly torn wound. I grunted, my legs giving out. I fell to one knee on the floor, cold sweat pouring from my body. Lyra shrieked, the empty cup in her hand falling to the floor and shattering. “I’m sorry, Amy, I didn’t mean it. You were staring at me earlier, I was so scared I couldn’t hold it steady…” Lyra cried, throwing herself into Garret’s arms. Garret embraced Lyra protectively, patting her back. He turned, his eyes dark and menacing, staring at me. Garret raised his foot, kicking the IV stand next to me. The metal stand toppled, striking my back. I was knocked to the floor. “Amy Winters, how dare you scare her! Are you trying to die?” I lay on the floor, my nails digging into the tiles. Blood and tea mixed, spreading across the floor. I looked up at the man I had once loved with my life. I watched him trample my dignity and my flesh underfoot for another woman. I coldly uttered two words: “Divorce.” The hospital room fell silent for a moment. Garret stared blankly, then chuckled in anger. “Divorce?” “Amy Winters, what do you have to divorce me with?” Garret pointed at me condescendingly. “You’re an orphan with no parents, no decent job. Without me, you can’t even afford the medical bills for these severe burns!” Someone next to him chimed in. “Exactly, Amy, old man. Garret is a CEO worth hundreds of millions now. If you leave him, with your ghastly face, no one would even give you a dime if you begged on the streets!” Garret walked up to me, his dress shoe stepping on the blood-stained hem of my coat. “Apologize to Lyra on your knees right now. Beg her forgiveness for scaring her. Otherwise, I’ll stop your medication immediately and leave you to rot in the streets!” Garret bent down, reaching for my hair. 4 I suppressed the agonizing, tearing pain in my back, supporting myself with my blood-soaked hands on the tiles, slowly standing up. I slapped away Garret Winters’s outstretched hand, a cold sneer on my lips. “Make me kneel? Can you even handle it?” I stared intently at the jade pendant on Lyra’s neck. “That pendant bears the name of the Sterling family’s matriarch.” “Doesn’t Lyra fear shortening her lifespan by wearing it?” Hearing the words “Sterling family,” the people in the room froze for a moment. Then, they burst into even louder laughter. One person bent over, laughing. “Sterling family? The corporation that controls the global economic lifeline?” “I can’t anymore! The wife’s brain is really fried!” “If you’re the Young Miss of the Sterling Corporation, then I’m the richest man in the world!” Lyra hid behind Garret, timidly speaking, “Garret, is Amy having a mental breakdown? Maybe we should send her to a mental institution. It’s too dangerous to leave her out here.” Garret lost his patience. His face livid, he strode up to me, grabbed the few remaining strands of unburned hair on my head, and forcefully pushed my head down. “Today, I’ll teach you what discipline means!” A loud crash. The solid wooden door of the hospital room was kicked to splinters from the outside. Wood chips flew. The people nearby shrieked in fear, covering their heads and crouching down. Two rows of bodyguards in black suits and Bluetooth earpieces surged in, instantly sealing off the entire room. The air in the room solidified at that moment. Lyra’s legs went weak with fear, collapsing onto the floor. Garret’s hand, clutching my hair, froze in mid-air. His face was ashen, his body trembling. Heavy, authoritative footsteps sounded from the corridor. One step. Two steps. Father, in a tailored suit, wore the crest pin of the family patriarch on his chest. He stepped over the shattered wood, striding into the room. An aura of immense power emanated from him. Father’s cold, stern gaze swept across the room, finally settling on Garret’s hand, still clutching my hair. Father spoke each word distinctly, his voice echoing through the room. “Who did you call a low-bred bastard?”