Ivan shook his head and smiled at Kasie. "No, I've had enough rest. I'm not sleepy yet. Could you please hand me a book from there?"
He pointed at the tiny bookshelf in the corner of the ward. Kasie turned around, following his finger and then nodded,
"Sure. Which book would you like to read?"
"Just pick one. I'm fine with anything."
She picked up a novel at random, and handed it to him before she sat down on the chair next to his bed. "I hope you have fun reading. I'll keep an eye on the infusion bottle."
Ivan nodded and politely said, "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Kasie tilted her head and smiled.
Ivan sprawled across the bed, flipping through the pages of the book.
Silence filled the air again. Kasie exchanged text messages with Debbie for a while to pass the time. Later on, she started to feel a little sleepy as drowsiness got the better of her. She cast a short glance at Ivan, who was immersed in the book, and leaned over to the edge of the bed. Finding it difficult to keep her head up, she buried her face in her arms and drifted off to dreamland.
A few minutes later, when Ivan took his eyes away from the book, he found Kasie in a motionless state. He could hear her breathing steadily and he called out her name softly, but she didn't respond.
'Is she sleeping?' He lifted the quilt and got out of the bed to check up on her. Indeed, she had fallen asleep.
Clenching his teeth in pain, he slowly walked to the hanger and took his coat. He carefully draped it over her shoulders.
Kasie moved a little, as if she had felt the weight of coat on her shoulders. But she didn't open her eyes.
Staring at her blissful face, Ivan recalled the first time he had met this girl, even though admittedly, he had only met her a couple of times. The first time was at Debbie's concert and then the second time was, oddly enough, at his wedding with Debbie
Ivan knew little to nothing about Kasie—Debbie's closest friend. The only thing he knew was that she made investments in some businesses and opened a shop of her own after graduation. As strange as it sounded, it was Debbie who inadvertently mentioned her to him.
However, the first time he began to notice this girl in a different light, was on the day of his wedding. She secretly approached him without Debbie's knowledge. With tearful eyes, she warned him, "I don't care whether you love Debbie or not. Since you've decided to marry her, you must treat my best friend like a queen. Or else, I will make you wish you hadn't met me!"
Ivan was amused by her vigor. Like the saying goes, "Birds of a feather flock together." Debbie was short-tempered, and so was Kasie.
Faced with her threat and finding no choice but to surrender himself, Ivan obediently nodded his head in agreement. "Rest assured. Whatever reasons we may have for getting married, now that Debbie is my wife, I will be sure to treat her with the utmost respect."
The next time he saw her was right after she was kidnapped by Aldrich. Ivan hadn't forgotten the look on Kasie's face when she saw Debbie in danger. For the very first time, she looked frightened, which was far from her calmness when facing the kidnappers. Then again, it was human nature of her to feel afraid when Aldrich pointed the gun at her. Kasie finally lost her cool and her whole body was trembling in fear at that time.
Ivan could not escape the guilt that he felt in the inner recesses of his soul. After all, Kasie had nothing to do with his private affairs and yet she had to go through such a harrowing experience because of him.
No wonder, when Aldrich pulled the trigger, Ivan instantly tugged her into his arms and shielded her with his body, without little hesitation.
He felt Kasie's delicate body shuddering like a dried leaf in his arms. He tightened his arms around her and while clenching his teeth in pain, he tried to comfort her, "Don't be afraid. You'll be okay."
Earlier this morning, after Kasie had gone to the nurse station to apply some ointment to her hand, Mia had told Ivan about Kasie's tragic love story. Kasie had a boyfriend who had died in a car accident. They were supposed to get married after Kasie finished her junior year.
The shock of her boyfriend's death left a trauma in her heart, and nothing was ever the same with Kasie since then. It took her almost three years to come out of the shadow of her boyfriend's death. Since Ivan saved Kasie's life, Mia begged him not to turn Kasie down if she ever opened her heart to him.
Mia was constantly worried about her daughter, as was naturally expected of a mother. Ivan understood how she felt and he pitied her deeply. Assuming that Mia had no idea about his wedding to Debbie, Ivan made her a promise after little hesitation.
Coming back from his train of thoughts, he sat down next to Kasie and carefully took her right hand in his. He looked at her cute manicured fingers and thought, 'A woman's hand is so small.' He also noticed the scalds on her right hand, covered in a layer of ointment.
He felt his heart ache for her. This girl had taken three years to overcome the grief of her boyfriend's death. 'They must have been a happy couple in love before the accident, ' he guessed.
When Kasie finally woke up, she noticed that Debbie had already come back to the ward.
In a haze, she looked at the coat over her shoulders with puzzlement. She shifted her gaze to Ivan, who was still reading the book in the bed. 'Who draped the coat on my shoulders? Ivan or Debbie?' she wondered.
"Awake?" Ivan closed the book and smiled at her.
She nodded and her cheeks flared with embarrassment before she turned to Debbie. "Deb, how long have you been here?" She took off the coat on her shoulders and put it back to the hanger.
"I just arrived here a few minutes ago. I'm leaving for M Country tomorrow. My concert tour will start there. Would you like to join me for fun?" Debbie stood up and walked over to her.
Kasie stretched herself and moved her neck, while answering, "No, don't count me in. You will be too busy with your concert to have time for me. I'm going to get bored out there."
Debbie patted her on the shoulder. "Fine. Ivan will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. If you have nothing else to do, please take care of him for me."
"Tomorrow? So soon?" Kasie turned to look at Ivan and asked in surprise, "But what about your wounds?"
Ivan nodded, "Yes, they'll heal eventually. I just need to stay at home and rest. I don't think I need to stay here for that."
"Well then, if that's the case, I don't mind," Kasie promised Debbie.
The next morning right after Ivan got discharged from the hospital, Debbie left for M Country that afternoon.
Megan's death was still under investigation, but unfortunately, there hadn't been any progress so far. The case was still open.
Over the course of the next few months, Debbie's career had skyrocketed, topping all chart records with her hits. Her rapid rise to stardom brought in fans from both home and abroad.
With the passing of summer, autumn had dressed herself for the coming season, donning her most vibrant hues. The final leg of Debbie's concert tour took her back to the picturesque sceneries of Z Country. After her tour ended, she spent her vacation with her daughter there.
Debbie checked the date on her phone and realized that her 25th birthday was fast approaching. She decided not to throw a birthday party for herself. After all, her daughter was already three years old.
She took Piggy back to Y City and left her under Curtis' care as usual, because she had to take care of some work at Star Empire.
By the time she got back to Champs Bay Apartments, it was already half past nine at night.
She parked her car in the underground parking lot and then entered the elevator. When the elevator reached the ground floor, the doors slid open, revealing a man standing outside with his eyes to the screen of his phone.
He was dressed in a dark blue designer suit, with a tie to match, and a pair of dark brown leather shoes.
Debbie's heart began pounding inside her chest when she recognized who it was. It was the same man she had successfully avoided thinking about for the past few months.
Immediately, she lowered her head, nervously touching the mask and sunglasses with her hand as she pulled her cap down to cover her face. She quietly took a few steps backwards to hide herself in the corner hoping not to attract his attention. She wasn't ready to face him yet. It had only been a few months since they separated and she wasn't interested in making awkward small talk with him.
The man strode into the elevator and casually pressed the number six, as if he didn't notice her presence.
'Did he recognize me? Maybe not. Otherwise, why wouldn't he at least greet me? Perhaps he just doesn't want to talk to me anymore?' she wondered.
A faint smell of alcohol permeated her nose. 'Has he been drinking again?'
Debbie pursed her lips. 'Isn't he still taking his pills? Why is he so stubborn? Huh! He can't even take care of himself now!' she thought angrily.
Soon enough, the elevator reached the sixth floor. Once the doors opened, the man walked out of the elevator without saying anything.
