"I live for myself..." he murmurs in a sad and desolate tone, "But I, I have nothing left. It's all illusory."
Father's words are fake, those letters are forged, and mother's tenderness is fabricated.
Those illusions that lived with him for more than twenty years are the light that supports him to live, they are his courage, but now, there is nothing left. He stands alone in the darkness.
No one needs him anymore.
"No, you still have me." His tone makes Lily's heart bitter. "I am real, I will always be by your side, touch me if you don't believe."
She holds his hand and places it on her face. His cold hand almost makes her cry.
John's shoulders finally soften and he turns around.
Lily looks at him under faint light and sees that his blue eyes are no longer vigorous.
Her hand that is holding the man trembles. She opens her mouth a few times before saying, "John, don't be like this. Say something, anything is fine. Don't be like this..."
She is afraid of him being like this.
He is young, and he should be energetic and ambitious. He shouldn't be decadent.
It is still raining heavily outside, and the raindrops slam against the windows, creating a rhythmic sound. The humid and cold air enters the attic through the half-open door.
John's eyes reflect Lily's tearful and sad face. He looks at her for a long time.
The silence in the attic is suffocating.
After a long time, the man's palm touches Lily's face and caresses it a few times. His voice is almost inaudible. "I am the one who met you first, and I am also the one who likes you."
Why do you fall in love with someone else?
"Sorry, sorry..." Lily doesn't know what to say, so she can only repeat it over and over again while holding his hand tightly. "I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere."
Lily sees that the bandages on his body haven't been changed for a long time, and he doesn't look well either. With the dressing unchanged, she doesn't know what will happen.
Perhaps he doesn't think about leaving after coming here.
Lily has a sore nose when she thinks like this.
She gets her phone, unlocks it and whispers, "I'll call the doctor over and treat your wound. Don't you still have a present for me? I'm looking forward to it."
"Do you need it?"
"Yes." Lily says, "I like every gift you give me and I keep all of them properly. I also like camellias very much. Can you give me more in the future?"
Even though he knows that what she says might be a lie, it is so pleasant to hear, he is touched.
"Okay."
Lily contacts the best doctor in Hanchi Hospital, tells him about John's condition and address, and asks him to come within an hour, no matter what price he asks.
After making the call, she comforts John and says that the attic is too wet and cold, so she covers both of them with her overcoat and brings him into a room. She turns on the lights and the heating.
John looks down at the ground and sits on the sofa silently.
Forty minutes later, the doctor arrives with a nurse in case he is overwhelmed by the work.
After the doctor enters the room to examine John, his expression becomes somewhat grave. "The wound bleeds again and is stuck to the gauze. It might be a bit troublesome to remove the gauze."
When Lily hears this, she reveals a nervous expression. "Is it serious?"
"Nope." The doctor says as he puts on gloves and asks the nurse to dispense medicine. "But he's going to have a pain for a while."
Lily holds John's hand and says softly, "It will hurt a little. Can you hold on? I will be here all the time. If you can't stand it, bite my arm."
John shakes his head. "I don't have the heart to do this."
Using sterilized scissors, the doctor carefully cuts off the gauze wrapped around John's body bit by bit.
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