As enchanting and fascinating as they were, the legendary life of Cleopatra and the picturesque scene along the Nile River were irrelevant to those who lived in S City. Here, people lived another ordinary day as usual.
It was the blinding white ceiling and the mind-blowing headache that welcomed Hero back from his coma. He was still alive. A messy brew of mixed feelings stirred in his stomach as he chewed on this reality. It was Daisy, he heard, who had saved his life. He moved his head to look around and saw that she was sitting right next to him. Confused as well as touched, he asked, "Why did you save me?" Then, he turned his head back so as to evade her gaze. The last thing he wanted was for her to see him in his worst times.
"Because you still got a conscience, and therefore is not beyond redemption," said Daisy with a light sigh. She had always thought that Hero was a citizen of her country. It was her belief until she received a document stating that he was actually a Singaporean. He was a mixed-blood whose criminal case should be under the jurisdiction of the two countries.
"Haha, conscience? Since when did you take that as a criterion in judging a criminal?" After shooting a brief glance at Daisy, Hero then looked away and stared out the window, his eyes empty.
"I know you hate me for putting you into prison and saving your life. None of these things are what you wanted. However, you should know that catching you is my job. I have to do it. As for saving you, I did it for the old times' sake. I can't just watch you die. That's all." No one could have anticipated the way things had developed. However, Daisy couldn't see anything wrong with what she had done. She did what she thought was right as an army woman. Her attention was always focused on facts, and seldom did she let herself get distracted by personal feelings.
"Would you believe it if I say I don't blame you for neither of those things?" Hero asked as he finally mustered the guts to look directly at her. His face was solemn. Unfortunately, the intensity of his expression was diluted by his pale skin.
"Why?" The army woman said as she looked back at him with confusion.
"The same reason as you said just now. It's true that it's your job to catch me. But for you to save me? I suppose that takes more than just 'old time's sake', right?" Bitterness laced Hero's smile. He remembered the time when Jessica abducted Daisy. He let himself get involved in a secret plot just to make sure that Daisy wouldn't fall into the hands of other bad guys. He did all those because he loved her. And just like how he couldn't stand seeing her get into trouble, Daisy saved his life when she saw him dying. How could he even blame her for doing such?
"You were right about the first part. But please don't get me wrong as to why I saved you. It's nothing more than what I have said. Nevertheless, I want you to know that I've never looked down upon you, Hero. Not even once," said Daisy sincerely. She never believed that other people's opinions were important as to how she saw herself. However, she thought that her opinion might matter to a man who almost took his life.
"Thanks. I am glad to know that you see me that way. Guess there are good reasons why I love you." Hero forced a smile as he tried to appear as nonchalant as possible. He had loved Daisy for so many reasons he could tell and many he couldn't. None of them mattered because he knew that he would never have the chance to be with her. She had already been won over by another man long before they met. A man who was better than him in every way. He admitted that he couldn't compete with Edward and had accepted the reality that she had chosen Edward over him.
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