Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

So, there I was, just in my underwear, when Ethan came in and shut the door. I freaked out, trying to grab some clothes, but I was so jittery I couldn't even get them on after two tries. Ethan strode over and grabbed my hand.

"Don't move."

He grabbed a coat from the wardrobe and draped it over me, then silently pulled me to sit on the bed.

I clutched the collar and wrapped myself up tight.

In this huff, I was not about to let him feast his eyes on my seductive form.

Like some kind of magician, he pulled out an ice pack, took my hand, and gently pressed it to the burn on the back of my hand.

The coolness felt way better instantly. But since we were still in a standoff, I kept my face all cold and emotionless.

Probably thinking it was too cold for me, he took it off and put it back now and then.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked softly, eyes on my injury.

I stared at the floor, stubbornly silent, keeping up my icy act.

Ethan suddenly lifted my chin, looking right into my eyes.

I noticed my eyes were swollen when I washed up that morning. If he wasn't blind, he should have seen it then. Ethan put down the ice pack, cupped my face, and kissed my eyes. "I'm sorry!"

I wished I could be tougher, but just hearing his raspy apology made me crumble, and tears started falling.

He kissed my tears helplessly. "Don't cry. I'm sorry."

I used all my strength to push him away, wiped my tears, and glared at him through my blurry vision. "Sorry is so easy to say. Do you think that after hurting someone, just saying sorry can easily heal the wound?" Ethan slightly raised his head, biting his lower lip and staring at the ceiling.

"Emily, I thought you understood me."

I smiled bitterly and nodded. "Yeah, I understand you. Of course, I understand you. You got mad at me for breaking a photo frame, proving that Fiona has always been more important to you than me. How could I not understand?" He placed a hand on my shoulder, tilted his head, and looked at me with a face full of fatigue and helplessness.

"Emily, I've told you before, Fiona and I are in the past. Faye is just a poor girl. I thought you were willing to let her stay because you understood me."

I shook my head sadly. "I regret it. I think if she stays, she'll eventually lure you into her bed. There are many poor girls in the world; why don't you just take them all in?"

Ethan frowned deeply.

Clearly, I was the one who suggested letting Faye stay the day before. Now, saying these things made me seem particularly unreasonable. But I'd lost all reason and didn't want to be rational.

Just as I was about to say something else, Ethan suddenly kissed me.

I clamped my mouth shut, hitting and pushing him.

Even though I wasn't cooperating at all, his kiss remained patient and gentle.

Eventually, I lost the strength to resist his half-comforting, half-apologetic kiss.

He slowly pressed me down onto the bed, and the coat draped over me had long since slipped off. The neatly made bed from the morning was instantly in disarray. Just as his kiss grew deeper and more urgent, a scream suddenly came from downstairs.

We both froze, and the stormy moment abruptly stopped.

Ethan helped me get dressed and then took me downstairs.

We didn't see Faye in the living room, but we finally found her standing outside the floor-to-ceiling window, covering her face with one hand and looking furious. "What happened?" Ethan asked.

Faye bit her lip, pitifully removed her hand, and pointed to the corner, complaining to Ethan. "I kindly gave it some food, and it scratched me."

I was stunned and looked at Scruffy in surprise.

I'd raised Scruffy for years; it was a very well-behaved cat and had never attacked anyone.

Seeing the scratches on Faye's face, I felt a bit pleased, as if Scruffy had avenged me.

"How am I supposed to show my face now?" Faye stomped her foot, glaring at Scruffy with a look that could kill.

Ethan took out his car keys and said, "Let's go to the hospital. You both need to go to the hospital."

So, Ethan drove, taking us to the hospital.

Only a short time after we set off, Bella called.

I roughly knew what she wanted to say. So, I deliberately lowered the volume of the receiver so only I could hear.

"Emily, how's it going with that woman?"

Sure enough, that's what she asked.

Ethan was sitting next to me, and Faye was in the back. Of course, I couldn't tell her about yesterday's exciting events in detail, so I just said, "We're on our way to the hospital." "Hospital? What happened?"

"A little injury."

Bella's voice immediately rose. "Did you get into a fight?"

I coughed lightly, turned to the side, and whispered, "It's nothing. I'll tell you later."

So, I hung up the phone, and the car stopped at a red light. People were hustling across the crosswalk in front of us.

A woman, probably in her forties, was walking real slow. Just as she got in front of our car, she stopped, bent over, propped herself on our hood with one hand, and then just collapsed to the ground.

People around gasped, but no one stepped up; instead, they sped up, trying to get away from the scene.

Sensing something was off, I jumped out of the car to check on her.

Faye and Ethan quickly followed me out.

The woman was lying there, not moving.

Faye stood there with her arms crossed, looking at the woman, and then said smugly, "Are you trying to scam us? If you're gonna fake an accident, pick a different spot. This is an intersection with cameras everywhere and tons of witnesses. You can't just make stuff up. Get up and stop blocking traffic."

But I didn't think so, and the woman didn't look like she was poor from her clothes.

No one else stepped in, but I couldn't just stand by. I squatted down and turned her over.

Her face was pale, and her lips were purple, looking like she'd had a sudden heart attack. I told Ethan to call 911 and immediately started performing CPR on her.

The traffic jam attracted traffic cops, who, after understanding the situation, started directing traffic on the spot.

While waiting for the ambulance, the woman gradually opened her eyes under my resuscitation efforts.

She stared at me like she wanted to say something. But she'd just regained consciousness and probably didn't have the strength to speak.

Soon, the ambulance arrived, and the medics lifted her onto a stretcher and into the vehicle.

We got back into the car and drove away, letting traffic get back to normal.

Ethan, thinking my injury was more urgent, took me to the burn unit first, with Faye tagging along.

The doc said I needed several rounds of medication, so I told Ethan to take Faye for her treatment, and I'd join them later.

When I found them in the surgery department, the doc said her injury wasn't serious and that ointment would heal it over time.

But Faye, being someone who performed on stage, was super worried about her face.

Even after leaving the exam room, she still looked worried, holding her face like she didn't want to be seen.

As we walked down the hallway, a beautiful woman suddenly approached us. "Hey, were you the one who saved someone on the road today?"

She was looking right at me, pretty sure it was me.

She had a smile on her face and spoke gently, so I figured there was no risk of being falsely accused of helping.

I said, "Yeah, that was me."

The woman smiled warmly. "Could you come with me? The lady you saved wants to see you."

I also wanted to know how she was doing.

So the three of us followed her to a high-end VIP ward.

The woman I saved was now sitting up in bed, flipping through a magazine.

She looked much better.

"Ma'am, she's here," the woman reported.

The old woman, Aurora Moore, looked up at me, adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, and then smiled warmly, beckoning me over. "Young lady, come here."

I walked over and asked with concern, "Are you feeling better?"

Aurora nodded. "Much better. If it weren't for your timely help, I might not be alive now."

I smiled. "Ma'am, I used to be a nurse, so I know some first aid. I'm glad I was there to help you."

"A nurse?" Aurora nodded warmly. "No wonder you have an angelic heart."

Sometimes, I just clicked with people. Although I'd only met Aurora twice, the first time when she was not fully conscious, I felt a strong connection with her.

In the ward, Faye suddenly got a call, telling her to rush to the TV station to shoot a promo for "Youth Sings Loudly."

Upon hearing this, Faye was almost in tears.

"How could I shoot a promo with my face like this?"

I felt a bit wicked because I was somewhat pleased by her predicament.

"Maybe you could use some concealer," I suggested.

Faye was still deeply worried. The injury had marred her perfect skin, and she believed concealer wouldn't cover it. "Sometimes scars can be beautiful," Aurora suddenly said from her bed.

Faye looked at Aurora with displeasure. "It's easy for you to say; you're not the one injured," she retorted.

Aurora wasn't offended by her rudeness and continued to smile kindly.

She had an aura about her, a kind of innate grace that couldn't be diminished even while sitting in a hospital bed.

Aurora said, "You misunderstood me. I have a way to make your scar look stunning. Do you believe me?"

I looked at Aurora in surprise, and Faye was also taken aback.

Aurora turned to the woman who had brought us in.

"Get my makeup kit."