Chapter 225: Disabled Legs
Louis stood by the hospital bed, watching James as he leaned against it.
His eyes were red and swollen, bloodshot with visible veins, and his gaze was dull and lifeless.
Ever since he finished that phone call with Mia, James had been overwhelmed by sadness, his entire being engulfed in grief.
His reluctance was plainly visible on his thin, haggard face.
If that's the case—
"James, why are you doing this? Why not tell Mia?"
Louis couldn't help but ask.
Having been with countless women but never truly falling in love, Louis couldn't understand.
Wasn't this the perfect opportunity?
Louis hadn’t witnessed it himself, but just imagining the scene left him deeply shaken.
What kind of emotion was this?
Did love really have such powerful magic?
Anyway, in his lifetime, he could never give up his life for a woman.
What could be more important than his own life?
Nothing!
Although he couldn’t fully empathize, he understood.
Women were emotional beings. If Mia knew that James had risked his life for her, she would undoubtedly be deeply moved.
"What right do I have to tell her now?" James said with a bitter smile.
His gaze lingered on his legs, eyes filled with pain, and his expression deepened in sorrow.
"Why don't you have the right? You became like this because you saved her! As long as Mia knows, she'll definitely be moved."
"Don't you know Mia's personality? She won't look down on you. She'll definitely stay by your side and take good care of you."
"You could even use this to ask for remarriage, and she'd definitely agree. Isn't that what you want most, what you've been hoping for all along?"
Yes!
Remarrying Mia was what his heart desired!
He so badly wanted to have Mia again, to make her his wife once more!
But—
"Louis."
James's voice grew even lower.
To the ear, it sounded somewhat distant.
The smile on his lips turned even more bitter as he spoke softly, "You don't understand. I owe Mia too much. I just can't bring myself to burden her again."
"Our four-year marriage ended with her covered in wounds. I hurt her so badly she was full of holes."
"A girl who loved to smile, who was like a little sun, I tortured her until her eyes lost their light, until she forgot how to smile."
Whenever he thought of that time, thought of Mia back then, his heart felt like it was being cut by knives, filled with regret.
James's eyes reddened even more.
"After divorcing me, she finally managed to emerge from the pain."
"You don't know how happy I was when I saw her smile again."
"At that moment I thought, as long as she's happy, I'd do anything."
"So even though days without her were unbearably painful, each day feeling like years, I was still willing to stand in place and silently wait."
"When Mia gave me another chance to get close to her, I thought I must take good care of her, do everything I can to make it up to her, protect her, but—"
Among their group of friends, James had always been reserved.
He rarely showed his emotions and didn't talk much.
This was the first time he had laid bare his heart like this.
Louis, usually so eloquent, was speechless for the first time.
His chest felt tight and heavy.
He still couldn't understand what kind of feeling this was.
But he vaguely understood why James was telling him all this.
"But I can't do it anymore—I can't!"
James's hands resting on his legs clenched tightly, gripping his leg muscles.
He used all his strength, yet felt nothing at all.
"Louis, my legs are crippled. From now on, I can only live in a wheelchair."
"If I continue being with Mia, not only can I not take care of her, I'll burden her for the rest of her life."
This wasn't what he wanted!
How could he bear it?
If even Louis hadn't pronounced his death sentence.
How could he bear to push Mia away?
Louis's throat felt blocked, his emotions somewhat out of control.
After a long while, he promised James, "James, don't worry. I promised you I wouldn't tell Mia, and I definitely won't."
He knew that James was telling him all this because he'd seen through Louis's intention to secretly tell Mia, which was why he was explaining.
Since this was James's choice, as a good friend, he could only support him.
"I want to rest now."
James spoke in an extremely weary voice.
Louis responded and left the hospital room.
After the door closed, James's hands pressed on his legs tightened and loosened, loosened and tightened.
Suddenly, his hands formed fists and pounded heavily on his legs.
He pounded harder and harder.
Until his knuckles turned red from the pounding, numb with pain, yet his legs still felt nothing.
No matter how hard he tried, there was no feeling.
A suppressed roar, like a trapped beast, filled with extreme agony.
……
When Amelia woke up again, the smell of disinfectant in the air told her she was still in the hospital room.
But no matter when she woke up, the room was always pitch black.
She couldn't tell if it was day or night.
From the first day when she woke up screaming and shouting until her throat was raw, with no one paying attention to her.
The second day...
The third day...
She gradually lost the strength to shout anymore.
She just drifted in and out of consciousness, waking and sleeping.
Her body had clearly recovered, but she couldn't muster any energy.
Because during this time, she'd been surviving on IV fluids, and was very weak.
Just when she thought it would be another day like before, she suddenly heard the sound of curtains being drawn.
Amelia immediately opened her eyes.
The pitch-black room suddenly flooded with light. The sunlight was too bright for her eyes that hadn't seen light in so long, making her close them again.
After adjusting, she slowly opened them.
When she did.
She actually saw Uri.
For a moment, Amelia thought she was hallucinating.
She gently bit her lip, and when she felt the pain, tears instantly filled her eyes.
"Uri, you finally found me—"
Uri did love her after all.
She knew it. Uri loved her too deeply to abandon her.
Even though James's people had locked her up here, Uri still managed to find her.
The reason she stopped making a fuss later was because she was certain Uri would come save her.
She had bet right.
"I knew you'd come save me, Uri—"
Amelia was so excited that she struggled to get up from the bed and crawled down.
During this time, the uncertainty of her situation had put her under tremendous mental pressure. Seeing Uri was like seeing a lifeline.
She threw herself forward, crying, trying to hug Uri.
Before she could get close, Uri, sitting in his wheelchair, lifted his foot expressionlessly.
His leather shoe kicked hard into Amelia's face, sending her sprawling away from him.
As Amelia watched in shock, he turned the wheelchair, and the wheels rolled over her hand. "Uri, it hurts—"