Chapter 101
"Is everything resolved?" Juliana looked at Lucas.
He paused, then quietly told her about David.
"His face..." Juliana's chest tightened.
"I've already reached out to the best plastic surgeon available. They're on their way." Lucas added.
Juliana nodded but didn't press further.
"Is anyone with him?" she asked.
Lucas was quiet for a moment. "My mother is there."
Juliana hesitated. Ashley? Would she actually take care of David?
Lucas caught her expression and shook his head. "She's still David's godmother. Whatever issues they have, she's not going to just leave him alone like that."
He looked at Juliana, the worry still lingering in her eyes.
He reached for her hand. "Don't overthink it. Let's go check on him."
They left the pediatric ward and headed straight to David's room.
When they pushed the door open, Ashley was sitting by the bed, her expression tight and unhappy.
David lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling.
He turned his head at the sound of the door. Seeing Lucas and Juliana, something complicated flickered in his eyes before his usual nonchalant mask slipped back into place.
"Well, well. Mr. Sharp, Dr. Wells. You two came all the way to watch me suffer?" His voice carried a bitter edge of self-mockery.
Lucas walked to the bedside and looked at the wound on David's face.
"I've already contacted the best plastic surgeon. They're on their way."
David let out a short, humorless laugh. "Don't bother. It's just a face. Ruined is ruined."
The words came out casual, but they cut into Lucas far more than he let on.
Juliana watched David, searching for something comforting to say. But everything that came to mind felt hollow.
Ashley sat nearby, her face tight and unreadable. She glanced at Lucas, then at David, opened her mouth as if to say something, and ultimately just sighed.
The atmosphere in the room was unbearable.
Lucas stood there a moment longer, then turned to go. He needed to handle David's follow-up treatment, and he needed time to sit with what he'd caused.
"Get some rest," Lucas said to David, his voice heavy.
David didn't respond.
Juliana hesitated, then followed Lucas out.
Ashley sighed, told David to take care of himself, and let a nurse help her out of the room.
The room was empty now. Just David.
That's when his phone buzzed on the bedside table.
He picked it up. The name on the screen was familiar yet felt like it belonged to a different lifetime—'Home.'
He answered.
"Hello?"
A high-pitched woman's voice came through, syrupy with forced warmth. "David! You finally picked up. Word is you've made it big over there in New Seashire, huh?"
"What do you want?" he asked flatly.
"Listen to you." The voice shifted to mild irritation. "Can't a person just check in? Your cousin's getting married soon and they're a little short on cash. Now that you're doing so well, shouldn't you help out your own family?"
David let out a cold laugh. "You sold me. And now you want money?"
A man's voice jumped in. "David, you're the Sharp family's godson now! Do you have any idea what kind of family that is? You've been living the good life because of us. You should be grateful!"
Something sharp stabbed at his chest. His grip on the phone tightened, knuckles going pale.
"I don't have any money. My face got injured. I'm in the hospital." He tried to end the call.
"Wait, wait, wait!" The woman's voice went shrill with urgency. "David, don't you dare brush us off! Ashley herself said that if Lucas hadn't specifically asked for you, she wouldn't have spent a dime buying a liability like you! She did you a favor, and now that you've got money, you're turning your back on your own family?"
David's hand trembled. The phone almost slipped from his fingers.
"What did you just say?" His voice went tight, barely above a whisper.
"I said you got lucky! Lucas wanted you around, so Ashley had no choice but to go buy you. And now look at you—acting like you're too good for us? You spent all those years with the Sharps, serving them, living off them. And now you can't spare a little something for your own family?"
"Serving them. Living off them."
Each word landed like a blade.
A wave of humiliation and rage swept over him, pulling him under.
"Just—shut up!" David's voice cracked, raw with a kind of despair and fury he'd never felt before.
"Who do you think you're talking to? You—"
He hung up with every bit of strength he had left.
He sat there gripping the phone so hard it should've cracked.
Sold like an object. Used like a tool. Called a servant to his face.
It was all one big joke.
He'd put his life on the line for Lucas, fought battles for the Sharp family, and for what? He'd been nothing more than someone Lucas had "asked for"—something bought and paid for, a chess piece to be moved around and discarded when no longer useful.
David fell back against the pillow, eyes fixed on the ceiling, seeing nothing.
His eyes burned. Something cold slid down his cheek and soaked into the gauze.
He'd always thought he was living free and clear, eyes wide open.
Turns out he'd been living inside a carefully constructed lie the whole time—a pathetic, manipulated puppet who never even knew the strings were there.
……
Lucas stood at the far end of the hospital corridor, facing the chief of medicine, who looked deeply uncomfortable.
"Mr. Sharp, I've examined the wound myself. It's quite deep. Modern medicine is remarkable, but guaranteeing zero scarring—I can't promise you that."
"I'm not asking for promises." Lucas cut him off. "I want results. Money isn't an issue. Resources aren't an issue. Whatever it takes, I'll take full responsibility."
That wasn't a request. It was an order.
The chief of medicine finally relented. "...Understood. I'll do everything I can. I'll arrange for a specialist consultation immediately."
Lucas hung up but didn't move.
He stood looking down at the traffic below, the restlessness and guilt in his chest refusing to ease.
……
Back in the hospital room, David barely had a moment to breathe before the door opened again.
Ashley walked in. "David, I've been thinking. I have to say this. You were right to look out for me, but you're a grown man. You shouldn't have put your hands on Lucas. Once you're better, go apologize to him."