Chapter 4 Back from the Brink

Linden and Rosalind gradually woke up in the hospital. Linden had dreamed of becoming a painter, but his hands were severely burned with extensive nerve damage. He would never be able to hold a paintbrush again. Rosalind was beautiful and wanted to break into the entertainment industry, but her throat and lungs were badly damaged. Even after treatment, her voice was rough and unpleasant, so her dreams of stardom were over too. The moment Linden woke up, he didn't even care about his own injuries and insisted on seeing Rosalind. This time, when he reached her hospital room, he dropped to his knees and begged her to be with him. "Rosalind, no one could ever love you more than I do! Please be with me! I've already lost my hands, and I can't lose you too!" Leona, who had rushed over when she heard the news, burst into the room. She was sobbing as she reached for Rosalind's hand. "My brother gave up his hands to save you! If you have any conscience at all, you should say yes!" Hiding outside the window, I couldn't help but laugh when I heard this. Leona had always used the same tactics and the same emotional blackmail. She had said the exact same thing to me in my previous life. "Linden gave up everything to marry you, so you should give him a child and carry on the Rothwell family line!" My burn scars actually made pregnancy dangerous for me, but Leona had said, "How will you know unless you try?" So, I tried. I secretly got pregnant, but it ended with a labor induction procedure. My uterus was removed along with my child, and I still remember the hollow agony of having everything torn out of me. On the bed, Rosalind frowned disdainfully and pulled away from Leona's touch. She asked, "What about Aurora? What happened to her?" The moment she spoke, her harsh, raspy voice shocked them both. Rosalind used to have the voice of an angel. She'd even won the campus singing competition. Now the fire had ruined that future as well. Leona immediately said, "That little witch Aurora is perfectly fine! She's already gone home!" She held up Linden's burned hands. "Look at this! My brother's hands are ruined, your voice is destroyed, but Aurora doesn't have a scratch on her. She must have started that fire!" Rosalind was consumed with hatred toward me. She was practically tearing the bedsheets apart and had bitten her lip until it bled. Meanwhile, Linden crawled on his knees to her bedside, pleading, "Rosalind, please say yes! "You know how much I love you. I promised you before that I wouldn't show my feelings in front of Aurora, but this fire showed me her true, ugly nature. I would never be with someone like that!" I couldn't help but smile outside the window. Rosalind had been my college roommate, and she was from the middle of nowhere. She was so nervous and out of place when she started university that I ended up looking out for her. She was actually the one who introduced me to Linden. They both came from poor families. In my previous life, I valued our friendship so much that I constantly helped them out financially. I funded Linden's art education. I paid for private lessons with established painters, bought him his own studio, and even promoted his work to anyone who would listen. As for Rosalind, when she started posting singing and dancing videos online, I rallied all my friends to like and share them. I even bought fake followers to boost her social media presence. I should have seen it coming. Why would such an attractive couple go out of their way to befriend someone as ordinary-looking as me? It seemed like they were just after my money after all. They clearly had feelings for each other, but never dared show it around me. After a long pause, Rosalind finally spoke. Her voice sounded like gravel. "Fine, I'll be with you. But I'm never going to let Aurora get away with this!"