Despite imagining countless possibilities and knowing what a person burnt alive would look like, the sight still shocked Patricia deeply, making her stomach churn.
"Patricia, must you destroy my sister's last bit of dignity and appearance? Isn't it enough that she perished in flames? Can't we let her leave this world with some decency?" Joe felt his sister had been violated and roared with tears swirling in his eyes."I’m sorry, I merely wanted to see her one last time! I’ll cover her up now!" Struggling to suppress her physical discomfort, Patricia was about to put the white cloth back over Debbie and seize the opportunity to take a tissue sample for DNA analysis.But just as she reached out, Joe grabbed her hand."Don’t touch my sister with your filthy hands!" After saying this, he shouted, "Kaylee, cover my sister's disfigured face."Upon finishing his words, Joe pulled Patricia to the front of the mourning hall.Manda, weakened by her sobbing, seeing PatrPatricia and Martin chose a nearby Western restaurant for their meal.After dinner and a short break, they stood up to return to the hospital.With one hour left for the results, Patricia and Martin decided to wait outside.Martin said, "I had Alan send someone to investigate the fire that broke out at the Athens psychiatric hospital. The weather has been getting colder, and one of the staff, seeking warmth, was using a heater. After dozing off, a sudden electrical short circuit ignited the heater, setting the curtains on fire. The building material inside was all shoddy and cheap so once it caught fire, it was uncontrollable, and the blaze just kept growing."Patricia furrowed her brows, voicing the doubt in her heart: "With so many people inside, there must have been a process to the fire outbreak! How is it possible for not even a single person to escape?"One hundred and eighty people, all perished in the flames.Unless they had all taken sleeping pills.Otherwise, setting aside t
By the time Patricia arrived at Sofiat Restaurant, she was a full half-hour late.She had thought Hunter would've left, but to her surprise, he was still there waiting, albeit with a frosty expression."I gave you half an hour, not an extra half hour to show up."Patricia kept bowing in apology: "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to be late. I was with Martin earlier, about to head over when he injured his hand. I took him to the hospital—that's why I was delayed."Hunter still looked at her expressionlessly, unmoved.Patricia handed over the menu: "To show my apologies, please order anything you like, eat as much as you want; don't hold back on my account."Hunter watched her silently, a deep and well-concealed chill in his eyes.She had never seen Hunter like this before. Patricia felt a chill down her spine, her skin crawling, suddenly finding the Hunter before her unfamiliar, different from the one in her memories, giving her a sense of dread.Was it an illusion, or...?Before Patri
Patricia returned home with Hunter after buying clothes. It was already nine o'clock.She was exhausted, spread out on the sofa in the shape of a star, not wanting to move even her toes.It wasn't just physical fatigue that tired her, but emotional weariness too.Charles and Fannie were about to sleep, but when they saw Patricia return, they excitedly ran over and pounced on her: "Mommy, are you going to stay with us again tonight?"Patricia, touching their little heads, said speechlessly: "What do you mean 'again'?"Fannie pouted her lips, discontentedly saying: "Ever since we came back to Ivara City, you've been almost constantly with Randy, and it's been so hard to see you. So, isn’t my use of 'again' correct?"Patricia, without a word, chose to remain silent.Charles, seeing her lack of enthusiasm and seeming preoccupied, asked with concern: "Mommy, is something wrong?""Umm..." Patricia stared absent-mindedly at the ceiling for a moment, then asked: "Would you be able to accept a
Patricia’s gaze fell on his bandaged hand, and she suddenly remembered her promise from the day before. She quickly apologized, “Oh dear, I’m sorry, I promised to visit you at the Ellenstein Villa District last night, but it slipped my mind because it got too late.”After speaking, she walked over, gently held his hand, and asked with concern, “How’s your hand doing? I hope there hasn’t been a fracture?”Just as her hand touched the sore spot, Martin sharply inhaled with an exaggerated display of pain, his face contorted, “It hurts, it hurts... please, be gentle.”Seeing him in such agony, Patricia anxiously inquired, “Does it hurt that bad? Could it be broken? Did you get an X-ray? Where is it? Let me see?”Martin pouted, a mix of self-pity and distress in his voice, “Do you even care about me? I thought you were only concerned with going out on dates and wouldn't care about me.”Patricia asserted righteously, “I was the one who injured your hand, how could I not care?”Hearing her w
Hunter stood at the entrance of the inpatient building, hands in his pockets, a warm smile on his face as he watched her. He looked like a boyfriend waiting to pick up his girlfriend from work.He was dressed in a burgundy mid-length woolen overcoat with a black turtleneck sweater underneath. A hint of a smile lingered at the corners of his mouth, giving him the air of a debonair gentleman. He exuded an air of elegance and charisma. Black leather boots paired with his long legs accentuated his slender figure, along with an innate air of nobility that could rival that of a top international male model.The cold wind howled, causing his coat to flutter and his hair to sway. Patricia could clearly see him shivering from the cold. She immediately went over, pulling him away from the wind to take refuge behind the wall, scolding, “You're dressed so lightly, aren't you cold standing in the wind? Don't you know to find shelter from the wind?”Hunter, like a child
After a while, Martin regained his composure and took out his mobile phone to call Patricia.In his line of sight, Patricia and Hunter had just stopped under the dim light of a streetlamp.They paused, and Patricia made a motion as if she was about to reach for her phone. Moments later, her voice came through the line, crisp and clear, "Hey, what's up? Is there something else?"With a deadpan expression, Martin asked, "Where are you now?"Patricia replied, "I’m at the hospital! What's the matter?"Her impatient tone pierced Martin's heart with a sharp pain."In which part of the hospital are you? It's snowing, and you didn't bring an umbrella. I can bring one to you."Patricia declined the offer without hesitation, "No need."In the past, such persistent rejection would have led Martin to hang up immediately. He was not one to be indulged.It seems that only others had ever tried to please him; he's never stooped to this level of desperation.
Patricia furrowed her brow. "Drunk? Why did he start drinking?"Wasn't he doing fine at the hospital recently? He seemed to be in a good mood.Carter's voice grew more anxious: "I don't know, something must have really upset him. He’s in a bad place right now and won't talk about it. He just keeps drinking. I'm afraid he'll drink himself to death if you don't come. Ryan is also close to reaching his limit. No matter what, Martin has helped you a few times, you can't just abandon him now!"Hearing the urgency in Carter's voice, Patricia realized the situation was more serious than she thought.If she didn't go, she would indeed appear heartless and uncaring.She hesitated, glancing at Hunter, wrestling with her thoughts for a moment, then nodded. "Okay! Send me the address, I'll head over right away!"After ending the call, Patricia apologized with a regretful expression, "I'm sorry, I need to leave for a bit! I'll make it up to you tomorrow."Hunter
Patricia bit her lower lip tightly, still unable to completely snap out of the daze from their recent kiss.Martin's gaze subtly swept over Patricia, recalling the image of her under an umbrella with Hunter, his heart stung painfully. He tilted his head and gave Carter a meaningful look without making a sound.Carter looked at him in confusion.Before Carter could decipher the meaning, Martin suddenly pushed both him and Hunter away, claiming Patricia by pinning her against the wall and kissing her fiercely, biting her lip punishingly. He thought he was dreaming before.But this time, he was wide awake.He wanted to show Hunter that Patricia belonged to him, and no one else could take her away.Patricia flinched from the pain on her lips, inhaling sharply. This time, her response was swift; her hands pressed against his chest, trying hard to push him off.But Martin was immovable, like a fortress. His tongue skillfully pried open her teeth, swept int