When They Beg, I Rise!

The room was a haven of silence.

Lemira opened her mouth as if to speak, but then, words failed her. At times like these, language seemed utterly inadequate.

After all, she had tried to explain herself countless times before, only to be met with disbelief from her brothers.

Lucian's Adam's apple bobbed slightly before he finally let go of her hand. His eyes filled with disappointment as he looked at Lemira, "If you keep going down this path, I can't protect you when Asher gets back. Think about what you're doing." With those words, Lucian left the room.

Lemira let out a sigh of relief, leaning back against her pillow.

What was there to think about? Bent over backward trying to please them, only to be kicked out and end up dying miserably in a mental institution like in her previous life?

Not a chance.

"Here, catch!"

Suddenly, there was a cold pack wrapped in a bandage before her.

Lemira took it, pressing the cold pack against her bruised cheek, stealing a glance at the man beside her. In a low voice, she said, "Thanks for earlier."

His voice was cool and distant, "Why didn't you explain yourself?"

Lemira lowered her head, a bitter smile on her lips, "Would you believe me if I told you I've tried explaining so many times before, even showed them proof, and they still didn't believe me? They just thought I was lying." A brief silence fell over the room.

Lemira didn't feel like explaining any further; most people didn't believe her anyway, just thought she was disobedient.

"It's hard not to believe you."

Lemira was caught off guard. Did he really believe her?

Orion stepped closer, placing his hand on her forehead, "Your fever's gone down."

Lemira was stunned; his touch was cool and soothing, making her feel much better. She glanced at the scar on his wrist, "Is that from an accident too, the scar on your wrist?"

Orion's hand froze for a moment before he quickly withdrew it. He began to remove the empty IV bag, taking a while before answering, "Yeah, an accident."

He leaned against the table, his back to Lemira. His profile was shadowed, making it hard to read his expression.

"I have one too, on my leg."

Lemira lifted her skirt a bit to show him, "Right here, see? Looks a lot like your scar, doesn't it?"

The scar on her thigh stood out against her fair skin, which made even more conspicuous by how high she'd lifted her skirt.

He glanced at it, and then quickly looked away, "Kid, don't just lift your skirt in front of men."

"But you're a doctor."

Orion cleared his throat, reminding himself he was also a man. Hadn't anyone taught her these things?

He then said, "That scar could be treated. Why haven't you fixed it?"

Lemira's expression dimmed, a wave of pain washing over her. Because Rowan had said that scar was a reminder of their parents, and he'd take care of it when he had the time. She had believed him.

But then, Rowan had looked at her scar with disgust, saying he hated it and would never treat it, blaming her for their parents' death. That scar was her stigma for causing their deaths, he said, and she should remember that for life. At the time, she was devastated, even believing she was responsible, which made her even more subservient to her brothers.

Remembering the past made it hard for Lemira to breathe. But she couldn't bring herself to say this out loud, instead asking, "What about you? Why haven't you treated yours?"

"I'm a man; it doesn't matter. But a young lady like you should get it treated."Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Lemira forced a small smile, "Maybe later."

Orion, seeing her looking down, didn't press further. He sat down beside her, turning on the TV.

Lemira noticed the screen showed a live gaming competition, and Alaric was actually participating in the match at that moment.

Alaric had missed Evelina's party just for this competition. But in the end, he lost to the young son from the Everhart family of Nyric.

Lemira remembered how, in her past life, Alaric had been ridiculed by his opponent after the loss, driving him to rebuild the family gaming team furiously.

Lucian, Caspian, Evander, Alaric, and herself - despite failing in the preliminaries, they had a shot at redemption in the wild card round.

Through the wild card, they fought their way up, facing the same opponent from the Everhart family once again in the nationals.