"What illness do you mean? Tell me." It was as if all the blood had been drained from his body, his aggression and vitality dissipating in an instant. He slumped onto the bed, his thin lips moving slowly but deliberately.
"Miss Nightingale... she had a special constitution, chronically allergic to alcohol. That day, after drinking excessively, she nearly succumbed to alcohol poisoning..." Intimidated by the man's aura, the doctor dared not say more.
"Leave." Phoenix closed his eyes slowly, his spirit shattered, all hope extinguished.
"What?" Sensing Phoenix's body stiffen, the doctor hurried to support him.
"I said, leave!" Phoenix jerked his hand back stiffly, his arm like dried wood, devoid of warmth or flesh.
If he hadn't let her go back then, if he hadn't blamed Serena and continued to pamper her, she wouldn't have left, and none of this would have happened.
When he was summoned to the bar that time, he had condemned her without a word, without asking why she was there. Reflecting now, combined with Amelia's recent actions and the coincidence of Serena's accident near that bar, it all seemed too deliberate...
He had never truly understood Serena, and indeed, he had wounded her deeply. Each memory that resurfaced now felt like a knife cutting into him.
Slice by slice, he felt a searing pain, clenching his fists as every second became agony.
"Mr. Lee, your condition cannot wait. You've consumed too much alcohol; you might be experiencing internal bleeding and need to go to the hospital," the doctor urged, braving the tension.
"I told you to leave!" Phoenix waved his hand, sending a cup crashing to the floor from the bedside, his aura of hostility spreading.
The doctor attempted to say more, but Lucas, noticing the situation, pulled him out.
The CEO must be recalling the incident where he made Serena drink.
Regardless of whether Miss Monahan orchestrated the misunderstanding, it was Phoenix who didn't trust Serena and fell for her scheme. Every subsequent harm to Serena was indeed his doing.
Even if it pained him too.
"You've been a great help, Doctor. Please let our CEO calm down for now," Lucas sighed, gently closing the door.
Alcohol allergy... Serena must have been forced to drink so much that day; she must have been... in excruciating pain.
If Phoenix had arrived even a little later... or if she had been taken to the hospital any later, he would have regretted it immediately.
Inside the room, Phoenix's stomach churned. He wondered what Serena had thought when he pushed her out of the car that day. She must have... been in immense pain too.
"Serena... Have you really left? You hated me so much that you won't even come to me?
He murmured softly, envisioning her beautiful face, which vanished upon his touch.
A mocking laugh escaped his throat. "Of course, with me like this, you'd probably prefer to watch from the sidelines. If you appeared now, I might actually feel some relief."
Phoenix sighed heavily, closing his eyes. He suddenly empathized with those tyrants who sought reincarnation; he would do anything if mystical arts could bring her back.
"Serena, I've fallen so low. Won't you come to see me? If you don't come, does that mean you're still alive?"
"Serena, I remember you were afraid of the dark. On the road to the underworld, with no one to accompany you, you must be suffering. Let me join you, okay?"
Unnoticed, he produced a sharp knife. As the blade touched his wrist, the dull ache in his heart numbed all other physical pain; he felt nothing.
