"Saving lives should always come first, especially since he got hurt trying to save you. What’s there to hesitate about? I just don’t understand!"
"How could she be so cold-hearted?"
The whispers around me grew louder, a wave of judgment crashing over me.
I sat motionless on the bench, my lips pressed tight, unyielding like a stubborn rock.
When I didn’t respond, Alastor, on the brink of collapse, clung to my pant leg, his grip desperate as he begged.
"Verena, how about this?"
"You go in and save him, and as a token of our gratitude, we’ll transfer the house and the car to your name..."
At the mention of the offer, I finally raised my gaze.
Noticing my expression soften, Alastor’s face lit up with relief, his chest heaving as he pounded it in victory.
"Verena, don’t worry, I swear on it!"
"As long as you save Matias, the house, the car, even all our savings, they’re yours!"
A ripple of astonishment spread through the crowd.
Everyone was moved by the depth of Alastor’s fatherly devotion.
I looked down at him, my thoughts calculating quietly behind my gaze.
The combined worth of his house, car, and savings easily ran into the millions.
Selling my career for that wasn’t the worst trade.
But, I raised my eyes again, my voice softening with a touch of reluctance.
"Alright, I’ll save him. But..."
Alastor’s face brightened instantly, his eyes locked on mine with an eager hope.
I drew out my words, speaking deliberately, as if each syllable weighed on me.
"But you’ll need to sign a contract with me first. Without that, what if you decide to go back on your promise?"
At this, Alastor’s smile faltered, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
Milana couldn’t hold herself back any longer; her voice quivered with raw emotion as she cried out.
"Matias is in critical condition! How can we waste time on a contract?"
"My poor son! How could he end up marrying someone so ungrateful?"
I gave a helpless shrug, my tone unwavering.
"No contract, no surgery."
The crowd murmured again, their voices thick with condemnation.
Some of the more fiery onlookers looked as though they were about to lash out in their frustration.
Just then, another nurse burst through the door, her uniform streaked with blood.
Her voice shook, a mix of shock and urgency in her words.
"The patient just lost consciousness. Before he did, he asked me to deliver a message."
"He told me to stop pressuring Verena. He knows how hard she worked to get this job."
The mention of Matias losing consciousness sent Milana collapsing to the floor, her grief too heavy to bear.
Her face was ashen, her body trembling so violently that words seemed impossible to form.
Tears streamed down Alastor’s face, his pain evident as he dropped to his knees, his head bowing to the ground with such force it seemed he might choke on the weight of his own grief.
Between clenched teeth, he rasped, his words barely escaping.
"His life is on the line. I’ll keep every promise. Just... please..."
I glanced at the elderly couple, their faces etched with worry and exhaustion, and for a brief moment, doubt clouded my mind.
My parents had passed when I was young, and the concept of familial love had always felt distant.
But when I met Matias, things were different. He had introduced me to his parents early on, and their warmth had been something I’d never known.
The Campbells, so kind, so genuine, had never once made me feel inferior because of my background. They had taken me in as one of their own, showing me a care that left an impression I could never forget.
