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Oh, wait—he can't exactly do that easily anymore.
“Ethan, how exactly are you going to make me happy?”
“Olivia, I know I'm not good enough for you now. But I'd give my life for you.”
“I might have gotten hurt saving you, but I don't regret it. As long as you're safe and healthy, it was all worth it.”
To pressure me, his parents had invited some other patients to watch. A crowd had gathered outside the door.
Someone started chanting, “Marry him, marry him!”
When I stayed quiet, Ethan pushed harder.
“You're not having second thoughts, are you? I can't lose you. If I can't marry you, I'd rather die.”
Then he grabbed a fruit knife from the bedside table and held it to his neck.
Right on cue, his parents jumped in.
His dad snatched the knife away and hit the call button for a nurse.
His mom cried to me, “Olivia, how can you be so heartless? My son saved you and ended up like this, and you're just going to stand there and watch him die?”
“My son could've run, but he went back for you. And this is how you repay him?”
The crowd joined in.
“Sweetie, just marry him. If he saved your life, it's only right you spend it with him.”
“Look at her—she clearly doesn't want to. How cold-hearted can you be? She belongs in hell.”
“That guy's so loyal. Too bad he wasted it on someone so ungrateful.”
“He's disfigured and lost his legs for you—how can you live with yourself?”
“Buddy, don't waste your time on someone like her. Move on. But make sure she pays you back—she owes you her life.”
The noise grew louder. I saw people pulling out their phones to record.
I said, “Ethan, you lost your legs, but did you lose your conscience too?”
“When the explosion happened, you sent me out for bubble tea. I wasn't even inside. How could you save me?”
“By the time I got back, the fire had already started. I tried to get to you, but it was too late.”
“I was willing to stand by you despite your injuries. But now that you're lying to everyone, I'm done.”
Ethan said, “Olivia, just because I'm hurt, you're going to abandon me?”
“If you don't want to marry me, just say so. But don't lie. Are you going to deny I saved you too?”
He looked smug, betting no one had seen us that day.
He thought he could use public pressure to force me to marry him or pay him off.
He was a severely injured victim, and I was healthy. People would easily assume I was a heartless monster for sure.
I didn't care about my reputation, but it could hurt my family's company.
Ethan knew that—it was why he put on this show.
Just then, a young woman spoke up.
“Wait, that's not what happened. I was there. This lady was helping move injured people to safety. She wasn't inside—how could he have saved her?”
“And when they brought him out, she ran over, crying her eyes out.”
An older man added, “Now that you mention it, I also remember she was outside. She warned me it was dangerous to stand so close and told me to move back.”
“Good thing I listened to her. When the second explosion hit, I would've been hit by debris.”
With two witnesses contradicting him, no one believed Ethan anymore. The room fell awkwardly silent.
Right then, the doctor arrived.
