Chapter 4
Elliot’s face went ashen as he rushed forward, scooping up the unconscious Phoebe and running toward the hospital without looking
back.
Sophie stood there, her fingers curling slightly, but eventually followed.
Under the harsh white lights of the hospital corridor, the operating room remained lit.
Elliot stood outside, Phoebe’s blood still staining his suit, his usually calm and composed face showing rare signs of anxiety.
Sophie sat quietly nearby, saying nothing.
The operating room doors suddenly burst open as a doctor rushed out. “What do we do? The patient is hemorrhaging badly and needs an emergency transfusion, but she has RH–negative blood and our blood bank is critically low!”
Elliot frowned, about to speak, when Sophie had already stood up. “I have RH–negative blood. I can donate to her.”
Elliot whipped around to look at her, shock flashing in his eyes.
Sophie met his gaze calmly. “Saving a life is what matters.”
She followed the nurse to give blood. 400cc flowed slowly from her body as her face grew paler and paler, but her eyes remained steady.
Elliot stood nearby, watching the needle in her slender arm, that strange feeling in his chest growing stronger.
Just how much… did she care for him?
After the blood draw, Sophie pressed cotton to her arm and walked out to see Elliot still standing motionless outside the operating
room.
She hesitated, then approached him quietly. “Don’t worry. She’ll be alright.”
Elliot looked up at her, his voice hoarse. “Why haven’t you left yet?”
Sophie shook her head. “Miss Evans has misunderstood about us. When she wakes up, I need to explain things clearly to her.”
Elliot stared at her pale face and suddenly asked, “Do you really care about me that much?”
Sophie was taken aback.
Just as she was about to respond, the operating room doors opened and the doctor emerged. “The surgery was successful. Once the
anesthesia wears off, the patient will wake up.”
Elliot’s tense shoulders finally relaxed.
Sophie quietly stepped aside, saying nothing more.
A few hours later, Phoebe woke up.
11:22
Stand–In Bride’s Escape: No More Chains. Only Freedom
2.0%
Chapter 4
The moment she opened her eyes and saw Sophie standing by the bed, tears welled up. “Elliot, did you bring her here because you want me to bless you two?”
Sophie quickly stepped forward, explaining gently, “Miss Evans, you’ve misunderstood. Elliot really did have a meeting that day. Taking me shopping was just on the way–it wasn’t a date, and he didn’t lie to you.”
Elliot nodded as well. “She and I are just in an arranged marriage. There are no feelings involved.”
Phoebe bit her lip as tears fell. “Then how do you prove it? Prove that you don’t have even the slightest feelings for her?”
Elliot frowned. “What do you want me to prove?”
न
Phoebe thought for a moment, then suddenly pointed toward the window. “Throw her in the ice lake.”
Elliot’s expression shifted. “Phoebe…”
“You’re hesitating?” Phoebe’s voice trembled. “You do care about her!”
Elliot was silent for several seconds, then finally sighed and waved at his bodyguards. “Throw her in the lake.”
Sophie’s pupils constricted.
She knew Elliot would do anything for Phoebe, but she hadn’t expected him to be this cruel.
But she couldn’t resist.
She had to endure it.
The bodyguards dragged her out while Elliot remained motionless, his expression unreadable.
The lake water was bone–chillingly cold.
The moment Sophie was pushed in, she could barely breathe.
The icy water flooded her nostrils, numbing her limbs.
She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stay afloat, but her body kept sinking uncontrollably.
The bodyguards on shore watched coldly, not one extending a hand.
Sophie’s consciousness began to fade. In her delirium, she seemed to see herself as a child-
Abandoned by her parents in that coastal town, shivering in winter without warm clothes, huddled in the nanny’s woodshed for
warmth.
Her entire life, she had never mattered to anyone.
After what felt like an eternity, Sophie was finally pulled from the water.
Her whole body was ice–cold, her lips blue–purple, completely unconscious.
In her haze, she felt someone wiping her body with warm towels, their movements unusually gentle.
11:22
Stand In Bride’s Escape: No More Chains, Only Freedom
2.3%
Chapter 4
She instinctively grabbed that hand, murmuring, “Just endure a little longer… I can leave soon…”
The next moment, that hand gripped hers tightly, with enough force to crush her bones.
“Leave where?!” Elliot’s voice was cold as ice.
♡ (0)
(0)
11:22
