Ewan fell silent. He checked the time and asked, “Would you like to learn more about Mr. Lincoln?


    After all, you’re now his wife.


    Ewan wanted to provide me with more insights into Steven.


    I looked up in tears. “Okay.”


    Ewan remained silent as he led me to the abandoned orphanage.


    “When Mr. Lincoln was 19 years old, Mr. Lincoln Senior intended for him to pursue his Ph.D.


    abroad. But that day, a fire broke out at the orphanage. Someone deliberately locked him and


    Simeon in a room, trapping them inside. If we hadn’t arrived in time, Mr. Lincoln would have


    perished as well.


    The orphanage instilled a deep fear in me because I died here.


    Fortunately, Ewan took me to the east wing of the orphanage.


    “Maybe the culprit just wanted to frighten Steven and Simeon, but things spiraled out of control with


    the fire. The whole dormitory burned down. 19 kids perished that year, except for Steven and


    Simeon, who were older. The others were just seven or eight years old.”


    I knew Steven and Simeon had returned to the orphanage for some annual event, where children


    around their age who hadn’t been adopted would gather for a ceremony.


    Those who perished were the younger ones who hadn’t found a home.


    “They were choking on the thick smoke when we found them trapped in the burning room,” Ewan


    said as he pushed open the now charred and creaking door.


    at the doorway


    I stood stiffly trembling with fear for reasons I couldn’t understand.


    The room was deste, with only a bed frame ckened by smoke against the scorched walls.


    Even after all these years, the w marks from the children’s struggle in the fire were still


    visible.


    1 covered my mouth in fear as I shakily crouched on the ground, overwhelmed by a nauseating


    sensation in my stomach.


    It was hard to imagine the pain and despair Steven and Simeon endured while trapped in this


    room.


    I could almost hear their screams of agony and feel their despair as their bodies were scorched


    by the mes and they were engulfed by the suffocating smoke. The marks on the wall seemed to


    narrate their desperation at that moment.


    “Why didn’t you find them sooner?” I choked out, my heart sinking into despair.


    “On that day, the Lincoln family faced a massive tragedy. Along with the orphanage fire, Mr. Andy,


    his wife, and children died in a car ident. Mr. Lincoln Senior was devastated, and the entire


    family was engulfed in sorrow. They forgot that Mr. Lincoln was still at the orphanage.”


    Ewan’s voice croaked, and tears started streaming down his face.


    “After Mr. Lincoln woke up, he went insane. He hurried back to the orphanage and refused to listen


    to anyone who tried to persuade him to leave. He insisted on waiting for someone there, saying he


    had been asked to do so. Despite his injuries worsening, he waited patiently.”


    Ewan wiped his tears and continued, “It was simply a post–trauma response. With patience and


    family support, he could have gotten better. But Mr. Andy’s death led to Mr. Lincoln Senior being


    influenced by Mr. James, resulting in Mr. Lincoln being forcibly admitted to an asylum.”


    I was shocked to hear that Steven had been forcibly confined to an asylum.


    “How long was he kept there?” I sobbed uncontrobly, questioning the reason behind my grief.


    Please check at N/?vel(D)rama.Org.


    “For a year and six months…”


    Those were the true hellish months for Steven.


    He attempted to escape numerous times, only to be recaptured and subjected to abuse, electric


    shocks, and forced medication.


    I couldn’t bear to imagine those brutal experiences.


    “I’m sorry for bringing you here without permission,” Ewan said, feeling guilty as he noticed my


    difort.


    “What did he go through in the asylum? Could you take me to visit him? I’m eager to understand


    him bett


    “I I gazed up at Ewan and inquired.