?


    Be caught Jace off guard. In an instant, she had already torn open his cor, exposing his defined shoulder.


    She was searching for a birthmark the size of a coin on his left shoulder. Hugh had a birthmark there; it was a faint pink mark that she remembered vividly.


    The hope Be had allowed herself to feel was quickly extinguished.


    Instead of a birthmark, she was met with a long and vicious scar, two fingers wide, that snaked down his left shoulder.


    The scar stood out starkly against his fair skin. It was gruesome.


    As a former doctor for Doctors Without Borders, Be had seen her fair share of injuries on the battlefield. Yet the severity of this scar sent a shiver down her spine.


    This was not an ordinary knife wound.


    It looked like the aftermath of an explosion, a wound so severe it was as if he had been torn apart and stitched back together, skin and muscle pieced back like a grotesque puzzle.


    Could it be possible that...


    "Ugh-!"


    Suddenly, she found herself pinned down on the couch by Jace before she could process what was happening. His powerful grip locked her wrists in ce, rendering her immobile.


    "Do you have a death wish?" Jace hovered over her, his jaw clenched tight and his eyes zing with fury.


    "What... What happened to you?" Be felt no fear, only a bone-deep sorrow that coursed through her body. "Why do you have such terrible wounds? Was it from the ne crash? Hugh... does it hurt?"


    ''Does it hurt?'' Her gentle question pierced Jace''s mind like a bullet, causing a wave of pain to ripple through his temples.


    "Hugh!" A delicate voice echoed from the deepest recesses of his distant memories, like a faint ethereal whisper.


    Be sobbed softly, tears streaming down her face.


    She lifted her hand to touch his face, but Jace abruptly released her and stood up.


    "If you try that again, not even Christopher will be able to save you."


    Jace left her with a cold warning before disappearing from the living room.


    Jace returned to his room, closing the door tightly behind him. He


    leaned heavily against the do


    closed his eyes, and shook his head. Be''s call echoed in his ears. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    n


    "I''m alone in this world, without parents, without siblings, without friends...I was born into loneliness My boss gave me a new life. My boss gave..." He muttered to himself like a chant, as if reciting a spell to drive away the doubt that threatened to invade his mind.


    to


    Be''s tender words of concern pierced through his defenses and gently knocked on the irond door of his heart.


    Over the years, he had endured countless injuries; no one had ever asked him if it hurt.


    He never needed anyone''s concern,


    nor did he care for such fleeting emotions, but for the first time in his life, being cared for felt like something had hollowed out a part of his chest.


    It was a warm and bittersweet ache.


    Jace took a deep breath, walked to the window, and pulled out a ne from beneath his shirt.