Chapter 23 Luke, Don't Leave

After running home in the rain, Annie took off her dress and diamond necklace and threw them into a box. She would send these things back to Carl tomorrow; his things were too disgusting, and she didn't want them.
After closing the box, she went to the bathroom and turned on the bathtub's faucet before lying inside. With a bath ball in hand, she scrubbed her face and back vigorously until her skin turned red before looking at herself in the mirror.
Without makeup, all left was sickly paleness with no vitality whatsoever. Her eyes lacked light and warmth.
She couldn't see any light or feel any warmth - just like a dirty and that anyone could step on. But she was also a person with dignity...
"Dignity."
Annie chewed on these two words self-mockingly; ever since selling herself to Brandon, she had lost all sense of dignity long ago.
After drying her hair clean, she lay down on the bed feeling extraordinarily exhausted and fell asleep again profoundly.
Having caught a cold from being drenched by rain worsened Annie's condition significantly as Fiona slept until the afternoon after working the night shift for one whole night. When Fiona knocked on Annie's door, calling out twice without a response from inside, did she realize something wasn't right?
Upon entering, Fiona quickly pushed open the door, seeing that Annie's face was flushed red under covers before reaching out to touch her forehead, immediately realizing how hot it felt...
"Wow... you have a high fever! Get up quickly! I'll take you to hospital," said Fiona urgently while lifting Annie, who had lost consciousness due to fever.
With "I won't go..." as an automatic resistance when hearing about going to the hospital from Fiona despite having such a high fever already,
"How can we not go when you're burning up like this?"
Fiona wouldn't allow Annie to refuse and carried her on her back, driving towards the hospital.
After being admitted to the emergency department, she was given an IV drip and put on a ventilator. Fiona knew that Annie had congenital heart disease.
This cold with fever could easily lead to hypoxia. She worried that Annie couldn't hold up and asked the doctor for a ventilator.
It wasn't until late at night, after much trouble, that Annie's high fever slowly subsided. Fiona breathed a sigh of relief before taking two days off from work using her phone and then sitting by Annie's bedside, silently watching over her.
They were picked up from an orphanage when they were about one year old; apart from the director, each other was the closest person left in this world.
Fiona raised her hand and touched Annie's pale face feeling somewhat distressed as she sighed deeply.
Annie had terrible luck with men - both turned out to be scumbags. They exhausted all of her youth, only for it all to leave her battered...
With a high fever causing profound sleepiness, Annie saw a young man extending his bloody hands towards herself in what seemed like a hallucination or dream state.
He looked pained with agony written all over his face while opening his mouth, seeming like he said something but was too far away for clear hearing by Annie, who subconsciously moved closer, asking, "What did you say?"
The young man suddenly stopped talking, staring fixedly at her with clean and clear eyes instead while heavy rain started pouring down, washing away blood stains and covering his face completely clean.
Only then did she see clearly what he looked like, Luke! Anxiousness made him rush forward, crying out loudly, "Luke, don't leave!" when seeing himself kneeling outside the nightclub entrance holding onto a black umbrella. Another man walked up, towering above him, asking condescendingly, "Are you clean?" before nodding slightly upon receiving an affirmative answer and placing his hand gently into Annie's.
When he held her hand, she suddenly saw the hand holding hers turn into a pair of bloody hands. The man in front of her also turned into a ferocious young man who pinched her neck and roared at her with heart-wrenching anger:
"Annie! Why did you sell yourself to him? Why did you betray me? Why would you do this?!"
Annie shook her head desperately while shouting, trying to explain, but the young man still pushed her away fiercely before turning around and leaving.
Annie chased him, grabbing his clothes and crying loudly, "Luke, don't leave!"