Can’t Win Me Back

Landon sat by the bedside, lifting Lauren’s bruised hand and gently pressing it to his cheek. He rubbed her hand tenderly against his cheek before placing a delicate kiss on her palm.

This was also how he typically showed her affection. He treated her like an incredibly fragile and precious object, guarding her with unwavering devotion.

He had cared for her diligently, yet those monsters had mercilessly ravaged his beloved, dragging her through the mire and shattering her.

“Lauren, I’m right here. Open your eyes and look at me, will you?” he implored, tears welling in his eyes, his lips quivering with emotion. “Wake up… Don’t leave me alone.”

In the end, he remained seated like that until daybreak.

Early the next day, Javier, accompanied by Rory, arrived to visit Lauren.

Jasper was sitting outside the hospital ward. He hadn’t slept all night. A conflicted look came across his eyes when he saw Javier, but he stood up anyway.

“Have you been sitting here all night without sleeping?” Javier was surprised to see the dark circles beneath Jasper’s eyes.

“Yeah.

“How is that possible? It has been four days, hasn’t it? The longest someone can go without

Jasper’s eyes met. The atmosphere was awkward between

slightly. He couldn’t believe that Javier was expressing concern for him,

used

buy some

takeout. He placed them on the chair

it over to him later. He’s a picky eater, and he said that the hospital food tastes bland. He specified that he wanted pancakes and such. I don’t understand what’s so tasty about pancakes that he never gets

Then, he added in a casual tone, “I heard that Alyssa was also here all night. I got breakfast

thought that he had misheard. He stared at

out a lot since that incident with Lauren. She even hired

The look on his

like her, she did help my daughter. So, I should show her my

stunned. He had mixed feelings about what Javier had