Chapter 5

When Serena awoke again, she found herself in the hospital. Elliot was by her bedside. When he saw her stir, he looked as if a weight had finally been lifted off his chest. His voice was hoarse and low as he began to say, "Rena, you're awake. I'm sorry. I pulled the wrong person in the heat of the moment and let you fall down the stairs. Does it hurt? You can hit me, okay?" He looked truly remorseful, but Serena knew that every word he spoke was a lie. She wondered how his acting could be so convincing. He was clearly infatuated with Vanessa, yet he instinctively kept his distance. He spent every day silently cursing Serena, yet he played the role of someone who loved her to the core. A storm raged within her heart. Her body trembled uncontrollably, so much so that she couldn't utter a single word. She didn't want to share the same space with him. When the nurse mentioned that she needed an examination, she leaped to agree. After the examination, her emotions gradually settled. She returned to her hospital room and pushed open the door to find Elliot holding her phone. His brows were deeply furrowed as he questioned, "Geoffrey? Geoffrey who? You must have dialed the wrong number. Rena couldn't possibly be going abroad..." Serena's heart skipped a beat. She speedily wheeled herself forward and snatched the phone from his hand. Then, she hastily ended the call. As he watched her reaction, suspicion swept across Elliot's face. "Rena, do you know this person?" Serena lowered her gaze, forcing herself to appear calm. "N-No, I don't know him. It's probably just a scam call." The number wasn't saved in her contacts. Moreover, it was an international call. Hence, his doubts eased. He helped her back into bed and glanced at her medical records. Then, he set off to confirm the findings with the doctor. He seemed genuinely concerned about her health. Taking advantage of his distraction, Serena furtively replied to Geoffrey Simmond's message to explain the situation. By the time Elliot finished his inquiries, she had deleted their conversation and locked her phone. Elliot cupped her face, gently running his thumb over the redness at the corners of her eyes. His voice was warm and soft as he cooed, "The doctor said you're fine to be discharged the day after tomorrow. You've been feeling down lately. Once you're discharged, shall we go out and relax?" She didn't respond, so he took her silence as agreement. On the day of her discharge, he drove her to the largest dance theater in Ardenburg. A poster at the entrance read, "Vanessa Sinclair's Stunning Debut as The National Dance Theater's Principal Dancer". As she studied it, Serena's face turned even paler. "Rena, don't you absolutely love dancing? Vanessa has an upcoming performance, so I thought I could bring you to watch it. How does that sound?" A fleeting look of satisfaction flickered across his eyes. It was so quick that it was almost imperceptible, yet Serena had caught it. She knew that he had deliberately brought her here to provoke her. It was a vindictive act, no doubt. A dancer whose legs were now crippled, forced to sit in the audience and watch the very person who replaced her shine on stage. Her body trembled slightly. She gripped the armrests of her wheelchair so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She barely managed to swallow down the surge of emotions threatening to spill over. Once inside, the curtains slowly rose. Vanessa twirled onto the stage in a silver dress. Every movement, every spin, and every step were ones Serena knew all too well. She had performed this very dance thousands of times. The choreography was ingrained in her bones. But now, she could only sit in the audience and crane her neck toward the stage. A painful bitterness clogged her throat. She was in agony. Just as she was about to avert her gaze, she caught sight of Elliot. He was utterly captivated by the performance. His eyes overflowed with unrestrained admiration and affection. It was a look he had never once given her during her past performances. He had always clapped enthusiastically and offered the same generic compliments, making it seem like he was genuinely happy for her. And she had believed those words and thought that they were his true feelings. But now, she finally understood how easy it was to distinguish between love and indifference, sincerity and pretense. One look was all it took.