Chapter 12
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Chapter 12
But what did any of this have to do with her.
Suddenly a shell exploded nearby, the blast wave throwing them both to the ground.
Mary fell heavily, her ears ringing.
Through blurred vision, she saw Ralph struggle to rise, crawling desperately toward her.
“Miss Mary!
Get out of here!”
Other soldiers grabbed her and dragged her toward the air-raid shelter.
Meanwhile, Ralph was taken away by three armed soldiers.
He kept struggling wildly, eyes locked on her, shouting something drowned by fresh explosions.
When the smoke cleared, Ralph was forced toward a military vehicle.
“I can’t leave!”
Ralph’s suit sleeves had lost two buttons, his once elegant attire now coated in grime, eyes bloodshot as he refused to board.
A soldier urged, “Ralph, it’s too dangerous here. You can’t stay. I’ll get you out now.’
Danger? He knew exactly how dangerous it was after that bombing!
Ralph finally snapped, roaring at the soldier, “My woman’s still in there!
Nurse Mary is my wife!
She can’t be left behind!”
Meanwhile, the shelter overflowed with wounded and medies.
Mary mechanically bandaged injuries, hands moving steadily,
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while her mind replayed Ralph screaming her name through gunfire.
“That man…”
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The director suddenly whispered beside her, “When the blast hit, he’d already reached safety but turned back…”
Mary’s hands trembled slightly.
She remembered the curling iron’s searing pain on her leg, Karen’s smug smile, the Walkers’ decade of humiliation, Ralph’s ten years of indifference…
She couldn’t afford weakness.
Mary stated coldly, “Director, he disrupted military protocol. He’ll face consequences.”
The director sighed, “Facing death reveals one’s true heart.
If you want to leave, I can arrange military transport.”
Mary stood firm, “I’m staying. This battlefield gives my life purpose.”
Outside, the shelling gradually ceased.
While rescuing wounded at the bomb site, Mary spotted something glinting on the ground.
Approaching, she recognized a wedding ring.
The ring she’d thrown to the station’s old lady!
She remembered the engraved initials inside: SH
Mary’s chest tightened. She quickened her pace, fearing one glance might trap her back in marriage’s cage…
When fresh explosions hit, Mary was organizing supplies at the field clinic.
Air-raid sirens shredded the air.
The next instant, blast waves demolished an entire wall.
This time Mary couldn’t escape.
Concrete slabs crushed her, darkness swallowing consciousness.
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Was this finally the end?
Perhaps for the best…
Dying on this battlefield, serving her country – this life wasn’t wasted!
Mary’s throat filled with dust. Hand resting gently on her abdomen, she whispered, “Baby, Mommy’s coming.”
Gradually, she felt her soul drifting out of her body…
Farther… and farther…
Until it floated to the hospital where she first started working.
Eleven years ago, she worked in the old wing with cracked walls.
As she carried an IV bag toward the ward that would change her life forever.
Head Nurse Sarah pulled her aside, whispering: “Mary, that man inside just got rejected and hit by a motorcycle. He’s in a fragile state-be extra careful.”
Mary smiled sweetly, “Alright!”
She pushed open the ward door and paused mid-step upon seeing the man inside.
It was Mary’s first glimpse of such striking features.
Ralph sat by the hospital bed, gauze wrapped around his forehead, his gloomy eyes fixed on
the window.
At the sound of the door, he turned, locking eyes with Mary.
His brow furrowed, lips pressed tight, yet his gaze held the depth of a pitch-black night sky, impossible to look away from.
Mary approached cheerfully, “Bed 23, time for your IV.”
Ralph remained silent, coldly extending his arm.
Mary deftly disinfected and inserted the needle with gentle precision.
Noticing his continued silence, she stole another glance. He still stared out the window, expression stormy.
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Her eyes curved into crescents, voice bright: “Hey there, no need to be down!
So what if you got dumped?
You look like you stepped right out of a painting-a leading man! Someday a girl made just for you will come along. She’ll leave the light on when it’s dark, bring you an umbrella in the rain, even go through fire and water with a smile!”
Ralph blinked, turning to Mary in surprise.
But he stayed quiet.
Afterward, whenever Mary came for his IV, she’d chat with him.
She’d share bizarre news stories while he listened silently, never responding.
Mary sometimes felt his eyes on her, yet whenever she looked, he’d be gazing elsewhere.
On his discharge day, Mary was organizing medical charts at the nurses’ station.
Suddenly a tall figure blocked the overhead light. She glanced up, meeting Ralph’s intense
eyes.
He spoke to her for the first time, his cello-like baritone vibrating through her:
“Would… would you be willing… to be that girl? The one just for me?”
Mary froze, medical records clattering to the floor.
Flustered by her first-ever confession, she stammered, “I… I have a brother…”
Most guys wouldn’t want a girlfriend with family baggage-Mary knew that.
Though drawn to this brooding man, she’d never dared hope. She braced for his quick exit.
But he didn’t leave.
Ralph stood firm, stating calmly: “If you say yes, your brother becomes mine.”
Mary lifted her disbelieving eyes, meeting his burning gaze as twin blushes spread across her
cheeks.
From that moment, Ralph filled Mary’s world.
They squeezed into a tiny ten-square-meter rental.
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When Ralph pulled all-nighters for work, she’d feed him fruit piece by piece, fanning him in summer heat, rubbing his hands warm in winter.
As Ralph’s workload grew, he camped at his studio, skipping meals.
She delivered three homemade meals daily to his workplace.
One spring day, Mary carried a thermos tucked inside her coat. Hot soup spilled down her front en route to the hospital.
He smoothed her hair, murmuring, “Mary, I can just order takeout.”
She refused: “No way! I’m feeding Ralph’s stomach myself!”
Ralph’s lips curved as he pulled her close. “Silly girl.”
That summer, he forgot a crucial document that could make or break his studio’s funding. She rushed to deliver it for him, running until a passing car knocked her down, cracking her knee. Ignoring the fracture, she forced herself up and limped all the way to hand him the file.
Her face deathly pale, she pressed it into his hands and whispered encouragement: “Ralph, you’ll succeed. Hang in there.”
