At the hospital ward, Eli stares at his wife's colourless face.
In her feverish state, she opens her eyes a few times and calls him by that name multiple times. She realizes that it's him and then, she cries harder. She points at the wall and says that they are back again. He tells her that she should only look in his eyes and ignore everything else. While staring into his eyes, she falls asleep again. The cycle repeats for hours.
Eli releases his breath when he finds her vitals improving. She's been getting better and opening up to him. Now, he can't tell what would happen in the future. It can't be helped. He's going to love her even more now. He will spoil her rotten. He's going to kiss her until she kisses him back properly. He doesn't know whether he can eradicate the demons in her mind, but he will continue to shield her from them.
If she doesn't want to remember her past, he would do everything to keep the past away from her. He needs to talk to the woman and send her away before Nell wakes up.
***
Leaning against the wall, Evie keeps her eyes fixed on the door. There was a time when she wished to see her like this, but it doesn't make her feel good to see her like this now. She prefers to see the headstrong girl who would talk to people with her fists than the woman who screams and cries like a madwoman.
While she has been waiting, she has managed to hear the whispers and gossips of the nurses who are passing from this corridor from time to time. The man's name is Eli Sanguine. He seems to be a popular doctor. He married this woman when she threatened to commit suicide. It's surprising to hear that someone like Nell Solomon would try to commit suicide; however, she had seen the bandage on Nell's left wrist. The truth can't be unseen or ignored after it's acknowledged.
Just like Baek Joon-Woo, Nell is also trying to do the same thing. Evie mumbles to herself, "How dare she…"
"How dare she what?" She hears the familiar voice. The man with golden eyes and the face of her first love is standing in front of her. Just having the same face is not enough to stir the feelings in someone's heart. When one keeps looking, they will eventually notice the differences.
"Is it true that she tried to kill herself because she wanted to marry you?" Evie asks him with a quiet voice.
She must have heard the gossips. He speaks loudly, "I begged her to marry me, not the other way around. I am blessed that she married me in the end. I won't take it lightly if you ever spread rumours about my lovely wife."
He scowls at the nurses standing there and listening to him. They turn around and rush away, pretending to be busy and grumbling about having too much work.
"Then, why did she try to kill herself?" Evie ignores the dark look that Eli gives her. She's not someone who would back down.
"Why are you curious?" Eli walks closer to her, resisting the urge to choke her throat. A weak human-like her have caused such pain to his wife. "Didn't you yell loudly that it was better if she died along with others?"
Evie meets his gaze and replies calmly, "You love her a lot."
"Leave." He doesn't want to kill another human again. Nell doesn't want him to interfere. But he can't be a bystander when she's involved. He shouldn't have listened to her when she asked him to stay back. Even if he had to force her to leave the scene with him, he should have done it. Because of this woman, she is in that state right now. He has never felt so weak. It's possible to kill this woman, but he is unable to kill the things that are created by his wife's mind.
First, it was Baek Joon-Woo. Now, it's this person. Evie looks at the door with complicated emotions. She hates her. How dare this woman tries to kill herself? Nell Solomon has to remember what she said to Baek Joon-Woo. She wants to know how cruel those words were. Someone was driven to death. Nell Solomon must admit that she killed Baek Joon-Woo. "Why should I leave? She's a killer. Baek Joon-Woo died because of her. Baek Joon-Woo's parents might forget, but I will never forget it. I will make her remember it today."
Eli looks at her darkly. This human is only seeing her pain. What about Nell? Can't she see how much Nell has been suffering alone? This person needs to disappear. He clenches his hands and lifts his foot in her direction. He won't let this woman break Nell again.
"Stop."
He feels a paw over his foot in the air. He looks down and sees a calico cat with green eyes. He furrows his brows. Where did this creature come from? How come he didn't sense it?
The cat tilts his head. "Don't touch this woman. It's not worth it."
"Who are you?" Eli asks quietly.
"Evie Meyers." Evie stares at him. Why is he looking at the floor? He looked like he was going to kill her a moment ago. "I was Baek Joon-Woo's first girlfriend. We broke up when his family had to move to this city. I came to this city after a year. By then, he was already going out with Nell."
That's a strange way to introduce oneself. But Evie wants to make things clear with this man. Looking at him makes her angry and hurt. He's a fake, but she still wants to look at him. She admits that breaking up Baek Joon-Woo was a big mistake. If she hadn't broken up with him, he wouldn't have fallen for Nell. He wouldn't have died.
Eli scowls at Evie. He has no interest in her history with his wife's ex-boyfriend. The cat rolls his eyes at Evie and dashes toward the ward. Afraid, he runs toward the ward. When he opens the door, he sees the cat sitting near his wife's head. He locks the door before Evie could get in.
"How long are you going to sleep?" The cat slaps Nell's forehead. "I am bored out of mind. Get up. Your frenemy is waiting outside. She might try to seduce your husband. How long are you --"
Eli grabs the cat by its scruff and drags him away from Nell. At the same time, Nell's shadow covers his wife's ears and eyes. He places the cat on the table and looks at him. "Who are you?"
"You can see me now." The Devil blinks his eyes at Eli. "I had my doubts. I see that you are not a human either."
"What are you?" Eli notices that the cat has no scent. It has no vibration of life energy or the shadow of death. It looks like an ordinary cat in every way possible, but it is looking at him with the intelligence of something more.
"Little Marshmallow, Nell gave me the name 'Devil', although I am a part of her." The Devil chuckles when he sees Eli's flabbergasted expression. "I was created during the most desperate moments in her life. I carry a part of her soul, magic and the memories that she was forced to forget."