No Strings Attached

She lay there on the hospital bed, swathed in bandages from head to toe like a mummy straight out of a horror flick. Her throat could only muster up a series of feeble "ahh ahh" sounds, not a single coherent word.

He turned to Clara. His voice was gentle. "I brought her back. I want her to witness our happiness with her own eyes."

Clara's expression was nonchalant. "Let's go in. I suspect I'm the last person she wants to see." With that said, Clara took the lead, stepping into the hospital room.

Heidi, stubbornly clamping her mouth shut, was refusing her medicine just as Clara's slim silhouette appeared before her.

Despite the ordeal Clara had been through, just a few days of recuperation had restored the radiant beauty to her face. Her complexion was glowing once again.

Sure enough, the moment Heidi laid eyes on Clara, her eyes bulged in disbelief. She shook her head furiously, a raspy growl emerging from her throat, "No, no, no..."

softly, "Did you ever imagine I'd

her bed, desperate to sit up and strike Clara, to exact revenge on the woman who, in her eyes, was to blame for her current state. But no matter how much she struggled, her arms and legs were numb, unresponsive. She began to sob uncontrollably. Her tears were

nurse, leaned in close, and said with a light voice, "I was tied up, beaten, and left for dead in a fire by you, yet I never gave up on living. How can you not have the courage to keep going? Don't you want to see me welcomed back by the Campbell family? Don't you want to see

no matter how hard she tried, not a single curse could pass her lips. She could only watch helplessly as Clara stood before her, unscathed. The hate in her heart was now matched

out a soft chuckle. She leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Rest assured. I'll find the best doctors to treat you. And I will find the woman who killed my mother, so you both can face punishment

stood up, looking down at Heidi as if she were nothing more

her defeat

fate, so

this. She would never accept