Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 387

Mandy nodded desperately, tears streaming down her face in an endless torrent.

"Alright, I promise you-anything you want, as long as you stay alive, I'll do it. I swear."

She clutched Claire's hand tightly, her voice hoarse and pleading, teetering on the edge of despair. "Claire, please, hold on. The doctors will help you. They'll fix this. You just have to hang in there."

Every breath Claire took was agony, as if shards of glass scraped her lungs. Each inhale felt like a new, unbearable torment.

A bitter, metallic taste rose in her throat. She forced herself to swallow it down, determined not to let anyone worry more than they already did.

"Mandy, don't cry..."

But Mandy's vision was blurred by tears. She could barely make out Claire's face through the haze. She wiped at her eyes in a frantic attempt to clear them, desperate to remember Claire's features, but the more she wiped, the more the tears flowed, unstoppable and wild.

With what little strength she had left, Claire lifted her trembling hand, thin as a skeleton, and gently brushed away Mandy's tears. "Don't be sad."

The more Claire tried to comfort them, the more everyone in the room felt their hearts shatter.

the edge of the bed, wracked with sobs. Her shoulders shook violently, and her breathing grew ragged and shallow, as if the weight of her grief might

barely hold back their own tears, eyes red and

idea how to make any of them feel

thought that swallowing poison would bring everything to an

it because she knew there was hardly any chance of surviving that kind

grim determination, she'd downed the entire bottle, convinced that this would be the end. But fate had other plans; somehow, she'd been dragged back from the

she had to face the heartbreak of those around her-a sight that filled her

But as soon as she opened her mouth, a gush of black

lips and nose, staining the crisp white sheets with deep, shocking red. Blood began to seep from her eyes and ears

her features twisted in pain, looking for all the world like a tormented soul clawing its way out of

voice

terror, and despair, her body

his whole body trembling. Panic and helplessness flooded his eyes. "Doctor!

final moments, she saw Mandy faint from sorrow, saw Sean's ashen face

erupted in the

of frantic shouts, wheeling