Killed Me for Your Precious Angel? Now Pray She Can Save You from Hell - Chapter 57: Chapter 57

The operating room doors burst open with a thunderous crash. The stainless steel gurney wheels screeched against the floor in sharp, clear notes.
Karina's pale face was flushed with weakness as she was wheeled out. She immediately struggled to reach toward Kaiden, her fingertips trembling as they grasped at air.
"Kaiden..."
Kaiden stepped forward almost mechanically and took her hand. The coldness seeped from her palm into his, but it couldn't dispel the inexplicable confusion churning in his chest.
Why does this feel wrong? Why does touching her feel like touching a stranger?
As the nurses wheeled her into a private room, he heard his own voice, slightly hoarse.
"How did you fall?"
Karina's eyelashes fluttered like she was recalling something terrible.
"I don't know... I think I stepped on something and my foot slipped..."
She paused, glancing at Kaiden's expressionless face, then added carefully.
"I remember... Brooklyn brought some marbles back from outside earlier. Maybe she accidentally dropped one there..."
She quickly shook her head, forcing a weak smile.
"But I'm probably wrong. Brooklyn wouldn't do something like that. Even if she resents our engagement, she wouldn't try to hurt me. If I'd fallen any harder, I might have..."
She didn't finish, tears spilling down her cheeks.
Brooklyn. Why does that name make my chest tighten?
Kaiden's brow furrowed slightly, but before he could speak, the hospital room door flew open.
"Kaiden!"
Alina burst in, having clearly overheard Karina's words. She immediately let out a vicious laugh.
"Wrong my ass! That worthless slut did it on purpose!"
She marched to the bedside, her voice dripping with hatred.
"Brooklyn Sheridan, that disgusting piece of trash, was throwing herself at you like a bitch in heat before. Now that you're marrying Karina, she's probably losing her fucking mind with jealousy. Of course the psycho bitch would try to kill someone!"
Such venom. Why does Alina hate this Brooklyn so much? And why does hearing her called those names make me want to break something?
Kaiden's jaw clenched, a strange protective anger rising in his chest that he couldn't explain.
Instead of responding to Alina's tirade, he suddenly asked, his voice tight with confusion.
"Alina, has it always been just the two of us? Brother and sister?"
Alina's face went rigid, like she'd been slapped. Her fingers unconsciously tightened around her purse strap before she forced out a brittle smile.
"Of course! Why the hell are you asking such a weird question?"
She's lying. I can see it in her eyes.
Kaiden rubbed his temples harder, the throbbing pain making him want to put his fist through the wall.
"I had this memory today... someone calling me by my full name. Someone who... who seemed to actually care about my health."
Someone who looked at me like I was worth saving.
Alina's breath hitched, panic flashing across her features before she let out an exaggerated "Oh!" and hurried to Karina's side, linking their arms like they were best friends.
"You're totally confused! That was Karina! Before you lost your memory, you spoiled her rotten. She was always calling you 'Kaiden' in that sweet voice, and you'd do anything for her. Made me so jealous I could puke!"
Bullshit. Karina's never called me anything but 'baby' or 'darling.' And she's never cared if I smoked.
Karina immediately gripped Kaiden's hand with both of hers, her voice soft and manipulative.
"It's okay, Kaiden. You just have amnesia. I don't blame you..."
Her eyes suddenly welled up with crocodile tears, her tone perfectly pitched between hurt and forgiving.
"But I believe you still love me in your heart, right?"
"And if you want... I can pretend like you haven't been so cold and distant with me lately..."
Cold and distant? I've been nothing but attentive since the accident.
Kaiden's temples pounded as the memory of the girl who'd stolen his cigarettes began to merge with the tearful Karina before him. But the images felt like forcing puzzle pieces that didn't fit.
The girl in my memory had genuine concern. Real emotion. This feels like performance art.
Something felt fundamentally wrong. His furrowed brow was full of doubt, and a growing sense that he was being played.
Karina sensed his wavering and immediately winced, pressing her hand to her side with theatrical pain.
"Kaiden, my wound is starting to hurt..."
She looked up at him with calculated vulnerability.
"Could you get me some red velvet cupcakes? From that bakery you used to go to... Sweet things help when I'm in pain."
Red velvet cupcakes.
The words hit him like a sledgehammer to the skull. His temples exploded with sudden, excruciating pain that made his vision blur.
Oh God, not again.
An image flashed through his mind with violent clarity.
He was standing in line at a bakery, holding an elegant pastry box. When he got home, a young woman eagerly opened it, took a bite, and closed her eyes in pure bliss before looking up at him with a radiant, unguarded smile.
She had frosting on the corner of her mouth and didn't even notice.
In the memory, he'd reached out naturally to brush it away, and the touch had sent electricity through his entire body. He'd wanted to kiss her so badly he'd actually trembled with the effort of holding back.
But that wasn't Karina. That was someone else. Someone with different eyes, different smile, different... everything.
The memory felt real in a way that nothing else had since the accident. Raw and honest and full of genuine emotion.
Who was she? And why does remembering her feel like coming home?
He pressed his palms against his temples, the pain now so intense he thought his skull might crack open.
I'm missing something crucial. They're lying to me.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he'd forced the doubt down—but it was still there, burning under his skin like poison.
"Fine."
His voice came out rougher than intended as he headed for the door, desperate to escape the suffocating lies in this room.
I need air. I need to think. Something is very, very wrong.
Kaiden didn't see Alina and Karina exchange a quick glance the moment he turned away, triumph and relief flashing in both their eyes.
But if he had looked back, he would have seen the fear there too—the terror that their carefully constructed house of cards was starting to crumble.