Chapter 3

Ashley was pressing Lance down on her parents' large bed and kissing him fiercely. Lance simply lay there, neither responding nor pushing her away. After a long while, Lance finally turned his head aside. His voice was a little hoarse as he asked, "Are you done?" Ashley's voice was sweet and coy. "Not yet… Kiss me again. I still feel a little unwell." Lance pushed her away with slight force and sat up. He said in a husky voice, "In the beginning, you said just holding hands and hugging could ease it. Later, you said it can only be eased by kissing. "We've been kissing for months now. Why hasn't there been any sign of improvement? Why is it happening more and more often?" Ashley wrapped her arms around his waist petulantly. "I have no idea. I just feel awful… I still need to kiss…" Lance pried her hands off, his voice stern. "I told you before—Enna must never know what happened between us. Last time I treated your illness, it hurt her. "Now we're even in her house and in her parents' room… If she finds out, she will definitely be mad. I can't bear that consequence. This is the last time." After saying this, he stood up to leave. But Ashley suddenly hugged him tightly from behind. She pleaded in a sobbing voice, "But I feel so awful, Lance. Are you really going to watch me die here? Just one last time. Kiss me for one more minute, please…" Lance stood stiffly and was silent for a long, long time. Then, he slowly turned around and lowered his head to press his lips to Ashley's. Outside the door, Sienna clamped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from crying out. Her allergic reaction grew worse, causing her breathing to quicken. Her heart pounded as if it would burst from her chest, and her vision began to blur. The torment on both her body and mind left her unable to hold on any longer. Finally, her vision went black. She slid down the cold wall and lost consciousness. … When she awoke again, she was on her bed once more with Lance sitting by her side. The moment she opened her eyes, he asked urgently, "Enna! How did you suddenly have an allergic reaction and faint in the hallway? Haven't I told you never to touch peanuts?" Sienna looked at his anxious face, her heart full of disappointment. "When you fed me the soup, didn't you see the peanut bits at the bottom?" she questioned. Lance froze for a moment. Then, he quickly grabbed the leftover bowl of pumpkin soup from the nightstand. After taking a careful look at it, his face turned pale in an instant. "I'm sorry, Enna. I… I didn't notice…" he stammered, feeling remorseful and guilty. Sienna thought this was bitterly ironic. In the past, he had always been so attentive to everything about her. He knew her allergens, when she would have her period, and what she liked and disliked more clearly than anyone. But now? Ever since Ashley appeared, it was as if his heart had been split in two. Perhaps a huge part of his heart was still with her, but a significant portion of it was elsewhere. It was enough to blind him to a great extent. He was so blind that he could no longer see the peanut bits at the bottom of the soup bowl. Not only that, he could no longer see her pain, nor could he see how outrageous his actions had become.