With a heavy heart, Misha took a deep breath and entered the spacious room, looking around even though he knew it was useless. He wouldn't see what he wanted to see.

Like always, there were no other visitors. The chairs were empty, and only beeping sounds echoed inside the room. The curtains were open, and the soft rays of the morning sun shone through the large window, diffusing a warm light on the white walls. The bedroom bathed in a peaceful atmosphere, yet it also appeared lonely, desperately lonely.

Clenching his small fists, the child tried to bottle up his anger, but it was not an easy task. With gritted teeth, he stormed off and called out a nurse.

Every time the boy went to see the teenager, which was almost every day, he always asked the staff if Gabriel's relatives had come over while he wasn't there. Each time, the answer had been negative. For the past two weeks, the teenager's only visitors were Misha and the child's family. No one else had come, not even his parents.

When Gabriel's father learned that his son had an accident and was in a coma, all he did was throwing money out the window, asking for a transfer to a private hospital in Ontario. Although he did pay for better medical services and equipment, he still didn't come to the hospital to see his son, not even once.

This kind of attitude was enough to anger Misha to death. Sadly, it was only the tip of the iceberg. In this world, some people weren't meant to be parents. Misha had thought that Alexey was the worst father in history, but he recently discovered that he was wrong. Very wrong.

A few days ago, when Misha went to buy some juice and snacks from the vending machines, he overheard the conversation of a few nurses. He wasn't the kind to pry, but since they were talking about the patient of room 201, his ears still perked up, and he ended up walking slower, carefully listening to their discussion.

First, the girls spoke about how pitiful the teenage boy was, saying that such a heroic youth didn't deserve to lay in a bed, kept alive by machines. Then, they talked about the father, how heartless and hateful he was. Not only did the man not come to see his child, but on the very first day, he had also asked the doctor to stop the life-sustaining treatment if his son didn't wake up within a month. Despite the medical team urging him to think it over, the man didn't change his mind.

"The neurologist said that his son was very likely to wake up, yet he still insisted on disconnecting him so soon. He may as well kill him with his own two hands."

Upon hearing those words, Misha felt like his whole world shattered, and he exploded in anger, crushing the bottle of juice and kicking the hospital walls for a long time, stopping only when his toes started to hurt like hell. Back then, he had the urge to strangle someone, and even now, he still felt like there was something stuck in his throat whenever he thought about that conversation.

From that day on, Gabriel's father was nothing more than a sc.u.mbag in his heart. If Misha were to meet him, he swore that no matter what, he would give him a piece of his mind, and also beat him to a pulp. Every day, the boy was hoping that their paths would cross, but it seemed like his prayers wouldn't get answered any time soon.

Over the past few days, and after much thinking, Misha concluded that it was that man's fault if Gabriel's personality became so twisted in their previous life. Having such a heartless father would inevitably influence him as he grew up.

Still, the teenager didn't seem to be a sc.u.mbag as of now. He didn't hesitate a second before jumping off the slope and wrapping the child's body with his own, carefully protecting him even though it would put his life at risk. Misha wasn't shameless enough to turn a blind eye to such a courageous and selfless act, and thus he tried to excuse Gabriel's past misdeeds by casting the blame on his father.

Perhaps, Gabriel wasn't as cold-hearted as Misha had previously thought. In their past life, he had been the perfect gentleman with his sister, and the ideal big brother. Even now, Misha couldn't find any faults with his acting. If the teenager was indeed carrying out an act, why did he protect him so dutifully, not caring about himself? It didn't make sense.

Or maybe, Gabriel did indeed wear a mask, but still had a heart of gold hidden under it.

Still, it couldn't erase what he had said in their past life; when he coldly admitted that he had never once seen Masha as his lover. But now that Misha thought about it, Gabriel didn't say that she was a plaything, or that he didn't love her. He didn't mock her, didn't insult her; his face only turned cold and his words, sharp.

At that moment, Misha felt like something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what was bothering him. Ultimately, his brain turned off, and his forehead became warm, indicating the start of a fever. Following this, he had a restless night because his body felt too hot, and he was sweating too much.

Even so, Misha didn't learn his lesson, and over the past few days, he often thought about it, trying to decipher the truth from the lies, which only resulted in him becoming dizzy and worrying his family. Today, his mother had almost forbidden him to go out because he had a slight fever in the morning, but in the end, she couldn't resist his teary eyes and still brought him with them.

Therefore, once the boy arrived at the floor were Gabriel's room was, he went on with his routine. After turning around the corner, he finally saw a nurse, and without a word, he dashed toward her at lightning speed. The child stopped just before crashing into her legs, and he excitedly lifted his head to look into her eyes, making the nurse's heart turn soft.

Because Misha was now well known in the hospital, he didn't need to open his mouth, and every nurse would answer his question before he could even ask it.

The girl softly said, "I'm sorry, no one came."

The boy's bright eyes became a little dull, but he still thanked her before going back to Gabriel's room. When he saw his sister staring at him with inquisitive eyes, he could only shake his head. In response, she stretched a weak smile and gently ruffled his hair before walking up to the teenager's bedside.

Masha stroked his cheek, whispering, "He will certainly wake up soon. Gabriel doesn't look like it, but he is a stubborn one."

Those words, his sister would say them every day, and then she would sit by the teenager's side, waiting for him to open his eyes. As for Misha, he wouldn't say anything; guilt made him unable to comfort her. Instead, he would also sit and silently wait. Mrs. Brown would do the same, and when Alexey didn't work, he would also come by and kept them company.

Today was no exception to their routine, but since it was a weekday, Alexey wasn't with them. The three of them sat and waited, immersed in their own thoughts and guilt.

About an hour later, the teenager's eyelids suddenly started to twitch. Misha was the first one to realize it, and he immediately jumped on his feet, bolting to the bed, which made the girls realized that the teenage boy was about to wake up.

When Gabriel opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the excited face of a child. The bright blue eyes were deep, yet seemed as pure as spring water. They were crystal clear and held no malice, softening the heart.

The child cried out, "You're a big idiot! You slept for so long! Who do you think you are? Sleeping Beauty? "

"I was starting to fear that you wouldn't wake up," added Masha, gently hitting his shoulder.

While her children were busy hugging and bothering Gabriel, Mrs. Brown called the doctor over, a smile lingering on her lips.

However, their happiness was short-lived.

Curiously looking at the young child, Gabriel tilted his head, asking with a touch of hesitation in his voice, "I'm sorry, but are you my little brother?"

The moment his words fell, the entire room froze. Only after a short while did Misha muster the courage to answer, "No, I'm… not?"

"Then, who are you?"

Upon hearing those words, the child turned silly. He didn't even realize when his sister took him in her arms before putting him on the ground. In a daze, he stood there, unable to understand what was happening. It was as if his brain didn't want to process the teenager's words.

It was only later that reality came crashing in, when the doctor took them aside, explaining that Gabriel was suffering from amnesia. The information was hard to swallow, plunging the room into a deafening silence.

Once Masha was left alone with Gabriel, she calmly sat on a chair, smoothing her dress. Then, she lifted her head and asked in a deadpan tone, "Did you really lose your memory?"

The teenager's gentle smile vanished, and he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Of course not."

_________________

Author's note:

ML: Who are you?

MC: The main character of this story.

Author: He's your future sweetheart!

Liam: Awn, that's so cute!

Liam: Sorry, sorry, but although it seems like I did manage to snatch a few of your readers, I still don't feel satisfied éAè

MC: You're taking all of our author's time, and now you want all of my readers too!? Greedy bastard! (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻

Liam: Well, you know, since my story is updated more often than yours, people can read it to kill time while waiting for the next chapter of Sweet Devil. Doesn't that sound perfect? (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

MC: … Hey, author, can I kill him?

Author: Hm? Sure, go ahead.

Liam: That's favoritism!

Author: Who cares? You're already dead, anyway.

Liam: …