"Amanda…"
Amanda saw a figure barge in amidst the thick fog.
Ahem…
She coughed again violently.
Joan glanced at Jessica, who had fallen to the ground. He bent down to pick her up and run outside,
which was long empty. The taxi driver had driven off for fear of causing trouble.
He placed Jessica on the relatively safer grass. He called 911 and then ran back inside, where the fire
grew even more intense, and the strong smell of burning filled the air.
The fire surrounded Amanda, and she had long since been scorched to the point of coma, with a sliver
of consciousness left. She had seen her grandmother being saved, but she just didn't see who did it.
She braced herself for the last of her consciousness, hoping to see who had helped her save her
grandmother.
"Amanda…" said Joan, rushing in from outside the flames despite the danger.
The fire had choked Amanda's voice, and her face was toasted red. She weakly lifted her eyelids and
looked clearly at the person in front of her. She smiled slightly and spat out hoarsely, "It's… you."
Joan discovered that what tying her was not those ordinary rope that he could have burnt with fire, but
was iron chains.
This was very tricky.
He gently patted Amanda's face, "Don't be afraid, I will get you out."
Amanda's lips were dry, and she said hoarsely, "Leave me alone… Go away."
"I won't leave you behind." He rushed out of the fire to find something that could break the chains.
However, no tool could break the chain. Just when he was at a loss as to what to do, he saw a rusty
steel bar, about a metre long, lying in the grass. He picked it up and ran inside.
The only consciousness left held Amanda from passing out. She knew well that she might not survive,
"Don't risk your life for me…"
She didn't want to drag Joan along with her.
Joan ignored her and instead tried to pry the chains off with the steel, but it wasn't easy.
"Get out of here!" Her voice was extremely hoarse.
Joan's movements paused. His dirty hand cupped Amanda's face, looking deeply at her, "I always felt
that respecting your choice was being good to you, but now I think that I may have been wrong. It's
often being in the middle of it that makes you unable to see the truth of what is good for you."
He gulped and continued, "I like you, and I mean it. Will you accept me?"
Amanda raised her eyes to look at him. She could saw her reflections and the blazing fire behind her in
his pupils, so clear and so ardent.
She was moved inside, but she was aware of the situation she was in at this moment.
Joan held her, not that he wanted to take advantage of her at the moment. Instead, when he couldn't
save her, a thought flashed through his mind that would he have regrets if she had died.
The answer was yes.
It was regretful for him to give up before he had fought for it.
He didn't want to spend the rest of his life with regret every time he thought about it.
So he wanted to strive for it once.
He attached himself to her ear, "If we can still get out alive, I hope you can travel around and see the
world with me, okay?"
Perhaps Amanda's mind was touched by Joan at this moment, or perhaps it was that in a time of
danger, he could still hold her and say these words, enough to appear he was sincere.
"…Okay."
She managed to say out a word.
She was facing life and death, but death became less frightening with a strong embrace around
her.
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