When They Beg I Rise (Lemira) novel Chapter 940

Orion lay back on the sofa, his own body burning with an abnormal, feverish heat.

He drifted in and out of consciousness, forcing himself awake every few minutes, terrified of missing the moment Lemira's IV bag ran dry.

Compared to the sheer psychological torture of the previous night, this physical exhaustion was almost a relief.

Alone in her bed, Lemira strained her ears but heard zero movement from the living room. She had no idea if he had actually left.

The emotional whiplash was suffocating.

He had admitted that he orchestrated their meeting, entirely driven by guilt and a desire to make amends.

Through the hazy fog of her fever, a desperate part of her still wanted to ask him: *Did you ever actually love me? Even a little?*

She wanted to demand whether his ultimate goal was simply to manipulate her into showing mercy to Mrs. Amanda.

But whenever she looked at him, she was so consumed by the betrayal and sheer injustice of it all that the words wouldn't come.

And even if they did, what difference would it make now?

Lemira stared blankly at the ceiling until her exhausted mind finally gave out, pulling her into a heavy sleep.

A long while later, Orion dragged his sluggish body into the bedroom. Seeing that only a sliver of fluid remained in the IV bag, he stayed by her side.

He sat in the chair beside her bed. Several times, he reached out, longing to stroke her cheek, only to force his hand back to his side.

When the bag finally emptied, Orion expertly withdrew the needle, pressing a cotton swab firmly against the puncture mark.

The slight pressure roused Lemira.

She instinctively flinched, yanking her hand back. A bright bead of blood welled up from the injection site.

Orion quickly caught her wrist. "Hold still."

Lemira stared down at the needle mark on her skin. Suddenly, her mind flashed back to their very first encounter—in the university clinic.

That was right after she had been reborn into this second chance at life, burning up with a severe fever.

A shocking realization hit her. *Had Orion Everhart been there in my past life, too?*

She looked up at the striking man before her. In her previous life, he had been the school doctor as well. But they hadn't crossed paths.

Because in her past life, she had been too pathologically obsessed with earning her brothers' approval to notice anyone else around her.

"But we wouldn't have known each other then. How would you have warned me?"

Orion considered the scenario for a moment. "I would have found a way."

"Like... pretending to be a friend online?"

Lemira thought of his exact tactics from her previous life—teaming up with her in the game, building a rapport, and then subtly trying to convince her to stop bleeding herself dry for a family that despised her.

Orion paused, genuinely weighing the possibility, then nodded. "Most likely, yes."

That answer cemented it.

The guardian angel from her past life had been him all along.

Lemira glanced down at the back of her hand. "It stopped bleeding. I feel much better now. You can leave."

Orion's gaze remained fixed on her hand. He didn't move.

When he finally lifted his eyes to meet hers, his expression was a portrait of quiet, devastating heartbreak.