Can’t Win Me Back by Ginger Sue

Landon sat by the bedside, lifting Lauren's bruised hand and gently pressing it to his cheek. He rubbed her hand tenderly against his cheek before placing a delicate kiss on her palm.
This was also how he typically showed her affection. He treated her like an incredibly fragile and precious object, guarding her with unwavering devotion.
He had cared for her diligently, yet those monsters had mercilessly ravaged his beloved, dragging her through the mire and shattering her.
"Lauren, I'm right here. Open your eyes and look at me, will you?" he implored, tears welling in his eyes, his lips quivering with emotion. "Wake up... Don't leave me alone."
In the end, he remained seated like that until daybreak.
Early the next day, Javier, accompanied by Rory, arrived to visit Lauren.
Jasper was sitting outside the hospital ward. He hadn't slept all night. A conflicted look came across his eyes when he saw Javier, but he stood up anyway.
"Have you been sitting here all night without sleeping?" Javier was surprised to see the dark circles beneath Jasper's eyes.
Jasper replied coldly, "Yeah. I wasn't sleepy."
Javier frowned. "How is that possible? It has been four days, hasn't it? The longest someone can go without sleep is seven days. You could end up dying a sudden death!" he blurted.
Javier's and Jasper's eyes met. The atmosphere was awkward between them.
Jasper's eyes widened slightly. He couldn't believe that Javier was expressing concern for him, and it sounded genuine.
Jasper wasn't used to that.
Javier blinked and cleared his throat. "I had Rory buy some breakfast. You haven't eaten, have you? Here, have something to eat."
Rory was carrying two boxes of takeout. He placed them on the chair immediately.
"I've included a portion for Cornelius. Bring it over to him later. He's a picky eater, and he said that the hospital food tastes bland. He specified that he wanted pancakes and such. I don't understand what's so tasty about pancakes that he never gets enough of it."
Javier paused. Then, he added in a casual tone, "I heard that Alyssa was also here all night. I got breakfast for her too. Let's eat together."
Jasper thought that he had misheard. He stared at Javier and asked, "What did you say?"
Javier coughed before explaining, "She has been helping out a lot since that incident with Lauren. She even hired a doctor from Mosgravia to check up on Lauren."
Javier pressed his lips together. The look on his face was as prideful as usual. "Although I don't really like her, she did help my daughter. So, I should show her my gratitude."
Jasper was stunned. He had mixed feelings about what Javier had said and didn't know how to respond.
Rory noticed all these and smiled slightly.
It was probably a blessing in disguise. It was as if Javier and Jasper were starting to get along better than before.
Javier looked through the glass window and noticed the figure of a man. "Who's inside?" he asked in curiosity.
"That's Landon."
"That's Landon?" Javier was shocked. "Why does his hair look so different?"
Rory looked in the same direction too. Although Landon was young, his hair had turned grayish-white.
It broke his heart to see him like that.
"Many things have been happening in his family. Lauren is also badly hurt. His hair started turning white after all the anguish he had to go through." A lump rose in Jasper's throat; he couldn't bear to take another look at Landon.
Javier was shocked. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, yet he couldn't deny the evidence before him.
Just then, Landon trudged out of the room. He felt remorseful and out of place when he noticed that Javier was there. He kept his head down and didn't dare to look him in the eye. "Sorry for intruding, Mr. Javier. I'll be leaving now."
But before he could walk away, Javier grabbed his arm. "Rory, go and get Mr. Landon some breakfast and bring it over here immediately."