The Flower That Grew from Ashes novel Chapter 192

The rainwater gathered into small streams across the transparent umbrella, the sound of the heavy drops drowning out the noise of the entire street.

Annelise walked forward, stepping through puddles. The soles of her shoes were already soaked through.

Yves walked half a step to her right, keeping quiet, matching his pace to hers perfectly.

The two of them walked in silence for half a block.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted behind them.

First, a muffled thud, followed by the gasps of pedestrians. Someone started shouting urgently in Norwegian.

Annelise didn't stop walking.

Yves, however, glanced back.

Through the curtain of rain, the man who had been standing under the street tree had collapsed straight to the ground.

His body hit a puddle by the curb, sending up a splash of water, and then he lay entirely motionless.

A few passersby rushed over. One crouched down to check his breathing, while another pulled out a phone to dial emergency services.

"That man collapsed," Yves retracted his gaze, his tone flat. "Someone's already called an ambulance."

Annelise gave a brief hum of acknowledgment.

She didn't look back.

She didn't even break her stride.

"You're not going to take a look?" Yves asked.

There was no judgment or pushing in his question—just a simple inquiry.

"No," Annelise answered decisively. "Someone else is handling it."

Yves didn't push the subject.

He tilted the umbrella slightly more in her direction, letting his own left shoulder quickly soak through under the heavy rain.

The commotion behind them grew louder as more people gathered around the fallen man.

Before long, the wail of an ambulance siren pierced through the downpour, growing louder as it approached.

Three years ago, that sound would have made Annelise's heart seize and her fingers tremble.

Now, she simply listened to it with calm indifference, not even furrowing her brow.

The blue warning lights swept back and forth across the wet asphalt, casting flickering shadows over the entire street.

Annelise stopped at an intersection, waiting for the light to turn green.

She turned her head and glanced at the ambulance parked across from her flower shop.

Two paramedics in fluorescent vests pulled a stretcher from the back and rushed swiftly into the crowd.

"He's running a severe fever," Yves remarked out of nowhere.

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