Chapter 87
[ 455 words ]
Chapter 87:
I hurried out of bed, but I moved too fast, and my legs buckled beneath me, almost sending me to the floor.
Ethan caught me around the waist in an instant. “Slow down,” he said under his breath.
Hurriedly fastening my shirt, I rushed for the door.
“Wait.” He stopped me without warning.
He stepped in front of me, his tall body cutting off my way.
I looked up at him in confusion and saw him lower his eyes, his long fingers reaching toward my chest.
“You buttoned it wrong.” His voice was husky and alluring, carrying a closeness that made my heartbeat speed up.
I lowered my head and saw that, in my panic, I had fastened every button wrong.
With careful patience, Ethan undid them one at a time and buttoned them properly again.
𝘙𝗲𝗮𝘥 𝗐𝘪𝗍𝗁𝗼𝗎t 𝗶𝘯𝘵𝖾𝘳𝘳𝘶р𝘵𝗂o𝘯ѕ 𝘰𝗻 𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗇𝘰𝗏е𝘭𝘴.с𝘰𝗆
That almost-intimate gentleness made it feel as though we were still in love.
But I knew it was just an illusion.
After fastening the last button, he straightened my collar, his tone turning cold once more. “Let’s go.”
Inside Harold’s room, the old man sat half-reclined against thick pillows in the hospital bed.
“Harold.” I rushed over to him and held his thin hand tightly.
Harold looked at the bandage on my forehead, his dim eyes full of heartache.
“What happened to your head? Does it hurt?” he asked hoarsely, his speech labored.
At that moment, everything I had been holding up inside me collapsed.
In this world, aside from my late parents, this old man was the only one who truly loved me.
“It doesn’t hurt. It’s only a little bump,” I said, shaking my head hard, even as tears burst from my eyes like a broken floodgate.
“Silly child…” Harold sighed and patted the back of my hand. “I know I don’t have much time left. The one I worry about most is you.”
“No! You’re going to get better!” I cried, burying my face in the blanket as my shoulders trembled violently. “You promised you’d take me to see an ice hockey game!”
I had already lived through too many farewells. When my parents died, I had felt this same helplessness.
I could not accept that another one who loved me like his own life was going to leave me too.
Harold gently wiped the tears from my face. “Everyone has to face this in the end. Don’t be scared. Lianne, my mind has been clear all along. There are some things I understood a long time ago.”
My sobbing faltered, and I lifted my head stiffly.
Harold shifted his keen, grave eyes to Ethan, who was standing beside us. “You two were planning to break your mate bond today, weren’t you?”
A heavy silence took over the room.
Guilt crashed over me, and tears welled up again. “I’m sorry. I let you down. I disappointed you.”
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