Chapter 583
He lifted his hand and gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips. The reduced sensitivity in his fingertips made it difficult for him to feel the softness of her skin.
“What?” Eileen murmured, slowly opening her eyes.
Her gaze was clouded with intoxication. As she focused on the familiar face, tears immediately began to fall. “Are you really going to marry someone else? Don’t you care about me and Gabriela anymore? What am I supposed to do now?”
Eileen raised her hand and gently traced Bryan’s eyebrows with her fingertips, moving down his straight nose to his thin lips. “They told me you had fallen into the sea. I never believed it. You wouldn’t be so reckless. You still have me and Gabriela. You wouldn’t leave us!”
After a pause, she added slowly, “But they said Coen injected you with an experimental drug. That’s why you did it, right? Were you saying goodbye to me before heading to Bayside City? Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”
Tears streamed from her eyes, soaking her long black hair. She clutched his arm, sobbing uncontrollably. All the emotions and grievances she had suppressed for so long erupted in an instant.
“If I had told you the truth, would you have let me go?” Bryan wiped away her tears.
Eileen shook her head, her tears flowing even more. “I just want you to come back…”
Bryan gritted his teeth, yearning to hold her tightly.
“Don’t cry. I’m back now,” Bryan coaxed gently, not caring how much she had drunk or if she would remember his visit the next day. He bent down and kissed her forehead.
Eileen clung to his arm and murmured, “You aren’t back. You’ve forgotten all about me. And you want to marry another woman!”
Eventually, the dizziness from the alcohol became too much, and she began to feel faint. Bryan remained still, letting her hold his arm as she gradually quieted down.
He noticed red spots on her back, some broken skin that looked especially severe. When he first arrived, he had been allergic and had felt terrible, even after applying ointment daily. He couldn’t fathom how Eileen had endured it.
He took the ointment from the bedside table, lifted her shirt, and gently applied a layer to her back.
The window was open, letting in the cold air, making her hair messy.
After applying the ointment, Bryan stood up, closed the window, tucked Eileen in, and started to walk out. But as he reached the door, he couldn’t help but turn back. He sat at the edge of her bed, unsure whether to touch her. Instead, he just watched her. She looked thinner than before, and her lips were pale.
Even in her sleep, she continued to frown.
Bryan’s heart ached as he watched her. She had told him she didn’t know what to do with him, but he was equally uncertain about what to do with her.
Morning was breaking. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm glow over Eileen’s face. Her curly eyelashes fluttered a few times as she sensed a familiar presence. She clung tightly to the warmth of the “thing” in her arms.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes and sat up, startling Gabriela, who was sitting nearby.
“What are you doing?” Josue exclaimed, quickly picking up Gabriela. “You scared her.”
Eileen’s breath quickened. The sensation of Bryan felt too real to be just a dream. She looked at Josue with questioning eyes.
.