Chapter 209
[ 504 words ]
Chapter 209:
Outside the emergency room, I stood there numb with cold, my nails pressed so deeply into my palms that it hurt. The weight of guilt was nearly suffocating.
Rola sat hunched on the bench, looking as though she had aged ten years in a single moment. She twisted her handkerchief nervously in her hands, whispering prayer after prayer to the Moon Goddess.
I remained off to the side, drowning in self-reproach.
If I had never brought up breaking the bond, Harold would never have collapsed from the sudden surge in blood pressure.
Time seemed to crawl endlessly forward. At last, the light above the emergency room went dark.
As the doctor stepped out, I tightened my fists and waited.
𝖨𝗇𝘵𝗲ոse 𝗋𝗈𝘮a𝗇𝖼𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗀а𝗹𝗻𝗈𝘃𝘦𝗹ѕ.c𝘰𝘮
He pulled off his mask, exhaustion written across his face, but there was at least a trace of reassurance in his expression. “He’s stable for the moment. But his heart can’t withstand another shock. He absolutely must not be agitated again.”
At those words, all the strain went out of me at once. I sagged against the wall, dragging in breath after breath.
“Wipe your tears before you go in.” Ethan’s icy voice sounded close beside me.
I hadn’t even noticed him approach. He bent slightly, speaking in a low murmur. “When Grandpa asks, you are not to say a single word about what happened.”
Lianne’s POV
I gave a small nod.
The hospital room still carried the faint, sterile scent of disinfectant.
Harold lay against the white sheets, an oxygen tube beneath his nose, his complexion drained of all color.
The moment he saw me walk in, a dim but loving warmth surfaced in his aged eyes.
“Don’t cry, Lianne. I’m not so easy to kill.” He coughed lightly and lifted a frail hand, wanting to pat my head.
I hurried to his side and clasped his thin, withered hand in both of mine, tears slipping free again before I could stop them. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”
“This isn’t on you. If anyone’s to blame, it’s that brat Ethan.” Harold shifted his gaze past me toward Ethan, and his eyes turned sharp in an instant. “Ethan, apologize to her!”
Ethan did not delay. He apologized to me at once, his expression grave.
“Are you truly planning to break your mate bond with Lianne because of Ivy?” Harold’s voice shook as he asked it.
I stopped breathing for a moment and instinctively looked toward Ethan.
I thought this might be his final opportunity. If he simply admitted it, if he stood by that choice, then maybe we could finally be free.
“You’ve misunderstood, Grandpa,” Ethan said evenly. “I never meant to truly break my bond with Lianne. Those rumors only came from a minor quarrel between us. I was just acting out in anger.”
I stood there, stunned, my mind going completely blank. What was he saying? He never meant to sever our bond? How could he speak such words so calmly, as though they cost him nothing?
“Really?” Harold looked at him with clear suspicion.
“Really.” Ethan slipped an arm around my shoulders with practiced ease, drawing me closer to his side.
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