Chapter 88
[ 523 words ]
Chapter 88:
Harold shook his head and breathed out a long sigh. “Ethan, I brought you up with my own hands. No one knows your temper better than I do. I ask just one thing of you: for the little time I have left, set your calculations aside and be genuine with Lianne. Take it as granting my last wish.”
He fell quiet for a moment, his eyes moving from one of us to the other. “Once I’m gone, if you still believe the two of you truly can’t go on, then you may end the bond. But until then, promise me you won’t. Can you do that?”
Ethan said nothing for a long while. I could feel the conflict and restraint pressing out of him.
At last, he gave Harold a grave nod. “Okay.”
I hurried to add, “I will get along with Ethan.”
At last, a faint, relieved smile appeared on Harold’s face. As though every last bit of strength had left him, he slowly closed his eyes.
After Harold fell asleep, Ethan said he would take me back to my room.
Lying on the narrow cot in the care room and listening to the occasional wind outside, I found myself unable to sleep at all.
It felt as though a huge block of ice had been shoved into my chest, cold and painfully heavy.
Ne𝗐 𝘤𝘩𝖺𝘱𝘁e𝘳s e𝗏𝖾𝗋𝘺 w𝗲𝖾𝗄 о𝘯 𝗴𝖺l𝘯𝗼𝘃𝘦lѕ.𝖼𝗈m
What had I done to deserve this? Even at the very end, Harold was still thinking about my happiness.
And yet I knew better than anyone that this warmth, held together by guilt and promises, was only an illusion.
Some goodbyes were always meant to happen.
In the dark, I placed a hand over my lower belly. It was still flat.
Baby, what should I do?
Ethan’s POV
I stayed in Lianne’s hospital room for a while.
After some time, I went over to the bed and looked at her side profile against the white pillow. Something in my chest jolted.
“You’re still awake?” I asked quietly.
Her long lashes trembled as she slowly opened her eyes, making her look especially fragile.
“I can’t fall asleep,” she murmured, her voice so soft it was almost impossible to hear. “Can you stay with me a little longer?”
I didn’t say no. I slipped off my suit jacket, lifted the edge of the blanket, and lay down beside her.
The hospital bed was small, so we had no choice but to press close.
The moment I settled beside her, I heard the faint sound of her sobbing quietly.
My chest tightened at once, and before I could stop myself, I reached out and pulled her firmly against me from behind.
Her body felt cold, and she stayed curled in my arms, stiff and faintly shaking.
“Don’t cry.” I lowered my face into the hollow of her neck and breathed in her scent.
Not long after, her breathing gradually steadied, and she finally drifted off to sleep.
I stared out the window at the night sky, my thoughts tangled beyond count.
It hit me all at once that if Harold really left us, then the person I could depend on most completely, the only one who truly understood me, might be Lianne.
The idea had only just surfaced before I crushed it down.
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