Semua Bab Five Years of Marriage to Mr. Bradford: Bab 271 - Bab 280

Catherine was dumbfounded.On a whim, she had posted a photo of herself in a sheer nightgown, cuddling a shirtless, drunk Vance. It had been up for five seconds before she deleted it, but apparently not fast enough."What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Desmond pressed."No need to ask her." Vance pulled Catherine behind him protectively. "Anything she posted was approved by me. If she did something wrong, I'll apologize."He stepped in front of Rebecca, but he couldn't bring himself to say the word "cripple"."Regarding the inappropriate appellation..." he rephrased it. "I sincerely apologize on her behalf. I hope you can be a bigger person and forgive her."Rebecca found it ironic. This was the first time he had ever apologized because someone in his circle had mocked her leg.Aiden and Lucas had done it countless times in the past five years. He had never once stopped them, and today, she had finally received an apology, though he was delivering it on behalf of Catherine.How

Rebecca's chest ached with bitterness.Everyone believed Vance could make her happy—everyone except himself and the people around him.But love couldn't be forced. It had taken her five years to learn that.Back then, she could even accept that Vance didn't love her. Saving him had been pure instinct. At that critical moment, she hadn't had time to think of anything else.How could she possibly have been scheming to trap him into marriage, as he believed? The fact that he thought so little of her still cut deep.If he didn't love her, he should have told her at the beginning. She would have walked away wanting nothing, healed from her injuries, and faced her future on her own.He could have done so any day during those five years. She would have respected his honesty, and they could have parted peacefully. At least, they had both tried.But instead, they had reached this point.Desmond fell silent, but Helia kept talking, trying to persuade him.Rebecca felt something cold on

Catherine bowed her head, looking hurt and vulnerable.Vance stood beside her, his jaw tight. "What are you talking about? Is she wrong? She means well. How can you mock her like this?"Catherine tugged at his sleeve, looking timid. "Vance, don't talk like that. She's just in a bad mood. You need to understand her."Vance fell silent, looking daggers at Rebecca.Catherine chattered on, "Vance, come on. She spends every day with those dancers, but she can't dance like before. It definitely makes her sad."Turning to Rebecca, she continued, "Don't push yourself too hard. Even if you can't dance again, Vance won't mind. But if you got hurt, he'd be worried."Her words were sweet, but her face gleamed with smugness. Especially when she said Rebecca couldn't dance again, her eyes lingered on Rebecca's leg with unconcealed malice.Yet Vance, the insufferable fool, would surely think she was simply looking out for Rebecca.Sure enough, he launched into his familiar lament. "If only yo

Catherine continued, "You've already given more than enough. You've paid it all off. Go check if you don't believe me. Even if you were that driver, the price you paid would've settled it ages ago. No one else would compensate for this much.""Have I?" Vance murmured in a daze."Yes, you've cleared the debt." Catherine grabbed his clothes and shook him. "Just stop this. She indeed saved your life, but nobody should devote their entire life to repaying a debt. Wake up! You're exceptional. If Rebecca hadn't saved you back then, she wouldn't even have been worthy of you. You've done more than enough. You can't spend your whole life trapped in guilt. You have to live for yourself.""Live for myself?" he echoed, his eyes growing glazed with each word."Exactly. Break free from the chains of debt and guilt," she encouraged. "Live the rest of your life for yourself. Stop torturing yourself. You don't love her, yet you force yourself to live with her. Haven't you suffered enough?"He rema

The finale ended, but the strains refused to fade.The audience cheered, showing how much they loved the dance. Applause erupted again as Desmond and Helia came out to take their bows.They had perfectly recreated a few of the classic solo and duet moves from Butterfly Lovers, which earned great admiration from the audience.Normally, the curtain call would have ended there. The audience was already moving toward the stage with flowers, but the music went on.And then, new images appeared on the LCD screens flanking the stage. Rebecca froze, seeing her own performance of Butterfly Lovers from years ago.The announcer's microphone ended up in Desmond's hands. He declared the show officially over, thanked the audience for their support, and said that a small ceremony would follow for those who wished to stay.Rebecca blinked, wondering what he and Helia were up to."This dance we performed tonight is called Butterfly Lovers," Desmond continued, briefly introducing the choreography