All Chapters of Five Years of Marriage to Mr. Bradford: Chapter 541 - Chapter 550

Gabriel furrowed his brow, wondering why Vance was calling at a time like this, but he answered in the end.Vance's voice came through the line. "G... Mr. Perry."Gabriel's frown deepened. "What is that?""I'm sorry to call out of the blue," Vance said, "but I want to confirm Rebecca's condition. Is she okay?"Gabriel's eyes narrowed. "How do you know something's wrong?""I guessed," Vance replied. "She hasn't been to the clinic for several days, and she hasn't shown up for rehearsal either. None of the dancers knows what's going on. After such a successful performance, she should be even more passionate about practicing. So, either she's sick, or...""You know her pretty well, don't you?" Gabriel asked, seeing a chance.He had been mostly absent from Rebecca's life growing up, so he knew his limitations.Vance, on the other hand, had known her for over a decade despite his infidelity. They were classmates for three years and married for five years. Perhaps he had a way to reac

Vance no longer bothered defending himself. He frowned, thinking about how to help Rebecca stabilize her emotions. At the very least, she needed to sleep through the night properly.He picked a large bunch of leaves and arranged with Josette, Kaitlyn, and Gabriel that if Rebecca showed even the slightest restlessness while sleeping, they should notify him immediately.Although Gabriel was skeptical of the method, they were willing to try anything at this point.At ten o'clock that night, Rebecca had been asleep for about half an hour. The entire house was deathly quiet. No one dared make a sound, afraid of waking her.But suddenly, a police siren wailed past on the street.In her sleep, Rebecca's whole body tensed. In the dream, Desmond's face loomed larger and larger as he demanded, "How are you going to repay me? I've given up so much for you. How are you going to repay me?"Her chest tightened, and her breathing grew rapid. Then, out of nowhere, the sound of someone blowing on

The next few days, Rebecca stayed busy.She had never realized just how rich and fulfilling Josette's life was. Josette's only real issue was that her French wasn't fluent enough for free conversation, but otherwise her days were wonderfully full.She accompanied Josette to one of Kaitlyn's company product shows because one of the designs featured Josette's embroidery ideas.Josette didn't have formal design training, but she knew a great deal about embroidery and ancient jewelry. She had many creative ideas, and Kaitlyn helped turn them into reality.Josette was supposed to go on stage that day, but Kaitlyn was busy with the show, asking Rebecca to handle Josette's outfit and makeup.That alone required quite a bit of work. Rebecca helped Josette choose a gown, did her makeup, styled her hair, and got herself ready, too. Then she spent the afternoon at the show with Josette and attended the evening banquet.By the end, her high heels had her feet aching so badly she could barely

"You can still scold me. That means you're doing better," Vance said playfully.Rebecca raised an eyebrow.Ever since their divorce, this man had become oddly annoying.Back when she had held him up like he was the center of her universe and spoiled him endlessly, he had never taken her feelings seriously. Now he was acting in ways she couldn't quite understand."It was you who blew on the leaves those nights, right?" she asked."Well..." He hesitated for a second, then lowered his head. "Yeah."He waited for her to scold him, but she stayed silent.He looked up, uncertain. "What's wrong?""It sounded awful," she said. "You guys were blowing like that back in high school. Don't you have any self-awareness?""Well..." he chuckled, "apparently not.""Don't tell me you thought you were musical geniuses," she said, genuinely puzzled by their confidence."We... were pretty proud of ourselves," he admitted with a sheepish grin. "Being able to play a tune on a leaf? That's cool, ri

Vance heard her out, then said, "So you see.""What?" Rebecca blinked."You already know everything. Marriage isn't repayment or something forced. It isn't bondage but about living happily together."She was stunned.He stood up and walked over to her. "You need to believe in yourself. You're right. No matter who you marry, it should be to live happily with that person. If not, either person has the right to end it. If the other person refuses, that's their problem, not yours. You did nothing wrong."So, that was where he had been leading her all along."True love means wanting to give them the very best you have and still feeling it's not enough. It's not about keeping score and expecting repayment. That isn't love. Don't you agree?" His eyes gleamed in the night."That was how I used to talk in business: I invested so much money in you, and this is the result you gave me? But marriage isn't business."Gabriel had said similar things before, but at the time, her mind had been