บททั้งหมดของ Five Years of Marriage to Mr. Bradford: บทที่ 611 - บทที่ 620

Older people always cherished the idea of raising children to be plump and healthy.Vance rubbed his cheek against Josette's palm, his eyes glistening brighter with unshed tears. His pale, grayish lips trembled. "Okay.""Good," Josette said solemnly. "Listen to the doctors, Anna, and me."Vance nodded.Only then did Josette and Rebecca leave the room. Rebecca wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but both Josette and Anna seemed different now.Josette's eyes held a quiet, steely determination, and when they had passed each other in the doorway, Anna had traces of tears on her face.Rebecca looked back and only saw Anna's back. The girl stood by Vance's bed, blocking him from view."Grandma," Rebecca started, "did you say something to Anna?"Josette nodded. "Yeah.""What did you say?" Rebecca pressed, anxiety creeping into her voice. "Was it about Vance's injury? Is it serious?"Otherwise, why would Anna be crying?"It's not too bad," Josette replied. "He's already out of th

Rebecca tossed and turned, her dreams filled with high school. She woke up but dreamed again. Only in the early morning hours did she finally sleep deeply.She woke up close to noon.Downstairs, Josette had already packed lunch for the hospital visit. She had even prepared a French meal in case Anna wasn't used to American food."Grandma, why didn't you wake me?" Rebecca said, coming down the stairs.If she hadn't woken up, Josette might have left alone.A shadow of worry crossed Josette's face for a split second. "No worries. Visiting him is something I want to do.""Wait for me. I'll come along," Rebecca said quickly.She guessed that Josette was doing this because Vance had risked his life to save them, just as Rebecca had once saved him. But he had saved more than just Josette; he had saved her, too.When they arrived at the hospital, the ward door was closed. Anna opened it as a knock, only to panic at the sight of Rebecca and quickly pull it shut."Vance is having his dr

"Ms. Perry?" The bodyguard had climbed over, too, noticing her expression.All strength seemed to drain from Rebecca's body. She slid down the fence until she was sitting on the ground.When the bodyguard called out to her again, she hugged her knees and burst into tears. All the pent-up stress poured out at once.She cursed inwardly, "Vance, you bastard! You broke your word again. You said you'd let us know when you were discharged. Can't I trust you even once?"But she knew exactly why he had left without a word. He must have been in very bad shape.Something occurred to her, and she abruptly looked up. These bodyguards, as Gabriel's trusted people, might know something."How much did Vance's hospital stay cost?" she asked.The lead bodyguard paused. "I don't know.""What did Gabriel tell you?""He... Nothing. My job is to protect you.""I understand." Rebecca sighed, knowing these well-trained men would not reveal anything without Gabriel's order.She decided to ask him h

In the shouting, Rebecca stirred awake. The first thing she did was pull on her shoes and run outside.She raced all the way to the dusty cookie shop, stared at the closed chocolate-colored door, covered her face, and let the tears pour through her fingers.There were some things she had long forgotten. A casual class assignment. A random doodle...Why did it have to be like this? They had agreed that after the divorce, they would be strangers and never see each other again.She muttered, "Vance, I really hoped we could just be strangers. You don't have to do anything more for me. Go find your own happiness. If only I had never liked you in the first place, then none of the later stories would have happened."From that day on, she never saw Vance again. Yet she never forgot his face, because every few days he appeared in her dreams, along with their old classmates and long-ago events.Reliving those years in her dreams was so mentally exhausting that she became incredibly sleepy.

Rebecca stood on the sidewalk as people streamed past. She stared at the chocolate-colored window, feeling empty inside.Later, the bodyguard came to take her home. Even as she walked away, she still felt hollow, as if her body had become weightless.In the car, the low hum of the engine sounded like a white noise that made her feel even more detached. She closed her eyes. If not for her phone suddenly ringing, she might have fallen asleep.It was Heather, now the troupe's assistant director and her most reliable helper."Rebecca, are you really going back to the States? I wanted to go over the autumn performance schedule with you.""Yes, probably in the next few days. The plan we discussed last time was good. Send me any changes.""Got it. I'll send them now."Rebecca reviewed the file in the car, made a few adjustments, and told Heather to proceed with the updated version.Heather: [When are you going back?]Rebecca was stumped. She typed and deleted her reply twice before a