Chapter 13
When I left at that time, I joked with Alma, saying that I would never come back to this place again.
It has been proven that flags cannot be easily raised.
I fell ill again.
In Vertdeer, only winter is a bit drier, and in previous years, there was always freezing rain. However, this year, it snowed unprecedentedly.
When doctors and nurses were chatting, they said, “This year was a cold winter, tsk tsk. The climate is becoming increasingly unsuitable for human survival.”
It was almost New Year, and the branches outside the window were bare, not a single leaf left.
I pressed my face against the window glass and exhaled, causing a layer of mist to form.
“There was a person downstairs.”
“He stood there every day, wasn’t h
Terrance’s hand tightened slowly, as if he saw the truths that were enough to break him.
“It had already been decided at that time that Elliana wrote the complaint letter, demanding fairness and transparency, which resulted in you getting the position. However, as a consequence, she offended many people, to the extent that later, after her father ran away, she and her mother
were harassed by many people.”
The invisible hand gripped Terrance’s neck, causing him unbearable pain and making it impossible
for him to breathe.
She was bullied.
Is it because of this?
Alma continued, saying.
“When you were participating in the competition in another province, you didn’t call for about a week. So you probably don’t know that everything has turned upside down here. The Cordova family collapsed. Her father ran away with his mistress, and a bunch of debt collectors were constantly blocking the front door, threatening Elliana and her mother’s lives. Auntie committed suicide, leaving behind Elliana, who was bullied and later fell ill.”
“…At the worst of times, I didn’t dare take my eyes off her for a second. She was being tormented to the point of losing her humanity.” Alma stared intensely at Terrance. “When you had the car accident, Elliana cried and begged me to let her die. How do you expect her to move on?”
Terrance’s face turned ashen, and he closed his eyes.
The memories of the past few months have been tormenting him like crazy.
He tacitly consented to the manager getting Elliana drunk and sending her to his room.
He lured her into revealing her true feelings after drinking, and then crazily forged a completely ineffective fake agreement just to see her in distress and agony.
Repeated humiliation and mockery.
Finally, he obsessively locked her up in a private hospital in the suburbs. Alma came to see him many times, but he refused to meet her.
He asked her if she was sick and why she didn’t die back then.
Elliana’s eyes grew increasingly hollow, often staring at him, motionless.
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He mistakenly believed that she still loved him at that time.
But now, thinking back, Elliana silently questioned how he could have been so heartless towards
her.
“Why… didn’t you tell me?”
Alma burst into tears, “How do I explain?”
She was sick, and even staying alive was a luxury. The only thing she could do was to make sure that the people she cared about wouldn’t be dragged down by her. She valued your studies more than anything else, that competition was your turning point, an opportunity she fought desperately to obtain. She just wanted you to be well. Terrance, does she deserve to die?
Should she die?
This sentence hit Terrance’s heart like a heavy hammer.
He was the one who entangled her, tormented her, and made fun of her.
He was the one who insulted her by using the contract, knowing that she was well–mannered.
It was also he who was to blame.
“We tried many methods to ignite Elliana’s will to survive. In the end, we found that only one thing worked for her.”
Terrance suddenly dared not listen anymore.
Alma chuckled and said, “Your name. She always remembered her great entrepreneur.”
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e cold?”
Alma walked past with a cup of hot milk, expressionless, “Oh, really? Probably not cold.”
She hasn’t been in a good mood lately.
Even Dr. Lowery was.
I was so cautious every day, afraid of provoking the two of them.
Alma paused for a moment, realizing that she seemed to have startled me. She slowed down her
speech.
“Drink the milk and take the medicine after an hour,” Dr. Lowery said, “He will take you to build a snowman tonight.”
I looked at that person again and felt somewhat familiar…
Alma pulled the curtain for me and said, “Stop looking, you might go blind.”
“Oh.”
I got back to bed, after taking the medicine, and played games leaning against the pillow.
The sound of Alma and Dr. Lowery talking could be heard from outside.
Afterward, he pushed the door open and walked in.
Chapter 13
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I quickly hid my phone and sat up straight, saying, “I have taken the medicine.”
The smell of disinfectant water instantly filled the room.
Shawn’s gaze swept over me, finally settling on my face. “Ms. Cordova, I wouldn’t curse at you for playing games.”
I blushed deeply and slowly took out my phone, “How did you know I was playing games?”
“I also played. I was very familiar with the background music.”
Shawn washed his hands, took off his white coat, and looked at me through the mirror with a slight smile. “Aren’t you going to get dressed? We agreed to build a snowman together.”
He worked in the thoracic surgery department of the same hospital.
The first time I saw him seemed like an autumn.
The weather rarely cleared up, and I squatted down behind the fence to pick up the yarn ball that suddenly appeared outside.
Shawn passed by, and he looked down at me.
I was so tired that I was panting heavily, “Excuse me, could you please help me pick it up?”
He looked up, glanced at the sign in the yard, and said, “According to the regulations, you were not allowed to touch anything dangerous.”
Seeing that I didn’t move, he asked again, “What do you want to do?”
“Jumping rope.”
Shawn glanced at the time, crouched down, and said, “Then I’ll play with you. After we finish playing, I’ll take the rope away.‘
His nap time was very short, so I quietly reached out my hand through the fence and played with him for a while.
When he was about to leave, I said, “Thank you.”
Later, there were a few more encounters.
He was busy and ignored me.
One day, he came again and took out a flower rope, saying, “Sorry, I have been busy lately.”
Later, he started chatting with me.
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“You seemed to speak very little.”
“Well, I can’t say too much.”
“Why?”
I was sick and probably couldn’t say anything happy. I couldn’t pour out emotional garbage to
others.
Shawn stared at me without saying anything.
Later, he came more frequently.
Sometimes I would feel exhausted.
I tried to learn a few jokes and told them to him, and every time Shawn would gaze at me with
tender eyes.
He asked, “Elliana, what was your wish?”
“I hope everyone was happy, including myself.”
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