Chapter
Tears trickled silently from the corners of her closed eyes, and the ache in her heart scared continuously.
***
Kelly remained asleep, while Joshua left early each day and returned late.
On Saturday morning, after finishing her breakfast, Caroline suddenly suggested, “The wedding venue is being decorated. Would you like to go check it out?”
Joshua seemed distracted. He stood up, put on his coat, and said, “I have something else to take care of. We can go another time.”
With that, he turned and left the house.
Although he never spoke of it, Caroline always knew where he went each day.
After a moment of silence, she finally decided to follow him.
Ever since her legs were amputated, Caroline dreads the hospital the most, as it harbors her most agonizing and haunting memories.
Yet today, she maneuvered her wheelchair into the hospital alone and observed as Joshua entered Kelly’s room.
The woman lay unconscious in the bed, and Caroline quietly paused outside the ward.
She watched as Joshua sat beside Kelly, holding her hand and imploring her to wake.
“Kelly, don’t you love me deeply? If you wake up. I’ll agree to anything
W
you want,” he pleaded.
“I won’t confine you or hurt you anymore. I’ll give you whatever desire.
“Just wake up, Kelly. Please, wake up.”
Standing outside, Caroline listened in silence.
you
Her skin was taut with tension, her eyes trembling as she watched Joshua beg the woman responsible for the loss of her legs.
After some time, a raspy voice echoed from the ward once more.
“Just wake up… Even if you don’t want me to get married, I promise you.”
Caroline was stunned as if she was struck by a thunderous blow.
The last defense within her heart crumbled entirely.
Her hands clenched into fists, nails pressing painfully into her palms, yet she couldn’t stop shaking.
It was unclear how much time had passed before Caroline turned and left, her face ashen.
All the strength that had been keeping her going vanished. His words had finally pushed her, already on the brink, into the depths of despair.
Back at the villa, Caroline gazed at the home she once shared with him. Everywhere she looked, memories filled the space–the curtains they had chosen together, the vase they had picked out, and the mural they had painted as a team.
For two people who had once been so deeply in love, how did they drift apart?
The man who had wished to marry her since he was 16 no longer held that dream.
She closed her eyes, trembling. Moments later, a call came from the wedding venue.
“Ms. Rennie, the venue is ready. When would you and Mr. Kimble like to visit?” the staff member inquired politely, but she was met with silence.
“Ms. Rennie?”
Caroline gripped the phone firmly and replied with determination, “We won’t go.”
The staff was stunned, uncertain whether she meant they wouldn’t visit the venue ahead of the wedding or wouldn’t attend the wedding at all.
