Chapter 1475


    Eleanor’s hospital bed was situated by the window, the window was cracked open just enough to let in


    a gentle breeze that danced with the snowkes, twirling the white curtains before sweeping across the


    headboard, bringing with it a wave of coolness.


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    Feeling the shift in temperature, Eleanor shifted her gaze from the ceiling to the window, taking in the


    pristine sky outside. Snowkes fell softly like frost petals, cascading down in a delicate flurry.


    She attempted to move her fingers, to catch a snowke that had ventured in, but the slightest motion


    sent waves of pain radiating from her fingertips, spreading through her abdomen, her heart, her lower


    body, and into her head, until her whole body spasmed and tears streamed down her face.


    At the door of the room, Dr. Brown, carrying his medical bag, entered. Seeing Eleanor in tears, he


    paused momentarily, then quickly strode over to her side. He checked her eyes and felt her pulse to


    make sure she was truly awake before he bellowed out.


    “Ms. Vulpe, Mrs. Laurence is awake!”


    Hailey, who had been in the bathroom rinsing out a washcloth, heard Dr. Brown’s excited voice and


    dashed out. Upon seeing Eleanor’s eyes open and looking at her, Hailey’s emotions, long kept at bay,


    erupted.


    “Eleanor!” She ran over, tears streaming, and grabbed Eleanor’s hand, crying tears of joy, “You’re


    finally awake!”


    It had been half a year, and if Eleanor hadn’te around, Hailey wasn’t sure if Bernard-or even she


    herself-could have held on much longer. Thankfully, it seemed like fate had finally lent them a hand.


    Seeing Hailey so distressed, Eleanor wanted to reach out and wipe her tears away, but the pain was


    too much, she could barely move. All she could manage was to move her lips, “Hailey…”


    Merely whispering a name was a struggle; her throat was so parched it felt like it was being sliced with


    a knife. Dr. Brown, noticing her difort, quickly opened his medical bag and retrieved a few


    acupuncture needles, inserting them into her arm.


    With the needles in ce, the pain Eleanor felt subsided significantly, though the difort, especially


    from the tubes inserted in her body, remained.


    She tried to pull at the tubes, but Dr. Brown held her hands down, “You’ve just woken up, and you still


    need treatment. This is necessary for your recovery. Just bear with it for now.”


    Eleanor, enduring the difort, turned to Hailey with her tear-stained face, “Hailey, I’m so thirsty.


    Could you get me a ss of water?”


    Instead offorting Hailey, Eleanor gave her a task to focus on. Hailey, still in tears, agreed and


    managed to calm down a bit after fetching the water.


    Returning with a ss, Hailey spooned water gently into Eleanor’s mouth. She was indeed thirsty, and


    it took several spoonful before she indicated she had enough.


    Hailey set the ss down, trying to contain her excitement, and took Eleanor’s hand again, “Eleanor,


    I’ve been hoping every day for the past six months that you would wake up.”


    Six months? No wonder Hailey was so emotional. Eleanor had been unconscious for half a year. She


    felt a twinge of guilt, “Hailey, I’m sorry for always causing you worry…”


    Hailey shook her head, then reached out to touch Eleanor’s cropped hair, “Between us, let’s not talk


    about who’s causing whom worry. As long as you’re awake, I’d dly trade a decade of my own life.”


    Perhaps it was the closeness, but Eleanor noticed the fine lines at the corners of Hailey’s eyes and


    expressed her surprise, “It’s only been half a year. How have you gotten wrinkles already?”


    Hailey, still riding the high of Eleanor’s awakening, touched her own face in surprise, “At my age, it’s


    normal to have wrinkles, isn’t it?”


    Eleanor, concerned less about Hailey’s aging and more about who was missing, looked around the


    hospital room, “Hailey, where’s Garett? Why isn’t he here?”


    That was unexpected.


    Eleanor’s first concern should have been for Bernard. Why was she asking about Garett?


    Hailey grew more uneasy, “Eleanor, why aren’t you asking where Bernard has gone?”


    Upon hearing the name Bernard, Eleanor felt a twinge in her heart but couldn’t ce the memory.


    Confused, she asked, “Bernard… who is that?”


    At her words, Hailey froze in ce, and even Dr. Brown paused his examination.


    Hailey’s grip on Eleanor’s hand tightened in disbelief, “Eleanor, don’t you remember Bernard?”


    Eleanor, her head aching, countered, “Should I remember him?”


    Should I remember him? Those four words cut through the air like a knife, severing the close bond


    Eleanor and Bernard once shared.


    Hailey’s concern, oddly, was not for Eleanor but for Bernard-the man who would do anything for her. If


    he learned that Eleanor didn’t remember him, would it be too much to bear?


    Tears welled up in Hailey’s eyes again, “Eleanor, Bernard is your husband. You two have been through


    so much together to get to where you are. How could you forget him?”


    Eleanor felt estranged from Hailey’s recounting, “Hailey, I’m only eighteen and still in school. How could


    I be married? Besides, if I were to marry, it would be to Garett.”