Chapter 1478


    It was Bernard who had bargained with the heavens, offering his own life in exchange for Eleanor’s.


    And now, as fate would have it, the powers that be hadn’t taken his life but had instead snatched away


    Eleanor’s memories. A fair trade, he reassured himself, for she had awakened.


    Yet, despite his selfforting thoughts, Bernard couldn’t suppress a bitter chuckle. It was as if the


    past decade had been nothing but avish pipe dream.


    Gazing upon her gaunt, pale face and bloodshot eyes, and the rueful smile that yed upon his lips,


    Eleanor’s heart constricted, tightening in difort. She thought it was a cardiac issue at first and


    pressed her hand to her chest. The odd pang faded quickly, and in that moment, Garrett took the


    opportunity to gently push aside her other hand.


    “Eleanor, your husband’s back. You should chat with him; I’ll head off now and check in on you another


    day,” Garrett said, his voice light yet tinged with concern.


    As Garrett turned to leave, Eleanor, gripped by a sudden anxiety, called out to him, “Garrett, don’t go. I


    don’t know him. Please don’t leave me alone; I’m scared.”


    Those two words, “I’m scared,” hit Bernard like a hammer to the heart, deeply embedded and


    immobilizing. It felt as though a rugged nail was piercing through his heart’s chambers, unrelentingly


    iming his life…


    Bernard, who had been propped up against the hospital bed, finally lowered his heavyshes to look at


    the fear-filled Eleanor beneath him. “You’re afraid of me?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.


    Eleanor wasn’t afraid of him per se; it was the unfamiliarity that terrified her. But she didn’t know how to


    express this, so she chose silence, even directing a plea for help towards Garrett with her eyes.


    Bernard had never seen how she loved Garrett before, only heard her whisper his name in her sleep.


    Now, witnessing it firsthand, he felt all his convictions shattering.


    His fingers, pressed against the bedsheet, curled into his palm. It was only when his fingernails cut into


    his skin, drawing blood, that he suppressed the pain and slowly sat up…


    Embarrassed and despairing, Bernard looked at Garrett, “If she’s afraid of me, should stay with her. I…


    I’ll be going.”


    As he spoke, tears threatened to spill from his eyes. Perhaps afraid of being seen in such a state,


    Bernard pushed himself off the wall and staggered away.


    Watching the retreating figure waver, Eleanor felt her heart ache anew. This time, the pain was clearly


    for Bernard. But she looked up at Garrett, whose face was etched with gravity, and she was sure-she


    loved Garrett. Memories might fade, but her feelings couldn’t regress, could they?


    Confused and fragmented, Eleanor sought answers, “Garrett, can you tell me what’s going on between


    him and me?”


    Garrett met her bewildered gaze, replying, “It’s not something I can exin in a sentence or two. But


    you loved him deeply, enough to risk your life for him.”


    Although Eleanor found it hard to believe, she didn’t argue with Garrett, simply saying, “I don’t feel love


    for him now. I only feel that I love you. So, Garrett, if there’s a chance you haven’t let go of me, then


    there’s a chance for us to start over.”


    Outside the hospital room, leaning against the wall, Bernard overheard this and felt his frail body


    tremble, as if a cold wind had blown right through him.


    Aidyn and Scott, seeing their boss’ heartbreaking face, felt a pang of sympathy. He hadn’t even taken


    the time to put on his coat in his rush to see his wife and had run into the hospital through the snow.


    And now…


    His wife had forgotten him, remembered only Garrett, loved only Garrett. What would be of their


    Mr. Laurence? Could years of love be dissolved by amnesia?


    Inside the room, Garrett pulled up a chair beside Eleanor’s bed, ready to speak, but Bernard no longer


    had the heart to listen. He staggered out of the hospital, his steps unsteady.


    Aidyn and Scott made to follow, but a raised hand from Bernard stopped them. They understood he


    needed some space and halted


    Bernard, bracing against the pain that threatened to shatter him, leaned on the hospital walls, each


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    step more graceless than thest, until he emerged into the snow. The kes had grownrger since


    his arrival, quickly nketing the cold ground…


    Standing at the hospital entrance, he looked up at the swirling snow and felt an overwhelming sense of


    solitude. It was a loneliness that seeped from within, unbearable, and the world before him started to


    blur.


    As his tall frame fell backward into the snow, the pure white kes settled like dandelion fluff upon his


    face, melting slowly upon his wless cheeks.


    Though d only in a thin suit on this snowy night, Bernard felt no chill-perhaps his heart was cold


    enough to numb his senses.


    Before consciousness fully slipped away, he gazed up at the snow-filled sky and whispered in his heart,


    “Eleanor, I don’t think I can hold on much longer. If you ever remember me and I’m not here anymore,


    please don’t me me…”