Chapter 285: Chapter 285: It Was Sean Harrison, Always Holding Her Hand and by Her Side

Sean held the glass of water, unmoving.

In the face of her anger, he was surprisingly calm. "Drink some water first," he said.

"..."

Rory Linden took the glass.

As he watched her drink, the corners of his lips curved up unconsciously. "You said it yourself, didn’t you? That we’d be reincarnated together. Isn’t that a good thing?"

Rory’s brow furrowed. "Sean Harrison, you’re a really strange person..."

"How so?"

Sean watched her finish the water and took the glass back from her.

"Back then, you cut off all contact with me so cruelly just because you suspected you had some kind of mental illness. You even wanted to drag me to get an abortion when I told you I was pregnant."

Rory recalled the past, her tone softening slightly. "But when it was a matter of life and death, you wanted to die with me."

Sean didn’t answer her question right away. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

He placed the glass on the bedside table, then got up and pulled a chair over to the bed, perching on the very edge of it.

He leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on his knees and lacing his fingers together.

"Honestly, thinking back on what happened today, even I can’t understand my own choice. If you had died, I would have been Leo Linden’s only living relative. I should have left. I *had* to leave."

Sean lowered his gaze. "I knew all that at the time. But I couldn’t bring myself to leave."

He remembered how he felt when it happened.

At first, he knew he should leave. The rational part of his brain kept telling him so, over and over.

But in those final moments...

...a single thought eroded all reason.

"You couldn’t bring yourself to leave?"

she asked.

"Yeah. I saw you lying there in that dilapidated, abandoned building, a heavy bomb strapped to you, your face pale, tears streaming endlessly." Sean looked up at her. "I was afraid you’d be scared if I left. And I couldn’t bear the thought of you lying there, waiting to die all alone."

’On top of that, there were so many other feelings.’

’Five years ago, when she told him she was pregnant, he’d tried to drag her to get an abortion.’

’Later, he’d watched her stand all alone in front of the marriage registration office.’

’The weather had been so cold.’

’And still, she hadn’t left.’

’He’d thought he was doing it for her own good, but in the end, he’d caused her to give birth alone in a foreign country, raising their young son all by herself.’

’She had suffered countless hardships from being a single mother with no money.’

’One thing after another.’

’And now, this final ordeal of her life had also been brought on by him.’

’How could he just abandon her and walk away?’

Rory was silent.

Sean said, "If you’re not tired, I can take you out for a walk in the wheelchair. The weather is nice."

The August days were hot, with cicadas chirping incessantly.

Only at night was there a gentle, cool breeze.

It was the perfect time for a stroll.

"You should go take care of your work. If I feel like going out, I can just ask a nurse to take me."

Rory refused.

She used to work here, so she knew most of the nurses.

As a private hospital, Elysian’s service was impeccable.

They were more than happy to do small things like take a patient for a walk.

"Alright, then. But I’ll be here with you for the next few days, until you’re discharged."

Sean didn’t push it.

He knew she didn’t want to see him, so he didn’t say anything more. He just stood up and returned the chair to its original spot.

Rory looked at him and said, "Could you... call a nurse for me?"

"What for? I can help you," Sean said. "I don’t think there’s anything here that requires a professional, is there?"

After this incident, and hearing what she had said in those final seconds, he was sure of one thing.

’Even if he wasn’t in Rory’s heart, there probably wasn’t anyone else, either.’

’In that case, he wasn’t going to back down again.’

Leaning against her pillows, Rory said, "It *is* something professional. Only a nurse can do it."

"Alright. Tell me what you need so I can explain it to the nurse."

Sean asked.

Rory turned her face away. After a few seconds of silence, she was forced to say, "I need to use the restroom. I need a nurse to help me get there."

Her limbs still felt weak, and she wasn’t sure if she could make it to the restroom on her own.

She would probably need the nurse to help her all the way in and then back out again.

"Why can’t I do that?" Sean raised an eyebrow. "I can just carry you in and then carry you back out."

’Besides, they’d done far more intimate things in the past.’

Rory knew that perfectly well.

But they had been apart for so long, and her feelings toward him...

Sean seemed to understand. He stood up and said, "I’ll press the call button for the nurse, then."

"Thank you,"

Rory said.

The nurse arrived quickly and helped Rory to the restroom.

The rooms here housed all sorts of patients, so not only were they wheelchair accessible, but they also had support rails installed on both sides of the toilet.

Rory was still a bit unsteady on her feet, but she had enough strength in her arms to hold onto the rails and sit down or stand up by herself.

The nurse only left after Rory was out of the restroom.

The head of the bed had been raised.

Rory sat up, leaning against the inclined bed, and asked Sean, "What about Evan Hollis...?"

"He’s in the hospital for surgery too, but he’s under guard. He won’t be going anywhere,"

Sean replied.

Rory asked, puzzled, "What happened to his hand?"

Sean briefly recounted the events from that morning, then added, "He was originally just facing charges for drug smuggling and espionage. He might have been deported after a few years in prison. But because he kidnapped you, the crime is far more severe. He’ll probably spend at least twenty years behind bars."

A life sentence in Celestria is twenty years.

"Oh."

Rory gazed at the moon outside the window.

The hospital room was perfectly quiet.

It wasn’t until after midnight that Rory’s internal clock finally kicked in, and she began to feel a little drowsy.

Sean helped her lower the bed.

Then, he turned off the main light and went into the small adjacent bedroom reserved for guests.

The room fell into darkness.

Only a small night-light remained on.

Rory lay in bed, staring quietly at the dark ceiling.

’Everything that happened today...’

’She had been lying there, unable to move.’

’It would be a lie to say she hadn’t been scared.’

’She had been scared to death. During the countdown, she wasn’t even sure if her heart was still beating properly.’

’She had repeatedly urged Sean to leave.’

’But she knew, with absolute clarity, that a large part of the reason she hadn’t completely broken down was because Sean was there, holding her hand the entire time.’

’Resolutely staying by her side.’

A thought suddenly surfaced in Rory’s mind.

’Thank God...’

’They were both alive.’

In her condition, Rory couldn’t perform surgery, so the hospital granted her half a month of long-term leave.

However, Rory didn’t stay in the hospital for very long.

Two days later, once her vitals had returned to normal, she requested to be discharged.

Sean’s car was parked in a spot just outside the inpatient building.

After a few days of recovery, Rory could move around normally.

Still, Sean was worried. As she got into the car, he carefully hovered his hands around her protectively.

He didn’t start the car right away.

His hands gripped the steering wheel. "Before we go, there’s something I want to say to you."