Bethan had been unconscious for a month, and the only nutritional support she got was through her IV line, causing her to lose a ton of weight. She was so skinny at this point that even a gust of wind could sweep her off her feet.
Gwen had to use half a bottle of foundation to cover up Bethan’s dark circles and the weariness on her face. She also helped Bethan draw her eyebrows, put on eyeliner and lipstick.
An hour later, when Bethan reappeared in front of Brettley, she was wearing a beautiful white dress. There was a glimmer of anticipation in her eyes. “
Come on, let’s go visit Neil. He must’ve missed me so much! “
Neil must have been waiting for her all this while. He must still be alive.
Everything that happened in her dream… was just a dream!
Brettley sighed, then approached Bethan and picked her up in his arms.
Bethan furrowed her brows and struggled against his grip, but Gwen stopped her. “You’re weak now, so you can’t walk very far. Let him carry you. It’s not like he’s a stranger.”
Bethan paused, then nodded obediently. “Okay.”
Gwen was right. She was indeed too weak.
It was nice having Brettley carry her, too.
Maybe this would let her see Neil sooner.
Brettley carried Bethan into the car.
Bethan sat in the back seat in silence throughout the car ride, gazing at the scenery outside the window.
The car pulled further and further away from the city center, heading toward the outskirts.
Bethan could not help frowning as she watched the trees go past. “Why would Neil be at such a faraway place?”
Gwen gave her a meaningful look, then closed her eyes, unwilling to be the one to burst Bethan’s bubble.
Brettley reached out to hold her hand but paused. His hand hung mid-air for a moment, then finally drew it back.
He let out a sigh and said, “So that he can be at peace, with no one disturbing him.”
Bethan nodded, thinking that Brettley’s explanation did not seem right yet made sense at the same time. “
Hmm, I guess you’re right! Neil definitely needs some alone time by himself. This child is far too talkative… Even though he’s only six, he acts like a grown-up. Sometimes, I even think he might be older than me.
“He’d always tell me not to stay up too late and forbid me from pulling an all-nighter, like a nagging grown-up. He’d always tell Nellie not to disturb me and ask us all to sleep in and get plenty of rest, but he’d always wake up early to make us breakfast.
“He constantly nags us to take care of our bodies… Nellie always teased him and told him he was acting like an old man. He’s only six, but he’s so talkative all the time. It’s like he’s afraid if he doesn’t talk, he won’t have a chance to do so in the future…”
As soon as she realized what she had said, Bethan pursed her lips and did not say anything more.
Everyone grew silent.
The atmosphere in the car was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Lucas, who was driving the car, stifled his tears and focused on the road ahead.
Throughout the entire car ride, Bethan was bubbling with anticipation and excitement. She was looking forward to seeing Neil again. She believed that everything was like Brettley had described–that the reason Neil was so far away from the city center was that he needed some alone time.
When the car finally pulled up next to a cemetery, Bethan could no longer keep herself together anymore.
As soon as she stepped out of the car, her legs gave out beneath her, and she slumped onto the ground.
She could not accept this.
Lucas took out a wheelchair from the trunk and assembled it. Then, Brettley and Gwen helped Bethan into the wheelchair.
Bethan closed her eyes, her entire body trembling. “
Why? Why? Brettley Morrison, I entrusted Neil in your care. You told me you’d take good care of Neil and
Nellie. You promised me you’d fulfill your responsibility as a father! Why… Why did my Neil…”
At this point, Bethan was so choked up by tears that she could not say another word.
Sorrow and despair engulfed her entire being like an invisible net. She had no way of escaping.
Tears streamed down her face, and Bethan clung to the hem of her shirt desperately. She was so overcome by grief that she had trouble breathing.
It was her fault.
She should not have put her hope on Brettley. She should not have thought Brettley would be able to save Nigel.
It was her fault for being stupid.
She should have listened to Nigel and stayed with him. She should not have brought Neil and Nellie along with her when she returned to Banyan City.
With her baby gone and Nigel could not be saved, even Neil was…
Bethan sniffed and sobbed but could not say a single word.
Gwen walked slowly into the cemetery, pushing Bethan’s wheelchair before her.
Brettley walked next to them and said in a low voice, “
It’s all my fault.”
If only he had discovered Alice’s true identity earlier.
If only he had trusted Bethan and believed she and Theo were never together, things would not have turned out like this.
“What use is it for you to admit your mistake now?”
Bethan could not stop her tears from falling.
At the same time, it started drizzling, as though even the skies were weeping for her loss, weeping for Neil.
The cemetery was a large one, but they soon made their way to the end of it.
At the end of the cemetery was a small, fenced -in yard standing all by itself. The yard was covered with all kinds of plants, flourishing and blooming beautifully, as though symbolizing Neil’s short but prosperous life.
At the center of the yard was a big tombstone. Brettley pushed the gate open while Gwen wheeled Bethan into the yard.
This was where Neil laid.
In the black-and-white photo on the tombstone, Neil was grinning at the camera, as if the next moment, he was going to pop out and nag Bethan about not taking care of herself.
“Neil…”
Bethan stood up from her wheelchair, stumbling. It was as though every cell in her body was trembling and shaking in grief.
Despite that, Bethan still made her way toward Neil’s tombstone and wrapped her arms around it. “Mommy is sorry…”
“Mommy is sorry! It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have brought you back to Banyan City with me…”
Bethan’s weeps echoed through the cemetery.
Staring at Bethan’s scrawny build, Gwen helplessly sniffed and turned around to wipe away her tears.
To present such bad news to Bethan as soon as she woke up from her coma was too cruel.
However… Gwen knew that if they did not tell her, it would complicate things in the future, since…
After all, Nigel and Nellie were not doing too well either.
The rain started to grow heavier, so Brettley opened his umbrella and held it above Bethan’s head, continuing to watch her weep in silence.
Bethan cried from afternoon till evening until she eventually got tired, her voice hoarse in the aftermath. She finally slumped onto the ground, totally and utterly exhausted.
Despite that, however, she still clung to Neil’s tombstone in desperation, as though holding onto it would prevent Neil from actually leaving this world.
“Bethan.”
Brettley sighed and threw his umbrella aside. He squatted and pulled Bethan into his arms.
She was so skinny that he could feel her bones pressing against his body.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.