My eyes blurred again with tears.
“Fordy…”
I whispered his name just like I used to as a kid when I couldn’t fall asleep and would call for him in the dark.
He sat quietly at the edge of my bed, looking at me with eyes that were warm… but complicated.}
It finally hit me. What I felt for him was never just familial love. It was something that had once quietly blossomed–something I’d clipped and buried with my own hands. And yet, now, it felt like it was slowly blooming again.}
“F–Fordy…” My voice broke. I clutched his hand tightly. “Wait for me to get better, okay?”
I wasn’t ready to jump into something new–not yet. I wasn’t in the right place to respond to his feelings right away.
If he didn’t love me, maybe we could still go through with the arranged marriage and treat each other with polite distance.} But he did love me.§
He loved me in a way I couldn’t ignore. I couldn’t pretend it didn’t matter and blindly pull him into something he wasn’t ready for either. He let out a soft laugh. “Silly girl. I’ll wait for you.“}
The curtain stirred slightly, and finally, a sliver of sunlight cut through the clouds, landing warm and golden on the back of my hand. looked at him, my eyes trembling with emotion. And for the first time in what felt like forever, I believed, ‘Maybe I can start over. Maybe life can begin again… as long as he’s here.’
Those days of recovery felt suspended in time. Every morning I woke up to Fordy sitting by my bed, taking my temp, making me honey water, gently reminding me not to spend too long on my phone.
The doctor said my immune system was weak; I needed real rest. Fordy simply cut off the internet at home for a few days, saying books were better for me than mindless scrolling.§
I pouted, but I didn’t argue.
Not long after lunch one day, the doorbell rang.”
It was my parents.}
The sound of the front door unlocking hit me like a wave. I got up quickly, heart clenching, and slipped on my shoes.
Fordy gently draped a coat over my shoulders and helped me out to the living room.§
The moment my mom stepped inside, her eyes turned red.
“Oh, my baby girl!”
Her voice cracked as she rushed toward me and pulled me into her arms.
! couldn’t hold it in either. I hugged her back tight.
Dad’s brow furrowed deeply. His gaze flicked to Fordy–complex, unreadable–but he pushed it down quickly. He didn’t say a word. He just sighed heavily.
“You’ve gotten so thin,” Mom said, holding my hands and rubbing them gently. “And your complexion… Are you sleeping okay? Still throwing up?”
“I’m better now,” I said softly.
Dad set down an insulated bottle on the table. “Chicken soup. Fordy said you haven’t been eating much. Your mom made it extra nourishing Drink some.”
Fordy quietly took the bottle and ladled some soup into a bowl. “I’ll be in the kitchen preparing your meds.”
I watched him disappear down the hallway, and before I could stop it, tears began slipping down my cheeks. “Mom…” My voice cracked. “I’m so tired.”
She immediately held my hand tighter. “Take your time, sweetheart. We’re here. We’re listening.”
I sniffled, unable to stop crying.
“I really thought… Slade and I would make it. Even when he was distant, even when I was hurting–I kept holding on.
“I thought that if I didn’t complain, if I stayed kind, if I didn’t push… he’d come around. But in the end, all I got was him believing some other woman’s lies. He accused me, abandoned me, and chose to trust Millicent over me.&
“Mom… he actually believed I pushed someone, and that cost my miscarriage. That moment, I knew–I was never his first choice.“§ Mom’s eyes filled with tears. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner? How did you carry this all by yourself?”
“I didn’t want you to worry…” My voice was hoarse. “I thought I could handle it.”
