Chapter 1378
The name Eleanor sent an electric jolt through Bernard’s long-stagnant heart, igniting a spark in his dim eyes.
“Eleanor’s news?”
She and the child she carried had sunk to the depths of the sea. What news could there possibly be? Yates remained silent, his stare fixed on Bernard with an intensity that spoke volumes.
The anxious man, seeing no response, felt his temper darken, “Speak up!”
After a drawn silence, Yates stepped back, sinking into a sofa with the weight of unsaid words. “You think Eleanor’s dead, don’t you?”
Bernard’s eyes flickered with a storm of emotions before settling into a shade of skepticism.
“If you’re here to play me with some fake information of her survival, just get out.”
Sophie and Cameron would never let Eleanor off the hook. Who would save her? Who could?
He didn’t believe it, and Yates, unhurried, gestured to Peterson with a flick of his cigarette-bearing fingers, “Show him the video.”
With understanding, Peterson pulled out his phone, opening a video sent from a photographer at the family reunion. He placed it before Bernard’s eyes.
In the footage, Eleanor stood beneath a pear tree, clad in a champagne gown, her gaze lost in the crowd. The breeze teased her hem into a delicate dance.
“This was taken tonight. Timestamped for proof.”
Bernard was deaf to Yates’ words, his misty eyes locked onto the woman in the video.
Her face, her features, her expression – unchanged. It couldn’t be a fake. So… she wasn’t dead?
A red hue crept into Bernard’s eyes that struggled against tears. With each throb of his heart came a pang of pain, even his palms ached. His trembling fingers reached out, yearning to touch that face on the screen, but he lacked the strength, his hand falling helplessly each time.
All he could do was tear his gaze from the video to look at Peterson, his eyes brimming with a plea for truth.
Peterson, behind his mask, met those reddened eyes, feeling a twinge of guilt but ignoring the questioning look. He took away the phone and walked emotionlessly back to Yates’ side.
Bernard’s desperate eyes followed Peterson, shifting to Yates. It was ironic – his enemy stood before him, yet in his powerlessness, he sought their mercy, “Tell me the truth, and I’ll agree to your terms.”
He didn’t even ask what the terms were. For Eleanor, he would agree to anything. Yates saw it; Bernard was hopelessly in love with Eleanor.
–
Yates empathized with Bernard, but they were enemies, and that chip in his brain a catalyst for their bitter rift – meant… Yates was determined to pull them apart.
He addressed Bernard with a measured tone, “Cameron pushed her into the sea, then went back and saved her.” Yates’ voice was casual, as if recounting a trivial matter.
Perhaps it was the calmness that made it hard for Bernard to believe, “How could Cameron possibly save her?”
The very man sent to kill Eleanor… why would he rescue her?
“Before they fell into the sea, Eleanor revealed to Cameron that she was his biological daughter.”
So that was it… Eleanor had revealed the secret to save her life, only to be cast into the sea anyway. But, regardless, Cameron’s conscience hadn’t completely faded, and he saved her.
This reason was believable. Bernard’s spark of life reignited. Like the rebirth of spring, it gave him a reason to live. His lips curled slightly, his emotions spilling over in that subtle smile.
As long as Eleanor lived, the world was beautiful to him. In that instant, he even felt gratitude towards Cameron for saving Eleanor.
All his hatred dissipated with the news of her survival. Because this was the second time a precious second chance that made everything all the more precious.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: A Second Chance At Forever novel (Eleanor and Bernard)
Loved the story, many times caught in so much actually crying with the situation. Wish had more chapters to a better ending....
It's weird that the story went from narrative to slang use. Good story so far though...