Five Years of Marriage to Mr. Bradford (by Koi Fish) novel Chapter 101

Chapter 101

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Chapter 101

In the past, Josette would have laughed and said, “Silly child, I am Rebecca’s grandmother and yours too.

She had always known that Rebecca’s marriage was troubled, but she believed in empathy. If one treated the others well, they would eventually reciprocate the kindness.

But now she saw the truth: Rebecca was unhappy, always trying to hide it behind a brave smile. Having raised Rebecca with great care, Josette could see right through her façade.

Josette could no longer bring herself to say that. She sighed under her breath, hearing Vance stacking the clean dishes.

“We’ll get a dishwasher installed for you,” he suggested.

Josette snapped out of it, chuckling, “It’s fine. No need to go to all that trouble.”

“No trouble at all,” he said. “Even though we’ll move into the new house soon, the renovations will take months. My own grandmother is gone, but I still have you.”

Rebecca felt like a faint sourness bloomed in the air, as if an invisible hand had crushed a lemon and rubbed the juice straight into her heart. The ache was sharp and bitterly familiar.

It was the same sting she had felt years ago: the sunset when Vance’s family hurled a stack of money at his face; the defiant laugh he gave while the light bled behind him, saying he would rather be kept than take their charity; the black armband on his sleeve when she found him after three days of skipping class; the day he returned to school and whispered, “My grandmother passed away,” and the pain flooded her like a tide.

The last time the ache had struck so hard was when Catherine left the country. He told her that his only support had collapsed.

Countless times, her heart had hurt for him. She knew that beneath his brilliant exterior, he bore so much shame he didn’t want anyone to see.

During Halloween, every classmate complained about pumpkin pies yet hurried home anyway to eat them with family.

She went to Josette’s place, but Vance had nowhere to go.

After dinner, she returned to school, where the osmanthus flowers bloomed with a fragrant intensity. She met him on the path and slowed without thinking. He slowed too.

She handed him a pumpkin pie that was handmade by Josette.

That night, they sat together under the osmanthus tree and ate in silence. The moon was round and bright; the sky held no stars, but the fireflies danced among the branches, each one bright as a star.

When they finished, he headed to the classroom, and she returned to the dormitory. Turning back, she

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Chapter 100

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caught sight of his tall, solitary figure. That night, the ache softened into something bittersweet, wrapping around her like a thread.

All those heartaches had finally braided into courage. So, despite the four years of separation in college, when he proposed to her upon graduation, she said yes without hesitation.

Online, she used to come upon phrases like, “Loving a doomed man will curse you for life.”

She didn’t understand it until now. Loving Vance was indeed painful, but thankfully, it was still not too

late.

“Are you taking a nap?” Vance asked Josette as they stepped out of the kitchen together.

Josette snapped out of it and shook her head. “I’ll walk around a little first.”

“Then let’s play a few hands of poker,” he suggested.

“You’re not leaving?” Rebecca asked, surprised.

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