Five Years of Marriage to Mr. Bradford (by Koi Fish) novel Chapter 102

Chapter 102

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Chapter 102

“Grandma,” Vance whined, putting on an exaggerated pitiful face. “Rebecca is trying to kick me out. She’s

so mean.”

Rebecca blinked, unsure what games he was playing.

Josette burst into laughter. “Silly boy, she knows how busy you are and doesn’t want to take up your time.

“I

“No worries. I’m on vacation,” he replied, producing a deck of cards from nowhere.

Rebecca couldn’t believe he really meant to play poker with Josette, even inviting her to join in. They played for an hour until both women grew drowsy and called it quits for afternoon naps.

Rebecca had no idea whether Vance usually napped; he rarely came home for lunch and always seemed

tireless.

She slept until four. When she woke up, voices drifted from outside. Listening closely, she realized it was

Vance and Josette.

To her surprise, he was still there. She got out of bed and stepped into the yard, where Vance was helping Josette set up a trellis for the climbing roses.

With warmer weather, the rose branches had started to grow wildly. All they needed was a structure to

climb and flourish into a beautiful wall of blooms.

His sleeves were rolled to the elbows. His pants and shoes were splattered with mud. The frame was already up, and he was carefully tying the branches into place.

The sun at 4 p.m. was still fierce. Dampened by sweat, his hair lay messily across his forehead.

“It’s hot out here, Grandma. You should go inside. I can handle this myself,” he said, revealing several

scratches on his arms.

Worried about Josette getting overheated, Rebecca called out from the steps, “Grandma, come back up.”

Vance turned at her voice and pointed at her feet. “Don’t step into the mud. Just stay there. I’m almost done.”

Yet, what he claimed would only take a moment ended up consuming another half-hour. When he finally came inside, every trace of the polished CEO had vanished.

His shirt was streaked with dirt, his face smudged. His arms and hands were crisscrossed with thorn and bamboo scratches. His pants and shoes, though rinsed, were wet and filthy.

He looked exactly like the soot-covered boy from that long-ago picnic. If none of the last two weeks had happened and if life could have stayed this simple, she might have been perfectly content.

Unfortunately…

Chapter 102

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She shook the idea out of her head. There was nothing to regret. It was better this way-better to see the

truth of their marriage early.

“Why are you staring?” He flicked a muddy fingertip at her nose.

She jerked back. “Hey, it’s dirty.”

“Now you find me dirty?” His eyes, bright from the afternoon’s labor, sparkled. “When I’m old and ugly, you’ll despise me completely, won’t you?”

“No,” she replied. Because they would not grow old together.

Misinterpreting, he tapped her nose again and smiled. “You’ve got a bit of conscience after all.”

“Vance, go take a shower,” Josette called out. “There are clean clothes ready. Rebecca, help him fetch them.”

She nodded, not because she wanted to, but because it would be rude to let him stay filthy in Josette’s house. She didn’t want to argue with him there, tarnishing the remaining few days she had to spend with

Josette.

P

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