Five Years of Marriage to Mr. Bradford (by Koi Fish) novel Chapter 252

Chapter 252

Mike never accepted the payment.

Vance stayed in bed instead of going to the office. He lazily scrolled through Mike’s posts, finding they were all simple slices of real life: what his wife cooked, the kids’ latest mischief, the dog tearing up the house, or quiet days off when he showed off his home cooking.

The plain, warm snapshots hit Vance harder than he expected. Every photo was full of genuine smiles that lit up their faces.

He couldn’t help commenting on the latest cooking picture: [Looks amazing, man. Bet it tastes even better.]

He went on to browse other posts until a notification popped up.

Mike replied: [Swing by when you’re free.]

Vance chuckled and shook his head. No chance. How could he just show up at a random Uber driver’s place?

Still in his pajamas, he slid lower against the headboard until he was half-reclined, then fully lazy. For the first time in years, he had zero urge to move.

On the wall hung their wedding photo, taken by the wedding photographer. It reminded him that Rebecca had begged for a proper wedding portrait session. She had mentioned it several times, but he had always brushed her off.

Eventually, she stopped asking at all, and he forgot all about it. She had simply picked one of the wedding shots, enlarged it, and hung it there.

She had waited eagerly for him to come home, pulled him over, and asked if the spot and the picture looked good. He had given a couple of half-hearted replies and headed straight into the shower.

Even seeing the light fade from her eyes didn’t make him stop.

His head grew heavier. He set the phone down, realizing he had never truly relaxed in his life.

From childhood on, he had always been tense and busy, never just lying there doing nothing. Now on vacation, he decided to give himself one full day off, then drifted into a deep sleep.

He woke hours later to total darkness, disoriented and freezing. For a moment, he didn’t know where he

was or what time it was.

His head throbbed, and his body felt locked in ice.

But it was summer. Something wasn’t right.

He fumbled for the blanket, his throat burning. When he tried to sit up to get some water, dizziness and splitting pain slammed him back down.

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He dimly realized he was sick. His mind was foggy and slow.

Instinctively, he reached for his still-charging phone, unplugged it, and called Rebecca.

An automated voice answered: “The number you have dialed is powered off.”

His anger flared, but then he remembered she was abroad and he didn’t have her foreign number. He switched to a WhatsApp voice call.

Rebecca saw the call just as she was heading to lunch with Lauren. She ignored it, but he kept calling,

over and over.

When Lauren noticed, Rebecca said, “Excuse me, I have to take this. You head over first.”

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