Five Years of Marriage to Mr. Bradford (by Koi Fish) novel Chapter 604

Chapter 604

Desmond continned desperately, “How much wish it were me lying in that hospital bed right now! Then maybe you’d feel sorry or grateful for me. Maybe you’d take me back.”

The familiar craze burned in his eyes, but Rebecca felt a wave of suffocation. She wearily raised the window a little higher, blocking his eyes from view.

“It’s not like that,” she said tiredly. “Since we’ve alreatly broken up, I genuinely hope you can move forward with your life and stop looking back.”

“No!” he cried out. “That’s not true! You’ve forgiven Vance, haven’t you? You visit him and worry about him, don’t you? You used to hate him so much, and now you feel sorry for him. Why wasn’t it me who saved you? Why?”

Each “why” was punctuated by his slapping the car window. Rebecca felt the familiar throbbing start in her temples.

Josette wrapped her arms around her, gently patting her back, and called out to Desmond. Her voice was gentle but carried a calming strength.

The throbbing in Rebecca’s temples eased.

Outside, Desmond choked with sobs. “I truly love Becky. Do you believe me?”

“I do.” Josette nodded.

Desmond seemed to have found a kindred spirit. He sobbed so hard he could barely breathe. “I would give anything for her. I’d die for her. I really love her so much.”

“Child,” Josette sighed softly. “I know you’re a good boy. But when you love someone, you don’t die for them.”

Desmond froze, and his sobbing stopped.

Rebecca lifted her head from Josette’s arms, thought for a moment, and lowered the window halfway. Her eyes met his bloodshot ones.

“Rebecca…” he murmured sadly.

“Desmond.” Her voice lost its earlier edge.

Maybe it was Josette’s gentle presence, but something in her had softened. She looked at his young face, realizing that ever since breaking up, they had never had a proper conversation.

“I thought you’d never want to see me again,” he sobbed, even the tip of his nose flushed.

“I heard everything you said,” she said gently. “Josette is right. Truly loving someone doesn’t mean dying for them. It means living well for them.”

“Living well?” He froze, still thinking dying was more heroic.

“Yes, living well,” she enunciated. “Because living is much harder than dying. Think about it. If a girl loved you deeply and then you were gone, every time she missed you, she could never see you again.

“Every time she needed you, you could never answer. For the rest of her life, she would have to face the world alone, carrying the pain of losing the person she loved. If you really loved someone, how could you bear to die and leave her with that?”

He was stunned.

“So, Desmond,” she continued, “stop talking so casually about dying. Living well is more important than anything. Only by living well can you truly love someone, walk with her through a long life, and give her the strength to face the world without suffering.”

The recklessness in his eyes was replaced by confusion. “But the person I love is you.”

+25 BONUS

She shook her head. “Have you ever considered that maybe you don’t actually love me? Maybe you only love the version of me you created in your head?

“Many years ago, when you needed someone to fill the hole in your heart, you happened to meet me. I became your obsession. Over the years, you kept idealizing me.

“Then, because you couldn’t have me, you stubbornly held on. Have you ever thought that if you took off the filter and saw the real me, you might be disappointed?”

“But you are exactly like the person I imagined.” His eyes grew misty. “Gentle, understanding…”

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