He Gave Her Strawberries, Gave Me Hives (Ford and Sylvia) novel Chapter 198

Chapter 29

He paused, turned his head, and looked deeply at Evelyn beside him, his eyes filled with an indescribably complex mix of emotions–gratitude, respect, and

erhaps something even deeper.

He continued to speak, each word seeming to carry immense weight.

That I am able to stand here today is, in itself, a miracle. And this miracle would not have been possible without one person.”

It was she who, when the doctors said I might never wake up, did not give up on me.”

It was she who, when my family’s company was on the brink of collapse, shouldered the entire burden on her own.”

It was she who, with her resilience, her wisdom, and… her love, protected the Ashworth family and woke me up.”

Daniel’s voice choked with emotion. He took a deep breath, his gaze becoming firm again, and said the words that moved the entire audience and caused the nan in the corner, Theodore, to completely break down.

Evelyn, my wife. She was, in my darkest years, my only… salvation and light.”

Salvation and light…”

Those three words were like three red–hot swords, piercing Theodore’s eardrums and stabbing into the very core of his heart. Pain! A heart–wrenching, oul–tearing pain!

He snapped his head up, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the stage.

The camera zoomed in for a close–up on Evelyn.

Hearing Daniel’s words, she turned her head slightly to look at him, a gentle yet firm smile slowly forming on her lips.

n that smile, there was relief, support, and the deep bond of two people who had weathered storms together and helped each other succeed.

t was a smile Theodore had never seen on her face before–a genuine, heartfelt smile filled with peace and strength.

Once upon a time, she had also smiled at him like that, with shyness, with reliance, with an all–encompassing love. But he had destroyed it with his own hands.

And now, this smile that he longed for in his dreams was given, without reservation, to another man–a man he had once scoffed at as a “living corpse“.

¡OOM!

heodore felt as if all the color had instantly drained from the world, leaving only black and white.

ringing filled his ears. He couldn’t hear what Daniel said next, nor the thunderous applause from the audience.

le pressed his hands hard against his face, his nails digging into his skin, as a warm liquid gushed out from between his fingers.

His shoulders trembled violently, uncontrollably, but he couldn’t make a sound, only a desperate, choked whimper from deep in his throat, like a dying animal

n the dark.

He knew it was over.

Everything was over.

He was completely and utterly out of the picture.

Not even a sliver of hope remained.

Chapter 29

There was no longer any place for him in Evelyn’s world.

Her salvation and light was Daniel Ashworth.

And his existence was just a filthy past she never wanted to look back on,

After the forum, Evelyn and Daniel returned to the lakeside villa where they were temporarily staying in Switzerland.

Sunlight poured into the living room through the large floor to ceiling windows, warm and inviting.

Under the guidance of a physical therapist, Daniel was practicing simple standing exercises. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, but his gaze was focused and determined.

Evelyn sat on a nearby sofa, handling some follow–up work emails, occasionally looking up at him with a gentle expression.

Just then, an assistant brought in a package. The sender was anonymous, and it was addressed to Evelyn.

Evelyn opened the package, puzzled. Inside, there was nothing but a single, slightly old and worn–out pet collar. A small bell was attached to it, with a faded “S” engraved on it.

It was Snowball’s collar.

Underneath the collar was a letter. The paper had yellowed with age, the handwriting was messy and distorted, as if the writer’s hand had been shaking violently, and the ink was blurred in several places by what looked like teardrops.