He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 181

The next day at the hospital.

Juniper visited Walter Lane again. Since her ultimate showdown with Beatrice Lane, the two of them could sit in the exact same room and not exchange a single word.

She stayed in the room for a while, watching the doctor change Walter's dressings.

Suddenly, Walter began to violently dry heave. He was a stubborn man, the type who refused to complain about pain until he couldn't physically bear it anymore.

For instance, his chest had felt unbearably tight since last night, but he just kept his eyes shut, refusing to face anyone.

Now, the pain was so severe it made him vomit. He gripped the edge of the bed, retching until there was nothing left but bile.

Juniper was the only one in the ward. Walter refused to admit his failures, and it was only in front of his children that he still felt a warped sense of control.

He had failed in every other aspect of his life, so when facing Juniper, he always tried to maintain a sense of absolute authority.

"You blocked our numbers, so why are you even here? You might as well let your mother and me die back in Oakley. I don't want this treatment anyway. I'm going back to my hometown today. I can't afford Metropolis; everything costs money here."

He fought desperately to suppress the humiliating memories of that night, and he didn't want Juniper remembering them either.

He just wanted to escape back to the country. As long as he returned to familiar ground, he would feel safe.

No one back home would know that he had been fined for littering the moment he arrived in Metropolis, nor would anyone know that he had been beaten like a dog at such a glamorous banquet.

And they certainly wouldn't know he had been so completely humiliated in front of his own daughter.

Walter's pride was his most fragile possession. The mere memory brought on a suffocating wave of despair.

He was so sick he kept vomiting. Even when the nurse came in to clean up, he stubbornly gripped the bedrails. "I heard everything you guys said. Millions of dollars! Do you think our family has that kind of money? Tell your mother we're heading back to Oakley tonight."

Saying that, he reached to rip the IV needle from the back of his hand.

The nurse hurriedly tried to stop him. "Sir, please don't move! If you leave the hospital now, you won't last another three months."

All of Walter's bitter words caught in his throat. He swallowed hard, his fists gripping the blanket tightly, and squeezed his eyes shut.

Juniper took a deep breath, turned on her heel, and walked out.

Walter lay back against the pillows, his entire body rigid. Tears slipped silently down the deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

He had spent his entire life obsessing over his pride, fighting for a useless sense of dignity. Yet, hearing the word 'hate' from her lips left him completely shattered.

Juniper had just reached the bottom of the hospital stairs and turned the corner when a little girl suddenly crashed into her arms.

She bent down instinctively to catch the child, but the moment she realized who it was, she stumbled back several steps.

Josie Saint almost tripped. She was wearing a small backpack, her eyes rimmed with red.

Juniper didn't want to engage with her. She turned to walk in the opposite direction, only to hear rapid footsteps trailing right behind her.