Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 1307

She’d been brought up to put her faith in science. If there was anything to the supernatural, there wouldn’t even be doctors in this world. Still, in that moment, seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Camila felt herself wavering. She just couldn’t say no.

She looked up at Dennis, her eyes sparkling with a hopeful smile. “Okay. I’ll pray with you.”

But Dennis shook his head. “No, this is something I have to do alone. To really get what you wish for here, you have to kneel your way up the last ninety-nine steps near the top. Your body can’t handle that.”

His words caught her off guard. Camila parted her lips, but she had no idea what to say.

He had already used every resource, every favor, drained himself physically and financially, all in the name of medical science. Now, with her time ticking away and hardly any options left, he was turning to the only thing left—hope. Faith. Maybe, when nothing else could be done, people couldn’t help but pray to someone, something, for a miracle.

But for her? Camila thought about what it meant. Dennis Williams was the pride of Cabinda, a man everyone admired. Was he really about to kneel up all those steps for her sake?

She didn’t even hesitate. She grabbed his arm and blurted, “Dennis, don’t. Please don’t do this for me. I’ll be fine. You don’t need to do this!”

Camila could see how steep the mountain was, how uneven the stone steps looked—hard enough just to walk. The idea of him kneeling all the way up made her heart ache. Did she really deserve something like this?

Dennis’s eyes softened, as if he could read every thought swirling through her mind. He pulled her into a hug and said, quietly but with absolute conviction, “You’re worth it. As long as you get better, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do.”

He really meant it. Even if the cost was his own life, he wouldn’t think twice. All for her.

His words left Camila speechless. Her throat felt tight and she couldn’t get a single word out.

After a moment, Dennis let go, slipped his fingers between hers, and smiled gently. “Come on, let’s head up the mountain. If you get tired, just let me know. I’ll carry you.”

Trying to keep her tears in check, Camila nodded hard.

So they started the climb, walking hand in hand. Camila wanted to stay strong, to make the journey beside him, maybe even kneel with him on those ninety-nine steps. But just as he warned, her body couldn’t keep up. Not even a quarter of the way, she was already out of breath, her legs turning to jelly.

She tried to tough it out, biting her lip and pushing forward. But Dennis noticed right away. He stopped, didn’t even ask. Just crouched down and lifted her onto his back.

“If you try so hard you end up hurting yourself, I’ll feel even worse,” he told her, rising smoothly with her weight.

If he said anything more, Camila thought she’d start crying for real. She buried her face in the curve of his neck and mumbled, “Okay. I’ll listen.”

She couldn’t help it anymore—her nose burned and tears threatened. She took a few quick steps after him. “Dennis…”

She wanted to tell him he didn’t need to kneel just to get the bracelet. But Dennis didn’t hesitate or look back. With calm devotion, he knelt and began his slow climb.

Watching him, Camila felt something shift. He was still the cool, reserved man she knew, but now there was this air of quiet strength around him, almost saintly, untouched by anything worldly.

It was no use trying to stop him. All Camila could do was stay where she was, watching him do something no one else would have ever done for her.

When she couldn’t hold back anymore, the tears just started to fall. He was being so foolish… and so impossibly kind.

Inside the church, the sound of movement carried. A few young monks hurried out, glancing down the steps until one shouted in surprise, recognizing Dennis. Nobody tried to interfere. One of them dashed off to find Paul.

“Godfather! That’s Dennis on the steps!”

Paul didn’t say a word. He turned toward the great statue at the altar, pressed his palms together around a string of prayer beads, and whispered a silent prayer.