Three Years Later, He Came Back Begging novel Chapter 164

Lawrence straightened up, awkward and tense. He reached into his pocket, searching for his lighter, a familiar habit whenever he wanted to escape a difficult conversation. But this was a hospital room, and anyway, he was trying hard to quit smoking.

The metallic sound of the lighter clicking open and closed hung in the air. Lawrence stared down at the floor and said quietly, “What wedding? Did we ever actually agree to get married?”

Whatever warmth lingered in Hannah’s eyes faded away, little by little. She kept her head down, hiding whatever she was really thinking, though her voice stayed soft and calm.

“So how long are we going to put this off? Jasper is starting kindergarten next year. All our family, our friends, even my fans keep asking me if we’re ever having a wedding. What am I supposed to tell them?”

Her voice shook, a sob catching at the end. “He’s your kid. You’re the one who made the promise. I don’t get it. Why won’t you marry me? Is it because you don’t love me anymore, or is it that you still can’t let go of Bonnie?”

“Hannah,” Odette interrupted, sounding exhausted. She clearly worried another fight would break out in the hospital. “Let’s talk about this after your show.. once the child recovers. There’s no need to rush anything. Announcements, decisions, any of it. Honestly, neither of you is thinking clearly right now.”

“It’s going to happen sooner or later. If we’re not getting married, what is this even supposed to be?” Hannah’s words were tight, pushing up against something inside her.

Odette could only sigh, feeling helpless and out of things to say.

Lawrence was silent for a few seconds. Finally, he said, his voice blunt, “I never said I’d marry you. Not once.”

Hannah’s head shot up, her eyes fixed on him. He couldn’t tell if what he saw there was pain, anger, or something else altogether.

But that was his boundary.

Lawrence knew he couldn’t marry Hannah. To him, marriage meant the end of everything. He didn’t have a solution for everything else, but that was one line he wouldn’t cross.

Hannah’s breath came out shaky. She pressed her fingers hard against the scars on her wrist as her eyes filled with tears.

No matter the choices Lawrence had made in the past, this was the one thing he never gave in on.

She remembered when she first found out she was pregnant with Jasper. She’d suggested getting married at home, having a small ceremony. Lawrence refused.

Carl and Odette hadn’t supported her either. No one tried to talk Lawrence into it.

She’d tried to compromise. What about a quiet, private wedding in the US?

Still, no one agreed.

While things were calm, Bonnie wrapped up her resignation paperwork. As a newbie, handover wasn’t complicated. Nestor signed off, the other department heads followed suit, and it was done.

Friday night, her friend Jim treated her to a goodbye dinner. Over that meal, Bonnie finally let herself feel just a bit lighter. Studying for what came next wouldn’t be easy, but the hope of starting over was enough to lift some of the darkness she’d been carrying.

Riding the subway home, she noticed a poster in the station advertising Hannah’s big comeback.

Hannah was dressed in pure white, a ballerina on tiptoes, arms wrapped delicately around herself, with a huge, dreamlike white butterfly on the backdrop behind her.

Saturday afternoon at two, at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. Hannah’s return to the stage.

Bonnie’s eyes settled on a small line of print at the bottom.

Every pirouette is a cry for freedom.

This show is dedicated to every silent butterfly.

Bonnie stood there for a long moment, reading the words over and over. She had to admit, Hannah really was a genius in ballet. Bonnie still remembered the first time she saw her dance, how she’d told Lawrence, almost in awe, that Hannah seemed like she was born for it.