Chapter 114
Claire steadied herself, hesitating for a moment before mustering the courage to turn around and tentatively step forward.
One step, two steps, three…
to her
Brian didn’t follow, nor did he call out to
Claire’s tightly wound nerves finally began to unwind.
She felt as if she had narrowly escaped a brush with death, and she dared not look back. Instead, she quickened her pace.
Watching her frail figure limping away, Brian couldn’t help but call out softly, “Claire.”
His voice was gentle, like a whisper on a spring breeze.
Claire didn’t hear Brian at all. Ever since that incident when Adah hit her on the head, her hearing had worsened, Even her remaining ear occasionally betrayed her with bouts of deafness.
Seeing her continue without pause, Brian assumed she was avoiding him. But there were things he needed to say Raising his voice, he called out, “Sean isn’t an easy man. You’d be better off not manying him.”8
Sean was a ruthless player in the business world. Without his iron grip, he could never control the vast empire of the Foster family.
The Fosters were a top–tier family. No, more accurately, they were a dynasty.
J
A family like that had countless rules, and Claire would never find happiness there.
Brian thought surely this time Claire would turn back, but she didn’t.
Claire heard nothing. All she could hear was a persistent ringing in her ears.8
She no longer cared about getting fresh air outside the hospital; all she wanted was to retreat to the safety of her room.
Brian stood there, watching her retreating figure, feeling as if an unbridgeable chasm had opened between them.
Yet the desire surging within him refused to accept that they would become strangers.
“Go after her!” a voice inside him urged. It seemed that if he let her go now, they would never cross paths again.
He desperately wanted to reach out to her
But just then, his phone rang, halting his steps.
He hesitated briefly before answering, noticing it was Irene’s doctor calling
Suppressing the toment of emotions, he answered, “Hello?”
“Mr. Cole, please come to the hospital as soon as possible. Your sister is showing signs of waking up.”
Brian’s heart leapt with joy at the news.
He cast one last longing look at Claire’s fading figure, a hint of affection stillingering in his gaze, but it was soon overtaken by concern for his sister.
He turned and dashed toward Irene’s room, his footsteps swift as the wind!
Bursting into the room, he anxiously inquired about his sister’s condition.
The doctor explained, “We’ve observed slight movements in her fingers and brainwave activity, indicating she’s conscious.”
Brian was both thrilled and astonished. “So, theoretically, she can hear us when we talk?”
“Yes, theoretically,” the doctor confirmed.”
Irene’s current state was akin to sleep paralysis–her mind was awake, but her body refused to move.
Brian sat at Irene’s bedside, taking her hand, “Irene, can you hear me?”
Irene’s eyes flickered slightly in response.
Seeing this, Brian was overwhelmed with joy !!
He gently
gently caressed her cheek, his eyes moist, “Irene, you finally reacted. You have no idea how worried I’ve been over these five years. After the initial excitement, his gaze hardened. He leaned closer, whispering, “Tell me, was it Claire who did this to you?”
Five years ago, he believed he knew the answer, but he still clung to a shred of hope that it was all a misunderstanding, that his sister had suffered some other accident
But as he saw tears slip from Irene’s eyes, all his hopes crumbled
“Was it really Claire?” Brian’s voice turned icy, his grip tightening until his knuckles whitened.
Irene’s tears flowed more fiercely, as if she had so much to say, but her eyes couldn’t open, and her voice remained trapped. She was like
a soul imprisoned in her own body, aware of the world around her but powerless to intervene.}}
