A Second Chance at Forever

Chapter 23

Eleanor dashed home in the rain, stripped off her fancy dress, took off the diamond necklace around her neck, and tossed it in the box.

She’d send all this crap back to Josef tomorrow, his stuff sickened her, and she definitely wouldn’t keep it.

After closing the box, she went into the bathroom, turned on the tub faucet, and climbed in.

She scrubbed her face and back hard, so hard that her skin got red, then looked at herself in the mirror.

With makeup off, all that’s left was sickly paleness, no spirit, and lifeless eyes.

She couldn’t see the light or feel the warmth.

Like a dirty little bug, trampled all over.

Yet, she once had dignity….

“Dignity.”

Eleanor chuckled sarcastically. She had lost her dignity when she sold herself to Bernard.

She dried her hair, lay in bed, and fell asleep exhausted.

The rain had

My her

straight until the afternoon.

from morning to afternoon. After making meals, Eleanor still hadn’t woken up.

called her twice. With no response, she

and went in. When she saw her flushed face on the bed,

was

hot…

propped Eleanor up and said, “Eleanor, you have a high fever. Get up, I’m

in when

very sick, we have

her up, and raced

treatment, she was on

and breathing machine.

congenital heart condition

had a cold or fever, oxygen shortage would

it, so she asked the doctor

Eleanor’s fever finally began to

time off from work,

orphanage at around one year old. They were each other’s closest people after the head of the orphanage.

hand, touching Eleanor’s pale face and sighed with a

playboys who drained her youth

Eleanor slept restlessly, seeing a young man with bloody hands

filled with pain as he tried to speak, but Eleanor couldn’t hear him.