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

slept straight until the

morning to afternoon. After making meals,

twice. With

When she saw her flushed face on

was

hot…

lifted the covers, propped Eleanor up and said, “Eleanor, you have a high fever. Get up, I’m going to take you to the hospital.”

in when hearing the word ‘hospital‘. “No hospital…”

sick, we have to

refuse, picked her up, and

she was

and breathing machine.

a congenital heart condition

had a cold or fever,

she asked the doctor to

Eleanor’s fever finally began to subside.

for time off from work, and sat silently by

orphanage at around one year old. They

her hand, touching Eleanor’s pale

playboys who drained her youth

a young man with

face filled with pain as he tried