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

Eleanor slept straight until the afternoon.

worked all night, slept from morning to afternoon. After making

door and called her twice. With no response, she realized something was

quickly pushed the door open and went in. When she saw her flushed face on the bed, she

was

hot…

propped Eleanor up and said, “Eleanor, you have a high fever.

Eleanor’s instinct kicked in when hearing the word ‘hospital‘. “No

sick, we have to

refuse, picked her

treatment, she was on an o

and breathing machine.

congenital heart condition

fever, oxygen shortage would become an issue.

so she asked

fever finally began to subside.

off from work, and sat silently

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

pale face and sighed with a heartache.

her youth and left her scarred all over.

seeing a young

as he tried to speak, but Eleanor couldn’t hear