After the rain, Florence was on fever. She was in a coma, lying on the bed.
Occasionally, she opened her eyes, but she was still dizzy. Blinking her blurred eyes, she sometimes asked for water and sometimes called Ernest’s name.
Her voice was fragile and weak, but it was full of endless sorrow.
Whenever Victoria visited her, she would shed her tears in secret.
Alexander patted her on her shoulders and comforted her.
“Please don’t cry, Victoria. We have Collin. Flory will get well soon.”
Victoria’s eyes were reddened. In front of Alexander, her aggressiveness had turned to endless worry and weakness.
She said between sobs, “It’s me who makes Flory suffer so much. It’s my fault.”
“No, it’s not your fault. You’ve done it for Flory’s good.”
Alexander stroked her back and helped her breathe. He said tenderly, “When Flory gets well, she will understand us. In this world, who else would love her more than her mother?”
With the mother’s love, Victoria tried every means to smooth the future path for Florence, getting rid of all difficulties.
She was willing to do it even she had known that Florence would blame her and hate her.
Alexander understood Victoria’s sorrow very much as well as the reasons why she had persistent to do so.
Pressing her head on Alexander’s shoulder, Victoria whispered, “I’ve been watching the battle between Stanny and Ernest Hawkins. I know that Ernest Hawkins has had mercy on Stanny, so he was forced to the end. I’ve ever considered that if he could risk his life to stay, probably…”
“If even he could risk his life to stay, you would give him the chance out of compassion instead of approval,” Alexander interrupted her words in a low voice, “Then, in the end, you would look down upon Ernest Hawkins. You couldn’t accept this son-in-law at all.”
“But he’s gone now. He has lost the right to marry Florence in his life already.”
Victoria’s voice became colder.
That was the penalty for Ernest – a sentence to death.
Alexander heaved a sigh and whispered, “It’s not a bad thing, though. Flory will recover eventually as long as we are by her side.”
…
Florence had a pretty long dream. She was immersed in the dream. From time to time, she could meet Ernest and felt his warmth, which drowned her and made her unwilling to wake up.
“Ernest…
“Please don’t go…” Florence muttered in a low voice on the bed.
Even she had opened her eyes, her blurred eyes looked as if she was still immersed in the dream, unable to wake up.
Subconsciously, she reached out, trying to grab something.
All of a sudden, a knuckled hand was approaching her and grabbed her hand.
His palm was big with warmth. Florence seemed to finally grab a floating log in the ocean. She subconsciously held his hand tightly.
In her ear, the man’s deep and soft voice rang out, “Florence…”
Florence looked over in the direction of the voice. Dizzily, she saw Ernest’s face which almost made her miss him like crazy.
It was him.
It was Ernest.
“Why didn’t you come here until now? Boohoo…”
Florence sobbed. Tears dropped from her eyes, full of grievance.
The man was taken aback for a moment. Then he gripped Florence’s hand tightly. Reaching out another hand, he wiped off the tears from her face.
“I’m here. Stop crying. My heart will be broken for you, Flory.”
“I won’t cry as long as you’re here,” Florence said like a child.
With her strength to grab the man, she sat up on the bed. Reaching out, she hugged the man.
She didn’t have much strength but she hugged him so tightly.
“Promise me you won’t leave me again, OK? Don’t leave me alone again,” Florence begged between sobs.
She sounded so pitiful as if she was a dumped orphan.
She was scared. The darkness when Ernest wasn’t with her almost had dragged her into hell. Even the sky was dark and the air was suffocating.
Taking the chance, the man held Florence in his arms. He patted her back.
As if he was coaxing a baby, he said tenderly and dotingly, “Okay. Stop crying, Flory. Get well soon, OK?”
“Okay!”
Florence nodded continuously. Her tearful face was full of satisfying smiles.
At the door, when Stanford stepped in, he paused immediately.
In shock, he looked at the two who were hugging each other in the room, a touch of fierceness flashing through his eyes. He was about to rush over and separate them in anger, but he gaped at Florence’s sweet smile.
Her smile was too bright that Stanford couldn’t take another step forward at all.
He couldn’t remember how long he hadn’t seen Florence’s smile already. In the past few weeks, besides arguing with him, Florence looked worried and upset.
Her smile was so rare but so bright.
It was the precious thing that Stanford had been longing to guard since the first time he met Florence.
Stanford cast a complicated glance at them. After a long while, he pressed his thin lips, turned around, and walked tiptoed out.
He felt a bit relaxed.
It seemed to be a good ending now.
Since Ernest was gone, Benjamin was still there. He could comfort Florence.
Although Stanford didn’t know what Benjamin had done, he saw Florence, who was always suffered and sad, be willing to stay in Benjamin’s arms and smiling, Stanford believed that it was not bad at all.
As the old saying went, the fastest way to forget the old love was to start with the new one.
Stanford agreed with it.
Inside the room, Florence hugged “Ernest” in satisfaction. Her empty heart was fulfilled again.
“Ernest, I miss you so much. I miss you every day. I always dream about you,” she muttered dizzily with a sweet smile on her face.
Benjamin held her tenderly, but his handsome face was full of viciousness and gloominess.
He asked in a deep voice, “Do you really miss me that much? But I don’t want to miss you anymore.”
Florence was still dizzy. Upon hearing his words, she couldn’t understand for a long time.
She wondered what he meant.
She released him slowly. With blurred eyes, she looked at him in a daze.
“Ernest, why don’t you want to miss me anymore?”
“Because we can’t be together any longer.”
Benjamin pretended to answer in a deep tone full of sadness and helplessness, “Florence, I’m so exhausted when being with you. Can you just let me go, OK?”
Florence was in a daze, totally confused.
Tears welled up in her eyes. Her eyes became more and more blurred. However, his words were reechoed in her ears clearly.
She wondered why Ernest was saying so. Did he want to dump her?
“Florence, please give up on me.”
She heard his voice again.
It was deep and helpless as if he was begging her.
He dumped her, so he asked her to give up on him, didn’t he? She wondered if her love had become a burden for him.
As if her heart was stung by needles, Florence heard a buzz inside her head. She wept and covered her ears.
“I don’t believe it… I don’t believe it…”
“Florence, I’ve given up. I won’t come to you anymore.”
As he spoke, Benjamin stood up.
In Florence’s blurred sight, she saw Ernest stand up and stride out of her room. The man’s tall and strong figure left her a decisive and cold back.