She was still uncomfortable, but much better as the pain was passing.
Winifred looked at Garrison’ tired face. It must have been around two or three in the morning.
If she cried out in pain again, Garrison would try to find another way to relieve it.
She knew that her chronic illness meant the pain might accompany her for life, never fully going away. There was no way to completely stop the pain.
She didn’t want to see Garrison so exhausted, working during the day and worrying about her at night.
Winifred shook her head with a gentle smile. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“Really?”
“Yes, my foot is warm now, so it doesn’t hurt. You should go back to sleep; you have work tomorrow,” Winifred urged Garrison.
Garrison was indeed very tired, but he was more worried about Winifred’s condition. Thinking about her kept him from sleeping well.
Garrison lay back down, still holding Winifred’s foot. “When you sleep, keep your foot in my arms so it stays warm.”
“Can you sleep well like that?”
“Don’t worry, I’m a good sleeper. It won’t wake me.”
“Alright then…”
Winifred found a comfortable position and placed her foot against Garrison’ chest, next to a hot water bottle.
Garrison yawned and fell back asleep.
Winifred couldn’t sleep. She lay there with her eyes open, the room dimly lit by a small nightlight casting a soft yellow glow. She looked at Garrison’ chiseled face and the mole near his left eye. Carefully, she reached out and touched it with her fingertip.
In his sleep, Garrison seemed to feel something. He frowned and twitched slightly. Winifred quickly pulled her hand back, afraid he would wake up.
She watched him quietly for a few more minutes. Once she was sure he was fast asleep, she reached out again to touch the mole near his eye.
A memory surfaced in her mind of a man whose features were blurry but who had a mole in the same place. Was that man Garrison?
The more she tried to remember, the more her head hurt as if her body was protecting her from those memories.
Maybe those memories were too painful, which is why her body rejected them.
Winifred drifted off into a light sleep. When she woke again, it was because of a sharp pain in her foot. She flinched slightly.
Even that small movement woke Garrison instantly. He sat up before even opening his eyes, reaching for Winifred’s position and feeling for her foot and the hot water bottle in his arms.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” Winifred replied hoarsely.
Garrison sensed something was off. He lifted the blanket and turned on the light to see better. He saw a clear blister on Winifred’s ankle.
His mind snapped awake instantly. “How did this happen?”
Winifred sat up and stared at her ankle. She had no idea how such a blister had formed.
Garrison scrambled out of bed to fetch the first aid kit from the cabinet. Fortunately, it had everything they needed. He found some burn ointment and sat on the bed, gently holding Winifred’s ankle with one hand while carefully applying the ointment with a cotton swab in the other.
The blister was large and looked painful. Throughout the process, Garrison frowned deeply. “Didn’t you feel any pain? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“I’m sorry… I didn’t feel it…” Winifred stammered apologetically like a child who had done something wrong despite being the one injured.
“No need to apologize; I’m not blaming you. I just want you to understand that you don’t have to endure pain silently anymore. If you don’t speak up, it will only get worse,” Garrison said patiently.
Winifred nodded quietly and then heard Garrison continue.
“This is my fault for sleeping too soundly and letting you get a low-temperature burn,” he said with a frown.
He indeed hadn’t considered that while a hot water bottle might not feel hot to touch, if pressed against skin continuously, it could cause low-temperature burns without immediate sharp pain, making it easy to overlook.
“I’m really fine; it doesn’t hurt.”
Garrison sighed inwardly. More than hearing apologies from Winifred who always endured silently and tried to please others, he wished she would express her true feelings and thoughts.
But Winifred hadn’t learned how to do that yet. Just as he was about to say something more, she reached out and touched his furrowed brow gently trying to smooth it out.
“Don’t frown; if you do it too much, you’ll get wrinkles and look older.”
She was diverting the topic. Garrison grasped her cold hand tightly. “If I grow old, will you still recognize me?”
Winifred nodded. “Yes, just like you told me before: no matter how you change, I will always recognize you because I love you.”
Garrison felt moved inside. “Say that again.”
“What?”
“The last thing you said-say it again,” he coaxed softly like talking to a child.
Winifred smiled shyly. “No matter how you change, I will always love you because I love you, Garrison.”
“Can you love me for a lifetime?”
“Yes, I’ll love you for a lifetime-for as long as possible unless… unless you don’t want me anymore.” Winifred said cautiously; just imagining Garrison leaving her scared her deeply.
…
Winifred could feel that Garrison cared about her too but she always felt insecure inside. She began asking him about her past-what she used to be like before they met and fell in love becoming his fiancee-and whether his parents knew about her and would accept her as she is now?
Garrison answered each question seriously.
“We’ve known each other since childhood; you used to follow me around wanting desperately to marry me someday but we got separated when I went abroad. I didn’t return home until you turned eighteen.” This part was true.
“So did we start dating when I turned eighteen?”
“Kind of.”
What kind of answer was that? The more questions she asked, the more curious she became. Then the topic of her question turned to her family. “How about my family?”
“Winifred, you no longer have any family left.”
Hearing this drained all color from Winifred’s face, turning it ghostly pale instantly…
“Why? What happened to them…” She knew deep down if she had any family left, they would’ve been there when she was in a difficult time, but she still asked Garrison about them. She wanted to know where her family were when she was missing.
“They had an accident; it’s not your fault… Just know one thing, from now onwards, I am your family… Don’t overthink things. I’ll tell everything gradually. You’re different now compared before, but you’re the same in my eyes… I love you. I will protect you and do whatever possible for you. So, would you do something for me?”