Chapter 16
Reed stood at the entrance of a top-tier Swiss nursing home, only to be stopped.
The nurse checked the computer records, then looked up at him:
“I’m sorry, but this patient’s information indicates she has no relatives or friends. You’ll need to prove your relationship to her.”
Reed was stunned.
Prove his relationship with Avery? Besides a divorce certificate, what could prove their relationship now?
When he had pretended to have amnesia, to avoid suspicion, he had returned all items related to Avery to her.
Even the divorce certificate had long been torn up.
But the nurse shook her head: “Sir, without valid proof of your relationship with the patient, I cannot let you in. Besides, when Miss Walsh was admitted, she specifically stated she had no family and no friends.”
No family, no friends.
Each of the nurse’s words felt like an ice-cold dagger stabbing into Reed’s heart.
He had once been her most intimate lover, her entire world. Yet now he was just a blank space in her information.
He used every connection, spent enormous sums, even stood outside the director’s office all night without regard for his dignity.
Finally, on the third day, he was granted a brief ten-minute visit.
When Reed pushed open the door to her room, his steps felt as heavy as mountains.
Avery sat in a wheelchair by the window, covered with a soft cashmere blanket.
She had wasted away to just a skeleton. Her once lustrous long hair had turned yellow and sparse.
Sunlight enveloped her, making her look like a fragile porcelain figure that might crumble to dust at any moment.
Reed’s throat tightened, his heart as if gripped by an invisible hand, the pain making it hard to breathe.
Tentatively, in a voice almost too soft to hear, he called: “Avery…”
The person in the wheelchair slowly turned.
Those eyes that had once been filled with stars and love were now hollow and confused, as if covered by a thick layer of ash.
Her gaze had no focus, wandering over his face for a long time before she finally spoke, her voice slurred and unclear:
“Who… are you?”
Reed felt his world collapse in that moment.
He walked over step by step, slowly kneeling before her, looking up at her, his eyes red as blood, choking as he spoke:
“Avery, it’s me, I’m Reed Bennett.”
“Don’t you remember me?”
Avery struggled to recognize him, her brow slightly furrowed in pure confusion and rejection of something unfamiliar.
“Reed… Bennett?”
Chapter 16
She murmured the name, then shook her head.
“No… don’t know…”
Each word was an effort, her tongue seemingly no longer obeying her.
“I’m your love,” Reed carefully took her hand, which was ice cold.
Avery violently pulled her hand away, her face showing obvious disgust.
“Don’t know… hate you… go away…”
“Avery, it’s me. Look carefully, I’m Reed!”
Reed’s tears fell uncontrollably.
He wanted to say more, but the nurse had already entered, indicating his time was up.
Reed was forcibly escorted out of the room. His tall frame stumbled in the hallway, barely steadying himself against the cold wall.
After some time, Reed saw a doctor leaving Avery’s room.
He intercepted the doctor, asking hoarsely: “Her condition… how serious is it? How much time… does she have left?”
The doctor, seeing his devastated state, flashed a look of sympathy.
“Miss Walsh’s condition has deteriorated very rapidly. She has scheduled assisted suicide for one week from now. Cherish your final moments together.”
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