CHAPTER 64: CHAPTER 42: PROUD OF MY CURRENT DESTITUTION AND POVERTY 1_2

He squatted down and gently called out to her; she was already asleep.

Christine Quinn seemed to be sleeping soundly and did not hear Howard Geoffrey’s call.

Howard Geoffrey had initially wanted to pick Christine up, but he inadvertently saw her furrowed brows and the fine sweat on her forehead.

Even her sleep is so difficult...

He reached out sympathetically, wanting to smooth the wrinkles between her brows. But at that moment, Christine suddenly screamed in her sleep, "No, don’t... none of you come near me..."

"Christine, Christine..."

"Howard... where are you...? I’m so scared... Howard..."

Holding the nightmare-tormented Christine in his arms, Howard Geoffrey’s face turned cold and gloomy.

"Christine..." Howard kissed Christine’s sweat-soaked forehead, his voice low and hoarse with heartache.

Although leaning against Howard’s chest, Christine still slept restlessly. Suddenly, a terrifying image jolted her awake from her nightmare.

"AHHH──"

"Christine, it’s me. I’m here."

Howard Geoffrey supported Christine’s trembling shoulders. Looking at her tear-filled eyes, he suppressed the guilt he had harbored for so long.

Her vision blurred by tears, it took her a moment to finally see the handsome face before her. Christine suddenly threw herself into Howard Geoffrey’s arms, tears streaming like a breached dam. "Howard, I’m so scared... Their faces are still so clear in my mind... I can’t forget what happened, I really can’t... What should I do?" she sobbed.

Holding Christine in his arms, Howard continuously kissed away the tears tracing paths down her cheeks, his voice hoarse with restraint. "Shh, good girl, don’t think about it anymore. It’s all in the past..."

"Do you know? Every time I see Marie, I think of that horrifying scene. But Marie is my daughter... How can I associate her with those shameless people...?"

Late at night, Howard Geoffrey’s silhouette stood before the hotel’s floor-to-ceiling windows.

Behind him, Christine slept, her eyes still red even in her dreams, with faint, damp tear tracks at their corners.

「One week later.」

Rebecca Quentin stood blankly before her house, two suitcases by her side.

Aunt Clare gently touched Rebecca’s shoulder and sighed, "Since it’s sold, try not to be sad."

Memories of the days she had spent in this villa, acting cute and playful with her father, floated through Rebecca’s mind, her eyes once again misting over.

"Aunt Clare, I miss Daddy so much."

Aunt Clare patted Rebecca comfortingly. "I know."

Rebecca’s gaze grew vacant. "Do you also know that I actually..." She paused.

"Hmm?"

Having never heard Rebecca’s voice so low and hoarse, Aunt Clare looked at her face. She was startled when she saw two streaks of tears sliding down Rebecca’s cheeks. "Miss..."

Although Aunt Clare had watched Rebecca grow up, she had rarely seen her cry. She knew that beneath Rebecca’s frail appearance lay a strong heart. However, Rebecca’s silent tears now seemed like the accumulated sorrow of countless repressed moments, making them even more worrisome.

"I actually hate Daddy..."

"Huh?"

Just then, Aunt Clare saw Rebecca slowly sink to the ground, hugging herself helplessly and choking out, "If it weren’t for Daddy, I wouldn’t have met him... I wouldn’t be suffering like this today..."

Aunt Clare fumbled for a tissue. "Miss, please don’t cry. I don’t know what to do when you cry..."

Large tears streamed down Rebecca’s cheeks, and Aunt Clare could hardly wipe them away fast enough...

Rebecca hugged herself helplessly, trembling as if she could no longer hold back her sobs. "I’m so useless... I knew from the beginning there would be no happy ending, but I still fell for it like a fool... I thought I could pretend to be fine, act as if nothing was wrong. But when I truly had no connection to him anymore, my heart ached unbearably..."

"Miss..." Aunt Clare’s tears began to fall with Rebecca’s.

Rebecca buried her head in her knees, stifling her sobs. "I’ve lost the baby... I don’t know if Heaven destined that he and I should have no ties, but without this child, I feel so awful, so awful... He was more than five months along; the doctor said it was a boy. I can’t imagine him being taken from my body, so cold and lifeless..."

Aunt Clare choked back her own tears, her heart aching. "Miss, please don’t be like this..."

"I know he only cares about the child, but I’m still his wife. Why didn’t he even come to see me after I lost our baby...?"

「Four years later.」

Heavy rain poured down, accompanied by flashing lightning and roaring thunder. The light blue curtains danced in the air with the howling wind from outside. Raindrops, as large as soybeans, streamed through the broken pane of glass and splashed into the room.

Directly opposite the window, on a small single bed, a young woman with long eyelashes lay asleep...

She was clearly sleeping restlessly. Her long eyelashes trembled constantly, fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her hand tightly gripped the edge of the bed. Her body was slightly contorted.

"No, don’t... Don’t come near me..." the woman mumbled these terrifying words in her sleep.

Suddenly, "Howard Geoffrey!!" With a desperate cry from her dream, she jolted awake from the nightmare.

A soft whimper escaped her.

Recalling the dream, she buried her head in her knees, overwhelmed by pain, and cried unrestrainedly.

After a long time, the pain gradually subsided. She wiped the still-damp tear tracks from the corners of her eyes, as she always did, and got out of bed.

Outside the window, lightning continued to flash and thunder roared...

As if long accustomed to such nights, she walked to the window and closed the broken pane. Although rain still seeped in, the wind was much weaker.

After a moment, she entered her small, simple bathroom.

She took off her clothes and turned on the shower.

Cold water poured over her, but she seemed oblivious to the chill, vigorously scrubbing her body.

She was very thin. Her body looked frail and trembled from the force of her scrubbing, yet she didn’t lessen her efforts. It was as if she could never wash herself clean enough, and she scoured every part of her body.

Finally, when her entire body was red from scrubbing, she turned off the shower. But instead of leaving the bathroom, she leaned against the cold tile wall. Eventually, she slid down, her whole body wracked with uncontrollable sobs once more.