Chapter 126
After Bella left to pick Timothy up from school, the apartment grew too quiet for Rachel.
Chloe had left for work and because of everything going on between Bella and Jake, Bella had decided not to step foot in StoneTech, after all, she’d actually told Jake she was quitting.
Rachel sat on the couch with her knees pulled up, staring at the same corner of the wall she had been staring at since Bella left. The silence only made everything inside her louder.
Her heart. Her worry and most of all, her longing. Get full chapters from.net
She had barely slept the previous night. After she and Chloe had comforted Bella, she’d returned to her room, feeling bad and thinking about Henry too.
Even though she’d been too sad with everything happening to her and her sister, she’d finally tried taking a shower, she had come out, changed into pajamas, and climbed into bed… only to toss and turn until dawn. Unable to sleep a wink.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Henry lying still on the hospital bed and every time she tried to breathe, she heard Sandra’s voice telling her to leave.
Every time she blinked, she felt again the sting of being told she was fired… right after sharing that beautiful moment with him.
But more than anything else, every time her mind wandered, it wandered straight back to him, no matter how hard she tried not to think about him.
Everytime her mind wandered to him, she had tried calling. Oh, she had tried. But each time she called, the call rang twice and went straight to voicemail.
She even sent messages. Short, simple messages meant to just know how he was doing:
“How are you p>
“I hope you’re okay p>
“Please let me know you woke up p>
“I’m worried p>
But no matter how many messages she sent, all of them were left on read with no reply.
At first she had told herself he was resting. Then maybe he had forgotten his phone. Or maybe Sandra took it. Or maybe the doctors kept him away from outside noise.
But by afternoon, the fear had crawled too deep into her chest to ignore.
What if he wasn’t okay? What if he got worse? What if he collapsed again and she wasn’t there? What if Sandra told him something that made him hate her? What if he didn’t want to hear from her at all?
Her heart twisted painfully at that last thought.
She rubbed her palms against her knees, trying to calm herself, but her chest only tightened more.
She missed him.
God, she missed him in a way she didn’t know how to explain to anyone, not even to Bella. She missed his gentle eyes when he looked at her. She missed the quiet, warm smile he gave her when she reminded him to take his medication. She missed the soft sound of his voice when he asked how her night was. She missed the peace she always felt when she walked into his room and found him waiting for her.
She had no right to miss him that much. She knew that. He wasn’t hers. He wasn’t even supposed to stay in her life for long. He was sick and dying. She knew that too.
Loving him, or admitting that she was in love with him, was nothing but a promise of heartbreak. Because one day, he would go, and she would be left with memories she never asked for.
But even knowing that, her heart didn’t listen. Not even a little. And the worst part?
She didn’t regret loving him. Not even a tiny bit.
“Stop it,” she whispered to herself, pressing her fingers against her temples as if she could push the thoughts out. “Stop… you can’t think like this p>
But her mind didn’t stop. Not for a second. Even though she knew Bella wouldn’t be happy with her, she still couldn’t help it.
Finally, she stood. She couldn’t sit still anymore.
Her heartbeat was too loud, her thoughts too overwhelming, her chest too heavy.
She grabbed her bag from the dining table, her hands trembling.
She wasn’t going to stay here and drown in the not knowing.
Even if it was foolish. Even if she had no right anymore. Even if he didn’t want to see her, she just needed to know if he was okay.
She at least needed to see him with her own eyes, even if it was from afar, only after then would she leave.
That was all she told herself. That was the lie she needed to believe so she could walk out the door.
“What about Bella?” A voice whispered in her ear.
She’d be fast. She’d just go there as fast as she could and return once she’d confirmed. Rachel told herself.
She slipped into a simple dress, tied her hair into a low ponytail, grabbed her phone, and left the apartment before she could overthink it.
The cab ride felt longer than usual. Every street they passed felt too slow, and every turn felt like it stretched the air.
Her fingers tapped anxiously against her bag the whole drive.
Is he okay? Did he sleep well last night? Did he wake up feeling weak? Did he eat breakfast? Lunch? Anything?
And then the question she tried not to think about but kept thinking anyway:
Did he… miss me, even for a little?
Her throat tightened. Probably not.
He had his granddaughter. He had doctors, nurses… people who actually belonged by his side, who could make sure he was fine.
But she still wondered. Because she missed him from just one day apart, and it hurt.
When the cab finally approached the Camden mansion, her heart began beating faster. The tall iron gates stood where they always stood, strong and intimidating, but familiar.
She clutched her bag as the cab slowed. She didn’t know what she expected. She didn’t even know if she’d be allowed inside.
But the moment the car rolled close enough, the security scanner beeped, and the gates opened on their own, just like they always had.
Her information was still in the system. For a second, her chest warmed.
Maybe not everything had been erased so easily.
She stepped out, thanked the driver with a shaky voice, and walked through the entrance. The air smelled faintly of pine and warm grass. The garden looked the same, peaceful and well-kept but somehow everything felt different.
She wasn’t coming here as his caregiver now. She wasn’t coming here belonging to this place anymore.
She was coming as someone who cared too much and didn’t know how to stop.