Chapter 186
A living, breathing person now lay buried here, sleeping forever beneath the earth.
Shepard tried his best to shield Briana with the umbrella, but the downpour was relentless.
The whole mountain was wrapped in a veil of rain and mist, everything blurred and dreamlike.
Briana didn’t leave until darkness fell and the air turned bitterly cold.
She turned back for one last look.
As the rain poured down, Henry’s tombstone stood there, freshly placed, untouched by time.
Once they got in the car, the temperature and humidity felt perfect.
Shepard handed her a towel and a coat.
Briana didn’t reach for them. She just leaned her head against the window, eyes closed.
Slowly, she drifted off to sleep.
Shepard sighed softly, pulled her into his arms, and carefully brushed the chill and dampness from her.
Briana was too weak to resist, and the cold finally got the better of her.
That very night, she came down with a high fever.
She lay on the master bed at the Carter Estate, her cheeks burning with fever, but her lips were as pale as paper.
Shepard kept a constant vigil at her bedside.
“Is the doctor here yet?” he asked, voice tight with worry. “Hurry up! Where’s the fever patch?”
“Useless idiots!” he snapped.
He was losing his temper, his face stormy with rage.
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He thought Briana was just exhausted and needed some rest, so after they got back to the Carter Estate, he carried her straight to the master bedroom and let her sleep.
He went to his study.
He was only gone for half an hour.
When Shepard returned to the master bedroom, Briana’s fever had shot up to 102.2°F.
She was delirious, mumbling words he couldn’t make out.
Her lips were covered in a thick layer of dead skin, painfully dry and cracked.
The family doctor burst in, panting and drenched in sweat, frantically rummaging through his medical kit.
“M–Mr. Carter,” the doctor stammered.
“Just treat her!” Shepard snapped.
Shepard grabbed the doctor by the collar and hauled him over to the bedside.
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Chapter 186
The doctor checked Briana over carefully, asking about her symptoms and what might have caused all this.
Shepard gave him all the details, answering every question.
Finally, he added quietly, “She’s pregnant.”
The doctor was taken aback. “Pregnant? Then we need to get her to the hospital right now. I can’t risk giving her the wrong medication.”
Shepard’s face turned serious. He didn’t say another word. He just picked Briana up and headed straight for the nearest hospital.
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In the Emergency Room, the nurse set Briana up with an IV drip, then walked out of the room carrying her tray.
Shepard’s face softened a little, the tension easing just a bit.
It was late, but he couldn’t sleep at all.
Briana lay in the hospital bed, looking so weak, so fragile, so utterly worn out.
If she kept being like this, Shepard couldn’t even let himself think about it.
“What do I have to do for you to finally be happy again?” he whispered.
He continued, “If we get divorced and I let you go, if I just leave you to raise the baby all by yourself, do you really think you’ll be okay? How am I supposed to just walk away and not worry about you?
“Henry’s gone. Are you really planning to go after him? Briana, don’t do this to yourself anymore.”
Shepard held her hand, the one without the IV, and pressed gentle kisses to it, one after another.
His eyes never left her face.
The room was so quiet that one could hear the IV drip.
All Shepard wanted was for Briana to find peace and happiness.
He realized it was time to help her find her own happiness, instead of imposing his own version of kindness on her.
Whatever she wanted, he’d give it to her.
Whether it was freedom or divorce, he’d let her choose.
If Shepard kept trapping Briana by his side, he feared she might truly kill herself.
As Shepard kept holding her hand, Briana’s fingers weren’t so cold anymore; they were finally warm to the touch.
Her face wasn’t flushed like before.
Shepard reached out and gently touched her forehead.
Her fever was finally going down.
He let out a long, relieved sigh.
“Shepard,” Suddenly, Briana called his name, her voice clear as day.
Chapter 186
Shepard instantly replied, “I’m here, Briana. I’m right here.”
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“Shepard,” Briana murmured, her eyes shut tight, caught in a nightmare, her lashes quivering. “Please just let me go. Please, I’m begging you.
“I don’t love you anymore. I don’t want to love you anymore. It’s just too exhausting. I’m just so tired.”
“Five years,” Briana kept saying, her voice breaking over and over. “I can’t do this anymore. Not even for one more day?
“Do you really love me, or is it just guilt?” she whispered. “Maybe you never truly loved me. But I–1 held onto you like you were my last hope, desperate and afraid to let go.”
As she spoke, tears traced slowly down her cheeks.
She had once naively believed that if she could just hold onto Shepard, happiness would finally be hers.
But when she finally let go, she realized clinging to Shepard had never made her happy.
When you put all your hopes and feelings on one person, love just turned into a crushing weight.
Letting go, she finally felt free, like a huge weight had been lifted off her.
Briana kept murmuring in her sleep, “Shepard, please let me go. We’re just not meant to be. I don’t love you anymore. I don’t feel the way I did before.
“Let’s get divorced. Let’s end this, once and for all.”
Shepard listened in silence, gently stroking her hand until she finally calmed down and fell back into a deep sleep.
He had no idea what she was dreaming about.
But deep down, Shepard knew he had to let her go.
If he kept her by his side, Briana would slowly wither away, like a flower fading away.
That wasn’t the Briana he wanted to remember, not the way he wanted her to be.
“Alright,” Shepard murmured, “We will divorce.”
Even if she couldn’t hear him, his promise was already made.
When Briana woke up, it was already morning, and the room was filled with soft daylight.
She had no idea what had happened.
All she could remember was leaving the cemetery, settling into the warm, cozy car, and then drifting off to sleep.
Now, her eyes fluttered open.
‘Where am I?‘ Briana thought, her mind still blank.
Briana looked around, completely at a loss.
She tried to lift her hand to rub her eyes, but something heavy was pinning it down; it wouldn’t budge.
She looked down.
Shepard was there, his head resting right on her hand, sound asleep at her bedside.
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Chapter 186
As soon as Briana moved her hand, Shepard immediately noticed. His fingers curled around her wrist, and he slowly blinked awake, lifting his head from where he’d been sleeping at her bedside.
His eyes were red–rimmed, still groggy from sleep.
But as soon as he saw her awake, he was instantly alert.
“You’re up. Does anything still hurt?” As he spoke, he reached out to gently check her forehead.
“Yeah, you’re not hot anymore. The fever’s gone down,” Shepard said with a relieved sigh. “I’ll have the doctor come check on you again.”
He pressed the call button.
Briana slowly started to come back to herself.
‘Is this a hospital?‘ she wondered, her mind still hazy. ‘Was I burning up with a fever all night? And Shepard stayed right here with me the whole night?‘
The doctor hurried in, gave Briana a quick checkup, asked her a few questions, and then said gently, “You’re fine now. Go home, get some good rest, drink lots of fluids, and make sure you eat something nourishing.”
“Alright,” Shepard replied, looking at her. “Briana, let’s go home.”
“Do we really have a home?” Briana asked suddenly.
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