Hope Crawls Through Ruins by Kain Rwan Vale 204

Chapter 204 

Chapter 204 

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Shepard rested his chin on the crown of her head, his palm pressed firmly against her back, as if he wanted to fuse her into his bones and blood. 

He couldn’t bring himself to ever let her go. 

“No, that’s not it,” Briana said softly. “Shepard, I don’t know where you heard that, but let me be clear, the baby isn’t yours. I’m not lying to you. You’ve been tricked.” 

She couldn’t just come clean that easily. “Or what, did you change your mind again? Decided you don’t want the divorce, so now you’re just playing dumb? 

“Are you really that shameless now? You’re actually willing to pretend the baby that Henry and I had is yours?” 

Briana’s words were sharp and biting. “Shepard, when you love someone, you’re so pathetic you lose yourself. But when you don’t, you hurt them without a second thought. Are you just shameless or what?” 

“Yes,” Shepard replied quietly. “You have every right to say 

that.” 

Briana gritted her teeth. 

“Go ahead, say whatever you want,” Shepard said, his tone utterly resigned. “Vent as much as you need, let it all out.” 

But she didn’t say another word. Instead, she shoved hard against his chest. “Let me go!” 

The harder she pushed, the tighter Shepard held her. 

Her face was practically buried in his chest, and through the fabric of his shirt, she could feel how hard his muscles were. 

“Shepard,” Briana said angrily. “If you keep this up, I’ll really bite you.” 

Shepard didn’t even flinch at her threat. 

“Briana,” Shepard asked, almost talking to himself, “Is everything alright with the baby? What did the doctor say at your check–up? Let me arrange a full exam and go with you to the OB–GYN, okay?” 

“I told you, the baby isn’t yours! Are you not listening to me at all? Who’s been filling your head with this nonsense?” she snapped. 

Shepard replied, “It was Henry.” 

Briana went completely still, not moving an inch. 

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. 

‘Henry?‘ she thought, her mind reeling. ‘How is that even possible? Wait, Henry told Shepard?‘ 

She jerked her head up, locking eyes with Shepard, searching his gaze for answers. “You actually saw Henry?” 

For a split second, Briana wanted so badly to believe Henry was still alive, still somewhere in this world. 

To this day, she still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Henry was gone. 

So when Shepard brought up his name, the first thing that popped into her head was that Henry was still alive. 

“Where is he? Tell me, where?” Briana blurted out, her voice trembling with urgency. “Did he come looking for you? Did you actually see him with your own eyes?” 

Chapter 204 

“Why would he go to you and not me? Why would he choose you over ine?” Briana demanded. “He’s not dead. I knew it. I just knew he couldn’t be gone.” 

Briana’s voice rose higher and higher, nearly cracking from the intensity. 

Shepard looked at her. “Briana, you saw Henry being buried.” 

“But you just said-” Briana stammered, her voice trembling. 

Suddenly, tears streamed down her face, and she couldn’t get a single word out. 

Her throat closed up, unable to make a sound. 

Henry was the ache she’d carry in her heart forever. 

He gave his life for her. 

“If Henry were still alive, even if you were carrying my child, I’d still let you go to him,” Shepard murmured, his voice heavy with sorrow. “But Briana, the dead can’t come back.” 

“What the hell is going on? What’s happening?” Briana cried out, her voice choked with tears as she demanded, “You told me yourself that Henry was the one who said the baby I’m carrying is yours!” 

Shepard wiped her tears away with one hand, and with the other, pulled a letter out of his pocket. 

The handwriting on the envelope was unmistakably Henry’s. 

She knew it right away. 

She stopped crying in that instant, her eyes still wet with tears as she grabbed the envelope and ripped it open. 

Her hands were shaking uncontrollably. 

Her hands kept shaking as she finished reading the letter, her whole body trembling. 

It all finally clicked for Briana; she understood everything now. 

Even after he was gone, Henry was still making plans for her, still caring about her. 

He couldn’t stand the thought of her facing those long, lonely nights all by herself. 

Being alone was just unbearable. 

All he ever wanted was for her to be happy. 

He knew that only Shepard was the one who could show her what real love was. 

One’s heart, for a whole lifetime, could only truly love one person. 

“Henry never once wanted to be with me,” Briana said, taking a shaky breath, tears still clinging to her lashes. “All he ever wanted was to let me have what I truly wanted, to give me my happiness. 

“He wanted to clear up all the misunderstandings between us, so we could be together as if Vivian had never been part of our story, just the two of us, loving each other with no one in between.” 

“Why did he have to be so selfless? Why?” Briana whispered, her voice shaking. “Shepard, what does love even mean? Is what I feel for you really love? Is what you feel for me love? And Henry did he love me too?” 

“Love’s different for everyone,” Shepard replied gently. 

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Chapter 204 

Briana was crying so hard that she could barely breathe. 

If Shepard hadn’t been holding her up, she couldn’t have stayed on her feet. 

She buried her face in Shepard’s chest, her tears soaking through his shirt. 

Shepard just let her cry, quietly wiping away her tears again and again. 

But the more he wiped, the more tears kept falling. 

He was never good at soothing anyone, and he had no idea how to comfort her. 

His heart ached too. 

After what felt like forever, Briana finally calmed down, her eyes swollen and red from all the crying. 

Her eyes were blank, all the emotion gone. 

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“Since you already know,” she sniffled, “there’s really nothing left for me to hide. Yes, Shepard, the baby is yours. 

“You’re the only man I’ve ever been with; there’s never been anyone else. Henry was always a stand–up guy, totally decent. He never did anything inappropriate with me, not even once.” 

Shepard’s voice was hoarse. “Briana, why did you lie to me?” 

“Because you wanted to make me get rid of my baby,” Briana shot back, her voice trembling with anger. “Shepard, have you forgotten the way you treated me back then? How cruel and heartless you were.” 

Shepard was at a loss for words, unable to say anything in response. 

She said, “After I came out of the operating room, you straight up told me you didn’t want this baby. 

“You were pissed, but only because I went behind your back and had the abortion, not because you cared about me, or gave a damn about losing the baby! 

“I was angry too, so I said a bunch of stuff I didn’t mean. I told you I wouldn’t have our baby, that I’d just abort it. Someone like you never deserved to be a dad.” 

Shepard could remember every moment in the day in the hospital, like it was burned into his memory. 

Now, looking back, so much just didn’t feel right. 

If only he hadn’t let his pride and temper take over, if he’d bothered to dig deeper, if he’d just talked things through with Briana, maybe everything would’ve been different. 

But life didn’t do ifs. 

There was no going back. 

“So you didn’t go through with the abortion after all,” Shepard murmured. “Briana, you’ve been so careful, doing everything you could to keep the baby safe. You always wanted to have this child, to let him see the world.” 

“Of course, I wanted to have the baby!” Briana cried, her voice trembling with pain. “But Shepard, you could never understand how it felt, when I was on that operating table. It was like my soul was being torn apart.” 

“Briana, please, just tell me what really happened,” Shepard begged, his voice full of anguish. “Don’t make me keep guessing. I can’t stand it anymore.” 

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Chapter 205