In the cold and silent depths of night, he couldn’t sleep.
In the room, Julia Bluen had already fallen asleep, her lon-seed-shaped face serene, as she drifted off in Glades Horne’s embrace. After she was asleep, Glades Horne carefully made his way to stand outside on the balcony.
In his mind, he was haunted by the scene of taking his family to visit Marcel Horne in the hospital.
When they arrived at the hospital and approached Marcel Horne’s ward along the corridor, they heard Marcel’s agonized roar, "Get out! I don’t want to listen! I don’t want to listen! All of you, get out!"
Then ca the sound of things being thrown. Right after that, Sovia Morris and her husband erged from the ward, tears streaming down their faces.
Ruby Bluen, having returned ho to shower and change, wasn’t present at the ti.
"Auntie," Glades Horne said, quickly stepping forward, concern etched across his handso face. He asked in a low voice, "Is Marcel having an outburst again?" Marcel had always been strong, but this accident, which left him unable to stand, seed to have broken him.
He would act out whenever Ruby Bluen wasn’t there.
"Glades, Marcel... he..." As soon as Sovia Morris saw Glades Horne approaching, she burst into tears. When she saw the entire Horne family following behind him, she sobbed even harder.
"Mom, why did you co?" Old Horne first glared at Glades Horne in reprimand, then quickly stepped forward to support his elderly mother. She shrugged off his hand, scolding, "Marcel is in trouble! How could you not tell ? Do you even consider your mother anymore?" While still berating him, she hurried into the ward.
Marcel Horne was half-reclining on the hospital bed, a pillow propped behind his waist. The floor was a ss, strewn with the fruits he’d thrown. At that mont, he was staring blankly at his legs.
He couldn’t stand up anymore!
He found it hard to accept this reality.
His negativity only surfaced in front of his family. He was strong, but being human, he also had a vulnerable side.
"Marcel, are you still a soldier? Where did you misplace your soldier’s fortitude? So what if your leg is injured? The doctors say there’s a chance you’ll stand again. Why don’t you recuperate properly and then undergo treatnt? Why are you throwing a tantrum and losing your temper? You’re in trouble, and everyone is incredibly sad and worried, taking care of you while also having to endure your outbursts. Do you think everyone is out to get you? Unless you regret saving a life—if that’s the case, I advise you to resign from the military imdiately and not return to disgrace the na of a soldier!" Instead of the anticipated sorrow and tears, the grandmother entered the ward and delivered a stern rebuke.
Hearing the grandmother’s scolding, Marcel Horne beca even more silent.
He had never regretted saving a life. In his heart, the interests of the nation and public safety were paramount. How could he ever regret his righteous act? It was just that, for the mont, he couldn’t accept the possibility of being confined to a wheelchair for life. The doctors had only said there was a chance he could stand again, offering no certainty. He feared that even if he underwent treatnt until he was old, he might never stand again.
In a wheelchair, how could he return to his job? With his mobility compromised, he would only be a burden to others, especially Ruby Bluen, whom he deeply loved.
These past few days, whenever he had a quiet mont, his thoughts turned to Ruby Bluen.
He feared burdening Ruby Bluen, and he feared Ruby Bluen would leave him.
Caring for soone with limited mobility—a day, two days, a month, two months—perhaps she could bear it. But could she endure it for a lifeti? Yes, she loved him deeply, and he loved her, but that was when he was healthy. Now that he was disabled, his mood had beco irritable. If one day he vented his anger on her, threw things at her, would she still be able to endure it?
Every ti he faced Ruby Bluen, his emotions beca incredibly complex.
"Marcel, if there’s even a one percent chance, we must seize it. We cannot give up, understand? Listen to Grandma. Relax. Grandma will take care of everything. After you’re discharged, cooperate fully with the doctor’s rehabilitation treatnt and strive to stand up as soon as possible. If you won’t think about us, at least think about that girl, Ruby Bluen. Think about how many years you two have lost. Think about how, for your sake, she was willing to offend our Horne family, leave Glades Horne whom she was about to marry, and venture into Tibet alone. Think about her," the grandmother said, sitting by the bed. She took Marcel Horne’s hand and gently urged him.
Yet Marcel Horne remained silent.
He was indeed thinking too much.
Everyone took turns comforting and advising Marcel Horne, but he remained silent, leaving everyone both heartbroken and helpless.
Sovia Morris wept and wept. In just one week, this officer’s wife had lost her usual grace and beco severely haggard. She had transford into an ordinary mother, her heart aching for her son.
Old Horne was a military man; he couldn’t be at the hospital every day to stay with his son. He could only find ti to visit at night. During the day, Sovia Morris and Ruby Bluen were the primary caregivers.
Watching her son sink deeper into despair day by day, Sovia Morris was consud by anxiety, her heart aching incessantly. She constantly wondered how to encourage her son to rally. People from the military visited daily. When they were present, her son appeared optimistic, seemingly accepting his reality.
But once the military personnel left, Marcel Horne fell deeper into despair.
She knew her son was grieving because he could no longer return to the job he loved; he was being forced to leave the military.
"Family mbers, please be mindful. The patient needs to rest," a young female doctor in a white coat said as she walked in, accompanied by two nurses.
Jas Horne was particularly surprised to see this young female doctor, for she was none other than Rebecca Hughes.
At that mont, Rebecca Hughes had shed her usual careless and free-spirited deanor, possessing a rare maturity.
He had no idea Rebecca Hughes was a doctor.
No wonder when her high heel hit his head, she had frantically searched herself. Being a doctor, she was likely in the habit of carrying so dications with her.
It wasn’t just Jas Horne who was astonished; no one could believe that Rebecca Hughes was actually a doctor, as the Hughes family had never ntioned her occupation.
Rebecca Hughes was the on-call doctor, not Marcel Horne’s attending physician. She was making her routine ward rounds.
Rebecca Hughes had known about Marcel Horne’s hospital admission for quite so ti.
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