Under the lights in the room, Holly looked as pale as ivory. Her downcast eyes were filled with palpable sorrow and grief. She had become inhumanly thin. She knelt in front of Winona's coffin, unmoving, looking frail under the lights.During these few days, Bryce's heart ached for her more than any other time. Many years later, this image of Holly would stay in his mind, and his heart would ache every time he remembered it. …In the yard, a rude relative named Miriam Saxon came over and said to Priscilla, "Your son-in-law's legs look perfectly fine. I heard before that he was disabled and wheelchair-bound, though."Priscilla knew that they all laughed at her behind her back because she had sold her daughter to an invalid for money. She gave Miriam a sideways look with her red, swollen eyes. "My son-in-law just happened to be injured. He recovered a year ago."Miriam pursed her lips. "Really? That's a quick recovery.""Of course! He's favored by God."Miriam chuckled. She
Holly watched the hearse until it disappeared from her sight. She cried until she lost her voice. On the way back, she kept throwing up. Bryce wiped the vomit from her lips and reassured her gently. She could hear his voice in her ears, but she failed to hear clearly what he was saying. She just knew that the person on the hearse was Winona, who was going to be cremated in flames.She would lose Winona once and for all. She would no longer have a grandmother. After Winona was cremated, her remains were delivered back to them. The day her remains were to be buried, the sky was dark and cloudy, and it was drizzling. The wind blew on the muddy paths. It was so cold that they shivered. Bryce helped Holly along as they went to the forest of willow trees behind the village with Priscilla and her other relatives. They were going to bury Winona's remains beside Winston's. It was dark and gloomy inside the forest, and it was freezing cold even during the day. Winston was buried
Holly's view was blocked by the umbrella, and she couldn't see the way ahead. The umbrella was leaning heavily toward her, while Bryce's clothes were already soaked with rain.She raised her hand and pushed the umbrella over to his side.Bryce instinctively looked over to the collapsed bridge. The man called Abel had disappeared. He was as mysterious as a phantom and always seemed to appear out of nowhere, like an apparition. Bryce secretly breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Holly toward him. At that moment, he belatedly realized that he had been afraid that Holly would be snatched away from him.It was the first time he had ever had this feeling, and it surprised him, too.By the time they returned to Winston's house, it was already noon.The two of them had a quick meal.Holly was tired and sleepy, so she went into the bedroom and undressed to take a nap.She had been mourning for Winona for the past few days, and she hadn't had much sleep. Bryce followed her. He to
His phone rang all of a sudden.A cigarette dangled from Bryce's mouth as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Samantha.He frowned and hung up without answering. After a few minutes, his phone rang again.Arthur was calling him this time. He picked up.Arthur asked, "When are you coming back?"Bryce said expressionlessly, "Holly's grandmother was buried today. We'll be going back early tomorrow morning."Arthur sounded reproachful. "Why did you stay for such a long time? It's been almost four days.""She's very upset by her grandmother's death. I can't leave her here alone.""Doesn't she have her mother and her relatives?""Priscilla's very upset, too, and she can barely take care of herself. Her relatives? Well, they're just the way they are. The only one she can rely on right now is me."Arthur snorted. "You're about to get divorced. Why are you still treating her so well? Just give her more money. Your time is much mor
Holly was startled. She didn't know why Bryce was kissing her on the mouth all of a sudden.It was nighttime, but there were still people passing by.People in the village were more conservative than those in the city, and it would be embarrassing if someone saw them.Besides, Winona had just been buried. It seemed a little inappropriate if they were seen being lovey-dovey at this time.Holly reached out to push him away.However, Bryce held both her wrists in one hand, refusing to let her move. Holly wasn't as strong as he was and couldn't push him off. All she could do was close her eyes and let him kiss her.He kissed her so hard that it was almost aggressive, unlike how gentle he had been in the past. It was as if he was doing it in defiance of someone.Holly thought about what he had said on the phone just now. He must have been talking to Arthur.She thought that he was doing this in defiance of Arthur.Bryce only let go when she was beginning to lose her breath. He re
Frowning slightly, Holly texted back, saying, "Arthur doesn't approve of us."Priscilla's reply came soon after. "Parents will always give in to their children. You and Bryce just need to work harder to convince Arthur. You'll regret it if you give up before you try." After a brief silence, Holly replied, "Okay."At 10:00 pm, Bryce and Holly arrived back at the house on Crescent Lane.After taking a shower, Holly picked up the hairdryer to dry her hair. Bryce, who had showered in another bathroom, came over to look for her. When he saw what she was doing, he took the hairdryer from her and dried her hair for her.Smiling, Holly said, "My left hand is almost fully recovered. I can do it myself."Bryce remained expressionless as he sat her down on the couch before replying, "I just want to take good care of you."It was such an affectionate thing to say. Paired with his reserved and stoic manner, it conveyed just the right amount of romance.Feeling touched, Holly said, "Thank y
Bryce's deep, alluring voice sounded like music to Holly's ears. Her heart started racing as she stood frozen.How could anyone think straight after hearing such sweet words from someone they loved?Smiling, Holly looked up at Bryce and said, "Thank you for doing your best to make me happy."Snorting, Bryce nudged her cheek and eyed her teasingly. "You know, I'm beginning to realize that you don't have much of a romantic bone in you."Holly's smile faltered slightly. With a sheepish chuckle, she said, "I am rather unromantic. Yax once said that about me."Bryce smiled and asked, "What did he say?""He said I was a nice person, but I was too nice, so I also seemed rather boring. He told me to be more forward and provocative with my actions and behavior—that I should know when to be coy or docile. He said I needed to be shameless enough to resort to tricks if I had to."After a brief pause, Bryce said, "If you want to be more provocative, go ahead, but only when you're with me. Fe
Annie was stunned. "Goodness me! Are you some kind of genius?"Holly didn't think she was one—not when she couldn't even come up with something romantic to say to Bryce."Anyway, let's end the call here. I'll make a draft and give it to you tonight."Once again, Annie was shocked. "So soon?""Yeah."After ending the call, Holly went to her study. It had all the tools and supplies she needed for her restoration work.Richard loved collecting ancient scripts and paintings, but such historical pieces required a lot of maintenance. In the last few years, Holly was the one who maintained and restored them when needed.Bryce was the one who had someone prepare these tools for her.Holly retrieved a piece of parchment paper and dyed it with tea to age it a bit. Then, she got Leitia to help her prepare the paint.Once the parchment was dry, Holly picked up the brush and started recreating the painting from memory.Stanley's artwork exhibited his profound mastery over layering differe