Chapter 715:

🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙

William tightened his grip on Renee, as though he feared she might fall.

Softly, he asked, “Where’s your room?”

“It’s just up ahead, the third door,” Renee directed.

William carried her outside Ernest’s hospital room, moving towards hers with deliberate, careful steps.

Once they entered, he gently eased her onto the bed and slowly removed his hands. He then sat beside her, his gaze fixed on her injured leg, his concern palpable.

“Is it still hurting?” he asked, his voice trembling with worry.

Renee looked at him, a mix of emotions swirling within her. She shook her head slightly and said, “It’s not so bad now.”

Her voice was soft, almost as if she were careful not to disturb the fragile quiet of the moment.

William, however, wasn’t convinced. He gently probed the edge of her bandage and spoke in a hoarse voice, “With swelling like this, how can you say it doesn’t hurt? I’m sorry, this is all my fault. My phone broke, and I missed your calls…”

Regret was evident in his eyes as he spoke.

He remembered the night of her accident. He had been at the bar, drinking. By the time Renee tried to reach him for help, his phone had broken, and he didn’t even think to call her back using Denton’s phone. She must have felt so helpless at that moment—alone in the dark, frigid mountains, with no lights around, and she had tumbled down a cliff, utterly hopeless and in despair.

A tear slipped from William’s eye, landing on the bandage.

Renee blinked, wondering if her eyes were deceiving her. But then another tear fell.

William was crying.

More content at gαℓησν𝑒ℓs․cøm

He looked up, his eyes red and filled with sorrow.

“You…” Renee gasped, at a loss for words.

He wiped away his tears, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “I’m so sorry…”

Ryder was seriously frustrated. It seemed like he had forgotten something important, but no matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t figure it out. The mind of a teenager trapped inside an adult’s body…

The one good thing about this situation was that he could enter a bar unchallenged! He could stride in confidently without being stopped. Before, his father would always lecture him whenever he wanted a drink.

When Ryder walked into the bar, he saw Veda at the counter and made a beeline for her. Veda had just arrived and was taking a sip of her drink when she saw Ryder coming toward her. In the soft, dreamy glow, his face was blurred, just like how he always appeared in her dreams. Unintentionally, Veda gripped her glass tighter.

Ryder pulled up a stool next to her, flashing a smile. “Hey, fancy seeing you again!”

His smile and greeting snapped Veda out of her reverie.

Indeed, the Ryder before her had lost his memory and believed he was only fifteen. That would be the only reason he’d be smiling at her like that.

“What brings you here?” Veda asked, taken aback.

Ryder signaled the bartender with a jovial tone. “I’ll have whatever she’s having.”

Veda quirked an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

“What? You think I can’t handle it?” he retorted.

.

.

.