A Second Chance At Forever novel (Eleanor and Bernard) novel Chapter 1478

It was Bernard who had bargained with the heavens, offering his own life in exchange for Eleanor’s. And now, as fate would have it, the powers that be hadn’t taken his life but had instead snatched away Eleanor’s memories. A fair trade, he reassured himself, for she had awakened.

Yet, despite his self-comforting thoughts, Bernard couldn't suppress a bitter chuckle. It was as if the past decade had been nothing but a lavish pipe dream.

Gazing upon her gaunt, pale face and bloodshot eyes, and the rueful smile that played upon his lips, Eleanor’s heart constricted, tightening in discomfort. She thought it was a cardiac issue at first and pressed her hand to her chest. The odd pang faded quickly, and in that moment, Garrett took the opportunity to gently push aside her other hand.

"Eleanor, your husband's back. You should chat with him; I’ll head off now and check in on you another day," Garrett said, his voice light yet tinged with concern.

As Garrett turned to leave, Eleanor, gripped by a sudden anxiety, called out to him, "Garrett, don't go. I don’t know him. Please don't leave me alone; I'm scared."

Those two words, "I'm scared," hit Bernard like a hammer to the heart, deeply embedded and immobilizing. It felt as though a rugged nail was piercing through his heart's chambers, unrelentingly claiming his life...

Bernard, who had been propped up against the hospital bed, finally lowered his heavy lashes to look at the fear-filled Eleanor beneath him. "You're afraid of me?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Eleanor wasn't afraid of him per se; it was the unfamiliarity that terrified her. But she didn't know how to express this, so she chose silence, even directing a plea for help towards Garrett with her eyes.

Bernard had never seen how she loved Garrett before, only heard her whisper his name in her sleep. Now, witnessing it firsthand, he felt all his convictions shattering.

His fingers, pressed against the bedsheet, curled into his palm. It was only when his fingernails cut into his skin, drawing blood, that he suppressed the pain and slowly sat up...

Embarrassed and despairing, Bernard looked at Garrett, "If she's afraid of me, then you should stay with her. I... I'll be going."

As he spoke, tears threatened to spill from his eyes. Perhaps afraid of being seen in such a state, Bernard pushed himself off the wall and staggered away.

Watching the retreating figure waver, Eleanor felt her heart ache anew. This time, the pain was clearly for Bernard. But she looked up at Garrett, whose face was etched with gravity, and she was sure—she loved Garrett. Memories might fade, but her feelings couldn't regress, could they?

Aidyn and Scott made to follow, but a raised hand from Bernard stopped them. They understood he needed some space and halted.

Bernard, bracing against the pain that threatened to shatter him, leaned on the hospital walls, each step more graceless than the last, until he emerged into the snow. The flakes had grown larger since his arrival, quickly blanketing the cold ground...

Standing at the hospital entrance, he looked up at the swirling snow and felt an overwhelming sense of solitude. It was a loneliness that seeped from within, unbearable, and the world before him started to blur.

As his tall frame fell backward into the snow, the pure white flakes settled like dandelion fluff upon his face, melting slowly upon his flawless cheeks.

Though clad only in a thin suit on this snowy night, Bernard felt no chill—perhaps his heart was cold enough to numb his senses.

Before consciousness fully slipped away, he gazed up at the snow-filled sky and whispered in his heart, "Eleanor, I don't think I can hold on much longer. If you ever remember me and I'm not here anymore, please don't blame me…"