A Second Chance at Forever novel (Eleanor and Bernard)

After lingering by the hospital room for what seemed like an eternity, Peterson mustered the courage to pull up a chair beside the bed and slowly took a seat.

The moment he sat down, their eyes inevitably met. Starry, feeling the weight of the moment, cast her gaze downward, unable to meet his stare. Peterson, however, reached out, gently grasping her wrist. "You're divorced now, do you want to be with me?"

Starry's eyes welled up with tears as she looked down at his slender fingers resting on her wrist. Touched by his offer despite her broken state, she wondered how she, a divorced woman with a child, could possibly deserve a man like Peterson, who'd never even been touched by scandal.

"Peterson." Her voice was light, almost teasing as she pushed his hand away.

"I think it's better if I just stay your little sister."

was a clear refusal, as if she

always seen you as a brother, so even if your mother hadn't pressured me into marriage, you and I could

searching for a

a long silence, Peterson nodded slightly, letting go of her wrist. He straightened his suit and rose from the chair,

Peterson walked away, Starry covered her face, crying uncontrollably. She knew

her own career and, with her sister-in-law Faustina's help, she soon left the heartache behind Starry and Peterson's paths, which had seemed to run parallel, never to cross again, intersected unexpectedly at

the room. When she declined, suggesting he wait for medical help, he pulled her

looked deep into her eyes. "That day, you said you didn't want to be with me, and yet you cried after I left. It's clear you feel unworthy because you've been married and have a child. But, Starry," he said, taking her chin in his hand, drawing her closer, "I don't mind at all. I would even treat your daughter as my own. All you have to

scent of alcohol mixed with the fresh fragrance from his shirt, the love Starry had kept hidden for years surged