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."

down, but her gentle, distant tone was a clear refusal, as if she

if your mother hadn't

peered into her smiling eyes, searching for a lie, but

a long silence, Peterson nodded slightly, letting go of her wrist. He straightened

crying uncontrollably. She knew her decision was right. A

cross again, intersected unexpectedly at a cocktail party where someone had laced Peterson's drink with a potent substance. At the party, Starry was also present. Through the crowd, Peterson's eyes

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

I left. It's clear you feel unworthy because you've been married and have a child. But, Starry," he said, taking

the fresh fragrance from his shirt, the love Starry had kept hidden for