Secret Admiration: Finding True Love After Prison

Chapter 700 Life Was Long

Meryl's gaze settled on the shadow cast by the kitchen light onto the floor. The room was dark, but that faint glow brought a touch of warmth. She brushed back a strand of hair. "Is she... okay?"

She was asking about Rachel. Chandler froze for a moment mid-action. He always knew Meryl was kind, but even after all she'd been through, it surprised him that she still cared about Rachel's well-being at a time like this.

She could have yelled at him, thrown things, lashed out in anger. Instead, the moment he walked in, she chose to swallow her emotions, close her eyes, and pretend to be asleep. He thought, "What a foolish woman."

A pang of guilt flickered in Chandler's eyes. As he spoke, his hands moved deftly, chopping the washed ingredients and arranging them neatly on a plate. "She just got out of surgery, but she's not out of danger yet. She's in the ICU now. Whether she makes it or not depends entirely on her own will."

He'd only caught a brief glimpse of Rachel when she was wheeled out of the operating room. She looked so fragile, still unconscious, before the medical staff rushed her into the ICU.

Rachel was under strict monitoring for vital signs. Chandler heard that only one or two out of a hundred ICU patients ever walked out alive. Most of them were like "the living dead", Chapter 700 Life Was Long

barely responsive, relying on machines to cling to life.

Meryl was stunned. She thought, "Rachel is in critical care?"

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She'd heard terrible things about the ICU-that being alive there could feel worse than dying. You never knew when the patient in the next bed would take their last breath. And the worst part? Every single bed was filled with people in that state. "Why would someone go so far as to take her kidney? Who's behind this?" Meryl asked.

Chandler's expression darkened. "It's a criminal syndicate. The police are interrogating them, but they're tight-lipped. They refuse to reveal anything about who's pulling the strings."

Meryl was silent for a moment. Chandler added, "Their methods were brutal-something you'd only expect when dealing with a sworn enemy."

That was what puzzled Chandler the most. He thought, "Rachel is just a vulnerable young woman. She has spent most of the past few years abroad. What kind of grudge could they possibly have against her to go to such extremes?"

Meryl didn't respond. The sound of cooking filled the air, and before long, Chandler brought out a steaming plate of spaghetti. But this wasn't just any plate of spaghetti-he'd thrown in every nutrient-rich ingredient he could think of.

On top, there was a perfectly fried egg, golden and crispy around the edges, enough to make anyone's mouth water. Chandler

Chapter 700 Life Was Long

propped up the small dining table and handed Meryl a fork. "Try it. If it doesn't taste good, I'll make you another one."

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up another plate for himself and started wolfing it down. Meryl frowned and thought, "Has he not eaten all

a few plain strands of spaghetti-completely different from the hearty

two days since she'd last seen him, but Chandler looked worn

a towel. After finishing his food, Chandler headed straight for the bathroom, stripping

The kind of weariness that came from deep within. When Chandler emerged, freshly showered and dressed in clean pajamas, he looked more put-together, but the red veins in his eyes stood out even more. Walking up to Meryl, he asked softly, "Can I

"Of course

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"Then you sleep. I'll stay here with you. I'm not going anywhere this time." With that, he pulled up a chair and sat by her

even their murmured conversation could be heard outside the door, where Walter hadn't left yet. "Mrs. Aniston, Mr. Aniston stayed by your hospital bed all night yesterday. He didn't even close his eyes. At the crack of dawn, he rushed out to save someone. If he stays up another night,

face was pale and drawn- the look

are you still doing here?" Chandler frowned, clearly annoyed by

love my job. Work makes me happy. Mr. Aniston, I'm

year-end bonus. Now

expression. "Yes. I'll leave right away and make sure not to disturb you two." Meryl wondered, "Did Chandler really stay by my bedside all night yesterday?" She couldn't be sure, but Walter didn't seem Chapter 700 Life Was Long like the type to lie

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the other half of the bed. She thought, "Maybe it won't

talk?" Chandler asked, his gaze steady

looked up. "What do you want to talk about? That you sorry for abandoning

face was hidden

feel

accident? Or is it that, if you could do it all over again, you'd still choose to save her a hundred times over?" Chandler replied,

Meryl's lips curved into a bitter smile, as though she'd expected nothing less. "You had

welled up in Chandler's

stake. Over time, will you start to see me as a burden? Will you grow to resent me for not being $ more

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your

him, "It doesn't matter. I'll never be priority, Chandler. And that's not something

her tone calm but resolute. "Chandler, we're both good people. But instead of dragging this marriage to a point where we start to hate each other, let's