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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plate for himself and started wolfing it down. Meryl

strands of spaghetti-completely different from the hearty meal in front of her. For a moment, she didn't know what

seen him, but Chandler looked worn out. Even his

long, Walter walked in, bringing clean clothes and a towel. After finishing his food, Chandler headed straight for the bathroom, stripping off

by running water. Her gaze drifted to the window. Her eyes stung with unshed tears. Chandler didn't need to say anything she could feel how exhausted he was. The kind of weariness that came from deep within. When Chandler emerged, freshly showered and dressed in clean pajamas,

frowned, "Of course

1

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crossed Chandler's face, so brief it almost seemed imagined. "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

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, I don't think his

true. Chandler's face was pale and drawn- the look

you still doing here?" Chandler

Aniston, I'm volunteering for overtime-no need to pay me extra,"

your year-end bonus. Now

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 about

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at the other half of the bed. She thought,

you're not sleepy, can we talk?" Chandler asked, his gaze steady on

want to talk about?

was

feel

I was in that car accident? Or is it that, if you could do it all over

"You had your reasons, and

up in Chandler's

Over time, will you start to see me as a burden? Will you grow to resent me for

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your

be priority, Chandler. And that's not something I can live

good people. But instead of dragging this marriage to a point where we start to hate each other,