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

Chandler's plate, she noticed it only had a few plain strands of spaghetti-completely different from the hearty meal in front

but Chandler looked worn

After finishing his

sound of a razor followed 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, he looked more put-together, but the

frowned, "Of course

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stay here with you. I'm not going anywhere this time." With that, he pulled up a chair and sat by her bedside. Meryl thought, "Is he seriously just going

all night yesterday. He didn't even close his eyes. At the crack of dawn, he

true. Chandler's face was pale and drawn-

Chandler frowned, clearly annoyed by Walter's

Work makes me happy. Mr. Aniston, I'm volunteering for overtime-no need to

your year-end bonus. Now leave," Chandler

lit up, but he tried to maintain a calm 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

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

we talk?" Chandler asked, his gaze

you want to talk about? That you sorry for abandoning me to

was hidden in

feel

was in that car 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

as though she'd expected nothing less. "You had your reasons, and I understand. But every time you choose

welled up in Chandler's

being unreasonable, getting upset when her life was at stake. Over time, will you start to see me as

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your

"It doesn't matter. I'll never be

"Chandler, we're both good people. But instead of dragging this marriage to a point where we start to