Secrets Of The Neglected Wife: When Her True Colors Shine

Chapter 179: Allison, drifting in and out of consciousness, vaguely felt someones gentle hand brushing across her forehead, the cool touch of a damp cloth providing a fleeting moment of relief.

Dont go, she murmured, caught in the haze of a dream.

This time, it was a dream that took her back to those bleak years after shed fled the orphanage.

She relived being kidnapped, the overwhelming agony from the drug-induced stupor that stole her sight and plunged her into suffocating darkness.

Every sound became a harbinger of terror.

Then, out of the void, she saw a younger version of herself, being carried on the back by a shadowy figure a boy.

His face was obscured, but his struggle to carry her was palpable with each step.

Hey, whats your name? she asked, her voice faint in her memory.

A pause, then the scarred boy replied, Colton Stevens.

Alright, Ill find you one day.

It had been years since that memory resurfaced in her dreams.

Her heart, long numbed by the years spent with the Stevens family, now felt as though a part of it had been cruelly gouged out, as if the wounds of the past had been reopened.

Even in her exhausted state, her eyes too heavy to open, she could sense someone nearby.

A sigh of relief broke the stillness.

Finally, the fevers gone.

The strong yet calm voice seemed to blend with the boy from her dream, and for a fleeting second, they felt like the same person.

Gradually, Allison realized it wasnt her dreams shadow but Kellan, who had tirelessly cared for her.

He had been at her side, constantly replacing the damp cloths to cool her fever, his touch so deliberate as he gently moistened her parched lips with water.

His attention to even the smallest details left her with a sensation she was not used to safety.

first time in what felt like an eternity, Allison felt

thought back to those countless nights under the Stevens roof when she would lie alone in the cold bed, sick, or melancholic, staring blankly at the moon through her window, pushing her

a rare warmth beside her… Before long, the weight of her body pulled her into another deep sleep, as if she

found herself lying in the Lloyd

the frosted glass, casting a warm glow across

from the garden filled

sluggish, and

whispered, still half in

sleeping, her small hand

enough to

flicked open, and when she saw Allison conscious, she clutched her hand

her mouth to speak,

though, conveyed more than words could

Lorna, Allison murmured, gazing into

dawned on her that Lorna must have been terrified, afraid she would lose her just

melted away in the light

became aware of another presence in the room Kellan, slumped in a wheelchair

with exhaustion, the telltale sign of sleepless

words, but she smiled faintly, trying to offer some comfort to Lorna, who had been

took for Kellan, ever the light sleeper,

shot open,

Youre awake.

steady, carried the weight of

dry lips and swiftly reached for the glass

speak yet, he said softly, handing

Drink slowly.

Itll help your throat.

feel a little

pressed the call button, and within moments,

Lorna to

Alright.

when he saw Allison awake,

Mr.

Lloyd, Ms.