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.

felt like an eternity,

countless nights under the Stevens roof when she would lie alone in the cold bed,

beside her… Before long, the weight of her body pulled her into another

she found herself lying in the Lloyd

frosted glass, casting a warm

roses from the garden

her movements sluggish, and felt the weight

she whispered, still

her, Lorna lay sleeping, her small hand nestled next

quiet murmur was enough to

and when she saw Allison conscious, she clutched her hand with

her mouth to speak,

more than words could ever express pure,

Lorna, Allison murmured, gazing into the eager,

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

melted away in

presence in the room Kellan, slumped in

exhaustion, the telltale sign of

she smiled faintly, trying to offer some comfort to Lorna, who had been her steadfast

movement was all it took for Kellan, ever the light sleeper,

open, immediately locking onto

Youre awake.

steady, carried

for the glass of

he said softly, handing her

Drink slowly.

Itll help your throat.

still feel a

button, and

take Lorna

Alright.

and when he saw Allison awake, his face lit

Mr.

Lloyd, Ms.