The Bound Between Us

Chapter 738

After Herman's accident, Anastasia found herself leaning heavily on the bottle. No matter where she went, a bottle of whiskey was her constant companion, offering solace with each painful sip.

What she didn't realize was that Rowan had lingered in Springfield too, quietly shadowing her every step. Meanwhile, Monica, worried sick about Anastasia, took a flight to Springfield, hoping to coax her back to Riverdale. The evening they reunited, Monica and Anastasia hit the town, drowning their sorrows in the neon-lit streets of Springfield. Anastasia poured her heart out, tears streaming freely, her usual poise nowhere in sight. "Let it all out, Ana," Monica whispered, "Cry until there's nothing left. Only then can you start to heal."

Tipsy and with unsteady hands, Anastasia peered through a haze of tears. "Monica, my heart is shattered. I can't find him. The rescue teams have given up. They say the last three missing were probably swept away by the mudslides, lost in the river-no hope left." Her voice broke as she continued, "Why didn't I just say yes and come with him that day? I should have been here with him."

"Nobody can predict these kinds of disasters," Monica reassured her, squeezing her hand. "Your mom begged me to bring you back. You can't stay here forever, Ana. What about the kids and the company?"

Anastasia, her voice laden with sorrow, replied, "If it weren't for the kids and my mom, I don't know how I'd go on. Every day without him is agony. I rely on pills and whiskey just to catch a few hours of sleep. Every night, I dream of him. I ask him when he's coming back. Doesn't he want me and the baby anymore?"

Monica wrapped her arms around Anastasia. "This will pass, Ana. Get some rest tonight. For all we know, Herman might come back to you."

Monica continued to console her until Anastasia drifted off, her exhaustion finally taking over.

Back at the hotel, Monica watched over Anastasia as she murmured Herman's name in her sleep, a soft sigh escaping her lips, feeling the weight of her friend's heartache.

of Herman again. It was a tender and unforgettable dream, one she wished she could stay in

Willowbrook, Herman had his own dreams. He saw a scene from years ago at Neon Dreams. The woman's face was a mystery, shrouded as if behind a veil, no matter how hard

Despite having been in Willowbrook

ready!" called a voice from downstairs. A man approaching sixty, with a warm smile, came up

Herman

longing for his deceased child made him embrace Herman as if he

QUMS

"Dad," Nicholas, even if just for

elmet

identity or the potential unraveling of this façade,

he was simply a

Herman replied, his

Nicholas's son. The documents backed their claim, yet everything felt alien, and

Herman had been recuperating in