The Day Our Promise Breaks

Chapter 560

Eighteen hours. That was how long the surgery lasted.

The surgeons removed the charred, necrotic tissue from Charles's thigh, managing, for now, to save his left leg.

But from the very top of his thigh, much of the muscle had to be excised to stave off infection.

What had once been a powerful, sculpted leg was now pitted and disfigured, stripped of its former strength.

This was the conservative treatment plan Charles had chosen himself.

He knew the odds of saving his leg this way were vanishingly slim.

He knew, too, that for the next months he would endure a pain few could even imagine.

Months of agony, only to likely lose the leg in the end. Amputation would probably be inevitable.

But still, Charles chose to try.

He wasn't afraid of pain. What terrified him was being left incomplete-becoming someone unworthy of saying he loved Evelyn, unworthy of her.

One month later.

Hospital room.

The doctor came in to clean Charles's wound.

Layer by layer, the gauze was peeled away, exposing the raw, bloody flesh of his thigh.

So much muscle had been lost, the wound needed daily cleansing and

sterilization to prevent infection and give what little hope there was for muscle regrowth.

Every cleaning was a kind of torture.

Just as he had every day for the last month, Charles's hospital gown was drenched in cold sweat.

whole time, he bit down on his lip, enduring in

was slow-the muscle loss was

least, there was no

help him clean up and change out of his soaked

with gray. After Ms. Josephine's words to him, the light in Charles's eyes

now, he'd seemed hollow, as

her it was you who saved her and Ms.

once, Evelyn had

life for her

hoped for-maybe

she'd come, even if only to sit by Charles's side for a

Jenkins wanted

wouldn't seem

shot Aiden a cold, forbidding

Absolutely not.

was

her and Ms. Josephine was simply what I ought to do," he

use the debt of a life saved to trap Evelyn into doing something she

one last time, Aiden.

"Yes, Mr. Jenkins."

not

these are

for today," Aiden

for today," Aiden

as he

papers.

of them

hospital bed, Charles worked through

took a video conference

Aiden returned

leaned back against the pillows and pulled his

one daily