When Her "Death" Couldn't Break Him (Cecilia and Nathaniel)

Chapter 2091

Brycen straightened, vitality radiating from him. "Your mother and I feel better by the hour. After we go home for the holidays, I doubt we'll need to set foot in this ward again."

Denise watched the way Brycen and Calliope tried to smile, their skin stretched thin and colorless beneath the fluorescent glow. She could see through the brave fronts, knew every upbeat word was a lie they told for her sake.

Even so, in this fragile pocket of warmth, she refused to call them out. Some illusions, she decided, were worth protecting.

"Mm," Denise murmured, letting the single note linger like a promise. "That's wonderful."

Brycen opened his mouth, meaning to ask the young man who exactly he was and how he had appeared in his daughter's life, but the question remained suspended in the antiseptic air.

"Let's head back to the place I rented first. The ward is far too small, and there isn't a proper corner to rest. Once we're settled, I'll make dinner, and you can take your time talking with Magnus."

"All right, all right. Of course," Brycen said, relief loosening his shoulders.

Both parents nodded again and again, like children granted unexpected freedom.

In truth, they were desperate to escape these corridors. Every beeping monitor reminded them of frailty.

Yet, their conditions were grave. Staying away from medical supervision for too long could cost them their lives, a fact Denise carried inside her like a stone.

them through nearby streets, letting sunlight and shopfront

needs and flagged down a roomy van, its doors

as her parents climbed inside. "I

squeeze," Magnus answered. "Four of us shoulder-to- shoulder isn't comfortable, so I swapped it for something

really," Denise said, the words hushed

friends. No need for ceremony," Magnus replied, a quick grin softening the

firm nod, gratitude swelling until it pricked her

at a quaint guesthouse tucked among whispering pines. Its stone path, flowering shrubs, and warm lights immediately eased the tension in Brycen and Calliope's

place is lovely," Calliope breathed, turning slowly as

for precisely that reason, to show them she was safe,

your health is back on track, we'll all live here together," she

"Oh, sweetheart," Brycen said,

home, raise a couple of pigs and some chickens, and plant vegetables. By the time. you come back for the New Year, everything will be ready

blurred Denise's vision. She blinked hard. Her parents had spent their entire lives working uncomplainingly, their dreams no bigger than fresh food

severe in the first place. However, because of their frugality, they refused to seek medical treatment earlier, resulting in the delay that worsened their

drugs and relentless chemotherapy were the ropes keeping them tied

earn more money, Mom and Dad wouldn't have ended up in

voice thick, turning away so