Chapter 315
\nI’ve Been There Before (Grace and Caden) novel Chapter 315<\/p>\n
Grace stood in front of the white door for a long time. Finally, she reached out and opened the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t eat.\u201d Payne lay on the bed, weak and haggard. These days, he had been anxious. The desire to live kept him struggling in pain.<\/p>\n
However, the pain was too much to bear. With days passing by, he grew increasingly desperate.<\/p>\n
He wanted to live, so he fought with the agony and the disease, dreaming to go back to the days when he could enjoy the luxury life had to offer and be carefree.<\/p>\n
Mrs. James cried every day. Payne couldn\u2019t bear to watch her like that. Then she got sick, too. Payne was a little relieved that he finally didn\u2019t have to be around her.<\/p>\n
Only the housekeeper would deliver food to him. Mrs. James hired the best nurses for her beloved son. They worked 24 hours a day and took turns to take care of Payne.<\/p>\n
Payne was fed up with this white room. When he had a clear mind, he would look out of the window. His eyes were no longer as bright as before.<\/p>\n
When the door was opened, he thought the housekeeper had come with food. The medicine and the chemotherapy cost him his appetite. Everything tasted bitter.<\/p>\n
Now he would only eat when he was starving.<\/p>\n
He was even too weak to speak.<\/p>\n
Naturally, he wouldn\u2019t bother to see who was coming.<\/p>\n
He just sat on the bed, pretending to enjoy the view outside the window.<\/p>\n
The he felt a shadow over him.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t want to waste his energy to check it out. Annoyance climbed onto his haggard face.<\/p>\n
Yes, he was annoyed. He hated to have others pity him. If possible, he would rather it be the other way around.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet out,\u201d Payne said in a weak voice, somewhat annoyed, \u201cI know I am sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it affecting your mind, too?\u201d<\/p>\n
Payne heard a woman\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
He froze, shocked.<\/p>\n
He slowly turned his head from the window to the bedside. In just 45 degrees, his expression changed dramatically.<\/p>\n
Staring at her for a long moment, he laughed self-deprecatingly, \u201cAre you here to check if I\u2019m dead?\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman remained silent. She pulled the chair beside the bed over and sat down. Glancing at Payne, she stood up, picked up a pillow from the sofa and put it behind Payne.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing? Are you pitying me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace looked at his sunken cheeks for a long time. It was hard to recall his handsome features. He changed so much that she couldn\u2019t recognize him.<\/p>\n
She stretched out and buttoned Payne\u2019s white hospital gown.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Payne pursed his pale lips with vigilance.<\/p>\n
Grace shook off his hand and then unbuttoned the shirt. Then a scar on his shoulder was exposed. The wound had healed, but the scar was nasty.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you remember how you got this?\u201d she asked, her voice hoarse.<\/p>\n
She stroked the scar. Payne wanted to dodge her hands as he felt the scar burning, his shoulders trembling.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re here for nostalgia, save it. I\u2019m dying. What\u2019s the point of reliving the past with a dying man?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace ignored his harsh words and continued to caress him.<\/p>\n
She continued, \u201cI grew up with Grandpa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you showing off? Grace, he is dead. You lost him forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
She ignored him again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to envy you.<\/p>\n
Mom and dad loved you. I was too young. I thought they didn\u2019t like me because I had done something wrong.<\/p>\n
So, I tried my best to be better than you for their attention.<\/p>\n
The truth is I\u2019m stupid. Grandfather said you were smarter than me, but I was not convinced. So, when you played, I studied. I didn\u2019t even know if it would work.<\/p>\n
I studied everything, thinking that it would make me outstanding, so that mom and dad would love me too.<\/p>\n
That was what I thought, and that was what I did.<\/p>\n
But later, as I became better and better, I discovered that they disliked me even more. Only then did I realize that \u2026 they never wanted me to be somebody.<\/p>\n
I was angry. You are their child. So am I.<\/p>\n
The anger kept me working like a stupid machine.<\/p>\n
I also told myself that it didn\u2019t matter if they could never love me, because I had Grandpa.<\/p>\n
He was the most important person to me.<\/p>\n
For a long time, the only thing that made me feel less useless was grandfather\u2019s approval. It let me taste the sweetness of love and care.<\/p>\n
At least I was not trash.<\/p>\n
Until one day, Grandpa said to me, \u201cYour brother was actually smarter and more talented than you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could feel his expectation towards you, and I realized that he did not bias me.<\/p>\n
But it didn\u2019t matter. He loved me. That was enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Payne was shocked at first, but then he was engrossed.<\/p>\n
Only Grace\u2019s hoarse voice could be heard in the ward. She told the story in a steady and slow pace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I hated you even more. You already got mom and dad\u2019s love. Why would you take away grandfather\u2019s love, too? That was all I had.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was like a bystander, telling another person\u2019s story.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you remember how you got the scar?\u201d She looked up at the brown scar, gently stroking it with her index finger.<\/p>\n
Payne was too weak, his face pale. After a long while, he said, \u201cI forgot\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace chuckled softly, \u201cWhen I was in primary school, I didn\u2019t tell anyone about our family and was bullied by the seniors.<\/p>\n
Then you discovered that. You dragged me into your bedroom, and you rudely took off my clothes to see my cuts and bruises.<\/p>\n
Payne, only then did I know that you had a knack for handling injuries.<\/p>\n
Then you chased me out of your room.<\/p>\n
I was afraid that you would tell grandfather about it, so he would be disappointed and look down on me.<\/p>\n
I was worried all day. But grandfather didn\u2019t blame me. Then I believed that you didn\u2019t tell him about it.<\/p>\n
For a long time afterwards, I went home with injuries every day, and you would treat them.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pressed her fingertips against the scar on Payne\u2019s shoulder. \u201cThis scar was the booty of a fight. You protected me against a bunch of hooligans. They cut you. After that, I felt something different about you. You were strong and would protect me.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was what he said.\u201d<\/p>\n
Payne couldn\u2019t believe what he heard.<\/p>\n
He suddenly looked up at her. Her face was as pale as his. In a trance, he saw the eighteen-year-old Grace. She used to be so confident and happy.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew what he was planning? But why did you care about him so much and even come back from Erhai Lake for him even after he was dead?\u201d asked Payne.<\/p>\n
Grace smiled gently, looking at Payne.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe meant the world to me. I knew his care came with a price. But I still cherished it. After he died, I learned the truth, but I continued to lie to myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would rather do that than to accept the fact that nobody loved me unconditionally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Payne was shocked. He used to hate her so much. However, after over a decade of separation, his heart ached so much for her.<\/p>\n
Grace didn\u2019t point out that he had broken his promise of protecting her, and that he only had had hatred and jealousy towards her. Payne closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
In the past few years, he had taken that scar as a normal scar.<\/p>\n
But it really hurt at this moment. He felt great pain.<\/p>\n
Grace stared at Payne whose cheeks were sunken and eyes were tightly closed in pain. Then she slowly took out the phone from her bag. There were many missed calls and messages.<\/p>\n
It was Caden.<\/p>\n
She tapped the screen and found that number. In fact, she had it memorized, so there should have been no need to find it in the contact app.<\/p>\n
She dialed that number. Seconds later, someone picked up the phone, \u201cHello, Ms. James.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it very difficult to find the right bone marrow for my brother?\u201d<\/p>\n
After a moment of silence, the other party answered like a robot, \u201cWe are still working on it. Miss James, we believe that as long as we do not give up, we will have a chance to turn the tables even at the last moment.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re so concerned about your brother. I believe there will be a miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace lowered her eyes. How rare was a miracle?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m calling today to formally inform you. There\u2019s no need to continue searching. We\u2019ve already found the right person.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReally? Impossible. We are the largest and the most authoritative organization in China. We won\u2019t miss any chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will pay the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not about money. Miss James, you didn\u2019t ask any illegal organizations for help, did you?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s against the law.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry. We won\u2019t do anything illegal. We will do this through a regular channel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow is that possible\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace did not want to say more and hung up the phone.<\/p>\n
Payne was astonished. He thought she was cold-blooded. Only then did he know that she had done so much for him, but she never talked about it.<\/p>\n
Payne felt sad and regretful. That was her. She never boasted.<\/p>\n
He recalled how his mother used to curse Grace from time to time.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace, I….\u201d He wanted to say something, but he couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cPayne, you will not die.\u201d She smiled and stood up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-1520","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/kampoengnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/1520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/kampoengnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/kampoengnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/kampoengnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}