“Jane broke your heart, man. You can’t seriously still be into that heartless woman, right?”
“Enough! I’m not in love with her. I’m marrying Kelly. She’s the only one I love.”
The crowd looked at each other in disbelief. Anyone could see that Simon was out of sorts, but none of them said anything …
Upstairs, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I quickly returned to bed and shut my eyes, though my tightly furrowed brows betrayed my unease.
The door creaked open. Simon entered quietly, stepping softly. He knelt beside my bed and he reached out his hand. It seemed he wanted to feel my forehead.
However, I snapped my eyes open and tilted my head, avoiding his touch.
Seeing the hollowness in my eyes and how distant I was toward him, Simon’s heart clenched.
His hand hovered mid-air for a long moment before slowly falling to rest on the edge of the bed. With a gentle voice, he said, "Janey… don’t be afraid. Those men are gone. I took care of them. No one’s going to hurt you again.”
I didn’t respond to him. My gaze stayed locked on the ceiling, blank and unreachable.
“Please…” Simon’s voice cracked. “Janey, I’ll find the best doctors. I swear I’ll help you speak again. However, please… don’t shut me out like this.”
He sounded so heartbroken and humbled, his voice trembling with unshed tears.
At last, I moved. I raised my finger and pointed to the door. Without making any sound, my mouth formed the words, “Get out!”
Seeing this, Simon knew I didn’t want him there.
When I saw him standing frozen in place, my control snapped. I grabbed an object on the table and hurled it toward Simon.
“Okay! Fine! I’ll go!” Simon was too worried sick about upsetting me, about making me even more ill, so he backed out of the room. I could see it through his eyes that it broke him to do so.
Over the next few days, Simon stayed by my side almost around the clock, tending to my every need.
One evening, after seeing that I appeared calm and composed, Simon gently brought up the topic of our wedding. “The ceremony is in three days,” he said cautiously. “I’ve taken care of everything. You won’t need to worry about a thing. You just need to show up and be the most beautiful bride in the world.”
I didn’t say anything. I just lowered my head and took a small sip from the glass of milk in my hands.
Simon let out a quiet sigh of relief, “You didn’t say no, so I’ll take that as a yes… my bride.”