Chapter 379:
“You’re awake,” she had said, touching his forehead. “Thank goodness, the fever’s gone. I was so worried.”
But now, a stranger sat where she once had. The contrast struck him with such force it became hard to breathe.
Babette’s voice kept droning on and on. Brandon barely heard anything now.
“Enough,” Brandon interrupted, his voice hoarse. “Go home, Babette. I’ll be fine tomorrow.”
Babette wanted to protest but held back, seeing the state he was in.
“Alright. I’ll come by again tomorrow,” she said before giving a few instructions to the caregiver and then leaving.
And in the quiet, all Brandon could see were the fragments of his life with Millie—meeting her when they were young, falling for her, the days they had shared, and the moment she shut the car door today without looking back.
It seemed that illness made people vulnerable and sentimental. And tonight, Brandon was drowned in memory.
The night stretched on, thick with unspoken tensions.
Back at her apartment, Millie rinsed off the day’s exhaustion and slipped into a loose nightgown. She drifted onto the balcony, letting the mild May air cool her damp skin and tangle gently through her hair.
Her phone screen lit up, snapping her out of her reverie. A new message flashed on the display.
“This is Myron Elliott and here’s my number. Please save it.”
The wording was so stiff, so formal, she could practically see him hunched over his desk, pecking at each word as if composing an official memo.
Still, this wasn’t the message she’d been waiting for—not tonight.
A few quiet minutes slipped by before her phone buzzed again. Babette’s name appeared on the caller ID.
Millie hesitated, her thumb hovering, before finally picking up.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice soft but wary.
Babette’s voice crackled with anger. “Millie, Brandon’s in the hospital—he’s sick and all alone. Don’t you even care enough to visit?”
A faint crease formed between Millie’s brows. “Didn’t he mention anything to you?”
Babette’s irritation flared. “Mention what? Stop dodging.”
Millie hesitated, Derek’s face briefly flickering through her mind.
“It’s nothing,” she said, her voice flat.
Brandon probably just needed time before breaking the news of their divorce to the Watson family. Derek had shown her nothing but kindness throughout that doomed marriage, so she’d leave it to Brandon to explain. But if he dragged it out, she certainly wouldn’t cover for him.
“Millie, you…”
Millie cut in before Babette could get the words out. “I already know he’s sick. That’s enough. I have things to do.”
Without waiting for a reply, she ended the call. She wasn’t about to sit and take the blame for someone else’s mess.
Millie ignored the persistent ring of her phone and, with a swipe of her finger, blocked Babette’s number, effectively muting her latest attempt to get through. Settling back on the long chaise lounge, she let her gaze wander across the glittering city skyline, where windows burned with a thousand stories and the traffic below hummed on, undaunted by the late hour.
.
.
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