Chapter 1758

The hospital corridor stretched empty.

Debra walked to the morgue with a heavy heart. In her hospital gown, she felt cold all over, hesitating at the door.

Her parents adored her as a kid. But they loved each other more, always off traveling.

She stayed at the Potter Mansion. It felt more like home. Andrew was her world.

She had clung to him, loving his scent. She would often nuzzle in, begging for stories. This text is hosted at Find[ɴ]ovel.net

As a prodigy, he was swamped with global lessons. But he never showed his exhaustion, just smiling and reading to her.

Those days were pure bliss, but things didn't last.

She was no longer her old self, and he was lying there lifeless. He could never smile at her again.

"Mrs. Houston, it's time," Barton said, stepping up.

She silently stared at the shroud. Barton signaled the staff to wheel it out.

It passed her, but she didn't look back.

"Take care."

"I will."

Andrew had done all those things to make sure she could live well without him.

He had toughened her through countless trials. She had faced death and storms. Nothing could scare her anymore.

At the funeral, all the important figures showed up.

Debra stood in the cemetery in black, with a white flower pinned to her chest.

Andrew's photo, a black-and-white shot from when he was 17, sat on the tombstone. He'd picked it out long ago.

Erica hovered, scared she'd break. Debra didn't.

She stood there like a doll, shedding no tears and showing no pain.

That worried Erica more. Randy shook his head, knowing some knots didn't untie easily.

Marion stayed close, holding an umbrella as snow fell, blanketing the graveyard white.

By afternoon, the crowd thinned. Debra lingered at the tombstone.

"Marion," she muttered. "Do you think he saw me as a burden?"

"He didn't," Marion replied.

"Then why did he stop coming to see me after that kidnapping?" Debra stared at the photo on the tombstone.

It felt like Andrew was still there smiling at her.