A Second Chance at Forever (Eleanor and Bernard) novel Chapter 129

"I don't quite know how you feel about Ms. Shultz…"

With concern about her potential analytical mistake, Liana summoned the courage to ask.

If Bernard doesn't care about Eleanor, then Liana's keeping the lie about her illness is understandable.

But if Bernard genuinely cares about Eleanor, then he will likely blame Liana when he discovers the truth.

Liana hoped to get a clear answer from Bernard, so it could help her decide whether to tell him the truth.

While Liana was racking her brain, Bernard put down his phone and raised his glass for a sip of wine.

His demeanor suggested to Liana that he might not care about Eleanor as much as she thought.

"To me, she's just someone to satisfy my physical needs."

Bernard's answer hinted to Liana that his concern went no further than that.

So, Liana finally understood how Bernard thought of Eleanor.

She'd assumed, because of how he rushed to take Eleanor to the hospital and then brought her back home for care, that he liked her to some extent.

Turns out it was just a matter of meeting his physical need.

That's probably why he hadn't switched a sex partner in five years, she thought.

Of course, Liana knew that Eleanor was the woman by Bernard's side; she just hadn't met her before.

She had believed that Bernard's reluctance to change partners in all this time was because he genuinely liked Eleanor.

Now it dawned on her—men and women could view relationships differently. Some guys might care more about fulfilling their physical needs, rather than actually liking someone.

This mindset seemed especially emphasized in Bernard, a man with severe obsessions. Once he found a woman who he could accept, he wouldn't let her go so easily.

With the door half opened, sounds from the conversation outside reached Eleanor's ears and made her disgusting.

Hearing Bernard's footsteps, Eleanor quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

As Bernard entered the room, he noticed Eleanor's closed eyes but also saw that her eyelids were slightly quivering. He knew she was faking sleep. His usually cold eyes softened a bit.

He set the soup bowl down on the nightstand and took a seat on the couch next to her, as if to watch how long she could keep up her act.

Eleanor guessed that he might have realized she was pretending, so she clenched her teeth and looked at him.

Her eyes were big, seemingly capable of containing the entire night sky.

In that moment of eye contact, he unconsciously looked away.

He casually picked up the bowl, stirring it spoonful by spoonful to cool it down before handing it to Eleanor.

"Open your mouth."

Eleanor stared blankly at him for a moment, not quite realizing who was helping her cool down the soup and even feed it to her—it was Bernard himself.