A Second Chance at Forever (Eleanor and Bernard) novel Chapter 180

Hailey cried for a solid two hours, exhausting all her tears, before finally stopping. Eleanor smirked at her and said, "I always thought of Hailey as tough and resilient. I never knew you had a vulnerable side."

Hailey wasn't in the mood for jokes and asked bitterly, "Does Dr. Terrill know you can't see?"

Eleanor casually shook her head, "No. I don't want to bother her."

Hearing this broke Hailey's heart. She worried that Eleanor might believe she didn't have much time left and therefore didn't care about her loss of vision. Hailey looked into Eleanor's lifeless eyes, suppressing her overwhelming emotions, and asked hoarsely, "Eleanor, when did you start getting sick?"

Hailey had researched and knew that heart failure took a long time to progress to the end stage; it couldn't have happened suddenly. Eleanor's heart failure must have started before the Laurence family hurt her. Something must have occurred to cause such severe consequences.

Eleanor believed it was time to share some information with Hailey, so she wouldn't be completely clueless about how she would die.

So she held back her discomfort and gently told Hailey, “Do you remember when Jason kicked me twice five years ago?”

Hailey suddenly realized what she meant, "Were those kicks the cause of your heart failure?"

Eleanor nodded, “My unhealthy heart was damaged by his kicks. The doctors told me I would have heart failure and should protect my heart well, maybe I could last a few years. I guess I must not have taken good care of it, so my heart's condition worsened..."

Feeling Hailey’s tight grip on her hand, Eleanor patted her hand to signal her to relax before continuing:

“When I recovered in B City for a while, I wanted to tell you but you were always talking about killing Garett. So I didn't dare say it; also, I didn't want you to worry, so I never told you..."

Hailey understood that Eleanor's heart failure was Garett's fault and Bernard was now shortening her lifespan.

Her beloved Eleanor's short life was plagued by two men she loved, each hastening her demise.

After hurting her, both men vanished without a trace, not even leaving a word.

With a heavy heart, Hailey gently touched Eleanor's sweaty face and said, "You're drenched in sweat just from talking for a little while. I'll fetch some hot water to wipe you down."

Eleanor clenched her teeth and managed to respond, "Okay," before losing the energy to say anything else.

Hailey released her hand, picked up the kettle, and left the room. However, as soon as she stepped out, she collided with a pale-looking Jason. He appeared shaken and had red eyes, as if he had been standing there for a while.

Surprised, Hailey looked at him and asked in a cold tone, "Didn't you go back to B City? Why are you here?"

Jason didn't answer but raised his bloodshot eyes.

A sudden realization struck Hailey, and she exclaimed, "You heard everything Eleanor and I just talked about, didn't you?"

Mechanically, he nodded without uttering a word. Perhaps, now aware of the truth, he felt too ashamed to speak.