Twisted Ties of Love (Izabella Salotti and Brett) novel Chapter 353

At that time, Izabella's hand was fractured by an ashtray, and it took nearly four months to recover. During the recovery time, she was dragged to the hospital to give blood to Kaley.

The memories and reality were too bleak, and he wanted to recall some happy days with Izabella but couldn't think of any. The only happy time he could think of was when Izabella lost her memory.

Those few months when Izabella lost her memory were probably the happiest days of his life. Brett thought of Izabella lying and laughing in his arms, and his eyes turned red and the blood in his mouth grew bitter.

It turns out that one will always pay the price for betraying someone's kindness.

"Liam...do you think Izabella would visit me if she knew I had lung cancer?"

Liam didn't expect that Brett would still be thinking about Izabella at this time. He hesitated and said, "President Windham, just forget about her; pretend she's really dead."

"But she's not dead..." Brett looked desperate, and he closed his eyes, with images of Izabella filling his mind. "Isn't that right?"

"But she doesn't recognize you, will never forgive you, and won't be with you again. What's the difference between that and her being dead?"

"But I can see her."

Liam sighed, unable to hide his fatigue.

Brett realized it too late; the one who loved him no longer did. There's a difference between never being loved and no longer being loved.

It's like a line in an Emily Dickinson’s poem, "I could have borne the darkness had I not seen the sun."

"Even if I die, she won't forgive me?"

Liam's eyes were a bit sore, and he turned his face away without answering.

Brett mumbled, "She said that she would only forgive me if I died once. I'm dying now; I have lung cancer. In such a short time, will she really not come back to me?" He closed his eyes, with tears streaming down his cheeks that wet his eyelashes.

Liam replied, "If you die, her forgiveness won't matter anymore, President Windham. Medical science is very advanced now, and there have been teams researching cancer for three years. If you undergo treatment properly..."

Brett interrupted him hoarsely, "If I undergo treatment properly, can I grow old with her?"

Liam's silence was the answer. Brett smiled bitterly, "Maybe I should have died long ago, in that car accident when I was five, in the icy water when I was twenty-one, or with Izabella when she was burned to death."

Brett choked up. He took painkillers, but the pain in his heart couldn't be relieved, no matter how many pills he took.

He swallowed a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood, looking at the withered old tree outside the window.

Brett never thought that Izabella would look at him so coldly one day. He knelt in the rain, and Izabella stood in front of him with an umbrella.

If she was like an emotionless robot three years ago, now she was like ice, and even his burning heart couldn't melt her.

"The moment I knelt down and begged her not to leave, all I could think of was her calling me 'Brett'. I felt like we had always been together, yet we had never been together. This is retribution, isn't it? Liam, tell me the truth; what would she do if I died?"

Liam pursed his lips, hesitated for a while, and said, "Maybe she would be very happy and very relieved, but she might also be sad."

"I don't want her to be sad; I want her to be happy. I hope to at least once truly bring her happiness."

"President Windham, aren't you going to tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

"About your illness and about you helping her."

Brett shook his head, "I won't tell her."

He smiled bitterly, suddenly understanding why Izabella didn't tell him she had stomach cancer back then.

When she liked him, she would care about him meticulously. But if she didn't like him anymore, nothing he did could touch her.

Back then, Izabella had no hope, and she wanted to live a peaceful life after the divorce, but he forcefully extinguished the spark of hope she had.

Liam didn’t have much experience with love and didn't really get it. But when he saw the pained expressions on Brett and Izabella's faces, even the warmest heart would be chilled. He'd rather be single for his entire life than have a love that painful.

The hospital room was filled with the smell of medicine. After Brett finished speaking, he closed his eyes and furrowed his brows, looking very uneasy. After a moment of silence, he coughed a few times and curled up in the blanket, shivering.

Liam quietly watched Brett and thought he looked a lot like Izabella back in the day.

In some ways, their personalities were quite similar - both reserved and proud. But Brett had an extra dose of arrogance compared to Izabella.

Honestly, Brett really wasn't a good guy.