Chapter 5
James didn’t understand the situation–he only saw Nathaniel’s desperate love for Riley,
Riley watched numbly as doctors carried the collapsed man to another bed. Her throat felt parched, unable to form words.
Who was truly torturing whom?
Who could see her pain?
She closed her eyes. Though just lying in bed, pain consumed her entire body.
Tears soaked the sheets as she silently begged for someone to save her before she died from this agony.
When Nathaniel regained consciousness, Riley was sitting in her wheelchair, red–eyed, watching him.
The moment he awoke, he grabbed her hand. “Riley!”
She finally spoke her first words to him: “I want to go home.”
Seeing she was no longer rejecting him, Nathaniel was overjoyed. He embraced her tightly. “Okay. Home. Let’s go home.”
Riley stared ahead blankly, not resisting.
Because of those words from Riley, Nathaniel didn’t even wait to recover before taking her home.
During discharge, he carried her in his arms from the hospital room all the way to the car outside.
Hospital staff commented that they’d never seen such a devoted man.
Yet despite being showered with such affection, Riley’s expression remained vacant.
Back home, Nathaniel gently placed her on the bed.
“The hospital was dreary, wasn’t it? Grandfather’s birthday celebration is the day after tomorrow. I’ll take you there–it’ll be good to get out.”
Riley didn’t speak, but didn’t refuse either.
Nathaniel sighed, stroking her head as he pulled her into his embrace.
Two days later, at the Blackwood family estate, the celebration was lively. Riley wore a green formal dress as Nathaniel pushed her wheelchair inside.
Many eyes turned toward her, but with Nathaniel present, no one dared comment.
Some thought Riley was fortunate–her disability had only made Nathaniel more attentive.
He cared for her meticulously throughout the event.
Riley remained quiet, speaking only when presenting her gift to his grandfather.
Colin This Tovic Rebirth Loop
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Chapter 5
“Grandfather Blackwood, I wish you prosperity and longevity.”
The elderly man, who had watched them grow up, looked at her legs and sighed before silently accepting the gift.
Riley knew that since her accident, she was no longer considered the ideal daughter in law for the family.
But Nathaniel was determined to marry her, even willing to break with his family. His extreme devotion had silenced anyone who might have tried to intervene.
Nathaniel had to attend to other guests and couldn’t stay with her continuously.
Riley was wheeled to the garden, watching the rising moon.
Since that day at Victoria’s house, everything in her world had lost its color.
Suddenly, she overheard voices from a nearby corridor.
“What’s so special about a cripple? Nathaniel has truly lost his mind.”
“Riley is so shameless, not canceling the engagement even in her condition.”
“She is beautiful though. Wouldn’t mind trying her once. If I tied her to a bed, she couldn’t even run away.”
The men’s vulgar laughter echoed through the corridor, making Riley feel ice–cold.
But the laughter was suddenly replaced by sounds of violence, followed by shouts:
“Nathaniel, stop beating them!”
Riley turned her wheelchair toward the commotion.
A crowd had gathered in the corridor. After overhearing those men insulting Riley, Nathaniel now had one pinned to the ground, beating him mercilessly.
Veins bulged on his forehead as he struck with full force, his hands covered in blood.
It took four or five men to pull him away.
He glared darkly at the barely conscious men: “Next time you dare speak like that, I’ll cripple you!”
Then he noticed Riley nearby and immediately approached her.
About to embrace her, he realized his hands were covered in blood.
He pulled back, accepting tissues from a servant to hastily wipe them.
“Riley, did I frighten you?”
In that moment, Riley glimpsed the eighteen–year–old Nathaniel.
Back then, he’d been untamed, nearly beating to death a boy who harassed her.
Yet he would still tenderly ask: “Riley, did I scare you?”
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I Died. He Cried Now We’re Stuck in This Toxic Rebirth Loop
Chapter 5
But then, his phone rang again.
His expression changed instantly. Without time to comfort her further: “Riley, I’ll have someone take you home. I need to handle something urgent.”
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