NovelEnglish
Chapter 194 Forever Was So Short
Josephine felt as though she was sleepwalking. She didn’t recall walking into City Hall or what she did
inside. She only knew that she was holding her copy of the divorce certificate when she exited the
building. Lewis had already driven off while she was still in a daze, leaving her there as it rained
heavily. She stared blankly at the document in her hand, feeling as though she had been living a dream
all this while, and he no longer wanted her now that she had awoken from it.
Standing underneath an awning, she watched as the sky poured heavily after having been cast aside
just like that. She didn’t cry, and it wasn’t because she couldn’t. The divorce certificate in her hand felt
surreal, to the point where she couldn’t tell if she was awake or dreaming. She walked over to a nearby
bench and sat down. A cold wind blew, carrying the raindrops under the awning and onto her face. It
was when she felt the chill in the air did it occur to her that it was already winter.
Elysium had a rainy winter season where there would be frequent downpours daily. She had missed
the arrival of the winter season while she was in a languid state. However, the void she felt reminded
her that she had missed much, much more than just that. She sat helplessly by the entrance to City
Hall, like an abandoned puppy, holding her divorce certificate. She didn’t even know where she could
go.
A black Volkswagen stopped in front of her a short while later, and a man rushed out of the car. “Why
are you sitting here all by yourself, Mrs. Alvarez?”
Josephine looked at him blankly. He looked familiar when she looked at him closely, but she couldn’t
remember who he was.
“‘It’s me, Dr. Halliday. Do you still remember me?” Seeing the vacant look on her face, he waved his
hand in front of her, but her eyes remained empty and confused. “You… don’t know who I am
anymore?”
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She stared at him for a long time but still couldn’t recognize who he was, so she weakly shook
her head to indicate such.
He sighed. “This isn’t good. Why has your condition deteriorated so quickly?”
He then rattled off. Her brows furrowed as she couldn’t understand anything he was saying.
Dr. Halliday paced in front of her as he babbled, “It must be because of the recent hunger strike, self-
harm, and the weight of your grief that has aggravated your illness. How about you come to the
hospital for a checkup?”
The hazy look in her eyes faded slightly at this-was he talking about her? A hunger strike, self -harm…
why didn’t she remember any of it? Looking down at her wrist, she noticed the white bandages around
it had been stained a bright red that was quickly becoming a red cloth. Blood transferred onto her
fingernails when she gently touched the dressing. As though wanting to
confirm what she was seeing was real, she started undoing her bandages, bearing the pain as she
removed them.
A gruesome sight appeared before her eyes. The cut was deep and exposed her flesh. It had been
filled with some sort of powder, which had turned into a paste because of the fresh- flowing blood. It
wasn’t hard to imagine that the cut was from something sharp. Did she really slit her own wrist? Why
did she do something like this?
Glancing at her, Dr. Halliday was shocked to see her staring vacantly at her wound. He hurriedly went
up and squatted down in front of her. “Why did you remove your bandages, Madam? It will get
infected.” He chastised as he patted his breast pocket and thankfully found a roll of bandages.
He held her arm and rebandaged it before looking up at her with a conflicted expression on his face.
He opened his mouth but didn’t say anything, looking as though he was struggling over where to start.
“Do you still remember what illness you have?”
Josephine shook her head-she had no memory of this.
He heaved a long and heavy sigh and was pensive for a moment before he explained, “You have a
mental illness called Alzheimer’s. That’s why you don’t remember a lot of things. Don’t you have a
notebook? Where is it?”
She lowered her head and looked around-what notebook?
He contemplated saying more, but observing her current state; he realized it would be pointless as it
was likely she wouldn’t remember any of it. “I’ll send you home. Let’s go.” He decided that he would
inform Lewis of this once upon arrival; otherwise, it would be too late.
Her thoughts were an even bigger mess as she stood up and mechanically got into Dr. Halliday’s car.
He sped the entire drive to the villa. She exited the vehicle and was about to run. into the villa like she
usually would when the doors slammed shut with a bang, locking her out. She stood at the door and
was at a loss.
“Mr. Alvarez doesn’t know about your condition, Madam. Let me talk to him.” Dr. Halliday walked up to
her side and awkwardly said as he raised a hand and rang the doorbell.
A middle-aged woman opened the door a short while later instead of Lewis.
“Who are you looking for?”
“I’m here to see Mr. Alvarez. Is he not here?”
The woman, Fiona, looked him up and down before shaking her head. “Mr. Alvarez told me he won’t be
coming back to the villa at all and has asked me to clear it out. Oh, right. Are these yours, Madam? He
said I can throw them out if you don’t come back to collect them.” She opened the door wider as she
said this and showed them a pile of things in the corner. She had a guilty look on her face as she had
swiped a few things while packing up Josephine’s
belongings and was worried that they would find out.
Dr. Halliday stole a glance at Josephine’s face but couldn’t detect any changes in her usual pale
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“T-Then, will Mr. Alvarez be returning?”
“I’ve already told you he’s not. This villa will be sealed off once I’m done clearing it out,” Fiona replied.
“So soon?”
“Don’t ask me. I’m just here to do my job. Mr. Alvarez’s things are still here as well. Do you want to help
him take them as well?”
Dr. Halliday turned toward Josephine to ask for her opinion, only to find she had already walked inside.
She stood before the large, messy pile. Fiona had haphazardly thrown her belongings into a bag
without much care, resulting in Josephine’s clothes and jewelry becoming entangled, resembling a
heap of discarded items.
Dr. Halliday couldn’t help sighing again as he stared at her dejected figure. What was happening? He
didn’t quite know what had occurred over the past two days, but he could tell Lewis didn’t want a
divorce. After much difficulty, Josephine had finally forgotten her sorrows, but then Lewis divorced her.
It was hard not to sigh at such a twist of fate.
The fact tha
it was truly over between Lewis and her finally registered in her mind as Josephine stared at the pile of
familiar objects. The divorce certificate was proof of the end of the 20 years they had spent together.
Lewis had promised to take care of her forever on their wedding day… but it turned out forever was so
short.
Unaware of the events that transpired in recent days, a relentless ache filled her heart as she gazed
upon the heap of her possessions. The previously familiar villa now seemed estranged to her. The
raindrops tapping on the windowpane, the willow trees dancing in the breeze, the overhead luminance
—all appeared alien to her. Even the discarded pile of belongings seemed to taunt her, insinuating that
her short-lived, unapproved union with Lewis was akin to a worthless and unsightly heap of rubbish.
Standing by the entrance, Dr. Halliday decided to give Lewis a call after some contemplation. He
looked up his number and took a deep breath before dialing it.
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