Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Amnesia
When Julian Fordham stepped into the sterile room filled with disinfectant, Victoria Monroe was feeding porridge to the elderly lady.
"Grandma." Julian called softly, his voice hoarse.
Victoria glanced at him; he was neatly dressed, but his face looked thinner, and his complexion still appeared pale, with a hint of sickness.
In just a month’s time, a former lover had turned into a stranger.
The elderly lady looked at Julian, as if pondering, her once clear eyes now clouded, without any focus.
Julian leaned down, "Grandma, it’s Julian, have you forgotten me?"
The elderly lady repeated his words: "Julian."
"Yes, it’s me."
"Don’t remember."
Julian had learned from Assistant Prescott about her neural confusion in the brain. Not to mention recognizing people, she sometimes was not even aware of her bladder and bowel functions.
Victoria put down the bowl and carefully wiped the corners of her mouth with a tissue.
"Are you full?"
"Full, girl... he’s a bad person." She cautiously grabbed Victoria’s hand, looking at Julian.
She had forgotten everyone, except Victoria.
Julian felt uneasy facing this grandmother, "Grandma, don’t you recognize me either?"
"Leave!"
The elderly lady had some language impairment, unable to speak long sentences like before.
She expressed her opinion simply and directly, asking Julian to leave Victoria.
"Julian Fordham, you heard it too, Grandma doesn’t want to see you."
Now Grandma had forgotten all those grudges, and she didn’t need to put on a show in front of Grandma, she directly laid things flat.
"Victoria, I only wanted to see her."
"Now that you’ve finished, you should leave, shouldn’t you? Grandma cannot withstand any agitation, your presence here could affect her."
Julian’s lowered hand clenched tight, he opened his mouth, finally only responding quietly: "Alright, then take good care of Grandma."
Victoria ignored him, not even sparing him another glance.
As he left, Rhys Hawthorne came in, his arms holding a bouquet of fresh flowers.
Rhys greeted him politely: "Mr. Fordham."
Every gesture and action exhibited grace and cultivation, leaving no flaw to be picked.
Knowing well his intentions towards Victoria, yet from beginning to end he remained straightforward, leaving Julian feeling helpless as if punching into cotton.
Grandma’s eyes brightened upon seeing him, "Little Rhys."
Rhys bent down and placed the flowers on the bedside cabinet; only then did Julian notice there were already two bouquets in the room.
It indicated Rhys brought flowers every day to visit the elderly lady, Grandma treated Rhys differently from him.
Instead, he had become the redundant outsider.
While arranging the flowers, Rhys asked casually: "Grandma feeling better today?"
"Her appetite is good, and she’s got more energy." Victoria replied.
Julian clearly felt the shift in emotions between him and Victoria!
Victoria had grown accustomed to Rhys’ care, considering him one of her own.
Clearly, three years ago, Victoria only regarded him as a colleague, leaving without any personal emotions after filming.
But now... everything had changed.
As Julian exited the room, he felt his heart heavy and clogged.
If even Grandma was siding with Rhys, he truly had no chance.
Julian lit a cigarette, but the cold wind dispersed the smoke—unable to dispel the unease in his eyes.
He turned to Assistant Prescott, "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, this time everything is foolproof, but boss, aren’t you worried that announcing it without discussing with Madam might have the opposite effect?"
Currently, his relationship with Victoria was worsening, Victoria disliked his stubborn ways most.
"Three days later, it’s my birthday, make the announcement that night."
"Okay."
Julian took a deep look at the sanatorium, the biting cold wind freezing him down to the bones.
He was in such pain, how much better could Victoria be?
He was ultimately to blame for binding himself in such circumstances.
Shortly after Julian left, Victoria received a message from him.
Julian Fordham: [Three days later, I’ll be waiting for you at Aethelgard.]
Victoria looked at the sentence; how could she forget it?
They had agreed ten years ago, no matter what happened, to celebrate each other’s birthdays.
In ten years, they had never missed it.
Thinking of her imminent departure, Victoria replied with a single word: [Ok.]
The final dinner, let it be their farewell party for the divorce.
After replying, Victoria turned to Rhys, "Three days later, can you lend me a few bodyguards to accompany me to a dinner party?"
Rhys guessed it involved Julian; his voice deep, "Alright."
Victoria looked at her grandmother on the bed, her hands couldn’t stop trembling, Rhys handed her a carnation, she played with it curiously like a child.
Plucking the blossom off, she tried shakily to place it in Victoria’s hair.
Her hands were shaking so violently, she simply couldn’t manage to put it on.
A slender hand reached over, hooking the flower into Victoria’s hair.
Its joints brushed casually against Victoria’s auricle, causing tingling sensation.
Victoria lifted her gaze, her eyes meeting his.
Rhys’s lowered eyes lacked some aloof sharpness, instead harboring complex emotions she couldn’t describe.
The gaze made Victoria slightly uneasy; she quickly looked away and turned to ask Grandma: "Does it look beautiful?"
As a child, her family couldn’t afford hairpins, so she would fold seasonal flowers to wear in her hair.
Grandma’s smile overlapped with those times; she said joyfully, "Beautiful."
Victoria’s melancholy mood vanished, she shared a smile with her grandmother.
"Grandma, rest for another two weeks, then we’ll leave here, alright? You love flowers, we’ll find a quiet place and grow lots of them."
Grandma’s wrinkled hand held her, "Being with the girl, everything’s fine."
Though her plan was disrupted, after Grandma had faced two life-or-death battles, she only wanted to accompany her through these remaining days.
In the final ten days, she had many things to do.
Give the property transfer she hadn’t completed yet to a lawyer, fulfill the promise to Director Lancaster to join the first episode of the variety live broadcast—where she’ll be staying for a day as a guest.
And conclusively mark an end with Julian Fordham.
Three days later, heavy snow.
Victoria picked out a beautiful qipao, didn’t put on makeup, her hair was coiffed at the back fixed with a hairpin.
These days she had slimmed down quite a bit, wearing the qipao made her look more graceful and charming.
She traveled in the business car provided by Rhys to the designated place, holding a delicate box in hand.
It was a gift she’d prepared long ago.
For the last time, let her put an end to it.
Assistant Woods helped her with the car door, holding up a black umbrella, shielding her from the wind and snow.
Though Rhys didn’t come, Assistant Woods represented him, Julian couldn’t possibly touch Victoria anymore.
The entire restaurant was booked by Julian, Victoria followed the attendant to the private room door.
The door opened.
In the spacious room, roses were laid in a carpet that extended all the way to the terrace.
What an astonishing sight; the red of the roses stained by the white of the frost.
Amidst the swirling snow and wind, a man dressed in a suit sat before the piano, playing "One Step Away".
Just like the present distance between the two, one step away, is farewell.
In the mournful melody, Julian slowly turned to look at Victoria...