Mrs. Watson seemed to be imagining how Joe was when he was alive while speaking. Some people
found it hard to accept the truth when they were in pain because the only way to escape was to imagine.
Maisie didn’t interrupt her because she looked as if she was talking about her son’s daily life, but while
she spoke, she suddenly started laughing while tears still fell, choking back her words.
Ryleigh walked in at that moment, carrying an old box in her arms.
Maisie looked at her.
Ryleigh stopped in front of Mrs. Watson, gave a pale smile, and handed the box to her. “Ma’am, these
are all books that Joe lent to me from the library, but I never returned them to him. The books in the
school would disappear, and Joe would get interrogated by the teacher. In the end, he was banned from
entering the library.”
She said that and then smiled, but the smile was uglier than crying. Mrs. Watson smiled too. She walked
over and took the box, and they both started crying uncontrollably.
Ryleigh walked forward and hugged Mrs. Watson. “I’m sorry, Ma’am, it’s all my fault. I’m sorry.” The sun
shone on the corridor while the two hugged each other, releasing their sadness and pain.
One month later…
Helios went to wedding dress stores with Barbara to try out some wedding dresses. Maisie and Nolan
followed along.
They booked the entire store, and there were only four of them in the huge store. The store manager
served them personally, giving the best service.
Barbara picked one with a corset, but Maisie looked at it and thought that something was off. “You’re
pregnant now, so I don’t think a corset would be good.”
“But I like how it looks.” Barbara was very much in love with the dress she was holding. Maisie thought of
something, then walked to the manager and whispered something into her ear. The manager smiled. “Of
course we
can.”
The manager walked toward Barbara. “Mrs. Boucher, we can alter the corset so that it won’t hurt the
baby.”
Barbara was surprised when the manager addressed her as Mrs. Boucher because she wasn’t used to
it, but she handed the dress to the manager with a smile.
The two men sat waiting outside on the couch. Nolan flipped through a magazine while Helios waited
excitedly to see how Barbara looked in a wedding dress. Nolan looked at him being nervous, and he
spoke from experience. “We’ll be here for at least two hours.” Helios laughed. “You’ve definitely done this
before.” Nolan closed the magazine and placed it on the table. Maisie pulled the fitting room curtains
apart, and Barbara was there in her favorite dress.
The layers of the ball gown were nicely separated and shone like crystals. The corset was altered so it
wasn’t too tight around the belly. It was just the second month of the pregnancy, so it wasn’t noticeable. It
still made her look slim.
The top was an off-shoulder with chiffon sleeves to make her arms look slim. There was lace at the
bottom of the sleeves.
Maybe because of the pregnancy, she looked gentler and more elegant.
Helios walked toward her and stopped in front of her. Barbara was curious as to why he kept staring.
“Does it look funny?”
He stared at her. “No, it looks great.”
Barbara looked down and couldn’t help but smile.
Helios tilted her chin upward. “I wish this was our wedding.” Barbara put her hand on his chest, pushed
him gently, and whispered, “There are
people here.”
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