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Chapter 231 Will to Live
“It’s hard to say. She’s still young, so her condition can still be managed as long as she takes the
medication,” Dr. Halliday explained. Realizing that he had veered off topic, he paused and then
changed it back. “This illness will cause progressive memory loss. Not only will she be unable to
remember what happened the day before, but she will also start to forget more and more things as the
illness progresses, including the past. Eventually, she won’t remember anyone, including herself. From
the many cases I’ve studied, most patients do not die from the illness but rather from accidents or
going missing. Naturally, there are a few fortunate ones who lived long enough to the point of forgetting
how to walk and eat… and end up in a vegetative state.” He took a deep breath before saying what
was considered the best outcome.
Caring for someone in a vegetative state required a lot of energy and funds, which he believed
someone like Lewis was more than capable of. The only question was-how long could Josephine’s
body hold out? Based on her current condition, it didn’t look like she had enough will to live to last until
the vegetative state stage.
Lewis lit yet another cigarette after listening to Dr. Halliday’s explanation. He inhaled it so quickly that it
looked as though he would finish it in only two breaths. However, he seemed to have inhaled too hard
on the final one as he choked and immediately began coughing. The sound of his coughing echoed
throughout the study and was akin to a patient who was suffering from tuberculosis.
“Mr. Alvarez…”
Lewis coughed for quite some time before grabbing the mug of cold coffee off the table and taking a
swig out of it. His complexion quickly returned to normal, and he placed the mug back down before
looking at Dr. Halliday. “Is there a treatment plan?”
“There isn’t one currently,” Dr. Halliday said as he shook his head woefully. “But I will do my best to find
one. I’ve been spending my recent time researching this illness.”
“How effective is the medication you mentioned?”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Although it has an inhibitory effect, it cannot be administered as the sole treatment plan. However, it is
still necessary to take it to slow down the rate of her condition’s deterioration,” Dr. Halliday replied.
Lewis nodded. “You may leave.”
Discreetly breathing a sigh of relief, Dr. Halliday had just only reached the door when Lewis suddenly
called out to him. “Wait.”
Dr. Halliday halted his stride and instantly felt a chill creep up his spine. Stiffening before the door, he
mechanically turned his head and strained a smile. “Yes, Mr. Alvarez?”
Lewis was glaring at him. “Is there anything else that you’re keeping from me?”
Dr. Halliday’s neck tensed, and he forcefully swallowed before responding, “I don’t think so
Lewis’ eyes narrowed, and it looked as though a murderous intent had flashed across them. Dr.
Halliday’s statement was full of loopholes, but Lewis didn’t question him further. “There better not be,”
Lewis warned.
“Yup, there isn’t anything else. It is just this one thing!” Dr. Halliday nodded thoughtfully.
“Get out!” Lewis’ sudden flare in temper scared Dr. Halliday so much that he fumbled as he
ran out.
Josephine was still eating when he went downstairs. She ate slowly, only touching the dishes in front of
her. The ones farther away remained untouched as she waited for Lewis to join her. Dr. Halliday
hesitated as he stared at her back but didn’t say anything and merely collected his equipment before
gloomily driving away.
She took a few more bites before gazing upstairs. Lewis still had yet to come downstairs, and the food
was getting cold. She stood up, headed to the study, and knocked on the door.
“Enter.”
Pushing open the door, the scent of cigarettes greeted her, permeating the room despite its large size.
She couldn’t fathom how many sticks he had smoked with the window closed. Walking up to him, she
raised her hands and signed. “Aren’t you going to eat?’
Lewis held a freshly-lit cigarette between his fingertips. The smoke from it filled the space between
them like a wall. Despite her best efforts, Josephine found it difficult to discern his expression,
obscured by the haze that lingered in the air.
He suddenly put out his cigarette and reached out toward her. “Come here.”
Josephine complied, stood next to him, and stared at him.
Holding her hands in his, he, too, looked at her. “What do you still remember?”
Josephine was silent at his repeated question. She still remembered a lot of things, but she didn’t know
what he was referring to.
“Do
you still remember Quintin?”
She nodded. Similar to Dr. Halliday, she only remembered his name and appearance but nothing else.
“Sierra?”
Her expression changed when she heard this name. Retracting her hands, she lowered her head and
didn’t respond, but her reaction was a clear answer. How could she possibly forget Sierra? That woman
was permanently engraved in her mind and was the reason Lewis had neglected her countless times.
She didn’t know what Lewis had in mind by suddenly bringing
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Sierra up when he had never done so in front of her in the past.
Lewis stared at her for some time before slowly forcing out his next words. “Do you still remember Mrs.
Jinkins?” His gaze was glued to her face so that he wouldn’t miss even the slightest change.
She was stunned and tried hard to recall this person, but her mind was blank. However, she felt a faint
ache in her heart. Her subconscious was telling her that the person was probably important to her, but
she had forgotten entirely about her.
“You don’t remember anymore?”
Josephine nodded.
He pulled her onto his lap the next moment and embraced her, raising one hand to stroke her face. His
body smelled heavily of cigarette smoke. The scent was slightly suffocating, and she could smell them
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmon his sleeves. Even his collar and shoulders carried the distinct odor of
smoke.
“What to do?” He sounded as though he was talking to himself and teasing her.
Pursing her lips, she felt a spike of panic and hurriedly signed, “I’ll try my best to remember.”
“It’s fine. You don’t need to,” he murmured, leaning in and grabbing her hands to halt their
movements.
She blinked as she looked into his eyes. She couldn’t decipher the countless, chaotic, complicated
emotions behind them. He closed the distance between them and pecked her lightly on her lips, like a
dragonfly touching the surface of a pond, before quickly pulling back. The distance between them was
so small that their breaths were intertwined. She had a nervous look in her eyes as she grabbed onto
his collar.
“Be a good girl and listen to me, alright?”
He had said that to her before. She didn’t know what else to say and merely nodded her head.
He gazed into her clear eyes, resembling a pristine lake that allowed him to glimpse into their depths
with a single glance. Lying deep below the lifelessness was a deathly stillness that would turn turbulent
should anything disturb it and allow her emotions to leak out. Toying with her fingers that he still held,
he asked, “Do you remember Avery?”
Josephine nodded again. Lewis didn’t say anything else.
“You haven’t eaten,” she signed after freeing her hands.
“I’m not going to.”
She shook her head in protest. “That’s not good for your health. You should eat.”
His black eyes seemed to darken further, causing her hair to stand on end. She could tell the meaning
behind them and felt her leg hurt again, but his convoluted gaze vanished in the next
moment and was replaced with his usual calm and indifferent one. He rose to his feet and picked her
up at the same time.
Surprised, she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. He didn’t seem to have any
intention of setting her down as he carried her out in his arms. Her eyes took on a distant gaze as she
looked up at his face. He had carried her in a similar fashion a long, long time ago. However, that
memory was too old, so old that she could only recall blurry images no matter how hard she tried,
along with that white dress shirt.
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