A Second Chance at Forever (Eleanor and Bernard) novel Chapter 23

Eleanor dashed home in the rain, stripped off her fancy dress, took off the diamond necklace around her neck, and tossed it in the box.

She'd send all this crap back to Josef tomorrow, his stuff sickened her, and she definitely wouldn't keep it.

After closing the box, she went into the bathroom, turned on the tub faucet, and climbed in.

She scrubbed her face and back hard, so hard that her skin got red, then looked at herself in the mirror.

With makeup off, all that's left was sickly paleness, no spirit, and lifeless eyes.

She couldn't see the light or feel the warmth.

Like a dirty little bug, trampled all over.

Yet, she once had dignity...

"Dignity."

Eleanor chuckled sarcastically. She had lost her dignity when she sold herself to Bernard.

She dried her hair, lay in bed, and fell asleep exhausted.

The rain had worsened her condition, and Eleanor slept straight until the afternoon.

Hailey had worked all night, slept from morning to afternoon. After making meals, Eleanor still hadn't woken up.

She had to knock on Eleanor's door and called her twice. With no response, she realized something was wrong.

Hailey quickly pushed the door open and went in. When she saw her flushed face on the bed, she immediately touched Eleanor's forehead.

It was so hot...

She quickly lifted the covers, propped Eleanor up and said, "Eleanor, you have a high fever. Get up, I'm going to take you to the hospital."

In her delirium, Eleanor’s instinct kicked in when hearing the word ‘hospital’. "No hospital..."

"You're very sick, we have to go!"

Hailey wouldn't let Eleanor refuse, picked her up, and raced to the hospital.

After some emergency treatment, she was on an IV and breathing machine.

Eleanor had a congenital heart condition which Hailey knew about.