The Silent Wife novel (Rachel and Justin) novel Chapter 564

Rachel was never in perfect health as the wildfire from when she was eight left her with a chronic condition despite surviving it. Apart from giving her a broken voice box, she also suffered from minor asthma and other respiratory illnesses. It was just that she rarely brought it up with others.

She couldn’t go anywhere that had insufficient oxygen, or she would suffocate if she wasn’t careful.

While Justin only felt unbearable from the smoke, Rachel hadn’t been breathing properly for long, and she could feel her energy being sucked out of her body gradually.

Nonetheless, she kept fighting her consciousness. She believed if she kept talking to Justin, his desire to survive would increase, and if he could hang on longer, he might eventually find a way out—just like he had twenty-six years ago.

Meanwhile, Justin held a death grip on Rachel as he searched through the thick smoke. The moment he saw the two massive, ancient trees, his bloodshot eyes lit up with joy.

“Rachel, I’ve found the way out. We’ll reach your home if we go down this path. Wake up, Rachel.”

Justin carried her in his arms as he hurried down the mountain. The two of them had walked on this path so many times in the last few days that he knew hope was just up ahead, even when he could barely see the road in front. Everything would be okay once they left the mountain.

Just then, Rachel’s hand slipped from his neck.

“Rachel.” His voice trembled from the suddenness, and he stopped in his tracks. “Rachel!”

No matter how Justin called her, she no longer responded this time.

At that, he quickened his pace down the mountain. However, he was faced with an oncoming fire. The heat wave nearly came at them as well, scorching their cheeks while preventing them from leaving.

Justin hadn’t thought the road down would be blocked by fire as well.

had also been blocked by fire.

Rachel had already passed out at this point, clearly on her last legs. As Justin coughed violently, the immense pain caused him to slip and fall with Rachel in his arms.

“Rachel!”

Rachel lay on the ground, unresponsive.

“Rachel!” shouted Justin. His eyes were red as he tried to pick her up, unwilling to resign to fate.

However, the dizziness from the carbon monoxide in his system made it hard for him to do something as simple as this. He tried again and again, but his arms were spent. He couldn’t pick Rachel up no matter what.

Justin scanned his surroundings while fighting his urge to cough, but all he could see was thick smoke. Even if he could hold on until he found a way out, Rachel couldn’t anymore.

Suddenly, he calmed down as he looked at the motionless woman in his arms.

He pulled her closer to him and planted a kiss on her forehead. His voice was so raspy now that it sounded like he had washed his throat down with sand. “It’s okay. I won’t abandon you like I did back then. I’ll stay here with you forever.”

The blazing fire was coming toward them; everywhere it went, dead leaves turned into ashes in an instant. However, Justin turned a blind eye to it, only pulling the woman in his arms close to him. She was who he cherished the most in this life; not even death could make him think otherwise.

Justin had a dream. In the past twenty-six years, the dream he most often had was about the wildfire incident.

The fire scorched the entire mountain, and the blazing fire chased after them from behind. He was pulling a little girl’s hand. She was scrawny, yet her eyes were crystal clear like spring water.

Though they ran fast, they still tripped.

“Go, run away!”

“Katie!”

Every time, the dream would end with him being shot wide awake, drenched in a cold sweat. In his dream, he eventually let go of Katie’s hand and watched her slip down the slope without being able to do anything.

“You were the one who saved my life. Either we live together, or we die together.” This life should’ve been returned to you twenty-six years ago, Rachel.