Twisted Ties of Love novel Chapter 456

The hospital TV was playing a Christmas party, bringing a touch of warmth to the chilly ward.

The nurse was looking at the man lying in the hospital bed, his hand tightly clutching a phone. He seemed to be calling his beloved, his eyes soft, his fingers trembling slightly from nervous anticipation.

The call quickly connected. He opened his dry lips and managed to say, "Izabella, Merry Christmas."

He held the phone close to his ear. He was afraid of missing any detail, even not wanting to miss Izabella's breathing.

He could hear the ringing of bells from the phone, coinciding with the countdown from the TV host.

Soon, the sound of fireworks exploding came from the phone, followed by Casey's voice.

"Here's to Izabella, wishing you health, happiness, and all your dreams come true."

His chest was aching badly. Brett should've been clutching his chest, but instead, his hand moved to cover his ear.

But even with his ear covered, the call had already ended, and he hadn't even heard Izabella's voice.

"Sir?" After a while, seeing Brett still holding his phone without any reaction, the nurse tentatively called out to him.

Brett came to, but his body was stiff as he looked at the nurse standing by his bed.

"So, have you finished your call?"

"Finished." Brett released his grip, handing the phone back to her. "Thanks."

"No problem. If you need to make another call, just let me know."

Brett only shook his head in response. He wouldn't borrow her phone again, knowing that once he made that call, Izabella would block him.

His call to Izabella tonight wasn't about expecting to hear anything from her. He just wanted to wish her a Merry Christmas in the middle of the night, plain and simple.

He and Izabella had been together for so long, yet they had never spent a Christmas together. It used to be him not going home, leaving her alone. Then, Izabella became a vegetable and lived in the hospital. The subsequent Christmases, he got engaged to Kaley, leaving her alone once again.

Seeing that his IV drip was almost empty, the nurse changed the bag. She marked off a list, then fetched some medication for Brett.

"Time to take your medicine."

It was inconvenient for Brett to take his medication while on an IV drip. The nurse was about to get him some water when he threw the pills into his mouth and swallowed them without water.

Chewed up pills were the bitterest. As the saying goes, after bitterness comes sweetness. But this bitterness would never end, just like Izabella would never return.

The nurse always felt the sorrow in the man's eyes was inescapable, a pain worse than death. Like stars disappearing one by one in the night, some people may have died, but still live on in people's hearts. Some people, though still alive, were already dead, trying to fade away unnoticed but remaining truly forgotten.

The nurse brought a glass of water for Brett.

"Thanks." Brett took it, draining the glass, but it did nothing for the bitterness in his mouth.

"Rest well. If you need anything, ring the bell."

"Okay."

The nurse gave him a long look before pushing her cart out of the ward.

Only Brett was left in the ward, the entire hallway eerily silent.

Everyone was celebrating Christmas, including the patients in the hospital. Everyone except Brett, alone in his ward.

He remembered a quote, "When you choose to love wholeheartedly, be prepared for heartache."

Did they know what will never let them down? Disappointment.

Christmas concerts these past few years were getting more and more boring. Brett closed his eyes, trying to sleep, but couldn't. He tried to clear his mind of all the messy thoughts, but the more he tried not to think about them, the more vivid they became, even bringing to mind things buried deep in his memory.

Seeing his low spirits, the nurse tried to comfort him.

"Mr. Windham, you need to stay positive. A day of pain and a day of joy are both a day. Why not choose to live the rest joyfully? You're only worsening your condition."

Brett wanted to be happy, but the word "happy" was becoming more and more foreign to him.

"Today is the first day of the new year."

With a first day, there might be a tomorrow. But he wasn't looking forward to his tomorrow, he was only hoping to see Izabella's tomorrow.

The ward window was tightly shut. Brett stared at the sky outside, counting the days. This was his twenty-fourth day in the hospital, since leaving "Spring Bay".

This year, it didn't snow in R City. The wintersweet outside was blooming, looking fragrant, but he couldn't smell it.

Not long after their stay in Wye, Izabella and Casey returned to R City.

The progress of "Blood Ties", featuring Izabella, and other shows, was fast, especially "Who's the Ghost", which invested most of its funds in post-production.

The trailer shocked the netizens. The unexpectedly good results, beautiful visuals, top-notch sound and special effects, and intriguing storyline were all impressive. But the most captivating were the performances by Izabella and Casey. Their outstanding acting immediately drew the audience in.

However, some people were skeptical. Many movie trailers these days were well-made but disappoint viewers in the end.

Under such circumstances, the feedback from the initial audience was crucial.