Chapter 338 Don't Forget One More Thing
Jerry noticed that I had stopped trembling in his arms.
Once he was sure I was asleep, he gently laid me on the bed.
He went to get a towel, wet it, and wiped away my tear stains.
After that, Jerry took a quick shower, got under the covers, and pulled me back into his arms.
I had a long dream, from meeting Claire to the days we spent together, then the kidnapping, the explosion, and Claire's death. I didn't even get to see her one last time.
Who should I blame? Cecil? But ultimately, I should blame myself. It was my own lack of ability that failed to protect Claire and the child.
"Hope," I heard Jerry calling me. He was standing not far from me, looking at my belly with eyes full of sorrow.
His tone was one of humility I had never heard before. "Do you really not want our child?"
I quickly placed my hand on my belly. "What are you talking about? Our child is still here."
But Jerry seemed unable to hear me and said, "Never mind. If you don't want it, then don't. I just want you to be happy."
I wanted to explain, but the surroundings fell into darkness.
The scene before my eyes spun, and then I saw a little girl. She called me mom and asked why I didn't want her.
I opened my mouth to explain, but no sound came out.
She cried and moved further and further away from me, exactly like the scene in my dream where Claire left.
I hurried to chase after her, calling out to the child. But no sound came out. I could only watch her get further and further away until she disappeared.
"No." I woke up with a start. "The child! My child!"
The next second, my hand was held.
Jerry brushed my sweat-soaked hair back behind my ear and comforted me by stroking my head, "It's okay, Hope. The child is still here."
My vision gradually cleared, and I saw many people standing in the room.
Grant was at the front, his hands covered in blood.
My pupils contracted, and I quickly reached for my belly.
Jerry gently patted my back. "You lost a lot of blood, but the child is fine. Don't worry."
Grant instructed the medical staff to clean up.
After they left, he said to me, "Ms. Royston, although the child is fine this time, it can't take any more stress. I know it's hard for you to accept Mrs. Harris's death, but for the sake of the child, I hope you can calm down. If it happens again, I'm afraid I won't be able to save this child."
Even though I already knew Claire had died, hearing it said out loud still felt like a heart-wrenching pain.
I slowly clenched my fingers, tightly gripping the fabric over my belly.
I wanted to do something, but no matter what I did, it wouldn't bring Claire back, and it might even cause me to lose the child in my belly.
My grip tightened, and the fabric wrinkled in my hand.
My nails dug into my palm, and I suddenly started shaking uncontrollably.
Jerry held me in his arms, kissed my forehead, and comforted me in an extremely gentle voice, "Hope, you don't have to be so hard on yourself. If this child isn't meant to be with us, then so be it. We can still have children in the future. Even if we don't have children, it's okay. To me, you are the most important. I just want you to be well."
I thought of the dream I just had.
Jerry was always bold and unrestrained. He had this carefree vibe but was ruthless at heart.
Even if he loved me and obeyed me, he shouldn't be humble and shatter his dignity just to make me happy. He shouldn't always be the one to compromise.
Besides, I knew he longed for this child, who was connected to us by blood.
I had also promised Jerry that if I got pregnant, I would definitely give birth to this child.
I said, "I'm fine. I will protect this child and won't let anything happen to her again. Besides, I just dreamed that the baby in my belly is a girl, a very cute girl."
Jerry saw me smile and smiled back. But I knew we were both not happy.
We had no way to be happy; we could only try to avoid thinking about sad things, especially me.
I asked, "Can you help me wash up? I feel terrible."
Jerry nodded and got up to prepare the water.
Grant and Francis left the room.
Elissa approached, her eyes red. "I'm sorry, Hope."
I held her hand. "Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault. You hid it from me for my own good."
After Jerry finished wiping me down, I felt drowsy again.
Before long, I fell asleep again.
After getting enough rest, I got up to eat.
Jerry handed me the utensils, but his eyes never left my face.
I pushed the food towards him. "You eat too. My health is important, but so is yours."
Jerry's thin lips pressed together, but he didn't say anything.
At nine o'clock in the evening, the ship docked, and under Jerry's arrangement, we headed straight to the hospital.
At the door of the morgue, my steps halted.
On the ship, I was anxious, even wanting to fly back directly. But at this moment, I hesitated.
I wondered if not seeing Claire's body meant she wasn't dead. But I knew very clearly that this was impossible.
Jerry placed his hand on my shoulder, leaned down to my ear, and whispered, "Let's see her tomorrow. You need to rest tonight."
I shook my head and pushed the door open.
Jerry accompanied me, while Elissa and the others waited at the door.
At the cold storage, Jerry didn't move. I asked, "Which drawer is it?"
Jerry squeezed my hand. "Hope, I know Claire's death is a huge blow to you. If you can't handle it, you can tell me. Don't force yourself."
I tried to appear relaxed. "I'm really fine. I've already accepted it. I know that even if I die, it won't bring Claire back. And I understand that Claire wouldn't want anything to happen to me. She told me in my dream."
Jerry's eyes were filled with deep sorrow; he knew I was just pretending to be fine.
And he knew deep down that it was impossible to be unaffected by Claire's death.
He hesitated for a moment but still opened the cold storage.
I reached out to pull the zipper, but Jerry stopped me.
He slowly unzipped it, and Claire's face gradually came into view, extremely pale, with a cold, frozen aura.
Those eyes that always looked at me with love were tightly closed and would never open again.
But for some reason, I couldn't shed a single tear at this moment.
I reached out to trace Claire's eyebrows and eyes, tidied her hair a bit, and said to Jerry, "I want to give Claire a proper funeral."
Jerry instructed Steven to make arrangements, but Steven couldn't hold on and went for treatment. So Francis took over the task.
Elissa hesitated for a moment but followed.
Jerry and I were getting ready to take Claire to the crematorium when someone called out to me at the door.
"Hope, you're back?" It was Madison.
In my memory, Madison was always beautiful, elegant, and smiling, like a painting. But today, her face looked pale. She was wearing a hospital gown that fit her reasonably well, and when she reached out to me, I saw the scars on her forearm.
"Mom!" I quickly walked over and held her hand.
Madison patted my head and took a long time to speak, "I'm sorry to you and your grandmother."
"Mom, this has nothing to do with you." I looked at the injuries on her body and frowned. "But you, how did you get so badly hurt?"
"Compared to your grandmother's death, these are just minor injuries." Madison didn't take it to heart but sighed and said with some guilt, "I've been thinking, if I hadn't hosted the banquet, maybe they wouldn't have had the opportunity, and you and your grandmother wouldn't have..."
"Mom!" I interrupted her seriously, wiping her tears, "Whether you hosted the banquet or not, we were in the open, and they were in the dark. It was impossible to guard against. So, it really has nothing to do with you. You can't think that way!"
Madison looked at me with heartache. I held her hand and took her back to her ward. "Mom, you're also injured. Please rest well. I need to take Claire to the crematorium."
Madison asked worriedly, "What about you?"
I replied, "Don't worry. I'm perfectly fine, not a single problem."
Hearing this, Madison seemed to finally relax and suddenly fainted.
Neil happened to come over and quickly caught Madison. "Your mom was in the middle of the stage and got seriously injured. She probably won't be able to wear dresses anymore, but I don't mean anything by that, just stating the facts. Also, your mom hasn't slept since she found out you were missing and heard about Claire's death. She's been running a high fever."
I had noticed earlier that Madison's hand felt unusually warm. I thought it was just due to emotional instability and excitement.
"She needs to rest. When she wakes up, I'll bring her to the funeral." After Neil finished speaking, he carried Madison away. At the door, he said to Jerry, "Don't forget to mention the other thing."
After he left, I looked at Jerry and asked, "What is it?"
Jerry didn't say anything, just led me back to the morgue and opened the adjacent drawer.
When the zipper was pulled open, I saw Larry's face and instantly froze! "He..."
Jerry said, "He tried to protect Claire and was hit by a falling pillar, but... Claire still couldn't escape."
I pressed my lips together and took a long time to recover.
But, at the end of the day, there wasn't much emotion between Larry and me.
Originally, Larry's actions towards Claire were unforgivable, but in the end, he did save her with his life.
After making arrangements, Jerry and I went to the crematorium.
After the cremation, Francis had also made arrangements.
We returned to the Harris Manor.
I placed Claire's urn on the table, with her photo in front of it.
The Harris family was once one of the three most prominent families, and with Jerry and Francis present, even though it was almost midnight, many people came to bid farewell to Claire.
Early on the fourth day, I carried Claire's urn into the Harris family cemetery.
The sky was a bit gloomy today, and it was raining when we arrived.
Jerry held an umbrella for me. The ground was slippery, and I walked very carefully, but I still slipped.
Jerry always caught me in time.
I saw that he was completely soaked by the rain, with raindrops gathering on his resolute chin.
I pushed his hand. "You should cover yourself too."
"It's okay," Jerry said, supporting me to the spot.
I first placed Claire down, then Larry. "Claire, in a while, I'll bring the child to see you. When she can talk, I'll have her greet you. You take care over there. If you need anything, tell me in my dreams. I'll live well as you said, so don't worry about me. Claire, this is as far as I can take you."
Jerry solemnly promised, "Claire, rest assured, I will protect Hope with all my might."
I looked up at Jerry and smiled at him.
But I saw his panic, and before I lost consciousness, I heard his hoarse shout, "Hope."
Declan also came to bid farewell to Claire, mainly because Jerry said my condition was not right, and Declan was there in case of any emergencies.
So, hearing Jerry's voice, Declan immediately stepped forward.
Grant was also there.
But this was not a place for treatment.
Declan first administered first aid to me, then rushed me to the hospital.
In just a few days, I had already been in the emergency room many times.
Jerry's long, slender hands were covered in blood, which was very striking.
He had never been like this before, unsure whether to persuade or not.
Seeing that I was clearly not well, he felt helpless.
"Wipe your hands first," Francis handed over a wet wipe. "I know a psychologist. I'll call her to come and take a look."
Before Jerry could answer, Madison, who had followed, cried, "It's all my fault."
"Madison," Jerry walked over. "Your health is important. Go to the ward and get your wounds treated and rest. Hope has already lost Claire; she can't lose you too."
Madison nodded. "When she comes out, call me."
Jerry agreed.
After Madison left, he said to Francis, "Call her over to see Madison."
Such a big explosion had made the news.
The Ortiz family was also affected. With so many lives lost, the relatives and families were demanding answers.
Madison had a lot to bear.
"Jerry!" Sophia arrived with Nolan, having missed the funeral.
But Nolan had been worried about Hope and came over as soon as he heard she was back.
"How is she?"
Jerry shook his head.
Sophia sighed, "This year has been full of disasters. I'll leave Nolan here. Please take care of him. I have some things to do."
Jerry didn't have time to look after Nolan, so he handed him to Elissa.
Sophia said a few words to Nolan and left the hospital.
She went to the church.
As soon as she got out of the car, a very familiar car parked next to hers.
The driver’s door opened, and someone familiar got out.
Sophia glanced at him and walked into the church.
Neil quickly caught up.
Sophia frowned. "Are you here to discuss business at the church?"
Neil replied unhurriedly, "With such a big incident happening to the Ortiz family, shouldn't I come to pray?"
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