Chapter 603 This Time, I'm Going to Hold On Forever
Francis started to say something, but Harper put a finger on his lips to stop him.
She shook her head and went on, "And all those times I didn't show my feelings and kept pushing you away, it was just me trying to protect myself."
"I wonder if things would've been easier if we had just been honest with each other from the start. But even now, I haven't lost hope." Harper said seriously, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
"It's not about pity, it's because..." She paused, "I love you."
Francis pulled Harper into a tight hug, like he wanted to make sure she wouldn't disappear.
He trembled and said, "Harper, if only you could see inside my heart."
It was filled with her.
Francis kissed her again.
This time, the kiss was deep and full of longing.
Their lips and tongues tangled together, sharing breathless gasps.
Francis's legs weren't in great shape, so once they got on the bed, he had to lie on his side. As they kissed and held each other, he started to unbutton her hospital gown. Suddenly, Harper stopped him.
"No," she said, a bit embarrassed, "There's a scar, it's ugly."
She had a C-section, and even with all the advanced tech, scars were still a thing.
It had only been a month. The doctor said the scar cream needed at least six months to work.
It would fade the scar, but not make it disappear completely.
Still, it would look better than now. Right now, it really was ugly.
That was what Harper thought.
Francis, eyes filled with desire, looked at her gently and said, "It's okay, I want to see."
Harper nervously clutched her clothes, "It's really not pretty."
"I won't think it's ugly," Francis assured her with a smile, "You didn't mind that I'm a cripple."
This was the first time he had openly called himself a cripple. Hearing it, Harper felt a pang in her heart.
Harper said softly, "How could I mind? I just feel sorry for you."
She said it was true that truly loving someone meant not caring about their looks or any external flaws.
"I'm very happy," Francis said sincerely.
A healthy relationship was one where both parties could openly share their shortcomings without feeling ashamed.
Harper looked up, her eyes still moist, "It's okay, Francis, no matter what, it doesn't matter to me."
Harper calmly unbuttoned her clothes, letting him see her imperfections, "Look, we're the same."
Francis reached out and gently touched the scar, his eyes turning red, "I will never let you suffer like this again."
The massive bleeding during delivery had almost taken her life. He would never let her go through such danger again.
Francis lowered his head and kissed the scar, from top to bottom, over and over again.
They stayed on the bed for a long time, but Francis didn't go all the way.
Harper's body hadn't fully recovered yet, and no matter how much he wanted to make love, he held back.
But he loved the regained intimacy, and both of them cherished it.
After the intimacy, Francis held her hand tightly and told her, "Harper, actually, my leg can be cured."
Harper was stunned for a moment, then Francis said, "Wesley has already set up a joint replacement surgery for me, and the success rate looks good."
"Really?" Harper couldn't believe it.
"Yeah, a week ago, we finalized the plan. We just have to wait for spring," Francis replied.
"A week ago?" Harper sensed something was off and asked, "Does Victor know?"
Francis hesitated a bit, "He knows."
"Then why did he tell me you would never stand up again?" Harper was speechless.
And Victor had said it with such drama.
"I'll deal with him," Francis said.
But this time, he wouldn't send Victor away, because Francis knew their current happiness was partly thanks to him.
Otherwise, with Harper's self-protection, Francis might never have known her feelings and would have missed her again due to his own insecurities.
"Forget it." Harper knew Victor meant well. Maybe as an observer, he could see their relationship most clearly.
If two people were both really proud, they would probably need some outside help to make a relationship work.
"Don't punish him, thank him for me," Harper said.
Time was precious, and luckily, it wasn't wasted.
They intertwined their fingers, not needing to say anything, but feeling very happy in their hearts.
"Francis," Harper called out.
"Yes?"
"Hold on to me tightly, don't ever let go again."
"Yes, this time I'll hold on for a lifetime," Francis replied firmly.
In the following days, the two were inseparable.
Every time they visited Elodie and returned to the ward, they would stick together.
Francis turned a corner of the ward into an office. When Harper rested, he quietly worked beside her.
This way, Harper could see him as soon as she opened her eyes.
Their relationship was so good that Jasper, who came to visit, would knock heavily on the door before entering, afraid of seeing something he shouldn't.
Jasper saw the restored glow on Francis's face, which couldn't be hidden even while sitting in a wheelchair.
With another important person now by Harper's side, Jasper's sense of crisis suddenly surged.
With a bit of malice and dissatisfaction, Jasper reminded, "You should also take some rest, you haven't had the surgery yet."
Harper had already told Jasper about Francis's leg being able to recover.
Maybe she wanted Jasper to speak well of Francis in front of Clayton. After all, she had passed Jasper's test, but Clayton's test was still pending.
As a father, Clayton naturally couldn't bear to see his daughter marry someone with a defect.
Francis didn't mind Jasper's sarcasm and modestly said, "I've been very restrained."
Jasper was almost driven mad with anger.
Harper woke up and saw Francis using sign language to communicate with someone on the other side of the computer.
To avoid disturbing Harper, Francis, who was multi-talented, had actually requested the other side to find an executive who knew sign language to convey the meeting's message.
Francis was dressed very casually in the ward, wearing teal casual pants and a khaki sweater on top. The ordinary color combination looked very attractive on him.
In the past two days, there were always nurses using the excuse of changing the dressing to see this handsome man.
Even with his leg inconvenience, Francis, with his outstanding appearance, was still very attractive.
Fortunately, Francis's constant care for Harper kept other women at bay. Even for something as small as handing her slippers, Francis would do it himself.
With such devotion to Harper, no one could sway Francis.
Francis ended the video call and saw Harper awake in the reflection of his laptop.
He turned, maneuvered his wheelchair to the bedside, poured her a glass of water, and said softly, "You're awake, why didn't you call me?"
Harper took a sip of water and said, "I didn't want to disturb you."
"You're never a disturbance." Francis took the cup and kissed Harper's forehead. "Do you want to sleep a bit more?"
Harper frowned, "No, I'm not really sick, just a bit anemic. I shouldn't sleep anymore."
"Alright." Francis held her hand, his eyes full of tenderness.
Harper felt the warmth from Francis's grip and softly said, "Francis, let's go see Abigail."
Seeing Harper bring it up, Francis nodded and said, "After this is all over, we'll go back to Northfield together and take the babies to see my mom."
Abigail had been protected by Francis.
Francis was afraid of Ryan's harm, so he had moved the severely injured Abigail to another private hospital for treatment. Not long ago, Abigail had woken up.
Although she still couldn't walk well, her mind was clear.
Abigail was very eager to see her grandchildren.
Abigail had known for a long time that Francis was not her biological son, but she had always treated him as her own.
Back then, out of love for Francis, she had driven Harper away, which was a decision she regretted for the rest of her life.
But fortunately, during that kidnapping incident, Abigail had saved Agnes and Harper with her own life, making up for some of her sins.
After all, Abigail wasn't entirely unforgivable.
She was just a mother who loved her son, a bit selfish, but a reflection of countless mothers.
Francis only told Harper about Abigail waking up after Harper mentioned her.
Back then, Abigail had done wrong, and as her son, Francis had done his duty, but that was all.
It wasn't until Abigail risked her life to save Harper and Agnes that Francis let go of his resentment towards her.
Abigail had proven her sincere repentance through her actions. Although Francis could forgive her, he didn't have the right to forgive on Harper's behalf.
Whether to forgive her or not was up to Harper.
Harper, of course, would choose to forgive. If it weren't for Abigail, she and Agnes might not be alive.
Harper leaned against Francis's chest and nodded, "Yes, we'll take the babies to see Abigail."
Harper had long since let go of any resentment towards Abigail.
Back then, Abigail's love for Francis was a bit selfish, thinking it was for his good without considering his feelings.
But when Harper learned that Abigail knew Francis wasn't her biological son, she admired her a bit. Abigail truly loved Francis as her own.
Besides, apart from some harsh words, Abigail hadn't done anything unforgivable to Harper.
Later, Abigail had been manipulated by Audrey for a while and was distanced by Francis. Abigail's life after that seemed quite pitiful.
And Abigail had almost given her life to save Harper and Agnes.
Harper wasn't someone who held grudges. This act of saving them was enough to show Abigail's remorse, and Harper naturally wouldn't remain indifferent.
Knowing that Abigail had woken up, Harper definitely wanted to take the babies to visit her.
Elodie was still not very clear, but sometimes she could talk to Harper.
Elodie had forgotten many things but remembered Rhodes and was willing to leave with him.
This surprised Harper. After seeing Elodie's rejection of Arthur, she felt Elodie undeniably trusted Rhodes.
The most surprising thing was that Rhodes revealed the son he had raised for many years, Noah, was actually Harper's biological brother.They were both born after Arthur forced Elodie to have sex with him.
Noah proposed to take Elodie back to Northfield to care for her, along with Rhodes. Clayton and Jasper agreed.
Their goal was the same, to ensure Elodie's happiness.
Besides, they were in Northfield, not another country, so Harper could visit them anytime.
And most importantly, Elodie was willing.
When they asked for Harper's opinion, she agreed.
Because the memory-less Elodie was clearly much happier.
Harper hoped that Elodie would never remember being imprisoned for decades and just remain happy.
And Harper trusted Noah and Rhodes.
As Jasper said, they were in Northfield and could be checked on anytime.
Later, the police sent representatives to the hospital to visit Harper and the others.
They thanked them for helping the police capture an international criminal. Arthur's crimes included not only murder but also manipulating government officials and trading international secrets for his own gain.
All of Arthur's subordinates were captured by the police.
As for his ashes, no one claimed them. Noah didn't want to see him either, so Harper had the police scatter his ashes into the sea.
After handling things here, Jasper began preparing for their return.
Harper and Francis first visited Abigail at the rehabilitation center, bringing only Agnes.
The two babies were still too young to be taken out, so they would wait until later to bring Abigail home.
Agnes was delighted to see Abigail and hugged her, "Grandma, are you feeling better?"
Agnes spoke softly, and Abigail's eyes filled with tears.
She choked up and said, "Sweetie baby."
"Grandma, don't cry. I brought you some candy." Agnes took out her favorite candy from her pocket and handed it to Abigail.
Abigail took it, wiped her tears, feeling a bit embarrassed to cry in front of Agnes, and explained, "I'm just so happy to see you, Agnes."
"I know, I'm happy to see you too," Agnes said. "You need to listen to the doctors and get better soon so you can play with me and my brothers, okay?"
"Okay, okay, okay," Abigail said several times, smiling. "I'll get better soon and play with you and your brothers."
Zoey, worried about tiring Abigail, suggested taking Agnes out to play.
Once the room was left with just Harper, Abigail, and Francis, Abigail looked at Harper, her eyes red, and said, "Harper, the person I owe the most to is you. Can you forgive me?"
Thinking of Agnes's adorable face, Abigail's heart ached. She had been so foolish back then.
She had only thought of Francis's feelings, not considering that Harper was also someone else's precious child.
Harper sat down, held Abigail's hand, and said, "Mom, it's all in the past. Please get better soon. I still want you to help me take care of the babies."
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