Chapter 20
Antonio’s head was hit to one side, and his voice sounded hoarse.
“Sorry, Grace.”
“But soon it was my grandmother’s death anniversary, shall we go and visit her one last time?”
Grace couldn’t hide the mockery on her face.
“What are you looking at, a ruined place?”
Antonio shook his head.
“Grace, believe me, I would show you my sincerity.”
The car slowly stopped at the entrance of Grandma’s small courtyard.
Looking up, the familiar blue–tiled white walls and carved wooden doors were exactly the same as in my memory.
Obviously, Antonio expended effort to renovate his grandmother’s house.
Grace looked at the familiar courtyard and tears fell involuntarily.
Once, she ran and played carefree here, listening to her grandmother’s stories on summer afternoons under the grape
arbor.
Chapter 20
288 Vouchers
On a winter night, I snuggled in my grandmother’s warm embrace, watching the snowflakes falling outside the window.
The beautiful moments spent with my grandmother, like shining stars, have now turned into untraceable shooting
stars.
Walking into the courtyard, the old locust tree still had abundant branches and leaves, with a stone table and several stone benches placed underneath.
Grace still remembers that time when she, Antonio, and Talia were sitting on a stone bench, sharing the snacks made by their grandmother.
In the blink of an eye, dreams shattered, and everything changed.
“Grace, look, everything here is just like before.”
Antonio whispered softly, his eyes filled with anticipation, hoping to see a trace of emotion and nostalgia on Grace’s face.
Grace’s expression was full of sarcasm.
“Yeah, it’s true, just like before, you took away the two people I loved the most, but left me with an empty shell.”
“Do I still need to be grateful to you to the point of tears?”
Antonio stopped speaking and only took out a letter from the drawer.
“This is what my grandmother left behind, and we dug it out when we hired someone to renovate.”
Chapter 20
288 Vouchers
Grace tremblingly took the envelope, but when she opened it, it was not a letter but a series of beautiful blessings.
“Grace was healthy and happy.”
“Grace was healthy and without any troubles, she went to college.”
“A hundred years of harmony, happiness and bliss.”
“The family reunited.”
***
Some of the papers have turned yellow over the years, while others are still quite new. Grandma doesn’t know how to read very well, so there are some poorly written characters mixed with pinyin, but they are her most sincere wishes in her heart.
Grace’s tears fell uncontrollably, and then turned into loud sobs.
Antonio wanted to hold her, but he was pushed away again.
Grace sat paralyzed on the ground, crying her heart out, as if she wanted to drain away all the grievances and tears at once.
She fainted until everything went black in front of her eyes.
When she woke up, she found herself lying in the hospital again.
The doctor kept scolding.
“The wounds on the body were not fully healed, and there was such a great emotional fluctuation.”
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Chapter 20
Grace’s face was pale, but her eyes were clear.
288 Vouchers
She suddenly realized that all of her grandmother’s wishes were for her happiness.
Antonio entered the room carrying chicken soup, his eyes filled with tenderness.
“Grace, eat something.”
Grace looked up, her eyes devoid of joy or sadness.
“Antonio, I used to think that as long as we loved each other, we could overcome any difficulties, but I lost everything.”
“Perhaps I once loved you very much, even loved you to the point of losing myself, but now it seems that it was all just futile struggle.”
“Grandma and Talia will never come back to life, and between us, we can never go back.”
Antonio’s eyes flashed crimson, and he tightly clenched his fist, his voice low and suppressed.
“Grace, I would never give up and I would never let you leave me.”
Grace looked at Antonio’s appearance, and a hint of helplessness and sadness welled up in her heart.
But she really wanted to struggle out of these days, she wanted to let herself go and forever draw a line with Antonio.
Chapter 21
