CHAPTER 23: BRUCE’S HEARTBEAT

Holding a folder of documents in her arms, Hilla subconsciously glanced at the sleeping Bruce Anderson on the huge bed.

A thought came to her mind. Even though she would be conducting a professional business meeting the next time she met Julian again, she would still be feeling guilty.

Fortunately, Bruce Anderson was just a comatose patient who knew nothing. After all, all men would definitely feel a discomfort in their hearts when they heard that their wives were going to meet their exes.

Orlenna noticed how quiet Hilla was being and thought that she was worried that her designs would not be approved. So, she gently advised her by saying, "There is nothing for you to worry about. For the time being, I will arrange for you to take part in the office’s design department as an intern. You can interact with the other excellent designers there."

Orlenna was giving her an opportunity to allow Hilla to involve herself in Anderson Industries.

To put it bluntly, it was Orlenna’s way of telling Hilla that she did not harbor a shred of doubt toward her. Orlenna was not even worried that Hilla might treat Anderson Industries as a stepping stone to bring the Holt family to power again in the future.

Hilla Holt was conflicted. She gripped the items in her hands so tightly that she felt pain in her palms.

"Mother, are you really fine with this?"

Hilla just had to ask. Even she herself did not have that much confidence in herself, so how could Orlenna be so sure of this?

A gentle and loving smile formed on Orlenna’s lips.

"Anderson Industries is not limited to just the fashion industry. If it helps you, I’d rather give the whole office to you than let it rot and die in the hands of Rudi Anderson. If Bruce never wakes up, these things will be useless to me. You’re still young. It would be better to let you fulfill your dreams."

The underlying meaning was that Orlenna was willing to give all she had to help Hilla and protect her!

Besides feeling shocked, she felt as if her heart had been stabbed.

Regardless of Bruce’s condition, Orlenna treated her kindly, and Hilla might not be able to readily cast aside the mother and son in the future.

Hilla turned to Bruce. He was sleeping quietly in bed, like an unguarded, vulnerable child.

How could Hilla have the heart to abandon Bruce Anderson that way?

There were now too many things tying her down to the Andersons. Humans are like

that, once emotions were involved, separation would be much harder. ’Oh Bruce, looks like we’ll really be bound together forever now!’

On the very day Halle Holt and Titus Tyson signed the divorce papers, she moved out from the Anderson mansion and stayed alone in a hotel.

Hilla felt uneasy for her, and she came almost every day to visit her elder sister.

"The Andersons are good people. Even if you were to move out later, my mother-in-law wouldn’t say anything about it."

"That’s not my house. Eventually, I will have to move out."

Halle laughed faintly as she held Hilla’s hands and said soothing words, "You do not have to worry about me. The Tysons gave me a small fortune. When you move out from the Anderson mansion, we will definitely rebuild Holt Corporation anew."

Hilla pursed her lips when she heard her sister suggesting that Hilla leave the Andersons. She felt guilty.

When she first married into the family, she had shared the same thoughts. She wanted to leave when the chance arose. But now...

She did not bear a single shred of dislike to the unmoving man on the bed, nor did she dislike her mother-in-law, who had been nothing but gentle and loving toward Hilla. If someone asked her the same question a month ago, she would not hesitate to give an answer. But now, things seemed to have already changed.

"Sis, I will be busy for the next couple of days. My mother- in-law has entrusted me with a few tasks in the office. I have a business deal that I must handle personally. I’m afraid that I will not be able to visit you. So, please call me if there’s anything you need."

Halle was suspicious of how the Andersons could be so trusting toward Hilla. But when she thought about it from another angle, Anderson Industries was far superior to Holt Corporation. A small fashion industry was nothing to the Anderson family and yet, they could use that to shackle Hilla.

The sisters were the ones who were weak. When Halle looked at Hilla, she felt pity and apologetic toward her.

As long as the Holt family could rise from the ashes once more, Hilla would no longer need to act according to the Andersons’ desires, and the sisters could go back to live their previous lives.

In this world, men and in- laws could not be relied on. If the sisters wanted a good life, the only people they could rely on were themselves.

"You are still studying, and yet Madam Organa is willing to give you work in the office. You must seize this chance. Learn and gather more experience. You don’t have to worry about me. I have not grown completely useless. I can still take care of myself."

"Mhm. I will come and visit you as soon as I have the time. If Titus were to stir up trouble..."

"I’ll be fine. I’ve already cut ties with that family. I will no longer have anything to do with them. Moreover, they could not find me here."

The hotel was just a temporary shelter. She would find an apartment to live in after a few days. No matter what, she would have a place where the sisters could call their own. She would use the fortune she had gotten from the divorce to plan for a future for themselves.

Hilla nodded. She could only hope that there were truly no longer any ties between Halle Holt and the Tysons.

Hilla did not want Halle to know anything about Julian Jorgansen working with the Anderson family. She was afraid that Halle would start worrying about her, and she was worried that she would blame herself again.

Halle felt uneasy for some time when she was going to meet Julian, because she recalled how they had parted ways on bad terms during the banquet last time. The assistant led the way, and Hilla followed him into Julian Jorgansen’s office in New Island.

"I am representing Anderson Industries to discuss airline uniforms with President Jorgansen. Here are my designs."

Hilla noticed how Julian had no other emotions etched on his face when she handed over her design drafts. He was behaving very professionally.

Julian was in no hurry to pressure Hilla. He picked up the drafts and after glancing at them, he said, "The airline uniforms that Jorgansen Enterprise wants are for the stewardesses of the new planes. I can see that your designs are very similar to the design of the new planes, but these are all unacceptable."

The answer she received was as she expected. This meant that Julian Jorgansen respected Hilla and her work. At the very least, she did not feel that he was using his authority in public for selfish means.

"Very well. I will amend them based on your request."

"Not amendments. I’d like new designs," said Julian bluntly. Hilla pursed her lips and nodded. She replied seriously, "I will complete the new designs as soon as possible."

"Hilla..."

When Hilla turned and was about to leave, Julian asked softly, "Do you... hate me?"

When the Holt family was in trouble, he had stayed in Deep City instead of rushing over. When she faced her greatest trouble, he did not help her. In the end, she got married to Bruce Anderson.

This was Hilla’s misfortune, and it was also his fault.

Hilla turned to the man who was holding back his emotions. What once were happy times between them were now shrouded by a vague sense of longing.

Julian Jorgansen was her first love. She also knew that the man’s feelings were mutual. However, even though neither of them ever professed their love, their

feelings were genuine enough that they could deceive each other.

The naive and vague feelings had long since been erased from herself on the day Hilla married into the Anderson family.

"Julian, don’t blame yourself. I don’t hate you. Marrying Bruce Anderson was my personal choice. Even if you were in New Island back then, I wouldn’t have chosen you."

Hilla did not sound harsh. The entire office echoed with her lovely, gentle voice.

The young woman in front of her carried a faint smile on her face. But when he saw the mole under her eye, he felt a stab in his heart.

He pursed his lips and asked with a firm voice "Will you leave Bruce Anderson? Will you leave the Anderson family?"

But that glimmer of hope was destroyed in the next second by Hilla’s smile. She shook her head and said firmly, "No. I won’t."

The Anderson family was now her family.

...

When Hilla returned to the Anderson mansion, the sky was still bright.

The air was warm and humid, and it was so stuffy that it was irritating.

The air-conditioner in the room was adjusted to a comfortable temperature. After a bath, Hilla wore thin pajamas and went to bed.

Bruce Anderson slept quietly next to her. Aside from when she touched him, he would not produce any noise on his own. In the presence of such a man, Hilla did not need to be on guard.

Others may think that marrying a comatose patient was a misfortune. Hilla might be the only person who thought that this was their little source of happiness and secret.

She could drop all the masks she wore and shed all the forced bravery she had, and she could be her true self in front of this man, because he was a comatose patient, and he would not look at her like she was some sort of alien.

"I met him today. We talked about work.

"He rejected my draft but I’m allowed to rework the designs.

"He asked me... If I will leave the family. I told him I’d never."

Hilla turned her head sideways while keeping both of her hands on the drawing board. She blinked as she looked at the man listening to her quietly.

A certain amount of time later, she could not help but be drawn to him. She carefully put her head on the man’s chest.

The man’s powerful heartbeat echoed in her ear.

Thud. Thud.

Those sounds entered her eardrums and stirred up gentle ripples in her heart.

The man had a beating heart. He was not a toy who could not move and had no temperature.

Bruce Anderson was different.

Hilla Holt focused her attention on his heartbeat, counting them as a sweet little smile slowly formed on her face.

"Do you think I’m a bad woman? I used to like Julian Jorgansen. Yet I rejected his request when he asked me to leave the family."

She thought that she might have her affections shift, and now, she had turned into scum.

She did not tell Julian that when the Holts were in trouble, she had never thought about asking for his help.

Did she not trust Julian enough? Or had she never truly looked at him as someone

reliable?

Perhaps it was because her relationship with Julian had never been strong enough, and they never did anything to strengthen it. That was why they had both tacitly agreed to not reveal that they liked each other. She believed that her feelings for Julian were just not strong enough.

"Bruce, do you think I really liked him? If I don’t, why would I feel so miserable every time I see him?"

If she did, why would she be willing to sleep on the same bed with the unmoving statue that was Bruce Anderson and never even spill her troubles to Julian Jorgansen?

Perhaps it was because the human heart was a complicated thing.

Hilla gave it some thought and went to hug Bruce Anderson tightly. She hugged Bruce so close to herself that they looked just like two victims drowning in the sea and could only hold on to each other for dear life so that they could be saved.

The room settled into silence. Hilla became tired as she spoke, and she fell asleep without realizing it. In her dreams, she hugged a piece of warm driftwood, floating about aimlessly on a body of water.

The surroundings were warm and quiet. The air itself carried a faint, fragrant scent.

It was a good, warm dream.

When Hilla opened her eyes and saw the room, she was in a daze. She seemed to have dreamed of the Holt mansion again. The mansion was the house she grew up in, and all of her childhood memories were there.

After leaving the mansion for so long, she thought she would not miss it anymore.

Little did she know that she would still return to it in her dreams.

She lowered her head and looked at the man next to her. The man did not move after the whole night. Everyday, he would be in the same position.

’He must be sick of sleeping in the same position.’ "Bruce, I want to go home."

She pursed her lips. She would only have the courage to say these words in front of this man.

It was almost two months since she moved into the Anderson mansion. Summer was almost over, and she had almost gotten used to living there. However, dreaming about that mansion still made her happy.

"It’s still around a hundred days until the day of the bank holds the auction. Bruce, do you think the Andersons could help me get back the Holt mansion?

"When I got married to you, Mother agreed that she would buy the mansion back. So, I’m not someone you can readily marry. Holt mansion is still a very valuable piece of property.

"Fine, I’ll take the mansion as a wedding gift. I’m not just some woman you could

simply marry! What’s that? You want a wedding gift as well?"

Hilla sat on the bed. Her hair was messy as she roared, "In your dreams. I am a cute little lady! Consider yourself very fortunate that I married you! You want me to marry you AND give you a wedding gift as well? Dream on!

"Do you think there are other girls besides me who would even want you?"

"Remember to pamper me a lot! If you don’t, I will suffocate you!" said Hilla as she lifted a pillow and hovered it over Bruce’s head. At that moment, she looked like an evil, nasty, and violent woman who bullied Bruce fearlessly.

Orlenna was standing at the entrance watching everything. When she saw Hilla lifting the pillow and was going to press it on his face, she said anxiously, "Stop! What are you doing?!"

Orlenna’s eyes turned bloodshot as she stood between Hilla and Bruce. She yanked her away and said in an aggrieved voice, "We did not force you to marry Bruce! And when have I ever mistreated you when you were married to him? I know you don’t like the way Bruce is now but if you really feel that you could not be with the Andersons, I do not mind letting you divorce Bruce!"

Hilla dropped on the bed. She looked at Orlenna, who had shown up all of a sudden, and could not seem to wrap her head around it even after a long time had passed.

She blinked in confusion, and after a long while had passed, Hilla realized that she overdid her "roleplaying". Did she say anything... wrong?

She thought carefully and realized that everything she said earlier was wrong!

She figured that Orlenna must hate her now. To be honest, when she took the pillow, she did not want to suffocate Bruce but only to play around and frighten him.

However, she forgot that frightening a comatose man was absolutely useless. "Mother! Mother! Wait! You’re misunderstanding something!"

Hilla pursed her lips, and she started racking her brain, thinking of an excuse to explain such juvenile behavior.

’Misunderstanding? I saw it happened, and I even heard it all! How could there be any misunderstanding?!’

Orlenna thought about this in a daze, and the tears rolling down her cheeks stopped.

"Bruce is a prideful man, but he would never cause others trouble. It’s my fault. It’s my fault for wanting to find someone to keep him company. If you don’t want to, you could just tell me! Why would you make things so difficult for him? He’s my son! Even if he were to stay like this forever, he doesn’t deserve to die!"

"No! No! No! Mother! You’re really misunderstanding something! I’m sorry! I... I was just playing with him!"

Hilla bit her lip and spoke softly. She looked down, and anyone could see that this was how a child who was caught making a mistake would behave.

"Playing around?"

’You were going to strangle him to death. Is that playing?’

Hilla really wanted to cry when she saw the disbelief in Orlenna. "I was really playing around! If I wanted to strangle him, I would have done so a long time! Besides, if I end up a widow, my reputation would not be good either."

The moment the thought of her becoming a widow came to mind, Hilla wanted so badly to scream: BRUCE ANDERSON CANNOT DIE!