After an unknown amount of time, Aurora Rivers felt Winston Wyatt start to go limp, the majority of his weight pressing down on her.
Mr.
King noticed this and immediately went over.
“This… ma’am…” He hesitated, unsure how to address her.
Aurora Rivers chimed in, “My surname is Rivers.”
“Of course, Miss Rivers.”
“Let me.” Mr.
King reached out to support Winston Wyatt, but his hand was slapped away in the next second.
He met Winston Wyatt’s fierce, disdainful gaze.
Winston Wyatt was filled with a beast-like possessiveness, unwilling to be separated from Aurora Rivers.
Mr.
King, embarrassed but quick on the uptake, gave a dry laugh and implored, “It should still be you, Miss Rivers.
Please, trouble yourself to take our master back to his room to rest.
The master is very weak after an episode.”
Aurora Rivers frowned.
“What exactly is his illness?”
Mr.
King had no intention of hiding it.
“Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.” Aurora Rivers was the calming master they had sought out, so she naturally had the right to know about his condition.
Because of Aurora Rivers’s performance just now, Mr.
King began to pay her special attention.
He had found Aurora Rivers somewhat familiar just now but hadn’t given it much thought.
Now, looking closely, he was shocked to realize that Aurora Rivers bore a striking, three-tenths resemblance to Isla Chambers.
A thought flashed through his mind.
‘Could it be that she only managed to calm the master because she looks like Isla Chambers?’
“When was he diagnosed?”
“As far as I know, he’s had it since childhood.”
“What caused it?”
“Well…” Mr.
King hesitated.
Seeing this, Aurora Rivers didn’t press further.
She looked at the dependent Winston Wyatt with a complicated expression.
Previously, she had time-traveled twenty years into the past to find Winston Wyatt and the others, so she was naturally very familiar with his childhood experiences.
Winston Wyatt had grown up in an extremely twisted family.
His father had forcibly taken his already-married mother and made her give birth to him.
The former was a violent psychopath, while the latter was weak, timid, and spent her days in tears.
Neither of them loved Winston Wyatt.
His father used him as a tool and a shackle to bind his mother, while his mother saw him as nothing, a dirty bastard whose very existence was a constant reminder that she had betrayed her original husband.
Later, his mother was caught trying to elope with her original husband and was dragged back.
The former was killed by Winston Wyatt’s father’s own hands; the latter’s body was long gone, not even bones remaining.
What was most suffocating was that the young Winston Wyatt was present when his father killed his mother, and he witnessed the entire process.
So, when Aurora Rivers had left back then, the young Winston Wyatt’s seeming wellness was just an illusion.
He had been living in the shadow of his childhood all along, tormented by suffering for twenty years.
A pang of heartache appeared in Aurora Rivers’s eyes.
Suddenly, she thought of the other five children she had raised.
‘Could their situations be the same as Winston Wyatt’s?’
She couldn’t help but worry.
Once in the room, Aurora Rivers helped Winston Wyatt lie down and pulled the nearby blanket over him.
“Go to sleep.”
Winston Wyatt didn’t sleep.
His eyes were wide open, one hand holding hers tightly.
Seeing his nervous expression, Aurora Rivers found it a little amusing.
She patted his chest through the blanket.
“Hurry and sleep.”
“No.
If I fall asleep, you’ll disappear.
This is the first time in twenty years I’ve dreamed of my teacher.”
Hearing this, Aurora Rivers froze.
So, he thought all of this was a dream.
Aurora Rivers didn’t explain much, because she was keenly aware that Winston Wyatt was not in a clear state of mind right now.
“Teacher, you’re just like you were before.
You haven’t changed at all.” Winston Wyatt was, of course, certain this was a dream.
Although he had fantasized countless times like a madman about his teacher appearing before him, alive and well, he knew it was impossible.
Not to mention, if his teacher were really still alive, how could she not have changed at all in twenty years?
Twenty years later, his teacher would be forty years old.
Winston Wyatt looked at Aurora Rivers with greed and dependence, afraid to miss even a second.
“Teacher… Little Mom… don’t go.
Stay with me.”
Hearing him call her “Little Mom,” Aurora Rivers was taken aback.
Winston Wyatt had never called her that before; it was always “Big Sister” or “Teacher.”
‘So in his mind, he’s seen me as a mother all this time?’
Aurora Rivers’s heart softened even more.
“I won’t go, don’t worry.”
“Really?” Winston Wyatt’s eyes filled with hope.
“Really.” ‘I’ve already come back, where else could I go?’
With her assurance, Winston Wyatt finally relaxed and fell asleep.
Mr.
King shot her a grateful look.
This was the first time the master’s condition had stabilized so smoothly.
“Miss Rivers, it’s getting late.
I have prepared a guest room for you.”
“Alright.” Having just returned, Aurora Rivers was indeed tired.
She had just started to get up when she had to sit back down.
Winston Wyatt was gripping her hand too tightly.
“…”
“How about I just sleep here for the night?”
Mr.
King hurriedly agreed, seeing it was the only option.
He backed out and closed the door.
Aurora Rivers glanced at Winston Wyatt and saw his brow was furrowed.
She reached out to smooth it, then lay down and fell asleep in the space beside him.
The next morning, the moment the first ray of sunlight touched her face, Aurora Rivers’s eyes snapped open.
She turned her head to look at the still-sleeping Winston Wyatt.
Twenty years had passed in the blink of an eye.
The little milk bun had become a man.
She was really back.
There were no viruses in this world.
No wars.
No monsters.
And the dead had come back to life.
Aurora Rivers faced the morning light, her gaze drifting out the window to the bright blue sky.
A smile of profound relief bloomed on her lips, her spirits soaring.
‘This is wonderful.’
This time when Aurora Rivers got up, Winston Wyatt’s grip had loosened considerably.
She pulled her hand free and opened the door to leave.
Mr.
King was already waiting there.
“Good morning, Miss Rivers.
Breakfast is ready.”
“I’m not eating yet.
I want to take a shower.” ‘I still need to wash off the dust from my return.’
“Alright.
I’ll have a maid show you the way.”
Aurora Rivers nodded.
Soon, she was taking a hot shower in a cleaned guest room.
The feeling of the hot water pouring over her body made her let out an involuntary sigh.
…
Isla Chambers provided Winston Wyatt’s wake-up service every day.
Whether she spoke or not, she had to stand guard by his side.
Today was no exception.
She pursed her lips and stood by the bed.
After a moment, her gaze uncontrollably fell upon Winston Wyatt’s face.
He was incredibly handsome, like a perfect sculpture.
Because he was asleep, the usually aggressive lines of his face had softened considerably.
Isla Chambers couldn’t help but stare, captivated.
A blush dusted her cheeks as she held her breath and reached out, wanting to touch Winston Wyatt’s long, dark eyelashes.
Before she could touch them, her wrist was seized in a tight grip.
She cried out in pain.
Meeting Winston Wyatt’s dark, sullen eyes as he woke, Isla Chambers’s face was filled with stubbornness.
“Why is it you?” Winston Wyatt’s brows furrowed tightly.
“Who else would it be?
You’re the one who told me to stand guard here.”
Hearing this, Winston Wyatt immediately remembered his dream about his teacher, and how he had asked her not to leave.
‘So he mistook Isla Chambers for his teacher?’
‘So, it was all fake.’
‘How could Teacher have possibly come back to life?’
Shaking off Isla Chambers’s hand, Winston Wyatt’s face filled with rage and impatience.
“Get out.”
Stumbling back, Isla Chambers clutched her wrist and ran out, her eyes red.
Winston Wyatt sat up, drawing his knees to his chest.
He grabbed a handful of his hair, pressing it back as the details of his dream replayed vividly in his mind.