[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":9},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-260311FB68BF-6":3},{"id":4,"number":4,"name":5,"content":6,"isLocked":7,"price":8,"hasRead":7},6,"Chapter 6: The Price of a Wish","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"So that's why you tossed it…\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He’d brushed it off like it was nothing.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I looked up, forcing my eyes open wider, but the tears just cascaded down my face.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">That year, Benjamin had been in a brutal car crash.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He was in the ICU for three days and nights, not stirring.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">On the fourth day, the doctor said if he didn’t wake up today, his chances were looking grim.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I sat by his hospital bed, sobbing my heart out.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I took the bracelet my grandmother had given me and slid it onto his wrist.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">As I did, I made a wish.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I begged God to let Benjamin live. I was willing.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">To trade my most precious thing for it.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">On the third night, just as everyone else had given up hope, Benjamin miraculously woke up.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">No lasting damage; the accident was like a bad dream.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Terrifying in the moment, but upon waking, it was just a dream, nothing more.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">From then on, the bracelet stayed on his wrist.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I never knew what God would take from me in return.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">What my most precious thing truly was.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Until today, I finally got it. It was love. My grandmother’s love, Benjamin’s love—I’d lost it all.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I’d become that salted cod again.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Tossed in the freezer, frozen until even my lips were chattering.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">A dizzying wave of disappointment and despair broke the dam of my tears.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">My mind flashed back to the day my grandmother died, the frail old woman trembling as she held my hand.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She’d slipped the bracelet from her own thin wrist and onto mine.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">As she did, she smiled.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“Our family was once quite well-off. This has been passed down through generations; it has spirit. It will protect my girl, keep her safe and well all her life.”\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">After fastening it on me, she closed her eyes peacefully.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Shedding one last, cloudy tear.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I hurled the messy stack of papers from my desk at Sophia.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Instantly, white sheets scattered everywhere.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Sophia flinched back, stumbling two steps and hiding behind Benjamin.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Still defiant, she said, “Benjamin already said it wasn’t important. Why are you having a meltdown?”\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I lunged forward, grabbing her collar, my voice ragged and desperate. “Where did you throw it?”\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin stepped between us. “Nora, calm down! Sophia’s pregnant!”\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I swung my arm and slapped him hard across the face.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“That was the last thing my grandmother left me! How dare you say it wasn’t important! How dare you!\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“We’re not even divorced yet, and you’re already tangled up with her. Did you ever think about me?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“Did you ever think I’d get hurt? That I’d be heartbroken? What do you even take me for?”\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He wrapped his arms around me roughly, holding me tight, his hand rubbing my back.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“Nora, I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’ll take you to look for the bracelet! We’ll find it, I promise. Don’t cry, Nora. It’s all my fault! Please don’t cry!”\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Then Sophia, who had been cowering in the corner, piped up softly.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“That bracelet… you probably can’t find it anymore…”\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin roared at her.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“What did you say?! Explain yourself!”\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“I cut it up… and flushed it down the toilet… You said… it wasn’t important…”\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital bed.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">That day, my emotions had overwhelmed me, and combined with the pregnancy, I’d fainted.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin was sitting by my bed, clutching my hand tightly, his voice full of concern.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“Nora, you’re awake?”\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I coldly pulled my hand away. There is no sorrow greater than a dead heart.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin meant less to me now than a total stranger.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“Nora, you’re pregnant! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“Nora, I was wrong before. Please give me another chance?”\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">All his former pride was gone. He was bowing and scraping, like a pathetic puppy.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272933113]