Chapter 464 The Place He Prayed
Rose got out of the car.
In front of her stood a small villa tucked away among a dense grove of bamboo.
She stared at it for a long moment.
Despite the renovations, she could almost see the place as it had been more than ten years ago.
Back then, it had been nothing more than a crumbling two-story house.
The surrounding area had been practically untouched, and the roads had been little more than dirt and loose stone.
Dr. Nathan had discovered the property during one of his travels.
The mountains were rich with wild medicinal plants, and he’d bought the old house so he could stay there whenever he wanted to study the local flora.
Later, when he’d taken Rose under his wing, he’d brought her here.
She had spent countless days in that old house.
Nathan taught her how to identify plants, collect specimens safely, and understand their medicinal properties.
For a girl who had once known very little about the world beyond what was immediately in front of her, those mountains had become her classroom.
Eventually, Nathan left.
Rose left too.
No one had returned for years.
Yet now, the old house had been replaced by a modest villa that looked as though it had been standing there for quite some time.
Rose’s chest rose and fell slowly.
She pushed open the front door.
Empty.
She checked every room.
Nothing.
No Ryan.
She had suspected from the beginning that he might have come here.
But there was no sign of him.
For the first time since arriving, uncertainty crept into her mind.
Had she been wrong?
Rose stood in the empty courtyard for a long time.
She searched the surrounding property again, but there was still no one.
Her heart grew heavier.
She had, at most, a week to prepare everything before Ryan needed to be brought back to Germany.
But she still hadn’t found him.
His phone remained switched off.
Rose leaned against the wall and closed her eyes for a moment.
Her exhausted body finally gave in to the strain she’d been ignoring for days.
She took several slow breaths.
Her mind raced through every possibility.
Then—
A bell rang somewhere in the distance.
Rose opened her eyes.
She looked toward the opposite side of the mountain.
There, partially hidden among the trees, stood a small Buddhist temple.
It wasn’t a famous tourist destination.
Few people came here.
When Rose had first arrived in the area as a child, she had often gone there for meals. The monks had been kind to her, and the temple had been one of the few places where she could always find something warm to eat.
A thought suddenly occurred to her.
Rose straightened.
If Ryan wasn’t here...
There was somewhere else he might have gone.
She looked toward the temple.
Since she was already here, she decided to go.
She could at least light some incense and pray for him.
For Ryan.
Rose didn’t dare waste any more time.
She turned and began climbing the stone steps.
It took more than an hour to reach the temple.
The higher she climbed, the quieter the world became.
When she finally reached the entrance, she stopped to catch her breath.
The temple was nestled between the mountains, surrounded by trees and overlooking a narrow valley.
The scenery was breathtaking.
Rose had been here many times as a child.
She knew exactly where to go.
She entered through the main gate.
There were only a handful of people around, and she didn’t see any of the monks.
Then she noticed something beneath an old tree in the courtyard.
A tall figure stood there.
Ryan.
He was looking up at the branches.
Hundreds of small wooden wish plaques hung from them, tied with faded ribbons and strings that moved gently in the breeze.
Ryan stood perfectly still.
Rose stopped.
She had found him.
He really was here.
Perhaps the sound of the temple door opening caught his attention.
Ryan turned instinctively.
There were very few people around.
At first, all he could make out was a blurred figure standing behind him.
Then his gaze froze.
Rose.
For a moment, he thought he was imagining her.
He’d experienced enough visual disturbances recently to know that the mind could fill in what the eyes could no longer see clearly.
Maybe this was another illusion.
Another dream.
So he didn’t move.
He simply stared.
Rose’s tense body relaxed the instant she saw him.
She took a quiet breath.
She didn’t say anything.
She knew he was looking at her.
And his gaze was more direct than she’d ever seen it before.
There was no attempt to hide it.
No restraint.
No distance.
Rose ignored the stunned expression on his face.
She walked past him and entered the temple hall.
She lit a stick of incense.
Then she knelt before the Buddha statue and bowed three times.
Her eyes closed.
She made a silent wish.
Then she placed the incense in the burner.
When she stood, she walked straight toward Ryan.
She grabbed his wrist.
And before he could react, she pulled him outside.
Only then did Ryan seem to realize that she was real.
Her skin was warm beneath his fingers.
Her grip was firm.
This wasn’t a dream.
It wasn’t an illusion.
Ryan’s eyes flickered.
His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed.
But he didn’t resist.
He simply followed her down the steps.
Neither of them spoke.
Rose glanced down as they walked.
Ryan was holding something in his other hand.
A small, pale-blue pouch.
She recognized it immediately.
It was the same pouch she’d once seen hanging inside his car.
He had kept it all these years.
Now he carried it with him.
Rose’s gaze lingered on it for a second before she looked ahead again.
The mountain path wasn’t crowded.
Loose stones were scattered across parts of the trail, but they were easy enough to avoid.
Except Ryan didn’t avoid them.
Several times, his foot landed directly on a stone.
He didn’t even seem to notice.
Rose’s expression tightened.
His eyesight was already deteriorating.
She tightened her grip around his wrist.
Ryan lowered his eyes.
He looked at the back of her head.
Then at the hand holding him.
It was the first time either of them had spoken since meeting again.
"Have you eaten?"
Rose didn’t answer.
Ryan’s voice was quiet.
"You’ve lost so much weight."
Rose kept walking.
"I’m giving you one choice."
Ryan raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Go back with me."
Her voice was firm.
"Pack your passport, your medical records, and whatever documents you need. Then come to Germany with me."
There was no room for negotiation in her tone.
Ryan looked down at their joined hands.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"You’re still as unreasonable as ever."
"I’m fine."
Rose stopped walking.
She turned around.
"I’ve already spoken to Robert."
The smile on Ryan’s face remained.
Rose stared at him.
"I just flew back from Germany, Ryan. How long are you planning to keep lying to me?"
Ryan said nothing.
Rose’s jaw tightened.
"Am I being unreasonable?"
Her voice rose slightly.
"Or are you gambling with your life?"
She had spent the past several days running on almost no sleep.
She was exhausted.
Physically and emotionally.
Now her eyes were red, and moisture had gathered along her lashes.
She stared directly at his face.
Ryan’s vision was blurred.
But he could still see the tears in her eyes.
Something inside him tightened.
The faint smile disappeared from his lips.
He slowly lifted his hand.
His fingertips brushed the corner of her eye.
"I’m getting what I deserve."
His voice was almost unbearably calm.
"You hate me so much. Isn’t this the best possible ending?"
Rose’s expression changed.
"Since you’ve seen Robert..."
Ryan lowered his hand.
"You must know."
There was no point pretending anymore.
He had never wanted her to know how serious his condition was.
He’d wanted her far away from it.
Rose knocked his hand away.
"I won’t abandon you."
Her voice shook.
"I didn’t abandon you back then, and I’m not going to do it now."
Ryan stared at her.
"No matter what happened between us, I’m a doctor before I’m your ex-wife."
She took a breath.
"And right now, you’re my patient."
Ryan’s slender fingers curled slightly.
He bent forward a little, bringing his face closer to hers.
Then he smiled.
It was a strangely peaceful smile.
"Rose."
His voice was quiet.
"I’m not going to keep fighting."
Rose’s eyes widened.
"No."
His expression remained calm.
"If the odds were good, I wouldn’t refuse treatment."
He looked away.
"But my situation was decided years ago."
Then he smiled, "However, it’s for good."
He looked at her, "No one will be going to make you worry anymore."
For years, conservative treatment had been the only way to keep the tumor under control.
It had bought him time.
Time to work.
Time to settle things.
Time to protect the people who mattered to him.
Time to do the things he still had left to do.
He had never believed he would get a different ending.
There were things he couldn’t let go of.
Once, Rose had been everything he had.
Now there was Ariel too.
His daughter.
The little girl he had never expected to have.
But even that wasn’t enough to convince him that his fate had changed.
He had never been particularly lucky.
Every year, he came here.
Every year, he stood beneath this tree and prayed.
For years, he’d asked for the same thing.
A little more time.
A little more luck.
A way out.
But nothing had changed.
Ryan looked toward the old wish plaques swaying gently in the wind.
He had prayed for years.
And it had never worked.