?Chapter 1106:


    What future could an eighteen-year-old boy truly promise her?


    Joelle had condemned their rtionship from the beginning.


    They were destined to go their separate ways.


    Fingernails bit deep into her palms, threatening to draw blood as Amanda wrestled every emotion into submission.


    “Goodbye, Rnd.”


    Turning on her heel with iron resolve, she fled the hospital, sprinting toward whatevery in the opposite direction.


    A full month had passed before Rnd finally opened his eyes. He found himself unable to speak or eat, his body considerably thinner than before.


    Each day, Joelle visited, filling him in on every minute aspect of their friends’ lives.


    She shared stories like Aurora and Dunn’s steady rtionship, Molly’s intense study sessions to win a trip to see Lucas overseas, Kalel’stest misadventure at school that resulted in a call to his parents, Sariah’s ndestine trip to a concert that Bobby and Fannie uncovered, and Michael’s overwhelming days juggling the needs of his twin boys.


    In the early days of his recovery, Rnd could do nothing but gaze emptily at the faces around him.


    Later, as he regained some movement, he traced Amanda’s name, letter by letter, on Joelle’s palm with his finger.


    “She’s left the city.”


    At those words, Rnd’s eyes fluttered, causing Joelle’s heart to wrench.


    Trying to contain her sorrow, she exined, “Rnd, she’s gone. I’ve spoken to Nasir. Amanda was pretending the whole time. She knew about your ties to the Miller family from the start. Her n was to use us to overthrow Nasir and save her father.”


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    After much exnation, tears breaking through, Joelle said, “I’ll find someone far better for you.”


    But Rnd only shook his head. He wrote again in her palm, saying,


    “I knew.”


    “You knew?” Joelle blurted out, taken aback.


    With a tired nod, Rnd closed his eyes.


    What he wanted to ask was whether Amanda’s father was okay. However, the question felt too distant, and he didn’t have the energy to write it out.


    After staying awake for a while, he drifted back into a deep sleep. In his dream, he found himself back in the days when he and Amanda were still together.


    In the morning, after he finished washing up and was getting ready for work, Amanda remained in bed, refusing to move despite the sun streaming in.


    He called out for her to get up, but she simply grunted, rolled over, and went back to sleep.


    Before she driftedpletely into sleep, Rnd said, “The breakfast is ready, make sure you eat.” A soft hum was her only response.


    Each evening, upon his return, he found Amanda active in the kitchen. As Rnd prepared for his shower, she would pass him a towel, and asionally, he would draw her into the bathroom.


    At night, he would instinctively embrace Amanda, cherishing the sense of home she brought him—a feeling so precious, he clung to it tightly.


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