Love Is Like A Bone

On the wedding day, my fiancé broke off the engagement on the spot and walked down the aisle holding my best friend's hand.

I ran out of the venue in a daze, but was suddenly involved in a car accident and became paralyzed and from then on, I lost my chance to pursue a dance career.

When I was desperate and helpless, it was my best friend’s uncle, Gilbert Rogers, who pulled me back when I was about to jump into the river.

He declared his love for me to the whole world and married me, making it became the wedding of the century.

But on our third wedding anniversary, I unexpectedly heard him instruct his assistant, “As usual, ask the doctor to replace the medicine for my wife's leg with vitamins, so that I can find an excuse to postpone her rehabilitation treatment.”

The assistant said in an awkward tone, “But Mr. Rogers, the doctor said that if we continue to delay Madam's treatment, she may never be able to stand up again.

“Before, you hired someone to deliberately paralyze your wife for Miss Rogers. Now Miss Rogers has become the principal dancer and is loved by her husband's family. Do you still need to be on guard against your wife like this?”

“Why are you nagging? If she can't stand up, then no problem. I'm not going to support her for the rest of her life anyway.”

Gilbert looked into the distance with dejected eyes, “Since Eloise and I cannot be together because she loved someone else, so I will protect her for the rest of her life. I will never let anyone stand in the way of her happiness.”

——

When I heard the truth of all that, I covered my mouth and stepped back in shock.

I never imagined that all my experiences and what I thought was redemption were actually artificially created by Gilbert.

Tears kept falling and my heart ached to the extreme.

As I heard footsteps inside the door, I hurriedly turned my wheelchair and fled to the backyard of the villa.

At that time, the door of Gilbert's storage room, which was usually not allowed to be entered by others, was slightly ajar.

When I went inside, I would see photos and portraits of Eloise from childhood to adulthood hanging on the walls.

Everything she had won, as well as the dance shoes and costumes she had worn over the years, had been kept in a glass cabinet like treasures.

Every place there showed his infatuation with Eloise.

In the center of the room was an adoption document stating the true relationship between him and Eloise.

It turned out that Gilbert was adopted as a son by Eloise's grandfather when he was a teenager and there was actually no blood relationship between them.

I was crying and laughing at the same time. Gilbert, you really deceived me so badly!

In that case, I would completely return the stage to them.

I calmed myself down and left. When I was leaving the backyard, I happened to run into Gilbert who was rushing over.

He paused his walk and asked, “Leonor, why did you come here for no reason? Didn't you need to see something?”

“No, I just haven't been to the garden for a long time and I went in the wrong direction.”

Gilbert breathed a sigh of relief and picked me up from the wheelchair.

“My dear, why do you get more confused as you grow older? The guests are here and your husband will take you to celebrate the anniversary now.”

His warm lips pressed against my forehead, but at that moment I only felt a biting cold.

When we arrived at the main hall of the banquet, the guests looked at Gilbert enviously as he carried me in.

But I saw the threelayer strawberry cream cake in the middle at first glance.

I had always been severely lactose intolerant and strawberry was Eloise’s favorite flavor.

Sure enough, as soon as Gilbert put me on the main seat, Eloise jumped over and shook his arm, “Uncle, when can we cut the cake?

“It’s your anniversary with my aunt, but you prepared my favorite cake. This is too unfair!”

Gilbert scratched the tip of her nose without any guilt.

“Little greedy girl, wait until I give your aunt the gift first.”

Gilbert took out a bracelet and put it on me.

I remembered that not long ago a collector friend of mine excitedly told me that Gilbert commissioned her to buy a topgrade diamond necklace and as a thank you, she gave her a bracelet as a gift.

At that moment, the diamond necklace was hanging brightly around Eloise's neck, while the bracelet that did not fit my size was hanging loosely on my wrist.

At the dance session, I sat in the audience as in previous years.

Eloise took Gilbert's arm and asked me, “Auntie, since you can't move your legs, so I'll replace you to dance the opening dance with my uncle. You don't mind, right?”

Without waiting for my response, they both disappeared into the dance floor.

Gilbert restrainedly and cherishingly held Eloise's waist with his right hand and his peach blossom eyes could not contain any other thoughts except Eloise.

It was our wedding anniversary, but at that moment it completely became his and Eloise’s home court.

Before, I always thought that Gilbert held a big anniversary every year because he doted on me and did not want other people to look down on me.

But then, it seemed that Eloise’s dance was his original intention.

Through our days, he could legitimately approach his true love.

The guests around were whispering, “Wow, Miss Rogers is worthy of being the chief dancer. She dances so beautifully. If she and Mr. Rogers were not uncle and nephew, they would look much more suitable than his disabled wife.”

“That's right. Although Mrs. Rogers was a talented girl in the dance world before, she has now become a useless person. I think that Mr. Rogers will only love her for a few more years at most and by then, no one will want this secondhand disabled person.”

Gilbert was only focused on dancing one song after another with Eloise and did not pay any attention to what was happening on my side.

As he was not around, those upperclass people never concealed their cunning will towards me.

The mocking words became more and more intense. I had no choice but to flee the scene.

I called a lawyer and asked him to draft a divorce agreement for me. I also took the opportunity to book a fake death service.

The banquet was over and I watched the guests leave from the window of my room.

Under the shade of the tree, Gilbert stared at Eloise's receding figure for a long time before turning around and going upstairs.

As soon as we entered the master bedroom, he could no't wait to pick me up and throw me on the bed, then leaned over and gave me a lot of kisses.

“Leonor, can you please tell me you love me? I really love you so much. You are mine. You can only be mine.”

Part of past memories kept overlapping and I finally realized that every time Gilbert was most eager for me, it was after he met Eloise.

It seemed he was only treating me as a substitute for his sexual desires all the time.

I felt so sick that I wanted to vomit and my tears kept flowing out.

Gilbert kissed until he felt something wet and finally came back to his senses from his outofcontrol wildness.

“My dear, what's wrong? Did I hurt you somewhere?”

He kissed me gently to comfort me, but I felt even more sick.

I pushed him away and held onto the toilet to vomit again and again.

Gilbert patted my back again and again, looking very distressed.

“Hey dear, are you feeling better? Do you want your husband to find a doctor to check you out?”

I smiled bitterly in my heart. Should I go see a doctor and have him prescribe me a bunch of vitamins that would not cure any disease at all?

“It's okay. I just feel uncomfortable during my period. I'll be fine after I vomit.”

Gilbert nodded and carried me to the bed, rubbing my lower abdomen with his big hands to relieve the pain.

The mobile phone notification suddenly sounded and Gilbert took the phone for me.

He saw the notification above and could not help asking, “Lawyer? What do you want a lawyer for?”

I quickly grabbed the phone and said, “It's nothing. A friend of mine had a dispute in her business and asked me to help her.”

Gilbert had no doubt at all. The next second, a call came to his mobile phone. It was Eloise.

Seeing that, he hurried out after answering the phone, “My niece Eloise has a stomachache. Her husband is away on a business trip recently and she can't take care of herself. I'm going to see what's going on.”

I did not plan to stop him. Since after Gilbert left, I opened the divorce agreement sent by the lawyer and quickly went to the study to print it out.

In WhatsApp, Eloise also kept reporting the latest news, [I said I was having period pains and my uncle came over to take care of me.]

In the photos, Gilbert was busy in the kitchen, coaxing and feeding Eloise. He even gently wiped her mouth.

In the three years of marriage, even when I was at my sickest, I had never seen Gilbert cook.

Another dynamic popup. In the video, Gilbert was helping Eloise wash a pair of bloody underwear.

Eloise put her arms around his neck and teased him deliberately, “Uncle, you are so good to me. If I get divorced in the future, I will marry you, okay?”

Gilbert's face was serious as he answered, “You are already an adult, stop talking nonsense!”

But I could clearly see how excited he was when he heard Eloise's words.

I turned off my phone and signed my name on the divorce agreement.

Gilbert did not return home all night.

The next day, I set out to the dance troupe alone.

That day was the day that Gilbert and I would attend the celebration banquet for Eloise's promotion to principal dancer.

Since I became paralyzed three years ago, I had never set foot in that place where I once won countless honors.

After the accident, the dance troupe was bought by Gilbert early on also.

He told me at the beginning that he felt that that place carried my past and he hoped to preserve the memory for me.

However, as I thought about it again at that moment, all he did from the beginning to the end was to personally put his beloved Eloise on the chief throne.

I smiled bitterly and my eyes just happened to meet Gilbert who was getting out of the car with Eloise.

He walked quickly and said, “Sorry, the road was closed last night, so I didn't have time to go back.”

I did not care about his excuse and nodded slightly.

Gilbert was about to explain, but Eloise suddenly came forward and took over my wheelchair.

“Uncle, there are many big guys in the industry who want to talk to you. So, I'll just accompany Auntie here. You can just go and socialize with peace of mind."

Gilbert looked at me hesitantly and left.

In fact, after Eloise betrayed me with my exfiancé, I stopped having any contact with her privately.

Many times, our interactions were only due to the relationship between Gilbert and her. I did not even know why she suddenly became close to me.

Without waiting for me to say anything, Eloise pushed me to the dance troupe's hall of honor.

All my performance photos, award certificates and trophies had been removed and replaced with her photos and honors.

Eloise was too lazy to pretend anymore and a smug voice came from above my head, “So, what if you're a genius girl? Leonor, now you can only be firmly under my feet now.”

As she spoke, she walked in front of me and stretched out her legs to show off.

“Do you see the pair of diamond high heels on my feet? My uncle specially found a brand to make them for me to congratulate me on my promotion to the chief position.

“Auntie, do you like it? Oh, how could I have forgotten that you are paralyzed, so even if you like it, you can't wear such beautiful high heels.

“Oh, by the way, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll be merciful and tell you a secret. Actually, my uncle and I are not related by blood.

“Not only that, we were secretly dating for several years. He married you because I liked your fiancé and didn't want you to get in the way, so I asked him to hook you up."

“Leonor, you are so pitiful now. You can never dance better than me and even the person who married you was given to you because I didn't want him. If I were you, I would have died of shame, right?”

I looked up at her and sneered, “Shouldn't you be the one who should be ashamed? You are not as capable as me and you can only take advantage of my leg injury to get ahead.

“Also, you have such a poor talent for dancing. Are you really not considering changing your career?”

Eloise was so angry after being teased by me that she kicked my wheelchair hard.

“Bitch, even when you've become disabled now, you still dare to act so arrogant in front of me?!”

She angrily pushed me toward the garden pond outside the dance troupe and said with a smile, “When you are in bed with my uncle, does he like to call your name instead of mine? Just wait and see until you hear him call my name even in his sleep!

“So, Leonor, I just want you to watch me take away everything from you. Why don't we do an experiment? You can see for yourself who your uncle really cares about.”

After Eloise finished speaking, he pulled my wheelchair and fell into the pool with me.

“Honey!” Gilbert's heartwrenching scream came from a distance.

The water surface was violently heaving and a figure jumped in.

I struggled to move upwards, and in my sight, I saw Gilbert swimming towards me.

I reached out my hand, but I only saw him grab Eloise who was beside me with both hands, pass by me and rescue the person.

It turned out that he was calling her, not me.

I smiled bitterly and when I was almost unconscious, I was pulled up by another kindhearted person who jumped into the water to rescue me.

When I woke up, I saw Gilbert hugging Eloise tightly in his arms and the woman was crying in his arms.

Gilbert had a frightened expression on his face and his eyes never paid any attention to me from beginning to end.

“Don't be afraid, I am here with you. I will never let anything happen to you.”

I smiled bitterly and wanted to leave, but Eloise suddenly pointed at me and started crying, “Uncle, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have subconsciously dragged Auntie into the water when she deliberately hit me with her wheelchair. It's all my fault for having an unstable center of gravity."

Gilbert's expression froze and the look he cast at me was clearly accusatory and unfriendly when he spoke to me, “Well, well, just think of it as an accident, since luckily you two are fine now.”

Eloise was stunned. Because she did not get the desired result. As a result, she glared at me in dissatisfaction.

However, after a while, Gilbert stopped me in a corner where no one was around and threatened me, “Leonor, Eloise is a simple person. Even if you have resentment in your heart, you really shouldn't be so hard on a young girl and even do something harmful to her. Do you understand?”

I had expected it. After all, how could he believe me?

I sneered, “How could a wheelchair user like me harm a healthy and flexible person like Eloise, Gilbert? Don't you think it's funny when you accuse me?”

He frowned, “Whether it was an accident or not, I don't want to see the same thing happen again in the future!”

As if realizing that his words were too harsh, Gilbert added, “After all, Eloise is the apple of my brother's eye. If something really happens to her, neither you nor I will ever be able to explain ourselves.”

“Okay, I got it.”

I was too lazy to argue anymore, but Gilbert was stunned.

He suddenly realized that he seemed not to have cared about my situation since I was rescued.

He stretched out his hand and at that moment, Eloise was crying and shouting in pain not far away.

Gilbert turned around and subconsciously ran towards Eloise.

I returned home alone, sorted out all the diaries and photos that were tokens of our love over the years and burned them all.

I also signed for my portable crutches so that it would be more convenient for me to leave.

I saw Eloise’s updated WhatsApp story again. [My uncle is too worried about me. I just choked on the water, but he booked the entire hospital to check me up. There were so many doctors surrounding me, making me suffer from social anxiety.]

A familiar voice of a man came out from the video, “Be good and get all the tests done, so I can feel at ease, okay?”

In the evening, Gilbert came back very late.

As he came back, Eloise was with him.

“Eloise is scared to stay at home alone and she needs someone to take care of her until she recovers. So, I will take her home to live with us for a few days.”

Anyway, that would not be my home soon, so I had no objection.

Gilbert smelled the smell of ashes in the air and asked, “Is something burning? Why is there a burnt smell?”

“Nothing, I just burned some unimportant things.”

Gilbert's face darkened after hearing my answer. “Don't burn those things at home anymore. It's not good for Eloise’s lungs.”

I nodded. Since everything had been burned, there was no need to burn any more.

I went to bed early because I had a fever.

Late at night, a loud thunder exploded outside the window.

When I woke up, I subconsciously wanted to hide in Gilbert's arms.

Ever since the car accident, I had had a stress reaction to loud noises.

During those three years, it was Gilbert who hugged me tightly every time and told me that he was there, so that I did not need to be afraid. That was how I was able to get through it.

But that time I failed.

Gilbert had already gotten out of bed and put on his coat. “Eloise is most afraid of thunder. I'll go over and take a look.”

I shook my head and laughed at myself. Even at that moment, I still subconsciously relied on Gilbert.

Watching his back as he left, I stood up and put the signed divorce agreement on the table.

I also took out my mobile phone and dialed the driver’s number I had prepared.

“You can pick me up now.”

As I was walking past the guest room on the first floor with my crutches, I heard Eloise sobbing from inside, “Uncle, you obviously still like me, don't you?

“I can see that you start to forget me and often defend Leonor in front of me now. Please tell me, what should I do to get your love again, uncle.”

Eloise put her arms around Gilbert's neck and offered her lips to him.

Gilbert turned his head away a few times, but finally could not help but grabbed the back of Eloise's head with one hand and kissed her back deeply.

The thunder outside the window illuminating the two people's lips and tongues entwined clearly.

The unstoppable pain in my heart overwhelmed me and I turned around decisively.

We walked out of the villa gate, got into the car that had been waiting for us and drove away into the distance in the pouring rain.

The next morning, Gilbert woke up beside Eloise's bed.

He glanced at Eloise who was still sleeping and could not help but kiss her forehead.

The sun was shining outside the window. After all, he had been away from home for no reason all night. He was thinking about ways to apologize to Leonor and make amends.

So, he ordered the breakfast meal that she liked the most.

Leonor was a picky person after all.

Gilbert picked up his phone to order food, but his assistant called him instead.

“Mr. Rogers, something bad has happened. Last night, your wife was traveling by car and encountered a mudslide on the road. Both the car and the people were washed into the lake,” he said.