Kneeling for a Second Chance Novel

---- Chapter 302 The veins in Sebastian's neck bulged as both his hands clutched at his throat. His breathing was ragged and strained. "Sebastian!" Valeria rushed to him quickly. Seeing him collapse onto the floor, she grabbed her phone and immediately called for an ambulance. Sebastian could even feel the diamonds on the pearl pendant scraping against his esophagus, sliding downward bit by bit. It was like swallowing glass. The hardest diamond, which was inlaid at the top, tore into his throat. However , with the blood acting as lubrication , it kept sliding down without suffocating him.

He caught the worry flashing in Valeria's eyes and suddenly smiled. Blood surged up from his throat. He clutched her arm as he forced himself to say in his hoarse, broken voice, "Didn't you say you wouldn't pity me? In the end, you're still crying for me "You're a lunatic." Valeria's whole body shook. She really wanted to just leave, so she nodded to herself. "I should go. I should leave now." She didn't know whether that was meant for him or herself. Sebastian pressed hard against his chest and collapsed to the ---- ground. Blood spilled from his throat as his body curled up on the carpet.

He was in agony, but he was still smiling. He wasn't afraid of dying. He'd already died once before. What he feared most was the indifference in the eyes of the woman in front of him. If this was the only way he could make Valeria worry and cry for him, then it didn't hurt one bit. His vision blurred from the pain as he lifted a trembling hand, brushing the corner of Valeria's eye with his fingertips. He felt warm liquid. Sebastian's smile deepened. She was crying for him. How wonderful. There was still a place for him in her heart. Even if it was just a sliver of pity, it was still for him.

At 1:00 am, Valeria stood outside the emergency ward, listening to the sounds of gastric lavage and vomiting. A nurse asked Valeria to pay the fees and arrange Sebastian's admission. When Valeria returned, the nurse said, "Lucky he didn't suffocate. Your boyfriend will need to stick to liquid food for a while. The diamonds on the pendant tore his esophagus. He'll have trouble speaking for a few days. It'll take time to heal." ---- The staff wheel Sebastian into a ward.

A nurse handed Valeria a transparent plastic bag containing a mixture of stomach fluids and blood, with a pearl necklace inside. "There's a washroom here. You can clean up." Inside the washroom, Valeria's fingers trembled . The pearl pendant in her hand seemed to burn her skin. She had never imagined Sebastian would actually swallow the thing whole. She looked into the mirror. She was still in her home pajamas. She couldn't tell whether she was pale from the fear or the shock.

Then, she thought about what had happened forty minutes earlier -Sebastian had been carried into the ambulance, clinging to her hand. Sebastian asked whether she would feel sorry if he died. Then, he commented, "If I really die, then you can stop crying. You'll be a free woman with no one to cling to you anymore." She turned the tap on full blast, and clear water washed away the filth. The pearl pendant shimmered faintly, no longer smooth and lustrous like it used to be. She could see the faint traces of repair on the pendant.

Only the oddly cut diamond that was set onit still glinted brightly. When Valeria returned to the ward, Sebastian was lying on the bed with an IV drip. ---- She walked up to him and set the pendant on the bedside table. He immediately opened his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping and seemed to have been waiting for her all along. Sebastian turned to look at her, but pain tugged at his neck. He frowned, but a hand slid under his head to support it. Veleria placed a pillow beneath him, He inhaled almost greedily , taking in the faint fragrance that lingered around her.