Chapter 245 Henry Could Already Stand Up
Just then, Grace came downstairs and said, "Henry's awake! I should head back now."
Aurora, overjoyed, exclaimed, "That's great! Thanks, Grace."
Caught up in her happiness, Aurora reached out to hold Grace's hand, but Grace stepped back, her tone icy. "I need to leave now."
Aurora felt a pang of disappointment. "Don't rush off. Take a breather at least; you can leave at dawn."
Grace, with a touch of dignity, replied, "It's not appropriate. I came here for the kids, not to catch up with Henry. Staying longer isn't right."
She seemed cold, but wasn't she hurting too?
Neil, always the reasonable one, thought for a moment and said, "Grace, let me give you a ride. We've kept you up half the night; it's the least I can do."
Grace insisted it wasn't necessary, saying the driver could take her.
But Neil was adamant. Maybe he just didn't want to stick around and argue with Aurora.
In the end, Grace agreed.
By the time they got in the car, the sky was already lightening, signaling a new day. When they pulled up to Grace's villa, the morning light was soft, and the sky was bright.
Clara had stayed up all night, worried about Henry. Just as she was dozing off, she heard a car in the yard. She perked up and walked outside.
Sure enough, Grace was back, and Neil was with her.
Neil, who had known Clara for years, spoke humbly, constantly apologizing for troubling Grace and thanking Clara for looking after the kids.
Clara exchanged some polite words, and after Neil left, she sighed, "He seems to have had a rough time these years! His health's gone downhill, and his family still hasn't fully accepted him."
She invited Grace inside. "I made some pizza. Let me heat it up for you."
Grace nodded softly, and they sat at the dining table. As Grace quietly ate, Clara asked about Henry and then naturally brought up Neil and Aurora. "Has he not remembered who he is all these years?"
Grace's voice was gentle. "I'm not really sure. I only know that recently Neil had a medical check-up, and they found a banned substance in his blood. The components of that drug can mess with a person's nervous system. Lucas said Neil had been unknowingly taking it for about 20 years. He probably stopped recently and got his memories back."
Clara was shocked. She thought for a moment and said, "Then someone did it on purpose! Who could be so cruel?"
Clara hated the Montague family, but whoever was behind this was just as hateful.
Grace smiled faintly. "It's probably an old grudge from Neil's generation."
She didn't want to say too much because she had borne a significant part of the misunderstandings and conflicts between the couple.
Grace never thought Aurora was innocent.
Aurora was hurt, but she couldn't use others' suffering to soothe her own wounds.
Clara agreed wholeheartedly. She pondered and said, "Yes! Now you're no longer part of the Montague family, let them resolve these old issues themselves!"
In the master bedroom on the second floor of the villa, Henry waited for a long time but didn't see Grace after he freshened up. He asked a servant who was delivering food, and the servant put down the tray and said briskly, "Mrs. Grace Montague has gone back! She left a while ago! She should be home by now! Mr. Neil Montague personally took her back."
Henry felt a pang of disappointment. She left without even saying goodbye.
He was pretty hungry after being so sick, but now he had no appetite. He pushed his food around a bit and then set it aside.
Neil walked in and saw Henry leaning against the bed, flipping through an old diary.
Neil didn't interrupt. After a while, he asked, "Is that Grace's?"
Henry nodded. "Yeah, she wrote it when she was really young. Once, I messed up and said some things I shouldn't have. She got mad and burned the diary, and it ended up like this."
Henry drifted into his thoughts for a long time.
He wondered, if his health didn't get better, would he spend the rest of his life clinging to these memories? Would Grace move on and find someone new?
Neil seemed to read his mind.
He gently said, "If you can't let go, take care of yourself. You might get better! You and Grace have a bond. She doesn't feel burdened. Henry, women don't stay young forever. You keep dragging your feet and she might walk. If she ends up being your biggest 'what if', it'll be game over!"
Neil's voice cracked a bit. He looked out the window, his voice distant. "Just like me; my regret will never be spoken."
Neil usually didn't talk about these things. This time, he was truly sad. He didn't stay long and left after opening the door.
Henry stared at the bedroom door, lost in thought.
He didn't reach out to Grace; their only connection now was the kids. He started exercising and taking care of himself, cutting down on smoking to just one or two cigarettes a day.
Lucas used the info from Owen to develop new drugs, and soon the first batch of targeted meds was ready.
Lucas gave Henry small doses.
One morning, a week later, Henry woke up.
He was surprised to find his right hand could curl up a bit, and his leg could move, though it was stiff from not moving for so long.
Henry stared at his right hand and tried to move it again. His fingers slightly curled. Controlling his excitement, he called Lucas.
Lucas upped the dosage, but the drug had side effects. It worked well but often caused vomiting. With intermittent use and adjustments, after a while, Henry could stand and walk a few steps with a handrail.
All of this was kept secret.
Henry began a grueling rehab process because the lost functions needed to be slowly regained through exercise, something drugs couldn't fix.
He kept a low profile, training in the villa, falling repeatedly. His thighs and elbows were bruised and skinned, but he still trained for more than six hours a day.
Lucas said he was crazy and that it wouldn't work, but Henry persisted.
The consequence was a serious illness.
After recovering, Henry could walk short distances independently, but mostly used a wheelchair to save energy. Lucas joked that in another six months, he'd be out causing trouble again.
After the servant saw Lucas off, Henry was about to call Grace when she called instead. Her voice was gentle as she requested, "I have something to take care of. Can I send the kids over to stay for a week?"
Henry instinctively asked what it was.
Grace paused. "Just some personal matters! If it's okay, I'll bring them over this afternoon."