?Chapter 678:


    When he arrived, the doctor looked up from his files. “Are you Rachel’s family?”


    Jeffrey swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. “Yes. I’m her brother.”


    “Does she have any other rtives?”


    Jeffrey shook his head with determination. “I’m the only one she has.” The doctor hesitated for a moment, then adjusted his sses and sighed. In the end, he chose to tell the truth.


    Thirty minutester, Jeffrey rushed out of the doctor’s office and ran straight to the stairwell.


    In the dim, damp stairwell, where no one could see him, he finally let go. His shoulders shook as he broke down, sobbing uncontrobly.


    Kidney failure… Cancer…


    Beyond that, the medical terms blurred together—things he neither understood nor wanted to understand.


    Squatting down, his fingers dug into his scalp, his entire body trembling. Why? Why did it have to be Rachel? Why was fate so merciless to the one person who had already endured so much? This wasn’t fair.


    Suddenly, everything clicked. The way she always told him to take care of himself… it wasn’t just casual advice.


    No wonder she pushed him to find a job, to stand on his own.


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    It was because she had known, long before he did, that she might not be around to look after him much longer.


    His tears stopped, only to start again. Over and over, in an endless cycle of grief. No one was there tofort him—he could only endure the pain alone.


    As the soft glow of morning filtered through the curtains, Rachel’s eyes fluttered open.


    Lying still, hershes trembled as she forced her heavy eyelids to lift.


    Jeffrey, who had been keeping a silent vigil by her side, jolted upright. “Rachel,” he called gently, his voice thick with emotion.


    Through the blurry haze, she caught a sliver of light. Slowly, her vision adjusted until she could make out the familiar features of her brother.


    A faint, weary smile tugged at her lips—weak but enough to ease the storm raging in his heart.


    “You’re awake,” Jeffrey blurted out, his voice filled with relief.


    With great effort, she finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. “You must have been worried sick about me.”


    “Of course!” Jeffrey grabbed her hand tightly. “But I knew you’d never leave me. Never.”


    “I won’t,” Rachel replied firmly, her eyes filled with reassurance.


    Her biggest fear had been Jeffrey discovering the truth about her condition and not being able to handle it.


    Now, when she thought he still didn’t know the truth, a weight lifted off her shoulders.


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