Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

The delivery guy dropped the food on the small table and said, "This is definitely your takeout."

Bella opened the bag, pulled out the receipt, and noticed a few lines scribbled in the remarks: [Give this to the lady selling barbecue at the school gate. Make sure to remind her, no matter how busy she is, to remember to eat.]

It had been ages since someone cared for her like this, and Bella felt a warm glow in her heart.

She opened the takeout, and the dishes inside looked pretty fancy.

She glanced around, curious about who had sent her this meal.

Not far from her barbecue stand, there was an old lady selling vegetables.

The old lady was probably in her seventies or eighties, with completely white hair. She sold vegetables there every day. Her veggies didn't look as good as those in the farmers' market, but she said they were all homegrown.

Bella thought the old lady must be a lonely, helpless widow; otherwise, she wouldn't be selling vegetables at such an old age to make a living.

Bella gave the old lady the takeout, thinking she probably hadn't eaten either.

The old lady, with her bony, wrinkled hands, took the takeout and was a bit moved. "Ma'am, you are truly a good person."

Bella smiled, went back to her stand, and made herself a bowl of instant noodles. Every day after that, she would get a takeout, and she would give it to the old lady. At night, Bella packed up her stand and pushed her cart a long way home, exhausted. She stood almost all day, with little time to sit down. Every time she packed up and went home, her feet felt like they were falling apart, and every step was painful.

She walked slowly, step by step, accompanied by the sound of the cart's wheels rolling. She didn't notice someone following her not far behind.

There was a small slope at the entrance of her house, and she had to use some strength to push the cart up. Although she was strong, Bella was pregnant, and pushing the cart looked a bit clumsy.

The person in the shadows had an urge to step forward and help her, but she managed to push it in successfully.

The door closed, and the man behind walked to the gate and stood still, hearing voices from inside the house. It was her neighbor greeting her.

That New Year, Bella had said, after drinking that glass of wine, they would be strangers from then on.

So even though he had found her for so many days, Oliver didn't dare to show up and could only watch her silently.

Bella was resolute and wouldn't look back.

But Oliver couldn't let go.

He hated his own indecisiveness and wanted to move on, but his heart was uncontrollable, and he was helpless.

Oliver finally didn't have the courage to knock on the door. Instead, he walked to the roadside opposite, sat down, lit a cigarette, and stared at this unfamiliar place.

Not just the place, but the whole city felt alien to him.

But in this strange city, in this unfamiliar house, lived the one person he knew and couldn't let go of.

Bella had changed a lot.

The hair she had angrily chopped off had grown long again and was now tied in a ponytail, making her look more approachable compared to when she had sharp, short hair.

Bella was now just an ordinary woman, facing difficulties and still striving to live.

A pile of cigarette butts had accumulated at Oliver's feet, and his eyes were a bit sore, maybe from the smoke.

Another person living in the place came back, a woman in work clothes, probably just off a night shift.

She noticed Oliver sitting across the street, looked at him warily, and quickly opened and closed the door, probably thinking he was a bad guy.

Oliver sat there until midnight, until all the lights in the house went out, then slowly stood up and walked away, step by step.

Maybe it was because he had been sitting in one position for too long, his legs were stiff, and his steps were a bit unsteady.

Oliver had been hurt by love before, thinking he would never love again. He never thought that at thirty, he would still be troubled by love.

In the following days, Bella still didn't eat the takeout he sent.

Oliver felt stifled and walked into a bar alone, ordering a pitcher of beer.

He drank bottle after bottle silently. Not only did the other patrons notice, but even

the waitstaff couldn't help but glance at him frequently.

He didn't care what others thought, just kept drinking, trying to numb himself with alcohol.

He knew very well that he didn't dare to appear in front of her because he was afraid of facing her coldness and ruthlessness.

But seeing her struggle so much, unable to help, not even able to make her eat better, made him feel terrible.

If Bella had been with him back then, how could he have let her suffer like this? He would have cherished her, holding her in the palm of his hand, taking good care of her. After finishing all the beer, he was drunk and grabbed a passing waiter.

"Tell me, what should I do with her?"

The waiter was startled but didn't dare to offend the customer, so he carefully removed Oliver's hand.

"Sir, you're drunk, let me help you sit down."

After helping him sit down, the waiter quickly left. No one dared to approach him after that, fearing he would cause a scene.

Oliver leaned on the sofa for a while, thinking he was drunk and would forget everything. But he didn't. Instead, the longing in his heart grew stronger with the alcohol.

He grabbed his coat and staggered out of the bar. He was going to find Bella.

He had come all this way and found her; he couldn't back down now!

Another day wrapped up, and Bella stretched her stiff neck, packed up her things, and pushed her cart home.

At the door, she pushed the cart in first, then turned back to close the door.

But the door didn't close smoothly because a hand suddenly slapped on it.

With a rush of alcohol, a figure turned sideways, pressed her against the wall, and kissed her passionately.

The familiar scent awakened distant memories in her. She already knew who he was and was shocked that he had found her here.

She pushed him; she was strong, but so was he.

His lips were rough and forceful, venting his unwillingness and longing, with a hint of tenderness.

In a moment of panic, Bella bit his lip, and soon both their mouths tasted of blood.

But Oliver didn't stop. No matter how hard she bit him, he continued, kissing her fiercely and urgently, as if he wanted to devour her.

Suddenly, Oliver froze, and so did Bella.

Oliver finally released her lips and slowly raised his head, blood quickly trickling down

the side of his face.

"Die, you pervert!" A woman behind him swung a stick at him, hitting him while muttering angrily.

Bella quickly grabbed the woman, saying, "Stop, he's not."

The neighbor stopped, hands on her hips, looking at Bella and then at Oliver, a bit confused. "Isn't he a pervert?"

But she had seen Bella struggling just now, clearly being forcibly kissed.noveldrama

Bella explained, "He's my friend."

"Friend? Boyfriend, right? Sorry, I didn't know. I thought he was a pervert breaking into our place."

The neighbor apologized while putting away the stick and awkwardly retreated to her

own room.

Bella wiped the blood from her mouth and looked at Oliver.

Knowing it was impossible to be with him, she didn't want to give him any hope, so her words were cold.

Bella said, "You're bleeding. Go get it bandaged."

Oliver, unable to stand steadily, leaned against the wall. "No need. I might as well die."

"If you want to die, do it far away." With that, Bella turned coldly and went back inside. Closing the door, she took a few deep breaths and went to the kitchen to boil some water.

After sitting for a while and hearing no noise outside, Bella still felt uneasy.

She opened the door and found Oliver lying motionless on the ground.

She walked over and shook him.

Bella said, "Get up. What are you doing lying here?"

Oliver, eyes closed, mumbled a few words. "Don't bother me. Let me sleep for a while."

Bella couldn't tell if he was really drunk or pretending.

His hair was matted with blood, and lying there any longer would be dangerous.

With no other choice, Bella helped him into the place and let him lie on the sofa.

After searching for a while and not finding anything to treat his wound, she had to borrow from the neighbor.

The neighbor handed her some gauze and iodine, apologizing, "Sorry, I didn't know he was your..."

Bella knew she might have misunderstood but didn't explain further, taking the gauze back inside.

Oliver was already asleep, light snores coming from the sofa.

Bella poured some hot water and gently cleaned his wound.

The injury wasn't deep, just a small cut.

Despite her gentle movements, he woke up.

Whether it was the pain from the wound or his heartache, Oliver couldn't sleep

soundly.

A dim incandescent bulb hung from the ceiling, casting a yellowish light over the

simple room.

He shifted his gaze to Bella.

Seeing him awake, Bella didn't speak, silently applying medicine and bandaging him.

At that moment, Oliver felt a bit grateful to the woman who had hit him. Because of the injury, Bella had brought him inside, personally bandaging him, allowing him to look at her up close.

Bella finally broke the silence. She said, "You were doing fine in Starlight City. Why did you come here?"

Oliver looked at her, a corner of his mouth lifting.

He said, "Because I wanted to."

Having finished bandaging, Bella didn't want to deal with him and got up to leave.

She wasn't a heartless woman.

In this unfamiliar city, seeing Oliver in her difficult times, and his earlier fierce kiss, had stirred her emotions.

But that wouldn't change anything. The path she had chosen, even if it broke her legs, she wouldn't turn back.

Because at the end of the road, Zachary was waiting for her.

"My stomach hurts."

Oliver's pitiful voice sounded behind her.

Bella snapped out of her thoughts, saying angrily, "Serves you right for drinking. You

had it coming."

Oliver curled up on the sofa, writhing in pain, his voice even more pitiful.

"I haven't eaten all day. There's nothing in my stomach but alcohol."

Bella said, "Serves you right!"

Despite her words, Bella walked to the kitchen. After a while, she came out with a bowl

of spaghetti.

"There's nothing else at home, just spaghetti."

Oliver sat up, took the spaghetti, and gave her a silly smile.

Oliver said, "As long as you made it, I'd eat it, even if it were poison."

He picked up a fork, ready to eat, then paused and looked at her.

Oliver said, "You should eat too! Eating instant noodles all the time isn't good for the

baby."

With that, he went to the kitchen, got a bowl, and divided the spaghetti with her.

"Was it you who ordered the takeout?" Bella asked, looking at him.

Oliver kept his head down, eating silently, not answering.

Bella was indeed hungry, so she picked up her fork and ate the spaghetti.

After eating, Oliver took out a bank card from his pocket and pushed it towards her.

Oliver said firmly, "The password is your birthday."