Chapter 313 Firmly bound together

With these prayer beads on their wrists, it was as if their lives were now firmly bound together, never to be parted.

Alana looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. “Stephan, I’ve kept my promise to you.”

Stephan curved his lips into a smile. He said nothing, but simply leaned down and kissed her soft, delicate lips.

Before they knew it, the sun had already dipped below the mountain ridge.

Bathed in the glow of the evening sky, the entire landscape, from the heavens to the earth, was bathed in a brilliant orange hue, warm and romantic.

The maple groves on the mountain swayed in the breeze, as if dancing in celebration of the beautiful sunset.

Everything looked so beautiful.

Seeing this scene, Alana felt that all the fatigue she’d accumulated over the past few days had been instantly healed.

Stephan felt the same way.

With a loved one by his side, sharing each other’s company, that was all that mattered.

Stephan bent down and knelt in front of Alana. “It’s getting late. Come on, I’ll carry you down the mountain.”

Alana’s cheeks flushed slightly. “No need. I can still walk down on my own.”

But Stephan took her hand without a word, pulled her onto his back, hooked his arms around her slender legs, and hoisted her up.

Alana let out a startled gasp and had no choice but to lie face-down on his back. Her legs instinctively wrapped tightly around his waist and abdomen to keep from slipping, and her arms naturally wrapped around his neck.

His back was firm, broad, and sturdy. Being carried by him felt warm and powerful, giving her an indescribable sense of security.

She bit her lip. “Stephan, put me down. I told you, you don’t need to carry me.”

There was still a long way down the mountain, and she didn’t want him to get tired. Besides, they’d pass many people on the way back, and she felt a bit self-conscious.

Stephan gave her a gentle jiggle. “Don’t you think it’s romantic, with the sun setting and the last rays of light fading, for me to carry you down the mountain?”

“Hm?” She hadn’t really thought of it that way; she was just worried he’d get tired.

Stephan chuckled, “You’re completely immune to romance.”

Alana gasped.

Stephan asked softly, “Lana, what wish did you just make?”

Alana blinked and said playfully, “I... hoped Grandma stays healthy and lives to be a hundred years old.”

Stephan frowned. “Is that the only wish you made?”

“That’s it.”

Stephan couldn’t help but give Alanaa light slap on the butt, neither too hard nor too soft. “Alana!”

She burst out laughing, “I was just kidding! I also made a wish that my boyfriend will be happy and healthy for the rest of his life, and that everything good goes his way. I also wished to be with him for the rest of my life, through thick and thin.”

Stephan’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.

This silly girl... why didn’t she make a wish for herself? He’d rather she’d made a wish that included herself a little more.

Alana lay on top of him, her warm breath brushing against his ear.

“What about you?”

“What did you wish for?”

Stephan’s thin lips parted slightly. “I wished that Alana will always be happy and always be blessed. I’m wishing to be with her for the rest of my life, forever and ever.”

Alana paused in surprise. So, just like her, his wish was for them to be together.

Except that her wish included not only him, but also her grandmother.

But his wish was only for her...

Alana felt an indescribable surge of emotion, and her eyes began to well up with tears.

She couldn’t help but hold him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder, her tears unconsciously soaking the fabric of his shirt.

“Stephan, thank you.”

Thank you for making that wish for her. And what a beautiful wish it was.

She was so touched.

Stephan found it amusing. “Silly girl.”

She had made a wish for him, too.

“Alana, we already agreed, you’re going to marry me. You can’t go back on your word.”

Alana’s eyes welled up, and she said with a slight catch in her voice, “Mm-hmm, I won’t go back on my word.”

“I, Alana Martin, will marry no one but Stephan Hudson in this lifetime.”

Stephan tilted his head back slightly, his full, handsome forehead and eyes brimming with laughter. “I, Stephan, will marry no one but Alana in this lifetime!”

Alana couldn’t help but smile, hugging him even tighter.

The sunset was beautiful.

Bathed in the glow of the sunset, the sight of the man carrying the woman down the mountain was even more beautiful.

In that moment, both of them felt a deep desire to keep walking together, for the rest of their lives.

*******

Back at the hotel.

Stephan received a phone call.

After hanging up, he said to Alana, “The flight itinerary has been finalized. We can take off tomorrow.”

Alana’s eyes crinkled with a smile; it seemed they could arrange for her grandmother to go to the city for treatment tomorrow.

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his lean waist, standing on tiptoe to kiss his sensual, full lips. “You’ve worked so hard.”

Stephan curved his lips. “If you think I’ve worked hard, then reward me properly.”

Alana’s face flushed slightly. Suppressing her shyness, she gently placed her soft, delicate hand on the buckle of his belt...

Noticing Alana’s gesture, Stephan’s breathing quickened slightly.

He clenched his teeth slightly. “In such a hurry?”

Alana instinctively pulled her hand back; she wasn’t quite that bold after all. “If you

don’t want it, then never mind...”

Stephan quickly pulled her hand back. “I want it! And not just once!”

Next, Alana was pinned down on the bed by the man...

Stephan raised his upper body slightly, revealing his sexy, defined muscles.

He gazed down at the woman beneath him, her face flushed and her expression alluring.

“Should we turn off the lights?”

Alana blushed as she wrapped her arms around his muscular frame and slowly shook her head.

“No need. I want... to see you a little more clearly.”

Stephan curved his lips. “As it happens, I was thinking the same thing.”

The bedside lamp remained on. The silhouettes of the two figures on the bed cast shifting shadows on the wall.

The air was stiflingly hot and humid.

Intimate, passionate sounds echoed endlessly.

And this was only the beginning; the night was still long.

She had to admit, Stephan is really something. He said it wouldn’t be just once, and it really wasn’t.

If he didn’t have important business to attend to tomorrow, he might not have let her go all night.

After their moment of pleasure, the two embraced and fell into a deep sleep.

***********

Meanwhile, Agnes learned from Miranda that the old woman was going to be transferred to a hospital in the city for treatment.

“Why go to a hospital there?”

Miranda replied, “The old lady is still in very poor health, and the medical standards here aren’t very high, so we’re transferring her to a hospital there for better treatment.”

Agnes thought to herself that transferring her to a hospital was for the best; that way, she wouldn’t have to make the back-and-forth trips anymore.

Besides, if she stayed in this village too long, Henry would have something to say about it.

Since she’d arrived here, Henry had urged her more than once to return immediately.

Besides, Jamin was still young, at an age when he needed his mother’s companionship.

In the past, because of her selfishness, she had abandoned her young daughter.

Now, she just wanted to pour all the love she had never given her daughter into this son.

“All right, I understand. Which hospital are you planning to transfer her to?”

Miranda scratched his head. “I think it’s a hospital called Peking Union Medical College Hospital.”

Agnes froze for a moment. That was the most famous hospital in the city.

Ordinary people couldn’t even get their foot in the door there.

How did Miranda and the others manage to get her admitted?

Plus, the treatment costs during her stay would be exorbitant, something an ordinary family simply couldn’t afford.