Filed to story: Healing My Disabled Husband Novel
“I just wanted to ask you how much rent I need to pay since I’m living here,” Ivy said.
Damion was taken aback and almost laughed out loud at what she said. He leaned down and looked directly into Ivy’s eyes, saying, “How much do you want to give me?”
Ivy choked up and suddenly couldn’t speak. Although she didn’t know how much the rent was here with
Damion, she knew it was expensive enough that even after years of hard work, she wouldn’t be able to afford it.
Despite knowing that in front of Damion, she had no face or dignity left whatsoever, Ivy still felt like she needed to preserve some semblance of self-respect.
Damion rubbed Ivy’s head gently and said reassuringly, “It’s okay, silly girl. When did I ever say that I wanted your rent money?”
Ivy blinked a few times rapidly. If not for the last shred of rationality left in her mind, she would have reached out and hugged him right then.
“If you don’t want owe me anything,” Damion continued. “Just wait until after graduation when you can earn money yourself.”
Ivy immediately nodded eagerly in agreement while making some childish promises like, “I will definitely work hard to earn money.”
Her behavior made Damion laugh uncontrollably once again.
“Okay, go rest now. If there’s anything, we’ll talk about it tomorrow,” Damion said.
Ivy nodded and obediently went back to her room this time.
That night, Ivy couldn’t sleep at all. She tossed and turned in bed, thinking about everything that had happened since she met Damion. It all left her feeling very confused.
Maybe she had never been lucky before, and Ivy subconsciously believed that she would never be lucky in this world. She was already worried that tomorrow Damion might not treat her as well as he did today.
Ivy knew she needed to stay clear-headed to protect herself from getting hurt. She wasn’t a brave girl and didn’t have much confidence in herself. In her eyes, there were some things that she just didn’t deserve.
As Ivy thought more about it, she became even more despondent. Even though she promised Damion not to cry anymore, tears still fell down her cheeks uncontrollably onto the pillow.
After a while of crying silently into the pillowcase until it was damp with tears, Ivy suddenly sat up straight on the bed with determination in her eyes.
She made up her mind: no matter what happened between them going forward, she cannot be an ungrateful person who took advantage of his kindness without conscience or appreciation for his generosity towards her, because he had no reason or obligation on his part to treat her well.
Although she couldn’t repay him now, maybe she could in the future. He had given her a chance to go back to college, so she would make good use of it and work hard to become someone who could be helpful to him.
Therefore, Ivy decided that she wouldn’t listen to Damion’s advice that she should choose a major that she liked and was interested in pursuing. She wanted to become his right-hand woman, someone who would be useful to him.
Ivy made up her mind and decided that she needed to research which majors were both profitable and useful for Damion. After making this decision, Ivy lay back down on her bed and drifted off into sleep once again.
When Ivy woke up again, it was already two o’clock in the afternoon. She had slept for ten hours straight!
Sitting up in bed, Ivy felt dumbfounded and unsure of what had happened. How did she sleep for so long? She really didn’t know.
Feeling ashamed of herself, Ivy slapped her forehead with disgust at how lazy she must have seemed.
She didn’t know if Damion would think less of her because of it.
After lingering around in her room for a while longer with a sense of resignation about everything going on around her, Ivy finally summoned the courage necessary to leave the room behind with an air of finality about it all.
She also remembered that Damion was working today which made things slightly easier for her. But soon enough she began berating herself once more as soon as those thoughts entered into consciousness again.
Ivy walked over to the couch and sat down, finally noticing the note that Damion had left on the coffee table. The handwriting was strong and powerful, completely different from Damion’s personality. It read,
“Breakfast is in the kitchen. Remember to eat.”
Ivy held onto the note for a long time without coming back to her senses. She didn’t know how to describe her feelings. This sensation was too strange and heartwarming. No one had ever treated her like this before.
Ivy even felt like she might be in trouble because of it. This thought appeared in Ivy’s mind almost every day and every minute.
She knew that she was still struggling, but there wasn’t much space left for her to struggle anymore.
Ivy knew that all she could do was face these emotions by herself without causing any trouble for
Damion. That would be her way of repaying him at this point.
Taking the note with her as she stood up, Ivy walked towards the kitchen where she found breakfast laid out on the table – all of which were things she loved eating.
Although thinking about it made Ivy feel a bit shameless, she couldn’t help but think about it anyway.
She slapped herself on the forehead, trying to snap out of it before realizing that if things continued like this, then everything would fall apart soon enough.
Ivy had absolutely no self-awareness. She was eating a bowl of lean pork and preserved egg congee when she heard the sound of the door opening. Turning her head, she saw Damion walking in.
In an instant, Ivy felt so embarrassed that she wanted to dig a hole and hide in it. Damion was also somewhat surprised, holding a food box in his hand with an expression of mixed emotions.
He never expected Ivy to be having breakfast at this time. Ivy’s face turned red and she almost broke the spoon in her hand.
It was really too much for her to handle.
Damion walked over and placed the food box on the table one by one, saying, “Have some more.”
Ivy mumbled something indistinctly while quickly lowering her head. She didn’t even dare reach into the food box with her fork.
Damion laughed heartily but couldn’t bear to see Ivy looking so pitiful. He spoke softly, “It’s okay.
There’s nothing wrong with sleeping late after staying up late last night. I won’t make fun of you.”
Ivy nodded obediently like a well-behaved child. Damion chuckled softly as he used a fork to pick out some dishes for Ivy, “This is really delicious. Try it.”
Ivy obediently picked up what he offered and put it into her mouth. It was truly amazing!
She looked at Damion in surprise, “This is really delicious.”
“You’re such a foodie,” Damion said with a tone of indulgence that he couldn’t hide.
In an instant, Ivy’s face turned red.
She really wanted to tell Damion not to tease her like this anymore in the future.
Her self-control was not good at all and she was easily influenced.
After finishing their meal, Ivy offered to clean up the dishes. Damion was taken aback and said, “You don’t have to do that.” But Ivy insisted, saying she couldn’t just eat and live at his place without doing anything in return. Damion chuckled and let her tidy up.
Ivy worked quickly and efficiently, finishing in no time. While she was busy with the dishes, Damion took care of some personal matters. When he saw that she had finished cleaning up, he said, “Go change your clothes. We’re going out.”
Confused, Ivy asked him why they were going out. Damion replied that he wanted to buy her something. Even more puzzled now, Ivy protested that she didn’t need anything.
Damion sighed and playfully tapped her forehead with his hand before saying they could just go window shopping together then.
Ivy hesitated for a moment before agreeing reluctantly. It sounded kind of pitiful when put like that.
She couldn’t possibly refuse Damion, so she quickly nodded and said, “Okay, wait for me. I’ll be ready soon.” With that, Ivy turned and ran into her room to change her clothes.
Naturally, she wore the same outfit as yesterday: a white t-shirt and jeans that exuded youthfulness.
Damion realized that he had only ever seen Ivy in t-shirts and jeans before. Although it was cute and innocent, it lacked the variety of other girls.
He knew this was because Ivy had gone through too much hardship in her past life to have many opportunities to add more variety to herself. Now that he had brought this girl by his side, he wanted her to be able to enjoy being a carefree girl.
Ivy didn’t know what Damion was thinking about. Everything she did was just so that he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. So whatever he asked of her, as long as it wasn’t out of line or inappropriate, she would obediently agree with.
Going shopping with him? That was an easy task for Ivy! She sweetly smiled at Damion and said,
“Where do you want to go?”
Damion replied, “Just come with me.”
Ivy obediently nodded. Like a little tail, she followed behind him as they walked over towards the nearby mall without driving there directly.
However, Ivy still felt somewhat uneasy despite everything else going smoothly so far.
She had never been to a mall like this before. She had seen many posts online complaining about how the salespeople in these types of malls were snobbish and only enthusiastic towards those who looked wealthy, while ignoring those who didn’t look as well off and even saying annoying things to them.
Although Ivy didn’t have a particularly strong sense of self-esteem, she couldn’t stand being treated with that kind of attitude by strangers. So her way of avoiding this situation was to stay away from it altogether.
This was the first time Ivy had set foot in such a place. Even though Damion was by her side, Ivy still felt nervous and uneasy. She unconsciously became cautious with every step she took, as if walking on thin ice that caused her pain.
Damion noticed Ivy’s abnormal behavior and turned his head to look at her suspiciously, asking,
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?”
Ivy didn’t want to cause trouble for Damion, so she quickly shook her head and said, “No.”
Damion raised an eyebrow lightly and quickly understood what was going on. He chuckled softly and reached out his hand towards Ivy, saying, “Come here.”
Ivy looked at Damion, feeling a bit confused about what he meant. Her first reaction was that Damion had really beautiful hands. She never knew that a man’s hands could be so attractive. This made her feel self-conscious about her rough and calloused hands, which she didn’t dare to show in front of him.
Seeing Ivy standing there in confusion, Damion felt a bit helpless. He took Ivy’s hand and held it in his palm, instantly enveloping her cold hand with warmth. It was then that Ivy realized how nervous she had become since coming to this place.
Feeling even more uneasy now, Ivy felt as if Damion had found out some secret of hers. Meanwhile,
Damion hadn’t expected Ivy’s hand to be so cold either. He gently rubbed it to comfort her.
“Let’s go see if there’s anything you like,” said Damion.
Ivy was led by the hand into the store before realizing what he meant by his words. She stopped walking and looked at him hesitantly before addressing him formally, “Mr. Bishop…”
Before the conversation even began, Ivy noticed Damion furrow his brow, looking unhappy.
Damion spoke up, “You always call me Mr. Bishop. That’s strange.”
Ivy realized he was right. It was odd. But she didn’t know what else to call him.
Should she just use his first name? That seemed even stranger and impolite.
What about Brother Bishop or Uncle Bishop? Those were just as weird.
Damion suggested, “Just call me Damion.”
That was what Casey called him anyway, and Ivy was like a little sister to him now too.
Ivy obediently replied with a sweet smile, “Okay, Damion.”
