Chapter 155

Across town at Crobert Hospital, Vivian was getting her wounds tended to, while Brandon waited alone in the hallway.

The fluorescent lights overhead painted everything in a cold, sterile glow.

He slouched back in his seat, eyes fixed on the blank ceiling.

Everything that had happened today spun through his mind in a storm, too much, too fast.

Thoughts of Millie wouldn't leave him alone. Every memory they'd made replayed in his head, from their years together to these strange, painful days when she'd shown up as Serena.

He kept seeing her tears, those haunted eyes that squeezed his heart. But all of it faded against the image of Vivian's wrist, bloodied and bandaged.

That was on him.

A storm of regret and confusion swelled inside, and for a moment, he felt utterly lost.

He couldn't see an easy solution, no way to fix things for everyone.

With a sigh, Brandon shut his eyes, trying to wrestle his emotions under control.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by a gruff, furious voice barking his name. "Brandon!"

Blinking awake, Brandon found his grandfather standing over him, face twisted in anger.

"Grandpa," Brandon murmured, barely above a whisper.

"You fool!" Derek snapped. "Why are you here sulking when you should be at Millie's side?"

Brandon couldn't find the words. All he could do was stare back at Derek, drained and silent.

Seeing Brandon's defeated look only stoked Derek's fury.

With people constantly coming and going in the corridor, Derek leaned in to Brandon and said, "Come with me!"

Brandon pushed himself up, steadying himself against the wall, and then trailed after Derek as he marched forward with his cane.

Neither of them spoke as they made their way down the hallway.

They stopped at the emergency exit, where Matthew was ready to help steady Derek and Norma stood nearby,her expression hard.

"I'm not going to repeat myself," Derek said sharply as he fixed Brandon with a glarethat could cut glass."Listen, Brandon, the Watson family will not stand for scandals. Get Millie back right now! If you can't end things with Vivian, I'll handle it myself!"

Yet Brandon found himself glancing toward the nearby stairwell, haunted by the memory of that awful day,when Millie tumbled down the steps because of himn, and later, the painful bruises he saw on Serena during the debut episode of the show Heavenly Melody.

He also recalled the swarm of reporters outside Vivian's apartment when he carried her out.

By now, every headline probably had his name splashed across it.

With everything that happened, would Millie even want to see him again?

Derek's frustration boiled over at Brandon's silence, and he lashed out with his cane. "Say something!".

Brandon simply stood there, unable to get any words out.

Norma finally spoke up, her voice calm but every word heavy. "Brandon, people aren't made of stone. Have you ever thought about the pain you've put Millie through, time and time again? We hoped you'd talk things out last time we brought you both home, but that clearly didn't happen. And now this? Aren't you afraid you'll lose her for good?"

Brandon just stared back at Norma, hollow and lost.

Would Millie actually walk away for good?

He saw her calm, distant eyes in his mind again-how she never looked at him the same way she did again.

The image of her turning her back and leaving after their divorce replayed over and over, haunting him.

Could she really be gone from his life forever?

Brandon's hands curled into fists, uncertainty tightening in his chest.

Derek's voice snapped him back to the present. "Your grandmother is talking, are you even listening?"

He fished out his phone, found Millie's contact, and shoved it at Brandon. "Call her. Tell Millie it's over with Vivian and that you're on your way to see her. Do it, now."

But Brandon only stared at Millie's name on the screen, paralyzed.

"Did you hear me?" Derek snapped.

Brandon's hands shook from how hard he was clenching them.

"Brandon!"

The world around him seemed unreal. In his mind's eye,he saw Millie falling down those stairs 'again, heard her cry out, a memory he could never escape.

Just as Derek drew in breath to shout again, Brandon finally heard his own voice. "We are divorced."

The words felt foreign on his tongue, like they'd come from someone else entirely.

Derek froze mid-swing, cane in the air.

"What did you say?" Derek's tone was all disbelief.

Brandon's gaze dropped, the green glow of the exit sign catching his eye.

"We filed a month ago. It was finalized just a few days back," he said quietly.

For three long seconds, not a sound passed through the hallway. The truth hung in the air, impossible to take back.

Matthew shattered the silence, disbelief ringing in his tone. "Mr. Watson, this isn't something to joke about.You wouldn't really make up something like this just to dodge a call to Mrs. Watson, especially not in front of your grandparents!"

Brandon kepthis mouth shut, jaw clenched tight.

"You.." Derek's anger boiled over, his cane coming down on Brandon's leg again. "Brilliant, Brandon, just brilliant!"

Each breath Derek took came heavy and ragged, his chest heaving with rage as he glared at Brandon,eyes rimmed red. "So you planned to leave Millie at least a month ago? And the whole time you were parading around with Vivian? You ended your marriage for her!"

Derek's hands trembled so hard he could barely hold his cane, his lips quivering in fury."How did we even raise someone like you? I swear, I'll beat some sense into you if it's the last thing I do!"

Derek raised his cane to strike Brandon again, but stopped, his words trailing off."Our family... Watson..."

Suddenly-

"Derek!"

"Mr.Watson!"

Derek's breathing seized, his eyes rolling back as he collapsed where he stood. Matthew and Norma caught him just in time.

"Grandpa!" Brandon lunged to help, but Norma blocked his way, her expression cold and protective.

"Grandma, let me-" Brandon pleaded, reaching out.

"Enough! Get out!" Norma's voice cut through the hallway, sharp and unforgiving. "You're no longer our grandson! You stopped caring about this family ages ago, so don't pretend now? Are you trying to send me to an early grave too?"

Matthew was already dialing for a doctor, panic etched in his features.

"Grandma, that's not true," Brandon protested, his eyes rimmed with red. "Let me help Grandpa-he's not well..."

Norma only shoved him away, her hands as cold as her words.

The emergency exit's sensor lights flickered, throwing them all into a strange, shifting half-light.

No matter how many times Brandon tried to reach his grandparents, Norma blocked him at every turn.

For a split second, the chaos reminded Brandon of that day on the stairwell with Millie, everyone pulling,everything unraveling.

Doctors and nurses rushed over, loading Derek onto a gurney and racing him away for urgent care.

Brandon tried to follow but was left standing outside the emergency room, the doors slammed shut in his face.

Norma's words lingered like ice. "If Derek doesn't make it, I'll go with him. Remember this, Brandon-the weight you carry now is two lives."

Brandon stood alone in the bustling corridor, voices and footsteps swirling around him, none of it sinking in.

He couldn't even hear what they were saying anymore.

Everything felt distant, unreal.

How had his life fallen apart so completely? He'd somehow managed to ruin everything that mattered.

And now, he didn't even know where to begin picking up the pieces.