I Returned to the Day He Brought His First Love Home-Chapter 119: He Really Regretted It

"Grace Winslow really got into college? Which one? And all those important people came to your house?"

As soon as the neighbors heard what Irene Lynch said, their interest was instantly piqued.

Some of the more enterprising ones even started getting a few ideas.

This was a university student, after all.

Not only would she get a monthly stipend, but her job would be guaranteed upon graduation. It was a secure job for life—far better than working in a factory.

Grace Winslow had always been smart in school, finishing first in her grade every single year.

But the college entrance exam was a mad scramble.

The news had reported it: several million people took the exam, but only around three hundred thousand were admitted. The elimination rate was incredibly high.

And Grace Winslow still managed to get in, even with odds like that?

And this was six or seven years after she’d graduated from high school.

Irene Lynch shot the speaker a look. "Of course it’s not fake. If our Grace hadn’t done so well on her exam, would so many officials be stopping by to deliver gifts?"

"As for how good her scores are, you can all just read about it in the news later."

Irene Lynch didn’t want to show off too much.

After all, as the top scorer of the college entrance exam, she was bound to be in the newspapers.

Anyone who needed to know would find out.

Hearing this, everyone happily followed her.

No one dared to bring up any unpleasant or jinx-worthy topics.

Arriving at Irene Lynch’s house, she brought out the sunflower seeds, candies, and cookies she had prepared and began handing them out.

Everyone got a generous handful.

After offering some well wishes, they all left in high spirits.

In the space of a single afternoon, half of Prospera Town knew that Grace Winslow had gotten into a university.

Some people, both familiar and not, even came to the door asking for celebratory sweets.

Irene Lynch didn’t mind.

She had bought several pounds of fruit-flavored hard candies. They weren’t expensive, and it was all for the happy occasion. She gave a large handful to everyone who came, throwing in some cookies as well.

In just one afternoon, many people had come, and most of the treats had been given away.

Irene Lynch rubbed her shoulders and couldn’t help but complain to Gregory Winslow, "This is way more tiring than staying with someone at the hospital."

"Gregory, I’m going to sleep for a while. Wake me up tonight so I can go to the hospital and switch with Grace."

"Go on. Should I wake you for dinner?" Gregory Winslow asked, his heart aching at the sight of her exhaustion.

"Can you even cook?" Irene Lynch gave him a doubtful look.

Gregory Winslow was immediately offended. "Who are you looking down on? You just get your rest. I guarantee I’ll make you something delicious."

Irene Lynch chuckled and went into the room to rest.

「Redridge Farm.」

The farm was in a remote location with terrible conditions. The people exiled here had, for the most part, committed major offenses and been sent for reform through labor.

Caleb Forrest was one of them.

Compared to six months ago, he looked much more haggard and older. His face, once considered refined and handsome, was now weathered and worn.

At that moment, he was sitting unceremoniously on a rock, gnawing on a cold, hard cornbread bun.

A man next to him ambled back from outside, chuckling. "Heard they brought back the college entrance exam, and the results are out. Our Prospera Town has a female top scorer, and she’s supposedly quite pretty."

"Oh? A female top scorer? What’s she look like? What’s her name?"

The others perked up with interest upon hearing this.

There wasn’t much entertainment in a place like this.

The only amusement was getting to read the newspaper for a little while each day to catch up on what was happening in the outside world.

They had endless work every day, ate poorly, and lived in squalor. That little bit of entertainment was all that kept them going.

At first, Caleb Forrest paid it no mind. But for some reason, when he heard that, a face surfaced in his mind.

Grace Winslow had been a true scholar back in school.

An article she wrote in high school had even been published in the newspaper.

After they got together, he hadn’t liked her being in the spotlight. He’d hoped she would stop writing, and so she had. She gave it up, focused on him, and transformed into the woman he had imagined her to be.

Yet, once she became that woman, he began to grow tired of her.

Lost in thought, his expression grew vacant for a moment.

Just then, he heard a painfully familiar name spill from his coworker’s lips: "Her name is Grace Winslow, from right here in Prospera Town."

"She’s really beautiful, and young, too. Only twenty-four."

"Man, what I wouldn’t give to marry a wife like that! Good-looking, smart, a great body... I can’t even imagine what she’d be like in bed..."

He continued his lewd talk, his face flush with excitement.

His face flushing red, Caleb Forrest abruptly shot to his feet, shoved the man to the ground, and slammed a fist into his face.

"Shut up! That’s my fucking wife!"

The man was caught off guard by the first punch, but after he came to his senses, he immediately started fighting back. "Fuck off! Everyone knows what you are, you scumbag! You threw away your own wife to go mess with some slut!"

"A guy like you should’ve gotten a bullet to the head. The only reason you weren’t executed is because of the lenient policies. ’Your wife’? You think you’re worthy of her?"

"Brothers, get him!"

Hugo Aldridge was very popular at Redridge Farm and could rally people with a single shout. The words had barely left his lips when the gawking onlookers dropped what they were doing and swarmed Caleb Forrest, beating him with their fists and feet.

Caleb Forrest curled up, protecting his head, his eyes wide as he muttered, "She’s mine, she’s mine, she’s my wife, my wife..."

A stream of tears slid down his cheek.

In that moment, he was filled with a regret so profound it was unlike anything he had ever felt.

’How could I have been so foolish, trading a diamond for a stone? How did I lose the best thing I ever had?’

After seven days in the hospital incubator, Bonnie’s vitals finally stabilized, and she was cleared to come out.

When Lily Callahan held the tiny baby, she could barely hold back her tears.

After seven days of care, the little girl had put on some weight. Her face was rounder, and her skin was no longer as wrinkled as it was at birth. She looked like a freshly peeled egg, though her skin was still a bit dry with a few red marks.

Lily Callahan held her carefully. "Bonnie, I’m your mommy."

The little girl was too busy stuffing her fist into her mouth to suck on it. She didn’t hear Lily Callahan’s words at all and gave no reaction.

Nolan Winslow leaned in for a look and couldn’t help but laugh. "Honey, our daughter looks like me."

Lily Callahan looked up and glared at him. "She looks like me. Now, shoo."

"Yes, yes, yes, she looks like you," Nolan Winslow grinned foolishly, not minding at all.

With Bonnie all right, Lily Callahan could be discharged and go home for her postpartum confinement.

Early that morning, Grace Winslow brought over the things Irene Lynch had asked for.

The clothes, washbasin, and towels from the hospital were all packed up.

Lily Callahan put on a headscarf, gloves, and thick socks. To avoid being exposed to the wind, she even had Grace Winslow hold an umbrella over her.

As they left, Irene Lynch secretly tucked a red envelope onto the empty hospital bed before following them out of the hospital.