Chapter 20
Samuel’s rationality had long been washed away by his overwhelming despair. He only ended the call with a bitter laugh when the caller mumbled out a random address within the country
Unsurprisingly, the caller had lied to him, but he didn’t have the energy of the motivation to pursue the matter
From that day onward, he received numerous other calls just like that one. Everyone claimed to have seen Emily somewhere and demanded varying amounts of money from him.
Despite knowing that most of these were con artists, he gave them the money anyway just for the sake of clinging onto the tiniest possibility of hope. All of the money went down the drain without ever bringing anything in return.
Still, Samuel didn’t care. He was relying on that bit of hope to keep himself going. Even if the caller asked to meet him in person, he would do it.
Some women approached him this way, but they were all dressed sudily and obviously had ulterior motives. They care right out and offered, “I’ve got plenty of friends, Mr. Porter. If you’re feeling lonely, we’ll be more than happy to spend some time with you,”
He’d ended up attracting escorts and courtesans. When dealing with such people, he flat–out told them to get lost.
Eventually, even the con artists stopped calling him. His phone remained silent all day long, even quieter than he was.
After a month, he ended up collapsing at home,
That afternoon, the household staff noticed that he never left the bedroom. Even when they knocked on the door, he didn’t snap at them to stop disturbing him, so they gingerly opened the door to check on him.
They found him lying unconscious on the rug. It looked like he was in a dire state and could barely breathe, Immediately, they called for an ambulance and had him brought to the hospital.
In a matter of weeks, Fred and Nora looked like they had aged many years. As they waited outside the emergency room, they looked as though they might faint at any given minute as well.
Alas, the doctor only had bad news for them.
“The patient fainted due to a combination of dehydration and malnutrition. While his condition isn’t life–threatening, it is clear he is suffering from a severe psychological breakdown. If he doesn’t undergo treatment as soon as possible, he might start having thoughts about harming himself.”
Upon hearing that, Nora fainted. Fred felt light–headed too, but he needed to look after his wife and son. He had no choice but to stay strong and handle the hospital paperwork. Once both their conditions were stable, he made a video recording right in Samuel’s room.
In the video, he looked wizened, Tears streamed down his face as he begged for Emily to come back and save Samuel’s life out of consideration for their past relationship.
Across the ocean in Verusa, Emily had no idea all of this was happening. She left after making up her mind to cut off all ties with her past, and that included everything involving Samuel as well as the company.
Nestled among the forest of Verusa was a small wooden cottage. During the winter, the residents of the small town would stay home and admire the snow from their cozy dwellings. Emily mimicked the locals and did the same thing.
She set up an easel in front of the window and began making a sketch of the snowy scene outside. Now and then, she sipped the coffee she’d made from beans she’d ground up by herself. There was a little kitten by her feet, one she had recently adopted.
The kitten was extremely clingy and loved to pester her for attention. It would meow and jump up onto her leg, asking to be petted.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Emily scooped up the kitten before heading over to see who it was. The visitor was her landlady, Lisa.
She turned to the side to let Lisa in while saying, “This little guy is so clingy. I had no choice but to answer the door with it in my arms.”
“It’s fine. It looks adorable,” Lisa said. She shook the bag she was holding and explained, “I baked some cookies and decided to share some with you.” “Thanks,” Emily said before pouring Lisa a cup of coffee as well.
The residents of the little town of Verusa lived a simple life, and winters were fairly boring. Most of the time, everyone had nothing better to do, so they often visited their neighbors.
It had only been a month, but Emily and Lisa had become fast friends.
As they chatted, Lisa mentioned something. “Aria, I saw a video online recently. It was a man giving an apology. He also shared a missing person notice with a photo of someone who looks a lot like you, along with his contact details. I was wondering if you’ve seen that.”
The more Lisa looked at Emily, the more she thought the woman in the photo was her. Ever since Emily moved here, Lisa noticed she didn’t seem to have the habit of going online. Out of consideration for the fact that Emily might be hiding something on purpose, Lisa chose to phrase her question somewhat evasively.
Smiling, Emily remarked, “Is that so? What a coincidence. Still, I have a fairly common face. It’s not surprising if there’s someone out there who looks like me.”
In other words, she was denying having anything to do with that missing person case.
Chiches 20
2/2
Lisa stared at Emily, who was clearly an uncommonly beautiful woman. She knew what Emily’s words meant, of course, but she chose not to expose that. Instead, she tried a different approach.
“That man wasn’t the only one who uploaded a video. His parents did as well. I think they said he has a serious medical condition, and his life is hanging by a thread”
