Ficorpio
Chapter 1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
First Edition
1
My name is Luna Ember.
There’s a guy stuck in my head named Eliot Hawthorne.
Eliot Hawthorne and I were childhood sweethearts. He was sunny and handsome, like a little sun.
But I am taciturn, cold, and serious.
Everybody loves Eliot Hawthorne.
Me too.
2
Eliot Hawthorne asked me out one day. My phone screen lit up just before I fell asleep.
I couldn’t sleep at all.
After some deleting and overthinking, I just sent back two simple words.
OK.
I spent another hour picking out clothes. The outfits I tried on filled up the big bed.
Finally, I chose the first dress I had tried on, a light blue one. This was the first time he had asked me out, and I felt like something would happen tomorrow.
Maybe he wanted… me?
The next day.
He was holding a girl with disheveled clothes, smiling at me sheepishly.
I don’t know what my expression was, but it must have been ugly.
3
Eliot Hawthorne was oblivious to this.
He scratched his head, smiled, and said to me, “This is Kaelin Thorne, my new friend. She just twisted her ankle, and I took her to see a doctor. Let’s have dinner together another day, get to know each other.”
The girl in his arms had her arms around his neck and gave me an embarrassed smile when he spoke.
She is really beautiful. Unlike me, her beauty perfectly complements Eliot Hawthorne’s; they look harmonious together.
I’ve always been a woman of few words, so naturally, at this moment, I didn’t act like a nagging woman, questioning him or yelling.
I don’t believe he doesn’t know how I feel. I don’t believe that in all these past ten years, from when he started talking to his first crush, I wasn’t in his eyes.
I’ve always been quiet, so at this point, I could only mumble, “Hmm.”
The light blue dress felt like a tsunami-sized joke, drowning my heart.
4
After that day, I was restless.
Eliot Hawthorne looked at her with affection.
Why could I see that? Because it was the very look I had been seeking for years but never received.
I tentatively asked him out and waited an hour before he replied, saying Kaelin Thorne’s mother was in the hospital and he couldn’t leave her alone.
OK.
I still replied to him like that.
It seems I only ever agree with him.
Let’s go running!
OK.
Let’s go home together today!
OK.
I need to take care of Kaelin Thorne first!
……
OK.
Year after year, I felt myself sinking into the dust, without the energy to bloom.
5
From then on, Kaelin Thorne’s name often appeared like surround sound: Kaelin Thorne’s father is unknown, she suffered a lot, but she’s strong.
Kaelin Thorne’s mom is sick, her family is poor, she works three jobs every day.
Kaelin Thorne never asks for help, it’s really heartbreaking.
Eliot Hawthorne chatted with me unconsciously, a smile on his face, and my grip on the chopsticks gradually tightened.
“Eliot Hawthorne,” I said, “no talking during meals.”
He was still smiling, scratching the back of his head awkwardly when he heard it: “Hehe, sorry, sorry.”
He seemed a little wronged, hidden in his amber eyes as warm as the sun, and my resentment dissipated like a popped balloon.
I lowered my head, my black hair covering my drooping eyelashes.
Fool.
I almost resented him, resented him for not understanding, resented him for being oblivious.
Anyway, I am dark and no one loves me.
Anyway, I am paranoid and morbid, so it’s not surprising I would cling to him tightly or drag him down.
6
Eliot Hawthorne walked to school with me today.
Autumn was cold, and everything was withering.
Eliot Hawthorne talked to me while wearing a brown scarf. He was walking in front, turned around, stepping on the rustling maple leaves. Suddenly he stopped, his hand gently passing over my head and spreading out in front of me.
A bright yellow maple leaf and smiling pale yellow pupils; the bleak, slightly deserted yellow autumn suddenly became charming.
He lit up the whole autumn.
7
“So you’re Luna Ember? What a… unique name.”
The girls around me were smiling.
Kaelin Thorne had recently been bullied by some troublemakers, often stopped in the alley after school and asked for money. One day, Eliot Hawthorne found out and invited her to walk home with us.
Kaelin Thorne’s mother was in the hospital, and their house was empty, so Eliot Hawthorne simply invited her to come to our place.
The Hawthorne family was wealthy, their pomp lavish, with luxury cars ferrying us to and from school. My family lived close to his, and our parents were good friends. We both attended the same university, so our families decided we should commute together. When my mother told me this, her eyes curved into a gentle, mischievous arc.
We were practically betrothed from a young age.
From learning to speak to stumbling to walk, to hugging each other foolishly, with his toothless mouth covering my face with drool, to him growing taller and becoming a handsome young man.
He is the second most important man in my world besides my father, and the last one. My father gave me the paternal love a girl should have. Eliot Hawthorne is the partner I am supposed to spend the rest of my life with.
I’ve never liked other boys and didn’t respond to their confessions, which made me seem even colder. I looked at them as if they were another species altogether. They couldn’t be my father, let alone my partner. Their fanatical pursuit often made me confused and even pity them.
I felt sorry for them doing useless work every day, sending innocent roses destined to die in the trash to a girl who wouldn’t even acknowledge them properly.
Someone asked me what kind of guy I like.
From a man who always looks at me with an intense gaze.
Desperately, questioningly.
If you like and possess that look, it’s Eliot Hawthorne.
8
In the smoothly moving car, the girl in the white dress frowned with just the right amount of embarrassment, as if feeling awkward about my name being mentioned.
I didn’t say anything, just glanced at her calmly.
Eliot Hawthorne brought the girl home for the first time and seemed very impressed with her. I could almost imagine the surprise of the entire Hawthorne family.
It’s said they met on the street when a scammer targeted Eliot Hawthorne’s car, groaning in front of it, pretending to be hit. The Hawthorne family driver, unfazed, helped the man to the side and was about to restart the car when Kaelin Thorne, passing by, saw them and, believing they were fleeing, righteously stopped the car, only to get bumped herself.
Later, I saw her being held by Eliot Hawthorne at the very spot he had asked me out.
9
Kaelin Thorne was bewildered by my indifference.
This was reflected in the surprised look from Eliot Hawthorne, sitting in the passenger seat.
Actually, I was stiff all over, feeling wronged and helpless, but my face showed only gloom and aloofness.
Pretense is just pretense. Compared to Kaelin Thorne, I have never been a kind person, nor a likable one.
The atmosphere in the car was cold and awkward.
I turned to the window, watching the tall buildings recede and gradually blur.
The car paused slightly.
I’m home.
10
I had my first argument with Eliot Hawthorne.
We were having dinner at his house, and Kaelin Thorne, curious, turned around and broke something.
I looked over and saw a crystal lily fall to the ground and shatter, each piece reflecting tiny bits of light.
My expression froze. I rushed over and pushed her aside.
This is… my gift to Eliot Hawthorne.
“Ah!” Eliot Hawthorne obviously remembered it too. He squatted down and picked up the broken pieces with me.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…” Kaelin Thorne said helplessly.
“Shut up,” I interrupted her, watching her face turn pale.
“I’m…I’m sorry. I can pay you back.”
“Pay? Huh? You!”
I wanted to say, the Ember family is so wealthy, how could we lack this crystal lily? Moreover, this was the only time I’d mustered the courage to give him a gift.
“What are you going to pay for?”
She seemed touched in a sore spot, covering her face and crying: “I’m sorry, I don’t have money now, but I will definitely pay you back…”
Eliot Hawthorne seemed to think I was mocking Kaelin Thorne’s poverty. “Forget it, Luna, it’s just a crystal flower.”
His expression was soft and sincere, and I stared at him in disbelief.
After a moment, I said coldly, “Yes, it’s just a flower.”
Chapter 2
11
It was late at night, and the shadows of trees were faint outside the window.
I lay in bed.
There was nothing on the ceiling, but I just stared at it.
If you relax your tense thoughts a little, warm tears flow from your eyes.
Everyone was fast asleep, and the night seemed to divide the present moment and the day into two worlds. Everything could be settled in this silence.
With a soft sound, something seemed to fall onto the pillow.
I turned on the bedside lamp and saw a book lying there quietly, with a dark green cover and no title. Though surprised by its sudden appearance, an inexplicable impulse made me open it.
In a quick glance, I saw my name.
The bedroom light stayed on all night. When the birds began chirping, I touched my eye sockets, slightly swollen from the huge changes overnight.
The sun was shining brightly. Downstairs, Eliot Hawthorne had already arrived. He smiled and greeted everyone: “Hello, Auntie. Is Luna up?”
Dazed, I searched the whole room but couldn’t find the dark green book anywhere.
12
My mother was calling me, obviously surprised I was still in bed.
I raised my voice and said, “Mom, I’m sorry, I… feel a little unwell.”
So I used this as an excuse to skip school and steal a day of leisure.
My room was on the second floor. The branches of the dogwood trees outside the window reached in. I leaned on the windowsill and looked down. Eliot Hawthorne lowered his head, looking very disappointed. He got into the car and left.
We had parted on bad terms last night. Kaelin Thorne asked to go home early, and it was the Hawthorne family driver who took her back.
I looked at his hair, glowing slightly golden in the morning sunlight.
I know why he is unhappy, but.
But.
He was the same person who hugged Kaelin Thorne and watched me die a few years later.
I looked at the childishness on his face and compared it with the words in the book. I felt an inexplicable nausea slowly rise from my body to my throat.
13
According to the “book,” I would “bully” Kaelin Thorne again and again, then quarrel with Eliot Hawthorne about it. In the end, I almost went crazy and hired someone to kidnap Kaelin Thorne. Who knew the kidnapper would change his mind, and Kaelin Thorne and I would be trapped together.
……
He finally chose her.
Truly, a perfect “vicious female supporting role” life.
At least from the readers’ perspective: this supporting character comes from a prominent family, is a childhood sweetheart, is pursued but cannot be won, turns love into hate, is finally resolved, and then the prince and the girl live happily ever after.
Naturally, I was surprised at first, then terrified, and then relieved. No wonder I’m “Luna Ember.”
Thinking about it later, I am indeed that kind of person.
Last night, I did have some dark thoughts about Kaelin Thorne.
If she disappeared…
I know how dark I am, and wanting Kaelin Thorne dead isn’t something I need to cross a moral line for. I don’t feel guilty about it.
14
Someone knocked on my door this afternoon.
The man had straight hair and a youthful, rebellious face.
I asked gloomily, “What are you doing here?”
“Since you didn’t come to class, I thought you died at home.” His words were still harsh, but I was too lazy to argue today.
He sat beside me and turned to look at me; I sat on the window seat, picked a dogwood flower, and smelled it.
His face was angular, his pupils dark, as if he could see through everything. I looked at him for a while and then turned my head away as if nothing happened.
“Hey, have you ever imagined yourself living in a book?”
15
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Me? I’m fine.”
He scoffed. “You’re lying. You never ask such meaningless questions. You’re not interested in anything.”
“Huh? Do you know me well?” I looked at him with an almost provocative gaze.
“Not much, but a little more than you know yourself.” He smiled.
“Since you’ve unusually interested me today, I’ll condescend to answer you.” He leaned against the window seat and stretched. His dark green sweatshirt rode up with the movement, faintly revealing his waistline, which was smooth and strong.
He turned his back to me, put his hand on the door handle, and whispered, “So what?”
16
I started to think I was going crazy.
A book of unknown origin, the despair of unrequited love, and the unknown future spread the devil’s wings.
At night, there was a hustle and bustle downstairs, and car lights flashed.
I slowly walked down the escalator, the cold iron railings hurting my palms.
The servants were whispering among themselves in a feverish, gossipy tone.
“Hey, did you see?”
“No, what’s going on?”
“You don’t know yet? Let me tell you…”
I didn’t need to listen; I knew what they were talking about. Kaelin Thorne’s biological father had found her. Father Thorne was powerful and had vowed to give her all the love he owed her.
That book told me that.
17
I wasn’t surprised at all; I even knew what would happen next.
This is truly a match made in heaven.
Eliot Hawthorne discovered that Kaelin Thorne was his childhood playmate, and their relationship grew better and better.
And I am just a pitiful patch, a useless embellishment to their bright and beautiful love.
18
Eliot Hawthorne came to see me tonight, and I turned him away.
19
The servants whispered and made fun of me.
It doesn’t matter.
I’ve heard it since I was a child.
It was a business marriage. My father had an affair when my mother was pregnant with me.
From then on, my mother was often in a trance.
When she was sober, she would ask me about Eliot Hawthorne and me mischievously and gently touch my face with her warm hands; when she was unwell, she would paint an oil painting over and over again, one that would never be finished.
Ha, such a big house, but so empty.
20
The Thorne and Hawthorne families are equally powerful. The night Kaelin Thorne returned home, the banquet invitation arrived in my hands.
The gilt-edged paper and the formal black script clearly declared an unignorable presence.
According to the “plot,” tonight I would feel the crisis of Eliot Hawthorne being taken away, so I would pull him to the garden to confess.
Eliot Hawthorne would look at me, bewildered, and then Kaelin Thorne would notice us, cover her mouth, and run away. Then Eliot Hawthorne would leave me and chase her.
What did he want to say when he looked at me?
That he’d always treated me like a sister? That he was surprised?
I will never know the answer to that unfinished night.
Just watching him hurriedly chase after Kaelin Thorne, everything became meaningless.
I carefully put away the invitation, changed into my blue dress, lightly touched up my face, walked out of the room, held the handrail, and said, “Prepare the gifts. We’re going to the Thorne mansion tonight.”
My poor self-esteem.
Even though my heart was shaky, I remained calm.
This is all I have: hopeless unrequited love and cheap self-esteem.
Chapter 3
21
Dressed elegantly, hair done beautifully.
Eliot Hawthorne was surrounded by a group of girls, chattering and looking around as if searching for something. However, his manners were excellent; at least the girls around him were all giggling.
He noticed me coming in, his eyes lit up, and he politely apologized, broke away from the crowd, and ran towards me.
I took a glass of champagne and stared at the swaying liquid in a trance.
“Luna!” His surprised face was right next to me. “I thought you wouldn’t come.”
“Can’t I come?” I asked him.
“Uh… I just think you don’t really like these parties.”
“Then tell me, why don’t I like them?” I stared at him.
He looked around but didn’t dare look at me. Finally, he whispered, “Because she broke the gift you gave me?”
Do you really think so?
I suddenly grabbed his hand and walked towards the Thorne family’s garden, walking faster and faster. Now it coincided with the description in the book, walking the same path, rushing towards the hopeless result.
I have always had high self-esteem. I already knew the embarrassing consequences, but I still had to do it.
Maybe I really didn’t want to accept it.
Deep in the garden, in the stillness, I paused, looked Eliot Hawthorne in the eyes, and said, “I like you.”
His pupils were yellow like honey, warm and sweet, and they were looking at me with slightly dilated pupils.
He opened his mouth and was about to say something when I caught a glimpse of a long skirt hem out of the corner of my eye.
Kaelin Thorne.
I suddenly lost interest.
“Pretend I didn’t say anything. Goodnight.”
I ran away, knowing I was a mess.
The outcome is clearly destined, clearly humiliating, yet you still throw yourself into the fire? Ridiculous.
I ran desperately, without caring about my manners for the first time. On the way, I met someone who stopped me. I took advantage of his momentum and simply pulled him along to run with me.
I don’t know how long I ran before I stopped. The person I was holding was very quiet. I held my knees to catch my breath and turned to look at him.
It’s him.
22
The man who casually visited me during the day, the young master of the Vanderbilt family, Silas Vanderbilt.
Cynic, cold, and paranoid. He once gave me a rose, but the rose died in the trash can.
I knew he liked me, in ways I didn’t understand.
It was also him who smiled and said, “You are so pitiful.”
I have always kept my distance from him, but today, by accident, I dragged him along and revealed all the secret changes in my heart.
“Good night to you too.” My breathing returned to normal. I didn’t want to say anything more and was about to leave.
Anywhere, as long as there was no one, let me stay… quietly.
“Hey, look up.” I looked up subconsciously, and the starry sky suddenly took my breath away.
The long Milky Way passed overhead, also passing through countless states.
Enjoy the moon together from thousands of miles away, and share the stars with thousands of people.
The plot, the love and hate… all left me, and Silas Vanderbilt was lying on the lawn with his hands under his head.
I simply followed his example and lay down, my expensive skirt touching the earth without a care.
23
Dreams are just dreams after all, and reality is still as disgusting as ever.
Eliot Hawthorne was late today.
Kaelin Thorne came in behind him, apologized, and sat down.
Someone whispered, “I heard Kaelin Thorne has returned to her roots.”
“She’s pretty, rich, and has a good personality. Who wouldn’t like her?”
Eliot Hawthorne likes her. I don’t.
Eliot Hawthorne caught up with me after class.
“Luna!”
I ignored him, and his voice gradually got closer.
He called: “Luna!”
Then he said, “What’s wrong with you? Why are you ignoring me?”
There was no one around. He asked me shyly in a low voice, with a tiny glint in his eyes that I couldn’t understand.
“You… you last night, what did you mean?”
I asked back, “What did Kaelin Thorne say to you yesterday?”
Unexpectedly, he said, “Nothing. You suddenly ran away yesterday, and I went after you.”
He stuck out his tongue and said, “You ran too fast. I couldn’t catch up with you. My dad pulled me away.”
“Do you… have anything to say to me?”
He looked at me like a little puppy.
I touched his face.
My hands are always cold. I slowly moved them from his straight nose to his lips.
I said, “That’s what I mean.”
He suddenly became excited: “Really, Luna, you like me too!”
He jumped a few times on the spot, looking very excited, then rushed over and gave me a big hug.
“Can we be together?”
His body was warm, a warmth that I didn’t have.
I frowned tightly.
Wrong.
That’s not the plot.
24
I was supposed to confess, then Kaelin Thorne would hear it and run away, and Eliot Hawthorne would chase her. I would be embarrassed, then discover Eliot Hawthorne’s childhood playmate was Kaelin Thorne, so I’d steal the token and pretend it was me.
Eliot Hawthorne would be furious, and cracks would begin to appear in our relationship.
But that’s not what happened. He said he liked me and wanted to be my boyfriend.
This isn’t right, I thought calmly.
Warmth, like sunshine, something I long for so much.
I pushed Eliot Hawthorne aside and said, “The person you played with as a kid was Kaelin Thorne.”
I lack love, but I am more afraid of death.
That book gave me an ending, one that readers rejoiced over.
If I were with Eliot Hawthorne, we would eventually break up because of Kaelin Thorne.
I’m really afraid of death.
In the novel, I fell off a cliff and died without a complete body.
The sun was too strong, but I still felt cold all over and wrapped myself tightly.
If I die, how will my unwell mother live?
I didn’t even look back.
25
“You promised him, right?”
The pitiful crying voice is Kaelin Thorne’s.
She stared at me with red eyes. It seemed Father Thorne really doted on her; the quality of her clothes had improved.
It is said the head of the Thorne family has been single since her mother left.
Touching and moving.
“What’s it to you? If you like Eliot Hawthorne, go confess your feelings to him. You’re pestering me, making me think you like me.”
“You!” She showed obvious anger for the first time, and soon her eyes filled with tears.
“What’s wrong? Are you disappointed? He doesn’t like you, but he confessed to me?”
“You heard it, right? How did you feel that night?”
I walked past her indifferently, and when I got close, I whispered, “So-called kindness, so-called purity, is nothing more than this.”
What a harsh remark.
She yelled behind me, “What do you, a wealthy heiress, know? Do you understand him as well as I do?”
“Do you know that when I was being bullied, he showed up to help me! He was so kind to me!”
“You don’t know! He told me himself that he doesn’t want to be with you! Ha! What are you pretending for? Are you trying too hard? You’re not going to cry, are you? I like him! Does he like you?”
Love really makes people blind, first me, then her.
But how lucky she is; she will be with Eliot Hawthorne in the end, without having to feel the taste of heartbreak. She wins, I lose. I see clearly that the love does not belong to me; she took it away and flaunts it.
Before they could live happily together, I rolled off the cliff, thus closing the curtain on this ridiculous drama.
A well-off young lady like me has never looked up at the moon in the sky.
If there was no Silas Vanderbilt.
If there was no Silas Vanderbilt.
26
Silas Vanderbilt stood in the shade, leaning against the trunk of his beloved Audi. He wore a black sweatshirt, the white wires of his headphones dangling slightly. His cheek moved slightly, as if chewing gum, and he stared down at a single point on the ground, his gaze unfocused. After a moment, he blew a bubble.
“Hey!” I walked towards him. “What are you doing?”
The bubble popped, and he resumed chewing, his eyes raising in a domineering manner. “Get in my car. I’ll drive you back.”
He always looks heartless but is more thoughtful than me. Although he doesn’t know what happened, he will comfort me in his own way.
Maybe I am weak inside now, but I actually feel warmth from such words, which I think are the most useless and cheapest emotions.
“Thank you.”
He looked at me in surprise, then stood up straight and walked ahead: “Hmph, you’re not so ungrateful.”
I straightened my messy sleeves and followed him silently.
The hand I hurriedly held last night was probably warm, and he held it back; his palms were sweating where they touched.
If only Eliot Hawthorne had reached out to me then.
Wouldn’t it be that during the long ordeal, the hands holding onto the cliff rocks would lose strength bit by bit?
Little by little, sweat; twinkling, stars; together, run -
I suddenly untied some shackles, ran forward, and grabbed his hanging hand. The crystal pendant in my backpack jingled, the wind passed over me, and in an instant, lifted my hair and rushed away in a curl. Who cares about the wind? Who cares about the rain? Who cares?
“Hey—what are you crazy about—!”
“What the hell do you care about me–!” I said louder than I ever did when pretending to be sociable.
Just like that, regardless of anything, just run——
27
His carefully styled short hair was disheveled in the wind, the purple highlights particularly eye-catching.
He looked at me sideways: “You really are… unpredictable.”
I took a breath, and the cool breeze rushed into my throat, relieving a vague itch.
“Ha, it’s not like we’ve known each other for the first time.”
He hummed, lifted my hair with his slender fingers, revealing my smooth hairline. He rolled his eyes at me speechlessly, then soon ruffled my hair.
As I lowered my head following his force, a fallen leaf on the stone pavement turned over, gurgling along the rushing road and out of my sight.
Does it know the leaf that fell on my head at sunset? When its counterpart was taken from my head by Eliot Hawthorne, did it tell it whether Eliot Hawthorne’s hand was cold or warm?
But it left, and I had no way to speak.
“I’m very happy,” said Silas Vanderbilt.
“Then you should thank me.” I slapped his hand away.
He chuckled, “My way of expressing gratitude is usually to give myself to you.”
I said, “Okay, I admit it, thank you.”
“And your whole family.”
He laughed heartily, his overly profound facial features so vivid that even old movies could not erase them.
In the distance, a flock of geese flew across the sky, and a thin mist rose from the mountains; the coolness gave people a refreshing feeling.
Winter is coming, and autumn and the fallen leaves will sleep forever.
28
I sometimes wonder now, if I had accepted Silas Vanderbilt, would I have avoided the fate described in the book?
Here is a question: If you had to spend the rest of your life with someone, would you choose the one you love or the one who loves you?
Unfortunately, reality is often not black and white.
Did I like Eliot Hawthorne? Or was I just casually attracted to him? Did Silas Vanderbilt like me? People’s hearts are fickle. My mother once chose to love my father, but unfortunately, he soon revealed his true colors and indulged in pleasure.
I wasn’t that fond of Eliot Hawthorne, and Silas Vanderbilt wasn’t that fond of me.
Silas Vanderbilt forced a bouquet of lilies on me today, clearly interested, but his gaze was elsewhere. Lilies are vibrant, unlike the crystal ones I gave Eliot Hawthorne, precious and fragile. This bouquet in my hand is fresh and elegant, with dewdrops still on it. I cut off a stem, played with it for a moment, then tossed it into the trash, feeling bored.
I don’t like lilies, although I once longed for that kind of love, so I gave Eliot Hawthorne a lily. That was one of my rare moments of panic: did he know how I felt?
I will stay with you until we are old, and our innocence will remain forever, lasting for a hundred years.
It’s a pity it was broken into pieces, and no one sought justice for it. Humans pull and tug at it, heartbroken or indifferent, and its broken body reflects this world.
I am not a lily, and I don’t like such useless things as flowers. I have long known I am not worthy of romance, but in another time and space, I was arrogant and ended up miserable.
Although the current development is unexpected, I am determined not to touch love again.
People like me should not pollute love.
I can’t have my cake and eat it too.
Just as light and shadow intersect, they ultimately separate. The traveler lowers his hand from his eyes and gazes blankly around—the sun slowly rises, and in the other direction, the full moon fades to a mere shadow, its madder color blurring the boundary between black and white. The past fades, and the world shines brightly.
Is the crystal teardrop in the corner of the traveler’s eye caused by the glaring sunlight or the regret of waking from a dream?
29
Eliot Hawthorne and Kaelin Thorne met in childhood and were separated ever since. Not only did they have a childhood “promise” (described in the book, the author’s icing on the cake of love), but they also shared a bond of being kidnapped and rescued together.
Kaelin Thorne’s mother was originally a college student from a small town. One night, she was drugged and accidentally ended up in the room of the head of the Thorne family. She became pregnant. The head of the Thorne family was obsessed with her and kept looking for her. She hid well until she fell ill, needed better treatment, was transferred to a big hospital, and was found by Father Thorne.
I accidentally found out about their connection and also knew they had a token. At that time, I saw their relationship heating up, so I stole the token to mislead Eliot Hawthorne.
It’s a pity, whether it’s because good and evil are rewarded or the author’s will, in the end, I ended up like a clown and met a tragic end.
So I told Eliot Hawthorne the truth and asked them to be together.
30
I saw them walking together, talking and laughing, when I went to school today.
Very good.
My father’s illegitimate son came to our house, and my mother was upset, muttering in the corner.
I threw him out.
Silas Vanderbilt happened to pass by, and before the illegitimate son could say anything harsh, Silas Vanderbilt’s bodyguards carried him out.
He squinted his eyes, put his hands in his pockets, and raised his thin lips in a smile.
“Hello,” I said.
“Let’s cooperate.”