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Chapter 26
Kaugnay na kabanata
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 1
“I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to leave the Emersons and move overseas to live with you.”Cecil Miller’s aunt, Dianne Miller, was thrilled to hear this. She then thoughtfully advised Cecil.“Alright, Cecil, I'll help you with the immigration immediately. It will take about a month, so you should use this time to get together with your friends since it’s not very likely you’ll see them again once you come to Vinland. Make sure you say your goodbyes.“Don’t forget Cleo, especially. He raised you since you were a kid, so you should thank him for everything he’s done for you.”Cecil gave Dianne her word.After hanging up, she left the balcony. As she was heading to the living room, she caught herself sneaking a glance at the picture set on the table.Inside the picture, the sky as well as the faces of the people were lit auburn from the glow of the sun.It was a picture of seventeen-year-old Cleo Emerson standing under the frame of a swing. He was smiling and pushing Cecil, who wa
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 2
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps interrupted Cecil's stream of thought.She looked up and immediately met Cleo’s eyes.When he noticed Cecil sitting all by herself at the dining table, he darted a glance at the clock mounted on the wall. It was almost eleven o'clock.He frowned faintly before heading upstairs without saying a word.He never bothered to greet her the entire time. It was as if they were strangers.Cecil felt bitter about it and could not hold back from calling out after him.“Uncle Cleo, dinner…”Cleo kept walking up the stairs while remarking in a cold voice.“I’ll have dinner with Amelia. How many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to wait for me?”Then, it was followed by the sound of the door closing with a thud.Cecil felt something stir inside her. The edges of her eyes welled with tears.Cleo would never have spoken to her in such a dismissive tone in the past.He was sympathetic to the fact that she was afraid of being alone after losin
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 3
Cecil rarely went out on weekdays. Usually, she spent most of her time in her studio, which was why Amelia was intrigued that she was going out on such a snowy day.“Cecil, you don't have a boyfriend, so why are you going out in this weather?”Cecil did not know how to tell them about her plans to leave and ended up saying vaguely, “I… I just need to get something done.”Either way, they would be able to connect the dots when they arrived at the visa office.Amelia did not continue pressing for answers and instead turned to Cleo to ask about their plans for the day.The two were chatting away enthusiastically and seemed to have completely forgotten about the presence of Cecil in the back seat.When they reached a red light, Amelia produced a lipstick and asked Cleo to help her touch up her makeup.Cleo was very receptive. He cupped her face in his palms and was very gentle with her.When it looked like their faces were drawing closer, Cecil quickly turned away to look at the
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 4
Five days later, Cleo returned with Amelia.As soon as they stepped into the house, Cecil's eyes were immediately blinded by the dazzling necklace around Amelia’s neck.She snuck a glance at it before looking away.Her hunch was right; the necklace was meant for Amelia.In that case, what was it that Cleo was trying to say last time before his sentence got cut off?Whenever Cleo was around, Amelia had always been very warm and friendly with Cecil. This time, she went right up to Cecil and took her hand.“Cecil, you must have been so bored at home these last few days! Look, I bought a bunch of things. Come and see if there is anything that you like!"With that, she took off her coat and dragged over a large box.Cecil shook her head a few times to refuse the offer. Amelia reacted by casting a strange look at her.“Come on, don’t be shy! Just think of it as a gift from your future aunt, alright?” Amelia said in a tone that was hard to read.The sheer mention of the word ‘aunt
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 5
Cecil was only half asleep and was quickly awakened by the sudden movement.She immediately caught a hint of the familiar scent of cologne, which helped her identify the person.Uncle Cleo?Why had he suddenly charged into the room to kiss her?She was thrown off, and before she could even react, she heard Cleo’s raspy voice followed by the heat of his breath beating on her skin. “Amelia…”She felt herself tense up at the name.The accompanying smell of alcohol helped her decipher the situation swiftly.Cleo was drunk and mistakenly thought she was Amelia.While she was still processing it, she felt Cleo’s hand creeping downward.She started to panic upon realizing what was happening. She reached for his hands to stop him while attempting to push him away.“Uncle Cleo, you’ve got the wrong person! It’s Cecil!” she cried out frantically.Cleo must have been too drunk to understand what she was saying. If anything, he seemed to have become more excited by her actions.He ki
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 6
There was a wave of controversy on the internet about a certain artist plagiarizing from another fellow artist.The artists in question were none other than Cecil and Amelia, who were holding an exhibition on the same day.Cecil looked at the illustrations made by the netizens on her phone. It was a side-by-side comparison of two similar paintings, along with a reference that indicated how similar the composition and color chart were.It did not take long before the topic “Cecil Miller is an imposter” became viral and went to the top of the trending topic list.Her friends crowded around her, all of them as anxious as the other.“How could they accuse you of plagiarism? The shirt you are wearing in this picture is from our high school! Are they stupid?”“That's right! This is Cecil herself! We can vouch for you!““Amelia is the one who is plagiarizing your art. How shameless!”Cecil stayed calm and rational the entire time. The first thing she did was rush back home to coll
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 7
He did not pick up the first time.He did not pick up the second time either.Cecil called again and again, and it was only at the ninth call that Cleo finally picked up.She could hear his heavy, rhythmical breathing from the other end of the phone. She suddenly recalled a similar incident when she was in high school and was also accused of plagiarism. At the time, she felt ostracized and helpless, and that was when she decided to call him for help.He had assured her immediately after picking up the call, “Don’t worry, I have your back.”But now, she was the one who started the dialogue with a swift accusation, “Were you the one who gave Amelia my first draft?”Cleo confessed without a second thought.“I did.”The response from Cecil was a long, heaving sigh.“Why did you do it?”After a brief silence, Cleo answered.“That painting should have never existed in the first place, especially not with your name attached to it. What part of this don’t you understand?”So th
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 8
After Cecil was done, she dragged her exhausted body back home.Cleo got home before her and was sitting on the couch in the living room. He called out after her as soon as he saw her.“Stop!“Why were you working in a place like that? Don’t I give you enough money already?”Cecil braced an arm against the doorway while she changed her shoe. “I’m bored at home, there’s nothing to do, and I figured I should experience other dimensions of society.”Cleo’s anger seemed to have visibly deflated, but his tone was still very icy.“You’re not allowed to go to places like that again in the future.”Cecil was not going to go anymore anyway.She nodded faintly, then went back upstairs with her head down.Over the next few days, Cleo was rarely home at all.If anything, Amelia was the one who constantly bombarded Cecil with pictures.Pictures of rings, their wedding shoots, giant bouquets. Every picture was filled with joy and enthusiasm for their upcoming wedding.Cecil did not r
Pinakabagong kabanata
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 26
Although the Wrights were not part of the business elite in the city, they did pretty well for themselves, owing to their influence as intellectuals.In the present generation, Amelia was the only heir of the family. The family had raised her with class and invested many resources so that she could one day secure a good future for the family.That was also why the family had specifically employed the most famous painter in the country to give Amelia painting lessons ever since she was a child. She managed to make a reputation for herself in the industry by leveraging her title as the direct disciple of the famous painter Gregory Armstrong.It was through Gregory that she came to know Cleo.When the news of their marriage broke, her family was overjoyed at the prospect of the increase of their social status.It only took a month for their hopes to be dashed by the news of Amelia getting kicked out of the house. The news went viral all over the city.The Wrights reacted as well
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 25
After the opening ceremony ended, Cecil walked with Aunt Dianne’s family out of the university before heading back inside by herself.As soon as she went past the entrance, she looked up and was greeted by a familiar pair of eyes.Ever since she moved on from Cleo, she would be filled with a strange sense of guilt whenever she saw him. She could not explain why she felt that way.It was the same kind of feeling she had when she was caught stealing her mother’s necklace and then gave it to a classmate in the past.Was the source of it a kind of reverence for the elders?Now that they were right in front of each other, she could no longer pretend that she had not noticed him. She greeted him politely.“What brings you here, Uncle Cleo?”Cleo felt another stab of pain in his heart when he noticed the way she was avoiding his eyes.Despite that, he forced himself to suppress the raging emotions and remain as calm as he could.“I came to see the opening ceremony.”Cecil nodded
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 24
Ever since finding out that Cecil had not run away from home but had moved abroad instead, the housekeeper's brows had been permanently furrowed.In the past, whenever any staff member in the house made a mistake, Cecil would be there to defend them.Without her around, there was nobody to shield them from Cleo’s wrath, regardless of how minor the mistake was.With Cecil gone, everyone working in the household had to suffer as a consequence.For some reason, not only was Cleo very grumpy the past few days, but he was also prone to picking out any flaws.When the chef did not make porridge in the morning, it looked like he was going to lose his temper. The chef frantically ran into the kitchen to make the porridge while muttering to himself. Cleo had never been fond of porridge, and since Cecil was not around anymore, what was the problem with making soup?Then, when the gardener pruned two of the trees in the yard, Cleo immediately deducted two months' worth of his salary.
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 23
After Cleo landed in his home country, the secretary whose resignation letter had been overturned came to the airport to pick him up.After the traumatic incident, she learned a valuable lesson and told herself that she would dedicate herself fully to her work. She had to serve her boss and the woman who had saved her career.Over the last two days, she received countless messages on her phone asking about the foiled wedding. The entire time, she wisely kept her mouth shut and never revealed any confidential information to anyone.Now that the boss was back, she felt like the pressure was finally lifted off her shoulders, and she was in a relatively better mood.The only problem was that Mr. Emerson, on the other hand, did not seem to be in a very good mood. She conveyed her report more mildly.“Sir, the wedding has been canceled, yet Miss Wright refuses to drop the matter. She brought her belongings into the villa last night and insisted on moving into the room Miss Miller
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 22
Dianne did not speak. All she did was stare at Cleo.Cleo was starting to sweat from the intensity of her gaze.He was beginning to wonder if Dianne did not hear him and was about to repeat the question when Dianne finally spoke.“Cecil told me you were going to get married today. Why are you in Vinland? Why isn’t the groom at his wedding?”She spoke in a relatively calm manner, but it still affected Cleo significantly.Put under the intent focus of her interrogation, his sense of reason suddenly came back to him.“The wedding is canceled.”“Why was it canceled? Was it so you could come to see Cecil? Does your father know about this?”Dianne did not give him any breathing room and barraged him with her questions. Cleo felt like he was getting pummeled with the constant attacks.It was only after a few minutes of silence that he finally strained a reply."I canceled it before I came here. It has nothing to do with Cecil. I was just worried about her being all alone and figured
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 21
After Cecil left with Reya, Cleo sat all by himself in the private room until it was dark outside.It was only when the waiter entered and politely told him that they were closing for the night and that he had to pay for the damages that he came to. He settled the bill and walked out of the restaurant, still feeling beside himself.Streetlights lined the road and illuminated the street at night.When he turned on his phone, he saw more than a hundred missed calls and unread messages.Some of them were from Amelia, others a combination of messages from his parents, friends, and even the host.The host?Oh, right. It was his wedding today. He had completely forgotten about it.Still, it did not matter anyway.The wedding was a sham. It was an agreement he made with Amelia to get Cecil to give up on any romantic ideas about him.Now that he got what he wanted without even having to put in any effort, there was no need to keep up the song and dance anymore.He thought about h
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 20
Dianne wondered if they had run into Cleo that day. It would explain why they got home so late.She was surprised but could not help herself from asking more questions.Soon, Reya told her everything that had happened that afternoon.When she talked about how Cecil almost drowned, Dianne was horrified.Then, Reya began to recount the conversation between Cecil and Cleo at lunch. She could not remember everything they said, but she managed to quote several phrases they mentioned and mimicked the way Cleo looked when he spoke.“When Uncle Cleo asked Cecil if she really did not want to see him again, it looked like he was about to cry. “Then he said something about how he was only ten years older and that they were not related by blood. After that, Cecil wished him a happy wedding, and that was when Uncle Cleo flipped the table! It was so scary!”Reya had not meant anything by it since she was a child, but Dianne managed to connect the dots.She had always found it strange that
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 19
“All things considered, none of the resentment between us matters anyway. She is going to spend the rest of her life with you, and I will never have to see her again.”Every word she spoke jabbed at Cleo's heart like the tip of a knife. He was having trouble catching his breath.There was a sorrowful look in his eyes, and his voice was wrought with pain.“What about me? Don’t you want to see me again?”“Why wouldn’t I want to see you again?”If her previous sentence was a sort of tranquilizer, the following remark came across as a poisonous dart.“After all, you were the one who raised me. I will make sure to send you a greeting during the holiday season, Uncle Cleo.”She spoke in a very respectful manner.Cleo scrutinized every part of her expression and realized he could no longer spot any mark of devotion.She had simply come to regard him as an elder and nothing more.It was a foregone conclusion by this point. Whatever hope was left inside him had been completely vanquis
Forgotten in the Fog Chapter 18
Cecil tried to come up with an excuse to leave after changing out of her wet clothes. That was when Reya mentioned she was hungry.Cleo carried her in his arms and went straight to the restaurant without another word.Cecil had no choice but to trail after them.As soon as the three of them sat down, Cleo's phone started to ring.He took his phone and looked at the display briefly before hanging up.Cecil read the display from the corner of her eye. It was Amelia.That was when she suddenly recalled something important. Just as she was about to ask a question, another call came again.This time, Cleo activated the flight mode setting on his phone.He had done it so promptly that Cecil was taken aback by it.Two minutes later, it was Cecil’s phone that started ringing. It was an international call.As soon as she answered, she was greeted by a series of angry outbursts.“Cecil! You damned fox, where did you take Cleo?”“How did you get my number?”Cleo was seated close
