Tamara couldn’t hold it in anymore.Tears started to roll down her cheeks. She quickly turned her head away from Old Mrs. Moore.But Old Mrs. Moore misunderstood Tamara’s action. She thought Tamara didn’t accept her apologies.Her reaction made the old woman anxious. “Please don’t ignore me, Alex. I’m sorry. I really am. Won’t you look at me, Alex? Alex…”It took everything within Tamara to keep all her bitterness and sadness in check. She wiped her tears away and turned back to Old Mrs. Moore. She smiled, “What are you talking about? Why would I be angry with you? I’m doing fine in Londsville. I have a loving husband and two good children. They’re very obedient…”Old Mrs. Moore stared dotingly at Tamara. “That’s my Alex. You’ll always be the brightest star in the sky. You’ll fit right in anywhere.”“Of course!” Tamara nodded but couldn’t bring herself to meet Old Mrs. Moore’s gaze.She was afraid she would cry again if she did.Old Mrs. Moore held Tamara’s hand tightly. “It wa
Tamara’s heart raced. She immediately chirped up, “Got it. I’ll send someone over now!”They finally got the last ingredient. They were so close to getting the antidote!Tamara almost jumped for joy. She didn’t head back to James’ ward. Instead, she waited outside the lab.She didn’t send a lot of men over for fear it would arouse James’ suspicion. Tamara prayed that they would get the herbs back safely.Time ticked on, and an hour had passed since the phone call.It was an hour’s journey from the airport to the hospital, but her men had yet to arrive. Tamara couldn’t help but frown.Another half an hour flew by. A bodyguard suddenly walked over. “Miss Moore, Mr. Gladwell is asking for you.”Tamara groaned, “What does he want now?”The bodyguard shrugged indifferently. “I don’t ask questions, Miss Moore. You should ask him yourself.”Tamara pursed her lips. She shouldn’t act out of the ordinary during these crucial times. She nodded, “Fine. Lead the way.”She checked her watc
James continued smiling gently at Tamara. “That’s alright. I’m fine as long as I have you.”“You’re insane,” sneered Tamara.James didn’t mind her harsh words. He also didn’t care if Tamara liked him. He just wanted her for himself.Tamara lowered her gaze and pursed her lips. Her hatred for James was burning brighter by the day.The atmosphere in the ward tensed.Tamara kept glancing at her phone, awaiting her men’s news.James saw her restlessness and suddenly chirped up, “Can you send for the doctor, Tamara?”Tamara rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to.”James fell silent.He sighed, “My men are busy with something else. Please just call the doctor. Is it that difficult of a task?”Tamara scoffed, “I get a headache from the thought of it. My stomach twists and turns from helping you. All in all, it will be an unpleasant experience for me.”James felt speechless.Tamara was like a land mine. One wrong move, and she would go off.James narrowed his eyes at her. As he stared
Tamara left the ward and headed straight for the lab. Just when she exited the lift, she saw two men lying on the floor with traces of blood around them.George and a few other doctors surrounded them and attempted to treat them.“Miss Moore…” One of the men saw Tamara and struggled to reach her. “We brought the herbs back.”Tamara rushed over. She saw her men were bleeding out and frowned, “Where are you hurt?”The bodyguard reached out to hand a small box to Tamara with shaky hands. “Here…are the herbs…”The bodyguard fainted right after.Tamara immediately turned to the doctor. “Quick! Send them to the emergency room!”The doctor had already called for someone to assist them.Tamara stared at the box. Wordlessly, she opened it up and saw there were some herbs inside. She gave it to George. “Here are the herbs, Master.”George took the box and glanced inside before nodding. “It’s the right one.”Tamara couldn’t hide her excitement. “With this herb, does that mean we could…”
Hearing this, Tamara froze. “What about the other one?”“We tried our best,” muttered the doctor apologetically. They sighed and left.Soon, two beds were pushed out from within. One was draped in a white cloth, while the other was strapped to an oxygen mask.“My dear grandson. Look at how badly you’re injured…” The old woman pounced on the man with the oxygen mask. She cried pitifully.Tamara bit her lips.Rico was the one who didn’t make it.Roxy stared at the body. Her eyes reddened even further, and she stalked over slowly.“This is just a prank, right?” cried Roxy.Tamara’s heart broke for the girl. She averted her gaze.The old lady had left for the ward with her grandson. They were the only ones left there.The nurse patted Roxy. “I’m sorry for your loss.”Roxy pushed the nurse away and pulled the cloth off of Rico. She stared at Rico’s pale face and started sobbing. “Why are you still asleep, Rico? Didn’t you promise to bring me to the amusement park after you return
Tamara sent someone to give Rico a proper burial. Roxy was crying her eyes out during the funeral. She looked pitiful.Roxy had just turned twenty but had already lost her only relative. Tamara felt sorry for her.Suddenly, Roxy called out to her. “Miss Moore.”Tamara was surprised by this. “What’s up?”Roxy stared at her with puffy eyes. “Can you take me in?”Tamara wasn’t expecting that. Roxy continued, “Since my brother left, I have had no other relatives. I’ve been thinking. My brother trusts you with his life, which means you must be one of the good ones. You’re probably not as bad as the other rich folks.”Tamara pursed her lips and continued to stare at the girl.Roxy looked anxious. Still, she continued, “I was thinking…can I ask for something other than compensation? Please take me in. I can be your maid. I just want someplace I could stay.”How could Tamara say no to that?While Roxy’s emotional state had been unstable before, she seemed to exhibit symptoms of depres
“Alex, where has all your stuff gone?” Old Mrs. Moore gripped Tamara’s hand. “Why did you remove everything that you love? Are you still mad at me?”Tamara’s nose pricked. She started, “Not at all. I’m not angry at you. You must be tired. Let’s head in to have some rest, okay?”Old Mrs. Moore continued to stare at her. “Why did you tear them all down? Those were your favorites.”Tamara didn’t know what to say. “I’m tired. Let’s head in to have some rest.”“Oh. Since you’re tired, let’s head in.” Old Mrs. Moore was distracted.Tamara helped the old woman to her room and watched as she fell asleep. Tamara breathed a sigh of relief.Quietly returning to her room, she stepped onto the balcony and observed the structure below. Everything Old Mrs. Moore had mentioned had vanished.Tamara didn’t know why they were gone.But Old Mrs. Moore did seem to remember all of Alex’s favorites.Tamara was lost in thought. Just then, her phone rang.Tamara pulled out her phone and saw it was a
Tamara’s eyes widened as she looked at the caller ID on her phone and quickly answered the call.…The following day, at the airport.When Tamara arrived, she saw James already waiting for her. He had an impatient look on his face, but when he saw her, all negative emotions disappeared without a trace.“You’re finally here, Tamara,” grinned James. He tried to grab her hand, but she avoided him swiftly.Tamara gripped her luggage and muttered coldly, “Let’s board the plane.James’ face fell, but remembering they were getting married tomorrow, he bit back his words.“Sure. We’ll see how nice our wedding place is,” said James.Tamara didn’t reply and went straight inside the airport.They arrived at Biarus six hours later.A chilling gust of wind hit Tamara as they exited the airport, causing her to tremble with cold.Tamara was already wearing a thick jacket, but it seemed that wasn’t enough for the cold weather.The sun was setting. It painted the city sky a light orange. Lo