"Sorry." Laurence's apology didn't seem genuine. Zoey was speechless and appalled by Laurence's audacity. He added frankly, "I followed you here. I wasn't going to tell you, but I couldn't help myself." He handed her the milkshake. "Don't you want it?" Zoey fell silent for a while but accepted the milkshake. She had a habit of biting the straw. She took a sip, and the drink wasn't too sweet. Laurence bought himself a cup, too. He had never had a milkshake. He usually passed on them. Tonight, he wanted to try something Zoey liked. He took one sip, and the drink was too sweet for him. Laurence gulped down the mouthful of milkshake with a straight face. He lied, "It's delicious." Zoey curled her lips. She saw through his lie. "You don't like it." Laurence took another sip and made his act believable. "It's delicious." He then asked her, "What? Yours isn’t?" Zoey saw an improvement in his patience. He didn't comment in annoyance that the drink was alright like he used to. S
The man screamed in pain. It didn't take long before he was black and blue. He helplessly lifted his arms to block his face. His friends in the back finally realized they should help him. They were kicked and thrown against the wall on their backs before they could get close. They sat against the wall, unable to get up as they winced in agony. Even when they teamed up, the men were no match for Laurence. He may have looked like a gentleman with a slender build, but his attack was ruthless.The man tasted the rust and spat out the blood in his mouth. He forced himself to get up. He didn’t want to look weak in front of his friends. He asked, "Who the hell are you? Why do you care? You attacked us out of nowhere!" Even though he was beaten to a pulp, the man endured the pain and added furiously, "What? Who is she to you? Why are you protecting her?" Laurence had not used violence in a long time. He knew that violence was immature and would not solve the problem. The act of aggressi
The ambulance arrived on time. Zoey sat in the ambulance with Laurence. As he was wheeled into the operating room, Zoey stood outside the surgery doors in a daze. She stared blankly at the red light above the door that told her the surgery was in progress. The blood on her hands had dried. Her clothes were stained with his blood too. She looked like she had been through a lot. The nurse thought she was injured, too. "We should patch you up." Zoey snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the nurse. She couldn't really hear what came out of her own mouth. She replied, "I'm fine. I'm not injured." She was covered in Laurence's blood. The shade of red on her palms brought her back to that gruesome year. The stab wound may not have been fatal, but the cut was deep. When the knife was removed, the blood gushed like a faucet had been turned on."You have a lot of blood on you. We should get you checked out. Maybe you're injured somewhere that you don't know about." "It's okay. I'm
Zoey was exhausted. It was way past her usual bedtime. She leaned onto the bed. Her eyes were sore from exhaustion, but her mind was wide awake. She couldn't stop reliving the incidents of the past. Before she knew it, she dozed off against the bed. Zoey dreamed a lot, but she couldn't remember a single thing when she woke up. Zoey woke up in the morning. Her arms and neck are sore. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked as her memories came back to her. She remembered she was at the hospital. Laurence had not regained consciousness, but the anesthesia should have worn off by now. The doctor and nurse had made their early rounds. They examined him, and he seemed fine. All that was left was to wait for him to wake up.Zoey stood up and rubbed her sore neck. She couldn't resist asking the doctor. "When can he wake up?" The doctor couldn't give her a concrete answer. "It's hard to say." Zoey nodded and turned to Laurence. She responded absent-mindedly, "Okay." Not long after th
When Zoey received the messages, she was enjoying the breeze in the meadow. Her troubles seemed to wash away there. She gazed into the distance against the wind. Cows and sheep were grazing in herds on the grassland far away. The vast piece of land seemed to broaden her perspective. Zoey had never felt so free before. She didn't have to think about her troubles or feel conflicted about her past and future. All that mattered was her appreciation of the scenery. Claire was glad to finally see a smile on Zoey's face. She had felt Zoey's exhaustion from the second she’d arrived. She didn't want to talk to or get to know anyone. She kept everybody at arm's length. "What do you think? It's quite a picturesque place, don't you think?" "It's beautiful." As the wind whipped her hair, the woman spread her arms and closed her eyes. She embraced the gentle breeze. She said, "This is the second most beautiful scenery I've seen." Claire asked curiously, "Oh? Where's the prettiest place?"
Zoey had no idea that Laurence had been staying in the room opposite hers. The rooms in the bed and breakfast had keypad locks. It was more secure. Zoey opened the door to the room. Laurence's room was clean and tidy. It felt as if no one had stayed there. His suitcase was next to the closet, and his clothes were hung in the closet neatly. She grabbed a few extra clothes and stuffed them into a paper bag. She walked out of his room with the bag in hand. Coincidentally, Zoey bumped into Claire in the hallway as she closed the door. Claire had come upstairs to invite Zoey to the lobby for drinks and an open mic. She wasn't expecting to find Zoey coming out of another room. Zoey's face went red. She could feel the burn in her ears. It was as if she was a thief getting caught red-handed. She was embarrassed and wanted to find a hole to bury herself in. She explained, "I’m just grabbing some things." Claire let out a smile that spoke volumes. "I get it." She had been in an on-agai
Laurence ordered light Southern cuisine that was easy on the stomach. The food delivery was quick and took less than half an hour. The dinner was warm in an insulated food container when it was delivered. Laurence always had a poor appetite. Injured or not, he could only eat a small amount of food. He would probably never change his picky eating habits, even if he was on his deathbed. Zoey liked the food as she was from the south. She preferred Southern cuisine, but she couldn't eat much because she had had dinner. After dinner, the man asked casually, "Is it beautiful in the meadow?" Zoey was surprised by the question as they never really had calm conversations. Tonight, they were at peace for once. She remembered the vast grassland she saw that afternoon. "It's beautiful." She had taken many photos but didn't post any on social media. She rarely shared anything online. Zoey hadn't been keen on sharing her life updates for a long time. She didn't like to put her life and mood
Maybe the public didn't expect William Knope of Harborville to be serious about Sarah, given her reputation. A few years ago, someone had dug up dirt on Sarah online, and respectable figures with money had shunned her ever since. Sarah had become quite the talk of the town and for all the wrong reasons. There weren't many saints in the world. People were self-serving and enjoyed seeing others fail. Everyone loved a good story about others falling from grace. Sarah seemed to have gotten a fresh start. She no longer had to scrimp and worry about money or pawn off her few remaining pieces of jewelry. At least she could keep up appearances again. She had finally managed to grab a lifeline, so of course, she wasn't going to let go of it. She could revisit her plans for the future once she had a firm footing.Zoey looked at the photos in the online article. There were a few blurry photos of Sarah's back, none of which showed her face. Zoey found the article uninteresting after reading i