Lizzy’s POV“Lizzy, are you okay?” Mom yelled from behind the door. That’s when I woke up from my daydream and realized that I was in a bathtub full of water with the tap water still running, so the bathroom floor was wet.What had I been thinking? Wasn’t I standing under the shower earlier?“Lizzy, answer me! What are you doing in there? Are you okay?” Mom yelled for the second time.“Y-yes. I am okay. I’ll be out in a few minutes,” I replied as I turned off the water faucet, then grabbed the towel hanging behind the door and wiped up the puddle of water on the bathroom floor.“You scared me. I heard the water faucet turning on and not stopping. You’re not your usual self. If you have any problems, you can talk to me anytime,” Mom said.“Yes, mom. Thank you. I will always rely on you,” I replied.I rushed out of the bathroom and grabbed the clothes that were still in the suitcase. Mom sat by the bedside holding Harry.“He’s awake. Since when?” I asked while wearing sweatpants and a b
Lizzy’s POVLuckily I grabbed Steven’s hand in time because after that my foot slipped and I almost fell down the left side of the hill that was full of rocks. I didn’t know that the path we were on was slippery because besides being wet; it was also overgrown with moss.“Oh no! You almost fell. Luckily, you grabbed my hand in time. Hold my hand tighter,” Steven said.As we walked up the hill, the air became colder. Much colder than the beach. That night I deliberately wore a long-sleeved t-shirt, sweatpants, a thick jacket, and sneakers so that my body felt much warmer. The same goes for Mom and Harry. I can’t imagine if we weren’t wearing thick clothes and jackets.“Thank you, Steven. I don’t know how I would have fared if you hadn’t saved me earlier.”“Then I’m your angel, right?” he asked with a laugh.“I’ll take that.”I thought the path to the top of the hill wasn’t that high, but it was. My breath caught and my legs ached.“Is the place we’re going still far away?”“It’ll be aw
Lizzy’s POVAfter the beach trip, I never saw Steven again. The working hours where I worked were divided into two. We used to call them the morning shift and the night shift. The morning shift works from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon, and the night shift works from three in the afternoon until nine at night. Each employee gets a week to work the morning shift, and a week to work the night shift.For that week, I worked the morning shift, so my work hours finished at three in the afternoon. But, usually, we morning shift personnel don’t go straight home. We would sit by the restaurant and sip a cup of coffee and some leftover snacks from the kitchen that could not be sold to customers.If there are a lot of leftovers, we will wrap them up and take them home. However, if the leftovers aren’t too much, we’d eat them together at the side of the restaurant while chatting away. Enjoying the afternoon and waiting for the sun to set, watching the originally bright sky turn
Lizzy’s POV“Thank God, you’re home. I came to see you.”“Are you alone?” he asked. His eyes widened as they scanned every corner of his front porch.“Yeah.”“Come on in. It’s freezing outside. I’m sorry if the house looks so chaotic because I have to do a lot of things by myself. Have a seat here, and I’ll get you something to drink. Coffee or tea?” he asked after putting away some things and putting them in a box. “Tea. Thank you.” Then he left the living room and entered the kitchen.I saw that the living room of Steven’s house was in complete chaos. Most of the couches were covered with piles of clothes. On the table lay a lot of snacks, then at the end of the room lined up dirty-looking shoes. In addition, since setting foot in the house, there was a terrible smell. I didn’t know where it came from. It was like the smell of dirty clothes that hadn’t been washed for a few weeks or a damp house that hadn’t been cleaned.From the direction of the living room, I saw that the door of
Hannah’s POVI woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of breaking things and the commotion on the first floor exactly one hour before midnight. I hurriedly put on my sweatshirt and slippers and left my room. Just before descending the stairs, I noticed that the living room of Jason’s residence was quiet and dark. The lights in the dining room were always on. So, from the second floor, I could see the light reflecting into the living room from the dining room.Then, where did the sound come from?From the direction of the kitchen, I saw some maids running to another room on the first floor. Could it be Jason’s workroom or his bedroom?As my feet descended the stairs, I heard Mia call, “Hannah, what’s wrong? What’s going on? I heard things breaking repeatedly.”I turned to look at Mia, who was shaking in the cold. “I don’t know. What if we check together? I saw the maids running into a room?”“Oh no, Jason. Let’s go there,” Mia said. She had a panicked look on her face.We hurr
John’s POVI stood in line at the ticket counter. I looked at the screen hanging above the ticket counter for the schedule of trains operating that day. Thirty minutes later, after waiting in line for a long time, it was finally my turn to buy a ticket.After mentioning the destination city, the ticket seller immediately gave me a sheet of tickets for the train that would depart in forty-five minutes. While waiting for the train to arrive, I sat in a coffee shop and ordered a cup of coffee and a plate of spaghetti. Maybe it was because I had eaten nothing since morning, so the spaghetti tasted good and was gone in no time.During the meal, I tried to call Sheila’s cell phone, but her number was unavailable. The same was true for Elsa. So far, her cell phone has never been inactive. Elsa always made sure her cell phone and number were active.What’s going on? What exactly happened to you, Elsa?That afternoon, I couldn’t get in touch with either of them and even when the train to Vanor
John’s POV“Because she didn’t want to worry you. All this time I knew nothing about her illness until one day I heard moaning in pain from inside Elsa’s bedroom. Worried and curious, I knocked on her bedroom door a few times, but suddenly the moaning no longer sounded. When I asked her, she said everything was fine. However, the moaning could be heard almost every day. The curiosity and worry I felt were getting the better of me. I finally forced open the door to her room and saw her lying on the floor, whimpering in pain while holding back tears. I ran over to her, then I yelled for her sister, and asked her to call an ambulance. The clinic in our village has an emergency ambulance,” Sheila replied, wiping her wet eyes. Her tears did not stop flowing.“So, what happened after that?”“After she was rushed to the clinic and examined intensely, the doctor declared her illness to be severe. The clinic in our village could not treat her illness. Therefore, Elsa was referred to a hospital
Lizzy’s POV“Mom, is it them?” I asked.“Y-yes. Then, what’s your plan? If we go after them, wouldn’t that mean your agreement with Minister Vladimir is off? I’m afraid he’ll do something bad to us if the deal is off. He won’t hurt Harry, but he might hurt you or both of us. But whatever you decide, I’ll support you,” Mom answered.“I-I miss him. But, I can’t go to them. It’s not like Anya is with them.”“Yes. There are only a few men dressed in black with them. If you’ve decided, let’s hurry and get out of here,” Mom said.“Let me look at him for a while longer.”“Lizzy, let him go. Let’s go before they realize we’re near them,” Mom said.We hurried away from there and we deliberately took a spot that was crowded with visitors so as not to be seen by them. However, unfortunately, that day the mall was full of visitors because in Malia there was only one mall and coincidentally it was a long weekend, so many people went to the mall.“Lizzy, come with me. I have an idea,” Mom said. She
Jason’s POV One morning, when I was just coming out of the bedroom, Mia and Hannah walked toward me. Their faces looked happy with smiles on their lips, like sunflowers in summer. I wondered what had happened to them. They were standing right in front of me, holding hands. “What’s wrong with you two?” “We have good news,” they both replied. “Ok. What’s the good news, then? I have to wake Anya up because I promised to accompany her to play in the park.” “We’ve found Lizzy and Harry. You don’t need to wake Anya up because she’s already up and having breakfast. She’s ready to go pick up her mom and brother,” Hannah replied. Anya’s bag that I was holding fell to the floor. I had to convince myself many times that the news I heard that morning was real. For a moment, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Really? You’re not playing games with me, are you?” “We’re serious and we got this news from Sylvia, Lizzy’s mom. They are now in Forca City. They opened a bakery and a coffee sho
Margaret’s POV I saw James enter the room. The angry look on his face was as sinister as a soldier ready to execute a death-row prisoner. His eyes stared at Nathan and me. The sweat was pouring down my forehead. I noticed that Nathan’s body was trembling and his hands were clenched into fists. Suddenly, Nathan knelt before James and lowered his face. “Sir, please forgive my impudence. I came here because I missed Mrs. Margaret so much. I confess I love her and she loves me. We had an illicit relationship in the past, but it ended because Mrs. Margaret felt guilty about you. On this occasion, I beg you to let her go so that she can be happy. She is suffering by your side. If you love her, please let us live happily.” James let out a long sigh. His eyes looked up at the ceiling of the room. “Is that what you want, Margaret? After all the years we’ve lived together.” A feeling of guilt rushed over me. I was like a child at a crossroads. In front of me were two roads that were both cov
Jason’s POV“Damn! She’s not here.”“Is there no resident named Lizzy Ford or Lizzy Oswald? She is a thirty-year-old young woman, then an eighteen-month-old baby boy. Please recall the woman’s physical characteristics. The information we received said she lives in this apartment,” I asked the guard.The guard’s expression was flat. He let out a long sigh, as if annoyed by our question. “Sir, I’ve been working here for ten years and my memory tells me that there is no female resident in this apartment with the physical characteristics you mentioned. If there were any residents with such physical features, I would have said so earlier. I showed you the list of names of the residents here. Is that not enough? I hope you won’t make a scene.”“Ah, sorry. My brother didn’t mean to make a scene. We were just panicking and sad because we couldn’t find the person we were looking for. I hope you understand,” Hannah replied with a big smile.“Alright. If there’s nothing else to ask, I’ll get bac
Lizzy’s POV“Mom, is it them?” I asked.“Y-yes. Then, what’s your plan? If we go after them, wouldn’t that mean your agreement with Minister Vladimir is off? I’m afraid he’ll do something bad to us if the deal is off. He won’t hurt Harry, but he might hurt you or both of us. But whatever you decide, I’ll support you,” Mom answered.“I-I miss him. But, I can’t go to them. It’s not like Anya is with them.”“Yes. There are only a few men dressed in black with them. If you’ve decided, let’s hurry and get out of here,” Mom said.“Let me look at him for a while longer.”“Lizzy, let him go. Let’s go before they realize we’re near them,” Mom said.We hurried away from there and we deliberately took a spot that was crowded with visitors so as not to be seen by them. However, unfortunately, that day the mall was full of visitors because in Malia there was only one mall and coincidentally it was a long weekend, so many people went to the mall.“Lizzy, come with me. I have an idea,” Mom said. She
John’s POV“Because she didn’t want to worry you. All this time I knew nothing about her illness until one day I heard moaning in pain from inside Elsa’s bedroom. Worried and curious, I knocked on her bedroom door a few times, but suddenly the moaning no longer sounded. When I asked her, she said everything was fine. However, the moaning could be heard almost every day. The curiosity and worry I felt were getting the better of me. I finally forced open the door to her room and saw her lying on the floor, whimpering in pain while holding back tears. I ran over to her, then I yelled for her sister, and asked her to call an ambulance. The clinic in our village has an emergency ambulance,” Sheila replied, wiping her wet eyes. Her tears did not stop flowing.“So, what happened after that?”“After she was rushed to the clinic and examined intensely, the doctor declared her illness to be severe. The clinic in our village could not treat her illness. Therefore, Elsa was referred to a hospital
John’s POVI stood in line at the ticket counter. I looked at the screen hanging above the ticket counter for the schedule of trains operating that day. Thirty minutes later, after waiting in line for a long time, it was finally my turn to buy a ticket.After mentioning the destination city, the ticket seller immediately gave me a sheet of tickets for the train that would depart in forty-five minutes. While waiting for the train to arrive, I sat in a coffee shop and ordered a cup of coffee and a plate of spaghetti. Maybe it was because I had eaten nothing since morning, so the spaghetti tasted good and was gone in no time.During the meal, I tried to call Sheila’s cell phone, but her number was unavailable. The same was true for Elsa. So far, her cell phone has never been inactive. Elsa always made sure her cell phone and number were active.What’s going on? What exactly happened to you, Elsa?That afternoon, I couldn’t get in touch with either of them and even when the train to Vanor
Hannah’s POVI woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of breaking things and the commotion on the first floor exactly one hour before midnight. I hurriedly put on my sweatshirt and slippers and left my room. Just before descending the stairs, I noticed that the living room of Jason’s residence was quiet and dark. The lights in the dining room were always on. So, from the second floor, I could see the light reflecting into the living room from the dining room.Then, where did the sound come from?From the direction of the kitchen, I saw some maids running to another room on the first floor. Could it be Jason’s workroom or his bedroom?As my feet descended the stairs, I heard Mia call, “Hannah, what’s wrong? What’s going on? I heard things breaking repeatedly.”I turned to look at Mia, who was shaking in the cold. “I don’t know. What if we check together? I saw the maids running into a room?”“Oh no, Jason. Let’s go there,” Mia said. She had a panicked look on her face.We hurr
Lizzy’s POV“Thank God, you’re home. I came to see you.”“Are you alone?” he asked. His eyes widened as they scanned every corner of his front porch.“Yeah.”“Come on in. It’s freezing outside. I’m sorry if the house looks so chaotic because I have to do a lot of things by myself. Have a seat here, and I’ll get you something to drink. Coffee or tea?” he asked after putting away some things and putting them in a box. “Tea. Thank you.” Then he left the living room and entered the kitchen.I saw that the living room of Steven’s house was in complete chaos. Most of the couches were covered with piles of clothes. On the table lay a lot of snacks, then at the end of the room lined up dirty-looking shoes. In addition, since setting foot in the house, there was a terrible smell. I didn’t know where it came from. It was like the smell of dirty clothes that hadn’t been washed for a few weeks or a damp house that hadn’t been cleaned.From the direction of the living room, I saw that the door of
Lizzy’s POVAfter the beach trip, I never saw Steven again. The working hours where I worked were divided into two. We used to call them the morning shift and the night shift. The morning shift works from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon, and the night shift works from three in the afternoon until nine at night. Each employee gets a week to work the morning shift, and a week to work the night shift.For that week, I worked the morning shift, so my work hours finished at three in the afternoon. But, usually, we morning shift personnel don’t go straight home. We would sit by the restaurant and sip a cup of coffee and some leftover snacks from the kitchen that could not be sold to customers.If there are a lot of leftovers, we will wrap them up and take them home. However, if the leftovers aren’t too much, we’d eat them together at the side of the restaurant while chatting away. Enjoying the afternoon and waiting for the sun to set, watching the originally bright sky turn