Three o'clock in the afternoon was an unusual time for Garrett to leave his magnificent office. But an exception was made for this day. Especially since he was driving his own car. And without anyone to accompany him."Mr. Dirk will be expecting you. At half past three at Coastal Bistro Restaurant."Those were Amber's words that successfully made Garrett cancel his schedule until six in the evening. Anything that had to do with his work could wait. His schedule could still be rearranged. But meeting someone who knew for sure the facts behind his father's accident was clearly something that could not happen twice.Garrett impatiently parked his car in the lot. He almost hit a car next to him, but luckily he hit the brake pedal at the right time. He took a deep breath. He tried to calm down.When he entered the restaurant, Garrett immediately went to the table that Amber had reserved for their meeting. He sat down and checked his watch. It was still ten minutes before the appointed time
A single knock brought Garrett's wandering eyes back to focus. He looked to the door of his office. Just then the door swung open and someone entered.It was Elice, carrying a tray. She smiled and walked over to Garrett. It was a cup of tea, which she placed on Garrett's desk."Thank you," Garrett returned Elice's smile. He glanced at the wall clock. It was already ten in the evening. It made sense for Elice to come to his office."Do you have a lot of work to do?" Elice asked, placing the tray on Garrett's empty desk and sitting down in front of her husband. She looked at a file that was open in front of Garrett, then back at him. "It seems you've been pushing yourself too hard lately, Garrett."Garrett sighed as he looked at the open file. Feeling a little guilty, he realized that he hadn't really touched it since. Instead, his mind had been occupied with daydreams."Is that so?" he asked."So, I see," Elice replied, her eyes showing concern. "You seem to be overworking yourself, an
Expressing her love with all her feelings, Elice took a short breath. Just before she closed her eyes. Just before she touched Garrett's lips with hers.Garrett obviously wanted to return this expression in the same way. But when Elice kissed him, he could only freeze. With a heart that seemed to stop beating. And when Elice pulled away from the kiss, there was only one word Garrett could utter."Elice."At close range, Elice smiled. Her eyes were serene and full of love.What Elice expressed. What Elice was doing. It was clearly not just an expression or an empty action. For even without speaking or doing anything, Garrett dared to swear. This love shone through so vividly.This feeling filled Garrett's chest. Amidst the pressures of work and the question marks of his family tragedy, he found that there was a reason that could make him endure. There would always be a reason to persevere. And that, of course, was Elice herself."I love you too."Just like Elice, Garrett leaned closer
Here's what happened next. Garrett paused, leaning on one elbow as he looked at Elice, whose eyes were beginning to fade. She looked tired, but at the same time incredibly happy.Elice's smile curved perfectly. With a hint of sadness in her eyes, she whispered to Garrett, "I feel like I'm going to fall asleep at any moment.At that moment, Garrett realized that it wasn't just sickness that could be contagious. Instead of frowning, a moment after Elice said that, a chuckle came out of him, tickling the corners of his lips and causing Garrett to smile as well."I think I might fall asleep soon, too," he said, not at all with the intention of reassuring Elice, but rather feeling the heaviness in his own eyes. Garrett yawned, and in his sleepiness Elice chuckled.Garrett wanted to respond to Elice's laughter, but his body felt incredibly tired now. So he settled for a stifled chuckle, shifting and adjusting the pillow under his head.But before consciousness left him, Garrett made sure to
It wasn't just Garrett who thought the situation was odd. So did Amber. As someone who had been directly involved with Dirk and Dakota for the past few days, the incident clearly took her by surprise. It made Amber feel almost unable to raise her face in front of Garrett. Embarrassed. Like someone incompetent. "Is everything okay?" Sherly's question made Amber turn. She looked at her colleague, forced a smile, and nodded. "I'm fine," Amber replied. "Thank you." Exhaling, Amber tried to contact Dirk and Dakota again. Alternately. Repeatedly. Ignoring a pair of eyes that had been looking at her phone screen all along. Clearly seeing whose name Amber was calling. * "Don't get used to contacting me suddenly like this. If your husband finds out, he might think we're having an affair." Nelson said after sipping his latte, grinning mischievously. It looked funny to see Amber's disheveled face in front of him. The middle-aged woman scowled. "You know what? My husband is worthy of being
The morning continued to be beautiful and perfect for Daphne. The sun rising in the east radiated a bright, sparkling light. More than enough to signal that a day of joy awaited her.Daphne stood on the side terrace of the house, enjoying the fresh and cool morning air. It felt incredibly peaceful to her aging lungs.As usual, Daphne was accompanied by her personal nurse, Regina. The young girl stood not far from Daphne, who was doing some light exercises."Here, madam."Regina handed Daphne a small towel to wipe the sweat from her face. Daphne smiled as she took a deep breath. Then, with Regina's help, she sat down."Drink first, madam."Carefully, Regina handed Daphne a glass of water. Its coolness quickly flowed down Daphne's parched throat. She sighed, feeling immensely satisfied with the fresh and healthy sensation she still felt up to this moment."Madam."As Regina called out to her, Daphne immediately turned. Their eyes met and Daphne sensed something different in the way the
"You're finally here, Ariel. We have been waiting for you."In truth, Ariel didn't want to come to his parents' house at all. But that afternoon, Farrah contacted him. She invited him to dinner because it seemed that Farrah and Kurt would be returning to Crestdale soon. There was something urgent.Ariel pulled up a chair right in front of Farrah. He glanced at the dishes and then turned to his parents. He asked, "So... when are Mom and Dad planning to return to Crestdale?"There were no small talk questions about news or anything else. Instead, Ariel asked the only question that was the reason for his visit that night. He looked at Kurt. The middle-aged man seemed to be enjoying his meal with a relaxed expression on his face. Unlike her husband, Farrah looked different."Probably next Saturday," Farrah answered. "Your dad needs to check on something."Ariel wasn't interested in knowing exactly what Kurt needed to check. His head was already full of his own affairs and problems. He did
It was clearly a new world for Elice and Norah. Coming to charity events and visiting orphanages had never been their activities before. So, it wasn't surprising that they felt a little awkward at the moment.Unlike her daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law, Daphne seemed so at ease. She greeted people there. She smiled at the caretakers. Laughing with the children. It was truly a sight Elice never expected to see. For someone who had been marginalized by Daphne's category, Elice really didn't think that the grandmother had a sense of humor as well."Let me introduce you. This is my daughter-in-law, Norah. And this is my granddaughter-in-law, Elice."Daphne led Norah and Elice to a woman who seeme