“… Okay.” Patrick’s eyes were deep as he looked at Jane for a while. The fire in his eyes hadn’t completely subsided, but in the end, he compromised. He let go of Jane’s hand and sat down beside her somewhat helplessly.
Jane, seeing him yield, felt a twinge of compassion. She gently placed her slender hand on Patrick’s shoulder, leaning against him and looking up at him. “We still have a long time ahead of us, don’t we?”
Patrick tilted his head slightly, seeing Jane’s exquisite face. He kissed her forehead and replied, “Yes, we have a long time.”
…
Osborn left and walked under the dim streetlight, facing the direction of Jane’s living room. He couldn’t help but look up, and there was a glaring light behind that window.
Are Patrick and Jane together now?
The thought made Osborn feel a sour sensation, as if something was clogging and blocking his heart, painful and uncomfortable.
Tightening his fingers, he finally shoved them into his jacket pocket and walked away, shaking his head. However, the words Florence said suddenly came to his mind.
“We cooperate. You help me get Patrick, and Jane is yours.”
The sentence echoed in his mind. Osborn felt inexplicably irritated. He took a deep breath, trying to dispel the inexplicable emotions.
“What are you thinking, Osborn!”
He didn’t look back in the direction of Jane’s house, forcefully suppressing the uneasy feeling in his heart, and walked away quickly.
In the past few days, Jane and Nana had not given up on searching for William. Seeing Nana becoming more and more haggard, Jane felt sorry for her.
“Jane, where on earth could William be?” Nana asked with red eyes, exhausted.
Jane sighed lightly in her heart and comforted, “Nana, you should rest for a while. Don’t worry; I will help you find William.”
“Really?” Nana bit her lip.
Jane nodded, insisting that Nana lie down, “Rest for a while. You need to be in good spirits to find William.”
Watching Nana fall asleep, Jane left. After a few steps, she received a call from a bodyguard. “Miss North, we’ve found William!”
“Really?” Jane’s eyes lit up. “Where is he?”
“In City B.” The bodyguard provided the location where William was seen.
“Okay, okay… I got it. I’ll be right over.” Jane responded quickly, then returned to the hotel where Nana was staying.
She gently shook Nana’s shoulder. “Nana, wake up. We’ve found out where William is!”
Nana, upon hearing William’s name, instantly opened her eyes and sat up from the bed.
“Really? Where is he?”
“The bodyguard said that someone saw William on the outskirts of City B. He probably hasn’t gone far, and City B is nearby. If we go now, we’ll be there in an hour or two!”
Nana immediately regained her spirits and hurried out with Jane. “Quick, let’s go!”
An hour later, they finally arrived in City B. Jane quickly contacted the bodyguard who called her and rushed to meet him.
“Where is William?” Nana asked anxiously as soon as she saw the bodyguard.
The middle-aged man next to the bodyguard said, “The person you’re looking for, I saw him once while fishing in the outskirts. It’s about half an hour’s drive from the city, oh, and there’s an artificial lake nearby, easy to find.”
Nana was suddenly excited, feeling like she had found her savior. She unconsciously tightened her grip on Jane’s hand, and Jane patted her back, asking the middle-aged man for the specific direction of the artificial lake.
A short while later, they drove to the outskirts with few people. Jane and the others began to search for William’s trace. Nana walked up a small hill, and Jane stayed nearby.
On the hill, Jane noticed a small house. It looked quite old from the outside, seemingly uninhabited. Nana stood in front of the door, thinking about leaving, but just as she was about to turn away, a loud noise came from inside the house.
It sounded like a basin falling to the ground.
Nana stopped in her tracks, pushed open the door of the small wooden house without hesitation, and was greeted with the sight of William standing still, looking stunned.
His right leg was roughly bandaged, and the gauze had turned yellow, indicating that the wound hadn’t been properly treated for several days.
“William… William, I finally found you!” Nana’s eyes turned red in an instant, and she was emotionally overwhelmed. She took a few steps forward and tightly embraced William.
William was taken aback, and he quickly tried to break free from Nana. He moved backward, struggling, and his right leg still hurt.
“What are you doing? Haven’t we broken up? We have nothing to do with each other. Leave quickly.”
He tried to turn his body to the side, avoiding looking at Nana’s face. His voice became cold and indifferent.
Nana looked at William in disbelief, shaking her head gently. She still wanted to grab William’s arm. “No… William, your right leg hasn’t healed yet. It’s been a long time since Uncle Newton came to Guavo. Come back with us, at least to treat your leg…”
“No need!” William’s emotions suddenly became extremely agitated. His face turned red as he shouted at Nana, “I’m already useless now. What do you care about me for? I won’t go back with you!”
Just as the two were deadlocked, the door of the small wooden house was pushed open again, revealing Jane.
She saw William and couldn’t help but show surprise in her eyes.
Seeing Jane, Nana felt like she had seen a savior. She pulled William’s wrist while urgently saying to Jane, “Jane, come and help me persuade him. William said he doesn’t want to go back to Guavo and doesn’t want to treat his leg…”
“You don’t understand human language? I won’t go back, and none of you can persuade me!” William’s emotions became more and more agitated, as if going mad. Jane frowned, looking at him, and signaled the bodyguards behind her to come forward. Two of them stepped forward, one on each side, forcibly taking William out of the small wooden house and following them into the car.
During the car ride, William struggled all the way until he finally quieted down when he got into the car. However, he still refused to speak, ignoring Nana, who was sitting beside him, and just stared out of the window.
After returning to Guavo, Jane immediately contacted Rory and took Nana and William to the hotel where Rory was staying.
“Uncle Newton, this is William. We finally found him. Please help check the current condition of his leg.”