Louis chewed on the ribs slowly, his gaze coldly shifting towards Hamish.
Mrs. White placed her hand on Mr. White’s arm and intervened, “Hamish came here specifically to see you. You two brothers rarely meet. After dinner, you should have a good talk.”
“I have nothing to talk about with him,” Louis sneered. He felt he had been generous not to beat Hamish with a stick and now he was being asked to have a good talk. What was there to talk about? The thought of Hamish looking at Elisa made him nauseous.
Louis felt restless, tugging at his shirt collar, unbuttoning another button. If Mrs. White hadn’t been watching him, he might have thrown the food in Hamish’s face. Forget it… It’s rare to come back for a meal. Let Hamish’s portion of the meal go to the dogs.
Mrs. White carefully observed Louis’s expression and relaxed when she saw him quietly eating.
In contrast, Hamish behaved with more manners at the dinner table, speaking little, and conducting himself with extreme elegance.
His face was pale, and he occasionally felt a stabbing pain in his chest. Lung cancer had even affected his esophagus, making it difficult for him to swallow. After eating half a bowl of rice, he couldn’t eat anymore.
After lunch, Mrs. White arranged for the servants to clean up and let the three young people go out to play. Brittany had no interest in men, so she took out her phone to make plans with her girlfriends, starting to choose a location for afternoon tea right after finishing lunch.
Louis went to the backyard, sat in a chair with his legs crossed, and wanted to see what tricks Hamish would play. There’s a saying, “No good can come from excessive politeness. It’s either fraudulent or thievish.” Hamish didn’t look like a good person.
He and Hamish had very few meetings, and he had a vague memory of him, but couldn’t recall what had happened. In any case, he felt repulsed, especially considering the way Hamish looked at Elisa.
After running through his thoughts, Louis suddenly had an idea, “If you have something to say, say it quickly. I have to go back to arrange a date with Elisa.”
“Are you already with Elisa?”
“Nonsense, not only are we together, we also live together,” Louis spoke without a hint of guilt.
Hamish’s face suddenly darkened, his gaze icy, piercing directly into Louis’s face.
“Have you…?” Hamish’s voice was hoarse and probing, “Have you done something?”
“Done something?” Louis smiled faintly at him, “Let’s put it this way, everything you’re thinking about, we’ve done. The only thing left is to get married at the civil affairs bureau.”
Hamish’s face turned a shade of green and red, gritting his teeth, “Did you really touch her?”
“We are lovers, so it’s natural for something to happen between us. But what about you…?” Louis’s gaze darkened, speaking with grace and composure, “Why do you keep thinking about someone else’s girlfriend? Do you know what Elisa said about you to me? She said she’s fed up with you and doesn’t want to see you again.”
This sounded like something Elisa would say, especially considering that she had said harsher things to him in reality.
At the sound of his words, Hamish felt a suffocating pressure in his chest, a coldness that seemed to penetrate his pores and reach his heart.
His vision blurred, his throat dry; it had been a long time since Hamish had felt so overwhelmed. From Mimi’s death, to Louis bringing Elisa home, to the Twitter “confession,” he hadn’t been able to keep his feet steady.
Louis’s gaze was clear; he wasn’t lying. Perhaps he really had been with Elisa.
Just the thought of that scene was driving Hamish insane. He had considered it and had prepared himself mentally, but Louis’s words hit him like a blow to the head, leaving him unable to distinguish between reality and a dream.
Unconsciously, he murmured with dry lips, “Give Elisa back to me…”
Louis’s gaze darkened, and he sneered, “Where did you escape from? Why are you so good at imagining things?”
Hamish clenched his fists tightly, his eyes venomous. He struggled internally for a while before finally making a decision.
“Do you understand Elisa?” he asked.
“I don’t have to understand her, what’s it got to do with you?” Louis guessed that by frequently mentioning Elisa, Hamish was trying to sow discord, and he didn’t give him a good expression, getting up to leave.
Hamish stared at the side of Louis’s face, his tone less trembling than before, “Elisa doesn’t love you. She just sees you as a stand-in.”
Louis suddenly let out a light laugh, turning to meet Hamish’s sharp and cold gaze. He had already anticipated that Hamish was trying to drive a wedge between him and Elisa, but when he heard the word “stand-in,” Louis wanted to speak, but found himself tongue-tied.
“You don’t really understand Elisa’s past. If you knew the real her, you would know what kind of relationship she and I had, and why she initially pretended not to know me,” Hamish calmly spoke, hitting the mark, “I bet you’ve been curious, but you’ve never asked. Are you genuinely not bothered by her past, or are you afraid that her past isn’t as beautiful as you imagine?”
The weather had been cloudy before the meal, as Bankshire often had sporadic rain. In this particular area, the sky was overcast. With Hamish’s words, the air pressure seemed to drop, the dark clouds looming overhead as if they could collapse at any moment.
“Yes, I don’t know her past, but now, when she needs someone the most, I’m the one by her side, not you. To Elisa, you are a stranger. Do you understand her past or not? What’s gone is gone, and Elisa has never looked back,” he breathed out heavily, feeling as though a weight had been lifted off his chest.
But he couldn’t deny that Hamish had struck a chord. He had indeed been confused and fearful about Elisa’s past, but it didn’t change his belief in her.
“Hamish, if you want to sow discord, find another way. Using the ‘stand-in’ trope in this day and age, are you reading too many melodramatic novels?” Louis remarked.
Hamish lowered his gaze, touching the teacup brought by the servant. His fingertips were cold and pale, and his voice was as cold as the weather, not giving any respite, sending shivers down one’s spine.
“Is it about sowing discord, saying you’re a stand-in? Go check it out. There’s a Goodlife Orphanage in Bankshire. Go and meet the director there, and you’ll know. After seeing, you’ll understand that from the beginning, Elisa never held you in her heart.”
Having spent some years in the entertainment industry, Louis had not only focused on acting. He had honed the ability to understand people. He wasn’t clear about the kind of person Hamish was, but rumor had it that if you were cruel, he was even crueler. Especially when it came to his late wife, a subject that was never to be mentioned. If he loved his late wife so much, why was he fixated on Elisa?
Louis never cared about other people’s private matters. Besides knowing that Hamish had been married and his wife had passed away, he had no further knowledge of his past.
Louis’s bright pupils fluctuated as he pursed his thin lips, “Why should I go to this Goodlife Orphanage as you say?”
“If you don’t go, how will you know if what I’m saying is true or false? Louis, you’re just a coward,” Hamish drove the conversation to a head, with a cliff behind him and obstacles in front. He forced Louis into a corner, leaving him with no choice but to confront it head-on.
“If you don’t want to go to the orphanage, you can also investigate me. Although I have blocked a lot of information, with your status as a member of the White family and your relationship with me, you can find out everything clearly. You can check my wife’s name,” he added.
Louis’s eyes flickered, rooted to the spot, forgetting to move.
Even though he was ill, Hamish’s presence was undiminished. He was adept at manipulating people’s emotions, and the slight curve of his thin lips went unnoticed.
If Louis didn’t believe Elisa because of this, then he didn’t deserve her.
Admitting his selfishness, Hamish hoped that Louis would leave Elisa at this critical time, leaving her alone again. His time was limited, and Elisa would not fall in love with him again. He just wanted to keep Elisa to himself for a year. For one year, Elisa would belong to him alone.
With his words spoken, Hamish bid farewell to the White family and left in his car. He believed Louis would surely investigate.
Mrs. White clearly felt that after spending some time alone with Hamish, Louis came back a different person-distracted and absent-minded, not fully present in conversation.
Hamish’s words continued to linger in his mind, especially one phrase, “Louis, you’re just a stand-in.”
How could he be a stand-in? He was exceptional, handsome, and had a good character. Who could surpass him and reduce him to being a stand-in?
Goodlife Orphanage, let’s go and take a look.
As soon as Louis thought about it, he sprang into action, getting up and heading outside. Mrs. White called after him, “Louis, where are you going?”
“I’m heading back.”
Mrs. White was taken aback and hurried to catch up, grabbing his hand. “Can’t you stay a bit longer? I’ve made your favorite dish for dinner, and your room is also tidied up.”
Louis looked at Mrs. White holding onto his hand. “I’ve had enough at lunch, Mom. I need to go back.”
“When will you come back next time?” Mrs. White’s eyes reddened as she asked.
Louis couldn’t handle this kind of scene at all, which was why he didn’t want to come back. He easily withdrew his hand. “Let’s talk about it later, I have to go.”
“But it’s going to rain outside…”
“It’s not going to be heavy, and I won’t get wet in the car.”
It was necessary to leave. Mrs. White’s hand froze in mid-air as she fought back the pain in her eyes, watching Louis leave.
Mr. White came down from upstairs and walked over to his wife, embracing her. “If he wants to leave, let him leave. He’ll come back. If you really can’t bear it, I’ll have someone fetch him back. If he dares to run, I’ll break his legs… Ow, that hurts!” Mr. White suddenly cried out, doubling over as a chill ran through him.
Mrs. White’s hand twisted a piece of flesh on his waist, watching the man gritting his teeth in pain, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
After a while, unable to hide her disappointment, she leaned against her husband, “It’s all my fault… If I had looked after the child properly from the beginning, he wouldn’t have been taken away by mistake, causing us to be separated for so many years. He has no feelings for us now.”
Mr. White sighed and rubbed his wife’s hair. “It’s okay. You can’t break the bond of family. Compared to three years ago, things are much better now. He will slowly realize how good we are to him.”
Louis drove to Goodlife Orphanage, a journey of about forty minutes.
He glanced at the sky outside the window. It had been gray for so long, and it looked like rain was imminent. The weather forecast showed that there would be a thunderstorm in some areas around 2 p. m.
Louis stepped on the gas and accelerated towards Goodlife Orphanage.
Louis was familiar with this name; after all, it was the largest and most comprehensive orphanage in Bankshire. Over the years as an actor, he had sponsored many orphans, and Goodlife Orphanage was one of them.
While driving, he liked to open the car window for some fresh air, which messed up his hair, ruining his original hairstyle. He ruffled his hair, pulled up the handbrake, and got out of the car.
The gatekeeper was an old man who didn’t watch movies or follow the entertainment industry, so he didn’t know that a big movie star had arrived. However, judging by Louis’s attire and his luxurious car, he could tell that this man was no ordinary person. He immediately took out his walkie-talkie to inform the director.
The old man, seeing the man’s hurried appearance, approached him. “Sir, if you want to go in, you must register your information.”
Louis responded with an “Hmm” and forced himself to focus, following the old man to the office, filling out the forms and photocopying his ID.
The old man, watching him fill out the forms, asked, “Are you here to visit the children?”
“Sort of.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.”
Louis replied, “It’s my first time here. How many years have you been working here, sir?”