Elisa looked out the window. Although the room was equipped with soundproofing panels, she could still hear the rumbling outside. A helicopter hovered in mid-air, slowly approaching the tall building, preparing to land on the rooftop.
The communication device was not turned off, and amidst the static, Finn’s voice came through. “Mr. Snearl, someone has broken in…”
Finn was too weak to respond, all his strength focused on combating the pain from the drugs. He struggled to open his eyes and looked outside the window.
“They found you so quickly. Care to guess who found you this time, Louis or Hamish?”
Without a response, Finn chuckled, gasping for air. “I’d guess it’s Hamish. After all, when I took you away, didn’t Louis just storm off after an argument? He’s probably busy giving you the silent treatment. He wouldn’t have time to come find you.”
“Elisa, you scold me for not being a good person, for treating people as pawns. But in reality, you are no different. You treat Louis as a fool, playing with his emotions…”
“No,” Elisa interrupted, “I am very clear about who I like. I have never used anyone as a substitute for someone else.”
“Do you like Louis then?” Even though Elisa did not answer, her eyes had already responded to everything, so sincere, suddenly brighter than ever before.
A loud “boom” interrupted their thoughts, a sound coming from inside the room, like the shattering of glass.
Elisa stood behind Finn, the syringe still aimed at his neck, looking inside the room with vigilance. She wasn’t sure who had entered, and as the footsteps drew closer, she saw the person emerging from inside.
At the sight of the face, Elisa was momentarily disappointed. It wasn’t Louis.
But Finn laughed, “See, I told you it was Hamish.”
Hamish wore a shirt, his hair and collar slightly disheveled, and his complexion paler than usual. His eyes betrayed tension, and only after seeing Elisa did they settle.
“Elisa, are you… all right?”
“No need to worry, Mr. Burns. I’m fine.”
“I came to rescue you.”
“I don’t need your help.” Elisa remained as indifferent as ever, like a hedgehog. Even if held warmly in someone’s hand, she couldn’t help but raise all her quills to defend herself.
She truly didn’t care for Hamish’s rescue, as she was fully capable of getting out on her own.
His arrival only stirred up some unpleasant memories for her. What difference would it make if he came?
Suddenly, Elisa thought of something and asked calmly and indifferently, “How did you know I was here? Have you been following me with people?”
“I didn’t follow you. I knew you were here because I’ve had someone watching Finn’s movements. That’s how I found out he brought you here.” Hamish explained, this scene reminding him of five years ago when he couldn’t safely rescue Elisa from Finn, leading to her severe injuries. He had vowed that such a thing would never happen again.
Seeing Elisa safe in front of him, Hamish’s tense heart relaxed, but her cold gaze caused an inexplicable bitterness within him.
“Come with me,” Hamish reached out to Elisa.
But Elisa, stepping back with Finn, retorted, “What’s the difference between going from Finn to you and walking into the lion’s den? Hamish, I don’t recall asking you to come near me.”
“Yes,” Finn interjected, sneering at Hamish, “Do you see all these injuries on me? This is your fate.”
If Hamish still saw Elisa as the same easily deceived person from the past, he was sorely mistaken. In just a few hours, he had realized that Elisa, after experiencing death and returning to life, had changed. She was no longer the person who could be easily manipulated.
“I can’t stay away from you, Elisa. Can’t I like you and want to treat you well?” His tone was both entitled and disdainful.
Elisa couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. “You can choose to like someone and treat them well, but I also have the right to refuse. You can’t impose your affection on me.”
Hamish felt a pang in his heart. “What about Louis? Do you accept his affection? You’ve been gone for so long, where is he? Do you still expect him to find you?”
“You have no right to bring him up.” Elisa’s tone remained unchanged, but there was a casual and peaceful indifference in her voice. “I’ve said I don’t need anyone to find me. Speaking of Louis, I want to ask if you whispered something in his ear to make him think I used him as a substitute.”
When Elisa fell silent, it was enough toconfuse anyone. It made people think she was a gentle, submissive rabbit, but when she felt there was no need for false pretenses, she could transform into a different person, displaying an unyielding fearlessness beneath her calm exterior.
Her words effortlessly disrupted the calm that Hamish had struggled to maintain, causing him to take two steps forward.
“If he truly loved and believed in you, my few words wouldn’t sway his thoughts. Ultimately, he simply doesn’t love you enough. Elisa, I’ve told you, no one in this world can love you more than I do. I knew you before Louis did, I understand your past better than he does, and I know how to make it up to you.”
Every word he spoke was filled with bitterness and heartache. Deliberately provoking, he presented himself as a weakling, pressing forward.
Elisa’s lips curled, appearing nonchalant on the surface, but in reality, the hand holding the syringe was trembling. If she could, she would have injected the contents directly into Hamish’s brain.
Elisa spoke slowly, word by word, “Of course, you understand my past, because all of my past pain was caused by you alone. How could you not understand? The people who loved me either died or were driven away by you, one by one. How can you claim to be the one who loves me most in this world, Hamish?”
The atmosphere became extremely tense, and at that moment, the communication device crackled to life again.
“Mr. Snearl, we’ve engaged with a group of people. We’re outnumbered, and we didn’t secure the elevator. Someone has already gone up.”
The intermittent voice from the intercom was audible, and Elisa and Finn’s gazes instinctively turned to Hamish.
Seeing Hamish’s slight bewilderment, it could be inferred that the people who clashed with Finn’s group were not arranged by Hamish. Then who could it be?
Suddenly, a strong light pierced through the window, shining directly into the room. Elisa narrowed her eyes, and after the light faded, she saw a familiar figure among the group below.
It was Patrick.
Patrick was originally a guard for the White family, introduced to them by Louis. If he was here, could Louis also be nearby?
At that moment, the elevator doors opened. Elisa couldn’t believe her eyes as she turned, only to see a tall figure striding towards her. She relaxed her guard, and the syringe aimed at Finn’s neck remained poised. She looked on in a daze, her own nervous breathing the only sound she could hear.
Louis approached her, his eyes only on Elisa, disregarding the other two.
He stood by Elisa, his voice hoarse and strained. “I’m sorry. Have you been waiting long?”
Elisa’s voice quivered as she let out a sob. She wanted to run to Louis, but due to sustained high tension, her legs were too stiff to move.
Louis sighed, coming closer to Elisa and taking her cold hand. Then, with a cold glare at Hamish and the non-threatening Finn in front of him, he spoke, “Hamish, I won’t give you the chance to sow discord. I like Elisa, whether it’s the her I never knew in the past or the her now. I like her. Even if I truly am a substitute, I still like her. That’s my answer to you.”
Hamish gripped his whitening hand tightly. “Even if she was previously married and had a child, would you still like her?”
“Yes, I wholeheartedly would.”
These words, for some, seem just too humble, representing the bitterness and one-sided sacrifice. Louis’s affection was like a firefly in the wild grass on a summer day, unremarkable at first, but with a gust of wind, it merged with the starry sky, becoming the most beautiful and undeniable presence in the dark night.
Hamish’s eyes were clouded. He had to admit that at this moment, he had lost. He thought Louis would leave Elisa. He thought this would be his chance to be the first to rescue Elisa. He was indeed the first to find Elisa, but he couldn’t take her away.
Louis squatted in front of Elisa. “Your feet must be numb from standing. Come on, I’ll carry you home on my back.”
Elisa relaxed and threw herself onto his back, tightly embracing him, pressing her face against his sturdy shoulder.
“How did you find me?”
Elisa was very thin and light, and he could firmly support her with just one hand. Louis lifted the elevator card in his hand and handed it to Elisa on his back.
“The people below have already been subdued by my men. We can go down without any worries.”
Elisa softly murmured, “Mmm,” and held the elevator card in her hand to unlock the elevator and go down.
“How did you know I was here?”
“I couldn’t reach you on the phone, so I guessed that something might have happened to you. I called Patrick; he put a locator on the ring he gave you, and that’s how I found you here.”
“Aren’t you angry anymore?” Elisa asked.
“Why would I be angry?”
Elisa leaned against his back and said in a muffled voice, “I still can’t forget Autumn. I admit that I initially approached you because of him. I thought you were him. Louis, I don’t want to deceive you. I can’t forget him. Maybe in the future, I’ll still be unable to help thinking of Autumn when I see you.”
“Forgetting is normal; everyone has someone in their heart.” As he spoke, Louis’s arms around Elisa’s body tightened, as if he was carrying her for a lifetime.