What’s it like to wake up and find the person you like sleeping in your arms?
Louis was stunned. His heartbeat went from steady to pounding, as if it might leap out of his chest. When he opened his eyes, his hand was still resting on Elisa. They were holding each other tightly, feeling each other’s warmth and breath.
Louis’s hand stiffened, unsure of what to do. But there was no denying the warmth flooding his heart, as if it had been filled with a jar of sweet warmth, so sweet that it reached his mouth, wishing time would stand still.
Elisa’s eyelashes fluttered, she moved her arm, and rubbed her eyes as she woke up.
Louis quickly closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. After a while, Elisa’s voice came from beside him. “Wake up already,” she said.
Louis opened his eyes and quickly said, “Elisa, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. Did I do anything to you last night?”
“Just with one glass of wine, you got drunk and wanted to do something to me?” Elisa sat up. The clothes inside the quilt were the same as last night, but a bit disheveled.
Louis quickly got up. “I didn’t mean to,” he said as he followed her. “Do you know your alcohol tolerance?” Elisa asked curiously.
Louis nodded. “I know my alcohol tolerance is not good. My manager also reminded me not to drink.”
“You don’t remember anything after getting drunk?”
Louis cautiously asked, “What did I do?”
“It’s nothing. You figure it out yourself.” Elisa turned and went into the washroom, and the sound of running water soon came from inside.
Louis was anxious, found his phone, and checked his messages. The manager had sent him a message late at night, telling him not to drink, and Louis had replied that he had reached home. When did he reply to the message?
The manager had repeatedly warned Louis not to drink, knowing his poor alcohol tolerance. After getting drunk, he would sway and wouldn’t let anyone touch him. He would snap at anyone who touched him, like a mad dog.
The first time he got drunk, the manager was by his side, trying to help him back, but Louis had pushed him and almost knocked his teeth out on an electric pole.
The manager had wanted to come with him last night, but Louis had refused. The manager could only call and send messages to remind him not to drink.
Louis sat on the bed, frowning. Had he done something really out of line to Elisa?
He couldn’t get himself together until Elisa finished washing up and he listlessly went to have breakfast.
During the meal, Elisa opened a candy jar and took a piece of candy from it.
Louis looked at it and asked hesitantly, “This candy…”
“You gave it to me last night and insisted I eat it.”
Louis asked, “Is it tasty?”
Elisa nodded. “Yes,” she said. Suddenly remembering something, she smiled with her eyes bent, her eyes shining like the moon. “It’s not bad. You tasted it last night and said it was sweet.”
The candy was indeed sweet, but Louis didn’t remember eating the candy last night.
Seeing Elisa’s teasing gaze, Louis felt a pang in his heart, feeling as if something big had happened last night. After finishing the meal, he took the opportunity when Elisa went to the bathroom to secretly take out his phone and turn on the surveillance.
Starting from when they arrived at Vaquita Bay’s entrance, he saw Elisa leading him into the house. Just as he was about to fast-forward through that part, his finger on the fast-forward button suddenly froze.
As the taxi left, he saw another car coming from a distance and stopping outside the gate, motionless. The person inside the car was not clear, but Louis adjusted the video to the clearest setting, and he recognized the license plate.
– Hamish
Louis narrowed his eyes. His usually gentle face suddenly burst into a chill. He had never thought that Hamish would be so shameless, actually tracking them here. And judging by his proficiency, it was probably not the first time.
Last night, it was fortunate that he was by Elisa’s side. If he hadn’t been, who knew what crazy thing this lunatic Hamish might have done.
Burning with anger but unable to vent, he made up his mind, turned off his phone, walked out of the bathroom, and suddenly said to Elisa, “Elisa, come home with me for Christmas this year.”
Elisa was taken aback. She had almost forgotten. It had been a long time since she had a good New Year. With Louis’s reminder, she counted the days on the calendar. Christmas was just 19 days away.
The movie had finished shooting, and all that was left was post-production and waiting for promotion. There wasn’tmuch going on usually.
“Can I really go?” Elisa asked.
“My mom keeps asking me every day when I’m bringing you home.”
“Which home?”
The White family had too many properties, there were properties in Bankshire, Chiwood, and other places.
“Back to Quokka, it’s warm there, and we can go to the beach.”
“Okay, but before we go to Quokka, you have to go with me to a place.”
Elisa began to plan. The latest they could go to Quokka was December 23rd. There were still so many days to plan. Elisa also went to Bankshire to look at the house’s renovations.
The house had been decorated, and now they were working on the furniture. Once the furniture was in place, they could move in after a month or two.
Elisa didn’t forget about her sunflower pot. The sunflowers in the greenhouse had already bloomed. She reached out and touched the petals, gentle as if she were touching Mimi.
After watering the flowers, she left and went back to the office to handle some documents, arrange work, and look into recent investment projects. She put more money into them; money makes money. From the initial eight billion, she now had nine billion, and this was just the beginning.
The movie production was going smoothly. Mr. Rook would send her progress whenever he had time. She had to look over everything, and at this rate, they would be finished with production by March, leaving plenty of time for promotion.
Since the last time she was kidnapped by Finn, Patrick had been by her side constantly, teaching her self-defense whenever he had the chance.
When he found out Louis was coming to pick her up after work, Patrick left on his own.
Elisa had been staying at Louis’s place for some time, packing her clothes, toiletries, and making plans.
On December 20th, Elisa took Louis to the cemetery and, as usual, bought two bunches of flowers.
Though they were just at the cemetery, Louis seemed a bit nervous. He bought paper money and incense outside the cemetery, along with two bunches of lilies.
It was always foggy at the cemetery. Elisa wiped the tombstone gently with a tissue. “Mom, I’ve brought the person I like to see you. His name is Louis…”
“He’s really good to me, truly good. He knows all my likes, cares for me, takes care of me, and does everything to make me happy. I’m no longer the person who hides in the bathroom to cry when something goes wrong.”
A “bang” from behind interrupted Elisa’s train of thought. She turned to see Louis on his knees.
“Auntie, Uncle, rest assured, I won’t let Elisa suffer even a bit. I will take good care of her and love her.” Louis finished speaking and knocked his head on the ground three times, his attitude sincere.
Elisa wanted to laugh, but for some reason, when she opened her mouth, a sour feeling came out. She moved next to Louis and knelt down.
After a while, they stood up. “Let’s go, let’s go back,” Elisa said.
Louis replied with an “okay” and held Elisa’s hand as they walked.
After a few steps, Elisa suddenly turned around, as if she had heard someone calling her from behind. She looked back and saw her mother’s gentle smile on the tombstone.
She pursed her lips, squeezed Louis’s hand tightly, and left the cemetery.
They hadn’t gone far when another car arrived. Ivan looked at the burnt-out paper money and incense on the tombstone, as well as the two bunches of lilies, and his gaze froze.
Who had been here?
Normally, only he and Micah came to burn incense. But this year, Micah hadn’t returned. So who was burning the incense? It couldn’t possibly be a mistake, could it?
Something flashed in Ivan’s mind, something he couldn’t quite grasp, so he decided to go to the nearby flower and paper money shop to inquire.
The shop owner remembered: “It was a couple, tall and slim, with good figures. I don’t know about their faces because they were both wearing masks. They bought two bunches of flowers and then left.”
“Thank you,” Ivan said. He didn’t get any useful clues, so he went back to the nearest shop to the cemetery.
He asked again, “Have you seen a couple buying incense and paper money here?”
This time, he asked the right person. The shop owner replied, “Yes, I have. The woman has been here more than once.”
“More than once?”
“Yes,” the shop owner was about to continue when he suddenly grew alert and asked Ivan, “What are you asking for?”
“I saw two bunches of flowers in front of my parents’ tombstone and wanted to ask who had been here.”
“Oh, I see. The girl looks quite young, around twenty, and she came in June.”
“Do you know her name?”
The shop owner shook his head. “I can’t remember, but she’s oddly good-looking, like a celebrity. Last time she came, it was raining. She left shortly after, and I saw a luxury car pull up. I thought it was there to pick her up, but unexpectedly, a man got out and knelt in front of her. She left without even looking back. I thought there might have been a lovers’ quarrel.”
“What about this time? I heard from the flower shop owner that she brought a man with her.”
“This man shouldn’t be the same as the last one, even though I couldn’t see his face clearly, his demeanor didn’t seem right.”
Ivan found no leads from either shop and was about to leave when the shop owner grabbed his head and suddenly remembered something. He called out to Ivan, “Wait, I think I remember the girl’s name from last time. The man who knelt down suddenly called her ‘Spider,’ yes, something like that. I have a vague memory of it.”
“Spider?” Who would have such a name?
“Yes, I’m a bit hard of hearing.”
“I see, thank you, sir.”
“No problem.”
Ivan walked back to the cemetery. The tombstone had been wiped clean. He squatted down and touched the lilies, contemplating the name “Spider,” repeating it over and over in his mind. The more he repeated it, the more familiar it became.
Wait… Spider, Elisa?
Could it be Elisa?
Ivan stumbled, sitting on the ground. But Elisa, wasn’t she already dead? It would be four years since her death this Christmas.