Louis knew that Elisa wasn’t wearing shoes, so he lifted her up and carried her all the way to the car. Despite being unwell and stumbling as he walked, his hands holding onto Elisa remained strong and firm, just like when he used to carry her on his back when they were younger.
In the car, the driver started driving and Louis fell asleep while still holding onto Elisa. At first, Elisa was startled.
Mrs. White made a hushing gesture to remind Elisa not to disturb him. After hearing Louis’ steady breathing, Elisa relaxed.
The car was dimly lit, and Elisa turned her face to look at Louis’ pale face. She reached out and touched his thin, cold jawline.
Since Louis was asleep, Elisa didn’t dare to move. She found a comfortable position and held onto him, making sure he could sleep comfortably and avoid getting a stiff neck.
As they reached the main road, the car gradually stabilized. Mrs. White was sitting in the front, and she turned around to glance at Elisa and saw the two of them clinging to each other.
“It’s been a long time since Louis had a good night’s sleep,” Mrs. White said quietly. After Elisa disappeared, Louis had been desperately searching for her, running around everywhere. He personally handled everything and worked overtime, often forgetting to eat. Because his routine was disrupted, he ended up with acute gastroenteritis and needed to go to the emergency room.
Even with needles in his arm for intravenous fluids, he still wanted to run away. Mrs. White couldn’t bear to see his reckless behavior harming his own body, so she resorted to this last resort-tying him up at home and administering medication injections and feeding him forcefully. If he refused to sleep, she would give him sedatives, and if he struggled, she would use the syringe.
“Originally… I should have found you earlier. It was my fault that I tied Louis up at home.”
That day, she had met Hamish and proposed using the White family’s assets to exchange for Elisa. However, Hamish did not agree. He asked for a week’s time, promising to return Elisa safely after Christmas. If they didn’t trust him, they could come here to pick her up then.
Mrs. White couldn’t entirely trust Hamish, nor could she dispute him. She was afraid of provoking him and causing him to change his mind. In the end, they reached an agreement-the White family would receive a detailed address and the time when Hamish would send Elisa, and they would come to pick her up at that time.
Mrs. White knew in advance that Elisa could be picked up today, but Louis didn’t know.
He didn’t believe Mrs. White, let alone believe that Hamish would easily let Elisa leave. He wanted to personally go find Elisa, but he was locked in his bedroom and tied to the bed with a rope.
During those days of being tied up, it was not physically painful since he had food and water. As long as he didn’t struggle, it wouldn’t consume much energy.
But the thought of Elisa possibly encountering unknown dangers caused him immense pain. He would lose her, and the fear was so overwhelming that it felt like his body was filled with invisible needles, as if he wanted to pull them out one by one with his teeth.
At that moment, Louis realized that Elisa’s departure would bring him such fear that saying “death is better than life” wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
During the journey, Mrs. White quietly spoke to Elisa about many things.
Elisa’s nose felt sour, and her heart felt empty and suffocated. Every word spoken by Mrs. White entered her ears and settled in her heart like a stone, gradually filling her entire heart.
Previously, Elisa felt that life was too long, and a lifetime was an unimaginable length of time. But if there was a Louis in her lifetime, no matter how long it was, it would still feel fleeting.
Three months had brought about too many changes. The White family, who had experienced the financial crisis, was no longer the same White family as before. Mr. White had fallen ill and was admitted to the hospital. Although his condition was not critical, his legs were no longer agile, and he now needed to be pushed in a wheelchair.
Brittany, who used to always smile and twirl around Elisa, calling out “Elisa” with each cheerful tone, had lost the innocence in her smile. She closed her online store and started learning how to manage the company, sharing the burden with her family.
Mrs. White seemed unchanged, still gentle as before, but upon closer inspection, one could see deeper wrinkles on her face and a few strands of white hair.
Now, the White Group had resumed operations, and their funds and stocks were rising.
But the losses and expended energy from before couldn’t be made up for.
This mastermind was related to Hamish, so how could there be no resentment? After all, no one was a saint, and being bitten for no reason was hard to let go.
Mrs. White didn’t dwell on it because Hamish was her own nephew, her only relative in this world.
She also had a responsibility for how Hamish had ended up like this. If she had offered him a bit of help and care at the Burns family, maybe he wouldn’t have become so extreme.
Mrs. White felt guilty towards him, and she had wanted to make it up to him, but now it was impossible to go back to how things were before for the uncle-nephew pair.
She only hoped that from now on, Hamish could be well and let go of his obsession, just like what Elisa said when she left.
When they arrived at Vaquita Bay, the car slowly stopped. Elisa got out of the car and faced the White family. She felt uneasy and didn’t know what to say. She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Brittany suddenly rushed over and hugged her tightly.
“Elisa, you look so beautiful today. Are you okay these past few days? Did he mistreat you? Why do I feel like you’ve lost weight?” Brittany used her own way to comfort Elisa, dispelling her inner uneasiness.
“I…,” Elisa looked at Mr. White, who was sitting in a wheelchair. His legs were not convenient, but he had come to pick her up on such a late, cold night.
When Mr. White received Elisa’s gaze, he smiled and said, “You’ve lost weight. Let your mother cook something nourishing for you.”
With just a glance from Elisa, Mr. White knew what she wanted to say. “As long as you’re back safe, it’s good. It’s cold outside, so quickly rest with Louis.”
Mrs. White added, “Yes, go back now.”
Louis was still lying in the car. He had originally planned to ask the driver to carry him down and send him to the room. However, as soon as the driver touched him, he woke up. It seemed like a reflex, and the first thing he called out was “Elisa.” When he found her figure, he finally heaved a sigh of relief.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Louis got out of the car and held Elisa’s hand.
“You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t have the heart to wake you up.”
“Next time, you have to wake me up,” Louis held onto Elisa’s hand tightly, his eyes profound and restrained. He wanted to say something to Elisa, but there was a cotton-like lump in his throat, preventing him from saying anything. His lips lost their color and turned slightly bluish.
He didn’t say anything, but Elisa understood what he wanted to say. He was worried and afraid that she would disappear again without a word.
The family didn’t see each other off, and they each returned home. Although they were in the same city, under the same sky, experiencing the same winter, and only a distance of twenty to thirty kilometers, it felt like it should be warmer here.
When Elisa returned, she took off her wedding dress without much hesitation. Instead, she immediately made a phone call to have the dress sent back to Hamish’s place tomorrow morning.
Elisa noticed that Louis didn’t look well and felt worried. She wanted to call a doctor to come and check on him or give him medicine to rest.
Louis told Elisa not to worry about him. “As long as you’re back, my body won’t feel uncomfortable anymore.”
Even if he wasn’t feeling well, Louis still took care of Elisa as he always did. He knew that Elisa was sensitive to the cold, and her feet would become cold and numb in winter.
Elisa endured the cold and didn’t complain. Louis squatted in front of her, holding hot water and washing her feet.
Elisa pulled her feet back, saying, “I can just wash them myself.”
“Going out barefoot on such a cold day for such a long distance, aren’t you afraid of getting frostbite or hurting your feet on stones?” He squatted on the ground, carefully putting Elisa’s feet into the hot water, as if he was coaxing a child. “You’re already grown up, yet you still don’t know how to take care of yourself. How can I not worry about you being alone?”
Elisa’s feet were very cold, and her toes were already red from the cold. When they got into the car, Louis gave her a pair of socks, but once her feet became cold, it was difficult to warm them up again. Even with the car’s heater, they didn’t seem to recover.
Elisa had gotten used to it and didn’t feel that it was very cold. As soon as the car stopped, she hopped out directly.
Louis massaged the soles of her feet and said to her, “Let me know if it hurts.”
Louis’ hands were gentle, patiently rubbing the acupoints on the soles of her feet.
Elisa silently watched Louis. They felt like they had been apart for a long time and just reunited, but it also felt like they had never been apart.
This illusion stemmed from the numerous separations and life-or-death situations they had experienced before.
Unable to hold it back any longer, Elisa asked, “Louis, have you ever thought that I might not come back this time?”
The hand in the water paused for a moment, and Louis softly murmured, “Whether you can come back or not, I will wait for you, always wait for you.”