The next day, Lillian forced herself to get up. When she opened the door, the smell of smoke nearly choked her.
She didn’t know how many cigarettes Conrad had smoked.
Conrad was leaning against the doorframe, and when he saw her, he asked, “Are you hungry?”
It was only 6 a. m.
Melissa was probably still asleep.
Lillian stiffly said, “I want to go to the hospital. There are still some of my grandmother’s things there.”
“Okay. Do you want to eat first?”
Lillian didn’t respond.
Conrad said, “I’ll go get some food for you. Is the place at the end of the alley okay?”
Conrad noticed that no matter what he said to her, she didn’t react much. Whether it was okay or not, she wouldn’t give much of a response.
Only when Melissa spoke to her would she nod or shake her head.
Unless it had to do with her grandmother, she wouldn’t speak a word to him.
Thinking of this, Conrad’s eyes darkened.
He ended up going himself to get breakfast for Lillian.
After they ate, he took Lillian to the hospital.
The room already had new occupants.
The nurse handed Lillian her grandmother’s belongings. “Miss Lillian, here are your grandmother’s things. Please check if anything’s missing.”
Lillian looked at the items, her eyes reddening. “Thank you.”
As the nurse was about to leave, Lillian asked, “Can I ask what happened here while I was gone? How was my grandmother?”
The nurse sighed. “Miss Lillian, I don’t want to say this, but your grandmother was alone. Knowing how serious her condition was, she shouldn’t have been left alone. We tried calling her family, but couldn’t get through. Eventually, her son came, but by then her condition had worsened. If we hadn’t gone in at the right time, she wouldn’t have made it.”
Lillian was stunned. “When did he come?”
“Not long after you left. At that time, we didn’t know where you were. The next day when he came, he argued with your grandmother. When we went in to rescue her, we warned him not to upset the patient, but he had already left. He came every day after that, and each time, he triggered your grandmother’s condition. I saw him holding some documents, trying to get her to sign them. We didn’t really know what it was about.”
When Lillian had come upstairs earlier, she had told Conrad not to follow her. But as soon as she stepped into the elevator, she found that he had followed anyway.
Conrad took the things from her hands. “Did you lose anything?”
He didn’t expect Lillian to respond.
To his surprise, she nodded. “Mm.”
Conrad sighed quietly in relief. “Well, everything here is settled. Come home with me, okay?”
“What if I say no?”
Conrad didn’t answer.
Lillian curled her lips in mockery. “Since it’s the same outcome, and you’re the one deciding, why even ask me?”
Conrad spoke softly, “I won’t let you go. I didn’t plan to before, and I still won’t now.”
“So, you gave me the documents before just to see if I would really leave you?”
“No.” Conrad wanted to explain but didn’t want to pull her into this complicated mess. “Anyway…”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses, because you always find ways to justify your desires. And what choice do I really have?”
Conrad had heard her cold words before, ever since she started talking about leaving him.
After hearing it so many times, he should have been numb to it by now. Sometimes, it almost felt like a game.
But now, with her still acting this way, he only stared at her with a heavy gaze.
The tension remained as they returned home, and Conrad had Melissa help pack Lillian’s things for the afternoon departure from Boyd Town.
When Conrad wasn’t in the room, Melissa asked, “Are you really going back with him? Has he mentioned anything about the future?”
Lillian just glanced back at her. “I’m fine. I heard your jewelry exhibition is already in preparation.”
“Why bring that up suddenly?”
“I just feel bad that I’m making you worry about me at this time.”
“You silly girl, why are you saying this? We’re friends.”
Lillian hugged her. “It has to go smoothly.”
“Of course.”
Lillian smiled at her, but there was something off about it. Melissa couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
When Conrad came to the door, he was still standing outside, already carrying the suitcase downstairs.
He took Lillian to his car, ready to leave.
George naturally took Melissa’s things, but Melissa frowned and said, “I can drive myself.”
“You’ve been taking care of Lillian this whole time. You haven’t had a chance to rest. For safety’s sake, let the bodyguard drive.”
Frank stood still, watching as Lillian got into Conrad’s car again.
“Lillian,” Frank said. He glanced at Conrad, who was sitting next to Lillian. “If you’re unhappy, feel free to come find me anytime.”
Conrad glared at the guy, wishing he could just snap his neck.
But Lillian only smiled faintly at Frank. “Thanks, but go home.”
No one could save her.
She had already rotted from the inside.
Only self-salvation could bring her peace of mind.
The moment the string she had tied herself to began to snap, Lillian knew something had changed.
Conrad sat beside her. He could’ve pulled her into his arms with a single movement.
But she was so distant, so far away.
Even when he was beside her, the feeling was entirely different.
Conrad suddenly pulled her tightly into his arms.
She only obediently leaned against his chest–like a lifeless doll.
Her soul had completely withdrawn.
Conrad spoke in a gentler tone than ever before. “I had someone bring Ada back. You’ll be able to see it as soon as you get home. I’m not busy lately, so I can stay home and keep you company. Is there any movie you want to watch or any place you want to visit?”
Conrad added, “Have you finished your graduation project? Is there anything that needs to be added?”
He said a lot, using the tone she had once hoped for from him.
Lillian’s gaze was blank as it drifted off into the distance.
As expected, she gave him no response.
Conrad’s chest suddenly tightened with a pang.
But he still thought that maybe, after some time, things would get better.
All the sadness and pain just needed time.
When they got back to Hillside Villa, Nancy was already there. It was clear that Conrad had arranged for her to be brought back earlier.
“Miss Lillian,” Nancy greeted.
Lillian could feel the obvious difference this time. The people around her treated her with more respect. Even the bodyguards’ attitudes toward her had completely changed.
But Lillian didn’t have the energy to care about these things.
“I’m tired. I want to go upstairs and sleep.”
Conrad was about to ask if she wanted to see Ada, hearing her words he fell silent.
She simply informed him and then went upstairs by herself.
Conrad stood downstairs for a while before softly saying, “Nancy, make some nutritional food. I’ll bring it up to her later.”
Now, if no one called her, she would genuinely stop eating and drinking.
When Conrad went upstairs, Lillian was lying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
She had been doing this a lot lately.
Conrad didn’t force her to sleep; he just couldn’t stand seeing her like this, half-dead and lifeless.
“You can eat now.”
She wasn’t one to refuse. When he told her to eat, she would obediently go downstairs.
She was more obedient now, more than she’d ever been.
After eating, she would retreat to her room and work on her graduation project.
Sometimes Conrad sat nearby, watching her for a long time. She acted as if he weren’t even there.
But when he came close, she would suddenly become aware of his presence.
“You mean, you suspect she’s not quite normal? Loss of a loved one requires a period of acceptance. Honestly, I think it’s a blessing in disguise that she hasn’t shown any suicidal behavior.”
George’s words kept Conrad in the living room until late at night.
Conrad didn’t turn on any lights, waiting for Ada to crawl into his arms, and only then did he gently stroke its fur.
“Do you miss Alice?” Conrad murmured to himself.
Ada raised its head and licked his fingers, and Conrad shook its head. “You wouldn’t understand. If you had human emotions, that would be the biggest problem.”
That night, when he returned to their room and held her from behind to sleep, he clearly felt her body tense slightly. He said nothing, just continued holding her as he always did.
Her tight nerves slowly relaxed as she matched her breathing with his.
The next morning, when Conrad woke up, he found the bed empty.
He instinctively thought she was gone, so he put on some sleep pants and went to look for her. He soon found her sitting on the couch, hugging her laptop.
“What are you doing?”
She didn’t answer, which had become the norm lately.
Conrad crouched beside her, watching her work on her graduation project. He spoke gently, “Why didn’t you let me know when you got up?”
Lillian kept her gaze fixed on the screen.
He wanted to shut the laptop and make her see only him, think only of him.
But he had to hold himself back.
He believed this period would eventually pass-it wouldn’t last forever.