Time Brews Longing

“Boo, I’ll call you once I’ve booked my plane ticket.” Lily Lark was shocked. “Have you finally come around?” Aqua Chronos was not done speaking, but the noise outside ruined her mood. At that point, John Frank and Will Lane must be throwing a celebration for Samara Queen. Aqua walked out of the washroom and wanted to head to the president’s office to hand in her resignation letter. But Samara saw Aqua and beckoned her over. She spoke cutely and sweetly, “Aqua, are you leaving alone again? Come over and have some fun with us!” Everyone in the room heard her. “No need. Have fun.” Chapter 1 “Boo, I’ll call you once I’ve booked my plane ticket.” Lily Lark was shocked. “Have you finally come around?” Aqua Chronos was not done speaking, but the noise outside ruined her mood. At that point, John Frank and Will Lane must be throwing a celebration for Samara Queen. Aqua walked out of the washroom and wanted to head to the president’s office to hand in her resignation letter. But Samara saw Aqua and beckoned her over. She spoke cutely and sweetly, “Aqua, are you leaving alone again? Come over and have some fun with us!” Everyone in the room heard her. “No need. Have fun.” “Huh?” Samara saw an opportunity and put on a regretful expression. “Aqua, I know that you still blame me for stealing your project…” Aqua sneered in her heart. She had worked on that project for three years. Just as success was within reach, John and Will had forced her to give it to Samara! She was the one being mistreated. Why was Samara pulling out the pitiful act instead? But since there were so many people around, she did not want to argue with Samara. But Samara still chased after her and gave her a hot cup of coffee. “Thank you, but I don’t want it now.” Samara popped open the lid and offered the cup to Aqua again, who did not notice and just raised her hands to push the cup away. It led to the burning hot coffee splashing all over Samara. “Hot!” When John walked out of the CEO’s office, he saw this. Behind him was Will, along with Aqua and Samara’s superior. John and Will had been having a pleasant chat, but after hearing Samara’s cry of pain, they ran over at the same time. The back of Samara’s hand had turned red, and the front of her shirt was also wet. She bit her lip stubbornly and refused to cry. The two men exchanged a glance before turning to Aqua. John frowned and asked, “Didn’t I give you another project? Why did you have to treat Samara like a punching bag?” He removed his jacket and draped it across Samara’s shoulder, then took out a silk handkerchief to wipe away the coffee stains on her shirt. John was a neat freak. He never allowed anyone to touch his shirt, aside from Aqua. But at the moment, not only had he given his jacket to Samara, but he had even wiped away the tea stains for her. When he spoke with Samara, John was always gentle, but when he looked at Aqua, he was cold to her. Will also held Samara’s hand and blew gently on the red part. He would occasionally ask her whether it hurt. The two men managed to make Samara smile, but out of a sense of courtesy, she shook her head. “It’s enough. Don’t kick up a fuss over nothing. Aqua just accidentally spilled coffee on me. She wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt me. “Aqua is really nice to me. You misunderstood.” At that, John huffed and gave Aqua the stink eye. “If she’s really treating you well, why are you the one hurt, not her?” Aqua could feel some of the spilled coffee sliding into her shirt from where she had raised her hands just now. But she bit down on her lip and tried her best to keep her cool. She saw enough, and she had enough. Such things just kept happening recently. But Will noticed it. “Samara is the one hurt, and you’re angry?” Aqua sucked in a deep breath and turned around. She no longer wanted to defend herself. So, she ran into the washroom, turned on the faucet, and let the water run down on the itching burn on her arm. When she looked up, she found that her tears had already slid down her chin. She wiped away the fogged mirror. Her haggard reflection in the mirror made her feel as if she was looking at an alternate reflection of herself. When she was eight, her parents got divorced, and she was sent to live with the Franks. Over there, she got to know John, who was her senior by ten years, and Will, who was her senior by three years. Since her parents were good friends with John’s parents, John’s parents treated her well. They loved her as if she were their daughter. They went through the entirety of their childhood together. They grew from ignorant children to young but still immature adults. These two people were part of the many beautiful memories she had as a girl. At that time, she had adored the older John. He was level-headed and regal. He was the dream of girls. As for Will, he fell in love with her at first sight and always asked after her. He stuck by her side like a shadow. When she was twenty-two years old, she had left to study abroad. But they came over to find her and begged her to go back after just one year. Will’s presence was not a surprise, but John, to whom she had a crush on, also came. Will had gone down on one knee to propose to her, and John became jealous, too. He put a rose on her bedside table. They said that they had had enough of missing her. If she did not go back, they were going to move out of the country to live with her. At that time, John had already inherited the family business, and Will became his assistant. When these two men begged her to go back, she felt her resolve waver. She had to admit that she loved them before. All of the feelings she had when she was a young girl had been written into a diary with a lock whenever she was free at midnight. She had never said it to anyone, though. They said that they needed her for the company’s development. Since it was hard to turn down such a sincere offer, she agreed to it. After she returned, she rejected an executive’s position and started from the bottom level to get used to the business before finally becoming the ace salesperson. She wanted to use her own abilities to help John and Will out of gratitude for their friendship. But later, Samara arrived. Samara was originally an intern working in production. One time, she was coerced into drinking during a social gathering. Aqua saw her then and thought that her watery eyes were so full of life that they could practically speak. She stood up and drank for her. From then on, whenever she went out for social gatherings, Samara followed her. Out of the principle of loving everything about and around her, John ordered Will, who was in charge of Aqua, to bring her along too. She was also invited to the family gatherings John threw. Soon, she made it to the upper-class society like a fish in water. But gradually, John became colder toward Aqua, and Will’s attention was no longer solely on Aqua. But that was fine. She was going to leave, anyway. It would be best for her to forget about her unrequited love. Chapter 2 Decluttering After Aqua returned to the hotel, she turned on her laptop and started filling out a registration form. Aqua had intended to finish her master’s and pass the bar exam. However, her plan was ruined when John and Will arrived. Even though three years had passed since then, it was still not too late for her. After she finished registering for the master’s and sent a screenshot to Lily, she immediately sent a list of books to her. “Come on. Let’s study together.” She studied until midnight and felt tired. After lying down on the bed, she checked her phone, only to find that she had a few missed calls. All of them were from Samara. She did not call her back. Instead, she went to Instagram. Someone had tagged her. Three hours ago, Samara uploaded a post with some text and nine pictures. [Have you had coffee today?] At the center of the nine pictures was her, smiling. John’s jacket was on her shoulders, and she was surrounded by a group of actors. A multitude of people liked her post. Among them was an ID called Cloud Corporation CEO John Frank. His comment attracted a load of attention. [You bagged a one-billion-dollar deal! You’re amazing, Samara <3] Underneath was a bunch of comments. [He’s so sweet! Is this a CEO’s love?] [I’m shipping this.] Not to be outdone, Will uploaded a picture of himself with Samara and posted it. [My Goddess.] The people went wild online. [What’s going on? Are they going official?] [Samara is so lucky! I’m so jealous…] There were plenty of other similar comments. The people who tagged Aqua all said that she sucked and was even throwing a hissy fit. [Aqua didn’t manage to seal the deal even after so long, but the moment Samara became the person-in-charge, the client agreed to sign the contract the next day.] [Samara is amazing!] So, many people thought that she was jealous of Samara because she had been replaced for the project. But Aqua was the one who had been in charge of the project for three years. The client had finally relented and was going to sign the contract. After she typed the contract out, John then called her and told her that she was being replaced. Right then, Samara sent a message to her. [Sorry, Aqua. Don’t take their words to heart.] Aqua did not reply. The next day, she went to the Franks’ house and organized her stuff. Even though she felt reluctant to part with them, things in life always changed, and there would always come a time when she had to part with everything. The awards and trophies she won at work were on display in a glass cabinet. The clothes and shoes she wore had been organized neatly by the season. On the table was a Lego model she built together with John. She had even bought an acrylic box to cover it from dust. John had custom-ordered the set from another country. It was a 10:1 model of how she looked when she turned eighteen. She took out her phone to take a few pictures before logging into a social media platform. Since John was trending heavily on the news, his fans jumped on the bandwagon for everything related to him. She livestreamed a sale and tagged him, so her view count skyrocketed. [You’re selling the Lego model?] [Are you crazy? You’re selling the trophies as well?] Aqua remained calm. “I’m selling everything.” Someone then asked whether she was going to sell the pictures behind her. Aqua turned around and noticed the pictures of her with John and Will on the wall. That was a picture of the three of them during the Outstanding Young Business People Award. She said without hesitation, “I’m selling them too. I’ll be donating all of the money I get from the things I sell today to charity.” She did not want to keep a single item. John’s fans went crazy, and all the items were soon sold. She worked for an entire night, and she only managed to pack up all the things she had to deliver when the sun rose again. While she was waiting for the delivery men, she scrolled through her phone in boredom. Some time ago, during dawn, John and Will had posted pictures of themselves with Samara. They uploaded it one after another. It was a blatant show of their competition. Will was a flamboyant person and always wanted to boast whenever he got something. But that was not John’s style. However, after some thinking, she figured that this was how men acted when they were in love. Even though she no longer cared, her heart still stung for a bit. The delivery truck and 911 arrived just then. “Aqua, how could you sell the presents we gave you?!” Will had been chasing after the delivery truck all along the way and rushed through several red lights, which ended up with him getting stopped by the traffic police. He felt his heart ache. Aqua’s room was empty. Even the crystal shoes he had gifted her were gone. Those were made of true crystals, and there were only two of them in the world. One pair was in a museum, and the other was with Aqua. Aqua gave him a bland look. “Upset that your money is gone? I can pay you back.” Will got worked up. “This isn’t a problem about money! They were my presents for you!” Aqua nodded nonchalantly. “Since you gave them to me, they’re mine to deal with.” With a click, the door swung open. John walked in and looked around. When he saw the Lego model in the corner, he sighed in relief. While they spoke, the housekeeper knocked on the door and told them that a stranger had come to take the goods. Aqua smiled and picked up the model to go downstairs. Realizing what she was about to do, John became anxious and wanted to snatch it, but someone stopped him. One of his investors had bought it. “Sorry, Mr. Frank, but it looks like you’ll have to give up on this model.” After watching the buyer leave, Aqua sighed in relief. John’s expression was dark, and the mockery on his face was hurtful. “Are you jealous? Angry? If you do this, you’ll only make us hate you more.” Will’s voice was also icy. “If only you were half as obedient as Samara was.” She could not be bothered trying to say any soothing words to them, so she shut the door. She was just clearing out her old stuff, and they got angry for that? What would they think if they knew that she had already decided to erase them from her life? Chapter 3 You’re Sharing An Apple? What Are You, Poor? Since the corridor was covered in a thick carpet, even if Aqua stepped on it with shoes, she practically made no sound while she walked. She did not pull a luggage bag behind her. After all, she was leaving with nothing but the backpack on her back. “Where are you going?” John’s deep voice rose behind her, and Aqua paused for a second. But she soon calmed down. “I’m going out on a walk.” John spoke up anxiously, “Let’s go together, then. Will has already gone off to pick Samara up.” When she heard that name, Aqua simply sneered. She pulled the baseball cap down so that John could not see her face clearly. So, all he could do was throw an arm over her shoulder. For some reason, when he talked to Aqua, he felt nervous. He knew that this pampered rose had finally decided to show her thorns. “Are you angry? Don’t take what happened yesterday to heart. Samara also defended you…” Aqua said nothing and just quietly tightened her grip on her backpack. John’s phone rang by then. Will was asking them to go downstairs. He said that Samara had finally earned her leave from the production team and could go with them to the theme park for fun. Aqua had forgotten that it was Christmas Eve today. “Go. I have something to do.” John was puzzled. During the Christmas Eves in the past, she would eagerly ask him to take her to a theme park, and they would play there until nightfall. They would watch the fireworks and make a wish. Why was she suddenly saying that she was not going? John frowned. He was used to being in control of the situation, and he could sense that he was losing control over Aqua. Just as he was about to ask, he heard a car honking. Will was urging them to hurry up. He sighed. “Alright. Go on, then. I’ll have the driver pick you up at night.” No matter what, they had to eat together during Christmas Eve. He was sure that Aqua would not be able to change a habit they had nurtured for years overnight. John hurried downstairs, and Samara opened the door to give him an affectionate hug. Meanwhile, Will looked at Aqua. He opened his mouth to speak, but in the end, he just bit his lip and said nothing. When Aqua arrived at the door, she saw this, and the light in her eyes faded a little. She automatically ignored Samara’s smug expression, crossed the garden, and left through the back door. She still had one more person to meet, and she had to personally bid this person farewell before she left the country. It was Ms. Wilson, her high school teacher. She was a retired judge, and her high school had hired her to teach politics. After taking her elective class, Aqua had decided to become a lawyer. Ms. Wilson could be said to be her mentor. Ms. Wilson was old. She was almost seventy, but she remained charming. “Aqua, you’ve grown up so much. I heard that you’ve become a saleswoman, isn’t it? It’s a pity.” Aqua smiled and said bashfully, “Ms. Wilson, I’m here to say goodbye to you. I’m leaving the country to become a lawyer.” Ms. Wilson nudged her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Even though she had gone gray, it could not hide the wisdom in her eyes. “Go. You’ve always been an eagle. You should be flying in the sky. “John and Will were both my students, too. “While you were still a student, they often came to pick you up. I always thought that you would end up… Oh well, this is fine too. It’s better for people who walk different paths to go their separate ways. You won’t ever get along, even if you try.” After she departed, Aqua stayed in a hotel. She turned on her phone to book a plane ticket. Since it was Christmas Eve and Christmas the next day, the plane tickets for those two days were fully booked. After looking around, she booked a plane ticket three days later and sent Lily a message. [Boo, I booked my plane ticket. I’ll see you in three days.] Once done, she started studying. When the sun almost set, Samara gave her a video call. She rejected it. But Samara kept calling. As it just kept repeating, Aqua had no choice but to answer it. In the video, Samara, John, and Will were drinking and talking. On the table was a feast. The three of them shared an apple as the people cheered them on. Samara blushed as she gingerly took a bite. John and Will smiled in understanding and took huge bites beside hers. Aqua was not in the mood to watch this stupid act and wanted to hang up, but Samara suddenly cried out, “Aqua, why aren’t you here for the gathering with us? “John and Will said that they sent someone to pick you up, but I thought that they weren’t sincere enough, so I thought about calling you to ask you to come!” Was she really inviting Aqua along? Aqua remained smiling. “I’m not so poor that I need to share an apple with three other people.” Her blatant insult put Samara in a spot. Even John’s and Will’s expressions turned dark. John wiped away the juices on the corners of his mouth, tossed the tissue on the table, and asked, “Should I have the driver pick you up now?” Aqua rejected it easily, “No need.” But Will could no longer maintain his composure. He asked, “Aqua, it’s just a game. Why do you have to insult Samara?” Had she insulted her? It was not as if she wanted to go. If Samara had not called her to provoke her, she would be studying! What a waste of time. “Forget it. Have fun.” Just as she was going to hang up, Samara started crying again. “I’m sorry, Aqua. I’m so stupid. I’ve already tried my best to make you like me… Are you going to be happy if I’m not around?” She suddenly picked up the knife on the table and brought it to her arm. Aqua’s eyes flew wide open. Chapter 4 In The End, She Let Go The knife was blunt. Even so, John’s and Will’s hearts still hurt for Samara. They cried out Samara’s name at the same time. John panicked, even though he was used to not showing his emotions on his face, since he was a leader. But he had teared up, and his hands started trembling. Will put a stop to the gathering, sent all of the guests away, and raised his voice. “Aqua, what on earth do you want?! Are you only going to be happy after Samara dies?! Apologize to her!” Her heart stung. Through the screen, Aqua felt as if she was right there, and she felt as if the knife had not cut into Samara, but her heart. Her nose burned, and her eyes turned watery, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. “I didn’t even do anything…” John looked up. His gaze was distant and cold. “You’re still defending yourself? If it weren’t for you, Samara wouldn’t have hurt herself! “We’re just asking you for an apology, and you’re refusing to do it? “Aqua, I’m disappointed in you.” Aqua did not even realize when she ended the call. Aqua sat by the bed and let her mind wander for a while, but she could not recover from John’s last sentence. Soon, Lily logged in. [Boo, I’m awake! It’s Christmas Eve over here today! Merry Christmas Eve!” Aqua wanted to cry, but she held her tears back. She wanted to complain to Lily but found herself unable to say anything in the end. “Alright, Boo. Merry Christmas Eve to you, too!” As they continued exchanging voice messages, their conversation was interrupted by rapid knocking. It was John and Will. Aqua’s gaze turned dark. She had not expected them to find her. Just as she thought, so long as she was in the country, her actions would be controlled. When they saw Aqua’s swollen eyes, John and Will exchanged a glance, and all the things they wanted to say died on their tongues. Even so, they still had to warn her. “Aqua, you’re an adult right now. You have to be mindful of your words and actions.” “That’s right. Samara is mild-mannered and won’t hold this against you, but we don’t want this to happen again.” So, they came here to denounce her. But they did not have to worry. This was not going to happen again. Aqua’s expression turned colder. In her rage, she gripped her phone so tightly, and she trembled, but she accidentally touched the play button for the voice message Lily just sent her. “Boo, I’ll have a hot guy pick you up.” Aqua never thought that Lily would send her such a voice message. Even so, she did not panic and just replied calmly, “Got it. Thanks.” There was no doubt that John and Will heard it too. John had moved to sit on the sofa and bit down on the cigarette he put in his mouth. The hand he used to hold the lighter started shaking, and he exchanged a glance with Will before he asked, “Where are you going?” He felt really uneasy. Since yesterday, Aqua had been acting unusually. Aqua composed herself and feigned relaxation. “For official business.” She was not wrong. Settling deals and passing the bar exam were both official business. In any case, John and Will were treating her worse than a stranger would, so she did not feel the need to reveal too much information about herself. After all, even if she did say it, their focus would still be on Samara. Since she had decided to stop working for the company, things would be great for their darling Samara. John and Will might even pop a champagne bottle for it. John sighed in relief and exhaled slowly. “Don’t be rash. I have a few more projects at hand. After Samara picks one, they’ll all be yours.” Will scoffed. “Aqua, do you seriously have to compete with Samara for everything?” Aqua wanted to laugh, but found that she could not. They had forgotten that they were the ones who had flown abroad to beg her to go back to help them. Before she chased them away, they cast a glance at their phones and left in a hurry. While they were walking away, they were still whispering to each other. “The doctor said that Samara is okay.” “Thank goodness… She’s really lucky.” Aqua shut the door coldly. … The next morning, the receptionists gave her an exquisitely wrapped package and told her someone had given it to her as a Christmas gift. It had no name attached to it. After she opened the box, she found chocolates inside. She looked at the snow outside and suddenly remembered the past. Since John loved chocolates, she had pestered him into making handmade chocolates with her. Meanwhile, Will followed them like a shadow. In the past, when the three of them hung out, no matter what they did, everything had a domestic charm to it. As she looked at the beautiful box, Aqua sighed. Honestly, she was allergic to the nuts in the chocolate. But in order to make John and Will happy, she would only ever go to those gatherings after taking allergy pills. At that moment, she did not need to enjoy the chocolates anymore. She called room service, finished her breakfast, and intended to study. But as time passed, she found herself unable to keep her eyes open. The words on the screen became blurry, and even breathing became a chore. She rushed into the bathroom to look at the mirror, only to find that her face and neck were swollen, and they itched like crazy. These were classic signs of an allergic reaction. But she did not even eat the chocolates! Since she had left in a hurry, she did not bring loratadine with her. She wanted to ask the receptionist whether they had any, only to find that she could no longer speak. Aqua put on her cap and pushed it down before hurrying downstairs. But while she was going down, she crashed into someone because she could not see clearly. “Hiss…” She fell on the floor. “Oh God! You’re so ugly!” The person who ran into her cried out in surprise after seeing her face, leading to the people insulting her. “You look like a pig, and you have the gall to stay in such a high-class hotel?” “The hotel really just admits anyone, huh…” She reached out to grope around for her cap. Once she got it, she wore it. Her actions screamed of panic and urgency. Without bothering about anything else, she ran to the pharmacy across the road. The wind howled past her ears. Only one thought remained in her mind—get help. The pharmacist got her the medication and water. Aqua practically had to use all of her strength to swallow it. While waiting for the ambulance, she grabbed onto the pharmacist’s arm so tightly that her knuckles turned white. At the moment she opened her eyes in the hospital, she saw a piercing white light and the medical staff moving about. She knew what it meant. She had survived. Right then, her tears finally rolled down. When her attending physician saw her wake up, he finally sighed in relief. “After you fainted, we looked for your emergency contact on your phone. They’re waiting to see you outside.” Two men stood at the door, and Will was the first to walk in. In his hands, he held a box of chocolates. When he saw Aqua lying in bed, he was displeased. “Do you really hate Samara that much? How could you throw the Christmas gift she gave you into the trash bin?!” Aqua turned to John, who remained quiet and expressionless. He sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, and he said faintly, “Aqua, you crossed the line this time.” Faint disdain flashed in his eyes when he looked at her. “Pretending to be sick isn’t a good habit.” A nurse knocked on the door to change Aqua’s IV drip right then. When she heard what they said, she was surprised, “Don’t you know that the patient has a nut allergy?” Chapter 5 Don’t Go The ward fell silent in an instant. If Aqua had loved John with her whole heart before, at that very moment, she would much rather not meet with him ever again. And she would much rather Will pester Samara forever instead of showing his face in front of her. Will immediately said without even thinking, “You’re lying! Aqua made tons of chocolates for John before, and she tried plenty of them too! She was never hospitalized from an allergic reaction!” A flicker of emotion appeared briefly in John’s calm eyes, but he soon returned to normal. “Aqua, you’re still young. Don’t try to fight over my affection anymore.” Aqua lay on the cold bed and felt a chill spread through her entire body. Her tears fell uncontrollably. She wanted to say something, but lost the will to speak. In the end, all those words turned into one single word. “Leave!” She shut her eyes and did not want to look at their faces again. Ignoring the drip connected to her hand, she covered her ears and yelled at them to go. The door opened, and Samara rushed in. “Aqua, it’s my fault! I shouldn’t have given you that Christmas present, but I just wanted to make you happy!” Aqua did not eat the chocolates, but she still got an allergic reaction. The only thing she touched was the box, which meant that Samara had tampered with it. “Samara!” Aqua hated herself for ever treating this evil person as her friend. “John, Will, take her with you and get out of my sight! I don’t want any of you showing your faces in front of me ever again!” Aqua had a good upbringing and had never lost her composure in such a way in front of John and Will before. John was surprised. He stood up and wanted to cover Aqua with a blanket, but the hateful glare Aqua leveled at him made him stop. At that moment, she was acting like a hissing kitten. She bared her teeth and would not allow any stranger near her. But he was no stranger to her! Finding himself not having the courage to face Aqua, he turned around, shut the door behind him, and went to the nurse’s station. He had to be sure whether Aqua really had a nut allergy. If that was true, then he… truly deserved punishment. Will held the box of chocolates tightly, and his face turned red, then pale. Aqua did not seem to be faking that look of anguish, and he wanted to hug her, but before he could even take a step forward, someone held onto his sleeve. “Will, I’m scared. Why has Aqua turned out like this? Did she experience some sort of shock and lose her mind?” What a joke. Aqua turned around and ignored them. A nurse came in to chase them away by saying that she was emotional at the moment and should not have her rest affected. “Visitation hours are over.” “Okay. I’ll visit you some other day.” Will cast aside his arrogant behavior and tentatively bade farewell to Aqua. No one visited her the next day. So, Aqua enjoyed her moment of peace. But she still needed to change her flight. After some hesitation, she decided to tell Lily about it. Lily only told her to rest well and would send someone to pick her up. Aqua did not think too much about it. After putting her phone down, she fell asleep. When she woke up, she found a man in her room. The man was peeling an apple. His eyelashes hid his emotions while he slowly moved the knife along the apple. It seemed like he was worried that he would make too much noise and wake her up. Aqua thought that the person was John, since their figures were similar. She turned around and shut her eyes again. “You’re awake? The doctor said that you can eat some apples.” Aqua opened her eyes. That voice was not as deep as John’s, nor was it as arrogant as Will’s. She turned around again and met a pair of blue-gray eyes. “Mike Phillips. I’m a friend of Lily’s.” Was he the hot guy Lily mentioned? She shook his hand with a limp grip. “Hello, I’m Aqua Chronos. Thanks for coming all the way here. Are we leaving tomorrow?” John saw this just as he walked into the ward with a flower basket. “Where are you going with him?” Chapter 6 Sorry, I’m Late John had been lingering outside the ward and even smoked a cigarette before a nurse chased him out to the balcony. When he finally made up his mind to go into Aqua’s ward, he saw another man inside. His eyes fell on their connected hands, and a ruthlessness he did not even notice flashed in his eyes. A fire brewed in his chest, but he had no way to release it, so he could only hold it in while he asked that question. He did not want to demand an answer from Aqua. After all, she was still sick. When she heard the door open, Aqua’s eyes darkened. As she watched John put down the flower basket, Aqua pulled her hand back. She was not worried about John misunderstanding the situation. She simply did not want to defend herself to him. Over the past few days, when he went out with Will and Samara, she never asked them where they went. Since she gave them their freedom, they were in no place to stick their noses into her business. Just as she intended to shut her eyes, she found a sliced piece of apple delivered to her mouth. Aqua’s mind wandered for a moment. The sweet scent of the apple tempted her, and she licked her lips before taking a bite. John’s gaze turned even colder. Aqua was doing it on purpose. He could not quite keep his cool, but when he talked to Aqua again, he still chose to speak softly to her. “Can we talk?” There was nothing to say between them. She knew perfectly well just what sort of person John was. If she told him the truth, she could never board the plane. She would even have a hard time getting out of the hospital. “Mr. Frank, this is my bestie’s friend. He came to visit.” John’s expression changed a little. Aqua had just called him “Mr. Frank”. So formal. So distant. Also, didn’t she like him? He had read her diary before. Those pages were filled with her love for him. And she never called him “Mr. Frank”. She always referred to him as John. A dull pain instantly filled his heart. His face was a little pale. “Aqua, I know now…” He only realized it after it happened, and it was almost too late. But it was Aqua’s fault. She had always pretended that she was not allergic. Allergies could not be warded off by just taking antihistamines beforehand. Even if the person with allergies did take them, they would not be completely spared from the allergies. Yet Aqua had made all sorts of chocolates just to make John happy, and she did it every year. In truth, every time after eating nut chocolate with John, she would go to the hospital to get an allergy shot. She had even signed up for an immunotherapy session that was supposed to last between three to five years. If she had not gone abroad to further her studies, she would have completed the treatment. As Aqua remembered all the pain she endured and her silent love toward John, her eyes stung, and tears welled up in her eyes. She had done it all just so she could kiss the man she loved. Yet even after all the effort she put in to get to where she was, she had ended up like a clown in a circus. “I’m tired, Mr. Frank.” Aqua decided to chase him out instead. She shut her eyes and stopped eating the apple. Mike tactfully chose to leave as well, but John caught up to him in the corridor. “Stay as far away as possible from her.” He knew Aqua. She did not have any boyfriends while she was studying abroad, so mixed-bloods like Mike should not be her type either. But there were no absolutes in the world, were there? Judging by her reaction toward him just then, John decided to be more careful. After all, things had already progressed to that point, and they were just one step away from completing their plan. Mike chuckled. “Are you her uncle or something?” That question stung John. Since Aqua was not around, he decided to shed his mask. “Aqua likes me.” Those words carried weight, but he did not profess his love for Aqua either. After all, he always knew what to do and was always relaxed in whatever he did. Mike extended a hand. “Mike Phillips.” He was not supposed to be rude to someone being polite to him, but John did not intend to have too much to do with Mike. “Listen to me and stay away from her.” John put his hands in his pocket, cast a discreet glance at Aqua through the window, and turned back to Mike. “And don’t even think about leaving this place with her.” Mike scoffed as he watched John leave, and he returned to the ward. If he had known that she lived such a miserable life, he would not have stepped down in the beginning. He had thought about being the gentleman in the situation, but all he got for his efforts were these two snakes hurting Aqua. When Mike walked in, he saw that Aqua was already sitting up with her cheeks stuffed. At the sight of Mike walking in, she blinked before she swallowed the apple slices she put in her mouth. He turned to the table and found that some of the apple slices he had cut just now were gone. “I’m glad you feel like eating again.” He was in a much better mood and returned to the stool. He grabbed a pillow to put it behind her. When they were close to each other, he subconsciously caressed her hair. Feeling vulnerable, Aqua avoided him, but Mike held her down. “Don’t move. You have a worm on your head.” Aqua blinked and immediately stopped moving. Her mind instantly went blank. Oh, no! She had not washed her hair for three to four days. “I was just teasing you.” Mike smiled gently, and it contained an endless amount of affection and love. Aqua’s heart skipped a beat. Mike was a gentle person. He was different from the reticent John and the flashy Will. He was like the rare moments of sunlight in winter that would shine through the dark clouds into a room. As Aqua fell asleep, Mike’s gaze darkened. He massaged her temples and mumbled, “Sorry I took so long.” When Will opened the door with flowers in his hands, he saw this.