Chapter 25
For the next two Christmases, Kelly spent the holidays in Atheland, ton
Every year, Suzette’s prents world come to celebrate with them, and Suzette always made sure Kelly was part of it. With all the time they spent together and how well they clicked, i didn’t take long for them to grow even closer.
That year, the Scharf family moved all their businesses to Montarion, planning to settle down for good. Suzette started nagging Kelly, asking if she was planning to stay, too
Kelly had been thinking it over for a while. Most of her close friends back home had gotten married and started familles, and her parents and other relatives had passed away years
she was on her own, with nothing left. Staying made the most sense for her personal life and her career. Things were going well professionally. She’d even saved enough to buy a
house
Kelly had thought about reharming the money Emilia had given her, but Suzette quickly shut that idea down.
“Are you dumb?” Suzette scoffed, poking Kelly in the arm. “You spent all that time taking care of someone who couldn’t even see. That money’s the least you deserve! Why would you even think about giving it back?”
Kelly never brought it up again. She focused on her immigration paperwork, getting plenty of help from the Scharfs, who walked her through each step.
With her substantial savings and a strong client base, Kelly declined her boss‘ promotion offer and opened her own studio. The studio grew steadily over the next two years and eventually made a name for itseli
Kelly had finished all the immigration requirements and secured her permanent residency by the time four years had passed.
She returned to her home country to handle the paperwork and took the opportunity to catch up with friends she hadn’t seen in years.
Years had slipped away, and everyone had changed in their own way. But it was like nothing had really changed between them whenever they gathered.
Naturally, the big question on everyone’s mind was Kelly’s love life.
Kelly didn’t hesitate to fill everyone in “I went out with someone two years ago, but it didn’t work out. We weren’t really right for each other. Now we’re just more like business
partners:
“My current boyfriend and I got together earlier this year. He’s two years younger than me, a student at Montation College, but he’s way more mature than I expected…
She practically beamed as she shared stories, photos, and videos from their daily life. Seeing how love they were and how perfect they looked together, everyone couldn’t help but feel happy for her.
As the conversation flowed, someone casually brought up Hugh. “Hey, did you hear? Word’s out that Hugh might not have much time lett”
Kelly’s heart skipped a beat, and she looked up right away. After all the time she’d spent working abroad, getting used to new places, she hadn’t really heard much about what was happening back hom
Suzette might’ve known something, but she probably kept it to herself, not wanting to worry Kelly. Every now and then, Kelly would open up to Suzette about her past.
But those memories seemed so far away like theywere buried under a thick tog The name “Hugh” felt like an old, worn–out photo–fuzzy and out of reach.
Kelly had always thought he’d move on, leave it all behind, and start oven she never thought he’d end up so miserable, with his life hanging by a thread.
The room tell silent for a moment. Everyone’s eyes were on Kelly, watching her closely. When they saw nothing but a look of shock on her face, they relaxed a bit and started talking again
“I heard about it, too,” one friend sad. “but, Kel, you us a while ago you didn’t want to hear anything about him, so I never brought it up. Honesty, it’s such a tragedy. “Aaragedy? He did it in himself,” another friend jumped in. “He treated Kel like crap for Natale, then lost it after that. Lester ran him down, and now he’s blind. His life’s basically
“And somehow, Mas. Jalinston made sure Natalie’s the one left looking after him. Anyway, Hugh’s been hanging by a thread for a while now. He must’ve been going through hell
Kelly hadn’t thought about Natalie in years, so bearing her name out of the blue caught her oft guard.
Hugh and Natalie had once flipped Kelly’s world upside down. Learning what had happened to both of them salted something in Kelly, but it lasted only a moment.
Just then, her phone buzzed in her pocket, snapping her back to reality. She pulled it out and saw it was Suzette calling.
“Kelly, when are you coming back? My mom made that jam you love. I’ll bring two jars over when you get back.”
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” Kelly said
The past began to slip away, blurring into nothing. Kelly gazed out the window. The sun felt perfect, just as it had the day she left.
