Chapter 20
“So sweet,” Eloise murmured unconsciously, forgetting that no one would ask her that anymore.
Her father, Michael Sullivan, had passed away shortly after she was bom. She never knew what he looked file, only that Lydia often said he was very handsome and that Eloise resembled him the mod
Lydia was a doctor in the emergency department, often working late night shifts, the night during the summer after her senior year of high school, it rained heavily, so she went to the subway station with an umbrella to pick Lydia up from work.
As the two walked home, a track skidded out of control behind them and hurtled toward them. Lydia pushed her out of the way but couldn’t avoid the collision herself. She was thrown several feet before landing heavily on the ground.
Eloise would never forget that scene. When she came to her senses and ran toward Lylia, she saw that her body was twisted unnaturally on the ground, and blood dyed the rainwater around her red.
“Mom! Mom” she screamed desperately, throwing herself to the ground beside Lydia. But she didn’t respond.
The truck driver fled the scene. With the rain pouring down and the area being remote, no one was around. Her phone had stopped working, leaving her to scramble for help. After what felt like an elemity, a car finally passed by.
She flagged it down, and the person who stepped out was Jacob.
After realizing what happened, Jacob called an ambulance. Then, he grabbed an umbrella from his car and held it over Lydia’s body to shield her from the rain.
The ambulance arrived about ten minutes later, but those ten minutes were the most harrowing, hopeless moments of Eloise’s life. Jacob stayed by her side the
whole time.
At the hospital, it was also Jacob who helped with the paperwork and other formalities. Despite their best efforts, they couldn’t save Lydia.
Jacob stayed with her until almost noon the next day, only leaving after her uncle Markand aunt Felicia arrived. Before he left, he handed her a cup of hot latte.
“My name is Jacob Kilboume. I’m a freshman at Aldi University’s finance school. Uh, when you feel better, you can treat me to a meal if you want to thank me
That summer, Eloise was consumed by grief.
When college started, she entered the medical school at Aldi University. One day, she overheard people talking about the campus’s most popular students, and Jacob’s name topped the list. That was when she suddenly remembered him.
She invited him for that meal, and soon after, they started dating
Her feelings for Jacob were complicated. Over the past eight years, she had forgiven him time and again, often because of that rainy night
“Are you stealing pomegranates, miss?”
The voice snapped Eloise back to the present. She looked up toward the gate and saw a group of elementary school children peeking through the iron fence
Eloise smiled. “This is toy house.
“Yeah, right! If it’s your house, why didn’t you use the front door? Why climb over the wall?” one of the boys retorted with a skeptical pout
Eloise didn’t argue. Instead, she pointed to the pomegranate tree behind her. “Do you want some?”
The boy and his friends all nodded eagerly, their eyes fixed on the tree.
Eloise picked a dozen pomegranates and handed out two to each of them.
“Miss, you should run! The police will be here soon to catch you!” the boy teased with a mischievous grin.
Eloise tousled his hair. “This really is my house,” she said softly.
It was hers–albeit temporarily lost–but she was determined to reclaim it.
Under the pomegranate free, she took a photo and sent it to William without much thought. It was only after hitting send that she realized how natural it felt and howstrong her urge was to share things with him
But she couldn’t blame herself William sent her photos daily, snapshots of his company, the streets, his meals, and more. He also provided summaries of his days, detailing everything he had duur, though has work–focused days weren’t exactly eventful.
After sending the photo, Eloise put her phone in her bag, she didn’t need to wait for a reply or wonder why there wasn’t one. This kind of relationship dynamic
sulled her well.
When she returned to the villa, It was already dark. She found Lily and the property manager arguling outside her door.
“I want you to contact the owner of this house immediately! I’m willing to pay a high price to rent or even buy it. But under no circumstances can it remain rented to Eloise Sullivan!”
