Chapter 157 Finding My Way Back

Jude sent his last message.

“Your problems are the most important thing to me right now. They’re my top priority.”

Tilda sighed. “Jude, my head’s a mess right now. You guessed it right. Yesterday was a really bad day. I finally started to feel a little better today, but then I realized, my life shouldn’t be like this.”

She wanted to escape the Jensons. Somehow, she kept getting pulled back in, stuck in this muddy swamp of hate.

Getting revenge felt good for a moment, but Tilda knew her life should be more than that. She once had bigger dreams, but she’d forgotten them. She shouldn’t let that happen. The pain from her family had taken up all her energy and pushed everything else aside.

Jude messaged her, “If you’ve forgotten your real dream, do you want me to remind you? Hugs emoji.”

For once, the dominant CEO didn’t just use his usual smiley face emoji.

Tilda replied, “Yes, please.”

Suddenly, she started to look forward to his message.

What would Jude remind me of?

He seems so confident. Jude understood everything about me.

Logically, Jude couldn’t know more than what was on the surface.

Tilda was confident in her skills as the dark web’s top hacker. She knew how to hide.

Jude replied, “You once said you wanted to use your talents to serve your country.”

To be honest, when Tilda first read Jude’s message, she froze.

For a moment, it felt like a shadow in her heart was suddenly pierced by light. It broke through the clouds and warmed the dusty, hidden corners inside her.

Jude’s words echoed in her mind. “You once said having this kind of talent was a gift–a blessing from above. You wanted to use your skills to serve your country. That’s what your mentor hoped for, too. You believed you owed it to the world to do something good with your abilities.

“You also said it didn’t matter if nobody ever knew your name. Even if you were just an unsung hero, as long as you had a clear conscience, that was enough.

“You promised you’d never hurt innocent people, never cross the line for money, and never do anything to shame your country. Isn’t that right, Queen?”

Tilda almost typed, “How do you know all this?”

She found her reply sounded silly, stopped herself, and deleted it.

Of course, Jude could figure it out.

He knew Queen had the rare Omega blood type.

Jude also knew Andy was a broker on the dark web and that Andy and Tilda were close.

It wasn’t hard to put the pieces together–people with Omega blood were rare, after all.

And those words… Those were the rules Tilda herself had posted when she was starting out as Queen.

It had been so long, she’d almost forgotten them.

She never thought Jude would remember–even after all this time.

Jude wrote again, “Sorry, Tilda. Figuring out you’re Queen–that was my own guess.

“I know you’re mixed up in a lot with the Jensons, but I’m not going to judge you. People on the outside can never truly understand what someone in the middle of it is feeling or going through.

“All I can do is be the right kind of shoulder for you; whenever you need someone to lean on, you can come to me.

“If you ever feel down, I’ll just be here to listen, standing by your side, supporting you no matter what.

“But Tilda, I hope you don’t let yourself be trapped by hate. You’re strong. You once had big, noble dreams. If you’ve forgotten, I hope my words help you remember the promises you once made to yourself.”

As Tilda read message after message from Jude, her restless, uneasy feeling slowly faded away.

She couldn’t help but smile.

“Thank you, Jude. I know what I have to do now.”

Getting to live a second time and finally see her family’s true colors–what an incredible chance.

Not everyone gets the chance to start over and fix their regrets.

Tilda knew she had to treasure it, picking up her old dreams again.

She also needed to remember her mentor’s hopes for her.

Getting tangled up in all this hatred with the Jensons, letting herself get sick with anger–that wasn’t what she wanted.

She’d already found so many good friends. Now, it was time to find herself again.

Jude wrote, “You’re welcome. If you ever want to pay me back, just buy me a meal sometime.”

Tilda laughed and wrote back, “Of course! We’re friends now, aren’t we? Sticks out tongue emoji.”

When Jude saw Tilda’s message, he almost forgot to breathe.

His heart was pounding. For the first time in his life, his hands shook as he typed.

He took several deep breaths before finally sending his reply.

“Yes. Thank you, Tilda, for calling me your friend.”

He’d thought it through carefully. His reply doesn’t come too fast nor too slow, just enough to make Tilda happy, but not too much.

A smile slowly spread across Jude’s face.

If someone tried to put it in simple, cheerful words, it would go like this: “Oh my God! Tilda finally said something nice about me–she even called me her friend!”

Honestly, if anyone who really knew Jude saw his face right now, with that big smile, they would’ve been completely stunned.