Chapter 12
Five years had passed. After moving to Chavelia, Madeleine changed her name to Adeline Montne. She also started operating a small bar, a peaceful life.
Worried she would have a tough time living alone abroad, Frank and Cynthia constantly wired her money. At last, she couldn’t take it anymore. She had no choice but to call them and say, “Mom, Dad, how many times must I tell you that I’m doing fine over here? You don’t need to worry about me. You don’t need to keep transferring money to me, either.”
Adeline felt rather exasperated. Her parents couldn’t stop worrying about her, and the most frequent way they showed their concern was by giving her money.
She used that money to open a lounge bar near a university where she was bound to have a steady clientele. The old students who left every year would always be replaced by the new batch of incoming students.
In all honesty, life had been rather pleasant. However, when the frequency of her parents’ bank transfers started increasing, Adeline started feeling uneasy.
Despite being in Chavelia, she kept herself updated on the news back home. Thus, she knew what had happened in the last five years.
Naomi had passed away just one day before Sullivan officially made a name for himself in Arbington’s business world. Adeline was sad she didn’t get to see Naomi one last time, but compared to that, she valued her life more.
Sullivan was indeed meant for greatness, just as he had been depicted in the novel. It was for that very reason that Adeline tried to keep her contact with her parents to a minimum. She worried that constant communication would lead to him sensing that something was amiss.
If everything went back to normal, then all her efforts in the last five years would have been for nothing.
According to the original timeline in the novel, Sullivan should have confessed his feelings to Isabel and started a relationship with her by now, yet for some reason, he remained single for five whole years.
Adeline heard that he kept the box of her ashes by his side at all times. People who didn’t know them praised him for his undying love, but she had a feeling he had some other ulterior motive for doing so.
The thought of that made her shudder and solidified her decision to minimize contact with her parents.
Out of the blue, Adeline heard someone knocking on the bar counter. She instinctively turned around to find herself looking into a pair of dark, unreadable eyes. “Hi, there, I’d like a…”
“Margarita.”
It had been so long since she last heard that oh-so-familiar voice, seen the face that had stared back at her throughout countless nights. Even if she closed her eyes, she could still identify him just by tracing his facial features.
Her heart missed a beat, and she stood rooted to the spot.
Raising an eyebrow, Sullivan called out a little louder, “Miss?”
Adeline hastily terminated the call, feeling a sense of vexation. She knew it. She knew she’d been having far too much contact with her parents. With how shrewd Sullivan was, sooner or later, he would discover that she wasn’t actually dead. That being said, she didn’t expect him to appear here so soon, catching her off guard.
“The bar is closed today.”
Feigning composure, Adeline pointed at the “Closed for Today” sign hanging on the door and lowered her voice to say, “Excuse me…” Sullivan pointed to the sign and showed her the “Open for Business” side that was displayed in front. With a look of amusement, he remarked, “If I’m not mistaken, it only counts if the guests can see the ‘Closed for Today’ sign, right?”
Startled, Adeline looked at the sign; only then did she realize she had forgotten to flip the sign over.
Turning red with embarrassment, she grabbed the sign and hung it up properly before saying, “The bar is closed today, sir. If you’d like a drink, you’ll have to drop by some other establishment.”
Once he finished, she lowered her head and busied herself with work, but Sullivan continued to stand at the bar, refusing to leave. Just as she wondered if she should say something, he asked, “Have we met before?”