Chapter 13
Adeline stiffened, her hands pausing. She could hear her heart pounding wildly against her chest. Sullivan had already seen her face; the only reason he hadn’t drawn an immediate conclusion was that he had seen the dead body of “Madeleine.” Therefore, he wasn’t entirely certain if she was Madeleine or merely a stranger who resembled her. Since that was the case, Adeline had to stay calm to avoid arousing his suspicion.
After a period of silence, she kept her head down and commented with a laugh, “Sir, has anyone informed you that your pickup lines are quite cheesy?”
“Nope. I’ve never used a pickup line on anyone before,” Sullivan replied without hesitation, as if eager to defend himself. Alas, all Adeline could think about was getting rid of him as soon as possible, so she didn’t hear the insinuation in his words. Instead, she continued to ask him to leave.
Sullivan had no choice but to compromise. However, he asked, “Will you be operating tomorrow?”
Adeline was slightly relieved that he was no longer pressing her. She mulled over her options. On one hand, she was afraid that trying too hard to avoid him would only arouse his suspicions. However, if she didn’t avoid him, he would surely get suspicious, considering how much she looked like Madeleine and the fact that he had shown up.
After giving it some thought, she chose a fairly neutral answer. “It depends on my mood. The students are having their semester break, so not many customers will be coming to Mirage; I might not choose to open for business.”
In a roundabout manner, Adeline was trying to tell Sullivan not to come by tomorrow, but he seemed to have taken a different meaning from her words. He asked, “Does that mean you’ll open for business if you have a lot of customers tomorrow?”
Adeline tried to hold herself back, to no avail. She glanced at him briefly before replying, “If you really want a drink, sir, there are plenty of other bars and lounges around. You can choose any one of them. You don’t need to wait for Mirage to be open.”
What on earth had happened in the last five years? Why had Sullivan become so… clingy?
Adeline kept her questions to herself, too afraid to say much else. However, Sullivan kept waiting for her response. He only left with a smile of satisfaction once she gave him an exasperated nod.
She truly had no clue what he was up to, but once he disappeared, she got her phone out and called her parents again. They answered almost immediately. “What’s the matter, Maddie? Did something happen?”
“Sullivan’s looking for me. Mom, Dad, what’s been happening throughout these years? Why do I get the feeling that he has changed a lot?” Adeline asked, rubbing her forehead. The situation was giving her a headache.
Frank and Cynthia were silent for a while before hesitantly asking about the reason why she suddenly decided to fake her death five years ago. Now that they were asking again, Adeline chose not to hide the reason from them. Reframing her awakening as a dream, she gave them a summary of everything.
Her parents didn’t approve of her relationship with Sullivan—not because he was broke or that they thought he wasn’t good enough, but because they knew he didn’t love her. Her willful decision to force him into a relationship with her would only end in suffering. They loved her with all their hearts and couldn’t bear to let her suffer, not when they knew she would. But she had been too stubborn and refused to give up on Sullivan without a fight. Well, in the end, she saw the outcome of the fight and realized her parents were right. But now, their attitude had changed.
“Maddie, I guess you could say that we’ve witnessed the journey that has led him here, and we can feel that he likes you. If it was just a dream, why don’t you go back?” Cynthia suggested.
Frank chimed in, “That’s right, Maddie. Plus, didn’t you say he found you, too? It’s been five years. Why don’t you come back? Whatever happens, we’ll be with you.”