Chapter 14

Adeline didn’t agree to come back right away. The idea of someone realizing they were a villainous side character in a novel was far too ludicrous. She wasn’t surprised that her parents didn’t fully believe the situation. She didn’t believe that Sullivan loved her, either. They had been together for five years. During that time, if she had felt even the slightest trace of love from him, perhaps she wouldn’t have chosen to fake her death. Because he wasn’t involved with Isabel, the woman he was destined to be with, and chose to spend his days with her ashes instead, everyone started saying that he loved her. Who knew this was merely spurred on by the fact that she had faked her death, derailing the plot? What if one day, he were to resume the life that was laid out for him?

That night, Adeline couldn’t fall asleep. The sun had already started to rise when she finally dozed off. By the time she opened her eyes again, it was already morning. For some reason, she slept unusually well—so well that her memories seemed to blur together into a ball of chaos. She couldn’t quite tell what year it was. She stayed in bed for quite some time before her memories finally fell into place again.

Hurrying out of bed, she rushed to Mirage. Unexpectedly, Sullivan was already waiting there, but he was not alone. Some of her regular customers were there as well. A few days ago, Adeline had informed them that she might not be opening for business the next few days, so it was unlikely for them to come. Even if some did, there should only be a handful of them. Yet not only were they here, but they had come in such large numbers, too. They were all standing in small groups beside Sullivan. Thus, she didn’t even have to think to figure out that he must have gathered them.

Sullivan quickly spotted Adeline as she made her way toward Mirage, and his grim expression broke into a smile. He approached her and said meaningfully, “You…”

Adeline froze briefly when she spotted Sullivan. Her memories seemed to go haywire once more. Her eyes flashed dazedly, but at the very next second, everything went back to normal. After greeting the other customers, she took her keys out, unlocked the door, and stepped into the bar. When she saw Sullivan following her right in, she felt a flash of annoyance. She had already left so that he could be with his childhood sweetheart. Why wasn’t he back home with Isabel? Why did he come here to see her?

Soon, the lounge bar was filled with customers. While mixing the drinks, Adeline started pondering over her strange actions and emotions earlier. It was rather peculiar. Ever since Sullivan showed up, her memories started blurring and turning chaotic. For a moment, she felt as if she was no longer herself. Fortunately, that feeling didn’t last very long. However, she was able to confirm the root of this issue—Sullivan.

He took a seat at the bar counter and asked for a margarita just like he had done yesterday. It was easy enough to prepare. Soon, she placed the drink in front of him and said, “Here’s your drink, sir.”

Sullivan accepted the glass, but he didn’t drink from it. Instead, he eyed Adeline before abruptly saying, “My name is Sullivan Carter.”

“Oh, Mr. Carter,” Adeline replied with a nod, as if she truly didn’t know him.

Nevertheless, her reaction wore Sullivan’s patience down. He had already investigated her before coming over to Chavella. A month ago, he sensed that something was amiss with the Emersons. Apart from that initial encounter at the morgue, he never suspected that they were grieving over the loss of Madeleine. (transferring money abroad throughout the last…)

At first, he assumed they were hiding their son. Five years after looking into that matter further, he realized the Emersons seemed to be hiding a major secret. They were hiding their sorrows behind closed doors—until he found out that they had been hiding Madeleine Lennon. Adeline Monter. They had the same face, the same physique, and the same air. The latter had abruptly appeared after the former went missing. Had they only shared a passing resemblance, he could still chalk it down to a coincidence, but they were far too similar in many ways, so only the most unlikely…

“Maddie, just how long do you plan on hiding for?” he asked with conviction.