Chapter 9
I didn’t respond to him and instead laughed out loud.
Javier regained his composure, his eyes filled with longing and said, “Mandy, I’ve only now realized that I can’t let go of you. You’ve been in my life for fifteen years. I can’t let go of you either.”
I felt a hint of impatience in my eyes and retorted, “Then what about Danielle? Is she just a shining dessert that appeared in the dish you’ve been accustomed to for fifteen years?”
“Desserts should not be eaten too often, so now you’re regretting it, right? Javier, you really make me look down on you.” After saying that, I turned around and left, holding onto the soup.
It was quite easy to understand. Danielle’s appearance did indeed brighten Javier’s life. In some ways, she was quite similar to
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him. So Javier fell in love with the youthful
version of himself.
However, Danielle’s essence wasn’t enough to make Javier love her for the long haul. He would regret it again. That’s just human nature, it was Javier’s nature.
I carried the soup to the thirteenth floor of the hospital, where Hugo was still on an intravenous drip and engaged in a video
conference.
One hand was marking points on the tablet while the other hand was awkwardly tucked under the white blanket. The closer
I got to Hugo, the more I was attracted by his character.
This reminded me of a saying, love those who are inherently good. Because they have a moral bottom line and they have standards and requirements for how to be a person and do things.
Hugo made me feel that he was just that kind of person. I ran back and forth to the
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hospital for three days and finally, Hugo.
was discharged.
The day he was discharged, I had something to do and couldn’t make it. Because Danielle had blocked me on the way to a café.
It was still the place where we first met. Danielle was no longer a part–time waitress but a VIP customer here.
She took a small sip of coffee, her brows furrowing and said, “I still can’t get used to this coffee, the stuff you upper–class people love.”
She smirked and then looked at me. “Mandy, I’m really jealous of you. You’ve had everything since birth and the men around you are all more excellent than the last. Tell me, where exactly am I inferior to you?” Her fingers tightened around the coffee cup, her eyes filled with distorted jealousy.
I took a sip of coffee without arguing with
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her and calmly said, “Maybe I’m just better than you?”
Danielle couldn’t see the sweat and effort
behind my glamorous exterior. She naturally thought that everything I had was bestowed by my family and background. I knew what she was harboring hatred for.
She mocked me, “You’re better than me? Isn’t it just because you have a good background?”
“If I had your background, I would live a thousand times better than you!” Danielle’s eyes looked somewhat twisted and her body trembled slightly.
I set my coffee down, stood up and left. As I went downstairs, she pushed me hard from behind. I stumbled forward and was about to crash into a sharp ornament when suddenly someone caught me.
“Be careful!” Hugo tightly wrapped his arms around me, his heart racing.
“You are Miss Crimson, right? You are
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suspected of intentional harm, just wait to talk to the police!” Hugo’s voice was deeper than when he spoke to me. He took me straight to the car.
“Mandy, you almost got hurt today, do you know that?” He turned to look at me, his eyes filled with a hint of panic. I didn’t say anything.
He spoke again, “I don’t know if I’ve made it obvious enough, but I know I like you, although it’s not quite love yet. But I believe that as we spend more time together, this liking will turn into love.”
“I hope you can consider whether to accept me.” I got out of Hugo’s car, his words. echoing in my mind. Until my phone rang.
“Mandy, I didn’t know that Danielle wanted to hurt you. Are you okay?” Javier’s voice trembled. I said I was fine.
He spoke again, his voice shaking, “Mandy, can you give me another chance? Can we start over…”
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I didn’t know how Javier managed to say those words. I certainly didn’t listen to the rest, I hung up on him directly. I also blocked both him and Danielle’s number.
After doing all this, I lay in bed and thought all night. The next morning, I packed my things and traveled abroad again. This time, I told Hugo my thoughts.
I still couldn’t accept him so quickly. I wanted to see the vastness of the world, the
abundance of life.
After sending the message, Hugo was typing for a long time. It wasn’t until the very last second before my flight that he sent me a message: [Then I wish you, Mandy Sommerset, can achieve her wishes, living freely and carefreely every
day.]
I smiled as I read this message. The past, along with the ascending airplane, was all left behind, carried away by the wind.
I am free, I completely belong to myself!
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***
After coming out of the Amazon rainforest, I saw the beauty of nature and animals.
While on a call with my mom, she subtly mentioned Javier. His company was swallowed by another enterprise and Danielle had been battling with him for a divorce for more than a year, finally getting divorced just a few days ago.
Danielle took away a lot of his assets and then left Atlanta with her family. Javier occasionally came to my house to look for me. Until my dad found out, he beat him up and warned him that if he came again, he would directly call the police and report him for harassment. After that, he didn’t
come anymore.
I took all of this as a joke, forgetting it after I hung up with my mom. I stood on the hotel balcony, looking down at the dense jungle.
A feeling of life flourishing kept lingering
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in my mind. It seemed I had found that sense of life happening and being alive.
I thought that there are thousands of meanings in life. But finding one’s own meaning, that was the true essence of life.
(The End)
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