“Sadie, are you alright?” A colleague’s voice came, not only shocking Sadie but also startling Libby and Otto, who were standing by the car with their fingers intertwined.
They turned their head at the mention of Sadie’s name and their expressions changed with lightening-speed as they saw her standing there.
Otto quickly shrugged off Libby’s hand and calmly walked away from her towards Sadie.
Libby couldn’t dare to say anything. She only stared at his retreating back in cold resentment. His words were really not to be trusted. He kept saying that the person he loved the most was Libby, but the second he saw Sadie, he forgot everything else and ran to her.
Otto stopped in front of Sadie, leaned over and hugged her tightly. He laughed lightly in her ear, “Your sister said you’d be here, so I came over to see you.”
“Really…?” Sadie stood still, letting herself be hugged tightly. Her eyes fell on Libby, standing not far away in the background.
Sadie’s expressions were clear without any guilty conscience. She looked the same as usual, as if holding hands with Otto had no other meaning. Was she really just thinking too much?
Libby had known Otto since before Sadie and their friendship was similar to that of two close guy friends, usually there’s no hand holding or close physical touch involved. However, they both looked so calm and nonchalant that she couldn’t suspect Otto of cheating or suspect Libby of stealing her boyfriend.
“Little idiot.” Otto wrinkled his nose smilingly and nodded gently as he looked at her, a little guilt sweeping through his eyes. His hand reached his trouser pocket and he pulled out a delicate looking jewelry box, placing it in Sadie’s palm. “Happy birthday, my future wife.”
Sadie blushed as her heartbeat escalated, “How come…”
She wanted to ask him how come he came to find her here especially, but Otto interrupted her in a gentle voice, still smiling, “This time I will be gone for a long time, I hate being away from you.”
Sadie’s earlobes became red as her face heated up.
He called her “future wife” … He had never called her that before.
“I have to go now. Take care of yourself and wait for me to come back, okay? And miss me every day.” Otto patted her on the top of her head. Then he lowered his head and placed a kiss on her forehead before turning away and leaving.
Sadie clutched the little box in her hand tightly, as if her whole body full of fire. She watched him get into his car and drive away.
“He deliberately came to the orphanage to pick me up just so I could help him find you.” Libby snorted mockingly; her eyes were glued to the box in Sadie’s hand. She tore her eyes away from it with some difficulty.
That was supposed to be a gift for her, not Sadie’s!
“Thanks Libby!” Sadie thanked her with a sweet smile on her face, putting the box carefully into her bag. She couldn’t notice Libby’s extremely ugly expressions.
“I am going to meet my friends now.” Libby said and strode away, her tone strangely angry.
Sadie continued to smile blankly for a while, then she turned to look at Libby walk away.
Libby was walking fast, as if in a hurry; she walked exactly like that when she was angry. The sweet feeling dissipated and the seeds of doubt grew roots in Sadie’s heart.
Libby’s anger seemed to be directed at her. Thinking again of the scene from a while ago; Otto and Libby standing close and holding hands with their fingers intertwined. Sadie frowned.
She had met Otto for the first time a little unexpectedly. She was in the third year of junior high school and was being bullied by her classmates against the wall at the back gate of her school. They beat her and warned her that she was not allowed to place first in the exam.
Otto who was already a first-year university student, got out of his car with Libby who was in her first year in high school to help her. He did not only rescue her then, but also somehow forced the girls to apologize to Sadie.
After getting acquainted, Otto began to pursue her. He never cared about the scar on her face, nor allowed anyone else to discuss Sadie’s appearance. Because of his protection, Sadie was never bullied in the entirety of her time in high school.
At the end of college entrance exam, she finally agreed to be his girlfriend. It was less than half a year ago. If something was going to happen between Libby and Otto, it would have already happened before that…
Across the street, a Rolls Royce that had been parked in the parking space for a long time, finally drove away slowly. Inside, Khalid scratched his nose awkwardly, not daring to look at Julian’s face.
Someone who was assumed dead for years appeared in front of Julian alive. It should have been a happy occasion, but sadly that someone turned out to be someone else’s girlfriend.
Inside the car, silence was mixed with the despair and made the car feel colder somehow.
Julian leaned back in his seat, his slender hands covering his face and his lips pursed into a tight line.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Follow Me