He Waited She Wilted (Ottilie and Yorath) novel Chapter 12

At midnight, Ottilie quietly got out of bed, grabbed her only backpack, and left the house.

Her job applications had all vanished into the void. She had gone to countless interviews, only to be told to wait for a call back.

Sitting on the curb by the street, she scrolled through her phone, trying to find a cheap place to crash for a couple of days.

The overhead street light was suddenly blocked out. She looked up to see Yves standing in front of her. "Mr. Walden?"

Yves smiled warmly. "One of my students dropped out, so I'm heading over to her house to talk to her family. I saw you as I was passing by. Are you free to tag along?"

"I'm free." She got into his car.

Yves said, "Remember Mr. Crawford, who bought us dinner last time? He donated two million to our school, and they asked me to take him out to dinner on their behalf. I don't have his contact info. Could you help me invite him?"

Ottilie stayed silent for a few seconds before answering, "I don't have his contact info either."

Yves nodded understandingly. "That's fine. We'll ask him next time we run into him."

The student lived out in the countryside and it was right in the middle of the harvest season. The girl was out in the fields, working alongside her family. She was a small, thin girl who didn't even look like a teenager.

Seeing Yves, she immediately greeted him. "Hello, Mr. Walden."

"Hello, Daisy. Is this your father?" Yves asked.

Daisy glanced nervously at the man beside her. "Dad, my teacher, Mr. Walden, is here."

Daisy's father shot them a glare and snapped, "What do you want? I already told you on the phone. Times are tough. She's not going back to school."

"Our school offers subsidies for struggling families, covering all expenses," Yves reasoned. "Education is a lifelong matter. Only by gaining knowledge can she..."

Before he could finish, Daisy's father interrupted impatiently. "Mr. Walden, if we don't finish this harvest right now, we won't even have food on the table. What's the point of a future if we starve to death? Are you going to pay to support me in the future?"

With that, he turned and slapped Daisy hard across the face.

Ottilie gently patted her head. Daisy threw herself into Ottilie's arms and broke down, crying loudly. She thanked them over and over.

Without missing a beat, Ottilie and Yves took off their jackets and joined in the grueling farm work. They worked from dawn until nightfall.

Ottilie hoisted fifty-pound sacks onto her shoulders, hauling them away without a single complaint.

A drone buzzed loudly as it flew overhead.

...

Night fell.

Ottilie and Yves headed back to the city.

Noticing her backpack, Yves smiled gently. "It's getting late. Will you disturb your parents if you go back now? I own a studio apartment that I usually rent out. The tenants just moved out a few days ago. Why don't you crash there for a few nights? All I ask is that you help me clean the place up, which would be doing me a huge favor. If you want to stay long-term, you can just pay me rent."