Seven Years a Fool One Day a Queen (Kristine and Colton) novel Chapter 362

Chapter 362

t wasn’t until Eliza had accompanied Ottilie through her physical exam and left the Nephrology Department that the thought finally hit her.

Why had Calvin come to the Nephrology Department for a checkup?

s far as she remembered, a standard physical didn’t include any specialized kidney related examinations.

Laybe he just wanted a more comprehensive checkup.

liza didn’t think too deeply about it.

nd yet, there seemed to be a voice in her head reminding her the whole time-

iza, don’t look back.

ren so, she felt vaguely unsettled on the way back.

much so that when she got out of the car to grab the medical report she had left on the front seat, she accidentally snapped the safety talisman hanging from

e rearview mirror.

die had specially gone and gotten it for her when she bought her first car.

e had changed cars several times since then, but every single time, Sadie would carefully take the talisman down and hang it up again in the new one.

iza hadn’t thought much of it at first, but Ottilie, standing beside her, immediately tensed up, convinced it was a bad omen.

iza understood. Older people tended to believe in those things.

ive it to me,” Ottilie said. “I’ll go to the temple tomorrow, fulfill the vow for you, and get you a new safety talisman.”

Il go myself another day.” Eliza refused.

ith Ottilie’s health, that kind of trip would be too much for her.

hen make sure you really go fulfill the vow,” Ottilie reminded her again even as she got out of the car.

ly after hearing Eliza answer clearly did she relax a little.

ter dropping Ottilie back at her place, Eliza returned to the office to work overtime.

hen Sadie came in with coffee and noticed the talisman lying casually on Eliza’s desk, she asked about it.

iza explained that she had accidentally broken it.

ie was busy at the time and didn’t say much more.

die didn’t disturb her either. She simply slipped quietly out of the office.

iza had been busy these past few days. Two projects in her hands were preparing for IPOs.

y the time she remembered the talisman again, another week had passed

hat day, she finally happened to have some free time. Unfortunately, the weather refused to cooperate. The first rain of autumn had arrived.

old. Damp. Miserable.

liza met with Enzo and spoke with him about ASKHEART’s future.

fter hearing her analysis, Enzo finally seemed to waver a little and said he would go back and try to persuade Amber.

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hapter 362

learing that, Eliza honestly didn’t hold much hope.

he knew Enzo too well.

e was soft–hearted, the kind who couldn’t withstand wife’s talk.

therwise, Amber wouldn’t have managed to rise to power in just two short years and take control of most of ASKHEART’s decision–making authority.

iza could accept this kind of temporary cooperation, though she couldn’t help feeling a little wistful about it.

ake me to the temple,” Eliza instructed after sitting in the car for a long while.

the time they reached there, the rain had grown even heavier.

wasn’t the weekend, and with the weather like this, there were barely any worshippers around.

lding an umbrella, Eliza walked inside. The monk at the entrance bowed to her and asked whether she had come to burn incense and pray for blessings, or ra vegetarian meal.

m here to fulfill a vow.” Eliza said.

e monk then led her toward the vow–fulfillment altar. On the way, they had to pass through a bamboo grove.

e stone stairway with ninety–nine steps–worn by the knees and prayers of countless devotees–stood right in the middle of the grove.

rhaps because there were no visitors today, the entire bamboo grove was utterly still.

they neared the steps, Eliza glanced over there instinctively.

is place held memories for her too.

in and mist shrouded the entire grove, blurring everything in sight.

d yet, on the steps, someone was unmistakably there, kneeling in devout worship.

en the monk guiding her paused, his gaze landing on the figure making a kowtow at every step. “Coming to pray for a safety talisman in weather this cold?”

en he added, “Still, that kind of sincerity makes the talisman more spiritually potent.”

za’s legs suddenly felt as heavy as lead. She couldn’t move.

cause she recognized that back.

her thirty years of life, that back had once occupied a very important seven of them.

r seven whole years, she had followed behind that figure.

very inch of it, every detail of it, was etched into her memory,

i even through the mist, Eliza recognized the man immediately.

Miss? Miss?”

eeing that she still hadn’t moved, the monk had no choice but to call out to her.

liza snapped back to herself, flustered. “Sorry.”

Let’s go.” The monk continued leading the way.

he vow–fulfillment altar was managed by the abbot. To fulfill a vow, one first had to have him recite scriptures and offer blessings.

May I ask who prayed for this safety talisman?” the abbot asked Eliza.

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hapter 362

he name of the person who had requested the talisman had to be included in the chant, so it was a routine question.

adie,” Eliza answered truthfully.

ie abbot checked on the computer, then shook his head. “There’s no donor by that name.”

ow could that be? She’s the one who gave it to me.” Eliza was puzzled too.

e abbot had no choice but to ask, “Do you remember approximately when it was requested?”

za gave him a rough time frame.

searched within that period as well, but still couldn’t find the name Sadie.

d yet the talisman was indeed from this temple. There was no mistake about that.

t with no other option, Eliza called Sadie.

first, Sadie tried to muddle through it, but when Eliza told her the temple kept records and her name wasn’t there, she finally stammered, “Eliza… I’m sorry. is talisman… I wasn’t the one who got it for you.”

en who was?”

lie didn’t dare say it.

ly after Eliza pressed her again and again did she finally, fearfully, speak the name.

esident Young.”

was President Young who gave it to me.”

? told me not to tell you. He said if you knew it was from him, you definitely wouldn’t accept it.”

iza, I know I was wrong.”

lie kept apologizing over and over, but Eliza’s mind was already filled with a loud, numbing buzz.

e could barely hear anything.

e couldn’t understand.

ay?

by had Calvin done this?

asn’t Medea the one he loved?

en why had he been doing these meaningless things behind the scenes?

that moment, she realized that perhaps she had never truly seen Calvin clearly at all.

hen she left the vow fulfillment altar, Eliza passed through the bamboo grove once more.

nd once more, she saw that figure kneeling devoutly in the rain.

he rain was falling even harder now,

e was already soaked through.

ven with an umbrella over her head, the chill carried by the rain still made Eliza shiver.

I wasn’t hard to imagine how cold the one drenched through must be at this moment