Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 53

"Loretta..."

"I want to go pick her up myself, but I can't leave right now! You know Joanne paid me to be Grace's nurse. I figured if I'm nursing Grace, I might as well tend to the neighboring bed too since they already paid me. I can't just walk out! Please, Arthur, as a favor to a neighbor, help me out!"

Arthur frowned. "It's not that I don't want to help, but I've never even met your cousin. How am I supposed to find her? And how could you just forget about her for three hours? Is she even still there?"

Loretta began to cry over the phone. "She should be! She's a simple woman, and she doesn't have a phone on her. I explicitly told her to wait under the streetlight by the main entrance. I was so busy massaging Grace that I didn't hear the text. I just checked my phone and realized she arrived hours ago! It's all my fault. Grace kept chatting my ear off, asking when Joanne was going to pay up."

"Please, Arthur, just pick her up for me! While you do that, I'll pressure Joanne for the money on your behalf. Drive fast, please! My poor cousin... she's been through so much. She doesn't know the city, she has no phone, and it's the middle of the night. What if she runs into a creep?"

"Arthur, please..."

Arthur's brow remained tightly furrowed. "Fine. I'll ride over to the terminal right now. Text me her name and a photo of what she looks like."

He figured everyone had their struggles. As a neighbor who was juggling Grace's care and chasing down Joanne, the least he could do was help a stranded woman with no way to communicate. It genuinely sounded dangerous.

"Yes, yes! Thank you so much, Arthur!"

Hanging up, Loretta took a deep breath. Cousin, I'm pulling out all the stops for you. You better stay put and not wander off!

Arthur strapped the steel pipe to his motorcycle and sped off toward the terminal. He couldn't believe Loretta actually forgot her own family member.

The bus terminal wasn't far from their neighborhood—about a forty-minute ride. When Arthur arrived, the streets were desolate. Looking around, his eyes landed on a woman hugging her knees, her face buried in her arms. Under the dim yellow streetlight, with a gentle breeze blowing, she looked incredibly lonely and heartbreakingly vulnerable.

Unsure if she was Loretta's cousin, Arthur parked his bike and called out, "Xanthe? Are you Xanthe, Loretta's cousin?"

Consumed by negative thoughts, Xanthe had ignored the few passersby who had asked her why she wasn't going home.

Knowing how wicked people could be, she hadn't answered a single one, choosing instead to hold her knees and cry it out.

Suddenly, a panicked male voice called her name from above.

She thought she was hallucinating. Arthur checked the photo Loretta had sent. "Xanthe? I'm so sorry, please don't be mad at your cousin. She got held up at work and forgot. She asked me to pick you up. Don't worry, I'm a good guy..." As he spoke, he initiated a video call with Loretta. "Loretta, I see her, but her head is down, so I'm not entirely sure. Call out to her."

Loretta instantly yelled through the speaker, "Xanthe! It's me! Arthur is there to pick you up. I'm so sorry, I got completely swamped! Arthur, please take good care of her. Take her to your place first, I'll call you later!"

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