Chapter 27
+15 BONUS
“The antacid is gone. Bring me a new box,” Justin said, his voice weaker than usual. He had always assumed the company kept it in stock and hadn’t given it much thought
Sam stood there awkwardly, clearly hesitant to speak.
Justin frowned impatiently. “What are you waiting for? Go get it.”
After a moment of deliberation, Sam finally spoke up, “Miss Emily was the one who always arranged the antacid for you.”
Every time Justin was close to running out, she made sure to have more ready ahead of time. Now that he and she were no longer together, naturally, she wouldn’t be sending any more. But Sam was tactful enough not to say that part aloud.
Justin froze. He hadn’t realized Emily had been quietly taking care of that for him.
“I’ll go get some medicine right away,” Sam quickly offered, noticing the shift in Justin’s expression.
Left alone in the office, Justin’s gastric pain grew worse as frustration began to creep in. He had resolved to erase Emily from his life, to act as if she had never existed. But now, with her name unexpectedly brought up, it stirred something inside him.
He glanced at the empty box in the drawer and, with a scowl, tossed it into the trash.
By the time Sam returned, Justin was slumped on the couch, clearly in more discomfort.
“Mr. Yates, I got the medicine, and I also picked up some warm broth,” Sam said. Not being experienced in caring for someone, he had bought an assortment of remedies based on the pharmacy clerk’s suggestions.
He figured as long as Justin took a bit of everything according to the instructions, it should work. 1
Back at home, Emily and Helen were finally settling in after a long day. They had unpacked, organized their things, and now it was dark outside. Both of them collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted.
“Hungry?” Helen asked.
“Starving, but I don’t feel like moving,” Emily replied lazily.
“I’ll order takeout. What do you want?”
“Anything’s fine.”
As Helen scrolled through the options, she suddenly remembered something and turned to Emily, saying, “Guess who I saw at the resort?”
Before Emily could respond, Helen continued, “Justin!
“He was having the time of his life at the resort with that so–called first love of his, and that woman looks way too much like you! When I first saw her from the side, I actually thought it was you
“Justin is such a jerk, messing around with that whole ‘stand–in girlfriend‘ nonsense. I curse him and that woman to catch some awful disease, be infertile, and still somehow end up with a house full of kids!” Helen exclaimed, making Emily laugh.
“Just order already, I’m starving,” Emily said, chuckling.
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Chapter 27
+15 BONUS
She didn’t mention seeing Justin herself at the resort. It didn’t seem necessary. He was just part of her past now.
“Anyway, she wasn’t as pretty as you,” Helen added. She was scrolling through her phone, but she still found time to throw in a compliment for her friend.
Just then, a notification popped up. Helen glanced at it but still frustrated with Justin, decided not to respond. “There’s not a single decent guy out there,” she thought.
Half an hour later, their food arrived, and Helen and Emily started eating.
Meanwhile, Zac had been swamped with work for the past few days. It wasn’t until late at night that he finally finished up, shut down his laptop, and left the hospital.
Once he got into his car, he checked his phone, only to see that the person on the other end still hadn’t responded to his message.
Frowning slightly, he figured, “She’s probably busy.”
He typed out another message, “Did you make it home?” and hit send.
Helen, now in bed and ready to sleep, heard her phone ping again.
She glanced at it but decided not to reply.
