Elise stayed in the hospital to take care of Alexander. The next day, Jack dropped by for a visit. The sight of him was unforgettable for Elise—she had never seen him more disconsolate than this.
“How’s Alexander?” Jack’s hoarse voice cut through the silence, significantly sounding less energetic than his usual self.
“He’s fine. As long as he wakes up, there shouldn’t be any serious issue. I’m just worried because it has been days, but his condition isn’t improving.”
Jack went up to the patient bed and stared at the almost lifeless Alexander. “Alexander, since we were kids, you’ve always been a role model to us. Now, you need to wake up quickly as well.” He reached out to clutch Alexander’s hand so tightly that it almost looked as if he was channeling energy into his brother.
“About Mikayla… Is there still no news about her?” Elise meekly asked the question. After Mikayla’s name was mentioned, Jack’s already tired eyes appeared a tad dimmer.
If only I had agreed to go for the snowball fight with her, the outcome might have been different.
After the avalanche, Jack searched through the area but could not locate her.
“She’ll be fine.”
Even though he told Elise that Mikayla would be fine, he didn’t know for sure. She’ll be fine. She will…
“Just take good care of Alexander. I will search for Mikayla to the best of my ability. If I can’t find her, I won’t return.” Next, he let go of Alexander's hand and turned to leave.
Elise’s heart sank to the bottom. Mikayla, come back to us soon! We’re all waiting for you.
That night, she was looking after Alexander at the bedside as usual. He had been in a coma for days, but his eyes suddenly fluttered. Moving his stiff arms, he slowly inched around to sit up. The next second, his arm accidentally came in touch with the girl by the bedside.
In the darkness, he could still recognize Elise. The sight of her warmed his heart. He pulled the blanket over to cover her. To his surprise, Elise jumped in her dream and mumbled, “Alexander… Alexander, don’t leave me!”
After she was awake, she sat up and looked across the empty room. Soon, she seemed to have felt the gaze of someone else in the darkness. “A-Are you awake?”
Out of nowhere, she was yanked into his embrace with great force. He was clumsy, but he savored the moment like the world would end the instant and she would disappear along with it. It’s her…
“Alexander, I’m scared to death because of you.” Her voice cracked, and he tightened his hug around her. His magnetic voice rang in her ears. “Don’t worry. I’m always here for you.”
The familiarity of his voice brought tears to her eyes. No one knew the extent of the heartache and stress she had suffered in the past few days.
“Are you feeling fine? Should I call the doctor? You’ve just woken up. Don’t move around. If you need anything, just let me know.”
While speaking, she let go of his hand.
“I’m turning on the lights. Wait for me here.”
She rose up only to be struck by a thought. Reflexively, she reached out to touch her face. In the past few days, she had been so busy looking after him that she did not have the time to put on her disguise. If she turned on the lights, he would see her real face.
I can’t let him see my face. She came to a decision right away.
“I need to use the washroom. I’ll turn on the lights after that.”
As she explained, she deftly sneaked into the washroom and locked the door from the inside.
Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she gasped for air to calm herself down and frantically took out her foundation cushion to powder her face.
Alexander shot a puzzled look in her direction after hearing about Jamie. It sounds like she’s close to Jamie.
“Alexander, are you listening?” Danny’s voice pulled him back to the conversation, and he said, “You’ve gone through a lot. I’ll be back in a few days’ time.”
“It’s not a problem if Jamie’s around. He has great business acumen, and he acts aggressively. Even if you want to take a longer break, the company will turn out fine,” Danny praised Jamie to the heavens, to which Alexander replied with a grunt as a sign of acknowledgment.
After he ended the call, Elise followed up, “How’s the situation back home? If you need to deal with company matters, we could fly home earlier.”
“It’s fine. The company is in good hands,” he answered and followed up with a question. “Are you close to Jamie?”
Elise felt her heart skip a beat and quickly clarified, “Yes, I guess you can say so.”
She had thought that he’d pester her with more questions, but he changed the topic. “Any news about Mikayla?”
The light in Elise’s eyes went out as she shook her head. “Nothing yet.”
Although Cynthia joined the search, Mikayla had, in fact, been missing after such a long time. It was difficult to keep the news under wraps any longer, so Elise had informed Mikayla’s parents in the most cautious manner possible. Mikayla’s parents were on their way to Switzerland and were expected to arrive in the next two days.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry. Mikayla is a lucky girl. She’ll be safe.”
Elise had no choice but to pray fervently for her friend’s safety in her heart.
The next day, Mikayla’s parents arrived with a heavy heart, but they did not point their fingers at anyone. The couple cooperatively worked with the rescue team to look for their daughter.
Not long after, Cynthia rushed to Elise with a grave expression. “Ellie, I have some unfortunate news for you. I hope you’re mentally prepared.”
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