“If you don’t stop harassing me, Simon, I’ll call the police and report you.
Simon’s eyes burned red, but I couldn’t tell whether from anger or frustration.
Finally, he raised his hands in surrender, gritting his teeth.
“You win, Chloe. And I must be an idiot–leaving the damn hospital just to get involved in your mess!”
In a fit of rage, he kicked over a trash can on the sidewalk, cursing under his breath as he stormed off.
I watched his figure disappear into the distance, my grip on my phone going slack.
Tilting my head back, I tried to hold back the tears threatening to fall.
However, that ache in my chest only grew stronger.
+15 BONUS
A week later, Noah and I returned to Hilltown.
I hadn’t been back since my grandmother passed away.
We handed out gifts to the locals.
The children were overjoyed, running around us in excitement.
Noah’s adoptive parents no longer lived here.
As a gesture of gratitude, his biological parents bought them a large home in the city and gave them a substantial sum of money,
ensuring they would live out their years comfortably.
Noah and I visited my grandmother’s grave.
I placed a bouquet of flowers before the headstone.
“Grandma, I brought Noah to see you.”
Back then, his adoptive parents struggled to get by.
Whenever my grandmother made stew for the holidays, she would always insist I invite Noah over.
Then, she would set aside her own portion and give it to him instead.
“Kids need proper nutrition to grow,” she would say with a smile.
Noah felt guilty that he hadn’t been able to return when she passed away.
Now, dressed in a tailored suit, he knelt before her grave, his posture stiff and tense.
1/3
He knelt down, lowered his head in respect, and pressed his hands to the ground, his eyes turning red with emotion.
+15 BONUS
