Chapter 5

Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of a riverside apartment building Elise's parents had gifted to her when she was twelve.

Upon stepping through the front door, she felt a pang of sadness in her heart that had been numb for a while.

The walls were decorated by her father while the furniture was carefully curated by her mother.

She had only been twelve years old when her mother had looked lovingly into her eyes and told her, "This is your sanctuary. In the future, even if your father and I are no longer around, nobody is going to take this haven away from you."

She curled up on the couch in the living room, where the last presence of her parents lingered. Soon, she fell asleep.

For the following days, she hardly thought about Gerald.

Even the comment sections had become uncharacteristically dormant, as if echoing the state of her mind.

The next day, when she went shopping with her best friend, Louisa Verd, who had just returned from abroad, Louisa teased her.

"What's the matter? It's so strange to not hear you bring up Gerald at all!"

Her expression fell when she noticed that Elise had changed her phone's wallpaper from a picture of her and Gerald to something else instead.

She found it so shocking that she couldn't help but check Elise's temperature while muttering to herself, "It doesn't seem like you have a fever running… You've had that wallpaper for almost ten years without changing it! I remember that one time when you accidentally dropped your old phone containing the pictures into the sea, you dove into the sea to rescue the phone! What's with this change of—"

Her words trailed off when she noticed Gerald and Alexandra's engagement picture cast on a large billboard outside the window.

Louisa's smile vanished. She was immediately incensed and wanted to confront Gerald about it.

Elise, meanwhile, brushed it off nonchalantly. "Forget it, I'm getting married too."

This piece of information had Louisa flabbergasted. After taking some time to come to terms with what was happening, she hissed through clenched teeth, "It's his loss for letting someone like you go! He's going to regret it!"

Then, she breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed how Elise seemed to be amused. Then, she changed the subject. "Anyway, I heard there's this really popular seaside restaurant that just recently opened. Let's go try it!"

When they arrived at the restaurant, they bumped into Alexandra and Gerald, of all people, who were in the middle of chatting with a pair of elderly couples. They were surrounded by reporters.

The color drained from Louisa's face in an instant. She immediately grabbed Elise and turned to leave while muttering to herself, "What awful luck! Disgusting!"

Elise was not interested in speaking to them either. However, before they even stepped out of the restaurant, they heard Gerald calling out to them from behind.

His deep and magnetic voice was laced with a tinge of shock. "Eli? What are you doing here?"

Elise did not answer.

Meanwhile, Alexandra, who was in the middle of guiding the elderly couple, beamed with joy the moment she recognized Elise.

"Eli, you're here! Come, let me introduce you to my adoptive parents. They have been nothing but wonderful to me during the years when I was separated from my biological parents."

Then, she paused suggestively while casting a shy look at Gerald.

"Gerald was worried I'd miss them, so he opened this restaurant for them.

"I'm so glad to get to call someone like him my fiance. There was another shop in this lot originally, but when I mentioned I liked to see the sea, he leased the property for nearly ten times the market rate."

Though she spoke in a gentle voice, there was a smug look in her eyes that was meant to taunt Elise.

Elise was hardly upset. All she did was nod calmly. "Congratulations, I hope business is good."

Clearly, this wasn't the reaction Alexandra wanted to provoke. With a quick flick of an eye, she suddenly blurted out, "Oh, I forgot to mention! Gerald said I shouldn't stay in my current rented apartment because it's not the best place for me to recover from my injury. My adoptive parents and I have moved into the Smiths' house for a while now, but here's the thing… my adoptive mother has asthma, and so she would prefer having a bright, spacious bedroom with plenty of sunlight. Eli, would you mind letting her have your bedroom?"

A subtle smile played on her lips. She seemed to anticipate Elise blowing up.

Even Louisa snapped at this point and cried out, "Who do you think you…"

However, Elise stopped her. She met Alexandra's gaze head-on and smiled graciously. "Of course, she can have the room if she wants it."

Alexandra's expression stiffened the moment she received the reply. Even a strange look flashed across Gerald's deep-set eyes.

Louisa had turned red with anger at this point. She whispered to Elise, "She's bullying you!"

All Elise did was smile and brush it off before turning to leave.

Gerald ended up striding after her. He expressed regretfully, "This is only a temporary arrangement. I know you don't like Alexandra, and since your parents have left you a place, you can spend the night there instead. I'll have someone pack your belongings and deliver them to you."

It was only then that it occurred to Elise that she had moved out for almost a week by now.

And yet, Gerald was still under the impression that she was still living in his house.

She chuckled ironically before remarking with a hint of sarcasm, "I've already packed my bags and moved out of the house almost a week ago."

However, Alexandra's excited squeal drowned out her voice. "Gerald, it's time for our interview!"

With that, Gerald immediately went up to her. They were very intimate with each other, evident by how they locked their fingers together.

It was then that Elise noticed Gerald was wearing matching rings with Alexandra.

Was this also part of his efforts to repay his debt to his mentor?

She retracted her gaze, then turned and left.

While she was on the way home, Gerald finally remembered to text her and ask, "Were you trying to tell me something just now?"

Elise sent a curt reply, "Nothing."

The display indicated that Gerald was typing something, but in the end, he did not send the text.