The Man from the Highland

It was the seventh day of the silent treatment between Charlie Fenton and me when I received the news that my parents had died.

I was so shocked that I spent the entire night crying in my room.

Later, Charlie knocked on my door.

As soon as I opened it, he pulled me into his arms. "Josie, I'm so sorry for your loss. Right now, we need to bring their bodies home. I'll go to Everpeak with you."

I was crying so hard that I could barely stand.

Charlie and I both came from powerful families. We'd grown up together, and everyone said we were perfect for each other. Our families had arranged our engagement when we were still young.

I'd always thought we'd fall in love, get married, and have children together. But then he met a girl named Alya Silva.

Even now, I couldn't understand why he had fallen so deeply in love with an ordinary girl he'd looked down on when they first met.

He stood in line to buy desserts for her. He picked out gifts to make her happy. His entire chat history was filled with messages from her.

He used to care about me more than anyone else. Now, she was all he cared about.

I couldn't stand the difference anymore, so I asked him to choose between her and me. But before I could get an answer, I received the news that my parents had died while traveling out of town.

As Charlie wiped away my tears, he comforted me. "Don't be afraid. I'm here for you. I'll take care of everything."

He kept his promise. Over the next few days, he quickly arranged everything for the trip. He booked our flights, hired a car, and contacted the people responsible for keeping my parents' bodies.

I thought this was his way of choosing me. But I never expected him to bring Alya along, too.

He said she'd never been to Everpeak before. She also loved the scenery there, so she wanted to visit and enjoy the sights.

My trip to bring home my parents' bodies had somehow turned into her healing journey.

During the drive, she kept asking the driver to stop whenever she saw a beautiful view so she could take pictures.

At other times, she'd complain about the altitude sickness and ask us to stop so she could rest.

We'd already lost a huge amount of time when she finished taking pictures and came over to me with an apologetic look. "Ms. Souza, I'm sorry. I promise I won't waste any more of your time. It's just my first time in Everpeak, so everything feels so new and exciting."

I turned to look at her. "I hope you remember why we're here. We're here to bring my parents' bodies home. They can't be kept there forever. This is the last time we're stopping for you to take pictures. If you want to take more later, we won't wait for you again!"

Charlie frowned slightly and stepped forward. He clearly wasn't happy that I'd scolded Alya.

"It's okay," he told her gently. "Take as many pictures as you want. You don't need to apologize."

I didn't want to argue with them, so I forced back my tears and got into the car.

But the moment I sat down, a sharp headache hit me. I knew it was an early sign of altitude sickness. After coughing a few times, I turned to the driver. "Please give me a can of oxygen."

But I waited several seconds, and the driver still didn't hand it to me.

When I looked up, I saw Alya holding the last can of oxygen. "I'm sorry, Ms. Souza. This is the only one left..."

My chest felt painfully tight, and I was starting to feel sick. "Then give it to me! You've used so much oxygen along the way. Are you still not feeling any better?"

Her eyes instantly filled with tears. "I'm sorry. Here, you can have it."

Charlie immediately stopped her from handing it over.

He frowned slightly before trying to reason with me. "Josie, Alya has a weak constitution. Can you hold on a little longer? We're almost at the rest stop."

His words broke my heart.

I wanted to say something, but my discomfort was getting worse by the second.

I fought down the suffocating feeling in my chest and decided not to argue with them. Besides, I didn't want to waste any more time at a rest stop. We'd already lost too much time, and I needed to bring my parents' bodies home as soon as possible.

Exhausted, I told Charlie to let Alya keep the oxygen.

But even then, we still couldn't make the trip go any faster.

The moment we arrived at the rest stop, Alya quietly told Charlie that she wanted to get out and breathe some fresh air. Charlie immediately told the driver to stop.

I crouched by the side of the road, feeling like I was about to throw up. I was too miserable to care about how I looked anymore. My heart ached as I remembered how my parents had happily given me advice before their trip. They'd been so full of life, and now they were gone.

The thought made it even harder to breathe.

The staff in Everpeak had called me three times that morning to warn me that they couldn't keep the bodies of out-of-town visitors there for too long. I had no choice but to bring my parents home as soon as possible.

I was just about to get back into the car when I heard Charlie shout urgently behind me. "We're turning back to the hospital! Alya twisted her ankle!"