Chapter 416 So Soon, She Already Has Someone by Her Side!
After a long pause, Oliver finally found his voice. "You seeing someone?"
Sarah didn't deny it.
She nodded slightly. "My family set it up. We just had dinner."
She grabbed her coat and said goodbye to the man.
The man, guessing Oliver's identity, didn't press further. He stepped back and gave Sarah a polite smile, clearly interested in seeing her again.
Sarah's car slowly drove away.
The man left too.
Oliver stood alone on the street in the dead of night.
Neon lights flickered everywhere, and the women of the night around him highlighted his disheveled and empty state.
Yes!
He really had nothing.
He retched painfully by the roadside, memories flooding back.
"Oliver, I'm willing to go to Vesper City with you."
"When we get to school, don't say you're my husband. Call yourself my brother... I'm afraid people will laugh at me!"
"Oliver, I'm only 22!"
Yes!
She was only 22 back then, young and innocent, and he dragged her into a pit of sin. Even now, Sarah remained dignified, unlike at the time in Marigoldia, when she was ready to risk her life against him.
She had become calm and graceful because she had choices now.
She no longer belonged to him!
Oliver stumbled forward, tears welling in his eyes, feeling utterly humiliated and wretched.
She had seen him at his worst many times before.
But tonight, for the first time, he felt too dirty to deserve her, too ashamed even to question her.
What right did he have to question her?
What right?
The girl beside him said, "Mr. Windsor, I know you're down on your luck now! You might not be as wealthy as that guy! You're feeling inferior and want to give up!"
"But if she loves you, she'll stay with you even if you're down and out. I don't think she's the type to care about money! She doesn't lack money, does she?"
She clutched the check, hesitant to return it to Oliver but reluctant to let it go!
Two million dollars, it was already enough to buy a house and open a store back home.
Oliver's blue eyes lowered.
He said, "Keep it. Don't work in places like this anymore."
The girl's voice was sweet. "Thank you, Mr. Windsor! From now on, you're like a brother to me!"
Brother.
Oliver was taken aback.
He remembered how Sarah used to call him brother, so tenderly and affectionately, doing everything to please him.
But he hadn't cherished it!
Under the dim lights, Oliver stood dazed on the street, suddenly slapping himself hard.
The girl was stunned.
He was drunk.
In the dead of night, he crawled through a hole in the fence and entered the Moore Mansion.
Sarah was woken up by him.
He didn't look at her; his pride wouldn't allow it.
Sarah's delicate body trembled, her voice unsteady. "I could report you."
"Go ahead!"
"Report me and send me to jail..."
He murmured against her neck, devoid of any romantic or lustful intent, just wanting to confirm she was still his. His throat emitted a wounded animal's whimper.
"I didn't touch her!"
"Sarah, everything of yours is mine! It's all mine, you can't give it to anyone else!
"Sarah, I regret it!"
"Even if I had nothing, I shouldn't have let go..."
He spoke in a daze.
Sarah couldn't hear clearly, nor did she want to.
What was there left to say between them?
Before the divorce, he had disgusted her one last time. After the divorce, he spent money on... and after she caught him, he came to her to act out.
Sarah turned her face away. "Let go! Don't make me despise you even more."
She thought it wouldn't be easy.
But Oliver slowly let go.
In the dim light, he looked at her delicate face, thinking, what right did he have to possess her now? On the brink of bankruptcy, penniless, any man the Moore family arranged would be a hundred times better than him.
He slowly buttoned up her clothes.
He didn't leave; he sat by the bed, took out a crumpled cigarette from his jacket pocket, and lit it with trembling hands. He barely smoked, just watched the glowing tip between his long fingers, flickering.
When the cigarette burned out, he turned to look at her.
The moonlight was pale, outlining his profile with deep shadows and vivid lines.
He reached out, seemingly wanting to touch her.
But his hand hovered in the air, never landing.
In the end, he left without a word.
For a long time, he rarely showed up.
Occasionally, he would contact Claire, see Jacob, and hold Nicole.
He would buy things for the kids.
But every time they met, he only stayed at the Moore Mansion for a short while, never more than half an hour.
Sometimes, Sarah would run into him.
But even when they met, they were like the most familiar strangers, nodding at each other without even a "long time no see."
It was over, wasn't it?
Between them, it was truly over.
Gradually, Sarah noticed that Oliver's business was not doing well and was even plummeting.
A man's appearance was his facade.
His expensive clothes were gone. No more pristine white shirts and black velvet suits. He wore slightly worn shirts, and his coat was always a navy trench coat.
His car was now a $20,000 family car.
He was in a bad situation!
But Zoey stayed by his side, never leaving.
Later, Sarah learned that the Windsor Group was in turmoil, and Oliver was bankrupt.
He hadn't taken on any major projects.
Sarah's love life remained dull and uninteresting.
The man her family had introduced to her last time was Jeremy Lopez, a family friend of the Moores. He had excellent conditions and was very attentive, but their progress was slow, as slow as his work in archaeology.
One evening, Jeremy invited her to dinner at a romantic restaurant.
After dinner, they walked by the river, enjoying the bustling night view of Evergreen City. The wind was a bit strong, and Sarah sneezed, so Jeremy took her home early.
At 9 PM, a Rolls-Royce Phantom drove into the Moore Mansion.
The car stopped.
Sarah got out and bent down to say goodbye to Jeremy. The man looked at her glowing face and couldn't help but gently touch it, then got out of the car.
He opened the trunk and took out a beautifully wrapped box.
It was a collector's dress.
This brand was very expensive, with basic styles starting at a million dollars, and this rare packaging usually costing over three million dollars.
Sarah gently touched the packaging, murmuring, "It's too expensive!"
Jeremy didn't say anything.
He was practical and not good at sweet-talking women. He just felt the moment was right and lightly held her slender shoulder, leaning in to plant a soft kiss on her lips.
Sarah was startled.
But she didn't spoil the man's mood. She tilted her head under the moonlight, accepting the kiss, letting the faint taste of tobacco seep into her.
About a minute passed, lips intertwined.
Her body trembled slightly.
Jeremy held her slender waist, breathing lightly against her shoulder, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. He liked Sarah, and he liked her beauty.
He respected her.
Even though they both had been married before, he still wanted to save their first time for their wedding night.
He calmed down a bit, got in the car, and left.
In the shadows, Oliver held a small cake.
It was Sarah's favorite.
He had it specially flown in from Vesper City.
He wanted to give it to her, surprise her, see her happy. But she was on a date, getting out of another man's car, receiving a dress worth millions.
In comparison, he felt so insignificant.
But this cake was actually the only thing he could offer now.
He stood quietly, not disturbing the couple.
He placed the cake under the laurel tree where she often sat. There was a glass lamp there, and when night fell, the light would cast a soft glow. His Sarah would sit there quietly reading.
Sometimes, Nicholas would accompany her.
They would chat and laugh.
Even though she was older than Nicholas, Oliver could see that Nicholas adored her and treating her like a little girl.
He was jealous, but not crazy, because they were family.
What really bothered him was Jeremy.
He was insanely jealous when he saw Sarah clinging to that man's shoulder, kissing under the moonlight. He wanted to kill, but he could only stand there helplessly.
His Sarah would be unhappy.
She would be troubled.
Oliver slowly straightened up, clutching his aching heart.
He was slowly learning to love.
His side was clean now, not a single woman, but he had lost Sarah forever. She wouldn't come back and she was ready to accept a new lover.
When Sarah returned to her room, she saw the Tiffany blue box on the bench under the laurel tree.
It was a cake from a shop in Vesper City.
She used to love it!
It was from him!
Sarah looked at it quietly for a while, then walked over.
She sat on the bench, the moonlight reflecting off her lavender dress, shimmering. Her face no longer had the youthful innocence of the past.
She opened the cake, cut a small piece, and slowly tasted it.
Just like she remembered, very sweet!
But it was also so bitter!
Sarah cried.
To others, she might seem happy enough.
But after everything she had been through, how could she move on?
Vesper City, Dawnstar, Marigoldia.
Each place was a heart-stopping memory.
And those who died because of her, Lester and Alyssa. Even now, in the dead of night, she could still hear Alyssa's heart-wrenching cries, "Lester, Lester... where are you, Lester! Has anyone seen my Lester?"
Lester, Lester...
Each call was deafening, soul-stirring.
Compared to that, how could this little cake be sweet?
Sarah couldn't move on, she couldn't!
She cried bitterly in the night, covering her face.
In the shadows, Oliver watched quietly.
His Adam's apple bobbed.
His face bore an indescribable expression, every line on his handsome face filled with pain. He wanted so much to go out and hold her, to tell her "Don't cry, Sarah, don't cry!"
But he knew she didn't want him.
The moon sank westward.
The soft pink glass lamp swayed in the wind, making a pleasant sound.
A hand gently rested on Sarah's shoulder.