Chapter 431 That Night of Banana Leaves and Fine Rain, He Never Waited for Her 4
Sarah left Evergreen City without Oliver knowing.
Almost every day, he would go to that restaurant and sit for two hours, watching the sunset, watching the twilight gradually envelop the earth until it swallowed the last bit of light.
He waited for her there every day.
But Sarah had already gone abroad. How could he possibly wait for her?
As time went by, he began to think that after that night of intimacy, she regretted it. She didn't want to talk about the future with him; she was avoiding him.
A month passed,
He wondered, didn't she miss Nicole?
He had visited the Moore family more than once.
But for Oliver now, the Moore family's threshold was so high that he couldn't see Matthew, nor could he see Vaughn and his wife.
At the end of that summer, Oliver's liver couldn't hold out any longer, and Grace forced him into the hospital for surgery and recovery.
Claire came back.
She continued to take care of Oliver and his daughter. Oliver occasionally asked her about Sarah's whereabouts, but Claire didn't know either.
Montague Group Hospital VIP room.
On the third day after Oliver's surgery, Claire brought him chicken soup, holding Nicole in her arms as they came to visit.
Nicole wore a floral dress.
She sat by the bedside, playing quietly by herself, like a little plush doll.
Claire served Oliver while nagging him about not taking care of himself: "If it weren't for Ms. Windsor insisting, I don't think you'd treat your body well. You used to play tough and mess around with women all day, and now you're paying the price!"
Oliver replied calmly, "I hurt my liver, not my kidneys!"
Claire snorted, "If you don't behave, your kidneys will go bad too."
Oliver fell silent.
He often found himself at a loss with Claire.
As they were talking, the door to the hospital room opened, and Zoey walked in.
She held a file folder in her hand.
Her expression was complicated.
Oliver thought it was important business and asked calmly, "What's the matter?"
Zoey hesitated for a moment before handing him the file folder.
Oliver took it and opened it.
Inside was a check for $60 million, signed by Sarah.
Zoey spoke softly, "The package was sent two months ago. Sarah chose delayed delivery. I think she's long gone from Evergreen City."
Oliver turned the check over and over, looking at it. She left a note, just a few short words.
[Take good care of Nicole.]
She didn't mention their relationship or the future. Sometimes, not saying it was a silent rejection.
Oliver was dazed for a long time and asked softly, "Where did she go?"
Zoey shook her head.
Oliver didn't ask further. He silently finished the remaining chicken soup and looked up to see Nicole staring at him with wide, round eyes.
He patted her head, "Mom sent money for Nicole so Dad can buy Nicole some treats."
Kids are easy to cheer up.
Nicole immediately brightened up.
Claire, standing nearby, discreetly wiped away her tears. She didn't know why Sarah had to leave.
But she figured Sarah must have had her reasons.
That evening, Oliver left the hospital and took a cab to that restaurant.
He was still wrapped in white bandages, his hand covered in needle marks from IVs, and he even carried the smell of medicine, but he still quietly sat by the window in the restaurant.
He waited quietly for someone who would never show up.
At seven in the evening, Grace called, asking where he was.
Oliver's throat tightened, and he said softly, "Just taking a walk! I'll be back soon."
Grace hesitated.
Oliver hung up the phone but didn't immediately return to the hospital. He wanted to walk around the streets.
The streets were still lit with colorful neon lights, the shops on both sides were the same as before, and the singer's husky, sad voice echoed.
But in this city, there was no Sarah, and no Jacob.
On the bustling street, Oliver stood alone, a hint of confusion and helplessness in his expression.
He saw Nicholas.
Nicholas went on a blind date in a high-end restaurant. His date was a highly educated woman, not stunningly beautiful but with a good look and excellent temperament.
Both families seemed to be having a pleasant conversation.
Oliver stood outside quietly, watching Nicholas, who used to be full of spirit but now had eyes like a dead pool, seemingly very different from before.
Oliver waited until the Moore family came out.
Vaughn and his wife saw him and were surprised but didn't say anything. Oliver looked at Nicholas and spoke softly, "I want to ask you a few questions."
Nicholas nodded,
He told his parents, "Wait for me in the car!"
With no one else around, Oliver and Nicholas stood under the neon lights. Nicholas looked at Oliver's bandages and said calmly, "I heard you just had surgery."
Oliver skipped the pleasantries.
He asked directly, "Where did she go? When will she be back?"
Nicholas was silent for a long time.
Just then, the car of the girl he was dating passed by.
The girl lowered the window to say goodbye to Nicholas. Nicholas smiled gently, calling her to drive safely.
But when he smiled, his eyes were clearly cold.
As the car drove away, Nicholas looked in the direction of the car's tail and muttered to himself, saying something out of the blue, "She's doing well. She should be getting married soon."
Oliver didn't understand.
Nicholas came back to his senses and smiled faintly, "Sarah should be back soon."
He apologized and left.
As he got into the Moore family's black car, he thought that he should be getting married early next year, and Sarah would come back then.
But Oliver didn't know this.
He didn't know Sarah's difficulties, didn't know she had to leave Evergreen City, leave the gallery she had worked so hard to build, leave her only relative, Dylan.
He was still waiting for her.
Not long after he was discharged, it was Sarah's birthday.
That day, Oliver sat alone in that restaurant again, wearing the same clothes, with a $50 million check in his wallet. He knew she wouldn't come, but he thought if she did, he wouldn't be caught unprepared.
That day, he ordered Sarah's favorite dessert.
He sat in the old spot waiting for her.
He waited and waited until midnight approached, and her birthday was almost over.
The manager couldn't bear it and came over quietly, saying, "Mr. Windsor, we're closing soon."
Oliver's handsome face was dazed.
He looked at the untouched dessert and softly requested, "It's five minutes to midnight. Can you wait five more minutes?"
The manager nodded in agreement and quietly retreated.
Oliver continued to sit there waiting, but soon the midnight chimes rang.
One after another,
As if announcing the end of his hope.
It started raining outside.
Oliver walked to the window and looked at the banana leaves outside. Already slightly yellow and wet from the rain, they looked even more lonely and pitiful.
That night, in the rain, he still didn't wait for her.
In the early morning, he returned to the apartment, soaked.
Nicole was still awake.
Nicole sat at the dining table with a delicate little cake on it, bought by Claire, who told Nicole it was Sarah's 26th birthday.
Nicole had placed 26 candles on the cake.
When Oliver opened the door, his heart felt like it had been struck by lightning.
He thought that over time, Nicole would forget Sarah, but Nicole hadn't forgotten. She often asked about Sarah, where Sarah had gone, and when Sarah would come back.
Time flew by.
Day after day, year after year.
On Sarah's birthday the following year, he took Nicole to Vesper City.
On Sarah's birthday, the third year, he bought back the Windsor Group building and the villa they used to live in. That year, Oliver's assets returned to their peak, and he could once again compete with the Moore family.
That year, Nicholas's wife gave birth to a child.
On the child's birthday, Oliver took Nicole to the birthday party and gave Nicholas's child a gift.
Nicholas's wife also gave Nicole a gift, smiling at Oliver, "Your daughter's lucky charm is beautiful."
Nicole was already four years old.
She had grown into a slender, beautiful little girl, held in her father's arms, envied by many little girls. That father lightly touched the lucky charm and said casually, "Her grandfather gave it to her when she was very young..."
Nicholas's wife nodded and smiled.
Nicholas, however, looked pale.
At that moment, Matthew and Vaughn came over.
Matthew saw the lucky charm around Nicole's neck, and his expression changed instantly. He stared at it for a long time, remembering the day he recognized Sarah, the bustling crowd, and the lively atmosphere.
That day, he held Sarah in the palm of his hand, showering her with love.
The more he showed his love, the more it highlighted his ruthlessness in choosing Nicholas over her. Despite how he treated her, that child left without a word, without any complaints.
Three years had passed, and Nicholas was married with children,
But that child refused to come back.
Though there were occasional messages, they were brief. She always called him Mr. Moore in her postcards, clearly wanting to draw a line.
Matthew hoped she would come back, but he was also afraid she would.
He feared that if she came back, she wouldn't return home, and if they met outside, she would call him "Mr. Moore" just like in her letters.
How would he handle that?
Nicholas's wife didn't know about Sarah, didn't know there was a little aunt in the family.
Sarah had become taboo in the Moore family!
That night, Matthew was so sad that he left the twins' birthday party early.
In the fourth year, Oliver began to resent.
But he still went to that restaurant on the agreed day.
He was used to not seeing her. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the banana leaves outside, lost in thought.
Rainy night.
He wore a white pleated shirt and a tailored black handmade suit.
His hair was slicked back.
Under the crystal chandelier, Oliver was as handsome and elegant as ever.
At the restaurant door, the manager's voice suddenly sounded, "Sorry, miss. The restaurant is booked tonight by a gentleman. We can't accommodate guests!"
Sarah wore a black dress.
She held an umbrella.
She didn't see Oliver, nor did she know he had waited for her for four years.
She smiled faintly at the manager, "Sorry!"
She left with her umbrella. She passed by the floor-to-ceiling window, in front of Oliver, the black umbrella blocking her body and his view.
The rain continued to fall.
They passed by each other on the agreed day, four years later.
She felt a faint regret in her heart.
His world, however, was devastated by her departure.
But she didn't know.