Chapter 73 Camilla, wait for me
It had been a week since Mr. Malaike and Hatsu disappeared. During that time, everyone had been trying to find them. But… there were no results. Hatsu and Mr. Malaike had truly vanished as if swallowed by the earth.
Several investigation teams who had worked day and night finally admitted defeat, because they truly had not found a single trace of the two men.
Danieru, who acted indifferent, could only watch as his mother grieved, yet he also saw a sense of relief embracing his grandfather. The old man had been silent all this time, his thoughts wandering to Camilla’s fate.
“You still don’t want to talk?” Rachel suddenly asked as she approached. She looked just as disheveled—her eyes swollen, her face pale, and her hair, usually neatly tied, now falling loose.
Danieru merely looked at her. He remained silent.
“Why won’t you talk to everyone, Danieru? Ever since you came back with that gunshot wound, your attitude has completely changed.”
Danieru let out a long breath. What was the point of talking? All this time, everyone in his family had hidden important things. The death of his twin sibling, the misfortune he suffered as a teenager, and many other things. He was no longer interested in knowing any of it. To him, there was nothing left to discuss. The past had already passed; bringing it up again would only reopen wounds.
“Grandfather is calling you. Go to his room.”
Danieru exhaled roughly and immediately left the backyard garden, ignoring Rachel’s gaze. Since Hatsu and his father had disappeared, he had decided to stay at the family’s main mansion. He was worried about his mother’s health.
He walked slowly, observing the main family mansion. There were many things he had forgotten, and clearly all of it was due to the significant role his own family had played. Remembering what his father-in-law had said, he understood well that nothing could return. His memories, the moments they shared, and Camilla… all of it had vanished.
After walking through the mansion, Danieru finally arrived at his grandfather’s room. Without knocking, he immediately opened the door and stepped inside.
“Grandfather needs to talk to you, Danieru.”
The words he had just heard were clear, and Danieru quickly closed the door. From his grandfather’s expression, he knew the conversation was important. But… what was it about?
“Sit down.”
Not wanting to waste any more time, Danieru stepped closer. He sat on a single sofa, his eyes carefully observing his grandfather.
“How are you now?”
Unable to tolerate small talk, Danieru turned his face away. His eyes fell on a family photo hanging on the wall of his grandfather’s room. A sense of disgust rose within him as he looked at it. The smiles displayed there were painfully insincere.
“So you still don’t want to talk.”
Tired of the formalities, Danieru stood up. It seemed the conversation would only waste his valuable time. He stepped toward the door. It had been pointless for him to come, and he had been wrong to assume something important would be discussed.
“Tomorrow, I will officially appoint you as the leader of the family’s main company. I hope you prepare yourself.”
Danieru stopped in his tracks. He immediately turned to face his grandfather.
“You are my grandson, my son’s child. You are the one most entitled to be my heir. And one more thing… your mother and I apologize for everything we’ve hidden all this time. Danieru… we did it because we wanted to protect you. We’re sorry for everything that happened in the past, and sorry that the situation has become so difficult.”
Danieru remained silent.
“Danieru,” someone called.
That person stepped out from one of the inner rooms.
Danieru shifted his gaze from his grandfather. He was quite surprised to see that his mother was there too.
“I’m sorry for everything that happened. Can we live well from now on?”
Danieru took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Live better? Could he do that so easily right now? Camilla was still nowhere to be found. With the state of his heart and soul, it was impossible for him to live well.
He lowered his head. “I can forgive you, but I don’t know if I can ever be okay after today, tomorrow, or even until the day I die.”
“It is not fitting for a man to give up.”
Danieru clearly heard his grandfather’s words. He lifted his head and met his grandfather’s gaze.
“You won’t understand, Grandfather.”
“I understand your feelings, and that’s why I will call you a coward.”
“I will lead the company, and don’t interfere in my affairs. Stop talking about me. Excuse me… I think our conversation is over. And one more thing, I forgive you.” Danieru hurried out, leaving his grandfather’s room while holding in his own pain.
'Camilla, I’m almost going insane just thinking about you.'
He quickened his pace. His room did not feel like the best place to isolate himself right now.
Not long after, Danieru finally reached his room. He went inside and shut the door tightly, leaning his body against it with a sense of relief.
He walked to the bed, lay down, and grabbed his phone. There were several missed calls from an unknown number, and one message.
Danieru immediately opened the message. He was quite shocked and swallowed hard. Without hesitation, he quickly sat up and stood. He grabbed his car keys at once. He had to leave right now. There was one thing that might finally bring him peace.
Bang—
Danieru flung his bedroom door open roughly. He ran down the stairs at full speed.
Several servants who were working looked at him in confusion, but none of them dared to stop him.
Arriving at the parking area, Danieru hurried to his car. He opened the door and sat in the driver’s seat. It felt… it felt like he was alive again. A smile slowly formed on his face, and once his breathing steadied, he drove out of the parking area.
'Camilla, wait for me…'
Danieru felt immense relief after receiving Camilla’s message earlier. She had said she wanted to meet and talk about something important, and during this meeting, he would tell her everything as well.
The long journey felt even longer to Danieru, and because of that, he pressed the accelerator harder. He didn’t care about the heavy traffic at that moment. All he wanted was to meet Camilla as soon as possible, to hold her in his arms, and to confess his love.
'I’m waiting for you at the mansion. Come quickly, there are a few things I want to talk about.'
The message Camilla had written kept replaying in Danieru’s mind. He would arrive soon… yes… after today, he would finally claim his love.