Chapter 41 She Was Already Gone When I Returned
"Want me to come with you?" Chris asked as he noticed Orval getting up.
Chris could be a bit aloof, but Orval had been his best friend since they were kids. Orval's issues were his issues.
"Nah, no need. Your sister's still sleeping, right? Stay here and keep an eye on her," Orval replied, slipping on his coat.
The night outside was getting darker. Chris stood at the door, watching Orval drive off in a hurry.
He glanced at his watch; it was nearly nine o'clock.
He needed to grab some food.
He hadn't had dinner yet, and he couldn't just send Amelia on her way without anything to eat when she woke up.
Chris headed to the nearby supermarket and came back about half an hour later with a bag of fresh vegetables and meat.
Orval's place was stocked with nothing but instant noodles and various snacks, all full of additives and zero nutrition.
Chris never ate that junk. He preferred cooking his own meals; at least they were clean and healthy.
But when Chris opened the apartment door and walked into the living room, he was a bit surprised.
Amelia, who had been sleeping on the couch, was gone.
All that was left was the soft white blanket, neatly folded.
Chris frowned and walked over to the couch, noticing a note on the coffee table next to a necklace.
"Sorry, I woke up and didn't see anyone around, so I left.
Thank you for letting me rest here. I didn't have any cash on me, and my phone is lost, so I couldn't transfer any money. Please accept this necklace as a token of my gratitude.
Sincerely, thank you again."
Chris took a deep breath, put down the note, and picked up the necklace to examine it.
A delicate silver chain with a circular pendant encrusted with small sparkling diamonds. The back of the pendant was engraved with a logo, very elegant and beautiful.
Chris didn't know much about jewelry, but he knew this brand's diamond necklaces were worth at least forty thousand dollars. Even second-hand, it would fetch at least ten to twenty thousand.
Wasn't Amelia supposed to be from a poor rural area?
It seemed like this necklace was the only valuable thing she had, yet she left it behind to thank him.
Someone with ten dollars willing to give it all in gratitude is different from someone with a thousand dollars willing to give a hundred.
Even though Amelia lacked money, she valued repaying kindness more than the money itself.
This left Chris with a favorable impression of Amelia, whom he hadn't even formally met yet.
Twenty minutes earlier.
Amelia woke up on the couch to find the night outside pitch black.
The apartment was empty and so quiet she could hear her own breathing.
She didn't know where she was, only vaguely remembering running into the very handsome Chris before passing out.
This must be his place.
Amelia checked herself and found no signs of anything unusual. She was even covered with a blanket, probably by Chris.
She felt her pockets; her phone was gone. She must have lost it while stumbling around earlier.
Amelia took a deep breath.
She was supposed to finish her exam at four in the afternoon and head back to The Martinez Mansion, but now the clock showed it was past nine.
She hadn't expected the soul restoration to knock her out for so long.
From the afternoon until now, Jenny, Robert, and Rachel probably wouldn't care, but Tobias would definitely be worried if he couldn't reach her.
She had to get back to The Martinez Mansion quickly.
Amelia looked around the living room and found some paper and a pen.
After scribbling a quick note, she took off the necklace Tobias had bought her a couple of days ago.
It was the only valuable thing she had left.
She really needed to carry some cash in the future.
Amelia left the apartment and hailed a cab, but she was broke. She planned to ask Shadow to fetch some money once she got to The Martinez Mansion.
However, as soon as the cab stopped in front of The Martinez Mansion, someone came running over. Amelia looked up to see Tobias, his forehead glistening with sweat.
"Hey, bro!"
Amelia hesitated, but as soon as she opened the car door, she was enveloped in Tobias's embrace.
Tobias's voice was filled with undisguised anxiety. "Where did you go? You didn't answer my calls or texts. Do you know how worried I was?"
Tobias handed the cab driver a hundred-dollar bill, and once the car drove off, he hugged Amelia even tighter.
Amelia could see Tobias was genuinely worried, so she didn't resist. "I'm fine, bro. Don't worry."
"How can I not worry? A girl out alone at night, what if some creep targeted you? Where did you go?"
Amelia realized something.
Tobias had completely let his overprotective side take over. He now believed every man, except himself, was untrustworthy and potentially after her.
And he was like a big, clingy dog.
Tobias asked where she had been, but she couldn't exactly explain that she had been sleeping at a stranger's place.
That would probably make him explode.
So Amelia said, "I just went shopping, then lost my phone and spent all this time looking for it."
Tobias sighed in relief.
He couldn't help but scold her, "If you lose your phone, just let it go. We bought extras last time. You can just get a new one at home."
"I know, bro. Don't be mad." Amelia squeezed Tobias's hand.
Hearing Amelia's soft, pleading tone, Tobias's heart melted.
All his worry and anger vanished instantly. He took her hand. "Come on, let's go home."
Back at The Martinez Mansion, Tobias took Amelia to her room, helped her set up a new phone, and then eagerly suggested they watch some anime together.
While they were watching, Amelia casually mentioned that she had been accepted into Prestige High School.
"Really?" Tobias's eyes lit up, and he ruffled her hair proudly. "That's my sister. Now we can be in the same class."
Amelia wanted to explain that she was actually in Class A, but she didn't feel like explaining why. So she stayed quiet.
They watched anime together, munching on chips until almost midnight, neither of them checking their phones.
So they had no idea that a video from the afternoon, taken at a busy intersection, had gone viral on social media, sparking widespread discussion.