After hanging up on Sandra, Lucy kept waiting for Alice to give in to her. However, that didnât happen despite several days of waiting, so she lost her patience and called Alice instead.
âMiss Alice, youâll really lose the opportunity if you still donât replace the agent for Dragon Eye!â
Alice was still in the Edwards Residence, and her personal assistant was packing her baggage.
Unexpectedly, she received the swaggering phone call from Lucy.
She sounded indifferent over the phone. âMiss Edwards, Iâm in a bad mood right now, so I donât want to discuss work-related matters with you.â
With that, she hung up.
Lucy thought Alice was worried about the hacking of Dragon Eyeâs operating system, so after the phone call ended, she waited with a gloating expression for the latter to give in to her.
However, she didnât know that Dragon Eye wasnât the cause of Aliceâs agitation at all.
Now that she had had everything handed over and arranged, she was ready to leave Cethos.
Casper reluctantly carried his little backpack on his back while running out to pat the alpaca, the cat, and the dog. After saying goodbye to Carmen and Ashton, he sat on the porch, as if waiting for someone.
However, it had been quite a few days since the last time that person showed up.
Casper had been looking forward to calling the person âDaddyâ, but he never came again.
Carmen comforted him like an adult, saying, âDonât wait anymore. Mr. Psychic has gone back to his hometown. Heâll be back when you spend your holiday here next time.â
In the end, Casper didnât get to see Daniel. After leaving the Edwards Residence, he and Alice took a car to the airport to leave the country on a private plane.
In the car, Alice worked using her laptop, whereas Casper pouted his lips without saying a word while playing with the sandalwood bracelet he had brought with him.
Once arriving at the airport, Alice got out of the car. Casper, led by Aliceâs assistant, slowly walked toward the airport in dejection.
Alice looked unusually frosty on this day, for she didnât say a word and was expressionless the whole time. She indifferently and resolutely walked up the boarding stairs to board the plane. Unexpectedly, she had barely made a few steps when a loud screeching sound of car tires was heard approaching from behind.
âAlice!â
Alice trembled, for she heard Danielâs voice.
He came!
Daniel came in a hurry. His usually neatly combed hair was utterly messy on this day, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked haggard, with dark circles bulged under his eyes.
âDaddy!â Casper happily ran up to him. This was the first time Casper called him âDaddyâ. Daniel quickly walked up to Casper and hugged him, holding the latter tightly in his arms.
This is my son! My son!
The father and son reconnected at last! Tears spilled out of Danielâs eyes as he held Casper in his arms.
He then looked at Alice, who didnât look back the whole time. She looked cold and resolute from behind, but her long, thin, and uncontrollably trembling fingers betrayed the surging emotions within her at this moment.
Daniel let go of Casper and stood up before looking up at Alice, who was about to board the plane.
âAlice, if I could turn the clock back, I would never regret going to the River Seine that day, nor would I have chosen to run away from you. I was wrong; I was totally wrong. Can you forgive me, Alice?â
Daniel could never put that particular night out of his mind; he couldnât forget this beautiful lady from the West for the rest of his life. But he couldnât be together with her. He was a vagabond who wandered all over the world like a seaman, unable to live a settled life. Therefore, he chose to run away from her until now.
However, he acknowledged his heartâs desire on this day, for he knew he couldnât run away from his feelings for Alice. Even if he buried his memory of the encounter in the depths of his mind, this memory would be conjured up one day. He couldnât control the feelings that he had suppressed for so many years once they were released.
Alice still didnât look back, but her emotionless words were heard in the wind. âDaniel, how is there forgiveness to speak of when thereâs no resentment between us?â
With that, she walked up to the door to the airplaneâs passenger cabin. She placed her hand on the door frame and was about to go inside, only to hear Daniel calling out affectionately and desperately from behind, âAliceâ¦â
No words followed after that, though.
It was as if Daniel wanted to say something and could say it with just a little effort. Still, he didnât have the courage to say it.
Tears streamed uncontrollably out of his reddened eyes as he looked up in her direction.
Alice paused upon hearing his voice. However, as she had expected, she didnât hear what she wanted to hear after waiting for over ten seconds. Hence, she entered the passenger cabin without a word and disappeared from sight.
Daniel couldnât tell Aliceâs despair and agony.
She was waiting for a simple sentence from him. Regrettably, she wouldnât get to hear that from him.
How she wished Daniel could leave everything behind and go with her! However, she knew that Daniel couldnât do so, nor could she give up everything she had worked so hard for and stay in Cethos with him.
They knew that they couldnât get over each other, but they still couldnât be together.
Danielâs tears dried up from the breeze while he watched in a daze as Alice disappeared from his sight.
He had never felt that the world was as full of hopelessness and helplessness as it was right now.
âWhy are you crying, Daddy?â asked Casper naively.
Daniel quickly wiped his tears away and crouched down to be on a level with Casper. As he looked at his son, he thought of how much he owed them over the years, and the grief within him caused tears to well up in his eyes.
Suppressing the urge to cry, he replied, âIâm sad because you and Mommy are about to leave.â
Casper reached his hand out to wipe the tears away from Danielâs face. As his warm little hand tickled Danielâs face, Daniel couldnât control himself for a moment, and tears streamed down his face again.
Casper tried to wipe Danielâs tears away, but he couldnât do so no matter how hard he tried. Those aboard the plane urged him again, so he said to Daniel, âDaddy, Iâm leaving now. Iâll call you once I get off the plane.â
Daniel answered with a choke in his voice, âAlright. Remember to come and play with me during the holidays.â
Casper then boarded the plane before waving his little hand at Daniel.
Daniel also waved at Casper before watching as the cabin door closed and the plane took off, taking Casper and Alice away from this land.
Watching as the plane disappeared from his sight, Daniel crouched down helplessly and let himself cry.
After a while, a few people came over and surrounded him.
Michael had never seen the manly Daniel crying so hopelessly. He had bluffed his way through the seven continents and five oceans with his plausible tongue, but there was still something that he couldnât handle.
Michael also understood that what was happening to Daniel on this day would happen to him later. He and Sophia would have to face the same problem sooner or later.
Family name matters, after allâ¦
Cethosians were very obsessed with family names. Michael left the Fletcher Family and severed ties with them back then, giving up his family name to leave the opportunity to his sister. He roamed the world publicly under the name of Taylor Murray and secretly as an anonymous. In the end, however, he had his name listed back in the Fletcher Familyâs genealogy record book since he couldnât let go of his family name.
Anonymous? Ha⦠who would want to be anonymous if they were given a choice?