Crater Mountain was where Alyssa had first met Jasper 13 years ago. It was where Jasper had saved her life.
âElijah, you say?â Alyssa asked excitedly upon hearing her friendâs name.
âYes, Mr. Elijah is retiring next month, so this month is his last. Heâll be going home to his hometown after I take over.â Elias sighed.
He continued, âI saw your name in Mr. Elijahâs books. You must be really important to him. I hope you can visit him sometime this month before he leaves. He has pancreatic cancer, and we donât know how long he has leftâ¦â
âWhat?â Alyssa cried, sitting up straight.
âHe was already in the third stage when they found it. You know how cancer can be. Itâs nearly unstoppable if untreatedâ¦â
âI understand,â Alyssa said solemnly. âIâll visit him soon.â
âPlease donât tell him I told you this, Ms. White. Heâs always been adamant about having a strong, independent image. He doesnât want others to see him weak or pity him, so â¦â
âIâve known him for 13 years. Donât you worry.â
After ending the call, Alyssa sat back in the swing, dazed. She was on the verge of crying.
âMs. Alyssa? Who is Elijah Forrest? Are-Are you okay?â Xavier crouched before her, handing her a handkerchief to wipe her tears away. 2 âAn old friend.â
Alyssaâs heart was hurting terribly. âHelp me find any local skilled gastroenterologists, Sean. I need to help.
my friend with all my might.â
âOn it, miss.â Xavier nodded. He always respected her privacy, never probing if she wasnât ready to reveal to him.
Another phone call soon came. It was Alyssaâs fashion mentee, Rose Emerson.
âRose.â
âYouâre a horrible woman, maâam! How could you? How could you do this to me? Youâre Alexa, the jewelry designer Alexa! And you never told me a single thing about that? How could you lie to me? I should call âDid you just find out? What kind of internet are you using? 2G?â Alyssa snorted, then used the handkerchief Sean gave her to wipe her tears away.
She continued, âWhy donât I get a perm or something? That way, I can hide from the police with my new identity.â
Sophia was truly in a precarious situation. Jasper had humiliated her. Meanwhile, Javier had flatly declined to placate her. All her years of hard work and composure had gone to waste in a dayâs time.
So she did the only thing she knew to do-drag Betty along with her to see Zoe Harper.
âYouâre so useless! If you had half of the intelligence your father had, we wouldnât be here right now!â
Irritated by Bettyâs emotional outburst, Sophia succumbed to her frustration and prodded her finger into Bettyâs forehead, marking her otherwise flawless skin.
T Sophia continued, âYou really thought you could band together with that little bitch Liana back then, huh?
Thought you could have a hold over her?â