Chapter 124: Collecting Clues

I didn’t want to believe it but somehow, I have survived this long under this contract. Without the need to look at the calendar, I knew that I only had 7 days left. In other words, there’s only one week left including today until the contract expires and I regain my freedom. Whatever that means…

The penthouse was dead silent and I wondered if Hayden was still in. Actually, I knew deep down that he was no longer here. My chest felt tight, and I guess it was disappointment or some feelings that were very similar that I was feeling. Although, I didn’t know how to face him or how I should act around him, I guess some parts of me still wanted to see Hayden after all.

I left my bedroom after showering and getting dressed. It wasn’t like I had a choice. If he wasn’t here, then he just wasn’t here. Auntie’s sad smile as she greeted me was enough confirmation that Hayden had left earlier this morning. No, maybe he even left last night after I had returned to my room. I had completely no idea when he left.

Did he go with Luka after they had their seemingly stressful conversation?

"Good morning…" I greeted Auntie politely.

"Good morning, Miss Malissa. Are you going out today?" she said with a smile.

"Yes…I’ll be visiting my grandmother at the hospital," I replied smoothly.

That’s right. Regardless of what was happening, I should visit my grandmother. The painting was coming along quite well and with some finishing touches, I should be able to complete it. I had enough progress to show my grandmother without feeling guilty. At least that was one thing that I could look forward to.

Without wasting anymore time, I got the men in black to drive me to the hospital where my grandmother was staying. The atmosphere in the car was a little strained; however, the men did not say anything. I closed my eyes and tried to catch up on some sleep all the way to the hospital. Unfortunately, sleep didn’t come easy.

"Grandma. I’m here!" I greeted her, trying my best to sound cheerful even though I wasn’t at my best.

As I had agreed with Hayden, I won’t be taking Ethan’s up on his offer to repay my debt. That meant that I had exactly a week left as part of this contract. I wondered what was going to happen from now on. My grandmother’s hospital bills were something that I haven’t figured out yet. I mean, will the boss keep on covering it after the contract was over?

"Good to see you. How have you been doing young lady?" my grandmother said before smiling at me.

I wasn’t sure if it was just me, but I thought that she seemed a little tired. It was probably just me because the doctors did not call to tell me that anything was amiss. I unpacked the painting that I wanted to show her.

"It’s coming along quite well, don’t you think?" I asked as I presented my painting proudly to her.

My grandmother’s eyes lit up when she saw the painting before she smiled as she continued to admire it. I wonder what she was thinking about when she looked at the painting.

"I don’t know much about art, but the painting seems very impressive to me," she finally said after taking the painting in.

"I’m glad that you like it. Some final touches are left and then it should be all good…" I said.

My grandmother just nodded at me with a pleased smile. I could tell that she wasn’t as energetic as she usually was, and I wondered if she could tell that I was feeling down as well.

"Grandma…you remember Ethan, right?" I asked before I could stop the curious words from exiting my mouth.

"Of course. He came around quite often. He even helped us out at the store now and then whenever he came over…" my grandmother said as she seemed to reflect on some good times.

She would probably faint if I told her that that kind and down-to-earth Ethan that she knew was actually the head of a mafia gang. Who would have thought that the guy who rode the public bus along with me because it was the cheapest way to get around was actually stinking rich? Now that I’ve asked her about him, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from her exactly.

"Umm…the thing is…I broke up with him a while back…" I confessed softly as I sat down on the chair next to her bed.

"Oh…I sort of figured that out…" she said before smiling a little shyly at me.

"Really?" I asked. I guess I should have expected that she would have figured it out when he no longer came around anymore.

"Yes. I thought you didn’t want to talk about it so, naturally, I never brought it up," she replied.

I see. So, she was always considerate of my feelings. No wonder she was telling me all that stuff about Hayden being a good guy. She knew that I was single. She’s such a little schemer.

"Umm…this might sound weird but...when we were dating, did you think there was something weird about him? I don’t mean like…in a bad way…but you know…something out of the ordinary?" I asked hesitantly.

"No…not really…" my grandmother replied after some thought.

"I see…" I mumbled softly. It wasn’t like I was expecting anything.

"Well, I think he asked about your father a couple of times. I didn’t think that it was strange or anything considering that you two were dating. Of course, we talked about basic things. Looking back on it, he seemed to really care, and he was always interested…" my grandmother said as she reflected on the past.

"I didn’t know that he asked about dad…" I said, feeling slightly curious.

"He never asked you?" she asked.

"No…not really…" I replied. I don’t think Ethan ever asked me anything about my parents.

"Are you feeling, ok? You seem quite disturbed…" my grandmother asked, and I could hear the worry in her voice.

Oh no…I didn’t want to worry her about any of this.

"I’m fine. There’s nothing for you to worry about," I said before I smiled sweetly at her.

--To be continued…