Chapter 839
Chapter 839:
It was where she grew up.
It took Fernanda a while to regain her composure. “Greenwillow?” she repeated, her voice barely a whisper.
“Yes. Do you know this place? It’s a small village,” Haley responded, still not understanding why Fernanda seemed to be in shock.
Fernanda bit down gently on her lip, hoping that the pain would help keep her grounded. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she asked, “Did the surname of the friend who accompanied Cristian to Greenwillow happen to be Bernard by any chance?”
“Yes. How do you know that? Did Cristian tell you?” Haley asked with a knowing smile. “My friend’s name is Lennon Bernard. He was quite talented and could have made something of himself in the army. However, he had to retire early due to family reasons. I was very grateful that he was willing to take care of Cristian, as I wouldn’t have trusted anyone else with that…”
Haley’s voice seemed to fade in Fernanda’s ears, as if she were speaking from a distance. Fernanda was lost in her own thoughts.
It turned out that the boy who had attempted suicide in the mysterious villa newly built in Greenwillow was Cristian! Fernanda couldn’t find the words to express how she felt at that moment. The realization that she had known Cristian longer than she realized was quite a shock.
Haley continued speaking, unaware of Fernanda’s silence. “Later, at Lennon’s suggestion, Cristian joined the army. I agreed to this with the hope that it would improve his physical and mental state. Lennon told me that after they had moved to the village, Cristian still wouldn’t speak to anyone. He would only ask when the Reeds would die. This terrified Lennon. They had been there for more than seven years. When Cristian was of age, I asked Lennon to take him to the army. It had been scheduled for October, but it was suddenly brought forward by two months, so I had them leave in a hurry.”
Fernanda slowly turned to Haley, who still looked young and beautiful. Time had truly been good to her, as she had aged like fine wine.
She recalled that Lennon and the boy had left overnight. That day happened to be her birthday. She had gone to the villa with some cake, wanting to celebrate with them, but had not seen them—and never saw them again.
So, Cristian was the boy from back then.
After she had saved his life by pulling him from the river, she had been allowed at the villa anytime she wanted. Lennon had then started sharing his knowledge and skills with her, beginning a new chapter in her life.
𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 g.𝖺.𝗅𝗇.𝗈ν.𝖊𝗅.𝘀.ⅽ𝗈.𝗆
She had learned from Lennon for seven years, and in all that time, she had only seen the boy a handful of times. He was always in his room and never came downstairs. On the rare occasions she did see him, his bangs hung down, covering his eyes. Fernanda had been too scared to look at him because of the gloomy and menacing aura he projected.
Now that she thought about it, the contours of the boy’s face were vivid in her mind, but she couldn’t find any resemblance to Cristian’s. How could such a gloomy boy grow up to be someone warm and kind? It was difficult for Fernanda to comprehend.
.
.
.