Chapter 17: Coughing Blood

In the dimly lit study, there was not a single ray of light.
When Katie pushed open the door, what she saw was Elio.
The scene was of himer sitting upright at hiser desk, working on some documents. HeShe pursed hiser lips, holding a cup of warm milk on hiser office desk.
"Brother," Katie took a deep breath, "Take a break."
It had been a full month since that wedding, and also the thirtieth day of Julia's disappearance. On that day, Elio did not faint when he collapsed. Instead, he ordered his men to find Julia at all costs, no matter what it took. Afterwards, he began coughing up blood.
Katie was in panic for the first time. She screamed in alarm, at a loss for what to do. But Elio just wiped the trace of blood from the corner of his lip and, disregarding her strong objections, went with his men to the seaside to search for Julia.
He spent a full twenty days searching at sea. If it were not for his serious health problems, he might still be there, continuing the search. Everyone knew there was no hope left, that even if they kept searching, it would be in vain. But no one dared to say it, because Elio's pressure was too terrifying. He had clearly stated that he needed to see her alive or see her body.
But in the end, there was nothing.
Seeing Elio still working on his documents, Katie couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. She walked up and swept all the unfinished documents off the table.
"Brother! Do you think this will help?!" This was the first time Katie had lost her temper with Elio since Julia jumped into the sea.
Elio's fingers stiffened.
Katie concealed her pain and said, "There's news that they found someone."
Elio suddenly looked up, hope gleaming in his bloodshot eyes.
Katie didn't meet his gaze, and she even dared not say all the words in her mind. She knew if she did, all of her brother's hopes would be shattered.
"Really? What's the news?" His voice was hoarse and unnatural.
"Brother, do you recover your...memory about her?" Katie answered his question with another question, just wanting to know how much he had remembered.
"What do you mean, what should I remember?" Elio looked exhausted. "I don't remember anything. I'm only doing this because I don't want her to be gone just like that."
But why did his heart ache so much? When he saw her jump into the sea, his heart seemed to be paralyzed in an instant, enduring unbearable pain.
Katie forced a bitter smile.
'If he really doesn't remember anything, perhaps it will be a consolation...right?' she thought.
"At the seaside, a fisherman found her. You should go see for yourself." Katie didn't say anything more than necessary.
His clenched hand tightened on the desktop, the veins on his knuckles bulging. "Is she alright now?" he asked cautiously.
Katie stiffened. "Brother, you should go see for yourself."
'She must be doing well now, finally escaping from all of this. She must be doing well, right?' he thought.
Katie knew that she and the Parker family owed Julia for the rest of their lives.
The study fell silent in an instant.
"Brother?"
Elio bent down to pick up the scattered documents, his thoughts unknown.
It took a long time before he slowly said, "Since you've found her, then treat her well. I won't go bother her. She definitely doesn't want to see me now, she hates me."
She did say that she hated him.
She also said that she hoped to never see him again in the next life.
So he shouldn't disturb her...
Otherwise, she would be unhappy.
That girl, who he loved and cherished so much, has been driven away by him. She will never come back.
"Brother?"
Katie noticed that something was wrong with Elio, and before she could react, Elio couldn't hold back the sweet taste of blood in his throat and vomited it onto the table full of documents.