Chapter 415 A Day Apart Feels Like an Eternity
Anne exploded in anger, "Willard, my hair!"
She shoved Willard away, pulled out a small mirror from her backpack, and saw that the side of her hair was singed and curled. Furious, she kicked Willard.
Willard made a gesture with his hand behind his back before asking anxiously, "Are you hurt?"
"Are you blind?" Anne grabbed the burnt lock of hair and waved it in front of his eyes. "Can't you see? My hair is burnt!"
Willard nodded seriously, "Yeah, I see it."
Anne's cheeks puffed up with anger, "You owe me for my hair."
"How do I owe you?"
"Divorce."
Willard didn't argue but questioned, "Didn't I tell you not to wander around here?"
Anne paused for a second, "You never said that!"
She wasn't going to be easily fooled now. "Even if you did, this isn't my first time here. Your people should recognize me."
She had grown up and was harder to deceive.
Willard adjusted his sleeve.
He said, "A few new people have joined in the past couple of days. You haven't been here for a while, and with our divorce drama, they didn't know you and saw you as a potential threat. It's normal."
Anne thought for a moment.
She decided not to say anything.
She turned and walked away.
Willard reached out and pulled her back. "I saved you."
Anne glared at him, "You must have ordered them to attack me."
"How could I?" Willard raised his hand, his fingers brushing over her burnt hair, feeling a mix of pain and calculation. "I'd rather they hurt me than let them hurt you."
Anne didn't believe him at all, "Let go, I have things to do."
"Perfect timing, I'm heading to Maple Valley to handle some matters. Come with me."
After about five seconds, Anne stomped hard on his foot, "You eavesdropped on my call!"
Willard retorted, "Do I need to eavesdrop?"
Anne paused, realizing, 'Right, Francis is his good friend. He can find out with just a question.'
Anne was furious but could only stubbornly say, "I don't want to be in the same space as you. I'll fly there myself."
"What?" Willard stared at her, a quick flash of insight in his eyes. "Not going?"
"I said, I..."
"Then come home for dinner tonight."
Anne's chest hurt from anger. She took a deep breath and said, "You're getting old—your ears are failing, and you can't even understand what people are saying anymore!"
Willard didn't care at all and asked her, "Come with me or have dinner at home, choose one."
"I choose neither!"
"I just saved you."
After weighing her options, Anne gritted her teeth and said, "I'll go with you."
Willard's parents were very kind to her. Now that she wanted a divorce, she didn't want to go back and face their love and warmth. The more they showed it, the guiltier she felt.
What if they brainwashed her and she couldn't get divorced?
So she needed to gradually distance herself.
Willard glanced at her lowered head and knew what she was thinking.
He had lived his life without regrets.
Everything he did, people or things, was under his control, except for Anne.
He had made a mistake.
But unlike other things, it wasn't controllable.
So even if he wanted to make amends, it was extremely difficult.
Not far away, behind a tree, a man in black training clothes handed his gun to a teammate.
The teammate looked at him in confusion as he walked towards the punishment room in the woods.
"Captain, where are you going?"
"To receive punishment."
The teammate followed him, "Why? You followed Mr. Larson's orders, why are you being punished?"
The captain crossed his hands behind his head and said casually, "Because Mrs. Larson's hair got singed."
The teammate was speechless. He murmured, "Seriously?"
At the Peterson Villa, they didn't eat much. Back at Elissa's place, Francis went straight to the kitchen to make her something to eat.
Elissa followed him and tied an apron around him. "Just make some noodles."
Francis responded, "Go wait outside."
Elissa went to check her emails and organize her recent work.
But she found there was no internet.
The internet was connected to her phone number, and as long as the phone wasn't disconnected, the internet shouldn't be down. She called the telecom company.
The result was that it had been manually disconnected.
She found the gateway and saw the network cable had been unplugged.
She plugged it back in, waited for the router to run, and the computer automatically connected to the internet.
She opened her email.
She found an unmarked account and clicked on it, freezing.
Francis finished making the noodles and called her several times without a response.
He walked to the bedroom and saw her sitting at the desk.
"Eat..."
Seeing the screen on her computer, he stopped mid-sentence.
He closed the laptop screen and bent down to meet her gaze.
He saw her eyes brimming with tears, but she was holding them back, refusing to let them fall. Her eyes were red, amplifying the storm of emotions within her. The most prominent of these was a deep sense of brokenness.
Francis quickly pulled her into his arms, "Don't be afraid."
Elissa reached out and hugged him, her tears finally falling.
Hayden walked in at that moment. "Mr. Peterson..."
He turned quickly but was stopped by Francis. "Speak directly."
Hayden glanced at Elissa, hesitated, then spoke quickly, "The Wright family posted a video online, it's spreading now."
The video from the Wright family was what Elissa had just seen.
Ollie faced the camera, accusing her of not supporting him.
He twisted the past, making it look like he had been a good parent.
Despite the years of darkness she endured, he painted her as ungrateful.
He claimed hitting her was for her education, to help her grow better.
"What parent doesn't hit their child?"
"We all went through this."
"But despite my education, she hasn't learned to respect her parents. She has money and a wealthy, powerful husband, but she lets me starve."
"When I sought her out, she had her husband send people to beat me. Look at my injuries."
"It's really a cruel world when children can beat their parents now."
Those words echoed clearly in Elissa's mind, surrounding her, relentless.
She clutched her head, screaming in pain.
She even pulled out her own hair.
Francis felt heartbroken, wishing he could bear it all for her.
He could only hold her hands and hug her tightly.
For a long time, neither of them spoke.
The room was filled only with Elissa's sobs.
In the evening, Hope arrived after hearing the news.
Seeing them hugging, she didn't want to interrupt and waited in the living room.
She saw the noodles on the dining table, now clumped together.
Francis saw Hope, gently released Elissa, and softly wiped away her remaining tears. "Let Hope stay with you for a while?"
Elissa nodded.
Francis stood up, letting Hope come in.
Hope brought food and opened a container, first pouring her a bowl of soup.
"Remember when I pulled you off the rooftop and took you for some dumpling soup?" Hope asked.
Elissa remembered. She would never forget that moment. She took a sip of the soup.
Her voice, hoarse from crying, said, "It hasn't changed."
Hope gently patted her head, speaking softly. "When I saw Ollie that day, I thought, we can't let your wounds reopen and drag you back into that nightmare."
"I even told Jerry and Francis to hide all the news from you, to protect you. But now I think, exposure might not be a bad thing. Sometimes, facing it head-on is the only way to truly move past it."
Francis had rushed back to the Peterson Villa in Maple Valley, initially thinking the same. After threatening the Peterson family, it wasn't hard to suppress the Wright family's video. But that wasn't a long-term solution. Life was long, and who knew what might trigger those memories again. Facing it head-on might not be a bad thing.
On the balcony, he lit a cigarette and received a call from Jerry.
Jerry said, "I've been working my butt off for you, haven't seen my wife in days. Don't you think you owe me something?"
Francis exhaled smoke, his expression somber, not in the mood for jokes. "It's only been a day."
"Ever heard of 'a day apart feels like an eternity.'?"
"Get to the point."
Jerry dragged out his words, "I'm boarding the plane, get ready to welcome me."
Francis's voice turned cold, "Enough already?"
Jerry responded, "I see you didn't take it seriously. Otherwise, how could the video spread all over the internet?"
"You didn't know?"
Jerry knew exactly why Francis did what he did. Using others to do the dirty work, who wouldn't?
"That's why I'm not worried."
Francis didn't want to argue about it. The plan was set, but Elissa was genuinely hurt.
But the next moment, Elissa walked up to him. She smiled at him. Then she hugged him and said, "Thank you."
Francis hung up the phone, reached out to hold her, and asked cautiously, "Are you... okay?"
Elissa shook her head, "I just went to the bathroom and realized my period started. No wonder my emotions have been so unstable these past few days."
Ollie had cast a deep shadow over her. But over the years, it had faded in the river of time. It wasn't enough to drive her crazy.
"Hope told me that facing it is the only way to move past it completely. I've come to terms with it. Francis, you did the right thing, but next time, I hope you'll let me know in advance."
Francis's eyes flickered, and he finally rubbed her head, saying, "Okay, I'll remember."
Elissa pulled Francis back to the living room, "You should have a bowl too, it's really good."
Francis drank a bowl of soup, indeed tasting something he hadn't had before. "It's very good."
Hope, having accomplished her mission, said, "I'm going to pick up Jerry. He specifically asked me to, or he'll be upset."
Elissa saw Hope off and asked Francis, "What's your next step?"
Francis still felt uneasy. She had been so upset earlier, and now she was calmly discussing the matter. He felt this change wasn't a good sign.
Francis didn't answer but instead said, "You take a nap first."
Elissa went to the bedroom and handed Francis a USB drive. "These are all the evidence."
Francis took it, his lips pressed together, his eyes showing a complex emotion.
Elissa cupped his face. "I know what you're worried about, but I'm really okay now. If I wasn't, do you think Hope wouldn't tell you? She knows my emotions better than anyone."
Hope was the person who understood her best in the world.
Francis wasn't entirely reassured, but he didn't feel like saying more. He just said, "Alright, it seems Hope's more effective. One word from her is worth ten of mine."
Elissa gently touched his face, "That only works if you can manage ten words."
"Haven't I already? Francis took her hand and kissed it, "I've already said all the words I have in this life to you."
At the airport, Hope was waiting for Jerry when she was suddenly hugged tightly.
"Hope," Anne greeted.
Hope smiled, but before she could speak, she saw Willard approaching.
Now he was being attentive, where was he before?
"Hope, did Elissa send you to pick me up?" Anne asked.
Jerry chimed in, "My wife, of course, she came to pick me up."
Hope looked up and saw the broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted man walking towards her.
His lips curved in a lazy smile as he pulled her into his arms.
He then turned to Anne. "Why are you hugging my wife?"
Anne's interaction with Jerry was limited to the last time they went to photograph Madison and Garry Glenn.
That one shoot was enough for her to understand Jerry's personality.
Especially his sharp tongue.
She didn't talk to him.
She looked at Hope, "Elissa said she'd treat me to dinner. She left me without a word and went back to Maple Valley, leaving me to be oppressed by Willard. She owes me an apology."
Hope glanced at Willard behind her and nodded, "You go to the hotel first. I'll call you for dinner tonight. She has some things to take care of right now."
Probably some private conversations.
Anne had just gotten off the plane and didn't know about the online situation.
But Willard knew.
He didn't give Anne a chance to continue talking to Hope and pulled her away.
Anne shouted, "Willard, let go of me!"
Willard held her slender waist and pressed her into his arms, lowering his neck to get closer to her.
His deep voice was full of threat, "If you keep shouting, I'll kiss you in public."
Anne shut her mouth.
Hope watched helplessly and complained to Jerry, "So cunning, why didn't he pursue her earlier? Neglecting her for years and now remembering, who would wait for him?"
Jerry put his arm around Hope's shoulder and led her to the car.
He chuckled, "He overthought it. He thought Anne was too young to understand what love is. After Anne drunkenly confessed, he distanced himself."
"He didn't expect they'd get married later, so he avoided her for three years, thinking Anne would see the world and not like him for long."
"But she really doesn't like him anymore, and he's devastated."
Hope was hearing this reason for the first time.
She laughed helplessly, "Sometimes overthinking isn't a good thing."
Jerry hooked her chin with his thumb, "You're right."
Elissa and Francis watched a movie.
The video was just starting to spread online, not yet time to respond.
Francis needed to gather more dirt on the Wright family.
Taking this opportunity to teach them a lesson.
In the future, they should keep a low profile and not cause trouble.
When the movie ended, Elissa looked up to speak to Francis.
Her phone rang at that moment.
Anne: [Elissa, are you free to take a call right now?]
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