Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
Abby said hesitantly, then sighed.
“But she likes silence now.She’s afraid of noise, and she always wants to be alone.”
It was obvious that Abby was feeling sad and confused.
In the past, Flossie always wanted to spend time with them, but now, she hardly even approached them.
It made Abby wonder if she had done anything wrong, and if Flossie didn’t like her anymore.
When she said that, Adie would immediately comfort her and say that Flossie was acting that way because of her illness.
He knew that Flossie was afraid they would think badly of her and get worried, so she preferred to be left alone.
Abby tried her best to be rational and understand her mother’s actions, but she was still a child—she couldn’t pretend she didn’t miss her mother.
“I guess she doesn’t like us anymore because we’re noisy and will disturb her, Adie.That’s why she doesn’t want us to be with her,”
Abby pouted and said pitifully.
“Abby, didn’t I tell you? Mommy is in pain, and she’s afraid we’ll worry if we see her like that, so she keeps to herself.She’s happy as long as we’re happy, so don’t overthink—it’ll burden her,”
Adie held Abby’s shoulders and explained patiently.
He had done this countless times.
Quinton felt very sorry for the two children when he saw that.
Yes, Flossie’s condition was pitiful, but the children were still so young.
After seeing their mother ill and in pain, they had been forced to grow up and act maturely, and it was quite sad to witness.
Quinton was happy that he had rushed back-it was obvious that the family was falling apart. “You don’t have to worry so much. I’m home, so everything will get better… Your mommy is just scared, and wants someone to be with her and protect her. Just leave this to me!” Quinton patted his chest to reassure them, and the two children led him to Flossie’s bedroom.
There was a large terrace in Flossie’s bedroom that stretched out to an arcshaped balcony. Various kinds of plants and flowers had been grown there, and when it was sunny, it was nice to sunbathe there amidst the nice fragrance of the flowers.
Flossie rarely left her room after she had lost her eyesight, and couldn’t even enjoy sunbathing anymore. Feeling the sun’s warmth on her skin was a cruel reminder that she could no longer see the flowers planted there, and that she might never find happiness. Today, however, she was willing to enjoy sunbathing on the balcony to get some fresh air. Somehow, she felt like her downfall would come to an end, and she would rise above it. Sunbathing felt like a celebration of happy incidents to come.
“I heard from the kids that you’ve been rather withdrawn lately, and don’t like being around them. Is it because you’re tired?” Quinton asked as he walked into the room, seeing Flossie on a lawn chair on the balcony.
Flossie had been relaxing on the lawn chair, but when she heard Quinton’s voice, she seemed to come alive. “Quinton, is… is that you? You’re back?” Flossie choked out hopefully, having missed Quinton terribly. She couldn’t believe her brother was finally home.
“Yes, I’m home. I’m so sorry that I’m late… I’ve failed you as a brother.” Quinton walked over to Flossie and knelt next to her, gently holding her hand. He studied his sister, finding her both familiar and strange. It was obvious that many things had happened in those few months he was away, and his positive and lively sister looked like… she had lost all hope and reason to live. His heart ached for her.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. How could I be so stupid to leave you alone in Beach City?” Quinton’s voice shook as tears ran down his cheeks. “You wouldn’t have become like this if I had stayed-I’m the worst brother in the world!”
Flossie chuckled and said in amusement, “Quinton, you’ve been fighting Halston your whole life, but you two are actually very similar-you both love to blame yourselves for everything!”
“What do you mean?” Quinton frowned in disdain. “Don’t liken me to that iceberg-l’m not as cruel and aloof as him.” “But you both said the same thing!” Flossie smiled tenderly, feeling loved. “I got myself into this mess, but you both keep blaming yourselves. Like him, you look cold and fierce on the outside, but are actually a really warm and sensitive person.” Outsiders felt that Flossie was miserable because she was blind and poisoned, but she really wasn’t because she was loved by so many. They tried their best to cure her, and although the poison had spread to her entire body, she felt happy to be loved so genuinely.
“If that’s the case, I need to change my opinion of him,” Quinton muttered as he pulled a chair over and sat beside Flossie. Surprisingly, he started complimenting Halston. “Yes, he constantly has a poker face on, and he seems world-weary and difficult, but he’s sincere towards you. Back then, I wouldn’t have believed him if he said he would die for you… but now I would. He really would give up his life for you!”
Halston had dived into such a deep part of the sea with just an oxygen tank, and had entered the heart- shaped cave that had a ninety percent mortality rate on his own. He had done all of that just to find a pearl that might not even exist, so Quinton couldn’t doubt his sincerity.
Flossie realized something was amiss, and asked nervously, ’’What do you mean, Quinton? Did you… bump into him?” Quinton had gone to the South Sea to look for Chase and the lost treasures, and coincidentally, that was where the Southern Oceanic stone was supposed to be. It would make sense that Quinton had bumped into Halston there.
“Yeah, I did.” Quinton nodded. “I didn’t expect to see him in that small fisherman village. He was drenched and pale, and his lips had turned blue because he had almost suffocated. He wasn’t even breathing when we found him, and everyone thought that he couldn’t be saved… But even in that condition, he still hugged that shell fiercely. No one could take it from him.” “What?” Flossie’s eyes were wide in shock, and her heart pounded fearfully in her chest.
“He was lucky-l’m experienced in sailing and knew a bit of first aid, so I saved him and repaid him for getting Dr. Wagner to cure me,” Quinton explained arrogantly, trying to sound casual but his body grew tense as he recalled that day. Quinton was usually quite arrogant and self-absorbed, and rarely approved of anyone, but he sincerely felt that Halston was a tough man.
It was rather ironic that the man Quinton had hated and fought against almost all his life was the only man he approved of now.
“Where is he then? I can’t get in touch with him…”
Flossie couldn’t reach Halston’s phone, and he hadn’t replied to any of her texts. Although Flossie was anxious, she believed that Halston would be safe and return when he had promised… but now she wasn’t so sure. “He was lucky you were there that day to save him, but will someone be there to help him if it happens again? Will he…” Flossie bit her lip, too frightened to think about it.
“Don’t worry about him, he’s strong. He won’t get into accidents that easily. ” Quinton tried to comfort Flossie and told her about their plan. “I discussed it with him-l’m in charge of finding the Western Hills Fruit and Northern Lake Anaconda, and he’s in charge of finding the dragon’s saliva. His task is more difficult than mine, so naturally, he’ll come home later than me.”
Flossie, however, could not stop overthinking. “Is the dragon’s saliva even real? I feel like Dr. Wagner is just trying to give me hope, and it doesn’t actually exist.”
“Why not?” Quinton immediately fished out the three items he had placed in the treasure box, then carefully brought Flossie’s hand to touch them.” Just feel these things. Their names might sound fantastical, but we did find them. Since the dragon’s saliva comes from a legend, it must be real too. All you need to do is to wait for Halston to come home with it.”
“I hope so!” Flossie touched the items softly. Although she couldn’t see them, she marveled at the way they felt. From the pearl, which was rumoured to be the product of the clam spirit missing its lover, Flossie could feel a penetrating pureness. She was reluctant to part with it, and didn’t want to destroy it to make medicine. Halston had risked his life for it too. The Western Hills Fruit was very amazing too. It felt like human skin, and it had protrusions like fingers and toes. As Flossie touched it, she felt like it was responding. As for the Northern Lake Anaconda, it felt like armor with a smooth, strong, but firm surface. It was said that its price was sky- high, and many people yearned for it. Flossie felt very moved. “I’m sure you suffered a lot to get these, Quinton. I’ll repay you well once I’m cured.”
“Silly girl. You’re my sister-l’d give up my heart for you if it could cure you.” Quinton didn’t find it a problem. On the contrary, he felt that he was lucky to be able to put in some effort to save Flossie. He had suffered countless injuries to get those items, and some of them had scarred him mentally too, but they felt like medals since it was for Flossie’s sake.
On the other hand, Halston did have it hard…
The existence of dragons had always been a great controversy, as they only appeared in legends. In Aeos, dragons symbolized power, honor, and luck, but in Benores, they were the incarnation of evil. Halston had done his research, and found that there were records of dragons appearing in Water City, Srey, Cheville, Tregas, and Reka. The incident of a dragon falling was widespread in Reka, and they even had photos as proof. It indirectly proved that dragons were real, and there were other places where dragons had apparently resided too.
Halston had asked around and finally came to a village called Dragos. It was located in the depths of the mountains, and the villagers lived in groups on the cliff. They led a primitive life away from the world. There weren’t many villagers, but they were united and quite unfriendly to visitors. All of them believed in dragons and used dragons as their totems. The walls of their houses were full of pictures of dragons.
Halston sent everyone except Elijah off so the villagers wouldn’t chase them off. He brought along some simple outdoor equipment and a pistol, then entered the village determinedly.
The guide was the only young man who worked outside of the village. Neil Perry had just married the daughter of the head of the village last year and was in urgent need of money to stabilize his position in his family. Hence, he couldn’t resist the high reward promised by Halston even though there was a rule in the village that the villagers couldn’t bring outsiders in. He took a risk by leading Halston and Elijah into the village. “Mr. Guajardo, the entrance of the village is right in front of US, but my village is a little… special. All of the villagers live on the cliff, and you need to climb a very steep hill to get there. You both should be mentally prepared…” Neil warned Halston and Elijah. “Plus, the hill is very hard to climb. You know Ganarial Rise, right? This hill is more dangerous than that, and there aren’t any stairs to help you. Many tourists try to climb up every year, but they fall and die on the way.”
Elijah looked up but couldn’t see the top of the hill. He swallowed nervously. “Are you sure the villagers are living up there? This doesn’t look like a place people can live in”
“You can go back now if you don’t trust me, and I can even return the money to you. We descendants of dragons never lie,” Neil said indignantly.
“No, I don’t mean that… I just think it’s hard to believe. It’s very inconvenient to live on top of the mountain, but you all have been doing it for years,” Elijah babbled, scared to climb the mountain. Not only did it look impossible to climb, but he also had a fear of heights.
Halston noticed Elijah’s anxiousness and said coldly, “You can stay here for support. I’ll climb up alone.”
“No, I can’t!” Elijah refused. “You’ve driven away so many people, Mr. Guajardo, and it’ll be ungrateful of me to leave. Don’t worry, I… I’m no longer afraid of heights. I can do it!” While talking, he took a deep breath and quietly started climbing up the entrance.
The entrance of the village was a hole that was one meter high and one meter wide; it was not easy to pass through it.
Elijah tried a few times, but failed to pass through it. When he looked down, he saw a cliff with a huge gap, and it almost gave him a heart attack. “Ah, I… I can’t do it. I can’t!” Elijah grabbed his chest, feeling dizzy. He couldn’t hold on even if he wanted to.
“Just wait here if you can’t do it. I’ll go up and take a look. I won’t be long,” Halston said briefly, then bent over and passed through the hole. It was hard for him to pass through that hole because he was tall. If he was careless, or if he slipped, he might fall off the cliff. Luckily, he was strong and agile, and entered the village smoothly.
Neil also entered the village skillfully. Elijah had tried several times but failed, so he just waited at the entrance of the village helplessly.
After entering the village, Halston found that Neil was right-one could only move around through the cliffs. There was a palm-sized path that went up to the top of the mountain where only a few houses could be seen.
“How amazing!” Halston remarked in awe as he climbed up, sweating and taking deep breaths.
“It really is. My ancestors all lived here, and it’s said that they’re descended from a dragon and a girl in the mountains. All the villagers are rumoured to be related to the dragons by blood. Plus, dragons love living in large mountains because they’re more comfortable in high and secluded places. ” Neil enthusiastically explained the legend of Dragos to Halston. “Look at the mountain-it’s actually shaped like a dragon. This place is the head of the dragon, those two hills make up the body of the dragons, and the back hill is the tail of the dragon.”
Halston looked at the place where Neil was pointing, and it filled him with melancholy. “I really hope it’s not a rumour, and I’ll have the chance to meet a dragon.” At that moment, he really believed that he could find a dragon and get the so-called dragon’s saliva. If it were someone else, they would just see it as a story.
Neil found Halston rather crazy, and didn’t want him to be disappointed.” Umm… Mr. Guajardo, to be honest, it’s very difficult to actually see a dragon.
None of the villagers have ever seen a real dragon…” “If dragons aren’t real, why do you all have the willpower to live in such an inaccessible and dangerous place? I believe that… rumors aren’t groundless.” Halston seemed to be motivating himself, and he became energetic again as he continued climbing up the mountain.