Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“Yes, they’re real, but they’re extremely hard to obtain. If not, I wouldn’t be so worried.” Owen sounded serious. He wouldn’t lie about something like this. The herbs were hard to get because of their excellent healing properties.
“Southern Oceanic Stone? Western Hills Fruit? Northern Lake Anaconda? Eastern Dragon Saliva?”
Halston’s face sank. He stopped himself from scolding Owen and said calmly, “Tell me what these are.
Are these from myths or legends? Why do they sound so magical?”
“I guarantee that they’re real; I’ve even listed down their locations. It depends on your luck whether you can find them or not.”
“Okay, I’ll just assume they’re real. Tell me… what the hell are these things? Explainthem to me.”
“I can do that.” Owen sat down and explained patiently, “The Southern Oceanic Stone is a black pearl that grows at the bottom of the South Sea and is produced by old clams. This pearl is equipped with strong purification properties that can help to detoxify Ms. Ellsworth’s poison. The Western Hills Fruit is much simpler. It’s a wild banyan tree root that grows in the West Hills that can relieve pain and calm the mind.
The Northern Lake Anaconda is the scale of the boa that grows in the North Lake, and it has a strong metabolic effect that can help break down the toxins in Ms. Ellsworth’s body fast. The most troublesome thing is Eastern Dragon Saliva. Well, it means the saliva of a dragon-“
Before Owen could finish, Halston scoffed, “What saliva?”
“Dragon’s saliva. Didn’t I make myself clear?”
“Yeah, you did, but I still want to send you to a psychiatrist to check if you’ve gone mad.” Halston rolled his eyes. “The others might be real, but this sounds like something out of a fantasy novel. Dragons don’t exist, so how am I supposed to get their saliva? Are you messing with me?”
Owen shrugged. “That’s why I said it’s hard to get. Just forget it if you can’t find it.”
Halston was silent as he looked at the list of herbs, then said, “Wait for me to come back!” He exited
Owen’s office, staring at the herbs. It was a good thing manpower and resources were not limited thanks to his positionsomething so trivial couldn’t stop him. The first thing he wanted to find was the
Southern Oceanic Stone. He felt that it was the easiest to find because it was just an older pearl.
He made his preparations and bade Flossie goodbye before setting off. “I might be gone for a while this time, maybe about a week. Stay here, and we’ll keep in touch. When I’m back, you’ll be cured,” Halston said gently as he hugged Flossie.
Flossie’s pain was numbed because she had just taken a painkiller, so she was in rather good spirits. “I heard from Dr. Wagner about the herbs you have to find. Do they really exist?” Flossie was worried that
Halston was going on a pointless search-dragons only existed in legends. “I doubt Dr. Wagner would lie because he knows we’re already so stressed and I’m terminally ill. Was he trying to give US hope?”
“I don’t care if they’re real or not, I have to try. If I don’t, I’ll regret it my whole life.” Halston gripped
Flossie’s fingers, looking determined. He was not someone who’d admit defeat, and his woman was waiting for him to save her. Even if the chance of success was slim, he had to try.
“I’m sure it’ll be dangerous to get these things,” Flossie leaned against his chest and said worriedly.
“Why don’t you stay? I’m already very satisfied having you and the kids with me. I don’t want you to take these risks.”
“No, it’s not enough!” Halston protested. ’I don’t want to see you in pain. I want us to be healthy, happy, and not have to worry about anything.” He had only two wishes right now-he wanted to cure her and find a pair of suitable eyes for her so she could see again. If he didn’t fulfill those, he wouldn’t be at peace.
“Okay, I’ll wait for you to save me, my knight,” Flossie said teasingly. She knew she couldn’t change his mind, so there was no point in trying. Even if the herbs weren’t real, Halston would feel better if he had at least tried to search for them.
“Right. I’ll be back soon.” Halston leaned down and kissed Flossie’s forehead gently.
As Halston got up to leave, Flossie suddenly thought of something. “By the way, how did you get the list of ingredients of the poison? Your answer was a little vague that day… Did something happen?”
Halston’s heart sank, and he couldn’t move. What happened that day had been troubling him, and it was a ticking time bomb for his relationship with Flossie. He could live happily as long as it was never brought up again.” Didn’t I tell you? Tess told me. She went to the culprit and asked about the poison,”
Halston replied vaguely.
“Was it really Tess?” Flossie asked again, finding Halston’s response a bit strange. It sounded like he was trying to hide something from her. “Why couldn’t I get in touch with Tess? Did she tell you who drugged me?” Flossie had been trying to contact Tess, but Tess seemed to have gone missing. Flossie could not reach Tess’ phone, and Tess no longer came to Ellsworth Manor. If Tess did get the list of ingredients of the poison, she would certainly come to remedy her mistake, but instead, she was avoiding Flossie.
“Tess… has some family issues. Maybe she’s just been too busy to get in touch. Give her some time, then ask her,” Halston said lightly, but in truth, he knew that Tess had been forced to leave Beach City.
He didn’t hold her responsible for what had happened, and had given her some money and asked her to leave Beach City forever. He had also prohibited her from telling Flossie anything about what had happened that day.
“Okay.” A sigh escaped Flossie, and she stopped asking about it. It looked like Halston had spent a lot of effort to keep the incident from Flossie, so she knew that it wasn’t as simple as he said it was. It didn’t matter though- Flossie had ways to find the truth.
On that day, Halston flew to the South Sea in a private jet with an investigation team. When they reached the island, they started talking to the local fishermen about the stone.
“Oh, the Southern Oceanic Stone. It’s real! It’s said that the pearl is the tears of the clam spirits. There’s only one in a thousand years, and it’s at the bottom of the South Sea. Only people who are good at diving have the chance to find it if they sing the clam spirits’ favorite song…” A fisherman told Halston and the others solemnly, then added, “But even after so many years, we fishermen haven’t seen it.”
“Clam spirits? Songs?” Halston’s eyes widened and he was speechless. The names of the items were already ridiculous, and it seemed like the methods to get them might be even more so.
“I’m sure you don’t believe me, Mister, but it’s true. Some of the fishermen here have heard songs from the bottom of the sea when they go out to the sea at night. It’s said that the clam spirit is waiting for its lover, which is why it sings!” The fisherman said seriously. Generally, fishermen living on an island believed in spiritual beings since their catch of the day was usually based on their luck and safe return.
They felt safer if they had a deity to believe in.
“Yes, I don’t believe it, but I still want to give it a try.” Halston frowned as he looked at the vast ocean, then said seriously, “I won’t know if it’s real if I don’t give it a try.”
“Mr. Guajardo, I’ll find the best swimmer in this village right away. We’ll go now!” Elijah had accompanied
Halston on this journey, and though he found the story ridiculous, he would support Halston unconditionally.
“No, that’s unnecessary,” Halston refused Elijah’s suggestion. He seemed to have a plan.
Elijah and the fishermen looked at Halston in confusion.
Halston took off his coat and said to the fishermen, “Help me get a diving suit and a guide. I’ll go look for the pearl myself.”
“No, Mr. Guajardo!” Elijah blurted out, and quickly stopped the fisherman who was going to look for a diving suit. He said anxiously, “I know you’re eager to save Ms. Ellsworth, but you can’t be impulsive. Diving is very dangerous, and I don’t think you have to do it yourself. Well just wait for the news by the sea.”
“They said we need a good diver, and I’m a good diver.” Halston ignored Elijah’s objection and again asked the villager to find him a diving suit. He started doing stretches to warm up and prepare for diving. Diving was one of his hobbies, and he loved free-diving without an oxygen tank the most. He loved laying on the soft sand at the bottom of the sea, watching the colorful underwater world and the sky. It brightened his boring life a little, and he’d always wished he could do it with Flossie once she was cured and they returned to live on Sun Island. They could see the sunrise, sunset, the underwater world, and the starry sky together once she was cured, so doing this dive gave him hope.
“I know you’re a good diver, but the sea is different here. I heard that there are a lot of blue holes formed by the coral reefs, and people can get stuck in them or lose their way. Only local fishermen who always go out to sea know the sea well, so there’s less of a risk if one of them does it.” Elijah had investigated the South Sea before going there, and it was one of the few islands in the world with a high mortality rate. The cliffs along the shore were filled with divers from around the world, and some of them were famous.
“People have been looking for it for such a long time, but all of them failed.
Maybe it’s meant for me… I have to try.”
“But Mr. Guajardo-“
“If you can’t accept it, you can go back on your own,” Halston said impatiently, then pushed Elijah aside to take the diving suit. He wanted to do it on his own not out of arrogance, but because he truly believed it had to be him. Besides, if he failed, he wouldn’t regret it because he knew he had tried his best.
Helpless, Elijah watched Halston change into the diving suit.
Halston went to a diving spot with the richest coral reefs, and followed his guide, a local fisherman, to the bottom of the sea. As they dived deeper, the sunlight above him grew fainter, and the scenery became more beautiful. They picked a spot with many coral reefs because such a spot generally housed more clams, so there was a higher probability of finding the pearl.
A heart-shaped cave formed by reefs attracted Halston’s attention. He wanted to enter the cave, but the guide quickly stopped him, making an X gesture to indicate that it was dangerous. The guide had told him earlier that the heart-shaped cave was very dangerous, and no one could easily enter it. According to the legend, the heart-shaped cave was the home of the clam spirit, and it had set up many traps in the cave to defend itself. A person could die if they entered the cave.
There had been many stubborn and fearless people like Halston who had wanted to enter the cave, but they had died before they could get to the end.
The only person who had successfully passed through that cave was Halston’s guide, and he knew how dangerous that cave was.
He swore never to go close to it anymore.
Halston gestured to show that he was going to enter the cave, then swam into it.
Come back! Come back!”