Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“What did he tell you to do?” Flossie demanded as she approached Leia.” You’re my best friend, so you should be taking my side. Why do you trust someone who works for my enemy? Don’t you remember what Jessanna’s done? How could the doctor be a nice person if he works for her?” “Calm down, Flossie. The doctor didn’t say much. He just said that you’re now —” After a pause, Leia took a deep breath. “He said you aren’t well. You’re sad and agitated, and he’s afraid that… you might be suffering from depression. So, he wants US to pay attention to your mental health.” “Hmph! So, he thinks I’m mentally ill!” Flossie scoffed, her gaze colder than Leia had ever seen before. Although Leia and Flossie had been best friends for many years, it still hurt her.
“Yes, depression is a mental illness, so we need to take it seriously and get the doctor to cure you. You’ll be fine after treatment,” Leia said firmly. Initially, she had doubted what the doctor had said, but after spending some time with Flossie, she could see that Flossie’s condition was very serious. Flossie was speaking to Leia like she would her enemy, using harsh words on her and looking at her with suspicion.
“Stay away from me if you think I’m mentally ill then. I wouldn’t want to out, “Flossie, we’ve been friends for years, and I’ve always considered you my sister. Why would you think that I’d want to harm you? I’m just worried about you and want the best for you, but you’re treating me like an enemy.” “I’m sorry.” Flossie closed her eyes, looking pained and helpless. “I know that I’m sick, both physically and mentally. That was why I hid and didn’t contact all of you. If I can, I just want to keep on hiding… So, just go home!” out, “Flossie, we’ve been friends for years, and I’ve always considered you my sister. Why would you think that I’d want to harm you? I’m just worried about you and want the best for you, but you’re treating me like an enemy.” “I’m sorry.” Flossie closed her eyes, looking pained and helpless. “I know that I’m sick, both physically and mentally. That was why I hid and didn’t contact all of you. If I can, I just want to keep on hiding… So, just go home!”
Leia knew the doctor was right-Flossie was seriously ill. “I understand you, Flossie.” She walked over and held Flossie’s hands, then hugged her tightly. “I know that you’re sad and stressed, but don’t feel guilty. If you think being with us is stressful, then we won’t disturb you. You can have some peace. When you’re feeling better, I’ll come and take you home.” Leia finally believed Jovan’s words. Jovan hadn’t forcefully locked Flossie up-it was Flossie who didn’t want to go home. Although Leia didn’t understand Flossie’s reasons, she respected and supported her decision. “Do you want me to go? Will it make you feel better?” Leia whispered.
“I don’t want you to go, but I’m in a very bad state. Your being here will just stress me out even more. I don’t want you all to see my bad side, so…” Flossie bit back a sob. “Give me some time. I’ll go home once I’m better.” “You’re saying that you still want to stay in Jovan’s manor? You don’t want to see us?” Leia asked, sounding disappointed.
“I won’t stay with anyone; I just want some peace. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I just… need a place to heal.” Flossie was like a wounded beast that hid in the mountains, away from others, to nurse its wounds. If Flossie was strong, she would get through this. If not, she wouldn’t burden anyone. In that case, she wouldn’t feel guilty.
Although Leia was reluctant, she would always support Flossie. “Okay, you have my word. I won’t disturb you, but can you promise me one thing…” “What is it?” “You have to text me every day. They don’t have to be long texts-even an emoji is fine. It’s just so we don’t worry about you. When you suddenly went missing, Xavier, Margaret, and I were very anxious. We almost called the police.” Leia’s dissatisfaction surfaced when she mentioned that. She had been frightened and worried for such a long time and had restless nights as a result. If Flossie had just texted her, none of that would have happened.
“I’m sorry, I can’t control my actions sometimes. I’m crazy.” Flossie held her head, feeling stressed. She cared about the people she loved very much, and didn’t want to let them down or let them see her in such a sorry state. Hence, she simply avoided everything.
“No, it’s our fault. We put too many expectations on you and stressed you out, so you were afraid of facing US. We should apologize to you instead…” Leia patted Flossie’s shoulders firmly. “I’m sorry, Flossie. We exhausted you. You should take it easy and lead a more relaxing life. Nobody is perfect, and sometimes, flaws are what makes someone who they are.”
“Thank you for understanding,” Flossie said emotionlessly as she stood there. She knew she was probably ill. In the past, she was an enthusiastic, straightforward, and bright sunflower, but now… she had become like moss that only grew in the dark. She was indifferent even when faced with others ‘ love and goodwill.
At last, Leia left the hospital without Flossie.
Xavier had been waiting at Ellsworth Manor, and was confused to see Leia come home alone. “What happened? Where’s Flossie?” He had thought that Leia would be able to bring Flossie home, but things didn’t look that simple now.
“She didn’t want to come back.” Leia walked into the manor listlessly.
“See! I told you-she wants to be with Jovan. You can’t just force her to come home.” Xavier smirked and held his hand out to Leia. “You lost the bet, so tell me… How should I punish you?” 2
Xavier and Leia had made a bet a week ago. Xavier felt that Flossie didn’t want to come home since she had not contacted them for a while, but Leia had insisted that Jovan must have locked Flossie up or brainwashed her, which was why she couldn’t return. They had agreed that Leia could do anything to Xavier if she managed to bring Flossie home, but if she couldn’t… then Leia would be at Xavier’s mercy. Xavier had been prepared to lose the bet knowing how close Leia and Flossie were, so this outcome very much surprised him.
“How do you want to punish me?” Leia turned to Xavier, looking dejected and heartbroken. “Do whatever you want-1 don’t care anymore!”
Her response made Xavier worry, and he asked carefully, “What happened? Why do I feel like you’re on the verge of breaking down?”
“What else could it be?” Leia sighed deeply. “You guessed right-Flossie didn’t come back because she didn’t want to. Jovan had nothing to do with it, and he even helped her get a pair of pretty new eyes. Flossie isn’t blind anymore.” 1 “Really?” Xavier was happy for Flossie. “Isn’t that a good thing? Why are you in such a bad mood?” “It is a good thing, and Flossie should be happy about it… but she’s become worse. I wanted to help her, but I didn’t know how. She didn’t even want to face us.” Leia held her head, looking downcast. “For the first time, I found that I felt like I didn’t know Flossie. She seems to have changed. Do you think there’s something wrong with her eyes? Did they snatch her soul away?” “I don’t think so, but there is an explanation in the medical field for cases like this,” Xavier said solemnly.
Leia’s eyes lit up and she asked, “What kind of explanation?”
“Symbiosis and the host,” Xavier answered.
“Symbiosis and the host?” Stupefied, Leia questioned, “Is that some kind of sci-fi thing? I only heard such terms in crazy cartoons.” “I heard that if a person’s organ is transplanted to another person, the donor will infest the patient. Their actions, behaviors, characters, and preferences will merge. It’s as if the patient’s soul is snatched away.” Xavier had read about it in books and sounded convincing.
“So, you’re saying that the master of Flossie’s new eyes has infested her? Is that why she’s changed so much?” Leia asked hesitantly.
“We can’t rule it out!” Xavier continued, “Let’s talk about Jovan. Don’t you think he’s more tolerable after he started using Flossie’s eyes? He doesn’t seem so annoying. Even Halston became smarter and more cunning after he started using Jovan’s eyes. They had shown the symptoms of symbiosis and the host.” “It seems true when you put it that way…” Leia touched her chin and nodded in agreement. Halston, Jovan, and Flossie had shown some changes in their personalities after getting new eyes. At least, she could see the merging of their personalities in Halston and Jovan.
“It’s true!” Xavier became excited when Leia agreed with him. “Our cells disintegrate and grow every day. The old ones will die, and new ones will regenerate. The complete cycle is seven years, so the person you met seven years ago might have changed seven years later. That’s why people say it’s a critical period when it’s the seventh year of marriage-a man is different after seven years no matter how much he loves you. Naturally, he’ll have a change of heart and stop loving you.” 1
Leia rolled her eyes. “Stop trying to justify cheating. So, what’s the use of marriage then? After all, they’ll just stop loving each other after seven years, so isn’t it better not to be a couple at all? Your statement doesn’t make sense. Many lovey-dovey couples spend their lives together forever, like Flossie and Halston. They’ll be madly in love with each other for more than seven years, and even grow to love each other more. How do you explain that?”
Slowly, Xavier explained, “Cells will change. If a person loves another person very much, the cells that die based on that premise will keep that love going. They’ll grow to love each other more seven years later. But if the love doesn’t grow, it’ll be so much less seven years later. The new person will stop loving the other.” 1 “What are you even saying?” Leia became quite confused. He was clearly talking nonsense even though he sounded logical. “But what does that have to do with Flossie?” Leia had no time to analyze if the marriage system was rational from a biological point of view-she just wanted to help her best friend.
“Why not?” Xavier sounded certain. “You said that Flossie’s personality has changed drastically. I think it’s related to her new eyes.” 1 “How could that be?” Although Leia had her doubts, she felt that Xavier’s theory might have some truth in it.
“We’ll know once we find the owner of the eyes,” Xavier muttered, putting his hands in his pockets. He felt that it was easy to find such a person, but it was odd that they hadn’t found anyone at all even after a worldwide search… and Jovan had found them instead.
“It looks like we have to ask Jovan.” Leia decided she needed to speak to Jovan. After such an eventful day, she was tired and wanted to head upstairs for a rest. As she was halfway up the stairs, she recalled something and turned to Xavier. “Is there any news about Halston?” “Not yet.” Xavier sounded hopeful as he said, “But no news is good. I believe that Halston has a plan.” “I hope so.” Leia clenched her fists and said angrily, “He’d better have a good explanation for my bestie! Flossie needs him the most right now, but he’s not here. I’m sure Flossie won’t forgive him, and neither will I. If I see him, I’ll beat him up!” “I hope you’ll have the chance to do that…” Xavier’s gaze was unreadable as he said softly, “Well know soon.”
Once Leia had left, Xavier fished out his phone and made a call.
“Mr. Stuart, I’ve made the necessary arrangements. When should we start?” The person on the other end of the line was the leader of a gang. It had been three days since Xavier last contacted him, and he was eager to jump into action.
“There’s no rush. My friend just had an eye transplant and is still weak, so we shouldn’t scare her. We’ll revisit it once she’s feeling better,” Xavier instructed him. 2 “Okay, Mr. Stuart. We’ll act once you give US the order.” The gang leader was very respectful towards Xavier because of the substantial reward Xavier had given him.
“Is there any follow-up on the other matter?” Xavier asked finally.
“We thought we saw Mr. Guajardo in Glory Casino, but it was so chaotic there that we can’t be sure it was him. My men are still looking into it. I’ll inform you right away if we get any updates,” the man answered honestly.
“Okay.” Xavier ended the call and said confidently, “I don’t know why you’re hiding, Halston, but I’m going to force you out into the open. Since you make us worry every day, I’m going to have to do something mean in return.” He had a way to make Halston appear; It was risky, but he was certain he’d get the results he wanted.
After Leia left, Flossie snuck past the nurses and hurried away to find Jessanna. She smoothly left the hospital and headed to Guajardo Enterprise, then cautiously waited behind a flowerbed in a corner. Leia was right-since Jessanna was a shareholder and member of the board of directors of Guajardo Enterprise, she would probably visit the company often. Hence, Flossie figured she would be able to meet Jessanna if she waited at Guajardo Enterprise.
Flossie waited for over an hour, and the night breeze grew colder. Flossie was feeling cold because she had only put on a thin cotton coat. “Achoo!” She sneezed and wrapped her arms tighter around herself, feeling miserable. Time passed by, and though Guajardo Enterprise had a culture of working overtime, most of its employees had already left.
“What’s going on? Did she exit through the back door because she knew that I was waiting for her?” Flossie wondered, hesitant to enter the company to search for Jessanna.
Suddenly, a young woman came from behind and tapped Flossie’s shoulder. She looked like an employee of Guajardo Enterprise, and had noticed Flossie a while back. “May I know who you’re looking for?” “Oh, I…” After a pause, Flossie smiled and said, “No, I’m not looking for anyone. I just like the flowers here, so I came here to look at them!” She could not expose her identity because of her connection to Halston. She didn’t want the employees to speculate anything, and she also didn’t want to alert Jessanna of her presence here.
“I see. But it’s so cold here… You’ll catch a cold if you stay here for too long. Is it really okay?” The employee asked her worriedly.
“Why not? I’m not afraid of the cold. I… Achoo!” While talking, Flossie sneezed, exposing the truth.
“Umm… I have a blanket here. Do you want it? You won’t feel so cold then… ” The employee enthusiastically suggested.
“Oh, is that okay?” “Of course!” The employee handed a blanket to Flossie. “We at Guajardo Enterprise aim to serve our customers, and you’re considered our customer too. We can’t let you look at the flowers in the cold.” “Your service is very good. I hope Guajardo Enterprise will become more popular and prosperous!” Flossie accepted the blanket gratefully.
After handing the blanket to Flossie, the employee left quietly.
Flossie wrapped the blanket around herself and kept hiding behind the flowerbed. She soon felt warm, and could hold on for a bit longer. “Just you wait, Jessanna! I can stay here all day.”
Meanwhile, Jovan chuckled as he watched Flossie from the vice president’s office. Love shone in Jovan’s eyes as he watched her squatting beside the flower bed determinedly.
The employee from earlier opened the door to Jovan’s office after delivering the blanket to Flossie.
“Mr. Guajardo, I gave the blanket to Ms. Ellsworth. It looks like she needed it.” “Of course. It’s so cold out there, but she’s waiting there like a fool. She’ll easily catch a cold!” Jovan had noticed Flossie hiding behind the flower bed ages ago, and could guess why she was here. He was quite happy to observe her from his office, looking adorable in her pink attire as she looked out for Jessanna like a spy. It warmed his heart.
“Go and see if Ms. Ximenez is in her office. If she is, tell her that we don’t have a habit of working overtime here. Ask her to go home.” Jovan turned around and instructed Sage Avey, his secretary who had delivered the blanket to Flossie.
“Okay, Mr. Guajardo…” Sage nodded. When she noticed Jovan staring at Flossie tenderly, she suggested, “Why don’t you invite Ms. Ellsworth upstairs? Isn’t the view of the flowers nicer from up here?” “No, that’s unnecessary.” Jovan refused firmly. “She doesn’t want me to know she’s here, so why should I ruin her mood? Just let her be. Oh, yes… Order a cup of milk tea for her with 70 percent of sugar, and tapioca pearls and nata de coco added in.” Jovan had noticed that Flossie liked drinking milk tea lately. She always had a cup of milk tea every two to three days, and he had secretly noted down her preferences.
“Okay.” Although Sage couldn’t understand Jovan’s intentions, she obeyed him.
After a while, Flossie received a cup of milk tea. She was dumbfounded to see her new favorite peach pudding milk tea from the delivery guy. “Is this … for me?” “Yeah, since you’re a regular customer of ours, we’re giving you a complimentary milk tea as thanks for your support,” the delivery guy said quickly, then rode off on his scooter.
Flossie sipped the warm milk tea and felt more energetic. She felt that she would probably get what she wanted soon since so many good things had been happening to her today.
At that moment, she saw Jessanna. Jessanna was carrying a bag and wearing a professional suit, walking confidently in a mask and sunglasses. Flossie’s eyes narrowed. She couldn’t believe that Jessanna had managed to become a core member of Guajardo Enterprise and could live openly like this despite all the wicked things she had done. Flossie found it disgusting.
Jessanna walked to an outdoor parking lot to get her car, and Flossie immediately rushed over to her. “Jessanna, we need to talk. You can’t just leave without an explanation.”
Jessanna was initially flustered when she saw Flossie, but she calmed herself down and sneered mockingly, “What’s the matter, Ms. Ellsworth? Did you like the photos I gave you today? I have a lot more from different angles and with more intimate scenes, I can give those to you too if you want.” “I don’t have the habit of snooping, so I’m not interested in such disgusting photos. Keep them and enjoy them yourself. You don’t have to be so generous.” “Why are you here if you’re not interested? Is there anything else between us except for those photos?” “I have a question for you… When did you take those photos?” Flossie asked icily.
“Of course, it’s…” Jessanna wanted to tell her the truth, but changed her mind when she saw how much Flossie cared about it. “Didn’t you say you weren’t interested in others’ business? That was my intimate moment with Halston, so why are you asking so much about it?” “Of course it’s important to me! Now cut the crap, I don’t have the time to listen to your nonsense!” Flossie grabbed Jessanna’s collar and demanded fiercely, “When did you take those photos?” “What’s this? Do you want to hit me? Am I obligated to tell you what happened?” Jessanna wasn’t afraid of Flossie’s threat, and scoffed, “This is Guajardo Enterprise, and I’m a shareholder and a member of the board of directors here. How dare you come to my territory and try to rough me up? That’s pretty arrogant of you.” “Arrogant?” Flossie sneered. “You haven’t seen the worst of it.” Then, she opened the lid on her cup of milk tea and poured the sticky liquid on Jessanna’s head.
“Ah, you… What are you doing?!” Jessanna didn’t expect Flossie to behave like that, and shrieked agitatedly. The milk tea had ruined Jessanna’s meticulously styled hair and dirtied the elegant outfit she was wearing. There were even some tapioca pearls stuck to her face. She looked very miserable.