Chapter 15
There were only three hours for Yolanda. She had to go back to the hotel before six o'clock. Although she knew that Aaron had a dinner party tonight, she had to go back early and rest assured.
Yolanda called Victor first and then went straight to the house she lived in on Warson Street.
This was the only house left for her, and also the one she had lived in before the accident.
Now Elbert was living inside.
When she thought that she would see her father soon, Yolanda had mixed feelings.
She was looking forward to it, but somehow she felt at a loss.
After all, they were finally going to sit together to face and accept the reality of bankruptcy.
Ten minutes later, the car stopped at Warson Street No. 2.
It was a famous luxury and high-end apartment in Darlington.
When she entered the house, she saw a surprised look on the security guard's face.
She said nothing but smiled at the security guard and went back home as usual.
She pressed her fingers on the fingerprint lock and the door opened with a crack.
It was sunny in the afternoon, but the room was dark. The curtains were not fully opened, and the sunlight could not penetrate, making it a little depressing.
A middle-aged man stood on the balcony, watering the flowers with water in his hand.
He bowed slightly and was thin.
Yolanda opened her mouth and called out, "Dad?"
After a short pause, he turned around and asked, "Yolanda?"
Although Yolanda had only left for less than a month, she hadn't seen Elbert for two or three months.
Yolanda didn't know about the crisis before the company went bankrupt. She even went shopping in Patra.
At that time, she wanted to find some projects to start her own business. She had thought of a fashion brand, but she gave up because she had a different concept from the brand.
Not long after she came back, a series of things happened.
Her father, who used to be dignified, now lost his high spirit and vitality and looked a little depressed.
"Why did you come back?" Elbert was surprised, "Didn't I tell you not to come back for the time being?"
With a forced smile, Yolanda held his arm and said, "Because I miss you."
She held her father's arm and pulled open the curtains, "You're the only one at home. I'm worried about you."
Elbert sighed and shook his head, "Why do you come back? You are still young. You can't bear those contemptuous glances."
Yolanda knew that her father was an arrogant man. It seemed that he had divorced his mother because of money. He always wanted to make a lot of money.
After decades of glory, now he suddenly fell from a high position. In his middle age, it was difficult for him to accept such a blow.
Yolanda understood.
"I don't care." Holding his arm, Yolanda deliberately said in a relaxed tone, "I'm your daughter. If anyone dares to roll his eyes at me, I will dig out his eyes."
"Yes." Elbert forced a smile and said, "but a friend in need is a friend. Among your friends, only Phoebe came to see me every two or three days."
After saying that, he raised his head and was suddenly stunned, "What's wrong with your nose?"
In a hurry, Yolanda forgot to take off the band-aid on her nose. If she told Elbert that she had a car accident, it would only make her father feel more guilty.
It was unnecessary.
With a smile, Yolanda poked the tip of her nose and said, "I'm fine. I hit it accidentally."
Perhaps the smile on his daughter's face softened Elbert's mood a little. He pulled Yolanda to sit next to him and asked, "I've been wondering, what does your friend in Capital do? Do I know him?"
Trying to avoid eye contact with him, Yolanda said, "he runs a small company. I'm learning from him. In this way, I can lay a solid foundation for starting my own business in the future."
Elbert nodded with relief and shook his head after a while, "Forget it. Don't start a business. You are a girl. Now that I can't help you, how about..."
After a moment's silence, he said, "How about getting married?"
"Dad, I'm only twenty-two years old. Why do I get married at such a young age? Besides, you have seen what kind of person James is. Men are not reliable at all."
"Yes, James is unreliable, but there is one person who is reliable," said Elbert in a low voice, with a certain smile on his face.
Frowning, Yolanda asked, "who is it?"
"Victor."
Her father, who had just been depressed, came to his senses. He suddenly became talkative, "For so long, Victor has been working hard by my side. Now he is dealing with the company's matters. He graduated from a famous university, and his family is also good. You won't suffer any loss if you are in a relationship with him."
Yolanda was stunned.
Elbert patted his daughter's hand, "Actually, even if we are not bankrupt, I want you to be together. Helly a good boy, knowledgeable and modest, and..."
"Dad." After a pause, Yolanda continued, "but we're broke now."
What she meant was obvious.
She thought, "We could be together before because our family was good. But now I may not deserve him."
Her words hit the nail on the head, and Elbert suddenly felt dejected.
"You are right." He murmured.
At this time, the doorbell rang, and Victor came with several bags of food.
Seeing Yolanda, he nodded and said, "Miss Walter, long time no see."
In fact, Yolanda and Victor were not very familiar with each other. The only communication between them before was because of Elbert's work. Yolanda didn't even look at the secretary carefully.
She finally saw him today.
He wore a white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses, which made him look pure and bright.
Yolanda nodded. "Long time no see, Victor. Thank you for taking care of my father these days."
Victor chuckled, "It's my pleasure. I have been working for Mr. Watler since I graduated. I'm used to it."
Yolanda nodded and said, "Then... Give me all the documents we need to sign."
"Okay."
Yolanda returned to her room with the file in her hand.
Although she was not there, the room was tidy. The bed sheet seemed to be new, and there was her favorite cartoon doll in the middle of the pillow.
Everything here was so familiar but inexplicably strange.
In the cloakroom, all the bags she bought were still there, and each of them was a limited edition.
Yolanda's fingers swept across them one by one as if she was saying goodbye to her luxurious past. She sighed, but at the same time, she felt lucky that she still had these things to keep her father from living a miserable life for the time being.
Although the conversation between her and her father didn't seem to be as bitter as she had imagined, she knew very well that they were both trying to put on a smile, not wanting to make each other worry.
With a sigh, she sat down at the dressing table, took out the documents given by Victor, and signed them one by one.
When she stood up and was about to go out, she accidentally touched a small bottle on the table. She looked down and found that this was the perfume she had bought in a handmade shop in Patra. She had sprayed it that night when she went to a concert. It smelled good.
Since she couldn't take anything with her in this room, she didn't intend to do so.
But the fragrance made her feel a little sad.
After a while, she picked it up and put it in the pocket of her coat.
She decided to keep it as a souvenir.
Back in the living room, Victor had already prepared a table of dishes.
It looked good.
"Mr. Watler said that you like sweet and sour fillet. It's my first time cooking it. It may not taste so good." Victor said as he pulled out the seat for Yolanda, "I hope you can give me some advice, Miss Watler."
Since Elbert had already taken his seat, he said to Yolanda, "Sit down. What are you waiting for?"
Handing the file to Victor, Yolanda kept silent for a long time before she said, "Dad, I may not have time to have dinner with you. I'll fly back to Capital this evening."
Elbert was stunned, "Are you leaving?"
Yolanda nodded cautiously.
Elbert remained silent for a few seconds.
Yolanda struggled in her heart.
It was already five-forty, but Aaron had a dinner party in the evening.
Yolanda thought, "It's okay to stay here for another half an hour."
She didn't want to see her father's sad face. If she couldn't even stay for a meal, why did she come back?
To add more disappointment to him?
She didn't care about it.
Sitting down, Yolanda picked up a piece of fillet and said with a smile, "Then I'll try Victor's cooking."
The two men smiled at the same time.
She had never had such a short and warm meal with her father before.
When they parted, Elbert looked much better than before, "Don't worry. I'm fine alone. By the way, say hello to your friend for me. Tell him that I will personally thank him in Capital next time."
Yolanda agreed vaguely.
Victor sent Yolanda to the door of the apartment. Seeing that she was in a hurry to take a taxi, he suggested, "How about I drive you there? You know it's the rush hour now, so it's difficult to take a taxi."
It was already half-past six. Without hesitation, Yolanda agreed to his suggestion.
Victor's car was spacious and bright. He was very comfortable to get along with.
Yolanda fastened her seat belt and said, "thank you, Victor."
Stunned, Victor smiled and said, "I feel that Miss Walter, you have changed."
"Really? Don't call me Miss Walter anymore. Just call my name," Yolanda said with a self-mockery.
"Okay." After a short pause, Victor read out the name from his lips, "Yolanda Walter."
Yolanda didn't notice the subtle change in the words. She tilted her head and asked, "can I ask you a favor?"
"Go ahead."
"Help me seel all the bags in my cloakroom to a second-hand shop. It's useless to keep them now. Sell them for me and see how much money they can exchange. If the company owes money, they will be confiscated, and..."
After pondering for a few seconds, Yolanda asked, "how much do you earn every month? I'll pay you on behalf of my father."
She didn't want to owe him.
She also hoped that Victor could understand the meaning of such an arrangement.
After a moment's silence, Victor didn't refuse, "okay."
"Thank you." With a sigh of relief, she asked, "when will we arrive?"
"It's almost there. We'll take a turn at that intersection."
Upon hearing this, Yolanda immediately stopped him, "I'm right here. You don't have to drive me to the door."
Victor was stunned and asked, "why?"
"It's not convenient." Yolanda unfastened her seat belt and said, "thank you. Bye."
Victor was taken aback by Yolanda's sudden action. As soon as he saw her get out of the car, he caught a glimpse of her perfume.
He got out of the car and chased after her, "Yolanda!"
She turned around.
"Your thing dropped."
Noticing that it was perfume, she turned around and put it in her pocket, "Thank you. I'm leaving now."
"Are you okay?" Victor asked worriedly.
"It's okay. I'm just in a hurry. Bye."
The moment she turned around, Yolanda sensed a familiar figure.
Tall, black, with a sense of danger approaching.
Her heart skipped a beat. Even though she knew who it might be, she still hoped that it was just her illusion.
With her heart racing fast, she slowly turned around. When she saw clearly the person in front of her, her back suddenly felt cold.
She clearly saw that Aaron got off a car less than twenty meters away from her.
Wearing a black windbreaker and a cold face, the man slammed the door with one hand.
Now he was walking towards her.
Shura field was really easy to get.
Yolanda felt that her blood was flowing back quickly. Her brain went blank. She didn't know what to do and stood there stiffly.
Victor noticed her difference and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Seeing that Aaron was getting closer and closer to her, Yolanda's legs became a little weak. She tried her best to calm herself down and whispered to Victor.
"Don't say anything. Don't say you know me no matter what happens later and do what I tell you. Do you hear me?"
Victor didn't understand what she meant. Before he could figure out what she meant, Yolanda called out, "Brother, I'm here!"
Brother?
Victor looked out.
At the same time, Aaron walked up to them.
Aaron stood still and glanced at them.
"Where did you go?" His voice was light, but Yolanda felt a deep sense of oppression.
The nervousness on Yolanda's face had all disappeared. At this moment, she looked as if her heart was still fluttering with fear,
"I'm sorry, Brother. I got lost at Sela Bridge. I don't have any money with me. I followed the map back to the hotel but took the wrong road. Fortunately, I met this handsome man and he gave me a ride."
She had to put on a full play. After saying that, she turned to look at Victor and said, "thank you very much. How about we add a WhatsApp account? I'll transfer the money to you later."
Then she gave Victor a meaningful smile.
She thought, "Be smart! Look at me! Are you going to kill me on the street! Think it over before you speak!"
Victor didn't move.
His eyes were still fixed on the man who was called "Brother" by Yolanda.
And Aaron was also looking at him coldly.
Observation, vigilance... All the information in Aaron's eyes was unfriendly.
The atmosphere froze. Yolanda was extremely uneasy. Her temples twitched as if there was a pot of boiling water in her heart.
When she was wondering if she should say something more,
Victor smiled and took out his phone, "okay."
All of a sudden, Yolanda heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Okay, I'll add you."
Victor opened his phone cooperatively.
But just as Yolanda handed the phone to him, Aaron grabbed her wrist and pulled her to his side.
He turned his head slightly and ordered Lenny, "go and give him the money."
Then he glanced at Yolanda but said nothing. He grabbed her wrist and stuffed her into the car.
Yolanda was stunned.