John digested her words and shook his head. “Anne, don’t force me to make such a choice. I’ll never do that. Don’t worry, I promise I’ll get the money.”
He turned off Anne’s phone and pulled her into his arms.”
Don’t worry, Anne. I’ll do everything to make you better again, and we can raise Sammie together. I promise! You’ll get better soon.”
He pressed kisses all over her forehead as he began to cry.”
You have to get better soon. It’s been so long since I heard your voice, Anne. I…I want to hear your voice again.”
Anne sighed and gently wiped John’s tears away. She then squeezed out a smile.
“Can you say something, Anne?”
John’s voice trembled. “The doctor said that your vocal cords are fine, and nothing went wrong with your ears or mouth. Nothing’s stopping you from speaking. It’s just a mental block…
“Tell me what’s on your mind, Anne. Tell me, and we can get through it together.”
John’s tears ran along Anne’s neckline and into her shirt.”
Anne, I really want to hear your voice. I can’t wait to talk to you again.”
He had been under immense pressure since leaving Banyan City and especially after their arrival in Scarnfield City.
He chose to come here because he was under the impression that Robyn was doing well for herself, but it turned out that was not the case.
She was already struggling herself, and their arrival only made her situation worse.
John had always been a hardworking person, and he never intended to trouble his sister.
However, since they made such a trip and Robyn insisted they stay, John had no choice but to move in with her and bear the responsibility of being the sole breadwinner of their tiny family.
Three women were counting on him. One was gravely ill and mute, one was an infant, and the other was forced to quit her job to care for the former two.
Sometimes, John feared that he would one day snap. Every time his emotions had him in a chokehold, he longed for nothing more than to talk to his wife and feel better again.
If she could open her mouth to call out his name again and tell him she believed in him, things would feel easier, but…
Anne could not do that.
John’s arms tightened around her. “Anne, do you think I was wrong? Do you think I shouldn’t have faked your death, taken you away from Banyan City, and cut your ties with Bethan? Do you think it was my fault we’re stuck in such a bad situation now?”
Anne paused, then shoved John away so she could meet his gaze and shook her head.
She never once blamed him for their situation.
He chose this path with the best intentions in mind, and she was in no place to complain.
Anne opened her mouth to try to convey this to John, but the only syllables that came out were hollow ‘aahs’.
She could not form a single word.
Therefore, she had no choice but to type on her phone again. [It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you, John.]
She had been unable to speak ever since she came out of her coma and found out about everything that had happened.
She did not know what condition she was suffering from, nor whether it was psychiatric in origin. All she knew was that as much as she wanted to speak again, nothing would come out.
“I know.”
John embraced her again. “You love me and Sammie so much. There’s no way you’d refuse to talk to us if you could. It’s just… It’s just too hard.”
Anne sighed and wrapped her arms around John’s back.
If only she could talk again.
If only she could talk, she would be able to find a job somewhere and help split their financial burden.
John hugged Anne longly before finally regaining his composure. He kissed her forehead and held her face in his hands tenderly. “Shall we go to bed together? I’ll make you a nice cup of warm milk if you can’t sleep.”
Anne nodded.
With that, John smiled and kissed her again before finally leaving the room.
The living room was dark, which meant Robyn had gone to sleep.
John switched on the lights, then walked into the kitchen to grab the milk carton and heated it in a cup.
He returned to the bedroom with Anne’s cup, only to find her staring out the window at the apartment building across from theirs.
At this moment, the entire building was ablaze with light and activity. Cars were parked outside the building with countless men dressed in black rushing into the building as though they were in search of someone.
John furrowed his brows. “Is that the police?”
Those men did not appear to be policemen, but if not, who else would they be? Why would they be searching for someone in the middle of the night?
At the thought of this, John took out his phone.
Ever since they moved in with Robyn, she had added him to the group chat with the rest of the tenants of their building so he would stay up-to-date on the latest news, such as electricity outages.
Although he had no idea what was happening in the building across from them, he was certain someone else would know.
He was right; the group chat was filled with messages from the tenants. By reading the first message, he could vaguely make out what was happening.
Apparently, there was a kidnapped old man kept in the building. With the old man’s family having tracked him down, they were turning the entire building inside out to search for him.
Besides that, every tenant of the building had been awarded 10000 dollars as compensation for their trouble.
One of the tenants of John’s apartment building just so happened to be a real estate agent that possessed the keys to some of the vacant units right across. He blatantly asked the rest of the people in the group chat if any of them wanted to sneak into a vacant unit whereby they could pretend they lived there and claim the reward money.
[You know damn well I’m up for that! Whoever’s giving out this money probably won’t mind giving me some too!]
[This is even more than three months of my salary combined! Why would I pass up this opportunity?]
[This is practically free money falling from the sky! Why would I say no to that?]
Everyone was intrigued by this.
John paused, then lifted his head to glance at Anne, who was sipping her milk. “Anne.”
She turned and looked at him questioningly.
John inhaled and said, “You… Why don’t you try to sleep first? I…”
After some hesitation, he finally decided to come clean with his idea. “Ten thousand is a lot, especially in this current situation we’re in. I…”
He paused, then finally finished his sentence. “I want to get this money.”
Anne froze upon hearing John’s idea.
A second later, she sighed and nodded.
“Alright. I’ll be off now.”
John sighed as he took the empty cup from her. “I know that neither of us would even blink an eye for ten thousand dollars in the past, but…”
Things have changed.
10000 dollars was more than enough to cover their household expenses for three months and temporarily relieve their financial burden. He wanted to do everything he could to get his hands on the money.
The look Anne cast at him was full of helplessness and remorse.
She wrapped her arms around John’s body and gently kissed his jaw. Finally, she fixed her gaze on him, as though she was trying to tell him that she would support him no matter what.
Although Anne could no longer speak, they were soulmates and could understand each other with just one glance.
Therefore, John understood exactly what she was trying to convey to him.
He nodded before finally walking out of the room and closing the door gently behind him. Then, he tiptoed to the kitchen to put down Anne’s cup before leaving the house.
He lit a cigarette as he strode down the stairwell and texted the real estate agent. [How much for a pair of keys to the apartment across?]
He knew that there was no such thing as free lunch; the real estate agent would never give out such benefits free of charge.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.