Felipe’s mind was filled with questions that could not be answered.
Not that meeting Niamh by the seaside back then mattered to him anymore.
The moment Cathy was shot, it dawned on him who he truly had feelings for.
Perhaps he should have known the moment Cathy jumped into the river because of him. Perhaps it should have dawned on him with how reluctant he had been and how his heart had hurt for her when he lost her.
Yet, it never crossed his mind to sit himself down and understand his feelings.
Instead, all he did then was torture the woman who had engraved herself into his heart.
Felipe closed his eyes at the agony his heart screamed with.
Suddenly, someone came to report that Niamh had arrived.
Felipe’s red and glistening eyes snapped open as he stared at a picture of Cathy. Standing up, he recollected his emotions before he descended the stairs.
Niamh had come alone. Standing in the living room, her features and figure were still otherworldly.
However, Felipe no longer felt passion or a ripple in his heart despite the figure that reflected in his eyes.
Niamh looked up when she heard footsteps approaching and was met with Felipe’s elegant but emotionless and hollow features. Something felt wrong, but Niamh’s priority was on Cathy.
“I’m here to find Cathy, Felipe.”
His eyes flashed at the mention of her name.
Staring at Niamh, Felipe brought out the red string instead of answering her question.
“Did you give this to Cathy?” he asked.
Niamh stared at the vintage-looking string calmly. “I’ve never seen this string before.”
Felipe’s heart leaped at the answer. “You’ve never seen… What do you mean you’ve never seen this string before? I gave this string to you myself on the beach of April Hill back then.”
Niamh remembered how Felipe told her that they had met by the beach when they were young, but Niamh kept to the same reply. “Kendrick’s the only friend I made by the beach back then, Felipe. I may have been young, but I can promise you that I wouldn’t remember this wrongly.
“I’ve already told you I’m not the girl you met by the beach back then. You’re the only one who keeps thinking I am.”
‘You’re the only one who keeps thinking I am.’
The sentence pierced into Felipe’s heart, stunning him into a stupor.
He gripped the string in his hands as memories of that innocent smile surfaced in his mind.
“Come over here.”
“Will you be my friend if I play with you?”
“Here, this is for you. Mommy says that rainbow shells bring happiness. You need to be happy, okay?”
Her crescent-eyed and dimpled smile swirled in his mind.
While in a daze, the memory of the little girl’s smile overlapped with the memory of how Cathy used to smile.
A thought he dared not delve into surfaced in his mind.
‘Cathy. Was Cathy the…’
Not daring to think deeper into it, Felipe turned and walked out.
“Where is Cathy, Felipe?” Niamh pressed on, but Felipe had already left.
Watching him drive away, Niamh decided to search the manor for traces of Cathy. She even went to the basement, but Cathy was nowhere to be found.
Confused, she went to ask the servants, but none of them were certain themselves.
Niamh arrived at Cathy’s room and found a photo collage open on her bed. It was filled with pictures she had taken from the past. It looked like it had just been flipped through.
Had Felipe been looking at it?
Curious, she took up the photo collage only to find a piece of paper squashed under it.
“Certificate of cremation?”
Niamh’s heart lurched.
Reading it, she saw Cathy’s name, followed by Felipe’s signature at the very bottom.
Cathy was dead?!
…
Kendrick thought that Niamh was resting in the hotel the entire time he brought Lillian out for a walk, so he was surprised to not see her when they returned to their room.
He put his daughter to sleep and was about to call Niamh when the doors opened.
“Where have you been, Nia?” Kendrick grabbed her hand worriedly as he took in her pale complexion. “Are you not feeling well? Does it hurt somewhere? How about we just give this child up, Nia? I’m happy with just Jack and Lily.”
Niamh raised her misty eyes to look at the concerned man. “Cathy’s dead.”
Kendrick’s expression changed drastically. “Cathy’s dead?”
Niamh passed the certificate of cremation to Kendrick who frowned as he read it. “It must have been Felipe. This doesn’t make any sense, though. Cathy was alright the other day.”
“How could Felipe be so cruel? Cathy met him when she was just 15. She has been by his side for over ten years. How could he have the heart to hurt her?” Niamh cried as her heart clenched.
Kendrick wiped off the tears from her eyes and pulled her into his arms. “I’ll gain justice for Cathy. I won’t let her die like this.”
He let go of her. “Take care of Lillian. I’ll go look for him.”
Niamh pulled him back. “Be careful, you’re still hurt.”
Kendrick placed his hands on both of Niamh’s cheeks, kissing her deeply on the lips. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to me. I’ll come back to you and the kids.”
Kendrick’s first act was to call Felipe when he left the hotel room, but Felipe’s phone was turned off.
He went to find Fabian for intel instead.
Fabian was shocked when he heard about Cathy’s death, but he told Kendrick, “A woman was shot dead in front of the police station two days ago. Could that have been Cathy?”
He passed him an image of a woman lying in a pool of blood.
Kendrick immediately recognized that woman to be Cathy.
Shot dead.
How much hatred could one bear to do such a thing?
Cathy did not deserve this, and Kendrick felt his heart hurt for her. “Help me search for Felipe.”
Fabian was reluctant but agreed anyway. “I’m only doing this for you because of Lillian.”
Kendrick was still pondering about what Fabian meant when Felipe was found.
Cemetery.
Standing alone in front of Cathy’s tomb, Felipe was ice-cold despite the bright sun shining above.
He held the red string in his hand as he waited for a reply.
Just then, his phone buzzed.
His fingers trembled in fear of what the results would tell.
After a while, he swiped to answer the call. “How is it?”
The reply he received shot through his heart like a thousand arrows…
“Master Waldburg, our men have just gotten to April Hill. We’ve asked around, and from an old man, we can confirm that there had been a family with a daughter by the name of Cathy.
“The father of the family ran a small business, so their family was rather well off. However, he and his wife met a tragic end during one of his delivery trips.
“His relatives took his house and threw his daughter out.”
The person confirmed.
“Master Waldburg, it’s confirmed that after the death of her parents, the daughter who was thrown out was indeed Miss Cathy. They gave me an image of Miss Cathy when she was young. I’ll send it to you now.”
With that, Felipe’s phone received the image.
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.