Chapter 101
The hot spring retreat was vast, and Celeste had no idea where Trevor and the others were. She didn’t run into them when she went downstairs.
Since the sky hadn’t completely darkened yet, Celeste called on two staff members to help her and headed up the mountain.
At this hour, the wind was a bit chilly, but she was dressed warmly and didn’t feel cold. She spent some time enjoying the breeze and picking apples, which helped clear her mind.
With so many people helping, it didn’t take long to fill two or three cartons of apples.
After they finished, she didn’t head down immediately. The sunset was beautiful today, so she sat down to appreciate it for a while.
Just then, she heard footsteps and the voice of a child.
She turned her head and met Beck’s gaze.
He clearly hadn’t expected to run into her either and hesitated for a moment.
At that moment, the child on the video call excitedly exclaimed, “Ms. Rodriguez!”
It turned out that Beck was on a video call with Shanice, showing her the apples on the trees. He had planned to pick some to take home tomorrow for her.
But he hadn’t expected to run into Celeste on the mountain.
Even though they had met a few times recently and Beck had helped her before, Celeste still felt that she couldn’t –and didn’t want to–grow close to him.
The moment she saw him, her expression turned cold. But when she heard Shanice’s voice, her face softened slightly.
Beck noticed her change in expression.
Instead of walking over immediately, he simply asked, “Shanice wants to talk to you. Do you have a moment?”
That day, after leaving the nursing home, she had felt incredibly heavy–hearted and distressed.
Running into them that day–although it was Shanice who had asked her to play–Celeste had felt like it was actually Shanice who was keeping her company, helping her gradually breathe again through her suffocating
emotions.
Thinking of this, she nodded.
Beck handed his phone to her.
Knowing she didn’t like him, he didn’t approach, standing two to three feet away instead.
Celeste chatted with Shanice for a while and learned that she had been taken on a trip by her grandmother, which was why she hadn’t come to the hot spring retreat with Beck.
Celeste shared the sunset she liked with her. After talking for over ten minutes, she returned the phone to Beck.
After saying goodbye to Shanice, Beck turned to her and said, “Thank you.”
“No need.”
1/2
+25 BONUS
Chapter 101
By now, the sky had almost completely darkened. However, there were streetlights along the mountain path, so going down wouldn’t be difficult.
With that, Celeste turned and made her way down the mountain.
Seeing this, Beck followed behind her, descending together.
But they didn’t exchange a single word on the way down.
When they arrived back at the hot spring retreat and were about to enter, they ran into Wynn.
Wynn paused for a moment when she saw them coming down from the mountain together. Then, she pressed her lips tightly together.
Celeste acted as if she didn’t see her and walked straight past her into the lobby.
Wynn watched her retreating figure, then turned to Beck with a frown. “Beck, you two…”
Beck replied indifferently, “We just ran into each other on the mountain.”
Wynn knew that Beck had been video calling Shanice and had gone up the mountain to show her the apple trees.
If Celeste had been on the mountain as well, then it was perfectly normal for them to have crossed paths.
Realizing this, Wynn relaxed. Just as she was about to say something, Beck spoke first. “Where are they?”
“They’re over by the pavilion. The ingredients for the bonfire party are ready, and we were just about to call you.”
“Okay.”
As they spoke, they walked side by side toward the pavilion
1
+25 BONUS
Chapter 102
Chapter 102
