I’m Someone Else

Chapter 42

Although Olivia only partly understood her father’s words, she still nodded obediently.

It was already close to the break of dawn when Thomas returned to the rental house, so he tip-toed back to his bedroom out of fear that he might carelessly wake Chloe up. Since he suffered a gunshot wound, his bright white shirt was now stained crimson red. Chloe would undoubtedly be worked up should she happen upon his appearance. After changing into a fresh set of clothes, he hid the bloodied clothes in an inconspicuous place before lying on the bed and drifting to sleep.

Thomas was never a smooth talker and hadn’t even uttered a single flirtatious sentence to Felice throughout their eight years of relationship. But for some reason, every time he found himself alone with Olivia, it seemed like the poor humorous cells in his brain would get stimulated without Thomas realizing it.

The next morning, Thomas drove to the entrance of Olivia’s residence. He didn’t enter the building and only leaned against the car with a cigarette in hand while quietly waiting for her to come out.

Not long after, Olivia did. After she had gotten into the car, she asked in concern, “Thomas, do you feel any discomfort anywhere in your body?” He did suffer a gunshot wound after all.

“Of course not. Don’t worry about it. My body’s made from steel, but…”

“But what?” Olivia’s tone immediately shifted a few notes higher as she felt her heart shrink.

“But… I might need a new set of uniforms. There’s a hole in the one I wore yesterday…”

“Pfft!” Olivia chuckled. “That’s fine. I’ll let the HR department know about it. You can just head over there to pick it up later. As for the cost, I’ll be deducting them from your salary.”

“What a slave driver!” Naturally, he knew Olivia was joking around with him, so he retorted with a smile.

Throughout the whole morning, Thomas sat alone in the office as Olivia had brought Molly to a meeting. At the time, he couldn’t help feeling that he was the only one without a job in Pearson Tower since even Chloe looked to be busy as a bee.

“Thomas, let me treat you to dinner tonight! My wages came in today!” With a document in her hand, Molly invited Thomas with a smile. Since she had given her word yesterday, she wanted to fulfill her part of the promise, as it was all because of Thomas that she could have this job.

“Alright.” He didn’t refuse as he worried that his refusal would make the lovely girl in front of him lose face.

That evening after work, Thomas drove Olivia back to her residence. However, she didn’t leave the car immediately as usual. “Thomas, you have to be careful. Now that you’ve killed the son of Jake Hind who also, by the way, was the beloved nephew of Blake Hind, the Hind Family would not just take it lightly.”

Thomas nodded silently.

“I’m being serious here. Don’t just brush me off. Remember, always stay alert!” Olivia admonished before she got out of the car.

Now that she had recovered from the shock, she had been pondering the reason why the Hind Family would want her life all day. Granted, there had been a long-standing grudge between their families, but that was purely business, so she didn’t see any necessity in involving a person’s life. Right?

Thomas didn’t think much of Olivia’s words, as he wasn’t like the people of the Hind Family. All he could remember from his childhood was being an orphan without any relatives by his side. Stretching it, that crazy old man who had raised him was the only one he would see as his relative. However, that man had always been an unpredictable one. Since even Thomas couldn’t contact that man, there wasn’t any hope that the Hind Family would be able to.

Nonetheless, there was still someone else who he held dear—Chloe Hahn, the sister of his best friend, Zachary. It was fine if the Hind Family only went after him for revenge as he was confident to be able to adapt to the situation. But, if they dared go after Chloe instead, he would destroy the family in retaliation. And so, after collecting his thoughts, he set off to meet Molly at the place they had agreed upon.

The place they decided on was on a certain backstreet around Irieson First High School. As there was a large open-air square, there was a gathering of a variety of small-time restaurants. Over time, it gained a reputation for being a famous snack street in Irieson. Due to the reputation of the school here, business was as booming as ever. With the exception of the winter and summer holidays, the square would always be bustling with people almost every night.

“Thomas, let me treat you to some spicy crayfish!” Since Molly had changed into a set of white casual clothes, she looked even more lovely. Compared to Olivia’s beauty, Molly gave off the innocence of a girl next door. Naturally, her appearance made many people turn heads when she walked by on the street.

Nonetheless, Thomas had no opinion on it. It didn’t matter to him what he was eating, as he only agreed to meet her here to fulfill Molly’s wish.

“For two!” Molly knew the place like the back of her hand. She led Thomas into a restaurant called ‘Your Next Visit’ and sat down at a table near the door. “Thomas, the food here is especially delicious that I’ve often come here to have some. You’ll have to try it. There’s no need to hold back with me. Just let me know if you want some more,” she said while pouring drinks for him.

“Right.” Thomas nodded and lit the cigarette in his mouth. He never thought that Molly would bring him back to this place—a place filled with his sad memories. It was the restaurant of Philip Lott, Felice’s father. Taking a glance around the area, he couldn’t find the man’s familiar figure and decided to forget

about it. Now that things had come to this, it would be discourteous to ask Molly to change to another shop. He hoped that with this many people around, Philip would not notice his presence here.

“Here you are, your dishes!” Soon, one of the waiters served the dishes Molly ordered.

“Thomas, thank you very much. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have landed a job as the president’s secretary!” Molly raised her cup and sincerely expressed her gratitude.

With a smile, Thomas replied, “Don’t mention it. It wasn’t much. I mean, you’ve also helped me before this, right? This is just your karma at work.”

At that, Molly’s eyes abruptly darkened. “Is there really such a thing as karma?”

She never believed that nonsense. During the three years she was in the Pearson Group, she had been conscientious while working hard in spite of the constant criticism of her. Just because she was unwilling to mix with those who would always use some underhanded methods in getting things done, she was ostracized everywhere in the office. If it wasn’t for Thomas, she knew that the day she was fired from Pearson Group wouldn’t be too far off.

Thomas nodded. “At least, I think there is.”

“Thomas Clifford!”

Halfway through their meal, a voice tinged with surprise yelled out. Thomas raised his head and looked over before he unwittingly flashed a bitter smile. I guess what is meant to be, will always be.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.