The Love that Never Really Dies (Sasha and Sebastian)

When Edmund returned to the Cooper residence, he thought everyone would be fast asleep.

He did not expect the lights of the living room to still be on when he entered the building. As he finally stepped foot

into the living room, he was immediately greeted by his sister's silhouette.

“You-”

“You finally decided to come home?” Without giving him a chance to speak, Riley stood up slowly from the couch

she had sat on as she waited the entire day for Edmund's return.

An ashen expression was etched on her face while her eyes were filled with a foreign look of disappointment,

wrath, and iciness.

Edmund froze.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that he had never seen her with that expression, a sense of guilt rose to his chest.

“Why do you want to see me?” he asked.

“Why? Why? You still have the audacity to ask me why?”

Riley was livid. In a swift motion, she picked up the pieces of paper from the coffee table in front of her and threw

them in front of Edmund.

“Edmund, I really can't believe anyone could be so cruel. At the end of the day, Tillie lives under your roof. Did you

not notice anything at all? Have you no clue? Even if you only have a cat or a dog as a pet, you'd know if they have

fallen sick or gone missing, wouldn't you?”

Keeping her gaze on Edmund, Riley interrogated, emphasizing each word she spat.

Edmund was rendered speechless.

It was then did he finally realize something was amiss.

Picking up the papers in front of him, Edmund quickly lowered his head and started reading. To his horror, the first

phrase that flashed across his vision was “Stage 4 Liver Cancer” on the report heading.

Who has stage 4 liver cancer?

All of a sudden, his mind became fuzzy. He was so shocked that he did not even pay attention to the name on the

report.

Riley spoke up once again, “Do you see now? It's already in the final stage. All these years, if you had been nicer to

her so she could have had a better time in this household, she might not fall sick in the first place. Tell me, Edmund.

How long do you think she had suffered silently for?”

Silence filled the living room.

For a long while, Edmund stayed rooted in his spot, neither moving nor speaking.

He kept staring at the medical record and investigation report in his hand mindlessly.

How could there suddenly be cancer?

Isn't she always bursting with energy? She was always in his field of vision. That woman would be the first person he

saw when he opened his eyes in the morning and the last person he saw when he went home at night. Sometimes,

Edmund could not help but feel annoyed, wondering if he married a person or a broken alarm clock.

Yet, as it turned out, even someone as consistent as she might disappear from his life forever one day, and she

would never come back.

Truth to be told, Edmund did not expect such a day to come.

“Edmund? Are you listening to what I'm saying? Edmund?” Seeing that Edmund did not react, Riley started to get

impatient and started urging him.

Riley's voice managed to snap Edmund out of his daze. However, instead of replying, he completely ignored her

and crumpled the papers in his hand into a ball before turning to leave immediately.

His movements were so swift and sudden that Riley called out in panic, “Where are you going again? Come back

here!”

She thought that he was still totally unbothered by the news and was going out to have fun again.

But this time, Edmund was not going for a fun night out. Once he stepped foot out of the door, he jumped into his

car and sped to the Zander residence. In the dead of night, his car whizzed along the roads as he slammed his foot

on the accelerator, going more than a hundred and fifty kilometers per hour.

End-stage cancer?

Edmund truly did not expect such a fate to befall that woman.

They had been married for five years by then. No matter how much he claimed he did not love her, five long years

of living under the same roof took away his ability to be indifferent in this situation.

Edmund rushed to the Zander residence as fast as he could.

However, upon seeing the lock on the door, his heart sank even further.

What occasion is this that they even locked the door?

Where have they gone?

Edmund stood outside the locked door. A chill slowly crept down his spine as he felt his heart turning cold. Bit by bit,

the iciness in his heart spread to his skin. In the end, even the tips of his fingers were freezing.

“The number you have dialed is unavailable.” The robotic voice traveled through the phone.

“The number you have dialed-”

“The nu-”

Beep!

Frustrated, he hung up the call.

Upon hearing the commotion, the Zanders' neighbor walked out of his room to see what was happening.

“Aren't you Mr. Zander's son-in-law? What are you doing here so late at night? Didn't you go with them?

Edmund was bewildered.

“Go with them? Where did they go?”

“To get treatment for Mr. Zander.” The neighbor sighed. “What kind of a son-in-law are you? You can't possibly not

know that your own father-in-law is going overseas for treatment?”

Hearing the confusion in Edmund's voice, the neighbor began to feel angry.

Once again, Edmund was stunned.

Going overseas for treatment?

Edmund truly had no clue. Another issue that baffled him was the person receiving the treatment. Isn't Tillie the one

that's sick?

When had it become Mr. Zander?

Yet as that thought crossed his mind, a memory surfaced. When Tillie had acted out of character and handed him

the divorce papers that morning, she seemed to have mentioned it in the passing.

She told him that her father was ill.

Hence, she wanted a divorce so she could take care of her father.

Edmund felt his thoughts getting more entangled.

Nevertheless, he was grateful to receive a new piece of information. As Edmund got into his car and drove away,

he immediately got someone to check the airport ticket sales details.

As it turned out, the Zanders' names were found on three tickets on the flight to Moranta that afternoon.q