Chapter 169:
By this time, dusk had deepened into night, and rush hour painted the streets with constant movement. Streetlights flickered to life, headlights stretched out in lines ahead, and the city hummed with the restless energy of the evening crowd.
From the radio, a mournful love song played, its melody occasionally drowned out by announcements about gridlocked roads ahead.
After so many nights spent in a sterile hospital room, Millie felt strangely out of place among the city’s relentless energy and noise. The familiar world seemed distant, almost as if she had been gone for much longer than she had.
Traffic on the overpass moved in steady streams. Millie shook off her sense of disconnect and kept her attention firmly on the drive.
Not far away, beneath that same overpass, a sleek Bentley inched along in bumper-to-bumper congestion. Brandon occupied the rear seat, his gaze lost in the cityscape flashing past the glass. Next to him, Vivian was completely absorbed in her phone, tapping out message after message.
Another glance at the endless line of cars outside kept Brandon distracted.
Years might have passed, but the city’s chaos and crowds had not changed.
In a moment of silence, the memory of a masked woman taking a picture with the Elliott siblings replayed in his mind.
Despite knowing she was supposed to be Charles’ girlfriend, thoughts of her lingered far longer than they should have.
Something about her just kept reminding him so much of Millie.
A red light halted the Bentley’s slow progress. Perhaps that brief stop was all it took to pull Millie’s name back to the surface of Brandon’s mind.
The memory of that endless twelve-hour ferry ride from Eldoria drifted through his mind. After what felt like forever, they reached the shore at last, friends waiting to greet them with open arms. No harrowing twists, no real danger—just the two of them, the night, and the quiet certainty in her gaze when she looked up at him: warm, trusting, filled with nothing but faith in him.
Now, sitting in the back of the Bentley, Brandon felt a tightness in his chest, as if the air itself was pressing in on him. Lowering the window brought a rush of city air, but it did nothing to loosen the ache. A heavy, lingering sorrow made it hard to breathe.
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From a nearby car, the plaintive notes of a song floated over. “I listen to the whispers of a cloudy day. Standing in the dimness, I long to tell the sky—whatever happens, may there be joy, even under these cloudy days…” Traffic had come to a halt at the light, and for a moment, the world stilled with the music.
Brandon’s mind once again wandered back to that distant dock, the sky heavy with clouds, just like tonight. After the snowfall, the sea’s chill shimmered with an austere beauty. Millie’s hand had been locked in his, gripping with fierce determination. Those memories tugged at Brandon, refusing to let go.
Vivian’s voice broke through his reverie. “Everyone online keeps saying how gorgeous this pendant you got me is.”
Reality snapped back into focus as Brandon glanced at the sparkling jewel hanging from Vivian’s neck. “It suits you,” he said quietly.
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