Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

After getting back to the office, I wasted no time and called up Nora.

In no time, she showed up with a female college student in tow.

"This is Ms. Russell," Nora introduced her.

The girl looked pretty surprised to see me.

I turned to Nora, "You can get back to work now."

Once Nora left, I gave the girl a friendly smile.

"Long time no see."

She quickly got over her surprise and smiled back. "I didn't expect it to be you."

The girl was Jennifer, Zachary's adopted daughter.

I asked my secretary to bring us some tea, and Jennifer and I settled on the small sofa. I was eager to hear about Zachary and Bella. When I mentioned Zachary, Jennifer's face fell.

"The law is fair. Good and bad are clear-cut. Mistakes get punished, and good deeds get recognized, but they don't cancel each other out." Zachary was initially sentenced to life, but Bella gathered evidence through a lawyer and got it reduced to 15 years.

I had a hunch this would happen, and I bet Bella did too. She must've been holding onto that slim hope.

Fifteen years wasn't as bad as life, but it was still a long time-the prime years of a woman's life.

Would Bella wait for 15 years? She'd be in her early forties by then. How many 15 years did a woman have?

"How are Bella and the baby?" I asked, feeling heavy-hearted.

Jennifer nodded with a smile when I mentioned them.

"They're doing well. It's a boy, and he's super cute."

She didn't seem to want to talk much about Bella.

When I asked for Bella's contact info, she went quiet.

"What's wrong?" I noticed her hesitation.

Jennifer bit her lip and finally looked up.

"I'm sorry, I can't give you her contact info. She specifically told me not to when I came to study in Starlight City."

I felt a pang of emptiness and stared at her for a good half minute.

Why?

When we parted, we were all smiles and waves, wishing each other well and looking forward to the next time.

I know Bella. She valued friendship. No matter what she went through, she'd never abandon her friends.

What had she been through this past year?

Not wanting to make Jennifer uncomfortable, I nodded.

"Okay, I get it. You can go now. I'll have someone set up a part-time job for you."

Jennifer stood up, gripping the strap of her backpack, and politely said, "Thank you."

Her outfit and behavior were just right for her age and status-well-behaved and sensible, not flashy. From the first time I met her, I genuinely liked her.

It was fate that Jennifer ended up at Starlight Medical College. When we first met her, she had already finished a semester of her first year, but Bella had never met her. If it weren't for Zachary's situation, I doubt she would have shown up. She was so considerate, probably not wanting to cause trouble for Zachary.

Because of Zachary's case, she and Bella rushed back to Zachary's hometown. But she always had to return to Starlight City to study.

Bella's situation had been bugging me. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't contact me and specifically told Jennifer not to give me her info.

After getting home, I took out the kaleidoscope Bella had given me. Watching the patterns flash by, I felt time was rewinding.

Fate brought people together and apart. Some people drifted apart as they went. Everyone eventually took different paths, ending one journey and starting another. No one stuck around forever. Life made us learn to keep forgetting. Maybe Bella didn't want to be disturbed, or maybe she didn't want me to see her struggling. But I still worried about her. Raising a kid alone wasn't easy.

One weekend evening, I called up Nora and Dakota and we headed to Blue Ocean Bar together.

After getting out of the car, I looked up at the neon sign.

Bella and I used to come here a lot. It had been over a year since our last visit, which was when Oliver and Ethan had a fight.

That was also Bella's last visit.

Tonight, I came with a faint hope of getting some news about Bella from Oliver.

Dakota parked the car and walked over with Nora.

"Why'd you suddenly decide to take us out for some fun?" Nora playfully patted my shoulder.

I smiled, "Work's been tiring, so we need to unwind. Gotta balance work and play."

Tonight, Blue Ocean Bar was buzzing. It was decked out, even though it wasn't a holiday. Looked like someone was hosting an event. We squeezed through the crowded room and found a booth to sit in.

At the other end, a group of people were singing a birthday song, and laughter and chatter filled the air.

Nora, always the life of the party, barely sat down before she was up again, heading over to see what was happening.

I called over a waiter and ordered some food and drinks.

A cart stacked with several layers of red wine was slowly being pushed over.

"Please make way, everyone," the waiter said as he carefully pushed the cart.

Nora suddenly turned around, looking as excited as if she had seen a pile of gold bars, ready to tell us something.

She turned too quickly, and by the time she noticed the cart behind her, it was too late. She crashed right into it.

Hundreds of wine glasses toppled over, shattering everywhere.

After a collective gasp, the crowd fell into an eerie silence.

The waiter, eager to avoid blame, quickly pointed at Nora.

"Ma'am, you've ruined all this wine. What are we going to do?"

All eyes were on Nora, who looked down at the broken glass on the floor, feeling utterly helpless.

"Everyone, please stay calm," she said nervously, trying to reassure the crowd, then looked at me for help.

I walked over and said to the waiter, "Call your boss over."

The waiter pointed behind me. "Our boss is right there."

I turned around to see that the crowd had parted, revealing Frank at the center, wearing a birthday hat.

Frank was just as surprised to see me. Before he could speak, I quickly said, "Sir, can we talk for a moment?"

A few minutes later, Frank and I were sitting in a private room.

"How did you end up taking over this bar? Where's Oliver?" I asked right away.

Frank snorted, playing with a lighter in his hand. "Oliver forced it on me. When he left, he just left a note, not even a phone call."

"Where did he go?" I asked, though I already had a guess.

Frank shrugged. "He didn't say, but I think he probably went to find Bella. Oliver talks a big game, but he can't let go."

I thought the same. Oliver likely went to find Bella, but would Bella accept him?

"So screw love. It's just a headache. Being single is way better," Frank said with a smirk.

I looked at him. "So you're still single?"

Frank nodded, looking quite carefree. "Nothing wrong with it. Seeing my friends suffer for love, I don't dare jump in."

I couldn't tell if he was genuinely carefree or just pretending.

Frank was actually quite good-looking and financially well-off. He probably wasn't short of women interested in him. But maybe he just hadn't found the right one yet. "Emily, let's forget about tonight. Since that girl is with you, I won't hold it against her," Frank said generously.

"No, you should handle it however you see fit," I said with a smile.

When I came out of the private room, the mess had already been cleaned up.

I returned to the booth, and Nora immediately came over, worriedly asking, "How did it go? What did the boss say? How much is this going to cost me? I can't afford too much."

I pretended to be annoyed and asked her, "What were you so excited about? What got you so worked up?"

Nora, like a child who had done something wrong, lowered her head.

"I wanted to tell you guys that the birthday boy, well, the bar owner, is quite handsome."

Before I could say anything, she quickly admitted her mistake, afraid I would scold her.

"I was wrong. I'll never get carried away with girlish fantasies again, I promise."

I tried to keep a straight face and asked her, "So the bar owner is your type?"

Nora, a bit embarrassed, nudged my arm. "He's my type, but now's not the time to discuss this. How are we going to resolve this? Did the boss name a price?"

I cleared my throat and said seriously, "You probably can't afford to pay for all this. Those wines were quite expensive."

Nora looked pained and desperate. "What should I do? Can you advance me a year's salary?"

I looked at her sympathetically. "A year's salary might not be enough. It looks like you'll have to offer yourself and hope the boss is single."

Nora thought I was joking and looked at me awkwardly. "Even if I offered myself, he might not be interested."

I shrugged. "I really can't help you with this. You'll have to talk to him yourself."

I then called over a waiter and said, "Please ask your boss to come over."

In no time, Frank arrived and sat on the sofa opposite us.

When Nora saw him, she blushed, probably thinking about the "offer yourself" comment.

Across the coffee table, I sent Frank a message.

Frank took out his phone, and upon reading the message, he choked on the water he had just sipped.