The Old Departure Without Farewell

chapter 3

It felt like all the blood in my body stopped flowing for a moment. Nervous, my tightly clenched palms were drenched in sweat.

I asked, "Mr. Thomson, are you changing the subject? Do you think what I just said was so accurate that you can't refute it?"

I lifted my head, trying to interrupt Frederick's absurd assumptions with sharp words.

He paused noticeably for two seconds.

Those two seconds felt endless, tugging at my heart.

Frederick said, "You're right, I was wrong."

He let out a soft chuckle, his tone sounding like he was mocking himself.

After speaking, he turned and left.

The next day, everything at the company was as usual. When Frederick appeared, he didn't spare me a glance, as if nothing had happened.

Near the end of the workday, Jaxon walked out of the office, looking a bit unwell.

He muttered softly, "Why did Mr. Thomson suddenly ask me to look into a college classmate?"

The words "college classmate" reached my ears.

My heart felt like a massive tsunami had been unleashed.

I asked with difficulty, "Jaxon, who is Mr. Thomson asking about? Maybe I know them."

"Oh, right, you both graduated from the University of Washington. She's a woman named Arabella Paterson," Jaxon said, kindly flipping open a printed photo to show me.

The girl in the photo had heavy makeup on, but the bluish-black birthmark clung to her face like a demon's claw, strikingly obvious.

Frederick is looking for me.

This news felt like a thorn, piercing my heart and making me increasingly uneasy.

So, when Frederick called me into the office at noon as usual, I was still a bit dazed.

While making coffee for him, I could feel his cold gaze filled with intense scrutiny.

He asked, "Isabella, you also graduated from the University of Washington. Which department were you in? You look somewhat familiar to me."

My whole body tensed up, gripping the coffee cup tightly, even my breathing trembled.

I replied, "I was in the Department of Communication. During college, I participated in several volunteer activities. Maybe I ran into Mr. Thomson back then."

"Oh, really?" Frederick took the coffee cup, his gaze falling on the rippling liquid inside, and smiled ambiguously.

Then, he suddenly said, "Do you know Arabella from the Department of Economics?"

"I think I've heard of her, but I don't really remember," I replied with a forced smile.

Fortunately, Frederick didn't seem to mind the perfunctory tone in my words and just nodded lightly.

I quickly finished organizing the files on hand and then left the office.

I didn't notice Frederick's gaze shift from my back to the desk in front of him.

He picked up the two photos on the desk and tried to overlap them.

After work that day, my rarely used email inexplicably received a message.

It was actually my former university professor. He said my thesis needed a random check and asked me to provide a phone number for contact.

The doctor beside me was advising me on precautions for Hallie's surgery. So I didn't even think about whether the message was real or not. I quickly replied with a string of numbers, then turned off my phone to focus on listening to the doctor.

After leaving the consultation room, I walked through the hallway toward Hallie's ward.

But I froze when I saw the scene in front of me.

In the distance, Hallie was holding Frederick's hand and waving at me from afar.

My hand gripped the doorknob tightly, my whole body tensed up.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and quickened my pace.

Hallie tilted her little head, speaking as her voice gradually became clearer.

She said, "I'm not afraid of pain. I'll be just like Mom. Mom once fought and defeated a big monster on her face. I can definitely beat the demon inside me too."

Hallie's words were a bit confusing, and Frederick seemed not to understand. He paused for a moment and asked, "What?"

I broke out in a cold sweat and quickly stopped Hallie from continuing. "Hallie."

A passing nurse greeted me and praised, "Isabella, Hallie really looks like her dad."

I hurriedly said, "He's not. Hallie's dad passed away a long time ago."

No one knew my panic at that moment. The intense heartbeat almost shattered my eardrums, and my voice came out dry and strained.

The nurse awkwardly walked away.

Frederick nodded at me, his gaze calm, seemingly unfazed by the nurse's words.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Taking Hallie's hand, I thanked Frederick.

Hallie's surgery is less than two days away.

I'm struggling with how to ask Frederick for leave.

Jaxon walked out of the office with a worried look. His eyes met mine, and he seemed about to say something but stopped.

He sighed and finally said, "Isabella, be honest with me. Which school are you really from? This can't be faked."

My hand trembled, and cold sweat instantly broke out on my forehead.

I could only pretend to be confused and forced a smile. "Jaxon, what do you mean by this? I graduated from the University of Washington."

Jaxon said, "Mr. Thomson asked me to check on you. There's no one named Isabella Fraser in the University of Washington's Department of Communication."

It felt like something exploded in my head. At that moment, my mind went blank, unable to think.

"Think about how you're going to explain this to Mr. Thomson later," he advised.

I stood there, unable to move.

It took a full minute before my clogged mind started thinking again.

I quickly wrote my resignation letter, packed up my desk, and marched straight into Frederick's office.

I said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Thomson. I admit I'm not a University of Washington graduate. I faked my credentials and deceived you."

"Hallie is having surgery in a couple of days. I can't handle this job, and I don't have the face to continue."

"Thank you for taking care of me this past month. I've left my resignation letter here."

I couldn't give Frederick the chance to keep investigating.

Otherwise, he would find out that Isabella was actually called Arabella five years ago.

For this, I clenched my teeth and walked forward with my head down.

I was about to throw the resignation letter onto Frederick's desk and run, but a large hand grabbed my wrist.

I looked up and saw Frederick's eyes filled with complex emotions.

He said slowly and firmly, "Arabella, how much longer are you going to mess with me?"

His words dragged me back to the most unbearable past.