Roses Covered in Dust

chapter 1

That day, Faith disappeared.

I just went to get some medicine, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

I broke out in a cold sweat, ignored the faint pain in my abdomen, and searched upstairs and downstairs several times.

A kind person told me she saw Faith leave the hospital.

Outside the hospital is a high-end villa area.

Faith kept talking about wanting to go home, so I guessed she mistook the villas for home.

But that place is heavily guarded, and outsiders are strictly prohibited from entering.

I knelt on the ground, begging the security guard to let me in.

Thankfully, the security guard finally agreed.

The villa area was as big as a maze. I ran while shouting Faith's name, completely ignoring the passing vehicles nearby.

A piercing screech of brakes sounded, and I stumbled and fell.

Before I could react, a tall figure was already standing in front of me.

I looked up at him along the pant leg.

Dressed in clean white shirt and black pants, the coldness in his eyes grew even stronger.

I froze. "Nathan."

He slightly raised an eyebrow, his gaze scrutinizing.

He said, "What, are you doing house calls now?"

"Ms. Nielsen, your business is really expanding."

His words were harsh, a far cry from his former gentleness.

I brushed the dust off my pants, smiled generously at him, and said, "Mr. Stephens, feel free to contact me if you need anything."

He took a step back, his eyes filled with blatant contempt. "I find it dirty."

His actions made the dull pain in my heart intensify.

Yeah, he did the right thing.

After all, I was the one who left him first.

I was the one who abandoned him on the day of his parents' car accident, the day he became an orphan, the moment he was in his deepest despair.

That night, under the pouring rain, I told him, "Without your parents, you're just a useless person."

"You have nothing now, and the money you can give me is less than the tips my clients casually throw around."

"I don't want to bear that huge compensation for the accident with you."

He hates me.

This is my retribution.

He said, "Where do you work now? I'll bring people to support you."

With abdominal cramps, I still forced myself to reply, "Thank you in advance."

I accepted all the humiliation he gave me.

The driver whispered a few words in Nathan's ear, and he got in the car and left.

I found Faith by the fountain.

She stood in the shallow water, smiling innocently. "Vivian, come on, play in the water with me!"

She has Alzheimer's and often mistakes me for her sister Vivian.