Third Person’s POV
"So, is she alright?" Lanceil asked, his voice filled with concern, as he slumped onto the couch.
"Yeah," Vincent replied on the other end of the phone. "She mentioned that she's with her friend at the moment."
"If that's true, why didn't she reach out to me?" Lanceil groaned in frustration, biting his already swollen lip.
"Actually, she lost consciousness on the street last night," Vincent explained.
"What?!" Lanceil exclaimed, jumping up from the couch. His body trembled with a mix of fear and anger at the thought of his beloved collapsing helplessly on the street. He couldn't help but blame himself.
Was it because they had been intimate multiple times?
Damn. If he could, he would punch himself in the face.
"It seems she dropped her phone somewhere while a passerby took her to the hospital," Vincent added.
Lanceil ran his fingers through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut. "Oh my god," he muttered. When he opened his eyes, he spoke in a softer tone. "How did you get in touch with her?"
“…”
The silence on the other end of the line made Vincent's lack of response clear. Lanceil knew he had to ask again.
"How?" he repeated.
“Agatha called me," came the reply.
Lanceil's eyes widened in surprise. He gripped the phone tightly with one hand, while the other clenched into a fist.
"Why would my girlfriend contact you instead of me?" Lanceil asked, unable to believe it.
Vincent and Agatha never got along. They constantly argued, and Lanceil could see that Vincent despised her. He had even wondered if Vincent saw Agatha as a threat. Regardless, he had expected his younger brother to show him some respect by staying away from his girl.
Vincent tried to justify himself, "Maybe she remembered my number because I always call her before to vent out my frustrations," he explained.
Lawrence's face twisted into a frown. He needed to clarify something. "Do you actually like her, Vincent?"
Vincent kept his gaze fixed on the floor, biting his lower lip and scowling.
"Tell me the truth. Because if you don't, I might just have to find you and give you a good punch."
"I liked her first," Vincent finally spoke, lifting his head.
Lanceil instinctively shook his head. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He kept telling himself that this wasn't real, that it was just a nightmare playing tricks on his mind. It felt like the river was flowing backwards and all his long-held beliefs were crumbling.
"Then why didn't you tell me?" Lanceil asked, struggling to suppress his urge to punch his younger brother's face.
"Because, between the two of us, you suffered the most."
Lanceil couldn't argue with that. He was angry at Vincent, but he also felt a sense of guilt.
“So don’t worry,” Vincent murmured. “I will do my best to get rid of this.”
Then they didn’t talk after that.
They only had the opportunity to talk again because they needed each other's cooperation to find Agatha. But now that Vincent revealed that Agatha had called him instead of Lanceil, all of Lanceil's pent-up hatred came rushing back.
"Are they really that close that Agatha reached out to him instead of me?" Lanceil thought to himself, his eyes welling up with redness.
As the silence lingered, Vincent broke the silence once more.
"Regardless, Agatha will come back home. Just be patient."
"Alright," Lanceil replied. He took a deep breath and added, "I'll inform the police to halt the search."
He ended the call with his brother and stared into the empty space before him. Despite his anger, the knowledge that Agatha was safe brought him some relief.
"At least she's safe. Thank goodness."
When Lanceil lost almost all of his loved ones, he believed that anyone who entered his life would suffer the same fate. This led him to close off his heart. However, now that he has learned to love again, the anxiety caused by fear, regrets, and disappointments never leaves him.
But thanks to Vincent's news, he finds the strength to carry on. Now all he can do is wait for Agatha to return.
"Please come back quickly," Lanceil whispered.
While waiting for her, he thought about all the things he could do to prepare: cooking her favorite food, cleaning the house so she can rest, and...
"I miss her," he whispered, imagining kissing her as soon as he sees her face. No, it's not just about kissing her. He wants more than that, fearing that he may never hold her hand again if she disappears once more.
If only he had known this could happen, he would have stayed at home and hugged her all day.
"I must be out of my mind," he muttered, rubbing his temples. He couldn't believe he had entertained the thought of being intimate with her again, especially when she had just lost consciousness on the street.
With that in mind, he felt compelled to show gratitude to the stranger who had helped Agatha. Even if it meant seeking police assistance to locate the kind Samaritan, he was willing to do so.
"Ding dong."
Lanceil's face lit up as he looked in the direction of the sound. When was the last time he had been so eager to answer the door? It had been years.
With a wide smile, Lanceil hurriedly made his way to the entrance, not bothering to check the guest screen. But when he saw who was standing there, his smile faded.
It wasn't the woman he had been waiting for.
"Hi there. Can we talk for a bit?" Lawrence asked.
Lanceil decided to let him in instead of pushing him away just because of his jealousy. Shouldn't we discuss the matter of Agatha's disappearance? Lanceil wanted to show off how well he knows Agatha compared to Lawrence. If it turns out that Lawrence doesn't know anything, that would be quite an accomplishment.
But then again, Lawrence might just blame him for everything, so he reconsidered. Agatha is safe now, so maybe they don't need to make such a fuss about it anymore.
Lanceil glanced at the guy sitting on the opposite sofa and asked, "What drink do you want? We only had water, and I had just bought a new dispenser. You can choose between warm, cold, or hot."
Although Lanceil's welcome was quite rude, Lawrence simply laughed it off. After all, he had come with an intention that could potentially explode in Lanceil's face. So, he decided to tolerate Lanceil's impoliteness before the disaster unfolded.
"No need. If anyone needs a drink, it's definitely you," Lawrence chuckled.
"Excuse me?" Lanceil smirked in irritation.
"I came here to ask you the same damn thing. Just let her go."
'Again? He's asking this crap again?' Lanceil chuckled to himself. He parted his lips and retorted, "Agatha already made it clear that she doesn't want to get married. Can you please stop coming here and bothering her like some obsessed ex-boyfriend?"
"Why not? Is it because you two have feelings for each other?"
Lanceil didn't bother answering the rhetorical question. He was confident in the answer, so why waste his breath? However...
"But what if you found out the real reason why she approached you? Would you still feel the same?"
"..."
"Agatha, well, she actually..." Lawrence's smile disappeared. He gave Lanceil a cold stare before continuing, "...approached you with ulterior motives. She's drowning in debt and her mission was to seduce you, Lanceil Grim, in order to pay it off."
Lanceil's eyes widened. He never expected to hear something like this among countless other reasons.
"Do you still have feelings for her? Even if it was all just an act?" Lawrence asked, a smirk on his face.