Chapter 114

Albert told the driver to turn the car around right away.

He’d never realized Carola knew everything. But what she didn’t know was that he’d been carrying her in his heart for as long as he could remember.

The first time he met her, Albert was twelve. He was visiting the Brown family and heard a sound coming from the attic-soft, muffled crying that reminded him of a kitten. Driven by curiosity, he climbed up to the attic. The crying grew louder with every step.

He found a door locked from the outside. When he slid back the latch, there she was—a little girl, her face streaked with dirt, eyes red from tears. She couldn’t have been more than a few years old, barely up to his knee.

Albert had never liked people who cried, no matter if they were boys or girls. But this messy little girl, with her big, glistening eyes, made him stop in his tracks. For the first time, he realized a crying girl didn’t have to be annoying.

He remembered then this was the Brown family’s youngest, the one who had just lost her mother.

He reached out and patted her head, his voice gentle. “Don’t cry. You’ve got tears all over your face p>

“I’ll take you downstairs, okay? Are they picking on you because your mom’s gone p>

Albert recalled that Layton had just remarried not long ago. Such a small child, and she already had a stepmother.

“Don’t be scared. As long as I’m here, nobody’s going to bully you p>

The second time he saw her was during the hardest period of his own life. His grandmother, who had always spoiled him, had passed away. For a long time, he couldn’t even bring himself to smile.

It was spring. Albert heard piano music drifting over from the Brown’s house next door. The little girl he remembered had grown taller. The melody was his grandmother’s favorite.

He stood outside, leaning against the wall, listening until the song faded away and the girl slipped out of sight.

She’d quietly worked her way into his heart.

After he turned thirteen, Albert left for school overseas. He didn’t come back until he finished university. By then, he found out Carola had moved abroad too.

Carola was the one who lived inside his heart.

Dorothea, though, was different. She was like a nightlight glowing in the dark, bringing him comfort when he woke up in the middle of the night. He liked the way she smelled, the calm she brought him just bylying at his side, even if nothing happened between them. He wanted to keep a place for Dorothea nearby. But no one could ever mean as much to him as Carola.

In the end, though, he’d still hurt the girl he cared most about.

Albert rushed into the hospital. “Doctor, how is she p>

“She’s okay. Just some scrapes and bruises. She hit the back of her head, so we’ll keep her a few days for observation, just to make sure theres are no clots. Otherwise, she’s fine p>

He stepped into the room. Seeing her lying there, so pale and still, made his heart twist.

Maybe it was his own hesitation from before that had hurt her. Right then and there, Albert promised himself he wouldn’t let anyone else get between them again.

Carola was the only one who mattered.

An hour later, Carola slowly woke up.

She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Albert’s face. “Albert? I’m thirsty p>

Her voice was barely a whisper, her throat dry as dust.

Albert gently helped her sit up, and held a cup to her lips. “Here, just sip it, don’t rush p>

He smiled softly as she drank. “The

doctor says you’re fine, you just have to stay a couple of days, just to be sure. Once they’re certain about your head, you can go home

don’t worry p>

Carola finished the water in little sips, then licked her lips and looked up at him.

“Albert, do you not want me anymore p>