Chapter 17 Asking for His Forgiveness
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Lucas fixed his pleading eyes on Eleanor and Victoria. “I know you two have suffered the most because of this mess, even though I
was also deceived by my dad.
“I’m here to say sorry to you, and also on my dad’s behalf…”
Just as he was about to bow deeply, Eleanor and Victoria quickly
stopped him.
This small gesture of stopping him made the heavy burden in
Lucas‘ heart finally lift.
He knew he had managed to get through this difficult situation.
“Come on, we get what your dad was thinking. With all these school experiments lately, we’ve been taking up your free time. You should really go back and spend some good time with your
dad,” Eleanor said in a gentle tone.
“Yeah, and the good thing is your dad isn’t sick,” Victoria added.
They gently pulled Lucas back to the sofa and sat down beside
him.
However, the atmosphere in the living room still felt somewhat
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heavy.
Eleanor held the coffee cup with both hands. The warmth in her palms couldn’t dispel the coldness in her heart.
Victoria hugged the cushion behind her tightly and then nudged Eleanor’s shoulder.
“Eleanor, what about Kenneth? We really misjudged him this time…”
Previously, whenever Eleanor and Victoria brought up Kenneth, Lucas would always find a way to turn the conversation to
himself.
However, after his father’s so–called illness had been exposed, he didn’t have the guts to do so. In fact, he secretly hoped they’d change the topic.
Victoria’s question gave Eleanor an avenue to release her pent–up
emotions.
She let out a long sigh and moistened her dry lips.
“I can’t even bring myself to think about that day when we left him
by the roadside. It still gives me the shivers.
“If my mom hadn’t bumped into him, God knows what would have
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happened. We could’ve been the ones who almost killed him,” she said, her eyes welling up with tears as she spoke.
Even Victoria, who was usually full of energy, fell silent and curled up on the sofa.
They started reminiscing about every single moment they’d spent with Kenneth, and guilt began to consume them.
“Hey, how about we go look for him together? Maybe he’s just mad at us. Maybe he hasn’t left the country yet, you think?”
Victoria suddenly had a brainstorm.
She grabbed Eleanor’s hand and gave it a shake, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Eleanor wanted to say yes, but she was deathly afraid of facing another disappointment, of getting hit with a crushing blow.
Lucas, who had kept silent all this while, finally ventured to speak up, “Look, it’s all my fault.
“Maybe I didn’t mean to hurt Kenneth, but I still did.
“How about we ask the teacher? Even though he’s dropped out,
the teacher might have an idea about where he’s going abroad for the transfer, right?”
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Victoria, Inspired by Lucas‘ suggestion, sniffled and nodded. eagerly. “Yeah, we gotta apologize to him in person. Otherwise, I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”
In truth, Lucas was merely throwing out an idea. Deep in his heart, he secretly wished that Kenneth had gone as far away as humanly possible.
When they got back to school, neither the department head nor Kenneth’s class teacher had a clue about Kenneth’s whereabouts.
Standing at the school gate, they racked their brains, thinking of all the places Kenneth might be. Eventually, they decided to pay a visit to his house.
However, before they could even raise their hands to knock on the door, a real–estate agent strolled over and started putting up a “For Sale” sign.
“Are you here to check out the house?” the amiable agent asked
with a smile.
His words made Eleanor and Victoria gasp, as if a bucket of ice–cold water had been dumped over their heads.
“The house is on the market. He’s really gone…” Victoria
mumbled, covering her mouth with her hand as soft sobs escaped
her.
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Suddenly, as if a lightbulb went off in her head, Eleanor seemed to have an epiphany.
She excitedly grabbed hold of the real–estate agent. “Excuse me,
did the former homeowner authorize you to sell this place? He must’ve left you his contact info, right?”
Eleanor’s intense reaction took the sales agent aback. He stared at her, a bit dazed.
“Yeah, he did. But what do you need it for?”
“We…”
Eleanor was about to spill the beans about their connection with
Kenneth, but Lucas cut in.
“We’re keen on learning more about the previous owner. You
know, we want to get a feel for what kind of person he is and make
sure it’s a safe place for us to live.”
Hearing this, the agent smiled and quickly handed over the
contact information.
“I get your concerns. Let me tell you, the previous owner’s a top–notch guy.
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“He’s a student planning to study overseas. He needs the money for a heart transplant surgery, so he’s looking to sell the house
fast.
“It’s a steal in this neighborhood. You should really consider it…”
The rest of his words became a blur to Eleanor and Victoria. Their minds were in a whirl, and all they could envision were Kenneth’s once–gentle features, which had grown cold in their memories.
A dozen minutes later, in a cozy café across the street, Victoria sat there, clutching the contact number the real–estate agent had given them.
She looked at Eleanor and Lucas, her eyes filled with urgency.
“What are we waiting for? We gotta reach him right away! If we don’t, this misunderstanding’s just gonna snowball, and we’ll never be able to set things straight!”
With that, she started punching in the number on her phone.
Just as she was about to hit the call button, Lucas reached over
and grabbed her wrist.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing? Let go of me!”
Victoria stared at Lucas, utterly confused.
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Across the table, Eleanor let out a soft sigh, clearly siding with
Lucas‘ move. “Victoria, I think we need to take a step back and
have a good think.
“If Kenneth’s still fuming at us, calling him now might just pour fuel
on the fire.
“He’s already blocked our numbers. If we call him without thinking it through, we might really blow our chances of ever contacting him again.”
Eleanor’s words made Victoria slam her hand down on the table
impatiently.
It was obvious that the thought of losing Kenneth for good was
more than she could bear.
Seeing the two girls so distraught, even though Lucas secretly
harbored resentment towards Kenneth, he knew this was his moment to be a stand–up guy.
“Eleanor, look. It was me who ticked Kenneth off. I should be the
one to reach out to him. Once I’ve got his forgiveness, you two can patch things up with him. How about that?”
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