MTLNOVEL Chapter 579: Ide.
Aiden glanced at the empty glass he had set on the table before looking at the time on his watch.
It was late, but Arwen had not yet returned. Nor had she sent any text.
Frowning, he dialled her number. The rings went through, but the call wasn't answered. The furrow between his brows deepened and he redialled.
But once again, the outcome wasn't any different.
"Sir, should I call Alfred and ask?" Mr. Jones asked from the side.
Aiden glanced at him briefly and nodded. He then waited while the butler dialled Alfred's number.
The call went through almost immediately, and Mr. Jones heard Alfred through the line.
"Mr. Jones."
"Alfred, where is Madam? Has she left the office?"
"No. Madam is still inside. She hasn't left yet."
"She hasn't?" Mr. Jones's gaze darted to Aiden.
Alfred spoke again through the line. "Almost everyone has left already, but Madam is still inside. I am waiting for her call."
Before the butler could say anything, he saw Aiden rising to his full height, ready to walk out of the house. He quickly disconnected the call and said, "Sir, let me get your jacket." He then quickly moved to bring back the outerwear for him.
Aiden took the jacket from him and then simply walked out. He had informed Neil about keeping the car ready. So, the moment he stepped out, the car was ready.
***
At the same time, Ryan was halfway to Zenith's place.
The air in the car wasn't heavy and silent, but the two were barely talking. Apart from asking how her health had recently been, Ryan hadn't started any small talk.
And neither had Zenith tried.
They simply sat there with Zenith watching the arrow move on the map.
"Is the route to your place usually this busy?" Ryan asked, noticing her gaze glued to the screen.
Zenith turned to him, blinking before shaking her head. "No, not usually. Even I am a bit curious to know what happened today."
"This part of the city isn't that populated," he said, "There must have happened something around that has stirred such heavy traffic."
She hummed, agreeing to it. She was about to say something, but was interrupted when she heard her phone ring. She checked only to find her brother calling.
She glanced at Ryan.
"You have clocked out, Zenith," he said, adding, "You don't need my permission to answer your call out your work hours. Go on, answer it."
Zenith quickly nodded before moving the icon to accept the call.
"Sister, where are you?" came the voice through the line.
"I am on my way back home, Josh. I will be there —"
"No, sister, don't come back."
Her brows knitted in a frown, and she briefly glanced towards Ryan, asking, "What are you saying, Josh? Why won't I come back?"
Ryan glanced her way, only to see her giving him a tight, awkward smile.
"Did you bring your friend home?" There wouldn't be any other reason for her brother would stop her from returning. Lowering the decibel, she tried her best to speak in a voice that would be inaudible for Ryan to hear. "Josh, I am telling you, I will kill you with my bare hand if —"
"Sister, I didn't bring anyone home. I am saying this for your sake," the young guy spoke from the other end. "The third lane bridge broke down today late in the afternoon. And since then, people have found commuting around difficult. There is intense traffic. I have only arrived back now after staying stuck in the jam for more than three hours."
"But how did that happen? I —"
"Sister, you can search it online. For now, call your friend and stay over for a night. You can think later about finding some place to rent. Because from here, it won't be easy for you to commute for the time being."
Zenith pursed her lips but hummed. "Got it. Rest. I will call you later then." With that said, she disconnected the call.
When she removed the phone from her ears, she stared at the blank screen before turning to look at Ryan, her gaze hesitant.
"Sir," she began, her finger curling around her phone in slight awkwardness. "Drop me at the nearest subway. I will be going to my friend's place instead."
***
Meanwhile, Arwen still sat in her office reading her diary. The small quotes in the diary had caught her interest so hard that she hadn't even seen her phone flashing on the desk.
The vibration was subtle, so it had easily gone unnoticed.
She had read many talks, each dedicated to one person, yet his identity always remained a mystery. She was flipping pages in the hope that somewhere … somewhere she would find some hint.
But up until now, she had found none.
[We were art partners.
He let me use all the glitter paint.
I made our volcano pink.]
Reading that, a small chuckle escaped her lips. From what she had read up to now, every page only seemed like she tested the boy's worst patience, yet he never denied offering his best.
He simply seemed too patient with her —too accommodating.
[He told me he hates oranges.
So, I made him orange cupcakes.
He ate three.]
She laughed again, only to turn to another page. Even though there weren't details were mentioned, even the three lines felt enough to imagine.
[He fixed my ponytail.
Said it looked like a tornado.
I made his hair worse in revenge.]
[We played 20 questions.
He only asked one: "Why are you so loud?"
Told him I was born with music inside.]
[He watches clouds like they are secrets.
I named one after him.
He rolled his eyes. (But he looked again, muttering the nickname under his breath —Ide.)]
Arwen was about to turn to the next page when suddenly she halted. 'Ide', she repeated inside before checking back the writing. And the three letters were written clear.
She might have no memories of anything, but this name —she was familiar with it.