Chapter 11
At first, when they had just left her side, they’d still felt a bit attached. They picked up every time.
But slowly, as they adjusted to life in a new city, made new friends, and grew closer to Phoebe, those daily calls became more of a chore.
Two calls became one. Then the conversations shortened to under ten minutes. Eventually, they started making excuses to hang up–and finally, blocked her number altogether.
Now, even the soft glow from Estela’s phone faded to black. And with it, the last flicker of hope in her heart dimmed too.
‘What am I still holding on to?‘ she thought.
Suddenly, a violent coughing fit overtook her. She doubled over, gasping for breath, and coughed up flecks of blood.
The driver panicked, slammed on the accelerator, and sped straight toward the nearest hospital.
*****
Back at the house, Josh watched as Rowena finally finished her photo with Phoebe. Tugging awkwardly at his pajama top, he mumbled, “Rowena. can you take a picture of me too?”
Back when Estela had first made these pajamas, he’d actually kind of liked them.
But the teddy bear pattern didn’t seem very “cool,” so he
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pretended to think they were childish and refused to wear
them.
He never thought he’d actually get to wear them–until Phoebe made it okay.
And she’d even praised him, “Josh doesn’t always have to act tough–sometimes being cute is even better.”
His cheeks flushed pink. “If Phoebe likes them, I’ll wear them every day.”
The pajamas weren’t just cute–they were incredibly soft, like being wrapped in a cloud.
‘Honestly, when Mom wasn’t being overbearing, she was pretty good at making stuff like this,‘ he thought. ‘Maybe. I can send her a photo. Just one.‘
“Agh! Why didn’t you say something earlier? Phoebe just went to get milk,” Rowena huffed, shooting him a playful glare.
Josh opened his mouth to explain, but Rowena had already
misunderstood.
He didn’t want another photo with Phoebe–they already had plenty.
He just wanted to send one to Estela.
“What are my two little sweethearts whispering about?” Phoebe’s gentle voice came from behind them.
Startled, Josh spun around–and accidentally bumped right into her.
“Ah-!” Phoebe let out a small cry of surprise.
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The warm milk in her hand spilled across his pajama top.
The cute teddy bear design was instantly soaked, now blotched with a large stain.
Rowena gasped and immediately scolded him, “Josh! How could you be so careless and bump into Phoebe? Say sorry!”
Josh stared at the ruined pajamas in a daze. He felt a little wronged, but still lowered his head and mumbled, “I’m sorry, Phoebe.”
Phoebe’s eyes flicked toward him, catching the subtle hurt on his face–not guilt, but disappointment. A faint glimmer passed through her gaze.
‘So it really is the pajamas he cares about,’ she thought.
Phoebe quickly reached out to tousle Josh’s hair, her voice soft and reassuring. “Josh, it’s I who should be apologizing. I startled you, didn’t I?”
Josh blinked, surprised, then shook his head. “No, it was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention.”
But Phoebe just smiled warmly and gently took the blame. “I forgot to knock when I came in. I’m sorry, Josh. How about this–as an apology, I’ll buy you the newest limited–edition Ultraman pajamas. Sound good?”
Josh lit up. “Really?”
Back at his old school, nearly every boy had Ultraman pajamas.
But Estela always insisted that the ones sold in stores had toxic dyes and dangerous bacteria. She refused to buy them-
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wouldn’t even let him try them on. He always figured that was just her way of controlling everything.
Phoebe laughed and playfully pinched his nose. “Of course! When have I ever lied to you two? Now go change out of those wet clothes before you catch a cold.”
Beaming, Josh ran off to change. He tossed the stained pajamas straight into the trash. ‘Whatever. I don’t care about those childish pajamas anyway, he thought.
In the study, Vance had just gotten his old phone repaired.
There was a confidential company file on it that hadn’t been backed up, so he’d sent it in through his assistant.
Now, with his SIM card back in place, he noticed that some older messages were missing. The last one from Estela was still there, from the day she arrived in Zrefast.
Estela: [Landing at 10 a.m. today.]
That same night, Phoebe had secured the Lucas luxury brand endorsement. It just so happened that his company was finalizing a ten–year partnership with the brand, and they’d run into each other at the reception dinner.
He never even saw Estela’s message.
Vance pressed his lips together and yanked off his tie. ‘All that drama. over this?‘ he wondered.
The screen refreshed–and three missed calls appeared. One of them was from just an hour ago.
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