Chapter 4

Reading this, I couldn't hold back my tears anymore.

I knew what my mom had done for me.

I walked down the little path in front of the house and found myself at my mom's cemetery.

It had been a whole year since I last visited her.

"Why are there so many flowers here?" I muttered under my breath.

I stared at the fresh flowers in front of my mom's tombstone, their petals still sparkling with morning dew.

These must have been put here not long ago, but I didn't have any relatives or friends left in Feroville. Who could it be?

"Are you Lydia?" A low, unfamiliar male voice came from behind me, catching me off guard.

I turned around to see a good-looking guy with a warm smile, probably around my age.

"Who are you?" I asked.

I tried to remember, but I was sure I'd never met him before.

"Lydia," the guy said, a hint of annoyance flickering across his handsome face. "Don't you remember me? I'm Stefan Palmer. Stefan."

"Oh, that's right. Stefan, Stefan Palmer," I said, the memories finally clicking into place.

When I was a kid, my mom took me abroad for a performance, and we ended up staying with his family.

We used to play house together, and I even pretended to be his wife.

Both our moms secretly saw us and never let us live it down, always teasing us about it afterward.

But after my dad died, my mom never reached out to Stefan's mom again.

I never expected to bump into Stefan there.

I guessed my mom must've meant this old friend in her letter. That was a real coincidence!

Thinking back to those childhood days, my cheeks grew warm with embarrassment.

Seeing his blank expression, I figured he'd forgotten most of it, and I breathed a small sigh of relief.

But why was he here? Could it be something about his mom?

Feeling anxious and a little scared, I blurted out, "Why are you here?"

Stefan scratched his head, his cheeks turning a little red. With his pale complexion, the blush was easy to see.

He pointed at the flowers, looking a bit shy. "I... I came to see your mom."

It was only then that I realized it. He looked so uneasy, like he'd just been caught doing something he shouldn't.

"Weren't you guys living in Plestika? Why are you back in Feroville?" I asked, curiosity in my voice.

"Yeah, my company's expanding into the local market, so I moved back for a bit. Since I was close by, I figured I'd stop in," Stefan replied.

Stefan's voice got quieter and quieter until I couldn't hear him at all.

"Why are you acting all bashful, like a girl?" I teased.

Stefan looked genuinely surprised. I used to say he was way too rough and didn't look like a pianist at all when we were kids.

Stefan told himself to let it go.

Stefan was gonna be in town for a while, and he asked me to show him a good time.

I honestly didn't want to agree, but he was offering way too much to say no.

I didn't want to take his cash, but my wallet's been bone dry for ages. All those years crashing at Victor's place, I never saw a dime.

And I was not taking Stefan's money for free. He'd have to pay a tour guide anyway.

Plus, all the places he wanted to go were spots I'd been wanting to check out myself. It was basically me dragging a kid around on vacation.

Honestly, I didn't feel bad at all about taking his money.

"Wait, this is what you're making me ride in? I paid you three thousand dollars, Lydia!" Stefan looked bitter.

Stefan prided himself on being pretty refined, at least before he ran into me.

But the sight of a minivan crammed with seven people was enough to make him lose it.

"Relax, it might look packed, but I swear it's not cramped at all," I said, feeling a bit awkward myself.

Even this beat-up minivan cost 70 dollars a head. That was just how things were these days.

I patted my chest and swore to Stefan, "Trust me, next time I'll upgrade you for sure."

"Guess I must've been out of luck to hire you," Stefan muttered, rolling his eyes as he reluctantly climbed into the van.

Seeing Stefan, 6 feet 5, squished into that tiny van, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

So I scooted over to the side, signaling that he could stretch his legs out on my side.

But to my surprise, he turned and actually leaned against me. The moment he did, I felt my face heating up instantly.

Damn, was this dude still stuck in the past or what?

Had he never heard of personal space between a guy and a girl? But honestly, he was only uncomfortable because of me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing all those thoughts out of my head.

Whatever, I'd just pretend we were playing house like back then. I could survive until we got there.

Eventually, with all those awkward thoughts swirling in my head, I drifted off to sleep.

Too bad that I didn't see the sly grin Stefan was trying to hide.

Half-asleep, I thought I glimpsed Victor's silhouette.

But I couldn't help but give a sad little laugh. No way it was him.