Chapter 2
632 Words
Sienna's POV:
I no longer expected them to come looking for me, so I reached out and pushed open the bedroom door.
I walked to the bed and sat down, then pulled open the bottom drawer of the bedside table.
Then I dug out a document envelope from beneath a pile of old things.
The agreement inside had already yellowed, and the corners had curled up.
But the scene of me signing this agreement seven years ago was still very clear.
It was the end of February, and the weather was still very cold.
I wore a sweater that had been washed until it was covered in pills and went to meet a woman with exquisite makeup.
She was Lance's mother, Emilia Reynolds.
She pushed a thick stack of documents in front of me.
"Take a look first."
I took it nervously, not even daring to look her in the eye.
I opened the first page, and it was written very clearly.
I needed to eat with her son, talk with him, and sleep with him. The term was seven years.
When I saw the words "sleep with him," I immediately wanted to leave.
But Emilia stopped me.
She said, "As long as you can help Lance move on, money is not an issue. The payment section is blank. Fill it in yourself."
I hesitated and asked her why she had to find me.
Emilia stared at my face for a long time.
Her gaze moved from my brows and eyes to the corners of my mouth, as if she were looking through me at someone else.
After a while, she took a photo from her bag and pushed it in front of me.
The girl in the photo had her hair tied in a ponytail and was wearing a white shirt.
When she smiled, there were two faint dimples at the corners of her mouth.
I understood after just one glance.
The person in the photo looked almost exactly like me.
Emilia looked at me and sighed.
"Her name was Celia Lane. She was my son's first love. A year ago, she died in a car accident while saving my son. She was only twenty-two when she passed away."
At this point, Emilia's voice became strained.
"Over the past year, my son has not lived like a normal person.
"He doesn't sleep, he doesn't eat, and he doesn't speak. And those are the minor things.
"Several times, he even tried to end his own life.
"In the end, I knelt on the floor and begged him. I told him that Celia saved him so he could live well. Only then did he give up that thought.
"But..."
Emilia did not continue. Tears had already fallen.
I sat across from her, looking at that photo, not knowing what to say.
After a while, Emilia wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.
Suddenly, she leaned forward and tightly held my hand across the table.
"But you look too much like Celia. When I look at you, sometimes I really feel as if that good child has come back.
"Please, even if I'm begging you, help Lance. Just seven years. After seven years, you won't owe me anything.
"Name any amount of money you want. At least help him get through this period, all right?"
At that time, I was desperately short of money.
So I did not hesitate and signed it directly.
Back then, I thought it was only seven years. It would pass very quickly.
I turned to the last page of the agreement, and my fingertip stopped on the date in the final line.
There were only three days left before the agreement expired.
I stared at the words "expiration date," and something suddenly stirred in my heart.
- Writer
