After watching Armand leave the house, the servant went back to bed.
The next morning, she did not see the leather shoes the man usually wore or his coat on the hanger. Hence, she assumed that he had been out the entire night.
Genevieve simply gave an indifferent laugh when she heard the housekeeper. “He probably had something important to tend to.”
However, the servant was not convinced, for that was not what it looked like based on the expression she saw on Armand. The man looked like he was mad. Could they have gotten into a fight in the bedroom?
The housekeeper had her assumptions but dared not gossip about them.
After breakfast, Genevieve sent Steven a message to ask about the cemetery’s location, and when she got it, her eyes immediately welled up because that was also where her parents and grandmother were buried.
Genevieve went to a dessert shop to get two boxes of cream puffs before making her way to the cemetery.
Since she had been there twice, she knew of a shortcut to get there and did not have to rely on her phone.
After parking her car, Genevieve walked up the stairs with the dessert in her hand and soon saw Steven, who was standing in front of a tombstone with his back to her.
Beside the man were several staff members of the funeral service company keeping busy under a large black umbrella.
Steven usually kept his back straight, so he looked somewhat despondent with it slightly arched now.
Genevieve walked toward Steven slowly until she finally reached the man’s side.
Steven was holding an urn covered with red cloth as he spoke to Genevieve, his eyes downcast. “Patrick had always been a smart kid. It doesn’t matter if it’s a contest on hacking or sniping skills because he’d always come out on top. The Ministry of National Security wanted to recruit him before he even graduated from military school, but I didn’t let him go.”
The man paused briefly before continuing, “I was born in a slum in Xedells, where I spent most of my childhood starving and seeking shelter. My father was killed in a car accident, and the culprit just drove off. The guy was never brought to justice. My mother basically had to raise me on her own, and when she was diagnosed with gastric cancer, we lost our house. No bank was willing to give us a loan.”
Back then, Steven was desperate to get money to treat his sick mother. He had to fight for a job at the docks and even steal from an arcade.
The third time he tried to swipe the establishment, Steven was caught red-handed by the owner, who beat him up along with the workers there. When the owner told him that he would get his hands chopped off, Steven immediately swung his fists at the men and made a break for it.
Then, Steven just so happened to bump into a young man walking out of a cafe and heading for a car parked by the roadside, and that person was Armand.
Barely twenty years old, Armand had just returned home after studying abroad. He said goodbye to his friends and was about to go home when he saw the owner of the arcade rush out to kick Steven, who had reached his car.
Armand’s driver decided to step out of the vehicle to talk to the arcade owner and managed to get rid of the man after offering him some money.
Steven could tell that Armand was wealthy just by looking at the man’s clothes and car, so he immediately begged Armand to lend him some money and promised to return it.
The owner, who had not returned to his arcade yet, snorted at Steven before turning to Armand. “I wouldn’t trust him if I were you. He just tried to steal from me; that should be enough to tell you what kind of person he is. Besides, he’s from the slums. Do you think he’ll be able to pay you back?”
“I didn’t want to steal,” protested Steven. “I just need enough money so that my mother can undergo surgery for her gastric cancer.”
Steven would not have resorted to thieving if he had a choice.
Unexpectedly, Armand simply asked Steven how much the man needed and handed over his bank card. After telling Steven the password to use the card, Armand got into his car and left. As for Steven, he hurried home to get his mother to a hospital and paid the necessary fees to book an appointment.
Unfortunately, his mother had already reached the advanced stage and was incurable at that point.
Hence, Steven used the money to purchase all kinds of medication to allow his mother to live a longer life. After keeping her company at the hospital for half a year, she finally passed away in peace.
Since Steven did not know how to reach Armand, he presented the man’s bank card to the police and told them that he had found it on the streets.
When Armand appeared at the precinct shortly after, Steven returned the card and told the man that his mother had passed away.
Still, he promised Armand that he would get a job and pay the money he had used back in installments.
“My driver is about to retire. Come work for me and take his place,” said Armand.
That was how Steven ended up working for Armand.
