Novel Palace
Chapter 1299
No sooner had Dorothy settled into the passenger seat, Kevin, stationed behind the wheel, made no move to start the car. "Kevin?"
"Ms. Sanchez... maybe you should consider telling Mr. Lopez about it, discuss it with him before taking any steps?"
He was in on the secret, aware of who Dorothy was off to meet.
Truth be told, Dorothy had hoped to keep this venture from Kevin as well, but that was a tall order! Everett, out of concern for her safety, had Kevin stick close at all times.
If she were to part ways with Kevin, it was a given Everett would get wind of it.
"Everett's been losing sleep over this for days! I don't want to add to his worries."
"But if something were to happen to you, wouldn't that be like ripping Mr. Lopez's heart out?" Kevin clearly understood what Dorothy was driving at.
Both of them, intent on shielding the other!
Yet, the crux of the matter remained...
The consequences of keeping Everett in the dark were too grave for Kevin to bear.
"I won't let anything happen to me!" Dorothy glanced at her phone, noting a message from Lane confirming his arrival, "Lane's after me, so as long as I play it cool, he won't harm me!"
"It's the 'other demands' he might make that worry me."
Even something as simple as holding hands would drive Mr. Lopez up the wall if he found out, Kevin thought.
"Kevin, I can take care of myself."
Seeing him still hesitant to start the car, Dorothy added more firmly, "You know when I make a decision, I see it through! If you won't take me, I'll go myself. At least if you drive me, you can keep an eye on me from the shadows."
"If you tell Everett, can you imagine how guilty, how terrible he'd feel? You've been by his side long enough, you should know!"
Ever since this mess began, Everett had sprouted a few gray hairs.
He might not voice it, but Dorothy knew Everett's guilt had evolved into a sense of inadequacy.
Everett felt he had failed to protect Dorothy, leading to their current predicament.
If this dragged on...
He'd run himself into the ground.
"Kevin, Everett's done more than
enough for me. In a relationship, et
can't always be one person giving
and the other just recov
The air hung heavy and silent for nearly a minute before Kevin finally sighed in resignation.
"Alright, but you have to promise me, if there's any danger, you'll call me immediately, and I'll come charging in!"
"Deal."This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
...
Lane first made a detour to fetch a portion of the antidote, securing the rest before donning a hat and mask to meet Dorothy as agreed.
It had been ages since he last saw
her, and as he waited, he felt an
unfamiliar flutter of nerves akin to a
teenage boy on his first daki
Lane couldn't help thinking he might be losing it, his fixation on Dorothy bordering on obsession.
As time ticked by, he caught himself repeatedly glancing at the diner's entrance, hoping against hope for her silhouette to materialize. Finally!
Dorothy arrived.
Dressed in a simple white tracksuit
that accentuated her pallor yet
underscored her frailty, she scanned the diner and spotted Lane by the window.
Striding over, she pulled out the chair across from him and sat down.
"Here's the antid-"
Lane, assuming Dorothy's first order of business would be the antidote, promptly handed it over.