Our Summer Isn't Over Yet - Chapter 53

Mia tilted her head, swaying so much that Reggie knelt down and gripped her shoulders to steady her. “Miss me?”

“I miss Mia very, very much.”

“Uh-huh! Then our daddy misses [me] too! But Mommy will even more!”

“So much that she can’t think of anything else?”

“Yeah!”

Mia nodded, her hands clasped tightly. Her flushed cheeks were utterly adorable, but Reggie’s face remained chillingly cold. “Yes, it’s better if your mom goes crazy than your dad. It would be even better if the baby in her belly fell out. We don’t know if it will be a daughter like you.”

“Uncle keeps saying hard things.”

“Then shall we play hide-and-seek with Uncle? If you hide and come out, wouldn’t Mom and Dad say they missed Mia and give you your favorite kisses and hugs?” Reggie ignored Mia’s words and smiled, extending his hand.

Mia was upset that she could no longer be held in her increasingly pregnant mother’s arms, so Reggie’s words were a very sweet temptation. “Okay! Let’s do it!”

Grasping Reggie’s hand tightly, Mia skipped along.

Her tightly tied pigtails swayed lightly from side to side as if weights were attached. Unaware of what would happen next, the excited Mia hummed.

Soon after Reggie and Mia disappeared, the Blair household was in an uproar. The child who should have been in the mansion had vanished as if into thin air.

One hour, one day, two days. Even after a week, no trace of Mia could be found.

Two months later, Mia’s mother, Sarah, lost the baby in her womb due to the shock of losing her daughter.

But there was no time to grieve over that fact. Their five-year-old daughter was nowhere to be found, not even a trace.

Another month passed, and as the end of summer approached, Mia was found.

Mia was discovered in a remote orphanage far from the capital. The once lovely child arrived at the Blair residence looking like a beggar.

Sarah and Justin, who found Mia, thanked the heavens and tried to find out why this incident had occurred and to find the culprit. But despite their efforts, they could not find any evidence. Mia could not provide any useful information, perhaps because she had erased the memories of that time from her mind.

Thus, the case ended inconclusively.

Sarah and Justin felt sorry for the unborn child, but they were completely overwhelmed with joy at having found Mia. They had gone through a great ordeal, but they were only grateful that Mia smiled brightly.

They sometimes wondered why their daughter, who had been so fond of Reggie, had become so wary and started to be shy around him, but that was all. If Mia didn’t like him, they didn’t have to see him, and it was enough for them to receive their love.

Mia, held in Sarah and Justin’s arms, stamped her feet and burst into laughter. Her face was free of shadows.

At that moment, a terrible voice flowed into Mia’s ear.

‘Mia, why do you think your parents died?’

Instantly, five-year-old Mia screamed and covered her ears. But neither Sarah nor Justin knew this and were smiling. Confused, she looked around, and a figure slowly began to appear.

‘Why do you think you came to Murad?’

Only then did Mia gasp.

Her mother’s face and her father’s face seemed to have holes in the middle and could not be seen. At the same time, the colorful world began to be dyed in black and white.

Like an ungreased hinge, Mia barely turned her head to look ahead. In front of her was Jose, grinning with his mouth torn wide.

‘The thing about your family is that it’s a trap, a very solid one.’

Who set the trap? She wanted to ask, but her mouth was sealed shut and would not open. Just then, Mia opened her eyes from the black and white world and returned to reality.

As soon as she opened her eyes, a piercing light greeted Mia. She had awakened from a nightmare.

Mia squeezed her eyes shut and opened them, then dropped her head to the side. Instantly, her vision was filled with Dylan.

As soon as she saw him, the terrible things were swept away without a trace.

“Again, it’s Dylan Richard.”

Had she thought she had woken up from a dream, but was that not the case?

At the end of a terribly frightening and horrific dream, relief, not anger, settled in Mia’s heart as she faced him.

It was not an appropriate emotion to feel when looking at Dylan, who had betrayed her.

“Why, again?”

Mia murmured. As if he had heard the small voice, Dylan’s eyes opened.

Regaining his senses, he immediately got up from his seat. Mia was still unsure whether this was a dream or reality.

‘Dylan would never wear his uniform in such a disheveled manner.’

It’s a dream.

While Mia was connecting her thoughts with a hazy head, Dylan sighed and ran a hand over his face. He seemed to be regulating his breathing, shrugging his shoulders for a while.

Finally, when he lowered his hand, Dylan’s face was clearly visible. He looked pale, like someone who hadn’t slept for days. As he came and sat beside Mia, she felt the bed sink down.

His cool hand touched Mia’s cheek. It was a very careful and tender touch.

“Is anything uncomfortable?”

With a cracked voice, Mia replied. “Nothing.”

“Okay, then what do you need?”

His eyes were kinder than the Dylan in reality. He looked truly worried about Mia, as if he was the one in pain. The him in the dream was excessively kind and expressing a lot of affection.

Looking at his face, which seemed far from betrayal, made her heart feel even more crushed.

Just. She was endlessly sad.

In the end, it was an illusion, a dream to be awakened from. It hurts so much to yearn for something that doesn’t exist.

Mia, who had slowly fluttered her eyelids, closed them tightly and murmured as if exhaling.

“I want to go.”

This place was full of things that made her sad.

“I want to go home.”

Mia, who repeated the same words several times, fell asleep again. Dylan stroked her bloodless face.

As if afraid she would break or get hurt. It was a touch filled with worry.

“Mia.”

There was no response to Dylan’s call. As if she were really dead, Mia fell asleep like that.

He watched her in hushed silence. Mia’s chest moved up and down slightly. As he breathed a sigh of relief, Mia’s neck caught his eye.

It was fortunate that there was nothing wrong with the bone, but the bruise on her neck seemed like it would last quite a while.

Dylan clenched his teeth and tried to avert his gaze from Mia. He tried to calm his mind while straightening the disheveled blanket, but Mia’s wounds kept filling his mind.

Not only was her cheek bruised, but the inside of her mouth was completely torn, and her back and shoulders were bruised so darkly that Mia’s existing scars could not be seen.

Her arms and legs were all scraped from falling.

“…Fucking bastard.”

Mia’s left side. The area with the scar that looked like it had been scratched was bruised in the shape of fingers, as if it had been pinched.

The hand holding the blanket tightened.

Dylan, who barely managed to control his bursting emotions, finished tidying the bed. He carefully got out of bed and watched Mia for a while before moving his reluctant steps and heading outside.

“Dylan.”

As soon as he stepped out, he was faced with Walter.

“Are you still here?”

Walter had been by Mia’s side even when Dylan arrived at the residence. He had told him that he could go back now, but he was still there.

Dylan dismissed the servants around him. When they were alone, he looked at Walter, who was as haggard as he was, and asked.

“Do you have something to say?”

After a moment of silence, Walter offered an apology.

“I shouldn’t have left my post today. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s my fault.”

The veins in Dylan’s neck were bulging. Walter looked at his bloodshot eyes and parted his lips.

Before Walter could say anything, Dylan continued coldly.

“Please go back now.”

“……”

“I’m not in my right mind today, so I don’t think I can respond to you.”

Walter knew.

That Dylan was not angry at him now, but was angry at himself for not being by Mia’s side at the time.

Walter knew better than anyone that no words could be comforting. He, too, had once been entangled in such guilt.

Time continued to pass as they looked into each other’s eyes. It was Dylan who averted his gaze first.

“You should take care of yourself too.”

“Yes, I will.”

“You look terrible. What’s the point of being tall and handsome, you’re like a living corpse.”

It was not something to be said to Walter, whose face was pale, but Dylan did not bother to add any words. As he lowered his head with a tired look, Walter spoke again.

“When Mia wakes up, how about telling her all the reasons why she can’t be sent home?”

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