The assistant panted. “Ms. Johnston, I saw Mr.... oh no, Bond. He’s not doing well now, though. He’s working as a cleaner in a hotel.”
Timothea’s face was grim, but she didn’t react. She spoke succinctly. “Take me there now.”
After ten years together, I knew all too well how Timothea’s body reacted when she was nervous.
She was tense now; she must have been waiting for this moment for five years. Seeing the assistant’s hesitation, Timothea interrupted impatiently, “Forget it, give me the address, I’ll find it myself.”
After receiving the address, Timothea rushed into the hotel like a madman, searching every floor and every bathroom for me.
Only on the 22nd floor did she see the man, hunched over, cleaning the toilet.
Timothea’s body stiffened, her breathing becoming rapid.
“Bond!” She rasped and sneered as she grabbed the man’s wrist.
“You took my money and left with a divorce agreement and now you’re in this mess. Do you regret it?”
Her eyes were bloodshot as she stared at the back of the man’s head.
But the moment he turned, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
It turned out to be a misunderstanding.
Seeing a completely unfamiliar face, Timothea was startled, the light in her eyes dimming.
“Sorry. I recognized the wrong person.”
Coincidentally, in the five years since my death... Whenever news about me faded, new gossip would surface.
The first year, someone said I left behind a divorce agreement, bought a ticket and left the country to marry a dark-skinned woman.
Later, in the hospital, Timothea crushed a cup with her bare hands upon hearing the news.
Before she could even recover and be discharged, she had her assistant buy a plane ticket and immediately left for the country.
Following the clues from that rumor, she searched everywhere she could, but ultimately returned empty-handed.
But from then on, whenever she heard news about the dark-skinned woman, she would frown and pay close attention.
The second year, someone said they saw me checking in at the Terria Tower while traveling abroad.
Upon hearing the news, Timothea immediately canceled an important meeting and bought a ticket to fly there, but still found nothing.
The third year, someone saw me working as a male model at a foreign club.
The fourth year, the fifth year...
Every time there was news, Timothea would be the first to rush to find me. This time, she thought it was real.
But she hadn’t realized she’d mistaken him.