The Black Swan Behind

259 Happiness Pill

Emma looked around the house, feeling how quiet it was there.

“Is Lukas home too?” Emma asked Levi.

“He is still at work,” He replied. “I’m going to call my mother out.”

“Okay.” Emma nodded.

While waiting for Levi to return, a maid approached Emma to ask her what she wanted to drink. After getting Emma’s request; a glass of water, the waiter went to the kitchen.

The maid, who wore a special uniform and a very polite demeanour made Emma think back to her childhood. Or, to be more precise, the life she had left almost a year ago.

Being at Levi’s house, Emma was reminded of her father’s house. The house was big and luxurious, but it felt lonely and cold. His father built a magnificent house like a palace, but the people were busy in their respective rooms. In the end, only their house workers roamed there.

Not long after, Levi returned to the living room with his mother in a wheelchair.

Emma stood up, but with a surprised and worried face because she saw an IV line going along with the wheelchair carrying Nancy. The tube in the IV bag was attached to the wrist of the woman who looked increasingly old.

.....

“Nancy...” Emma said in a low voice.

“Emma,” Nancy replied as she opened her arms. Then, the beautiful girl in front of her went straight to hug her back.

“How are you, Emma? I really missed you,” Nancy said.

“I’m fine, Nancy. I heard from Levi that you’ve been in the hospital a few times. Thank goodness you’re well enough to stay home again.”

Nancy nodded slowly. “My health has been declining for a while. That’s why I had to get hospitalized. But it’s normal, Emma. You don’t have to worry.” She chuckled.

Emma couldn’t help but smile sadly as she looked at her.

“Please sit back, my dear,” Nancy said.

Levi pushed his mother’s wheelchair to face the sofa Emma was sitting on. Then, he sat down next to the girl who was chatting lightly with her mother.

“Sorry that it took so long to visit you again, Nancy. I’ve been a bit busy lately.” Emma said.

Nancy waved her hand over her nose. “No.. You don’t have to think about that. I should be the one thanking you for bothering to visit me again.”

“By the way, how was my Pixy’s examination, Levi?” Nancy asked.

“She’s fine. It’s just a common cold. She’s become weak because she’s old. You shouldn’t have to worry too much. We all know she’s a spoiled cat.” Levi shook his head slowly.

“Don’t say bad things about my Pixy. Even so, she’s the one who always accompanies me when you guys always go out.” Nancy answered.

Seeing this, Emma couldn’t help but chuckle. It seemed so nice to have a mother. If only her mother was still alive, her life would have been a different story now.

“Oh..” Nancy remembered something and turned to the girl sitting across from her. “I heard you accompanied this boy to the vet, didn’t you? Thanks for doing it for my Pixy.”

“It’s nothing, Nancy. Levi contacted me during my free time.” Emma answered.

Then Nancy cleared her throat. “Anyway, I think, you two are getting closer, aren’t you?” she said before laughing excessively while covering her mouth with one hand.

It seemed like Nancy was so lonely. And it seemed to affect her health. Emma had only been in the house for half an hour, and Nancy was looking quite fit now.

“We’re friends now,” Emma answered Nancy’s words. Her sweet lips smiled broadly, with her eyes looking at Levi.

The man smiled warmly. Seeing this, Nancy grew flowers on her heart. It seemed she would soon see Levi holding a girl’s hand.

Nancy hoped that the relationship between the two of them would go well up the wedding aisle. If so, then even when she had to die, she would leave with a smile on her lips.

“Ah.. I’m very happy to see you want to be friends with this one child of mine, Emma. He is a very secretive man. If I may ask for help, I hope you can accompany him often, so that this boy is not always busy alone.” Nancy said.

“Mama,” Levi looked at her with a straight face.

Then Levi turned to Emma with an embarrassed face. “Sorry. Don’t listen to her,” he said with a lip movement.

But of course Nancy could see it all clearly. Instead of feeling irritated at her son’s impudence, she became even more excited because she knew her son very well.

Levi Wargos was not a man who easily said ‘Sorry’ to others. Levi was also the type of person who had a very hard time being nice to people. But apparently, Emma was able to break all the habits of him.

“Levi will always refuse anyone to be close to him. He has a phobia of women..”

“Ma!” Levi was now glaring at his mother.

Emma immediately grabbed Levi’s arm and settled him with a small shake of the head. “Don’t be rude to your own mother.”

‘Female phobia? Is that true?’ Emma thought to herself.

“Don’t listen to her, Emma. She always talks nonsense.” Levi said before glancing cynically at his mother.

Nancy was getting excited at the sight in front of her. She could confidently tell that his son really liked Emma. But apparently, he was too embarrassed to show it.

“Female phobia? I don’t think that’s possible,” Emma answered Nancy’s words just now with a small laugh to lighten the mood, afraid that Levi would feel uncomfortable.

“I’ve never seen Levi act weird to women. He seems to be doing fine when he’s with me. In fact, we’re going to go see a movie later,” Emma continued.

“You are?” Nancy covered her mouth with both hands.

But Nancy wasn’t the only one who seemed surprised. Next to Emma, ??Levi also looked very surprised. He looked at the girl in disbelief.

Emma just glanced at Levi, then smiled warmly back at Nancy. “We are. Levi will take me to see a movie this week. And I think that’s a good idea.”

“Really.. I’m so glad to hear that, Emma. I think I can sleep soundly tonight.” Nancy said while holding her chest, “Thank you for accompanying my son, Emma. It means a lot, even to myself,”

Since she got some more time, Emma joined Nancy for dinner again. They chatted a lot. Nancy, who had looked lethargic, became excited when she met Emma.

She could even remove her IV tube because she thought it interfered with her movement. For Nancy, a girl named Emma was like a pill that made her sickness go away.

After dinner, Emma had to say goodbye.

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait until Lukas comes home? You haven’t seen him either.” Nancy asked.

“Mama, Emma has nothing to do with Lukas. Why should she wait for him to come home?” Levi said. Then, his cell phone rang. He immediately excused himself near the gate to answer it.

Emma chuckled awkwardly, then knelt in front of Nancy’s wheelchair. “What Levi said is true, Nancy. My purpose in coming here was to meet you. Sorry for leaving too soon.” she knew that Nancy was just looking for an excuse to make her stay there longer.

Nancy shook her head, “You don’t need to apologize, my dear. I understand your home is far from here. Actually, I’m the one who is too selfish to keep you like this. It seems age has brought me into being a child again.” She laughed.

“Nancy.. Don’t say that. No one should spend their old age lonely. I’ll tell Levi to stay with you more often.” Emma winked.

Nancy smiled warmly as she raised her hand to caress Emma’s cheek. “You are a very nice girl, Emma. It seems that; to your words, Levi only listens,”

The old woman let out a long sigh. “Levi has gone through a very hard past. It makes him close his heart to everyone. Every time I see him, my heart actually hurts.”

Emma looked at Nancy questioningly. “I’m sorry, Nancy. But may I know what happened to Levi? To be honest, I do feel that he has a slightly odd personality compared to other people I know.”

Nancy smiled sadly. “I’d love to tell you this, Emma. It feels so heavy on a mother’s shoulders, so it will be a relief to at least share it with someone.”

Then she sighed again. “Unfortunately, Levi strictly forbids me or Lukas from telling this to anyone else, whoever it is. He doesn’t want anyone to know about his past. So, we try to keep his feelings in check by doing what he asks.”

“I see..” Emma muttered.

“Nevertheless,” Nancy took a deep breath as she flashed her cheerful smile back. “Now, Levi has become a different person. He can enjoy his life well. And since he got to know you, he seems more alive. I can’t stop thanking you.”

“You don’t have to, Nancy. I’m just being the usual me. There’s nothing special.” Emma smiled.

“That special thing is you. I can see the way my son looks at you.” Nancy said.

Suddenly, a car horn sounded. Levi seemed to have started the car right away, so his mother would understand that Emma had to go home soon.

“It’s late, Ma,” Levi exclaimed from inside the car through the open window.

“He’s worried about you,” Nancy said. Emma just smiled at that.

“I’m sorry about my mother. She is so selfish, isn’t she?” Levi said after Emma had sat in the passenger seat beside him.