The Black Swan Behind

84 Because Of an Annoying Man

The taxi driver scratched his head in an uncomfortable motion, “I’m sorry, Miss. I think I can’t drive you with my car. Your frozen clothes might be melted on the car seat and make it wet because taxis use internal heaters.”

“Pardon me? Are you serious, Sir?” Emma asked again with a disappointed face.

The man nodded uncomfortably, “I’m really sorry, Miss.”

Emma sighed, “Okay,” she answered by closing the car door again. Then, the taxi sped away.

“Did you see that? He didn’t want to take me because I’m like this.”

“I know.” The man interrupted Emma’s rambling, “I’m calling another taxi. Please wait.”

Emma looked at the man in annoyance. She never thought there was a man with such bad character in this world. Was it that Emma didn’t know many people in her life, or did all the people in Handway City seemed strange?

Not long after, a taxi arrived. But just like the first taxi, the driver also refused Emma to be his passenger. Then, they called another taxi but ended up in the same situation.

Emma’s breathing quickened. Her lips were already turned bluish. She leaned against the hood of the man’s blue car while hugging herself because the cold seemed to have invaded her heart.

.....

“I can’t take it anymore. You.. drive me home. Hurry up!” Emma ordered, taking no refusal, to the man who was still smoking cigarettes beside her. She didn’t even know how many cigarettes he had smoked since then. Emma hoped that he would soon die of tuberculosis.

The man looked at Emma for a moment, “Ok,” then, stepped and entered the driver’s door.

Emma immediately got into the front passenger seat. She hastily closed the door to prevent the cold wind outside from entering, “Please.. quickly turn on the heater...” she said in a weak voice.

The man stared for a moment at the girl who was sitting back with trembling body on his side seat, “Hm,” He started the car engine and then pressed the heating button.

Before leaving, he checked at the back seat and saw that Pixy was fast asleep in her cage, “Where is your house address?” he asked. But, there was no answer. He frowned and turned to the girl.

***

Emma frowned firmly. Her head ached terribly and her body felt uncomfortable. Even though it felt heavy, Emma still forced herself to open her eyes which felt so hot.

Faintly, she saw the light of the lamp and the white ceiling. She looked left and right just to find herself lying on a large bed with a thick and warm blanket covering her up to her chest.

“Hello, Dear.. Are you awake?”

Emma turned to look at the source of the voice. She was somewhat surprised to find a middle-aged woman with burn scars all over her right cheek and neck. The woman smiled warmly at Emma.

“What happened? Where am I?” Emma asked, trying to sit up. Her voice sounded very hoarse.

The woman immediately took a glass of water from the nightstand beside the bed and gave it to the girl who had just woken up, “Please drink it. You fell unconscious due to a severe fever. Our doctor had examined you. Don’t worry, you will recover soon.” She explained.

Emma looked at the woman who had a warm smile. She sat in a wheelchair. Her legs looked a little smaller than they should be, which Emma was sure was due to shrinking. It’s possible that her legs had been paralyzed for quite a long time.

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t do anything harmful to you. We’re both women.” The woman continued.

Finally, Emma nodded and accepted the glass of water, then gulped it down. She did not suspect too much of the woman. Because, if she really meant to do bad things to her, she should have been able to do it earlier when Emma was unconscious.

“Excuse me, if I may ask, where am I and who are you?” Emma asked after putting the empty glass back on the nightstand.

“My name is Nancy Wargos. Right now, you are at my house at Odare Residence.”

“Meowww..” Suddenly, a white cat entered the room with an opened door and jumped onto the lap of the woman named Nancy.

“That cat! The vampire man..” Emma muttered as if getting her memory back.

Nancy laughed uncomfortably, “Well.. Levi does have a bit pale skin. It was my son who brought you here. He said you fell unconscious because you fell into the icy river to save my Pixy. I thank you very much.” she said sincerely.

“O-oh.. I see..” Emma said as rubbing her neck embarrassedly. She had mocked someone in front of his own mother.

“Oh.. how about you? What’s your name, Dear?” Nancy asked.

“My name is Emma Hilland. If I may ask, how long have I been unconscious for?” Asked Emma.

“Hmm..” Nancy seemed to think, “Levi brought you to this house last night. Since it’s already late now, I can say you’ve been unconscious for almost a day. But the doctor already gave you an IV.”

“Late?!” Emma repeated, then searched to the left and right, “Do you know where my cell phone is?”

“Oh.. We’re drying your belongings. But it looks like your cell phone is broken. Don’t worry, my son will get a new one for you. You’d better get some rest now. You’re still in fever.” Nancy held Emma’s hand to feel her temperature.

Emma looked at the hand that was on top of hers. Just like on the woman’s right cheek, her hands were also full of burn marks. This made Emma feel sorry for the woman named Nancy. She must have been in a serious accident to cause her suffered severe paralysis and burns.

“By the way.. Where is your son now?” Asked Emma.

“Do you mean Levi? He’s at work. I also have another son. His name is Lukas Wargos. My two sons work together. They have gotten along since childhood. Levi and Lukas are my most valuable treasures.” The woman answered while smiling and petting her cat.

Emma smiled warmly. A mother’s love couldn’t be underestimated. She would love her children under any circumstances. Praising her children as they were the most beautiful gem in the world.

Behind her smile, Emma snorted in her heart. So, that annoying man named Levi? How could a person with such a bad character have such a kind and warm mother? Indeed, lineage couldn’t guarantee a person’s character.

“I’ll leave you here to rest. Later, our maid will bring you food and medicine. Anyways, do you want to borrow a phone to call your family back home?” Nancy asked.

“Eum.. No need, Ma’am. The people in my house is used to it that I often don’t come home.” She lied. In fact, that’s because no one would be looking for her.

“Ow.. No need to be so stiff. You can call me Nancy, Darling.” The woman winked.

“All right, then. Thanks, Nancy.” Emma said.

After Nancy came out of the room, not long after, the maid came with a tray of porridge and sliced ??fruit for Emma. For the first time, Emma ate as voraciously as someone who hadn’t eaten for three days. After eating, Emma took medicine and vitamins from the doctor. Then, she felt doze and fell asleep again.

Emma woke up again with a headache that had disappeared. Her body also felt light and better. She immediately put on the house slippers that had been provided beside her bed.

Before leaving the room, Emma approached the dressing table in the room to see her own appearance in the mirror. Honestly, in all her life, Emma very rarely fell ill. Even the flu was barely able to break through her steel-solid immune defences. But because of that, whenever Emma was to fall ill, she would be very sick like just like yesterday. Even a fever could make her faint instantly. It was that damn man who made her catch a cold by standing on the side of the road in the winter for hours in wet clothes.

But, as she was known as the incarnation of the Greek goddess, the face of Emma who had slept all day and hadn’t taken a shower, still looked just as gorgeous as usual. Even though she was still a little pale, it didn’t detract from her beauty at all. It was only her hair that was a bit messy. However, it actually made her look even sexier.

Emma realized she was wearing a pyjama suit, which probably belonged to Nancy. She brushed her hair and went to the bathroom to wash her face. When she was done, she walked out the door.

In front of the room, there was a living room with several large sofas and a large TV attached to the wall. Emma scanned the room. From all the interior and size of the house, Emma could say that the family that occupied the house was wealthy.

“What are you looking for?”

A male voice startled Emma, ??”Oh? I wasn’t looking for anything. Just take a look at your interior.” she answered casually.

Levi gave a flat face, then, stepped to sit on the sofa in the middle of the room. Unlike yesterday, he wore a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the buttons on the chest open. It turned out to be true that the tattoo on the back of his hand continued up to his muscular chest.

Secretly, Emma assessed Levi’s body. It was just Emma’s habit who would judge the body of a person who looked full of muscles like that. From the shape, Emma could tell what kind of exercise that person was doing. For the man sitting on the sofa, Emma could guess that he really did a very good exercise technique to bulk up all the muscles in his body, making them look solid and dry. He must have gone to a premium GYM centre and paid the instructor a fortune.

Emma also sat on the sofa opposite Levi. The man took out a cell phone from his pocket and placed it on the table in the middle of them, “That’s a replacement cellphone for your broken one. The type and colour are the same. For the SIM card and memory card, my maid will give it to you later.”