CHAPTER 118: CHAPTER 118: LEAVING WITHOUT A TRACE

"Both are my sons, but I admit I’m more partial to the older one because he’s more thoughtful, unlike Ronan who’s carefree."

Erin Bishop thought for a moment and asked, "Aunt Rhodes, I want to know why you moved away back then?"

Aunt Rhodes smiled and said, "I called you here to talk about this. Even though you’re with Ronan now, the past doesn’t matter as much, but I’m afraid you still have misunderstandings about Zane."

Erin Bishop listened intently. She never really let go of the past.

"To be honest, it was my fault. The kids were five or six at the time when I divorced their father. After marriage, I stayed home to care for the family and didn’t work, so I had no income. Naturally, the court granted custody to my ex-husband."

"...He never told me about this."

"That’s just how he is. He keeps everything to himself. After the divorce, their father took them abroad. I felt like I lost everything all at once. I stopped taking my depression medication and overdosed on sleeping pills. I had a close call."

"After Zane found out, he returned to be by my side. So the brothers were split; one stayed abroad with his dad, and the other stayed with me."

No wonder Erin Bishop never knew Zane had a twin brother, never met Mr. Rhodes, or even heard Zane mention him.

"After that, we moved a few times. I think you met him in high school after transferring, right? Anyway, you were the first girl by his side."

Hearing this from Mrs. Rhodes, Erin Bishop felt a sweet sensation in her heart, "And what happened later?"

"Do you mean when we left? I got sick and didn’t have money for treatment. He might have consulted with his dad about taking me abroad for treatment, and that’s when we left."

Erin Bishop frowned, utterly puzzled, "Why didn’t he tell me?"

"I did ask him if he ever explained it to you. He didn’t answer directly and just said that if he was leaving, he wanted to leave cleanly."

Erin Bishop felt increasingly uncomfortable. What did leaving cleanly mean? Did he think she was merely pestering him, that her presence was just a mess to him?

"I don’t know what he truly thinks of you. As his mother, I guess he struck some sort of deal with his father. Otherwise, his dad probably wouldn’t have agreed to save me. I think his father might have required him to stay abroad to learn the business, and he wasn’t sure if he could return. He didn’t want to string you along, didn’t want you to wait for him, so he didn’t explain clearly."

Erin Bishop couldn’t understand this approach. She wanted to find Zane to get clarity.

Mrs. Rhodes continued, "I’m telling you this just to clear up the past misunderstandings. Now that you’re with Ronan, I’m happy too. Ronan might not be as mature and steady as his brother, and he seems carefree, but he gets serious when it matters."

Erin Bishop just smiled and nodded, though her heart was already in turmoil.

If she were truly with Ronan, perhaps she wouldn’t care about these matters anymore.

But now that her relationship with Ronan was a facade, and Zane recently stated Zoe Whitman wasn’t his girlfriend, her resolve to let go flickered, as if she saw a glimmer of hope.

On the way back, she didn’t mention these matters to Ronan; just as they reached the parking lot, she asked, "Do you know where your brother lives? Can you tell me?"

Ronan was stunned, looked at her, and asked, "Why do you need my brother’s address?"

Erin Bishop disguised her smile, "Just want to ask, I have something to discuss with him."

Ronan looked at her suspiciously, saying, "You’re not trying to hit on my brother now that you heard he’s not seeing that Zoe at night, right?"

"Is that any of your business?! Are you giving me the address or not? Stop dawdling!"

Ronan picked up his phone and sent a message to her on WeChat, then said, "If you’re going to cause trouble, don’t say I gave you the address. Don’t have my brother deal with you and then come for me!"

Erin Bishop glanced at the address in the message, happily opened the car door, and quickly headed to her car parked in the garage, then drove out of the parking lot.

Ronan watched her car drive away and couldn’t help checking his handsome face in the rearview mirror, muttering, "I don’t look that different, right? Falling for me after failing to get my brother seems reasonable."

After a moment’s thought, he shook his head and got out of the car, murmuring, "All this love stuff is just too troublesome."

Erin Bishop drove to the address Ronan gave her.

She parked the car downstairs, looking at the tall building. Ronan had given her an apartment number, but she didn’t dare go up.

Zoe Whitman must be home too; it would be awkward to meet.

She wasn’t here to reconcile with Zane but to ask about the past. If he really didn’t have feelings anymore, she wouldn’t pursue it.

She didn’t care whether his relationship with Zoe Whitman was real or not. Even if it was fake, it didn’t mean his heart was still with her.

Standing downstairs for quite some time, the cold autumn wind made her face ache. Leaves on the ground were rustled aimlessly by the wind, producing a rustling sound.

Erin Bishop took a deep breath, pulled out her phone, and opened the dial pad.

She had deleted his number from her phone but still remembered it in her mind.

She input the number, dialed, and anxiously listened to the rhythmic "beep beep" sound in the phone.

The call connected, but no one answered.

She feared he wouldn’t answer, and feared even more that Zoe Whitman would pick up for him.

Eagerly impulsive to rush over, the unanswered call felt like a cold bucket of water dumped on her head, causing her to shiver in the wind.

Suddenly, the "beep" stopped, but she heard no other sound. Thinking it had auto-disconnected, she pulled the phone away only to see it already in call mode on the screen.

Two seconds of confusion passed, and she forgot her rehearsed lines, stammering, "Hello...this is Erin Bishop."

"I know." He replied with two words, neither light nor heavy, neither cold nor warm.

Erin Bishop pressed her lips, swallowed, and said, "...Is it convenient for you now? I want to meet with you."

"Just say what you need to."

"I’m downstairs at your building..."

On the other end, there was a two-second pause before his voice came, "Wait a bit."

Then he hung up, leaving Erin Bishop to silently put away her phone and stand by the car, eyes fixed on the elevator exit in the lobby.