CHAPTER 99: CHAPTER 99: MARCH

Erin Bishop was stunned by Ronan Rhodes’s remark. Could it be that Zane Rhodes still missed the times they were together and went to the places they used to visit?

Impossible.

Erin Bishop shook her head and said, "We didn’t go to school around here before."

"That’s bad, my brother never lived around here before. Besides the company and home, I really have no idea where he could go. I can’t even reach him on the phone right now."

Shannon Quinn wasn’t too worried, thinking he’s not a child anymore and might come back after a while. She guessed maybe it was Zoe Whitman overthinking things that made everyone this nervous, so she said, "Could he have gone to see a friend?"

"Friend? My brother just returned to the country, where would he have any friends?"

After finishing the call, Zoe Whitman came over crying and said to Ronan Rhodes, "What should we do? We can’t find him anywhere, should we call the police?"

Ronan Rhodes might not have been that worried initially, presumed he went out to look because of Zoe Whitman’s constant noise: "Don’t worry, little sister-in-law, my brother is strong and healthy, are you worried he’ll get kidnapped? Maybe his phone just died, he’ll contact you later."

"But this has never happened before, he seemed to have driven out, you should find someone to check the whereabouts of his car."

"Alright, I’ll make a call to find out."

Erin Bishop didn’t say anything more on the side, as if it wasn’t her place to be anxious.

"We can’t be of any help, I’ll just head back with Shannon first." After Erin Bishop said this, she pulled Shannon Quinn’s hand and walked away.

Ronan Rhodes opened his mouth trying to call her back but stopped.

On the way back, Erin Bishop was very quiet, driving silently without saying a word.

After a while, she finally spoke: "Shannon, do you think I should give up?"

Shannon Quinn turned to look at her and said, "When you know there’s no way to return, we should look forward."

"I feel that, no matter if Zane Rhodes owes me in the past, Zoe Whitman hasn’t done anything wrong. It’s clear she truly likes Zane Rhodes, and it’s pointless for me to keep entangling."

"Is your company busy lately? If not, let’s find a place to go, I haven’t really traveled properly."

"Yeah, me too, every time it’s for work trips, there’s no time to wander around."

...

Ronan Rhodes asked a friend to find Zane Rhodes’s car.

It was parked in the garage of a bar owned by a friend. Ronan Rhodes hadn’t considered this friend owning a bar, nor did he expect Zane Rhodes to come to the bar alone to drown his sorrows.

In his impression, his brother always paid special attention to his personal image, and such unraveling acts as getting drunk had never crossed his mind to happen to him.

But when Ronan Rhodes and Zoe Whitman arrived at the bar, they saw Zane Rhodes slumped over a table with several empty bottles of alcohol on it.

The bar was much quieter during the day compared to the night, basically not officially open, without any loud music or noise, exceedingly silent.

The bar owner was a man in his mid-twenties named Caleb Grant, who was a college classmate of Ronan Rhodes, and they often came here to drink and chat together.

Ronan Rhodes often said he was a weird person, running a bar with so many pretty girls working for him, yet he didn’t flirt with any of them, he even suspected Caleb Grant and Landon Sutton were involved.

Ronan Rhodes walked over, looked at Caleb Grant sitting opposite Zane Rhodes, and softly asked, "Ethan, when did my brother come to find you? How did he get this drunk?"

Caleb Grant naturally handed a cigarette to Ronan Rhodes and said, "He came over early in the morning, said nothing, just drank."

Zoe Whitman rushed forward worriedly, looking at the unconscious Zane Rhodes, and cried, "Why would he come here and drink so much?"

Ronan Rhodes, on the other hand, guessed the reason might be related to Erin Bishop, but he baffled more and more, his brother shouldn’t be a fickle person, how could he be with Zoe Whitman yet still unwilling to let go of Erin Bishop?

Yet besides this matter, Ronan Rhodes couldn’t think of any other reason that could drive his cautious brother here to drink heavily.

Ronan Rhodes walked over, lifting Zane Rhodes off the sofa, and scolded Caleb Grant, "Why didn’t you stop him, what if something happened from drinking?"

Caleb Grant sat on the sofa lighting a cigarette, calmly said, "It’s rare for your brother to come once, I can afford this much alcohol."

"Come on, let’s get him home first."

In the car, a drunken Zane Rhodes lay on Zoe Whitman’s lap, while she kept crying incoherently.

Ronan Rhodes drove and glanced at Zoe Whitman through the rearview mirror, asked her, "Little sister-in-law, did you and my brother have a fight?"

"No, I wouldn’t dare to argue with him."

"Has he been acting strange lately?"

Zoe Whitman shook her head, wiped her tears, and said, "No, you know your brother, always one expression, you can’t even tell if he’s happy or not, doesn’t talk much, didn’t tell me anything special, how would I know he’s in a bad mood?"

"Don’t worry too much, my brother didn’t drink that much."

"But he’s never been like this, it’s so strange."

"Rona..." Zane Rhodes mumbled unclearly, almost causing Ronan Rhodes to lose control of the steering wheel.

Feeling guilty, he glanced at Zoe Whitman, she probably misheard it as "Roro," quickly holding Zane Rhodes’s hand, responding: "I’m here, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Are you thirsty? Do you want some water?"

A string of questions, yet no response at all.

After returning, Ronan Rhodes didn’t tell Erin Bishop about this, he didn’t know what troubles his brother might have, but he felt that telling Erin Bishop this now wouldn’t help at all, and might actually make things worse.

On the same day, Shannon Quinn and Erin Bishop booked tickets for the next day, and left early in the morning.

Throughout the journey, Erin Bishop seemed the same as usual, still talkative, never mentioning anything related to Zane Rhodes again, just her phone ringtone changed from that English song to Amei’s "March."

Staying in a seaside guesthouse, mingling with complete strangers, leaving behind her past and everything, it’s like living in a different world.

Shannon Quinn, as if painting in the past, would take her sketchbook and sit on the rooftop all day.

She used to think that the moment when she could capture the beautiful scenery in front of her on canvas was the most wonderful, without many distracting thoughts, just herself doing what she loves in the middle of beautiful scenery.

She painted while Erin Bishop lay on a chair, sipping juice and sunbathing, chatting idly with each other.

"Shannon, I don’t believe you didn’t date anyone back when you were in school."

Shannon Quinn diverted her gaze from the painting, glanced at Erin Bishop, continued mixing colors, smiled and asked, "Why don’t you believe it?"