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Chapter_62
A Friendly Face in a Foreign Land
When I entered the guesthouse, I immediately shed my soaked clothes and cranked up the heater. The cold had seeped deep into my bones, and I needed to warm up quickly. I jumped into the shower, letting the hot water pour over me, the steam slowly thawing my frozen body.
With no spare clothes on hand, I wrapped myself in a blanket for warmth. After boiling some water, I took a sip, not caring much about the cleanliness of the cup. I wished, though, that I had tea to help warm me. The thought made me laugh wryly, but my mind was already racing with thoughts of how to meet Fred.
I reached for the pamphlet and began to sift through the contact information. I dialed a few numbers, but none of them picked up. It seemed the business wasn’t exactly customer-friendly. My only hope was the middle-aged man I’d met earlier. But as the night dragged on with no responses, my hope began to fade.
I finally drifted off to sleep, but it wasn’t a restful one. I woke up in the middle of the night, burning with fever. My body trembled uncontrollably under the blanket, and my teeth chattered. In my delirium, all I could think about was a sip of warm water, but I couldn’t even muster the strength to open my eyes or get out of bed. Nightmares plagued me the entire night, and I constantly feared that Matthew might call, so I forced myself out of bed the next morning.
I went to a nearby grocery store and video-called him from there, as though I were showing him my hometown. The store had been hard to locate, and after a brief exchange, I ended the call, feeling utterly drained. I had planned to buy some medicine, but there was no pharmacy in sight. The staff informed me that the nearest hospital was a long taxi ride away. My phone was also running low on battery, so I reluctantly returned to my room to charge it before heading out again.
But exhaustion caught up with me, and I fell asleep once more. Even in my sleep, though, my subconscious nagged me that time was slipping away. I needed to find Fred if I were to secure the deal—my trump card against Matthew.
At some point, my phone rang, pulling me from my stupor. I fumbled for it, hoping for a message from Fred. But when Atlas’s name flashed on the screen, I felt a wave of disappointment. We exchanged a few words, but I couldn’t recall what we’d talked about. Struggling to sit up, I realized I was burning with fever, my body shaking uncontrollably.
I knew I had a fever. The stress, the binge drinking from the night before, and the rain had all caught up with me. Slowly, my consciousness began to fade.
And then I heard it—a voice calling my name from a distance, but it felt strangely close. “Chloe… Chloe…” I searched for the source of the voice, my body tossing and turning.
“Chloe, wake up!” A warm sensation touched my forehead, and I instinctively leaned into it. “Chloe…” Struggling to open my eyes, I saw a sharply defined face appear before me. For a moment, I wondered if it was a hallucination.
“Chloe, are you awake?” He raised an eyebrow, asking, “Feeling better?” I could hardly believe my eyes.
“Why are you here?” I croaked.
“I was in town on business and had a dozen ways to track you down,” he replied, his gaze focused on me. “You have a high fever. Aren’t you just asking for trouble by not going to the hospital?”
Despite my condition, I licked my dry lips and managed to respond. “It’s fine. I just fell asleep.”
Atlas’s expression hardened. “You’ve got no sense of self-preservation! You have no idea how bad this can get. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”
I let out a bitter laugh, tears welling up despite my efforts to hold them back. Time seemed to stand still as we both fell silent.
After a long moment, Atlas placed his hand on my forehead, checking my temperature. “The fever’s gone!”
Before I could ask why he was there, a knock echoed from the door. It swung open, and two people hurried inside. I stared at them in surprise, but Atlas seemed unfazed. He glanced at me and remarked, “Looks like we have some unexpected company.”