[Ding!]
Harvy's phone chimed. For a split second, he mistook the notification for the system's. Recently, he has been having quite a hard time differentiating between his phone's notifications and the system's interface.
He gently placed the card back in the box and then tucked it away in his chest pocket. He brought out his phone and opened the text.
[Happy 25th birthday, Harvy. I'll continue to root for you. Love and care, Ninna.]
Harvy stared at the texts for a while. There were a couple of emotions tumbling over one another in his mind. He shut his eyes and took in the warmth of air surrounding him.
It's been ten years since he left the orphanage home. It has been five years since he last visited the place.
Naturally, after he was adopted by Charlotte's family, he would visit the orphanage home to say hi to the wonderful woman who took the best care of him like his mother. Ninna.
But one day, when he went to the home as usual to pay a visit, he saw one of his mates that was adopted a few years after him. The lad was doing well and had come to visit with lots of gifts.
Harvy had some shame. Even though Ninna never asked him for a gift, he knew too well not to return their empty handedly. He might be poor, but he knew too well to save face.
[Ding!]
[I hope you come around this time. As usual, I've prepared your favorite snow ball. I'll watch it melt away alone.]
When he read this text, he felt his heart shattering to confetti. He couldn't take the pain that was introduced by the sting of the words. A drop of tear trailed off his cheek, making a pat on his left shoe.
He quickly swiped his hand over his face to clean the tear. He heaved a sigh.
"Today is not the day to be sad. Today is a great day." He decided to wear a bright smile this time.
"I should visit Ninna today on this great day." He fumbled through his pocket and brought out the box again.
"If Charlotte won't take this, someone who is worthy of it will." He smiled at the thought.
He didn't want to think about Charlotte now. He believed now that she was now a thing of the past. And there she would remain.
"Before I go to Ninna, I need to ---" He saw a cab and quickly hailed at it.
He jumped in and gave a direction. The cab stopped right in front of a mansion. It was a very opulent and spacious building.
Harvy walked towards the gate, staring at it for quite a while. Just some days ago, he was thrown out of this building like a thief. He shouldn't be here again. He should never have come here, but he had to.
He was headed to the pedestal area when the gatekeeper caught a sight of him.
"I thought you were dead." The middle-aged man blurted, hardly paying attention to Harvy.
Harvy was not hurt by the remark. He had seen and heard worse. This was just like a cup of water in an ocean.
"Please open the gate, I need to get something." Harvy asked politely. There was no reason to be rude.
Being rude to the gatekeeper would seem like wasting his saliva on an inconsequential person. After all, he now owned a ridiculous amount of money, which he hasn't figured out how to spend. He was basically, no, outrageously rich!!!
"I'm not in the position to stop you. Please come in." The gatekeeper sneered, stepping out of the way.
Harvy walked in and headed towards the main building. He could hear the gatekeeper muttering some curses, but he didn't really care.
The closer he walked to the main building, the more he noticed that something was odd. He stopped in his tracks and looked around.
The compound always looked quiet like this whenever there was an important family meeting going on in the living room.
Harvy brushed the thoughts off. He could still remember vividly that he left Charlotte and her newly found husband in the company; the family would hardly hold a meeting if Charlotte was not present.
He walked to the door. He was about to push the bell when he began to hear some voices coming from inside the living room.
"What did you mean you saw him at the company?" A feminine voice asked.
Harvy recognized the voice instantly. It was the voice of the Madam of the house, the voice of Charlotte's mother.
"I swear down. I got a call from her secretary that he came there but couldn't believe it. I had to drive down there. When I got there, I saw him in the corner of the bikers. He was there looking healthy and agile." The deep and worried voice pointed out.
Harvy also recognized who the person talking was, but he didn't really care much about it. Instead, he was much more interested in what they were talking about.
A gut feeling was telling him that they were talking about him. He didn't want to act rashly, so he listened even closely.
"What are you doing, Donald?! You know that you can't pull a prank on me!" The mother yelled.
"I swear on my life, mother. Harvy was all fine and okay when I saw him! He didn't look like someone who was beaten, let alone killed!!!" Donald answered frantically.
Harvy swallowed a lump when he heard this. His legs became shaky and almost gave way beneath him. If he wasn't strong enough, he would have broken down on his knees.
He had come here to pick up his things and leave the family for good, but now what was he hearing?!
"Call Matthew right away. Tell me him come right away and explain this madness. Why is Harvy still alive? He should be dead by now! They were paid to beat him to death in the rain! How could they fuck up such a little job! Do I have to do the menial jobs myself?! Call him right now!!!" The woman yelled.
Harvy lost his balance at this moment. He almost fell away, but somehow, he held his balance. This was the height of it. He always knew that this family hated him, but he could never have imagined that they would hire people to kill him!
He turned around to leave. This was just too much for him to bear.
Suddenly, he stopped walking away. He changed his mind. He turned around and walked back to the door.
He knocked on the door.
"I already called him. That must be Matthew at the door. I'll go get him." Harvy heard Donald saying.
The door opened from inside, and Donald's face popped open.
"Matthew, you---" Donald choked on the words when he saw who it was.
Harvy shoved him out of the way and stepped into the living room.