Chapter 673 Do Not Want To Pressure You
Finished
Secing Lysander in that state, Carol grew fearful. She stopped her, saying, “Please wait here, Mrs. Guerra. I’ll go instead.”
Lysander looked at her with immense confusion and said, “It’s fine. I’ll go.”
“No, you can’t,” Carol insisted as she grew increasingly worried. “You’re already exhausted and can’t handle any more stress. Besides, if it really is… I can identify him.”
She then turned to the police officer and said, “I’m Mr. Guerra’s secretary and have worked with him for many years. It serves the same function if I go.”
The police officer had no objections to her offer. “Sure, come with me.”
However, Lysander abruptly reached out to hold onto Carol. “Ms. Collins, let’s go together. If I don’t g today. I might regret it for the rest of my life. I’ve already… lost too many people.”
For no reason, she recalled the words Josiah said in the mountains near the spa resort.
One by one. My child and my father have left me. Indeed, no one in this world can accompany me forever. If Josiah
also….
Her words made Carol hesitate, a rare occurrence. As their standoff continued, the forensic doctor returned from the other end. Upon seeing his colleague, he promptly gestured with his hand.
“There’s no need to call anyone for identification. This body couldn’t possibly belong to the person who went missing last night. It’s decomposed to the point that only a skeleton is left, suggesting it must’ve been submerged for at least a month or two to reach this state. However, we’ll need to return to the station to verify the actual time of death.”
The forensic doctor’s words brought Lysander out of her depressing thoughts, saving her from the brink of a mental breakdown.
Carol was instantly thrilled. “It’s not him! Mrs. Guerra, did you hear that? It isn’t him!”
Lysander felt as if all her strength had been drained from her body her heart suspended in fear finally settled back in place.
If the body in the lake isn’t Josiah, then where is he?
Lysander’s heart filled with apprehension again.
Carol breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll go and ask around, see if there are any other leads.”
“Okay. Thank you for the hard work.”
Carol was accustomed to being a professional elite at work, always impeccably dressed and presentable. However, her hands were smeared with mud and her clothes were splotched and ruined at that moment.
Noticing Lysander’s gaze, Carpl felt a bit embarrassed and said, “It’s fine. I’ll have Mr. Guerra reimburse me once he returns.”
Lysander knew she was joking deliberately to cheer her up, so she played along with a small smile. “It
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“Mr. Guerra has always been quite generous, but even if he doesn’t reimburse me, it’s not a big deal because I still have you! You have to stand up for me.” Carol was never one for many words, nor did she wear her emotions on her sleeve. It seems that this piece of news has truly brought her considerable joy.
Lysander chuckled. “L…”
Just then, Nilou, who had been assisting the other adults in the village to search for Josiah, had returned. She ran as she screamed. “Dr. Thorne! Josiah is back!”
Not far behind her, Josiah was striding purposefully toward Lysander.
He was much dirtier than before, but his gait was still steady. He walked so fast that Rhizone had to jog behind him just to keep up.
“Mr. Guerral”
Carol hurriedly raced to him, simultaneously beckoning the doctors in the ambulance to come over and assist. They quickly surrounded Josiah, forming an impenetrable circle around him. Josiah was tall
tall. Even amidst the crowd, he stood out. He looked past them, his gaze landing on Lysander.
Tears prickled in the back of Lysander’s eyes. She took a deep breath to calm herself before walking over
to him.
Josiah casually raised his palm. Seeing the sign, the people surrounding him tactfully stepped aside momentarily.
He watched her slowly approach, licking his lips. “Lysander.”
“Mmhmm.”
She took a moment to thoroughly look him up and down. When she saw his injuries were merely superficial, aside from a slight limp in his right leg, she finally unclenched her tight fists.
The tiny new wounds in the palm of her hand blended with the scabs from the scratches she got from grass and leaves the night before. If she let her hand hang down, it was hidden from view.
“I’m fine,” he assured. “Don’t worry about me.”
He paused as if misspoken and quickly tried to backtrack. “I didn’t mean you shouldn’t worry about me. There’s nothing between us now, so it’s natural that you’re not worried about me… Wait, what am I saying…” he muttered in frustration under his breath.
“I understand what you’re saying
Josiah lifted his head, slowly exhaling a sigh of relief. “I don’t want you to feel pressured.”
A subtle shift stirred within Lysander’s heart, and she slowly nodded in response.
Over the past few days, she had gradually come to understand something.
The remote area posed a significant challenge for Josiah, who had been raised in privilege and comfort from a young age.
Excluding the problems with basic necessities like eating and sleeping, just the issue of mosquitoes and
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poor reception alone was enough to make him uncomfortable.
Finished
He was a man with a mild case of mysophobia, yet he had barely taken a shower over the past few days.
Moreover, the rural village didn’t have those clean, high–end restrooms. Instead, they were all pit toilets, small spaces built with bricks by the residents themselves.
That lifestyle was worlds apart from what he was used to. Yet, he never complained.
Even though Lysander was relatively slow–witted when it came to matters of the heart, she wasn’t completely clueless about them.
“Lysander?” Josiah called out to her.
“Hmm?” Lysander answered. “It’s good that nothing happened to you.”
“I’m sorry,” Josiah said, looking into Lysander’s eyes. His voice laced with concern, he asked, “What happened to your face? Did you fall?”
He quickly told the doctor who rushed over to examine him, “Please, check on her first.”
Lysander responded softly, “I’m a doctor myself. This minor injury is just from a scrape with some foliage during my escape last night. A bit of disinfectant will do the trick, but your leg…
“My leg is Ah!” Midway through his speech, he winced in pain when he stepped on a stone by the lake.
Seeing the situation, Carol hurriedly suggested, “Mr. and Mrs. Guerra, the ambulance is right over there. Both of you should go for a check–up immediately. While you’re at it, you might want to share the details of last night with the police.”
The thugs had disappeared without a trace, and Rhizone’s understanding of the situation was limited. The person with the clearest grasp of the entire situation at that moment was Josiah
Lysander was also curious about what had happened, so she followed along.
The resources in the ambulance were limited. They had disinfectants on hand but were out of anesthetics. Upon discovering that Josiah’s right ankle was injured, the doctor could only warn, “Mr. Guerra, it seems like you’ve sprained your ankle. If we have to reposition the bone here, it’s going to be quite painful, and unfortunately, we can’t perform an x–ray.”
“No worries,” said Josiah, his expression unchanging. “Go on.”
Lysander knew the standard of the medical facilities at the village well and advised, “You should go back for treatment. If Harborbrook is too far for you, at least consider going to the medical establishment in
Town.”
Carol agreed, “Mr. Guerra, I’ll stay and keep an eye on things if you’re worried about the situation here.”
“No, I must stay here personally! Josiah stated calmly. “These people exploited Guerra Group’s name and swindled people left and right, even harming people. I fear they might return for revenge.”
He had made up his mind, and it wasn’t appropriate for others to dissuade him any further.
Carol asked Lysander directly, “Mrs. Guerra, what do you say?”