“You too, get out!”
Caspian kicked aside the reports on the ground. As the secretary had left hastily just now, there were footprints all over them. When he saw Larry bury himself in work, Caspian’s guilt intensified as he struggled with his own emotions.
“Boss, why are you making things difficult for yourself?” Feeling guilty, Caspian lowered his voice.
“After going through so much in recent years, why are you letting something trivial bother you to the extent you’re hardly recognizable?”
Larry cleared his throat. “Trivial?” He sounded as if he was deeply hurt. “If you have been lied to twice by the one you love, Caspian, do you think you can still stand here and calmly tell me this is just a trivial matter?”
When Caspian remained silent, Larry continued asking, “Have you known about this for a while now?”
He continuously fiddled with the cover of his fountain pen. “Previously, whenever I asked you to investigate something, you would always inform me of the result right away. But this time, you didn’t.”
“After cycling through all the possibilities, Caspian, and the fact that we are comrades that have faced death together, I realized there is only one reason that can put you in such a dilemma. And that reason is Joan.”
Caspian gulped as if something had grabbed him by the throat. Evidently, Larry was someone who easily saw through him. There was no need for him to even explain himself.
By then, Larry had calmed down as he placed his fountain pen back on his desk. Stepping over the documents that he swept away earlier, he walked up to Caspian. Staring at the old scar Caspian received during training years ago, he remarked, “I won’t make things difficult for you. Just tell me yes or no.”
The atmosphere in the office continued to be tense. Caspian’s silence caused Larry to feel as if his world had collapsed.
Shifting his gaze away from Caspian’s old scar, Larry stepped around him, brushed past his shoulder before walking away.
Both men, one in a suit while the other in track attire, had conflicted expressions on their faces.
It was as if they were so near that they could return to the time when they celebrated their victories on the battlefield together and yet, they were also so far apart that the word “brotherhood” no longer meant anything.
The moment Larry placed his hand on the doorknob, Caspian’s throaty voice rang out.
“Joan dined with the man in the restaurant.” As if Larry wasn’t going to believe him, Caspian added the next second, “I saw them with my own eyes.”
This time, it was Larry that fell silent. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it was to express his feelings when he was struck by sadness, heartbreak, doubt, and anger all at the same time. Hence, the only emotion he could show was a frightening sense of calmness.
As for Joan, she was in an equally bad place emotionally. Locking herself in her room, she took leave from school before throwing her phone aside.
She blamed herself for not being careful and letting Larry see the note she carried.
Shaking her head vehemently, she tried to put that irrelevant idea out of her mind. Instead, she told herself to be focused on why Larry reacted so violently when he saw the note. After all, there was hardly anything written on it.
During the incident with Carl where they even appeared on the news headline, Larry had only instructed Caspian to find out who the culprit was. Unlike today, he didn’t flare his temper at her then.
Larry always looks for Caspian whenever he needs counsel…
That’s right! Caspian! This time, I’m sure he will talk to Caspian too.
Joan’s eyes sparkled as she found Caspian’s number. After giving it some thought, she ended up calling Nancy instead.
She figured that it would be easier to talk to another woman about this. After all, Caspian and Larry were friends that were willing to die for each other. If she had approached Caspian directly, it might seem awkward for both of them. Furthermore, she wasn’t sure if he was willing to tell her what she wanted to know.
