Chapter 116 The Missing Cousin
Charlotte’s question made Erin frown a little. Since their last falling out and Erin moving out, she hadn’t seen May again. Previously, she asked Chandler about the house when she was in the hospital, but he had a strong dislike toward May and told Erin not to mention that woman in front of him.
Erin could understand. Considering what May had falsely accused Chandler of, it was already kind enough for him to not hold her accountable.
However, she couldn’t tell the sobbing Charlotte about this. She explained, “Aunt Charlotte, don’t be too worried. I’ll call May later-”
“What’s the use of that? I’ve already tried countless times. May’s phone has been switched off! If her homeroom teacher hadn’t called me this morning to inform me that she’d already skipped class three times, I wouldn’t have known that she was no longer living in the dorm!”
The fact that May was no longer living on campus was something Erin had indeed helped conceal from Charlotte. Back then, May had rented an apartment with her ex–boyfriend. As her cousin, Erin couldn’t interfere in her personal matters.
Hearing Charlotte say that May had skipped class three times, Erin felt a bit worried too. She comforted, “Don’t be too worried, Aunt Charlotte. I’ll definitely find May. Once I get ahold of her, I’ll ask her to call you, okay?”
Charlotte then said pleadingly. “Erin, you’re May’s cousin. Besides you, she doesn’t have any other relatives in the city. Even if you’re busy with work, will you please find time to check up on her?”
“I will” Even though Erin knew about May’s character, she couldn’t refuse Charlotte’s request when she begged her like that.
“I heard from your mom that you divorced lan. Getting divorced at such a young age! What would people think? lan is a good man. Although I haven’t met him many times, I can see he’s handsome and capable. Your mom said he even has two valuable villas in the city! Erin, you really need to think it through. If a man like him doesn’t want you, what else are you hoping for? Those male celebrities have messy personal lives and aren’t good in character…”
Erin couldn’t stand listening to Charlotte’s words, but she understood that the older relatives back in her hometown had conservative and practical mindsets. As long as the other party was well off, they were considered ideal marriage candidates. They would even be willing to overlook infidelity. Nevertheless, Erin couldn’t be bothered with such ridiculous views.
“I’ll handle my own matters, Aunt Charlotte. Don’t worry about May. I’ll call her friend now.”
Seeing that Erin didn’t want to continue the conversation, Charlotte didn’t continue to pester her either. “Alright, alright. I’ll leave it to you then! I’ll be waiting for your call!”
Erin had barely taken care of her father’s money trouble, and now there was another issue that required her attention. Wasting no time, she
quickly called May first.
After confirming that May’s phone was indeed switched off, she thought about calling her cousin’s friend. She’d saved the friend’s phone number a long time ago, but they rarely contacted each other. It was practically an inactive number on her phone.
May’s friend was Letitia Walker, and she came from a wealthy family. Due to reports from other girls that she was hiding drugs, the school’s deputy headteacher carried out a search and found a packet with Incriminating contents in her dorm room. As a result, the
school expelled Letitia.
Even after Letitia was expelled, May kept in touch with her privately. Erin had reminded her several times not to do so, but May always insisted that she’d cut off contact with her. However, when Erin saw a pile of luxury brand bags May had in her rented unit, she knew that
May had turned a deaf ear to her advice.
After calling three times in a row, someone finally answered Letitia’s phone.
Just as Erin said “hello,” Letitia cut her off and yelled, “Who the hell are you? Are you crazy? Why do you keep calling even when I don’t
answer? Don’t you know how to take a hint when others don’t answer your call?”
Upon getting rebuked, Erin realized that calling continuously like what she’d done earlier was indeed impolite. She had been too concerned and acted impulsively.
Erin immediately apologized, “I’m sorry, Letitia. I’m Erin, May’s cousin. I don’t know if you remember me, but the main reason I called is to ask if you know where May is. Her mom called me and said she has skipped class three times in a row, and they can’t locate her-”
Letitia got impatient and interrupted, “Listen, cousin. If you want to talk to May, call her yourself! We haven’t been friends for some time
1/3
already!”
“They had a fallout, it seems,” Erin thought.
She continued to ask, “If you don’t mind telling me, what led to you terminating your friendship with her?” She started to think that May had purposely put on a disappearing act simply because she was in a foul mood.
Seeing that Erin still spoke to her patiently despite her harsh tone. Letitia suddenly felt she’d gone overboard by venting her anger at Erin. Her tone softened a bit but was still not very friendly as she said, “That bitch May is such an ingrate! A few days ago, she told me that her landlord wanted to sell the house, and she couldn’t find a place to stay temporarily. Out of goodwill, I let her stay with me for a while. But while I was away on a business trip abroad, in just two short days, she slept with my boyfriend! I couldn’t believe what a hussy she was!”
Hearing this, as May’s cousin, Erin couldn’t help but feel ashamed for her actions.
Il someone had said this about May in the past, she would have definitely defended and believed in her cousin. But after learning a series of truths revealed by Chandler, she no longer trusted May like she used to.
However, Erin did give Letitia some objective advice. “Letitia, I won’t comment on May’s actions, but hear me out on this. If May was able to sleep with your boyfriend within two days, it just proves that he wasn’t a good partner, to begin with. My words may sound harsh, but! just want to tell you that it’s not worth getting sad and upset over someone who can easily betray you. Heck, it’s not even worth getting angry over them.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment, and then Letitia started crying. “I never expected that you, as May’s cousin. would give me such honest advice…”
“Letitia, I still remember the first time I saw you. You were truly beautiful, and many guys would be happy to go out with you. It’s not worth wasting your time over a loser who isn’t right for you.” Erin couldn’t help but relate Letitia’s heartbreak to what she’d experienced. She was simply sharing the same ideology she had used to convince herself.
Even if she couldn’t change anything that had already happened, at the very least, she hoped that Letitia’s mindset would change a little
bit.
Letitia sniffed and said with a hint of sarcasm, “May is so lucky to have a cousin like you.”
Hearing that her tone had clearly improved, Erin didn’t intend to continue with the conversation. “Letitia, since you don’t know where May is. I won’t bother you anymore-”
“Walt…”
Erin stayed silent, and Letitia finally disclosed, “I heard from my friend that May has moved into my ex–boyfriend’s house. To be honest, I think she stole my boyfriend because she’s broke. She used to have a wealthy lover, a rich scion, and I was the one who introduced him to her. I just found out last night that my rich friend has completely cut ties with her. May is materialistic and desperate for money, so she clings to men desperately.”
Things like these no longer surprised Erin at this point.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Letitia confessed to Erin, “To tell you the truth, my ex–boyfriend was a drug addict. If May gets involved with drugs because of him, then she deserves it!”
Letitia hung up abruptly after saying that. Erin wanted to ask for more details, but Letitia had already turned off her phone.
As soon as she thought about the possibility of May being involved with drugs, she knew her aunt would be devastated. Their hometown was such a small place, and most folks there could only imagine such a thing happening in movies or dramas.
Erin was genuinely worried now. Even if she didn’t like May, she couldn’t bear to see her cousin go down the wrong path. No matter what.
she had to find May first!
She’d never encountered such a situation before, so she was at a loss about what to do.
Considering the current situation, May wasn’t exactly missing; she was simply hiding and avoiding contact with people. Reporting this to the police wouldn’t be appropriate, so how else could she find May?
After thinking it over, she fell that her best option would be to ask Sean about this. After all, Sean had accompanied her when she went to
look for May back then.
Erin immediately called Sean, and he answered right away.
“Dear me! Are my eyes playing tricks on me? I can’t believe you would actually take the initiative to call me.”
