Female Novel
Chapter 31
Irieson’s University of Technology had been elated when they first heard the news of Thomas being thetop scorer in his SATs. It had been a long while since Irieson’s University of Technology had any topscorers in their school—many of the talented and smart students had gone to other local universities.Right when Irieson’s University of Technology was celebrating the recruitment of a top scorer, theyreceived the shocking news of Thomas giving up on his opportunity to study. They were devastated tohear that Thomas was going to enlist in the army instead.
Meanwhile, Veronica, who had been in charge of recruiting students, turned into the university’sscapegoat. She ended up being punished by the university for this incident. The university’s harshtreatment left a deep scar in Veronica’s career even until current times. “You b*stard! You’re the reasonVeronica was punished by the university, and you’re the reason she hasn’t gotten a promotion inyears!” Ophelie grew increasingly emotional as she spoke. She picked up the glass of wine on the tablebefore splashing it in Thomas’ direction.
“That’s too much!” Norman slammed his palm against the table as he got to his feet. His eyes werewide with fury, and he raised his hand up as if he were about to give Ophelie a slap. Ophelie wassimply too rude. How could she be so rude to our guest? She’s embarrassing us Pearsons!
“Dad!” Ophelie never expected Norman to get mad at her over someone like Thomas. Ophelie hadalways been a rather spoiled, entitled character who rarely reflected on her own actions. She put all theblame on Thomas instead. We wouldn’t face so many issues if it wasn’t because of Thomas. If lookscould kill, Thomas would’ve been murdered by Ophelie a few days ago. “Hmph!” Ophelie scoffedbefore she turned and headed upstairs.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Clifford. My youngest daughter is way too spoiled. I’m going to teach her a lessonlater!” Norman hurriedly handed Thomas some tissue, and Thomas merely wiped his face withoutmaking any comments.
“This has got nothing to do with you at all. My sister, Veronica, was punished for many reasons—therewere a lot of external factors that led to it. Your change in mind to quit studies was probably just addingoil to a fire that had already started.” Norman explained himself. Ophelie was still young when Veronicawas punished, so she had limited information about the events.
Thomas heaved a sigh and shook his head to indicate that he was fine. He hadn’t expected hisdecision to enlist to have brought harm to another individual. He genuinely felt guilty over this matter.The moment Olivia gazed at Thomas, she could tell how guilty he felt, so she quickly spoke up. “Don’toverthink this matter, Thomas. This isn’t related to you at all. My sister is just too immature—don’t takeher words seriously. She graduated from Irieson First High School as well, so she’s technically yourjunior,” Olivia uttered.
He nodded. My junior, huh? She slapped me the first time we met, and she continued to cause metrouble after that. She even splashed alcohol over me today. I don’t think I want a junior who’s like her.After the whole commotion, the Pearsons decided to call it a day. They wrapped up the celebratorydinner before Thomas drove Olivia home. Once that was done, he returned to his own house.
In the meantime, Norman sat on his couch with his brows knitted tightly together. He was recalling allthat Thomas had done that day. The more I think about Thomas, the more he seems like a complicatedman. Just the way that he had remained calm after Ophelie splashed wine all over him earlier showshow unique of a person he is. He isn’t just any regular man.
The rented house was pitch black when Thomas entered. He listened to the sounds in his surroundingsto recognize Chloe’s soft snoring coming from the room. It seemed like she had been asleep for awhile. He tiptoed his way to the bedroom before lying down to get some rest. However, he tossed andturned in bed as he couldn’t seem to fall asleep at all.novelbin
“Can’t sleep, Thomas?” A playful voice sounded right beside Thomas’ ear. All of Thomas’ musclestensed up as he turned around to find a young man dressed in a camouflage uniform. There was an
innocent grin on the young man’s face as he stared at Thomas.
“Zachary!” Thomas widened his eyes as he stared at the man in disbelief. Thomas would’ve neverexpected to see his best friend, Zachary, here. Isn’t he dead? How could he be here? Am I dreaming?
Thomas bit down hard on his bottom lip, and the sharp pain jolted him awake from his sleep. “Phew!”He took a deep breath as he thought, I knew it. It was just a dream.
“I always knew that you were harsh toward your enemies, but I didn’t know how harsh you were towardyourself, Thomas. Didn’t it hurt to bite yourself like that?” the voice said.
Thomas jumped out of bed as he looked around him. What’s going on? Why can I still hear the voice?I’m sure it’s Zachary’s voice. I would never forget the voice of my brother from another mother!
“Stop looking around, Thomas. I just came to visit because I was worried about you.” As Thomas waslooking around puzzledly, he heard Zachary speaking again. “Stop standing around like an idiot. Take aseat. I just want to talk to you—we haven’t spoken in a while,” the voice said. Thomas tried his best tocalm himself down as he took a seat on a chair. He pulled a cigarette out to take a smoke.
“We’re brothers, so I know what’s going on in your mind. You should stop feeling guilty. I’ve neverblamed you for anything,” the voice uttered. Thomas simply shook his head without saying anything.“This isn’t good for you, Thomas. You keep everything to yourself, and you carry all your burdens onyour own. Aren’t you afraid that you might have mental issues in the long run? Do you think I shouldhate you?” the voice asked.
Thomas let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Zachary. I was the one who killed you. Now, I know that I might havealso harmed and hurt a lot of other people…” Thomas muttered.
“Don’t be silly, Thomas. Back then, I would’ve died even if you didn’t kill me. My death would’ve beenan even more painful one if you hadn’t. Do you remember what I told you before our mission? If I had achoice, I would rather you be the one to kill me,” the voice said. “Do you understand me? I have noregrets. I found meaning in my life after meeting you, my friend. You need to stop blaming yourself forthis. What matters now is that you live life to its fullest. You’re much more impressive than I am. I wasjust a regular military observer while you were the famous and almighty King of Marksmen! Haha, wait,I’m not just a regular military observer. I was the military observer of the King of Marksmen. That itselfis something I can brag about!” the voice chuckled.
“You were no regular military observer; you were my Eagle Eye. You could’ve had a bright future aheadif it weren’t for my mistakes,” Thomas uttered. ‘Eagle Eye’ was Zachary’s nickname. In some ways,Zachary was Thomas’ eyes, and Thomas only performed so well because he had an outstanding andsharp military observer like Zachary.
“Why are you beating yourself up again, Thomas? I died because the mission was a failure. How couldyou bear full responsibility for the team’s failure? I’m content to know that you’re caring for my family.Alright, times up; I should leave now. I just want you to remember that I’ll always feel proud for havinghad a friend like you. Always!”