The Sway and Slide of Love

Marla returned to the hospital. She had intended to tell Dylan what happened at Roselle Court, but when she arrived at the ward, he was gone.

She asked the nurse, but even the nurse didn't know. Thus, she called Dylan. The phone rang, but no one answered.

Marla couldn't help but frown. She glanced at Marshall lying in the hospital bed. The emotions she had kept under control until now surged as she took in his sleeping face and graying temples. Tears began to fall uncontrollably.

"Honey, what should we do now?" she asked.

Of course, Marshall couldn't answer.noveldrama

Marla's eyes reddened further. She covered her face with her hands as tears dripped down one by one.

Just then, her phone rang. Seeing the number, she quickly wiped her face and composed herself before answering.

"Hello?"

"Bad news, Mrs. Swift." The voice on the other end was frantic. "Mr. Stein has run off with the company's funds."

Marla listened, but she gave no reaction or reply.

The caller waited anxiously for her response, but after several seconds of silence, he called out again, "Mrs. Swift!"

"I heard you," Marla finally replied in a trembling voice. "You must be joking, right? Mr. Stein has worked with us for so many years. He's the one my husband trusted the most, so there's no way he would-"

"Mrs. Swift, it's true," the man cut in urgently. He's been unreachable for a full day. When I went to the police station to report it, they said he's already left Coppersville. What else could it mean but that he'd fled?"

"That's impossible." It seemed like Marla wasn't listening to a word he was saying. She kept muttering, "How is that possible? Him running away is as good as admitting to his crime. Swift Group hasn't even collapsed yet. What's the rush to abandon ship?"

"Mrs. Swift, the real issue is what should we do now? The company has no money left. If this gets out, the employees will riot! Every other branch of the group will grind to a halt. At that point, bankruptcy will be the only option!"

The words kept coming. Each sentence was like another weight piled onto Marla's head, and a throbbing ache began to spread. Soon, she could no longer make sense of what he was saying.

Finally, she asked, "What about Dylan? Has he—"

"Dylan? Didn't I just say that he went missing, too?"

This was the last draw for Marla. The accumulated weight became unbearable for her. She suddenly laughed.

In that moment, she remembered what Dylan had told her earlier. She had truly believed him.

Perhaps because after Seline's death, all her emotional anchors had vanished overnight. So, when Dylan appeared, they had clung to him as if their life depended on it.

When Dylan promised to take them with them, Marla had felt a flicker of doubt. But out of trust, she listened to him in the end.

Only now did she realize he was never their savior.