Chapter 261 - Wilmer and Edward

School life resumed for everyone. Elfie had to leave his office and Jasper was almost crazy from the constant watch he was placed under. Orita returned to her mansion briefly and met up with Wilmer.

"Do you really have to go again?" she asked, unhappy about it. They haven't seen each other for years but her husband had to go again.

"I'll be back in a few months, everything should be quickly resolved by then. For now, please listen to Claire and follow her instructions. We should tighten our security while we can. Anastasia still hasn't caught up to what we're planning. Jasper is off limits and the kids are well-protected in school. You're the one most vulnerable, I don't wish for anything to happen to you so you should leave the country tonight, there will be someone from the Interpol sent to act as you to lure them out from hiding. I'm going to China for a little business trip, nothing to worry about. CEO Zhu is a reliable man."

With a heavy heart, the loving couple shared their last kiss before Wilmer left through the door.

"My lady, we should get going now. the car is ready," Jenna bowed. As Wilmer said, the people from the Interpol were already working hard to add all sorts of precautionary measures around their compound. It was finally happening but Orita couldn't help but feel more worried about it than all the years she lived apart from her husband.

"It's alright, Danny is with him. The Interpol is going all out on this case, we just have to bid our time at the Bahamas and wait for the good news to return," Claire assured and escorted Orita to the car waiting for them.

Wilmer didn't look back after he left the mansion. His eyes hardened. With his wife safely away in the Bahamas, there was only his daughter left to worry about. The Interpol wanted to use them as baits and while Wilmer wasn't keen on the idea, there was nothing he could do. Danny informed him that Elfie was off the case so they could only rely on the Interpol's judgement.

"Preparations are ready, both your daughters have trained agents assigned to them. There is no reason to worry, the one most vulnerable is you. As such, they rearranged your office location to a safer space for temporary measures."

Wilmer didn't answer Danny. His mind was still reeling when Danny told him about Edward, Scarlet's boyfriend and his involvement with the case. By far, Elfie and Edward's contributions were the greatest, making it possible to reopen the cold case from before. This was something none of the a.d.u.l.t spies managed but the two teens were the first to break that pattern. As a father, he had mixed feelings about having a spy son-in-law. He might not have been the most responsible parent in the world to Scarlet but he definitely cared for her.

According to everyone, Scarlet was a lot happier ever since she met Edward but Wilmer couldn't help but worry. What if Edward only got close to Scarlet in order to gain some clues? Now that the Anastasias were going to be put behind bars, was Edward going to disappear from his daughter's life and break her heart? This wouldn't do.

"Change of plans," he told Danny. "Let's visit Edward."

Danny was puzzled. Isn't Edward in school? Why did Wilmer want to meet him all of a sudden?

Contrary to Danny's belief, Edward wasn't actually in school. He was sulking with Elfie and Jasper at a cafe. The boys were playing hooky from school and work when Wilmer and Danny caught them red-handed.

Needless to say, Elfie was dragged out of the cafe by an enraged Danny who excused himself from work for a while to discipline his child. Jasper saw Wilmer, bowed and sneakily made an excuse to escape, leaving Edward all alone.

The teen wasn't in the best of moods but he was still polite when he saw Wilmer. It was a good location to talk and not look out of place so Wilmer ordered them some fries to go with new cups of iced coffee.

Edward looked so dejected that Wilmer thought it might have been Scarlet who ditched him instead of his fears of the boy leaving his daughter.

"Why the glum face?" he couldn't help but ask.

Edward didn't reply at once. What should he say? That he was a spy who had recently been asked to retire? That he was lost in life and didn't know what he wanted to do now that he was a free man again?

"I don't know. I always thought that my life was planned out for me and all I had to do was walk the path made for me. I never thought that an earthquake would come to shake everything up so you can say that I'm feeling a little lost and unsure of what to do."

Wilmer blinked. That's right. Danny did mention that both Elfie and Edward were banned from further investigations. He didn't know the specifics but he guessed that Edward was feeling lost because of this. He worked so hard to chase after a criminal but now the Interpol has dismissed him from the case. This part of the youth made Wilmer smile. Many years back when he just knew Orita, he felt the same thing. He dropped the bright future he had to be with her in her darkest times and it was a decision he never regretted making.

"You know, I was once like you. I had a path and a very bright future but I threw everything away because of my wife. Back then, we weren't married and had barely known each other. But somehow, I felt that if I didn't abandon everything to pursue her, she would disappear from my life forever and I would hate myself for it. I didn't necessarily know what I wanted to do back then but I knew what I had to do. I had to become a man worthy of standing beside her to support her burdens and share her dream. I hope that it's the same case with you and my daughter. If your feelings for Scarlet aren't at least as strong as my feelings for Orita then you should leave before you do her more harm."

The straightforward message made Edward nod. "I couldn't help her, she doesn't really need me. What else can I do? I've done everything I can but it's not enough. Scarlet's constantly running ahead of me, I'm afraid that I'll lose her like that. You might not know it because you've been away for so many years but Scarlet isn't a damsel in distress. She's a warrior through and through who adorns dresses as armour and confidence as her weapon."

Wilmer smiled. That sounds like the small girl who ran despite having a broken leg with the evidence and hid in a closet just to help his company find the rat so many years ago. Scarlet hasn't changed at all and the CEO chuckled.

"No, you're absolutely right about Scarlet. It looks like you know her well, she's very much like a more stubborn and proactive version of Orita which is why we worry about her a lot more than we worry about Alex. Scarlet dashes headfirst into danger and she runs fast. I was initially worried about the relationship she shares with you because I thought you approached her due to your job. I've been mistaken, please accept my apology."

Stunned, Edward didn't know how to react to Wilmer bowing to him in apology. As a father who loved his daughters very much, Edward was sorry that he couldn't be a better boyfriend for his precious daughter.

"No sir, I should be the one in your care. I admit that I first approached Scarlet because of my work which I'm assuming you must have already heard from some of your trusted sources. They are true but I've been recently dismissed from my job. I've been fired so now I'm just another ordinary teenager. However, I assure you that my feelings for Scarlet aren't a lie. If they were, I wouldn't be forced to leave the job I thought I was destined for."

Wilmer blinked. That revelation made him feel complicated on the inside. He had been right, this dog had approached his daughter because of his work. However, the second part of the revelation made Wilmer feel sorry for the informant. According to Danny and looking at Elfie, those who worked in that line often are prepared to lay down their lives at any moment's notice. Edward must be no exception. Suddenly finding himself a freeman from that prison of responsibility was like a bird caged all its life discovering that the world outside of the cage was so much wider. He must be feeling even more lost in life than Wilmer did back then.

"Why don't you focus on graduating first? You can decide what you want to do with Scarlet bit by bit."

At that, Edward bit his straw. "I don't know if I have a place in her future. You might not know this but we had a major fight that both of us are trying very hard to forget. Because of what I do and who she was, we had to build many walls to hide our secrets. I don't know if I can ever tell her all my secrets in this life and they say that there should be no secrets between lovers. She must be disappointed in me."

Who was this lost puppy? The Edward that Claire and Danny described to him wasn't this pathetic in Wilmer's head. Angry that the talented teen let himself get defeated by love, he smacked the teen on the shoulder.

"Chin up. You're still young. Just know that you have both Orita and my approval, think of us as your second parents. Whatever you want to do in the future, we will give you our support. You're the main reason why this war with Anastasia can finally be over and why Scarlet has never been happier in her life. Take all the time you need, this is my business card."

Edward took the card and Wilmer paid the bill before reminding Edward to think about it before he left the cafe.

Alone at the table, Edward stared at the name card for a very long time before pocketing it.