Richard, tired from all the sleepless nights, recalled everything—how one day, a girl had crossed his path. He had once helped her, and after that, she started to follow him everywhere he went.
At first, he thought she was just a fan, someone curious. But she seemed unaware of the world, almost like an alien—so innocent, so clueless. she don't even know where she came from.
Richard remembered how he used to hate her constantly following him around. Yet, eventually, he brought her back to his house. While he was searching for a home for her, she became his home. They grew closer over time.
However, everything changed when he came back from a business trip—she was gone, vanished into thin air, never to return. The house, once full of her laughter, had become painfully silent.
He searched for her for four years but never found her. Her last known traces led him to the orphanage where he found Rosette with her necklace. Every time, he denied the possibility that she had a child. But the photos... they showed she was pregnant.
"Why didn't she tell me?" he thought. "Was it because the child was never mine?"
The necklace—she always carried it. It was precious to her. "Was that necklace a token of love from the child's real father? Why did she hold onto it when I offered her so many other pieces of jewelry?"
"Had she ever truly loved me? If she did, then why did she leave?"
"Leila... why did you leave me? Where have you gone? Why did you leave your child in an orphanage—if you wanted to keep her? Why am I taking care of that child?"
He sighed.
"But I can't let go of anything that belonged to you. I will take care of her on your behalf. So when you wish to return, I will have this home ready for you. But please... come back. Please come back to me."
After all these thoughts, Richard's eyes moistened. Looking at her photo frame on the desk, he slowly closed his eyes.
The room was silent—thick with memories and filled with the lingering smoke of his cigar.