488: [Bonus chapter] let her soul rest

[Bonus chapter] let her soul rest

Meanwhile...1

"Something wrong, buddy?" Tiger's eyes glided to the corner, catching the indescribable look plastered on Bear's face. The latter sat in the front passenger seat while Tiger was in the driver's seat, escorting Dominic to one of his meetings with some ministers. 

"What's with that look?" Tiger set his eyes back on the road. "You look like you want to go to the toilet. Just tell me. I heard old people can barely control that part of their body, and I don't want us to smell."

Just the thought of it made Tiger scrunch up his nose. But then, his brows elevated when he got no reaction from Bear. 

"Oy, Bernard. Are you not listening?" Tiger frowned. "I said you're old and you might shit yourself."

Nothing. 

Deep lines appeared between Tiger's brows. He turned his head to check on Bear, only to see that the latter was staring at the road ahead, deep in thought. 

"The hell?" Tiger snapped his tongue in irritation, setting his eyes on the road. "Why are you not reacting!? Man... this is boring! Now I kind of missed Gray and Fig as my partners. Ever since that Dominic Zhu kept dragging me around, things just get boring being partnered with you!" 

"I can hear you, but I don't care." Bear sighed but still didn't bother casting his partner a look. "I have a lot to think about. More important than what your tiny brain can take."

"Hah!?" Tiger gasped in disbelief, mouth wide open. "Did you just — shit!"

Tiger tried pulling over but then remembered he was driving ahead of Dominic's car. He clenched his teeth as he clasped the steering wheel in anger. 

"Once this is over, I'm going to slit your throat!" he warned, furious at receiving an insult when he was the first to instigate. 

  Bear nonchalantly glanced at the driver's seat, shaking his head. "About that incident... why hadn't you asked me any question?" he asked out of nowhere, making Tiger furrow his brows. 

"Huh?" Tiger cast the passenger a quick look. "Why do I need to ask you any questions? If there's something that I am curious about, that is Heaven Liu. So, if there's someone I should ask my question, I should direct them to her."

"I see..." Bear rocked his head, not surprised because that was something Tiger would say. 

"But damn... this work just became more complicated." Tiger shook his head, thinking of the amount of work they had been doing since the incident. "If not for her, I would've quit after that. Though I probably have one question for you, Bernard."

Bear didn't answer as he waited for whatever question Tiger had for him. The latter had been behaving, surprisingly. Therefore, Bear might answer whatever question he got as a reward. 

"Now that I am sure Heaven Liu is quite... I mean, she's capable. Have you always known what she's capable of?" Not long after, Tiger's question flew out of his mouth. He slid his eyes to the corner to check Bear, and seeing the unchanging look on the latter's face already gave him a clear answer. 

"Since when?" he threw a follow-up question even before Bear could answer the first one. "Or did you know that even before meeting her?"

"I don't. It's just a coincidence." Bear breathed out as he set his eyes on the window beside him. "I was just as surprised as everyone else when I found out."

"How did you find out?"

"She told me."

Deep lines resurfaced on Tiger's forehead at the answer he got. He looked at Bear again, only to confirm the old man wasn't lying. 

"If you heard about the incident with the maid, then you can guess how suspicious it was," Bear continued lazily. "As someone as fearless as her, it's strange that someone like Andrea Ng almost killed her."

"I heard about that, but it didn't cross me until now."

"I didn't have any suspicion in the past, but she called me and told me everything that happened," Bear added with an air of nonchalance, knowing Tiger would soon understand everything. "Though what I can tell for sure is that... you might see some familiar faces in the future."

"That doesn't sound good." Tiger's frown turned ugly at the thought. If others often get scared of not seeing a familiar person in a crowd, it was the opposite for him. Though scared was not the right term, per se.

"Tiger." After minutes of nothing but silence, Bear blinked slowly, eyes still on the window. "Can you answer my question with a level head?"

"Huh? I'm always level-headed."

"What are your thoughts on Hera coming back?"

Tiger froze for a moment as his breath hitched. There were tons of questions Bear could ask him, but this didn't cross his mind.

"Hah!" he scoffed. "Impossible."

"But what if?"

"There's no what if, Bernard." His face twitched, trying to maintain his dwindling smile. "Hera is dead, and even if I sacrifice every single one of you, I can't bring her back. That's why I never bothered."

Hera was a sensitive topic for them, but it was twice for Tiger. Hera was his sister, his only family. Therefore, he often avoided the topic of her. Especially when the topic involved the impossible 'what ifs.'

"I buried her myself…" he added under his breath, eyes on the highway ahead. "Held her stiff and cold hands, cried my heart out, and even dug up another grave next to her to join her. There is no what if, Bernard. Move on and stop bothering the dead. Let her soul rest."

'Well, the soul is already resting for sure,' Bear sighed. 'She was on a bedrest.'

Thinking about how would Heaven make this man believe she was Hera made his head throb. Bear pinched the bridge of his nose. Although Bear easily accepted it, for sure, it would be a different case for these guys. Especially for Tiger. Even Dominic needed time to process it. What more, these guys, who lost a part of themselves upon her death?

'I hope she has a proper plan this time,' he thought, peeking his one eye to the driver's seat. 'Because one misstep with these guys and they'd do everything to kill her.'

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