The Love Buried Long Ago Novel by DaphenRosa _ Novel




The Love Buried Long Ago Chapter 01

While sorting through her mother, Margaret Reid's belongings, Cassandra Hartley found an old cell phone tucked all the way in the back, a model that had been discontinued years ago.
It was the phone she'd used during her senior year of high school.
Cassandra had thought she'd lost it, but it turned out her mother had been hiding it all along.
After she plugged it in and turned it on, unread messages filled the screen.
There was only one sender, Elliot Schneider.
The last text had stopped three years ago.
"Cassandra, this is the last time I'm going to message you."
***
Margaret only told Cassandra the truth about why she had forced her and Elliot apart just before she passed away.
First, Elliot's mother had been her sworn enemy.
Second, Elliot's mother had stolen her first love.
Third, Elliot looked too much like her first love.
After so many years, Cassandra would be lying if she said she was shocked when she suddenly learned the truth, but she'd also be lying if she said she felt nothing.
Maybe it was her composure that finally made Margaret let go of her fixation and patiently try to talk Cassandra around.
"If you and Elliot ever meet again, don't miss your chance this time. I know you stayed away all these years because of me. I was wrong, and I'll give you both my blessings from heaven."
Cassandra felt a mix of emotions, and she couldn't tell whether it was hurt or regret.
She scrolled aimlessly through the old phone. The wallpaper and lock screen were still a photo of her and Elliot.
Even every app icon was a matching couple icon they'd chosen together back then.
Memories that had been buried rushed back all at once, and her heart tightened before she could stop it.
In her panic, she accidentally pressed speed dial number one.
The next second, Elliot's name appeared on the call screen.
Cassandra snapped back to her senses and immediately hung up. It had only rung for two seconds, so she told herself it probably hadn't gone through.
Her fingertips tingled faintly, and her heart pounded hard.
She quickly stood up and packed the belongings she'd sorted into a box.
Unexpectedly, a strong vibration rang out.
Cassandra moved faster than she could think and immediately opened the cardboard box again to search for the old phone.
Only then did she realize the old phone wasn't ringing. The one in her pocket was.
Cassandra gave a brief, helpless laugh and answered the call, only to be hit by another bolt from the blue.
Her father, Robert Hartley, had taken a turn for the worse and had been rushed into emergency care.
Cassandra hurried to the hospital.
Outside the emergency room, the red light was glaringly bright, and her heart rose into her throat.
She didn't have to endure the torment for long before the emergency room doors opened from the inside, and the lead surgeon walked out with a group of doctors in white coats.
Cassandra immediately rushed forward and asked, "Doctor, how's my father? Is he out of..."
The word "danger" caught in her throat when he took off his mask.
A familiar face, frigid and handsome, appeared before her. His voice, stripped of its youthful softness, sounded calm beside Cassandra's ear.
"The patient is out of life-threatening danger."
Cassandra's feet seemed nailed to the floor, and even her breathing stopped.
The doctor who had saved Robert turned out to be Elliot.
Unlike Cassandra, who was anything but calm, Elliot looked especially composed.
"His vital signs are stable for now, but he needs to be admitted to the ICU for 24 hours of observation. We'll also need to run further tests to determine the bleeding site and his recovery status."
His voice was steady, without a trace of extra emotion. "A nurse will explain the follow-up precautions to you in detail."
Every movement he made truly carried the bearing of a doctor.
Once, they had promised to attend medical school together and save lives together.
Cassandra, however, had broken that promise and gone into photography instead.
After he finished speaking, he brushed past her and left.
"Elliot..."
Cassandra couldn't hold back. With difficulty, she called out the name she'd muttered countless times in her heart.
Elliot slowly turned around, and his distant gaze landed on her. "Do you need something else?"
Cassandra opened her mouth, wanting to explain the misunderstanding between them from back then.
When her gaze fell on the faint lipstick mark on his collar, the words stuck in her throat.
She lowered her eyes and shook her head. "It's nothing. I just wanted to thank you for saving my dad."
The silence made the atmosphere between them stiff.
Elliot spoke coldly. "Did you call me just now because you needed something?"
Cassandra suddenly looked up. He had actually received that call.
Courage immediately rose in her, and she wanted to bring up what had happened back then.
Elliot, however, cut her off with displeasure, "Don't call me again unless there's a real reason. After all, our past relationship makes things pretty awkward."
"Awkward?" Cassandra mused.
She smiled awkwardly, twisted her fingers tight, and agreed at once, "Okay."
The thing Elliot was worried about actually wouldn't happen.
In a week, she would take Robert and immigrate to New Zealand.
The air there was clean—good for his recovery, and good for her to start over.

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