Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run novel Chapter 776

Mr. Sheffield stepped forward and gave Richard's shoulder a reassuring pat. "Alright, you’ve already apologized to Walter—let’s leave it at that. You’re usually so steady. What got into you today?"

Richard didn’t answer right away. He stood there for a moment, silent, then let a faint smile slip across his lips.

“As long as Dylan’s okay. Walter, I was out of line today. I’ll stop by and apologize in person next time.”

Mr. Sheffield breathed a sigh of relief and continued chatting with Walter.

Richard wasn’t really listening. He turned and headed downstairs.

After lighting some incense, he was just stepping outside when his phone buzzed. Clara’s name flashed on the screen.

“Richard, have you seen Dylan?”

He rubbed his temples, feeling the start of a headache. “The old man pulled a fast one. Dylan’s probably not at the house anymore.”

Clara’s heart started racing. In her eyes, Mr. Sheffield was ruthless—if he really wanted to hurt Dylan, he wouldn’t waste any time.

Her voice was rough, almost breaking. “Then where could he have gone?”

Richard looked down, fished a cigarette from his pocket, and stuck it between his lips. “No idea. Maybe the Fergusons have some secret basement or something.”

He only smoked when he was truly on edge. After a few drags, he caught the sound of soft sniffling on the other end and hesitated.

“Clara… are you crying?”

His words jolted her back to reality. She wanted to deny it, but her cheeks felt wet.

She reached up, surprised to find real tears.

“I…”

“Dylan’s going to be fine. Worst case, like I told you, they’ll just try to make him forget you. But with the way he is—even if he does forget, the moment he sees you again, he’ll fall for you all over. Don’t stress.”

Suddenly, she remembered overhearing a conversation between Richard and Dylan once. Richard had asked if Dylan was really planning to wait, and Dylan had given a definite yes.

Back then, she’d assumed Dylan was waiting for someone else—a girl from the Dawson family, maybe.

But now that she thought about it—was she actually the one Dylan had been waiting for all this time?

If that was true, it would explain why Richard sounded so sure.

She couldn’t help herself—she called Richard again. He picked up with a sigh.

“What is it now?”

“Do you remember that time you asked Dylan if he was really going to keep waiting?”

“Oh, that? Yeah, I remember. He’s liked you for years, honestly. I don’t even know how long exactly. If you go to Palm Bay, you’ll probably find an old set of your school uniform hidden somewhere. Remember your graduation photo? You were the only one not in uniform. He stole yours and kept it for all these years.”