Sorry, I'm the Final Boss Now novel Chapter 34

The sun was beating down, and Hannah adjusted her hat, not wanting to get any sun on her face. A tan would be a disaster. She checked the time on her phone. It had been half an hour since she’d sent Theobald her location, and he still hadn’t shown up. The spot wasn’t far from Starlight Group; it should have taken twenty minutes at most.

Is he stuck in traffic? she wondered.

She sent him another message.

[Theo, are you stuck in traffic?]

Ten minutes passed. No reply.

Hannah’s brow furrowed. She sent another message.

[Theo, are you here yet?]

Another ten minutes. Still nothing.

Hannah’s frown deepened until it could have crushed a fly. What was going on? He said he was coming, and then he just ghosted her. Did Theobald have any integrity at all?

Her assistant fanned her with a small, portable fan. “What’s wrong? Is Theobald not coming?”

Hannah was so angry she wanted to throw her phone. “He’s vanished! He’s not answering my messages!”

Her assistant was shocked. “How is that possible? He’s not going to take such a perfect opportunity to prove himself?”

Hannah’s eyes narrowed. “I bet another woman has his phone. She’s not letting him reply to me or come here!”

“Who? Is there another woman in his life?”

Hannah’s knuckles turned white as she gripped her phone. “It has to be the one from those photos. He said it was his sister, but I don’t believe it. More like his mistress! She’s got to be some kind of seductress.”

Her assistant chimed in indignantly, “Theobald is such a player! Well, forget him then. It’s not like you actually like him anyway. You were just using him to make Joshua jealous, and you’ve already achieved that.”

“Forget him? No way!” Hannah snapped. “Theobald was mine from the start. I’m not going to let some home-wrecker steal him from me!”

Her assistant was starting to understand. It wasn't about love; it was about pride. Hannah, with her stunning looks and immense success, couldn't handle being ditched for another woman. It was a blow to her ego.

Theobald wanted to pick it up and put it back on, but he didn’t dare.

He had gotten the rosary at a monastery George had built in Northpine. At the time, he had just taken over the nearly bankrupt company and was overwhelmed with problems. George was already a well-known figure in the city, and many business leaders would visit the monastery he had funded to make donations and pray for good fortune.

Theobald had taken a day off to go there, hoping to find some peace. That day, he had knelt before the altar for hours, praying. When he finally looked up, the abbot was standing before him.

The abbot pressed his hands together. “God be with you, my son. What do you pray for?”

He pressed his own hands together in return. “I’m praying that God watches over my sister and grants her peace in the next life.” Despite all his own troubles, that was his only prayer. He figured God, being from the other side, would have a more direct line to her.

“Your sister is no longer of this world?” the abbot asked gently.

At the mention of her, his eyes reddened. “No. She died in a car crash.”

The abbot’s gaze was kind. “I see a deep faith in you, my son. I have a rosary here. If your heart is true, I will bless it for you. It will serve as a vessel for your prayers for your sister.”