Chapter 988
Caught in this momentary distraction, she was startled when a voice from the other end of the call suddenly asked, “What’s next?”
Ariana was momentarily frozen.
The man’s voice was deep.
Oddly, it was accompanied by a background noise, almost like static or some form of electrical interference.
The resemblance was striking.
Ariana stood still, taken aback by the uncanny similarity.
For a moment, she was at a loss for words.
The voice was so reminiscent of Theodore’s that she almost believed he was the one speaking on the other end of the Line.
“Are you still there? Is the call breaking up due to poor internet?”
The voice sounded slightly confused.
It was only then that Ariana shook off her reverie, scolding herself for letting her imagination run wild, just as Sonia had warned her.
She softly patted her face, reminding herself that many people have similar voices.
On closer listening, she detected a slight nasal quality in the voice on the other end that made it sound even gentler.
A fleeting emotion tugged at Ariana’s senses.
She mentally scoffed at herself for even sparing a thought for Theodore, who had always been so aloof in his speech.
Pulling herself together, Ariana continued to provide cooking instructions.
The man on the other end was laconic, offering only brief acknowledgments here and there.
Despite her efforts to convince herself that the voice could not be Theodore’s, hearing it continually disrupted her focus.
Her attention wandered several times, to the extent that the man on the other end sensed something was off.
Setting down the ingredients he was handling, he directly asked, “Is everything alright? You seem distracted.
”
Ariana paused before softly saying, “It’s nothing, it’s just.
Your voice sounds very similar to that of my late husband.
”
After speaking those words, Ariana sensed they might not have been the most appropriate.
Realizing her comment could make the situation awkward, she quickly added, “I didn’t mean anything by it; there are subtle differences between your voice and his.
”
The person on the other end didn’t say much, seemingly unbothered by her remark.
He continued to follow her cooking instructions and casually said, “Maybe it’s because I have a cold and my voice hasn’t fully recovered.
It could be a coincidence.
”
Shortly afterward, the camera angle changed, indicating that he had moved to the living room and sat down on a sofa.
Following some intermittent noise, silence fell once more.
The rear-facing camera remained active, leaving Ariana clueless about his actions.
Soon, she heard him ask, “How long has it been since your husband passed away?”
With a wistful smile, Ariana answered slowly, “He died in a car accident five years ago.
”
The simple sentence weighed heavily on her heart.
Considering recent events, her emotional state was fragile.
Unable to hold back, her voice tinged with emotion, she confessed, “I can’t move on.
I miss him every day.
”