It was late when Alex arrived at his magnificent mansion. Since his disappearance eleven months ago the mansion has not shown any significant changes at all other than the ground that he stepped on is now white and the trees that used to have heavy leaves are now no longer leafy. The branches were so covered with snowflakes that they fell so hard today that the trees in his yard looked as scary as an old witch's cottage. Alex pulled his denim jacket tighter to wrap his body, which was starting to shiver from the cold. Not a good choice indeed to use a denim jacket in this cold weather. Moreover, Canada always has colder winters than all countries in the Americas because of its location in the north. But he had to do it for Harper's sake. He couldn't enter Harper's house if he wore his usual clothes and showed himself as Alexander Enzo. Everyone in this country must have known about his crimes. But it is not enough to know whether he committed the murder or not. As long as th
Harper knew her fears were ridiculous and overblown. She was even still shaking after Alex left her house hours ago. She asked Chase to accompany her for a while. To reduce Chase's suspicions about the pizza in her room, Harper asked Chase to eat together and asked Chase to chat about anything. Anything but about Alex and her fears. She was really afraid that Alex would terrorize her even more after this. Moreover, Alex began to sniff about Chase's whereabouts. She couldn't risk Chase's life for her complicated problem with Alex. She was a fool not to have predicted that. Tyler also didn't say anything when they met three days ago to celebrate Amber's birthday at Amber's favorite restaurant. At that time Tyler avoided discussing anything related to Alex's case and was just having fun celebrating his fiancé's birthday party. She thought Tyler did it on purpose because he didn't want to ruin Amber's joy on her birthday. Turns out she was wrong, Tyler didn't talk about Alex's problem be
"What's his name?" Harper was still lost in thought until Alex touched the tips of her fingers and made her gasp. In a daze, she looked up at Alex, but lowered her head again to stare at her fingers that were just drooping on the table after being touched by Alex. "What? Sorry, I’m out of my mind." "What's his name?" Harper put on an incomprehensible face. Suddenly her brain became slow to think. She was experiencing intense deja vu in that room, Alex's study. The room that used to be the place of their fight and also Alex's arrest. Not much has changed in Alex's study. The sheer volume of books still dominates half of the workspace. When Harper came in a few minutes ago with Alex, Harper had hardly noticed any change other than the gloomy atmosphere and a slight smell of dust. Even though Brielle regularly cleaned Alex's study, the room remained unoccupied until last night. The aura emitted by the room was very different from when Alex used i
Alex's SUV stopped right at the edge of the sidewalk that separated Harper's yard from the street in front of her house. The two-story house is dominated by brick red and light brown colors on each wall. The roof of the house is pointed upwards with tall windows on each floor covered with sweet-looking vines. Perhaps Harper deliberately grew the vines so that her house would be different from the houses belonging to her neighbors who had the same building style. At the front, there is a step that connects the small terrace at Harper's house with the main door that will lead directly to her living room. Too bad the houses in this area don't have garages, thought Alex when he saw the cars belonging to Harper's neighbors scattered around the sidewalk. Alex could see Harper's car parked neatly in her driveway. Yesterday it was too dark to see around the house. The house Harper bought seemed comfortable enough. The area is so quiet. Away from the hustle and bustl
The prison looks ordinary. Not as scary as it can be seen in the action films he often watches, but also not quite worthy to live in. The black bars that separated the prison passageway and a narrow four-by-three-meter room were rusty. The distinctive iron smell pollutes his lungs which are usually supplied by clean air from the trees in his yard. Especially in that cell, he didn't get the luxury of occupying that room alone. The other two prisoners were laughing out loud in another corner of the room. He deliberately did not associate with them or try to be friendly to them as new prisoners. Little information he knows from an officer who three days ago opened his handcuffs to put him in prison, two men who occupy the same cell with him is a former criminal and a man who likes to beat his wife. Perhaps the reason he was placed in that cage was because of the similarity in the crime category he had with the two thugs. But he felt that he could not be compared to them. The blonde with
Harper sticks to her original intention of not sleeping after Alex leaves her. For an hour and a half, Harper sat alone in the kitchen with the coffee grounds clumping together at the bottom of the cup. Brielle, who came at five minutes to six, looked at her in surprise because she didn't look okay in her eyes. But the smart Harper managed to find a good excuse to be in the kitchen before six. Apart from that, Brielle also found another cup in the sink. So Harper wasn't completely lying about her story to Brielle if she'd woken up before six o'clock and then accompanied Alex for a cup of coffee. But not long after that Alex excused himself back into his study to work on the pile of documents he needed to read, so in the end she was alone in the kitchen until Brielle arrived. Harper thought it was the most perfect tale to tell Brielle. She didn't want to make Brielle worry about her relationship with Alex. "What can I do for you, Brie?" "Nothing. I'd rather you just sit there and ea
The house seemed to be mocking her. The arrogance displayed by this magnificent classic building is the same as the arrogance of its owner. Fifteen minutes ago she still remembered how Alex had openly told her to leave his house. She wasn't even allowed to say goodbye to Heidi. Alex in an instant turned into a very cold man. The weakness and hopelessness on Alex's face this morning had disappeared from the moment Chase stepped into his house. It was probably part of Alex's jealousy. But what bothered her more was the possibility that Alex would take custody of Leo. "Are you still thinking about that problem?" Chase stopped his car at a crossroads when the traffic light turned red. Harper was grateful that Chase had given her time to think since his car pulled out of Alex's house. At least she needed some time to calm her chaotic heart. "He was just bluffing." "I hope so." Chase took her left hand from her lap and kissed it gently. "He's just jealous, Harphy." "I guess so too. B
"I'll take it to the kitchen and wash all the dishes." "Harper, you don’t have to. Sit here with us." “Lydia… you've prepared a really great meal today. Now it's my turn to clean all these plates,” Harper pointed at all the dirty dishes scattered on the table. Everyone seemed very hungry and very happy to eat whatever Mrs. De Castro served today. Harper was no exception, she had eaten well today even though she was in a bad mood after her fight with Chase. "Okay. We'll wait in the living room then. Thanks, darling." Mrs. De Castro kissed Harper gently on the cheek and walked off to the living room with her husband to relax. Maybe the romantic couple will read their favorite book while listening to soothing classical music. Harper felt proud to stare at the romantic couple. Since the first she has always dreamed of growing old with the man she loves, then they will share various kinds of happy moments. But it looks like it's all just hope. Her love story is tragic. The man she lo
Love is really strange. I love a man I can't reach. My ex-boyfriend was a man who held my heart too tightly. I'm happy when I'm with him. He was the first man who made me feel love and made me this crazy. Even though many years have passed, I still can't forget the madness of his love. He may not be a romantic man, but he always has a way of making me a queen. I thought at first it was a ploy to ensnare me. He is famous as a lady killer. Besides loving him, I sometimes also doubt his feelings. Is it possible that a lady killer would love a woman like me? “Yes, I love you, Harper!” shouted Alex enthusiastically. Harper poked her head through the bathroom door. She snorted when she saw her husband laughing out loud while holding her diary. She was stupid because she kept the diary in a drawer. Alex accidentally found it when he was looking for nail
The event was very lively. Decorated with beautiful flowers that were handpicked by the bride, the party was truly a dream party for the bride who had long dreamed of a fairy tale wedding party filled with beautiful flowers. At the altar, a man wore a black tuxedo, a snug bow tie around his neck, and shiny new shoes on his feet, the man waits for the bride with a feeling of extreme nervousness that is so annoying. His heart hadn't stopped rumbling for hours and hours, and his face was so stiff. It actually made the guests giggling and amused at him. Today everyone's gaze implies happiness for the most phenomenal couple of this century. A couple who have gone through many hardships together and have gone through many joys filled with laughter. Tyler waited nervously for his bride at the altar, wringing his cold hands over and over again. Even though he was a fierce police officer at the office, his ferocity was not at all visible when he stood at the altar. He even looked nervous to
He glanced at his phone screen and then looked at the snow in his small yard in the remote village of Newbury. Since yesterday he had known that his leisure time was over. Today he will soon end all this ridiculous charade to face a world that has never been on his side. "I've been waiting for your coming." Tom didn't turn around at all. His eyes were still glued to the white snow that was slowly starting to be illuminated by the sunlight. He wasn't in Hawaii at all. He's still in Canada. In a very remote village in Newbury. "The police will be here soon.” "Yes I know. Congratulations on tracking me down, Mr. Alexander Enzo. I don't think what people say about your prowess is anything but nonsense. Sorry for involving you in my game.” "Damn it! You almost killed a poor old man and you tricked a greedy man." "Trapper Winskie is indeed a greedy old man who deserves punishment." “You pretend to be me and talk to him who is very am
The clock still showed three in the morning, but the atmosphere at the police station was as busy as the activities carried out at nine in the morning. The officers who had just arrived from the field brought various kinds of evidence that could be used to build the case. They took several bags containing evidence from Chase's house. The items were arranged on a special table in the interrogation room. The 9mm caliber pistol that Harper once held was also among the items confiscated by police to investigate the case involving Alex and Chase.A police officer with sleepy eyes kept yawning repeatedly as he placed the evidence on the table. A USB and a small pen that looked unremarkable were placed there carefully after Zack came to hand it all over to them."Don't let anything be missed."Tyler patted the sleepy cop on the shoulder. He grumbled near Tyler because he had just been woken up when he was sound asleep in his house.“I even just slept two hours ago.”"Don't complain too much,
He had just turned off his bedroom light and was about to walk towards his bed when a strange sound crackled near his ear followed by the cold sensation he got on his temples from an object he knew very well what it was. He frantically tried to run to the light switch to illuminate his dark room so he could at least see the face of the intruder who had presumptuously disturbed his composure. But his footsteps had been blocked by that person so he immediately fell on the cold floor while enduring pain in the knee that landed first on the floor. "Who are you? What were you doing sneaking into my house?” "What do you think I'll do, Chase?" "Alex?" Chase winced in the darkness as he rubbed his bruised knee repeatedly. Knowing that Alex had come to his house, the feeling of anxiety gradually lessened a bit. But he simply couldn't ignore the fact that a few seconds ago Alex had been pointing him with a gun. “What are you doing in my house? The police are looking for you out there." “F
Across the dark hospital garden, they continued to run without stopping and trying to keep their balance in the snow which now seemed to be difficult for them. Several times Harper nearly tripped if Alex didn't hold her hand tightly, then they both jumped over the half-foot-tall bushes in the garden behind the hospital that separated it from the sidewalk that connected the street to another block."Are they still after us?"Harper panted repeatedly. Her lungs felt like they were going to explode, her legs would probably protest if they had a mouth to speak because her legs were sore right now after being used to running from the fifth floor of the hospital building."I don’t think so. Come on. Can you still walk?”Harper nodded weakly and started limping next to Alex. They had to pick up their car which was parked in a bar three blocks from where they were currently walking.When Alex stopped the car there, she was surprised at him because they left the car in a place that was quite o
For a long time, he stood there doing nothing. Maybe five minutes. Or more. He didn't know exactly when he had left the deserted hospital hallway to enter Brielle's noisy treatment room. The sound of the cardiograph showing the steady rhythm of Brielle's heartbeat relieved him a bit. Only a bit. The rest he was more worried when he saw Brielle's plump body which usually always radiated a healthy brown hue, now turned pale and wrinkled. Brielle's skin looked unwell under the needles that poked her here and there. “Brielle...” Alex muttered under his breath with broken feelings. He had never seen Brielle this frail. His Brielle who always laughs loudly, his Brielle who loves to cook delicious food for him, his Brielle who is always there for him. As he touched Brielle's hand which was drooping weakly at her side, it felt cold. Alex gripped her hand tightly, feeling the roughness of it because it was always used to work in the kitchen. He wanted to see Brielle in his kitchen again, no
He was enjoying classical music and a cup of fragrant hot coffee when his doorbell was rung roughly several times. Frowning his brows in annoyance, the man quickly tightened his sleeping robes and walked a little hastily to the front door to yell at anyone who had disturbed his quiet time. He thought the person who rang the bell at his house had gone completely insane. It's even a few minutes past ten. It's time for everyone to rest well. But the people out there seem to be crazies who don't know the code of ethics. "What the—" His words stopped in midair when he saw who the intruder had been playing with his doorbell. "Looks like I'm interrupting your bed time." "Very. You're not the person I expected to come tonight." “What kind of lawyer can stay relaxed when his client is being wanted by the police for running away.” Tyler said skeptically. He looked at Zack's body from head to toe which clearly showed that the man was ready to sleep. "It's a tough day. I didn't want to burde
Coming out of Harper's quiet residence, Chase didn't drive home right away. Instead of taking the route to his house, Chase turned the wheel toward Alex's office. There was something he had to do tonight to make his life calm again. Today he failed to pick up what he should have taken from Alex's office. For three hours he was stuck with people with thick glasses in the audit room on the fifth floor. Many times he made excuses to get up to Alex's room on the tenth floor, but time and time again he failed. Jordan Brasco, the smart-ass attorney keeps blocking him from going up to Alex's room by giving him a series of tasks that he shouldn't have to do. “Oh come on, why do they keep tinkering with Alex's wealth if the ten million dollars that Winksie sent to Alex's account have been withdrawn? They won't find anything at all until they ask Alex about it,” Chase monologued with himself. He was very upset about everything that happened to him today. But the problem is, Alex has disappear