Vicky closed her eyes and dialed back after a few minutes.Beep, beep, beep…The call was answered shortly after, but the man did not say a word, so Vicky spoke first, "I was occupied just now and didn't hear my phone ringing."A voice altered by a voice changer came through the line. "Did you not hear it, or did not simply wish that you didn't hear it?""I didn't hear it."The man did not argue on the matter and asked, "Have you decided how you're going to accomplish your mission tonight, Miss Shaw?""Do I have to meet you tonight as well?" She panted heavily. "Are... Are you asking me to meet with you every single night?""That's right.""Tyler isn't in Stoneford City right now and I can go out to meet you, but he'll be back in a few days! By then—""How is that my problem?" interjected the man curtly.Vicky froze."I'll be waiting for you in the same hotel," said the man before ending the call without giving her the chance to react....At eight that night, Vicky remain
At first, Vicky thought that she was dreaming of Tyler, but it all felt too real to be a dream.She opened her eyes abruptly and sobered when she saw the dark figure before her.Realization dawned on her that it was not a dream, and she instantly recognized the man in her room.It was the masked man.They could not see much of one another in the dark, but their eyes reflected the light and shimmered."Why... Why are you here?" Vicky gaped at the figure.For a moment, she wondered if she was still asleep.After a few moments of silence, the altered voice echoed inside the room. "You've extended an invitation to me, Miss Shaw. I would be rude if I don't come over here.""When have I ever invited you here?!""You didn't show up at the hotel. Isn't that your way of inviting me to your house?"Vicky shivered in rage and said, "You're imagining it!""So be it," he said casually.Vicky was so shocked by the sight of the man that she forgot where she was for a moment. Realization d
'Was it all just a dream?' she thought. 'That's right. It must be.'She sat up and was about to go to the bathroom when she noticed something in the corner of her eye.She froze at the sight of a demon mask next to her bed and felt her blood run cold.Just then, her phone on the nightstand vibrated, and she unlocked it to find an unread message.[Are you coming to me tonight, or should I come to you?]All strength was instantly drained from her, and she started shivering.Since she had not replied to the message, the phone started ringing. She felt numb as she stared at the number on the screen.The call was automatically dropped sometime later, and the screen turned black.A few minutes later, the screen lit up again, but she had not answered any of the calls.She remained frozen in place and ignored the relentless ringing of her phone.She did not know how long had passed, but the phone eventually stopped ringing.Knock, knock!Just then, someone knocked on the door, and
"No." Vicky sniffled and added, "I've probably caught a cold.""Take care of yourself."Another tear dropped at Tyler's words. "Yeah. You too." Worried that she might not be able to contain her emotions, she said, "I'm about to go downstairs to eat, so let's end the call here..."Before she could hang up, Tyler called out to her, "Vicky.""Yes? What is it?""Are you really alright?""Of course," she said in the most cheerful manner she could manage. "I'm just tormented by a nightmare and haven't been able to sleep... Don't worry about me. I'll get better soon.""Okay."After breakfast, Vicky collected herself and went to visit Jennifer in the hospital.She felt dazed and did not know what she was thinking or what she should do.Everything was spinning out of control, and she had not expected the masked man to be mad enough to break into her house.Even if Tyler had been understanding, he would never tolerate her if he was told that she had been with someone else, and she wou
Vicky walked out of the hospital, but she wandered on the street instead of going home.Vicky used to feel secure at home, but it recently became suffocating to stay home as well.Honk!Hearing the honk of a car, she looked up to find a car racing toward her. She had been in her head the entire time and could not react in time, so it was too late to dodge.Screech!The car came to a sudden halt, and the people around gasped. The car was at too high a speed to stop immediately.Just when everyone thought that Vicky was about to be sent flying, someone pulled her backward abruptly, and the car raced by."Thank you." Vicky turned to look at the person who helped her.Harvey gazed down at her. "Vicky, what happened?"He had never seen her in such a terrible state before."I'm fine," she said. "I just haven’t been sleeping well."Harvey had known Vicky for long enough to spot her lie and said, "Vicky, you don't look like you're just suffering from the lack of sleep."She had not
Vicky, not knowing what happened in the past due to her amnesia, felt a strange feeling overtake her when she heard Harvey's words."You're saying that...you gave me to someone else and made me spend the night with that person?"Harvey lowered his voice. "Vicky, what happened back then isn't as simple as you think. You've forgotten everything, so whatever I say will sound like excuses." He looked at her bitterly and added, "Vicky, are you still in contact with that person?""Who?" She shot him a confused look."The person who's been helping you all this while.""Helping me?" She became more confused. "What are you talking about?"Harvey studied her expression, and his expression darkened when he realized she was not trying to deceive him. "Looks like he hasn't reached out to you since you lost your memories."Losing patience, Vicky demanded, "Harvey, what are you trying to say?"He flashed her a smirk. "Vicky, have you considered how you, the lady of the fallen Shaw family, man
Vicky frowned. "This is Stoneford City. As powerful as this mysterious person is, he can't possibly threaten Tyler, not to mention make him marry me."Harvey looked at her darkly. "What if he had leverage against Tyler?"She quieted down for a moment before saying, "Ever since I lost my memories, I haven't been in touch with this person you're talking about nor have I received any call or message from him..." Another thought occurred to her. "According to what you are saying, this person has something on Tyler, right? Why would Tyler try to divorce me on my birthday, then?"His eyes widened slightly. "He wanted to divorce you on your birthday?"Vicky nodded.He was instantly absorbed in his thoughts and fell silent for a good few seconds.As their coffee turned cold, tension rose between them."Vicky." Sometime later, he met her eyes once again. "There are things that I've said to you before you lost your memories, and you didn't believe me. You even thought that I was trying to
At the hospital.The doctor checked on Vicky and confirmed she was not hurt, but Harvey did not seem to believe it. "Doctor, the back of her hand is kind of red. Are you sure she's okay?""Sir, your wife is fine. The redness will fade after a while," the doctor said with resignation.Vicky frowned at how the doctor called her Harvey's 'wife' and immediately wanted to correct the doctor, but she felt like dignifying it with a denial was beneath her.Once Harvey confirmed that Vicky was unharmed, he let the doctor be and turned to look at Vicky. "Where are you going? I can give you a lift.""I'm going home to rest," she said. "I won't take any more of your time, Mister Sparks."Harvey was a sharp man and knew that this was Vicky's way of reminding him that it would be inappropriate for him to send her back to her house.He sighed and did not press on. "Very well. I'll walk you to the exit, then."Vicky did not refuse.…Once she was home, she collapsed on the couch and massaged