Chapter 1

Elma's POV

I had only taken a few steps before I was pulled into a familiar embrace. "I've calmed down now. The front desk has given you the new key, right?"

I turned to look into Beck Callahan's eyes. There wasn't the slightest crack in his composure.

"Yeah."

"That's good to hear. I just got it replaced, so I brought it straight to you."

All of a sudden, I wanted to laugh out loud. This was clearly the second key. Every single day I had spent locked out of our home, Iria Sinclair could unlock that door effortlessly.

Without uttering a word, I walked toward the passenger seat out of habit. I still had to make a trip back; after all, some of my belongings were still there.

The moment I pulled open the car door, I froze. Iria greeted me with a smile.

Beck froze for a moment. "I forgot to tell you to sit in the back seat. Iria just finished working overtime, and since it was raining, I picked her up on the way."

I smiled slightly. "You two sure are close now."

"Iria's your best friend, so I'm just looking out for her."

He cared more about her than he ever did about me.

In the past, when he fell off his bike and needed several stitches at the hospital, Iria was the one who told me. When the project he'd been working on for years finally succeeded and secured its funding, she was also the one who told me. He had never told me a single thing himself.

The last time, I couldn't hold it in anymore and asked him, "If you needed time to cool off by yourself, why did you only block me and not her?"

"Because Iria's your best friend. If an emergency comes up, you can reach me through her," he responded. His tone was so candid it made me seem like the petty one instead.

"Hurry up and get in before you get soaked, Ellie." Iria's voice pulled me back to reality.

As soon as I climbed into the car, the sickly sweet perfume mingled with Beck's woody cologne that filled the cabin made my stomach churn.

"My cat had kittens a few days ago. Do you guys want to adopt one?"

I was just about to refuse when Beck agreed. "Sure."

I was caught off guard.

I had a severe allergic reaction to the cat fur at my colleague's house. I'd broken out in rashes and developed a fever, and Beck had stayed by my side in the hospital all night.

After I had been discharged, he even took time off work to stay home and look after me for two whole days. When he had nothing else to do, he would pore over my test results.

"I'll never let you near cats again. I've memorized every single allergen from that hospital panel, and I'm going to keep a real close eye on you from now on."

Back then, the look in his eyes had been both tender and solemn. Yet, now, when he heard about raising a kitten, he didn't even bat an eye.

"By the way, I bought three escape room tickets. Let's go together this weekend," Beck said.

My hands trembled uncontrollably, and with a dull thud, my phone slipped onto the floor mat.

When I was little, I was forgotten by a staff member at the orphanage and accidentally locked in a storage room overnight. From then on, I could never bring myself to go into confined spaces. I couldn't even sleep at night without the lights on.

I had lived in fear for so many years, yet he had long forgotten why I slept with the lights on. I lowered my gaze. My heart felt like a barren wasteland. "I'm not going."

Beck clicked his tongue. "Don't be such a buzzkill, Elma. We haven't seen each other in days. Why are you acting like this the moment we meet?"

The cramped space inside the car suddenly felt suffocating, and all I wanted was to get out.

"Pull over." Right after saying that, I bent down to pick up my phone, only to feel something sticky underneath the seat.

I followed the faint glow from my phone screen and noticed it was actually a condom—a freshly used one. In a heartbeat, my stomach churned.

The car pulled over at the curb, and I immediately hopped off.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to buy some blue cheese cheesecake."

"In that case, make sure you finish it before you come home. Iria doesn't like the smell of blue cheese."

His car sped off, leaving a cloud of exhaust behind. I stood in the rain for a long while before that overwhelming sense of nausea was finally washed away.

Just then, my real estate agent called. "Ma'am, the tenant for your small apartment in Florenza has decided not to renew the lease. Should I list it on the platform again, or are you planning to take it back?"

"I'd like to take it back," I responded calmly.

"Got it. The lease ends the day after tomorrow, so remember to come over for the inspection."