Chapter 3 Night of Questions

Xavier got out of the car and looked at the damage. Amelia kept apologizing because she knew she couldn't afford to pay for an expensive car.

Xavier stared at her coldly.

"Your tricks are too cheap. Look for another one."

Amelia kept apologizing.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

He smirked.

"You didn't mean it? Are you sure?"

She lost her temper.

"What is your problem?"

Amelia's chest rose and fell quickly. She knew she had made a mistake, but she hated the way he was speaking to her as if she were beneath him.

She looked at the damaged car again and swallowed.

How am I supposed to pay for this?

She barely had enough money for her own needs. Now she had to worry about repairing a car that probably cost more than everything she owned.

Before her thoughts could grow louder, her phone rang.

A voice came through the phone.

"Why are you taking so long with my delivery?"

Amelia quickly apologized.

"I'm sorry. I ran into a problem. I'm coming right now."

She turned to Xavier's assistant.

"I need to leave."

The assistant turned to Xavier.

"Collect her number. She'll pay for the damage."

"My boss said you can give me your number and leave," the assistant told Amelia. "You can settle the payment later."

Amelia gave him her number, then got on her delivery bike and rode away.

Xavier turned to his assistant.

"Take the car to the repair shop and send the repair cost to Amelia."

"Yes, sir."

---

Later that night, Amelia got home and saw Ethan on the phone with someone. He was smiling.

That was only the second time she had seen him smile like that during their years of dating. The first time had been when they met.

So why was he smiling like that now?

Amelia walked toward him.

When Ethan heard her footsteps approaching, he quickly said, "I'll call you back," ended the call, and turned around.

He met Amelia's gaze.

"I'm talking to a client," he explained.

She hadn't even asked, but he was already explaining himself.

Amelia didn't think much of it. She told him about what had happened earlier that day, and he comforted her.

---

Later that night, Amelia woke up feeling unusually hot.

She turned to the other side of the bed, but Ethan wasn't there.

She frowned.

This was the first time Ethan had disappeared without telling her where he was going.

She forced herself to stand and walked into the living room to see if he was there, but he wasn't.

Amelia picked up her phone, scrolled to Ethan's contact, and pressed call.

The phone rang, but nobody answered.

She became scared.

This was the first time Ethan hadn't picked up her call.

She forced herself to stand and rushed downstairs to look for him.

Heavy rain had started to fall, but she ignored the cold and continued searching for him.

Then her phone rang.

It was Ethan.

She quickly answered.

"Where did you go, Ethan?"

"I was working," Ethan lied.

A woman's voice could be heard in the background.

Amelia froze.

"Ethan, what are you doing?"

"There's a client who drank too much, so I took the client home," he quickly explained.

"Why were you calling?" he asked.

"Ethan, I'm sick. I—"

Before she could finish, a woman's voice came through again.

"Ethan, they're making me drink. Come and drink this."

The call suddenly ended.

Amelia stared at her phone in confusion.

"Why did he hang up so quickly?" she whispered.

She tried calling him again, but this time, his phone went straight to voicemail.

A strange feeling settled in her chest.

She had never been suspicious of Ethan before. Even when his mother treated her badly, she always reminded herself that Ethan loved her. He had been the first person to stand beside her when everyone else looked down on her.

But lately, something had changed.

Amelia slowly sat on the edge of the bed. Her body still felt weak, and the events of the past few days were beginning to overwhelm her.

She thought about Xavier.

The moment she remembered waking up in that strange room, she quickly pushed the thought away.

She didn't understand what had happened that night, and she didn't want to think about it.

All she wanted was to forget.

Her phone suddenly vibrated.

Amelia looked down.

It was a message from the delivery company.

NEW DELIVERY ASSIGNED.

She sighed.

Even though she was exhausted, she couldn't afford to refuse another job.

She grabbed her jacket and stood up.

Before leaving, she looked at the empty side of the bed.

"Ethan, where are you?" she whispered.

Meanwhile, Ethan sat in the back of a car, staring at his phone.

He had seen Amelia's missed calls.

For a moment, he considered calling her back.

Then the woman sitting beside him spoke.

"Is that your girlfriend?"

Ethan's expression changed.

"It's nothing," he replied quickly.

The woman smiled.

"You don't look like it's nothing."

Ethan ignored her and looked out of the window.

He knew Amelia trusted him.

That was exactly why he couldn't tell her the truth yet.

Back at home, Amelia's phone vibrated again.

This time, it was an unknown number.

She opened the message.

"We need to talk about the damage to the car."

Amelia frowned.

She already knew who it was.

Xavier.

She stared at the message for several seconds before replying.

"I'm sorry. I'll pay you back. I just need some time."

The reply came almost immediately.

"How much time?"

Amelia looked at the small amount of money in her account and sighed.

She had no idea how she was going to pay for an expensive car.

Yet somehow, she had a feeling that Xavier Robinson wasn't going to let the matter go easily.

And she was right.

Xavier was already looking at her name on his phone.

For the first time since their strange encounter, he wondered if he had judged her too quickly.

But he quickly pushed the thought away.

"She's hiding something," he muttered.