MERRY 34

I let go of the cushion that had been miserably crushed in the crook of my arm and sat up. As the memory-fueled phantom faded, I was greeted not by the Upper East Side mansion where I was born and raised, but by my own sanctuary in Chelsea.

In the midst of the familiar scenery, I rubbed my face and focused on thinking rationally. I recalled the conversation I’d had with Ethan at the donut shop.

“I’m a busy man. Today and tomorrow. Especially tomorrow, because I’m meeting a man.”

“I doubt it. Unless Mr. Quinn had a sex change while I wasn’t looking. I haven’t seen that in the news.”

In other words, Ethan had already figured out that I had plans to meet my mom.

It was too different a day and date to have been confused with the meeting I’d planned for Cedric Beaufort’s visit to New York. Besides, I’d canceled that ages ago, the date had already passed, and the appointment with Mom was just set yesterday.

I asked myself again.

How does Ethan know my schedule?

Even if he were keeping an eye on me, this was different. It hadn’t even been a full day since the plans were made, and it wasn’t exactly something worth bragging about, so I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone else. Furthermore, how could he know I had an appointment at all, let alone specify that it was with my mother?

I got goosebumps at Ethan’s inexplicably broad and accurate information network. The more I organized my thoughts, the more a sense of eeriness crept over my skin. I rubbed my forearms vigorously and hurriedly fumbled for my phone.

— Hello.

The man on the other end sounded calm. Unlike me, whose breathing had grown ragged.

“I have something to ask you. How on earth… no, I need to see with my own eyes if you’re lying. Show yourself in front of me again. We need to talk.”

I knew I was being quite reckless, but Ethan didn’t stop to weigh the options. He wasn’t the man who used to reject my invitations.

— Three minutes. See you in the parking lot.

“What? It only takes three minutes? You said you were going home, so you’ve just been loitering around me this whole time? You crazy bastard!”

— Two minutes?

“You’re like a goddamn stalker!”

The curse I hurled with all my might was nothing more than a statement of fact. I tossed my phone onto the sofa and hurriedly threw on some clothes. When I grabbed my car keys and headed to the parking lot, Ethan was already standing there, waiting in front of my green sedan.

“You’re late. Five minutes have passed.”

“You’re just fast. Apartment security has gone to the dogs. Letting outsiders just wander in.”

Deciding to lodge a complaint later, I pointed to the sedan.

“Get in. This conversation is going to be too unrefined to have out in the open.”

Ethan was faster at opening the passenger door than I was at unlocking the car. While I’m at it, I should find out where he learned that skill, too.

The man, who had no idea he had been stripped bare in my head, sat composed with his arms crossed. I glared at him through the car window before heading to the driver’s side and getting in.

It wasn’t a soundproof room or a completely private space, but it would be fine as long as I didn’t start screaming. In other words, I was the only one who needed to be careful. I tousled my hair, which was a mess from lounging on the sofa, and spoke.

“I’m going to ask you straight. Don’t even think about dodging this time. If you do it again, I’m erasing you from my life. You think I can’t? Try me if you’re curious. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life. I’ll make sure of it.”

At my rather long-winded threat, Ethan showed only a slight flicker of movement, merely raising and lowering an eyebrow. A simple threat to smash his glasses would have probably been more effective, dammit. To hell with this.

The notice to get the hell out of my life couldn’t be meaningless to him. He was just certain I wouldn’t be able to go through with it. I locked eyes with the arrogant stalker and asked.

“How did you know I was meeting my mom tomorrow?”

I threw the punch, but Ethan didn’t flinch. His eyes maintained a look of innocence.

“A stalker knows everything.”

“That won’t work. Even a stalker has things they shouldn’t know.”

“If you follow someone long enough, you eventually learn everything.”

“Wrong.”

Even as I repeatedly shot down his weak answers, he remained unshaken.

“Are you ignoring my intelligence capabilities?”

“I’m the one being ignored. You’re looking down on me.”

“It’s a misunderstanding—one bordering on self-deprecation.”

“Don’t give me that. Fine, then let me in on how you got this ‘great information’ of yours.”

If you have something to say, say it!

“I went to see Ms. Quinn and asked her.”

“If you had, Mom would have contacted me.”

“I asked her to match the story…”

“Pigs flying is more believable than that.”

It’s impossible for my mother to adjust herself to someone else.

“I can call right now to check. Don’t try to mislead me with lies that’ll be exposed. What I want is the truth. It’s a waste of time to make things up, so give me a convincing explanation.”

“I feel like I’ve done enough.”

“It’s not enough. I’m not feeling it at all!”

Feeling that hounding the fortress-like Ethan was futile, I began to deduce it myself. What kind of things would a stalker do? Especially a technician who can bypass apartment security in three minutes to wait for me and open a locked car door with his bare hands like it’s nothing.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but…”

“Shut up unless you’re going to tell the truth.”

Ethan pointedly shut his mouth. It was different from when I couldn’t even bring myself to resent him because I was so dazzled by his beauty. Now, he looked beyond mere resentment—he looked like a cruel devil.

I narrowed my eyes and rested my cheek on the steering wheel. With one cheek squashed and my lips pouting, I watched Ethan. Scanning his artistic bridge of his nose, I let my brain work hard.

“Did you hack my phone?”

“That’s a crime.”

“You’re not in a position to talk about crime. If it’s not hacking, what is it?”

I only mentioned the appointment once when I talked to Mom, so how did he find out?

I was frustrated because I couldn’t find a single clue. As my stomach churned, I realized just how poor my diet had been today—the single bite of Ethan’s donut was all I’d had. Luckily, there was nothing to throw up.

What did I eat last night? Various Chinese dishes I ordered. Noodles, dumplings, stir-fried vegetables. My consciousness followed the menu in chronological order. Looking back at myself lounging lazily after eating my fill last night, I found a lead.

“Ah!”

Last night, I was too lazy to even hold the phone to my face, so I talked to Mom on speakerphone. Which means the conversation could have been overheard from inside the house.

“You, you! Were you in my house?”

Horrified, I pressed myself against the car door. If it turned out Ethan Reed was a nutcase who committed breaking and entering, I planned to run away immediately.

“I swear, I wasn’t.”

Ah, I see. I breathed a sigh of relief, but only for a moment, as a sharp suspicion flashed through my mind.

“Don’t tell me… a wiretap…”

I didn’t miss the split second that Ethan flinched.

“Did you actually wiretap me?”

He’d denied hacking and trespassing immediately, but at the suspicion of wiretapping, he nibbled his lower lip and cast his eyes downward. My suspicion was solidified by his reaction. I finally found the answer. A wiretap.

“You crazy pervert!”

“As you know, I’m a fairly pure person, so being misunderstood as a pervert is a bit…”