Mirabe asked James to take a seat in the living room while she went back to the storage room in the side hall on the ground floor.


    Marian, the housekeeper, brought him a ss of water and couldn''t help but take a few extra nces at James, finding him quite handsome. She was curious about his rtionship with Mirabe but felt it was not her ce to ask. After setting down the ss of water, she quietly left.


    Shortly after, Mirabe returned with a box of sandalwood incense. "Take this incense for Donald," she said.


    James took the box. "Speaking of which, Donald has been mentioning that you shoulde over for dinner at our ce."


    Mirabe sighed, "I''m afraid I can''t. I''ve already booked my flight back home for tomorrow morning. We''ll talk about it another time."


    James nodded, then asked with a hint of surprise, "Weren''t you scheduled for the day after tomorrow? Why the sudden change?"


    "I called Catherine, and she wasn''t the one who answered. I''m a bit worried," Mirabe exined, sitting down on the couch with a slight frown.


    James knew Mirabe had a special bond with Catherine. "Don''t overthink it. Catherine is strong; nothing will happen to her."


    Mirabe leaned back against the couch, her eyes fixed on the crystal chandelier above. After a while, she let out a sigh, hoping she was just overthinking.


    The two of them chatted a bit more, but James kept receiving calls and had to leave the Davis family home soon after.


    **


    The next day, Mirabe declined James''s offer to drive her to the airport, and it was Nick who ended up taking her.


    After checking in her luggage, Mirabe spoke briefly with before telling him to go ahead


    elmet


    her. She then made her way to the VIP lounge to sit down.


    With over forty minutes left until boarding, it was still early.


    Mirabe pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her head and put on her earphones, ying thetest album from Leo at a not-so-quiet volume.


    The VIP lounge wasn''t crowded, just a few people scattered around, each engrossed in their phones.


    A cleaning staff member wearing a mask and gloves approached with a cart. She parked the cart on the perimeter and began dusting the area, which wasn''t very dirty.


    Mirabe, listening to music with her eyes closed, didn''t notice the cleaning staff drop something near her feet as she passed by.


    It wasn''t until As returned from checking in the luggage and picked up the item that Mirabe took notice. "Miss Mira, did you drop this?" he asked.


    Even with the music ying, Mirabe noticed As''s return. She opened her eyes to see him holding a small, gray pouch that resembled a coin purse.


    The sight of the pouch momentarily. startled Mirabe, but she quickly regained herposure, took off her earphones, and asked, "As, where did you find this?"


    "I just picked it up near your feet. Thought it was yours," As replied, squeezing


    the pouch, which felt crunchy, as if it contained something.


    He opened the pouch to find it filled with ''dried leaves,'' which he found odd.


    However, upon closer inspection and a sniff, he realized it wasn''t dried leaves at all but rather tobo.