Vespera sighed. "I told you everything this morning, and you didn''t believe a word. Whatever. Think what you want."


    She ended the call and blocked Nancy''s number. Nancy tried calling again but was met with a dead line.


    Meanwhile, a ck sedan crept slowly down the road leading to the castle. Inside sat a woman with anxiety written all over her face.


    Outside the coffee shop, Vespera set aside her phone and sat on a bench. Her chest felt heavy.


    She knew it was just another one of Nancy''s games, but it still got to her, even if she didn''t want it to.


    A short distance behind her, Calvert observed quietly from afar. What happened? Who was she talking to on the phone?


    After a while, Vespera stood up and began heading back to the vi. She went straight upstairs.


    Gerard called out from the living hall and asked, "What happened?"


    Calvert shrugged and answered, "I have no idea. She got a call during the walk and seemed off after that. She just sat on a bench for a while and then came back."


    Gerard thought about it and couldn''t figure it out.


    ...


    By 9:00 pm, Vespera had just finished watching a horror movie. She scrolled through the selection for another, but the gruesome and distorted faces on the covers all began to blur together, melting into one grotesque mess.


    Her finger hovered over one for a moment. Then, she exited the app entirely. Her phone had been sitting untouched next to her for two hours. She picked it up and opened her location-tracking app.


    She didn''t usually check where Dominic was. She had resisted her curiosity for so long, but like watching horror movies, the more terrifying something was, the more she couldn''t look away.


    When Vespera saw the location, her breath caught. Dominic wasn''t at a restaurant, He was at an estate.


    She scrolled back through the timeline and saw that he had gone straight there without any stops. So, he went to his friend''s house for dinner.


    Well, her curiosity was satisfied. There was no need for another horror movie. She then disabled the location tracking feature on her phone.


    At 10:30 pm, the sound of a car engine came from outside. Vespera pulled the covers over her head.


    Dominic returned to the vi, soaked in rain. He walked upstairs and stopped in front of the master bedroom. His hand rested on the doorknob, then paused. He turned, looking toward the guest room.


    His feet shifted. He just stood there, long enough for the warm corridor light to feel dimmer.


    After some time, he still didn''t walk over to the guest bedroom. Instead, he turned the doorknob and stepped into the master bedroom. With a click, the door shut behind him.


    ...


    The next morning, Vespera woke up at 7:00 am. She wanted to go downstairs early and have breakfast first.


    However, when she entered the dining area, she saw Dominic already eating at the table. He had woken up earlier than her...


    It turned out she wasn''t the only one trying to avoid having breakfast together. "Good morning," greeted Vespera.<fn092a> Chapters first released on </fn092a>


    Dominic grunted in response. With an indifferent but gentle gaze, he said, "Ms. Gildon, you''re up early."


    "Mr. Reid, so are you," replied Vespera with a faint smile.


    Pretending had always been her strength, but today, it felt exhausting. She


    thought that she should get up at 5:00 am instead.


    As if reading her mind, Dominic said, "I''ll sleep in a bit tomorrow. You don''t need to wake up so early."


    Vespera responded, "Alright."


    Dominic looked away. Just as he set down his knife and fork, his phone rang.