272 Unexpected Neighbor!
While in the middle of the city.
1
Ste nearly jumped out of her seat when her phone vibrated on the dashboard. She didn’t even need to look. She already knew who it was.
Her mother.
Again.
The glowing name “Mommy” shed like an rm
siren.
Ste sighed.
This wasn’t the first time her mother had called
today. Or the second. Or even the fifth. Since five in the afternoon, her mother had been calling her every thirty minutes.
Yes, every thirty minutes.
She had told her she was handling an emergency
00:32
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patient and wouldn’t be home until around ten.
And now, with only five minutes left to ten, her mother was calling again… as if she was on the verge of being kidnapped, murdered, or swallowed whole by a medical textbook.
She pressed the answer button and turned on the speakerphone.
However, before Ste could even say hello, Alicia’s panicked voice boomed through the car.
“Ste, where are you? Are you alright?”
Ste stared at the road in disbelief. “Mom, I’m fine. Why do you sound like I’m trapped in a burning building?”
“Oh. So you are fine.”
“Yes, thank you, Mommy, for your attention,” Ste said, injecting extra sunshine into her voice in hopes of calming her worried mother.
272 Unexpected Neighbor!
But of course it failed.
“Where are you now? Still at the hospital?”
“I’m driving home now. I’ll arrive in five minutes.”
“Alright, I will heat your dinner. Take care.”
The call ended instantly.
Ste exhaled a long, exhausted sigh. She loved her mother. Deeply. But sometimes… her mother had enough nervous energy to power a small city.
Finally, she turned into the parking lot of the Pearl Garden Apartments.
Her eyes lit up when she saw a free slot right near the entrance.
Ste pulled in quickly, grabbed her bag, and practically sprinted toward the building, heading to the elevator.
Footsteps echoed behind her.
272 Unexpected Neighbor!
She ignored them at first. Probably another tenant. But when the steps came closer, curiosity forced her to nce over her shoulder.
Her eyes widened.
‘Dn?‘
He had been mid–step and paused, just as surprised to see her. For a moment, Ste wondered if she was hallucinating from
exhaustion. She blinked.
Still Dn.
She blinked again.
Still Dn. Still handsome. Still calm. Still breathing the same air.
‘Why is he here?‘ she murmured under her
breath. Then another thought hit her. ‘Wait. Is he
here to see me?‘
Dn approached, stopping beside her with a
272 Unexpected Neighbor!
soft smile.
“Hi, Ste.”
“Hi…” She stared at him, mildly suspicious. “Why… are you here? Are you following me? And how did you get through the main door?”
His eyebrows shot up. Heughed. “Following you? No. Rx. I live here.”
She froze.
“You. Live. Here?” she repeated dumbly.
He nodded. “Yes.”
Her mind scrambled. Did he move in after
learning she lived here? Did he somehow track her down?
No. That sounded ridiculous.
Right?
Still, she had to ask. “Since when did you live
here?”
272 Unexpected anchor
Dn frowned slightly as if calcting, “Almost five years, I think”
She felt her soul leave her body.
“So… you were living here first. Long before us.
“Yes. I moved in when the building was justpleted.”
A sound escaped her… halfugh, half wheeze. “Ah. So I was the one who unknowingly moved into your building”
He chuckled. “Seems so.”
“Which floor do you live on?”
“The top.”
Ste swallowed hard. The penthouse. The entire top floor, with its private elevator, private
balcony, and private everything.
She remembered her mother mentioning that the penthouse was a single, massive unit.
Meanwhile, she lived on the tenth floor with excellent lighting but entirely normal floor space.
“This man… my brother–inw’s secretary is living like a king‘
She quickly pressed the elevator button before
her brain could embarrass her further.
“How about you?” Dn asked.
“Tenth,” she answered sheepishly.
He nodded in acknowledgment. “Alright. Talk to youter, Ste.”
He walked toward the VIP elevator, swiping his
card for ess.
She watched him go, clutching her bag like a protective shield.
Her mind reyed theirst meeting. The night thugs had almost kidnapped her, and Dn had literally appeared from the shadows like some
<
272 Unexpected Neighbor!
action movie hero.
She remembered hugging him tightly afterward, emotional and shaky, her face buried in his chest.
Ste’s face burned at the memory.
And the way Dn had smiled at her just now… gentle, warm, a hint of something else.
No. She was imagining it, right?
Right!
She shook her head frantically and stepped into
her elevator.
When Ste reached her apartment and opened the door, she nearly screamed.
Her mother stood directly in front of her.
In the dim light.
With an expression that could make demons flee.
272 Unexpected Neighbor!
“M–mommy?” Ste squeaked, pressing a hand to her thudding chest. “Why… Why are you scaring me like that? What are you doing standing there? And what’s with that face? I thought I saw a
demon.”
Alicia didn’t answer. She grabbed Ste’s wrist and dragged her toward the dining table like a general hauling a soldier to interrogation.
“Go wash your hands ande sit here quick,”
Alicia ordered.
Ste obeyed.
Fast.
Then, she sat down slowly.
The silence was suffocating.
“Mom? Can you say something?” she asks, eyeing her mother with worry. “Your silence is giving me goosebumps. Did I make a mistake?” She asked before she started eating herte dinner.
272 Unexpected Neighbor!
Alicia finally spoke, her tone trembling with betrayal and anger. “Tell me. Why did you hide the kidnapping incident from me? Why did you not tell me it was YOU?”
Ste froze, mid–chew.
Her spoon ttered onto her te.
“M–Mom… H–how do you know?”
Alicia red. “Your father has only two daughters. You and Evelyn. Of course I know!”
“That was my sister-”
“Don’t lie to me, Ste Walters! I met your sister
today. She told me everything.”
Ste gasped.
Her jaw dropped.
One thought sted through her head like an explosion. ‘Geez, sister Eve, you traitor!”
Her mother wasn’t done.
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272 Unexpected Neighbor!
“Do you know how I felt? Hearing from someone else that criminals almost abducted my daughter?” Alicia took a deep sigh before she continued, “So, Dn had to save you? And you kept it a secret from your own mother?”
Ste swallowed hard.
“Mom… I didn’t want you to worry. You faint
easily.”
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<i>Thank </i>you <i>so </i>much for <i>the </i><i>Golden </i><i>Ticket </i><i>& </i>Power <i>Stones</i>. Please <i>continue</i>. <i>We need </i>to raise the <i>rank </i>to give this <i>book </i><i>more </i>
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