Chapter Thirty-Eight


    The sound of a gentle knock on their door forced Rome to open his eyes. Then he stared at Catherine


    in his arms before pulling his hand from beneath her and leaving the bed.


    When Rome reached the door and opened it, he gazed at Nora with a touch of dizziness in his eyes


    and asked, "What is it?"


    "Good morning, sir. Your father wants me to let you know that he''s here, and he wants to speak with


    you." Nora humbly said.


    "Which one?"


    "Mr. Miller."


    The sleepiness Rome felt suddenly faded when he realized that Mr. Miller didn''t call him after the news


    about Natasha and him became public.


    Also, a look of anxiety clouded his eyes, and he couldn''t help stressing that Mr. Miller might be angry


    with him about that.


    "Tell him that I will be down in a second," Rome said.


    Then he shut the door, headed into their closet, and came out a couple of minutester, wearing a


    sweatsuit.


    Pacing back and forth in the living room, Mr. Miller took his time to admire photos of Catherine and


    Rome''s, hung on the wall.


    When he got to thest photo, he finally heard footsteps approaching the living room, and he slowly


    faced the entrance.


    A couple of secondster, Mr. Miller was staring at Rome, and he remained still as Rome walked into


    the living room.


    "Good morning, Dad. What brought you here so early?" Rome humbly said, slightly clearing his throat


    as he studied his father''s straight expression.


    Then after Mr. Miller didn''t reply for a couple of seconds, Rome assumed the obvious and said, "I''m not


    seeing Natasha and cheating on Catherine."


    "Oh, I know that. I wouldn''t believe such a piece of rubbish news." Mr. Miller casually said without


    losing his serious expression.


    Unable to stand his father''s silence any longer, Rome took a deep breath and asked, "Then why do you


    look so disappointed like I''ve done something wrong."


    Keeping quiet for a while, Mr. Miller continued to look at Rome''s face, and then he mumbled, "There''s


    news going around that you beat up Earl to the point of death and put him in aa."


    "I did beat Earl, but not to the point of death, and I definitely didn''t put him in aa," Rome firmly


    said, looking directly at him.


    It fell silent between both men as Mr. Miller stared at Rome for quite a while. Then he faintly smiled and


    mumbled, "I believe you, but I jus…"


    In that instant, the smile on Mr. Miller''s face suddenly broadened as he gazed at Catherine


    approaching them.


    Grinning at Mr. Miller, Catherine stopped beside Rome, looked at him for a moment, and said,


    "Morning, father."


    "A pleasant morning to you, dear." Mr. Miller uttered with a bright smile.


    Unable to let go of his father''s unfinished statement, Rome kept his gaze fixed on him and asked, " But


    you just, what?"


    Immediately, Mr. Miller''s face turned serious, and he focused back on Rome as he said, "I just wish you


    wouldn''t have got into a fight with Earl again. If you didn''t, such a piece of awful news wouldn''t be going


    around about you."


    Pausing for a moment, Mr. Miller heavily sighed. Then he sadly said, "I would also not have to hear my


    neighbors talking badly about my son so early in the morning, inside of my shop."


    "Father, please don''t get disappointed with Rome. What happened yesterday was all my fault, not his."


    Catherine hastily said, looking pitifully at him.


    Swaying his attention off Rome and putting it on her, Mr. Miller''s eyes widened as he mumbled, "Huh?"


    "For an appropriate reason, Catherine wanted to help me out and got involved in a situation with Earl


    "So it''s like that." Mr. Miller mumbled, looking back at Catherine with a hint of gentleness in his gaze.


    After staring down at Catherine for a second, Rome took her hands in his and said, "What happened


    neighbors for it."


    "It''s not a problem, and who cares what they think. I kicked out the two customers who were talking bad


    about you, and I''m willing to lose more customers if that means defending my son''s honor!" Mr. Miller


    boldly statedas he tightened his fingers into a fist.


    Feeling his phone buzzing in his trouser pocket, Rome pulled it out of his pocket and said, "I need to


    take this."


    Then he let go of Catherine''s hand and walked out of the living room. When Rome was a few distances


    into the hallway, he finally answered the call and said, "Morning, father."


    "Have you seen the news?" Mr. Ford said from the other end of the call.


    "No, but I''m aware of it," Rome uttered, frowning slightly.


    Then he paused for a moment before unintentionally saying, "Earl being in aa, you weren''t the one


    behind it, right?"


    "Seriously, Rome!" Mr. Ford''s voice echoed from the phone speaker, sounding disappointed.


    "Sorry, I didn''t mea…"


    "If I was actually involved with Earl, him being in aa wouldn''t be the information on the news. It


    would have been worst than that. Also, why would I do something and frame you for it."


    "Frame me?!"


    "That''s something we need to discuss in person."


    A minute when by in silence. Then Rome said, "Right now, my concern is how these pieces of


    information are getting out and who''s releasing them to the media. If anything, answering these


    questions could lead me to the puppets'' master."


    "The what?" Mr. Ford asked from the other end of the call.


    "It''s a long story,"


    "Okay. You can tell me all about it at the casino because I''m waiting for you here."


    "I''m on my way."


    By twelve on the dot, Rome arrived in the upstairs room at the casino and shut the door behind him.


    Then he looked at Scar, Brook, and ze, and when he saw the seriousness in their expressions, he


    frowned and said, "What''s going on?"


    "We got the CCTV camera footage from the hospital of the person who did it." Scar said, scowling as


    his eyes darkened with anger burning in them.


    "Okay, I feel like there''s a ''but'' here," Rome said, feeling like he wasn''t going to like the response he


    Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.


    was going to get next.


    "The person was dressed exactly like you. I recognize that the jacket they wore was the same one you


    bought and had on when you went to meet Mr. Aaberg at the restaurant, and their mask and cap were


    also exactly what you wore." K angrily uttered.


    It took Rome a moment to fully understand what K was saying. Then he frowned and said, "But I


    bought those items a while back!"


    "Exactly, boss. You are being watched, and I don''t think it started recently." Brook stated as anger


    spiked in his eyes.


    Although ze felt enraged just by thinking about it, he still uttered, "Whoever this person is, he is


    clearly a mastermind and has been nning this for a long time."


    Those words worried Rome more than it enraged him.


    But he ignored the feeling as he tightened his fist and said, "Earl said someone was using him to get to


    me. I think the same person is the one responsible for Earl being in aa, and now, he wants to


    frame me for it with this news and the outfit."


    "You''ve been on to this for quite a while now, right? That''s why you were asking me all those questions


    back at the hotel and iming that Earl wasn''t behind Catherine and Chloe wearing the same outfit."


    Mr. Ford said with a straight face even though he felt a bit worried now.


    "Yes, whoever this person is, they are set on getting me."


    "Nahh... They are out for me. You just happened to be my only soft spot and reason left on this earth to


    grief."


    The room fell silent, and then fear glowed in Rome''s eyes as he mumbled out loud, "But Catherine is


    my soft spot."