Chapter 15
Lena sensed I wasn't being entirely truthful but didn't press. “Alright, I’ll let you know if there’s any news. By the way, where are you going tonight? If you don’t want to return to the Johnston residence, you can stay at my place.”
Staying at Lena’s made the most sense, as she was on the night shift. I really didn't want to go back to the Johnston residence, especially since Jace and I were sharing a room. But crashing at Lena's indefinitely wasn't ideal either; even without a boyfriend, everyone needs their own space.
“Alright,” I agreed. Until I found somewhere else, her place was better than a hotel.
Despite having a place at Lena’s for the night, I didn’t go straight there. Instead, I drove to Emberholm.
Emberholm was an old town, but still home to many people, mostly renters, due to the low rent. I came here because my parents' apartment was here. Before they passed away, the three of us lived here. Back then, it wasn't an old town; it was booming and in a prime location. But in ten years, the place had deteriorated significantly.
Most apartments and houses in our neighborhood were rented out, but ours remained unchanged. My parents' clothes and shoes were still exactly where they left them. Whenever I missed them, I’d come here, but lately, my visits had been infrequent. It felt like they were fading from my life and memory.
The drive took about half an hour. I grabbed the keys from the glove compartment and headed upstairs to unlock the door. As soon as I walked in, the musty smell hit me. Dust covered everything. The electricity had been shut off due to prolonged vacancy.
Fortunately, I had the account number for the electricity bill; I paid it, and power was quickly restored. With the lights on, I walked through each room, ending up in my bedroom, gazing at the pink bedspread. Suddenly, I made a decision: I didn't need to stay anywhere else. I could just stay here.
Sure, it was a thirty-minute drive, but that wasn't too far. It usually took me that long to commute from the Johnston residence to the office anyway.
With this new plan, I started cleaning immediately. I worked until ten o'clock that night to get the apartment in order. My phone remained silent except for one message from Lena: [Tanya and her baby are fine.]
Good. That meant the intern wouldn’t be fired. That night, I slept in my parents' apartment. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel scared at all; I actually slept very well.
The next morning, instead of going to the office, I went to the amusement park. While reviewing the report yesterday, I’d noticed a discrepancy between the actual construction and the original design and wanted to check it out in person. Sure enough, the inspection revealed a deviation from the design. I called the project manager over, and we discussed modification plans on-site. By the time we finished, it was already noon.
I decided to go to the mall to pick up some supplies for the apartment. While choosing bed linens, I ran into Tanya. Apparently, she was fine despite her dramatic panic yesterday. It was obvious now that her performance was solely to make Jace worry. And it worked.
Jace had denied having any special feelings for her, and I believed him. But now, I realized his concern for Tanya was unusual. Tanya was talking to the sales assistant, explaining her preferences. “Nothing too flashy. Something mature and classy, with a bit of an understated vibe.”
“Miss, is this for your boyfriend?” the sales assistant asked. Tanya just smiled and didn’t answer. ‘Boyfriend?’ I was confused but didn’t say anything. Instead, I moved to another section to pick out my bed linens.
We ended up crossing paths again. As the sales assistant was ringing up my purchase, Tanya came over to pay. When she handed over her card, I froze. It was Jace’s supplementary card.