Chapter 17

Christopher felt much better, crossing his legs leisurely as he sipped his coffee. At exactly 5:10 PM, he grabbed his coat and clocked out, planning to have dinner with Cynthia.

Just as he started the car engine, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen, seethed, hung up, and slipped the device back into his pocket.

“Didn’t you yell and curse at me at noon? I called you a hundred times, and you didn’t answer. Now you’re calling because you need something!” He scoffed as he drove off.

He guessed why Melody was calling—probably something to do with her hospitalization and needing money to pay the bills. After all, she hadn’t worked in two years, so where would she get any savings?

Thinking about the grief she had caused him, her lack of gratitude despite his kindness, and the incident the other night where she sprayed him with water and threw a rolling brush at him, Christopher pressed harder on the gas pedal.

After driving for about ten minutes, he was halfway to his destination. Stuck at a red light, he opened the car’s hands-free phone interface. There was no second call from Melody.

“Let’s see who else you can turn to when you need money,” he sneered.

Christopher drove for another ten minutes. Reaching an intersection, he abruptly turned the car around and set the navigation to the hospital.

Soon after, a call came in. Christopher smirked and answered it via Bluetooth.

“Christopher, are you off work? I’m already waiting at the restaurant,” Cynthia’s cheerful voice came through.

The smile on Christopher’s lips faded instantly. He replied, “Traffic’s bad. Wait for me.”

“Okay. I’ll wait for you,” she replied sweetly before hanging up.

Christopher hesitated for a few seconds before trying to call the number that had rung him thirty minutes earlier. Instead, he opted to have his AI send a message.

When he saw the nearly instant reply, he chuckled coldly. As expected, Melody was just waiting for him to offer her a way out.

“Read Melody’s reply,” he instructed the AI.

“Sure. The response from Melody reads, ‘Forget it,’” the AI read aloud.

Christopher froze, momentarily confused. What kind of reply was that? He repeated the command, but the AI still repeated the exact two words.

Glancing at the screen, he confirmed that it was just those two words, which made him jerk the steering wheel in frustration.

“Do you know how to drive? Are you drunk or something? Even if you’re in a Rolls-Royce, you still can’t break the law!” a passing driver shouted angrily.

Ignoring the driver, Christopher pulled over, picked up his phone, and called Melody directly.

“What’s the meaning of this? You call me and then say, ‘Forget it’? Are you playing games with me?” he snapped.

The two-word reply had infuriated him. She couldn’t even bother adding an extra word to soften her tone. After everything, she was still acting high and mighty.

“I said that because someone has already delivered what I need. There’s no reason for you to make the trip,” Melody replied coolly. “Sorry for wasting your time. I shouldn’t have called you in the first place.”

She had regretted calling him but had no one else to turn to. Christopher’s anger surged when he heard her response. She shouldn’t have called him? Who was she supposed to call? If he wasn’t her first choice, who was it, then?

“Delivered what? Who was the one delivering it?” he demanded.

Melody ignored the first question, feeling no need to explain. But since his second question touched on the delivery, she clarified, “I contacted Sheldon. He’s your assistant and has been to the house several times, so I assumed you trusted him.”