Blair’s pace slowed as she slipped her hand from Ezra’s grasp, like a wisp of smoke, upon seeing his car parked just outside the campus.

  “I’ll walk,” she blurted, her voice brittle and strained. She glanced down at her shoes, avoiding his gaze and fidgeting with the hem of her jacket. “My apartment is just ten minutes away. I could use the walk.”

  Ezra turned to face her, his brows furrowing in confusion. “You just mentioned that some people are following you, so it’s unsafe.”

  “I’ll be fine,” she insisted, stepping back as if the distance could shield her. Her eyes remained fixed on the pavement, deliberately avoiding his gaze. “I can’t fully explain, but I thought the people following me…” She paused, her voice trailing off, the unspoken words weighing heavily on her mind. ‘They wouldn’t harm or kill me—at least, not for now. I’m certain of it.’ She drew a shaky breath and added, “I know they wouldn’t harm me.”

  He took a hesitant step toward her, his hand reaching out, but she flinched, subtly recoiling as though his mere proximity threatened to shatter the fragile composure to which she clung.

  “We can’t be sure about that,” he said, his voice softer now, tinged with concern. “Unless I can confirm that the people following you are Wilson’s secret guards, assigned to watch over you for your safety.”

  Blair snorted, the sound brief and almost imperceptible, as if she had just heard a funny joke. “Do you think my family still cares for me?” she wondered, a bitter smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. However, she couldn’t blame him for believing the Wilsons might have sent secret guards for her safety. After all, he had witnessed how she had once been pampered like a crown princess and how her family had been willing to give her everything.

  That was before—before she realized that her life was nothing more than a grand illusion, a carefully crafted lie in which nothing truly belonged to her. She had grown up winning, as if her life were an unbeatable game.

  But then, with just the slightest twist of fate, the game turned against her, leaving her not only with nothing but also with debts that made her feel as though her life was no longer her own. Now, she felt herself growing old, playing a game where the rules were never in her favor.

  He sighed and furrowed his brows in concern as he attempted to comfort her. He leaned in slightly, his voice soft and reassuring. “Everything will be fine,” he said, searching for her gaze. “I’ll make sure of it.”

  He leaned in closer, trying to capture her gaze, but as Blair looked up, a sudden wave of nausea washed over her. In his eyes, she didn’t see Ezra; she saw Nathaly Taylor, his mother—a haunting reminder of the past that made her stomach churn.

  Before he could say anything further, she hurried past him and slid into the backseat of his car. Closing her eyes, she pretended to be tired, her hands clenched tightly in her lap as she attempted to steady her breathing.

  When she opened her eyes, she saw a familiar building through the window, but it wasn’t her apartment complex. Confused, she blinked a few times, wondering if Ezra had forgotten her exact location.

  As the car slowed to a stop, she quickly stepped out, her feet already moving toward her apartment building, which was only a few hundred meters away. But before she could get far, his hand caught her wrist, halting her mid-stride. “Wait,” he said firmly, his grip gentle yet determined. “We’re going to my office to investigate the earlier incident that led to your accusation as a suspect. I need to ensure it’s safe before I can send you back to your apartment alone. It’s not exactly the safest place at the moment.”

  She turned her gaze toward the building in front of them—a towering structure rumored to house a nearly bankrupt telecommunications company. The faded logo on the fa?ade and the sparse lighting suggested a shell of its former grandeur, yet it still stood tall, reaching up to its 49th floor.

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  She glanced back at him, confusion flickering in her eyes. “Your office is on a different continent.” A suspicion had formed in her mind, but she wanted to hear it from him directly. “I bought this company and building recently, and I am in the process of relocating the ZcS (Zecure Cybersecurity) main office here.”

  He shrugged lightly, as if he were discussing something as mundane as choosing a new coffee shop. His nonchalant demeanor made it seemed, acquiring a telecommunications company and relocating a cybersecurity empire was merely a part of his daily routine.

  Blair couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle, the sound tinged with disbelief as she was reminded of just how vast the gap had become between their worlds. Perhaps months of living in a haunted apartment with nothing but a mischievous cat for company had dulled her awareness of the extent of the wealth among affluent people.

  From the outside, the building looked like a relic of its better days. The faded company logo at the entrance was barely discernible, and the glass panels were streaked with grime and shadows of neglect. But stepping onto the top floor was like crossing into another realm entirely. The stark contrast was almost jarring. While the exterior whispered of decay, the interior was a haven of modern luxury and sleek sophistication. The floor-to-ceiling glass walls offered an unbroken view of the city bathed in soft, shimmering lights, as if the stars had descended to mingle with the skyline. The glow of the high-tech furnishings and understated accent lighting reflected off polished surfaces, creating an atmosphere of quiet opulence. No one would ever guess from the street that such a masterpiece existed at the very top of this crumbling structure.

  Her gaze swept over the view of her apartment building from the window. She couldn’t help but wonder: Did he purchase this company and building for business—or for something else entirely? No, she corrected herself. The man who once crossed continents to avoid her wouldn’t have done this for her. She clutched her arms tighter, attempting to silence the absurd thoughts creeping in.

  Ezra set up his computer and organized the papers on his desk, but his gaze kept drifting to her as she stood by the window with a distant look in her eyes.

  He furrowed his brows and called her name to draw her back from her thoughts. When she turned, he gestured toward the olive-colored leather couch.

  “Why don’t you sit down? Or better yet, sleep,” he said, his tone casual yet tinged with humor. “Your dark circles in your eyes are practically screaming for mercy.”

  Her steps faltered as she turned toward the couch, her eyes scanning the room once more. Something about the furniture struck her as oddly familiar. The olive-colored leather couch, the sleek dark wood desk, and even the minimalist bookshelf in the corner—all of it resembled the setup in his old office overseas.

  Her fingers brushed against the armrest of the couch as memories of that distant place flooded back, causing her chest to tighten. A bittersweet thought crossed her mind: Did he choose these identical items because of the memories they had shared? She shook her head slightly, dismissing the notion again. There was no way Ezra would take such sentimental steps.

  A bitter grin tugged at the corners of her lips as she leaned back against the couch, murmuring under her breath, ‘Maybe, It’s for the best.’

  She swallowed hard, her chest tightening as fragments of that day at the lake resurfaced. The icy water. The suffocating panic. Her mother’s gaze sank deep into the lake. Her body tensed, and she clenched her fists against her thighs, her nails digging into her skin as if to anchor herself in the present.

  She exhaled shakily, a hollow laugh escaping from her lips. ‘Thank you for rejecting me so firmly, Ezra. I don’t think I could bear the thought of marrying the son of a woman who looked exactly like the one who nearly killed me.’

  His gaze lifted from his desk, his movements slowing as his eyes focused on her. Her face was pale, her features drawn tight, and there was something haunting about the way her shoulders hunched slightly, as if she were shielding herself from an invisible weight. He noticed the faint tremor in her hands and how her nails pressed hard against her thighs.

  Quickly, he ducked his head, pretending to focus on his computer, shielding his face from her view. His jaw quivered slightly as emotion surged through him, unbidden and overwhelming.

  ‘Why did I let it happen?’ The thought hit him like a blow to the chest. If only he’d stayed. If only he hadn’t left for work and waited just one more day—for her birthday—then maybe the incident with Diane wouldn’t have happened in the first place because she would have been with him all day and night.

  His fingers curled into fists on the desk, trembling with restrained frustration. Or perhaps, he thought bitterly, ‘if I had cared enough to call her that day, to ask why she didn’t show up like she always did for every important occasion, I could’ve been there when she was kicked out from Wilson’s estate. She wouldn’t be alone for months with nothing.’

  A pang of guilt rippled through him, sharp and unrelenting, as his gaze briefly flickered back to her. She looked so distant now, so closed off like she’d built walls even he couldn’t climb. She wouldn’t even meet his eyes anymore, and it tore at him in ways he didn’t know how to fix.