"Don’t we need to talk, Ruthlyn?" Enoch asked, as soon as they stepped into their villa at the back.

Ruthlyn completely ignored him, walking into the kitchen to take a bottle of water from the refrigerator. She gulped it down to the last drop, before dumping the plastic in the trash basket.

"I am talking to you, Ruth. Don’t you think we need to talk?" Enoch repeated.

"When will you go back to sleeping in your room?"

As he had been expecting an answer, Enoch was surprised when Ruthlyn asked him another question. And one that didn’t make sense at that.

"Where have I been sleeping since, if not my room? Wait," he suddenly smiled, realization dawning on him. "Is this your way of asking me to sleep in your room tonight?"

Ruthlyn shook her head, her face expressing sympathy at Enoch.

"Your inability to think fast is surely something, Enoch. I meant when will you go back to your normal room in Ethan’s villa, or should I say when are you going back to your family mansion? You came here with the intention to stay for a while and get over your heartbroken self, wrong?"

"Heart—" Enoch had begun to protest when Ruthlyn suddenly raised her finger to her lips, signalling him to stop talking. She held him by the hand and together, they ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs only to stop when they were up.

"Why are we running?" Enoch asked, completely confused by her actions.

"Ssshhh!"

He shut his mouth immediately after that warning and joined Ruthlyn in staring down at the living room.

They watched as Hazel walked in, carrying a lot of grocery bags and going to dump them in the kitchen cabinet.

"That does not look like the normal quantity of groceries she always buy for us here," Enoch whispered his observation.

"That’s true. In fact, it looks like that is what she would normally buy for both the front villa and us. And if that is true, then it means she didn’t bother dropping theirs off."

Enoch sighed, suddenly thinking that this whole thing made no sense.

"And is that why we are hiding and whispering? Because of Hazel?" he asked. Receiving no answer from Ruthlyn who kept on watching Hazel, he added, "When you’re done playing detective, we can continue our discussion. I will go change now IN MY ROOM!" He placed extra emphasis on his last three words, as if to show Ruthlyn that he had no intention of going back to the villa in front, but the latter was not even listening to him so he walked away from there.

Ruthlyn who had continued watching Hazel could see her suspicious movements around the kitchen as she kept looking behind her back every now and then, before going back to arrange the groceries. More than once, she also saw different objects fall from Hazel’s hand, which was a very unusual happening as Hazel was a meticulous worker.

As she took all this strange occurrences into thought, she remembered what Shikera had said earlier today about Hazel being in the living room with her when she collapsed.

"There is something really suspicious about her..."

★★★

Cyprian alighted from the car, walking around to open the door for Shikera to get down. The latter sighed deeply, like a goat being dragged to the altar for sacrifice.

Cyprian had followed Shikera and the others home the previous day, partly because she was still worried about her friend and partly because she wanted to be with Raymond. So this morning, she was the one who drove Shikera to work and now acting like a temporary driver.

On the other hand, Shikera was completely exasperated by the extra attention. She could only be thankful in her heart that she was no longer working full time with Cyprian.

"Do you need me to follow you?" Cyprian asked, referring to Preston TV’s building where Shikera was now working.

"Of course not! I can perfectly manage myself so just go on your own way. Tell Team leader that I’ll come visit her when I am done with Maxwell," Shikera was quick to refuse.

Cyprian held her hand before she could leave, licking her lips before she talked. That action of hers already showed Shikera that her friend was really nervous. She smiled, for she knew that it was rare to find anything that would make Cyprian this nervous.

"You want to tell me something?"

"Uh no, it’s about the guy...Maxwell. Did he tell you anything? Or even briefly mention anything about me of..." Cyprian was so engrossed in asking her questions that she didn’t notice the way Shikera was now staring at her. And when she finally noticed, she trailed off while racking her brain for an excuse to give.

"Did something happen between you and Maxwell?" Shikera asked.

"Nothing! I mean...what can happen between us, a new employee and a veteran employee? Plus both of us work in completely different buildings and departments," Cyprian answered hurriedly.

"If nothing has happened yet, does that mean you like him?"

Cyprian scoffed, looking around the parking lot to avoid Shikera’s scrutinizing gaze,"Why would I like him? Ah, what do you take me for, Kera? I am dating Raymond and I love him so—"

"Love is just like any other thing. It ends one day, just like it begins one day."

Shikera and Cyprian turned to the owner of the voice, a man who just alighted from a car right beside the one they brought.

And that man was Maxwell!

He smiled, seeing their shocked faces.

"I am sorry for eavesdropping but it was not by choice, but by chance. Not like I would leave easily after hearing that I am being discussed by two beautiful ladies."

Shikera was quick go recover from her shock, and she nudged Cyprian on her arms too.

"It’s not that, Maxwell. I was the one who mentioned you while trying to tell her something, and then began teasing her. It’s nothing to worry about. Really," she said.

"I will accept that explanation then. I can’t bear to hold grudges against you ladies after all," Maxwell replied. As he could notice that Cyprian was getting uncomfortable with his presence, he changed the topic swiftly.

"Why don’t we leave, Shikera? The CEO will be joining us for the meeting this morning so we can not afford to be late."

"Mr Lane?! It’s been so long I saw him," Shikera gushed excitedly, not because she was eager to see Noah, but because she was eager to help Cyprian escape from Maxwell as her friend seemed super nervous now.

Waving goodbye to Cyprian, she followed Maxwell out of the parking lot completely unprepared for what was she was going to hear next.