Chapter 46
‘Who could it be?‘ Kristel panicked.
Noah had told her how good the neighborhood was, and even it was a highly secured apartment! But why did someone attack her the first day she moved in?
“Hmmm!…”
She wants to scream for help. Trying to remove the hand covering her mouth, but to no avail. The man was firm. She only gets free after a few struggles, exerting all her strength, reaching the man’s face to scratch him. Wasting no time, she steps forward and reaches for the door handle. She was about to input the code, then
noticed…
‘It was already open!?‘ Kristel screamed inwardly. The door is auto–unlocked, meaning the man who assaulted her is able to open it. ‘Why did he know the security code at my door?‘
She regretted not changing it right away when she moved in. Putting aside her mistake, Kristel pondered whether to enter her apartment or run toward Noah’s suite and ask for help. But the man pinned her to the wall before she could do anything.
“You!” The man kicked her apartment door and pushed her inside. “Bastard, what are you doing!?”
Kristel turned around to see who her attacker was when the lighting at her doorway lit.
“Hummmm…”
The words she planned to shoot disappeared when the man hugged her tight and covered her lips with his mouth this time.
And as he deepened the kiss, she tasted the alcohol in his mouth.
Kristel mustered all strength left in her to push the man, but it wasn’t enough to break free from him at this rate. Therefore, she devises a plan for how to set free.
She hooked her arms around the man’s shoulders and responded to his kisses.
She could sense he was slowly lost in their kiss. He pushed his tongue into her mouth. The way he devoured her gradually melted her knees, sucking her strength and consciousness.
But before she lost completely, Kristel grabbed the man’s collar, none other than Galvin, and pushed him hard, then slapped him in the face.
“Sober up, bastard, and look at me! The hell! I’m not Fiona!”
Kristel wipes her lips violently, and her action darkens Galvin’s face.
“So you are not happy being kissed by me anymore because you received one from someone else? Huh?”
Kristel was furious at his accusation. She barked, “We’re divorced! So what if I kissed someone else? Aren’t you doing the same?”
With her retort, Galvin became annoyed. He yelled in return, “You’re only making excuses about Fiona! But the truth is, you sign the divorce papers so that you can move close to that police officer! Is this why you rejected the villa I gave you? Right?”
Kristel narrowed her gaze. It appears Galvin investigated where she moved in and who her neighbors were. She felt so ridiculous that she couldn’t speak for a while.
‘Hah! What does he want from me? Why is he still bugging me like this!?‘
“Did I hit the bullseye, Kristel?”
“Bullshit! What has to do with you or whom I want to be together with? Once you asked me to get a divorce, we both had our own lives after that!”
Galvin is unhappy when she states that, but her words help him sober up. He attempts to grab her, but Kristel avoids his hand.
“Go on and touch me! If you dare, I will call 911!”
Galvin narrowed his gaze. Her threat irked him. Clenching his knuckles into a tight fist, he walked past her. He then headed straight to her bedroom.
Kristel was stunned and, at the same time, wondering how he knew which one her bedroom was. But then she realized that Hudson Group was the contractor of this building.
‘Tsk!‘ She followed him. But Galvin had entered her bedroom before she could grab his coat, slamming the door in her face. “The nerve!‘
“Get out! Who gives you the right to enter my bedroom? You were trespassing! I didn’t give you any permission to come to my house!” She banged her palm on the door, but the man inside turned deaf. To no avail, the man locked it from the inside. She was annoyed being bothered like this.
Kristel was racking her head for how to chase Galvin out. The loud chime from her phone broke the apartment’s silence, pulling her out of her reveries. It didn’t stop ringing, so she ran over to the coffee table in the living room and found it was Noah,
She was thinking not to answer. It worries her that the man in her bedroom suddenly emerges and speaks.
In a different scenario, she feared Noah would come over to check on her. She doesn’t want to involve him when Galvin thinks he is her lover.
“Hi! What’s up?”
“Kristel? Are you okay?”
“Yeah! I’m fine!”
“Are you sure?”
“Uh–huh…”
Noah obviously doubted her answer; thus, she laughed.
“Yes, I am… Well, did you forget something in my house?”
Kristel is still determining why Noah has called her. She was nervous because she hadn’t tested this apartment’s soup proofing. So she prayed he heard nothing
Chapter 46
when she and Galvin quarreled.
“This divorced is pained in the a**!‘ she thought.
“I heard a commotion in your house. Is everything okay?”
Kristel found it hard to make an excuse. She was disappointed that the company lied to her. They assure her the apartment has excellent sound insulation.
‘Should I sue them for lying? Or maybe Noah was just observant?‘ Whatever it was, it concerned her more about her excuse to assure Noah everything was fine.
“Well, yeah. It’s all good! You have nothing to worry about.” She was smiling even though Noah wasn’t in front of her, which someone peeking at the door misunderstood.
Meanwhile, the other line was quiet for some time. Kristel breathed with relief when Noah said,
“Alright. If anything else. You can ring my door or my phone.”
“I got it. But really… you have nothing to worry about, so please rest now.”
“Kristel, I’m a policeman. I prioritize helping anyone who needs my help. How come I would ignore any commotion in my neighborhood? Besides, I assured you earlier that you are safe around me.”
Noah’s statement touched Kristel. This time, the smile on her face was cheerful.
“I understand. Thank you. I promised you would be the first person I call when I need help.”
“You swear?”
“Yep!”
This time, Noah sounded happy. “Then I’ll bear that in mind, Kristel, so don’t forget, okay?”
“Of course.”
Kristel exchanged a few words with Noah, and she didn’t notice the door in her bedroom was ajar. The man inside was fuming in anger.
‘Dare to come here, and let’s see who’s the real man!‘ He also wanted to meet this man in person. With that, Galvin decided not to leave.
After locking the door, he collapsed onto the Queen size bed. As he lay there, he couldn’t help but appreciate Kristel’s excellent choice in selecting such a comfortable mattress.
GALVIN’S POV
He knows well that he should no longer interfere with Kristel’s life since she is now his ex–wife. However, he didn’t know what was wrong with him.
As he suspects Kristel has moved in with her ex–boyfriend, he rushes to her bedroom to check if he’ll find any men’s stuff to answer his suspicion. And when there was no trace of men’s items in the closet and even in the bathroom, he felt relieved and somewhat improved in his mood.
Once more, he scanned the bedroom layout when his ears caught Kristel’s p
s phone ringing nonstop. He walked to the door and pressed his ear to eavesdrop. However, he could not hear Kristel’s voice.
‘Who is she talking to?‘ Curious, he opened the door and peeked outside. Just then, his ear caught when Kristel mentioned the name Noah.
Instantly, it causes his temper to become foul. His eyes narrowed, then he gritted his teeth with aggravation. When Kristel bid farewell to the man she spoke to, quickly shut the door and locked it.
“Dare to come here, and let’s see who’s the real man!”
He is losing his sanity.
he
After calming himself down, Galvin lay on the bed and noticed the mattress’s comfort. He couldn’t help but wonder what made it different from the other beds he had slept on in the past.
Galvin stared at the ceiling. Then a familiar smell caught his nostrils.
He looked up at the headboard. He found Kristel’s scarf. Stretching his arm, he reached for it and brought it into his nose, sniffing the fabric.
Yesterday, due to an issue, he had to stay up all night and couldn’t sleep. Later, he traveled to New York and Los Angeles to address the company’s internal problems. Upon receiving a message from Dave, he hurried back home.
Kristel’s best friend, Leila, updated her social media. She posted a photo of her dinner with Kristel, celebrating her divorce and moving into a new home. When he checked the bank, Kristel didn’t spend even a cent of the money he transferred to settle the payment for the apartment, which she could afford with the amount of alimony she received.
But what really annoys him is the caption of Kristel’s best friend.
‘At this time, I should be at Fiona’s apartment, celebrating my divorce and planning our engagement. However, it’s strange that I don’t want to see her. I felt guilty when I ignored her messages and phone calls. Right now, I don’t know how to face her when my heart is in a dilemma. I wondered if I was still madly in love with her because I couldn’t stand when she was wronged. That’s why I always choose Fiona over Kristel when my family only likes her.‘
‘Also, I thought Kristel would stay and wait for me to be with her forever. I was even confident she would use Grandma’s illness to keep our marriage. But I didn’t expect Grandma to support my decision to divorce Kristel….‘
‘But Kristel… She left, and even an outstanding man was standing beside her. Now she hates to see me…‘ He didn’t notice that gradually his eyes closed.
Galvin lost a lot of sleep because of the private matters, then added to the recent rumors and company matters. Soon, he fell into a deep slumber, hugging Kristel’s
