Harlan glared at me and waited for me to stop laughing. When my laughter finally died down, he said seriously, “Debra, we need to move out as soon as possible. Staying here is too risky. Caleb might find out the truth.”
Debra’s POV:
After Harlan left, I thought about what he said. He was right.
If we stayed here, it was only a matter of time before we were found out. And staying so close to Caleb was risky because he was my mate, and I couldn’t think straight whenever I was around him. Caleb was smart, too. Sooner or later, he would find out that I was lying to him.
It was best to eliminate the risk and just move out as soon as possible.
Angela’s Library
Just as I was about to sit down and make plans to move out, my phone pinged. It was a text from Caleb.
“Debra, can we talk?”
That was it. No greeting or any emoji. But for some reason, I could tell that his attitude toward me had improved. After all, the old Caleb wouldn’t have sent me a polite text message; he would’ve just barged into my hotel room without knocking.
Despite this realization, I couldn’t relax my vigilance. I figured it would be best if I avoided being alone with him. Who knew what he might do to me?
After thinking for a while, I decided against texting him back. I could just let him assume that I had fallen asleep.
At the crack of dawn the following morning, I packed up my things and told the receptionist, “When Caleb leaves, please send my Luggage to my new residence.”
“Okay, Miss Clarkson.” My odd request seemed to confuse the receptionist, but she still agreed.
Now that the matter of moving out was settled, I went to work with ease.
But my peace didn‘t last long. To my surprise, I found Janiya waiting for me at work.
She was completely different from yesterday. She apologized to me gently, saying, “I’m so sorry, Debra. I was so rude to you yesterday. I wanted to make things up to you, so I asked Adam to give you a leave today. If it’s okay, I’d like to have a walk with you.”
Make things up to me?
Eyebrows raised, I looked at Janiya suspiciously. “Where do you want to go?”
“I want to try on some wedding dresses. Would you like to come with me?” Janiya asked, beaming at me happily.
Today, Janiya was wearing a canary yellow dress with a beige felt cap, which made her look adorable and friendly. But I knew better. My intuition told me that things weren’t what they seemed.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy for me and Caleb?”
Perhaps sensing my resistance, Janiya put on an aggrieved expression and fiddled with the hem of her dress. “Caleb promised me that we’d hold a unique wedding ceremony in Roz Town. We’ll announce our marriage after we get back home. I heard that you used to be friends, so I wanted your blessing.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her. While she might’ve been asking for my blessing on the outside, I knew she was just trying to show off.
