Even though I wiped my face three times, I could still clearly read the message. There was a feeling of overflowing joy but also deep worry in my heart. I wondered why my father suddenly wanted a meeting, especially after he had made it clear a few months ago that my name had been removed from the Anderson family.
"What is it, honey? Who sent you a message so early in the morning?" Evan woke up and hugged me from behind, his eyes still struggling to open.
"It's still too early for breakfast, so go back to sleep," I said, arranging the blanket for Evan. I left my phone on the nightstand and returned to my lover's arms.
"Is there anything important?" he asked, and I shook my head while looking at his sleepy face. "Nothing at all," I answered, lying.
"That's good," he said, closing his eyes and continuing to sleep.
I looked at his soft and serene face. My fingertips were itching to play on the skin of his face. He had beautiful and charming facial features: his forehead, the corners of his closed eyes, his thick and neat eyebrows, the corners of his nose, the corners of his lips. I touched him slowly and ended up cupping his nose. I heard him yawn and smile.
"Aren't you completely asleep?" I asked shyly. He caught my finger, which was about to leave his face, kissed my palm, making my face heat up.
"Why? You're secretly admiring my good looks, aren't you?"
"Come on, Evan," I said, looking away, holding back a smile as I realized how much I had fallen in love with him. His good looks, too—it's a shame to ignore such a handsome face, right?
"Where do you want to go?" He caught my waist when I pretended to get up. He pulled me deeper into his arms. I hid in his comfortable chest. Not only was it comfortable, but also safe. "Evan, I like being held by you."
He heard my whisper and tightened his hug. "I want to hug you all my life."
I saw his face turn red as soon as I got out of his arms. He rose slightly until our faces almost met. I turned, slightly pushing him to a supine position so I could sleep on top of him. "I also want to continue to trouble you," I said, lying back in his arms. "I'm going to bother you a lot."
He stroked my hair, and I couldn't see his face because I was comfortable burying my face in his chest. "Do you want to do something?" he asked.
"You mean?" I thought about what else we could want in this position, so my hand nimbly went down to stroke the contents of his trousers, but he just chuckled. "Why are you laughing at me?"
"You have a perverted mind, huh?" He kissed my forehead. "I asked if you wanted to do something so you wouldn't be bored all the time at home."
Ah, I was disappointed because it didn't meet my expectations.
"Do you want to go back to campus?" he asked again, this time returning to the starting position. He tilted us so we could look at each other.
"I haven't thought about that," I said.
"Do whatever makes you happy. Do whatever, because I will always support you. I am your main supporter."
"I know!" I answered quickly, then got up. I thought about making breakfast because I was getting used to being in the kitchen thanks to his training. But in fact, he didn't let me. He hugged me again in a sitting position with our legs hanging.
"Where are you going?" His gaze seemed unwilling for me to leave. I finished tying my hair and then replied in a whisper, "I want to make breakfast for my boyfriend."
He chuckled again, and it sounded mocking. "Not boiled eggs or burnt bread," I whispered softly.
He got out of bed first, knelt down with his arms around my waist, and his gaze was so deep and full of warmth that I was reluctant to move. "I already have a delicious breakfast menu," he said, making my eyebrows knit together.
His hands slipped from my waist inside my pajama top, continued up, and started playing with me. "Come on, darling, who's the pervert this morning?" I teased, falling under his arms. From any angle, he was handsome. He stole my heart and eyes. I loved him so much.
"Let's make love..."
I didn't answer, just a scream that shrilled out the window. "Evaaaan—don't stop, ahh—"
—-
But after Evan left, I felt lonely. Even though he was only gone to work, I kept thinking about the message from my father. "Should I go? Should I tell Evan? What should I do? This sucks! Come on, what should I do? I'm angry and disappointed, but he's my father. He was disappointed because I did that. Doesn't that mean he loves me? Isn't it?"
********
"Dad, how much longer do I have to be patient and wait? I have to get out of this prison. You know, Dad, that I have to marry Adrian as soon as possible!" Emily's crying on the phone upset Anderson.
"Speed it up!" Anderson said to his driver. The black SUV sped off at high speed down the road.
"Adrian, I'm on my way home. I'll meet you at the AA11 warehouse on Fky Street..."
"Yes sir."
*******
Han delivered some documents, and Evan's face became the main point of concern. "Is there a problem?" Han asked, sitting at his boss's desk.
"Someone has been diligently calling my girl's cell phone these past few days."
After getting Evan's signature, Han took the documents back and left. "Isn't it trivial? Just tap her cell phone."
"You think I'm that much of a loser?"
Han laughed at Evan's answer. "We work for losers, and we are the losers," said Han, patting Evan's shoulder with the documents in his hand. But Evan's gaze wasn't receptive, so Han stopped joking and got serious.
"Your girl is going to college?"
The question made Evan's face darken. "She's on leave."
"Wow, what a shame. Then what is your girl doing on XX11 street?"
It was Evan's turn to stand up and snatch the document from Han's hand. "Is something important going on here?"
Han nodded in agreement. "Drug distribution factory. During the ambush, several teams started to move. All the monitoring cameras were installed perfectly. Ah, nothing is perfect. Look at that corner, who just left the taxi. It looks like the girl you recognize."
Evan pushed away Han's index finger, which was pointing at the row of monitors on the wall of his room. His facial muscles tensed when he saw Lucia getting out of the taxi in casual clothes.
"Judging by your face, it looks like your girl doesn't have good communication with you. I told you, why don't you tap her cell phone."
"Enough!"
Evan hurriedly selected a weapon from a locker neatly arranged behind an imitation wall, while Han watched idly. "Evan, today is my day off. It's time to work as a corporate slave. I'm just an office assistant."
Han's words ignited Evan's anger. He quickly grabbed Han's collar and threw his friend to the floor.
"Fuck, don't talk too much. You know what ring this is! Lucia is in danger!"
Han could only shake his head at Evan's panic. "I lost a relaxed friend who, every time he got a case, always said, 'It's a trivial thing!' You've changed a lot, captain!"