Fooled by Sweetness

: 2

2

I came home after working late to find all my things thrown outside.

Maybe it's true what they say: when it rains, it pours.

Celine Jenner had terminated the lease on my apartment in Chase Linden's name.

Mrs. Linden had specifically arranged for me to live in this apartment when I married into the family with Chase Linden.

It was a power play, meant to put me in my place.

The apartment leaked, and the heat was always breaking in the winter.

But I put up with it all because I could send the money I saved to my parents.

My father sold our house and took my mother abroad for medical treatment.

I've always been all alone in this city.

In that instant, a downpour began.

It was a fitting match for my current state of mind.

I have to admit, when a woman hits another woman, she doesn't hold back. The side of my face she'd slapped was swollen high.

I stood under a small pavilion in the complex, holding an umbrella and pulling a suitcase behind me.

In the middle of the night, I couldn't even get a cab to a hotel. I was an absolute mess.

My phone chose that inconvenient moment to ring.

I answered. A deep male voice on the other end said, "Zia Rhodes, what is this about?"

I froze for a moment. "I'm sorry... who is this?"

The person on the other end took a deep breath and said with forced patience, "Aiden Asher."

My mind went blank, and I couldn't say a word for what felt like an eternity.

Aiden's mocking voice came through the phone. "Ten pounds of raw oysters with garlic. Are you trying to kill me?"

I frantically checked my food delivery history. I'd put in the Seraphine Hotel.

But I forgot to change the default address, and it got sent to Aiden Asher's place instead.

I had no choice but to explain timidly, "I forgot to change the address."

Aiden paused, then his voice turned sarcastic. "What, does your rich old geezer need this stuff?"

I said nothing, fighting with all my might to hold back the tears welling in my eyes.

I don't know why, but the words just tumbled out. "Yeah. He's impotent."

He chuckled. "Well, you always did go for the 'eggheads.' It's only natural they'd be a bit... lacking."

Aiden Asher holds a grudge; he hadn't forgotten a single word I'd ever said to him.

After saying all that, he paused. His tone was finally calm again.

I pressed the phone to my ear as a cold gust of wind swept by.

The cold made me shiver.

From the little pavilion in the dead of night, I could hear frogs and crickets calling from the grass.

The sound of rainwater dripping from the eaves.

We stayed like that, in silence, for a full minute.

His voice broke the silence. "Are you... outside right now?"

At his words, my nose suddenly stung.

I sniffled, choking back a sob. "The rich old geezer threw me out."

After a moment, Aiden Asher said only one word: "Address."