Rain yawned again as she stepped into her apartnt, trying to shake off the drowsiness. Clifford was sitting on the sofa, his expression dark, while Sanya was lounging next to him, engrossed in whatever was playing on the television.
"You’re finally back," Clifford remarked, his tone laced with concern.
"I already told him that you purposely left your mobile phone since tonight you needed to do undercover work with Brandon," Sanya chid in without looking away from the screen. "But he was still worried sick, even though we called Brandon and confird that you were safe and that Alexander would drop you off."
Rain chuckled, glancing at the wall clock. "Are you two planning to stay up late again?" she asked, another yawn escaping her.
"Go and sleep already," Sanya replied, waving her off.
"Ah, by the way..." Rain murmured, lazily dropping onto one of the vacant sofas.
"What is it?" Clifford asked, his voice sharp with concern.
"I need to pack so of my things," Rain said, stifling another yawn. "I’ll be staying with Alexander at his family’s estate for the next four months."
"What?! I just got here, and you’re leaving?" Clifford burst out, unable to hide his frustration.
Sanya chuckled, teasing him, "You have your own apartnt, so why are you insisting on staying here anyway?"
Clifford scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, I thought it would be nice to live together, like old tis. I live alone, and it gets pretty lonely."
Rain offered him a small, apologetic smile. "I’m sorry, Clifford, but it’s part of my agreent with Alexander. Besides, his father is a really good person, and I actually like him. I think my stay there will be enjoyable."
"You two are close already? Does he know about the setup?" Sanya asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Yes, he’s aware," Rain confird.
"And he’s just okay with it?" Clifford exclaid, still struggling to grasp the situation.
Rain nodded, her cheeks flushing slightly as she added, "He said he likes for his son."
Clifford groaned, leaning back against the sofa. "Didn’t it occur to you that he might be the one responsible for this setup?"
Rain shrugged, dismissing the idea with a wave of her hand. "Clifford, there’s nothing to worry about, alright? My marriage is still under investigation, and we’ll soon find out how things ended up like this." She then turned to Sanya, seeking backup. "Right, Sanya?"
Rain noticed Sanya flinch, her face paling suddenly. "Sanya, are you okay?" Rain asked, her concern evident.
Clifford, oblivious to Sanya’s reaction, continued to rant. "Right, Sanya? Why is this investigation taking so long? Brandon doesn’t usually drag things out like this. Who’s the investigator he assigned? They must be slacking!"
Sanya nodded quickly, her voice slightly shaky. "R-right, just this morning, the investigator got a lead on who might have posed as Alexander, but he wanted to make sure it’s the right person..."
Rain leaned forward, her suspicions growing. "Who?" she asked, although she already had a guess.
Sanya hesitated, then finally answered, "You were right. It’s William Lancaster, Alexander’s younger brother."
"What?" Clifford exclaid, his face darkening. "And who’s the woman who dared impersonate Rain?"
Sanya’s face paled even more. "Uh, there’s no update on that yet," she stamred.
Rain frowned, noticing the beads of sweat forming on Sanya’s forehead. "Are you sure you’re okay?" she asked, her concern deepening.
"Yeah, it’s just... my stomach. I really need to go!" Sanya blurted out before rushing to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
Clifford glanced at the table cluttered with snacks and empty wrappers. "No wonder she has a stomach ache, eating all that junk," he muttered.
Rain, still frowning, stared at Sanya’s closed door. Sothing felt off, but she decided to give it ti. There was no point in pushing Sanya when she clearly wasn’t ready to talk.
Clifford broke the silence with a sigh. "Is there anything I can do to stop you from this madness?" he asked, his voice softer now.
Rain smiled reassuringly. "Nothing, Clifford. I know what I’m doing. Goodness, we’ve been together for more than ten years. You should know inside and out by now."
Clifford sighed again, exasperated. "When do you want to schedule the visit to the facility? Dr. Ivan wants to discuss a lot of things with you before the launch of our newest drug during the anniversary."
Rain nodded, stifling another yawn. "Let’s do it next week, on Saturday and Sunday."
"Alright, I’ll arrange the flight then!" Clifford said, perking up.
Rain just shook her head, amused by his excitent. "I’m going to bed," she announced, getting up and heading to her room.
Once inside, she lazily crawled into bed, still wrapped in Alexander’s coat. The familiar scent clung to her, comforting and warm. She knew she should get up and clean herself up, but her body refused to move. The warmth of the coat felt like a protective hug, as if Alexander himself were there, holding her close.
"I should clean up," she mumbled, but her eyes were already closing, her mind drifting into a peaceful sleep, wrapped in the comforting illusion of Alexander’s embrace.
Rain suddenly jolted awake, her eyes wide with realization. "I am going crazy!" she muttered, slapping her face lightly to shake off the drowsiness and the emotions threatening to overwhelm her.
Without wasting another mont, she hurriedly unbuttoned and removed Alexander’s coat, tossing it aside as if it were the source of her confusion. She needed to focus, to keep her guard up, or she risked getting hurt again—just like she had with Paul.
As she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing her teeth, Rain frowned at her reflection.
mories of Paul flashed in her mind, the betrayal, the hurt. Yet, as she scrutinized her face, she noticed sothing strange. The pain she had felt when she first discovered Paul’s infidelity seed distant now, almost muted. It was more like a dull ache than the sharp sting she had anticipated. In fact, she realized with so surprise that she felt more relief than sorrow.
"Why am I not as hurt as I should be?" she wondered, rinsing her mouth and wiping her face with a towel.
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