Chapter 11. Childhood Memories

It was something Emerald thought was perfectly normal to say. She recalled the previous times she'd reached out, taking the initiative to invite him out several times that month, only to be met with silence. She had assumed Alaric was no longer interested and had probably blocked her number altogether. But then, she was startled to receive a voice message from him at three in the morning.

"Come down," Alaric's voice was both tired and irresistibly magnetic. "I'm downstairs in your garage."

Without a second thought, Emerald slipped into her nightgown and went downstairs. From a distance, she saw an off-road vehicle parked in a shadowy corner, with a man's muscular arms resting on the lowered window. The glowing end of his cigarette flickered in the darkness, and as he noticed her approach, he stubbed it out.

The vehicle, a black off-road model modified to be larger than a Range Rover, was covered in mud and dust—reflective of its owner. As the door opened, before Emerald c