Hearing this, Arthur's hands clenched on the car door in anger. His eyes were cold. It was only because Leonardo had called him urgently, otherwise, he would have made Ethan remember his ancestors right then and there!
Meanwhile, hearing Ethan's words, Daniel slapped his forehead. *Why is this boy so stubborn? Arthur was leaving perfectly fine. Why is he provoking him and unnecessarily inviting trouble? He's going to get into deep trouble!* Daniel shook his head regretfully.
Now, he couldn't do anything either.
Arthur looked at Ethan with a deep smirk. Suddenly, the anger on his face vanished, replaced by a strange smile that made Daniel nervous, because that smile was far more dangerous than Arthur's anger. Now, not even Daniel could save Ethan from Arthur's wrath. Not even Leonardo could save him now.
Seeing Arthur suddenly smile like that, Ethan's eyes narrowed.
Arthur walked towards Ethan. "You were right. I did lunge at you like a hungry lion. I thought it was a full-course meal that would be a delight to devour. But when I got close to you, I saw that it wasn't a full-course meal at all. It was just a rotten piece of meat. It's not even fit for my mouth, which is why I took a step back."
Hearing this, Ethan's mouth hung open. No one had ever insulted him so badly before.
Seeing the color drain from his face, Arthur's smile deepened. He adjusted his sunglasses and walked away. Before getting into the car, he cast one last glance at Ethan, then swiftly got in. As soon as he sat down, Daniel quickly started the car and drove away, because he didn't want anything else to happen between Ethan and Arthur. While Arthur would remain unaffected, Ethan would risk his life, for once Arthur had his eyes on someone, he would turn their life into a living hell.
Ethan stood there with his mouth open, watching the car drive away. "He insulted me so badly. He called me a rotten piece of meat. If I'm a rotten piece of meat, then he's a rotten gourd! No, he's a worm-eaten, stale eggplant!" *Sigh. What's the point of saying all this now? I should have said it to his face back then. Why didn't it come to my mind at that moment? This brain of mine… it never remembers anything on time. It seems to enjoy hearing me get insulted. Well, what's done is done. Why should I burn my blood over it now? I'll just write it down. Next time I see him, I'll tell him.*
Ethan was still standing in the middle of the road, so lost in talking to himself that he didn't realize anything else.
The café owner's son, **Luca**, had just arrived at the café a little while ago. As soon as his eyes fell on Ethan, his eyebrows furrowed. *Who is Ethan talking to, standing in the middle of the road like this?*
Luca walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Ethan, why are you standing here?" Ethan ignored him. In his mind, only Arthur's words echoed: *you're not even fit for my mouth.*
Luca put his hand on Ethan's shoulder and shook him. Only then did Ethan snap back to his senses.
"Yes, Luca, what happened?"
Luca glared at him. "Not me, you tell me what happened! Why are you standing in the middle of the road, lost in thought?"
"Nothing." Ethan didn't want to talk about this matter. He would discuss it with his friends tonight, in detail. Then all those useless guys would give him absurd ideas for revenge, which he would completely ignore.
"Luca, what are you doing here? You had the morning shift today, right?"
"Yeah, but I got it changed."
"Changed it? Why? Morning shift is better, isn't it?" Ethan said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but I wasn't in the mood to go in the morning today. By the way, you have the night shift today, right?"
"Yes."
"Okay, then I'll come pick you up."
"No, no, Luca, that's not necessary. I'll come with Caleb! Thank you for asking!" Ethan said with a small smile.
"Okay! No problem!" Luca also said with a small smile.
"Alright, then I'm leaving now."
"So soon?"
"So soon? Luca, I've been here for quite some time now."
"Why didn't you tell me you were here?"
"Oh, I thought you'd be on duty, that's why I didn't call you."
Luca said, annoyed, "Next time, just call and ask me once, okay?"
Seeing him upset, Ethan apologized. "Sorry, man. Next time, I'll call and tell you."
"Okay."
"Okay, bye. I'm leaving now. I have a lot of work to do at home."
Luca nodded.
Ethan fed the puppy and took his bicycle, leaving the café. His house wasn't too far from there, which was why he had come by bicycle. Luca watched him go, continuing to stare until Ethan was out of sight. After he left, Luca went back to his work.
***
It was 9 AM. Aiden was fast asleep. His duty was scheduled to start at 10 AM, and the police station was 18 kilometers from his house. It would take him more than half an hour to get there. Worry-free, Aiden was soundly sleeping. He had set an alarm, but it hadn't rung for some reason.
The alarm might not have rung, but Aiden's phone certainly did. The phone ringing woke Aiden up. Without checking the caller ID, Aiden picked up the call. "Hello," Aiden said, his voice heavy with sleep.
A deep voice came from the other end. "Hi, bye, my love." Hearing this, Aiden instantly woke up. "Hello? Who is this?"
A laugh came from the other end. Hearing this, Aiden got irritated. "I asked, who are you?!" he said loudly.
The laughter suddenly stopped, and a serious voice said, "You can get to know about me later, ACP Aiden Bannick. First, check your watch. It's 9:15 AM. Your duty starts at 10 AM. You're running late. When you set an alarm, cross-check it. You accidentally set yesterday's alarm. 💞"
Hearing this, Aiden's mouth and eyes widened. He held the phone away from his ear. *How does he know all this?* Aiden put the phone back to his ear. "How do you know so much about me? Who are you?"
"I'll reveal myself when the time is right! Until then, our meetings will continue like this, my love!" With that, he hung up. Aiden quickly called him back, but the phone was switched off. *He just talked five seconds ago. How did he switch off his phone so quickly? Who could this be????*
*I'll deal with this later. First, I need to get ready. It's time for duty.* Aiden grabbed a towel and went into the bathroom.
Meanwhile, a man sitting in a dark room was watching him on a large screen. He had his eyes fixed on Aiden. Aiden came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and took his uniform from the wardrobe. To put on his clothes, Aiden reached for his towel. As soon as Aiden's hand touched the towel, the man sitting in front of the screen closed his eyes. He didn't want to see Aiden in such an improper way.
Three minutes later, the man opened his eyes. Aiden had put on his uniform.
A deep smile spread across the man's face as he looked at Aiden. "My love, if I wanted, I could force you and make you mine, but I don't want that. I want you to come to me yourself."
Aiden was running late and didn't have time to cook, so he took an apple from the fridge and started eating it. But then his gaze fell on the kitchen counter. There were some tiffin boxes there. Aiden's eyes narrowed. *How did these tiffins get here? They're not mine.* Aiden opened each tiffin box one by one. As he opened the tiffins like that, his eyes widened in surprise. The tiffin boxes contained his favorite breakfast.
Finally, there was a letter in one tiffin. Aiden took it out and started reading: *My love, I know you're running late, so, as usual, you'll probably be eating an apple from the fridge instead of cooking. Hearing this, the apple slipped from Aiden's hand and fell to the floor.* "*Everything is your favorite breakfast. Eat it before it gets cold, and don't worry, I'll send your lunch to the police station too.*"
Aiden's head was spinning. How could a stranger know so much about him? He had even entered his house, left food, and Aiden hadn't even noticed.
Aiden fell into thought. Then he remembered that he had cameras in his house. So he quickly pulled out his laptop and started checking the footage. Around 9:01 AM, a man entered the house. He was wearing a black long coat, a black mask on his face, and blue goggles over his eyes. He had tiffin boxes in his hand. He placed them on the kitchen counter, then immediately turned to leave. But then he suddenly stopped, stood in front of a camera, unbuttoned his shirt, and exposed his chest.
Aiden's eyes almost popped out. His name was carved on his chest, with a knife. Aiden immediately closed the laptop. His breathing became heavy. He quickly grabbed a water bottle and drank the water. After drinking, he felt a little better! He left all the food and rushed out of the house. His car was parked outside; he quickly got in.
Aiden called Caleb. After one or two rings, Caleb picked up the phone.
"Yeah, Bannick, speak."
"Caleb, where are you?"
"I'm out. What happened? Why do you sound so worried?"
Ignoring Caleb's question, Aiden said, "Caleb, meet me at the police station quickly. I need to discuss something important."
Seeing Aiden so panicked, Caleb got worried. "Bannick, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine! Just come quickly."
A little while later…
Caleb had reached the police station. Upon arriving, he went straight to Aiden's cabin. Everyone at the station knew Caleb, so no one stopped him from going to Aiden's cabin.
Aiden was sitting back in his chair, his head tilted back, looking lost in deep thought.
"Hey, Bannick, what's up?!" Caleb said as he entered. Aiden didn't respond; he was still lost in his thoughts.
Seeing Aiden not respond, Caleb walked up to him and stood in front of him. "Bannick!" he said, snapping his fingers in front of him.
Only then did Aiden realize his presence. "Caleb, when did you arrive?"
Caleb rolled his eyes. "Bannick, I've been here for more than two minutes. When I came in, you were lost in your dream world! By the way, whose thoughts were you lost in?" Caleb said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Nobody's."
"Promise?" Caleb said, raising an eyebrow.
Aiden glared at him. "Do I need to write it down on paper?"
"Well, if you can write it, then do write it."
Aiden glared at him furiously.
"Sorry, darling, why are you getting so angry? I was just making an innocent joke."
"Is this the time for jokes?"
"No! This is the time for love. Shall we have a kiss?" Caleb said, winking.
Aiden looked at him with wide eyes. "Caleb!" Aiden said loudly.
"Okay, darling, since you're saying it so lovingly, I'll agree. But in return, you'll have to give me something too."
Aiden looked at him confused. "What do you want?"