Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 1671-1680

Connor replied, “People will learn about our situation sooner or later. Do you think you can keep that asecret for life?”

He was ready to return to life at the bottom of society, but Olivia wasn’t prepared for that yet. “In anycase, I’m not moving out of here. You move out if you want.”

Connor replied, “I’ve paid Brian a year’s worth of rent. Just go live on the streets if you’re not movingout of here!” He didn’t care whether she was moving out of here anymore, because the place he rentedhappened to be near his second home, which would make it easy for him to take care of his son in thefuture.

Olivia sat on the bed, shedding tears of anger while looking at the duplex apartment. How beautiful andluxurious it is! Not to mention that the chandelier was bought for several thousand.

As Connor packed their belongings, he called the furniture seller and asked them to take the furnitureaway tomorrow morning. Since they couldn’t take these items of furniture away with them, they had nochoice but to sell them off cheaply as second-hand ones.

Selena also returned to her room before sitting down and looking at the room of about 500 square feet.She thought of how she would have to stay in a tiny rented house and live in straitened circumstancesafter this. If her friends were to learn that she was suddenly no longer a rich lady, they would only lookdown on her. She dared not even get in touch with them now because she feared that they would laughat her when they met. They would show off their luxury handbags and branded fashion items, but shewould always be carrying used handbags and wearing out-of-season clothes. Her parents were old, yetshe had accomplished nothing and didn’t even have a decent job at the moment. All of a sudden, shefelt so stressed out that she wished she could run away.

The Aguirres couldn’t sleep on their last night staying in the house. The next morning, the furnitureseller came to the Aguirre Residence and set the prices of the pieces of furniture, which were

eventually sold at 20,000. After receiving the payment, Connor called a mover to get a truck overbefore the family packed their belongings and got into the truck.

Having moved everything, Olivia, Selena, and Connor got into the truck’s trunk and headed for therented house.

Their rented house was on the fifth floor of a self-built housing complex with no elevator. After movingeverything into the house, Selena stood in front of her room and was instantly stupefied. Her room waseven smaller than her previous closet. It only had a small bed and a cheap and small wardrobe besideit that couldn’t store many clothes; moreover, the room stank of mold. She looked at her parents’bedroom, which was also very small.

The house had three bedrooms, but the bedrooms were all very small, and even the living room hadpoor lighting. It really had nothing good about it apart from being cheap.

Connor began cleaning the house, whereas Olivia clapped her hand over her nose. Looking at the dustin the air, she complained in a loud voice, “This house isn’t even habitable!”

Selena suddenly burst into tears, saying, “Dad, I don’t want to live here. This place is too shabby.”

Looking at his daughter, Connor was overwhelmed with regret. He had treated her like a princess aftergetting rich back then. As a result, she grew up to act like a princess despite not being one. “Lena,don’t be picky anymore in our current circumstances,” he said in an attempt to advise her.

Olivia looked at Selena while feeling terribly sorry for her. When has Lena ever suffered like this?

“I’m not staying here! This is no place for human beings at all,” Selena said angrily. She picked up herbag, saying, “I’m staying at my friend’s place for a couple of days.”

She left in a huff, but Connor didn’t bother to care about her. After all, she was already an adult, so hecould no longer do anything about her.

Olivia eventually resigned herself to their fate. After helping Connor with the cleaning, she looked at thesmall kitchen and wasn’t even in the mood to cook. “Connor, let’s eat out for dinner!” She was too lazyto cook.

However, Connor replied with a frosty expression, “How can we afford to eat out every day now? We’llgo shopping for groceries in a while. From now on, we’ll cook at home.”

Olivia’s chest heaved up and down in anger. She felt that her husband had now become a very stingyskinflint, and she could predict that their lives would definitely be difficult from now on.

Selena took a cab back to the downtown area with her bag in her hand. After entering a cafe, shecalled one of her friends, wanting to stay with her for some time. “Hey, Stefanie! What have you beendoing lately?”

“I just went fishing at sea with a couple of friends! What about you? How are you doing lately?”

“I just came back from traveling overseas! I just want to ask you out for a gathering or something.”

“Which country did you go to?”

“Dansbury.”

“Then you must’ve had a great time! I’m not in town right now, so let’s meet up next time!”

“Alright then, we’ll meet up next time.” Selena hung up the phone. After looking out the window guiltily,she called another friend. “Melissa, what are you doing right now?”

“I’m with my boyfriend. What about you?”

“You have a boyfriend? How come I didn’t know that?”

“I just started going out with him a few days ago. We’re still in the first flush of our relationship and arenow traveling in Estrea. What have you been up to these days?”

“I-I’m at home. I just came back from abroad, too.”

“Oh! I saw a handbag you liked that wasn’t available in the country last time. Do you want me to buy itfor you? It’s about 3,000 bucks cheaper over here. If you want it, I can bring it to you when I comeback.”

Selena hurriedly replied, “No, you don’t have to. I don’t like the bag anymore. I’ll see.”

“Would you like me to take pictures for you at the special counter, then? If there’s a bag that catchesyour fancy, I can bring it back to you.”

“I don’t feel like buying handbags lately. Anyways, have fun with your boyfriend,” Selena said. Afterhanging up the phone, she let out a sigh. At this very moment, she really feared that these friendswould find out about her current situation; perhaps they would come together and laugh at her. Sheused to be considered wealthier among them, but now she had nothing left to her name, whereas theywere living a comfortable life.

Selena couldn’t help but close her eyes. She decided to call Charlie, the big fatso who was over 220pounds and the rich dandy whom she looked down upon from the bottom of her heart. At this verymoment, the thought that she would have to go back to her father’s rented apartment made her feeluncomfortable all over. She would rather suck up to Charlie and stay overnight at his house than gohome.

She then called Charlie, who quickly answered the phone call and expressed his surprise at this. “Youremembered me at last, Lena. What’s the matter? How are you doing these days?”

Selena voluntarily played up to him, saying, “I’m doing fine, Mr. Dune. It’s just that I’m kind of boredlately. I wonder if you’ve got a party or something that I can join.”

“There’s one! There’s a private electronic music festival tonight. You wanna come over? I’ll cover yourexpenses.”

“Really? That’d be great! I happen to be free at the moment.”

“Alright then, I’ll pick you up later.”

“Uh-huh! See you later.”

Selena bit her lip after hanging up the phone. She had played around abroad long ago and was nolonger a virgin. Now, she wanted to capitalize on her beauty to turn things around.

…

Jared rushed back to his villa in the evening. As soon as he pulled up his car, he saw a slim figuresquatting on the lawn nearby, who was holding a cat teaser in her hand and playing with a kitten withthe last rays of the setting sun behind them. Such a scene made one yearn for a peaceful life.

For a while, Jared couldn’t tear his eyes away. The wind lifted the lady’s thick and smooth hair,revealing a small part of her fair face. The lovely and innocent smile on her lips was so wonderfullytherapeutic that anyone would long for it.

Jared walked up to her.

Ellen noticed from the corner of her eye that someone was coming over. When she looked back andsaw who the person was, she immediately tossed the cat teaser away and happily came up to him.

Her eyes flickered bashfully as they came closer and closer to each other. The next second, the manwrapped his arms around her and pressed her to his chest before pressing his thin lips against her hair.

There was no one around them, but Ellen’s face reddened visibly.

“Let’s cook dinner together tonight. I bought some ingredients,” Jared said to her.

Ellen quickly replied with a nod, “Okay! Let’s cook together then.”

“Meow!” The ignored kitten ran over and crawled up Jared’s trouser leg. Obviously, it was asking for ahug.

Jared bent down and picked up the kitten with a smile while caressing its chubby face. It’s really ascute as its female owner.

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It was quite a pleasure for the couple to make dinner together. In the spacious Western kitchen, theybusied themselves preparing steaks for today’s dinner.

Ellen could only make Mediterranean cuisine and was unfamiliar with steaks, so Jared was the chef fortonight. Still, it surprised her that he was actually an all-around man who was not only capable at workbut also skilled at cooking. She watched him grill the steaks with movements similar to those of a five-star chef; the steaks’ aroma filled the air and was incredibly mouthwatering. “Have you learned how tocook before?” she asked curiously while looking on.

Jared replied, “Uh-huh, I’ve learned it before. Cooking’s a pleasure as well.” He had once devotedhimself specifically to studying different kinds of food recipes. It didn’t take long for him to masteranything, though Ellen was the first lady apart from his family who had the honor of tasting his cooking.

It was still evening outside the window. Jared said to Ellen, “There’s a pair of scissors there, and thevase can hold some flowers. Can you go to the garden out there and cut some flowers before puttingthem in the vase?”

A sense of romance instantly surged up within Ellen. Since she was glad to do this, she replied, “Okay,I’ll do it right away.” With that, she went to the garden with the scissors.

There were various species of flowers in the Presgrave Villa’s back garden. Even though it wasautumn, there were still flowers blooming in all their beauty in the garden.

Ellen was more or less artistic, so she cut five different species of flowers and arranged them togetherinto a charmingly romantic bouquet. Everything seemed wonderful as she arranged the flowers on thedining table while the man bustled around in the kitchen. The mood was cozy and romantic, and therewas a touch of sweetness in the air.

Finally, as she finished arranging the flowers, Jared was also done making dinner, which consisted ofbaked lobster with cheese, grilled short ribs, fruit salad, and dessert. Jared took her hand, saying,“Come with me.”

Ellen followed him toward a door in puzzlement. Surprisingly, the door opened to a downward spiralingstaircase. Then, the lights came on, revealing a luxurious wine cellar. The dim light illuminated theglass cabinet, in which an expensive collection of wine bottles was sparkling in bright colors.

Jared asked her, “Which flavor of wine do you prefer?”

“The sweet ones,” Ellen answered.

Jared then chose a bottle of sweet wine for her. She watched him take the wine bottle before lookingaround the room. When she came to her senses, she met the man’s deep and fathomless eyes.

In such a dim light, the young lady looked just like a bottle of appealingly tasty wine that anyone wouldbe impatient to have a taste of. As she blinked her eyes, Jared put the wine bottle back in the cabinetand held her pretty face in his large hands.

Realizing what he was going to do, Ellen obediently closed her eyes. Then, she felt a warm kiss on herred lips, which sent a shudder through her. She stood on tiptoe while going along with the man’s kiss.Perhaps the atmosphere here was too tempting, or perhaps this guy was simply too charming, for shesubconsciously yearned for him and went along with him.

Finally, Jared ended the kiss prematurely, fearing that something unintended might happen if they kepton kissing.

They came upstairs with a bottle of red wine. The lights outside the window came on automatically,illuminating the entire villa at once.

A romantic atmosphere filled the air thanks to the beautiful bouquet of flowers on the dining table.

Jared opened the wine bottle and poured a half glass of red wine for Ellen, who then clinked her glasson his with a flicker of shyness in her clear eyes. “Have a taste of my cooking,” he said with a tendersmile.

Ellen cut a piece of the short ribs and tasted it. The meat was smooth and tender, and it tasted goodand authentic. She praised with a smile, “It’s delicious.”

Jared felt very fulfilled. Seeing the sincere smile in her eyes, he was very satisfied; just her smile alonecould satisfy him so much.

“Thanks for the dinner. Here’s a toast to you,” Ellen said while raising her glass.

The words ‘cross-cupped wine’ involuntarily popped up in Jared’s mind as he looked at her slender andtender arms. He looked forward to the day when he could drink cross-cupped wine with her.

“Meow!” The kitten joined them from the sidelines, looking at its owners and their romantic dinner withits big eyes full of curiosity.

Ellen giggled. “Are you hungry too?”

The kitten tilted its head to one side. It’d already had enough to eat; it was just that it liked the bouquetof flowers on the dining table and wanted to play with it.

…

Meanwhile, a private electronic music festival was taking place in a villa. Upon coming here withCharlie, Selena seemed to come alive. She looked at the world of luxury and extravagance before her.This is the life that I’m supposed to enjoy—not in that poky rented apartment.

“Come on, Lena. Let me introduce Mr. Cillian, the organizer of our event today,” Charlie said whileintroducing the man to her.

Cillian seemed a little over 30 years old. He was mature and steady, and he seemed very rich. Selenacouldn’t help but immediately make eyes at him in secret with a flicker of infatuation in her eyes.

Cillian didn’t reject her either. He gave her a slight wink that implied that he also liked her.

Selena’s heart began thumping involuntarily. She really couldn’t stand Charlie’s obesity, so she washere to look for a man to hook up with. Cillian owned such a large villa, so he had to be the richestamong them.

Selena sat nearby while holding a glass of red wine. Seeing how Cillian stood in the crowd and wassurrounded by everyone, she was instantly filled with admiration for him.

Perhaps because she was a stranger, her arrival came as a breath of fresh air to Cillian. After all, theladies who came here tonight had more or less slept with him before, so they were no longer new tohim. He shifted his gaze toward her from time to time, whereas Selena was secretly delighted whenshe sensed the man’s gaze. Seems like Mr. Cillian is very interested in me!

While Charlie was hanging out with his group of friends, Selena voluntarily walked up to Cillian with aglass of red wine in her hand. “Here’s to you, Mr. Cillian.”

Cillian happily clinked his glass on hers. “You’re very pretty, Miss Lena.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Selena replied with an enchanting smile. “Can I be friends with you,then?”

“Of course, you can! Everyone here is my friend, so you’re one of them, of course.”

“Can we exchange our numbers, then?” Selena asked.

Cillian immediately gave her his phone number, upon which she quickly saved it on her phone.

Just then, someone shoved Selena on purpose, causing her to fall into Cillian’s arms right away.

Cillian boldly wrapped his arms around her waist, upon which the mood between them instantlybecame amorous. “You smell so good.” His eyes glazed over a little.

Drawn to his tall and handsome appearance, Selena didn’t pull away from him either. Instead, sheenjoyed the touch of his hand on her waist.

At this moment, Charlie’s friend patted him nearby, saying, “Hey, look at the girl you brought with you.She hooked up with Mr. Cillian so quickly.”

The instant Charlie looked back, the smile in his eyes vanished. He had brought Selena here tonight asa chaperone, but she actually had the nerve to cuddle Cillian now. She’s really making me look bad! Hefelt inferior in front of his friends because of his obesity in the first place. Now that even the girl he hadbrought with him was going to abandon him, he felt really displeased.

Meanwhile, Selena didn’t notice at all that she had angered Charlie. Instead, she was still chatting andlaughing with Cillian.

Just then, Cillian reminded her that her phone was ringing.

Selena had no choice but to answer the phone first. She walked toward a quiet room, while Charliewanted to come over and warn her not to forget who she was.

As soon as Selena entered the room, she noticed that she had a phone call from Olivia. She answeredthe phone and said sullenly, “Hey, Mom! What’s the matter?”

“Where are you, Lena? Why aren’t you coming home yet?”

“Which home am I going back to? You mean Dad’s rented apartment? I’m not going back!”

“Listen to me, Lena. It’s dangerous for a lady like you to be out there.”

“I’m with one of my friends! I won’t be in danger.”

“Is that friend of yours a man or a lady?”

“Stop worrying about me, Mom. Just get along with Dad instead!”

“Lena, I know you can’t stand our situation right now, but it’s not like I wanted to live like this either. It’sEllen’s fault for making our lives so miserable!”

Selena replied, “I hate Ellen’s guts! She ruined our family! Do you know that I could no longer hold myhead high in front of my friends now? I dare not even buy a bag that’s worth 15,000. My friends aremoving around in every way possible, yet I have no choice but to stay in that cheap rented apartmentwith you and Dad! I can’t do that.” Having drunk a little just now, she went mad with rage at this verymoment. Unbeknownst to her, however, Charlie was standing outside the room while she was gettingso agitated.

“Lena, you’re the only person I can depend on!”

“Mom, if you want to depend on me, just stay out of my life for now. I’ll get myself a rich husband.”

“In that case, Lena, you have to keep your eyes open and find a man who’s really wealthy! Don’t gettaken for a ride,” Olivia said to her.

Selena reassured her, saying, “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll definitely capture the heart of a rich guy.”

Charlie’s lips curled into a sneer as Selena hung up the phone in the room. What? Selena’s family isleft penniless now? They’re so poor that they have to live in a rented apartment, huh? No wonder shecalled me tonight. She actually wanted to hook up with someone through me! What is she taking mefor? A tool?

Charlie had only gotten interested in Selena because he had heard before that she came from a richfamily. However, little did he think she was actually pretending to be rich. What gives such a b*tch theright to look down on me? How dare she make me unable to hold my head up in front of my friends! I’mgonna let this phony know the consequences she’s bringing upon herself! He wasn’t a real gentleman;instead, he was also a proud man. Since Selena dared to spurn him, she would have to pay the pricefor that.

After coming out of the private room, Selena immediately composed her features and put on aflirtatious smile. Naturally, she fixed her eyes on Cillian, thinking that she had to win his heart tonight

and get in touch with him in the future. What if she really managed to marry into his family in the future?

Charlie was hanging out with his friends, but he didn’t come to Selena when he saw her figureemerging from the room. Instead, he only looked at her from nearby with a sinister smile.

Selena came up to Cillian with a glass of red wine in her hand. She apologized to him, saying, “Mr.Cillian, sorry for neglecting you just now. The phone call was longer than I expected.”

“Well, then, you’ve got to drink a glass of wine as punishment,” Cillian replied with a smile. To him,Selena wasn’t the prettiest woman here, but she was definitely the newest in his circle of friends, andhe happened to have a preference for new ladies.

Seeing that his eyes were glued to her, Selena slowly got carried away, thinking that she was the startonight and the woman he was courting.

Charlie’s friends continued to feel sorry for him. After all, they could tell that Selena had ditched him.They said, “Mr. Dune, your companion is so unfit for her job!”

“It’s nothing! She’s just playing around, after all. Just let her have fun for now.” Charlie let out a chucklein a display of magnanimity.

Just then, Cillian said, “Miss Lena, I have a private room on the second floor, so what about we goupstairs and have some fun? It’s too noisy here.” He began testing Selena’s nerves to see if she hadthe nerve to play with him.

What was Selena afraid of? She was afraid that she couldn’t win Cillian’s heart. She replied in secretdelight, “Okay! I also think it’s too noisy here, so let’s have some fun alone.”

Charlie almost crushed the wine glass in his hand when he saw Cillian lead Selena upstairs. Inwardly,he was really angry, for Selena really didn’t give a damn about him. She actually went up to the second

floor to have fun with Mr. Cillian! He had previously thought that Selena was a principled rich heiress,but little did he think she was actually such a cheap and promiscuous lady. Ha! In that case, I’ll let hersuffer a double whammy tonight!

Unexpectedly, Cillian was an uninhibited man and instantly grabbed Selena as soon as he entered theroom. At the same time, Selena was also captivated by him. As things instantly became heatedbetween the two, she took the initiative to cater to him. However, she soon discovered a major flaw,and that was the fact that he did not last long. In less than five minutes, he had reached his limit, andthough his expression darkened, she still continued to compliment him.

After experiencing his fair share of women, Cillian was naturally aware that Selena was only feigningher praise for him, and he instantly lost his temper. Pushing away her hand that wrapped around hisbody from behind, he said, “Miss Aguirre, I think you should head back downstairs!”

His dismissive tone made her stop in her tracks, but she tactfully tugged her dress on and headeddownstairs.

Meanwhile, upon seeing Selena returning without Cillian, Charlie sneered, knowing that she hadalready kept him company.

He strode toward the speaker, where he took the microphone from the host and announced, “Next, I’dlike to invite someone on stage. Please enjoy the show.”

After hearing that there was an upcoming performance, the audience looked at him expectantly, and hemotioned for the lighting technician to point in Selena’s direction while declaring, “Next, we would like toinvite Selena to entertain us with a dance.”

Instantly, the lighting technician shone a spotlight on Selena’s body. Unable to react in time, she stoodunder the light, completely dumbfounded as all eyes were on her, some in anticipation, some inridicule, and some in amusement.

“Selena, come on stage and give us a show to keep us entertained!” Charlie’s voice had taken on atone of disrespect as if Selena was a tool he had brought to please the public.

Her face turned extremely red and she looked at Charlie, hoping he would give her a chance to get offthe stage, but he continued to urge her, “Selena, why aren’t you getting up yet? Give us a twirl!”

Hearing that, she lifted her dress and walked toward him, saying to him with her head held high,“Charlie, what are you talking about? Who said I was going to perform?”

She was speaking in her regular tone, but as Charlie was holding a microphone, everyone heard whatwas said.

“Oh, does Miss Selena not want to play along? What’s wrong? Did you think that I brought you here asan esteemed guest? In that case, you’re wrong. I only invited you to put on a performance for us andkeep our guests entertained.”

Instantly, Selena glared at him with her usual haughty expression. “Charlie, don’t push it.”

At the sight of her expression, he couldn’t help but let out a howl. “Selena, who do you think you’refooling? Everyone knows you have nothing to your name now, and your entire family is living in acrappy rented apartment! No wonder you came in such an awful dress tonight; I guess your family can’teven afford a decent evening gown!”

Selena’s face flushed red as she felt the mocking gazes centered on her from all directions, and hermind went blank. How did Charlie find out about her circumstances?

“Do you know why she’s here tonight? She wants to hunt for a permanent ATM. Everyone, payattention. Don’t be fooled by this so-called rich girl. I used to think she was wealthy, but I didn’t expectshe was just bluffing!”

Charlie’s words made her so ashamed and angry that she wished a hole would open up and swallowher whole. Just then, she saw Cillian on the second floor, who was fully clothed and coming downstairs.However, there was not a trace of interest in the way he looked at her, and he treated her like she wasinvisible, not even sparing a glance at her.

Selena, on the other hand, looked closely at Cillian, hoping that he would come to her rescue like aknight in shining armor and rescue her from her embarrassment.

However, Charlie sneered. “Selena, hurry up and get out. Do you think this is the kind of occasionwhere a fake like you can enter? Only qualified guests are eligible to attend this festival. The only thingyou are worthy of is to please the guests and fill their glasses for them.”

“Charlie.” Selena gritted her teeth angrily.

However, Charlie ignored her and continued to mock her loudly into the microphone, “Should I ask Mr.Cillian to introduce you to a waitressing job? You’d earn a few hundred a month!”

At that moment, Selena was so humiliated that she walked toward her bag and picked it up beforehastily taking her leave, while Charlie continued to curse at her from behind, “You shameless b*tch,why are you still pretending to be all high and mighty? You ignored me when I helped you, and nowyou’re planning to use me as a stepping stone? If you think you can marry a rich man with your status,dream on! I want all your friends to know what sort of person you are.”

Trembling, Selena walked toward the entrance of the villa. Her pride and arrogance had been tossedaway and stomped all over that night.

Once Selena was outside, the guard told her that she had to walk a mile down the road to catch a cab.Instantly, she despaired, but she didn’t want to stay here for even a second longer, so she was forcedto keep walking along the streetlights with her bag in hand, traveling down the empty road as if shewere a ghost.

“Ahh!” She broke down and let out a scream before covering her face and crying, feeling sorrow likeshe had never felt before. Her life was completely ruined.

Walking until her legs felt as if they were going to break, she finally made it out. She left with nothing,yet she’d given up her body like a fool. Heading to a pharmacy, she bought a box of pills andswallowed it on the bench outside the shop alone. And yet, her feelings were far more bitter than thepills, and her night was practically a living nightmare.

Ellen, you did this to me! I hate you!

At midnight, Ellen was sleeping when her phone suddenly rang, startling her out of her slumber. Aftershe hurriedly fumbled for her phone, she turned it on and saw an unknown number.

Ellen picked it up and asked, “Hello? Who’s this?”

Suddenly, a harsh female voice roared at her from the other end, “Ellen Reiss, I won’t let you rest easy!You will get your retribution, you vicious woman!”

As soon as the woman’s howl came to an end, an eerie and haunting tune sounded. Upon hearing thisin the middle of the night, Ellen nearly threw her phone away in fear. Fortunately, she quickly switchedon the lights and hung up the call. She thought to herself that someone must have played a prank onher, and as this person had called out her name, it was obvious that they were someone who knew herwell.

Her face was a little ashen, and she was still somewhat fearful. After all, anyone else would be greatlyshaken if they received such a call in the middle of the night. She exhaled and took a couple of deepbreaths before deciding not to pay attention to them. They must be someone harboring bad intentions,so why should she be bothered?

Just then, Ellen’s phone chimed again with a notification tone, and her phone rang continuously as ifshe was receiving many text messages at once. She picked up her phone angrily and opened the textmessages, only to throw her phone away in fright. On her phone, there was nothing but harrowingpictures of corpses or ghosts that made her heart race.

Ellen began to gasp for air. She had always been terrified of the paranormal, and this person managedto send her the pictures she was afraid of the most. Who the hell is this? She looked at the phone andhugged herself tightly before taking a look at the clock. It was two in the morning.

There was still some time before dawn, but she couldn’t sleep at all even if she wanted to. Her mindwas filled with the pictures she had just seen, and her body was even covered in a cold sweat. With thelights turned on, she drew the bed cover before hiding herself underneath, feeling tormented.

…

Meanwhile, Selena received a message from the hotel as well. ‘Miss Aguirre, I’m already doing my job.Don’t worry, in less than a week, that girl will lose her mind.’

‘Better yet, make her go insane and drive her into the psychiatric ward,’ she replied viciously.novelbin

She had hired someone to frighten Ellen, which was the same tactic someone in her university hadused in the past to scare a perfectly normal girl into psychosis and a lifetime of medication, leaving herin a tragic state.

As Selena had found out that Ellen lived alone, scaring her was a fatal move. She planned to continuesending people to harass Ellen at night, rendering her unable to live in peace by keeping her on highalert at all times.

In the long run, any sane person would eventually lose their mind. Selena was on the verge of insanityas well. It had been two days since she was humiliated by Charlie, and she had spent those two days

living in pain and resentment. She detested Ellen. After all, she was treated like this because of Ellen,and she vowed to make her life miserable.

At dawn, Jared had already changed into his sportswear and was waiting for Ellen to arise in the livingroom. Recently, they’d begun jogging together, as if they had formed a tacit understanding betweenthem. To him, jogging wasn’t important—being with Ellen was.

Usually, she would get up at half past seven, but when he waited outside her door until it was half pasteight and did not hear any signs of her waking up, he couldn’t help but feel a trace of worry. Did she fallsick?

In the end, he decided to knock on her door, and he soon heard footsteps inside. Instantly, the dooropened to reveal Ellen with her hair down and her forehead coated in a cold sweat, standing by thedoorway with an ashen face. From the looks of it, it was clear that she had not slept well at all.

“What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” he asked in concern.

Ellen nodded and apologized, “Yeah. I don’t think I can go jogging today. I want to rest a bit longer. Isthat all right?”

Jared reached out and placed a hand on her forehead. After seeing that she did not have a fever, heassured her in a gentle voice, “Go ahead and rest! I’ll go make some congee for you.”

Ellen gently nodded, not intending to tell him what she encountered last night as she felt that healready had enough work to deal with every day.

After she went back to sleep, she felt much more reinvigorated when she reawakened at eleveno’clock. Subsequently, she deleted the pictures from her phone.

In the afternoon, Jared headed to the company while she stayed at home, leisurely spending her timetaking care of the cat and plants. Every afternoon at three, Jared would order a different set ofafternoon tea desserts for her accompanied by a gift box, satisfying her taste buds while also giving hera new surprise each day.

When night fell, he took her out for dinner at a restaurant nearby.

“Tell me, what nightmare did you have last night?” Jared asked worriedly, wondering what she dreamedof that sent her breaking into a cold sweat.

“Nothing, I just thought of something scary,” Ellen lied, not wanting to bring up the grotesque pictures tohim on such a romantic night.

However, as she ate, she felt her stomach churning and covered her mouth with a hand, losing herappetite.

Keenly sensing that something was off about her, Jared handed her a glass of water and asked,“What’s wrong? Do you feel sick?”

Ellen accepted the glass and took a sip before shaking her head. “It’s nothing. I probably don’t have anappetite because I didn’t sleep well last night.”

As she had expected, she was unable to continue eating after looking at the plates of meat and endedher meal with only vegetables.

After dinner, Jared took her home, and the two watched documentaries on the couch in the living room.Ellen enjoyed watching historical documentaries, and so did Jared. But right now, he wasn’t payingattention to the television screen.

He stood up and got himself a glass of tea, and upon taking his seat again, he sat next to Ellen andnaturally draped his long arm over her shoulders. Sensing his intentions, she shifted her posture andallowed his arm to slide down her shoulder and wrap around her waist. At this, Jared did not have theguts to take a step further and was satisfied by letting her watch the documentary in his arms.

Before they realized it, it was already eleven. Recalling that he still had heaps of work to deal with thenext day, Ellen decided not to take up any more of his time and said, “It’s late. Let’s head upstairs tosleep!”

“Okay.” Jared nodded before adding, “Just come to me if you have any nightmares.”

Ellen blinked and asked, “Really? Any time?”

“Of course!” Jared’s lips curled into a smile. He didn’t mind holding her while he slept at all.

Exhausted after the long day, Ellen returned to her bed after taking a bath and listening to her favoritemusic before she gradually drifted to sleep.

Just as the clock struck two in the morning, she heard her phone ringing in her sleep again. Sheopened her eyes and saw that someone was calling her again, and the number was the same one thathad called her before.

After looking at the time and seeing that it was two o’clock on the dot, she was filled with anger.Knowing that someone was trying to prank her again, she took a deep breath and decided to give thema warning.

She picked up and turned on the speaker, threatening, “I don’t care who you are or where you comefrom, but if you keep harassing me, I’ll call the cops.”

A voice continued to sound from the other end as if it were cursing her. “Ellen, I won’t let you off easily.You’ve been surrounded by evil spirits, and the Grim Reaper will take your life soon. You’ll die ahorrible, horrible death.”

Soon after, a demonic wail sounded, sending chills down her spine. The curses kept pouring in fromthe other end of the phone, and she hung up while gasping for air. She thought she would be lessscared if she thought of the caller as a prankster, but when she heard those voices in the middle of thenight, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of terror radiating from her surroundings.

Just then, a frightened bird suddenly fluttered out of the darkness outside the window, causing herheart to skip a beat in fear. Immediately after, her phone began to flood with text messages once again,and she knew what was being sent to her without having to look. As she closed her eyes, the picturesshe saw last night involuntarily emerged in her mind.

At that moment, her phone rang again. However, she chose to turn it off instead of looking at it, but shewas unable to fall asleep again. Hence, she stayed up until dawn, and it was only after she saw themorning sun that she dared to close her eyes and fall asleep peacefully.

When the clock hit half past seven, Jared was already outside her door, but he still did not see herwaking up. Deciding not to disturb her sleep, he headed to the gym instead.

Meanwhile, Ellen woke up later that morning at eleven. When she turned on her phone and took a lookat the time, she hastily rushed downstairs, thinking that Jared must have left for work. However, to hersurprise, he had not gone to work and was sitting on the couch and doing his work on his laptopinstead.

Upon hearing the footsteps on the stairs, he turned around and looked at her in concern. “Just wokeup? Did you have another nightmare?”

Ellen nodded, looking completely out of it. Jared stood up and poured a glass of warm water for her,which she accepted gratefully. Just as she was considering telling him what had happened in the pasttwo nights, his phone rang. Upon hearing the sound of his phone ringing, Ellen was suddenly remindedof the prank calls and clamped her mouth shut.

“Can’t you turn them down?”

After the person on the other end replied, he conceded helplessly, “All right.”

Upon saying that, he hung up and said to Ellen, “I have something to attend to tonight and will becoming home late. Will you be fine at home alone?”

Ellen nodded and replied breezily, “I’ll be fine.”

Jared walked over and rubbed her hair, saying, “Okay, I’ll try to come back earlier.”

After Jared left for the company in the afternoon, Ellen sat next to Milkshake on the couch when herphone suddenly rang. After casting it a glance and noticing that it was an unregistered number, albeit adifferent one, she hesitated before turning on the speaker and answering the call.

“Ellen… Ellen…” A ghastly cry suddenly sounded from the other end, only calling out her name.

Ellen hurriedly hung up the call, tensing in fear, but she soon heard her phone chiming with a chain ofnotifications again. She looked at her phone. Although she chose not to be afraid, she couldn’t help butwonder to herself.

Who exactly is pranking me? Whose bad side did I get on? Even after thinking about it carefully, shecould only recall the issue with Connor, but she felt that he would not try to scare her with these tactics.In that case, was it Selena or Olivia?

Ellen bit her lip, realizing that this was certainly something they would do.

Outside the window, the sun was about to set. Ellen normally enjoyed this sight as she loved when thesky was getting dark, but at this moment, she couldn’t help but feel her heart skip a beat in fear.

As the villa was too spacious and empty except for Milkshake which was in her arms, Ellen lost herappetite for dinner and only stayed on the couch in the living room. Just then, her phone rang.

She instantly jolted in fear, but upon seeing that the call was from Jared, she let out a small sigh ofrelief and answered, “Hello?”

“Have you eaten?”

“No. I don’t really have an appetite.”

“Then I’ll come back earlier and bring some food for you.”

“Okay,” she said gratefully.

“I’ll be hanging up now.”

Upon hearing the voices around him, Ellen decided not to disturb him any further and agreed. “Okay.”

After hanging up, she suddenly realized that Milkshake had disappeared. If it had escaped outside atthis hour, it would be difficult to find it.

“Milkshake! Where did you go, Milkshake?”

As Ellen spoke, she picked up her phone and walked toward the exit of the living room. She didn’tnotice that, just inside the back cushion, there was a small tail that belonged to Milkshake swaying inthe air. Milkshake was on the couch all along.

“Milkshake, don’t run around. Where are you?” Ellen called out, heading outside to search for the cat.

Although the exterior of the villa was well-lit, she had been on high alert for the past few days. At thismoment, she didn’t want her beloved pet to go missing, but she was too afraid to go too far either,leaving her in a dilemma.

Ellen ended up trailing into the garden as she was searching, but just then, her phone rang again. Aftertaking a glance at her phone, she saw that it was yet another unknown number. Although the numberwas different, she knew that it was a prank call even without picking up.

Thus, she decided not to answer and silenced her phone as she still needed it to light her way.However, she could still feel the chilling wind sweeping around her, leaving her with no choice but toreturn to the living room.

Upon seeing Milkshake on the couch, she nearly burst into tears from joy and took it into her arms, notallowing it to escape again.

However, her phone continued to ring with calls, all from unknown numbers, and she soon had morethan ten missed calls before she realized it. This urging was torture on her mind, leaving her with nochoice but to turn off her phone.

As time slowly ticked by, the autumn breeze roared harshly as Ellen curled up on the couch. Althoughher surroundings were brightly illuminated, the silence seemed even louder after she turned off herphone.

As much as she seemed fine on the surface, her mind was in disarray and dominated by terrifyingmemories that she couldn’t get rid of. She couldn’t help but recall some of the horrors she had heardand seen since she was a child, and she remembered vividly when she had seen a traffic accident onher way to school, the image of which still summoned a sense of dread whenever she thought of it.

At that moment, she was enshrouded by her memories, unable to get rid of them no matter how hardshe tried. Her mental state slowly got chipped away bit by bit, as if she were stuck in a maze without an

exit.

Just when she felt like she was about to be consumed by horror, she suddenly heard the sound of acar, and she bolted out of the entrance without a second thought. Upon seeing the handsome manstriding amidst the lights, she ran toward him as if he was her lifeline.

Jared was just deep in thought about his work when he looked up and saw a figure flashing towardhim. Immediately after, Ellen jumped into his arms, firmly wrapping her arms around him.

He jolted in surprise at first, but he soon sensed something off about her. She was hugging himextremely tightly as if she were afraid of something.

Jared returned her embrace and gently caressed the back of her head, asking gently, “What’s wrong?”

Just then, her phone rang again. Clearly, the prankster was not only calling her after midnight. As longas her phone was turned on, they would keep calling her.

Ellen jolted at the sound, and as she looked at her phone, Jared reached out and took her phone withhis large hand, asking, “Do you want to pick it up?”

“Someone’s pranking me by scaring me through the phone,” she replied.

Hearing that, he answered the call, only to hear a harrowing cry from the other end. “Ellen Reiss, Iwon’t let you off easily. I’ll turn into a spirit and haunt you for the rest of your life.”

Jared’s handsome face darkened as he immediately hung up. Just as he was about to return Ellen’sphone to her, a large number of text message notifications sounded on her phone.

Seeing that he was about to open the texts, she hurriedly stopped him. “Don’t look, those are all scarypictures.”