“I’m sorry. I apologize to you again,” Hector Cain said with sincerity. “Actually, after you went in, I tried to pull some strings to get your sentence reduced. But you were causing quite a stir in there. Not only were you fighting with the other inmates all the time, you even got into it with a guard. I also heard you got on the wrong side of someone you shouldn't have, which made a sentence reduction very difficult. In the end, all I could do was smooth over the incident with the guard, which at least saved you from having more time added to your sentence.”I thought back. He was right about that. When I first got in, there was this one guard who had it out for me, always giving me extra duties. One time in the mess hall, he took my food, and I just snapped and went at him.At the time, they were all talking about adding years to my sentence, letting me rot in there. But then, for some reason, the whole thing was dropped. So, it was Hector Cain who helped out behind the scenes.But

The argument inside the apartment came to an abrupt halt. I walked in, casually holding up the bag of groceries. “I’m back,” I said with a smile. “Picked up some stuff on the way. I’ll whip up a few of my specialty dishes for you guys later.”Zack stared at me, stunned. Gina looked embarrassed and mumbled a greeting before lowering her head and retreating into her room.“I brought back some Kathan specialties too. Got them on a whim. These are fish cakes and coconut tarts, and some yellow curry paste. This stuff is seriously good. I also got you a bottle of oil-control face wash, and a few cosmetics for Gina. Nothing fancy, just L'Oréal. It's so much cheaper in Katha, almost half the price of here.”I put the groceries on the table, pulling things out of my bag as I talked.My luggage was just a few clothes. Summer clothes are thin, so my backpack wasn't even full. That’s why I bought a lot of souvenirs—tasty, cheap, and useful things, mostly for Zack and Gina.Zack stood by the table

The next day, I spent the better part of the morning checking out three apartments. In the end, I chose a three-bedroom in an older but quiet apartment complex. It was a shared living situation. I took the smallest room for eighteen hundred a month.Two recent college graduates shared one of the larger rooms, and a couple about my age lived in the master bedroom. They were the ones who had rented the whole apartment and were subletting the rooms. The two girls called them the landlord and landlady.The landlord, Will Carter, was tall and a bit on the heavy side. He seemed friendly and talkative. The landlady, Mia Jones, was decent-looking and quite petite. Standing next to Will, they made a striking pair—a classic case of a small bird leaning on a big man.When I said I wanted to move in, Mia started asking all sorts of questions, not just about my job and my past, but even about my love life.I even showed her my Intelli-Ware Solutions work ID. When I was starting to get annoyed, Wil

The address was a quiet lounge diagonally across from Rocco’s bar. I often came here to sit for a while too.I sent Ava the location on my messenger app. About half an hour later, she arrived, wearing a loose, blue-and-white striped collared dress. She looked bright and fresh, with an artistic flair.As usual, my eyes followed her appreciatively. And as usual, I complimented her. “You look beautiful.”Ava, also as usual, ignored my words and my gaze. She didn't even greet me. She just sat down across from me and started looking around at the lounge’s elegant decor and listening to the soft music.I could tell she liked this kind of environment.Without any prompting from me, a server walked over briskly and politely asked Ava what she would like.Ava ordered a coffee and a few small pastries, then asked me in a cool voice, “You wanted to see me. What did you want to talk about? Go on.”I smiled. “Nothing, really. I just missed you. I wanted to see you and talk for a bit.”“Such a smoo

“I’m afraid one day you’ll be the death of me.”“Mark my words, it won’t be long before you start to love and enjoy this feeling.”“Impossible.”“If you don’t believe me, you can just wait and see.”“Heh, is this reverse psychology?”“No, it’s the honest truth. Be honest with yourself. Weren’t you a little thrilled and excited just now?”“No.”“Ms. Barlow, you have to be honest.”“Hmph! I said no!”She turned her head to the window and ignored me.I tried asking a few more times but got no response. In the end, I just focused on driving.When we got back to Ava’s apartment complex, she guided me to her parking garage. I got out, handed her the keys, and she walked away without so much as a goodbye.“Have a good dream tonight, Ms. Barlow!”I waved at her retreating back.Ava swiped her key card and pushed the door open.“Preferably about me!”I added just as the door was closing.She still didn't look back and quickly disappeared down the hallway.I couldn’t help but laugh for a while.