Pretending to be still angry, I turned my head away with a pout. "No. I was planning to take a picture for another man."
Hearing that, Wilbur lunged at me, but I pushed him away.
Even though I wanted to believe him, a lingering unease still clung to me.
That night, I didn’t let him touch me. To my surprise, he didn’t push, just held me close as we fell asleep.
The next morning, he told me he was going home to visit his parents—his usual routine whenever he was back.
But something inside me just didn’t sit right. So, I decided to follow him.
Before I left, I called my best friend.
She sighed dramatically on the other end. "Naomi, are you serious? You sound paranoid. How could there be something between them when your boyfriend calls her "niece" and she calls him "uncle?" I think you're just stressed out. Why don’t you take a couple of days off and go on a trip with Wilbur?"
But I refused to back down. "My gut instinct is never wrong. If I don’t figure this out, I’ll never let it go."
"I've been a strategist for six years, Naomi, and I've never found a single flaw in Wilbur. A man this perfect is rare. If you push him away for no reason and he ends up back on the market, you’ll regret it," she groaned, sounding a bit annoyed.
Just then, I saw Wilbur about to leave, so I replied to my friend, "He's leaving. I’ll talk to you later."
Then, I started the car and followed him.
For the entire day, he stayed at his parents' house.
As such, relief washed over me. I scolded myself for overthinking, for letting my paranoia run wild.
After all these years, he still loved me.
But just as I was about to head back, I saw his car speed past from the right.
My heart clenched, and I turned the wheel and followed.
He drove to our old house. Back in college, his parents had bought him a private villa near the university, so we rarely stayed in the dorms. Most nights, we were here.
This place held so many memories for us.
But ever since Wilbur moved abroad, no one had been here. It hadn’t been cleaned or lived in for years.
So why was he coming back now?
I waited for about ten minutes after he went inside before stepping out of my car. My pulse hammered in my ears.
Just before I reached the door, I sent him a message.
[Baby, are you staying at your parents' place tonight, or are you coming home?]
His reply came almost instantly.