He used to call me by my name, but now he suddenly started to call me Vicky, just as Ray and Linda did.
Linda was also surprised at how intimate he had become with me.
Martin, however, clapped me on the shoulder and said, "Vicky has married into the Davis family. She's like my sister. I don't want to call her so formally!"
But all I felt was a crawling discomfort wherever he touched me, as if a million ants were biting.
Linda accepted his explanation, and Martin's behavior became even more audacious.
When he handed me a water glass or fastened my seatbelt, he would always make subtle skin contact with me, sometimes even gently rubbing.
Moreover, he no longer dressed neatly when working out. Instead, he loved to display his impressive physique shirtless in front of me.
I subtly mentioned this to Ray during a video chat, but he didn't seem to mind.
"Martin and I used to work out shirtless when we were together!
"He's just being comfortable around you because we've been close for so long. You can ask my mom. She's seen him working out without clothes many times. You shouldn't read too much into it."
Talking about working out, Ray began to lament how he had neglected exercise since work, causing his eight-pack abs to reduce to just one.
Unable to do anything else, I could only tell myself to forget about that night and not to view Martin through tinted glasses.
But a few days later, I found that my underwear had disappeared from the balcony.
At first, I thought it might have been blown away by the wind.
Fearing that someone might pick it up and use it for something inappropriate, I made sure to clip it securely with several clothespins and hung it in the innermost part.
Eventually, the underwear still vanished without a trace.
Suspicious, I took advantage of Martin and Linda being out at a wedding and sneaked into Martin's study and bedroom.
I silently prayed that I was overthinking.
However, I found those pieces of underwear in the pocket of one of Martin's jackets.
There were still several white streaks on them, emitting a musky scent!
I couldn't imagine what disgusting things Martin had done with them!
I was furious. Despite knowing that doing so would alert him, I still burned them all with trembling hands, unwilling to let him desecrate me in such a way.
I took out my phone and called Ray, urging him to come home that day.
In the afternoon, Ray rushed back.