Chapter 149


    The line went dead, leaving me hanging in a silence that spoke volumes.


    Though the door in front of me remained closed, my gut had already pieced the puzzle together.


    A momentter, the door swung open, revealing Ernest d in a grey loungewear, a casual contrast to the tension of the moment.


    Turns out, my new neighbor was none other than him.


    Turns out, he hadn''t been absent these past few days; he had moved in right across from me.


    Turns out, he wasn''t workingte hours but hade early to stay close and watch over me-though from across the hallway, he never breathed a word.


    And, he must have hatched the n to rent the ce across mine while fixing my sink!


    Seeing him, everything clicked into ce.


    "Come in," Ernest invited, his demeanor cool, utterly unfazed by my discovery.


    In reality, his moving in was nothing wrong, and my shock was perhaps an overreaction, but I couldn''t bring myself to simply greet him with a calm hello.


    I stood rooted at the doorway, staring him down, "Mr. Collins, don''t you think you owe me an exnation?"


    "Come inside, and I''ll exin," Ernest shifted aside, making room.


    With gritted teeth, I stepped in.


    Despite knowing he was probably here for me, I couldn''t shake off my irritation.


    Irritated that he seemed to be ying games with me.


    As I entered, I paused, taking in the changed interior. I had seen this ce before, and it was nothing like what it stood before me now.


    The furniture that used to fill the room was gone, leaving just a sofa in an empty living room. It looked like the ce had been cleared out, hardly seeming like someone lived there.


    "Where''s all the stuff?" I couldn''t help but ask.


    Ernest looked at me, "Did youe by earlier?"


    Always dodging my questions, my frustration with his evasiveness mounted.


    Under my ring scrutiny, he pointed towards a room not far, "I''ve packed everything up in there."


    Just a sofa for him?


    A normal living space would at least have a TV stand or a small table for a coffee cup or a phone.


    If he disliked clutter, why hadn''t he


    in their room at Gxy


    be way my parents''


    swao et


    l


    Harbor? Content belongs


    Though I didn''t voice this thought, I couldn''t help but probe, "Why choose to live across from me?"This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?.


    Ernest replied, "Rent''s cheaper here."


    True, the rent was reasonable.


    "But why specifically choose the


    across


    Overom me?" I recalled


    l


    a phone conversation in


    Ernest''s room.


    Thinking back, I felt foolish, likely seen as naive in his eyes.


    Ernest met my gaze head-on, "Because you''re across."


    He was straightforward, at least.


    I scoffed, "You''re scarier than that blind date guy, moving right across from me."


    Ernest frowned slightly, "I''m not like him. I''m here to protect you, but he was not."


    His words deft me without a


    yet I retorted in a


    , yet I retorted in anger et


    doesn''t mean your s are good."


    After a brief silence, Ernest admitted, "...Yeah."


    He admitted it?


    True to his military background, he faced the consequences of his actions head-on.


    I was at a loss for words, even more upset, "Yeah, what does that mean?" "Wanting to be the first to catch the breeze," Ernest''s reply had a poetic touch.