Page 124 of My Ruthless Neighbor

“I was saying that I drew you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes,” I point at the window, “This is the red angry bird.” I squint at it then murmur, “Okay please imagine it’s red. But yeah, it’s you because you’re always angry.” I laugh.

Archer looks at me, one corner of his mouth kicking up into a smile. A smile. Albeit a small one but it’s a smile nonetheless.

“Did you just smile?” I shout in astonishment.

“No.”

“Oh, you so did! Ohmygod. He is human after all.”

He stops the car again and I huff. “Now what did I do?”

“We are here.”

I look around. “Oh.” So soon. With hesitation, I unbuckle my seat. “Thank you for the ride.”

He nods.

As we live on the same floor, we ride the elevator together. The entire time we remain silent.

When we get out of the elevator, I feel empty at the thought of parting with him. Which is odd as hell.

We are in front of our respective doors now. I turn to see him one last time and gasp when my eyes collide with his.

“Good night, Summer.”

“Good night.”

“Lock the door behind you.” He says, reminding me of the time when he walked in on me dancing. Feels like a lifetime ago.

I nod. When he doesn’t move, I get the message. He will not go inside until he sees me go in.

Sneaking another look at him, I unlock my apartment and step inside.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Awhimper jolts me awake.

I groan at how stiff my neck is. I must’ve fallen asleep while reading in my leather chair.

I place the book that was lying on my lap on the table.

The entire room is dark except for the lamp perched on the table.

Another whimper startles me. My head snaps at my study’s closed door. At the same time, the lamp starts to flicker.

I push to my feet.

The sound of the thudding footsteps confirms my doubt. I have an intruder in my apartment.

How did that happen? The building has the best security. Plus there’s no way someone could try to break in and not trigger the alarms.

Not wasting a second, I stride to the door. That’s when the lamp goes off, snuffing the only source of light in the room.

That’s strange. The electricity never goes out here.

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