72
I didn’t sleep.
Not even for a second.
I just sat there, wide awake, staring at nothing, trying to process what had happened.
Hane… she betrayed me.
That thought alone was enough to make my skin crawl. I had trusted her. I had called her a friend. And all this time, she had been working with June.
Who else?
Who else in this house was helping June? There were too many workers, too many people coming and going. I wasn’t safe.
The thought sent a shiver down my spine even though I was wrapped in a thick coat and the heater was on full blast.
A soft knock pulled me out of my thoughts, and I looked up just as Don walked in, holding a cup.
He handed it to me without a word.
I took it, wrapping both hands around it.
Don sat down beside me, sighing. For a moment, it was quiet. Until…
"I'm sorry," he said, out of nowhere.
I frowned, looking at him as I took a small sip of the tea. It was hot, which was good because I felt frozen inside.
"Why?" I asked.
Don exhaled, staring down at his thigh. "Because this is my fault. If you hadn’t met me, you wouldn’t have almost died three times."
I didn’t say anything.
He turned to me. “Did you know Hane was the one who pushed you down the pool in Australia?”
I sighed, feeling my heart hurt a lot at that reality. “How did you find me?”
Don let out a slow breath. "A guy from Australia called. He was investigating what happened to you that night. The CCTV was destroyed, but they managed to fix it."
He paused, like he wasn’t sure if he should keep going.
"They saw it, Eri. Hane was following you. She waited until you got to the pool… and then she pushed you in."
My chest tightened.
I had thought I slipped.
The whole time, I had been blaming myself for not paying attention. I had convinced myself that maybe I tripped.
But I didn’t trip.
She pushed me.
"Hane’s not even her real name," Don added, shaking his head.
I forced myself to look at him. "What?"
"Her real name is Frinsley," he said. "Frinsley Gregory."
Frinsley Gregory.
That name didn’t feel real.
None of this felt real.
"Then I remembered you were going to her sister’s wedding," Don continued. "And that’s when I realized— there was no wedding. She was setting you up. So I called the cops."
I tightened my grip on the cup, my hands trembling.
"I also called the driver who dropped you off," Don went on. "He told me you asked to be dropped at a wedding hall, but there wasn’t one where she told him to go."
He sighed. "That’s when I knew for sure. I had to find you."
His hand moved to my thigh, sending a small bit of calmness through me.
"I’m really sorry, Eri," he murmured.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "It’s okay. I’m fine now."
He didn’t look convinced. "I just… I’m still worried," he admitted. "June wasn’t found."
That sent another wave of unease through me.
Before I could respond, there was a noise at the door.
Seconds later, Suzy and Rose came rushing in.
"Eri!" Suzy ran straight to me, throwing her arms around my neck.
I barely had time to react before she pulled back.
"What the hell? How did you guys get in?" I asked.
"Not important," Suzy waved off. "Are you okay? You must be terrified."
Rose stood beside her, arms crossed, looking pissed. "I still don’t get how the cops thought June was in Dubai," she muttered.
Suzy finally seemed to notice Don. "Oh. Hey, Don."
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "Hey, girls. It’s nice to see you."
Rose gave him a long, hard stare before muttering a cold, "Hello."
I sighed. "You guys didn’t have to come all the way here. I’m okay. The cops are really searching for her this time."
Suzy exhaled, like she wanted to believe me, but Rose still didn't look convinced one bit.
Rose scanned him head to toe, a frown plastered on her face. “Hello.” It had come out colder than the normal Rose.
“Why don't we go to my room and talk.” It was certain Don's presence was making things awkward.
The three of us went to my old room— not the one I shared with Don.
The second we got inside and took a seat on the bed, Rose turned to face me with the most serious expression I’d ever seen.
"June is dangerous, Eri," she started. "She’s not going to stop until she gets what she wants."
"And we all know what she wants," Suzy added.
I swallowed. "Yeah. Don."
"Exactly," Rose said. "And now that Hane was a traitor, who knows what other tricks June has up her sleeve?"
My fist clenched at the sound of Hane. "It all makes sense now. June wasn’t just randomly showing up wherever I was. Hane was feeding her information."
Every message, every moment June had somehow known where I was…
Hane.
It was always Hane.
I sucked in a sharp breath. "The girl’s creepy."
"And she’s going to do worse," Rose said, her voice low.
When I turned to her, she looked scared.
Not for herself. For me.
"I know," I admitted. "I’ll be careful."
"Careful isn’t enough," she argued. "She’s cunning, Eri. She already fooled the cops once."
I exhaled. "Okay, so what do you want me to do?"
Rose hesitated for a second.
Then she took a deep breath.
"You might think I’m being harsh," she said slowly, like she was choosing her words carefully, "but the best thing for you to do right now… is leave Don."
That made me freeze.
My grip tightened on the bedsheet beneath me.
"What are you saying?" I asked through gritted teeth.
She didn’t back down though. "You need to divorce him.”
Divorce? What the heck was she saying? Had she started losing it or what.
No way was that happening.
"Snap out of this dream world, Eri," She snapped. "You have a family. If you die, you lose."
I clenched my teeth. "June is the one trying to kill me."
"Exactly!" She shot back. "She’s obsessed with Don. She’d never hurt him, but you? You’re the obstacle. You’re the one standing in her way."
I shook my head. "No."
"Yes," she insisted. "And as long as you’re with him, she will keep coming after you. She won’t stop. She’ll kill you, Eri. And if you die, we are the ones left to mourn you."
My breath hitched.
"You think Don will never move on?" She continued. "He’ll grieve for a while, sure. But eventually, he’ll move on with his fucking life."
"But us? Suzy and I? We will never get you back. We will suffer. We will cry every day knowing you died because of some psychotic woman who couldn’t take no for an answer."
Tears burned in my eyes.
I wanted to argue.
I wanted to scream that I wasn’t leaving Don, that I’d never leave Don.
But the truth was staring me in the face.
Since I met him, I had almost died three times.
And it hadn’t even been a full year.
I was running out of chances.