Your Guise Is Slipping, Miss Pearl

Inexplicable grief gripped Pearl. It weighed on her chest, making it hard to breathe. Lost in her tangled thoughts, she eventually drifted off to sleep.

When she opened her eyes, she felt a familiar coat draped over her, carrying the faint scent of orchids. It was unmistakably Richard's scent. Silas was no longer in sight, and Richard remained in the driver's seat, their car parked by the roadside.

She blinked away her drowsiness, realizing that they were already at her home. "Why didn't you wake me up?" She pushed Richard's coat aside and placed it on the seat next to her.

"I dropped him off first. I didn't wake you because we just arrived," Richard calmly explained.

Pearl thanked him politely but kept her tone distant, seemingly out of spite. "Thank you for the ride home."

"You're welcome. I won't do it again if this happens in the future," Richard replied coolly, his words holding a hint of cruelty.

Before leaving, Richard couldn't resist asking, "He's your boyfriend?"

Pearl retorted, "I'm sure it's none of your business, right, Mister Richard?"

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the response, Richard nodded and

a phone call stirred Pearl

come to pick you

heading to the nearby balcony. As she opened the curtain, she spotted Silas below, dressed in

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than ten minutes to prepare herself reluctantly, after which she