Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Was he dreaming right now? Sleeping with the angel he had been aiming for two months? He means, with Hazel who was sleeping beside him with her angelic face? No, no. Hazel was not like an angel. She was definitely an angel...

Raymond immediately covered his face with his hands. He could feel his face flushed from remembering what they had done last night.

Remembered Hazel's sexy voice, half sighing as he called her name and marking her whole body with his kiss. Hazel's scent was sweet just as vanilla.

Damn. Everything was still so clear and fresh in his memory.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. His smartphone which he put on the nightstand beside his bed suddenly vibrated. His hand reached for his smartphone, opening the screen.

Bad news.

Call me when you're free.

Raymond's eyebrows furrowed after he finished reading Martha's message. He immediately pressed the call button as he walked slowly out of his room, trying his best not to wake Hazel, into the kitchen room.

‘Speak clearly, Martha. Do not give me half-hearted information,’ he said while pouring mineral water into the glass. His throat felt dry because he just woke up, and perhaps also from the effects of the medication he was taking after eating the porridge yesterday.

Martha's voice from the other end was low-spirited. ‘It's about the girl you brought to my shop before.’

‘What’s the problem with that?'’

‘I can't tell you the details on the phone, Raymond.’

‘I understand,’ he put his glass on the table after drinking it. His eyes were fixed on his room, then took a deep breath. ‘Wait at your shop. I’ll be there in a minute.’

Martha hung up on the phone, leaving a lot of questions that started to make him feel anxious. Hearing Martha's voice like that was enough to make him think about the bad things that would happen to Amanda Chloe. Did something happen to Amanda while he took his day off in his apartment? He was too distracted by his approaching Hazel. There was no time for him to relax. He should have taken care of everything, remembering his original aim of coming to the Cirillo city.

‘Sorry, Ray…’

Raymond bit his lower lip, closed his eyes. Flashbacks of his memory came back, haunting him again

‘Ray…’

Arnold's voice echoed back in his ears as if calling out to reach him. As if Arnold was on his side, calling him, laughed. Then Arnold's voice turned into a low murmur. His body shivered again.

‘Ray, I really miss my little sister... her meatbun cheeks …’

He heard Arnold's voice again. The words Arnold uttered when he got drunk when he was staying at Arnold’s house and watching movies together. The movie told the story of a retired spy agent who was forced to go back on a mission because he had to protect his child and wife who were kidnapped by a gang of drug dealers. Back then, he screamed in pain because Arnold pinched his cheek very hard until his cheek got red, and now his friend could no longer meet his younger sister. In fact, Arnold could no longer have the opportunity to hug his little sister. Saying to her there was no need to feel alone anymore. Or maybe vowed to fulfil his job as a big brother and protect her with his life

All because of his failure. Who was a police detective? He did not have the right to call himself with good observation skills and could read the situation. Only a fool can confidently admit it. He did not deserve to call himself a detective anymore. Not feasible. Not worth it at all. He hit the wall behind him with his clenched right fist, cursing his stupidity. Correct. He must realize that he did not deserve happiness for himself. Amanda Chloe was his priority, not Hazel Skylar.

***

‘Why didn't you tell me that Arnold has a younger sister, Ray?’

Raymond glared at Martha who was pointing a gun at him when he arrived in front of this antique shop.

‘What a nice way to welcome your little brother. But that question should be mine,’ Raymond gripped Martha's wrist, taking the gun from this woman's hand quickly. ‘You know Arnold better than I do, right?’

‘Don't make excuses, Ray. That girl is in danger now.’

Raymond tried to stop himself from looking calm. He still stared at Martha who now looked nervous. ‘That's why I came here to protect her! That should be my question now. Who is Arnold? Am I the only one who doesn’t know the truth?!’

‘That's…’ Martha averted her eyes from Raymond. Make his suspicion that Martha knew the true identity of Arnold Walter grew bigger. He should know that there was no way an ordinary person—a private bank manager could have been killed so tragically. Ordinary people could not be able to make the mafia groups move after Amanda. He growled, annoyed at being the only person who did not know anything about Arnold.

'Let go of your hand, Ray.’

‘No, untilー’

‘I'll explain everything. Everything. Just let go of my hands,’ said Martha.

‘You better keep your word,’ Raymond compiled, taking his hand off Martha. It was clear that the marks of his grip earlier were on Martha's skinny brown hand. Then, that woman told him to follow her into the office that was on the inside of this shop. Unlike the interior of the antique shop earlier, this office was far from luxurious as soon as he entered the room. All around the room was a desk filled with mountain piles of paper everywhere until it was no longer visible, along with a dimly lit table lamp. Behind the chair, there was a large grey drawer that looked much tidier than the desk.

'Sorry. It’s a bit messy. You can sit on the floor if you want. I usually do that too.’

Raymond pulled the chair in front of him and looked wryly at Martha, who was now sitting in the corner of her desk, looking calm when she said it. ‘You don't sit on the floor yourself. Why do I have to sit on the floor?’

‘You've got a point there,’ Martha offered him a cigarette, which he gladly accepted. Martha lit his cigarette, put the tip of the cigarette against the end of the cigarette that she had tucked between her lips, then moved away from him after smoking the cigarette. Enjoying the scent. ‘I don't think I’ll be the one who will tell you everything about Arnold. But you’re right. You have the right to know the truth.’

Martha took the cigarette she was smoking from her lips, laughing softly. ‘Arnold was a hitman that would do anything for money.’

Raymond's eyes suddenly widened upon hearing the harsh reality he had just learned now. His body froze instantly. His hands were clenched into fists, trying to accept the bitter truth he just knew from his sister. He should have known from the start that Arnold was not an ordinary person.

‘Hi. Are you Martha's friend?’

Arnold's grip was very strong the first time they met and shook hands. His eyes were empty and cold but covered with a masked faceーa friendly face that looked like warm sunshine. The type of person who at their first meeting immediately became the type of person he hated the most. His posture reminded him of the Morozov special police he had encountered when he teamed up to arrest a terrorist group that attacked a bank in Morozov city before he was still a police officer. No wonder he had felt like Arnold was hiding something big from him.

‘Oh.’

Only that word came out of his mouth. He was unable to say anything anymore, letting Martha continue her story.

‘As far as I know, he was from Maltova city—of the UN pilot cities located close to the Cirillo. Like Amanda Chloe before she moved here. When he was 10 years old, he was sold by his parents for paying his parent’s debt. You know the mafia group with the surname Walter?’

‘Yes. That's Arnold's family, right? Arnold had mentioned that before.’

‘Oh, that means I don't need to explain anymore. As I recall, at that time Tere Walter was young, had just replaced the old Walter family head, and destroyed the child trafficking headquarters in Morozov.’

‘Child trafficking headquarters? In Morozov?’

Martha nodded. ‘Of course, ordinary people like you won’t know about this. Not many people know. The police also didn't know because they disguised it as an orphanage. Arnold was arguably one of the lucky ones because he arrived in Morozov when Tere Walter attacked the headquarters to eliminate the business of child trafficking in Morozov. After that, Arnold was adopted by Tere Walter. You know the rest.’

‘Why didn't you tell me the truth from the start?’

‘Arnold prevented me from telling you his background. He was afraid you'd leave him after knowing the truth,’ Martha took a deep inhale of her cigarette, blowing it into the air while laughing softly. ‘He became easy to worry when he met you, Ray. Funny, eh? A hitman who didn't hesitate to kill anyone, but desperately hides his identity from you so you won't hate him. Honestly, I'm a little jealous of you.’

‘Why? The person Arnold loved was you, right?’ Raymond raised his eyebrow, tapped the part of his cigarette that had now turned ashes into the ashtray on Martha's desk.

‘No, Ray. It was you.’

His eyes widened, could not believe what he had just heard from Martha earlier. He immediately put out his cigarette, stared at Martha who was unmoved. ‘Don’t kid me. Impossible. I really know that—’

'Do you think why Arnold allowed you to stay over at his apartment whenever you got your day off while me, who already knew him for a long time, never got a chance to come to his apartment? That was because he believed in you.’

‘But how about Verdict?! He also stayed at his apartment, right?’

‘He is his young brother. Of course, he allowed him to stay at his apartment. But not together in his room, from what I remember.’

‘Well, you’re right,’ Raymond closed his mouth tightly, shocked with the truth he got. ‘From when? Why didn't I realize it?’

‘From the first time he met you.’

‘But he was always with women. A lot of exes.’

‘Ray, you’re too innocent,’ Martha stroked the top of Raymond’s head. ‘Did you know? After the first meeting, he deleted all his girlfriends’ and his exes. Always making you his priority. Well, he didn’t delete my contact. My relationship with him was all business-related.’

‘B-but, I saw you on a date with Arnold several times!’

‘Dating him didn’t mean we were lovers, Ray. True, I had a feeling for him. But I decided to move back after knowing he loved you, and I hate commitment. Let’s move on to the next topic. I don’t want to discuss something in the past anymore,’ Martha got up from her desk, put out the cigarette she had been smoking into the ashtray. ‘There are many people who have a grudge against Arnold. You told that girl to stay at a friend's house with the surname Umberbridge, right?’

Raymond nodded.

‘Yesterday, the Umberbridge mansion was attacked. Umberbridge's right-hand, Nicholas Paddington, is dead. That's why I said the girl is in danger. She can't continue living in that house although I have to admit, the Umberbridge mansion is the most ideal place.’

‘I thought that's for the best.’

Martha looked away, hands on the hips when she heard the answer. ‘For you, yes. But for mafia groups like Simon Clive, they think Umberbidge sided with the Walter family. From what I know, the Umberbridge family don't have any relation with the Walter family. Your decision was too reckless, Raymond.’

He did not really focus on listening to Martha's words. His mind was still on Arnold. Everything was unexpected. During this time, when he thought Arnold and Martha liked each other, he misunderstood. Why could he not notice it? Arnold was too perfect to cover up his feelings whenever he was around him.

‘And like I told you before. I know it's difficult, but stop blaming yourself, Raymond. It's not your fault. All was purely Arnold's choice. I guess he was not doing all this just to protect Amanda. But also you. That's why he chose to die. He didn’t want you to get involved in his problem.’

Raymond swallowed hard, closing his eyes. Again Arnold's memories spun back in his mind. Arnold, who always took his time whenever Raymond needed it. Arnold, who was always ready to help him solve his problems whenever he was in big trouble, without expecting anything in return.

‘Don't come here yet, Raymond. My place is… messy.’

He caught his breath really hard. His heart was pounding as soon as he remembered Arnold's last words. He held his chest which felt tight.

Everything was to protect him and Amanda?

‘Don't screw with me! Who asked him to protect me!?’

‘Raymond?’

Raymond ignored Martha who called out his name. He left the office, feeling gloomy.

***