Inspiration flashed past her eyes, and she reached out to pinch Evan hard.
Evan was surprised by that. Did Nicole figure it out? Why else would she act like this? But… that is not likely either. After all, even the Hidden Masters were fooled! I better keep calm and monitor the situation for now.
“I guess I really am dreaming. He’s not reacting to anything, even though I am pinching him so harshly,” murmured Nicole to herself.
Evan turned speechless.
It had been two years since they saw one another. Turned out, his wife was still as cute as ever. I’m unconscious on the floor. What reaction could I give?
“Gah, never mind. I’ll go take a nap. Who knows? Maybe everything will be better when I wake up,” muttered Nicole before she stood up and walked back.
Evan didn’t even know what to do with that information.
Nicole, I am unconscious and look terrible. It’s like I’m on the verge of dying. How could you be so heartless and just ignore me like that?
Naturally, Nicole couldn’t hear Evan’s thoughts, so she returned to her room without turning back. She laid on her bed and closed her eyes.
Nicole would cause trouble to her mentor and colleague whenever she hallucinated. Her mentor later advised her to take a nap whenever she hallucinated, and that got her in a habit of going to bed when strange things happen.
Evan’s arrival was too sudden, and Nicole assumed that she was hallucinating again. She thought that everything would turn back to the way it was, and the gravely ill Evan would disappear once she took a nap.
Hence, Nicole slept soundly on her bed.
Evan laid on the floor for a long while before he got up. The Hidden Masters, who had been hiding in the dark, couldn’t help but comment on the matter.
“What is going on?” asked Jeremy with a frown.
Jensen scratched his head in confusion as well. He replied, “I have no idea. I thought Mrs. Seet would break crying after seeing Mr. Seet in that state. Yet, she’s not bothered at all.”
Darius chimed in, “Not bothered? That’s an understatement. Mrs. Seet was downright ignoring him.”
“So the guy is faking his illness, and the girl is ignoring him. What silly games are those two playing?”
“We don’t know Mr. Seet well enough. If John were here, he would’ve been able to guess what Mr. Seet is doing.”
“Now’s not the time to talk about John. Let’s go see how Mr. Seet is doing.”
When Evan saw the Hidden Masters showing up in front of him, his expression turned stone cold.
“This is all your fault,” complained Evan who shot a glare at every single one of them before leaving.
The Hidden Masters turned to one another. Each looked more confused and wronged than the previous one.
Jeremy asked, “W-were we involved in Mr. Seet’s interaction with his wife?”
Jensen replied, “No.”
Jeremy asked again, “Did we show ourselves?”
Damien answered, “Not at all!”
Finally, Jeremy asked, “Then why was Mr. Seet complaining?”
Darius sighed and explained, “We shouldn’t have shown up after everything went down. Mr. Seet must be embarrassed about how Mrs. Seet ignored him like that, so he vented his frustration on us. That must have prompted him to put the blame on us.”
The three other men turned to one another before saying simultaneously, “Good point.”
…..
Evan never would have dreamed that his method would be ineffective. He fished his phone out and tapped on Kate’s number.
When Kate saw the caller ID, she jumped up and asked in a worried tone, “What’s wrong? Is Nicole hallucinating again?”
Kate only gave Evan her number because she was worried about Nicole hallucinating. That was why the first thought that came to her mind was that Nicole was sick again.
“No. I am just calling to ask for a favor.”
“But Wesley and I are leaving. We’re already at the airport.”
“Can you postpone your trip and leave tomorrow? I really need your help.”
Kate thought about the credit card Evan gave her and about how the matter involved Nicole. In the end, Kate reluctantly agreed.
“Alright, I’ll head back right away.”
……
Nicole woke up and wiped her forehead. She didn’t sweat, and that confirmed that she didn’t actually have a nightmare.
She got out of bed and suddenly recalled why she went to bed in the first place.
I think I saw Evan lying on the ground in the courtyard.
