Chapter 212 - Edward Explains

When Edward came home, the first thing he did was freeze. Something felt off but he couldn't put a finger on it. Not yet. After working as a spy for years, he came to know how to trust his sixth sense more. The apartment might not be in danger at the moment but that didn't mean it was alright. Whoever had the audacity to break into his apartment was courting death. Yet, he found it odd that the guards staking outside of his apartment made no attempt to apprehend this bold intruder rummaging through his room.

The first thing that ran through his mind was to confirm Scarlet's safety. Her shoes were here which meant that she was home. If this thief had hurt his girlfriend in any way, he would make them pay dearly. Yet, something told Edward to proceed with more caution than usual.

This thief didn't seem to be experienced because he heard a hiss of pain after a loud clatter. Suddenly, Edward had a strange feeling that this confrontation might not be good. As he got close to his room that had the door slightly open, Edward confirmed his fears.

The thief was none other than his girlfriend. He didn't know what she was doing in there or why she was going through his things but he didn't understand what he should be doing in this kind of situation. Should he get angry with her and defend his rights to keep his own secrets? Should he play it cool and guilt-trip her? Both sounded like something he would do in a normal situation. However, against his better judgement, he wanted to stay and watch a little longer to figure out what was going through her head.

Scarlet wasn't aware of her boyfriend's return and groaned. That was definitely going to level an ugly bruise for a while. She wasn't familiar with Edward's room and that bed was too ridiculously huge. She knew that she had triggered some sort of trap when she entered simply because she found a broken pencil lead on the floor. It was a simple trick to know if anyone had entered a room. This was a trick she used a long time ago while still living under the Liu's roof. She had to thank the anime* for teaching her that. Who would have thought that Edward would set a similar trap for his room too? Her boyfriend wasn't just a simple person.

Scarlet was searching Edward's room for anything that could give her a hint about his identity. Could he be a spy that the Wildes hired for her to keep tabs on her so that she wouldn't get herself too involved with Anastasia? Ever since she started living with Edward, Scarlet had lesser opportunities to work on Anastasia's case. She barely had enough time to talk to CEO Zhu and find out more information. The CEO should have finalised the names and investigations on his side by now but he still hasn't contacted her about the showcase for Golden Frost collaboration.

So far, Scarlet's search had turned out futile. Sure, she found out that Edward had some clothing stashed away that she never seen him wear before. Most of them were sports attire and weird accessories. Scarlet didn't exactly judge a person based on their wardrobes but Edward was strange for hiding it in the first place. She wouldn't question him if he wore them but why did he feel the need to hide them behind the bed's headboard? That was an odd place to be hiding any clothes.

In addition, Scarlet didn't know what to think about Edward's love for hiding things in strange places. There was a false board underneath his bed where she found some questionable items. Scarlet found a small briefcase there that was locked with a passcode and a key that she didn't know where it was. For Edward to go to such lengths to keep it a secret, she wouldn't pry that much into it. However, it only made her more suspicious. Edward might truly be a person from the world that Elfie and Danny lived in. In that case, wouldn't it be bad for her who was investigating Anastasia secretly?

As Scarlet looked around, she tried to find a listening bug in Edward's room but found none. If Claire placed bugs all over the house, why would there be none in Edward's room? She couldn't understand it. Wouldn't that be the first room Claire placed bugs in if she trapped the entire apartment?

She rummaged through his small side desk and found a bottle of something. The label was in Spanish and Scarlet couldn't understand it so she opened the bottle to sniff it. It didn't have any smell and Scarlet closed it back again. Edward seemed to be a hoarder of some beauty products as well because that drawer was full of cosmetic bottles with unknown liquids. The labels were all foreign and Scarlet found herself questioning the uses for some of them.

"I wonder if it is to be drunk or applied."

Edward didn't know what was going through Scarlet's mind as she looked through all the cosmetic bottles in his side drawer. He had been standing there for nearly ten minutes but the girl didn't know. Those bottles weren't cosmetics. He merely reused the cosmetic bottles to store the various types of antidotes he needed for poisons. Some of them were sleeping drugs as well and he didn't want Scarlet getting too close to them. It was a good thing none of them was of lethal dosage or Scarlet might have been knocked out in just a whiff.

"Neither, I'm afraid," he spoke up and scared Scarlet so badly she nearly dropped the bottle.

"E-Edward? I can explain!"

Amused by that line, Edward nodded. "I'm sure you can. So you decided to go a little overboard with spring cleaning while I'm not home and found out my secret stash of collectables in a minimalist life. I'm not going to try to defend myself. You must be disappointed."

Scarlet blushed and looked down guiltily. Edward was still so collected even when he caught her red-handed. She only had more questions than answers now but she still couldn't shake off the possibility that he might really be a spy sent by Wilmer to watch her. Or a spy sent by Elfie and Jasper who weren't happy with her dangerous investigations.

"Who are you?"

Edward was nervous when he heard that. He knew that Scarlet was smart and that she was quick to notice things. He wasn't careless but there really wasn't any way he could completely be free of suspicions after living with her for an extended period of time under the same roof. Still, he was prepared for this day. It simply came sooner than he expected.

"Looks like we have some talking to do," he laughed. "I'm sure you have lots of questions. How about we get some rosehip tea like what we did a few weeks ago?"

Scarlet agreed and apologised for creating a mess. Edward didn't mind. As long as that briefcase wasn't opened, all was good. Besides, Scarlet hasn't found out about the false double layer of his desk that hid his more important things. She only discovered what he was ready to risk and he had explanations ready.

Once they settled down, Scarlet started throwing questions at Edward. The teen was amused that she was finally not holding herself back.

"Why did you put a pencil lead on the top of your door hinge? Isn't that something only paranoid people do in anime?"

Edward smiled. "I'm highly paranoid and it's just something I created to keep tabs on my father. It's since become a habit by now. I'm surprised you noticed it."

Scarlet blushed. "I think we learned the trick from the same anime."

Edward laughed and agreed even though he didn't really know about the anime she spoke off. He would check it out later.

"Why do you hide clothes behind the headboard?"

Edward nodded. "It's weird, isn't it? You don't see me do sports or any kind or seem like a rich kid but I have all sorts of designer goods there. I don't want to wear them but I cannot throw them out so that's a good place to forget about them."

Scarlet blinked. It was an odd reason but an understandable one. "Is your father a difficult person to handle? Is that why you had to keep so many things a secret in your room? What would he think if he saw how this apartment has become?"

Edward made a face. "It's not too much of a deal, I think. he wouldn't be coming over because I told him about you. My mom talked to him too so we should be fine. Although I cannot throw anything that was originally here away. He will murder me."

The next question was about the secretive briefcase and Edward shrugged. "That belongs to my dad. He just told me to hold onto it for him. Also, before you ask, those bottles are sent by him from overseas. I don't use them but I don't throw them away either so it's in the side drawer. It's a souvenir from where he worked and because he's lazy, he just gets two of the same thing and sh.i.p.s one to my mother and one to me."

Scarlet nodded. She wasn't a huge fan of beauty products so she didn't question any further. However, now came the serious questions.

"Why do you have dual sim cards in your phone? I know one of it only has three numbers including mine, Elfie's and your father. Also, what is your relationship with Elfie? He wouldn't build you that kind of laptop for a friend. I know what he does for work so don't lie to me. Also, you don't work out but you have good reflexes and are strong. Who are you exactly? Why do you know so much about me when I barely know anything about you? At this point, I'm very inclined to think that my dad sent you. You probably figured out my entire family by now."

The moment the words left her mouth, Scarlet wanted to take them back.

"Is this how you truly see me?" he asked, his voice laced with hurt and his eyes sad. "I didn't want to keep it from you but you didn't tell me about it either. How could I easily ask if you were a celebrity when you tried so hard to hide it and live a normal life?"

* That anime is Death Note. Watch Episode 8 where Light talks about it.