In the office, Chet was sorting out the documents when his phone suddenly rang.

"Mr. Reynes, there's a car that has been following Miss Blanchard for the whole day. Do you want us to deal with it...

"

"What car?! Has it appeared before?

" As he placed down his pen, Chet became nervous.

"He isn't back yet. I can't possibly let anything happen to her!

" He thought to himself.,

"It's a black Volkswagen with a green license plate, labelled A - QQ8732. The man is in his 30s or 40s! He followed Miss Blanchard out of the company's building and even tailed her into the same supermarket!

",

"Was he alone?

" Chet asked, while he wondered whether the man was a stalker or a pursuer.,

"That's right! He's the only one I've seen for now!

", Frankly speaking, a single person wouldn't normally plot to kidnap or hurt others. After a brief analysis, Chet spoke up.,

"I understand! I'll run a search on the car's license plate. You just need to keep an eye on him. Make sure to take note of everything that happens! Don't act rashly if he doesn't do anything suspicious. Miss Blanchard's safety is our number one priority. Besides that nothing else is important. Do you understand me? If anything happens to Miss Blanchard, we'll all be doomed!

",

"Understood!

",

"Keep in touch with me at all times!

", After he hung up the phone, Chet quickly dialed another phone number and left the office., Over at Lovely Scent, Alicia poured some drinks and had a delightful meal with Freya. They talked and laughed throughout the night, and most of their chatter was about the past. The atmosphere was unprecedentedly calm and pleasing.,

"I'll pay my sister and brother-in-law a visit once I'm in Ireland. Then, I'll go to the countryside to live in a small house with various kinds of flowers and plants. That way, I won't be so tired...

", It was as if she had already planned for the future. Freya's eyebrows had raised.

"In the future, my days shall be filled with joy and laughter!

", After dinner, someone delivered a few boxes to them. Freya signed for the delivery, then the two of them began to unpack the boxes. There were fragrances, a batch of alcohol wax and various gift boxes with smaller items too. Alicia and Freya counted the amount of boxes while labelling them. Right before they knew it, the sky had darkened., As the both of them spotted the two flashlights on the table, they began to examine the neighboring stores. It was quieter than usual; all the surrounding stores had their doors closed. The streets were slightly deserted, but the street lights were still on, and there was no power outage at all. Alicia was quite puzzled.,

"Aunt Freya, when will the blackout begin? Do you want to set these aside first and reorganize them tomorrow?

" It was already past eight, yet there wasn't any blackout, and all the neighboring stores were already closed!,

"They've been continuously inspecting the power station lately as it was undergoing rectification. In the past few days, they even posted a notice stating that there would be a blackout today. Is my shop connected to a different circuit? Look over there, it seems like one of the stores has a power outage. I'm worried that the fragrances will become volatile if I'm not done with the perfumes anytime soon! The key to a perfume is indeed its odor! We can't afford to move any closer to the residential area as the store is under a high-risk industry; it's for the sake of the residents' safety. I'm almost done with the perfumes. We can close the store once I've double-checked them!

", While explaining, Freya kept looking at the clock on the wall.,

"Exactly!

",

"Ally, aren't you tired? You should get some rest. There's no need for you to hurry!

" Freya took her hand and held it firmly.,

"I'm grateful for all your help, Alicia. It took me half a year to replenish my stock, but it's much easier with you around! I'm really getting older and slower,

" Freya said.,

"Aunt Freya, you're spouting nonsense again! There's no need for all those compliments. It is my duty to help you out too. If you need anything in the future, just let me know,

" Alicia replied. Frankly, there weren't many boxes on the ground. It was just that the materials were too complicated, so labeling and identifying them was troublesome.,

"It suddenly occurred to me that all my medicines have been used up! Ally, can you go to the pharmacy in front of the street and get me some mecobalamin medicine? It's supposed to help my tremors. My hands are constantly shaking every time I'm at work. My doctors say that I'm suffering from neuritis. If I don't take the medicine, I won't be able to work normally!

",

"Okay!

", Freya massaged her palms. As soon as Alicia took out some change, her phone rang.

"Express delivery?

", She turned around to Freya.,

"Aunt Freya, did you buy anything recently? The caller said that there's a courier waiting for you at the street corner with your order. They also mentioned that they had a lot of deliveries today and it wasn't convenient for them to drop it off at your store,

" she asked.,

"I did not! Was he mistaken?

" In that instant, Freya froze for a moment and thought.

"Or did I forget something?

", Was someone luring her out with these excuses? That shouldn't be the case! She wasn't certain, but she didn't completely deny it either.,

"It's okay, I'll go take a look since it's on the way to the pharmacy anyways.

" At the same time, Alicia also grabbed a pen knife.,

"I'll go check with the courier first! It might be a scam. After all, they even wanted you to pick it up yourself. Aunt Freya, I'll be leaving now! Don't worry about me. You should take a rest. I'll finish the rest when I come back. It won't take long, I promise!

", After muttering to herself, Alicia took off her apron and walked out. Without realizing it, Freya also chased after her.,

"Ally, Ahem.

", Freya pulled her back and held her hands firmly again.,

"What's wrong Aunt Freya? Why is your hand so cold?

" After all, she had been busy the whole day, so sweating was inevitable. She took off her coat and wrapped it around Freya's body.,

"You should take care of yourself! Women need to keep their own body warm at all times. Besides, it's better to feel warm than cold anyways.

",

"I'm fine! Calm down, you don't have to be too worried about me. Take care of yourself and watch out for traffic. Ally, you should always make sure you're safe at all times and look out for yourself too!

",

"I know! You should go in, it's freezing out here.

", As she waved her hand, Alicia left promptly., Freya pulled at her clothes as Alicia slowly disappeared from her sight. Her eyes started to tear, but she gradually curled her lips upwards. She felt relieved and peaceful at the same time; it was as if she had broken free from the chains that held her back., She stood at the entrance for quite some time before she decided to go back in. The minute she turned around, her gaze inadvertently landed upon a dark figure who was sneaking around Alicia's car. He lowered his head and ran away quickly to avoid any suspicions. He was dressed with a hood over his hat. Anyone would've known that the man didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention., Alicia's car wasn't parked by the road that day. Instead it was parked somewhere beside the roadside's flower bed. Moreover, there were two other cars parked beside hers. Speaking of which, both cars were covered from the front to the back. If she hadn't gone out, she probably wouldn't have seen it at all because most of the surrounding stores were closed that day while Freya's store wasn't. The curtains above the window were rolled down earlier. If she hadn't gone out, she wouldn't have noticed this., Freya's first intuition was someone had meddled with Alicia's car. Earlier, she seemed to have noticed some tools in the man's hand, and his actions were awkward. His swift movements were suspicious as well., He was extremely close to her car.

"If he wasn't there to steal Alicia's car, then he must've been sabotaging it! No one in their right minds would vent their anger by damaging a random car at a time like this, unless...

" She thought.,

"Unless they were in a hurry to put her in danger!

", Who would want to harm Alicia?, Freya bolted over to confirm her suspicions. She stopped at a corner and thought to herself. Wouldn't she alert the enemy if she went over? Besides, who knew what he would do if he noticed her!, Seemingly so, it was a better idea to inform Alicia about it so that she could handle it herself. Freya was certain that she would be cautious after she heard her advice., She took a step back and reentered her store., Alicia ran all the way to the pharmacy to buy medicine first before heading to the corner of the street. As expected, she saw a motorcycle nearby. The rider carried two big bags with him as if he was delivering some documents., She knew right off the bat that the courier delivery was a fraud after some inquiries. The address on the box weed Aunt Freya's store address, but it was said to contain a set of accessories. Furthermore, the delivery fees cost more than a hundred dollars. She rejected it, instantly! , Why on Earth would Aunt Freya purchase jewelry? And to have it delivered by a courier..., As she was about to walk back, her, eyes caught sight of Danica who turned into a nearby alley with a familiar, tall figure. The lights were slightly dim, but she noticed that it was a man beside her, and he was partially covered by the shadows. Alicia could only see a fleeting face, but the shape of his body... ,

"Frederick? Was that him?

" She mumbled to herself, She turned around and ran over. She lost sight of the two of them as soon as she crossed the street. She spun around to look for them when she suddenly heard a rustling sound, accompanied by a familiar female voice,,

"I hate you so much! How long do you plan to make me wait? To be clear, I know that you still care about my infertility.

",

"Well, you should quickly get her pregnant! That way, we don't have to conceal our relationship any longer... You won't have to deal with her anymore and we'll both be happy about it!

",

"Darling, what's so special about her? I despise the fact that you both are together!

",

"I know, Danica.

", Alicia was dazed by Danica's words as she leaned on the wall. Doubts started to flood her mind., Danica? She's in a relationship with Frederick?, What were they doing together? Were they secretly having an affair?, Frederick told me that he would be back within two days, didn't he? But he was uncertain with his word. Was he messing with me?, Was that really Frederick? Was his intention to meet Danica first, then only come back to see me tomorrow?, What was all of this really about?, Was Frederick really with Alicia because Danica couldn't bear a child? Was his true purpose to coax Alicia, lie to her, to play with her feelings, and finally snatch away the child that she would've given birth to? Was that his real motive?, No! It couldn't be!, Why would he plot against her? If all he wanted was a baby, wouldn't it be easier to find a surrogate mother?, Why would he go through all this trouble to plot a scheme against her?,

"Never! He isn't that type of person!

", Alicia wouldn't believe it!, He would never mess with her feelings., How could he be the second Jeremy? If there were no conflicts between Alicia and Frederick, then why did he treat her like this? What was the point of him lying to her?,

"I must've been mistaken! I must be!

" She thought., She continuously denied what she had heard. She turned her head sideways subconsciously and continued to spy on their conversation., However, the alley was too dark. She could only see a rough outline of two intertwined figures. The next thing she knew, a deep and familiar voice was heard.,

"We should create more problems, for her! For now, we just have to wait for her to bring us the medicine. We can't possibly expect this to be successful if we're not playing our cards right. Besides that, Grandma needs to have an explanation, so be obedient and bear with it for a little longer!

" ,

"What? Frankly, you men are all playboys! She's such a beauty, so why are all men so greedy?

",

"You really do understand me! I'll come to a decision after all of this, so don't worry about it!

", What a shameless beast!, Alicia had endured as much as she could, she was honestly going crazy.

"Frederick!

" She yelled in her mind.,

"Hurry up and leave!

", Before she could roar angrily in response to, Danica's footsteps, she heard a loud bang, and, she immediately turned around. A wave had burst out of Lovely Scent., of flames,

"No! Aunt Freya...

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