Chapter 13: Too close to ignore
851 Words
Alice told herself it was over.
That was whatever that moment was.
Whatever he thought he saw.
It would pass.
Men like Edwin Gulter didn’t dwell.
They moved on.
Focused on bigger things.
More important things.
So why did it feel like he hadn’t?
The office was unusually quiet that morning.
Not silent.
But controlled.
Alice sat at her desk, her fingers moving across her laptop with practiced ease, her expression calm, composed, Unbothered.
At least on the outside.
Inside?
Her thoughts were anything but steady.
“You’re doing it again.”
Audrey’s voice came from across the desk.
Alice didn’t look up. “Doing what?”
“Thinking too loudly,” Audrey replied, leaning back in her chair.
That made Alice pause.
Just briefly.
“I’m working,” she said.
“No,” Audrey countered. “You’re pretending to work.”
A small silence followed.
Then, Alice closed her laptop.
“Okay,” she admitted quietly.
Audrey raised a brow. “So?”
“He’s looking into me.”
Straight to the point.
Audrey didn’t stare in shock.
“Quick to realize,” she answered, “ men like him often have a long memory” when it particularly piqued his interest.
Alice clenched gently at the brink of the desk
“I wish to maintain his non-involvement”.
“You don’t get to decide that anymore,” Audrey said gently.
And that was the truth.
Later that afternoon,
Alice hopped on the elevator, and she sighed into silence as the doors shut.
She needs to get away, time to buy off the thought burning inside of her.
To breathe, to choose, and to reset.
Shortly after the elevator stopped and the doors were open, she sharply exhaled.
Him,
Standing right outside.
Like he had been waiting.
Alice didn’t move.
Not immediately, nor did he.
For a brief moment,
Time-warped,
Edwin made an entrance, shutting the door.
Instantly, the air felt tight.
Way thin.
Alice shifted slightly, turning her gaze forward, her posture straight, controlled.
“Coincidence?” she asked calmly.
A beat.
“I don’t believe in those,” Edwin replied.
Of course, he didn’t.
Silence settled between them.
Not empty, not awkward.
“Tense”.
“What do you want?” she asked again, her voice steady.
This time,
He answered immediately.
“You.”
The word landed heavier than expected.
Alice turned her head slightly, her brows pulling together.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is,” he said.
She let out a quiet breath, shaking her head.
“You don’t even know me.”
Edwin’s gaze shifted to her.
Sharp and Intent.
“That’s the problem.
A pause.
“I should,” he added.
Something about the way he said it—
Made her chest tighten.
Because there was a point to what he said.
He should.
She got to the last floor when the doors of the elevator opened.
Alice hurriedly walked out; she couldn’t take more than five steps.
“Why did you lie?”
Edwin spoke loudly,
His voice stopped her.
Not controlling, not harsh, but direct.
Alice closed her eyes briefly before turning back.
“I didn’t lie,” she said.
“You said we hadn’t met.”
A pause.
“We haven’t,” she replied.
Not entirely untrue, not entirely honest.
Edwin stepped closer.
Not invading, but not distant either.
“Then why does it feel like you’re hiding something?” he asked.
Alice held his gaze.
Steady and Unshaken.
“Maybe you’re just not used to not knowing everything,” she said quietly.
A flicker of something crossed his expression.
Interest Challenge.
“You’re different,” he said.
Alice didn’t respond.
Because that wasn’t a compliment.
It was a problem.
“Mom!”
The voice came out of nowhere.
Alice froze.
No.
She turned quickly—
Just in time to see him running toward her.
Her heart jumped.
Too fast, too sudden.
Before she could stop it—
He reached her.
And wrapped his arms around her.
“I missed you,” he said, overly excited with a huge smile wrapping his chubby face.
Alice’s hands instinctively held him close.
Protective, guarded, and Steady.
Her pulse said the almost opposite.
Just as she thought her emotions were steady, she slowly looked straight up.
Edwin was watching.
He couldn’t understand. His gaze slowly moved from Alice to the child, then back to her again.
There was a struck Not recognition.
But something dangerously close.
“Your son?” he asked.
The question was calm.
But the tension behind it—
Sharp.
Alice swallowed.
At that moment, she had imagined it before.
Feared it.
Prepared for it.
But now that it was here.
It felt different.
Real.
“Yes,” she said.
No hesitation, no fear.
Just truth.
Edwin nodded slowly.
But he didn’t look away.
His attention stayed on the child.
As if trying to understand something he couldn’t yet see.
“Hi,” the child said suddenly, looking up at him.
Alice’s breath caught.
And just like that—
Everything moved one step closer to the truth.
- Writer
