Staring at him, I couldn’t quite put my finger on the feeling, but wasn’t he just a little too obedient?


    Was it possible that he’d agree to anything I said?


    “Stay put; I’ll dry your hair,” I said, fetching the blow dryer and setting to work.


    He sat still as if he were a statue in the bathtub like he really was thatpliant.


    Skepticism crept in, and I decided to test him again. “You’re crashing on the couch tonight; I get the


    bed.”


    Colin nced back at me, his eyes a mix of innocence and allure.


    I expected resistance, but he simply nodded. “Okay.”


    “You’d agree to anything I say?” I prodded.


    He nodded again.


    “So, if I told you to jump off a bridge, you’d do it?” I couldn’t help but ask, curious.


    His body stiffened, he didn’t turn to face me, just nodded.


    razy…” I muttered under my breath, standing up to leave. “Come on, get out and go to sleep. You can


    sleep on the bed, but no funny business.”


    Iy in bed, waiting for ages before he finally emerged.


    He approached the bed hesitantly, then, clutching a pillow, seemed to resign himself to the floor.


    “The floor’s cold; take the bed,” I said, cocooned in my duvet.


    “I can’t…” His voice was low, a refusal.


    “Why not?” I asked, puzzled. After all, he had shared the bed with me for the first few days after


    I came back, and now that we had a kid, what was he ying at?


    “I could hurt you.” Colin whispered.


    “What?”


    “I have strong desires for you,” he said bluntly.


    Stunned, I pulled the duvet tighter around me. “Then, yeah, the floor is yours.”


    Perhaps it was the presence of another person by the bed. That night, I slept surprisingly well. When I


    woke up, it was nearly noon. Colin was still on the floor, looking worse for wear. Touching his forehead,


    I panicked and dashed out. “Hey, housekeeper! Call a doctor!”


    16:13


    Chapter BZ


    Colin was sick, seriously so, and had been unconscious for far too long.


    I felt guilty for having him sleep on the floor.


    But he seemed toopliant, actually taking my word and spending the whole night on the hardwood.


    Sitting on the couch, I rubbed my temples in a daze. My phone rang, and it took me a moment to snap


    out of it.


    “Hello?”


    “It’s me.” It was Ste on the other end.


    I straightened up. “Ste.”


    “Another one’s in trouble,” Ste’s voice was hoarse.


    “Who? Melody?” I asked, on guard.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    If the perpetrator’s motive was linked to the girls from the orphanage adopted in red dresses. then


    Melody was the only one left.


    “No.” Ste sounded exhausted. “Has Colin been with you recently? Around 1 AMst night, a jogger


    found a woman’s body by Boundless River, dressed in a red dress, pale as a ghost. We haven’t


    identified her yet.”


    “Colin’s been with me the whole time, doesn’t even have a cell…” I looked upstairs, where hey with a


    high fever, out cold all night, right under my nose, unable to be the killer.


    “If it’s not the original serial killer, someone’s mimicking them,” Ste said tiredly. “But regardless, the


    murderer is still atrge, and whether it’s Colin or not, they won’t stop until they’re caught. Melody really


    is the only lead, but Dexter is shielding her too well.”


    I knew Dexter was keeping Melody so close, meaning the police couldn’t use her to crack the


    case.


    This would make solving the case incredibly tough.


    “I don’t know what you’re after, but we need to get Dexter to let go of Melody first, then use her to catch


    the mastermind, or else there may be more victims.” Ste’s voice was raspy.


    From the time I died till now, she seemed obsessed with catching the killer. I knew she was tormented


    by her failure to protect me.