Chapter 90
Chapter 90
She would never do it, and she would never subject her son to such scrutiny and lies. Apollo must be kept a secret from Ethan, at least for now. A moment of pondering later, she called Ethan.
Ethan noticed her call, and he narrowed his eyes. Only after the phone rang for the third time did he pick up. “Yes?” he said, his voice as velvety and calm as usual.
He’s not even showing any surprise? Alice’s lips twitched. He sure can pretend nothing’s going on when he’s right behind me. “You’re coming back today, aren’t you? Have you landed?” asked Alice. There was a hint of happiness in her voice, and it sounded sweet.
“Hm?” Ethan was stunned for a moment, not just because of her question, but also because of the happiness in her voice. It sounded like she was a happy wife welcoming her husband home. That’s a big jump.
“I’m at the airport to welcome you back. Surprise! I don’t see you around, though.” She looked around, but she didn’t turn back.
Apollo watched his mother put on that show, then he looked at Ethan with scrutiny and realization. She knows that man, and they’re close. Or at least they share something special. Apollo had looked up Ethan on the net before, but he found no photos. Since he had never seen Ethan in the flesh before, he had no idea what Ethan looked like.
Ethan looked at Alice. She seemed like she was nervous, and he gave her a conflicted look. She’s here to welcome me? That’s her surprise?
“You’re not on this flight?” asked Alice again, sounding disappointed.
He looked at her. She wasn’t looking around anymore. Instead, she hung her head low, looking disappointed. Alice knew Ethan was right behind her, so he must be watching her, and she put on a
show. Something stirred in Ethan’s eyes, and he said, “Turn around.”
Alice turned around and looked for a while before finally resting her eyes on him. She then approached him, smiling. “Oh, you’re here. Wondered why I didn’t see you.”
Ethan looked at her, trying to see if there was any hint of her lying, but her smile was genuine and he couldn’t spot any falsehoods. He looked away and turned his sight to her phone. “Give me your phone.” He remembered she made a call before she went to the airport, and she received a call as well. That call is important. I think I can find something through it.
Alice froze, and her heart sank. I knew he wouldn’t take the bait that easily. There’s… “What do you want with my phone?” She blinked at him, but she refused to hand over her phone.
Ethan extended his hand silently, his intent clear.
“You’re suspecting me of something? Of what?” She thought he was being unreasonable. We’re just a fake couple. You don’t have the right to suspect me of anything. You don’t get to check my phone. She wouldn’t even have talked to him if she didn’t need to hide Apollo’s existence. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
Ethan didn’t like having his time wasted. He held her finger and pressed it down on the unlock button, then he took the phone from her.
Alice’s eyes went wide. How bossy can he be? There was her call history with Apollo on her phone. She didn’t delete it, but not because she wasn’t fast enough—it was because she was worried. She wasn’t sure how long Ethan had been tailing her. He might have seen her making a call. If she deleted that history, it might make him suspicious.
Ethan went straight to her call history, and Alice was now certain he had seen her making the call. Good thing I didn’t delete the record. Good thing I only made Apollo’s contact name simple. It’s just an exclamation mark. No matter how smart Ethan is, he can’t possibly figure out what that means. But I
wonder if he’s going to find something. She turned to the side and, through the corner of her eye, saw Apollo going into a restaurant in the airport.
Ethan noticed that call record, and he frowned. An exclamation mark? Who is this? He made a call to that number, turned the speaker on, and handed the phone to Alice, wanting her to take the call.
Alice wanted to yell at him, or even bite him. For some reason, ever since she met Ethan, she was overcome by urges to bite him—bite him to death, to be more precise.
No matter how precocious Apollo could be, he was still a seven-year-old boy. The moment he took the call, Ethan would know it was a boy. However, he would never know that I have a son. As long as he doesn’t call me Mom, I should be fine. He’s smart. He won’t call me that. Alice secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
“Alice? What is it?” someone said after the call went through. It was a woman’s voice. “I was just going to take a nap.”
Alice froze for a moment and realized what must have happened. Good job, son. You’re smart. “I’m all right. You catch some z’s.” He must have guessed Ethan would check my phone, so he asked someone else to take it.
The woman paused for a moment and said, “Sure. Bye.” And the call ended.
The woman in the restaurant handed Apollo’s phone back to him. “Is this a game? Are you alone? You should find your parents. Don’t wander around.” She was worried about Apollo.
“Thanks, pretty lady. You’re so kind and cute,” said Apollo. He knew his way around making people happy.
“Oh my, aren’t you sweet?” The woman broke into a smile at once and tossed all the questions she had about Apollo to the back of her head.
Ethan couldn’t find any clues through that call, so he went through her chat history.