Entangled: Crisscross - Chapter 67

“He won’t believe it.” Sera immediately said when Chris opened the idea of her introducing him as her husband.

“Why? I thought I have all the excellent qualities of being a husband. Anyone would be proud to have a husband like me.”

She pursed her lips. “That’s not my point.”

“Then?”

“The old man is greedy.”

“You noticed that?” Chris lifted an eyebrow. “I was kidding. At most, you can introduce me as your bodyguard or something.” Chris said as he drove the car inside the parking lot of the hospital. “Or maybe even a boyfriend? It’s not weird that you have a boyfriend like me. I’m sure he won’t find it weird or something.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I am really good looking so…” he shrugged and her face darkened.

“Stop being so smug about your looks.”

“Hey! I was trying to describe myself.”

“Yeah, no one really describes themselves like that.”

Chris laughed and slowly parked the car. Then he got out of the car with her following him. After a few seconds, the two were already on the elevator that would lead them to the topmost floor of the hospital. “By the way, I will be away tomorrow and the day after. But I will call you. No need to worry. We had a few emergencies, and the board needed me.”

“It’s fine, you can concentrate on whatever it is that you want to do.” In her mind, the word peace seemed to dance.

“You are acting like you won’t miss me.”

“That’s because I won’t.”

He leaned towards her, his face too close she could feel his warm breathing against her cheek. “Really?”

“We are in the elevator.”

“huh?” He lifted an eyebrow. Then he smiled. ‘What are you thinking?”

“W—What? I was just— ”

“It’s alright to be shy. You will get used to it soon.”

“…” What the hell does that mean?

“As I was saying, no need to worry, I would call you all the time.”

“I’m not worried and you really are a bit clingy…”

“If I’m not clingy and you’re not clingy, then… how would our relationship grow? Without oxygen, the fire won’t last long.”

“…” Oxygen? Fire? What the hell was he talking about? Sera maintained her silence until they got out of the elevator and started walking towards her grandfather’s room. However, her footsteps halted when Cross suddenly moved in front of her. “Hey, what are you doing?”

“Something’s wrong…” Chris said, his grim tone surprised her. Was this the man that was just joking around a few seconds ago?

“What?”

“This place was crawling with… guards and nurses,” Chris said as he pulled his phone. “No signals.”

Sera took her phone and was surprised that he was right. There was no signal. She frowned. A signal jammer? She immediately eyed the CCTV camera.

“Let’s get out of here.” Without waiting for her to say anything, Chris already pulled her towards the emergency exit. This time, Sera didn’t complain or say anything. She just followed him down to the building.

However, she couldn’t help but wonder if he had been this observant before. He was a CEO and not some special spy, right?

“What’s wrong?” Chris stopped when he noticed that she stopped moving.

“I— ”

“I know you are weak, but damn. I didn’t know you are this weak.” He said, and lowered his body. “Come.”

“You… ”

“I’ll carry you down.”

“Mr. Quinn… ”

“Come!”

She stared at his broad shoulders. The urgency of his voice seemed to made her adrenaline boil. She walked towards him and secured herself into a piggyback ride.

“It’s not like you are heavy.”

She heard him say as she rested her head on his back, inhaling his familiar scent.

“You should do some exercises for your body. You don’t need flexibility as you are already flexible. You needed some cardio, though. I mean… how did you become so weak when you are really good in bed?”

“Shut up.”

“You could last long in bed but not on the stairs? This is making me wonder…”

“Shut up!” she hissed and slowly pinched his neck.

“You know that you are going to pay for that, right?”

Why was he talking about payback when they are in the middle of something like this? She fought the urge to say what was on her mind. Who knows if this man would suddenly drop her?

After a few minutes, they finally arrived in the parking lot and back to the car. Sera didn’t immediately ask him to leave the place as she opened her laptop and started hacking the hospital.

Just as she expected, the CCTV on the topmost floor had been turned off. Sadly, she couldn’t recover data that wasn’t there in the first place. “Let’s leave.” She had some methods to prove that she didn’t enter the old man’s room, but she could do it on her computer.

Chris mumbled something about lingerie but started driving, anyway. When they arrive, Sera immediately went to her computer and started checking the angles of the CCTV in the neighboring buildings. Right now, Sera wasn’t sure what was happening, but her first priority is to set up a strong, impenetrable defense for herself.

She had been through a lot of scheming to know that everything won’t end well if she would act like a dumbo.

“My people said, all the doctors were suddenly summoned by the directors for an emergency meeting,” Chris said.

People? Sera couldn’t help but feel that there is really something suspicious about the ‘people’ that Chris would always talk about. However, she felt that this is none of her business at all, so she chose not to ask any more questions.

“What about the nurses?”

“Some emergencies too and check this out, the only one occupying the topmost floor right now is your grandfather.”

Sera shrugged. It is always bad to assume the worst thing, but right now, she is almost a hundred percent positive that her grandfather is dead. And she—well she was supposed to be the suspect of his murder.

Yes, why else would they turn off the CCTV and remove all the other people if it was just a natural death? At least, she wasn’t that dumb to assume that everyone would be happy to hear about her grandfather’s death just after he announced her existence, right?

“He’s dead,” Sera calmly said. “The police might probably arrive here in a few minutes.”

“You seemed… too calm?”

She scoffed. Should she panic? It’s not like this was her first time being treated like a criminal?

“Should I cry?” It’s not like the old man was someone close to her. She went back to her computer and felt a bit weird. Was she acting too cold?

Sera always knew she was a bit weird and maybe a bit crazy and the fact that she felt nothing knowing that the old man died was the real evidence of this craziness inside her. Sometimes she wondered if she was some sociopath. She even wondered when had she became too detached from feeling any emotion towards other people.

She had become so indifferent. She found it scary. Was it because she had suffered and was used to how the world works?

“What are you doing? You’re not working, are you?” he sat next to her, looking at her with such curiosity in his eyes. It was as if he was reading a book.

“No. I am trying to check the hospital’s server. I want to try to… here you go.” She smiled. Here she goes. Using hacking as the best way to escape herself. Sera found out long ago that hacking, or doing something she had full control over, is enough to calm her down.

It was the best therapy for her damaged self.

“What is that?”

“Someone indeed hacked into the server and they haven’t left yet. I can track them… if I am fast enough.”

“And… are you?”

She snorted. In this world, the only thing she had control over was actually her computers. “Is that even a question?”

Since Sera was looking at the computer, she missed the worry that flashed in Chris’ eyes. She didn’t even hear him sigh as her fingers flew towards the keyboard.

Sera continued for a few minutes before she stopped. It seems that whoever hacked the CCTV was actually watching them earlier? They must have turned off the CCT when Sera and Chris left the top floor.

With this evidence, Sera was sure that no one would be able to frame her in the old man’s death. “I actually feel a bit… sad.” Sera blurted out while typing another series of codes.

“Sad?”

“I feel like the old man was the only thing that could give me the truth. If he really… died. Then… he died lying to me.” Was that some twisted feelings? Probably.

Did she sound twisted?

Yes, she does.

And she was very much aware of this.

She tilted her head and smiled at him. For some reason, she thought she would see some surprise in his face. But she saw none of this.

What she saw… immediately reminded her of Cross and how he would stare at her with that worried look in his eyes. This man… reminded her to Cross too much.

Was that the reason why she felt so attracted to Chris?