Becoming Strangers Again by Lily

Chapter 164

LILY

Sitting in the back seat, | kept myself occupied by responding to a few messages from Ryan. We chatted for

nearly the entire drive until he letknow he had to step into a meeting. With a quick "talk later," | pocketed

my phone and shifted my attention forward. | looked at the driver, feeling a bit curious about him. "Clover,

right?" | asked, hoping to start a conversation. I've never been one to ride in silence if | can help it, and | could

only imagine that driving a stranger around might feel a bit awkward. He nodded, "Yes, my nis Clover."

| smiled, folding my hands. "That's a pretty unique name. Is there a story behind it?" | asked, genuinely curious. |

hadn't cacross anyone named Clover before, at least not in my adult life, and | found it refreshing.

He glanced back atthrough the rear-view mirror, a small smile on his face. "No story, ma'am. | think my

parents just liked the name." He paused, then chuckled softly, as if the idea of his parents choosing it on a whim

amused him. "Something funny?" | asked, raising an eyebrow.

He nodded, a small grin on his face. "Yeah. | was in New York last week, and someone else thought my nwas

strange and unique, too."

"Oh..." I smiled. "So I'm not the only one, then. Still, it's a nice name."

He murmured a quick thanks, and the conversation trailed off. For the rest of the drive, silence took over, but it

was a tense silence, made worse by the glances he kept sneaking atthrough the rear-view mirror.

After a few minutes, I'd had enough. The next this eyes met mine in the mirror, | shot him a sharp look. "Do

you have something you want to say to me?"

He looked startled, quickly diverting his gaze and clearing his throat. "I'm sorry if | made you uncomfortable,

ma'am," he stammered. "I didn't mean anything by it."

| leaned forward slightly. "I don't need an apology. | just want to know why you keep looking atlike that. If

there's something on your mind, spit it out."

He hesitated, swallowing nervously before speaking. "Well, actually... | was hoping | could make a quick stop at a

store, just right on our path."

| raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Excuse me? Did | hear that right?"

He cleared his throat, looking slightly uneasy. "I just want to pick up something from a friend, that's all."

| stared at him, barely hiding my disbelief. Was he serious? "So, letget this straight. You wantto let you,

make a detour and stop somewhere unfamiliar, just so you can pick up something?"

He shook his head quickly. "No, no," he said, stumbling over his words. "I promise, we're not going off route. The

store's right along our path, and she'll be waiting by the roadside. | won't even need to step out of the car. |

swear, it'll just be a quick stop."

| glanced at my watch, calculating how much twas left before the school day officially ended. "You have less

than three minutes," | said firmly. "You're not changing directions, you're not getting out of the car, and just so

we're clear, | have 911 already typed out on my phone. If you try anything-anything at all-I'll call them in a

heartbeat."

He nodded, looking both nervous and relieved. "Yes, ma'am," he agreed with a nod, his tone grateful. "And thank

you for lettingpick it up."

We continued the drive in silence for the next five minutes. While he seemed to settle back into a relaxed state, |

couldn't say the sfor myself. | stayed alert, keeping my eyes on him and watching for any hint of strange

behavior. Every glance he threw toward the rear- view mirror, every subtle movement of his hands on the wheel-I

noted it all.

A few minutes later, he pulled over to the side of the road, just as he'd said he would. There, a young woman,

who I'd noticed waiting by the roadside, hurried over to his window.

Clover rolled down his window, accepted the bag with a quiet thank you, and immediately continued driving. But

my eyes were glued to that bag.

After a moment, | made up my mind. "Open the bag," | instructed.

He blinked, his eyes flicking up to meet mine in the rear-view mirror, confusion etched across his face. "Ma'am?"

"I said, open the brown bag," | repeated. "I need to make sure you're not transportingand... whatever that is,

in the scar. For all | know, that could be drugs or something illegal." Clover's face paled, and he held up his

hands slightly as if to calm me. "I promise, ma'am, it's nothing illegal. Just spersonal items. | didn't mean to

make you suspicious." "Then you won't mind opening it," | replied, my gaze unflinching.

He chuckled lightly. "I promise,

up

ma'am, I'm not transporting drugs." To prove his point, he pulled over to the side of the road again, picked the

bag, and carefully tore it open. Reaching inside, he pulled out a bottle of perfume, holding it up forto see.

Then he crumpled the bag to show it was empty before offering the perfto me.

| waved a hand, declining. "It's fine, | don't need to touch it."

He nodded, placing the bottle on the passenger seat before smoothly pulling back onto the road.

sok AARk

At last, we arrived at the school, but before I left, | knew | owed him something. Taking a deep breath, | looked

over at him. "I want to apologize," | said. "For assuming you were carrying something illegal."

He shook his head, brushing it off with a warm smile. "No need to apologize, ma'am. You were just being

cautious, and | admire that."

| nodded, feeling a bit lighter after his response. "Right. I'll be back shortly." With that, | stepped out, grateful for

his understanding.

Picking up Liam and Noah, I couldn't help but notice how disheveled they looked. Their hair was messy, their

faces pale, and their usual energy seemed drained. Concerned, | immediately tracked down their teachers to find

out what had happened. "They both had a bit of a fever, ma'am," the teacher explained. "They were in the

school clinic all day."

My brows furrowed with worry as | quickly reached for Liam's forehead, checking for any sign of fever. "Why

didn't anyone call me?" | asked, my voice rising slightly in concern.

The teacher seemed apologetic. "It wasn't that serious, and the fever calmed down really easily."

Still, | wasn't satisfied. "You should have called me," I insisted. "Next time, the moment either of them starts

feeling sick, you callright away."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, nodding in understanding.

| guided the kids back to the car, still feeling a little uneasy, but we resumed our journey home. As we drove, |

focused on keeping the boys comfortable, trying to distract them from their discomfort.

Halfway through the drive, Clover cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "So, ma'am," he said, his voice a bit

hesitant. "The perfume... it's actually for sale."

| shifted my gaze from Ethan, who had been lying quietly on my chest since we got into the car. "I beg your

pardon?" | asked, not sure | had heard him correctly.

He glanced atnervously, then

spoke up again. "The plan is to open

a perfline, and I'm already

working on it with my team. We've produced a sample, and I've already given one to Mr. Amell. I'd like to

offer you this one for sampling."

He reached for the perfbottle on

the passenger seat and handed it

over to me. Impressed by his m

os QUILL

ambition, | obseuetikepackaging. I

ARyhothS into marketing, but | think

the container could use a different

. 1 "

design," | noted. "Mr. Amell

f : "

mentioned the sthing," he

q q a A

replied, his tone relieved that | hadn't

been critical. The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

Curious, | opened the cap, sprayed a little on my wrist, and inhaled deeply. "The scent isn't bad," |

complimented, genuinely impressed.

He smiled, looking pleased. "Thank you, ma'am."

I" | : P aon

So, I'm going to use it for a while," |

said, slipping the perfinto mH

If | like it, Ik reofanénd]

bag. "If | Ike ity lik neo it to

my, Fushard and my best friend, and

| . I"

I'l put in a good word for you, too.

I" [ [1

Thank you so much, ma'am.” The

content is on novelenglish.net! Read

the latest chapter there!

I nodded, turning my attention back

to Ethan as we continued the drive.

But as tpassed, | started to feet

an CERI drowsiness) {

creapind\ver me. At first, | tried to

fight it, telling myself to stay awake,

but it becharder with each

passing minute. The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

Something doesn't feel right.

I shook my head, trying to clear the fogginess. Something was off. | was sure it wasn't just exhaustion from the

day but something else.

Without wasting another moment, | tapped the pre-typed 911 number on my phone and before | could even go

further, sleep overtook me, and | slipped into a deep, unplanned slumber.