The Girl He Left Behind Chapter 09

The Girl He Left Behind Chapter 09

As expected, Evan couldn’t resist and came over personally.

At 1 AM, he snuck into my house.

It was my rental, and his fingerprint could still unlock the door.

I slept deeply under the covers. The bed was neat. No men’s things anywhere.

On the nightstand sat crumpled tissues and a photo of us.

Satisfied, Evan left.

But he had no idea I was pretending to sleep.

The camera on the desk was recording his every move.

If he so much as touched me, Caspian—watching from the garage—would bolt up.

Evan drove to meet Caspian at a convenience store.

“Sorry about earlier, man. I misjudged you,” Evan said.

“It’s fine.”

“What about your date?”

“She got tired. Didn’t want to come out.”

“Her voice really sounded like Iris. Introduce her to us sometime.”

Caspian said nothing.

Evan looked haggard. “Caspian… should I just go back?”

—

“Why?”

“I can’t sleep lately.” He took a swig of his drink, eyes red.

“When I was with Iris, I always thought she was too controlling. Now that I’m free, and everything feels wrong…”

“I haven’t slept properly in days.”

“I heard she hasn’t asked about me all week. I’m… I’m scared I messed up.”

Caspian comforted him.

“She hasn’t given up. She was about to file a police report, actually.”

“No way—that would blow everything!”

“I stopped her. She’s been under the weather this week, just hasn’t had the energy.”

“Is she okay?”

“Just a cold. Nothing serious.”

Evan sighed. “I regret it. Making Iris suffer like this…”

“Don’t say that.” Caspian kept his voice steady. “Remember how she’d never let you go drinking late? Always fighting you about Celeste? This will straighten her out.”

“So I should…”

“Listen to Celeste. Keep her waiting a little longer.”

—

After Evan left, Caspian pulled his phone from his chest pocket.

“How’d I do?” he asked me nervously.

“Perfect. Exactly as I instructed.”

I watched the video feed, a slight smile curling my lips.

“Come home. Your reward awaits.”