Chapter 25

His finger froze right.

"Hey, Charles," Naomi called out when she reached Charles' side.

Charles turned to smile at her. "Hey, just got off your call?"

"Yes."

Charles turned back to the employee and nodded. "It's okay. My friend's back, so I won't bother you

anymore."

He knew better than to take up the employee's valuable time, but he had nothing better to do while waiting for Naomi. Now that Naomi returned, he decided to let the employee get back to his work. The employee nodded in appreciation and left.

Naomi watched his retreating figure and muttered, "You asked the right person, the employees here must know this place much better than we do."

The man Charles talked to looked to be close to his seventies, and clearly, he lived here for a very long time, so he would certainly have been able to give them good insight about Azalea Hills.

"Yes,

but I'll let him get back to his work for now. maybe I'll track him down later."

Naomi nodded, and the two of them resumed their walk around the compound.

The fog seemed to have gotten thicker, which only served to accentuate the lights coming from inside the bed and breakfast: The warm glow combined with the misty fog seemed to give Azalea Hills a tinge of mystery.

Naomi and Charles trudged slowly along the path, their footsteps echoing loudly in the silent night.

All of a sudden, a gust of wind billowed past, sending chills down Naomi's spine. She was not wearing a jacket, and she instinctively shuddered at the cold.

Charles quickly took off his jacket and draped it over Naomi's shoulders.

She froze, then tried to shrug it off. "It's okay, Charles."

"No, take it. How am I supposed to explain to your parents if you get sick? Don't you remember that I promised them I would take care of you this morning?"

Charles's hand was still on her shoulder and as he moved to draw his hand away, his fingers brushed against her soft skin.

This brief moment of contact made him momentarily falter.

Naomi still did not feel comfortable wearing his jacket like that. She found it uncomfortably intimate, but Charles's words made her realize that he was right. Charles was just being a good friend and did not want her to get sick.

Chapter 25

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Naomi glanced at the time and, realizing it was already 8 p.m., said, "It's late now, and it's getting colder by the minute. Let's go back. We still need to get up early tomorrow to continue the search. Take your jacket, Charles, I'll be fine. We're going back now."

With that, she took off his jacket and handed it back to hin

Where they were was only a short distance away from their room, and she could still hold it together until she reached her room.

Charles stared at her and took the jacket from her, smiling. "Okay,"

He was not at all annoyed at being turned down like that. On the contrary, her actions made him at

little less nervous,

Naomi was the same person as he first knew her; She treated everyone with respect and courtesy and never crossed the line. She did not change from the moment he knew her.

He draped his jacket over his arm and said, "Well, I'll suffer the cold with you. It feels quite refreshing. I feel rejuvenated already."

Naomi replied, "I used to come to Azalea Hills whenever I'm feeling down. Azalea Hills always seems to lift my mood."

With that, she gazed out at the night sky before her. The pitch darkness seemed to promise calmness. and serenity.

Charles stared at her, then gazed in the direction she was looking at. "You're right. I should start coming here whenever I feel down too."

Naomi chuckled. "Well, I'd rather you not feel down at all."

"You know what? You're right again."

The two of them continued trudging along the path.

Meanwhile, at Brook Mansions, the house was finally alit, but silent as ever.

Scott stood, frozen, as the phone speaker continued to play out Naomi and Scott's conversation.

He was wearing a pair of khaki pajamas, with one hand in his pocket and the other clutching a glass of water. He stared out the window solemnly.

This night seemed a little different from all the others.

For some reason, the house felt empty.

Scott raised the glass to his lips and took a sip.

The cold water flowed down his throat and seemed to seep into every fiber of his being.

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