When Vanessa Sterling saw the shadow’s face clearly, it was like she had seen a ghost. The foot she had just stepped out of the door immediately retracted.

As she hurried to close the door, a large, well-defined hand landed on the edge of the door, preventing her action.

Vanessa swallowed in fear, dropped the trash bag in her hand, and grabbed the door handle with both hands, trying to shut the door.

But due to the disparity in strength, the door was forcefully pulled open, and the man squeezed his way in.

"What do you want?!" Vanessa’s voice trembled with a mix of anger and fear.

Miles Sterling, reeking of alcohol, looked down at Vanessa with bleary, intoxicated eyes.

After two seconds of stalemate, Miles said nothing and forcefully pulled Vanessa into his embrace.

Vanessa struggled in fear, "Let go of me!"

Her struggle only made Miles hold her tighter against him.

Miles pressed his chin firmly into her neck trench, drunk and slurring as he murmured, "Vanessa, I miss you... I miss you terribly..."

Vanessa’s back stiffened, her movements froze—not moved by his words, rather feeling eerie and scared.

The strong scent of smoke and alcohol emanated from Miles; he was clearly drunk at this point.

Seeing that Miles did not make any extreme moves, Vanessa cautiously tried to push him away.

Miles voluntarily loosened his grip, creating a slight distance between them, holding Vanessa’s arm, he looked down at her with blurry eyes and said, "You’re very afraid of me, aren’t you?"

Vanessa broke free from Miles’ hand, retreated half a step, her voice sounding calm yet faintly trembling, "Please leave."

Miles stood motionless, just staring at Vanessa, his gaze mixed with many emotions.

Guilt, pain, and unspeakable torment.

Vanessa remained guarded against him, like a frightened bird, ready to counter any move Miles might make.

After the silence, Miles spoke hoarsely, "Vanessa, don’t be afraid of me, please? I won’t hurt you anymore."

Upon hearing these words, Vanessa felt a chill down her back; she had long lost trust in Miles and naturally wouldn’t believe anything he said in his drunken state.

She didn’t need an apology from Miles, nor did she believe he would genuinely change.

All she hoped now was that they would live as though they had never met, leading separate, undisturbed lives.

As Miles looked at Vanessa, just as he was about to move forward, he saw Vanessa react drastically by taking a big step back.

The unease hidden in her dark eyes became even more apparent.

Seeing her reaction, Miles stopped his forward step abruptly, not daring to come closer.

That carefulness was something never before seen in Miles.

He retracted his step, voluntarily retreated a step, furrowing his brows as he watched Vanessa from afar, his mouth opened, hesitating yet remaining as cold as ice in silence.

A while later, Miles quietly said, "...Sorry."

After speaking, he turned around and staggered out of the door.

Vanessa stared at the closed door, standing frozen in the room for a while before coming to her senses, then walked over to the door to lock it.

Standing by the door with unrest, she slowly pressed her glasses against the peephole to observe outside, confirming Miles had left as the panic in her heart gradually dissipated.

Yet she stayed in the room for another half-hour before daring to go out to dispose of the trash.

With the previous lesson in mind, Vanessa opened the door even more cautiously this time.

She looked through the peephole again and again before daring to unlock the door.

She opened the door just a crack, tightly holding the handle, ready to close it at any moment, only sticking out half her head to check the situation.

Assuming Miles had already left, she opened the door only to find him still sitting against the wall by the door.

Vanessa’s first instinct was to shut the door, but as it was about to close, she suddenly paused.

Because Miles, who was leaning against the wall, seemed to pose no threat at the moment.

What was wrong with him? Was he playing the pity card?

Standing by the door observing for half a minute, Miles did not seem to be pretending.

All the abnormal events left Vanessa puzzled; she didn’t want to care about Miles but also didn’t want to leave a drunk at her doorstep.

At a loss, a neighboring tenant opened the door and came out.

It was a middle-aged woman, someone Vanessa had occasionally encountered coming and going.

The woman came out and said, "Young lady, I was just thinking of calling you, not knowing where the drunk sleeping at your door came from. Should we call security to have him taken away? Send him to the police station to sober up."

Vanessa pressed her lips, thinking that it wasn’t good to inconvenience so many people, so she replied, "...He’s a relative of mine."

"Oh, you know him, then. I said he didn’t look like a vagrant, dressed so neatly."

Vanessa smiled awkwardly, saying, "I’ll call someone from his family to come pick him up."

The woman scrutinized Miles sitting on the ground and then tentatively asked Vanessa, "...He’s not your boyfriend, is he?"

Vanessa was startled, quickly shaking her head, "No, just a distant relative."

Upon hearing this, the woman seemed relieved, smiling as she said, "So, you’re still single? I see you coming and going alone usually."

Vanessa smiled awkwardly, having a sense of what the woman was about to say.

Sure enough, the woman continued, "My cousin’s son is 25, he’s tall and handsome. Their family runs a clothing factory and they’ve been asking me to introduce someone to him. I’ve noticed you for a while, and you seem quite suitable."

Vanessa forced a smile and politely declined, "Thank you, Auntie, but I don’t have such plans at the moment."

"That’s alright, he’s in no rush to marry. You could start as friends; destiny brings two people together, and whether you can stay together depends on your relationship, right?"

Normally not skilled in social situations, Vanessa found herself momentarily at a loss for words. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

She naturally wanted to reject but didn’t know what words to use to be courteous.

The woman seemed harmless and kindly continued, "Just date for a few years, and if you’re compatible, getting married around 27 or 28 sounds about right."

In her predicament, Vanessa suddenly heard a muffled male voice saying, "She has someone..."

Vanessa and the woman both turned towards the voice to see Miles sitting on the ground and indicating himself with difficulty, "...I’m her boyfriend."