Areli was utterly bewildered by the scene unfolding before her.
This situation was unbelievable. How could two people who were always at odds end up like this?
“Areli, it’s not what you think,” Judith said hurriedly as she rushed to the table to turn off the computer and then returned to Areli.
“I had official business to discuss with Darnell. The police station is too public, so I brought him home to talk.”
“He spilled coffee all over himself, so I told him to take a shower to avoid feeling uncomfortable.”
“He didn’t have any clothes with him, so I gave him a bedsheet to wrap around himself as makeshift clothing. I was wearing home clothes because I was cleaning the house…”
At that moment, Darnell, oblivious to the tension, raised the small underwear in his hand. “Captain Meech, where should I put this?”
“Shut up!” Judith wanted to bang her head against the wall when she saw Darnell holding her wet black cat-patterned underwear.
How was she going to explain this? Should she say it wasn’t hers or that it was left behind by accident?
Judith snatched the underwear and kicked Darnell. “Who told you to take it out?”
Darnell dodged her kick and weakly said, “It’s not good to leave underwear in the bathroom. It can breed bacteria. It’s better to wash it immediately.”
“Besides, if I didn’t take it out, you might think I did something bad with it.”
Then he looked at Areli and smiled, “Miss Fanshaw, what brings you here?”
“I came to bring Judith some late-night snacks,” Areli replied with a forced smile, putting an arm around her friend’s shoulder. “But it seems I shouldn’t have come. I’m interrupting your intimate moment.”
“You shouldn’t have kept this from me. I’m not an outsider, after all. Disturbing someone’s private time makes me feel so bad.”
Judith quickly closed the door and shook her head repeatedly. “Areli, it’s not like that…”
“Alright, we’re all adults here. If you’re in love, just admit it,” Areli said with a knowing smile. “How does your first love feel? Is it special? We’re best friends. Don’t hide it from me.”
Judith felt like crying. “Areli, it’s not like that…”
Darnell chimed in as well, “Exactly, Captain Meech and I are innocent. We haven’t done anything yet.”
Not having done anything meant they were just short of doing it?
Judith lost her temper. “Shut the fuck up!”
“Alright, stop arguing,” Areli said with a sigh as she patted her friend’s head and smiled. “We’re all adults here. There’s nothing wrong with men and women being together. You don’t need to explain anything to me.”
“One is my best friend, the other is my assistant. You didn’t do anything wrong, so you owe me no explanation.”
Although Areli’s smile was bright and her words lighthearted, she felt an inexplicable sadness in her heart.
“Areli, we are really innocent,” Judith insisted. “I wouldn’t be interested in this weirdo even if you beat me to death.”
Darnell weakly added, “Exactly, Miss Fanshaw. There’s nothing between us. Although she took off her own underwear, we didn’t do anything.”
“Darnell!” Judith feared Darnell would make things worse and quickly silenced him. “Idiot! If there’s any misunderstanding because of you, I’ll kill you.”
Darnell shrugged helplessly and remained silent.
“Alright, alright,” Areli said soothingly. Although the scene was hard to explain as a coincidence, she could see that Judith didn’t seem very fond of Darnell. She relaxed a bit and smiled at her friend.
“It’s late at night. Don’t argue anymore. I believe you. Darnell is a complete idiot. My best friend won’t be interested in him.”
Judith breathed a sigh of relief and gratefully hugged Areli. “Areli, thank you for believing and understanding me.”
“If it weren’t for you tonight, there would have been a real misunderstanding. My twenty years of innocence would have been ruined.”
“Honestly, I don’t mind being misunderstood. But not just anyone can be with me. Even if this man were a buy-one-get-one-free deal, I wouldn’t want him.”
Areli glanced at Darnell. “He’s odd but has a decent character.”
“Miss Fanshaw, you have sharp eyes.” Darnell couldn’t help but give Areli a thumbs-up. “Since that’s the case, do you want me?”
“Get lost!” Areli snapped irritably. “I’m not interested in picking up trash.”
Darnell clicked his tongue and commented appreciatively, “You’re a true strong woman, insulting without using foul language.”
Judith immediately sided with Areli. “Areli is right. Anyone who chooses you as a boyfriend must be blind.”
To emphasize her point again, she repeated, “I can guarantee that any woman who chooses you as a boyfriend must be blind.”
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang again unexpectedly. Judith was slightly taken aback by another visitor at this hour as she opened the door.
“Aunt Emily?”
Outside stood a middle-aged woman with an unpleasant expression on her face, who was around forty-five years old but radiated charm.
She wore a black suit skirt that accentuated her long legs and curvaceous figure perfectly despite only slight crow’s feet in her eyes.
Judith asked, “Aunt Emily, how did you find this place?”
As Darnell and Areli stepped back to make space for her entry into the room, this middle-aged woman exuded an air of authority akin to an empress dowager.
“Judith! Do you still consider me your aunt? Why did you disappear without notice from the arranged date?”
“Why did you secretly move out and tell your mother not to give me the address?”
“What did I ever do wrong by trying hard to find good matches for your sake?”
“Wasn’t it because your mother begged me repeatedly? And yet here I am exhausted arranging everything while all my efforts go wasted!”
Darnell looked at Emily with admiration. She seemed to be the first person to make the fierce Judith look defeated. He felt it was essential to seek some advice from this middle-aged woman.
“If tonight wasn’t for Cole calling me, I wouldn’t even know about your absence! He even blamed me for this!”
Emily continued scolding Judith, “Do you know how embarrassed I was?”
“Emily, I happened to have a task tonight, so I turned off my phone…”
Darnell noticed surprisingly how usually assertive Judith now appeared meek.
Emily’s face remained stern. “You always use ‘having a task’ as an excuse! Do you really think Whiteville can’t function without you?”
“I’m very dissatisfied with your attitude. Tomorrow, I’m going to complain to your mother, and when your dad returns from Goldkeep, I’ll report you to him as well.”
At this, Judith shivered and quickly waved her hands. “No! Emily, it’s my fault. I apologize. I’ll explain everything to Cole.”
Then, biting her lip, she continued, “To be honest, the reason I’m not going on blind dates is that I already have a boyfriend. It wouldn’t be appropriate to go out to dinner with Cole.”
“The reason I didn’t tell you is that I felt the timing wasn’t right. Our relationship isn’t stable yet, so I didn’t want you to meet him.”
Emily scoffed, “That excuse sounds like something you learned from a romance novel.”
“I swear, I’m not lying to you.”
Judith grabbed Darnell, who had been watching the drama unfold. “This is Darnell. He’s my boyfriend.”
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask Areli.”
Judith pulled Areli over as well. “Areli, tell Emily. Darnell is my boyfriend, and we were just about to have sex…
Darnell froze in place.
Areli’s mouth dropped open in shock.