Chapter 132 You Know Something?

Chapter 132 You Know Something?

Nara closed his book when he noticed a black car parked a few meters away from where he sat. He’d originally come here to invite Nelsy to lunch. But the sight of that familiar car made him lower his book right away. Normally, he wouldn’t react at all. But only because he recognized the person who stepped out of it.
It was…
Gaara Maxwell.
Nara narrowed his eyes as the young man walked into the shop he’d been quietly observing all this time. He watched Gaara approach Nelsy, who happened to be arranging a bouquet for a customer sitting at the waiting table. Gaara didn’t look like he was planning anything dangerous. Instead, he stood there with his arms crossed, wearing the expression of someone who had zero patience for watching Nelsy work.
To Nara, Gaara Maxwell wasn’t a threat the way Vinson was. The guy had no history of interest in Nelsy, and Nara knew every girl Gaara had ever gotten close to. Maybe Nara did sound like a stalker, but his habit of watching people from afar, of studying them from behind the scenes, helped him understand the people he dealt with better than most.
Without realizing it, Nara was already on his feet, leaving the table behind and crossing the street to the flower shop he’d been monitoring from a distance. Normally, he wasn’t the type to interfere. But if it involved Nelsy, he made exceptions. He knew what he was doing made zero sense. But for Nelsy, he didn’t care. Even if it meant eavesdropping on their conversation.
Once she finished her task, Nelsy spun around with her hands on her hips.
“So, what’s up? It’s rare for you to show up in person. You usually call if you want to order flowers.” She didn’t even notice Nara pretending to browse through the flowers, which honestly confirmed he might be gifted at stalking.
“I need to talk to you,” Gaara said, glancing around. His gaze passed right over Nara, who was clearly in view. When Gaara didn’t react, Nara knew he didn’t recognize him. “But not here.”
Nelsy raised a brow. “Sure, but let me finish helping that customer first.” She pointed right at Nara, who had his back turned to them. “Then I’ll listen to whatever you wanna say.”
“No. We need to talk now.”
“Alright then, what is it?” Nelsy stared straight at him.
From the corner of his eye, Nara saw Gaara remove his glasses and lower his head. His face shifted into something heavy, like he was thinking about a life or death situation.
“I’m literally aging over here, Gaara.” Nelsy tapped her foot in irritation.
Gaara shot her an annoyed look. “You’re close with Esther, right?”
For some reason, Nelsy smiled the moment he said her name. “Hmm… kind of. Why?”
“I need you to be honest with me about her.”
Her smile vanished. The mood instantly shifted. The way Gaara stared straight at her said everything. Her lips tightened.
“Have I ever lied to you before?” she challenged.
“You know something about Esther and Vinson?”
Even if Nara had still been sitting across the street, he would’ve seen the way Nelsy’s expression shifted a full one-eighty. She tried to hide it with a smile, but Gaara clearly spotted the anxiety written all over her face. That was the curse of being expressive. She was like an open book anyone could read.
“They hate each other. You know that, right?” Nelsy said, pretending to touch a sunflower within reach.
“Nelsy…” Gaara’s voice sharpened into a warning.
“What? I—I don’t know anything, Gaara. You should ask Vinson. He’s your friend.”
“I already went to his place, but he wasn’t there. You’ve been closest to him since you were kids, and lately you’ve been close to Esther too.” Nara rolled his eyes at that line. “That’s why I came here.”
“I don’t know anything, Gaara. Look, I wanna get lunch, I’m starving. You wanna come with me? We can talk about it slowly over food…”
Nara swore silently under his breath. He’d come here to invite Nelsy to lunch, yet somehow Gaara ended up getting the invitation instead.
“No. I don’t want that. I didn’t come here for small talk. I just want an answer to my question,” Gaara interrupted without hesitation.
He stepped closer now, clearly demanding an answer.
“It’s not my place to say…” Nelsy’s voice dropped so low that even Nara couldn’t make out the words from where he stood. “…this isn’t my story. It belongs to them. I’m just an outsider. I have no right to talk about it.”
If Nara had seen her lower lip trembling, tears forming at the corners of her eyes, he might’ve jumped in and started a fight right then and there.
Gaara inhaled deeply. He sounded like he couldn’t believe the words coming out of his own mouth. “Yes or no? Did Vinson make some kind of bet with Esther to… to make me fall…” He spat the word like it was poison. “…in love with her?”
Nelsy shook her head.
“Answer me!”
Nelsy was crying now, trying to push Gaara away. She didn’t want his hands on her, didn’t want the pressure, didn’t want to be cornered by his voice sharpened with anger. But Gaara didn’t back off. He grabbed her wrist, holding her in place, yanking her like a marionette while she sobbed.
“Stop crying. Answer me first.”
That was the moment Nara stepped in.