Chapter 163 Lilian Baker

Chapter 163 Lilian Baker
The house was unusually quiet after my conversation with Susan. Or maybe it wasn't.

Maybe my mind was simply too loud to notice anything else.

I couldn't stop replaying her words.

Pretend you didn't see anything until you've seen enough.

Who said things like that and just looked away as if she hadn't said anything? And why had she sounded so... certain?

She wasn't confused. She wasn't absent-minded. She was completely certain.

I had spent months convincing myself that Susan's strange comments were simply the result of whatever illness everyone insisted she had. Now I wasn't so sure anymore.

The more I thought about it, the more I questioned everything.

Maybe the problem wasn't Susan. Maybe it was everyone else. Maybe she knew way too much and someone insisted to keep her quiet by making her look crazy.

Wow! Everything was becoming too much for me to handle all at once.

What if Susan herself was pretending to be ill just to watch more and get enough evidence against everyone. Everyone including Martha.

Martha.

For God's sake, why?

Why did she get tangled with Derek again? How did she get to the stage of letting him kiss her?

That part irritated me.

Because I warned her. I warned Martha. I told her to stay away from Susan's husband but she didn't listen.

Now, Susan knew and pretended not to know.

What was I supposed to do?

Support infertility because my mother was involved? Or support Susan because she was the victim?

I was still sitting on the sofa, absentmindedly staring at the untouched cup of tea in front of me, when Susan suddenly stood.

"Oh,” she said as if she had just remembered something important. "I almost forgot."

I looked up, hoping she was still mentally normal.

She turned toward the staircase.

"Andrew!" Her voice echoed through the house.

Andrew?

Why was she calling Andrew?

My heart skipped a bit but I remained physically composed.

A few seconds later, Andrew appeared at the top of the stairs wearing a grey hoodie and dark jeans. His car keys spun lazily around one finger as he descended each step.

He stopped when he noticed me but he quickly recovered from the mild surprise.

Susan smiled warmly. "I need a favour."

Andrew nodded without hesitation. "What is it?"

"My sister called earlier," Susan said before reaching into the pocket of her cardigan and pulling out a neatly folded piece of paper. "She has something for me."

Andrew accepted the paper. "I can pick it up."

"It's at the outskirts of town."

"That's fine."

"I don't want you going alone."

Before I could wonder why she was saying that, Susan turned toward me.

"Lily."

A strange feeling settled in my stomach.

"Yes?"

"I want you to go with Andrew."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"Please," she said softly.

"I..." I immediately searched my brain for an excuse.

"I don't think I can."

"Why not?" Susan asked with disappointment on her face.

"I have..." I glanced toward the staircase as if inspiration might be hiding there. "Homework."

"It won't take time. You can always finish up when you're back."

I opened my mouth to talk but nothing came out.

Think, Lily. Think.

Andrew and I weren't in the social position to be in the same car.

How would it even be?

"I..." I sighed. "I really don't think I should go."

Not after everything. Not after the basketball game. Not after his office. Not after how angry he'd been.

The last thing I wanted was to trap both of us inside a car for an hour. That sounded less like an errand and more like a punishment.

Before Susan could answer, another voice spoke.

"Why?"

I turned.

Andrew had reached the bottom of the stairs.

He was looking directly at me.

He wasn't angry. If anything, he looked confused.

"Why don't you want to come?"

"What?"

Was he seriously asking me that?

Why was he asking me why when he obviously didn't want to be in the same car with me?

He was the one mad at me and Lewis, not the other way round.

“It looked like you're avoiding me intentionally,” he said calmly.

I stared at him in disbelief.

This wasn't making any sense.

Was this the same Andrew who had spent the last few days glaring at Lewis and me?

The same Andrew who had practically declared our fake relationship a public disaster?

The same Andrew who had barely looked at me unless he was correcting something I'd done?

Now he was asking why I didn't want to go somewhere with him?

Had I accidentally entered another universe?

"I didn't think..."

"You didn't think I wanted you there?"

Yes, that was exactly what I thought.

Whenever I got close, something happened. Then he'd become distant. Then I'd become stubborn. Then we'd argue. Then we'd avoid each other.

"I just thought you'd rather go alone."

He looked genuinely puzzled.

“If I wanted to go alone, I would have turned the offer down immediately,” he said.

That answer only confused me more.

I searched his face for signs of annoyance. There weren't any.

No irritation. No impatience. No lecture waiting to happen.

Susan glanced between us, clearly amused.

"I think she'd be good company."

Andrew looked at me again. "So?"

I hesitated.

Every sensible part of my brain screamed at me to refuse. Lewis and I had just started convincing people our fake relationship was real. So spending hours alone with Andrew wasn't exactly helping.

If anyone saw us, more rumours, more misunderstandings, and more complications might stir up again.

But another part of me… The stubborn and curious part wanted answers.

Maybe this trip would finally give us a chance to have a normal conversation without involving everyone around us.

I looked at Susan, then back at Andrew.

Finally, I nodded.

"I'll go."

The corners of Susan's lips lifted immediately.

"Perfect."

She sounded too excited for someone who just believed it was an errand.

Andrew gave a small nod as though he'd expected that answer all along.

"I'll grab my jacket."

He headed toward the hallway.

I watched him disappear around the corner before turning to Susan. She was smiling to herself as if something had gone exactly according to her plan.

A strange feeling crept into my chest.

"You planned this."

She looked at me innocently. "Plan what?"

"This."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do."

She simply laughed softly. "I only asked for a favour."

I wasn't convinced, not even a little.

Ever since our conversation a few minutes ago, I had started looking at people differently, listening differently and watching differently.

And right now, Susan looked less like an absent-minded woman asking for help and more like someone quietly moving pieces across a chessboard.

The frightening part was that I couldn't tell whether Andrew knew he was one of those pieces. Or whether he was also playing the game with her.

Either way, as I watched him return with his jacket and car keys, one thought echoed quietly through my mind.

This trip wasn't going to be as simple as picking up a package from Susan's sister. Somehow, I was certain it was about to change everything.