"Who is it?"

Norah walked briskly into the entryway. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Gonzalez. "You're back early!"

Adrian snapped his head toward Norah. "Why is he here?"

Circe bounded toward Gonzalez, her tail wagging wildly as she purred and rubbed against his legs.

Gonzalez bent down slightly, scooping the cat up with one arm. In his other hand, he held a bakery box. Ignoring Adrian entirely, he strode right into the living room.

Adrian stared in utter disbelief at how comfortably Gonzalez navigated Norah's home. His shock rapidly morphed into fury, heavily laced with a sudden, suffocating panic.

Norah quickly tried to explain. "Gonzalez is my neighbor."

"What?" Adrian was dumbfounded.

Norah gave a sheepish laugh. "I only found out after I moved in!"

Adrian let out a harsh, bitter scoff. "You only found out later? And now he just comes and goes in your apartment as he pleases?"

Gonzalez stopped walking and turned around. The frigid, dark intensity of the night sky seemed perfectly mirrored in his eyes as he locked onto Adrian. "Watch your

tone when you speak to her. Who gave you the right to interrogate her?"

Adrian seethed. "Do you even know what you're doing, Mr. Hanson? You're supposed to be her senior!"

He emphasized the word 'senior' with deliberate, grinding hostility, practically spitting

it through his teeth to remind the man of the generational gap between them.

Compared to Adrian's explosive rage, Gonzalez remained terrifyingly calm and

composed, though his voice was absolute ice. "Because I'm her senior, it's my job to look out for her. Is that a problem?"

*Is that a problem?*

Adrian wanted to lunge forward and punch the man squarely in the jaw. Yes, it was a massive problem!

How did he have the nerve to even ask that?

Hearing the commotion, Sara and Khloe hurried out of the dining room.

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

When Sara registered who was standing in the living room, her jaw dropped. "Mr. Hanson!"

Seeing Sara and Khloe, the hostile tension rolling off Gonzalez lessened slightly. "You're having a party?"

"Yeah," Sara said, forcing a polite

smile. "Khloe missed Norah's

housewarming when we celebrated

Back from

last time, and she just got

a work trip, so we decided to get

together tonight."

She paused, her confusion evident. "What are you doing here, Mr. Hanson?"

Gonzalez looked at Norah, his voice cool and measured. "I'm her neighbor."

Sara stared at him, stunned.

Lost in her own thoughts, Norah jolted back to reality and nodded. "Yeah. He lives right next door."

Adrian stood in stony silence, his face dark as a thundercloud. The air in the room was thick with awkwardness.

Sara broke the deadlock with a loud, forced laugh. "What a crazy coincidence! You guys are neighbors!"

Norah nodded again. "I didn't even know until I'd been here for a week."

"Well, since we all know each other," Sara offered, trying to smooth things over, "Have you had dinner yet, Mr. Hanson? Why don't you stay and join us?"

Gonzalez's dark eyes swept over Norah. "No need," he said flatly. "I have a business engagement tonight. Norah was just doing me a favor by watching Circe. I'll take her off your hands now. Enjoy your evening."

He set the cake down on a nearby table, adjusted his grip on the cat, and headed for the door.

Norah instinctively stepped forward to walk him out, but seeing Sara already rushing

to follow him, she stopped and stayed where she was.

When Gonzalez realized Norah hadn't even bothered to say goodbye, a dark pulse of anger flared in his chest. He assumed she was actively distancing herself from him in front of Adrian. His

expression hardened into a vicious scowl as he stepped out of the apartment.

The second the door clicked shut, Norah turned her gaze to Adrian. Her voice was

terrifyingly calm. "Come here. I need a word with you."

Adrian looked at her, entirely caught off guard.

Norah turned on her heel and marched toward the balcony. Sara desperately shot Adrian a look, mouthing, *Go!*

Adrian's brow furrowed into a tight knot as he slowly trailed after her.