Chapter 4 Chapter 4

Grace emerged from the administration building and beat Benjamin to the goodbye without shaking his hand. Without glancing at his reaction, she turned and hurried toward her car, which was parked by the roadside. Only after unlocking the doors did she notice that the left front tire was completely flat. She had no idea when it had been punctured.

Clearly, swapping it for the spare was the only solution. It had been fine just moments ago when she drove over it. How could it have lost air so quickly? Frustration boiled over, and she kicked the wheel rim in anger.

Benjamin’s car glided up from a distance and stopped behind her. He rolled down his window and asked, "What's wrong, Ms. Catherine?"

She flinched again, instinctively turning around and covering up. "Nothing," she said.

He tilted his head and glanced past her at the flat tire. Then he looked back at her and said, "Ms. Catherine, where are you headed? I'll have my driver take you there first.”

“No need,” she refused without hesitation. Noticing Benjamin raise an eyebrow, she realized her refusal had been too abrupt. She added, "I have something to attend to in my classroom. Please go ahead. I'll walk over.”

She was clearly lying—she'd just said she had urgent business to attend to. But he didn't call her out on it. He merely smiled faintly and bid her a polite farewell. “All right then. Goodbye, Ms. Catherine.”

He signaled the driver to proceed, and soon they disappeared from the campus.

Grace stood by the roadside until the car was out of sight, then rolled up her sleeves and changed the tire herself.

The university was never short of energetic, enthusiastic young men. Soon, two passing students offered their help. She didn't hesitate, directing them as they replaced the spare tire.

She hadn't gone to her alma mater to seek connections, nor had she returned home. Instead, she drove straight to the Seattle Police Department.

Detective Meyer was somewhat surprised by her call, but he accepted her invitation. He met her at a café next to the police headquarters.

"What's this about? Why the sudden need to see me?" he asked.

Grace didn't know how to broach the subject. They weren't close, and her decision to seek him out today had been impulsive. "Do you remember me?" she asked.

Officer Meyer smiled. "I do."

Of course he remembered her. She was the victim in a case he'd handled four years ago. During that incident, she'd been assaulted by three vicious criminals. Then, armed with a kitchen knife, she killed one of them. She ran over another, crushing his legs. After escaping, she called her boyfriend to report the crime to the police.

Such intelligent, beautiful women who could remain so calm and rational yet be capable of such ruthless decisiveness in critical moments were exceedingly rare. That was why he still remembered her, even after years apart.

Grace was still pondering how to describe the incident. It was unbelievable, and if she phrased it wrong, people might think she was mentally unstable. Looking into Officer Meyer's eyes, she asked, "That case from four years ago, the last criminal you caught—are you certain he was executed?"

Detective Meyer froze at her question. "Hm?"

"Alex.” She blurted out the terrifying name, her voice unconsciously quickening. "I recently saw someone who looked exactly like him—the voice, the appearance, everything. No, not just similar. It was the same person!"

Her visible agitation stirred sympathy in the middle-aged man before her. His eyes softened with pity. "Ms. Catherine, please calm down. I assure you, Alex is dead. He was executed two years ago."

Grace pressed her lips together and asked again, "Are you certain?"

"Yes." Officer Meyer nodded solemnly and continued, "I remember that man, not only because of his long list of crimes, but also because I heard he did something astonishing before his execution."

“What was it?” she asked.

"He volunteered to donate his corneas."

Grace was equally surprised. It was truly unexpected that such a vicious criminal could suddenly show nobility before his death. She fell silent, then spoke again after a moment. "But that man really looked just like him."

"People who look alike exist in this world. Some even resemble twins without being related. Maybe somewhere out there is a girl who looks exactly like you," Officer Meyer said.

"But he...he tried to approach me..." She searched for the right words. "He tried to get close to me. He asked for my phone number, struck up a conversation, and later asked me to ride in his car. Please don't misunderstand me as being overthinking. I could sense it.”

Detective Meyer couldn't help but laugh. "Ms. Catherine, you're so beautiful. Even walking down the street, you must have encountered plenty of men trying to chat you up, right?"

His implication was clear: Even if such a man had tried to chat her up, it would have been nothing more than ordinary flirtation.

Grace couldn't argue. She was beautiful, after all. Boys had chased after her since childhood, and this attention from men continued into adulthood. Even after marriage, her wedding ring hadn't deterred the persistent interest.

Detective Meyer watched her in silence, smiling and urging her, "Stop overthinking it. Let go of the past."

Everything seemed to suggest that her fear and anxiety stemmed solely from an unresolved trauma. Grace couldn't help but doubt herself. After a moment of contemplation, she posed her final question to Detective Meyer, "Could you do me a favor?"

Detective Meyer remained noncommittal, simply asking, “What kind of favor?”

Grace pulled paper and a pen out of her purse, wrote down Benjamin's full name, date of birth, and address, and handed them to Detective Meyer. "This is that person's information," she said. "Could you verify it for me? Is all of this true?"

Officer Meyer glanced at the note and looked surprised. "You know all that?"

"He showed me his driver's license. I only caught a quick glimpse of it and didn't memorize the ID number,” she replied.

Officer Meyer couldn't help but smile again. "You remember that much from just a glance? Your memory is pretty good.”

Indeed, her memory was excellent; otherwise, she wouldn't recall that night so vividly—his face, his voice, the way he looked at her—replaying over and over in her nightmares. She reminded herself not to dwell on it and looked at Officer Meyer pitifully instead. “Please? Can you do me this favor?”

It was hard for a man to refuse a pretty girl's request. Officer Meyer smiled and tucked the note into his notebook. “Sure, I'll look into it when I get a chance.”

He was warmhearted and called Grace back within a few days.

"Ms. Catherine, I checked. Benjamin is a real person, and his identity information is all legitimate. How should I put this?" He paused, chuckling. "No wonder you were startled. I was shocked when I saw the photo, too. But when you compare it to the criminal's mugshot, you can tell they're totally different."

Grace finally felt a wave of relief wash over her. “Thank you so much,” she said.

Officer Meyer asked her, "Has that person contacted you again?"

"No," she replied.

"Hey, the guy probably just wanted to chase after a pretty girl. He might even find it strange himself—how could a girl mistake someone as handsome as him for a thief?"

Officer Meyer joked with her and encouraged her once more: "Forget about it. Just live your life!"

She was genuinely grateful to him and couldn't help but thank him again.

"If you ever need help with anything else, don't hesitate to come see me," Officer Meyer said with a smile. "And if that guy bothers you again, you can call me for help!"

To be fair, the earlier incidents hadn't really been harassment. After confirming that Benjamin and Alex were completely unrelated, Grace began to view the situation more rationally and objectively. She realized her fears were entirely her own.

Benjamin never contacted her again.

Once, she ran into the female colleague from the registrar's office at school. The colleague looked rather downcast as she told Grace that Benjamin hadn't come. She had called him, and he had answered, but he simply hadn't shown up. Another man came to the school to pick up the forms. He was tall and burly with tattoos covering his body.

Hearing this, Grace immediately knew it was the man who had driven Benjamin the last time; likely, he was Benjamin's bodyguard.

Grace offered her colleague a few words of comfort but felt a sense of relief herself. Her life suddenly seemed to return to calm. Benjamin had abruptly reappeared, startling her profoundly, only to vanish without a trace.

She applied to a Ph.D. program at her alma mater to study under the same advisor who had supervised her master's thesis. Although she had her advisor's recommendation letter, she still needed to pass the entrance exams on her own merit.

Grace sent her professor a "laughing-crying" emoji online, capturing her mix of sadness and resignation.

Her parents weren't particularly supportive of her pursuing a Ph.D. While their family wasn't wealthy, they were financially comfortable. They believed she should live an easy life and saw no need for her to push herself so hard.

Fortunately, Adrian was there to support her, handling research and errands without fail. The only thing Grace regretted was that he wasn't in the same field, which prevented him from tutoring her.

While she was buried in her studies, her family kept hitting the jackpot. First, her parents won a grand travel prize, enabling the elderly couple to embark on a worldwide tour together. Then, Adrian was accepted into a valuable overseas training program.

Grace felt jealousy. While packing Adrian's suitcase, she couldn't help but feel bitter. She slammed his luggage on the floor and snapped, "Forget it! Leaving me alone at home while I prepare for exams? This isn't fair!"

Adrian couldn't help but laugh. He jumped on the bed and pinned her down. "If you don't like it, I won't go."

Of course, he was just saying that. She wasn't a child, and this opportunity was rare and would greatly benefit his future career.

She tugged at his collar. "Don't worry, I won't."

Adrian chuckled at her teasing and leaned down to kiss her repeatedly. Their playfulness soon turned to desire. His hands began to undress her as he whispered, "Before I go, let me feed you properly."

They rolled across the bed, mostly with him on top. Occasionally, she gained the upper hand, pinning him beneath her. She demanded triumphantly, "Admit it! Admit it!”

How could he not? Panting, his gaze softened with tenderness. "Grace, I love you."

She leaned down, pressed her lips to his, and replied, "Adrian, I love you, too."

She loved him deeply.

After seeing Adrian off, she genuinely packed her bag and headed to school to study. Every day, she mingled with the students to claim a spot in the library. People often mistook her for a student. Within days, even unfamiliar boys offered to save seats for her.

She called Adrian, excited about it. "Oh my gosh, Adrian, you're the one who hit the jackpot marrying me! I look so young. By the time you're almost fifty, I'll barely look thirty-something. People will definitely think you're successful; otherwise, how else could you land such a young girl?”

Adrian laughed along with her, then reminded her to take care of herself. "If it gets too hard, just quit. If you don't pass this year, we'll try again next year. It's not like I can't afford to support you."

"Get lost! Who says I won't pass this year? Don't look down on me! Remember, I was once known as a genius!" She pretended to scold him yet feared he would worry. "Honestly, there aren't many issues at school. The students are quite mature these days and rarely cause trouble."

However, barely a day after she said this, a student in her class caused her trouble.