Chapter 2

"Chloe, I brought you a gift. It's right there."

He pointed to the collectible figurine on the table. My eyes lit up: "Is it that limited-edition figurine I've been waiting years for and never got?!"

With the closet still on my mind, I distractedly fiddled with the figurine for a moment, then, when Leo wasn't looking, I immediately walked over and opened the closet.

I checked every inch of the closet from left to right, confirming no living thing was hidden inside.

Seeing the fully open closet, Leo casually tidied the clothes inside, his voice completely natural:

"What pajamas do you want to wear, Chloe?"

This was the only place in the master bedroom someone could hide. It seemed I was overthinking things; there was no one else here.

I pointed to my favorite set of pajamas, finally relaxing.

It must have been a glitch in this remote control system, causing the program to activate automatically.

For our home's security, I had not only added a facial recognition system to the outdoor monitoring but also installed a discreet camera facing inward from a hidden spot opposite the door.

Anyone other than Leo or me appearing at our door would trigger an alert on my phone.

And the other hidden camera could show what was happening in the living room when the door opened.

The next day, just after lunch at the office, the smart home assistant suddenly popped up again.

[Master Bathroom Light On.]

[Master Bath Scented Soak Mode Activated. Your luxurious bath awaits, Your Highness.]

I opened the monitoring app, which hadn't alerted me,

And watched the footage at ten times speed from when I left home, confirming no one had entered. I breathed a sigh of relief.

It must be a bug in this newly connected smart home system.

I mentioned the issue to my assistant, asking him to upgrade the system when he had time.

Then I just dismissed the smart assistant's message.

In the evening, I had dinner with Bella, a best friend I hadn't seen in ages.

As we chatted about our childhood dreams at the restaurant, I smiled and pulled out a photo I'd taken yesterday:

"Look, Leo brought me this collectible from his business trip!"

Bella examined it closely, then regretfully said: "This is a limited edition, truly! What a shame, it's got lipstick on it. It’s not so perfect anymore."

Her words made me freeze.

How could Leo have put lipstick on it? And it hadn't come in a gift box.

Or did he buy a knockoff to begin with?

Filled with doubt, I FaceTimed Leo.

After I explained, Leo quickly apologized: "Sorry, Chloe. I thought the lip color was a bit pale, so I touched it up with some lipstick from your vanity."

"I don't know anything about these things. I'm so sorry, I'll get you another one."

This figurine was released years ago in a very limited quantity, making it extremely rare to obtain.

The fact that he went to such lengths, pulling strings everywhere to get me one, had already touched me deeply.

Thinking of this, I smiled, ending the conversation.

Suddenly, my phone again alerted me that the bathtub at home had activated the scented soak mode, and it finished use over an hour later.

I shook my head. Leo never took long to wash up. This smart home system really seemed to be broken.

A week later, I was about to board a train for a business trip to another city,

When Officer Miller from our community security suddenly called: "Ms. Chloe, your friend seems to have arrived. She just registered your address and went in."

Last time, I’d been trying to fish for information about whether anyone unauthorized had entered my home.

I never expected that after all this time, the security guard would actually provide me with useful information.

I exited the ticket gate and opened my surveillance app.

Three minutes later, Leo arrived at our front door, with no one else beside him.

But he knocked before opening the door, then stood for a few seconds before going inside.

With a sense of foreboding, I clicked on the footage from the camera opposite the door.

Sure enough, when I fast-forwarded to the time he entered,

In the video, a graceful woman stood inside the doorway, opening her arms to greet him.