A chill ran through Melissa. Sylvia was Marcus' secretary!

The implication was clear: Marcus had been there too.

He had found out about Matthew!

With the receipt in hand, Melissa gazed out the window, her thoughts swirling. Julie was preoccupied with Matthew and dinner preparations.

Melissa then thought about the half million which Julie claimed to be the result of her winning the lottery.

After a prolonged silence, Melissa reached for the phone, her decision made.

The call connected after several rings, and Marcus' voice, rough with disuse, greeted her. "What's up?"

Marcus' voice was husky and slightly seductive on that winter evening.

As old lovers, there was still a lingering connection between him and Melissa.

However, Melissa was not in the mood to appreciate it. She softly closed the bedroom door and then asked in a low voice, "You're aware of it, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?" Marcus countered.

Melissa avoided voicing it out, and silence enveloped them for a while.

Eventually, Marcus suggested, “If you want to discuss Matthew, come out and let's talk. I'm at the apartment."

His indifferent tone left Melissa unable to discern his thoughts.

However, she had no desire to visit his apartment.

Upon hearing her decision, Marcus promptly ended the call after saying “We'll discuss it another time then.”

Melissa glanced at her phone, biting her lip.

She perched at the foot of the bed, facing the window where twilight painted the winter landscape. Despite the coldness of the season, an inner fire raged within her, refusing to be quelled.

Just then, her phone rang. It was a friend request from Marcus on WhatsApp.

Melissa stared at the request for a while before finally accepting it.