Even now, I could still remember the quivering sensation that man brought about when he touched me with those calloused hands of his.

At the time, I figured I could allow myself to get into a relationship. However, I did not expect to see what I saw when I opened my eyes the next day.

His expression suddenly turned serious after he answered a call. "Got it. I'll be right there," he said.

Thereafter, he got out of bed hurriedly and got dressed. He wrote a string of numbers on a piece of paper and said, "I have an urgent task I have to attend to right now. You can call me at this number."

I never had the chance to learn his name.

Initially, I thought our paths would never cross again. Unexpectedly, the next month, I found out I was pregnant.

Driven by sheer helplessness, I dialed that phone number. Nevertheless, no one answered the call, even after a few attempts.

I assumed I was deceived. He probably had no interest in me, so he came up with an excuse off the top of his head to get away. At the same time, worried that I'd pester him after that night, he gave me a fake number to get me off his back.

Due to medical reasons, I decided to have the baby. I had never regretted my decision. Nicole was obedient and smart. I was extremely lucky to have her by my side all these years.

After Megan sobered up the next morning, she called me to vent. "Fred is so rough indeed. My hands are all bruised because of him. Take it from me—never ever date a man like that. They've got violent tendencies—"

Before she could even finish her sentence, someone on her end of the call warned in a deep voice, "Megan Hahn."

Megan fell silent immediately. Thereafter, something came to mind, and she said coquettishly, "Freddy, have you got some time in the afternoon to help my friend move some stuff?"

"Nope."

"That's great!" Megan exclaimed, completely ignoring Frederick's response. She then said to me, "I found a laborer for you. He can help you move your stuff in the afternoon."

"Oh, no, that's alright. I can manage."

"Hey, don't be a stranger. There's no need to feel bad about it. He's just staying at home with nothing to do all day anyway."

At first, I thought Megan was just kidding. However, much to my surprise, she actually came over in the afternoon with a tall man tagging along with her.

I ran a women's lingerie boutique in the city. I had been running the business for years. Business had been relatively good. I never bothered to hire any staff and just handled every single aspect of running the boutique by myself.

Sometimes, when things got really busy, Megan would come over and lend me a hand.

I was right in the middle of taking inventory in the afternoon when I heard an argument going on outside.

"The 'stuff' you wanted me to move was actually women's lingerie?"

"What's wrong with lingerie, Frederick? Don't you wear undergarments when you head out too? If you go on like this, I'm gonna tell Dad that you're sexist!"

"You're really asking for it, aren't you?" Frederick questioned, his tone thick with annoyance.

"Why, are you gonna hit me? I'm a woman. I'll make sure everyone hears about this!"

Upon seeing that they were both on the verge of a full-blown row, I hurried out to intervene. "It's fine, really. It's only a few boxes. I don't need so many pairs of hands."

I apologized to Frederick. "I'm really sorry that Megan called you over without clearly explaining the nature of my business. I—"

I managed to get a good look at his face before I could finish my sentence. His features were sharp, and his jawline was chiseled. His masculine energy radiated intensely through his brown jacket.

Every word I wanted to say vanished from my mind instantly. Instead, the memory from four years ago came flooding back to me.

I remembered the feel of his fingers through my hair, the bulging veins in his arms, and the sound of his heavy, ragged breaths. Shockingly, I actually managed to recall every detail so vividly.

"Forget it. Just get out of here if you're not willing to lend a hand. Just look at that scowl on your face. It's not like we're begging you!"

Megan rolled her eyes and linked arms with me. "Don't apologize to him. He's been gone for years and has clearly forgotten how to be a gentleman."

"Hold up."

Frederick stood in our way. His eyes were fixed on me. I held back the surging emotions within me, feigning composure as I looked into his eyes calmly.

He coughed. "Where's the stuff?"

"What stuff?"

"Didn't you ask me to move some boxes? Where are they?"

Frederick removed his jacket, revealing the plain black T-shirt he wore underneath. He was extremely strong, so much so that he made the heavy boxes look weightless in his hands.

Frederick was able to pick up four to five boxes at a time. With him around, Megan and I instantly became nothing more than beautiful ornaments.

Megan stood to the side, sipping on her tea as she scrolled on her phone, perfectly content with bossing her very own elder brother around.

Meanwhile, I hid in the storage room, pretending to be occupied with stock-taking. Deep down, my mind was racing. I never expected Nicole's biological father to actually be my best friend's older brother.

So, did he still remember me? He probably didn't. After all, so much time had passed…

Just as I was lost in my own head, a man's voice interrupted my thoughts. "I'm done with moving all the boxes outside."

"Oh, thank you!"

There wasn't much space in the storage room in the first place. With Frederick stepping inside, it became even more cramped inside here.

I took a small step back instinctively, accidentally knocking off something next to me in the process. Before I could even react, Frederick bent down and picked the item up.

"You dropped this," he said, holding a black, wireless bra in his hand.

The thin straps hung over his fingertips, pairing bizarrely with his shirt. That night, wasn't I also wearing…

Suddenly, my face flushed crimson red. He stared at me, and his gaze slowly intensified. Then, he leaned in out of the blue. "You seem to be terrified of me. Why is that?"

My breathing quickened as our eyes met. With nowhere to run, I had a brain fart. I simply answered, "Megan said you hit women!"

Before he could even process that, I squeezed through the gap next to him and dashed out. Megan, who had heard the commotion from outside, came over.

"Hit women? Which bastard has the guts to hit women?"

Frederick's expression turned even darker. "Say another word, and I might very well hit you."

Thanks to Frederick, our progress with moving the boxes accelerated. Work that should have dragged on until 7:00 pm or 8:00 pm was all done by 4:00 pm.

Not wanting to get in my way any longer, Megan pulled Frederick out of the store to leave. However, he stood firmly amidst the rows of lingerie on display.

"Are you that petty, Ms. Sawyer? Aren't you going to treat us to a meal?"

Upon hearing those words, I blushed. "I sure will. What would you both like to have?"

Megan widened her eyes in shock. "Frederick, how could you be so shameless? How could you expect my friend to treat you to a meal? Are you not ashamed?"

"Pick the place, you two. It'll be on me," Frederick said.

"That's more like it!"

Finally satisfied, Megan linked arms with me and lowered her voice. "Fred is actually pretty loaded, and he hardly splurges. Have a good think about what you want to eat. Do not hold back!"

Coincidence or not, the place we decided on in the end was located right next to the bar where Frederick and I first met.

Neither Frederick nor myself were the chatty type. It was fortunate that Megan was there to ease the awkwardness by playing the life of the party.

However, I kept sensing Frederick's gaze lingering on me. It was sometimes subtle, sometimes not. There was also an unmistakable, searing intensity in his gaze.

Suddenly, my phone rang.

Megan leaned in immediately to look at the screen. "Is that Nicky? It's been a long while since I've seen her. I miss her."

All of a sudden, the expression of the man across from me shifted. It wasn't until I walked out to answer the call that I heard him asking in a low and deep voice, "Is she… married?"

Frederick's question set Megan off instantly. "What are you trying to say? Can't she have a kid without getting married? You really are such an old-fashioned prude!"

"Oh. So, she's not married?"

Frederick was back to his relaxed self. He leaned back against his chair and took a sip of tea. A smile was playing on his lips.

"Good to know she's not married. Have you met the guy? Who is he?"

Megan observed him intently. Her expression shifted gradually. "Fred, frankly speaking, that smug grin on your face is quite obvious. Just because you can't have your own love life doesn't mean you have to wish for someone else's misery, right?"

Frederick was left completely perplexed.

Megan added, "When Jenna gets back later, do not mention anything about Nicky's father. I suspect that she hasn't forgotten about that scumbag. That's why she hasn't dated again in all these years."

Upon hearing that, Frederick gradually wiped that grin off his face.

I waited until the Hahn siblings were done with their loud gossiping before returning to the table at just the right time.

I had never shared details about Nicole's father and me with Megan. One of the reasons why was that Nicole was already born by the time we met.

Secondly, I believed I'd never cross paths with Nicole's father again. So, it just didn't feel necessary to tell Megan about him. As such, I just gave a vague explanation by saying that I failed to get in touch with Nicole's father after getting pregnant.

However, Megan probably misunderstood the situation. She probably assumed that Nicole's father was a scumbag who just hit it and quit it. Out of consideration for my feelings, she never probed into the specifics either.

In the end, that brought us to this awkward moment.

Even though it wasn't nice to deceive my best friend, I didn't have the guts to reveal Nicole's true identity to Megan or Frederick out of the blue.

After all, I did not know Frederick well. If we couldn't get along, Megan and I might even end up having a falling out.

As Megan and I had a few drinks in the evening, Frederick offered to chauffeur us. As he drove northward, Megan pressed her cheek against the car window and exclaimed, "You're going the wrong way. This isn't the way to Jenna's place!"

"I'm giving you a ride back home first. I will be heading out later, so I won't be going home."

That upset Megan. She grumbled, "We wouldn't have gotten you to give us a ride if I had known you weren't going home. Jenna and I could've found somewhere else to hang out at."

Frederick shot her a look but did not reply. He pulled the car to a stop steadily at the front gate of their residence, and Megan exited the car unwillingly.

Since it felt awkward for me to be with Frederick alone, I, too, shifted to get out of the car. "My place isn't too far from here, so I can just get a cab from here. Wouldn't want to trouble you if you have someth—"

"It's no trouble. It's on the way."

Megan nodded. "He's right. Just let him give you a ride. It's not like he has any actual business to attend to in the middle of the night anyway."

I had no choice but to accept the offer. Otherwise, it would just seem forced if I kept refusing.

"Where to?"

"The residential area on Joy Street."

Frederick took a glance at me through the rearview mirror. His eyes were twinkling with glee. "Didn't you say you didn't want to call it a night yet? I'll take you where you want to go now."

"Oh, no need for that. Megan was just kidding earlier. Thank you very much to you and Megan for today," I said politely.

"Don't be a stranger. Don't you know who I am?"

I never expected him to ask me about it so straightforwardly. Instantly, my breathing quickened. Before I could even answer him, he uttered a confirmation, "So you do remember."

"I-I don't understand what you're going on about."

"Liar." Frederick lowered his voice and continued, "Didn't Megan tell you what I used to do for work? I'm an expert at reading people's emotions just by listening to their breathing."

Upon hearing that, I held my breath instinctively. Nevertheless, he then burst out in laughter. "Now, that was a lie."

"Frederick!"

"There, this is more like you. You've been acting way too tense since you saw me today."

Worried about giving anything else away, I resorted to keeping my mouth shut this time. Thankfully, Frederick did not tease me further along the way.

After arriving back home, I played a game with Megan. It was only after the game that I finally dragged myself into the shower. When I hung my clothes out to dry, I happened to notice the SUV downstairs. It had not moved an inch since Frederick pulled over to drop me off.

After hesitating for a while, I put a jacket over my shoulders and headed downstairs. The car engine was still running when I knocked on the car window.

"Frederick?"

The car window rolled down, revealing the steely expression on Frederick's face.

"Is there something wrong with your car?" I asked.

"No," he answered.

"Why are you still here, then? Didn't you say you were meeting with some friends?"

"I'm not meeting with any friends. It was just an excuse I came up with so that I could give you a ride home, just the two of us."

The air came to a standstill. I pressed my lips together. For some reason, the anger and frustration that I had kept hidden for far too long flared up. "Do you just love making up excuses?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

After saying that, I turned around to leave. However, he furrowed his brows and grabbed my hand. "Make yourself clear."

"That urgent task."

It was only at this moment that he recalled the words he had said to me all those years ago. In a hoarse voice, he explained, "I didn't lie to you about that. I really was notified of it at the last minute. I had only just returned home on leave when the emergency crisis struck.

"I was out there doing rescue work the entire time."

"What about your number, then? No one picked up when I called that number at all!"

"When we're out on duty, we have to hand our phones i—"

Before he finished his sentence, realization hit him. "You tried to reach me?"