Chapter 44.

“Hey… Val…”

“What is it?”

“Do you see anything in the mirror?”

“Oh? What? Is there something strange behind us? Haha. Is it a ghost?”

“Yo. Long time no see, Darling.”

I, of course, shivered uncontrollably when I heard those dreadful words. Why? Why? Why?! How?! No way. Again?! Shit. Shit! SHIT!

“A-A-Ad-d-d-dele?! W-what are you doing here?”

“I was just feeling a bit lonely so I slipped out to see you again. You really need to visit me sometimes you know.”

“How did you get out this time?!”

“Well… if it was just the two of us, I might not mind telling you, but it looks like there’s some slut in the seat adjacent to yours.”

“Slut? Haha. Aren’t you the psychopathic bitch who was dumb enough to kill her own family?”

“Oh? You know of me, yet you’re daring enough to say such a thing? You’re quite brave for a whore, aren’t you? Darling, do you mind introducing me to this whore?”

Fuck! I’m scared! I’d be less scared if it really was the ghost girl that I saw in the mirror instead! I’ll take the ghost girl over my psycho ex girlfriend any day.

Wait. If the ghost girl really was her big sister… what if she was worse? Such a thought actually shook me more than anything else I would’ve imagined.

“Adele, we’re not in that sort of relationship. She’s just my boss.”

“Hoh? This slut is your boss?”

“Adele, how did you find me?”

“It wasn’t hard darling. As your girlfriend, it’s a natural ability to be able to locate your lover. You could call it a sixth sense.”

“Ms. Homestalk, I believe you’re a bit mistaken. The two of you are no longer dating. He’s your ex now.”

“Oh? Is that so darling?”

Adele leaned towards the front seat and held a knife against my cheek with a lovely smile on her face.

“Boss, what are you talking about? Adele is my precious girlfriend. I would never break up with her.”

“See, Ms. Slut, we’re still a couple who are still as madly in love with each other as ever.”

“Ms. Homestalk, aren’t you a bit pathetic? You’re holding a knife against his cheek, what else is he supposed to say in such a situation?”

“My darling would never lie to me. His body has already proven how honest he is with me.”

“There really is no reasoning with a psychopathic serial killer like you, Ms. Homestalk.”

“It’s such a surprise to meet someone who doesn’t show any restraint when meeting me. Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you for being so insolent?”

“The only thing I fear in this life is living too long.”

“Do you have a death wish?”

“Not really; but, when I die, is when I’ll die. If I’m fated to die here, then that’s as far as I go.”

“Tch. Killing someone like you wouldn’t be interesting at all. I-”

“I bet you were planning to say, ‘is that what you were hoping I was going to say?’”

“You’re a real pain.”

“I get that a lot Ms. Homestalk.”

Do these two actually get along somehow? To go back and forth with my psychotic ex like this so well... is my boss really a normal person? I was really shocked when I realized how calm she appeared when I compared her to myself. I always freaked out and had a nervous breakdown the instant I saw any of my exes.

Where do I buy the type of gonads my boss has?

She didn’t even let out the slightest scream or look of surprise; let alone disbelief, when she discovered a person who was, unknowingly to us, seated behind us in the car. Was she some sort of super woman who fought villains at night in the name of justice while she stamped papers and ran a company during the day? That actually sounded kind of cool.

No no no. Now’s not the time for nonsensical thoughts to escape from reality. I too often turned to escapism when reality smacked me with a jab to the face. Rather than simply admiring her disposition, I should really set her as a role model to follow instead. Staying calm in any situation, it would be best to follow the example she set.

Once the fear resided, I calmly looked into Adele’s eyes through the reflection in the rear view mirror. After fear, the next emotion that overwhelmed me was a tinge of heartache when I thought back to when we first met.

Through the pain, I worked up the courage and asked her a question I’d always wanted to reconfirm, “Adele, did you really kill your family?” It was definitely a strangely out of place question that disrupted the natural flow of events, but it was something I’d always wanted to verify. Deep down, I never wanted to accept she really did what she’d claimed.

“Darling, where is this coming from all of a sudden? Haven’t I already answered this question before? The answer won’t change, of course I did.”

“Then why did you kill them Adele?”

“I’m pretty sure I told you this before as well darling. They simply didn’t love me enough, so I killed them.”

“You’ve never told me about how you killed them though.”

“How I killed them? Could it be my darling is so in love he wants to know even more about me?”

“Yes. I do want to know more about you.”

“Hmmmmm. So my darling really loves me that much? I’m so happy!”

“Yeah. I really love you. So can you please put the knife down.”

“Well, since my darling is asking so nicely.”

I let out a sigh of relief when she retracted the knife. Despite the fact that there was another woman in the car, I somehow didn’t feel as threatened in comparison to the last time she’d shown up. It was likely just because I wasn’t alone this time, and the other person who was with me kept their composure without much effort while Adele was present. That fact by itself filled me with much more confidence when in contrast to our last meeting.

Bzzzzzzzt. Bzzzzzzzt. Bzzzzzzzt.

Out of nowhere, Adele suddenly received a call just as I’d hoped to probe a bit into her past.

“Hello?”

“Adele here.”

“Eh? Already?”

“Hah. Fine then, it can’t be helped.”

Beep.

“Darling, it looks like our chat will need to wait.”

Adele sighed once and shook her head like it couldn’t be helped.

“What is it?”

“Something important came up. Sheesh, how useless. My important time with Darling has been cut short. It’s truly too infuriating, but it can’t be helped.”