Chapter 176: Jealous Confrontation
Phrolova's movements abruptly halted.
She slowly turned her head, her damp hair brushing across Ray's cheek.
Those eyes, always devoid of emotion, looked calmly at Carlotta, then slowly lowered to gaze at the scattered potatoes on the floor.
Phrolova pressed her lips together, as if wanting to speak, but ultimately said nothing.
She silently tightened the loose towel and stepped back half a step.
This slight distance was like a sudden line drawn between them, and the intimate warmth in the air instantly cooled.
"What... what are you doing!?" Carlotta's voice trembled with disbelief.
The scene she had most dreaded had finally happened.
From the moment Phrolova first suggested staying here, Carlotta had felt a vague unease. But since there was no real evidence between them, she hadn't taken it seriously.
But now...
Carlotta suddenly felt like she was wearing a green hat of betrayal.
Anger rising in her heart, she stepped between them, guarding Ray like a protective little puppy, and glared at Phrolova. "I don't care what you've been through! You are not to make a move on Cat's Eye!"
The words were practically squeezed through her teeth, every syllable crackling with possessiveness.
What was going on?
She was Ray's legitimate girlfriend!
Why did one woman after another refuse to take her seriously?
Carlotta felt deeply wronged.
"It seems Miss Carlotta has misunderstood something." Phrolova's voice remained calm, as if nothing had happened.
Her gaze drifted lightly over Carlotta's trembling shoulder, paused briefly on Ray behind her, then finally settled back on Carlotta's flushed face.
"Nothing happened between us." She raised a hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, the towel on her body swaying slightly with the movement. "Besides, I've never had any... improper intentions toward him."
Carlotta looked as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. "Do you take me for a three-year-old? Dressed like that, pinning him down, and you tell me you have no feelings for him?"
"It was an accident." Phrolova turned slightly, avoiding her burning gaze. "As for whether you believe it or not, that's your business, not mine."
With that, she turned and left, returning to her room.
Her bare feet stepped over the scattered water stains on the floor, leaving behind fading impressions.
Carlotta bit her lower lip until the door softly closed, then spun around to look at Ray. She crossed her arms, her chest heaving, every word squeezed through her teeth.
"Well? Do you have anything to say?"
"Uh..." Ray froze on the sofa, feeling every second stretch unbearably. "Second Miss, are you willing to believe me?"
"Save it!" Carlotta sniffed, her skirt swaying as she stamped her foot. "You got away with it last time. It won't be so easy to fool me again!"
Ray felt like crying.
But this time, he really was innocent!
If it had been Phoebe instead of Phrolova, he might have admitted it on the spot.
But...
How was he supposed to admit to something that never happened?
"But Second Miss, I just happened to come home and run into Phrolova right after her bath." Ray explained with a miserable face.
Carlotta looked utterly unconvinced. "What does that have to do with her pinning you down?"
Before the words faded, she suddenly lunged forward, lightly straddling his lap. Her hands braced on the back of the sofa on either side of him. Her warm breath washed over him as those gem-bright eyes stared unblinkingly into his.
"Confess. Did nothing really happen between you?"
"Of course nothing happened!" Ray answered without hesitation.
Seeing him answer so decisively, Carlotta wavered slightly.
She frowned, then leaned close like a wary cat, sniffing his neck.
"Why do you smell an unfamiliar fragrance?"
"Fragrance?" Ray's heart tightened, could it be from Phoebe?
Before he could react, Carlotta's rapid-fire questions continued.
"Where did you go today?"
"The Breezy Waterside."
"What for? Alone?"
"Two of us..."
"With who?"
"...Phoebe."
The last two words fell lightly, but the air suddenly froze.
Carlotta's fingertips trembled slightly, bitterness seeping into her voice. "You... finally couldn't resist making a move on her?"
Ray's gaze drifted away, his voice faltering. "Well, Second Miss... actually, I haven't made a move on Phoebe yet."
"Ha? You actually plan to?" Carlotta bit her lower lip, her fingertips pinching his cheek harder. "Jerk! A two-timing jerk!"
"Hiss—Second Miss, gentle, that hurts."
"Now you want gentle? Why don't I remember you being gentle when I asked you to slow down and let me catch my breath? You always sped up instead—"
The unfinished words dissolved into scorching silence.
"..."
Ray's face flushed, knowing he was in the wrong. He stopped resisting, letting Carlotta vent her emotions.
Seeing him like this only made Carlotta angrier. She was about to say more when memories suddenly surged, Phrolova's figure standing in the night, her words echoing once more.
'What if he really has an unknown past... and what about those who knew him earlier, whose bonds are deeper?'
The question stuck in her throat.
If those figures from the past truly existed, if their bonds with Ray ran deeper than she could imagine...
Then when the tide of the past came rushing in, where would she, who defined herself only by the present, stand?
Her fingers slowly loosened their grip on his shirt, finally dissolving into a soft sigh as she rested her forehead against his shoulder.
"Sometimes I wish... you could just be my Cat's Eye forever."
Ray looked at Carlotta, who had suddenly deflated, deeply puzzled.
But before he could voice his confusion, Carlotta slowly rose from his lap, bent down to pick up the scattered potatoes, and sighed softly.
"Anyway, let's make dinner first."
When she straightened up, she had already tucked a few strands of stray hair behind her ear, revealing a side profile that was trying too hard to appear calm.
"I'll make dinner."
"Beef stew with potatoes tonight."
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