Funeral (2)

"Arthur…."

"Kathrina…."

Instantaneously, Kathrina's thoughts became jumbled and disorganized. She had not expected to see him anywhere besides in the apartment complex where they lived. Especially not during Marcella's funeral.

On the other hand, Arthur felt surprised, but he was glad that he could see her after almost two days of not seeing her. The last time they saw each other, things did not go well, and he did not like it. Not to add, after that, he became busier. Therefore, he did not have time to visit her again.

"Mr. Ford?" Belle tapped Arthur's arm lightly as she realized her boss had been absent-minded while looking straight at the short hair woman across them. Her brows raised as she noticed the woman on the other side also reacted similarly to Arthur.

"Mr. Ford?" Belle called again. This time she tiptoed so she could speak near his ears, making him break free from a trance.

After a moment of silence, Arthur tore his gaze and shifted it to Belle. Although he did not say anything, Belle could guess he was annoyed that she disturbed him.

"You have been absent-minded for a while, so I was worried."

After hearing Belle's words, Arthur finally realized that he had lost his guard in front of many people. He should not be like that in public.

"Don't worry. I'm okay." He assured her.

Kathrina had studied Arthur and his companion's short interaction without his knowledge. To be frank, she did not like it even a bit. It was obvious to her that they were close.

The woman who accompanied Arthur was stunning. She was pretty tall and slender, and the way she stood beside him gracefully, like it was her rightful place, somehow made Kathrina's blood boil. She hated this feeling; it was driving her mad and distracting her from her main goal for the day.

Kathrina bobbed her head down, looking at her worn-out shoes as if they were the most interesting thing in the world, completely ignoring the existence of Arthur. She needed to regain her composure so she could work perfectly after the funeral was done.

"What is wrong with you? You seem pissed at something." Suddenly Kale spoke. He had noticed Kathrina's mood went downhill in a mere minute. He was sure he did not do anything to upset his sister, so he was confused about why she behaved that way.

"I'm just tired of standing." She lied.

"Tired standing? You?" Kale asked with an accusing tone.

There was no way he would believe what Kathrina had said. Kathrina was strong enough to stand for more than an hour.

"Why? Can't I?"

Kathrina cast a quick glance in Arthur's direction and caught him watching her with a complicated look.

"Of course, you can. It's just so unlike you." Kale held his sister closer and whispered to her, "You can go sit somewhere. It's okay."

Kathrina's heart softened, and she shook her head. It was childish of her to behave like that toward Kale just because of her stupid feeling for Arthur.

"No, it's almost over."

Arthur's face hardened at the sight in front of him. He knew the man who was with Kathrina. It was Kale Reed. Seeing Kathrina with a man was enough to make him sick, but Kathrina with one of the Reeds was worse. It made him want to tear her apart from the man.

Although Kale Reed was not his target, he was still part of the family he loathed the most.

The split change of expression on Arthur's face did not escape from Belle's keen eyes. She was curious why her boss was so affected by the short hair woman.

'Short hair.'

Suddenly Arthur's words rang a bell in Belle's head. 'Is that the same woman?' She asked herself in her head. Witnessing Arthur's body reaction to the woman, it was likely the woman who had caught his attention.

Belle could hear her heart shattered to pieces, so she smiled bitterly at the woman.

While Kathrina, Arthur, and Belle were preoccupied with their emotions, the procession was already over as several people were scattered to leave. Only a bunch of people stayed, including them.

"Let's meet her family." Belle remained Arthur. After that, they walked to Marcella's mother. Like any other people, they offered their sincere condolences to them.

"Kath, let's go back." Kale had wanted to drag Kathrina, but her sister pushed him back, making him stare at her in confusion.

"You can go. I will stay." Kathrina made a gesture to shoo him away like a cat while saying that.

"I can wait if you want," He offered. Although he was busy, he could spare his time for her.

"Go back and make money." She pushed Kale's back without waiting for her brother to reply.

Kale decided to go back, as it was clear Kathrina wouldn't change her mind. He looked over his shoulder and said, "Call me when you return to the station."

Kathrina lifted her hand and made an okay sign to her brother. After that, she took her phone to call Clarissa.

It did not take too long before Clarissa picked up her phone.

"Kathrina!!!" Clarissa sounded like she was sobbing out of despair.

Kathrina did not like the sound of it; it reeked of the smell of trouble. "Where are you?"

"I'm really sorry. I wake up this morning with a terrible stomachache." Clarissa voiced her complaints "So let's exchange. You talk with Ford. I will talk with her family and friends." Her tone lacked enthusiasm since she had to give up her chance to see Arthur Ford in person.

"You can still go to meet FSS's CEO if you can get there fast," Kathrina said.

"I can't. So, you should go instead. I can reschedule the time for Marcella's family, but I have no power to do that with FSS."

Kathrina took a deep breath as she stared at the clear blue sky and then let it out slowly. "Okay. Please send me the company's contact information."

After what she had said, a message from Clarissa came. The name of the contact was Belle Hills.

Without waiting anymore, Kathrina dialed the phone number. While waiting for the other person to pick up her call, she saw Arthur and his companion walking in her direction.

Suddenly, the woman beside Arthur reached inside her bag and pulled out a phone, which she placed next to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Am I speaking to Belle Hills?" Kathrina asked carefully as she observed the woman on Arthur's right. Then she saw the woman open her mouth to talk.

"Yes, I am Belle Hills."

Kathrina wanted to curse so badly. So, her instinct was right; her neighbor was Arthur Ford. She had the urge to bang her head against the wall since the situation was ridiculous for her to stomach. Why did her neighbor have to be Ford among many people in the world?

"Hello?"

Kathrina ended their call and dashed over to them as quickly as she could. She noticed the expression shift on Arthur's face, which showed he was happy to see her approaching him.

'He is going to be disappointed,' Kathrina mumbled under her breath.

"Kathrina," Arthur spoke first, as their distance was enough for Kathrina to hear him.

Arthur expected to at least see Kathrina's grim expression, but what she had shown him was a blank face. Nothing could be heard from her.

"Arthur Ford?"

The moment his full name left her luscious lips, Arthur blinked in response. He raised his brows as he felt confused since she had never told her his name.

"I am Detective Kathrina Reed."