Chapter 13

Jaden's pov

"Did you get my coffee?"

I raised my head from my computer after a few seconds of not getting an answer from Aaron. I looked at him, and he had that annoying smirk on his face.

"Can you not joke around?" "I really need the coffee."

He dropped the coffee on my desk and shrugged.

Then he turned and left. Heaven knows what his problem is, but I'll take care of whatever it is later. I have work to do.

Speaking of work, I've been staring at all the files in front of me for the past few minutes. These were evidence against Carrie's boyfriend. Everything was as clear as day, but something was still off.

"Hey Jaden, you might want to see this."

I got up lazily and walked up to where Xavier, someone I work with, sat in front of his laptop. There were photos from the crime scene that I hadn't actually taken time to study.

"Look, Jaden, there's a wine glass at the table, and there's an empty bottle of Rittenhouse Rye." According to all her medical records, she's not an alcoholic.

Her closest friend also confirmed that she barely even went out for parties. Plus, this whiskey is 50% alcohol or even more. So it's evident that she had a visitor on the day she was killed. not just any visitor.

"One who is close enough to know how and where she keeps her knives, because obviously they are not outside the cupboard, and only someone who frequents the house would know where they are kept,"

I stroked my chin and suddenly recalled the information I gathered on the day she was killed.

" uhhhmm.. I remember going through her kitchen, and this wine cup was indeed on the table. There was another one in the cupboard that was obviously used because it was still wet from the washing.

But the other cup on the table was used to drink orange juice, not whiskey. Her murderer is a very particular and careful person. It won't be so easy, so catch him."

Xavier sank into his chair with his hand on his forehead.

This was turning out to be the most complicated case I've handled in a while.

"Hey, what's new?"

"Aaron, come look at this." I explained everything from the pictures to him, and he too pinched his forehead in confusion.

"We'll do one thing after another." "First, let's call Sonic the Hedgehog one more time." I looked at Xavier to see if he understood what Aaron was blabbering about, but he was also obviously lost. "I mean, blue-haired guy, you two buffoons."

"Oh, Mr. William!"

"Whatever you call him, he has a few more questions to ask." Then we'll know where to look.

Writer's pov

Rowena finally got to the coffee shop after a while. Peter, who expected the kind of energy she ran out with to be the same she would come back with, was dazed to see her coming back looking like she got robbed on the way.

"What's the matter, sugarplum?" Why the long face? "Did he say something bad to you?" Tell me so I can reshape his oddly handsome face."Not that I'm any jealous, but I...."

"Peter, now isn't the time to joke around." Besides, I'm fine. He didn't say anything that shouldn't be said, so there's no need to reshape anyone's face to show that you're not "jealous" of them. She used air quotes to emphasize the jealousy.

"Just get back to what you were doing; everything's fine."

"Ok, if you say so." "Just call me if you need to talk, ok?"

"Ok"

The rest of the day was quite uneventful for her, and her evening was even worse.

She had entered a cab after work to take her home, but kept thinking about the possibility of losing Jaden for the first time in so many years and didn't know when the driver took her past her house to the train station. When she realized this and came down, there were no cabs going her way, so she had to walk most of the miles.

"Could this day get any worse?" She cursed and stopped to rest a little bit. After a few minutes, it started to drizzle, and then it turned into droplets, and the droplets turned into a downpour.

"Giselle!!"

Jaden's pov

I got home and had a long, warm shower. I stood on the balcony, enjoying the raw smell of a mixture of rain and dry sand. The sound of the heavy raindrops on the roof was quite soothing.

Images of her face kept crossing my mind. I couldn't concentrate completely at work today because of her, which is so unlike me.

"I should tell her." But what if she doesn't accept it? "Ok, I'll just send an anonymous card and flowers and see her reaction."

With that, I rushed to my study and pulled out a plain sheet of paper. After I was done, I sealed it in an envelope and inscribed her name boldly on the letter. *Giselle *.

Yes Giselle. I don't know how to explain how I fell for her, but I know this feeling is new, and I don't want it to ever end.

I may have a past with Rowena, but that's in the past. Maybe when I reincarnate again, as she says, we will be together, but for now, it's Giselle or no one. I poured myself another glass of Rittenhouse Rye. I've always been a whiskey person, and since I learned about this particular one today from the pictures, I stopped by my favorite wine shop and bought it.

"First thing tomorrow morning, I'll get flowers for my lady." And I'll send this card too, and pretend to be visiting, so I can witness her reaction. "Tomorrow's my day off." I'll dedicate it to my lady.

The rest of the night became history as I closed my drunken eyes and succumbed to sleep.

Giselle's pov

"Hey, Ro!" "You have a parcel!"

Ro had been upset with me because of last night's rain. I already explained to her that it wasn't intentional. I was practicing some new spells, and it just got out of hand. She'll come around eventually, though.

"Parcel? From who?" She asked, coming down the stairs like a princess raised by trolls.

"I don't know but it says anonymous."

I said so and handed it over to her to see for herself.

"Sis, this clearly says Giselle." "The parcel is for you and not me."

"Really?!! ""I haven't received a surprise in a while."

"Careful... It might be a letter bomb. We still don't know who sent it. "Besides, no one knows you're here; talk more about your name."

Just then the doorbell rang, and Ro looked at me.

*ROWENA *

"Hey Jaden, I wasn't expecting you." ""Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." How's Giselle?"

I hesitated a little bit before answering.

"She's fine," I stuttered. "And I'm fine too, thanks for asking."

I closed the door behind me as he walked in like he owned the house. I sat on the dining table and stuffed pancakes in my mouth while I watched them get along. It wasn't a bad thing, but something just felt unusual.

"Looks like you have an admirer already."

"Well, I wouldn't say admirer. more like a coward. He couldn't even attach his name.

They continued their chit chat and didn't even notice when I left for work. I guess I'll have to wait a while before I get to be part of all the fun.

My mom used to say—you know, the woman I reincarnated from—that a good day is the result of a beautiful morning. Now that my morning is sour, I guess the customers at the shop will have to be more mindful of themselves than they've ever been before because I can't promise anything.