The question itself felt logical, but that was exactly why the blonde choked, blushed, and lowered her head, before she fought back the feeling of embarrassment and raised her head to fix her gaze on Alex.
She took a deep breath, and replied firmly:
"I am Sharon Kenner, and I came because I think we need to talk."
Alex tilted his head to the side with his eyebrows raised:
"Kenner, Lenner… Interesting."
He calmly nodded with a casual smiled, then looked at the blonde:
"Alright, let's talk. But before that, tell who sent you here a month ago."
Sharon froze. She looked at Alex for a moment, before she exhaled, and replied:
"I don't know."
Alex only raised his eyebrows, then leaned back to wait. And indeed, Sharon continued:
"For what happened, I have been getting the instructions over the phone. I never saw the man on the other side."
Alex retorted with his lips curled into a half-smile:
"And still, you followed those instructions, and you committed crimes."
Sharon bit her lip and lowered her head, but only for a second, before she raised her head with a hard look in her eyes, and asserted:
"I didn't have a choice."
Alex scrutinized the blonde, his smile unchanged, still barely reaching his eyes, and casually replied:
"That is what everyone says."
It was like a pike driven straight into Sharon's defense.
It is what everyone says, after commiting a crime. Meaning that for Alex, she was just giving an excuse.
She bit her lip, and clenched her fists, her frustration trying to boil under the surface, but failing, because no matter what, she broke into Alex's home, tied him to a chair, and threatened him. No matter what, it was difficult for a sinner to hold her head high.
"I–"
Sharon took a deep breath then looked at the brown-haired man:
"I know what I did was wrong, and I won't ask you to like me, or even forgive me. That is not why I came here today. I came here… because…"
The rest was awkward to say, making her inhale and exhale again and again. It was as embarrassing as a grown-up still nursing illusions about fairy tales, or superpowers.
With a faint gleam of interest in his eyes, Alex crossed his arms, then uncrossed them. Sharon scrunched her face, and squirmed in pain on the sofa. Looking at Alex's partially amused smile, she was almost overcome with the desire to punch him.
"Can you stop moving, heir Lenner? Don't you feel any pain from the sequelae of the accident you had today?"
Alex raised his eyebrows then showed a big smile:
"Oh? Of course I feel pain, but I have been through worse."
Sharon looked at his smile, so genuine but clearly a facade, and for a moment, her thoughts went back to the scars she had seen on Alex's chest the previous time. The look in her eyes as she looked at him changed, seeing something more than a simple playboy as his reputation had it.
Alex didn't know why his guest fell into a daze, but that did not prevent him from wiggling his eyebrows and teasing her:
"I'm handsome, aren't I?"
"..."
"Still, thank you for caring."
After being speechless, Sharon blinked back to reality, then snapped in a voice filled with frustration while holding her left side:
"I'm not caring about you. This is exactly why I am here, because of you, and because of that damn red string thing. Can we have a proper talk now?"
Alex's smile faded slowly, his eyes never leaving Sharon. Her blue eyes lit up with hope, only for him to suddenly pat his legs and stand up:
"You shouldn't take a prank from my grandfather seriously. If there is nothing else, you can leave. I still have to catch up on some sleep before the sun comes back."
With that, Alex took the glass of water on the table and walked toward the kitchen with it, unable to look any more disinterested.
Sharon was shocked, and she hastily stood up:
"You– Alex! Lenner! Why are you behaving like that?"
The man casually waved his hand without looking back:
"I know my own grandfather. He has always liked playing pranks. I don't know what gave you the impression that the red string thing was serious, but you got it wrong. Now, if you would please vacate my home, it is late, and I don't let just anyone spend the night with me."
"You!!"
Sharon was offended by the words, and she glared at the back going away. Suddenly, she seemed to think of something, and she calmed down after a deep breath. Looking at Alex, she sneered:
"I didn't know the playboy Alex Lenner who all the girls in the city dream of is just a coward. I wonder how others will react to that."
Alex stood before the sink in the kitchen, and looked at Sharon with interest, asking with his lips curling up in amusement:
"Oh? So you also dream of me. I suppose I should feel flattered! You are not bad yourself."
"You!!!"
Sharon stomped her foot. She gritted her teeth, and pointed her finger at Alex, unable to vocalize her feelings, so much she was suffocating. In the end, she pulled her finger back to clench her fist, and compressed her frustration in a short sentence which she forced out through the gap between her teeth:
"That! Is not! The point!"
He was making a mockery of her, and she knew it. She also knew that he realized her intention to poke at his ego and use his pride, his arrogance even, against him to get him to listen. And she failed royally.
Alex washed the glass after emptying the water Sharon had barely touched. As he wiped it dry, he looked up to look at the bundle of frustration in his living room with amusement, before he decided to take pity on her and humor her after a shake of his head:
"Alright, Miss Kenner, tell me, what made you think that what you saw last time was anything more than a prank? What happened that caused you to visit me again? Let's see if you can convince me."
As he spoke with a casual smile, he conveniently ignored the blonde brows furrowed in pain while he behaved as if the large bruise on the left side of his chest did not exist at all.
Sharon looked at the uncaring Alex and muttered after breathing in deeply:
"A prank, huh?"
A prank that started by knocking people out inexplicably. A prank indeed. She exhaled, gathered her composure, and gave Alex a serious look.
"For starters, the past thirty days have been steeped in bad luck for me, and it is as if I have been cursed with misfortune ever since I left here."
"Oh?"