Husband With Benefits-Chapter 46: A Stalker

Nora looked around the classroom which was empty with only the chairs and desks scattered around. She’d been worrying about those notes that she was receiving and the only solution she could think of was to come to class early and either escape getting a note or at least catching the person red-handed.

However, as she unpacked her notebook and pens, her heart skipped a beat when a folded piece of paper fell out from her desk and fluttered to the floor.

The room was eerily quiet, the only sound being her own nervous breathing. Nora felt her heart skip a beat. She tried to convince herself that it may be a rogue piece of paper and nothing more. Maybe someone was playing around and left it on her desk. But she knew she couldn’t fool herself.

Looking around, she started to have trouble catching her breath as she slowly picked up the note. Who could it be who had sneaked up here and slipped a note? Could it be they had left here last evening after the end of the classes? But the janitors would have taken it away. Could it be that the person was still here, watching her and waiting for her to pick up the note?

She jumped in fear when someone suddenly entered the class which also scared the other person. The classmate gave her a puzzled look before nodding at her in greeting and going to his own desk. Soon, students started to stream in, and Nora felt a bit comforted in the crowd while continuing to stare at the note in front of her. She had yet to gather the courage to open it and see the contents of the note.

She stared at the plain, white sheet with her name written on it in neat handwriting. She swallowed hard, her mind racing. This was a first. The person had actually written on it...

Her heart pounded in her chest as she read the few written words: "You’re doing good, Nora. And I can see that you are eager to meet me. I see the way your eyes scan the surroundings when you receive my notes. We’ll meet soon and then I can tell you in person how great you are."

On the surface, the message seemed positive. But Nora couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that had settled in her stomach. These anonymous notes had been appearing in her life almost daily now and she was getting more and more frightened.

She’d tried taking these notes to the police but they had refused to do anything about it since there were no threats in the note. The officer had even laughed it off saying that she probably had an admirer who was not brave enough to come to her. And then told her that she should come to them if there were any threats in the notes. In short, the police had dismissed her fears, suggesting that she was overthinking things.

The hum of conversations and the shuffling of desks drew her attention away from the note, and she carefully folded it back up and slipped it into her bag. She couldn’t afford to let her unease show; not when that person was always watching her.

After what felt like an eternity, Nora finally calmed herself determined to put the note out of her mind. But as the lecture started, she couldn’t help but glance around the room, her eyes darting from one face to another, searching for any sign that someone was watching her.

As the long day finally ended, Nora was on tenterhooks. She considered talking to Grandpa William or Demetri Frost but feared that they too might dismiss her fears. The weight of the notes and the constant fear that someone was watching her had taken a toll on her mental and emotional well-being.

Even as she was surrounded by thousands of people, as she walked away from the campus, she could not shake off the feeling of being watched.

It was only as she reached the cafe and hurried into the closed changing room that she felt relatively safer. But as she stepped out into the main room, in her uniform, she could not help but wonder if the person leaving her notes was there and she was interacting with him as well.

Nora’s eyes welled up with tears as she realized that she couldn’t continue to live like this, constantly looking over her shoulder and second-guessing every interaction, she had to talk to Grandpa William. He might be the only one who could help her. Maybe he could pressure the police into looking into the notes. If anything, that would scare the person who was trying to manipulate and scare her like this.

As the previous waitress was relieved, Nora quickly concentrated on her work, reassuring herself that soon, she would be able to get out of his problem. Grandpa William was not one to disregard her thoughts so easily. He would help.

The rest of the shift passes easily with her finally putting her worries to the back of her mind. It was actually Lucien, her new friend who had eased her mind by making jokes so mindless, that she could not help but laugh.

However, she could not have expected that her fear would return to the fore so soon. As she bid goodbye to Lucien, a delivery boy carrying flowers rushed straight to Maya at the cash counter. She did not pay much heed to it as this was a common occurrence here in the cafe.

However, as the rush dwindled, it was time for Nora to leave, Maya summoned her into the small office at the back. As Nora entered, she could not help but notice the large bouquet on Maya’s desk and complimented her," This is such a pretty bouquet."

Maya nodded and spoke," It’s for you. I thought it was inappropriate for you to receive it when you were working, so brought it here. You can take it."

As Maya left the office, she failed to notice Nora’s paleness. Nora extended her trembling hand and stared at the note. The handwriting on it was very similar to the one on the note from the morning. Slowly, she opened it and stared at the words," I don’t like the new friends you make. Don’t talk too much to your customers. It makes me sad."