Elias’ Crimes and Punishments of Romance

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing beside me,” Amanda replied, her fear mingled. with a suspicion that Elias might be playing a prank on her.

“Honey, I swear something is moving next to you. Just turn around and see for yourself.”

She reluctantly complied, but there was nothing there. It was becoming evident that the man. was attempting to spook her. “Elias! Seriously? How old are you? How childish can you be? You scared me!”

Elias couldn’t help but chuckle at Amanda’s irritation. “Since you’re so scared, why don’t you. your dear husband keep you company while you sleep? I promise not to do anything. I’ll just obediently stay by your side.”

“No, thanks! No matter what happens tonight, you can’t sleep on the bed. If you dare to, I’ll get mad and won’t talk to you for a month.”

“Alright, alright, you go to sleep. I won’t bother you anymore.” Although he wanted to sleep. on the bed, he didn’t want to provoke his wife or risk her leaving home.

Amanda lay back down and chose to ignore Elias, but she still couldn’t fall asleep.

Noticing her restlessness, he suggested, “If you can’t sleep, how about I tell a story, just like we did to help Aiden fall asleep?”

She didn’t respond but let him proceed.

So, Elias adjusted into a more relaxed position, facing Amanda from the couch, and began, “Let me share a real-life experience from when I was studying abroad. My father insisted I keep my background a secret, so I rented an apartment. Most of the tenants were working professionals and students. Nothing unusual happened during my first week there, but I sensed movement under my bed one night while I was asleep.”

was utterly engrossed in the story, and her body tensed involuntarily. Driven by her. curiosity, she pressed, “And

continued, “So, I turned on the light

find? Tell

sly grin, he said, “I found a woman’s bracelet. At first, I thought it belonged to the previous tenant and decided to return it to her, thinking it might be some kind of special token of

upright, her gaze fixed on him. “So, is the bracelet

placed it on the table, the movement. under the bed stopped for

could it be? Is it something supernatural?” Amanda unconsciously held onto her blanket tightly. She had a deep fear of ghosts and

continued, “So, the following day, after my classes, I visited the landlord and informed her about the bracelet. Her response was quite peculiar. Her face went pale when she saw the bracelet, and she promptly shut the door, instructing me to leave.”

does that imply?”

clue. I simply left the bracelet on the landlord’s windowsill. Later, I learned that a murder occurred in my rented room. It was a tragic incident involving a

saying that bracelet belonged to the murdered woman? How is that even possible? The police would have investigated the scene thoroughly and wouldn’t leave such a crucial piece of evidence. behind. And even if they somehow overlooked it, how could the landlord

smirked and replied, “It’s quite the mystery, right? I can’t explain

beyond the grave. That’s why you’ve been hearing those noises under the bed, and after you. picked up the bracelet, the eerie

he remained silent, allowing her to

supernatural occurrences. At that moment, she couldn’t bear to

have a point there, I suppose.” Elias could even discern Amanda’s embarrassment in the dimly

around. Even though a man was lying on the couch staring at her, she was

intention was to create a spooky atmosphere to get an opportunity to snuggle up with his warm and sweet-smelling

haunting her. This unease was precisely why she avoided horror movies. altogether. After a