Loving A STRANGER 174 Chapter 174: Things Aren't Always As They Appear

Dora turned on the phone and flipped through the pictures one by one. There were dozens of pictures on the phone, and they were all of Kylie. "I overestimated her, though," Tom continued. "She saw me multiple times. She has an uncanny sense for details. If someone is following her, she can feel it. I can't explain it…"

Ethan went to Kylie's suite and knocked lightly on the door three times, but no one answered. Concerned, he checked the time. She should be in by now, he thought to himself. Perhaps she is in the shower.

Ethan pulled out the spare key she'd given him and let himself in. The place was dark, and he knew immediately that no one was home. Worried, he pulled out his phone and called her number, but no one answered. He shook his head. When he'd talked to her earlier, he'd sensed that something was wrong, but he'd put it out of his mind.

Sitting alone in the dark living room, he felt more nervous than he ever had in his life. He went to the study, turned on the computer, and tried to track her through the tracker application he'd put on her phone. It was not only able to find Kylie's current location, but it was able to track her movements over the past 24 hours.

Looking at the screen, the first thing he saw was that she'd been parked outside of Dora Hilton's villa for over two hours, and his blood ran cold as his brain considered the implications of this.

The first thing that he actively looked for was her current location, and was very confused when the computer told her that Kylie was in the middle of the sea…

At first, he pictured her out there, swimming like mad, but then he realized that she was on the ferry. After seeing what she'd seen, she probably just decided to go back to Seattle. He thought about it for a second, and then he called Nate and asked him to start looking for Kylie. There were a lot of things that he needed to explain to her.

Kylie made her way to the dining area on the ferry. A hostess seated her, and she ordered a tomato basil linguine and a Coors Light. A waitress brought her the beer first, and, as she took the first couple sips, she couldn't help but feel bad about the way that she'd treated Faith. There really hadn't been any good reason for not being open with her friend.

Everything seemed very bleak suddenly, and she almost broke out into tears when she saw Faith. Faith came over to her and gave her a big hug. As Faith hugged her, she looked up and saw that Lucas was there too. His face was red, and he had his hands in his pocket like a bashful schoolboy.

"How is it that you're here?" Kylie asked as she wiped tears of joy from her eyes.

"Well," Faith replied, "We knew that we needed to go after you. At first, we were going just to take the next ferry, but Lucas saw how worried I was, and he offered to rent a helicopter. And that is that."

"Thank you so much," Kylie laughed as she pulled out two chairs for them. "Please, order from the menu on the table. Dinner is on me."

Faith and Lucas took the chairs that Kylie had offered, and when neither of them could decide, they both decided to follow Kylie's lead and order the basil linguine. While they waited for their food, Kylie told them everything that had happened since they'd last seen her and why she was running away.    

"That is unfortunate," Lucas said between bites. "He did seem like a stand-up guy…"

"Things aren't always as they appear," Faith said, "and love is a cruel mistress. I once gave up my job for a man, and we moved to Seattle together. He had told me that he would be supportive of me if I wanted to return to work, but it turned out that all he really wanted was a docile stay at home wife and mother, and someone who would also be willing to take care of his mother, who was paralyzed. Ultimately, I became what he wanted, but then he cheated on me, and that was the end of that.

"I left him as soon as I discovered what he'd been up to…"

Kylie nodded and said, "That was when I first met you, wasn't it? I can't believe that, after all these years, you've never told me that story!"

"I used to be really skinny back then," Faith continued. "My ex controlled everything I ate. He counted my calories throughout the day, wouldn't let me have any carbohydrates or snacks, and he weighed me every day.

Faith scowled at Lucas, who always nagged her about her weight, and said, "After I left him, I promised myself that I would never again be a slave to my figure. If I want to eat something, I do. If that means that I gain a bit of weight, I really don't give a f.u.c.k."

Kylie nodded and said, "That sounds like a really good way to live. As for myself, I will love you no matter your weight, and, now that Lucas has heard your story, hopefully, he can be a little more respectful in the future…"

Lucas looked down at the table, ashamed of how he'd treated Faith in the past. After a moment, he looked up and apologized to Faith.

The table was quiet for a bit then as everyone finished eating. Once their plates were empty and the wait staff had cleared their dishes, Faith looked at Kylie and asked her if she'd considered the possibility that Ethan might not be cheating on her. "After all," she said, "you didn't give him an opportunity to explain himself."