The Devilish Assassin Meets The Angelic Detective

The reason why Elle dropped by Erick's place first before she went to the airport to meet Black Shadow was to get the item that Marie was supposed to give Black Shadow that day.

Officer Kim handed over the gift to Erick. He was planning to give it to Marie's parents along with her other belongings. However, after hearing that she fell into a coma, Erick failed to approach Marie's parents as they were very occupied at that time.

In the end, he brought it home. After Elle remembered it, she decided to bring it along with her and give it to Black Shadow in order to test him.

Now, by just looking at Black Shadow's expression, it seemed that there's a deeper story behind the incident. Since her husband was greatly affected by it, Elle wanted to figure out what really happened that day.

"So you also knew that they sent her to me as a spy." Black Shadow spoke up after his silence. 

There was a hint of accusation and irritation in his voice. He didn't bother to hide his ugly expression from her.

"No, I didn't. Not until yesterday. I learned about it when I went to the hospital together with Erick." Elle responded nonchalantly.

"The task force was blaming you. They thought you discovered her identity and that shooting incident was your doing." Elle was carefully observing him.

Black Shadow's face darkened further after hearing that. But he kept silent. He didn't have any intention to defend himself nor explain to her the real situation.

However, Elle wouldn't leave this issue unresolved especially now that Erick was blaming himself. She was so determined to find out the truth. 

She somehow thought of several scenarios in her mind but she needed to confirm it with Black Shadow. To do that, she needed him to spill the beans.

"But I guess they are blaming the wrong person. If my assumption is correct then you are the witness who called the police and told them the exact location of the sniper. There's no way that a witness could see the position of the sniper unless he knew it all along."

'How was she able to conclude that? D*mn!' Black Shadow pondered to himself.

Black Shadow was stunned after hearing her remarks. Seeing his shocked expression, Elle's lips curled up into a mischievous smile.

"Now, I somehow connected the dots after hearing your explanation. Do you want to hear my conclusion?" Elle asked him as she gave him a taunting smile.

The situation between the two had turned around by 180 degrees. Now, there's no sign of annoyance that could be seen in Elle's face while Black Shadow's bright mood a while ago dissipated into thin air.

"Heh… then tell me," he mumbled as he sneered at her.

"The Azumi Twins were the true culprits. They threatened you using Marie for you to tell them something about me. And in the end, they still shoot her after you told them about Erick. So to get even with them, you lied to them about my gender."

"Oh, maybe Azumi Twins were the ones who told you about Marie as a spy," Elle added.

This time Black Shadow's eyes widened, his mouth gaped.

"D*mn kitten! Are you a psychic? How did you know all that? I haven't told you anything."

"Haha… your facial expressions were enough to confirm my speculation. You're also a very transparent, Black. You care about Marie, don't you?" Elle was testing him once again.

Elle felt relieved after he confirmed her assumption. Erick didn't need to blame himself for Marie's misfortune. He had nothing to do with it.

She gazed up to observe Black Shadow. She was waiting for his response.

"No, I don't. She is no different from others who deceived me before. Why should I care about her? In fact, I hate her." There was bitterness in his voice after saying those words. 

"Haha. Hate my a*s? Then why did you inform the police about the incident? Liar. A big liar!" Elle was the one who's laughing at him at this moment. 

She mimicked Black Shadow's tone that he used before when the two of them talked about her relationship with Erick.

"So you don't want to hear any updates about her?" It sounded like a tease rather than a question.

Elle saw the conflicting emotions in Black Shadow's eyes. He looked so troubled and bothered. Even if he denied it his expression already spoke for himself.

"Do you know where she's hit by the bullet? It's in the head Black, in her head! Now, since you hate her, are you happy about her misfortune?" Elle became serious this time as she emphasized those words to him.

"You are not curious at all whether she is still alive or not? I was there in the hospital. I knew what happened to her. Just ask me. Do you want to know or not?"

Elle was right. It was Black Shadow who called the police. After that call, he left the place without checking Marie's condition.

He was mad knowing that she was a spy- a policewoman. He felt betrayed once again. His ego couldn't accept it. He was asking himself why all the women he let in into his life always ended up deceiving him.

Black Shadow clenched his fists from that thought. He looked down. He didn't want Elle to see his face. He was afraid that she would figure out something that even he, himself, didn't want to admit nor accept.

He wanted to ignore it. He didn't want to hear anything about Marie's condition but his heart was telling him the other way around. He didn't understand why his heart was aching right now.

Then suddenly he blurted out in a low trembling voice. "H-How... is she?"

Elle was taken aback for a moment. Then she sighed deeply before she answered his question. 

"To tell you honestly Black… she's not in a good condition. She's in a coma right now. We don't know when she will wake up. Even the doctor couldn't guarantee it. Besides, being hit by a bullet in the head, she has a low chance of survival. You also know that. You're an assassin. It's already fortunate that she's still alive. There's still hope for her. It's up to her now."

He didn't say another word after hearing that information from Elle. He couldn't understand why he was feeling these emotions. He didn't want any of these. He was not supposed to feel something.

After a while, Elle heard Black Shadow's laughter. He was laughing but his eyes were clouded by different emotions. Elle couldn't figure out what he was thinking as of this moment.

"Alright. I heard it. This was enough. Since I am leaving today, I will also leave these things behind. What happened between me and her meant nothing. She used me and I used her. We're even." Black Shadow was able to gather himself and he was back to his normal self.

Elle just shrugged at him. She still gave the paper bag to him. She put it in his hand.

"Since we are done talking here, I think it's time to go separate ways. Good luck with your new journey and happy trip." Elle said to him.

But before she walked away to leave, she said something to him. She thought that Black Shadow deserved to know this even though she didn't know the real score between Marie and him.

"Oh by the way, for your information, when she met you yesterday, Agent Marie hadn't told anyone from her team that you are leaving City Z."

"It looked like she wanted to meet you there for one last time and to give that thing to you." She pointed out the paper bag in his hand.

Hearing that, Black Shadow was shaken at this moment. His resolve was slowly breaking.

She smiled faintly at him. "One last thing Black, since I am grateful for giving me warning about the Azumi Twins, I'll tell you a secret."

Black Shadow hadn't recovered yet from the information he just received from her and now she was planning to tell him another secret. He couldn't help himself but wonder. That's why he looked at her confusedly.

"I think Erick and I had developed our feelings for each other when we started pretending that we were a couple. Although I already knew that it was wrong from the start but still I was not able to stop my heart from loving him."

After saying that, Elle didn't wait for his response. She turned around and started to walk away. Black Shadow was left in a trance while staring at the retreating back of Elle.

When she disappeared from his sight, his brave front collapsed right away as he felt limp and weak after his talk with Elle. He leaned on the wall for his support.

He remained still for several minutes, unmoving as he looked absentmindedly at the paper bag in his hand.

After what it seemed like an eternity, finally he found his courage to check the item inside the paper bag. He picked the rectangular box. When he opened it, he saw a watch and a note. 

He read what was written in the note.

[ Hello Babe! I hope you like my parting gift to you even though it is not as expensive as your gift. Please wear it and keep it to your side always. I hope that when you see it you will think about our time and memories we spent together. Bon Voyage! ]

His grip on the note tightened after reading it. He gritted his teeth as he slammed his eyes shut. He was trying to calm himself down.

Then he heard his flight announcement. It was time to board the plane. He opened his eyes and he started to walk. 

However, instead of walking towards the boarding gate, he walked towards the exit gate of the airport.