Apocalypse Queen: My Space, My Rules Chapter 28: Caught in the Storage Room

Mariella steadied herself. Just as she reached for the door and was about to open it, she suddenly froze.

Wait. Where is Lucky?

She clearly remembered him following her in. So why was he gone?

Mariella scanned the empty storage room several times, making sure there was nowhere a dog could be hiding.

There was no way a perfectly normal dog could just disappear. Did he somehow follow her into the storage space?

That didn't make sense either. Once she left the storage space, it couldn't hold any living creatures.

Panic rose in her chest. She called out several times, "Lucky!"

"Woof, woof!" Lucky barked back from outside.

Mariella froze.

Lucky got out?

How did he even get out?

She quickly grabbed the doorknob.

With a click, the door opened at once.

Huh? I clearly remembered locking the storage room door from the inside after coming in.

That didn't make sense. I remembered locking it from the inside.

So why did it open so easily?

Alarm bells rang in her head.

Before she could make sense of it, a sharp, handsome face appeared right in front of her.

Before she could scream, he spoke first. "What were you doing in there?"

Mariella nearly yelped, like she had just seen a ghost.

With a quick blur, Lucky dashed inside, circling her and wagging his tail like crazy.

She forced herself to swallow the sound and steady her breathing. Only then did she realize the person in front of her was Chandler.

"Y-you... when did you get here? No, wait... when did you get into my storage room? And why do you have a key?" she demanded, her voice tight with suspicion.

Chandler's gaze on her was hard to read.

"I heard Lucky barking, so I came to check. I realized he was locked inside, so I opened the door."

He showed Mariella what he had used to pick the lock. Just a thin piece of wire.

Mariella stared at him, stunned. He could pick locks too? Has he been doing this on the side before?

She wanted to ask what he had seen, but the words wouldn't come out.

Had the secret of the storage space just been exposed like this?

For a split second, she almost couldn't hold back the urge to silence him for good.

The killing intent in her eyes was too obvious. Chandler instinctively stepped back.

"The others are outside watching," he warned. Then his expression hardened, his gaze fixed on her with caution.

Mariella forced herself to calm down. Sure enough, she spotted several heads peeking out from different corners.

Her irritation spiked.

These people weren't sleeping. They were hiding here just to listen in?

Were they seriously that bored?

Tomorrow, she was bumping up training intensity by two levels. She'd see if they still had the energy for this nonsense.

Frustration boiling over, Mariella suddenly reached out, grabbed Chandler, and yanked him into the storage room.

Bang! The storage room door slammed shut, and with another click, it locked.

Lucky froze. He then whimpered, looking pitiful.

Why did she pull Chandler inside but leave me out here?

He started scratching at the door, again and again.

Outside, the place instantly exploded with gossip.

The bodyguards who had been hiding in the shadows all came out, men and women alike, instantly breaking into chatter.

"Ms. Townsend just dragged Captain Zimmer into the storage room!"

"Oh my god, is Captain Zimmer about to get... you know...?"

"That's unlikely. Captain Zimmer's self-restraint is unshakeable."

"Or maybe he just doesn't want to resist?"

One of the female bodyguards covered her face and said, "Ms. Townsend came down in her pajamas with her hair down. She clearly just showered. She's definitely serious about this!"

Another female bodyguard frowned. "Then why not take him to her room? Why the storage room?"

The group went quiet for a second. Number Nine suddenly said, "Maybe it's more exciting this way."

That one line set everyone off again. Just as they were about to get into more detailed speculation, Number One stepped out, face completely blank.

"No gathering around. Break it up now. Go do what you're supposed to do!" His tone was cold, his gaze sharp.

When Chandler wasn't around, Number One was the one in charge, so his words carried real authority.

Seeing his grim expression, everyone exchanged looks, as if they suddenly understood something.

They didn't say it out loud. Mostly because they didn't want to get beaten up. Some made faces, some stuck out their tongues, some gestured silently, then quickly scattered.

Only Lucky stayed by the door, stubbornly guarding it.

Number One glanced at the closed door and let out a quiet, dismissive snort.

So Captain Zimmer gave in to Ms. Townsend.

So even Captain Zimmer, with all that righteous airs, was nothing special after all.

Not every man can hold his ground like I can.

At that moment, he didn't envy Chandler's position at all. He had no interest in trading himself for anything.

...

As the door shut, Mariella pinned Chandler hard against it.

"Talk. Why were you following me?" Her eyes locked onto his, cold and sharp, her teeth grinding with a low, chilling sound.