Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 37

Right up until bedtime, the renovations next door raged on, the rhythmic pounding of hammers echoing through the walls.

The noise wasn't deafening, but this old house had zero soundproofing. Willa was already a notoriously light sleeper, and now, catching even a wink was impossible.

Frustrated, she threw off her covers, marched over to the neighbor's gate, and knocked. The same worker from earlier answered.

He was significantly less arrogant than he'd been that afternoon, looking somewhat apologetic. "Look, we're sorry. The boss is paying us double-time to get this finished ASAP. We're trying to keep it down, I swear."

Hearing that, Willa swallowed the angry complaints that had been bubbling in her throat.

She sighed heavily. "I'll call your boss again. I genuinely can't sleep with all this racket."

At eleven o'clock that night, Willa dialed the number she had saved earlier.

This time, it rang for a long time before someone finally picked up, and a heavy, slow breathing filled the silence.

"Hello?" It was the same male voice, though it sounded incredibly husky and lethargic, as if she had just woken him up.

Feeling a twinge of guilt, Willa softened her tone. "Hi, I'm so sorry to wake you. I'm your next-door neighbor. It's eleven o'clock, and your crew is still working. It's really keeping me awake. Could you please just tell them to pack it in for tonight and pick it up tomorrow? Just as a courtesy?"

The line went dead silent for a long moment before he spat out a single, freezing word, "No."

The call abruptly dropped. Willa's blood instantly boiled, but she knew it was pointless to take it out on the workers, so she stomped back to her house, fuming.

Unbelievably, Zack had been right on the money. This new neighbor wasn't just difficult; he was completely heartless.

In the end, she dug out a pair of industrial earplugs and barely managed to survive the night.

For the next few days, the renovations next door continued around the clock. Thankfully, the noise died down slightly at night, and with her earplugs, she could manage a few hours of sleep.

Willa gradually pushed the annoyance out of her mind and threw herself into hunting for a new job.

His acting was so incredibly bad it was physically painful to watch.

Willa barely knew him, having only met him once during that disastrous camping trip.

Not wanting to embarrass him by calling out his pathetic lie, she ignored him entirely, her death glare fixed squarely on Randal. "What kind of game are you playing, Randal?"

Randal didn't answer. He simply tilted his head and shot a pointed look at Miles. "Weren't you in a hurry to leave?"

Miles slapped his forehead dramatically. "Right, right! Almost forgot I had places to be."

He spun back to Willa, flashing a brilliant, desperate smile. "Willa, could you do us a massive solid? Randal's hand is messed up, so he can't drive, and I have a huge emergency I have to run to. Any chance you could drive him to his destination?"

"No. I don't have a car," Willa shot back coldly. She bent down to retrieve her garbage bag and turned to walk away.