Kisa was upset. She still had to think about the big picture. Those killers might not have climbed into her room from the outside, but there was no guarantee that they would not pick the lock in the middle of the night. Plus, she really did not want Gilbert to worry about her. After all, he had to drive during the day. She had once said she would drive when he felt tired, but he disagreed. Gilbert told her that killers were chasing them along the way and that her driving skills were not as good as his, so he was afraid that she could not escape in a car pursuit. Kisa had the same thought, too, so she did not insist.Gilbert was still awake, leaning against the headboard and playing with his phone. The room was lit with warm yellow light from the wall lamp, the soft light making him look more affable, unlike his prickly attitude earlier.Kisa held the quilt and stood in the doorway. Seeing that he said nothing, she scuttled toward the bed. It was a gigantic bed, but Gilbert was lying
Kisa tugged at Gilbert's clothes and whispered to him, "Ask them if Blake is okay."But Gilbert ignored her as if he had not heard her. It was Andrew who heard her voice."Daddy, is Ma'am next to you?"Kisa suddenly pursed her lips and did not make a sound. As they were lying in the same bed, she did not want the children to see it. Gilbert looked over at Kisa, who shook her head at him.Gilbert sneered at Kisa and said to Andrew, "No.""Oh, I may have misheard it then." Andrew continued. "Then I will video-call Ma'am. I miss her, too.""Okay."Kisa was transfixed. Before she could react to it, her phone rang. It was a video call from none other than Andrew. As she sat up in bed, she was awash in embarrassment. She panicked and propped herself up on the mattress, but her fingers accidentally tapped the answer button, and Andrew's and Ada's smiling faces appeared on the screen, with Kelvin standing behind them."Ma'am, are you with Daddy?" The smile on Andrew's face turned to su
Kisa was so tense that she dared not to move, but after Gilbert leaned over, he did not make another move, just leaning against her. After a long while, she gradually eased up when he stayed lying just like that, and his breathing became shallow. She felt his body like a ball of fire, scorching her skin as his chest pressed against her back.When she first came in, she still felt a little cold because the heating in the room was not on a higher setting. But now, she was feeling hot. She could not help but move closer to the edge of the bed. If she went further out, she would fall down the bed. It did not help that Gilbert followed her and moved closer to her as soon as she moved away.Kisa had no words. She suspected he was pretending to be asleep. The air was still, and the only sound echoing in the room was the sound of breathing. She stared at the faint glow shining through the curtains for a while and gradually dozed off. When she was about to fall asleep, Gilbert suddenly mutter
Kisa's chest heaved violently as her forehead was covered with sweat. She hurriedly got out of bed and ran outside without any thought. Breakfast was here. Gilbert took out the food and couldn't help but say, "You're awake. Come and have breakfast," when he saw Kisa running out of the room.However, Kisa did not seem to have heard what he said and ran straight to the door to check the lock. Gilbert frowned slightly. "Kisa, what's the matter with you? Why are you checking the door lock so early in the morning?"Kisa was still immersed in the nightmare that she had just had. She pulled on the lock and said, "I dreamed that the killers picked the lock, rushed in here, and stabbed us with knives. It was scary. It felt so real; the knives they held are still engraved in my mind."Gilbert leaned back against the chair and sneered, "That dream happened because you keep thinking about it. Aren't you tired of worrying so much, Kisa?"Kisa ignored his snarky remark. She stood by the door for
Kisa lost her appetite for breakfast. "I think it'll be more convincing if I fake my death along with you," she said to Gilbert in a serious tone. "Are you sure you can fake your own death? I'm afraid that you might actually die," Gilbert sneered.The man looked at her and said faintly, "You're not as fast nor as good at acting as I am. You'll only be holding me back if we don't split up." Kisa was speechless upon hearing this. She squeezed the sandwich in her hand, her heart feeling extremely uneasy. "Eat faster. I'll bring you to the bus station after you finish. If my predictions are correct, those people will be tailing us as soon as we leave the hotel. There'll be swarms of people at the bus station. I'll take advantage of the crowd and let you go when the time is right so that they wouldn't notice.""So you want me to wait for you at Riverton. Shouldn't you give me a time frame for when we're meeting up? I can't possibly wait for you there forever, can I?" Kisa put down the san
Kisa looked at Gilbert's tense profile, not knowing how to answer his question. She felt like it was inappropriate to discuss the issue at such a critical moment. She did not answer, and Gilbert did not ask any more questions.Soon, they reached the intersection of the traffic lights. When the light was about to turn red, Gilbert stepped on the gas and crossed to the other side. Kisa knew he was trying to get rid of the four cars following them so that she could secretly get off at the station in that brief amount of time.As they got closer to the station, Kisa still did not answer his question, and her emotions grew more and more complex. She pulled the zipper of her backpack back and forth as if it would relieve her from the stress that she was under.There were a lot of people in the station. As soon as they crossed the traffic light, Gilbert pulled over and parked his car on one lane at the entrance of the station. The entrance was especially crowded with people as the buses fr
Kisa was disappointed when she realized it was just a spam text. She stared at her text history with Gilbert for a while; there was only the message she had just sent, while the rest was blank. She sighed softly, turned her gaze, and continued to look out the window. After waiting on the bus for more than ten minutes, several people went onto the bus one after the other. Kisa put on a mask and took out her earphones to listen to music.The bus finally started its journey at ten o'clock. The seats were almost full at that time. Sitting in front of Kisa was a young couple; the girl was intimately leaning on her partner's shoulder; it looked peaceful and serene. Kisa thought of her youth when she saw this. 'Once, our school organized a summer camp, and Gilbert—who was a few years older—tagged along, saying that it was for fun and to gain experience. We took the same bus at that time and miraculously sat together. I didn't sleep much the night before because I was so excited about the tri
At the front desk was a woman who was in her thirties, swiping on her phone. When she saw Kisa coming, she gave her an eye roll. "Single or double? Show me your ID.""Oh, I forgot to bring my ID."The woman frowned. "We need ID to register you into the hotel system. No ID, no room. Go back home and grab it.""My home is too far away from here. How about I give you an extra seventy dollars? Can you please help me check in?"The woman thought for a while and smiled as she said, "Alright. How long will you be staying?""Just one night," Kisa said. The hotel only had six floors, and Kisa chose the highest floor. The higher her room was, the safer she felt. After entering the room, she locked all the doors and windows and lay on the bed, exhausted. After lying there for a while, she picked up her phone and clicked on the text history between her and Gilbert once again; it was still blank. Kisa closed her sore eyes and put her phone aside. 'Maybe he hasn't looked at his phone yet. What