20
For a long time afterward, Lucas remained in Fairfield City, a stubborn fixture he refused to remove.
Every single day, he’d haunt the orphanage gates. Even a fleeting glimpse of me driving away in a car was enough to make him stand there, his gaze fixed, utterly mesmerized, like a lost soul.
Even the children at the orphanage picked up on his “devotion.
“Anna,” one child asked, “does the super handsome guy outside really, really like you?” The children, innocent to the complexities of the adult world, simply felt sorry for Lucas, waiting there day after day.
I could only offer a small smile. I tried to explain, but the children, in their innocent, unwavering logic, always drew their own
conclusions.
“Even if he really likes you, Anna,” one child declared, “he must have done something awfully wrong. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so
mad at him!”
The others quickly chimed in, “Yeah, exactly! He’s the one who messed up!”
“And besides,” another added, beaming, “we like Evan better! Anna, you have to be with Evan.”
Each time they said something like that, a subtle stiffness would settle over my features.
I’d steal a glance at Evan, always silently behind me. He’d meet my gaze with a warm, reassuring smile, devoid of any pressure for me to
make a decision.
It was Evan’s quiet, unwavering presence that slowly, painstakingly, began to mend the raw, festering wounds in my heart.
Even with Lucas’s relentless presence still hounding me, I didn’t feel that same paralyzing fear when Evan was near.
Two more weeks slipped by in this manner.
Then, a typhoon slammed into Fairfield City.
Torrential rain lashed down, blurring the world outside. From my window, I watched Lucas, a solitary, drenched figure, standing
utterly exposed in the deluge.
I didn’t feel an ounce of pity for him. Instead, his persistence felt terrifying.
For the past two weeks, he’d sent a daily parade of flowers, necklaces, and jewelry. If not that, he’d stand sentinel outside the orphanage gates, his gaze locked on my window, a silent promise that he wouldn’t rest until I’d granted him forgiveness.
His ever–present shadow made it difficult for me to move freely. Today, I was set to attend a charity gala, and I’d foolishly believed this torrential downpour would finally make Lucas back down.
But no, he was still out there, stubbornly planted in the relentless rain.
Just as my patience wore thin, the driver called. “Ms. Reed, are we ready to depart? I just double–checked outside the gate; no one’s hanging around. We should be able to get out safely now.”
I froze, then immediately pulled back the curtain to peer outside.
Lucas was gone.
A sigh of relief escaped me. “Alright, get ready,” I told the driver. “I’ll be right out.”
18:05
7.1%
< 20
Five minutes later, umbrella held high, I climbed into the sedan waiting outside the gates.
The rain was absolutely merciless; even with the umbrella, my shoulders were soaked.
Menu
“Let’s go,” I said, brushing droplets from my long hair as I looked up at the person in the driver’s seat. “Just follow the address I sent you yesterday.”
The driver nodded, a simple ‘Alright‘ echoing in the enclosed space.
The car eased into motion, soon pulling out of the orphanage gates.
I glanced down at my phone and saw Evan had sent a message
I tapped it open. It read:
half an
hour ago.
“Anna, in forty minutes, my driver and I will come pick you up for the gala.”
I froze. He said his driver…
The orphanage only had one car, and one driver… the same driver I was currently with.
In that instant, my head snapped up, my eyes darting to the rearview mirror.
Reflected in the glass was the face of the man in the driver’s seat. Lucas.
< 21
