Take Me Away

The moon was shining brightly that night. As it hung high on the tree, it flooded the room with its mystical light. On the bed, Spencer was playing big spoon to Fiona, who was lying on his right arm. With his left hand, he gently and lovingly caressed her hair. His hand then slid down to her back at a certain spot, as if looking for something. Unbeknownst to her, he was deep in thought.

Silence ruled the room until Spencer decided to break it.

"Are you tired?" he asked in a deep, quiet voice.

Upon hearing that, Fiona's ears immediately turned red. She was about to nod to let him know how she was feeling, but at the last second, she hesitated and instead, shook her head slowly.

He tightened his grip on her waist and asked, "How did the scars on your back suddenly disappear? And...when did you have this mark?"

Surprised, Fiona turned over immediately with her eyes wide open and said, "You already saw it before, didn't you? Why are you asking me now?"

"Maybe I forgot about it," Spencer answered casually. He averted his gaze and evaded Fiona's question altogether.

Fiona took a deep breath. "When I was in Cherry Grove Residence, Charles asked someone to mark the X mark on my back. I wasn't able to do anything. They just forced it to me," she said, her tone sad and defeated.

"Other than this, what else did he do to you, Fiona?" asked Spencer. His heart was now beating hard inside his chest and his mouth was now dry from the anticipation of knowing the answer to the question he had kept inside him for so long.

'What else did he do?' With her mouth half open and her eyebrows knitted tightly, she shivered violently. The memories of the night she ran away flooded filled her head.

Spencer focused on Fiona's reaction. The video he watched and the scared expression on Fiona's face made him feel like his heart was being crushed into tiny little pieces. "If he did anything to you, tell me, and I'll make him pay for it, okay?" he whispered.

Suddenly, the expression in Fiona's eyes changed—it went from fear to panic. "Don't you dare meet him in private. We must solve this matter legally!"

With a meaningful smile, Spencer continued, "I know that you're a good girl, Fiona, and that you always abide by the law. I know that no matter what happens, you want to solve everything legally.

While that is possible, it is not always the best course of action. Last time, you wanted to solve the scuffle about Leona through legal means. But—"

"Leona is dead," Fiona said with her lips trembling.

There was a moment of silence. Once again, Spencer was the one who broke it by saying, "It's okay, Fiona." As he patted on her back, he continued, "The way I see it, it was better for her to end her life rather than live in a dark place like Cherry Grove Residence."

Fiona didn't say anything in response. Leona was not a bad person. If she was, she would not have found a way to help her leave and she would not have taken the bullet for her. Ever since that happened, she couldn't help but feel like it had been eating her up on the inside. Leona's death should not have happened. She was too young to die.

Ring!

Spencer leaned over to look for his phone that was hidden in the pile of clothes scattered on the floor. As soon as he located it, he stretched out his long arm to fish it out from the mess. When he saw the caller ID, a frown appeared on his lips. "I have to take this," he said as he hopped out of the bed.

curious. Since she was within earshot, she thought

He gently closed the door so that she couldn't hear anything and walked to the balcony to answer the call. The night breeze was cold, and so was his heart. He would finally know if the video was manipulated

the voice on the other end of

say it."

cannot confirm that the woman in the video was Mrs. Cheng. I am afraid that the only way of knowing whether it

"Yes. Yes I am."

the identity

more investigation needed. That's

"Yes, sir."

and make sure that

"Yes, sir!"

his hand reached for his pockets, but then he realized that he was only wearing a bath towel around his waist. He rushed back to his bedroom and started to rummage through the drawers to find his

out one stick, so as he was trying to light it, he couldn't help his hand from shaking. Soon enough, the cigarette was lite and he took a deep, hard draw. He began to feel

was so preoccupied with puffing he didn't notice that a person

One, two, three...

whole pack right now. When he realized that his cigarette was almost finished, he rose from his seat. The light was on in the kitchen and the dishes were already on the table and so he decided that

food prepared. He sat on the chair

let Charles ruin what he had, he had to keep the happiness that was finally his! 'I could just forget that I ever saw

the P City base, Celine was

something she needed to buy. "Just drop me off here, please,"

about to get out of the car when the two soldiers declared that they would be going with her. "Miss Cheng, we aren't sure it's safe around here. It's better if we go with you!" The two

her glare on them and said firmly, "Stop and go back to the car! What do you think of me? Dumb? Do I look like someone in need your help?

"Miss Cheng..."

products, you airheads!" Celine roared. "Do you want to see that? Do you really want to see me pick out sanitary napkins? Because honestly,

One of them mumbled, "Well, then, Miss Cheng, you can go to the pharmacy yourself. But please don't take too long. We will wait for you here. If anyone bothers you or if you are in danger, just scream and

Celine raised her chin, turned around, and

sure, she chose two different types of products. She took a deep breath and was about to walk to the cashier desk when a young girl with a cap suddenly bumped into her. Without her knowledge, this girl put a small medicine bottle into Celine's pocket. She even made sure that she avoided the security camera pointed at

you blind, little missy? All this space and you still bumped into me? And you haven't apologized! Didn't you parents

raised her head and stared at Celine with her sharp eyes. "The

Celine was stunned. Charles?"

and walked out

name. She fumbled through her pocket and found a small

alarm for the morning exercise