Mary wrapped herself with a bed sheet. As she held her wet clothes tightly in her hands, she looked flushed and ridden with anxiety.
"I..." Mary threw the clothes she was holding in front of her. "What should I do now?!"
"Well..." William calmly stood up, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around himself. "There are clothes in the closet. I'm sure you'll be able to find something you'll like in there. I'll just wash my face and change my clothes before we go out."
He then quietly strode out of the room.
Startled, Mary turned to look at the closet across the room.
'What? There are women's clothes in there? Why would he have those?'
Soon enough, the answer hit her: over the last four years, William had created a notorious playboy reputation for himself. All of a sudden, jealously spread within Mary's heart. Why was she even confused in the first place? She wouldn't even be surprised if there were a woman hiding inside the wardrobe, let alone a few clothes! But why was she still tolerating him?
If Mary didn't need to go back to the villa to see if the two kids had come back, she wouldn't wear other women's clothes! But unfortunately, she had to, and so with a heavy heart, she walked to the closet.
With bated breath and a thumping heart, she opened the closet slowly. Upon seeing what was inside, her jaw dropped to the floor.
Why did the clothes in the wardrobe look so familiar?
"What's wrong?" William quipped. He had already finished washing his face and was now fully dressed. Confusion was clear on his face as he stared at Mary, who was standing in front of the closet looking stunned.
Mary turned to look at William at once. "Why... How come... All of these clothes are mine. These clothes are the ones I didn't take when I left four years ago."
"Yep. They're all here," William answered as he smiled fondly.
"I thought they were..."
"What ? That they were other women's?" William asked with a smile.
"Yes," she answered in a hush.
"You're so silly." William walked over to her and dried her hair with a towel. "Why would you even think that? Isn't this our home ? Why would other people's clothes be here? You're first, the last, and the only woman who'd be in this house."
"William..." Now, Mary felt incredibly guilty.
"Mary, listen to me," said William, as he cupped Mary's face in his hands. He could feel a faint sting in his heart. "Do you not believe me when I say that I waited for you for four years? And that I longed for you when you were away? I have deeply regretted what I did years ago. So please trust me. I am telling you the truth —my truth."
A sweet, warm feeling started to blossom inside Mary's chest. She wanted to tell William that she did believe him, but before she could, the phone on the bed began ringing.
Ring... Ring...
The jarring sound took Mary out of her trance at once. Immediately, she felt anxious once again.
She hurriedly grabbed the phone to answer it. "Hello?"
"Madam..." It was Robert, and somehow, his voice sounded like he was in pain. It didn't help that the call connection was intermittent.
"Robert? Hello? What happened?" Mary's eyes widened.
"Madam, Alick and Elissa... They were taken away by someone..."
"What? What did you just say? Robert!" Mary let out an ear-piercing shriek. Her hand and legs began to feel weak and her vision was starting to dim. Soon, her mind went blank and she fell to the floor, unconscious.
"Mary! What's wrong?!" Panic distorted William's face. He shook Mary's limp body in an effort to wake her. "Mary! Mary! Wake up!" When the woman didn't, he picked up the phone himself and screamed into it. "Hello? What happened? What's wrong?"
"I was driving back to the villa with Alick and Elissa when several cars blocked our way," Robert started, his voice still trembling. "I got out of the car to ask the drivers what the problem was, but when they came out of their cars, they were all fully armed. They then forcefully took us to a remote place and... I was knocked out..."
"What about Alick and Elissa? Where are they?" bellowed William, as he felt his heart beat faster and faster.
"I... I don't know! The moment I woke up I immediately called madam! Neither Alick nor Elissa is here. It's just me!"
"Do you know where you are right now?"
"Humph..." The woman had no words for Barry, and so she just rolled her eyes at him and left without another word.
Barry staggered to his feet, grabbed the bottle the bartender had just put in front of him, and walked away.
"What are you doing? Let go of me!" The woman in front of him shouted in horror all of a sudden. "I said let go of me, you freak!"
"Why are you pretending to be so virginal when you work in a damned place like this? C'mon! Don't tell me you're only here to sell alcohol!" A big, scary looking man with a scar across his face pulled the protesting woman against him and asked, "Tell me, how much is it for one night? Ha ha!"
"Ha ha!"
Everyone surrounding the two started laughing.
Others, however, only stared in disgust. Because such a scene would happen every day, everyone stopped being surprised by it. The woman was wearing the club's assigned uniform and she was balancing a tray full of different kinds of drinks on her right hand. Seemingly at the end of her rope, she gathered all her strength to smash everything on her hand onto her harasser's face.
"Ah!" the man screamed. He covered his head in self-defense and squatted on the ground. Blood was already seeping from the wounds on his arms.
"Fuck! How dare you hit him?" This came from a man whose face looked like a ferret. He was standing next to the injured man. Based on his reaction, they must be friends. "I'll teach you a lesson tonight!" he screeched, as he pulled the woman violently.
Slap!
He slapped her hard across the face. The force he used must have been so great because the woman began staggering and looked like she was about to fall to the ground.
"Hey, bastard!" Barry exclaimed as he came to the woman's aid.
"Thank... you..." Though pained, the woman still made sure she thanked Barry for his assistance. She raised her head to see who her hero was, but she was shocked by what she discovered. "Mr. Gu? You again?"
"Hmm?" Barry looked confused as he couldn't recognize the woman behind her thick veil of make-up. After looking at her for quite some time, however, he seemed to have recognized her. "Selah? Is that you?"
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