Love is the Sunshine novel Chapter 23

"You! You back off! Back! Off! If you come any closer, I... I, I will jump!"

Carla panicked. Although she was so afraid of heights, she pointed to the security guard and screamed aloud. Thirty minutes earlier, she was extremely annoyed by the guard at the front gate because he wouldn't let her inside the hotel. On the verge of giving up, as she was walking outside, she found a group of janitors entering the hotel. After brainstorming a little bit and using them as a disguise, she sneaked in alongside them. But who would have thought that the floor Terence was on needed a special ID card to get in from the elevator? She certainly did not.

There was no other way but to get off the elevator a floor lower and use the staircase to get to the intended floor she ought to reach.

Having absolutely no idea that the security system was not something to be trifled with, Carla was found trespassing by the security just moments after entering the restricted floor. There was no other way to escape apart from the window so she immediately ran straight toward it without even thinking twice. Squeezing herself on the ledge, she moved slowly toward the next window, trying to find another exit.

"I suggest you not to come any closer, sir! Or else, the big news entitled 'Young Lady Forced To Jump Out Of The Most Luxurious Hotel Of The City And Killed' will be published tomorrow. Neither you nor you could bear the responsibility!" she tried to have them threatened by abruptly pointing to one of the guards and then to the other one right next to him as she moved slowly into the other window.

She was immensely agitated about the tightness of the security and complaining within that little head of hers. 'This is way out of control! How come a hotel would have guards this many? How the hell were they able to find me?' she roared in her mind.

Beforehand, she pictured how she could use the outdoor unit of the air conditioners as steps and get to the other window. But there was nothing. 'Of course, they'd be using central air!' Carla sarcastically laughed at herself for being so naive about the situation and continued thinking, 'This is absolutely nothing like what TV dramas were suggesting!'

Hearing the uproar, Terence turned his head toward the window instantly. He furrowed his brows, and his heart tightened when he recognized the woman standing outside of the window. She was trembling while arguing with the security personnel as there were three groups of guards surrounding her. One team was on the same floor with him, the second team was on the ground floor, and the last group was equipped and climbing up the building. All of them were trying to catch this bold woman who dared to intrude.

"Carla?" he murmured hastily, then hurriedly rushed toward the window.

Sliding the window open, he stepped on the edge of the window. "Carla! Oh, my God! Give me your hand now!" Terence reached out his left hand towards the trembling woman and frightenedly shouted, stretching out his arms to reach her.

Carla almost burst into tears when she heard that familiar voice. She couldn't move after a few steps as her legs had grown sore after treading carefully on the edge of the building. Eight floors might not seem to be too high, but it was more than enough to kill her if she fell straight down.

"Carla, I need you to concentrate and give me your hand! Trust me! Just a few more inches!" he softened his voice so as not to startle her.

Terence noticed that she was constantly looking down at the security guards, so he went a little bit crazy toward them, "For all of you who are trying to seize her! Listen carefully! Catch this woman if she ever falls! If anything happens to her, I will make sure this would be your last day living in this world!"

It was only a few more inches till the security guards could get to the so-called intruder. However, when they heard the stern voice screaming from afar, they paused briefly and then quickly returned to the ground, following Terrence's order.

After the well-trained guards went down from the building, they positioned in a net shape and got ready to catch the woman in case she fell from where she was standing.

Seeing the security already in their position, Terence put his heart inside his gut and took a deep breath within. He then turned his head toward the "trouble-maker" and tenderly called, "Carla, slowly and carefully give me your hand. Don't look down. There's no need to be afraid. Just trust me. I will come get you."

Stepping onto the edge of the window, he reached out his hand the furthest he could. Knowing that he needed to hurry because she had probably ran out of strength from her quivering legs, he locked his eyes on hers and repeated calmly, "Carla, just give me your hand. I'm here for you. Those people won't be going after you anymore. Give me your hand. Everything's going to be alright."

Standing on the thin edge, Carla had finally calmed down, even if just a little, by his soothing voice. Coming back to her senses, she reached out her hand toward the worried man.

This was when she regretted everything, all including following him, finding out about the exclusive limousine, and especially, ascending up the most luxurious building from the 7th to the 8th floor. 'This is so embarrassing. I should've just gone to the party with Sean instead of hanging here, LITERALLY.' Frustration was written all over her face as she extended out her arm for Terence.

If her curiosity hadn't been piqued by his puzzling background, there was no way she would have ever had to be in this position.

While her hand was held firmly by Terence, she had another dilemma. If it were just a straight edge, she could've easily but slowly moved toward him. This side of the building was somehow curved though, so the more she stepped toward Terence, the thinner the ledge became. The design of the building had made it exceedingly difficult for her to move any further and try to get closer to Terence.

"Te-Terence, I'm scared."

The unfortunate predicament had caused Carla's voice to shake. She couldn't bear her fear of falling any longer, and tears started streaming down her eyes while they were locked on to Terence's.

Terence's heart ached tremendously after seeing this helpless woman weeping. With zero hesitations, and without any care for his own safety whatsoever, he took another step on the ledge of the window and got closer to Carla. Now, his whole body was exposed outside of the window.

Without him even realizing, he had put himself in a position that was just as dangerous as Carla's.

"Terence! What are you doing?!"

Nicholas bellowed out as he watched as the whole scene was taking place, in fear for his dear grandson due to his sudden risky move. Though deeply frightened, at the same time, he became interested in the woman whom his grandson was trying to save.

Terence didn't plan to get down from the ledge even after hearing his grandfather shouting at him because he had to save this troublesome woman. Sticking out his leg toward Carla's direction, he asked, "Carla, you can use my leg to step on. It will be alright. There are more than enough people to catch you if ever you do fall. Now, just try to move closer slowly and step onto my leg."

Carla desperately tried her best not to picture herself falling down from the building. And although much too afraid to look down, she somehow managed to take a deep breath and follow Terence's suggestion. Slowly, she pulled off a difficult step onto Terence's leg.

Feeling the weight on his leg, the pain sent a chill down his spine. This was the leg that got injured during the chase on the first time they met. He furrowed his brows but remained calm in order not to worry Carla.