Chapter 6
I felt bad about Judith, so I did everything myself, hoping to give
her a perfect engagement party.
But Markus had been busy lately and hardly showed up. He only
got in touch with me for anything, and then I told everyone what
he wanted.
It was like this engagement party wasn’t even his, but someone
else’s.
Judith seemed to get more and more downhearted each day.
When we were trying on the dress that day, she looked at me
pleadingly. “Raquel, could you ask Markus if he’s coming over
today?”
I shouldn’t have made the call, but I did anyway. When it
connected, Markus answered; “Hello?”
It was noisy in the background. His voice was a bit rough like he
had been drinking at a party.
I was about to hang up, but then I remembered Judith’s sad
face. So I carefully said, “The dress is here today. Are you
coming back?”
Chapter 6
There was silence for a while. I was about to apologize for overstepping when Markus said, “Yeah, sure. Come pick me up.”
I didn’t know why he wanted me to do this, but I agreed.
I hurried over. By the time I got there, the party was already over.
Only Markus was left, lying on the sofa, all drunk and dazed.
I squatted down and gently patted him, calling out, “Mr.
Serrano? Mr. Serrano?”
Markus suddenly lifted his head and stared at me with his sharp.
eyes for a moment. I was kind of stunned.
But the next second, he got that blurry look in his eyes again,
like he was still drunk. It was as if I had just imagined that sharp
look.
I helped him up, and we stumbled to the car. As soon as we
were in, he fell asleep.
Through the rearview mirror, I could see his face. I didn’t usually
get to look at him like this, so I couldn’t help but take a few extra
looks.
My guilt about Judith got even worse. I tore my eyes away and tried to calm myself down.
For some reason, I suddenly felt a weird sense of unease. I had
Chapter 6
always trusted my gut, and my mind started racing.
A black SUV was following me. It had been tailing me for half an
hour now.
“Mr. Serrano? Mr. Serrano?”
I tried to wake Markus up, but he didn’t move in the back seat.
Out of options, I stepped on the gas. The car behind me did the
same, and we sped along the coastal highway.
It was obvious that the car had been modified. No matter how
fast I went, it kept up with ease. In the end, it plowed into me
and then drove off.
With a loud bang, my car flipped over. Luckily, I managed to turn
the steering wheel at the last second and avoided plunging into
the sea.
I
I saw blood everywhere, and my head was spinning. I struggled
to crawl out from between the seats.
Markus was pinned behind the seats and finally opened his
eyes. He tried to get out, but the frame of the car had him
trapped.
I found a crowbar in the trunk and used all sorts of physics tricks to try to pry the door open, but it wouldn’t budge.
Chapter 6
Gasoline was spilling from the tank, spreading everywhere, and
there was a faint smell of smoke and fire coming from the back
seat.
The more urgent things got, the clearer my head became. I
blocked out all that useless fear and panic. All I could think
about was getting Markus out.
The fire was spreading, and the car could blow any second.
Markus raised his eyes and looked at me. “I don’t pay you
enough to risk your life for me.
“Raquel, you should go. The car is about to explode.”
I was already annoyed. With Markus still talking, I cut him off
sharply, “Shut up!”
For some reason, Markus suddenly started laughing. I didn’t. have time to figure out why. The fire was still spreading.
Somewhere along the way, I must have cut my hand. Blood
dripped onto the ground. With the last bit of strength I had, I finally got Markus out of the car.
Then I helped him, step by step, slowly making our way out.
Not long after we were clear, the car exploded. It was bright red, lighting up the whole night sky.
Chacter &
I was glad I wasn’t into that skinny look. I was strong enough
and had enough stamina to save both our lives.
In the distance, I heard an ambulance. The delayed exhaustion
hit me all at once.
Everything went black.
