To Believe in a Person.

Elena opened her mouth but did not know how to respond to this kind of confession. Her heart was beating at a frantic speed, either from surprise, or from embarrassment. Marcus's words were like a bolt from the blue for a woman, completely taking her by surprise.

Silence hung in the air, interrupted only by the monotonous noise of water flowing nearby.

"Ha-hahahaha," Marcus laughed out loud that Elena jumped that very second and crawled away from him, "God, what a cutie! Ahaha, I wish you could see your face now," the man raised himself slightly and leaned his back against the wall behind him.

And although Elena did not see anything in this pitch darkness, she could perfectly imagine what contented face he had now.

"You asked me with such genuine interest that I could not help myself, so as not to tease you, Mrs. Anderson. But I warned that curiosity can be dangerous," Marcus clicked his tongue, this situation clearly amused him like some kind of show.

Are you kidding me? Elena was ready to argue that his actions and the tone of his speech said that this was far from a joke, but she was not going to try to find out the truth from him in such a sensitive issue, "It's not funny. It was a bad joke, Mr. Taubert," the woman answered sternly and crossed her arms in her lap.

The floor turned out to be really cold, she squatted down next to Marcus and pressed her knees to her chest as close as possible in order to somehow warm herself. In the dark, she could barely see, so she preferred to stay in one place and not move.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you somehow. But, Elena, do I look like a person who will be interested in such things?"

"I agree, you are clearly far from the image of holy innocence. But as for me, you just look like a person who prefers to hide his true feelings and even turn the truth into a joke, just not to show your true essence. You yourself told me at the banquet that someone should be a villain. And as I see it, you just decided to take this role upon yourself, which has nothing to do with who you are."

Marcus looked at his companion in surprise. Elena's gaze was directed into the void, her face was serious and focused. This lady was very insightful, the man said to himself. Well, that was predictable, considering whose daughter she was.

He checked his injuries, the ribs did not bother him anymore, but this restoration required more energy than he expected. And that was already bad.

"Elena, didn't you think that in such a way I might be just trying to gain your trust? I make you think that I am better than I really am, but in the end, it may be my true goal - to make you think that way. You are a kind and sincere person, to manipulate such is a real pleasure. It's like playing with a little kitten, he thinks it is a simple game, and in the end, you teach him to trap the victim you need. And an innocent kitten will not even notice how it becomes a weapon to get rid of annoying rodents."

Elena felt goosebumps running down her back. For a moment she felt ashamed of herself, her life in recent years was so happy and calm that she began to forget what it cost her and David, what they had to go through to be together.

Then, six years ago in Tibet, they already crossed paths with Marcus in a cave. That situation reminded her very much of the current one, it was just as dark and she was alone. The touch and words of this man frightened her at that moment, trembling, she forgot about this incident, but now this memory became fresh as never before.

But then and now, these feelings were completely different. Then she was scared of not understanding who this man was. Now she was afraid to accept the fact that she could be wrong.

Because if Marcus told the truth, there was no hope of a peaceful solution to their situation. On the other hand, it was about Marcus. Elena understood for a long time that this man was a master of manipulation, which means that any of his words could be both the lie as well as the truth.

The woman smiled and turned her head in the direction of Marcus, "I remember how my mother once told me in childhood that if someone believes in a person, it gives strength to that person. I don't care if you are telling the truth or not. I decided that I would believe in you and I hope that this will give you the strength to make the right choice."

Marcus felt his heart skip a beat, he could not take his eyes off Elena. Her warm golden light was one of the most beautiful that he had seen in his life.

The heat in his throat grew stronger and stronger with every second. The cells in the body began to tingle with increasing intensity as if something had accelerated internal processes. He understood that his body was engulfed in fire, which was impossible to extinguish with water.

Over the decades of his life he has known this condition well, he could drown out this thirst with one touch. He only had to touch this light and then the pain that reduced every muscle of his body would disappear in no time.

No. No way.

Marcus took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, they were completely soaked and deformed. However, it was predictable after such an unplanned "bathing". Counting on their sedation effect was now useless.

He pulled a cell phone from another pocket and turned on the flashlight. Elena narrowed her eyes from unusually bright light, after so many minutes in pitch darkness, the flashlight on the phone was like an air spotlight, which was used in the war to blind enemy aircrafts.

"Wow, the manufacturer did not lie. There is only one crack on the display," Marcus grinned, he was surprised that his phone was still functioning after what had happened. Perhaps it made sense to buy the shares of this company in the future.

'Tsk, Marcus, what future are you thinking about? Did you forget why you started all this?' the man's inner voice laughed at his silly thoughts. Yes, he and the future were two not compatible things.

He turned to Elena, she squinted a little more from the light but did not fail to take the opportunity to look around and estimate the situation around.

The man got on his feet and held out his hand, "Well, let's go, shall we? It's time to get out of here."