Escape

The silence drowned them out. Luna took the initiative to flee her location after regaining her senses. Her promise to avoid Danish didn't give her the option of even greeting Danish when he appeared in front of her face.

Danish was perplexed by Luna's act of avoiding him and froze in confusion, wondering about her indifference. He hadn't expected to see her today, on the outskirts, after several weeks of disappearance.

Luna dashed through the rain, unconcerned about the rain soaking her entire body or the stares from passersby. Her feet came to a halt only at the bus stop. A bus arrived just in time, and she climbed aboard.

The passengers gave her a pitying look because she was wet. Taking the back seat, she ignored all their stares and looked out the bus window instead, as if by doing so, she could throw away all her sadness.

She felt a pang of remorse for returning to her previous job and being rejected. How could she possibly leave Felix's apartment?

Luna admitted that Felix was extremely nice to her, treating her as if she were his friend. But she didn't deserve his consideration. That man had been extremely helpful to her. She didn't want to put another burden on his back.

The bus screeched to a halt, jolting Luna out of her reverie. Her surroundings were unfamiliar to her eyes as she stepped out of the vehicle; it was her first time in this location. Where did the bus take her to?

"Excuse me, Sir, could you tell me where it is?" She asked the driver hesitantly, but after looking around, she found nothing.

"Miss., this is the last bus stop. What is your final destination?" Only after she listened to his explanation did she realize that she was the only passenger left on the bus. She wished she could curse herself for daydreaming on the way.

She collapsed to her knees in despair as the driver walked away, leaving her behind.

"Luna..." she didn't want to believe what she was hearing, but the voice on her back sounded genuine.

"F-Felix..." her mouth stammered in disbelief, mentioning the name of the man before her while helping herself to her feet. "How did you end up here?" Luna chose to remain silent after losing her energy to speak. "Where exactly are you going?"

***

"What happened to that woman? Why was she moving so quickly?" Danish grumbled, regretting not chasing after Luna.

He needed to find Luna as soon as possible for his grandmother's sake. Following Luna's disappearance, his grandmother lost her appetite for food and locked herself in her room. Even though she still trusted Luna, reading her letter added to her grief. Luna would never deceive her. Someone may have defamed her.

Danish took the initiative to find Luna. It was his fault that he frequently hurt that girl during her stay at their mansion. As a result, he would go to any length to find Luna, wherever she was now. However, he had foolishly passed up the opportunity to bring her back today.

Danish remained in her car, his eyes darting around in the hope of spotting Luna among the crowds. But she was nowhere to be found.

Danish had vowed not to return home without Luna. His grandmother would be disappointed if he failed this time.

"Luna…" Danish murmured as soon as his gaze fell on a girl who resembled Luna. He wasn't sure if it was the right girl because she was with a man whose back was to him.

He couldn't let her go this time; despite everything, he had to bring that girl back. He got out of his car and ran toward the girl he thought was Luna. When Luna noticed his arrival, she dashed to the car with the man, avoiding him.

"Luna…wait!" It was all for naught. The car swept the road, leaving him irritated and ashamed.

This reminded me of what he did to Luna, abandoning her in the city center's main street. He understood how she felt at the time.

***

"Who are you trying to get away from?" Felix, driven by his suspicion, approached Luna, who was still engrossed in her thoughts. Instead of responding to his question, Luna changed the topic of the conversation.

"Could you please drop me off at the next bus stop? I appreciate your kindness, but...."

"You don't have anywhere to go. I can't just leave you here in this big city with nowhere to go."

Felix was correct; in her situation, she could only rely on him. Contacting her mother would only add to her mother's grief in her old age. Felix was the man who could help her. Luna finally fell silent after receiving his offer of assistance.

***

"How is Mom doing?" Sandra Li ran in fear toward her sister, Jangmi.

"She was still locked in her room. She refuses to go out until Luna is found." Jangmi said, her sad eyes falling to the ground.

"That girl can only make things worse for this family. Before she arrived, everything was fine. How does Mom adore her so much that she appears to be under her spell?" Sandra grunted angrily. In a huff, she sat on the sofa.

"Don't say anything impolite. She is a lovely young lady." Jangmi took a stand in defense of Luna.

"You still support her despite what she has done to this family, defaming this family by running away with another man. What exactly has she done to you?" She kept muttering.

"Have you heard anything from Danish?"

"He hasn't even returned home since yesterday," Sandra replied, her words tinged with disappointment.

"Mom asked him to look for Luna."

"What? Why? I need to talk to Mom about it. How could Mom tell Danish to go looking for the girl who had embarrassed us?" Sandra rushed up the stairs, paying no attention to Jangmi.

Sandra stormed into her mother's room, but there was no one there. She stormed into her study room, keeping her annoyance at bay. Sandra thought her mother's concern for Luna was overstated after everything they had been through because of that girl. However, she was unable to locate her mother in the study room.

Sandra noticed a document keeper on the table while scanning the room while calling her mother. Her mother might forget to put this back where it belongs. All of the archives in this room, to her knowledge, contained vital documents for Li's family. That's why her mother never let the maids into the room.

Sandra's hand grabbed the file and slid it back into the desk drawer. Nonetheless, she unintentionally opened the document. Her attention was drawn to an old newspaper. She was taken aback by the headline news there.

"A Family Was Killed in a Car Crash." And a photograph in the newspaper looked familiar to her.

"Uncle Bai," she murmured, her palm covering her mouth.