Holding Katrina"s hands, Farrah feels that her hands, which had been covered with callouses because of her frequent a.s.signments, are softer and smoother than before.
Since Katrina isn"t willing to tell her the truth, Farrah won"t ask. What difference does it make if she doesn"t know the truth? As long as she is sure that Katrina is fine, she can rest a.s.sured.
Farrah takes Katrina"s arm intimately as she usually does and exits the airport with her best friend. As they walk, she talks to Katrina.
"Katrina, while you were gone, your landlord contacted me and asked me if you were still going to continue renting your place. I"ve paid three months of your rent, but it must have gotten dusty after such a long time. It needs a good cleaning."
When she hears Farrah"s words, Katrina feels warm. "Farrah, you"re such a great friend! Thank you!"
In the midst of her captivity and plotting for her escape, she forgot that her rent was due.
"No need to thank me, you are my best friend. Katrina, I"ve been waiting for you to come back, and I always believed that you"d return. You"re back now, aren"t you?"
When Katrina sees Farrah"s happy expression, a smile also appears on her pretty face. She rests her head on Farrah"s shoulder.
It feels really great to have such a close friend.
Although Farrah is only two years older than her, Farrah is always sweet to her and takes care of her. Katrina often thinks that even if they are white-haired old ladies 50 years later, they will still go shopping and travel places hand in hand as they do now.
After she got a job, Katrina had moved out of her family"s house and rented a one-bedroom unit for herself. Living an ordinary life alone without Sophie"s hatred, Samuel"s inappropriateness, and Aunt Green"s scorn, she feels at ease.
Occasionally, when her Uncle Anderson is free, he asks her to come over for a meal. In the Anderson family, he is the only one who treats her like family. She loves and respects him dearly.
"By the way, Katrina, as for the Anderson family… I told them that you were sent on a special mission, and that the a.s.signment is very important. I told them that because you signed a non-disclosure agreement, you could only contact the outside world after the a.s.signment is over."
Farrah understands Katrina"s plight in the Anderson family. Both Sophie and her Aunt Green want Katrina to disappear as soon as possible. If they knew that Katrina was missing, they wouldn"t be worried about her safety. Instead, they would make up various rumors to discredit her. This was why Farrah chose to hide Katrina"s disappearance from them.
Upon hearing Farrah"s words, Katrina replies happily, "Farrah, how thoughtful you are!"
Indeed, Farrah has been her good friend for many years. As expected, the one who knows her best is Farrah.
Katrina is also reluctant to let the Anderson family know about her disappearance.
If they found out…
Sophie and Aunt Green were sure to gloat about it.
And Uncle Anderson, the only one who cares about her…
Uncle Anderson is already busy enough with his daily work. If he finds out about it, he will get worried about her needlessly.
"I know you well, after all." Farrah grins at her.
The two women clap their hands together and smile at each other.
Originally, Katrina felt uneasy because of the things she suffered in her two-month imprisonment. After hearing Farrah"s words, she gradually relaxes and regains some peace of mind.
As Katrina and Farrah walk happily out of the airport holding hands, Katrina sees a handsome man looking at her intently with a big bouquet of flowers in front of them.
Katrina is stunned. She never imagined the person would show up at the airport. She can"t help whispering, "Marcellus?"
"Katrina," Farrah whispers to Katrina"s ear, "the first person I called to ask for help after you went missing was Marcellus. He did everything he could to find you. He did a lot to help me."
Even if Farrah hadn"t said those words, Katrina would know.
Other than Farrah, the person who cares about her most in the world is Marcellus.
After her frustrating experience, she realizes how precious these people who are good to her are. Only after Aaron"s extortion does she realize how sweet, gentle, and debonair Marcellus is.
Marcellus silently cared for her and protected her for four years.
Although she has been avoiding his feelings for her, she could feel his affections for her. Maybe she should try to accept him and get along with him. At least, she can stop coldly shutting out his concern.
Seeing Marcellus again and feeling his tender and caring gaze, Katrina"s mind races with thoughts. Had it not been for her experience, her mindset might not have changed so much.
When their eyes meet, Marcellus is the first to break eye contact and stride forward to Katrina with the flowers in his hand.
Marcellus is a handsome young man, exceptionally elegant and gentle. He"s dressed in a neat suit. The handful of beautiful flowers and the pleasing expression on his face add a lot to his charisma.
A woman will feel warmed by the polite and sweet man instead of comparing his image to an overbearing and cold man.
Marcellus hands the flowers to Katrina. "Welcome back, Katrina."
Trying to suppress his excitement, he keeps his voice low.
Katrina takes the flowers and puts a big smile on her beautiful face. "Thank you, Marcellus."
The woman Marcellus has been dreaming about for so many days appears in front of him.
Although hesitant, he reaches out his arms. He wants to hug her, but he is afraid that she will reject him. He reaches out cautiously for Katrina.
Katrina understands Marcellus"s intentions. Giving the flowers to Farrah for safekeeping, she meets him halfway and hugs Marcellus.
Although Katrina keeps an appropriate distance with Marcellus, he can clearly smell the fragrance of her hair. He is currently overwhelmed with excitement. The girl he likes accepts his hug for the first time. She feels small and soft in his arms.
The whiff of the tantalizing aroma of her hair makes him reluctant to let her go. He wants to keep embracing her forever.
"Katrina, I"ll never lose you again."
Her disappearance nearly broke him. He failed to take care of her.
In fact, he always scolded himself many times for not buying a plane ticket and secretly following her back then to protect her.
No matter what she"s been through these past two months, he"ll never let her go missing again. He can"t afford to lose her again.