In the quiet room, only the sound of rain pattered outside the window.
Philip Shaw's heartbeat gradually calmed down.
After a while, he took a deep breath, slowly lifted his head to look at her.
That gaze again, probing deeply as if to reach into her soul...
Aldana Candi turned her eyes away, her voice hoarse as she called to him softly, "Philip Shaw... let me down."
The man took a step back, but instead he lifted her up horizontally and carried her to the large bed.
As soon as Aldana Candi landed on the bed, she recoiled to the corner. Philip Shaw leaned over slowly onto the bed, reached out a hand, and gently pinched her slender, fragile ankle.
He held her foot in his hand, his thumb gently caressing the slender scar behind her ankle, then lowered his head for a closer look.
After a long moment, he slowly lifted his head to look at her, asking in a low, cold voice, "What happened?"
