My phone rang just after I finished eating the cup noodles Sofia had brought. I excused myself, tossed the cup into the trash, then stepped out of the hospital room to take the call in the hallway. Glancing around, I saw only a few passing nurses.
“Hello,” I greeted the caller.
There was a pause, then my father’s voice came through. “You have no plans to come home, Azora?”
I blinked. Right, I hadn’t told Father about my vacation in Badian. I glanced at my watch; it was almost nine in the morning. I pouted. My vacation had been interrupted by Japen falling ill.
“I’ll be home later,” I replied.
“You shouldn’t be going alone anywhere, Azora. It’s dangerous.”
I sighed. I remembered that incident on Saturday morning when black cars had chased the taxi I was in. Luckily, the driver had managed to lose them. I wanted to ask Father if those cars belonged to him, but I held my tongue. If they were his, he would have been alarmed and insisted I come home immediately. But there were no calls from him, so they probably weren’t his men after all. Could they have been sent by Clasiso? If so, why were they chasing me?
I rolled my eyes. Of course, they wanted me to talk. Unable to get information elsewhere, they chased my taxi. I had already given my statement to the police, so the Bureau of Investigation hadn’t bothered me since then. I knew Clasiso wanted justice in their own way, so they were eager to catch me. I smirked. Too bad. They could never catch the daughter of the district judge.
“Azora, come home.” His tone was cold.
I sighed. “Later.”
“Let my men escort you.”
“No need!” I gulped. “I have someone to escort me.”
There was another long silence before he hung up. He didn’t bother saying goodbye, but why should I expect manners?
I turned around and saw Sofia looking at me, holding her cup of noodles. I cleared my throat. “Is he awake?”
Sofia shook her head. “He might wake up later.”
“Okay.” I took a deep breath. “Don’t you have work today?” I asked.
“No. I took the day off to watch over Japen. And you? No work today?”
Her question reminded me it was Monday, and I should have been in class that morning. But… I smiled mischievously at her. “No work.” Glancing around, I continued, “I need to go back to the resort to fetch Anya, then I’ll head straight home. If you need anything, call me.” I reached for my pocket, then smirked. “Just get Japen’s phone and have him call me.”
Sofia smiled sweetly. “I’ll take care of him.”
I nodded and turned away. Walking out of the hospital, I quickly dialed the taxi driver’s number on my phone. A few minutes later, he answered. I gave him my location and waited nearly twenty minutes until I saw his taxi pull up. I hopped in as soon as it stopped in front of me.
“To the resort.”
He didn’t say anything, just started driving. The ride was smooth; it took only ten minutes to reach the resort. I asked him to wait in the taxi while I went to the entrance.
I searched for Anya around the resort, but when I didn’t find her, I headed straight for her cottage. I knocked on the door and seconds later, Anya opened it with a smile.
“Miss!” she greeted. “The staff said you were at the hospital. I wanted to follow but the staff gave me a note to stay here.”
I nodded. I had written those words myself on a note and instructed the staff to give it to Anya. Luckily, she followed the instructions on the note without knowing I had written it. Tch. Even though I wrote the note, under different circumstances, Anya following random notes could be dangerous. I needed to teach her to be cautious.
I told her to pack her things while I went to my own cottage to gather my belongings. After packing everything, I headed back to Anya’s cottage and stopped short when I saw a man standing in front of her door. It was the same man who had argued with her on our first day at the resort.
What was he doing here? Was he starting another fight with Anya? I furrowed my brows and walked closer to the man.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
He turned to me, forehead creased. He didn’t say anything, just walked past me and entered the cottage next to Anya’s. So he was staying in the next cottage. I shrugged. I didn’t have time to meddle in others’ business.
I knocked on Anya’s door again, and moments later, found myself walking towards the resort’s reception area with Anya quietly at my side. I didn’t know why she was so quiet, but I didn’t pay much attention and instead thought about Simmy’s reaction when she saw me back at the mansion.
I needed to take action or she would win Anya’s loyalty. I sighed. Even though I wanted to spare Anya from trouble, I couldn’t think of any other solution to my problem. Anya was my only hope for getting back at Simmy.
It wasn’t my intention to get Anya hurt, but sacrifices were necessary in a war.