CHAPTER TWO

GABRIELA took shelter in a small waiting shed. She was tired, cold, and trembling, and the fried rice was not enough to satisfy her hunger. She could go to an ATM to withdraw, but it looked like the nearest machine was a little far from her current location. But she did not have a choice, did she?

She fished out her phone from her backpack. Maybe she could call Lourdes and ask her if she could spend the night at her place. They were best friends back in high school. Lourdes married early and became a housewife. She had one daughter, and her husband worked in an office as a clerk.

Then she realized Lourdes lived far from here. She did not live with her parents anymore.

With a sigh, she put her phone back into her damp bag. Fresh tears rolled down her face once again. There was no use blaming anyone for her fate now. She was all by herself. She must do everything to survive.

She stood up and grabbed her heavy bag and bicycle. It was only the beginning. She might be crying now, but someday, her future self will thank her for not giving up.

Gabriela crossed the street with tears and the rain falling on her face. She did not notice a car approaching at a distance. The car honked brashly. She felt her world stop as her eyes widened. Then everything went blank.

"STAY in the car, Your Highness!" Danny said and left the driver's seat in a blink.

But Theo James did not seem to hear anything. His chest was pounding hard. He left the backseat and rushed in front of the car.

Danny was checking on a motionless body beside a bicycle and a piece of luggage.

"A girl," he said as he slightly lifted the person from behind the head.

"Did we hit her?" Theo wiped his face. It did not take them long to get soaked in the heavy rain.

"No, no, we didn't, Your Highness. But she's unconscious. It must have shocked her."

He sighed in exasperation.

"Let's bring her to the royal doctor," he said.

Danny nodded and proceeded to pull the girl up in his arms.

THEO studied the face of the unconscious woman leaning on his shoulder. He could not see any wound or bleed on her head, but one side of her face looked swollen, and her lip was busted. She also looked tired, and her eyes were puffy from crying.

Who was this woman, and what was she doing in the middle of a heavy rain?

Theo was distracted for a moment when his phone rang. He heaved another sigh when he saw Rick's name.

"Hey, Doc."

"Your Highness, I'm sorry for not answering the phone. We just got home. What can I do for you?"

"That's great. I'm on my way home. I need you to check on someone."

The royal doctor was his neighbor from a pad he owned. When things in the palace get exhausting, he would usually escape into his private abode and shut himself from the world.

"All right. Be safe."

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Rick asked as he entered Theo's room. He was followed by his wife, Lian, who was a nurse.

Danny had just put the girl on his bed.

"She suddenly appeared in the middle of the road. I thought we hit her."

"Love," Rick called, turning to Lian.

She rolled to the side of the bed and touched the girl's head.

"I need to change her clothes so that she would feel comfortable."

"Her stuff was soaked from the rain," Theo said. "But she can use my shirt."

"You and Danny should get a shower, too. You might catch a cold," Rick said.

Theo almost forgot about it.

"Yeah. Of course."

The doctor tapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. She'll be all right."

"SHE'S all right," Rick announced as he entered the kitchen.

Theo was already having coffee with Danny. He straightened his back and sighed in relief. Lian appeared behind her husband.

"But she has a fever, and she badly needs rest. We also found some signs of physical abuse in her body. She also hit her head, but it was nothing serious," she added. "I think she was running away from home or someone. Poor girl. Good thing you have found her, Your Highness."

"Well..." Theo shrugged.

"Her name is Gabriela Ferrer. She's twenty-one years old, unmarried, and she currently works at a convenience store, according to one ID I found. I think that kid needs help."

"I know. She's my responsibility now," Theo said thoughtfully as he stood up. "Please have some coffee first before you leave."

"Oh, that would be awesome," Lian said with a smile and glanced at Rick.

GABRIELA woke up in a cold room wrapped in a thick, warm blanket. She could not remember the last time she had a decent sleep like that. Back home, her bed was small, and she got backaches every morning.

But she had already left home.

So, where the hell am I?

She sat up brashly. The feeling of security was replaced by a sense of panic she had never felt before, even when she used to live with her scumbag father.

The room was not like the place bad guys from TV dramas would take the protagonist into. It was, in fact, a cozy room. The bed was more than enough for two people. There's a wooden table near a tall, glass window with blue drapes. On the other side of the room was a huge cabinet and another door, probably the bathroom.

She glanced at the nightstand. Beside the lampshade were a glass of water and a tablet that looked like paracetamol.

As much as she wanted to go back to sleep, she needed to find out where on earth she was.

She remembered standing in the middle of the street under the rain, and a car was about to hit her. But she was still alive by some miracle.