Silence fell between them. Carla was shocked for a short while, and she kept her silence. Zayn didn't say anything either as he kept driving.
It didn't take long for them to reach the base of Rokan Hill. Zayn stopped the car by the roadside, retracted the roof before reclining the seat, and looked up at the sky.
Carla glanced at the time and leaned back to look up at the stars in silence. They didn't say anything for the longest time. Just like the night breeze that was blowing through her hair, messing it up, her emotions were also all over the place.
"Do you trust me?" Zayn suddenly asked.
"If we go by terms of feeling and instinct, yes, " she answered honestly. "But rationally speaking, I have a lot of reasons to suspect you."
"Sometimes rationality isn't your best compass." He looked at her. "You should trust your own instincts."
"And that's how you make mistake after mistake." She smiled bitterly. "I lost a part of my memory. The doctor said it was too painful for me to endure, so I forgot about them as a defense mechanism." She looked at him. "I've forgotten about a lot of things, but not you. You feel warm to me. Fuzzy, even. I trust you never hurt me before?"
Zayn didn't know how to answer that.
"You'd better tell me if you had." She was still calm. "Perhaps I'll forgive you if it's not too serious."
"You won't—" Zayn stopped before he could finish the sentence.
"So you did hurt me." She squinted at him, feeling conflicted. Just then, they heard the roar of the Rolls- Royce, signaling the arrival of Carla's bodyguards.
"I'll be going back tomorrow, and I might be absent for a while." She smiled, trying to make herself look warmer. "Take the car, and spend the money. I won't take it back."
"Will we meet again when you return?" Zayn stared at her, his gaze gentle.
"We'll see." She unbuckled herself and was about to get out of the car, but Zayn held the back of her head and leaned in for a kiss. Carla wanted to push him away, but her body always accepted his kiss, so she slowly let go of herself, and her arms slumped.
Zayn put all his passion and tenderness into his kiss. He wanted to etch himself in her memory, even though they would only be separated for nearly two weeks.
A long while later, Zayn finally let go of her, albeit reluctantly. He held her cheek with one hand and brushed his thumb against her lips. "You're my woman. Always had been and always will be. Don't forget that."
How he wished his words could bind her to him like a magic spell. He wanted her to always keep him in mind.
Carla stiffened for a bit before she snapped out of it and got out of the car. "See you."
Zayn saw her off. His heart was filled with worry and longing. Carla could feel his gaze on her, but she went into her car without looking back. Before long, the Rolls-Royce drove into the night.
Zayn looked away and called Benard. "I'm at Rokan Hill."
"I'll be there right away."
Carla stared at him from the rear-view mirror and only looked away when she couldn't see him anymore. "Did you find the girl?"
"We tried to come after you, but some strange guys stopped us." Freda was bowing her head. "Then we split up. Rogan went to search for you, while I looked for the girl named Diane, but she was gone."
"What did Roland say?" Carla frowned.
"He said she left Stifling Night, but he didn't know where she went, " Freda answered carefully. "We searched the whole place, but she was nowhere to be found. Even Kristi was gone."
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