Gwen’s eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the text Bethan sent. After that, she walked to the window and looked at the man who was still standing on the street opposite her.
That made sense. That explained why he dressed up in all black, complete with a black cap and black mask. Heck, he covered himself up entirely!
It turned out…that his face was disfigured.
Gwen was not a person who heavily judged a person by his appearance nor did she think there was anything scary looking at a man with a disfigured face.
However…
If he truly covered himself up entirely, maybe he did not want people to look at his face.
If that were the case, Gwen would never go near him or try to learn how he looked, no matter how curious she was. She had to respect his wishes, especially when he had kept her safe for so long.
She sighed and went back to bed, finally dozing off after chatting with Bethan and Bonnie for a bit.
The next morning, she received a call from Winson when she woke up.
He sounded rather excited on the phone as he said, “Gwen, I’m at an art exhibition.
Do you want to come? I saw a painting drawn by Mister Theo Allen here, and I think you’re in his painting!”
Gwen frowned. “Which art exhibition?”
She was aware Theo had drawn a painting of Bethan when Bethan was studying in high school, but when did Theo paint her?
“It’s in the city. Do you want to come?’ chirped Winson over the phone. “I’ll wait for you here!”
After hesitating for a few seconds, Gwen eventually agreed. She did want to see the painting Winson mentioned.
Theo never told her he painted her before, but…she and Bethan did not know Theo when they were in high school. Maybe Theo did paint her before, but she did not know for sure.
She believed Winson could tell it was her because they studied in high school together. Thus, she eventually agreed to go with a stomach full of curiosity. “Okay. Share the location with me. I’ll go over now.”
After refreshing herself, she put on a jacket and went out. When she was downstairs, she saw the man waiting outside of her building again.
Same as before, he dressed entirely in black with a cap and mask covering his face.
His presence reminded Gwen about what Bethan told her last night.
“Brettley sent him to keep you safe. His face is covered because he doesn’t want to scare anyone with his disfigured face. Brettley asked me to pass the message to you, asking you not to get near him or attempt to expose his face. That’ll hurt him and his feelings.”
Gwen took a deep breath, decided against her initial wish to greet him, and instead walked away.
The man continued to follow behind her while keeping a safe distance.
With him around, Gwen felt safe.
Soon, she arrived at the location Winson shared with her.
“Gwen!”
From afar, Winson waved his hand at Gwen passionately. “Over here!”
Gwen smiled and walked toward Winson. Just as she was at a certain distance, however, a car sped out of nowhere.
“Be careful!” shouted Winson, alerting Gwen of the impending danger.
All of a sudden, Gwen felt herself being pulled and wrapped in a man’s arms as they rolled to the roadside.
“Gwen, are you alright?!” shouted Winson worriedly.
It was only then Gwen realized what happened. As her mind slowly functioned once more, she realized that the man dressed in black was hugging her as they lay beside the road. To protect her, his back knocked on the corner of the stone divider on the road.
Gwen frowned and quickly got away from him. Her eyebrows furrowed as she asked,
“Are you alright?”
The man dressed in black took a step back and used his hand to reach for his other injured arm. He remained silent and merely shook his head in response to Gwen.
By then, Gwen could tell the man did not just hurt his back but also his arm too. He had been trying to protect her from slamming on the ground to the extent that there was obviously blood wetting the sleeve of his black sweater.
Gwen’s heart throbbed when she saw blood on him.
“You look like you’re hurt badly.”
She bit her lip and wanted to go near him, intending to bring him to the hospital. After just one step, however, she remembered the thing Bethan texted her last night.
This man did not want anyone to go near him. He was self-abased and ashamed because of his disfigured face. Gwen knew she should not go near him or break the rules he set for her.
She paused and frowned. “You…should go to the hospital.”
The man took another step back and shook his head silently again.
“Hey, if he doesn’t want to go to the hospital, it means he’s not badly hurt.”
Winson frowned and came over when Gwen was ignoring him, only caring about the man dressed in black. “Gwen, he’s a kind man, but we shouldn’t force him to do anything he doesn’t want. If he thinks he doesn’t need to go to the hospital, let’s just leave him.”
Acting as though he could decide for Gwen, he then stood in front of Gwen and blocked her from looking at the man. “Thank you for saving my friend. You’re a good man, and I wish for a good life for you in the future.”
Having said that, Winson took a deep breath and turned to grab Gwen’s arm. “The art exhibition has started. I bought the ticket in the early morning. Let’s go in.”
Gwen, however, was displeased. She furrowed her eyebrows, having witnessed how Winson treated the man. “He’s bleeding, and you’re saying he’s not badly hurt?”
She exhaled deeply and walked past Winson to look at the man dressed in black.
“Stand here and wait for me!”
She ignored the expression on both Winson’s and the man’s faces as she turned and strode toward a pharmacy not far from them.
By then, the two men realized Gwen was going to buy medicine for the man dressed entirely in black.
The man looked at Gwen’s back as she ran off. His eyes were filled with comfort and ease.
On the other hand, Winson glared coldly at the man and gave off a stern warning.
“You can leave after my girlfriend passes you the medicine. Don’t disrupt our date.”
He then took out some cash from his pocket. “I’m a grateful man that seeks to repay someone’s kindness. Here are three hundred dollars; it’s enough to cover your medical bill. If you don’t feel well, you should have your injury checked. If you’re fine, consider this a reward for you. Leave right away, and stop disturbing my date with my girlfriend. Do you hear me?
The man dressed in black laughed. Behind the mask, he smirked and said coldly,
“Your girlfriend? Has Gwen promised to be your girlfriend?”
Winson’s eyebrows furrowed immediately. “You… You know her name?”
The man dressed in black did not answer the question nor did he accept the money.
“If you know her personally, that means you didn’t save her because she was in danger,” remarked Winson as he kept the money. “Seems like you and I are after the same thing. We’re trying to get this woman.”
-The man dressed in black frowned upon hearing what Winson said. He looked up at Winson’s face with his frosty gaze. “So you’re getting close to her because you want her?”
“Wrong.”
Winson looked in the direction where Gwen left. He took out his lighter from his pocket to light up the cigarettes and puffed out a ring made out of smoke into the air.
“Since you and I have the same motive, I’m going to be frank with you: I’m getting close to her to bring her back to Sea City to claim a reward.”
“Claim a reward?”
The man dressed in black stared at Winson. “And what’s that?”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know anything.”
Winson scoffed at that question. “Aren’t you after the reward too, seeing as you’re trying to win over Gwen? Don’t tell me you don’t know the gang in Sea City has put a bounty on Gwen to avenge Luke?”
The man dressed in black trembled, and his eyebrows furrowed. “A bounty on Gwen just to avenge Luke? Didn’t he give Gwen his heart? Isn’t it the same as destroying the last evidence that Luke once walked in this world by killing Gwen?”
Winson rolled his eyes and smoked the cigarette. “Are you playing dumb with me, or do you truly not know? Do you really think Luke’s brother wants to take revenge for Luke? All they wanted was some excitement. The one who captured Gwen and killed her will take Luke’s place and become the new leader of the gang. Do you honestly think those people care about Luke and Gwen? How naive.”
He blew out another ring of smoke in the direction where Gwen left. “But then again, if you don’t know anything about this… Are your efforts solely because you’ve fallen for her?”
The man dressed in black did not answer. Despite that, Winson knew the answer to that question.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.