As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. I shouldn't have rubbed salt in Anya's wounds like that.Arton had already opened two coconuts, handing one to Hana and another to Anya."I'm sorry," I said sincerely.Anya shook her head. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she said, "It's not your fault, Mrs. Chloe."Then she continued, and Hana continued to translate for me. "It's because, one day, the person who robbed that crate of goods appeared before Navi and recognized my father."My father also recognized him, but he couldn't speak by then. He was mute, pointing at that person and trying to explain to Navi, gesturing and making noises. He wanted to tell Navi that the person was the one who robbed us and that he was innocent."At first, that person was nervous, but when he saw my father's condition, he became brazen. He accused my father of embezzling his money right in front of him."I shook my head helplessly, knowing the likely outcome.As Anya looked at me, I noti
My tone came off as clearly dismissive. Atlas pinched my cheek. "Seems like you're trying to get rid of me. You’re a wild girl, aren’t you?”I smirked. "Come on, you said you had something to take care of. I can't just tag along and bother you, right?”When he heard me say that, he had no choice but to let go. "I'll make sure to come back for dinner with everyone."He looked at me affectionately and raised an eyebrow before turning and leaving.I cursed under my breath, "Can't he tone it down? There’s so many people around."As soon as he left, I turned to Anya, bending down to get her attention. "You're the tour guide. Let's go get some fresh air."Sure enough, she wiped her tears and smiled. "Okay."I couldn’t just stay cooped up in the room. The beach didn’t appeal to me much, and although the seaside here wasn’t as tranquil as in Foswood, it was better than doing nothing.Plus, I needed to keep Anya occupied so she wouldn’t dwell on those tragic memories.Hana asked Anya
I glanced back occasionally, but couldn't see anything suspicious.Arnold noticed me looking around and softly asked, "What's wrong?"I averted my gaze and said, "Nothing."I stopped worrying about it after a few glances with no hint of trouble. After all, a 'professional' soldier was trailing behind us. He couldn't possibly miss any shady characters. When we reached the clothing market, Arnold frowned and said, "We shouldn’t buy any clothes here.”When Anya heard Arnold's comment, she suddenly seemed to remember something. She stuck out her tongue, looked at me, and said, "Mrs. Chloe, I... I forgot."She seemed eager to express herself, but couldn’t seem to remember the words for what she wanted to say.Hana communicated with her for a moment, then looked at me and said, "She means she forgot that the clothes here are too cheap."I glanced at Arnold and said to Anya, "It's okay. Let's buy a set as backup. It might come in handy, right?"I had noticed that the local girls her
Anya was stunned by the sudden turn of events, and I shouted, "Anya!"Arton reacted quickly too. He dropped what he was holding and grabbed Anya, running toward us.The lobby erupted into chaos. People scattered in all directions, screaming and ducking for cover. Some even fell to the ground.I dared not look back, but I could vaguely sense gunfire behind us, aimed at us.Arnold pulled both of us with him and ran toward the bar, where the back entrance would lead to a safe passage.But just then, Arnold stumbled, his body jerked, and he suddenly let go of my arm. I was flung away by the momentum and fell to the ground. I heard Hana exclaim, "Arnold!”I quickly looked at Arnold and saw that he had been shot in the upper arm. He ignored his injury and pressed Hana against the wall behind the bar. Then, he reached back to grab my ankle and pulled me toward him, hiding us behind the bar."Arnold, you're injured!" I shouted. He shielded me, extending his injured arm to protect us. Th
The group stood stunned, gazing at the handsome man before them as if he were a god descended to earth. Then, they reacted to Atlas's words, quickly getting up and rushing outside, leaving only a few of us behind.I suddenly shouted nervously, "Arton! Anya!"As I called out, Arton responded, "We're here!"Following the sound, I saw Arton protecting Anya, emerging from behind another part of the bar.When I saw they were unharmed, I collapsed into Atlas's arms in relief."Thank heavens," I breathed out.He patted my back reassuringly. "It's okay. Don't be afraid.""Arnold is injured." I quickly looked at Atlas. "We need to take him to the hospital."Hana was squatting beside Arnold, holding his injured arm.Arnold looked at Atlas and asked, "What's going on? Whose men are they?"Atlas didn't answer his question. He barked an order at his men. "Take him to the hospital immediately!"Arnold tried to get up. Hana and I helped him to his feet."There’s no need for that, it's jus
When my hand touched him, he suddenly fell, and I exclaimed, "Arnold!"As I hugged him, he smirked at me mischievously.I was exasperated. "You scared me to death. How bad is your injury?"Hana looked at me and said softly, "The bullet just grazed his skin.”Arnold joked, "See? What did I tell you about me being lucky?""I can’t believe you're still joking. If anything happened to you, how could I face Archie?" My voice trembled."He still has you and Ardie anyway. What are you worried about?" he shrugged."Nonsense!" I glared at him. "You and Hana should go back and rest properly tomorrow. It's too dangerous here. You shouldn't stay.""You’ve only realized how dangerous it is here now? I warned you about this before we came. Didn’t you believe me?" Arnold's tone was serious. "Would I have been injured if you had listened to my advice?"His words made me even more uncomfortable. "That's why I want you to go back. And Hana, no matter which Avila family you’re from, I won't allo
Despite the interruption at the mall, dinner was sumptuous. It would have been an extremely wonderful dinner if it weren't for the incident.Atlas glanced at all of us. "What? Scared already? This might just be the beginning."Arnold laughed. "That's interesting. Then I'll enjoy this meal to celebrate my narrow escape and keep up my strength for the next challenge.""Tomorrow morning, you'll take Ms. Hana back. Hurry back to Gerby and finish what you need to do there," Atlas asserted. "You're just causing trouble here.""How am I causing trouble?" Arnold immediately retorted impatiently, looking at Atlas with displeasure. "Fine, I'll return, but my sister has to come with me.""I can't go." I immediately refused.Atlas said to Arnold. "You have two tasks when you return. Quickly finish them in Gerby and go to Bourdamun to meet Denton. Only you can do this, and I've already arranged it.""Meet Denton?" Arnold asked incredulously."Yes, you're going to meet him indirectly. You'll
"I know," Arton said gratefully. "For the sake of my son, I won't let you down."Hana glanced at me, then looked at Atlas tentatively. "How about I accompany Chloe here? I can be her translator.”Atlas calmly responded, "Your role is to cover for Arnold. With you by his side, it implies that he's on vacation with his girlfriend.""Is he currently in the country?" Arnold asked."Yes. He's already in Foswood. And Denton is also there, accompanying him.”Atlas then turned to Arnold. "You might receive a call later asking where you are. Tell the truth, say you're on vacation here with your girlfriend and got injured. If he invites you to meet, don't agree too easily. Put up a show.”Arnold made an OK gesture to Atlas. "Don't worry. I'm good at acting."His words elicited laughter from everyone, lightening the mood instantly.After dinner, we chatted until late before returning to our rooms.Atlas accompanied me upstairs. As we walked, I asked, "Who wants to meet Arnold?""I arran