After walking all afternoon, her legs were painfully exhausted, and she had no appetite for dinner. Aldana Candi threw her handbag onto the sofa and climbed into bed, physically and mentally drained.
She fell into a deep sleep, plagued by nightmares, and woke up in a daze upon hearing someone knocking at the door.
Thinking it was Ellen Candi who had forgotten her keys, she hurriedly turned on the light, got out of bed, and barefoot, went to open the door for her.
As soon as the door opened, a damp, cold wind blew in. She shivered as she realized it had started raining again. At the threshold, a staggering shadow suddenly collapsed forward, and on instinct, she opened her arms and caught him in a full embrace.
"Philip Shaw?!" The man in her arms was ice-cold, drenched from head to toe. Exhausted, he leaned against her, his snow-white eyelashes fluttering lightly before opening his eyes to see her face.
"Aldana…" he called her softly, then again, "Aldana…"
