Issac's memory suddenly went back to the time when he was a child, waiting for his parents to pick him up.
"Ah! My ice cream!"
Issac, who was standing near the school's security post, heard the shout of a little girl around seven years old who was staring at her waffle ice cream, which had fallen after being hit by a thrown ball.
"Tsk! My ball got dirty because of your ice cream!" said one of the boys as he picked up his ball.
That was when the girl's sharp gaze fixed on the boy, filled with anger and not the slightest bit of fear.
"What? You dare look at me?" the boy snapped. "Look at this! My ball's dirty because of you! You should—"
Before the boy could finish, the girl suddenly leaped at him and shoved him, sending him sprawling to the ground.
"Damn it! How dare you!"
A fight was inevitable. Meanwhile, Issac merely watched from a considerable distance, impressed by a girl who wasn't afraid to stand up against injustice.
"You... are you that girl?" Issac suddenly asked.
Aleandra, of course, did not answer right away. She remained standing, staring at the man in utter confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
The man studied her closely. It wasn't merely the look of a husband gazing at his wife. There was something different in his eyes. As though he were observing someone he had once known.
His brows slowly furrowed.
Yet that cold attitude, the way the woman stood with her body slightly angled away, and the intimidating look in her eyes—somehow, all of it felt so familiar.
So very familiar. The man stepped forward.
Aleandra didn't realize it quickly enough. In the blink of an eye, the man was standing directly in front of her. Both of his hands even gripped her shoulders.
"What—"
Aleandra flinched. She tried to step back, but her body was held in place by his powerful grip.
"What are you doing?! Let me go!"
The man didn't move. His gaze grew sharper, as though he were trying to pierce through Aleandra's face and uncover something that had been hidden all this time.
"Let me go!"
Her strength was no match for the man. The harder she struggled to free herself, the tighter his hands gripped her shoulders.
"Answer my question," Issac ordered.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Aleandra clung to her claim of ignorance, even though the man clearly wasn't going to believe her right away.
"Liar!" Issac immediately raised his voice.
The man stared at her for several seconds. Then the question came in a low voice.
"Are you the little girl who was in that library?"
Aleandra instantly froze.
The library? What did he mean?
The woman furrowed her brow, genuinely unable to understand what the man was talking about.
"Stop talking nonsense and let me go!"
Issac wouldn't be Issac if he gave up and obeyed so easily. Instead, he tightened his grip even more. His eyes never left the face of the woman standing before him.
"A little girl and a book, and... waffle ice cream."
Aleandra's heart suddenly began pounding harder. She started to panic over her true identity.
Damn it! Does he recognize me?! she wondered inwardly.
"Aleandra."
Hearing her name made her breath catch and left her speechless. She looked like someone terrified that her act would be exposed.
"Answer me! Are you her?"
His gaze grew even sharper, as though he were trying to pierce through Aleandra's face and uncover something that had been hidden all this time.
Meanwhile, Aleandra held firm to her position. She truly had to keep her mouth shut to save her family.