That morning, Alya opened her eyes in a modest room.
There was no more high ceiling.
No crystal chandelier.
No sound of servants busy preparing breakfast.
Only a small room with a wooden window and birdsong from outside.
Strange.
Yet this time, after so long, Alya felt like she could breathe. She got out of bed and walked toward the mirror. Her face looked paler than usual.
It had been seven days since she left Adrian, since she walked away from the life that had always made her feel worthless.
Alya gently touched her stomach.
Then she lowered her head.
“I hope everything is okay.”
She took a small envelope from the drawer. Inside were medical test results she had never shown anyone.
A secret even Adrian didn’t know about.
Alya clutched the envelope tightly.
“I can’t let them find me.”
Elsewhere.
A black car stopped in front of a small hospital. Adrian Mahendra got out and strode forward.
His assistant followed behind him.
“Sir, the latest information says someone who looks like Mrs. Alya was seen around here.”
Adrian turned at once.
“Where?”
“At the market about three kilometers from here.”
“Take me there.”
The car sped off again.
But they didn’t know...
Just a few minutes earlier, Alya had left that very market.
She was walking with several shopping bags in her hands.
When she heard a car stop at the end of the street, she froze.
Her eyes widened.
A black car.
A car she knew all too well.
Her heart began pounding.
“Adrian...”
Alya immediately turned around. She hurried toward a narrow alley beside the market.
But as she turned the corner, someone called out from behind her.
“Miss!”
Alya stopped.
An old man was calling her.
“You left your wallet behind!”
Alya took her wallet from him in a hurry.
“Thank you.”
Then she ran.
Around the same time, Adrian got out of the car.
His eyes swept across the entire street.
“She’s here?”
“According to the information, yes, sir.”
Adrian walked into the market.
But Alya was nowhere to be found.
He kept searching.
One minute.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
Nothing.
Adrian had no idea that the woman he was looking for had just hidden in a small shop only a few yards away from him.
Alya covered her mouth so he wouldn’t hear her breathing.
Her tears nearly fell.
She could hear Adrian’s voice outside.
“Make sure you search everywhere.”
Alya squeezed her eyes shut. “Don’t find me. Please, don’t.”
Twenty minutes later.
Adrian returned to the car, his face filled with disappointment.
“Sir, maybe our information was wrong.”
Adrian didn’t answer.
He only stared at the road ahead.
For some reason, he had a strange feeling.
As if Alya were truly very close to him.
Yet he couldn’t find her.
“We’ll come back tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.”
The car then drove away.
Alya didn’t leave the shop until the car disappeared from view.
She stood at the end of the alley.
Watching Adrian’s car grow farther and farther away.
Her hand returned to her stomach.
“I won’t let you find us.”
Meanwhile, inside the car...
Adrian suddenly said,
“Stop.”
The driver slammed on the brakes.
“What is it, sir?”
Adrian looked over his shoulder.
“Turn around.”
The driver obeyed.
The car headed back toward the market.
But by the time they arrived, Alya was already gone.
She had even boarded a bus that was carrying her farther and farther from the city.
Adrian got out of the car.
He stood in the exact spot where Alya had been standing only minutes earlier.
Something on the ground caught his eye.
A small hair clip.
Adrian picked it up.
He recognized it.
Alya always used it.
His hand curled into a fist.
“Alya...”
Adrian smiled faintly. Not because he was happy, but because he was finally certain. Alya really was in this city.
And he wouldn’t stop looking for her.
But Adrian didn’t know...
That the woman he was searching for was headed somewhere much harder to find.
A place that had never even crossed his mind.
And this time, Alya wasn’t leaving merely to avoid Adrian.
She was leaving to hide something that would change their relationship forever.