55 Home Safe

Maya looked around the venue and eventually found Noah standing beside the bar with a dazed look in his eyes. She walked straight up to the man and tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump in surprise. 

Noah turned around and looked at her in confusion.

"When was the last time you saw your sister?" Maya asked straightforwardly.

Noah raised an eyebrow. "My sister?" Why was she suddenly asking him about his sister?

"Yes, how is her rehabilitation going? Has she been asking about Lucas?" Maya continued to question the man.

Noah looked at her for a short moment like he was thinking something and finally replied, "I saw her just a few weeks ago. She's doing well. She hasn't mentioned Lucas for a long time. Why do you ask?"

Maya furrowed her brows, "Did you tell her about the ballerina? And did you, by chance, give her a phone?"

Noah quickly shook his head and Maya furrowed her brows harder. Something didn't feel right.

"Remember how I asked you for the contact details of your sister's psychiatric hospital. We got distracted earlier. Can you give me the phone number now?" Maya asked.

Noah smiled. "Sure." He then pulled out his phone and found a saved number.

"This is it," he said cooperatively.

Maya looked at the number and quickly saved it into her phone. It was too late to call now, so she was going to make a call in the morning instead. After she saved the number, she subconsciously glanced over at the balcony. Lucas was still standing there looking at his phone.

Maya knew what he was thinking. With the number of threats he received, she knew he didn't want to put her in danger. She didn't want to be a burden either. So she turned to Noah and said, "Do you mind sharing a taxi back to the hotel with me?"

Noah looked at the woman questioningly. "Lucas isn't driving you?" he double-checked.

Maya glanced at Lucas one more time and shook her head. For now, it was safest for them to keep a distance.

Seeing this, Noah couldn't help but smile. "Let's go then," he said as he began to lead the way. 

As Maya followed behind, she quickly pulled out her phone and sent Delilah a message. "Help me forward Lucas a message: I know you didn't mean what you said. I found myself a ride home. You don't have to worry about me."

Delilah looked at the message with confusion. Why wasn't Maya leaving the event with Lucas? Did something happen? 

Regardless, she still forwarded the message anyway. But, of course, she added her own little twist to it.

When Lucas received the message, he opened it up and looked at it in surprise. It read, "I know you didn't mean what you said. I found myself a ride home. You don't have to worry about me. I miss you already."

That last sentence made Lucas' heart uncontrollably race. Was this really a message from the woman that had just left? He knew the message was from Delilah's phone, and he could guess that Maya had asked her sister to send this message. But how much of it was really what Maya wanted to say to him?

He realized at that moment that his initial thoughts were incorrect. He thought he could just force the woman to leave and he would naturally forget about her and everything that happened between them. After all, it was just two days. But he was wrong...

Just one simple message...had stirred up his heart...

And he knew...he couldn't forget about her...

...

Inside the taxi, Noah finally removed his mask and glanced at Maya questioningly. "What happened between you and Lucas? Why are you leaving separately?"

Maya looked out the window and also removed her mask. She couldn't tell Noah that his sister was sending threatening messages to Lucas; she hadn't done a thorough investigation yet so she didn't want to jump to conclusions. Besides, she knew deep down that there was also a possibility that Noah knew what his sister was doing.

At that moment, a thought came to her mind. What if he didn't just know what she was doing? What if he was actually helping her? What if Nova tried to hit Delilah and Noah tried to throw the blame on Lucas? Anything was possible at this point.

So, she was careful about what she said in front of the man.

"We had a small argument. I don't think we'll be seeing each other again," she partially lied. If Noah was relaying this information to Nova, then she had to convince them that there was no reason to hurt anyone.

Noah stared at the woman and smiled. "You're a beautiful woman. I'm sure you'll find someone that's better suited to you," he said suggestively.

Maya didn't catch the underlying meaning in the man's words. She simply stared out the window and nodded her head.

However...she had no idea that a car was trailing their taxi at that moment: a black Mercedes.

As the taxi pulled up outside her hotel, she waved goodbye to Noah and stepped out.

Lucas watched from his black Mercedes and furrowed his brows. He could not see the man's face, but he had seen him step into the taxi with Maya when he still had his mask on and recognized him. He was the guy that was trying to bid on the painting for Maya.

Now, he was actually sharing a taxi with her home...

But as he watched the woman disappear into the hotel, his eyebrows relaxed. At least, she was home safe...

That was all he wanted to know.

Inside the taxi, Noah watched the woman walk away and a slight smirk appeared on the corner of his lips...