Chapter 3: Face-off (½)

She slowly went out of the car and gently closed the door, making sure that her baby will not get disturbed. Wearing a wine-red dress that reached her knees and an inch heeled black shoes, she confidently walked towards the man. Hearing the clip-clop of her shoes, the men assigned to escort her followed her with their worried eyes. Their boss has strictly commanded them to keep this woman and her child to safety but now, they felt failure is about to come. The leader of the escorts moved quickly to stop the woman.

"Madam, you must go back in the car. We cannot protect you if you are here. You might get caught up in the crossfire" whispered the man.

"No, he came because of me and you should know who to protect first" replied the woman.

"You are to be protected too. Now, please be obedient and go back. How will I face the boss if you got hurt?" urged the man.

"He will not hurt me. As long as my child is safe, it is fine whatever happened to me. Please Roger." She said looking straight in the eyes of Roger.

Seeing the resolution in her eyes Roger was taken aback and stuttered. "B…but…"

She placed her hand on Roger's shoulders and firmly put pressure on it then continued walking towards the man. Roger was stood frozen realizing what her madam is trying to do. After a few seconds, he recovered and tried to reach out for the woman but stopped half-way. While extending his hand, he slowly closed his palm into a tight fist and withdraw it back to his side then slowly bent his body a little bit forward. A gesture of his respect and acknowledgment to her wishes.

Because of the distance in between the two parties, nobody heard their exchange. She continued walking but could feel that her wound is bleeding faster. However, no matter how painful she felt, she endured it for the sake of her child. When she was about to reach the man, she stopped a few steps away from him. She looked at him and saw the elation his face. She shivered, but forced herself to come down.

"Long time no see, honey" endearingly said by the man.