Chapter 5

“Excuse me,” Andrew said as one of his eyebrows rose while looking at the police office. There was a crease drawn in his forehead because of what he had heard.

“Oh, I am sorry, sir. I am referring to the woman beside you.”

His eyes drew closer to each other more as his gaze shifted to the woman who was standing next to him. He was confused about what the police officer was talking about.

“Do you know him?” He asked as he turned his head to the woman.

The woman shook her head immediately but she quickly nodded her head at the same time when she seemed to recognize the person in front of them.

“No,” she replied. Then her eyes went round like she suddenly remembered something. “Oh, yes, I remembered him. I think he is the policeman who took my number earlier. While on my way, I saw an accident,” she added.

Andrew threw a glance to her and to the police officer. It was as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing from the woman.

The police officer coughed to get their attention. Then he started to explain what happened to them which was so surprising for him. He didn’t know what he should be thinking. How come this woman had been in the place where the accident was and at the same time they had met?

“Well, sir, she happened to witness the accident that involved your relative. She is also the one who called for help,” the policeman explained before he could even ask the woman.

“Y--- yes, that’s right. I saw everything. How it bumped by the truck and who was coming from the other side of the road.

Andrew was just quietly looking at them when all of a sudden, his mother hugged the woman after she heard what the woman said. He didn’t notice when his mother was already near the woman though a part of him could understand his mother’s sudden reaction.

Whether he believed it or not, this woman had saved the life of his grandmother. His grandmother who was very precious to him.

He was just looking at the two women in front of him. He didn’t know why there was a weird feeling inside his chest. He couldn’t help the thoughts that started to run inside his head because of everything that he had learned about the woman.

“Oh, dear. Thank you so much. You are an angel who saved my mother’s life. If it’s not for you, I am sure that we have already lost her,” Andrew’s mother exclaimed.

He saw when the woman smiled. Her lips were perfectly curved. She had the smile that could go after every man but not him. Those were just ordinary smiles for him. One of women’s ways to make every man swoon over their feet but he was so different. He never get himself trapped with those just kinds of things. He never allowed any woman to manipulate her. He manipulated them instead.

“It’s nothing, Auntie. I am sure that if someone else is in my situation, they will definitely do it,” the woman said, which made him raise one of his eyebrows. He didn’t know if she was just saying that to look cute or what. The longer that this woman stayed beside him, the more that he was getting curious why of all people, she had bumped into him. Why on earth was she being chased by a man earlier? What had she done?

Andrew’s mother shook her head. “No, dear. You are wrong. Not all people will bother themselves to get involved. They prefer not to drag themselves. They might just leave and ignore it as if they haven’t seen anything. Just continue and go on with their life when they could have at least saved a life,” his mother said and then she distanced herself to the woman.

Andrew’s mother was looking at the strange woman. Andrew couldn’t help but think if everything that happened to him, and the woman was just really a matter of coincidence.

“By the way, what’s your name?” His mother asked again and then she looked at Andrew. Her eyes were full of confusion. “Why are you with my son? Why didn't you introduce her to us, Andrew?” She asked one after the other. It looked like his mother had mistaken everything.

This woman was no way romantically involved with him. No woman could be near him. No one had caught his attention yet and not this woman in front of him.

Andrew was about to open his mouth when his mother spoke again.

“Oh, are you just waiting for the right time to introduce her to us? What a coincidence then. You are so kind to help your boyfriend’s grandmother. My son is very lucky to be in a relationship with you. I am Andrew’s mother. I am Liza and that’s short for Elizabeth. But from now on, call me mommy. How about you, dear? What’s your name?”

Andrew couldn’t believe what he had heard from his mother. How on earth could she think that this woman was romantically involved with him? But before he could correct them, the door of the room where his grandmother was being treated suddenly opened.

A man with white all over came out. He was roaming his eyes and obviously looking for the family of the patient that he had attended to.

Andrew was hoping that he would be hearing good news from the doctor.

“Doc, how’s our grandmother?” Andy said together with him. They left their mother behind while she was still talking to the woman as soon as they noticed the doctor.

“The patient is now in a stable condition. Though unfortunately, she is still unconscious. She’s in a coma. We are to continue doing a series of examinations to be sure that she is okay. There is no wound except for the bruises she got in her body. What just concerns me is her head. Her face might have bumped into the steering wheel. We are just thankful that there is no glass that hit her face and no serious damage has been done,” the doctor explained to them which made all of them nod their heads.

Andrew felt relieved about what the doctor said. He was hoping that his grandmother would be fine.

“Thank you, Doc. Can we go inside now?” His mother said. He didn’t notice that she was already beside them. It looked like his mother also felt relieved to know that his grandmother was already out of danger.

“Yes, you can go now. The nurse is just arranging the room that she is going to occupy,” the doctor nodded and said to them.

“Thank you, Doc,” he said while nodding his head. After that he looked at his mother who was already going inside the room where his grandmother was along with the woman who was with him earlier. The two women looked like they’d known each other for a long time. The way that his mother pulled the woman’s hand.

Andrew couldn’t believe that his mother had fallen from the woman’s charm and mistaken everything that was about their relationship. It seemed that it was already late for him to correct whatever she was believing though she couldn’t understand why his mother had thought that he was really with the woman.

He shook his head because of his disbelief while still staring at their direction.

He saw the woman turn her head in his direction. She was looking at him. He could see in her eyes that she was asking permission and like she had no choice but to go because of his mother who was pulling her already to get inside.

There were a lot of things that were running inside his mind because of this woman. Could it really be possible that everything happened coincidently? How could it happen that there was the same woman that got in his way and his grandmother’s way?

The woman saved his grandmother and he had saved the woman? Andrew wanted to stop himself from over analysing things, but he couldn’t help it.

“Sir, so, what’s the investigation’s result? Is this just an accident or is this intention? Did you already find anything on the scene?” His brother’s voice brought him back to his sanity.

****

Nicole swallowed a lump of her throat after she heard what the man had said. To keep her word, she had to do whatever he wanted her to do besides, this man had saved her from being caught by Ashley.

But before she could even open the door of the car, she saw the man needed to answer a call. She couldn’t help but stare at the man sitting in front of the car. His eyebrows were knitted together while he was still talking on his phone. She could see both shock and worry written all over his face.

Ashley was already gone from her sight. She didn’t know if it was better for her to run away while he was busy, and his attention was not on her. She knew that the car door was unlocked. It shouldn’t be hard for her to get out.

But before she could even decide to run away from him, she got curious with his conversation on the other line and as well with all the facial reactions she was seeing.

It looked like someone was involved in an accident. She couldn’t help but to think about the accident that she had witnessed earlier. The woman who had been so helpless if she wasn’t there.

Nicole took a deep breath. She couldn’t help but think about the woman if her family already knew what happened to her. There was also no call from the police officer who got her number earlier. Probably, her relatives still didn’t know what happened to her. Poor woman. These were the thoughts that were running inside her head. She couldn’t help but to compare herself to the woman she helped earlier. She was wondering who could she run to and ask for help just in case she got into an accident.

Of course, it would never be Ashley. She was so sure of it. There would be no way that she would get herself involved again to the person. Never again after everything that the man had done to her.

Nicole saw the man was looking on his phone. It looked like the call had already ended. It looked like the person on the other line already hung up on him. She couldn’t see any indication that there was still a call ongoing.

“What happened?” She couldn’t help but asked him even if he would think that she was being nosy. She knew that she was not supposed to ask and just mind her own business but there was something that was urging her.

She swallowed her saliva as she felt the sudden dryness in her throat.

Nicole saw when the man’s gaze shifted to her from looking at his phone. His face was void of emotions unlike earlier when he was still talking to someone over the phone.

“Get off,” those were the only words he uttered but it made something inside her to tremble. There was fear spike inside her heart.

She didn’t notice that her facial expression suddenly changed because of the fact that she was scared that the man was going to leave her here in the street. She had nowhere to go. She couldn’t help but think that Ashley might still be looking for her. And she didn’t want to see the man either. They were still in front of his two-story house. When her attention darted on it, she suddenly thought if the man wanted her to stay instead in his house or if he just wanted her to be free. That she no longer needed to do what she had initially promise to him.