Molly's words were cleverly spoken. First, it indicated that she genuinely missed Paige and nothing else. Second, it urged Bryan to delay Paige, giving time for her father's men to catch her.
Bryan's doubts did lighten considerably. He lowered his head to look at the bruises on her face, holding her closer. "You injured like this, why would I go back?"
"What about Paige?" Molly choked out.
"I just invited her to your birthday party. Maybe she'll come, and we can ask her then," Bryan reassured her, holding her close.
"Okay," Molly replied softly, but in her heart, she thought, 'Paige won't come. After escaping this time, she won't risk it by showing up at the birthday party. I have to find a way to track her down. This bitch isn't dead yet. I won't let her off the hook!'
...
Paige stood behind the tree, quietly watching Bryan's car drive away, and also saw Malik and his men rushing to the mall to catch her. She walked alone in the night, slowly moving forward along the roadside. The dim streetlights cast their glow on her, and the evening's chill made her hug herself tightly. The satisfaction from teasing Molly had already faded.
She saw Bryan and Molly being affectionate with each other. When she was 18, she took on almost all the package delivery work in the girls' dormitory to earn her living expenses. One day, she delivered a gift to Bryan for a girl. Bryan was already in college then, and it took her days to figure out his schedule. He was in the lab, off-limits to outsiders. She snuck into the university and then into the lab building, clutching the music box. She crouched by the lab door until she fell asleep.
She woke up to the sound of the door opening and quickly stood up, only to find her legs numb and her body falling sideways. A gentle hand caught her just in time. It was Bryan. She handed him the music box, explained her purpose, and left.
The next day, she saw Bryan waiting for her at the school gate. He stood by a sports car, wearing a white shirt, with his hands behind his back. He nodded at her, smiled, and handed her a small bouquet of daisies he had hidden behind his back. That was when she realized Bryan had fallen for her at first sight.
Paige often wondered if she had ever had feelings for Bryan. Initially, when Bryan appeared so elegantly in her world, she dreamed of a fairy tale where a poor foster girl meets a noble young man. But when Molly found out and threw a fit, her cowardice crushed that dream. She obeyed Molly and tried to create opportunities for Molly and Bryan to be together.
Later, the Clarkes sent her to an old man's bed. She stabbed him and escaped. Desperate and with nowhere to go, she found Bryan, hoping he would help her. But before she could tell him she was the Clarkes' foster daughter, Molly called, and Bryan revealed her location. She had to run again.
Eventually, Malik's men found her and sent her to the slums. Did she hate Bryan? It seemed too harsh, as he didn't know anything. But she had told Bryan not to tell anyone she was with him, yet he sold her out. In that moment, she lost even the last bit of affection she had for him.
"Enough. Stop thinking about it," she said to herself.
As Paige walked, she pulled out the fake ID from her bag. Nick had assured her that as long as she avoided places that could verify it online, the convincingly forged ID would fool most people. This meant she could use it to survive in the city, at least for a while.
She hadn't planned to leave Rose Estate so soon, but Enrico had either become suspicious of her or developed a genuine interest beyond seeing her as a mere stand-in. Staying any longer posed greater dangers than the outside world, and she wasn't willing to risk her body. She decided to go back, pack her things, and get ready to slip away. She'd pretend to have a mental breakdown and run off, hoping Susan and Olivia wouldn't be implicated.
...
Back at Rose Estate, Paige buried her wooden box further away by the lake under the cover of night, planning to take it with her when she fled the next day.
The following morning, she woke up to find it was already 11 AM.
Paige rubbed her shoulders and sat up, just about to get out of bed when the door suddenly opened. She immediately adopted a vacant expression, her beautiful eyes unfocused and looking ahead blankly.
"Miss, you're awake," Olivia said with a smile, walking to the bed and brushing Paige's messy hair back. "You slept so soundly. Mr. Gustin has been waiting for you all morning. It's rare to see him so patient."
'Enrico is here?' Paige worried. She hadn't planned to perform her mental breakdown act in front of that man.