After a satisfying meal, I left the restaurant and suddenly remembered that I seemed to have forgotten Howard.
I quickly called out to him, silently repeating his name dozens of times in my heart, but he didn't appear.
The autumn wind was chilly, and a gust of cold wind made me shiver.
"What the hell? You said he'd show up as soon as I called. I totally fell for your BS." I pouted.
"Karena, do you need me to take you home?" Amelia came out of the restaurant right after me and saw me standing at the door.
"No need; since you are going home today, you can go with Mr. Martinez. Don't worry about me. I'll just take a cab home."
Seeing my insistence, Amelia nodded and reminded me to be careful on the way, then got in the car and left.
I hailed a cab by the roadside, and the driver was very enthusiastic. "Miss, where to?"
Facing the kindness of a stranger, I felt a bit uneasy. After giving the address, I kept playing with my phone.
The driver tried to make conversation with me, but after a few attempts and my lukewarm responses, he gave up.
Amelia texted: [I'm home. How about you?]
I replied: [Not yet, just got in the car. This driver keeps trying to talk to me.]
Amelia: [Ignore those weird people. Text me when you get home.]
After sending an emoji to Amelia, I looked up and noticed that the route the driver was taking seemed off, thinking that he was deliberately taking a longer route.
There were many unscrupulous drivers these days, but since I was alone, I didn't dare to confront him, so I decided to let him take the long way.
With this tolerant mindset, I continued for a while longer, but the route was still wrong, and I started to feel nervous. "Sir, did you take a wrong turn? This isn't the way to my home."
The driver chuckled. "The road ahead is under construction, so I took a detour. Don't worry."
As soon as he said this, my heart tightened. Seeing his grinning face in the rearview mirror made me even more scared. I tugged at the car door. "Just drop me off around here. I want to get out."
I didn't know if I was just being paranoid, but it felt like the driver was giving me the evil eye. He did stop the car a bit further ahead. Instinctively, I tried to open the door to leave, but found it locked.
Countless terrifying thoughts flashed through my mind as I clutched my bag tightly, nervously and fearfully looking at the driver. "You better unlock the door."
The driver gave me a sinister look, his expression eerie. He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, coming to my door. Pulling out a knife menacingly, he said, "Get out of the car."
By this time, I was so scared that my body was trembling. I kept retreating, my voice involuntarily tinged with tears. "What do you want?"
The man pointed the knife at me. "Hand over all your valuables."
I knew my life took priority every time. While silently repeating Howard's name in my heart, I handed over all my valuables.
Seeing the $100 in cash and my phone, the driver's expression turned dark "Damn it, that's all? You live in such a nice place, and you don't have anything valuable on you? I don't believe it. Hand it over, or I'll search you myself."
It turned out that he thought I was rich because of where I lived.
My mind raced, quickly coming up with an excuse. "I really only have this. I'm staying at my boyfriend's place. He's the one with money, not me."
That house was rented by Howard anyway, so I wasn't lying.
The driver's face darkened after hearing my words. He seemed to be considering whether to call my boyfriend out or let me go.
I quickly expressed my sincerity. "Really, all my valuables are here. Sir, I can give you all the money. Just let me go."
Embarrassed that he had robbed someone poorer than himself, the driver suddenly thought of something and said, "Then call your boyfriend right now and have him bring the money."
With this I tried to make myself sound pitiful. "My boyfriend treats me badly. He never buys me expensive things. This phone was bought with my own pocket money. He won't give me money."
"Are you lying to me?" The driver seemed to suspect I was just trying to avoid giving him money.
"You can call him with my phone if you don't believe me. He should be home now, and he'll answer." I pointed to the phone on the seat.
The driver hesitated, then picked up the phone and had me unlock it. He actually called the house.
The phone rang for a long time without anyone answering. Just when I thought Howard wouldn't pick up, the call connected and I felt a sense of relief.
"Are you the boyfriend of the owner of this phone?" The driver shouted.
Howard seemed taken aback, not expecting a man to answer. "Who are you?"
The driver snorted, "Your girlfriend is with me. Transfer $500,000 to this phone's account, or I'll kill her."
"You mean... my girlfriend, Karena, is with you." Even through the phone, I could tell Howard's tone was off.
I quickly cried out pitifully, my voice full of grievance. "Howard, hurry and send him the money, or he'll kill me."
Honestly, I did feel quite aggrieved. He had promised to always protect me, but when I was in danger, I had called him many times, but he didn't come to save me. Just thinking about it brought tears streaming down my face.
Seeing me cry, the driver chuckled arrogantly, "Hurry up. Your girlfriend is crying. If you don't send the money..." Before he could finish, he suddenly felt a cold wind behind him, making him shiver.
A voice, cold and seemingly from hell, sounded behind the driver. "If I don't send the money, what will you do?"
Since I was facing the car door, I naturally saw Howard's incredibly handsome appearance, like a wisp of smoke, instantly teleporting here, surrounded by black smoke, looking incredibly noble and mysterious.
Seeing Howard, my heart finally settled. I burst into tears and yelled at Howard, "You bastard, Howard! I called you so many times, and you didn't show up. You jerk!"