And Then It Rained (Sequel to Rain Again; Stand Alone Book) (Completed)

Chapter Five: Memory of an Autumn

Wearing a baggy, black hoody, Victoria felt like a burglar as she sneakily walked up the hotel's driveway. It was the damned hotel where she was supposed to get married to her eternal doom. She was fast and kept her head low, not wanting to be seen by certain people. And the people she was trying to avoid were not perhaps still remaining at the hotel after so many days.

The valet was all smiley. She took the key to her car from him and thanked him hurriedly but profusely.

She had contacted the valet personally after getting his number from Julie. Julie was friends with the valet. Hearing that Victoria needed to get her car secretly out of the hotel, minus all the family chaos and the dick-breaking breakup, Julie told Victoria about his friend who worked there and would surely help her. Victoria was grateful.

Victoria took a moment to caress a hand on her precious Toyota RAV4. The wine-red color looked a little less shiny, but she was sure that after a thorough wash, it would sparkle just as it did when she had first bought it from the second-hand car seller. It was one of the most significant things she had ever bought with her own hard-earned money.

"Thank you," she turned back and told the guy again as he waved it off with a grin before beginning to walk away to attend to other guests who were swarming in through the driveway.

Not wanting to form a long queue before the entrance, Victoria opened the car door and got inside. And gosh, it felt so good when her behind connected with the familiar feeling of power, independence, and softness. She had shared Infinite positive, negative, neutral, exhilarating, and adventurous times with this vehicle.

It was not just a car. It was a mini home to her.

And she surely wouldn't have to spend a day as a homeless if she only had her Drago with her. Yes, she had named her car. What was the bloody harm in it?

As she twisted the key into the keyhole, the engine purred to life. She almost had tears in her eyes. "Missed hearing it, Drago," she murmured to herself.

The valet's knock on the glass window made her jump. "Jesus!"

"I'm sorry for starting you," The guy looked sheepish. "I forgot to tell you that I brushed up your room at the hotel and all the gathered items are inside that big black garbage bag in the backseat."

Victoria turned around and saw the bag. "Garbage bag?"

The guy scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish again. "Well, I just didn't want to get into trouble."

"No, I meant," Victoria explained. "It was a smart move."

"I found your phone too. It was stuck in the minuscule gap between the headboard of the bed and the mattress."

Victoria's face lit up. She decided she could surely kidnap someone or break a leg or two to help this wonderful guy. And, of course, she again thanked him profusely.

Grinning, he left.

When she was driving around the large and fancy fountain in the middle of the U-shaped driveway to get out, her eyes fell on the hotel's open and protruding roof area on the third floor. A man in his late fifties stood with his hip resting sideways on the railing. His hair was all white and shone like snow under the brilliant sunlight. And his familiar black eyes stared at her without blinking, coldly and calculatingly.

Victoria's hands shook on the steering. Gulping, she looked away at the front. Her car did swivel just a tiny bit because her attention diverted for a second. The next moment though, she got back on track. Increasing speed, she drove away fast.

Her father, the shrewd business tycoon Rex Davies, had seen her.

She couldn't imagine the amount of fury her father must be suppressing. And she was dreading the day he would be paying her a visit.