Chapter 18| Her Mask

I was seriously driving right now. Not minding the stranger inside my car. She was right beside me; sitting next to me silently.

I kept my eyes on the road while my mind was occupied. There were so many things spinning here inside my head.

Why do I have this strange feeling, huh?

I asked myself. I was still confused.

I kept arguing with my inner self; asking if I will confront this woman or not.

Arg! I couldn't take this anymore.

I stopped the car at the side of the road. I leaned my back on the driver's seat and took a long deep breath and sigh; not bothering to take a glance at her.

Silence.

The car was filled with silence. No one dared to speak.

I just sighed once again and finally faced her direction.

"Why are you trying to escape?" I asked confusedly.

Her gaze shifted in my direction. When our eyes met, I could see she was confused too about my question.

I just wanna know the reason why because...you know...I don't get it. It's her job, right? So, why on earth is she escaping to that man? Is she aware of her responsibility inside that club?

After a minute, she didn't utter a word that made me more confused. My curiosity started to eat my entire system. I cleared my throat after I noticed she was staring at me for too long and I think she didn't bother to blink.

"Uhm... Why are you trying to escape?" I asked again and looked straight into her eyes.

"Why are you trying to escape from Mr. Montenegro? Is there any problem?" I repeated.

From what I said, her eyes didn't seem to know where to look. She felt tense and uneasy. I felt it's not a good idea to ask her about that but— Arg!

I cursed myself silently when I realized something.

This fucking mouth of mine. I was insensitive to my question.

"Uhm... If you're not comfortable, it's fine to not answer it," I said in embarrassment as I shifted my gaze away from her. I looked straight on the road again which I almost thought was abandoned due to no vehicles passing by.

"I-I can't. I can't do it..."

At that moment, I was surprised by her sudden response. My forehead furrowed as I immediately looked in her direction once again.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, no offense but, It's your—"

She cut me off when she spoke.

"That's my job?" she supplied.

I nodded at her as a response. Now, all I could see was loneliness and pain. Even though there is a mask covering her bare face, there's no doubt that what I saw was true because her emotions are visible in her eyes.

F*ck, self! Why am I so careless?

She lowered her gaze and started to play with her fingers. I just kept staring at her.

"I have no choice," she answered. Her gaze was still on her hands.

"I didn't finish school. Mama died then Papa..." she paused and took a deep breath. At this time, it looked like she was about to cry.

She was holding the urge to cry. I could do nothing but keep quiet and continue listening to her.

"Papa went with another woman. He left us when I was little. We have no relatives here. I even don't know if we have any."

After that, her tears started to fall. She immediately wiped them away using the back of her right hand.

"That's why his responsibility for my siblings was left to me. I have to work hard at a young age. It's really hard to find a job when you haven't even finished school. Some college graduates are having a hard time finding jobs, so how much more about me? " she sarcastically laughed at what she said.

She was trying to say her educational attainment was no longer questionable as to why she was in this kind of situation today.

She sadly stared at the windshield and hugged herself.

"If I found a job, they would pay me very little. Not even fit into our household expenses. My siblings are still studying so when I found out about prostitution that the others say the income is even way better than what I was doing, I was hesitant at first about whether to enter it or not. But, it comes to the point that one of my siblings was admitted to the hospital due to dengue. So, in the end, I entered it. I had nowhere to run at those times. I have to swallow all the pride I have just for my siblings," she ended the story while sobbing.

I looked away and tightened my grip on the steering wheel. I felt an arrow stab my heart.

"I-I'm sorry..." I apologize, almost in a whisper. I felt pity for her.

So, that was what happened to her. She didn't want to do it. She just needed to earn money for her siblings.

I sighed.

I fished out a white handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to her. Her eyes were blurred with tears. She automatically looked at me then lowered her gaze to the handkerchief I was holding; looked like she was hesitant to take it but in the end, she accepted it.

"T-thank you..." she uttered shyly and wiped away her tears.

About a few minutes later, I think she seems to be feeling okay right now. I sat properly in the driver's seat and cleared my throat before shifting my gaze to her once again.

"Uhm... Aren't you going to take that off?" I asked while pointing at her mask. I didn't think she could wipe the tears on her face very well because of that thing.

She immediately looked at me and I saw how her eyes slowly widened. She gulped.

My forehead furrowed at her reaction.

What's the problem with the idea of taking off her mask?