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

Chapter Thirty-two: The Staggering Truth

"Aiiii..." Victoria shrieked as she was tilted to the back with her feet swept off the floor without prior notice. 

"Let's go then—" Victor stated before starting to move.

"Wait—" she urged, her eyes registering an unmoving body fallen sprawled on the uneven forest ground. Fighting through her blurry eyes, blinking rapidly, she realized it was Ben.

"Ben!" she was more than amused.

As though Victor being here was not a surprise enough. Now, it turns out Ben had accompanied him too. What the freaking hell was going on!

"Ah," It looked like Victor remembered Ben, the unconscious version of him, was present in the scene, too. "From afar, he was certain that your silhouette was the demon of Aokigahara."

"Eh?" His revelations were filling her with more confusion than lessening them.

Voices of people, footsteps, and movements through the dense foliage reached their ears. 

Victor stated, "I think they are the volunteers and the police. They will take care of Ben." Then without waiting for another second, he started making his way out, following multicolored threads and chalk marks on the trees and stones. 

That is quite wise of him—Victoria thought as she rested her head on Victor's sturdy shoulder. In silence, she wondered why she couldn't spot a single thread she had tied on the trees. 

Listening to the steady beating of his heart, she closed her eyes. Like all the times he had sneaked into bed next to her, the subconscious comfort and feeling of safety manifested within her. She didn't realize when she drifted off to the depths of sleep.

Carried in the arms of a man she hadn't thought of seeing anytime soon, she glided out of a mysteriously marvelous sea of trees.

--

"My intentions regarding her are not evil as you are insinuating—"

"Then why had she divorced you, huh? I clearly remember her telling me that she was married before but was single now—"

The tremors of a car moving, the navigation's directions, and male voices talking between themselves were what Victoria felt and heard before she opened her eyes waking up. 

The heated argument continued between the male voices. 

"Ah, so that is making you want to charm her so bad! You think she's single and available."

"Even if I am, should that perturb you psychologically so much?"

"Well, news for you, I did not—"

It was time to let them know she was awake. Their constant bickering was now starting to make her head throb. She rubbed her eyes and blinked them open.

It was a moving car.

Surely it was her rented car, which was being driven by someone else.

She looked at her either side and discovered she was sitting between Victor, who was wide awake and staring at her, and Ben, who was sitting wide-eyed—resembling a dead man.

"You're awake," Victor pointed out the obvious in a soothing tone. 

Not suffering anymore from blurry vision and spinning head, Victoria now had a proper look at Victor and his condition. 

He hadn't shaved in days. His eyes had dark circles underneath. Even his eyelids looked somewhat swollen. It looked like he hadn't slept for days. The blue shirt and pair of suit pants he had on were wrinkled almost everywhere.