Chapter 1080: Liars

Meanwhile...

"What now...?" Angel grumbled, driving very slowly with the beams off, following Patricia.

After she ran away from the Miller estate, Angel told himself it wasn’t worth it. He had a long day today, and he shouldn’t waste his time getting his hoodie back. Zoren Pierson was his employer, and Penny was his boss.

He could just ask them for a favor, using their connection as a bonus, right?

But here he was, driving like a snail while Patricia was walking on the side of the road. His face contorted when he glanced at the side of the road and saw a snail moving past his car.

"Damn... I’m slower than a snail," he grumbled, snapping his eyes to the windshield. He kept a few meters behind Patricia, watching where she was heading. By the looks of it, she was headed out of the subdivision, which would at least take her around fifteen to twenty minutes on foot.

His brows rose as he saw her shoulders trembling, her arms moving as if she were wiping her eyes. He shook his head. Whatever happened at the Miller estate in the short time she was inside, Angel had a few guesses.

One, her parents scolded her for not coming home for a week. With her personality, she could’ve blown up. If not that, she could’ve thrown a huge tantrum the moment she came home, and when her family didn’t console her like usual, she stormed out crying.

"Gee..." Angel ruffled his hair in irritation, propping his elbow on the window with his knuckles on his jaw. His eyes remained on her figure as he sighed. "She really is a headache. Surely, Penny knows exactly how to tick me off."

Having said that, he stepped on the pedal to pick up his speed a little. He slowed down when he reached her, rolling the window down.

"Hey, where are you going?" he asked with disinterest. "If you’re going to run away from home, just go back to the villa. In that case, I wouldn’t be worried, alright?"

Patricia didn’t answer, nor did she even give him a look.

"Miss Miller, seriously." He sighed. "Don’t get the wrong idea, okay? I’m simply offering because it’s my job. I told you I’d keep you safe. If you didn’t come out of your house, I wouldn’t even worry anymore."

Why did she have to come out so soon?!

"So, in a way, I’m still liable if something bad happens to you," he added. "Just... jump in. I’ll buy you some ice cream on the way as a reward — sounds good?"

"Go away."

Angel furrowed his brows. "What did you say?" he asked, hearing her whisper something, but not enough to understand it.

"I said go away." This time, she stopped in her tracks, keeping her head low. "Go away. Leave me alone."

"Uh..." Did she think he didn’t want to leave her alone? Angel scratched his temple with his index finger. "Well, I can’t do that because —"

"I said go away! Leave me alone!" Unlike her whispers and mumblings, Patricia started yelling at him. Facing him squarely, she ground her teeth and balled her hands into tight fists. "Go away! Just go! Why don’t you leave me alone?! Can’t you see I don’t want to be bothered?! Why don’t you listen?!"

After the rounds of shouting and hate, Patricia started panting as tears continued to well in her eyes.

"Go away!" she breathed out sharply, resuming her steps. "Just go!"

"..." Angel didn’t say anything nor did he react, watching her stomp away. Another deep exhale slipped past his nostrils as he shook his head.

Without a word, he slowly pressed on the pedal and picked up his speed. This time, he didn’t idle as he drove away.

Patricia hiccuped, stopping as the car drove past her. She lifted her eyes, watching just how the car shrank from sight with only the rear lights showing her how much distance he had put between them. Before she knew it, the car had already made a turn and was gone.

Biting her bottom lip tightly, tears streamed down her face. Her knees shook and then gave way, slumping down on the concrete.

"*Hic*!" She covered her eyes with her arm, hiccuping as she tried to muffle her cries. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry aloud to relieve the heaviness in her heart. But alas, she could only chew her lip and cry quietly.

The thought of someone passing by and seeing her didn’t even cross her mind. She didn’t think about what people would say. She was just in too much pain. The traumatizing and horrific incident kept playing in her head, and she couldn’t shake the feeling of how her family could be so happy while she was in so much pain.

It was unfair.

How could they smile so happily?

Memories of the past made their way to her heart, resurfacing in her mind. Her mother used to shower her with everything, telling her she was the most precious. Her father, on the other hand, would always tell her that their family felt more complete with her around. Even Theo would pat her head and teach her lessons she was having difficulty with.

They told her she was important, that she was precious, that she was loved. And yet, they had no qualms even if she went missing.

"Liars..." she whimpered, hiccuping in between. "I hate them... I hate them... everything is a lie! Liars! Liars!"

VROOM!

Just then, she heard a car approaching at full speed. She didn’t care to look until she felt a gust of wind, still hiding her face with her arm. The car drove past her, but then it did a U-turn and drove back.

"Liars..." she hissed, trailing off as she noticed a shadow stretching over her. "Huh?"

Slowly, Patricia looked up, only to see an irritated look on Angel.

"Get in," he ordered irritably, tipping his head toward the car. "Patricia Miller, get up and get in the car."