Chapter 316
Rowena lowered her gaze, thinking for a few minutes before finally saying, “A hotel, I guess.”
Winifred’s eyes were deep and unreadable as she kept driving, but the further they went, the more off the beaten path they got.
Rowena finally snapped out of her thoughts and asked, confused, “Where are you taking me? This isn’t the way to a hotel.”
Winifred replied coolly. “If you don’t want your mom to find you, then stop asking.”
Rowena shut her mouth right away. Winifred was clearly onto her.
Culturein Street was pretty out of the way in Vallaris. Rowena couldn’t figure out why Winifred was bringing her here. As the car rolled into a standalone villa, or more like a castle, Rowena’s eyes went wide in disbelief.
Rowena never would’ve guessed there was a place like this hidden away here, and the grounds were absolutely massive.
“Get out,” Winifred said.
Still in shock, Rowena followed her out of the car. “What is this place?”
Winifred replied, “It’s where I used to live. No one’s there now.”
Rowena seemed to catch on that Winifred wanted her to stay here, but that just made Rowena feel super embarrassed.
“I really can’t. I’ve already troubled you so much,” Rowena said, pursing her lips. “So you do realize it.”
Winifred fixed her with a look, a teasing smirk on her lips.
Rowena felt mortified, wishing she could just vanish into thin air. Ugh, we’re not even that close, and yet I keep bothering her again and again, she thought.
“I’m sorry,” Rowena mumbled.
“As long as you know. It’s no big deal to help you out again. Come on in,” Winifred said.
Winifred’s tone was completely free of annoyance, so Rowena looked up at her.
Just as Rowena finished her shower, there was a knock at the door.
Winifred stood there, her expression as calm as ever, leaning against the wall with a hint of mischief. “Your mom’s been looking for you. She even called the cops. You’d better let her know you’re safe, but don’t worry. She won’t be able to find this place.”
Rowena nodded. “Okay, I get it.”
When Yvonne got a message from her daughter, she hurried straight to the police.
But the officers, looking all official, told her that Rowena was an adult now, and the message clearly said she was just taking a few days off and had already let them know her plans. There was no sign of kidnapping or anything like that, so they couldn’t just go out and look for her without a real reason.
Yvonne was fuming. She called Rowena a dozen times in a row, but she was still blocked every single time.
Rowena tossed her phone onto the bed and, wearing Winifred’s black pajamas, walked out to the yard.
She saw Winifred sitting there alone, so she opened the wine cabinet, grabbed a whole box of bottles, and carried them over to her.
The clatter of bottles made Winifred glance back, a hint of impatience on her face. “What are you doing?”
“I want a drink,” Rowena replied, sitting in the yard and clinking their bottles together. “Damn, this is awesome. I’ve never let loose like this while drinking before,” Rowena said.
Winifred’s eyes were icy, like she was carrying a whole world of secrets. “I’m used to it,” she said.
Rowena shot her a sideways look and asked bluntly, “Winifred, what kind of person are you, really?”
Winifred took a swig of her drink and said, “In front of Sienna, I’m the good girl. But when she’s not around? Honestly, you can think whatever you want.”
Rowena was curious about Winifred’s past, but she held back, worried that asking too much might annoy her.
“As for me,” Rowena began, “ever since I was little, I’ve felt like a bird with broken wings, trapped in a golden cage. I longed for freedom, but all I could do was gaze at the sky through the bars.
Then you came along, and suddenly cracks started to appear in that cage. For the first time, I realized I might actually be able to fly.”
Winifred let out a soft laugh. “You’re making me sound way too important. I’m afraid I’ll fall from that height."
“Rowena, if you don’t really want to break out of your cage, it doesn’t matter how many cracks there are. None of them will set you free.”