Chapter 37: Kept Hiding
The treatment at this homestay was very good, and there were some meals available on the first floor. However, due to Martina’s usual reluctance to go out and meet people, she never went downstairs to eat.
So, even though she heard the invitation, she politely declined his kindness. “No, thank you. I just ate a while ago, so I’m not hungry at the moment.”
Whether Martina was hungry or not didn’t matter. What mattered was that she had an uneasy feeling.
By now, Benjamin must have realized that she had disappeared, and knowing his character, he would definitely not give up easily. He would be extremely angry.
However, Martina wouldn’t be self-absorbed like before, thinking that Benjamin’s anger was due to any feelings he had for her.
He was simply driven by his machismo and possessiveness, not love for Martina. Martina’s right eyelid had been twitching intermittently since early morning, and now it was twitching more intensely. She thought for a moment and turned her phone on again.
Just as she turned it on, she received a message from Elena.
tall!”
“Martina, Benjamin called me, but I was cautious and didn’t say anything or answer his
“I suspect that by now, he must have realized that you’re missing. I found someone who resembles you a bit in terms of body shape and appearance.”
“Let’s see how I handle it next. Even if I can’t help you deceive everyone, at least I can buy you some more time.”
The bond between Elena and Martina had always been pure. Whenever they could help each other, they would do their best.
Even if they knew that doing so would put themselves in danger, they would do it.
without hesitation!
It seemed that Benjamin really had some plans in mind, so he would definitely go to
Carlsbad first.
In that case, he took up a considerable amount of time because Martina was not in Carlsbad, so at least she could have another day of rest.
However, after one day, she had to quickly leave.
Otherwise, there was no guarantee that Benjamin wouldn’t find out through other means.
that she had come to this city.
If he started using other systems or conducting a sweeping search, it would only be a matter of time before he discovered her whereabouts.
The more places she stayed, the safer she would be.
After all, even If Benjamin wanted to find her with absolute accuracy, it wasn’t that easy.
The night had fallen.
Martina counted the cash in her bag and found she still had a few thousand dollars.
Since carrying too much cash was inconvenient, she initially prepared less than ten
thousand dollars in cash.
She went to the front desk to check out, faintly hearing the landlady muttering while watching the news, “If only I were a rich man’s wife.”
Martina’s body stiffened. A rich man’s wife?
Well, it was not that easy to become one. The sacrifices she had made along this journey had been too numerous.
She once almost married a billionaire, however, she didn’t want the wealthy life.
anymore.
“Ma’am, please check me out of the room,” Martina said with a smile.
had a
The landlady turned her attention away from the television and her eyes brightened when she saw Martina. “Alright. Are you planning to leave soon? Have you comfortable stay here over the past two days?”
Martina nodded, “It was great. Thank you for your concern.”
Without any further hesitation, Martina left the place. However, just a few seconds after
leaving, she heard the landlady’s voice behind her once again.
“She’s truly a beautiful and likable young girl. I wonder what happened to make her seem so down all the time?”
Martina silently shook her head. Fortunately, the landlady did not have too much. curiosity about her, so there shouldn’t be any trouble.
Martina didn’t know where she could go now, so she aimlessly walked the streets. For safety reasons, Martina hired a driver for a day of driving, instead of finding a taxi
driver.
city.
First, she wandered around this nearby city, and then she decided to cross to another
This time, Martina had no specific destination in mind. She simply hoped to avoid Benjamin’s eyes as much as possible. The place she chose this time was a small county.
She also bought a new phone and SIM card, using fake identification to further reduce the chances of being discovered by Benjamin.
Since this county happened to have a tourist attraction, there were usually quite a few people coming and going.
10%
There were also many small guesthouses nearby, with a layout similar to farmhouse
lodges.
Moreover, the people here were very hospitable. Martina found a house owned by two
sisters and temporarily settled in.
The daily accommodation fee was only $40. If she wanted to eat here, she paid an additional $20. If she didn’t eat, she didn’t have to pay. The prices were very cheap and
reasonable.
Time passed bit by bit, and during those days Martina deliberately avoided contacting
anyone.
Her previous phone had already been destroyed early on. During the day, when Martina had nothing to do, she strolled around the nearby tourist area.
At night, until late at night, ensuring that there wouldn’t be too much danger, she returned to her room and securely locked the door to rest.
In the blink of an eye, almost half a month had passed.
During that time, Martina had been relatively happy because in that place, she didn’t have to worry about being manipulated by others.
She didn’t have to worry about being criticized or rejected by others. She just needed to be her true self and do as she pleased.
The night sky was beautiful that night. Martina stayed on the second floor of a farmhouse lodge, and her room happened to have a large window where she could see the scenery outside.
The stars in the sky were shining brightly, some of them particularly dazzling.
The twinkling stars seemed to be some kind of hint. Martina took a deep breath and finished the water in her cup in one gulp.
“Benjamin, you should give up soon…”
Even if that man was angry, he couldn’t possibly lose himself and go to such great lengths just to find her.
Martina believed that if she waited a little longer, she could start over again.
She truly didn’t want to have the kind of life where she was constantly worried and had her heart set on someone else.
Even if it meant enduring a lot of hardships now, she was willing to do so wholeheartedly.
In contrast to the calmness on Martina’s side, the Walker family was in complete disarray. Everyone knew that Benjamin had been in a particularly bad mood lately, to the extent that even his mother dared not approach him easily.
Every day, various people would appear in the villa to report to Benjamin, and her secluded himself in his study, neglecting even his work.
Among them was a person named Leslie Wonder, who had been visiting most
frequently recently. Each time, he could directly go to the study without the need for prior
