Chapter 58: You can’t give in to him.
It didn’t take him long to arrive. As he rushed inside, his eyes immediately caught sight of Anne storming out, hurriedly wiping away her tears.
"Anne!" He called out, quickening his pace toward her. "Are you okay?"
She halted abruptly, startled by his sudden appearance. Blinking in confusion, she looked him up and down. "You? What are you doing here?"
Augustine stiffened. In his urgency to get to her, he had momentarily forgotten that she still didn’t know his true identity – nor was she aware that someone had been keeping a close eye on her.
"Uh..." He hesitated, rubbing the back of his head as he scrambled for an excuse. "I—I came to visit a colleague. I didn’t expect to run into you. Is everything alright?"
Anne’s eyes brimmed with fresh tears, her resolve crumbling. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his chest.
Augustine froze for a split second before his arms instinctively tightened around her, holding her close in a protective embrace.
"I’ve been trying so hard to make things right," she choked out between sobs. "But everything is slipping beyond my control. I’m exhausted..."
Augustine gently stroked her hair, his voice soothing as he reassured her, "Calm down. I’m here."
As Augustine glanced down, he noticed the red marks on Anne’s cheek. Someone had hit her. His eyes darkened with anger. "Who dared to lay a hand on you?" he growled.
Anne instantly recalled Patricia slapping her. It wasn’t something new. Whenever her father wasn’t around, Patricia had taken out her frustrations on her—slapping her, hitting her with a stick, or locking her in the dark storeroom. It had happened so often that she had learned to endure it without complaint.