The closet was empty, and Anna was nowhere to be seen.
Leon quietly scanned the room with his eyes and left to enter the living room.
'The door was still locked when I came, so that means she is hiding somewhere.' Leon searched through the entire apartment, but he couldn't find Anna. He was certain that Anna had escaped.
'But how?! What are the chances that the girl I kidnapped somehow unlocked the handcuffs, left my closet, and ran away from my apartment without leaving a single clue or evidence behind?!'
Certainly, that was a one in a million chance, but it happened. Now that Leon had nothing else to do, he decided to inspect the source of the spicy aroma he smelled in his apartment.
"It's coming from the refrigerator…" Leon was confused as to why the scent would come from his fridge. The only thing in his fridge was eggs and slices of bread.
When he opened his fridge, he saw various types of dishes, including curry and chicken gravy packed in a bowl.
"...." Leon was certain that he didn't put them in the fridge, so the only possibility was…
"Anna did this…?"
When he glanced at the kitchen, he saw that the dirty dishes he left in the sink were also washed, and his dirty (bloodstained) clothes were also washed and ironed.
"What the fuck is wrong with that girl?!" Leon exclaimed.
He had met many types of people in his life, but he had never seen someone like Anna.
A masochist, who enjoys getting tortured and suffering.
'If she ran away, that means she must have informed the cops, and they might be on their way here or waiting for me to go to university…'
Without wasting any time, Leon left his apartment in a hurry. On the stairs, he met his neighbor, the one who killed his brother and threw him off the balcony.
Of course, Leon ignored him and walked past him, but the neighbor called him out.
"I didn't know you had a girlfriend," he said.
"... what?" That's all Leon could say.
"The girl from 2 days ago. I saw her leaving your apartment. Then she came back a while later with some bags in her hand," the neighbor said and looked at his watch.
"..."
"When she was cooking, the smell was all over the apartment floor," he added. "My wife even said she was hanging your clothes on the balcony."
"..."
"Then she knocked on our door at night and gave us the food."
"..."
"What's wrong? Why do you look so shocked?" The neighbor asked with a confused look on her face.
"It's nothing." After saying that, Leon dashed down the stairs.
"Let's have a joint dinner sometime! My wife liked her cooking!" the neighbor yelled.
'Why would she do that?' Leon wondered. 'Even when I kidnapped her, she was acting strange as though she was excited.'
Of course, Leon had noticed that, but he brushed it off, thinking she was anxious or nervous.
Leon was planning to go back to Layla and run away with her to a far secluded place as he thought Anna might have reported Leon to the cops, but then he realized that he never showed his face to Anna.
Leon was wearing a mask, and he never left any of his belongings other than his clothes at his apartment. So even if she had reported Leon, the cops wouldn't be able to prove anything.
However, Leon was still perplexed by Anna's actions. Why would a victim buy groceries for a kidnaper and cook food for him? Why would she wash dishes and clothes?
How was she able to break free from the handcuffs and escape from his apartment?
Leon already had many questions to ask Anna regarding why she lied and helped him, and now the list of the questions was growing long.
For some reason, Leon was certain that Anna wouldn't have reported him, and even if she did, there was no way she could have known that her kidnapper was Leon. However, Leon was mistaken. Anna purposely lured Leon into a secluded place and got kidnapped.
Leon reluctantly made his way to his university. He entered his class, where the male professor was giving a lecture regarding the physical laws of space and matter.
The professor glanced at Leon when he entered and nodded without interrupting the class.
'Only if all the people were like him; minding their own business.' Leon smirked inwardly.
Leon sat on the empty seat and focused on the lecture as he had no knowledge of space and matter. He was curious.
Everything was going well until Leon's gaze fell on the girl sitting in the front row, who was waving at him with a smile on her face.
That girl was Anna Townley, and she was trying to say something to Leon.
"....!" Leon furrowed his brows in surprise and thought, 'Why is she waving at me? Does she know that I was the kidnapper?'
'No.' Leon shook his head and uttered inwardly: 'There is no way that's possible. There is no way she would wave at her kidnapper. She is probably waving at someone else.'
Leon glanced around and looked back to see who Anna was waving at, but he couldn't spot one.
'That means, she is waving at me…' Leon frowned his face and muttered, "Maybe she is waving at me because we met during the detective call."
Leon didn't want to admit the possibility of Anna knowing everything. He used to think he was perfect, and he never left any evidence behind, but Anna somehow knew everything.
Of course, it wasn't his fault. She checked the footage, and instead of reporting it to the cops, she thought of using it.
What were the chances of the only person who knew Leon's identity was a girl and that too, a masochist of all people?
Leon was at odds against Anna, while she wanted to be on even.
===
Author's Note- Thanks @YoungUce02 for gifting ice cola! It is the first gift I have received for this book!