Charles stared at Vera, worried about her as she looked a bit pale. It wasn't easy to get past such a trauma. Imagine one's head being dunked inside water by a psychiatric patient. That experience is one which one wouldn't love to experience, but then, there was no choice than to console her. Hopefully, she would be able to get over it soon before the competition commence. “Are you okay?” Charles asked her out of concern. Then Vera looked at him weakly, and breathed out shakily. “I guess I am. I'm much better than when we were still there. At least, this place is quite sane.” Vera replied, and glanced at the window. “I understand.” “This trip just got messed up all because of that woman. We weren't able to do what we came here for, but regardless, I'm certain we're still going to win and have what we want.” Vera said, nodding her head to assure us both. “Yeah, I believe. Just lay your head back and rest until we get back to the city.” When they got back to the city, they drove off home, and Charles made Vera sleep in his home just so he could monitor her. It was obvious that she was still shaken by what happened, so he wouldn't feel at rest if he left her all alone in her home. As they walked inside, they met James and Amelia in the sitting room. They were waiting for them as Charles had already informed them that they were coming back home. James stood up instantly, and walked up to them. “I'm so glad you both are fine. Did they catch the culprit?” James asked, out of curiosity. “Yes, they did. Actually, it was through Vera we found out.” Charles said as they all walked back to the living room and had their seat. James looked at Vera and noticed she wasn't looking her usual self, so he suspected something went on. “How? What do you mean?” “She was also captured by the culprit and she almost killed her by drowning her.”“What!” James exclaimed out of shock, then rose to his feet and moved to Vera, looking at her out of concern. “Are you okay, Vera?” He asked, still looking concerned. Vera was more like a tough lady, so seeing her look and act this way, made him really worried. He knew that the experience must have been really traumatic for her. “I'm… I'm okay, James.” Vera assured him as she nodded her head. “Are you sure?” He asked again “Yes James. Stop making it seem worrisome.” Vera said, almost snapping at him. She didn't like to feel really weak and for her to get over the trauma she experienced, the last thing she needed was to be treated like a weakling. “Alright, we'll need some rest. Then tomorrow, we can all talk about the contest which would be happening in a few days.” Charles concluded as he rose to his feet. He could sense that Vera needed that rest and probably a lone time, so to make things easier, a dismissal was needed. ~ ~dream state~ (flashback) “Layla… Layla, hang on, please. Wait, you have to wait. You have to think deeply about this. Trust me. You do not have to kill me. No, you do not want to kill me. It will only complicate things. Your life will be a mess. A total mess! Killing someone… you’ll be found. You’ll be taken to jail…” Vera pleaded desperately, hoping to change Layla's mind. “Do you actually care about me? Or you’re just trying to save yourself?” She scoffed, and rolled her eyes. “I admit I’m trying to save myself, but it doesn’t have to be like this. You will only make everything worse.” “Nope, I’m going out of this country very soon, and your body will never be found, until maybe three days? Five? A week? Well, you’ll be found when you’ve become all scabby and gummy. Your pretty face wouldn’t even be recognized and your man will cry. Oh yeah, he will.” She said, continuing to drag Vera into the water. Already, the cold water had covered her legs, and she was beginning to shiver. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and it seemed like she couldn’t hear a thing. In a few seconds, she’d be deep enough for the water to cover her face. “Layla… Layla, please…” She begged, as she began to cry. “If you don’t want a gun, I have a knife. I can still rip out your throat cleanly, and no one will ever hear you scream again.” She said, and held Vera up, so she could stand. The water was up to their waists, crashing softly, against them in contrast to how Vera’s heart was pounding against her chest. “You don’t… you don’t have to do this. You really don’t, Layla. I promise things will be better for you.” She said, but Layla merely scoffed. “Shut it. You make me mad, with each second. If you scream, I’m going to rip out your throat sooner than you can say yay.” She threatened, and pushed Vera’s head into the water. Vera wanted to scream, but the water rushed down her throat into her lungs, and up her nostrils. The sting was unbearable, and it made Vera want to shout out in tears. Breathing freely was indeed a luxury. She tried to fight against Layla’s hold, but couldn’t. All she saw were the bubbles forming in front of her. Her hands were bound behind her back, so it made everything harder for her. It wasn’t until Vera almost gave up that she was pulled out of the water. She gasped, coughing seriously, as she tried to fight for breath, but she held it all in, with great effort, as Layla held out the knife to her throat. Once more, she was dunked into the water, before she could say a word. Then she sat up abruptly, breathing heavily as her chest was heaving up and down. Her face and forehead were filled with sweat dripping down to her clothes which had formed a wet map on her chest. Then she got down from the bed, and headed to the bathroom where she washed her face up. She knew right there that she couldn't sleep back because she felt scared that Layla could appear out of nowhere and finish up what she couldn't. Layla was crazy, so Vera knew anything could happen. Then she walked out of the room and noticed that Charles’ bedroom light was still on. “He must be awake.” Vera muttered under her breath. Then she headed over to his room. As she got to the door, she stood there for a while, not actually certain if she was going to be disturbing him by showing up. But as she looked back at the room which Charles gave her stay the night, fear gripped her and a little of what happened to her came back to her as a flash. This made her shake her head and shrug her shoulders. She couldn't bear to go back, now that she had not gotten herself free from the grip of the nightmare. But then, she turned away from his door.~ That same night, Charles thought about all that he went through just because he wanted to create something unique, have unique ideas. He was glad that he ensured James didn't follow him or else, he could have been in a worse situation. While leaning on his balcony rails, he heard a knock on his door, so he went back into his room, and headed to the door, then opened it. It was Vera. She was fiddling with her hands and it was totally unlike her. “Is there anything wrong, Vera?” Charles asked, out of concern. “I can't sleep yet. Can I… can I have some time with you?” She asked politely and i let out a sigh. Charles was also not ready to sleep yet, so that made two of us. Even if he was about to sleep, he was still going to create time for her. A lot of things could be bugging her mind and he wanted to be there for her. They both walked to the balcony and leaned on it. “Do you mind?” Charles asked, offering her a glass of wine Vera willingly collected it and had a sip, almost immediately she collected it from Charles. “Thanks.” She appreciated him and let out a sigh of relief as she leaned on the balcony rails and looked out to the sky. “So, is anything bugging your mind?” Charles asked, out of curiosity. At least, if something was bothering her, from there, he would know what to do to make her feel better. “Well, not really. But I must say, I'm really shaken by what happened. I couldn't believe I was the one in that situation. It was so terrible.” Vera spoke, and Charles sighed. “I understand. It could happen to anyone, and it must be really difficult to get it off your mind.” Suddenly, Vera looked deeply into Charles’ eyes and began to move closer to him. “What's going on?” Charles thought to himself.