ALINA’S POV.

    “Okay, ma’am… What!?” He eximed, shocked, his foot mming on the brakes abruptly.

    The suddenness of the action threw me forward, but thankfully, I had my seatbelt on. Still, my pad fell to the floor of the

    car.

    “What the hell, Jordan!” I yelled, my heart racing.

    “I am so sorry, madame,” he apologized, regret evident in his eyes. “But are you okay, ma’am?” He asked, ncing at me with genuine concern.

    “No! I am not okay. You almost gave me a heart attack!” I snapped, still trying to steady my breath.

    “Again, I apologize for that. But… do you need me to call Master ckwood? Are you in trouble? You can tell me, and I’ll handle it.” !--

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    My face scrunched in confusion. “What? No! What are you on about?”

    “Are you sure you’re fine, ma’am? You’re not being threatened?” He asked again, scanning my face anxiously, like he was waiting for some hidden confession from me.

    “Threatened? Is this a joke, Jordan?” I red at him.

    From my expression, he knew I was not in the mood for whatever this was.

    “Well… you look like you didn’t get enough sleep, like something kept you up all night, and you didn’t eat much at breakfast either, like you’re in a hurry. And now you’re asking me to drive through Old Ninth Avenue. Is someone asking you to meet them there? You know what? I’ll just call the boss and—”

    I snatched his phone from his hand before he could call Lucian and blow this out of proportion.

    “Firstly, you need to calm down,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. “Yes, I didn’t get enough sleep, hence why I look like a zombie this morning, and Icked appetite, which exins why I didn’t eat much. Now, the reason I’m asking you to drive through Old Ninth Avenue is because I want to give away this excess food to the homeless people there. That’s all.”

    I understood his reaction. Old Ninth Avenue wasn’t a good ce for anyone to be. Crimes happened in broad daylight, and nobody batted an eyelid. There were all sorts of homeless kids and even adults there, and the only reason I knew this ce was because of an incident that happened in my past life.

    I wasn’t insane enough to ever venture to that part of town on my own.

    “But ma’am-”

    “It will be quick, I promise. We’ll just drive through, stop for a few minutes, and we’ll be gone. You’re with me, so nothing can go wrong.” I tried to convince him, softening my tone.

    “The boss isn’t going to like this, ma’am.” He muttered, clearly not pleased with the idea.

    “He doesn’t like anything.” I rolled my eyes.

    I understood his fear, but what I saw there in my past life broke my heart. I was one of those people for a couple of weeks before I was moved to the warehouse where I was finally killed, so I knew what it felt like to go days without eating.

    The burn you feel in your stomach, like your insides are trying to eat you up from within because there’s nothing to digest, it was a horrible experience.

    “Would you like anything from the pile?” I asked him, referring to the bags of food sitting on the passenger seat.

    “No, ma’am. I’m good.” He grumbled, making meugh softly.

    “Just pick something. I promise you’ll like it.” I pushed, offering a small, encouraging smile.

    He eyed a te at the top and reluctantly picked it up.

    “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” I teased lightly,

    “Thank you, ma’am.” He muttered.

    I knew he still wasn’t happy with my n, but he didn’t really have a choice.

    “How about this, once we get to the hospital, I’ll see a doctor to make sure I’m noting down with something.” I said to pacify him.

    I knew I wasn’t sick, and I also knew the reason for myck of appetite and dark circles, but I’d see a doctor so that Jordan would kill any thoughts of telling Lucian about our little trip downtown.

    He didn’t respond, but he turned on the ignition and we drove toward the direction of Old Ninth Avenue.

    As we slowly drove through the streets, I could see a lot of people staring curiously at our car. You don’t see shy cars like this every day.

    “Are you sure about this?” Jordan asked, his alert eyes scanning the area for any sign of danger.

    “We’ll be fine, Jordan. Rx.” I told him, trying to ease the tension.

    For some reason, I felt at ease.

    This ce felt so familiar because I had been here in my previous life, yet so strange, because I hadn’t been here in this life until today.

    “At any sign of difort, please let me know, ma’am, and we’ll be out of here.” He told me firmly.

    “Alright, Jordan. I promise to tell you if I don’t feel safe,” I assured him. “You can park over there.” I pointed to a spot across the road.

    The car pulled to a stop.

    “Please stay inside, ma’am.” Jordan instructed firmly as he stepped out, scanning the perimeter before finallying to my door and opening it for me.

    I thought I had seen Jordan serious before, but this was different. His whole body was tensed, and he looked so guarded, like a bodyguard in enemy territory.

    He brought out the bags that contained food, and we crossed to the other side, where some curious little kids were already staring at the bags in our hands with wide, hungry eyes.

    “Hi,” I said softly as I slowly approached them. “Ie bearing gifts.” I added lightly, shaking the bag with a small smile.

    A little boy was the first person to approach me. He couldn’t be more than six.

    “Is it food?” he asked in a tiny voice.

    “It is.” I said, pulling one from the bag and handing it to him.

    That was all the invitation the rest needed as they all flocked around me.

    I happily handed each a te, thankful that Emilio had added extra,

    “Did anybody tell you that this ce is not a ce for a pretty little thing like you?” A rough voice spoke, and instantly, Jordan pulled me behind him, standing protectively in front of me.

    The voice… it sounded so familiar.

    1 peeked from behind Jordan to see that we had been surrounded by six scary-looking men. But one face stood out to me.

    “Cobi?” The name left my lips in a shocked whisper.