The village chief didn't ask anything since he trusted Mattias. He asked his daughter to provide first aid, clean Winter and dress her up with clean clothes.

Valkyrie was waiting outside the room where Winter was currently sleeping. He was calling Shein at the moment to inform that they found her.

"I'm glad she's okay. I was so scared earlier when brother-in-law slammed his fist on the table. That was my first time seeing him get mad." Shein murmured on the other end of the line. Relief and joy were surging from the bottom of his heart as he talk to Valkyrie.

"I'll let you know when she's awake. I'll keep her safe." Valkyrie stated to reassure everyone at home.

The village chief's daughter came out after almost an hour of tending to Winter. Mattias also came back with a change of clothes for him.

"Thank you for helping us." Valkyrie spoke while receiving the clothes from him.

"No problem. I only acted according to Gabriel's order."

Valkyrie scoffed at this response but he didn't say anything else. Mattias left him on his own after sending the clothes and walked directly to Gabriel's house.

"So, what did you find?" Gabriel asked indifferently, his back facing Mattias while he was arranging the school supplies in front of him.

"I found that the woman who came earlier was hanging on to her life at the cliff-side. She's got wounds all over head and the largest was the one on her neck."

"What did you say? She almost died?!" Gabriel was so horrified this time. His heart lurched on to his throat and it was painful.

"Hn."

"Where is she now?"

"She's currently unconscious in the village chief's house. Her friend is currently guarding her."

"Why didn't you bring them here?"

"Uh...with...with your anger earlier..I thought you wouldn't want to see them."

Gabriel was dumbfounded at this point. 'Right. I pushed her away so everyone would think that I don't want to see her.' Gabriel thought sadly. Her crying image flashed in his mind but he immediately buried it at the back.

"That's fine. Just check on them and let me know." Gabriel commented before going back to his current chore.

Mattias sat on the wooden chair in the small living room and helped Gabriel with the school supplies.

"I am not in the position to say this but, are you really giving up on her? Won't you regret your decision?"

Gabriel didn't say anything. In fact, when he watched her ran away earlier, he wanted to call her name and stop her. However, he didn't want to tie the lovely Winter to a cripple like him. "She deserves someone better."

"Was she looking for someone better? If she was, she could've just accepted the news of your death but she didn't. How long has it been since you were announced dead? Yet, she didn't believe it and continued to look for you." Mattias took a deep breath and sigh. "In the end, your decision will prevail. Just think about it carefully."

Winter didn't wake up until it was midnight. The place was so quiet and she was alone in her room. "Where am I? This is not my hotel room." She mumbled to herself while looking at her surroundings. There was a single light bulb on the ceiling and a tray of food on the small bed side table.

Winter sat up on her bed and found that the covered foods were still warm. "It hasn't been long since it was placed here."

She continued to observe the place and when she abruptly turn her neck, she realized that she had a deep and long wound earlier.

"I am the unluckiest person in the world." She murmured before taking a bite on the food beside her. "If this is poisoned, it doesn't matter if I die." She no longer cared. She ate everything and emptied the plates.

After eating, she couldn't get back to sleep anymore. She went out of her room and found a small living room where Valkyrie was sleeping.

"You're awake!" Valkyrie exclaimed in whisper upon seeing Winter walked outside her room. "Are you okay? Are you feeling dizzy or pain anywhere?"

"I'm fine. Thank you for coming to my aid." Winter answered him while looking around the place again. "Why are we here? Where is this?"

"This is the village chief's house."

"When can we leave?" Winter asked without any expression on her face. She's back to being a robot again.

"Once you're healed we can go back."

"Can't we just go back tomorrow?"

"We can't. I've got wounds all over me from getting you up earlier. Brown will kill me if he sees these."

"Oh. I see." She didn't say anything anymore and just sat in silence on the chair opposite him.

"Do you want to take a walk?" Seeing her lonely face, Valkyrie couldn't help but ask. He didn't want to bore her in silence to avoid any negative thoughts lingering in her mind. "I checked this place earlier and I found that there were nice places here."

"Let's just stay here. I don't want to see any part of this place anymore." Winter answered softly. "Val, how did you get Evan back? How did you win his trust after what happened?"

Valkyrie just stared at the ceiling, his arms where at the back of his head, using them as a substitute for pillows. "I just clung on to him. I stuck myself on to him like a sticky leech. I did everything, anything that could help me stay beside him."

Winter chuckled at his answer. "That's very expected of you. I bet he was annoyed as hell."

"He was. He would kick me everyday and throw daggers at me. But I learned to endure. After all, I was the one who hurt him."

"I wish I can be like you." Winter murmured. "I built up all my courage before coming here. I decided to bring him home no matter what it takes. But, after hearing directly from him that he gave up on me already, my courage crumbled."

"Why won't you fight for it?"

"What's the use of fighting for something if the other person gave up already? It's futile." Winter answered him with a pained smile.