I went down the stairs to Eleni, who was already seated, waiting for me. She had put on a thick robe over the shirt and slacks she had been putting on when she came to the office and was huddled under a thick blanket. The robe was only noticeable because the blanket had fallen down when she had noticed me, and she had pulled it up immediately.

"Do you feel cold? Do I need to turn on the heater?" I asked her, a little concerned since it was in no way cold. In fact, we were almost in the middle of summer.

She shook her head and smiled. A smile that didn't look genuine at all. "There's no need. I just wanted to cover myself."

"Alright." I nodded, giving it no other thoughts. I'd heard that women sometimes feel hotter or colder, depending on their body systems. "As long as you didn't catch anything. You said you had something to tell me."

She avoided my eyes. "I did not catch anything. I got a text. From an unknown number."

I narrowed my eyes. "What are you talking about?"

She hesitated, and I noticed she was rubbing her fingers together, a sign of her nervousness. "Can we talk about this later? I don't think it's right to talk about it now."

I took a deep breath. "Eleni, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do, but I brought you here. If something is bothering you, it will be unfair to keep it to yourself. I have a responsibility towards you. What exactly is going on? What text?"

She turned towards the blue, dim bulb that was giving the living room a semblance of light. "Can we turn on the light?" The room is too dark."

Without question, I took the button and turned on the main light, bathing the room in light, and kept quiet, giving her time.

She brought out her phone, and I noticed her shaking fingers. I didn't comment on that either. "I got a text yesterday, and I was wondering if I should tell you about it."

I couldn't take it again. "Give me the phone. Let me see the text."

She turned on her phone and showed me the text, and I just stared at it. When I spoke again, my voice was hoarse. "Is this the only one you got? No calls?"

She nodded. "Yes. I got it this morning when I woke up, but you guys were preparing for work, so I couldn't bother you."

I shook my head. "You should have. Did you notice anything else today? Like someone watching you?" Danielle had said she had thought someone might have been watching her. Maybe the person had been watching someone else, and Danielle had just sensed the presence.

Eleni nodded and moved her phone back to herself. "When I went on a walk, it felt like someone was staring at me, but there were a lot of people at the park, so I was not sure. But I felt it again; someone was looking at me when I was close to the house. Do you think it's him?" She finished in a whisper. Her voice was shaking as her fear threatened to envelop her.

I shook my head. "Let's calm down for now. We cannot be too sure unless something happens for sure. But there's no need to worry. You are safe as long as you're with me."

She didn't look like she believed a word of what I'd said. "Is it until he finds me and takes me and beats me again? What do I do if it's really him?" She asked in a hurry.

I shook my head. "He won't be able to find you. I'll make sure of that. Even if he has sent someone to look for you, this apartment is secure, and there are always people watching you to protect you."

She sighed. "Will I have to run away again? Where will I run to now? I don't know any other person."

If it was her husband that had sent that text to her, how had he been able to find her that fast? Was there a tracker on her? Maybe her phone? I moved closer to her, and she backed away from me, her eyes widening. "What are you doing?"

I stopped. "Nothing. I just wanted to collect your phone."

She gripped her phone tighter. "Why?" She asked, suspicion still filling her voice. What she was so suspicious about, I couldn't fathom.

I frowned. "What's this about? Are you scared of me? I just wanted to check if you have a tracking system on the phone."

She narrowed her eyes. "All men are the same. I shouldn't have come." She stood up. "This is a new phone that Danielle got for me. I told you I threw the old one away when I was in Greece." She switched to Greek mid-sentence.

I raised my hand and moved back when it was obvious she was getting worked up over my presence and continued talking to her in Greek. "Can you explain what this is about?"

She pulled her blanket tighter. "I don't want to do this to my friend. Danielle has been so kind to me, and she's just a very good wife. It's not right if you act like this. I'll find somewhere else to go."

I tried to remember the things she had hesitatingly shared with me about her husband, and one thing came to mind. Her husband had chased after anything in a skirt. Whether they had wanted it or not. And he had always boasted about his accomplishment to her whenever he got back home, always blaming it on the outfits the ladies had been wearing. I frowned. Was that why she had covered herself?

I stood up, even though it would probably look like I was standing above her, and with panic so close to her eyes, it might not have been the best approach, but I was already at the edge of the couch, and she was still looking at me as if I was going to jump her. "Eleni, I'm not your ex-husband. I love my wife." I lied. "You're not only Danielle's friend, but you're my friend as well, and I can assure you I've never thought about any other woman other than my wife. I'm not your ex-husband, and I don't agree with anything he does. I swear."

She continued staring at me, taking in my words. I knew what had just happened. With the memory of her fear and her memories having haunted her throughout the day, my movement had taken her to a memory of her past, and she had reacted based on that.

She turned her head, but not before I saw the tears gather in her eyes. "I'm so scared. I thought he would have forgotten, and I got a new phone and number, so how did he get my number? And I can't reach the number the text was sent from."

I sat down on another couch, facing her. "He's a man that has a lot of connections, so he could have gotten your number through that. We'll apply for a restraining order against him, and I'll increase the guards that have been following you. I have as many if not more connections than he does."

She shook her head. "There's no need. I'll just not go out until time has passed. What if something happens when I'm outside?"

My jaws clenched in fury. Was he going to frighten her into leaving the house now? It had taken about three whole weeks after she had arrived for Danielle to convince her to step outside to get a bit of sun. She had been living like a hermit and was planning on living like that again.

Frustratingly, I could understand her. Getting a text from an unknown number that said. "You shouldn't have run from me. I'll find you and make you pay, you whore." would scare even the fiercest of people.

"You can't live like a hermit. It's not healthy." During the time she had refused to go outside, she had only grown more and more depressed and had increasingly been absorbed in her vicious thoughts, as Danielle had called them. Danielle had been really scared that she was going to do something to harm herself, and she had only gotten better when she had started going outside and seeing and experiencing nature as much as she could since we were in the city.

She shook her head. "Until I'm safe, right? You said you would keep me safe. Can you not tell Danielle about any of this? I've changed my mind."

I raised my eyebrows. "Why?"

She shrugged. "You already have many things to worry about with your company. I saw it in the news. So Danielle must be stressed. If you tell her, she will worry more, and I don't want that. It's enough that you know."

"Are you sure? Don't you think she will notice when you stay at home? Plus, your emotions and expressions give it away."

She smiled sadly. "I'm very good at pretending. I had to learn how so I could survive."

I nodded. "I'm sorry, Eleni. For everything that happened to you. I'll make sure he leaves you alone, and you can get your life back."

She nodded. "Hopefully."

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