"Get in the car. I'll take you home," Gehrmann said as he opened the rear door, his gentle voice mixing with the sound of raindrops.
Luana snapped back to reality, realizing the person before her was Gehrmann, Cline's cousin.
She and Cline had broken up, and logically, she shouldn't have any more entanglements with anyone from the Moriarty family.
However, with her phone dead, no taxi in sight, and all nearby shops closed against the rain, she hesitated for a moment before getting into the car.
Her clothes were drenched, leaving the back seat wet as well.
Luana quickly took out tissues from her bag, trying to wipe the carpet under her feet, blushing as she apologized, "I'm sorry for messing up your car."
Gehrmann stopped her humble gesture, "Don't worry about it. It's just a carpet. If it gets dirty, we'll throw it away."
Luana's hand, holding the tissues, paused. She almost forgot that the person who kindly offered her a ride had the Moriarty surname.
People from the Moriarty family wouldn't care about a carpet, no matter how expensive it was.
She put the tissues back in her bag, glanced at Gehrmann nervously, and whispered, "Thank you."
Gehrmann waved it off, "Where do you live?"
Luana, no longer demurring, gave him her address.
The car started quickly and headed towards her home.
Luana looked at Gehrmann, who was sitting in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead out the window, which eased her awkwardness.
She lowered her head with the tissues, silently wiping the rain from her body.
Gehrmann glanced at the slender figure in the rearview mirror.
It was cold outside, and she wasn't even wearing a coat, which piqued his curiosity.
"Luana, why didn't Travis see you home?"
At the mention of "Travis," Luana frowned in confusion before realizing she was now Travis's "woman".
She clutched the tissues tightly and made up a lie on the spot, "We had a disagreement, and he left me by the roadside."
Gehrmann nodded, "I see."
Seeing Luana shivering from the cold, he turned up the heat without further questions.
The temperature inside the car gradually rose, and Luana's cold, stiff body began to warm up.
She looked at Gehrmann gratefully and cautiously explained, "I was trying to hail a taxi, but my phone died, and all the nearby shops were closed. I had to stand at the intersection and try to catch a taxi. I'm really sorry to trouble you."
Gehrmann, propping his chin with one hand, looked at Luana's embarrassed and uneasy expression in the rearview mirror and comforted her, "It's alright."
Only then did Luana relax, lean her head against the car window, and close her eyes, exhausted.
She was too tired, and with the warm air blowing, she quickly fell asleep.
Before long, the car stopped at the entrance of her apartment.
Gehrmann, without turning around, said, "Luana, we're here."
After waiting for a while with no response from the back seat, Gehrmann turned his head to see Luana sleeping soundly against the car window.
He couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly.
How dared she sleep so soundly in a stranger's car?
Did she think he was a good person?
Gehrmann frowned and signaled to his assistant. The assistant got out, opened the rear door, and gently nudged Luana.
"Miss Hammond, you're home."
Luana was nudged awake, struggling to open her eyes to a blurry, dark vision.
She knew it was because of the rain that had worsened her condition, but her thoughts were clear, and she remembered she was in Gehrmann's car.
She quickly sat up, thanked Gehrmann again, and got out of the car.
"Miss Hammond," Gehrmann stopped her, leaned over from the front seat, and handed her an umbrella from the back, "It's still pouring outside. Take this."
Luana saw the logo on the umbrella and knew it was worth hundreds of thousands, worried about not being able to return it, so she declined, "Thank you. It's just a short distance. I can run."
Gehrmann was taken aback for a moment, seemingly understanding her thoughts from her eyes, and threw the umbrella at her directly, "Keep it."
Luana was in a bit of a dilemma but, seeing Gehrmann's insistent look, accepted the umbrella.
"Then could you please give me a contact so I can return it to you tomorrow?"
Gehrmann, hearing her ask for contact information, looked at her with a hint of contempt, "I don't like what comes to me unbidden."
Luana didn't expect him to misunderstand her intentions and quickly explained, "That's not what I meant. I just think this umbrella..."
"Luana," Gehrmann coldly interrupted her, his eyes full of warning, "Whatever your intentions, I gave you a ride home out of kindness. If you have any other thoughts, I suggest you abandon them as soon as possible."