Looking out the window, Valentine Teller didn't have the courage to look at Mark Reed's face, nor the courage to speak to him.
Not knowing what to say, she chose the safest silence.
Mark Reed also remained silent, concentrating on driving.
Twenty minutes later, the car stopped in the parking lot of a seaside resort hotel.
Mark Reed gracefully got out of the car, went over to open the car door for Valentine, and considerately shielded her head with his hand.
"Thank you."
Valentine was unaccustomed to his sudden thoughtfulness.
It was as if a condemned prisoner, after enduring countless hardships, suddenly found a sumptuous meal before them one day.
The prisoner would know that this meal was the last.
The panic in her heart was hardly better than that of the prisoner; her hand was grasped tightly by his, and unable to keep up with his pace, she was almost dragged along.
Unable to fathom his thoughts at the moment, in silence, she didn't know what he was thinking.
