I put my phone down on the bed without taking my eyes off Daniel. He'd stopped watching me several seconds ago. Given his reaction, there must be something important I wasn't aware of. Not wanting to rush him, I slowly approached him and put my hands on his shoulders. He suddenly inhaled, then turned towards me, his eyes darkened. He seemed to have activated his defence mechanism by withdrawing into himself. I placed my palm on his forearm.

— Daniel, I'm not going to demand any explanations if you don't want to give them to me. I just want you to know that I'm here for you. You can take as much time as you need to learn to trust me and I will never force you to reveal anything to me. It's your past and only you can decide when you want to share it.

His face softened. After his eyes met mine again, he blinked for about twenty seconds, then his lips stretched into a shy smile. Then he took me in his arms and rested his chin on the top of my head.

— Thank you very much, Liz, he whispered before loosening his grip.
— It's nothing.

After he had confirmed my suspicions that the trace had failed, I remembered that we were due to visit Simon to hear about his job interview.

— There's no way I'm letting you out now.

I frowned.

— I beg your pardon? I absolutely must see Simon today.
— Elizabeth, this is not the time to be stubborn.
— Listen, Simon means a lot to me. I already feel that I'm not there enough for him, so I won't break my word to see him today.
— In that case, he'll come here.
— Would you mind?
— If it can keep you safe, then no.

He smiled and retrieved his mobile to ask Emmeline to come up to the flat.
When she arrived, Daniel gave me a kiss and went to find Simon. I took the opportunity to chat with Emmeline over a red fruit smoothie. She told me some stories about her past. She told me about the time she'd thrown up on her older brother's shoes because he'd worn her out running around the garden. I laughed so hard my cheeks and abdominal muscles ached.

— You're absolutely brilliant.

She shook her head as a key could be heard being inserted into the lock.

At the sight of Simon and Daniel, we stood up to greet them. After a few quick introductions, Emmeline excused herself and left the flat to return to her car.

— So? I asked Simon, anxiously.

Dressed in a rather large grey shirt and jeans, he walked towards me, looking uncertain. I couldn't tell whether it was positive or negative. After a few long seconds, he finally gave me a huge smile.

— It's okay, I've got a fixed-term contract!
— Oh my God!

I jumped of joy with tears in my eyes. Seeing him so happy, when I still had that image of him sleeping on the pavements, moved me deeply. I took him in my arms. With my eyes closed, I hugged him with all my strength. Hearing him sniffle, I knew he was as touched as I was.

— I really want to thank you. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy this kind of news.

Daniel put a hand on his shoulder.

— It's nothing, Simon.
— That made all the difference to me, he replied.

We talked for over two hours. Unfortunately, he couldn't stay any longer, as the refuge was strict about hours. He wasn't allowed in after a certain time.

While Daniel drove him back, I got ready to invite Theo, Tom and Emmeline to have dinner with us. Despite Daniel's initial hesitation, he didn't refuse and ended up inviting Raphael to join us.
The world seemed so peaceful as I watched Daniel laugh at Tom's jokes. His happiness warmed my heart, as I knew there was a heavy past behind his beautiful features. He glanced at me as I continued to smile. He frowned quizzically, and I nodded to assure him that everything was fine. He winked at me and then resumed his conversation with the others.

I looked at my watch. It was already past eleven and the guests were still at the flat. Although we were having a wonderful time, I wanted to go for a walk. Theo, Tom and Emmeline were getting ready to leave the flat when I asked Daniel if we could go for a walk. He seemed to want to but told me he had a massive headache.

— Don't worry, I can come with you if you like, offered Raphael.
— Do you mind? I asked.
— Not at all.

We both looked at Daniel, and although I could see hesitation in his eyes, he nodded in agreement. Delighted, I hurried to the bedroom to grab my coat. I was glad that Daniel had let me go with Raphael, and it also proved how much he trusted him. As we left the flat, I gave him a quick wave and followed his friend.

— It's good to get some fresh air, said Raphael, breaking the silence that had prevailed for several minutes.
— Yes, especially after a huge meal like that, I laugh, patting my bloated tummy.

He stopped to laugh and shook his head.

— Frankly, Elizabeth, I was delighted to spend this evening in your company. I was hoping to get to know more of the woman who won Daniel's heart.
— Well, in all honesty, I also wanted to get to know his best friend better.

He gave me such a sincere smile that I was taken aback. I hadn't expected such kindness, and the fact that it came from someone so close to Daniel meant a great deal to me.

— Have you got a girlfriend? I asked him quickly, curious to find out more about his love life.
— No, unfortunately. It's hard to maintain a healthy, long-term relationship with a job like mine.
— I don't agree with you. Of course it's not the easiest thing in the world, but if you really love someone, you make an effort to ensure that everything works out for both sides. I'll have to see how my relationship with Daniel develops once I'm back in my flat, but I'm still very positive. All that matters is love and respect for each other and I sincerely believe that everything will follow.

He kept walking for a few moments, seeming to think about what I'd just said. He simply nodded in reply.

We were deep in conversation when I noticed how late it was. I found it odd that Daniel hadn't tried to contact us in all that time, but that was probably because I was with Raphael. He walked me to the door of the flat and headed for the lift as I entered. I was expecting my boyfriend to be in the living room, but that wasn't the case.

— Daniel?

I took off my jacket and put it on the sofa as I went in search of him. He often couldn't hear me when he was listening to music on his headphones in his room. I opened the door and found him tied to a chair. I didn't have a chance to scream when I saw Trevor beside him as someone grabbed me from behind and a hand covered my mouth. I tried to struggle, but the person had far more strength than I did. Daniel was trying in vain to undo his bonds. The person behind me was holding me so tightly that I couldn't move.

Frightened, I glanced at Trevor and his smile. He looked so evil that I shivered from head to toe.

— So, Liz, how are you? he said, coming towards me.

He ran his disgusting finger along my jaw and then brought it to my lips. By reflex, I bit his index finger and he let out a howl. With a dark look in his eyes, he choked me so hard that I was gasping for breath. I felt myself going, my head tilting back, when he let go of my neck. I inhaled sharply and coughed before breathing normally again.

— You do that again and I'll kill your dear Daniel, he said, pulling a gun from his pocket and pointing it at my boyfriend's temple.

Panicking, I begged him not to touch him. It was out of the question for anything to happen to Daniel.

— Do whatever you want with me, but please, Trevor, let him go. I'm begging you, please!

Tears rolled down my cheeks. The only thing I cared about was Daniel's wellbeing. Trevor grinned wickedly as he held me at his mercy.

— Let him go, please, I repeated.

I ignored Daniel, who was trying to struggle, shaking his head. My  tears redoubled. We'd had so little time together. I prayed to all the universe that the person I loved with all my heart would come through this unscathed. Looking at Trevor's expression, I knew something was bothering him.

— I want you to forget him, Liz.
— What?

He brandished his pistol at me, forcing me to stand back as far as possible, despite the man holding me back.

— Promise me you'll forget about him and I'll let him go.

I didn't hesitate for a second.

— You have my word.

He seemed to believe me at first, but then started to get angry. He came close and gave a hard blow on the stomach and I crumpled in on myself. Stunned by the pain, I could see through my tears that Daniel was crying too, clearly in a rage. He looked so panicked, and I wanted so desperately to hug him and reassure him.

— Do you think I'm stupid? You think you can lie to me like that?

Trevor was screaming so loudly. The whole scene seemed so unreal, and I felt like I was living out one of my many nightmares where Trevor was threatening to attack me or Daniel. I wanted to go along with him because of Trevor's instability, but it probably wasn't safe to pretend to be on his side. For every little movement, my abdominal muscles made me wince. Despite this, I found the courage to stand up straight and look Trevor straight in the eye.

— Trevor, I swear to you that if you touch one hair on Daniel's head, I will find you, even if it takes me thirty years, and if it costs me my soul and my whole life, I will kill you, the slow, horrible death.

He laughed and moved towards me. His eyes went down to my breasts. I noticed that my top was slightly too low, revealing my lacy navy blue bra. As I was about to raise my face, his right hand came up to my breast. I tried desperately to struggle. Trevor ran his fingers along my breasts. He descended on my body as I mustered up the last of my strength to give him a violent headbutt. Trevor fell at my feet, clutching his skull, and his gun slid across the room. I was about to elbow my other attacker when Trevor jumped to his feet , a knife in his hand, which he seemed to have hidden in one of his jacket pockets.

I froze when I saw it. He strode towards Daniel and stabbed him in the thigh. My eyes widened and I screamed at the top of my lungs. Despair seized me as Daniel winced in pain. I screamed hysterically before hitting my attacker in the ribs. He released me and I threw myself on top of Daniel. Kneeling, I cried so hard, trying to make out something through my tears. Blood trickled from his thigh as I applied pressure to the wound . I saw red as Trevor got to his feet. I didn't care about his knife or his gun and, against all my survival intuition, jumped on him. He lost his balance and fell to the ground. I bent down and punched him in the face. Stunned, he didn't seem to have the strength to fight back.

Suddenly I heard a noise behind me, but all I could think about was how much I hated Trevor. He'd made me feel so dirty and the fact that he'd stabbed Daniel was the last straw, I was out of control, hysterically punching him. Someone suddenly pulled me back. I was ready to struggle when I realised it was Theo. Looking in Daniel's direction, I saw Raphael looking after him. Emmeline and Tom were restraining our other attacker when I saw so much blood on my hands. I fainted.

— Liz! I heard in the distance.

As I regained consciousness, I felt severe pain in my hands, head and stomach. I winced and blinked. I'd been moved to the living room floor. Several people in uniform were coming and going. Three paramedics were to my left. Raphael was to my right, clearly worried.
Remembering Daniel's condition, I sat up despite the pain.

— Where's Daniel? I asked Raphael with what little strength I had. Where is Daniel?

He pointed to the paramedics attending to him a few metres away from me. He gave me a reassuring look. Seeing that he was going to be fine, I smiled at him and lay back down.

— Can you hear me? asked one of the paramedics.

Feeling very sore again, I just nodded. I saw that some policemen had handcuffed Trevor and his accomplice and were taking them both away, and I was intensely relieved. Trevor was bleading a lot on the face, from what I assume a broken nose and some broken teeth. From the pain I got feel in my hands, I assume that it was the consequences of my frantic attack on his face.

After several minutes, I managed to say a few words.

— How is he? I asked Raphael.
— Daniel will be fine, it's you we're worried about, Liz.

My lips stretched into a huge smile at this good news. That was all I wanted to know.

— If Daniel's going to be okay, I'm fine too.

The paramedics smiled back at my words as I let my guard down. At last I could breathe freely, Trevor was going to be behind bars, we had nothing more to fear.