Then, to Samuel's surprise, Cora didn't raise her voice or frown. She just let out a tired sigh, her shoulders dropping slightly. Her eyes, though calm, held a firm distance in them as she looked at him and said, "Well, thank you for your concern. Thank you for showing how worried you are and all that."
She then glanced around the clean, quiet parking lot—lined with trimmed hedges and watched over by security—and continued with a cool tone, "As you can see, I'm fine. There's no pervert around here. There's nobody to harass me around here. So, you can get going now and just let me be."
Samuel smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was the type of smile someone gives when they're pretending to agree but aren't planning to back down.
