"Laila," Roy gently patted her cheek, trying to wake her up. However, she had been drugged twice the dosage, and she was in a deep sleep, completely unaware of the life-and-death moment they had just experienced.
Carrying Laila on his back, he walked carefully towards the rocky terrain he had seen in the sky. He knew that he needed to stay calm at this moment. If he panicked, everything would become more complicated.
He was aware of the significant temperature fluctuations in the desert. During the day, it could be scorching hot, while at night, it could drop to around 10 degrees Celsius. Besides, the desert was full of dangers, like sandstorms, quicksand, and poisonous scorpions. He couldn't take any chances with Laila's life, so finding a temporary shelter was necessary.
The rocky area he had seen from the sky was not easily reachable on foot from where they had landed. Roy used the sun to determine the direction and continued carrying Laila until the sun began to set in the west. Only then did he finally find the place he had been looking for.
It was hard to tell if it was just luck or if a higher power was looking out for him, but he had managed to find the rocky area without any assistance, carrying another person and no water. Roy was relieved that it would at least provide them with temporary shelter from the sandstorm.
The long journey had drained his energy. Once he sat down, fatigue and thirst overcame him. Laila was better off, wrapped in a blanket that Roy had used to secure her. Plus, she had eaten and drunk on the plane, so her strength was holding up much better than Roy's.
So much so that when she woke up, she almost thought she was still dreaming.
"What happened?" After realizing that she wasn't dreaming, it took her a while to find her voice. She couldn't understand why she had been on a comfortable and luxurious plane before falling asleep and now found herself in the middle of nowhere in the desert.
Seeing her with such a bewildered expression, Roy couldn't help but chuckle. "You're lucky. You had two drinks with a little secret ingredient."
"(⊙_⊙)?" Laila looked around, her eyes locked onto the starry night sky above. She didn't know what to say or how to react. Even if she was confused, she understood that their current situation was far from ideal.
Roy adjusted himself to a more comfortable seating position before recounting the events of the day. He said, "Faiza had her flight attendant bring two drinks laced with sleeping pills. When the time comes, everyone on the plane, except the two of us, will parachute to safety, and we'll crash into the desert while still asleep."
Laila's immediate reaction was, "How could she be so audacious? That woman must be insane."
With everyone closely monitoring the situation in the Arabian Peninsula, did Faiza not consider the repercussions of a person of her status dying in a conspiracy? The United States was already on high alert and was on the brink of declaring war, and yet she helped ignite the flames. Laila couldn't fathom Faiza's lack of foresight.
Roy shook his head and laughed: "Don't think that other women are as 'sane' as you are."
He specifically emphasized the word "sane." He clearly wasn't complimenting her. Laila blushed when she remembered how he had told her that she was too rational in the past. She thought he was supposed to be insulting her, so she cursed him while tracing circles in the sand.
Roy laughed and pulled her close. "I don't think she cares at all. She probably never thought about how things could get complicated for her. She wouldn't have anticipated the crisis of two nations on the brink of war, and she wouldn't have thought about what would happen to her after the war. In simple terms, she's an idiot!" He had never liked her, and he had no qualms about expressing it now.
"Alright, I admit I made a mistake," Laila said. She had realized that trying to use her intelligent mind to understand the reasoning of someone who had a head full of porridge was a waste of time. She'd rather think about how to get out of this mess.
"I have no idea where we are now," she said, looking around in the pitch-black night. Other than the desert, there was nothing else to be seen. She was glad she had Roy with her; otherwise, the terrifying solitude and silence might have driven her mad.
Roy shook his head. "I don't know where we are either, but I know we probably haven't been in the air for long. We should still be somewhere in the Arabian Peninsula."
"I hope the search teams find us soon," Laila sighed. She knew that a person could go without food for several days, but without water, death may come quickly.
As they spent their first night in the desert, the news of their disappearance had caused a commotion at the Moran estate.
The news of their disappearance was brought by the bodyguards who were supposed to be on the second plane, which was only supposed to be a few minutes behind the first one. This meant they should have been able to disembark and provide protection for Laila as soon as she arrived.
However, when they disembarked and waited, Laila's plane was nowhere in sight. Realizing something was wrong, they immediately contacted the airport to inquire about the plane carrying Laila and received a response that there was no communication with it.
The bodyguards were immediately filled with dread, unable to fathom how a plane in the sky could suddenly disappear. They hadn't anticipated anything like this happening. The only reason they were on a different plane was because they had assumed that the two planes would be in close proximity. They thought they would be able to disembark and safeguard Laila as soon as she landed.
Knowing that they couldn't hide the situation for long, the bodyguards informed Mr. Moran.
Upon receiving the news, Mr. Moran was in shock. He immediately contacted the Saudi authorities for information. Soon after, Prince Al Nadeem received the news that Laila and her plane had disappeared.
"How is this possible?" The panicked prince dispatched his people to gather information. Eventually, they received news that the plane might have crashed in the desert.
This horrifying news had reached the Moran family, causing Janet to faint from shock. Mr. Moran didn't have time to comfort his daughter; he immediately took Zeni with him and boarded a plane to Saudi Arabia. He refused to believe that his granddaughter, who had overcome an illness, would die in a low-probability plane crash.
Outside, the media had somehow received the information that the plane Laila and Roy were on, heading back to the United States, might have been involved in an accident.
It was a grim piece of news. It had a significant impact on the Moran family, Laila's company, and even the stock of the Moran Group, which experienced a small drop in its value after the news broke. The impact of this event was enormous, and it wasn't good for anyone involved.