CHAPTER 3

 

Enise POV 

Five years later 

 

Screams, wails and cries of help filled my ears. 

The desperation as I banged the hot metallic door as I shouted for anyone to come to my rescue.

Flames surrounded me,dancing alive,scorching the very same ground I stood. My heart raced as I screamed for help, my voice hoarse from yelling, but no one came.

 I pounded on the door, my fists raw and bleeding. The fire edged closer, the heat unbearable. 

At that moment, all I could see was Laura's face, an evil smirk on her face, a reminder of a promise she made when she confined me in those white painted walls. 

 

“ Enjoy your life while it lasts. I'll soon send you to hell." 

 

I smiled bitterly, my heart finally resigning to my fate. I collapsed on the floor and then… 

 

I jolted awake, drenched in sweat, my breath coming in short, rapid gasps. For a moment, I couldn't tell where I was. The memories of that night stirred something deep inside me. 

I sat up, clutching the sheets as though they were my only proof of my reality.

 

"Enise?" Lucian's voice was a soft whisper. 

I lifted my face to meet his concern filled eyes. 

He was there, at my side, his presence grounding me in the present. I tried to give him a reassuring smile.

 

"I'm fine," I managed to say, my voice still shaky.

 

He didn't believe me,I could see it in his eyes,but he didn't push. He never did. 

 

Lucian had always known when to give me space, when to let me battle my demons alone. He reached out, brushing a damp strand of hair from my face. His touch was gentle, soothing, and for a moment, I leaned into it, letting his warmth chase away the remains of the nightmare. 

 

"I'll be downstairs," he murmured, pressing a kiss to my forehead before he left the room.

 

As the door clicked shut behind him, I took a deep breath, trying to get my racing heart to calm. 

 

Stepping out of bed,I walked to the mirror. 

 

The reflection that greeted me was one I had grown accustomed to over the years,yet it never failed to stir something deep within me. 

My fingers traced the faint scars that marred my face,remnants of the fire that had almost claimed my life.

 They were barely visible now, thanks to years of repeated surgery and treatments, but I could still feel them, like ghosts of a past that refused to stop haunting me.

 

I closed my eyes, and the memories came flooding back. 

It was two days after Laura visited me at the mental asylum.

The hospital had caught fire in the dead of the night and burned down, trapping me inside.

 The pain of the flames licking at my skin, the suffocating smoke filling my lungs. The hopelessness of knowing that I was going to die there, alone and forgotten.

The desperation of seeing her Just one last time.

But then after accepting my fate, he appeared and brought me back from the brink of death. 

 

Lucian. He saved me and took me away.

 

 

I had been a broken, disfigured mess when I first woke up in that foreign hospital, miles away from everything and everyone I knew. 

But Lucian had stayed by my side, nursing me back to health, never flinching from the ugliness that had become my reality. He saved my life, not just by pulling me from the fire but by helping me accept and embrace who I could become.

 

In five years, like a phoenix, I had risen from the ashes and became the best version of myself. 

I attained the title of an internationally known surgeon. 

But despite everything I had achieved, there was still a part of me that was haunted by the past, by the memories of the life I had left behind. A life that included a daughter, a daughter I had been forced to abandon, to protect her from the darkness that had nearly consumed me.

 

But now, it was time to stop running.

After cleaning up and packing, I walked downstairs. 

 

Lucian sat on the dining table, casually sipping his drink. 

Our eyes met and he smiled at me. 

 

 

"Are you ready?" he asked, his voice steady. 

 

I met his gaze, the resolve in my heart reflected in my eyes. "There's no use running away anymore," I replied. 

" It's about time I claim what's mine.”

 

Lucian smiled at me.

" I'll wrap everything up and will join you soon. Enise, they wronged us, they have to pay the price.” 

 

Just like me, he had scores to settle and just like he was there for me, I was going to be there for him throughout the way.

 

Lucian drove me to the airport before bidding me goodbye. 

 

Four hours later, I arrived at my destination.

As I stepped out of the airport, I could not help but feel nostalgic.

This was the place I grew up, my hometown but was forced to leave in a state of helplessness.

 

My phone vibrated with an incoming call.

It was from the person who hired me as he offered to sent someone to pick me up. 

 

"I'm sorry," I said, cutting them off mid-sentence. "But I won't be needing that.

I'll be in the hospital first thing tomorrow to sign the contract." 

 

Boarding a taxi, I gave the driver the address ànd closed my eyes to nap.

It didn't take us long to arrive at the location. Thanking the driver who seemed stunned, I made my way to the building.

 

As I approached the ruins, I felt a strange sense of peace .

This was where it had all ended for me, but it was also where it would begin again. I stood there for a long moment, taking in the sight of the place that had once been my prison, the place that had nearly claimed my life.

 

It had taken me five years to stand here again, stronger than how I had left. 

 

A smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I spoke aloud, the words carried away by the wind. "I'm back," I said softly, my voice filled with resolve.

“ I'm here to take back what's mine." 

 

The past may have tried to destroy me, but it has only made me stronger. And now, it was time to face it head-on.