Chapter 3

Elizabeth’s POV

He looked straight at me, the cold metal of the gun still pointed at my head, and I couldn’t stop the way my throat tightened. My heart was beating so loud I was sure he could hear it. I didn’t know what to say—no one had sent me. I had only come here to hide.

“No one sent me,” I finally managed to say, my voice trembling. The gun in his hand was enough to make anyone lose their voice, but somehow I found mine.

“What the heck are you doing in my house then?” he asked sharply, and just as I opened my mouth to answer, I heard the click of the gun.

“Don’t lie to me, bitch!” he yelled, making me flinch. My whole body shook as I tilted my head to the side, trying to keep my eyes away from the gun.

“I promise… no one sent me,” I said quickly, desperate for him to believe me. “I got into your car when I was trying to hide from the gunshots. They were everywhere… I didn’t know it was your car. I swear.”

His hand didn’t lower the gun immediately, but his eyes started scanning me. I saw the way his expression shifted, just a little. Like he was trying to figure me out.

He didn’t say anything for a second, just looked at me with a strange look on his face. Maybe he was realizing I wasn’t here to attack him.

But if that was the case… Why did he still look so cold?

And more importantly—what was going to happen to me now?

“You aren’t lying,” he said suddenly, making me raise my head slowly to look at him. His voice wasn’t loud this time—it almost sounded calm. But I was still confused. Was he… believing me?

He sneered and turned around, walking toward the kitchen. I didn’t move, just stood there, watching him carefully.

“Well, what are you doing? Come here,” he called out to me. His tone was sharp again. I nodded slowly, my feet feeling heavy as I walked toward him. Every step I took, I could feel his eyes on me. It was like he was studying me—watching every move like I was a threat.

When I got closer, he opened the fridge. “So what do you want? Water, juice, alcohol, wine?” he asked casually, like we were normal people having a normal conversation. I peeked inside the fridge—it was mostly bottles of alcohol.

“Uhm… I don’t want anything,” I replied softly, hoping that was okay.

But it wasn’t.

He frowned instantly, and I knew I had made a mistake.

“Will you prefer I blow off your head then?” he asked coldly, his voice full of threat. “Because I have every right to, since you’re trespassing. And believe me—no one will find out if I kill you right now.”

My heart dropped. The fear that had just started to fade came back, ten times stronger. My hands started shaking again as I looked at him, not knowing what to say.

What kind of person was this? One minute calm, the next threatening to kill me. I was trapped with a complete stranger—and I had no idea what he was capable of.

“Juice,” I replied quietly, hoping he wouldn’t threaten me again.

He chuckled, like I had just said something funny. I didn’t get what was so amusing about choosing juice, but I didn’t dare question him.

He brought out the orange juice from the fridge, poured some into a glass cup, then handed it to me. I took it carefully, still trying to calm my racing heart.

“Thank you,” I muttered before drinking it all at once. I didn’t even care if it was cold or not. I just needed something to ease the dryness in my throat.

But just as I swallowed the last drop, I noticed he started laughing again. That laugh sent a strange chill down my spine.

Suddenly, my head began spinning. Everything around me started to shift, and I couldn’t see clearly. My vision was getting blurry.

The glass cup slipped from my hand and crashed onto the floor.

“Awe, do I have to clean that up now?” he mocked, his voice sounding far away.

I turned to look at him, but his face was unclear. It was like I was seeing shadows.

“What’s… happening?” I whispered, trying to stay on my feet, holding onto the counter for support.

He leaned closer, and his voice came through again, calm but cold. “Well, what’s happening is that you’re a lightweight. Can’t even handle a little bit of weed.”

My eyes widened. What? There were drugs in the juice?

“You…” I tried to reach for him, but my hands were weak, and before I could say anything else, my body gave out.

I hit the ground hard, my cheek against the cold floor, and within seconds, everything went dark.

—

Voices started echoing in my head, making me feel uneasy. I saw nothing but darkness. Then suddenly, it felt like the walls were closing in on me. My chest tightened in fear. Before it could get any worse, I gasped and opened my eyes—only to see him.

The man I had met in the mansion. His face was right in front of mine.

“Ahh!” I screamed, jerking backward and falling off the bed face-first with a painful thud.

“Good, you’re awake,” he said in a calm voice.

I looked up, realizing it was already morning. So I had spent the night here? In a stranger’s house?

“You can leave my house now,” he said coldly, then smirked. “Or do you want to spend another night here with me?” He licked his lips slowly, making my stomach twist. Eww.

“No, I’ll leave,” I said quickly, standing up and brushing off my clothes.

“Good.”

I was just about to walk out of the room when my steps froze. A memory flashed through my mind—him. My husband. No—ex-husband.

I remembered the way he screamed at me, how he and his mother chased me out of my own house like I was nothing. The house I grew up in. The house that belonged to my family’s empire—one of the biggest in the city. And now… I had nothing. No home. No money. No one.

I couldn’t leave.

I turned slowly, eyes falling on the man who was now casually scrolling through his phone. He noticed my stare and looked up at me with an emotionless expression.

“What?” he asked sharply.

My lips parted, but no words came out. I didn’t even know what I was going to say.

“I…” I started to speak, but my throat felt dry. My fingers curled into the fabric of my dress as I stood there, trying to gather the courage to speak.

He raised a brow at me. “You what?” he asked, his tone sharp but curious.

I looked down at my feet, embarrassed. “I don’t have anywhere to go.”

He stayed quiet, and when I looked up, he was still staring at me. “That’s not my problem,” he said bluntly.

I swallowed hard. “Please, just let me stay here for a few days. I’ll leave once I figure something out,” I begged, my voice shaking.

He stood up from where he sat, tossing his phone on the couch, and started walking toward me slowly. His expression was unreadable, and it made my heart beat faster.

“You want to stay here?” he asked, standing just inches away from me now. I nodded slowly.

“And what makes you think I won’t kill you in your sleep?” he muttered, his voice low and threatening.

I stiffened but didn’t move. “If you wanted to kill me, you would’ve done it already,” I whispered.

He stared at me for a few seconds longer before scoffing and walking past me. “You’ve got some guts,” he mumbled.

“Too bad you can’t stay with me. I hate humans—especially women,” he uttered coldly, his words slicing through me like a blade.

My eyes widened in disbelief. What the heck? How could someone say that so casually? And from someone who clearly came out of a woman? The irony burned in my chest.

“What?” I asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

He rolled his eyes like I was the dumbest thing he’d ever laid eyes on.

“What about your mother?” I pressed without thinking. The words flew out before I could catch them.

I knew I pushed the wrong button the moment his eyes darkened. His jaw clenched, and something violent flickered behind his gaze.

“Get out,” he growled.

“Wait—”

“Get. Out. Now!” he shouted, his voice echoing through the walls before he grabbed my arm roughly and dragged me toward the door.

The next thing I knew, I was being shoved outside. The heavy door slammed behind me, leaving me once again in the cold. Another door slammed in my face. Another person kicking me out of their life.

How did it come to this?

I turned slowly, arms wrapped around myself for warmth as I started walking down the barely visible path. The sky had already darkened, and my stomach growled painfully. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and the only thing I had in my system was drugged juice.

I kept walking with no real destination, just moving to keep my body from shutting down. The pain, the hunger, the loneliness—it was all weighing me down.

Just as I was passing a thick patch of bushes, I froze.

Screams.

I wasn’t imagining it. I heard it clearly—a woman screaming, struggling. I stopped walking and looked toward the bush.

My mind screamed at me to keep moving, to not get involved. You already have enough problems, Elizabeth. Just walk away.

But my feet didn’t listen.

One day, my curiosity will be the death of me. I knew it. But still, I stepped into the bush, pushing the leaves aside quietly, hoping I wasn’t making the biggest mistake of my life.

I peeked behind the thick bush, my heart already pounding, but nothing could’ve prepared me for what I saw.

A group of men surrounded someone—beating him relentlessly as he lay helpless on the ground. His face was bloodied, his cries weak and broken. “Please… stop…”

Then, one of them stepped back, pulled out a gun, and without hesitation, aimed it at the man’s head.

“No—” the wounded man begged, barely able to lift his hand in defense.

The shot rang out like a thunderclap, and the man’s body fell limp.

My hands flew to my mouth, a gasp escaping before I could stop it. I immediately regretted it.

The man holding the gun slowly turned toward where I stood, his cold, merciless eyes locking onto mine.

He didn’t say a word.

Just raised his hand—and gave a signal.

Like clockwork, the others turned and started coming after me.

Panic shot through me like ice in my veins.

Elizabeth, you need to get out of here. Now!

I didn’t think. I just ran. My feet were bare, but I didn’t care. The pain didn’t register. The fear numbed everything. I ran faster than I ever had in my life—faster than lightning, crashing through leaves and branches, stumbling over rocks and roots.

All I knew was I had to keep moving.

Run now. Break later.

Because if they caught me… I wouldn’t live to see the morning.

I was running like my life depended on it—because it did. The wind whipped against my face, tears blurring my vision, every part of me screaming to keep going. But I didn’t see it.

A thick branch sticking out from the undergrowth caught my foot.

I tripped—hard.

My knees scraped against the rough ground as I landed, breath knocked out of me. Pain shot up my legs, but when I turned around, that was the least of my problems.

One of the men was already on me. His boots crushed the leaves as he moved closer, his face twisted in a wicked grin.

“No—please!” I screamed, my hands scrambling against the dirt as I tried to crawl away.

But I couldn’t get up.

“Somebody help me!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping—praying—someone might hear.

He didn’t speak.

He raised his arm.

That was when I saw the hammer.

My eyes widened in horror, and just before I could scream again, he brought it down.

The pain was blinding—sharp, then numbing, as if my skull split open from the inside. My vision doubled. The world around me spun, and then—

Blackness.