CHAPTER FOUR

* Flashback To The Night Of The Escape*

THIRD PERSON POV

Under the extremely heavy rain, in the opposite direction of the road path Reina and Jasmine are driving through, a driver drives in full acceleration according to the instructions of his boss who seems through his demeanor seems to be desperately trying to catch up with something.

The alley looks deserted and creepy, without street lights, being covered by total darkness. The only source of light for those treading on its path are the car headlights which don’t stand out due to the heavy downpour of rain.

Sensing the presence of two girls heading towards his direction who are not paying attention to the road they are driving on, the boss seated on the passenger seat of the opposite car decides to inform the driver to avoid the car moving speedily towards them but gets distracted when he hears Jasmine's voice, which pikes his interest and leaves him eager to keep listening, this is until a scream tears through her lips abruptly pulling him out of his trance.

“ Reina watch out!!” Jasmine's words ring out too late as both drivers already get too close to try diverting.

The two cars collide forcefully, putting both cars to an automatic halt.

Both the driver and his boss step out of the car to check if the other passengers are okay.

“Are you guys alright?” The driver asked just as his boss walked towards the car to check if anyone was hurt.

Jasmine is too busy trying to wake up Reina who leans on the headrest unconscious due to the force of the collision that she doesn’t reply to the driver.

“ She is not waking up, I don’t know what is wrong with her. Rei! Reina!!” She says panicking as she shakes Reina.

She is still so focused on Reina that she does not notice the man staring intensely at her.

“What about you?” The man asks giving her a run over with his eyes.

Jasmine stops shaking Reina and is about to query him for being insensitive about her friend's wellbeing, she turns and faces him to give him the best scolding she can come up with at that time but isn’t able to say a word when she looks at him, becoming distracted with his looks, which has her spellbound.

It’s as if all the words she had planned to say vanished from her mind, as if her mind stops functioning and all she can think of is the breathtaking male in front of her.

As she stares into his grey eyes, she feels her entire system go into a frenzy, he oozes so much masculinity that it almost overwhelms her. She stays transfixed, unable to take her eyes off him and he doesn’t have a problem with it, keeping his eyes on her the whole time.

They both stand entranced by each other as though being drawn by an invisible force which they have no power over.

At this moment Jasmine completely forgets about the unconscious Reina and about the question the mystery man asked her until the driver who was busy inspecting the cars for damage all along speaks.

“Your car doesn’t look bad so you can quickly take her to the nearest hospital to get her checked on.” He says, his voice breaking the extreme tension between the two strangers.

“Mm, okay, thank you,” Jasmine says as she quickly recovers from the intense moment, and goes out of the car to turn around to the driver's seat when she feels a warm hand around her waist stopping her movement.

“ You didn’t answer my question.” The man says in a husky tone, gently pulling her closer to himself, trying to shield her from the rain.

Jasmine stands speechless for a moment as she feels hot intense tingles from his touch, which sends a very new sensation to her body. ‘Why are you allowing him to hold you this way? You just met him. He is a total stranger,’ her mind questions her but she remains in the same position unable to leave his warmth.

She knows all the facts, but it’s as if her body has a mind of its own and craves comfort in the arms of this stranger.

She forces herself to register the question he asked her as she takes his hand off her waist slowly, reluctant to leave but concerned about her friend’s safety.

He stares at her and stands still when she turns to face him, about for her response.

“ I’m fine.” She says not meeting his gaze and quickly walks away from him, moving, Reina to the passenger's seat, before getting in and starting the car.

“ Thank you.” She says quietly before driving off after giving him one long last glance as if trying to store his image in her brain.

His eyes remain on her as she drives off into the night, ensuring that he remembers every single detail of the night.

Jasmine rebooks her and Reina another flight for the next day concluding that Reina cannot fly in this condition no matter how in a hurry they are.

Throughout the ride, her mind keeps going back to the mysterious man and she wonders who he is and most importantly why she responded that way to him.

She has never responded that way to any man, and to think that when he touched her, she wanted nothing else but to remain in his arms.

She felt new sensations in specific parts of her body which felt absolutely amazing and if not for Reina's unconscious state, there was no telling if she would have detached herself from his arms.

Realizing the extent of her thoughts, She chides herself for being so irresponsible and having such thoughts about a man she just met.

‘Did he feel the same way?’ the unreasonable part of her mind asks and sighs hopelessly, knowing he had made a permanent impact in her life in that short moment.

Meanwhile, still on the road, the mystery man still stands staring at the already empty road with his mind fixed on the beauty he just set his eyes on. The attraction he felt towards her was not something he couldn’t fandom. ‘Who is she?’ He questions himself just as he hears his phone ring, a frown comes to his face when he looks at the caller ID, disliking being interrupted by his thoughts.

“ Speak,” He says sternly, his aura turning cold in displeasure.

“ The witch's apprentice just said its over, and from the sound of your voice I know you didn’t meet her, there is no need to go there anymore, you were not supposed to blow this, you just missed your one chance,” the speaker says in a scolding tone, not minding the harsh tone directed at him.

“OK.” He replies and ends the call.

“ Head back, there is no need to continue forward.” He said to the driver with a rather nonchalant voice.

He should care that he didn’t achieve his purpose for coming out in a storm, but rather he feels disappointed that he let those green eyes go.

*FLASHBACK ENDS*

Jasmine’s POV

I’m glad that I made it to work early even though not as early as I wanted to be.

I step into the building with my firm resolve to be successful. As I get in, I meet the receptionist, a middle-aged woman who thankfully looks friendly which is exactly the kind of countenance I need to start my first day here.

“ Good morning madam,” I greet with a polite smile.

“ Good morning dear, who are you please?” The woman asks with a warm smile. I know she is not the same receptionist I met on the day of my interview so I’ll have to reintroduce myself. I am about to reply when someone speaks.

“ Mrs. Greenwood, I’m expecting guests soon, but I’m having a meeting outside right now so tell them to wait, make them comfortable.” He says with a distant official tone.

“ Yes, Mr. Noah,” The receptionist instantly replies.

I turn to see who my new boss is because there was no mistaking the authority his voice held and the extreme aura that commanded respect. Whom I see blows my brains out.

‘Perfect Stranger!!’ I scream within me and all I can think about at this moment is how screwed I am.

I stare at him unashamed as he turns and faces me, noticing my presence and for a second I can swear I saw him give me a knowing smirk.

“Good morning Sir,” I say with the brightest and what I hope looks like a confident smile.

I get the fact that he doesn’t recognize me as the girl he met on the night of my grandma’s burial due to the obvious changes in my body, my hair, from blonde golden curls to crimson red, and my body physic, I don’t in any way look like the eighteen-year-old girl he met that night. I have curves in all the right places.

My only concern at this moment is that he might remember that I am the very same female who tongue-lashed his driver about thirty minutes ago.

‘ He didn’t really look at me right?’ I ask myself inwardly with my fingers crossed.

But how the fuck was I supposed to know when I was mesmerized by the sight of him to even notice if he was staring or not.

With my left hand fingers crossed I stretch out my right hand to shake him. I really hope that I look collected right now because my insides are in a frenzy and my subconscious keeps popping up weird sentences in my brain.

‘ Fuck! He is so hot. How is it that he gets even hotter each time I see him…’

“You are that feisty redhead I met this morning right?” He asks with a curious gaze, raking his eyes over me, accessing me from head to toe very slowly while his huge hand envelopes mine in a firm handshake sending waves of intensely heated tingles into my already frenzied inside.

I am a total mess in front of him, barely managing to hold my appearance together.

So much in hoping for a pleasant and comfortable day, this day could not get any more awkward.