Chapter 4 - Desperate Escape

Lucy Hale

What's going on?

I thought this was supposed to happen two days ago.

Uneasiness creeped its way across my skin, pricking me in every way possible.

I could sense it. The moment our eyes met, my entire body went numb, recognizing every bit of his hideous soul.

A face I once woke up to every morning. 

A face I last saw staring down at me mercilessly  as I fell off a cliff to my death.

My lungs refused to work for a second and even so, I forced myself to breathe.

I forced my hands to unclench, undigging my nails from my palm.

I tore my gaze away from him, desperate to reclaim even a shred of control.

My voice scraped out of my throat. “Mia, could you–” I cleared my throat, “I mean, handle the gentlemen? I still need to sort the new stock.”

It was a weak excuse, but Mia didn’t notice. Or she pretended to, I wildly guessed.

She nodded, eyeing me oddly before she turned to greet both of the men. 

The other guy smiled politely at her, adjusting the sleeves of his dark blazer, while Adrian’s gaze lingered on me with unreadable intensity.

I couldn’t bear it. 

I quickly slipped behind the small counter and professed to inspect through the inventory on the tablet, though the screen might as well have been blank. 

My heartbeat drowned out everything, the thick, suffocating, pounding in my ears.

Why is he here? What is he doing in the store today of all days? 

I avoided the original meeting date. I changed the event. I changed the timing. Why does fate keep dragging him to me?

My fingers trembled as I pretended to scroll. Every movement felt brittle, fragile. 

All I wanted was to stay invisible and for him to leave.

But fate, ever so cruel, had other plans.

Footsteps approached, painfully slow, quiet and deliberate halted in front of the counter.

I reflectively stiffened.

Then his voice came, low and smooth, the same voice that once made me trust him. A voice I now feared more than anything.

“Excuse me.”

My breath caught. My head lifted automatically, even though every instinct screamed not to.

Adrian stood in front of me.

Up close, he was exactly as I remembered, sharp features softened by controlled expression, dark eyes that always seemed to hold something back. 

He wore a tailored suit jacket over a crisp shirt, casual but effortlessly expensive. In this life, he shouldn’t recognize me. 

He shouldn’t know me. 

But still, his gaze held a strange familiarity, as if he was studying me a little too much.

“Could you help me with a measurement?”

My stomach twisted violently.

Of all requests.

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice even. “Oh, um—I think Mia is free—”

As if summoned by fate’s cruelty again, I glanced over and saw Mia completely absorbed with the other man, holding up fabrics, laughing lightly. There was no way she’d hear me now.

My escape route disappeared instantly.

I felt my throat tighten. “I– I can call someone.”

But the boutique was small. There was no one else.

Adrian tilted his head slightly. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

My fingers distressedly dug into into my palm, almost tearing my skin. My vision blurred for a moment, panic swelling, growing, threatening to break me open. 

My breath came shallow as my back felt uncomfortably icy, forming a cold sweat.

The memory of the cliff flashed behind my eyes, the wind, the betrayal, his expression as he pushed me.

My chest tightened intensely, I almost gagged.

Go away, if you have a tiny bit of remorse, just leave me alone.

“Are you alright?” Adrian asked, his voice softer. Concerned. As if he wasn’t the man who betrayed me. As if he wasn’t the reason I died.

No. No.

I couldn’t break down in front of him. Not here. Not when he had no idea who I truly was.

I forced myself to inhale and somehow shaped the trembling air into words. “I—I’m fine. Just… I have to cater to something. Please wait a moment.”

Before he could respond, I stepped back and practically fled toward Mia.

She turned, startled by how fast I approached. “Lucy? What? Oh my god, you’re pale! Are you okay?”

I grabbed her arm, shaking my head quickly. “Mia, please. Can you handle Adr– the other customer? I can take this gentleman instead. I just… I don’t feel well, I can’t—” I whispered desperately.

I didn’t know what I was saying anymore. Everything felt too loud, too bright, too choking. 

I couldn’t face Adrian, not when every cell in my body remembered every nook and hook of my past life.

As though it had happened only yesterday.

Mia took one look at my face and didn’t question it. “Okay! Okay, no problem. I’ll switch. Just sit down for a second, Lucy.”

Relief washed over me, I almost buckled right there and then. 

I'm indebted to you, Mia. 

I nodded shakily and stepped back, trying to breathe through the nausea clawing through me.

But before I could steady myself, someone touched my shoulder, gentle yet hesitant.

I flinched violently.

“Hey,” the man who had come in with Adrian greeted softly. He wasn’t Adrian’s assistant, I remembered that much. 

He was someone I had seen only once at a Hawthorne family event in my past life. It felt I supposedly should've known him.

 I couldn’t recall his name, but something about his persona screamed of kindness, that one I could assure.

His eyes were genuine, as he looked at me with quiet concern.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice low and steady, nothing like the suffocating dread coming from Adrian’s presence. “You look like you’re about to faint.”

I swallowed hard, unable to form words as the world wobbled slightly around me.

Trying desperately not to collapse as this familiar stranger waits for my answer.