There in the poorly lit environment, someone lurked around the street, dressed in all black. The black silky hair that had a smooth flow with the wind made it evident the person was a lady. Her black attire also made her blend with the darkness. The atmosphere seemed cold from the coldness that radiated off her. Anyone close by would feel the dark aura around her. The aura made her appear domineering despite her unseen face.
Hands tucked in the pocket, she walked towards the bench she saw around and sat down. She shut her eyes as she felt the cool breeze soothe her skin.
Few minutes into the overbearing silence, the quiet lady began to tap her legs impatiently.“One,” she muttered silently.After what seemed like eternity, she opened her eyes.
“Two,” she smirked.“Three,” she tilted her head sideways, just in time to avoid a dagger that was aimed at her.She stood up, removed her hands from her pockets and dusted her clothes as though there was dust on it.“It’s fine. You can come out now.” She said to no one in particular.Everywhere remained silent as if someone’s life wasn’t just threatened seconds ago. The lady clicked her tongue and smiled.
“Come out now, will you?” she half-yelled. “Whoever sent you know too well than to annoy me. I can be really dangerous when I’m pissed off. They didn’t tell you that?” As soon as she finished talking, different sounds of footstep were heard from behind the trees around and she was all surrounded the next minute.“You want something quiet?” she smirked as she walked closer to the one who seemed to be the leader. “Is that why you chose to get me killed with a dagger?”
The young man looked unshaken by her as she walked closer and closer to him till she was close enough to stare at him in the eyes.“While I’m being nice, tell me who sent you.” She said as she tucked her hands across her chest.The man stared at her for a while like he was hypnotized by her eyes but when he seemed to snap out of it, he yelled out an order.
“Attack.” “Arrgh,” she groaned inwardly. “This is about to getting dirty, I’m sure.”She turned to face the rest of the assassinators, who all aimed their daggers at her. She moved away from the ringleader because she thought it won’t be advisable to fight his men with him at her back. He could attack her from the back for she cared.With a low yell, the men all charged at her with their daggers. Skillfully fighting off the first man that came near her, she collected the dagger in his hand and stabbed him to death. She threw a punch at the next man, making him move backwards unexpectedly to disrupt the flow of those coming up behind him. It bought the lady enough time to get a dagger out of her socks.
Now that she had two daggers in her grip, she began to fiercely and fearlessly attack, swinging the daggers skillfully as if they were the lightest things in the world. The assassinators fell down lifeless.
Without wasting time, she continued to slit their throats before moving to the next target until she stood face to face with the leader.The ringleader looked surprised to see his men down. They were the best of his men and he wondered how a lady could kill off ten men within the twinkle of an eye. He should have declined when he was ordered to kill with only a dagger. The boss thought a gun would call for attention.
She was surely skilled and fearless just as she had been described. But he just didn’t realize sooner that he’d be sacrificing his men and probably himself because his dagger had been knocked out of his hand.
Before he could react, the lady knocked him off his feet and he fell on his knees. She held a dagger at his neck, making the man tilt his head up in fear of her slitting his throat.
“Who sent you?" she questioned but the man kept mute. “It’d be better for him to die while sticking to the allegiance he pledged than to give out the information she seek.” He thought.“You won’t answer?” she smiled. Even her smile seemed cold and cruel at the moment. The man didn’t respond, which made the lady sigh.
“Fine, you know what?”She frowned. “I don’t need the name. But do well to inform him that I’m back for good.” She said as she simultaneously cut the man at his arm.“Nothing or no one can stop. Now, run!” she ordered and the man stared at her wide-eyed. “Do you need me to repeat myself?”
She turned her back to the man and she stared at the daggers in her hands that blood dripped from.“Leave when I’m nice. You won’t like me when I change my mind.” She frowned.The young man, thankful that she spared his life hurriedly stood up and began to run away from the scene as he held his hand that blood continued to flow down from. When he was several feet away, the ruthless lady turned to look at him.
“I might as well just change my mind now.” She smiled as she pulled out a gun from her pocket and aimed at the running man before pulling the trigger twice.The man screamed and groaned in pain before he fell down, holding his two legs dearly. The lady returned her gun to her pocket, tucked her hands in and pulled the hood over her head.
“I’m Lia and I never miss my target.” She said as she trailed backwards, leaving the area and then gradually blending with the darkness until she could no longer be seen.Samantha’s POVI should have felt nothing.I had trained myself for this—to be unreadable, untouchable, immune to the chaos of emotions. But as I stared at the engagement ring on my finger, something inside me shifted.It wasn’t the ring itself. Not the weight of the metal or the way the diamond caught the light. It was him.Ryan stood a few feet away, his posture deceptively relaxed, hands buried in his pockets. But his eyes—they were locked onto me, studying, waiting.Approval? Doubt? Regret?I wasn’t sure.I twisted the ring slightly. "Well, it looks convincing."He didn’t smile. "That’s the point."His voice was low, rougher than usual. Was he feeling it too? The tension curling beneath the surface? The weight of something unspoken?"You should at least try to look happier," I mused, tilting my head. "Fiancé of the year and all."His lips twitched, but his eyes remained unreadable. "Funny. I was about to say the same to you."The room suddenly felt smaller; the air heavier.I swal
Samantha’s POVI must be crazy. I definitely must be. How else would you explain me driving myself to Ryan's place to tell him "let's get married"?The words left my mouth before I could rethink them. Worse of all was me closing the distance between us and initiating a kiss. I expected hesitation, maybe even disbelief, but the silence that followed as Ryan pulled away from me felt like a storm brewing in the distance—silent but heavy. You could almost hear a pin drop.Ryan stared at me, his piercing blue eyes dark and unreadable. He blinked once. Twice. The look on his face was priceless. The air between us grew thick, suffocating, but I forced myself to stand my ground, even as my heart pounded against my ribs like a caged animal."Are you okay?" His voice was low, careful.I folded my arms across my chest to hide the slight tremor in my hands. "Yeah.”“And, seriously considering getting married to me?”“Would I joke about something like this?"He scoffed, the sound short and humorle
46The moment Ryan left Samantha’s house, she couldn’t keep herself calm. Guilt ate her up as she accepted the fact that Ryan was not wrong about anything. She was in fact the one to make amends and becoming Ryan’s pretend bride wouldn’t be bad in any way. She liked him at least, even though she wasn’t meant to. As Samantha sat in silence in the living room, she could feel Nathaniel’s intense gaze on her. She knew he would give her another earful. Sometimes, she wondered whether or not she was the older one or Nate.“Just say it.” She sighed and sat back, shutting her eyes. “I already had enough today but I certainly do not mind listening to you top it up.”“Why are you bent on ignoring your heart, sis?” Nathaniel asked instead. “It’s obvious, even to the blind, that you like him. You might not notice but the way you try hard to push him away just screams one thing to me.”“What?”“Samantha Emilia Gray is in love with Ryan Robin Anderson.”“Nate…”“I advise you move closer to him rat
Author’s POV continues…Stepping into the hotel room, Ryan let out a sigh as he sprawled out on the couch. His head ached badly and he felt drained. His whole life at the moment seemed to revolve around issues. As much as he tried to think, he couldn’t figure out any other way out of the scandal, other than the option the crisis manager provided. Besides, it wouldn’t be much of a problem since he was no longer with Brianna. Just as he thought about her, Ryan realized he might have had issues with the available solution to the scandal if Brianna had not done what she did.~*Four months ago*Ryan alighted and locked the car doors. With some white gift bags in one hand and a bouquet on the other, he strolled towards the building. Apparently, he had thought of visiting Brianna’s parents after he came back from the vacation at France. He hadn’t informed Brianna that he was back and he knew she’d be at her parents’ place since they were the one that called her back.On his way to their p
Author's POV“Where’s she?”This was the first thing Ryan said the moment Nathaniel opened the door. “How did you get here?” The boy wondered.“Can I see her?” Ryan stressed, ignoring his question.“I’m sorry, no!” Nate answered and tried to shut the door.“Don’t you dare!” “Ryan Anderson,” Samantha called from within the house. “Threatening or snapping at the child won’t get you anywhere near me.”Ryan sighed and rubbed his temple. Ever since he met Samantha, it has been from one issue to the other. He was just there, at Samantha’s place, to get things over with. He was tired of the ups and downs and really wanted to be free from the Gray’s unending schemes.“It’s bad enough that I have to deal with several attacks yearly. Now, I have to deal with being called a molester. What more damage do you intend to wreck, Samantha Gray?” Samantha shut her eyes at his words. She understood the fact that series of news had been circulating about him that are really bad for his reputation, but
Samantha’s POV A groan escaped my mouth as I turned around on the wide surface that provided the comfort I needed. I heard a bell ring and the loud sound made my forehead creased, even though my eyes were still shut. I stretched my arms but paused when I hit something hard beside me. My eyes flung open. “Oh my god!” I screamed, pulling the blanket with me as I shrink back into the bed like that was even possible. In reflex, my head banged and I winced, rubbing my temple with my free hand. The hard thing I supposedly hit hissed from my shriek and propped himself up. He rubbed his eyes and then held on to his temple. One could tell he was still in the mood for more sleep. “What’s with the scream?” He drawled, his eyes half opened. “What… Are… You… Doing… Here?” I cried out. My cry seemed to call his full attention to the situation at hand because his eyes went wide the next second. He stared at me and his mouth went agape. “Sam?” He called, his voice laced with some certain le