Gunshot Rumble

"You know how much I hate you. Be prepared for the hell you will face if you dare to sign this marriage contract even once."

Svanna understood that she would never escape the dark images of life after deciding to leave California and returning to this horrible city.

There was no choice.

There were no good prospects that could save her from a desperate emergency. Nightroe had explained how the man still hated her so much after four years had passed. Four years filled with bad flashes, so much so that Svanna wished she no longer had perfect memories just to be drawn back to those painful dark times.

Her breath came in long gasps when she saw how Nightroe's broad shoulders were already out of sight behind the door of the house. How pathetic. The man had only come to warn her about something that was a complicated decision between them.

Svanna never expected that the offer of marriage on paper would lead to a perfect life. Nor was she sure if a pure bond could be such an incomprehensible idea. Nightroe would never put any feelings into her when the man himself was so hateful.

Svanna just didn't have a choice between continuing to consider the offer from Russol Sullivan or holding on for dear life to the remaining sanity that still hung on her shoulders. Things were still complicated. She needed a huge sum of money to pay for her father's treatment at the hospital. Couldn't find another way. Almost desperate after being fired for something she didn't do.

Bang!

A thunderous shot from outside made Svanna's body jerk. Fear immediately invaded her mind about the dangers around her. This was a dark world. She shouldn't be surprised by the situation as it was now.

Nightroe would inherit Russol Sullivan's leadership after marriage, and that man had just wandered into the place where she lived. It made perfect sense for a dangerous scene like this to occur.

Or maybe not.

Some clues in Svanna's mind seemed to tell her that there was something odd about the loud noise. Tentatively, she decided to take a step towards the door.

Perhaps Nightroe had a wild motivation towards the need to threaten her in a more frightening way.

"Nightroe, are you there?" Svanna swallowed roughly as the urgency within her pinned an unexpected alarm. The tension in the shoulders increased brutally when facing the need to touch the cold doorknob.

"Nightroe ...."

She was still so careful when the grip of the hand was so firmly there. The door of the house was only half-opened, and unexpectedly, a single bullet pierced the property of the house.

Svanna held her breath, but suddenly someone smothered her lips from behind. She struggled. It took almost all her strength to avoid any risk.

"Shut up!"

Not expecting that Nightroe was the alleged perpetrator. The man's grip was unusually strong as he pulled her back into the house, while the heavy gunfire in the open space was almost deafening.

"What happened?"

Svanna was still trying to understand the situation between them. A little incredulous that Nightroe... yeay, Nightroe... was willing to make physical contact with her. The man had always felt disgusted whenever there was an unexpected encounter since the incident four years ago changed everything.

"Hide where you feel safe."

Nightroe's freezing cold voice came to the surface after finishing with the activity of sniffing around. The man even immediately went to the window and made a simple shield while aiming the weapon through the small open gap.

Svanna realized that she should have obeyed Nightroe's order before he changed his mind and turned to shoot her dead. She was sure that was exactly what Nightroe wanted to do—just try to hold back, because her death would be easy, and the man did not want that prospect to happen at all.

A place where she felt safe....

Svanna would not deny that. She quickly ran towards the room, then crawled under the bed. This house was cramped—for God's sake. She had no choice, and there was no denying that the relevant memories of four years ago still felt so good.

Svanna covered both ears. The sounds were painful to hear, but she needed to wait until the silence no longer rumbled wildly around.

All done?

She wondered cluelessly, flinching slightly as someone's firm steps sounded closer and closer to her room.

The door opened, and the seduction of Nightroe's dark shoes felt so binding. Svanna wanted to rush out but was restrained when the man first looked down to find her face down.

Nightroe's face was so cold, especially the sapphire color of those eyes staring so intently. Svanna, not expecting to make a mistake, immediately took action to get out. She patted away the dust that might have stuck to her body after being in the same position and staying under the bed for so long.

Svanna raised her face as she stood facing Nightroe's towering body. "You protected me..." she said slowly.

There was nothing wrong with that statement, but in an instant Svanna found Nightroe's expression turning dark. The muscles on that stern face tightened violently. It looked like Nightroe didn't like it. She just wanted to thank you; was that wrong?