Esther didn’t expect to hear knocks on the door of her balcony as the dead hours of the night. She had to admit that frightened her. Hugging her blanket, she stared at her balcony and could vaguely see a figure moving behind the curtains.Born with very much little courage, that frightened Esther, and a scream escaped from her lips. Getting down from the bed, she was about to rush out of the room when the familiarity made her stop in her steps.Taking in a deep breath, Esther mustered every bit of bravery inside her as she slowly walked over to the balcony door and, closing her eyes, pulled open the curtain.Then, she slowly lifted her eyelids as her heart beat rapidly inside her chest, and genuinely surprise crossed through her face when she saw Asher standing there.Did he accidentally get the wrong balcony?Nevertheless, understanding how low the temperature can be, she opened the balcony door for him and stared at him in confusion. The wi

Esther was on the verge of tears as she sat on top of the brick wall. Compared to her fear of height, she felt more afraid about the creature down, occasionally barking for her.The fear she had for dogs prompted her to get up on the brick wall. Her position was embarrassing, and that’s why, Esther considered herself lucky that no one passed through the streets here now.“Shoo. Shoo. Go away, good Doggy. Be a good boy please. Or are you a girl? No, that’s irrelevant. Please go away. I don’t have anything delicious with me. See.”Esther carefully waved her hands around.“Woof!” The dog barked loudly, startling her. She was almost about to fall off the brick wall at the sound.“Please spare me,” Esther desperately begged.However, her tear-filled pleads were not conveyed to the dog, and it stared at her with excitement.That’s when, she noticed the figure driving through. That

“Bitch! I was being kind to you! Is this how you repay me?”He stomped over to her. His loud footsteps made dread arise at the pit of her stomach. Bowing down, he grabbed her by her collar and raised her. Bruises started to form on Esther’s face.He sneered.“Since you do not prefer the nice way, I have to go rough on you. Whores like you do not deserve to be treated with mercy after all.”Esther had a low pain tolerance to begin with. That’s why, this much was enough for her to break down and hope for this to end. She hated how she couldn’t lose her consciousness. At least at an unaware state, she wouldn’t have to suffer.She did want to hope that someone would save her. But that was highly improbable. Her siblings were not home for two days. Her parents hardly cared about her. And then that image that flashed in her mind.Would Asher even know that she was abducted? No, even if he was aware,

It had been almost a week since Esther was brought into Asher’s apartment and kept here. Esther did feel as though she was somewhat abducted. No matter how many times she wanted to leave, Asher knew how to deflect the matter. Because of that, she ended up staying in his apartment for such a long period. He provided her with food, a warm bed to sleep at, and books to read or movies to watch when she was bored. At the same time, he had cut off all her connections to the outside world. Esther felt as though she was a pet being raised by him. Esther, however, was curious in knowing his intent. That’s why, she silently bore through this while observing the man. Moreover, she did find the care he showed towards her to be endearing. His gentleness was addictive to Esther. Esther was going through the newly bought romance novel. She didn’t know where he got her preferences in novels from and did feel guilty that he was spending so much on her. However

Esther carried her books as she walked through the hallways of school. Because of missing school for a week, she was behind comparatively, and it distressed her, thinking how she should catch up.It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go to school; Asher simply didn’t allow her to leave. That glare from him drained all of her courage.And if truth was to be told, Esther felt scared of being outside after that incident. She wouldn’t have stepped out of her if she didn’t care about her education. Moreover, a lengthy talk session with a teacher wasn’t her cup of tea.Esther kept her head low her hood was grabbed a d pulled back. The familiar action made her look back. A subtle frown sat on Asher’s face as he observed Esther.“It had hardly been a day, and you got hurt again,” he commented, referring to the bandage that on her forehead.This made her think back to the events of yesterday and the bold con