"Let's have a divorce!" These were the exact words that me and my sister heard as we stood outside our parent's room, ready to tell them that the tooth fairy had paid us a visit.

Such frightening words were quiet common to the point where they had been drilled into the minds four year old, making her question as to why they were spat out with so much hatred with every passing day.

But an opportunity to ask why had always slipped through her slender fingers by her elder sister by two years, when she dragged her back upstairs and towards the room they shared.

The little one always wondered why the elder always whispered assuring words to her before walking over to her own bed and crying herself to sleep.

But everything slowly began to make sense once the woman, who's face they no longer remember, disappeared without uttering a single word with only heartbreaking sobs leaving her lips.

The following years had gone by a flash, not letting the younger grasp the sudden change in her life as her education mattered more than the woman who was never at her side for even once in her life. And before she knew it, her father remarried a woman with the same tragic story as him, resulting in the two sisters to not only gain an ideal motherly figure but also three siblings. Triplets to be exact.

Which leads us to today — a girl of 17 years, a.k.a me, dashing down the staircase towards her father, in the living room who was busy drinking tea while reading a newspaper when my step-sister, Nicole appeared behind him and gently gave him a kiss on the cheek, making sure not to scare him.

"Love you." She returned the smile that dad gave her before running towards the kitchen. Following her lead, I did the same , soon heading over to the kitchen to grabbed a French toast from the nearby plate before rushing out towards the main door where Ella and Nicole proceeded to hug our step-mom goodbye. "Be careful." She told them as she leaned on the door frame, watch as they rushed outside, still unaware of my presence.

I watched as she stood there, arms crossed with her slender black facing me, her black beautiful orbs gazing over the world outside. Upon watching the relaxed aura around her, I couldn't help but smile at the woman who taught me how much importance a mother holds in the hearts of a child.

To my utter relief, I had silently approached her without disturbing her and had slowly leaned over to her ear. "Morning." I whispered, causing her to jump. "God! You scared me." She exclaimed, moving her hand to the heart. I laughed earning a pinch on the cheek before her gentle arms wrapped around me. I returned the gesture for a second only to pull away to take a bite of French toast. I grabbed the strip of my bag by my free hand and side hugged her once more before dashing out of the house knowing that I still have a chance.

\~Sam's POV\~

Watching Lin running down the street, I then let my body lean against the door frame once again as my heart continues to beat faster and louder after the heart attack I received a few seconds ago.

I still can't believe that I am here and I am actually happy. Years ago, just like others, I did believe that I wouldn't find any happiness after my first husband left me with the kids. But now... I found happiness. And it was all thanks to my sister-in-law. She was the one who introduced me to Troy.

My lips curled up into a smile as I remember our first so called 'meeting'.

I am interrupted from my flashbacks when I hear my boys from the other room and I turned around just in time to see them running out of the kitchen towards me. "Thanks mom." Mitsu smiled as he picked up his bag from my hands before giving me a side hug. "Love ya."

"Be caref—!" I stopped when another pair of hands came to hug me in such a force that I almost lost my balance. "Whoa.. careful Ren." I laughed.

"Sorry but I love ya sooo much!" He smiled pulling away from me to pull the strap of his bag over his shoulder.

"Stop flirting with my wife and head to university." I hear my husband say when Ren places a kiss on my forehead. I felt a hand snake around my waist before it pulled me to the right, a few inches away from Ren and into a strong chest.

Smiling, I looked up to meet my husband's coco eyes.

Oh, how I love those eyes.

"But she was my mother first!" Ren directed, pouting like a kid. Rolling my eyes, I shook my head with a chuckle before I brought my hands down to cup his cheeks. Upon placing a sloppy kiss on his forehead, I was met with a chuckle from him before he shot his step father a victory smile who simple raised an eyebrow at his childish behaviour.

After dramatically bowing down to me, Ren wastes no more time to turn around and sprint in the same direction his siblings had left in, leaving another adoring smile on my face.

\~Lin's POV\~

A few hours into the daily college routine earned me about a million teasing and mocking looks from my siblings, continuously reminding on how I was the last person to across the finishline in our daily races — which had cost be to go bankrupt by their selfish demands of buying them lunch and dessert.

Which, I might add, came with a few death glares and one hell of annoying complains. Upon looking at their faces every time I open my mouth, I was quiet satisfied with the look of 'regret' they expressed, leading me to annoy them even more.

Despite knowing well that I'd be getting back at them in the following days, I couldn't help at the sudden change in my mood by the time dinner rolled in. Maybe it was due to the assignments and presentations rolling in like a sandstorm or the slight headache that I had gained sometime before that I couldn't help and miss out on dinner but only after munching down a few spoons.

After slashing off a few assignments from my to-do list, I proceeded to presentations until my back began to ache from the slouching position I had been in for the past few hours, leading me to consider the short nap that I had been avoiding ever since I started.

A knock on the door brought me out of my sleepy state, causing me to lift my head from the pillow in my hands and blink a few times before glancing at my surroundings and then towards the clock on the side table. I shifted on the bed when I couldn't see the clock.

It was 11:30pm.

There was a knock on the door again which was followed by step mom's voice. "Darling, are you okay?" I could sense the worry in her gentle voice.

"Lin?" I hear the door creak open and mom's head popped out from behind it. I gave her a weak smile when we made eye contact. "You okay?" She asked, as she entered and slowly walked towards me after closing the door.

"Yeah." I gave a small nod knowing that a nod alone wouldn't be enough to convince her. "Just tired."

"Busy day?"

"Yeah." I slowly sat up straight as she came to sit on the bed beside my legs. She patiently waited for me to say 'and.' And when I didn't, she raised an eyebrow to which opened my mouth and then closed it back tightly as if she was gonna open it by force.

We had a staring contest for a minute or two before she gave out a small sigh. "Alright. I won't force you to tell me." She said, running a hand through her hair. "But under one condition."

"And.... that's is?"

"Finish your dinner." I thought about for a second, not really in the mood to but I guess it's better than any other conditions that she could have given me. I gave her a small nod earning a pat on my knees cap.

We both head downstairs and towards the kitchen where I helped mom heat up my unfinished dinner. Grabbing my plate, I sat down on my usual chair as she grabbed a glass of water and took a sip of it before starting a conversation to breakup the silence between us. I didn't mind at all.

/A few hours later/

I whimper in my sleep as the pain in my stomach gets worst. Forcefully, opening one of my sleepy eyes, I slowly sit up straight earning another striking pain.

"Dang it." I curse under my breath as I clench my stomach with my right hand and used my left to push away from the bed. My wobbly legs slowly carried me towards the bathroom while I stop after every two seconds when I felt the stomach cramps getting worst.

Upon finally entering the bathroom, I switched open the lights while heavily breathing in and out continuously.

\~Ren's POV\~

A few knocks on the door, woke me from my deep sleep causing me to stir around on the bed.

I frowned, deciding to ignore it as I was too sleepy and my eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. Turning my body to the other side, I snuggle in my cold yet soft pillow and to my relief, the person decided to stop after a few more knock. I smiled as slowly drifted off but only to wake up again to another knock a minute later.

I groaned in a way, making sure the person could hear it— telling them to go away.

"R-Ren?" I hear my sister's weak voice, call out from the other side of the room. Slowly opening one eye, I glanced up at the clock that hung on the wall only to see it was 2am. Sighing, I forced my body off the bed and dragged my feet towards the door only to open it in a flash causing the small figure in front of me to flinch.

I blinked a few times, adjusting my eyes in the dark. The only light that helped a little was the moon light that shown from the window in the hallway.

From what I could figure out, Lin stood there sleepily with her body bent a little forward as she held her stomach with one hand. She was wearing a white plain hoodie and black trousers. Her brown messy hair that reached her waist now fell messily all over her face, almost hiding her right eye. I must admit that she did looked a little scary.

"Lin?" I squinted. "What is it?" My voice was raspy and it sounded... sexy.

"Sorry to wake you up but I need your car keys." She said in a weak voice, a little above a whisper. "I don't want to wake up dad and Mitsu is not—"

"Wait, wait, wait. Car keys? Like right now?" I asked confused yet curious. "Have you seen the time?" After she gave me a nod, I knew something wasn't right or she is just.... sleep walking?

"I am not sleep walking Ren." She said reading my mind. Her gaze was now fixed on the floor. "Can you please give me the keys? I am in a hurry."

"In a hurry? Looking like that?" Now I was really curious and wide awake. I mean, what the hell? Is she going to act in a horror movie?

To my surprise she didn't say anything as if she just figured out what she looked like right now. Is she really sleep walking?

I moved my hand over her shoulder, ready to take her back to her room but I stopped when she lifted her gaze to look straight at me. Her pleading coco eyes met my hazel ones and it was clear that she was exhausted.

Exhaling from my nose, I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "This better be an emergency."

/25 minutes later/

After parking my black bentley in the parking-lot, me and Lin slowly made our way through the quite street, towards the small pharmacy at the corner of the street.

Knowing that Lin wasn't feeling well, I had asked her to stay in the car but she wouldn't take no as an answer and stepped out of the car before I could stop her. Moving a few strands of hair away from her face, she pulled the hoodie over her head and slowly walked towards the pharmacy. I quietly followed her lead.

Upon entering the pharmacy, me and Lin were welcome by not only a cool breeze that sent shivers down our spine but also by a bored voice. "Welcome..."

It was a cubby guy in his late thirties, with a thin slim mustache and messy dirty blond hair. The eye bags under his eyes told a clear story about his sleepless nights. "How may I help you, at this time of the night?" He asked, not hiding the tiredness in his voice as we approached him.

"I would like to have a pain killer and a few other medicines." Lin said, moving her hand out of her hoodie's pocket and pulling out a small list. She handed the list to him and he took it with a small sigh. He studied the list for at least ten seconds before turning towards the shelves behind him and picking out the required medicines.

"I am gonna grab a few stuff from the other selves." She said, already making her way towards the shelves in the corner. "You stay here."

"Sure." I nodded yawning before stretching out my arms.

Man, my shoulders are stiff!

Exhaling, I took my time to study the pharmacy while the guy continued to mumble something under his breath.

The pharmacy was small enough to fit in at least thirty people but no more. The paint on the walls was slowly tearing off and the white tiled floor beneath me was clean but not clean enough. There were five shelves in front of me, holding various medicines while the shelves to my right held tooth brushes, razor, syringes, various types of creams— you name it.

Half a minute later, I heard a small ruffle of a shopper bag before Lin appeared from behind the shelves on my right, holding a brown shopper bag in her right hand. She slowly walked towards the counter and and placed the paper bag on it.

"Is this all, miss?" The guy asked after turning around and placing seven medicines on the counter.

"Yes." Lin said, checking the medicines one by one, just in case he left something behind. I moved a little forward, curious on what type of medicines my sister was buying but backed away as a reflex, when I felt something vibrating in my trouser's pocket. Moving my hand into the pocket, I pulled out my cell and glanced at the caller ID to see Mitsu calling me.

I frowned confusedly, wondering if he had returned from Elvin's party already. "Excuse me." I said turning away and walking towards a corner with my back towards Lin. I answered the call. "Yeah?"

"Hey, where are ya?" To my relief, he didn't sound drunk. "I just came home and noticed your car was missing. I thought I should make sure that it wasn’t stolen but I was met with an empty bed."

"I'm at the pharmacy with Lin." I said, looking over my shoulder towards Lin to see her placing a tablet on the edge of her tongue before taking the plastic cup from the blond guy and drinking it. "She didn't feel so good so she asked me to take her to a pharmacy." I explained. "Just now, she took the medicine so don't worry. Hopefully, she's feeling a little better than before."

"I hope so." Mitsu sighed, still worried. "I think we pushed her too much today."

"Could be." I said, yawning once more. "Anyway, we'll be—" I stopped upon hearing a small muffled voice which was then followed by something sharp scraping my ear — splitting my cell into two.

It took me a second to figure out what had just happened. "The hell?!" I almost yelled angrily as immediately turned my body around to see a figure in all black holding a pistol, a few inches away from my head.

My eyes immediately went towards where Lin was standing to see the blond bastard holding a pocket knife not to her neck but to her temple as his other filthy hand covered her mouth, stopping her from breathing through it. I met the fear and worry in her eyes.

I gritted my teeth, feeling the rage slowly rising from within me.

\~ Lin's POV \~

/A few minutes ago/

After I gulped down the tablet along with the water, I moved the empty plastic glass away from my lips and handled it back to the owner, thanking him. He simply nodded his head while he continued to move the medicines into a plastic shopper. "That would be a $137." He informed a second later.

Nodding my head, I pulled out my wallet from my hoodie's pocket, making it quick, knowing that Ren would insist on paying for them.

It was empty...

Mentally face palming myself upon recalling how my siblings had spared me this morning, I turned around towards Ren, having no other choice but to ask him for help when suddenly I felt a strong hand cover my mouth.

What the?!

Before I could comprehend what was going on, a pair of grey eyes suddenly came in view causing me to flinch. The owner’s features were covered with a black mask leaving half of his face to my imagination.

The guy moved his index finger over to where his lips might be, motioning me to keep silent. When I furrowed my eyebrows, ready to not listen, he pulled out a pistol using his other hand and aimed it up towards my right eye, giving me a clear warning.

Noticing that I was still not ready to listen, he then aimed it to the back of Ren's head causing my eyes to widen in fear and worry. I shook my head as the strong hand continued to force me to breath through my nose.

The masked person again, motioned me to stay silent before turning his attention towards Ren who was still busy on the phone, unaware of the situation.

The heck?!

REN!!!

My heartbeat was getting louder and faster by the second as chills continued to run down my spine. I knew i had to do something but what?

My hands continued to stay at my sides and weren't tied up or held by the person behind me in other words I could use them but i've got only one chance. I want to risk it and at the same time I don't wanna risk it.

Oh god!

My gaze was fixed on the masked man in front of me who continued to carefully make his way towards Ren with his pistol still aimed at his head. I waited for him to lower the aim of the pistol even for a second and luckily when he did, I took the risk.

Immediately, whipping both of my hands towards the other guy's palm, I dug my nails into his hand, moving it away from my mouth only for a mili second and called out Ren. But my voice came out muffled when I felt another hand squeezed my mouth shut.

Why you—!

The bastard behind me tightened his grip over my mouth and pulled my body backwards, making me lean uncomfortably over the counter causing me grimace in pain. I now stood on my tiptoes which made the stomach cramps worst. But before I could pull my body forward, I felt something press against my temple.

My body froze.

Whatever it was, it was clearly bad news.

I looked back up when I heard something drop on the floor with a small clack which was then followed by Ren's yell. "The hell?!" He finally turned around towards us, angrily, only to meet the muzzel of the pistol.

An emotion of confusion rushed over his face but disappeared instantly when his eyes met mine. His eyes narrowed.

"Ya chubby! Filthy. Hands. Off!" Ren said through gritted teeth, his hands turning into fists.

I felt the bastard behind me, pull my head back a few inches, clearly planning to use me as a shield just in case my brother tries do something.

My upper back was starting to ache as my shaky elbows continued to supported my body, preventing it from falling over the counter.

My elbows wouldn't last much longer if I continue to stay in this position.

"Look here, boy." The man in black, raised his aim towards Ren's temple but Ren paid no attention to him. His eyes were fixed on the bastard's hand on my mouth, fighting the urge to cut it off. "I said, look—!"

"EYAA!!!" The bastard behind me screamed out in pain when I suddenly pierced my teeth into his palm's skin. The moment he snatched away is hand, on a reflex, I took the opportunity to run towards the exit along with Ren who now head-butt the other confused guy, making him stumble backwards and crash into one of the shelves.

We ran through the gate and down the empty street knowing that we have only a few seconds before the guys decide to catch up. Ren kept looking over his shoulder towards me, checking if I was doing okay which I clearly wasn't. My weak legs were literally dragging my body through the street.

I knew it was time for me to pick up the pace but the sudden stab of pain halted me on my tracks and I bent down in pain.

Shit! Why did my periods have to start today of all days?!

"Lin!" I hear Ren call out but I was too much in pain to look up at him. The heavy footsteps became louder in the next two seconds until a pair of white sneakers came into my view. "It's the cramps!" I said, through my teeth. It seriously felt like my organs were being torn apart one by one as needles continued to stab my ribs. I took a deep breath. "Just give me five seconds."

"Make it two." His gaze obviously fixed on the pharmacy behind us. "Time's up." He informed the next second as I heard a creak of a door opening from behind us.

Taking a deep breath, I forced my body up straight and headed towards the car with Ren who was already five feet ahead of me. I noticed him pull out the car keys from his pocket and click the unlock button causing his car's headlights to flicker in response.

To my relief, Ren was in the car in no time, retrieving the engine but before I could let out a sigh, I felt something scrape my knee from the side, making me wince but I didn't stop. The shouts of the two men continued behind me but I ignored them.

Ren leaned over to open the door for me just in time for me to hop in. "Go!" I ordered, trying to catch my breath as I slammed the door shut.

The next two minutes happened so fast. Ren driving away from the pharmacy into the dark street. Us giving out a sigh of relief. A white car appearing before us. Ren turning the steering-wheel only to crash into a huge pole.

I remember losing consciousness for a few seconds before regaining it only to see an unconscious Ren in the drives seat, stuck between the air bag and the seat. His head and along with his right ear were bleeding.

He's hurt...

I tried to lift head up but couldn't. I couldn't feel my body. From what I could tell, my upper half was hunched over while my head rested on the dashboard. I had an enormous headache that limited the amount of thinking I could do while my ears continued to ring. To my surprise, I could no longer feel my stomach cramps for some reason.

"R-Ren...?"

I couldn't hear my own voice. But I didn't spare it a second thought and continued to try to lift my body or at least my right hand but all my efforts were in vain.

I tired to think of something but got nothing. I couldn't move a muscle or hear my voice. I don't even know if any voice is escaping my lips or not. I felt hopeless. No — I was helpless .

"H-Hey!" I tired once more only to let out a coughing fit the next second. It was then that i realised the smoke that had gathered around us.

S-S-S-SHIT!

An emotion of fear washed over me and I started to panic. I started breathing rapidly but that had made matters worst. I had inhaled too much smoke which then resulted in me coughing non stop.

I wheezed as my eyes scanned around the car, trying to find... what?

I wasn't sure myself.

It didn't take long for my vision to become a blur but I no longer cared. I was too busy coughing my guts out and when I got a chance to breathe, I glanced at Ren once again before everything drifted into darkness.

..............

"He.....Up....."

"Ya! C.....you.... me?!"

I hear distant voice but I don't know from which direction it is coming from.

Wait! What? Voices?!

I can hear?!

I shot my eyes open only to regret the decision the next second when the bright light hit my eyes.

Wow, that stung.

Rubbing my eyes with my right hand, I slowly lifted my body away from the hard cold ground into a sitting position, only to feel a server back ache hence I couldn't straighten my back and was slouching over.

Slowly opening one eye, I looked at my unfamiliar surroundings. "Whe—?"

"Had a good sleep?" Asked the familiar voice to which I whipped my head towards my right earning a hell of a headache the next second. Wincing, I raised my hand to my temple and pressed it while slowly turning my head. I stopped when I made eye contact with a pair of hazel eyes. My heart skipped a beat.

"Hey beautiful." Ren's lips slipped into a lopsided smile.

Oh god!

Tears gather in my eyes, almost making my vision blurry again as I continued to stare into his hazel eyes. "Idiot!" Lifting my body up into a standing position, I reached out both of my hands, ready to hug the life out of him. "Do you know how—?!" But soon came to a halt when I felt something restraining my legs, stopping me from taking another step.

Looking down to my feet, I felt my eyes widen at the sight of a thick chain tied around my left leg.

What the?

Confusedly, I looked over towards Ren, ready to get some answers from him only to see him shrug at my reaction. "The chains won't budge at all. I tired to break them but it's no use." He said lowering his gaze, not wanting to meet my eyes. "I myself woke up a few minutes ago and found myself chained just like you. I found you unconscious on the floor and tried to walk to you but the chains wouldn't let me so all I could do is call out to you but you wouldn't respond until now."

My eyebrows furrowed as I continued to listen to him silently, trying to figure out what was happening. I looked around once more, studying my surroundings.

We were in a room... no, more like a basement that was lit up by a two lightbulbs. There were no windows, no fans, no air conditioner. We were surrounded by dozens of large boxes that were piled up, one above the other. There were a few metal rods thrown in the small spaces between the boxes.

Wait!

Metal Rods!

"Ren! We could use the metal rods to break the chain!" I informed, looking around for at least one rod which could be within our reach.

"Tried that. Didn't work." He shrugged again, immediately catching my attention to see him holding up two rods in his hands. "The rods are weak and they break immediately." He tossed them away, a little frustrated.

He was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, his chin rested on the palm of his left hand. The bleeding from his head and ear had been dried up and was now stuck like a glue on the right side of his face.

"Did you scream for help?" I asked, sitting back down on the cold floor when I started to feel a little dizzy. I was getting a little frustrated about him being too calm but i guess in this situation it's the best thing to do so I let him be.

"I didn't."

"Why?"

"We're tied up by a chain, in a basement with huge boxes...." He said, now looking straight at me. "Do you still think it's a good idea to scream? To tell our captors that we are awake?"

"No, I guess not." I agreed with him. There is a 100% chance that our captors would be the two freaks from the pharmacy. Or maybe it could be someone else.....

But the main problem is... what do they plan to do with us?

I couldn't think straight as a million thoughts ran through my mind. But they vanished in an instant when I heard a small creak.

A door?

Me and Ren exchanged looks, remembering seeing no doors in this room. "Behind the boxes?" Ren asked in a low voice.

"Cou—!" Before I could say a single word, I felt the floor below me shake a little before a specific portion on which I had been laying unconscious on, slowly started to decreased under like a lift.

My eyes widened and I immediately got to my feet and tried to move away from the portion only to be pulled back by the chain around my leg.

"Lin!" I heard the chain around Ren's leg rattle as he tried to run towards me but his efforts were clearly in vain. "God! Damn it!" He cursed as his chain rattled violently this time but i didn't look up to see what he was doing. I was busy trying to get the chain off my leg which got tighter but I didn't stop.

"It won't budge!" I said, through my gritted as I started to panic. My breathing became rapid and my hands got all sweaty. "Please..." I whispered to myself, tears welling up my eyes as I gave the chain one last pull before letting out a small scream. The chain was piercing my skin, a few inches from crushing my bones.

Unknowingly, my turned my head to look over my shoulder, towards Ren who opened his mouth to say something but stopped suddenly. I noticed his eyes widen.

Creak....

"LINDA!!!" I was met with the fear that those hazel eyes held before the floor underneath me instantly pulled me down with it, breaking our eye contact.

In the next two seconds, my body came in contact with the floor with a loud thud. Wincing in pain, I slowly lifted my head up to see a...

An audience?

Hundreds of people were seated before me, all wearing a white mask but the overbearing attention directed towards me was crystal clear. Some were whispering, some were snickering while the remaining gazed on.

I felt *****.

My heart was dying to burst out of my chest as my breathing once again became rapid. My body froze on the spot and didn't listen to me when I tried to lift myself off the ground.

"Just as I had promised, we have two special treats for you all and as you can see one of them is her." A feminine voice announced on a mic, grabbing my attention. I turned my gaze away from the audience and towards my left to see a brunette dressed in a black suit, standing a little far away from me. She paid no attention to me and continued. "We found her unconscious on the street not too long ago. So we decided to take her in and let you guys give her a new home, a new life. And now without further delay. Let's start the bidding!"

The what?!

My blood ran cold in my veins as my brain found it impossible to comprehen the sight before me. I felt my heart quake fearfully in my chest, my beats harsh and rapid as i wondered worriedly how on Earth did I end up here?

And then it happened again.

My hearing...

I lost it again.

"Let's start the bidding from $10,000!" Was all I heard the brunette shout before my ears decided to block the things I didn't want to hear, leaving me to depend on my sight alone.

This has to be a dream!

I told to myself, trying to get my head to think straight. My head was a hurricane by now. I wanted to pinch myself, wishing that all this was just a nightmare but the chain piercing the skin of my leg was enough of a wake up call.

The chain shook violently as i backed away with my gaze still fixed on the white masked audience who slowly started raising their hands before moving them back down the next minute.

You need to get out of here.

My mind screamed but my body didn't listen. I sat there, facing the audience looking like a deer caught in headlights.

Unknowingly, I felt my gaze fall upon the only person who now held up their hand. I pushed the bile back down my throat as I found it hard to breathe.

Panic began to claw throughout my body and I jumped in fright when I felt someone roughly grab my shoulders from both sides. Two bulky men, dressed in all black roughly pulled my body from the ground as I tried my best to push them away when my efforts were clearly in vain. But I didn't give up.

I screamed, kicked, hit, and tried to squirm out of their hold and to my relief, i had kicked one of the guys in the face, during the process. He bellowed something in rage while covering his nose with one hand.

I hope I broke it.

But before I could celebrate, I suddenly felt something hard slam against the right side of my face, forcing me to whip my head to my left.

My ears rung, as I tried to understand what had happened while my hand unconsciously moved up to my cheek. It didn't take long before the right side of my face began to burn.

He hit me!! The bastard hit me!

I whipped my head to my right, ready to give him a piece of my mind but stopped when I heard the brunette shout, "don't damage the goods!"

I could hear again!

A click sound before me, made me whip my head towards my feet to see another mysterious guy unlocking the chain around my leg. And so, I took the opportunity to thrash around even more but the two men in black ignored it this time and dragged me, effortlessly, back stage.

"Ah! There she is!" I heard a man say as we entered a room which I presume was a hall way. I look up front to see a grey haired man in his late forties, in a blue-ish back suit, standing a few feet away from us.

Frowning, I quietly watched him as he made his way towards us with his gaze fixed on me. His smile widen as he came to stand two feet away from us. He was only a head taller than me. "Has my little princess calmed down?" He placed a hand on my right cheek causing me to flinch and immediately move away from his touch.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed his eyebrows furrow and he made a 'hmm' sound. He stayed quiet for almost a minute leaving me confused until....

"How dare you touch her?!" I flinched at his sudden outburst as he yelled at the men.

Man! Is he loud!

I opened my mouth to scream at him at stop yelling in my ear but stopped when I realised that none of the men where holding me now. But before a smile could creep onto my lips, I heard the man in front of me, call out. "Princess?" He asked again, grabbing my attention. I blinked a few times and lifted my head to look at him.

"Yes?" I answered on a reflex, only to regret it the new second. He smiled at my response, clearly satisfied with it and held out his hand.

I glanced at his hand and then back at him only to raise an eyebrow and give him the 'do you expect me to take your hand?' expression. He smiled again before motioning the two men in black to leave.

What's with this guy and smiling?

I thought to myself as I watched him walk away from me and sit on a bench-like-chair in the corner while the two left. He turned to look at me again and patted on the bench, motioning me to take a seat beside him but I ignored him as my mind kept thinking of ways to escape.

If I just run now then there is a 100% chance that he will shout for the men to come back and I didn't want that. I could just listen to him and then knock him out when the time is right.

He is all skin and bones after all.

Deciding to go with the second option, I continued to study him before taking a deep breath and then walking towards him. His black orbs watched me as I came to sit as far as I could from him on the bench-like-chair. My eyes gazed now fixed on my hands resting on my lap.

"What's your name?" He asked calmly, making sure not to scare me but boy was he doing the opposite. Shivers continuously ran down my spine as he continued to creepily move his body closer to mine.

Thankfully, he stopped at a certain point when he noticed that I was uncomfortable with it and apologised which caught me off guard. "Daddy just wanted to get closer his little princess."

“What do you mean? I ain't little. I am 17 and I am not your princess. And have a father of my own.” I snapped but I made sure not to raise my voice. The last thing I needed was attracting unwanted attention but that clearly wasn't the case for him.

"I'd watch that tone if I were you." He said firmly, completely changing his tone. I'm guessing he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. "You have a new life now so you better forget about the life you had before."

So much for the kind treatment.

What is he? Two face?

I opened my mouth to argue back but stopped when heard the brunette's voice again. She was announcing something again but what?

I felt my eyes widen and I stopped breathing when it finally hit me like a brick.

Ren!

I mentally slapped myself.

How could I forget him?!

I fought the urge to look towards the stage cause I knew that the old bastard was watching me. I didn't want him to know. "I.... I am sorry." I said, hoping that he would buy my act.

I need to stay here for the time being until Ren is brought over and then we can escape together.

The man stayed silent for a minute or two which lead me to think that he didn't buy it until his hand came into my view. He moved his hand over my lap before taking one of my hand into his.

"I know, Princess." He gave my hand a squeeze. "I am sorry for raising my voice."

He bought it!

He asked a few more questions after that and I answered quietly as I continued to keep my ears sharp. I felt a pang in my heart when I kept hearing the continues rattling of the chain. Biting my lip, I held back the tears as I imagined the situation Ren was in right now.

My heart broke into a dozen pieces when I heard Ren asking the brunette where I was, over and over again.

His name was at the tip of my tongue but I couldn't bring myself to say it. There were no men to restrain me and I could knock this guy out and run to Ren. But I need to wait.

The sound of lady announcing 'Sold!' was enough of a 'GO!' signal for me. I jolted up from the bench only to be pulled right back down. "Where are you going?" The old man asked as he continued to hold a tight grip on my arm. I tried to pull my arm away from him but he didn't budge.

So much for thinking he is all skin and bones.

"You aren't—!" He stopped when my fist came crashing into his face causing his body to fall backwards and hit his head pretty hard, against the arm of the seat before he fell unconscious.

That was fast...

"I should have done this before." I murmured, waving my hand in front of my chest to dull the slight ache in my fingers. He could be faking it but I ain't checking.

The voice of Ren's shouting became louder the next second which was good and bad news. I whipped my head from left to right then vice versa — searching for a place to hide. "Ah!" I whispered to myself as my eyes laid upon the huge painting in the corner, which was leaning against the wall. There were a few boxes beside it.

I took a step forward, ready to run towards it but stopped when i remembered the unconscious old man besided me.

Letting out a groan, I hurried closer towards the unconscious bastard, raised his skinny arm and pulled it over my shoulder.

Man is he heavy!

Gritting my teeth, I continued to drag the bastard to the dark corner. Moving the old painting away from the wall, I dropped his body behind it and I crouched down beside him before slowly pulling the painting to lean against us.

I could hear my heart wanting to jump out of my chest any second, leaving me to hope that it wasn't loud enough for others to hear. My breathing became rapid when a wave of negative thoughts filled my mind.

I started having second thoughts.

My mind was chaos by the time sound of strong footsteps came to a stop but Ren's shouting didn't. "Get your filthy hands off me!" Ren continued to scream his head off which was then followed by him shouting inappropriate words.

I wanted to take a peak but I didn't. The last thing I needed to was to get caught again. It was obvious that the two bulky men had dragged Ren here and they were still here cause if they weren't then Ren would have turned this place upside down.

"Leave us!" A dark voice echoed through the room, scaring the life out of me. I instantly covered my mouth with my hand, blocking any grasp that could manage to escape my lips.

"You heard him you—!" Ren suddenly got cut off before silence filled the room, leaving me confused for a little while before my eyes widened.

Wait!!! D-Did they—?!

I tensed when image of Ren's lifeless body came into mind but I immediately shoved it away knowing that it wasn't true.

Why would the guy waste money on him before killing him? He must have knocked him out.

Yes, that must be it.

Agreeing that Ren was only knocked out cold, I took a deep breath and decided to focus my attention back where it should be. Moving my head to my right, I tried to listen carefully as the footsteps of the two men walked away. I calmed down a little.

"You're gonna be really hard to handle." The dark voice sighed which was then followed by a few beeping sounds. "Bring the car around."

The guy had a weird accent which I couldn't figure out but there was one thing I was sure of, he wasn't French or Spanish. I had a friend who studied Spanish and a teacher who was French. And this guy sounds nothing like them.

I was pulled out of my train of thoughts when I heard footsteps slowly walk away. Getting the signal, I turned my gaze to the unconscious body beside me and quickly searched his pockets for the wallet. Pulling out the brown wallet, I then grabbed $1500 before putting it back in.

Taking a deep breath, I waited till I could hear no footsteps and then carefully pushed away the old painting slightly — in a way that I could see if any one was around or not.

Thankfully there wasn't anyone as far as I could see so I took the risk and crawled out behind the painting before getting up to my feet and running towards the exit with every strength I had left in me.

Grabbing the small door knob, I moved it downwards and push the door open. I only caught a glimpse of Ren's mocha hair as his unconscious body leaned against the window frame — before the SUV drove away.

As I ran after it— like a maniac on the loose to be exact— I kept repeating the number on the licences plate making sure to search for a taxi every now and then. The SUV took a turn and I did the same, only to slip on the wet side walk.

"Damn my luck!" I winced, pushing my body off the ground before getting back up to my feet. Thankfully, I didn't hit my head nor did I twist my ankle when I fell. The hoodie and trousers that I was wearing made sure that I didn't scrape any part of my body.

The SUV soon came to a stop at the at a red light and I took the opportunity to run like a maniac between the cars and look for a taxi.

Come on! Come on!

Checking every taxi that came in my way, I continued to give the drives a heart attack as I slammed my hands on the widow frame before checking the back seat creepily and running away. I bet looked like someone who came out of a horror movie. I mean, I did have the hoodie over my head and my hair wasn't actually combed so yeah.

"Ah!" The words escaped my lips when I noticed an empty taxi parked in front of the SUV. Not caring whether they see me or not, I rushed towards the taxi and knocked on the drivers window— not too impatiently. I didn't want to scare him before I got the chance to explain.

Turning to look at me, the driver jumped at my appearance and hesitated to whether listen to me or pray for the light to turn green and drive away — until I pleaded him. "It's an emergency!" I pulled the hoodie off my head and brushed away the hair from my face, hoping that it would make things better. He studied me for three seconds before unlocking the doors.

Letting out a sigh of relief, opened the back door, hopped in before slamming the door shut. I apologised immediately when he looked over his shoulder, towards me and gave me a 'are you planning to break the door?' look.

"Where are we headed to?" He asked, turning his attention back on the road.

"Um... I need you to follow the SUV behind us."

"Behind us?" He asked, turning to look at me again with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." I replied, not paying attention to him as I brushed away the stands of hair away from my face again before pulling the hoodie over my head. "Just don't drive when the light has turned green and they will have no choice but to take another lane and drive ahead of you." I said in a 'it's that easy' tone. He gave me another look but I just ignored him.

"Alright then." He turned his attention back at the road while throwing his hands half way up into the air before dropping them back down on his knees in a ‘whatever’ manner. I thanked him quietly, earning no response from him.

As light turned green, I quietly watched the cars drive past us. It didn't take long for the cars behind us to start honking. They went on and on and then changed the lanes, clearly annoyed. The first one to drive past us was, of course the SUV. As it drove past us, I noticed it's driver give my driver a deathly glare to which he shrugged in response — before the SUV zoomed away.

We followed.

I kept my eyes on the SUV ahead of us, fear building up inside of me.

Would it work?

I kept asking myself as i unconsciously dug my nails into the leather seat underneath me. I kept biting my lower lip while my breathing became rapid again. I needed to calm down before I make myself sick.

It had only been about fifteen minutes since we started following them and I was already freaking out. I looked around for a distraction and the world outside wasn't doing much at the time being. I turned to the look at the driver, choosing whether to start a conversation with him or not.

After a minute of thinking, I decided not to disturb him but study him quietly. The guy looked like he was in his late twenties. He had caramel coloured straight hair with light brow stripes and hazel eyes.

Hazel eyes...

The image of Ren's smiling cheekily crossed my mind and I lowered my gaze.

That baka...

"Uh lady, they stopped." The driver informed causing me to look back up.

That was fast.

I thought to myself as I leaned a little forward to take a closer look. It was true that they had stopped and so had we, just a little farther away from them and there were no cars parked between us which was not good.

"I will be getting off here." I said after thinking about it for a minute. I pulled out the crumbled up $500 that I had stolen from the old guy and handed to him. He studied it for a minute before turning to look at me. I only gave him a shrug, telling him that I didn't have the change.

It took him two whole minutes to run through his wallet and then hand me the change. I thanked him before stepping out of the car.

I heard the guy call me but I didn't turn to look at him. Taking a deep breath, I closed the car door — gently this time before heading towards the SUV.

What I was I going to do?

I wasn't sure myself.