Chapter three

Chapter Three

Irene's POV

I didn't know where I was running to but I knew that I ran as fast as my legs could carry. 

   Trying to catch my breath, I maneuvered deep inside the forest, the reflection of the moon lit up the whole forest and that was the only thing that I was grateful for.

The wind whistled into my ear, whipping some strands of air on my face while blowing my head back. I have been running since I escaped my father's house but the more I ran, the more it looked like I was running deeper into the forest. 

I prayed fervently inside of me, praying to come across a road soon because when I paused and looked around me, I was surrounded by thick bushes and the eerie sounds that emanated deep inside the forest sent chills down my spine.

  When I saw that I had covered quite a great amount of distance, I slowed down the pace at which I ran. I was thirsty and weak and with the amount of distance that I covered, I was sure that my parents would never find me!

How could they be so heartless! Why would they use me as an exchange for the debt that they owed? How could they do this to me? Trying to get married to a man that I didn't know? I had my whole life ahead of me. My plan wasn't to get married at twenty! 

I was still trying to save up for college, I wanted to become an engineer!

  Even though I have never received support or help from my father and stepmother, I never complained and did things on my own. 

I paid for the food that I ate! I paid for the rent also! I paid for the water that I drank!

The only way they paid me back was using me to pay their debt! 

In my next life, I don't want to come across them again. 

  From the way my stepmother talked about the man they were trying to force me to get married to, he sounded really scary. 

  The chirping sound of crickets and the hoots from owls made me quiver in fear. There was something about the forest that seemed and looked really scary or maybe it was because of the fact that my mind wasn't at rest.

  I shoved all the thoughts about my fear and continued walking until the rustling of leaves caused me to stand still. 

A lizard ran over my foot as I jumped and squealed in fright, my scream coming back as echoes in my ear. 

I stopped in my tracks when I heard a growl that caused shivers to run down my spine, I began to retract my step backward, looking around me in fear. 

  Whatever scared me in the darkness, continued to make that growling sound without showing itself. It was more like it was waiting for a perfect time to pounce on me or maybe I was wrong.

  Beads of sweat began to form on my head as I kept walking backwards. Inside me, I was praying for my safety. 

I couldn't just imagine running away from home only to end up being eaten by a beast in the forest. 

   My steps were still regressed when my back suddenly hit something hard. My heartbeat increased rapidly and it looked like the world stood still for a second.

     My stomach tied a knot, after feeling his breath over behind my ear. A part of me wanted to run back to where the beast growled from, another part of me wished that I had never left home.

Because whoever was standing behind me exuded a cold aura and demeanor that doesn't feel right for a reason. 

My eyes grew wide when I saw the men that jumped out of the thick bushes, they were all wearing black and they were incredibly good-looking. 

I could swear that what scared me was a wolf but how it turned out to be humans was something I couldn't fathom. 

  All of a sudden, I could feel the man behind me wrap his hands around my waist. My knees weakened and it felt like every piece of me was crumbling down. 

 When I felt his hands around my waist, the only thought that popped up inside my head was that I was about to be kidnapped by human traffickers. 

I mustered every strength in me and attempted to raise my leg to kick him in the leg but when I tried to raise my leg, it felt like my soul went out of my body.

   I titled to look at the man who stood behind me. My mouth was fully agape, his eyes glimmered beneath the moonlight like the brightest emerald. His jawline was so sharp that it looked like it was crafted by a master craftsman. 

   The more I stared into his eyes, the more it looked like I was about to be bewitched. His eyes sparkled with mirth and he seemed like he was created from a caste different than mine, he had an androgynous look that was uncommon.

The beauty that he radiated was something that I had never seen before. I would say that he was perfect.

"W-Who are you?" I stuttered with my eyes fixated on him.

  He shook his head and brought out a picture from the pocket of the jacket he was wearing. He glanced back and forth at the picture and me, his eyebrows arched in confusion. He took a clearer look at me before averting his gaze back to the picture.

"Is it just me or your picture looks better than you?" He remarked, throwing me into confusion.

"What do you mean?" I asked as he ignored my question and made eye contact with someone standing behind me.

"You are Irene?" 

I hesitated to tell him that I was Irene at first because everything looked really suspicious but I nodded to being Irene.

"Yes, Irene"

"If I may ask, why did you run away from me? What's my soon to be wife doing in the middle of the forest?"

  Then slowly, it dawned on me that the man I was standing right in front of was the man who tried to waive off my father's debt by using me in exchange for his debt.

  Before I could run, someone carried me from behind and my eyesight was starting to get blurred.

Slowly, everything went pitch black and that was the last thing that I could remember.