The Distance (2)

After Rain McConnell left further away, the tiny island gradually became a distant point behind her, becoming one of the countless scattered green on the ocean. Seeing this, she could feel her violent breathing slowly calm down.

There were dozens of islands belonging to Punket. The water in this area was clear, with warm breezes and smooth waves. As long as she kept moving towards the small islands, she could boat for diving and surfing. Till then, she wouldn't be far from home.

Although she had been convincing herself, after all, she wasn't sure if everything would be fine. Rain couldn't believe that she had managed to escape from that man, and this feeling was so intense that she felt she was about to faint. Her escape had been so easy, to a point she thought it had been set up.

Rain looked at the endless ocean, trying to follow the vast peaks exposed from the sea surface. She would meet someone. There were loads of tourists around this area, so she would definitely see some people.

After a while, the sun was shining in the sky, seagulls flying with sharp cries on the steamy ocean. A shrill ringing sound came from far away, which Rain thought was her hallucination at first.

Soon after, she found that there was indeed a sound coming from the cabin. After stopping the ship, she went down the cabin where he had locked her. There was a satellite phone on the bar outside, ringing relentlessly.

Rain's body was stiffed as if the phone in front of her was a hideous poisonous snake. However, her instinct told her the call was from Xavier Lewis without thinking too much. Plucking up her courage, she picked up the phone.

As she had expected, the familiar voice came from the other side of the phone, which was rather husky, whispering next to her ears. The man's tone was so full of tenderness, but the words from his mouth ran her blood cold.

"Rainy, have you thought about the consequences?"

"Xavier Lewis, I don't owe you anything, and I don't have any feelings for you!"

Rain calmly answered him as she tried to stop herself from trembling. The man on the phone turned silent for a second and said, "Oh. I didn't expect you to draw a line from me this soon. You know what? I am not a man who likes to force women to do whatever they don't want to do. However," his voice suddenly turned cold, "If you want to leave me, leave my life for good. Don't you ever show up in front of me again!"

Hanging up the phone, Rain could feel her body shaking. After that, she stood still and lost in her mind for a long time. Finally, she thought of using the satellite phone to call for help and dialed the coast guards.

A few hours after, the coast rescue team finally came. It turned out she wasn't too far from the main island, and the yacht was parked about twenty minutes boat ride from a popular diving spot.

The threat from Xavier was like a nightmare, attacking her mind from time to time. He knew exactly where she lived and where she worked, which meant Funtain was no longer a safe place to stay anymore. This experience made Rain extremely insecure, urging her to quit the job in Tughland and go back home.

Perhaps the only way to get away from this man was to leave Tughland, making him disappear from her life completely. She could barely remember why she was studying, working, and building her life in this country. Going back might be the right decision, so she could feel more relieved and forget this traumatized memory, turning to a new chapter of her life.

Rain was from Hattingnom, a town with fantastic natural scenery. The McConnell family had habituated here for hundreds of years, and the whole family lived in the ancestral house. The mansion was always filled with laughter and joy, with around ten people living together.

Although Rain's homecoming was pretty surprising, the family, especially her parents, were more than excited to see her again. They had been professors in a university, and she was their only child. They hadn't expected that she would have studied abroad and finally stayed in a different country for years.

They had thought flying to Tughland would have been the only way to see their only daughter, which was rather complicated for the two elders. Rain decided to return to her hometown, even with a solid financial background, much to their surprise.

The news of Rain's comeback caused a stir in her hometown. Almost every family had lived in this town for generations, seeing each other every day like old friends. The McConnell family was fully prepared to celebrate the coming home of Rain.

Her grandparents had ordered people to set a banquet in the mansion, drinking and enjoying this joyful event for three days, which was crazier than wedding parties. However, this situation was overwhelming for Rain.

In Tughland, she had been used to living alone and having a quiet life. On the other hand, coming back to her hometown and seeing the crowd all the time was too much. What was worse, she had decided to come back impulsively, so her childhood bedroom was still not ready. For now, Rain had no choice but to share a room with her cousin, who had poor sleeping habits.

Her cousin was more than curious about Rain's life in Tughland so that Rain couldn't be alone from the questions till midnight every day. After torturing Rain, her cousin would fall asleep, grinning the teeth, talk in sleep, and kick her.

However, Rain felt secure.

Although many times when she opened her eyes, she would think she was still in Tughland while half awake. However, she would soon come back to her senses. The hustle and bustle in her hometown occupied her mind, helping her stop spending time thinking about that man.

Rain had buried Xavier deep down in her mind, somewhere only she knew. However, the human mind was bizarre and without any logic. If people tried to forget someone, then that figure would disappear in the brain with time. At one point, it would be impossible to bring those memories back no matter how hard they recalled.

In medical terms, this situation was called self-hypnosis, a common symptom for those who had Schizophrenia. By trying to control one's mind with consciousness, people could make themselves believe that they no longer remembered anything.

It meant it was extremely difficult to wipe someone from your memories, and Rain was mentally healthy after all. Although she had tried her best to control herself, there was no guarantee that she could completely forget those dark days. Rain had encouraged herself every day, telling herself to be strong.

She was at home, where there was no danger.

After the craziness for the first few days, people in her hometown finally put their attention to something else. With Rain's educational background and working experience, it wasn't hard to find a decent job in the best hospital in the town.

She was tall and thin. Although her appearance was not very outstanding, there was an attraction in her calm and quiet character. As a single lady who was almost thirty, she soon attracted many men. A few days after her welcome banquet, loads of men came to ask her out, making the mansion of the McConnell family almost crowded.

Somehow Rain kept refusing and turning those men from her town down, but she couldn't tell the reasons as well. However, her family had insisted on encouraging her to go out with those boys. Reluctantly, she had no choice but to listen to her grandfather go on a date with the accompany of her cousin.

There were times she found everything seemed to be faster than abroad. She had worked her *** off in the emergency room before, but she could have enjoyed the time to be alone. On the other hand, coming back home meant that she had to stay with others all the time, family, friends, and even the neighbors.

The first man who asked her out worked for the government. On the way to the date, her cousins asked Rain about transgender groups in Tughland. She didn't know how this twenty-year-old girl knew this much about LGBTQ+ issues, but she still tried to answer everything she knew. Soon after, her cousin started to talk about the famous actor from Tughland, Jesse Dalton, and this young girl had been non-stop talking till they finally arrived at the bistro where the date was supposed to be.

Hattingnom had been more and more developed these years. The canal was lined with green trees and tall buildings, and all of them were part of the new local construction projects. Rain could feel her town had turned into a city with a unique street style.

Following the waiter, the two went upstairs to the building. The bistro was a vintage building with three floors, the delicate decorations making it look elegant. The outside terrace was already full of people, and they all leisurely sat around the balcony tables having a glass while having relaxing conversations.

Inside the building, the atmosphere was even busier. It was midsummer, but the heat seemed not to kill the chilling vibe. Walking around, everyone could hear laughter and music flowing in the air.

The corridors weren't that wide. The waiter politely led the way as he walked sideways, so  Rain didn't pay much attention when the man who looked no different from other customers appeared at the entrance of the stairs.

After going down a few steps to get closer to her, the man raised his hand, loosened the collar of his shirt, and suddenly touched his back. His movement was similar but scary at the same time, so she subconsciously stopped. As she moved her head to stare into his eyes, she could read a shadow of freezing bloodthirst in the stranger's eyes.

Just when he was about to raise his eyes, another man closely followed behind Rain on the stairs suddenly rose like a cheetah and attacked. He swiftly moved in front of her, gripping the stranger's wrist and pushing forward vigorously. After hearing a cracking sound, Rain saw the white bones of the hand immediately pierce the muscle and skin exposed.

The attackers moved quickly down a catch, holding the gun that fell from the other man's hand and calmly stuffed it into his arms, smoothly throwing him over the shoulder to the floor. He then turned around, grabbed Rain's hand, and talked in Tugh. "Go!"

Everything had happened in less than a few seconds, which was so fast that no one could see anything. The man fell down the hallway and smashed the wooden table below, making the whole bistro a big mess. On the other hand, the stranger dragged her out of the building in the chaos, shoved her into a car parked on the side of the road, and left the scene right away.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

Rain was at a loss. Through the rearview mirror, she could see her cousin running out of the bistro with the crowd and looking for her with a face full of panic. The man did not answer her question. The car drove rapidly on the road, turned a few corners, and suddenly stopped. After pushing open the car door as violently as before and throwing Rain out of the car, he drove away immediately.

She staggered a little and finally could stand firm. The stranger had left her in the shopping district, amid the hustle and bustle with people and the traffic. The mysterious man and the car had disappeared.

Standing still in the street, she could feel the figure which had been hunting her coming to her mind again.

Perhaps, she had never managed to run away from Xavier Lewis.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***