Episode 2

...XIE LIQIN- 谢立琴...

"What's the matter Liqin? Got any last request you wish to tell Mr. Lu" The man said maliciously. The moment I stopped calling.

I froze in shock wondering how he knew who I was calling. It took me seconds to fully recognize the location we were. A dark corner with a small fluorescent bulb shining above us.

"excuse me?" I raised a question, glaring at him before I gently tucked my phone in my back pocket.

He tilted his head and smirked at me before replying

"Who are you trying to call?"

Confused right? That was how I felt. Who the hell is this guy, and how does he know Mr. Lu or me? Have we ever met before? Were the questions that kept flooding my mind at that moment. Provoked by the fact that he was messing with me after knowing that I heard him clearly, I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"I am not Dumb. What did you just say?!" I plainly stated but he began to laugh like a psycho which seriously terrified me. Slowly, I released his collar from my grip and moved backward, scrutinizing the whole area to find a way to escape. From the looks of it. Things weren't going to end well.

"Poor liqin. As unsophisticated as ever. You imagined everyone around you mean no harm " He said dusting his tuxedo as he walked towards me.

"Who are you and what the **** do you want from - I stopped talking when my back bumped into something behind me which I assumed to be a wall but it turns out to be a huge thug standing behind me. He was about 6 feet tall and dark in complexion. As he walked out of the dark, the light revealed his well-defined thick muscles begging to be revealed under the black short-sleeved shirt he wore.

I was more aghast as three more came out of the darkness and stood under the bulb putting me in the middle. Hopefully, they weren't as scary as the first one. At this point, the tension rising here was killing me.

Facing Aquila, I yelled, "What do you mother fuckers want from me?!"

Confused, infuriated, and unable to understand why this was happening to me.

I didn't get an immediate reply but a burst of hysterical laughter that sent shivers down my spine. If only I knew how to defend myself, I wouldn't have been terrified.

" You heard the boy? He wants to know what we want from him" he teased in between his laughter.

"You still don't have a clue liqin. Well, let me tell you what we want - I gave him a harsh punch on his stomach preventing him from completing his sentence. I was very Mad at myself for getting into this situation. For letting Aquila deceive me. And falling into a trap which I had no idea why a trap would be set for me.

I thought causing a commotion could help me out by punching him but only landed me in another difficult situation. Before attempting to crawl in-between the parted legs of the tall goon that stood to my left, I watched in slow motion how he pulled me up by the collar and covered my nose with a white hankie. It all happened so fast.

As Aquila let out a loud groan while uttering profanity in Chinese, I was busy struggling for my freedom. I fought to breathe at the same time I fought to be free from his grip. I couldn't tell what pain hurt more. The pain of my clothes' collar pressing hard against my neck or the struggle to breathe oxygen.

Fortunately, I was granted that after kicking the thug's boy real hard which caused him to forcefully let me go. I made use of that chance to run out of the corner the moment my feet made contact with the floor. As I ran, I heard him wailed in pain as Aquila yelled at them to run after me.

Being chased by thugs wasn't exactly how I pictured my first day in Paris would be. I ran as fast as I could wondering where I could run to. In this need to flee, my head and my heart go to the place that is crushed and without light or match to bring a confronting spark. I felt the screaming of my lungs and the will of my muscles go far beyond what exercise could ever demand. It reminds me of my high school days when bullies constantly chased after me. I luckily escaped every time. But in this case, there was no luck. The bodyguard that always protects me from those bullies is no longer with me.

I ran hoping to find a Savior but no one was on the streets except for me and the thugs that chased after me. As if this was all planned. The street was quiet and the lights were dim or was it me? The amount of energy I used to flee which I expected not to fade away till I find a place to hide began lessening the moment my vision became blurry. I felt as if the whole world is spinning. Slowly, I fell to the cold ground. The last thing I sighed as I slowly fell was Aquila smirking as he waved at me through a car window.

How did he get there? What's happening to me? - were the last thoughts I had before blacking out on the streets.

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I've seen darkness before, the kind that makes our street like an old-fashioned photograph, everything a shade of grey. This isn't like that. This is the darkness that robs you of your best sense and replaces it with a paralyzing fear. Just like my wardrobe whenever I hid inside. In this darkness I sit, muscles cramped and unable to move. I only know my eyes are still there because I can feel myself blink, still instinctively moisturizing the organs I have no current use for. My head ached so bad that I felt as if something heavy was placed on it. I couldn't hear anything either.

I tried to steady myself trying to comprehend what was going on around me and where I was. Sadly, I couldn't. I couldn't even differentiate between my eyes being open or closed. With the little strength I had, I tried to move but my body was restricted. They all remain stiff as if I had no control over it. I struggled harder but it didn't work only to find out that I was tied up to a chair. So, I gave up. There was no point in struggling. Even if I did, I might end up in an uncomfortable position.

And suddenly... Someone loud whispered in this darkness.

"Do you think he's awake?"

Who could it be?

"Is someone there?" I asked to confirm if I wasn't hallucinating what I just heard. I needed to know where I was and who brought me here to know how to escape.

"You've gotten your answer" another voice spoke. This one didn't sound like a whisper.

" I'll be on the couch. Good luck with whatever you're doing"

The voice sounded low and husky. I heard Light footsteps before the lights were turned on. Seconds ago, I wished for the aid of the light in knowing where I was but I regretted the moment it was granted. The bright light caused a sharp pain the moment its rays kissed my eyeballs, adding to the agonizing headache that's killing me. My sudden reaction to it was a loud hiss like that of a snake.

Gradually, the pain fades away as my vision became clearer enough to notice the young lady sitting few meters away from me. She was dressed in an oversized Pink hoodie and had thick circular lenses on. Her blue eyes which flicker under the light that shone above us focused on me.

"You kidnapped me?" We're the words that left my mouth. Again, confused, infuriated, and unable to comprehend why this is happening.

"No, we're helping each other out" she happily said following it with a smile.

"By tying me to a chair?" I retorted, arching an eyebrow.

She adjusted her seat and fold her arms before replying,

"Yes. To prevent you from punching me when you wake up from your unconscious state"

"And how's that helping me?" I snapped.

Is this a joke?

She let out a sigh almost sounding like a groan before answering back.

"To prevent you from getting confused as well as hold you still as we clear up the misunderstandings."

Each answer she gave was just irking me more. It had no elements of what I expected to hear and makes no sense to me at all.

I have an interview tomorrow, I don't have a place to stay for the night, passed out in the middle of the streets, got kidnapped, exhausted, and woke up, just to have a conversation with a lady who's trying to convince me to think that she helped me.

Ha! Perhaps I'm just hallucinating stuff today.

"Please tell me this is all unreal," I said while closing my eyes. I don't how it'll help me but I just hoped once I opened it, things will be back to the peaceful evening I had earlier right before I met Aquila.

"This is just entertaining " the low husky voice came in again causing me to open my eyes. The lady still stood there and surprisingly, when I looked to my right, a man was seated on the couch staring at me with a smile in his PJ. I stare at him for a while before looking back at the lady sitting right in front of me. I let out a sigh, realizing that she was right about me getting confused.

Of course, I was very much confused.

"So? Will you let me go once we clear up the misunderstandings ?" I asked, wanting this so-called form of helping me by being tied to a chair was true.

"No" she simply stated not showing any emotion on her face.

The word hit me like a thousand birds falling from a polluted sky. My heartbeats' speed suddenly increases due to the fear I felt instantly at the thought of her being my kidnapper.

Was this the reason why my Father had to keep me at home at most times? Was it the reason why I had a bodyguard with me throughout my entire life of schooling? Was I meant to be under protection all the time to succeed in doing what I want?

"No?" I asked again, confirming if what I heard was not true.

"No" she confirmed.

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