Chapter 9 - Hungry Heart Part 2

‘How?! I didn’t hear the door close!’ Lianne thought to herself.

“I ah... I’m sorry for trespassing Sir. I made a mistake. Forgive me for my intrusion.” Lianne’s lips quivered.

Although she knew that she hadn’t made a mistake, she had to lie this time.

She waited for the man to respond, but he didn’t.

She began to sweat slightly and felt her fingers tremble in fear. She couldn’t make out the man’s face because from where he stood the low light of the fire didn’t reach.

“I...I’m sorry again to invade your privacy Sir, but if...if it would be okay, I would like to go out of your room now. Could...could you kindly open the door, Sir, so I can go out?” she said, her voice stuttering.

Silence. Hard silence.

The man was still giving her silence and it made Lianne frightened even more. If only she could visibly see his face. He was standing there in the dark like some vampire movie in which the vampire was ready to prey on his victim. She had not come across this kind of situation before.

But suddenly, a thought crossed her mind.

‘Could it be?!’ she asked to herself immediately. He might be the mysterious man I have been looking for!

Her eyes widened at the thought of it. She wanted to clarify it. Believing that the mysterious man was the one who gave her the key leading her to this special room, maybe this unknown man in her front was really him! There was instantly a mixture of thrill and anxiety inside her.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you go, now that I have found you, my love, Lianne, ” the man finally said in disagreement, breaking the silence surrounding them. His voice was smooth, with a dark tone roped with it. Lianne’s breath was caught in her throat.

The unknown man slowly stepped into the light of the burning fire effectively showing his features. He was wearing a black long-sleeved turtleneck shirt and black pants while crossing his hands to his chest. He was attractively standing about six feet tall. She was just at shoulder length to him. His eyes looked aflame, staring deeply at her.

To Lianne’s disappointment, the man wasn’t ‘him’ at all. He has long black hair unlike the mysterious man which was a dark brown. It was tied simply and neatly at the back. He had what looked like a cross-shaped earring in his left ear and a few strands of his hair were tousled slightly.

He was handsome, yes, Lianne could undeniably agree to that, but there was something about this man that screamed danger for her.

Lightning suddenly appeared just a few inches out of the balcony making Lianne jerk in reflex. She turned quickly to the glass door looking outside and concluded it was going to rain soon, quite a rather fitting weather for the dangerous situation she was in.

Her attention returned to the man when she felt a faint gush of wind on her arms. To her astonishment, he was now in close proximity to her. She looked at him, surprised, with her jaw dropping a little.

His eyes, at close inspection, sure was ethereal. It was enough to make her lose her focus.

“Lianne...”

He spoke her name softly, but directly grabbed her left arm with force and pulled her head with the other towards his face as if he was about to kiss her.

Lianne was stunned, but she quickly realized what was about to happen. Her reflexes started to act, adrenaline pumping in her veins, and without any hesitation, she pushed him back. She locked her arms to her chest as if guarding her against the intruder and took a few steps back wanting to get as much distance from him as possible.

“Who are you?!!!” Lianne cried. “How did you know my name? And- and you have absolutely no right to mistreat me like that!”

She was fuming with anger. Her eyes started to accumulate tears, but she tried to keep herself from crying. She thought it would certainly show that she is weak.

He, on the other hand, was not surprised by her sudden reaction. He just grinned and continued to advance towards her, gazing at her with fervor.

“Have you already forgotten about me? From everything we have been through?” he asked.

As he stepped closer to her, she, in turn, walked back not wanting for them to come in contact again. She kept her composure intact and tried hard to keep her tears from falling.

“Please, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I want to go out now, Sir. My friends are looking for me for sure, ” Lianne pleaded, but to no avail.

“I have longed for you so much Lianne, ” he said, eyeing her with so much devotion.

She reached the edge of the lounge area, standing in front of a door frame to another area of the room. He had something in him she just couldn’t deny. How could he say such things when it was their first time meeting? How could he be inexplicably so affectionate yet so callous in his actions? Amidst those striking, warm gaze he sent her, still, she felt troubled.

“Lianne, how I have longed for your return...” he concluded upon cornering her from where she stood and then gently touched her cheeks.

Although such words would have made her melt in his arms right then and there, she found her hands turning the knob of the door on her back opening it, making her fall back down into the entrance.

This area of the room was definitely cold as opposed to the lounge area. It was also dim, but the curtains were transparent white making the blue spotlights outside the mansion pass through lighting the room slightly. She looked up and scanned the area and that was when she realized the danger she was in.