"Sorry, I need to hide for a sec." Without waiting for permission, she yanked the car door open and jumped into the backseat like it was nobody's business.
The driver was about to say something, but the man sitting in the back just raised his hand, and the driver got the hint, shutting his mouth instantly.
Ashley felt a chill crawl up her spine from behind, but given how panicked she was, she didn't pay much attention. She hunched down in the seat, back to the man behind her, only her eyes peeking over the window edge as she fixed her gaze on what was happening outside.
They were coming, and heading straight this way!
"Please, just get me out of here!" Her voice trembled with urgency as she kept her eyes fixed outside, tracking the shadows getting closer. "Please, I'm begging you!"
The driver glanced at the man in the rearview mirror, silently asking for instructions.
The man nodded slightly, signaling him to drive. The engine rumbled back to life, and the car pulled away smoothly.
Inside the car, the silence felt stiff and heavy. Ashley was too busy keeping an eye on the streets outside to notice anything else.
But the man's eyes never left her. His fingers tightened into fists, knuckles tense and pale with restraint.
Only after the car had cruised a few blocks away from the hospital did Ashley finally let out a shaky breath. Realizing she was still in a stranger's car, she turned around, wanting to thank whoever helped her.
"Thank-" The rest of the sentence died on her lips the moment she saw his face. That cold, sharp symmetry, the piercing eyes, that chill in the air around him-how on earth could it be anyone else?
Charles.
No way. Just-no way. Out of all the people in the city, out of all the cars she could've jumped into in that panic, she ended up in his? Was the universe kidding?
He looked exactly like she remembered: terrifyingly handsome and frostbitten-cold.
She'd spent so much energy escaping the hospital, only to run straight back into the person she was running from.
"Weren't you about to thank me?" Charles's voice was ice-cold, cutting straight through the quiet air as he stared at her without flinching.
On the way over, Charles had already guessed Ashley would try to sneak out from the back door, so he told Oscar to park the car there. As soon as they arrived, he saw her running straight in his direction. He quickly had Oscar unlock the car, and to his surprise, she actually got in.
Of all the cars out there, why did she have to get into his? Ashley instinctively turned to open the door.
Too bad it had already locked. She tugged at the handle a few times, but it wouldn't budge.
"Don't tell me you're thinking of jumping out of a moving car," Charles said, fighting to stay calm.
Was she really that desperate to run from him? So desperate she'd risk her life? He'd even canceled an important meeting that morning for her, but all she wanted was to get away.
Just the thought made his anger flare up again.
Was this really her fate? No matter how hard she ran, she just couldn't escape? Ashley kept pounding on the window, clinging to the hope that somehow she'd get out.
"Stop pushing my patience just because I'm going easy on you!" Charles growled, finally losing control. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard.
Ashley's head slumped forward, heavy and dazed.
"Ashley, look at me!" he ordered, tightening his grip when she wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Let me go... I'm really not the one you're looking for," she whispered weakly, her voice barely audible, full of pleading.
She was begging him now?
Seriously?
The fact that she was still so sick, yet all she wanted was to run back to that other man-it lit a fire of rage in Charles. "Ashley, look at me!"
He needed her to see only him-with her eyes and her heart.
"You could trap me for the rest of my life, and I still wouldn't fall for you!" Ashley said through gritted teeth, lifting her head and meeting his gaze head-on.
"Shut up!" Charles growled, clenching his fists tighter with every word.
"I'm telling the truth. I'm not who you think I am..." Ashley tried to continue.
But before she could finish, Charles slammed her down onto the leather seat and crushed her lips with his.
What he wanted-he always got. Always.
