Chapter 19
Arielle knew running away was pointless, where would she possibly go without her passport and identification card but she was much too hard-headed and determined to just let them catch her and take her to the devil who was after her, she ran as much as her tired legs could carry her, not even stopping for a breath or looking back, she knew the men were still chasing after her, one of them was continuously yelling for her to stop running but she wasn’t about to listen to him.
“I swear, you are going to be responsible for whatever happens to you,”
one of the guys yelled and she heard the cracking sound of a gun, her heart leaped in fear and she really considered stopping then, for fear of being shot but then she remembered that Luciano had paid a huge sum for her and he would not kill her, she wasn’t hundred percent sure but she just had to bet on that and kept running without slowing down, she dodged to a corner, and ran in the direction the men would never assume she took, it lead to a dead end so unless they are really smart, they would think she ran in the direction that leads to the high way where she could easily get on a vehicle, that was what she would have done if she had her passport with her but unfortunately, she had bad luck all over her, if not, they would not have seen her in the first place, she would have been miles away from Moscow by now.
Arielle came to a stop after running for more than twenty minutes, she was so exhausted and out of breath, she walked up to the staircase of the abandoned building she knew so well, and sat down to catch her breath.
Arielle sat in silence praying that they don’t come this way, she didn’t mind spending the night here, as long as they don’t come her way, plus, just stay away until she had enough strength and leave, all she needed to do was get to her house, get her passport and get the fuck out of there, she should never have left her passport behind, she couldn’t keep blaming herself for leaving it behind because that won’t help her cause so she decided to catch her breath and just wait until the men have gone for long before she could get out from there and go get her passport, hopefully, they won’t think of guarding the house.
“Please, for once, be on my side,”
She silently prayed as she closed her eyes and waited as the time ticked, every second felt like forever. She was so tired that she dozed off a little but was woke a few minutes later, how could she fall asleep when she was being chased? She sat up and listened, no sound came her way, except the few people that passed, and with every footstep, her heart jump at the thought of the men coming this way, but they didn’t, just as she had thought, they weren’t smart enough not like she was any smarter, if she was smart, she wouldn’t have been in this situation in the first place, she would have figured out what her parents were up to and stopped them before they sold her to the devil. With everything that happened today, it felt like it has been ages ago since Luciano had dropped the bomb that he owned her, it felt like ages ago when she had stupidly let him take her first real kiss, she still hated herself for letting him do that, for letting him have his way with her.
“Not now please,”
She whispered as her stomach rumbled with hunger, she realized she hasn’t eaten anything since morning, she was so used to going hungry that she had not noticed, she felt tears well up in her eyes again, and wished all of these were just a long bad dream, she suddenly wanted to wake up for this dream and go back to her life before she found out about her dad’s debt, it wasn’t a great life but she didn’t need to hide and she didn’t have someone who wanted to own her and do whatever he wants with her.
When it was clear that no one was coming her way, she decided to take her chances, she needed to get into her house and pull out her passport no matter what, she just had to get it, by now, they may have run all the way down the highway and this might be her only chance to get it so even though she had her doubts that they have already gone, Dhaka still stood up from where she had been seated for more than two hours and walked slowly back the way she came earlier, it was already getting dark and she liked it, the darkness will shield her.
“Maybe I should wait for it to be darker,”Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
She said as she came to a stop, she didn’t bother walking back and just stood there watching people walk by without anyone seeing her, not like they will acknowledge her if they do, all the people she passed earlier while running away from those men, non of them stopped to help her and she couldn’t even blame them, she would have done the same too, it was the reality of things in this part of Moscow, no one wanted to be rubbed into something they had no idea about. It was just how it was, it was you against the world, and she was among the unlucky people who didn’t have anyone who loves them, it was unfair but what could she do?
“I will be fine,”
She whispered as she wiped her tears and waited for it to get dark enough for her to leave.