Chapter 3 The man who didn't look away.

The room went still. Everyone turn against me, the pain of being betrayed by people I called family.

I could feel the lingered pain in my heart.

"Leila we never meant for each other. All those moments were just part of the plan, and since we have succeeded with it, I don't think I should keep it from you". Derrick smirked.

I could see the triumph smile on Lydia's face. My father didn't even care about me, neither giving it a second thought.All he wanted was me leaving the house.

LEILA

I left the house I was raised since childhood;. Even though it wasn't pleasingly fit for me but because of those beautiful memories I had with my mom, I endure torture for several years only to still be send out.

The city didn't notice when I stopped walking.

Voice's blurred into noises till it turn echoes.

My legs gave out beneath me at a bus stop I didn't recognized. I sat there with my hands folded in my laps .

Memories on how breathing used to feel safe before it becomes this hurt. The more I look into the scarier it becomes.

Ding....ding, a soft sound from my phone buzzed in, I never intend checking. I already know who it will be from. Still I looked.

" Hey Leila, I hope you found somewhere comfortable. Changes can be shocking and traumatizing for people like you".

There it was the promising and adorable daughter of the Jones. Lydia.

I stared at the screen until the words becomes blurred. Until the humiliation seeped into my my bones.

" This is my fault. I should've known. I never saw it turning this way". I sigh weakly. My thump pressed against the cracked edge of my phone until it severe hurt. My chest caved inward.

I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, and finally I let myself feel it, not just the betrayal rather the deeper wound beneath it.

"Being unwanted wasn't new.

"But being choosing to be destroyed was".

A voice said calmly while approaching me.

" Miss you don't belong In the floor!!. Pick yourself up, dust it like never before and embrace the life expirences".

The voice was low, not hurried, I dare not to looked up at first.

"I'm fine, I promise it doesn't hurt that much". I said automatically, even though all about me wasn't right.

Silence followed,not the awkward kind. But the kind that waits, that stays no matter the circumstances.

A touch of hope found me, seeing how he never gave up, he choose staying without knowing me.

I gather the courage to look up, first I saw a Polish black glamorous shoe, then a black well iron trouser, follow by a neatly fit black coat that didn't belong to the street.

Then him...no smiling and he wasn't frowing either.

His gazed steady, assessing like he wasn't just seeing my tears, but it looked like he was seeing the exact point where they began.

" I never asked if you were fine. I asked if you're safe". He said calmly staring into my eyes.

I was mesmerised by those straight jawline,his voice melted my heart, I felt safe with a stranger than those I called family.

" I used to think derrick was the most handsome in the world, but looking at him here makes me hate that scumbag the more". I said softly to myself.

Something in my expression could have answer the question he asked earlier but my mouth seems not to corporate.

Behind him, a shining tinted latest car was sitting there like it was design just for him. Too expensive, too deliberate to be a coincidence.

" I don't want anything, I'm safe. Thanks for looking out for me". I reply calmly with a gentle voice.

" Get in the car" he command.

My breath hitched "NO"

" That wasn't an offer, it was a command" he replied angrily.

I shocked my head,panic rising.

" I don't even know you".

" That's why you should listen to me".

He reached into his coat, he pulled out his wallet, not threatening. He opened it just enough to see the edge of a black card. Not flashy but a fact.

"My name is Aiden frost", he said. "And I promise you, those people that hurt you today will regret ever crossing your path.

And Leila that can only happen when you make the right choice of which part to follow". He added.

My heart slammed violently.

" You are wrong!!!".I said angrily. " They already won. I'm just a push over, who can't even stand up for herself. I can't even fight for my identity, doesn't that meant something to you?".

"They might for now Leila. Everything you thought were lost will be replace with things that aligned with you. You just have to stay focus and concentrate on the positive things".

I laughed sarcastically, not the victorious one, but the one of a broken heart.

" You don't even know me, what makes you think I will listen to you?.

His gaze dropped briefly, he clenched my hands, my shoulders curved inward, the exhaustion exched into my posture.

" I know what someone look like when they've been trained to disappear, and I also know potential when I see it". He said victoriously.

I swallowed hard, then with a trembling voice.

"Why me?. People like you don't stopped for people like me". I said why stepping back slightly. My heart trembling in fear.

" Leila Jones, you are standing at the edge of becoming that exact thing you've always wanted".

My name on his lips felt unreal. " How do you even know my name?.

I do wonder how he gets to know me even without me being know as an ever existed Jones's daughter.

I stayed frozen,my heartbeats still, inside me was the two warred voices.

"Don't trust him".while the other kept saying,

"You have nothing left to lose"

For the first time in my life, I have to make choice, I whisper to myself. It's like a dream come true...