Chapter 1 Ghost From The Past

Angelina's POV:

"Who the hell are you? Let me go!"

My horrified cries intertwined with his heavy breaths.

"Hey, what's wrong? Do you feel pain?"

With my back against the backseat of the car, he lifted my short skirt. He then pressed his heavy body against mine. With his powerful hand, he held my hands above my head. As I tried to break free, he roughly touched my thighs.

Hot tears streamed down my cheeks and my head was throbbing. His touch made me sick and my whole body trembled. Seeing that I didn't answer his question, he exerted more strength and ruthlessly unbuttoned my shirt.

"Please let me go. Don't do this to me!"

"Shush! Just be a good girl. Answer me, do you like it?"

"Please I just want to go home."

"Go home? Haha! Don't even think about it. You are going nowhere!" This vicious boy flashed a wicked grin at me and then started licking my nipples.

"Stop! Don't do that. If you don't let me go right now, I will... Aaah!"

I paused midway and screamed at the top of my voice. He had just bitten my nipple hard.

"If I don't stop, what will you do? I want to hear it. You'd better speak louder." As he spoke in a mocking tone, he pinched my nipple and it sent an indescribable pain to my brain.

"You bastard! I will sue you!" I roared with all my strength.

In the blink of an eye, his mocking face darkened. He then slapped me across the face with his powerful hand.

I felt dizzy immediately and wasn't fully conscious of the environment.

I struggled to open my eyes. "Damn it!" I muttered in annoyance. I had that dream again. For the past four years, this horrible nightmare had been haunting me.

My alarm clock had gone off and I stretched out my hand to the bedside table to stop it. Yawning lazily, I struggled to open my eyes and looked at the time. I was almost late for school.

In a haste, I got out of bed and went straight to the bathroom to freshen up. Afterwards, I wore my uniform and went to school hurriedly.

With a bright smile on my face, I quickly walked into the teaching building. When I saw that the corridor was still bubbling with students, I looked at my wristwatch. Even though I woke up late, I got here on time. There was still about fifteen minutes before my first class began. Sighing with relief, I moved towards my classroom.

"Oh my God! He's so handsome! Our eyes met just now and I felt an electric shock all over my body!"

"Yes! He looks so naughty when he smiles. He's totally my type. Jeez! He's a tall hunk of creamy human flesh. I could eat him!"

"Woohoo! I'm so excited! He's the most handsome guy I have ever seen. I need to get his phone number immediately!"

"I just walked past him when he was in the lobby. My goodness! He's like a Greek god. His aura almost suffocated me. I want him!"

As I advanced to my classroom, I heard some overexcited girls talking about a boy. Judging from their conversation, I could tell that he was a new student. I grinned disdainfully and quickened my pace.

"I just saw him in the administrator's office. I think he was there for his final documentation. I saw his name on the file. His name was Cedric. Oh, I love his name. It's just as beautiful as he is!"

"Cedric?" This name sent a shock wave to my brain. Even though my sleep had been plagued by nightmares about that horrible incident, it was gradually getting buried in the deepest part of my memory and I was about to heal from it. However, this name suddenly rekindled the bad memories. I involuntarily halted in my tracks.

"Yes, his name is Cedric Hobbes," the girl said convincingly as she turned to look at me.

"Ce...Ce... Cedric... Hobbes." I repeated the name with a stutter. My forehead broke out in a sweat and I trembled.

This name reminded me of my terrible past.

Flashback:

This busy city wasn't where I used to live with my parents four years ago. When I was just an adolescent in my former neighborhood, I experienced something no child deserved to go through. That day was the worst day of my life.

It was just a normal day for me. After school, I walked through the lonely alley that I usually passed on my way home. Unbeknown to me, I was being followed. As I hummed a song, someone suddenly covered my eyes and my mouth. I was then dragged into a car. At that time, I was young and innocent. I didn't know anything about sex. However, I knew that it was wrong for someone to drag me into his car.

When his big hands roughly took off my underwear, I felt an unprecedented humiliation. My eyes instantly became teary and I begged and struggled with him. Instead of listening to my pleas, he kept touching my body in the most private spots. His touch was cringe-worthy and I kept screaming at the top of my lungs.

Shortly after, a female cleaner who was passing by heard my cries for help. She stopped to save me.

A few days later, I had to go to court to face the boy who had tried to rape me. His name was Cedric Hobbes. After a few court sessions, the jury found him guilty of attempted rape and he was to spend time in juvenile prison.

When the police handcuffed him and took him away from the dock, he flashed a mischievous smile at me. I froze in my seat and almost burst into tears.

Later, I plunged into a serious depression. In a bid to make sure that I started a new life, my mother took me to live in this city four years ago.

The relocation really helped me. After I was transferred to a new school, I studied hard and was now the top student in my class. None of my new schoolmates knew about my terrible past.

The end of the flashback.

Since he was sent to jail four years ago, I previously thought that our paths would never cross again. I never guessed that he would reappear years later. Now I didn't know how to process this news. My face turned pale and my legs became wobbly. The bag in my hand also fell to the ground.

All of a sudden, the school bell rang. The students around me and in the hallway instantly began to run to their various classrooms. As I stood stiffly in the middle of the stairs, my mind was filled with a tangle of emotions and horrible memories.

"Argh!"

Someone's shoulder hit me while he was running up the stairs and I fell forward. Before I crashed face down on the concrete stairs and suffered immeasurable pain, a pair of white sneakers appeared in front of me. Afterwards, I fell into a warm embrace.

The smell of this person was so familiar.

The image of the person flashed through my mind and my body instantly became stiff. The blood in my veins also stopped flowing.

"Angelina, long time no see!"

Even without opening my eyes, I knew who he was. Yes, it was him... Cedric Hobbes!

At this moment, the voice in my head shouted crazily, "Oh my God! It's him, the rapist. He's back!"

Only a few years had passed and I knew that he was supposed to be serving his term at the juvenile prison. Now that he was here, I couldn't help but wonder why he was released so soon.

I pondered deeply, 'What is he doing in this city and school? Is it a coincidence that he came here? Did he hire someone to monitor me while he was in prison and then draft a plan? Is he here to torment me after what he did to me?'

In my head, I knew that I had to break free from his grip and call for help, but I was so afraid that I couldn't struggle or cry out.

"Hey, we haven't seen each other for four whole years. Have you become this proactive?"

He helped me stand upright and then looked down at me. Lifting my head slowly, I saw the familiar face that plagued my sleep every night. He looked very different from how he was four years ago. His face was more angular like that of a perfect Greek sculpture. His blue eyes were as clear and bright as the sea.

His lips were perfectly shaped and there was a faint smile at the corners of his mouth. However, his blue eyes were filled with hatred.

"Hello, Cedric. I'm Claire." A girl came over and introduced herself to him.

"Hello," Cedric replied coldly without removing his eyes from me.

The girl instantly blushed and covered her mouth. She then ran away with an unbelieving expression on her face.

At this instance, I bit my lips hard. My blood streaked into my mouth and I tasted it.

Vengeance was most likely the reason for his reappearance. It seemed like he wanted to get revenge on me for sending him to prison. As I thought about this, hot tears streamed down my cheeks and my whole body shook uncontrollably. I knew that I was doomed.

"Top student, snap back to reality. We're going to be late for class. Do you want me to carry you in?"

With a mischievous smile on his face, Cedric picked my bag and put it in my arms. He then reached out and was about to put his arm around me.

Despite the fear in me, I managed to muster up courage. I pushed him away with all my strength and ran into my classroom.

...

Immediately he entered, the teacher ushered him to the platform and asked him to introduce himself. He looked so handsome and calm in his white student uniform. After adjusting his tie, he cleared his throat and said in a pleasant voice, "Hello, everyone! My name is Cedric Hobbes. I'm Angelina's old friend."

All the girls in my class gasped after he made this revelation. A sea of eyes stared at me and then they shifted their attention to Cedric.

"Angelina! Do you really know him? Were you classmates in your former school? Or were you neighbors before? I heard that Cedric comes from a very rich family! He's so handsome. Please tell me what kind of person he is," Audrey, the lively girl who sat next to me quickly whispered into my ear.

"Angelina? Look at me!" She called my name again while snapping her fingers after I didn't respond immediately.

"Well, I don't know anything about him," I replied coldly without turning to look at her.

With hatred in my eyes, I stared at Cedric as he walked down the platform. He still had the evil smirk at the corners of his mouth. Glaring at me, he silently mouthed, "You slut."