From Prison to Payback. Sister, You're next.

The sound of slowly creaking gates made Dahlia's sweaty hands wrap more tightly around her bag.

"Get out." The officer nodded his head in the direction outside and she took a deep breath, the last of prison air, before she finally stepped out.

Cold fresh air swept past her face and she exhaled breezily. It felt good to be outside, so good.

She walked to the other side and waited on the walkway for the car that would come and pick her. It was the day she was being released from prison. Surely, everyone would be here to welcome her, right?

The day got darker every passing second and soon, Dahlia had waited out her patience.

She caught sight of a car passing by and she instantly ran into the road, widening her arms as the car suddenly shrieked, coming to a stop right before it could hit her.

"I'm really sorry." Dahlia bowed her head down, her messy hair falling over her shoulders as she rushed to the window, "Can you just drop me off at the first avenue?"

The man's eyes swept over her, taking in her features. Rough hair, parched broken lips and black jean jacket on black trousers. She looked like she just came out of the prison.

"Please. I promise I won't soil your car." She said when she noticed the way he looked at her. "I'll place my bag under my b*tts. I won't touch anything." She said quickly, touching her bag.

He gave her one last look before he nodded his head. "Get in."

"Thank you so much. Thank you." Dahlia said breathlessly as she quickly got into the car from the other side, making sure not to touch it too much.

As she said, she placed her bag on the chair before sitting on it. The man glanced at her weirdly and then continued driving, while she sat in quiet, suffocating, uncomfortable silence.

"Did you just leave the prison?" He suddenly asked, with thick, low voice.

"Yes." Dahlia answered, almost quietly. No one would be proud to admit they'd just left prison. It wasn't exactly something to be glad about. But she couldn't lie. Not when he picked her up from the prison gates.

"There," She pointed at a stop in the street and he pulled over immediately.

"Thank you." She said quickly as she placed her hand to open the door. "I'll...." She glanced at him, "pay you back for this." She muttered.

He stared at her emotionlessly, "Yes, you will." He said.

She blinked in shock, before getting down from the car and closing the door. He sped away immediately.

"I've seen him before. That voice too." She shook her head slightly, twitching her lips as she tried to place his face. She failed.

She had to go home quickly. Draven would be waiting for her.

How would it feel to be back home after a year in prison? Dahlia didn't know. But she couldn't wait to get home and dip herself into a hot bath for hours.

The announcement board on the street caught her attention and she waited for a moment, her hands holding her bag on her back, her hair looking greasy underneath the street lights.

The picture of her sister appeared on the street and her eyes glimmered. "Evelyn." The name was like a whisper in her lips, sending amazing shivers down her spine. That...was her elder sister.

The news headlines plastered crazily on the newsboard and the smile on Dahlia's face shrank visibly, shock replacing her face.

EVELYN VEXLEY ANNOUNCES MARRIAGE TO DRAVEN MARROW.

Dahlia felt her world spin. A sharp headache knocked her head furiously. She hadn't felt like this when her parents told her she'd have to take the fall for an embezzlement she knew nothing about. She hadn't....

Dahlia had no time to think as her bag slipped down her shoulders and she ran crazily towards her house at the end of the street.

"Draven." The door was slightly open as she walked into the mansion, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. It was fine. This....this was just a welcome prank.

"Dahlia must be dead by now." The first sentence sent a shiver down her spine as she recognized her sister's voice. "I know she'd wait for us to come pick her off, so I sent the hitmen. It's almost 9pm." She said.

"How did you think of that? It'll be easier to kill her at night. Like expected, you are so smart, Evelyn." Draven's voice.

The stab felt so deep. Like her heart wrenched out with a dagger. It was extremely painful, she couldn't breath. Her hand closed over her mouth as a shocking gasp escaped her lips.

"What if they don't manage to kill her?" Draven asked.

"Why won't they?" Evelyn's voice went up a notch, "I paid eight thousand dollars for her life, they dare not fail. And if they fail, we'll have no choice than to keep on trying, until Dahlia falls dead."

Another gasp escaped Dahlia's throat, louder than the first.

"Did you hear that?" Evelyn asked cautiously and Dahlia's heart raced in her chest instantly.

She knew she'd be caught soon and if that happened, she'll die. Not now. Not yet.

Her legs took her out of the mansion as fast as they could, as she sprinted right into the road.

Blinding lights hit her eyes, and she looked away, the impact of the car driving into her seconds later sent her crashing into the ground.

A groan escaped from her lips as she hit the ground hardly, stars appearing in her gaze.

"Oh, sh*t." She heard the words of a familiar voice and she slipped into unconsciousness.

Beep.

Beep.

The sound of the hospital machine for into Dahlia's ears and her eyes opened, ever so slowly as she stared. Everything was blurry at first, but soon, the white color of the ceiling stared right back at her.

She recognized she was in a hospital.....and painfully, alone.

A sigh escaped from her lips as she sat up, pulling the syringe out of her hands. It stung a little but she wasn't in the disposition to feel pain.

As she got up from the bed, ready to leave, the door suddenly opened and she recognized the man from yesterday.

"You–"

He pocketed his hands in his trousers as he stared at her. "You must be fine now. Were you about to leave?" He asked.

Dahlia stared at him in confusion. "How did you hit me? I definitely saw you go in the opposite direction yesterday."

"Where I go is none of your business." He said. "I don't want to make a big issue out of this, so..." He checked the time on his watch, his face hardening, "How much do you want to keep quiet about the accident?"

"What?" She blurted out before she could even think. "Others would just apologize and say it was a mistake, but you want to pay me off with money? You must so rich....and arrogant."

"I don't have enough time for your tantrums, Ms Vexley. So please," His secretary walked in, moving towards Dahlia, "Sign that. And the money would be wired to your account before an hour." He said.

Dahlia scoffed and ran her eyes over the offer. An hundred thousand dollars to keep her mouth. He must think she was a beggar. And how did he know her surname?

She pushed the paper back to the secretary. "Thank you, but you don't have to pay me anything. Just take it as a replacement for driving me home last night. Thank you." Without waiting for any reply, Dahlia walked out of the ward and out of the hospital in anger. All he had to do was apologize. That was the problem with rich people, always thinking they could get out of things with money....all the time.

She swallowed hardly when she got to the street and realized she had nothing on her. Not her bag which she'd thrown away last night and not a single penny on her to even go back to her father's house.

She could walk it. Thankfully, she was not injured too much to faint on the streets.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky when Dahlia finally made it home, sweats escaping her forehead and strands of her hair, sticking to her face. She was tired and most of all, hungry, having eaten nothing since she'd come out of prison.

She rang the doorbell twice before Vivi, their housemaid opened up. Shock plastered Vivi's face as Dahlia stared at her with a huge smile.

"Miss." She whispered noiselessly.

"Vivi, long time, no see." Dahlia said. Vivi gave a strained smile as she pulled the door open and Dahlia walked in.

"No, mom. We don't even know where she is." Evelyn's voice resounded from the stairs and Dahlia's heart picked up pace. Evelyn couldn't hurt her here, could she?

"Don't worry, Dahlia would come back home soon." Her mother's voice followed and relaxation filled Dahlia's face again as she waited patiently for them to come down and then, surprise. She couldn't wait to see the look on her mother's face and her reaction when she tells them she heard everyone Evelyn and Draven planned.

"Soon? How soon? Yesterday was the day she was meant to die."

Like a stab, Dahlia's heart wrecked painfully. A vibration ran down her body and she almost fell backwards but Vivi caught her quickly.

"Miss." She muttered.

Dahlia glanced at her and then back at the stairs, where her family was already coming downstairs.

"She'll be out of your hair soon, Evelyn. Just be patient." Her father's voice.

They were all in it together. How could family....how could family betray each other?

"Dahlia." Her mother called out and an hiccup left at her lips at the sound of her mother's voice.

"Dahlia, did you–" her father started, but she interrupted him.

"I heard everything." She muttered. "I heard how you guys planned to kill your daughter."

"Dahlia, it's not what you think."

"What is it then? Is this a prank? A welcome prank maybe? So where's the camera?" She asked, looking around. Then suddenly, "Are you guys fvcking kidding me?! I'm your daughter for crying out loud! How could you do this?! How?!" Tears rushed down her eyes in huge balls, but they couldn't compare with the pain she felt in her heart.

"Dahlia, calm down." Evelyn said in a relatively calm voice.

"You guys are going to regret this." Dahlia made a promise.

"Are you going to report us to the police?!" Her father asked in a loud voice, obviously panicking. "I'm your father!"

"Wow." She whispered, her voice a ghost to her own ears. "Best of luck playing father in jail." She said and turned to leave the house, but her hand had barely touched the door knob, when the flower pot came flying towards her head.

"Miss!" Vivi stepped into her front and the pot hit her instead, shattering into pieces on the ground.

"Dad!" Evelyn screamed and Dahlia gasped in shock.

"Vivi." Dahlia grabbed Vivi's hands in hers.

"Go... please..." Vivi whispered.

"No, I can't leave you." Dahlia whispered.

"Just...go.." Vivi whispered, before her eyes closed and she fell into unconsciousness.

"Vivi!!!"

Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she sat in front of a restaurant on the street. The sound of the doors opening and closing scattered her thoughts.

It was unreal to think that her father had just thrown a flower vase at her after she found out that he was in on the plan to kill her.

She gulped, bile tasting in her throat. Tears rushed out of her eyes and she placed her head on her laps, crying bitterly. The day got worse than it already had been and rain started pouring heavily.

Dahlia didn't move, she sat down there, letting the rain drench her, all of bitterness, all of her anger. Here, she count scream and no one would hear her because of how heavy the rain was. This was her perfect place.

The rain suddenly stopped above her and her anger intensified. Even the sky couldn't understand her predicament and just let it fall? But when she raised up her head to rant, her eyes came in contact with him. He was holding an unwanted umbrella over her head.

Like cloud sync, her brain retrieved all of the memories and she realized where she'd seen him. On the TVs, on the tabloids, in the prison. He was everywhere.

Lucien Black.

"Ms Vexley." He called her name in velvety voice, "Get out of the rain."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" She didn't care if he was Lucien –arrogant– Black, he couldn't order her around, not in her most shitty moment.

He stared at his watch again, like he was in time control. "Do you plan to stay here?"

"Yes, I do. Why won't you just leave me alone? Can't you see I want to be left alone?!" She screamed out, "And please, take your stupid umbrella over my head." She didn't want him to see her crying. And the rain would do the job.

He obliged, pulling the umbrella over his own head and letting the rain drench her.

"Leave." She looked away.

"I'm trying to get into the restaurant." He said nonchalantly.

"Then do."

"Eaten yet? If not, you need more energy to cry." He said and walked in. Dahlia took a minute to understand he was inviting her. Her stomach rumbled just in time, but the appetite wasn't there. She didn't want to eat.

A glance at the woman in the restaurant and she made up her mind, walking into the restaurant. She pulled out a seat opposite him and he stared at her.

"You eat at restaurants like this?" She asked quietly. It was a low class restaurant, located somewhere at the end of the street, far away from her family's– Chris Vexley's house. They were no longer her family. However, she was in front of the restaurant because she had realized she had no place to go. No friends, nothing. She sat in front since it had a porch and she could probably pass the night there when it got quieter.

"No. But I can't walk around in the rain." He said, pulling out a tissue. "Clean your face, you look crazy."

"I haven't had a bath in two days. And a clean bath in a year."

He stares at her blankly, unsure of what she wanted him to say to that revelation.

She stared at him, midway of cleaning her face. "Don't you want to know what happened? Or you are just comfortable sitting with an ex convict in public?" She asked.

He glanced at the food being placed in front of him and back to Dahlia. "You think?"

"Yes." She muttered, picking up her spoon. "Thank you for the food. I have nothing to pay you back." She said and started eating before he could change his mind.

"A marriage proposal." He suddenly said and Dahlia coughed out the food she'd already eaten. It scattered all over Lucien's suit and he let out a low curse, anger flashing in his eyes.

"I'm...so sorry." Dahlia shook her head. "What you said was just shocking to me. You shouldn't have said that while I was eating."

"Are you blaming me?" He raised a brow.

"No. I'm apologizing." She shrank back into her seat.

Lucien pulled out multiple tissues, cleaning off the stains on his suit.

Dahlia went mute, eating as though nothing happened before. He watched her, like a predator monitoring a prey and she felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze.

"Can't you stop watching me and eat?" She asked.

"I'm not hungry."

"Then why did you come here?" She asked.

"I have something for you." On cue, the secretary who'd come with him in the hospital appeared again.

"If you want me to sign that stuff–"

"You want revenge, Ms Vexley. I can give you that." His secretary pushed a new file towards her. The title was written in large bold fonts 'MARRIAGE AGREEMENT.'

"Is this a joke?" She asked.

"The moment you sign this, you become Dahlia Black and you'd leave your husband."

"I'm not divorced." She stated as a matter of fact.

"You'll soon be. If you sign a divorce paper, I'll have them sent to Draven Marrow as soon as possible. Since the world doesn't know about your marriage, it'll be easier." Lucien said.

"What is all this? Who said you could take account of my life the way you wish?"

"I'm only telling you to apply wisdom. You want to take revenge on those who wronged you, your family. To do that, you'll need my help. Which I'm willing to provide to you, on one condition, marriage."

Dahlia pushed the tray of food from her front and got up. "Thank you for the offer. But I'm not interested." She stated clearly and started to walk away.

"The moment you get out of that door, you'll probably be dead."

She halted in her steps. Lucien pushed his chair backwards, getting up and walking towards her.

"It'll be classified as a hit and run accident. Evelyn made sure of that." He said.

Dahlia's face lost color. "How do you know all these?"

"There are very few things I don't know about you, Ms Vexley." He stared at her, "So what will it be? Marry me and get everything you ever wanted. Fame, money, power, revenge."

"What do you get in return?" She asked.

He smirked. "You."