Chapter 15
But I was quicker. Before his hand could grab me, I slammed the car door shut with a loud “bang“. The sound reverberated in the air, sharp and final. Ryan recolled, his hand just barely escaping being caught in the door. His face paled, and for the first time, I saw fear flicker in his eyes.
} stared at him coldly through the window, my heart racing but my expression unyielding. I hadn’t expected him to be this shameless, but I wasn’t about to let him win. With a slight, mocking wave of my hand, I turned to the driver. “Depart.”
The driver didn’t hesitate. He stepped on the accelerator, and the Maybach roared to life, speeding away from the school, leaving Ryan and Linda standing there, their faces twisted in shock and disbelief. Behind them, a crowd of our classmates lingered, stunned and whispering amongst themselves, unsure how to process what had just happened.
As the distance between us and the school grew, the driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Miss, are we going straight home?”
I closed my eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. “No,” I said quietly, my voice steady. “Take me to Riha street first.”
The driver blinked, clearly surprised. “Miss, are you sure? That place… it’s not exactly safe.”
Riha street. A place infamous for its crime, filled with gamblers, thieves, and addicts. A dangerous part of the city where most people wouldn’t dare set foot. But I had a reason for going there–a reason tied to the shadows of my past.
“Yes,” I nodded, my eyes opening, filled with a complex mix of emotions. “That’s where I need to go.”
In my past life, I had ended up on Riha Street once, after a fight with Ryan. I had made him angry. and in retaliation, he made me walk home alone. Instead, he got into the limo that was supposed to pick me up and headed back home.
I got lost, and before I knew it, I had wandered into the slums. That night, I had nearly been raped by
homeless man, and no one had come to help me.
a
I closed my eyes, the memory still raw.
At the moment when fear and despair gripped me, I was pinned down by the homeless man, too terrified to fight back. My cries for help had gone unanswered, and it felt like the world had turned
its back on me..
Just as I began to lose hope, a figure burst through the dim, filthy alley, rushing toward me with unexpected force. In a swift motion, the man tackled the homeless attacker to the ground, sending him sprawling into the dirt.
I could barely process what had happened, but when I looked up, my tear filled eyes met the face of
my savior. He stood tall, though clearly malnourished, his frame and his clothes tattered and
stained from neglect.
Despite his frail appearance, there was a fierce determination in his gaze, and in that moment, he was nothing short of a hero to me. I recognized him immediately–it was Lirian…
This was my fi
encounter with Lirian. He was my age, but life had been much harsher to him. Fatherless, motherless, a vagabond who had no home, he spent his childhood in the slums, surviving each day with nowhere to call his own. The streets were his life, and every corner, every shadow, told a part of his story.
I met him on one of those streets–filthy, ragged, but his eyes were sharp, filled with a quiet strength. I was later so grateful to him, for he had saved my life when no one else could or would. That day. without hesitation, I brought him back to my pack and recommended him to my brother, who was the Alpha, suggesting that Lirian could become a Beta.
Lirian was skilled–beyond anyone’s expectations. He quickly earned respect from everyone around him, his abilities undeniable. But despite the success, what Lirian truly wanted was to be a warrior. He wanted to protect me, to be by my side in battle, more than anything else. Yet, I hesitated. There was a part of me that worried about Lirian’s jealousy at the time, his quiet, bottled–up emotions. So, I refused his request.
I’ll never forget the look on his face that day. Lirian wasn’t someone who expressed his fee
often, but that was the first time I saw true disappointment in his eyes. Despite my refusal, he did t say a word of protest. He remained by my side in silence, always watching, always present. He never let me down.
It wasn’t until I married Ryan that our paths began to part. As Ryan’s grip on me tightened, our contact with Lirian dwindled. And later, when Ryan and Linda locked me away, abusing me mercilessly, I thought of Lirian often. If only he had been there. I knew, without a shadow of a doubt. that Lirian would never have allowed it. He would have protected me.
In this life, I would never make that mistake.
of my memories.
take a deep breath and come out of
Wait for me,
Arian
