The torrent of the rain increased tremendously, thunder struck on the ground where Clarina stood by the gate shivering and crying.
Her clothes were fully drenched, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.
She swallowed hard, her fingers shaking.
The bellowing sound of her father's voice struck down her nerve, leaving her feet frozen to the ground.
Her shoulders were caving in, her wet hair sticking to her face as she gripped the sides of her dress tightly.
She blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then looked scaredly over her shoulders to see a car heading towards her way.
Her father's driveway that would lead to the main gates was enormously long and far from both the mansion and the gate but the bright headlights that shone on her face instilled a fear in her.
If she didn't act then, she would be totally done for.
Her father would definitely cage her to an old man she didn't want to marry.
She turned back to the gates, her eyes red with determination to escape.
She threw her card to the floor and saw how the guards were running towards the gates to stop her.
Their heavy boots clamouring against the water puddles on the ground.
She turned back one last time to look at the place she grew up. The only place she had ever lived.
She didn't know what was waiting for her outside the gates but she believed it wouldn't be so bad like living under her father's roof.
"Everything will be alright, Clarina. Mommy already told you that." She closed her eyes just as another tear left her eyes.
With the gates already unlocked from using her card, she ran out of the gates, the waves carrying her alongside her legs.
She couldn't stop running. She could hear the car horn roaring behind her.
Not one. Not two.
Her father was chasing her. Guards were running after her on foot and with bikes.
Where was she going to go?
Her vision was blurring, her muscles were getting weak. She turned her head to the side to look for the car her mother had told her about but she didn't see anything.
Dwelling no further, she ran with all her strength, ignoring the pain that was coursing all over her body.
She ran straight and took a left turn towards a direction that led towards a bush to get rid of the cars chasing after her.
Despite that, some guards were still running after her.
Clarina felt like her heart was slowly being ripped apart from her. She could literally hear her own heartbeat beating like a raging drum in her ears.
Her breath came in short, ragged gasps that burned her throat.
The dark sky obscured her vision. She didn't know where she was running to but she ran.
Branches whipped across her face and arms, leaving stinging welts she felt over the fire in her lungs.
The rain hammered down relentlessly, turning the ground to a slurry mess.
"Clarina! Stop this nonsense right now!"
Clarina froze, her eyes widened in fear. Was her father behind her?
How did he…
He ran into the bush?
A cold shiver ran down her spine, mixing with the cold air that weakened her bones but she didn't slow down.
Not when the image of that leering old man, her father had chosen for her burned behind her eyes.
She turned sharply towards her right, plunging deeper into the dense bush.
Torns tore at her soaked dress, a low-hanging branch caught her shoulder, spinning her half around. She stumbled, nearly falling, but she caught herself on a slick tree trunk. Her fingers slipped as her nails scraped the bark.
The guards were closer now. She could hear their shouts mixing with the thunder, their heavy boots crashing through the foliage.
Clarina's heart lurched. If she got caught, she would be doomed.
She pushed herself harder, her legs screaming in pain. Every part of her muscle burned. Her vision turned, black dots doting the edges.
'Just a little more, Clarina, just…'
Her legs got caught under a tree branch.
She tripped and fell to her knees.
She placed her hands against her mouth instantly to muffle her cry of pain.
She winced quietly, her palm scraped against the rough thorns, she bled.
Where could she go?
She paused for a moment, catching her breath, as she leaned against a tree trunk.
The voices had died down.
Was that a good thing or…
"Ahhhhh!!!!" She suddenly lost her footing, slipped and rolled towards the other side of the bush until she was on the road track again.
"No no no!" She shook her head. It would be easier for her father to reach her now she was no longer running in circles inside the bush.
She heard a voice high above the others; "I heard a scream. It seems like she fell and is back on the road again. Quick, tell the boss."
Her heart lurched again. Her muscles were weak to get up but her determination was stronger than her muscles so she forced herself to her feet and looked around.
The road was empty and dead. No one would like to drive with a heavy downpour like this.
Clarina couldn't even see clearly because the water was beginning to get into her eyes.
She didn't know where she was. She knew nothing about the outside world so she just picked a race on her feet again.
Tired was too poor to describe how she was feeling.
A few minutes later, she saw a black car that had parked multiple steps away from her.
She paused, placed her weak hands on her knees to catch her breath, wiped the rain from her face and observed the car.
Was it her father's car?
She has never seen a car like that in her father's garage.
She swallowed, and rubbed her rumbling stomach.
Then she heard it again. Her father's guards were right behind her.
No no no.
She cried out, beat her chest, and looked down at her dirty shoes and legs.
Where was she going to go?
Could she really run away from her father and Nathaniel, the old man whom her father gave her to?
Was she forever going to be in a gilded cage?
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, mixing with rain.
Why did this have to happen to her?
"Clarina!" She heard her father's voice and she turned.
The headlight of a bike blurred her vision and she placed an arm over her eyes to protect her eyes.
"Listen Clarina. You've got nowhere to go. Don't make me force you, come here right now!" She could hear the anger in her father's tone.
Even if she obeyed him, she knew she would be punished gravely and that…
That leering old man would take her away.
Crying, she shook her head and turned and started running again.
She ran towards the black car, she didn't know who had left it there or how it had ended there but she knew that was her only leeway when she was running against her father who used bikes and cars to chase her.
"Clarina!" Gabriel screamed and stomped his feet on the ground angrily.
"I need her back in my house. Get her!!" Gabriel screamed to his guards who began chasing after his daughter.
Clarina froze for a second when she reached the black car. She hesitated for a moment, her mind a whirlwind of thought as she contemplated about entering a car she had no idea about.
She tried looking through the glass to see if anyone was in there but it was too dark and the windows were heavily tinted.
Hearing the revving of the bike propelled her to ignore her thoughts as she hurriedly pushed the back door open and rushed in, slamming the door close before she could rethink.
Anywhere was better than staying with her father.
As soon as she sat on the soft leather seat, she placed one of her hands on the window and on the passenger headrest to calm her herself.
The car was warm and cozy and it brought a sense of relief to Clarina.
Suddenly she got a sniff of something… it smelt so sweet.
Magnolia flowers?
Maybe it was magnolia flowers but there was another scent she couldn't quite decipher. It was so expensive, warm and old.
She had never smelled anything like it before.
The scent grew more intense, spreading through the car and the rain intensified harder, pitter pattering on the window glass.
Confused as to why she was feeling so warm, she turned ever so slowly to her left, until her reddened brown eyes locked with the deepest shade of black she had ever seen before.
Her jaw dropped because she could only make out the eyes of the man in the car and his face outline due to the single street light affected by the storm.
Killian watched her through the darkness, relaxed and commanding.
"W-Who a-are y-ou?" She stuttered, her lips trembling.
He ignored her and watched her like she had just entered a devil's zone.
His legs were crossed, hands placed together on his lap as he threw a sharp glance over to her.
"You shouldn't be asking questions that would get you killed, woman." He narrowed his gaze towards the figure standing outside his car.
Clarina's jaw dropped, and Goosebumps formed all over her skin.
Question that would get her killed? She swallowed hard, interwining her fingers with each other.
Clarina's throat clogged? She wanted to ask a question, but the temperature inside the car was growing stronger. The sweet smell she had once smelt was overpowered by the one powerful scent she couldn't decipher.
Was it coming from him? No doubt.
"Have I made a mistake, why does he sound scarier than my father? Maybe I should have just stayed like the pretty doll my dad wanted me to be?" Came the thought of Clarina.
If she wasn't being chased by her father's men then she would have ran out of the car immediately he had spoken.
Her father's men were literally in front of the car and it was either going back to her father or staying quietly inside the car.
She ignored the man who hadn't said a word and clenched her fist, turning towards the window to know how far her father's men were.
A soft gasp escaped her when she saw a man literally standing by her window with a touch light in his hand.
Instinctively, she shrank back into the seat, leaning further away from her side towards Killian's side, ignorant of how drenched she was from head to toe until she heard his thick voice reverberate through his chest and swim into her skin.
"What are you doing?" His rough voice sent a chill round her body and she pulled away from his side immediately but not too far.
Then a knock was heard by the side of her window and Clarina stilled.
Killian looked down at her, noticing how she was shivering from the cold and her badly she had infected his body with her drenched body.
He grunted and rolled his eyes, "Get out of my car." He said cooly, nonchalant and unbothered as her presence irked him.
Clarina eyes were quickly filled with fresh tears. If she got out of the door, her life would be sealed to that old man.
She turned towards Killian, her fingers clenched on her dress as she stared at him with her round eyes that carried heavy tears in them.
Her shoulders quaked as she looked utterly miserable.
"Please…"