Chapter 1

Freshia Ava’s POV

I ran using all my strength to avoid the pursuit of the men in full black suits who were now scattered in all corners of the house, where all the walls and large pillars were dominated by white, exuding the splendor of the house which an area of almost three hectares and is surrounded by gardens and walls almost four meters high which were purposely built as protection for this luxurious building.

This is the umpteenth time I have tried to get out of the house that I considered a prison. Feelings of anger, annoyance, and hatred, all filled my heart until I didn't realize that my eyes were already wet. Water droplets started to fill my eyelids, making my vision a little blurry.

While lamenting why this all had to happen to me, I continued running. But a split second later, I quickly wiped the tears that were about to fall down my cheeks quickly with the back of my hand and re-firmed my heart. My goal this time was a gate measuring three by four meters on the side of the yard, which was special access for servants to leave and enter the house.

At 18:00, the small gate opened for the waiters' second shift. Indeed, in that house, all the servants work in two shifts, namely the morning shift which starts from 06:00 to 18:00, and the night shift which starts from 18:00 to 06:00.

Therefore, the gate will be opened and left unlocked for approximately thirty minutes during the shift change. That was the information I managed to get after bribing one of the female servants who always brought food to my room with a gold bracelet and ring that I had.

However, when I almost reached the small gate, my eyes widened in disbelief to find that there were around four men dressed in the same clothes as the men who were chasing me standing guard around it.

"Unlucky!" I thought. The waiter tricked me. He did not say that the gate was also guarded by guards. My hopes are gone. But I didn't want to just give up and immediately changed my goal to returning home. My thought at that time was that no matter what, I must not get caught. I will try everything possible to get away from this hell.

After almost thirty minutes of trying to run here and there avoiding the men who worked as bodyguards, I started to feel my breath coming out of breath, my chest was rising and falling very quickly indicating that I was no longer strong enough to run. My energy is almost gone. The two legs I had been using for running started to weaken until finally I stopped my footsteps in front of a room. I just felt my knees shaking violently.

"Will I get caught again?" I thought I surrendered. But a split second later I shook my head, dismissing all negative thoughts. Not long after that, many footsteps began to be heard approaching me and without hesitation, I decided to enter the room in front of me.

But after that, I immediately cursed myself when I realized where I was currently. I really regretted my footsteps when I chose to enter the room that I usually avoid most of all the rooms in this house. The room has an area of almost ten square meters and is dominated by gray.

The room has one crystal chandelier as the main light and six other lamps scattered in every corner of the room, but at that time the lighting in the room only came from a yellow wall lamp on both sides of the bed are left lit, giving a dim effect to the room.

"Why does it have to be this room?" I thought. Finally, I decided to immediately hide in one of the large cupboards in the room.

While trying to hide the sound of my still ragged breathing, I didn't feel like my eyelids were filling with tears again. But now I let the beads flow down my cheeks. My whole body was shaking uncontrollably. The fear that I had always felt now came back and enveloped me when I heard the heavy footsteps again and they were getting closer to me.

My palms spontaneously covered my ears. My tears came out even harder even though of course I tried not to make the slightest sound. I really don't want to hear those deafening sounds anymore. I'm fed up with all this. Then from the bottom of my heart, I prayed, “Oh God, please save me this time. I am really tired.”

But after that, I no longer heard the sound of footsteps like before. "Have they left or have they stopped too?" I thought.

However, not long after that I heard a loud sound coming from the tapping of loafers on the floor. The steps sounded consonant. As time went on I felt it walking closer and then stopped right in front of the room I was entering.

“Sir, sorry but we couldn't find Miss Freshia around here.” The hairs on the back of my neck immediately bristled when I heard those words. I can confirm that the sound of constant footsteps I just heard came from the man I feared and avoided the most. That means, now he is in front of the room where I was hiding.

"We have permission to look for it elsewhere, sir." I heard another call from one of the guards indicating that they would soon leave here and that made my heart feel a little relieved. But not long after that, my heart started beating fast again when I heard a very familiar baritone voice, "Yes, of course, you have to look for it until you find it!"

My body was shaking again, although not as badly as before. Just hearing the man's voice, my whole body was filled with fear and anxiety again. I really don't want to see him again.

After that, I heard busy footsteps again. But now the sound went away from the room where I was hiding until it finally disappeared. However, this didn't immediately make me relieved because I was still thinking about where he was at that time. So I decided not to go out until I was sure that the conditions outside were really safe.

I'm sure almost fifteen minutes had passed and everything was quiet. I didn't hear any sound from outside so I decided to immediately come out of hiding. I started to slide the cupboard door that I was using as my hiding place to the side and saw the sight that was right before my eyes. Where a man, who has a tall and well-proportioned body, is looking straight at me with a big grin on his face. He stood leaning against the door frame, crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaving the door to the room wide open. Yes, he is that man. The man I avoid the most, the man I fear the most, the man who claims he understands love best but has no heart, Eros Robinson.

I shouldn't have been stupid, I should have known from the start that I wouldn't be able to hear anything in this soundproof room if only the door wasn't wide open.

"Have you had enough of playing hide and seek, darling?" My breath hitched suddenly when I heard that distinctive baritone voice aimed directly at me.

Eros was still grinning, but in a split second, his grin vanished. His expression turned icy, and his dark blue eyes pierced sharply into me. Then he began to stride towards me with wide, deliberate steps.

Like being hypnotized, my body froze completely. As he stopped right in front of me, my legs buckled, and I collapsed. Eros knelt down to align himself with me, then grasped my face in his right hand, forcing me to look at him.

"Where else do you want to run away, huh? Can't you just be quiet and enjoy the love I give you? Always remember Freshia, even if you manage to leave this house, I will definitely be able to find you. Because when I truly love something, I will never let it go."