11 days.

It's been 11 days since I have been in this forest, running away from him. Slow and steady breaths are leaving my lungs-finally, I have left him behind.

He has been on my tail since the moment I fled, and it is entirely his fault that I am trapped in this goddamn forest. There is nothing but trees, towering trunks wrapped in thick, mossy tendrils. The sun barely pierced through their dense leaves, leaving the ground in perpetual twilight. The earthy scent of damp leaves and rich soil permeated the air, along with the faint aroma of wildflowers hidden in the underbrush.

The silence was profoundly loud, startling me as I moved forward and the leaves rustled under my weight. It was difficult to move forward with all the mud and gunk around my feet, but I managed. I had to; there was no other way. I am even more relieved that I did not come across any other creatures while running besides the one who is after me.

My clothes cling to my body, the result of the rain a few hours ago.

I tripped but luckily caught myself. As I stabilised my footing on the ground, my nerves rose when I heard a cracking sound behind me. I turned around slowly and looked behind me, but nothing was there.

As usual.

However, as I turned to go forward, I felt sick to my stomach, and panic started to seep into my consciousness. Once again.

There was a small carry bag on the ground, about a foot away from me. I looked around but there was no one in my sight-or at least I could not spot anyone.

Slowly, I approached the bag and peered inside, only to find a damn lunch box with the necessary cutlery. I should not be surprised at this point, but a pink sticky note was attached to it.

This is a first.

You would need more energy to run further away from me, right, my sweet Asteria?

These words made my heart race and my stomach churned into oblivion. My jaw clenched as anger coursed through my veins at his audacity, and I crumbled the note in my fist before returning the box to the ground.

Since day one, he has been toying with me.

The bastard is aware of my location but refuses to confront me. He has been leaving food for me ever since we started this run and chase.

It was supposed to be just me running away from him, but the whole situation turned into a game of hide and seek, and the bastard was not even playing by the rules. Is it fair that he has always known where I am? On day one, I fell asleep under a tree, exhausted from all of my running, but when I awoke, there was a similar lunch box filled with food and a water bottle beside it.

I would not be surprised if his minions were following him and taking care of everything he needed.

He took a liking to this sick situation, which I am sure he is enjoying.

"Leave me alone, please." I whispered hoarsely, enough for him to hear. I felt his presence before his voice came alive.

His footsteps paused behind me, and the chilly air caused goosebumps to appear on my skin. "You know I can not do that, Taara. I am not capable of that."

My palms became sweaty, and I wiped them on my dirty shirt, but this only made them wetter. I turned to face him, and his gaze travelled across my entire frame, pausing at my eyes.

My throat began to dry up the moment his hooded eyes collided with mine, leaving me breathless. This is one of the reasons, among many, why I need to get away from him; the mere eye contact made me want to jump into his arms.

We are toxic. Too much toxicity.

He extended his hand to reach me, but when I took a large step back, he dropped his hand by his side. Hurt flashed through his eyes, but he quickly composed himself, instead passing me a smile.

That almost melted my head, but the papers, the images, the headlines, the ring and the woman-everything flashed in the back of my mind, and I realised why I was running away from him.

I had to do something before I gave in to him.

I cannot let my insatiable desire bow to his obsession.

After briefly closing my eyes and taking a long, deep breath, the earthy smell of damp soil mixed with his scent entered my nostrils. My shoulders relaxed, and I opened my eyes to see that he was slightly closer than before. I met his eager gaze as if I were his entire world, and he would crumble to nothing without me.

However, I cannot ignore his betrayal.

I reached out and extended my hand towards him. At first, he looked startled and confused but soon recovered and placed his palm against mine. I took advantage of his distracted state by pulling the fork from my pocket and jerking my hand away from him, pushing him as hard as I could.

Soon followed a loud thud as he fell on his back, and I put the fork on the side of my neck and pressed it against my skin.

I could never harm him. Not even my wildest dreams.

He rose to his feet and looked at me with alarm in his eyes.

"Stop it, Taara! This is not funny; stop it!" He said, carefully watching me, with his arms raised and added. "Please! Stop; you will hurt yourself."

I shook my head, tears rolling down my cheeks. "I will stop if you back off and never chase after me. Let me live my life and you live yours with..." I paused, wanting to add but refrained and breathed deeply. "Peace."

As he stepped closer to me, a tear fell from his eyes, and I pressed the fork harder, feeling it pierce my skin. His gaze was drawn to the crimson drop that I felt sliding down my collarbone. With a clenched jaw and fists, he took several steps back, keeping his burning gaze on me.

"Put that damn thing down!" he exclaimed, pausing at a distance.

I set the fork down but tightly gripped it in my palm.

"Please allow me to walk you out of this forest." I nodded my head after some thought; it would be beneficial to me.

I followed him as he turned around and began moving, and a few minutes later I heard several footsteps. Just as I had guessed,. He had his minions following him around. I could not keep from scoffing.

I turned to see seven men following us.

"My sweet, Asteria?"

I glared at him, wanting to punch him in the gut, at his smug expression. What a bloody asshole! "Tell your men: if they dare to follow me, I will kill them."

He straightened his posture, his gaze shifting from me to his men behind me. "You heard the boss; make sure to forward this message to everyone back home." Then came a loud agreement from behind me.

He took a step forward, and I nearly stopped breathing; my breath caught in my throat as he got closer and paused just a little further away from me. He stared at me, and I could feel his breath on my face.

I kept my gaze fixed on his chest because I knew there was no way I could get away from him if our gazes collided again. My heart would break at his warm eyes, expecting me to succumb and return home with him. Despite my protests, he pressed my chin between his thumb and forefinger and forced me to look into his eyes.

"I will not chase you, and I am certain that once you leave, you will vanish from the face of the earth. However, know this, Taara: the instant I noticed a movement on your end." I got shivers down my spine when he paused and laughed low and dangerously. "I will unite hell and heaven to reclaim you."