Chapter 1 – The Night She Ran
“No one really knew how broken she was—until she ran… and never looked back.”
Alesha stood in the dim hallway, her fingers trembling as they hovered over the doorknob. Her breath came in short, uneven gasps, and the world around her felt like it was spinning. Her mind couldn’t fully process what had happened the night before—what Aji had done.
She had loved him once.
He was her senior, her first boyfriend, her first everything. The type of man who made her feel like she was being chosen—special. She had fallen hard and fast. But Aji wasn’t love. He was control, jealousy, emotional manipulation, and now… he had crossed a line he couldn’t uncross.
She had said no. She had pushed him away.
But in the fog of alcohol and twisted affection, he hadn’t listened.
Now, her clothes were wrinkled. Her body sore. Her heart in pieces.
She couldn’t go back home. Couldn’t look her parents in the eye. Couldn’t walk back into her dorm like nothing happened. And most of all, she couldn’t face Aji.
That’s when her memory snapped to the boy next door. Haekal.
Quiet. Observant. Always a bit too aware of her presence. He was Aji’s friend, technically—but nothing like Aji. He was calm, respectful. He always greeted her softly when their paths crossed. Once, he even gave her his umbrella when it rained outside their lecture hall.
Her feet moved before her mind could stop them.
She climbed the stairs of the apartment complex and knocked on Haekal’s door. Just once.
A moment later, it creaked open.
He stood there, wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, eyes squinting from the morning light. But the moment he saw her—Alesha with her messy hair, swollen face, tear-streaked cheeks, and haunted eyes—he froze.
“Alesha?” His voice was quiet, but filled with immediate concern.
She didn’t say a word. Her lower lip quivered.
“Come in,” he said at once, stepping aside.
She entered without hesitation. The door shut behind her. Silence fell between them, but it was the safest silence she had felt in a long time.
Haekal didn’t ask questions.
He handed her a glass of warm tea, set a blanket around her shoulders, and sat a respectful distance away. His gaze was gentle, waiting, not demanding.
She clutched the mug in both hands. It was too hot, but she welcomed the sting. At least it made her feel something.
Finally, after minutes of silence, her voice cracked.
“I… I didn’t want it to happen.”
Haekal’s body tensed, but he said nothing.
“I told him no. I told him. He didn’t listen.”
Her voice broke. The tears she had been holding back came flooding like a storm. Her shoulders shook. She clutched her knees and sobbed into them.
And Haekal? He didn’t touch her. He didn’t speak. He just sat there, eyes misted, fists clenched, breathing deeply as if holding back every emotion rising in him.
“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered between sobs. “I can’t face anyone. I can’t go back. I feel like I’m drowning, Haekal.”
He finally moved—slowly, carefully—and placed a box of tissues beside her. His voice was quiet but firm.
“You don’t have to go back. Not if you don’t want to.”
She looked up, startled. “What?”
“I’ll help you,” he said. “If you want to disappear, I’ll make it happen.”
Her eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m serious,” he said. “I have connections. My uncle works in immigration. He can help with documents. A new name. A new identity. A new life.”
Alesha stared at him, stunned. “Why… why would you do that for me?”
He looked away, as if ashamed. “Because I’ve seen how he treated you. And because… I’ve liked you for a long time.”
Silence filled the room again, but this time it wasn’t empty. It was heavy. Full.
“I don’t want anything from you,” Haekal added quickly. “I don’t expect you to feel the same. I just… can’t let you stay here and suffer. Not after what he did.”
Alesha’s lips parted. Her heart ached, not just from pain—but from the quiet offer of rescue. Of safety.
For the first time since that night, she didn’t feel like a victim. She felt like she had a choice.
“I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she whispered.
“You do now,” Haekal replied. “You have me.”
Later that night, as she lay on the couch of his apartment, wrapped in a borrowed hoodie and warmth she didn’t understand, Alesha closed her eyes.
Tomorrow, her name would no longer be Alesha.
Tomorrow, she would become someone else.
But tonight—just for tonight—she allowed herself to believe she could escape.
