Chapter 1
Adjusting her glasses on the bridge of her nose, Sara looked up at the teacher as she was evaluating her test.
“You haven’t done the worst. But I know you’ve got more potential than this, Sara. 98 is an amazing score for others but not for you. You’re not using your skills to the best of your abilities.”
Sara looked at the teacher and smiled, giving her a small nod. ‘If I use my talents even more, I’ll be doing much better things with my life than stay in school. Geez.’
“Of course, professor. I’ll do my best next time too.” Sara spoke and gave a small bow before heading out. She took in a deep breath of relief and loosened her tie a little bit. “Gosh it’s so suffocating in there.” She looked at the time. It was time for her to head home so she walked to her class, grabbed her bag and walked out the school gates.
She put in her earphones and listened to some music. She had her hands in her blazer pockets as she walked, her face showing no emotion at the moment. She did have a chauffeur to drive her around everywhere but she really didn’t want to talk to anyone and she wanted to walk.
When the light had turned green, she started crossing the road but fell back when a car stopped an inch away from her, the sheer speed scaring her. “Are you driving straight to hell??” She exclaimed and stood up, dusting her skirt off.
She scoffed at the driver before shaking her head and walking on her way until she was roughly turned around and pushed back. This time, she was able to catch herself so she only stumbled. “How dare you speak like that to my boss?! You’ve got to apologize now.”
Sara looked at the guy like he was crazy and shook her head. “He’s your boss. Not mine. I won’t apologize to cowards like him. Couldn’t even come and ask for an apology himself. He doesn’t deserve it. Besides, you were the driver. I was talking to you. Not your boss.” Sara turned to walk around again but the guy held her bag and pulled her back, dragging her to the car, all while Sara was screaming at him to stop.
The guy pushed Sara into the surprisingly huge car and she fell at a pair of feet. “No one taught you manners, I guess.” She winced and sat up, looking up at the person at the feet of whom she fell.
“A disrespectful lamb, huh? That cannot be accepted.” The guy came forward and placed a finger under the girl’s chin, lifting it up. She shook her head away but he grabbed her cheeks, forcing her to look at him.
“Apologize. Now.” The man’s voice was low and raspy. Sara tried to make out who it was but she failed. The sunset shadow was cast over his face which made it difficult to notice any features at all.
“For what? Crossing the street like a normal human? No. You guys are the ones that should apologize. Can’t you see the green light for the pedestrians? My point is no. I will not apologize.”
The man smirked and let the girl go which immediately made her scoot back to the edge, as far away from him as she could possibly go. Despite her mouthing off, she couldn’t deny that the man did have an overwhelming presence. Her school skirt wasn’t exactly the longest. It wasn’t even below her knees so instinctively, she took her bag off and placed it on her lap, holding it close.
She heard a door close and the vehicle starting to move. Panic started to set in and she scrambled to see that the car was moving. “W-Where are you taking me?? Let me go!!” She yelled, tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she tried to unlock the door. The man sat back, crossing one of his legs over the other as he watched in amusement.
“90 kilometers per hour.”
Sara looked at the man and scoffed. “Better than staying in here with a psychopath.” Sara pulled the door open and jumped out, landing with a thud as she rolled on the floor a little before coming to a stop. She watched as the car just drove away, not even stopping. She thanked the lord above for that.
She looked pretty dirty now but she didn’t mind it. As long as she was away from the men, she felt safer. She put her bag on and started to walk back home, limping just a tad bit. When she reached her house, or rather, her mansion, she walked in and the maids immediately rushed to her, bombarding her with questions.
They all stopped and moved away when Sara’s mother had come down the stairs. “What happened?” The woman asked, calm and composed. “I just fell, mom. Nothing to be concerned about.” Sara reassured. “Okay. If you say so. Clean yourself up. We’ve got guests coming over for dinner. I’ll have one of the maids bring up a medical kit just in case.”
The woman cupped Sara’s cheek and caressed it a little before heading off into the study. Sara sighed and went up to her room. She placed her bag down, grabbed her towel and walked into the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and smiled. She didn’t have any scratches on her but her cheeks were slightly red from when the man gripped her hard. That’s what her mother would’ve noticed. She removed her glasses and put them aside. She just wore them to look more studious. She didn’t need them.
Regardless, she stripped and got into the bath which was already drawn for her. It was nice and hot. For some reason she could never use warm water. It always had to be really hot. It just helped her calm down and relax properly.
She leaned back and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. She felt more exhausted than usual and she definitely knew why. It was more of a mental exhaustion than physical. She felt some of the places on her body sting a little so she didn’t stay in for long.
In a few minutes, she washed herself and got out, wrapping a towel around her body. She walked out and saw the medical kit on her bed. She locked the door first before taking the towel off and drying herself properly. She sat down on her bed and cleaned up her legs. She had only gotten a few cuts and scrapes on her legs which she didn’t mind. They weren’t the worst.
She walked to the closet and pulled out some black stockings which were long enough to cover up her cuts. She put them on and hummed as she searched for a dress. She didn’t want to do anything fancy so she just pulled out a black dress. Once she had put on her clothes, she walked to her dresser and sat down.
She brushed through her hair to remove any tangles and put it half up with a black bow to go along with everything. Once she was done, she made her way down.
“Young miss, your mother has wished for you to go to the study after you’re finished.”
Sara smiled and thanked the maid before making her way to the study. She knocked before entering and saw her mother there, reading a book. Her mother looked up and smiled, gesturing for Sara to come in and take a seat.
“How was school?”
Sara sat down and nodded. “It was very good, mom. I got a 98 on my test.” Sara’s mother smiled. “That’s wonderful, sweetheart. Good job.” Sara nodded once more with a smile. She was glad her mother didn’t really force her to do anything.
“Now, want to tell me what happened?” She asked and Sara sighed. “I was.. Coming back from school. I didn’t want to take the car so I was walking. I.. I was crossing the street and this one car came really close.” She explained everything that happened all the while her mother shook her head.
“You’ve got to be more careful, baby girl. Anything could have gone wrong, you know? What if you couldn’t jump out? Or what if you’d have broken many of your bones?” Sara gave her mother a reassuring smile. “I’m okay, mom. Nothing to worry about.” She said and watched as her mother stood up.
“I’m not joking around, Sara. Be careful.”
Sara looked at her mother, squinting her eyes a little bit before nodding. “Okay. I will be more careful.” Her mother smiled and walked to her. “Good. Now, come on. The guests should be arriving any second with your father.” She placed an arm around Sara’s shoulder and guided her outside with her.
Sara watched as the maids opened the doors and a few men and women walked in. She put on a smile and walked to them with her mother, just following her lead on whatever she did.
“She’s just a mini you, Caroline.” One of the women giggled and Sara smiled. Her mother was a highly successful entrepreneur. Being told that she was like her mother was a huge compliment for Sara. Once they had all taken their seats at the dinner table, Sara continued to smile and answer everyone’s questions.
“What next, Sara? Which field are you thinking of going into?”
Sara looked at the man who asked this and cursed him mentally. “I-” She was cut off by her father who gave a small laugh. “She’ll go into the business field of course. Both her parents are in this field, of course she’ll get into too. Right, sweetheart?” Sara looked at her father and just smiled.
She bit the inside of her cheek a little and looked down at her plate. She felt a hand on her knee and saw that it was her mother’s who gave her a warm smile. She put her hand down and held her mother’s hand, calming down almost immediately.
‘In this cruel world, I want there to be only us, mother.’
