Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose.

Leilani.

Morning came faster than I would have loved it to and when I woke up in the large queen-sized bed that I had slept in last night, I was stunned to find a neatly folded set of clothes on the bedside table.

But that wasn’t all. At all!

There were a pair of shoes that looked a size bigger than my actual size, some toiletries and a food tray large enough to feed a small town.

Confusion creased my eyebrows at the sight, but that confusion soon turned into glee when my stomach instantly somersaulted as soon as the scent of food hit my nostrils.

And goddess, I couldn’t help but salivate at the sight in front of me.

I could help but marvel at how large the feast was. There was rice and chicken sauce, some porridge, some beef soaked in a drippy tantalizing- looking sauce, so many fruits, two different kinds of fruit drinks plus water, and even a loaf of bread.

Bread!

I rose to my feet slowly, feeling greedy after so many hours— days— of literal starvation. However, I had just taken a few steps towards the food when the door suddenly creaked open and the man from last night— let’s call him ’The Giant’— stepped in, looking all beautiful in a stunning navy blue three piece suit and a crisp white shirt underneath.

His shoe was so shiny, I could literally see my reflection in it if I looked hard enough. And instinctively, I took a step back as soon as my eyes met his.

I hissed; "You didn’t knock."

That was the first thing I could think of, and I blurted it out even before I had the chance to think my words through.

The man stopped walking as soon as he heard me speak, and to my utter dismay, immediately lowered his head, walked out of the room, shut the door quietly behind him and then knocked. Loudly. As if saying: ’Now, here is the knock you so desire."

My face heated up with embarrassment at his actions and for some reason, my throat felt dry too.

I gulped to push down the bile in my throat and with a voice so small, I barely even heard myself, I said; "You can come in!"

He strutted in shortly afterwards, his face the usual mask of stoic indifference. But today, somehow, I couldn’t help but notice how warmer he seemed around me compared to last night... how his eyes seemed to be smiling at me even though his lips weren’t.

He drawled; "Good morning, Leilani."

The sound of my name on his lips made me feel strangely calmer. If I was antsy before, then for some weird reason, I felt nothing. Just numb and warm and everything else in between.

My face once again heated up when I lifted my eyes to meet his gaze and then I whispered; "Good morning sir."

"I hope you rested well, Leilani?" He asked softly, and this time, I couldn’t stop myself from frowning.

Why?

Because I couldn’t remember telling him my name last night.

I couldn’t remember having any kind of conversation with him besides the one where I’d wanted to leave and he wanted the exact opposite.

I lowered my head slightly and frowned. "I do not remember telling you my name last night, Sir."

And at that, he smiled. "Ahh, yes! I know that."

Well...?

"You did not need to tell me your name or anything for me to know it because I overheard you when you told one of my staff."

Even though I didn’t fully believe him, I couldn’t help but nod. "Okay. But I’ll be leaving today. This morning."

"I already know that." He answered quickly— a little too quickly. "From what I can see, I think you’ve rested well enough. All you need to do now is eat, bath, clean up... and then you can leave."

I frowned, crossed my arms over my chest and hissed; "Really?"

"Of course," he said, shrugging. "What were you expecting? That you were being held hostage?"

The sarcasm dripping off each word like honey made me want to roll my eyes at him. But deciding against that, I shook my head. "No. I just thought—"

"That I may have some personal issues with you?"

"No, as well." I answered, sounding almost snappy. Then breathing through my mouth to curb the way my heart wildly raced in my chest, I hissed; "Nothing. Thank you."

The man didn’t say anything else. He didn’t even look at me again as he soon turned around to leave the room. He had however just gotten to the door when he suddenly stopped, and then he spat;

"You have exactly one hour."

"Huh?"

"I have somewhere I have to be by 11 and I guess I can drop you off on my way."

For a couple of seconds after he said those words, I simply stood there, surprised out of my head because I couldn’t fathom why a man who doesn’t know shit about me would be so caring—in his own way.

I didn’t understand why I felt so safe around him despite the fact that he was a total stranger... and for some reason, I could sense that he felt the same way about me too.

I sighed; "thank you," and then watched as he went away, leaving me with my very conflicting thoughts.

—

About an hour later, after I had fed, cleaned up and clothed myself in the clothes that were about two sizes bigger than my actual size plus the hoodie that covered my face all the way to my cheeks, I got into the ’Good Samaritan’s’ car only to hop out of it a few minutes later in front of Frostclaw. Inc and frown when he didn’t drive away.

Hell, he wouldn’t.

I turned around to face him whilst crossing my arms over my beating heart (my heart was racing at the thought of seeing Jarek) and whispered softly; "I am safe here, Mister. I will be safe here. Thank you very much for everything."

But the man barely glanced at me after I said those words. He didn’t even look like he was the one I was talking to as he soon shrugged at me and muttered; "I guess you’re safe but you’re not the reason I am waiting..."

"Then what is?" I couldn’t help but ask, not missing the way he looked past me to the towering building behind me.

"I am here to see Jarek Frostclaw," he drawled, "do you know him too?"

I froze.