When Shalei's consciousness surfaced again, she took her sweet time to open her eyes. One thing she learned from her extensive experience from being kidnapped—no, she definitely wasn't proud of it—was that panicking wouldn't do her any good. First, she was sure that she wouldn't be harmed, otherwise her overprotective parents would unleash hell on the kidnappers, like what had happened a few years ago. Second, she only had to wait until either the transaction was done or her family's bodyguards found and rescued her. Until then, she could do anything. Literally.
Once, Shalei even had a heart-to-heart talk with the kidnapper and with tears and snots running down his face, he told a tear jerking story of how unfair the world was and how he was in dire need of money for his sickly daughter while serving Shalei a bowl of piping hot ramen when she complained that she was hungry.
They weren't all bad, some even felt bad for kidnapping her. Shalei got the private number of that kidnapper after she was rescued—the uncle whose daughter suffered from a brain tumor. Now, the daughter had recovered nicely and the uncle often sent Shalei pictures of her, a sickly bald yet happy five-years-old, telling her how guilty he felt and how thankful he was that Shalei persuaded her parents to drop the case. It's a win-win situation for all. Not that she would ever tell her mother unless she was a masochist who wanted to be whipped.
Okay, Shalei knew she was rambling now but that was the extent of how bored she was. Might as well consider this as a short vacation from school, she surmised.
She was currently laying on a soft, silky mattress that felt very cool and comfy against her skin. There was no other sound around her other than faint activity and unclear conversation drifting from outside.
Shalei slowly, slowly let out a long exhale and was ready to stretch her waist when she heard a sharp intake of breath coming from her side.
O—Oh, so someone was here.
Clothes rustled, soft almost undetected footsteps, and somehow…Shalei could even hear how hard that person's heart was beating. In the mood to tease, Shalei abruptly snapped her eyes open wide and turned to the source of the sound, intending to scare whoever it was that snuck around.
…Instead, it was her who got a jumpscare. Damn.
Shalei held her breath subconsciously when her eyes clashed with the deepest, most beautiful ocean blue eyes she had ever seen.
When they caught the dim light that sprinkled into the room, they shifted and flowed like sapphires, a color so beautiful that they put the jewels to shame. And oh, those eyes were paired with unfairly thick eyelashes, sharp eyebrows and Shalei wasn't exaggerating when she said that the man's face was even more beautiful than any other actors or celebrities she had met before. All sharp and cutting in the right edges. Yes, beautiful. Other than that, she had no words to describe how picturesque the man was when he stood there bathed in the soft light.
Shalei's eyes trailed down to sweep across the man's tall, proportional body clad only in a loose long sleeved shirt, dark green army pants and black boots. His charcoal hair was a mess above his head, the kind of mess that was effortlessly beautiful. And somehow the way he carried himself reminded Shalei of one of her family's bodyguards who was an ex-soldier. Firm, imposing, all ensuring.
Shalei blinked and the gears in her brain started to turn wildly. What was this? Had it become a trend to hire such a good-looking kidnapper? If Shalei wasn't wrong, she had chanced upon a similar questionnaire before.
If you found yourself kidnapped, and your kidnapper turned out to be the hottest and sexiest man you have ever seen, what would you do?
A. Ask for heavier shackles
B. Run
95% of the respondents had chosen A, which wasn't strange because Shalei realized—right now—that she would also choose the same thing. No, she wouldn't choose to be shackled, for God's sake, but she was going to have her fun until the time she had to return to her dreary and desolate house. So, Shalei put on the most innocent and confused look she could muster. "Um…" God, her voice was so rough and dry. How long had it been since she lost consciousness? She cleared her throat and said to the man who had just snapped out of his stupor. "Who am I…?"
The man blanched and he looked as if Shalei had just punched his gut. He rasped, voice thick in disbelief. "You don't remember…?"
Why did he look like the world was ending soon? Ugh, now Shalei started to feel guilty. It gave her the impression that she had deprived a puppy from its snack. Damn this sense of justice and responsibility. That's why Shalei could never go against her parents' demands, ever. Or maybe the man was just too handsome, and his voice was so damn pleasant too, the deep and baritone kind that seemed to rumble straight out of his throat.
"Okay wait," Shalei put on a show as if she was trying hard to remember. "I remember now. Don't worry, I don't have amnesia or anything."
The tension loosened from the man's shoulders and he nodded stiffly.
Shalei turned her head to the other side and suppressed her laughter. When she recovered, her face had morphed back into the usual poker face. Guess Shalei had to thank her mother for the facial expression lessons. She tried to sit up and cursed when the bones in her whole body were creaking like rusty machines. Soreness erupted along her joints and she couldn't help the grimace. Hell, it must have been some time since the time when she was whisked away from the school.
The room she was in was bare except for the bed she was currently sleeping on, a simple desk and chair on the other side, and a sole window that overlooked the scenery outside.
Shalei glanced out and saw nothing but an expense of trees as wide as her eyes could reach. The sky was dark, rendering her unable to snoop on the situation outside.
No biggie. She had gotten used to being taken hostage in abandoned warehouses, construction sites and houses in the middle of the forest.
She withdrew her gaze nonchalantly and saw the man's eyes still transfixed on her, relentless as if Shalei was going to disappear if he blinked. Shalei couldn't read what he was thinking—or scrutinizing—either way, it made her feel self-conscious from the sheer weight of his gaze on her.
Every normal woman would when they were being stared at with such an intense gaze, okay?
And why didn't he say anything? Something like threatening or demanding her to stay in place otherwise she wouldn't be able to bear the consequences like the opening line of a typical kidnapper? And Shalei wasn't even tied up or anything. Wasn't he afraid that she would run as soon as the opportunity arose?
She ran her fingers through her hair—woah, it felt more silky than she remembered and then something clicked in place. Looking down, Shalei was aghast to see that she wasn't wearing her school uniform anymore and if she sniffed, then she would be able to make out the faint sweet scent of rose and aromatic oil from her skin. In fact, her whole body felt clean and comfortable and she was dressed in a long-sleeved, white silk dress with exquisite gold patterns on the hem.
She snapped her eyes to the sole man in the room and bared her teeth into a smile. "Excuse me, did you take my uniform off, bathe me and wash my hair?" With every word, her smile turned sharper and she scooted backward until her back bumped against the wall. Her mind was running a thousand miles per second. If the man were to say yes, Shalei would lunge forward in the next second and knee him right on his groin. That was what a pervert deserved and nope, she didn't care whether he was the most handsome man she had ever seen!
"No." The man said in a gruff tone and he even looked mildly offended, how dare he.
Shalei waited and no other explanations came from the man's mouth. No…? That was all he had to offer?! Shalei sent him a pointed glare and both of them were locked in a staring contest. She almost got lost into the violent blue whirlpool of those pupils when the man suddenly broke eye contact. She slowly let go of the breath she didn't know she was holding.
"The female ome—servants. They did it." The man spat out, seeming like he was gonna die if he said any more words.
Shalei made a small inquisitive sound in her throat. Huh, they even had servants? Then ransom money wouldn't be what they were after then. Was it her mother's political enemy, demanding her to step down from her position or her father's business rival, who wanted to ask for a favor? Many possibilities flashed through Shalei's mind and she shrugged. Either way, it didn't concern her. All she had to do was wait for rescue.
"Well, that's very kind of you."
Silence.
The corner of Shalei's lips twitched. It's a dejavu. Just like the taciturn kidnappers in the car, ignoring her every remark then the next thing she knew, a syringe would be stabbed into her neck again. She shuddered and rubbed her nape where the needle broke into. There was no syringe again, wasn't there?
Shalei scanned the man's body up and down—maybe a bit appreciatively—and let out a sigh of relief when she found none of the places where he could hide any weapon. She meant, the clothes hugged his body perfectly, encasing every sharp ridges and curves so there was no way he could hide anything underneath right?
Wait no, goddamnit, there's a sword leaning on the corner of the wall half hidden behind the desk.
What was he, a fucking samurai carrying a katana around?!
Shalei gave the man a furtive glance and decided to keep the doubt to herself unless she wanted to taste the blade against her neck. "Hey." She called out and the man turned to her before looking away promptly. "What's your name?"
His eyes widened by a fraction. Not very conspicuously but Shalei had been trained to decipher people's micro expressions since early on hence she noticed it. What? Was there something wrong with her question? Why did he look so surprised?
Such a stiff and defensive man, Shalei tutted. It reminded her of her parents and the thousands of rules in her house. Strangely she didn't feel the slightest bit of discomfort. Instead, there was a voice inside that was telling her to get close to the man which was plainly weird and she attributed it to him being so sinfully gorgeous. And for God's sake, no matter how attractive he was, this wasn't the right situation! She wasn't looking forward to developing Stockholm Syndrome!
He was very cold and looked like the kind of person who would follow rules to the T but somehow, it's just plainly impossible to dislike him when he literally looked like the epitome of perfection. Alas, it seemed like the other party didn't share the sentiment though, judging from how reluctant he was to answer her simple question. Shalei knew her boundaries and she wouldn't force anyone to get along with her. Anyway, she already had her fair share of haters both inside and outside of school. It would take more than that to affect her.
She shrugged. "Forget it then."
"No." The man surprised her by the urgency in his tone. Shalei stared at him, dumbfounded and the man wasn't any better either. Worse, even. "My apologies, I…" The man frowned deeply and he pressed his lips together. "This one's humble name is Sebastian."
Ah, so formal. Shalei had goosebumps just listening to him. "Sebastian?" She murmured and relished in how the man's name rolled off her tongue smoothly. "Seth, then. Sebastian is too long."
Sebastian coughed so hard that his earlobes turned red.
Shalei looked at him with pity. And no, she wouldn't admit how good the faint blush was on his neck. "Are you okay?"
He nodded, fist covering his mouth. Still coughing relentlessly.
"Do you mind? Seth, I mean."
Sebastian pressed his lips into a thin line, his expression gave nothing away as he shook his head.
"Good." Shalei finally stretched her body and felt her old waist creaking again. It seemed like the time to pick up her combat lessons again after a long three months break. She let her feet dangle off the bed and swung it in a carefree manner. "So, is there any food, Seth? I can eat and then you can talk."