Love, Cinderella

Twenty-eight:

Me crying would not help anyone. I needed to get out of the tape. I needed to go find out if anyone was hurt.

I heard footsteps coming towards the direction I was at and I got quiet. If it was that guy again, then he would really kill me. I was quiet in my corner until a cellphone flashlight was flashed around the room.

"Bella? You in here?" I would have screamed in joy if my lips were not taped closed. So I did the next best thing. I screamed. It was muffled but a second later the light was on me.

It was Nae Jae Hwan. His eyes widened when he saw me.

"Oh my gawd, Bella." He rushed towards me. It took a while for the tape to be removed because he was scared that he would hurt me. He first started with my mouth. I ignored the burning pain.

"Jae Hwan. Where's Khanya?" I asked worried for his life.

"He was taken to the hospital. He'll be fine." He said, still removing everything delicately.

"What about the gunshot? I heard a gunshot." I was suddenly worried.

"He tried to shoot me." He did not even look up when he spoke. "I did not kill him though." I engulfed him in a hug when he was done.

"Thank you. Thank you." Tears were rolling down my cheeks. Jae Hwan removed me.

"Try not to make too much noise okay? We got the one guy, but I'm guessing he was not alone." He started walking carefully towards the door.

"There was also Cari."

"We did not find her. Stay behind me, and if anything happens go down." I nodded. I realised that he could not see me.

"Okay."

"We'll be out of here very soon." I was just hoping that Jae Hwan was right. "I found her." He pressed his hand onto his ear. That was when I noticed the ear piece. "She's fine...I think..." We walked down the dark passage. "Are you fine?" He glanced at me and I nodded. "Yeah, she's fine. There's still one more person to find. So cover all the exits. Make sure no one escapes." He was silent after that.

"Who were you talking to?" I said into the silence.

"Charles."

"Is he okay?" He shook his head.

"He's going crazy. You've been gone for more than six hours. He thought that you were already dead." I frowned. We finally got out of the dark passage and got to a brighter area.

"Did he at least have something to eat?" Jae Hwan laughed.

"You're funny." I wasn't trying to be though.

I saw a large door forward. There were police cars outside and it was then that I also noticed police sirens. The whole back area was sound proof. We were still at the same warehouse, so Cari must have been lying.

"We can see you. We're coming from the east." Jae Hwan talked into his ear piece again. That was when I noticed him. He turned around just in time for our eyes to meet. He was too far away for me to have noticed his features, but I still knew it was him.

"Bella!" Charles ignored the police man that was talking to him and ran towards me. I also ran towards him and we did not even look at each other. I wrapped my arms around Charles, he did the same with me.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." I cried into Charles's chest.

"Don't apologise." He said as his hold on me tightened. "Everything is fine." I was so glad to finally have Charles by my side. I was so glad to finally be holding him. I could still remember the guy's hungry gaze. I could still remember the promises he told me. I was glad that Charles arrived when he did. I was glad that I had sent Jae Hwan the text that I had. I let all of my tears fall. I let myself cry all of my worries away as Charles held onto me.

"She's still somewhere in here." I heard Jae Hwan say, probably to one of the police men. "If she escapes then Bella will never be safe."

Charles looked down at me. He used his thumbs to wipe away my tears.

"I'm here now, Bella. I'll always be here, okay?" I nodded as I sniffed.

"What about Khanya?" I was hoping that he was fine. I was praying he was not too bad.

"He's fine. He's..." Charles stopped talking all of a sudden. I looked at him confused. "Ow." He said as he fell onto his knees.

"Charles!" I shouted as Charles fell onto his side. I knelt next to him.

"Now it's your turn!" I heard Cari's voice. I looked up and she held a gun in her hands. My breath stuck in my throat as I stared at the gun that was pointed to my head. Before I could even blink Cari was tackled to the ground, at the same time that she fired the gun. She missed. I paid my attention back at Charles who was breathing deeply. Paramedics went to Charles with their equipment and a stretcher.

"Did we get her?" Charles asked, still taking slow breaths. I nodded as he was put on the stretcher. I was still not sure if she was taken away, but I did see Thato and Dustin tackle her to the ground. I heard her scream.

"Let me kill her!" She shouted. "She needs to die!" I looked at her and she was squirming in the police man's tight grip. "I will get you, Bella. I will kill you!"

Charles took my hand. I looked at his hand, acknowledging his gesture.

"Don't worry about her, Bella." And then he was taken away. I watched the paramedic take him away. My vision blurred for a second and I tried to blink it away. When I was fine again I noticed a paramedic.

"Miss, we need to check you for any injuries. Would you mind following me?" I felt a sharp pain on my upper abdomen. I held onto the area and felt that it was wet. I lifted my hand and looked at it. My vision blurred again, but not before I saw my bloody hand. I felt myself falling but the paramedic caught me. I could feel my head spinning as I heard many people start speaking at once.

Maybe Cari had not actually missed. My eyes closed and it was dark for a while. When I opened them there was another paramedic by my side.

He said something, but it sounded like gibberish. I looked up at the old ceiling. I could feel myself slowly going into unconsciousness. I was glad. I did not feel the pain, unlike my father who was sick for more than three months before his death. I was glad that Cari was arrested, and if they searched her stuff, they'd probably find that diary that she had mentioned.

Black spots filled my vision.

I was going to see my parents again. I was happy about that. We'll be a happy family again. We'll be together.

Mom, dad, I can't wait to see you again.