The Handsome Devil

Chapter 43 - She's a B**ch

(Warning - strong language)
...

Admittedly, the following week has been rather awkward. Hunter did continue to cook all the meals for both of them, but there was little to no conversation, and it looked like he's trying hard to avoid eye contact.

It was the third day when she heard a faint knock on the door, and her heart skipped a beat at the prospect of ending the whole fiasco once and for all. Nonetheless, the hopes quickly dissolved when she realised he only came to drop off 'Victoria's' packages.

Mumbling a disappointed 'thank you', the girl shut the door before he could notice something's wrong.

What did you expect, murderer.

Her inner voice scolded her as she plopped herself on the bed and let out a frustrated scream into the soft pillow.

The evening was supposed to sort out the issues between them, not to stir an even bigger storm.

With a sigh, she crawled back to the door and started to go through the items.

Just in time. She couldn't help but think and promptly covered her hair by the red wig before moving on to sort through Victoria's clothes.

Being trapped between the four wallpapered walls was getting into her head, especially with Hunter's moodiness.

It might be just the right time to get some fresh air.

Slipping into her tracksuit and finishing Victoria's look with the ridiculous glasses, she walked out of the bedroom and quickly slid through the front door without giving the guard a chance to intervene.

The first few minutes of her run seemed surreal.

Has the sky always been so bright?

She squinted her eyes as they teared up, earning herself a weirded out look from a random passerby.

Why is everything so loud?

After the week of isolation, her senses were overwhelmed by all the stimuli an outside world had to offer. The rattling of engines... And all the people. She has never realised just how noisy the human race is. The more she tried to convince herself everything's gonna be alright, the more her anxiety rose.

It didn't take long before she had to stop running, and once her feet rounded the corner at the end of their street, she was full on hyperventilating.

The panic attack was nowhere near as strong as the day of her escape, but it was a crippling feeling nonetheless.

Moreover, as she struggled to breath and her knees nearly gave up, she couldn't help but think that none of this should be happening.

Not to you, Victoria.

The moment someone's hand appeared on her middle-back, her mind flashed back to Patrick and how he miraculously managed to calm her down.

If only it was him.

Needless to say, she was in for another disappointment when her chocolate eyes met with those of a man she's never seen before.

"Girl, you're pretty messed up" The stranger commented with amusement, but the voice reached her distorted as if she was deep under the water.

Once she straightened up, the humour from the man's face instantly drained, undoubtedly upon noticing the panic in her eyes. Without another word, he provided support to her trembling body and walked her to a bench nearby.