CHAPTER 9

Marietta P.O.V

My feet were hurting but still, I was running. My surroundings were surrender in dark. As if they had promised to never come in light.

Darkness and a lost princess running without acknowledging the path. I didn't know why I was running. My heartbeat was fast, breath was harsh but still, I was running.

Running in the darkness with hope maybe you find a way out, light to threaten darkness. But there was nothing. An unknown fear was haunting me. A fear that I could never escape this darkness it doesn't matter how hard I would try.

Then there came that sound, which froze me at my spot, and the rhythm took control over my body. It became hard to even move, panting heavily, unable to do anything.........

"Ahhhhh!" I SCREAMED!

I opened my eyes to found myself in my room. It was a nightmare. AGAIN! I whipped the sweat off my face and tried to calm my breath. My eyes traveled to the window, the sky was dark outside.

For how long was I sleeping? Sleeping or unconscious. I sadly smiled and stood up from the floor.

DUM! DUM! DUM!

"Are you going to open it or will I have to break it?" Someone was banging on my door continuously.

"Marie!" He spoke in a threatening tone as he called my name and I knew who it was.

Veward!

"Open this damn door, Marie!"

DUM! DUM! DUM!

I composed myself, looked in the mirror to set my dress and hair then I wiped my cheeks to rub the stains off of the tear.

"I will count to three and if you don't open it then don't blame me for..."

Taking a sharp breath in, I opened the door. Because I knew him very well and I know he would really break my poor door.

"Finally," he said and stepped inside.

"Why were you testing my patience? I was just about to break it." He said, assessing me from head to toe, then added, "Go and freshen up. We need to talk." He pushed me towards the washroom, not giving me a little chance to even protest.

I washed my face, splashing cold water to numb the pain for a while. I opened my eyes and stared at my reflection. My eyes were a mess of swelling and redness. I never cried in my life before. I was a girl who always kept a smile even on bad days because I believed a smile has the power to face any hardship. It was the first time in my life I felt so compelled.

I came out wiping my face with a towel while he had already made himself comfortable on my bed. He looked at me and patted his hand beside him.

"Come sit." He said, smiling softly.

I put the towel aside and sat beside him. He looked so calm as if nothing had happened.

'How can he be so calm?'

"Tell me, where did you leave after the accident?" He asked, his voice was soft but his words felt like a fire. I laughed humorlessly. So, now he thought that I would have left my brother and sister to die alone.

I felt sad that he was my best friend and he didn't even believe me. I knew I have stuck in darkness. But where was my escape?

"You also think I did this." I said.

"I never said that." He frowned.

"You don't have to..." He interrupted, "Hold on, don't be stupid, okay? Before your think that I'd ask you this because I don't believe you then let me tell you. I want to know in detail what happened in the car so that I could help you." His words made a strange warm feeling tingled inside my stomach. I looked down on the floor.

This would be the first time that someone was calling me stupid and I wanted to laugh.

I didn't look at him. I cleared my throat and tried to ignore the tingles inside my stomach before looking back at him. "I was in the car with them but I don't remember further. I don't know what happened after that." I said, and again lots of questions whirled in my mind.

How? When? Who? Why?

"Why did you take a ride from them instead of simply using your car?" He asked, thoughtfully looking at me.

"Where is John?" Instead of answering, I questioned him.

"He is missing along with those bodyguards of yours." He told me and this time I frowned. Why? Why was he missing?

"The tires of my car were punctured so instead of waiting for another car. I thought to take a ride from Allessandro was a good option." I shrugged as the faded memories of our last time together appeared in my mind. I weakly smiled.

"Did something unusual happened in the car?" He asked, after a while. He was sounding like an investigator, trying to grasp something through questions.

Well, everything was unusual but that tire puncture, car brakes, and my nightmare were worse, not forget to mention my mysterious arrival back home.

"Car brakes were not working either," I said, as another scene appeared in my mind of Alessandro giving us fake hope that he would not let us die. But he, himself, died. You lied to me brother, I will never forgive you.

"And what happened after that?" He asked, curiously as if, trying to join all pieces of the puzzle.

"That's from where everything is not even a blur. I don't remember anything further." I replied, skipping the odd nightmare. Of course, he would never believe me. A lone tear escaped my eye.

"I don't know. I don't remember anything after that. I don't know what happened next? How did I home come? When did I come home? Back then I felt a sharp pain in my head and everything blackout. The next moment, when I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on my bed in my room." I said, hiccupping and sobbing.

"Sssshhh... It's ok, relax. Calm down first." He whispered, hugging me and patting my back to comfort me. Unintentionally, I rested my head on his shoulder and cried silently.

"It means my doubt was right. It was all planned. There must be someone who wants to harm you and your family. But who? And... Why?" He said, confused to obvious and my heart skipped several beats.

Why I didn't think like that? Things were creepy from the start but we didn't even bother to suspect that something was not right. I pulled apart and looked at him.

"You are right!" I said, bewildered.

He opened his mouth to say something but then again shut it. As he looked away and rubbed the back of the neck. Whenever he behaved like that it means that he wanted to ask something but finding the courage to do so. I knew what he wanted to ask.

"Ask whatever is bothering you," I said.

"Actually, I just..... How did you come home? I mean if you were in the car then..." He asked, a bit embarrassed by his question but looked at me for an answer.

"Masked Savior saved me," I told him the only possibility.

"Again! Then I think I should personally thank that mysterious savior for saving your precious life." He said, grinning. But again looked confused as he asked. "But how?"

"Maybe Magic," I shrugged.

"Magic doesn't exist," He chuckled.

"Of course it does. If you believe in it." I said, confidently locking my bright blue eyes with his ocean one. Although, I was not sure HOW that savior saved me but I knew that savior DID save me. We looked at each other for a while before I decided to break this trance.

"So...someone is framing me in all this," I said, coming back to our topic.

"Correction, Caro is framing you." He said, frowning at my sister's name.

"It's not like that," I gave him a look. "It's just Caro loves her brother and it's not a little thing to lose your big brother all of a sudden and try to be in her shoes. I am sure you......"

"Woohoo! Let it be. We are talking about Caroline Amino. And she's not the only one who has lost her brother." He cut me off, irritated. I glared at him.

"Besides, it doesn't matter who is framing you. We have to find a way to clear your name. Then we will do something about who and why someone did this. Alright?" He added, noticing my annoyance.

"Isn't it would be better if we stay away from trouble?" I asked.

"No, we are already in the middle of trouble." He added, looking at my face. "I mean to say you're on top of their suspect list and I know their all evidence will rotate around you." He cleared.

"Why they are suspecting me?" I asked.

"One, because you were in the car with them at the accident time. Two, because your dear sister can't shut her stupid mouth." He huffed while I raised my brows confused at the later reason.

But before I could ask further a knock on my door interrupted. Veward and I exchanged a look before I said loudly, "Come in."

"Master Max wants to see you." It was Anna with a weak pitiful smile, indicating trouble.