As Annie ran to the other street, she kept looking behind her. However, apart from darkness, she could see nothing. She couldn’t see the man, she could only feel his presence.
Her heart beat rapidly. Holding tight to the straps of her bag, she increased her pace to get to the other street as quickly as she could.
The light was becoming brighter. The other street was almost fully In her view. And she was soon to realize that it was only a narrow street in a desolate neighborhood.
Annie stopped running, standing in the middle of the street. The lamp posts flickered. It was even darker in this area.
“The more you run, the more trouble you get into. Ms. Lin, why don’t you make both our jobs easier?”
His voice was coming not far away from her. The man was still hiding in the darkness.
Annie turned around, brazing herself to confront him. “Mister, if it’s money you want, I’m afraid you have found the wrong person. Even if you hurt me tonight, you won’t find a penny in my bag.”
“Haha, money!” His laughter echoed in the dark walls. “What I want from you is more precious than money.”
How silly of her. Although he had carried out many criminal activities, it never involved taking money from others. Max found her words ridiculous. He was literally living on money if she would ask him.
Like a breeze, the girl disappeared again. In those few seconds that he was distracted, she used that chance to flee without him noticing.
Max cursed under his breath. This girl appeared smart. Instead of lurking in the shadows, he should have brought a face mask instead.
The smile washed away from the guy’s face and he gripped the knife. This interesting prey was starting to get annoying.
This time, he didn’t walk slowly. Walking in the shadows, he hastened his footsteps to catch up with her.
Annie hadn’t really run far. While the man was distracted, she had sighted a trash can and had hidden behind it. From a distance, she could see an outline of his figure as he looked around, searching for her.
He didn’t turn back, so she couldn’t see his face. He was wearing all black also. And his ridiculously tall height added to the fact that she’d never seen him before.
She held her breath and fiddled with her bag to bring out her phone. Turning it on, she began dialing the emergency number.
“Gotcha!”
Annie jolted. His voice came from her back and she sprang up. Instinctively, she threw her bag in a random direction which happened to hit the guy, catching him off-guard.
“Ouch!” Max touched his bruised eye. “Ms. Lin, this is getting personal.”
Annie recovered from her shock and continued running without any sense of where she was going. With the phone still in her hands, her heart raced as she tried dialing the number again. The guy wasn’t hiding in the shadows now. He was chasing after her.
Annie didn’t even glance back as she ran. Then out of nowhere, the sound of a bike roared from a distance. The sound was getting louder and it so happened that the bike was heading right at her.
Annie went static. Her feet were now rooted in place and she couldn’t move. The bike’s headlight blinded her vision, and in that moment, she spaced out.
Brazing herself for the impact, the bike man seemed to know what he was doing. He acted fast and managed to press the brakes just a few inches from where she stood.
“Damnit!” Max cursed again, seeing what just happened. And he quickly retreated back into the shadows. “Damnit.” He let out another curse. How could this be? What kind of luck did this lady have?
“Y–You.” Annie was still struggling to catch her breath. Her knees almost gave out. The only thing keeping her standing was another whirlwind of shock that just hit her.
The man sitting on the bike removed his helmet. His eyes narrowed and he seemed lost for some seconds. “Annabelle, what are you doing in this kind of place?”
Andrew didn’t wait for her answer. Taking in her appearance, he already had an inkling of what was happening. He simply pulled her up with one hand and dropped her on the bike in front of him.
Her heartbeat was prominent against his. He didn’t waste another second there and he raced out of that area.
Just another normal night to clear the thoughts in his head. Who would have thought he’d bump into her? “Just how many people have you offended, Annie?”
His sarcastic words didn’t have any effect on her. Annie was too occupied with pulling herself together. Unfortunately, her thoughts were getting more disoriented, considering their proximity.
Being pressed so tight to his body, his scent was doing strange things to her. By the time the bike stopped at the apartment building, Annie had managed to collect herself.
She got down from the bike and faced him. “Mr. Lim–“
“Don’t thank me yet,” Andrew said in a grumpy voice. “Annabelle, will you still not give in to my proposal?”
Annie didn’t see his words coming, but she didn’t show any sign of shock. “What are you trying to imply?”
“I just saved your life.”
“Mr. Lim.” Annie chuckled. “With you acting this way, it makes me think this coincidence is too good to be true.”
Still, Annie’s thoughts contrast her own words. If this man hadn’t suddenly arrived in that area, would she still be alive? And if he was the one that set her up, he wouldn’t have appeared to save her himself.
That tactic was too lame even for someone like him.
“You claimed we are strangers. Do you think a normal thank you will suffice between strangers? How about you give me what I want, Annie?”
If this was the only way to make her agree, Andrew didn’t see any fault in exploiting this opportunity.
“I don’t know why you want us to get married again. You clearly hate me.”
The sky rumbled and it started drizzling.
“If Mr. Lim wants to take revenge because I left you three years ago, isn’t this decision petty?”
“Just marry me, Annie. You clearly have no choice now.”