DAMIAN I took in a deep, shaky breath. This was it. This was when I either got to rescue Amelia or died trying. Colin had chosen his hideout well. It was an abandoned, dilapidated building in an out-of-the-way spot. It was a place hardly anyone would think to look. I stuffed my phone under the passenger seat. I looked around as I slowly stepped out of the car. I could only hope that Anton would act swiftly. Minutes before driving into the compound, I had texted Anton my location though I knew he had been tracking my phone. If everything went according to plan, he would alert the police, who hopefully would find some way to infiltrate this place without calling attention to themselves. I shifted, and exhaled as I registered movement out of the corner of my eyes. Before I could blink, I was surrounded by four masked men. My survival instincts kicked in. I tensed up, clenched my fists, ready to take them out, ready to defend myself. "Don't be a hero, Romeo," the man closest to me

AMELIA I changed the channel to another, and it was almost exactly the same thing. This time, the headlines were, ‘Kidnap And Attempted Murder Of Business Tycoon’s Wife: A Glimpse Into The Criminal’s Mind. It had just clocked 9 pm. It was the news hour and this was the very first news item the TV station was showing. I sighed. It was the same, day after day. It had been a week now since Colin had kidnapped me. A week of being hounded by the media. Since they couldn't get to me, they fell to featuring the case on the news all the time. I kept wishing for another big event to happen that would take their attention off me, but so far I was still the most interesting topic of discussion. The newscaster finished reading out the major facts of the case. To my annoyance, he informed viewers that they would be connected to their studios where there were seasoned reporters ready to analyse the case. One of these reporters went on and on about how Colin looked so innocent and cha

AMELIA I was again enthralled the moment I opened my eyes. The ornate clock on the wall told me that it was 8 in the evening. Feeling refreshed from my little nap, I slid out of bed. Damian was nowhere in sight. I went outside and all thoughts of Damian were wiped clean right out of my mind by the breathtaking view outside. "Beautiful," I muttered to myself. It was beautiful, absolutely breathtaking. The night sky was spangled with a million twinkling stars. The sand dunes in the distance looked like small mountains that reached the top of the sky. I had the feeling that I was at the edge of the world and could touch the stars if I only reached high enough. I don't know how long I stood there, taking in the view, feeling the nippy evening air play across my face and hair. Eventually I roused myself enough to move away. Damian had shown me around most of the house, but there had not yet taken me around the property. I decided to explore myself. I passed through the gardens

AMELIA I was furious; completely, and utterly enraged. If I wasn't so angry, I supposed I would be crying. I didn't want to cry so I held on to the anger which was probably not a good idea considering the fact I had almost crashed the car into one of the tents a few seconds ago. I sat in the car, breathing hard, thankful that a rather nasty accident had just been averted because I was sure there were people in that tent. I could hear their raised, confused voices. Moments later, I saw a couple of faces, peering out at me from their tents in surprise. In another moment, they would come to check if I was okay. I pushed the door open, scrambled out of the car and ran towards the palace. Already, my eyes were getting blurry with tears I didn't want to shed. I couldn't clearly see the faces of the people in my path, but I could see that they were reaching for me, evidently concerned. "Out of my way!" I shouted. "Get out!" Later, I would be sorry for my rudeness to these people wh

AMELIA It was morning. I had woken up a few hours before, but I hadn't even thought of leaving my room. I just lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling in silence. They were two reasons was hiding away in my room: I wasn’t ready to speak to anyone yet. And the second- the most important reason- was that I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened last night. With a sigh, I turned over to my side. It was a wonder I had gotten any sleep at all considering the state of mind I had been in. The sadness I had felt after Damian had made his odd proposal was nothing compared to the gut wrenching sorrow I felt now. My agony had somehow created a rope of despair around my heart and with each passing moment, I felt like it would crush me to death. 'I will always protect you from myself.' Those words echoed in my head over and over again. How did a man, a good man, get to the point where he thought of himself like he was some kind of monster, a monster I needed protecting from?