Chapter 2: Take Me With You

I stared at the man before me as I didn’t know whether he was there to help me or was just a devil in disguise. The ambulance was closing in, making me panic. But the person in front of me wasn’t exactly reassuring either. His presence was cold, commanding, and somewhat... dangerous. I was cornered. Either way, I was done for. "Hey!" The man in a suit snapped his fingers right in front of my face, making me jolt as I stepped back. I hadn’t even noticed him. When had he gotten so close? "I..." I tried to speak but nothing came out of my mouth when I heard the tires screech. "There you are..." The man I had stabbed stumbled out of the ambulance, blood trailing down his leg as he limped toward me. "How dare you run, you filthy little—" "Who are you?" the mysterious man asked—not me, but that bastard. "Can’t you see I wasn’t done with her yet?" "Forgive me, mister..." the man looked him up and down, then straightened up. "Sir, this isn’t your concern. We’re trying to capture a runaway mentally ill patient. So kindly let us handle this." "Is that so?" the man said coldly, glancing at me from head to toe. His eyes paused when they caught sight of the blood on my hands. "Yes, that’s what she did to me!" the ambulance guy growled. "Anyway, I am Jim, a renowned psychiatrist." Oh yes... Jim. That was his name. How could I forget his name, who ruined my life and shattered me into pieces that I could never put back together. "Mis... Mister... Save me!" I gathered my courage and spoke up as I slowly slid behind the mysterious man, using him as a shield. "He... He tried to do something under my clothes." I didn’t know what else to do. I had no strength left in me. All I could do was pretend to be innocent and buy myself some time, or perhaps deep down, I was hoping he might take me away from there. "Wh... What?" Jim’s face turned pale. "This girl... She is mentally unstable!" "I didn’t!" I snapped as I thrust my hands towards the man to show the rope burns on my hands. "Ple... Please ta... take me with you." Even if fate drags me back to the hospital in this life... I am not going there ever again. That place was Melissa’s personal heaven and a hell for me, where she did all her dirty work. I was one of her favorite playthings. She played with me and discarded me when she was done. "Why should I believe a mental patient like you?" His voice dripped with disdain, his eyes as cold as his words. Any hope that lingered inside me vanished in an instant. "Seraphina Lancaster... You have nowhere to go but back to the mental hospital." Jim scoffed, taking a step closer, reaching for me. But before his hand could close around my wrist, the mysterious man grabbed his arm, twisting it with an effortless motion and turning to face me. "Who did you just say you are?" His eyes bored into mine, sharp and questioning. I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it, but for a brief moment, there was something like softness in his eyes, though his tone remained as cold as ice. "Se... Seraphina Lancaster," I stammered as I could barely speak, but I still forced myself. It was still hard to speak. The words stuck in my throat like they used to. But at least my body wasn’t like before... not like the one I had in my past life. Back then, I was trapped inside, screaming silently while everyone called me broken. Now, I could speak. I could move. I could fight back, even if my voice still trembled. "You are Seraphina Lancaster?" he repeated. "Are you sure?" What was with this man? I was begging him to help me, and he was playing games? "Your brothers are looking for you," he said, as if it were just a simple fact. "What?" That one word was enough to freeze the blood in my veins. I had just escaped the cursed ambulance. Barely made it out alive. And now... even my brothers were after me? Why? Why was I given this second chance if all I had to face was the same hell again? My head spun. Everything was too much. I couldn’t think—I couldn’t breathe. My body gave up on me. Just when I thought I was going to hit the ground, I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me, steadying me. "Did he really touch you?" the man asked, his voice low, unreadable. I couldn’t speak. I just nodded. "Let’s go," he said quietly, and lifted me into his arms. "I will take you to your brothers. "No!" I protested. I didn’t want to go with him if he was someone my brothers knew. Who knew what they were planning? For all I knew, they would send me straight back to that hospital... or worse. They would hand me back to Melissa, and she would... The man looked at me with questions in his eyes. I could see no facial expression; instead, he portrayed his emotions through his eyes. "Take me with you! I want to go with you. I want to stay with you!" I said in a weak but firm tone as I wrapped my hands around his neck and looked at his face clearly from this close. Up close, I could see everything—his eyes, his mouth, and that unreadable expression he wore like a mask. I knew him! I knew who this man was, and I had decided to follow him no matter what!