Everything was dark; I couldn't see anything anymore. I could only hear faint noises, but what's the point of hearing if you can't see? Sometimes life makes no sense. I stayed silent—I had accepted my fate.
I heard soft murmurs throughout the ride, during this kidnapping. When we arrived, I heard many footsteps. The van's door opened, they made me get down, and the moment my feet touched the ground, they removed the blindfold.
And what I saw next… do you want to know?
A huge villa, shining brightly, screaming wealth from miles away. But I didn't understand why they had brought me here. And I still hadn't seen the face of this mysterious man.
Looking around, I noticed we were surrounded by forest. That meant we were in an isolated place. I was stunned—never in my life had I seen anything like this.
"Hey, move," the bodyguard said. Only one remained; the others had left with the van. He grabbed the rope tying my hands and dragged me toward the villa.
Angi: "Hey, could you tell me what's going to happen to me?"
Guard: "Stay quiet and shut up!!"
Angi: "…!!!?"
I had no words left. I left my fate in the hands of destiny. We reached the front door of the villa, and the guard untied me, telling me to open it myself. Before leaving, he advised me not to disobey any orders or things would end badly. After hearing those words, I felt a pinch in my heart; my whole body trembled. I had promised myself I wouldn't cry, but the tears came on their own.
I brought a hand to my mouth.
"N-… no…" my voice already trembling.
My eyes filled instantly. One tear fell, then another.
"Stop… please…" I choked on a sob.
My breathing broke—short, uneven.
"Hh-… ha…"
I tried to regain my breath, but another sob rose, stronger this time.
"I… I can't…"
I shook my head, left and right. It was the first time since I came back to the past that my life felt truly in danger.
The guard never even turned around to look at me, even when I started crying. Just when I thought everything was over, I heard him from afar.
Guard: "Stop crying and go inside. Don't worry, nothing's going to happen to you."
I stopped crying immediately. Those words reassured me. In the end, he wasn't that bad—he was just following orders. If we ever meet again, I'll make him pay for insulting me.
Angi: "Who does he think he is!? Now that I know I'm not in danger, no need to pretend to cry, hm."
That idiot of a guard can just go die.
I prepared myself to open the door. I took a deep breath and went for it, my hand trembling over the iron handle. I exhaled, then pulled.
A long creak echoed as the doors opened.
A cold gust of air escaped from inside. The hall was large and spacious. The interior shone even more than the exterior. I was amazed again—it looked like a castle from a fairy tale. Me, talking about fairy tales… ridiculous. I shouldn't forget my situation.
Angi: "Ah! Ouch! With all this, I forgot I had injuries… Now the pain is coming back."
Damn that guard. I wanted to kill someone—my injuries hurt so much. I clenched my fists to numb the pain. In front of me was a small staircase I had to go down. I went down, but there was no one in the living room. No employees. No sound. Complete silence.
I stood frozen for a whole minute, staring at the clock hanging on the wall. It was exactly seven in the evening.
"Tick tock. Tick tock."
The clock's sound echoed in my head. It was now eight. I was still standing there, still no one in sight. I was exhausted, hungry, sleepy, and my wounds still hurt. But I was scared. I hate being alone, and exploring this huge villa by myself was out of the question. I'd rather die on the spot. Why bring me here if no one was going to receive me?
It was so dark outside… I was scared to even look through the windows. My body shook even harder than before.
Angi: "Sniff… sniff… waaah… hic… hic… Why me…"
I kept crying these days—it was too much. I'm sensitive; I can't handle stress.
"Woof! Woof!"
Angi: "Huh!!?? Is that… a dog!?"
I quickly turned around to see where the barking came from—and froze.
I hadn't closed the door behind me. A huge black dog stood at the entrance, saliva dripping from its mouth, looking menacing. It stared at me like a predator eyeing its prey.
There was some distance between us.
The dog lowered its muzzle, showing its teeth, and a deep growl rose before the bark:
"Grrr… WOOF!"
Angi: "Nice doggy! Don't move…"
I tried my best to calm him down, but it didn't work. He grew more and more threatening. I barely had time to take a few steps back before I ran with all my strength.
One thing was certain: if that dog caught me, it would kill me without hesitation. I hadn't seen any dog at the entrance earlier, so this wasn't a coincidence.