But she’s no longer a fantasy.
She’s in my cabin.
And Annika Singh won't go down without a fight. When she discovers her fire power, it will be a miracle if I survive.
After all, the earth burns when fire rages, and Annika will soon discover that she can set fire to anything, even me.
Chapter 5 - Annika
I am burning with anger, seething with hatred, and all I can see is red as I pace the floor in this mountain cabin.
Everything around me feels like it's closing in on me, from the mountains outside to the wooden walls of the cabin. My throat itches with dryness that would have been soothed if I had agreed to breakfast.
Groaning, I throw myself onto the bed, arms splayed out above my head, my legs dangling off the side. I hear footsteps again, but I have no fight left in me to look up and calculate another means of escape.
The door opens and shuts within a second, and I stare at the ceiling with a frown. If that was Mr. Ralph, and he's left without a word, I should be relieved that I didn't have to see his beautiful but horrid face again.
If I'm being honest with myself, there was certainly something thrilling about being pinned between a wall and his hot, firm body. Absent-mindedly, my hand roams my midriff, where I'd felt his sizable manhood pressed against me…
“What? No! Ew!” I scold myself, sitting upright and shrugging off that sinful thought as if I'm shaking off the first stirring of the heinous act.“We're definitely not doingthat!” I chide, having watched enough crime documentaries to know that falling for the captor is a surefire way to get yourself in trouble. Really deep trouble..
I'm not letting my guard down.
I have to survive. It's the only way I get out of this place and back to the city so I can see my sister when she's supposed to visit for her college break.
The thought alone is another strike against Henry Ralph, another reason to hate his guts and feel my fingertips tingle with the desperate urge to claw his beautiful, charming eyes out.
What is his plan, anyway? To get me to sign a marriage license, and then what? He can't keep me here forever. He has a company to run, and as far as everyone is concerned, I'm still his assistant.
How is he going to explain me away if he plans on keeping me locked in this cabin?
Grunting, I stand up and drag my feet to the door, where he left a plate of breakfast on the side table. Despite my anger, my tummy rumbles at the sight of food, betraying my heart that wishes to be defiant enough to starve.
Maybe if I passed out from hunger, he'd be forced to take me to a hospital…
Reluctantly, I grab the plate and stuff a miniature croissant in my mouth as I return to the bed. The chances of him caring enough to get me treated if I collapse are slim, because Henry Ralph doesn't have a heart.
I swallow begrudgingly, deciding that the only way to escape him will be by going through with what he wants, at least long enough to make him believe that he has me right where he wants me. By the time my breakfast plate is empty, and I hear footsteps outside the door again, I don't act impulsively, the way I have been so far.
The door unlocks, and I remain too unbothered to look up, choosing silence as a weapon.
“Annika Singh…?”
Hearing my name from a pleasant voice prompts me to look up curiously, only to find a pretty blonde-haired woman with soft blue eyes staring at me from the doorway.
“H-hi…?”
She breathes out what seems like a sigh of relief before she steps inside fully, carrying a few shopping bags with her.
“It's nice to meet you while you're awake,” she giggles nervously as she closes the door behind her. She lifts the bags and nods toward them. “I brought you some new clothes, now that I know what size you wear.”
Frowning, I remain seated. “And who are you?”
“Anastasia Clarke.” She comes forward and sticks her hand out, so I shake it like this is some kind of business deal.
“Are you Mr. Ralph's new assistant?” I ask with a raised brow, and the woman shakes her head while she giggles.
“I could never replace you, Annika!” she exclaims, waving a hand through the air as she sets the bags on the bed beside me. “I'm just a…a friend.”
