Ren turned and walked away.
He didn't even glance over his shoulder to check if I was following.
Because he knew... he knew that I had absolutely nowhere left to run.
I clenched my fists until my knuckles turned white, letting my nails dig into my wounded palm to forcefully anchor my fading consciousness.
Inside my breast pocket, the flight ticket still rested against my chest.
My fragile hope of reaching Zurich... my desperate dream of starting a new life...
It was burning to ash right before my eyes.
With leaden steps, I dragged my feet and followed him.
Past the gawking crowds. Past the lively jazz melodies.
Past the blinding lights, and straight into the suffocating darkness of the exclusive VIP corridor.
Every step I took behind him...
Felt like walking backward, straight into the stifling confines of that dark storage room from all those years ago.
The private elevator doors slid open.
Ren stepped inside, turning to wait in the center.
He slid his hands into his pockets, exuding a terrifying dominance.
I stood paralyzed just outside the threshold.
My body shook. My legs refused to cross that line.
"Get in." The low command echoed from the metallic elevator.
"Unless you want me to drag you in, and obliterate whatever future you think you have left right here."
The threat worked.
I knew he could execute that threat without breaking a sweat.
Without needing to repeat himself.
With a snap of his fingers, he could ensure I was permanently unemployed or erase my existence from society in the blink of an eye.
I held my breath, resigning myself to my fate.
I forced my feet to step inside that claustrophobic box.
Ding!
The elevator doors slid shut.
Locking me inside with him. Just the two of us. Alone.
The oxygen in the small space thinned, making every breath a struggle.
A suffocating silence gripped us both.
I backed into the furthest corner, pressing against the wall to maintain as much distance as possible.
But Ren had no intention of allowing that.
He stalked toward me, his movements slow and deliberate.
He cornered me until my spine pressed flat against the freezing steel wall. His hand shot up, slamming against the panel beside my head.
He trapped me within the cage of his arms.
"Twenty days..."
He murmured out of nowhere.
I flinched.
My head snapped up, my eyes wide with horror.
"Wh... What did you say?"
Ren smirked.
It was the triumphant smirk of a predator who already held the script to the future.
He slipped his free hand into the inner pocket of his suit jacket. And drew out a single piece of paper. A piece of paper that looked identical to the one hidden in my breast pocket
It was a carbon copy of my flight itinerary to Zurich.
"Did you honestly believe... you could escape me?"
He leaned in, closing the final inches between us.
His gravelly whisper ghosted against the shell of my ear.
"I have been watching your every move, Yurin."
"From the second you set foot outside that house. I know what you eat. I know what time you go to sleep. I even know..."
He deliberately buried his nose into the crook of my neck, taking a deep inhale.
"...what brand of soap you use."
Riiiip!
With a swift motion, he tore the itinerary into shreds.
He let the pieces flutter over me like mock confetti. The scraps of paper drifted through the air, settling upon the floor.
Just like the scattered pieces of my shattered heart.
"Zurich? Keep dreaming."
Ding!
The elevator chimed as the doors parted at the top floor.
The highly restricted penthouse level, reserved exclusively for VVIPs.
Ren lunged forward, his massive hand clamping around my wrist once more.
He yanked me forward, dragging me out of the elevator in his wake.
"Your new residence is right here."
"Welcome to hell... my dear friend."