When Mariana and Micah eventually reached two massive metal gates with a curl pattern, Micah typed in a passcode and it opened, allowing them in.

"Welcome to my home," Micah said as Mariana poked her head out and gazed at her new surroundings.

He parked right in front of the mansion and opened the door for her.

Mariana stepped out and took in her surroundings. There was a big fountain with two dolphins in the middle of a patch of grass, a long line of black and white limos that were parked a few meters from them, and a garden which had rows of various colored flowers.

"Wow, this is where you live?" Mariana said in amazement. She couldn't believe that he could be this rich.

"Yes, I live here with the rest of my family but they are all asleep right now."

"It's so pretty..."

"Thanks but I think it's a bit too big sometimes." Micah chuckled and then got out his bag from the trunk.

He then locked the car and took Mariana's hand into his as they slowly approached the mansion.

Mariana's eyes gazed up in shock at the beastly building that towered over her. It was a 3-story mansion that was brightly lit up inside, giving it a warm, evening look. It had huge windows circling the premises and a swimming pool laid outside the glass doors.

Micah opened the doors and then beckoned her in. She quickly moved like an excited toddler as she was eager to see the inside.

They were standing in the middle of the hallway. She was in complete awe of her new, unfamiliar surroundings. The floors were tiled with polished ivory porcelain and there was a matching rug under them with a navy, mosaic flower that had a pattern like a kaleidoscope.

Above their heads was a crystal chandelier. It had a little sapphire and sliver jewels hanging down from it.

"I love it here already," Mariana slowly muttered but suddenly got the jitters. She felt extremely excited to be inside a mansion and just wanted to go run around and explore the entire place.

"Would you like me to show you around?" He asked while having a door open. He wanted her to be comfortable inside and figured she may like this

"Oh yes!"

"Okay," Micah then led Mariana around the house.

They first went into the living room. There were three-seater leather couches facing each other with a glass table in the middle. Sitting on top, was a vase with two scarlet roses and a remote for the big plasma TV that was attached to the wall.

"Aw what a cute setup." Mariana giggled.

"Yeah, this is one of my favorite places to chill, plus you can go to the backyard from here and into the swimming pool."

"Do you have two swimming pools?"

"Yeah, would you like to see the other one?"

"Alright." Mariana shrugged with an amused smile and followed him as he slid the doors to the backyard open. Together, they walked outside and were faced with a smaller pool that stretched far out. The waters were tranquil and had a mix of teal and turquoise.

"I always love water. It's my favorite color blue which is usually very calming," Mariana said.

"I don't really have a favorite color but if I was to choose then I would pick green," Micah replied and stood on the side, as Mariana was on the edge.

"Do you have a reason why?" Mariana turned to face him, as her tiny toes played with the little trickles of water.

"Um not really." He shrugged. "I just like the look of it." He started chuckling.

Mariana laughed too, but only a little, as she felt a bit more comfortable. She then looked back at the pool, her senses were tempting her to want to go in.

"Is it okay to have a little swim?" Mariana asked, rocking her body in the air.

"Yeah, just not right now because it's getting late." He then stood upright and went towards her. "Maybe you can go in the morning with one of my sisters."

"Yeah it's a bit late now," Mariana said and looked up towards the sky. "Okay tomorrow it is, but thanks for showing me around."

"It's okay, and tomorrow I can show you more areas around here."

Mariana smiled warmly at him as they went back into the house. She followed Micah up the vanilla painted stairs as it curved around the portraits. He then led her to a room.

"This is one of the guest rooms, you can stay here if you want." He opened it up for her to a huge master bedroom. It had lilac curtains with a double bed and the walls were a lovely cream.

"Thank you, Micah," Mariana said with a heart full of gratitude. "This is too much! I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, it's my pleasure." He smiled and she gave him a brief hug, catching him off guard for a bit, but he gladly returned it.

When she pulled apart, Mariana had tears forming in her eyes. After everything she has been through, this man was being so kind to her.

"Um, I guess I'll go get you something to change into," Micah stuttered and rubbed his head awkwardly.

"Okay!"

Micah then disappeared and she could hear his footsteps go downstairs. Meanwhile, she made her way towards the light purple bed and plopped herself down on it. It was incredibly soft but firm.

The room was nicely decorated in her opinion. There was a fragrance of lavender and apples in the air that filled her lungs as she waited for Micah.

She gave herself a hug as she felt relatively safe. Not completely but to some extent as she was far away from Xavier for now.

Micah then returned with some pink pajamas slung around his arm.

"These are my sister's old pajamas, I think she's  around your height so they will probably fit you," He said as he walked towards her.

"Thanks, but won't your sister mind?"

"No, she doesn't wear these that often so it's fine."

"Well...okay." She then took the clothes and unfolded them to see the full length. They were also very fluffy so she was sure she was going to fill warm while wearing them.

"There's an en-suite bathroom just there so you can get changed." He pointed to another door just opposite the bed which had a golden handle and looked sort of heavenly.

Mariana got the pajamas and then walked over towards the bathroom, but before going in I turned to face Micah.

"Hey Micah."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for everything." She smiled with the most warm smile he's ever seen. She felt her face glow like never before, and it was probably by receiving some hope that she could get out of this terrible situation. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem Mariana. I'm happy to help you." He grinned back at her as he was happy he could make sure she was safe for the time-being.

"If you need me, my room is directly down the hall," he added.

"Okay thank you!"

Before she could go in, Micah ran up to her and said goodnight. While he was doing that, he quickly clasped something in her hand and left.

Mariana stood there in confusion as she fiddled with the metal chains that tangled around her fingers.

She thought to herself that she would look at it tomorrow morning because she just wanted to go to sleep right now.

Mariana settled the chain on the vanity table that had a vanilla flower and entered the bathroom. She had a stressful shower of scrubbing herself hard to rid her body of Xavier's touch.

The water ran down her hairy legs as she started crying at the bruises she had. She shook as it made her feel dirty and she wanted to scrape her skin off and replace it with a new one. A one where Xavier   hasn't touched.

When she was done, she dried herself off with an towel that she found hidden in the cabinets and she changed into the pajamas.

For the first time in forever, Mariana had a warm fuzzy feeling through her veins. She felt fresh and above all, she was far away from her uncle as possible.

Mariana tucked herself into bed. But it didn't feel the same as it wasn't the one in her home. But it was better than nothing, and she could try and have a good nights rest.

****

Xavier stumbled into his home in the somber night, the heavy rain pattered behind him like a waterfall. He was completely drenched, and his blood-filled eyes pieced into the impermeable darkness of the hallway. He gripped onto an empty bottle of alcohol in his hand, and his big thumping footsteps made their way to living room.

He plopped down on his single chair, heaving out an irritated sigh.

He finally had her in his grip and despite that, she slipped away through the cracks of his fingers. His heart palpitated aggressively at the thought of her managing to escape so easily. His burning eyes intensely glared at the bottle like he wanted to burn a whole through it. He breathed sharply as as his hands trembled around the neck, squeezing it like it was Mariana's tiny throat.

He was so close, so close and then Micah had to ruin it!

Suddenly, he got up and threw the bottle at the nearest picture, making it crash to the ground, shattering it to pieces as a jolt of lightning shocked the window, followed by a roar of thunder.

His eyes glanced up and flashed at the rain that reminded him of that day. That day that tore his insides apart and when the light of hope was lost in his eyes.

He heard the desperate and distant screams of his sister ringing in his ears. The rumble of the clouds as they released their showers flashed through his mind as the picture became clearer.

He held Isabella close in his arms as they watched the dark figure walk away toward the rain. It fell at the door like a curtain to a new world, but not for them, but for someone more wicked and more selfish.

They were in their pajamas, peacefully sleeping, when they heard the front door open quickly, like if someone was in a rush. So they came down to investigate but what they came across was a suitcase, and the last time they ever saw her.

They were crouched on the wooden floor, their bodies felt frozen of love as they shivered. They helplessly watched the fiery, brown hair waved a harsh goodbye at them as tears brimmed in their eyes. Even though they had suffered, they didn't imagine it would come to this.

"Please don't go..." Isabella croaked, her voice barely above a whisper.

The figure just side glanced at them with a glare of disgust, she couldn't stand to look at them anymore, for they only weighed her down. They reminded her too much of their father who she had lost all love for the day she met someone new. When he died, she rejoiced because she thought she was free at last to start a new life, but she remembered she still had two abominations who just got in the way. So if this was the only way to gain her much earned freedom which she thought she rightfully deserved, then so be it.

She turned away with her head held up high and slammed the door without a second thought, making the pictures on the wall rattle like an earthquake.

Xavier just stared emotionless at the door as Isabella bawled into his arms. It seemed like time had stopped working as they couldn't believe what just happened.

She was gone.

The woman that was supposed to protect them, to keep themselves safe, to guide them...

Just walked out.

Like they didn't matter.

A tear ran down his cheek, but he quickly wiped it away and approached the picture that had fallen.

He peered down at it and it was a picture of his sister and him with that wicked witch. Her brown curls fell down her face so perfectly that it made him even angrier that he wanted it to rip her to shreds.

"I thought I got rid of this," he grumbled and angrily threw the picture out of the window. He heard it chatter but he didn't want to get it. He flopped onto the chair, groaning as he started to get a headache.

But nevertheless, soon he will get Mariana back, soon she will be back in his clutches and he will ensure that this time, there will be no escape.