CHAPTER 33: THE REAL HELL

HAVEN'S POV

The person behind me was far stronger that my struggles ended up becoming futile. His arms were wrapped like a vice around me and he had one hand covering my mouth to prevent me from shouting out to call for help.

"I need you to listen to me, Haven. I don't have long."

My struggles halted not just because the voice was familiar, but because it was one I never imagined hearing again. At least not in this place. What is he even doing here?

He roughly spun me around until my back was pressed against the wall. His hand returned to my mouth before I could utter a word.

"You need to get out of here." I could see his face a little from the light coming in from the small gap between the curtains. "You need to come home."

I lifted my hands and tried to pry his away from my mouth. This time, his hold on me loosened a bit. Even if I attempted to scream, with our proximity, he would just silence me again as quickly as I could let out a word.

"What are you doing here, Asher?" I whispered.

"I came here for you."

I shook my head in confusion. "Why the hell would you do that?"

He was as equally confused as I am as if he couldn't comprehend why I'm asking in the first place. "I'm your boyfriend!"

"You're my ex!"

Asher Kensington was the recent ex I had. There was a time that I thought that he's it. Everything was picture perfect between us. We were only two years apart in age, our families have been friends for years, we knew each other since we were little, and we're compatible in almost every aspect.

He was my first kiss, the first one I really dated that I could see a future with, and I thought the rest of my first would be his to own someday. It was like I found the prince that would fit my fairy tale story.

"You broke up with me, Asher." I shook my head with a bitter smile. "No. In fact, you ghosted me. When my family was dragged down to the bottom, you disappeared from my life. I tried asking you for help, but you didn't pick up a single call!"

His gaze flickered to the door and then he stepped closer as if he wanted to cover my mouth again before we got discovered.

Before he could do it, I pressed my lips together instead. The expression on my eyes remains defiant, but I keep my mouth shut, not wanting him to prevent me from speaking again. I can't afford not to ask a question because that would mean that I won't get any answers either.

"What did you want me to do, Haven? Your family and your reputation were destroyed. Do you want us to be dragged down too? How can I help you if my family falls with you?"

I'm not buying into his bullshit. "A single call would have been enough."

"Haven—"

"You didn't think of telling me that? You didn't think that, oh! Maybe Haven needs a bit of comfort by telling her that she's not completely alone and that she just needs to wait a little?" He fumbled for words but I beat him to it. "I don't know why you're here, but you need to go. If they find you, I can't guarantee your safety."

"You don't think I know that?" His eyes stray to the door again. "You need to come home. Your parents are in danger. We're all in danger."

"W-What?"

"My family... you can say that my family is affiliated with a group of powerful people. Your parents' business has potential so my family and the one they're working for got interested in it."

"I don't see why it has anything to do with me. And my family's business got busted, remember? Everything we have is gone so I don't know why you're still harping about it."

"Do you really believe that? Do you really think that everything is gone?"

He leans down, his eyes glinting in a way that is unfamiliar to me. For a moment, I could feel a pit in my stomach while watching the change in him. For a moment, it feels like a repeat of the situation with my parents again. It was like I'm waking up from slumber, and I didn't know what kind of world I woke up in. Like I woke up and I couldn't recognize the people around me.

Asher felt unfamiliar suddenly. Like a stranger.

"They're still hiding a lot, Haven. Something that the group my family is working for wants."

"A-Again, I have nothing to do with it. I don't know anything."

"I know you don't," he said in an eerily calm manner.

"Then why are you still here?"

"Because you're the key. Your parents want us to save you from Idalion's clutches, break them out of prison, before they lead us to the money. We will get the majority of the percentage in exchange for you and your family's safety."

"What... what makes you think I want to help? What if I want to stay here? One scream from me and they will come for you. If you hurt me, they will hurt you tenfold."

His lips curve into a sneer. Something that I haven't seen from him before. Not even once.

He was a perfect gentleman. He was fun to be with, he's always understanding, and it's like he always has my back. But why do I feel like he would throw me to the fire if it meant saving his life?

"You think that will be the end? Idalion is strong but they're not the only ones. As we speak, alliances are being made, and they're going to target them. Even if they lose, your precious Idalion wouldn't be left unscathed. They will receive as much as loss that they will give."

The faces of Allessio's people flashed in my mind. Anyone of them could be a casualty.

"We have no reason to join the war, Haven, if you will come in peace. Do you really want to tip the balance more and have Idalion be outnumbered?" When he saw the look on my face, he continued, "Your parents offered you as payment to a lot of people to gain leverage for them to escape prison. They didn't want to use the money they're hiding because if those people get a hold of it, they will take everything. But with us—with my family—it could be a win-win situation. We'll be working together just like the original plan."

"A win-win situation?"

"We'll have the money, which we will grow with your family, and your parents will have the assurance that we won't turn back on the deal."

I know what's coming next. I know it, but I still found myself asking. "How?"

"By marrying me. Just like what our parents agreed on before."

Cold seeped through me, but I tried to push past it. "Was everything just that? Did you know from the very start? Is that why you approached me? Because of an agreement that is like a business transaction?"

There was no trace of feelings in his eyes. "Everything in this world is a business transaction."

There was a sound coming from the outside, and Asher stepped back a little, his eyes becoming laced with panic. "Go out there and stop them from coming in this room so I could slip out. Then come meet me. I'm staying at the St. Regis until the end of the week."

"Asher—"

"If you want me killed, do it. But the people behind me... they won't stop, Haven. It will be you declaring a war. You will be putting a death sentence in everyone in here."

THE BRIGHT EXPANSE of brights lights greeted me from the round shape window. There was a slow descent feeling as we got nearer and nearer to the sea of glimmering lights.

From time to time, I had this passing thought of what I would feel when I came back here again. Would it feel comforting knowing I'm back home? Or would it feel foreign... like seeing someone I'm close with before that has now become a stranger?

I never expected to return to this place so soon, or if I'm being honest, I didn't think I would ever be back in the first place.

But a home? A stranger? It's neither. It feels familiar, something I will always find my heart remembering from time to time, but it no longer feels like home. It doesn't feel like a stranger either, but more like a distant memory. Memories that either lack the significance that I needed or memories that hurt too much to remember.

It's weird. I spent nineteen years of my life here and yet it was like I was looking through a hazy glass. The only vivid memories I have are those that started from the very first time I met Allessio. That brief encounter that led me to that night at the grocery store.

I let out a sigh and lean back on my chair. I squeezed my eyes shut as if that could somehow help me escape my present reality. But of course, it couldn't.

This was my choice. This was the choice that I had to make.

I didn't know how long I stayed there unmoving until I felt the plane lurch a little. There was a buzz coming from the people who were all excited to exit the plane.

I felt a hand grasp my arm and I flinched away from the touch as my eyes snap open. Asher's jaw clenched, but he said nothing. He stood up, blocking everyone behind him, and he gestured for me to pass through.

I didn't have anything on me except a small clutch with my passport and IDs in it, so navigating the small aisle wasn't a hardship. When I managed to exit the plane, Asher closed in on me and pulled me to the side.

I wasn't surprised when I saw that we were taking a different route. He's probably in contact with someone so that we could bypass all the hassle that the others need to go through, such as immigration, customs, and security checks. My suspicions were confirmed when, in no time, we were walking straight toward a waiting car.

But before we could get there, Asher grabbed my arm so roughly that I wouldn't be surprised if I'm already bruising. I winced in pain, but he didn't let me go, and instead, he just tightened his hold on me.

"Let me get something straight here, Haven. You nor your family have any power here. You can't treat me the way you treated me before."

"How do you think I treated you before? Like I was in love with you and you were in love with me? Like I expect you to—I don't know? Care for me?"

I didn't treat him badly before. I treated him like a boyfriend who I thought understood me. I partied all those years, and he was with me through most of it. He picks me up when I'm too drunk and he wasn't with me. He listens when I'm ranting about anything I could think about, he accompanies me when I'm shopping, and he buys things for me that I didn't ask for.

I wasn't there for a free ride, though. I gave him back the same thing I received. But now I could see why our relationship feels shallow. It wasn't just because of who I was before, but because what we had wasn't real in the first place.

"It wasn't my fault you were pretending, Asher."

For one moment, I thought he was going to strike me but he stopped himself. "We're going to be married in a few days," he said through gritted teeth. "If I were you, I'd get used to being touched by me. It wouldn't be long before you have no choice but to share more than that with me."

How did I not see this? I was truly living my life with a blindfold on before.

A new car arrived and it stopped behind the first one. To my surprise, two people I never expected to see at this very moment got out of the newly arrived car. People I didn't know I will ever see free again after spending a year behind bars for the things they did. They really got them out.

The back of Asher's hand brushes through my other arm. He was still holding me, so I couldn't avoid his touch. "That wouldn't be such a hardship for you, Haven, right? After all, you spend a lot of time being a whore for Idalion. Being with me won't be much of a difference."

"O-Of course there would be a difference." Despite everything, I met his gaze without fear. "When I'm with him, I feel him. I doubt your tiny dick could do the same—"

My vision clouded, and my ears started to ring at the slap he just gave me. I staggered back, and I fell to the ground while clutching my cheek. He passed by me, heading toward the car, leaving me there without a second look.

It wasn't long before my parents were beside me, helping me up. My mother straightened my dress before she met my tear-filled eyes. "Don't make this difficult for us by upsetting Asher."

Stepping between us, my father held the arm Asher had in his grip not a moment ago. His was as devoid of care and his hold was even more painful. "Be a good girl and shut your mouth. You're not going to ruin this chance for our family."

I thought I was in hell before, but I was wrong. This is the real one.

The real hell.