Chapter one
The cold wind sliced through the silence of the midnight as Goodness Marwood ran barefoot through the back gate of the marwood estate. Her heart thudded like a war drum, in her thin nightgown clinging to her skin, soaked by the both tears and the evening fog. The stone path scraped her foot, but she didn't stop. She couldn't.
Not after what Theresa had said.
Not after what Camilla had tried to lock her up in that room again.
Not after her own father, Marcus, look at her like she was a stranger.
She was done pretending this house is her home. It stopped being that the day her mother, Eleanor died.
Lighting lit up the sky, and followed by the slow rumble of the thunder as she slipped through the gates and into the unfamiliar streets of the city. No phone. No money. Just a small duffel bag slung over her shoulder and the fire on her chest.
She didn't have a plan, she just knew she had to leave. If she stayed any longer, she wouldn't survive not emotionally, not mentally, maybe not even physically.
She walked until her feet gave out. A back alley behind a café gave her just enough shelter to collapse over a wall, breathing heavily. Neon signs from the street flickered over her face in soft pink and blues.
She hugged her knees to her chest, her thoughts tangled She was alone. But at least… free.
Until the footsteps came.
Measured and confident.
Her whole body froze.
A man stepped into view, blocking the dim light. The first thing noticed was the coat —— long, dark, expensive. Then the shoes —— polished, quiet and finally the voice
" well well" he said with a smirk. " of all people to find in a back alley, it has to be you"
Xavier ashford
He hasn't changed —— except he had. Gone was the teenage tormentor who used to make her high school days a living hell. In his place stood a man who looked like he belonged to one of the cover of a Forbes magazine.
She swallowed. " what… what are you doing here"
Xavier tilted his head. " saving you, apparently".
" I didn't ask to be saved".
He chuckled softly. " No, you never do."
She tried to Stand up, but her legs are wobbled. He moved instinctively to catch her, and for a second, their eyes met. The air between them shifted—— charged, confusing, and familiar in the worst way.
"Why now?" She whispered.
He looked at her like he knew the question beneath her words. He said it—— the thing would change everything.
"I have a proposition,Goodness marwood, one you're in position to refuse."
Her breath caught. The world tilted.
She wanted to her fight back—— to throw words in his faces to tell him she didn't need saving——— but her body reached its limit. Cold, exhaustion, and fear… They crashed into her like waves.
The last thing she saw was Xavier stepping forward her, his expression shifting from smug to concerned?.
And then——
Darkness.
She fainted into his arms.