Kidnapped by Psycho

She was still fully dressed; the girl was still wearing the dress from yesterday’s event. She quickly got out of bed, her body barely steady; she clutched her head and held onto the table not far from the bed.

“Be quiet,” Rovano’s firm, cold voice made Valerie immediately look towards the source of the sound.

“W-why… A-am I here with—w-with you?” Valerie, frightened, tried to ask, though her words came out stammering; tears began to well up, then streamed down her cheeks.

Valerie had never imagined she would be in the same room with the stranger whose proposal had been rejected by her father the day before.

“Calm down,” Rovano said firmly again, but Valerie’s tears continued to flow.

Rovano continued to stare at Valerie with a cold, piercing gaze, but his expression softened when Valerie suddenly took his hand.

“I w-want to go home… Mr Morvane, please take me back to the mansion,” Valerie pleaded with him.

"No, you are my prey," Rovano replied, clasping Valerie’s hand; the girl gazed at him sadly, her sobs still unceasing.

"Raven, remember? A raven never lets go of its prey."

"You're not a raven! You're a human! I-I want to go home!"

Valerie was terrified; she’d seen films about kidnappings that ended badly. Now she was experiencing it herself, but she couldn’t escape because she knew nothing of the outside world.

She’d never set foot outside the mansion’s gates. But at the very least, she had to try to escape from here, even if she didn’t know what fate awaited her.

Valerie quickly pulled her hand away, then ran towards the nearest door and grabbed the handle; she tried to open it but couldn’t.

The girl could only lean against the door as Rovano caught up with her.

The man pinned Valerie’s body against the door; her eyes were shut tight and she was breathing heavily with fear. Rovano then took hold of the door handle, pressed it down, and pushed the door open.

The door swung wide open and Valerie nearly fell backwards as her back hit the door. Instantly, the girl’s eyes flew open, and Rovano was still staring at her blankly whilst holding her body in place.

"If you keep pulling it, this bathroom door will never open, no matter how long you try. You’re supposed to push it inwards to open it, Valerie."

Valerie’s eyes widened; the girl was both startled and felt foolish and embarrassed.

Valerie felt Rovano’s arm, which had been on her back, now slide down to her hips and wrap tightly around her. They locked eyes; Valerie felt her chest rising and falling rapidly as her breath came in gasps. Fear, confusion and nervousness all mingled together.

First, she had dashed from the bed to this door, violently yanking at it with all her might, trying to open it but to no avail; in her panic, she hadn’t even noticed which way the door opened.

Secondly, Rovano had scared her half to death, then made her look like a complete fool for not being able to open the door.

Why the bathroom door? Why hadn’t she found the exit door? And was it because Valerie was so panicked that she hadn’t realised the door clearly needed to be pushed? Even though the position of the tiles made it obvious.

Valerie’s body slumped there; she sat limply on the floor, unable to support herself for the moment.

Rovano observed the girl’s expression, trying to figure out what sort of girl Valerie was.

“Please tell me where this is?” Valerie asked softly. “I haven’t been out of the mansion for a long time—almost my whole life…”

“Sweden,” Rovano replied briefly.

The man then walked towards another door at the far end of the room, leaving Valerie behind.

Valerie just stared at him in disbelief, “S-Sweden? Europe?”

Valerie whimpered, clutching her cheeks, unable to believe that she had not only left the mansion, but her own country.

“Have I really left the mansion?”

Valerie could only watch Rovano’s back as he walked further and further away. What was she supposed to do now? How could she escape and get back home when she was already abroad like this?

“I’m not there anymore, so there aren’t any high walls blocking my way,” Valerie muttered, then slowly got up to follow Rovano.

As if forgetting the fact that she had been kidnapped, Valerie turned towards the balcony door; she was panicked at first, but a moment later, her eyes still swollen, she broke into a light jog.

Once again she was stunned; before her lay a vast expanse of ocean, the wind whipping against her body and hair. Valerie stared in disbelief at what she saw, her jaw dropping, then her sadness turned into a broad, beaming smile.

"Mr Morvane, is this the sea? Are we by the seaside?" the girl asked innocently.

Rovano paid her no mind at all, merely staring at the girl impassively and watching to see what else she might do.

A moment later, Valerie jumped for joy, scampering around the small balcony, feasting her eyes on everything within her sight. She was so overjoyed she lost all sense of self.

Seeing the white sand of the beach made her want to walk there, but the distance turned out to be far too great; they were on the top floor.

Valerie sighed, a little disappointed, but a sense of joy still tickled her heart.

As soon as she turned around, Rovano was already standing behind her, arms folded across his chest, staring at Valerie with furrowed brows in surprise.

The girl wasn’t the least bit afraid now. Yet just a moment ago she’d been hysterical, begging to go home.

In fact, just a few minutes ago she’d been sobbing uncontrollably, but now she was jumping for joy like a madwoman, and Rovano felt he’d chosen the wrong victim.

The girl was shamelessly cheering in front of him as if she’d won the lottery, even though she was the victim of a kidnapping.

The girl stood there, silent for a moment, wondering why Rovano had brought her to a place like this.

Slowly, she stepped towards the cold-hearted man, who didn’t so much as crack a smile at her.

The lines on the man’s face seemed to deepen as he frowned in confusion at Valerie’s behaviour.

“Mr Morvane, why did you bring me here?” asked Valerie, the girl gazing gently at Rovano; though she was still a little afraid, she felt she had to ask.

Rovano did not answer; the man merely stared at Valerie, his gaze becoming slightly sharper.

“I want to thank you. All my life I’ve longed to leave that mansion; I want to see the real sea, the people, and the life that exists in this world. All this time I’ve been locked up there like a prisoner,” Valerie continued.

“You’ve never gone out even once?” This time, Rovano was intrigued and asked Valerie.

Valerie nodded, then the girl gave a small smile. “I spent my time indoors, even went to school at home, only seeing the outside world through the television screen and the internet. They say Dad took me out once when I was four, but how could I possibly remember?”

Rovano thought hard; it turned out the Ashford family were quite cruel—they didn’t need to lock the girl away to such an extent, when there were plenty of other ways to hide her.

“How sad,” muttered Rovano, so softly that Valerie couldn’t hear him.

“In that case, can we go for a walk along the beach?” asked Valerie, her eyes sparkling.

Rovano felt annoyed hearing this; the girl wasn’t thinking straight, even though she was in the middle of a kidnapping.

The man dragged Valerie into the room and then threw her body onto the bed. This left Valerie utterly shocked.

“Do you think I’m here to play with you?!” snapped Rovano at her.

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