Escaped From Hell

The following day arrived, and Adriana entered the prison where Astell was. She laid a floor plan of the entire mansion and pointed out the places Astell should avoid.

"The east mansion is what you have to avoid. That place is highly guarded since that is where my father and the two wives reside," Adriana pointed, and Astell nodded his head.

Though Astell had tons of questions, he did not ask since it was not his place to ask. The security in the mansion was confusing, but Astell managed to swallow them all.

"Three days from now, the whole family will attend a tea party. At the same time, most of the guards will be off duty. It's best to escape at night before we arrive home," explained Adriana.

"I understand. Three days from now," noted Astell, who then wondered how he would know if it was night or morning.

"I'll signal you when to escape. Don't worry about that," said Adriana as if she was reading his mind.

"But if you escape me out of here. What will be your excuse?" Astell asked out of concern, knowing she might be punished.

"I said don't worry about that," assured Adriana. "I'll set it up. I'll pretend as if you died from the fire."

"How?" asked Astell while Adriana sighed, being bombed with questions.

"I've been buying and using candles lately. You see those candles I brought in today?" Adriana pointed at the candles that were placed on the side table. "If the door detects something wrong in the room, it'll automatically lock whoever is inside."

"Then what about me?"

"Of course, you'll have the key beforehand. Your mission is to make this room a mess as if you had burned yourself to death," answered Adriana while Astell furrowed his brow. "Any concerns?"

"Is there another way to do it? Rather than making myself look as if I've killed myself? I doubt anyone would believe that I died just like that."

"Look, if you want to escape, you'll need to follow the plan. If not, you can rot in this cell," asserted Adriana, who had enough of Astell, asking and wanting too much.

"You're right. I apologize for being selfish," Astell lowered his head.

"Don't bother lowering your head to your me."

Astell raised his head and gazed at Adriana, who continued explaining the rest of the details. Which didn't take long for him to fully understand the plan.

"I'll send a letter to your family. To pick you up at that exact location," Adriana folded the floor plan and used Faris to hide it.

Until now, Astell couldn't understand why Adriana was helping him. Was there something she knew while others didn't? Everything about her seemed so mysterious that he somehow wanted to know more about her.

Though Astell doubted she would allow that. Even if at one point they had this kind of relationship. It will never grow. It was clear as Adriana had drawn a line in between them.

Yes. Things should stay like that. Once he escapes from this place. They will pretend not to know each other. Which bothered Astell. He wasn't ready to let go of this relationship. He even prayed for them to be this close in the future.

"Stop staring at me," condemned Adriana, who turned her back. "You look as if you can't trust me. But I don't care. I've offered a hand, and it's your choice to accept it."

At that moment, Astell did not know why but he blurted, "I trust you." This made Adriana turn her back, looking at him, surprised but not expressed.

That moment Adriana thought she heard him say, "I trust you truly. Which is why you should trust me also."

Adriana pursed her lips, not knowing what she was feeling. She averted her eyes away from him and shyly nodded her head. Adriana rushed out of the cell and closed the door.

Adriana touched her cheeks, which felt warm. 'Am I blushing?' She asked herself and sighed heavily. It wasn't like this was their last meeting.

There were still three more days. But it hit her that Astell would no longer be there to nag her. Nag her about using her magic too much.

A laugh escaped from her mouth, and she frowned. Being exposed to Astell was bad for Adriana. She was starting to have emotions she wasn't supposed to have. It was dangerous. Astell Skydane is too dangerous for her.

"Damn it," cursed Adriana, whose nails dugged into her skin. "Stop it, Adriana. You don't deserve it. You don't. Throw it away."

At the same time, in the cell, Astell stood silently. He was a bit flabbergasted seeing Adriana blush for the first time. So even the poison beauty could be flustered? His heart skipped a beat which left him confused.

Astell crouched and ruffled his own hair. Even without seeing himself in the mirror. He knew his ears were red. It wasn't the first he had been attracted by Adriana. It was the second time, no, maybe the third time now.

This confusing feeling left Astell a bit saddened. The fact that once he escapes from this place. They will be back to strangers.

Astell stood back straight and told himself to forget about her. Yes, just like how it was supposed to be, back to strangers.

"Ah, this is hell."

Just like that, three days had passed. It was the beginning of a new life and future for them.

Astell Skydane successfully escaped from the underground prison and was announced dead by the guard. The cause of death is due to the amount of smoke inhaled and burned to death.

By the time Adriana arrived back home, she had pretended to turn berserk. As her one and the only toy had escaped. But it only took her a day to turn back calm. Is what everyone had thought.

Ebony and her father did not believe it just by hearing. This is why they both went on-site to check on it. They got fooled by Faris' illusion.

The news of Astell Skydane's death was announced to the public, and many grieved, knowing he had gone missing for a week now.

Astell's bones were then found in a forest near the Skydane mansion. It was found by a guard on patrol. This shocking news made the ladies in Arabella weep for at least a week.

Of course, only those who stayed and worked in the Belladonna mansion knew the truth. But it was kept in the dark.

But that is now all old news. Two years had passed since that incident. Now that Adriana is twenty years old. It was the actual beginning of her new life. Three years were left for her to escape from this family.