Loving the criminal 1 (Bella's Journey)

"A past will chase you if you try to escape from it, but once you confront it, it's just an old memory inside you."- Saiyuki

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WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT

Flashback 1 ...

  (Some years back)

How?

How could a heart be this cruel?

How can a father's heart be this harsh to his only daughter... Until he had gone to the far extent of selling her virginity to someone rich.

How?

Is money more than a family? Huh, this world is sure worse than hell...

It was past midnight and in a wide but dull bedroom, that looked like a hotel room, this lady was sitting at the top of the queen-sized bed. Her knees were clenched at her chest, her lips trembling in fear, and her teeth biting her fingernails. Sure, she was scared... helpless... hopeless.  

"Ah..." She kept taking solemn breaths and her hands never stopped rubbing her bare shoulders. It was freezing.

The cold air hit her bare chest, "Argh." Making her wince.

"Showaaa..." Sounds of water flowing could be heard from the bathroom.

Bella. She needed to escape from here. It won't be long until the old man finishes taking a bath and takes her virginity as he dealt with her father.

As the thought of escaping crossed her mind, her tired eyes wandered around the room looking for a window. Without wasting any minute, her legs reached the floor and walked softly to the window without making a sound.

It was when she opened the window the freezing breeze got goosebumps on her skin. Her eyes looked out only to realize she was on the 8th floor, too far, and jumping from there was utterly impossible unless she was a cat having nine souls.

What should she do now?

When questions and thoughts stormed into her head, a hand clutched her waist and a low voice whispered into her ear.

"Were you trying to jump?" His breath sent chills down her spine.

Water dropped down to her chest from his wet hair indicating he just finished showing now, his hairy chest rubbing her bare back... she knew she would lose her virginity by then.

"I told you to wait for me fully naked in my bed, didn't I?" His hand wandered her half-naked body as he spoke with a low voice.

"I want you naked. Now!" As the words slipped his filthy lips, he yanked the garment that covered her breasts, thighs, and her lower body.

"Ah! Stop!" She pushed him so hard, but it went to no avail.

"How dare you?" He hissed glaring at her with his dirty eyes. "Stop fighting with me. I have to save my energy to play with you in my bed."

'Disgusting!' she thought.

Right away, he pushed her into the bed and grabbed her hands above her head, stopping her from fighting back. He started kissing and nibbling her neck right away, his hot and thick tongue making her jolt.

"No! Please stop! Argh please!" She begged, her cracked voice indicating fear and exhaustion.

He looked up at her face with a dark expression, "These lips of yours must be punished." His lips embraced hers.

Tears rolled up in her eyes.

His lips tasted like whiskey.

"Argh!" She bit his lips so hard that it started bleeding. That's when he let go of her hands and she ran to the door but remembered that she didn't know where he kept the key.

"Hahaha... You can't escape from me." His evil laugh made her tremble in fear... She is dead now.

Slowly, her head turned to him, and she saw his lips bleeding as if they were cut with a knife. Just how much did she bite him? "Now, come here before something bad happens to you." She noticed something move under his waist-tied towel. And it was his...

God save her.

"Come here little kitten. I am not a patient man." As he started approaching her slowly, fearing if she ran, God signaled her to look at the glass that was on the floor. She never noticed it until now.

Silently, she walked to him. "Good girl." He smiled looking all satisfied. If only he knew what she had in her mind...

"I am not good." After she said it, she swiftly grabbed the glass and threw it at his head with such an intense until he lost consciousness.

Without wasting a second, she looked for the key in his pockets, and thank goodness she found it there.

...

She didn't care if she was running to God knows where even when it was past midnight. Her life was treacherous anyway... she didn't care if it was dark as fuck, she just wanted to flee, to escape.

"Pant... Pant... Pant..." Her head kept turning behind her, her eyes, scanned as if that man was chasing her down. "Pant... Pant..." Now, she seemed tired and to feel the pain in her inner foot.

"Ah." As she stopped running instantly, she bent leaning on her shivering knees, her chest heaving quickly as if she had been running a marathon.

"Ha... Gosh." A gasp escaped her lips when she saw the blood gushing out of her barefoot, the pain making her wail in grief.

Her eyes skimmed at her surroundings trying to find something that could stop the bleeding but...

The place that welcomed her sight was a terrifying gloaming and abandoned street, that looked like a ghost town.

... A certain odor catches her sense of smell making her stop for a moment and breath in...

'Blood.'

... It was a smell of blood lingering in the air. Bella did not mistrust that it was never hers but someone else's fresh blood. Looking like a symbol of conformation, she felt a hot liquid lick her wounded inner feet.

Feeling startled, she peered at the ground that was drenched with so much blood... Her sight followed the source of the blood only a man who was stabbed to death to meet her stare.

"Ah!" Her scream echoed in the empty, foggy street. Little did she know that she just awakened the savage thugs who belonged in this town.

"Well... well... well. Look we have here!" The gangsters that appeared out of nowhere, started approaching Bella slowly, all of them holding daggers.

Her legs tried to step backward only to end up her back hitting a hard chest.

"Are you lost?" One of them spoke mockingly.

The thugs circled her, trapping her in the middle.

Only the murderous look on their face screams bloodlust... In her heart, she prayed to God that he would spear a place in heaven. Her guts kept telling her she should use her last minutes wisely once and for all. She was going to die anyway.

"Don't be scared we won't bite." Their legs never stopped taking steps toward her.

"... But we might stab." A shiver runs down her spine. That's it. She is saying her last goodbye to this world...

Yet.

"Ahhhh!" A loud pained scream rumbled in the street, making the thugs' attention turn to their friend who screamed his lungs out. He was wincing in so much despair, holding his shoulder as if it was broken.

"What's the matter-" The other one was not even finished talking when a hard rock landed on his head, making him lose consciousness.

Bella was dazedly watching the incredible show in front of her. The gangsters kept crying out and fainting one by one as if some invisible thing was blasting them. Are angels defending her? It's hard to tell. As if her brain was fatigued from taking all of these dramas, her vision blurred, and darkness followed to embrace her.

Right there and in that instant, she fainted.

...

After her eyes opened slowly, taking in the view of the room she found herself lying, a deep voice grabbed her attention,  

"Are you okay?" Her eyes went to look at the source of the voice and she was taken aback when a pretty boy captured her scenery.

"Hey, are you okay?" He tried to call out again and helplessly his crystal blue eyes made her fool for him.

Was it love at first sight?

"Miss? Are you listening?"

"Ah!" When his speech finally reached her senses, she got into a seating position with lightning speed. Where is she? And who is he?

"W-Where am I?" Asked through her trembling lips.

A smile appeared on his face forming deep dimples on his both cheeks. "Don't fear. I have no intention of hurting you."

Her heart just skipped a beat. His smile was insanely addicting...

It seemed like he just remembered something. "Wait me for a second." He fled out leaving her all alone in the bedroom.

Bella's eyes wandered around the tiny house that was warm and cozy. How long has it been since something so little made her comfortable and smile as if she was in the seventh heaven... wait.

Did the stranger make her feel like that?

While she was dwelling in her thoughts, he came holding bandages and a first aid kit.

"Your wound must be treated. Your legs are still bleeding" As he spoke, his cold hand reached to grab her wounded soft foot making her yank her leg from his grip.

"W-Wait. I will do it myself."

"..." After staring at each other for a moment, he stubbornly grabbed her leg. A smirk was displayed on his face while he continued treating her wound.

As for Bella who was a virgin and was too sensitive to small touches, her body kept burning and jerking whenever his hot breath blew into her wound... Whenever his hand caressed her leg to ease the pain.

"What's your name?" He mused still looking busy and focused on treating her wounded leg.  

"Oh..." Her brain wasn't suspicious of the pretty stranger boy as it should be. "Bellanca." Answered.

His eyes looked up to meet hers and his lips opened to say, "Um... Bellanca." his sexy smirk displayed on his face before turning his attention to her wound and saying,

"Kerry. I am Kerry by the way."

Bella recalled his name in her head...

'Kerry.' It sounded warm. 

"It's done. I hope it will heal faster." His deep voice brought her back to earth. "I will bring you something to eat." He stood up ready to head to the tiny kitchen to bring her the roasted egg and potato.

"Dig in." It didn't take long until they dinned to eat their past-midnight-dinner.

Kerry would stare at her now and then. He had never seen a beauty like her before...

Was it her shyness that awakened his deprivation to know her more?

They chatted for a while and Bella started opening up and laughing several times at the jokes he snapped.

"Do you like it? This is all we have in the house."

"Of course I enjoyed it. It tastes good." She flashed that smile of hers... and Kerry knew that he found his only weakness. Her heart-melting smile…

"By the way, what are you doing at this hour alone?" he questioned.

She slowly gulped the food in her mouth, "I was escaping." She continued. "I was forced to sleep with an old man."

"Uh? Why? Who forced you?" the shock on his face was masked by a look of outrage.

"It's my dad." He clenched his jaws. What kind of person does this to his daughter?!

"Who is your father?"

"Why do you ask?" she could tell he was angry. But why? He doesn't even know her.

"Of course, I will slaughter him once I've found out who he is." He blurted out with a straight face. "I don't like him."

"Hahaha calm down, will you?" she giggled. "You are too young to kill someone."

"Huh? How come? Why do you think these muscles are for?" he declared showing her his perfect muscles. "They aren't only for the beauty, you know."

"Hahaha…" she laughed so hard until she was out of breath. Oh, how much she missed laughing like this. If this was a dream, she prayed to never wake up.