Caged in His Arms

PROLOGUE

She ran and huffed. She didn't dare look back. As the rain poured down hard, it was accompanied by flashes of lightning and thunder. Athena never bothered or she is not scared of the cruel weather. The only thing in her mind right now is to escape and be gone from here. Eight long year's of suffering and enduring the life she never wanted and at last, she found her only chance to escape and be far far away from this place...a place once she called home but now, she considered this place hell on Earth and a living nightmare.

She heard the growl of the car engine and it made Athena panic. She decided to hide on the thick bushes and she covered her mouth while she shivered in cold. She saw flashes of light and the car stopped exactly near the bush she's hiding. Then she heard footsteps and a familiar voice that she loathed ever since said,

"Did you find her?!" the voice said angrily and she heard a reply from one of his men said,

"Unfortunately, no Sir. "

"How worthless can you get! What's the use of the money I pay to your services when the only thing you will do is watch over a girl and you let her escape?! Don't come back inside the mansion unless you find her, understood?!" the voice said angrily.

"Yes sir!" the men replied.

And Athena nearly shouted at loud when she felt a slicing pain on her hip. Sadly, she hurt herself when one of the pointed and thick branches sliced on her side. Good thing she covered her mouth and endured the pain or else all of her efforts will go to waste. She huddled deeper into the bushes as she heard the car drove away. The men resumed looking for her again and this time, Athena is getting scared. She is sure that they will find her and if they do, she's going back to the mansion and become the pampered princess the public thinks she is but...it was the opposite.

She is indeed pampered but no freedom to speak, chose and move wherever she wishes. She's like a doll being controlled by an owner who held her freedom and happiness and this made Athena decided to escape. Everyone in the mansion thinks she's a meek and quiet child but the fire in her is being suppressed. This is her way of rebellion and she wants her freedom back!

In the night of her eighteenth birthday, Martin Wong, her guardian throw a lavish party for her coming of age and of course, for the sake of what the society will say. Then and there, she hatched a plan to escape. She is tired and she wants freedom. Wearing her pretty pink pastel gown, she went out of the mansion and brave the storm. She doesn't care if she got all cold and wet, as long as she's going to escape and gain freedom.

Athena saw an incoming truck that is stopped by those men wearing black clothes. As the men checked the back of the truck, underneath the truck and ask the driver to come out of the truck, Athena decided to hitch-hike without the knowledge of the driver and when the men are done checking the truck, they went to the driver and Athena decided to stealthily approach the truck, open the door and slipped inside just in time, as the truck started moving again and she heard the shouts of the men outside to resume looking for her.

Athena released a breath of relief after she successfully got inside the truck. With a small gaping hole of the truck door, Athena's eyes are filled with tears as she says goodbye to her childhood home and says goodbye to her life of being imprisoned.

You'll be alright Athena. Everything will be alright.

She silently thought as she stared at the necklace that her late mother and father gifted to her and as she started losing her consciousness. What Athena didn't know is that the cut is deep and she is losing too much blood. Athena felt free. She is now away from the clutches of the person who is controlling her and her life and most especially, her family's fortune.



She will stay away as far as possible. She will create a new life and name so her guardian cannot find her anymore. She will make sure that she is going to hold on her freedom and will never let go. Her blood oozes out of her wound and Athena's mind became muddled. As her eye's closed and before she succumbed to the darkness, her memories of the past years came like a movie, it flashed through her thoughts.

The man who became a close family friend always come and go inside the big estate owned by her family. She also has a big brother who loves, dotes and adores her and spoiled her rotten. But everything changed in one stormy night when she was ten. The car they rode swivel and fall off a cliff and to the sea. Her parents were seated in front didn't make it out of the car and her big brother drowned. She became popular then when miraculously, she survived the crash.

When the rescuers came, they salvaged the lifeless bodies of her parents and she cried hard that night. She questioned the heavens why they took her family and didn't include her. The day of the burial came and they buried her mother and father. Sadly, they didn't recover the body of her big brother. On that day, she met someone and she learned that this someone is her guardian's young driver.

"Here... take this." The young driver offered her a manly designed handkerchief.

Athena blankly stared at it and to her surprise, the young driver squat down on to her level and started wiping away the tears on her eyes and on her cheeks. This is the first time since her family perished that she felt someone gave her genuine care instead of giving her pity looks. When her parents perished, she found in a hard way that the people whom she thought are her family's friends and are concerned about her welfare, only cared because of her family's status and wealth. Athena then, promised to herself that she will not let her guard down.

Athena's eyes watered again. She cried but the young driver gave her a genuine smile and caressed her head saying,

"Don't cry pretty doll. You will look ugly if you keep on crying like this."

At ten years old, Athena felt embarrassed and so, she tried her best to stop her tears from falling and she sniffled and sniffled then she saw the young driver wearing a suit being called by someone and when he turned and looked at her, he said,

"Alas, I need to go pretty doll. My boss is leaving. "

The young driver in a suit stood and smiled at her then he turned his back on her but before he could walk away, Athena in her clear voice called him and said,

"Wait, can you please tell me your name?"

The guy stopped on his tracks and turned towards her and said with a heart-melting smile plastered on his face,

"Hades. You can call me Hades, my Athena."

With that last vestige of Athena's fading memory, she slowly succumbed to the darkness that has engulfed her and her thoughts and senses.