Episode 1: The Runaway Bride
Kina's POV
I stepped into the corridor, and the world tilted.
My wedding gown weighed heavily against my skin. White silk clung to me like a promise I had never wanted to make. Behind me, laughter and music drifted from the ballroom.
Everyone thought they were attending a wedding.
They didn’t know I had been sold.
My stepfather had accepted a fortune in exchange for my future, and tonight I was expected to smile and accept my fate.
I had spent twenty-three years obeying.
Tonight, I chose freedom.
Cool night air greeted me as I slipped through an open door. My plan was simple: steal a car, escape through the back gate, and disappear before anyone noticed the bride was gone.
I reached the driveway and stopped.
A man stood in the shadows.
At first, I thought he was a guest avoiding the crowd. Then he turned slightly, and the light revealed sharp features and a cigarette between his fingers.
“Lost?” he asked.
I ignored him and continued walking.
“You can’t run in that dress.”
His words made me stop.
I turned to face him.
His dark suit was expensive. His gray eyes were even more striking.
“I have to,” I said.
He studied me for a moment.
“Do you know what you’re doing?”
No.
I was terrified.
But I lifted my chin.
“Yes.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“Then take my car.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“It’s safer.”
I stared at him.
“Why help me?”
“Because you look like someone desperate enough to do something foolish.”
The answer made no sense.
Still, I didn’t have time to question him.
I took the keys.
As I walked away, I glanced back once.
He was still watching me.
The car was sleek and expensive. I slid behind the wheel and drove.
The city swallowed me quickly.
Streetlights flashed past as relief slowly replaced fear.
Maybe I had actually escaped.
Then the headlights appeared.
Too fast.
Too close.
A vehicle swerved into my lane.
I jerked the wheel.
Tires screamed.
Metal crashed.
The world spun.
Pain exploded through my side.
When everything stopped moving, smoke filled the air.
Blood coated my tongue.
I struggled to breathe.
Then a familiar voice cut through the ringing in my ears.
“You’re bleeding.”
The gray-eyed stranger crouched beside the wreckage.
The amusement I had seen earlier was gone.
“I’m fine,” I whispered.
It was an obvious lie.
Without a word, he unbuckled my seatbelt and helped me out of the car.
There were no witnesses.
No police.
Only the two of us and the wreckage of my escape.
“I need a hospital,” I muttered.
His gaze swept over me.
“You’ll survive.”
Despite everything, I glared at him.
A faint smile appeared.
Minutes later, I found myself in another car.
The city passed in silence.
“How did you end up at a wedding?” he asked.
“It’s complicated.”
“Most disasters are.”
I sighed.
“Do you always talk like that?”
“Only when I’m being polite.”
A reluctant laugh escaped me.
The sound faded quickly.
If I went back, my life would no longer belong to me.
Before long, the car turned onto a private road lined with tall hedges.
An enormous estate appeared ahead.
It looked more like a fortress than a home.
“Stay here,” he said. “Until you’re safe.”
Inside, the house was quiet and elegant.
He led me to a room and began cleaning the cut on my side with practiced hands.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Vladimir.”
The name carried weight.
“Kina Morgan.”
His gray eyes held mine.
“You are far from safe, Kina Morgan.”
“I know.”
“Then let me help you.”
Every instinct warned me not to trust him.
But I was injured, exhausted, and completely alone.
For the first time that night, something fragile stirred inside me.
Hope.
“Alright,” I whispered.
Outside, the night kept its secrets.
Inside, Vladimir pressed a clean cloth against my wound, and I let him.
