Chapter 4
1167 Words
WHAT ELOWEN ASH THINKS!
Elowen was sitting by the window of her father's private jet.
Her forehead was lightly resting on the cold glass.
Outside, thick white clouds drifted by, soft and never-ending.
They looked calm.
Not enough action for the storm in her chest.
She watched the clouds move and acted like she wasn't stuck.
Pretended that she wasn't being taken back.
She acted like her life was still her own.
Her fingers were tightly curled in her lap.
She had thought of everything so well.
Every step.
Every move.
All of the ways out.
She had planned to go away.
She had planned to begin again.
She had planned a life where no one would ever chase her.
A life where no one owned her breath.
A life where her name was only hers.
She had made plans to forget.
Forget about the house that felt like a prison.
Forget the guy who said he was her father.
Forget the past that stuck to her skin like a stain.
She had told herself that she would never go back.
Not willingly.
Never.
But there she was.
Sitting in leather seats that smelled like power and money.
Flying back to the place she had promised to leave.
Life had made fun of her plans.
Fate had ripped them apart without mercy.
It always did.
She closed her lips and took a slow breath.
She wouldn't cry.
She wouldn't give up.
If fate wanted to fight, she would give it one.
She had learned a lot of that as a child.
She would make a door if there wasn't one.
She would make her own path if there wasn't one.
There was no way to give up.
Not right now.
No way.
Her eyes moved away from the window.
They met another couple in the cabin.
Jackson.
He sat a few seats away, straight up and quiet.
His eyes were sharp and watchful as they looked at her.
He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since they left her apartment.
Because he had taken her by force.
Because he didn't listen to her screams.
Her requests.
Her hands were shaking as she held onto his sleeve.
Once, they were friends.
Friends for real.
The kind that told each other secrets and got hurt when they fell.
The kind that laughed so hard their stomachs hurt.
She called him her way out.
He had been the one who kept the darkness away from her.
The person who dried her tears.
The one who said she would never be alone.
He was now sitting there like a stranger.
It's cold.
Nothing.
Obedient.
She looked at his face, trying to find the boy she remembered.
She didn't find anything.
Not a flicker.
Not a crack.
Just quiet.
Earlier, she had begged him.
She had been crying.
She had fought.
She had even yelled his name.
The only thing she got back was the same answer.
"I am here because your father told me to be."
That's all.
Nothing else.
That sentence had broken something inside her.
Jackson was not Jackson anymore.
He was in charge.
A gun.
A shadow made by her father's will.
The way her father wanted it.
People who don't have feelings.
No questions.
Without mercy.
She looked back out the window.
Her reflection looked back at her with a faint look.
Why was life this way?
Why did every hope cost something?
The clouds kept floating outside.
No cost.
Not touched.
She was jealous of them.
Elowen Ash was her name in the world.
The oldest daughter of William Ash.
The kid from his first marriage.
The proof of a love story that people liked from a distance.
A man who married again just to give his daughter a mother.
Everyone thought that was the story.
The story was published in magazines.
The story whispered with respect.
William Ash.
The billionaire who is clean.
The ideal man.
The one whose name isn't stained.
People talked about him like he was a saint.
As if he were walking among them with light under his feet.
Elowen had always thought that was funny.
A sound that echoed in her throat.
If only they knew.
If only they could have seen through the walls.
Behind the grins.
Behind the cash.
They wouldn't say he was a god.
They would use a different name for him.
The voice next to her broke the quiet.
Jackson said, "We'll be landing in thirty minutes."
He spoke in a flat tone.
Her stomach sank.
Half an hour.
That was all that kept her from going back to the past.
Her fingers tightened up again.
She made her voice stay steady.
"Why now?" she asked.
"My results aren't even out yet."
She didn't look at him.
She didn't want to sound weak.
She had learned that being weak came with a price.
Jackson moved a little.
He said, "There is a threat."
"Someone has entered our area."
Her jaw tightened.
"People died," he went on.
"Your father wants to keep you safe."
Elowen chuckled softly.
Safe.
It sounded like a joke.
She turned all the way around to face him.
"Who would dare go against him?" she asked.
Her lips curled up in a fake way.
"The great William Ash."
For a moment, Jackson's eyes narrowed.
Only one.
Then his face went blank again.
"Beast," he said.
The word hung in the air.
Even though she didn't want to, her curiosity got the better of her.
"Beast," she said again.
"That is his name."
Jackson said, "Nobody knows who he is."
"People who have seen him don't talk."
She frowned.
"What do you mean they don't talk?" she asked.
Jackson's grip on the armrest got tighter.
"They're dead," he said.
The cabin felt colder.
Elowen swallowed.
Something in her chest twisted.
Her thoughts raced.
Someone had made her father afraid.
Enough to get her to call back.
That was risky all by itself.
She said, "Interesting."
She stared ahead, deep in thought.
"I wonder if I will ever see him."
Before she could stop them, the words came out.
Jackson moved quickly.
The seatbelt clicked open.
He stood up and leaned in her direction.
His hands were on both sides of her seat.
The area around her disappeared.
The cushion pushed against her back.
She stopped breathing.
He was too close.
His eyes were fixed on hers.
Dark.
Very serious.
Living.
Jackson said quietly, "I think he will come for you."
Her heart raced.
"And when he does," he went on.
"He won't stop."
He moved closer.
Close enough for her to hear him breathe.
He added, "Just so you know."
His eyes dropped for a moment before coming back to hers.
"He's a lot worse than your dad."
The plane made a humming sound around them.
Outside, the sky stayed calm.
But something terrible had already started inside her.
If this Beast was coming,
What would happen when he finally found her?
- Writer
