Chapter one
1221 Words
"Breaking news, Nation in mourning as world's top military commander dies in sea tragedy." The shrill voice of the reporter rang out loud, disrupting Samantha Hendrix from her thoughts.
Raising her head from where it laid on her laps, she stared at the large screen of the television as the pictures of the accident scene were displayed, the tide was very unfriendly and the sky looked so sad. Videos of people crying loudly as they mourned the loss of the legend were shown next.
"He must have been well loved." She muttered, shoving her hair into a messy bun.
The sounds of continuous wailing tugged at her heart as she stared sorrowfully at the television, tears pooled at her own eyes threatening to fall.
"The military commander, widely regarded as the strongest war god, dies in a tragic incident at sea, and the cause of the accident is still unknown." The reporter's voice trailed away slowly, fading into the background.
Samantha shook her head pitifully, "Death sucks," She whispered to herself as she stared at the pictures of the deceased. "He's still so young." She muttered sucking her teeth in empathy.
Yes, death sucks but isn't living worse? She thought as her mind wandered to the reason why she was sitting alone in this big and very much empty villa with no single soul around. This wasn't home. It felt much safer than home. Despite the cold and eerie aura that accompanied it, she felt safe and well hidden from them.
"I am in no place to think about someone else." She whispered, wallowing in self-pity.
In three days time, her life would be worse than that of the dead hero, at least he was a hero who people worshipped and wanted to be like, he lived a great life despite the fact that he's now dead, her reality was much worse.
Wasn't death so much better than being in a loveless and forced marriage?
But how could she refuse?
Her uncle was hellbent on doing what he pleased, and no one was ready to listen to her. She didn't have a say of her own.
In three days, she would say yes to the most notorious man who has ever lived in the universe. She would say yes to throwing her life away to the wolves.
A heartbreaking sob erupted out of her mouth as hot tears spilt down her eyes.
Suddenly, the shrill sound of her phone ringing made her jump.
Her heart sped up in fear as she reached for it, expecting it to be one of those who were determined to sell her out but she lets out a sigh of relief as her best friend's name flashed boldly on the screen.
"Hey babe, where on earth are you?" The voice at the other side asked hurriedly.
Samantha opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted. "Hold on, tell me that you're fine, I don't want to hear that anything happened and.."
"Relax, I'm fine." Samantha replied, smiling. Her friends tend to worry a lot.
"Good." There was a short pause on the other side.
"Now tell me, Samantha Hendrix, where on planet earth is your a*s hiding?" She asked in a stern voice.
"I can't marry him, Amy. I just can't." Samantha was on the verge of breaking down again. " HE might be freaking rich and all, but he's known for being notorious. He has even assaulted underage girls. Amy, he's a monster, I really don't want him for myself." She let out a choked sob.
"I know, you don't have to. Just tell me where you are?" Amy insisted calmly.
"I'm in the ancestral villa, I'm fed up with everything, so I just came here to take a breather."
There was a small pause on the other side. "You should have told me before you left. You shouldn't be alone right now." Amy replied in a small tone.
"I'm safe, I'm sorry for making you worry about me." Samantha apologized, feeling both bad and grateful.
"It's fine, I've got to go now, I will text you later." Amy said hurriedly.
"Amy?" Samantha called softly.
"Yes?"
"Thanks for being a good friend." She said with a small smile playing on her lips.
Amy coughed. "Hmm.. umm.. Yeah." She stuttered. " You could do the same for me." She swallowed. "I've got to go now." With that, she hung up.
Feeling a little lightheaded after speaking to Amy, she decided to go for swim in the sea. Nothing takes away the headache better than a good swim in chill waters.
Changing into her swimsuit, she left the house heading down to the sea. Dropping her belongings in a safe spot, she dived into the water.
It was cold just as she liked it. It calmed the ache in her head, and the pains in her heart paused for a while.
The sea was almost empty, safe from the birds flying around. She was enjoying the serene view of the evening sun when something cold touched her leg.
That's weird. She thought as she swam a little bit away from the spot back to the shores. As she moved, her leg kicked something, making her nearly stumble.
Looking down, Samantha Hendrix screamed two years away from her life span.
It was a body, the body of a man!
Her mouth opened again, but she clammed it shut as his hand wrapped around her leg.
His body wasn't that cold, his face was purple and his hand, yes his hand was holding her! That was it, it wasn't just a body, it was a man, he was still very much alive!
Without wasting anymore time, she grabbed a hold of him and lifted him out of the water, pulling him with her as she swam out of the water. She dropped him on the sand and checked vitals. His heart was barely alive. She immediately dived into action. Removing the seaweeds that tangled around him, she placed her palms on his chest and began to press it, giving him CPR.
Suddenly, he coughed, spitting out brown water. He was breathing on his own now. He would survive. He had more weight than her, so she dragged him all the way to her villa.
Taking him to the bathroom, she turned on the shower, washing the dirt off him.
After cleaning him up, she managed to carry him to her room and laid him on her bed. His clothes were dripping wet, so she needed to change his clothing so he wouldn't get a fever.
She hurried to her wardrobe and pulled out a T-shirt and a pair of unisex trousers, then hurried back to the bed where he laid.
"Hey, hope you don't mind me taking off your clothes?" She whispered with her face red.
Receiving no reply, she shrugged and proceeded to take them off him. There were series of marks on his back. They were scars gotten for sharp objects. Her fingers trailed along his scarred back, and then she sighted it, a grim reaper tattoo. It was strangely beautiful. Her fingers trailed along his back, tracing the mysterious tattoo. Then the door burst open, and she jerked up in shock, and her mouth released a gasp.
"SAMANTHA!"
Her voice came out shakily, "Father, uncle.”
- Writer
