This is for @Lazymoeba  Thanks for posting my book on your page and all the support you've given ❤

Time was still. We stood there in silence. It felt like a part of me that I never knew was missing had been filled and parts of me yearned for more.

Suddenly, he dropped his hands and stepped back.

"The time is not right", he murmured.

"What was that?" I whispered but he heard it anyway judging by his smug demeanour. I had never felt such a deep connection like this before, with anyone. I was drawn to this man in a way that I hadn't been drawn to any other. Feeling shocked, I stumbled back, removed from the trance I was under. Grabbing my heels from the floor, I snatched the handgun lying in the guard's holster and aimed at Malik. I had used a gun before because my dad insisted but that was a while back and I took what I hoped was the safety off.

"What did you do to him?" I said gesturing to the guard's body.

"Nothing", he smirked. "He was too weak".

"How was he too weak? You didn't even touch him, so how could he just collapse?"

He ignored me in response which only frustrated me further. My mind was spinning. It wasn't possible that someone could collapse randomly. I felt that same strange force weighing down on me - and I was still feeling it- but I was fine. My head started pounding. I had so many questions.

"What did you do to me, why couldn't I move when you... You came close"

"I did nothing", he shrugged. "Everything was already there, set in place. You didn't move, simply because, you didn't want to move".

"You're talking shit right now", my knees slightly shook in fear. "Why would I want to...? Never mind. Stand back and get on your knees".

"Okay", he replied simply.

He moved back and fell to his knees gracefully. Just like that? That was suspiciously too easy.

"Move back, against the wall", I ordered.

He did as I said which put me on edge. He clearly had the upper hand but he was just listening. He must have some sort of plan.

I grabbed the guard's radio and pressed the alarm button set on the side which should bring in reinforcements. I carefully pushed the guard over so he was laying on his back with one hand while the other was holding the gun still aimed at Malik. The guard looked extremely still and pale which worried me. I reached for his wrist to check his pulse when suddenly Malik started to move.

"Stay right there!" I yelled. "Or I will shoot".

"Don't touch him" he snarled.

"Don't tell me what to do, I need to check if he is alive. Stay back!"

"He is alive, you don't need to check".

"How would you know?" I asked incredulously.

"I can hear", he stated.

"It's not possible for you to 'hear' if he is alive", I said, mockingly.

I ignored his sounds of frustration and quickly checked his wrist. Malik was right, he was alive - barely - but how could Malik know?

"How could you tell?" I whispered. "How could you tell he was still alive?"

"I can hear"

"But how could you hear his heartbeat from where you are? That doesn't make sense! What did you do to him in the first place?"

"Come here and I will tell you", he replied teasingly.

I gave him an incredulous look. As if I was just going to walk over there next to some psycho.

He shrugged as if to say your loss. I could feel his stare burning holes through me. Every time I moved, even slightly, his gaze would be following me. I shifted uncomfortably from the pressure of his gaze.

"Why are you still here? You could easily get away", I asked hesitantly.

"I could not possibly get past you", he laughed.

I scoffed. I was not delusional. I could generally fend for myself but this was no ordinary man and he could easily overpower me. Well, I wasn't going to be waiting around for when he changes his mind. Grabbing the guard's leg, I tried to discreetly pull him back. We were quite close to Lobby exit so we could potentially make it to somewhere safer.

Again, his stare was piercing through me and I knew that he knew.

I could feel his amusement from across the room.

"I won't stop you", he said, bemused. "I am voluntarily surrendering. I'll even move further back".

True to his words, he moved back and leaned against the wall, arms crossed. For some strange reason, as he moved back the heaviness from the air decreased slightly but increased in my heart. I felt some strange yearning that he would close the distance between us. Mentally slapping myself, I reminded myself that I needed to think with my brain rather than wherever these weird feelings were coming from.

All of a sudden, I could hear footsteps in the corridor behind me and a red dot appeared on Malik's chest as guards swarmed into the Lobby from every entrance. I stayed kneeling on the floor next to the unconscious guard as they surrounded Malik from all sides. As my view of him closed off, I noticed a small smile on his face as he watched me, his gaze never leaving mine until I could no longer see him.

I fell back to the wall feeling dumb. My heart was breaking apart into small pieces and I wasn't even sure as to why. I held back the wave of emotion that washed over me and I slowly felt blackness creeping into my vision until I was overcome by the tidal wave of exhaustion that swamped me.

--

"Arya, can you hear me?"

The voice cut through my darkness and I was faintly aware of chatter surrounding me from all sides. Pushing through, I forced my eyes open and saw myself encircled by Nurse Carter, Dr Patel amongst others looking concerned.

As soon as Nurse Carter noticed I was awake, she gestured to a doctor who ushered most of the people out of the room.

The doctor peered closely at me seeming to examine me.

"How are you feeling? Any pain anywhere?"

I didn't actually know how I was feeling. I leaned back and close my eyes. Apart from a nasty headache and fatigue, I felt relatively normal and I really wanted to go home. Relaying this to the doctor, he seemed to ponder on what I said before speaking someone else. I kept my eyes closed zoned out of the conversation.

"But Malik, he -" Someone whispered. They were shushed immediately but I already heard. My heart started beating fast and I hoped I wasn't connected to a monitor and everyone was seeing a sudden unexplained jump in my heart rate. What was I going to say when I was questioned? I could feel their curiosity as to what happened and probably how I was still alive. I was no fool. I could see past his good looks and I knew he was a dangerous man. No ordinary person would be locked in the basement with constant surveillance and all the security outside and I could see why - I experienced his power first-hand.

Another piece of their conversation drifted to me. Apparently, none of the CCTV's was working, it was all fuzzy and had some sort of interference and big weight lifted off my chest. I honestly didn't know how to explain what happened and it sounded foolish to try to explain what happened without sounding crazy. I felt conflicted between staying quiet and speaking the truth.

Judging by their quiet voices, they probably thought I was sleeping and I could hear my name being mentioned several times. Eventually, I felt a light tap on my shoulder which I pretended to wake up to. Nurse Carters face hovered over mine, concern clearly written all over her.

"Arya, I know you probably don't feel great, but we need to ask some question. Is that okay"

I nodded and Dr Patel stepped forward with his arms crossed.

"Pardon my bluntness but there is no time for formalities. What happened?"

Decision time.

"I... I don't actually remember. My mind just feels really foggy right now", I lied.

"How can you not remember anything", Dr Patel exclaimed.

"Hang on, she might have been more affected than we first thought. If she is experiencing memory loss, we should be concerned and should do more check-ups", the doctor who checked me earlier interrupted.

"We need answers doctor. Arya, what do you remember?"

"Well, I was with Jessica when the alarm went off and the guard told me had to escort me to a safe room due to a security threat", I started. A man dressed in combat gear nodded in agreement.

"We took the emergency stairs down to the Lobby and we were close to the safe room when the elevators opened. The guard started shooting but something happened but the air felt really heavy like I couldn't breathe and shortly after the guard collapsed, I did too. I don't remember what happened after that"

Silence filled the room after I finished speaking and I could see the doubt on Dr Patel's face.

"That's all?" he asked.

"That is what she said, don't pressure her", Nurse Carter interjected. "We know what effect he can have on... people".

More silence filled the room.

"If it's okay, can I please go home now? I'm really exhausted".

The doctor who examined me started to fuss about how I needed more tests done but I firmly rejected him.

I gathered all my stuff silently.

"Take a day off Arya, and someone will drop you off home", Dr Patel said.

As I thanked him and left the room with my supposed lift home following behind me, I heard Dr Patel whispered something so I pretended to drop my bag to listen.

"And something's not right, I can smell him right now which-" he cut off suddenly and the door shut behind me.

I picked my bag up and continued walking in confusion.

What on Earth was going on?

They were hiding something and deep down, even though I didn't want to admit, there was something unnatural about this whole situation that scared more than I cared to confess.

The ride was a quiet one. The person who drove me home said little and that suited me fine. I thanked him when we arrived and made my way to my house. It was nearly 2 in the morning. Karl's house was dark and quiet and I was glad strangely, that I wouldn't be seeing him.

I sat on my sofa with only KK for company who was curled up in my lap and didn't know what to do. I couldn't remember my purpose or what drove me and kept me motivated. I felt numb but I had a hurricane of emotions swirling up inside of me. So I cried silently for a man I had never seen before and for the ache he left behind.

Sooo

How was the chapter?

Obviously, Malik will return but there's is a plan.

I'm updating early because some readers asked me too so this is my update for this week. I have exams coming up which I need to revise for :(

Question for today:

What country would you like to visit and why?

Thanks for all the love and support.

Don't forget to Vote, Comment and Share, it really keeps me motivated to keep going.

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