I turn around to walk towards the car. I cannot stand there anymore. My eyes well up with tears, the same liquid I was fighting back since we left home. Andrew turned around and started walking with me. And then I stop dead in tracks because of her. My heart is about to explode while my breath hitches in my throat. Tears find their way out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks. I clench my fist as tightly as I could, holding the last ounce of patience I'm having. But I cannot hold in anymore. I cannot bear it anymore. I cannot avoid her anymore.

Her small hands are on my chest, firm, and I can feel the movement of her chest at my back. She hugged me, first time willingly. I turn around just immediately and engulf her in my arms. My girl, my world in my arms willingly. I never imagined and this day could not be any better than this.
I kiss her on the head multiple times and keep stroking her back gently. She's so petite yet has so much power over me. Tears keep streaming down and this time I don't hesitate to keep them away from her sight. She ever so slightly breaks the hug, creating some distance which I don't want at all.

"Thank you, Blake!" She tells me, looking in the eye. They don't hold grudges but instead are really thankful. After all she went through, I never expected to see such emotion in her eyes. The emotion where it is not sadness, helplessness, or anger but just kindness and purity. She tugs onto the front of my shirt just below my collar and makes me lean down to her while she lifts her toes slowly. Our face inches to each other slowly and I feel her cheek brushing my stubble and stopping near my ear.

"You are not a bad person Blake. You are just lonely. And don't worry, my dad always used to say, good things always wait at the end. It will pass, so don't stress yourself. Live peacefully, I'll wear the bracelet all the time if that helps, and try to be the real Blake."

Her words soothe me, calm me. Her words made my hair stand alert all over my body. The words, the very same words she said to me five years ago, she repeated the same once again. All the memories from that day start playing in my mind. She calmed me that day and again today at my hardest time she managed to cool me down.

She creates some distance as she stands firmly on her feet and gives an assurance look. Assurity of good days, which I doubt will ever come without her. And this time she turns around to leave for real as I see her turning around and walking away from me. She did this five years ago and is doing the same. She reminds me of sanity and humaneness and then leaves me.

She turns around one last time and waves me a bye and Ella does the same but I think that's for Andrew and not me.

Andrew and I exchange glances and stand there not replying to their wave. And with this they both disappear, little did I care about Ella but Mel vanishing behind the glass door and getting lost in the crowds sure makes my heart sink.

I can feel my inside burning to the point where I can pass out the next second. I was never this weak but when it comes to her, I get lost, all my strength drowns. My soul is weeping inside and begging me to stop her. My world feels shattering, I want to become one with the ground. But I can't die, I have to keep her safe at any cost from my dad and Luca. They don't know that I've let her go but I don't know what will happen if they get the news.

There's no room for turning back time. No way is she meeting me again. I feel like choking, the muscles in my neck are doing their best to make my breathing difficult. I can feel the lack of oxygen, my head feels dizzy and my hands turn cold. I'm sure my face doesn't hold any colors, and why will it when the color of my life just left me.

The pounding of my heart in the chest makes me feel alive, but without a soul. I can barely breathe as my muscles close even more in my throat and my eyes slowly start closing. The world spins around and I collapse.

Melissa's POV:

I sigh deeply as we get ourselves seated on the airplane. He got us a business class seat which is a completely new experience and something I didn't expect at all.

I saw him crying for the first time, he looked helpless and broke just like me when I was in his prison. I would not call it sadness that crept into me when I saw his tear-filled eyes but rather pity. I know he loves me and I'm able to go back to my family even after his obsession is proof of that.  

"You okay?" Ella's voice brings my attention to her and I nod. Am I okay? Yes, I'm of course. I should be, after all, I'm going back home, the place where I wanted to return to so desperately.

I don't know what I'm gonna tell my parents and how they'll react but one thing for sure is that I will never break the terms of his contract. I don't want to go back to that hell. I shrug my shoulders and ask the flight attendant for orange juice. Putting on the headphones, I let the music consume me and bring me to another world. The world where there are no other noises, the virtual world where the people from the real world are muted. The world where I'm on my own, only with my thoughts. No one matters, none of the other's opinions or words matter. It's just me and my thoughts.
After a while, my eyes start to feel heavy, so I decide to take a nap.

"Mam, please fasten your seatbelt. We are ready to land." The attendant's voice wakes me up and I look at Ella who is also asleep. I wake her up and we both share a happy smile. Ella planned on staying with me instead of going back to Scotland. I don't know the reason but if it makes her feel better then she's all welcome with me. I know she doesn't like to talk about family or anything about her life in Scotland and I decided to ask her later. Now doesn't feel like the right time.

We both got ourselves out of the airport and I remember how we both waited for a cab on our first day in London. Everything feels like deja vu. As if everything is on repeat mode. I tell the driver my address and we both get seated in the backseat. I'm excited to meet my parents, my sister but also I'm scared. How will I convince them? And what should I say to convince them?

"What will you tell your parents?" Ella asks the same question I've been asking myself for God knows how long. I press my lips in a thin line, not knowing what to say.

"You can tell them, you don't want to study medicine anymore and have decided to study something else."

"Ya sure, as if they would buy it. My dream is to become a doctor and telling them suddenly I don't want to be a doctor will only raise suspicions. Help me with an excuse Ella." I ask or more like beg her to use her mind. They'll catch me the moment I tell them a lie.

"Let's tell them we are on a vacation for now. And we'll come up with some excuse later on."

"Oh gosh! You're so brilliant. You saved me." I hug her quickly. It's been five months and 13 days since we started the uni so telling them about the vacation would not be a bad lie. 

The car comes to a halt in front of the main gate and we step out. I look at the all too familiar surrounding, the black metal gate where I stood on it and swing along with it. The same gate which when we left open mistakenly would make us get scolded by mom. My dad is pretty strict when it comes to security, he even changed the Manual metal gate to a digitally controlled gate after there was news of robbery in the neighborhood.

I press the button a few times and the gate opens, bringing in the green view of the yard where I played so many games. The bushes lined the sides of the yard in a line. The white sturdy metal swinging chair blended with the color of the trimmed grass that is dancing ever so slightly with the breeze passing by. The front door opens, gaining my attention. My heart paces to the maximum, my eyes are brimming with tears as they spot the very person whom I missed so badly. Mom. She comes running towards me and I do the same. My heels rock the pavement as I keep moving closer to her.

We did see each other on the video call almost every day, thanks to the choice I made that day between my mom and studies. It was so hard to lie to her every time, but the fear of Blake's capability made my tongue speak only the right words. Our talk used to be small to prevent me from getting my lies caught. I would always make excuses and end the call but deep down pressing on that red button was always hard and heart-wrenching. I wanted to see her more, talk to her more, tell her about what I have been through, and stop with the lies I made up. But I had no choice and it broke my heart into pieces whenever we talked.

"Honey, my baby." She embraces me into her warmth and tears start streaming down my cheeks. I whine like a baby, I don't care about anything, I just want to cry and let out my pain, my sorrows. She hushes me while stroking my back gently.

"What are you doing here? I mean how?" She asks in anticipation as she breaks the hug and takes a good look at my face. I do the same and wipe the tears rolling down her cheeks. I should reply but everything seems blank, I feel numb. I'm not able to find my voice, I try to open my mouth but my sobs never let me speak. I cannot picture this reality, cannot really process this reality. I never thought I would ever get to see her again. And this thought chokes me and I feel my neck muscle tensing.

"Um, she is just very happy to see you. She missed you so much."

My mom glances behind me and looks back at me, giving me a confused look. She did see Ella but not on the video call. I was never allowed to meet Ella so I always made excuses like Ella is studying or is busy in her room when my mom asked me about her. I think my mom doesn't recognize her coz her picture and her real self are quite different. You know, filters change the appearance of the person nowadays.

"She's Ella, Mom." I introduce her while Ella comes near us and stands beside me. Mom glimpse at me and then she shifts herself towards Ella and then embraces her into a hug.

"Hello sweetie! You're much more beautiful in person."

Ella smiles and mutters thanks to my mom. And then my mom asks me a question that I don't want to answer.

"May I know why you are here? I mean shouldn't you both be studying?"

"Will you ask me everything here Mom? I'm very tired. At least let us in first." I complain to avoid the question. I have to lie to her but I'm afraid that she will catch my lie. I'm not that good lying on her face. On video call it was different, I made network excuses most of the time to avoid lying to her. But today there's no excuse and escape.

"Oops! Let's go inside girls. I'll make you something to eat."

We both carried our luggage inside. The wooden flooring wraps the floor neatly and the hallway looks bright as always. The chandelier hangs down the ceiling right above the elegant glass tea table which has the right amount of wooden base finish with the white plain rounded sofas surrounding it. We plop ourselves on the sofa and I throw my head back and slide slightly downwards so that my head could rest on top of the sofa.

"What would you like to eat, girls? I can make anything you want." My mom asks from the kitchen. I sit straight and turn around to look at her. Her back is facing me as she is searching for something in the fridge.

"Ella, what would you like to eat?" I ask her, turning my head in her direction. She shifts, putting her legs on the couch and I smile inwardly. I wanted to make her feel at home but I didn't understand how to make her but now she looks quite comfortable, which is good. 

"Anything is fine." She answers and I forward the same reply to my mom. She turns around with some fruits and frozen meat.

"Have some fruits for now. I'll make meatballs in the meantime." She tells, running the apples under running water. Quite hygienic, isn't she? I walk over to her and stand near the island. She hands me the apples and I throw one to Ella and start munching on mine.

"You haven't answered my question yet." My mom reminds me and suddenly I start losing my appetite. I rest my hand with the apple on the island and look at her cautiously. I observe her for a minute or two and she does the same.

"Mom, we got some holidays. I mean a vacation." I try to sound as genuine as possible and she looks into my eyes as if trying to confirm my statements.

"Well, that's great!" She claps her hands and starts cutting the meat into smaller pieces. I turn around and look at Ella who gives me a small thumbs up. I blink my eyes and press my lips together.

"Where's Dad and Rose?"

"Rose went to her friend's house for some group study and your dad, um, he is overseas." She replies not making eye contact which makes me curious. Coz she never looks away while talking.

Shut up, Mel! Stop being over-suspicious. I slap myself mentally. She's slicing the meat, how can she look at you while using a knife? I start walking back towards Ella but then her next question makes me stop dead in my tracks. 

"Have you heard of the William Family?"

************************************

A/N:

So, she's finally found her freedom!
I'm sure this freedom is not gonna be so free, instead it's gonna make her pay a big price.

What do you think is happening next?
How does her mom knows about William Family?

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