Edited Date:01/05/2023

Juliette Pov

"But I can't help, falling in love with you,"

I'm standing in a meadow, bathed in the warm glow of the sun, a gentle wind hitting my face. The grass beneath my feet is soft, and the flowers around me are in full bloom, filling the air with their sweet fragrance. In front of me, a man stands with his back turned towards me, his head tilted back towards the sky. He seems at peace, content to simply bask in the warmth of the sun. He was looking utterly breathtaking in his light sky-blue shirt and white pants.

As I step forward, my hand stretches out towards him, desperate to touch him, to feel his warmth. But just as my fingertips brush against his back, he turns away, walking off into the distance, leaving me behind.

"Emmett?" I call out softly, but he doesn't stop. Instead, he continues to sing in a low soothing voice, the words of an Elvis Presley song that I know all too well.

"Take my hand, take my whole life too, for I can't help falling in love with you," he sings, his voice was like a balm to my wounded heart.

I feel a lump form in my throat as I listen to him, the beauty of his voice overwhelming me. I want to stay here forever, listening to him sing, but as the song ends, he disappears into thin air, leaving me standing alone in the meadow.

"Emmett, wait!" I call out, but he's already gone. I'm left with nothing but the echoes of his singing, and the ache in my heart that I feel whenever I'm around him. The man I longed for, Emmett, seemed like a distant star that I could never reach, despite my desperate attempts.

Suddenly, the dream begins to spin and swirl, until I'm left gasping for air, my heart racing. The gentle wind in the meadow turned up like the one of a cyclone. 

"Juliette! Juliette!" I hear my dad's voice calling out to me, jolting me out of my dreams. I'm not in the meadow anymore. I'm in my bed, and my dad is standing beside me, a look of concern etched on his face.

"It's okay," he reassures me, his hand resting on my shoulder. "Everything will be fine."

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. Then I turn to my best friend, Kiara, who is standing beside me now, with a reassuring smile. 

"It's okay, Jules," she says, echoing my dad's words. "I'm always here for you. Everything will be fine," she said, the same words she had been saying since we were children.

But suddenly, everything started to spin in a circular motion, making me feel dizzy and disoriented. When I opened my eyes, I was gasping for air, realizing that it was all just a dream.

The reality of my situation hit me like a ton of bricks. I was alone in a dark room, dressed in a white blood-stained dress. I felt a lump form in my throat as tears streamed down my face, knowing that none of the people from my dream were with me. 

It's strange how dreams can feel so real, yet they crumble so easily once we wake up. The people we long for, the moments we cherish, all fade away like a mist in the morning sun, leaving us with nothing but memories. But then I couldn't give up. I lost Emmett but I can't lose my family. I have been abducted and have been kept away from them. 

With all my might I got up from the hard cold floor and started banging on the door. It was dark, I could see nothing in the damn room but I didn't care. Anger was eating me now. I wanted to find answers and see my family. 

"Open the damn door!" 

And suddenly I hear someone turning the knob and I get back waiting for the person to open the door. It was a lady. She walked in, with food in her tray. She raised the tray towards me but with a fit of anger, I smashed it away from me. 

"I don't want your food," I say, my voice laced with venom. "I want to see my family. I want to know why I'm here, and who you people are."

The woman looks at me with a mix of fear and confusion, her eyes darting around the room as if searching for a way out. "I'm sorry, miss," she stammers. "But I can't let you go. I am not allowed to speak to you."

"What reason?" I demand, taking a step towards her. "What have I done to deserve this? What do you want from me?"

The woman takes a step back, her eyes widening in fear. "I-I can't say," she stammers. "I'm just a messenger. Please, just eat something. You need to keep up your strength." 

My heart was racing as I watched the woman take a step back in fear. I could feel my anger boiling over as she stammered and pleaded with me to eat something. But how could I eat? How could I think about food when I had been abducted and taken away from my family?

As she tried to give me the tray, I pushed it away, watching as it fell to the ground and shattered into a million pieces. The sound of the breaking clay items echoed through the empty room, as the woman gasped in shock and started to pick up the pieces.

I took advantage of the distraction and tried to make a run for it. But just as I was about to step out of the room, he appeared before me. His dark brown eyes bore into my soul as he stood there, dressed in all black like a devil, a soul ripper. I felt my knees weaken as his cologne hit my nose, his height intimidating me as he took a step closer.

I tried to take a step back, but he grabbed onto my wrist, his grip tight and unyielding. "Let go!" I snapped at him, trying to free myself from his grasp, but he only tightened his grip, his stoic expression unchanged.

In a moment of desperation, I bit down on his hand, hoping to inflict some kind of pain that would make him let go. But to my shock, the more I bit him, the stronger his grasp on me became.

"Save your energy. There is more to come," his voice icy as spoke up and pushed me back to the room. 

"What the hell do you want?" my voice was shaking in the end but this didn't seem to unfaze him. "For now, nothing," he spoke up nonchalantly and before I knew it, he gave a curt nod at the lady before turning and leaving. 

The woman's eyes flicker with guilt, and for a moment, I think I've struck a nerve. But then she regains her composure and shakes her head. "I'm sorry, miss," she says again, before turning and leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.

I'm left standing there, my fists clenched, my heart pounding in my chest. I'm alone again, with nothing but my anger and my fear of company. No matter what it takes. But I couldn't give up. Even if the odds were stacked against me, I had to keep fighting. I had to find a way out of this nightmare and back to my family.

As the door slammed shut, the darkness enveloped me once again. The weight of my situation hit me like a ton of bricks, and I realized something profound: sometimes, the things we fight against only become stronger as a result. The man who had taken me captive was a formidable opponent, a devil with a twisted agenda. It was a paradoxical truth that often went against our natural instincts and inclinations. We want to fight back, to resist, to overcome our obstacles with sheer willpower and strength. But sometimes, that's not enough. Sometimes, we need to take a step back, to reassess the situation, and to find a different approach.

He had killed my fiancé, abducted me, and made me sign a paper, but he hadn't tried to harm me physically, yet. It occurred to me that the more I resisted, the more he would lock me up, making it impossible for me to escape. I knew that I could only find answers if I acted a little cooperative, and maybe then I could make a break for it.

For a full day, I sat silently in my dark cell, trying to conserve my energy for a potential escape. The lady brought me food, and although I had the urge to toss it away, I knew that I needed to keep up my strength. Against my will, I ate the food, feeling my energy dissipating with each bite. And perhaps it worked, because the next day, they transferred me to a new room with a small window, a bed, and an attached bathroom. The lady provided me with a fresh dress, and I took a long shower, letting the warm water soothe my frayed nerves.

As I sat on the bed, I couldn't help but ponder over the strange turn of events that had brought me to this place. I knew that I couldn't escape yet. I needed more time to gather my strength and come up with a plan. It was a waiting game now, a game that I was determined to win. As the days passed, I continued to eat the food provided to me, and slowly, I began to build some trust with the lady who brought it. She seemed kind and sympathetic, but I knew that I couldn't let my guard down completely. After all, I was still a prisoner.

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