The Runaway Wife Wanted Internationally

Emily couldn't recall what happened last night, but now in a half-awake state, she felt weak and tired lying on a large bed in a suburban villa. Next to her was the figure of a handsome young man smoking, having almost finished the pack of cigarettes. He didn't see any signs of Emily waking up.

"Still not getting up at this hour?" Alex tossed the half-smoked cigarette down and walked to the bed, impatiently attempting to wake her. He spoke with impatience, accompanied by a dangerous smile.

"It's just a mild sedative that made you sleep this long. You seem to be sleeping soundly. Do you think someone kindly brought you home drunk last night? Wake up! Get up now for me."

Startled by his firm shake, could she not wake up? She struggled to open her heavy eyelids, taking a few seconds to adjust to the light in the room. While still groggy, she didn't know what had happened and asked hoarsely:

"What's going on?"

Alex saw her open her eyes and tried to get straight to the point, but Emily's words made him slightly irritated. He slapped her face a few times to help her wake up, accompanied by threatening words:

"Do you really think you can't wake up after being shaken this hard?"

Emily, with swollen eyes, tried to open her eyes wider, taking some effort to become more alert. When she was fully awake, she looked around in bewilderment. It was a large unfamiliar place, accompanied by a cold darkness that made her shiver. She stuttered:

"W-where am I? Who are you? Why did you bring me here? What do you want? We don't know each other."

Alex felt a bit angered by her statements, and he slapped her a few more times, frustrated. He spoke with a menacing tone:

"Still not fully awake, huh? Let me tell you, Emily, I dislike slow and hesitant people like you."

"Being clueless and wanting to accuse me? Let's see how brave you are. Do you think you can escape from here? I went to great lengths to find your whereabouts. Do you think I would just let you escape easily?"

Although not speaking loudly, each word that came out of this young man's mouth made her feel a bit frightened. She sat up, struggling to open her eyes wider, trying to wake herself up more. When she was fully awake, she was startled and continuously looked around, in a strange and vast place that sent chills down her spine. She stammered, trying to speak:

"W-where is this? Who are you? Why did you bring me here? Are you kidnapping me? Aren't you afraid I'll report you?"

"You're not fully awake yet, are you? Let me tell you, Emily, I hate indecisive people like you."

"Foolish as you are, you still want to accuse me? Let's see how brave you are. Between you and me, we don't have any acquaintance to talk about."

Emily tilted her head to avoid his menacing gaze, but he forcibly grabbed her chin, making her look directly into his eyes.

"Hm, so you're clueless? Let me tell you, Emily, what I hate the most is indecisive and sluggish people."

"You, acting clueless, and you want to accuse me? Let's see how capable you are. Do you think you can escape from here? I've spent a lot of effort to find your trace, and you think I'd let you easily escape from here, huh? Emily."

He laughed menacingly, approaching her face, staring directly into her frightened eyes.

"I really don't have the time to bring you back here just to see how well you sleep. Do you think someone kindly brought you home drunk last night?"

Although she couldn't comprehend what he was saying, his words and the intense red veins in Alex's eyes were terrifying, making her sit up and force her eyes open to become more alert. When she was finally awake, she gasped and kept looking around, feeling the vast and eerie unfamiliarity of the place. Her mouth moved a few times before she could utter a complete sentence:

"W-where am I? Who are you? Why did you bring me here? What do you want?"

Alex hadn't finished his sentence when Emily took the words, and her denial and confusion angered him, prompting him to strike her and threaten her:

"Oh? Remembered the incident between us three years ago, huh? So why did you deny it earlier? Now you see me as a fool, huh? Trying to deceive me for something. Do you believe I won't let you see the sun tomorrow?"

He thought that soothing a bit of his current hot temper with her words would work, but unexpectedly, her recent words were like digging her own pit. Threatened by Alex like that, her tears, suppressed for so long, suddenly flowed down her cheeks because she truly didn't know how to handle the current situation. Could he shoot her if she truly provoked him? So, an idea came to pretend to mislead him, hoping he would rethink, lowering his angry temper:

"I admit we had an unintentional relationship, but the issue about the child is a bit confusing. You... put the gun down, let's talk slowly, alright?"

Alex found it ridiculous, thinking she was feigning innocence to escape everything. Instead of soothing his anger, her words provoked more doubts, using threatening words:

"Oh? Now you remember our relationship? Then why did you deny it earlier? Do you think I'm a fool? What do you want to deceive me for? Do you believe I won't let you see the sun tomorrow?"

She thought feigning innocence might calm his current temper, but her words seemed to only further infuriate him. He pushed her to the edge, and her suppressed tears suddenly flowed down because she genuinely didn't know how to handle this situation. Only after one night, everything was turned upside down. Since she woke up until now, she couldn't explain why she had to endure this.

To prevent Alex from getting angrier with her words, she chose not to say anything else. But seeing Emily cry, Alex suddenly felt a bit amused. Wasn't she truly the problem?

He suddenly pressed his rough palm against her face, making her slightly startled. His thumb wiped away the tears on her cheeks and gently touched Emily's pale lips, speaking lightly:

"Why are you crying? I haven't done anything, and you're already crying. If this were outside, people would say I'm bullying you, right?"

Alex abruptly, gently, and in his heart already had suspicions. Her hand, trembling with fear, clenched into a fist, her nails digging deeply into her palm, almost drawing blood. Alex looked at her tears, unsure if it was her softening or something else that made him lower his gun, but his wicked smile didn't fade. He stood up straight, putting his hands in his pockets, looking at her. The more he looked at Emily, the more she seemed like a trapped animal, desperately trying to find a way to escape. The more he provoked her, the more interested he became, sparking a desire to tease and toy with her. Emily was like a timid prey, trying to threaten her to make her afraid, causing her to tremble. 

Emily hesitated, her grip on the gun trembling. The weight of the decision she faced was overwhelming. She desperately searched for an escape, a way to endure, but her options seemed to dwindle.

Alex's taunts and provocations continued, pushing her to the edge, but she couldn't bring herself to end her own life. It wasn't the solution; she wanted to survive this, to find out what was truly happening, and to escape this torment.