My Cold Billionaire

Chapter 1

Anna ran as fast as she could. Her breath was growing shallow by the minute. She had no idea how long she had been running. Had it been an hour or two, all she knew was that she had to keep running. Her feet were starting to hurt, really bad from all the running, but she couldn’t stop at the moment.

It was only a matter of time till her aunt found out that she was gone. The last thing she wanted was her aunt’s men on her trail; she barely made it out of there. She had no idea where she was. It was practically in the middle of nowhere. All she could see around were trees. She had been seeing those for quite a while now.

Hailey told her that she would find a road leading to the city if she took this route. Anna took the route, but she still hadn’t found the road Hailey had told her about. She ceased her running.. She was out of breath, panting. Anna couldn’t anymore, her feet were hurting more now.

Anna stopped for a while to catch her breath, as she felt the shortness of it. She looked around for where she could rest a bit. She saw a tree log. She walked over to the tree log and sat down. Anna looked down at her blistered feet, which were covered with bruises now.

Anna knew she needed to get it treated soon. She tried taking out the little twigs in her foot, but she groaned because of the pain. Anna was so thirsty, her throat was dry. She looked around once again. Why did Aunt bring her to such a place? It was practically in the middle of nowhere.

She hadn’t seen a single house around. She wouldn’t have escaped if it wasn’t for Hailey, who let her out of her locked room. Anna remembered the first time her aunt brought her to her house. Her parents had just passed away, and she was still grieving. She was just twelve years old.

“Don’t worry dear, I promise to take good care of you.” Her aunt assured her at the beginning. She appeared nice at first, but Anna started to notice changes in her aunt’s behavior towards her after a few weeks. Anna couldn't make friends as her aunt homeschooled her and didn't let her out of the house..

She tried to sneak out once, but her aunt’s men caught her. She was punished severely for that and had to sleep in the cold basement for days, with little to eat. She remembers crying herself to sleep most times. Thinking about that time brought tears to Anna’s eyes.

She thought things would change when I started college, but it only got worse. They monitored her even more than before. Her aunt always had people watching her every move, so she was scared of socializing. A few weeks ago, her aunt brought her here. “Why are we here Aunt” Anna asked, but she went ignored by her aunt like always.

The only person she could barely talk to was Hailey, her cousin. She was the one who brought Anna books to read when I was bored. Books became Anna’s only companion. Hailey was very kind to her when her mom was out. She was the total opposite of her mother.

“Where am I for God’s sake?” Anna muttered to herself. Her voice was hoarse when it came out. It was going to be dark soon. She was sure this wood wasn’t safe at all. There could be snakes, or even bears, for all she knew. The thought of that alone made her stomach turn. She closed her eyes and opened it again, trying to encourage herself.

She dragged herself up after a few minutes and continued walking. She couldn’t run anymore, as she was exhausted. Her legs were getting weaker, but she ignored it. It was dark already. Anna could barely see anything in the woods she was in and she walked slower to avoid tripping.

She was cold, hungry, and tired. She hugged herself, trying to keep herself warm. As best as she could, she was shivering already. She didn’t know how long she could keep walking. She was so exhausted, but thankfully she was far from that wretched place.