Chapter 2

A reply came back instantly, at the very same frequency.

Babe, my baby, I'll always keep you feeling safe. Be careful on the road.

In that moment, I was utterly disappointed in Samuel.

My limbs stiffened beyond my control.

My heart would stop dead, then race.

The doctor went straight to the fastest-acting treatment on me, electroshock therapy.

Voltage surged through my body, and I convulsed, sick to my stomach, fighting the urge to throw up.

No one knew that the Four Seasons Hotel stood right across from the window of this operating room, or that it was the very location his female coworker had sent him.

Right now they were probably inside it, holding each other, tangled up in a frenzy.

The agony of the shocks made fragments of memory flash through my mind.

A year ago, I met Samuel through an online game.

Our personalities clicked, so we got the idea to meet.

On my way to the meetup, I was seized by a stranger and locked in a pitch-dark, dim room for a full day and night.

Cold and terror ate away at every one of my senses.

When I finally got out, I was in a daze, my sense of safety completely gone.

I couldn't stop thinking about that dark, damp room, and it left me with constant nightmares.

It was a shadow I couldn't shake.

Samuel didn't know what I'd been through, and he asked me helplessly online.

"Why did you stand me up on our first meeting?"

"I waited for you a whole afternoon."

Seeing how hurt he looked, I told him the whole story of being tied up.

I made a joke of it—that trying to meet him had brought disaster down on me, that I'd lost my sense of security, had nightmares every night, and had started taking anti-anxiety medication.

After hearing that, Samuel vanished without a trace.

I called, I texted, I went online to reach him.

He'd disappeared off the face of the earth, and I was on edge, my heart pounding, curled up in misery, hiding in a safe corner.

For three days straight I didn't eat, drink, or sleep, and my condition only got worse.

Three days later, Samuel stumbled his way to me.

That was the first time we met in person, and he smelled of blood.

His arms, his back, his thighs—all injured.

In some places the skin was split open, the bone showing through.

I gripped his arms and asked through tears, "What happened?"

"How did you get hurt this badly?"

He was young, over six feet tall, with a striking presence—even better looking than on our video calls.

Wounded like that, he had a battle-worn kind of beauty, and I was captivated almost at first sight.

Samuel smiled and rested his chin on my shoulder.

A warm breath brushed across my cheek.

"It's fine. I gave the guy who tied you up a beating. Payback for you."

My heart raced—not from the illness this time, but because I was moved.

That uncontrollable flutter made me fall hopelessly in love with him in that instant.

I threw my arms around him, choking up.

"Thank you, thank you."

After what happened to me, I'd tried so many things and none of them worked—the man who did it apologized and that was the end of it.

I never expected that Samuel, just an online friend of mine, would go and win justice for me.

He wiped the corners of my eyes, brushing my tears away, and said, half laughing, half sighing, "Silly girl, what are you thanking me for?"

"You said you lacked a sense of security. From now on, I'll give it to you."

"Just stay with me, and I'll come whenever you call."

In that moment my sense of safety overflowed—a satisfaction I'd never felt before.

I never imagined that the whole time he was with me, he was also seeing his female coworker.

Swearing his devotion to me on one side while carrying on a heartsick affair with his coworker on the other.

The shards of memory hurt worse than my body under the electric shocks.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already evening.

The phone suddenly rang. Weakly, I reached out and tapped to answer.

"Honey, are you away on a business trip?"

"Perfect timing—I'm working overtime tonight. Enjoy your trip."

If he'd shown me even a little concern, he would have heard me moaning in pain. My body really was in agony.

But he didn't hear it. He just hung up.

I took ten minutes to steady myself, then called him back.