HER OWNER

03: WATCHER

AUTHOR'S POV

Hope's House,
07:20 am

" Two blasts overnight in two different places. One is in the famous Hills bar. While the other-"

The voice of the reporter turned off along with the television which was on as usual but Walter wasn't home.

Hope wore the hoodie happily which Walter brought her a day before and made her way toward the flower shop on her pink cycle as usual.

As soon as she approached her shop her eyebrows crashed as it was surrounded by hundreds of people. A few police cars were there along with fire brackets.

The road around them was wet. Hope left her cycle without parking it. It fell to the ground as she ran towards the shop. She bumped into so many people and somehow managed to get in the front only to witness the burnt-down shop. Her eyes filled with tears, she had so much attachment to it. She had arranged all of it and had decorated it by herself.

" You can't cross the barricade tapes." A police officer stopped her.

" Full Name?" She saw her uncle being investigated by a detective.

" Walter Diaz." He replied and the person standing next to the detective wrote that down with a pen in a notepad. They processed to the next question but got cut off by Hope's voice.

" Uncle." She called the old man.

As soon as he looked at her his jaw clinched." You unlucky bitch." Her uncle cursed taking long steps towards her. " This is all because of you." He raised his hand to print his fingers on her cheek but another offer caught his hand and yanked it away.

It was Ashton. " Behave." He warned.

Hope bowed her head and started sobbing.

" Are you alright?" Ashton turned to face the poor girl but she suddenly ran away.

He frowned trying to find her in the crowd but she disappeared from his sight. He didn't even get to see her face but again she was stalked by eagle eyes which followed her all the way to the jungle road as she was going far away on her cycle without caring about the direction.

She kept on wiping her cheeks with the back of her palm. The speed of her cycle increased as she felt a deep pain in her chest.

The road wasn't paved. The tire got into a road crack and she fell hard along with her cycle. She rolled twice causing her shoe to slip off her foot.

She cried more loudly sitting up at the side of the empty road and grabbing her bleeding knee.

Walter always blames her even if it isn't her fault. He always curses and abuses her saying she brings bad luck. It always shrinks her poor heart.

Her head moved up a little and her eyes fell on her cycle as someone lifted it and put that on its stand. The person was back facing her.

She saw a car parked beside her which she hadn't even noticed before. She gazed at the man again who was wearing a neat gray suit, sitting in front of her cycle, trying to fix its chain.

" It's broken." He sighed and turned to face Hope.

" Lorenzo?" Her eyebrows crashed as he pulled his tie out.

Lorenzo went to her and silently tied that on her thighs. She stared as he stood up and forwarded his hand for her support. " Get up." He said looking down at her.

She glanced at his hand then lifted her gaze further. Her eyes locked with him. And again her heart started to race. It scared her. The way he looks at her, the way he shows care about her. " Where?" She asked not giving her a dirty hand.