Hellbound Heart

Elle rushed away from him the moment she pulled her hand out of his grip. She had seen the widening of his eyes at what she had said before turning and running away from him. She knew she had caught him off guard when she suddenly tugged her hand from his.

But all she wanted now was to walk away from him and do whatever she liked. She had initially said those words testily just to test and see his response. But now, her mind was telling her to go on and do as she had daringly said.

She was not sure at how fast or how did she even manage it, but she reached a dim corner where a few people were entering some side door. It seemed that she was really upset and too emotional again to manage this feat in her tipsy state. She was not really confident at first if she could actually get away from Sebastian. Or could it be because he had purposely let her get away?

Her throat tightened again at that thought. And she clenched her fists to stop herself from looking for him. No… she was not going to look back. She was not going to make herself look like the desperate one fighting for that certain someone's attention and loyalty. She knew that was easier said than done, but Elle had somehow managed to stiffened herself quite easily the moment she reminded herself that she was the one who had told him that he could still go ahead and practice his usual free and easy lifestyle when she had proposed to him back then.

Looking around everywhere but behind her, Elle locked eyes with a man leaning against the wall. He was elegantly holding a glass of wine with his one hand and the other was shoved deep into his pocket. She almost cursed out loud as she realized the reason why her eyes had been drawn to him. It was because he had the same physique and height as Sebastian! If he had been holding a cigarette and smoking there in the dim light, and his hair was not dyed a dark gold, she might have actually mistaken him for her infuriating husband for a moment there!

Quickly shifting her gaze away from him, Elle then realized that there were a couple of men approaching her. They did not seem to have come together, but their eyes were fixed on her. She hoped that they were going to ask her to go back to the dancefloor with them… because lord, she had zero idea on knowing how to flirt. She would want to go back there and dance with abandon until the stupid lump in her throat was gone. That was all she wanted.

But her brows creased when the men suddenly halted and then abruptly changed their direction. What happened? She was quite sure that they were coming for her!

Realizing someone's presence behind her, Elle almost stumbled back in surprise when the golden-haired man from earlier was now right before her. He was shamelessly flashing her a beguiling smile. The man was… he possessed what could only be described as an exotic male beauty.

"Hello beautiful, are you separated from your partner for the night?" he asked, tilting his head a little.

Elle suddenly did not know what to say. She was not really sure how to respond to that question.

"How could you tell that I was originally here with someone?" she managed. She was not sure if that question would even be the right one.

"I just don't think a woman as beautiful as yourself would come to this place without someone escorting you." He commented, showing how sharp his observational skills and how logical his deductive skills were. Elle could only utter an awkward 'haha'. Lord, she was so bad at this!

"But then, if you had come over with a male, I won't be helping you look for him." He added, causing Elle to raise a brow at him in curiosity.

"Because it's not your business?" Elle guessed.

He shook his head. "Because whoever the male was who had let you slip away from his hold in a place like this, is an idiot and does not deserve to be with a woman like you."

Elle blinked at him. She could not deny that she was not impressed with his pickup line.

"Right…" She agreed with his statement but then her expression turned a little fierce. "He's definitely an id…" she trailed off at the realization of what she was about to say about her own husband and then bit down on her lip quickly.

The man chuckled softly, his hazel eyes looking at her with gentle amusement. That little sound of amusement coming from him had somehow softened the rough edges that Elle had perceived from him from earlier. And currently, he does not seem to be that bad in her eyes.

"I'm Caelian." He introduced himself with a casual smile. Somehow, Elle found this stranger to be quite… friendly. He seemed to be exuding a very approachable aura that did not cause her to want to steer clear from him.

"Elle," she replied and returned his smile with a friendly one.

"Nice meeting you, Elle. If you don't mind me asking, are you a…" he suddenly trailed off and then inclined his head a little as he stared at her with an intense curiosity.

His curious gaze suddenly made her feel a little nervous and she awkwardly smiled, taking a small step back to put some distance in between them.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel awkward." he said. "I just feel like you're not an… ordinary person –" Caelian suddenly broke off and as his gaze flew towards somewhere behind her. And then his lips parted as if he had been struck speechless.

"Good lord!" He muttered softly. But Elle could still hear it and that caused her to look over her shoulder for a moment. When there was only the crowd of people she saw in the direction that he was looking at, she returned her gaze back to him, only to find the golden-haired man gone from where he was standing earlier.

"Cael –" before Elle could even complete the stranger's name, someone had already grabbed her and the next thing she knew, she was pinned hard against a wall.