Chapter 1 Saved

• Serena's P. O. V
• “Hey! Catch her! Don't let her escape!” the men continued to chase after me.
• I didn't even know where I was running to!
• These loan sharks never let me off, I didn't borrow from them.
• My dad did!
• I ran through the lonely street and my only source of light was the barely lit street lights.
• I ran as fast my feet could handle, gasping for breath.
• Few people passed by but none cared to help!. They were probably used to them chasing me like this.
• “You better stop little girl or else we won't spare you” The middle age red haired man chasing after me shouted.
• Ha!
• If I stop, will you guys spare me?
• What an interesting joke!
• My destination now was Alessandro's cafe. Only he could help me.
• I felt like my feet were tearing open, I wanted to stop but I couldn't.
• “Brother Alessandro! , brother!” I called out to him as he was closing the doors of his cafe
• “Brother help me” I ran and hugged him with full speed.
• “They're….. they're after me again, help.. help me please” I said as I quickly hid behind him, catching my breath.
• “Quickly get in” he opened the cafe and swiftly gently pushed me in before closing the doors again.
• I immediately heard the men's voice hurling at Alessandro
• “Hey!. Mr hero, you better give that girl to us right away!” seeing through the transparent wall glass, the man on green shorts shouted.
• “You better listen to us and give us the girl or we'll make trouble with you not minding who you are” the red haired man threatened.
• Yeah yeah, Alessandro's father could be considered the leader of Loan sharks in this area. So he, the son, was held with high regards.
• “Oh, so you even remember that I'm not someone you can mess with” Alessandro said with a slight smirk,
• “You just give us the girl and we'll leave!” the red haired man said.
• “I'll advise that you go back the same way you came cause your request cannot be granted” Alessandro said,
• “Don't go too far Alessandro, we're being lenient” the red haired man said, raising his voice.
• “Please don't make me repeat myself, leave already!” Alessandro said, his voice becoming stern and cold.
• “Alessandro Ezekiel , give us the girl!! ” the man ordered in a very loud tone that I was sure could attract onlookers.
• Why were they requesting for me like I was an object?.
• I was already very agitated, scared and angry and this banter of theirs shot up my anger to its peak!
• “What right do you have to ask for me like that?! , haven't you already taken our house! What else do you want from me?!” I said, anger evident in my voice.
• “Oh! don't think that just because you're hiding in there, we can't get to you” the red haired man retorted,
• I don't where the courage came but I said immediately “oh you can try!”.
• I knew very well that they couldn't get to me if Alessandro was there, probably that's where the courage came from.
• This wasn't the first time he helped me deal with these loan sharks, he has always been doing so, coming to my rescue like a knight in shining armour.
• Oh sorry, ‘prince’ instead.
• “Did you have a memory wipe, you seem to have forgotten who I really am” Alessandro's cold voice rang out
• Hehe!
• I'm sure they'll run away with their tails behind their back soon.
• “You even called my full name, the audacity!” he said as a devilish grin appeared on his face. He took a step towards the three middle aged men and they took three step backwards.
• Yes! Show them what you're made of!
• “We're so.. sorry, we didn't mean to be disrespectful but she owes us a huge debt!” they replied looking sorry.
• “Didn't she already give you her house? ” Alessandro asked, still maintaining his cold face
• “It wasn't enough, her father was a gambler, he borrowed money from us to gamble too. We've have already told her the total amount he borrowed and her house wasn't worth much of it” the red haired man said.
• My father borrowed money but I had to pay?!
• So unfair!
• “She'll pay when she has the money to, leave now!” he commanded and they scurried away immediately.
• “Come out” he voice sounded much more gentler.
• I poked my head out of the slightly opened door and peeped to see if they were gone for real.
• “They're gone now, you can come out” he gently stroked my hair and I walked out of the cafe, closing the door gently behind me.
• “Haven't I told you not to work around their den? What were you doing there today?” he asked, concern written all over his face.
• “I didn't go to their den, I just went to get my mom's drugs from the pharmacy opposite Dante's house. I didn't expect to see them there” I pouted,
• ‘How would I not listen to you?’ I asked him in my mind.
• “Now that you know they visit Dante's area, I don't want you to have anything to do there, ok?” he said, his eyes radiating with gentleness.
• I felt like fainting.
• He was so handsome!
• “Have you had anything to eat?” his question brought me out of my daydream.
• “No, I haven't. I was about….” he cut me off before I could complete my sentence
• “Come with me, I'll make you something delicious” he took my hand as we walked out of the cafe's entrance, walking in the street.
• “Huh? To your house?” I asked as I abruptly stopped
• “Yeah, what's the problem?” he asked, a touch of confusion on his handsome face,
• “I.. umm, my mum and sister must be waiting for me. I didn't even get the medicines I came out for” I looked at him in anticipation, waiting to hear how he'd respond.
• He brought out his phone from his pocket, looked at the screen and then looked at me.
• “It's not too late, just 8pm. I'm sure they'll be an open pharmacy nearby.
• He took me to a nearby pharmacy and we bought the medicines , he then brought me to a little restaurant and bought food that I suppose was for me, my mum and sister.
• We hailed a taxi and drove straight to the hospital.
• We got to the hospital, paid the driver and walked into the hospital.
• I looked down at our entwined hands and then stared at his face. I could clearly hear my heart beating rapidly.
• I liked him so much, ever since we were kids.
• There was something on my mind and I didn't know if I should tell him.
• He turned to look at me “you've been staring, anything the problem”
• “No.. no, there's no problem” I really hated how I stammered. I couldn't hide anything from him.
• “You're stammering, tell me, what's wrong?” he asked placing his hands on my shoulders, shaking them slowly.
• What's the point of hiding it?
• “I'll tell you, there's a problem” I said
• “speak” he commanded in a not commanding tone.
• “My mother is….” I stopped, stared at his expression and continued speaking.