"Who are you?" The man coldly asked, his gaze unmoving.
Nathasia gulped, sensing the coldness in his tone, and unconsciously stepped back only to have her back press against the trunk of the tree.
"I-I…" For some reason, the man's gaze was making her stutter. It was as if only his gaze was capable of making one fear for his life.
But she couldn't help feeling that his eyes as black as midnight had an inexplicable charm as well.
It was as if he was capable of uncovering a person's secrets just by having someone look at his eyes.
And right now, Nathasia was feeling as if she was laid bare before him, making her feel nervous.
But for some reason, she felt as if she had seen those eyes before somewhere.
The man then noticed the drawing pad she was hugging and knitted his brows.
Seeing that the man was looking at her drawing pad, she hugged it even closer, afraid whether he would take it from her.
She could only pitifully look upward with her big, round eyes at the man who was way over six feet tall.
"Show me," He curtly said while looking at her drawing pad.
"N-No...you can't look…" Nathasia felt embarrassed when he asked her to show the drawing since she always felt shy when showing her drawings to strangers, especially incomplete ones, afraid that they weren't perfect enough.
The man frowned, and before Nathasia could react, he rudely snatched the drawing pad from her hold.
"Ah! No!" Nathasia was startled and wanted to grab it back but realized that it was too late.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})The man then examined what was on the drawing pad only to see the outline of a man saving a deer and its child, which meant that she was drawing him.
The outline was so perfect he felt as if the finished drawing could come to life, and this also meant the girl's drawing skills were impeccable.
But this fact made him frown, and the girl became anxious seeing his frown, wondering whether he disliked her drawing.
The man suddenly extended his arm and clutched her neck, "Were you spying on me?" He asked in a frigid tone.
"Hk! N-No…" Nathasia felt her heart thumping loudly with fear seeing how the man had started to become hostile, especially because of how his iron grip over her neck, making it difficult for her to breathe.
She felt as if her tender neck could get broken like a twig under his iron-like hand. She even saw how robust and manly his forearm looked with veins showing.
"Who are you? Who sent you here?" The man continued asking questions in an unkind tone, making Nathasia wonder why this man was treating her as if she was here to cause him some sort of harm.
She wondered if he was acting like this because she drew him without his permission since some people might not like others taking pictures of them or even drawing them.
She was totally confused and scared but managed to answer, "I-I just wanted to draw you ...saving the deer. I...am sorry...for not asking your permission...cough...cough…"
The man intensely observed her pitiful round eyes, and his grip loosened a bit, allowing her more room to breathe.
But he still asked, "Do you think I will believe you just like that? What makes you think I won't kill you now? Aren't you afraid? After all, you are all alone with a man now."
Nathasia was shocked hearing the man talking about killing her, but then she looked at his eyes and calmed down as she said, "I am not who you think I am. I am just a girl living around here, and I always visit these woods. Besides...I-I know you won't kill me."
The man was surprised, not expecting the last sentence from her and how she was able to talk back confidently at him. He questioned, "What makes you think that I won't?"
"Because your eyes don't lie...they clearly don't seem like you intend to kill me…" She said as she maintained her gaze.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})The man felt tongue-tied as the two kept looking into each other's eyes...each trying to know who exactly the other person was through their eyes.
He finally let go of her neck, no one knowing what was going through his mind.
"Cough...cough…" Nathasia felt as if an iron bar was lifted off her neck and caressed her poor neck while looking at the man with an aggrieved look.
"Now show me where you live," He said in a tone that offered no room for refusal.
"But...but…" Nathasia was at a loss for words, not knowing what to do. Was she even supposed to show the place her family lived to a stranger?
After all, she and her family moved to such a remote place only because they wanted to stay far from other people.
Of course, there were people who knew that her family lived there, but they wouldn't visit them since it was too inconvenient.
Seeing her hesitate, the man asked as he wrinkled his brows, "Why? Were you lying before? If you can't, then I won't let you leave."
Seeing how serious he sounded, she confidently said as she mustered up some courage, "Of course, I was not lying! Fine. I can show you. But you have to promise me that you are not a bad man."
"Bad man?" The man let out a derprecative chuckle and, with a glazed gaze, said, "In this world, there are no good men."
Nathasia was surprised by his response and felt as if his words contained a tinge of sadness, resentment, and many other emotions mixed along with the others.
She wondered whether it was her imagination but still said with confidence, "You are wrong. My papa is a good man. If you knew him, you wouldn't say that."
The man's eyes became soft, "I see. Good for you. Now go home, girl."
Saying that the man turned around to leave.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Nathasia was surprised to see that the man suddenly decided to leave without being persistent about seeing her home.
"Wait! Where are you going? Don't you want to see where I live?" She didn't know why but she still felt like asking.
The man stopped and said as he slightly turned his head back, "No need. I have seen enough."
Nathasia felt that this man appeared to be more mysterious the more she interacted with him. And not only that, but he seemed to have a magnetic charm around him that seemed to pull her along.
"What is your name? I am Nathasia!" She innocently asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
"I have no name," The man replied without turning back and soon disappeared into the mist.
"Gee...why did he leave like that?" Nathasia mumbled with a pout as she kept looking in the direction the man walked away.
She decided to head back home now that she had experienced an eventful situation.
"Hey, somebody messed with our trap!"
"Which bastard did this?!"
Nathasia suddenly turned around, hearing two angry shouts, only to see two men with hats hovering over the barbed wire trap.
They even had two hunting rifles and knives strapped to their belts.
The men looked around as if trying to spot the culprit who undid their trap and saw a confused Nathasia staring in their direction.
'Oh shit!' Nathasia saw them looking at her and quickly tried to run away.
"Hey! Stop there!"
The two men rushed over to stop Nathasia from running away.
One of the men readied their rifle and shouted, "Stop running, or we will shoot!"
Nathasia's heart trembled, hearing the man's threat, and she was in a dilemma whether she should stop running or not.
She was confident of losing them since she knew these woods inside out, better than even these so-called hunters who only visited this place occasionally.
The two men were getting frustrated, seeing how fast she was on her feet. It was as if they were chasing a rabbit.
Seeing that the girl was putting more and more distance between them, the man who had his rifle ready fired.
*BANG!*
*THWACK!*
"Ahhh!" Nathasia stopped running and covered her ears, feeling scared when she heard the gunfire and hit the tree just near her.
Her heart thudded, feeling scared, wondering whether those two men purposefully missed or if they were really trying to kill her.
The two men took advantage of her stunned state and caught up to her, much to her shock.
"Oi, oi, Moby, what do we have here?" The man with a crooked mustache laughed with an evil glint, feasting his eyes on Nathasia's top-notch figure and curves. He never expected to come upon such a beauty in such a backwater place.
"Haha, indeed, Tony. Even though we lost our prey, it seems like another one jumped right into our net," The man with the beard laughed with a slanted smile.
Feeling their vile gazes on her body, Nathasia wrinkled her nose in disgust but couldn't help but feel cold sweats down her back.
