#driver! luke

[msilwrites]

Only One Lives, Chapter 20

A/N: Chapter 20 is up! still NSFW!

Sorry for updating late guys, I have tons of paperwork, it makes me cry... LOL. It was hard, and I was having writer’s block due to the stacks of work. 

Still, I love writing! I consider it my release, which is why here is the next chapter  :D :D :D :D!!

                                                     Only One, Lives

                                                          TWENTY                                                              Bluff

The ‘escape’ to Shanghai had not been an easy one. A lot of things have happened before she got to where she is now. 

Sitting near her window whilst looking outside, the night time view of the bund looked beautiful and the lights of the tall skyscrapers reflected on the surface of the river.  

After everything that had happened, she had no regrets taking Iseler’s work offer, jumping on that plane and escaping to Shanghai. But who knows when will Godfrey find her again, and ruin everything. For now, she will treasure these moments of freedom. 

Dinner was served via room service, the staff places each plate on top of the small table and the aroma of the dishes made her mouth water. 

She thanks the staff, giving them a generous tip before they left her room. Looking at her wristwatch, in a few hours time, the new year will be approaching soon, and there will be a grand fireworks display across the river, at the side of the Pearl tower. Pulling the curtains wider, the full view of the harbour came into view.

She places her chair in an angle where she can see the view whilst eating, but instead of starting her long-awaited meal, she pauses and stares at the view, contemplating. The past few years had been hard, Godfrey had ‘chased’ her non-stop. There were many things that had happened. It was a good thing that Iseler was there. He didn’t ask why or what happened, he just knew she was troubled and he was willing to help. When she told him not to mention anything to Leonard at all, he respected her choice and listened to her. Oh, how blessed she was with Iseler! She felt a tinge of regret upon remembering him. There were times that he hinted his fondness of her. But she did not respond, nor did she do anything about it. In her mind, it was for the best. She couldn’t bear tainting Iseler’s life. 

Leonard... he, on the other hand, started to become suspicious of her, no longer trusting her. And she was very sure Godfrey played a part in Leonard’s suspicion. 

The last time she talked to him, he was a bit aggressive, as if he was interrogating her, despite them not being an official couple yet. She didn’t know what for, but he got a little bit physical. Grabbing her wrist and shoulder so tightly that it bruised.

She pushes her finished plate aside and drinks her warm drink. After eating, she thought of going out despite the cold weather to watch the fireworks at the balcony bar of the hotel. It was six degrees outside, and she needed all the warmth she could get in this cold weather, despite it only being physical.

                                                            **********

                                                       =FLASHBACK=

Godfrey chuckled and appeared composed despite Annabelle’s threat. He knew she was bluffing because if that wasn’t the case, she would’ve pulled the trigger and killed him by now.

He sauntered forward and she backed away in response. Her body, trembled in fear, giving her away. When he reached for her wrist, she quickly pulled the trigger. However, the bullet flew to another direction and hit something else. In a mere second, Godfrey disarms her, followed by the gun’s bullets dropping on the floor.

“Oh, Annabelle...” he whispered, pulling her close whilst her body shuddered. His hand travelled to the crook of her neck as if he wanted to break them. Perhaps he does, and this would be the end of her. She closed her eyes and prepared herself for what was about to come. A tear escaping down her eye. However, much to her surprise. he just caressed her face and kissed her on the temple.

“You do that again, and I won’t be as merciful the next time...” he warned in a saccharine tone. He brushes his hand on the strands her hair and slides them to the back of her ears. “I suggest that you behave yourself...” 

Despite the threat,  Godfrey’s has no intention of ‘physically’ hurting her. 

                                                            ********** 

Annabelle shuddered remembering the encounter with Godfrey after the flower show. She thought she was going to die. Up to this day, she couldn’t imagine how she had survived. She is aware that Godfrey does love her, in his own twisted sort of way. All those times she had spent and was held captive by him, he cared and showed her love that she never had. But she has never forgotten Betty, Emma, and Agatha. No, She couldn’t risk the possibility of being like them. No, It would break her heart if she loses Godfrey’s affections.  She was not willing to risk becoming like the girl that came before Betty, and Betty when Emma came into the picture. She can’t bear becoming the Emma, who was either being hunted or being a captive. Nor can she bear having children with him, and becoming like Godfrey’s mother, Agatha, who lost her husband’s affection and used his children as pawns. 

She heaved a sigh as she turned her attention to the crowd who began counting until the new year strikes.

“ 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!”

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!!” The crowd said in unison as a beautiful fireworks display lights up the midnight sky. Afterwards, all the guest, despite being strangers, clinked their glasses and made a toast.

“Happy New Year!” Annabelle greets the waiter as he hands her a drink. The waiter smiles before walking off to another direction to distribute the rest that was on his tray. 

Looking around, she saw some of them happily making calls or sending messages to most probably the special people in their lives. She thought for a while and thought of the people she had wanted to greet. There was Philip, and then her cousin, Terrence, and of course, Iseler and his daughters. It didn’t matter that she didn’t have a lot of special people. So without any hesitation, she takes out her phone and makes an overseas call. 

It was still 4:00 ++ pm in London, but it never meant that she couldn’t greet them. She doesn’t call Philip, knowing the less he knows, the safer he would be, but she first calls her cousin, Terrence instead. But after repeated rings. He hasn’t picked up. Knowing what a busy guy her cousin is, she decides to move to the next person which is Iseler. 

After a few rings, Iseler picks up the call...

                                                           **********

It was 4:00 in the afternoon when Iseler felt his phone vibrate inside his suit’s pocket. Looking at the caller ID, she smiled upon seeing the letter ‘A’ indicated. Of course, he didn’t want anyone to know, (especially Leonard) that he knows where Annabelle is. Nor he is the one that helped her escaped. Escaped from who or what, he doesn’t know what. All he knew that she was begging for escape and he needed to help her. 

Looking around his surroundings he answers the call casually, pretending that the call was from the office. He didn’t know if he was being paranoid or what, but despite currently being in a cocktail party with countless people, Leonard was just around the corner and he didn’t want the later finding out that Annabelle was calling him.

“Happy New Year! Iseler!” was a joyful greeting from the other side of the line.

Iseler smiles and replied “Happy New Year too! hold on for a second!” he takes and quick glance and sees Leonard talking to the Westwood heir, from a distance, both eyeing him suspiciously. “Excuse me for a minute, I need to answer this, just some office issues...” he says to them from across the room, before walking to an empty balcony and staring at the winter sky.

“Happy New Year, Annabelle!” he greets her once more. 

“Thank you!” she says. “Where are you by the way? are the girls around?”

“No, they aren’t, I’m currently at a cocktail party,” he says quietly.

“Is he around?”

“Yes...” he whispers.

“No wonder... I called you at the wrong time I-”

“No, no, no, it’s fine Bella... I’m actually glad to hear from you! How are you? how are the fireworks over there?” he asks, using his term of endearment for her, ‘Bella’ which means ‘Beautiful’ in Latin, and which also happens to be the other half of her name. 

“I’m well! better than before... I hope you are doing well too, Iseler... How are the girls?” she asks, eager to know how he and his daughter were doing. After all, she had left London months ago.

“They’re currently at home, you can give me a call two hours from now because I’ll be home by that time and then you can talk to the girls,” he says, leaning against the called wall.  

“Thank you, Iseler...” she smiles. “The fireworks were grand as you said... I wished I could see it with you and the girls” she adds, as she yearned to share the experience with him and his daughters.

“That’s good, I hope you will continue having a great time there. If you took a video of the fireworks, you send and share them with me...” he encourages. 

“I did and I would... I’d probably send them to you when I get back to my hotel room...” she adds, knowing that it was faster sending things when in her room because the internet was faster there. 

Suddenly, she hears two loud taps coming from Iseler’s side. Which also meant, someone was there around the corner listening.

“He’s there... isn’t he?” Annabelle guessed.

“Yes...” was his serious reply, whilst watching Leonard come out of the glass door and calling him. 

“Don’t bring your work to the party!” Leonard chides Iseler playfully which Annabelle heard over the phone.

“Go ahead, Iseler... I will just talk to you later,” she says, a little disappointed that they didn’t get to talk long enough.

“Alright... later then,” he said, as he cuts the call and goes back inside the vicinity.

As Iseler enters goes back inside the room, he saw the Westwood heir, Godfrey, eyeing him suspiciously. Iseler didn’t know why, but he has this gut feeling that this man had something to do with Annabelle’s current situation. Not wanting to be suspicious to both Leonard and Godfrey, Iseler tries to lighten up the mood by saying something funny, making the people at the table laugh.

Godfrey chuckles and takes a sip of his drink. He didn’t know what he was doing here, or why did he even agree to come. All he knew that Gabriel ‘dragged’ him to this cocktail party and that he needed to ‘babysit’ him. All he wanted was to leave the place and go back to continue his search for Annabelle. The hunt excited him, because of that he was more enamoured with her than ever,  but it also frustrated the hell out of him.  All he wanted now is to get her back. But upon seeing Iseler, Annabelle’s boss, Godfrey figured out that the man might have the answers of her whereabouts. The cocktail party started to become more tolerable for Godfrey. He began to craft a plan in his head, that before this party ends, he will get all the answers he wanted. And he will have to subtly extract it from this man called, Iseler. No, he didn’t plan on hurting him. But there were other ways, and Leonard was the perfect pawn for that.

A/N:  Again, sorry for the late update, I will be soft editing as I may have made some grammatical errors. I will soon fill in the holes about the time gap (which was Annabelle’s escape) in the next chapters. 

[msilwrites]

Only One Lives, Chapter 17

A/N: Chapter 17 is up! Chaos continues....

Sorry for the late update, I was really busy at work!!(TT____TT). But I’ll try to update as much as I can.

For those people who want to know where the master post is, it’s on the right side of your screen, if you’re viewing this on your computer. 

Or you could just go to this link;

ONLY ONE LIVES (MASTERPOST)

I also drew this, since my friend wanted me to do so.

ONE IMPORTANT NOTE:  If you were paying attention to what the characters were saying in the movie ‘No One Lives’, and if you’re still wondering why Betty killed herself (I meant the reason wasn’t really clearly explained). The answer was actually in the original movie script, it’s in the scene where they were driving, before getting captured.

Additional Cast:

Terrence Burton - Tobby Kebbell

                                                      SEVENTEEN                                            The Green Eyed Monster

The woods were beautiful and dark, the moon peeked through the clouds, and the dark sky began to drizzle once more. Annabelle knew these woods by heart, it is where she hid as a young girl when her parents turned abusive.

Down the hill, was a dead tree, inside it was a large empty space, a ‘tree trunk house’ to be exact. It was her perfect hiding spot, a perfect hiding spot from monsters such as Godfrey. 

When she heard heavy footsteps, breaking branches and rustling the leaves, she quickly hid inside the dead tree and took a peek of the dark surroundings through the tree’s small hole. 

She saw him, his forest green eyes gleaming out of the pitch-dark night, like from those tales she had heard as a child about monsters whose eyes glowed in the dark. However, it was no longer a tale, as the ‘green-eyed’ monster was hunting her down.

“~Oh Annabelle...” he called, as she heard twigs break.

She held her breath, afraid that he might hear her. Her heart beat turned fast, as the footsteps got nearer and nearer.

“Come out... come out...” he said in a sing-song sort of way as if it this was a game of ‘hide and seek’, in the park.

The surroundings suddenly turned silent, and only the sound of the drizzling rain was heard. Knowing that curiosity can get her into trouble, she stood still and didn’t attempt to look outside of the trunk. She knew that Godfrey can appear just out of nowhere and didn’t care if she had to wait an hour, just as long he leaves the area. However, impatience won, therefore, she took a slight peek from the trunks hole. 

Much to her relief, there was no one,  no sign of Godfrey at all. With a sigh, she got out of the tree and took a quick look at her surroundings. 

“~Wherever you are...” a deep voice whispered from behind her, causing her to shriek. She knew who it belonged to, and wasted no time making a run for it. However, before she could even do so, strong arms wrapped around her waist, capturing her into his grasp. 

She screamed as she elbowed his rock hard chest a number of times until his hands pin her down, forcing her to wrestle him.

She bites his shoulder and then tried for his neck, and then kicks his balls until he forced her legs down, while she tried to scratch his eyes out.

He quickly disarms her, pinning both her hands. And just like that, he has complete control.

They pant as they looked at each other. It only lasts a second before he broke the silence. “~Oh Annabelle... I’ve missed you...” he says darkly, burying himself in the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent, causing some conflicting feelings within her. She felt flattered, aroused and afraid at the same time.

“Hmph...” she groaned in resignation. Was there any other way out of this? 

“Let me go...” she said in a low, but stubborn voice, as if warning him.

“I can’t... it drives me crazy... it drove me crazy...” he said, nibbling the skin near her earlobe, marking her once more. It caused her body to react in such unwanted way.

That quirk of his, it was so familiar, it was as if it happened to her before but she couldn’t pinpoint when? 

Though he often marked her, it was not always near the earlobe. It made her get pissed at herself that she could remember such lewd detail.

“I remember you now... Annabelle... and this time around... I will not let you go...” he whispered darkly. She didn’t know what he was exactly talking about, as he sounded like they go all the way back with the word ‘remember’. Cupping and grabbing the back of her head, Godfrey leant in and planted a gruff, possessive kiss on her mouth. The kiss felt like it was a show of dominance and ownership, rather than a show of affection. 

As he pulled himself off her, she gulped for air, lightheaded and breathless with the kiss. Assaulted by a hundred conflicting emotions, part of her wanted to fight, and flight. While another part of her was aroused.

He watched as her arm’s jerk useless in his grip.

“Go on...” he taunted. “Struggle all you want. Just gets me hotter when you fight back...” 

“It was your doing wasn’t it?!” she paused, choking a sob in the process. “It was you who did that to Leonard’s car!” she said, holding him responsible for everything that had gone wrong tonight. 

“Very smart...” he said patronisingly, which irked her in the process. “You know what else? Inter-School Fencing Competition... empty gymnasium... empty girls locker room...” he whispered, as he caressed her face.

Her eyes widened in realisation, as she recalled the incident that happened a long time ago. It made her feel horrified with the fact that after all these years, they still end up finding each other. “You were that boy!!” she said angrily. “You were that boy who took advantage of me!!”

“Small world isn’t it?” he grinned. “And don’t say I took advantage of you... I still remembered how you begged me to not stop...” he said, biting the skin near her earlobe once more. “It’s funny how you always run away and how I always end up finding you, huh?”

No wonder that ‘quirk’ of his was so familiar, it was the same person from years ago, when they were still both in ‘Sixth Form’. As much as she hated to admit it, she harboured feelings for that ‘boy’, and that boy from years ago was none other than Godfrey. It was twisted, but at that moment, he made her feel ‘wanted’, when everyone that mattered didn’t.

She was still a virgin then, but both of them did things to each other, all except ‘penetrative sex’. He may not have been the man who took her virginity, but he was the first man who had touched her so intimately.

“You were that boy...” she repeated, and a tear fell down her cheek, which he wiped with his thumb. A strange and unexpected gesture, coming from a terrible man. “It was confusing and twisted, but I wanted you...” she blurted out, without thinking. 

At first, he felt shocked with her sudden confession, and then delighted to learn that there was a part of her that wanted him.“Then? what about now? we can be together now!” he insisted, cupping her cheeks.

“I’m sorry... things are not like before, I can’t, we just can’t,” she said, as tears threatened to fall. Godfrey’s gripped began to tighten in her face, to the point where it became painful for her. Anger was evident in his green eyes. She was so fickle to him, even worse than Emma, that it was starting to piss him off. 

 With all her might, she raises her leg and knees his rib cage, causing him to tumble down on the side. He gripped his waist, groaning in pain, as Annabelle took the opportunity to free herself from his grasp, and quickly get up.

She immediately kicks his stomach, adding more pain to injury. “You know why we can’t be together?!” she screamed at him. “I know why Betty killed herself!! I know what you did to the previous girl before Betty!!” she said, declaring to him of what she had found out after reading a particular entry in his diary. It was so disturbing, that she finally made a decision to end this twisted relationship with him. If he had done it to the previous girl and planned on doing it to Betty once Emma finally ‘breaks’, what more would it be for her?

 In the diary entry, she read that Betty wanted, to kill herself upon learning that he had taken Emma captive. Betty loved him so much, that she’d rather kill herself than he kills her, like what he did previously to the girl before her.  

“Look! you don’t understand! it’s different-” he says, trying to reason out with her, however, she immediately cuts him.

“Shut up!! I don’t want to hear your lies anymore!” she snapped at him. “This is the last time I’m warning you... leave me alone!!” she says, before turning around, and quickly running away, deeper into the dark woods. Taking this as an opportunity to finally escape, while he hasn’t fully recovered from the kick she had given him.

“I’m not yet done with you!! We’re not yet done!!” she hears him shout angrily, as his voice echoed throughout the dark misty woods.

Just past the long stretch of woods were houses, and one of them were her late grandparent’s house, which was now occupied by her cousin. If she were to make it there before Godfrey catches up to her, then she can plan her next move and be safe for a while. 

                                                           **********

Terrence placed down his tea cup and plate full of pasta on the coffee table, as he reached for the remote to turn the tv on.But before he could lean back, he the sound of the back door creaking open was heard. 

Quickly taking the umbrella that was nearby, he slowly approached the kitchen where the back door was, ready to defend himself against the unknown intruder.

“Terrence! wait! it’s just me!” the intruder said, as she suddenly jumps in front of his path, almost giving him a heart attack.

“Annabelle? what are you doing here? what happened?” Terrence asked as he lowered his ‘weapon’ down. He’s well aware that Annabelle wouldn’t visit at a time like this unless there was something wrong. This was their late grandparent’s house, and this place was where she always ran when there were problems in the past. Only now, Terrence, her cousin, lives here.

His eyes widened upon seeing her in the bright light. Her shirt was muddy, there was also some cuts and discoloration on both sides of her cheek. It looked like she was attacked.

“My goodness! what happened to you? have you been attacked?!” he frowned, as he examined the bruises that were starting to change colour.

She looked away and nodded. “Listen... I just need to stay for one night, is my old bedroom still fine?”

“Of course, it’s still fine, clean as is. I just haven’t put sheets on the mattress. I have extra pillows from the old guest room... I’m sorry, I mean you haven’t visited the house for a long time.”

“It’s fine Terrence...” she said, brushing his concern off. The fewer people involved, the better.

“So are you going to tell me what happened to you? we should I call the police and report this!”

“It’s better if you don’t get involved...” she sat down on the couch and leant back.

He stood there and glared at her. Some things never change. It was like they were back at sixth form when she had told him tearfully that she was assaulted. However, she refused to tell details and report the incident to the police.

“You’re doing this again! You ask for help, yet you do not let us help you!” he said, as he crossed his arms and sat back down.

“You will not let this go? wouldn’t you?”

“No... not this time...”

“It’s a long story Terrence... and besides, I don’t want you to judge me...” she looked down sadly. In the past, she refused to tell details about her problems, not wanting to get judged or burden someone with them. But now, it looked like she didn’t have much of a choice, as Terrence confronts her about it.

“I’m listening... and I won’t judge you,” he assured.

She sighed in resignation and then began retelling her version of the story, everything back from the beginning. 

A/N: I might do some soft editing, because I might’ve made some grammatical errors.

- I will get into detail about Godfrey and Annabelle’s past encounter when they were still ‘teenagers’. I’ll also try to get more into detail about Betty’s suicide.  on the next chapter. 

[msilwrites]

No One Lives, Artwork. Driver and Emma by MeduZZa13

[msilwrites]

ONLY ONE LIVES - CHAPTER 1

A/N: I had this idea... It's about a girl who has almost similar psychopathic/sociopathic traits as the driver from 'No one lives' (to those who watched the movie), yet different (Hence, I said 'almost' similar). She'll be named (Compared to the driver who was unnamed) and has a different way of living her life, compared to the driver's kill-as-you-go lifestyle. In a few words, the driver finally meets his match. I'm bad at explaining and summaries, so here's the result of it. I hope you enjoy... :D

WARNING: This story contains violence, complicated characters, adult language and sex. If this is not your thing, kindly move on to other stories.

Cast:

Luke Evans - Unnamed driver / TBA (I'd give him a name later on... I mean he was unnamed in the movie (-____-) )

Lee Pace - Leonard Grayson

Oscar Isaac - Iseler Osman

Domhall Gleeson - Dennis

UPDATE : Hi guys! it has been a long time since I’ve updated. But here I am. As all of you have known, I did plan on editing the story. So here I am! This is an an updated version by the way.

                                          Only ONE LIVES

Annabelle was at the receptionist's to pay and retrieve her medication. She had just finished her monthly session with her psychiatrists, and couldn't wait to go for lunch. She was starving and didn't take breakfast this morning, as that she was trying to save every bit of money to pay for her medical bill.

"That would be  £ 450.00 ″ the receptionist said, as Annabelle took out her  card from her wallet. Her medication was handed to her and read 'Prozac, Trilafon, and Olanzapine'.  Although she  was supposed to take her medications daily, there  were several times when she forgot about it. And this was one of those days.

From young, Annabelle suffered physical and verbal abuse growing up. She would often get into fights in school as a child, and when she was home, her parents, though not so physically abusive, never failed in verbally abusing her. She often felt inferior, useless, and stupid. 

As a teenager, she continued tocause havoc but this time around, it was more subtle, sabotaging her bullies secretly, who were unaware of her misdeeds. This was a very dangerous trait that she had developed growing up among suffering. She often stole from lockers, wallets and sometimes, jewellery. What was scary was that she was never caught.

After graduating from university and getting a job, she tried to mellow down, and to work on her personal issues. However, the office environment was so toxic, tha tshe had a hard time coping. As she couldn't just quit her job, it was hard for her to survive, causing her medication intake to increase. Hence, most of her salary were spent on visits to the psychiatrists and medications. Despite that, she realized that old habits die hard. Though the medications were supposed to make a person feel better, it does not change a person's character or morals.

Just the other day, she stole and maxed out a credit card from one of the people who worked in the same building as hers. However, she didn't feel any remorse nor guilt, as the woman drove a Lamborghini, and carried an expensive bag. An obvious indication of wealth. And since she was earning 'peanuts', most of which were used to buy her medication and pay her bills, she would steal from people who are well-to-do, for her to buy the things she wants. She knew full well that these people would be fine, despite losing more than a thousand pounds or so. She never harmed or stole from someone who was in need. Somehow, she still liked to believe that she still had some 'conscience' left, despite all the things she had done.

                                                         ************

It was 9 pm in the evening when she first saw him. Dark hair, green eyes, and ruggedly handsome. She had decided to work overtime, as she had nothing else to do. She was in it for the overtime money and that she could have a moment of peace, without everyone around.

She was browsing a shopping website, 'net-a-porter' when she saw him walking down the hallway of their floor. No one could access the floor without a key card to tap on the elevator.

"Is he a thief?" she thought for a while  taking out her taser gun that was illegally purchased. She then took off her heels, and tailed the man silently.

She saw him go out through the Fire Exit staircase on the west wing of the building. Hesitating whether to follow him on the dark staircase, she decided on leaning in, to hear how far up, or down he has walked away from the door. Upon learning that the man went downstairs, she hurriedly ran inside and followed him down, only to find that he had gone to the parking area.

The parking area was quiet, and there were only two cars parked inside. One was a white Porsche Cayman, and the other was the mysterious man's; A dark green Vintage E-Type Jaguar.

She watched him as he opened the trunk of his car, taking out something that looked like a gun.

"Wait? is that a gun?!!" She stood there, still watching him, as he twisted on what seemed to look like a 'silencer' on the muzzle. She knew that she should be calling the police but something told her that she shouldn't meddle.

A few moments later, another man came through another exit of the parking lot. Judging from his looks, he seemed to be the owner of the Cayman. When the Cayman's owner reached to open his car, the mysterious green-eyed man  knocked the guy from behind and shot him with his gun twice.

The man looked around to see if anyone saw him before he deposited his victim's body into his car's trunk, and before drove off.

It was only when the man left that Annabelle came out of her hiding place.

Out of curiosity, she headed for the spot where the victim was shot, and to her horror, there were no traces of blood. It was a perfect murder, and she knew then that the man was not to be trifled with.

The phone that sat on her cubicle's table rang loudly, and echoed throughout the small room, forcefully waking her up from her nap. Fortunately, the IT Department only consisted of three people. Both of her colleagues were away, doing their rounds. They couldn't blame her if she didn't want to pick up the call, as they themselves don't find any delight in doing so. But a job has responsibilities and they must be fulfilled.

"Hello?" the voice on the other line said.

"Hello... IT Support... how can I assist you?" she said, trying to sound a little convincing that she didn't hate this job.

"I can't access my thumb drive, and it has gone empty..." the man from the other side the line replied worriedly. He had a clear American accent, meaning that he wasn't local.

"Alright... I have bad news for you... your thumb drive might be  corrupted, and those files were erased," she said bluntly, whilst scrolling down through MAC's homepage.

"What?! But they're important! Is there such a way for me to recover them at least? My team needs it."

"I'll see what I can do sir, may I know your name and your department?"

" Iseler Osman, Finance..." was his quick reply.

"I'll be right over..." she said as she puts down the phone. She heaved a long sigh, before dragging herself up and out of the office. Frankly, she didn't like to deal with people face-to-face. However, this time, she had no choice, as the man who had just called was the new guy, a financial controller who was big shot from the New York headquarters. Getting into anyone's bad side, specifically, someone from the New York HQ like him would be unwise.

When she reached the floor where the finance department sat, she was met by the buzzing sounds of printers, shredders, and people dressed sharply, who look too agitated to even notice her presence.

"Where's Mr.Osman's cubicle?" she asked one of them who seemed to be in a hurry to get back to his seat.

"His office is right there, straight ahead, along with those doors, it's easy to find." he said impatiently, as he rushed back to his cubicle to answer the phone.

She followed as what was instructed and arrived in front of Osman's office door.

She heard a familiar voice coming from inside the room, upon knocking thrice.

"Yes, come in..." he said.

"Hi, Mr. Osman?" she called.

She opened to find a ruggedly good-looking man, dressed in a sophisticated dark grey wool suit, a dark grey oxford shirt underneath a black knitted cardigan, (instead of typical waistcoat), and a dark polka-dotted necktie, tucked underneath his cardigan. He has short wavy black hair, that was swept back neatly, warm brown eyes, and a scruffy face.

Any other lady would've been ogling and be drooling by now, at the sight before her. Quickly stealing a glance at him, she agreed was herself that the man was indeed attractive.

"IT Support?"

"Yes..." she said whilst looking around his office.  Glancing around, there were boxes that he hadn't unpacked yet. A clear indication that he had just arrived.

Mr.Osman took out a USB stick and handed it to her.

"Please do what you can..." he pleaded.

She took the USB stick from him and plugged it into the laptop that she had brought along. She felt awkward as she sat there with Mr.Osman watching her intently. Although he was a handsome man, she didn't like the attention. People often thought that IT people could solve anything regarding computers. However, that was not the truth. But when such things happened, they were still blamed for it.

After twenty minutes of waiting, Annabelle took out the USB and threw it in the bin. Mr Osman, who was watching her, was horrified with what she had done.

"Wait! Why did you throw that?!" he raised his voice.

 "It's corrupted, so it's useless... I have recovered your files though..." she said, as she plugged in a new USB on her laptop to transfer the recovered files to it.

Mr.Osman sighed in relief, as she showed the recovered contents and handed him a new USB that contained it.

"Oh my gosh... Thank you... you just saved my ass..." he said, and he went out of his office. " She's recovered everything," he said loudly for everyone to hear.

"Oh! Thank Goodness!!" some of them said in unison. This must be the reason why most of them looked agitated earlier.

She closed her laptop and prepared to leave the floor, heading straight to the elevator. Entering through the sliding doors of the elevator, she turned around to find Mr Osman calling after her.

Annabelle pretended not to hear him nor see him and pressed the 'close' button hard. She was in no mood to socialise nor talk to anyone, she never was. Moreover, she knew that Mr.Osman was new, and his purpose for wanting to talk to her was to make her an ally. It was obviously 'office politics' and she didn't want to be a part in any of it.

                                                      **********

Annabelle walked through the streets of London's Central Business District, dodging countless of people like an obstacle course. She was looking for her next target, after realising that she had no more cash in her pocket. Pick-pocketing was a normal weekly activity for her, especially when she ran out of money.

"Ouch..." the man she bumped into growled. In a swift motion, she pulled the big fat wallet that hung on his blazer and decided to quickly glance at him, before leaving. Her eyes widened to find a familiar face that she had seen during the night of the murder.

"Shit..." she muttered under her breath and watched him collect himself when she should already be running.

"Are you alright?" he asked nicely.

"Yeah... yeah... I'm good..." without so much apology, she hurried away in fear, matching the pace of every other person on the streets. Letting instinct and routine to take over, she allowed herself to drift off into her own thoughts.

                                                      **********

Annabelle pushed open her apartment's doorknob and entered her small, yet chic and cosy apartment. The cluttering of keys hitting the expensive glass bowl resounded throughout the small apartment.

DING DONG!

Her doorbell sounded. She peeked through the small round glass of her door, before opening it.

"Hi.... Delivery for Annabelle Burton."

"That's me... come in..." she said, as she looked at how many boxes was the guy delivering.

Usually, she wouldn't allow anyone to enter her apartment, except for the delivery guy. If anyone who knows her was to see the place she was staying at, they'd get very suspicious on how she can afford luxurious things.

After placing the boxes on top of her coffee table, the guy asked her to sign the 'received' confirmation, before leaving the vicinity.

"Thanks Ma'am..." With a two-fingered salute, the delivery guy turned and walked away.

She went back inside and eagerly opened her new purchases. A new Charlotte Tilbury brush set, an Isabel Marant ankle boots, a black Valentino tote, A Maison Margiela dress, and much more soon laid on top of her sofa.

She slowly organised them and arranges them by colour, before sorting them and placing the clothes by colour in the laundry basket. One must not mix white clothes with coloured ones, as the coloured apparel will 'bleed' onto the white ones. 

Upon placing the clothes in the laundry box, the wallet that she had stolen earlier dropped to the floor, from her hoodie's pocket.

"Shit, I almost forgot..." she said, as she picked up the wallet from the floor, and eagerly looked what was inside. A black credit card, a debit card, an ATM card, a driver's license, and one thousand pounds worth of cash. Annabelle couldn't help but feel happy knowing that she had hit the jackpot. However, she shivered as saw the man's driver's licence. His face is handsome, but she couldn't help but feel a little terrified looking at his photo. It brought her back to the time when the murder took place.

"What a very traditional name..." she mumbled, as she read his name.

She was a little conflicted on whether she should report what she saw, or leave it be. After all, there would be consequences if she was to report this incident. It's either the police would investigate her, or the man would come after her. In the end, she decided to leave it be, not wanting to do anything with the man.

**

Friday night is the only night she could fully groom herself and go out. She looked at the mirror one more time and applied another layer of mascara on her long and thick lashes. Now that she was satisfied with how she looked like, she placed the mascara wand back in its container, and twisted it close, before placing it into her clutch.

Wavy dark brown hair, full brows, a nice full pout, stunning bluish-green eyes and long lashes. She was far from what her parents and bullies made her believed whilst growing up.                                                           

                                                        **********

Beaufort bar was quite possibly the most attractive space to sip a drink in London. With its supreme style and opulence, jet-black walls, theatrical lighting and enough discreet touches of gold, it was enough to remind any patron that he was somewhere beyond special.

Annabelle smiled as she saw an empty stool in front of the counter. She sat down and made eye contact to the bartender, who returned her smile.

"Yes, Annabelle... what can I get for you tonight?" she asked eagerly since Annabelle was one of their frequenters in the bar.

'Gin Martini, smoked fish, cocktail onions and some antipasto..." she said, as she handed her, her card, with a 50 pounds tip.

"Right away..." the bartender said, as she swiped the card and gladly took the generous amount of tip. "Would you stay a little longer? We have a cabaret tonight!" the bartender encouraged.

"Yes, I will..." she smiled, feeling a little more friendly than her usual. She was obviously in a good mood, and she won't let anyone ruin it.

Her drink arrived a little faster compared to the other patrons who was slowly filling the bar.

"Ms Burton? is it alright if we place you near the fireplace? The performance will be held in this area in a while" one of the waiters asked her to move politely.

"Alright..." she stood up, whilst the waiter placed her food on top of the tray, and brought it to her new table. She smiled, seeing that they had placed her on one of the best spots, inside the bar. The management did really see her as VIP.

"Thank you..." she said, handing him a 20 pounds tip.

The waiter smiled, and gladly took the tip. "If there is anything more you need, just inform me..." he said.

"Alright..." she returned his smile.

She then took a small slice of bread, spread some 'Nduja on it , and bit off a piece. The performance began a minute later, but her attention was on her drink and food.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," a deep voice said. She looks up and choked up in horror upon seeing the person whom the voice belonged to. It was none other than the man who she had seen during the night of the crime, the murderer himself.

The man took a seat down opposite hers, and looked at her keenly with some sort of fascination, as she downed her martini to relieve her choking.

She glared at him intently, before deciding to speak. "What do you want?" she said bluntly.

"Well... Ask yourself that... You have something of mine..."

"I do not know what you are talking about!" she insisted.

"Really... Then why ask me 'what do I want?'" he smirked.

She looked at him nervously, afraid to speak what was on her mind.

"Now... You may like to find out how I knew? You made a purchase from net-a-porter, earlier today, and maxed out my cards. You made a mistake by not doing something about that name of yours."

Her eyes widened in disbelief, with what the man had just mentioned. He obviously stalked her.

"I don't know what you are talking about..." she said, still in denial.

The man's lips curled into a conceited smile and laughed.

"Are you still playing the innocent, Annabelle?"

"How-"

"I just told you..."

Annabelle nervously took her clutch and looked for any exit.

"Planning to run away?" he intimidated.

"I saw you kill a man that night!" she mindlessly uttered, only to realize her mistake, when the man's handsome face turned deadly serious.

"Really? What do you plan to do about it then?"

"I will report you to the police if you don't leave me alone this instant."

"Well... I couldn't let that happen, so I guess I would've to kill you too." he threatened.

She gulped in response to his threat, and in a swift motion, backhanded her glass water, making the liquid spill on him.

"Ooops, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she said, trying to look sincere in front of the people who were watching them.

The waiters rushed to immediately clean up the mess, and she took this chance to make a quick escape.

She pushed one of the waiters, making him spill the drinks he was carrying on his tray, and caused him to block the man's way. This gave her ample time to rush to the exit.

She hid behind one of the columns when she saw him rush out of the bar, looking everywhere for her. She checked her clutch to see if there was anything she can use to defend herself if things turn out ugly. She sighed in relief upon finding a Swiss army knife.

After the man left the lobby, she came out of her hiding place and rushed to the hotel's back entrance. It might be dark and wet in the alley, but it was the safest option she had.

Running as quickly as she can down the alley and short of breath, Annabelle stopped to look behind her. Her pursuer was nowhere to be seen. She sighed, thinking that she was safe for now, and decided to continue walking ahead till she has found the main street. The only sound was the clucking of her heels on the wet pavement. As she got closer to the main street, she began to see people and felt a little more relieved. She walked a little more quickly and fumbled her purse for her phone, when she suddenly stumbled upon a figure.

"Dead end..." a familiar voice said.

Before she could even scream, the man muffled her mouth, and pulled her right back into the dark alley, shoving her hard against the wall.

"Ouch!" she screamed in pain.

"You messed with the wrong person, woman..." he sneered, as he watched her struggle to get back up.

"No... You did..." she said, as she quickly got up, and head-butted him hard, causing him to stumble back. She took out her Swiss army knife to use in self-defence.

"Really now? A mini knife?" he laughed mockingly, as he advanced towards her, and grabbed her hand, twisting her wrist painfully, causing her to cry loudly in pain until she dropped the knife. However, the knife wasn't her only weapon. With her free hand, she launched a punch straight into the man's ribs, making him stumble back in pain. Quickly taking a chance to grab the knife, she hastily grabbed the blade and slashed his shoulder with it.

"Aaah!" the man winced in pain.

With another swift motion, she stabs his leg and took the opportunity to run towards the main street.

"Help!! Help!! I'm being mugged! Help!" she screamed for the people to hear. Fortunately, there were people who responded quickly and helped her up.

"Where's the man?" one of them asked, as his other companion took out his phone to call the police.

"Don't worry, you're safe now," the man assured, as he wrapped his blazer on her shoulder.

"Th-Thanks..." she said, and looked up, only to find the least expected person for her to see. "Mr.Osman?!!" she said, clearly taken aback.

"Annabelle?! Is that you?" Mr.Osman said and looked at her worriedly.

"Iseler? you know her?" his companion asked, curiously.

"Yes, Leonard... she's my IT support."

"Shit..." she muttered under her breath upon realising that she might have some explaining to do, to both the police and these two busybodies.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this updated version! 

[msilwrites]

ONLY ONE LIVES (Coming Soon)

                         Only One Lives (A ‘No One Lives’ Fanfiction)

Takes place a few months later, after the events in ‘No One Lives’. 

Annabelle is a sociopath, who works as an IT support at a financial firm, located at London’s Central Business District. During lunchtime, she would steal people's wallets and use up whatever is inside, or commit other petty crimes for her own benefit. What’s scary is; she was never caught, even once.

One night, she sees a mysterious man walking inside their building. Intrigued, she had decided to follow him, and witnesses him murder another man. In fear, and not wanting to do anything with what took place, she left it be.

The next day, she sees the man again, walking around the street, and decided to pickpocket him. What started out as a simple theft quickly escalated into something much worse when the man discovers Anabelle. 

A deadly, twisted, war game begins between a Psychopath and a Sociopath. Only one shall win, and Only one must live.