Before she fall on the floor, Tsubaki instinctively jerked her knee up, landing hard on her attacker"s stomach. The man groaned. She took the opportunity to bite the hand that was still tightening around hers. The man cried out in pain, shoving her aside.Tsubaki quickly landed a few steps back from the man. Her heart beating furiously. She a.s.sessed the situation but there was no way out. The man was crouching near the door and the windows in her apartment were barred.
"I didn"t expect you to be so aggressive." The man spit bloodied saliva to the floor.
Tsubaki stiffened once she heard his voice. "Mr. Kitaoji?"
"Why? Are you expecting someone else?" The man straightened his posture, giving her the view of his s.a.d.i.s.tic face.
"What are you doing here?"
Tsubaki slowly moved backward to her vanity table. Kitaoji Masaru sneered seeing her confused and frightened expression.
"I think you"ll be lonely tonight as your man didn"t keep you company." He walked towards her, step by step. "It"s no use for you to cry for help, all the foolish residents have been bribed with a treat to a barbecue restaurant right now."
What? No wonder she felt the silence was so eerie when she got off Ren"s car. She thought all the residents simply wanted to call it a night earlier than usual but she didn"t expect it was a trap laid by Kitaoji Masaru. The old lady"s voice that she beard also might be one of his tricks.
"You better go now before I call the police." Tsubaki squared her shoulders, reluctant to crumble under his pressure. She threw fiery glare to the man.
"No, you won"t."
Before she could react, Kitaoji Masaru jumped on top of her. His feet was faster than before. Tsubaki cried out in pain when her body landed on the floor. The man"s sinister smile grew widened once he started to tear off her dress. Her bare shoulders were exposed, earning a l.u.s.tful gaze from him.
"Get off me!"
Tsubaki didn"t surrender to her fate. She needed to save herself. She reached out to a flower vase and knocked it on his head. The man yelled, slapping her face in anger. Her mind went fuzzy but she quickly returned to her senses when Kitaoji Masaru grabbed both of her hands and brought them over her head.
"Be a good girl and I won"t hurt you any longer." Threat lingered in his voice, his knees pinned her thighs under him.
"In your dreams!"
Tsubaki lunged forward, b.u.t.ting heads with him. She bit his right shoulder, blood seeping from the wound. He wanted to smash her head down but she was faster. She kicked his crotch and forcefully threw him aside.
"b.i.t.c.h!"
Without thinking much, she grabbed her bag and ran out of the door. She didn"t even dare to wear her shoes, afraid that he would gain the time to chase after her. Barefooted, she ran on the tarmac.
The night was cold and the street was empty but she didn"t stop running. Once Tsubaki was out of breath, she hid herself between the narrow, dark alley. Hands pressing on her mouth, afraid her ragged breath would be heard. Minutes pa.s.sed but there was no sign of her being pursued.
"Ha... ha..."
Tsubaki crouched down, head lowering on her knees. She breathed heavily. The terrifying event that had transpired happened too fast, as if it was a bad dream.
Remembering Kitaoji Masaru"s sinister face, Tsubaki couldn"t help but shivered. If she didn"t react according to the situation, she wouldn"t dare to think of what would happen to her.
Tears started threatening to fall down but she angrily wiped them away. This was not the time to cry. She needed to find a safe place as a shelter for tonight. She couldn"t possibly go back to her rooftop apartment.
Tsubaki rummaged inside her bag. Relief filled her heart when she found her purse and phone. Thank G.o.d she left both of them inside instead of placing them on the table as usual. But her keys was still in her apartment. She couldn"t find refuge inside Camellia Sweets.
Should I go to the hospital?
Tsubaki shook her head, rejecting the idea. It would only worry Satsuki if he found out. Scrolling through her contacts, she sighed. She couldn"t face her employees with her current situation. It would cause an uproar and there was no doubt they would seek Kitaoji Masaru.
"Ah!"
Tsubaki jolted when her phone suddenly rang Looking at the name, she picked it up.
"Have you sleep? I just want to check on you. I haven"t reach my house yet."
Hearing his gentle voice made her heart overwhelmed with emotions. Lips quivering, she asked, "Could you come and get me?"
"Wait for me. Don"t hang up." Sensing something was off, he didn"t ask further. After confirming her location, he made a U-turn.
Tsubaki didn"t know how long she had been waiting in the dark but once she heard the familiar footsteps, she quickly went out from her hiding. She walked inside her field of view.
His eyes widened once he saw her pitiful state. Without saying anything he took off his jacket and placed it on her bare shoulders. He let her hug him as she cried on his chest. His hands wrapping around her body tightly, as if he was her wall of protection against the world.