Beloved

Chapter Thirteen

Kristen's POV

"Where are we going?" I asked softly, still slightly scared of angering Emanual. His fingers were around my wrist, gently guiding me down a small trail. The forest became more dense the further we walked.

"You'll see." He answered as he glanced at me. His lips parted slightly as he saw my expression, which probably looked a bit frightened.

"It's nothing bad, I promise! I just want you to be surprised when you see it." He explained himself quickly and brought his eyes back on the trail. Somehow, I found his nervous explanation adorable and delightful almost. I almost felt proud of the fact that his cheeks now had a tinge of red.

"I'm not a big fan of surprises." I told him, scared of what kind of surprise this would be. Maybe the lake he wanted to drown me in? Or the tree he wanted to strangle me against? I shivered at the thought and gulped. A low groan rolled from his plum lips and he turned around, taking my shoulders in his hands.

"Kristen, it won't be bad. I know you probably think I'm going to murder you, but you honestly couldn't be more wrong." His eyes flickered between mine, searching for understanding. I strangled a whimper of angst from his intense gaze and nodded. Forcing my eyes to drop from his, I turned my focus to the silent woods around us. I was scared, as I should be, but I knew there was no way around this. Once again, Emanual turned around and pulled me with him, going deeper and deeper into the peaceful forest.

.

.

.

"Okay, close your eyes."

After walking for twenty minutes or so, we had arrived at our destination; well, almost. The trail in front of us made a turn, and I assumed his surprise was at the end of that trail. Thick bushes and large trees were blocking my view of the trail's end unfortunately.

"Do I have to?" Closing my eyes meant another advantage for him. Though, his presence made me feel safer than ever, I still didn't trust him.

"Nothing bad will happen. I just want you to be surprised. Please?" His dreamy eyes and the charm in his voice made me reconsider. I sighed and let my eyes flutter closed, praying that I wouldn't regret this action. Deep inside, though, I knew he was right. I knew that I wouldn't end up getting hurt if he stayed close. Why? I had no idea. But when he said that nothing bad would happen, I knew nothing bad would happen. It was like blind trust.

Oh, God, I really was going crazy.

I felt his fingers softly wrap around my hand. With a gentle pull, he guided me down the small trail. Heat flowed from his hand to mine and further to my chest, warming up my heart. How could this man have such an effect on me?

"No peeking." I heard him say. My face heat up and a small smile reached my lips.

"I'm not." I chuckled and squeezed my eyes even tighter shut. I jerked my head back in surprise when a warm hand covered my eyes.

"Just to be safe." The amusement in his voice made my heart flutter and my smile wider. He kept his large hand planted over my eyes, as he lead me to his surprise. The dirt underneath my feet turned to pebbles and the calming sound of trickling water sounded.

"Ready?" I heard him ask behind me. I didn't know whether it was the wind or Emanual's deep voice that made goosebumps appear on my skin. I softly nodded my head and hummed. I didn't trust my voice at that moment, Emanual was weakening me. The gravel crunched as he stepped away and removed his hand from my face, letting me take in the beautiful nature in front of us.

A big dark lake was before us, with the tall dark trees of the woods framing it. The light of the sun was hitting the water beautifully, giving it a warm glow. I had no idea this forest had a lake, especially not one this big. My eyes went to a plain old rowboat, which was docked near us. Two out of the three seats were covered with cozy blankets and the middle seat was used as a table. A small vase with lilac flowers was placed in the middle and a closed basket was next to it.

"Wow, this is gorgeous," I whispered, my eyes not leaving the landscape in front of me.

"That's why I wanted to show you," Emanual spoke behind me and walked closer to the boat. He motioned me closer with his hand, implying he wanted me to get on the boat. Boats had never really been my thing, and being in one with my kidnapper didn't seem like a great idea. I was ignoring the strong trust my body had in Emanual, but for a good reason. He was not to be trusted. And I didn't even want to be here, but here I was, on a date with the man who created all of these stupid problems. He kidnapped me and locked me up. Now he wants to date. Just like that, the trust I had for him vanished.

"I don't want to. Why are you doing this?" I asked him, softly taking a step back. His eyes changed from content to upset in less than a second.

"Please, Kristen, just get on the boat. I won't let anything happen to you, you know that."

"I don't know that," I snapped. Again, I was surprised by how I spoke my mind without much hesitation. This was not the usual me, but I didn't dislike it at all. It was nice standing up for myself, after having people walk over me ever since I could remember.

Emanual's eyes turned dark, but he quickly blinked the anger away.

"Please, for the love of the Moon Goddess, get on the boat!" He exclaimed, vigorously pointing at the boat. He was getting angrier and after witnessing his last tantrum of outrage, I didn't want to provoke him more, so I got on the boat. 

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sorry for the boring filler (and kinda short) chapter and the delay :c i got sick and i could barely look at a screen without dying... but stuff will happen in the next chapter!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE 4 THOUSAND READS!!!! THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE AND I'M SO HAPPY!!! 

Thank you so much for reading, and if you enjoyed this chapter don't forget to vote and comment :)

goal for this chapter is: 60 reads and 5 votes (and i'll be super happy if i get a comment!!)

** Important! **
I will be re-updating most of my chapters because i got an editor who will be editing all of my chapters. The story wont change at all, but I just wanted to let you know because you'll probably get a bunch of notifications. Alright, that's all :3