Love's New Bloom by Simone Hastings

After about two minutes, Tessa spoke again through the microphone, “Erin, use the rope ladder to

descend from the wall. I’ve already sent

Jack to pick you up.”

That name came crashing at Erin’s heart like a wrecking ball.

After arriving at the restaurant where she’d agreed to meet Jack, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her

lower back as she proceeded along the route specified by Jack. She then lost consciousness.

When she woke up again, she found herself locked inside this wooden shack.

Erin looked up at the deer’s eyes and said, “Since you want me to descend from the tower, you should

first remove the iron chain from my

feet.”

“The key is on the rope ladder I dropped. Find it yourself, Tessa instructed expressionlessly.

As her words fell, Erin gingerly took a few steps forward and bent down to search the rope ladder on

the ground for the key. It didn’t take long before she found a piece of wood with an old iron key

attached to it with adhesive tape. She quickly took it off and removed the tape. Then, she started using

the key to unlock the iron chain.

With a soft “click” the heavy iron chain finally came off her ankle. Erin’s ankle was already slightly

swollen, but she didn’t pay much

attention to it. She then picked up the rope ladder from the ground and walked in the direction of the

window.

There was a sturdy iron hook deeply drilled into the wooden frame of the window. That was why Erin

tried so hard to form a makeshift rope

out of the curtain.

Erin found the top of the rope ladder and hung it on the iron hook. She gave it a strong tug and found

that it held up firmly without any issues. Next, she threw the rope ladder down the dome. Although it

didn’t reach the ground, it was enough for her to descend the

structure. 1

Looking down the dome, she felt a slight fear. She had never climbed at such a height without any

safety measures before.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have a choice this time.

Erin gathered some courage and started to carefully climb down from the window. Although the child in

her belly hadn’t developed into al fetus with a recognizable shape yet, she didn’t dare take it lightly. She

cautiously avoided her belly from hitting any sharp objects as she slowly descended. Other than that,

she didn’t look down, fearing that she might panic.

Erin kept her gaze upward, making sure to step on each wooden plank securely before taking the next

step. After more than ten minutes. she suddenly felt that there was only air underneath her right foot.

Erin instinctively looked down and realized that she was already close

to the ground.

However, the ladder was still six feet above the ground, putting her in a dilemma. Should she jump

down from where she was? What if she

accidentally fell and harmed the child in her belly?

Right then, Erin caught sight of Jack. He looked up and reassured her, “Miss Lane, you can jump down

with peace of mind. I’ll catch you, and I’ll be careful not to let anything happen to your child.”

When she saw Jack again, a chilling feeling mixed with anger surged in her heart instantaneously. She

got into this situation because she

trusted him!

She regretted not letting the two bodyguards accompany her from the beginning. However, she

wouldn’t know that even if the bodyguards

had been with her, it wouldn’t have made a difference.

“Come on now, Miss Lane. You should jump down.” Jack’s face was devoid of expression, and the

fleeting trace of guilt in his eyes

vanished so quickly that Erin didn’t even catch a glimpse of it.

After much hesitation, Erin reluctantly complied in consideration of the life form in her belly. She said

aloud, “I’ll count to three, and when I

reach three, I’ll jump. Ok?”

“Sure!” Jack replied. He spread his legs further apart and lowered his body, positioning his hands at the

right angle to catch Erin.

Before jumping, Erin glanced at Jack. Although she was furious and wanted to curse at him with the

foulest words known to man, it wasn’t

the time for her to act so rashly.

“One! Two! Three!” Erin leaped, and Jack caught her perfectly without error.

Apart from some faint pain in her foot and hand joints, her belly was completely fine. When Jack caught

her, he deliberately avoided

touching her belly.

Once Erin steadied herself on the ground, out of habit, she blurted. “Thank you.”

Jack’s face stiffened for a moment. Then, he awkwardly said, “Let’s go.”

To steel his emotions and prevent himself from going soft on Erin, Jack swiftly drew a gun from his

waist and aimed it at her. Erin’s

expression momentarily showed confusion, then it turned several shades paler. She didn’t say anything

and walked forward with a stiff

face.

Throughout their journey, neither Jack nor Erin spoke.

In fact, she was burning to ask him why he kidnapped her. But she could sense that he seemed to be

acting on someone else’s orders. If she wanted to know what in the blazes was going on, she had to

ask that woman.

After walking for about an hour, Erin finally saw a semicircular cement stone gate ahead. The stone

gate was covered in green moss. making it somewhat concealed.

As she and Jack approached slowly, the stone gate opened automatically. Shortly after, Erin and Jack

entered a bomb shelter. The stone gate closed slowly once again right after they entered.

Five minutes later, Erin finally saw Tessa.

She was wearing a camouflage suit with a camouflage cap on her head. The moment she saw Erin,

she took off her earpiece and tossed it onto the table. Jack stood not far from Erin, aiming his weapon

at her back.

Tessa’s smile had a hint of eeriness as she curiously strolled up to Erin, scrutinizing her closely.

After circling Erin twice. Tessa suddenly stared into her eyes and questioned, “I just don’t understand.

What makes you so special? Why would Chandler be willing to have a child with you?”