1:45 A.M.

Tick… tock… tick… tock… In this prison, it was the only sound that I could hear. William was exhausted by all of his jibber-jabber. He was also mentally drained from trying to cut the rope, which I felt was a stupid idea. Furthermore, this bloody fool declined to drink water. I am living evidence as I am still alive after finishing the entire bottle of the sipper. But no, he would rather die from thirst.

My eyes were closed, my head leaned on the wall, and my forehead was turned upwards. I was counting my breath cycles to pass the time when I heard a groaning noise as I twisted my head to the left. I saw William struggling to open the knot of the rope with his teeth. It was a ridiculous sight to see, but I had to appreciate his efforts for not giving up.

When he felt me staring at him, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "What? I can't just sit here and do nothing. I may not look tough, but hell, I am not weak." I gave a small smile in response. He does have a lean body.

"Jeez, give me something other than that smile." He whined, so I showed him the middle finger, which made him laugh, and then he began coughing. I motioned for him to take a sip, but he declined.

I rolled my eyes and then glared at him, causing his stubbornness to fade away.

"Fine, I am only drinking this because if I didn't, we would die anyway by being locked up here and, since you are alive, this should be safe. But in return, you are going to help open the knot on the rope. We have got to work together here, and my skin is delicate for this material of bondage. Agreed?" He asked me, to which I nodded my head in affirmation.

“Great.” Finally, he drank the water.

“God, this feels good. I shouldn’t have tortured myself for this long. But if I die because of this liquid, I will haunt you for the rest of my life.” Instead of rolling my eyes, I poked my finger into the side of his stomach.

"Hey, you are evil." This made me raise my eyebrows.

"But less than these jerks. Anyway, bring your hands here." His words made me frown in confusion.

"Dummy, I am going to try to release your hands, and you can do the same for me." This caused my lips to form an ooh. He is smarter than I thought he would be.

I put my tied hands closer to his, and with a few released fingers, he tried to break open, but the knot was way tighter than either of us expected.

"Crap, this is so tight." But he was still trying to untangle the knots of the rope when the door of our room opened. This was a different man from the one who had previously greeted us, but he was dressed similarly. However, his frame was a little heavier than the previous one. He wasn't bulky, so he seemed to be in good health.

"How sweet! Two strangers helping each other to get themselves free. It is not going to happen soon." He said. At the same time, the kidnapper sat down on the wall in front of us, his back supported by the wall, his legs stretched in front at a ninety-degree angle, creating an L shape.

"So, what do you expect? We kidnap each other just like you strangers did." William retorted, emphasizing the word stranger.

"Cute, but not as cute as the girl next to you." The kidnapper said something that made my eyes expand, and William sigh.

"You imbecile, don't you dare to touch her." It was thoughtful of William to warn him.

“I see someone here has a soft spot for this girl here. Don’t worry; I am a dignified man. So, Ivanka, you’re in good hands here.” He told us.

“Dignity,” William laughed. “A dignified man will never kidnap someone for their personal gain.”

“But he will definitely do it for a reason other than personal gain.” The kidnapper told us. I blinked at him, intrigued by what he was going to say to us.

“Well, I know that you two are curious to know why your presence is needed here. So, I am here to kill the curiosity of yours, which might have popped into your head.” It seemed like he was trying to make a joke, which he failed miserably.

“You are the Bossman.” It was a statement rather than a question.

“I am, indeed. Before I tell you why you’re here, let me ask you a question: “Are you two comfortable here?” The Bossman questioned.

“We’re dancing like fairies here, sleeping on a cloud, and the view is as spectacular as a Turkish cotton castle.” William made a snide remark.

“Being snarky is not a great attitude, Willy. I can call you Willy, right? Just like your friends do.” The Bossman stated. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t call my companion by his nickname if William refused him to do so.

“Of course you can’t, but I doubt this will stop you.” 

“It won’t because William is way too mouthful. And Ivanka, I will call you Ivy. This sounds way cuter.” 

The Bossman was trying to rile William. But it was an epic fail.

“Ivy sounds cuter. I will also call you that.” This made me feel like knocking on William’s head, “And you can call me Willy, that is whenever you decide to speak, which I hope is soon, because if we are dying here, then at least I would like to hear your voice.”

“Awe, along with curiosity, apprehension, fear; there is also love in the air.” The Bossman smirked. 

“She wished. You know, I am just like the color combination of your troops’ clothes. Black goes with every color. But unlike other shades, black also suits with black, which gives it a killer combination. Hard to miss, classy and sassy at the same time.” Willy gave him an attitude.

“Bad for her then.” The Bossman said. He had a tint of amusement in his eyes. 

I have to admit that Willy gave a brilliant analogy.

“Bad for you too.” He commented.

“You don’t even know me.” The Bossman pointed out.

“But your personality says it all. Plus, you are not an all-color or same color guy. So, can you now do us the favor of enlightening us as to why the heck we are here?”

William finally asked the question for which the Bossman came here.

It’s about the damn time when the cat is officially out of the bag.