Adrian Hale tightened his grip on the steering wheel as his car rolled down the dim, winding road. The streetlights flickered weakly, patches of darkness stretching between them like shadows waiting to swallow whatever entered.
He glanced at his phone again.
No signal.
No map.
No idea where he was.
Perfect. Just perfect.
He let out a breath and leaned back, rubbing a hand against his jaw. This wasn't the evening he had planned. He was supposed to reach the Sinclair Mansion half an hour ago. Sienna had invited him to meet her family formally—something she had been excited about for weeks.
And Adrian wanted tonight to be perfect.
He had worked too long, too hard to reach this point. His new business—Hale Designs—had just begun to bloom, and none of it would have been possible without Sienna's help. Her father had invested in his startup when everyone else had slammed doors on him. Sienna had believed in him when even he had doubts.
He owed her more than just gratitude.
He owed her stability. A future he could stand proudly in front of.
Tonight was supposed to be his gesture of respect—showing her family that he was worthy of their trust.
But instead… he was driving in circles on a dead road with a useless phone and a failing GPS.
He exhaled slowly.
Sienna loved surprises. She had always said that unplanned moments made memories stronger. So Adrian had decided not to tell her he was coming early. He wanted to see her eyes sparkle when she opened the door and found him standing there, dressed in a fresh navy shirt, a soft smile waiting just for her.
But now—
He wasn't even sure he would reach her house tonight.
A faint drizzle started tapping against the windshield. He switched on the wipers, watching the streaks of water scatter.
"This area… why does it look abandoned?" he muttered under his breath.
Tall trees leaned over the narrow road, casting long shadows. The buildings in the distance seemed dark, like forgotten silhouettes. The wind carried a hollow whistle.
He slowed the car.
Every instinct told him he had taken a wrong turn.
He tapped the GPS again—nothing.
Signal bars—empty.
Calls—failing.
"Great," he whispered. "Now I'm officially lost."
Still, he continued driving. Sienna's mansion couldn't be too far. He had passed the university a while ago; perhaps this was a side road leading to the residential area.
He would be fine.
He had been through worse.
Starting his business had been a battlefield. Early mornings, sleepless nights, countless rejections, meetings that ended in nothing, designing entire projects only to watch them get scrapped.
Then came the moment Sienna introduced him to her father.
Adrian still remembered the way her eyes shone with confidence when she spoke about him.
Her faith had carried him further than his strength had.
He owed her everything.
That's why tonight mattered to him.
He pushed down the accelerator slightly—
Then something flickered at the corner of his vision.
A shadow.
A movement.
He frowned and leaned forward.
The road ahead was empty—
Wait.
No.
Someone was there.
A figure stepped into the path, almost out of nowhere.
A girl.
Small. Fragile.
Her head turned toward him, eyes wide with fear.
"Hey—!" he shouted, instinctively hitting the brakes.
But the rain, the slippery road, the sharp turn—
It all happened too fast.
The car skidded violently.
Time blurred.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
And then—
Impact.
Her body hit the front of the car before vanishing from his view.
Adrian's breath shattered inside him.
"No… no, no, no—"
He threw open the door and ran around the front, his legs almost giving out beneath him.
There she was.
A girl lying motionless on the wet road, hair spread like a dark halo around her head, her dress soaked, her fingers barely curled.
She looked… delicate.
Like someone made of softness and poetry.
Someone who shouldn't belong to a place as cold as this road.
Adrian's chest tightened painfully.
He knelt beside her, terrified to touch her but too scared not to.
"Hey," he whispered, his voice breaking. "Please… please wake up."
He gently brushed wet strands of hair from her face.
Her skin was warm.
Too warm.
Her breathing—shallow.
His pulse spiked.
"God—what have I done?"
He looked around helplessly.
No cars.
No people.
No sound except the rain.
He reached for his phone again—still no signal.
He swallowed hard.
"Stay with me," he whispered, leaning closer. "Don't move. I'm going to help you, I promise."
His mind raced. He couldn't leave her here. He couldn't call anyone. He couldn't waste a single second.
This was his fault.
His responsibility.
His moment to save her before the night swallowed her whole.
Very carefully—
Very slowly—
He slid one arm beneath her shoulders and another beneath her knees.
She was light. Too light.
As he lifted her into his arms, her head rested against his chest, her breath brushing faintly against his neck.
Adrian looked at her face—pale, serene, heartbreakingly beautiful—and a strange ache burned in his chest.
"I'm taking you to a hospital," he whispered, voice trembling. "Just hold on."
He carried her to the car, the rain falling harder now, drenching them both.
As he opened the door and settled her gently inside, he felt the weight of the moment press into his soul.
He did not know her name.
He did not know her story.
He did not know that this moment would change everything.
He only knew one thing—
This girl had just become the turning point of his life.
Rain hammered against the windshield in relentless sheets, blurring every light, every shadow, every direction. Adrian kept one hand tight on the steering wheel while the other shook uncontrollably on his lap. The wipers scraped frantically across the glass, but visibility remained almost zero.
He glanced to the passenger seat.
The girl lay there, still unconscious, her head gently resting against the leather seat. Raindrops clung to her eyelashes like tiny crystals. Her chest rose and fell in the faintest rhythm—too shallow, too fragile.
His heart tightened painfully.
"What am I supposed to do…" he muttered under his breath.
He wasn't from this city.
He knew no shortcuts.
No hospitals.
No emergency services nearby.
And worst—
his phone was as useless as the empty road outside.
No network.
No map.
No way to call for help.
The storm had drowned the entire signal grid.
He ran a hand through his damp hair.
"Come on… think, Adrian. Think."
The city center had to be somewhere north. He tried following the main road, though he wasn't even sure if this was the main road anymore. Every turn looked identical in the dim, wet darkness.
The rain only grew heavier.
The car slipped slightly on a curve, and he steadied it instantly. He couldn't afford another mistake. Not tonight. Not with someone's life depending on him.
He dared another glance at her.
A delicate profile. Soft features. She looked so peaceful despite the chaos around them—like someone who belonged to flowers and sunlight, not to storms and accidents.
Her hair, dark and silky, spilled across the seat like watercolor strokes. Even soaked and pale, she carried a strange radiance.
Too young, he thought.
Too fragile to be lying here like this.
Maybe she was only a few years younger.
Maybe more.
He couldn't tell.
All he knew was that she didn't look like someone who should ever know pain.
He swallowed hard.
"Hold on… I'm trying," he whispered, though she couldn't hear him.
A guilt he couldn't place twisted in his chest. A stranger—completely unknown to him—yet he felt responsible for her in a way that felt heavier than the rain.
He adjusted the heating to warm her.
He checked her breathing again.
Still steady… but faint.
His mind drifted again to her face. He didn't mean for it to, but it happened naturally, uncontrollably.
The curve of her lashes.
The softness of her lips.
The innocent peace she radiated even unconscious.
It reminded him of something.
Or rather—someone.
Sienna.
But in a completely different way.
Sienna was bold beauty—sharp, glamorous, confident. She walked like she owned every room. She dressed to impress. She spoke loudly, lived loudly, and loved loudly.
But this girl…
She was quiet beauty—soft, serene, like a whispered poem. Her presence felt gentle. Safe. Almost… celestial.
He clenched the steering wheel.
"No," he muttered instantly. "Don't go there."
He shook his head hard, as though trying to physically knock the thoughts out of his mind.
Sienna was his girlfriend.
She helped him when no one else did.
She believed in him.
She supported his dreams.
She was loyal in her own way.
He owed her.
He respected her.
He had no business comparing her to a stranger—especially a girl lying injured because of him.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Adrian?" he whispered bitterly. "Focus."
He forced his eyes back to the road and straightened his posture.
But the storm outside only grew louder, as if mocking his attempt at control.
The road ahead split into two.
Left or right.
He slowed the car.
He had no idea where either path led.
He looked again at the girl—still unconscious, still breathing faintly.
He didn't have time to choose wrong.
"Please," he whispered to the empty road, "just one sign…"
Lightning cracked in the distance, illuminating a faint structure ahead on the right. A signboard—barely readable.
He squinted.
City General — 6 km →
Relief washed through him like oxygen.
"Yes. Yes—thank you," he breathed.
He turned right immediately and accelerated, but carefully, keeping the car steady through the flooded road.
His clothes were still soaked.
His hands still trembling.
His heartbeat still uneven.
But he had a direction now.
A destination.
A hope.
The hospital.
The girl would be safe soon.
He exhaled shakily, finally allowing himself to breathe.
And yet…
His gaze returned to her again—just for a second.
Why did she look… familiar?
Had he seen her somewhere?
Passed her on the university campus earlier?
Maybe in a café?
Or was it just his mind playing tricks under stress?
He forced his focus back on the road.
It didn't matter.
He just needed to save her.
Everything else came later.
But still—his thoughts drifted toward Sienna.
Sienna, waiting for his surprise visit.
Sienna, who would probably be angry he didn't call.
Sienna, who hated when plans went wrong.
What would she say about this?
About him bringing an unconscious girl into his car?
About hitting someone accidentally?
About being lost because he rushed without telling her?
He could already imagine her frustration.
But he pushed the thought away.
Right now wasn't about Sienna.
Or him.
Or anything else.
It was about the girl whose fate had collided with his in the rain.
He tightened his grip on the wheel.
"Just a little longer," he whispered to her. "You're going to be okay. I promise."
He didn't know why promising her felt important.
But it did.
Maybe because, in that chaotic moment, protecting her felt like the only right thing he could do.
And in the storm's roar, in the flickering lights, in the desperation of the moment—
He didn't realize this promise would silently rewrite both of their lives.