A Lifetime With You

Chapter 76
This was an unexpected order from Damien. Everyone went off to enjoy their break time and left the couple on their own. “No
more next time, alright...” Before Damien could finish, his mouth was stuffed with the cotton candy. Damien felt it melted instantly
and leaving only a trace of sugary sweetness in his mouth. “Do you like it?” Ava asked. Damien snorted and muttered, “I don’t
understand the pleasure of eating cotton candy.”. “Humph! Judging from your reaction, I bet it was your first time eating cotton
candy,” Ava sneered. She was right. Damien had never eaten cotton candy before. This explained why he had no idea that the
large fluffy cotton candy could melt like that before swallowing But it tasted very sweet nonetheless. After the incident twenty
years ago, he never thought of having cotton candy anymore. After all, Damien was traumatized by the kidnapping incident until
today. He watched Ava tore off a chunk of the candy and swallowed it off in one go. Damien then noticed sugary stains around
her mouth. “You look messy,” Damien commented. “Hey! You look the same too just now!” Ava tried to feed him by aiming the
cotton candy at his mouth. Damien dodged and sooner, both of them ended up in a sweet and sticky mess. “It’s all your fault that
we’re sticky now!” Ava berated him. Yet, Damien was in a good mood. It was a strange feeling. Ever since his confession that
night, their relationship seemed to have improved.
Unlike previously when she used to walk on eggshells around him, Ava was more relaxed and cheerful now. Damien was
reminded of her in a dress waiting under the cherry blossom trees in the past. He noticed that Ava was seemingly anticipating
someone every day after classes. It took him some time to recognize her name and figured out that Damien was the one she
was waiting for. “Hey, stop daydreaming! I’m going to wash my hands.” Ava waved in his face to get his attention. Damien
returned to his senses and nodded. The public washroom was nearby and both of them entered their gender-designated
sections. However, Ava did not come out after Damien exited the washroom.
Women were always dawdling in the washroom!
Damien bit the remaining cotton candy and realized that it was melting and falling apart under the hot sun.
He could not resist and took another bite. It was his first time eating in front of a public washroom.
Until he finished the candy, Ava was still not coming out. Damien decided to yell her name from the outside. However, there was
no reply. Only then Damien realized that something went wrong and he tossed the stick aside while rushing into the washroom!
As he swung open the door, Damien felt a heavy blow hit his nape. He then felt a pain through his skull and blacked out. When
he woke up again, Damien could see nothing in front of him.
A voice called for him repeatedly, “Damien... Damien! Wake up, Damien!”

“Ava?”
He recognized Ava’s voice and reached towards her instinctively. From there, Damien could feel her face.
“Where are we? What the hell is going on?” Damien sat up quickly His neck was throbbing and the pain was triggered every time
he moved. Ava had regained consciousness before him and she was used to the darkness, though she too could not see
anything. “I’ve tried patting around and there are walls around us. Perhaps we’re in some kind of cellar,” Ava concluded. Damien
could smell a faint musty scent of old cabbages. Undoubtedly, they were either in the basement or a cellar.
But why were they here?
Ava remembered herself washing hands at the sink before a sudden blow hit her head and she lost consciousness. “Damien, are
we being kidnapped?” Ava asked. The word ‘kidnap’ sent shudders down his spine. Damien could feel his childhood trauma
coming back again. The cotton candy, kidnapping, underground cellar, and the darkness... But who was behind this? “Don’t
worry. There must be a way out from this cellar.” Damien held Ava’s hand and stood up. Finally, they could feel a wall around. He
traced his fingers along the wall in the dark and after half an hour, he bumped into something that felt like a ladder.
Damien asked Ava to secure the ladder as he climbed it. The climb was difficult as he could see nothing in the dark. The area
was not high. In the end, Damien reached the top and tried to lift the cover, but to no avail. It was heavy, as if it was blocked by
granite or marble slab. “I can’t lift the cover with my strength while standing on a ladder;” Damien said and went down again.
While Damien searched around for some tools, Ava said dejectedly, “Forget it. Whoever’s behind this shall have everything well-
planned and there’s no way we can escape that easily.” They continued to fumble around in the dark and found a light bulb.
Unfortunately, it was pointless as the bulb was not connected to any power source. Apart from that, there was nothing else. They
held hands and sat down to rest. “Damien, what should we do now?” Ava was gradually frightened. It was normal for everyone to
fear being trapped in the dark. Even a tiny sound could be heard clearly in the darkness. Damien hugged Ava and comforted her,
“Don’t worry, we’ll find a way.” Their cell phones and other items were confiscated. Hence, there was no way to communicate
with anyone and their yelling could not be heard by the outside. Damien was calm as usual, “It’s going to be alright. Once my
family and the staff realize that I’ve gone missing, they’ll figure out ways to track us down.” “What if they failed?” Ava was scared.
“Since we’re still alive, I assume the culprits have some plans. It’s just a matter of time until they approach my family or confront
us directly,” claimed Damien.