They took Steven and me to a remote place, the house was as large as a castle. Upon entering the door, I saw a huge, empty room. It was so silent, I could have heard a pin drop. The marble floor was as shiny and bright as a mirror, which gave me the illusion of walking on a frozen lake.

I was frightened and stepped back when I saw my reflection, a slightly baggy, cotton dress hanging over my knees, my scruffy hair was down to my waist, and I had such a pale complexion that I looked like a ghost. As I gazed at my reflection, I saw the helpless look in my eyes. I touched my face and thought, “No wonder Jonathan didn't recognize me.” I could hardly even recognize myself.

Steven held my hand and whispered, "Don't be afraid. I'll protect you." I looked into his innocent eyes and didn’t know what to say. Anton came to Jonathan and said, "This is all the information I could find about the boy. There is no information about the girl."

“It doesn't matter, that’s fine," Jonathan said and took the stack of papers from Anton, looking through them. Then he glanced up at Steven and said, "Come here." Steven gripped my hand tightly and did not move. Jonathan looked up at me and pointed at me. I knew what he meant when he did that, but I couldn’t change anything and saw Anton push Steven away and drag me towards him.

The man I had been searching for all that time was right in front of me. “What should I do?” I thought and racked my brain trying to figure it out. Then he reached out and touched my head, holding my jaw, and asked, "What's your name?” I shook my head, with eyes wide open. In the dim light, his eyes seemed so black and his face was just as handsome as before.

"Well, from now on you are my daughter and your name... Desiree Li," he stated.

How ridiculous, that a man who killed my family took me as his daughter. "You’d better let her go," Steven shouted.

Jonathan smiled and asked him, "Do you like her?" Steven just stood there and didn't say a single word.

"I will arrange your training tomorrow. I'll give you eight years to improve yourself, if I am content with you by the time you come back, then I'll give you one thing you want most. If you fail, don’t blame me!” Jonathan said. Steven looked at me calmly despite the circumstances. I feel his eagerness to protect me but he can't do anything right now. Then Jonathan stretched out his hand to me and put me on his knees. His long fingers touched my neck and stroked my skin with his thumb. I was too scared to move. I knew, given his cruel personality, that he could choke me at any moment if he wanted.

"It’s a deal," Steven answered while looking at me scared.

"Good boy!" Jonathan nodded with satisfaction and lifted me up the stairs saying, "Desiree, Daddy will send you to school tomorrow."

When I was a child, my father told me stories about the devil with the face of an angel. At that stage, I did not understand, “Then… facing Jonathan Li right now I suddenly understand what my father means!” I realized that if Steven had said no, I could have been strangled to death by those beautiful hands.

From that day forward, I never saw Steven, but I always knew he would come back and rescue me from this place.

I sat on the corner of my bed, staring out at the stars, late at night. Hatred engraved in my heart, my chest was beating violently, and I felt so frightened and confused. I heard footsteps outside and that’s what got me into such a state…I knew exactly who it was.

As the door opened, I saw Jonathan approaching, I heard each step clearly under the light of the full moon. I dared not move, biting my finger, I stared at his every move, trembling. He stood beside me, looking down into my eyes. He sensed my fear, and he smiled gently saying, "Are you afraid of me?”

I nodded uneasily and lowered my head to avoid looking at him. "If you obey me, I won't hurt you," he said. My heart was beating fast. "Don't sit on the ground. It’s cold and you’ll get sick..." Then he stooped down and picked me up, then took me to the bed, tucking me in and whispering, “goodnight."

The duvet was light and warm. I could feel the soft texture of cotton and it still smelled of fabric softener. After he went out, I sat back and found that what he said was true, the ground was very cold. Suddenly, the door opened again. Jonathan stood there, looking at me with a blank expression on his face.

I jumped up in terror and scrambled into bed, peeping at him from under my duvet. He was still looking at me in a blank expression. I could see him smile vaguely, a look of tenderness flowing from his eyes. He said, "It may take some time to adapt to the new environment." After he left, I was staring at the door from my bed, but he didn't come in again. I finally fell asleep.

In a dream, I saw my father and I took him by the sleeve and said, "Daddy, please don't leave me," he hugged me, and I could hear his steady heartbeat.

"I miss you, and mom!” I cried, laying on his shoulder because the dream was incredibly real. I held him tightly in my arms and cried, "I know you'll leave at dawn... so I'm afraid... please don't leave me in this place"

He patted me on my back until I was no longer afraid. Yes, I wasn’t afraid at all. God arranged an opportunity for my stay with the enemy. It’s for me to take revenge on him, instead of fearing him.

When I was eleven years old, I thought that I could stab him in the back with a knife when he didn’t seem so threatening. But the blood just soaked his white shirt, and he turned and pointed at me, staring at me in disbelief. Finally, he fell in front of me.

On a sunny day, when I slipped into the kitchen to get a sharp knife, I never saw Miss Lucy, the maidservant, but suddenly heard a noise. I leaned over the window and looked out. A bald man swaggered his body, followed by two or three dozen tall and strong men, who trod all over the lawn as they walked into the yard.

Jonathan was sitting at a round table next to the pool, calmly, drinking red wine. The bald man sat down opposite him.

"Morning, Boss, long time no see! You can call me Mr. Han if you don't mind," he smiled and added, "You know I have been out of contact with life on the streets for several years, so I'm not used to hearing others speak that way."

" Don’t give me that," Jonathan snapped and the bald man's eyes were wide open, "Dan Lyle is my brother, you’d better give me an account."

"Sorry, I have a short memory, I don't remember Dan Lyle," the bald man replied.

The bald man grabbed a bottle and smashed it on the table and threatened to cut Jonathan’s throat. Jonathan glanced at the bottle and leaned back over his chair casually and said, "If it’s too difficult for you to respect me, don’t bother."

"I know you took Dan's cargo and told the police to arrest him!" The man sighed slowly, and added, " If you return the cargo, I can let go of this matter, otherwise..." "

Not waiting for him to finish, Jonathan seized his arm, gave him a good kick in the leg, and stabbed the broken bottle into his chest. It happened too quickly before the bald man’s bodyguards could even take out their weapons from their pockets. Jonathan had already dragged him away gesturing at his bodyguards to look back.

They stood still, finding they were surrounded. After kicking him several feet away, Jonathan took a cloth to wipe the blood from his hands. Then, he informed one of the bodyguards. "Call the police... an armed robber broke into the house. He may be suspected of attempted murder!

Then he picked up the phone again, smiled and said, "Troy, can you deal with your problems, please? Don’t get me involved in your business…” "That’s all right. It's settled, a piece of cake... " he said.

“Drugs are evil, you'd better not try... Come on, I know you..."Blondes? Rather than sending blondes to comfort me, it’s better to arrange some swift bodyguards to protect me. After all, life is of much more significance than anything else right now,” he said as he continued the conversation.

The sky was as blue as the sea, the clouds pure white, the grass an intense, bright green, and the blood so red...

Seeing the muscular man groaning and twitching on the grass, and thinking of my weak and short arms, I gave up the idea of stabbing Jonathan in his back. When I was 13 years old, inspired by TV, I intended to poison him with food. Of course, I failed to get a deadly poison, colorless and tasteless. But I was able to get a bottle of sleeping pills successfully from the pharmacy.

One night, I took a cup of coffee mixed with sleeping pills in his study. He leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed. Even the cigarette between his fingers had nearly burned his fingertips. He was not aware of it. He looked so tired and exhausted that he even went to sleep silently.

So, I put down the coffee cup and carefully pulled the cigarette out of his hand. The smoke was blowing, and the ashes fell to the ground. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked at me quietly with bloodshot eyes. I was startled and stepped back instinctively. "Did I wake you?” I asked and held my breath.

"No. Do you have something to say?" he replied and stretched himself off.

" You looked so tired, so I just made a cup of coffee to perk you up."

He unfolded his wrinkled brow, sipping coffee, then he frowned again and sniffed it, and did not drink anymore.

"Why aren’t you drinking?" I asked, and my voice and my body began to shiver.

Then, he put down the coffee cup, he brushed my wet hair, holding me in his lap, with his powerful arms around my body, "It’s so late. Can't you fall into sleep again?" he asked gently.

" Yes," I said.

"Have you taken the pills?” he asked. I nodded. His lower forehead pressed against my cheek, warm and comfortable. I stopped trembling as my whole body was surrounded by his warmness.

"I'll accompany you to your room and sleep beside you." He took me back to the room and I laid on the soft bed. Then, he wrapped me up in the duvet, only leaving one of my hands sticking out, and switched on the orange table lamp beside the window.

He sat at the bedside, holding my hand. After looking at my little hands, he wrapped them in his hands, which were as warm as my mother's. "You’ve grown a lot... "he said. I knew he didn’t hope I would grow up. Because he liked it when I clutched his index finger with a soft, little hands, or when I shook my short legs when I sat down on his knees and smiled, or the way I sat on the sofa with bare feet, waiting for him to return home, and how I always said goodnight to him.

And he loved to throw me into the huge swimming pool and watch me crying, "Help!", in a panic.

When he pulled me out, I wrapped myself in a bath towel, and could only look at him miserably with water blocking my view. At that time, he would say that I was an angel, a pure angel.

I didn't want to grow up, either. But it was out of my control. Later, I heard that Anton died that afternoon. It’s said that Anton had been shot to protect Jonathan during a certain encounter they've met.

When I got the news, I should have laughed, somehow, I didn’t feel happy knowing that one of his bodyguards was killed after protecting him.