Her Poor Alpha Prince

CHAPTER THREE

Emily's POV

"Who are you?" My heartbeats raced with fear as I noticed a tall guy standing in front of tall grass. I didn't know how long he had been watching me, but I assumed he had witnessed enough of my drama.

He had tattoos all over his right arm, which I could see through the folded sleeves of his black linen henley shirt. His wide chest was also displayed from under the three open buttons of his shirt.

This was the first time I encountered someone after coming here several times. He appeared to be capable of doing something evil. What if he was a serial killer? Maybe a rapist? Perhaps a psychopath? With his muscular build, I knew he could knock me down with one punch.

'Run for your life, Emily!' I screamed in my mind when the guy slowly moved toward me.

I couldn't see much of his face because it was partially covered by his long hair. But what a fool I was to notice the fleeting glimpse of his perfectly shaped nose when my life was at stake.

"Y-you can take my m-money, phone, and necklace! Whatever! Just don't hurt me, please! " I didn't dare blink out of fear that he might attack me at any moment as I made my way slowly backward while begging.

All my hope vanished when I reached the edge of the rocks and saw the lake behind me. I couldn't swim, and if I tried jumping down, the water might sweep me away to a much more dangerous deep area.

My grandmother had taught me that a silent lake or river meant it was deep. So, every time I came here, I didn't dare try to swim.

"Please, no!" I frightenedly rummaged through my handbag, looking for my wallet and phone. "Here, take this!"

The guy just stared at me with disgust. He didn't move an inch. What was he up to?

"Please don't hurt me!"

"Are you a fan of Michael Myers and Jason?"

Huh?

"Too much watching of horror movies," he said, shaking his head.

"W-what?"

"I'm not a murderer or a rapist, and the last time I checked, I had no criminal records."

I didn't respond to him. Instead, I watched him move next to me, facing the lake. He pulled a lighter and a broken cigarette pack out of his shirt pocket.

While smoking, he used his fingers to brush his hair up, which made me gasp for air as I could now clearly see the full view of his face. I had never seen a guy as handsome as him, and even Jacob couldn't compete with him.

The guy exuded mystery with his deep ocean-like eyes. Ironically, despite his red lips, he still managed to look so manly. His only flaw was a small scar near his brow that split a portion of his left brow, adding more to his s*x appeal. My attention was drawn to the flame tattoos on his right arm. Definitely a big no for me as I didn't like the bad boy look.

I cleared my throat. "I'm sorry."

"What are you doing here in the middle of the forest?"

"How about you? What are you doing here?" I asked back. "This is my first time seeing you here."

"Strolling around."

"What?”I asked while my brows furrowed. He said it as if he was just window shopping at the mall.

He gave me a lazy look and shrugged, making it clear he didn't want to go into detail about why he was here. He turned to face the lake again, giving me a better view of him. My body shivered sensually as I watched the movement of his adams apple as he exhaled cigarette smoke.

What was going on with me? I never experienced feelings like this, especially with a complete stranger. Maybe I was just fascinated by the fact that this guy was even more attractive than Jacob.

Jacob had me so completely head over heels in love with him that I even believed he was the most attractive man I had ever seen. I didn't bother to look at other men because I believed that he was equally content and happy in our relationship as I was. However, loyalty alone wouldn't be enough to uphold a stronger connection.

We weren't like the other couples at our university who were open about their s*x lives. Jacob and I avoided discussing that subject openly because we lacked relevant personal experience to it. I only let him go as far as touching my breast. And I thought it was okay for him that I set a limitation.

One time, I unintentionally overheard him telling his friends that he had already taken my virginity, and I had let his friends believe it. I didn’t object. In fact, I felt bad for him because he was receiving snide remarks about his s****l orientation.

He was approached by numerous women who made great efforts to attract his attention, but he politely turned them down. So, his friends would accuse him of being gay or make fun of him for being so devoted to me because he declined the opportunity to get laid with one of those women. This was also one of the reasons I firmly decided to give him my purity.

“So, who is Jacob?”

“A person.”

"Nice answer," he said, amusedly smiling at me. “You are shouting his name in this entire forest.”

“Please, I don’t want to talk about him.”

“You got rejected, huh?”

“No, I’m not!” I exclaimed.

Disbelief was written all over his face.

“No, one rejected me, OK?” I hissed.

He was still giving me the same expression.

I took a deep breath. “OK, I found out just today that I was being cheated on!" I said in a cracked voice as I couldn’t hold back my emotions.

The guy remained silent.

I wiped away my uncontrollable tears and exclaimed, "Imagine! He wasted our five-year relationship! I made him the center of my life, and he had the audacity to betray me at the end! What a jerk, right?”

He nodded and raised his two hands. “Stop crying, I don't know how to comfort a woman.”

"But at the very least, listen," I said, my vision clouded by tears. "I just need to get this pain out."

I didn't wait for his response. Instead, I started telling him about relationship with Jacob, right up to the cheating part, without skipping any details. It helped a lot that he listened to me quietly.

It felt like a heavy rock had been lifted from my chest. I understood that this was only a temporary solution because the pain Jacob had caused me would leave a permanent scar on my heart.

How could I go on without him? I had been overly reliant on him since childhood. He was more than just my boyfriend; he was also my brother and my best friend.

After feeling relieved, a surge of embarrassment turned my cheek red. What a shame to break down in tears in front of a complete stranger, who I thought was a criminal at first.

I quickly regained my composure. "I apologize for the drama."

"Don't worry, I enjoyed watching you cry like a baby." He grimaced.

"What can you say about what he did to me?"

“What did he do to you?” he asked. Confusion could be seen on his face as he scratched the back of his hair, giving him a somewhat boyish appearance.

"Did you pay attention to my story?"

“Like I said, I enjoyed watching you cry like a baby.”

Oh, great! I talked for nearly thirty minutes and he didn't listen? Ugh. Nevermind!

“By the way, I'm Larkin Anderson.”

As soon as I accepted his handshake, a bolt of electricity spread through my veins, making me scorchingly pull my hand away from him. I was confused by the unfamiliar reaction of my body.

“I-I’m Emily Smith.”

“It was getting dark. I think we should go, Emily.”