It was a Tuesday evening and other staff members had begun to pack up their belonging, ready to leave at the end of yet another working day. However, the same could not be said for Mia.

She was practically ready to leave, her bag on her shoulder and her ID card in hand, ready to tap onto the lift. Only for her back luck to kick in.

Sebastian had stopped her on her way out and told her to meet him at the car park exit, where he would be waiting for her.

Instantly, she knew that this wasn't a case of him being nice and offering to drop her home. Something was fishy, but when she questioned him on it, he offered her a snarky response and told her it was for a work commitment.

Begrudgingly, Mia did as she was told and met him at the car park exit and then got in his car.

"Where are we going?" Mia asked Sebastian, as she secured herself in his car with the seatbelt.

"Site inspection," was all that he replied and then drove off in the direction of wherever this site was meant to be, with Mia remaining confused as ever.

'It was nearing 7 pm and soon it would be getting to a pitch-black sky, this was hardly a time for a site inspection,' she thought.

"Now?" She questioned him, voicing her suspicion.

Keeping his eyes on the road, Sebastian replied, "I just need to collect some papers from the guy at a new site. It won't take long."

"But this late? It's basically nighttime," Mia said, she just wanted to get back to her bed and pyjamas.

"Scared?" Sebastian asked with a condescending tone and glanced towards Mia, who was glaring at him.

"Takes a lot more than a pitch-black sky to scare me," Mia retorted.

"Good. Then you won't mind," Sebastian smiled.

Mia didn't like it when Sebastian smiled. There was something about that smile, that irked it. Nothing good came from it, especially when there was a twinkle in those hazel eyes of his.

"Why did I need to come along for this? Surely you're more than capable to collect some papers on your own?" She asked him.

"You're my assistant," Sebastian stated. "Where I go, you go. Besides, this is official company business. Don't flatter yourself thinking I wanted to go on a drive with you," he scoffed, whilst Mia was irritated with his words.

"Ha, you wish," Mia snorted.

Sebastian chuckled. "No, love. I'm pretty sure you do."

This caused Mia to groan, a lot more louder than usual, to get her point across that she didn't want to be here.

After a seemingly long drive, Sebastian and Mia reached a construction site where a three-storey building was being built.

As Sebastian parked his car, he made a move to get out, unbuckling his seatbelt. However, just as Mia began to do the same, he stopped her.

"Wait," he said.

"What?" Mia froze, thinking that there was something near her seatbelt, like a spider. Her pride would surely take a hit if he saw her freak out over a spider.

"Stay in the car," Sebastian then told her.

"What? I'm not staying in the car," Mia said and unbuckled her seatbelt, but Sebastian stopped her once again.

She saw a wary look come over his face, as he glanced out the window and back towards her.

"Look, you're right," just those words from him, had Mia's full attention. "It is late at night and I'm just realising this place might not be the safest and neither is the construction site. So, just wait in the car and I'll be back," he told her.

Mia couldn't believe him. "Then why did you even bring me along, if you knew it wasn't safe and you were just going to leave me in here?"

"I wasn't thinking straight, okay? Just stay in the car, Miss Sareen," Sebastian ordered her sternly.

Mia bit back a retort. 'It was just waiting in the car, at least she didn't have to be around his presence,' she thought.

"Fine," she huffed out.

"I'll be back soon," Sebastian told her, grabbing a folder from the back seat and then got out the car, leaving Mia behind.

***

As Sebastian walked away from his car, he thought about the plan.

"She's not budging! She won't quit, even after everything. I thought I could easily make her cry and give up," Sebastian complained to Blake.

He was sat in his office, leaning his elbows on his desk, whilst ranting to Blake.

Blake, who was swivelling around the chair across from Sebastian, stopped and then grinned at him.

"She did warn you, she's not the same Mia as back in high school," he said, remembering her words from before.

Sebastian sighed. "Yeah, but I still didn't expect her to be so resilient," he said. He honestly expected it to be a lot easier to get to Mia, but clearly not.

Blake looked at Sebastian and laughed. He never thought he'd see Sebastian looking so miserable and exhausted because of Mia. Especially at the attempt to get her to quit. He also thought she wouldn't put up much of a fight, but rather shed some tears and run away.

"Well then, you better up your game," Blake then told Sebastian and grinned at his mate.

Sebastian, who was resting his head in his hands, looked up and frowned. "But how? I tried to make her work from my place, and instead that backfired," he said, realising this was much more work than necessary.

"How?" Blake asked amused, wondering how working from home could backfire.

"My Mum came," Sebastian started, and Blake immediately began to laugh. "I had to hide Mia in my bedroom, so Mum wouldn't see her and make a fuss," he carried on, and Blake continued to laugh.

Sebastian tossed a pen at Blake, feeling more irritated at being laughed at. However, Blake just continued. He just found it hilarious.

As he reached down to pick the pen up from the ground, Blake had a thought. "What if we scare her a little?" He pondered.

Sebastian frowned at Blake's words. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Blake saw the expression on Sebastian's face and knew that he was probably thinking the worst. "Have a few guys intimidate her, that's all," he then said.

"I don't want her hurt," was Sebastian's immediate response to that. He disliked Mia, but he wasn't that bad to have anything happen to her.

"They won't even touch her. Just intimidate her a little, and when she comes crying to you for help, tell her to quit?" Blake said.

Blake, himself, didn't want Mia to get hurt either.

He didn't want revenge from her like that, to go to the extent of causing her any physical pain. He just thought a little harmless prank would be enough to scare her away and help Sebastian.

"Will that even work?" Sebastian asked.

Blake shrugged in response. "No harm in trying, right?" He replied.

He thought it was the classic 'damsel in distress' kind of move.

In high school, he'd seen Mia look a little meek, and around their group, she looked like she wanted to run for the hills when she came across them. If it weren't for Aaron, Blake was doubtful Mia could even talk to then.

The plan in his head was fairly simple. A few guys would intimidate her, Mia would come crying to Sebastian and then he would 'save her', in return she'd have to quit. It seemed perfect.

After hearing Blake's words, Sebastian was about to nod but then paused.

"What guys?" He asked, wondering who would do the job since Mia already knew Blake and had seen Roman too.

Blake leaned back in his seat. "We can just get our mates?" He began to say and then smacked his hands on Sebastian's desk. "I'm actually meeting up with a few for drinks, I'll ask them for a quick favour," he said.

"Would they agree?" Sebastian asked.

Blake looked at Sebastian and noticed the concerned look on his face. He could tell that Sebastian was worried about the plan, especially the way his fists were currently clenched on top of the desk.

"It'll be a harmless prank, Seb. They won't touch a strand of hair on her head," Blake assured him.

He knew the guys from university, and they weren't even that scary. Blake wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even intimidate Mia. She'd probably scare them if anything.

"Good," Sebastian nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. His expression quickly changed when he noticed Blake's grinning face. "I-I mean, okay, if you say so. Not like I care or anything," he tried to say nonchalantly.

Blake snorted. "You're a shitty actor. You definitely care."

"I don't," Sebastian denied.

"You do," Blake argued, not believing him.

"I don't," Sebastian gritted out again, getting annoyed.

"You don't," Blake then grinned, this back and forth amusing him.

"I do," Sebastian then stated a little louder.

When Blake leaned back in his seat again, Sebastian realised he messed up.

"Fuck you. I just-...she already kind of got hurt because of me, I don't want that to happen again," he muttered.

Sebastian remembered the incident from before when he gave Mia the task of clearing all the papers, and she ended up tripping on some and twisted an ankle.

"What happened?" Blake asked him.

"I made her clear a room full of papers and she tripped on a stack of them," Sebastian told him, internally wincing slightly, remembering Mia's limp.

Blake saw the expression on Sebastian's face and could tell he probably felt guilty.

"Well, it's not like you pushed her," Blake told Sebastian, trying to make him feel better. "Besides, these guys won't actually do anything to her," he added on.

Sebastian nodded to Blake's words, ready to go along with the plan, and hoping this would be the last thing he had to do, to get Mia out if his life.

***

Mia was beginning to get bored of waiting for Sebastian. She scrolled through her Instagram as much as she could, but realising she was running out of charge, she put her phone away.

She had already called Chloe and Nicole, to let them know she was working late and that was with Sebastian. After some teasing, they just said to take care and left it at that.

Finally, Mia settled on reading a book that she always kept in her bag, when she heard some voices which caused her to glance up.

"Look who we have here," a man said.

Mia caught a glimpse of the man, as she tried to not directly stare at him. She immediately noticed how dodgy he looked and slightly intoxicated as well.

The worst part was that he wasn't alone and the situation screamed danger.

She tried her best to stay calm and clenched her book tightly, as she attempted to ignore their presence.

Mia could then sense that the men were coming closer towards the car.

"Pretty little bird, all alone in a cage," she heard one of them speak in a mocking tone, and Mia's breath was quickened.

"We should help her out then," another voice spoke and at that, Mia couldn't help but snap her head up at them.

Her actions caused the men to laugh. "Definitely a looker, ain't she, boys?" One of them said, edging up right next to the passenger door.

Mia felt fear creeping up within her, with goosebumps appearing on her arms.

If it were just one intoxicated guy, she could potentially get out of the situation quite easily. However, she knew that she would no match for four of them, and definitely not on her own.

Before Mia could comprehend how to handle the situation, she heard the door being unlocked.

'Oh, for fuck sake,' she cursed in her mind.

"Door's not even locked," one of them said.

Before he could completely open the door, Mia pulled at the handle. She tried her hardest to keep it closed and simultaneously struggled to lock the door.

"Sebastian!" Mia shouted.

She hoped that he wasn't too far away for him to hear her.

The 'damsel in distress' act, really wasn't one that Mia particularly liked, however, she also wasn't stupid enough to think that she could take on four men, even if they were drunk.

"No, doll. My name's Kevin," the man said, as he pulled at the door.

After a struggle, the man yanked Mia's door open with a lot of force, which caused her to fall out of the car and onto the ground. At once, she got herself up from the ground, only to be pushed back onto the side of the car, as one of the men pressed up against her.

"Get off me," Mia shouted as she struggled in his hold.

"Not until I'm finished," he said and the other three men laughed at his statement.

Mia felt his grip loosen a bit whilst he was laughing and so she took this opportunity and rammed her knee in-between his legs.

"Fuck you," she spat out and shoved him away.

She then sprinted as fast as she could go in the direction she saw Sebastian walk-off in.

"Bitch. Get back here," she heard one of the men shout after her and the sound of heavy footsteps followed.

However, Mia didn't slow down, nor look back. If anything, it made her run faster.

Her heels echoed against the ground, as she neared the unfinished building and ran up the stairs until she reached the top floor, and finally saw a sight for sore eyes.

Sebastian faintly heard shouting, but assumed this was probably just the university friends that Blake had asked to intimidate Mia. He assumed they were probably raising their voices to scare her little.

He stood there, reading through the folder he had brought with him. At least some work could be done while he waited.

Just as he was halfway through reading, Sebastian heard the sound of heels against concrete and assumed this was Mia running towards him to 'save' her.

However, when he turned around, the smirk on his face instantly faltered, and instead, a look of pure concern washed over him.

"Mia?" Her name slipped out from him, without him even realising and he dropped the folder in his hand.

He watched as she ran towards him in a disheveled state and confusion was all that he felt. They weren't supposed to touch her.

Without a second thought, Mia practically launched herself towards Sebastian, her arms going around his waist as she held onto him tightly. Securely.

She didn't care that she wasn't meant to be this close to him or that she didn't like him and he didn't like her, but right now she needed someone familiar to hold onto.

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Mia instinctively, holding onto her firmly, as he felt her bury her face into his chest. Fear took hold of him as he saw her like this. This wasn't right.

Before he could even ask what happened, four men now appeared in front of him.

Sebastian looked at the men, in their drunken state, messy clothes, and menacing stare.

He quickly understood that this was all wrong. These men could not have been the guys from their university, that Blake had called. Or at least he hoped Blake wasn't stupid enough to hire these men.

"This must be her fella, boys," one of the men noted, nodding his head towards Sebastian and the other men with him, just smirked in their direction.

Mia clutched onto Sebastian tighter and he mimicked the action, as he held her closer to him.

"Look, we don't want any trouble," Sebastian tried to reason.

"Too late, suit," Kevin said with a sickening smile.

"Do you want cash?" Sebastian asked.

If this was just for money, then he'd empty his wallet and hand over his bank card right now. He'd be damned if he let them hurt her over some like that.

The men laughed at him. "We'll take your money and we'll take her," one of them gestured towards Mia's direction.

As soon as she heard those words, Mia felt frightened and tightened her grip onto Sebastian.

He held her closer, before loosening his arms. Just as Mia panicked and wondered what he was doing, afraid that his hate ran so deep that he wouldn't help her, Sebastian stood in front of her and placed her behind him.

She realised that he was protecting her. Like a shield.

The way the men looked at Mia bothered Sebastian. Their eyes roaming over her, as if she were nothing but a shiny toy. He didn't even have to think about it, as his body acted on its own accord, and stood in front of her.

"Leave her out of this," he gritted out, as he saw their lust-filled eyes.

"Not a chance," one man said, as he shook his head, before all four men advanced towards the pair.

Sebastian kept Mia behind him, as he tried to take on all four men at once, before they could even get to her.

Mia was in no mood to play hero either and remained behind Sebastian, only fighting off the small touches she received from the men, before Sebastian would shove them away.

Despite him trying his hardest to hold them off, the four men managed to overpower Sebastian, as they gripped his arm and roughly shoved him down to the ground.

As soon as she saw this, Mia's eyes widened. One of the men came towards her and instantly her arm shot out and she punched the man in the gut.

However, her fight proved to be futile, as two of the men held Mia in a firm grip and the other two held down Sebastian, who was kneeling on the ground beaten and bruised.

"No, no, no." Mia struggled and thrashed around. "Get the hell off me. Let me go!"

Her eyes then landed towards the man, who had fought so hard to protect her, and now as currently being beaten on the ground.

"Sebastian!" She yelled his name out and made every effort to get away from the two men holding her in an iron grip.

"Think you can fight us, suit?" One of the men mocked, before he swung his foot into Sebastian's torso earning a groan from him.

"Don't touch him," Mia screamed at the men. "Sebastian!" She yelled his name out again.

She felt so scared and all she wanted was to go home, back to her bed. She wanted Sebastian to be okay. Hell, she wanted to hug him, thinking at least that would make her feel some kind of safe. Better than what she was feeling right now.

As he heard her voice, Sebastian glanced up with his swollen eye. He saw her continuing to struggle in their grasp, part of her blouse torn at the shoulder.

"Mia," he said, but it came out as an almost whisper.

"Please let him go," Mia begged, tears streamed down her face as she looked at Sebastian.

His lip was now busted, with a trail of blood escaping from it and there was already a bad bruise formed on his jaw. She could see his left eyes was swollen, the surrounding areas looked red too. There were just dark-red stains of blood on his nose and brow too. It was a far cry from the usual Sebastian she knew.

Somehow, seeing her tears, it brought Sebastian more pain than the beatings he'd just received.

"Let her go," he said.

Mia couldn't watch anymore and then stomped her heel as hard as she could, onto the foot of one of the men holding her, who let her go immediately and held his foot instead.

"Ah, you bitch," he shouted.

Before Mia could attack the other guy, he grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking it back.

She cried out from the pain. It felt as if her hair was being ripped out of her scalp.

Sebastian felt a sense of protectiveness surge through him as he saw the man yank Mia's hair back and watched her wince in pain.