Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

"This isn't something you need to know."

After that, Dean never brought it up again.

There were two empty rooms in the house. Dean turned one into a little herb pantry-the rainy season left him with time on his hands, and while Maja was healing, he cleaned up the space and built a simple bed himself, tossing the wood shavings straight into the fire.

Once the room was ready, he had Maja move in. He still slept outside.

Two weeks passed, and Maja's foot was almost as good as new.

She started talking about leaving again. Dean, realizing he couldn't change her mind, offered, "At least let me take you somewhere you can catch a ride."

He borrowed a car, and together they headed into town.

On the way, Dean remembered the time Maja had asked to borrow his phone. Wanting an excuse to keep a piece of her life with him, he asked, "Do you want to call home again?"

Of course, she did.

She nodded.

Dean was practically cheerful as he led her into a big supermarket that had international phone booths.

This time, Maja dialed her family's number. The sound of her little sister's voice on the other end was a comfort she didn't realize she'd missed.

But then came the words: "I'm pregnant."

She froze.

"It's Conner's."

Maja couldn't even process it.

While she stood there, stunned and motionless, her eyes flickered to the side- and caught sight of another Asian face, one that looked just as out of place as she felt.

Then she saw the man with the gun, pointed right at her.

In an instant, Maja spun away, hung up the phone, and her heart shot into her throat as she slipped out as fast as she could.

Dean noticed how quickly she

finished the call. He was about to step forward and ask where she was going-he even meant to give her what money he had left. He barely got the words out: "Maja, doyou need-"

"Shut up. Stay away from me."

She said it fast, yanked her jacket zipper up, and ducked her head, darting away.

Dean's senses went on high alert. He

noticed the strange movements of the people behind her. Without thinking, he turned, caught up to her, and threw his arm around her shoulder. In seconds, he steered her away from the crowd.

"Maja, I'm warning you. Stay away from me!" she snapped.

Dean didn't even flinch. "Enough. Just come with me."

When they got back to the car, Dean insisted, "My place might not be comfortable, but at least you'll sleep safe. When they're gone and it's safe, go wherever you want

stop you."

Maja scowled. "You're way too nosy."

won't

"I'm a doctor. I don't let my patients walk into danger. I don't care if you're good or

bad. I just know you're a life-mine to protect, for now."

He didn't buy a thing-just took Maja and left.noveldrama

Back at the house, Maja kept thinking about escaping. She even searched out mountain trails on her own, like the hills around her were some kind of prison. But Dean saw them as her protection.

Just as she found another route and was working up the nerve to run again, Dean's accident stopped her cold. She started to wonder-maybe she was really meant to stay hidden here.

That day, an old woman came by. The rain had been relentless, and her roof was leaking badly—she needed help.

Dean never turned anyone away. He left his meal half-eaten and went to help.

But he didn't come home on his own-he was carried back.

When Maja saw him, she demanded, "What happened?"

The old woman apologized over and over. "I'm so sorry, it's all my fault."

Dean waved her off. "It's nothing, just a fall.”

But the truth was, her house hadn't seen a repair in years. The beams were rotted through. Dean climbed up to patch the roof, it gave way beneath him, and he crashed to the floor-his leg broken.