"Young beauty, the very sight of you beneath this tree is a dramatic picture I would never have seen had it not been for my good purpose." The voice growled.

Lucy whimpered. In her pain, there was little she could do or say and so remained silent other than to cry out in pain.

"I did not wish to make you cry. But your tears are so beautiful. They make your face glow, even in this darkness. You make nature come alive." The voice went on.

Lucy felt it necessary to speak. If only a few words, they would be enough she hoped to make something happen, to change her desperate situation.

"Please…help me. I need help." She croaked.

From where she lay, Lucy saw only a dark figure glaring down at her. The mist surrounded the figure and she felt as though she were living some kind of horror film. This was all very dramatic and almost too outrageous to be believable. But the dampness of the air and her pain reminded her that this was in fact in reality.

"I will take you." The voice announced.

In that instance the figure scooped her up, like a rag doll, into his arms and carried her as he walked.

"Where are we going?" Lucy asked, as she watched the world pass in a blur.

"I shall keep you safe. You will be safe with me." The man responded.

Lucy met a darkness and for a time knew nothing. When she awoke she found herself covered in silk, red silk. It lay draped over her naked body. It was smooth and cool on her flesh. Then the though hit her…how had she got here? And who had removed her clothes? A cold tingle crept down her spine as she recalled the earlier incident at the park. That man. Her heart raced and her head went fuzzy. She began to panic.

She sat up immediately, clutching the sheets around her. She looked about the room. It was very archaic in appearance. Before her was a dramatic-looking fireplace. The fire looked as if it had been stoked recently because the flames were wild and huge.

The room itself seemed to be in an almost Victorian style and the sealing above was painted beautifully with images of angels. For a time, Lucy sat amazed by her surroundings, until she remembered the danger she was in. Her heart began to race once again when suddenly, as if by magic, an attractive man stood before her. He was tall, with medium length golden hair and shocking blue eyes that seemed to paralyse her.

"You are awake." He announced.

Well done clever clogs. Lucy thought. "Yeah" She responded out loud.

"You are most interesting." He said with an evil grin.

The beautiful stranger put his hands together, as if in prayer, and held his slender fingers to his lips. He stared at Lucy with an eyebrow lifted and growled.

Lucy lay in wonder. How could such evil deceive her eyes so well? He looked very much like the angels on the ceiling as he stood assessing her. He appeared to be middle aged but had a hint of youth about him. Thick stubble lined his jaw but his delicate beauty was like that found in boyhood. He was a mystery. He wore a loose white shirt and black jeans.

"Please…who are you?" Lucy pleaded desperately.

"I am the evil you seek to make your life angelic."

"What a contradiction." She laughed, as if in normal conversation.

The stranger rested his hands at his side. He continued to stare at Lucy. His expression was intense and he did not smile.

"I am indeed the very definition of that word." He said.

Lucy's panic returned. Her throat was dry as she croaked: "Let me go."

"You are afraid. I saved you. You ought to show your gratitude by feeling safe here."

"Please."

"Feel safe." He demanded.

"I can't."

The stranger approached Lucy, moving around to the left side of the bed. Lucy shifted over to the right away from him. He climbed slowly onto the bed, staring at her intensely the whole time. He crawled like a lion might when hunting its prey. Lucy let out a cry.

"I will comfort you."

"No!"

"I WILL."

"No, please."

When the stranger reached Lucy he held her down by her wrists and put his face close to hers so that their lips were close to touching. She felt his cool breath on her face and this caused her to shiver as she lay vulnerable and repulsed.

"Dearest, sweet one." He whispered.

"Leave me alone." She said.

"Tell me this is not what you want." He demanded.

Lucy looked him dead in the eye.

"I don't."

In that moment, the stranger climbed off the bed and with his back facing Lucy, began to re-arrange his clothes. Lucy watched him. It was then that it hit her who this man was. He was no stranger. He was Bradley Hughston. He was the actor she had admired since she was a teenager. The man she had told her friends she wanted to marry, and all those silly dreams everyone has about celebrities. Well, dreams do come true it seems. But in very odd ways.

"Bradley." She said without thought.

He turned abruptly.

"Yes." He responded.

"You are Bradley. You are an actor."

"Yes. You knew that."

"No. I had no idea."

"You're a sick journalist! You were going to write lies about me! I did some background information on you. It seems you were obsessed with me at one point."

Lucy blushed slightly as the stupidity of her teen fantasy hit her. Then she realised that her friend, who was also a Journalist, Alison, was about to write a story on him.

"Alison was about to write something on you. But not me. I told her it wasn't safe and that you weren't the type of guy to do those things but she ignored me. The story was too good."

"Wait. You aren't the Journalist that was going to write shit about me?"

"No."

"Damn, Steven he was meant to get the right girl for me." Bradley muttered to himself.

"You mean, you planned all this as revenge on a Journalist?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well it's a bit extreme isn't it?"

"Well if they are going to accuse me of sexually offending, I may as well act on it."

"Still. Innocent until proven guilty and all."

"They would never have believed me after such a story got out. You journalists cause a lot of havoc on people's lives."

Lucy watched as Bradley grew aggressive. His present expression was that of fear and she for a moment, almost felt sympathy for him. He was so vulnerable and distressed about the issue. For a moment she wanted to comfort him but the thought soon faded. They locked eyes for a few moments.

"That's just a stereotype. I promise we aren't all like it."

"Yeah, well…" Bradley broke eye contact. "Shit's hit the fan now. They'll find out what a mix up I have made, the story will be published and my whole life is destroyed."

Lucy considered a moment. "Not necessarily. I won't tell anyone about this if it helps and I can always try and speak to Alison about the story."

Bradley sighed. "Shit, well thanks. Listen I'll have a nice car take you back to wherever you live and then try and sort this out." He said calmly. He then began to pace the room furiously.

"What am I going to do? That story is still going to be published…I tell you what, you can hand me that bitch's number for a start!"