AMANI“…girlfriend, what in the name of Harry Potter and the seven blind mice is that?”Fifteen seconds later and Zuri and I are still frozen to the spot, completely starstruck as we stare at the darkness before us.Zuri takes a step backwards, her brows furrowing with disbelief.“If you’re thinking of going down there, count me out. I’m adventurous but not adventurous enough to explore that tunnel of death.”My heart falls and I grab onto her tighter;“Oh, come on, Zuri, please come with me. I’ll never be able to do this without you.”She shakes her head, sending her thick blue curls flying all over the place;“Nuh-uh. Absolutely not.”My brain spins in search of ways to get her to change her mind. I finally settle on emotional manipulation.I heave a deep, melancholic sigh; “I’m sure Mario’s in there, probably bleeding to death and suffering from his injuries. We’re the ones who got him into this situation. It’s sad that we finally have an opportunity to save him but you don’t wann
AMANI“…him. The other captive…”At this point, I’m pretty sure I’m on the verge of losing my goddamn mind. Fear spikes through my heart as my eyes slowly dart to the thick darkness behind us. Zuri heaves a sigh and pats Mario’s back;“Are you hallucinating, big guy? Are you sure there’s really someone back there?” She asks wryly.Mario nods confidently. “Yes. You can come out, Nathan.”My heart thuds wildly as we wait for some stranger to appear from the shadows. Five seconds later, I’m about to conclude that Mario must’ve suffered some kind of head trauma when an eerie clinking sound suddenly pierces the air.I freeze, my mouth hanging open in part horror, part shock.“Wh-what was that?” I stutter, my fingers tightening around Mario’s arm. “Zuri, what was that…?”It sounds like chains crashing against the concrete floor. The first clink is followed by another, then another. The sound comes closer and closer until I’m almost quaking in my shoes.Finally, a figure materializes out of
AMANIIt’s crazy how life can change in the blink of an eye. Three weeks ago, I was married, albeit to a bastard, my son was not in the risk of dying and there was a semblance of normalcy in my life.Today, just three weeks later, I’m at the receiving end of the barrels of ten pistols, and I might as well be taking my last breath. Even when I’m shaking like a leaf, my eyes are firmly fixed on Bhyron’s, daring him to carry out his plan. Daring him to order his men to shoot me. Even when thunderclouds of anger swirl in his stormy eyes and his perfect, model-like jaw is set stubbornly in rage, there’s no denying Bhyron Macaulay’s breathtaking beauty. His hair is not tied back as usual. The shiny chestnut curls fall over his forehead and down to his shoulders in enviable waves, framing his face in a manner that’s simply and effortlessly perfect.Bhyron Macaulay is a gorgeous man. Full stop.While I’m still struggling to gather my confidence, Zuri suddenly appears in front of me, spread
AMAYAOne night, when I was six years old, my parents and I were playing in the snow. I don’t know what happened or how it happened, but my parents got a business call, left me outside and completely forgot about me for three hours.I almost died in the snow. I was cold to my small, brittle bones. I screamed and cried for help, but no one heard me in the blizzard until I passed out.As I stare at Bhyron’s still bleeding wound, I realize that the last time I feel such bone chilling cold was that horrible night. I’m frozen to the spot, my eyes eyes darting from the gun in my hand to the wounded man in front of me.It all happens in a blur. One moment, I’m trying to gather my scattered thoughts and the next, strong arms envelope my shoulders from behind and I’m slammed against a hard, heaving chest.Shocked, I try to speak but a cold, hard object is pressed against my temple. A man’s hot breath wafts across my ear and my shock intensifies at the voice that filters into my eardrums;“Sinc
AMANIIt’s safe to say I now understand why Miley Cyrus screamed at the top of her lungs when she sang “I came in like a wrecking ball!!!”Despite my fear and utter confusion, it still registers in my brain that there’s really no difference between Duke in motion and a flying wrecking ball as he waves both his guns in the air like a damn trophy.Bang!! Bang!!Within seconds, a single bullet whizzes past my head and Mario’s tight grip around my shoulders loosen immediately. His yelp of pain is almost eerie. I turn just in time to watch him crumple to the ground in a messy, bloody heap.The bullet pierced perfectly through his forehead. My throat tightens with dismay as I watch thick, coagulated blood spurt from the finger sized hole.I don’t know if I should be dismayed at the fact that Duke handles guns like an experienced gang leader and he seems to be interested in my best friend.It is scientifically proven that I might be crazy sometimes, but not crazy enough to wish a relationshi
AMANIIf anyone had told me that Mr. Ayutthaya would one day slap his own grandson because he hurt me, I would’ve laughed in their face. For a moment, the room is as quiet as a graveyard. Everyone is too stunned to speak. I’m pretty sure Bhyron’s bodyguards have gone into epileptic shock. “Let this be the first and last time you ever lay your hands on Amani violently. Do you understand?” Grandpa growls. “And another thing. The wedding is off. There will be no wedding until Amani decides on her own that she wants to marry you, or you tender a heartfelt apology to her.”My heart freezes in my chest. Are my ears suddenly malfunctioning or did grandpa just call off our wedding?This night has been nothing short of one crazy disaster after the other. I can feel Bhyron’s eyes on me. I can tell that he’s murderous after the cancellation of our wedding, but I keep my eyes firmly lowered to the ground, choosing to avoid his gaze while struggling to process everything that’s happened.I thi
AMANI“Amani, come quickly. Bhyron has refused to let a doctor check on his wound. He said he’d only listen to you. Please, come out! His condition is critical and he won’t let anyone into his room…!”I hate Bhyron Macaulay. I swear I do. But the second those words fall from Duke’s lips, I open my door faster than Flash himself. I should be ashamed of my weak self-will but there’s no time.Panic engulfs my thudding heart as I step into the hallway. Duke is still dressed in his rumpled three piece suit, but his entire expression is twisted with worry. I look down, noticing a bunch of keys in his grip.“Duke? What happened? Where’s Zuri?”“Zuri is absolutely fine. She’s asleep in my room. But Bhyron is an entirely different case. He was responding to us until ten minutes ago. I don’t want to be negative, but I really think he’s not okay. He was bleeding profusely. If he continues like this, he’ll die.”He’ll die. Those words should bring me immense satisfaction. Instead, a strange, pa
AMANIDuke appears beside me in a flash, stretching his hand towards Bhyron, his face twisted with worry;“Bhyron, let’s get you to a hospital. You need to treat your injury. If it gets infected…”Bhyron staggers backwards, his face firmly lowered to the ground. My heart tightens painfully. At that moment, he looks nothing like New York’s most eligible bachelor or the dark, gorgeous anime character that I’ve come to know. He looks nothing like the confident, fearless Bhyron Macaulay. Instead, he looks small… defeated.He finally lifts his eyes to mine and the wounded expression in his eyes ignites the guilt already festering in my chest. He stretches his injured hand to me and my gaze falls on his blood soaked shirt. His suit is nowhere to be seen. His once sparkling white shirt is ruined with bloody, crimson spots. Finally, I make up my mind. I turn to Duke and say as bravely as I can; “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of him.”I hear Bhyron’s hiss of relief and it only adds to the bu
AMANII hear someone scream in the distance, a high pitched, bloodcurdling scream that has my toes curling with horror. It takes me three seconds to realize that the scream comes from me.“B-Bhyron…” I stutter, trying to draw his attention to the dead woman. “Bhyron, look…” My eyes are frozen on her beautiful, lifeless face. I cannot even bring myself to cry. “Are you okay…?” Bhyron turns around. The moment he stiffens above me, I know he’s seen her. The violent switch in his expression from worried to fearful is absolutely traumatizing to watch.“Grandma? Grandma!!”Bullets are still flying but he tries to crawl off me towards grandma Alice. Without thinking, I wrap my arms around him and hold him tight. “Let go! I need to check on grandma. Let go of me!” The pure, raw pain in his voice breaks the dam that holds my tears and they come flooding down my cheeks in torrents. I shake my head and hold on tighter, even when my arms and legs start to hurt from his violent struggling.“N
“Have you perhaps forgotten the terms of our deal?” I ask through gritted teeth exactly ten minutes later as Bhyron expertly spins me on the dance floor.He looks down at me, his eyes gleaming with disinterest as he asks; “what deal?”I’m a second away from bashing his head in, God help me.“This marriage is only supposed to last two years. It’s in the contract. You can’t go around saying stuff you don’t mean to grandma. It’ll be even harder for us to separate if you get her hopes up like this. The song suddenly changes and Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” slowly filters through the speakers, making the entire atmosphere appear even more romantic.My heart tightens as Bhyron presses me harder against his chest, giving me the full impact of those bright blue orbs. He leans closer and I stiffen in awareness as his hot lips brush my ears. When he speaks, his warm breath flows down my neck and I tremble in his grasp.“You should know by now, Little Caramel, that I’m a man of my word.” His voice is
AMAYAEvery bride is always excited to see her groom on their wedding day. But the only emotion that flows through my veins right now is nervousness.Instead of staring at my groom with love in my eyes, I keep my gaze firmly trained on the guests as I walk down the semi-long aisle with grandpa by my side.While some of the men look back at me with genuine happiness and awe, I can’t say the same about the ladies. Most of them are young, about my age. The only people I recognize in the sea of faces are Sharon, her sister and Brielle. The rest are strangers. The ladies do not bother hiding their smirks and tiny frowns of jealousy and displeasure as I walk past. They’re all upset that New York City’s most gorgeous bachelor is going off the market… and I’m the reason for that.If only they knew the battle of confusion that currently brews in my heart. I would gladly exchange myself with any of these women in a heartbeat.“Remember, Amani,” grandpa whispers gruffly, snapping me to the pres
BHYRONAmani left with grandpa a few minutes ago but I’m still seated behind my desk, staring at the CCTV footage on my computer and watching the bags I bought go up in smoke.My intention was to apologize to her. I guess that failed, woefully.I don’t give a shit about the amount of money I spent. I can make that back in seconds. What matters is the look of pure hatred I saw in Amani’s eyes. That will haunt me forever.I bury my face in my palms and take a deep breath. Amani looked angry. Enraged. How she knew I was watching her through the CCTV, I’d never know. But for a moment, it felt like she was looking straight into my eyes, like she knew I was there. I get to my feet and pace the room. My wedding is set to happen in the next thirty minutes. I’m already dressed up and waiting to be notified to come downstairs for the ceremony. My long term goal of marrying the one woman who has the power to set me ablaze with just one look is finally about to be fulfilled, but I’m restless.Dr
AMANIJay flinches at my harsh tone but stands his ground. “Miss Amani, I assure you that the boss does not consider you a whore. These are just wedding presents and he’d be pleased if you accept them.”I tilt my head to the side, struggling to rein in my temper. That’s the thing — I never, ever want to partake in any activity that pleases Bhyron Macaulay. I still regret my little mistake from a few hours ago.I wanted to please him and it backfired right in my face.I look up and my eyes coincidentally lands on the CCTV camera positioned high up on the west wall. My fingers twitch with annoyance as a devious thought suddenly crawls into my mind.“Your boss is watching us right now, isn’t he?” I ask Jay, not bothering to take my eyes off the camera.Jay follows my line of vision and lets out a small curse when he realizes I’ve seen the camera. His tone suddenly changes, becoming defensive;“Miss Amani, I…”I shoot him a look filled with annoyance and he clamps his mouth shut.“There’
AMANITHREE HOURS LATER…My wedding is set to hold in the next two hours and I’m an emotional wreck.I stare at my swollen eyes in the mirror, willing my mind to forget everything that happened in that room three hours ago.“Girl, we don’t have time for this. The makeup artist has been waiting for you for almost two hours. You haven’t even tried out your wedding dress. I’m not sure you’ve even taken a bath!” Zuri half-yells, pacing the room nervously.“At this pace, we’ll never be ready on time. Not that I want you to marry that sonofabitch, but grandpa will be upset…”I keep staring at the mirror, trying to figure out the hollow-eyed woman who stares back at me.Anger, bitterness and shame swirls in my guts when I remember the smugness in Bhyron’s eyes after he successfully fooled me. The bastard tricked me. Once again, he proved that I can never trust him.“…and you won't even tell me what happened! Where were you this morning? What happened to you?” Zuri babbles non stop, pacing r
BHYRONI don’t know how much longer I can keep this up and I think it’s high time I told myself the truth.Hurting Amani’s feelings is not as satisfying as I thought it would be. Taking my revenge does not fill my heart with joy like I thought it would.The hurt and confusion in her eyes breaks me every single time. This was supposed to be easy, goddamnit! I was never supposed to feel anything for her. My job would’ve been goddamn easier if those bright, chocolate eyes didn’t appeal to my dark soul every single time.My goal was to take revenge for all the pain that Amani and her family caused me, but I barely stopped myself from pulling her into my arms just five seconds ago. All I wanted to do was clean her up, hold her and make sure she got a few hours of sleep before the wedding. And that was not the bloody plan!I slam the door behind me and lean against it, trying to calm my pounding heart.Anger, raw and venomous stirs in my veins. I’m angry at myself for hurting her and furiou
AMANI“…suck my dick, Amani. If you’re able to make me cum, I’ll let you wear the dress.” Shock, mixed with violent arousal explodes in my belly, leaving me weak and temporarily unable to think properly.My arms around Bhyron’s neck slips but he catches me at the last minute, cupping my lower back and pulling me against his chest in a half-embrace. I’m completely enveloped in his intoxicating heat and my heart is a large, melted puddle of goo. If not for his support, I’d have fallen flat on my face a long time ago.I should slap his face and stomp out of the room, but my brain is already conjuring images of his thick, swollen cock deep inside the walls of my throat. I gulp helplessly.It’s settled. I’m fucked.“What’s it going to be, little caramel?” He whispers huskily, trailing his fingers across my heated cheeks. “Will you suck my cock or do you want to live without my forgiveness? I can already feel your wetness on my thigh. If I touch you down there, my fingers will come back d
AMANI“You can forget about the dress. It’s not for you. You don’t have to wear it…”I never wanted to wear Bhyron’s dress. I never wanted a dress that was made specially for some strange woman whom he’s obsessed with. But those harsh words coupled with his cold expression hits me like a goddamn punch in the gut.He’s clearly saying I’m not worthy enough to wear the same dress as the woman of his dreams. Jealousy burns like a fever in my throat. I’ve never wanted to beat up an imaginary woman so badly in my entire life. I’m almost ashamed of myself. Almost.I stiffen against him, holding his gaze while trying not to burst into stupid tears. I wouldn’t even know why I’m crying in the first place. So what if Bhyron is in love with some unnamed dancing bride? I don’t like him. I shouldn’t be bothered.The logical thing to do would be to step away from him and lick my wounds while I still can, but the last time Amani was logical, George Washington was still president.Instead of counting