AMELIA’S POVI slept like a baby and well into the morning the next day. I’d had help taking off my dress and make-up thanks to Millicent after the dinner. Then I took a bath, crawled straight into bed, and slept for over ten hours. I glanced at the window of my rather large bedroom and realized that the sun was rather high up in the sky, signifying that it was almost midday. I got up from the bed in a hurry. I’d arranged with Max’s cousin and my newfound friend, Elizabeth, for a picnic that day. I stared at the clock properly and realized that my guess was correct. It was midday; 12:34pm. I raced to the bathroom, the time for the picnic had been set at 1pm.., and here I was; barely prepared. I took my bath in the rather large bathroom, and as I stood in the shower; I took a moment to ponder on my life. Only a couple of months ago; I was living in an apartment that, in its entirety, wasn't even as large as the room where I’d slept in. I was just a regular girl working to earn a livin
AMELIA’S POV“So, you’ve been here all along.” She said with so much venom in her voice. I tried my best to conceal the fear that was rising in my heart and also to maintain courtesy. I also didn’t want to create a scene, especially before Elizabeth. I smiled at Analita and said, “Hello Ana, it’s good to see you this afternoon. Yes, I was just having a picnic with Elizabeth.” Elizabeth tried to smile too, and it only made me realize that she understood that Analita was angry.“While you were here having a perfect little picnic, you had the entire household worried sick about you!”I stared in surprise, trying to understand her words. I got up to my feet slowly. “But I notified Millicent of where I was headed and told her to tell anyone who asks of my whereabouts where I was.”“Oh, sorry to break this news to you, but this Millicent you speak of didn’t. So, my brother and everyone were worried. Because of your foolishness, May was beginning to come under blame! Now, my brother is com
AMELIA’S POVI don’t know how long I ran, but when I finally stopped, I realized that I was lost. I was somewhere deep in the woods and up in the mountains. I tried to locate my way back, but I ended up getting more lost. I was also cold; very cold. The sun was also beginning to set and the rain wasn’t showing any signs of letting up anytime soon. I hugged myself and I battled a hiccup. I was cold, I was trembling, and I was terribly thirsty. I found myself out of tears too. It felt like I’d cried enough to last a lifetime. I found a path that seemed like it just might lead out of the woods. How I knew this, I didn’t know, but I just followed through, walking that path. I didn’t even know what to expect. Was I going to ever make it out of these woods alive? Would I ever see Max again? I didn’t even know what to think. I just kept walking. The path led to an even more elevated clearing and a cave. That’s when I realized that I’d been hiking on the gigantic Black Rock that Max had sho
MAX’S POV“Max, I’m here.” I spun on my heels at such speed that almost broke my neck. She stood before me, her bright green eyes brighter than ever, in a white dress with a white shawl around her. I stopped, trying to believe she was real and not just a fragment of my imagination. I was standing just at the bank of the River BlackRock, and she was standing on the bridge. It was the exact same spot she’d stood in when she said yes to being by my side forever. I closed the gap between us and enveloped her in a hug. She hugged me back fiercer than she’d ever done. She clutched me tighter, and when she finally let go, I saw tears in her eyes. Tears and something else that I couldn’t name. I brushed her tears with my thumb and said, “I love you, Amelia Rhodes.” There was nothing more that I could have said in that moment than that. It was the height of all my feelings and all my intentions. The past few hours without her, wondering where she’d gone and facing the fear of her being gon
AMELIA’S POVI was walking hand-in-hand with Elizabeth as she took me on a tour around what was called the Alpha’s village. It was the immediate houses around the Moon Castle. She'd explained that the Black Rock homelands were made of several settlements called villages. However, the Alpha’s castle was right at the center of these settlements; like the capital. The Alpha’s village was the interesting capital. She took me to the village’s mall, and I was in awe of the grandeur of what it was. We went window shopping, seeing dresses, jewelries and the sorts. A few people recognized me, and there was a bow here and there. Elizabeth reassured me that not a lot of people knew who I was, so I should enjoy this state of unknownness. She said, the buzz around town was that Alpha Max had returned with his future Luna, and a wedding was underway. Then she’d said we should eat at an upscale restaurant to discuss something important. Yes, Elizabeth had grown closer. It was almost impossible not
MAX’S POVI waited with eager anticipation outside the Moon Castle. Any moment from now, they’d be here. They were among the first set of guests who were scheduled to arrive for the wedding, which was in a few days. I hadn’t even told Amelia that they would be arriving. Yes, I was aiming for a surprise. Speaking of Amelia, she was settling in rather nicely. She’d won my mother’s heart after all, even though my Mum wasn’t one to show her emotions. Yet I was reassured that she and Amelia were on good terms. Amelia also knew this and played along. She’d gotten used to my Mum’s frosty ways and had even been able to get more genuine emotions out of her. It’s almost like Amelia’s confidence had soared since she went missing and reappeared. I’d asked her what happened during the time she went missing. She’d said it was a story she’d tell me some other time. I trusted her to oblige with her words. My beautiful Amelia. She and Analita had grown more cordial, although they generally stayed ou
AMELIA’S POVIt felt like a dream. It felt so surreal. Sitting across from me in Loretta’s Garden, sipping tea in the most elegant fashion was my mother. My birth mother. She painted the perfect picture of beauty, class and elegance. Then there was the realization that I was staring into a mirror. Yes, I had to admit that staring at my mum was like staring at a mirror. I’d never met anyone with eyes as green as mine or hair as red as mine, but here she was—an older version of me. Even the streaks of gray in her hair made her more beautiful. We’d both been whisked away from everyone after breakfast for some alone time. Crystalbelle had made sure to arrange it for us too. She’d set up such a delicious food platter and bid everyone to let us be. In her words, we needed mother-daughter catch-up time. “I never thought a day like this would come.” My mum said in her strong voice. Yes, her voice was a rich alto and it was soothing to the ear. I nodded and sipped my tea. “How is the baby?’
MAX’S POVAmelia’s Dad, Gabriel, had mentioned that he wanted to go on a hike with me up the one famous rock of Black Rock. That wasn’t entirely surprising to me. The rocks in my homeland were famous for that activity. I’d hiked up it myself more times than I could count but not once since I’d returned home with Amelia.I knew that he didn’t just want to hike with me for hiking sake but also to have a deep conversation with me about Amelia. It was expected and standard Bride’s Father procedure. It also gave me some joy that there was one more person who was on team Amelia. We set out just at the break of dawn and began the high descent up the rock. We exchanged small talk at first, but as the ascent got more tasking and the sun rose higher in the sky, we both fell silent, reserving our energy and solely focusing on the task at hand. That was one thing I especially liked about the activity—it tested your mental resilience. I made a mental note in my mind to come up here with Amelia on