CHAPTER 70NEOBeing amongst loved ones was just what I needed to get my mind off everything that happened with Crystal. The Knight family and our friends are phenomenal beings. Throughout the evening, they kept checking up on me without making it too obvious, though. Every time I caught Mrs. Knight watching me, she had a look of concern on her face, but she quickly changed to a smiling one as soon as she realized I was looking back at her. She is truly an earth angel. Ever since the first time Gabriel had introduced me to her, I was treated as her own son. Even though Gabriel and I had our fallout, I should have maintained contact with her. She had told me that she never believed that I was guilty of any of those things I was accused of but at the time I didn’t think of those who believed in me and whom would be hurt by me taking off. I was too busy drowning in self-pity. I am just glad to have sorted all our issues out now, and we can all move forward. But before I can completely do
CHAPTER 71BELLA It’s finally here! The day we had all been eagerly planning and waiting for! Last night, after Gabriel and I checked up on my baby girl and Jacob, we joined the rest of the family in the living room and chatted till late hours of the night.When we left the bakery, the plan was to have an early night so that we would be well rested for the next day, however when we got home, we were all so excited and anxious and could not sleep.We wished the hands of time could move faster. After turning off the alarm and fully awake, I could hear the shower running. Gabriel was up early.I wondered if he managed to even fall asleep. He was so nervous about today. Last night, he seemed so stressed out when we got into bed, and I got worried and asked him what was going on. He then asked me, "What if all we did at Safe Haven were just to our liking and will not be that of the children’s?" I reassured him that I was confident that they were going to love everything about the place and t
CHAPTER 72BELLA We all stopped what we were doing when we heard the excited voices of the children as they returned from the tour of the place, and turned our attention to them.The words, 'totally awesome', 'so cool', 'so pretty', and many more positive comments could be heard. That meant they really liked what they had seen, and that put smiles on our dials. They looked ecstatic, and I heard someone ask, “I saw all that, right? Please tell me it wasn’t a dream” and another voice answered, “You definitely saw it, Tina, we all did. Our rooms are super awesome! Did you see how much clothing and shoes there were in each of our cupboards? Even the door signs with our names on it are so cool. Like our sign is in the shape of a butterfly and says ‘Welcome to Kira’s and Tina’s room.’ We both love butterflies! I think that those aunts who asked us so many questions had something to do with it cos look around, all over are the stuff we and the others told them we liked” I know, I should not
PROLOGUE "STOP! STOP! PLEASE, I AM BEGGING YOU TO PLEASE STOP! I promise to try harder tomorrow and bring you more money." Bella, with tears gushing down her now badly bruised face, barely balancing on her knees, and her palms put together, pleaded with Mason. He stood tall before her with a fistful of her hair. He had beaten her, flung her around the little room like a ball, and kept yelling aloud how ugly she was and how she had no talent in pleasuring a man. Bellatrix Willow turned 18 a few months back and lived with her mum, Tara, her 10-year-old brother Jacob, and Mason Daniels, who was also a part of her dysfunctional family. He is her mum's boyfriend of 9 years. After Bella's dad was killed by a local gang, he owed money to, her mum, falling for the devil's charm, and chose comfort in the arms of Mason who was extremely popular with all the old and new drug addicts in town. As he would like to call himself, "THE BEST DEALER IN TOWN!" It was only in the first few months of thei
CHAPTER 2BELLA "Fifteen minutes to the Stop in Honeyville, folks," said the loud voice that woke me up. Jacob was still asleep,his head snuggled on my lap."I promise to make things so much better for you,Jakey. I will not let anyone ever hurt us again." I whispered to him while running my fingers through his hair. As we got off the bus, my jaw hung in awe.The only words that came to mind were WOW! WOW! WOW! I looked over to Jacob,and his once scared looking eyes were gleaming with excitement. I smile down at him and go in for a hug."Welcome to our new home town Jakey" I tell him. This town is truly beautiful. It oozes a positive and happy vibe I never thought I would bear witness to. Every side you turn your face happy looking people smiling at each other and every area we have seen in the short while looks,smells and even feels clean and beautiful. "Good morning ma'am, I am sorry to bother you but could you please assist in pointing me in the direction of a B & B or a place we coul
CHAPTER 3 ARIANNA I have grown to love spending my school breaks in Honeyville, especially now that my best friend is there. When I first met Bella at the bus station two years ago, I was filled with a mix of emotions, seeing her face and neck covered in bruises. I could only imagine how much more she had on the rest of her body. I was burning with rage! I wished that I had the person who hurt Bella in front of me so that I could put a bullet through his head! Whoever did that to her could not be referred to as a human being. Both my dad and brother would never lift a finger to harm a woman. My mum and I are treated and recognized by them both as the Queen and Princess in our home. Living in a very competitive business world in the city, my dad and brother have ensured mum and I attend self-defense classes as well as being well trained in handling a gun. The days and weeks that followed during my summer holidays in Honeyville, I found Bella to be one of the most unique and amazing p
CHAPTER 4BELLA Amber and Brie have been trying so hard to get me to socialize more and also to start dating. I have made a few friends, but I just wasn't ready for the dating part. There are a few young men who regularly attempt to get my attention, but I just ignore it. The thing is, I put on a brave and happy face for the public, but on the inside, I am still fighting hard against my demons. I am too scared to allow myself to trust any guy. When I am alone, memories of my past life flood my thoughts, and I cry buckets of loads of tears. But then, I remind myself of all the things that I am now thankful for and forcefully pull myself together. Amber's niece Pearl had set me up on a date with Cameron Jones, her boyfriend's best friend. Pearl and I have become good friends. She works part-time at the B & B. I agreed to the date even though I didn't want to go, just to get Amber, Brie, and Pearl to stop nagging me. Cameron is from one of the richest families in town and looks like a S
CHAPTER 5BELLA Finally, Arianna is coming back today with her brother, and Amber insisted they stay at the B & B. She got the best rooms prepared for them. I'm not sure if it will meet her brother's standards though, with him being a fancy businessman and probably used to luxurious, VIP accommodation when on business trips. Oh well, I will see when he gets here. Jacob is just as excited to see Arianna again and driving me insane asking over and over again how much longer till she gets here. "BESTIE!!! I AM BACKKKKK!!!" Arianna screams as she runs into my arms and hugs me tightly. "Ari, I missed you so much, Welcome back," I tell her. After a bit, she let's go of me and turns to Jacob, who is looking all shy now, and his face color changed to a bright red. My little brother clearly has a crush on my bestie. She hugs him tightly and gives him kisses on his cheeks, turning his already red face to an even brighter shade. It's soooooo cute! After exchanging greetings with Amber and Pearl
CHAPTER 72BELLA We all stopped what we were doing when we heard the excited voices of the children as they returned from the tour of the place, and turned our attention to them.The words, 'totally awesome', 'so cool', 'so pretty', and many more positive comments could be heard. That meant they really liked what they had seen, and that put smiles on our dials. They looked ecstatic, and I heard someone ask, “I saw all that, right? Please tell me it wasn’t a dream” and another voice answered, “You definitely saw it, Tina, we all did. Our rooms are super awesome! Did you see how much clothing and shoes there were in each of our cupboards? Even the door signs with our names on it are so cool. Like our sign is in the shape of a butterfly and says ‘Welcome to Kira’s and Tina’s room.’ We both love butterflies! I think that those aunts who asked us so many questions had something to do with it cos look around, all over are the stuff we and the others told them we liked” I know, I should not
CHAPTER 71BELLA It’s finally here! The day we had all been eagerly planning and waiting for! Last night, after Gabriel and I checked up on my baby girl and Jacob, we joined the rest of the family in the living room and chatted till late hours of the night.When we left the bakery, the plan was to have an early night so that we would be well rested for the next day, however when we got home, we were all so excited and anxious and could not sleep.We wished the hands of time could move faster. After turning off the alarm and fully awake, I could hear the shower running. Gabriel was up early.I wondered if he managed to even fall asleep. He was so nervous about today. Last night, he seemed so stressed out when we got into bed, and I got worried and asked him what was going on. He then asked me, "What if all we did at Safe Haven were just to our liking and will not be that of the children’s?" I reassured him that I was confident that they were going to love everything about the place and t
CHAPTER 70NEOBeing amongst loved ones was just what I needed to get my mind off everything that happened with Crystal. The Knight family and our friends are phenomenal beings. Throughout the evening, they kept checking up on me without making it too obvious, though. Every time I caught Mrs. Knight watching me, she had a look of concern on her face, but she quickly changed to a smiling one as soon as she realized I was looking back at her. She is truly an earth angel. Ever since the first time Gabriel had introduced me to her, I was treated as her own son. Even though Gabriel and I had our fallout, I should have maintained contact with her. She had told me that she never believed that I was guilty of any of those things I was accused of but at the time I didn’t think of those who believed in me and whom would be hurt by me taking off. I was too busy drowning in self-pity. I am just glad to have sorted all our issues out now, and we can all move forward. But before I can completely do
CHAPTER 69BELLA We all were even happier after hearing Alex and Arianna’s good news. I silently wished that joyous moments like those could last forever. Aside from the recent drama with Crystal, it's been so amazing having everyone together. If only Aunt Brie, Amber, and Pearl wouldn’t have to leave, but they had their commitments in Honeyville. During their time here, they have helped to bring us all so much closer together and have helped me a lot after being discharged from the hospital. I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Erica ask who would like to help her out at the bakery to prepare treats for the Welcome Party. Everyone volunteered, Yes, even the guys! They said that they would help with the packaging and other odd jobs we may need them for. Gabriel and I told them that we would go check up on my baby girl and Jacob first and then meet them at the bakery. Thereafter, everyone decided to go home and freshen up and dress more comfortably and return to the bakery at a s
CHAPTER 68ARIANNA My blabber mouth just had to let the cat out of the bag! That’s so not how I wanted everyone to find out about my relationship with Alex, but at least we got positive reactions. Gabriel totally freaked me out at first, though. My brother had always been on my case to stop messing around and commit to a stable relationship. But I was worried about how he would react when he found out that it was Alex I had decided to commit to. I shamelessly flirted with Alex every chance I got for years. He entertained it and flirted right back. We were very similar in not wanting to commit to any relationship at the time. But as time went by, I guess we both realized that there was more to the playful flirting, but we had too much pride to confess it to each other. I noticed that Alex started getting all jealous whenever he found out that I had been out on dates. He had been my brother’s right hand for many years. Being protective over me was part of the job at first, but it soon
CHAPTER 67BELLA We got our fur babies all comfortable in bed baskets and packed up into the vehicle, we then headed off to Safe Haven. After we were screened at the gates, we were allowed in, and saying that I was impressed from the time we entered the place would be an understatement! Gabriel sure went all out. From the security gates, the beautiful gardens and children’s outdoor entertainment facilities, it was clearly visible that a very large sum of money was spent to get it looking the way it did and we had yet to see the inside of the place. Gabriel handed over our fur babies to the carers, who fell in love with them immediately and rushed off to get them all comfortable and settled in. As we entered, the house was filled with so much laughter and joy. Our group of women could be heard amongst the voices of the Safe Haven staff, and everyone sounded so happy and excited. Mrs Knight was on a roll. She had everyone on their toes, rearranging stuff and making sure everything was
CHAPTER 66BELLA Gabriel went with Neo to sort out some paperwork with the doctor. Erica and I remained in the waiting room. I phoned Arianna to check up on my baby girl and Jacob and she told me not to worry, they were both fine and that the house hold staff would be watching over them as all the women were going over to Safe Haven. I am glad they were still going. Then again, Mrs Knight would never put something as important as Safe Haven on hold because of Crystal. After my call to Arianna, I noticed that Erica was lost in deep thought. I gave her a side hug and asked if she was okay. She turned to face me and spoke in a sad tone, “Bell, I know it’s a terrible thing to say right now and will probably make me seem like a cold hearted and selfish person, but I can’t help it, I am glad that Crystal didn’t make it!” I gave her a full hug and told her that I fully understood how she felt, and she had valid reasons to feel all that she was feeling. “Do you think that Neo and I would eve
CHAPTER 65BELLA Even though we got home rather late from the Café, everyone had waited up for us as they were so worried and curious about what had happened at the station house. We didn’t go into too much detail but gave them the gist of it all. Mr Knight said that there was no way they would allow Neo to suffer any consequences because of his sisters wrong doings. He instructed Gabriel to do whatever he could from his side, and he would also see what he could do from his end. Mrs Knight too said sternly, “I don’t care what you both do, but you better protect that boy! He has suffered more than enough because of that ungrateful wretch!” After much discussion till late into the night, we had all decided that we women would head out to Safe Haven the following morning to inspect the place and make sure it was all prepared and ready for the children to move in . The place already got the thumbs up from Building, Health & Safety, and Child welfare Inspectors. Also, all the registration
CHAPTER 64ERICA Most of my childhood and right up to early adulthood memories were not so pleasant, and I wished I could totally wipe them out of my mind. My mum and dad were like oil and water and fought all the time. I used to wonder how they ended up married. They never shared that tale. Long story short, when they finally decided to divorce, I thought it was the best thing ever! One would say that I was crazy to have been happy that my parents were splitting up, but trust me, they were HELL together! Having witnessed what they went through, I had lost faith in relationships. I needed to get away from my parents, and as soon as I could, I moved out of Honeyville and headed for the city, and started to rebuild my life. My mum and I kept in contact, but my dad distanced himself from me. He seemed to have divorced his daughter, too! I was so angry at first, but I decided that I was never going to force anyone to love me and especially not my so-called father! Once I settled in the c