[ZARA]The hangover of the previous night hit me way before the mellow music in my ears and was way more powerful than a damn wrecking ball. In fact, now that I thought about it, the way my body hurt it had been fucking bruised, a tractor-trailer truck probably ran over me. It didn’t help that everything around me was constantly in motion. Or it felt like it was, yet the lack of food in my tummy was to be blamed for the terrible sickness gushing up my chest.I blinked several times to clear the fuzziness in front of my eyes, just in time to catch a line of tall trees on either side of the rocky road. One minute ago, the music that sounded foreign to my ears now felt coherent enough to know it was English and not extraterrestrial. God, imagine if that was the case. The only good thing would have been to get rid of Maddox Richmond and his annoying toxic ass. Speaking of which…“Hey. Wow, you’re awake.” I heard someone chirp next to me as I rolled my neck to the other side and brushed the
[MADDOX]“So let me get this straight.” Nathan frowned, glaring at me with his hands on his hips. “First, you force Zara into marrying you, then force her out. You don’t tell her anything about Emily, and now she is missing and you don’t have a fucking clue?”This whole thing sounded like one fucked up disaster. I should have probably seen that coming. And I did. But I was a fucker blinded by my equally fucked up emotions. I called this upon myself despite swearing never to let this happen ever again.I should have stayed away. I should have let her live her life in peace. I should not have let myself care. Not after what happened to Emily. But I did, and now everything around me was pulsing, threatening to explode. Including my brother’s temper—the one guy who rarely lost his fuse—just one word away from skyrocketing.Not that it mattered in the face of this blunder named Richard Milton.Two hours ago, after the entire fiasco with Josh in his club, I woke up in my car with a terrible
“I was trying to protect her!” Despite the dizziness still darkening my vision, I snapped up at my brother. “You think I deliberately put her in harm’s way? I didn’t see it coming. Richard took me off-guard. He literally knocked me out.”“You didn’t see it coming?” Nathan hissed, his face turning darker and so much angrier. “You said the same thing when he took Emily. That you didn’t see it coming. But the truth was she gave you all the signs to warn you her life was in danger. Those texts and calls that you didn’t care to share with us. With me. With anyone.”“I was trying to protect you. All of you. The more you knew about him, the more danger you would have been in.”“If what you say is the truth, and we were better off knowing nothing about that asshole, then why the hell Zara’s life is in danger, huh? How would you explain that?”“I don’t know, okay? I really don’t.” And it was eating me alive from the inside. The reason Emily became his overnight target was the fact she turned o
*A Few Hours Before Armonica's Abduction*[BRANDON]“What are you doing here?”Armonica stood on my front porch. I had no clue why. But seeing her in the dead of night, something hurled in the pit of my stomach. From head to toe, she was soaking wet, her entire body trembling against the cold outside. If she said something in response, I failed to hear it. Against my better judgment, I opened the doors of my home for her, led her inside and into the living room.“Brandon!” Her voice trembled as she spoke.“Save it!” Rushing into my bedroom, I returned with some dry towels. Then I went into the room Zara used to stay in before she got herself a new place. I knew she kept some spares just in case. Once I found a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, I laid them on the bed and went back outside.Armonica was in the middle of drying her hair. She paused when our eyes met.“You can use that room.” I told her, gesturing at the room behind my back. “There are some dry clothes you can change into
I tried to clear my head and think like a mature person. But whom was I kidding? I had waited for so long for those words to come out of her mouth that all my attempts to act rationally ended up in vain. My eyes dropped to trace the shape of her plump lips and my hands itched to be all over her. It only deepened the hot, burning desires coursing through me, seeing how close she was, how good she smelt and how much I wanted to take her to my bed and return my confession in a much more intimate way.But something was holding me back. The weight of the ring on my finger. Even though I barely knew my fiancé, I couldn’t betray her. When I agreed to the engagement, it was my decision, the one I took considering everything there was to consider.I sighed, dropping my shoulders and trying to ease a building headache. “Armonica…it’s too late for this.”“I know. But that’s not the answer to my question.” Taking another bold step close to me, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and lifted h
[ZARA]It would have been so much better if that man had just killed me on the spot. Because after being drugged and cuffed and dumped in a lonely forest shack, I was just hanging in limbo, crawling in and out of consciousness, having no track of time or place.Every time a little consciousness hit me with a soft knock on my eyelids, I found myself in the same creepy wooden cabin. Laid on the dusty floorboards, my wrists and ankles tied and the entire space turned to exactly 90 degrees. It would take a hell long minute for my tardy brain to figure out the whole situation and by the time I would try to do something about it, hoping to get these ties off of me or maybe try screaming for help, my eyes would grow heavy all over again and the drug would knock me out one more time.I had no idea how many hours had passed since that asshole ditched me here. Or maybe it had been days? He said this was like the game of hide and seek, so I was really hoping Maddox would know I was missing and wa
The wooden door opened, and I held my breath. I thought of the oceans, sand and mom. I thought of her laughter while she cashed after me along the mushy shoreline.Someone in the room gasped. I was pretty sure it didn’t come from me.The footsteps rushed closer, the floorboards creaking loudly against someone’s heavy footing. It took every cell in my body to not flinch when someone put a hand on my shoulder.“Fuck, Zara! What the hell are you doing here?”It was probably the drug tricking the hell out of me. Because there was no way he was here.Someone jerked me by my shoulders before I felt them working on the ropes around my wrists. I couldn’t help but rotate my wrist when the ropes finally fell away.Okay. Maybe this wasn’t some crazy-ass hallucination. Someone was really here, trying to help me out.Snapping my eyes open, I braced myself for the worst disappointment. God knows I had been on a streak of terrible luck so far.But when did Brandon ever disappoint me? Tears stung my
[ZARA]I’m cuffed, drugged and blindfolded.Can this get any worse? If that’s the question—the answer is yes. It can. It is.Waking up in an empty cabin and being unable to do anything to get the hell out of there sounds like a beautiful dream compared to what I’m waking up to now.I don’t know where I am. Or how I got here. I’m not alone either. It could have brought some ease to my trembling nerves—don’t they say we’re stronger together? —but it doesn’t. Every time I drift out of the dazed darkness, someone screams and cries, begging for help.To stop.The gruesome pain.Every cell in my body howls to reach out. Every bone in my body wants to put up a fight and make it stop whatever is hurting them. But I can’t. I can’t see. I can’t speak. I can’t even move.I’m helpless. And it fucking sucks.The last time I heard anything from Brandon was back in the car outside that cabin. There is no way to tell how many hours had passed since then. There is no way to tell if nothing bad had alr
[ZARA]I play with the button on his shirt and grin. “What if I told you, it wasn’t exactly our first meeting?”He looks puzzled. “What do you mean? Have we met before? When?”“Five months before we met in your office.”“Are you serious?” Sitting straighter, he adjusts me on his lap while I move my arms around his round shoulder. “When? And why don’t I remember anything?”“In the restaurant where I used to work. You know, the one you had me fired from?” I arch an eyebrow, still pissed at what he did.He’s quick to apologize, his warm fingers exploring the expanse of my back. “I think we already established the fact that I was a dick then. Can we move on? Please?”“Alright.” I roll my eyes and laugh when he tickles my sides. “You were there with a few of your employees, and as luck would have it, we were also running low on staff. So, I came up to take your order.”“You did what?” He looks so shocked, it makes me grin wider. “What the hell was I doing?”I shrug. “I don’t know? You were
“With contacts like him, dad found me within an hour. I was in the hospital. Badly beaten and bruised. Yet, the first thing dad did when he saw me in the hospital bed was to throw everyone out of the room and slap me hard. He told me I was lucky to be outside because if we were at home, he would have broken my legs if that’s what it took to stop me from being a brat.”“But…” a small smile curled at the corner of his lips. “Little did he know we weren’t alone in that room. When he tried to hit me again, a notebook smacked the side of his face.”“What?” Did I hear him right? “Who did that?”Maddox looked at me before turning his gaze back to the warm fire. “A little girl. Not over nine. She was so tiny and yet so fierce in front of my dad. She even shouted at him to leave me alone. Dad was furious. Oh, you should have seen his face. He literally turned red. Before dad could react, another man stepped into the room. He was the father of that little girl and later I came to know they were
*ONE MONTH LATER*[ZARA]There’s a knock on the door and the first thing I do is look up at the time.It’s five past midnight. That can only mean two things.One: The person outside is in a grave emergency.Two: Someone is here to rob us, but has the decency to announce his presence so we could prepare for the worst.But when I step out of my room and look through the peephole, breath hitches in my throat for an entirely different reason.Maddox stands outside with a sweeping backdrop of snow.I don’t think twice before unlocking the door and pulling it open. A flurry of chilly nights whips me in the face, shooting a blunt shiver down my spine.“What are you doing here?” There had to be a good reason for him to show up at this godawful hour of the night. “Is Louis, okay?”It’s only been a month since we all learned of Nadine’s brutal death. News that took everyone by surprise and the whole media by storm. Even after a month had passed, we could find people on the streets, in shops and
Ten minutes later, Zachary, Kevin and Zara walk out of the house, too. They are still in some sort of conversation when Zara finally notices me and holds my gaze for a little longer than I expected. I’m the first one to look away and instantly feel like a fucking coward.Every cell—every bone—in my body screams at me to make this right, to bring her back home no matter what it takes. But a huge part of me is as clueless as a newborn baby. It doesn’t know what to say or what to do to convince her to come back into my life—to give me another chance. Do I even deserve a second chance? It’s because of me she had to endure so much that only became her fate because I couldn’t let go. I didn’t know how to.“Are you ready to go?” I hear Kevin ask as he made his way over to where I stand near their car. He looks around. “Where’s Nathan?”“He left.” I fill him in. “Something came up. I hope it’s alright if I tag along.”“Are you kidding me?” For the first time, he doesn’t look like he’s about t
[MADDOX]It’s odd how often I have driven by her house, but never really cared to turn my head and look. But now that I stand in front of it, I know why she fought so hard to take it back.The house is nothing out of a fairy tale. It’s decently constructed, has only one floor and is yellow. Not just any yellow but the one that makes you question why someone would do that to their house. Do they not love it? Is that supposed to be a punishment for the eyes of the beholder? How could a house be so yellow? It’s literally tormenting.But maybe it’s because I have known Zara long enough that I can tell you for sure this is just her way of showing a middle finger to the world. A message in capital letters that she doesn’t care about and can’t be bothered by the opinions of others. She’s gonna be herself no matter what and the rest of the world can simply fuck themselves.If one can look past the yellowness of the house, one would see the details that make this house a home. There’s a picket
“Thanks for coming on such short notice. Mr Gracias. Mr Richmond.” Officer Newman greeted us, gesturing us to take seats.Zachary and I took seats across from him while Nathan and Kevin decided to wait outside.“It’s no problem, officer. How can we help?” I asked.“Well, as we conversed over the phone, we found some bodies. They are, as expected, burnt and impossible to recognize. The face, that is. And because, Mr Gracias, your sister is still missing, we were hoping you will be willing to go through the accessories and clothes we found on the victims. This will help us narrow down our options and decide what the next course of action should be.”“Of course.” Zachary said, and for the first time, I caught the strain in his voice.“Great.” Officer Newman said and retrieved three transparent packets from the desk behind him. Carefully, he laid them all on the table and stood up. “I’ll give you guys a minute.”’Once the officer left us alone in the room, I turned to face Zachary. “Do yo
[MADDOX]“How long are you gonna sulk?” Nathan asked, and the whim to throw him out of the car was exhausting.“I’m NOT sulking.” Without saving him a single glance, I told him as calmly as possible. I looked outside the window instead and searched for a familiar face.Five minutes ago, we pulled up outside the police headquarters. Zachary and his brother, Kevin, were supposed to meet us here. For now, all I could see were cops and irrelevant people moving in and out of the building. No sign of the Gracias family.“And not growing any younger, either.” Nathan deadpanned, and I finally decided to fix him whatever glare.“Did you just make a joke about my age?” That should be hardly any concern to me. Especially when mom did it all the time. But since the moment I woke up this morning, I hadn’t been in the mood to take anyone’s shit. It might have had something to do with the fact Zara ended everything between us yesterday and left for good. Actually, fuck that! My mood was spoiled beca
“It’s not true.” He retorted, but when I gave him a pointed look, he shut his mouth and let me finish.“That what you think, what you say and what you do is best for everyone. That you have the right to decide for everyone because, in your head, no one is more capable than you are. You’re so controlling that you don’t even care how suffocating that could be for someone. In fact, not just me, for anyone at all. You make the rules and expect everyone to follow them without question. You are so deep in your head that you’ve become delusional. No one can reason with you because you don’t listen and neither do you trust. You know of whom you remind me?”There was a beat of silence before he spoke, the crease across his forehead tightening. “I am NOT like Richard.”“No. You aren’t. But you’re no different either. You are just as tyrannical, if not less.”He peered down at his hands and shook his head. “I…I don’t know how that happened.” A look of surprise crossed his face, water glistening
[ZARA]I woke up in a dark room.For a second, I thought I was back in that hellhole.I sat up with a jolt, so fast my head swayed and the entire room spun. A dark figure loomed near the foot of the bed and fear hijacked my mind.I whimpered, feeling something hard against my back, stuck in the middle of a shadow of the man and something that barred me from crawling backwards. Panic prickled the back of my neck, chewing at the little sanity I still had intact. But it was only when the shadow moved and took a step closer, I screamed like hell.“Zara!” Someone called. It came from the dark figure. “Calm down. It’s me.” He said and took another, cautious step in my direction. The shaft of light sneaking from the cracks between the curtains struck his face. My shoulders dropped, and panic melted when it hit me who he was.“Brandon?” It really was him. But…“Shit! I didn’t know you could screech like that.” He said and I could tell he was trying to act all cool while from the inside he was