~AUDRINA~As the crowd waited for the person to speak, someone finally stood, and I had never met him before in my place, but I had to stay calm so we would get to hear what he wanted. And if he was someone paid by my sister to destroy my little progress in happiness, then she would face a bigger disgrace in front of everyone present than me.This curly blonde guy measuring about 18cm approached us, and my eyes kept racing fast as he looked at me with a sense of recognition. I kept repeating the question in my head over and over again: did I know him? Maybe the drug of that night was making it difficult to remember the man I slept with.The few seconds that passed were nothing but torture to my ears. The once silent crowd suddenly started whispering amongst themselves, and the harsh words were all directed at me.“I knew something was fishy about that girl.” One of them said:.“You’re absolutely right, and I felt the same from the minute she delayed the ceremony; imagine the disrespec
PAIGEAnger moved through me sharper than a knife as my jaw twitched in fury.“I belong to James; he is the one that I am getting married to, and you are ruining my wedding.” She said, and I wanted to throw something at her.Which day was it that I had her in my clutches? She was in my power, and everything was going well.“I think it's time for you to leave, sir,” she said in a voice that was so meek. The more I heard it, the more I wanted to throw up from it.She was a pretentious whore with nothing that she ever deserved.I was tempted to stand up and leave, but if I did that, then she would know that I was here.“I love James, sir,” her voice echoed.I sat with my mouth agape and my hands crossed at the front of my skirt.“She would make a loyal queen,” I heard someone say, and I wanted to rip out his tongue along with the old woman who agreed to what he was saying by nodding her head.Was this what everybody thought?Was this what they meant by saying she would be a good queen,
~AUDRINA~I sighed in happiness as I finally got the confused stranger to mellow down and allow me to have my day in peace.“We should continue,” the pastor said, clearing his throat. I looked back at the crowd I had just addressed, and my eyes caught something that made my skin crawl. At first, I wanted to make sure what I was seeing and thinking were two different things, but they weren't. The longer I squinted into the crowd, the more I wanted to run out.If I didn’t know any better, I would have said that the lady with a net hat, very inappropriate for a wedding, looked a lot like Paige. However, I didn’t want to point fingers in a crowd or accuse someone falsely.I decided to turn around and do what I wanted to do.“Is everything okay?” James asked me, and I nodded my head as I fastened my hand in his, and he squeezed gently.I was actually going to get married before everyone—before the people, before my father, and before the goddess.It wasn’t what I had previously wanted with
~AUDRINA~"You disgrace me! You embarrass me! In our home and now outside? You are an embarrassment.” My father spat as he sat down at the front of the pew with his hands crossed in front of him, anger sitting in his eyes.“Father,” I started to say, but he raised his hands in the air and stopped me from saying yet another word."Oh, I don’t want to hear another word from your lips,” he said, silencing me instantly.“How dare you?”“How dare you even think that for a small second I would allow you to call me father? Or call me anything affectionate, for that matter?” he said, and I started to shrink back into my shell.“I am appalled to even call you my child. Left to me, you don’t even exist, and I can see all the reasons why this makes a lot of sense,” he said, and I wanted to ask him why he was also adding to my misery when I was currently fighting Paige to let me go.“Father, Paige is lying about all of this,” I said, trying to even save my skin, even if it was a little bit, but n
~AUDRINA~I watched with horror as Paige struggled to stand up, and when she eventually did, blood was coming out of different angles of her mouth."Paige!" I screamed, but the more I screamed, the more blood poured out of her mouth."Ryan," I breathed, trying to remember clearly what I had just seen with my own two eyes.Paige had told him that she was not going to stop to get access to me after she had insulted me. She had made me not only lose our father but also ruined my wedding.I didn’t know what to do or whom to help, given that I had just witnessed an act of brutality from a man who didn’t have a single fighting bone in his body.Paige stood up after what seemed like ages, and her mouth licked all sorts of liquids, from saliva to blood and back to both, mixed."Paige?" I asked, concern lacing my voice as I tried to reach her, but she stood up and held her hands in front of her, making me stop in my tracks."Don’t act like you care about me," she said, instantly hurting me wit
~Audrina~We all waited in the banquet hall. The tension was on everyone. What was he going to look like? became the disturbing question that pricked my heart. I could clearly hear the gossip from the exotic guests who kept staring at me."I heard he is very ugly; it's such a pity." I heard a voice say, but I remained calm and told her not to have heard a word."Perhaps that's why he always wears a mask. I feel pity for Audrina; she deserves someone far more handsome than an ugly prick," another voice said.I turned around and locked eyes with the very people who gossiped with reckless abandon."Why don't you wait and see what he actually looks like before opening your mouth to speak ill about him? Pity your words before my future," I said with a clenched fist.James walked in and everywhere became dead silent; his presence brought a different aura, and of course, everyone, including me, was eager to see the face beneath the mask. My skin itched to touch his face. He slowly walked to
~Audrina~“I will keep saying this even though I have said it before,” James's mother started, and I fixed my gaze at her.I wondered what the matter was again and why she had developed a sudden rage. From the look of things, nothing was fine.“Now everyone should listen to me again! I said that whoever dared to ruin my son's wedding would be made to pay a heavy price. Watch and see! Dare me and see what I can do!” Mabel kept on yelling at the top of her voice.Her voice was so loud that it shook the walls of the room. I could feel the heat and anger coming from her.I had to adjust myself and just watch how things were playing out.My head was banging severely, and I was having a severe headache that I doubt would stop anytime soon.What I needed was rest, and I was not getting any of it yet.Things were getting tiring for me, who was in the corner of the room watching everything that was going on.There was no peace in this place, and I had already embraced whatever was meant to hap
~Audrina~Mabel's face was redder than a tomato. This was the angriest I'd seen her get, and the fact that it was on my behalf sent waves of happiness through me."Well then, with the evidence before our eyes, what do you have to say for yourself?" Mabel glared daggers at Paige, whose mouth still dangled open with shock.Color flooded her cheeks at the embarrassment, and her eyes flashed dangerously, like she was blinking tears.The whole situation was comical."It's a fake! That never happened," Paige sputtered, turning around to catch every eye like that would show how innocent she was. Which she clearly was not."Spare us the crap, girl! That's clearly you and Nicholas in the video disgustingly going at it," Mabel pointed at the screen, and Paige flushed an even darker red.Nicholas looked ready to bolt out of the room."Do you have no shame, girl? In the hallway of all places? How classless could you be?" Mabel gave Paige a once-over that literally made Paige shrink a size smaller
~Audrina~As I was still contemplating on my decision, Ryan stepped back to grant me an offer.“I’m already aware of everything and I think the right thing to do is apologize for constantly causing a rift in your relationship.”In the past, I would have rolled my eyes, cussed him out and left but the sincerity in his tone didn’t let that happen.“Ryan is apologizing? I didn’t see that one coming.” I muttered, waiting a reaction that would counter his previous words but none came.“Yes, I am because I have realized my mistake.”“To be honest, I haven’t healed ever since the loss of Sarah, I went into drinking and even tried to patronize those strips in clubs but I saw her face everywhere..” he paused, laughing like it wasn’t a serious situation.“It’s crazy and I’m crazy for trying to force you into becoming her.”“It’s no doubt that you hate me but please, save my wife’s life and I’ll leave you alone for good, even compensate for the mental damages and the harassment.” He begged.I fo
~Audrina~While they were still discussing God knows what, I wanted to eavesdrop, but it would be disrespectful, and at the same time, she would think that I didn’t trust her.“You finally did it,” my wolf stated with a hint of celebration laced in her tone.“Did what? I didn’t do anything.” I denied it, and I could already see the look on her face.“Well, you did, whether you fail to recognize it or not.” She countered.“I hope you finally celebrate when you get back to the pack house because you killed more than one bird with a stone.” She praised me so much that I suddenly remembered what I did with James.I prayed that he would find a place to forgive me.“I’ll try.”While we were still discussing, the door opened to reveal her presence, but she didn’t return with Ryan.“Mom, are you sure you are fine?”“Yes, I am, but there’s something you need to know; there’s no need to hide it any longer.”Furrowing my brows, I inquired, “What’s that? You can tell me anything.”There was reluc
My heart thumped in my chest as I walked closer to Ryan's office, every step feeling far stronger than the one before it. I became consumed with an aura of dissatisfaction that tore at me from the inside out. I had to be strong, though. My mom's security hinged on it. I opened the door to Ryan's office and looked around to see if he was there. With a chilly and cynical expression in his eyes, he was seated behind his desk."I'm here," I said, my voice steady despite the nervous flutter in my stomach. "I hope you're ready to fulfill your promise and release my mother."Ryan's gaze flicked up to meet mine, his expression unreadable. "I didn't imprison your mother, Audrina," he said, his voice tinged with annoyance. "But if you want to see her, she's right outside."My heart skipped a beat at his words, relief flooding through me like a tidal wave. Could it be true? Had my mother been here all along, just outside this very door?Without waiting for a response, I hurried over to the door
Fondling my breast, I let out a moan, my body shrinking under his touch.His thumb ran circles around my nipple as his lips moved down my neck and along my collarbone before moving lower.I shivered in delight, my hand sliding along his bare back, my skin burning as he made his way further and further south, kissing and licking my stomach.His hands gripped my hips as he shifted lower, and his mouth covered my most sensitive area."Ohh!"My body tensed, and I let out a long cry, my head thrown back.He continued to lap at me, the tip of his tongue sliding into my entrance."Mmm..." I groaned.He slid his hands along my thighs and gripped them, spreading them wider. He pressed his mouth harder against me, and I bucked my hips, feeling waves of pleasure ripple through me.He lifted his head and slid back up along me, his hand caressing my thigh. He leaned his head down and kissed me, his tongue running along mine.I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled him close, kissing him
~AUDRINA~The ropes burned as I made an ineffective attempt to free myself from their tight grip. However, desperation drove me to persevere, and I eventually gained enough strength to escape. I got to my feet as the ropes came down, my eyes flaming with resolve and rage. Paige and Nicholas looked in surprise as I broke free from my bindings, their faces going pale. The room was silent for a while as we all tried to digest what had just happened.But before anyone could respond, James and Dylan stepped forward, assessing the situation with their weapons drawn one last time.Finally, James shot without thinking, striking Nicholas straight in the chest. He collapsed to the ground, lying still with a shocked expression on his face.When Paige realized what had happened, her eyes grew wide with dread. She took a step back, breathing hard enough to catch her breath. “No…no…no!”Dylan, however, was fast to respond and caught her by the arm before she could get away.James turned to face me,
~AUDRINA~As Paige pulled out her phone to shoot the video, urging the three awful men to speed up, I experienced an upsurge of vomit run over me. "Time isn't on our side; humiliate her!" She shouted. "Owww, I just had the perfect shot." "Go on!" The understanding of their intentions smacked me like millions of rocks, and I struggled against my chains, despair gnashing at my chest. "Stop!" I yelled out, my voice swaying from fear and anger. "Leave me alone!"They reached out for me with envious, grabbing fingers, but they ignored my cries. I struggled and wriggled against their grip, but to no avail. I had no way to protect myself from their disgusting whims and was totally at their mercy. It was like a flurry of wrath rising inside of me as their hands tore at my outfits, robbing me of my feelings of worth and pride. I mean, how dare they treat me this way? How dare they treat me like this, so inhumane?Tears of annoyance and shame clouded my vision, but through them, I saw Paige gri
~AUDRINA~If there was someone who could definitely get a reoccurring award for foolishness, it would be me. How could I have been so gullible? Those stories that she told me—how wasn’t I sure that they were nothing but lies, just so she could delude me into thinking that she was on my side?Oh, Audrina! How much I wanted to smack my head against the wall and wished that I had powers that could make my screams very dangerous, Paige, and that useless ex-boyfriend of mine would have been eliminated a long time ago.None of this made sense to me, but I decided to trust the process. It was hard to see if she had truly changed, but, I guess, a leopard hardly changes its spot.Or perhaps she had cast a spell on me that made me so stupid to have been so loose. I wondered what the guards who had been kept in charge of me would be going through in the hands of James, who was probably paranoid over his missing mate.I should have listened to him, though. Now, look at where my stubbornness has l
~AUDRINA~“By the way, my next confession might actually wreck you.” She gave me a heads-up.“There’s more?”“A whole lot, but I don’t have time to share,” she revealed.“My father is not yours either.”Wait what?! Everything was so complicated right now, and it felt like she was twisting the truth at this point.George, the man I had always known as my father, wasn't actually my father. It felt like the ground had been pulled out from under me, leaving me reeling with confusion and disbelief."But...how is that possible?" I asked, my voice trembling with emotion. "I've always been told that George was my father. How could he not be?"Paige sighed, her expression sympathetic. "I'm sorry, Audrina. I know this is a lot to take in. But the truth is, George wasn't your biological father. Your real father...he died before you were born."The words hit me like a punch to the gut, the reality of the situation sinking in with a sickening thud. My entire life had been built on a lie, a facade
~Audrina~Who was this lady, and why did she even want to help me? Nobody who had offered me help before ever did it out of pure intentions, so I was reluctant to accept.At the same time, I wanted to see the face of the maid before I was bold enough to accept such a risk. For all I knew, it could be someone else sent from one of my enemies to hunt me completely.“And why do you think I would accept help from a stranger? Do you think I’m that desperate?”Her eyes roamed around fearfully, and she whispered, “Please keep your voice down. The guards might hear.”“Let them hear; I don’t care.”“I don’t trust anyone at this point, so go away.” I wasn’t sure why I was refusing her, but something just didn’t sit right with me.“So you would rather rot here than save mom?” As her voice softened up, it was almost like my mother, and I became more curious to know her identity.“Now who the heck are you? Speak, or else I’ll alert the guards.” I threatened her.Slowly, she removed her mask, and t