Morning came as soon as Joe shut his eyes in an attempt to sleep through the pain. He woke up, took the painkillers that his doctor had prescribed him, and sat on the bed. Aside from getting Bella out, he also needed to look for the remaining 1.5 million to buy Janie’s silence.He cursed through the pain as he grabbed his phone from the bed. He dialed David’s number and waited. The wait didn’t take long. Davis had been his buddy since his high school days, and he always came through for him whenever he needed his help. If it had not been for David, Joe would not have known about Leon’s betrayal of Bella.“I appreciate you checking up on me this early morning, buddy, but you are ruining something else. We are just about to start the morning glory,” David's joked.“Stop whatever that you are doing and get your ass up because I need a favor,” Joe spoke, rolling his eyes at his friend.David sensed the struggle through Joe’s voice. He abandoned the lady that was in his arms, and jerked hi
THIRD PERSON’S POVJoe’s phone flushed after he had dropped the call with David. He fished it out. It was a message from the family attorney.“Let’s meet at the station in thirty.” the message read.Joe wasted no second anymore. The thoughts of Janie and the blackmail were tossed at the back of his mind as he grabbed his jacket and limped out of the house.The ride to the police station was tense, the silence allowing him to pick up the raging storms curbing him. Checking his phone, David had sent only 500,000. He still had to look for one million. And time was ticking by so fast.He arrived at the police station and parked the car, jumping out right after. His heart thudded as he anticipated having Bella in his arms once again, but also the fear of Bella learning of the blackmail accelerated his heartbeats.Before he could walk inside, his phone buzzed again in his pocket. He took it out, and opened yet another message.‘7 hours! Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock!’ Janie.He greeted his teeth,
The tension in the car is thick. I can feel it. Joe’s hands grip the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles are white. He hasn’t said much since we left the police station, and I can’t shake the feeling that something is terribly wrong. Every time I ask him what’s going on, he brushes me off with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.I know him better than anyone. He is worried—really worried. The cuts on his face, the way he moves carefully, like he’s in pain, the mysterious phone calls—all of it adds up to something he’s not telling me. But I don’t push him. Not now. There’s too much going on, and I’m just grateful to be out of that cold, horrible cell.Still, I can’t help but feel uneasy. I keep stealing glances at Joe, hoping he will open up, but he stays silent, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. The city lights blur outside the window, and the hum of the car engine does little to calm the storm inside me. I can’t stop thinking about Leon, about how he came to see me at the st
THREE DAYS LATER.THE STORY GOES BACK TO BELLA'S POV FROM THIS POINT. I WILL INCLUDE OTHER CHARACTER'S POVS WHERE NECESSARY.A striking pain rushes through my body as I peel my eyes. Every part of my body aches, my skin stinging with the raw pains of burns and bruises. My mind feels so foggy, and I feel so disoriented. I can't even twist my head. I lay flat on a mattress, but not on my own bed.A tall, semispherical house? This quietness? Where am I?I raise one hand, the only part of me that seems to be able to move without much struggle, and I realize that I have wounds and burns, all covered in crushed and smeared leaves. I drop the hand, almost screaming with pain as it rests on my side.I shut my eyes a little, and tears start flowing down as the last memories of my existence before now come crumbling down on me in waves.The arrest... Leon's threat... the ambush, the fall, the fire...My chest tightens, making breathing so difficult for me. The terrifying sounds of gunfire are
A beautiful smile dances on my lips as I tour my eyes around this small, traditional house in the woods that has served as my home, solace, and peace for the last couple of days. Never in my entire life could I have imagined that I, Bella Montana, could ever find myself in a place such as this and in a condition like this. But here I am, humbled like this. Life indeed is a mystery.The small house feels more alive than before, and every single day now looks brighter than the previous. The darkness is fading, and so are the fears, as Joe has been awake for four days now. That lifted off my grief and filled my heart with hope and joy.I look at him, a very short distance from me, as he struggles to walk around. Although his body is far from fully recovered, he insists on moving around, and he has been quite a stubborn, obstinate ass on that matter. He listens to no one when we tell him that he is still too weak to struggle like this. His stubbornness matches his strength, though neither
With insatiable hunger and desire, we kiss and kiss and kiss, every stroke of the tongue conveying how we both longed for this. Soft moans of pleasure and satisfaction fill the room; the dance of our tongues reaches climax. My frail body is trembling beneath him with more desire. The fire is building so high. I yearn for more. I can feel that he wants more too.But the reality of where we are somehow slaps our sixth sense. We both pull away, his forehead resting on mine as we struggle to steady our breathing.We are Montanas, a name that is known all over the world. These people might be living in the woods, but it does not mean that they don’t listen to news. They might have a clue of who we really are, which is why they have not inquired about us. And if they know that we are siblings and then walk in on us chewing each other’s lips, we will be in a hot soup. Our dirty little secret will yet again be exposed to another party.“I need to get better so that we can get out of here,” Jo
The night air feels heavy, suffocating in its stillness, as I sit by the window staring into the forest's endless darkness. The wooden walls of the small house creak faintly, and the faint chirping of crickets serves as a reminder that the world outside is alive, even though it feels like we are frozen in time.My thoughts are racing, tangled in a mess of emotions. The brainstorming idea that the world believes Joe and I are dead has shaken me to my core. I keep thinking of my father—of Katherine—and how they must be drowning in sorrow. Every part of me wants to run back to them, to tell them we are alive. To hug my father tight and tell him that he has not lost me and never will. But I can’t. Not yet. However, I feel so awful knowing that we are causing them so much pain.I glance over at Joe, who is lying on the makeshift bed across the room. His eyes are closed, but I can tell he isn’t asleep. His good hand clenches and unclenches the blanket, his jaw tight. The tension in his body
“Son, you can’t!” His father responds with an icy tone and glare. He must have sensed the naivety in his son’s statement.Jayden doesn’t answer. Instead, he walks over to the corner of the room, where his bag sits. He opens it, pulling out something I didn’t expect—a gun.A gun!The sight of it stirs back the memories of our last episode before the accident. The ringing starts in my head, fear creeping in me, almost bringing me down to my knees.“How the hell do you have that?” Joe asks, his voice sharp as he holds me steady. I am really shaken. I think I developed a phobia for these weapons that day.Jayden looks up, his gaze steady. Not baffled and not apologetic at all for being in possession of a gun. “It is only natural for people living in these kinds of environments to have some weapons for security reasons. And there is no better one than this; he eyes his gun, positioning it in his hand as if he went for training and attention even to the least important detail about gun trai
“Um, my dear?” His father calls, and I turn to her, leaving Rey’s eyes scorching my skin. “I think it is time. And forgive me once again, but hold nothing against your friend. She is a good soul. I just needed to get to the root of all this, and I knew she was the only person who had the answers that I sought, aside from you, of course. She means well.”I knew it was. “So, this happens to be the evidence that you have been telling us about, Irma? What is this all about? Where did that come from? Why do you have an old check for this huge amount from our company?” Ana asks.Well, I had not anticipated this happening any sooner, but I guess my father-in-law and my friends planned this well. I can’t lie anymore.I turn to Rayafter looking at these two women, who look like they are about to pee in their pants. “I am…”“She asked me for the money. She blackmailed me!” Katherine snaps, confusing everyone.Even I am confused by her guts! I blackmailed her. With what? Or for what? She is so s
The three of us once again trade quizzical glances. There is more.“What?” We all trace our heavily pregnant gazes to Katherine as she whimpers, “This joke is the worst of the pains, so what more is there, Mazur?” She asks.A joke? She is still refusing to believe that he is divorcing her, even with the divorce headline in bold and staring right through her eyes. Not even his serious tone is enough to convince her. Poor woman! I wonder how she does not collapse after the next blow, and I am also eagerly waiting to know what it is.“I have frozen your cards, Katherine. From this moment on, you have nothing. You are barred from coming close to any of my companies because I have erased your name from everything that has my name on it. As for your children, I will leave it to them to decide. I want you to sign these papers and get out of my house.”Mr. Mazur’s words hang in the air like a heavy cloud. Silence has been the only sound for a long time. Fear and questions linger in the room.
“You can’t do that!” Tarah screams, springing to her feet. “You know that you need us. You need the support of my family for this business. You can’t terminate this agreement. You can’t…”“Your parents and I, young lady,” Mr. Mazur cuts the hysterical parrot off, “have already talked. We agreed that this agreement was a mistake. It is not working. Since this mess has also touched their family because you are in the picture, they agreed to end it in peace and set our children free. We will refund all the investments that your company made in our empire once we do our calculations, and that will be the end of it. For now, all you both need is to sign the papers and go your separate ways.”Hello, to the moon and stars. Here I was thinking that I would be the one to have this bitch divorce my man, but it seems like the stars and the moon were working on my case. Blessed be unto the heavens and to this man as well. God, please restore his health so that he can witness and be a part of the
We all get to Mr. Mazur’s room with fear and curiosity gnawing within the deepest parts of our souls. I know we are all worried. For instance, I have come to love this old man like a father. He adores my child and is excited to welcome the next one that is on the way. He has justified my stay in this house and my love affair with his son with sincere intent. How can I not love him?“Father? We are all here. I thought we had a party next week, which you were preparing for. What is with this sudden meeting?” Ray asks.And I know how much he adores his father. I remember how badly he pleaded with me not to harm his father. Our paths crossed in this second phase, and my heart was pounding with waves of vengeance and wrath. He was willing to do anything, even to take up his father’s punishment on his behalf. And in the months that I have been in this house again, I know how deeply he cares for him. He and another love him so much. He may be rendered incapable of anything right now, but I s
Katherine remains mute, but her expressions ooze hurt and pain. It is like this is a bitter pill that she has to swallow.“Next time, don’t you dare go high and mighty on me, Katherine. You don’t want to cross, or else...”“Shut up!” Katherine shuts her up, her voice coming out between gritted teeth. “Don’t say something that you will regret,” she hisses again as they stand before each other like two antagonistic lions.I feel Rayshift beside me, and before I know it, he is standing up, taking me with him as he approaches them. They drop the rage when they sense us. As if we have not been watching the entire show. As if there is anything new with them. I know their secrets. I know they were together in that blackmail attack against me years ago. The person I pity is Rey, because I still have not found the courage to do what she did.I know that he deserves to know. I know that he has all the rights to know what his mother is capable of. I know he needs to know what his mother thought
I join the annoying party, hugging my fury at my claws because I am supposed to be having the best of this moment with Ray and not burning my arse here watching some manner of less arses drink their already inebriated asses off. Why did this b*tch even need us here? All they have been doing ever since we sauntered from the kitchen is just drink and pick on Ray and me. And she—I don’t understand why she had to stay this close to Rey. She annoyingly pressed against him on the left side while I was clinging to him on the right. The poor guy is so uncomfortable and lost at the meaning of this whole thing, just as I am. And you, if all she wants is to show off, then I don’t need to stoop so low. I know who it is that matters to Rey. I am serious as fuck about where I stand in his life.I unbandage my hand from him and shift aside from him, an action that causes him to reach for my hand and shift closer, pinning himself on me and wrapping his arm around my shoulder. With ease and care, he g
She cloaks her anger for a minute, putting on her signature bitchy crown. But today, her act is not working decently. Even through her iciness, you can still pick up the pecks of anger, hurt, and shame. Bingo, Irma Rose! You are serving this diet, which is the recommended diet. Thumbs up! Stuff her more!“Do not be too sure. And, by the way, how did it feel to see me kissing my husband, whom you can’t stop swooning over? I saw how you almost collapsed with utter stupor and hurt. Did your heart break into pieces after witnessing us kissing?” She asks, almost emitting a smirk.Sha! This witch is so cheap at devising plans. Was that the only way she could come up with to rile me? My! My! She should have asked me for some advice to spice up her rubbishy, unsuccessful plan. She couldn’t even pull off something to equal a kiss. Such a pathetic loser!“I admit I was thunderstruck and hurt at first seeing Rey’s lips on your disgusting ones for a second. But then, reality slapped me—that was a
After a moment, she clears her throat myriad times, scraping the back of her neck as if she has an itchy skin disease. She is still mired in ignominy and bewilderment, and her friends are still looking at her with dismay and shock. She could have prepared them instead of trying to showcase something that isn’t real.“I will just get some glasses. Feel at home and make yourself comfortable on the seats.” She is still battling with her conflicting sentiments.Her friends start dragging their confused bodies to the seats where Rayis is perched, while she starts towards me. I was about to get out of her way, but she grabs my hand and drags me inside the kite with her.The door slams shut behind us, the fresh scent of our raw sex with Ray minutes ago slams our nostrils, and we stare at each other like two antagonistic lionesses that we in reality are.I roughly jerk my hand away from this bitch!“What in the devil’s name were you doing in here with my husband?” Tarah screeches after I snat
“What were you doing in there? Been screaming your name for minutes, hun!” I hear that bitch’s voice as I finish cleaning myself up with the Soviets.Hun? Since when? And what is that?annoying cheesecake tone? Trying to play some lovey-dovey games to fool her fucking guests? I reckon she is even clinging to my Rey’s arm or fixing the nothingness on his tee just to show off. Bitch!“Uuuu! Spare us, will you?"Spare us?From what?Silence!There is no voice from that witch, and these parrots of hers are just cheering; only the devil knows what. I detest those shrieking sounds! They are making my ears itch! I fix my hair and walk out feeling so raw and content, and...And dumbstruck!The heartbreaking visual visage of my Ray and Tarah together with their lips pressed so iniquitously against each other impairs my visual sense for a minute.Holy fuck!I slam my back on the closed kitchen door the minute it closes. A tinge of stinging tickles jolts down my spinal tube, almost paralyzing me