CELINE HERRERA POV "Oh my god, he stabbed her!" someone screamed and their panicked word rang through the air at the same time someone else screamed that someone was holding a gun. The party hall was thrown into pandemonium and the People rushed to get out of harm's way, even though that led to more clustering at the main exit.I raised my head a bit and stared wide eyes at the man who lay on top of me. I could feel his blood seeping Into my dress, but besides that, my side was throbbing.Turning my head, since I couldn't even move an inch, my gaze clashed with those of Belshar.He stood a few feet from me with his gun in his hand, the heave of his chest telling just how hard he was breathing. The look of pure unadulterated fear and rage in his eyes was suffocating. I opened my mouth to tell him I was fine at the same time I tried to move. A sharp pain went up my side and my head dropped back to the floor as I groaned.Belshar rushed toward me, covering the distance that separated us
XAVIER POV "What do you mean Celine got stabbed" I roared, grabbing David by the collar. He glared at me, then shoved my hands off him. "Exactly what it means. Belshar's mother threw a party and someone attacked Celine. I thought you had a mole in Belshar's mansion, he didn't get back to you?" he asked, a cocky look in his eyes. "I am sure he's going to report back soon enough. You don't have to give me that attitude""What are you doing to do now? You were able to win Persephone over. What's the next plan"Sighing, I glanced at the vast field in front of me. "You don't have to worry yourself about my business. I and Persephone will take care of it" I said then took a deep breath to breathe in the scent of grass. "Do you think Belshar knows it yet that I am In his territory??" I asked grinning. It was so fun to mess with him even if it didn't have the desired effect. The grin on my lip died away at the thought. David had been right about me letting Celine go. She had been mine. S
CELINE HERRERA POV Everything was in chaos. Grandfather was dead and Delia had committed suicide. She'd driven off a cliff. The car had caught on fire when it crashed, and it was so bad that there was almost nothing left of her. Her suicide note was on the news for all to see. I wasn't surprised to hear that she blamed me for everything that happened to her. She told the world I bullied her to death because Grandfather gave her the company instead of me. She also claimed that I stole her husband and caused her divorce.Belshar had been supportive, and while I was at the hospital, he helped me with both Delia's and grandfather's burials.Delia's suicide note caused quite an uproar but not in the way I expected. I thought people would point fingers and blame me, but they actually came to my defense. Then evidence of every vile thing that she'd ever done started to be uploaded online. People she'd bullied had a lot to say about her, then it was followed by the company board members br
XAVIER POV "We should attack Belshar now. Celine is in the hospital, His mother is dead and Kail is probably dead too. If there was ever a time to strike, I think this is it"I crossed my arms. "You are wrong Persephone. Belshar was behind what happened to Séda. As for Kail, there is no sure information on him yet" I murmured, rubbing on my chin and wondering why Belshar was such a fucking enigma. Belshar had made it seem that Séda died of natural cause and that his brother Kail had been sent to Vratia but he had to know that every syndicate was going to find out about what truly happened.Such news would only make people fear him more. To them, he would be invincible. A man who wipes out his own family, surely had nothing to lose; that was what they would think. Belshar had no weakness, except for Celine. And he had her under watch twenty-four seven.Persephone hands on my shoulder made me glance at her. "Your problem is you think too hard. You do not make quick decisions. You are
CELINE HERRERA POV "I didn't kill Bella, Celine. You have to believe me. Delia was behind everything and now she's trying to frame me for it" I crossed my arms and stared at her. "What evidence do you have," I asked. "Delia is dead. What if you're just making all these up because you know she's not here to defend herself? Bella's pearl necklace was found in your house. Your cousin's body was also found. You had him In pieces" Julie groaned, her red-rimmed eyes feeling up with tears. "God, don't remind me. I still can't bear to picture it" she choked out, then shook her head as if doing so was going to get the image out of her head."I didn't kill Zyaine, Celine. Delia killed him and now she's faked her death just to get away with everything she's done"I shook my head and let out a frustrated sigh. "This is getting us nowhere Julie. It's your word against a dead person. What do you think is going to happen? No one is going to believe that Delia was involved in this. She is dead and
CELINE HERRERA POVI didn't want to help Julie. I wanted her to pay for her crimes. Also, I could tell that despite her apologies, she was not remorseful about what she did. The only reason she was saying sorry was because she got caught.Letting out an exasperated sigh, I met her gaze squarely. "Fine, I will help you out, but that does not mean you are going to get away with what you did. You are going to pay for all the crimes you committed" "I will take whatever..."I cut her off. "I will help you get a lawyer. You have to say the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If you do, then you will get a lighter sentence. I'll also try to look for evidence that can help you get out of the murder charges. If there's really a video, we might be able to get a copy if we find your missing phone"Julie shook her head. "The only other person I can think of who has the video is Kail. I sent it to him myself... Delia probably had my phone stolen. Even if we comb the whole city for it, I am cer
DELIA HERRERA POV I gasped awake, my eyes flying open. Fuck. Was I alive? I sat up, my bleary eyes taking in the room I was in. I flexed my wrist, then wriggled my toes. There was no pain and everything was working as it should, which was fucking weird."What the hell happened to me" I whispered, because try as I might, I couldn't recall what happened after the car malfunctioned... I could still remember the fear that had plagued me when I thought I was going to die... Then it all went dark after that.I glanced around the room I was in. It looked cozy but a bit luxurious. Thick curtains were covering the windows and if it wasn't the light, the whole room would have been flooded in darkness. I was all alone in the room. Jason had been the last voice I heard before everything went blank, so was he here? He had to be."Jason" I called tentatively, my voice carrying eerily Into the room. Did our plan work out? I was still alive so I guess that counted for something. Maybe Jason was in
CELINE HERRERA POV "You have ten minutes" I got out as I took in the condition of David. He was chained to the wall and seemed to be in a great deal of pain. He'd had bruises before but Belshar had punched him a few times, so he had new ones. "Tell me why you came here. What's going on" I asked.David groaned, his hand flexing against the cuffs. I shouldn't feel sorry for him but I did. There was nothing I could do to ease his suffering though. Also, we didn't know if he was here on Xavier's behalf to spy on us or if he was by himself.The only reason he wasn't dead was because of me. Belshar had wanted to kill him but stopped after I urged and begged him to spare him, so he was chained up instead."So you got your memory back" he got out choosing to ignore my question. I stepped closer to him. "Yes I did. Xavier gave me the scar on my head. He tried to kill me"."He never meant to, plus you pissed him off and Xavier's never been good with channeling his emotions" "I'm sure you're
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV "We need to join them at the table," Celine murmured against my chest, where she had her face pressed against."But I quite like it here. Just the two of us, dancing under the moonlight"Her arms wrapped around me. "Me too," she sighed, then glanced up at me.Her eyes sparkled, reflecting the iridescent glow of the moon. I wanted to get lost in them."It feels so good to get away from everything, doesn't it""Yeah," I nodded, then caressed her cheek. "How are you feeling. Has it been difficult with Sadie""Not too hard since you help out a lot... Antonia has also been a good help to her. Thank you for getting her. You were right, she's really good at her job"I grinned. "I am happy to hear that. If it gets too hard, tell me okay"She nodded. "I will"Celine gaze darted to the hall as the music coming from inside changed."Do you think they'll notice that we've been gone for a while?" she asked, meeting my gaze."Kail is keeping them busy with his MC skills. We
CELINE HERRERA POV Giving birth was a nightmare, but as I stared at my beautiful baby girl's face, I couldn't help my heart filling up with joy and love. I glanced up at Belshar who was grinning down at the baby in my hand."She's so tiny" he got out, his voice filled with awe. "I know, right? After all that food, I thought she'd be a lot bigger"His grin stretched, his eyes crinkling at the side. "She's perfect," he said, then looked up at me. "Just like her mother"Color filled my cheek and I leaned toward him. "And she's strong just like her father," I said and pressed a kiss to his lips.His eyes were moist with tears when I pulled back.My heart squeezed; the feeling of too much happiness in my chest suffocating. But I loved it. I loved everything I felt when I was with Belshar."You're going to be a great father Belshar"He took my hand. "I promise to always be there for you and our daughter. And our other kids that we are going to have very soon," he grinned."Hey, what's tha
KAIL NESSAR ABED POV "Oh," Karen gasped, then pulled away from the kiss.I stared at her, my heart pounding as I took in her flushed face and swollen lips."What's wrong?" I asked as I watched her try and catch her breath."Celine. Celine and Belshar are here. They were the ones who told me about where you were. I was scared to come alone, so they came with me"I shook my head as I sucked in a deep breath. "I know," I said, then turned, and pointed to where Celine's phone was peaking through the hallway by the side of the wall.The phone soon disappeared and I chuckled. She probably noticed me staring and pointing at it."You two can come out now! Your cover has already been blown" I yelled and waited.Celine was the first to come out. She smiled as she gave a small wave. "Oh my God, Kail, it's been how long since you vanished," she said, The guilty smile on her lips stretching the closer she got to Karen and I. Belshar followed behind and stopped by Celine's side when they reached u
KAIL NESSAR ABED POV "What the hell do you want?" I groaned as I stumbled out of bed, my feet studding against the bedframe and jarring me awake as pain shot up my body. "God damn it"I grumbled as I walked out of the room. It was probably room service. My head throbbed and I barely managed to avoid tripping on the bottles that littered all over the floor. Just how much did I drink last night?"I told you not to fucking bother—" The words died on my lips as I yanked the door open and came face to face with Karen.I stared at her, my heart stopping for a beat."Karen—" her name escaped my lips as my heart kicked up in my chest, and then I clenched my eyes shut. "God, I am going crazy," I groaned, then chuckled under my breath as I rubbed my hand over my face. "I must be drunk out of my fucking mind. How long am I going to keep seeing your face, Karen," I muttered to myself, then pulled my hand away.My brows furrowed as I stared at her. Why was she still standing there? On a normal da
CELINE HERRERA POV "Absolutely not," Belshar said, then faced Victoria, who quickly looked away and shrugged. "You cannot travel in that condition""Why not? I already gave Karen my word that I was going to be her wingwoman," I pouted, and he scoffed."You are not going to be traveling, Celine, and that's final. Call Karen and tell her that you won't be able to go with her." He said then paced for a bit before turning to face me. "Did you forget what you went through in the past months? The doctor said no stress"I crossed my arms, my brows furrowing hard as I frowned. "Travelling is hardly any stress and you owe me this much after everything that happened"Belshar let out a sigh of frustration and then glanced at Victoria again. "Are you not going to say anything. Tell her just how dangerous traveling is in her condition" he said and I looked at her, my eyes daring her to say anything that was not in my favor She sighed as she dropped the towels she was folding. "If it's just for a
CELINE HERRERA POV THREE MONTHS LATER "What's wrong. You've been spacing off for a while now" Karen turned to face me and then shook her head, her eyes squinted to avoid the glare of the sun."Nothing's wrong," she answered, and I gave her a look because even a blind mind could tell by her aura that things were not right."You know you can always talk to me right"She forced a smile. "I know that"I couldn't help becoming more concerned. "If you're still traumatized about the whole thing you went through, I can fix you an appointment with the therapist that helped me when I experienced something similar"She sighed and came to sit beside me. "No, you don't have to do that at all. I promise I'm really fine."I nodded even though I wasn't convinced. There has been something off with her ever since the rescue and her refusal to talk to me was starting to make me worry.I already felt bad that she got dragged into our family's mess and had to go through something so horrible, so why wa
KAIL NESSAR ABED POV I watched as they wheeled her away, my heart burning in my chest.Belshar walked toward me; his face was grim and emotionless. He stopped in front of me and my jaws clenched, the anger in my chest poisoning my blood."You sure took your time, Belshar"He scoffed, his gaze moving over me. "That's what you think but I didn't take a rest for the ten days you both were captured, kail. I did everything possible to make sure you didn't have to die In this dump""If it was Celine, you would have made sure you rescued her in time" I roared and grabbed his shirt. "Do you have any idea what Karen went through in there? She's probably going to be traumatized after this" I gritted and saw red when he smirked."What the hell is so funny" I gritted out, the urge to punch him in the face becoming impossible to resist."I didn't think I'd see the day you would be concerned for someone else. I thought you were angry for yourself, but it turns out it's for Karen. You're down that
KAREN POV I started to get up and stopped when he reached out, his gaze intent on mine."Don't" he started, then swallowed, his gaze darting away from mine. "You don't have to get up"My face flushed and the prickly feeling in my neck intensified despite the frigid air. "Don't you like me anymore?" I asked and he shook his head, even though the action caused him a bit of discomfort."I like you a lot, Karen. You have no idea how hard it has been for me to have you so close and not be able to do anything" he said, his gaze pinning mine. "From the moment I laid eyes on you at the cafe, you consumed my thoughts. I couldn't help but watch you... I must have scared you"I bit down on my lips. "You did scare me at the start but I knew you weren't going to hurt me"A flicker of a smile ghosted across his lips, then he became serious. "You told me at the cafe before all of this happened that you loved Enoch. I told you how I felt about you and that was your reply"I twiddled with my thumb,
KAREN POV "I used to really hate Belshar, you know," Kail got out as he turned on his side to face me."Why?" I asked, staring into his grey eyes. "Because father and mother used to pay more attention to him than me. It was almost as if I didn't exist back then. They always had their eyes on him, so I had to go the extra mile just to get them to notice me."He paused, and I watched as a wry smile played on his lips. He looked so sad, it hurt my heart."I started to bully him because of that. I took pleasure in causing him pain since he took all my joy away. Father and mother soon noticed, and instead of getting in trouble, they told me that they were proud of me. So the pattern formed. It was only when I hurt him that Mother smiled at me, so I did it more times than often. But that feeling of finally being noticed soon faded because it was still because of him. I hated him so much all I thought about was killing him""And Belshar never fought back," I asked. It was a bit surprising