I shook my arm free from his grip and stared at his face blankly. He didn’t turn to return the favor of staring; he knew what he was doing, and by the look on his face, he looked proud. "How can you treat me like this?" I uttered, my heart seemed to have stopped beating."I want you two outside." He didn’t bother answering me. He can’t get away with it. Either he answers me or I will cause so much ruckus that he will not be able to rest. "Xavier!" I yelled, finally able to get his attention. His eyes were slightly red; his breaths were calm, but one could feel the tension in his body.‘’Answer me.’’ I demanded. Jace and Miranda both halted behind him."You are not in a state of li," I said, but my mind blew off before he could say anything. He can’t treat me like this. What state? He had kidnapped me, and I was not in the right state. Before any of us could realize, I slapped him with my full strength. Miranda covered her mouth in shock while Jace stepped forward along with the guar
"I have to go; you don’t understand." I kept pleading while Jace rubbed his hands and walked around me nervously. "You can’t," he said, taking a deep breath and wearing a sad face. "Something has happened to my sister, and I need to go there." I grabbed his collar and looked him in the eye. He suddenly stopped walking and stared back into my eyes. "Everything is going to be fine." He reassured me; he knew something. That’s it. He knew everything. "Tell me everything you know, Jace," I was breathing profusely. His hands gently grabbed my arms and pulled me close. "Everything is okay," he said while looking into my eyes. I don’t know if I was searching for something or if he was searching for something in my eyes. "I am scared," I mumbled, taking steps away from him. "You don’t have to be, as long as I am here. Nobody can harm you, Phoenix." I was hugging myself when he uttered those words. How can I trust him after everything he has ever done to me? "You broke that trust a lon
I was really tired, and no one has visited me for hours. I had to seek answers; I couldn’t wait because Jace said so.‘’WILL SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY AM I BEING HELD CAPTIVE?’’ I kicked the door and yelled, then walked away as I sighed. Suddenly, the door opened up. Coming inside was Miranda. I rolled my eyes at her image. "I don’t want a provocatively sexy secretary to seduce me right now." The sarcasm was on point. That’s what she has been doing, anyway. I never saw her doing any productive work. She was always around Xavier like a honeybee."All you need is a little common sense." She replied, putting her body weight on one foot and folding her arms around her chest.‘’You talking about sense makes no sense at all.’’ I rolled my eyes, folding my arms as well. We both stared into each other’s eyes aggressively."What is the problem with you? What do you want?' She was acting like I was some idiot. In her eyes, I should be happy—happy that I am imprisoned."I want my freedom and so
I didn’t sleep for more than thirty minutes. Maybe it was my mind that needed rest. I sat in terror, my breathing was raced and my heart beat like a drum. My sister has been murdered, along with her unborn child. I looked around and found myself in Xavier’s room."You okay?" I heard him coming towards me. He was sitting in a chair in the far corner of the room."I need to go," I finished what I was going to say before he stood straight from his chair and slowly took a few steps toward me."There is nothing left in that home, Phoenix." He carefully murmured, keeping his eyes on me as if he were making sure I didn’t break down into tears again."But I just want to see it, the place where my sister di--" I couldn’t even finish my words and burst into tears again. He hurried toward me and sat very close."Your father is still wanted. We don’t know what he is planning, and I can’t risk it." His voice was calm and very supportive, but I didn’t need any comfort other than seeing the house fo
"Did he?" Xavier didn’t turn to see the guy. He was mending his cufflinks, and that wasn’t a good sign."His daughter broke a major rule, and he punished her himself. No other father can do this. He should be awarded." The idiot man kept talking, and the people around him wouldn’t stop nodding. It was a shame to see how illiterate these people were. Zoe had decided to do it; it was her choice. Who the hell were they to stand against her?"I spit on your mentality." I tried to break free from the guard to at least slap the filth out of this guy, but the guard didn’t plan on leaving me."His daughters are nothing but a shame." The guy looked at me and muttered. I stopped protesting. These people have a weird kind of hatred for me in their eyes. They see me as a sinner. Now I know why Xavier kept me in his mansion."You are right." I heard Xavier raising his voice and slowly turning to face us all. My heart has started to beat faster now. I stared at him in shock, and so did everyone els
After Xavier left, it left me stranded with Jace."Are you okay?" Jace’s murmur caught my attention."I don’t know. I am losing everything—my sanity, my energy, and even everyone," I replied, but I didn’t wait for him to say anything. Soon I walked inside the room I woke up in after I thought they had abducted me."I know how it feels." I didn’t realize that Jace had followed me to my room. "The people we love are always the ones giving us pain. Either by leaving us or by breaking us.’’ his words were deep, but somewhere Xavier was going through the same pain and even alone. "I have still not forgotten about your mother, Jace, and after losing my sister today, I intend to give you your family back." I assured him it was strange to talk to him now after so many brutal incidents."I don’t want you to drag yourself into another trouble, Phoenix. You already have too much going on." He gave me a closed-lip smile, and I did the same, but my smile was more fake than his."Why did he abduct
"My elder sister, Michelle Charming." He looked at me and smiled."She was your sister?" I felt terrible. All that time I was jealous of his sister?"Phoenix, you are an idiot. Do you really think I fell in love with you while carrying someone else in my heart?" He caressed my cheeks. The warmth of his finger gave me chills."I’m so sorry." I lowered my head in embarrassment. "What happened?""She died when I was nine." He said, pain taking over his smile."Oh," I kept my eyes lowered."There is a history behind this town and every person. My sister’s only fault was that she tried to change the rules, just like you. But it was sad because she couldn’t even trust her own father. She needed someone to believe her and help her, but father didn’t want the town to know anything. For him, this town, his prestige was more important than anything else." There was pain in his eyes."You don’t have to deal with all this pain alone, Xavier; I’m with you now," I said while holding his hand."You
Author’s POV:Years Ago:After Markeel told Paul he could stick with him and get Phoenix just like Markeel is going to get Millie again."Tell me you are not thinking about it, Paul," Phoenix shook Paul out of his thoughts and requested that he not listen to Markeel."He is committing a crime, and he is dragging you into it," Phoenix begged him not to consider it, but from the looks of it, Paul was already giving it some thought."She is never sleeping with you until you do exactly what I am telling you," Markeel told Paul again, holding his gun against Millie’s temple."He is not breathing!" Malika yelled after checking Frank’s pulse one more time. When Markeel heard that, his face turned pale.He never expected it to go this bad. As everybody started mourning Frank, Markeel felt the pressure."What have you done?" Millie cried, unable to reach Frank because Markeel was holding her back."Shut the fuck up!" Markeel yelled at everyone, and silence engulfed them once again."Paul!" Mar