"It’s late. I should head back home." I stepped back from him and looked up again. He had a smile of relief on his lips. Probably because I was finally talking normally to him."I’ll walk you home if you don’t mind." It wasn’t even an offer. He started walking alongside me. Strangely, I liked having him on my side. Or maybe it was my way of stopping focusing on Mr. Mayor and getting involved somewhere else."Thanks," I mumbled, staring at the track."Thank me later for the coffee." His voice fell on my eardrums like a sweet murmur."Don’t you need money from your daddy, Mayor?" The mean girl inside me hit him with sarcasm. The funny part was that I giggled confidently."Nope, I’ll sell you to pay for coffee." His dark jokes were always the reason I rolled my eyes at him. His laugh made me turn to him and narrow my eyes at him."How mean?" I tied my lips into a tight, straight line when scoffing playfully. My eyes were arguing with him like a three-year-old baby."At least I won’t be t
“Is something bothering you?” Jace finally snapped me out of my thoughts. He looked worried about me. The fear was visible on my face; my eyes weren’t focusing on anything else after reading that text.“No---,” I mumbled, “actually it’s late and Derrell wants me home,” I lied, wanting to leave because I kept feeling like I was being watched.“Oh, I’ll talk to him,” Jace passed me a weak smile when expressing his desire to make me stay a little longer. It was true, though. I wanted to stay and talk to someone who was normal. He didn’t pass comments at me tonight or made me uncomfortable. I needed a friend who I can talk to when I was really down.“Umm-- I---,” I stuttered, “I really want to stay but--“ I rubbed my palms nervously, staring outside the window to look for whoever was sending me these texts. That person must have been around to know I am having coffee with Jace.It was so pleasant talking to Jace. That stalker ruined it for me. It's an everyday thing, someone ruins my happ
Jace left, and I started walking home all by myself. Thankfully, the unknown caller didn’t bother me with his threats again. So I assumed I would be fine. I was almost home when I received a call from Derrell, asking me if Zoe was still with me."She is not at home?" I asked, slowing down my steps and wondering where she could be."No! would I be calling you if she was at home?" Derrell scoffed at me, loud enough for me to steadily pull the phone away from my ear."I--- umm! I will call you back when I find her," I answered him in a panicking tone."Wait! so she is not with you?" He raised his voice at me after his anxiety took over him. Derrell cared a lot about Zoe’s safety.As for me, he just didn’t care. I sometimes wondered if I was even his biological daughter.I hung up on him since talking to him wasn’t helpful. I was the one who grabbed her out of the house to visit Felicity, but she left hours before.Derrell started calling me again, and I reluctantly picked up his call."E
"Let’s go inside and see how she feels about you spying on her intimate session?" Mr. Mayor straightened his back and, without giving me a warning, dragged me inside the room to shove me against the wall."Ouch!" I yelped, sticking to the corner and watching him walk over to the closet to grab a shirt. I was still not sure what was going on here.Zoe walked out of the bathroom after she had worn a bathrobe, but the guy stayed inside."Zoe! What is going on here? Who was that guy?" I asked the instant I saw her. From the looks of it, she looked fine and happy, but annoyed at my presence in the room."Why did you come here?" Zoe yelled, exceeding my expectations. I expected her to be subtle, to make an excuse and make up a lie, but she simply asked me why I was looking for her."I was worrie---," I was trying to talk, but Mr. Mayor roaming around distracted me a little."She did it so she could embarrass me in front of dad," Zoe said, staring into my soul."I---I wanted to know if you w
I was shaking when I watched him come closer. My mouth was beginning to turn dry at the sight of a snake. There was no way he could have figured out my fear of reptiles. Could it be the files he talked about when he said he had found all the information on me? With Zoe crying, and him holding what I feared the most, I was slowly losing my posture. My plan of not showing anyone my weakness was slowly wearing off."Phoenix," he came to a halt right in front of me, just so he could hunch over and look me in the eye."Let her go," I said, keeping a straight face, but the tears forming in my eyes showed how scared I was. I hugged myself, sticking my stare into the space to avoid stealing a glance at that snake."But she would never help you out. Why do you want to save her and not yourself?" he murmured with his eyes on the snake as he slowly took it out of the cage. My muscles were cramped at the sight of it."Sometimes we need to get out of our mean self-dilemmas and just do what’s right
Xavier Charming’s POV:I watched her for a moment before I stepped away from her. What she said about not using my past to hurt others stuck with me. Her words left me speechless. Why is she so convincing? Everything she says always makes sense. I was so lost that I didn’t even notice she had run out of the room. My body shuddered when I heard a painful shriek coming from outside. Exiting my room in a panic, I ran toward the source of the screams. My heart stopped for the first time.I’ve never cared for anyone, not in a very long time. For me, life and death, pain and relief, were the stages of life. But just the thought of her in pain frightened me. I didn’t think twice before running like a maniac. I quickly searched the hallway. The voice must have come from downstairs. Even though I could hear my mother tell me to leave Phoenix in pain, just the thought of it was making my heart restless. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, my entire world came crashing before my eyes when I sa
Phoenix’s POV:I couldn’t believe this man did this to me. He slept with me when he found me unconscious."You are so cruel," I muttered in my mouth, trying to get up and force myself to regain my posture but failing miserably. I saw him leaning over a bit and breathing out a breath full of exhaustion. "I gave you shelter, and this is how you are gonna repay me?" His eyes had a hint of anger in them. He didn’t care if the person in front of him died; he just wanted to feel like he was the in-charge of everyone’s life.He sucked his lips after the completion of his words and postured his back straight, shrugging his shoulders.‘’And you raped me,’’ I yelled with my eyes closed. Even the thought of him touching me made my skin crawl. I scanned his face in hatred, but there was nothing there: a blank.“I did?” He raised a brow and for the first time, "I --- wow! what made you---," he closed his eyes and then laughed, making me feel disgusted with him. Like what the hell was seriously wr
"Zoe, don’t do that," I yelled, my lungs beginning to bleed from behind the closed door. I wondered if they could even listen to me. But there were a lot of noises coming from downstairs. It was as if he was beating up Zoe's or Mia. I was now able to recall how rough he used to be to my mom when she was alive. I was only a child when I would find him throwing water in her face or even coffee whenever he didn’t like something she said. He was always abusive, but this has gone too far."Zoe?" I called out to her again to stop her from making that mistake, but she never responded to me. I sat down on the cold floor again, my back against the wall, and began sobbing. If Mayor comes here, Derrell and he will make sure they make my life miserable.I don’t know when I dozed off on the floor, but when I woke up, I realized there were more noises coming from the ground floor this time.I forced myself up and reached the window. Seeing cars and recognizing them made my body shudder. He was here
"Are you guys okay? Did he hurt any of you?" Xavier’s voice was so calm for me. Maddox wanted to hug his father. I was craving it too, but Jace was only triggered now. "Daddy, I don’t like my uncle," Maddox said in a broken voice. A tear of fear slowly rolled down his cheek. "You scared my son," Xavier said, his eyes stuck on Maddox when he mumbled, slowly playing with his cuff-links. ‘’We can sort it out please,’’ I was not in danger of losing anyone. ‘’Let him decide that,’’ Jace smiled, looking at Xavier but this time Jace wasn’t so calm as well. "You have one choice, cousin, either save your beloved wife or your minion son," Jace said, pointing his gun at both of us one by one. "Resist, and both of them die," he added."Xavier, please save him," I mumbled, turning to look into his eyes from a distance. ‘’And let you die? Never,’’ he uttered in his mouth, his eyes on Jace. "C’mon, the clock is ticking, bro. Make up your mind,’’ Jace voiced, ‘’choose one.’’ "Xavier, please
My heart was racing inside my chest. I have more to worry about now. It wasn’t only I in the room but my son, my life: Maddox. I slowly turned my body around, shivering at the thought of seeing him again after so long. ‘’Ah! It almost felt like a decade," his voice has turned heavy, his messy beard and long hair were showing that he never aimed to start over and waited for this moment his entire life. To hold on to revenge for that long, I must say he has no other ambitions for himself."Jace!" I announced, looking at the gun being pointed at me."Oh! You still remember my name?" He mocked me, clicking his tongue and shaking his head in disapproval."Why are you here?" I asked in panic, gulping as he reached for Maddox."Let him go," I said, looking in the direction of my son, whom Jace was holding by his tiny arm. Even the thought of him hurting my son was killing me. I wished he had been caught long ago. Just when I was finally happy in my life, he had to come ruin it for me.‘’Di
We were in Paris for the past two days. It was amazing, and the boys were having a lot of fun together."Dad, why did you marry my mother?" Maddox mumbled, trying to reach for an ice-cream as we three sat on the table in a restaurant. "Your mother," Xavier whispered, bowing in Maddox’s ear, "completes me. She makes me laugh, forces me into doing the right thing, fights with me to do things her way, and you know what’s the best part? I actually listen to her. I end up doing whatever she says," Xavier’s eyes were at me, his beautiful hawk eyes digging holes in mine. ‘’Why?’’ Maddox was not the type to quit asking questions, even for once. He was a very talkative soul.Because I love her. And when you love someone, you just do everything to make them happy. Making her happy makes me happy," He slowly blinked his eyes, reminding me of the time when I first saw him. I vividly remember the first day I saw him. And whenever he forced me to do something, I ended up forcing him to do it my w
"I can’t move," I laid in my bed, holding a book in my lap, and resting my head on the soft pillow. I looked at Xavier from the corner of my eyes. He was staring at me blankly. ‘’what?’’ I annoyingly spoke. ‘’You need to eat something,’’ He put his hands on his waist like a baby and mumbled. I was not starving myself, but every time he forced me to eat something, I felt wonderful. It was just that the morning sickness was too much for me.‘’Really? I didn’t know that," I tried to hold back my laugh and buried my head back in the book. ‘’You are starving my baby,’’ he pointed his finger at my belly and rolled his eyes."So you don’t care about me, just about your baby?" I was being a little annoying. I was arguing about everything; it’s not like I haven’t done that before, but yeah! I was four months pregnant and extremely moody."No," he replied bluntly, and then a smile appeared on his lips, "Okay! jokes apart, get up and eat something," he ordered, narrowing his beautiful eyes my
"This is so unfair," I broke down in tears instantly. Zoe deserved justice, even though Derrell got his punishment, but I wanted the extreme limits of torture for him."I’m coming home, Phoenix; please, calm yourself down," his voice was so calming to my ears at that moment that I looked at him and he looked uneasy."It’s okay. Don’t rush, I’ll be fine," I said, wiping away my tears with the back of my hand. I had to be prepared to talk to him about stuff, and I've got news for him as well. At the moment, I had a feeling that he knew I had seen everything.I took a shower and changed into a tight, white, knee-length dress. After hearing about my pregnancy, so much had changed in me. I was getting over disasters pretty quickly.I waited for Xavier while watching TV. I don’t know but suddenly the hopeless life was full of meanings and charms.I saw Xavier coming with the guards. His sight was shooting into my eyes. But he didn’t look pleased."Why didn’t you call me instantly?" He voice
Phoenix’s POV:I watched the person crawl in my direction, but my heart was pounding with every little detail of this person.It was Morgan, my uncle Morgan. He crawled like a dog near me, his eyes were sewed shut and so were his lips from the sides only. His fingers were cut, and his body was naked with just shorts on. He had no hair; his eyebrows were shaved, as was his head. He somehow knew it was me. The pain was visible on his face. My eyes jumped out of their sockets at the sight before them. He kept coming towards me, and the state of shock was so intense that I couldn’t move.I had no idea when he crawled over me. I was still sitting, but his whole existence was so terrible. Suddenly, Hardie left Jace on the ground and ran in my direction. I screamed, looking away and hugging myself. It was horrible. Hardie approached and grabbed Morgan by his collar. He had a collar on. Hardie punched him in the back and pulled him inside the room, locking him quickly. I was still yelping and
Jace’s POV: A Few Hours Ago:"I don’t understand what Phoenix is up to," I was walking around restlessly, wondering what exactly was Phoenix planning to do now.I was waiting for her in the hallway after dinner, as I knew this was the only place where I could have a word with her. Once she goes into her room, she will not come out till morning.Some things were making me wonder if I was even doing the right thing by trusting her.As soon as I spotted her walking towards the room, I blocked her way to have a word with her."Jace! What are you doing?" She motioned for me to step aside."I'm here to get some answers from you," I stated anxiously. I swear I heard moans coming from their room several times."I don’t have time for this. We will talk some other time," she tried excusing, but I didn’t budge."No! I need to know what is going on. You said you didn’t want to be with him, then why are you marrying him?" I hissed at her, trying to keep my calm, but it was becoming impossible in t
That was pretty much a clue for me to check that room. But it was closed. I tried opening it or even pushing it, but it didn’t do anything. I looked at the code and thought to try it, but what if I tried it and it turned out to be wrong and an alarm blared in? I kept looking at it; I have to look at what was inside it. Taking a few steps further, I saw a room with *Sec* written over it. What if sec actually means se*? It could be second, or, wait, it's got to be security. Now all the rooms were locked to keep something from escaping, but this one was opened. I helped myself in. The biggest surprise that I got was that there were computers showing some footage. I was shocked when I saw there were cameras everywhere in his town, and this was the place where he used to watch everything. "That’s how he used to know what was happening around?" I was surprised but also intrigued.I sat on the chair and looked at the cameras. There was no footage from inside anyone’s house, so that meant th
"What are you looking at?" Xavier asked, watching me stare at the sky while we lay on the mattress on the rooftop."This will be our star," I giggled, drunk."You have drink too much, my love," He shifted his side toward me and planted a kiss on my shoulders."You make me happy," I babbled, laughing and kissing his hand, holding it to my chest."We both are each other’s paradise," he uttered, kissing my earlobe and making me giggle. "I love you, Xavier," I whispered happily."Maddox," he looked at the sky and mumbled out of the blue. I was the one drunk, but his words made me wonder if he was also wasted."What?" I asked. This time, I had my face turned toward him."I’ll name my first child Maddox, Maddox Charming," he said, a wide smile on his face. He tangled his fingers in mine and held my hand tightly. I was glad inside. Talking about children meant our relationship was growing. ‘’What if it is a girl?’’ I turned my face to him and watched him with love. He was looking at the st