MEGHANAfter miraculously surviving getting beaten up, Chase gave me his bedroom.I lay in his bed, bruised and battered with nightmares about the large man who had beat me up. I tried to get away from him, but he would always find me.There was no way to escape. No matter how often I woke up and closed my eyes in a different position, the nightmare would return the next time I fell asleep.How was I ever to trust a man again? Getting beaten up by one made me realize one thing: men and women are not physically the same.Men would always be stronger, bigger, and badder. That knowledge was slowly making me fear them.I tried to fall asleep by pressing my head into the pillow and pulling the blanket tighter around me. I wasn't sure why Chase had given me his bedroom, but I wasn't one to complain.My mind drifted off, and then I saw it. That face and that evil smile belonging to the man who beat me.Hot blood ran over my skin, and it wouldn't stop. I saw myself trying to fight back but ge
CHASEI guess winning her over wasn't going to be as easy as I thought.My arrogance took over my brain, and I kissed her even though she was feeling vulnerable and crying her eyes out.To my surprise, she gave in too easily. I thought she would push me off and slap me. Or bite my lip like the last time. On the other hand, maybe she was starting to warm up to me."Ow!" she groaned as I kissed her deeper.Shit, her lips. I forgot she had a cut on her lip because of those guys. Those filthy bastards, I'm going to find them one by one and slaughter them. But first, I needed to find out who sent them.I looked at her after breaking the kiss. "Did they say who sent them?"Meghan shook her head. "No. They kept saying I shouldn't be with you, and they were being nice by not getting rid of me." She sobbed.Fuck, Jennifer had something to do with this after all. I didn't want to believe she was capable of doing something like this. But then again..."Are you really going to sleep with me here?
MEGHANI sat in the dark, contemplating whether I should jump out the window or not.My room was too high, so there was no way I could safely land on the ground without breaking my neck. I hated being here with Chase, but not enough to kill myself.Besides, it's not like he was torturing me here. He hadn't even tried to kiss me since last night. In fact, I haven't seen him since he said goodbye this morning. Where was he, anyway? I wanted to have a long chat with him. What was his plan with me? There was no way I was willing to be his mistress, so he couldn't keep me a prisoner here forever! I was planning on keep fighting him until he was annoyed by me. But now, I also had to worry about someone else hurting me.Who were those men anyway?Someone knocked on my door. Was it Chase? I didn't feel like seeing him, but I bet he would come in even if I told him no."It's Leslie."Oh. I was weirdly disappointed it wasn't him. I was hoping to ask him more about last night."What is it?" I as
MEGHANErin was studying me carefully.She led me to the home theater, which I didn't know existed. I didn't exactly explore the house since I was too busy being the prisoner around here."This is quite something," I said while staring at the 146-inch screen on the wall."Chase and I used to watch a lot of movies together when we were kids, so I guess he still loves doing that.""And what about now? Don't you watch movies with him anymore?" I asked and titled my brow. Before spilling my guts to her, I needed to figure out how close this brother and sister were. What if she was just as evil?"No, Chase and I aren't close. He doesn't have time to spend time with me. He thinks I'm boring," she whispered.I see..."I am sure he is wrong about that. Just like he is wrong about a lot of other things.""What do you mean?" she looked at me curiously. "What else is he wrong about?""Well, for one, he is wrong thinking that I want to be with him," I snarled. "I don't want to be his girlfriend o
CHASEAnother minute rolled by after Meg declared her love for her stepbrother, but I said nothing yet.So my suspicions are confirmed. That asshole Adrian had her before me. I didn't want to believe it."You need to hear it again? I love Adrian. Not you. It was never you. Even when I was dating you in Boston, I thought about him all the time.""You are lying," I said with gritted teeth."No. I never wanted us to be in a serious relationship. I cared for you, and I wanted to fall in love with you, but I just couldn't. I could only think about Adrian."I moved toward her fast, then grabbed her throat. "Shut up.""Do you know why I never had sex with you? Because Adrian was my first, and I had a slither of hope that he would be my last," she hissed.Her words cut me deep like a knife."So you did fuck your brother, huh? I had a feeling, but I didn't want to believe it," I snarled."Does it disgust you, Chase? I am not some innocent little virgin. Sure, I fucked him just once, but it did
MEGHAN I watched in shock as Chase pointed a gun at his father. He wasn't planning on shooting his own father because of me, was he? I couldn't imagine him doing something so insane. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Chase?" his father roared. Chase flinched, and his hand shook, but he didn't put the gun down. "You can't take her, dad. I won't let you. She is mine!" Chase said. "Is that right? So you finally decided to grow some balls. Too bad it's for the wrong reason," Chase's father shook his head as if he was disappointed in him. "I love her, dad. I never loved anyone in my life. I won't let you take her away." For the first time, I believed Chase. "This isn't your choice to make, especially when you are over here trying to defy me. There is a lesson to be learned, and that is never to cross me. Put the gun down, and let my men take her away," his dad said. Chase's father's face was calm, but I could tell he was angry at his son for interfering with his business.
MEGHAN No. There was no way Chase was dead. He couldn't be, right? I closed my eyes, hoping this was just a nightmare. It will soon be over once I open my eyes again. But I was wrong because Chase was still lying on the ground, covered in his own blood when I opened my eyes. I touched him again. His skin was turning cold. So I did lose him forever. It was my fault he was dead. His gun was lying right beside him, so I snatched it off the floor. "Really? Do you think you can shoot me after what you just witnessed?" Chase's father laughed. "How can you laugh after killing your own son? Don't you have any conscience at all?" I cried out. "Don't you feel sad for losing your only son?" "Of course I do. I loved my son," he snarled. Funny way of showing it. "Like you said, he was my only son. He was supposed to be my successor and take over my business. But he betrayed me by trying to pick your side instead of mine. And I would rather have a dead son than a traitor son." I felt sic
ADRIANI held Maggie closer to my chest, cradling her in my arms.She passed out as soon as I spoke to her. I guess she couldn't take it anymore, and frankly, I didn't blame her for losing strength. This was quite the situation to be in. I couldn't imagine how scared she must've been this whole time. I wish I could've come here faster, but things were a bit complicated."We need to take her to the hospital," Luke's voice snapped me back to reality. I nodded. I wasn't sure how much they hurt her. I could kill Chase for bringing her into this, but I could see someone else already did."Yeah, take her. She needs help," Erin said dryly as she stared at us intently."What about you?" Luke asked Erin."Do I look like I need help?" Erin snapped.Luke shook his head. "Fuck no. You are terrifying. Who knew a sweet girl like you would turn out to be some kind of a Mafia princess."Erin frowned. "I...I'm not a Mafia princess.""Whatever you are, it's kind of hot. Wanna go out to drink after this
ADRIAN I jumped to my left to dodge the flying piece of strawberry shortcake with cream cheese frosting. Fortunately, it missed my ear by an inch, landing on an empty chair. Phew... That was close. Whose idea was it to put a one year old in charge of a whole cake? Meghan Parker, that's who. "Am I allowed to take it away from her yet? I shot her an intense glare for the fourth time. Maggie giggled. "No, just a few more pictures." "Pictures of what?" "Our daughter!" "That's not our daughter. That's a cake slugging demon child. Look at her. She doesn't even have a face anymore. It just looks like a giant blob of frosting," I point at Olivia, who had smashed her whole face on the cake a few times while giggling like a maniac. I guess that's why they call it a 'smash cake.' I'm glad she is enjoying her party, though. "ADRIAN!" Maggie scolded me. "I'm kidding! Gosh. I love Olivia. She is my favorite daughter," I winced. "Your only daughter," Natasha remarked, then walked over to
MEGHAN It's Christmas day today, and Adrian was home again to spend it with us. After we found out I was pregnant two months ago, Adrian went back to training. I asked him not to tell our parents anything, and he agreed, begrudgingly so. I promised him I'd take care of myself and the baby in his absence. I had to keep wearing baggy clothes because I was starting to show way more. It was getting harder to hide my pregnancy from my mom and Steve. "Stop being so nervous," Adrian scolded me when I acted restless. Our parents threw a Christmas party with our friends and family, and he already threatened to reveal everything to them. "I can't help it. You said you are going to announce it to everyone. How are you going to do it? Because I don't want to do it," I said. "You will see. It's a surprise I created." Adrian grinned mischievously. I don't trust him. "Leave everything to me," he said again. "Why do you have to do this now and ruin Christmas?" I winced. "It's a great time to
ADRIANI waited outside the bathroom patiently as Maggie took her test. This was nerve-wracking, but I tried to remain calm.Everything is going to be fine.I was about to get a good job and will buy a nice house in Alaska. So, if Maggie is pregnant, we could raise our kid there.Our parents weren’t home yet, so it was just Maggie and me, thankfully.“How much longer?” I yelled.“Two more minutes.”Shit, only one minute has passed? Why did it feel like an eternity?I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Maggie scream.“NO!”“Maggie? What’s wrong?” I asked. Maybe the test came out negative, and Maggie is disappointed?The door burst open, and Maggie came out with a frantic expression on her face. “This…this can’t be right.” She shoved the stick toward me, waving it. “This is all your fault!”I took it off her hand and smiled. Two lines…that could mean one thing.“Maggie! You are pregnant. Congratulations to us!”“What? Don’t congratulate us! This is a disaster,” she said, tears dr
MEGHAN "Adrian! Oh my god, I missed you so much!" Tiffany screamed and tried to jump into Adrian's arms, but he grabbed her shoulders, slightly pushing her away from him. "Hey, Tiff. I missed you guys too," he said casually, then winked at me as if to tell me not to get jealous. She was just a friend like Luke as far as he was concerned. "Oh, hey, Meghan. Nice dress. Seems a little tight on you, isn't it?" she said slightly. Is she trying to make a fat joke? I was annoyed already, and I'd only been here for five minutes. "Hey, guys! You made it!" Luke yelled from across the room and then made his way to us. He wrapped one arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. "Looking hot, Maggie." "Hey, keep your hands to yourself, Lucas," Adrian barked. Tiffany giggled. "Why should he? She is his girlfriend." "Not anymore," Adrian said. Whoa, are we announcing our break up already? "What do you mean, not anymore? Did Luke break up with Maggie already?" Tiffany looked at me curiously.
ADRIANI stared at Maggie, who looked utterly dumbfounded by my announcement. She looked almost terrified. Was the idea of moving with me that terrible? I knew she would hesitate since her mom lives here, but I thought we would get away from them. They didn't want us to be together anyway."Maggie, are you okay?" I asked after she didn't say anything for a while."I…I don't understand what you mean," she said meekly."You don't understand? What part confuses you?" I raised my eyebrow."What do you mean move in with you? Move in where?" she asked.I guess it was taking her a while to fathom what was going on."After all the training and seeing my performance, they offered me a permanent position in the fire department. So, I was thinking I should take the job and move to Alaska permanently," I explained.Maggie still looked confused. Was she not understanding what I was trying to tell her? "Move to Alaska? Permanently? Then what will happen to me?"I chuckled. This girl was really maki
MEGHAN On Saturday, I woke up feeling hungrier than ever. It was the weekend Adrian was supposed to come home, but he hadn't even called me. Loneliness wrapped around me.Our parents were working this weekend, but Adrian was only coming home for my sake, so he didn't care. But the question was why he hadn't shown up yet.I stretched under the covers, blinking when my nose caught the smell of bacon. Music blasted from the kitchen, and I slowly sat up with a smile spreading over my lips. He was home. Hurriedly, I found my pajamas and stalked out of the bedroom. The music was getting louder, and Adrian was whistling along. It made my heart pound faster and faster until he came into view.There, recently showered and only wearing a pair of boxer briefs, Adrian shook his round ass while making breakfast. "OH YEAH, YEAH!" Adrian was listening to an old Bruno Mars song. He broke a few eggs, danced, and moved along with the music, but all I could focus on was his broad back roped with m
ADRIANI punched the bag again and groaned in frustration."Take it easy, Adrian. You will hurt your knuckles," my trainer Kevin hissed at me. "What the hell is wrong with you anyway? You've been distracted and grumpy lately.""I have not been grumpy. I don't know what the hell you are talking about," I grumbled."Yeah, whatever. Just keep your head in the game, okay? You have three more months here, and then you get to go home, so no need to act out," Kevin said."I am not acting out. What the hell? Haven't I been showing how good I am at this? Haven't I been proving myself?""Yes, Adrian. You've been doing well. I'm not complaining about your effort out here. I'm just saying these past few days, you've been moody and distracted and I need you to keep your focus back on your job. So you don't mess it up.""I just don't know how to tell my girlfriend about my plans here," I decided to confide in Kevin. Since I moved here, we've become good friends, so I figured I could trust him."You
MEGHANThree months later, it looked like Adrian would finally have some free time to come and visit me. It was about time.He had been hard to reach the entire day, though, so I was grumpy while we talked on the phone. "So you will be coming home?" I asked but tried not to sound too excited about the news. Adrian hadn't earned that for ignoring my messages all day."Yes, I'm coming home to you this weekend!" I could hear the beam he wore in his voice. "Aren't you excited?"I hummed, still pretending to be hard to catch. "I don't know...""You don't know? Maggie! It feels like three long years since I last saw your face! Facetiming doesn't count! I want to touch and see you in person. Take you out on a date. Surely you must miss me?"My chest constricted. I felt terrible lying to Adrian, but I couldn't help the mood swings I had been having lately. I went from sad to happy so fast these days that I was starting to believe I needed medication. It wasn't the only change I had gone t
MEGHANOne month later,I promised myself I wouldn't cry and try to understand where he was coming from, but it still hurt to see him go."I will visit every chance I get, Maggie," he had said, kissing my forehead."But you said you'd be in intense training and won't be able to visit," I sobbed.He said nothing because what I said was true. So why was he making empty promises? It would only make things harder on me.And then he was gone, and I was all alone again.This past month felt like it went in slow motion. Adrian called me every night, and we tried to do video chats, but it wasn't the same.I missed his touch, I craved it.Mom told Adrian and me not to say anything to Steve because it might make things worse, so we kept our relationship a secret from him. Finally, Adrian promised her that we'd break up before he left for Alaska, and mom didn't question him any more. Maybe when he comes back, we'll find a different way to be together."Maggie! Luke is here!" my mom called from t