VINCENT"Katerina! Katerina, stay with me. Are you okay?!" I yelled in her face, shaking her furiously in an attempt to wake her up. Her eyes peeked open and I realized just then, how tightly she had been shutting her eyes.I pulled her up properly and she blinked, placing a hand on her ear as she looked around with her chest heaving up and down from the way she was breathing fast.The atmosphere in the hall had shifted in an instant. One moment, the crowd was buzzing with anger and bad wishes for Da’ana, and the next, chaos erupted. I stood frozen, trying to control my heartbeat as the sharp sound of three gunshots rang out, cutting through the chatter like a knife. The crowd, previously vibrant and full of energy, froze in shock before erupting into panic.Guests screamed, their faces pale and wide-eyed, some dropping their glasses, the champagne spilling like a torrent on the polished floor. People stumbled backward, pushing against one another as they tried to escape, their rants
KATERINAOne minute, I was walking and the next minute, I was swept off my feet in bridal style and rushed towards Vincent's car. Vincent shoved me into the backseat of the car with an urgency I had never seen in him before. He barely managed to close the door before snapping at his driver, “Go. Now!” The car jolted forward, and I grabbed the seat, my pulse pounding as the city lights blurred past. I could feel Vincent’s tension radiating beside me, his hand gripping the edge of the seat. “Vincent, what’s going on?” I asked, trying to make sense of his panic, but he didn’t answer immediately. He kept glancing over his shoulder, out the rear window, and it was then that I realized with panic that there was a car coming after us."Vincent!" I said again, louder this time. He finally looked at me, and there was something in his expression that made my stomach drop.“It’s her,” he said quietly, his voice tight. “My mother’s following us.”I didn’t understand at first. Why would Da’ana b
KATERINAThe trees loomed above me, their branches twisting like skeletons against the black sky, and I could feel the ground beneath my feet, damp and unfamiliar. My heart was pounding, my breath coming in short, panicked bursts as I tried to make sense of where I was. But nothing made sense.I spun around, disoriented, trying to make sense of these figures but always coming up short. The shadows were moving toward me, slow at first, but with purpose. I tried to shout, to demand who they were, but my voice came out weak, almost swallowed by the air. “Who are you? What do you want?” My words echoed, but there was no answer. Only silence, and their steady approach.I backed away, but they were closing in from behind as well. My chest tightened with fear, my skin prickling with cold dread. “Please… someone… who are you?” My voice broke, tears welling in my eyes as the figures drew closer. There were more of them now, emerging from the shadows, their forms starting to take shape, coming
VINCENT"Sir, please can you spare twenty dollars for me and my baby? I really need to get something for both of us—" I turned to look at the person who was asking, and my eyes met a woman who looked like she was not even done being a teenager. She carried a little child in her arms, and quite frankly, the child looked very malnourished. The woman in question had fiery red unkempt hair, but was still freakishly beautiful, just like the baby.Without saying anything, I took out a few dollar bills from my pocket, not bothering to check how much. I knew it was a couple of hundred dollar bills which I had taken with me last minute as I hardly liked to carry cash around.Her hands were shaky as she accepted the money with moisture gathering in her eyes. I took out a card almost immediately too and handed it to her.After she had collected it, I told her, "That's my organization. They take care of people like you; you will get shelter and good food, coupled with education for your child wh
VINCENT"Who the hell are you?" I barked, struggling to hold myself from from combusting. She straightened, flipping her hair over her shoulder then swallowing, she told me, "Hi, I'm your new baby mama. My name is Angie." She had a nervous smile on her face which fully indicated that the lady was fucking lying to me. I was still a man known for self-control, so I decided that a trivial matter such as this was not going to make me lose my temper.Angie was cute. She looked like she would not be doing this if it was not for the money involved. She shifted her foot from time to time, trying her best not to look nervous but ended up looking it anyways.She was average height, dressed in an raunchy manner, and not even half as pretty as my firecracker. Another fun fact, I was pretty sure now that I had not seen this women in my life.I walked up to her, my steps menacing and fucking slow until I got directly in front of her. "You laid your hands on my girl because of your stupid lie?"He
KATERINARealizing that woman was a bloody liar did not bring the relief I had thought that it would. Instead, my blood simply boiled as I thought about his confident she had seemed, strolling into his house like she owned the place already. Like she could just snap her fingers and send me out immediately.It rubbed so badly on me, reminding me of my past so accurately; Whitney stepping foot into my house and taking my husband away from that day on. What were the odds that it would not happen again? I had asked myself when I saw her and she lodged her complaint.The bitch had really laid her hands on me. It was the first time in a long time that I had fought anyone, but I was not even ashamed of it. I threw hands and I did not even care if she caught them. By the time we were done, she had more bruises than I did. It made me more than okay.I kept wondering who had sent her though. The only person I could think of was Reina, but as far as I remembered, we did not even have that much
KATERINA"Once a slut, always a bloody slut, hmm?" I questioned, shaking out of the fear that had started to form in me. She just grinned."What? Annoyed that you do not have the kind of sexual appeal I do? The same appeal I once used to snatch your man away from you and won't hesitate to do again…" I felt Vincent's hand grab mine and start to peel open my palm that had clamped to a fist. I had not even realized it until he started to peel the palm open. I swallowed and let him, speaking now with gritted teeth,"If you think that you can escape this time, you definitely have something else coming for you. You cannot escape, Whitney. This is your end. I recommend that you brace yourself for what's coming, because I did not only come here to say hello. I took off my jacket, slowly, letting it fall to the floor as I signaled for the guards to take her into a cell behind her."Tie her up too." I suggested. They didn't hesitate.They grabbed her and dragged her into the dark cell while I
VINCENTMy Google search was filled with ideas on how to ask a girl out. I was as clueless as they came, and James was little help, seeing as he was currently nursing himself back from a breakup.Yes, the woman he had been head over heels in love with was no longer his girl. She had broken up with him after he had found out that she was cheating. Yes. He found out. She broke up with him.Fun fact, he was willing to forgive her. If had begged her for another chance after she had said she wanted to call it quits, and she did not agree to 'take him back'.Owen and I talked about the unfortunate over drinks one time, and my brother was livid. He wanted to meet with the girl for a one on one. Hell, I wanted to do that too. Not to particularly bring harm to her, just to inform her of what she had lost. I had a feeling she did not know it yet, and I just wanted to tell her.James was the nicest man I had ever met. So selfless, so free spirited. James was a gem to anyone he came across, which