ACCALIA'S POV"Hey," I said softly and I sat beside him on the bench. "You look miles away. What's going on?"He shook his head, "I can't get any reception. I was trying to call Luca, to... I don't know, hear a familiar voice, maybe get some advice. And then it hit me, Accalia. Who would want us dead? This wasn't an accident. Someone planted that bomb. But why?"I took his hand and I ensured that my grip was firm and reassuring. "We'll figure this out. Together, okay? We're alive, and that's what matters right now. We've been through a lot, but we're not going to let this break us. Whoever did this, they wanted to scare us, isolate us, make us feel powerless. But look at us," I gestured around, "we're here, we're safe, and we're not alone. We have each other."I hoped that my words would stand as a strength he desperately needed, and I hoped that it would wash over him, grounding him back to the moment, to the reality that despite the trouble, we would figure everything out eventually
BENTLEY'S POVI made my way to the front door cautiously, not trusting anyone anymore. "Hello?", I called out. As my heart began to pound in my chest in anticipation, I opened the door slowly. I prepared myself for possible violence. No one was there. No bandits either. But I was still worried, I had to admit that.my eyes flitting across the empty street before finally settling on Kito, whose face lit up at the sight of me. "Hey!" I smiled at his enthusiasm, but I still looked around warily to make sure that we weren't in danger."Are you both ready to meet the village chief?"Kito asked as he used his eyes to search for Don inside the house.I glanced over at Don and he returned my gaze. My stomach dropped when I caught the look in his eyes. Fear. It was all too much and for once I realized that I was afraid. Afraid of what? Of meeting another villager? Of becoming a stranger in this strange place? Of getting attacked while on meeting the village chief?Don walked to the door where
ACCALIA'S POVAfter about 15 minutes of riding, the scenery began to change and the surroundings became even greener as if nature itself welcomed us home. The roads were wide and winding, and the buildings were old looking, with white wooden shutters hanging crookedly from windows.They resembled pictures I'd read about in books, like the stories my mother told me when I was little about fairy tales and magical places. The streets weren't nearly as crowded as in cities, but they were lovely nonetheless as families were walking around chatting.The road became bumpy and the trees that lined the road grew taller and longer, creating a canopy over the road. Birds chirped happily in the bushes lining the roadside and a gentle breeze passed us by sending goosebumps along my arms. It was like we had entered another world entirely.The sky became cloudier as well , and the sun sank low in the horizon, casting an orange tint across the sky. It felt like a part of me was missing, like the sun
ACCALIA'S POV"I guess I'll have to learn to appreciate all of this when I am older," the chief chuckled and looked at Don with understanding. "Do you want me to teach you a bit about the things you've missed out on, dear? I can make sure you're ready for whatever comes your way in the future.""That would be great." Don responded kindly."Alrighty then, let's begin." chief Orel exclaimed, his eyes shining brightly as he clapped his hands in excitement. "First of all, we need to talk about your marriage and children. What do you plan on doing about that?""I haven't really thought about it..yet."The chief nodded his head and glanced over at me with an encouraging smile before turning his attention back to Don, who was looking rather excited. He leaned forward so that his elbows rested on his knees and his chin was resting against his interlocked fingers. "No plans for the little ones?""I...don't understand."The chief raised his eyebrows at Don and laughed again. "Of course. I don
ACCALIA'S POV"We shouldn't keep the pregnant lady hungry now should we?" The chief said, "Martha!" He called out and a young lady stepped out.she was short and plump with rosy cheeks and curly black hair, and she smiled widely when she spotted me sitting in front of the fire."Here is your dinner. Eat up quickly. Don't want you to fall sick." She grinned. The woman set a plateful of steaming meat broth on the table beside me along with a few other bowls of rice and some green vegetables."Thanks Martha." I said and began eating with a big grin on my face."I'm sorry if my cooking isn't to your liking, Lady Accalia, but I only had time to prepare a simple meal today, unlike the other people around here," she replied with a slight chuckle."It's okay. I love the smell, thank you for the offer Martha.""Of course. Anytime." She winked and sat down across from me."So far gone are you in your pregnancy?"I looked up from my meal to see that everyone was staring at me curiously.Even th
ACCALIA'S POV“I do love modelling,” I started, of course, I loved modelling so much but my family had been against it because the believed that if I modeled, it would be hard to marry me off into an influential family. “But I don't do it professionally, just as a hobby.”“Well, that's a shame, I mean, your husband owns a modeling brand.” Martha said again, this time she was really getting on my nerves.How was i going to explain that I was just finding out that my husband owned a modeling brand? I did not even know what he did at work!“Yes, such a shame but getting in through him would be nepotism, moreover we have a baby on the way.”“That's true, Martha stop prying into their private lives.” Chief Orel scolded sternly and that made Martha scoff.“That's okay, my wife will soon begin working as a model for me.” Don said and I stared at him in shock.My mind raced with confusion. Did I hear him correctly? Did he just say what I think he said? A model? Me? The image of me wobbling ar
Don shot me a sympathetic glance, his earlier proposal momentarily forgotten in the midst of the chaos. "Are you okay?" he asked softly, reaching out to touch my hand again.I nodded, still processing everything that had just happened. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... surprised," I admitted with a nervous laugh.Martha hurried to clean up the mess, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. Maybe being a model wasn't so far-fetched after all. But one thing was for sure – life with Don was always full of surprises.While, Martha swept up the broken dishes, Don leaned in closer, his voice barely above a whisper. "You know, I wasn't kidding about the modeling gig. I really think you'd be great at it."I couldn't help but chuckle nervously, still trying to wrap my head around the idea. "Yeah, well, it's definitely... unexpected," I replied, shooting him a sidelong glance.He grinned, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Come on, Accalia, admit it – you've always secretly wanted to strut down a ru
ACCALIA'S POVSo the dinner finally came to an end and Martha busied herself with clearing the table. I glanced at Don and a silent question passed between us. It was time to address the elephant in the room which is our true reason for being in this remote village."So, Don," Chief Orel began, his tone friendly yet curious. "What brings you and Lady Accalia to our humble village?"Don hesitated for a moment, exchanging a brief glance with me before responding. "Well, Chief Orel, it's actually quite a story," he began, his voice tinged with amusement. "You see, Accalia and I were on our way to a secluded island for a romantic getaway when our private jet suddenly encountered some... technical difficulties."Martha's eyes widened with intrigue, and I couldn't help but stifle a laugh at how Don was creative telling the story."Technical difficulties, you say?" Chief Orel echoed, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.Don nodded solemnly, his expression mirroring his exaggerated tale. "Yes, i
DON'S POV"I spoke with Bentley, her father is the police officer that ruled your sister's death as suicide." Luca said."So?""According to Bentley, Accalia family has no hand in it. Her father was threatened by the other gang and their new leader."I nodded slowly, understanding what he was saying. "We better get the truth out of Ken then, have you handed Florella over to the police?" I asked."Yes boss.""Good."We both headed down to the basement where Ken was being held captive, I needed to torture the truth out of his mouth.He was sitting against the wall with his arms tied behind his back, his wrists chained. His face bruised and bloodied, and his clothes covered in dried blood, he was still shivering, despite his cold exterior."What are you going to do with me?" He spat, spitting blood onto the floor of the dungeon."Well Ken Peterson , I'll give you an opportunity to answer a few of my questions and maybe I'll release you."Ken narrowed his eyes at me, "Why should I believe
DON'S POV "You need to calm down son, I have no reason to kidnap your wife!" My father screamed in annoyance as I held him by the collar, accusing him of being responsible for Accalia sudden disappearance. it has been two days since I've heard from Accalia or seen her.i recalled telling her to go home first after the press conference but when I got home, she wasn't there and no one knew anything about her disappearance.I was beginning to go crazy over her absence, I felt like something bad happened to her and I couldn't control it, I was scared shitless.I was furious that I did not know what had happened to her.who the hell dared to kidnap my woman?!!!"I won't let anything happen to her!" I roared while I tightened my grip on my dad's neck and squeezed harder.After I released my grip, my father gasped and began coughing loudly."What the hell are you?!" He questioned me as he took several deep breaths."Do you really think that I am a weak minded coward like you?!" I replied
ACCALIA'S POVI noticed alot of crowds at the company today but I had no idea why but for some reason Enzo seemed tense and clinged to me."Is the company doing something today? why are there a lot of people and reporters outside?" I asked but before I could hear Enzo's response, an egg hit me on the head."She's the one that hurt our kitten!" The man shouted and everyone's attention was turned to me, I was so confused but had no time to process that confusion because people began hurling insults at me and the eggs kept on flying.I tried to defend myself but people would not allow it, many people were throwing eggs at me and they kept on hitting me and I had no way to avoid the hits. One egg managed to land on my head causing me to stagger.I wanted to defend myself, the insults weren't hurting anyone they were just getting their point across.Someone picked up a bottle and threw it at me. The impact of the bottle hitting me made me flinch.Enzo guided me through and I finally made
FLORELLA'S POVI frowned as I watched the new model, Accalia walk into the studio. She had a radiant smile on her face and everything about her just screamed beauty and perfection, no flaws or imperfections in sight.Her hair was styled in perfect waves that framed her face beautifully, her makeup perfectly complimented her gorgeous olive brown orbs and bright pink lipstick.She looked good. So good! So incredibly good that she could probably win any contest she was in! I almost gasped in admiration as I saw how breathtaking she really looked.I hated how beautiful she was, I never understood why anyone could want to look like that, but she was definitely an exception. She had a unique personality that drew people to her in a different way than everyone else did.I hated the fact that she was pretty that me and could easily over take me in the modeling world, there was no way in hell I was going to let that happen. i have been bullying her for over two weeks since she came but she
ACCALIA'S POVAfter hours of modeling and posing for countless pictures, it was time for me to go home and rest before I had to return to the studio again for another day full of work. My clothes were all wrinkled and dirty after being used so many times for clothing shoots.But I was tired and hungry. So, with only mild hesitance, I walked out of the studio to head back home. my phone chimed and I looked at it and saw it was a text from Don asking me to use the back door of the company and meet him at the car park where he was waiting for me.I smiled weakly at the text before I took the elevator to the car park tiredly.I exited the elevator and walked out of the building and saw Don standing at the entrance of the parking lot, he waved as soon as he saw me approaching and headed over to the car to help me inside. Once I was seated, he walked around the car to the drivers seat."Where is everyone?" I asked curiously, noticing no cars."They had to go somewhere." Is all he told me.
ACCALIA'S POVI smiled as I dressed up for my first day at work, yes, my first day at work. I was so excited when Don told me to dress up today that I would resume work at his company as a model.I wanted to make a good first impression so I needed to dress up nicely. A white button down shirt and a black blazer were the two pieces of clothing I selected from my closet after I finished dressing in bed this morning. I also wore some light makeup but it wasn't much. Not too much, just enough to look like I hadn't slept with it all off last night. That made me think about something else - Don's lips... I shook my head trying to get rid of those thoughts.I brushed through my hair once more then applied one last coat of lip gloss before leaving my room, closing and locking the door behind me. I took a deep breath of air and exhaled deeply, hoping to calm myself before I headed down the stairs to meet Don."Good morning!" Don chirped happily when he saw me. I grinned back at him and walk
ACCALIA'S POVDon squeezed my hand reassuringly, his gaze filled with unwavering determination. "We can do this, Accalia," he said, his voice steady despite the tremble in his hands. "Together, we can face anything."With a heavy heart, I nodded in agreement, drawing strength from Don's unwavering faith in our future. As we boarded the bus and took our seats, I cast one last glance back at the village of Arinthia, its familiar streets now fading into the distance.And as the bus pulled away, carrying us towards an uncertain future, I knew that it was time to go back to my old life.As the bus journeyed towards the city, the landscape outside morphed from rolling hills to towering skyscrapers, a stark contrast to the quaint charm of Arinthia. With each passing mile, my heart grew heavier, the uncertainty of our future weighing heavily upon me.But as we finally arrived at our destination and stepped off the bus, a sense of anticipation tingled in the air. For the first time in what fel
ACCALIA'S POVDon wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close as he felt my body tremble with suppressed sobs. "It's okay, Accalia," he whispered, his voice gentle yet filled with unspoken sorrow. "We'll be alright."But the dam had already broken, and I could no longer hold back the flood of emotions that surged within me. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I buried my face in Don's chest, my heart aching with the pain of leaving behind everything I had ever known."It's just... so hard," I choked out between sobs, my voice muffled against Don's shirt. "Saying goodbye to everyone, to everything..."Don held me tighter, his own eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I know, Accalia," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "But this isn't goodbye forever. We'll come back someday, I promise."His words offered little solace in the face of our imminent departure, but I clung to them nonetheless, finding comfort in the warmth of his embrace. Together, we sat down on the worn wooden b
ACCALIA'S POVWe climbed into the of the truck, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness at the thought of leaving behind another dear friend. Kito had always been there for us, offering his help and support whenever we needed it, and the thought of saying goodbye to him was almost too much to bear.As we settled into the worn leather seats of Kito's truck, a heavy silence hung in the air, punctuated only by the soft hum of the engine. I glanced out the window, watching as the familiar sights of Arinthia faded into the distance, my heart aching with the weight of farewell.The ride to the bus stop was a somber one, the only sound the steady hum of the engine and the occasional sniffle from one of us. Kito tried to lighten the mood with some of his trademark jokes, but even he seemed to be struggling to find his usual cheerfulness.As we neared the bus stop, Kito pulled over and turned off the engine, the silence that followed almost deafening in its intensity. "Well, this is it," he