Ash POVSkylar rejection had hurt more than I thought it would.And not only that, the rejection had come with guilt. Guilt on how burdened my involvement with her made her.I sat in my room, feeling terribly sad over the cause of the event.After she had told me that she was fated to sage. It felt as if the universe itself was telling me to leave her be.And maybe they were right to do so,I was going to do my best to avoid and not interact with her.So that I wouldn’t end up causing her more pains. I do wish it could have turned out differently-My door creaked open with a force. Cassie had entered inside shocking me immensely.“Huh- who let you in?”“What do you mean? I come in here every time.”I rolled my eyes. “I meant my room. Couldn’t you have knocked?”“Didn’t see the need to. And why are you being so sassy.”“Just get the hell out of here.”“Oh. Someone is in a nasty mood.” She sat on the bed next to me.I groaned. I really wasn’t in the mood for her drama.She used to be th
Skylar POVSunday was one of those days I spent with my family. And that was what I did.After the encounter of sage coming to my home.My parents had been extremely made. But once they realized that he wouldn’t cause me any trouble.They warmed up to him. And now I didn’t have to sneak to see me. He came freely to the house. And my parents treated him like their literal son.Apparently my father knew sage’s father.As they had Both attended high school together. And sage had proposed that my father would meet with his father.Which they did. It was a beautiful union. And I was glad that it happened.It even made me and sage extremely close.Though our parents thought we were dating, we didn’t bother to clarify it.Cause we thought if Ash had to believe it. Then our parents are the best bets of making him believe it.Ever since things ended between me and Ash. I had been extremely sad. I hadn’t realized how much I had loved him till we had stopped talking.The last time we spoke was
Skylar POVSunday was one of those days I spent with my family. And that was what I did.After the encounter of sage coming to my home.My parents had been extremely made. But once they realized that he wouldn’t cause me any trouble.They warmed up to him. And now I didn’t have to sneak to see me. He came freely to the house. And my parents treated him like their literal son.Apparently my father knew sage’s father.As they had Both attended high school together. And sage had proposed that my father would meet with his father.Which they did. It was a beautiful union. And I was glad that it happened.It even made me and sage extremely close.Though our parents thought we were dating, we didn’t bother to clarify it.Cause we thought if Ash had to believe it. Then our parents are the best bets of making him believe it.Ever since things ended between me and Ash. I had been extremely sad. I hadn’t realized how much I had loved him till we had stopped talking.The last time we spoke was
Skylar’s POVThe hum of the radio was the only sound that punctuated the heavy silence in the car. My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, tangled and disoriented. I rested my head against the cool window, watching the trees pass by in a blur of green. The landscape outside seemed to mock the turmoil within me, its steady rhythm contrasting sharply with the chaos inside my heart.My father glanced at me occasionally, his gaze a mixture of curiosity and concern. I avoided meeting his eyes, afraid that if I looked at him, I might betray the depth of my anxiety. Moving to a new place, leaving behind the familiar, was never easy. The idea of starting over filled me with a sense of dread. No one likes to uproot their life and begin anew, yet here I was, compelled to play the only card I had.We were just an hour away from arriving at Devlin Hills, and about fifteen minutes from reaching Sage’s house. The anticipation of the new environment brought a mix of excitement and apprehension. I stole
Skylar’s POVDinner felt like an awkward dance I was stumbling through, trying to ignore the sting of unspoken words and unseen judgments. The room buzzed with conversation, laughter, and the clinking of silverware, but my mind was a whirlwind of self-reproach and unease.I’d made a colossal mistake, one that gnawed at me with every passing second. The regret was palpable, almost a physical presence, and I could feel it even more keenly at the dinner table. Sage’s treatment of me was a silent punishment, subtle enough to escape our parents’ notice but impossible for me to ignore. He was engaging with everyone else—laughing, debating, sharing stories—while I remained a mere shadow at the edge of the conversation. Every time our eyes met, he looked through me, not at me, as though I had become invisible in his eyes.“Skylar, do you even know how your dad met your mum?” Chris’s voice cut through my thoughts. I noticed my dad’s awkward attempt to hide his embarrassment behind a hand.“Chr
*Skylar's POV*:The Moon BallI take a final glance at the mirror, reminiscing on the recent happenings,it's been a crazy couple of weeks. Sage and I finally resolved our differences and I could only hope that I never find myself in that situation with him again. He has been far too kind and the least I could do was to make sure his feelings was not constantly hurt. Crouching down to pull out a loosened thread from the hem of my ball dress,I feel a warm hand from behind.“You look stunning”. It was Sage,I could tell from the sweet masculine scent that embraced the room in split seconds. “Thank you”, I replied, leaning behind to fall into his embrace. I would probably be needing it for the uncertainty I felt on how the night would go. I had a black sheath dress on with my hair packed up in a ponytail and a sort of Effy Stonem makeover which was quite contrasting to my usual nerdy look. It was finally the day of the moon ball and I felt a mix of excitement as it was my first time, and a
Sage's POV*I wish I could magically change the turnout of tonight’s event, although I kind of had a gut feeling about the possibility of something related to this happening,I chose to focus on the brighter side and be positive. Skylar and I were currently on a good path and I believed it was going to remain this way,at least for a longer period of time. “You sure skylar is alright?,I don't see the lone wolf in the room either”. Lucas asks,one side of his mouth raised. He didn't really approve of Skylar because of the drama tied around our relationship and I was sure he wasn't asking out of concern. “I’d love to know the intent of your question but it's not important.I'll be right back”,I respond. Skylar had been gone for quite some time and I just wanted to give her some alone time but hearing Lucas talk about Ash,I just had to check and make sure everything was great. I noticed her uneasiness since we arrived at the Moon Ball and it sure had to be something related to Ash. Nothing
Ash's POV*It's been five weeks since my break up with Skylar and it had been one of the most terrible moments of my life. I stopped attending classes with her not because I was trying to avoid her, but I couldn't stand being in the same space with her. She really didn't deserve what she was currently going through but there was little or nothing I could do. I had fallen in love with her,how it happened is still a mystery to me. I had never been in love until now. Every female in the school was literally always at my beck and call so I didn't see the need to be tied down by a commitment,but it was different with Skylar and in as much as I hated what I was currently feeling,I couldn't deny it.Cassie was being overly protective tonight and it was quite annoying, I just wanted to be done with the dance and get a breathe of fresh air. I see Skylar walking outside the room and I knew this was the only opportunity I might get for the night,I had to find a way to talk to her and express mys
Ash's POVI wasn't exactly sure what to say, so I glanced at my friends, but from the looks in Luke's eyes, I knew that he was completely baffled by the situation. His eyes were hard, contrary to Sage, who looked soft and ready to give in at any moment."I can't believe we are even doing this," he said, his voice expressive as he stepped forward, his eyes flashing. "We shouldn't be bargaining with you; you are in no position to say anything at all.""Am I now?" he asked, his knife pressed a little more to her neck. I could tell that he was about to make a rash decision that would definitely cost him his life, but I was afraid of it costing Cassie's life also."Please," I said to Luke, putting my hand on him. I knew how much he loved his sister and didn't want her to die, so why was he actually acting like this? Luke glanced at Cassie, his eyes rigid as if trying to tell her something. His eyes were fixed on her, but he didn't see anything else, staying in his position with hardly any
Ash POVWe all stayed rooted to the spot, except maybe for Sage behind me, who had taken a subconscious step back. Maybe it was a good idea for us to back away after all—maybe back away out of the room entirely so that I could give Sage a good pep talk and make him gather himself and understand what was actually at stake here.Weakness was the one thing that would actually cost Cassie her life, nothing more. If we played this right, from the position of strength that we actually were in, then we could get her back, though it wasn't certain if we could get Richard and bring him to book along with that; that would actually be asking for too much. One small mistake and our victory had turned into a break-even, or maybe a possible loss if we didn't play our cards right and made another small mistake to add to the former one.I looked at our opponent, the one that we had nearly defeated, for a couple of seconds and finally decided to at least talk with him. If he killed Cassie, then the en
Luke's POVEverything was closing in on me, and I knew that it was too late for me to run away by now. My chance was gone. Looking at my opponent, who was now getting into the attack once more and covering all spaces for me to run into, I knew that he wouldn't let me go. He knew just what I could be thinking at this time, and he also knew that most likely I would try to run away. He was doing everything to prevent that, not wanting his prey to go.I knew that when he won this, he was going to put me along with Cassie and torment us for a very long period of time before killing us eventually. Yes, he had given me my chance to join him, not that I would ever do that, but I hadn't agreed to him, and now he was going to make me pay the price. I was pretty sure of it.I felt a certain feeling of discomfort, knowing how things were about to end, but still staying here anyway. I should be doing my best to run away and break free from his grasp, but I didn't do that for some reason. I just st
Luke's POVIt was honestly very troubling how I was still struggling with Richard after such a long time, and how someone would have thought that by now I would be done with defeating him, especially after I had come to the brink of beating him so many times now. But for some reason, he was always bouncing back and staying up above water, to the point that I was actually pressured by him at times, and even now, I was still pressured. Honestly, I was starting to wonder whether there was something wrong with me, or whether we were just evenly matched. Every time I came to the brink, ready to defeat him, there was one small mistake, or one small thing that happened to make him come back again. And then we started the sequence all over again.It dawned on me now that I would not be able to defeat him, not today, not now. I wasn't strong enough. In fact, I would even be considered lucky to not be defeated by him myself. Remembering clearly how easily he had taken me on previously, I knew
Sage's povThe first thought that came to my mind after he said that was that this was simply too good to be true. I couldn't believe it even now. However, that was a fact. But if he was actually the one keeping Sage from coming here, then he was a true hero. He was the one doing much more work than us and our soldiers who brought the army to the gate and the fight from the outside, because he is definitely the one that brings the fight from the inside, which is the real fight.I looked at Ash, wanting to see how convinced he was. And from the looks of it, he seemed completely convinced by it. When I thought about it, I didn't see any other reason why this could be happening. For one thing, I hadn't heard from Luke at all, indicating that there was a good chance that he was busy. And the fact that, at the same time, Richard was nowhere to be found, made it a little too much to be a coincidence. Most likely, the two of them couldn't be here because they were busy with each other, fight
Sage's POVI didn't really know whether I was safe when I started easily winning the entire fight. It was not much of a battle anymore. If anything, it was starting to become something of a slaughter. I didn't see any reason why I would have it so easy fighting against the man that I was up against—the man who had been rumored to be far stronger than a lot of people and would be a very formidable enemy.I had heard that he was planning some tricks for me, and I also knew that he was skewed and poisoned because that's what I heard from the assassin the time we asked him about Richard. That was enough information to be wary of him, knowing that he could actually be planning something else entirely while we were busy here. But as it happened, maybe he was just all talk after all, and there was nothing to actually be fearful of. He seemed pretty tame to me right now, not at all a threat, no matter how I looked at it.In my planning, I decided to draw back a little and let my men do some o
Ash's POV I join in and things get easy The progress was slow but steady. I knew that it wouldn't be long before we finally reached my territory. Then, I would have the opportunity to take back what was rightfully mine.I could almost see it happening already. As my soldiers marched forward, each with a certain determination in their eyes, I was sure we stood a huge chance of winning this. The moment I got to Richard, I would make sure to rip his eyes out and kill him for everything he had done, especially for killing my father. Until then, I had to make do with what I had and bide my time until everything was set.I had the patience to wait because I had been waiting for this moment all my life. So, even if it was just a couple more hours, I could wait again. It would end in my victory.Setting my eyes on the bigger prize, I kept moving, knowing it would be worth it. I was starting to get tired after marching for what seemed like forever. The soldiers, for their part, seemed much s
Sage's POVMy men started marching forward after I gave the order, each of them moving valiantly. These were pretty much all my forces because the ones I left to defend my home weren't too many anymore and wouldn't really account for much. In other words, if an attack actually started on my home while I was gone, then it would be pretty much defenseless against this attacker, and they would be able to do some large amount of damage to it.It was very precarious, but I knew that if I didn't take as many people as I could with me, then it was highly unlikely that we would win. I had no idea how many people Richard had with him, but I knew that he definitely had a lot of people with him, and that if I took only half of my army, it might not be enough, even when added to what Ash was bringing.I didn't want to take any chances on this because it was pretty much my only chance. If I was going to help, then I was going to help him completely and make sure that we won this. If we didn't win,
Sage's P.O.V.I went home driving in my car at full speed because I wanted to get there as soon possible. Who could have thought that I would be so excited and so fired up about fighting another man's war? It was a big pleasure for me to involve myself to such a large extent like this. But actually, I didn't see myself doing anything else in this particular situation.Cassie had been taken, and this could surely well be the only way I could free her since I couldn't really depend on Luke to do the job for me. Everything seemed to have gone south in this situation and personally, I was feeling affected. I felt incomplete, especially because of the lack of Cassie around, and I also felt a little guilty even though I hadn't exactly done anything.Something told me that the person who had actually caused all this personally didn't even feel guilty himself, and that person was Luke. So, I tried to make myself a little happier knowing that since he wasn't killing himself for what he actuall