As Catherine continued to stare off into space, trying to find answers to questions that seemed so obvious at first glance, the boys had finished changing clothes and were now heading toward the door. Everyone stood up and walked toward the door. Before walking out, Serena called out for Catherine to wait for her she slowly turned around and faced her."What is it?" she asked.Serena nodded toward the group standing near the entrance, where the others were waiting. Catherine stared at her friend for a moment before understanding suddenly dawned upon her. She understood why Serena had called her and why she had called her over. She also realized why everyone was staring at her. She glanced at the crowd nervously, her eyes darting back and forth between everyone's faces. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what she should do next. She didn't dare move, because she didn't know what they were waiting for her to do. She didn't know if she could do it. What if they expected som
"Are you okay? You don't seem okay," she said.Catherine hesitated. She didn't want to lie to Kate, but she knew that she couldn't tell the truth, either. She didn't want to burden her friend with her problems, since she was clearly busy enough with her own problems. She couldn't burden her with anything. She was supposed to be happy, but somehow she couldn't. She couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened to her tonight. Everything that had happened to the people that she loved. She couldn't stop thinking about her parents or what they would think if they could ever see her now. She couldn't stop thinking about her brother or father. Her brothers wouldn't allow her to continue staying here. Not after tonight. She wouldn't be able to handle it if they decided not to help her. She knew that they had already done enough for her, but she needed them more than anyone else. She needed them more than she needed anything else in the world. And she didn't want them to give u
The boy didn't respond as he simply sat on the ground and held his cheek. The older man sighed heavily."Answer me. Do you belong here?" the older man repeated impatiently.The boy looked up at the man defiantly. "Yes."The older man frowned as his lips curled downward into a frown. "Then why are you here? Why are you hiding in the shadows? Do you expect us to believe that you came here willingly? If this is a trap, then it's a pretty weird one. Now tell me, how did you get in here?"The boy glared at him angrily. "What do you mean 'here'? What are you talking about? This isn't my house! It's my mother's. I came here by invitation," the boy responded angrily as he wiped away the tears from his eyes.The man blinked in surprise. "You're kidding."The boy scowled. "No, I'm not!"Suddenly, the sound of loud voices shouting and footsteps approaching interrupted whatever reply the older man might have given. All eyes fell on the door of the room. A couple of minutes later, three security
As the group reached the large double doors, a few of the guards opened them for the group. Outside was a beautiful garden. The garden was situated on the third floor of the mansion. Its walls were made of stone, and there were several trees scattered throughout the small area. On the top of the walls surrounding the garden were many windows, each of them lit brightly. Catherine couldn't help but smile at the sight of the gardens. The lights from the windows illuminated the garden beautifully. Catherine's mouth went dry as she gazed at the beauty surrounding her."It' s wonderful!" she exclaimed excitedly.He smirked slightly as he looked around the garden himself. "The garden is called Lotus Garden."Catherine stared at him in surprise as she tilted her head slightly to the side. "Lotus Garden?" she asked confused.Thomas nodded in response. "This area is known for its flowers. Some of the gardens are located at different locations within the mansion."Catherine furrowed her brow i
The older woman looked down at Catherine silently for a few moments before she sighed heavily. She crossed her arms and glared at the young girl, shaking her head slightly."Don't bother trying to explain yourself to me, Catherine. Just know one thing. My husband and I were planning on taking you with us. Your father has already offered us money. But I don't think we'll accept it."Catherine blinked. "My father...? You... You're going to take me with you?"The woman simply nodded solemnly in response. "We're your family now, Catherine. You belong with us."Catherine looked down at the ground, letting her tears fall freely from her cheeks. She couldn't believe that she had been reunited with her parents and that she had just been sent away from them. She had hoped that she would never see them again. But it seemed like she wouldn' t be able to avoid them forever."Let's get inside." The old woman turned to walk back into the house.Catherine stayed quiet as she followed the old woman b
As Catherine gazed down at the necklace in her hand, her eyes filled with regret. She wished that she had been brave enough to tell she what she had found out. Perhaps if she had, the blonde girl would have been able to prevent whatever had happened to Serena.But Catherine hadn't trusted anyone enough to tell her about what she had discovered. She hadn't trusted anyone with the truth. And that's exactly what had happened. Serena knew that she had been stupid to trust Catherine.She was too naive and trusting for her own good.She picked up her brush once more and continued putting on her make up as she thought about everything that had happened recently. Her heart ached every time she remembered the moment that Catherine had fallen from the tree, the pain that she had experienced when she had crashed into the snow. How she had screamed and cried and screamed until she had finally succumbed to her wounds. Catherine had given her life for her, sacrificing her freedom to save her.Th
Catherine knew that Zara had a deep understanding of what it was like to go through traumatic events like the one that she had endured. All her friends had. They all knew what it was like to live through trauma, especially for someone as strong as her. They'd experienced more than Catherine could imagine, although most of those experiences had happened while she was still in high school. She knew firsthand how painful it was to experience such pain when your whole world had been ripped apart.It was late afternoon before Catherine decided that she should probably get going. She had offered to give her a ride back home to ensure that she got back safely, but she knew that her parents would kill her if she ever left. Catherine would rather face her parents in anger and disappointment than face them in fear. Besides, she was sure that they would worry about her. They would definitely want to check up on her and make sure that she was okay. She was well aware of the fact that if she w
Suddenly Catherine appeared in front of her. Catherine smiled softly as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "There there. Don't cry Catherine. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done this to you. Please forgive me." Catherine muttered quietly. She was clearly upset. She looked extremely distraught. She leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently. Zara pulled away and stared straight into Catherine's eyes."Please stop crying. I won't be able to handle it if you start to cry as well." Catherine said quietly. She turned around and left quickly without saying a word.Catherine hated seeing Zara upset. She had never cried and it killed her everytime she heard her crying. But she couldn't do anything about it because she wasn't allowed to comfort her, to reassure her. No matter what she said to her, she wouldn't listen. She was her mother. She was her mother that she would obey as soon as she entered the room. Catherine was her mother that would always protect her and be there for her a
"It sounds like your husband was really great." He remarked. She nodded slowly, not saying anything in response.Julian knew that she probably needed to process what happened before she could continue talking to him about it. He waited patiently.After a few moments, she took a deep breath and lifted her head."Do you remember when I said that my mother passed away a year ago? Well, it wasn't actually a death. It was a suicide." She revealed quietly. "We had just moved here after that." Julian nodded. He remembered the day perfectly. He had taken her to visit her mother and she had shown them around the house. They had visited the cemetery and Serena had talked about her mother for the entire time.She seemed happy. It was obvious how fond of her mother she was. Julian smiled slightly at the memory."Well, she did it. I think that my father may have been responsible. After he found out, he got violent. And he didn't take it well when she killed herself." Serena explained. She shrugg
The sound of soft footsteps alerted Julian to the presence of another person entering the room. He turned around and gave his visitor a weak smile."Hi" He whispered. She returned the gesture with a soft smile of her own."How are you?" She asked concerned, moving to sit down next to him. He glanced at her briefly and shrugged."I'm alright. Tired. I think I caught a cold. I feel pretty gross, too. My throat is hurting." He answered honestly. She chuckled."That happens sometimes when you get sick. Have you eaten anything?" She asked him. He shook his head. "I can cook you something.""No, no. I can eat when I have the chance." He protested."You shouldn't. It can cause more harm than good." She told him. He sighed quietly."I know. But I'll eat anyway. If it means that I won't starve to death, I'll eat." He insisted. She laughed again."Okay" She agreed after a beat.Silence fell between them as they both stared blankly at the wall opposite of them. After a few minutes of silence, h
"I see…" She paused for a moment before she spoke again. "Can I ask you something though?" She inquired. Julian nodded absentmindedly. "What happened?" "Why did you have that conversation with her?""Because…” He started explaining vaguely. “Because…" He trailed off as he tried to find the words to explain to her. It was true that he didn't want to burden her with anything concerning his relationship with Serena. However, he knew that he couldn't hide things from his family forever. If he did, then eventually they would discover that something was wrong with him. He sighed heavily as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration."Dad, can you give me a minute? I'll be right back" He whispered. Without waiting for his father to respond, he ended the call and went back inside the room. He stood behind the couch for a few moments as he listened to the soft sound of Serena's breathing. He could barely make out any sounds from the living room.He approached the sleeping girl slowl
“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” She smiled reassuringly, hoping that her boyfriend would believe her. Julian smiled back at her.“Alright then” He said in response. He leaned forward and pressed another tender kiss onto her lips. A few seconds later he released his fiancée from his embrace and turned to open the horse carriage. Before leaving the parking lot he glanced at his wife once more. “Stay inside, all right? No wandering around alone.” He added.“Sure. Don’t worry.”“I don’t care if you stay inside the whole time, I will still worry.”“Okay” She laughed and waved at him as he drove away. She waited until he disappeared from view before returning to sit down on the sofa once again. She was silent for several minutes, pondering what he had told her before. As she sat there and stared ahead at nothing particular, she suddenly felt like she was suffocating.She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them again, she found herself sitting there sta
He smiled gently and leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his fiancée's forehead. She chuckled quietly and moved her hands to hold the back of his head. They stayed like that for a few moments before Julian pulled away."I need to go check on something." He announced getting up from the couch.Serena watched curiously as her husband headed towards the kitchen. She tilted her head to the side and crossed her arms in front of her chest."Do you think that he might be cheating on me?" Serena whispered to herself.Suddenly the sound of footsteps caught her attention. She looked behind her and spotted Julian leaning against the door frame watching her."Hm?" She hummed. He shrugged his shoulders."Nothing. I guess you should come with me." Julian told her as he gestured towards the hallway."Where are we going? And why?" Serena asked."I'm checking if my mother and father are home and if they have any guests." Julian answered as he walked toward the closet to retrieve his jacket and t
After another minute or two he started moving his hand slowly. He caressed her side slowly, enjoying the feeling of his thumb brushing against her tender skin. He pressed a gentle kiss to her inner thigh and started teasing her.“Please….please don’t….stop” Serena begged breathlessly, her eyes still closed. The prince smirked and continued to stroke her thigh slowly. He reached the peak again, but hesitated. Just as he was about to push inside her and make her come, there was a knock on the door.Serena froze and tensed in his lap.“Are you expecting anyone?” Julian asked calmly as he continued to stroke her inner thigh slowly. The princess shook her head no and slowly slid off of his lap.“No, it can’t be my parents. They aren’t home yet." She muttered worriedly. Julian furrowed his eyebrows. Something doesn’t seem right. He looked over to his wife and noticed that she was staring intently at the door. There was fear evident in her blue orbs. What could it possibly be.“Go answer t
“I love you so much Serena.” Julian said placing a few quick pecks on the girl’s lips. He heard some gasps around him and saw that everyone else were looking at him weirdly. He frowned and pulled away from the girl. “We have to pay for these groceries so let’s hurry up okay?” He said before grabbing the shopping basket from her hands.A few minutes later they were leaving the grocery store and Julian couldn’t hold back the huge grin on his face. This is definitely the best day of his life and he wouldn’t change any minute of it. He finally proposed to his beautiful queen and got a yes from her."I am so happy." He thought happily.He looked over to Serena who was walking next to him and noticed that she was also smiling like a fool. As soon as they got in the carriage, he reached out and held her hand. "So many things happened yesterday. Our parents came, I proposed to her, she said yes, she said yes to marrying me and I kissed her." Julian laughed and squeezed the princess’s hand
“You look cute today.” His girlfriend said while looking at the prince who is smiling at himself while wearing his blue coat and holding his hand. “How can I look cute when you are wearing the prettiest thing on earth?” His boyfriend said kissing the redhead’s hand.“You are lucky I love you then.” Serena chuckled taking the boy’s hand and heading towards the exit of the park, the prince couldn’t stop smiling.They arrived at the ice rink where they usually meet each other. Their friends is there already waiting for them and they went to the ice skating rink together. This is where Serena found her boyfriend. He was wearing a red robe with scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, gloves and long coat. The boy was smiling brightly like a mad man while trying to keep his balance on the slippery ice, he looked adorable."Do you like it?" Asked Julian while looking at her. The princess was busy admiring her boyfriend, her heart was beating rapidly inside her chest and she felt herself blu
Suddenly, the dragon let out a deafening roar. It echoed throughout the entire pier and caused many people to yelp in pain and fright. Several people started crying and clutching onto their friends' arms tightly as if they would fall apart at any moment. Serena couldn't take her eyes of the terrifying beast which was now standing proudly right before them, roaring and snorting menacingly. It was impossible to tell how many people were trapped inside those gigantic jaws, as the darkness prevented them from seeing. But judging by the loud growls coming from the creature, they must've been close to death.After a few seconds the roaring sound gradually decreased until it eventually disappeared, leaving behind an eerie silence. The crowd was dead silent. Everyone remained motionless, except for the tears streaming down their cheeks and the shudders that wracked their bodies. No one made a peep or uttered a single word. Everyone was glued to the horrifying creature in front of them, a