Chapter 5

Before we knew it, Mace had a grip on Deshawn’s collar, hiding me behind his wide back, his eyes burning with anger. Deshawn, on the other hand, looked calm and collected, as if Mace were just some sort of nuisance. “Call the cops, Gina!” Mace thundered. “Mace, please calm down. He’s not what we think he is,” I pleaded, surprised at myself for taking the side of a complete stranger over my childhood best friend.

“What do you mean, Gina?” Mace asked, confusion written all over his face. Shawn firmly removed Mace’s grip from his collar, then dusted it off as if there were invisible dust on it. With a gritty, cold smile, he stretched out one hand while the other was stuffed into his pocket.

“Quin Deshawn, I believe you’re Mason, Regina’s childhood best friend.” Mace threw a surprised glance toward me, and I shrugged. Dude, even I don’t know how he knew everything about me either.

Mason’s eyes traveled from my face to Deshawn’s outstretched hand. I could feel the heat emanating from him. He clicked his tongue and dimmed his eyes; Mason’s brows furrowed. I knew this look on his face; he was definitely pissed off.

“And so what? How dare you show your face here after committing such a public offense as kidnapping?” Deshawn’s brows finally knitted into a frown; for the first time since I met him, his stoic expression changed to one of confusion.

“I didn’t kidnap her. She’s someone dear to me,” Deshawn muttered softly, and I gasped as my heart skipped a beat. His gaze passed over Mace’s shoulder and fell on me. I felt my heart pounding like it had never done before. Deshawn Quin, as Mason called him, was maintaining eye contact with me. He was so handsome that I found his attention alluring and breathtaking.

“Hey!!!” I could swear Mason’s yell could be heard from miles away, his fist flying toward Deshawn’s face, but it was caught midway in the air.

“That’s enough of you, Norman!!” I shivered from the impact of Shawn’s voice; it was calm, daring, and commanding. Deshawn’s aura exuded dominance and high authority, while Mace’s was nothing close to that.

“I want to speak with Regina, and if you want to be carried along, you can halt your allegations and quietly stand aside, or you can leave.” Deshawn had his hand in his pocket, his eyes not leaving mine. Everything was happening so fast, and the tension was so intense that I found it hard to breathe.

The usual panic attack was filling me as I felt like I had been thrown into an enclosed container. My hand gripped the nearest thing, and I staggered backward.

“Gina, hey, peanut butter.” I heard an oddly familiar voice laced with care in my ear, his hot breath dancing around my earlobe. My eyes went blurry; I struggled to see the one carrying me in his arms. I was sure it wasn’t Mace. No, these arms were so manly and warm. I’d been in Mace’s arms countless times, and I could tell without my eyes that it wasn’t him.

From a distance, I could hear Mason’s angry voice yelling something. “Get your hands off her.” Contrary to Mason’s disagreement, I didn’t want this person whose arms I was in to leave me; rather, I wanted more—more of him. His scent and strong body made my whole being squirm to get much closer to him.

Suddenly, I was hit with a headache, my body shivering violently as I struggled to hold on to my fading consciousness. I was placed gently on a soft surface; I couldn’t tell if it was my bed or a cushion, but I wasn’t happy about it. I thrashed in pain, holding onto a piece of cloth I thought was my bedcover.

“I will take it from here; you can go.” I heard Mason’s persistent voice. “I know you hate me, but my care for her overshadows my hate for you, so shut the fuck up and let me help.” He said this, and I struggled to open my eyes. They were blurred, but I made out the expression on his face. His brows were creased, and his eyes were full of worry. Surprisingly, it broke my heart. Why was he looking like that? It hurt me so much that I couldn’t remember; I didn’t remember anything at all.

6 hours later.

I woke up with a start in my bedroom. The IV drip was fixed in my hand; I reached for it and pulled it out. All my life, I’d been mostly bedridden, and so many times I’d ripped it off carelessly after waking up from one of these horrible days. To my surprise, the air conditioner was on, but I was still dripping with cold sweat. My head hurt from the earlier thrashing and panic.

I got up and staggered toward my bedside table, where a glass of water and two tablets lay waiting for me. Without thinking twice, I immediately swallowed them, gulping down all the water in the cup.

“You married a seventeen-year-old girl against her will, and you stand here to lecture me?” Mace’s voice reached me. I looked up at the time; it was already 9 o’clock in the morning. I hurried to the door and opened it just enough to see what was happening downstairs.

The two men were at each other’s throats again. What the hell? Didn’t they sleep at all? Mace had dark circles under his eyes from all that night’s exhaustion, but that didn’t stop him from boiling with rage. On the other hand, Deshawn looked like he was enjoying the scenery the whole time. He looked fresh, as if he had just come out of a shower. Was he the one who carried me in his arms earlier?

“I didn’t force her into marrying me; it was an agreement between two parties.” An agreement? How come I don’t remember? I never had any agreement with him. Deshawn looked like he was getting tired of Mace’s attempts to pin everything on him.

“Look, if you have any doubts about it… you can ask your bestie yourself,” Deshawn said, his face wearing a distasteful look that made me fear all he was saying was nothing but the truth.

I opened the door wide and stepped onto the stairs.

“Gina.”

“Peanut butter.” They both called out in unison, causing me to stop in my tracks as their gazes bore into me.

“Regina.” The voice I’d missed so much reached my ears as the door opened and closed. My dad stood behind the two men.

“Father!”