As the media took over, and girls came rushing towards him it gave me enough excuse to get inside my cafe.
I didn’t want to spend a single second of my time thinking about Sebastian anymore, but as you know curiosity takes over even the best of the minds, and my feeble mind was no exception. I couldn’t help but think about why the media was so interested in him, why the girls were flocking around him not that I care, but I was just curious. I am always so busy with my cafe, I don’t even use social media, even my cafe’s social media marketing is handled by my staff and friend Nina. She is amazing at it. Nina an amazing girl, so beautiful and charismatic was not from WillowRidge, she came here as a tourist and fell in love with this town. She moved here took various jobs until she joined my cafe full time. She is a trustworthy friend. The little time I get with myself I like being cozy in my garden reading a book and loosing myself into the world of imagination. So I had no idea why the media was so interested in Sebastian, only little snippets that I got from the town people that he was successful in his field and is a rich man, but famous I had no idea. I thought to myself enough time wasted today, no more thinking about my past or him, I hate to even think about him. I started making preparations for the day when my phone rang. It was Uncle Peter from the resort. His head chef bailed on him and he was panicking. He requested me to help him out for the day. It was the big meeting, people were coming and he needed to put some fancy looking food on the table after the meeting. His voice made me say yes. I handed my cafe over to Nina for the day and made my way to the resort. As I entered the resort Juan gave me a thankful look, Juan was the manager of the resort, in his early thirties a tall and fit figure with blue eyes he was a handsome man and always treated me well. He pointed me towards the kitchen and said “All the Best” I went in the kitchen and saw a very panicked Uncle Peter and his staff of waiters and kitchen hands. Being in a small town the resort always has a chef to take care of the kitchen, his name is Chef Hanson and two back up chefs Patrick and Stephan for busy periods and when the main chef needed a break. Today being a big day for the resort Patrick and Stephan didn’t want to risk it, and made Uncle Peter call me. I have had a few opportunities to show my cooking expertise at different annual events of our town and people loved it. I asked Uncle Peter what he wanted me to do. He asked me to recreate my 3 course meal from the last WillowRidge Dancing Ball event. It was going to be a big day and I was nervous, I don’t know why but I was. It was still early, still seven hours to the meeting. We all worked hard and the food was ready on time. I was happy with what we all created, dishes looked delicious and the staff was more than capable of plating the dishes in a very fancy way when the time came. So my work for the day was done, until Uncle Peter came forward with another request.Uncle Peter told me something that made my legs go numb. The meeting that was about to happen was to discuss the future launch of a Five star hotel in our town. Uncle Peter was to join the meeting and be a part of this discussion as the representative along with our Mayor Mr Paterson. He was worried that the future of his resort was in danger and so was the nature and landscape of our town. He wanted me to accompany him as his companion to represent his side of the things in the meeting. He was scared because two Billionaires were going to be there to represent their plans and our Mayor would select the best one. To my Surprise Sebastian was one of them and the other one was someone called Adam Glass. I am not sure about one thing if they are so called Billionaires why are they so interested in our little town, why not big cities. I googled Adam Glass and photos of him at different events showed up, he was tall, fit with brownish, blackish hair. He looked smart and arrogant i
Sebastian presented a plan to construct a complete new structure to build a five star hotel just near the resort and in process plain a few forested areas and he also proposed to buy the resort fromUncle Peter. I could see the stress on Uncle Peter’s face. I couldn’t hold myself and said “so this is how you want to ruin the town and its natural beauty, this is where you were born..did you even think about it twice. There are so many other ways” Sebastian stopped me there and smirked, “so you want to say that you have better ideas, I don’t remember you being a part of the presentation team” Mayor got up and said all the questions and concerns will be discussed at the end, the presentations shouldn’t stop. I agreed. It was Adam’s turn now, one of his assistant got up to start the presentation when Adam stopped him and said pointing towards me I want to hear this young lady’s ideas first. ‘She is not presenting the deals for today Mr Glass’ said the Mayor. Adam replied ‘
I came out of the conference room a bit flustered and confused. Uncle Peter came out and held my hand saying he is proud of me and is so glad that he took me along to the meeting. The Mayor came out and gave me a nod of appreciation and left. I started walking towards my cafe completely engrossed in my own thoughts about everything that just happened. As I was walking through the resort’s garden towards the main gate, a car came from behind and stopped close to me in the driveway. Adam stepped out of the car and came towards me, I took a few steps back. He looked as elegant and handsome as a Greek God. I thought to myself the pictures on the internet don’t do him justice. I pulled myself out of these thoughts and scolded myself within for even looking at him. I asked how can I help you, he replied “you already did. I got the project and your town got the best future possible. Don’t forget that the deal is on only if you be a part of it. So I will send my assistant to pick you
Sitting in my garden with a book in my hand, for the first time I was not able to put my mind into it. My brain kept replaying the day’s happenings over and over again. Sebastian’s odd behaviour, Adam’s mistaking me for someone else, the Hotel Project, me being a part of this big project all of these thoughts were not ready to leave my mind soon. I was so engrossed that I lost the sense of time, when my doorbell rang thats when I got back to my senses and looked at my watch, it was exactly 7 pm. I ran towards the door and saw Adam’s assistant standing there, he said “ I am here to pick you up Miss Beatrix. I completely forgot about this, I said I am so so sorry. Give me 5 minutes and I will be ready. I took a light greenish dress out and slid into it as quickly as possible, for hair I had a messy pony and my white heels. I came out and sat in a Rolls Royce, for the first time. I saw a damn Rolls Royce in our town for the first time. It made me feel uncomfortable. I wanted to get
I turned around and looked at him with confusion. I said ‘ Look Adam I am not sure what is going on, first you called me Beasty today after the meeting, which I don’t remember anyone ever calling me by that name and now you are saying you know about how I dreamed of having a place like this, what is going on. I am sorry but I am not someone you know or have known before’ He smiled and said ‘don’t worry about it, lets start what we are here for’ He pulled my chair for me like a gentleman. ‘So the first thing you need to do is sit with my team and talk about your vision of the place we have decided to use for the hotel’ he said. ‘My vision, how?’ I said. ‘ just how you imagined the hotel to be when you pitched the idea of building it in that abandoned block of land near the lake, just in simple words and my team will transform it into official designs. You will definitely have to approve the designs when they are made. We will go forward with the design you approve. You will
While driving me back home, Adam looked surreal. I thought to myself what a day I have had today, full of surprises. Yesterday I didn’t know this person, today I am sitting in his car beside him. I would have never thought that I would also see Sebastian today. The trauma he brings along for me is not something I am looking for. The way he talked to me today after the meeting, those words that he will keep an eye on me still made me feel heaviness in my heart. Adam’s voice broke my trance. He said ‘Miss Beatrix, are you ok?’ I replied ‘Yes I am ok, I am sorry I got lost in my thoughts, it has been an eventful day’ ‘It is just the beginning Beasty’ he leaned towards me and opened the glove box, retreating Chocolate M&Ms. ‘Here you go, your favourites’ he smiled and gave me the chocolate pack. Oh my, they are my favourite, how does he know. Thousands of thoughts circled my head. We reached home, I didn’t even tell him the way, I was very confused and a bit uncomfortable as
The next morning was not easy. I woke up with millions of thoughts , for the first time in so long I was not enjoying the beautiful morning of our town. I walked towards my cafe, the beautiful mountains as always gave my heart some relief, but peace was not to be found today inside me. I reached my cafe and opened the door, started making preparations for the day, Nina came to me and asked ‘How are you Bea, you look tired. What happened yesterday? Did everything go well?’ I said ‘I don’t know where to start Nina, it was a very unexpected day’ I explained through everything that happened the day before keeping some details out. Details about Adam’s confusion regarding me, details about Sebastian’s odd behaviour. I think I wasn’t ready to share it with anyone until I myself knew what was going on., but I did tell her about the meeting, hotel project, my part in it etc. She was visibly shocked, but it took her not more than 5 minutes to get over it. She gave me a hug and went alo
I was worried that someone might see him and my peaceful life will be turned over. So I requested him to leave and also thanked him for coming. I did tell him that it was not his fault and everything is ok. He kept on going ‘I have made sure that journalist and others who were there are fired. I won’t let them find a single job. They put you in danger. I can’t breathe properly thinking how dare they pushed you, how dare they even touched you, I am going to break them apart’ I stopped him and said ‘please don’t, they were doing their jobs, they all might have families to look after, please don’t do anything harsh, I don’t want to be the reason of anything bad happening to them, and please don’t bother yourself, you don’t have to do anything, also it wasn’t you who they saw me with, it was Sebastian when he visited my cafe that morning of the meeting’ He looked at me and said ‘ I know, but he shouldn’t have been there’ He came close to me, sat on my bed beside me and took my ha
Beatrix I couldn’t sleep. Even after Adam and Sebastian had forced me back home, even after they tripled the security outside my door, my mind refused to shut down. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Tanya’s smirk, heard her venomous whisper: We’re just getting started. I curled up under my blanket, my ribs aching from the attack, my body stiff from exhaustion, but my mind was still racing. She knew something. Not just about me, but about the bond, the prophecy, everything that had been kept from me for years. And that scared me more than the physical pain. A soft knock at my door startled me. My breath hitched. For a second, my paranoia flared—had she come back? Had Tanya sent someone? But then a voice, low and laced with tension, spoke. “It’s me.” Sebastian. I hesitated. I wasn’t sure I could handle seeing him right now, not after everything that had happened. Not after the way his touch had lingered on my skin after the attack, after the way Adam had looked at me like I
Beatrix Pain exploded across my side as I hit the pavement. The world spun, and my breath came in short gasps as I struggled to comprehend what had just happened. Tanya wasn’t alone. The moment she lunged, two men stepped out from the shadows, their movements calculated and predatory. One of them grabbed my arm, twisting it painfully behind my back, while the other struck me across the ribs with a force that left me gasping. Tanya crouched in front of me, her eyes gleaming with sick satisfaction. “Did you really think I’d come alone?” she whispered. “I’ve had years to plan this, Beatrix. Years to make sure that when I returned, I’d finish what I started.” I struggled, but the grip on my arm tightened, sending a sharp bolt of pain through my shoulder. Fear coiled in my gut, but I refused to show it. And then I heard it. A low, guttural growl. Not from Tanya. Not from the men. From the darkness beyond the streetlights. Then, chaos erupted. Figures emerged from the shadows—sile
Beatrix My hands trembled as I stared at the message. My breath hitched, and for a moment, I felt like I was eighteen again, trapped in that bathroom, helpless and bleeding. The memories came flooding back Tanya’s cruel laughter, the pain, the humiliation. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the panic away. No. I wasn’t that girl anymore. I wasn’t weak. I forced myself to take a deep breath. I needed to think. Tanya was back. And she wasn’t here for reconciliation. I stood abruptly, pacing my room, gripping my phone so tightly my knuckles turned white. This had to be a joke. A sick, twisted joke. Her family had disappeared after that night. She had vanished. And now, after all these years, she had the audacity to crawl back? I couldn’t ignore this. I wouldn’t ignore this. My fingers hovered over my phone. I could call the police. No, Tanya wasn’t stupid. She hadn’t threatened me directly. There was nothing concrete. I could call Sebastian. No. He was already teetering on the ed
SebastianI’d spent the night drowning in whiskey, hoping to numb the fire inside me, but nothing could douse the searing jealousy that coursed through my veins. The images of Beatrix with Adam, the way he stormed into her house last night, the way she let him get close—it was unbearable. I knew she asked for space, I knew she was overwhelmed, but how could I sit back and watch another man lay claim to the one person I had ever truly wanted?My knuckles turned white as I gripped the glass in my hand. The media was tearing the story apart, flashing pictures of her with both of us, branding her as the “woman caught between two titans.” As if she had chosen this. As if she wanted to be tangled in this mess.And yet, she was at the center of it all.My queen.My bond.I needed to see her.Without thinking, I grabbed my coat and stormed out of my suite, ignoring the disapproving glare of my assistant. I walked towards her cafe. I could see her inside, her back turned, laughing softly with
Adam The moment it happened, I felt it. A sharp, searing pain in my chest, as though my heart was being ripped apart. I was in the middle of reviewing plans for the hotel when it struck—an unmistakable shift in the bond, an agonizing echo that told me what I had feared the most. Beatrix had kissed him. My hands clenched the edge of the table, and the papers crumpled under my grip. My mind raced, and the calm, collected demeanor I prided myself on dissolved into chaos. Sebastian had taken something that belonged to me. Her. I stood abruptly, my chair screeching against the floor, and stormed out of the meeting room. My assistant called after me, but I didn’t care. I needed answers. Now. Beatrix I hadn’t left the house since Sebastian walked out the door. My mind was a mess, a swirling storm of guilt, anger, and confusion. The kiss replayed in my mind, over and over again, each time leaving me more conflicted than the last. The knock at the door startled me. I froze, dre
Sebastian The night was cold, the kind of cold that seeps into your bones no matter how many layers you wear. But standing on Beatrix’s porch, waiting for her to open the door, I didn’t feel it. My chest burned with the weight of everything unsaid, the things I needed her to hear before it was too late. When the door creaked open, she looked at me with a mixture of surprise and wariness. “Sebastian,” she said, her voice soft but guarded. “It’s late.” “I know,” I admitted, my hands shoved deep into my coat pockets. “But I need to talk to you. Please, Bea. Just… hear me out.” She hesitated, her eyes searching mine as if trying to gauge my sincerity. After what felt like an eternity, she stepped aside, allowing me to enter. The warmth of her home enveloped me, the familiar scent of lavender and coffee calming and torturing me all at once. This was her space, her world, and I’d done so much to hurt her in the past. But I couldn’t walk away again without trying to make things right.
Sebastian I promised myself I’d try to be better. To keep my jealousy in check. But every time I saw them together, every time I caught a glance of Beatrix smiling at Adam, or worse touching him it felt like my carefully constructed resolve was crumbling beneath me. I leaned against the wall of the conference room, arms crossed tightly as I watched them talk over the latest hotel design plans. Adam stood close to her, too close, his hand brushing hers as they both reached for the same blueprint. Beatrix laughed softly, the sound cutting through me like a blade. Calm, I reminded myself. Stay calm. But it was impossible. I could see the way he looked at her, the way his gaze lingered on her every move. It wasn’t just admiration it was hunger, possessiveness. He wanted her. And it made my blood boil. Adam leaned down, pointing something out on the blueprint. Beatrix tilted her head, her hair catching the light as she listened intently. When she smiled at whatever joke he whispered,
SebastianThe night was suffocating, the weight of everything pressing down on my chest. I walked through the quiet streets of WillowRidge, the familiar sights blurred by the haze of my thoughts. Her voice, her words“You don’t get to decide who I let into my life”repeated in my mind. She had chosen him. Maybe not fully, but she had let him stay while I was forced to leave. And the worst part? I couldn’t even blame her. My anger, my possessiveness it was all too much. But how could I not feel this way? When she was near him, when she looked at him with even a fraction of the softness she used to reserve for me, it was like a fire consuming me from the inside.I made my way to the lake, the place where we’d spent so much of our childhood together. The moonlight reflected off the still water, but tonight, it offered no peace. My hands clenched into fists as I thought about Adam. About the way he always managed to position himself as the calm, composed one. The savior. The better man.Bu
BeatrixThe tension in my chest felt like a storm brewing just under my skin as I stood at the threshold of my house. I hadn’t slept properly in days. The weight of the truth Sebastian and Adam had revealed crushed me from all sides, while their presence filled every waking moment. Their love, their need, their possessiveness it was suffocating.The knock at my door came just as I thought I might have a moment of peace. I opened it, expecting Nina or maybe even Uncle Peter. Instead, it was Sebastian. His silver-blond hair was disheveled, his jaw clenched tight. The look in his eyes made my stomach twist in knots.“Sebastian,” I said softly, stepping back to let him in. But the moment he crossed the threshold, I regretted it. His energy was different tonight—sharper, angrier.“You didn’t answer my calls,” he said, his voice low but filled with tension. “Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?”I sighed, rubbing my temples. “Sebastian, I needed time. I told you that.”“Time? Is that