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Chapter 61: Nikki
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2022-06-23 14:02:31Related chapters
Withstanding the Odds Chapter 62: Nikki
We talk for minutes more, only stopping when more and more people come into the isle. Eventually our conversation leads us to the line, where we check out our books giggling when the woman behind the counter winks at our choices. Afterwards, we head to the local café, not a block away from the library, and grab a seat with a coffee in one hand and our newest books in the other."So, where did you grow up?" Clara asks while she takes a sip from her mug. The coffee shop is one that is meant to have a cheesy theme. This one's theme is futuristic and so far, they have missed the marker tremendously. Clara is currently sipping form a mug that has a Star Wars logo on it."Kind of everywhere. I moved around a lot as a kid, but my brother and I settled here in New York a little over a year ago." It's not exactly a lie, but the last thing I want to do is scare Clara away by proving just how messed up my past and present are. "What about you?""Right here. I grew up in New York but always loved
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Withstanding the Odds Chapter 63: Bronson
My brain is a pile of jumbled mess. A groan leaves my mouth when I receive the text message from Landen telling me that he is on his way and that he has Nikki.My feet march me towards the kitchen, where I take out the bottle of bourbon, forgoing the tumbler and take a drag. My eyes catch the items displayed all over my bar, and I force myself to turn around, facing the empty wall instead of looking deep into my past.Why would she send me those items?What the hell was she trying to prove?The door opens and I breath out a breath of relief when Nikki rounds the corner looking like a tiger fresh out of its cage. When I got home and saw that not only was Cassandra gone, but as was Nikki, I immediately went and spoke with Nadia. She had informed that Cassandra said awful things to Nikki and Nikki left shortly afterwards.I panicked. I went back and forth in my mind, wondering if I should just leave her alone, something I told myself I would do, or chase after her. But after the day I hav
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Withstanding the Odds Chapter 64: Nikki
The kiss is everything I've wanted, everything I have desire, and everything that is absolutely wrong. And when the kiss ends, and Bronson proclaims his undeniable love for me, I freeze."I made a mistake Nikki. It's you I love, you're the one I want to be with. I made a mistake with Cassandra. I'm in love with you."Cassandra. his fiancé. The woman he one day plans to marry.What the hell are we doing? Stepping back, I stare into Bronson's eyes, watching as his face forms from lust and care, to confusion and dejection."Bronson, this isn't right. You're getting married. You can't say that you've made a mistake.""I don't love her Nikki." He states bringing my hands back towards him. "And she doesn't love me. We have an agreement. Our marriage is for our image. She's always cheated on me; it's never bothered me because I know where we stand.""But you were against us before. What changed?""I never wanted to not be honest with you. I was going to tell you about Cassandra but the deepe
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Withstanding the Odds Chapter 65: Bronson
She looks different, different than before. Her eyes are still the same blue as mine, as mom's. Her hair is longer and a shade brighter than the last time I had seen it.Clara walks in closer, placing her bag down on the entry table located beside the door. Rand nods his head at me from behind her, and when I give him the same gesture back, he leaves.This isn't exactly what I thought would happen from the mysterious box I opened not a few hours ago. When I saw all my old items form my childhood, a childhood I thought I burned away, it took me by surprise. I left all of my things with Clara, the one person I thought could never be angry with my decision to take over for my grandfather.Instead, she was angry, and to top everything off, she sided with my family to disown me.I had no one, I was truly alone, and she didn't care."You look different." She states."I could say the same about you." I look over at the bar, watching as the items mock me with their stillness. "Why did you send
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Withstanding the Odds Chapter 66: Bronson
"I did nothing of the sort." I point my finger out at her as the other hand slams down the bottle of bourbon. Clara has now come around towards the kitchen and stands directly in front of the bar where all of my past haunts me. It's ironic really, watching as her anger courses through her as she stands in front of the items, she has sent to torture me."You did Bronson. You know your choices cost father and mother everything they were working hard for. Raul called and you came running to him. We warned you, everyone warned you that he only wished for someone to carry on his legacy, but you didn't listen, and now look. Look at what you have to offer. Your soul is gone, even I can see that.""Enough." I shout. I am done with this conversation. Done with my sister accusing me of things that are simply untrue. She says she came here to speak with me, to explain why my family no longer hates me, hates who I've become, she's doing a terrible job of it. "I need you to leave.""Is that what yo
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Withstanding the Odds Chapter 67: Bronson
I can still remember the first day I ever met my grandfather. I had graduated college and had come home to my family home, to find my father and he in a heated discussion.My father was a lot like me, never one to share his past, to share his secrets. He kept that side of his life hidden from his wife and three children. To anyone looking in, my family had it all, wealth, success, and fame. My father was the top lawyer in his firm that he helped build from the ground up and my mother was by his side all our lives."What's going on?" I ask as I enter the home of my parents. I may have never met the man, but I had seen pictures. He was the man we didn't speak of. The man that boycotted my parents wedding because my mother didn't come from money. The man that never wanted to witness the birth of his grandchildren, because they could never live up to the expectations he had installed in my father. The man my father, never spoke of."Ah, you must be Bronson." My grandfather greeted me, a
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Withstanding the Odds Chapter 68: Bronson
To say my father was disappointed would be an understatement.My older brother and sister, Anderson and Clara, had found their passion. Neither was what my father wanted, but in his mind, neither had stabbed him in the back either. Anderson was a police officer, and Clara was doing well as an artist. My father hated that they didn't follow in his footsteps, but he still had one more child, one more person to get his claws into and to bring him aboard.He still had me."So, when I broke his heart and told him I wanted to not only get to know my grandfather, but to one day take over his business, he refused to speak to me. That was over four years ago."Nikki's eyes water as I finish my story. The bottle of bourbon half empty in front of the two of us on the coffee table. I had never told anyone my story before, and when my grandfather retired a few years ago, passing the torch down to me, I was well and truly alone."And none of your family has spoken to you either?""Not exactly.
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Withstanding the Odds Chapter 69: Nikki
Well sh*t.Listening as Bronson speaks of his past is daunting. His past is haunted, the ghosts are present, and he has no idea what to do with himself."I'm surprised you're still here." He states as I stare blankly into the fireplace. Bronson brought me in here to speak about his past and knowing that it is my favorite room in the house, besides the pool, I wonder if his goal was to make me not flinch at his story. It didn't work, I flinched, but it wasn't because of him. It was because of mine.We are a lot alike, in more ways than he knows."Where else would I be."He shrugs, then walks over and sits beside me. The kiss form earlier comes to the forefront of my mind, and I wonder as I watch him lick his own and stare into my eyes, if he is thinking the same thing as I am. "I told you how terrible I was in my past, how I had no problem destroying people's lives so that I could get ahead.""Bronson, you may have been a jerk, but I have no room to judge. I'm a criminal, and there is n
Last Updated : 2022-06-23
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Withstanding the Odds Chapter 108: Epilogue-Nikki
My feet pound the pavement as I look back and notice him catching up to me. A small giggle leaves my breath as I force through my weariness and begin to run faster."Damn it Nicole." He shouts but I cough out a laugh and continue running.After another ten minutes of running, my feet finally give my legs the message and I'm forced to pull off to the side and lay onto the grass, begging for breath as I shield my eyes from the golden sun.Eight months.It's been eight months since everything went down in Bronson's office, and when I look back, it feels like a different life altogether. Bronson and I have been going strong. There are times we have moments of relapse, mainly me when I assume he doesn't trust me, but he assures me, that after I practically threw myself into his penthouse knowing there was danger, there is no mistrust in our relationship."Did you really think you could outrun me?" I look up and smile when I see the glorious face of Bronson Fortworth. He's just as hands
Withstanding the Odds Chapter 107: Bronson
I feel heavy, my eyes lids try and open but it's no use. I can hear someone beside me, shifting uncontrollably in their seat, only to curse when something drops on the ground beside them. I moan, trying like hell to get rid of my unconscious stupor, only to stop when I feel her come closer, whispering things in my ear to calm me."I'm here Bronson. I'm safe." My body softens, hearing the horrors my mind has been churning around as unanswered questions was killing me. I needed her safe, I needed to know she was okay. I fall asleep, relishing in the fact that she is beside me.The next time my brain connects the dots of conscious living, my eyes finally get the memo and blink open a few times. I'm in pain, a good amount, but I force myself to look around the room and watch as Nikki's body, thrown haphazardly over a couple of chairs thrown together to make a bed, rises up and lower back down. I watcher breath for what feels like hours, then finally shift enough to make a groan erupt fro
Withstanding the Odds Chapter 106: Nikki
Everything happens quickly, too quickly for me to connect each fragmented dot. A large body lands atop of mine, making the both of us grunt out in pain. I look up and hear another gun go off, this one much closer than the last and my eyes widen when I realize not only is Bronson on top of me, but he's been shot."Bronson!" I panic, pushing him off me, and placing him onto the ground. Rand runs over as well as I check over Bronson's body, trying to figure out where the pool of blood under us is coming from."Nikki." He grunts out, but I place my fingers down on his lips, stopping him from whatever pathetic last-minute speech he wants to give me. I will not let him die. I can't lose anyone else."Stop, just save it, you're getting out of here, do you hear me? Rand I are going to take you to a hospital and get you help." Bronson's hand reaches out and gently rests on my cheek. A single tear falls from my eye, something I don't even realize as time stands still.We're given our own mom
Withstanding the Odds Chapter 105: Bronson
Brody goes down, and I barely hear anything outside the scream Nikki unleashes. My head swivels over to Mick whose face is sporting a bored expression.Sick bastard. I may not have liked the asshole that had no problem watching his sister get pummeled, but to kill him so easily?"Brody! No." Nikki's tears flow as she stares at the vacant spot beside me that makes up where her brother once was. Her struggle becomes a problem when she attempts to get out of Mick's hold, calling him every name in the book. "You son of a b*tch. I'm going to make sure you suffer for that.""Stupid girl. It's your fault he's in this situation to begin with." Mick angrily shouts. I look over from them back to Charles, who is starring at them with shock. Brody was expendable and I think he is beginning to realize that he is as well."Do you see it now Charles? He has no plans of continuing on with you. He's already gotten rid of one expendable person, who do you think is next?" Rand speaks up once again, h
Withstanding the Odds Chapter 104: Nikki
How do I get myself into these situations. Granted, I should have known better than barging in here when Mick practically left Alfonso on the ground of the Serendin as a dare to me, but my heart strings were completely pulled for Bronson. I frankly, blame the love-stricken tool I've come to be, but this? This situation is just plain comical.Mick's arms tighten around my chest and neck as he halls me up and cuts the ties off my waist and arms. I'm no longer in the chair but with the large knife in his right hand and a gun in his left, I'm still very much at his mercy.The moment we heard Rand coming inside the penthouse, seconds before the yelling began, we knew the tables had turned. I just never thought it would end in a shootout."Think about this Mr. Reynolds. This will not end the way you expect it to." Rand states as he enters even further into the room. He came inside, Brody tugged discretely in front of him as if using him as a human shield. I wanted to scream at him, but he
Withstanding the Odds Chapter 103: Bronson
I can't watch this. My body is rigid as I hear the noises of Charles's grunts. It's lasted for what feels like hours, but I know it's only begun because Nikki can still keep in the yelps and screams, I know she wants to unleash.I was a fool. A pathetic fool to think Nikki wouldn't bother showing up. When Charles and Mick, along with her deplorable brother ambushed me, attempting to get me hand over all of my money from the new companies I had acquired, I had an ace up my sleeve. I wasn't going to give them anything, they would have to kill me first, something they wouldn't do if they wanted to get paid.But then Mick had a plan. Get Nikki here. He knew, deep down he knew I would have fought him tooth and nail, which is why when they told me about leaving their informant Alfonso down at the Serendin for all to see, I hoped Nikki was still angry enough with me that she wouldn't bother showing.I was a fool.I cringe when I finally hear her weakened murmur, the humming vibration each
Withstanding the Odds Chapter 102: Nikki
Fuzzy. Everything is fuzzy, clearing only when I give a few dry blinks. The first thing that comes into my vision is Bronson. Relief flows through me as I see him staring blankly at me. His head is titled, as If tired from holding it up at an awkward angle and the blood that was coming from his face has now dried all over his shirt. His eyes glance me over, and once he sees that I am awake, he sits up startled and looks around the room, then back to me."Nikki?"I nod my head, not knowing what else to do, and that's when all the blanks fill in. I'm sitting in a chair, same as Bronson. My hands are tied to the arms of the chair with zip ties and around my waist and legs are a tight rope cutting into the skin. I shake my head and close my eyes, making a mental note of how I feel.My head is hurting, but not a skull splitting kind of pain. My hands and legs hurt, most likely from how tight my ties are, and my lips feel swollen, in desperate need of water."Bronson?" I answer his worri
Withstanding the Odds Chapter 101
After what feels like years later, I finally arrive at Bronson's penthouse. I throw some loose bills that were waddled up in my bra at the cab driver, not entirely sure it's even enough, and run up the few steps and inside the building. I notice the doorman looking at me strangely, but I'm thankful when he doesn't stop me. He must have seen me enter enough times with Bronson to recognize me.By the time the elevator dings and my sore muscles enter the penthouse, I'm shocked by what I see. It's quiet, eerily so, and as I look around, I don't see anything out of place, aside from the way it looked yesterday after Bronson destroyed it. Rand told me that Bronson hung up quickly, and that he thought he heard some kind of scuffle, but I'm not sure if Rand is here. I don't call out either of their names, just in case I'm not the only one here, instead, I move into the living area, making my way closer and closer towards the study area.Entering the kitchen, I look around more, noting the em
Withstanding the Odds Chapter 100: Nikki
The cab driver was humming a familiar song as I hopped in and gave him the address. I knew I couldn't run all the way back to the penthouse and with Brody, Mick and Charles already ahead of me, I knew I needed a quick ride there."So, you new to New York?" He asks and I fight the urge to tell him off and roll my eyes."No, I live here. Now please, step on it, it's an emergency." I state then sit back and pull my phone from my back pocket. I need to call Rand and tell him what I know. He answers immediately, sounding out of breath and worry struck me hard. "Rand?""It's Bronson, I was on the phone with him and then suddenly it turned off. I heard what sounded like a scuffle, I'm on my way to him now but I'm in traffic, where are you?"I couldn't answer him fast enough, my mind was reeling on all the information he just threw at me. Bronson was hurt. Does he know that for sure? Was he watching the footage? I shook my head and tried to keep my thoughts about me. I couldn't jeopardize
