Mayor Xavier Charming’s POV:I did realize I messed up a few times with Phoenix. I don’t understand what happened to my mind whenever I came too close to her.‘You did nothing wrong,’ the inner child spoke up.‘I pushed her out of the car when I wanted to --,’ I said, closing my eyes and grunting, feeling regret as I stared at the dirty coat on the floor.‘I have upset her so much that she did this to get her anger out on me,’ I groaned in rage. I was pretty self-destructive. Every time I felt like that might be my day to finally find happiness, I stepped back. There was only one reason I didn’t want Phoenix to be a part of my messy life.‘She doesn’t care about you, trust me. Nobody is going to care until you scare them.’ The little voice in my head distracted me again.‘’Remember what mom has taught you?’’ the other version of me spoke in my mind as I gazed at Zoe. Her continued attempts to touch me were distracting. I didn’t even know when she came to the room, but the look on her
I didn't turn in because I didn't want to. The person walked right in front of me with a cheeky smile on his lips."Please leave the nice lady alone." Jace gently let me get my hands off the door. He eyed the driver, asking him to give Felicity the groceries he had brought. I was perplexed as to why Mr. Mayor was still assisting this girl when he had clearly forbidden us all from contacting her.“Oh, more stuff.” We all looked up when an old, grumpy man thrust Felicity aside to get a hold of the bags. His voraciousness was manifest in his eyes. It looked like he hadn’t showered in months, and the pathetic, perverted look on his face could burn anyone from the inside out. At that very moment, I felt like Felicity could have done nothing to the extent that he punished her this way. He was a beast, doesn’t matter if someone made him this way; he deserved no sympathy.“My humble appreciation over this act of kindness of Mayor.” The wicked man faked a genuine smile and secretly held Felici
"It’s late. I should head back home." I stepped back from him and looked up again. He had a smile of relief on his lips. Probably because I was finally talking normally to him."I’ll walk you home if you don’t mind." It wasn’t even an offer. He started walking alongside me. Strangely, I liked having him on my side. Or maybe it was my way of stopping focusing on Mr. Mayor and getting involved somewhere else."Thanks," I mumbled, staring at the track."Thank me later for the coffee." His voice fell on my eardrums like a sweet murmur."Don’t you need money from your daddy, Mayor?" The mean girl inside me hit him with sarcasm. The funny part was that I giggled confidently."Nope, I’ll sell you to pay for coffee." His dark jokes were always the reason I rolled my eyes at him. His laugh made me turn to him and narrow my eyes at him."How mean?" I tied my lips into a tight, straight line when scoffing playfully. My eyes were arguing with him like a three-year-old baby."At least I won’t be t
“Is something bothering you?” Jace finally snapped me out of my thoughts. He looked worried about me. The fear was visible on my face; my eyes weren’t focusing on anything else after reading that text.“No---,” I mumbled, “actually it’s late and Derrell wants me home,” I lied, wanting to leave because I kept feeling like I was being watched.“Oh, I’ll talk to him,” Jace passed me a weak smile when expressing his desire to make me stay a little longer. It was true, though. I wanted to stay and talk to someone who was normal. He didn’t pass comments at me tonight or made me uncomfortable. I needed a friend who I can talk to when I was really down.“Umm-- I---,” I stuttered, “I really want to stay but--“ I rubbed my palms nervously, staring outside the window to look for whoever was sending me these texts. That person must have been around to know I am having coffee with Jace.It was so pleasant talking to Jace. That stalker ruined it for me. It's an everyday thing, someone ruins my happ
Jace left, and I started walking home all by myself. Thankfully, the unknown caller didn’t bother me with his threats again. So I assumed I would be fine. I was almost home when I received a call from Derrell, asking me if Zoe was still with me."She is not at home?" I asked, slowing down my steps and wondering where she could be."No! would I be calling you if she was at home?" Derrell scoffed at me, loud enough for me to steadily pull the phone away from my ear."I--- umm! I will call you back when I find her," I answered him in a panicking tone."Wait! so she is not with you?" He raised his voice at me after his anxiety took over him. Derrell cared a lot about Zoe’s safety.As for me, he just didn’t care. I sometimes wondered if I was even his biological daughter.I hung up on him since talking to him wasn’t helpful. I was the one who grabbed her out of the house to visit Felicity, but she left hours before.Derrell started calling me again, and I reluctantly picked up his call."E
"Let’s go inside and see how she feels about you spying on her intimate session?" Mr. Mayor straightened his back and, without giving me a warning, dragged me inside the room to shove me against the wall."Ouch!" I yelped, sticking to the corner and watching him walk over to the closet to grab a shirt. I was still not sure what was going on here.Zoe walked out of the bathroom after she had worn a bathrobe, but the guy stayed inside."Zoe! What is going on here? Who was that guy?" I asked the instant I saw her. From the looks of it, she looked fine and happy, but annoyed at my presence in the room."Why did you come here?" Zoe yelled, exceeding my expectations. I expected her to be subtle, to make an excuse and make up a lie, but she simply asked me why I was looking for her."I was worrie---," I was trying to talk, but Mr. Mayor roaming around distracted me a little."She did it so she could embarrass me in front of dad," Zoe said, staring into my soul."I---I wanted to know if you w
I was shaking when I watched him come closer. My mouth was beginning to turn dry at the sight of a snake. There was no way he could have figured out my fear of reptiles. Could it be the files he talked about when he said he had found all the information on me? With Zoe crying, and him holding what I feared the most, I was slowly losing my posture. My plan of not showing anyone my weakness was slowly wearing off."Phoenix," he came to a halt right in front of me, just so he could hunch over and look me in the eye."Let her go," I said, keeping a straight face, but the tears forming in my eyes showed how scared I was. I hugged myself, sticking my stare into the space to avoid stealing a glance at that snake."But she would never help you out. Why do you want to save her and not yourself?" he murmured with his eyes on the snake as he slowly took it out of the cage. My muscles were cramped at the sight of it."Sometimes we need to get out of our mean self-dilemmas and just do what’s right
Xavier Charming’s POV:I watched her for a moment before I stepped away from her. What she said about not using my past to hurt others stuck with me. Her words left me speechless. Why is she so convincing? Everything she says always makes sense. I was so lost that I didn’t even notice she had run out of the room. My body shuddered when I heard a painful shriek coming from outside. Exiting my room in a panic, I ran toward the source of the screams. My heart stopped for the first time.I’ve never cared for anyone, not in a very long time. For me, life and death, pain and relief, were the stages of life. But just the thought of her in pain frightened me. I didn’t think twice before running like a maniac. I quickly searched the hallway. The voice must have come from downstairs. Even though I could hear my mother tell me to leave Phoenix in pain, just the thought of it was making my heart restless. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, my entire world came crashing before my eyes when I sa