Author's pov Axel sat on Cicely's bed after several minutes of pacing the area and waiting for her to show up. Where the hell has she gone? He was considering going out to search for her when the door opened.But it was not Cicely who stepped through; and it was Lily with a painted expression on her face. "Axel," she began.He already knew what she wanted. Now that their plans had flopped, she probably wanted them to come up with a bigger plan."Save it, Lily, we're through." He shook his head in regret. "I was so foolish ever to think that this would actually work.""What do you mean by we're through?" Lily asked. "We're in this together, right?"Axel sighed. "Let it go, Lily. Find a way to get a new life...""A new life?" She looked devastated. "But I'm pregnant... I have nowhere to go, and you can't just leave me alone.""I have to," Axel replied. "I have to make things up with Blaze, and I know I'll be able to do that if I try.""And what about me, Axel?" Lily said, raising her v
Axel followed the man who came to take him out of the cell. He wasn't sure how long he spent here, but long enough to be really glad to be out. The smell of soap lingered on his skin, a bit too strong, but he welcomed it. It had been a long time since he used soap."There's your ride," the man said, pointing at the sleek red Camry parked in the parking lot of the station. In front of it stood Katie, arms crossed around her protruding middle.Axel felt a sad smile tug at the corners of his lips. Even in jail, he heard of the marriage between Katie and Blaze when Cicely came to visit.His smile disappeared as he remembered her expression when she spoke. The wistfulness in her eyes... It was obvious that she wished for her wedding, and she couldn't even have it soon.He had long made up his mind to marry her immediately after he got out of jail. He was able to beg her forgiveness, and she must really love him for actually letting all he did go. She assured him she'd wait; that was the onl
KATIE’S POV. My dried tears clung to my cheeks so keenly as though they were my last hope as I stood in front of the unfamiliar faces, my fingers clutching onto my tattered gown tightly with my nails digging into my skin. I haven’t showered in five days, but that was the least of my concerns right now. “The brown-haired goes for 50 bucks.” I heard the man roar as he continued to chew on a stick, causing me to lift my head slightly to look his way.He had a deep cut right on his jaw of about three inches. My eyes trailed to meet his eyes, and it immediately sent fear running down my spine as I behold the emptiness it held. I snatched my eyes back to stare at my unpainted nails, the inner part of me missing the good old days. Days before my Father’s death. Beautiful days before, my stepmother sold me off to these strangers and hurried off with a wicked grin on her face after she was handed the big wand of cash. One would think that she had awaited his death. Tears stung the back of
KATIE’S POV “Huh!” The word finally escaped from my lips as I dragged my eyes to look at Axel, who seemed to have grown horns in just a few seconds. “The wedding date is undecided for now because we didn’t think we would get a bride so soon, but we will start preparing for the big day now.” Axel continued saying, totally ignoring the confused expression I had on.I dragged my eyes from him to land on the man I was supposed to marry and watched him smiling as he nodded, his fingers carefully wrapped around the glass of wine he had recently poured for himself. Everyone was acting as though I didn’t even exist. I decided my life like it was theirs.I dug my nails into my lap again to snap myself out of what I desperately prayed was a dream, but it wasn’t because, by the time I would sprout my eyes open again, I was still sitting here, hearing them have their absurd talk.Soon, their words started to fall into oblivion as different scenarios moved around me, my mind drifting to all the
KATIE’S POV Barely ten hours ago, Axel had informed me of the wedding being fixed to take place in five days during breakfast. The words rolled off his tongue so casually that one would assume he wasn’t the one who just offered me money to leave his Father last night. Thoughts of how there could be more to what was going on in this family grasped my mind and filled it with black clouds and loud bangs as it threatened to rain confusion.In the end, I concluded that I was finding my way out tonight. There was absolutely no way I was going to walk down the aisle with a male that was twice my age.A low sound echoed from the metal door, and my eyes trailed towards it. It sounded again until it was eventually pushed open, his thick legs making their way gently towards me.“What do you want?” The words made their way out quickly as my back found comfort in the wall, the yellow duvet serving as armour around my chest.“Don’t be scared. I won’t hurt you.” Maverick said calmly, but who was I
KATIE’S POV My eyes ran over my reflection again for the umpteenth time, and my insides tightened every single time. Here I was, dressed in a beautiful flowing White gown. A gown so expensive and breathtaking.However, the joy of putting it on wasn’t there. Unlike what I used to picture my wedding day to be like, this was nothing like it. It was either because I was getting married to an older man or because I felt wronged by my stepmother.My thoughts slowly drifted to what she could be up to now. Probably wining and dining somewhere, living the life of a Queen. In contrast, I wallowed in pain here.Smile, Katie. It's your wedding day.The voice in my head mocked, and I felt my eyes sting with tears, but I knew better than to ruin my makeup.The door let out a squeaking sound as it opened slowly, my eyes catching the reflection of the maid.“The car is ready, Ma’am. We need to leave for the church now.” She informed, causing me to nod before taking a last glance at myself.Smile, Ka
KATIE’S POV It had been days since the wedding, and Maverick had kept his promise and stayed in his lane. We never slept in the same room, but no one knew because I always ensured to sneak into the room late and wake up earlier than everyone. Walking down the stairs, I head towards the kitchen, wanting to help with something. Sleeping, waking, eating, and doing nothing daily took a toll on me because I hated being idle. I wanted to do anything at all to take my mind off the predicament I was going to be stuck in for months. The thought of telling Maverick about resuming school crossed my mind, but I had no clue how he would react. It was either that or I take up a job, anything at all. The aroma of the soup filled the air with Zina’s back turned towards the door.“Is there anything I can help with?” I asked and watched her fidget a little out of fear before turning around to look in my direction.“No…Ma. We can handle everything. It’s our job.” She responded, her purple hair packe
KATIE’S POV I could feel their intense Eagle eyes trying to penetrate my flesh as we walked toward wherever he was taking me. Almost everyone turned to look and whisper hush words to one another, making me wonder what happened in their minds. We stopped in front of a glass door, and I watched him grab the knob and hold it open, then beckoned me to step in. It felt unsettling, but I did regardless; he stepped in and closed the door.The whole room immediately went silent. Their eyes fixated on me. Us. The men sitting in the room, men of about Eight.“Apology for the delay,” Maverick said, breaking the silence, and the men finally dragged their eyes away from me to land on him.“The meeting just commenced.” One of them spoke. He was dressed in a Blue suit with a white inner and Blue tie. His Brown hair was neatly trimmed. “Do you mind an introduction?” He asked, his eyes trailing over me.“Oh! My bad.” Maverick responded, then chuckled softly before making a way to the chair, and I fo