ã€ŠThe Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawnã€‹


 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 1

    ~AUTUMN~

    There he is. The love of my life kissing my best friend. He doesn¡¯t know that he is the love of my life; of

    course, no one knows it, not even my best friend. She¡¯s been leading him on, unable to decide if she¡¯s

    in love with him or Damon; I can¡¯t forget Dante either. The sad part was that all three of these men

    were brothers. I¡¯ve watched their crazy love go on and on for years, if that is even considered love. I¡¯ve

    pined for Atticus, felt his pain, and went through it all with him without knowing a single thing. Every

    time she broke his heart and ran toward Damon, I felt the pain that he felt. Every time she left them

    both and ran to Dante, I also felt it. I couldn¡¯t understand how three men could be that in love with a

    woman that couldn¡¯t choose one.

    It shouldn¡¯t be that hard. She should have chosen one; she shouldn¡¯t have them all wondering who she

    would run to next. Atticus didn¡¯t deserve this; none of his brothers did either.

    They all believed that she was their mate. I didn¡¯t think that they could all have such bad luck to end up

    having the same girl as their mate. I felt like something had to be wrong. But I was the only one that

    seemed to think that way.

    It didn¡¯t help that Anya was my best friend. I loved her since she was the closest friend that I had. I¡¯m

    supposed to support her in this even though I had been in love with Atticus since the first day I met him.

    I remember it like it was yesterday. I¡¯d dropped my book onto the ground by mistake, and he¡¯d gotten

    down on the floor to pick it up for me. Our hands touched for the first time that day while he was

    returning it to me and the sparks I felt were enough to make me wet between my legs. I thought he felt

    the same way until I realized he wasn¡¯t looking at me. He was looking at Anya. It was then that I

    realized he was in love with her.

    At that time, I thought it would be okay; I thought that what I felt was just a simple crush. I was wrong.

    So wrong. I was fourteen then; I barely knew what it meant to love someone. Now I knew that it could

    rip your heart into a million pieces seeing the person you love be in love with someone else. And it hurt

    more knowing that the person he loved kept hurting him by being indecisive.

    That day I thought it would stop with Atticus; I thought she would want to be with him alone. But when

    Anya met his brothers, she experienced the same feelings she did with him. And she didn¡¯t try to hide it

    from any of them. They all knew that she couldn¡¯t choose. They all knew she wanted the three of them,

    not just one. But they were not okay with that. They weren¡¯t happy. The brothers didn¡¯t like to share. I

    couldn¡¯t me them. But why wouldn¡¯t they try to let another girl into their lives?

    ~AUTUMN~

    There he is. The love of my life kissing my best friend. He doesn¡¯t know that he is the love of my life; of

    course, no one knows it, not even my best friend. She¡¯s been leading him on, unable to decide if she¡¯s

    in love with him or Damon; I can¡¯t forget Dante either. The sad part was that all three of these men

    were brothers. I¡¯ve watched their crazy love go on and on for years, if that is even considered love. I¡¯ve

    pined for Atticus, felt his pain, and went through it all with him without knowing a single thing. Every

    time she broke his heart and ran toward Damon, I felt the pain that he felt. Every time she left them

    both and ran to Dante, I also felt it. I couldn¡¯t understand how three men could be that in love with a

    woman that couldn¡¯t choose one.

    I¡¯ve been waiting for Atticus to notice me, just once. I¡¯ve wanted to tell Anya that I have loved him since

    I first met him. I wanted her to know he was the one I wanted to be with. But like I said, at that time, I

    didn¡¯t know what love was. I didn¡¯t know what to expect or how to handle my feelings. And when I did

    finally bring up Atticus to her that day, she cut me off; she didn¡¯t let me speak; she was the first to say

    that she liked him, that she wanted to be with him.

    I didn¡¯t want to be the girl that couldn¡¯t step aside for her best friend. It¡¯s not like Atticus would have

    chosen me either. If I were the one that had made the first move instead of her, he would have turned

    me down in the blink of an eye. Maybe that was another reason I never told Anya the truth about my

    feelings for him. And I didn¡¯t think that now was the time for me to spill that truth to her or anyone else.

    It was toote for that now. It was toote for us. There would never be anything between Atticus and

    me. It was something I would have to learn to ept.

    ¡°Autumn!¡± My mother calls my name as she barges into my room. ¡°Why are you still not dressed? I told

    you that the Fawns have invited us to their home for an important meeting.¡±

    The Fawns. The same family I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about.

    Atticus Fawn. Dante Fawn. Damon Fawn.

    There were other siblings. But those three are the ones I knew the most about.

    The Fawn family were business partners with my parents.

    They are the reason why we¡¯re all attending the Angelites Academy For Supernaturals. Everyone

    knows that only the richest attend that school. Our families were billionaires. Anya did not fall into that

    category. She was the only girl in our year that wasn¡¯t rich. There was always one girl or boy that the

    principal would allow to join our school. It was a rule that they stuck by even though not many of the

    wealthy families agreed with that decision. While the school usually did as the wealthy parents asked,

    this was one rule that was allowed despite the bacshes it received. It¡¯s because the principal wasn¡¯t

    aplete dickhead. He wanted to give at least one average child the opportunity to have a good

    education at our school. But I was sure that this rule would change when a new principal was

    appointed. Not many had the guts like Sir Alex Smith.

    I¡¯ve been waiting for Atticus to notice me, just once. I¡¯ve wanted to tell Anya that I have loved him since

    I first met him. I wanted her to know he was the one I wanted to be with. But like I said, at that time, I

    didn¡¯t know what love was. I didn¡¯t know what to expect or how to handle my feelings. And when I did

    finally bring up Atticus to her that day, she cut me off; she didn¡¯t let me speak; she was the first to say

    that she liked him, that she wanted to be with him.

    I put the phone away. I didn¡¯t need to see another post of Anya and Atticus together.

    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Mom,¡± I say while looking down at my t-shirt and jeans. ¡°I am dressed.¡±

    She folds her arms across her chest and wrinkles her nose like she always does when she¡¯s

    displeased with me, ¡°I¡¯ve grown you up better than that, youngdy. Just because your father and I

    were nice enough to let you wear this at home, it doesn¡¯t mean that you can dress this way in public.

    Especially not around the Fawns. You will be in a dress when you meet them tonight.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± I pout. ¡°You always go to these things alone. You and dad. Then why are you

    dragging me along with you this time? I don¡¯t see you asking ina or Hayes to join us as well.¡±

    ¡°This meeting happens to involve you.¡± She snaps. ¡°When it¡¯s ina¡¯s turn, she will join us as well. As

    for Hayes, your brother is out entertaining yet another girl. I would pray for him if I were you. He¡¯s

    bound to cause trouble one day.¡±

    What did she mean by when it¡¯s ina¡¯s turn? Usually, I would jump at any opportunity to see Atticus,

    but I already knew he was meeting Anya today. She told me that they had a date. It was their night.

    Tomorrow she will see Dante, and on Sunday, she will see Damon.

    It¡¯s crazy that they even agreed on this weird schedule. Their rtionship freaked me out a bit.

    My mother walks out of the room only to return a few minutester with a royal blue dress. ¡°Put this on.

    We are leaving in ten minutes; I expect you to be in the car by then.¡±

    I sigh; just my luck. The one day I¡¯m visiting the Fawns happens to be the one day Atticus wouldn¡¯t be

    present.

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 2

    ~ATTICUS~

    I should have been with Anya at this time. Instead, I¡¯m stuck with Damon and Dante. I¡¯m beginning to

    think that they did this on purpose. Bringing me along with them so I would miss my date with her. I

    knew that those asses wanted her to themselves just like I wanted her for myself. I¡¯ve never felt this

    way for another woman. Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t the only one that felt this way; my brothers did as well.

    They were just as crazy about her as I was. That was expected since she was our mate. There was no

    breaking that bond unless two out of the three of us decided to make that sacrifice. So far, none of us

    were willing to let go of her.

    ¡°Where exactly are we heading?¡± I ask Damon. ¡°This route looks familiar.¡±

    ¡°To meet an old friend,¡± he answers. ¡°There is something important he wants to ask us.¡±

    ¡°An old friend?¡± I question. ¡°Who can that be?¡±

    ¡°Arthur ckner.¡± He informs me.

    ¡°Are we in some kind of trouble?¡± I ask. ¡°Why are we going to see a ckner? What could be so

    urgent? Couldn¡¯t our parents meet with them instead?¡±

    ¡°This meeting doesn¡¯t concern our parents, Atticus,¡± Dante exins. ¡°It concerns us three and our

    rtionship with a certain someone.¡±

    ¡°Anya?¡± I question.

    ¡°Bingo.¡± He says.

    What could be so important that we must travel far to see him?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have to be here.¡± I point out. ¡°You¡¯re sabotaging my date with Anya, and you know it.¡±

    ¡°Are we?¡± Dante asks. ¡°Why would we do something like that on purpose?¡±

    I don¡¯t get to answer that question when the jeep stops on the side of the road.

    I spot Arthur almost immediately. The man looks troubled.

    He isn¡¯t alone. He¡¯s with two other women.

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    ¡°Is it possible he has two mates like Anya has the three of us?¡± I ask, looking at them.

    That would exin why they brought me all the way here with them. Maybe they found a way to make

    it work. And they could probably teach their ways to us. We got out of the vehicle, and Arthur

    introduced us to the women that came with him.

    ~ATTICUS~

    I should have been with Anya at this time. Instead, I¡¯m stuck with Damon and Dante. I¡¯m beginning to

    think that they did this on purpose. Bringing me along with them so I would miss my date with her. I

    knew that those asses wanted her to themselves just like I wanted her for myself. I¡¯ve never felt this

    way for another woman. Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t the only one that felt this way; my brothers did as well.

    They were just as crazy about her as I was. That was expected since she was our mate. There was no

    breaking that bond unless two out of the three of us decided to make that sacrifice. So far, none of us

    were willing to let go of her.

    ¡°Nice to meet you,dies,¡± Damon said as he shook their hands.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure.¡± I nod my head slightly.

    ¡°What did you call us here for?¡± Dante asks. ¡°I think I have an idea, but I want a proper exnation.¡±

    ¡°At first, we thought it was your father hoping to do another business deal. There are a few things at

    home we wanted him to install.¡± Damon notes. ¡°But that¡¯s not why we¡¯re here, is it? Thest I heard,

    you and your father are no longer allies.¡±

    Arthur sighs, ¡°I¡¯ve heard something that I wasn¡¯t sure was true. But if it is, I hope you can help shed

    some light on a simr situation.¡±

    A simr situation?

    I look at my brothers. So our assumption was correct?

    ¡°What did you hear?¡± I ask.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the three of you have the same mate,¡± Arthur exins.

    I wipe a finger over my bottom lip and quirk a brow, ¡°it¡¯s true. But how can that information help you?¡±

    His mention of Anya intensifies the tension between us. We still haven¡¯t gotten used to having to share

    her amongst the three of us. Talking about it didn¡¯t help.

    ¡°Are these two women your mates?¡± Damon asks, searching for an answer.

    Both women look disgusted by his question, ¡°of course not.¡± One of them snaps. ¡°Only Gabrie is his

    mate. No one else.¡±

    ¡°And it will stay that way for the rest of our lives,¡± Gabrie adds; there is no mistaking the threat in her

    voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s concerning her.¡± Arthur nods in the girl¡¯s direction. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of Kane, Alpha Eric¡¯s

    son. I believe that she could be his mate, but the problem is that he¡¯s already bonded with another

    woman. I wanted to know if this could happen.¡±

    ¡°While we all have the same mate. None of us have marked her. We¡¯re not sure what will happen if one

    out of the three of us marks her. It¡¯s why we haven¡¯t done it. I¡¯m not sure if this means that after

    marking your mate, it¡¯s possible to find another. All I can confirm is that you can have more than one

    mate. It¡¯s possible. It¡¯s not f*****g easy; sharing never is. But it¡¯s possible.¡± I try to exin.

    ¡°Nice to meet you,dies,¡± Damon said as he shook their hands.

    ¡°Atticus,¡± Dante says my name in an rmed grumble. ¡°I think you should look at this.¡±

    He hands the phone to me, and I freeze. It¡¯s an article; the headline is written in bold letters, ¡®Atticus

    Fawn to wed Autumn Rivera.¡¯

    ¡°What is this f*****g article about?¡± I demand from Dante. ¡°Mother and father did not mention anything

    to me about marrying a woman. And Autumn Rivera? Have they lost their minds?¡±

    Autumn was my mate¡¯s best friend. They were always spending time together, and there was

    something about the girl that made me feel¡ªsomething. I can¡¯t put my finger on it. Whatever it was, I

    didn¡¯t like it. Not even a little.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t mother tell you that there would be an important business deal with the Riveras tonight? She

    asked that youe home early for the announcement. I¡¯m guessing this is what she was referring to.¡±

    Damon exins as he takes another look at the article. He looks like he¡¯s reading the entire thing trying

    to figure out what was happening.

    ¡°This can¡¯t be f*****g true.¡± I snap. My hands are shaking with rage. ¡°I won¡¯t marry another woman other

    than my mate. Mother should know this! How could she do this without informing me first?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just stay calm,¡± Damon says. ¡°Maybe this article is false. They¡¯re always posting false information

    about our lives. Let¡¯s all take a deep breath and get home to hear what our parents say about this.¡±

    I don¡¯t waste any time. I was already jumping into the jeep and waiting for my brothers as they said

    goodbye to Arthur.

    I¡¯m driving this time. I¡¯m letting the jeep go as fast as it possibly could. I had to find out if anything in

    that article was urate.

    And if it were, I would find a way to stop it.

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 3

    ~AUTUMN~

    Something is happening. I don¡¯t know what it is. Our parents are too happy. Atticus¡¯s parents are

    shaking hands with my parents like they¡¯re about to make the biggest deals of their life. And while I

    should be overjoyed over this, I can¡¯t help but feel nervous and a little skeptical about the entire thing.

    For one, my siblings were nowhere around for this ¡®important¡¯ business deal. If it were that important,

    they would be here as well. Why were my parents so strict about me being with them? Something tells

    me that I will get my answer very soon.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± I ask my mother when I finally get her alone. ¡°There is something you¡¯re not telling

    me, and I want to know what it is.¡±

    I can¡¯t help but tap my fingers against the ss impatiently as I wait for a response¡ªa proper one.

    There is a reason why she brought me here with her. I should have realized that she wouldn¡¯t have

    dragged me all the way here without a hidden agenda.

    Maybe I should have tried harder to get out of this. I knew that trouble was up ahead; I just wasn¡¯t sure

    what kind of trouble it would be.

    My breath gets stuck in my throat when the door to the front of us ms open and reveals the man of

    my dreams. Atticus Fawn. Time stops in those few seconds, just like it always does when he enters a

    room. His broad shoulders fill the entrance, making it look smaller than it actually was.

    His eyes are cold and dangerous as he searches the room for someone. Behind him are his brothers.

    Damon and Dante both look as uneasy as he does. I¡¯m too busy staring at Atticus to care about what¡¯s

    troubling them. His eyes briefly connect with mine, and his hands tighten into fists.

    Is it just me, or is he angry that I¡¯m here? During these past few years, Atticus has barely shown me

    any attention, and the one time he acknowledges me, this is the reaction I get from him?

    His walk is mighty as he moves forward toward his target. I notice then that there is a magazine in his

    hand. Not just one; there are at least a dozen.

    There are multiple gasps throughout the room as he flings the magazines in front of his parents.

    I catch a picture of myself on the front cover.

    My heart skips a beat.

    I¡¯m not the only one in the magazine; there is also Atticus. The pictures aren¡¯t what has me in a daze

    however, it¡¯s the title at the top.

    Atticus Fawn To Wed Autumn Rivera.

    ¡°What is this?¡± He asks, his voice is calm, but his expression is anything but that.

    This is what my parents had been keeping from me. This is the reason they were all so happy. They

    were celebrating our marriage without telling us about it.

    How could they? Isn¡¯t this something we should have agreed upon first? How many people already

    knew about this? There were already magazines printed, which meant that we were probably thest to

    know about this. Judging by his actions, Atticus had also just found out.

    Wasn¡¯t he supposed to be on a date with Anya right now? Did this mean that she also saw the article? I

    hope that she knows I had nothing to do with it. I hope she knows that I didn¡¯t agree to this wedding.

    She was my best friend, and while I wasn¡¯t happy with some of her decisions, I wouldn¡¯t intentionally

    sabotage her rtionship with Atticus.

    ¡°Atticus.¡± His mother greets him. ¡°It¡¯s nice of you to grace us with your presence finally. As you can see,

    we have guests right now. If you had a question, you could have asked without throwing these

    magazines all over the floor.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯rete.¡± His father adds. There is no hiding the disappointment in his voice. ¡°If you were on

    time, you wouldn¡¯t have had to find out this way.¡±

    ¡°Find out what?¡± he asks. ¡°That I¡¯m getting married to a woman I don¡¯t want to marry?¡±

    I fight the ache in my heart at his question. I knew he didn¡¯t want to marry me. He wasn¡¯t the one in

    love. I was. And he didn¡¯t know how much I loved him. I¡¯ve hidden it well.

    ¡°She¡¯s right there.¡± His mother snaps. ¡°Have some respect for your future wife and the future daughter-

    inw of this family.¡±

    Atticus takes a step toward his mother; his eyes sh with anger as he says, ¡°the only woman I will

    marry is Anya. No one else.¡±

    He doesn¡¯t say anything else as he storms out of the room.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    I watch him go, my eyes lingering on the entrance until I can¡¯t see him anymore.

    ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad about his words.¡± Carol, his mother, tells me. ¡°He¡¯s just in shock. The wedding will

    happen. Next week is the official engagement. All of the preparations have already been made.¡±

    ¡°He has a right to be angry,¡± I tell her, trying not to sound disrespectful. ¡°Neither of us was informed

    about this wedding. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s unfair to us? Anya is my best friend. Everyone knows he loves

    her. How can I marry a man in love with my best friend?¡±

    She takes my hand in hers, ¡°Anya doesn¡¯t suit our family. She will not fit in well. We are saving her the

    trouble; if she marries Atticus, she will not be happy, and none of us will.¡± She exins. ¡°You are the

    perfect woman for him. The both of you match in every way. And our families have been friends for a

    long time now. This is the best match; no one else will suit our son more than you.¡±

    I bite my bottom lip. I knew that Anya wasn¡¯t the right woman for him. I knew that I would suit him

    better. But he didn¡¯t see it like that. And that¡¯s what¡¯s important. As long as Atticus doesn¡¯t see me as

    the woman he wants to marry, how can I marry him?

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 4

    ~ATTICUS~

    ¡°There you are, son,¡± my grandfather, Gerard Fawn, says as he joins me out at theke.

    This was my favorite part of my home. I would alwayse back here and stare at the view¡ª

    especially in times like this when I had a lot on my mind.

    ¡°Are you not speaking to me as well?¡± he asks as he watches theke along with me.

    ¡°That depends,¡± I say. ¡°Did you also have anything to do with this wedding?¡±

    He smiles, ¡°the wedding was your mother¡¯s idea, but I had nothing against it. I know you will not agree

    with us, but Autumn suits our family more than Anya does. Besides, your brothers will be there for her.

    It¡¯s unfair that all three of you got the same mate, and it¡¯s been tearing this family apart. This wedding is

    exactly what we need. I believe that a woman like Autumn will help you move on from Anya. Eventually,

    she would have had to choose one of you. It couldn¡¯t be the three of you for the rest of her life. We are

    saving you the heartache of the future.¡±

    ¡°You say it like you know she wouldn¡¯t have chosen me to spend the rest of her life with,¡± I note.

    He shrugs his shoulder, ¡°she would have chosen one of you. I¡¯m not optimistic you wouldn¡¯t be her first

    choice. I¡¯m just telling you that marrying Autumn will make it easier for your brothers and you.¡±

    ¡°Why should I be the one to make the sacrifice?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re the eldest.¡± He says. ¡°As the eldest, I¡¯ve also had to make many sacrifices for my

    siblings while growing up. You have been a good child your entire life, listening to your parents,

    listening to your grandmother and me; if she were still alive, she would tell you the same thing that I

    was. Our marriage was also arranged, but we fell deeply in love. It can happen for you also.¡±

    My grandmother, Annie Fawn, died two years ago. Her death had hit our family hard. We were all still

    trying to cope with it. Some may argue that two years was enough time to stop grieving, but she was an

    angel; she did everything for us.

    ¡°Do you think she would have wanted me to marry Autumn even though Anya is my mate?¡± I ask him.

    I always respected her opinions. I wish she were still alive to answer this question on her own.

    He nods, ¡°Your grandmother was always very fond of Autumn. They would meet outside of our home.

    She never mentioned it to you but told me how much she adored her and wished that someday she

    could marry into this home.¡±

    My jaw clenched. His words have gotten to me. Why did she want Autumn to marry into our family? I

    never knew they were so close. I knew Autumn attended the funeral, but I thought she was forced to by

    her parents.

    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°What are you trying to tell me?¡± I ask him.

    ¡°You know exactly what I¡¯m saying. You will be fulfilling your grandmother¡¯s wish by marrying Autumn.

    You wondered what she would have said if she was still alive; I can tell you that she would have told

    you to marry her. I¡¯m not just saying this because it¡¯s what I want or what your parents want; I¡¯m telling

    you because this is what she would have liked.¡±

    I stand there, looking at theke, with his words on my mind. I nce at him, and I know that he

    realizes he¡¯s cornered me. He said the right words. He said the one thing that would guarantee that I

    marry Autumn.

    Fulfilling any wishes my grandmother may have had will always be on my to-do list, even if those

    wishes meant destroying my happiness. Marrying Autumn Rivera may very well take everything from

    me, but I was willing to do it now. Because of her.

    ¡°Did my parents put you up to this?¡± I ask him.

    Heughs, ¡°they may have mentioned something to me. I didn¡¯t do this for them, though; I did it for you

    and mydy in the sky.¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°I guess I should go tell them the good news?¡±

    He nods, ¡°it will make their day. That¡¯s for sure. Though, even if you hadn¡¯t agreed, I know they would

    have found a way to convince you. It¡¯s your parents, after all.¡±

    I storm back into the house with one thing on my mind. This time they¡¯re in the garden. All eyes are on

    me as I approach the crowd.

    I see her again. Autumn. My future wife.

    I try to ignore her beauty, standing near a bouquet of red roses with the wind blowing her long ash

    blonde hair. I tighten my fists and walk past her to my parents.

    They are still displeased by my actions earlier; I can tell. I know they¡¯re not expecting me to ept this

    wedding, not this early, especially since I told them earlier that I would only marry Anya.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± I say to them. ¡°To marry Autumn. You can start the preparations. I will not try to stop it.¡±

    My mother¡¯s eyes lit up with happiness, and she hugged me, ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you, son.¡± she said with a

    smile. ¡°I know that this will be the best decision of your life. Autumn will be your lucky charm.¡±

    ¡°Now that¡¯s my boy!¡± my father said as he hugged me next. ¡°This is going to be the wedding of the

    year. No doubt. A Rivera marrying a Fawn, finally.¡±

    Autumn¡¯s parents are hugging mine. They¡¯re the happiest amongst us. One would think they were the

    ones getting married by how d they were.

    Autumn joins us then, and she looks surprised that I agreed to marry her.

    She opens her mouth to say something when my phone rings.

    I look down at the caller ID and feel my body be still.

    Anya.

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 5

    I move away from the crowd, including Autumn. I know she also saw that it was Anya calling me.

    I take a deep breath as I slide to answer, ¡°Anya.¡±

    ¡°Atticus!¡± she shouts from the other end. ¡°What are these articles? Why on earth does it say that you

    are going to marry Autumn? It¡¯s a lie. You wouldn¡¯t agree to marry her knowing we are mates,

    especially when she¡¯s my closest friend.¡±

    I run a hand through my hair, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Anya. I only found out today from the articles. My parents

    didn¡¯t tell me anything about it. I confronted them, and it turned out that it was true.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± she whispers. ¡°It can¡¯t be. Please tell me that you¡¯re going to find a way to get out of this wedding.

    You can¡¯t marry her. You can¡¯t marry Autumn.¡±

    How did I tell her that I had already agreed to the marriage? How did I tell her I wasn¡¯t about to back

    out of it?

    She will never understand my reason behind it. And I wouldn¡¯t me her. No one would want to see

    their mate marry their best friend. Anya never understood when I put my grandmother first before

    anyone else; she wouldn¡¯t understand why I chose to ept this marriage for her either.

    ¡°I¡¯lle to you,¡± I tell her. ¡°We can talk about this in person.¡±

    ¡°What is there to talk about?¡± she demands. ¡°You¡¯re not marrying Autumn. You need to contact the

    people that wrote these articles and tell them that it was all a lie. It would help if you did this, Atticus. I

    will never forgive you if you don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Anya,¡± I whisper; I can barely find my voice. I try toe up with words to make this easier for both of

    us, but nothinges to my mind.

    ¡°Don¡¯te here.¡± She screams at me. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see your face. I will only see you if you fix this

    mess that your parents caused!¡±

    I don¡¯t get to say anything else to her as she cuts the call. I stare at the screen with a nk expression

    on my face. I can see my image looking back at me. I swallow; what the f**k am I doing?

    My life was alreadyplicated before this. I remember the first day I found out that Anya wasn¡¯t just

    my mate but my brothers as well. It had ripped me apart. I spent days, months¡ªf**k, years trying to be

    okay with it. It¡¯s safe to say that I still wasn¡¯t; none of us were. We all knew that a day woulde

    when she had to choose one of the three of us. She¡¯s wanted all three of us, but it¡¯s something that we

    couldn¡¯t do. Sharing wasn¡¯t my style. I could never share the woman I was in love with. And definitely

    not with my brothers.

    I knew that my grandfather was right; I was making things easier on everyone by agreeing to marry

    Autumn.

    I¡¯ve always protected my siblings since I was young. I¡¯ve looked out for them. Once more, I had to

    make a huge sacrifice to make them happy.

    Now it would be between Damon and Dante to decide.

    I¡¯m sorry, Anya. Familyes first. It always has. It always will.

    . . . . . . . . . . . .

    ~AUTUMN~

    I bite my lip to keep myself from losing my calm. This wedding was going to drive both Atticus and

    Anya insane.

    I didn¡¯t understand him. Why did he agree to this marriage? Just a few minutes ago, he said that the

    only woman he would marry was Anya. What caused him to change his mind this quickly? And I could

    see that he was not okay with it.

    I know Anya was the person who just called him. I understand that this meant she had just found out

    the truth. The articles must have finally reached her.

    Our entire school must know by now. This was going to rock everyone¡¯s world. All the students knew

    that Atticus belonged to Anya and how crazy the three of them were crazy over her; they also knew

    that Anya and I were best friends.

    This wedding would be the talk of the town for a long time. Judging from the number of articles already

    published, our faces would be on the front pages of many magazines for weeks toe.

    ¡°Would it kill you to smile, sweetheart?¡± my mother whispers near me. ¡°Everyone is looking at you.¡±

    I try not to roll my eyes, ¡°mother. Smiling is something that only happy people do. I am not happy.¡±

    ¡°Smiling is also something that can easily be faked. At least do that for me, please.¡± She pleads.

    I re at her before putting on my fake smile.

    ¡°Is that okay now?¡± I ask through my fake smile.

    She grins, ¡°that is lovely. Now keep that smile up because you¡¯ll have to change that dress into an

    evening gown. You and Atticus have a photoshoot right here in the next hour.¡±

    ¡°I did not walk with an evening gown,¡± I hiss. ¡°In case you haven¡¯t realized, I was unaware I would be

    marrying anyone.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s already taken care of,¡± she informs me. ¡°Your brother and sister are here. They picked up the

    dress for you. All that is left for you to do is change into it.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± I mumble. ¡°You have already thought of everything.¡±

    She smiles, ¡°you know I always am prepared. Let me take you to Atticus¡¯s room. It¡¯s where you will

    change.¡±

    ¡°Atticus¡¯s room?¡± I ask, rmed. Why would she take me to his room? Their mansion had plenty of

    other rooms that I would happily change in. Why did it have to be his?

    ¡°Yes,¡± she confirms. ¡°After you get married, both of you will share the same room. There is nothing

    wrong with using his room to change; he is your future husband.¡±

    I looked in his direction; I didn¡¯t think he would be okay with this. But I don¡¯t think my mother would give

    me an option to say no.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    I follow her into the house. This was the first time I would ever step into his room. I¡¯ve always wondered

    what it would be like.

    It took us a while to get there; the distance from the garden to his room was longer than I expected.

    The door opened, and I held my breath. It smelled like him. It was the first thing that I noticed. I wanted

    to bury my hands in his shirt on the bed and inhale.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to change.¡± My mother tells me as she shows me the dress lying right next to his clothes.

    ¡°And don¡¯t take too long. The photographers are already here.¡±

    She closed the door behind her, and I sighed the moment I was left alone. I never thought I would ever

    be in the room that belonged to Atticus Fawn. The interior was ck, his favorite color. Just like I

    imagined it to be.

    I want to take my time taking in more of it, but I know my mother wille knocking any minute now.

    I unzip my dress and pull it down my body before stepping out of it. I¡¯m left in nothing but my

    underwear.

    I pick the silver backless dress up from the bed. I hear the doorknob turn, did mother return so soon

    already?

    The door flies open, and I say, ¡°mom; I¡¯m not finished¡ª¡±

    I don¡¯t finish my sentence; I can¡¯t. I¡¯m too stunned to speak. The person in front of me is not my mother.

    No.

    It¡¯s Atticus.

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 6

    The dress drops from my hand. His eyes wander lower. My heart skips a beat. His gaze lingers. I can

    barely hear my breaths as intense hunger clouds his eyes. I¡¯ve never seen a man look at me that way

    before, and I¡¯ve never seen that look in his eyes, even when he looked at Anya. It was so new to me.

    The sound of footsteps breaks both of us out of our trance. Atticus steps in and ms the door shut

    before anyone can see me.

    The sound is enough to remind me of my state.

    I spin around and cover my exposed breasts even though it doesn¡¯t make sense now that he¡¯s seen

    them. And I¡¯m not helping the situation by showing him my bare ass either. That is if he¡¯s still looking at

    me, which I doubt he is.

    He clears his throat.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave when my brother walks past my room.¡± He tells me. Did I mistake it, or was there a huskiness

    to his voice?

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I whisper. ¡°This is your room. I¡¯ll be finished in a minute. You can have the room to yourself

    after.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± He disagrees. ¡°There is no need to rush.¡±

    There is a slight pause before he softly says, ¡°this will be your room eventually.¡±

    A minute passes, and I hear the door open and close behind me. I let out a breath I didn¡¯t realize I had

    been holding as I fell onto his bed. My face hits his shirt, and I inhale even though I shouldn¡¯t. Why do

    even his clothes smell as good as him? It doesn¡¯t make any sense to me.

    I jump off the bed when the door suddenly opens again, ¡°Autumn, why are you still not dressed?¡± my

    mother demands. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡±

    I sigh and quickly put on the dress. She helps me zip it to the back, and then we head back out of the

    room. Atticus is waiting for us a little distance away, and I can feel my cheeks burn at the reminder of

    what just happened. He saw me almost entirely naked. Just when I thought things couldn¡¯t get worse

    for me, I had managed to sh Atticus Fawn.

    This day was about to break the record for my list of most embarrassing things I¡¯ve gotten into.

    I watch as he walks into the room to change as I have done.

    ¡°Your phone is blowing up,¡± my sister tells me as she joins my side. I take it from her and stare at the

    many notifications.

    Oh crap. Everyone from my school knew that I was marrying Atticus already. Just like I had suspected.

    Some were calling me a fake friend; others were begging me to be their friend now that I would be

    married to Atticus.

    None of those things managed to upset me, like the one message that stood out. It was from Anya.

    ¡®How could you?¡¯

    It was just three words, but it left the impact that she wanted it to have on me.

    It wasn¡¯t my intention to marry Atticus. I didn¡¯t think he would have agreed to any of this. When I get a

    chance, I will have to corner him about everything. It couldn¡¯t be something simple that made him agree

    to marry me. Did his parents threaten him and force him to agree? But they were by my side the entire

    time; they wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to convince him. Someone or something else was the cause

    for his sudden change in decision.

    There are ten missed calls from her¡ªmy closest friend. She should know that I would never

    intentionally betray her. This was out of my control. I didn¡¯t even know about it to begin with.

    Maybe I can meet with Atticus, and we can discuss finding a way to stop the wedding. Even though my

    heart belonged to him, I didn¡¯t want to take him away from Anya. I cared about them too much to

    separate them from each other.

    When Atticus walks out of the room, my heart stops beating for a second. I can¡¯t help but stare. The

    white shirtpliments his eyes, and the fabric pressed tightly against his body leaves nothing for the

    imagination.

    He catches me staring, and my breath gets caught in my throat. I quickly looked away, trying to act

    normal even though my heart was racing in my chest. This is the effect he always had on me. Except

    now he was finally looking my way. He never did before. I had his attention, and I wasn¡¯t prepared at all

    for my body¡¯s response to it.

    He¡¯s beautiful. Atticus is the most beautiful man I¡¯ve ever set my eyes on. Too good looking for his own

    good.

    ¡°Come with me,¡± Atticus says, and I do as he says. He takes us to the photographer. The man looks

    eager to take our pictures. This must be something he loves doing. Was he ustomed to taking

    pictures of couples who didn¡¯t want to get married? If not, this was about to be interesting for him.

    ¡°Put your arms around her.¡± The photographer orders Atticus.

    There are other photographers to the back, ready to snap as well.

    I bite my lip when his fingers curl around my waist. His hand was warm; his body was too. And it felt

    good next to mine. His scent was stronger now that he was this close to me, and I think I might faint

    from this contact.

    ¡°I need you both to give me your best smile.¡± He continues to tell us.

    Our best smile? Neither of us was happy. How could we do that?

    My mother points at her lips, mimicking a smile. I sigh and do as the photographer asks.

    I can feel the anger radiating off Atticus. He¡¯s pissed that he has to do this with me, and I don¡¯t me

    him. No one should be forced to do anything they weren¡¯t happy doing.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    My body is motionless as I wait for it to bepleted. I¡¯m trying not to enjoy his nearness, but it¡¯s hard

    to do.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make this work.¡± He dismissed us suddenly.

    After the photoshoot, I followed Atticus back into the house until I got a chance to be with him alone.

    When he turns to look at me, he doesn¡¯t look surprised. He must have already sensed me behind him.

    ¡°Why are you following me, Autumn?¡±

    My name on his mouth sends a shiver down my spine. How many times have I wished to hear my

    name in his mouth? This wasn¡¯t how I wanted it to happen, however.

    ¡°I want to know if there is a way for us to get out of this marriage,¡± I tell him. ¡°I know you don¡¯t want to

    marry me. I know you love Anya. And she is my best friend. I don¡¯t want her to think I¡¯m betraying her

    by marrying you. I can¡¯t get out of it on my own. I¡¯ll need your help.¡±

    Atticus looks surprised at my words. He didn¡¯t expect me to ask him to get out of this marriage. What

    was so shocking about that? Did he think I was just like my parents?

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 7

    My hand begins to quiver when he takes a step toward me and ces one hand above my head. His

    gaze is severe and intense as he looks at me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already agreed to marry you, Autumn.¡± He says. ¡°I¡¯m not a man that goes back on his word. This

    wedding is happening.¡±

    I bite my lip, and his gaze lowers to it¡ªmy breath hitches at the look in his eyes. I must have imagined

    it. Atticus would never look at me with heat like that. But he did earlier as well. Didn¡¯t he? When I¡¯d

    barely had any clothes on and my breasts were exposed to him.

    I try to breathe through the intense emotions in my heart. I had to be imagining this.

    ¡°Why did you agree to marry me?¡± I ask him. ¡°Just a few hours ago, you hated the idea of it. What

    could have possibly made you change your mind so quickly?¡±

    He sighs, ¡°that isn¡¯t important. All you need to know is that this wedding is happening. If you tell me

    now that you don¡¯t want to marry me, I¡¯ll find a way to stop it. But if you don¡¯t have anyints, I will

    marry you.¡±

    My lips part; if only he knew the truth in my heart. If only he understood how much I wanted to marry

    him, but only if he wanted me. I didn¡¯t want this to be forced.

    I don¡¯t say anything else, and Atticus takes that as my consent to him marrying me. He¡¯s still staring at

    me, making me nervous under his gaze.

    ¡°There you two are!¡± My mother says as she spots us. ¡°There is one more picture that we didn¡¯t take.¡±

    Another picture?

    ¡°Mother,¡± I say. ¡°We¡¯ve taken enough. More than enough.¡±

    She grabs my hand and pulls me with her, ¡°no, it¡¯s not enough. Thisst picture is an important one.

    We need the public to believe that you¡¯re both in love. And this is going to help with that.¡±

    I sigh, ¡°I guess there is no point in saying no now. I already agreed to everything else.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± She cheers.

    It¡¯s hard trying to put a smile on my face when I am far from happy. My mother doesn¡¯t realize how

    much this bothers me. She¡¯s too preupied with her excitement to take a second and look at me. I

    know she thinks this is the right thing for us, but how can she be so sure?

    I fold my arms as Atticus joins me in front of the photographer. He looks just as over this as I am. Even

    the photographer seems to sense the tension between us. He probably couldn¡¯t wait to get this over

    with as well. He was happier before when he thought we wanted to marry each other. He must know by

    now that this is an arranged marriage, not one out of love.

    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°What pose do you want us to do?¡± Atticus asks. There is no hiding the irritation in his voice.

    I try not to let it bother me. I gave him the chance to stop the wedding; he didn¡¯t take it. There was

    nothing else that I could do. I shouldn¡¯t feel guilty over this. The only person I had to ask for forgiveness

    after this was Anya. I had to speak to her and exin everything that took ce. This wasn¡¯t just a

    shock to her. It would take me months toe to terms with everything that happened today. It all took

    ce so quickly that my mind is still trying to process it.

    ¡°A kiss. That¡¯s thest picture I need to take.¡±

    My body goes still. A kiss? Are they insane? We just learned that we have to marry each other and

    suddenly they expected us to kiss.

    I can hear Atticus¡¯s breathing next to me. It¡¯s loud and uneven. He doesn¡¯t want to kiss me. I can tell.

    ¡°Is that truly necessary?¡± He asks the photographer.

    ¡°Of course, it is,¡± he answers him. ¡°You¡¯re going to marry her. It¡¯s a simple request. Grooms are usually

    happy to kiss their brides for a picture. I¡¯ve nevere across a reaction like this before.¡±

    Atticus¡¯s mother narrows her eyes at him, ¡°there is no need to cause a scene, son; kiss Autumn so that

    we can have this picture posted as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think¡ª¡± I don¡¯t get time to finish as Atticus¡¯s hand lightly grips my waist and turns me towards

    him. My eyes widen when his lipse down on mine. And that¡¯s how my first kiss with him happened.

    With my eyes wide open. His are, too; we¡¯re both staring at each other as his lips stay on top of mine,

    unmoving. I¡¯m not prepared for the rush of emotions that flood my body. It¡¯s unlike anything I¡¯ve

    experienced before with any other man. This time, I feel it down to my toes.

    My eyes slowly close as I let my body take over. I have no control over myself as I wrap my arms

    around his neck and pull him closer to me. Atticus¡¯s body goes still at my reaction, and his grip loosens

    on my waist; it¡¯s like he¡¯s unsure what to do now that I¡¯m kissing him back. It¡¯s almost like he¡¯s in shock.

    I know that this doesn¡¯t seem right; I know that I should pull away, but the moment he kissed me, I lost

    all control. My body has wanted this for so long that it¡¯s not thinking straight.

    I¡¯m not prepared for the low growl that departs his mouth as he deepens the kiss; his hand tightens on

    my waist, bringing our bodies closer. I try not to whimper as my belly explodes with a forbidden desire

    for this man.

    Another growl pulses from him as he rips his body away from mine. My eyes widen with horror as he

    wipes his lips as though to rub my taste away.

    Did he hate it that much?

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 8

    ¡°This is perfect!¡± The photographer says. ¡°For someone that didn¡¯t want to do the kiss, to begin with,

    you did an excellent job.¡±

    Atticus looks anything but happy with his praise.

    I couldn¡¯t believe it. I¡¯ve been dreaming of kissing Atticus since I first fell in love. I¡¯ve always wondered

    what it would be like to have his lips on mine. I knew now that it was more than I¡¯d ever hoped for from

    him. I clutched my chest; my heart was racing, pounding hard and fast.

    I watch as Atticus storms out before anyone can say anything else. I knew he was even more upset

    than he was showing.

    I slowly bring my finger to my lips, still tingling from his kiss.

    ¡°Did I say something wrong?¡± The photographer asks.

    His voice reminds me that I wasn¡¯t alone. I didn¡¯t want everyone to see how affected I was by his kiss.

    Though that wouldn¡¯t be such a bad thing since strangers needed to believe that we were in love. While

    they would easily be able to tell that Atticus was not in love with me, I feel like anyone would be able to

    read straight through me like an open book.

    ¡°Do not take his actions to heart, Mr. Asanto.¡± His mother assures him. ¡°My son is a little stressed from

    all of the preparations. That¡¯s all.¡±

    She lied with so much ease; it was a shock to me. It would seem that my parents weren¡¯t the only ones

    with this skill.

    I know that I shouldn¡¯t follow after Atticus, but my feet are moving without my permission. I want to

    ensure he is okay and doesn¡¯t do anything stupid. I keep searching for him until I finally do spot him.

    He¡¯s entering his car, one of the many his family owns. They were the best in designing fast vehicles

    and manufacturing them. They also added special features, whatever their customers desired. They

    were brilliant when it came to fast cars. That¡¯s why once someone bought a car from them, they didn¡¯t

    bother looking elsewhere.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if Atticus should be driving under these conditions.

    I try to get to him before he leaves, but he¡¯s already speeding past me. My hair flies all over my face

    from the force of it. I sighed; now I had to hope that he drove safely and didn¡¯t act recklessly because of

    the wedding. My heart races with fear as I watch his car drive off with him in it.

    . . . . . . .

    ~ATTICUS~

    The engine revs as the car elerates. I have plenty on my mind. There is so much, yet I can¡¯t focus

    on anything else but the kiss I just shared with Autumn. Her lips were soft like butter, and her taste was

    still in my mouth. Her taste was like a sweet apple, and her scent was like fresh roses. I swallowed, and

    it felt like I was letting the taste of her into my body by doing so.

    The guilt was eating me alive, not for kissing her but for how it made me feel. I had a mate. I had

    someone I couldn¡¯t live without. So why did one kiss bother me this much? Why was the impact so

    strong? This was wrong. So f*****g wrong.

    What the f**k was my problem? Why couldn¡¯t I have some control? I¡¯ve always had more self-control

    than this, even around Anya. What had changed now? What was it about Autumn?

    I felt like a damn failure.

    Anya was crying and in pain, and yet I was f*****g enjoying a kiss with her best friend. The least I could

    do for her was not feel any emotions around Autumn, and I couldn¡¯t even do that.

    What would she do when that picture of us was posted? What would she do when everyone she knows

    sees it and asks her about us? Everyone in school knew of our rtionship; they would bombard her

    with questions. How would she feel? It was supposed to be a peck, nothing else. But when Autumn

    wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled our bodies closer, something inside me snapped. It was

    unlike anything I¡¯d felt in the past. I was disappointed in myself. I should have been stronger.

    I¡¯d never done something like this before. Never. Not once.

    Autumn always could make me feel things I didn¡¯t like; it¡¯s why I tried my best to ignore her in the past.

    But this time, it was out of my control. I couldn¡¯t run from her anymore. She was to be my wife.

    Avoiding her would be stupid at this point. She would soon share the same room as me, the same car,

    the same house. We already attended the same school; I couldn¡¯t avoid her anymore.

    To make matters worse, I had seen her almost naked. I mutter a few curse words. Her body was very

    desirable. I hated that I noticed it the moment I saw her. I hate how much I wanted to stop and stare.

    Autumn has always dressed appropriately. She barely showed much skin. But this time, I was able to

    f*****g see more than I¡¯ve ever done in the past, and I wish I hadn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t something I would ever be

    able to forget, no matter how hard I tried.

    ¡°Call Anya,¡± Imand.

    ¡°Calling Anya.¡±

    My jaw clenches when she cuts the call on the first ring. Shouldn¡¯t she at least hear what I had to say?

    I wanted to give her a proper apology. One that she deserved after everything. She has done nothing

    but make me happy, and now I was hurting her. I was a failure as a mate. My brothers deserved her

    more than I did. They¡¯d already left home to look after her. At least she wasn¡¯t alone. I knew that they

    would make up for my absence. They would give her the love that she deserved.

    ¡°f**k!¡± I roar as I pound my fist against the steering wheel.

    From N?velDrama.Org.

    When will this nightmare end?

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 9

    ~ATTICUS~

    ¡°You need to get Autumn a ring.¡± My father tells me. ¡°It has to be appealing to the eyes. Remember,

    everyone would be looking at her hand. Make them stop and stare. They must know that the Fawns do

    not y when ites to things like that.¡±

    I should have expected this is what he wanted to discuss when he called me into his office earlier.

    Choosing a ring felt like something I should be doing with someone I was in love with; not a woman my

    family was forcing me to marry. Okay

    ¡°She can choose it for herself,¡± I tell him. ¡°I¡¯ll give her my card.¡±

    The thought of choosing a ring for a woman I didn¡¯t love made me angry.

    My father narrows his eyes and twitches his mouth in disapproval. ¡°That will not do. You must choose it

    together and don¡¯t return home unless it¡¯s one of the most expensive rings in the store.¡±

    I sigh; of course, that¡¯s all he¡¯s concerned about¡ªeveryone¡¯s opinion on the ring. The only person¡¯s

    opinion he should be worried about is Autumn. She¡¯s the one that would be wearing it.

    I look at my phone when I receive a notification. It¡¯s from Anya. My heart races at finally getting a reply

    from her.

    I¡¯m not happy with what she¡¯s said, however.

    ¡®I thought you loved me. I was wrong about us.¡¯

    ¡°I hope you aren¡¯t still talking to that girl.¡± My father says to me. ¡°You¡¯re about to marry Autumn, respect

    her, and do not disappoint our family.¡±

    ¡°Are you truly asking that from me, father?¡± I demand. ¡°You already destroyed my life and are forcing

    me to marry someone that I do not love for the sake of making more money and connections. How can

    you ask me also to stop speaking to Anya?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t just cut her out of my life like she was nothing. I needed time toe to terms with everything

    . I needed time to get her out of my life slowly. I couldn¡¯t just close my eyes and pretend she was never

    anything to me.

    ¡°She will be a distraction.¡± My father says as he ignores my question.

    ¡°I can¡¯t exactly ignore her when my brothers have her around the house, now can I?¡± I demand. ¡°She

    isn¡¯t out of our lives. Whether you like it or not, father, Anya will one day be part of this family.

    Whether it be Dante or Damon, one of them will marry her.¡±

    He looks pissed that I just pointed out the obvious to him. He may have seeded in getting me to

    marry Autumn, but my brothers were much more stubborn than I was. They would not have given in

    this easily.

    ¡°I will inform Autumn that you will pick her up at her home in an hour.¡± He finally says. ¡°Do not bete.¡±

    I re at him but do not say anything else. Speaking to my father about this entire thing would make

    me angrier than I already felt.

    I grab the car keys from the desk and storm out of his office.

    ¡°Wow there,¡± Griffin says when I bounce into him. ¡°You¡¯re not in a good mood.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡± I ask. ¡°What gave it away?¡±

    My younger brother scratches his chin as he pretends to find an answer. ¡°Hmmm, that¡¯s a tricky one.¡±

    ¡°You stay here and try to figure out an answer,¡± I tell him. ¡°I have somewhere I need to be.¡±

    He grins, ¡°it¡¯s to meet your future wife, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    I ignore the look of bliss on his face. He has never tried to hide his dislike for Anya. Of course, he will

    be happy that I was marrying someone other than her.

    ¡°Laugh now, but one day your turn wille, and you¡¯ll marry someone you don¡¯t want to, ¡°I warn him.

    ¡°I have a solution for that.¡± He responds. ¡°Never to fall in love.¡±

    I ignore him because I know that isn¡¯t possible. Love creeps up on you, and when it happens, it¡¯s

    something that you can¡¯t simply ignore. He will know this soon enough.

    I knew where Autumn lived. I dropped Anya there a few times before. It doesn¡¯t take long for me to

    reach my destination.

    I¡¯m surprised when she¡¯s already waiting by the gate. How long has she been waiting there for me? Her

    beauty strikes me at first. I¡¯ve ignored it before, but this time it¡¯s hard to do the same when I know she¡¯s

    waiting there just for me with her short ck dress and her hair tied in a messy bun.

    I get out of the vehicle and face her with concern, ¡°why didn¡¯t you wait inside for me?¡± I ask her.

    Her face turned red at my question, ¡°I didn¡¯t wait that long. I know how quickly you drive, and your

    father said you would be here in an hour.¡±

    She¡¯s even more breathtaking up close. I¡¯m not prepared for it. I take a step back from her before her

    scent could infect me.

    I open her door and wait for her to enter the car before shutting it and returning to the driver¡¯s side.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    I can tell how nervous she is by the way she¡¯s ying with her fingers on herp.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± She asks me.

    I nce at her, and I wish I hadn¡¯t. Autumn is a sight in the front seat of my car. Her long tanned legs

    are folded and gently shaking. Her exposed neck is begging for a kiss, just like her pink lips were. My

    fingers tightened on the steering wheel as I fought the urge to touch her still trembling thighs.

    I dragged my gaze away before she could find me staring at her.

    f**k.

    I knew seeing her half-naked body would have been the death of me. Now I wanted to remove her

    clothes and see the one thing hidden from me that day. It was an image that would haunt me for the

    rest of my life.

    I clear my throat before saying, ¡°we have to get you a ring before the engagement party.¡±

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 10

    ~Autumn ~

    A ring?

    I didn¡¯t once think we would have the opportunity to choose rings together. I knew we were getting

    married, but I never thought that Atticus would personally take me with him to get a ring. He was doing

    everything I¡¯ve dreamed of at least once in my life, and it made my heart fill with joy.

    How perfect would this have been if he¡¯d wanted to do these things with me? It would be like living in

    my crazy dreams.

    Dreams that were all filled with him. I don¡¯t understand how Atticus never noticed the way my body

    came alive in his presence; I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯ve managed to keep this from everyone for so long. But

    Atticus knowing that I had feelings for him would only make all of this worse. He was already unhappy

    with the marriage; he would hate me if he knew how much I wanted him. To know that all this time while

    he was with my best friend, I¡¯ve always loved him. Even I was ashamed of this. I wouldn¡¯t me him for

    hating me if he ever found out. I wouldn¡¯t me them both for hating me. It¡¯s possible that Anya already

    hates me.

    ¡°Your parents forced you to do this, didn¡¯t they?¡±I ask. He wouldn¡¯t have decided this on his own. I

    knew that much. He was too in love with Anya to willingly go ring shopping with me.

    He nods, ¡°but it¡¯s expected for you to have a ring. It would be suspicious if you didn¡¯t. Whether they

    forced me or not doesn¡¯t matter, I would have gotten one for you eventually.¡±

    I try not to let his voice affect me, but it¡¯s hard when his voice strikes my desire for him. It¡¯s deep but

    somehow soothing at the same time. I felt like closing my eyes and asking him to keep talking. It

    doesn¡¯t matter what he says; I¡¯ll enjoy whateveres out of his mouth.

    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± He says suddenly. I¡¯m disappointed that the drive was so fast. I wanted more time alone

    with him in the car. I knew that Atticus would wish to limit the amount of time he spent with me as much

    as possible. We both wanted different things.

    I follow him out of the car, and we walk into the store named Promise Of Gold¡ªthe most expensive

    and popr jewelry ce in town.

    ¡°While I want you to choose whatever you want, I should warn you that my father wants it to be

    expensive. Preferably thergest diamond avable. We¡¯re already doing everything they¡¯re asking us

    to do, why not this as well?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡± I immediately begin to say, but he cuts me off with the look he gives me next. I don¡¯t

    think he¡¯s willing to take no for an answer. I think he mainly wants to avoid any confrontation with his

    parents.

    ¡°You know how stubborn our families are. There¡¯s no use trying to do anything different at this point.¡±

    He notes. ¡°Besides, money is not a problem for me. This is nothing for you to feel ufortable or

    guilty over.¡±

    Money was not a problem for me either, but I didn¡¯t like to ept expensive gifts when I didn¡¯t deserve

    them, especially when someone was being forced to give them to me.

    The employees scramble when they spot the two of us.

    ¡°Mr. Fawn,¡± Brent, ording to his name tag, greeted Atticus before turning to me with a slight nod.

    ¡°Miss Rivera. It¡¯s a pleasure to have you both here with us. Congrattions on your new journey

    together. Everyone is looking forward to the wedding of the year. We¡¯re so happy that you chose here

    to purchase your rings.¡±

    I smiled at him, letting him know that I appreciated his words. Atticus, on the other hand, looked

    impatient and was constantly checking his phone. Was he looking for a message from Anya? Were

    they speaking to each other again? I knew she was ignoring him like she was doing to me, but I wasn¡¯t

    sure if that had changed. I tried to contact her to apologize and exin what happened, but she

    wouldn¡¯t let me.

    ¡°Show us your most precious rings,¡± Atticus tells the store manager.

    Brent nods and nervously guides us to a private room with their priciest rings. The collections were

    beautiful, but I couldn¡¯t see anything that caught my interest. I wanted a ring that would make me feel

    closer to Atticus. And none of these were doing that for me. I knew that Atticus wanted me to choose a

    ring quickly so that he could get this over with, but I couldn¡¯t do that. I wanted to at least love it before I

    allowed him to spend all that money on me.

    ¡°Choose what you like.¡± He says softly. I don¡¯t want to be the only one to choose; I would also like his

    opinion. But would he give it to me?

    ¡°Which one do you think would suit me?¡± I ask him. ¡°I¡¯m looking, but I don¡¯t think I see anything I want

    with me for the rest of my life.¡±

    Atticus looks surprised by my words, but he quickly masks his reaction.

    ¡°She¡¯s the first I¡¯ve seen that asked for her partner¡¯s opinion. You¡¯re lucky. She loves you plenty.¡± Brent

    points out.

    The blood drains from my face. I know that Atticus wouldn¡¯t believe his words but what bothers me is

    how valid those words were. I try not to look at Atticus. I didn¡¯t want to see his expression after hearing

    what the manager had to say.

    Atticus surprises me when he pulls his chair closer to the disy. I continue to search along with him,

    and I spot something that catches my attention¡ªthe first ring to do so.

    ¡°Can we see that one?¡± He asks, and my gaze follows where his finger is pointing at.

    I¡¯m surprised when he¡¯s chosen the same ring that first caught my eyes¡ªa diamond in the shape of a

    heart.

    Brent hands it over to us, and it sparkles under the yellow light.

    Atticus takes my hand in his and puts the ring onto my finger. My hand feels warm under his gentle

    touch. He stares at it for a few seconds before lifting his face and looking straight at me. My breath

    hitches, and it¡¯s almost difficult to breathe with the darkness in his eyes. Does he also feel the

    connection that I do? He breaks eye contact suddenly, and I try not to pout because of it.

    ¡°Do you like it?¡± He asks.

    This was the one. There was no doubt in my mind that this was what I wanted. It wasn¡¯t the most

    expensive in the store, but it was unique and felt like it was made just for me. I don¡¯t think either of our

    parents would kick a fuss since it was still highly pricey. And it was beautiful. Even more beautiful to me

    now that Atticus was the one to choose it for me.

    ¡°I love it.¡± I finally answer.

    Atticus looks pleasantly surprised, but he doesn¡¯t say anything to me. He hands his card over to Brent,

    who happily takes it from him.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we also getting a ring for you?¡± I ask him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡± He says. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I disagree. ¡°You got me a ring. I will also like to get one for you. I¡¯ll be happy to choose one like

    you did for me.¡±

    He¡¯s about to respond when something on his phone catches his attention. His face turns pale, and

    what it was must have frightened him.

    ¡°I have to go.¡± He says suddenly. ¡°Something happened to Anya.¡±

    Anya? I immediately stood up from the chair.

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    ¡°If something is wrong, I need to be there as well. I want to be there for her.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just not a good idea, Autumn. Thest thing she will want to see is the two of us together. I¡¯ll call

    Griffin and ask him to drop you back home.¡±

    I¡¯m about to protest, but he¡¯s already out of the door before I can say anything else. Brent gives me a

    look of pity. I knew he wouldn¡¯t be the only one to look at me like that from now on. Atticus would

    always run to Anya. I didn¡¯t know how to ever get used to something like that.

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 11

    ~ATTICUS~

    My heart was racing; Damon had informed me that Anya had gotten into an ident. He sent me the

    location on my phone, and I was almost there.

    ¡°Call Griffin.¡±

    He answers on the first ring. ¡°How can I be of assistance?¡± He asks in a teasing manner.

    ¡°I need you to pick Autumn up from the jewelry store and drop her back home, ¡°I tell him.

    ¡°What?¡± He shouts on the other end. ¡°You went with her. Why didn¡¯t you drop her back home?¡±

    My jaw clenches, ¡°Anya got into an ident. I¡¯m going to make sure that she¡¯s alright.¡±

    I could practically see the annoyance on Griffin¡¯s face through the phone without actually seeing him.

    ¡°She¡¯s not your problem anymore. Leaving Autumn behind was a stupid move.¡±

    ¡°Griffin,¡± I growl. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for your opinion. Just tell me if you can pick her up.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can care for your beautiful future wife since you can¡¯t do it for yourself.¡± He says before ending

    the call.

    My jaw clenches, and I try not to let his words bother me. But it does. The thought of anyone else but

    me taking care of Autumn doesn¡¯t sit right with me. But what the hell was I supposed to do?

    I knew that Autumn would have toe first eventually after she became my wife, but for now, I want

    to do whatever I can to be there for Anya. These are thest moments I¡¯ll have to spend with her. I

    didn¡¯t want to waste any opportunity to do that. I¡¯ve hurt her, and I chose my family over her; I felt I

    owed her plenty. I felt guilty. And that guilt felt like it was stifling me.

    I pull to the side when I spot her car. The same car I had bought for herst year. I jump out of the

    vehicle. Damon and Dante are already here, and they¡¯reforting her.

    It hurts me to know I¡¯m thest of the three of us to be there for her when she needs me. This was

    something I would have to get used to, but I knew it wouldn¡¯t be easy. Seeing my brothers do what I

    loved and knowing I couldn¡¯t do it anymore was enough to send me insane with anger.

    I noticed that the ident was not a bad one. The bumper was the only thing with a scrape on it, but

    Anya still looked shaken up.

    Her gaze falls on me, and she narrows her eyes, ¡°what is he doing here?¡± She demands from my

    brothers. ¡°I thought I told you I didn¡¯t want to see him unless he ended this marriage with Autumn.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Anya.¡± Dante apologizes to her. ¡°We knew you wanted to see him even though you said

    otherwise. We can feel how much you miss him.¡±

    Hearing that she missed me didn¡¯t make me feel any better. I was the one doing this to her. I was

    making her cry and be in all this emotional pain. No one was to me but me. I was sacrificing my

    happiness for the sake of my family. I was giving my brothers a chance to have her. I was making it

    easier for them. And I was doing this for my grandmother. I hope she¡¯s proud of me for fulfilling her

    wishes.

    ¡°Please leave,¡± Anya begs. ¡°I do not want to see you. Not after what you did. Not after what you both

    did to me. You¡¯re both traitors, and I don¡¯t want to see either of you unless you stop this madness.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t take her in my arms or wipe her tears. I had to stay still and let her vent her anger toward me.

    It hurt, but it felt good to be able to see her. It felt good to hear her voice. But I couldn¡¯t do what she

    wanted from me, and because of that, I turned and left as she asked me to.

    It was f*****g hard, but I did it anyway.

    . . . . . . . . . .

    ~Autumn~

    My eyes are stuck on the red diamond ring in front of me. I knew how much Atticus loved red

    diamonds, and this ring would surely catch his eyes.

    From N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°You have wonderful taste,¡± Brent tells me. ¡°Do you want to purchase it?¡±

    I hand him my card. ¡°Yes.¡±

    I knew Atticus told me that he would take care of it, but I didn¡¯t want him to. This way, I wouldn¡¯t feel

    ufortable that he spent so much on my ring.

    ¡°We already have his measurements on our system. This will fit him perfectly.¡±

    I smile. I wasn¡¯t sure if Atticus would be happy or upset that I¡¯d purchased this ring without him after

    he¡¯d told me not to, but I was willing to take the risk.

    ¡°Is AutumnRivera in here?¡± Someone asks.

    I turn towards the sound and find Griffin looking for me. I wave for him to spot me, and when he does,

    he smiles. ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    I nod and take the rings from Brent, who thanks me once more for purchasing the ring.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry my brother left you stranded,¡± he apologizes as we enter his car.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I assure him. ¡°I know how much Anya means to him. Besides, he didn¡¯t leave me stranded.

    He made sure that you came for me.¡±

    Griffin sighs, ¡°if you keep thinking that way, he will always do things like this to you. You need to stand

    your ground with my brother and tell him if you don¡¯t like something. If not, he¡¯s going to keep thinking

    that you¡¯re okay with it and keep on doing it.¡±

    I¡¯m surprised that he¡¯s telling me this. It seems like he¡¯s looking out for me, and I¡¯m amazed that he

    would do that, knowing how much Atticus loved Anya. I thought he would also be upset that his brother

    was being forced into this marriage with me.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so shocked that I want my brother to do the right thing. I¡¯m not an asshole.¡± He

    assured me with a grin.

    ¡± I know Atticus told me to drop you home, but I have a better idea.¡± He tells me as he reverses out of

    the parking lot.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡ª,¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going to the beach. I have a few friends that are having a party down there. It¡¯s good for you to

    make some new friends now that Anya considers you a traitor. She wasn¡¯t that good of a friend, to

    begin with. You¡¯re going to love my friends. Just trust me.¡±

    Trust him? Griffin did seem like someone I could easily trust. Meeting new friends may not be the

    worse thing in the world.

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 12

    ~AUTUMN~

    ¡°Are you going to stay in the car the entire time?¡± Griffin asks in a teasing manner.

    We were at the beach, but I was contemting getting out of the vehicle with the number of people I

    saw. I didn¡¯t think this was going to be a big party. Now I knew I was wrong.

    I shook my head and got out even though I truly wanted to stay behind.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you aren¡¯t ufortable.¡± He promised me as he guided me over to a group of girls. I

    already recognized them. They were popr girls. Of course, Griffin would be friends with the most

    famous people in our school, just like his siblings.

    ¡°Good to see you.¡± He greets them. ¡°I¡¯m sure you all know my future sister-inw, Autumn. And these

    girls need no introduction either.¡±

    No, they didn¡¯t. The one smiling at me was Scarlett Mae, and next to her was her sister ra.

    ra used to be the more popr one among the two sisters; in fact, Scarlett never really attended

    events like this, from what I knew about her. She reminded me a lot of myself. But all that changed

    when Carter Prince broke up with her sister ra. They were the couple that everyone looked up to,

    but everyone always knew that Carter was never faithful to ra. I¡¯m not sure how that changed

    Scarlett, but she soon started attending parties and school games; she was bing more popr

    than her sister, especially since Carter seemed to have his eyes on her. That was gross; how could he

    be interested in Scarlett when he dated her sister? But that was not my business. I¡¯ve learned to keep

    away from drama, especially like that.

    ¡°We¡¯ve barely spoken in the past; I¡¯m sure we can be great friends,¡± Scarlett tells me.

    ¡°That would be great since Autumn can do with some new friends after what happened with Anya,¡±

    Griffin adds.

    Scarlett and ra give each other a knowing look. Of course, everyone was already talking about it by

    their expressions, but I didn¡¯t expect anything different. I knew this would happen when I learned I

    would marry Atticus.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel ufortable around us.¡± ra assured me.

    ¡°How about we don¡¯t even bring that up,¡± Scarlett says.

    Griffin grins, ¡°I knew you girls were my safest option to introduce Autumn to. I told you I would make

    sure you weren¡¯t ufortable.¡± He reminds me.

    He was right. Scarlett and her sister seemed nicer than I expected them to be.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to meet a few guys from the team,¡± Griffin tells me as he walks over to the football yers. I

    think this was one of their parties for winning yet another game.

    ¡°Do you want a drink, Autumn?¡± ra asks me.

    I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t drink.¡±

    She smiles, ¡°Scarlett doesn¡¯t either, but I¡¯m making sure she gets drunk today.¡±

    ¡°Is that the famous bride of Atticus Fawn?¡± Someone asks behind me.

    Scarlett rolled her eyes as Amy joined us, ¡°why do you show up everywhere we are?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking to you, darling. I was talking to the girl that stole her best friend¡¯s boyfriend. But you

    should know plenty about that since you¡¯re also stealing your sister¡¯s boyfriend.¡±

    ¡°Ex-boyfriend.¡± Scarlett snaps. ¡°And I¡¯m not stealing anyone. Neither did Autumn. Get your facts

    straight before you go speaking nonsense.¡±

    ¡°A little defensive?¡± Amyughs.

    ¡°You¡¯re not wanted here, Amy.¡± ra hissed. ¡°Leave before we make you.¡±

    Amy flips her hair and walks away.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about her.¡± Scarlett apologizes. ¡°She¡¯s a pain in our ass.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I assure her. ¡°I know this is something I¡¯ll have to get used to now that I¡¯m marrying Atticus.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want that drink now?¡± ra asks me.

    I stared at the bottle in her hand; I could use a little stress reliever. Anything to make me forget what my

    life was turning into. Atticus had left me while we were choosing engagement rings so that he could

    look after my best friend, his lover, and his mate.

    Life was only about to get worse.

    I grabbed the bottle out of ra¡¯s hand and took a big gulp, to her surprise. Scarlett takes it from me

    next and does the same.

    ¡°I thought I would have had to beg you two more than this.¡± raughs as she watches us take turns.

    I know I shouldn¡¯t be doing this, but I can¡¯t stop. I would deal with the consequences after.

    . . . . . . . . .

    ~ATTICUS~

    When I got home, I noticed that Griffin hadn¡¯t gotten home yet. Did he go somewhere else after

    dropping Autumn home?

    ¡°Did Griffine home earlier?¡± I ask my sister rissa. She was adopted by my parents a few years

    ago and has been a part of our family since then. We¡¯ve loved her as our own, and nothing will ever

    change that.

    ¡°No.¡± She says, looking behind me for something or someone. ¡°Did Damon not return with you?¡±

    I chuckle, ¡°why do I feel like you¡¯re disappointed that it¡¯s me and not him?¡±

    She¡¯s always been the closest with him, and my brother is also very protective of her. Other than Anya,

    she was the only other person he¡¯s been so protective over.

    ¡°Is he here?¡± She asks with hopeful eyes.

    I sigh, ¡°sorry, rissa. He¡¯s with Anya. She got into a minor ident, and he¡¯s staying with her.¡±

    Her smile fades, and she turns to leave in disappointment.

    ¡°Are you sure Griffin didn¡¯t return?¡± I asked her before she could disappear.

    She nods, ¡°I think I heard someone say that he was going to a beach party.¡±

    A beach party?

    ¡°Which beach?¡±

    ¡°Radiant Bay.¡± She answers.

    I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial his number. He doesn¡¯t answer at first, but after trying a

    second time, he finally does.

    ¡°What¡¯s up, bro?¡± He asks.

    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    I can hear the loud music sting in the background. Was he drunk?

    ¡°Did you drop Autumn home?¡± I ask him.

    There is a slight pause, ¡°oh shoot. Was I supposed to drop her home?¡±

    My body stiffens at his question. ¡°Did you not pick her up as I asked you to do?¡± I demand.

    ¡°I did pick her up as you asked.¡± He assured me. ¡°I just never dropped her home.¡±

    ¡°So where the f**k is she, Griffin?¡±

    Heughs, and I fail to see what¡¯s so damn amusing.

    ¡°She¡¯s with me at the party.¡± He answers me. ¡°I sent you a video. Please take a look at it and don¡¯t call

    me again. I¡¯m having fun, and you¡¯re ruining it with all your questions.¡±

    Before I can say anything else, he hangs up. I click on his chat and open the video he sent to me. I¡¯m

    surprised when I see Autumn dancing on the sand barefoot. Her cheeks are red, and it takes me a

    while to realize that she¡¯s drunk.

    This motherfucker. Did he get her drunk? As far as I knew, Autumn didn¡¯t drink. So then, what did they

    do to her? Griffin wasn¡¯t someone to let anyone take advantage of a girl. Maybe I was reading too

    much into it. But she was clearly drunk. The thought of some asshole trying to touch her sent my blood

    boiling.

    My knuckles tightened into fists, and before I knew what I was doing, I was out in my jeep and racing

    towards the beach. I had to make sure that she was okay. Griffin could be drunk and not paying

    attention to her. There was no telling who was at that beach party.

    I thought I could f*****g trust my brother to take her home safely. Instead, he¡¯d taken her to a beach

    party and gotten her drunk for the first time in her life.

    When I got there, someone had plenty of exining to do!

 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 13

    ~AUTUMN~

    My head is spinning, but I¡¯m happy. I¡¯m letting myself enjoy the music as I swing my hips along with the

    beat. Scarlett is next to me, and she¡¯s doing the same while raughs and takes videos of us on her

    phone. I didn¡¯t think I would enjoy thepany of these girls that I barely knew anything about.

    Especially girls that were popr. They¡¯re definitely not like the others.

    I¡¯m happy Griffin introduced me to them. He was telling the truth all along, and I was delighted I could

    trust him.

    The music gets louder, and the only thing that can improve tonight is having Atticus with me. But I knew

    that wasn¡¯t possible. He was probably still looking after Anya. I shook my head and pushed him out of

    my mind. This wasn¡¯t the time to be thinking about my troubles.

    A hand on my waist causes me to stop dancing. I spun around to see a red-haired guy grinning at me.

    ¡°Can I join in?¡±

    Was he asking for my permission after putting his hands on me? I narrow my eyes, but before I can

    push him away, I spot a familiar figure heading our way. I would be able to tell it¡¯s him even in darkness.

    ¡°Get your f*****g hands off my wife,¡± Atticus shouts. My jaw almost hits the floor. Did he really say that,

    or was I so intoxicated that I was seeing and hearing things?

    The boy raises his hand in self-defense and moves away from me. Atticus takes a step towards me,

    ring at me as though I¡¯d also pissed him off.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to go, Autumn.¡± He tells me.

    I smiled, thrilled that he was in front of me. I grabbed his shirt and pulled myself closer to him, so there

    was no space between us. I spun around, so my back was now pressed against his still body. And then

    I begin to move my body against his. Grinding my ass against him.

    Atticus hissed, and his hand immediately reached out to grip my hips.

    ¡°Autumn.¡± He growls in a warning.

    I¡¯m not listening to him. I¡¯m too busy enjoying this moment. I loved the feeling of having his body heat

    while I swayed my hips and pressed my ass up against him. And the songs ying matched how I felt

    right now. Hot and ready for him. Only him. No one else ever made me feel like this. He was the only

    man I¡¯ve ever had eyes for. And nothing would ever change that.

    ¡°f**k . . .AUTUMN!¡± He groaned.

    He used his hands on my hips to spin me around so that I was facing him once more. My hair was wet

    and sticking to my face, but I didn¡¯t care, not with the way he was looking at me. Without warning, he

    lifts my body off the ground and throws me over his shoulder.

    I giggle and continue to dance on top of him.

    I waved goodbye to ra and Scarlett as he began to walk with me. They were gaping at us, and their

    faces made me giggle even more.

    I see Griffin as Atticus walks past him, and I shout his name. He watches me, and I think he¡¯s holding in

    augh.

    He says something to Atticus, but he ignores him. Atticus seems to be angry with everyone today.

    He opened the door to his jeep and gently ced me on the seat. He leans in to buckle my seatbelt,

    and I use that opportunity to inhale his divine scent. Atticus freezes against me, and I think he knows

    what I just did. He ignores it, however, and shuts the door before moving to the driver¡¯s side.

    He¡¯s quiet as he starts the vehicle and reverses. I can tell that he¡¯s not happy about something. That

    dulls my mood a little. I didn¡¯t want to upset him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for upsetting you.¡± I pout.

    He looks at me for a second before returning his gaze to the road, ¡°You did not upset me, Autumn. You

    never do.¡±

    I smile, ¡°that makes me happy.¡± I tell him before adding quietly. ¡°You make me happy.¡±

    His hands tighten on the steering wheel, but he pretends not to have heard me, or maybe he doesn¡¯t

    bother replying. It doesn¡¯t matter, not after what he¡¯s just said.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for earlier. I thought Griffin would have carried you home safely. I didn¡¯t think he would take

    you to a party and get you drunk.¡±

    From N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your brother¡¯s fault,¡± I mumble; Griffin was only being friendly to me.

    His jaw clenches, ¡°it is. But it¡¯s also mine. Another man touched you, put his hands on you while you

    were drunk, and there is no telling what else he would have tried if I didn¡¯t get there in time.¡±

    I¡¯m suddenly dizzy with happiness. Hearing the concern in his voice makes my body shiver in a way it¡¯s

    never done before. Before I know it, my hands are on the seatbelt; I need to be closer to him. I don¡¯t

    know where I¡¯m getting the strength from, but I¡¯m not about to stop tonight. I¡¯ve stopped myself in the

    past; tonight was different.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± Atticus asks as I unbuckle my seatbelt.

    His eyes are on me, but he also has to keep them on the road in between. He repeats my name, but I

    ignore him as I move over to his side. His eyes are wide as I climb onto hisp while he¡¯s still in the

    middle of driving.

    His eyes are wide as he holds the steering with one hand and my waist with his other. He¡¯s trying to

    steady me. I¡¯m swaying a bit, but his hand is helping plenty. His grip is firm on me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to touch your hair,¡± I whisper. ¡°Please, can I touch it?¡±

    Atticus swallows slowly and hard, and my eyes are drawn to his throat.

    His eyes are zing with heat as he nods. I gently ce my hands on his cheeks and slowly drag them

    upwards until I run them through his soft hair. It felt better than I always imagined it to be. Atticus¡¯s

    breaths areing faster now that my hands are on him. I can feel him between my legs, and I

    desperately want to rub my lower half against him.

    I lean into him and run my nose down the middle of his throat. I take a deep breath when I reach the

    base. I love the way his body shivers and I absolutely love listening to his sharp intake of breath. It

    makes me want to do more and see how his body reacts to it.

    ¡°Autumn,¡± he whispers. ¡°It¡¯s time to return to your side. I can¡¯t f*****g focus on driving when you¡¯re on

    top of me, and I need to get you home safely. If you keep this up, thest thing you¡¯ll be is safe.¡±

    I hold onto him tighter. I want to stay like this; I don¡¯t want to be separated from him. He says my name

    once more, warning me to stop so that he can continue to drive without any interruptions.

    I¡¯m about to protest when he grabs my waist and lifts my body off him. I¡¯m not sure how he manages to

    ce me back on my seat while simultaneously driving without causing an ident, but he does.

    I¡¯m tingling all over from getting to be so close to him and finally getting the chance to touch him. At

    least a part of him. There was plenty more I wanted to put my hands on, but even in my drunken state,

    I knew not to do it.

    He stops in front of my house and pulls out his phone. I¡¯m not sure who he¡¯s talking to, but he¡¯s asking

    questions about my parents. Is he worried about dropping me home drunk?

    That was a terrible idea. My parents would flip if they saw me like this.

    ¡°Please take me home with you,¡± I beg. ¡°They will freak out. I know that they will.¡±

    His eyes are worried when he turns to look at me. He runs a hand through his hair and leans his head

    against the seat. He closes his eyes, and I wonder what he¡¯s thinking.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let my parents see me like this.¡± I try once more.

    He sighs and dials another number, ¡°hey.¡± He greets the person. ¡°Autumn will be staying with me

    tonight. I¡¯ll drop her home tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 14

    ~ATTICUS~

    I don¡¯t know what the hell I was thinking about agreeing to let Autumn stay the night with me. Every

    second with her felt like a ticking bomb, ready to explode. She was unpredictable when she was drunk.

    She said and did things that shocked me to the very core. And her f*****g scent was all over my jeep. I

    could smell her everywhere. Her scent should not be this strong. And now it would be stuck with me for

    a while.

    Her brother didn¡¯t sound happy that she was staying with me tonight, and I didn¡¯t me him, even I

    didn¡¯t trust myself around her. Not when she asked me things like permission to touch my hair, and not

    when she leans into me, and f*****g smells me like I¡¯m her next meal.

    Drunk Autumn was dangerous. I¡¯m happy that this is her first time; at least, I think that it is. I didn¡¯t want

    any other man to experience what she was like when she was drunk.

    ¡°Atticus.¡± She whispers my name, and I pretend not to hear her. I do that because I¡¯m actually terrified

    of myself right now. Terrified of what I would do if I looked into her eyes and she asked me for

    something else. I didn¡¯t know if I would be strong enough to deny her.

    I breathe a sigh of relief when I finally spot my house. Just a little bit again, and I would be able to ce

    her in the guest room. Then herpelling voice and scent wouldn¡¯t affect me anymore. I would be

    able to act rationally again.

    As I drive into the garage, I jump out of the jeep and walk over to her side.

    She looks drowsy, and it may not be long before she falls asleep.

    The moment I open her door, her eyes open wide, and she smiles at me. Her smile is dazzling, and I

    wonder how I¡¯ve never been lost in it before.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get you inside,¡± I say as I inwardly scold myself for noticing things I shouldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Okay!¡± She shouts as she wraps her arms around my neck and pushes her body against mine.

    I grip her waist to steady her, and she uses that opportunity to wrap her legs around my waist.

    Ah f**k. I wasn¡¯t nning on holding her this way. She was too close like this. Way too close for my

    sanity.

    ¡°Autumn, ¡°I growl as I try to put distance between us. She mps her legs tighter around me, and I

    stop moving altogether. If she kept rubbing against me, she might awaken something that I didn¡¯t want

    to f*****g deal with right now.

    How am I supposed to walk into the house with her wrapped around me like this? I had to hope that

    everyone else was already asleep.

    I sigh and move with her still in my arms. Autumn snuggles against me, and I try to ignore how perfectly

    she fits in my arms.

    I¡¯m relieved when I don¡¯t see anyone as I make my way through the house. When I turn the corner

    towards the guest room, I pause. My dad is right there, and he¡¯s on his phone.

    Damn it.

    I spun around before he could see me and raced towards my room. I know it wasn¡¯t the best idea, but I

    could keep her there until I was sure everyone was asleep.

    I open the door and walk inside. Autumn giggles as I close the door and lock it behind us.

    I grab her thighs and use more force to untangle her from my body. She whimpered, and the sweet

    sound caught me off guard. It was so unexpected that I was unprepared for when she grabbed my shirt

    and pulled so hard that I fell with her onto the bed.

    Autumn gasps beneath me, I push my hand on the bed to prevent us from kissing, but I don¡¯t do it fast

    enough. My lips are on hers before I can stop it from happening, and the contact sends a shockwave

    throughout my body.

    I attempt to move, but she surprises me by moaning. The sound makes something stir in my pants. I

    swallow as she pulls my bottom lip into her mouth and sucks on it like it¡¯s f*****g candy.

    I grab two pillows above us; it¡¯s my attempt to keep myself from touching her. My nails dig into them as

    I let her kiss me. She doesn¡¯t kiss like an amateur. It makes me wonder if she¡¯s ever done it before and

    with who. That thought angers me.

    I knew I had to stop this before things got more heated between us. She was drunk and wasn¡¯t aware

    of what she was doing. I would hate for her to remember tonight and hate herself for it.

    Autumn moans again, and I freeze when she grinds her lower body against mine. I groan and can¡¯t

    resist taking one bite of her lip. Just one taste. That¡¯s all I¡¯m letting myself have tonight. I bite down

    gently on her bottom lip before pulling it into my mouth. Autumn lifts her body off the bed as I finally kiss

    her back. Why is her taste so damn addictive? Everything about her sent warning bells straight to my

    head.

    A low growl leaves my throat as I rip my body away from hers. She pouts, and I mutter a few silent

    curses because all I can think about is how good she looks lying there in the middle of my bed.

    There is no way I can keep her in here with me for an entire night.

    I couldn¡¯t trust myself alone in a room with her. If she asked me to touch my hair again, I would lose it; I

    could barely keep my cool in the jeep with her on top of me. And I almost lost it when she kissed me. I

    was not risking it anymore.

    I pick her up into my arms again. It would be thest time for tonight. I knew where I was heading. I

    keep walking until I reach my destination. I knock on the door in front of me.

    ¡°rissa!¡± I shout when she doesn¡¯te fast enough.

    The door flies open, and my sister¡¯s eyes widen when she sees Autumn in my arms.

    ¡°What happened to her?¡± She demands as she helps me ce her onto her bed. Thankfully Autumn is

    halfway asleep by now and isn¡¯t trying to hold onto me anymore.

    ¡°She got drunk at a party. She isn¡¯t like herself at all. I think it¡¯s more appropriate for her to sleep in your

    room than mine.¡± I exin.

    ¡°Oh,¡± She whispers as she studies me. ¡°What happened to your lips? And your face and neck. It¡¯s red.¡±

    My body goes still at her question. I quickly y it off and tell her that I need sleep. She doesn¡¯t ask

    any other questions as I storm off. I breathed a sigh of relief as I got back to my room. I soon realized,

    however, that it wasn¡¯t about to be an easy night. I can still smell her everywhere. What is it about her?

    Why does she affect me so much?

    . . . . . . . .

    ~AUTUMN~

    The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was not in my bed. My eyes were still closed, but I

    still knew this wasn¡¯t mine.

    So where was I? I try searching my mind for answers, too scared to open my eyes and freak out more

    than I already was.

    One by one, the events ofst night rey in my head. With each new memory, I felt like I was going to

    die.

    My eyes open, and I rise so quickly that I fall straight out of bed. What the hell did I dost night? I got

    drunk. I danced on Atticus and caused him to carry me to his jeep. Then I asked him to touch his hair

    while he was in the middle of driving. In the middle of freaking driving! I ran a hand through my hair as I

    tried to remember more.

    What the hell was wrong with me?

    I let out a screech of frustration as the rest of the memories hit me.

    I kissed him! I kissed Atticus! I must be out of my damn mind. I¡¯ve never been so reckless in my life

    before, and the one time that I did, it just so happened to be with him!

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been so embarrassed in my entire life. I hear the bathroom door opening, and I

    quickly jump back into the bed to pretend I was asleep. I was too embarrassed to see anyone right

    now. I wasn¡¯t sure when I¡¯ll ever get the confidence to leave this room.

    I hear footsteps and the sound of a drawer opening. I peeked through one eye and was surprised when

    I saw rissa in a top and underwear on. I was about to close my eyes again when I noticed

    something on her body. My eyes widened when I realized what it was.

    Was that Damon¡¯s name tattooed on her butt? I quickly closed my eyes again while my heart raced

    against my chest. Why did she have her brother¡¯s name there?

    She might have known someone else with his name, but at the same time, there was a massive

    possibility that it could also be him. rissa was not their biological sister; she was adopted. Which

    meant that she could have a crush on Damon to the point that she did something like that, but I knew

    how public our lives were, and that would make things difficult for the Fawns. I could imagine the

    headlines that would follow if anyone saw that tattoo. Maybe I¡¯m wrong; it¡¯s possible I saw something

    that wasn¡¯t even there. She was a little distance from me when I saw it. It would be better for us if I

    pretended like I hadn¡¯t seen anything.

    I open my eyes again when she leaves the room. I ce a hand over my chest; I touched Atticusst

    night. Our bodies were pressed together more than once. I felt for the first time in my life what I¡¯ve

    always dreamed of experiencing with him. And it was amazing. Even though I was intoxicated, I still

    remember how good it felt to touch him. To be on top of him. To feel his body heat and to rub my hands

    through his soft hair. Not to mention kiss him. And he¡¯d let me do it. He let me kiss himst night. Why

    would he? Why didn¡¯t he push me away right away?

    My cheeks turn red when the door opens after a knock, and this time Atticus steps inside the room. He

    didn¡¯t look as embarrassed as I felt, it had me wondering if I had imagined everything that had

    happened between usst night.

    How could he be this unaffected?

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± He asks me as he walks closer to the edge of the bed.

    How did I feel? I felt like burying my face beneath the sheets and hiding there for the rest of my life.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± I lie. ¡°I hope I didn¡¯t cause too much trouble for youst night.¡±

    His eyes search mine. He may be trying to figure out if I remembered what I¡¯d done. Couldn¡¯t my

    nervousness give him the answer he was looking for?

    ¡°Do you remember what you did?¡± He asks.

    I immediately shook my head, ¡°everything feels like a distant blur.¡± I lie.

    ¡°Okay.¡± He says, believing me or at least pretending that he did. He probably realizes that both of us

    should pretend like yesterday didn¡¯t happen.

    rissa walks back in, then says, ¡°oh, you¡¯re finally awake. I can lend you some clothes if you want to

    shower.¡±

    ¡°I think I should just get home,¡± I tell her. ¡°My parents are probably freaking out.¡±

    rissa gives Atticus a look, and I wonder what else happened while I was asleep.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask, looking between them.

    ¡°You might want to look at your phone,¡± rissa tells me. ¡°You and Atticus are all over the headlines

    again.¡±

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 15

    ~AUTUMN~

    rissa¡¯s words have shocked me to the very core. I knew exactly what had happenedst night and

    thest thing I wanted to see was those events stered on the covers of magazines.

    I take another look at Atticus and realize that I was wrong earlier. He looked tired and like he¡¯s been on

    the phone the entire morning. My hands are shaking as I reach for my own phone. I¡¯m scared to see

    the headlines. Terrified. I knew how brutal they could be. And I knew how quickly news spread. Our

    wedding was still the talk of the town, now this incident would be an added bonus for all the gossipers.

    The first thing I noticed when the phone lit up was the many missed calls from my parents. I swallow.

    They already saw everything. There was no use trying to hide it from them anymore. I was so screwed.

    My parents were going to kill me.

    I keep scrolling, and I don¡¯t have to look far. There are multiple videos posted from yesterday at the

    beach. It starts with me drinking and getting drunk. Then it shows Atticus walking towards me.

    ¡®Get your f*****g hands off my wife.¡¯

    My body shivers at those words. I couldn¡¯t remember him saying this earlier. Now that I¡¯ve seen the

    video, the memory is back and stronger than ever. He¡¯d called me his wife. I never thought he would

    ever openly shout it for others to hear.

    I slowly look up at Atticus, and he¡¯s staring at me. He knows what I just saw. He would have heard it

    also. He¡¯s searching my face, trying to read me. Can he tell how much I loved that he called me his

    wife even though we aren¡¯t married yet?

    My cheeks turn red when I see myself dancing on him. I wasn¡¯t even aware that I could dance like that.

    Judging by his face in the video, Atticus also didn¡¯t expect that from me.

    Damon and Dante walked in suddenly, and they looked pissed. Atticus breaks eye contact with me to

    look at them.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing, Atticus?¡± Damon demands. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be making things easier

    for Anya. She¡¯s been screaming and throwing up the whole morning after seeing all the videos that

    have been posted. Didn¡¯t you once think about her and how she would feel?¡±

    I notice the way rissa¡¯s happy smile dies down when Damon mentions Anya.

    Anya. I didn¡¯t even think about her. Atticus always protected her. It must be difficult for her to see him

    protecting me now.

    He looks troubled now that his brothers have spoken about Anya. I knew that thest thing he ever

    wanted to do was hurt her.

    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Where is she now?¡± He asks Damon.

    ¡°She¡¯s outside in my car. I¡¯m carrying her to watch a movie to help clear her mind.¡± Damon answers

    him.

    ¡°What?¡± rissa demands. ¡°You promised you would take me to the movies today.¡±

    Damon stiffens at her words. It is clear that he doesn¡¯t like to upset her.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, rissa.¡± He apologizes. ¡°I promise to make it up to you.¡±

    She folds her arms stubbornly and storms out of the room. I watch as Damon runs after her almost

    immediately.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to see her,¡± Atticus tells Dante.

    My hands tighten into fists as I watch him leave. I know that she needs him, but it¡¯s still hard watching

    him take care of her. I don¡¯t ask toe with him like before. I already knew what his response would

    be like.

    I¡¯m left alone with no one to talk to. I¡¯m not sure what to do now. I had to face my parents eventually.

    I sigh and walk out of the room. I didn¡¯t want to ask Atticus to drop me home. I was still embarrassed

    about everything. Calling my parents didn¡¯t seem like a good idea either.

    ¡°AUTUMN RIVERA!¡±

    I freeze.

    I would know that voice from anywhere¡ªmy father. I didn¡¯t have to call them; they¡¯re already here.

    I looked for a way to escape but then remembered that running away wasn¡¯t an option for me.

    My father¡¯s voice is louder now, and I follow the sound, walking straight into the trap.

    When I see him, I also spot my mother, along with my brother and Atticus¡¯s parents.

    Why was I facing them alone? The answer was simple. I was the reason all of this happened in the first

    ce.

    ¡°Since when do you drink alcohol?¡± My mother asks me. ¡°Since when do you embarrass your family in

    front of so many people?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, mother.¡± I apologize. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what came over me. Once I started. I couldn¡¯t stop. I

    wasn¡¯t aware of what I was doing afterward.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t even aware that so many cameras were on me. I should have known it would have been. Ever

    since word had traveled of my wedding, I had all the attention on me.

    ¡°This kind of behavior is uneptable.¡± My father shouts. ¡°When the Fawns agreed to make you their

    daughter-inw, they thought they were making the right decision. You¡¯re no longer only representing

    our family but that of the Fawns as well. Can you not see that? Do we need to teach you everything?¡±

    ¡°Mistakes happen.¡± Atticus¡¯s mother steps in. ¡°As long as it doesn¡¯t happen again, we should be fine.

    Besides,st night may have shut up the rumors iming that my son doesn¡¯t love his bride-to-be. He

    showed a side I never expected to see.¡±

    ¡°It will not happen again.¡± My father assured her. ¡°Especially since Autumn will not be going anywhere

    before the engagement.¡±

    I knew this wasing. I wasn¡¯t surprised that they would punish me for my actions.

    ¡°Now, that is not fair at all,¡± Griffin says as he walks in. ¡°I¡¯m the reason all of this happened. I should get

    punished, not her.¡±

    ¡°How are you to me?¡± His father demands.

    ¡°Atticus asked me to drop her home. Instead of taking her home, I carried her to a beach party. I

    introduced her to new friends. I should have kept an eye on her since she isn¡¯t used to such events. I¡¯m

    at fault. Punish me instead.¡±

    I¡¯m surprised that Griffin was taking the me for me.

    ¡°Autumn is not a child. She knows right from wrong.¡± My mother tells him.

    ¡°I think you can join her punishment.¡± His father adds. ¡°You and that other son of mine. Where is

    Atticus? He was supposed to carry Autumn for the ring and return her home. Not send her with you.¡±

    I stiffen at the mention of Atticus. I know his parents would freak out if they knew he was with Anya.

    They were already angry; I didn¡¯t want to see them get angrier.

    . . . . . . . . . . . .

    ~ATTICUS~

    ¡°Anya!¡± I shout as she hits her fists against my face.

    ¡°I hate you!¡± She screams. ¡°How could you do this to me?¡±

    ¡°You and that fake friend of mine!¡± she shouts. ¡°She¡¯s no better than you are.¡±

    I¡¯m somehow annoyed that she¡¯s mentioned Autumn. She is not at fault. No one is to me but our

    parents.

    ¡°Autumn is not to me for anything.¡± I correct her. ¡°I know this is hard, but you two have loved each

    other for years. You shouldn¡¯t hate her for something out of her control.¡±

    Sheughs, ¡°are you trying to tell me how to feel now? Are you telling me that you would have handled

    it better if you had to see me marry your best friend? Would you have been able to remain friends with

    that person?¡±

    My jaw clenches, ¡°what do you think I¡¯ve gone through these past years seeing you with not one but

    two of my brothers? Did I disown them? I know what it feels like, Anya; believe me, I do. I¡¯m not happy I

    have to hurt you, but eventually, something like this was bound to happen. You couldn¡¯t have had all

    three of us for the rest of your life.¡±

    Her lower lip trembles, ¡°funny that you should say that. If you hadn¡¯t chosen to marry Autumn, I would

    have chosen you. But now, we will never get a chance to see what our lives would have been like. That

    is unless you cancel the wedding and run away with me.¡±

    I¡¯m taken aback by her words. She confessed that I would have been her choice in the end. Why would

    she choose to tell me now? Why now when I was in the middle of wedding preparations? It was toote

    for any of that.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to pretend you didn¡¯t just ask me to run away with you and leave everyone behind, including

    my brothers, who love you more than anything else in this world. I¡¯ll also keep this conversation from

    them. You¡¯ve lost me; I don¡¯t want you to lose anyone else because of your anger.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve lost you?¡± She asks with a broken look on her face. ¡°I guess we can finally agree on something. I

    hope you don¡¯t live to regret this decision, Atticus. Once I turn my back, you¡¯ll never hear from me

    again.¡±

    I was already regretting everything just by seeing her this hurt. But I¡¯d made my decision already. It was

    toote to turn back now. Too many people were involved.

    And Autumn. I couldn¡¯t hurt her too. Her innocence was pure, and her joy brightened up a room. I didn¡¯t

    have the heart to leave her when I promised to marry her. I couldn¡¯t walk out on her. She didn¡¯t deserve

    that.

    Anya didn¡¯t deserve any of this either. I reach to give her onest hug, but she pulls away from me.

    ¡°Tell Damon I¡¯m ready to leave. I don¡¯t want to be next to you anymore.¡±

    I turn to find my brother, but he¡¯s already heading toward us. He¡¯s not alone. rissa is also with him.

    He looks nervous as he joins us, ¡°rissa will be joining us for the movie.¡±

    Anya red at my sister, ¡°Are you kidding me? Does everyone want to ruin my life today?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little too dramatic?¡± rissa demands.

    ¡°It¡¯s just for today, sweetheart.¡± Damon apologizes to her. ¡°I promise to make it up to you another time.¡±

    rissa hugs me and says goodbye. I could sense the tension in the air as they got into the car.

    I watch Anya leave with my heart in her hands. I knew that I was acting cold towards her, but I was

    doing it for her own good. I had to make her hate the thought of being with me. I had to. For any of this

    to work, I had to keep pushing Anya away.

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 16

    ~AUTUMN~

    The engagement party was here. It all still felt like a dream to me. I thought by now, I would wake up,

    and Atticus would tell me that he wasn¡¯t going to marry me. So far, none of that had happened. I was

    still at home. I couldn¡¯t find the strength to move my feet. I¡¯d been standing in front of the mirror for

    more than an hour. My mother kept reminding me that we werete, but I could barely hear her through

    the pounding of my heart. I was getting engaged to the man I wanted since I knew what it meant to love

    someone. I was fourteen when I first saw him, and now I am neen and sincerely in love with him.

    Atticus Fawn had my heart without even trying. He had my heart because of the person I knew him to

    be. It wasn¡¯t just his looks that caught my heart; that was just a given bonus.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    ¡°Autumn!¡± My mother shouts. ¡°Someone is here to see you.¡±

    The door opens before I can ask who it is; I slowly turn and am shocked to see who is at the door.

    ¡°Anya,¡± I whisper.

    She was thest person I was expecting to see today. At least not in my home. If anything, I expected

    to see her at the engagement party. She¡¯s ignored all of my calls and exnations before today, so

    then why was she suddenly here on my engagement night? What does she have to say to me?

    I knew that she¡¯s tried to contact Atticus multiple times since I¡¯d been locked up at home. I knew this

    because everyone has been sending it to me. People were sending me videos and pictures. They all

    imed that Atticus was cheating on me with her. This was something else I knew I would have to get

    used to. It didn¡¯t mean that I believed any of it however.

    I knew Atticus. If he agreed to marry me, he will honor his words. He will not do anything to intentionally

    hurt me.

    Anya was angry. Very angry. I could see it so clearly on her face. She wasn¡¯t trying to hide it from me.

    But Anya was never someone to hide her feelings. Her ck hair hung over her shoulders, and she

    looked as beautiful as ever. She was dressed for a party which meant that she would also be there

    tonight.

    Her jaw clenched when I said her name once more. Were we going to stand here and stare at each

    other for the entire night?

    I remain calm as I watch her take her first steps toward me. Her eyes are filled with hatred as she

    stands right before me. There is very little space between us now and I¡¯m waiting for her to say

    something.

    I don¡¯t have time to prepare as she ps me hard across the face. My body is in shock. It takes me a

    moment to recover from what she¡¯d just done. I covered my burning cheek with my hand; I couldn¡¯t

    believe she¡¯d just hit me. We¡¯ve been friends for many years, and neither has everid a hand on the

    other until today.

    ¡°How could you?¡± She shouts. ¡°How could you take Atticus away from me? You know that he¡¯s my

    mate. You know how much I love him. Marrying him is all I ever talk about, yet here you are taking my

    ce. I thought you were my friend Autumn. I thought I knew you better than this.¡±

    My hands tighten into fists. I know that she¡¯s hurting. It¡¯s the only reason I¡¯m not retaliating. I know this

    is something she had to get out of her chest one way or the other.

    I don¡¯t think she realizes I couldn¡¯t stop this wedding even if I wanted to. The only way I could stop it

    was by running away. And it¡¯s not something that I was willing to do. Running away was not an option.

    It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t give Atticus the chance to stop it. That was the only other option for the wedding to

    stop, by him refusing to let it happen, and he wasn¡¯t doing that. Not even for Anya. I still didn¡¯t know the

    reason behind it.

    ¡°I tried contacting you all this time,¡± I tell her. ¡°I¡¯ve never wanted to hurt you. Our parents are the ones

    behind this wedding. I¡¯ve loved you like a sister. I would never intentionally do anything to hurt you. And

    no one knows better than me that Atticus was hurting the more he had to see you with his brothers. If

    you love him, don¡¯t you think you should try letting him go?¡±

    Sheughs and ps loudly; the sounds echo throughout the room, ¡°how long have you been

    practicing that speech? Don¡¯t you think I would have noticed how infatuated you¡¯ve always been with

    Atticus? You don¡¯t think I know you¡¯re happy you¡¯re finally getting the chance to be with him?¡±

    My eyes widen, ¡°Anya-,¡±

    She lifts her hand in the air to stop me, ¡°there is no use trying to deny it. You¡¯ve wanted him all along.

    You couldn¡¯t stand that he¡¯s always wanted me. Well, I have news for you. No matter what he says or

    does, Atticus will always love me. Nothing will ever change that. When he sleeps with you at night, I¡¯m

    the one he will be thinking about. Nothing you do for him will ever be good enough for him. I hope you

    remember my warning. This is not a marriage; you will be each other¡¯s nightmare. You wait and

    see.¡±

    I open my mouth to say something but nothinges out. Her words have managed to hurt me. She

    was right. I did want Atticus, but it wasn¡¯t lusting; it was love; I¡¯ve loved him all these years. His

    happiness meant more to me than anything else. I was willing to watch him be with her because I knew

    all along that¡¯s what made him happy. At least, that¡¯s what I thought until recently; eventually, I saw that

    she was hurting him constantly. It didn¡¯t mean he would be happy with me either, but I wouldn¡¯t choose

    anyone else over him. He will always be my first and only choice. That was the difference between the

    two of us.

    ¡°And onest thing.¡± She says before turning to leave. ¡°You look hideous. There is no way that Atticus

    will like how you look tonight.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe she would stoop to that level to mess up my engagement night. I knew she was

    hurting but did she have to bring me down as well? And why did she wait for tonight? Why my

    engagement night?

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 17

    ~AUTUMN~

    ¡°What happened to your face?¡± My mother asks as I step out of the car. She was too upied earlier

    to realize how red it was, just my luck that she chose to pay attention to me now.

    ¡°Anya pped me,¡± I answer her. There was no use trying to hide it from her. My mother could always

    easily tell when I was lying.

    She gasps, ¡°I never liked that girl. Why would she hit you on your engagement night? If I¡¯d known she

    would be so bitter, I would have never let her into our home.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, mother; maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m marrying her mate.¡± I point out, answering her question

    with the most obvious response.

    My mother sighs, ¡°that gives her no right to hit you. Why don¡¯t you stand up for yourself more? You¡¯ve

    always let that girl walk all over you. We grew you up to avoid confrontations and arguments, but that

    girl was never your real friend to begin with.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± I try to defend her. I know she¡¯d just hit me, and what she did was wrong, but I still

    understood why she did it. I didn¡¯t want topletely kick her out of my life because of one incident.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t?¡± She asks. ¡°So then, why did you cry whenever you returned home from spending time with

    her?¡±

    I look away from my mother¡¯s prating gaze. I cried because I had no choice but to see Atticus with

    her. Being her best friend left me no other option. I cried because I hated how much she hurt him. I

    cried because she always tried to put me down and tell me I wasn¡¯t as pretty or popr as she was.

    ¡°Your silence proves my point.¡± She says as she takes my arm in hers. ¡°It¡¯s toote to put anything on

    your face now. We will have to fix you up inside.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what I expected to see when I stepped inside, but nothing could prepare me for the

    hundreds of guests looking straight at me. I knew the wedding would be a big one; I didn¡¯t think the

    engagement would also be this massive.

    I recognized a few faces, and it was safe to say that half of our school was present. I was d my

    mother was holding my hand as she guided me through the back, where no one else was.

    She pulled me into a room; it wasn¡¯t any random room; this must be where everyone got their makeup

    and hair done.

    My lips part when I see Atticus already dressed in his ck tux. I try not to let his presence affect me

    but just as always, I fail big time. As long as we are in a room together, there is no avoiding this man.

    He turns when he hears the door close behind us, and I lose my breath when his gaze locks with mine.

    He takes his slow time examining me from head to toe. Does he not see my mother in the room with

    us? I don¡¯t think he cares at this point. I squeeze my hands tightly into fists as I try to fight the

    nervousness. It¡¯s hard for me to focus when he¡¯s looking at me like that.

    ¡°Your dad is looking for us.¡± My mother says to me, breaking the silence. ¡°I¡¯ll go find him. See what you

    can do about the redness in the meantime.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure whether my father was really looking for us or my mother was using that as an excuse to

    leave us in a room alone.

    Atticus takes a step toward me when she closes the door behind her, and I stop freaking breathing. He

    doesn¡¯t stop until he¡¯s a few inches away from my body. His eyes are locked on my face, and I have to

    wonder if he can see the mark that Anya left. If my mother could, he undoubtedly could as well.

    He lightly tilts my chin to get a better look at my cheek. There is a cute frown on his face as he studies

    it. ¡°What happened?¡±

    That confirms it.

    I¡¯m surprised that he sounds concerned, however. Darkness clouds his features and I know that he¡¯s

    getting angrier by the second.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± I lie to him. I know that telling him Anya hit me would not make things easier on any of us.

    She was hurting. I was trying to be understanding. I might react simrly to her if I was in her position.

    We¡¯ve been inseparable for years, and it¡¯s the first time we¡¯ve ever fought like this.

    Maybe my friendship meant nothing to Anya but she will always have a ce in my heart. I didn¡¯t get

    rid of the people I loved that easily. She would have to totally betray me for that to happen.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± He asks. ¡°It almost looks like someone hit you.¡±

    That¡¯s because someone did hit me¡ªyour mate. I wonder if Atticus would still take her side in a

    situation like this. Knowing how much he loved her was enough of an answer for me.

    ¡°I need to put some makeup over it, and I¡¯ll join you. It really is nothing for you to worry about.¡±

    He doesn¡¯t seem to be convinced, but something else holds his attention next.

    ¡°Where did you find that ne?¡± He asks, his eyes locked on my neck. I lightly touch the diamond

    ne. It was a gift from his grandmother. He must have recognized it. I didn¡¯t want to ept it, but

    she insisted. She was one of the kindest women I¡¯ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. I wish she were

    still with us today.

    ¡°Your grandmother gave it to me the week before she died. She told me to wear it on my engagement

    night as well as on my wedding day.¡± I confess.

    A look of surprise and anguish crossed his handsome features. I know that speaking about her would

    also be hard for him.

    ¡°I never knew you were that close to her.¡± He admits. ¡°That ne was her favorite piece of jewelry.

    I¡¯ve always asked about it, but my grandfather never told me you were the person she¡¯d given it to.¡±

    He leans closer and lightly brushes it with his fingers. My heart rate elerates from his closeness. I¡¯m

    drawn to the way his forehead creases as he continues to take a closer look, even his eyshes were

    perfect. I still couldn¡¯t get over how beautiful he was.

    ¡°I was waiting for the right moment to give this to you,¡± I whisper as I pull the ring I¡¯d bought for him out

    of my purse. ¡°I know you said you would get it yourself, but I wanted to get it for you.¡±

    Atticus takes the jewelry box from my hand and opens it. He stares at it for a few seconds, and I¡¯m

    worried he doesn¡¯t like it. I was sure that he would; was I wrong?

    He lifts his gaze towards me, ¡°how did you know I love red diamonds?¡±

    I bite my lip as I try toe up with a response. I knew because I¡¯d been so in love with him that I paid

    attention to anything concerning him. I learned more about what he loved than even Anya did.

    ¡°Anya mentioned it once.¡± I lie.

    His face turns grim at the mention of her. I shouldn¡¯t have brought her up on a day like this.

    ¡°I know this is probably thest thing you want to hear from me, but Anya asked to speak with me

    before the ceremony starts. I wanted to make sure that you at least know this before I see her.¡±

    Of course, she will want to speak with him today. I wouldn¡¯t expect anything else from her after what

    she did.N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    I should be happy that he at least told me before seeing her, but I¡¯m anything but that. I¡¯m worried.

    Scared of what she had nned. If she¡¯d hit me earlier, there is no telling what she would do when she

    saw Atticus.

    ¡°As soon as I¡¯m finished speaking with her, I will join you, and the ceremony can start.¡± He assures me.

    I try to hide the fear from my eyes, in order to do that I had to look away from his piercing gaze.

    ¡°I will not take long.¡± He promises as he walks out of the room.

    I lean against the door as soon as he leaves.

    All I could do now was hope that Anya wouldn¡¯t try anything else to ruin my engagement night.

 Chapter 18

    Chapter 18

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 18

    ~ATTICUS~

    I stare at the ring on my finger. Autumn surprised me; I didn¡¯t think she would go through all that trouble

    to get me a ring, especially after I left her at the jewelry store to run to Anya¡¯s side. She kept on

    surprising me in ways that greatly pleased me.

    I didn¡¯t think she was telling the truth about Anya, however. There were many times when Anya couldn¡¯t

    even remember my favorite color. How would she have told Autumn about red diamonds? But why

    would she lie to me about something so simple? Why couldn¡¯t she tell me how she knew what my

    favorite diamond was? I would faster believe that my grandmother told her than Anya.

    And why the f**k was her cheek so red? She didn¡¯t want to tell me the truth, but it seemed to me like

    someone had hurt her.

    My hands tighten into fists at the thought of anyone hitting her. I couldn¡¯t get it out of my damn mind.

    Why was she keeping it a secret from me? I knew that we weren¡¯t that close but we would soon be

    husband and wife. She should be morefortable around me. She should trust me enough to confide

    in me.

    She may think that this was over but it wasn¡¯t. I would continue to ask around until I found out the truth.

    Someone must know what had happened.

    Could it be that someone was threatening her?

    f**k it Atticus. Why was I getting so worked up over this? I push those thoughts out of my head. I had

    other problems to deal with right away.

    I wasn¡¯t sure that speaking to Anya right before the engagement was a good idea. Too many things

    could go wrong if anyone saw us next to each other and tried spreading more rumors about us. I knew

    how quickly rumors spread about my family.

    I spot Anya a little distance away, and she quickly runs to my side.

    ¡°This needs to be quick, Anya; I can¡¯t be seen around you. Especially not on an important night such as

    this.¡± I exin.

    ¡°Is it so bad to be seen with me?¡± She demands. ¡°You were always proud in the past to show me off to

    the entire school. What has changed that Atticus?¡±

    My jaw clenches, ¡°I¡¯m getting engaged to Autumn today. Engaged. Just think what would happen if

    anyone saw us like this.¡±

    She lightly touches my chest, ¡°would it really be so bad if anyone saw us like this?¡±

    I grab her hand to push her away, but she holds onto me tighter. ¡°I love you, Atticus. I love you so

    much.¡±

    I froze. Hearing her tell me that she loved me after so long managed to wreak havoc within me. I¡¯ve

    fought my feelings for her as hard as possible, but this made it a thousand times more challenging to

    do so.

    She leans into me and ces a light kiss on my cheek. She tries to reach my lips, but I get the strength

    to push her away.

    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± I warn her. I run a hand down my face as I try to process what the hell had just happened.

    I turn and walk away before things could get any worse. I almost gave in to her. I almost did something

    I would never be able to forgive myself for.C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    I run a hand through my hair. How much messier could this entire thing get between us? I tried to make

    Anya hate me and hold onto my brothers instead, but it wasn¡¯t working. She was still trying to get me

    back. I knew her pain; I f*****g felt it. I understood why she acted like this; I could never me her. But I

    knew I couldn¡¯t keep running to her side whenever she needed me. Autumn was understanding now

    because she knew of our past, but that didn¡¯t mean it wouldn¡¯t affect her eventually. I¡¯m sure she sees

    all the articles about Anya and me. There were hundreds of pictures of us as well. Autumn didn¡¯t love

    me as Anya did, but she was still a woman with real feelings. I had to be careful not to hurt her.

    I turn the corner and rush through the crowd. Autumn was already at the center of the stage with our

    parents. They were no doubt waiting on me. I felt a wave of guilt wash over me as I joined them.

    Autumn turns rigid when I take my ce next to her. Does she somehow know that Anya tried to kiss

    me?

    ¡°Finally, my son has chosen to bless us with his presence.¡± My father says loud enough for everyone in

    the crowd to hear. A few low chuckles follow. I clench my jaw as I spot Anya at the center of the crowd.

    I didn¡¯t want to look at her while getting engaged to her best friend. I know why she came tonight, but

    part of me wishes she hadn¡¯t. This can¡¯t be easy for her to see. I know the pain; I¡¯ve had that same pain

    for years.

    I steal a nce at Autumn, and she still seems very ufortable around me. Should I not have told

    her that I was going to see Anya? Maybe it wasn¡¯t my best decision. I¡¯ve found myself worrying about

    her more than I¡¯m okay with admitting.

    It also feels like she¡¯s avoiding eye contact with me. It bothers me more than it should.

    The ceremony begins, and it soon dawns on me that after today things will change forever. It isn¡¯t our

    wedding day, but it¡¯s a step towards it. There wouldn¡¯t be much time after this to change my mind.

    This was my decision, and I always stuck to them. I would not back out now, no matter what I felt

    inside. I knew this wasn¡¯t going to be an easy journey, but I also knew that this was the right choice. If

    my grandmother wanted this, she would have had her reasons. I trusted her. The fact that she gave

    Autumn her favorite ne was enough proof that this was what she wanted.

    My father announces that we¡¯re officially engaged suddenly and lifts both of our hands into the air to

    show off our rings. I was hardly aware of what was happening around me. The reality of the situation

    was finally sinking in.

    However, instead of a round of apuse, there are loud gasps throughout the room.

    I looked around me; I wasn¡¯t sure what was happening. My father looks at me; we¡¯re all looking at each

    other. We know that something terrible must have happened. The entire crowd wouldn¡¯t react this way

    for something small.

    ¡°What the f**k, Atticus,¡± Griffin says as he joins our side. ¡°You¡¯ve done it this time.¡±

    I give him a perplexed look. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°This.¡± He grits out as he shoves the phone into my face.

    I take one look, and all the blood drains from my face. It¡¯s a video of Anya and me from today. When

    she kissed my cheek and told me she loved me, it cut right as she tried to kiss me. It didn¡¯t show when

    I stopped the kiss, leaving everyone to believe that we did, in fact, kiss.

    f**k!

    This was thest thing I needed right now.

    How the f**k did I get out of this one?

 Chapter 19

    Chapter 19

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 19

    ~AUTUMN~

    I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes. The video was on rey in front of me. This was no doubt from today. Anya

    and Atticus are dressed in the same clothes that can clearly be seen in the video. Plus, Atticus did tell

    me that he was going to see Anya before the ceremony started. And he also showed upte.

    Not to mention the scent of her on his body. I got a horrible whiff of it the moment he joined us. I knew

    she had to be closer to him than I would have liked. It¡¯s the reason why I¡¯d been avoiding eye contact

    with him since he joined us. I couldn¡¯t look him in the eye. I was scared of what I would see. If he¡¯d

    been that close with Anya, there is no telling what happened between them. My heart hurts from just

    the thought of what happened after the camera had cut.

    The video had cut right before she tried to kiss him, and I wondered if he¡¯d let her. I knew Atticus would

    never cheat on me once we were engaged, but the truth remained that he wasn¡¯t officiallymitted to

    me when this video was taken. Did he take onest kiss to remember what it felt like before he

    destroyed his life by marrying me?

    I feel my body sway at the thought of him kissing her on our engagement night. First, Anya ps me,

    and now this. How could things get any worse than this? My biggest fear of tonight wasing to life. I

    was right; Anya was out to destroy my engagement night.

    I held my head as the whispers got louder. The crowd wanted to know more. I couldn¡¯t hold on much

    longer; my legs were failing me.

    Atticus rushes forward and picks me up into his arms before I can hit the ground.

    I¡¯m not aware of what happened after he walked me out of the room; I¡¯m still in shock from the video.

    Everyone would have plenty to say. I¡¯m sure half of our school wasughing at me, and the other half,

    feeling sorry for me.

    Atticus ms his room door shut as heys me down on his bed.

    I watched as he paced up and down in front of me. It looks like he was having an inner battle with

    himself.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Autumn.¡± He says suddenly. ¡°This should have never happened. Especially not on our

    engagement night.¡±

    I don¡¯t know what to say to that. I¡¯m hurting, but I don¡¯t want him to know. Though, almost fainting in

    front of everyone didn¡¯t exactly help my case.

    There is just one question on my mind. Did he kiss her? Did he kiss my best friend on our engagement

    night? Was she even my best friend anymore? It was clear that Anya didn¡¯t consider me anymore.

    What she did on my engagement day proves how much she dislikes me now. She was determined to

    make today a disaster for me, and she seeded.

    Atticus takes a few steps toward me; soon enough, he¡¯s standing right before me. He looks bothered

    now that I¡¯m not speaking to him. It¡¯s not intentional; I¡¯m too stunned to speak.

    ¡°Please say something. I don¡¯t know who took that video, but I will find and make him pay.¡±

    The person that took the video was not the problem.

    I can¡¯t stop myself as I ask, ¡°did you kiss her?¡±

    I can barely recognize my voice. I couldn¡¯t hide the pain, not this time. Not after knowing what it was

    like to be in his arms, not after knowing what his kisses felt like. The thought of him kissing her

    destroyed me.

    His eyes searched mine. I could hear the clock ticking on his nightstand and the pounding of my own

    heart now in synch. I¡¯m not prepared for his response. If he said yes, that would change everything. It

    would change how I see him; he wouldn¡¯t be the man I¡¯ve loved all these years. The Atticus that I knew

    would never do that. He was too loyal and consumed with pleasing his family to do something so

    scandalous on such an important night.

    He slowly shook his head, ¡°I did not kiss her. The camera conveniently cut right as I pushed away from

    her. Whoever took that video had intentions of ruining our engagement night.¡±

    I breathe a sigh of relief. I¡¯m not happy that he was so close to her, but I¡¯m relieved to know he didn¡¯t

    kiss her. And he didn¡¯t let her kiss him either.

    ¡°I feel like you don¡¯t believe me.¡± He says, and I hate how much the softness in his voice makes my

    already stupid heart melt. Everything about him screamed danger.

    ¡°I do not have any reason not to trust you, Atticus. If you said you didn¡¯t kiss her, I believe you. But if

    there is the slightest possibility that you¡¯ve lied to me, my trust in you will immediately be broken. But I

    do not believe that you are lying. I know of your character; I know that you¡¯re good. You will never do

    something like that, not on our engagement night.¡±

    He looks surprised at my faith in him.

    We are both quiet as he continues to stare at me in amazement. He slowly raises his hand, and it looks

    like he¡¯s about to cup my cheek, but I never got to find out.

    The door opens, and our parents walk in. His father looks just as upset as his mother as they re at

    us.

    ¡°What the hell were you thinking, Atticus?¡± His father demands. ¡°I told you to stop seeing that girl. She

    will continue to cause problems for our family. You continue to disobey me, and then I am left having to

    clean up your mess.¡±

    ¡°No one was supposed to take a video,¡± he exins. ¡°She asked to see me onest time before I got

    engaged. After everything, I owed her that much.¡±

    His fatherughs, ¡°Do you think that girl wasn¡¯t aware of what she was doing? I¡¯m sure that she was

    the one that got someone to film the entire thing. And, of course, you just had to fall straight into her

    trap. Because she knows she has you trapped.¡±

    That¡¯s impossible. Anya was not like that. She would not stoop that low to get what she wanted. But

    what if she did? She was out to destroy the wedding; it¡¯s possible that she was also responsible for that

    video.

    ¡°Did you ever stop and once think about Autumn before you made such a foolish decision?¡± His mother

    asks. ¡°You¡¯ve not only made things difficult for us, but you¡¯ve also made them hard on her. Do you think

    it will be easy for her when this news gets out?¡±

    ¡°I know what I did was wrong,¡± he assures them. ¡°But Anya will not stoop so low.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± My mother asks. I stiffened; I hoped she wouldn¡¯t say anything I didn¡¯t want her to say. ¡°Then

    why did she visit Autumn today, and instead of being there for her, she pped her hard across her

    face.¡±

    A look of surprise crosses Atticus¡¯s face at her words.

    ¡°Mother!¡± I hiss. I didn¡¯t want Atticus ever to know this. I didn¡¯t want him to be disappointed or angry

    with her when she was hurting.

    Atticus turns to me; I can see the look of horror and disbelief on his face.

    ¡°Anya pped you?¡±

    I can¡¯t find my voice; I don¡¯t want to answer him.

    ¡°Autumn,¡± he growls as he moves closer to me. ¡°Tell me. Did Anya really hit you today? Was that how

    you got that red mark on your face?¡±

    I bite my lip, I don¡¯t want to say yes, but I can¡¯t say no either.

    He¡¯s staring at me, and eventually, I give in with a slight nod.

    ¡°Atticus wait¡ª,¡± I call after him as he storms out of the room.

    Oh no.

    What was he going to do?From N?velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 20

    Chapter 20

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 20

    ~ATTICUS~

    I¡¯ve never been this angry with Anya before. I¡¯ve never known her to be like this. She¡¯s had her

    stubbornness in the past, but I always thought she was better than this. Why would she hit Autumn?

    How was Autumn to me for any of this? And to do this on her engagement night of all nights was

    something I would never expect from her. I knew that she was having a hard timeing to terms with

    this marriage, but that didn¡¯t give her the right to mistreat Autumn, who has been nothing but good to

    her. Everything felt like it was changing all too quickly. Things shouldn¡¯t be like this between Autumn

    and Anya.

    I walk out into the ballroom and search the crowds like a hawk. She had some serious exining to do.

    I wouldn¡¯t rest until I found her and heard what she had to say.

    When I do spot her, she¡¯s surrounded by my brothers. I knew that I had to choose my words wisely

    around them. Whether Anya was wrong or not, my brothers always took her side. I was the same way

    in the past, but this time I couldn¡¯t defend her. She was wrong for what she¡¯d done.

    I push through the crowd, ignoring the girls screaming my name to try and get my attention. I¡¯d gotten

    ustomed to all the attention by now. Half of the girls here didn¡¯te to see me get engaged; they

    came specifically to see me.

    Anya¡¯s eyes are wide when she sees meing her way. Damon tensed when he spotted me. He can

    sense the anger, no doubt. His first instinct would be to protect Anya. I remember when that used to be

    my first instinct as well. It feels weird approaching her for something other than affection.

    Dante holds up his hand and warns me not to step any closer. Just like I expected, they¡¯re ready to

    throw fists for her.

    My jaw clenches, ¡°why did you hit her?¡± I ask, my voice is soft, but there is no hiding the rage within.

    A few seconds pass before she gives a reaction.

    She narrows her eyes and pouts her lips, ¡°How can you ask me that?¡± She demands. ¡°Is she all that

    you care about now? I¡¯m sure she told you her side of the story, but what about mine? She wasn¡¯t

    exactly nice to me either, Atticus. I did what I had to defend myself.¡±

    ¡°People are staring,¡± rissa says as she joins us. ¡°Maybe we should talk about this somewhere

    private.¡±

    I knew that the right thing to do was to listen to rissa, but I was too angry to act logically. I knew I

    would regret it when I calmed down, but I would deal with the consequences after I got the answers I

    was looking for.

    ¡°Since when do you behave this way?¡± I hiss. ¡°What you did to her is not okay, Anya; it was very wrong

    and so unlike you. You should apologize to Autumn, and you should do it immediately.¡±

    Sheughs, ¡°it¡¯s funny how I¡¯m always in the wrong in your eyes when in the past I¡¯ve always been

    right. You are changing, and it¡¯s not a good look for you. And why should I apologize to her when I was

    only defending myself?¡±

    ¡°You know that¡¯s not true; you¡¯re not always wrong in my eyes,¡± I growl. ¡°Your actions recently are so

    out of character. First, you hit Autumn on her engagement night, and then you try to kiss me. And now I

    have to wonder if you were the one who had someone set that camera up. How else did they know

    exactly where to find us?¡±

    Anya covers her mouth with her hand and stares at me with a look of betrayal on her face. Dead

    silence follows as she tries to recover from what I¡¯d just said to her.

    Was I too harsh? The look on her face told me that I was. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have used her of

    something so horrible without having the proper evidence. She¡¯s still my mate; when she hurts, I hurt

    as well.

    When the first tear leaves her eyes, I feel a piercing pain in my chest.

    ¡°You¡¯ve never used me of something like this before, not in all those years I¡¯ve known you. You¡¯ve

    never not trusted me before. You¡¯ve never questioned my character. I feel like I don¡¯t even know you

    anymore. Is this how you treat the woman that has loved you for so many years? And so what if I tried

    to kiss you? It might be easy for you to drop me Atticus but it¡¯s anything but easy for me. If you¡¯d just

    heard what I had to say before jumping to assumptions and listening to everyone else but me, you

    would have realized how wrong you are to say those things to me.¡±

    ¡°Anya¡ª,¡±

    She holds up her hand to stop me. ¡°I will never forgive you for speaking to me like this in front of so

    many people. I wasn¡¯t the one that hit your fianc¨¦e first. She started it. Maybe she conveniently left that

    part out, but you, out of all persons, should have known the type of person I am.¡±

    It¡¯s then that I notice the red bruise on her arm. Was this true? Did Autumn hit her first? Was Anya only

    defending herself all this time? Had she been the victim?

    If that were the case, I¡¯d made a terrible mistake. I¡¯ve known Anya longer than I¡¯ve known Autumn;

    we¡¯ve shared so many personal things between us. I¡¯ve never doubted her before. How could I turn on

    her when she needed me the most?

    I watch with a heavy heart as she turns and storms out of our home. Dante runs after her, but I know

    under these circumstances, I will have to watch her leave without doing anything. I¡¯d already done

    plenty of damage for the day. I had to watch my actions, at least for the rest of tonight.

    ¡°Congrattions.¡± Damon hissed. ¡°After everything she¡¯s been through, you¡¯ve made it a hundred

    times worse for her. I hope you feel good about yourself now, brother.¡±

    ¡°Do you believe that lie?¡± rissa demands from us. She seems to be the angriest amongst us. That¡¯s

    expected since Anya isn¡¯t her favorite person in the world. ¡°Autumn is one of the sweetest girls I¡¯ve

    ever met. And she loves Anya. She will never hurt her. Not in the way Anya wants you to believe. Do

    you really think Autumn would have tried to hurt her physically? She already feels guilty about the

    entire thing.¡±

    ¡°rissa,¡± Damon growls. ¡°Why do you always have the worst things to say about Anya?¡±

    rissa folds her arms stubbornly, ¡°am I the only one? Isn¡¯t it clear that she doesn¡¯t like me either?

    You¡¯re always so blind when ites to her, Damon; it makes me sick. For once, I wish you would

    wake up and see her for who she is!¡±

    Before Damon can say anything, rissa is the next one that storms out. It¡¯s just the two of us now.

    And I think we both have plenty on our minds. Damon always listened to rissa; the only time he

    didn¡¯t was when it concerned Anya. I don¡¯t think this time would be any different.

    But what about me? Who would I listen to? Who could I trust? I was confused and conflicted about

    what to do.

    If Autumn did lie to me, that would make things worse between us. Our rtionship would feel strained.

    I wouldn¡¯t be able to trust her anymore.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    And maybe that¡¯s a good thing. I was getting too involved in her life way too quickly. I had to take a step

    back and give myself time to adjust to everything.

    That meant I had to keep my distance from Autumn, at least until the wedding. I would have to keep

    her away from me as much as possible.

 Chapter 21

    Chapter 21

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 21

    ~AUTUMN~

    I haven¡¯t seen Atticus since the engagement night. I¡¯ve tried to contact him multiple times, I just wanted

    to see him at least once, but for some reason, he¡¯spletely cut me off. It¡¯s like he¡¯s changed

    overnight; he no longer wants to spend time with me. It¡¯s not like he wanted to in the past, but he had

    never avoided me like this before. It almost feels like he hates the sight of me. Why else would he

    avoid me so much? His sister and parents made up excuses, but I knew he was the one that was

    refusing to see me. It hurt. I thought we were finally getting somewhere. I was finally getting the chance

    to be closer to him, and all of that had changed in one night.

    It all happened that night he went looking for Anya. The night he¡¯d learned that she¡¯d pped me. What

    could have caused this sudden change? Did she tell him something?

    I¡¯d seen videos of them in a heated argument, but I didn¡¯t know what the argument was about. I

    couldn¡¯t hear it, not with the amount of noise the other guests were making that night. But Anya had left

    crying, and I have to wonder if he felt guilty. Maybe he was doing it for her. He didn¡¯t want to hurt her

    anymore, and the more time we spent together, the more she would shatter.

    But did this mean that he was seeing her during the time that he was avoiding me? I didn¡¯t want to think

    like that, but I couldn¡¯t precisely dismiss this thought either.

    There haven¡¯t been any recent videos of them circting, which was the only thing that kept me calm

    during this time.

    All of that was about to change, however. Today was our wedding day. Staying calm was not an option.

    I would finally be seeing him after dreaming of him every night.

    I would be standing in front of so many people as we made vows and made our joining official.

    Everything was finally sinking in, and I was beginning to panic. After today, I will be living with Atticus

    and his family. This was myst day at home.

    I would have a new home.

    I ce a hand over my chest as I try to remind myself how to breathe. This would have been perfect if

    Atticus had been in love with me. But he wasn¡¯t. He was still in love with Anya.

    ¡°Miss Rivera.¡± L, our family¡¯s hairdresser, says. ¡°Everything is now finished. You look absolutely

    beautiful. The most beautiful bride I¡¯ve ever had the honor of dressing.¡±

    I take a deep breath as they pull a long mirror in front of me. I¡¯m too stunned to speak. I can barely

    recognize myself.

    Thecey white dress was abination of ssy and sexy all in one.

    ¡°Atticus will be unable to look away from you today.¡± She assured me. ¡°You¡¯ll be the center of

    everyone¡¯s attention. I¡¯m so happy for you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much, L.¡± I thank her as I try to stop the tears. ¡°You¡¯ve been like a sister to me all of

    these years. We¡¯re truly blessed to have you in our lives.¡±

    ¡°Leave something to say to your actual sister,¡± ina says as she walks in.

    I smile and hug her, ¡°You know I love you. I can¡¯t imagine waking up and not seeing you or Hayes

    every morning. Not having you two annoying me surely will be missed.¡±

    I knew that today would change my life forever. Whether Atticus or Anya liked it, we will be married

    after today. We will be husband and wife. After today I will be Mrs. Autumn Fawn. Just the thought of it

    sends shivers down my spine.

    . . . . . . . . . .

    ~ATTICUS~

    My eyes are on the mirror before me as I straighten my tie. I never once thought that I would be

    marrying Autumn Rivera.

    These past few days have been harder than I thought they would have been. Ignoring her hasn¡¯t

    exactly been easy. I thought it wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but my body had other ideas. It wanted to see

    her. Almost like it craved being next to the woman that was not our mate. It was absurd how weirdly my

    body has been acting around hertely. It¡¯s almost like it didn¡¯t know how to feel around her. That was

    one of the other reasons I chose to ignore her.

    However, I couldn¡¯t ignore her after today. We would be sharing a room. It would be almost impossible

    to pretend like she didn¡¯t exist. These were myst moments without her constantly by my side. I didn¡¯t

    want to admit it but I was petrified over sharing a room with her. I still tasted her in my mouth since the

    last time she was in my room.

    I knew I must have hurt her feelings while trying to avoid her, but I needed to do it. After the

    engagement and not knowing if she¡¯d hit Anya first, I needed some time alone. Away from the both of

    them. Even now, I didn¡¯t know who to believe.

    I didn¡¯t know Autumn well enough to trust her blindly. On the other hand, even though I knew Anya well,

    I knew she wasn¡¯t herselftely.

    It urred to me that I could confront Autumn, but I knew that she would deny it. There was no way for

    me to find out the truth. At least not anytime soon.

    The door opens suddenly, and Damon walks in.

    ¡°Are you ready for your big day, bro?¡± He asked me as he lightly shoved my shoulder.

    ¡°No,¡± I answer honestly.

    Damon sighs, ¡°I guess what I have to tell you isn¡¯t going to make anything easier.¡±

    His words spark my interest, and I turn to look at him, ¡°and what is that?¡±

    I¡¯m worried that it has something to do with Autumn.

    ¡°Anya wants to see you before the ceremony starts.¡±

    Ah¡ªf**k.

    I run a hand down my face, ¡°you know what happened on my engagement night? I don¡¯t want a repeat

    of it. I¡¯m still hearing about it from father till this day.¡±

    Not to mention the many articles published daily about that dreadful night.

    ¡°You owe her this much, Atticus.¡± He pleads with me. ¡°She loves you, and we all know you still love her.

    You will never forgive yourself if you don¡¯t see her and hear what she has to say. Things wouldn¡¯t be

    the same after you be a married man. You know that just as well as I do.¡±

    I knew he was right, and I always hated when that happened.

    ¡°Where is she?¡± I ask.

    ¡°She said to meet her in the spa room in five minutes. She will be waiting by the door. I¡¯ll make sure no

    one is around to take pictures. It¡¯s the least I can do for asking you to do something like this on your

    wedding day.¡±

    I nod and follow him towards the spa room. Every step towards it feels like a mistake. I know how

    quickly things could get out of control, especially after what happened a few days ago. And my life was

    always like that; scandals loved following me around. But it¡¯s something that you couldn¡¯t avoid when

    your family was as famous as mine. There was no running from it; you just had to be extra careful all

    the time.

    My body tenses when I see Anya in a white dress, even I understood that only the bride should be

    wearing a white dress, and the one that Anya wore could be easily mistaken for a wedding dress.

    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    I push that thought out of my head as she guides us into the room. Damon remained outside to keep

    an eye out for anyone taking pictures or videos just like he promised he would.

    The moment we¡¯re left alone, Anya¡¯s eyes are filled with tears. I swallow. I hate to see her cry. And so

    far, I¡¯ve been making her cry for weeks.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t cry,¡± I whisper.

    ¡°How can I not cry, Atticus?¡±

    ¡°I tried every way possible to get out of this wedding,¡± I tell her. ¡°There is nothing else that I can do to

    stop it. It¡¯s toote now. There are too many people here today to walk out. You know that just as much

    as I do. If I walk out today, my parents will lose faith in me. I can¡¯t do that to my family. We¡¯ve worked

    too hard to get to this point.¡±

    ¡°I understand that!¡± She hissed. ¡°But you¡¯re my mate! And you¡¯re marrying my best friend. I can¡¯t

    believe she didn¡¯t think once to try and stop this wedding. How can I see the people I love so much get

    married? I¡¯m hurting. You¡¯re supposed to keep me happy. You promised me that. If it was Damon or

    Dante, I¡¯m sure they would have found a way to get out of this wedding for me. But you¡¯re not trying

    hard enough.¡±

    ¡°Why would you bring up my brothers?¡± I growl. ¡°You already know how hard it¡¯s been for me to share

    you with them. It kills me every day to know that you belong to them just as much as you belong to me.

    I know you¡¯re hurting, but you don¡¯t have to throw salt on my wounds.¡±

    ¡°Just answer me one thing.¡± She tells me.

    ¡°What is that?¡± I whisper. I hate seeing her like this. I hate doing this to her. But I also hate how much

    I¡¯m worried about Autumn seeing us together once more on another important day. She¡¯d had her

    engagement night spoiled already; I didn¡¯t want to destroy this day for her as well.

    ¡°Is this the end for us?¡± She cries. ¡°Will you forget about me after you marry her? I don¡¯t want to lose

    you. I love you, Atticus. I don¡¯t want Autumn to know you the way that I do. I don¡¯t want you to touch

    her. I don¡¯t want you to care for her. I don¡¯t want you to even look at her the way you look at me.¡±

    I am quiet. How could I promise her this when I¡¯d already tasted Autumn and loved it more than I

    should? I f*****g dreamt of her mouth every night.

    ¡°These are promises that I can¡¯t make you, Anya.¡± I finally say. ¡°Autumn will be my wife from today. At

    the same time, I could never love her as I love you. I can¡¯t mistreat her, either. You will alwayse

    first, you know that. I¡¯m not sure what will happen after today, but I promise I will never look at her the

    way I look at you. We are mates; I can¡¯t look at another woman like I do you. But right now, sweetheart,

    I can¡¯t tell you I won¡¯t care for her. After today, I have responsibilities toward her, and I won¡¯t be able to

    ignore all of them. If you want me not to touch her, you know that certain traditions will require me to

    touch her; I can promise not to take her to bed, to not sleep with her. That¡¯s the most I can do for you,

    my mate. I¡¯m sorry for failing you like this. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    Anya¡¯s tears are flowing more now. ¡°Why have you always been the perfect one? Why did I have to

    lose you? Why did it have to be you?¡±

    The door flew open and I¡¯m in shock when I see a beautiful wedding dress at first. But even more

    beautiful than the dress stood my wife to be. She looked breathtaking. I could barely keep my eyes off

    her.

    But this wasn¡¯t how I wanted her to see me on her wedding day; alone in a room with Anya. I¡¯d

    managed to f**k this up again, haven¡¯t I?

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be surprised, should I?¡± Autumn asks. Her voice is calm, but her hands are shaking. I didn¡¯t

    like seeing it, in fact, I wanted to reach forward and take them in my hands, to make it better.

    ¡°Autumn,¡± Anya whispers. ¡°You know that I love him. Can¡¯t you stop this wedding? He is my mate. You

    know more than anyone else what my feelings are for him. I can¡¯t just ignore him after this wedding and

    pretend like there was never anything between us. And you know he loves only me. He will always only

    love me. Do you get that? You can never be happy with a man that loves another woman. Especially

    not when that woman is your best friend.¡±

    I¡¯m taken aback by her words. This wasn¡¯t the best time to say those things to her.

    Autumn is silent for a few minutes before saying, ¡°Is that what you want? For me to find a way to

    destroy this wedding and destroy the rtionship between our families? Should I tell my father what the

    two of you are doing less than an hour before the wedding? Would that be something both of you

    would like me to do?¡±

    I didn¡¯t think that a few words would strike my body this hard. I didn¡¯t want her to stop this wedding. It

    was thest thing I wanted to happen but I can see why she would think otherwise since I¡¯ve been

    avoiding her ever since our engagement night. She must think that I¡¯m having second thoughts or cold

    feet.

    ¡°Anya,¡± I say as I turn to her. ¡°Can you please leave us alone?¡±

    She tries to protest, but I stop her in time, ¡°please, Anya. I need to speak to Autumn alone.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t deal with the both of them at the same time. And it was more important for me to speak to

    Autumn than Anya right now. She was the one that I needed to give an exnation to.

    I watch as my mate storms out, mming the door behind her. Damon would have to care for her now,

    I¡¯m sure he was still outside waiting.

    ¡°It¡¯s bad luck to see the bride in her wedding dress before the ceremony.¡± I finally say when we are left

    alone.

    Autumn doesn¡¯t seem to be amused by my words. She¡¯s very upset, I can tell. I should beforting

    her but all I want to do is tell her how beautiful she looks in that wedding dress. I didn¡¯t think I would

    love seeing a woman in a wedding dress as much as I enjoyed seeing Autumn in one. It¡¯s like it was

    made for her which probably was the case but everything about it suited her well.

    ¡°What are we doing, Atticus?¡± She asks. ¡°You don¡¯t love me. You love my best friend. She loves you

    along with your two brothers. This marriage will be a burden on both of you.¡±

    Along with my two brothers? Yes, that¡¯s what¡¯s always been wrong with our rtionship. Knowing that

    she also loved Damon and Dante, not just me. But this wasn¡¯t about Anya anymore. This was about

    Autumn and me.

    ¡°And it won¡¯t be a burden on you?¡± I demand from her.

    She is quiet, too quiet for my liking. I thought that would have been an easy question for her to answer.

    I¡¯m not the only one being forced into this. But I¡¯m not exactly being forced, am I? Anya was right; I

    didn¡¯t try hard enough to get out of this marriage.

    ¡°I asked you a question. Do you want me to cause a scene? Do you want me to find a way to stop this

    wedding? This is yourst chance.¡± She shouts.

    It¡¯s unlike Autumn to get this loud. I¡¯d seeded in making this day miserable for her.

    Good job, Atticus.

    I take a step closer to her; her soft gasp does something to me, something that I¡¯m unwilling to

    acknowledge. And suddenly I want to kiss her, not just kiss her, I want to ravish her mouth. I don¡¯t do

    either of those things however. ¡°Our worlds don¡¯t revolve around us. We don¡¯t do things for our benefit.

    Our families didn¡¯t get to where they are today by making rash decisions. Every move is well calcted

    and executed in a way that would benefit us. I will not ask you to turn against your family for me. Anya

    asked you to do it, but she isn¡¯t thinking straight. This wedding will happen today whether we like it or

    not because this is the right thing to do for our families. And us Fawns always put family first above

    everything else. Nothing will ever change that. And I think it¡¯s the same for you. Is it not?¡±

    She is quiet and I know what her answer is without her saying it.

    ¡°Are there any other questions you would like to ask me before we get married, Autumn?¡± I ask. I

    wanted to ensure that she was okay with this before I walked out of the room. I did not want to force

    her into it like our families were trying to do with us.

    She slowly shook her head.

    I ignore the feeling of relief that washes over me from her response as I walk out of the room leaving

    her behind. I had to get out of there quickly before I gave into my desires. I didn¡¯t want to believe that I

    wanted this wedding to happen so badly. What was so wrong with admitting that however? It was clear

    to me that I wanted to fulfill my grandmother¡¯s wish. That was all. It¡¯s not like I wanted to marry Autumn.

    This was all about making my grandmother happy, wherever she was in this world, I wanted her to look

    down on us and see that I was still her grandson, I was still trying my best to put a smile on her face.

    Today, it was all for her. No one else.

 Chapter 22

    Chapter 22

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 22

    ~AUTUMN~

    I wasn¡¯t sure that I was doing the right thing. Can I genuinely marry Atticus when everything Anya had

    said to me was true? We can never be happy if he didn¡¯t love me. We can never have a sessful

    married life if he was still in love with Anya. But my stupid heart didn¡¯t care about that. All it wanted was

    a chance to be loved by Atticus. And it didn¡¯t mind the pain of being married to him while he was in love

    with someone else as long as it meant it could spend time with him.

    What was I doing to myself? Was it truly worth the pain?

    I lean against the door and drop myself onto the ground. I know I shouldn¡¯t be doing this in my wedding

    dress, but these past few days have been overwhelmingly hard. But I was responsible for all of it. I

    could have easily told Atticus I didn¡¯t want to marry him to protect my heart, but I chose to do the

    complete opposite.

    ¡°Why did it have to be you, Atticus?¡± I cry. ¡°Why did it have to be you?¡±

    Why did I have to love him out of every other avable man on earth? I couldn¡¯t recall how often I¡¯ve

    drowned myself in guilt for loving Atticus while he was dating Anya. I felt like something was wrong with

    me. And I had good reason to think that way. How could I have fallen for my best friend¡¯s mate? And it

    was pretty clear that I didn¡¯t hide it well enough if Anya had known about it all along.

    I had to regain control over my emotions. I couldn¡¯t let it rule me, especially not today.

    I slowly lifted my head, and it was only then that I saw something that made my entire body go

    completely still. I was frozen. This whole time, we weren¡¯t alone in the room. Two women were hiding

    inside here, and I wonder if they were responsible for the video posted on my engagement night.

    Did they also get everything on tape that happened between Atticus and me a few minutes ago? That

    was not good. It would ruin everything. I couldn¡¯t let them ruin this wedding.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t scream!¡± One of the girls exims.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t as bad as it looks,¡± the other woman tried to assure me. ¡°I got a glimpse of the spa and

    wanted a better look at it. Then Atticus and Anya barged in, and we didn¡¯t know what to do, so we hid

    since we weren¡¯t supposed to be inside. We promise we were only looking for the bathroom, and then

    all of this happened. We got stuck in here.¡±

    Her exnation has managed to calm the pounding in my chest. I didn¡¯t think that they were lying.

    There also weren¡¯t any signs of cameras on them. They had to be telling the truth.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to see me like this before the wedding.¡± I apologize. ¡°This must not be a very good

    first impression.¡±

    They just saw me having a mini breakdown. Not only did they see that, but they also saw the exchange

    between Atticus and me. They would have also seen and heard the entire conversation between

    Atticus and Anya. Should I ask them what they spoke about? A part of me knew that I should just let it

    go even though the other half was screaming for me to ask them.

    I eventually decided that I didn¡¯t know these women well enough to ask.

    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± The woman with long ck hair asks. ¡°Look at the both of us. We aren¡¯t exactly

    giving off the best first impression either. I¡¯m Gabrie, by the way.¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you, Gabrie. I assume you know I¡¯m Autumn by now.¡±

    ¡°We know,¡± the other woman says. ¡°I don¡¯t have a name to give you; that¡¯s a long story on its own. But

    it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Autumn.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t have a name to give me. That seemed a little strange, but I didn¡¯t have time to ask her

    more about her situation.

    ¡°I would love to stay and chat, but I have a wedding to return to. There isn¡¯t going to be a wedding if the

    bride is missing.¡± I exin. I knew they would understand. A bride shouldn¡¯t be locked in a spa room a

    few minutes before her wedding ceremony starts.

    The woman without a name smiles warmly, ¡°we understand. We will be cheering for you in the crowd.¡±

    I returned her smile and clutched my wedding dress closer as I rushed out of there. I ran into my

    mother on the way, and she looked pissed. She must have been looking everywhere for me; it¡¯s

    possible she even panicked and thought that I¡¯d run off before the wedding could begin. How epic

    would that have been if I¡¯d done that? If the groom was any other man, then I may have done just that.

    Since it was Atticus, I was staying; I wasn¡¯t going anywhere.

    ¡°Where on earth have you been, Autumn?¡± She scolds me. ¡°I had everyone looking everywhere for

    you. We were all thinking the worst!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, mother.¡± I apologize. ¡°Something came up, but I¡¯m here now.¡±

    ¡°You look beautiful.¡± She whispers suddenly as she pulls me in for a hug. ¡°I know you may partly hate

    us for forcing this marriage onto you. I hope you know that I love you even if I may not always show it. I

    know what¡¯s best for you, Autumn, and marrying into a sessful and powerful family such as the

    Fawns is the best decision you¡¯ll ever make.¡±

    ¡°I love you too, mom,¡± I tell her. ¡°I¡¯m going to miss you plenty.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t need to miss us. We will visit so much that you¡¯ll get tired of us.¡± She teases me. ¡°Now, let¡¯s

    get you ready. The crowd is growing restless, and so is Atticus. He looked uneasy thest time I saw

    him.¡±

    I nod and follow her to the entrance of the area the wedding was being held. My father hugs me before

    he links our arms together. This was it. The music that signaled my entrance was ying in the

    background. There was no escaping now. It was finally here.

    My father begins to move first, and I have no other choice but to start moving as well. There are a few

    gasps of awe as I step into the spotlight. All eyes were on me, I felt nervous under all of the stares, but

    all that changed when I looked down the aisle and saw Atticus waiting for me.

    My lips parted at the darkness in his eyes, I could be wrong, but it felt like it was dark with desire. I had

    to be incorrect. Atticus would never look at me with raw passion like this. The bright lights above us

    must have been messing with my eyesight.

    From N?velDrama.Org.

    My father confidently gives my hand to Atticus, and the moment his hand closes over mine, I know; I

    just know that I¡¯m making the right decision by marrying him. There is no other man worthy of marrying

    me. No other man made me feel like this.

    Everyone gets extremely quiet as the ceremony officially begins. I should be paying attention to

    everything being said, but my heart and mind have managed to shut everything out except Atticus.

    Our eyes are locked, and neither one of us is looking away. I¡¯m happy that we both discussed this

    wedding more than once. It¡¯s relieving to know that we both agreed on it taking ce. Neither of us was

    forced to do this. We may have agreed for different reasons, but that wasn¡¯t important, at least for now.

    ¡°I do,¡± Atticus says suddenly, and it takes me a moment to realize that they are waiting for a response

    from me. I wasn¡¯t even aware that we had already reached so far into the ceremony.

    ¡°Do you, Autumn Rivera take this man to be yourwfully wedded husband, to live together in holy

    matrimony, to love him, to honor him, tofort him, and to keep him in sickness and in health,

    forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?¡±

    They¡¯ve repeated the question for my sake.

    Someone clears their throat, and that¡¯s my cue to speak up.

    ¡°I do,¡± I say as confidently as Atticus had done.

    ¡°I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.¡±

    I try not to panic from those words. I was still tingling within from ourst kiss. I didn¡¯t feelfortable

    kissing him in front of so many people.

    Atticus moves forward, and I slowly follow him, we are close enough to touch our lips together, and he

    is the one that closes the distance between us. Sparks fly immediately after our lips touch, but it

    doesn¡¯tst long.

    ¡°Anya!¡± Someone shouts, and it forces Atticus and me to pull apart.

    I looked around me as I tried to find out what was happening. Damon and Dante are rushing forward to

    someone. And I can easily spot her, the only other woman in a white dress.

    Anya.

    She¡¯d just fainted.

 Chapter 23

    Chapter 23

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 23

    ~AUTUMN~

    Atticus pushes past me and rushes to get to Anya. I¡¯ve never seen him panic like this before. He¡¯s in a

    hurry to get to her, and everyone here knows it. He drops to the ground beside her, shouting her name

    as his brothers had done just a few seconds ago. She doesn¡¯t move, prompting him to move her from

    the ground. I turn away when he picks her up into his arms and holds her close to his chest. The crowd

    has gotten loud once more; it¡¯s like a rey of what happened on my engagement night. Only this time,

    it¡¯s much worse. People already thought they were cheating behind my back; this would only fuel the

    rumors. It was only going to get worse from now on.

    Anya had managed to make both of what was supposed to be my special nights, all about her. I wasn¡¯t

    sure if today was intentional, however.

    They were still mates; it must have shocked her when we kissed in front of her. But it was also possible

    that she only acted to get Atticus¡¯s attention. After all, she came to my wedding in white, wearing

    something that could pass for a wedding dress.

    I¡¯ve attended multiple weddings in the past, and I¡¯ve never seen anyone do something so petty.

    I took a deep breath and faked a smile as guests came forward to congratte me. I had to remember

    that Anya and Atticus were connected, no matter how much that bothered me. They will always feel

    pain when the other is hurt. That was the kind of connection you couldn¡¯t just ignore.

    I have to wonder what would happen if I ever found my mate. I couldn¡¯t imagine loving anyone more

    than I loved Atticus, my husband. It felt weird just thinking about it; I couldn¡¯t imagine having to

    introduce him as my husband to strangers.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about her.¡± rissa apologized as she joined my side. ¡°I don¡¯t know why everyone always

    rushes to her aid when it¡¯s clear she doesn¡¯t deserve their attention.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I assure her. ¡°They are mates, after all. It¡¯s hard to fight their feelings. I don¡¯t want to hold it

    against either one of them.¡±

    rissa sighs, ¡°you¡¯re too nice, Autumn. Too nice. People are going to hurt you if you keep being that

    way.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t the first person to say this to me. I¡¯ve been this way my entire life; it was hard to imagine

    myself any other way.

    I¡¯m reminded suddenly of the tattoo of Damon¡¯s name I¡¯d seen on her. She didn¡¯t like Anya, and while

    she must have her reasons, I think her primary reason was because of Damon.

    So then, was it true? Had I seen a tattoo of his name on her butt? If that was the case, I felt sorry for

    her. She wasn¡¯t the only person who liked someone in love with someone else. It just so happened that

    both men we wanted were involved with the same woman.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy Atticus married you.¡± She confesses. ¡°Anya was making him unhappy, and I don¡¯t think he

    even realizes it. You are different from her. You can make him happy if he just opened his heart to you.¡±

    Hearing rissa say that to me thoroughly warmed my heart. If Atticus didn¡¯t like me, I was at least

    lucky that most of his family did. They were all kind to me from the beginning. All except Damon and

    Dante, who barely spoke to me, but I understood why.

    Anya must have warned them, or maybe they decided on their own to keep their distance because of

    her. To them, I would be the reason why she was always sad recently.

    ¡°Thank you for weing me into your family. I¡¯m also happy that I married into a family like yours.

    You¡¯re all so kind to me.¡± I thank her.

    Things could have been much worse. My parents could have married me to a family that hated my

    guts. I had to keep taking a positive look at my life now.

    ¡°Your dance with Atticus is up next.¡± My mom informs me.

    We didn¡¯t practice for it, not even once. I hope I didn¡¯t make a fool out of myself. Though from all the

    things posted about me in the past few days, would that be the worst thing to happen to me?

    Embarrassing myself while dancing was the least of my problems.

    I¡¯m not even sure where Atticus is at this point. All I know is that he¡¯s with Anya. On our wedding day,

    my husband is too busy taking care of his ex-girlfriend to show up for our dance together. And there

    was nothing I could do about it.

    I¡¯ve imagined what my wedding would be like to Atticus many times in the past. Not once did I picture it

    to be like this. In my delusional mind, I imagined it to be a small wedding by the beach with only the

    closest people from our lives attending; we would be deeply in love with a bright future ahead of us. At

    that time, I didn¡¯t think once there was a chance that we would ever be married in this life; I¡¯d gotten my

    wish but not in the way I¡¯d always dreamed of it to be.

    ¡°Why is Atticus taking so long?¡± His mother questions. ¡°Sometimes I swear he does things intentionally

    to give reporters plenty to write about our family.¡±

    It wouldn¡¯t be the Fawns if there weren¡¯t a weekly scandal. There was always something new and

    exciting happening around them. It just so happened that this time it included me.

    ¡°It¡¯s what makes us so popr, mom,¡± Griffin says as he joins us. ¡°In the meantime, why don¡¯t I get a

    dance with my beautiful sister-inw?¡±

    ¡°That will not be necessary,¡± Atticus says as he finally returns.

    ¡°Get her to the dance floor and put a smile on your face.¡± His father grits out. I can tell that Atticus was

    going to get an earful tonight.

    Atticus takes my hand in his, and his warmth immediately spreads throughout my body.

    The lights are suddenly dimmed, and a slow, romantic song begins to y in the background. I¡¯m

    avoiding looking into Atticus¡¯s eyes; I know I¡¯ll melt the second I do. And I don¡¯t want to do that, not

    after he left me waiting while he took care of Anya. He didn¡¯t have to rush to her side. His brothers

    could have taken care of her just as well. So why did he do that on our wedding day?

    I¡¯m surprised at my thoughts. I¡¯m usually more understanding than this. I¡¯ve never let my anger get the

    better of me. What was happening?

    My eyes fall on our parents, ¡°they¡¯re telling us to move closer to each other.¡± Atticus says as he follows

    my gaze.

    Closer? If we got any closer, I would lose all control and do something stupid like try and kiss him.

    ¡°Are you okay with that?¡± He asks as one of his hands slides up my back.

    I can barely hear what he¡¯s asking me with the loud pounding in my chest.

    I slowly nod even though my mind screams for me to say no.

    ¡°Autumn.¡± The concern in his voice forced me to look at him. Our bodies are much closer now, and his

    body heat is making my body do weird things.

    He looks troubled, ¡°today must not have gone how you expected it to. It was never my intention to

    make today worse than our engagement night. I¡¯m sorry for everything. I¡¯m not trying to hurt you. But

    when it concerns Anya, I act without thinking. I know it¡¯s probably thest thing a wife wants to hear,

    but I can¡¯t control it. Whenever she¡¯s in pain, I¡¯m in more. I¡¯m trying my best to stop it, but so far, I¡¯m

    failing.¡±

    My heart feels like he¡¯d just punched it. Hearing him say how much she affected him was even harder

    than seeing it happen in front of me. But I can¡¯t me him for it. He¡¯s helpless, just like I am. She has

    his heart, and he has mine. I understood what he felt because I felt it too.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin yourself to me. I understand what you¡¯re going through. I would be just as

    helpless if the man I loved was in pain.¡± I confess.

    His head snaps up at my words, ¡°the man you love?¡±

    Oh no. What the hell was wrong with me? Why would I say that to him? I wasn¡¯t thinking right.

    ¡°Autumn,¡± he says in a strained voice, a tone I¡¯ve never heard him use before. ¡°Is there a man that

    you¡¯re in love with? Why didn¡¯t you say something before we got married? Why wait until now to tell

    me?¡±

    I bite my lip as I try to search my stupid brain for an answer. I knew something like this would have

    happened when he brought our bodies closer together. It made me do dumb things, and this was an

    excellent example of that.

    ¡°No,¡± I finally say. ¡°I¡¯m not in love with anyone. I was trying to exin that I would act the same way if I

    had someone I was in love with. That¡¯s all. I¡¯m sorry for any confusion.¡±

    It was the biggest lie I¡¯ve ever told.

    Atticus doesn¡¯t look entirely convinced, but he does seem to loosen up a little bit.

    ¡°Thank you for being so understanding.¡± He says after a few minutes of deep thought.

    I nodded, but my heart was still in pain from his earlier words. It¡¯s always been like this; I¡¯ve always had

    to suffer because of how much I loved him, seeing the man you love be so deeply in love with another

    woman was excruciating. Knowing that woman was willing to destroy your marriage to get him didn¡¯t

    help either. Atticus could give in to her one day, and then I¡¯ll be left with an even bigger broken heart

    than this.

    There were many times I tried pretending like I didn¡¯t care about him, many times when I tried to forget

    about my feelings. It only came back stronger. Now that I was spending so much time with him and

    having conversations, it became harder to ignore what I felt.

    Atticus¡¯s body suddenly tenses next to mine; it¡¯s only then that I notice Anya joining the dance floor with

    Damon. Shouldn¡¯t she be resting if she¡¯d just fainted? Where is she getting the strength to dance?

    Anytime Atticus showed any attention to me, Anya always showed up out of nowhere. She wasn¡¯t

    backing down. She was fighting for him even though he was now a married man. I didn¡¯t think that she

    would ever let him go.

    Atticus loosens his hold on me, and before the song can even finish, he pulls me out of the dance floor

    with him.

    ¡°I just need a moment to clear my head.¡± He apologizes as he disappears once more.

    I look at Anya and am surprised when she looks at me as though she¡¯d just won.

    Won what exactly? Was this a game on who could get a reaction out of Atticus?

    ¡°You did well out there.¡± My mother congratted me. ¡°The videographer must have gotten some good

    footage of the dance. If only that girl didn¡¯te in and spoil the ending for everyone. She has no

    shame.¡±

    Anya was still on the dance floor with Damon, and people from the crowd were also joining in with their

    partners. I was d the attention was away from me, at least for now.

    ¡°We are getting the yacht ready,¡± Dante informs us. ¡°I have the names of all the guests going to the

    ind with us. If any guests are not in here, add them in now.¡±

    They were continuing the ceremony in one of the Fawns¡¯ many private inds. I knew this part of the

    ceremony was meant to be more intimate than the wedding. Only a selected few were invited.

    Anya joins us suddenly with Damon by her side, ¡°congrattions on marrying my mate.¡± She tells me.

    There is no hiding the sarcasm in her voice.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I responded, even though I knew she wasn¡¯t trying to be kind.

    ¡°And will you be joining us on the yacht?¡± rissa asks. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if Damon told you, but there is

    minimal space. You may not be able toe with us.¡±

    ¡°rissa,¡± Damon growls in a warning.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about me; my name is already on the list. My mate made sure that it was there.¡± She

    looks at me while speaking, and it makes me wonder if she was implying that Atticus was the one that

    ced her name on the list.

    ¡°Well, good for you,¡± rissa says with a fake smile. ¡°Autumn, you¡¯re a part of our family now; you

    don¡¯t even need to be on the list.¡±

    I smile and hug her, ¡°we should have been good friends a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°Betterte than never.¡± She grins. ¡°And I can assure you that I will be a good friend, unlike certain

    people I¡¯m forced to be around.¡±

    Anya stares at her nails, pretending she isn¡¯t listening to her, ¡°has anyone seen Atticus?¡± She asks

    suddenly.

    No one answers, and she looks around us, ¡°should I go look for him? Maybe he needs me. This

    marriage has not been easy on him.¡±

    ¡°Autumn can do that.¡± rissa intervenes. ¡°She¡¯s his wife.¡±

    Anya sighs, ¡°and she¡¯s the reason he¡¯s already depressed. Sending her to look for him won¡¯t make this

    easier on him. She will only make things worse. I know him more than anyone else. He needs me.¡±

    Griffin joins us once more, and he must have heard her.

    ¡°Atticus is doing just fine. He doesn¡¯t need you as much as you think. I just saw him. He¡¯s organizing

    Autumn¡¯s bag, packing it in his jeep, getting ready for tonight.¡± He informs her.

    I¡¯m not sure if he was lying or telling the truth. I guess I¡¯ll find out if I found my bag in his jeep.

    ¡°I have a few friends I need you to add to the list.¡± He says to Dante, stopping Anya from saying

    anything else.

    ¡°A few friends?¡± Dante asks as he quirks a brow.

    ¡°Just Austin and his entire family. Including some of their friends. Nothing we can¡¯t handle.¡± He answers

    him.

    Dante sighs, ¡°Are there any other guests we should know about?¡±

    ¡°No, sir!¡± Griffin teases him.

    ¡°Should we change in the yacht or right here?¡± I ask rissa.

    She smiles, ¡°it¡¯s a tradition that Atticus picks you up in your wedding dress and carries you onto the

    yacht. We can change after.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s time to leave.¡± Atticus¡¯s father announces suddenly. ¡°We can¡¯t reach the indte. They need to

    be in that spring by midnight.¡±

    Spring?

    What spring?

    Before I can ask any other questions, my mother is rushing me towards the garage where Atticus is

    supposedly already waiting for me.

    Everyone starts moving so quickly that it¡¯s hard to keep up. And it¡¯s not just our families; everyone

    getting onto the yacht with us is getting into their vehicles and leaving as well.

    As Griffin said earlier, we find Atticus near his jeep; I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s waiting for me. He looks so

    good, leaned up against the door staring down at the ground. He looks up when he hears us, and I try

    to keep a clear head.

    The first thing I looked for was my bag, and Griffin was telling the truth; it was already here, waiting for

    me.

    Atticus opens the door for me and even holds my wedding dress as I climb onto the jeep. His small

    gesture touches my heart. He didn¡¯t have to do that, but he was a gentleman. I gasped when he leaned

    into me and buckled my seatbelt. I can smell him. His perfectly styled hair, the smell of his cologne, and

    the scent that only he carried on his body.

    It takes all my self-control not to lean closer and take a bigger whiff.

    ¡°Tonight may not be easy for you,¡± he whispers.

    What does he mean by that? He looks into my eyes as he continues to exin, ¡°our traditions aren¡¯t

    the easiest for couples who aren¡¯t in love.¡±

    And what about couples where one person was in love, and the other wasn¡¯t? Because that was what

    we were, he didn¡¯t know it yet. And if I had a say, he would never find out about my feelings for him. I

    was too scared of how he would react if he knew the truth.

    ¡°What are you two still doing here?¡± My mother demands. ¡°We¡¯rete.¡±

    Atticus pulls away from me before he could continue his exnation and walks over to the driver¡¯s

    side. rissa joins us in the backseat, and Atticus and I don¡¯t speak again after that.

    I was curious about these traditions, however. Did it have anything to do with the spring his father had

    mentioned earlier? Or was he referring to the tradition rissa had told me about a few minutes ago?

    The one where he would have to pick me up and carry me onto the yacht. That wasn¡¯t something that

    would be too difficult for me to handle. It might make me fall more for him, but that wouldn¡¯t be any

    different from every typical day of my sad life.

    ¡°Why are you not with Damon?¡± Atticus asks his sister. ¡°That was the car arrangement we made and

    agreed on just yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Anya was being a b***h as usual.¡± She snaps. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why she was invited to such a

    private event. She spoils everything.¡±

    rissa looked at me apologetically as soon as Anya was brought up. She realizes that reminding

    Atticus of her right now isn¡¯t the best decision.

    She doesn¡¯t have anything to be sorry about. I couldn¡¯t avoid conversations with Anya; she was too

    involved in everyone¡¯s life not to be brought up. She wasn¡¯t someone that could easily be ignored. The

    Fawn brothers loved her too much for that to happen. Well, not all of them, but enough to ensure she

    couldn¡¯t be kicked out of the family.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think Autumn looked beautiful today?¡± rissa says. ¡°I think she¡¯s the most beautiful bride

    ever.¡±

    Atticus nces at me, and the look in his eyes makes my belly do a little flip-flop. Did he agree with

    her? Did he also think I looked beautiful today?

    He doesn¡¯t respond, however, and rissa doesn¡¯t try to bring that up again.

    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± rissa says with excitement. ¡°It would have been the perfect night if someone wasn¡¯t

    invited, but I¡¯ll still try and make the most of it.¡±

    ¡°I know you have to pick me up and carry me into the yacht,¡± I tell Atticus; that was probably the

    tradition he was referring to earlier. ¡°I¡¯m not ufortable with it. It¡¯s okay.¡±

    He scratches the back of his neck, and I wonder if Atticus is nervous, that¡¯s unlike him.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the tradition that I was speaking about Autumn.¡± He informs me. ¡°I¡¯ll exin it to you in a bit.¡±

    I nod even though it¡¯s killing me, not knowing what he¡¯s speaking about.

    We all gather at the entrance of the yacht, and I try not to let my fear of water spoil this moment for me.

    It¡¯s supposed to be special having Atticus lift me and carry me into the yacht. We would be the first to

    board it, other than the crew members.

    Everyone around us begins to chant Atticus¡¯s name as they wait for him to pick me up into his arms. He

    waits for my nod of approval, and the moment I do, he wraps his arm around me and picks me up

    bridal style.

    Atticus looks straight ahead as he walks with me in his arms while everyone cheers behind us. I, on the

    other hand, can¡¯t stop staring at his face. I wanted to pull myself closer so that I could kiss his neck. I¡¯ve

    never wanted to kiss it as much as I do right now at this very moment. I didn¡¯t just want to kiss him

    there; I wanted to bite down hard on it as well, to leave my mark on him. My cheeks get red at the

    direction of my thoughts. What was wrong with me? Why was I thinking like this?

    The drone is flying around us, and I blink at the sh from the many cameras around us. This was

    going to be all over the magazines tomorrow. Not to mention all the messages and videos that will be

    sent to my phone. I¡¯m sure it was already blowing up. That¡¯s why I decided to stay away from it tonight.

    There are so many things I want to say to Atticus, so many things that I wish I dared to confess to him.

    In a perfect world, I would confess my love for him, and he would tell me that he had loved me all

    along. I want tough at how ridiculously impossible that is.

    Atticus stops walking, and this time I have no control over my body as I lightly touch his left cheek with

    my hand. His eyes narrow and turns dark as he watches me like a predator watches its prey. I gasped,

    unsure what to think of his reaction to me touching him. Was that good or bad?

    The cheers get louder, and it¡¯s only then that I realize we are already on the yacht.

    Atticus seems to realize the same time because he lets go of me so quickly that I almost fall.

    I steadied myself and tried to act normal even though my heart threatened to explode.

    Why couldn¡¯t I have more control over my own body?

    I almost made a fool of myself. That wouldn¡¯t be anything new for someone like me. I was ustomed

    to doing that.

    ¡°Congrattions to the happy couple!¡± Everyone shouts. I noticed Anya in the crowd; she was the only

    one that wasn¡¯t happy for us. And she didn¡¯t try and hide her unhappiness.

    I¡¯m not the only one to notice it; Atticus also does. She also looks at him, and the longing I see in his

    eyes almost kills me on the spot. I will never be able to get over him being in love with Anya. Never.

    He even admitted to how much their lives and emotions were intertwined. It¡¯s something I¡¯ll never be

    able topete with.

    ¡°Should we leave and change into different outfits now?¡± I ask rissa. I felt overwhelmed with all the

    attention and almost embarrassing myself for the hundredth time this month; I needed some time away

    from everyone.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me twice,¡± rissa said as she linked our arms and guided me to the changing

    room.

    ¡°Did you see the look Anya gave you?¡± she asks as she shuts the door behind us. ¡°I don¡¯t know how

    you ever remained friends with her. To me, it always looked like she was jealous of you.¡±

    ¡°Anya jealous of me?¡± I ask. ¡°She had no reason to be. She had everything.¡±

    And to me, Atticus was everything.

    ¡°If I were you, I would stop trying to salvage your friendship with her. It¡¯s not worth it. She seems like

    the type of girl that would pretend to be your friend and then backstab you.¡± She points out.

    I knew that rissa was most likely right. Anya has always said things to hurt my feelings in the past;

    they¡¯ve only gotten worse since I agreed to marry Atticus. I don¡¯t think there was anything I could do

    now to make her change her mind about this entire situation.

    Anya wasn¡¯t going to make my marriage easy either; she was determined to break Atticus and me up. I

    saw it in her eyes; it wasn¡¯t something she even bothered trying to hide from me.

    ¡°I should inform you of an important tradition in our family,¡± rissa says suddenly, breaking me out of

    my thoughts. ¡°It happens when we arrive at the ind.¡±

    This is the second time this tradition was brought up. It must be a big deal if everyone kept trying to

    warn me about it. My curiosity had just doubled in seconds.

    ¡°Atticus mentioned it to me but was never able to exin what it was about,¡± I tell her.

    ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be simple for newlyweds to do, but since you and Atticus are not in love, I know it¡¯s

    going to be a little awkward for the both of you.¡±

    Oh no, I didn¡¯t like the sound of this. What exactly was this tradition that was supposed to be

    ufortable for us?

    ¡°There is a special spring found in the middle of the ind.¡± She exins. ¡°That ind was purchased

    by the Fawns solely because of that spring. The myth is that whoever bathes in that spring with their

    partner at exactly midnight,pletely naked, will never separate from each other for the rest of their

    life together. It¡¯s supposedly true. It¡¯s a secret passed down for generations. And it¡¯s worked so far. At

    least that¡¯s what I¡¯ve heard from Griffin.¡±

    Naked? I didn¡¯t mind bathing in a spring with Atticus, but NOT COMPLETELY NAKED. rissa was

    right; for happy couples, that would be a special moment, but for Atticus and me, it would be torture.

    I thought that I would be able to rx my mind and enjoy my time at the ind, but now I understood

    that this entire wedding, from beginning to end, was going to torture me. It wasn¡¯t going to get any

    easier for us, just quite the opposite.

 Chapter 24

    Chapter 24

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 24

    ¡°You haven¡¯t moved for ten minutes.¡± rissa points out to me. ¡°I can safely say you¡¯re not taking the

    news well.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think there was any other way to take news such as this one. I was in deep trouble. And there

    was no way for me to escape it.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what to do with that information,¡± I confess. ¡°It¡¯s not like I can back out now. We¡¯re already

    married, and I¡¯m already on this yacht.¡±

    One would think that I would be excited to see Atticuspletely naked after being in love with him for

    so long. But I wasn¡¯t in the least; I was freaking out. This wasn¡¯t the way I wanted it to happen. Though,

    Atticus had seen plenty of me already, notpletely naked but he saw more of me than I saw of him.

    Are we allowed to keep our eyes closed throughout the entire thing? That may make it easier for me. I

    wasn¡¯t sure what was allowed for this tradition and what wasn¡¯t. No one warned me of this before we

    got married.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s going to be okay; you¡¯re husband and wife now; eventually, you were both bound to see

    each other naked. Now is your chance to get it over with.¡± She points out. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s only a matter of

    time before our parents start asking for grandchildren. They will wait for you both to finish academy,

    and then they¡¯ll be harassing you every damn day.¡±

    It was true. I could see my parents insisting that I get pregnant as soon as I finished school. And I can

    see his parents being the same way. They were very simr in that way. Grandchildren were something

    I¡¯ve already heard my parents discuss multiple times before, and that was even before I had gotten

    married or knew that I was marrying Atticus.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get you into your dress,¡± rissa says as she brings out the long silky white dressced with

    silver patterns.

    Unlike me, she had already gotten into an elegant but sexy green dress; she¡¯d done that while I was

    dormant for ten minutes. I did happen to notice in those few minutes how she made sure to hide the

    tattoo from me, however, which only helped to confirm that my eyes hadn¡¯t deceived me that one time I

    saw it. I knew she wouldn¡¯t be ready to confess that secret to me. We were only getting to know each

    other. In the same way, I was not prepared to confess my feelings about Atticus to her either.

    rissa helped to retouch my makeup after the dress was on me.

    ¡°Let¡¯s make Atticus fall to his knees when he sees you tonight,¡± rissa says. ¡°You look hot. He may

    want to take you to the special spring earlier than midnight when he sees you.¡±

    I gape at her, ¡°rissa! That¡¯s your brother you¡¯re talking about!¡±

    ¡°Hey, step-brother. We¡¯re not blood-rted in any way.¡± She teases. ¡°Besides, someone has to help

    bring the two of you closer. While Anya keeps trying to pull you apart, I¡¯ll be your guardian angel,

    bringing you together.¡±

    I smile, ¡°I¡¯m still so happy that you¡¯re my sister-inw.¡±

    Sheughs, ¡°believe me, I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re mine and Anya didn¡¯t take your ce. I don¡¯t think I could

    survive living in the same house as her. I could barely stand being in the same room with her for more

    than five minutes. I can¡¯t imagine having her around all the time.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t imagine it either. The both of them would drive each other crazy. In many ways, it was better

    that I had married Atticus. Now it was time for him to realize this as well. Everyone else seemed to

    know it but him.

    ¡°Shall we go surprise everyone outside?¡± rissa asks as she extends her hand.

    I smile and ept her invitation, ¡°we shall.¡±

    When we got outside, we caught the attention of many guests, but they weren¡¯t the ones we wanted

    attention from. The first thing I notice is Atticus standing too close to Anya for myfort. I¡¯m not sure

    if he went to her first or if she did. Either way, I¡¯m upset. I wanted to see his reaction to my dress.

    Instead, I have to watch his reaction to having Anya by his side and not me.

    I know everyone kept telling me that Anya made him unhappy, but if she did, why was he always by her

    side? Why stay with someone that kept hurting you?

    The answer was simple; people tolerated anything for the one that they loved. No one knew that more

    than I did.

    Jealousy is oveing every other emotion that I feel. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever felt it this strongly before.

    Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯ve always known they were together in the past, and I knew how wrong it was to

    feel jealous. I never allowed myself to give in to jealousy in the past because of this exact reason.

    This time was different; Atticus was my husband, not hers. They¡¯re supposed to be keeping a certain

    distance from each other. But no one seems to care that he¡¯s now a married man. If anything, Anya is

    closer to him than ever.

    Everyone was already gossiping so much about the three of us. They were not helping our situation by

    being that close in front of so many people. But this was what Anya wanted all along; she was getting

    her way.

    rissa senses my anger, and she gently rubs my shoulder, ¡°don¡¯t let her get to you. She¡¯s doing this

    to hurt you. You can beat her at her own game. You¡¯re the one that Atticus married, not her. Someone

    just needs to remind her of this little fact.¡±

    She pulls me along with her but stops halfway when she spots Damon. Their eyes met, and I noticed

    how her entire demeanor changed. While rissa seemed to be nervous, Damon looked like he was

    annoyed. And I¡¯m sure I saw him checking her out from head to toe. I think it isn¡¯t a one-sided crush;

    Damon must also have some feelings for her.

    But how was that possible? His mate was Anya. He¡¯s not supposed to have feelings for anyone else

    but her. Maybe it wasn¡¯t the kind of emotion I was thinking of. I¡¯m probably reading too much into it like I

    usually did.

    I soon forget about those two when Anya leans into Atticus and openly starts flirting with him. I close

    my eyes and exhale slowly.

    Deep breaths, Autumn. Don¡¯t let her get to you. Don¡¯t let her ruin what¡¯s supposed to be a special night

    for you.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have a word with Damon,¡± rissa informs me. ¡°He looks angry. I want to know what¡¯s

    wrong.¡±

    I nod, ¡°I¡¯ll be right here.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to confront Atticus and take him away from Anya?¡± She asks.

    I shook my head, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have to confront him for him to know that he¡¯s doing something wrong. He

    should realize it on his own.¡±

    She nods in understanding, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back. Don¡¯t go anywhere. We can deal with Anya when I

    return.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with her tonight. I¡¯ve already tried my best to rekindle our friendship,

    but she was doing too much now.

    I fake augh, ¡°there isn¡¯t anywhere I could go except in the ocean, and since I¡¯m terrified of the water,

    I¡¯ll be right here waiting for you.¡±

    Jumping into the ocean didn¡¯t sound like such a bad idea after today.

    I watch as rissa leaves to join them. Damon watches her like a hawk, and I can tell they¡¯re about to

    argue. Both sides look pissed at each other.

    My eyes are drawn back to the man I married today. I wanted to go to him but not when Anya was

    there. I didn¡¯t want to hurt myself anymore. I¡¯ve gone through this so many times in the past before;

    Anya and Atticus openly flirting while he was totally oblivious to my feelings for him.

    I turned around; I didn¡¯t want to see more of them. I¡¯ve seen enough already for today.

    I let the wind caress my hair and take a moment to enjoy the beauty of the ocean. While the water has

    always terrified me, I¡¯ve never let that take away from its beauty.

    ¡°Autumn!¡± A familiar voice shouts my name. I look behind me to see Scarlett and ra. They¡¯re thest

    people I was expecting to see here tonight, but it doesn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t delighted that they were here. I

    shouldn¡¯t have been surprised; their family was also filthy rich. Of course, the Fawns would include

    them tonight.

    ¡°Congrattions on your wedding!¡± They scream as they pull me in for a hug. ¡°We¡¯re so happy for you.¡±

    I happily return their hug.

    ¡°But we have noticed Anya all up in your husband¡¯s space. She needs a reality check.¡± Scarlett points

    out. ¡°If you want, I¡¯ll give it to her.¡±

    ¡°There is no need for any of that,¡± I assure her.

    ¡°And here hees,¡± ra warns me.

    Here whoes?

    I follow her gaze, and to my surprise, Atticus has just joined us. ¡°Autumn.¡± He greets me. He pauses

    when he sees my dress. His gaze lingers on it for a few seconds, setting my body on fire. ¡°Do you want

    to join us? We¡¯re at the front of the yacht.¡±

    I knew where they were; I saw him at the front with Anya too close to his side.

    ¡°She¡¯s good here with us.¡± Scarlett steps in.

    ¡°Right,¡± Atticus says in not the happiest tone. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one that let her get drunk that night at the

    beach? I think you were drunk as well.¡±

    Scarlett gives him a thumbs up, ¡°at least you have a good memory. Hopefully, you remember that

    you¡¯re married to Autumn and not Anya.¡±

    His jaw clenches, ¡°are youing with me?¡± He asks as he returns his attention to me. It was pretty

    evident that these two were not getting along. Scarlett didn¡¯t look like someone who kept quiet; she

    spoke her mind.

    I looked between my new friends and Atticus; I knew the answer before I even began to speak.

    ¡°I¡¯lle in a bit.¡± I finally respond.

    He doesn¡¯t look pleased with my response, but he doesn¡¯t try to convince me again. My answer would

    have been different if I was the one that had held his attention since we got onto the yacht, but that was

    far from what was happening.

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re not going to get her drunk again.¡± Atticus points out. ¡°There are many guests here. I

    would hate for there to be a repeat ofst time.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry.¡± ra cuts in. ¡°We will take good care of her.¡±

    He looks hesitant to leave, but he finally attempts to do so.

    Scarlett waves at him as he walks away.

    He goes straight back to his brothers, not just them but to Anya as well. She smirks at me and walks

    over to him once more. She¡¯s intentionally trying to provoke me. And it¡¯s working.

    Scarlett rolls her eyes, ¡°now I want to get you drunk tonight.¡±

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    Iugh, ¡°as much as I¡¯d love to help you piss him off, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea. He¡¯s right; there

    are many important guests present tonight. My parents are here as well. I don¡¯t want to get into another

    argument with them because of my actions.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± Scarlett says. ¡°But if you ever change your mind, the bottle isn¡¯t far away. It will help

    ease all your stress. ra always told me how good it made her feel, but I only got to experience it at

    the beach that day. Though, the next day all the paines rushing back in.¡±

    She didn¡¯t have to exin the feeling to me; I also knew what it felt like after that beautiful yet dreadful

    day at the beach.

    I had mixed feelings whenever I thought of that day.

    ¡°Thank you foring,¡± I thank them wholeheartedly. ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you both here. I¡¯ve been

    feeling a bit depressed, but you have definitely brightened up my night. There¡¯s just something about

    you; I always feel better when I¡¯m around you.¡±

    ¡°We weren¡¯t missing it; we promised to be your friends. We¡¯re just keeping that promise.¡± Scarlett tells

    me. ¡°And we¡¯re just as happy to spend more time with you. We should meet up after this. The academy

    is about to start back; we can n something then.¡±

    Ah, yes¡ªthe academy. The ce where everyone would be waiting to bombard me with questions.

    ¡°We¡¯re happy to be here, Autumn,¡± ra said as she poured herself a drink. ¡°Are you sure you girls

    don¡¯t want to join me?¡±

    I look back at Atticus; it irritates me to see Anya still standing so close to him. He came all the way here

    to ask me to join him; how did he expect me to join him when Anya was standing in my ce? She

    acted like they were the ones that had just gotten married.

    ¡°Maybe one drink won¡¯t hurt,¡± I say as I ept the ss from ra. It¡¯s almost like she knew I wasn¡¯t

    going to refuse. I take onerge gulp, swallowing it down, praying that it drowns the pain.

    I knew that the consequences of my actions tonight would be worse than that day at the beach. This

    time family and friends surrounded us. We were on a yacht, and it was my wedding night. People

    expected me to behave a certain way on this day. No one would expect me to be drinking. My parents

    already warned me thest time this happened, and ended up all over magazines and articles

    everywhere.

    But could anyone really me me? I¡¯m sure I¡¯m not the only one seeing what was taking ce right in

    front of my eyes.

    I can feel the pity stares digging into my back. They should understand why I was doing this on my

    wedding day.

    Even though I knew it was wrong to ept another drink, I couldn¡¯t help myself when I saw Anya take

    yet another step closer to Atticus. I hate that I have no control over myself because of them. I hate that

    I¡¯ve spent my entire life letting their actions hurt me.

    ra poured me yet another drink, and I did the same as before. I drank it down in one go.

    ¡°Cheers to your marriage!¡± Scarlett says as she shes our sses together. ¡°May Atticus open his

    eyes and notice the gem in front of him before it¡¯s toote!¡±

    ra sighs, ¡°men do mess everything up.¡±

    I knew she was refereeing to her breakup with Carter. Scarlett¡¯s face looks guilty after hearing her

    sister¡¯s words. It makes me wonder if she was hiding something from her.

    I don¡¯t have time to ponder that thought as ra pours more for me before doing the same for Scarlett.

    ¡°Who does she think she is anyway?¡± ra asks. ¡°Her rtionship with Atticus was over when he

    agreed to marry you. You need to go there and show her that he¡¯s your husband.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± Scarlett shouts. ¡°Go and do something that proves he¡¯s yours.¡±

    They were right. He was my husband. Maybe both Atticus and Anya needed to be reminded of that.

    I spun around, ring at both of them. They were deep in conversation. Did Atticus not even care that I

    was drinking anymore? Was he so busy with her to notice what I was up to?

    My hands tightened into fists after I shoved the ss into ra¡¯s waiting hand. I felt like punching the

    smiles out of both of their faces. They were too happy.

    A small part of me was begging for me to behave myself and not cause a scene. Sober Autumn would

    never do anything crazy on an important night like this. But that was the problem; I was no longer

    thinking straight; I was way past that point.

    ¡°I¡¯m going over there,¡± I inform both girls.

    They cheer for me as I approach my husband and his ex-girlfriend.

    I can feel myself begin to sway, but I don¡¯t let that stop me from reaching him. He doesn¡¯t realize my

    presence until I¡¯m already a few feet away. That¡¯s expected since Anya was telling him something so

    ¡®important¡¯ that nothing and no one else seemed to matter to him but her. She¡¯s the first one to see me;

    her nose wrinkles in disgust as she looks at me. I would have lunged for her if Atticus didn¡¯t turn

    simultaneously. It takes him a moment to realize that it was me standing before him, but when he does,

    his forehead immediately creases.

    He looks at me with wide eyes, ¡°Autumn?¡±

    I don¡¯t wait for him to say anything else. I grab him by his shirt. I sway a little.

    He grabs my waist to help steady me, and I¡¯m happy to have his hands on me even though he was

    only doing it to prevent me from falling t on my ass. Now, this was my Atticus. The man that wouldn¡¯t

    let me fall no matter what. I leaned further into his body; his warmth was already filling the emptiness

    inside of me. Whenever I was this close to him, I feltplete; I felt like the missing puzzle in my life

    had finally been found. And whenever he left, the opposite happened.

    ¡°You¡¯re mine,¡± I whisper against his ear. His body turns to stone beneath mine.

    Good. He heard me.

    Before he could respond, I used my grip on his shirt to pull him closer to me until our lips were inches

    apart. I gently run my finger over it, and his lips part under my touch. I close my eyes as I finally give in

    and crash our lips together.

 Chapter 25

    Chapter 25

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 25

    I can hear the surprised gasps around us, but I don¡¯t care. I want this. I want Anya to know that he¡¯s

    mine, my husband, not hers. Atticus is stiff beneath me, making me wonder if he hates this. Does he

    hate my kiss? Does he wish it was Anya instead of me kissing him? I can¡¯t stand the thought of that.

    I gently pull away to look into his eyes. I want to see his expression; I want to know what he¡¯s thinking

    even though I can¡¯t read his mind. I can see the surprise lingering on his face, but there¡¯s also

    something else in his gaze, something that makes my heart swell with joy; desire. His eyes are dark

    with desire.

    That was all I needed to keep going. This time Atticus meets me halfway as our lips make contact once

    more. My body shivers as his taste fills my mouth. Atticus tastes better than anything else I¡¯ve ever had

    the pleasure of tasting.

    I grab onto his hair and moan as his lips practically cover mine. It¡¯s like he¡¯s eating them alive, and I

    love it. I want him to want me. I want him to enjoy this as much as I am doing. He moves from my

    bottom lip to my top, then pulls them both in before repeating. I¡¯m letting him take the lead, I want him

    to take control. No, I want him to lose control.

    Atticus grabs my waist suddenly, squeezing and rubbing on the skin there. I¡¯m desperately trying to get

    closer to him now. This isn¡¯t enough. It isn¡¯t about proving he¡¯s mine to anyone anymore. I¡¯m practically

    trying to climb onto his body now with how desperate I am to get more of him. I think Atticus knows

    exactly what I want.

    He spins us around and jams me up against the yacht before deepening the kiss. I immediately feel it

    all between my legs. I¡¯m wet and aching for him. He was doing this to me¡ªonly him. No one else could

    make me feel like I was floating in the air and breathing happiness into my soul.

    ¡°Atticus.¡± I cry. ¡°I need¡ª,¡±

    I don¡¯t get to finish as he grabs my thighs and helps me wrap my legs around his body. I gasp as I feel

    something warm and hard the moment that he does this.

    I cry out as his lips move from my mouth to my neck. He¡¯s kissing every inch, letting my body know

    what it felt like to be on cloud nine.

    ¡°ATTICUS!¡± Anya screams, breaking though my happiness. ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?

    Get her off you!¡±

    We both stop moving at her words. He slowly lifts his face from my neck and stares at me as though he

    doesn¡¯t know what just came over him. Even I¡¯m not sure what just happened, the Atticus I knew would

    never lose control and kiss me so ravishingly in front of everyone he knew.

    He looks at Anya behind us, and I do the same. She¡¯s red with rage; I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen her like

    this before. I used that opportunity to smile; I wanted her to know that she wasn¡¯t the only one who

    could y dirty. If she tried to flirt with my husband openly, I had to remind her who wore the ring.

    She narrows her eyes at me and I just know that if she wasn¡¯t so concerned about her reputation she

    would have tried to hit me again, but there were too many people here for her to pull another stunt like

    that.

    Atticus slowly lets go of my waist, and I gasped as I slid down his body. I knew what I just felt. His

    pulsing hot but huge need. This proved that he wasn¡¯t unaffected by my kiss. It had impacted him as

    much as it had done to me.

    He shifts on his feet, looking restless.

    ¡°You¡¯re drunk.¡± He finally says in a disappointed tone.

    Anya is still irritated behind us, but I¡¯m not giving her any more of my attention. I was too mesmerized

    by Atticus to waste my time on her.

    He wasn¡¯t looking at me anymore; he was examining our surroundings, maybe trying to figure out who

    had seen our passionate kiss. He seemed pleased with what he saw. Did that mean I hadn¡¯t caused as

    much trouble as I¡¯d thought?

    ¡°Atticus.¡± Anya hissed. She was trying to catch his attention. While she did seed, he didn¡¯t go to her

    like I expected him to.

    Instead, he gently takes my hand in his. ¡°Let¡¯s get you some water to drink. We can¡¯t let my parents nor

    yours see you in this condition. Especially not when we have an important tradition tonight.¡±

    I could feel Anya¡¯s gaze digging into my back as we walked away. I could only move my feet because

    he was holding my hand; otherwise, I would have been swaying from left to right. I was drunk, yes, but

    that kiss had left me weaker than I was before. My knees felt wobbly, and my stomach had little

    butterflies in it.

    ¡°Why did you do it, Autumn?¡± Atticus whispers as he hands me the cup of water and helps me onto a

    stool near the bar. ¡°You¡¯re aware of the trouble getting drunk today could have caused for yourself.

    You¡¯re not someone that drinks like this. You¡¯re lucky no one else saw what happened but my siblings

    and Anya.¡±

    I bite my lip, ¡°you know why I did it.¡±

    He looks perplexed, ¡°how would I know why you drank? Drink the water.¡±

    I refuse to do it, and he takes the cup from me only to hold it to my lips, ¡°drink.¡± He orders.

    I take a small sip, and he tells me to drink more. I do as he says, and he finally ces the cup on the

    counter next to us.

    ¡°You¡¯re the reason I did,¡± I answered; I knew he was still waiting for me to exin.

    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.

    I¡¯m running out of breath, even in my state I know I shouldn¡¯t have said that. But I don¡¯t seem to have

    any control over myself. I¡¯m blurting things that I know I will eventually regret.

    He lifts his eyes to study my face, his gaze is electric as he asks in a smooth but rmed tone, ¡°me?

    I¡¯m the reason? How can that be Autumn?¡±

    He seemed even more confused now that I¡¯d said that to him. How would he understand when he

    didn¡¯t know that I loved him? How could he understand anything that I felt when he wasn¡¯t aware of

    how much it hurt me whenever I had to see Anya flirting with him?

    Atticus wasn¡¯t aware of my feelings for him; he was utterly clueless when it came to that.

    ¡°I¡¯m the reason that you¡¯re suddenly drinking?¡± He asks once more in disbelief. ¡°Is it because you didn¡¯t

    want to marry me, to begin with?¡±

    I want tough at that question. He honestly doesn¡¯t know anything, does he? It was quite the opposite.

    I wanted his love and affection so much that I hated to witness another woman receiving it.

    My gaze drops to his lips; I can¡¯t believe I¡¯ve just been kissing them. And that¡¯s what I wanted to do

    again. To kiss him. And touch him. To feel him once more against me.

    I gently press my hands against his chest and I can¡¯t help myself as I look up into his gorgeous eyes,

    ¡°you have it all wrong.¡± I can feel the wild beating of his heart and I have to wonder if that¡¯s also

    because of the kiss we just shared. Or was it because of what I¡¯d just told him? That he was the reason

    I¡¯d suddenly started to drink. He was right, I was not someone to do things like that. I was usually more

    obedient and definitely not a trouble maker. Recently, I¡¯ve been taking risks and letting myself do things

    I normally wouldn¡¯t. And it was all because of this man in front of me.

    He waits for me to exin, but I don¡¯t get a chance; my mother joins us then, ¡°we¡¯ve arrived.¡±

    I looked around us; she was right. The ind was right in front of me. I was so preupied with

    wanting to kiss and touch Atticus that I didn¡¯t take the time to look at my surroundings. How long had

    the yacht even stopped? It wasn¡¯t moving now, and people were already on the sand preparing to get

    to the beach-house.

    How lost had I been in him not to notice any of that?

    ¡°We¡¯ve been looking everywhere for you two.¡± She informs us. ¡°Time is running out. We need to

    prepare for the spring. Let¡¯s get moving.¡±

    Atticus takes a step back from me at her words. The spring? Did I hear that correctly? They couldn¡¯t be

    serious.

    Those words had managed to shock me even in my drunken state.

    Was it time already?

 Chapter 26

    Chapter 26

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 26

    ~ATTICUS~

    Autumn sways on her feet, and I know that her mother is watching. I didn¡¯t want her to get into

    unnecessary trouble; she was clearly going through plenty that she wasn¡¯t telling anyone about. Things

    that were causing her to drink like this. Her parents were not understanding and neither were mine.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± Her mother asks.

    ¡°It¡¯s a tradition that I pick her up and carry her out the yacht,¡± I say without answering her question.

    Before her mother can ask any questions, I grab her waist and take her into my arms.

    Autumn gasped at first, but then she gently ced her head on my chest and snuggled closer into me.

    I swallow; it¡¯s hard to ignore how perfectly she fits against me. No one had ever felt this good against

    me before, and it was something I¡¯d noticed even before this moment.

    I¡¯m still bothered about her words from just a few minutes ago. Why did she me me for her drinking?

    This was something I would have to discuss with her when she was sober and not while she was in this

    condition. I couldn¡¯t believe every word she said when she wasn¡¯t even aware she was saying it.

    When we were out of the boat, I noticed something that immediately caught my attention. Griffin was

    having a conversation with Arthur and Gabrie; they looked worried. And Griffin was not someone that

    ever looked like that unless something terrible was going on. If something was happening that needed

    our attention, I had to go to them and help solve the problem.

    I step in their direction when my father blocks my way, ¡°where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± He asks.

    ¡°The spring is in that direction. We have less than an hour to prepare everything before midnight. There

    is no time to waste.¡±

    I inwardly groan. I barely made it out alive when Autumn kissed me in front of everyone; how would I

    survive seeing herpletely naked? And this time, we will be alone with no interruptions.

    I needed something to stop me from doing anything stupid while in there with her. Maybe if I didn¡¯t look

    at her during the ritual, it would pass quickly, and I won¡¯t be tempted by her. I had to keep reminding

    myself that Autumn was intoxicated; she wasn¡¯t aware of the things she was doing. Like thatst time,

    she¡¯d gotten drunk and didn¡¯t remember anything the next day. But did she truly forget everything that

    had happened? It felt like she was lying to me at that time.

    From N?velDrama.Org.

    I look down at her and almost trip on my own two feet. She¡¯s staring up at me, and I¡¯ve never seen

    anyone look at me with so much admiration. It took everything inside of me to look away from her gaze,

    but I had to keep moving, and I couldn¡¯t risk walking into a tree just because I wanted to keep staring at

    her.

    I¡¯ve noticed Autumn¡¯s beauty multiple times in the past, more than I¡¯ll ever admit, but it¡¯s always been

    dangerous; I chose to ignore it because she was my mate¡¯s best friend. Avoiding her had always been

    my mission, and it had worked for years. But now avoiding her was out of the question. And I don¡¯t

    think I was prepared for it. Nothing in this world has prepared me for Autumn. Absolutely nothing.

    It was hard to believe that this woman was now my wife.

    Why did she kiss me earlier? I could still taste her, and I wanted to savor it.

    ¡®You¡¯re mine.¡¯

    She¡¯d also said those words to me. It was so unlike Autumn. She was turning into someone I wasn¡¯t

    familiar with. But had I ever truly known her from the start? We barely spoke; even now, we¡¯ve only

    spoken a few words to each other.

    But as it turns out, it didn¡¯t take many words to affect me as long as those words wereing from

    Autumn¡¯s mouth.

    ¡®You¡¯re mine.¡¯

    Those words had undone something inside of me, I wasn¡¯t sure what it was, but I¡¯d wanted her like

    never before. Even holding her in my arms was risky at this point. I was testing my limit.

    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± I say to Autumn as I ce her on the ground. I was relieved to finally put some distance

    between us, even though I knew that it wouldn¡¯t be for long. We¡¯re in front of the beach house. The

    jeep is waiting for us; there are clean clothes and towels in the back seat, as well as two robes for both

    of us.

    Autumn doesn¡¯t bother looking around; her eyes are still locked on me. How long has she been staring

    at me?

    f**k.

    Why does she keep doing that? She¡¯s making it so damn hard for me to keep myself under control.

    ¡°Why are you just standing there?¡± My mother demands. ¡°You¡¯rete. We must get Autumn inside the

    house to prepare her for tonight.¡±

    I can only hope that they don¡¯t realize how intoxicated she still was. Hopefully, they¡¯re too concerned

    about fixing her up for the ritual to realize something was off. If they figured out that she was drunk, all

    hell would break loose.

    They take her from me, and I¡¯m left alone with plenty on my mind. I had so many things to think about.

    A few minutester, they return with her, and all thoughts flow out of my head. She¡¯s walking towards

    me, and she has that beautiful smile on her face; she¡¯s seductive without even trying to be.

    I swallowed; my heart was pounding as they brought her to me in a robe. She wasn¡¯t even in fancy

    clothes, yet my blood was boiling with how much she affected me. Her body was covered, but she

    smelled divine. They¡¯d rubbed her down in oil, and the little of her skin that I could see was glistening

    under the moonlight.

    I swallow hard for the second time. Tonight wasn¡¯t going to be easy. I knew that from the start, ever

    since I was reminded of the ritual, I knew that I would be tortured tonight. And I was not wrong, the

    torture had already begun, and it was standing right in front of me. I was struggling to keep a clear

    mind, and she hadn¡¯t even removed the robe. Knowing that she had nothing underneath it did not help

    my situation either. It only doubled the pain that I already felt.

    I guide Autumn to the jeep and help her into the passenger¡¯s side. I buckle her in, and her hands lightly

    touch my hair without warning. I freeze. Her scent traps me for the hundredth time.

    Why was her touch always so gentle? No one has ever touched me like her before. Her touch was the

    softest of touches, and it could melt any man that had the pleasure of experiencing it.

    I¡¯m suddenly reminded that she waspletely naked beneath that robe. All I had to do was look down

    and I could see her exposed chest. And if I let my hands move the silky material just a little to the side,

    I can see even more than that.

    Ah, s**t. This was not helping.

    I gently removed her hand; as much as I enjoyed it, we had somewhere to be. I rushed to the driver¡¯s

    seat before my parents could scold us again. It didn¡¯t take long to reach, not with the speed at which I¡¯d

    been driving.

    When we arrived, someone was ying the violin a little distance from the spring; he was positioned

    close enough so we could hear him but far enough so that he couldn¡¯t see what was happening in the

    water.

    Not that anything would be happening. It was just to walk in there with Autumn at midnight and let the

    water touch every part of our body while we held hands. That was all I would be allowing tonight. No

    matter how much I wanted more, I would not let it happen.

    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    ~AUTUMN~

    Atticus is unusually quiet when the jeep stops; it looks like he has plenty on his mind. He jumps out of

    the vehicle and walks over to my side; he opens the door for me and unbuckles my seatbelt before

    helping me to the ground. He then opens the back door and removes his robe from the seat.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to get changed.¡± He informs me. ¡°You can wait near the spring for me. Remember, we need

    to walk in together. That means that you can¡¯t go in without me, or it will defeat the purpose of this

    entire trip.¡±

    Why would I ever want to go in without him? I wanted our marriage tost forever. This wasn¡¯t a ritual

    that I nned on messing up. I was terrified of him seeing me naked for the first time, but that didn¡¯t

    mean I was about to let that prevent us from having a sessful marriage.

    I walk over to the spring when he leaves me alone. It¡¯s beautiful and crystal clear; his family has done

    an excellent job of keeping it this clean. Considering how important it was to their family, it was

    expected that they would protect this part of the ind. It was decorated for us, with candles and

    flowers everywhere. It was one of the most romantic settings I¡¯ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing in

    person. And that, coupled with the beautiful music, made this the perfect night.

    Atticus walks over to me, and he also has a robe on now. I wasn¡¯t sure if I was prepared to see him

    completely bare.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± He asks me. ¡°It¡¯s one minute to midnight. The rm will ring when we need to get in.¡±

    I nod despite the nervousness that I feel. Where was the confident girl that walked up to him and kissed

    him in the yacht tonight? The drinks were not helping this time. Maybe I needed more.

    No. I could do this.

    I loosen the tie around my body and let the robe fall. Atticus isn¡¯t looking at me, I can tell. Maybe he¡¯s

    avoiding it. He¡¯s avoiding looking at my naked body. For some reason, it angers me. I want him to see;

    I want him to notice and like me.

    He removes his robe as well, and the rm starts to ring at the exact time.

    He takes my hand in his without warning, and we both begin to walk. The water touches my feet, and

    its warmth spreads throughout my body. I¡¯ve taken baths in springs before, but none has ever made me

    feel like this. It was filling me with some unknown emotion, and I tightened my grip on Atticus¡¯s hand to

    help calm my racing heart.

    It felt overwhelming, but not in the wrong way. I loved that Atticus was the one I was doing this with. I

    was happy that the spring was shallow, considering how terrified I was of water. If it were any deeper, I

    would climb onto Atticus and beg him to take me out. Thankfully I was saved from embarrassing myself

    tonight. Not many knew of my great fear of water. It was something I was scared to admit because I

    knew how people have judged me for it when I was a child. I shake that thought out of my mind. This

    wasn¡¯t the time to think about the past.

    ¡°The water needs to touch everywhere.¡± He reminds me before we both dipped our heads into the

    water until every inch of our bodies was soaking wet.

    ¡°I, Atticus Fawn, choose Autumn as my partner in this life and any other life that I¡¯m blessed with. She

    is the only woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.¡± He murmurs while looking up at the moon. It

    shone brighter than usual tonight.

    I knew that these words were only part of the ritual, and he didn¡¯t mean it, but it still brought a shiver

    down my spine.

    ¡°I, Autumn Rivera Fawn, choose Atticus as my partner in this life and any other life that I¡¯m blessed

    with. He is the only man I want to spend the rest of my life with.¡±

    Unlike Atticus, I meant every word. I wanted to spend the rest of my life by his side.

    He was still refusing to look at me, I stole a nce at him, and I was mesmerized by how smooth his

    chest was despite it being so toned and muscr. I swallow, wanting to look lower but knowing that I

    shouldn¡¯t. My cheeks are red when he catches me staring.

    ¡°It¡¯s the end of the ritual.¡± He informs me. ¡°We can leave now.¡±

    Leave? I didn¡¯t want to leave. He wasn¡¯t even looking at me. Was I not desirable to him? Why else was

    he avoiding looking at me so severely? And it also seemed like he was desperate to end this ritual as

    quickly as possible. He wasn¡¯t even trying to enjoy the beauty of the spring or the warmth that flowed

    through our bodies because of it.

    ¡°No,¡± I tell him. ¡°I do not want to leave.¡±

    Atticus looks shocked by my words. Did he think that I¡¯d only want to spend five minutes in here with

    him?

    ¡°Why?¡± He asks. ¡°The ritual is over.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because you haven¡¯t looked at me once since I removed my robe.¡± I point out.

    His jaw clenched, ¡°I respect you. By not looking.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m your wife.¡± I snap. ¡°You¡¯re disrespecting me by not.¡±

    ¡°Autumn.¡± He growls. ¡°You¡¯re drunk; that¡¯s why you¡¯re behaving this way. You don¡¯t know what you truly

    want. I¡¯m not going to look at your body when you¡¯re drunk and may not even remember anything you

    did today. Just like you¡¯ve done in the past.¡±

    ¡°Is it that I¡¯m not good enough?¡± I demand. ¡°Am I hideous to look at Atticus?¡±

    Atticus draws in a deep breath, ¡°why the hell would you think something so ridiculous?¡± He demands.

    ¡°Have you ever looked at a mirror?¡±

    His words have given me the confidence I needed. I walk over to the edge of the spring; Atticus may

    think I¡¯m trying to leave like he¡¯d asked me to. I was only doing the opposite. And he was about to find

    that out.

    I lift my body off the spring until I¡¯m sitting at the edge, where he has a full view of my naked body. I

    don¡¯t want to be shy anymore. I want to show him what could be his if he just opened his heart to me.

    A low growl tore from his throat suddenly, and I¡¯d never seen him look this sexy and dangerous all at

    the same time before. He¡¯s hungry, but not for Anya or anyone else; he¡¯s hungry for me. Happiness

    explodes in my chest. Seeing Atticus look at me with such raw passion makes me the happiest person

    on earth. This is what I¡¯ve always wanted. To have his full attention and for him to want me. It almost

    feels like a dream, and maybe that¡¯s what this is, just a dream. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m going to make the

    most of it. No one is going to take tonight away from me. I¡¯m taking what I want.

    It makes me feel even more confident. It gives me the courage to spread my legs wide and give him

    direct ess to me. I¡¯m swollen, wet and aching.

    His eyes go utterly dark as his pupils dte.

    ¡°Autumn.¡± He growls. ¡°Do you understand how f*****g dangerous this game is that you¡¯re ying?¡±

    I shook my head, pretending not to know what he was talking about.

    ¡°I¡¯m a f*****g man and a dangerous f*****g wolf all in one package. You¡¯re teasing me. You¡¯re inching

    me closer to insanity. And I¡¯m losing all f*****g control. Do you know what it means for me to lose

    control?¡± He demands. ¡°It¡¯s not something you want to see. I can promise you that.¡±

    I slowly run my hands down my body, stopping at my breasts. ¡°They hurt.¡± I cry out. ¡°I don¡¯t know why

    but they hurt so much.¡±

    ¡°Maybe because you¡¯re f*****g pinching them.¡± He growls.

    ¡°Am I?¡± I whisper, feigning innocence. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware of it.¡±

    I slowly ran my fingers down my stomach ignoring his continuous warnings for me to stop. If he wanted

    me to stop, he had toe and stop me himself. So far, Atticus was trying his best to keep some

    distance between us. That wouldn¡¯t continue if I had anything to say about it.

    ¡°AUTUMN, don¡¯t you f*****g dare put your hands any lower.¡± He warns, there is venom dripping from

    his mouth, and he may think it¡¯s scary, but to me, it¡¯s just a turn-on.

    I like when he¡¯s all hot and bothered because I¡¯m spreading my legs for him.

    ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I?¡± I ask in a seductive whisper. ¡°What if I want to put my hands because I¡¯m all swollen

    and needy down there? You¡¯re not doing it for me. Someone has to ease the ache I feel there.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re drunk.¡± He says as he tries to remain calm. I can tell he¡¯s failing, however. ¡°You don¡¯t know

    what you want or f*****g need. So stop that. It¡¯s time to leave. The ritual is over.¡±

    ¡°Oops,¡± I say as I pretend my hand just slipped andnded between my legs. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean for that to

    happen.¡±

    His eyes darken a shade, and before I can touch my swollen clit, he¡¯s moving. And he¡¯s moving

    towards me. My eyes are wide when he finally gets to me.

    ¡°I told you not to do it.¡± He roars. ¡°You want me to see your f*****g swollen p***y. I¡¯m going to f*****g see

    it up close.¡±

    I gasped as he grabbed my thighs and spread them wider than I thought possible. Atticus is anything

    but shy as he openly stares between my legs. His eyes are growing darker by the second, and I love it.

    I love what I¡¯m doing to his body. But that¡¯s not the only thing that I noticed.

    His d**k, I didn¡¯t think it could get any bigger, but I was so wrong. It was growing by the second, and I

    wasn¡¯t sure how it could fit inside of me, let alone any woman on this.

    I lick my lips; he¡¯s making me hornier than I already felt.

    ¡°Ah f**k, Autumn.¡± He growls as my p***y gets even wetter than before. ¡°What the hell are you doing to

    me?¡±

    I grab onto his hair and try to rub my legs together.

    ¡°What the f**k do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± He asks as he spreads them even wider apart. ¡°I want to see

    your p***y; you¡¯re not hiding it from me after exposing it to me just a few minutes ago.¡±

    Was that all he was nning on doing? Just staring at them for the entire night? That wasn¡¯t what I

    wanted. I wanted more, and he knew it. Why wasn¡¯t he giving it to me?

    I attempt to touch it, but he grabs my hand and pushes it away.

    ¡°It hurts so much, Atticus.¡± I cry.

    ¡°If I let you touch your sweet p***y I¡¯m not going to be able to stop myself tonight, Autumn. Tonight will

    end with me inside of you, and I¡¯m not going to let that happen while you¡¯re drunk and don¡¯t know what

    the hell you¡¯re doing.¡±

    ¡°You touch me then,¡± I beg. ¡°Touch me anywhere. Just f*****g touch me.¡±

    His hand flicks my n****e, and I cry out. It¡¯s just one touch, but it¡¯s already making me drip even more.

    ¡°They¡¯re so f*****g responsive.¡± He says as my n*****s poke up, begging him for me. He leans forward

    and takes my n****e into his mouth; I grab onto his hair, pulling at the strands. I¡¯ve never felt anything

    this good before. I was aching, but in a good way. The wetness was flowing out of me and dripping

    onto the ground.

    Atticus growls, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to stop this. I don¡¯t know how not to want you when you¡¯re so damn

    desirable.¡±

    My body loved hearing him say that I was desirable. I arch my back as he moves to my next n****e,

    showering it with kisses before he starts to suck on them.

    ¡°I love it when you touch me,¡± I confess. ¡°I love it so much. I never want you to stop.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡± He asks. His eyes are drugged, and it¡¯s all because of me. ¡°I love touching you too, Autumn.

    Your bodyes alive when I touch it, and I f*****g love that baby. I love the way your p***y swells and

    pushes juices out; I love the way your n*****s get all hard for me. I love the way your eyes light up when

    they¡¯re looking at me. f**k I love everything about your beautiful body.¡±

    I gasp.

    ¡°And I love it enough not to touch your p***y tonight when you¡¯re unaware of what I¡¯m doing to it. I love

    it enough not to stick my d**k in you even though it¡¯s going to f*****g kill me. I¡¯ll have to pay for that for

    the rest of my pathetic life. But I don¡¯t f*****g care about my greedy monster of a d**k right now. I care

    about you and what you need.¡±

    He leans his forehead against mine, ¡°to not take advantage of you or your body while you¡¯re drunk.¡±

    ¡°But¡ª,¡± she begins to protest.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± I hear Dante¡¯s voice from a distance.

    What the hell was he doing here?

    I grab the robe from the side of us and cover Autumn¡¯s naked body.

    ¡°Are you decent?¡± He shouts.

    ¡°Not as yet,¡± I warn him. ¡°I¡¯lle to you.¡±

    If he¡¯s here, something must have gone wrong. But what could that be?

    Did something happen with Anya again? I left her earlier; I chose to be there for Autumn instead of her.

    It was a hard decision to make, but I knew it was the right one. I knew that Anya would hold it against

    me, but marrying Autumn meant she came first.

    I¡¯d only been around her earlier because my brothers had begged me. They said that Anya was in a lot

    of pain and they were scared of what she would do to herself if I didn¡¯t try tofort her.

    That was all I was trying to do; to be there for her and cheer her up a little. But when Autumn

    approached me drunk, all my attention was stuck on her. I couldn¡¯t think about anyone else but the

    woman that had dered I was hers and kissed me in front of everyone.

    All I wanted to do was to take care of her after that. I tried to find out what was bothering her, and I hate

    to admit it, but I wanted more than just a f*****g kiss.

    But I knew that couldn¡¯t happen as long as she was drunk. I¡¯d already let things get too far today.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± I tell her. ¡°Don¡¯t go anywhere.¡±

    She nods, and I walk over to where Dante stands, waiting for me after putting on the robe.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask, waiting for an exnation of his interruption.

    Part of me was pissed about the interruption, but the other half was grateful. I needed someone to stop

    me from doing something I would never forgive myself for. And I don¡¯t think Autumn would have

    forgiven me either when she returned to her senses. I wasn¡¯t about to do that to her.

    ¡°Kane is missing.¡± He informs me. ¡°He and the girl we met with Arthur, the one that didn¡¯t have a name

    to give us. The same girl that had lost her memory.¡±

    I knew exactly who he was speaking about.

    ¡°They¡¯re missing?¡± I ask, repeating his question.

    ¡°Yes.¡± He answers me. ¡°We¡¯ve looked everywhere for them on the yacht. They¡¯re nowhere to be found.¡±

 Chapter 27

    Chapter 27

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 27

    ¡°How can they possibly be missing?¡± I ask. How does anyone go missing from a yacht? We¡¯ve never

    had an incident like that in the past. People don¡¯t just fall out of a boat as big as that one.

    ¡°Griffin was thest person to see them on board.¡± He tells me. ¡°We¡¯re not sure what happened after he

    spoke with them, but they never made it to the ind with the rest of us. Chances are they fell off the

    boat, but none of us know how it happened.¡±

    Fell off the f*****g boat? Again, that didn¡¯t just happen. Were they drinking or did something else

    happen?

    I ran a hand through my wet hair; I was already not f*****g thinking right after Autumn literally just

    spread her legs and mesmerized me with the view of her beautiful and tempting body. I¡¯m unsure if I

    can even walk with how much I wanted her. The fact that I couldn¡¯t have her was torture and it was only

    about to get worse for me.

    ¡°Are you listening to me?¡± He demands. No, I wasn¡¯t. I hadn¡¯t heard a word he¡¯d said. ¡°We need to help

    Arthur with the search. It has already started, but they can¡¯t search this ind on their own, they will

    need us.¡±

    I nod, I knew we had to help. But there was something I had to see about first.

    ¡°I have to get Autumn back to the house,¡± I tell him. ¡°I can meet up with the others after.¡±

    ¡°She cane with us.¡± He offers. ¡°We can¡¯t waste any time. We¡¯re not even sure that they¡¯re still

    alive. Can you imagine the headlines if that happens?¡±

    Yes I can, I knew how brutal the article headlines were when our family was concerned. They were

    always waiting for a new story concerning our lives.

    But I was still not okay with Autumn joining us.

    I immediately disagreed, ¡°She¡¯s drunk, Dante. She¡¯s in no state to join us on a search and rescue. As

    soon as I get her back home, I will join the others on the search.¡±

    He nods, ¡°I¡¯ll inform Damon that you¡¯ll be joining us in half an hour or less.¡±

    It was good that he had agreed to this, I didn¡¯t want us to start a damn argument over Autumn in the

    middle of the woods.

    This was f*****g serious. Where were those two? What caused them to fall out of a moving boat? Is

    that even what happened to begin with? How much of this incident were we not aware of?

    I walk back to the spring and pause when I see Autumn. She¡¯s lying on the ground with the robe

    partially covering her body. Her hair is soaking wet and sticking to her face. I clutch my heart and feel a

    sudden stabbing pain while staring at her. I wince, unsure of what the hell this pain means. It isn¡¯t the

    first time it¡¯s happened to me. It¡¯s been happening ever since that first day we kissed. Anytime I got

    closer to her, the pain got more excruciatingly painful. This time was no exception and I wasn¡¯t even

    standing close to her.

    She senses my presence and immediately lifts herself off the ground to a sitting position, ¡°you¡¯re back.¡±

    She says with a bright smile.

    She had a beautiful smile, one that could brighten up anyone¡¯s day. It was innocent and pure,

    something you didn¡¯t see every day. I realize I¡¯ve only ever seen her smile like this when drunk. Does

    that mean that she¡¯s never been genuinely happy around me unless she was intoxicated?

    That sudden realization makes me feel uneasy. I was bothered by the idea of Autumn being unhappy

    especially around me. But there was still plenty that I didn¡¯t know about her. Things that I wish she

    would trust me enough to tell me. I asked her earlier if not wanting to marry me was the reason she¡¯d

    suddenly started drinking. I never got the answer I was waiting for.

    I walk towards her and stoop down on the ground next to her, ¡°we need to get you back to the house.

    There is something that I need to get done in the meantime. I¡¯ll feel better if I knew you were safe and

    getting your rest. You¡¯re not in a good state to be anywhere with me at least for the rest of tonight.¡±

    Her smile immediately faded, making me want to kick myself. I didn¡¯t want her ever to stop smiling.

    What had I said that was so wrong? I only wanted to keep her safe. I knew that she didn¡¯t want to leave

    the spring earlier, was that why she was so angry with what I¡¯d said?

    She attempts to move, but I stop her, ¡°I¡¯ll carry you.¡±

    She still wasn¡¯t in her best state even though she¡¯d improved a little. I was also using any excuse to

    have her close to me again. If she would let me.

    She pushes my hand away and walks to the jeep herself. I frown at her reaction. What the hell just

    happened? Her moodpletely switched from happy to angry.

    What did I do to piss her off in a few minutes? I follow her to the jeep and rush to open her door before

    she could lock it.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask.

    She folds her arms and refuses to look my way. It¡¯s bothering me; I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen her this

    upset with me before. Has she ever been upset with me in the past? This feels like the first time. And

    I¡¯m not liking it. Autumn has always been calm and loving, seeing her like this was making me anxious.

    ¡°We¡¯re gettingte!¡± Dante shouts from his jeep. I look away from her to re at him, he¡¯s not helping

    but I know there are more important things to focus on now. Though, I know it will bother me the entire

    time not knowing why she¡¯s suddenly so angry with me.

    I gently close the door and rush over to the driver¡¯s side. I nce at Autumn onest time before

    starting the jeep and racing through the forest. She¡¯s still trying to avoid me; now she¡¯s looking out of

    the window and pretending that I didn¡¯t exist.

    My grip tightens on the steering wheel; why the f**k was this bothering me so much? I never thought

    that her behavior would ever affect me like this but as it turns out, I was learning new things about

    myself every damn day, especially when it involved her.

    ¡°Autumn,¡± I growl. ¡°Tell me what¡¯s wrong. What did I say or do to upset you?¡±

    Nothing. She says nothing at all. In fact, inside this jeep has never been this damn quiet since it was

    created!

    I tried to remain calm, but it was bing difficult to do. Eventually, we¡¯re back at the beach house

    and still I¡¯ve heard nothing from her. She¡¯s making it her business to not speak to me.

    I can see search parties still forming in front of me. It reminded me of the gravity of the situation.

    Autumn opens the door before I can even stop the jeep, and ites to an abrupt halt when I mash

    down on the brakes to prevent her from harming herself.

    I jump out of the vehicle and trap her on the other side before she can try to walk away from me. She

    was swaying on her feet just earlier today, but somehow to get away from me, she seems much

    steadier. How the hell was that possible?

    ¡°I¡¯m not letting you leave until you tell me what is wrong,¡± I warn her.

    I meant it. I didn¡¯t care that I had more important things to do anymore. I didn¡¯t care about anything else

    but finding out why she was so damn upset with me. Seeing Autumn like this was more troubling for me

    than anything else that was going on around me. She had my full attention and I was not letting this go

    until she gave in and told me what the hell had caused this weird behavior.

    Her lips pout almost stubbornly, and f**k me; it¡¯s the cutest thing I¡¯ve ever seen. How does she make

    even that look so good? Anything looks good on this woman. And it¡¯s beginning to irritate me. I couldn¡¯t

    look at her once without wanting to kiss her or hold her in my arms.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    Why? Why was this happening to me? What did Autumn have on me?

    These questions were buzzing in my ear but I still was not giving up until she answered me.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask but in a gentler tone this time. ¡°You have to tell me what¡¯s wrong for me to fix it.¡±

    I frown as her forehead creases, and I swear it looks like she¡¯s about to cry. Did I hurt her this much by

    what I¡¯d said?

    f**k.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t go to Anya tonight.¡± She whispers, shocking me to the core.

 Chapter 28

    Chapter 28

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 28

    ~ATTICUS~

    Out of all the things I was expecting Autumn to say to me, this was thest thing I expected to hear.

    She was upset with me this entire time because she thought I was leaving her tonight to see Anya?

    What did I say for her to jump to that conclusion? Did Autumn already not trust me?

    The unmistakable distress on her face stunned me. I never thought that being around Anya would

    affect her this much. We weren¡¯t in love with each other; we barely knew each other. She¡¯s never

    shown me before that she didn¡¯t like me around Anya. She¡¯s always been fond of Anya and always

    looked after her. The only time I saw a reaction out of her was on our engagement night, and her

    response that night was still not as bad as this. But again, she was intoxicated; how do I know this was

    how she truly felt? Autumn acted totally different when the alcohol was out of her system, she was

    understanding, and she didn¡¯t mind when I took time to care for Anya. It was like she was a totally

    different person.

    I realized that she was still waiting for a response from me, and the more I remained silent, the more

    she would think that I was nning on seeing Anya tonight when the truth remained that I was only

    joining a search.

    That was thest thing I wanted her to think about after tonight. I¡¯ve always known that Autumn has

    never had any love interests. For her to give a part of herself to me tonight would surely upset her

    tomorrow, I wanted her to know that it was something I would treasure and not take for granted. She¡¯d

    never had a serious boyfriend, and boys have always chased after her, but I¡¯ve done my part of telling

    them she was off limits. No one knows I did that. Even I wasn¡¯t sure why I¡¯d done it. At that time, I told

    myself I was protecting my mate¡¯s best friend from heartbreak. I knew none of those men were ever

    worthy of her, and I was positive that they would hurt her. I made sure that it never happened. And if I

    had an opportunity to do it all over again, I would. If I¡¯d known Autumn like I did now, I¡¯d have been

    even more protective of her in the past.

    She attempts to walk away from me, and I pull her straight back so that her back is now pressed up

    against the front of me. I ignore how good it felt to hold her like this. If I kept those thoughts, I will be of

    no help to the others.

    ¡°Autumn,¡± I whisper, ¡°I¡¯m not going to see Anya. I¡¯ve been told that two of our guests have gone

    missing. I¡¯m joining the search to find them before things get worse.¡±

    She shouldn¡¯t have any problems believing that since anyone can see what was going on around us.

    Her lips form a small ¡®o¡¯, and her face brightens. And then she smiled that beautiful smile that crushed

    my heart, ¡°who¡¯s missing?¡±

    ¡°Kane and a woman that I don¡¯t have a name for. She¡¯s lost her memory for a while now. I don¡¯t know

    what to call her.¡± I try to exin to her in the best way possible.

    Her eyes widen, ¡°that¡¯s my friend! She¡¯s the woman that was with Gabrie in the spa room!¡±

    Spa room? I wasn¡¯t sure what Autumn was speaking about. When did they be friends? Why were

    they in the spa room?

    ¡°I need to go with you!¡± She shouts. ¡°We need to find her.¡±

    I¡¯m immediately tensed because of her words. I didn¡¯t bring her back to the house so that she could join

    the search. There wasn¡¯t any room for discussions about this. She was not going.

    ¡°No,¡± I growl. ¡°You¡¯re in no position to be out there searching with us. You need to rest.¡±

    ¡°But she¡¯s my friend Atticus. She¡¯s a good girl. I want to help find her.¡± She begs. I hated saying no to

    her when she was this desperate to find her friend, but I¡¯d made up my mind. She could barely stand

    straight; how could she survive hours of walking in the forest? There is no telling how long this search

    was going to take. We¡¯re not even sure if they¡¯re on the ind; we¡¯re just hoping for the best at this

    point.

    I pick her up into my arms when she tries to move toward the search party. I wasn¡¯t putting her life in

    danger; besides, I wouldn¡¯t be able to help if I had to keep making sure she was okay every second.

    And that¡¯s what it was like whenever Autumn was around me, everything revolved around her and

    ensuring she was okay.

    ¡°I want to go with you.¡± She continues to say while I¡¯m carrying her. ¡°I can help.¡±

    ¡°The only ce you¡¯re going to is your room,¡± I tell her as I walk into the house with her still in my arms.

    I notice a few stares our way but that¡¯s the least of my concern. She¡¯s my main concern.

    I open the room assigned to us, and to my surprise, it¡¯s decorated with roses all over the ground and

    even on the bed. My parents have obviously thought about everything. Did they expect something to

    happen between us tonight when this was more of an arranged marriage than anything else?

    But things did happen, something that I wasn¡¯t sure how Autumn would react to tomorrow.

    I gently ced her on the bed and covered her with a nket, ¡°Get some sleep. I promise to find your

    friend. I¡¯ll bring her back here and prove to you that I keep my promises.¡±

    When I step out of the door, Anya is waiting for me. I pause, unsure of what to do now that she¡¯s here.

    Things are awkward between us for the first time since I met her a few years ago.

    I know that there is plenty she wants to say to me. I can tell she¡¯s holding back, but after a few seconds

    of us just staring at each other, she finally gives in. I knew I couldn¡¯t avoid this confrontation forever. It¡¯s

    better to get it over with now thanter when things be moreplicated. It was already

    complicated. I wasn¡¯t sure what was this s****l tension between Autumn and me. It¡¯s stronger than

    anything else I¡¯ve ever experienced in my life before. After tonight, I¡¯d need plenty time just toe to

    terms with what had happened at the spring.

    ¡°Did you have to do that in front of me?¡± Anya asks, sessfully breaking me out of my thoughts.

    She¡¯s no longer trying to hide her anger from me; she¡¯s letting it flow freely.

    ¡°Do what?¡± I ask, even though I know what she¡¯s speaking about. If she was this angry about a kiss

    between Autumn and me, how would she react if she found out what happened between us in the

    spring?

    It reminds me of the promise I¡¯d made to her. To not take Autumn to bed. What the f**k was I thinking?

    After tonight I didn¡¯t think it was possible to keep that promise. I always kept mymitments, but I¡¯ve

    been breaking all my promises to Anya recently. It makes me feel guilty, but I can do nothing about it.

    I¡¯m not sure what Anya expects from me anymore. I¡¯m married. There is nothing I can do about this

    thing between us. I¡¯m not a cheater. I¡¯ve never been that, and I don¡¯t n on being it now; I would not

    do that to Autumn, no matter how much I loved Anya. I was doing us both a favor by keeping her away

    from me. How would she like it if the articles announced her as my mistress? No one would respect her

    if anything like that ever hit the news.

    But was I truly keeping Anya away from me? I still cared for her, and I still ran to her whenever she was

    hurt. I hadn¡¯tpletely cut her out of my life, even though now was the perfect time to do it.

    What was I waiting for? All of the memories and emotions I had tied to her were preventing me from

    doing what I had to. Even now, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to ask her to step out of my life for good.

    I hear a noise inside the room, which puts me on high alert.

    Anya shouldn¡¯t be here. Autumn may get the wrong idea if she walks outside and sees her with me.

    She asked me not to see Anya tonight. Did this mean that I was going against her word? I didn¡¯t tell

    Anya to meet me here. I wasn¡¯t even aware that she had followed us up here.

    ¡°Kiss her in front of me!¡± She hissed. I¡¯d forgotten that we were still speaking about the kiss. I was

    already panicking while thinking about Autumn and what could go wrong if she opened that door. ¡°Out

    of every possible way you can hurt me, this is how you choose for it to happen?¡±

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Autumn to kiss me.¡± I point out. ¡°But she¡¯s my wife, Anya. She can kiss me whenever

    she pleases. We¡¯re no longer together. This has to stop. I can¡¯t keepforting you, or Autumn will get

    the wrong idea. I don¡¯t want to ruin my marriage even before it starts.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to ruin your marriage for me!¡± She shouts. ¡°I¡¯m asking you to at least have some

    consideration around me. In case you haven¡¯t realized, Atticus. I still love you. It hurts to see you with

    her, but you don¡¯t care about that! All you care about is her! My best friend!¡±

    I looked behind us; her voice was getting louder. I was afraid that Autumn would hear her.

    ¡°Can you please keep it down?¡± I tell her.

    ¡°No!¡± She shouts even louder than before. ¡°I love you!¡±

    Before I can react, she throws herself at me and wraps her arms around me. I¡¯m too shocked to

    respond quickly, and of course, that¡¯s when Autumn opens the door and finds us together. Her lips

    parted as she stared at the two of us. She looks from me to Anya and then back to me again. I can see

    the flicker of emotions in her eyes; this isn¡¯t f*****g happening to me right now. Things were improving

    between us, and this will surely ruin that progress.

    Her eyes are filled with tears as she looks between us, ¡°you lied to me.¡± She whispers.

    I didn¡¯t think four words could hurt me this much but f**k, the pain I felt was almost unbearable.

    ¡°Autumn, this isn¡¯t what it looks like.¡± I try to say.

    ¡°It¡¯s exactly what it looks like, Atticus.¡± Anya cuts in. ¡°I¡¯m hugging you while exining how much I love

    you. Autumn hasn¡¯t misunderstood anything.¡±

    I grab Anya by her arms and shove her away from me. I should have done that a long time ago; I was

    just too startled by seeing Autumn. I didn¡¯t want there to be any misunderstandings between us. I

    wanted her to trust me, also, but if things like this kept happening, how could she trust me? Even I

    wouldn¡¯t be able to trust myself under these circumstances.

    ¡°Autumn,¡± I repeat as I take a step toward her.

    She takes one back, ¡°you said you were going to search for my friend. You said that you weren¡¯t going

    to see Anya tonight. Every word that you said to me was a lie. I don¡¯t want to hear anything else you

    have to say to me, Atticus.¡±

    ¡°Give me five minutes to exin. I¡¯ll tell you everything.¡± I tried to convince her, but she wasn¡¯t being

    reasonable. She didn¡¯t want to listen to a word I was saying. And Anya wasn¡¯t making this easier for

    me.

    Why didn¡¯t she tell her the truth? Why was she purposefully trying to hurt her?

    ¡°Autumn!¡± I shout as she ms the door behind her. I hear the loud click, knowing she¡¯d just locked me

    out of the room.

    I run a hand through my hair as I try to remain calm.

    ¡°I can¡¯t f*****g believe it.¡± I roar. ¡°What the hell were you thinking, Anya?¡±

    ¡°What was I thinking?¡± She demands. ¡°I was thinking of the promises you made to me right before you

    got married, Atticus. Did you forget about them? I thought you were a man of your word. Or are you

    someone else now that you¡¯ve married Autumn? Do you even know yourself anymore?¡±

 Chapter 29

    Chapter 29

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 29

    ~ATTICUS~

    I wish I hadn¡¯t made such ridiculous promises to Anya. I should have been upfront with her from the

    start. But she wasn¡¯t the problem currently; getting Autumn to open this door was more important to

    me. I knock once, then twice.

    ¡°Autumn!¡± I shout loud enough for her to hear me. ¡°Open the door. Please!¡±

    I try again but she shouted for me to leave her alone. Hearing her say those words to me bothered me

    more than it should. It was almost like her feelings affected mine. Like we were connected. But that

    couldn¡¯t be possible. I was connected to Anya, not to her. My mate bond was with Anya, not Autumn.

    So then why did this hurt me just as much as it did her?

    ¡°Why are you wasting your time with her?¡± Anya demands. ¡°She doesn¡¯t wish to speak to you. I¡¯m the

    one that¡¯s trying my best to make things better between us. I¡¯m the one that¡¯s fighting for you. Can¡¯t you

    see that Autumn doesn¡¯t care for you at all?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s only ignoring me because of you.¡± I remind her. ¡°Are you purposefully trying to cause problems

    between us Anya?¡±

    She narrows her eyes and folds her arms stubbornly.

    ¡°Are you out of your mind Atticus?¡± She inquired. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault that Autumn doesn¡¯t trust you. I was

    never like that when we were together. I knew you loved me, and I didn¡¯t have to worry about any other

    woman in your life. I know you still love me. That¡¯s why I can never let go of you. It¡¯s why I n on

    fighting till the end for you.¡±

    I was right. Anya wasn¡¯t going to let our past go. She was determined to keep fighting for us.

    I hear footsteps, and I see my brother walking up the stairs toward us. His eyes find us, and he looks

    surprised to see us alone together.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He asks as he joins us. ¡°Everyone is waiting for you, Atticus. I didn¡¯t expect to see

    you with Anya. Did something happen between the both of you?¡±

    Was Damon also about to misunderstand the situation? He should know that I would never disrespect

    my wife like that.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start the search,¡± I say without answering his question about Anya. It was useless trying to get

    Autumn to talk to me now, and I had already promised her to bring her friend back safely. The longer

    we waited, the harder it would be to keep my promise to her. Maybe if I found her friend, then she

    would forgive me. That is if she remembers anything from tonight when she wakes up.

    Did I want her to remember this? I didn¡¯t think so. The look on her face even though she was drunk told

    me that she wouldn¡¯t forgive me easily for this incident.

    It was even more useless trying to speak with Anya about her behavior. She never likes when I ignore

    her, but when I try to be friendly and not hurt her, she does things like this which makes it difficult for

    me to be there for her.

    ¡°Are there any leads so far?¡± I ask him as I walk past Anya towards the stairs. Damon looks at her

    before following after me. He knows something has to have happened; he wasn¡¯t stupid. But lucky for

    me, he didn¡¯t try to ask any other questions.

    ¡°No, none except that Griffin confessed to provoking Kane before they went missing.¡± He informs me.

    ¡°How did he provoke him?¡± I ask. Griffin was always looking for trouble. This wasn¡¯t news to me.

    ¡°This is where it gets interesting,¡± Damon says. ¡°Kane is supposed to be mates with Maya, Austin¡¯s

    sister who they¡¯ve recently been reunited with. It turns out Kane had something going on with the girl

    he went missing with. Griffin was trying to get him jealous by flirting with her. Apparently, Griffin

    promised to help her make him jealous. It worked.¡±

    ¡°Are you telling me that it¡¯s possible they both ran away to be together?¡± I ask.

    He shrugs his shoulder, ¡°there is really no telling what happened until we find them. The way I see it,

    this is the least of our problems. When Austin discovers what Kane has been doing behind his sister¡¯s

    back, he might kill him if he isn¡¯t already dead.¡±

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense. If they¡¯re mates, why is he cheating on her?¡± I ask.

    That was a question I shouldn¡¯t be asking. Anya was my mate, but it didn¡¯t stop me from desiring

    Autumn. It¡¯s not supposed to be that way; mates didn¡¯t desire anyone else but their partner.

    Damon looks at me, and there is a guilty look on his face, almost like he understands Kane. Did he also

    desire someone other than Anya? We never spoke about feelings; we did in the past, but after Anya

    came into our lives, we¡¯d drifted apart. It didn¡¯t feel right to exin what we each felt about her; it was

    awkward since we would be talking about the same woman. Now here we are, knowing very little about

    each of our feelings.

    Damon looks tensed as rissa joins us, ¡°how does my outfit look for the search?¡± She asks.

    Damon and I look at her as though she¡¯d lost her damn mind. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± He

    asks her.

    ¡°To help you with the search.¡± She answers him. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡±

    Damon grabs her wrist and pulls her to his side, ¡°you¡¯re not going on this search with us. When do we

    ever involve you in things like this? Stay here with the guests and keep out of trouble.¡±

    ¡°Keep out of trouble?¡± She asks. ¡°I am not a child Damon. I¡¯m all grown up; this is not the body of a

    child, in case you haven¡¯t noticed.¡±

    What the f**k?

    ¡°rissa.¡± I hiss. ¡°Are you feeling okay? What the hell is wrong with you all of a sudden?¡±

    I¡¯m surprised that Damon didn¡¯t respond to her littlement, and I¡¯m even more shocked when I turn

    to him and see that his cheeks are bright red.

    ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine.¡± She assures me. ¡°I hate that everyone treats me like I¡¯m a kid. It¡¯s frustrating. I want

    to help. Why can¡¯t you let me?¡±

    Was this really happening tonight? First, I had to keep Autumn from joining us, and now I also had to

    deal with rissa. We were wasting precious time.

    ¡°If it means that much to you. Fine. Join us.¡± I tell her.

    Her face brightens with a smile, and Damon looks at me like I¡¯ve lost my mind.

    ¡°She can¡¯te with us. We¡¯re not sure how long we will be out there. It¡¯s safer for her here.¡± He

    comins.

    ¡°Well, then you try and talk her out of this because I don¡¯t have time to convince her not toe with

    us.¡± I point out.

    I knew Damon was even more protective over her than I was, but I couldn¡¯t stay here trying to convince

    her not to go when I had to find Autumn¡¯s friend. I was still pissed over what had just urred. I was

    desperate to find a way to get Autumn to forgive me.

    rissa grabs a bag and walks in front of us, ¡°what do you even have in that bag?¡±

    ¡°Just girl stuff!¡± She shouts as she runs to the jeep.

    Dante joins us and quirks a brow when she opens the back door and jumps in the vehicle.

    ¡°rissa is joining us?¡± He asks.

    ¡°You can thank f*****g Atticus for that,¡± Damon growls as he joins her in the backseat.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee!¡± I respond sarcastically.

    ¡°Do we have everything?¡± I ask as I start the jeep.

    Dante nods, ¡°should we have asked Anya to join us as well? She¡¯s probably going to be pissed that I

    told her no, but allowed rissa to join us.¡±

    My hands tighten on the steering wheel, and before they can agree on bringing her, I¡¯m already moving

    the jeep into the pathway to the front of us. I wasn¡¯t giving them a chance to get her involved in this

    search. I was already in deep s**t with Autumn; I didn¡¯t want to worsen things. Besides, I couldn¡¯t trust

    myself around Anya; she would find some way to get us alone.

    ¡°Honestly, Atticus, I¡¯ve never been more proud of you.¡± rissa cheers in the back. ¡°Not having Anya

    with us is the best thing that has happened to me all day. It¡¯s tiring being around her. I¡¯m honestly not

    sure how you can stand being around her for more than a minute.¡±

    ¡°No, the best thing would have been if you had stayed your butt home.¡± Dante retorts. ¡°How did you

    convince Damon to let youe with us?¡±

    ¡°Damon isn¡¯t the boss of me.¡± She snaps.

    ¡°I am right here,¡± Damon says in a dry tone. ¡°You¡¯re speaking about me like I¡¯m the one that stayed

    back.¡±

    Was this what it would be like for the entire search? With these three constantly bickering and giving

    me a bloody headache?

    ¡°Are there any new updates?¡± I ask Dante. He¡¯s the one that¡¯s been in contact with Arthur about the

    search. ¡°And where is Griffin? He should be in the center of the search since he¡¯s partly to me for

    trying to get Kane jealous.¡±

    ¡°There are no new leads,¡± he informs me. ¡°And Griffin, he¡¯s leading one of the searches, but it¡¯s in a

    completely different direction. We¡¯re trying to spread out as far as possible since we don¡¯t know where

    they might be.¡±

    That would make sense; we wouldn¡¯t stop until we covered the entire ind. I had to find them. I had to

    for Autumn.

    ¡°Griffin loves to cause trouble,¡± Damon says, ¡°name one event we¡¯ve ever had that he didn¡¯t cause an

    uproar.¡±

    Now that Damon had mentioned it, I realized that he was speaking the truth. I couldn¡¯t find a single

    event where Griffin hadn¡¯t caused trouble for the rest of us. This was only his most recent incident.

    ¡°The trail ends here,¡± I say as the jeep abruptly stops. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to walk from this point

    onwards.¡±

    Damon turns to rissa, ¡°are you sure you¡¯re up for this?¡± he asks her. ¡°You can still take the jeep

    back; we can shift and return to the beach house in no time when we¡¯re done with the search.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯te all this way to be of no help.¡± She says.

    She¡¯s the first to step out of the vehicle, she attempts to grab her bag, but Damon takes it from her. ¡°I¡¯ll

    carry it. Just focus on walking.¡±

    She practically beams up at him, and this is the rtionship I¡¯m ustomed to seeing between them¡ª

    rissa inplete awe of Damon.

    Dante looks at me, and I shake my head. We¡¯re used to this. It wasn¡¯t anything new for us. Though,

    their bickering has for some reason increased recently.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t get over the fact that Kane is cheating on Maya. I¡¯ve heard their story. Didn¡¯t he go insane

    trying to find her when she went missing? How could he betray her like that in the end? You don¡¯t just

    cheat on your mate. It¡¯s not normal behavior.¡± Dante says.

    ¡°Well, maybe she¡¯s the wrong person for him,¡± rissa says. ¡°Look at Atticus, for example, Autumn is

    the better option for him than Anya, and she isn¡¯t his mate. She agrees with him, and he¡¯s so much

    happier with her than he ever was with Anya. Maybe you and Damon can experience that happiness if

    you give someone else a chance.¡±

    ¡°Here we go again,¡± Dante growls. ¡°Just another reminder why we should have left you home.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m allowed to give my opinion Dante.¡± She snaps at him.

    ¡°Do you smell that?¡± I ask.

    Damon looks at me, and his body goes on high alert, ¡°witchcraft.¡±

    ¡°Did we invite any witches on this trip with us?¡± I inquire.

    ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure,¡± Dante answers me. ¡°It¡¯s not something I paid attention to.¡±

    ¡°Even if we did, no one came here to perform any weird ritual or whatever the f**k this is,¡± I say as I

    look down at the burning circle in the dirt.

    ¡°Do you know what spell this is?¡± Dante asks me.

    I couldn¡¯t say for sure. We¡¯ve studied witches and their spells at the academy, but I can¡¯t say I paid

    attention.

    ¡°It seems like a teleporting spell,¡± rissa says as she goes closer. ¡°Someone used it to get out of the

    ind.¡±

    We all stare at her,pletely stunned.

    She looks up at us and quirks her brow, ¡°what? Have none of you ever paid attention in ss? I¡¯m in a

    lower level but somehow, know more than you?¡±

    Damon sighs and kneels next to her, ¡°it looks like there was more than one person here judging by the

    size of these footprints.¡±

    ¡°Do you think it was Kane and the girl?¡± I ask.

    ¡°They¡¯re not witches,¡± Damon points out. ¡°If it was them, a witch must have taken them.¡±

    ¡°This just gets weirder and weirder,¡± Dante says.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give Griffin the update,¡± Damon says as he takes out his phone. ¡°He can inform the others of what

    we¡¯ve just found out. I don¡¯t know how we will exin this, though.¡±

    ¡°So witches are involved in their disappearance?¡± Dante asks. ¡°Is that the conclusion we¡¯vee up

    with?¡±N?velDrama.Org holds this content.

    ¡°We still can¡¯t say for sure,¡± I respond as I scan the area. ¡°We can¡¯t jump to any conclusions, but what

    we could do is keep looking and hope to find some more clues.¡±

    Witches. I never liked when they were involved. They were tricky and could never be trusted. I¡¯ve

    barely met honest witches; most of them were always looking for ways to trick you and benefit in

    whatever way they could. Their spells always freaked me out. Knowing that there were people out

    there that could make you fall in love with them through magic alone didn¡¯t sit right with me. They had

    the power to control and make you do things you wouldn¡¯t normally do, and there wasn¡¯t much you

    could do about it. If you didn¡¯t know that you were under a spell, how could you break free from it?

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep looking,¡± Damon says.

    My eyes widen as rissa almost walks straight into the fire. Damon grabs her by her waist and pulls

    her to him.

    ¡°Oopsie!¡± she whispers as she hides her face against his chest.

    ¡°This is why I didn¡¯t want you here with us,¡± Damon growls. ¡°You could have seriously burnt yourself,

    and that¡¯s not even normal fire.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± she apologizes. ¡°I¡¯ll be more careful from now on.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s time I take you back to the jeep,¡± Damon tells her. ¡°We can wait there until they return.¡±

    ¡°I told you that I could do this.¡± Sheins. Damon looks frustrated, but he doesn¡¯t try to convince

    her again.

    We searched the area more than once, hoping to find other clues, but we didn¡¯t see anything that could

    help us find them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the jeep; we can check another area,¡± I say.

    They nod, and it doesn¡¯t take us long to get back to the vehicle. Even though I wanted to find Autumn¡¯s

    friend, I was still distracted because of what had happened earlier. She was constantly on my mind. I

    couldn¡¯t get over the look on her face when she thought that I¡¯d lied to her.

    ¡°Stop the jeep!¡± Dante shouts suddenly. His words broke me out of my thoughts just before I could hit a

    tree.

    ¡°Where the hell is your mind at, Atticus?¡± He demands.

    ¡°We have rissa with us; you can¡¯t be so f*****g careless,¡± Damon warned.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± I apologize. ¡°I have a lot on my mind.¡±

    ¡°You still didn¡¯t tell us what happened with Anya.¡± Damon reminds me. ¡°It looked like you were in an

    argument when I interrupted you.¡±

    Anya was thest person I wanted to speak to anyone about.

    ¡°Have you noticed recently that her behavior has drastically changed?¡± I ask them.

    ¡°She just watched her mate marry her best friend. I think she¡¯s allowed to react the way that she¡¯s

    behaving. You¡¯re the one that doesn¡¯t have any sympathy toward her pain.¡± Dante says with a hint of

    irritation in his voice.

    This is why I couldn¡¯t discuss anything with my brothers; they would instantly take her side.

    ¡°Or, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, maybe you¡¯re finally able to see her for what she truly

    is. Her true nature is finally showing, and you¡¯re finally opening your eyes.¡± rissa cuts in.

    ¡°We¡¯re straying from what we came here to do,¡± Damon says. ¡°Let¡¯s continue with the search.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± I agree.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll stay here,¡± rissa says.

    ¡°Why did you change your mind?¡± I ask her. ¡°You were confident that you could do it an hour ago.¡±

    ¡°Speaking about Anya has given me an instant headache.¡± Sheins.

    Iugh, ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating.¡±

    Damon sighs, ¡°I¡¯ll stay with her to ensure that no witches turn up and try to kidnap her. We¡¯re still

    unsure of what¡¯s happening.¡±

    Dante and I don¡¯t ask any more questions as we continue the search. I hope we find more clues that

    could lead us to Kane.

    . . . . .

    We¡¯ve been searching for hours, and still, there was no sign of anything or anyone. I was beginning to

    believe that Kane and the girl were indeed kidnapped by witches. It¡¯s the best way to exin their

    disappearance. We¡¯ve been in contact with Griffin this entire time, but they haven¡¯t found anything

    helpful to us either.

    ¡°Do you see what I see?¡± Dante asks me suddenly. ¡°I want to make sure that I¡¯m not hallucinating. We

    haven¡¯t slept in hours, and we¡¯ve been on our feet for a long time.¡±

    He was right; we have been on our feet for a long time without rest.

    I follow his gaze; there¡¯s a note stuck to a tree and a knife at the top holding it together.

    ¡°You¡¯re not hallucinating,¡± I assure him. ¡°Who will leave a note in the middle of the forest? How were

    they so sure that someone would find it?¡±

    ¡°Well, to be fair, we practically did find it. Whoever left it knew that there would be people searching for

    Kane.¡±

    I grabbed the knife and pulled it off the tree. Dante takes the letter and reads through it thoroughly. The

    frown on his face tells me that this was far from over.

    ¡°I think you should have a look at this yourself.¡± He says as he hands it over to me.

    After reading it, I¡¯m dumbstruck. What kind of sick joke was this?

    ording to the letter, Austin¡¯s baby had been kidnapped.

    How the f**k did this happen? Witches were definitely behind this; there weren¡¯t any questions about

    their involvement anymore.

    ¡°We have to find Austin and the others! A baby is involved; it¡¯s just gotten more serious.¡± I shout. ¡°Let¡¯s

    get back to the jeep.¡±

    I was even more desperate to get to the bottom of things now that an innocent baby was involved. The

    letter was threatening his life. How cruel were these people? How did they even get the baby from

    Austin and Lucy? And if this was true, why hadn¡¯t there been an uproar by now? Did they not know that

    their baby was missing?

    I mmed the jeep door shut as soon as we got to it.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± rissa demands as she jumps up. She¡¯d fallen asleep on Damon but was wide

    awake when she heard us return.

    ¡°Great job waking her up when I finally got her to get some rest,¡± Damon says, annoyed with us. He

    wouldn¡¯t be when he found out what was happening.

    ¡°Read this letter,¡± I tell him. ¡°You¡¯ll understand why we¡¯re in a rush.¡±

    We give him a few seconds, and we hear his sharp breath intake the moment it sinks in.

    ¡°They kidnapped a baby?¡± He shouts. ¡°Who the f**k did this?¡±

    ¡°A baby?¡± rissa gasps. ¡°Who¡¯s baby?¡±

    ¡°Austin and Lucy¡¯s. They¡¯ll freak out when they read this letter if they aren¡¯t already aware.¡± Dante says.

    ¡°Get Griffin on the phone,¡± Imand. ¡°He needs to inform the others for us.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to.¡± He says as another jeep pulls up behind us. It was Griffin; he¡¯de alone to find

    us.

    ¡°We know where they are.¡± He informs us. ¡°But we need to hurry. Things are getting crazy out there

    between Austin and Kane. They¡¯re about to fight. We need to get there before someone kills the other.¡±

    ¡°How do you know all this?¡± I demand.

    ¡°We saw everything through one of the drones Arthur¡¯s family sold us. Luckily I remembered we had

    one on the ind with us.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the only problem,¡± I warn. ¡°We just found this letter.¡±

    He takes it from me, and he has the same reaction that we all did.

    ¡°This is messed up,¡± Griffin says. ¡°Since Austin is too busy trying to kill Kane, I think it¡¯s safe to say that

    he isn¡¯t aware that his son is missing. We need to get this letter to him immediately.¡±

    He was right. Austin must have found out that Kane was cheating on Maya with Autumn¡¯s friend, so he

    was trying to kill him for hurting his sister.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not waste anymore time.¡± I shout as we jump in our vehicles.

    ¡°Do you think we will make it in time?¡± rissa asks. ¡°I¡¯m terrified for the baby¡¯s safety.¡±

    We all are. I knew one thing for sure, I wouldn¡¯t rest until we found him.

    . . . . . .

    ~AUTUMN~

    The cold ground beneath my body was the first thing I noticed. Why was I on the ground? I slowly open

    my eyes, and to my surprise, I¡¯m inside a bathroom. I winced as I tried to get up but fell straight on my

    ass.

    I squeeze my temples as I try to remember what happenedst night for me to wake up on the cold,

    hard floor.

    Thest thing I remembered was Scarlett and ra offering me a drink. I remember asking for more

    than I should have taken. And that was it. Everything went nk after that.

    I try once more to get up from the ground, and this time I can. I stare at myself in the mirror; why are

    my eyes so red and swollen? It looks like I¡¯ve been crying the entire night. Where was everyone?

    It was tranquil, and this wasn¡¯t a room I was familiar with. I open the bathroom door, and the next thing I

    see are roses all over the floor . I follow the trail to the bed, where rose petals are almost everywhere. It

    doesn¡¯t look like anyone slept there.

    Was Atticus in here with mest night? I gasped as I remembered the spring. Did that even take ce

    last night?

    The headache increased as I tried even harder to remember what I had donest night.

    I wince as my hand identally grazes my n****e. Why did it feel so sensitive? They felt different. . .

    What exactly happenedst night?

    An image of Atticus sucking on them shes across my mind, and my bodyes to an abrupt halt.

    That¡¯s impossible. Atticus wouldn¡¯t do something like that to me when he had no interest in me at all. It

    must have been a dream. But if it was, why did my body feel all tender and needy? Like it wanted

    something but didn¡¯t know how to get it.

    ¡°Autumn!¡± I heard my sister shouting as she continued to knock on the door.

    I unlocked it, and she barged in, ¡°what are you doing locked up in your room when there is so much

    chaos going on outside?¡± She demands from me.

    ¡°Chaos?¡± I ask. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±

    ¡°Austin and Lucy¡¯s baby has been kidnapped.¡± She informs me. ¡°There are so many other things that

    took ce while you¡¯ve been sleeping. It turns out Maya was a fake; the real Maya was the one that

    went missing with Kane. They found them.¡±

    What? My head was spinning with all of this new information.

    ¡°Where is Atticus now?¡± I demand. ¡°I have to see him.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re organizing a helicopter to help find the baby before it¡¯s toote.¡± She exins.

    Did this mean he was nning on leaving without me?

    Before my sister could stop me, I was already running down the stairs; I had to get to them before they

    left. I wanted to help; a baby was involved. A baby!

    How could Atticus n to leave the ind without telling me anything? Has anything changed at all

    since we got married? Or did he just see me as a burden to him and his family?

    I was still trying to figure out what had happenedst night, but my stupid mind was still nk. I don¡¯t

    think I should ever drink like that again. I can only hope I didn¡¯t make a fool of myself again like I did the

    last time I had gotten so drunk.

    ¡°Where can I find the helicopter?¡± I ask rissa when I spot her.

    ¡°Autumn?¡± She questions as she studies my face. ¡°Have you been crying?¡±

    ¡°I heard that Atticus was leaving; he didn¡¯t tell me anything,¡± I informed her.

    She nods, ¡°he said you had a long night, and he wanted to make sure that you stayed here and got

    your rest. He asked me to take care of you before he left.¡±

    A long night? I couldn¡¯t remember anything aboutst night, and it was beginning to frustrate me!

    ¡°I can¡¯t remember anything fromst night,¡± I confess. ¡°I think I had too much to drink.¡±

    She giggles, ¡°I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t remember walking up to Atticus and kissing him in front of us?¡±

    She asks. ¡°Anya was pissed, and I enjoyed every second of seeing her like that. It would be best if you

    did that more often. I think even Atticus enjoyed it.¡±

    We kissed?

    What on earth was she talking about? I would never do something like that, not in front of so many

    people. I¡¯ve never been that bold. But I was different the first time I¡¯d gotten drunk, and this time I¡¯d had

    more to drink.

    ¡°You really don¡¯t remember anything,¡± rissa notes as she notices my tense posture.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to think aboutst night,¡± I tell her. ¡°I want to find Atticus.¡±

    She takes me to Damon¡¯s jeep, and just as she promised, she gets me to the helicopter just in time.

    Everyone is now getting on board.

    Luckily for me, Atticus was still outside, waiting for the others to get in.

    ¡°Good luck!¡±rissa shouts as she waves goodbye to me.

    I thanked her and ran towards Atticus. His gaze falls on me, and he looks surprised I¡¯de.

    The moment I reached him and felt his closeness, something strange happened. I got another memory.

    We were kissing in this memory, at the front of the yacht. And it wasn¡¯t just a peck on the lips.

    It turns out rissa was telling the truth. I did kiss him in front of everyone.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± He asks. He has to shout above the loud noises the helicopter makes as

    its des spin.

    ¡°I¡¯ming with you,¡± I tell him. It was hard to concentrate on his words when the memory of our kiss

    was still fresh in my head. Why did he kiss me back in front of Anya?

    And it wasn¡¯t just any kiss. It was the most passionate kiss I¡¯ve ever had in my entire life, and why did I

    have to be drunk when it happened? I felt giddy inside from just the memory; I can¡¯t imagine how good

    it must have feltst night.

    ¡°Autumn,¡± he says. ¡°This is about to turn into a massive battle. I didn¡¯t tell you for your good. I need you

    to stay back here. It¡¯s where you will be safe.¡±

    I frown as another memory crashes into me.

    I could hear Anya shouting that she loved him. I covered my mouth with my hand as everything

    returned to me all at once. Our hot session in the spring, begging him to touch me. My friend going

    missing. And then, finally, Atticus promising that he wasn¡¯t going to see Anya but doing the exact

    opposite.

    The pain fromst night crushes my heart. It exins why I woke up on the bathroom floor with puffy

    eyes. After everything that happened between usst night, how could he do that to me in the end?

    How?

    Out of everything, I hated when someone lied to me. And Atticus was someone I trusted; I always

    thought that he wasn¡¯t someone that would lie.

    He promised not to see Anya, but he went and saw her right in front of our room, where he knew I

    would be able to hear them both.

    Did he purposefully try to hurt mest night? Why else would he have an entire conversation in front of

    our room? And it wasn¡¯t just a conversation; they were hugging as well.

    I take a step back from him, and the look on his face tells me that he knows I remember everything that

    happened.

    ¡°Autumn¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going, Atticus. Nothing you say or do can stop me.¡±

    I could barely face him anymore. He¡¯s not the man I fell in love with. The Atticus I loved would never

    betray me like this. He would never intentionally find ways to hurt me .

 Chapter 30

    Chapter 30

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 30

    ~AUTUMN~

    Atticus didn¡¯t try to stop me again. I think my anger was clearly showing and he understood not to

    refuse me. I didn¡¯t try to hide it from him. He knows what he didst night. He knows why I do not want

    to speak to him. He knows that I saw him with Anya and he knows what it did to me. If rissa could

    realize that I criedst night, he must see it also. Did he feel guilty at all?

    I walk past him and straight into the waiting helicopter. They didn¡¯t have time to waste.

    I hugged Maya as soon as I got onto it¡ªthat had been her name all along. Maya. And it turns out Kane

    was her mate.

    After speaking to her and ensuring she was okay, I¡¯d left her to be with her mate.

    I could see how much they loved each other; he definitely loved her a lot. I could see it in his eyes

    whenever he looked at her, and I think she also felt his love. She knew he loved her plenty.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    Why couldn¡¯t I have the same thing with Atticus? Why did he have to love someone else? And why

    couldn¡¯t Anya leave us alone?

    The answer was simple, Atticus was the reason she wasn¡¯t letting go. He kept giving her reasons for

    her to fight for them. He kept running to her and protecting her even though he knew his brothers could

    do an excellent job at that. He knew she didn¡¯t need him, she never needed him even from the start.

    The more I thought about it, the more I got angry.

    I¡¯ve loved Atticus for so many years; all I¡¯ve wanted was for him to feel the same way about me.

    Yesterday, things happened between us that gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, there¡¯s a chance

    for us, a chance for him to feel what I felt for him. But him hugging Anya right after we came from the

    spring has dulled my hope.

    How could he be so intimate with me and hug her right after? It made me feel sick to my stomach just

    thinking about it.

    ¡°Autumn,¡± he says as he joins my side, as if reading my mind. ¡°I think we need to talk. About

    everything.¡±

    ¡°Does this look like the right time to have this discussion Atticus?¡± I snap as the helicopternds.

    He seems taken aback by my tone. I¡¯ve never been this harsh with him and hate being that way, but I

    can¡¯t seem to get rid of the anger.

    ¡°After all of this, I want to exin what happened.¡± He tries once more.

    I didn¡¯t think there was anything that he could say to make this better.

    He helped me out of the helicopter even though I didn¡¯t want his help.

    Multiple vehicles are waiting for us, prepared to take us to our destination. The witch who¡¯d taken baby

    Roman had made it clear who she wanted hostage. The women were preparing to save him. They

    were risking their lives to bring him back even though some of them were pregnant, I admired their

    strength and courage.

    A reunion follows right after. Lucy¡¯s brothers joined us, and there were a few of them. I watch as they all

    hug and try tofort her. I wish I could do something, anything, to make her feel better. I can¡¯t

    imagine losing my baby and wondering if I¡¯ll ever see him again. It¡¯s something no mother ever wants

    to experience.

    A notification on my phone catches my attention. I unlock it and stare at the message. I took a deep

    breath as I saw the name.

    It¡¯s from Anya.

    I don¡¯t want to look at it, but I can¡¯t resist. I want to know what she has to say to me. Part of me already

    knows it¡¯s about Atticus. Would she exin more about what happened between themst night after

    he¡¯d dropped me in the room? Did he leave with her? I don¡¯t know what happened after I shut the door,

    and I was scared to find out. I didn¡¯t want to hurt my heart more than it had already been broken.

    ¡®Listen to the recording. You might hear something important.¡¯

    That was all she¡¯d said. A recording? Was it from yesterday?

    I didn¡¯t have my headphones with me, so instead, I slowed the volume down and held the phone close

    to my ear as I listened.

    ¡®You will alwayse first, and you know that. I¡¯m not sure what will happen after today, but I promise I

    will never look at her the way I look at you. We are mates; I can¡¯t look at another woman like I do you.

    But right now, sweetheart, I can¡¯t tell you I won¡¯t care for her. After today, I have responsibilities toward

    her, and I won¡¯t be able to ignore all of them. If you want me not to touch her, you know that certain

    traditions will require me to touch her; I can promise not to take her to bed, to not sleep with her. That¡¯s

    the most I can do for you, my mate. I¡¯m sorry for failing you like this. I¡¯m so sorry.¡¯

    The phone drops from my hand. That was Atticus, and I would know his voice anywhere.

    How could he make those promises to her? How could he promise never to take me to bed when we

    were husband and wife? He made these promises to her; she didn¡¯t force him to do it. He willingly said

    those things to her.

    The only reason why he¡¯s ever cared for me is because of his duty because he¡¯s forced to do it; he¡¯s

    never really cared for me from his own free will. I¡¯m reminded once more than Anya was his true love,

    not me, never me. It¡¯s always been her no matter how much it hurts me to admit it. I was stupid for

    thinking there was ever a chance for Atticus to love me. He¡¯s made it clear since the beginning how

    much Anya means to him. But hearing the way he spoke to her only made the pain harder.

    Another thought crashes into my mind and I clutch my chest. It couldn¡¯t be. He wouldn¡¯t do that to me.

    But the evidence was here. I couldn¡¯t deny it.

    Was his promise to her the real reason he didn¡¯t want to touch me yesterday? He imed he didn¡¯t

    want to do it because I was drunk, but I didn¡¯t think that was his real reason anymore. He stopped

    anything from happening because of his promise to her. To never take me to bed.

    I couldn¡¯t believe this. I felt sick to my stomach.

    How could he do this to me?

    ¡®I will never look at her the way I look at you.¡¯

    I knew that; I¡¯ve seen it happen a hundred times before, but to hear him say those words to her. . . It

    was heart-wrenching. I could barely breathe.

    This wasn¡¯t happening. It was destroying everything, all the hopes I had for our future. It was destroying

    it all before it even had a chance of beginning.

 Chapter 31

    Chapter 31

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 31

    ~AUTUMN~

    Atticus turns to me at the sound of the phone hitting the ground; he kneels to pick it up. I¡¯m trying to

    keep my emotions hidden from him under the circumstances we are currently facing.

    ¡°You dropped this.¡± He says as he hands it to me. I take the phone from his hand, but I refuse to look

    him in the face.

    He¡¯s not the man I thought he was. He was apletely different person.

    I want to y the recording for him; I want him to know that I¡¯ve heard everything he said to Anya. I

    want him to realize that he can stop pretending to be nice to me now. I know he doesn¡¯t care. But I

    know I can¡¯t let my pain get in the way of finding Roman. A baby would always be more important. No

    matter how hard it was, I had to ignore my feelings this one time. I would have plenty of time after to

    confront Atticus about everything that was said in this recording. I didn¡¯t think there was a single excuse

    he could use to justify what he said.

    These weren¡¯t harmless words; they were words meant to destroy our marriage. Promises that he

    made to Anya without once thinking about me and how I would feel if I ever found out, which I did. And

    out of everyone, Anya was the one that sent it to me; she was the one to throw it all in my face to

    remind me of who Atticus has always loved since the beginning.

    Atticus gets distracted by something Arthur said to him, and I use that opportunity to breathe again. I

    don¡¯t know if I shouldugh or cry. All I¡¯ve ever done was wish the best for both of them. Now it felt like

    they both wanted to hurt me.

    My hand tightened around the phone; I wanted him to feel the same pain that I was feeling; I wanted

    him to hurt the same way I did after listening to this recording. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever wished for

    something this awful, but I¡¯m angry, so angry with what he¡¯d done.

    Atticus didn¡¯t try to talk to me again as we entered one of the vehicles waiting for us. It¡¯s possible he is

    also putting his feelings aside for the mission. We both understand that this is bigger than any of the

    problems in our marriage.

    Lucy and Austin were in a mess, their baby was in danger, and no one knew whether he was still alive

    or not. I¡¯d never seen a child as loved as him; many of the most powerful of our kind were present

    ready to bring him safely home. No one cared about their well-being; he was all they cared about.

    When the vehicles stop, the women that Morgan, the witch, asked for in exchange for Roman all

    separate from the rest of us.

    The men were in emotional distress after their mates left. They were trying tofort each other, but it

    was a depressing sight to see. Everyone here loved their mates, they couldn¡¯t hide it, and they weren¡¯t

    trying to.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe we have no choice but to f*****g wait here while our mates are locked in an abandoned

    castle with f*****g witches,¡± Hunter growls. ¡°I¡¯ve never felt this useless in my entire life.¡±

    ¡°They can handle themselves,¡± Lucas says with a fierceness in his eyes. ¡°They¡¯re strong; I believe that

    they can do this. I know they can.¡±

    Paige Snow, another witch they¡¯d invited to help, approached me. I was surprised that she had even

    noticed me under the circumstances. I didn¡¯t think anyone was paying attention to me.

    ¡°What is your name?¡± She asks.

    ¡°Autumn,¡± I answer her. Her eyes are almost white as she scans my face. What was she looking for?

    ¡°You seem familiar.¡± She said as she held my chin and turned my face slightly to the left as if to get a

    better look at me, ¡°fascinating. Very fascinating.¡±

    Her words didn¡¯t make any sense to me. What was so fascinating about me? It seemed like she knew

    something that I didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Do you like water, dear?¡± She asks in a strange tone.

    It was a weird conversation to ask someone if they liked water. But for me, it was even stranger that

    she¡¯d asked that when I have always been terrified of water.

    ¡°I¡¯m terrified of it,¡± I confess.

    She nodded as if she¡¯d already known my response before I said anything. She was a powerful witch,

    ording to everything I¡¯d heard about her; maybe she was able to look into my past or my future and

    saw something there that caught her by surprise. I knew that she was able to receive visions. Was that

    why her eyes had turned white when looking at me?

    Everyone I knew was always terrified of witches or at least disgusted by them. In our academy, it was

    no different; the witches in our school were often mistreated. No one trusted them. I¡¯ve never felt

    ufortable around them, however. Instead, I¡¯ve always felt sorry for how they were sometimes

    treated. Some of them didn¡¯t deserve it, while others did.

    A howl rocks the woods, and it distracts Paige from asking me more questions. The tension has just

    doubled.

    ¡°They¡¯re in trouble!¡± Hunter roars. ¡°I can feel Isabe¡¯s pain.¡±

    We all held our breaths when we saw Gabrie racing toward us with Roman in her hands. There is a

    remarkable silence as we watch her move with incredible speed. Austin took him from her and kissed

    his forehead before reluctantly giving him back to her. Sadly, their reunion couldn¡¯tst long. He was

    worried about Lucy and the others. I barely knew those women, but something about them had drawn

    me closer to each of them, and I wanted to keep them safe. I wanted to protect them even though

    fighting was never something I¡¯d been good at.

    Multiple howls follow, different from thest; these are no doubt cries for help. I winced, feeling their

    pain from the sound of their cry alone.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get moving!¡± Austin shouts. ¡°Paige, our wives need you. We need to get you to them, and we

    need to do it now. That¡¯s the most important task at this point.¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t going to be that easy,¡± Paige says. ¡°They¡¯reing.¡±

    Her eyes are white once more, and it¡¯s a little scary to look directly into them.

    Who wasing? We didn¡¯t know who she was speaking about, but the concern on her face told us all

    we needed to know.

    Within seconds, we¡¯re surrounded by vampires and werewolves hungry for every single one of us.

    Everyone takes their position as they attack one, sometimes three, of the enemies simultaneously. I¡¯m

    amazed by the way they fought. It¡¯s my first time seeing a battle as big as this one up close. I was

    usually protected by my parents and had never had to experience anything like this until now.

    Atticus has more experience than I expected; his attacks are smooth and controlled as he brings his

    opponent to the ground.

    He grabs my hand as more approach and pulls me closer to Gabrie, who¡¯s still holding Roman in her

    arms. I¡¯m surprised he¡¯s concerned about my safety, but I¡¯m reminded that he¡¯s only doing this because

    of his duty as a husband; he isn¡¯t doing it because he wants to keep me out of danger.

    ¡°This is worse than I expected it to be.¡± He says.

    ¡°Always expect the worst around us,¡± Gabrie responds.

    Arthur chuckles despite the gravity of the situation, ¡°I¡¯ll believe her when she says that. It¡¯s nothing but

    the truth.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy that you got Roman out of there safely,¡± I tell Gabrie. ¡°And I¡¯m happy that he¡¯s safe.¡±

    Despite the fear I felt for the other women, I knew we would all make it out alive; the men on our side

    were powerful and knew what they were doing.

    Hunter roars in frustration as he tries to kill as many as possible to get back to Isabe in time to save

    her. I¡¯ve never seen men as in love as these groups of men in front of me. They were terrified of losing

    their mates.

    My eyes widen when I spot a vampire advancing on me. I don¡¯t know what happens next, but he

    somehow slows down just as he nears me; he¡¯s slow enough for me to stab him with the stake in my

    hands. He drops to the ground before me, but something else catches my attention.

    I can hardly breathe as I stare at the water droplets frozen in the sky; it feels like they¡¯re almost

    speaking to me, like they are alive and waiting for mymand. Atticus looks back at me in shock, but

    he doesn¡¯t have an opportunity to ask me if I am okay as another vampire tries to tackle him.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you could fight,¡± Gabrie says in a surprised whisper. ¡°I¡¯m impressed.¡±

    Even I didn¡¯t know that I knew how to fight. When Atticus had given me the stake earlier, I didn¡¯t think

    I¡¯d know how to use it, but I was full of surprises today.

    I look at the sky again, but the water droplets have disappeared. What was that? I still wasn¡¯t sure what

    had forced the vampire to slow down, but I was happy that I was able to protect myself.

    Kane is shouting and panicking as he realizes that we wouldn¡¯t be able to get Paige back to the other

    women in time. They were on their own. Their lives now depended on their own strength.

    ¡°There are many witches inside the castle,¡± Gabrie informs us. ¡°There is no telling what kind of spells

    they¡¯re using against them. We have to find a way to get back there. If I didn¡¯t have to protect Roman, I

    would be rushing to get back to them.¡±

    The tension kept rising as everyone realized how much more dangerous this entire mission had turned

    into. Atticus nces at me, and I¡¯m not sure if I saw correctly, but he looks relieved to know that I am

    here with him and not in as much danger as the other women were in.

    No Autumn. He doesn¡¯t care for you. That voice note was the proof you needed. Don¡¯t get fooled, don¡¯t

    let your heart bleed anymore because of him. You¡¯ve let yourself hurt too much over him. It was time

    that you started to care for yourself and protect your heart at all costs.

    ¡°Lucy!¡± Austin shouts suddenly; there¡¯s no hiding the joy on his face. I followed his gaze, and it was

    indeed her.

    He kills at an incredible rate to get to her. When he finally does, he pulls her into his arms and kisses

    her for as long as the enemies would let him. She runs to Roman next and takes him from Gabrie.

    She showers him with kisses, and I¡¯ve never seen a baby this happy before; he¡¯s ecstatic to be in his

    mother¡¯s arms again.

    ¡°How is Maya?¡± Kane demands. ¡°Is she okay?¡±

    He can¡¯t hide the desperation in his voice as he waits for confirmation from Lucy. I think we all held out

    breaths as we waited for her to answer. It doesn¡¯t look good that she was the only one to return. Her

    body was covered in bruises and blood.

    ¡°She is,¡± Lucy assured him.

    ¡°And Isabe?¡± Hunter shouts as he knocks a werewolf to the ground. ¡°Where the f**k is she?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re all safe.¡± She assures everyone as they all begin asking for their mates. ¡°They will be here

    soon; they¡¯re just finishing up with the other witches. The danger is over on that end. Now it¡¯s time to

    finish here and get my baby home and away from danger.¡±

    Not long after she¡¯s said that, the other women show up. I¡¯m happy to see everyone reunite with their

    loved ones. I think everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Everything would be okay now, Roman was safe,

    and the women were back safe and sound.

    ¡°KANEEEEE!¡± The piercing scream rocks the forest. I freeze; I think we all do. Did I speak too soon?

    It was Maya. She was the one to scream.

    We all look up and are shocked to see Kane falling to the ground with blood pouring out his chest and

    mouth. My heart sank at the heartbreaking sight in front of me. This wasn¡¯t happening. She couldn¡¯t

    lose him. They were too much in love, and she was pregnant with his babies; they couldn¡¯t separate

    from each other. It was unfair.

    Gabrie screams when she sees him on the ground; he¡¯s her brother, and she¡¯s also hurt to see him

    losing his life in front of her. She kills the vampire responsible for stabbing him and returns to Maya¡¯s

    side as quickly as she can.

    It¡¯s hard to hold back the tears, I barely knew them, but I could feel their pain. They were good people;

    they didn¡¯t deserve this. Despite my anger with Atticus, I still reach for his hand. He tightens his hold on

    it as we watch with tear-filled eyes.

    Lucy rushes to their side, and something unusual happens next. Roman begins to fuss in his mother¡¯s

    arms, and it looks like he understands exactly what is happening around him. He reaches forward and

    touches the wound on his chest after Lucy gives him to Maya; I gasp when he begins to glow in a

    dazzling light. I can¡¯t see anything; I don¡¯t think we can. But something is definitely going on. When the

    glow dies down, it¡¯s shocking to see Kane¡¯s wound healed, almost like it wasn¡¯t there, to begin with.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    How on earth was that even possible?

    What¡¯s even more impressive is Kane waking up right after like nothing had happened. How was he

    alive? I¡¯ve never seen anything this amazing in my entire life.

    Everyone surrounds them, amazed by what Roman just did. The enemies were either all dead or

    seriously injured; it was safe, at least for now. I had to hope that there were no more surprises. I don¡¯t

    think we were up for any more surprises after what happened today. This was enough.

    ¡°News will spread like wildfire,¡± Atticus notes as he looks around us. ¡°Your family lives up to their

    name.¡±

    We all knew how powerful Austin¡¯s pack was, it was feared throughout the supernatural world, and his

    achievements have even been discussed at the academy. Now that his family kept growing, his power

    was only intensifying. It also meant that his enemies were also increasing in numbers.

    Austin shakes his hand, ¡°we are thankful for your help today. You and your wife have shown your

    loyalty. If you need us for anything, I promise we will be there.¡±

    I watched as they hugged and told each other how grateful they were to have them in their lives. It was

    so good to see. Roman was showered with kisses from everyone present. He was being passed

    around and given a few seconds with each couple; they expressed their joy at having him back safely.

    ¡°We¡¯re hosting a party tonight in honor of having both Maya and Roman back in our lives. You are

    invited, of course. We will be happy if you can attend.¡± Austin informs us.

    Atticus agreed and shook his hand once more.

    ¡°We have some time.¡± He answers him.

    I can see that he still wants to speak to me, but I¡¯ve been avoiding him. I wasn¡¯t ready to have a good

    conversation with him. We were still around others, and after everything they¡¯d just been through, I

    didn¡¯t want to cause any more problems for this family.

    When we arrived at the pce, owned by Austin¡¯s parents and Maya had reunited with her parents, the

    women separated from the men to get dressed for the party, pulling me along with them.

    ¡°How are things with Atticus?¡± Maya asks me.

    ¡°I saw when Anya fainted for the wedding; then she was all over him in the yacht.¡± Gabrie points out.

    ¡°Many of us noticed it, and we¡¯re angry that they would act that way in front of you.¡±

    Everyone noticed how close they were that night? At least I knew I wasn¡¯t being unreasonable.

    ¡°Things were improving a little,¡± I confess. ¡°But that happiness didn¡¯tst long. Things are worse now

    than they were in the beginning.¡±

    ¡°Worse?¡± Maya asks in surprise. ¡°I was hoping it would be better now that you¡¯re away from Anya.

    Maybe we can get the both of you to spend more time with us; that way, you don¡¯t have to worry about

    her getting between your rtionship with your husband.¡±

    Even when Anya wasn¡¯t around, she was still causing problems. She didn¡¯t have to be here to drift

    Atticus and me apart. The voice note was enough proof of that.

    ¡°It¡¯s toote for that,¡± I whisper. They looked at each other, and I needed to exin myself adequately.

    They needed to hear for themselves what I¡¯d heard.

    I take my phone out and y the recording for them to understand what I meant.

    They both gave each other a knowing look, and neither was surprised. How could that be? Why weren¡¯t

    they as surprised as me when I¡¯d first heard it? It¡¯s almost like they already knew what he¡¯d said to her.

    ¡°We were in the spa room when this conversation took ce,¡± Gabrie confessed. ¡°We heard the

    entire thing.¡±

    So this is when the recording was taken. On my wedding day, while they were in the spa room

    together. If Anya has had the recording since then, why did she choose today to send it to me? It¡¯s

    almost like she was waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it on me. My heart hurts to know that I

    never knew Anya, even after all the time we¡¯ve spent together. I thought she was my friend, but my

    mother seemed right about her this entire time.

    ¡°Anya sent this to you?¡± Maya asks to confirm.

    I nod.

    Gabrie rolls her eyes, ¡°I can¡¯t believe she recorded him. I¡¯m sure he doesn¡¯t even know she did that. I

    thought she was a nice person and just hurting because her mate was marrying you. But something

    tells me that there¡¯s more to her. She¡¯s a sneaky little bitch.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Maya agrees. ¡°She does seem sneaky. And she¡¯s out to break the two of you up.¡±

    ¡°Did anything other than this recording happen while you were in the room with them?¡± I ask. It always

    bothered me. Did they do anything else but speak to each other? The video I saw of them on my

    engagement night still haunted me.

    Gabrie sighs, ¡°Anya kept begging him to stop the wedding. She told him how much she loved him

    and that she didn¡¯t want him touching you or looking at you the way he looked at her. I think that¡¯s when

    the recording started, him responding to her. Other than that, nothing else happened.¡±

    It didn¡¯t make me feel any better. I was hoping that Atticus was forced to say those things to her, that he

    didn¡¯t mean it, but I knew I was hoping for the impossible. Every minute since we got married has been

    a roller coaster ride for me, and it doesn¡¯t seem like it is about to ease up anytime soon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let her win,¡± Maya tells me. ¡°He¡¯s your husband. He married you. It may not look like it now, but

    he chose you even if he doesn¡¯t realize it yet.¡±

    I wanted to believe Maya, but I knew she was only trying tofort me. She would say anything as

    long as she thought it would make me feel better about the situation.

    I know they can see how much this is affecting me. It was always hard to hide my feelings whenever

    Atticus was involved.

    I didn¡¯t want to fight for Atticus if he wasn¡¯t fighting for me. What was the point of fighting for him when

    he made it clear that he would never look at me the way he looks at her? I could read between the

    lines. He could never love me, not when his heart already belonged to her.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get you dressed up,¡± Gabrie says as she pulls me into Maya¡¯s room.

    ¡°I have plenty of options for you,¡± Maya tells me. ¡°Since you aren¡¯t pregnant, we¡¯re pulling out the

    sexiest dresses I own.¡±

    She hands me a selection of her dresses, and Gabrie and I leave the room so that she can have her

    spicy time with Kane. We knew they wanted some time alone after everything they¡¯d been through. It

    showed in her eyes how much she wanted to be near him.

    ¡°I think you should wear this white dress,¡± Gabrie says as we enter the guest room. ¡°You¡¯ll take his

    breath away when he sees you in this. I¡¯m sure of it.¡±

    It¡¯s very short and revealing. But it¡¯s beautiful. I wasn¡¯t sure if it would make any sense to do this

    anymore, however. Anya is the woman he wants and can¡¯t take his eyes off. If I went through all this

    trouble and he didn¡¯t bother even looking my way. . . I didn¡¯t want to do that to myself anymore.

    ¡°I know things may seem hard now, Autumn, but I promise you that life improves.¡± She says. ¡°One day,

    you¡¯ll look back and be happy that you never gave up.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Gabrie.¡±

    She didn¡¯t have to be this nice to me. They¡¯d just had their problems, yet she was, trying tofort me.

    It¡¯s crazy that women like this existed all this time, yet I chose Anya as my best friend. If I¡¯d known that

    this was what true friends were like, I would have known that Anya was a fake from the start.

    Gabrie nods, and after we both take a long shower, she pulls me toward the mirror to add some

    makeup to my face.

    After getting dressed, we both step into the ballroom, which is packed with hundreds of people. Half of

    them I¡¯d never even met before. The invitations were only sent out today; it¡¯s crazy how quickly the

    guests arrived.

    It¡¯s easy to spot Atticus, he¡¯s speaking with Arthur, and they seem to be getting along very well.

    ¡°Look at our men; it¡¯s good that they¡¯re bonding since we¡¯re going to be great friends, and they need to

    get used to being around each other,¡± Gabrie teased.

    Iugh, ¡°you¡¯re right. It¡¯s good that they learn to get along to prepare for the future. However, I think

    they¡¯ve been friends even before we entered the picture.¡±

    Sheughs, ¡°I think you¡¯re right.¡±

    Atticus turns and sees me; he turns back to Arthur without acknowledging my presence. But then he

    slowly nces back at me, almost as though he didn¡¯t recognize me the first time.

    His eyes travel up my legs, and I can see the flicker of emotions in his gaze. Did he like the dress, or

    did he hate it?

    Arthur hugs Gabrie as we join their sides. ¡°You look beautiful.¡± Hepliments her.

    It¡¯s a bit awkward for Atticus and me as they shower each other with kisses. Not that it wasn¡¯t beautiful

    how much they loved each other, it¡¯s just that I know it¡¯s different between us; we don¡¯t have the kind of

    rtionship that Arthur and Gabrie has. Ours is messed up, and my husband is in love with my best

    friend.

    Atticus swallows as he nces at me, ¡°Do you think now is a good time for us to talk?¡±

    I looked up at him, unsure if I wanted to hear what he had to say. The wounds were still fresh from

    listening to the voice note.

    ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± I ask.

    Someone bounces into me and pushes me straight against him. He grabs me by my waist and res

    at the man. I close my eyes as his hands on my body remind me of our timest night together. It was

    magical, something out of this world. I wish it could always be like that between us, but I know it¡¯s just

    not possible as long as Anya is between us, keeping us apart.

    He gently moves my hair out of my face and tucks it behind my ear; my lips part, and I hate how much

    my heartbeat speeds up because of his small gesture. Why does every single thing that he does affect

    me this much? Why can¡¯t I be stronger than this and forget this spark I felt whenever he touched me?

    ¡°The kiss.¡± He says, and my face turns red at those two words.

    ¡°Do you remember the kiss?¡± He borates as he searches my eyes. I pretended not to remember the

    last time I got drunk; I didn¡¯t want to do the same thing this time.

    ¡°I do,¡± I confess. ¡°I remember everything about the kiss.¡±

    His eyes sh with some unknown emotion as he nods; he hasn¡¯t let go of me yet. His hands are still

    on my waist, holding me against his warm body.

    ¡°I do, too; I remember every second of that kiss.¡± He says. ¡°And I remember what you said to me right

    before you kissed me.¡±

    What was the meaning behind that confession? What was he getting at?

    ¡°What are you trying to tell me, Atticus?¡± I question. ¡°What is the point of bringing it up now?¡±

    His hands tighten on my waist, ¡°do you remember what happened after?¡± He asks.

    Why was he avoiding my question?

    ¡°What?¡± I ask, pretending not to know.

    He leans into me so that his lips are right above my ear, ¡°the spring.¡±

    Just those two words, and my blood is already racing in my veins. Why was he bringing this up to me

    now? I could barely keep a straight face with the reminder of everything that had urred between us

    in the spring.

    My body was still tingling from his touch and the way he stared at me like I was his most precious

    treasure. Our time in the spring was what had fooled me into thinking that there was a chance for our

    marriage to work. The heat, the need, the spark, it was all there but apparently, that wasn¡¯t enough for

    Atticus. He needed something more that I couldn¡¯t give him, and that was his mate. I¡¯de between

    the two of them. And I was still paying the price for it. Anya warned me before; she knew this would

    happen from the beginning. It turns out she understood him better than I did; I thought I knew almost

    everything about him, but I hate how wrong I¡¯ve been all this time.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re speaking about.¡± I lie.

    He pulls away to stare into my eyes, ¡°You don¡¯t remember what you asked me while we were in the

    water?¡±

    ¡°I was drunk.¡± I remind him. ¡°I know there is plenty that I did and didn¡¯t say; what is your point?¡±

    I was trying to fight the strong desire to kiss him again, but I was losing the battle and fast. It was hard

    to resist when he kept reminding me of our time together; it brought all of the feelings rushing back into

    my body.

    ¡°I want to know that I made the right decisionst night, Autumn.¡± He says, making me even more

    confused. ¡°But your reaction to me today makes me feel like I made a f*****g huge mistake.¡±

    He did make a mistake. His mistake was every promise he made to Anya before marrying me. He

    shouldn¡¯t have done that and especially not on our wedding day.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re referring to,¡± I say once more, making it harder for him to exin.

    He breathes roughly, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about what you saw when you opened your door and saw Anya with

    me.¡± He says, ignoring what I just said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t the way it looked to you.¡±

    Those words angered me because I knew exactly what I sawst night. My eyes did not deceive me; it

    didn¡¯t matter if I was intoxicated or not; I knew what I saw.

    ¡°Then tell me, Atticus. Exin to me what happened.¡± I whisper. ¡°Tell me why I should ever trust you

    again after what I saw with my own eyesst night.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware that Anya was waiting outside for me after I left the room.¡± He exins as one of his

    hands slides to my lower back. ¡°I did not ask her to meet me there. I was telling the truth when I told

    you I was going to help search for Maya. I did not lie to you.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s true, why was she hugging you and screaming that she loved you?¡± I demand. ¡°I may be kind,

    and I may let others walk all over me because I care for them, but I¡¯m not stupid, Atticus. I know what I

    saw between the two of you, and it¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve seen it happen. It happened on my

    engagement day, my wedding, and the same night that was supposed to be special for us. I refuse to

    believe you weren¡¯t at fault in any of these situations.¡±

    I know what I saw. He can¡¯t convince me that something else happened. He needed to exin himself

    better than this, and maybe then I would consider what he had to say.

 Chapter 32

    Chapter 32

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 32

    Atticus takes a deep breath, and I can tell that my words have broken hisposure. He drops his

    gaze lower so that his eyes are glued to mine.

    ¡°I know it doesn¡¯t look good, Autumn, but I swear my intention was never to hurt you any of those

    times. And I¡¯m telling the truth. I didn¡¯t know Anya was going to be there. She¡¯s having difficultying

    to terms with this marriage; she¡¯s been acting out because of it. I¡¯m only trying to help her.¡± He tries to

    reason with me. ¡°I¡¯m not saying that I¡¯m innocent in any of this; I¡¯m just trying to prove to you that I¡¯m

    not as bad as you think I am. Ask anyone here; I was helping to look for Mayast night. Ask rissa if

    you want to; she won¡¯t lie to you; she likes you. She will tell you the truth. I was with my siblings the

    entire night, and Anya was nowhere near any of us. I¡¯m not even sure what she did after we left the

    house. What you saw in front of youst night was the most that happened between us. I left her there.

    I didn¡¯t speak to her again since then. And that¡¯s the truth. I know you have no reason to trust me after

    everything that¡¯s happened since this wedding was announced, but I¡¯m asking that you please trust me

    this once.¡±

    While his words did make me feel a little better, they didn¡¯t dull the painpletely. This exnation

    still didn¡¯t cover the voice note. And I knew that he actually said those things; Gabrie and Maya

    confirmed it for me. They were there; they heard everything. What made this harder to ept was the

    day he chose to make those promises to her. The same day we repeated our vows; his promises to her

    were more meaningful than the ones made to me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve listened to your exnations, but there is still something that I¡¯m not okay with,¡± I confess.

    ¡°Something I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever be okay with. I don¡¯t think there is anything you can say to make up for

    it, but I still want to give you a chance to exin yourself.¡±

    His body stills, ¡°what is it? Tell me so that I can at least try and fix it. I don¡¯t want things to be bad

    between us, Autumn. I want to make this work.¡±

    I can see the curiosity and worry on his face as he waited for me to give a proper exnation. I take a

    deep breath as built up the courage to confront him about the one thing that broke all of the trust I had

    in him and our marriage.

    ¡°The voice note.¡± I snap; my voice is sharper than it¡¯s ever been in my entire life. ¡°I want you to exin

    the voice note to me. I want you to exin everything that you said in that recording.¡±

    He looks surprised by my words. ¡°Voice note? I don¡¯t know of any recording. Are you sure it was me?¡±

    I took my phone out and sent it to him. I could have yed it for him from my phone but I wanted him to

    always have it with him so he could rey it and remember how much he¡¯d hurt me. I wanted these

    words to haunt him just like I knew they would haunt me for the rest of my life.

    ¡°I just sent it to your phone,¡± I inform him. ¡°You can listen to it and tell me your thoughts on it. I want

    your opinion on what I should do after you listen to the recording. I want to know what you would have

    done if you were in my position and someone sent something like that to you.¡±

    He¡¯s about to open our chat when Damon¡¯s caller ID shows up. I frown; why was he calling now? He

    ends the call in front of me, showing me that I was more important to him now. However, Damon calls

    again in a split second; it has to be serious.

    Dante messages at the same time and insists that he picks up his phone.

    ¡°Give me one second.¡± He whispers before walking away to answer his brother¡¯s call.

    . . . . . . . . . . . .

    ~ATTICUS~

    I wanted to hear what else Autumn had to say to me, but I knew my brothers wouldn¡¯t be this impatient

    for any trivial matter.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I ask as I answer Damon¡¯s third call.

    ¡°Come home now!¡± He shouts from the other end. I stopped walking; I could hear the panic and fear in

    his voice.

    I¡¯m now frozen on the spot. What could have happened while I was gone?

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I demand. I held my breath as I waited for an exnation.

    ¡°Anya tried to harm herself. She threw herself out of the yacht.¡± He exins. ¡°She almost drowned.

    She¡¯s in the hospital. She¡¯s in critical condition. We need you here with us. She needs you.¡±

    I can¡¯t move; his words have left me dumbfounded. I knew Anya was taking everything hard, but never

    once did I think she was capable of trying to hurt herself over this.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell Autumn, and we will both return home as quickly as we can,¡± I promise him.

    ¡°And Atticus,¡± he adds, ¡°please don¡¯t say anything that could hurt her feelings when you return, it¡¯s hard

    to see her like this.¡±

    I take a deep breath; I¡¯ve been an ass to her this entire time; never once did I think Damon would ever

    have to ask me to watch what I say in front of Anya.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me. I¡¯ll be good.¡± I promise him.

    I end the call and walk over to where Autumn stands, a little distance from me. She was still hostile

    toward me, but I didn¡¯t have time to fix it anymore. Anya needed both of us. My brothers needed me

    home as well. I never let them down, and I didn¡¯t n to do it now.

    I can only hope that Autumn would understand my situation. As soon as this was over, we could

    continue this conversation.

    ¡°We need to get home now,¡± I tell her. ¡°Something horrible just happened. Everyone needs us back

    home.¡±

    Her entire demeanor changes, ¡°home? But I¡¯m enjoying the party. Why must we leave? What could be

    so bad that we must leave right away?¡±

    ¡°Something happened with Anya¡ª¡±

    Her eyes immediately darken a shade at the mention of Anya.

    ¡°Are you being serious right now?¡± She demands. ¡°Are you trying to ask your wife to leave this

    wonderful party so you could get home to your mate and ex-girlfriend? Do I look like a joke to you,

    Atticus?¡±

    When she says it like that, it sounds worse than it was. I would never do this if it weren¡¯t this serious.

    But Autumn doesn¡¯t think that way and it¡¯s understandable why she¡¯s reacting like this.

    I don¡¯t have time for this, however; we could talk about it in the vehicle.

    ¡°Autumn¡ª¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear anything you have to say to me, Atticus. I¡¯m not leaving this party. I don¡¯t care what

    you have to say.¡± She snaps. ¡°I¡¯m happy here. These are my friends and unlike the person you want

    me to look after, they actually treat me well.¡±

    I exhale loudly and run a hand through my hair, ¡°Autumn, she¡¯s in the hospital. She almost drowned.

    She tried to hurt herself. I know your friendship is strained, but she was your friend at one point. Don¡¯t

    you want to make sure that she¡¯s okay? She needs you right now. She needs both of us. My brothers

    need us. Can¡¯t you put your differences aside just this once?¡±

    She looked surprised by what I said, and I saw the flicker of concern in her eyes. She still cared about

    Anya, even if she tried to deny it.

    Her gaze hardens suddenly, and she folds her arms stubbornly, ¡°what does that have to do with us,

    Atticus? She has your brothers to tend to her. They do a good job of protecting her. She doesn¡¯t need

    me.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t listening to me.

    ¡°Anya needs me, Autumn,¡± I growl. ¡°I¡¯m leaving now with or without you.¡±

    I know my words have struck her, but I needed to get back home. I know I¡¯ll regret leaving her, but I¡¯m

    not thinking right. Hearing that Anya was in the hospital sent me into a panic mood.

    ¡°Then go.¡± She hissed. ¡°I¡¯m staying here for the party. Since I¡¯m not the one that you care about, I¡¯ll find

    my way back home on my own.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± I say. ¡°If that¡¯s what you want, so be it.¡±

    I turn and walk away from her without saying anything else. I know I¡¯ll pay for this shortly. Leaving

    Autumn here is the worst thing I can do tonight. I felt my heart squeeze the further I went away from

    her.

    I hope she forgives me.N?velDrama.Org holds this content.

 Chapter 33

    Chapter 33

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 33

    ~AUTUMN~

    I couldn¡¯t believe Atticus had left me to go to Anya. I could never forgive him for this. He¡¯s just proven

    that everything he¡¯s said in the voice note was genuine. She would alwayse first. And I hated that I

    had to live with this for the rest of my life.

    I already knew it was true, but to see him prove it on the same day I received the recording does not

    make any of this more manageable for me. Everything was changing for me in a split second. The

    image I had of Atticus in my head was slowly drifting away. Was the man of my dreams entirely made

    up? Was he indeed this horrible toward me?

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± Gabrie asks me. ¡°You can tell us if you need anything; we are here to

    help.¡±

    ¡°We are,¡± Lucy assured me. ¡°The girls caught us up with everything you¡¯re going through. We are here

    to help make it better. Anything you want, tell us.¡±

    There was nothing they could do to help the pain that I felt in my heart to know that, yet again Atticus

    had left me stranded to ensure that Anya was okay.

    Every second I¡¯m reminded of the voice note Anya sent me and how true everything was. How could it

    not be true when it came from Atticus¡¯s mouth? He hadn¡¯t said those words to Anya to make her feel

    better about the marriage; he said it because it was the truth.

    After everything, I still hate how worried I am about Anya despite everything she¡¯s done to me recently.

    Part of me wanted to go with him and ensure she was okay. The other half that won reminded me that

    she hated me and was desperate to separate us from each other. To me, this was just another n of

    hers to get Atticus to leave me and run to her. Why would she send me that voice note and then try to

    harm herself? It didn¡¯t make any sense. The only thing that made sense was the truth, she only did it all

    to separate the both of us.

    Why did I ever think that marrying Atticus would be a good idea? I wasn¡¯t thinking clearly; I thought that

    being near him would help make me happy; I thought that it would be like living a dream because I

    would constantly be around the man I was in love with. I realize now how wrong I¡¯d been to think that

    way.

    For the rest of my life, I¡¯ll have to be reminded that Atticus loved Anya. Every day I would have to live

    with this truth, and it¡¯s something I can¡¯t put myself through. If Anya weren¡¯t around, things would have

    been so much easier for us, but she wasn¡¯t about to allow us to be happy. She will always be around

    because of Damon and Dante.

    What had I done? I¡¯d ruined my whole life by agreeing to this marriage.

    I couldn¡¯t keep this up. I had to find a way to stop this, to stop myself from hurting. But I couldn¡¯t just

    ignore my feelings. I wish there were an off switch, one that I could use whenever I was around my

    husband.

    ¡°You don¡¯t look too good,¡± Maya says as she guides me to a chair. ¡°Would you like some water to

    drink?¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°I¡¯m good, thank you.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe Atticus is such an ass!¡± Gabrie hissed. ¡°How could he leave you here for her?

    Sometimes men do the shittiest things, and I don¡¯t know how we ever forgive them because they don¡¯t

    deserve us!¡±

    Wasn¡¯t that the truth? Men were always screwing us over and then expecting us to forgive them as if

    nothing happened. Did they not realize the pain they put us through?

    ¡°Wow,¡± Arthur says, pretending to be hurt by her words. ¡°Remember, your anger is towards Atticus, not

    me. We¡¯re good; he¡¯s not, we are. I hope he doesn¡¯t make things rough for me tonight.¡±

    Mayaughs, ¡°I¡¯m sure she knows that, Arthur. Do not worry so much. You¡¯re safe. We know where to

    direct our anger.¡±

    ¡°Of course, you can say that since you made up with Kane.¡± Gabrie teases her. ¡°Talking about Kane,

    the man hasn¡¯t been able to keep his eyes off you for the entire night. If you weren¡¯t already pregnant,

    you would have been again by the night¡¯s end.¡±

    Maya blushes and hits her arm. Gabrie was only speaking the truth; Kane was mesmerized by Maya

    the entire night. The man was in love. Insanely in love with his mate.

    ¡°We¡¯re straying from the main point, and that¡¯s Autumn. Let¡¯s do something fun to cheer her up.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m up for anything,¡± I confess. ¡°I just want to get back home.¡±

    Not to Atticus, but I need a ce to rest and forget that today ever happened. Maybe I could return to

    my parents for a day; I would make up a lie and hopefully they wouldn¡¯t question why I wasn¡¯t with

    Atticus.

    ¡°Please stay one night, and tomorrow, I promise we will get you back home early,¡± Gabrie begs. ¡°We

    hate to see you like this. We at least want to make you smile once tonight; that¡¯s all we¡¯re asking for.¡±

    I knew what I had to do. I kept making it easy for Atticus and pretending like whatever he did, didn¡¯t

    affect me; all of that would change from today.

    ¡°I just have one thing I want to do,¡± I tell them. ¡°Can you show me to the washroom?¡±

    After following their directions, I shut the door to the bathroom.

    I looked through my contacts on my phone and dialed the number when I found what I was looking for.

    ¡°Mrs. Fawn.¡±

    ¡°You can still call me Rivera, Peter,¡± I tell him.

    He was our family¡¯swyer. But he has always been kind and loyal to me. I trusted him; it¡¯s the only

    reason why I called. Anyone else, I wouldn¡¯t trust them to keep this a secret.

    ¡°What can I do for you?¡± He asks with a chuckle.

    ¡°I want you to prepare divorce papers for me,¡± I answer him.

    There is a pause on the line, ¡°you just got married. Are you sure this is what you want to do? Do your

    parents know what you¡¯re up to?¡±

    I exhale loudly, ¡°No, they do not know this, Peter, that¡¯s why I called you. You¡¯re the only one I trust with

    something like this. I want those divorce papers by tomorrow morning.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. You know they can ruin my life if they find out I did this for you.¡± He reminds me.

    I sigh, ¡°I promise they won¡¯t find out. This is not going to be made public.¡±

    I¡¯m not even sure if I¡¯m going to go through with this. I¡¯m angry and not thinking logically. Maybe I¡¯ll

    change my mind by tomorrow, but for now, I knew that I wanted those papers. And I nned on giving

    them to Atticus. I know it¡¯s thest thing he¡¯ll be expecting from me, and that¡¯s what I wanted, to shock

    him just like he did to me tonight.

    I want him to feel what it¡¯s like to feel betrayed by the person you married. To do things that your

    partner hated. I know this was a drastic decision, but I was ready to treat him the way he treated me.

    Instead of putting him first, I was putting myself first.

    . . . . . . . . .

    ~ATTICUS~

    I rushed into the private hospital; this was where Damon and Dante had brought Anya to. It was the

    safest hospital of our kind. We knew the owners well, and they¡¯d given her one of the best rooms

    avable.

    I was happy that they did, I still cared for Anya, and she only harmed herself because of me. I felt guilty,

    like this was all my fault. I was too harsh on her; since the beginning, I¡¯ve been too hard on her.

    ¡°Mr. Fawn.¡± The receptionist greets me. ¡°How can we help you today?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking for Anya Edwina,¡± I tell her. ¡°What room number is she in?¡±

    ¡°Number ten.¡± She answered me. ¡°It¡¯s to the end of the first floor. It¡¯s a big room; you can¡¯t miss it.¡±

    I nodded and ran in the direction she pointed to me. My heart drops when I spot the room, I¡¯m scared of

    what would be waiting for me behind that door. I push open the door and rush inside. I scan the room

    for her or my brothers. Damon is the first person that I see, and he¡¯s holding his head in frustration. He

    looks like he¡¯s just been through hell.

    When the door closes, he looks up.

    ¡°You¡¯ve made it.¡± He says as he spots me. I squeeze his shoulder before moving toward the bed.

    Anya¡¯s eyes are closed, and multiple machines are hooked up to her. It¡¯s a terrifying sight to see. I

    never once thought that I would have to see her like this. We always kept her safe and away from all

    harm. It was difficult seeing her like this for the first time.

    I took a seat on the chair next to her, Dante was on the other side, and he looked pissed. Maybe he¡¯s

    angry with me; he knows I¡¯m to me for this. I try to speak to him, but he ignores me. I turn to Damon

    instead; at least he was the calmer one between the two of them.

    ¡°How is she doing?¡± I ask Damon.

    ¡°Not good.¡± He sighs, ¡°not good at all. The doctors are trying their best; she was close to losing her life,

    Atticus. I felt everything sh before me in those few seconds. It all happened so fast. I had to move

    quickly to save her; I¡¯m d I got to her in time. This could have turned out differently for all of us. She

    might not have been here if I didn¡¯t see her when she fell out of the boat. I was lucky to have been

    there at the right time. I can¡¯t believe she did this without thinking about the rest of us and what would

    have happened if we¡¯d lost her.¡±

    My brother looked traumatized, and I can¡¯t imagine how much harder it must have been for him to have

    witnessed everything right in front of him.

    Hearing this was not making this entire situation easy for me. It was making it a hell of a lot more

    difficult to handle my emotions.

    I kept remembering the way I treated her when she tried to hug me that night. I was so concerned

    about Autumn opening the door and seeing us that I didn¡¯t recognize Anya¡¯s cry for help. She needed

    me that night, I knew she was acting out, but I chose to push her away.

    I didn¡¯t know what the f**k to do anymore. It was wrong to keep running to her side, but how did I not

    show up when something like this happened? She nearly died. How could I ignore something like that?

    And it wasn¡¯t just her that I was there for; I was also trying to support my brothers during this difficult

    time. We always stuck together.

    ¡°I think you should look at this,¡± Damon says as he hands me a letter. ¡°Anya had written this for you

    before she tried to take her life. She wanted you to have it.¡±

    My hands closed over the flimsy piece of paper; I slowly opened it; I wasn¡¯t sure if this was something I

    wanted to read right now. The guilt was already eating me alive. I move away from him and lean

    against the wall; I want some privacy while reading it.

    ¡®Dear Atticus, I know that you¡¯ll be reading this after my passing. I know you may be wondering why I

    did what I did, but I¡¯m doing this for both of us. I can¡¯t stand the thought of seeing you with another

    woman; it¡¯s even harder for me knowing that it¡¯s Autumn. I¡¯ve lost both my mate and my best friend at

    the same time. The pain is too much for me. I¡¯m sorry for everyone that I know I¡¯m going to hurt from

    my selfish actions tonight. I wanted you to know how much I love you. That¡¯s why I¡¯m doing this. I keep

    coming between you and Autumn, and I don¡¯t want to do it anymore. It¡¯s not my intention to separate

    the both of you. I can¡¯t stop my actions sometimes, and it¡¯s only because it¡¯s hard for my body to ept

    you with her. I¡¯m tired of trying to be strong for both of us. I realize that you¡¯re ready to move on from

    me. I realize that you don¡¯t love me anymore, I can feel you slowly drifting away from me, and I rather

    die than live to see the day when I¡¯m no longer the number one woman in your life. I¡¯m sorry for loving

    you this much and for being selfish when ites to you. Goodbye Atticus. I hope that one day you

    can forgive me. It should have never ended this way between us. Love Anya.¡¯

    My hands were shaking as I leaned against the wall, staring at her pale, unconscious face. I can¡¯t stop

    the tear from flowing down my cheek. I didn¡¯t know that a letter could have such a strong effect on

    someone. I was fighting hard to hold everything together. I walk over to her motionless body and kneel

    on the ground beside her. I gently held her hand in mine, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Anya. I¡¯m so sorry for

    everything. I hope that you can forgive me. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to make you cry or

    push you to hurt yourself. I¡¯m sorry for all the promises I had to break. You deserve better. You always

    have.¡±

    ¡°She does deserve better.¡± Dante snaps. ¡°That¡¯s why Damon and I will be by her side every second of

    the day, making up for your betrayal.¡±

    It hurt to hear my own brother say something like that to me. Hurting Anya meant that I was also

    hurting both of them; it¡¯s why he was so angry with me.

    ¡°Dante ¡ª¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear what you say, Atticus.¡± He hissed. ¡°I can never forgive you for this. She told me all

    the things you said to her. You¡¯re the one that pushed her to do this to herself. You¡¯re the one that¡¯s

    been making this entire situation harder on her.¡±

    His words didn¡¯t make me feel any less guilty than I already felt. I didn¡¯t know what the right thing to do

    anymore was¡ªtrying to push Anya away so that I could make my marriage with Autumn work had

    pushed Anya to her breaking point. I was the reason she was in this hospital bed.

    How could trying to do the right thing turn into something so wrong? I was having a constant battle

    within myself. A part of me was crazy about protecting Autumn, and another made sure I ran to Anya¡¯s

    side. I was conflicted about my feelings; I didn¡¯t know how to exin or act on them.

    I¡¯ll have to fix my rtionship with Dante after today; I¡¯ve never seen him this angry with me. I didn¡¯t

    want today to cause a strain on our brotherhood.

    ¡°Where is Autumn?¡± Damon asks me. ¡°Did you leave her home?¡±

    I swallow; the reminder of where I left her didn¡¯t make me feel better. I had screwed up my life in all

    possible ways to do so in just one night. Everyone was hurting because of me. It seemed I was the

    problem; I caused trouble wherever I went. Anya was in here because of me, and Autumn was hurt

    because I kept putting Anya first.

    ¡°She stayed back with Austin¡¯s family. She¡¯s getting along well with the women there. Making new

    friends.¡± I exin.

    Autumn was good at making friends. People loved her quickly.

    Damon knows by my response that it isn¡¯t as simple as I¡¯d made it seem. Anyone would realize that

    Autumn and I argued when I chose toe here tonight.

    ¡°You should get some sleep,¡± I tell Damon. ¡°You also, Dante. I can keep an eye on her until she wakes

    up. It¡¯s the least I can do after everything I¡¯ve put her through.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not going anywhere,¡± Damon tells me.

    ¡°I¡¯m staying by her side.¡± Dante says as well. ¡°I can¡¯t trust you to take good care of her anymore.¡±

    I nodded. I understood that they weren¡¯t going anywhere until they knew she was safe from danger. I

    would have done the same thing as they were doing.

    . . . . . . . . .

    It was the next day, and we were still waking for Anya to regain consciousness. I¡¯s been an entire night

    of torture for the three of us as we waited for updates on her.

    None of us had slept, and we weren¡¯t nning on getting any until she¡¯d awakened.

    I called Arthurst night to give me an update on how Autumn was doing; he didn¡¯t get to say much

    before Gabrie grabbed the phone and ended the call. Apparently, they were also pissed at me.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    Now I was left wondering what she was doing and whether or not she was still pissed at me for leaving

    her yesterday. The more I thought about it, the more I got angry with myself for leaving her there. I

    should have insisted she¡¯de with me, f**k, I could have lifted her and taken her with me. Anything

    would have been better than leaving her and making her think the worst possible things about me.

    ¡°Anya!¡± Dante gasps, and all three of us rush to the side of her. She blinks a couple of times before her

    eyes settle on the three of us before zeroing in on me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She cries. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for scaring all of you and thinking about only myself. Please forgive me.

    I was wrong. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    Her apology squeezed my heart, threatening it to explode. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize. I¡¯m the one that needs to

    apologize for everything, Anya. I¡¯ll be more careful now and choose words that don¡¯t hurt you. I promise

    to do better from now on.¡±

    Dante hugs her, and Damon does as well.

    I excused myself, giving my brothers time alone with her. I knew she wanted me there, but I had plenty

    on my mind. Now that I knew she was out of danger, I couldn¡¯t get Autumn out of my head.

    The voice note was staring me in my face. I never got the chance to listen to it. I wasn¡¯t sure that it

    would change anything now. I¡¯d ruined chances for Autumn and me to have a good rtionship after

    running out on herst night. She stayed back with people she barely knew; I left her there on her own.

    The least I could have done was have a vehicle sent back for her. Anything would have been better

    than just walking out on her like she was just some average person in my life. I kept messing things up

    in every direction that I turned. Nothing was going well, my entire life was a f*****g mess, and I had no

    idea how to fix it.

    I pressed y; I had to at least listen to what had her upset with me to know how to fix it. I knew I had a

    lot of making up to do after yesterday. This was an excellent way to start.

    As the voice note begins to y, my blood runs cold. This couldn¡¯t be what I thought it was.

    The more it yed, the more it was confirmed. This was everything I¡¯d promised Anya on my wedding

    day. Promises that I regretted making.

    How did she get this recording? There wasn¡¯t anyone else but Anya and me in the room at the

    recording time. And I was sure that I didn¡¯t record our conversation. That only left Anya.

    Would she stoop so low to push Autumn and me further apart? How could I question her when she was

    still recovering from almost drowning?

    I walk back into the room, and Anya sits on the bed, eating. It¡¯s just the two of us in here now. Damon

    and Dante left to get her some get-well presents. They were about to shower her with hundreds of gifts.

    She smiles brightly, it¡¯s an innocent smile, but there is only one thing on my mind after listening to that

    voice note. And that was finding out if she was the one that had sent this to Autumn. It would mean that

    she had evil intentions from the start. It can also prove that she was the one that posted that video of

    us from the engagement night. I don¡¯t want it to be true. I don¡¯t want to believe that Anya was this

    sneaky. I also don¡¯t want to start an argument after what happened just a day ago.

    I¡¯m conflicted about what to do.

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy you came back to see me, Atticus.¡± She whispers with a twinkle in her eyes. It¡¯s the

    happiest I¡¯ve seen her since I¡¯d gotten married. ¡°I thought I had lost you for good, but this proves that

    you still care for me. You still have me in your heart. I¡¯m still the most important woman in your life. I

    feel like the luckiest girl alive with you by my side. Thank you foring for me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re that happy that I came back just to make sure you¡¯re okay?¡± I ask.

    She grins wider, ¡°I am. So so happy. Can¡¯t you see it, Atticus? Can¡¯t you see how happy you make me?

    No one else does this for me but you.¡±

    ¡°If I made you that happy bying here to see you, can you give me something in return?¡± I question

    her.

    She pauses, unsure of how to respond to that. I¡¯m not one to ask her for favors; I knew this would have

    surprised her.

    ¡°What is it that I can do for you?¡± She asks hesitantly.

    ¡°I want you to answer me truthfully,¡± I exin.

    ¡°Answer you?¡± She asks, confused. ¡°But you haven¡¯t asked me any questions.¡±

    I unlock my phone and found my chat with Autumn. Without a second thought, I pressed y on the

    voice note.

    I paid close attention to her expression as my voice filled the room. Her face goes a pale white, and

    she can barely look me in the eyes.

    ¡°Did you or did you not send this voice note to Autumn?¡± I ask.

    She goes reticent, trying her best to avoid me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel too well, Atticus.¡± She says as she hides behind her nket.

    ¡°Anya,¡± I say through gritted teeth. ¡°Did you record me when we were in the spa room? We were the

    only two people in there. I didn¡¯t record us. That leaves you. Did you record me and send that voice

    note to Autumn?¡±

    I push the chair backward, and it flies into the wall. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this.¡±

    I was trying my best to stay calm since we were still in the hospital, and she was still recovering, but it

    was damn hard.

    ¡°I came here; I left Autumn by herself so that I coulde here and make sure that you were okay. I

    still consider you Anya; I still care for you but do you care for me? Do you care for Autumn? I keep

    putting a strain on my rtionship with Autumn because I want to protect you, but how can I protect

    you when you keep doing things like this? How can I trust you? How can I be your friend when you

    keep betraying me?¡±

    ¡°Friend?¡± She says the word like its poison to her. ¡°Why do you think I want you to be my friend?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of this.¡±

    Before she can say anything else, I¡¯m out of the door. I had to get back to Autumn. I had to apologize

    for acting like a fool. I had to beg for her forgiveness. I was wrong about everything. I should have

    nevere here, I thought I was doing the right thing, but it was a big mistake.

    I was such a fool.

    Damon spots me as I head to the jeep, ¡°where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Back to Autumn,¡± I shout. ¡°She¡¯s still with Austin and his family.¡±

    ¡°Autumn¡¯s home.¡± He shouts back. ¡°You don¡¯t have to go far to get to her.¡±

    Was she home? What was she doing at home? I was sure that she would have found any opportunity

    to avoid me after what I¡¯d done. And that¡¯s what I would have deserved to begin with.

    ¡°How do you know that?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Mom called; Autumn looked visibly upset when she returned home this morning. She wanted to know

    if you had anything to do with it.¡± He exined.

    Ah, f**k.

    ¡°What about Anya? Where are you going?¡±

    Before he can finish, I¡¯m already driving out of the parking lot. I didn¡¯t want to hear about Anya. I was

    tired of letting her control me like this.

    My mind is racing for ways to get Autumn to forgive me. Would showering her with presents get her to

    forgive me?

    I dialed the flower shop and requested two thousand roses delivered to our home. I stopped on the way

    and bought a giant teddy bear as well as a dress that I knew would look perfect on her. I knew none of

    these things would be enough, but I wanted to do as much as I could to get her to forgive me. I would

    leave everything in the car and surprise herter with it.

    I didn¡¯t think Autumn was anything like Anya; gifts wouldn¡¯t be enough to make her happy. But I wanted

    to at least try. I didn¡¯t want to apologize to her with only words. I wanted to do something special,

    something that would make it hard for her to not forgive me for how stupid I¡¯d been all along.

    I pulled up to the house and practically jumped out of the jeep as I raced into the house.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± My mother shouts as she tries to stop me.

    ¡°Where is Autumn?¡± I demand from her. ¡°I need to see her.¡±

    ¡°We need to talk.¡±

    ¡°I need to see her first. Please. We can talk after.¡± I assure her.

    She sighs, ¡°she¡¯s in your room.¡±

    I nod, ¡°thanks, mom.¡±

    I ran up the stairs and straight into my room. The door flies open, and I find her sitting on the bed with a

    paper in her hands.

    She looks up at me; she doesn¡¯t even look surprised to see me. The usual sparks in her eyes are not

    there, and it bothers me to the point that I want to tell her about it. She doesn¡¯t look happy to see me.

    What else should I expect after what I¡¯d done to her?

    I checked the time on my watch, wondering how long it would be before the roses arrived.

    ¡°We need to talk,¡± I tell her as I shut the door. ¡°There is plenty that I have to say to you. I listened to the

    voice note, and I¡ª¡±

    ¡°I want a divorce.¡±

    I pause, dumbstruck. I refuse to believe that I¡¯ve heard her correctly. She couldn¡¯t have possibly just

    asked me for a f*****g divorce.

    I step toward her, and she puts her hands out to stop me, ¡°I need you to keep your distance from me,

    Atticus. I want to keep a clear mind when I¡¯m giving these papers to you. I need you to sign them

    today.¡±

    ¡°Autumn,¡± I growl. ¡°We just got married. I can¡¯t f*****g divorce you.¡±

    ¡°If you can leave me stranded so that you could go running to be there for your ex-girlfriend, you can

    also take the time to sign a paper, Atticus. It¡¯s not that hard. I just need your signature.¡± She snaps.

    ¡°We¡¯re not getting a divorce. We got into this because our parents forced us. Do you think you can just

    say no to them now? Do you think they¡¯ll allow their names to go down in the gutter because you

    suddenly decided that you don¡¯t want to stay married to me?¡± I demand.

    ¡°Our parents don¡¯t have to know about it.¡± She says. ¡°That¡¯s the whole point of it. We can stay in the

    same house and act like we¡¯re married, but they don¡¯t have to know anything. That way, you can keep

    seeing Anya whenever you like. It wouldn¡¯t be like betraying me when you leave me to run to her side

    anymore. It would bepletely normal and the least of my worries. That way, I can also meet new

    people, ones who want to spend time with me, and that won¡¯t leave me to go to their ex.¡±

    What the f**k? New people?

 Chapter 34

    Chapter 34

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 34

    ~ATTICUS~

    ¡°Autumn. Do you f*****g hear yourself?¡±

    I was fuming both on the inside and the out. I hated the idea of Autumn getting to know any other man

    but me. Why would she even propose such an idea to me? Why did she think I would ever agree to

    something like this?

    ¡°Our lives are already tied together. Marriage is not a f*****g joke. Every second we spent in that spring

    was meaningful; it was a ritual meant to tie us together for life.¡± I growl. ¡°Why are you talking about

    divorce like it¡¯s nothing?¡±

    Did all of that mean nothing to her?

    ¡°It was a joke to you, Atticus. The spring was a joke to you. Marriage is a joke to you, or you wouldn¡¯t

    treat me as you did since I said I do. I¡¯m not the one that disrespected you every step of the way. That

    was all you. You¡¯re the one that lets everyone say the worst things about our rtionship. Have you

    seen the articles? The most recent one has a lot to say about you rushing to the hospital without me

    after Anya almost drowned. You should take some time to read it. That¡¯s not the only one. There are

    hundreds of them that speak the truth about your rtionship with me and your rtionship with her. I

    might as well hand over the recording to them; I¡¯m sure they will have a wonderful time ying it for the

    whole world to hear. Maybe Anya has already done that, and they¡¯re just waiting for the right

    opportunity to post it for everyone to listen to it. You bring embarrassment to our marriage; why should I

    want to stay married to you?¡±

    Her words cut through me like a f*****g knife. Since when has Autumn ever been this brutal?

    I know I messed up; I knew when I found out that Anya had sent her that recording. I didn¡¯t realize that

    she could stoop that low; if I¡¯d listened to that recording before Damon had called me with the news, I

    would have never left Autumn there. I would have known better. I understood now why Autumn didn¡¯t

    want toe with me to visit Anya.

    Anya had already done something this horrible to hurt her; Autumn had every reason not to want to see

    her. Did this mean that Anya had lied about the incident where she¡¯d pped Autumn? Was I foolish for

    believing her then as well?

    ¡°I¡¯m not doing these things to hurt you, Autumn. I swear I¡¯m only doing it because I feel guilty for hurting

    Anya. She¡¯d been through a lot since we agreed to marry each other, and I felt sorry for her. I¡¯m sorry I

    keep doing things that lead to articles like those, but I promise I¡¯m not trying to hurt you. I thought you

    wouldn¡¯t be this affected by it; I¡¯ve known all along that you don¡¯t have feelings for me, and that¡¯s why I

    didn¡¯t think it would be this bad if I chose to protect Anya. I didn¡¯t think being there for Anya would affect

    you this badly since I knew you also cared about her. But now I realize how wrong I¡¯ve been. I¡¯m sorry,

    I¡¯m so sorry, Autumn, for everything. If I had known from the beginning, this would not have happened.

    I would not have been so stupid.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t mean it.¡± She snaps. ¡°Your apologycks any sincerity Atticus. I thought I knew you; you

    were someone I could trust blindly. Now I know that as long as Anya is in our lives, I can never trust

    you. I had this perfect picture of you in my head; now I realize how wrong I¡¯ve been all this time. I didn¡¯t

    know the real you. Anya knows the real you, and maybe that¡¯s why she knows what to do to get you

    running to her. I can¡¯t keep living like this. I want a divorce, I want my freedom away from the both of

    you, and I want you to give that to me.¡±

    A perfect picture of me in her head? I never even knew that Autumn paid that much attention to me, to

    begin with. To hear that I¡¯d damaged the image of myself in her mind makes this so much more painful

    for me.

    Her words are fueling something dark inside of me. It¡¯s eating my control away, grasping onto my

    sanity. No one has ever been able to make me feel like this; no one has made me lose my control by

    just talking. Autumn was teaching me every single day about my own body.

    I hated that I had disappointed her; what had I done? She trusted me; she thought I was better than

    this, and I¡¯d proven her wrong time and time again. She was gentle and patient with me, and instead of

    protecting her, I did the exact opposite. I hurt her without even realizing it.

    How did I make this better? How did I prevent her from trying to get a divorce? I didn¡¯t want one; I was

    sure of it.

    ¡°Please, take a second to think about what you¡¯re asking from me, Autumn. At least wait a day before

    you decide what you truly want.¡± I beg.

    I couldn¡¯t believe that I¡¯d reached the point of begging her to stop this.

    I was still fighting the darkness inside of me that threatened to break free at the thought of losing her

    because of my stupidity. I knew that leaving her yesterday was the wrong move from the moment I saw

    the look of betrayal in her eyes; I knew that I would have to pay for that one mistake, and yet I still took

    the risk. This was my fault. I was paying for my stupid decisions. What hurts more is knowing that I¡¯d

    done this for Anya only to discover that she¡¯d secretly recorded us.

    She narrows her eyes; I miss her kindness; I miss the way she always stared at me with passion in her

    eyes. Now all I could see was hurt and disappointment.

    ¡°I know what I want, Atticus.¡± She snaps. ¡°I¡¯ve already signed the paper; all I need is your signature for

    it to be official.¡±

    Had she already signed it? That easily? Without a second thought?

    ¡°You already signed it?¡± I ask in a dangerously low tone.

    ¡°Yes.¡± She hissed.

    I grabbed the paper from her hand and ripped it into a few pieces, ensuring there was no way to piece

    it back together.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± She demands as she steps toward me, staring at the pieces of paper on

    the floor.

    I grab her waist and push her onto the bed with me.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± She gasps. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening. I have no control over my body. I¡¯ve never felt this possessive over

    another woman in my life. I wanted to keep her.

    She was mine. f*****g mine. I didn¡¯t want anyone ever to have her.

    I grabbed her hands and held them high above her head as I hovered over her. Our gazes lock, and

    we¡¯re both breathing hard. How is she this f*****g beautiful? I¡¯ve never seen a woman that could take

    my breath away as she can. Her beauty is out of this damn world, and I meant that. Even now, when

    she¡¯s pissed at me, she¡¯s still the prettiest woman I¡¯ve ever seen.

    ¡°Let go of me.¡± She shouts.

    I hate those words. Letting go of her was not a part of my n.

    ¡°Never,¡± I growl.

    Before we can figure out my next move, my mouth is on her neck.

    She gasps, and I love the sound she makes when I touch her. She tasted so good, and it wasn¡¯t

    enough as I began to suck on her skin. I wanted more. More. So much more of her.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± She gasps; I love the way my name chimes from her mouth. It makes me want to do things to

    her irresistible body just so that I could hear her say it some more.

    When her hands tighten on my hair, I get the urge to go on. To do what I wanted to from the beginning.

    She cried out as my teeth pierced her skin. I tasted blood first and swallowed all of it, connecting us,

    bonding us, joining our minds and soul. I can feel my d**k growing, ready to join us in another way.

    f**k. The desire to take her was intense. I had to stop this before I did something else that we both

    regretted.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    I knew she wasn¡¯t prepared for that and so I pulled away before I could give in to what it wanted.

    I look down at her sprawled out on my bed with my mark fresh on her neck. It was f*****g beautiful

    seeing it there. Made just for her. Pride filled my chest as I realized what I¡¯d just done. I always thought

    that marking Anya would make me feelplete, but I was f*****g wrong. It was Autumn who¡¯d done it

    for me.

    ¡°Now you¡¯re f*****g mine.¡±

 Chapter 35

    Chapter 35

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 35

    ~AUTUMN~

    Atticus had just marked me. How was that even possible when we weren¡¯t even mates? How was he

    able to mark me, and why does it feel this way? Why does it feel like we are mates when it simply

    wasn¡¯t possible? I would have recognized him as my mate a long time ago if that was true. But all I¡¯ve

    ever known was that I loved him, nothing else.

    The feelings inside of me have only intensified now that we are bonded. I wanted him more than ever.

    How could he do this when I was finally trying to move on? Or at least pretending that I was ready to

    move on.

    He lifts his bodypletely off mine so that he can now look me straight in the eyes.

    ¡°Now everyone will know that you¡¯re f*****g mine. Nothing will ever change that.¡± He repeats.

    I gape at him as he storms out of the room.

    It took my body a while to get used to the bond; I was still in shock by his actions. What made Atticus

    mark me? He wasn¡¯t making any sense. One minute he was running to be by Anya¡¯s side, and the

    next, he was calling me his. Why was he this conflicted over what he wanted?

    Still, I can¡¯t deny the joy I felt knowing he refused to divorce me. It¡¯s all I wanted, a sign that showed

    that I should still fight for him. This was the sign I needed. If he wasn¡¯t willing to let me go, it meant that

    there was something between us; I hadn¡¯t imagined it. He felt it too.

    I¡¯ve been trying to be nice to Anya because of our past, but I was done now. The voice note was the

    last straw. It was clear to me now than ever how badly she wanted to end my marriage. I was not about

    to let that happen.

    I would have been in that hospital with Atticus if I thought she was indeed injured. I didn¡¯t believe it one

    bit. I knew it was just Another excuse to get Atticus closer to her. It did work, but it also gave me the

    courage to start fighting for my happiness. I was always so concerned about others and what made

    them happy; I kept doing things with consideration for everyone¡¯s feelings but mine. I wasn¡¯t going to

    do it anymore.

    I never truly wanted to divorce Atticus; I was just angry. But now I was d I¡¯d done that. It made me

    see that he didn¡¯t want to divorce me, and it also got him to mark me. Something that I didn¡¯t even think

    was possible until now.

    This wasn¡¯t something that I would be able to hide. Anyone would be able to smell him on me after

    today; they would know I belonged to him. Just like women would realize he belongs to me.

    What possessed him to do this after always running to Anya¡¯s side? Why did he choose today of all

    days when I asked him for a divorce?

    Was that the way to get him to be ultimately mine? To act like I didn¡¯t want him to begin with?

    The academy was resuming sses tomorrow. This meant that things were about to get twice as tricky.

    Everyone at school would be keeping a close eye on us. They would be watching every little move

    waiting for one of us to slip up so that they could leak the information to any popr magazine. It¡¯s not

    like they needed the money; only schrship students would benefit from making money from leaking

    a story. The others were doing it for fun.

    I force myself out of bed to look at the fresh mark on my neck. I still couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d done this to

    me. Atticus Fawn had just marked me. This was thest thing I would ever expect from him. I knew we

    were forced into this marriage by our families, but no one forced him to join us in this way. Atticus

    chose to do this out of his own free will.

    I slowly touch it and gasp at the rush of emotions that swarmed into my body from that little contact.

    Touching it made me want him even more. Was that how it felt for all who were marked?

    I couldn¡¯t let him know how much this affected me. I realize now that everyone was right from the start;

    I was too nice. It¡¯s why I kept getting hurt. No matter how hard it was, I had to start fighting back for

    what I wanted.

    Anya started this war, and I was going to end it. She knew what she was doing; It was no longer just

    because she wanted Atticus; she was purposefully trying to hurt me. I wasn¡¯t having any of it anymore.

    They would both see a side of me they¡¯d never seen before. My eyes sh to a bright purple, and I

    gasp. I cover my mouth with my hand. How did my eyes change color? I blink, and it returns to normal.

    Had I just mistaken that?

    The anger I felt inside was unlike anything I¡¯d felt in the past. I was almost scared of myself or the

    person I¡¯d just seen in the mirror. She looked like someone that could quickly go out of control.

    I shook that thought out of my head. I was reading too much into it. I didn¡¯t n on leaving this room for

    a long while. I needed time to think about things and how I would deal with Anya and Atticus in my way.

    . . . . . .

    It was the first day back at the academy as a married woman. I was now officially part of the Fawn

    family. We¡¯d connected our families and, in turn, made us more powerful than we already were.

    Atticus didn¡¯t return to our room yesterday. Part of me was disappointed, but the other half was relieved

    that I had gotten some time toe to terms with everything that had happened between us. No one

    had mentioned anything about him marking me, and it feels weird to me that they refused to

    acknowledge it.

    The stares that went my way as I stepped through the door to the academy proved my earlier thoughts.

    Atticus is by my side, and I know I¡¯ll have to get used to all the extra attention now that he¡¯s by my side.

    It¡¯s not just him; rissa, Damon, and Dante are behind us. Anya was still in the hospital, but I knew

    she was most likely faking it, hoping that Atticus would worry about her and rush to see her again. I

    was pleased he hadn¡¯t done it, but I didn¡¯t want to jinx it. I kept trying to act like I still enjoyed the idea of

    divorce, but I didn¡¯t want to push him over the edge, either.

    Damon separated from us to walk rissa to her ss; she was in a lower level than the rest of us.

    The stares don¡¯t stop even when we step into the ssroom.

    ¡°The Fawns arete.¡± Mr. Samuel announced. ¡°Let¡¯s give them a round of apuse for keeping that

    tradition alive.¡±

    My cheeks are red. I was neverte to ss in the past, but I¡¯m a Fawn now as well, aren¡¯t I? Things

    were different now. It felt that way. . . Different. I hadn¡¯t gotten used to it yet.

    ¡°Our topic today is witches.¡±

    Witches. Again?

    ¡°And a few important spells. Some that can cause more harm than good.¡± He says, pointing at the

    slides on the board.

    ¡°First, the infamous love spell.¡±

    More like a dangerous love spell. I¡¯ve heard of many stories where witches made men think they were

    in love with them, breaking up families and couples everywhere. There were some selfish witches, and

    then the good ones stopped them. The world was a constant battle between good and evil.

    ¡°I hope none of the witches in this ssroom are nning on memorizing this spell to use on their

    crushes.¡± He warned. ¡°I¡¯m only making you aware. Let me rify that no one is to practice any of these

    spells. They are very dangerous and can cause plenty of damage to those around you, including

    yourself.¡±

    He goes through each of the slides and thest spell for the day happens to be the seduction spell.

    To seduce a man or woman? Why would anyone need to know a spell like this? I didn¡¯t like the idea of

    forcing someone to want you without them even knowing it.

    ¡°To activate the spell, a witch must repeat the words three times with a deep desire for it to work.¡± He

    exined as he zoomed in on the spell so that we could all get a better look at it.

    ¡®With this fire, give me what my heart desires; with this name, ignite our me.¡¯

    It¡¯s the beginning of the spell. A candle has to be near for it to activate. Then you must repeat the

    person¡¯s full name three times. The ss barely pays attention; they¡¯re too busy making fun of the

    spell,ughing at the witches. I wouldn¡¯t make the mistake of doing something like that. They had the

    power to mess with our minds and hearts; that¡¯s not something I would ever want.

    I look at the spell again, Atticus is next to me, and I suddenly have this weird urge to use it on him.

    My hand tightens on the edge of the desk. Why was I thinking like this? It was scaring me.

    Thankfully, the bell rings, signaling the end of ss. I didn¡¯t want to hear more of these spells; I¡¯d had

    enough for today.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get to rissa¡¯s ssroom,¡± Damon says as we walk into the corridor.

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving the academy now,¡± Dante informs Damon. ¡°Someone has to check on Anya.¡±

    Damon nods, ¡°call me if anything serious happens.¡±

    I nce at Atticus, waiting for him to also ask for an update on Anya, but to my surprise, he doesn¡¯t say

    anything. He¡¯s silent as Dante walks away. He looks down at me, and I think he knows exactly what I¡¯m

    thinking. Our gazes lock, and I try not to be affected by his beautiful eyes.

    ¡®With this fire, give me what my heart desires.¡¯

    My cheek turned red as I realized what I was doing. Why was I repeating a spell in my mind? What on

    earth was happening to me?

    I quickly look away from his intense stare. I couldn¡¯t look at Atticus without thinking of the spell. It¡¯s not

    like I¡¯m a witch, and the spell would work on him, but it was still weird to me.

    There wasn¡¯t even a lit candle around us. There was nothing for the spell to work, so why was I so

    flustered by repeating a few words in my head?

    Damon was already ahead of us, and I walked faster to catch up with him. Maybe rissa can help

    break this tension between us. I needed a distraction from Atticus, anything that prevented me from

    wanting to seduce the man.

    rissa is already waiting outside her ssroom when she spots us. It¡¯s almost like she was expecting

    Damon toe for her. Was this something he often did?

    It does seem like it wasn¡¯t unusual. He truly was very protective when it came to her. He scans the

    ssroom for something, and I¡¯m not sure what he¡¯s looking for. He seems satisfied with whatever he

    sees as he smiles at her.

    ¡°How was ss today?¡±

    She beams up at him, ¡°it was wonderful. I¡¯m just d you¡¯re here now.¡±

    Atticus quirks a brow at her and then gives Damon a weird look. So I¡¯m not the only one noticing their

    reaction to each other? rissa barely hid her emotions around Damon; he, on the other hand, was

    harder to read than she was.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    I look up at Atticus once more, and he catches me looking at him. We haven¡¯t spoken much to each

    other since he marked me. I know that there is plenty for the both of us to say to each other, but for

    some reason, there never seems to be the right opportunity.

    rissa clears her throat, ¡°should we give the two of you some privacy?¡±

    We break eye contact, but before we can say anything, yers run our way, chanting ¡®the fearsome,¡¯

    catching our attention.

    Atticus grabs my waist and pushes me backward before I can get trampled by them. They were

    members of the fearsome beasts, our academy¡¯s football team. Every one of those yers was

    popr; they made our school proud. They were better than good at what they did; everyone was

    skilled.

    I gasp from having his hands on my body. Now that we were bonded, the feelings have intensified to

    the point that I felt like I needed him every second of the day.

    The look on his face makes him seem like he¡¯s in pain. Was he struggling just as much as I was? The

    fact that we were bonded meant that I wasn¡¯t the only one feeling this way. He would also feel the

    connection as strong as I did.

    ¡°Easy, fes!¡± Griffin shouts. ¡°You almost knocked down my sister-inw!¡±

    He stops in front of us, and Atticus slowly lets go of my waist.

    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± He apologizes.

    ¡°You¡¯re spending plenty of time with the fearsome recently. Are you nning on rejoining the team?¡±

    Damon inquires.

    Griffin shrugs his shoulders, ¡°I¡¯m still thinking about it.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something I wanted to talk to you about,¡± Damon says suddenly to Atticus. They both excuse

    themselves and leave the three of us behind.

    ¡°They¡¯re waiting for me,¡± Griffin says as he looks over at Carter, the star yer of the fearsome and

    also the man that broke ra¡¯s heart. I didn¡¯t like him after knowing what he did to her. Cheating was

    never okay. ¡°I¡¯ll see you girlster.¡±

    ¡°It looks like it¡¯s just the two of us now,¡± rissa says as she looks around us. ¡°I heard what happened.

    Atticus should have never left you behind after he heard what happened to Anya. I know she faked

    everything. It must have been her n all along. The moment she learned that you and Atticus had left

    alone to help Austin and his family, she¡¯d grown hysterical. I know she devised that nst minute to

    get Atticus back. She was terrified of you two being alone with no one to separate you.¡±

    She had nothing to be terrified over. Nothing special happened on that trip between us; if anything, it

    separated us more after she sent that voice note.

    ¡°I always saw Anya as my closest friend,¡± I confess. ¡°I realize now how stupid I¡¯ve been trusting her all

    these years. All the signs have always been there; I just chose to ignore them. I wanted to save our

    friendship, but I realize now that there was nothing to save, to begin with. How can I save something

    that was never there? She¡¯s shown her true colors to me. I¡¯m not going to sit back and let her hurt me

    anymore.¡±

    rissa smiles, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you how happy I feel to hear you say this. I¡¯ve always felt like it was just me

    against Anya all these years. The guys have always been so blind around her. She would do awful

    things, and they would forgive her in the blink of an eye. It¡¯s good to know someone else can see

    straight through her lies.¡±

    ¡°Well, look at these two gorgeous women in front of me.¡± Tyler, one of the yers from the fearsome,

    says. He was sweaty and smelled awful.

    rissa and I gave each other the same look. We didn¡¯t like him speaking to us one bit.

    ¡°Who will I be lucky to take home tonight after we win the game?¡± He asks.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Tyler,¡± rissa says in a flirting manner. I give her a confused look. She nods her chin to

    the right, and it¡¯s only then that I see Atticus looking our way. He wasn¡¯t the only one; Damon was as

    well. ¡°Maybe we will decide after you win the game.¡±

    I smile flirtatiously, ¡°rissa¡¯s right. Maybe you can take the both of us out to dinner if you win.¡±

    It felt wrong to flirt with another guy when I was married to Atticus, but I was only doing it to get him

    mad. I wanted him to feel what I felt every time he ran to Anya when he should have stayed with me.

    There were too many times to count. Every time I allowed myself to fall more for him, he did things that

    pushed us further apart.

    It was my turn now. And it was up to him to fight for me, for this marriage.

    Tyler holds my hand, and I hate the way his touch feels; it¡¯s nothing like the touch Atticus gives to me. I

    pull back but try to y it off with a smile.

    ¡°We will be at the game tonight. I hope you don¡¯t disappoint us.¡± I warn.

    He grins and winks at me. ¡°I¡¯ll see you girls tonight after we¡¯re holding the trophy. Don¡¯t be shy and

    come looking for me; if you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll find you.¡±

    rissa sighs when he leaves. ¡°I can tell you hated that just as much as I did.¡±

    ¡°Was I that easy to read?¡± I ask her. If she could figure it out, then Atticus would be able to as well,

    wouldn¡¯t he?

    . . . . . .

    ~ATTICUS~

    My blood was boiling at the sight of another man near my wife. Who the f**k did he think he was?

    Everyone in this school knew she was f*****g mine; marking her should have kept him away from her.

    Then why was he still around my woman?

    And why was she entertaining him? First, she asked me for a divorce, and now she was flirting with a

    man that wasn¡¯t me. Autumn was pushing my limit now. I can¡¯t remember thest time I¡¯ve ever felt this

    angry over something like this.

    I would be paying Tyler a f*****g visitter; I would make sure it¡¯s thest time he ever steps near my

    woman. He wouldn¡¯t even look at her after today. Hopefully, it would be a lesson to any other man that

    tried to get near her.

    ¡°You marked Autumn,¡± Damon says, forcing my gaze away from Autumn and Tyler. I knew that

    everyone noticed already, it wasn¡¯t hard to notice her scent on me or mine on hers, but Damon was the

    first to mention it to me. I knew it was only a matter of time before someone did.

    ¡°I did,¡± I confess. ¡°I didn¡¯t even think it would be possible for us since we aren¡¯t mates, but I don¡¯t know.

    . . I feel so confused. She felt like my mate right before I marked her. More than Anya ever did. But

    something still pulls me towards Anya even though I marked Autumn. I can¡¯t exin either of these

    feelings. They¡¯re both different but strong in their ways. I¡¯m puzzled. It doesn¡¯t matter what I feel for

    Anya; however, Autumn is my wife; I¡¯m done hurting her because of Anya. I know where my priorities

    are now; I shouldn¡¯t have left her at Austin¡¯s like that. I was wrong. I¡¯m trying to fix it, but I¡¯m unsure if

    she will let me. I feel like I¡¯ve already let her slip away even though I never had her to begin with.¡±

    I¡¯m f*****g confused by my own emotions and thoughts. Why did it take me so long to feel a strong

    connection with Autumn? Why did I mark her when she asked for a divorce, and why was it even

    possible when Anya was my mate? Many unanswered questions were in my head, and I was dying to

    find the answers.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s for the best.¡± He says. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed that I¡¯ve been making things harder for you since you

    married Autumn. I should have realized that she¡¯s your priority now. I guess I¡¯ve just been so upset with

    being unable to make my mate happy that I was ming you to make myself feel better. I¡¯m sorry,

    Atticus. I should have done better as your brother. I¡¯m not going to insist that you look after Anya now; I

    understand it¡¯s not your ce anymore. Autumn shoulde first. It¡¯s the right thing to do anyway. I¡¯m

    d that you¡¯re choosing to do the right thing. I wish I had your strength, to begin with. I can¡¯t imagine

    ever leaving Anya to marry someone that our parents chose. It just isn¡¯t something I can ever do to her

    or myself. You¡¯re a lot stronger than I am. I¡¯m proud of you, and I look up to you.¡±

    Hearing Damon say that to me made me feel at peace inside. There was this wedge between us for the

    longest while, but with just those few words, I felt it breaking free.

    I grin, ¡°where did all of thate from?¡±

    He chuckles. ¡°Don¡¯t look for more of it anytime soon. That¡¯s the first, and thest time I¡¯m saying those

    words to you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Damon.¡± I thank him in a more serious tone. I want him to know just how much those

    words have impacted me. ¡°That means more to me than you will ever understand.¡±

    ¡°Something seems to be bothering you still.¡± He notes. He could always read me well. He never paid

    much attention until now; maybe that¡¯s why he¡¯s now noticing it.

    He was right. Something else was bothering me; it¡¯s been bothering me since yesterday. I haven¡¯t been

    able to wrap my finger around it, and maybe that¡¯s why I¡¯m so miserable.

    ¡°When I marked Autumn, I could taste her blood,¡± I exin.

    ¡°And?¡± he asks. ¡°Did it not taste as good as you¡¯d think it would?¡± he teases.

    No, it was f*****g amazing. But that wasn¡¯t what I was getting at.

    ¡°It was different.¡± I try to exin. ¡°I know what a werewolf¡¯s blood tastes like. Her blood was a mixture

    of something else. . . Almost like a hybrid. But I know my head must be screwing with me because both

    of her parents are werewolves; she can¡¯t be different.¡±

    ¡°Autumn has always looked different from her parents.¡± Damon points out.

    It was true. She was a bit different from them, even from her siblings. But that still didn¡¯t make any

    sense. We would have known if they weren¡¯t her birth parents. That was something they would have

    mentioned to us before the wedding arrangements were made. My parents are the type of people that

    loved doing background checks on anyone that came close to our family. They would have looked into

    something like that.

    ¡°I think my mind is ying tricks on me,¡± I repeat. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m reading too much into something

    that isn¡¯t even there. If Autumn was a hybrid, I think someone would have noticed by now. There isn¡¯t

    anything different about her than any other she-wolf.¡±

    That was the truth. I had to put that theory to rest since it made no sense.

    My eyes return to Autumn and Tyler; I¡¯m pissed when he holds her hand.

    ¡°Since when are they so close to Tyler?¡± I ask Damon, though ites out as an aggressive growl.

    He followed my gaze and immediately tensed.

    ¡°Why does he think it¡¯s okay for him to talk to rissa?¡± He demands. ¡°I think I need to pay the

    fearsome another visit. I need to remind them she¡¯spletely off limits.¡±

    ¡°I can never understand how you¡¯re so overprotective over her. She needs to live a little.¡± I remind him.

    ¡°She¡¯sing of age. She can date.¡±

    ¡°Says f*****g who?¡± He growls. ¡°She¡¯s too young. She is not ready for dating.¡±

    ¡°And when do you think is the right time for her to date?¡± I ask him.

    I quirk a brow when he¡¯s unable to give me an answer.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡± I point out. ¡°Give her a chance to experience what you have with Anya.¡±

    ¡°Anya and I are mates.¡± He reminds me. ¡°Just like you and she are. rissa¡¯s mate is nowhere around.

    She doesn¡¯t need to waste any time looking for anyone that isn¡¯t her mate. That will only bring her

    pain.¡±

    I sigh, distracted by Autumn once more. The anger intensifies by the way she smiles as Tyler walks

    away. What exactly did they talk about? I wouldn¡¯t rest until I found out the answer to that question.

    ¡°Go get your girl,¡± Damon says suddenly. ¡°I can see you want to go to her.¡±

    My girl? I loved the sound of that. I stroll over to her, and she watches me all innocently like she hadn¡¯t

    just been flirting with Tyler a few minutes ago.

    ¡°rissa.¡± I say, without breaking eye contact with Autumn. ¡°Damon will take you to your next ss.

    Autumn and I have something important to discuss.¡±

    rissa mumbles something under her breath but she quickly obeys.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to say to you.¡± She snaps as soon as rissa is gone.

    I grab her waist and shove her into the storage room with me.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± she demands as I lock it.

    ¡°Do you forget that you¡¯re married to me, Autumn?¡± I demand. ¡°Why the f**k are you letting other men

    flirt with you?¡±

    Sheughs, actuallyughs in my face. ¡°Do you think I can control who flirts with me, Atticus? I¡¯m not

    running after other men like you are running after other women. I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you.¡±

    ¡°Tell me,¡± I growl. ¡°What did the two of you talk about? What was Tyler so happy about when he walked

    off?¡±

    ¡°How should I know why Tyler was so happy?¡± She hissed. ¡°I can¡¯t read minds, Atticus.¡±

    ¡°I want to know what the conversation was about,¡± I repeat, my anger holding onto a thin thread. ¡°If you

    don¡¯t tell me in the next few seconds, I will find him and beat the answer out of him. Do you understand

    what I¡¯m saying to you, Autumn?¡±

    She gasps, ¡°you can¡¯t be serious.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I whisper as I move in closer to her. ¡°But I¡¯m very serious.¡±

    ¡°He invited us to watch the game tonight. He wants to take rissa and me to dinner if they win the

    game. We promised to go with him as long as they won the game.¡± She answers.

    Her words only pissed me off even more than before. Why the f**k were they promising him to go to

    dinner?

    ¡°Why did you agree to that?¡± I demand. ¡°Yourst name is now Fawn. You are my wife. It¡¯s

    disrespectful to ept dates from random men.¡±

    ¡°And it wasn¡¯t disrespectful when you hugged Anya in front of me on our wedding night?¡± She

    demands.

    ¡°I already exined to you what happened that night.¡± I remind her. ¡°It was not intentional, and you

    misread the entire situation. When did you be this stubborn?¡±

    She gapes at me, ¡°stubborn?¡±

    ¡°Yes, stubborn,¡± I repeat for her benefit.

    I lean into her, my nose close to hers. She lifts her chin, and my nose travels to her neck. I growl as I

    inhale my scent on her. It was f*****g sexy. I loved how her body was covered with my scent, and it

    wasn¡¯t f*****g enough. I wanted every inch of her to be covered in my scent. I wanted men like Tyler to

    back off the moment they got a whiff of her because they would know who she belonged to.

    I slowly pull back, refraining from taking things further.

    Her eyes glow a strange purple, something very unusual, and suddenly I want her. Like f*****g dying for

    air kind of want. It¡¯s never felt this strong before.

    I grab her waist and shove her hard against the wall behind us. She cries out, and f**k, what the hell

    was going on? I barely have control over my body as I rip her blouse open. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing.

    My hands are on her bra, pulling it off her body. I¡¯m seeing everything happen so fast in front of me, but

    there is no way for me to stop.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing.¡± I manage to gasp out right before my mouth closes over her breast. I

    suck, and she moans, spreading her legs open for me to settle between her.

    ¡°Touch me,¡± she whispers. ¡°Touch me, Atticus.¡±

 Chapter 36

    Chapter 36

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 36

    ~AUTUMN~

    Atticus.

    Atticus.

    Atticus.

    I¡¯m doing it. I¡¯m repeating the spell. And somehow, it¡¯s working. Somehow Atticus wants me. I can tell

    by the way he moves that this isn¡¯t him. He isn¡¯t doing it out of his free will. And for some reason, I¡¯m

    not stopping it.

    How did you even stop a spell that you weren¡¯t even sure how you started to begin with? Mr. Samuel

    never exined how to stop it. How could a teacher give a spell and not tell his students how to end it?

    The worst part was that I didn¡¯t want this to end. I wanted him to keep touching me. He was ripping my

    clothes in half. And I didn¡¯t mind one bit. I didn¡¯t want him to stop.

    I cry out when his hand grips my p***y through my pants. He¡¯s rubbing me, easing the ache but making

    it worse simultaneously. How was that possible? How could I feel both things at once?

    ¡°Is that where you want me to touch you?¡± He whispers against my ear before his tongue pulls my

    earlobe into his mouth. ¡°In your sweet p***y. Do you want me to touch it bare? Without any clothes on?

    Would that make it better?¡±

    I gasped at just the thought of his hands there without any barriers between them. I grip his shirt and

    pull hard; that¡¯s my answer without having to say the words. I want it. I want it so much.

    He shoves a few cleaning products onto the floor from the table next to us and puts me on top of it. I

    gasped when he spread my legs wide.

    My eyes roll back into my head when he shoves his face between them so that his mouth is now

    pressed against my aching wetness. I still have the pants on, and I hate them so much. I want it to be

    gone. I want to be able to feel it more than this. His tongue takes a slow, long, brutal swipe, and I cry

    out at the feelings that pulsed through me just by looking at how he did it.

    I gasped as I remembered why he was even doing this in the first ce. No matter how good this felt, I

    couldn¡¯t allow him to continue with this. I will never forgive myself if I let this continue.

    I grab his face and push him backward. ¡°Stop!¡± I shout.

    And just like that, I can see the spell leaving his body. Just like that, it was all over.

    Atticus stares at me with a look of confusion and horror. I don¡¯t know if he understands yet that I¡¯m the

    reason he just lost control of his own body like that. But I know the truth even if he didn¡¯t, and I¡¯m now

    terrified of myself.

    I wasn¡¯t a witch; I shouldn¡¯t have been able to do something like this. So what the hell just happened?

    His eyes travel down my body, focusing on my torn clothes, clothes he¡¯d just ripped.

    He runs a hand through his hair and turns around, no longer looking my way. He mutters a string of

    curses; I think he¡¯s ming himself. I also insisted that he stop while he was in the middle of touching

    me. He may feel that I didn¡¯t like it. It was quite the opposite of that, but I couldn¡¯t say anything because

    that would mean that I had to exin why exactly I had stopped it, and I wasn¡¯t ready to do that.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get some clothes for you to change into.¡± He says suddenly. ¡°Don¡¯t go anywhere.¡±

    I don¡¯t think it was possible to leave this room half-naked. I wasn¡¯t going to try and escape if that¡¯s what

    he was worried about.

    I lean against the wall when he leaves; I have plenty on my mind. I still wasn¡¯t sure what exactly had

    just happened. It may be a good idea to mention this to someone that may be able to provide me with

    the answers I needed, but I was terrified that they would say that something was wrong with me. A

    werewolf that knew how to perform spells? I¡¯ve never been able to do anything like that in the past, so

    what was happening to me?

    Was it just the spell of seduction, or could I also cast other spells? There were a few spells that were

    mentioned, but I¡¯ve never paid plenty of attention to any of them.

    And I was too scared to try anything at this exact moment. I was still in shock at what I¡¯d just done to

    Atticus. He only touched me like that because of a stupid spell. I never wanted him that way; I wanted

    him to desire me without needing magic for it to work.

    Atticus returns a few minutester with a dress in his hand.

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you outside.¡± He says as he exits and shuts the door behind him.

    I remove what¡¯s left of my clothes and throw the dress on over my head. I¡¯m nervous when I walk out

    the door. I¡¯m not sure if anyone will notice the change of clothes. It would be easy for practically any

    person to realize that this wasn¡¯t the same thing I¡¯d been wearing earlier today. That thought made my

    cheeks feel hot with embarrassment.

    What could I say if they asked what happened? An easy response would be that something spilled all

    over my clothes, and I had to change into this.

    I¡¯m waiting for Atticus to ask me what happened in there or to exin, but he¡¯s reticent. I¡¯m not sure

    what he¡¯s thinking.

    When we meet with rissa and Damon, things are still awkward between us, and I think they can see

    straight through us.

    ¡°Did something happen to your clothes?¡± rissa asks. ¡°I know this isn¡¯t what you were wearing

    earlier.¡±

    I blushed, unable to stop, ¡°I spilled some juice all over it.¡± I lie.

    She looks at Atticus, and he¡¯s as stiff as a board. I don¡¯t think we¡¯re doing an excellent job at selling this

    story.

    ¡°Where did you get the dress?¡± She asks. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡±

    Atticus looks nervous at her question, making me wonder where he truly got the dress from so quickly.

    It was my size and almost like it was made just for me.

    ¡°Where did you get the dress?¡± I repeat her question.

    ¡°I bought it for you.¡± He finally answers. ¡°I just never got the chance to give it to you.¡±

    Did he really buy this dress for me? It was short but not too short, and it wasn¡¯t fitted either; it was

    perfect for me.

    How did he know that I would like this?

    ¡°Were you nning on giving it to her along with the hundreds of roses we saw delivered to the house

    yesterday?¡± rissa asks.

    Hundreds of roses? When were roses delivered to the house? Atticus res at his sister, and she

    covers her mouth after realizing I wasn¡¯t aware of what she was speaking of.

    My gaze shifts to Atticus as I wait for him to exin. I never got any roses, but Atticus and I did have a

    fierce fight yesterday before he marked me and disappeared for the rest of the night. Was he nning

    on giving me roses to ask for forgiveness after leaving my side to look after Anya? Would that have

    changed anything?

    It made me feel a little better but still not enough to stop the pain I felt every time I thought about him

    leaving me to go to her. It felt like he¡¯d chosen her again, even though we were now married.

    I shook the thought out of my head. I promised myself to stop letting them hurt me. I promised myself to

    be stronger. I wouldn¡¯t let Atticus into my heart again until he proved that he wanted this marriage to

    work. It didn¡¯t matter that my heart would always only belong to him. I was done crying over him

    because of Anya. I wouldn¡¯t let her win; I wouldn¡¯t let her continue to bring me down.

    But that wasn¡¯t my only problem anymore, I had other things to sort out, and that was to figure out how

    on earth a werewolf has the power to cast spells.

    And who could I trust to tell this secret to? The truth was that this was the first time it¡¯s ever happened

    to me, and maybe it¡¯s possible that I was reading too much into nothing; the only way I can know for

    sure is if it happened again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯m looking forward to that game tonight.¡± rissa grins. ¡°I can see us

    having so much fun. Plus, I want to see if Tyler tries to win and take us to dinner.¡±

    The truth was that it didn¡¯t matter if Tyler yed well; all of the attention and hope would be ced on

    Carter. As long as he performed, the fearsome beasts would win the game. This would mean that Tyler

    would expect us to go to dinner with him tonight; while I would want Atticus to think that I was going to

    the dinner, I wouldn¡¯t actually do something like that. I don¡¯t believe rissa would, either. This was all

    about teaching him a lesson, nothing else. I wasn¡¯t actually interested in Tyler, but he didn¡¯t have to

    know that. It was better for him to think he wasn¡¯t the only one with my full attention. I tried that before,

    and it didn¡¯t work in my favor; now, I was doing the opposite.

    ¡°Why are you suddenly interested in these games?¡± Damon demands from rissa.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong if I want to see the game, Damon?¡± She asks. ¡°I¡¯m just going to have some fun with

    Autumn. We deserve a girl¡¯s night out.¡±

    I could also have Scarlett and ra join us. That would make it even better.

    ¡°I¡¯ll invite Scarlett and ra.¡±

    Atticus stiffens at the mention of them, ¡°every time you hang out with those girls, everything goes

    wrong.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± I deny. ¡°I think it¡¯s quite the opposite. Everything goes wrong whenever Anya is in the

    picture, not those nice girls. They¡¯re my friends. You will learn to like them because they¡¯re here to

    stay.¡±

    He quirks a brow at me, but he doesn¡¯t seem annoyed or angry. Instead, he looks impressed. What

    was he so impressed about? I disagreed with him; didn¡¯t he get that?

    ¡°You guys can attend the sses together without me,¡± Damon says suddenly. ¡°Dante told me that

    Anya wants to see me. I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡±

    rissa doesn¡¯t hide her disappointment at his words.

    ¡°Keep an eye on rissa; make sure no one tries to bully her while I¡¯m gone.¡± He warns Atticus before

    leaving.

    At least hisst words, before walking away, managed to brighten her mood a little.

    Now we had to survive the rest of the sses together. Hopefully, it has nothing to do with spells or

    witches.

    . . . . . .

    It¡¯s time for the game. Luckily rissa had enough clothes for the both of us in her locker. That meant

    that we didn¡¯t have to go home to change; we were able to change in the bathroom.

    I didn¡¯t want to remove the dress Atticus gave to me, but I didn¡¯t want him to think I was in love with it

    either.

    ¡°Do you have to follow us everywhere?¡± I ask Atticus. He¡¯s walking behind us like our bodyguard,

    looking at everyone who came even a few feet too close. I think he was waiting for Tyler to show up.

    He doesn¡¯t answer me; he¡¯s too preupied with scanning the area.

    ¡°Do you spot Scarlett?¡± rissa asks me.

    Before I could respond, a random woman approached us out of nowhere; she was dressed in a long

    white dress, and she didn¡¯t look like she hade to be a part of the game.

    ¡°I can see your future so clearly.¡± She says to me before turning her attention to Atticus. ¡°You as well.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine; I don¡¯t need you to tell me about my future.¡± He cuts her off before she can say anything else.

    Was she another one of those older witches that loved to tell someone about their future in return for

    some money? What was she even doing here at a game like this?

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    I couldn¡¯t understand how security would let her through the gates.

    ¡°You have two women in your life.¡± She continues, making me ufortable. ¡°One of them you¡¯re in

    love with, and the other, you¡¯re forced to have her in your life. Autumn and Anya. You know what order

    they go in.¡±

    I freeze. She did not just say that.

    His jaw clenches, ¡°is this some kind of joke?¡±

    Anya joins us just then, with Damon and Dante on both sides of her. I try not to let her presence affect

    me, but I can¡¯t deny how unhappy it makes me now that she¡¯s here. I expected her to drag on the

    hospital trick for as long as she could; I didn¡¯t think she would be out of there so quickly. I think it¡¯s only

    because Atticus didn¡¯t go back to check on her; that¡¯s the only reason she¡¯s out of the hospital.

    ¡°They¡¯re both here.¡± The woman notes, waving her hands. ¡°If you had a choice to save one of these

    women, who would it be?¡±

    ¡°Is that a f*****g threat?¡± Atticus growls as he steps towards her.

    ¡°Are they just letting anyone into these games now?¡± Damon demands as he looks around for security.

    Though they didn¡¯t need it, they could quickly get her out of here if they wanted to.

    ¡°No, son,¡± she says in an apologetic tone. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be disrespectful. I think that this is a

    question that you need to answer if you want to be able to move forward with your life. I can tell it¡¯s

    holding you back.¡±

    I fold my arms and look directly into his eyes, ¡°who would it be, Atticus? It¡¯s a simple question. What¡¯s

    your answer?¡±

    He¡¯s silent as he scans my face, trying to figure out if I truly wanted to know the answer to her question.

    I¡¯m not sure what he saw, but he doesn¡¯t even blink as he says, ¡°you.¡±

    It¡¯s one word, but it makes my heart skip a beat. Did he really just say that? In front of both Anya and

    me? Or was he only saying it because everyone was looking at us?

 Chapter 37

    Chapter 37

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 37

    ~ANYA~

    ¡°Did you hear his response to my question at the game?¡± My mother asks me as she throws a ss in

    the sink, almost breaking it.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I say through clenched teeth. I heard his response to her question, and it still haunted me. It still

    hadn¡¯t sunk in that I¡¯dpletely lost Atticus. Part of him was still connected to me, but it was almost

    completely gone. He was too lost over Autumn to realize how much I missed having him around.

    I¡¯d left the game when he said that one word to her. It wasn¡¯t veryfortable to stand there while he

    imed that he would save Autumn over me. Damon and Dante tried to stop me, but I didn¡¯t listen to

    either.

    How could Atticus embarrass me like that in front of everyone? We weren¡¯t the only ones present.

    Many people were surrounding us, waiting for his response, and he chose her.

    I knew he was angry that I¡¯d sent the recording to Autumn, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the only reason he¡¯d

    said what he did. He was being honest. He would choose her if he had to pick between saving one of

    us.

    ¡°One job Anya, you had one job to do, and you couldn¡¯t even do that.¡± She snaps. ¡°Are you even my

    daughter?¡±

    I cringe at her question. My mother never loses the opportunity to insult me. I was trying my best;

    everything I¡¯d ever done was to please her. I was stuck in this situation because of her.

    When I first saw Atticus, I wasn¡¯t very fond of him. I never wanted to date him, but my mother had other

    ns. She was obsessed with getting her revenge on the Fawns, and I was her ticket to making that

    possible. Doing things to please my mother has always made me feel like I¡¯d aplished something

    great, and I have enjoyed doing this for her until now.

    My mother was a full-blooded witch, and I was a hybrid; my father was a werewolf. He died when I was

    younger.

    ¡°I did all the hard work,¡± she snaps. ¡°I helped you put those spells on all three of those Fawn brothers.

    All you had to do was keep Autumn away to prevent her from ever finding out that Atticus was her true

    mate. And you couldn¡¯t even do that much.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think Autumn knows he¡¯s her mate.¡± I snap. ¡°I made sure that she wouldn¡¯t recognize him as

    her mate. However, even a spell can¡¯tpletely wipe out her feelings for him. She loved him so much

    since the beginning that it was hard for the spell to even work on her. But still, she doesn¡¯t show any

    signs that she believes he¡¯s her mate.¡±

    ¡°How did Atticus mark her if he didn¡¯t recognize her as his mate?¡± She demands. ¡°Eventually, they¡¯re

    both going to realize something is going on. And if we don¡¯t work fast, all of my ns will be squashed

    in a split second. I¡¯ve been working on this for years, building everything up to blow it up in their faces

    at the right time, but that damn Autumn girl is spoiling everything. I always knew I should have gotten

    rid of her a long time ago.¡±

    I fidget with the bracelet in my hand, which Atticus had gifted me. He¡¯s always surprised me with

    presents, and they¡¯ve somehow made me fall for him. Out of all three of them, Atticus was the only one

    that had wed his way into my heart. I wasn¡¯t in love with him, but he was the only one I¡¯ve always

    cared about. I didn¡¯t expect that losing him would have impacted me as much. While I was only doing

    what my mother wanted, it didn¡¯t take away from the fact that I was partly doing it because of my

    feelings for him.N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    Keeping him away from Autumn these years had been so hard. If his parents hadn¡¯t nned this

    wedding, I would still have him wrapped around my finger. The wedding was what spoiled everything

    for me. I remember how shocked I¡¯d been after seeing the articles and reading the many messages on

    my phone.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to n something to stop the two of them from getting closer.¡± My mother breaks

    into my thoughts. ¡°I need to make sure that I separate them. If he keeps falling for her and you can no

    longer get to him, that would spoil everything for us. Autumn is dangerous. I can sense something in

    her, something that no normal werewolf possesses. Being near her tonight has only confirmed this for

    me.¡±

    What was she talking about? I¡¯ve always sensed something in Autumn, but I¡¯ve never paid much

    attention to it. Now that my mother was mentioning it, I had to wonder if she knew more than I did.

    ¡°You promised me that no matter what your ns were, you wouldn¡¯t harm Atticus.¡± I remind her. ¡°You

    know that he¡¯s the only one I care about. Do what you must with the others but leave him alone.¡±

    Sheughs, ¡°are you still not over your small crush on that boy? You can give up the little y now.

    He¡¯s married to Autumn. Not you. He chose her, you may not see it that way, but it¡¯s clear who he

    chose to marry. Even the spell on him didn¡¯t stop that.¡±

    ¡°Promise me.¡±

    She rolls her eyes and returns to studying the spell book in front of her, ¡°don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t hurt your

    little crush. He will be fine. But I have to find something that would buy us some more time. Those two

    are falling for each other at an rming rate; I can¡¯t waste more time, and neither can you. Please do

    whatever you must to keep separating them. Do not go easy on him. Make sure he feels guilty for

    marrying Autumn. You¡¯re not trying hard enough, and that¡¯s why he¡¯s slipping away from you. I can see

    that he still cares a little; you need to learn how to use that to your advantage without it backfiring on

    you.¡±

    She was right. Everything I¡¯d done so far had somehow found a way to backfire on me. I had to y

    the innocent victim. I had to pretend at least to be lovely to Autumn so that I could get closer to the both

    of them. The closer I was to Atticus, the stronger the spell would work on him.

    I couldn¡¯t let Autumn have him, this wasn¡¯t just about my mother anymore. I didn¡¯t care that he¡¯d

    married her. She couldn¡¯t have him. I would make sure of it.

 Chapter 38

    Chapter 38

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 38

    ~ATTICUS~

    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Hey, Tyler!¡± I shout. Autumn may think I left her with rissa to run after Anya, but I had other matters

    to deal with. I didn¡¯t want her to know what I was up to. She may not be too happy about it, and I was

    already on her bad side; I didn¡¯t want to make it worse. I¡¯ve done many things recently to make her

    unhappy with me, but this one had to be done. I had to teach Tyler a lesson; he had to know to stay

    away from Autumn. While I was just pissed that she¡¯d flirted with another man, I was also concerned

    about her safety. Tyler was not to be trusted around any woman. And he definitely couldn¡¯t be trusted

    around my wife.

    He turns around, and his eyes widen the second he spots me, ¡°oh shit.¡±

    That is precisely what I was thinking. My stride is long and fast as I grab him by his t-shirt and shove

    him up against the wall. ¡°What¡¯s this that I¡¯ve heard about you wanting to take my wife to dinner tonight

    if you win the game?¡±

    He coughs and clears his throat as he looks around for help. I¡¯m positive that he¡¯s looking for his

    teammates. They all stuck together, but I chose the perfect timing to catch him by himself. Not that I

    was scared of the fearsomes. It was just less messy this way, and I had to keep it that way to prevent

    Autumn from finding out. I didn¡¯t want her to get any angrier.

    Damon joins me, ¡°look at you starting the fun without me. What part of wait on me didn¡¯t you get?¡±

    ¡°The part where you were taking too long,¡± I inform him. ¡°The game was about to start, and I had to pay

    our little friend a visit before he went and tried to win the game without talking to us first.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, guys. I didn¡¯t know it would cause a problem.¡± He apologizes. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have asked

    Autumn out. Or even spoken to her. I understand my mistake now. It won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    You bet your ass it won¡¯t happen again!

    ¡°Why the f**k would you think that it wouldn¡¯t have caused a problem?¡± I ask.

    Had he been away from his phone all of this time? Why would he think I would be okay with him flirting

    with my wife? News of Autumn and me had spread like wildfire. There is no way that he didn¡¯t know

    she was married to me. So what the hell could be his reasoning for his dumb statements?

    ¡°Everyone knows that you still love Anya.¡± He points out. I stiffen at the mention of Anya. Why was he

    bringing her up when the conversation was about Autumn?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would be so concerned about who Autumn was seeing. If I had known, I would have

    kept my distance from her. I can see now that she means something to you.¡±

    Of course, she f*****g meant something to me. She was mine!

    I press my elbow tighter against his throat, ¡°stay the f**k away from Autumn. If you ever talk to her

    again, I¡¯ll ensure you can never y a game of football again. Do you understand me? You won¡¯t even

    be able to stand again after I¡¯m done with you:¡±

    He holds his hands up in the air, ¡°you don¡¯t need to tell me twice. I misread the situation. I¡¯ll keep my

    distance from her.¡±

    ¡°While keeping your distance from Autumn, keep your distance from rissa as well.¡± Damon adds.

    I knew he was waiting for his chance to inform him that rissa was also off-limits.

    ¡°Your sister?¡± He asks. ¡°Why would I do that? It¡¯s not like you want her.¡±

    It might have been a joke to Tyler, but we didn¡¯t take it lightly.

    I let go of him then because I know Damon is the one who¡¯ll want a piece of him now. Not that I didn¡¯t

    want to punch his face. But I knew that Damon wanted it more than me, and I¡¯d already gotten my

    chance.

    I have the pleasure of watching Damon¡¯s fist connect with his jaw, ¡°there is plenty more where that

    came from if you even dare try anything stupid around her. I¡¯lle and find you if I hear anything,

    even if it¡¯s a f*****g lie, so make sure there aren¡¯t even any rumors about you next to her.¡±

    Tyler spat out the blood from his mouth and rubbed his jaw. ¡°I understand. Now can I go y my

    game? They¡¯re all waiting for me.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Damon,¡± I tell him. ¡°Good luck in the game tonight!¡± I add as we finally allow him to leave.

    Tyler res after us, but he doesn¡¯t try to do anything stupid. He knows he¡¯s no match for us.

    ¡°I think we should have done more than that,¡± Damon says as we walk away. ¡°Guys like Tyler don¡¯t

    learn so easily. You need to make an example out of him to keep him and others away from Autumn.¡±

    ¡°Are we only speaking about Autumn or rissa as well?¡± I ask.

    I¡¯ve been noticing his strange behavior around her recently, and I wasn¡¯t sure what to think of it.

    ¡°Autumn, rissa, Anya. We must protect the women in our lives from men like him.¡± He answers.

    Anya.

    I was still pissed at her and what she¡¯d done. But I also felt terrible after telling Autumn that I would

    protect her if I had to choose between saving her and Anya. I saw the hurt on her face, and there was

    nothing I could do about it.

    But I hadn¡¯t lied. If I had to choose, it would be Autumn. I don¡¯t know when my feelings changed or how

    long I¡¯d felt this way, but the moment that she asked me the question, I knew the answer right away. It

    shocked me, but I didn¡¯t have to hesitate. I would save her in the blink of an eye; without a second

    thought, she would be the one I would run to. If there were a room full of people that needed saving, it

    would always be Autumn; she would always be the first one I would fight my own life to save.

    I had to prove to her that I was telling the truth. I¡¯d hurt Autumn to the point that she didn¡¯t believe a

    word I was saying to her.

    It still bothers me every time I think about it. She deserved better.

    She still does. And I was going to f*****g be better from now on. I didn¡¯t care that she didn¡¯t believe me.

    I would prove to her that I had changed for the better. This is who I should have been to her from the

    beginning. I was too caught up with Anya to realize the s**t I¡¯d been doing all along, I was finally

    opening my eyes, but I could only hope that I was not toote.

    . . . . . . . .

    ~AUTUMN~

    Watching Anya leave the game because Atticus told me he would save me over her if it ever came to

    that was the highlight of my night.

    I wanted to believe that he meant those words, but I didn¡¯t want to get my hopes up yet again to have

    him disappoint me in the end.

    The witch who had asked the question disappeared simultaneously with Anya. There was something

    weird about their interaction. They seemed very familiar and like they knew each other well. I think I¡¯m

    the only one who noticed it, but I could be wrong about the entire thing. After all, they hadn¡¯t spoken to

    each other even once.

    Something told me that she only approached us to ask that specific question, almost like the answer to

    that question mattered to her. Was she possibly hired by one of those magazines to get more

    information on us?

    ¡°Honestly, I have never been happier in my life,¡± rissa ims as she practically beams next to me.

    ¡°The way Anya walked out of here in embarrassment and anger, I wish I had recorded that exact

    moment. It was priceless. I would pay money to see it again.¡±

    It was true. I would also pay money to see the expression on her face again. It was priceless, just the

    way rissa had described it. Anya had finally gotten a taste of her own medicine, and I can safely say

    that she didn¡¯t like it one bit.

    ¡°It was epic, wasn¡¯t it?¡± I ask with a grin.

    Sheughs and puts a finger over her mouth to quiet me down as Atticus and Damon return to sit next

    to us. I don¡¯t think Damon would be happy to hear usughing at his girlfriend, even though she

    deserved it.

    ¡°Where did you two run off to?¡± rissa asks.

    They both look uneasy at her question, but there is also this strange look of satisfaction on their faces.

    It makes me a bit suspicious.

    I notice Tyler going onto the fieldst; we¡¯re close enough to the area for me to see the bruise near his

    mouth. What exactly happened to him?

    ¡°We just had to visit an old friend,¡± Damon answers her. ¡°Nothing for you to worry about.¡±

    His words prompt me to look at Atticus; why does he look so guilty? I look back to the field at Tyler and

    then back at him.

    He wouldn¡¯t? Right? There is no way that they were both responsible for the bruise on his face. But the

    more I saw the smirks on both of their faces, the more I was convinced that they had a significant part

    to y in it.

    The nasty re Tyler shoots them confirms my earlier suspicion.

    I don¡¯t believe this. I¡¯ll have to confront Atticus about this the moment that we are left alone.

    ¡°The game is about to start.¡± rissa cheers as the two teams begin to face off each other.

    ¡°Where are Scarlett and ra?¡± I ask as I look around for them. They were supposed to be here with

    us by now.

    ¡°It looks like Scarlett is in the field,¡± rissa says as she tries to get a closer look.

    She¡¯s right. That was Scarlett running onto the field where Carter was. He doesn¡¯t notice her at first, but

    as soon as he does, he pushes away from the rest of his teammates as soon as he spots her. I¡¯m

    unsure what she¡¯s telling him, but he looks uneasy. There is something strange happening between

    them, and it makes me begin to worry. Was Scarlett okay? For her to confront him like that in front of

    the entire crowd meant that it had to be urgent.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on between them?¡± rissa asks.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I tell her. ¡°ra did say that she asked Scarlett to pretend to be in love with Carter so

    that she could break his heart just like he¡¯d broken hers. I¡¯m not sure if this is a part of that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right,¡± rissa says. ¡°That makes so much sense. I always wondered why Scarlett would be so

    close to Carter when he¡¯d cheated on her sister. She¡¯s good at acting like she¡¯s in love with him; even

    now, she can have almost anyone fooled.¡±

    While I believed Scarlett could be a great actor, I didn¡¯t think that was the case here.

    I¡¯m not so sure this was acting by the looks of it. There seems to be something authentic going on

    between them.

    She storms out of the field, and instead of starting the game, he runs after her.

    ¡°What the hell is he doing?¡± Damon asks. ¡°He¡¯s the star yer of the game.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good thing that he¡¯s leaving. Tyler will lose.¡± Atticus says with a smile. ¡°Why are you

    comining, Damon? This is what we want.¡±

    I gape at him, surprised that he would say something like that; I¡¯ve never seen him this happy. It¡¯s like

    he¡¯d aplished something big. And to him, maybe he just did. From the looks of it, Atticus was not

    very fond of Tyler. Was that all because of me?

    Damon agrees and sits back down with a grin on his face. I couldn¡¯t believe those two; you could

    quickly tell they were brothers by their simrities.

    There is chaos on the field as Carter doesn¡¯t even bother saying anything to the coach or his

    teammates. I don¡¯t want to be him when everyone mes him if we lose this game.

    Despite him being gone, the game begins, and everyone forgets about him, at least for now.

    ¡°Should we go and check on Scarlett?¡± I ask rissa.

    ¡°We could, but we have no idea where they both went. But where is ra?¡±

    That was a good question. ra was also supposed to meet us here tonight. There was definitely

    trouble.

    ¡°I thought you both were interested in the game?¡± Atticus asks. ¡°Neither of you is paying attention to

    what¡¯s happening on the field.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you want us to pay attention?¡± I ask him. ¡°Okay, rissa, don¡¯t you find Tyler looks amazing on

    the field? He¡¯s surprisingly good.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± She says as she pretends to be interested in him, she is ying along so well. ¡°Look at

    him go. Such a good yer. Are you seeing the way he flexes those muscles?¡±

    I almost choke at her words.

    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Atticus says as he gets up. ¡°It¡¯s time for us to go home.¡±

    I turn to him in shock, ¡°the game just started. Why are we leaving?¡±

    ¡°Our parents called and said we have a family dinner to attend,¡± Damon answers for him. ¡°Everyone

    must be present, and we have an hour to get dressed and meet them at the Loreo¡¯s Restaurant.¡±

    Damon also lookspletely fed up; he has agreed with Atticus since the beginning. It was rissa

    and me against Damon and him.

    ¡°How is it that I didn¡¯t hear anything from them?¡± rissa asks suspiciously. ¡°They would have told me

    if there was a dinner that we had to attend. I think you¡¯re both just making up things for us to leave the

    game, and then you¡¯re going to say something stupid like they canceled the dinnerst minute.¡±

    She had a good point. I also believed that this was their devious n.

    ¡°We only just received the message on our phone,¡± Atticus answers her. ¡°You know how they get when

    we don¡¯t arrive on time for their ns. So we have to leave promptly.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t tell if they¡¯d just made up the entire thing, but I guess we were about to find out.

    Atticus drove the fastest I¡¯ve ever seen him towards the house. When we got home, we all dressed as

    quickly as we could and met in front of the house where a car was waiting for us. This time, there was a

    driver; neither Damon nor Atticus was driving. They joined us in the back seat.

    ¡°Please tell me Anya is not going to be there.¡± rissa groans.

    Damon quirks a brow, ¡°I guess I won¡¯t tell you then.¡±

    She rocked back against her seat and squeezed her temple. ¡°Just when I didn¡¯t think this night could

    get any worse.¡±

    Was Anya truly going to be there? As long as Atticus didn¡¯t do anything stupid that could jeopardize our

    rtionship; there shouldn¡¯t be anything to worry about.

    When we arrived, Atticus opened the door for me and helped me get out of the vehicle. There were so

    many things he never did in the past that he was doing now, and it did catch me off guard.

    I¡¯m nervous as we walk into the restaurant. The stares never stop when you¡¯re a part of the Fawns and

    their family. I was still getting used to all the attention, and it hadn¡¯t been the easiest thing. My parents

    were also famous and had their pictures taken almost everywhere that they went, but it was still

    different with Atticus and his family.

    I take a deep breath when his family waves over to us. So they had been telling the truth all along. I

    spot Anya next to Damon, and it angers me.

    She is dressed in an almost see-through white dress. Did she think that was appropriate for dinner with

    his family?

    ¡°Did she not get the dress code?¡± rissa whispers to me as we take our seats.

    I try not to get bothered when she tries to sit right next to Atticus. I¡¯m on his right side, and she¡¯s on the

    left. I¡¯m not sure if he noticed it, but he does look my way, looking for a reaction from me.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you could make it in time.¡± His mother praises us with a warm smile. ¡°Let¡¯s order whatever

    you all like on the menu.¡±

    A photographer snaps our photo, and rissa groans next to me, ¡°they¡¯ve already started.¡±

    ¡°What are they doing in here?¡± I ask her.

    ¡°My parents always allow a photographer to take at least one photo of us whenever we have an event

    like this. They have a deal that makes both sides a good amount of cash.¡±

    Oh, I should have known; my family wasn¡¯t any different. They didn¡¯t be billionaires without

    working hard for it. They were always thinking of ways for more fame and money.

    ¡°How are you feeling now, Anya?¡± Mr. Fawn asks her. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen his parents concerned

    about her. I knew that they didn¡¯t like her, but they must have been worried after she almost ¡®drowned¡¯

    after jumping off their yacht. It must have looked bad in the articles, and now they¡¯re forced to show

    affection toward her, especially for the camera.

    She smiles, ¡°thank you for asking; I¡¯m doing better. It¡¯s still a bit hard to breathe at times; I keep

    remembering how fast my life shed before my eyes. I¡¯m so sorry for making everything so chaotic for

    you when it was supposed to be a happy asion. I promise never to do something like that again.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good; my sons were pretty shaken up from seeing you that way. You must take better care of

    yourself, especially with this family.¡± He tells her.

    It was a warning, but he¡¯d put it in the most kindest way possible.

    Anya just looked happy that they were paying her attention.

    ¡°And Autumn, we¡¯re looking forward to a grandchild soon.¡± He says as he tilts his drink in my direction.

    I blush; Atticus and I hadn¡¯t even slept together for that to be possible.

    I notice the way Anya narrows her eyes the moment he mentions my name.

    Good.

    She needs to be constantly reminded that Atticus is married to me and not her.

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re doing your duty as a man, son.¡± He says to Atticus, who in turn almost chokes on the

    drink still in his hand.

    Atticus coughs, and Anya leans forward to slide her hand up and down his back, ¡°are you okay? Do

    you need something?¡±

    I clenched my jaw; she¡¯d already started to get on my nerves.

    He pulls away from her slightly and leans more into me, ¡°it¡¯s okay, Anya. I¡¯m good. I was just caught by

    surprise, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure Atticus is doing a good job,¡± Griffin says. ¡°His scent is all over Autumn. I could smell it from

    over here.¡±

    Now it was my turn to choke on absolutely nothing.

    ¡°Griffin,¡± Atticus growls.

    ¡°What?¡± He asks innocently. ¡°Why do you always get offended by whatever I say? I¡¯m defending your

    honor. You should be thanking me.¡±

    rissa sighed, ¡°and what about you, Griffin? Are you doing your job as a man?¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°do you have to ask that question? It¡¯s me. I¡¯m doing more than my job requires of me.

    Rest assured.¡±

    rissa pretends to gag at his response, and she also looks like she regrets asking him in the first

    ce.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to use the washroom.¡± I excuse myself. I was partly trying to escape from the conversation

    but also needed to use it. It was a good excuse and the only one I have now.

    I rushed out of there as quickly as I could. I was scared that they would somehow know that Atticus and

    I hadn¡¯t consummated our marriage yet. And I wasn¡¯t sure if that would ever happen anymore. There

    were times when we got carried away, but something always came in between. I stopped it once

    because I felt like the spell was the only reason he was touching me, and he was the one who had

    prevented it from going any further thest time.

    After using the washroom, I was surprised to see Anya washing her hands by the sink. Did no one find

    it weird that she came to use it at the same time that I did?

    I don¡¯t say a word to her as I approach the sink right next to it. I didn¡¯t want to entertain her anymore.

    She wasn¡¯t necessary, at least not after everything she¡¯s done to me.

    ¡°You think you¡¯ve won just because Atticus said one thing in your favor, don¡¯t you?¡± She asks me.

    ¡°No,¡± I tell her the truth. ¡°But it was nice to hear. And it¡¯s only the first; he will take my side from now on.

    Just wait and see. I wasn¡¯t fighting back before, but I am now. If I were you, I¡¯d be scared.¡±

    Sheughs, ¡°scared?¡± She asks. ¡°Oh darling, you have no idea what fear is yet, do you? You¡¯re going

    to eat those words eventually. You wait and see. And then I¡¯ll be the oneughing.¡±

    What did she mean by that? It sounded like it was a threat. What else was Anya nning on doing?

    ¡°Know that I¡¯m not going to sit back and watch you try and destroy my life anymore. I¡¯m onto you, and

    this time I¡¯m not going to let you hurt me.¡±

    I don¡¯t wait for her to say anything else as I storm out of the bathroom. I couldn¡¯t believe the nerve of

    this woman. She tried to act like a saint in front of everyone else, but behind closed doors, she was a

    different person.

    If I were her, I would be embarrassed. She was aplete fake, and there were only a few people

    around me that knew that about her. Her liespletely fooled the others. I couldn¡¯t me them; I was

    stupid enough at one point to fall for it as well. Now I knew how foolish I¡¯d been since the beginning

    ever to be friends with someone like her.

    I finally had good friends and knew what it felt like. She was nothing like my friends, and I was thankful

    for that. She made me realize how much of a gem they were, and I could appreciate their kindness and

    generosity more now that I knew the kind of person that she was.

    ¡°Autumn and I just had a heart-to-heart conversation in the bathroom.¡± She informs Atticus, who looks

    over at me before returning his attention to her. ¡°Things are going to be okay for us now. You don¡¯t

    need to worry about my friendship with her anymore, Atticus. I¡¯m going to take good care of her.¡±

    I watched as she rubbed his arm gently. How did she have no shame?

    What was her problem? Didn¡¯t she know by now that Atticus was off-limits? Him telling her that he

    would save me over her was not enough to get this girl from stopping trying to ruin my marriage.

    My hand tightens around the fork as I felt something growing strong and fast inside of me. It¡¯s powerful

    and uncontroble. It¡¯s hard to exin, and I¡¯m slightly frightened by it. It¡¯s taking control of my body

    and fighting to get free. I gasp when the soup in front of her sshed all over her body.

    Multiple gasps follow right after. Everyone is shocked to see what just took ce in front of us.

    How the hell did that happen? It was not the only thing; the water from the ss had been emptied on

    top of her.

    I cover my mouth with my hand. It¡¯s not possible that I was responsible for that. But I couldn¡¯t deny that

    it only happened after I was pissed off with her. And why did it only fall on her?

    ¡°Ew!¡± Anya screeches as she watches her dress. ¡°This dress is brand new, and it¡¯s designer!¡±

    rissa stifles a burst ofughter next to me, ¡°if you ask me, it looks a lot better now.¡±

    Atticus doesn¡¯t try to help her, and I¡¯m pleased by his behavior. Dante and Damon, on the other hand,

    are already trying to clean her up.

    ¡°How did that even happen?¡± Atticus¡¯s mother asks.

    That was the question that was on everyone¡¯s mind.

    How did it happen?

    Was I really responsible for that?

    And if I was, who exactly was I?

 Chapter 39

    Chapter 39

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 39

    ~AUTUMN~

    Anya looks directly at me, and it almost seems like she knows I¡¯m responsible for it. Who else at this

    table could have done it? There weren¡¯t supposed to be any witches amongst us.

    ¡°Is that a death re she¡¯s giving to you?¡± rissa asks in disbelief. She attempted to confront her, but

    I held her hand to prevent her from making a scene. rissa was not afraid to stand up for herself or

    those close to her. I was happy to know she was this fond of me.

    We were supposed to be having a peaceful dinner with the family. I didn¡¯t want to cause an uproar for

    everyone present, especially not in front of their parents.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you home,¡± Dante tells her as he puts his arms around her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s so upset about; she isn¡¯t the one that bought that dress,¡± rissa says dryly.

    ¡°It was Damon who¡¯d gotten it for her, and I¡¯m sure he will get another one now that this one got

    ruined.¡±

    I can tell that she¡¯s upset that Damon was the one who¡¯d bought it for her. I knew the bracelet in her

    hand was gifted to her by Atticus, and it bothered me every time I had to see it on her.

    At least I was the one wearing the ring.

    ¡°How can someone like her be blessed with three mates all at once?¡± I ask. ¡°It just doesn¡¯t seem right

    to me. She doesn¡¯t even appreciate them.¡±

    rissa nods, ¡°she was the same way with Atticus until he married you. Now, suddenly she can¡¯t live

    without him. I call bullshit. She¡¯s only trying to mess with you. She was never this crazy over Atticus

    until he was off-limits. If you ask me, Anya only wants what she can¡¯t have.¡±

    It was true. Everything she¡¯d just said was absolutely true. I¡¯ve been friends with Anya long enough to

    confirm it.

    Something about Anya felt off to me; I wasn¡¯t able to spot it before, but there was something that stood

    out, and I just couldn¡¯t put my finger on it.

    What was she hiding from the rest of us?

    We watch as she walks away, clutching her dress, ¡°look at how she pushes Dante away when he¡¯s just

    trying to help.¡± rissa points out. ¡°How can he love someone like that? They all deserve better; I¡¯m

    happy that at least Atticus could break free from her terrible hold on him, and we all have you to thank

    for that, Autumn.¡±

    I smile, happy that at least rissa was grateful I had entered Atticus¡¯s life.

    ¡°What are you girls whispering about?¡± Griffin asks. ¡°Share it with the rest of us. I¡¯m looking forward to

    a good story.¡±

    rissa shows him the finger, and their mother tells them to act mature at the table. I¡¯m sure she was

    concerned if anyone would record their behavior and have it posted.

    ¡°Can someone exin to me what exactly happened here?¡± Their father asks. ¡°A bowl of soup doesn¡¯t

    just magically lift into the air and ssh onto a person. That¡¯s the work of a witch.¡±

    ¡°Someone must have been prying on us,¡± Griffin suggests. ¡°We¡¯re not alone in the restaurant. Maybe

    someone here doesn¡¯t like us or doesn¡¯t like Anya, which is understandable, but that¡¯s the only

    exnation I can think of.¡±

    Everyone seemed to ept his exnation for what had happened, but I hadn¡¯t. Anyone would think I

    was crazy for believing I was responsible for everything without any proof except that I¡¯d gotten angry

    with her, but I knew that it was me. I knew that power had been released from inside of me. I didn¡¯t

    know I was capable of this.

    After finishing dinner, we all got into separate vehicles to return home.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re not with Anya right now.¡± rissa points out to Damon. ¡°You¡¯re usually rushing to

    be with her whenever she is angry about something.¡±

    He sighs, ¡°it¡¯s Dante¡¯s night to be with her. I¡¯m giving them their time alone.¡±

    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    I knew they were her mates, but it still seemed so weird that brothers had to share one woman. It didn¡¯t

    seem right.

    Atticus is unusually quiet, and I can tell he has plenty on his mind. Was he thinking about the incident

    at dinner? Would he find it strange that all these unexinable events only urred whenever I was

    around him? I knew that I would be suspicious if I were him.

    I breathe a sigh of relief when we¡¯re finally back home.

    I was happy to get some time to myself as I all but rushed into the house and straight to our bedroom. It

    doesn¡¯tst long, however, as Atticus walks in a few minutes after me and reminds me that this room

    also belonged to him.

    My heart began to pound loudly as he walked back into the room with his hair slightly wet with nothing

    on but short pants. His chest was also damp and glistening. I force myself to look away as he starts to

    dry his skin.

    I couldn¡¯t let my horny mind control me today. Thest time that happened, I used a seduction spell on

    him. I still wasn¡¯t sure if I had been responsible for that, but I wasn¡¯t taking any chances.

    I couldn¡¯t deny how good he looked. He wasn¡¯t the only one that could dress inappropriately for bed.

    Two can y that game.

    I walk back into the bathroom even though he¡¯d seen me there just a while ago. My sister had yed a

    prank on me and packed sexy lingerie for me to sleep with . I never thought I would use them until

    tonight.

    I dabbed some perfume onto my neck, where his mark on me was.

    When I step back into the bedroom, Atticus is already lying on his side of the bed.

    His gaze lifts to my exposed legs and slowly travels up my body. His jaw clenches, and I swear I saw

    his hand grip the sheet to his side, but I might have imagined it.

    I try to be seductive as I climb onto the bed, but with my luck, I may have looked slightly retarded. I

    tried not to overthink as Iy on top of the covers. I didn¡¯t want to hide under them; I wanted him to see

    everything.

    His hands are behind his neck, and I can practically hear his loud breathing next to me. Did that mean

    that my n was already working? He usually breathed like this whenever he was affected by my

    actions.

    I¡¯m thinking of something to say to break the tension, but I can¡¯t think of anything. The only thing I could

    think of was shouting at him, screaming how much I loved him. To think that I¡¯ve loved him for so long

    and he never knew. But I know I can¡¯t tell him yet; I need to make him want me; I need to make him

    regret ever choosing Anya over me. Only then would I confess. Only then would I tell what¡¯s been in my

    heart all this time.

    We both turned on our sides simultaneously, and our gazes met. I held my breath, and I noticed the

    way his throat moved as he swallowed hard. I hate how attracted I am to him. It doesn¡¯t help that he

    doesn¡¯t have a shirt on. I can see each of his perfectly defined muscles, and they¡¯re screaming for me

    to reach out and touch them.

    Where was my control? I couldn¡¯t let myself be dragged into this again. I had to stop myself from doing

    something that I may or may not regret in the near future. I didn¡¯t trust my feelings; they kept

    fluctuating.

    His gaze drops to my lip before going lower to stare at my tiny lingerie, barely covering my body. My

    n*****s hardened as his gaze lingered on my barely covered breasts. His eyes narrow, making me

    wonder if he knows how responsive they are to him.

    I rub my legs together, and his gaze drops to them; it slowly travels higher until it settles on the one

    area that aches for him.

    It¡¯s so unfair. Why do I crave his touch so much? Why do I want him even more than before? Which

    was crazy considering how much I¡¯ve liked him in the past.

    I shook my head andy down on my back instead of facing him. I wasn¡¯t dragging myself down that

    road again, no matter how much my body was screaming for me to let him touch me.

    I¡¯d only dressed this way to tease him, to make him crave me; I wasn¡¯t nning on anything else to

    happen tonight between us. I was still pissed at him for what he¡¯d done in the past, for the many things

    he¡¯s done while trying to protect Anya instead of me.

    Just thinking about it drove me up a wall; why did he have to cause so many problems between us?

    And for Anya? She didn¡¯t deserve him from the start, and neither did she deserve his brothers. Yet she

    was the lucky one to have all three of them, and it had been that way for years. rissa was right. I

    was the reason that had changed for Atticus, but I wasn¡¯t sure if it was really over between them.

    Atticus still cared a great deal for her, and I knew that it would continue to bother me for a long time.

    I run a hand down my body, and I hear Atticus¡¯s sharp intake of air. Was that because of me? I dare not

    turn to look at him. Instead, I shut my eyes and tried to think about anything but him.

    I¡¯m not sure if a few minutes pass or even hours; all I know i that I haven¡¯t been able to sleep with him

    lying shirtless next to me. I hadn¡¯t opened my eyes once, but I could still feel his body heat right next to

    me. I could even smell him. On me, on him, his scent was everywhere. It filled his room, and I wish he

    didn¡¯t smell so heavenly and masculine all in one.

    My eyes sh open when his hand suddenly cups my ass. I wouldn¡¯t exactly call it cupping, his hand

    was big, and they were resting there. I look at him, but his eyes are closed, and I wonder if, by some

    miracle, Atticus has already been asleep. How could he fall asleep so quickly in a situation like this? I

    was still struggling; it was unfair that it was so easy for him while it was difficult for me.

    It felt good to be able to stare at him now that his eyes were closed. His wet hair had fallen over his

    forehead, leaving his forehead glistening.

    Ignoring all the warning bells in my head, I reach forward and gently push his hair back, it was as

    stubborn as he was. I watch as it falls back down as soon as I move my hand.

    I take a deep breath as dark desire washes over me. I could feel the seduction spell on the tip of my

    tongue, waiting for me tomand it, to scream it at the top of my lungs.

    My body felt like it had a mind of its own as I moved his hand from my ass and climbed onto him.

    Atticus¡¯s eyes sh open the moment that I do. I can barely recognize them; they¡¯re dark and

    dangerous and filled with desire. He wants me. I can feel it now that we¡¯re bonded. I can feel how much

    he craves me at this exact moment. He craves me so much that it hurts.

    It turns me on knowing how much he wanted me at this exact moment. Did this mean he could also tell

    how much I wanted him right now? Does he know how much I was dying to have him touch me?

    ¡°What are you doing, Autumn?¡± He asks in a hoarse whisper. His voice. Why was his voice So sexy?

    Why did it make me want him more?

    His hand travels up my legs and to my waist. His eyes look hypnotized as he watches me in a way I¡¯ve

    never seen another man look at a woman. My body shivers, and I want him to always look at me this

    way.

    One of his fingers traces my belly button while he watches me. I gasp at the rush of emotions that flow

    straight through me.

    I run my hands down his exposed chest; I¡¯ve wanted to do this for so long. I¡¯ve dreamt about touching

    Atticus like this ever since I understood what it meant to love someone. His body trembles under my

    touch, making me never want to stop.

    I should stop this. I shouldn¡¯t give in to what I wanted; nothing good everes from doing what I

    wanted. But even though I knew what the right thing to do was, my body had another mind of its own. It

    knew what it wanted, and that was the man beneath me.

    Atticus lets me touch him, making me more confident as I bend towards him so that my mouth is so

    close to his bare chest that if I leaned forward a little, I could kiss each of his hard rock abs.

    I run my nose down the middle of his chest, and I watch as his chest bulges towards me, begging for

    more attention. I¡¯m doing everything but kissing and licking, even sucking; I¡¯m preventing myself from

    doing all those things even though I¡¯m dying to do it.

    I let my nose travel to his neck, and he freezes. I¡¯m tempted to bite down on him as he¡¯d done to me.

    I¡¯m almost desperate to do it; my body is screaming for me to let it happen.

    ¡°What the f**k?¡± He growls suddenly.

    I held my breath, afraid that I¡¯d just crossed some line. His body is shaking with rage, and I¡¯m not sure

    what has caused this sudden change in his mood. What had made him so angry in a split second?

    To my surprise, he leans into me and sniffs my neck. I freeze. What was he doing? I gasp when his

    hand tightens on my exposed waist as he brings me even closer to him. My body was practically

    sprawled on top of him, and his nails dug into me as he searched for something.

    ¡°Why did you put perfume over my mark?¡± He demands. ¡°Are you trying to cancel out the scent?¡±

    rm bells rang as I realized what had caused his sudden anger. He was pissed because I¡¯d covered

    his scent with another. I didn¡¯t think that would have caused such a reaction. It didn¡¯t matter if it was

    another man¡¯s scent on me or an innocent fragrance; he didn¡¯t want anything but him on me.

    He lifted me off him and climbed out of bed. I¡¯m unable to move for a few seconds, still in shock. What

    was so wrong with putting perfume over his mark on my neck?

    Atticus returns from the bathroom a few minutester with a wet cloth. I¡¯m not sure what he¡¯s doing

    until he tilts my head to the side and starts to wipe the perfume out of my skin.

    ¡°Why are you doing that?¡± I demand as I try to push him away. ¡°I put it there for a reason. It isn¡¯t such a

    big deal, Atticus!¡±

    He holds me still and keeps wiping until he¡¯s satisfied with the result, ¡°never put any other scent on

    your body other than mine.¡± He growls. ¡°It¡¯s the only scent I want to smell on you.¡±

    I gape at him; it was thest thing I was expecting him to say to me.

    I never thought that wearing perfume would be able to piss him off like this. Now I knew what else

    could turn on his anger switch; I could use this to my advantage in the future if I wanted to get this

    reaction out of him.

    I gasp when heys me on the bed and covers the mark with his mouth. I can barely breathe when he

    begins to suck on the skin. I grabbed onto his hair as he assaulted my neck in the most pleasurable

    way possible. I sigh happily as he doesn¡¯t stop; he keeps sucking on the skin, I know what he¡¯s doing,

    but I don¡¯t care; I want him to do it.

    He pulls away suddenly and stares at his work; a triumphant smile lights up his face, and I almost

    drown in it. I¡¯ve never realized how much more beautiful he looked when he smiled. Maybe because

    I¡¯ve rarely seen him give a genuine smile like this one, to know that he was this happy because of his

    mark on me made my knees feel weak, and I wasn¡¯t even standing, which I was grateful for if I had

    been standing when he¡¯d smiled at me like that, I would have ended up in the ground. And that would

    have been embarrassing.

    Atticusys back down on the bed after covering my body with the sheets. Suddenly, his mouth is near

    my neck as he whispers in a threatening tone, ¡°if you want to make it through the night without my d**k

    inside of your tight p***y, I¡¯ll suggest that you don¡¯t try teasing me for the rest of the night.¡±

    Does he even know how dirty my mind was when it came to him? I wanted that to happen; I wanted to

    be joined by him in every way possible.

    But he was right; tonight wasn¡¯t the night. And so, even though I wanted to provoke him some more, I

    decided to do the smarter thing and finally closed my eyes to get some sleep. There were many other

    opportunities like this shortly, and I would have plenty of chances to seduce him and take what I

    wanted from the start.

    . . . . . .

    I hadn¡¯t slept the entire night after what almost happened between Atticus and me. I was terrified of

    myself and how uncontroble I was bing.

    It was as though my body wanted to take whatever it craved. That was not okay; it was scary. It knew

    that it wished for Atticus, and because of that, it wanted him through any means possible.

    Did my parents know the truth about me? Could they tell from the start that something was off about

    me? They¡¯ve never told me anything, and I¡¯ve never been able to do things like this in the past.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± rissa asks me. We¡¯re in the jeep, and Atticus is driving. We¡¯re on our way to the

    academy.

    She must have seen how stressed I was; it was easy to tell since I hadn¡¯t slept.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to get any sleepst night,¡± I exin.

    Atticus looks at me through the mirror, and I blush at the look he gives me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to know about your s*x life with Atticus,¡± rissa says as she covers her ear.

    Atticus begins to cough at her words, and I gape at her. How could she assume something like that?

    My eyes widen, ¡°you¡¯re mistaken. I just wasn¡¯t able to sleep.¡±

    She gives me a look that says she doesn¡¯t believe me, but the conversation ends there as Atticus pulls

    up to the academy. We exit and Damon pulls up right next to us with Anya in the vehicle. rissa and I

    look at each other when she gets out of the car.

    ¡°I smell trouble,¡± rissa says.

    I nod, agreeing with her.

    ¡°It¡¯s lovely to see you, beautiful women, this morning,¡± Anya says, and I almost choked on absolutely

    nothing.

    Did I hear her correctly?

    It¡¯s the first time rissa doesn¡¯t have aeback for something Anya has said. Was she being

    friendly for a change?

    ¡°She¡¯s definitely up to something,¡± rissa warns me as Anya hooks her arm through Damon¡¯s, and

    they both begin to walk in front of us.

    She was correct; I wouldn¡¯t believe for a second that Anya had magically be nice overnight. Just

    yesterday, she had plenty to say to me in the bathroom, and it was clear that she was up to an evil

    n. Did her sudden behavior change have something to do with it?

    Was she trying to be nice to get Atticus to trust her again? I hope he was smart enough not to fall for

    her poor acting.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to ss,¡± rissa says. ¡°I¡¯ll see you after.¡±

    I nod, and Damon excuses himself to drop her to ss just like he¡¯d done yesterday. Anya looks visibly

    annoyed that he¡¯s left her to care for rissa, but she tries to hide it. She was toote, however; I¡¯d

    already seen the look on her face, the real her, not the person she was trying to fool us into thinking

    she was.

    Unluckily for me, witches were also on the topic for today. I didn¡¯t want to learn about spells; I was

    afraid my mind would find ways to use them on the people around me. Yesterday, I hadn¡¯t even used a

    spell on Anya; I was just angry when everything sshed over her.

    Anya looked uneasy as they spoke about the spells, but it made me wonder what else she was hiding.

    She was a werewolf like the rest of us; she had no reason to be this bothered.

    The rest of the day went quickly, and thankfully Anya hadn¡¯t tried anything stupid today. She was still

    pretending to be nice to everyone for a change. It was a little creepy, considering we were all

    ustomed to the horrible side of her.

    Why couldn¡¯t she have been this nice from the beginning? I knew it was only a matter of time before

    she showed her proper form. She couldn¡¯t keep this up for a long time.

    rissa chooses to return home with Damon and Anya; I knew she only did it to be closer to him; she

    wasn¡¯t joining them because of Anya.

    We were in the jeep, getting ready to back out of the parking lot when I noticed something strange.

    Tyler was looking straight at us, and it looked like he was telling something to his teammates. Atticus

    wasn¡¯t paying attention to them, but I noticed how angry they all were.

    This couldn¡¯t be good. It was possible that I was reading too much into their expressions, but it still

    bothered me.

    ¡°Atticus.¡± I say, ¡°did something happen yesterday with Tyler?¡±

    I already knew the answer but wanted to hear it from him.

    His hand tightens on the steering wheel, ¡°that¡¯s not important.¡±

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s important.¡± I disagree. ¡°Tyler is a part of the fearsome; they¡¯re not a team to y with.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not f*****g scared of them, Autumn.¡± He growls as he reverses and turns onto the road.

    I look back at them, and they¡¯re also getting into their vehicles; Tyler isn¡¯t joining them, however. He¡¯s

    the only one that stays around.

    He didn¡¯t deny that something had urredst night.

    ¡°Why do you look so worried?¡± He asks me.

    Damon was driving so quickly that he wasn¡¯t in front of us anymore.

    I look back, and they¡¯re still following us.

    Before I could respond to Atticus, they overtake us and pull in front of the jeep. Atticus mashes down

    hard on the brakes, and the vehicle abruptly stops.

    Atticus looks at me, ¡°are you okay?¡±

    I nod as I remove the seatbelt; this was the least of our troubles.

    Atticus looks in front of us and mutters a string of curses as he exits the jeep.

    They also do the same, and I¡¯m not far behind.

    Carter Prince was in front of us, but he was not alone; he had five teammates by his side. They all

    looked pissed at Atticus. I didn¡¯t like the situation in front of me; I should have spoken up before it came

    to this. I knew that something felt off, but I didn¡¯t want to alert Atticus for nothing. At the same time, I

    didn¡¯t think they would stop us in the middle of the road.

    Atticus takes a step towards them after ensuring that I was safely tucked behind him, ¡°is there a reason

    why you¡¯re blocking my way?¡±

    ¡°Tyler told me something; I want to find out if there is any truth behind it,¡± Carter says as he flexes his

    shoulders.

    ¡°Since it doesn¡¯t look like you¡¯re letting us pass, ask away,¡± Atticus tells him.

    I could feel the tension in the air, and my body shook with worry for Atticus. I knew this had to be about

    Tyler; why else would his teammates have anything against Atticus?

    ¡°Is it true that you and Damon cornered him yesterday?¡± He asks. ¡°Tell us where Damon is. He¡¯s the

    one that punched him and bruised his face, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    Atticus quirks a brow, ¡°My brother Damon? I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t give you that information.¡±

    Were they looking for Damon? Oh no. Atticus would never tell them where his brother was. I knew that

    much about him. This was even worse than I initially thought it was.

    Carter takes a step toward him, ¡°are you willing to take the punishment in ce of him for harming one

    of our yers?¡±

    Two of them were vampires; the other four were werewolves. I kept looking from one to the other, trying

    to remember their weaknesses. I had to do something quickly to prevent this fight from taking ce. It

    was six against one; that was not fair at all!

    ¡°Atticus,¡± I whisper. ¡°Let¡¯s go around the other side. Don¡¯t entertain them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll listen to her if I were you,¡± Carter says. ¡°Just tell us where Damon is, and we will let you go without

    causing a scene.¡±

    Atticus grabs him by his t-shirt, ¡°you better stay the f**k away from my brother.¡±

    ¡°Atticus!¡± I hiss. He was not making this any better by initiating the fight first.

    Carter grins, and his smile is scary to me. Before Atticus can see iting, he ms both of their

    heads together so that he lets him go.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± Atticus growls.

    Within seconds Carter and his three other teammates have shifted into their wolves. Carter¡¯s ck wolf

    growls as he moves left to right in front of us. The other three are starting to circle us while the

    vampires bare their fangs at him.

    I couldn¡¯t ask Atticus to turn away anymore; it was toote for that. They weren¡¯t about to let him get

    away without a fight now. He was about to pay the price for Damon hitting Tyler, a member of The

    Fearsome Beasts.

    I¡¯ve always known they were very protective of their yers, but not once did I think that what

    happened yesterday would have led to something this dangerous. I wasn¡¯t even sure that Damon and

    Atticus were responsible for the bruise on Tyler¡¯s face. What was meant to be just some innocent

    flirting with Tyler to make Atticus jealous had turned into something neither rissa nor me ever

    expected.

    If I had known Atticus would be in danger because of my actions, I wouldn¡¯t have ever done something

    like that. I didn¡¯t think he would have gone as far as to confront Tyler over what we¡¯d spoken about in

    front of him. Now, I was left fearing for his safety.

    I gasp as Atticus shifts before me to reveal his beautiful grey wolf. It¡¯s the most beautiful grey I¡¯ve ever

    seen on any wolf before, and he looks back at me for a second before circling me, protecting me from

    the others even though it¡¯s his life that is in danger. They were here for him, not for me.

    I looked around us helplessly; there was no one here that could help us. Even if I were to scream, that

    wouldn¡¯t be useful to either of us. Instead, it may even make things worse.

    The vampire attacks first, and Atticus grabs him by his leg and flings him to the side. Before he can

    prepare, Carter¡¯s wolf grabs him by his neck, and I scream when I see blood.

    Atticus looked back at me to make sure that I was okay, and when he had confirmed it for himself, he

    mmed Carter¡¯s wolf against another one.

    They were moving so quickly that I couldn¡¯t keep up. I kept seeing blood and hearing ws tearing skin

    as they continued to fight against each other.

    Even though Atticus was powerful, it was hard for him to fight against all five of them at once. As soon

    as he attacked one of them, the other five were on him simultaneously before he could recover from

    thest.

    This wasn¡¯t happening.Never once did I ever think I¡¯ll be in a situation where I would have to see

    Atticus beaten up in front of me, and there was absolutely nothing that I could do about it.

    Carter¡¯s wolf cries out when Atticus bites down hard on his leg,but he doesn¡¯t take long to recover as

    he grabs him by his neck again, and they both tackle each other on the ground.

    I gasp when the other two wolves trample down on Atticus¡¯s wolf and keep him down on the ground,

    buried beneath them.

    They¡¯ve trapped him.

    My heart is racing in horror as I watch them begin to bite and scratch at him.

    When he cries out, Ipletely lose all control. A scream rocks our surroundings, and it¡¯s only then

    that I realize it ising from me. Something unbelievable happens next, the werewolves, as well as

    the vampires,are lifted off Atticus and thrown into the air.

 Chapter 40

    Chapter 40

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 40

    ~AUTUMN~

    I don¡¯t have time to ponder over what just happened as I shift into my wolf and lunge in front of Atticus

    to protect him from the rest of them. They¡¯re still on the ground, but they¡¯re looking at each other in

    confusion. They don¡¯t understand what flipped them in so many different directions. I¡¯ve never seen a

    group of strong vampires and werewolves look this startled before.

    ¡®What the hell are you doing!¡¯ Atticus mind links me. ¡®Stay away, Autumn. Don¡¯t join the fight. It¡¯s

    dangerous.¡¯

    I was not about to listen to him. I was not going to let them hurt him anymore. They will have to go

    through me to get to him.

    I tilt my head towards the sky and howl aggressively, letting them know I¡¯m ready to fight each of them

    to protect him. I don¡¯t care what will happen to me; his safety is all I¡¯m concerned about. I¡¯ve never felt

    this protective over anyone in my entire life.

    The howl shook the atmosphere, and Carter¡¯s wolf looked straight at me. I can tell that he doesn¡¯t want

    to fight me. He only wants Atticus. None of them tried to attack me. As long as I stood before him, I

    could prevent the fight from getting any worse than it already was.

    They looked at me strangely, like they weren¡¯t sure what to think of me after what had just transpired.

    Even I wasn¡¯t sure what to think of myself.

    It wasn¡¯t a coincidence anymore. I had magic inside of me. Powerful, uncontroble magic that was

    waiting for a chance to break free. I wasn¡¯t the only one that knew this anymore. They all did; Atticus

    would realize it as well. What did this mean? Were they going to report me to the principal? If they did,

    they would send me to be experimented on to confirm who exactly I was. I didn¡¯t want that to happen

    before I got a chance to speak to my parents and find out what the hell they were hiding from me. They

    must have known something. A power like this couldn¡¯t have stayed hidden my entire life to only show

    itself now.

    My wolf growls as she waits for someone to make the first move. She¡¯s aggressive and angry; she

    wants to take out her anger on something or someone. I¡¯ve never seen her this protective before; she¡¯s

    just as protective as I am; she seems to like Atticus; no, she loves him, just like I did.

    We were marked now. It was expected from her.

    I sigh with relief when Carter orders the rest of them to follow him. They jumped into their vehicle and

    sped away back to the academy. I watched as they left us alone, at least for now. I could only hope that

    this was over. I didn¡¯t want to have to witness something like this again.

    I don¡¯t know why they chose to leave, but I was happy they did. I wasn¡¯t sure that I would have been

    able to tackle all of them at once and still make it out of here alive.

    Maybe that¡¯s why they left; they didn¡¯t want to kill me. I don¡¯t think they intended to kill Atticus either;

    they would be banned from the academy if they ever did something like that. This was just to teach

    Atticus and Damon a lesson. But it should have never reached to this point.

    I knew why they did it however.

    If they¡¯d let him get away without a scratch for hurting Tyler, then others would try to do the same, and

    that wasn¡¯t what the fearsome wanted for their team. They wanted others to be so afraid of them that

    no one dared to mess with any of their yers.

    Atticus shifts back into his human form, and his groan reminds me that he needs my help.

    My wolf takes slow steps towards him until she¡¯s standing above him, still lying on the ground. She

    reaches down and licks the wound on his neck.

    His eyes are barely open as he gently reaches for her head and strokes it. My heart warms at this

    gentle side of him.

    She was happy as I switched back to my human form and knelt on the ground next to him.

    ¡°Atticus,¡± I whisper. ¡°We need to get you back to the jeep.¡±

    He blinks at me and gently cups my cheek in the palm of his hand, ¡°why did you do it?¡± he whispers.

    What was he asking me?

    ¡°Why did I do what?¡± I ask him as I ce my hand over the wound on his neck, trying to stop the blood.

    ¡°Why did you put your life in danger for me?¡± He grits out.

    Was this the time to be asking these kinds of questions?

    It was obvious why I chose to protect him. He may not know why but I knew the answer to his question.

    This wasn¡¯t the time to give him an answer, however.

    He¡¯s losing consciousness, and I¡¯m beginning to panic. I rush to the jeep and dial rissa¡¯s number.

    She answers on the second ring, ¡°where are you?¡± She asks. ¡°You guys were supposed to be behind

    us, but we do not see you anywhere. I was now about to call you.¡±

    ¡°We got ambushed by the fearsome,¡± I inform her. ¡°They¡¯re gone now, but Atticus is seriously injured.

    We¡¯re on the side of the road, not too far from the academy. Please hurry; we have to get him to a

    doctor immediately.¡±

    Atticus always has extra clothes in the back of his jeep, and I throw one of his jerseys on and ce a

    pair of shorts over him.

    I lift him onto myp and cradle his head. He was still awake but was barely aware of what was

    happening. I¡¯m trying hard not to cry, seeing him like this was breaking my heart. I wish I knew how to

    stop the pain.

    I spot Damon¡¯s vehicle speeding towards us, and ites to a screeching stop when they see us.

    Griffin and Dante pull up on the other side as they all rush toward us.

    ¡°Help me get him to the jeep.¡± Damon orders Dante.

    I watched as they carried him to his jeep andid him in the back.

    ¡°I¡¯ll sit with him in the back,¡± I tell them. ¡°Just to make sure that he¡¯s okay.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Anya hissed. ¡°I should be there with him. He needs me, Autumn. He¡¯s in pain. The person that

    means the most to him should be by his side.¡±

    She tries toe before me, but I stop her, ¡°I¡¯m his wife. I¡¯m taking care of him. Know your ce.¡±

    Before she could say anything else, I got into the back seat and cradled his head once more.

    Damon and rissa jumped into the front seats while Dante and Griffin drove the other two vehicles.

    Anya wasn¡¯t happy, but she was forced to get into the vehicle with Dante unless she preferred to stand

    on the side of the road.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to f*****g kill them!¡± Damon roared as he mmed his fist against the steering wheel.

    ¡°They wanted you,¡± I inform him. ¡°You¡¯re the one they wereing for, but Atticus refused to give up

    your location. They beat him in ce of you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± rissa whispers. ¡°Why were they looking for you?¡±

    Damon¡¯s jaw clenched, ¡°I punched Tyler yesterday before the game.¡±

    She gasps, ¡°why did you do that, Damon? You know how protective they are of their yers. Why

    would you do something so risky and put your life in danger?¡±

    ¡°He was f*****g flirting with you.¡± He growls. ¡°He should know not to mess with you by now.¡±

    She gasps, and he looks over at her and immediately realizes what he¡¯d just said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, rissa.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you anywhere near them.¡± She finally breaks the silence.

    ¡°But look at what they did to Atticus¡ª¡±

    ¡°If you care for me, you¡¯ll let this go. You punched Tyler; they hurt Atticus, they should have never

    pushed it to that extent, but I don¡¯t want to see any of you hurt like this again, so please, promise me

    that you will leave them alone. As long as they don¡¯te for you, don¡¯t provoke them.¡±

    I understood what rissa was trying to say. She wanted to protect Damon. I couldn¡¯t save Atticus

    from this. But I wanted my revenge. I didn¡¯t want Carter and his other teammates to get away that

    easily. Damon was wrong for punching Tyler, but that was all he did; he didn¡¯t beat him until he became

    unconscious, like what they¡¯d done to Atticus.

    Damon sighs, ¡°I promise, but if they mess with any of us again, that¡¯s it. I¡¯m hitting them harder than

    they¡¯ve ever been knocked down in their lives.¡±

    They had a gameter today¡ªan important one. Carter had run out on the gamest night because of

    Scarlett, but I was sure he wouldn¡¯t miss this one. I wanted to hit them where they hurt the most. I

    would be at that game today, and I would make sure that the fearsome lost this match so badly that it

    went down in history.

    They would never know that I was responsible for it and so Atticus and his family would not be

    threatened. I¡¯d put his life in danger already by flirting with Tyler; I wasn¡¯t about to do anything like that

    again.

    Damon got us to the hospital in fifteen minutes; his parents were already waiting for us, and a few

    doctors were waiting to tend him. They rushed him into a room, and we were forced to wait outside

    while they took care of him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to pay the principal a visit.¡± Mr. Fawn says. ¡°How can his students conduct themselves in such

    a vile manner?¡±

    ¡°We started it, father.¡± Damon cuts in. ¡°You don¡¯t need to see the principal.¡±

    His father res at him, ¡°have I not spoken to you and your brothers about this kind of disgusting

    behavior?¡±

    He swallows, ¡°can we leave this conversation forter? We¡¯re all worried about Atticus.¡±

    His mother agrees, ¡°there is a time and ce for everything. You¡¯ll have time to punish them for their

    irresponsible behavior.¡±

    It¡¯s an hour before a doctores to see us, ¡°he¡¯s still unconscious; luckily, it wasn¡¯t as bad as it

    looked. He will heal at his normal pace; the healing process has already begun. He needs some rest,

    and he will be back to normal in no time. We¡¯ve given him some medication to help with the pain; it will

    keep him unconscious for some time.¡±

    That was good. I wanted him to stay unconscious; it would give me enough time to get to the game

    without him stopping me or asking me what I was up to.

    ¡°rissa,¡± I whisper. ¡°There is something important that I need to do. Can you cover for me? Tell them

    I¡¯m going home to get a change of clothes for both Atticus and me. Come up with any more excuses

    you want if they continue to ask any more questions.¡±

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± She asks.

    I knew if I told her I was going to the game, she wouldn¡¯t let me go.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything when I return. Please, do this for me.¡±

    She nodded, and I waited for everyone to get into the room before I ran to the exit. I got into his jeep

    and raced back to the house. I picked up the clothes for Atticus and dressed in a hoodie and jeans. The

    stadium was already packed when I returned to the academy.

    I wait for each of the yers toe out, and I don¡¯t start my n until it¡¯s the middle of the game and

    everyone thinks that the fearsome beasts are going to win.

    I try my best to stay hidden; the hoodie over my head, as well as the shades over my eyes, would help

    keep my identity a secret. I didn¡¯t want anyone to photograph me at the game.

    Carter has the ball, he¡¯s running toward the goal, and he¡¯s about to score another point. I narrow my

    eyes andmand the ball to move straight to the opponent. I don¡¯t stop there; I protect the opponent

    from the other yers until he scores. I kept it up until the end of the game.

    All teams are given a unique bracelet to prevent them from using their power during the games. It gives

    everyone a fair chance.

    The opponent team is one of their biggest rivals, the Raging Beasts; they always fight over who¡¯s

    better.

    Now the opponent team would have the advantage, and Carter and his team would feel the wrath.Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    Time is up, and the Raging Beasts have won the game. There was an uproar in the crowd; since the

    game was held in our stadium, there were more supporters in favor of the fearsome. Of course, they

    would be pissed.

    I don¡¯t wait to see what happens next. I rush out of there before things could get crazy. When I made it

    back to the hospital, Atticus was already waking.

    ¡°Why did it take you so long to get clothes?¡± His father asks me as they meet me at the door. They

    were now leaving.

    ¡°The jeep broke down on the side of the road.¡± I lie. ¡± I had to call my brother to help me since I didn¡¯t

    want to disturb the rest of you. I should have called; I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Atticus has been asking for you.¡± His mother tells me. ¡°You should go see him. That Anya girl is getting

    a little too close for someone not married to him.¡±

    My jaw clenches at the mention of her. I knew she would use this opportunity to get closer to him.

    Atticus¡¯s eyes are on me as I step into the room. He doesn¡¯t look happy to see me. Instead, he looks

    pissed.

    ¡°I brought clothes for you,¡± I informed him as I ced the bag on the ground.

    ¡°Can everyone please leave the room except Autumn?¡± He announces suddenly.

    Anya looked at me with a smirk as if to say I was in trouble.

    I could only imagine the number of horrible things she¡¯s put in his head about me. He may think I did

    not care about him after I left the hospital when I should have been by his side. He will never know that

    I went to get revenge on the men who did this to him.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± I ask, unable to hide the concern from my voice.

    ¡°Why did you do it?¡± He asks. It¡¯s the same question he¡¯d asked right before he lost consciousness.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you keep asking that question, Atticus.¡± I snap. ¡°What else did you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°WHY?¡± He roars. ¡°WHY PUT YOUR LIFE IN DANGER FOR ME? WHY AUTUMN? WHY?¡±

 Chapter 41

    Chapter 41

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 41

    ¡°I don¡¯t think now is the right time to ask that question,¡± I tell him, trying to remain calm. He was making

    it very hard for me, however. He doesn¡¯t realize yet that he wasn¡¯t prepared to hear the answer to that

    question.

    I¡¯ve kept my feelings for him hidden for a long time. Atticus doesn¡¯t know how much he means to me;

    that¡¯s why he doesn¡¯t understand why I would put myself in danger to protect him. He also didn¡¯t realize

    that I would do it again in the blink of an eye as long as it concerned him.

    ¡°Tell me.¡± He growls.

    I chose to remain quiet. My hands tightened into fists at my sides. I was fighting back the urge to tell

    him the truth. I¡¯d managed to keep it a secret all these years, but he was digging it out from under me.

    If he continued to ask, it was only a matter of time before I snapped. I had to get out of there before I

    caved and regretted it for the rest of my life.

    Before he could ask again, I spun around, ready to leave. My hands are already on the door handle

    when he stops me.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    ¡°Answer me, damn it. Why Autumn? Why did you do it?¡± He demands. ¡°You don¡¯t get to run away from

    this. I want you to tell me the truth. Can¡¯t you do that much for me?¡±

    Can¡¯t I do that much for him? What kind of question was that? Does he even know the extent of what

    I¡¯d do just for him?

    I slowly turn back around and face him with a fierce gaze.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to know the answer to your question?¡± I ask him. I needed to confirm that he

    truly wanted to hear the answer before I went ahead and said the one thing that I knew would

    completely change our rtionship for life.

    His jaw clenches, ¡°tell me. Exin to me why the hell you would jump in front of me like that knowing

    that Carter and his teammates could have attacked you to get to me! You knew that you could have

    gotten seriously injured by them, but you still chose to protect me. Tell me, why?¡±

    That was it. I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. I could feel the truth pulling out of me. It threatened to destroy

    my peace and take everything from me as it continued to rise. I¡¯ve kept this secret for so long that it¡¯s

    be a part of me. But I couldn¡¯t stop myself from telling him this time. It was toote for that.

    ¡°Because I love you!¡± I scream.

    There is a deafening silence right after those words hit the both of us; hard.

    His eyes widen when my words finally sunk in, but I don¡¯t n on stopping there. This wasn¡¯t how I

    wanted to tell him. This wasn¡¯t how I wanted him to discover that I loved him, but he¡¯d forced it out of

    me. He wanted to know so badly that the truth flew straight out of my body.

    If Atticus had just taken the time to pay attention to me, he wouldn¡¯t have been this shocked by my

    response. Anyone could tell how much I loved him if they¡¯d stopped and looked at me whenever I was

    around him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve loved you for years. Since the first day I saw you, you were the only one I¡¯ve ever wanted. No

    other man could ever make me feel how you made me feel. I had to suffer and watch you love Anya for

    years; I had to force myself to be happy for both of you because she was my best friend, and you were

    the man I was in love with. Both of your happiness always meant more to me than my own.¡±

    Atticus is quiet as he listens to my words. I can see the shock on his face. He didn¡¯t know. He had no

    idea that I had loved him all this time.

    ¡°You have no idea how hard it¡¯s been for me seeing you with her. It hurt even more that I couldn¡¯t hate

    her because of it. It hurt more because I loved Anya as my sister. I felt guilty the entire time while being

    her friend because I knew it was wrong to love you when she was your girlfriend and mate. It didn¡¯t

    stop the pain I felt every time you chose her over me. I saw you first. I fell for you first. But still, she was

    the one that you wanted first. She was the one that caught your attention, not me.¡±

    I take a deep breath, fighting back the tears. I¡¯ve held this inside for so long. I¡¯ve kept everything from

    Atticus and everyone that loved me this entire time. I was too scared and ashamed of myself ever to

    admit it. I don¡¯t know why I was finally letting it out. I wanted to wait for the right time. Why didn¡¯t I wait?

    And why couldn¡¯t I stop talking?

    ¡°I used to be lost in the background, loving you from afar. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy,

    even if it wasn¡¯t with me. That¡¯s why when the discussion for the wedding came forward; I chose to say

    no because I knew you didn¡¯t want to marry me. I knew that marrying me would make you unhappy,

    and I didn¡¯t want that. I didn¡¯t want you to be unhappy because of me. I know everything about you,

    what you love, what you hate, your favorite color, and your favorite food. I know everything because, as

    I said, I love you, and I wanted to know everything that you loved as well.¡±

    Atticus inhales sharply, but he still hasn¡¯t said a word to me. I¡¯m not giving him a chance, either. I

    wanted to get everything off my chest before I gave him a chance to break my heart.

    ¡°When I discovered that I was going to marry you, I was both happy and sad. Happy that I will get the

    chance to be next to you every day for the rest of my life. I was selfish; I wanted that. But still, I wasn¡¯t

    heartless; I chose not to ept that wedding out of my love for you and Anya. But when you insisted

    on marrying me, I couldn¡¯t say no to you. Because you said that you wanted the wedding to happen, I

    couldn¡¯t turn you down. Marrying you has always been a dream of mine. I know to others, it might be a

    stupid dream, but to me, it wasn¡¯t. Marrying you and having beautiful children together, getting the

    chance to raise a family with you. I¡¯ve dreamt of it all, Atticus. If I didn¡¯t marry you, I would have never

    married another man; that¡¯s how loyal I¡¯ve been to you since the start.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t stop the tears this time. I was reliving everything, every time he broke my heart, every time I

    broke my own heart by wanting him when he was off-limits. I don¡¯t know where I¡¯m getting the strength

    to continue, but I know that I wanted him to know everything. I didn¡¯t want to keep anything from him

    anymore. I wanted him to know how I truly felt for him from the beginning.

    ¡°Then we got married, and it was like a fairytale until I realized how far from a fairytale marrying you

    truly was. I was reminded every day of how much you loved Anya. I was reminded every day that you

    loved her and not me. You kept leaving me and running to her. You kept forgetting me and protecting

    her. From the start, I¡¯ve seen you as this perfect man. I¡¯ve seen you as the type of person that could do

    no wrong. I thought I knew you that well. I saw how loyal you¡¯ve always been to Anya and how you

    would do anything to make her smile. You protected her more than anyone else in your life. She always

    came first, and even though it hurt, I admired that about you. I saw the way you always respected your

    parents no matter what they said to you; I saw the way you protected your siblings. Everything you did

    always amazed me. I knew that you wouldn¡¯t ever cheat on me after we got married. I knew that you

    were too much of a good person to do that to me. But there were times when I started to doubt you,

    times when I wasn¡¯t sure if the smart thing to do was to trust you.¡±

    ¡°Autumn¡ª,¡± he whispers. He spoke so softly that I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d heard correctly.

    ¡°You broke my heart,¡± I say in a broken voice. ¡°You broke my heart when I saw the video of you and

    Anya on our engagement night. You broke my heart when you ran to protect her when she fainted on

    our wedding day. I was right there. We¡¯d just gotten married, you¡¯d just said your vows to me, and you¡¯d

    just ced the ring on my finger, but you still ran to her the moment that you realized she was hurt. And

    you kept on hurting me after that. There were times when I felt that you had some feelings for me, and

    your actions towards me fooled me. Then Anya would be distressed, and you would leave me again to

    be by her side, to take care of her and protect her. Each time you were scared that Anya was in pain,

    that Anya was taking everything badly, but not once did you think about how I felt when you took care

    of her and forgot about me.¡±

    There was a strained look on his face as he listened without interrupting me again.

    The tears are flowing more now. These things have broken my heart so badly that it hurts to even talk

    about them.

    ¡°Then the night at the spring happened. I was drunk when it took ce, but I still remembered

    everything so clearly when I woke up. It was the first time I¡¯d shown you how vulnerable I was. It was

    the first time you saw how much I wanted you. Instead of embracing me and taking what I was offering

    to you, you stopped anything from happening. You didn¡¯t touch me the way I wanted you to touch me. I

    thought that you had a good reason for doing it; I was sure that you were such a decent person that

    you didn¡¯t let things go further because you wanted to make sure that you weren¡¯t taking advantage of

    me in the state that I was in. I was convinced you were such a good person that you wouldn¡¯t

    intentionally deceive or hurt me.¡±

    He knows where I¡¯m going with this; I can see it in his eyes.

    ¡°When I saw Anya hugging you that night after you promised me that you wouldn¡¯t meet her, I cried

    myself to sleep and woke up on the cold ground. But my torture wouldn¡¯t end there. Not long after,

    Anya sent me a voice note of you promising her so many things on our wedding day. On our wedding

    day. Then it urred to me that you didn¡¯t touch me on the night of the spring because you were

    keeping your promise to her. I didn¡¯t think a voice note could hurt me as much as that one did. I felt like

    I didn¡¯t know you anymore. The image I had of you in my head was broken. I knew I had to confront

    you about it because it bothered me. I was hoping you woulde up with some excuse that could

    save the image I had of you. I didn¡¯t want you to be someone else; I didn¡¯t want you to be different from

    the man I always thought you were. But you didn¡¯t stop hurting me there. You broke my heart once

    again when you left me at Austin¡¯s home and went running to Anya. I sent you the voice note that night;

    I waited for you to listen to it. You saw how much I was hurting, but the moment you heard that Anya¡¯s

    life was in danger, you left me there without a second thought. That was thest thing that did it for me.

    I knew I had to protect my heart from loving you after thatst incident.¡±

    Atticus looks distraught, and I¡¯m d that he didn¡¯t look unbothered because I was pouring out my

    heart to him. I wanted him to realize how much he¡¯d messed up our marriage with his actions. I wanted

    him to know how badly he¡¯d hurt me.

    ¡°I know it¡¯s a long answer after the question you asked me, but you¡¯re the one that asked. You wanted

    to know why I put my life in danger to save yours; this is the reason. Because even though you have

    broken my heart a million times since the day I fell in love with you, I still choose to protect you because

    I love you. No matter what you do, I¡¯ll always love you. But that doesn¡¯t mean that I will ept you the

    way I would have done in the past. You¡¯ve done too much to me in a small space of time, too much that

    it¡¯s hard for me to love you as freely as I did in the past. My heart is guarded now, and it will stay that

    way until I feel safe around you. Until my heart feels safe around you.¡±

    I wiped the tears from my face, and even though I wanted to run to him to hear what he had to say in

    response to my words, I did the opposite. I turned and ran out of his room.

    rissa calls out to me, and Anya smiles as she sees the tears in my eyes, but I don¡¯t pay any

    attention to them. I ran straight out of the hospital and into the jeep as I let out all the tears I¡¯d been

    holding back.

    Atticus knew the truth now.

    He knew how much I loved him.

    The secret was out in the open now, and I wasn¡¯t sure how I felt about it.

    What would he think of me now? Would he hate me for loving him while he was with Anya? Would he

    believe I was a horrible person and friend for wanting him when he was in love with her?

    I held a hand over my heart.

    It had to be said. It came out sooner than I wanted it to. But at least Atticus knew the truth now. It was

    up to him to decide what he wanted to do with that information.

    I just hoped he didn¡¯t break my heart any more than he¡¯d already done in the past.

 Chapter 42

    Chapter 42

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 42

    ~ATTICUS~

    Was this what it felt like to go intoplete shock? Many things in my life have surprised me, but

    hearing Autumn say to me that she¡¯d loved me all along has made my entire body numb from shock.

    She loved me?

    Autumn loved me? And she¡¯s loved me for years?

    My mind is racing with all of the things she¡¯s mentioned to me. She saw me first; she fell for me. She

    wanted me before Anya even did. How did I not know any of this? How could I have been so blind?

    Since the beginning, I thought Autumn didn¡¯t have any feelings at all for me. When we got married, I felt

    that my actions wouldn¡¯t have hurt her because neither of us had feelings for each other. Now that I

    knew she loved me for so long, I understood the pain I¡¯d put her through. I understood the damage I¡¯d

    done without even realizing it.

    I¡¯ve been breaking her heart for years without even knowing it. I covered my face with my hand as I

    tried toe to terms with everything. I was unable to move, my body felt like it was glued to the bed.

    Nothing has ever managed to stun me as much as this had.

    She wanted to marry me from the beginning. She¡¯s dreamt of having a family with me. Autumn loved

    me this entire time, me, and only me. She didn¡¯t want anyone else but me. I was the one that she

    wanted. So then, why had she flirted with Tyler? It was the first time I¡¯d ever seen her flirt like that with

    anyone but me. It was something I never wanted to have to see again. My heart couldn¡¯t handle seeing

    Autumn be with another man but me.

    Damn it.

    She loved me.

    What the f**k?

    What was wrong with me?

    Why did I do so many things to hurt her? Why did I put Anya above her so many times? I knew she had

    toe first, even before finding out she was in love with me, and yet I didn¡¯t treat her the way she had

    to be treated.

    Was there any word to describe me?

    I¡¯ve been aplete ass; why did she even love someone like me? I did not deserve her love. I never

    deserved her love.

    I knew that I had to go after her; I knew that I had to say something, anything. She¡¯d run out of here

    crying, and I¡¯d done nothing to stop her because of how much her words had affected me.

    But what could I say to her? She made it clear that she was not ready to ept me after what I¡¯d done.

    I¡¯d hurt her so much that she¡¯d built a wall around her heart.

    I couldn¡¯t just beg for her forgiveness. I had to show her that I had changed. I had to show her that she

    was the most important person in my life.

    It was the truth. She was the most important person to me. I¡¯ve never taken the time to think about my

    feelings toward her, but it was forced out of me today. I¡¯ve been avoiding thinking about it, but I couldn¡¯t

    deny it any longer.

    Autumn saved me today. I don¡¯t know how she did it, but she was brave and fierce as she stood in front

    of me while she challenged not one but six f*****g beasts.

    I¡¯d snapped, but not because I wasn¡¯t proud of her, but because I was terrified of seeing her get hurt for

    me. The entire time on the ground, I felt like a useless ass; I couldn¡¯t even fight to protect her. She had

    to protect me.

    It should never havee to that. I should have been able to bring Carter and his team to the ground

    for her.

    I was so scared when her wolf lunged in front of me. I was terrified that they would hurt her. I¡¯d never

    been so scared over something in my entire life.

    She terrified me. Autumn and her feelings and how she made me feel it all scared me. I wasn¡¯t

    prepared for her; I wasn¡¯t prepared for her confession, either. She was correct; I was the one who¡¯d

    asked her to tell me the truth but not once did I think her response would have been that she loved me

    or that she loved me from the very beginning.

    Her words kept reying in my head. The more she¡¯d spoken, the worse I felt. There were so many

    mistakes that I¡¯ve made since we got married. So many mistakes could have been avoided if I¡¯d just

    taken the time to see what my actions were doing to her.

    She even brought up what happened between us at the spring. She remembered everything. Every

    single detail even though she had been drunk when it all happened.

    How could she think I didn¡¯t want to touch her in the spring? I was f*****g dying inside to feel her body

    against mine. To savor every taste of her, to fill her with my seed. I wanted every part of her that night; I

    wanted it all, evenst night when she teased me in that tiny lingerie. It took all of my self-control not to

    take her right there on the bed.

    I didn¡¯t do it not because I didn¡¯t want her, but because I felt like I didn¡¯t deserve that sacred part of her.

    I felt like she needed to trust me enough before she gave that part of herself to me. I wanted to cherish

    her the right way before I allowed myself to take any more of her.

    Autumn had misunderstood everything. And it was understandable after the voice note Anya had sent

    to her. And maybe that was Anya¡¯s intention from the start. She wanted Autumn to think that I didn¡¯t

    care for her. I was stupid when I said those things to her; I was foolish when I made promises I knew I

    could never keep.

    Now it was up to me to show Autumn how much I truly desired her. To prove to her that all those things

    I promised Anya in the voice note were a mistake and something I would never do to her.

    She had to know how much I truly craved her. I hadn¡¯t exactly hidden my desire for her. Every time I

    was near her, I lost all control. I could see the vision I still had of Autumn spreading her legs for me on

    the edge of the spring, teasing me, making me die inside for her. Did she not see the pain and torture

    on my face? I wanted her so much that it f*****g hurt. I hadn¡¯t been able to sleep peacefully since that

    night; every night, I would ache to be inside her. Every night I would deny myself the pleasure of

    touching her because I thought that she wasn¡¯t ready. If I¡¯d known not touching her would have made

    her feel less desired, I would have taken her right then in the damn f*****g spring. I would have had her

    in every possible way.

    If she had a chance to read my thoughts, Autumn would understand the pain she put me through. She

    would know that Anya had nothing to do with me not touching her on those separate asions. I was

    only thinking about her; I was only doing what I thought was best for her.

    How could I not see how much I¡¯d been hurting her all along? Now that I knew the truth, there were so

    many things I wish I had done differently. There were so many ways I could have shown her how much

    she meant to me.

    If I¡¯d shown my raw emotions to her, if I didn¡¯t try to stop my feelings for her, things wouldn¡¯t have been

    like this between us. She wouldn¡¯t have had to doubt me as much as she did now.

    Damn it, Atticus. What the f**k did you do? Why? Why did you hurt her so much? I felt like punching

    the walls. I felt like doing anything to inflict pain upon myself for everything I¡¯d put her through.

    The door opens then, and I see my family walking in with worried expressions. I can¡¯t pay attention to

    any of them right now. Autumn is the only person on my mind.

    She¡¯s been through so much, and she¡¯s kept it to herself this entire time. She¡¯s been tortured all this

    time, and she chose to bottle everything up inside of her.

    I closed my eyes as the realization of what I¡¯d put her through finally sunk in.

    I¡¯d been a fool this entire time. How could I have mistreated someone that loved me so much? Autumn

    loved me more than anyone, and I didn¡¯t even know it until now. How long was she nning on

    keeping this to herself? She wouldn¡¯t have told me if I hadn¡¯t pulled it out of her. If I hadn¡¯t insisted on

    her giving me an answer, I would have never known how much Autumn loved me.

    ¡°Did something happen?¡± rissa asks me. ¡°Autumn left crying. Did you say something to her?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t answer her. I was still lost in my thoughts of her. I couldn¡¯t believe how stupid I¡¯d been not to

    notice how much she loved me. All of the signs were always there; I just chose to ignore them. Autumn

    wasn¡¯t good at hiding her feelings, but I wasn¡¯t any better at picking up on them.

    She was like an open book, and I chose not to read it. I¡¯ve never been this disappointed in myself as I

    feel now.

    ¡°Son,¡± my mother whispers. ¡°Is everything okay between you and Autumn? Should we get her?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that is necessary.¡± Anya cuts in. ¡°She didn¡¯t even care enough to be here while he was

    lying in this hospital bed. She went home to look for clothes. Who does that when their husband is in so

    much pain? Atticus was right to put her in her ce. She needs to give him some space and let him

    spend them with the people that actually care for him.¡±

    ¡°Anya,¡± Damon growls in a warning. For once, he¡¯d stepped up to her. Even he realizes that she¡¯d just

    crossed a very big line.

    ¡°What?¡± She asks. ¡°It¡¯s the truth. Autumn does not care for Atticus. She¡¯s selfish and only cares for

    herself. Look at the way we found him on the side of the road, but there wasn¡¯t a single scratch on her.

    It shows that she didn¡¯t care enough to fight back against the fearsome.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t f*****g talk about my wife like that!¡± I roar.

    Anya¡¯s eyes widened at my words. She looked startled that I¡¯d spoken to her in that tone. I¡¯ve never

    once spoken to her like that before. But she¡¯d asked for it. She had no right speaking about Autumn like

    that. She didn¡¯t know anything. She knew nothing about Autumn and the type of person that she was.

    ¡°Atticus.¡± She gasps. ¡°I¡¯m only trying to protect you. Why are you defending her when she doesn¡¯t care

    about you? I can see it; I¡¯m sure everyone else can too.¡±

    ¡°Stop it,¡± I growl. ¡°You know nothing.¡±

    ¡°Then please exin why you believe she cares for you.¡± She huffs.

    ¡°Were you there when Carter and the other boys came to attack me?¡± I ask her. ¡°Did you see the entire

    fight to make a foolishment like that?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She says stubbornly. ¡°But I can tell from your injuries while she has none.¡±

    My jaw clenches, and I grab the sheets below me in a rage, ¡°she¡¯s the reason why my injuries aren¡¯t

    worse than it is now. She¡¯s the reason why I¡¯m awake right now. Autumn is the only reason, no one

    else. She protected me from the fearsome.¡±

    ¡°You expect me to believe that she protected you?¡± Anya asks in disbelief.

    ¡°What do you mean she protected you?¡± My father asks. ¡°Autumn is not as strong as them. How could

    she have protected you.¡±

    How did I exin it without telling them what I saw? I wasn¡¯t sure what had happened; all I

    remembered was being beaten on the ground when suddenly everyone flew in all different directions.

    When I looked over at her, her eyes were a different color. Powerful and glowing.

    I didn¡¯t think even Autumn understood what was happening to her. Something was going on; now I

    realized that tasting something strange in her blood wasn¡¯t coincidental. Autumn was not a regr

    werewolf. She was a hybrid.

    The power that she held was mighty. And it almost seemed like she had no control over it. There were

    many times that I saw her struggling to control it. Like the dinner with my family, I knew she was

    responsible for the incident. She was the one that had sshed all the soup and water over Anya, and

    now I understood why. She was in love with me; seeing how Anya acted around me must have pissed

    her off to the extent that she lost control of herself.

    But why did her power only show itself now? Why did it take so long to reveal itself?

    I wanted to exin what happened to everyone present, but I knew that Autumn wasn¡¯t ready to reveal

    the truth.

    My parents weren¡¯t the most understanding either. They would feel betrayed that her parents never told

    her she was a hybrid. They didn¡¯t like secrets and were likely to fuss over them. I didn¡¯t want that to

    happen. I had to protect Autumn even from my parents. When we had an exnation for what was

    happening to her, only then would I find a way to tell everyone. Until then, it would stay a secret for

    Autumn¡¯s protection.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    But I wasn¡¯t the only one who¡¯d seen what had happened. Carter and his friends had seen everything

    as well. But I knew them; they would feel embarrassed that a girl had kicked their asses. Because of

    that, they would not dare tell anyone what had happened. She was safe for now. I¡¯m sure they weren¡¯t

    even sure that they¡¯d seen correctly. No one would say anything unless they were convinced that

    Autumn had magic inside of her.

    ¡°Atticus.¡± My mother reminds me that they¡¯re all waiting for me to exin.

    ¡°Autumn shielded me with her body.¡± I finally say. ¡°The fearsome could have attacked her, but she

    didn¡¯t care about her own life; she was only concerned with protecting mine. They chose to leave us

    because they didn¡¯t want to hurt her. She wasn¡¯t backing down. I watched her stand in front of me with

    so much bravery and strength that it filled me with pride to know she was my wife. She didn¡¯t have to

    do it, but Autumn protected me without caring about herself.¡±

    Everyone is shocked to learn this new detail from the fight. From their expressions, she hadn¡¯t even

    told them everything that had happened. Even though she¡¯d risked her life for me, she didn¡¯t even

    bother boasting about her heroic behavior to my family.

    Autumn was an amazing woman, unlike any other woman I¡¯ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. And I

    was f*****g lucky that she was my wife. I was even more fortunate that she loved me so much. I was a

    lucky man, and it took me this long to realize it.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe she risked her life for you.¡± My mother whispers. ¡°We have to thank her.¡±

    ¡°I always knew Autumn was an amazing person,¡± rissa says. ¡°Aren¡¯t we lucky to have her in our

    lives?¡±

    ¡°If you ever speak about my wife like that again in front of me, I will ensure that you never step foot in

    our house again,¡± I warn Anya.

    ¡°Atticus.¡± She gasps.

    ¡°I did not marry you, Anya. It¡¯s time you face the facts. I chose to marry Autumn. She¡¯s the woman that

    I chose to spend the rest of my life with. I¡¯ve been neglecting her because of you. I¡¯ve been running to

    protect you instead of protecting her. All of that ends now. You had enough time toe to terms with

    my marriage. If you can¡¯t ept it and if you can¡¯t respect my wife, you need to stay away from the

    both of us.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t say anything; she stares at me in horror. I was done caring for her. Now it was time for me

    to fulfill my duty towards Autumn.

    I would not hurt her anymore. I would treat her the way she deserved to be treated from the start.

    Everything was about to change now. Everything.

 Chapter 43

    Chapter 43

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 43

    ~ANYA~

    Damon tried tofort me for the entire ride home. Or at least to the home he thinks belonged to me.

    It was a rented apartment; I wasn¡¯t actually living there. There were many secrets that I was keeping

    from him and his family. And it would stay that way until my identity was finally revealed to them.

    ¡°Atticus is just angry; he doesn¡¯t mean what he said.¡± He tries to soothe me. I knew it was a lie. I knew

    when someone was serious and when they¡¯d said something out of anger.

    His words had f*****g stung. I cared about him enough to prevent my mother from harming him and yet

    he was threatening to stop me froming to his home. All of this was because of Autumn, he was

    never that disrespectful to me in the past. The past Atticus would destroy anyone who ever tried to

    speak that way to me.

    I knew he saw the hurt in my face, but for the first time, Atticus didn¡¯t look like he cared that he¡¯d hurt

    me. The only person he cared about at that moment was Autumn. Maybe seeing her cry had opened

    up his caring nature towards her.

    ¡°Please say something.¡±

    I sigh, ¡°I¡¯m tired, Damon. We can talk about this another time.¡±

    Or how about never? I didn¡¯t want ever to be reminded of tonight; I wanted to forget every word Atticus

    had said to me today. Though, I don¡¯t think I would ever be able to forget everything he¡¯s said. Those

    words still hurt. Even now when I was far from him.

    Autumn wasn¡¯t there to see Atticus stand up for her, and that was the only positive thing about tonight.

    If she had been there to listen to the way he spoke to me, I would have felt worse than I did right now.

    When I saw her leaving, I was happy to see her crying. I was sure that Atticus had been mean to her. I

    had a lot to say when he woke up, and the first person he asked for was her. I didn¡¯t hesitate to tell him

    that she¡¯d been gone for a long time, supposedly getting clothes for him from the house. I thought

    everyone would finally see that he should have married me, not Autumn. Somehow she¡¯d managed to

    flip it in her favor. Now everyone thinks of her as the heroine for protecting Atticus.

    But it still bothered me that I had no idea why she¡¯d left crying. What had happened between the two of

    them? I¡¯d never seen Atticus fiercely protect her before as he did after she left the room. Whatever it

    was, it had drawn him closer to her instead of further away. I¡¯d been fooled into thinking her tears were

    unhappy ones. Maybe she wanted me to think that way to get the upper hand. Autumn was a lot

    smarter than I initially thought she was.

    After saying goodbye to Damon, I made my way to my actual home, which was a few minutes away.

    My mother is already waiting for me in the living room. From the expression on her face, I can tell she

    already knows what happened. She always keeps a close watch on the Fawns. I wasn¡¯t her only spy.

    She liked to be a step in front of them. She wanted to know their every move. She knew more about

    each of them than they knew about themselves.

    ¡°I¡¯vepletely lost control of him,¡± I confess to my mother. I thought I would have had more power

    and hold over him, but I was wrong. Autumn has already takenplete control. She¡¯d managed to

    beat me at my own game without even trying. ¡°I don¡¯t think he will listen to anything I have to say

    anymore. Autumn is the one that can get him to do whatever she wants now. I¡¯ve lost that privilege.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure when Atticus changed, but he¡¯s not the same person anymore.

    It meant that I couldn¡¯t protect Atticus from my mother as I¡¯d done in the past. She would take revenge

    into her own hands now. I¡¯ve been preventing her from doing anything drastic to separate them, but

    after what happened today, there was nothing I could do anymore. She wouldn¡¯t want to wait either.

    The Fawns had plentying their way and very soon.

    ¡°I should have never listened to you.¡± She snaps. ¡°You told me to trust you. You promised me that you

    would be able to get Atticus back under your control. You¡¯ve failed me yet again. I should have known if

    I wanted to get the job done, I¡¯d have to do it myself. What¡¯s the point of having a useless daughter like

    you?¡±

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    ¡°I thought he loved me.¡± I snap. ¡°I thought he would still listen to me and take my side over hers. I didn¡¯t

    think that I needed a spell or any other means. I was positive that he actually cared.¡±

    I always thought that once my mother removed the spell she had on Atticus, he would still have

    feelings for me.

    Sheughs, ¡°The only reason Atticus showed any interest in you was because of my spell. Now that

    he¡¯s in love with Autumn, the spell means nothing; it doesn¡¯t exist anymore.¡±

    I take a deep breath. Hearing her say that he only showed interest in me because of the spell made me

    angry. I didn¡¯t believe it. I still wanted to believe that deep down Atticus still cared about me.

    He was only acting this way because of Autumn and her fake innocence. She was the reason for all of

    this. I couldn¡¯t wait for a chance to get back at her for the embarrassment I felt today.

    She was the one that left the hospital, but somehow I was the one that Atticus was angry with. I was

    standing up for him, yet he insulted me in front of everyone.

    ¡°I must find a way to get Atticus away from Autumn.¡± She tells me. ¡°I may need to hire some friends to

    kidnap her.¡±

    Kidnapping her did sound like a great idea. Getting rid of her for good would be even more perfect.

    With her out of the picture, I would have a chance with Atticus again, and that¡¯s what I wanted.

    ¡°I want you to write down their every move for me. From what time they leave home, what time they

    reach the academy, and what time they leave the academy. I¡¯ll need every single detail to make sure

    everything is done the right way. I¡¯ll also need you to distract Atticus long enough for it to happen.¡±

    ¡°He told me if I didn¡¯t respect Autumn, he would ensure that I never step foot in their house again,¡± I

    whisper.

    My mother ms her fists onto the wooden table in front of me, ¡°This is your chance to get your

    revenge with me.¡±

    Yes, revenge. The one thing that my mother wanted more than anything else in the world.

    She was one of the schrship students for the academy in the same year that Atticus¡¯s parents were

    attending. They were in the same ss together. My mother was constantly bullied and picked on

    because she was a witch.

    One person who never bullied and protected her was Atticus¡¯s father. Because of his kindness, she

    quickly fell in love with him. She thought that he had feelings for her as well. They started dating and

    being closer to each other when one day, he ended things with her and told her that he never wanted to

    see her again. She was heartbroken, especially when he got engaged to Atticus¡¯s mother a weekter.

    She tried to fight for him; she loved him so much that she made a fool of herself in public for him.

    She begged him to take her back in front of everyone. Everyone said that the only reason why he was

    ever nice to her was that she¡¯d done a love spell on him. They all believed a spell was responsible for

    his behavior before he ended things with her.

    In front of everyone, he told her he was only nice to her because of a bet between the men. A bet to

    make her fall in love with him and then dump her. He imed that he never once cared for her.

    My mother was devastated. Still, she went to the academy every day and had to see him with his

    fianc¨¦e. They were very much in love, and itpletely destroyed her to see their love for each other.

    When they finally got married, my mother was so angry that she vowed to make them pay for what

    they¡¯d done to her. Her love had turned into hatred, she¡¯s been nning this even before my sister and

    I was born. My sister isn¡¯t aware of what we were up to, she was the more gentle one between the two

    of us, and my mother wanted to protect her at all costs since she reminded her of herself. She didn¡¯t

    want my sister to face any of her hardships.

    The first time she revealed this story to me, I was so angry that I wanted to help her get her revenge on

    the Fawns. I was pissed that they¡¯d yed such a dirty game and messed with my mother¡¯s innocent

    heart just because she was a witch that was not rich like the rest of them. I could still see the pain on

    her face every day as she relived those incidents. She was stuck in the past, unable to move on from

    the hurt and betrayal she felt.

    She was like this while the Fawns lived avish lifestyle. They were in love and had their perfect

    children. They lived a beautiful life while my mother suffered because of what they¡¯d done to her.

    I wasn¡¯t aware of her entire n, but I knew she wanted to bring them to the ground at her feet; she

    wanted them to apologize for what they¡¯d put her through. She wanted to destroy their perfect family

    and make them beg for forgiveness. Her n was very close to finally being fulfilled. I was supposed to

    marry Atticus for everything to fall into ce. I was supposed to cause a wedge between his family. I

    was doing a fine job at it, Atticus and his brothers were losing their bond because of me. They were

    always fighting over who should spend more time with me. Everything was working perfectly until that

    one fatal day.

    Autumn was the only thing that was getting in our ns. She had to go. One way or the other, we had

    to get rid of her so our n would work.

 Chapter 44

    Chapter 44

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 44

    ~AUTUMN~

    I spot Atticus walking towards the jeep.

    I watch his hair fall against his forehead while he walks. I watch the angry frown on his face, like

    something or someone was bothering him.

    I saw his eyes sweep over the jeep, searching for me. At least, I hoped it was me he was looking for.

    He doesn¡¯t look like he has anything to say to me. He tried hiding his annoyance after spotting me, but

    I¡¯d already seen it. Was he angry with me for finally confessing to him? Whatever it was that had him

    angry had changed his mood for the worse.

    I didn¡¯t want to care about any of that, but I would be lying to myself if I pretended it didn¡¯t bother me.

    Anything that affected Atticus would also affect me. Our bond would always ensure that happened, and

    even before we were bonded, things had always been the same. They were more prominent now,

    however.

    Despite all of this, Atticus still looked good.

    He looks like he hadn¡¯t been beaten just a few hours ago. Maybe that¡¯s why they let him out of the

    hospital so quickly. He had already healed at an impressive rate. I wouldn¡¯t expect anything less from

    someone like him.

    His family is not far behind, and they¡¯re all separating into their vehicles. I can¡¯t imagine what they were

    thinking about me. I wasn¡¯t in the hospital while they were treating him, and I also left his room crying. It

    wasn¡¯t a good look for me. And I was positive that Anya had tried to make me look worse.

    Anya and Damon had left earlier than everyone else. She looked unhappy when they¡¯d left, and it had

    surprised me. She had been happy just a while ago when she saw me crying and leaving Atticus¡¯s

    room. What could have possibly happened in such a short space of time to cause her to leave the

    hospital in that state?

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    I don¡¯t have time to think about Anya right now. Atticus was nearing the jeep and I was going into panic

    mood.

    I tried to stay calm as he opened the door to the driver¡¯s side. I held my breath when he jumped into

    the vehicle and shut the door behind him. He was quiet to my surprise. He was not saying a word. I¡¯m

    not sure what he¡¯s thinking or if he¡¯s nning on staying this way for the rest of the night. I didn¡¯t give

    him a chance to say anything after running out of the room.

    I know that I¡¯m not prepared for his response to everything I¡¯d said to him. That¡¯s partly why I left, but I

    also knew I couldn¡¯t avoid him for the rest of my life.

    I know that Atticus doesn¡¯t love me. I knew that he loved Anya. I didn¡¯t expect anything in return for my

    confession. I didn¡¯t expect anything to change between us. I was just relieved that I¡¯d gotten it out of my

    chest; it¡¯s been inside of me for too long, dragging me down, keeping me back from being happy. It was

    finally out in the open, and I felt like I could breathe again.

    ¡°Autumn¡ª¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear anything you have to say, Atticus.¡± I interrupt him. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to try to make

    me feel better or make up lies just tofort me.¡±

    His hands tighten on the steering wheel, and he doesn¡¯t try to say anything else as he starts the jeep

    and pulls out of the parking lot. My heart was racing in my chest, and it felt like someone was

    squeezing it in their hands; I felt like I was bleeding inside.

    I¡¯d poured my heart out to Atticus, and I did it sooner than nned. He knew my deepest, darkest

    secrets. Things I¡¯ve kept inside for so long. He now knows them all.

    The rest of the drive was a quiet one; my mind was racing, wondering what he wanted to say to me.

    Did I do the right thing by stopping him? Part of me had wanted to listen to him, but the other half was

    too terrified.

    The jeepes to a sudden stop, and it startles me.

    ¡°Why are you stopping?¡± I demand as I look around us for any signs of a threat. I was worried that

    Carter and his friends were up to no good again. Today had left me traumatized; I was constantly

    worried about him.

    His family was ahead of us, just like Damon had been ahead earlier.

    Atticus leans against his seat and closes his eyes; he looks in pain.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I demand. ¡°Do you need to go back to the hospital? Is somewhere hurting?¡±

    He opens his eyes after hearing the concern in my voice. His gaze is now entirely on me, and he isn¡¯t

    looking away. He¡¯s looking straight into my eyes, almost like he¡¯s seeing me for the first time in a

    completely new light.

    My bottom lip trembles as he stares at me, breathing hard; it¡¯s like he¡¯s trying to read me, trying to

    confirm everything I¡¯ve said to him. Almost like he didn¡¯t believe that someone could love him as much

    as I imed to.

    He swallows, and his expression is one of sadness as he unbuckles his seatbelt so that he can reach

    forward toward me.

    I¡¯m not sure what he¡¯s doing, but I¡¯m not stopping him; I¡¯m letting him do what he wants, at least for

    now.

    He lightly touches my chin and slides his hand up my cheek so that he is holding it gently in the palm of

    his hand.

    ¡°Do you know how beautiful you are to me, Autumn?¡± He whispers.

    W-what? That was thest thing I was expecting him to say to me.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    I¡¯m so stunned that it¡¯s the only thing I can ask. There were many things I knew Atticus would try to say

    to me, but I didn¡¯t expect this to be the first words toe out of his mouth.

    ¡°Even before our marriage was announced, even before we got closer to each other, to me, you¡¯ve

    always been beautiful. To me, you¡¯ve always been a threat to my peace.¡±

    My lips part.

    A threat to his peace? What did he mean by that? How could I possibly be a threat to his peace?

    ¡°A threat to your peace?¡± I asked; I wanted him to exin more.

    He nods, ¡°yes, a threat to my peace. I kept my distance from you because I always felt something

    around you that terrified me. I don¡¯t know how to f*****g describe it. But all I can say is that it¡¯s

    threatened my peace; that¡¯s why even before we got married, I kept my distance from you. Even

    though you were Anya¡¯s closest friend, I chose to stay away from you for my own good.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure how to feel about this. He wasn¡¯t making any sense to me. His feelings for me terrified

    him? And did this mean that he had feelings for me even while he was with Anya? What kind of

    feelings were they?

    ¡°You¡¯re the most beautiful woman in my eyes, and you¡¯ll continue to be the most beautiful woman for

    the rest of my life.¡±

    My heart skips a beat, and I don¡¯t want it to. Does this mean he wasn¡¯t angry that I¡¯d loved him while he

    was with Anya?

    His gaze drops to my lips, ¡°there are so many things that I want to say to you. So many things that I

    want to exin. But I¡¯m afraid that you won¡¯t believe me even if I told you. I¡¯ll spend every day proving

    how much you mean to me.¡±

    He has left me speechless; what could I say to that? He slowly drops his hand from my cheek and

    turns the jeep back onto the road.

    It doesn¡¯t take long to get back home, and when we do, his parents are waiting for us. I¡¯m surprised

    when his mother pulls me into a long hug. ¡°Thank you, Autumn. Thank you for protecting my son.¡±

    I freeze; how did they know that I protected him? Did he tell them everything that had happened?

    ¡°Atticus told us that you stood before him, not once considering your safety. You¡¯ve proven we made

    the right choice by choosing you for our son.¡± His father praises me.

    I look at him, and I can tell he kept the part about me using magic from his parents.

    ¡°You are so brave for what you did.¡± His mother tells me. ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you. You¡¯re a wonderful

    addition to our family. Thank you, Autumn. Thank you for being the woman I¡¯m happy that my son got

    married to. You both have a bright future ahead of you.¡±

    They weren¡¯t the only ones; rissa held me tight, thanking me. She also said that she had something

    important to tell me.

    ¡°Autumn needs her rest.¡± Atticus cuts in. ¡°Everyone can talk to her tomorrow when she wakes up.¡±

    I peer up at him in shock. Since when did Atticus care if I needed to rest?

    rissa sighs, ¡°it¡¯s the one time I agree with him. I¡¯ll tell you everything tomorrow. Get your rest,

    Autumn; you deserve it after today.¡±

    I was curious; it seemed like good news. She looked excited to tell me about it.

    Atticus waited for me to join him in the bedroom, and I didn¡¯t know what to think of this sudden change

    in his behavior. I knew I had to be careful because of how much he affected my heart.

    He opens my drawer, chooses my nightgown, and starts the bath for me. What did this mean? What

    was he trying to do? Was he trying to be nice to me because of everything? I didn¡¯t want his sympathy.

    After I bathed and got dressed for bed, Atticus did the same.

    We were both lying on the bed, and neither of us was saying a single word.

    It was just likest night, only much, much different. Now Atticus knew that I was in love with him. Now

    he knew how quickly my heart beats and only for him. The truth was out in the open and screaming in

    my face. Was this another night when I wouldn¡¯t be able to fall asleep? Would I ever be able to get a

    good night¡¯s rest again? The way I saw it, things would always be ufortable between us.

    ¡°Autumn.¡± Atticus tries once more. There is desperation in his voice, and this time I want to know what

    he has to say to me.

    He¡¯d called me beautiful before; I didn¡¯t ever once think that Atticus considered me to be beautiful, let

    alone the most beautiful woman in the world.

    My breath hitches when he moves closer to me, so our bodies are inches apart. He knows how much

    his closeness would affect me; he knows everything. It makes me feel even more vulnerable than

    before. I know he¡¯s listening to how my heart raced while near him.

    His nose is under my ear, he¡¯s inhaling the mark he left on me, and I can feel how happy it makes him

    that it¡¯s still there. How happy it makes him that I didn¡¯t put perfume over it tonight.

    I¡¯d listened to him even though I was tempted to test his patience. I loved when he got all hot and

    bothered because of me. I always wanted to have him on his toes around me.

    ¡°What are you doing, Atticus?¡± I ask in a breathy manner. Now it was my turn to be affected by his

    actions. He knew exactly what he was doing to me. He knew how much it made me want him. He knew

    it would make me forget about everything I¡¯d promised myself in order to stay away from him. He was

    intentionally messing with my mind and heart.

    ¡°Autumn,¡± he whispers as he gently cups my cheek in his hand while still leaning into my neck. I can

    feel my pores rise from the way he said my name.

    I swallow without answering him.

    ¡°Let me love you.¡± He begs. ¡°Please.¡±

 Chapter 45

    Chapter 45

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 45

    My heart felt like it had just gotten the shock of its life. What exactly was Atticus asking from me?

    Let him love me? There were so many different possible meanings to that sentence. I was breathing

    hard, and I knew that he could hear it. He could even feel it with how close he was to me. And I think

    that he loved the way my body reacted to him.

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to let me touch you tonight.¡± He whispers as if reading my mind. ¡°I¡¯m asking for a

    chance to let me prove to you that I¡¯m different now. I¡¯m asking for a chance to prove that you¡¯re the

    most important woman in my life¡ªno one else. I know I can¡¯t just say words and expect you to believe

    them, but please, give me this one chance. I can¡¯t function knowing you¡¯ve given up on me, Autumn. I

    need to know that there is still time to fix things between us. After everything you¡¯ve been through, this

    may be asking too much of you, but please, give me this chance.¡±

    My heart was practically jumping in my chest. I wanted to scold myself for getting so excited and happy

    over his words. I didn¡¯t want to allow him back into my heart that easily. I wanted to give myself time to

    forgive him for everything he¡¯d done. I wanted time to forgive him for his promises to Anya on our

    wedding day. I wanted time to forgive him for leaving me to go to her multiple times.

    Many things still broke my heart every time I remembered them. It wouldn¡¯t be easy for me to simply

    forget about it. I needed the chance to heal from all of it. And I think Atticus understood that. That¡¯s why

    he was being so gentle with me.

    I loved him. And because I loved him, I was willing to give him one more chance to prove that

    everything he said to me was true.

    ¡°Okay,¡± I whisper. ¡°You have one chance, Atticus. One chance only.¡±

    He breathes a sigh of relief, and his happiness gives me life.

    ¡°Can I continue to hold you like this for the rest of the night?¡± He pleads.

    I swallow; I loved having him this close to me. It made me act stupidly but would it be so bad to allow

    him to hold me just for one night?

    No.

    This was for me; I was doing it for me, not for him. For my pleasure.

    ¡°You can.¡± I finally answer.

    I held my breath as his hand slid over my waist and pulled my body tighter against his. His face was

    now snuggled against my neck, and his hot breath tickled my skin.

    I¡¯ve never wanted to be held this way by anyone but Atticus. It felt so good to be in his arms. I never

    wanted to lose this. I always wanted to be here, right next to him.

    We spend the rest of the night wrapped in each other¡¯s arms. It was the best sleep I¡¯d gotten in my

    entire life. It was something I could look forward to every night for the rest of my life.

    Our ride to school the next day was a quiet one. Atticus didn¡¯t have anything to say to me. And I didn¡¯t

    say anything to him either.

    Surprisingly, when we arrived, Damon and rissa hade alone. Anya was not in the vehicle with

    them. It was very rare for her not to show up for the academy. Where could she be?

    Our first sses had been rushed, and it seemed like Atticus was uneasy about something for the

    entire day. He looked like he was anxious, and it bothered me. The first thing on my mind was whether

    or not he was bothered that Anya hadn¡¯t shown up for ss today.

    I want to believe that he has changed, but I didn¡¯t think anyone could change their old habits in one

    day.

    Dante wasn¡¯t here either. It was only the four of us as we walked into the cafeteria. Damon and Atticus

    excused themselves to get some food for rissa and me, and we watched them leave. As soon as

    they¡¯re a reasonable distance away from us, rissa turns to me with a massive grin.

    ¡°I need to tell you what happened in the hospital while you were gone.¡± She says while pping her

    hands in excitement. It must have been really good for her to be this happy. Did it have something to do

    with Damon? But she¡¯s never confided in me, so it had to be something concerning Anya.

    ¡°What happened?¡± I ask; I knew I didn¡¯t have to worry about it being anything I didn¡¯t want to hear since

    rissa was telling the story.

    ¡°After you left the room crying, Anya started saying horrible stuff about you. She said that you didn¡¯t

    care about Atticus and weren¡¯t even there while he was healing in the hospital bed. Then she

    mentioned that it was clear that you didn¡¯t help him when Carter and the team attacked him, she

    imed that was why he was so severely beaten, and you didn¡¯t have a single scratch on you.¡±

    I dug my nails into my jeans at herment. I knew she would have done something like that. I didn¡¯t

    expect anything else from her. Anya was always looking for ways to drag me to the ground.

    ¡°But Atticus surprised everyone when he told her to watch her mouth.¡± She says, surprising me.

    ¡°He did?¡±

    She nods, ¡°his exact words were, ¡®don¡¯t f*****g talk about my wife like that¡¯. Everyone was stunned,

    speechless that he¡¯d spoken to Anya like that. I¡¯ve never heard anyone in my life ever speak to her that

    way before, and to know that it came from Atticus, was even more mind-blowing.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe Atticus had stood up for me like that. I was so scared that confessing my love would

    push him away from me, but it had done the exact opposite. But still, I didn¡¯t want to forgive him just

    yet. I needed more. I needed him to prove that he wanted our marriage to work. But he was heading in

    the right direction.

    ¡°That¡¯s not all. He also told her that he would prevent her froming to our home if she disrespected

    you.¡± She continues. ¡°And that you¡¯re the one he married, you¡¯re the one he chose to spend the rest of

    his life with. I was blown away. I¡¯ve never seen Anya so shocked and upset before. No one has ever

    put her in her ce like he did yesterday, and I¡¯m proud of him. It took him too long to do it, but at least

    he finally did it. If only Damon and Dante could do the same now, life would be wonderful.¡±

    He did all of that for me? Why? Why did Atticus suddenly change? He was acting like a different

    person, and I wasn¡¯t sure if I could allow myself to fall anymore for him. I was happy to see this change,

    but it was so soon that it was hard to believe that he felt something for me in such a short time.

    It felt more like he felt guilty for all I went through. He wasn¡¯t to me for my heartache in the

    beginning; he never knew I was in love with him, and it only became a problem when we got married. It

    was then that I expected more from him as his wife.

    ¡°Did you hear what happened at the gamest night?¡± she asks. ¡°I couldn¡¯t believe what I¡¯d heard. That

    score is the worst in our history. Carter has never misyed before. I instantly thought of yesterday.

    They deserved it for what they did to Atticus.¡±

    I stiffen at her words. She didn¡¯t know that I had been there, and she also didn¡¯t realize that I was the

    reason they had lost the game, to begin with.

    I didn¡¯t regret my decision. I was happy that I had gotten some revenge against them. In my eyes, this

    would have hurt them more than someone taking a piece of iron and beating them with it. The entire

    academy was pissed at the fearsome. They were ustomed to a good game. Everyone had turned

    against them in one night.

    I knew they would make it up on the next game, and everyone would forget about today eventually, but

    I was still happy to see the result of my actions. They deserved this. They earned the hate.

    ¡°Where is Atticus?¡± I ask her when I don¡¯t notice him at the cafeteria.

    ¡°He asked me to keep you distracted for five minutes.¡± She confessed.

    ¡°Distracted?¡± I ask. ¡°For what?¡±

    She smiles, ¡°you¡¯ll see.¡±

    She takes my hand and pulls me forward along with her.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± I ask.

    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    ¡°To the school¡¯s ballroom.¡± She tells me as we keep walking until we¡¯re in front of therge wooden

    door that leads to the ballroom.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t youing with me?¡± I asked her as I pushed the door open but noticed that she was staying

    behind.

    ¡°This is a special moment between you and Atticus.¡± She tells me. ¡°I don¡¯t want to mess it up.¡±

    She was confusing me, but she sparked my curiosity. I push the door open, and I¡¯m faced with the

    shock of my life.

    The room is filled with red balloons and roses, and I mean filled. I could barely walk into the room

    because of how packed it was. My eyes widen when I see pictures of Atticus and me on our wedding

    day hanging all over the walls. There were also pictures our mothers had forced us to take when we

    agreed to marry each other. He had every picture of us ever taken inside of here.

    I held my breath; my heart was aching but in a good way. I never thought Atticus would ever do things

    like this for me in this life, but here he was, making my dreams of hime true.

    And then I see him walking towards me, through the balloons and roses he¡¯d gathered just for me. He

    doesn¡¯t stop until he¡¯s standing inches away from me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where to start,¡± he whispers. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to ask for your forgiveness. I¡¯ve been so

    oblivious to your feelings. It makes me angry with myself that I didn¡¯t notice it sooner. I hate that you

    had to tell me first for me to realize all of the pain I¡¯ve been putting you through. Autumn, if I had even

    the slightest clue of what you were feeling, I know I would have done things differently since the

    beginning.¡±

    I want to lean forward and kiss his lips. I know it¡¯s thest thing I should be thinking about, but I

    desperately want to be close to him.

    He takes onest step towards me and gently touches my cheek, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for every tear that I¡¯ve

    ever made you shed. I¡¯m so sorry for being so dumb all these years. I¡¯m so sorry for being even

    dumber after we got married. I¡¯ve never met another woman like you, Autumn. Your innocence, your

    kindness, your precious heart, you¡¯re the first woman I¡¯ve met that has qualities that are so perfect. You

    were hurting for so long, and yet you never turned against me; I didn¡¯t deserve your love, but still, you

    loved me; I didn¡¯t deserve your protection, but still, you protected me with your life.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say.¡±

    He lightly traced my lips with his finger, ¡°you don¡¯t have to say anything, Autumn. You¡¯ve said and done

    enough. Now it¡¯s my turn to show you how much you mean to me. It¡¯s my turn to put in the work in our

    marriage. I¡¯m not going to disappoint you this time. I promise that I¡¯ll do everything in my power to make

    you forgive me, to make you trust me. I¡¯ll make you feel so safe and loved that you¡¯ll never have to

    worry because of your love for me.¡±

    I smile even though I try to hold it back. It felt good to see him try this much for us, for me. This was all

    I¡¯ve ever wanted.

    I was filled with joy, and Atticus looked happy to see that his ns were working.

    For the rest of the day, I smiled from ear to ear, remembering how sweet he was to me.

    When we got home, Atticus was back to being quiet, making me wonder if he had more ns up his

    sleeve. He made it clear that he would try his best to get me to trust him again.

    I felt this sudden urge to surprise him as well. There was one thing that still bothered me, and that was

    him keeping his promise to Anya about not sleeping with me. I wanted to know if he would finally

    complete the bond between us if I pushed for it. I wanted to know if Atticus truly desired me. He never

    exined that night. He heard me talk about it, but he never tried to defend what he did.

    I grab one of my sexiest lingerie and quickly put it onto my body.

    Atticus was lying on the bed when I came out with a white thong and a matching bra piece. I know the

    moment that he sees it because of the way his breath hitches.

    So far, so good.

    ¡°What are you doing, Autumn?¡± He demanded when I seductively climbed on top of him.

    His hands are trembling when he grabs my waist and tries to lift me off him. I pressed harder on him,

    and he hissed as our most intimate parts grazed each other.

    ¡°Autumn.¡± He growls. ¡°Please get off me.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I want you.¡±

    He freezes at my confession, and I swear his body shivered beneath mine. He closes his eyes in pain,

    and with more force than before, he lifts me off him and ces me on my side of the bed.

    ¡°I¡¯m not touching you when you haven¡¯t forgiven me, Autumn.¡± He says as he keeps me away from

    him. ¡°I want to know that you trust me when I get that part of you.¡±

    ¡°You expect me to believe that you desire me when you refuse to give me what I want while I¡¯m

    dressed like this?¡± I ask.

    I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with me. I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m pushing for this so much. I knew I was

    bing uncontroble, but this took things too far.

    ¡°If he desires me, let my heart see; if he desires me, let him show me.¡±

    What the hell was I whispering? Was that another spell? I can¡¯t control myself as I start to repeat his

    name.

    His eyes widen as he realizes what is happening, and he tries to walk out of the room before I can

    complete the spell. His hand was on the doorknob when I said his name the third time.

    He pauses, and at that moment, I feel the atmosphere change.

    The Atticus that turns around to look at me looks like an uncontroble beast ready to take what he

    wants.

    He takes long strides toward me, and I squirm when he grabs my waist and lifts my legs, so I am

    straddling him. He¡¯s growling as his mouth is on my neck. He isn¡¯t kissing or sucking or doing anything

    at all, yet I¡¯m already wet between the legs.

    ¡°Can you not feel my desire for you?¡± He growls as he shoves his hard d**k against me. I can feel it

    throbbing against my stomach, and I gasp. He wasn¡¯t even naked, yet I could feel how big and hard it

    was.

    ¡°I want you more than I¡¯ve ever wanted any other woman in my life, Autumn.¡± He growls. ¡°I ache for you

    every damn second of every f*****g day. Do you know what it¡¯s like to want someone so badly and

    know that you can¡¯t have them because of how stupid you¡¯ve acted towards them?¡±

    I gasped when he gripped my ass and slid my body up and down his; I could feel his d**k as he

    continued with the motion, making me wetter.

    ¡°I can smell your desire.¡± He says as he inhales my scent. ¡°You smell so good; every single day, the

    scent of you drives me insane.¡±

    He groaned as I continued with the motion, grinding against him. I wanted him. I wanted to feel him

    inside of me. I¡¯ve waited long enough for this. I was dying to have us joined, finally, in every way

    possible.

    ¡°It hurts.¡± He says in a hoarse whisper. ¡°It hurts how much I want you. No one should desire someone

    as much as I desire you. You¡¯re too good for me. You¡¯re too good for me, Autumn. You think that I don¡¯t

    desire you, but if you could read my mind, you¡¯ll be able to see how badly I crave you. It¡¯s not healthy;

    my need for you is the most unhealthy habit I¡¯ve ever had.¡±

    I pulled his head towards me to touch our lips together. He sucks on my lower lip but only for a second

    before pulling away.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to rush this.¡± He whispers. ¡°I want to savor every second I get to be with you tonight. I

    want to remember every touch and every taste for the rest of my life. I want the image of your body in

    my mind. I want to know every scar, every mole, every mark on your body; I want to remember it all.¡±

    He lowers his head, so his lips are buried in my neck. He wasn¡¯t kidding when he said he wanted to

    savor every second of tonight. He was slow and torturous as he kissed every inch of my neck.

    He lingers on his mark on me, and I know that¡¯s his favorite part. The mark he left on me. He loves that

    he¡¯s the one that left it there.

    His hands travel down my body, moving it up and down the sides.

    ¡°Do you know how happy it makes me know that I¡¯m the only one you¡¯ve loved all this time, Autumn?¡±

    He asks. ¡°Do you even understand what that means to me? I had the most amazing woman loving me

    for years, and I didn¡¯t know it. I wish you had told me sooner. I wish I had known. There is no way I

    would have ever been able to say no to you.¡±

    I gasped when one of his hands traveled up my bare leg and inches closer to the part of me that was

    aching for him to touch me.

    He stops halfway and touches his lips to mine. He eases me into the kiss until I feel like I¡¯m floating on

    cloud nine. It¡¯s the best feeling in the world, being kissed like this by Atticus.

    ¡°Your lips are the softest I¡¯ve ever had the pleasure of tasting.¡± He growls. ¡°And the taste of you. How

    the f**k have I not taken you sooner? How the f**k have I not known how kissable these lips are just by

    looking at them?¡±

    His mouth is on my chest now, he¡¯s kissing his way from left to right, and my body arched against his. I

    want to be closer to him. I want to be as close as our bodies will let us be.

    My hand travels down his face, to his neck, and down his chest. I¡¯m ripping his shirt off his body

    aggressively, I¡¯ve wanted him like this for so long, and I was happy that I finally had him. I didn¡¯t care

    that it was a spell; I didn¡¯t care because this was his genuine desire for me; this is what he¡¯s been

    hiding from me. I wanted this. I wasn¡¯t denying myself having him like this tonight.

    I¡¯ve wanted Atticus for so long. Was it so wrong of me to take all that I could get? Something kept

    telling me that I wouldn¡¯t always have him this close to me. Something was messing with my mind,

    screaming for me to run, I didn¡¯t know what it was, but I sensed danger.

    Before anything happened to us, I wanted him this close to me. I was scared of our future. I was

    terrified of losing him.

    I held him tightly as he continued to shower my body with his kisses. He pulled the lingerie down my

    body with his teeth slowly, his nose making a soft trail down my body as he did it. Atticus knew how to

    make me crave him even more. My body shivered with the need for him inside of me.

    He stops when he¡¯s right in front of my p***y, he doesn¡¯t take the thong entirely off my body. Instead, he

    leans closer and licks my most intimate spot through the cloth. Atticus growls against my p***y, ¡°you

    taste too f*****g good, Autumn. I would f*****g kill for your pussy.¡±

    I gasp at his words. How does he know exactly what to say to make me wetter for him?

    ¡°I want you to know that night in the spring; I was dying to be inside you.¡± He says before pausing to

    take another long swipe of his tongue. I tremble in his hands. He was teasing me, giving me only a little

    at a time. Maybe that wasn¡¯t such a bad thing; I didn¡¯t think I could handle any more than this. I was

    already writhing and aching for him.

    ¡°You thought that I didn¡¯t want to touch you because of a stupid promise I made. A promise that I

    regretted making for every second of each day that I had to watch your beautiful body walk in front of

    me. You thought I was fulfilling that promise when I refused to touch you. You don¡¯t even know how

    wrong you were.¡±

    Was I wrong about that? So then, why hadn¡¯t he taken what I gave him that night?

    I gasped when he pushed the lingerie to the side and dragged his finger around my p***y, still teasing

    me. He knew that I wanted him to touch me there, but he kept on prolonging it.

    ¡°I wanted you so f*****g much that night.¡± He whispers as he buries his face in the one ce that was

    crying for his attention. I gasped and held onto his head. Atticus inhaled deeply.

    ¡°f**k f**k f**k!¡± He growls. ¡°You smell f*****g amazing.¡±

    ¡°And so wet for me. I love knowing that you want me too, Autumn.¡±

    ¡°Atticus.¡± I moan as his finger slips inside of me. He pauses for a few seconds before pulling out and

    dragging the lingerie down. I fall against his body, and he holds me tightly against him as he pushes his

    finger into me once more. I cry out at the pleasure it gave me.

    ¡°How could you ever think I don¡¯t desire you, Autumn?¡± He whispers. ¡°How can I not desire a woman

    like you? Any man would be foolish not to want you. The only reason I refused to touch you in the

    spring was that you were drunk. I didn¡¯t know if you would hate me for touching you inappropriately

    while intoxicated. I wanted to ensure that the first time I came inside of you, you were fully aware of

    what was happening.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure if I could believe him, and I think he sensed that. He pulls away from me, so he¡¯s now

    standing face-to-face with me. He grabbed the back of my head and tilted my head back so that I was

    looking directly into his eyes, ¡°look at me. I¡¯m telling you the truth. I want you more than I¡¯ve ever f*****g

    wanted anyone or anything in my entire life.¡±

    And just like that, I knew that he was telling the truth. I knew that he meant every word he¡¯d said to me

    tonight.

    When he sensed I believed him, he grabbed my waist and pushed me up against the wall. I don¡¯t have

    time to prepare as his mouth covers my p***y. I cry out in shock and pleasure as he begins to suck and

    lick there, slow and then faster.

    I grab onto his hair and push him closer to me.

    ¡°Atticus.¡± I cry. ¡°I want more. No. I need more. Please.¡±

    ¡°Look at me.¡± Hemands.

    My eyes, which were closed, are now open, and looking down at him. The sight of his mouth on my

    p***y almost sent me over the edge, and my legs were now trembling beneath me.

    I gasp when he adds a finger while he continues to taste me. Our gazes were locked as he devoured

    everyst bit of me. I¡¯ve never felt this good before. Nothingpares to this. I always knew it would

    be amazing with Atticus, but this had exceeded my expectations.

    ¡°FUCK.¡± He growls. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    Why was he apologizing? Was he going to say that this should have never happened?

    ¡°Why are you apologizing?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Because I can¡¯t wait anymore. I need to be inside you before I f*****gbust into mes.¡±

    I gasped as lifts himself so that his d**k was now pressed against my p***y. It¡¯s positioned right where it

    needed to be, and all he had to do was to push forward a little.

    But he wasn¡¯t doing it; Atticus was utterly still like he wasn¡¯t sure if this was the right thing to do.

    His forehead is pressed against mine, ¡°I don¡¯t deserve you. I don¡¯t deserve to have you like this. You¡¯re

    an angel, Autumn. And I¡¯m a f*****g demon for what I¡¯ve put you through.¡±

    I gently touch his cheek, ¡°I want to have you inside of me, Atticus. I¡¯ve wanted you for so long. I want

    this.¡±

    His eyes shed with a dark desire at my words, and I knew I¡¯d let the beast out. There was no going

    back after this. He wouldn¡¯t be able to stop after this point, and I was okay with that; it was what I was

    hoping for.

    He lifted me into his arms and gently ced me on the bed beneath him. He leaned down and touched

    our lips together, kissing me deeply. I broke the kiss as I felt him push forward; he covered my cry with

    his mouth as he mmed in. I expected pain, but all I felt was unbelievable pleasure. My entire body

    was trembling from how good it felt. It was almost too good to be true. It felt like a dream. There is no

    possibility that this was real life. Nothing should ever feel this good and addictive.

    Atticus¡¯s body shook above mine, and I could tell he was trying his best not to move.

    ¡°Autumn.¡± He groans. ¡°Tell me if it hurts. Tell me if I should stop.¡±

    I could hear the panic in his voice, and instead of making it easier on him, I wrapped my legs around

    his body, pulling him closer to me.

    He hissed, ¡°Oh FUCKK¡ª¡±

    And then Atticus began to move inside of me. Slow at first then pounding in and out of me without

    holding back. He was giving me everything that he had.My eyes rolled back in my head; this wasn¡¯t

    simple pleasure; it was much more than that. There wasn¡¯t a word in the world that could describe what

    I felt right now.

    Atticus was taking me to a ce I¡¯d never been to before.

    I cried out when he bit down hard on my mark while he increased his speed.

    ¡°ATTICUS!¡± I screamed as I neared the edge. ¡°I love you. I love you so much.¡±

    I didn¡¯t mean to say it, but it slipped out, and it¡¯s not like Atticus didn¡¯t know how much I loved him by

    now.

    My words must have done it for him because his entire body shook as my s*x squeezed him tightly. He

    buried his face in the crook of my neck as he pounded harder and faster into me, nearing his climax.

    ¡°s**t!¡± Atticus groaned. ¡°You¡¯re going to f*****g kill me.¡±

    I increased my pace along with his, helping him; I wanted to see Atticus lose himself in me. Seeing that

    would make me so happy. I grab his face and look directly into his eyes. ¡°Give me every part of you. I

    want it inside of me. I want it buried inside of me. Give me all.¡±

    His eyes widened at my words, and I could see thest bit of control slipping from him as he gripped

    my waist tightly; there was a look of pain on his face as he finally gave in.

    ¡°FUCKKKK¡ª,¡± he roars as his seedes rushing out of him and into me in great waves. Atticus kept

    on releasing, over and over again. His body continued to tremble even more than before, and I held

    him close. I didn¡¯t let go until he¡¯d emptied everyst drop inside of me.

    We were finally joined in every way possible, and I couldn¡¯t be happier. The only other thing that could

    make this entire night perfect is for Atticus to tell me that he loved me too.

    It doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s going to, however. I knew now that Atticus desired me, and I also knew that he

    cared for me, but I didn¡¯t think that he loved me.

    For now, I was at least happy to have him like this, to myself. I will remember this night for the rest of

    my life. Nothing would ever make me forget it. And I hoped that he never did either.

 Chapter 46

    Chapter 46

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 46

    ~ATTICUS~

    Ah, f**k, what had I done?

    Autumn and her spells were bing dangerous. I never wanted to sleep with her until I¡¯d gotten her

    complete forgiveness. She hadn¡¯t forgiven me yet; I knew she hadn¡¯t. I would know when she¡¯d

    forgiven me when she looked at me the way she¡¯d done so freely in the past. Only then would I know

    that Autumn had forgiven me for everything I¡¯d done to her.

    I knew I still had plenty of work to put in, and I wanted to do them all before what happenedst night.

    I wanted to be worthy of her before I took such a sacred part of her. I knew Autumn wanted it but f**k

    me, even though I wanted it too, I wanted it to happen at the right time.

    Was that so wrong? But I also didn¡¯t want her to think that I didn¡¯t desire her or that I didn¡¯t want to

    touch her because of the promises I had made to Anya.

    She was all that I cared about. Her feelings were all that mattered to me. I didn¡¯t want to disappoint her

    or hurt her anymore. There were so many things that I had nned for us. So many things that I

    wanted to do for her; to make her smile. To make her trust me and to remind her that I was the same

    person she fell in love with. I wanted to show her that I would never disappoint her again as I¡¯d done in

    the past.

    She¡¯s still tucked in my arms. Last night was f*****g amazing. Spell or not, I wanted her like crazy. If it

    didn¡¯t happenst night, it was bound to happen some other time. I couldn¡¯t have kept holding back

    myself and yesterday was enough proof of that.

    I gently moved her hair out of her face and gave her forehead a soft kiss, she stirred in my arms, and

    when she finally opened her eyes, she got all shy and covered her face against my chest. I chuckle.

    She was adorable.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± I whisper.

    I knew that she would be sore. Last night I almost took her more than once but thankfully, the spell had

    disappeared by then. I was still ready for her now, but I was forcing myself to be good. I had prepared

    breakfast and a warm bath for her already. I¡¯d made sure to wake up early to get everything done. She

    deserved to finally be treated the right way.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay. I¡¯m still tingling down there.¡± She whispers with a blush.

    f**k.

    My dirty mind wanted to go down on her some more. To help with the tingling, maybe add some more.

    But I won¡¯t do it. Last night I¡¯d gotten more than I deserved from her. I had more to do before I ever got

    more of her.

    ¡°I prepared a bath for you,¡± I tell her. We werete for the academy, and it wouldn¡¯t be long before my

    parents reminded us of that.

    She nods and flies out of bed, giving me a nice view of her naked ass. My d**k stirs under the sheets,

    and I stifle a groan. I wanted her again. Now that I knew what it was like to be inside Autumn, things

    had taken a more dangerous turn. I wanted her more than ever, and it would be harder to resist her

    now, especially when she walked around my room with nothing on.

    I had to get out of there and clear my head before I walked into the bathroom and f****d her under the

    shower and against the bathroom tiles.

    I shook that thought out of my head. Get a hold of yourself, Atticus. Autumn deserves more. Give her

    more before you take more from her.

    I had other ns for tonight. So many ns. I was taking her for a private dinner, but it wouldn¡¯t be

    near our home. I was using our private jet for this one. I couldn¡¯t wait to surprise her. rissa had

    helped set everything up; now, all we had to do was keep the secret from her.

    . . . . . . . .

    It was the end of sses, and I was prepared to get everything done for Autumn. The surprise was

    already going ording to n. She still wasn¡¯t aware that we were going on a date tonight. I had

    done an excellent job hiding it from her, and so had rissa.

    I spot Anya on the way to the jeep, and I can already tell she¡¯s up to no good. After everything I¡¯d said

    to her, had she not learned her lesson? She wasn¡¯t in the academy yesterday, but she was here today.

    I hadn¡¯t seen her in any of our sses, however. So it was a surprise to see her in front of us now.

    What was she doing here? I had to protect Autumn from her. We were finally getting on better terms,

    and whenever Anya came around, she made things worse between us. I wouldn¡¯t let that happen

    today.

    ¡°Wait for me by the jeep,¡± I tell Autumn. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with Anya.¡±

    She nods, and I can see the hesitation and worry on her face. I hate that I did that to her. She doesn¡¯t

    trust me around Anya at all. I couldn¡¯t me her. I had caused this.

    ¡°What do you want, Anya?¡± I demand. ¡°I thought I rified how I felt about you?¡±

    She sighs, ¡°I came to apologize.¡±

    ¡°To apologize?¡± I ask.

    She nods.

    ¡°Do you mean one of those fake apologies that you love to do so much?¡± I demand.

    Her cheeks are red as she stares at me, ¡°of course not. I should have never said those things about

    Autumn to you. I crossed the line; I know I was wrong, and I wasn¡¯t thinking. Please forgive me. I don¡¯t

    want things to be weird between us. We¡¯re all eventually going to have to live together. We need to

    have a better rtionship with each other.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know whether or not I could trust Anya. She was good at hiding how she truly felt about

    something. This could be another one of her tricks to make me trust her. She would use it against me in

    the future. I made this mistake in the past. I didn¡¯t want to make the same mistake again.

    ¡°Did you apologize to Autumn?¡± I ask. ¡°I¡¯m not the one that deserves your apology. It¡¯s her. If you

    apologize to her and she chooses to forgive you, then we can move forward from there.¡±

    She says something to me next, but I don¡¯t notice it. I feel a cold, dangerous shiver run up my spine.

    Autumn. I can feel that she¡¯s in danger. But she¡¯s not supposed to be; the academy was supposed to

    be safe for all students. It was protected. The administration was strict on keeping thepound

    strictly safe. But I couldn¡¯t deny the horrible way that I felt right now. It almost crippled me on the spot.

    This was what real fear felt like¡ªthe kind of fear that left youpletely motionless.

    ¡°Atticus, are you hearing me?¡± Anya asks as she steps into my vision.

    I can¡¯t f*****g breathe. I¡¯m fighting for air. What the f**k was going on? Anya is calling my name, but I

    can¡¯t hear her anymore. I can see her mouth moving, but I¡¯ve gone deaf.

    I blink once, then twice, and my head hurts badly. I had a sickening feeling in my chest, which kept me

    from having a clear mind.

    I felt dizzy; Autumn was connected to me, and I could feel when she was physically hurt.

    I suck up the pain to look for her. I needed to find her.

    My eyes are searching the crowd, and even though Anya is trying to get my attention, it¡¯s not on her.

    Where the f**k was she? I was bing hysterical and desperate. She has to be around here

    somewhere.

    And then my eyesnd on her. My blood ran cold at what I saw. Her body was lifeless, and she was

    just thrown into a van.

    Panic rushes into my body, and it takes a few seconds before I can move into action.

    ¡°AUTUMN!¡± I shouted as I pushed Anya out of the way and started to run after her. I don¡¯t get there

    quickly enough. The vehicle is already speeding away with her in the back seat. Did they drug her?

    Was that why I felt so lightheaded?

    I ran back to my jeep and pulled out of the parking lot, the fastest I¡¯d ever done.

    I¡¯m racing behind the vehicle; the jeep roars as I elerate as fast as it would let me go. I never knew I

    could be this terrified of losing someone. I had no idea who these men were or what they wanted with

    Autumn, but I couldn¡¯t let them escape with her. I didn¡¯t care what I had to do; I was getting her back

    this instant.

    ¡°Call Damon,¡± I order. I could barely get a single word out of my mouth of the fear inside me. It was

    messing with my ability to think and act right. I had to get control back over my body before it was too

    late.

    The phone rings once, then twice.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Damon asks as he finally picks up.

    ¡°Block the f*****g roads.¡± I roar. ¡°Call everyone we know and have them block all the exits. I don¡¯t want

    a single car to get out of here!¡±

    ¡°Hold up. What the hell are you talking about?¡± He demands.

    ¡°Autumn was just kidnapped from the school¡¯spound,¡± I shout. ¡°I¡¯m chasing the vehicle now.¡±

    I gave him all the details about the vehicle so he could give out instructions to everyone he called.

    Damn it. How could this have f*****g happened? Security was supposed to be tight at the academy.

    How did these people get in so quickly? Was it an inside job? Whoever was responsible for this would

    f*****g die. I wasn¡¯t about to let them get away with my wife.

    My eyes widen as a woman jumps in front of the jeep.

    ¡°f**k!¡± I roar as I pull away from her so quickly that the jeep flips over. I held onto the steering wheel as

    it continued to flip. My head ms against the dashboard as the impact from the next flip sends my

    body crashing in all directions.

    I have to save her. I have to keep my mate. I have to tell her I love her. I can¡¯t let it end like this.

    Autumn is thest person on my mind when it goespletely nk.

    . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    ~ANYA~

    ¡°What did you do?¡± I scream at my mother. ¡°Why did you hurt Atticus? You were only supposed to take

    Autumn away. You were never supposed to hurt him!¡±

    ¡°Rx.¡± She says. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell you this part of the n because I knew you would have freaked out

    and spoiled the entire thing.¡±

    ¡°How is this part of your n?¡± I demand. ¡°Why did you cause that ident? I know it was you mother!

    Why did you cause it? You promised me you wouldn¡¯t hurt him, and you did the exact opposite of that.

    You¡¯re supposed to care about my feelings! What kind of mother are you?¡±

    ¡°You will realize soon enough what I meant to aplish by causing the ident. Atticus was hit in

    the head pretty badly from the ident. That will work in your favor in the near future. I stepped in front

    of his jeep and was able to see everything happen right in front of me. You should have been there.¡±

    What the hell was she getting at?

    ¡°Why are you even here?¡± She demands. ¡°You should be in the hospital with Atticus. You need to make

    his family love you this time. You¡¯re getting a second chance with him; I suggest you take it. Don¡¯t make

    the same mistake that you made in the past.¡±

    Why did she think that Atticus would want anything to do with me now that Autumn had been

    kidnapped?

    I¡¯m about to respond when there is a knock on the door. Two vampires enter when my mother opens it

    for them.

    ¡°Where is the girl?¡± My mother demands.

    ¡°The girl?¡± One of them asks. ¡°We thought that you hired someone else to get her.¡±

    What the hell? Why would they ask such a question? Were they not the ones that had taken her today?

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± My mother, demands as she looks between them. ¡°Why would I hire

    someone else?¡±

    ¡°We were waiting for her, ready to do the job you hired us to do, when four men grabbed her and

    drugged her. We weren¡¯t the ones that took her.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I shout.

    If they didn¡¯t take her, then who were those men that had kidnapped her?

    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s what you saw happen?¡± My mother asks. ¡°Are you trying to get more money out of

    me? Is that what this is? If that¡¯s your aim, you can just keep her with you. I have no desire to give to

    any more money.¡±

    They pull out their phones and show us their video footage of the incident. ¡°We got a video of the entire

    thing. She was kidnapped but not by us. We don¡¯t know who those men were. But they had tattoos on

    the back of their necks.¡±

    Tattoos on the back of their necks? Who were these people, and what did they want with Autumn? Did

    she have more enemies that I didn¡¯t know about? I wish I could give those people a hug for making my

    life so much more easier now that she was out of it.

    ¡°Maybe this is a good thing.¡± My mother says. ¡°She¡¯s out of our hands, which means that she¡¯s not our

    trouble anymore. You can focus on getting closer to Atticus now that she¡¯s out of the picture. You also

    need to get closer to his family. They y an important role in all of this, and you know that by now.¡±

    But was Autumn truly out of the picture? What would happen if she randomly showed up?

    Whoever kidnapped her was no ordinary person. No one would risk entering the academy and seizing

    one of the wealthiest and most popr students.

    Autumn¡¯s parents were important people, and so were her inws. She wasn¡¯t any average person. We

    took a risk to hire men to kidnap her, but who else would want revenge so badly that they would also try

    and take her?

    Did the Fawns have more enemies, or was this an enemy of Autumn¡¯s family?

    ¡°Who do you think is responsible for her disappearance?¡± I ask my mother. She would have a better

    idea than I did.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I think the tattoo on their neck can help us figure it out.¡± She says. ¡°They all have the

    same tattoo, which meant they were involved with the same people.¡±

    I¡¯m about to ask her another question when she stops me.

    ¡°Get to the hospital now.¡± Shemands. ¡°You need to show the Fawns how much you care about

    Atticus. Now that Autumn is gone, they will need someone else to marry their son. What better option

    than you?¡±

    She was right. I didn¡¯t have any time to waste. Atticus needed me now that Autumn was out of the

    picture. We would have a beautiful future together without her in it. That is until my mother stepped in

    and destroyed his family for good.

    I called Dante and asked him to pick me up. I made my way back to the fake house and waited for him.

    He doesn¡¯t take long to reach.

    I can see how troubled he looks. Atticus was his brother, after all. And their rtionship hadn¡¯t been the

    best because of me. Either way, he would be in pain just like me now that Atticus was in the hospital.

    This time was a lot worse than thest time. Atticus¡¯s injury was able to heal within hours thest time.

    He wasn¡¯t going to be so lucky this time. He had a lot of broken bones and ribs. There was also a nasty

    injury on his head.

    His body was filled with cuts from windows smashed by the crash. I saw the image of the crash all over

    my phone, and it wasn¡¯t a pretty sight. I knew Atticus was a good driver and wouldn¡¯t have crashed like

    that unless someone was responsible for it. That¡¯s how I knew my mother had been behind the

    ident. It still bothered me that she hadn¡¯t listened to me. He was the one person I begged her not to

    hurt. She had agreed, until now. Until Autumn. This was all Autumn¡¯s fault. If she had stayed out of his

    life, none of this would have ever happened. Ever since she became his wife, Atticus has constantly

    been in danger. Now that she was gone, he would be safe once more. I would do a better job at

    protecting him than she had done. He would realize soon enough that he would be happier with me.

    Dante holds my hand, ¡°he¡¯s going to be okay, Anya. My brother is going to be okay.¡±

    When we arrive at the hospital, the scene outside is not the best. My mother would have been happy to

    witness it. This was what she wanted. For the Fawns to be this unhappy.

    They were all crying and praying that he woulde out okay. Nothing was promised yet, even though

    my mother seemed convinced he would be okay.

    I looked around me.

    Autumn¡¯s parents are also here, frantic for their daughter. They were busy making calls and trying not

    to panic, but they weren¡¯t doing a good job at that.

    ¡°How does a child get taken away from an academy so easily?¡± Her mother screams. ¡°Who took my

    baby?¡±

    Her father is trying to console her, but he looks like he knows more than he¡¯s saying. They both do.

    Calls are being made. They¡¯re sending out searches everywhere for her. I¡¯ve never seen anything like

    this before. Everyone was getting involved for her. News of her disappearance has spread like crazy.

    There were hundreds of articles already published. There were also hundreds written about Atticus and

    the ident that was caused while he was trying to save her.

    . . . .

    A day passes, then another. And another. Atticus hadn¡¯t awakened yet. His body was still healing from

    all of the trauma it had suffered. I hadn¡¯t left the hospital like my mother had asked me to. I was trying

    my best to make his family like me. I knew how much they weren¡¯t fond of me, but I might try to do

    better. This was for my mother. I had to do it for her. And I also wanted to do better for Atticus. Maybe

    then he would see me as the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

    There was also no news about Autumn, and I was beginning to hope for the best. Maybe they had

    killed her and gotten rid of her.

    Then she would be out of our lives for good, and everything could go back to the way that it was before

    she got married to Atticus and destroyed everything that I had worked hard for.

    ¡°He¡¯s awake!¡± rissa shouts. ¡°Atticus is awake!¡±

    Everyone jumps up from the waiting room with tears of joy. We don¡¯t waste any time as we rush into

    the room.

    She was right. He was awake and aware of everything that was happening around him.

    I was scared, scared of how he would react when he realized that Autumn was no longer here. He¡¯s

    searching the room, looking at everyone. His mother rushes forward and hugs him, ¡°I¡¯m so happy

    you¡¯re awake, son. It¡¯s so good to have you back with us.¡±

    His father does the same, showing him how much he loves him. The rest of his family does the same. I

    let them have their moment; this was what my mother taught me. I had to act more like Autumn if I

    wanted them to like me.

    Atticus doesn¡¯t stop searching the room, and I know that he¡¯s looking for Autumn. I¡¯m surprised,

    however, when his eyes light up when he sees me.

    ¡°Anya.¡± He says with a smile. ¡°Come here.¡±

    We¡¯re all in shock.

    I walk forward, and I¡¯m even more surprised when he wraps his arms around me, ¡°it¡¯s so good to have

    you next to me again.¡±

    I watch the blood drain from everyone¡¯s face.

    I understood what my mother meant now when she said that she was giving me another chance. She

    was confident I would have Atticus again because she knew this would happen.

    It felt good to have his arms around me again, to feel his love for me. It felt like the past when he wasn¡¯t

    in love with Autumn.

    I hugged him back tightly; I wasn¡¯t about to let this opportunity escape me.

    When Atticus falls asleep, we all exit the room to talk to the doctor.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± His mother demands. ¡°Why does my son still think he¡¯s in love with Anya? He

    doesn¡¯t look like he even remembers that Autumn is his wife or that she was kidnapped.¡±

    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.

    The doctor sighs, ¡°We were afraid of this happening. Atticus got hit more in his head than in any other

    part of his body. The damage was so bad that even his body¡¯s ability to heal quickly couldn¡¯t do a good

    job at it. He has temporary memory loss. It may even be permanent. Only time can tell if Atticus will

    remember his time with Autumn or not. But for his safety, I urge you not to remind him of her. The

    trauma may be too much for him. Give him time to heal before you tell him about his wife.¡±

    This was even better news for me. Now Atticus would know nothing about his marriage to Autumn. I

    had him back right where I wanted him to be.

    Could this day get any better for me?

    ¡°We¡¯re going to have to remove all of the pictures of Autumn from the house and anything that would

    remind Atticus of her.¡± His mother cried. ¡°We have to protect him. That means all those articles about

    them muste down. I don¡¯t care what we have to do to make this happen, but I want it done by the

    time Atticus gets his phone back. Inform everyone at the academy what¡¯s happening. Let them know if

    anyone mentions his marriage to Autumn that we will do everything in our power to make their lives

    miserable.¡±

    ¡°Atticus would want to remember her!¡± rissa screams suddenly. Her words echoed throughout the

    quiet hospital. ¡°We can¡¯t keep this from him. We can¡¯t let him believe that he¡¯s still in love with Anya.

    He¡¯s married. Autumn is missing. We can¡¯t put up an act now; we need him to remember her! If he had

    a say in any of this, he would want us to tell him the truth.¡±

    ¡°rissa!¡± Mr. Fawn scolded her. ¡°This is a hospital; you can¡¯t be shouting. I don¡¯t want Atticus to hear

    you; you need to be quiet.¡±

    ¡°How can you be so normal about this?¡± She demands. ¡°When he remembers Autumn, he will never

    forgive you for not telling him about her. He got into that ident trying to save her; he would expect

    the same from his family!¡±

    ¡°No one said we are going to stop searching for Autumn!¡± He eximed. ¡°The search will continue, but

    we must keep Atticus out of danger. We must ensure that his body doesn¡¯t go into shock if anything

    triggers his memory of her. You also need to do the same as the rest of us. If you care about him, you

    will keep him from finding out about her. Just until we are sure that he has fully recovered.¡±

    rissa looks distraught, and seeing her like this makes me happy. How much worse would she feel if

    she knew what I did? The men that kidnapped Autumn weren¡¯t amateurs. She was most likely dead by

    now.

    And I couldn¡¯t be any more happier than I felt right now.

 Chapter 47

    Chapter 47

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 47

    ~AUTUMN~

    I don¡¯t know where I am, but I know this is the worst way to wake up.

    My hands are strapped to a table, and bright white lights are above my head. I tried to move, pulling

    against the straps, but it was no use; nothing was working.

    Where the hell am I? I couldn¡¯t see anything because of the lights, which made me panic more than

    before.

    Thest thing I remembered was being dragged from the jeep and someone cing a cloth over my

    mouth. I tried to call for help from Atticus, but Anya had blocked his view of me. And he hadn¡¯t been

    looking in my direction either.

    I remember feeling terrified, trying to catch anyone¡¯s attention. It was the one time I wanted eyes to be

    on me, and magically no one was seeing what was happening to me. No one saw me being kidnapped.

    I was reliving the horror, and it made me feel worse than I already did.

    I saw Anya saying something to Atticus.

    That¡¯s thest thing I remembered before everything went ck. Now I¡¯m awake and strapped to a

    table with no idea how long I¡¯ve been here.

    There were multiple machines around me, I could hear them, and I wasn¡¯t sure what they were used

    for. A shiver runs down my spine as I wonder if those things will be used on me.

    I was trying to stay positive, but no matter how I looked at it, this wouldn¡¯t be easy on me.

    ¡°Look who¡¯s finally awakened.¡±

    The voice echoed throughout the room, and my body wentpletely still. I didn¡¯t recognize the sound;

    it wasn¡¯t anyone I¡¯d ever met.

    That crossed out any of our known enemies being responsible for my kidnapping. So then, who was

    this? What did he want with me? It was a male¡¯s voice; I was sure of that part, at least. But it didn¡¯t

    make me feel any better.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± I demand. ¡°Where am I?¡±

    ¡°The question you should be asking yourself is, who are you? Do you even know who you are, Autumn

    Rosetta Reign?¡±

    He was still far from my sight; his voice was the only thing that let me know I wasn¡¯t alone in the room.

    ¡°That¡¯s not my name.¡± I snap. ¡°I¡¯m Autumn Rivera Fawn. I don¡¯t know who¡¯s Autumn Rosetta Reign and

    quite frankly, that¡¯s none of my business. Just get me out of here! I don¡¯t want to be here! You have no

    right taking me without my consent!¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°you¡¯re not leaving here without my permission. Not today, not ever. Your mother did an

    outstanding job at hiding you from us. If I had the opportunity to see her again, I¡¯d tell her what a great

    job she did. Who would have thought that you were given to a billionaire and given a normal life to live

    like all those privileged rich kids? Not that it mattered since we still found you in the end. I rather find

    you at this age where you can be of assistance to us than when you¡¯re still just a child.¡±

    This man was insane. It¡¯s the only exnation I had for the nonsense that he was speaking. I wasn¡¯t

    given to a billionaire; I¡¯m the daughter of billionaires; he has to have me confused with someone else.C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    Was there someone else that looked just like me and had the name Autumn? The more I thought of his

    words, the more I was convinced that I had been kidnapped by a lunatic.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you have me confused with someone else. This is just some small misunderstanding.

    Can you please let me leave so there won¡¯t be any trouble? You don¡¯t know my family. They will be

    searching for me. I¡¯m sure there are already hundreds of people looking for me. My parents, Atticus, his

    parents, his siblings, my siblings, my friends, the academy, everyone will be out trying to find me. If you

    let me go, I¡¯ll let this slide. If you don¡¯t, things will get very difficult for you.¡± I warn him.

    I was trying to intimidate him. I hoped that if I tried hard enough, he would feel pressured into letting me

    go. However, the chances were not very high.

    ¡°I¡¯m very aware that people are searching for you.¡± He informs me. ¡°But you¡¯re out of luck. They can¡¯t

    find you where we are. We¡¯re underground, you see. Not many people know about us. We stay hidden.

    And we¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time, princess.¡±

    Princess?

    I was getting a freaking headache from every wording out of this freak¡¯s mouth. Who did he think

    he was? He had to be crazy to mess with me, knowing who my family was.

    ¡°This is yourst chance to let me go,¡± I growl. I didn¡¯t want to show him my power, but if it were the

    only way to break free from his hold, I would do it. I was desperate to get away from him. I was

    desperate to return home to the people that loved me.

    Heughs, ¡°what can you do? Show me what you can do, and maybe then I¡¯ll consider letting you go.

    Come on, Autumn Reign. Impress me. Let me see what you got.¡±

    That was it. I hope he eats his words after I¡¯m done with him.

    My hands are shaking as I try to use a spell to free myself. I barely knew how to control my power, but I

    was willing to do anything at all right now. However, nothing happens even though I¡¯m trying the

    hardest I¡¯ve ever done before. It shouldn¡¯t be this hard; thest few times I used my power, it flowed out

    of me. Maybe I¡¯m not angry enough for it to work.

    He chuckles, ¡°well, that was surprisingly entertaining. I should inform you that you can¡¯t use your

    power. The straps on the table restrict your power and prevent you from using it. No matter how hard

    you try, nothing is going to happen as long as you¡¯re strapped to that table.¡±

    I gasped; he knew about my power. Suddenly, I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d kidnapped me while thinking I was

    someone else; it seemed like he knew more about me than I knew about myself. I was even more

    terrified now that I knew things were a lot moreplicated than I initially thought it was.

    Maybe that¡¯s why I was here, to begin with. Because of my power. Why hadn¡¯t I thought of that at first?

    The machines made sense now; the probability of them being used on me had just increased. I felt

    dizzy. I didn¡¯t know how to help myself. I didn¡¯t know what to do to get my freedom once more.

    ¡°You¡¯re suddenly very quiet. Do you realize now that you can¡¯t escape unless I want you to?¡± He asks.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± I whisper. I could barely recognize my voice; the fear was hard to miss. I can tell that

    he heard it as well. I can sense his happiness from all the way over here. He knew that he had trapped

    me. He knew that I was at his mercy. That¡¯s what he wanted all along, for me to realize that I didn¡¯t

    have any other options but to listen to him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about you before we talk about me, shall we?¡± He asks.

    I don¡¯t say anything. I didn¡¯t think I had a say in this. He was going to tell me even if I said no. He¡¯s

    quiet as he waits for me to respond, but when I continue to remain silent, he says, ¡°I¡¯ll start by telling

    you about your father.¡±

    ¡°I know who my father is.¡± I snap. I didn¡¯t need to know anything else about my own father. I grew up

    with him; I knew more about him than this stranger did.

    ¡°No.¡± He cuts me off. ¡°You don¡¯t know. Your father isn¡¯t some weak billionaire. Your father is a man with

    incredible power. The kind of power that terrified those around him. There¡¯s no one like him, no one of

    his kind that can beat that kind of power. Your father is none other than Azai Reign. The most powerful

    of his kind that ever walked the earth.¡±

    There is an awkward silence that follows after. He waits for me to say something, but I¡¯m unsure how to

    respond. This had to be a joke.

    Who the hell was Azai Reign? Why was I now hearing about him? If he was so powerful and people

    feared him, we would have learned about him at the academy by now. I paid attention to all my sses;

    I would have remembered a name like that.

    He had to be messing with me. But why would he? What would he achieve by lying to me about my

    father?

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of an Azai Reign.¡± I finally respond.

    He sighs, ¡°because people were so scared of him that they chose to pretend like he never existed after

    his death. They burned every single paper that had his name on it, burned every picture. They shut his

    worshippers up and promised to destroy their lives if they ever spoke a word about him. They did

    everything possible to wipe every memory of him out of this earth. And they seeded if you¡¯ve never

    heard of him.¡±

    I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm despite everything that was happening around me.

    ¡°This is ridiculous.¡± I snap. ¡°We¡¯ve never heard of him because he never existed. He¡¯s not my father. I

    know who my father is. He¡¯s a Rivera, not a Reign. What is the purpose of this lie? What do you want

    to achieve by lying to me?¡±

    Heughs once more. ¡°Oh, believe me, you are his daughter. You look just like him. You look more like

    him than you look like your mother. Have you never wondered why your family all look so different from

    you? Has it never bothered you that your so-called siblings all had simrities to your parents, but you

    never had any? I¡¯m surprised that no one else knew sooner that you weren¡¯t their real daughter. I¡¯m

    surprised that even you never recognized the obvious.¡±

    My breath hitched at his words because they were the truth. I didn¡¯t look like either of my parents, and I

    also had no resemnce to any of my siblings, even though my parents often tried to convince me that

    I did. I never had any reason to pay attention to it until now. I thought my parents were telling the truth; I

    thought I could trust them. Now I wasn¡¯t sure who had been telling the truth this entire time.

    ¡°So what exactly is this Azai Reign, who may or may not be my biological father?¡± I ask.

    I was beginning to believe his story even though I never wanted to. I wanted to believe that my real

    parents were the same ones who raised me from a baby; I wanted to believe that my life wasn¡¯t a lie all

    this time. I wanted to believe that this man was lying to me. However, I couldn¡¯t be naive. I had to listen

    to what he was saying. I had to find out what was a lie and what was the truth. The only way for me to

    know that was to pay attention and try to figure it out on my own.

    The stranger takes a deep breath, almost like he was waiting this entire time just for me to ask that one

    question. I held my breath, waiting to hear the worst.

    ¡°He¡¯s the greatest sorcerer our world has ever known.¡±

    One second passed. Then another. And another.

    I can¡¯t breathe.

    A sorcerer?

    A bloody sorcerer?

    Was this where I got my power from? Was this why the power was beginning to consume me so much

    that I wanted to use it to get whatever I wanted whenever I was around Atticus? It terrified me how

    greedy my power became whenever I was around him. Now I was more worried than before.

    I didn¡¯t want to believe my real father was a sorcerer, but I couldn¡¯t deny the facts. I had to get my

    magic from somewhere. And it wasn¡¯t from the Riveras¡¯. That left this Reign person.

    ¡°If he is my father, then who is my mother?¡± I ask. He mentioned that she had done an excellent job

    hiding me from them. Why did she try to hide me? What did they want from me? Why was I here?

    Those are all questions that I needed answers to.

    ¡°Your mother was a werewolf. She wasn¡¯t anyone as important as he was. She fell hard for him; he had

    that dark aura about him that women were quite drawn to. She was the only woman he made the

    mistake of getting pregnant. He had ns to take over the world and to have one king; he wanted to be

    the only king. And he would have seeded if your mother hadn¡¯t betrayed him.¡±

    My mother betrayed him?

    Did he truly want to take over the world? And why? Why does anyone need to control the world?

    What kind of psychopath was my father? If this story was indeed true, I was happy that I never had the

    chance to meet him. He was not someone I wanted to have raised me as a child. There is no telling the

    kind of person I would have been if I had been raised by him.

    ¡°How did my mother betray him?¡± I question, waiting for him to exin more.

    He was still out of my view, and I had no idea what he looked like. His voice did not sound like an old

    person; he was young.

    ¡°She birthed not just you but two other babies. Your mother had triplets. Your other two siblings had the

    same dark symbol on their arms that your father had. A symbol of the control the dark magic would

    have on them and the power they would have within. You were the only one that wasn¡¯t born with the

    symbol. Your father felt that you were weak because of it and wanted to get rid of you. He never

    wanted to have a weak child. Azai underestimated your mother; he confided in her and told her the one

    way to kill him. She knew where to find the weapon, and while he was asleep one night, she murdered

    him before he could ever try harming you. Then she ran with you and your siblings; no one knows

    where the four of you disappeared after that until now. Because you used your magic, we were able to

    find you. We couldn¡¯t find you before because you¡¯ve never used it. We¡¯re not sure why your power has

    suddenly awakened, but you are the daughter of Azai Reign, and because of that, you are a part of us.¡±

    A part of them? What the hell did he mean by that? I didn¡¯t want to be a part of evil. And that¡¯s what

    they were. Evil. Anyone that desired to take control over the world because of their greed for power

    was evil in my eyes.

    I would never join something like that. I would never fulfill my father¡¯s wishes. I was better than that. I

    wasn¡¯t perfect, but I wasn¡¯t evil either. I knew that much about myself.

    But what happened to my mother? He imed that they never found her after the day she murdered

    my father and ran. And what about my siblings?

    My entire life was shing before my eyes. My parents weren¡¯t my true parents. And my birth parents

    had a messed up life. My mother fell for an evil sorcerer and had triplets, I was one of them, but I had

    no idea where the other two were.

    My mind was spinning with all of this new information. I didn¡¯t want to be a part of it. I was happy with

    my life before they kidnapped me and informed me of things I wish I didn¡¯t know.

    Did this mean that I would be just as horrible as my father was? He did awful things; he wanted to

    rule the world. That was what he desired the most, and his power paved the way for that to be

    possible.

    I¡¯ve done that without even knowing about him. I used my power to seduce Atticus; I used my power

    that night he slept with me.

    I felt sick to my stomach. I wasn¡¯t that different from my father. This wasn¡¯t good. My power was already

    beginning to control me without me even realizing it.

    ¡°From the look on your face, I can tell you finally believe me.¡± He says.

    ¡°Why am I here?¡± I demand. ¡°My father is dead. My mother and siblings are still missing, and for all we

    know, they¡¯re also dead, so why the hell do you want me? And you are you to my father? Why are you

    so determined to tell me these things about him?¡±

    There¡¯s a shuffling noise and the sound of a chair hitting the ground.

    I held my breath as I heard footsteps; he was finallying towards me. The light above me is

    suddenly switched off, and he¡¯s now standing next to me.

    My eyes fall on the tattoo on the side of his neck that traveled down to his left arm. It¡¯s a tattoo of a

    serpent. My gaze travels to his face, and I¡¯m faced with bright green eyes and a harsh jawline. He had

    a straight nose, a scar on his forehead, and a stubborn mouth. He wasn¡¯t as bad looking as I thought

    he would be. He was quite the opposite, but scarily.

    ¡°Your father was my leader. I was only nine when your mother killed him. He was who I looked up to,

    and he also trained me at a young age. I was supposed to serve his future children, just like my parents

    had served him. I made a promise to help finish what he started. To make your father proud of me. I¡¯ve

    always wanted him to be proud of me. That¡¯s what my parents have always taught me, to make Azai

    Reign proud.¡±

    This wasn¡¯t getting any better for me. I had to figure out a way to make him let me go. I needed to go

    home. I couldn¡¯t stay here.

    ¡°If you are meant to serve his children, doesn¡¯t that mean you must listen to mymand? I don¡¯t think

    my father would have liked to see what you¡¯re doing to his daughter.¡± I snap. ¡°Let go of me now if

    you¡¯re determined to make him proud.¡±

    I was searching for anything, anything at all, to get him to listen to me. I wanted him to feel guilty. I

    wanted him to feel sorry for me. But the man in front of me clearly only had one thing on his mind. And

    that was to make the dead sorcerer proud of him. He had a weird obsession with my biological father. I

    don¡¯t know what caused it; maybe his parents are to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I cannot do that, princess.¡± He tells me with a sinister smile. ¡°You see, to fulfill your dad¡¯s

    dream, I will need you. I don¡¯t have either of your siblings. You are the only one that I have. I don¡¯t

    know the extent of your power, but you are Azai¡¯s daughter, so we need to train you. Once we get the

    hard part over, we can start the main n.¡±

    It was my turn tough. He couldn¡¯t be serious. He thought that I would help him with this awful n.

    How delusional was this man to believe something like that? They would have to kill me before I ever

    agreed to do what he was asking me to do. Besides, I wasn¡¯t as powerful as my father. I had no idea

    how to control my magic. I barely knew any spells, and the only times I¡¯ve ever used my power was

    because of Atticus and my love for him. Weirdly enough, he was the link to my power.

    ¡°What makes you think I would help you finish what my father started?¡± I demand. ¡°I¡¯m nothing like my

    father. My desire is not to rule the world. Why don¡¯t you do yourself a favor and move on from the past?

    Your leader is dead; why do you have to ruin your life for someone no longer on this earth? He can

    never be proud of you because he isn¡¯t here. The smart thing would be to let me go, drop this stupid

    n, and get on with your life.¡±

    ¡°You never had the pleasure of knowing him; that¡¯s why you have nothing good to say. You don¡¯t

    understand what it¡¯s been like following in his footsteps. It¡¯s a shame that his own daughter has no idea

    how amazing he truly was. You should have been there to witness his power. It was mind-blowing.

    Every time I witnessed how powerful he was, I was left in awe. I can still see the images in my head.

    It¡¯s what keeps me going. I¡¯m the key to keeping our people united even after his death. I¡¯m their

    protector, and I will be your protector as long as you agree to help us get what we want.¡±

    ¡°You said that he considered me his weakest child since I didn¡¯t have the dark symbol that my other

    siblings had. If you respect his decisions so much, shouldn¡¯t you also ept that he didn¡¯t want me to

    follow in his footsteps? He didn¡¯t have any hope in me. Why do you think I possess the kind of power

    that my father has? I don¡¯t. Listen to him and let me go.¡±

    He smiles, and there is pride on his face as he stares at me, ¡°I was there.¡±

    I quirk a brow. He was where? What was he trying to say?

    ¡°Where exactly?¡±

    ¡°At the game.¡±

    I freeze. I knew right away what he was referring to.

    ¡°I saw everything, Autumn. I have been watching you for a while. Waiting for a sign to know whether

    you were worth the trouble. I saw how you protected Atticus. Fearless, just like your father. He

    protected his own just like you protected yours. We were always safe and respected because of him.

    All of that changed the day your mother killed him. I saw what you¡¯re capable of when you¡¯re angry. You

    used your power to make those men lose that game. You did a good job at it too. No one was able to

    tell that you were behind it. That is the kind of power we¡¯re looking for. And it¡¯s even better that you¡¯re

    Azai¡¯s daughter. You haven¡¯t even unlocked an inch of your true power. You don¡¯t realize just how

    important you are to your father¡¯s people. How important you are to me.¡±

    Important to him?

    ¡°Is that why you have me tied to a table, unable to fend for myself?¡± I demand. ¡°Because I¡¯m important

    to you?¡±

    ¡°If I let you go. You¡¯re only going to try to run. It¡¯s not a risk I¡¯m willing to take.¡± He answers me.

    ¡°You¡¯re wasting your time,¡± I shout. ¡°I¡¯m never going to help you. I have a family back home. I have a

    husband that I need to get back to. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s losing his mind trying to find me. I want to get back to

    him. Please.¡±

    He quirks a brow, ¡°your husband does not miss you. Everyone is already returning to their normal lives

    without you in it. It¡¯s almost like you never even existed, to begin with.¡±

    I roll my eyes. Did he expect me to believe such nonsense? My parents would never rest knowing I

    was missing. rissa would also be worried about me. And Atticus. I knew in my heart that he would

    be looking for me.

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy if you expect me to believe such a lie,¡± I tell him. ¡°They love me; they¡¯re all searching for

    me. You can¡¯t convince me otherwise. You can stop trying to make me lose hope.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying to you, Autumn.¡± He assured me. ¡°Atticus has already moved on with his life. He¡¯s back

    with that woman he loves so much.¡±

    I froze. He couldn¡¯t be talking about Anya. Atticus already made it clear to me that everything with her

    was over. rissa told me how he stood up for me in front of her. I couldn¡¯t let this man get to me. He

    was trying to mess with my head. I couldn¡¯t let him win.

    ¡°Atticus would never do that to me.¡± I snap. ¡°He may have done so in the past, but he has changed. I¡¯m

    the one he wants to be with. Not Anya. I don¡¯t believe a word you¡¯re saying to me.¡±

    He pulls his phone out of his pocket and types something in front of me.

    ¡°I hate showing you this, but you will have to see it eventually.¡±

    I narrow my eyes, waiting for him to show me whatever lies he has up his sleeve.

    He points the phone at me, and I drag my gaze from his face to the screen in front of me.

    It takes me a second, but when I finally see what he¡¯s showing me, my heart drops. It¡¯s pictures and

    videos of Atticus and Anya.

    Recent pictures. They¡¯re holding hands, kissing, and back together and happier than ever.

    No.

    My heart could barely take what he showed me; one after the next, he wasn¡¯t stopping. The pictures

    and videos kepting at me. Like he was prepared to show this to me.

    This couldn¡¯t be true.

    Atticus wouldn¡¯t do this to me.

    He wouldn¡¯t!

 Chapter 48

    Chapter 48

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 48

    ~ATTICUS~

    ¡°Hold me tighter,¡± Anya says as I wrap my arms around her. I do as she says, but something doesn¡¯t

    seem right. She¡¯s still the same woman I fell in love with; she looks the same and acts the same, but

    there was something that made me feel ufortable about the entire thing.

    Ever since I recovered from the ident that I had no memory of ever happening, my feelings for Anya

    felt wrong. I couldn¡¯t tell her that without hurting her feelings. So I kept it all to myself, but it was

    bothering me ever since I woke up and felt a surge of emptiness when she hugged me on the hospital

    bed. I hadn¡¯t been able to focus on anything ever that day.

    Maybe the ident messed with my head and my heart. I constantly felt like I had forgotten someone

    important to me. I was searching the room for someone that day, and I never found her. I thought that it

    was Anya that I was looking for, but I soon realized that it wasn¡¯t her. It was someone else, but that

    didn¡¯t make sense to me.

    I considered speaking to Dante and Damon about it, but they haven¡¯t been acting normal around me.

    No one was acting normal. They treated me like they were afraid I would snap any second now.

    ¡°Atticus?¡± Anya whispers.

    Whenever I touched her, I felt like I was betraying someone else. But who could I possibly be crossing?

    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I finally respond even though my mind is far.

    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± She asks hesitantly. ¡°You seem to be a bit distant with me recently. I feel like

    something is wrong. I¡¯m here for you if you need someone to talk to.¡±

    I nod, ¡°I know that you are. I¡¯m just uneasy not knowing anything about the ident. No one wants to

    talk to me about it. The articles seem fake. The only proof I have of the ident is the jeep.¡±

    Ah, yes, my jeep. I couldn¡¯t believe it was that badly totalled. I didn¡¯t want a new one. I wanted to fix it.

    ¡°Everyone is being secretive only because they want to protect you, Atticus.¡± She assured me. ¡°The

    doctors made it clear that they didn¡¯t want you to relive the trauma. To make that possible and keep you

    safe, we all agreed to take down all the articles; only the ones that can¡¯t remind you of the crash are

    still up. Please, for my sake, don¡¯t dig deeper into this.¡±

    I sigh, ¡°you know I always do what you ask me to do. If that¡¯s truly what you want, I won¡¯t try to find out

    more about the ident.¡±

    She smiles, ¡°You don¡¯t realize how hard those days were for me watching you in that hospital bed,

    wondering if you would ever wake up. I¡¯m so happy you remembered me. I¡¯m d the crash is the only

    thing that you forgot. I don¡¯t know what I would ever do if you forgot about me and our love.¡±

    I would usually melt whenever I saw Anya¡¯s smile. This time, I felt nothing. I feel nothing when I touch

    her, absolutely nothing except the feeling of betrayal.

    I knew she didn¡¯t want me to dig further into the ident, but I felt like it was the only way to get some

    answers about why I was suddenly feeling this way. Something important had to be causing it; I was

    missing some critical information.

    rissa walks down the beach towards us, and she looks annoyed, just like she always does when

    she sees me with Anya. The only difference I can spot is that there is a little more hatred than there

    was in the past. The tension between Anya and rissa had increased.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Anya demands from her. ¡°This is my date night with Atticus.¡±

    rissa snares at her, ¡°thest time I checked, the beach was a public space. Anyone cane here

    when they please.¡±

    ¡°Well, do you have to be next to the two of us?¡± Anya demands.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave after I ask one question,¡± rissa answers her.

    ¡°And what is that?¡± She demands.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Autumn around in a while. She¡¯s your best friend. Do you know if she¡¯s doing okay?¡±

    rissa asks.

    I immediately stiffened at the mention of Autumn. I¡¯ve always felt uneasy around her, but this time when

    rissa mentioned her name, I felt a stabbing pain in my chest.

    It was so bad that I wanted to let go of Anya and ce a hand over my heart.

    What the f**k was wrong with me all of a sudden? Why was I behaving so weirdly?

    ¡°Autumn is on vacation with her family,¡± Anya responds through gritted teeth. However, there was an

    edge to her voice that I hadn¡¯t heard before.

    Why was she pissed that rissa had asked about Autumn?

    Their behavior was extra weird today. It made me even more confused about everything happening

    around me. I was sure about something; there was an important detail about the crash that my family

    didn¡¯t want me finding out. They were hiding it from me because they wanted to protect me. Whatever it

    was, it had to be detrimental. They were afraid that when I found out, I would go into a state of shock.

    I¡¯m assuming from everything Anya has told me, the doctors had to have warned them to keep me

    away from any news that could make me feel any worse than I already did.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to get so defensive.¡± rissa chimes happily. ¡°Autumn is such a nice girl. Unlike you in

    every way, Anya. She would have suited Atticus better.¡±

    I rub a hand down my face. I was used to their constant bickering, but it was the first time I wasn¡¯t

    paying much attention to it. Ever since rissa had brought up Autumn, the feeling inside of me had

    intensified. I felt even worse than before.

    Why did just the mention of Anya¡¯s best friend have such an effect on me?

    What the hell was going on?

    . . . . . . .

    ~AUTUMN~

    My body shook with rage; I wanted to believe that those pictures and videos were all fake. I didn¡¯t want

    to consider that Atticus had moved on the second he thought that I was gone for good.

    After everything we¡¯ve been through together, why would he return to Anya the moment that I wasn¡¯t

    there?

    Did my love for him mean nothing at all? Did he not care that I was missing? Did the both of them set

    this entire thing up so they could be together again? So many thoughts are running in and out of my

    head, one after the next.

    My hands tighten into fists, and I can feel the power within me rising. The table began to shake as it

    tried to control my power.

    Skyler, the guy from earlier, told me his name before he left the room. I was d that he wasn¡¯t here to

    see this. I didn¡¯t want him to know the extent of my power. I didn¡¯t want him to see what I was capable

    of doing.

    If I kept this up, not even this table could hold me to this room.

    The image of Anya and Atticus shed before me once more, and that was all I needed to push my

    power to its full force, at least the amount of force necessary to break free from the straps.

    The table begins to shake more aggressively than before, and within seconds the straps break free.

    There was a mirror in front of me as I sat up, and the dangerous glow in my eyes terrified me.

    I was getting out of here. And when I did, I would be paying Atticus a visit.

 Chapter 49

    Chapter 49

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 49

    ~ATTICUS~

    ¡°Please,¡± Anya begs. ¡°There¡¯s this huge party tonight at the beach, and everyone will be there. I want

    us to go together. People need to see us out more often; I want pictures of us posted everywhere.¡±

    I run a hand through my hair. I didn¡¯t want to go anywhere. I still had this sick feeling in my stomach

    that something was terribly wrong. I kept trying to dig answers out from the people around me, but

    everyone got quiet whenever the topic changed to the day of the ident.

    Surprisingly, Anya was the most hostile whenever I tried to bring it up.

    Their reactions only fueled my determination to find out the truth. Who could I trust to finally tell me

    every single detail of that day? It didn¡¯t make sense to me that my parents would go through so much

    trouble just to remove some articles about an ident. There had to be much more than that. They

    were keeping me in the dark, and it was making me furious. Why couldn¡¯t they just tell me? Why did

    they have to hide it from me? How horrible could this secret be?

    ¡°Atticus!¡± Anya snaps. ¡°Are you hearing anything that I¡¯m saying to you?¡±

    I was; I couldn¡¯t concentrate or respond because of the many things flowing through my mind. Ever

    since they had mentioned Autumn to me yesterday, I couldn¡¯t get the girl out of my mind. It was absurd

    that I had more emotion within me from hearing her name than being beside Anya.

    Her name didn¡¯t want to leave me. It kept reying and it was driving me insane.

    ¡°When will Autumn return from her vacation with her family?¡± I asked Anya before I could stop myself.

    For some reason, I found myself wanting to see her. I couldn¡¯t exin it, but a part of me was almost

    desperate to see the girl. It worried me that I was feeling this way with a Anya right next to me. It felt

    like I was betraying her.

    Anya looked like I¡¯d just pped her in the face for bringing up her best friend in our conversation.

    ¡°Why would you ask me that?¡± She demands.

    ¡°She¡¯s your friend. I thought you¡¯d like to have a conversation about her. Is there a problem if I ask

    about Autumn?¡± I questioned, waiting for her to exin why she¡¯d gotten so bothered by that question.

    I knew Anya got angry at the simplest things but I didn¡¯t think this would be one of them.

    ¡°Yes, there is a problem.¡± She snaps. ¡°You barely ever mention Autumn to me. Why are you suddenly

    so concerned about her whereabouts? I was in the middle of asking you a question, a couple of

    questions actually, and you ignored all of them so that you could ask me about her. Is something going

    on that I should know about Atticus?¡± She demands. ¡°Is there something that you¡¯re not telling me?¡±

    That¡¯s the same question I wanted to ask her. What the hell was going on, and why was everyone so

    determined to keep it from me?

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I offended you, Anya. I won¡¯t ask about her again if that makes you feel better.¡± I promise

    her.

    It was better to keep Autumn out of my head. I was restless because of her, and I had no clue why. The

    safest thing would be to stop thinking about her, the only problem was that I wasn¡¯t sure how to do it.

    ¡°Back to what I was trying to say before you interrupted me.¡± She says. ¡°The beach party tonight. Dante

    and Damon will also be there, but since I want to spend more time with you, they can find something

    else to do while at the party. We can spend more time together. What do you think?¡±

    I sigh, ¡°whatever makes you happy, Anya. I didn¡¯t want to go, but I¡¯ll do it just because you¡¯re asking

    me.¡±

    She grins and hugs me, ¡°you¡¯re the absolute best. I¡¯m going to choose my outfit. I can¡¯t wait for

    everyone to see us together. We¡¯re already the highlight of all the magazines now that we¡¯re back

    together.¡±

    ¡°Back together?¡± I ask her, confused. When did we ever end our rtionship? Some of the things she

    said to me after the ident kept confusing me.

    She freezes but quickly hides her reaction from me, ¡°you misunderstood. I meant that we are finally

    back together after your ident. Ever since you woke back up, we have been the talk of the town. We

    can¡¯t let everyone down and not show up for the party. We have to give the people what they want.¡±

    Give the people what they want.

    I wasn¡¯t looking forward to the party. I was only going because of Anya. Hopefully, tonight I will feel

    better than I do right now.

    It felt like I would never be my usual self until I discovered what everyone was desperate to keep from

    me. But how long would it be before someone snapped and spilled the truth to me?

    . . . . . . . .

    ~AUTUMN~

    The second I smash the door open, an rm goes off throughout the building. I didn¡¯t waste any time, I

    wasn¡¯t sure where I was heading, but I chose to run to the left of me.

    The chase was on. They knew that I had escaped from the room. I¡¯d waited for what I thought was the

    right time to break the door down. I can only hope that the voice inside me was right.

    I saw two men running behind me and increased my speed. No one was in front of me for now, but I

    knew it was only a matter of time before more men showed up and tried to block my way.

    My heart is racing as I kept moving forward in full speed.

    Someone eventually appears before me, and I use my power to smash him against the wall. He wasn¡¯t

    the only one, they kept oning after him, and I kept hitting each of them against the wall until I was

    finally able to escape from the building. I hadn¡¯t seen Skyler while trying to escape, which was a good

    thing. Skyler may be the strongest amongst them since he was the leader. He would have known what

    to do and how to stop me better than the rest.

    I expected the building to be packed with people trying to stop me from leaving. It was the opposite.

    Either they weren¡¯t here, or someone was messing with my head. Maybe they wanted me to believe

    that I had escaped so they could keep an eye on me. Anything was possible at this point. I knew Skyler

    was not some amateur kidnapper; he made it clear that I would only be able to escape from here if he

    wanted me to.

    The thought of him messing with me made me feel sick to my stomach.

    Despite my fear of their ns, I kept on moving. I had to see Atticus. I wanted to see for my own eyes

    that he had betrayed me yet again. After everything, I couldn¡¯t believe I was so stupid to believe even

    for a second that he cared for me.

    I gave him my heart, and he stomped all over it. He was all over Anya; he didn¡¯t even wait until I was

    found, and he didn¡¯t even try to look for me. I thought for sure that he would be there for me, that he

    would protect me, that he would do all the things he promised to do for me; I couldn¡¯t have been any

    more wrong than I was about everything.

    I had no idea where I was; I didn¡¯t know what direction to turn. I was no longer underground which

    meant that I could ask anyone for help. The problem was that there was no one around. And I couldn¡¯t

    just stay here and wait for Skyler to find me. For all I knew, he was already watching me and waiting for

    the right time tough in my face.

    I had to get back to my parents; they needed to tell me everything they knew. Why did they choose to

    raise me? Why did they ept me from my mother even after knowing my father was Azai Reign? I¡¯ve

    known them all my life, and they weren¡¯t the kind of people that got involved in situations that could

    land them in trouble. So why did they agree to help my biological mother?

    The more I thought about it, the more it made no sense to me. Why did they do it? Why did my mother

    choose them to raise me?

    I sighed; while I knew I needed the answers to all of these questions, I had to give my mind a break. I

    needed to breathe again. I was tired; my heart was exhausted from all of the pain and torture it¡¯s been

    through in the past few weeks. It¡¯s been a roller coaster ride, and it still hasn¡¯t stopped moving.

    I¡¯m in the middle of the forest with no one to turn to, no one to ask for help. I was hoping to find at least

    one person, but I was out of luck. I was the only one who could get me out of this ce. I was the only

    person I could rely on.

    There¡¯s ake to my right, and I gasp when I hear a whisper. Where did ite from?

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± I demand.

    I take a step forward and look around me frantically. Had I imagined it? I didn¡¯t think so. I was positive

    I¡¯d heard someone speak to me. I¡¯m hoping that it wasn¡¯t one of Skyler¡¯s people or I would be screwed.

    No one answers, and I keep walking, trying to find the person. I know that I wasn¡¯t delusional. I know

    they had to be around here somewhere. I just had to keep on looking.

    I pause when I hear more whispers. I look towards thatke in horror; there¡¯s no way the water spoke

    to me. But I couldn¡¯t deny it any longer; the voice wasing from the water. It was showing me the

    direction, telling me how to escape. How was that even possible?

    Was my father also able to understand the water? I¡¯ve been terrified of water my entire life; why did it

    seem like it was on my side this whole time?

    I shook that thought out of my head. I didn¡¯t have time to think about this. People were searching for

    me. Since I didn¡¯t have a single clue about my whereabouts, I decided that the best thing was to listen

    to the whispers. It was the only option I had left, and I was desperate to escape those psychopaths.

    I shifted into my wolf; I could escape much faster this way. The moment that I do, I¡¯m racing through the

    woods, trying to find anything that points to the direction of home.

    I don¡¯t know how long I was racing through the forest, but I eventually spotted buildings. I wasn¡¯t sure if

    I had recognized them yet, so I kept going, and finally, I found some hope.

    I breathe a sigh of relief when I spot houses that I recognize. I wasn¡¯t too far from home. I wasn¡¯t sure

    what day it was, but I was going to Atticus¡¯s house first. He had plenty of exining to do. The rage

    inside me only intensified as I remembered the videos Skyler had shown me.

    It fueled my speed, and before I knew it, I had reached their home. Unfortunately, no one was there.

    The guards were the only ones present. Where was everyone? It was almost seven in the evening;

    everyone should have reached back from the academy by now. And why weren¡¯t his parents at least

    home?

    The guards were surprised to see me, but I exined to them that I didn¡¯t want anyone to know that I

    was back. I wanted to catch Atticus in the act. I didn¡¯t want to give him a chance to stop what he was

    doing with Anya. I wanted to look him in the eye and show him how much he¡¯d hurt me. Not that it

    would matter, he knew how much he hurt me in the past, and still, he betrayed me in the end. Nothing I

    said or did now would affect Atticus. He was back with the love of his life. That was all that mattered to

    him. My greatest fear was finally thrown in my face.

    I walked into our room, grabbed some clothes, and was about to walk out when I noticed that our

    pictures had been removed. And then I realized it wasn¡¯t just our room, the entire house; every single

    reminder of me had been removed.

    I held a hand over my mouth in shock. Everyone knew that I had been kidnapped and the first thing

    they chose to do was remove every picture and memory of me from the house. I thought the Fawns

    had liked me. I had hoped that they had considered me as their family. Now I realized that they¡¯d had

    me fooled this entire time. I thought Anya was the one his parents had a problem with, but it turned out

    that they hadn¡¯t liked me either. Why else would they have removed every memory of me right after I

    went missing? They hadn¡¯t waited. None of them did. They all assumed I was gone for good and

    decided to move on with their lives like I hadn¡¯t existed, to begin with. What other surprises were

    waiting for me? What else had they done to prove that I meant nothing to all of them?

    Did they think that I was dead? Were they hoping that I would have never returned?

    I fell back against the bed in pain. Emotional pain. This was devastating. I was never important to any

    of them.

    And what about rissa? I thought that she at least genuinely liked me.

    I let out a frustrated scream as I pushed his desk to the ground. Everything came crashing down, one

    after the next. Everything was a lie¡ªmy entire life. Since the start, everyone has been lying to me. And

    they haven¡¯t stopped. No one ever truly cared about me or my feelings.

    I wouldn¡¯t let any of them get away with this. They would all pay for lying to me, hurting me, and

    recing me like I was f*****g nothing. I didn¡¯t care what I had to do, but I wanted an exnation. I

    wanted to know why they would treat me this poorly. What had I done? Had I not been good to each of

    them? Why did they hate me this much? Everyone close to me kept betraying me, apparently nothing

    had changed.

    I emptied the drawers searching for a phone. There had to be something here that could tell me where

    everyone was. I wasn¡¯t going to sit here and wait for them to return home. I wanted to confront them in

    front of everyone. I wanted everyone to know just how selfish they all were. Even if everyone knew,

    what would that change? It¡¯s not like they were unaware of what was happening in front of them. They

    all knew that I was missing, they all knew that Atticus was married to me and Anya was his ex-

    girlfriend. Yet no one said anything. They were all quiet and back to normal. Absolutely no one cared

    about me and my feelings.

    Damn it. Where the hell could I find a phone? I didn¡¯t have mine; I was sure that Skyler had taken it

    from me when he had kidnapped me.

    I storm out of the room after ransacking it. The room looked just like I felt right now. It was the least of

    Atticus¡¯s problems when I finally found him. I wasn¡¯t going to go easy on him this time. I was done

    being sad and depressed over him; this time, I was pissed, and this time, I wanted answers. And I was

    getting those answers even if I had to force them out of him.

    And if I didn¡¯t like those answers, all hell would break loose. They would all pay if there wasn¡¯t a proper

    exnation for all of this.

    I didn¡¯t stop in the room; I searched all over the house, still hoping to find a phone, and when I finally

    did, I didn¡¯t waste any time searching for the answer I was looking for.

    My eyes zeroed in on an article about a beach party tonight. It had just started, and that¡¯s where they

    were, no doubt.

    I mmed the phone onto the desk and stormed out of the house. Everyone was out partying while

    they all knew that I was missing. That¡¯s just how much I meant to each one of them. I didn¡¯t know

    whether tough or cry at my pathetic life. No one truly cared about me. My life was nothing but a

    game to each of them. They treated me like a pile of garbage; no, even garbage was treated better

    than this.

    Skyler hadn¡¯t been lying this entire time. They were all already moving on with their lives as if they

    thought I was dead. Is this how everyone would have reacted if I had indeed died?

    Would no one care at all?

    I looked around the house for Atticus¡¯s jeep, and of course, it wasn¡¯t there. He must have carried Anya

    to the beach with it for the party. I searched for another vehicle, and within seconds I was out of the

    garage, speeding past the guards. They didn¡¯t try and stop me. Why would they? I was still the

    daughter-inw of the house. At least the guards didn¡¯t forget that, as everyone else had.

    My hands were shaking as I drove. I was terrified of seeing Anya and Atticus in person. Seeing them

    together in pictures and videos was difficult, but I knew it would be excruciating to see it in person. I

    knew that nothing would ever be able to prepare me for something like that.

    I still wanted to believe that those pictures were all fake; I wanted to believe that Skyler had lied to me,

    but I knew better by now.

    They both had no shame. I knew Anya hated me, but Atticus, I didn¡¯t think he disliked me this much.

    There was no way he cared for me after what he¡¯d done. I expected so much more from him. I would

    have never been able to smile if the same thing had happened to him. I would be out there searching

    for him without getting any sleep. Instead, he returned to Anya like our marriage never even happened.

    When I pull up to the beach, hundreds of cars are parked in all directions. I didn¡¯t even bother looking

    for a park as I jumped out of the vehicle and began searching the crowd for him.

    I wasn¡¯t sure how to find them in such arge crowd, but I wasn¡¯t leaving here tonight until I found

    them.

    I pushed through the groups, hoping to see at least one of the Fawns. Once I saw one, they would lead

    me to Atticus. I was sure of it.

    I¡¯m disappointed when I see no sign of any of them. Was I mistaken? Had they note here tonight?

    Where else could they be, then? Was there another party that I didn¡¯t know about?

    Music was sting the air, and crashing waves were just as loud. Everything was making it harder for

    me to search for them, infuriating me more than before.

    Where the hell were those betrayers?

    I couldn¡¯t give up. I had to have missed something. I knew they were here, I don¡¯t know how I knew it,

    but I just did.

    I continued to search once more; I wouldn¡¯t leave without searching every inch of this ce, no matter

    how big it was.

    And then I see him. I was positive that it was him. I would know Atticus anywhere. He was leaning

    against Dante¡¯s jeep, and Anya was in his arms. I swallow, and my heart aches at the sight of them

    together.

    So it was true.

    He had returned to her the second he thought I would never return. All along, he¡¯s been waiting for the

    right opportunity to run right back into Anya¡¯s arms.

    She looks the happiest she¡¯s looked in a long while. I couldn¡¯t tell whether Atticus was happy or not.

    The expression on his face was nk. I couldn¡¯t read him while he was with her. But did it matter at all?

    I take a step forward but stop myself. I wanted to confront Atticus when he was alone. I wanted to hear

    what he had to say to defend himself when Anya was not around. I wanted a proper exnation. I

    deserved an answer after what he did to me.

    I don¡¯t move; I watch them until Anya excuses herself. Maybe she¡¯s going for water; perhaps she was

    leaving him for an opportunity to kiss one of his other brothers. I wasn¡¯t sure where she was heading,

    but I didn¡¯t care. It was my turn now.

    I wasn¡¯t leaving until I¡¯d said everything on my mind.

    I push through the crowd and don¡¯t stop until I stand before him. He didn¡¯t notice me at first, but when

    his eyes finally fell on me, there was a look of confusion on his face.

    Was he confused that I was still alive? Was he disappointed to see me standing in front of him?

    ¡°Autumn?¡± He asks as he quirks a brow.

    I clenched my jaw; his reaction to seeing me only made me angrier. It confirmed that he didn¡¯t care

    about me at all. Why did I expect more from Atticus? I should have known he would have done

    something like this to me. I should have known that he was nothing like the man I thought he was in the

    past.

    I wanted tough at my stupidity.

    ¡°Do you have nothing to say for yourself?¡± I demand.

    I tried hard to remain calm, but it was hard. How could anyone remain calm under these conditions?

    He crosses his arms over his chest and stops leaning against the jeep, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Am I missing

    something here?¡±

    Iugh, ¡°you¡¯re truly pathetic. Aren¡¯t you?¡±

    He looks at me as though I¡¯ve lost my mind. He was the one who¡¯d lost his mind.

    ¡°I¡¯m pathetic?¡± He asks. ¡°I think there¡¯s something wrong going on here. Did you drink? What are you

    even doing here, Autumn?¡±

    What was I doing here? Seriously? Was that the first question that he would look to ask me? He didn¡¯t

    even bother asking how I¡¯d escaped or who had kidnapped me.

    It was clear that Atticus would have been happier if I had never shown up in front of him again for the

    rest of his life.

    ¡°What am I doing here?¡± I ask with venom dripping from my voice. ¡°What are you doing here with

    Anya? That¡¯s the question I should be asking you!¡±

    He looked startled but also very interested in what I was trying to say to him.

    ¡°You¡¯re upset because I¡¯m here with your best friend?¡± He asks, even more confused than before. ¡°Is

    this some kind of joke? Is Anya ying a trick on me right now? If she is, it isn¡¯t funny.¡±

    I gape at him. Did he hit his head somewhere? Why was he acting so clueless about everything that I

    was asking him? It was almost like he was back to the Atticus that barely knew I existed, which was

    absurd. We were married. I told him I loved him, and he gave me roses and teddy bears and decorated

    an entire ballroom with pictures of us. How dare he act like none of those things ever happened? How

    dare he behave like we were never close?

    ¡°You¡¯re the joke!¡± I snap. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I ever had feelings for someone like you! I wish I had never

    met you, Atticus. I wish I never fell for someone as horrible as you are! You¡¯re weak and pathetic.

    You¡¯re not the man I thought you were. You make me sick just looking at you.¡±

    He unfolds his arms, and now he doesn¡¯t look as unbothered as he¡¯d done just a few seconds ago. He

    wasn¡¯t happy with the words I¡¯d just said to him. I could tell by the frown on his forehead that he was

    getting angry.

    ¡°Feelings for me?¡± He asked as he exhaled loudly. ¡°Now I know you¡¯re f*****g messing with me,

    Autumn. You don¡¯t have feelings for me. Did Anya tell you to put me up to this test? Is this some stupid

    game for the two of you? I¡¯m done ying. I¡¯m going to find her.¡±

    He tries to step around me, but I push him back against the jeep.

    He looked like he was getting tired of me, and I didn¡¯t care. I needed answers, and he was going to

    give them to me. I didn¡¯t care what he wanted; this was about me.

    I was a few seconds away from losing my mind. I was trying my best to stay calm until I got my

    answers, but if Atticus kept acting like I wasn¡¯t his wife, I wouldpletely snap in front of him. And

    when I snapped, everyone at this party would know I was back. Everyone would see the power I had

    within me; I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold it back. Then Skyler and his people wouldn¡¯t be the only people I¡¯d

    have to be worried about. Everyone who wanted to use my power for their benefit woulde for me.

    He looks down at my hands on his chest, and I refuse to move them. He wasn¡¯t going anywhere until

    he told me why he did this to me.

    ¡°Let go of me, Autumn.¡± He growls. ¡°I¡¯m trying to be patient with you because of Anya, but you¡¯re

    stepping on my patience.¡±

    ¡°Not until you give me answers!¡± I shout. ¡°Tell me, Atticus. Why did you do it? WHY?¡±

    ¡°Do what?¡± He hissed. ¡°I¡¯m getting tired of this nonsense. If you don¡¯t let go of me in four seconds, I will

    make you regret it.¡± He threatened.

    I wasn¡¯t scared. I didn¡¯t care about his threat.

    ¡°One.¡± He whispers.

    I don¡¯t move, not even an inch.

    ¡°Two.¡±

    His eyes are now narrowed, and I know he¡¯s trying to intimidate me.

    ¡°Three.¡±

    I roll my eyes. Did he think his countdown would affect me? Did he believe that he could frighten me

    into letting him go? He was about to get a rude awakening.

    ¡°FOUR.¡±

    Nothing happens. He stands there ring at me. We stay like that for a few seconds, neither of us

    saying anything.

    Without warning, he grabs my shoulders and jams me up against the jeep.

    ¡°You have one minute to tell me what the f**k is happening here, Autumn. You¡¯re supposed to be on

    vacation with your family. That¡¯s what Anya told me.¡± He snaps. ¡°You weren¡¯t supposed to be here.

    Now suddenly, you¡¯re in front of me and telling me things that make no sense. We barely spoke to each

    other in the past; why are you speaking to me like we are in some rtionship? I don¡¯t believe for one

    second that this is real. I know that something is going on. I know someone is trying to mess with my

    head. Do yourself a favor and tell me the truth now before I lose my f*****g mind!¡±

    Vacation with my family? What the hell was he speaking about? Why did Anya tell him something like

    that? Did Atticus not know that I had been kidnapped? Was that why everyone was so normal with my

    disappearance?

    That day I remembered clearly that he hadn¡¯t seen when the men had snatched me. I had cked out

    and had no idea what had happened next. But even if that was true, it still didn¡¯t exin why he was

    here with Anya being all romantic. It also didn¡¯t exin why he said that we barely ever spoke. Nothing

    about this was making any damn sense to me.

    I¡¯m about to respond when his eyes narrow. Something else had caught his attention, and I wasn¡¯t sure

    what it was. To my surprise, he moved closer to me so that our bodies were pressed tightly together. I

    held my breath; of course, he knew what his closeness would do to me. Maybe that was his n; to

    distract me with his nearness.

    It wouldn¡¯t work this time.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    He leans lower so that his face is now near my neck. I remainpletely still as his nose touches the

    mark he¡¯d left on me below my ear.

    Atticus surprises me when he suddenly breathes me in.

    His body turns to stone. He stayspletely still for a few seconds before moving again.

    His hands are now on both sides of me, pressing against the jeep. His lips were right above my ear,

    and his body shook hard against mine. A low growl tore from his throat, and it startled me.

    ¡°Why the f**k is my scent all over your body Autumn?¡±

 Chapter 50

    Chapter 50

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 50

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    I couldn¡¯t breathe. Not with the way Atticus was looking at me. His eyes looked drugged but confused

    at the same time. What was there to be confused about? I was his. He was mine.

    How could he ask me that question? His mark was on me. I smell like him because he put that mark

    there. I smell like him because we¡¯re bonded; we are one.

    The person standing before me didn¡¯t seem to know any of this, which was simply absurd. How could

    he not know?

    I¡¯ve been so confused by his reaction to me since I returned.

    Why was he acting this weirdly? What could have possibly happened for him to be behaving like this?

    Did Anya do something to him while I was gone? Was I crazy for thinking that way? She was capable

    of doing something sneaky, and she had threatened me in the past already. That thought soon flies out

    of my head as Atticus¡¯s touch bes more desperate.

    He grabs my waist and pulls my body against his while inspecting my neck. His finger is slowly rubbing

    the mark, making me wonder what he¡¯s thinking. How could I stay mad at him when he was this close

    to my body? How could I be angry when my heart was racing because of his nearness?

    He always knew what his closeness did to me; maybe he was doing it on purpose so that I couldn¡¯t

    make a scene in front of everyone.

    His hands were warm, and they sent tingles throughout my body. It was hard to control my need for

    him, even though I knew this wasn¡¯t the time for any of that.

    No. I had to find out what was going on before I let my heart flutter like this because of him. I made

    these same mistakes in the past; I didn¡¯t want to do it again. I was tired of letting Atticus win these

    arguments because of my feelings for him.

    ¡°How can you not know the answer to that question?¡± I demand. ¡°The answer is staring you straight in

    the eyes. Are you blind?¡±

    He looks even more confused at my words. His grip on my waist tightens, and it seems like he¡¯s having

    an inner battle with himself.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± Someone shrieks.

    I didn¡¯t even have to look.

    I knew that voice well. Anya. She was back. Her annoying voice was all I needed to know that she was

    here.

    Couldn¡¯t she have stayed away a little longer? There was plenty I still wanted to ask Atticus, and I knew

    that with her being here, she would try her best to ensure I didn¡¯t get the opportunity to do so. I should

    have moved him. I should have continued this conversation somewhere else where no one could

    disturb us. It was toote for that now.

    It¡¯s good that she was here. I had plenty to say to her as well.

    She red at Atticus, but when her eyes fell on me, they widened. She looked like she¡¯d just seen a

    ghost. If one person were unhappy that I was back, it would be her. She doesn¡¯t try to hide her irritation

    at seeing me.

    ¡°Are you surprised to see me, Anya?¡± I ask. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m supposed to be on vacation with my family. At

    least that¡¯s what Atticus told me that you said to him. Can you tell me where exactly we went? I think

    my memory might be ying games with me.¡±

    Atticus looks between the two of us, and I can tell that he¡¯spletely lost.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Atticus asks.

    ¡°I should be asking you that.¡± Anya snaps. ¡°Why are your arms still around her?¡±

    He looked down at his hands still on my waist and cleared his throat before quickly letting go of me.

    Why did he do it? Why did he act like touching me was wrong? I¡¯m his wife; he can touch me without

    feeling guilty. Just how many things have changed around here after I¡¯d been forcibly taken from the

    academy? Are there any more surprises that I need to prepare myself for?

    ¡°Did Autumn not go on vacation with her family?¡± He asks her. ¡°It sounds like the both of you are

    arguing. You¡¯re best friends. I¡¯ve never seen you fight before. Did something happen between the two

    of you? Is there something that I should know about?¡±

    Best friends? What world was he living in? We were far from best friends, closer to enemies, after I

    realized her true feelings towards me. Anya didn¡¯t like me, and it took me too long to know the truth. I

    would have saved myself plenty of pain if I had recognized her dislike for me earlier.

    ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t go on vacation with my family!¡± I snap. ¡°Where have you been all this time, Atticus?

    How could you not realize that something was wrong?¡±

    What other lies has she been telling him?

    Anya grabs my arm and pulls me towards her, ¡°watch what you¡¯re saying to him. He¡¯s not ready to hear

    the truth.¡±

    Not ready to hear the truth?

    Who was she to tell me what he was ready to hear?

    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Damon asks as he joins us. He¡¯s concerned about Anya; as usual, everyone is

    always worried about her. He doesn¡¯t see me at first, but when he finally does, he takes a step back.

    His eyes are wide, like Anya¡¯s when she first saw me. ¡°Autumn?¡±

    ¡°Why is everyone so surprised to see Autumn here?¡± Atticus asks, looking between the two of us.

    Why is he asking such a question? How much did Atticus not know? Everyone here seemed to know a

    lot more than he did, and it surprised me.

    ¡°Um,¡± Damon says as he tries toe up with a response to his question. ¡°I¡¯m just surprised to see

    Autumn here when no one informed me that she wasing, that¡¯s all. It¡¯s good to see you, though.

    I¡¯m d you¡¯re here. I¡¯m sure rissa will be overflowed with happiness to see you.¡±

    Atticus looks at his brother as though he¡¯d lost his mind.

    ¡°AUTUMN!¡± rissa gasps as she shows up right behind Damon. She¡¯s the only one that looks happy

    to see me. But I wasn¡¯t even sure if I could trust her at this point. I wasn¡¯t sure who I could trust

    amongst myself anymore. They¡¯d all let me down when I needed them the most.

    She jumps forward and wraps her arms around me. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re in front of me right now. My

    heart feels so happy. It¡¯s so good to see you. I¡¯ve missed you so much.¡±

    Had she missed me? Then why was her home empty of my belongings?

    ¡°Am I missing something here?¡± Atticus asks. ¡°Since when are Autumn and rissa best friends?¡±

    rissa freezes when she realizes that Atticus is here with us. It almost looked like they were trying to

    hide something from him.

    She wipes the tears from her eyes, hiding them from Atticus. The more I stood there, the most

    confused I got. Something terrible was going on, but I couldn¡¯t figure out what it was. Something was

    not right. Everyone was acting strange. But none as strangely as Atticus.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always preferred having Autumn around over Anya.¡± rissa teases without looking directly at

    him. ¡°I¡¯m just showing her how happy I am that she¡¯s here. There¡¯s nothing wrong with that. If you¡¯ll

    excuse me, Autumn and I have some important catching up to do.¡±

    rissa wraps her arms around mine and pulls me away from Anya and Atticus. I could feel their eyes

    digging into my back as I was dragged away.

    I wasn¡¯t finished speaking to Atticus. I still had plenty on my mind to scream and shout at him. But I

    couldn¡¯t do it earlier because he was clueless about everything.

    ¡°I know that you must be both angry and confused right now,¡± rissa whispers the moment that we¡¯re

    far enough so that Atticus can¡¯t listen to our conversation. ¡°But there is a reasonable exnation for

    everything happening right now.¡±

    Really?

    I couldn¡¯t think of anything that would be able to exin the craziness happening around me.

    Atticus was acting clueless, and Anya was happy to rub it in my face that she had him back in her life.

    What had caused this massive change? Before I had been kidnapped, Atticus promised to be a better

    husband; what caused that sudden change in his behavior?

    ¡°I thought you liked me,¡± I tell her. ¡°I went to your home. Every single picture of me has been removed.

    My clothes are gone, and everything of mine haspletely disappeared. It¡¯s like all of you tried to

    erase my existence when you found out that I was missing. None of you tried to find me. Do you realize

    how that makes me feel? Do you¡ª¡±

    rissa hugs me mid-sentence, ¡°you have it all wrong, Autumn. Of course, we all like you; we don¡¯t

    just like you; we love you like family. You are our family.¡±

    ¡°Is that how you treat family?¡± I demand. Nothing was adding up. Someone was lying to me.

    ¡°I can exin. All you have to do is listen.¡± She begs. ¡°Once you hear what I say, you will understand

    everything.¡±

    I decided that she at least deserved a chance to exin herself. She was always nothing but pleasant

    to me. Maybe I could still trust her; I just had to listen to her exnation and decide whether or not she

    was telling the truth.

    I crossed my arms over my chest and nodded; it was my signal for her to continue. This was the only

    chance that she would get.

    ¡°When you got kidnapped, Atticus saw everything. He saw the men throw you into a vehicle after

    drugging you. He tried to stop them, but they had already driven off; he didn¡¯t stop there; he chased the

    vehicle with his jeep, and that is when something horrible happened.¡± She begins to exin. The look

    on her face worries me.

    Something horrible happened? The fear in my heart exploded in my chest, I think I knew where she

    was heading with this, but I don¡¯t think I was ready to hear it. I was hoping that I was wrong.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know the exact details, but Atticus got into an ident. Before it happened, he called Damon

    and informed him that you had been taken. He ordered him to close down all roads so that your

    kidnappers couldn¡¯t escape. That¡¯s thest anyone heard from Atticus. When we arrived at the scene,

    Atticus¡¯s jeep was flipped over and smashed against a tree. You were nowhere to be found. We

    searched everywhere for the vehicle he described but couldn¡¯t find it.¡±

    I covered my mouth as I waited for her to continue.

    I can¡¯t breathe.

    My heart aches so much with this new information.

    An ACCIDENT?

    Atticus had gotten into an ident while trying to save me. This entire time I was angry because I

    thought he had moved on because he believed I was gone for good. I thought he was happy that I had

    disappeared. I felt guilty after knowing I had been so wrong all along.

    ¡°When we pulled Atticus from the jeep, he was barely recognizable with all of the blood and bruises

    covering his body. I thought we had lost him. But the doctors did a great job at bringing him back. But

    even they couldn¡¯t work a miracle. His body was trying to heal itself, but too much damage had already

    been done. When Atticus woke up, he surprised everyone when he hugged Anya. We weren¡¯t aware of

    what was happening until we spoke to the main doctor assigned to him. It was the worst news that any

    of us were expecting.¡±

    My heart was pounding against my chest; it was not easy finding out that the love of my life had gone

    through something so horrible, and I was nowhere around when it happened. I wasn¡¯t there when he

    needed me the most, but it wasn¡¯t my fault. We were both going through something awful at the exact

    time. But it only happened to Atticus because he was trying to save me. I was unconscious when the

    ident urred; I had no idea it had even urred until now.

    An ident? Those words kept repeating in my head.

    The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. How did this happen? How did his jeep flip?

    ¡°They said that his head had taken the most impact from the ident. The doctor imed they tried

    their best, but this wasn¡¯t something they could have prevented. Atticus has temporary memory loss,

    but the doctor also informed us that it¡¯s possible it can even be permanent. Only time will be able to

    answer whether it¡¯s temporary or not. We haven¡¯t taken the news lightly. It¡¯s been a rough few days,

    and we¡¯ve been trying our best to cope.¡±

    Everything made so much sense now. Atticus acted clueless because he was unaware of our marriage;

    he was unaware of my love for him. He was unaware of every time we¡¯ve spent together, he didn¡¯t have

    any of those memories, but I had them all.

    I was the one that would suffer now that he didn¡¯t remember me. I was the one that would miss him like

    crazy.

    ¡°We never wanted to remove every memory of you from his life, Autumn; I¡¯m so sorry you had to find

    out like this.¡± She apologizes. ¡°But when the doctor told his parents that reminding Atticus of you could

    cause more damage than good, they panicked. They removed everything that could remind him of you.

    Including all of the articles about your marriage to him. Even the articles about you being kidnapped.

    They worked hard to ensure that he never found out the truth. But I can assure you that everyone was

    still searching for you, your parents, Damon, and all of us who remembered you kept looking for you. I

    begged them not to hide the truth from Atticus; I knew that the moment he regained his memories, he

    would never forgive them for not telling him about you. I mean, he almost died trying to save you, and

    Atticus would want to remember the woman he risked his life for. But no one listened to me.¡±

    My body felt numb everywhere. Not only had Atticus gotten into a horrible ident, but he also had no

    memory of our time together. He couldn¡¯t remember anything about us.

    I didn¡¯t know what to do. My heart was racing, and the devastation I felt with this news had only

    intensified.

    rissa pulls out her phone and points the screen at me, ¡°this is the jeep. In case you don¡¯t believe

    that I¡¯m telling you the truth. These are all the articles that were removed from it as well.¡±

    I look at the pictures, one after the next. It was printed in bold that Atticus had crashed while trying to

    save me. rissa must have kept them to show me. Everyone knew the truth, but they kept it from

    Atticus to protect him.

    I tried to stay calm, but nothing could stop my pain.

    I didn¡¯t think my heart could hurt this much. I didn¡¯t know it was possible for anything else to cause me

    this much pain. Atticus got into an ident because of me. Because of me. I close my eyes as the

    tears slowly build up. And now his memory of us was gone. I knew I was repeating myself, but I

    couldn¡¯t get past this. It was hard to ept everything that had happened while I was gone.

    ¡°Autumn?¡± rissa calls my name. I can¡¯t hear her; I can¡¯t listen to anything she¡¯s saying, not when I

    feel like this.

    I know he doesn¡¯t remember me, but I need to be near him. We¡¯ve been apart for too long. I couldn¡¯t

    take this separation anymore. I couldn¡¯t stand knowing the truth about everything.

    ¡°Autumn?¡± rissa calls my name once more. ¡°Are you okay? You look pale!¡±

    The fear in her voice is unmistakable.

    Before I know it, I¡¯m turning away from her and running in the opposite direction. I don¡¯t know where I¡¯m

    going, but there is only one person on my mind. I have to find him. I need to get close to him.

    I held my breath when I spotted Atticus a short distance away. He¡¯s in a heated argument with Anya. I

    know they¡¯re in an argument because of the way they were both ring at each other. Mostly Anya was

    the one ring at him. How could she be that angry with him after the life-threatening ident he¡¯d

    recently been in? I didn¡¯t believe for one second that she was actually in love with him. I¡¯m unsure what

    her intention was with Atticus, but I couldn¡¯t let her get her way.

    I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing; I can¡¯t seem to control my feet or the rest of my body, for that matter. I¡¯m

    still running towards them.

    Atticus looks up and spots me racing toward him. His eyes are confused at first and then wide as he

    waits for the impact. He doesn¡¯t have time to prepare as I throw myself into his arms. His hands reach

    out and grab my waist to steady me. My hands are on his hair first. I couldn¡¯t stop the tears as my

    fingers dug into the strands, as I pulled our bodies closer together.

    I know that he doesn¡¯t remember us, but I can¡¯t help myself. I need this. Knowing what I did now, I had

    to hold him at least once. Just once, I wanted to keep him close to me.

    I didn¡¯t care what would happen next. I didn¡¯t care that Anya was shouting my name. I didn¡¯t care about

    anything but the man in my arms.

    The man that risked his life for me. The man that I misjudged this entire time. My husband. My mate.

    Yes. My mate. Mine.

    I gasped at the sudden revtion. Why did it take me this long to realize it?

    He¡¯s been mine this entire time, yet it took me forever to realize it. It made sense why Atticus was able

    to mark me. It suddenly made sense why I always loved him more than anyone or anything else. The

    answer had been staring me straight in the face all this time.

    But what did this mean about Anya? Did he reject her? How could the both of us be his mate at the

    same time? And why did Atticus never recognize me as his mate even after marking me? Did he know

    all this time?

    All these questions are threatening my sanity. What did I do from here?

    ¡°Get your hands off my mate!¡± Anya screams behind me.

    I can feel the shock radiating off Atticus¡¯s body as I continue to hold him against me. How did I exin

    all of this to him?

    rissa made it clear to me that her family did everything to make him forget about me in fear of him

    going into an incredible state of shock from finding out about me.

    As much as I wanted to keep holding onto him, I knew I couldn¡¯t keep it up. I knew I had to do

    something to get a grip on myself.

    But just for a few more seconds, I wanted this. I wanted to savor every second of this hug because I

    had no idea how long it would be before I had my Atticus back. I had no idea what would happen after

    this moment.

    I was terrified.

    Terrified of our future together. Terrified of never getting the opportunity to have him this close to me

    again.

 Chapter 51

    Chapter 51

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 51

    ~ATTICUS~

    Autumn fits perfectly into my arms. I¡¯ve never held her like this in the past, but why does this feel so

    familiar to me? Why does it feel like this wasn¡¯t the first time?

    She smells amazing¡ªa mixture of my scent coupled with her own.

    Since I returned from the hospital, my entire life seemed like a huge mess, a mystery waiting for me to

    solve.

    Why was Autumn holding onto me like this in front of Anya? They were best friends, yet they seemed

    more like enemies now. I¡¯ve never seen such hatred in either of them before. And rissa, when did

    she be close friends with Autumn?

    Nothing could exin why Damon was so shocked to see her. Autumn made it clear that she wasn¡¯t on

    vacation with her family like Anya told me, so then, where was she all this time? And why was

    everyone except Anya so happy to see her?

    How can I exin what I felt while holding Autumn? She was my mate¡¯s best friend, for crying out loud.

    This shouldn¡¯t be happening; I shouldn¡¯t feel like this because of her.

    But was Anya even my mate anymore? Why did I feel nothing for her? Instead, my feelings are for the

    woman with her arms wrapped around me. Her hands are on my hair, and f**k me; it feels so good. I

    never want to let her go. I want to pick her up and hold onto her for the rest of my life.

    Ah, f**k.

    What was the meaning of these thoughts and feelings?

    I still didn¡¯t understand how she still smelled like me. The only thing that can exin a scent this strong.

    . . I didn¡¯t want to think about it because it wasn¡¯t f*****g possible. I wouldn¡¯t have marked Autumn.

    That¡¯s something I would have remembered doing. I loved Anya too much to mark her best friend and

    not her.

    Autumn slowly lets go of me, and my heart squeezes at the tears on her cheeks. Had she been crying

    the entire time while hugging me? I didn¡¯t think seeing someone cry would have much of an impact on

    me. I didn¡¯t realize I cared this much until now.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She whispers as she wipes her tears. ¡°I didn¡¯t know about the ident. I¡¯m sorry, Atticus. If

    I had known. . .¡±

    She didn¡¯t finish her sentence, and I had no clue what she wanted to say.

    Everyone knew about the ident; why was she not informed? Where had she been to have not

    heard? And why did it seem like a secret, just like the events of my ident were?

    Furthermore, why was she apologizing? She wasn¡¯t the one that caused the ident to begin with.

    What was she this upset about?

    She imed that she had feelings for me; at first, I thought that it had been a lie; I thought that Anya

    had asked her to mess with me. She was always doing random things like that. It wasn¡¯t something I

    wouldn¡¯t have expected from Anya.

    Now, I wasn¡¯t so sure that Autumn had been lying to me. Her tears seemed genuine, and the pain on

    her face wasn¡¯t something anyone could easily fake.

    My body wanted to go to her, to ease her pain, to make her smile. I shouldn¡¯t be thinking this way. I

    know it¡¯s wrong, and I know she¡¯s crying but damn it, Autumn never looked more beautiful. She¡¯s

    always been breathtaking to me. But today, she¡¯s radiant, messing with my heart and mind.

    Does she even know what she¡¯s doing to me? Does she even care? And what the f**k am I supposed

    to do with all of these unexinable feelings?

    . . . . .

    ~AUTUMN~

    ¡°That¡¯s enough from you.¡± Anya snaps as she grabs my arm and pulls me away from Atticus.

    I was surprised she didn¡¯t pull me away sooner. Maybe she was too startled to act right away.

    I was even more surprised when Atticus never pushed me away. He held me against him even though

    his touch was light. He seemed confused by my actions, and it was totally understandable.

    ¡°Get your hands off me.¡± I hiss as I push her away.

    I know that Atticus is watching us, and because of that, I can¡¯t tell her everything that I want to. I didn¡¯t

    think I would ever hate Anya as much as I hated her at this exact moment.

    If she continued to mess with me, she would get what she was asking for.

    She was even worse than I initially thought she was. What kind of person took advantage of someone

    who¡¯d lost their memory?

    Atticus made it clear that things were over between them; he made it clear that I was his wife. Did she

    have no self-respect? Couldn¡¯t she take the hint by now?

    ¡°Are you insane?¡± She whispers. ¡°You could have made a mess out of everything because of that little

    stunt you just yed.¡±

    ¡°Do you have any shame at all?¡± I ask her. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you could stoop any lower, Anya, but here we

    are today.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only trying to protect Atticus.¡± She snaps. ¡°I don¡¯t have any ulterior motives. You¡¯re just angry that

    he¡¯s back to his past self. He doesn¡¯t remember marrying you, and I think that¡¯s for the best. Marrying

    you was the worst decision he ever made. Ever since you entered his life, Atticus has been in constant

    danger. He almost died because of you. Why don¡¯t you give up and let him go? At least with me, he

    was safe; no one was trying to harm him. I can¡¯t say the same about you.¡±

    My jaw clenched; I hated that her words were partly true. Atticus has been in constant danger recently.

    ¡°Autumn!¡± rissa calls out to me as she grabs my arm and pulls me away for a second time.

    ¡°We need to get you out of here.¡± She tells me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for throwing all of that information on you. It

    was too much for you to take in all at once.¡±

    Maybe everyone was right. If I had reacted this way after learning of the ident, there¡¯s no telling how

    Atticus would take the news. I couldn¡¯t let my emotions get in the form of protecting him, no matter how

    much it hurt.

    He risked his life for me. I could do this much for him.

    She pulled me away, so we were next to Damon¡¯s car. After scanning her surroundings, she opens her

    mouth to speak.

    ¡°What did you say to Atticus?¡± She asks.

    ¡°Nothing that could cause any problems,¡± I assure her. ¡°I just needed to hold him at least once. My

    heart breaks every time I think of the ident. It was all my fault. He was protecting me when it

    happened.¡±

    ¡°Stop that.¡± rissa snaps. ¡°You had just been kidnapped. How is any of this your fault? If Atticus were

    in that situation, you would have done the same thing for him.¡±

    It was true, but it didn¡¯t make the pain any less bearable.

    ¡°I knew that we would have you back in our lives eventually. I knew that you were a fighter and that you

    would find a way back to us.¡± She tells me. ¡°I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re here, Autumn. But I need to know what

    happened. How did you escape your kidnappers? Did they let you go? If they did, why did they take

    you to begin with? And who was brave enough to mess with both of our families?¡±

    I didn¡¯t know where to start to exin. It would have been easier to exin to Atticus if he hadn¡¯t lost

    his memory than to exin to rissa. He was the one that was aware of everything that happened to

    me while I was with him.

    ¡°My father was a sorcerer.¡± I chose to hit her with the scariest part first, and that was the fact that my

    father wasn¡¯t a simple man. ¡°My real parents aren¡¯t the Riveras¡¯. My real name was Autumn Rosetta

    Reign before the Riveras¡¯ adopted me. There is plenty I still don¡¯t know or understand, but my parents

    have a lot of exining to do. They¡¯ve known the truth but chose to keep it from me.¡±

    Her eyes are wide, ¡°you were adopted? Like me? This is insane. But what does that have to do with

    you getting kidnapped? Why would anyone do that to you and then let you go?¡±

    Even I was trying to figure out the ¡®letting me escape¡¯ part of their n. Why did they let me leave?

    What else were they nning?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve heard of the name Azai Reign. ording to the men who kidnapped me, he

    wasn¡¯t just any sorcerer. He was evil, desperate for power. He was filled with plenty of greed and

    wanted to use his power to rule the world. He wanted to be the only king of ournd.¡± I exined in the

    best way I could think of.

    I knew that this story would be difficult for anyone to stomach. It was even more challenging for me. All

    this time, I was someone different from who I thought I was. All this time, I was the daughter of a

    greedy psychopath. I was ashamed to know this truth. But I couldn¡¯t keep hiding from it for the rest of

    my life. It was something I would have to learn to live with.

    ¡°If your father is a sorcerer. . . Then doesn¡¯t that make you one as well?¡± She asks. ¡°But you¡¯re a

    werewolf, like the rest of us. I¡¯ve never seen you use spells and magic before. That¡¯s something you

    can¡¯t just miss. Or have I been blind this entire time?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a hybrid. My mother, even though I barely knew anything about her, was a werewolf. She was the

    one who killed my father. I¡¯m also not the only child; my mother had triplets, and I was the only one out

    of the three that seemed weak to my father. He wanted to get rid of me because he only wanted

    powerful children. I suspect he wanted to use all of us to help him gain more power. My mother realized

    his evil ns and killed him before he could cause any more harm. She killed him to protect us. And

    then she ran, she ran with her three children. I don¡¯t know how she got the Riveras¡¯ to take care of me

    for her, but I have no idea what happened after. They never found her, and they never found my

    siblings, either. The only reason they saw me was due to my power, it was suddenly activated, and

    because I was using it, it alerted them.¡±

    ¡°You have power like your father?¡± She asks in amazement. ¡°How long have you known? Why didn¡¯t

    you tell me?¡±

    My cheeks are red at her question, ¡°because I was embarrassed to tell anyone what I used the power

    for. I was also terrified because I didn¡¯t understand what was happening to me. I knew something had

    to be wrong; I thought I was only a werewolf; I wasn¡¯t aware of my true form until now.¡±

    Sheughs at my expression, ¡°you used it on Atticus, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    My eyes are wide, and sheughs louder, ¡°the expression on your face tells me all that I need to know.

    If it helps, I¡¯m d that you did. I trust you, Autumn; I know you won¡¯t ever do anything that would mess

    up your character. And I¡¯m sure you only did it because you had no idea how to control yourself.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t only use it on Atticus,¡± I confess. ¡°That day when Carter and the fearsome ambushed us. I

    used my power multiple times on that day. I used it to throw them off him. And I also used it on the

    night of the game. Do you remember when I asked you to cover for me? I was there at the game. I

    used my power to ensure that the fearsome beasts lost that game. I wanted to get revenge on them for

    hurting Atticus, and I knew the easiest way was to hit them where it would hurt the most. I knew it

    would hurt their egos if they lost the game, and I ensured they did.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± She shouts. ¡°That¡¯s so freaking crazy! But in a good way. I can¡¯t believe you did that, and no

    one knew. That¡¯s amazing, Autumn. You¡¯re amazing.¡±

    I wouldn¡¯t say amazing, but I was happy that she was at least proud of me. I was afraid that others

    would judge me for what I¡¯d done; it wouldn¡¯t have mattered if they had; I was just happy to get revenge

    on them.

    ¡°But that still doesn¡¯t exin how you escaped from them.¡± She points out.

    ¡°They had me strapped to a table.¡± I start, and her eyes are wide with horror. ¡°It was very frightening. I

    didn¡¯t know what was happening. And then someone named Skyler exined why I was there. They

    want me to take my father¡¯s ce. They want me to fill the void that he left.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying they want your help to take over the world?¡± She asks. ¡°That¡¯s absurd. No one person

    is strong enough to cause such destruction.¡±

    I sigh, ¡°they believe that my father was capable of doing it, and because he was capable, they¡¯re

    hoping that I can as well. Skyler showed me the pictures of Anya and Atticus together. I¡¯ve realized that

    my power is the strongest when it concerns Atticus. I could only break free from the straps because of

    my anger at what I¡¯d seen. I also wanted to see Atticus for myself. I wanted to confront him first before I

    did anything that I would regret. My life is still in danger. I know Skyler purposefully let me escape.

    Everything was too easy; I don¡¯t believe they wanted to keep me trapped there. And there must be

    another reason for it. I¡¯m just not sure what it is just yet.¡±

    rissa hugs me again, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry all this is happening to you, Autumn. First, Atticus loses his

    memory, and now this. I¡¯m here for you. I¡¯m not leaving your side. If you need me for anything, just let

    me know.¡±

    I smile, ¡°I¡¯m happy you never betrayed me, rissa. I¡¯m happy you¡¯re a true friend. And I¡¯m sorry for

    ever doubting you. I can¡¯t stay here, just like you said earlier. I need to see my parents. They are the

    ones that can fill in the nks for me.¡±

    And after hearing what they had to say, I would decide what to do from there.

    But there was still Atticus and his memory lost. I would not let Anya have him. She didn¡¯t love him as I

    did. She was using his loss of memory for her benefit. The moment Atticus regained his memory, it

    would be over for her. She continuously showed her true colors. She hadn¡¯t changed for the better;

    she¡¯d only gotten worse.

    I tried to control my anger; I didn¡¯t want to lose control of my body again. Crazy things happened

    whenever I did.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you to see your parents,¡± rissa tells me. ¡°I¡¯m sure they would be overjoyed to know you¡¯re

    safe. They may have a better idea of what to do about Skyler and his people as well.¡±

    ¡°I already came with a vehicle,¡± I inform her. ¡°I took it from your garage.¡±

    Sheughs, ¡°why am I not surprised? I¡¯ll inform Damon what¡¯s happening, so he doesn¡¯t freak out.¡±

    I nod and wait for her to return; when she does, hees with her, however. She looks irritated as she

    rejoins my side. I could tell she didn¡¯t want him to follow us for once.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to let us leave alone.¡± She sighs. ¡°We¡¯re stuck with him for the night.¡±

    ¡°How the f**k am I supposed to leave you both alone when psychopaths are looking for Autumn?¡± He

    demands. ¡°We need to be extra careful and increase all security.¡±

    It seems that rissa had already told Damon everything I had said to her. I wasn¡¯t ready to inform

    others, but if she trusted him, I guess I could as well. He was Atticus¡¯s brother, after all.

    ¡°Your parents can¡¯t know about this,¡± rissa tells him. ¡°You know how crazy they would react if they

    realized who Autumn truly is. Atticus kept it from everyone even before he knew the entire truth

    because he wanted to protect Autumn. We need to honor his wishes and do the same.¡±

    He nods, ¡°I already know that.¡±

    I look back at Atticus and Anya. He¡¯s looking at me as I leave, and it breaks my heart to know that he

    doesn¡¯t remember what we had. I was finally beginning to trust him again, he was ultimately trying to be

    the man of my dreams, and everything was destroyed in a second.

    The ride to my home is a quiet one, and I can barely feel my legs when we pull into the parking lot.

    As soon as I entered the door and my mother¡¯s eyes fell on me, she screamed with joy. My heart hurt

    as she ran towards me and pulled me into her arms. It felt different now that I knew they¡¯d lied to me

    since the beginning. I still loved and respected them, but I was hurt.

    If they¡¯d told me, I would have understood. I spent my whole life never knowing they weren¡¯t my birth

    parents. I spent my entire life never learning about my father¡¯s terrible past. And I thought I was going

    crazy when my body started doing weird spells. I would have been more prepared if they¡¯d taken the

    time to talk to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy that you¡¯re safe.¡± She cried as she rubbed my back.

    My father joins us then after hearing her cries, and he also hugs me tightly to him. It felt good to be in

    their arms. I wish they hadn¡¯t lied to me.

    ¡°We searched everywhere for you.¡± My father informs me. ¡°We¡¯re still looking. Your brother and sister

    are leading the searches. There are still hundreds of people out there. Everyone came together hoping

    to find you; we were never going to give up hope, Autumn. We were never going to stop searching until

    we found you.¡±

    ¡°We would have done more if Atticus¡¯s family didn¡¯t want him to find out about you and the ident.

    We had to keep everything away from him.¡± My mother informs me. ¡°We knew that you cared for him

    and would wish the same. To keep him out of danger, we made the hard decision not to inform him

    about you.¡±

    ¡°Mom. Dad.¡± I say, and they both look at me with fear, almost like they know what I am about to say. ¡°I

    know you are not my real parents. I know that my father is a sorcerer. I know that his name was Azai

    Reign. I know he¡¯s dead, and I know what he tried to do. I know almost everything. And I need you to

    tell me the truth. I need to know where my biological mother is.¡±

    They look at each other, and I can see the panic in their gazes.

    ¡°How do you know this?¡± My father finally asks.

    ¡°Someone by the name of Skyler, he¡¯s in charge of Azai¡¯s people now. He wants to use me to continue

    what my biological father started. He told me everything. There¡¯s just one thing I don¡¯t understand. Why

    did you agree to help my mother? Why did you raise me as your daughter? And why did you never tell

    me the truth?¡±

    My mother sighs and guides me to the sofa, ¡°Aura, that is your mother¡¯s name. She was a good friend

    of mine as well as your father. We warned her not to get mixed up with Azai. We knew the kind of

    person that he was. Everyone knew. But she didn¡¯t listen to us, and she fell deeply in love with him. He

    tricked her into thinking that he loved her too. Azai never wanted a partner; he never had a love

    interest. She was just another fling to him. What he didn¡¯t expect was for her to be pregnant.¡± She

    tells me.

    He tricked my mother into falling in love with him? My dislike for him had just doubled. How much did

    she have to endure because of him? I didn¡¯t know anything about her until now, but it still broke my

    heart, she was my mother, and she sacrificed to save me.

    It hurts that I may never have the opportunity ever to meet her and thank her for everything she¡¯d done.

    ¡°When she told him, he pretended to be happy; he pretended to be in love. He saw this as an

    opportunity to gain power through his unborn children. But when you were born, along with your other

    two siblings, he immediately disliked you. I¡¯m sure Skyler told you why already. Your mother killed him

    to protect you, and she begged us to adopt you. She couldn¡¯t leave your brother and sister with us

    because they had the dark symbol. Anyone would be able to find them easily because of it. But you,

    you were easier to hide because you were the only one that didn¡¯t have it. Because she was such a

    good friend to us and we fell in love with you at first sight, we decided to take you in as our own. It¡¯s

    something that we have not regretted even to this day. Adopting you was the best decision we ever

    made.¡±

    My heart swells with love for my parents. Both of them. They both took chances to save me, to give me

    a good life. I was lucky to have them.

    I was also happy they didn¡¯t regret saving me by adopting me and hiding me from Skyler and the rest of

    them. But it still didn¡¯t exin why they didn¡¯t tell me. I hate that they chose to keep this truth from me.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me the truth?¡± I ask. ¡°I would have understood. I wouldn¡¯t have held it against you. I

    would have loved you more knowing what you did to protect me and what you did for my mother.¡±

    My father pats my head gently, ¡°because we knew the kind of person you are, Autumn. We didn¡¯t want

    you to go searching for your mother. If you did, we knew that your father¡¯s men would have eventually

    found you. We were doing it to protect you. We promised your mother that we would always keep you

    safe. And we managed to fulfill that promise until now. I don¡¯t understand how they found you; we¡¯ve

    been doing a good job protecting and hiding you from them. What gave your identity away?¡±

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    It was my turn to be flustered, ¡°it¡¯s my fault.¡±

    ¡°Your fault?¡± My mother asks, startled. ¡°How could it be your fault when you knew nothing about them

    until now?¡±

    ¡°I started using my power. The same power I didn¡¯t know that I had. Eventually, it alerted them, and

    they came to find me. They¡¯ve been watching me for a while, studying me. After they realized that I had

    power simr to Azai¡¯s, they decided that I was worth going through all of the trouble for. That¡¯s how

    they found me.¡±

    ¡°You have your father¡¯s power?¡± My mother asks in horror.

    I wince at the fear in her voice. She knows how consuming his power was.

    I nod, ¡°I have it. I don¡¯t know how powerful it is, but it¡¯s there. And at times, it does feel scary, like it

    wants to control me. I¡¯ve used it for my benefit multiple times already without realizing what was

    happening. It scares me now that I know what my father was capable of doing.¡±

    ¡°This is not good,¡± my father says. ¡°We thought that you were lucky; we had hoped that since you didn¡¯t

    have the dark symbol that the power had not been passed down to you. We¡¯ve been keeping a close

    eye on you all these years, praying that it never showed up. And it never did until now. But why now?

    What triggered it?¡±

    ¡°Where is my mother?¡± I ask. ¡°She must have told you where to find her.¡±

    My mother gives me a sympathetic look, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Autumn. She chose to keep that a secret from

    everyone for the safety of your siblings. She knew that people would want to use them for their bad

    deeds. She¡¯s staying hidden for their sake. If Skyler hasn¡¯t gotten his hands on them, that¡¯s a good

    thing. It means that her n is working.¡±

    If I tried to look for my family, I would cause them more harm than good. It meant that I couldn¡¯t look for

    them without them getting hurt. There was nothing I could do about it. If my mother wanted to find me,

    she knew where I was. I can only hope that they were safe where they were.

    In the meantime, I had to find a way to prevent Skyler from trying to kidnap me again. I knew it wasn¡¯t

    over. I knew that he still had plenty nned. Evil ns. ns to use me for his own greedy needs. I

    didn¡¯t have much time to prepare. I needed to learn how to unlock my power before it was toote.

    I had to be prepared for when they came for me. I had to learn how to fight back to protect myself and

    everyone that mattered to me.

    I had to fight back for Atticus. I had to remind him of us. And I had to do it in a way that would not cause

    him harm.

 Chapter 52

    Chapter 52

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 52

    It was my first day back to school since being kidnapped. My parents had increased security

    everywhere; the academy had tripled its guards. As per their wish, I had two bodyguards following me

    wherever I went, even in the academy, considering that¡¯s where I¡¯d gotten kidnapped in the first ce.

    My parents were now afraid of every step I took away from them. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they were

    waiting for me in their vehicles right outside. They didn¡¯t want me to return; they said it was too risky. I

    chose to do it because I wanted to be near Atticus. He wouldn¡¯t be able to remember me if I was

    nowhere around to remind him of us.

    I was no longer living with Atticus; since he wasn¡¯t aware that we were married, I would have to stay

    with my parents for now. It wasn¡¯t easy knowing that things had changed so much between us in just a

    few days, but I had to learn toe to terms with it. I was just happy that he¡¯d survived the crash.

    I loved being near my family, but I loved being next to Atticus more. I wanted to be back in our room

    together, watching him sleep next to me and tease him when I wanted to. I wanted things to return to

    where they were before I¡¯d lost him to memory loss.

    I wish there were a way for me to return to the Fawn¡¯s home without Atticus suspecting anything. I

    didn¡¯t like being this far from him. I hated it so much. Now that I knew he almost died while trying to

    save me, I was even more desperate to be next to him. I wanted to thank him for trying his best to

    protect me, and I wanted to apologize for immediately thinking the worst when I saw the images of him

    and Anya together.

    He wasn¡¯t the horrible one. She was. She knew the truth, yet she made him think they were still

    together.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± rissa asks me. ¡°I know it will not be easy pretending you¡¯re not with Atticus. And I

    know it will be harder having to see him with Anya. She will undoubtedly use this to her advantage for

    as long as possible. Don¡¯t let her get to you. Atticus was only acting like this because he couldn¡¯t

    remember anything. You got him to choose you once; I¡¯m positive that he will choose you again. You

    need to remind him what It¡¯s like to have you in his life. And I know that¡¯s not difficult for you to do. Your

    presence is something that no one can ignore, not even Atticus. His eyes will always go straight to you

    whether he likes it or not.¡±

    I could do that. I could remind Atticus of what we had without causing him any harm. My problem was

    seeing him with Anya. Now that he thought they were still together, there was no telling what they

    would do. I didn¡¯t want to think of him touching and kissing her. It made me feel sick to my stomach. I

    didn¡¯t want him with anyone but me.

    Anya yed dirty to get what she wanted. That was the type of person she was. She didn¡¯t care about

    anyone¡¯s feelings but her own.

    ¡°Are they going to be following us everywhere?¡± rissa asks me as she points at the two bodyguards

    behind us.

    I nod, ¡°it¡¯s the only reason my parents agreed to let me return to the academy.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°I guess I¡¯m okay with it as long as they keep you safe. I don¡¯t want to lose you again. It was

    a horrifying experience, and I never want to relive it.¡±

    We stop walking when we see Atticus and Anya in front of us. He¡¯s hugging her, and her arms are

    wrapped tightly around his neck. The immediate pain in my chest at the sight almost made me trip over

    my own two feet.

    It¡¯s already beginning¡ªthe pain. What could I do to make this easier?

    rissa held my hand, giving me the strength that I needed. ¡°You can do this. Remember, you¡¯re the

    one he wants; his heart knows it even if his mind doesn¡¯t. His heart will always win the battle. Anya

    can¡¯t do anything to change that.¡±

    I was grateful to have rissa with me. I felt guilty for ever thinking that she had betrayed me. I should

    have known that she was genuine and kind.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    Anya turns around and spots us. There is a triumphant smile on her face as she leans into Atticus. Her

    head is on his chest, and her hands are holding onto his arms.

    Atticus follows her gaze, and his entire body goes rigid when his eyes fall on me. There is obvious

    tension between the two of us.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t even look at Anya like that,¡± rissa whispers. ¡°And he doesn¡¯t even remember being

    married to you. It¡¯s proof that his heart still belongs to you; he must remember that.¡±

    Anya whispers something to him, and he looks away from me. I guess that she told him to stop staring.

    ¡°I¡¯m so d to have you back,¡± Anya says. ¡°I was in shock yesterday since you didn¡¯t tell me that you

    were returning. But today, I¡¯m just happy to see you.¡±

    Of course, she had to continue the lie she told Atticus. She also had to pretend that we were still best

    friends. That¡¯s thest thing Atticus would remember, us being on good terms with each other.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to be back as well,¡± I respond. ¡°Things are different from what I remember them to be.¡±

    ¡°Well, sometimes change is a good thing, Autumn. You¡¯ll be happier if you ept what it is now.¡±

    Atticus looks between us, and I can tell how confused he is. He doesn¡¯t know what we¡¯re speaking

    about; he also doesn¡¯t know that it¡¯s all about him.

    ¡°We¡¯re having a party tonight at our home,¡± Atticus says suddenly. ¡°Why don¡¯t youe?¡±

    Anya res at him, surprised that he¡¯d asked me. Even I was surprised that he¡¯d invited me to his

    home. In the past, before we were married, Atticus never did things like this. He never asked me to any

    parties. What made this different? Maybe rissa was right; perhaps he still had our memories in his

    heart and couldn¡¯t control his actions around me.

    ¡°Why are you inviting her?¡± Anya demands.

    Atticus looks taken aback by her question, ¡°I thought that¡¯s what you wanted me to do. You just said

    that you¡¯re happy that she¡¯s back. Wouldn¡¯t you be happier if Autumn was there tonight?¡±

    She was trapped. She was the one pretending that everything was perfect between us. Now, what

    could she say to defend her actions? How long would she keep pretending that she considered me her

    friend? I knew her well. Eventually, she would slip up and tell Atticus the truth about us not being on

    good terms. Would she tell him why though? I knew the answer; she would make something up to

    make me look bad. She always wanted Atticus to hate me. Now was the perfect opportunity for her to

    do that.

    ¡°Of course, I want to see her there.¡± She lies. ¡°I¡¯m just worried that she wouldn¡¯t fit in well. She barely

    knows anyone but me. Autumn is not popr, you know. She¡¯s nothing like me. Not everyone is as

    lucky as I am.¡±

    rissa rolls her eyes, ¡°the only reason you¡¯re popr is because of Atticus, Dante, and Damon. No

    one would know you existed if it weren¡¯t for them.¡±

    ¡°rissa,¡± Atticus growls.

    She puts her hands up in defense, ¡°I missed the time when you didn¡¯t defend her every damn second

    of the day. I would have treasured it more if I knew it wouldn¡¯t havested long.¡±

    ¡°Watch what you say,¡± Anya warns her.

    ¡°Is there something everyone is purposefully keeping from me? I feel left out of almost every

    conversation since I woke up on that hospital bed.¡± Atticus points out.

    I want to shout the truth to him, but what good would that do me? It would risk him going into a shock

    and causing more harm, or he would choose to stay with Anya. If he¡¯s defending her like in the past,

    I¡¯m sure he would choose her over me, just like he did multiple times before.

    ¡°Nothing whatsoever,¡± Anya says as she grabs his arm and pulls her forward with him.

    ¡°Just when I thought we were closer to getting Anya out of our lives, shees right back in.¡± rissa

    sighs. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you have to see this, Autumn. I know it can¡¯t be easy.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I assure her. ¡°Loving Atticus has always been a challenge for me. I never gave up in the

    past. I¡¯m not giving up on us now.¡±

    I meant those words. Anya could try to separate us, and I knew she would do everything possible to

    make that happen, but I was not letting her take him from me.

    Maybe in the past, when I thought Atticus didn¡¯t want to be with me, but I knew now that he did, I knew

    that he cared. I knew that he had given his life to protect me.

    I didn¡¯t care who was trying to keep us apart; they would fail.

    As soon as we step into the ssroom, all eyes are on me. They must have all heard the news about

    my return by now. No articles had been posted, butmunication always traveled fast in our town.

    Anya is seated next to Atticus, and it annoys me. That¡¯s my seat. Not hers.

    I focused on the professor; I wanted him to do what I couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be in charge of the seating arrangements today.¡± He announces as everyone groans at his words.

    ¡°Autumn, you sit next to Atticus. Anya, you sit next to Brad.¡±

    I didn¡¯t listen to anything else after that. I¡¯d gotten what I wanted¡ªa chance to be next to Atticus. The

    more time I spent with him, the easier it would be for me to help him regain his memories. If Anya

    continued to get closer to him, it would make things even more difficult for me. I couldn¡¯t let that

    happen.

    Atticus surprised me when he pulled the chair out for me.

    I sat beside him quietly, and he didn¡¯t try speaking to me while Mr. Henry started the ss.

    ¡°I want to know more about this bout the ident,¡± I whisper. He tilted his head slightly so that he was

    now looking at me. ¡°How are you? Are you traumatized from experience?¡±

    I truly wanted to know everything. I hate that I couldn¡¯t be there for him while he was in the hospital.

    ¡°Traumatized?¡± He asks. ¡°No.¡±

    That was good, but he could just be telling me that. His answer was short and nothing like what I was

    used to after marrying him.

    I bite my lip and y with the pen in front of me; I don¡¯t know what else to say¡ªthe one thing I wanted

    to, I couldn¡¯t. I had to keep quiet, and I wasn¡¯t sure how much longer.

    ¡°But there are plenty of things that keep bothering me.¡± He adds, surprising me. Was he able to see

    how disappointed I was with his dry response? Was that why he decided to tell me more?

    ¡°What is bothering you?¡± I question, waiting for him to exin further.

    ¡°It seems the people closest to me have been lying to me.¡± He finally says. ¡°These are people that I

    trust with my life. They aren¡¯t the only ones. I feel like the entire school is keeping secrets from me.

    Family, friends, everyone.¡±

    I held my breath; it was true; everyone was lying to him, including me. I didn¡¯t want to do it, but I was

    only trying to do the same thing he would do for me. If our roles had been reversed, Atticus would do

    everything in his power to protect me. I knew not telling him would only make me suffer, but what was

    love without a challenge?

    ¡°Did it ever ur to you that maybe everyone is keeping secrets from you because they want to protect

    you?¡± I ask. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a simple ident you were involved in, Atticus. Everyone cares about you. That

    is all.¡±

    His gaze is on me, staring directly at my face, trying to read my expression. ¡°You seem to know plenty,

    Autumn. Do you happen to know what everyone is keeping from me?¡±

    My cheeks are red, and I¡¯m trying hard to keep a straight face. I didn¡¯t want to give anything away. ¡°I

    think we¡¯re getting distracted from ss. We should listen to what Mr. Henry is saying before he puts us

    out of the ss.¡±

    He runs a hand through his hair, and he looks slightly annoyed, ¡°Of course, you wouldn¡¯t be of any

    help. Why did I think talking to you would solve my problems?¡±

    I¡¯m startled by his question.

    He thought that speaking to me would solve everything. Why?

    ¡°Why did you think talking to me would help?¡± I ask, curious to know what his response to that question

    would be like.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± He says. ¡°Forget I said anything.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t let this slide. How could I?

    He wanted me to forget what he said, but that was impossible. It wasn¡¯t something I could easily forget.

    ¡°Tell me, Atticus.¡± I insist. Now I was the one desperate for his answer. ¡°I want to know why you said

    that to me.¡±

    I don¡¯t have time to prepare as he grabs the back of my neck and pulls my face closer to his.

    What was he doing? We were in the middle of ss, and everyone could see us if they had just looked

    up from their books. Not to mention the professor who was right in front of us. And did he have no care

    in the world that Anya could also see how close we were?

    His eyes were closed as he pressed his forehead against mine, ¡°because no matter what I do, I can¡¯t

    get you out of my f*****g mind.¡±

    I gasp. Unable to move even an inch.

    Did I hear him correctly? Did Atticus really say that to me that even though he had lost his memories?

 Chapter 53

    Chapter 53

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 53

    ~AUTUMN~

    ¡°I¡¯m on your mind?¡± I ask in a soft whisper. I was no longer concerned about where we were. I needed

    to know more.

    His eyes are still closed, but the look on his face is one of pain.

    ¡°All the time.¡± He confesses. ¡°More than I would like to admit to you or anyone else.¡±

    I can¡¯t control myself as I lean closer into him and gently run my fingers from his temple to his cheek.

    He inhales sharply and finally opens his eyes, ¡°why do I feel like whatever everyone is hiding from me

    includes you? I think I¡¯m going insane trying to figure out why I feel this way. As far as I know, we barely

    spoke to each other in the past, but somehow right after the ident, everything feels different

    between us.¡±

    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.

    His words remind me of where we were and ourplicated situation.

    I remove my hand and ce it between my legs to prevent myself from trying to touch him again.

    I gasped when he grabbed my hand and ced it back on his cheek.

    He narrows his eyes and pins me with his gaze, ¡°things aren¡¯t the same. I can feel it. It bothers me that

    no one is willing to tell me why I feel this way. Why, out of everyone, are you also the one keeping

    secrets from me?¡±

    I can¡¯t look away even if I want to. I¡¯m locked in his gaze. Unable to move an inch. I want to tell him the

    truth; I desperately want him to know we¡¯re married.

    But I promised rissa that I wouldn¡¯t say anything. It wasn¡¯t just because of the promise; I was scared

    of how he would react if he found out the truth.

    He was practically stuck in the past; he was the same Atticus obsessed with making Anya happy. I

    knew Atticus well. I wouldn¡¯t be able to control my emotions if I told him the truth, and he still chose to

    keep Anya in his life over me.

    I needed more time. I needed time to remind him of us before I finally broke the truth to him. I¡¯m not

    only doing this for me but for him as well. He may think he¡¯s ready to know the truth, but everyone else

    knows that this wasn¡¯t the right time for him to find out that we¡¯re married.

    Atticus gets a message on his phone, and he immediately looks at Anya, who¡¯s ring at him. He gives

    her an apologetic look before putting more space between us. This was exactly what I was scared

    about; him pushing me away because of Anya. I already went through that once; I didn¡¯t want it to

    happen again.

    He doesn¡¯t try speaking to me again for the rest of the ss, and I don¡¯t know whether to be relieved or

    sad because of it.

    I should be happy that rissa was right. Even if Atticus didn¡¯t remember our times together as a

    married couple, he could still feel the connection between us. His reaction to me, as well as the

    questions that he¡¯d asked, was enough to confirm this for me.

    It would make my work plenty easier. I still had a chance to bring him back to me; I just had to do things

    carefully without hurting him.

    Now it was time to slowly remind him of what we had. It wouldn¡¯t be easy, and I knew that Anya would

    keep trying to push us apart, but I wouldn¡¯t give up. Atticus was everything to me. I was not going down

    without a fight.

    Whatever Anya threw my way would not discourage me from doing what I needed to do to get him

    back. However hard she tried to separate us, I would make it my business to try even harder. She

    would not win this fight. I would not let her take him from me this time. She had him once, and I¡¯d let it

    happen; if I had shown my interest earlier, maybe Atticus would have been mine sooner. I wouldn¡¯t

    make the same mistake twice.

    . . . .

    ~ANYA~

    I couldn¡¯t believe that Autumn was indeed back. I was hoping that yesterday was a dream, not a

    dream, a nightmare. I was sure that she was gone from our lives for good after she went missing for

    days. How did she survive? They¡¯d kidnapped her; I saw the video; how did she escape from them?

    She was unconscious when they took her. And I was sure that they intended to kill her or keep her. Not

    once did I think we would see her back home without a scratch on her body.

    Those men weren¡¯t as dangerous as I¡¯d initially thought. If they were, they would have gotten rid of her,

    and I wouldn¡¯t have been so damn pissed right now. All of my ns had been squashed because of her

    return.

    She¡¯d managed to spoil everything just by showing up. There¡¯s no telling what more trouble she was up

    to.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this,¡± I mumble as I hit a bottle to the ground. ¡°Why is she back?¡± I shout as it breaks

    and shatters on the floor.

    My mother enters my room upon hearing the noise, ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s back, mom. Autumn is back, and already she¡¯s making my life difficult. Whenever Atticus is

    around her, hepletely forgets about me. He doesn¡¯t remember his marriage to her, yet he¡¯s still

    stuck to her like glue. You should have seen them together in ss today. He totally forgot that I was in

    the room with them. They were practically close to making out in the middle of the ssroom. It makes

    me sick just thinking about it.¡±

    I¡¯d mentioned Autumn¡¯s return to her already, and she was pissed when she¡¯d heard about it. But she¡¯d

    also promised me that I had the upper hand. I didn¡¯t think so anymore, not after what I saw today. I felt

    like everything was continuously blowing up in my face. I was tired of having ns that constantly

    failed.

    ¡°You¡¯re not trying hard enough.¡± She snaps. ¡°Atticus is very easy to manipte. You should know that

    about him by now. You¡¯re supposed to know all of his weaknesses. I told you that you¡¯re at an

    advantage now that he barely remembers her. You can¡¯t let this opportunity slip away from you, Anya. I

    didn¡¯t go through all this trouble with his ident just so that you could mess my ns up for a second

    time. Go to that party tonight and make him fall more in love with you. Do everything that you need to to

    have his full attention tonight. Make sure that Autumn doesn¡¯t get a second of his time. If you truly want

    him, you will seed tonight.¡±

    It was easy for her to order me around since she wasn¡¯t the one going through it. She had no idea how

    humiliating it was to see Atticus time and time again choose Autumn over me. He may not say it, but

    his actions were always in favor of her.

    It was almost like she was the one that had put a spell on him, not us.

    I inwardly groaned; it was so unfair.

    ¡°Those men that kidnapped her.¡± I point out. ¡°Did you happen to find any more information on them?¡±

    My mother runs a hand through the candle in front of her and steps closer to me, ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. Those

    tattoos seem familiar to me. I remember seeing them somewhere in the past, but for some reason, I

    can¡¯t remember where. I¡¯ve been researching and looking around, but there¡¯s nothing about them. It¡¯s

    almost like they¡¯re under the radar. I¡¯ll keep on looking into them. Maybe I can find something that

    would help keep Atticus and Autumn apart from each other for much longer. The fact that Autumn

    escaped, or should I say the fact that they let her go? I¡¯m not sure what happened, but she¡¯s here now.

    I still believe that those men are dangerous; they just haven¡¯t used her for their main event yet. I¡¯m not

    sure what they wanted from her, but they must not have been able to get it from her. That¡¯s why they let

    her go. They¡¯re waiting. Waiting for the chance to get what they wanted the most. I don¡¯t have any

    information on it, at least for now, but I know they will be back. Her life is still in danger; I¡¯m sure she

    knows it. I hope they get rid of her in time for our n to work.¡±

    Maybe I could try to find out more. Autumn was close to rissa recently. I hated both of them with a

    passion. rissa has always had a dirty mouth, and being around her has always been an immense

    pain in my ass.

    And Autumn. Her innocence annoyed the crap out of me. She always made everyone around her feel

    sorry for her. I¡¯d never seen anyone cry for attention the way that she does.

    But since rissa may have had an idea of what was happening, I knew that there was a good chance

    that she¡¯d also told Damon about it.

    And Damon was still easy to control, just like Atticus had been before marrying Autumn. I could get him

    to tell me everything rissa had told him. Once I knew the truth, I would report everything back to my

    mother. She would know what to do from there. She was good at plotting against the Fawns¡¯.

    I¡¯ve tried to get closer to his parents this entire time that Autumn had been missing, but they didn¡¯t

    warm up to me; they were still worked up over her disappearance.

    Now that she was back, I knew my work had just doubled. His parents were happy to have her back

    even though they still lied to Atticus about her. Everyone was still lying to him, but he was constantly

    trying to dig further into the events of the day of his ident.

    Why was it so difficult to keep this secret from him? I didn¡¯t know how long I had before he found out

    the truth. But when he did, I wasn¡¯t sure how he would take the news. Would he return to Autumn, or

    would he choose to be with me?

 Chapter 54

    Chapter 54

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 54

    ~ATTICUS~

    ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯re pulling away from me since the ident?¡± Anya asks.

    She hasn¡¯t stopped asking me ufortable questions ever since she came over for the party.

    She doesn¡¯t hide the hurt in her voice from me, and it fills me with guilt. I still didn¡¯t dare to tell her that

    my feelings for her had changed. I didn¡¯t know how to say to her that all of my feelings were for Autumn

    because even I didn¡¯t understand how any of that was possible.

    Autumn? Why Autumn? Why her closest friend?

    I¡¯ve always feared that I cared way too much for Autumn, even while I was with Anya in the past. I kept

    my distance from her because of it.

    But since when had those feelings be this dangerous? Since when had those feelings

    transformed into something else? And what should I do to prevent them from getting stronger?

    I thought that I¡¯d done a good job in the past at keeping her away from me. What the hell had

    happened to change that? I couldn¡¯t think of anything that could have possibly happened in that short

    space of time before the ident that could have caused Autumn and me to get closer to each other.

    ¡°Atticus?¡± Anya calls as she waits for me to say something.

    I was so lost in my own thoughts that I forgot that she was speaking to me. What else has she been

    saying to me? I could only remember thest question she¡¯d asked me.

    I searched my mind for a response to her question which wouldn¡¯t hurt her feelings. Making her happy

    was always my main priority, and I didn¡¯t n on stopping it now. She meant so much to me; even if my

    feelings were off, I still wanted the best for her. Hurting her was not something I ever nned on doing.

    ¡°It¡¯s because I feel like you¡¯ve been lying to me, Anya.¡± I remind her. ¡°I feel like everyone is lying to me,

    and I hate being lied to. Ever since that fatal ident, I feel like I can¡¯t trust any of you, which is crazy

    since I trust all of you more than I trust anyone else. That¡¯s why it bothers me that the people closest to

    me are trying their best to hide so much from me.¡±

    She stiffens, and I can tell my words have hit a nerve. I wasn¡¯t trying to anger her. I was only telling how

    I truly felt. I was answering her question but not being totally honest with my answer.

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying to you.¡± She snaps. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to protect you from yourself. That¡¯s all. Everyone wants

    to protect you. That ident scarred all of us, Atticus; I¡¯m sorry that we can¡¯t tell you every little detail

    about that day. When we think you¡¯re ready, we will let you know everything. You said that you trust us,

    and we were hoping you could continue to do that. This is not the time to lose what we have; this is our

    chance to get closer to each other. You haven¡¯t even touched me as you used to since the ident. Do

    you know how that makes me feel? It makes me feel unwanted.¡±

    She throws her arms around me, and once again, I felt nothing. Still, I held her to me because she¡¯s all

    I¡¯ve ever known; loving her was the only thing I¡¯ve known since meeting her. It felt weird how much of

    my feelings have changed just because of one ident.

    I wasn¡¯t going to wait around to find out the truth anymore; I was going to do my own research. It was

    clear that no one would ever tell me the truth. I may spend the rest of the year waiting for answers and

    never receive them. I was never someone to sit around and wait for the answers toe to me; when I

    wanted something, I went after it. This was no different. I wanted to know the truth, and I was going to

    find it.

    ¡°Atticus,¡± Anya whispers, still in my arms. ¡°Do you promise to love me for the rest of your life?¡±

    I held my breath; I didn¡¯t want to answer that. I couldn¡¯t fulfill that promise. I¡¯d already broken it. I wasn¡¯t

    even aware of what was happening in my heart anymore. I had to figure my feelings out before I

    answered her. I didn¡¯t want to lie to her. I never liked lying to Anya.

    The door flew open suddenly without warning. Whoever it was hadn¡¯t even bothered to knock.

    ¡°There you two are,¡± rissa says as she barges into the room.

    I should have guessed only she would do something like this. There¡¯s a mischievous look in her eyes.

    Something tells me this was totally intentional.

    I move away from Anya, who res at her. Their hatred for each other has intensified so much that I

    knew that plenty more had happened between them that I didn¡¯t know about.

    Did they have another argument over Damon? They were always fighting over who got to spend more

    time with him. I didn¡¯t bother asking. I knew by now that they weren¡¯t going to tell me anything. I didn¡¯t

    know how Damon was able to split his time between the two of them. But right now Anya seemed to be

    more concerned about Autumn than she was about rissa.

    ¡°What do you think I should wear for the party tonight?¡± She asks as she holds up two dresses in her

    hand. One was a light blue and the other, a ck. One showed more skin and the other was a little

    more conservative but not by plenty.

    I quirk a brow at her, confused by her question. Since when does rissa care about my opinion on

    the clothes she has to wear? I¡¯ve never once given my input. I¡¯ve never really had to either since

    Damon was usually the oneining about what she wore. rissa always did the opposite of

    whatever anyone asked her to do. Then why would she ask for my opinion or anyone else¡¯s for that

    matter? It was clear that her opinion was all that mattered to her. She was in my room for a totally

    different reason, I was sure of it.

    ¡°Does my opinion matter?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Of course.¡± She says with a forced smile. ¡°Your opinion has always mattered to me, Atticus.¡±

    I held in theughter inside of me at her tant lie. What could she possibly be doing this for? It almost

    felt like she¡¯d purposefully interrupted my time with Anya. That wouldn¡¯t be so far-fetched, considering

    how much she enjoyed angering her.

    ¡°Whichever one is covering more of your skin.¡± I finally say.

    She rolls her eyes, ¡°this one?¡± She asks, pointing at the opposite of what I¡¯d told her, just like I

    expected her to do.

    I sigh, ¡°whatever you want, rissa.¡±

    She looks at Anya, ¡°should you be inside here with him?¡±

    The re between them was deadly. Those looks could kill a person.

    ¡°I¡¯m his girlfriend.¡± She snaps. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m allowed in his room. Why does that bother you so

    much?¡±

    She shrugs her shoulders, ¡°it¡¯s nothing. I like pointing it out. Mother wants to speak with you, Atticus.

    You should go see her.¡±

    I was d for the distraction. I didn¡¯t want to give Anya an answer to her earlier question. This was my

    opportunity to escape from having to answer her.

    I quickly excused myself and followed rissa out of the room.

    ¡°I heard you and Autumn had a steamy scene in ss today.¡± She points out with a grin. ¡°Is there

    anything you¡¯ll like to share with me?¡±

    I stop walking, ¡°Where did you hear that?¡±

    We did have a moment in ss, but that was just me trying to get answers from her. I know I could

    have done it without touching her, but a part of me wanted to hold her close, and that was the closest I

    could get without doing too much damage.

    ¡°Everyone at the academy is talking about it.¡± She answers me. ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re both getting along

    well.¡±

    ¡°It sounds like people at the academy should mind their business.¡± I retort. ¡°Enough about that.¡± I say,

    distracting her from that discussion. Thest person I wanted to discuss this with was rissa.

    ¡°What does mother want?¡±

    ¡°Oh, nothing. I just said that because it looked like you were begging me to help you get away from

    Anya.¡± She points out.

    I pause. She meant that this entire time my mother hadn¡¯t once asked to see me? Since when did

    rissa be this sly?

    ¡°rissa,¡± I growl.

    ¡°What?¡± She asks innocently. ¡°Did you not want my help?¡±

    I sighed, I wanted to be angry at her, but she was right. I begged her to help me without having to say a

    word. I was desperate for an excuse to leave that room with Anya still in it. When she mentioned not

    touching her, I felt uneasy. I didn¡¯t know how to touch her when I didn¡¯t feel anything at all for her. She

    wouldn¡¯t understand even if I tried exining.

    ¡°If you¡¯re unhappy with Anya, why are you still with her?¡± She asks. ¡°I¡¯m genuinely curious.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯splicated,¡± I tell her. ¡°I¡¯ve loved Anya for so long, yet my feelings for her only changed after the

    ident. It just doesn¡¯t make any sense to me. I can¡¯t just break everything off like that because my

    feelings have changed. I also need to consider her feelings. I don¡¯t want to hurt her.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°It seems like you should be with Autumn instead of her. There is more chemistry between

    the two of you.¡±

    I quirk a brow at her, ¡°chemistry? What do you even know about that?¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t about me. Don¡¯t try to change the subject.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re suggesting I end my rtionship with Anya and start dating her best friend?¡± I ask. ¡°I¡¯m not

    heartless, rissa. I could never do something like that.¡±

    Sheughs like my words were some kind of joke to her. Did she know something that I didn¡¯t? What

    was so funny about that?

    ¡°I wish you only knew what you are capable of doing Atticus. Give yourself a little more credit.¡± She

    says. ¡°Anya and Autumn are no longer best friends. Do you see the way they re at each other?

    Autumn has moved on to better friends.¡± She imed as she pointed at herself.

    No one had to tell me that. I saw everything on my own. It¡¯s crazy how much has changed.

    I¡¯m about to ask her what she meant by that, but she turns her attention to Damon next. And once

    Damon had her attention, no one else had a chance of getting it also.

    I considered what she¡¯d just said to me. Dump Anya and date Autumn? The more I thought about it, the

    crazier it sounded.N?velDrama.Org holds this content.

    I had to get my feelings in check. I couldn¡¯t keep feeling something I knew was wrong. Tonight, I had to

    avoid Autumn as much as possible. I couldn¡¯t let her get under my skin.

    The ident messed with my head. It¡¯s the only exnation I have for everything happening. I

    wouldn¡¯t let it mess with my heart as well. It was time for me to get everything under control. Anya was

    hurting enough; I didn¡¯t want to cause her any more pain. Enough was enough.

    . . . . . . . . . . .

    ~AUTUMN~

    Atticus is on the dance floor with Anya, and it hurts my heart to see him with her again. It pains me

    even more, to know that he¡¯s like this because of an ident. He¡¯s no longer trying to assure me he

    was over Anya; it was the opposite now. I had to watch them together and act like it wasn¡¯t killing me

    inside.

    ¡°You got this,¡± rissa assures me.

    His eyes haven¡¯t stopped at me once. He doesn¡¯t know I¡¯m here, or maybe he chooses to pretend that

    he doesn¡¯t know. Whichever one it was, it still felt like a stabbing pain in my chest.

    I sucked in my breath and held my head high as I entered the dance floor with rissa. Even though I

    felt sad, I promised to try my best to get him back.

    ¡°I asked Damon to have them change the music from these boring slow songs to lively ones.¡± She

    informs me.

    The music changed after the song finished, and I began swinging my hips from left to right. I wanted to

    slowly remind Atticus of every moment we had together before the ident.

    This would hopefully remind him of the day Griffin had took me to a party on the beach. It was a day I

    could never forget. He¡¯d lifted me off the ground and carried me to his jeep. I still got butterflies thinking

    about it.

    I¡¯m not even sure that he can see me. I¡¯m turned in the opposite direction. Usually when Atticus is

    looking at me I can feel his gaze digging into my back. I didn¡¯t feel that way and maybe he¡¯s too busy

    dancing with Anya to notice me.

    ¡°Look at Autumn go,¡± Griffin says as he whistles loud enough for Atticus to hear him. He was also

    happy to have me back in his life. Griffin has always supported my rtionship with Atticus; I¡¯m d it

    hasn¡¯t changed.

    ¡°Forgive me.¡± Griffin apologizes as he pulls me closer to him. ¡°I¡¯m only helping you get my brother back

    from the evil one.¡±

    The evil one? I stifle myugh. That¡¯s the perfect name for someone like Anya.

    It felt ufortable dancing with him knowing I was married to Atticus, but I was happy for any help I

    could get. Besides, I trusted Griffin; he would never cross the line.

    ¡°How has he been without me?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Not good,¡± Griffin confessed. ¡°He looks like he¡¯s missing an important part of his life, and he is.

    Without you, Atticus is very unhappy. He needs to regain his memory quickly. If he doesn¡¯t, someone

    will have to tell him the truth. He can¡¯t spend the rest of his life never knowing that you¡¯re his wife.¡±

    It was true. One day, someone will have to tell him the truth. But I was still hoping my love would help

    him remember before it came to that. It would be easier for all of us if Atticus regained his memory.

    ¡°He¡¯s looking at us.¡± He informs me. ¡°And he doesn¡¯t look happy. That¡¯s a good sign. It means his

    feelings have not disappeared with his memory.¡±

    I was happy that he could keep me informed without having to look at Atticus dancing with Anya. It was

    easier when I didn¡¯t have to look at them.

    ¡°Thank you, Griffin.¡± I meant it from the bottom of my heart.

    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet.¡± He warns. ¡°Thank me after you get my brother back.¡±

    I smile, ¡°You¡¯re that confident I¡¯ll have him back?¡±

    He frowns at me, ¡°Have you seen how he looks at you without even having any memory of marrying

    you? I think it¡¯s safe to say that he¡¯s still yours. Now it¡¯s time that he realizes it on his own. That¡¯s why

    I¡¯m here, to help push him in the right direction. You should know by now how good I am at pushing his

    buttons. That hasn¡¯t changed at all.¡±

    It was true. There were many times that Griffin helped bring Atticus closer to me. I had to trust that this

    n of his would also work.

    He throws nces at Atticus while ordering me to pretend tough at his jokes. I didn¡¯t have to pretend;

    Griffin was a joy to be around. And his jokes were actually funny, most of the time, at least.

    ¡°Now it¡¯s time to spice up the fun.¡± He tells me as he takes my hand and pulls me out of the dance floor.

    Spice up the fun? What could he possibly have in mind?

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Anywhere that Atticus would not be able to find you.¡± He informs me. ¡°When he realizes you left the

    party with me, he will lose his mind. I¡¯m positive that he wille looking for you after.¡±

    Griffin takes me out to the back of the mansion. We keep walking for a few minutes when something

    catches my attention.

    I freeze.

    And I stayed that way for a few seconds.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Griffin asks as he follows my gaze.

    The jeep.

    Atticus¡¯s favorite.

    It¡¯s the first time seeing it in person after the ident. I¡¯ve never seen a vehicle look this destroyed

    before.

    I felt the tears begin to form in my eyes as I walked closer to it. My hands are shaking as I slowly reach

    out to touch it.

    ¡°It¡¯s bad, I know,¡± Griffin says as he watches my reaction to finally seeing it in person. ¡°I¡¯m happy you

    weren¡¯t there to see the ident. I¡¯m d you didn¡¯t have to see Atticus in that state.¡±

    ¡°I feel horrible.¡± I cried as the tears flowed down my cheeks. ¡°I hate that I couldn¡¯t be there when he

    needed me the most. I hate that this happened to him because of me. I hate everything about this.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Griffin says as he hugs me like a brother would hug his sister. ¡°You¡¯re not to me for any of

    this. Atticus did his job as your husband to protect you. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong, and you¡¯re not to

    me for this. These things happen, and sometimes there¡¯s no one to me. Come to think of it, that

    isn¡¯t exactly true; those men who kidnapped you are to me.¡±

    ¡°Griffin?¡± A third voice says.

    We pause, and when I turn, Atticus is staring at us.

    We both freeze.

 Chapter 55

    Chapter 55

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 55

    Atticus looks between the two of us, and I can tell that he¡¯s conflicted. He doesn¡¯t know whether to be

    angry or sad. I can feel his emotions from over here. I can see it also. He doesn¡¯t try to hide it from us.

    Even Griffin looked ufortable that he¡¯d just seen us hugging. He doesn¡¯t know that Griffin was only

    comforting me because of him.

    ¡°What are you doing with Autumn out here alone?¡± He asks Griffin, not saying a word to me.

    Griffin shrugs his shoulders as he grins, ¡°what do I usually do when I¡¯m alone with a girl?¡±

    I re at Griffin, and he winks at me. Why does he think angering Atticus would help us in this

    situation? Thest thing I wanted him to feel was that I had something going on with his brother.

    Wouldn¡¯t that push him further away from me?

    ¡°It isn¡¯t what you think¡ª¡± I began to move towards him, but Griffin grabbed my arm and stopped me

    from going forward.

    I look back at him, surprised, and I know he¡¯s trying to tell me to y along with his n. I didn¡¯t know

    whether or not I wanted to anymore. How was he so sure that this would work?

    Atticus approaches us, and I slowly lift my head to stare into his eyes. His gaze is hard and cold as he

    reaches forward and takes Griffin¡¯s hand off my arm.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to be here.¡± He tells him. ¡°This is Anya¡¯s friend. Find someone else to y with.

    She¡¯s not avable.¡±

    My jaw drops at his words to his brother. Find someone else to y with? What did he think I was? A

    game?

    Griffin grinned, showing his white teeth as he waved goodbye to us. Now it was just Atticus and me, all

    alone, standing near his totaled jeep.

    I run a hand up and down my shoulder, and he doesn¡¯t miss it.

    ¡°Are you cold?¡± He whispers.

    My heart skips a beat at the tone he¡¯s using with me. Almost like he¡¯s scared I¡¯ll break any second now.

    ¡°A little.¡±

    He surprises me when he removes his jacket and puts it over my shoulders.

    My heart is racing now, and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I can¡¯t control any part of my body when

    he¡¯s standing this close to me.

    ¡°I hate looking at it,¡± I mumble before I can stop myself.

    ¡°You hate looking at what?¡± He asks, confused.

    I motion to the jeep next to us, ¡°I hate looking at it.¡± I repeat.

    He follows my gaze, and his body turns to stone. His jaw clenches, ¡°I hate looking at it too.¡±

    ¡°I wish I was there. I wish I were able to stop it. I wish I could have been in the hospital with you.¡±

    I can¡¯t seem to stop my mouth from bbering. Someone needs to stop me before I say something I

    shouldn¡¯t.

    He inhales sharply before moving closer to me until we¡¯re inches apart. His finger lifts my chin gently,

    ¡°why does it bother you so much that you couldn¡¯t be there?¡±

    My lips part slowly, and I don¡¯t know how to respond without giving too much away. I¡¯m just happy that

    he¡¯s this close to me. The only thing that keeps me going is having moments like this with him. Without

    anyone else interrupting us. Especially Anya. She was the main person I was concerned about

    separating the both of us.

    ¡°The bigger question is, why the f**k does it bother me even more?¡± He demands.

    It bothers him that I wasn¡¯t there. It doesn¡¯t make me feel any better than I already did. I could feel the

    tears returning, and I couldn¡¯t stop them as they slowly rolled down my cheek.

    His breath hitches when he notices it. I stayedpletely still as he slowly wiped my tears with his

    thumb.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Autumn?¡± He asks. ¡°Please tell me. What am I missing here? What don¡¯t you want me

    to know? Why is everyone so desperate to hide the truth from me? How bad could it possibly be?

    You¡¯re crying because you couldn¡¯t be there in the hospital with me, aren¡¯t you? If that¡¯s true, then just

    tell me the damn truth. Everyone seems to think that I¡¯m going to break when I find out what happened

    that day, but they seem to be forgetting that I¡¯m a grown man. I know how to handle pain. I know how to

    handle anything that life throws at me. I can take it. Whatever it is, it¡¯s not going to do me anything.¡±

    I open my mouth to tell him but quickly shut it. I couldn¡¯t do this. I would never be able to live with

    myself if I said something and it caused him more harm than good.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± Anya shouts from a distance.

    I sigh; I can¡¯t hide the disappointment from him that we¡¯d just been interrupted by her yet again.

    She must have been looking for him when she realized he wasn¡¯t inside. I¡¯m sure she freaked out when

    she realized I was missing as well.

    Her eyes are glued to the jacket over my shoulders. His jacket that he ced on me earlier.

    ¡°Why do I always find you two together?¡± She demands.

    She doesn¡¯t wait for us to answer as she says, ¡°Atticus, let¡¯s go.¡±

    He looks between the two of us before finally listening to her. How long will I have to deal with Anya

    and her disturbing behavior? Why couldn¡¯t she give up by now? Why couldn¡¯t she let me be with Atticus

    without interfering with our lives?

    Every day Anya was proving just how much lower she could stoop to get her way. I didn¡¯t know how

    long I could continue pretending that I could stand her. If she kept on pushing my buttons, the wrong

    side of me would rise. I didn¡¯t want things to get to that point. I knew how dangerous my power could

    get when it was out of control. I didn¡¯t want that to ever happen around Atticus. I didn¡¯t want him to see

    me that way. I was scared of what he would think, and I was even more terrified of the people I would

    hurt without even realizing it.

    I didn¡¯t bother walking after them. I was tired. I wanted some time away from all of the drama. I stayed

    back by the jeep, spending more time wishing I¡¯d been there to stop the ident from ever happening.

    After spending more time than I needed near the jeep, I finally took a long walk until I stopped by one of

    the pools. It was the longest one in the mansion, and it was out in the open, unlike the one they had

    inside.

    The colors were constantly changing, sometimes blue, red, and even green. I sighed as I watched it

    quietly. I wish it had the power to light up my life just as brightly as it did the pool.

    Part of me wants to get in and let the water swallow me. Another part of me was too terrified even to

    touch it. This wasn¡¯t just the longest pool; it was also the deepest.

    I swallow, ready to walk away when I spot a shadow behind me.

    I spun around to find Anya standing right in front of me, ¡°what are you doing here?¡± I ask.

    Wasn¡¯t she escorting Atticus out of here earlier? I looked behind her, searching for him, but he was

    nowhere to be found.

    ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± She demands from me.

    ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    ¡°Atticus belongs to me now.¡± She warns. ¡°If you know what¡¯s good for you, you¡¯ll stay away from him.

    It¡¯s my final warning to you.¡±

    I cross my arms over my chest, ¡°are you delusional or just in stupid?¡± I demand. ¡°Just because

    Atticus lost his memory doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m not married to him anymore. I¡¯m still his wife. I¡¯m still the one

    he belongs with. Not you.¡±

    She smiles, ¡°I think you¡¯re the delusional one. It¡¯s obvious who he wants. In the past, he would choose

    to listen to you, but that¡¯s not the case anymore, I¡¯m the one he listens to, and I¡¯m the one he wants to

    spend the rest of his life with. I hate to burst your bubble, but he wants me again. My Atticus is back.

    Yours is gone, and he¡¯s nevering back.¡±

    Her words flipped a switch, and it was hard to control my anger. She¡¯s crazy if she thinks he¡¯s gone.

    He¡¯s still there, waiting for me; he needs a little reminder, that¡¯s all.

    ¡°Is that why he told me in ss today that he can¡¯t get me out of his mind?¡± I ask, repeating his words

    to me, ¡°or do you have a better exnation for that?¡±

    I smile when my words hit her exactly where I wanted them to. I could practically see the smoke

    coming out of her ear. Why was she trying to hurt me if she couldn¡¯t handle it when I fought back?

    I don¡¯t have time to prepare as she rushes forward and grabs my arm roughly in her hand.

    ¡°Get your hands off me,¡± I warn.

    Anya shoves me into the pool, and my life shes before my eyes. My fear of water hasn¡¯t stopped

    even now after knowing the power I had within me. She knows it. She knew how much I was terrified of

    it. How could she do something like this, knowing it could kill me?

    I gasped as my body went under while I tried to breathe. I pushed with my arms and legs, fighting to

    get out, but if anything, my actions only made it worse. I felt like I was going deeper into the pool. I

    opened my mouth to gasp for air and swallowed water instead. My eyes were burning, and the blood

    pounded in my ear as I tried to cry for help, even though I knew that no one would be able to hear me.

    I close my eyes, trying to find the power inside of me, hoping that there was a spell or something that I

    could do to pull myself out. No matter how hard I tried, nothing came to me. I was helpless.

    I couldn¡¯t believe that Anya would just stand there and watch me drown. It dawns on me that she was

    indeed trying to kill me. This couldn¡¯t be a simple game to her.

    Suddenly, I heard something above me. I opened my eyes and saw a figure swimming towards me. My

    body is filled with hope.

    Before I knew it, two arms grabbed me by my waist and pulled me upwards with them.

    I knew who it was without having to see his face. Just his arms around me alone was all I needed to

    know.

    Atticus.

    He¡¯de to save me. My heart swelled with joy despite the current situation I¡¯d found myself in.

    I wrapped my arms around him and held on for my life. I¡¯m gasping for air while trying to stay calm, and

    it¡¯s all happening while he¡¯s still holding me.

    ¡°Shh,¡± he tries to soothe me while running his hand down my back. ¡°You¡¯re safe now. I¡¯m here, Autumn.

    I¡¯m here.¡±

    He pulled me out of the pool with him and sat me on hisp as he continued to soothe me in whatever

    way he could.

    I tightened my hold on him as I fought back the tears. The one thing I was terrified of almost killed me.

    It was one of the scariest moments of my life. Atticus wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer to

    him. When I open my eyes again, the first person I see is Anya. She was watching everything,

    pretending that she hadn¡¯t caused this mess, to begin with.

    I feel the anger inside of me shift to uncontroble rage. She had no right to throw me into the pool,

    knowing that deep waters terrified me.

    ¡°Are you okay, Autumn?¡± She asks, feigning that she cares about me. ¡°I swear it was a mistake. I

    tripped and pushed you; I didn¡¯t intentionally try to hurt you. I hope you can forgive me. I begged Atticus

    to save you when I realized that I wouldn¡¯t be able to pull you out myself.¡±

    Atticus looks between us, and I¡¯m not sure what he sees while he stares down at me, but his entire

    body turns to stone beneath mine.

    I drag my body away from his and stand on my two feet despite my wobbly legs. It would not stop me

    from doing what I had to do today.

    ¡°Autumn?¡± He says in a hesitant whisper.

    I can barely hear him. My main focus is on Anya. I¡¯m determined to make her pay for what she did to

    me. I was tired of letting her get away with hurting me. Since the start of my friendship with her, I¡¯ve

    always let her win. I¡¯ve always stood back and let her hurt me however she pleases. This time was

    different. This time I was ready for blood.

    Now that I knew she¡¯d purposefully tried to harm me, to even kill me, I was not going to hold back. I¡¯d

    held back in the past because I didn¡¯t want to be a bad person, but today was different. She deserved

    what wasing to her.

    ¡°Autumn?¡± Atticus repeats, this time more desperately.

    I¡¯m walking toward her in slow motion, taking my time. Her eyes are wide as she watches me. She

    doesn¡¯t look afraid, but she does look concerned.

    She¡¯s never seen me like this before.

    I¡¯m aware of what I¡¯m doing. I know that I¡¯m making a mistake. I know that thest person I should be

    showing this side of me to is Anya, but I can¡¯t stop myself.

    I¡¯m pissed. I can hear the water crashing behind of me. I know it¡¯s not normal for pool water to behave

    that way, but I don¡¯t pay any attention to it. My full attention is on Anya. Her eyes are wide with fear,

    and it¡¯s good that she¡¯s feeling afraid of me.

    I narrow my eyes and point my hands toward her. I¡¯m unsure what I¡¯m doing, but I¡¯m not stopping. I¡¯m

    letting my body take over this time. I¡¯m letting it do what it wants to.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± She demands. ¡°What are you doing, Autumn?¡±

    I don¡¯t answer her question, and she looks over at Atticus for help.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± She shouts. ¡°Look how crazy she¡¯s acting! She¡¯s worse than I thought she was. She¡¯s crazy!

    A psychopath! Get her away from me before she tries to hurt me!¡±

    I whisper a spell under my breath, and her body begins to shake as she loses control. I watch as Anya

    begins choking herself. She¡¯s fighting for her breath, unable to stop herself from holding her neck. I¡¯m

    controlling her hand; I¡¯m making her do this to herself. I¡¯m the one in control this time. I¡¯m the one doing

    the damage. She stood by the edge of the pool and watched me drowning without moving a muscle to

    try and help me. Now I would stand back and watch as she choked herself under mymand and do

    nothing to help her either.

    I want her to feel what I felt when she threw me into the pool, even after knowing what deep waters did

    to me. She didn¡¯t care about me; I didn¡¯t want to care about her, either.

    ¡°Anya!¡± Atticus roars, reminding me that we aren¡¯t alone.

    He rushes to her side. ¡°Let go, Anya!¡± He shouts as he tries to pull her hand away. That wouldn¡¯t work.

    As long as I controlled her hands, nothing and no one would stop this from happening.

    She points at me, trying to show him that I was responsible for what was happening to her.

    He follows the direction that she¡¯s pointing, and his gaze connects with mine. His eyes widened as he

    realized what she was trying to show him. It doesn¡¯t take him long to respond after. He gently ced

    her on the ground before running to my side.

    ¡°Let her go, Autumn.¡± He orders me.

    He doesn¡¯t realize that even I don¡¯t know how to stop myself at this point. But the problem remained

    that I didn¡¯t want to stop myself either. He may believe her lies, but I was there; I saw everything. She

    tried to hurt me. I was repaying the favor in the best way possible.

    ¡°Autumn, please stop this.¡±

    I don¡¯t listen to him. He doesn¡¯t realize that she¡¯s the one separating us. He doesn¡¯t realize that as long

    as she¡¯s here, we can never have a good life together. I had to get rid of her. I had to get her out of our

    lives for good.

    ¡°AUTUMN!¡± He roars as her skin begins to turn pale. ¡°LET HER THE f**k GO!¡±

    He¡¯s shaking me now and shouting.

    ¡°WHO ARE YOU?¡± He asks disgustingly, and my heart shatters with those three words.

    I regain control of my body again, but it doesn¡¯t reverse what I¡¯d just done. He must hate me now.

    I watched as her hands dropped to the side, and she began gasping for air.

    I¡¯d just tried to kill the woman he was in love with or at least thought he loved. I was finally getting

    closer to him again, but this, it would make him think differently about me, and not in a good way. There

    was nothing I could do to make this better.

    I watch as he lets go of my arms and rushes to Anya¡¯s side. My body feels numb as I watch him lift her

    into his arms and race back into the house.

    I¡¯d done that.

    I¡¯d pushed Atticus away for good.

    Congrattions Autumn. Your power managed to ovee you once again. You almost killed Anya

    because of it.

    You¡¯re no different from your father.N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    You¡¯re exactly the same.

 Chapter 56

    Chapter 56

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 56

    ~ATTICUS~

    My blood was boiling, and my heart was pounding against my chest. I wasn¡¯t sure what the hell I¡¯d just

    witnessed, but it was f*****g crazy. Autumn wasn¡¯t a typical werewolf. I¡¯ve never seen power that

    intense before.

    She¡¯dmanded Anya to hurt herself. There weren¡¯t many people I knew that could do something

    like that.

    Why did she do it?

    Anya apologized to her. She made it clear that it was a mistake; she told her that she didn¡¯t intentionally

    throw her into the pool. Then why did she react that way? But more importantly, who the hell was

    Autumn Rivera?

    How was she capable of doing something like that?

    Anya clings to me in fear, ¡°did you see that, Atticus?¡± She cries. ¡°Autumn tried to kill me. To kill me! I

    identally pushed her into the pool, but she purposefully tried to end my life. She¡¯s a monster! She

    isn¡¯t normal!¡±

    I held her tight against me. It terrified me of what I¡¯d just witnessed. I was terrified when I thought that I

    wouldn¡¯t be able to save Anya¡¯s life.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what had caused Autumn to stop, but I was d she¡¯d done it. Anya wouldn¡¯t have been

    alive if I didn¡¯t get her to finally listen to me.

    That wasn¡¯t the only thing that had terrified me, however.

    Something else would be the reason why I couldn¡¯t f*****g sleep tonight.

    It bothered me that it scared me more when I saw Autumn drowning in the pool than when I thought

    Anya would die.

    I couldn¡¯t sleepst night because of the things I wanted to do to her. To kiss her, hold her, keep her

    close to me, and much more f*****g things that were inappropriate considering I was dating Anya.

    f**k, none of those things were appropriate as long as Anya was still the woman in my life.

    My heart was still racing wildly, primarily because of Autumn.

    Why?

    What the hell was wrong with me? I should be pissed with Autumn for what she¡¯s just done. Instead, I

    couldn¡¯t find it in my heart to be angry with her. I was startled and upset with myself but not her. My

    feelings were a cause for concern. What was going on in my head? And my heart? I felt like they were

    at war with each other. Neither knew what my body wanted.

    ¡°What happened to her?¡± rissa demands when she sees Anya shaking in my arms.

    ¡°Autumn tried to kill me!¡± She hissed.

    rissa¡¯s eyes widen, but she isn¡¯t surprised by Anya¡¯s words. I expected her to say something in

    return, but she did nothing. Instead, she¡¯s suddenly panicking. I can see the fear increase in her eyes.

    It seems like rissa knows something that she isn¡¯t telling the rest of us. Maybe Autumn exined to

    her that she wasn¡¯t just a werewolf because I¡¯d never seen a pure-blooded werewolf that could do

    something like that.

    ¡°Where is she?¡± She demands as she looks behind us for her.

    ¡°By the pool, but you shouldn¡¯t go there. It¡¯s not safe¡ª¡±

    I don¡¯t get to finish the sentence as she¡¯s already racing for the pool. I should have known better than

    to tell her. She was already close to Autumn.

    Ah, damn it. But it was better that someone was out there taking care of Autumn. I f*****g hate that it

    couldn¡¯t be me.

    What the hell was going on in my life? What direction did I turn from here? Should I be angry that

    Autumn just tried to kill Anya, or should I be worried about her? She looked like she¡¯d lost all control of

    her body.

    It¡¯s crazy, but I feel like I know her. I somehow know that Autumn would not intentionally try to harm

    Anya. That wasn¡¯t the kind of person that she was. Anya didn¡¯t seem to think so, however. Whatever

    happened before I lost my memory must have pushed them apart.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± Anya cries. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay here. I don¡¯t want to be near Autumn. Either she goes, or I

    go.¡±

    I stop walking, ¡°are you asking me to kick her out of the house?¡±

    She sighs, ¡°would you want someone that tried to kill me to stay in your home?¡±

    I searched my mind for the correct response even though the answer was supposedly an easy one. If it

    were anyone other than Autumn, I would have been able to answer within a split second. But this was

    Autumn that she was talking about; I didn¡¯t know how to respond.

    ¡°What happened to her?¡± Damon demands as he takes her from me.

    I rubbed the back of my neck; I wasn¡¯t sure that this was something I wanted to tell my brothers. And

    this time, it wasn¡¯t Anya I was trying to protect; it was Autumn. I didn¡¯t want anyone to know what I¡¯d

    seen.

    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.

    ¡°She tripped,¡± I say before I can stop myself.

    She looked at me like I¡¯d betrayed her, and I winced. I wasn¡¯t sure what came over me; I was so

    desperate to protect Autumn that I chose to lie.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what happened.¡± She snaps.

    ¡°She hit her head a little too hard.¡± I continue to lie. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t listen to what she¡¯s saying.¡±

    Anya gapes at me, and I know I¡¯ll pay for thister.

    ¡°Get her to your room or mine. Whichever you please, and get a doctor to check on her.¡±I tell him.

    He nodded, but I could see the worry on his face as he looked at me. What had my brother so edgy?

    I¡¯ve never seen him look that worried over me in the past. Did the ident cause this reaction from

    him?

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to anyone¡¯s room!¡± She snaps. ¡°Carry me home, Damon. I don¡¯t want to be here

    anymore around people that do not care about me.¡±

    I watch as Damon walks away with Anya still in his arms.

    When she was out of my view, I couldn¡¯t stop myself as I rushed back to where I¡¯d left Autumn earlier.

    To my disappointment, she¡¯s no longer there. rissa must have taken her inside. Her clothes were

    wet from falling into the pool thest time I saw her, which meant they probably went to get her outfit

    changed.

    I always thought that something was wrong, but now I was sure about it.

    I pull out my phone and search for any news about my ident. I¡¯ve done this before, but I was hoping

    that there would be at least one article that would help me figure out the truth.

    Autumn was not just Anya¡¯s friend to me; these feelings I had for her were strong, and they weren¡¯t

    going away. It meant that I was right all along; whatever they were keeping from me included Autumn.

    She was a big part of the lie. And I was not going to rest until I found out the truth.

    Tonight.

    I was finding the truth tonight and didn¡¯t care who tried to stop me.

    . . . . . . . . . . .

    ~ANYA~

    As soon as I got home, I shouted for my mother to join me in the living room. I had to tell her what

    happened at the party tonight. She was right all along. Autumn was much more dangerous than even

    she thought she was.

    What she did today was stronger than even my mother. Her strength was insane; I wasn¡¯t even aware

    she could do something like that.

    I¡¯m freaking out inside, and I don¡¯t know what to do to stop myself from feeling this way.

    She¡¯d tried to kill me. Autumn tried to freaking kill me. If Atticus wasn¡¯t there, I might not have been

    alive today.

    It pissed me off to know that even after seeing what she could do, he never once tried to throw her out.

    That was the perfect opportunity for him to hate her, but for some reason, he was hesitant to do what

    he was supposed to do.

    Atticus may have lost his memories, but his heart still belonged to Autumn. He couldn¡¯t hide his feelings

    from me. It wouldn¡¯t be long before I lost him again. And Autumn wouldn¡¯t be easy to get rid of either.

    Knowing her power, I understood what this meant for my mother and me. Our ns have just be

    a hundred times more difficult because of her return. Why didn¡¯t she stay where she was? Why didn¡¯t

    her kidnappers get rid of her for us? Since they didn¡¯t do a proper job, we were the ones who were left

    to handle her.

    ¡°MOM!¡± I shout even louder.

    She ms the door open and res at me, ¡°what¡¯s all the shouting about? And why are you back so

    early from the party?¡±

    ¡°Autumn tried to kill me!¡± I shout. ¡°She¡¯s powerful, just like you said she was. I tried to shove her into

    the pool like you suggested since she¡¯s terrified of water. Atticus jumped in and saved her. But she

    turned into some crazy b***h right after. Her eyes were glowing, and her body shook with power. I¡¯ve

    never seen anything like it before, mother. One minute I asked her what she was doing, and the next, I

    lost control over my body.¡±

    ¡°You lost control of your body?¡± She asks.

    I nod, ¡°she forced my hands to choke me. If Atticus hadn¡¯t been there while she was trying to kill me, I

    wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive her attack. I was not prepared for it at all.¡±

    ¡°How weak are you?¡± My mother demands. ¡°How can you let that girl take advantage of you without

    fighting back?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not weak.¡± I hiss. ¡°I was just surprised, that¡¯s all. Why would I expect something like that from

    Autumn? The girl has never once raised her hands at me. I didn¡¯t think she would try to kill me for

    pushing her into the pool.¡±

    My mother takes a seat on one of the chairs, and she looks like she¡¯s deep in thought.

    ¡°Tell me more about what you saw.¡± She orders me.

    ¡°It all happened so quickly, and I can barely ce together my thoughts,¡± I confess. ¡°She was moving

    towards me and pointing her hands at me. I think she also whispered some spells. I couldn¡¯t hear her.

    But even the water behind her seemed like it was at hermand. How is that possible? The same

    water she was terrified of looked like it was on her side. She created waves in the pool while her eyes

    glowed. It looked like a rough ocean waiting to destroy everything around it. Mom, I¡¯ve never seen

    anything like it. She¡¯s almost scary.¡±

    My mother¡¯s face suddenly turned pale, and I¡¯m not sure if it was just my words that caused her to look

    this way.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask.

    ¡°GET ME THAT RED BOOK!¡± She shouts as she points to the shelf.

    ¡°What?¡± I ask.

    ¡°THE BOOK!¡± She hissed. Her hands are almost shaking, and I¡¯m confused by her actions. What was

    causing her to act like this?

    ¡°I don¡¯t see it!¡± I tell her. Was she losing her mind? There was not a single red book on the shelf.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you tell there¡¯s a spell making it invisible?¡± She demands as she removes the spell.

    Why was the book invisible to begin with? Was it a book that she wasn¡¯t supposed to have, or was it

    something that could cause trouble if it ended up in the wrong hands?

    I rush forward and grab the only red book on the shelf. She takes it from me and ces it on herp.

    Her hands trembled as she opened it and started searching through the pages. I¡¯m not sure what she¡¯s

    looking for, but she seems to have a pretty good idea about it. I didn¡¯t want to disturb her; she already

    wasn¡¯t in the best of moods.

    She finally stops, and her eyes are glued to the page.

    The first thing I notice is a drawing of the tattoo I¡¯d seen on the men that kidnapped Autumn.

    ¡°What is that?¡± I ask her.

    How did she know that it would be there?

    ¡°Azai.¡± She whispers. Her eyes were wide with horror as she repeated the name once more.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, mother?¡± I demand. ¡°You¡¯re scaring me. Who the hell is Azai?¡±

    ¡°Azai Reign.¡± She continues. ¡°He¡¯s only the greatest sorcerer that ever walked the earth.¡±

    The greatest sorcerer?

    ¡°I¡¯m confused. What does he have to do with Autumn?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you tell?¡± She demands. ¡°He¡¯s Autumn¡¯s father. Azai Reign is her f*****g father!¡±

    What?

    ¡°That¡¯s the craziest thing I¡¯ve ever heard!¡± I exim. ¡°Autumn¡¯s parents are the Riveras; how could her

    father be Azai Reign?¡±

    A sorcerer? And the greatest one to walk the earth? That was simply insane. I knew she was powerful,

    but there was no way her father was the person my mother was talking about. This has to be some

    kind of mistake.

    ¡°It all makes sense.¡± She says more to herself than me. ¡°The Riveras¡¯ were good friends with Aura. She

    must have begged them to take care of Autumn after she killed Azai. All this time, they had the

    daughter of Azai Reign under their care. This is crazy. I sensed the power in Autumn, but not once did I

    think that she could be his daughter. I thought Aura and her children would be dead by now. The

    tattoos on those men that kidnapped her, they all are a symbol of Azai¡¯s faithful men. That¡¯s why they

    came for Autumn because she is their princess. They want her to take her father¡¯s ce. This is much

    bigger than I thought it was. Autumn just became an even bigger threat.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe what I was hearing.

    Was this really true?

    Autumn? A sorcerer¡¯s daughter? How crazy was this?

 Chapter 57

    Chapter 57

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 57

    ~ATTICUS~

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Damon demands as I grab my key from the counter just as he¡¯d returned from

    dropping Anya home.

    ¡°I need to clear my head.¡± I lie.

    ¡°Do you want me toe with you?¡± He asks. ¡°To keep youpany. I¡¯ll be quiet, I swear.¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°this is something I want to do alone.¡±

    He nods, ¡°just know I¡¯m one call away if you need me.¡±

    I don¡¯t wait for him to say anything else. I was desperate to find the truth, and since no one was willing

    to tell me, I had to do all the digging on my own.

    There¡¯s one ce that wouldn¡¯t be able to hide the truth. And that¡¯s the warehouse where they kept all

    of the magazines.

    I was sure there had to be at least one that could tell me everything I needed to know. The problem

    was breaking into it. No one would let me inside without causing a scene. But I knew at least one

    person would ept a bribe from me. That¡¯s why I had a good amount of cash with me. Everyone is

    supposed to be home by now, everyone except the guards.

    Once I got through to the main guard, everything else would be more essible.

    I mashed down hard on the elerator when I felt a painful memory of the day of the ident. I

    mashed the brakes and pulled to the side of the road before I could lose control of the vehicle.

    What the hell was that? I tried to rey the five seconds of memory over and over again.

    I was racing after a vehicle on that day. I clutched my chest at the pain I felt at the reminder. It wasn¡¯t

    anything significant, but it was enough to make me wonder what the hell had genuinely happened on

    that day. Why was I racing after a vehicle? No one mentioned that to me, but they hadn¡¯t mentioned

    anything at all about that day.

    Autumn had asked me once if the ident traumatized me, and my answer was no. Now, I wasn¡¯t sure

    that was the correct answer. It was the first time I¡¯d chosen to drive this fast since the ident, and I

    wasn¡¯t expecting to have this kind of reaction.

    It meant that I was speeding that day the crash took ce. Even if I was speeding, I always thought I

    was a good driver. I should have been able to stop the vehicle. Nothing about that day made sense to

    me. Something had to have caused the ident. But what was it?

    I pulled back onto the road; I couldn¡¯t let this stop me from finding the truth. It¡¯s not like I could ask

    anyone for help; no one would do it.

    I chose to drive slower; I hoped that would help with the unsettling feeling in my chest.

    It takes longer than it should for me to reach my destination.

    I park the car on the side of the building and found the guards at the main entrance.

    ¡°Do you have written permission to be here?¡± One of them asks.

    ¡°No,¡± I answer honestly. ¡°But I have plenty of cash to give to you if you let me through and keep this just

    between the four of us.¡±

    They looked at each other skeptically, and I pulled the money out of the car as proof.

    ¡°And what do we do about the cameras?¡± He asks.

    ¡°You can leave that to me,¡± I assure him.

    Arthur and his family had provided me with gadgets to shut off cameras within a certain distance. I¡¯d

    brought it with me today.

    After handing them the money, they open the gates for me to pass. I didn¡¯t waste any time as I opened

    all the doors that gave me ess to the room I was looking for. Luckily, the keys had been left with the

    guards. No one would know anything if I didn¡¯t make a mess inside there. That was the n. To keep

    everything the same way it was when I got here.

    I walked into the storage room and felt discouraged by the thousands of magazines they had in boxes.

    It would take me forever to go through everything.

    I searched the boxes for dates, but they weren¡¯tbeled. How could they notbel their boxes?

    Ah, f**k.

    I felt like shoving them all to the ground, but I knew that would only make things much harder for me.

    I start with the box closest to me. How would I know which of these articles included stories about me?

    And how would I know which of them included the information that I was searching for?

    I went through them one after the next. I only checked the front page of each magazine. That¡¯s usually

    where the stories about me were printed.

    The first box had zero reports about me. The second one had, but it wasn¡¯t what I was looking for.

    I spent hours searching through hundreds of boxes, hoping to find at least one thing that would be

    helpful to me, but to my disappointment and frustration, nothing here had anything to do with the

    ident.

    I dropped onto the ground and held my head in my hands. Where could it be? Did they remove

    everything from that day?

    My family was more desperate than I initially thought to keep the truth from me. They must have

    thought about all of this. The fact that no one in school mentioned it to me meant that they forced

    everyone to keep their mouth shut. I knew how my parents acted when they were desperate for

    something not toe out in the open. They had enough money to shut the mouths of millions.

    It only made me more determined to keep searching. Why were they making me go through this? All

    they had to do was tell me the f*****g truth. I couldn¡¯t even be pissed at them. They kept saying that

    they were only trying to protect me.

    I move from the storage room and into the main office. I wasn¡¯t about to give up. I came here for

    answers, and I wasn¡¯t leaving until I¡¯d gotten them.

    I opened one drawer after the next, but there wasn¡¯t anything that could help me.

    There was only one more thing I could think about doing, and that was essing their work on the

    computer.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± I hissed when I realized that there was a lock on it. The only persons that could help me with

    that were the ckners, and they weren¡¯t here. I didn¡¯t have time to call them for help either. I wasn¡¯t

    sure if they would¡¯ve helped me either. There¡¯s no telling how many people my parents have bribed or

    warned to prevent me from knowing the truth.

    I walk out of the room with plenty on my mind. I wasn¡¯t sessful in finding the truth. I¡¯d failed yet

    again.

    On my way out, I notice a sign pointing to their dumping grounds. It¡¯s where they kept the magazines

    they had no use for again.

    Would I have any luck inside there? It was worth a try.

    I barged my way into the room, and I instantly felt discouraged. Everything had been shredded. But it

    wasn¡¯t so bad that I wouldn¡¯t be able to put the pieces back together.

    I grabbed the ones with my face on them and spent hours searching for the missing pieces. When I¡¯d

    finally gotten the front page back in one piece again, I slowly read what was written on it.

    ¡®Atticus Fawn gets into an ident while trying to save his wife, Autumn Rivera Fawn.¡¯

    The blood drains from my face as the realization hits me over what I¡¯ve just read.

    Wife.

    My wife?

    Autumn Rivera Fawn?

    What the f**k?

    When did Autumn be my wife?

    It took my body a while to recover from what I¡¯d just read. It felt like some kind of joke, yet deep down

    inside, I knew that it was the truth. It was a big enough secret for my parents to want to hide from me.

    I ced the other magazine¡¯s front page in front of me.

    ¡®Atticus Fawn To Wed Autumn Rivera.¡¯

    Another proof of the marriage that happened, yet I still have zero memory of it.

    I had no memory of ever marrying Autumn. I knew that my feelings for her had certainly changed or

    intensified, but not once did I think that I was married to her.

    Another magazine had a picture of the two of us on our wedding day.

    She looked absolutely beautiful. Radiant. Stunning. How could I not remember something like that?

    The way she looked on that day should be instilled in my memory. So where the f**k was it?

    Was this the big secret everyone was keeping from me? Were they scared of what I¡¯d do when I found

    out?

    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    How much of my memory had I lost after the ident? How much was missing?

    It exins everything Autumn had said to me the first night that she saw me after the ident. She

    thought that I was betraying her by being with Anya. She also didn¡¯t know anything about the ident

    until after.

    It would also exin why she hugged me while crying that night. She¡¯d just found out about the

    ident; I¡¯m assuming rissa had to be the one to inform her about the entire thing.

    I squeezed my temples as I searched my brain for anything that could remind me of being married to

    her. But nothing wasing to me. All of the articles were here, and they were the proof, but they did

    nothing to remind me of our times together. The only thing that reminded me was how my heart beat

    only for her. I felt it, but I didn¡¯t have the memories to align with those feelings.

    If she had no idea of the ident, where exactly had she been while I was in the hospital? If we were

    married, shouldn¡¯t she have been by my side?

    The first article stands out to me, the one that mentioned the cause of my ident. I was trying to save

    her. I was driving so quickly, chasing after a car only because I wanted to save Autumn. It¡¯s the only

    memory I had of that day. Chasing after the vehicle. Now I knew why I was chasing it.

    What danger had Autumn been in? What exactly happened on that day? Who was trying to hurt her,

    and if I got into an ident trying to save her, what happened to the people trying to hurt her? Did they

    escape? Did they hurt her?

    I needed to f*****g know these answers before I lost my damn mind.

 Chapter 58

    Chapter 58

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 58

    ~ATTICUS~

    I wanted to speak with Anya before I talked to anyone else. I trusted her with my life, and I wanted to

    believe that she would be honest with me if I gave her a chance to exin.

    I knew there had to be a reason she pretended that we were still together even though she knew I was

    married to Autumn.

    Her eyes brighten when she spots me near the park where I told her to meet me earlier.

    I watched as she ran to me and threw herself into my arms. I stiffened, not sure what to do now that I

    knew who Autumn was to me. This felt wrong. Holding Anya felt like I was making a big mistake.

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy that you came to see me today,¡± She said as she hugged me tightly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleepst

    night. It was hard for me, Atticus; you have no idea how traumatized I¡¯ve been. I¡¯m still shocked by

    what Autumn did to mest night. I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s such a horrible person. I loved her like a sister,

    but she tried to kill me yesterday. I wish it were all a dream. It would be better for all of us if she were

    the same Autumn as in the past.¡±

    I stared at the ring on my finger, not paying attention to what she was saying. When I woke up on the

    hospital bed, one of the first things I noticed after returning home was the ring on the table near the

    bed. I¡¯d asked Anya about it first since she had joined me in my room that day. She¡¯d told me that this

    ring was something she¡¯d bought for me. Now, I knew it had to be a lie. I don¡¯t know why I hadn¡¯t

    realized it was a lie sooner. When had Anya ever been able to give me something like this in the past?

    I¡¯d been so caught up in my lost memory and everything I was missing to realize that she had been

    lying to me since then.

    How stupid have I been this entire time?Why did it take me this long to go looking for answers? Have I

    been afraid to learn the truth this whole time?

    ¡°You said once to me that you were the one that bought this ring for me.¡± I finally say, running my finger

    over it. ¡°Is that not true?¡±

    She smiles, ¡°yes, it was my promise to be yours for the rest of your life. A promise ring. A ring of our

    love for each other. I remember how happy you were when I first gave it to you. It¡¯s a memory I want to

    keep with me for the rest of my life.¡±

    I nod and stare into the distance, ¡°How could you afford something this expensive?¡± I ask.

    I was giving her a chance to tell me the truth, and she kept digging a hole deeper for herself.

    I thought that I could trust her. I felt that Anya would at least tell me the truth or something close to it if I

    kept asking her questions. Not once did I think that she would make up even bigger lies to convince me

    that it was the truth. I was both disappointed and angry with her. But I didn¡¯t want to show her my

    genuine emotion. There was plenty that I still wanted to do before I confronted her. She wasn¡¯t the only

    person I had questions for. Everyone close to me, everyone that I trusted, all had exining to do. And

    I wanted to give them all the opportunity to tell me what I wanted to hear.

    Her eyes widen, ¡°what are you insinuating?¡±

    I shrug my shoulders, ¡°it¡¯s a reasonable question considering your condition. I¡¯m not trying to insult you

    if that¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking. I¡¯m curious about who gave you the funds to get this for me. It doesn¡¯t

    look like a promise ring, either. It seems like something much more than that. It looks like a ring a wife

    would get for her husband.¡±

    I can see the uncertainty in her eyes as she tries to respond. Was she searching for more lies to cover

    up her other lies?

    I exhaled before taking a deep breath once more. I had to remind myself to stay calm.

    She smiled, ¡°since I couldn¡¯t afford it on my own. I got Damon and Dante to help me. But that doesn¡¯t

    change the amount of love I ced into getting this for you. Look how well it suits you. Who else would

    know exactly what you like?¡±

    My jaw clenched; she was no doubt continuing to lie to me. This was my f*****g wedding ring. All of the

    articles showed it. Knowing my parents, they wouldn¡¯t have missed the opportunity to get pictures of

    this ring and Autumn¡¯s in the magazines. It hurt to know that Anya could lie so easily to me without

    remorse. It hurt that my entire family could lie to me as well.

    And Autumn.

    I had no idea what to think about her. Could I trust her? She had plenty of opportunities to tell me the

    truth; why couldn¡¯t she tell me that she was my wife? All of the proof was there; I would have believed

    her. My heart would have understood her.

    Instead, they all made me look like a fool. The entire school. Everyone. They fooled me. They made

    me think that I was still with Anya. All this time, my conflicted feelings, fighting myself, feeling guilty for

    wanting Autumn when I should have been with Anya, everything was a sted lie that they all made

    me believe. And I was foolish enough to believe them because I trusted each and every one of them.

    My hands tightened into fists at my sides.

    All this time, I hugged and kissed Anya while I had a wife. A WIFE.

    They let me kiss another woman when my wife was still in my life. The more I thought about it, the

    angrier I got. I¡¯ve never been that way. I¡¯ve never been a f*****g cheater. That was for a weak man. If I

    had gotten married to Autumn, there was no way I would have touched Anya inappropriately. The fact

    that my feelings were still there for Autumn, even after losing my memory, was proof of that.

    They¡¯d all betrayed me. They¡¯d all let me down, and for what?

    What was their reason behind it? Why did they think the best thing was to keep the truth from me? I¡¯d

    made a mess out of my life because of this lie.

    Still, I couldn¡¯t find it in my heart to hate them. Still, I partly knew why they did it in the first ce.

    But f**k. This just made everything so much worse. I didn¡¯t understand anything that happened.

    How did I ever marry Autumn when Anya was my mate? How did my feelings for Anya change, and all

    of them suddenly turn towards Autumn? Nothing made sense to me. Thest thing I remembered was

    loving Anya like crazy; I would do anything for her in the past, so what had caused everything to

    change and so quickly?

    I had no idea what had happened before and during the ident. I wish I knew. I wish I could

    remember every single detail that I was missing. There were still plenty of things that were unclear to

    me. And I needed them to fill in those missing nks for me.

    Did Autumn truly have feelings for me? I know the feelings I had for her, but I wasn¡¯t sure that hers

    were real. If she was willing to let me be with Anya even while we were married, what does that say

    about her feelings for me?

    I expected her to try and separate us, to do something, anything to make sure that Anya didn¡¯t take her

    ce. But she stood back and let it all happen. She never said anything when Anya hugged me, and

    not once did she try to stop it.

    Well, that wasn¡¯t exactly true. There were certain times when she showed her real emotions, but I

    never paid enough attention to them.

    The only proof I had of her feelings for me was what she did to Anya yesterday. But I wasn¡¯t even sure

    if that was for me.

    Maybe the signs were there, but I wasn¡¯t looking for them.

    Everything she said when she saw me at the beach party or yesterday when she cried while looking at

    my jeep were all signs of what we shared. If those emotions were real, I wasn¡¯t the only one who cared

    between us.

    Maybe I should at least give her a chance to exin what happened to us. Perhaps I could trust her

    more than I did Anya at this point. Anya was no longer someone that I could trust. Everything that she

    did was suspicious to me now.

    If Autumn also had feelings for me, why couldn¡¯t she be honest with me? Why this big secret?

    Maybe my parents had something to do with it. I knew how influential they were. There¡¯s no telling how

    far they went to keep this secret from me. Did they threaten her to keep quiet, or did she decide to lie to

    me on her own?

    ¡°Atticus?¡± Anya calls out to me. It was the reminder I needed to know that she was still in front of me.

    I didn¡¯t care what anyone said to me anymore. I didn¡¯t care what my parents had nned or what Anya

    wanted from me. Now that I knew Autumn was my wife, it didn¡¯t matter that I couldn¡¯t remember our

    times together, she was my wife, and it meant that she had to be treated like it.

    ¡°Did you kick Autumn out of your homest night?¡± She asks.

    Her words cut through me and ignited the anger I felt. How could she ask me that, knowing that

    Autumn was my wife while she wasn¡¯t?

    ¡°Tell me, Anya, why are you and Autumn no longer good friends?¡± I ask. ¡°She was your closest friend,

    but I can¡¯t help but notice how the both of you treat each other ever since I lost my memory.¡±

    Her eyes are surprised, and it¡¯s the reaction I was expecting from her. Someone that had plenty to hide

    would react this way.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. I¡¯ve only been unhappy with her after she tried to kill me

    yesterday. Did you already forget what happened?¡± She demands. ¡°It was traumatizing for me, Atticus.

    Do you even know what it feels like to almost die at the hands of someone you used to love?¡±

    I nod, ¡°I remember, but I didn¡¯t see everything that happened. I only arrived when Autumn was still in

    the pool. I didn¡¯t see you move an inch to try and help her get out. Unlike Autumn, you¡¯re a very good

    swimmer. You could have easily jumped into the pool and rescued her.¡±

    My body still hadn¡¯t recovered from the shock of seeing her inside that pool. All I could think about was

    saving her. I had never panicked so much about another person in my life.

    Last night I didn¡¯t pay much attention to Anya not trying to help her, but after knowing what I knew, I

    realized that she wasn¡¯tpletely innocent in all of this.

    I thought Autumn had retaliated for no reason, but now I knew I was delusional to believe that.

    ¡°What are you using me of doing, Atticus?¡± She demands. ¡°I thought you, out of everyone else,

    would know the type of person I am. I can¡¯t believe you would ever think so low of me.¡±

    Why did I feel like I¡¯d heard words like that out of her mouth already?

    I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m not using you of anything. I¡¯m asking you to exin so I can get a better idea

    of everything.¡±

    ¡°The truth. Are you sure you want to know the truth?¡± She asks.

    I nod, ¡°tell me everything I need to know to understand what¡¯s been going on between the two of you.¡±

    ¡°I found out something disturbing. That¡¯s why I decided not to be friends with Autumn anymore.¡± She

    exins.

    ¡°And what did you find out that made you make that decision?¡± I ask.

    ¡°I found out that Autumn has feelings for you. I realized she was only friends with me to get closer to

    you. I felt betrayed because of it, and I decided to let go.¡±

    I stiffened. It¡¯s thest thing I expected her to say to me.

    She was lying. Once again, Anya was lying to me.

    I knew that she was.

    I would have believed her if I didn¡¯t know I was married to Autumn. My marriage to her best friend is

    most likely what caused the drift between them. I gave her the opportunity to tell me the truth, and she

    still chose to lie.

    ¡°Is there anything else that you think I should know?¡± I ask, giving her yet another chance toe

    clean.

    She looks at me suspiciously, ¡°why are you asking all of these questions so randomly?¡±

    I shrug my shoulders, ¡°am I not allowed to be curious? Things have changed plenty since I woke up

    after the ident. I¡¯m allowed to ask questions. Why are you so threatened by them?¡±

    She crossed her arms over her chest and red at me, ¡°I¡¯m not threatened by them. It¡¯s just surprising

    to me that you¡¯re asking them today. I thought you would be more concerned about what type of

    monster Autumn was. The power that she contains is not normal. That kind of power is not something

    you¡¯ll see every day. Why aren¡¯t you questioning her instead?¡±

    I was aware that Autumn¡¯s ability to control Anya yesterday was not normal, but finding out she was my

    wife was more shocking to me. I was trying to deal with one thing before moving on to the other.

    ¡°I¡¯m in a rtionship with you.¡± I reminded her even though I knew the truth now. ¡°You¡¯re the one I have

    to question. Not her. Unless there¡¯s something else that I should know about Autumn, is there?¡±

    Her eyes widen, ¡°of course, nothing else concerns you. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m just surprised by your questions.

    That¡¯s all. You can ask me whatever you want to; I will answer all of them withplete honesty.¡±

    I nod, ¡°I have plenty more questions, but I¡¯ll leave them for another time.¡±

    She smiles, relieved, ¡°are you taking me for dinner tonight?¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°I want you toe home with me tonight. I may have a small gathering with all of

    my family members present. Since you¡¯re close to me, I want you to be there too.¡±

    Her face brightens, ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to join you.¡±

    My jaw clenched; it wasn¡¯t the gathering she was hoping for. Tonight she would find out why I¡¯d invited

    her.

    . . . . . . . . . . . .

    ~AUTUMN~

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± rissa asks me. It¡¯s the next day after the party, and I¡¯m still feeling gloomy.

    I haven¡¯t seen Atticus since I attacked Anya. It still bothered me how angry he¡¯d gotten with me. He

    doesn¡¯t realize what she¡¯d try to do to me. He still trusted her, and it frustrated me that he didn¡¯t

    remember anything. If he remembered even a little about our past, he would know she wasn¡¯t someone

    he could trust. Instead, he chose to believe the lies she was constantly feeding him.

    My ns to bring us closer together were not working, and it hurt. Why couldn¡¯t he believe me? Why

    couldn¡¯t he see the truth right in front of his face?

    I wasn¡¯t able to sleep at allst night. The disgusted look on his face after I almost killed her was

    constantly haunting me. I couldn¡¯t get the image out of my head. I hadn¡¯t intentionally tried to hurt her.

    Just maybe a little, but my intention was never to kill her. I didn¡¯t want to stoop as low as her, but

    something dark came over mest night. The fact that she¡¯d tried to hurt me first triggered the dark side

    inside of me.

    I wasn¡¯t even sure a dark side existed until yesterday. I was still hoping that I was nothing like my

    father, but it would seem that I couldn¡¯t hide from my past no matter how much I wanted to. I couldn¡¯t

    hide from the sins of my father either. It was out to destroy my life, and I wasn¡¯t sure what would

    happen when the truth was revealed to everyone else. It was clear that everyone around me who knew

    who Azai was would freak out when they discovered he was my father.

    How much longer could I hide it from them? Carter and his teammates knew I wasn¡¯t normal, and now

    Anya also knew the truth. She hated me passionately; she could easily make my life a living hell.

    ¡°Autumn?¡± rissa asks. ¡°Are you okay? You didn¡¯t answer me the first time. I¡¯m very worried about

    you. Please talk to me; I¡¯m here to help if you need anything from me.¡±

    ¡°Not the best. I¡¯m terrified of what my future has in store for me.¡± I confess. ¡°Is Atticus upset with me?

    He never once returned to see whether or not I was okay after almost drowning. He was more

    concerned about Anya than me.¡±

    I knew he was only acting that way because he¡¯d lost his memory, but that didn¡¯t make it any easier for

    me.

    She sighs, ¡°Atticus never came homest night.¡±

    Her words have managed to shock me to the core. How could he not have returned? Where could he

    have gone without letting anyone know of his whereabouts?

    I stopped walking and turned towards her. ¡°He didn¡¯t return homest night?¡± I repeated her words to

    ensure I¡¯d heard her correctly the first time.

    She nods, ¡°we tried calling his phone, but he never answered. No one knows where he is or where he

    wentst night. He was very secretive about it.¡±

    Fear coursed through my veins.

    ¡°Do you think something happened to him?¡± I demand. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be looking for him?¡±

    Maybe he went to see Anya and chose not to tell anyone. I don¡¯t know why he would want to keep that

    a secret.

    ¡°Damon and Dante went looking, but they never found him. Damon said that he looked suspicious

    when he leftst night. No one knows why he chose to leave.¡± She answers. ¡°I don¡¯t think anything bad

    happened to him, or we would have heard about it by now. It must be hard for him not to remember

    anything. I think it¡¯s affecting him negatively. I knew my parents should have told him the truth from the

    beginning. When Atticus learns what happened, he¡¯s not going to trust anyone. He will feel betrayed. I

    always knew that this would happen. When he remembers that you¡¯d been missing and they still chose

    to lie to him, he will lose his mind. I hope that they¡¯re prepared for his wrath.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure we¡¯re doing the right thing.¡± I agree. ¡°I feel we¡¯re doing more harm than good by not telling

    him.¡±

    At first, I was too afraid to hurt him. But that wasn¡¯t my only fear. I¡¯ve always been terrified that he

    would choose Anya over me. I¡¯ve seen him do it all my life; I was scared that he would still do it even

    after knowing the truth because he¡¯d lost all memory of me and my feelings for him.

    ¡°I can talk to my parents again.¡± She says. ¡°I can convince them that it¡¯s time for him to know the truth.

    We¡¯ve waited far too long. What are they waiting for? For him to ask Anya to marry him? They¡¯re

    ying a dangerous game, and they don¡¯t realize how wrong it is. They¡¯re trying to protect him, but

    they¡¯re choosing the worst way to do it.¡±

    Her words have increased the worry inside of me. She was right. If Atticus didn¡¯t remember he was

    married to me, there¡¯s no telling what he would do for Anya. She was crazy enough to ask him for a

    wedding.

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    It was time that we made the hard decision and told him the truth.

    The look he gave me yesterday shes before my mind. I swallow.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure that would make a difference after yesterday. You should have seen the way he looked at

    me. Like I was a monster. And maybe I am one. After all, my father was a crazy maniac greedy for

    power.¡±

    I wanted to see Atticus today, but I was also worried about how he would react after what he¡¯d seen

    yesterday.

    ¡°Atticus could never think that way about you. He was most likely just startled by what he saw. Besides,

    Anya deserved everything. She pushed you into the pool and watched you fight for your life. You

    wouldn¡¯t have retaliated if she hadn¡¯t hurt you first.¡±

    ¡°Have you seen her?¡± I ask as I search our surroundings.

    I¡¯m sure she would have plenty to say to me after what she saw. Her hatefulments would only get

    worse from now on. I was prepared for all of them. Her opinion of me did not bother me; the only

    person whose opinion mattered the most was Atticus.

    ¡°She won¡¯t be here today,¡± rissa answers me. ¡°ording to Damon, she¡¯s not feeling well and

    chose to skip the academy. Her not being here is already a sign that today will be a good day.

    Hopefully, Atticus shows up as well.¡±

    If Atticus never shows up today, I could only assume he chose to spend the day with her. He was

    probably still trying to soothe her.

    My Atticus would have done the opposite. He would have taken care of me instead.

    I needed to remind myself that he was still inside of him somewhere. I couldn¡¯t give up.

    rissa¡¯s face brightens when Damon approaches us, ¡°aren¡¯t youte for your ss?¡± He asks her.

    She nods, ¡°I amte, but that¡¯s fine.¡±

    He sighs, ¡°let¡¯s go to ss, rissa. You¡¯ll have plenty of time to speak with Autumn afterward.¡±

    She pouts, but after I also agree with him, she goes without insisting on staying back.

    I watch as Damon walks her to ss, and I¡¯m left alone in the ssroom until he returns. Dante was

    not present either, he was probably out searching for Atticus, or he could also be with Anya.

    The rest of the ss passes quickly, most likely because Atticus never showed up. Not seeing him had

    certainly dampened my mood.

    I¡¯m just praying for everything to pass quickly so I can return home. The guards were the only thing

    keeping mepany at this point, and even they didn¡¯t try to speak to me. They couldn¡¯t. Our family

    was strict about that.

    rissa and I are reunited at the cafeteriater in the day, and I¡¯m relieved to have her next to me

    again. Something about her always managed to calm me down.

    ¡°How were sses?¡± She asks.

    ¡°Boring.¡±

    ¡°Same.¡± She tells me as her eyes scan the cafeteria.

    She looked over at me after, and I could tell she¡¯d seen someone or something that made her

    concerned about me.

    ¡°Atticus is here.¡± She finally says.

    My heart skipped a beat at her words. I followed her gaze, and she was correct; he was, standing next

    to Damon. They were deep in conversation, but something about Atticus didn¡¯t seem right.

    ¡°He looks angry,¡± I tell rissa. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen him be that way around Damon before.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯re right, but I doubt you¡¯re the one he¡¯s angry with.¡± She whispers. ¡°I don¡¯t see why he

    would be upset with Damon either. Something else must be happening that we don¡¯t know about.

    Maybe it has to do with why he went missingst night.¡±

    Even though my feet were itching to go to him, I decided that the safest thing to do was to stay next to

    rissa and let him approach me. If he wanted to talk, he woulde.

    I knew things had worsened after yesterday, and I didn¡¯t want to push him.

    I close my eyes and fight back the pain I felt in that memory.

    Everything that I did was to get Atticus back, help him regain his memory, and bring him closer to me.

    I knew that Anya deserved what happened to her after pushing me into the pool, but I wouldn¡¯t have

    stooped to her level if the power hadn¡¯t consumed me. I wish Atticus knew this. I hope he knew the

    type of person that I was.

    I was fearful of myself. I was scared of how much of my father I had inside me.

    My body shook with worry. I didn¡¯t know who I could speak to that would be able to help me. The only

    person I could think about was my biological mother, but I had no idea where she was or how to find

    her. I wish she would show up. I wish she would see me at least once and help me get through this.

    ¡°Hey,¡± rissa whispers. ¡°Do you need anything? You¡¯re shivering.¡±

    I tried to stay calm next to her, but it was bing difficult. The fear was consuming me. I knew I

    should fight it; it was possible that it could be the power inside of me trying to scare me, to be

    dominant.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± I lie. ¡°I just need some time to recover from yesterday.¡±

    She nods, ¡°you don¡¯t have to force yourself toe to the academy. Everyone knows you¡¯re going

    through plenty. You can¡ª¡±

    She pauses, ¡°they¡¯reing.¡± She warns me suddenly.

    I followed her gaze, and she was right.

    Atticus and Damon are walking toward us. I tried to prepare myself mentally, but even that wasn¡¯t easy

    to do at this point.

    Something about the way he¡¯s looking at me makes me uneasy. I feel like he knows more than he did

    yesterday. Did he somehow find out who my father was? Was that where he had disappeared to? Did

    he go searching for answers about who I was?

    I was surprised that there weren¡¯t headlines about what I¡¯d done all over the school by now. Anya

    wasn¡¯t someone that liked to keep anything to herself. Something that made me look so horrible; I

    thought she would have rushed for the opportunity to expose me.

    Maybe that¡¯s why she didn¡¯te to the academy today. She was plotting her next big n to get rid of

    me.

    She wasn¡¯t the only one. Now I also had to watch out for Skyler. In every direction I turned, my life was

    in danger, and still, my main concern was bringing Atticus back to me. I didn¡¯t care what was happening

    around me; I didn¡¯t care that my life was in danger; all I wanted was a chance to bring my Atticus back

    to me. I missed him dearly. I wish I could have what he had in the past. I fought for him for so long, and

    I¡¯m still fighting.

    I wanted to feel his arms around me, to feel his warmth engulf me.

    I missed having him next to me, and I was tired of having to see him with Anya. I was tired of watching

    her use his memory loss to her advantage.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to be near Atticus right now?¡± rissa asks me as she looks for a way to help

    me escape.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I assure her. ¡°I have to face him eventually. I can handle whatever he has to say to me.¡±

    She nods, and not too long after; they¡¯re both standing a few inches away from us.

    ¡°Where have you been?¡± rissa asks Atticus, not giving him a chance to say anything. ¡°Dante and

    Damon looked everywhere for youst night. Where did you run off to? It¡¯s unfair to everyone else that

    you just chose to disappear without saying a word. You don¡¯t think we would have all been worried after

    thatst incident that almost took you from us?¡±

    He doesn¡¯t look guilty at all. Instead, he seems almost irritated by her questions. His actions were very

    disturbing. Atticus had to know something that he wasn¡¯t telling us. He wouldn¡¯t react this way without a

    perfectly good reason.

    He looks directly at me then, and my breath gets stuck in my throat, ¡°I had some answers that I needed

    to find. I disappeared to get them.¡±

    She quirks a brow, ¡°and did you find those answers?¡±

    I can feel the tension increase at his words.

    His jaw clenches.

    ¡°I found some answers.¡±

    That was all he said. His responses were short like he didn¡¯t want to tell us.

    His eyes travel to my hand, and I¡¯m unsure what he¡¯s looking for.

    He looks even angrier now, ¡°I invited Anya over tonight for a family gathering.¡± He announces suddenly.

    My body goespletely still at his words. I was right. He had been with Anya all this time. He was

    comforting her while I¡¯d been worried about him like crazy.

    It didn¡¯t make me feel any better.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t she stay home and rest?¡± rissa asks, annoyed.

    ¡°No.¡± Atticus snaps. ¡°She will be there. I expect all of you to be there as well, including Autumn.¡±

    I gasp. Did I hear him correctly?

    Including me?

    Why did he want me there as well?

    What was Atticus nning?

    Did he want to expose me in front of his entire family?

 Chapter 59

    Chapter 59

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 59

    ~AUTUMN~

    I wasn¡¯t sure if seeing Atticus today was a good idea. I kept getting a bad feeling about it.

    I knew I could trust him in the past, but now that he was back with Anya, I didn¡¯t think I could trust him

    anymore. He would do things in her favor, not mine. He would be thinking about her, not me.

    ¡± You don¡¯t have to go there tonight.¡± My father tells me. ¡°I know you think you have to be by Atticus¡¯s

    side because he¡¯s your husband, but I¡¯m tired of seeing you get hurt because of his memory loss. We

    can finalize a divorce with his family, and you¡¯ll never have to see the Fawns again.¡±

    I sigh, they were the ones that got me into the marriage in the first ce, and now they wanted to get

    me out of it? I didn¡¯t want to divorce Atticus. I wanted him to remember me. I wanted to make him

    remember me. And nothing and no one would stop that from happening.

    ¡°Atticus lost his memory while trying to save me. He got into an ident while chasing after the men

    that kidnapped me. Why would I leave him when he¡¯s going through the hardest part of his life?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just suggesting it for your own good, Autumn.¡± He tells me. ¡°I know you may think that I¡¯m being

    unreasonable, but I only care about you right now. His family is looking after him; they¡¯re putting his

    needs first. I¡¯m trying to do the same for my daughter. We don¡¯t know if Atticus will ever regain his

    memories. And if he does, we don¡¯t know if he will ever be the same. There are so much more things to

    worry about. If the Fawns find out who you really are, if they find out that we lied to them, your

    rtionship with Atticus will have to end. I¡¯m just trying to protect you from all of that. I can see that

    you¡¯ve already grown attached to him. I¡¯m scared to see what will happen to you if you¡¯re forced to let

    go of him for your own good.¡±

    Why does it have to end? Why would his parents separate us because of that lie? I wasn¡¯t the one that

    lied. I never knew who I was until today. Were they that heartless to separate me from him because of

    that? I hoped not. I thought the Fawns were nice; I thought that they were good people. I understood

    that they didn¡¯t like being lied to, but they liked me; at least, I hoped that they did. Maybe if my parents

    asked for their forgiveness, perhaps then they would put this all behind us. I was hoping for a miracle at

    this point.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry we can¡¯t protect you from everything.¡± My mother apologizes. ¡°When your father and I

    decided to adopt you, we promised Aura that we would keep you safe. We promised her that we would

    keep you happy. I thought we were doing a good job at it until now. I¡¯m so sorry, Autumn. I wish there

    were more that we could do for you.¡±

    It¡¯s not the first time that she¡¯s said this to me.

    I hug her, ¡°it¡¯s okay, mom. I know that you¡¯re trying your best. I know that these things are out of your

    control. It¡¯s not your fault. Don¡¯t me yourself.¡±

    I wish they knew where my mother was. Or my siblings. Being around people that suffered the same

    faith as me would have made this a lot easier. Unfortunately, I was separate from them, and it didn¡¯t

    look like I would ever be able to find them again in this life.

    Even though I wanted to search for them, I knew I had to let them go; I was already in danger because

    I¡¯d been found, and I didn¡¯t want anyone else to be in trouble because of me.

    I would keep them safe in whatever ways I could. And right now, staying away from them was the best

    way to do that.

    ¡°Tell us if anything goes wrong.¡± My mother tells me as they pull up to the Fawn¡¯s home.

    I nod and promise her before getting out of the vehicle. They would be returning for me tonight. No one

    wanted me to drive withoutpany. Just like they asked, the guards would be staying by the front

    entrance in case anything happened.

    Apparently, my parents didn¡¯t even trust the Fawns around me. I¡¯ve never seen them this terrified of

    anything before.

    If I had any doubt of them loving me in the past, I didn¡¯t have it anymore. They were trying to protect

    me, and I loved them for it.

    I understood why they were hesitant around the Fawns. They knew that the second that Atticus¡¯s

    parents saw my power, they would know the truth. And since my power kept resurfacing recently,

    there¡¯s no telling who would be the next person to see it. I had no control, and as long as I had zero

    control, my life would be in danger. Not only my life but the lives of everyone around me as well.

    I took a deep breath before I walked into the home that was once mine before Atticus lost his memory

    of us.

    Everyone is already on the patio, waiting for me. It turns out that I was thest to arrive. It doesn¡¯t help

    with my nervousness. I¡¯m not sure what Atticus had nned, but I had to be prepared for the worst.

    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    Anya¡¯s eyes narrowed the moment that she saw me. From her reaction, I could tell that Atticus never

    told her that he had invited me over tonight.

    Why did he keep it a secret from her? Knowing Atticus, he would want to do everything to keep her

    happy. Why did he invite me over, knowing how much she disliked me? Why did he invite me after what

    I almost did to her yesterday? Nothing he was doing made any sense to me.

    It kept pointing to one thing, and that was him exposing who I was to everyone else. At least rissa

    already knew the truth. Damon did as well. I wasn¡¯t sure how much rissa had told him, but he did

    know more than everyone else present here.

    Anya looked at Atticus, but he wasn¡¯t looking at her; his eyes were glued to me. My breath got stuck in

    my throat as his eyes grazed my body from top to bottom. I can¡¯t remember thest time he looked at

    me like this. Like I was his, like I belonged to him.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice of you to join us, Autumn.¡± His mother says as she hugs me. I wish that they always remained

    this kind towards me. I didn¡¯t want their behavior towards me to change after they found out the truth.

    ¡°It¡¯s always a pleasure to have you visit us.¡± His father agrees.

    ¡°You already know how happy you make me whenever you¡¯re around,¡± rissa adds as she hugs me.

    Atticus hadn¡¯t said a word to me while everyone else had taken the time to wee me. Yet he was

    the one that had invited me. His actions only made me more worried. What did Atticus invite me over

    for? What did he want from me?

    Was it really as bad as I thought it would be? I wanted to hope that my Atticus was still in him, and if he

    were, he wouldn¡¯t do anything that could put my life in danger tonight. I knew that I was hoping for too

    much, but I was trying to stay positive despite every bad thing that had happened in my life recently.

    ¡°Is there a reason you wanted us here tonight?¡± Damon asks now that all of us are present.

    ¡°I had ns today,¡± Griffin adds. ¡°Whatever you have nned, I hope it¡¯s worth skipping the party I

    wanted to attend.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s worth it,¡± Atticus assures him. ¡°Trust me. Unlike the rest of you, I can be trusted. I keep my word.¡±

    We all got quiet after what he¡¯d just said to us. What did he mean by that? Did he not trust anyone

    here? Since when did Atticus not trust his family? He¡¯s never made ament like that in the past.

    ¡°Are you trying to say that you don¡¯t trust us?¡± His mother asks hesitantly.

    He chuckles, ¡°It¡¯s a joke. You guys need to lighten up a little. Look at your faces; some of you look like

    you¡¯ve just seen a ghost.¡±

    That was his definition of a joke? Nothing about that was funny, considering the big secret we were all

    keeping from him.

    ¡°So then, why are we here, son?¡± His father asks, he still hasn¡¯t given us a clear answer.

    ¡°We will get to that in a bit.¡± He answers. ¡°There is no need to rush. We have plenty of time tonight.¡±

    Why was he stalling it? What was he waiting for?

    ¡°You¡¯re acting a little weird.¡± rissa points out.

    ¡°I have to agree with rissa for once,¡± Anya adds. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay, Atticus?¡±

    I think everyone here can agree with them.

    Heughs without any humor, ¡°I¡¯m the one that¡¯s acting weird? Me? Yet no one thinks that anyone else

    present here tonight hasn¡¯t been acting suspicious the entire time my memory has been missing?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re asking.¡± His mother says, but I can see the fear in her eyes. His parents

    were the ones that wanted to lie to him this entire time. I understood why they were doing it, but it didn¡¯t

    change the fact that it was indeed a lie.

    We all realize this wasn¡¯t just some simple gathering that Atticus wanted with his family. His words

    weren¡¯t matching his actions. He was angry even though he tried to mask it from the rest of us.

    He was acting like he¡¯d found out the truth about us. But that was impossible. There is no way that

    Atticus knows unless he has regained his memories.

    ¡°Why is everyone so tensed?¡± He asks. ¡°I¡¯m trying to do something good tonight for the people that I

    trust the most in the entire world. There¡¯s plenty to eat and drink, don¡¯t let me stop you.¡±

    ¡°Is there something that you¡¯d like to say to us?¡± Damon asks. ¡°You¡¯ve been on edge the entire day

    with everyone. First, you disappearedst night without letting anyone know where you were, and now

    you¡¯re acting very strangely. You already brought us here; why can¡¯t you cut to the chase?¡±

    Atticus sighs, ¡°my dear brother. Brothers. Mother. Father. Sister. There¡¯s so much I want to ask, and so

    much I have to say, but the time wille. Please, enjoy the food in front of you first.¡±

    I noticed that he didn¡¯t mention Anya or me. Were we not included in whatever he had to say? So then,

    why did he invite the both of us tonight?

    ¡°Atticus,¡± Anya whispers. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to talk to anyone else, then at least talk to me. Where did

    you gost night? Why are you not telling anyone?¡±

    His eyes move from her to me, ¡°I want to talk. But the person I want to talk to is her.¡±

    My lips part. He was still looking directly at me. I held my breath as he took slow steps in my direction.

    Was this where he told his entire family about what happened between Anya and mest night? Since

    no one asked me any questions, I knew that neither he nor Anya had spoken a word about it. Maybe

    they were waiting for this exact moment to say what was on their mind.

    Atticus doesn¡¯t stop until he¡¯s inches away from my body; I¡¯m still holding my breath when he takes my

    hand in his.

    I gasped when he began rubbing his finger where my wedding ring used to be, the ring that he bought

    for me.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you wearing your ring?¡± He growls.

 Chapter 60

    Chapter 60

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 60

    ~AUTUMN~

    There isplete silence as Atticus¡¯s words shock us all. They¡¯d all heard him. I hadn¡¯t been

    delusional. He¡¯d just asked me why I wasn¡¯t wearing my ring. How could he know about that if his

    memory was lost?

    Was it possible that Atticus had regained his memory yesterday and chose to keep it a secret from the

    rest of us?

    Why would he do something like that? It was very unlike him. His memory still had to be missing. My

    Atticus would have ran to me with hugs and kisses if he¡¯d remembered me. I wouldn¡¯t have been able

    to get his hands off me.

    ¡°How do you know that Autumn usually wears a ring?¡± His mother asks as she waits for an answer

    from him.

    I could feel the anticipation as everyone waited for him to exin.

    This night just kept getting stranger and stranger. He knew that he had everyone on edge, and I think

    this is exactly what he wanted from us. He wanted us to be confused and scared until someone slipped

    up and gave in.

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± He says. ¡°But you just confirmed it for me, mother. Why does she wear a ring on that finger? Is

    Autumn married to someone?¡±

    It felt like Atticus was ying with all of us. Was he giving us a chance toe clean with everything?

    His entire family stood up from their seats and looked at him. Damon and Dante gave each other an

    rmed look while his parents were practically gazing at him with fear.

    ¡°What do you know, Atticus?¡± His father asks. ¡°Tell us what you want to find out. Why are you ying

    these ridiculous games with your family? If there¡¯s something that you wish to ask, just do it.¡±

    ¡°Because my family, who I love and respect dearly, are the ones who chose to y ridiculous games

    with me first.¡± He Snaps. ¡°What¡¯s wrong if I also join your game? I don¡¯t have only one question to ask

    you. I have multiple questions, so I asked each of you to be here tonight.¡±

    His father res at him. ¡°No one is ying any games with you. You¡¯re reading too much into nothing.¡±

    ¡°Autumn.¡± He says, returning his attention to me. ¡°You never answered my question. Why aren¡¯t you

    wearing your wedding ring? Aren¡¯t you married?¡±

    My lips part. Either he knew I was married to him and testing me, or he thought that I was married to

    someone else. Maybe Anya made up another lie and told him. That was expected from someone like

    her.

    But Atticus didn¡¯t look at me like he thought I was married to someone else. He almost looked as

    though he knew I was married to him.

    ¡°Yes, I am married.¡± I finally say. I spoke softly, and I wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d heard me. His family surely

    had, however.

    His parents looked at me, and I could tell that they wanted me to keep my mouth shut. They¡¯d wanted

    me to stay quiet since the beginning.

    I didn¡¯t want to lie to him anymore. I wanted him to know the truth, that is, if he didn¡¯t already know

    everything.

    ¡°Autumn doesn¡¯t like speaking about her marriage.¡± His mother interrupts me. ¡°I don¡¯t think that you

    should make her ufortable. She¡¯s our guest.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you let Autumn speak for herself, mother?¡± He demands. ¡°I would like to hear the words

    straight from her mouth. No one else should speak for her.¡±

    I took a deep breath. If he wanted to know the truth this much, I would tell him. There¡¯s no use hiding it

    any longer.

    ¡°I don¡¯t wear my wedding ring because it reminds me of my husband,¡± I confess. ¡°And thinking about

    our past brings me great pain.¡±

    He tilts his head to the side and studies me. I knew he would not stop until I told him everything he

    needed to know.

    ¡°Great pain?¡± He asks, curious. ¡°Why does it bring you great pain? Is your husband no longer a part of

    your life? Did something happen that separated you from him?¡±

    My bottom lip trembles at his question. I wasn¡¯t sure if he was ying with me, but I didn¡¯t like it. He

    had no idea how hard it¡¯s been for me this entire time. But since he wanted to find out this way, I would

    continue.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I say. ¡°My husband got into an ident.¡±

    I can feel the tension rise at my words. Anya red at me, warning me with her eyes to keep my mouth

    shut. Didn¡¯t they realize by now that Atticus already knew more than he was supposed to?

    He wanted to see how far everyone would continue with their lies. I didn¡¯t want him not to trust me. I

    wanted him to know that I was someone he could blindly trust.

    ¡°An ident?¡± He repeats. ¡°Like the one I¡¯d gotten into?¡±

    I fought back the tears and bit down on my lip hard. It was difficult for me to even speak about it.

    Whenever I thought about Atticus crashing his jeep while trying to save me, I felt great pain.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I answer him. ¡°Just like the ident, you got into.¡±

    I gasped when his hand cupped my cheek and lifted my face so that I was staring directly into his eyes.

    ¡°Tell me, Autumn,¡± he whispers. ¡°What is the name of your husband?¡±

    My breath gets stuck in my throat, and even though I want to say his name, I suddenly can¡¯t remember

    how to speak.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± Anya hissed. ¡°What is the meaning of this? Why would you ask her that?¡±

    He holds up his hand to silence her.

    ¡°Son.¡± His father tries next. ¡°This is not the time or ce for that. Let Autumn have her privacy. It¡¯s

    difficult for her to speak about her marriage. Don¡¯t remind her of the pain.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m speaking to Autumn.¡± He growls. ¡°Anyone who has a problem with that can just leave.¡±

    They all got silent after his warning.

    ¡°You can tell me.¡± He says softly. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to anyone else. Just talk to me.¡±

    Our gazes are locked, and everyone else disappears around us.

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Atticus Fawn,¡± I whisper. ¡°That¡¯s the name of my husband.¡±

    His face brightened at my words, and it almost seemed like he was happy that I¡¯d chosen to tell him the

    truth.

    He slowly lets go of me and turns toward the rest of his family.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her,¡± Anya shouts. ¡°You¡¯re not her husband. Don¡¯t let her take advantage of your

    memory loss.¡±

    He res at her, ¡°she¡¯s not the one that took advantage of it. You¡¯re the one, Anya. You are the one

    that lied to me. You are the one that made me believe we were still in a rtionship. You are the one

    that I can no longer trust.¡±

    She gapes at him, ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re choosing to believe her over me.¡±

    Heughs, ¡°how much longer are you going to keep up the lies, Anya?¡± He demands.

    Her eyes widen, ¡°do you have your memories back?¡±

    His body stills, ¡°no.¡± He says. ¡°Unfortunately, it¡¯s still missing.¡±

    ¡°Then how are you so sure that Autumn is telling the truth? Why do you believe her when she says you

    are her husband?¡± Anya demands.

    I couldn¡¯t believe her. She was only making Atticus doubt her even more.

    But I was also curious: How did Atticus find out the truth? Why did he believe me when I said that he

    was my husband?

    I was surprised that he was on my side tonight. He seemed to be against everyone else but me.

    He pulls out his phone and shows her the screen. I can¡¯t see what he¡¯s showing her, but her face goes

    completely still. He passed the phone around to the rest of his family. None of them could speak a

    single word after seeing whatever it was on his phone.

    ¡°It¡¯s pictures of the shredded magazines you all tried to hide from me.¡± He tells them. ¡°I trusted all of

    you. I thought that I could blindly trust my family. Now I know how wrong I¡¯ve been my entire life. How

    could you keep such a big thing a secret from me? A wife? Who doesn¡¯t tell a husband about his wife?¡±

    ¡°Atticus.¡± His mother cries. ¡°You can trust us. When you woke up that day at the hospital and hugged

    Anya, we all knew that something had to be wrong. When we spoke to the doctor, he informed us that

    you had temporary memory loss. He mentioned that it could also be permanent from all of the trauma

    you¡¯d suffered. We were only listening to the doctor¡¯s orders. He told us to keep the truth from you until

    we thought you were ready to learn who Autumn was. You still thought Anya was your girlfriend and we

    were scared of what would happen when you learned the truth.¡±

    His jaw clenches, ¡°you lied to me, mother. And I don¡¯t know how long you were nning to lie to me.

    Autumn was in our home, in my school, and almost everywhere I went, she was present. Yet I never

    once knew that she was my wife. How do you think that makes me feel? And did any of you ever once

    consider her feelings?¡±

    My lips parted, shocked that Atticus cared about my feelings. He was more concerned about what I had

    to go through because of this lie than what he went through.

    ¡°We knew it would have been hard on her,¡± his father confesses. ¡°But we were concerned about you,

    son. We wanted to make sure that you had fully recovered before we mentioned that you were married.

    The first person you were happy to see was Anya. We thought that telling you about Autumn would

    have made you devastated. That¡¯s the only reason we chose to keep it a secret from you. I know it may

    look bad considering the extreme measures we took to make this lie believable for you, but we never

    had any bad intentions.¡±

    ¡°Damon.¡± He says. ¡°Dante. Griffin. I thought we had a better rtionship than this. You all kept this

    secret from me. Every single one of you. And did any of you even bother to look after Autumn? rissa

    was the only one that was there for her this entire time. What about the rest of my family? If she¡¯s my

    wife, I expect my family to treat her better than that. If you were forced to pretend that I was never

    married because of something the doctor said, why didn¡¯t any of you ensure that she was okay?¡±

    His family looked guilty and disappointed in themselves.

    ¡°What about me?¡± Anya demands. ¡°You don¡¯t even remember her. You remember nothing about your

    marriage to her. I¡¯m the one that you still remember. My rtionship with you is what you remember.

    Why are you still allowing her to separate us? You have no feelings for her, Atticus; you love me. Not

    her.¡±

    His hands tightened into fists at his sides, and he red at her, ¡°you¡¯re wrong.¡±

    That¡¯s all he said.

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± She demands.

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong because I don¡¯t love you.¡± He snaps. ¡°Not anymore. Not in the way I used to love you. I

    may not have my memories with me, but it¡¯s clear what I feel in my heart. You¡¯re not the one in it. I¡¯m

    sorry, Anya, but I didn¡¯t want to hurt your feelings; I chose not to tell you the truth to protect you, but I

    realize now that I was wrong. I should have told you the truth and not strung you along. I guess none of

    us are perfect.¡±

    Anya looked like he¡¯d just pped her across her face. Everyone had a look of shock on their faces. No

    one ever expected him to tell Anya something like that, especially not when he had lost his memories

    of us.

    What had caused him to react this way?

    ¡°We¡¯re sorry.¡± His mother apologizes. ¡°We¡¯re so sorry for everything. We thought we were doing the

    right thing by hiding the truth from you. Not once did we think that it would cause more harm. I hope

    that you can find it in your heart to forgive me, to forgive us. Everyone chose to follow this lie because

    we asked them to. If you have to me anyone for lying to you, me your parents. We¡¯re the ones

    that pushed for this without properly thinking everything through.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think he was ready to forgive them, not by the expression on his face. He was still outraged.

    ¡°I want everything that belonged to Autumn to be returned. Every single item of hers that you removed

    to make this lie believable, I want you to return it to its rightful ce.¡± He orders them. ¡°It should have

    never been removed, to begin with.¡±

    I didn¡¯t move an inch since Atticus started confronting his parents. I was in too much shock to do

    anything but stop and stare.

    ¡°Call her parents.¡± He adds. ¡°I want Autumn to move back in today. Let them know that she¡¯s staying

    here, where she belongs.¡±

 Chapter 61

    Chapter 61

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 61

    ~AUTUMN~

    I watch as Atticus carries bags of clothes my parents had just dropped off. They didn¡¯t want to leave me

    with the Fawns, but since I insisted, they finally gave in. I understood that they felt I was unsafe now

    that the secret was out, but I was willing to take the risk if it meant I could be by Atticus¡¯s side.

    He didn¡¯t stop pestering his parents until they¡¯d gotten all the pictures of us back into the house. Within

    two hours, everything was the same way I remembered it before he¡¯d lost his memory.

    Of course, Atticus couldn¡¯t remember what it looked like, but I did. I knew where every single picture of

    us was supposed to be.

    I know that I didn¡¯t have himpletely back to me, but I was at least happy that I was one step closer.

    I was back home, near him, where I belonged.

    I still hadn¡¯t recovered from tonight; it felt like a dream. I was afraid I¡¯d eventually wake up and realize

    that none of it was ever true.

    I couldn¡¯t believe that Atticus told Anya he didn¡¯t love her. The look on her face was priceless. When did

    he realize that he was no longer in love with her? Had he known this even before the ident? If he

    did, why did he never tell me what he truly felt? There were many times when I thought he was still in

    love with her and only her. If I¡¯d known the truth, my heart would have been less tortured.

    There were so many questions that I wanted to ask him, but I knew that he had plenty of questions for

    me as well. I wanted to give him a chance to ask me whatever he wanted.

    He was pissed at everyone else for lying to him. I¡¯d also lied to him. Did that mean that he was also

    angry with me? I didn¡¯t want him to be. I never wanted to anger or hurt him.

    His mother walks over to me, and I can see the regret in her eyes. It must be hard for her as well as his

    father. It would be hard for his entire family now that Atticus felt like he couldn¡¯t trust them. As much as

    it hurt knowing that they removed me from their lives after I went missing, I knew why they did it.

    Because of that, I was not angry with them.

    ¡°We are truly sorry for everything, Autumn.¡± His mother apologizes. ¡°We never meant to hurt you. We

    were only doing what we thought was the right thing for our son. But, as he rightly pointed out, we

    made a big mistake.¡±

    I held her hand, ¡°it¡¯s okay. I know that your intention was not to hurt me. I know that you only wanted to

    protect Atticus. I understand why you kept the truth from him. I never once thought that you were trying

    to betray me.¡±

    She gives me a grateful smile and pulls me in for a warm hug. ¡°I still think that we are fortunate for

    choosing you to be our son¡¯s bride. You¡¯ve never let us down, and I don¡¯t think you ever will. Judging by

    the way Atticus protected you, I think it¡¯s safe to say that he also feels the same way. I never thought

    my son could fall out of love with Anya, but somehow you made that possible. My sons are learning to

    bond with each other as they did in the past before she entered their lives, and I wanted to thank you

    for everything that you¡¯re doing for us.¡±

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°What are you saying to her?¡± Atticus asks dangerously. The threat in his voice was not hidden, and it

    surprised me that he took that tone with his own mother. He must be angrier than I thought he was.

    It¡¯s quite obvious that he doesn¡¯t trust his mother around me, not after everything he¡¯d just learned. I

    knew they would return to normal very soon; Atticus couldn¡¯t stay angry with his family for too long. I

    knew him well, and eventually, he would understand why they did it. Maybe he already did, but it would

    take him a little longer to adjust to the truth.

    He¡¯s waiting for me at the bottom of the stair, and his mother pats my back, ¡°go to him. You both have

    plenty to talk about. I don¡¯t want him to get any angrier with me. I have plenty to do to earn his trust

    again.¡±

    I nodded and nervously walked towards him. He took my hand in his and guided me back to his room.

    Our room.

    The pictures of us were on the table near the bed, and it felt good to see them there. We¡¯re both quiet,

    and I¡¯m unsure what to say to ease the tension in the room. I¡¯m waiting for him to ask the questions I

    knew he wanted answers for.

    I¡¯m surprised when he doesn¡¯t say anything after a few seconds. I¡¯m about to move toward the bed

    when he finally makes a sound. My feet felt stuck to the ground as I waited for what I knew was

    coming.

    ¡°Where is your ring?¡± he asks, breaking the silence.

    I swallow; it makes sense now why he kept looking at my finger today. He wanted to know why I wasn¡¯t

    wearing my wedding ring. I couldn¡¯t believe that he knew the truth and chose only tonight to spill it.

    I should have realized that¡¯s the first thing he would ask me.

    ¡°In my purse,¡± I answer him truthfully. Even though I wasn¡¯t wearing it, I still had it close to me at all

    times. I was honest when I told him that it was hard to look at the ring because it reminded me of him.

    But I also missed wearing it.

    ¡°Let me see it.¡±

    I dug into the purse and pulled it out.

    He took it from me and held it between two of his fingers. It looks extra tiny in his hand. I¡¯m not sure

    what he thinks as he continues to stare at it. Maybe he¡¯s trying to remember buying it for me. The

    silence in the room is deafening as I wait for his next move.

    He lifts his head and pins me with his piercing gaze. My breath gets stuck in my throat at how beautiful

    yet fierce he looks.

    I held my breath as he gently took my hand in his; I watched in awe as he guided the ring onto my

    finger. I didn¡¯t think not wearing my ring would have bothered him this much. His hand lingers on my

    own, and it feels good to feel his touch, even though it is not much.

    ¡°Never take it off again.¡± He warns.

    I¡¯m speechless. I couldn¡¯t believe that this was the same Atticus that was once crazy in love with Anya.

    He acted like apletely different person. What baffled me even more than this was that he had no

    memory of us. All of his memories were still about Anya. How could he still choose me when she was

    all that he knew? It was the first time that Atticus ever openly chose me over her in this manner. There

    was no mistaking it at all. What made him do it?

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any questions for me?¡± I ask hesitantly.

    Even though he was kind to me, I could tell he was still building a wall between us. I didn¡¯t want there to

    be a single thing separating us.

    He takes a step towards me but still leaves some distance between us.

    His jaw is tensed as he finally says something in response to my question.

    ¡°Why?¡± he asks.

    That¡¯s all? What was he expecting me to say to just one word?

    ¡°Why what?¡± I ask, waiting for him to borate.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner that you were married to me?¡± He asks. ¡°Why did you wait for me to

    force the truth out of you? There were many opportunities to say something, anything at all to me that

    would have told me who you truly were.¡±

    It was the one question that I didn¡¯t want to answer. If I did, it would open up all of the emotions that I

    was trying to bury deep inside of me.

    ¡°It¡¯s not something I feelfortable speaking about right now.¡± I lie.

    His eyes narrow, ¡°what better time than now is there to have this discussion, Autumn? I need to have

    all of these answers before we can move on from these lies. This isn¡¯t a simple secret that was kept

    from me. This was an important part of my life that I knew nothing about for days. I want to know why

    you couldn¡¯t just tell me.¡±

    ¡°I never wanted to lie to you, Atticus,¡± I assure him. ¡°rissa told me everything about the ident.

    She also mentioned everything your parents and the doctor had said to her. Protecting you from the

    trauma was our main concern. No one knew how you would react after finding out you were married to

    me. I nned on telling you after you got the opportunity to spend more time with me. I was terrified of

    causing you more harm than good by telling you the truth. Besides, what would you have done if I¡¯d

    told you? Would you have even believed me? I¡¯m sure you would have treated me like I was crazy if I¡¯d

    told you before you¡¯d gotten the proof yourself.¡±

    He sits on the edge of the bed and faces me angrily. ¡°You didn¡¯t seem that bothered that I was with

    Anya. I spent days with her right in front of you, but you let it happen. It makes me wonder if you ever

    had feelings for me when we were married. If you¡¯re okay with me being around another woman

    instead of telling me that you are my wife, how can I believe anything you¡¯re saying to me?¡±

    I didn¡¯t think his words could have angered me this much, but I was utterly wrong. How could he, for

    even one second, believe that I had no feelings for him? I was freaking in love with him for years! He

    was the one that didn¡¯t love me back in all that time, yet he¡¯s saying something like this to me.

    I cross my arms over my chest, was he blind this entire time? It was obvious that I was bothered that

    she was taking advantage of his memory loss. I was never good at hiding my feelings from him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything about what I feel for you!¡± I snap. ¡°If you couldn¡¯t see what it was doing to me,

    I don¡¯t think you paid that much attention to me, to begin with.¡±

    His eyes narrow dangerously, ¡°Then why couldn¡¯t you speak to me? If you¡¯re my wife, you should let

    me know! Just a few words. ¡®Atticus, I¡¯m your f*****g wife¡¯; it¡¯s not that hard.¡±

    ¡°Do you think it was easy for me?¡± I shout. ¡°Do you think I enjoyed watching you with her? I hated every

    second of it. You have no idea the kind of pain I felt because of it. It was difficult for me, Atticus. Very

    difficult!¡±

    ¡°And what about me?¡± He demands. ¡°Did you think I enjoyed feeling like I was losing my f*****g mind?

    Every day I would wake up feeling like something important was missing from my life. I would watch

    Anya and feel absolutely no emotions toward her. I would be next to you and want to pull you into my

    f*****g arms every damn second that you were next to me. Nothing was making any sense to me. It

    bothers me that none of the people I cared about took a second to think about what this lie would have

    done to me!¡±

    I never knew it was this hard on him, but everyone was only trying to protect him. Anya was probably

    the only one being selfish when she lied to him.

    ¡°Are you not hearing what I¡¯m saying to you?¡± I demand. ¡°We were all scared that something horrible

    would happen to you if you found out that you were married to me. When you woke up on that hospital

    bed, you couldn¡¯t remember anything about our marriage; it was clear that Anya would be your main

    concern. To avoid anything horrible from happening, we lied to protect you.¡±

    His jaw clenches, and I can see my words finally getting through to him.

    ¡°She was the first person you wanted to hug. She was the first person that you were looking for.

    rissa told me everything. You never once asked for me. How do you think that made me feel after

    everything we¡¯ve gone through together? I was hurting so much, Atticus. I felt guilty. Guilty because

    you were racing to save me when your jeep flipped. I felt like it was my fault, and it still feels like my

    fault. You went through all that, and I was nowhere to be found.¡±

    My voice breaks as I whisper, ¡°and then to see you with her after you promised me that you wouldn¡¯t

    hurt me that way again. It was torture knowing there was nothing I could do; I couldn¡¯t tell you how it

    made me feel, and I couldn¡¯tin because that would reveal the truth. I had to bury all of those

    emotions because that was the only way for me to protect you. I thought that I was doing the right

    thing. I knew it was the least I could do after you almost lost your life while trying to save me. How can

    you still stand there and tell me that I don¡¯t care for you? I¡¯m sorry that I had to lie to protect you, but I

    would do it again in the blink of an eye because. . . I love you.¡±

    His gaze darkens at my confession. His stancepletely changed to predatory as he focused only on

    me. My lips part as I try to figure out his next move. He wasn¡¯t saying anything, and I wondered if telling

    him I loved him was taking it too far. We still were not allowed to shock him; my mind is racing now with

    regret. Should I tell him that I was lying? What should I do?

    I gasp when he grabs my waist and spins me around so my back is now pressed against the wall.

    He doesn¡¯t move his hand; he continues to hold me and inches even closer to me.

    His body is pressed against mine, and his eyes are searching my face; I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s looking

    for, but it¡¯s making me nervous.

    My bottom lip trembles as his finger lightly trace it from left to right. He moves to the upper one and

    repeats. I¡¯m not sure why he¡¯s doing it, but I never want him to stop.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand how I could ever forget kissing lips like these.¡± He growls.

    My lips part at his words, and before I can respond, he crashes his mouth to mine. Despite how it

    started, his kiss is surprisingly soft and slow. I think he¡¯s trying to remember what it felt like to have his

    lips on mine.

    ¡°I want to try something.¡± He says in a hoarse whisper as he breaks the kiss to jam me even more

    against the wall.

    It¡¯s like he¡¯s waiting for my approval, and I slowly nod my head.

    He moves his lips to my neck, and I cry out when he begins to suck on the mark. His mark. He knew

    exactly what he was looking for, and maybe he knew all this time. My body is trembling from having his

    hands and lips on me again. It felt unreal, and I couldn¡¯t believe that this was happening.

    His markes alive at his touch, and his face glows with triumph when he leans back and takes a

    look at his work.

    ¡°I was right.¡± He whispers. ¡°You¡¯re not just my wife. You¡¯re my mate. I marked you.¡±

    His eyes lifted to meet my gaze, and my knees felt like they were about to give up, ¡°you¡¯re mine.¡±

 Chapter 62

    Chapter 62

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 62

    ~ANYA~

    ¡°He said he didn¡¯t love me!¡± I scream as I shove the books onto the ground in anger. ¡°How could he do

    that to me? I¡¯m the one that he remembers. Yet somehow, he still chose her over me? How can he not

    love me, mother? What have I not done for him? Why does he keep choosing her? What does she

    have that I don¡¯t?¡±

    I¡¯ve been throwing things all over my house since I returned homest night. I couldn¡¯t believe Atticus

    would betray me like that. I thought he would still choose me after remembering all our times and no

    memory of his time with Autumn.

    He didn¡¯t just betray me; he embarrassed me in front of his entire family.

    ¡°Calm down.¡± My mother tells me. ¡°We no longer need Atticus to be crazy in love with you for our n

    to work. I¡¯ve thought of a much better one now that I know who Autumn¡¯s parents are.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I demand. I was getting tired of these ns that never worked.

    Everything kept backfiring, and now Atticus may even hate me.

    ¡°I know what we must do.¡± She continues, and there¡¯s no missing the sparkle in her eyes. Whatever

    she was thinking must not be good news for Autumn. And that¡¯s exactly what I needed, something that

    would hurt Autumn to the point that there was no turning back.

    ¡°And what is that?¡± I ask; it was time for me to focus and do what I had to in order to get rid of Autumn

    for good.

    We were running out of options. Atticus had once again chosen her. He¡¯d lost all of his memories of

    their rtionship, and he still returned to her. I couldn¡¯t think of a single way to make him not want her

    anymore.

    I was tired of this back-and-forth nonsense. I wanted Autumn to get out of our lives forever. Why

    couldn¡¯t those men that worked for her father take her away? What were they waiting on?

    ¡°Atticus¡¯s parents would not be happy to learn that the Riveras had lied to them since the beginning.¡±

    She informs me. ¡°We can use this little detail to our advantage. They will be pissed when they discover

    that Autumn is not their real daughter. Do you know how bad this will be for their reputation if word gets

    out? The Fawns care too much about their reputation to let this go without causing some trouble for

    Atticus and Autumn. And Atticus is someone that listens to his parents. If we¡¯re lucky, he will do

    whatever it takes to make them happy, even if it means letting go of Autumn.¡±

    She had a good point. The answer was staring us straight in the face this entire time. Why hadn¡¯t I

    thought about telling his parents sooner?

    ¡°They¡¯re going to be even angrier when they learn that Azai Reign is her real father. His parents know

    who he is very well. They were never fans of his. His power intimidated them. It intimidated many of the

    most influential families around. I can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t think of this sooner. This is what we need to do

    to get Autumn out of his life for good. His parents would make sure that they split after this.¡±

    I inwardly smiled at the thought of his parents hating her just like they did me. They only liked her

    because of who her parents were. When they learned all of it was a lie, they would freak out.

    This was just another n that would work in our favor. My mother wanted them to pay, this n would

    only begin their torture. They would realize that they chose the wrong woman for their son. How would

    that make them feel? I¡¯d love to see the look on their faces.

    All this time, they kept praising Autumn, telling her that she was the right choice. How would they feel

    knowing I was a much better partner for their son?

    ¡°Who should be the one to break the news to them?¡± I ask.

    She quirks a brow, ¡°isn¡¯t it obvious that you are the one that¡¯s going to tell them?¡±

    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.

    I stop smiling, ¡°why must it be me?¡±

    The Fawns hated me. They would most likely think that I was lying to them. Who would anyone ever

    believe that Autumn was Azai¡¯s daughter?

    ¡°There¡¯s no one better for the job.¡± she snaps.

    ¡°I understand that, but they already don¡¯t like me. Why do you think they will believe me when I tell

    them that her real father is Azai Reign?¡±

    They would think I was trying to stir trouble for Atticus and Autumn. They already knew how angry I

    was that they¡¯d gotten married, to begin with. And they were also there when Atticus told me he didn¡¯t

    love me. I¡¯m sure they knew how pissed that made me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that Autumn has not told them who kidnapped her. She would keep that a secret from his

    parents. Even Atticus wouldn¡¯t know the truth. They would listen to you when you show them the video

    that we have of the men kidnapping her.¡± She informs me.

    ¡°Wouldnt they ask me how I got this video to begin with?¡± I ask. ¡°I can¡¯t exactly tell them that the people

    you hired to kidnap Autumn first had taken the video of everything that happened when they took her.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°do I need to teach you everything, Anya?¡±

    I watch as she hands me her phone. ¡°Transfer the video to your phone. If they ask where you got the

    video, tell them an anonymous person sent it to you. Even if they don¡¯t believe you, they will be more

    preupied with discovering who Autumn¡¯s birth parents were to suspect you. That¡¯s what we will be

    counting on.¡±

    It didn¡¯t sound like a perfect n, but it was better than sitting back and letting Autumn win.

    ¡°And what if that n doesn¡¯t work?¡± I ask.

    ¡°I have other ns as well.¡± She informs me. ¡°Many people would want Autumn dead when they learn

    who her father is.¡±

    At first, I thought that her father being such a powerful sorcerer would make our lives much more

    difficult. Now I realized that it was a good thing that her father was Azai.

    ¡°What other proof do I need to prove to them that her father was a sorcerer?¡± I ask.

    ¡°You can take a picture of this page of the book.¡± She informs me. ¡°It has the picture of the tattoo. They

    shouldn¡¯t need any more proof than that. They would know Azai¡¯s men would not kidnap a random

    woman without a good reason.¡±

    ¡°When do you want me to break the news to them?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Now.¡± She informs me. ¡°There¡¯s no use waiting any longer for them to know the truth. The sooner, the

    better. You can¡¯t let Autumn warm her way back into their lives. You have to do it now when Atticus still

    doesn¡¯t remember his past with her. He isn¡¯t that attached to her. When he also learns of the truth, he

    will also let her go.¡±

    I hoped that was true. Some of me still believed that Atticus would choose her no matter who she was.

    He wouldn¡¯t care that her father was a dangerous sorcerer. All he would care about was her safety and

    happiness. He was once that way with me. He didn¡¯t care about anything that anyone had to say about

    me in the past; all of that had changed now. As long as Autumn had anything bad to say about me, he

    listened to her.

    I was more determined than ever to tell his parents the truth about her. I knew that it would not only

    cause a drift between Atticus and Autumn but also between their parents. And I was looking forward to

    the aftermath.

    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± my mother asks. ¡°You have everything that you need. Leave now, and don¡¯t

    wait a second more to pass.¡±

    I nod, and this time I don¡¯t ask Dante or Damon toe for me. I didn¡¯t want anyone but his parents to

    hear what I had to say.

    When I arrive at their home, the guards let me in without any problems. I had Dante and Damon to

    thank for that. The guards knew how much they loved me and wouldn¡¯t dare to stop me from getting in

    even if I hadn¡¯t been invited.

    I knew that around this time, his parents were usually in the garden, and it was the first ce I went

    looking for them.

    I¡¯m happy when I spot his mother first.

    ¡°Good morning, Mr. And Mrs. Fawn.¡± I greet them.

    They both turn towards me, surprised to see me without Damon or Dante.

    ¡°What are you doing here, Anya?¡± Mrs. Fawn asks. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be in ss with everyone else?

    ¡°I have something I want to say to both of you,¡± I inform her. ¡°It¡¯s very important. I think the future of you

    and your family depends greatly on what I have to say to you today.¡±

    They look at each other, and I can tell they already don¡¯t believe a wording out of my mouth.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there is anything you can say to surprise us.¡± His father says. ¡°You can mention it to

    Damon or Dante, and they can tell us about itter.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand.¡± I try again. ¡°This isn¡¯t something that Damon or Dante should tell you. I have all

    the proof to back my ims, and I believe you need to hear this from me, not anyone else.¡±

    His mother sighs, ¡°if you believe that it¡¯s truly that important, then okay. You have five minutes to

    exin what this is about.¡±

    ¡°Did Autumn or her family ever tell you who was responsible for kidnapping her?¡± I ask.

    They look at each other, and I can tell from their expressions that they¡¯d kept this detail from them.

    ¡°We were too upied with Atticus to ask them the full details.¡± His mother tells me. ¡°But I¡¯m sure the

    Riveras have a good reason for not telling us. They¡¯re probably trying to find the culprits before

    announcing it to everyone else.¡±

    I sigh, ¡°you¡¯re wrong. They¡¯re not telling anyone the truth because they¡¯re afraid of what would happen

    if you find out who was responsible.¡±

    ¡°Why would the Riveras want to hide something like that from us?¡± His father asks me. ¡°We are good

    business partners, and we have a great rtionship now that our children have married each other. We

    trust thempletely.¡±

    I could see that they were already not believing what I was saying to them. I had to speak faster before

    they threw me out of their house and before I could tell them who her father was.

    ¡°Autumn¡¯s parents have been lying to you this entire time.¡±

    ¡°What are they lying to us about?¡± His father asks sarcastically.

    I ignore his tone; they will regret not trusting me when I show them the proof I brought with me today.

    ¡°They are not her real parents. Autumn¡¯s parents are not the Riveras.¡± I finally confess.

    They look at each other before bursting intoughter.

    ¡°You¡¯re trying to tell us that Autumn is not a Rivera?¡± His father asks. ¡°What proof do you have of that,

    Anya?¡±

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± His mother asks. ¡°We know that you¡¯re constantly trying to separate Autumn and

    our son. They¡¯re married. You should give up now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth.¡± I snap. ¡°She looks nothing like them. Have you never noticed how Autumn looks

    nothing like her parents and siblings?¡±

    They know that I¡¯m making a good point; I can see the confused look that they give to each other right

    after.

    ¡°If you¡¯re iming that Autumn is not their daughter, who¡¯s daughter is she then?¡± Mrs. Fawn asks.

    It¡¯s the question I was waiting for them to ask me.

    I knew they would think I was crazy when I answered that critical question.

    ¡°I want you to keep an open mind. Let me exin myself. Don¡¯tpletely dismiss my response.¡± I tell

    them.

    ¡°Just tell us who you think are her real parents.¡± His father tells me.

    ¡°Her father is Azai Reign.¡±

    There isplete silence at my words.

    They look at each other again, and I can see they don¡¯t believe me even more than before. That was

    expected.

    ¡°How do you know who Azai Reign is?¡± His mother asks me. ¡°That name was wiped from all books. No

    one is allowed to speak about him. How do you know him, and how can you im that Autumn is his

    daughter?¡±

    I expected them tough at me, but instead, they were more concerned about why I knew about Azai

    than whether it was confirmed that Autumn was his daughter.

    I couldn¡¯t tell them that my mother knew Azai; they knew nothing about my mother. I kept her a secret

    from them all this time. If they knew who she was, that would be our end.

    ¡°I know that she¡¯s his daughter; I don¡¯t think that she is. I¡¯m certain he is her father.¡± I tell them. ¡°The

    people that kidnapped Autumn are Azai¡¯s men. They want her to be their new queen now that her

    father is dead. They want her to continue where he left off.¡±

    ¡°These are just words from your mouth.¡± His father says. ¡°How do you expect us to believe you? I think

    it¡¯s time that you leave Anya. We¡¯ve heard everything that you¡¯ve said to us, and frankly, it doesn¡¯t

    make any sense to either of us. I¡¯m more worried that you know about Azai when no one your age is

    ever supposed to know about him.¡±

    I pull my phone out of my pocket and find the video of the man kidnapping her.

    ¡°Someone sent this to me,¡± I tell them. ¡°This was the video of the men that kidnapped her. You can see

    for yourself if you recognize something hard to miss.¡±

    They sigh and take the phone from me. I watch as they y the video repeatedly until I hear his mother

    gasp.

    ¡°That tattoo.¡± She whispers. ¡°Surely it isn¡¯t what I think it is.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± His father adds. ¡°That¡¯s Azai¡¯s symbol that he left on his people. All of his men wore it

    proudly in the past when he was alive. What are those men doing with it?¡±

    It turns out that they didn¡¯t even need to see the book to recognize the tattoo.

    ¡°They are his men,¡± I assure them. ¡°And they came for Autumn because they realized she was his

    daughter.¡±

    ¡°How did they know that she was his daughter?¡± Atticus¡¯s father demands. ¡°She doesn¡¯t have his

    symbol. All his children had them.¡±

    ¡°All except one.¡± I remind them. ¡°One of his daughters did not have the dark symbol and could have

    been anyone. I¡¯m telling you that she is Autumn. Why do you think they let Autumn go without a

    scratch? They never actually wanted to hurt her. Instead, they wanted her to work for them, to be their

    leader. Autumn is only back to destroy everyone around her. I¡¯m telling you, she¡¯s very dangerous. If

    you don¡¯t listen to me today, you will regret it for the rest of your life when the truth is finally revealed.

    She is a threat to us all.¡±

    ¡°It still doesn¡¯t exin why they thought that Autumn was Azai¡¯s daughter.¡± His father says. ¡°It sounds

    like you¡¯re trying to drift us apart.¡±

    ¡°Autumn has the same power as her father,¡± I tell them. ¡°I witnessed it myself. She almost killed me;

    you can ask Atticus about this. He was there, and it was only because of him that I¡¯m still alive today.¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± His mother demands. ¡°I never once saw Autumn try to harm you. She¡¯s a

    sweet girl. She wouldn¡¯t try to kill anyone. If she¡¯s had his power all along, why haven¡¯t any of us seen it

    besides you and Atticus?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me. Confront Autumn and her parents. Act like you know the truth. She will

    confess. Both Autumn and her parents will tell you the truth once you mention it to them first. They will

    tell you that she is Azai¡¯s daughter. Do not ask if it¡¯s true; tell her you to know that she¡¯s his daughter.

    I¡¯m trying to protect Atticus from her. She¡¯s dangerous to the people around her. If given a chance,

    Autumn will be just like her father, and your family will be in danger. Not only your family but everyone

    else on this earth.¡±

    They still looked like they didn¡¯t trust me, but now that they knew Azai¡¯s men had kidnapped her, they

    had no reason not to trust me anymore. They would be even more skeptical now that they knew the

    Riveras had kept the truth from them about her disappearance.

    ¡°Autumn is at the academy.¡± His mother points out. ¡°She¡¯s with Atticus. I don¡¯t think that he should be

    there when we question her. He would try to stop us, and he¡¯s still angry about the lie we told him. We

    need to find a way to stall him so we can get Autumn alone. We will confront her first and then her

    parents.¡±

    This is exactly what I wanted; for Atticus not the be there when they were questioning her. She wouldn¡¯t

    have anyone to stand up for her and would no doubt confess the truth to them.

    My mother was right; everything was working out in our favor. I should have done this the same time I

    learned that Azai was Autumn¡¯s father.

    ¡°I hope that you are not lying to us, Anya.¡± His father warns. ¡°If you are, we will make it our business to

    get you out of our lives for good. We will find brides for both Damon and Dante and ensure you don¡¯t

    get a chance to step into our family. We will make your life miserable.¡±.

    I wanted tough at his threat. He didn¡¯t realize that his family¡¯s life was in danger, not mine. I couldn¡¯t

    wait for the day my mother revealed herself to them. It would be the perfect opportunity tough in all of

    their faces. I had faith that my mother knew what she was doing.

    I would be by her side every step of the way.

 Chapter 63

    Chapter 63

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 63

    The moment Atticus and I stepped into the Academy, all eyes were on us. I¡¯m guessing that they all

    expected to see him with Anya. They were all in for a shock, especially since he held my hand in his as

    we walked through the hallway.

    When we reach my locker, Atticus surprises me as he leans into me, trapping me against it.

    What was he trying to do in front of everyone?

    ¡°Everyone is looking,¡± I whisper. I needed to remind him that we were in public and surrounded by

    people. And everyone was indeed still looking at us. They hadn¡¯t stopped since we stepped into the

    hallway together.

    ¡°And?¡± he asks, not the least bit bothered.

    What did he mean by that? How could it not bother him that they were staring at us?

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I ask as I try not to look around us nervously. It may be easy for him to ignore

    everyone else, but it wasn¡¯t for me.

    ¡°I want to remember you.¡± He says as his lips near mine. ¡°I want to do everything we did in the past; I

    want to try everything possible to remember every second I spent by your side.¡±

    My breath hitches; it¡¯s thest thing I expected him to say. Why did he choose now, when we were in

    front of so many people, to tell me something like this?

    ¡°They¡¯re still looking,¡± I whisper.

    ¡°Let them look.¡± He growls. ¡°I¡¯m allowed to kiss my wife.¡±

    I don¡¯t have time to ponder his words as his lips cover mine. His kiss was rougher thanst night, and I

    wrapped my arms around his neck to stop myself from falling to the ground. I needed his support to

    keep myself standing.

    I wanted him to remember me, also. Every single second we spent together was special to me. I didn¡¯t

    want those memories to be gone for good. But so far, there were no signs that Atticus remembered

    anything from our marriage before the ident.

    ¡°They¡¯re taking pictures.¡± I gasp between his kisses.

    ¡°I don¡¯t f*****g care.¡± He growls. ¡°I want them to.¡±

    He swallows my next word with a deeper kiss, and all I can do is hold onto him.

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    He wanted them to take pictures of us kissing. Why?

    Was he intentionally doing this in front of everyone? Did he have a purpose for it?

    ¡°Why?¡± I ask, almost breathlessly, as he moves from my lips to my neck.

    ¡°Because I want the news to spread. I want them to treat you like a Fawn, like my wife; I want them to

    respect and protect you. I want them to know that what I had with Anya is over, even if I can¡¯t

    remember our marriage. This is the best way to get all of that done.¡± He tells me as his lips move to my

    mark. I gasp when he bites down on it, ¡°I want them to know that you¡¯re my mate. I don¡¯t remember

    marking you. All the feelings were there, and it was the only reason I had a clue¡ªmy scent on you. My

    feelings for you. The way I couldn¡¯t walk into a room without wanting to pick you up and have my way

    with you, it all shouted the truth to me, but I kept thinking that something had to be wrong.¡±

    Even I didn¡¯t understand how our bond worked. At first, I thought that Anya was his mate, but I had no

    idea when that changed. All of the feelings were there for me, but nothing made sense. Damon and

    Dante were still mates with her, then why did Atticus bond with her break? That wasn¡¯t something that

    could easily happen.

    I gasped when he leaned forward and kissed my forehead, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for not recognizing you as my

    wife sooner.¡±

    He didn¡¯t have to apologize. He didn¡¯t have his memory. He was not to me for any of this. It still

    surprised me that he chose to stay with me after finding the truth. It turns out that even though Atticus

    didn¡¯t have our memories, all of his feelings for me were definitely still there. That¡¯s the main reason for

    his shocking behavior.

    I gently touch his cheek and fight back the tears, ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡± I confess.

    ¡°Scared?¡± He whispers as his forehead creases. ¡°Of what?¡±

    ¡°Of losing you again.¡±

    His eyes widen in shock, ¡°you never lost me.¡±

    ¡°You still don¡¯t remember anything.¡± I remind him. ¡°There always seems to be something or someone

    trying to separate us.¡±

    His hand gently closes around my neck and he leans his forehead against mine, ¡°I¡¯m not going to let

    anything separate us. I promise you this. I¡¯ll fight for you always. Even without any of my memories I

    will make it my business to protect you. We will make new memories. Together.¡±

    I want to be positive, but it¡¯s hard knowing the many challenges we still have to face together. This was

    far from over.

    ¡°There is plenty I want to ask you.¡± He says suddenly. ¡°I still don¡¯t know the details of the ident. I

    don¡¯t know what caused it except that you were in danger. I want to talk more about that. Not right now,

    but I definitely want to know who was responsible for hurting you on that day.¡±

    I was terrified of speaking to him about it. Atticus didn¡¯t know that Azai was my father. I never got the

    chance to tell him, and I didn¡¯t even know how to begin to exin this to him.

    Would he think that I was a monster because of who my father was? On the day that he saw me almost

    kill Anya, I felt that even then, he was disgusted by my behavior. However, how he behaved with me

    last night and today said something differently.

    I was ashamed of my father; I was angry that out of everyone in this world, he was the one that was

    responsible for my birth.

    I was angry with what he¡¯d done to my mother; he was why I hadn¡¯t met her. He¡¯s the reason that I may

    never find her in this life. He¡¯s the reason why I could never meet my siblings. I felt sick to my stomach

    thinking about it.

    For the rest of the day, everyone kept looking at Atticus and me together. The news was already

    spreading everywhere now that he was with me again. They were all asking for Anya. I¡¯m not sure

    where she was, but again, she¡¯d skipped the Academy.

    ¡°Damon and rissa will carry you home today,¡± Atticus tells me right before we walk into the parking

    lot.

    ¡°Where will you be?¡± I ask, curious and a little upset that he would be away from me.

    ¡°My mother just called. She wants me to look after something important for her. I¡¯ll be home right after. I

    promise.¡±

    I smile, ¡°drive safely. I¡¯m waiting for you.¡±

    He walked over to me and surprised me when he lifted me into his arms and hugged me tightly in front

    of everyone else. ¡°I regret not remembering you. With feelings like this, I know that you must have

    flipped my life upside down in the best way possible. I promise you that I¡¯ll do everything in my power to

    remember what we had.¡±

    I felt weak in my stomach from his words. I could barely move when he put me back down on the

    ground and rushed over to his vehicle.

    ¡°You are blushing.¡± rissa teases me. ¡°I have to say that Atticus surprised everyone after yesterday.

    At least he is speaking to you; he isn¡¯t speaking to any of us. The only words he¡¯s said to us for the day

    was to drop you home.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that he would eventually forgive all of you. It¡¯s still plenty for him toe to terms with.¡± I

    assure her.

    She nods, ¡°if everyone had listened to me from the beginning, we wouldn¡¯t be in this situation.¡±

    ¡°Did he give you a hard timest night?¡± Damon asks me. ¡°I know he must have been upset with you

    for not telling him anything.¡±

    I nod, ¡°he was angry, but eventually, he calmed down. And then we fell asleep after talking for a little.

    We have more to talk about today.¡±

    rissa looks at me with concern in her gaze, ¡°does it have to do with your father? Are you nning

    on telling him the truth?¡±

    I nod, ¡°I¡¯m terrified of his reaction, but I know it has to be done. Maybe then I can find a way also to

    break the news to his parents.¡±

    rissa sighs, ¡°they¡¯re not going to make it easy for either of you. I don¡¯t know if telling them is a good

    idea.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve already seen what happens when you choose to keep a secret in this family.¡± I point out. ¡°I

    should at least try to talk to them.¡±

    ¡°Whatever happens, just know that I¡¯ll be there to support you every step of the way.¡± She promised me

    as she held my hand in hers.

    ¡°What is Anya doing here?¡± Damon asks as he spots her car outside his home. It¡¯s thest person I

    wanted to see today. We¡¯d just pulled up to the house, and unfortunately, this was the first thing that we

    saw.

    She shouldn¡¯t be here right now. No one invited her. No one wanted her here.

    Did she skip the academy today so she coulde to our home? What the hell was she thinking about

    doing now? If Damon nor Dante knew that she was here, it could only mean trouble for the rest of us.

    rissa and I both tensed at his question. She had no reason to be here when her mates were not

    home.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a good sign,¡± rissa whispers as she looks over at me. ¡°What do you think she¡¯s

    up to now?¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to answer that question. There¡¯s no telling what scheme Anya was nning again. I

    was tired of her interference in my life. She needed to know when to give up. Atticus made it clear that

    he did not want her anymore; what else did she need to leave us alone?

    After she¡¯d tried to drown me, I can safely say that she was most likely nning on something much

    worse than that.

    ¡°I wish I knew the answer to that question; even I¡¯m worried about her next move. Anya doesn¡¯t take no

    for an answer. The more Atticus pushes her away, the more she tries to w her way back into his life.¡±

    We rushed out of the jeep and practically ran inside. The Fawns were already waiting for us at the

    entrance; judging by how they looked at me, I could safely say that she¡¯d told them something that

    could not be good news for me.

    What did she tell them? Did she mention how I¡¯d almost killed her after she¡¯d pushed me into the pool

    and tried to drown me?

    I¡¯m not sure how far she¡¯d gone while trying to make me look bad, but I was not ready to be confronted

    by the Fawns.

    ¡°Autumn, would youe with us, please.¡± His mother says in a stern voice. ¡°There are a few

    questions we would like to ask you.¡±

    rissa looked between us, and I could see the panic on her face, ¡°what¡¯s this about?¡±

    ¡°This does not concern you, rissa.¡± Mr. Fawn says. ¡°We want to speak to Autumn alone.¡±

    ¡°Father.¡± Damon cuts in. ¡°Whatever this is, you can say it in front of us. Atticus asked me to keep an

    eye on Autumn whenever he wasn¡¯t around. I don¡¯t want to do anything to disappoint him any more

    than I¡¯ve already done.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± his father responds. ¡°If it means that much to you, then stay.¡±

    ¡°Is it true that you and your parents have been lying to us this entire time?¡± His mother asks me.

    ¡°Before you answer, remember that we have trusted both you and your parents blindly; if you try to lie

    to us, there is no turning back. You are married to Atticus; I would hate for us to have a strained

    rtionship.¡±

    I was shocked by that question. If they knew that my parents had been lying to them from the start,

    they somehow knew that I wasn¡¯t their biological daughter.

    How could they know this? Since Anya was here, I guess she had to have told them. But how did she

    know this? How much precisely did Anya know about my family and me? Judging by the look on her

    face, things were about to get a lot worse than this.

    It wouldn¡¯t make sense for me to try and lie to them. I had to tell them the truth before things got any

    worse. I know this wasn¡¯t going to be easy for me, but it had to be done.

    I swallow, ¡°there may be a few details that my parents have kept from you, but they¡¯ve also kept those

    details from me. I¡¯ve only recently found it out. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s the same thing you¡¯re referring to.¡±

    They both get tensed at my words, and I can see that it wasn¡¯t the answer they were hoping to get from

    me.

    ¡°Is it true then that you are not their daughter?¡± His father asks me with narrowed eyes.

    Anya is smirking behind them, and I would love to p it out of her face. She was determined to make

    my life miserable, and she would be even more desperate after Atticus told her that he didn¡¯t love her.

    ¡°Answer us, Autumn.¡± His mother urges me. ¡°Are you not their daughter?¡±

    I take a deep breath before finally nodding my head.

    His mother closes her eyes, and all the color fades from her cheeks.

    ¡°How could your parents do this to us?¡± She demands. ¡°We¡¯ve been loyal and honest to them this

    entire time. Do they take us for fools?¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t!¡± I insist, trying to defend their actions. ¡°They only lied to you to protect me. They never

    wanted to disappoint or betray you. I¡¯m sure you know how much my parents value the rtionship

    they have with you. They would never intentionally try to jeopardize it.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem that way to us anymore.¡± His father disagrees. ¡°They have indeed betrayed us.¡±

    Mrs. Fawn held her hands up to prevent me from saying what I wanted to say next.

    ¡°Is it also true that your father is none other than the great sorcerer, Azai Reign?¡± His father demands.

    My eyes widen at his question. Then it was true; Anya had somehow found out who my birth father

    was.

    How did shee across that information? Who would have told her the truth?

    I looked at Damon; I knew that rissa did inform him of my secret, but even he looked surprised that

    his parents knew this little detail that could destroy my life.

    I can see that they don¡¯t want to believe it¡¯s true, but the fact that they asked me meant that they

    already had proof.

    I look to rissa for help, but to my surprise, she¡¯s not there. When did she even leave?

    I never liked admitting the truth out loud; it made me feel worse whenever I did that.

    ¡°Answer us!¡±

    I close my eyes and fight back the pain in my chest as I open my mouth to say, ¡°it is true. My father is

    Azai Reign.¡±

 Chapter 64

    Chapter 64

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 64

    ~ATTICUS~

    I couldn¡¯t get her out of my head: her pretty eyes, inviting lips, and soft skin. Autumn was everything I

    always knew that she was and more. I couldn¡¯t believe that the woman I¡¯d always wanted, even when I

    knew it was wrong, was now my wife.

    There were many times in the past when I knew thinking about her was wrong. There were so many

    times that Autumn stood out to me, and I chose to ignore my feelings because of Anya.

    I hate that I couldn¡¯t remember all of the details of marrying her; it¡¯s something I would never wish to

    forget. It¡¯s crazy to think that so many things happened and were all missing from my memory. If I didn¡¯t

    have these feelings for her, I would have never believed any of the articles I¡¯d read.

    I still remember the first day my eyes fell on Autumn. She was always a little clumsy since I knew her,

    and she¡¯d dropped her book onto the ground. She¡¯d trapped me instantly with her innocence and

    pureness, but something had changed when Anya tapped my shoulder, and I¡¯d looked up at her.

    It¡¯s crazy to me how things have changed so much since then. I sometimes wonder, if I was supposed

    to choose Autumn since that day, what would have happened if Anya had never tapped my shoulder

    and I had continued to be mesmerized by Autumn instead on that day?

    I kept one hand on the steering wheel while I used the other to trace my lips lightly. That was another

    thing I couldn¡¯t get out of my head.

    Kissing her was like racing through the woods in wolf form; it made me feel wild and free, alive, like I

    had something wonderful to live for.

    I¡¯d never felt anything like it before, and it kills me to know that I must have kissed her multiple times

    before, but I couldn¡¯t remember a single detail of any of it.

    Kissing her, touching her, holding her, talking to her.

    How far did we take things between us? I could only imagine the torture of spending nights upon nights

    in the same bed with her. I must have crashed and given in eventually.

    The thought of the many times I must have tasted her and gotten lost inside her was eating me alive. I

    wanted to remember it, what it was like to taste her sweetness. I kept trying to find the memory but f**k

    me; it was nowhere to be found. I knew it was thest thing I should be thinking about, considering

    everything we¡¯ve both gone through recently but damn in; I don¡¯t know why I kissed her to awaken all

    these crazy desires. I couldn¡¯t get her out of my f*****g head.

    The alert of my phone ringing forces my thoughts away from her. Finally, I didn¡¯t know how much more

    of this I could take before racing home to her and begging her to let me get just one taste. Anything to

    help me remember what it was like.

    ¡°Hello,¡± I answer on the first ring. It was good that I could get a distraction right now. I needed anything

    to stop me from thinking about Autumn and the things I wanted to do to her. It was dangerous to feel

    like this when my memory was still messed up from the ident.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± rissa shouts on the other end.

    I pulled the vehicle to the side of the road; the tone of her voice was enough to tell me that something

    horrible was happening. There were so many surprises in my life recently that I wasn¡¯t prepared for

    anything else so soon.

    I was only gone for like an hour; what could have happened in that little time?

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I demand.

    ¡°You need to get home now!¡± She eximed.

    ¡°Why?¡± I ask. ¡°Tell me what¡¯s wrong.¡±

    I needed more answers.

    ¡°Our parents found out about Autumn. Anya told them everything. You don¡¯t know the entire truth about

    her family. She never got the opportunity to tell you. You don¡¯t know who her birth father is, but our

    parents know the truth now. Get home now before things get worse.¡±

    I don¡¯t need to be told twice; the moment Autumn¡¯s name was mentioned; I¡¯d already spun the car

    around.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± She shouts. ¡°I know you want to get here back quickly, but please drive safely. We can¡¯t have

    you getting into another ident. You know what happened thest time you got into one. Autumn had

    to suffer, don¡¯t push yourself too much. I will be there for Autumn as long as possible until you¡¯re here.

    You can trust me to try my best to protect her.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know anything about driving slowly when Autumn needed me. I¡¯d promised her earlier that I

    would protect her; I meant it. Protecting her was more important to me than anything else.

    I hung up the call before rissa could hear the engine revving; I didn¡¯t want her to panic. I knew I had

    to get to Autumn, and I wouldn¡¯t do anything to get myself into an ident before I could get to her a

    second time.

    . . . . . . . . . .

    ~AUTUMN~

    The look on the faces of Atticus¡¯s parents is killing me inside. This was exactly what I was afraid of

    happening. I had to get used to people looking at me like this from now on; whenever anyone found out

    that my father was Azai, they would react like this. At least not many people my age knew about him,

    but their parents, on the other hand, would know.

    ¡°Your father is Azai Reign?¡± His father repeats. ¡°The sorcerer Azai Reign?¡±

    I was bing sick hearing that name over and over again. There was a time in my life when I didn¡¯t

    even know a name like that existed; everything was much better back then. My parents did the right

    thing by keeping the truth from me. I was angry with them because of it, but I now realize they were

    protecting me from the truth.

    They repeated the question, reminding me of where I was. I understand now why they sent Atticus

    away. His mother never needed him to do anything for her; they wanted to get me alone.

    I bite my lip and slowly nod. I wasn¡¯t proud of it. But there was nothing I could do about it; I couldn¡¯t

    choose my father.

    His mother ced a hand over her forehead like she was about to faint from this new information.

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this!¡± She exims. ¡°Azai! AZAI is her father?¡±

    ¡°How is this even possible?¡± His father demands. ¡°As far as everyone knows, your real parents are the

    Riveras. How did they even pull this off? She was pregnant with you! We all thought she was. Was that

    all a lie so they could cover up who you were?¡±

    I didn¡¯t know the exact details. My parents never exined everything to me. They answered most of

    my questions, but there were still some things that I didn¡¯t know everything about.

    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve mentioned that, I remember we never saw her for months. She stayed out of the

    public eye until they could introduce Autumn as their daughter properly. And she wasn¡¯t even a

    newborn then. We thought they wanted their privacy, but not once would I have thought it wasn¡¯t even

    her child.¡± Mrs. Fawn says in horror.

    ¡°Why did your parents keep this lie from us?¡± Mr. Fawn demands from me.

    I didn¡¯t think this was a lie that any parent would ever want to inform anyone about.

    ¡°Because it was our secret to keep!¡± My father says from the entrance. ¡°She¡¯s our daughter. We had a

    right to keep it a secret to protect her from everyone who would want to hurt her because of her

    biological family¡¯s background.¡±

    When did he even arrive, and was my mother here as well? Who called them? Who told them that I

    might need their help? Were they keeping an eye on me? It must have been the guards that follow me

    everywhere. I almost forgot about them.

    ¡°You¡¯re a f*****g liar!¡± Mr. Fawn roars. ¡°You tricked us. All this time, we thought that she was your

    daughter, and instead, she was the daughter of an evil, power-hungry sorcerer! How could you do this

    to us? I thought we were more than business partners. I thought you were our friend! You¡¯ve betrayed

    us! We trusted you. Are you not ashamed?¡±

    ¡°If we had told you the truth about OUR daughter, could we have trusted you with that information?

    Would you have treated her the same way you did before finding out who her biological father was?¡±

    My father demands.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how we would have responded to the truth in the past. All that matters is that you lied

    and broke the trust that we once had. We¡¯re cutting all business ties with you and your family.¡± Mr.

    Fawn shouts. ¡°I can¡¯t have liars this close to me. I¡¯ve always kept the people I trust close to me and the

    people that I don¡¯t very far. I never thought you would be joining that side.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I care about that?¡± My father demands. ¡°We never needed you, to begin with. My

    business can survive without you like it always has. All that matters is my daughter.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe this was happening right now. My world was falling apart in front of my eyes. They

    were ending their rtionship because of me. They were bing enemies because of me. I didn¡¯t

    want that to happen. They were supposed to remain friends. How could Atticus and I stay together

    when they were behaving this way?

    ¡°And you.¡± Atticus¡¯s mother says as she res at me. It hurt to see her look at me in that way when she

    was usually very kind to me. ¡°How could you lie to us? Why didn¡¯t you tell us the truth? You kept this to

    yourself just like your parents did. You lied to us and broke our trust.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare bring my daughter into this!¡± My mother shouts as she joins my father. ¡°She didn¡¯t know

    anything up until recently. We kept the truth from her for her safety. She never lied to you. She only

    found out after getting kidnapped. If there¡¯s anyone to me, me us, not her.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± I finally say. ¡°I only found out the truth after Azai¡¯s men kidnapped me. I was just as shocked

    and disgusted by the fact as you are now. I¡¯m not proud of who my father was. I, too, wish that my birth

    parents were my adoptive ones. The truth hurts, and I¡¯m sorry that you think we betrayed you, but that

    was never our intention. My parents kept it a secret from not only you but me as well; they kept it a

    secret from everyone they knew to protect me from the danger lurking. You don¡¯t have to cut them off

    because of it. If it were your child, you would have done the same in the blink of an eye.¡±

    The Fawns look at each other for a few seconds, considering my words.

    ¡°Is it true that you tried to kill Anya?¡± Mrs. Fawn asks suddenly.

    I knew Anya was selfish enough to bring that up to them without giving them the full details of that

    night.

    I stiffen and slowly turn my attention to her. I hate just looking at her face. How could I have once

    considered her my friend? Why did I not see the truth like everyone else had so long ago? Everyone

    seemed to know that Anya was never my friend, to begin with. I hate that I took this long to realize it on

    my own.

    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± rissa hissed as she rejoined us. I still wasn¡¯t sure where she had disappeared to

    earlier, but I¡¯m happy she¡¯s here now.

    ¡°I¡¯m speaking to Autumn, not you, rissa.¡± Mrs. Fawn snaps.

    ¡°But I¡¯m telling you!¡± rissa insists. ¡°How can you trust Anya? Why don¡¯t you ask Anya what she did

    for Autumn to react the way she did that day?¡±

    ¡°rissa!¡± Mr. Fawn scolds her. ¡°We want to hear from Autumn. Let her speak and tell us exactly what

    happened on that day.¡±

    Damon gently held rissa¡¯s shoulders, telling her by his actions to stay quiet. I¡¯m happy that he did; I

    didn¡¯t want rissa to argue with her adoptive parents because of me.

    ¡°On that day, Anya surprised me by pushing me into the pool outside. I don¡¯t know if my parents ever

    told you, but I¡¯m terrified of water. I have this great fear of being swallowed by it, amongst many other

    things. Anya knew this; she knew how scared I was of water, especially from a deep pool. She

    intentionally pushed me into it and watched me fight for my life. She did nothing to help me; she only

    stood there and watched me. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life, and she was

    responsible for it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a lie!¡± Anya hissed. ¡°Autumn slipped and fell into the pool. She med me right after because

    of it, but I swear to you, I never touched her. Before I could jump into the pool and save her, Atticus

    jumped into it and pulled her out. I didn¡¯t have a chance to help her. I¡¯m not at fault here. She is. She¡¯s

    the monster. She¡¯s the one that tried to end my life, not the other way around.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you the truth. She pushed me. She tried to kill me first.¡± I snap. ¡°I have no reason to lie to

    you about this.¡±

    Why would they ever believe Anya over me? I¡¯ve never given them a reason to not trust me. It was

    hard to ept that they were suddenly treating me like an outsider because of who my father was. My

    parents warned me that this would happen. Even now, I still wanted to believe that the Fawns weren¡¯t

    this unreasonable. Atticus¡¯s grandmother would have listened to me. She would have heard what I had

    to say. And his grandfather, he was away on a business trip, but if he was here, I just knew that he

    would have listened to me.

    ¡°So you did try to kill her?¡± His mother demands from me.

    My eyes widen, ¡°I¡ª¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to tell them exactly what had happened. They already saw me as a monster like my

    father was. I couldn¡¯t me them, even I, at times, wondered if I was just like him.

    ¡°You tried to kill her?¡± Mr. Fawn asks, waiting for me to answer.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t control myself. I never wanted to hurt her. I was only responding to her trying to kill me first.¡±

    I confess in defeat. Nothing I could say would make them think differently about me.

    It was true that I tried to kill Anya on that day. Nothing I say or do would change that. I still felt guilty

    over it. I didn¡¯t want to be just like Anya or like my father. I was never that kind of person; I never liked

    hurting anyone.

    ¡°It was horrible!¡± Anya cries fake tears. ¡°I¡¯m going to be scarred for the rest of my life. She was so

    scary. The water behind her in the pool was at hermand; her eyes were a different color, and she

    was forcing me to choke myself. She took control of my body. It was the scariest day of my life, and I

    would never want anyone else to experience what I had to endure. Autumn needs to be removed from

    your family. If she stays, she will harm Atticus; your entire family will be in danger because of her. She

    said with her own mouth that she¡¯d lost control of herself. Autumn can¡¯t control the power inside of her.

    Everyone is in danger because of her, even her own family. She is just like her father; nothing will ever

    change that.¡±

    My bottom lip trembles at her words. I don¡¯t know how to respond to defend myself. It was true that I

    often lost control of my body whenever my emotions got the best of me. It was not something that I was

    proud of.

    ¡°It¡¯s true that you have your father¡¯s curse, then. His power wasn¡¯t just a curse to his family and

    everyone around him. He threatened the peace of earth, and there is no proof that you are any different

    from him.¡±His father ims.

    ¡°How can you say that?¡± rissa demands. ¡°Autumn is the sweetest person I know. She would never

    intentionally hurt anyone! You¡¯re just angry and surprised. Please think it over before you make any

    rash decisions!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know how dangerous Azai was, rissa.¡± Mrs. Fawn informs her. ¡°None of us might have

    even gotten the chance to be here today if he was still alive. Autumn has that same power; I¡¯m not

    saying she¡¯s just as bad as him, but with power like that, it will eventually take her over; it will consume

    her just like it did to her father. Autumn cannot be a part of this family anymore. She doesn¡¯t belong

    here. I¡¯m sorry, Autumn, but the well-being and safety of my family will alwayse first. I¡¯ve always

    made difficult decisions to protect them. It¡¯s what a mother does, she protects her children and her

    family. I¡¯m sorry that we have to do this to you.¡±

    I close my eyes and fight the tears. I didn¡¯t want to be separated from Atticus again. Whenever we got

    a chance to be together, someone kept trying to keep us apart. I know that Anya was the mastermind

    behind all of this. She couldn¡¯t stop trying to take Atticus from me.

    I¡¯ve managed to stop her multiple times before; I could do it again.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Autumn.¡± My mother tells me as she gently grabs my shoulders. ¡°You don¡¯t need to stay

    where you¡¯re not wanted. They will regret their decisionter down in life. You¡¯re nothing like your

    father. I am your mother; I stood by your side and watched you grow into a beautiful young woman. I¡¯ve

    seen you cry after seeing others get hurt. I¡¯ve seen you fight for what is right. I¡¯ve never met a kinder

    child than you, do not listen to them; your father does not define who you are as a person. You¡¯re

    nothing like him. I¡¯m your mother, and I can proudly say that.¡±

    I hug my mother but gently move away from her. I wasn¡¯t ready to leave just yet. There were still plenty

    of things that had to be said. Atticus¡¯s parents needed to know that I loved him. They needed to know

    that I would try everything I could to be nothing like Azai. I never had the chance to be around and

    spend time with him; he never had the opportunity to turn me into him. I was raised to be kind and

    gentle; they said so themselves many times in the past.

    ¡°Please,¡± I beg his mother. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be separated from Atticus again. His memory is still missing.

    He¡¯s trying to remember what we had, and I don¡¯t want to leave when he¡¯s already suffering from the

    ident. Please try and understand that I will try my very best to be nothing like Azai. Ever since I met

    Atticus, he¡¯s always been the most important person in my life. I will never hurt him. I love him. I love

    Atticus, and I want to stay by his side for the rest of my life. Please do not separate us because of who

    my father is. I¡¯m begging you. Please don¡¯t do this to us. Atticus respects you; he always listens to you;

    I¡¯ve always admired that about him. Don¡¯t give him a choice where he has to choose between his family

    and me.¡±

    Her gaze softens at my words, and I know she also doesn¡¯t want to separate us. But my words are not

    enough to convince her. Her mind is already made up; I can see it in her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Autumn.¡± She apologizes once more. ¡°I know this isn¡¯t easy for you, and it won¡¯t be easy on

    him either. Surprising all of us, my son has grown quite attached to you. I know he isn¡¯t going to make

    this easy for us, but I must try. I love him also; I want what¡¯s best for him. If you truly love my son, you

    will leave him. I don¡¯t think you understand just how dangerous your real family is. You¡¯re a danger to

    the people around you. Atticus will forever be in danger because of you. We don¡¯t know the exact

    details of the ident, but Atticus was chasing Azai¡¯s men when it happened. Maybe they¡¯re somehow

    responsible for the ident that almost killed my son. That¡¯s the kind of danger he will constantly be

    involved in as long as you¡¯re in his life. As a mother, I can¡¯t allow my son to be with someone that could

    hurt him. It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s intentional; I must protect him from you.¡±

    I¡¯m about to respond when I hear something dragging down the staircase, we all follow the sound.

    I¡¯m surprised when I see Anya at the bottom of the stair with a suitcase in her hands. ¡°You can take all

    of this and leave now. We¡¯re all doing this for Atticus. You im to love him, but we love him more. We

    know how to make sacrifices to keep him safe. I wish you would do the same as well.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t even noticed when she¡¯d left to do it. Who told her that she could be in our room? Anya was

    always behaving like she was his wife instead of me. Apparently, hurting her that day hadn¡¯t done

    enough to keep her out of our lives. She was still making trouble.

    Maybe she was trying to anger me, maybe she wanted me to lose control over my body again. I

    wouldn¡¯t let her seed. No matter how hard it was, I had to prevent myself from losing control of my

    power because of her sly ways.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to leave, Autumn.¡± Mr. Fawn tells me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry it has to be like this. I hope you can

    understand. Maybe when you have a child of your own one day, you will understand why we made a

    tough decision like this.¡±

    I look at my parents, and they nod for me to take the suitcase from Anya. I couldn¡¯t give up this easily. I

    couldn¡¯t let go of Atticus after fighting so hard for him all this time. But talking to his parents without him

    by my side would be like speaking to a brick wall.

    I hung my head as I snatched the suitcase from Anya. I didn¡¯t even want to see her face. I just wanted

    to leave before this became any more humiliating.

    If I got angry and used my power, Atticus¡¯s parents would only hate me more. It would prove their point,

    and that¡¯s thest thing I wanted to happen today. This had to be settled in some other way. Besides, I

    didn¡¯t want to hurt Atticus¡¯s family. They weren¡¯t people that I hated. I also cared about each of them. I

    could never hurt them, even when they were trying to separate me from Atticus.

    ¡°AUTUMN!¡± I heard someone shout.

    I freeze. That voice. That beautiful, beautiful voice.

    It was Atticus.

    ¡°AUTUMN!¡± He roars even louder when he doesn¡¯t get a response the first time. ¡°Where are you?¡±

    It sounds like he was running towards us. It doesn¡¯t take long for me to spot him, and when he sees

    me, his eyes are filled with relief.

    Did he know that something was wrong? Who told him?

    I watch as he runs toward me and pulls me into his arms. The suitcase drops from my hands, and I

    wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him tightly against me.

    I close my eyes as he leans back and kisses my forehead. ¡°I¡¯m here. I¡¯m sorry I took so long.¡±

    He slowly lets go of me and puts my body behind his as he faces his parents.

    ¡°What is this suitcase doing here?¡± he demands after looking around him.

    His mother sighs, ¡°we asked Autumn to leave, Atticus.¡± She informs him. ¡°She was just leaving before

    you got here.¡±

    His body stiffens at her words, ¡°Autumn is not going anywhere.¡± He growls.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, son, but this isn¡¯t your decision. Do you even know who Autumn¡¯s biological father is? Did

    she tell you where she came from and the danger surrounding her name alone?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a f**k about her biological father!¡± He roars. ¡°I don¡¯t care about her past or things she can¡¯t

    control. I don¡¯t f*****g care about anything except her. Autumn is staying here with me; she¡¯s not going

    anywhere!¡±

    ¡°SON!¡± His father shouts. ¡°You know nothing. You¡¯re speaking like this because you have no clue about

    this situation. Why is it so hard to let her go? You are the one that didn¡¯t want to marry her, to begin

    with. You were always in love with Anya. We forced you into this marriage because we thought we

    were making the right choice. We realize now that we made a terrible mistake. We are trying to fix this

    mistake before it¡¯s toote for any of us!¡±

    The muscle in his jaw ticks, which indicates how angry his father¡¯s words have just made him.

    ¡°A MISTAKE? How can you call something as sacred as a marriage a f*****g mistake?¡± He roars. ¡°I

    don¡¯t remember anything from my marriage, but you admit to forcing me into the marriage? And now

    that I want to stay with Autumn, you¡¯re now trying to force me to let her go? What kind of parents are

    you? You lied to me about her being my wife after you were the ones that wanted the wedding to take

    ce, and now this madness because of who her biological father is? What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen Atticus this angry with his parents before. He looked both pissed and

    disappointed with them.

    ¡°Why are you listening to them?¡± He asks me. ¡°You¡¯re my wife. No one here can force you to leave. You

    belong here as much as any of us.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to leave, but I was also scared their words woulde true. I was terrified that my power

    would consume me and force me to hurt the people closest to me.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± His mother hissed. ¡°Autumn¡¯s father is Azai Reign!¡±

    He looks at her like she¡¯d lost her mind, ¡°am I supposed to know who that is?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a sorcerer.¡± His father exins. ¡°No one could control him. He had uncontroble power, and he

    wanted to use that power to ovee the world. He would have done it if Autumn¡¯s mother hadn¡¯t

    killed him when she got the chance to do it. Listen to us when we say that staying with Autumn will

    ensure you have a difficult life!¡±

    ¡°I know you always get me to listen to you one way or the other, but this is where I draw the line.¡± He

    tells them. ¡°There is nothing in this world that could get me to leave Autumn. Nothing. And this is even

    without remembering what it was like being married to her. I¡¯m not leaving her side. Ever.¡±

    ¡°Are you not listening to us?¡± His mother demands. ¡°Azai was so dangerous that all books of him were

    destroyed after his death. No one was allowed to even mention his name. In fact, we can get in serious

    trouble just by saying his name alone. And you expect us to keep his daughter in this house with us? If

    the relevant authorities find out that we have the daughter of Azai Reign living with us, we will all be in

    serious trouble!¡±

    I¡¯m surprised that any of this doesn¡¯t faze Atticus. He¡¯s only concerned about me. Suddenly, I couldn¡¯t

    see anyone but him in this room. I didn¡¯t think I could fall more in love with Atticus, but I was wrong.

    I¡¯m falling harder than I ever did at this exact moment. He didn¡¯t remember anything, but still, he was

    protecting me. Still, he was insisting that his parents don¡¯t try and separate us. He didn¡¯t even care that

    my father was an evil sorcerer.

    This was the Atticus I¡¯d fallen in love with since the start; this was the Atticus that had captured my

    heart in the beginning, and he was standing right in front of me, but this time, I was the one he was

    protecting, no one else but me.

    My heart swelled with joy at this revtion.

    I¡¯m surprised when he grabs me by my waist and pulls me in front of him, capturing me in his arms.

    ¡°If you are that concerned over your safety, I will take Autumn, and we will leave. You will never see

    either of us again for the rest of your lives. You will not have to worry about your safety. Either you allow

    her to stay with me, or we both leave. . .together.¡±

 Chapter 65

    Chapter 65

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 65

    ~AUTUMN~

    I didn¡¯t want Atticus to leave his family because of me. I could see the horror on the faces of everyone

    here that loved him. No one wanted him to go.

    I gently cup his cheek in my hand, ¡°your parents are only worried about you. Maybe we should give

    them some time to calm down.¡±

    His arms tighten around me, ¡°what is there for them to think about again? You¡¯re my wife, and you¡¯re

    staying my wife for the rest of my life. You¡¯re my mate also¡ªmy mate. I¡¯m never letting go of you. I

    don¡¯t care what anyone says about you or your f*****g father. You¡¯re mine, Autumn, and no one can

    ever change that.¡±

    My heart continues to jump in my chest. Atticus kept saying things that both surprised me and made

    me overjoyed simultaneously.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± His father shouts. ¡°We¡¯ve always protected you. We¡¯ve always done what we thought was

    best for you. Don¡¯t you think we¡¯re doing this because we care about you?¡±

    I think Atticus did know this, but he didn¡¯t care about that. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going to happen now, but

    I wasn¡¯t letting go of Atticus either.

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    His jaw clenches, ¡°I know that you care about me, but I¡¯m not the only one that I want you to care

    about. I want you to also care about Autumn. This entire time I¡¯m the only one that you¡¯ve been thinking

    about. Not once have you thought about her and the way your actions have been affecting her. I don¡¯t

    want to separate from my family but if you force me to do it, believe me, I will. I¡¯ll do whatever I have to

    stay with Autumn.¡±

    His mother turns away from us, and I think it¡¯s possible that she might be crying. They seem helpless; I

    know that they want me to let him go; I know that it¡¯s the only way for Atticus to leave me¡ªif I let go

    first.

    But I wasn¡¯t going to do it. I wanted to be with him, and I believed in my heart that I would never hurt

    him. I couldn¡¯t promise to hurt the people that tried to separate us, however. I don¡¯t think his parents

    realize yet how much I loved him. I don¡¯t think anyone but me knew what I would sacrifice to keep him

    safe.

    I slowly let go of Atticus and walk towards them, ¡°I¡¯m never going to hurt Atticus. I know what my father

    tried to do was horrible. I know that he wasn¡¯t a good person. But I never knew him; I wasn¡¯t taught his

    ways. I admit that there have been times when I¡¯ve lost control, but I¡¯m working on trying to fix that.

    Please trust me. I¡¯m not going to let anything happen to him or his family. I care about all of you. I

    would never intentionally do anything that would hurt any of you.¡±

    Griffin walks in then with Dante and takes a look at us, ¡°what is happening here?¡± He demands,

    confused. ¡°How much did I miss?¡±

    There is a silent pause as he waits for someone to answer. I wasn¡¯t sure how to even begin to exin

    everything.

    ¡°Autumn is the daughter of an evil sorcerer,¡± Anya answers him before anyone else gets a chance to

    say anything. ¡°And Atticus knowing that she almost killed me with her evil power quite simr to her

    father¡¯s power, doesn¡¯t want to let her go.¡±

    She¡¯d conveniently left out the part where she almost killed me first. Luckily, Griffin knew the type of

    person that I was. He wouldn¡¯t listen to Anya as his parents had done.

    ¡°Hold up,¡± Griffin says, squeezing his temples. ¡°Autumn¡¯s parents aren¡¯t the two people standing in

    front of us now? And frankly, Anya, I don¡¯t believe Autumn tried to harm you without you doing

    something bad first.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything you need to know,¡± Damon says as he taps his shoulder and carries him

    elsewhere. We didn¡¯t have time to catch Griffin up with everything.

    I¡¯m waiting for his parents to say something. Are they going to let Atticus leave with me, or will they let

    us stay?

    I know that my parents are ready to snatch me back and carry me home with them, but my home was

    wherever Atticus was. I hoped that they understood that.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Mrs. Fawn finally says. ¡°If we can¡¯t convince the two of you to let go of each other, we need to

    do things differently.¡±

    ¡°Differently?¡± Atticus asks as he walks over to stand behind me. His hands are ced gently on my

    waist as he waits for his mother to borate.

    ¡°Yes,¡± she answers him. ¡°Differently. Now that we know the truth about Autumn, we must keep her

    identity a secret from everyone.¡±

    ¡°Autumn,¡± she says as she turns her attention to me. ¡°you need to learn how to control your power. If

    you lose control because of your emotions, you¡¯re bound to slip up, and others will find you. Now that

    we¡¯re on this topic, why did Azai¡¯s men let you go? If they want you to be their queen and continue

    where your father left off, why did they let you escape?¡±

    Atticus looks at me then, and I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s thinking, but I can see the panic in his eyes. We

    never had this discussion. There is plenty that he still didn¡¯t know or understand. There was even

    plenty that I still didn¡¯t understand either.

    ¡°You never told me what happened that day.¡± He says suddenly. ¡°I can¡¯t remember anything, but it still

    bothers me that you experienced something that horrible and had no one to protect you.¡±

    It was a day I wished that I could somehow forget. So many horrible things happened on that day.

    I didn¡¯t know if his parents would believe what I had to say in response to their question, but I had to

    give them an answer.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why they let me go. I was tied to a table that prevented me from using my power.¡± I

    confess. ¡°I couldn¡¯t escape from them at first because of it. But somehow, it eventually did work, and I

    was able to get out of their trap for me. They chased me, but I fought off each of them. Eventually, they

    stopped.¡±

    ¡°You already knew about your power all that time?¡± His mother asks me.

    I slowly nod, ¡°I didn¡¯t know who my father was, but I knew I wasn¡¯t just a normal werewolf. Atticus knew

    the truth as well. I often used it in front of him. On the day that Carter and his teammates trapped us

    and attacked him, I used my power to get them off him. He chose to keep that detail from you while he

    was in the hospital because I assume he knew you would have reacted this way if you found out the

    truth. That same day when I disappeared and said I was heading back home, I also went to the game. I

    wanted Carter and the rest of them to pay for what they¡¯d done to him. I¡¯m the reason that they lost that

    game so badly that night. I needed to do something to hurt them for hurting him, and that seemed like

    the best revenge without getting caught.¡±

    His mother looks shocked at my confession. I never told them before; even Atticus never knew this.

    ¡°You¡¯re the reason?¡± Griffin asks, walking back in with Damon. ¡°f**k. That¡¯s so f*****g cool.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything about this,¡± Atticus says, confused. ¡°Why did Carter attack me? We were

    never on bad terms before. What caused us to be enemies?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± I admit. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about it another time.¡±

    ¡°Tell us, why did they let you go?¡± Mr. Fawn asks, bringing me back to the fundamental question that

    they still wanted me to answer.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I confess. ¡°I wish I knew, and I wish that whatever it is that they¡¯re nning is over, but I

    know it¡¯s far from over. I know they¡¯re nning something big, and I¡¯m a part of it. They told me that I

    could never leave unless that¡¯s what they wanted to happen. There is something else that they want; I

    don¡¯t know what it is. I always have guards surrounding me, but I don¡¯t think that will be enough to keep

    them away from me. There are plenty of them, and they¡¯re waiting for the right opportunity toe for

    me. . .a second time. It¡¯s scary, and I¡¯m constantly uneasy, but I will not give them what they want. I will

    not let them turn me into my father. I rather die than be evil like him.¡±

    I can see that telling them this didn¡¯t make things easier for Atticus and me, but I can also see that they

    all felt sorry for me. I know that his parents didn¡¯t hate me; I know that they were only trying to protect

    their family.

    I wanted things to be like they were in the past. I wanted them to be good friends with my family once

    more. I wanted them to be happy that Atticus and I were together. I didn¡¯t think that was possible

    anymore.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s time for Autumn to get some rest,¡± Atticus says. ¡°You can ask her more questions tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°But there is still plenty to discuss.¡± His mother tells him. ¡°Have you ever heard about the Overlords?¡±

    The Overlords.

    I¡¯ve heard very little of them, but I knew they weren¡¯t people you could easily ignore.

    ¡°They, along with the ck council, were responsible for getting rid of all books of Azai and making

    sure that his name vanished until now.¡± She exins. ¡°The Overlords are just as cruel and controlling

    as the council. They do whatever they have to do to keep order in our world. They will no doubt see

    Autumn as a big threat to everyone. They can¡¯t know who she is. No one else can ever find out the

    truth about her if you want to protect her. If Autumn used her power in front of Carter and his friends,

    then we¡¯re not the only ones that know about her. I don¡¯t understand why they chose to keep quiet this

    entire time.¡±

    Atticus¡¯s jaw clenches, and I know her words have definitely managed to frustrate him.

    Even I didn¡¯t understand why Carter kept my secret. Maybe he spoke to Scarlett about it, and she

    convinced him not to say anything. Or maybe they just didn¡¯t want anyone to know that a girl had

    kicked their asses that day. Though, they¡¯d never actually fought me. They¡¯d all left when they realized

    that I would protect Atticus with my life.

    Atticus walks past me and straight towards Anya. There was unmistakable anger in his steps. He knew

    that she was the one that had told his parents the truth.

    How did she even know about my father? Who told her the truth? She saw my power, but that alone

    shouldn¡¯t have been enough for her to figure out that Azai was my father. If his name had been

    completely wiped from all books, how could she find out the truth? Who was helping her? It had to be

    someone that knew my father and mother.

    Who the hell was Anya? Were we all underestimating her?

    Atticus grabs her shoulders roughly, and Damon rushes to protect her from his brother. Dante is right

    behind. They still loved her like crazy. As long as they were in love with her, we would never be able to

    punish Anya as long as they were this crazy about her. If we tried to hurt her, it would destroy this

    family. This is what his parents tried to tell me once, that I had saved Atticus from this. But now, they

    also saw me as a threat to their son.

    I had to find a way to prove to them that I wasn¡¯t a threat, at least not to him. Maybe then they would be

    able to be happy about us once more.

    ¡°Let her go!¡± Damon growls.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± Dante shouts. ¡°Let my mate go!¡±

    Atticus ignores them as he res at her, ¡°if anyone finds out who Autumn truly is, I know where to find

    you. If you know what¡¯s good for you, you will keep this secret with the rest of us.¡±

    She looks startled by his actions and remains that way even when he lets her go.

    ¡°I think Autumn shoulde home with us tonight.¡± My mother says, worried that I was still in danger.

    ¡°No.¡± Atticus disagrees. ¡°She¡¯s staying here. With me.¡±

    She looked at me, trying to find out if it was okay with me. I nodded, letting her know that this was what

    I wanted. To be with Atticus.

    Atticus doesn¡¯t wait for anyone else to say anything as he pulls me up the stairs with him. He didn¡¯t

    stop walking until we reached his room, and he locked the door behind us. It was clear that he didn¡¯t

    want anyone to disturb us again. Or maybe he was worried that someone would try to separate us. He

    didn¡¯t seem willing to take any chances, even with his family.

    He begins to pace in front of me. It was devastating to see. He was at war with his own parents

    because of me. He loved them like crazy. I¡¯ve seen Atticus grant their every wish because of how much

    he respected them.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do that,¡± I whisper after watching him pace from left to right for the tenth time since

    he¡¯d locked the door.

    I hate what this is doing to him.

    He turns to me with his thumb finger pressing into his bottom lip. He slowly lets it slide and narrows his

    eyes, ¡°didn¡¯t have to do what?¡±

    ¡°Go against your parents for me.¡±

    I know that I¡¯m making him angrier. He might think I¡¯m being insensitive after what he¡¯d done to keep

    me here with him. It was quite the opposite; I only wanted him to be happy.

    ¡°Do you think it would have been better if I¡¯d let them throw you out of our home like you were

    garbage?¡± He asks. ¡°Would that have been the better thing to do?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± I answer him. ¡°But I hate to see you like this. They¡¯re your parents, and they only want

    to protect you.¡±

    ¡°And I want to f*****g protect you.¡± He growls. ¡°We can¡¯t all get what we want.¡±

    My breath hitched at his words, and I tried to calm my racing heart. It was pounding in my chest and

    threatening to break free.

    ¡°Why are you protecting me this desperately?¡± I ask. ¡°You don¡¯t even remember what it was like to be

    with me.¡±

    I was happy that he was doing it, but I couldn¡¯t deny how strange it was for him to do it, considering his

    memory of us was gone.

    He grabbed my hands suddenly and pressed them against his chest so that I could feel the wild

    beating of his heart. ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything, but I have feelings. My heart f*****g beats for you,

    Autumn. Only for you. These feelings are something that no one, not even a f*****g ident, could

    take away from me. No one could make me forget what I feel for you. I¡¯m fighting this hard to protect

    you because I know my life will be f*****g over without you in it.¡±

    I could barely breathe at his confession.

    I don¡¯t know how to respond to such raw emotion from him. I was not expecting that answer.

    His hand gently touches my cheek as he forces me to look directly into his soul-sucking eyes, ¡°I think

    about you every second of every day. I can¡¯t get you out of my f*****g head, Autumn. I want to hug you

    and kiss you. I want to touch you and taste you. I want to get lost inside of you. I want to tell you how

    beautiful you are; I want to be the reason why you smile. I want to protect you ferociously from anything

    that could harm you. I want to mark you over and over again. One time isn¡¯t enough. Just because my

    memories are gone doesn¡¯t mean my heart has also disappeared. I want so many things, and all of

    them include you.¡±

    I gasped, and he leaned into me so that his lips were right above my ear, ¡°even that little sound from

    your pretty mouth makes me happy. Everything about you makes me feel like a f*****g man. You¡¯re my

    woman, Autumn, my only one.¡±

    ¡°Do you really feel nothing at all for Anya anymore?¡± I ask, unable to stop myself.

    I know that he told her he didn¡¯t love her, but I wanted to hear it today, while we were alone and where I

    knew he could say to me the truth.

    He pauses at the mention of her. I know I shouldn¡¯t bring her up, but I wanted to confirm just this once

    that he was speaking the truth before Ipletely believed him.

    ¡°I find it hard to believe that you loved her for so long and suddenly want nothing to do with her,¡± I

    confess. ¡°You had your reasons in the past to want to keep your distance from her, but after losing your

    memories, what made you step away from her? How are you no longer her mate?¡±

    He inhales sharply, ¡°Anya is thest person I want to speak about.¡±

    ¡°I want to know.¡± I insist. ¡°Before you lost your memory, I still felt like you were in love with her. She was

    constantly a threat to our marriage. I want to know that you had truly wanted to let her go and be with

    me before you¡¯d gotten into the ident that horrible day.¡±

    There¡¯s a pause as he thinks about my words. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m making him any happier. His mood

    keeps growing darker by the second.

    He surprises me when he throws me onto the bed suddenly and climbs on top of me. Both his hands

    are holding mine on the bed, and he¡¯s looking down at me.

    ¡°There are plenty of things that I can¡¯t remember, Autumn, but one thing that I know for sure is what I

    felt for Anya after losing my memory.¡± He says. ¡°I¡¯m sure I mentioned it to you already, but it still looks

    like you don¡¯t believe me.¡±

    ¡°Tell me.¡± I urge him. ¡°What did you feel for her after all of your memories of me were gone?¡±

    His eyes sparkle with some unfamiliar emotions as he dips his head lower. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you, but I want

    something in return.¡±

    ¡°Something in return?¡± I ask. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    He smiled, and I almost fainted from how sexy he looked.

    My body wentpletely still as he left a long, soft kiss on my neck. ¡°I want to taste you.¡± He whispers.

    ¡°I¡¯m dying to taste you, Autumn. I envy my past self. He knows what it was like to have his tongue

    inside of you. I want to be as lucky as he was.¡±

 Chapter 66

    Chapter 66

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 66

    ~ATTICUS~

    I couldn¡¯t stop myself from taking what I wanted from her. I knew that I should behave; I knew that I was

    being selfish. I knew this was wrong at a time like this but damn it; nothing was going to stop me from

    tasting her tonight¡ªnothing except her.

    She was asking all these questions about Anya even though I was sure I had already told her I felt

    nothing for her. What the f**k had I done in the past for her not to believe me? How stupid must I have

    been? And how much did I hurt her before finally realizing my feelings toward her? I had so many

    questions about my past, so many questions about our marriage. Autumn was the only one that would

    be able to give me all of those answers.

    But first, I needed to taste her. I needed it like I needed air to breathe.

    ¡°Do you want to know something?¡± She whispers suddenly. There seems to be a mischievous glint in

    her eyes and it¡¯s definitely trapped me.

    ¡°Once it¡¯s from your mouth, I¡¯m all ears,¡± I tell her. I didn¡¯t know if she was trying to change the

    conversation, but I was hoping she would let me do what I desperately wanted to.

    ¡°On our wedding day. Your parents told us we had to bathe in the spring at one of your inds. Before

    we got there, I saw Anya openly flirting with you on the boat. I got instantly jealous and sad. I drank

    plenty that night and kissed you in front of her. I was thrilled when you didn¡¯t stop me. When we got to

    the spring, I did something you might not believe even if I told you.¡±

    She¡¯d sparked my interest. I wanted to know what exactly she¡¯d done when we¡¯d gotten to the spring. I

    found it hard to believe that she¡¯d kissed me in front of everyone while on the yacht. And why the hell

    did I let Anya openly flirt with me in the past on my wedding day?

    Suddenly, I wasn¡¯t sure if I wanted my memories back. If it were filled with me being aplete

    asshole toward Autumn, I wouldn¡¯t know how to forgive myself.

    What else could have happened for her to think I wouldn¡¯t believe what she had to say? What

    happened in that spring? I wanted to know more about that incident than anything else right now.

    She buried her face against my chest, and I didn¡¯t think I would love feeling her against me this much. It

    dawned on me that I would f*****g kill to protect this woman. I would never let anyone take her from

    me. Never. Not even my family. No one would ever be able to separate us. I know that there was evil

    waiting to tear us apart, but I would fight till my death to keep her.

    ¡°I was naked in the spring, and after the ritual, I sat on the edge and spread my legs so that you could

    have a full view of my bare pussy.¡±

    A second passes. Then another and another.

    I don¡¯t think I can f*****g breathe right now. It¡¯s thest thing I expected her to say to me.

    ¡°Repeat it,¡± I whisper sharply. ¡°I don¡¯t think I heard you correctly.¡±

    There¡¯s no f*****g way she¡¯d said what I thought she did.

    ¡°I spread my legs for you on our wedding night; I showed you the most intimate part of my body.¡± She

    repeats for my sake.

    f*****g hell. My d**k stirs in my jeans almost immediately. It was very much alive and hungry for her.

    I was even more envious of my past self. He witnessed such a beautiful thing, and I hated how weak I

    was to forget something like that. How many moments like these have we had with each other that I¡¯d

    forgotten because of the ident?

    ¡°Show me,¡± I say in a hoarse whisper. ¡°Show me how you did it. I want to remember. I want to

    remember everything.¡±

    Her eyes widen, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do that.¡±

    Her cheeks are bright red.

    ¡°Why are you nervous now?¡± I whisper. ¡°You did it already, and you¡¯re the one that told me about it.¡±

    ¡°I was intoxicated when I did that. It was different then.¡± She says.

    I grin, ¡°you¡¯re right. It is different now. This time you aren¡¯t intoxicated. This time you will be aware of

    everything. This time will be much better than thest.¡±

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She whispers.

    I kissed her forehead and rolled next to her onto the bed. I pull her into my arms, ¡°we can cuddle then.

    I¡¯m just as happy with that.¡±

    I was still dying for a taste of her, but I wasn¡¯t doing anything that she didn¡¯t want right now.

    She surprised me by pulling herself out of my arms and walking towards a nearby desk to my left.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I ask, clueless.

    I held my breath as she unzipped the back of her dress, and I watched it fall from her body.

    The air gets stuck in my throat from seeing Autumn naked in front of me. Forget anything I ever thought

    she looked like without clothes; she was unbelievably beautiful.

    Her eyes were glued to me as she climbed onto the desk and slowly spread her legs open for me. ¡°I

    want you to remember.¡± She whispers. ¡°I want you to remember every second that you touched me.¡±

    I swallow.

    How was she so f*****g gorgeous?

    I can¡¯t f*****g look away; from her pretty eyes, her smooth skin, and her f*****g wet p***y glistening in

    front of me.

    She was wet for me. I didn¡¯t think anything could make me as happy as this did at this exact moment.

    I can¡¯t help myself as I climb out of bed and go after her. I had to have her in my arms.

    ¡°Tell me,¡± I growl as I finally reach her. My hands are on the desk to her side, and my lips are next to

    her ear. ¡°What did I do after you gracefully spread your legs for me?¡±

    Her finger lightly touches my chin and lifts my face so that I am looking into her eyes.

    ¡°I told you how much my breasts ached because of you.¡± She confesses.

    My eyes narrow, ¡°do they?¡± I ask. ¡°Do they hurt right now?¡±

    She nods innocently, ¡°they hurt so much. Just like they always do when they want your attention.¡±

    ¡°Did I touch them?¡± I whisper.

    She shakes her head, ¡°no.¡±

    What the f**k? Why hadn¡¯t I?

    ¡°I had to beg you first.¡± She admits.

    ¡°What a f*****g d**k I was,¡± I growl. ¡°If your breasts ached for me. I should have taken that pain away

    from you without you having to beg.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She says as she shakes her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t believe you when you told me you didn¡¯t want to touch

    me that night because you didn¡¯t want to take advantage of me. But I eventually found out that you

    were telling the truth. You weren¡¯t aplete d**k; you were also kind and thoughtful to me

    sometimes.¡±

    I chuckle, ¡°not aplete d**k? I guess there are plenty of things I still have to make up for.¡±

    Before she can say anything else, I duck my head and cover her breast with my mouth. I open my

    mouth wide and take the entire thing into my mouth, sucking as gently as possible. I didn¡¯t want to

    rm her, but I was dying to taste her like this again. Some of me hoped this would also help jog my

    memory but so far, it wasn¡¯t any help.

    ¡°Tell me, Autumn,¡± I say before moving to her next n****e. Did I grab your legs and spread them wider

    like this?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± She gasps as I spread them f*****g wide. ¡°Do you remember?¡±

    I hate to see the hope in her eyes, knowing that I couldn¡¯t remember anything.

    ¡°No,¡± I answer her honestly. ¡°I just knew that there¡¯s no way I would have been able to leave you like

    that without wanting an excuse to touch you and see more of you.¡±

    She gasps and stares into my eyes, ¡°I love you.¡± She whispers. ¡°I love you so much, Atticus.¡±

    I close my eyes and let her words sink into my heart. f**k. Those are the kind of words that gave a man

    a reason to live. Those are the kind of words that would make a man kill for his woman. Those are the

    kind of words that made a man feelplete. Autumn did all of those things for me.

    ¡°Can I taste you?¡± I beg. ¡°Please.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t wait any longer. I needed to taste her.

    She bites her bottom lip and slowly nods.

    I didn¡¯t waste a second more. I gently ced her down on the desk and stood at the edge to get a

    better look at her. I was mentally preparing myself never to forget what she looked like today in my

    bedroom, on top of my desk,pletely naked and waiting for me to taste her.

    I gently slid my nose up her legs until I touched her opening and inhaled deeply. Her breath hitches,

    and she grabs onto my hair for support. I rub my nose up and down as I listen to her sweet moans.

    Her hand on my hair tightens as I slowly let my tongue slide against her p***y, tasting her f*****g

    sweetness and swallowing all of it.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± She cried as I began to suck before moving my tongue faster into her.

    I love the sound of my name on her lips. I didn¡¯t want to stop until I had her screaming it at the top of

    her lungs. It would be f*****g music to my ear.

    ¡°I¡¯m never forgetting the taste of your f*****g p***y ever again,¡± I growl. ¡°I promise you that.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think anything could taste this f*****g good. How did I go days and nights without having her in

    my mouth like this? I was f*****g insane.

    She cries out at my words, and I can feel her body tremble. She was close, and I wanted to bring her to

    her climax.

    I¡¯m about to do that when there¡¯s a loud knock on my door. Not just one knock but multiple ones that

    followed right after.

    I growl against her p***y, upset that we¡¯d been disturbed.

    What the f**k did they want from us now? Hadn¡¯t they already said everything they needed to?

    ¡°Leave!¡± I shout for whoever is at the door.

    ¡°ATTICUS!¡± Damon shouts. ¡°Get out here now! We need to get Autumn out of here. Immediately!¡±

    I freeze. What the hell was he talking about? Why did we need to do that?

 Chapter 67

    Chapter 67

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 67

    ~AUTUMN~

    Atticus leaves me inside the room to speak with Damon. I quickly get dressed, and when the door

    opens again, he¡¯s the first person I see.

    I stopped moving and possibly stopped breathing as well.

    I see the panic in his eyes. Whatever Damon just told him has him almost hysterical.

    What could have possibly happened? Did his parents change their minds again? Did we have to leave?

    There were many questions racing through my mind, but I couldn¡¯t find my voice to ask any of them. I

    somehow knew that it wasn¡¯t that simple.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I demand as I walk towards him, finally regaining control over my body.

    I thought we would finally have a night together without something horrible happening, but I was terribly

    wrong.

    ¡°They¡¯reing for you.¡± He says in an almost restless tone.

    I stiffen.

    Was he referring to Azai¡¯s men? Did they finally get what they wanted and wereing back for me? I

    didn¡¯t want to go back to that sick ce. I didn¡¯t want to be trapped again.

    ¡°Who¡¯sing for me?¡± I ask. I had to hear it from his mouth before I could believe it on my own.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    He grabs my hand and pushes me out of the room; he¡¯s moving so quickly that I can barely understand

    anything that he¡¯s saying to me.

    ¡°The council. The Overlords. They¡¯re alling.¡± He informs me.

    This is worse than I initially thought it was. I stopped moving, my feet felt cold, and they had no idea

    what direction to run in.

    ¡°I can¡¯t keep running from them for the rest of my life,¡± I tell him. ¡°They will eventually find me.¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be now, Autumn!¡± He hissed. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let them have you without a f*****g fight. If we

    can escape now before they get here, then we can create a n that would save you from them. If

    they¡¯re able to take you now, I¡¯m not going to have the chance to protect you. There¡¯s too many of

    them.¡±

    ¡°How did they even find out about me?¡± I ask. ¡°Do you think your parents informed them?¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to believe they would betray us like that, but they weren¡¯t exactly happy that we were still

    together. But when would they have gotten the chance to inform the others about me?

    Atticus and I hadn¡¯t been in the room for that long. Someone had to have done it even before Atticus¡¯s

    family confronted me about my father.

    I still can¡¯t move. I¡¯m in too much shock to run.

    Atticus realizes this, and he picks me up so that I am now straddling his waist. I wrapped my arms

    around his neck as he raced down the stairs.

    ¡°Did any of you call them?¡± Atticus demands from his family at the back exit.

    ¡°No.¡± His mother promised him. ¡°I know that you have no reason to trust us anymore, but I promise that

    we didn¡¯t do this. We would never intentionally put your or Autumn¡¯s life in danger. I¡¯m sorry we¡¯ve been

    such bad parents to make you think that way about us.¡±

    We didn¡¯t have time to question them any longer, but I believed her.

    ¡°We will try to stall them while you try to escape.¡± His father informs him. ¡°Damon and rissa will also

    go with you for backup. But the four of you, even with Autumn¡¯s power, will not be enough to stop the

    council and the overlords together.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t breathe. This was happening too fast. I didn¡¯t have time to prepare. None of us had time to

    prepare. Whoever told them the truth about me must hate me. They made it so that I didn¡¯t have a

    chance to escape without putting the people I cared about in danger.

    ¡°I¡ªI think I should give myself up,¡± I say; I can barely recognize my voice. The fear was difficult to hide.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to put anyone¡¯s life in danger because of me.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Atticus growled. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere.¡±

    ¡°Atticus!¡± I try to say, but his hands tighten around me.

    He doesn¡¯t allow me to say anything else as he runs out the back door with me still in his arms.

    ¡°What exactly is the n?¡± rissa demands. Even she can¡¯t hide the panic in her voice. ¡°We can¡¯t just

    keep running on our feet for the rest of the night. We need to shift.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what they expect us to do,¡± Damon says. ¡°We need to get another vehicle. One that they

    wouldn¡¯t recognize. And we need to gather our allies. They caught us off-guard, and that¡¯s exactly what

    they nned. They didn¡¯t allow us to prepare. Now no one knew that we needed their help.¡±

    ¡°Atticus.¡± I try to say again.

    ¡°Stop talking, Autumn.¡± He growls. ¡°I¡¯m not letting you go. Let¡¯s think of some other n. Didn¡¯t you say

    that you loved me? If you love me, fight to be with me, don¡¯t let them take you from me.¡±

    I gasp. I did love him. I did want to fight to be with him. But I didn¡¯t want him or his family to get hurt

    because of me.

    I didn¡¯t know what the right thing to do was.

    A gut-wrenching scream rocks the forest, and we all stop moving.

    ¡°MOM?¡± Damon whispers before it dawns on the rest of us that the sound did, in fact,e from her.

    ¡°MOM!¡± Atticus shouts along with Damon for a second time.

    ¡°I¡¯m going back,¡± Damon shouts. ¡°She needs us.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ming with you,¡± rissa tells him.

    Atticus looks at me, and he seems troubled and conflicted about what to do.

    ¡°Your mother needs us. We can¡¯t leave her. We can¡¯t leave your parents.¡± I tell him as I cup his cheek

    in the palm of my hand.

    His eyes close for a second, and he leans against my touch.

    I know he wanted to keep me safe, but I wouldn¡¯t let him leave his parents behind because of me.

    When he opened his eyes, they were filled with so many emotions that I felt them throughout my body.

    He grabs my cheek with one hand and crashes his lips against mine. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± He whispers through

    kisses. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry that I must take you back to them. I¡¯m so sorry, Autumn.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t to me for any of this. Whoever called the overlords and the council was responsible for

    our pain.

    Atticus was right earlier. I had to fight to stay with him. I had to fight with everything inside of me to be

    with him. I wouldn¡¯t let them take me away from him. I wouldn¡¯t.

 Chapter 68

    Chapter 68

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 68

    ~AUTUMN~

    Atticus slowly lets go of me as we near the house. I held onto his hand; I didn¡¯t want him to get hurt

    because of me.

    I know I¡¯m the one that convinced him to return, but it doesn¡¯t mean that it was an easy decision to

    make. Hearing his mother scream was all I needed to know that this was the right thing to do.

    Whatever happened, I had to do everything I could to keep them all safe.

    I still hear the terrifying shouts and screams; they¡¯re not making this easier for us. Damon and rissa

    are among them, but I can¡¯t tell what they¡¯re saying. They¡¯re all expecting us to be gone by now; they

    don¡¯t know that we are back just for them.

    Atticus leans over and gives me one more kiss on my forehead. His lips linger on my skin, and I dly

    lean into him. Neither of us knew what was about to happen, and it was terrifying not knowing.

    I attempt to move forward with him, but he puts out his hand and stops me before I can make another

    step. His eyes held an urgency to them that brought me to aplete stop. He takes a deep breath,

    and I suck in one of my own. I knew what he was going to say before it left his mouth.

    ¡°Stay out here.¡± He warns me. ¡°Let me see what¡¯s happening inside first. If I think we need you, I will

    call you. If not, I want you to get as far away from here as possible.¡±

    As far away from here? As far away from him? I tilt my head to the side and frown at him.

    He was crazy if he thought that I would leave him here with people that wanted to harm him and his

    family. He was the man I¡¯d been in love with for many years, the only man I¡¯d ever loved; I would never

    leave him when he needed me. However, I knew I had to agree if I wanted him to leave.

    The shout gets louder, and I begin to panic. We were running out of time. If we didn¡¯t get inside there

    now, his family would be in more danger than they already were.

    ¡°Are you listening to me?¡± Atticus asks, waiting for my response; he hasn¡¯t moved an inch. The urgency

    in his voice has just increased, and I find myself nodding despite my desperation to keep him safe.

    I knew the moment that I heard the overlords hurting the people I cared about no one would be able to

    stop me from joining in. Atticus¡¯s eyes are glued on my face, and his jaw clenches; he wants to believe

    I¡¯m telling the truth. I try to keep an innocent expression on my face to make him feel less restless. He

    takes another deep breath and slowly lets go of me. I watch as he walks backward a few steps, still

    looking at me; it seems like he¡¯s trying to memorize every little detail on my face.

    I held my breath; how could I not love someone like him?

    He still looks conflicted, but eventually, he turns and walks back into the house. I waited for a minute,

    letting him believe that I was truly listening to his request, but the moment that I thought it was okay for

    me to move, I was right behind him.

    Atticus doesn¡¯t even bother trying to hide; he walks straight toward the enemies. Why would he do

    that? He told me that he was leaving me behind only to find out what was happening inside so that we

    would have a better idea of how to react. He¡¯d lied. I couldn¡¯t exactlyin since I¡¯d also lied to him.

    We were both lying to protect each other.

    My eyes scan the room once more. I feel a chill run down my spine.

    This is the first time that I¡¯m seeing the overlords in person. From what I knew about them, they rarely

    ever left their home. They only left it when it was something very important. I swallow the fear and

    worry down my throat. It¡¯s hard to believe that all these important people were here because of me, to

    take me down. I would never have thought I would have turned out to be this dangerous.

    They were so terrified of my father that they saw me as a big threat, just like him. How much trouble did

    Azai cause in the past for everyone to react this way because of him? Even now, it is hard to ept

    that my father was terrible and heartless.

    The overlords nod at Atticus the moment that they notice him. They were waiting, no doubt; they knew

    he would be back for his family.

    This was insane. How did my life be such a big mess because of one secret? If anyone had told

    me this was what my life would be like at this age, I would have never believed them.

    Atticus looks fearless as he stands next to his family. His mother was on the floor, and Mr. Fawn had

    her in his arms. Damon and rissa were guarding them along with Griffin. I had no clue as to where

    Dante and Anya were. Neither of them was here. They must have left before the news about the

    council and the overlords reached us.

    My eyes are solely on the enemies of the room.

    There were eight Overlords in total, and all of them were present today. They were dressed in very

    concealing ck robes and looked like shadows of the night. I couldn¡¯t see their faces; they were

    covered by the robes. They often protected their faces when out of their home. They were also not

    allowed to have mates. Every five years, a new Overlord is chosen, and the power is passed onto him.

    They were all chosen at the age of eighteen; many parents trained their kids, hoping that their child

    would one day be selected. It was supposed to be a happy asion, but I think it was far from it; why

    would anyone want to live a lonely life? I believe that¡¯s why the overlords were always so bitter. They

    knew nothing about happiness or what it was like to be in love. They were all trained to be as heartless

    as possible in any situation; ording to them; the heart forced you to make the wrong decisions.

    My eyes traveled to members of the council. Not everyone was present, but I still recognized a few of

    them. They were just as brutal as the overlords, maybe even more at times. The council only cared

    about themselves, even though they often imed they also cared about the people. There were many

    at their mercy, and I often wished that they would appoint a new leader that cared about their people

    and didn¡¯t only want power.

    ¡°Where is the girl?¡± One of the overlords asks. His chilling voice forced my attention back to them. I

    assume that he had to be the eldest of them all since the eldest was usually the one that did all of the

    talking.

    There is a short pause, and I see the panic on Atticus¡¯s face a second before he masks his emotions

    from everyone else in the room. I think he can sense my presence; he knows I¡¯m near. He knows that

    I¡¯ve disobeyed him.

    ¡°What girl?¡± He asks, pretending to be clueless. There was another awkward pause as they listened to

    his response, waiting for him to say more.

    I flinch when they allugh suddenly without warning, and another chill runs down my spine. They

    laughed without any humor, and it was one of the scariest things I¡¯ve ever heard, especially since it

    wasn¡¯t just one of them; they were all in sync.

    Even though they¡¯reughing, I can still hear the impatience in their voice. It wouldn¡¯t be long before

    they started to drill him for answers.

    My parents were not around, and the guards they left to protect me were nowhere to be found. The

    overlords must have already gotten to them before getting into the house. Atticus was right; everything

    happened so quickly that we didn¡¯t have the opportunity to prepare for any of this. There were so many

    people that I knew would help us if they knew we were in danger.

    I think they knew this; it¡¯s why they came without any warnings. They weren¡¯t people that ever showed

    up unprepared. We should have known something like this would happen; we should have prepared for

    it. We were so busy dealing with everything that we made a huge mistake. We allowed them to trap us.

    ¡°Your wife.¡± The older overlord answers him. ¡°Where is she? Can you please answer truthfully and

    save us the trouble of having to extract that information out of you. . . painfully, might I add.¡±

    Atticus narrows his eyes, and I know he would rather be killed than tell them where I was. My heart

    aches at that fact. I would never let him do something like that for me.

    ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± He demands.

    The overlord stepped closer to him, and I dug my nails into my dress; if he dared to eveny a hand on

    Atticus, he would pay for it. I was waiting for the right moment to leave my hiding spot.

    I watch as the overlords all chuckle. Do they already know that Atticus and his family know the whole

    truth about me? How could they have possibly known that? Did they have a spy watching us all along?

    How long ago did they find out the truth? How long have they been watching us? There were so many

    unanswered questions, and I doubt they would be willing to answer them for us.

    ¡°She¡¯s the daughter of a very dangerous sorcerer.¡± He answers him. ¡°Azai Reign. You may or may not

    know about him, depending on whether your parents followed our rules.¡±

    Atticus¡¯s jaw clenches, and he doesn¡¯t bother responding. He knows if he showed any emotion, his

    parents would be in more trouble than they were already in. He was doing the right thing by staying

    quiet this time. If none of us confessed and they had no proof, then they couldn¡¯t punish this family.

    When he gets no reaction out of Atticus, he takes another step closer. I held my breath, hoping he

    wouldn¡¯t try anything stupid.

    ¡°Azai was a dangerous killer. A sorcerer out of control. He was greedy and hungry for power.¡± He

    continues when Atticus remains quiet. ¡°He didn¡¯t care about anyone other than himself. He didn¡¯t care

    about hisdy, not even his children. That¡¯s why Autumn¡¯s mother killed him. She did what many others

    were already hoping to do. We¡¯re grateful that she made our work easier for us. If we had the chance,

    we would have done it for her. After killing him, she knew that her life and the life of her children were

    still in danger even though she¡¯d gotten rid of Azai. She knew that his men would have taken them from

    her. She knew that they would have found a way to kill her as well. So she ran. She ran to save herself

    and her children. We¡¯ve been searching for Azai¡¯s three children ever since his death. His children will

    all suffer the same faith that he did; they don¡¯t have the inner strength to fight the darkness they were

    born with. Very soon, they will all follow in their father¡¯s footsteps.¡±

    ¡°Autumn¡¯s mother? I think you¡¯re delusional,¡± Atticus says. ¡°Your story makes no sense. I¡¯ve never

    heard of an Azai Reign. Is this some sick joke?¡±

    He tried to convince them that he was clueless about the entire thing, but they didn¡¯t believe him. They

    must already know too much about our lives.

    ¡°We received an anonymous tip that his daughter is none other than Autumn Fawn. Of course, we

    thought it was all an unbelievable lie. How could the Riveras¡¯ have the daughter of Azai hidden from us

    all this time? How could the daughter of Azai also be married to a Fawn? Both families hold such a high

    status in our society and are favored by the people; why would they choose to protect the daughter of

    Azai?¡± The prosecutor from the council asks. ¡°We were puzzled about this new information and even

    considered ignoring it.¡±

    I hated that they mentioned our families. Were they nning on also punishing them because of me?

    I swallow; I wouldn¡¯t let them do that; I can¡¯t let them hurt my family. All they did was protect me; how

    could that be a reason for them to get punished?

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe that it¡¯s possible, then why are you here?¡± Atticus challenges them. ¡°Why are you

    trespassing in our home and threatening to ruin the good rtionship that we have with both of you?¡±

    One of the overlordsughs, the same one from before, ¡°even though we thought that it was not

    possible, the im was too serious for us to ignore it. We decided to wait until our source gave us

    some evidence to support their im. Eventually, we received the proof we needed to believe it was

    true. We realized that the evidence was too great for it to be all a lie. She had to be his daughter. Now

    we want to see it for ourselves before we decide on what to do.¡± He answers him.

    Atticus takes a step closer and res at him, ¡°you have the wrong person. Autumn can¡¯t be his

    daughter. She¡¯s nothing like him. Whoever told you that must be trying to cause a conflict between us.

    My family has never broken the rules; whoever it was that gave you this information must dislike us and

    are looking for a way to cause trouble for us.¡±

    ¡°I thought so as well in the beginning.¡± He confesses. ¡°But I¡¯m even more convinced now that your

    family is trying to hide Autumn from us. If she isn¡¯t the sorcerer¡¯s daughter like you im, then why are

    you keeping her from us? If she¡¯s not a threat to our people, why can¡¯t you just let us see for

    ourselves? Let us be the judge of whether or not our source was telling the truth. We promise to be

    gentle with her as long as we prove it¡¯s all a lie. We understand who she is and what she means to

    both families; she will remain unharmed if her father is not Azai.¡±

    Atticus narrows his eyes, ¡°we have good reason to be this way after you came here without any

    warning, all of you, not one. You all came. It seems like a threat to me. Autumn is not only my wife; she

    is also my mate. It¡¯s only natural that I want to protect her from all of you. Rarely will all the overlords

    leave their homes to visit my family unless they are prepared for a fight. I have a right to protect the

    people that I love.¡±

    The people that he loved? My heart skips a beat, and I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s a confession from him or not.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you lose your memory?¡± he asks. ¡°Still, you¡¯re protecting her this fiercely? Weren¡¯t you also in

    love with another woman before marrying her? Your actions are quite interesting. Who do you

    genuinely love better between them? You seem to be continuously going back and forth between both

    women.¡±

    I narrowed my eyes; I was right; they knew everything about us beforeing here. They were even

    trying to turn us against each other by mentioning Anya. How long have they been paying attention to

    our rtionship? And who was the person that told them the truth?

    Atticus¡¯ hands tightened into fists, ¡°I think it¡¯s time that you leave our home. Autumn is not here.¡±

    I can tell that they already knew that he was lying to them. They all look at each other, and I have no

    clue why they keep doing that when all of their faces are covered by robes.

    ¡°You said she¡¯s also your mate,¡± the overlord says in a chilling voice. ¡°You should have said it since the

    beginning. It would have made this a lot easier.¡±

    Before we can react, he grabs Atticus by his neck and ms him to the ground. My heart almost jumps

    out of my chest at the horror in front of me.

    ¡°ATTICUS!¡± I scream; I can¡¯t stop myself as I run toward him.

    All eyes turn toward me, and I can see the faces of the council members light up at my arrival. I know

    they did it to get me out of hiding, but I didn¡¯t care.

    Atticus¡¯s eyes are wide with horror when he spots me running toward him. Before I can reach him,

    however, a council member grabs me. I gasped as he shoved my hands behind my back and held me

    close to him.

    There is a loud growl, and I know it¡¯s from Atticus before looking up.

    ¡°Vincent!¡± Atticus roars. ¡°Let go of my f*****g mate!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Sir Vincent.¡± He corrects him. He¡¯s a vampire but not just any vampire. He¡¯s the primary

    representative of vampires in the council.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice of you to bless us with your presence.¡± Sir Vincent says. ¡°We¡¯ve been anxious to meet you

    since we heard about you.¡±

    My eyes are glued to Atticus and the helpless look on his face. There were too many of them and too

    few of us.

    ¡°Let me go!¡± I hiss.

    ¡°We will.¡± He answers me. ¡°But first, there are a few questions that we want to ask you.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to answer a single question they ask.¡± Atticus intervenes. ¡°Don¡¯t say a way word,

    Autumn.¡± It was almost a plea from him. He knows that I would confess to keep him safe.

    I gasped when one of the overloads kicked him in his face. He spits blood out of his mouth and res

    at him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way.¡± The overlord who¡¯d hit him says. ¡°If you don¡¯t answer our questions truthfully, your

    husband will die today.¡±

    My heart squeezes at his threat.

    ¡°Don¡¯t answer,¡± Atticus growls as he gets up from the ground.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it,¡± Griffin adds. They¡¯re trying to protect me, but I¡¯m also trying to protect them. I was okay

    with them taking me as long as they left my family alone.

    ¡°STAY QUIET, AUTUMN!¡± rissa shouts.

    My heart swells with love for them. These people threatened to kill Atticus, but his family was still trying

    to keep me safe.

    ¡°Ask me whatever you want to know.¡± I finally say. ¡°I will answer truthfully.¡±

    I meant it. While they wanted to keep me safe, I also wanted to do the same for them.

    The overlords all turned to me simultaneously, which was one of the creepiest things I¡¯ve ever

    witnessed. It made it scarier that I couldn¡¯t see their faces.

    ¡°Autumn!¡± Mrs. Fawn shouts. ¡°Do not do this. Please. Do not do this.¡±

    I¡¯m surprised that she was also siding with Atticus. Wasn¡¯t she the one that wanted to save her family

    from the beginning?

    ¡°You¡¯re like a daughter to us.¡± Mr. Fawn adds. ¡°Despite what we may have done or said while

    surprised, we care for you. Do not tell them anything. Let them do what they must to us but remain

    quiet.¡±

    I closed my eyes as the tears threatened to fall. I had no other choice. I had to answer them, and if they

    tried to hurt them, I would fight back. I would kill to protect the people that I loved.

    ¡°Is it true that your father is Azai Reign?¡± The overlords ask, all of them, at the same time. They were

    so much in sync that it surprised me. Was this something that they often did to frighten their opponent?

    ¡°Autumn, please,¡± Atticus begged. His voice breaks, and with it, my heart.

    I opened my mouth to tell them the truth when Atticus surprised all of us. He attacked one of the

    overlords and threw him toward the wall. I cried out in terror when they all retaliated against him.

    Atticus¡¯s first cry of pain sends my body into shock. It¡¯s all happening so quickly; his face turns red from

    the pain, and his eyes are almost white. They aren¡¯t even touching him, their hands are just pointed at

    him, and that¡¯s enough to hurt him.

    ¡°STOP IT!¡± I scream. They aren¡¯t listening to me; none of them are.

    ¡°STOP HURTING HIM!¡±

    ¡°Autumn.¡± He groans right before he copses onto the ground.

    The scream that follows out of my mouth right after echoes throughout the mansion, and everyone

    goes flying in different directions.

    Sir Vincent also goes flying behind me. I attempt to move toward Atticus, but he surprises me when he

    rushes forward and grabs me into his arms first. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held onto him

    tightly. His eyes are already searching around us for a way to escape. I knew that it was hopeless

    trying to escape from these people now. It was toote. To protect Atticus and his family, I will have to

    let them take me.

    Atticus attempts to run with me, but I stop him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± I tell him. ¡°We can¡¯t run anymore. They¡¯re going to hurt your family if you do. You have to let me

    go.¡±

    His eyes widen in horror at my words. His face says that he couldn¡¯t believe I could ever say something

    so horrible to him. He looked like I¡¯d just asked him for a divorce.

    ¡°No.¡± He hissed as he held me tighter against him. ¡°I don¡¯t want to let you go. Not today, not ever.¡±

    Now that the overlords were on the ground, their robes had been lifted off their heads. I could see each

    of their faces clearly. Some looked very young, while others looked middle-aged. Why did I expect

    them to look old and cranky? Their eyes, however, were as cold as ice. Heartless, they were all

    heartless, no doubt.

    ¡°We have our answer, men.¡± Sir Vincent says. ¡°She is indeed the daughter of Azai Reign. We have

    finally found her.¡±

    . . . . . . . . .

    ~ANYA~

    ¡°What was so important?¡± I demand from my mother. ¡°Why did you call me back home?¡±

    ¡°I had to get you out of there for your safety.¡± She informs me. ¡°If you stayed there, your life would be in

    danger, and I didn¡¯t want that to happen.¡±

    For my safety?

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I ask, curious. ¡°Why would I be in danger there? The Fawn¡¯s home is

    one of the safest ces to be. I¡¯ve never felt unsafe there except when Autumn tried to kill me.¡±

    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.

    I shivered at the reminder. I never thought Autumn would ever have it in her to scare me, but the witch

    was someone you had no choice but to fear. She was too dangerous and needed to be stopped.

    ¡°While you were at the Fawn¡¯s house, I sent information to the overlords and the council.¡± She informs

    me. ¡°I knew it had to be done, and I couldn¡¯t wait for your n since your projects always fail. This one

    needed to be done by me.¡±

    Her words send a shockwave throughout my body. How could she do this without telling me first? If I

    had known, I would have found a way to get Atticus out of there in time! Now he¡¯s stuck in there with all

    of those dangerous men. My mother knew that Atticus would risk his life to protect Autumn, so why

    would she leave him there?

    ¡°WHAT?¡± I shout after finding my voice. ¡°What do you mean? Did you tell them the truth? I thought you

    would trust me; I thought you would give me a chance to throw Autumn out on my own without

    involving them.¡±

    ¡°Well, did you?¡± She asks. ¡°Were you able to get Autumn thrown out of their home?¡±

    I swallow and lower my head in shame, ¡°no.¡± I answer. ¡°I was close to it, but Atticus returned home in

    time to stop it. There was nothing anyone could do to get him to let her go. He¡¯s too in love with her.¡±

    Sheughs. ¡°I beg to differ. The overlords would do the job for us. They would force him to let her go

    even though he loves her. We don¡¯t have to worry about her anymore. Instead, we can now focus on

    getting rid of the Fawns.¡±

    Even though Atticus had hurt me multiple times since the spell had been broken, I still cared for him; I

    still didn¡¯t want him to die, and I still wanted him to be mine.

    ¡°How are you so sure that they listened to you?¡± I ask.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± She tells me. ¡°I waited long enough to watch them join forces before leaving their homes.

    They are no doubt already causing an uproar.¡±

    ¡°But what about Atticus?¡± I demand. ¡°I don¡¯t want him to get hurt.¡±

    She narrows her eyes, ¡°he embarrassed you multiple times and chose Autumn over you; why are you

    still interested in him? You can find any other man once all of this is over.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t get it.¡± I snap. ¡°Atticus is different. I chose him for a reason. I don¡¯t want anyone else but

    him.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t promise that he will be safe. As long as he keeps protecting Autumn, he will be in danger, and

    there¡¯s nothing you can do about that.¡± She points out.

    ¡°What do you think they¡¯re going to do to them?¡± I ask her.

    I didn¡¯t want to see them torture Atticus.

    ¡°If the Fawns convince them that they don¡¯t know Autumn¡¯s true identity, they will give them a chance

    once they don¡¯t interfere with their ns. However, if they have proof that they already knew who she

    was and didn¡¯t report it to them, they may be locked up in cells for the rest of their lives despite how

    rich they are. But that is not what I want. I want them dead; I want those people to suffer for what they

    did to me.¡± She answers me. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let them get away that easy. I want them to lose

    everything that they have, and they will once the overlords and the council are finished with them. But

    after that, I want them to beg for mercy before finishing them off.¡±

    There was no stopping my mother; her ns were working in her favor. It wouldn¡¯t be long before the

    Fawns lives were destroyed for good. But if I had anything to say about it, Atticus would not die, and he

    will be mine one way or the other.

    . . . . . . . .

    A/N:

    Hi, my beautiful readers; I want to wish you all a happy new year. I hope this year brings you joy and

    happiness, and may everything you desiree true. Thank you for being by my side since I joined

    Dreame; I love each of you. I know it¡¯s been a while since the updates, and I¡¯ll like to sincerely

    apologize; December was a tough month for me for many reasons. I hope that I can make it up to you

    this month. Thank you for understanding and, once again, for sticking by my side and supporting me.

    May God bless each of you.?

    Lots of love,

    Laura.

 Chapter 69

    Chapter 69

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 69

    ~AUTUMN~

    ¡°The daughter of Azai Reign.¡± The overlords say in unison once more.

    They¡¯re all staring at me, their gazes digging into my skin. I held onto Atticus tighter, knowing I

    shouldn¡¯t be afraid, but I was. I¡¯m terrified of these people and what they could do to my family and me.

    Atticus¡¯s hands moved to my back as he pressed me tighter against him. If the overlords took me from

    him today, I wasn¡¯t sure if I would ever be able to see him again. I fought back the tears as I buried my

    face against his neck.

    ¡°Your family doesn¡¯t look surprised at her power.¡± Sir Vincent notes.

    ¡°Does this mean they knew about you all this time?¡± he asks. ¡°Did they know that you were the

    daughter of the same sorcerer nning to kill all leaders so that he could be the only king?¡±

    I inhale sharply. The evidence was already in front of them; they were waiting for me to confirm it, even

    though we all knew their minds were made up.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    ¡°No!¡± I defend them. ¡°They didn¡¯t know anything about me. Nothing. Even I didn¡¯t find out until recently.

    They are innocent in all of this. How can they be guilty just because of my father? He was the one that

    caused so much distress, not them, not me. Why should we have to pay for something that he did?¡±

    They don¡¯t look convinced. They have already determined that we are all guilty. I would rather be taken

    in than see everyone here punished because of me.

    ¡°And you found out the truth after you were kidnapped?¡± The overlord asks me. ¡°Is this true?¡±

    They must already know who kidnapped me as well. I still had no clue who had told them. If it wasn¡¯t

    Atticus¡¯s parents that only left Anya, but she was here the entire time, how could she have been in two

    ces at once? Was there someone else working with her that we didn¡¯t know about? There is a

    chance she told them before she told the Fawns.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I confess. ¡°Azai¡¯s people kidnapped me. I still don¡¯t know why they let me go. They have their

    reasons, but as I told them, I¡¯m not going to be anything like my father. I will not hurt innocent people. I

    don¡¯t want to be a ruler or their queen. I¡¯m happy with my life; I don¡¯t need anything else but the people

    I care about close to me.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to cause any problems for the people in your life, I suggest youe with us.¡± The

    overlord tells me. Atticus is still holding me, and I can feel him stiffen at his request.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him.¡± He whispers. ¡°They are not to be trusted. We can get out of this. I promise.¡±

    ¡°What will you decide?¡± Sir Vincent asks. ¡°Will you go with them, or do we have to hurt your family

    first?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Atticus growls. ¡°She isn¡¯t going anywhere with any of you.¡±

    ¡°Your family, as well as Autumn¡¯s family, has broken the rules. Are you aware of what we do to people

    who break our rules?¡± He asks him.

    I close my eyes in frustration. They kept them in cells for years; some were even killed depending on

    how great their crimes were. It was a threat, and they knew it. They wanted to scare me, and it was

    working. Atticus doesn¡¯t realize how much I would give up to protect him.

    My eyes sh open, ¡°if you hurt my family. I will destroy all of you.¡± I promise them. ¡°You know what I¡¯m

    capable of doing. Atticus is the only reason I¡¯m able to be this calm. If you take him from me, I will

    be someone even worse than my father. This I can promise you.¡±

    They chuckle, ¡°even though you may have some of your father¡¯s power, you don¡¯t have enough

    practice to get rid of all of us. The best thing for you to do is toe with us willingly. We are also calm;

    we could have been much worse than this. We¡¯re trying to handle this situation in a civilized manner.

    We can only hope that you will also do the same.¡±

    It was a difficult decision to make. I didn¡¯t want to leave Atticus without a fight. But I had no idea what

    these men were capable of doing. There were too many of them, and I knew they were prepared to kill

    if they had to. I was not okay with losing anyone here. I take onest look at Atticus, memorizing every

    feature on his face.

    His forehead creased as soon as I opened my mouth to speak.

    ¡°Okay,¡± I whisper. ¡°I¡¯lle with you willingly, but only if you promise not to punish my family and

    Atticus as well as his family. No one is to me for any of this. If you punish them, I will not let it slide

    easily. If you let them all go without punishment, I will not cause any trouble.¡±

    They slowly looked at each other, and it looked like they weremunicating in their minds. I wasn¡¯t

    sure if they could do that, but it was possible with how in sync each of them was.

    The eldest overlord eventually nods, ¡°Okay, you have a deal.¡±

    I breathe a sigh of relief, but Atticus does the opposite. His breathing is rough, and I can feel the wild

    beating of his heart. He¡¯s not okay with my decision. He¡¯s far from it.

    ¡°NO!¡± He hissed as he tightened his hold on me.

    I lean into him and give him onest kiss on his lips. He held onto me as I kissed him aggressively,

    taking as much of him with me as possible.

    ¡°I¡¯m not letting you go.¡± He growls into my ear. ¡°You¡¯re not going with them, Autumn. I¡¯m not giving you

    to them.¡±

    I buried my hands in his hair and pulled him tighter against me, ¡°please don¡¯t make this harder than it

    already is. It¡¯s better this way. You cane up with a way to get me released; if we fight back, we can

    lose everyone that we love. You know that this is the only way for now.¡±

    When he least expected it, I pushed him away from me hard. His eyes held a hint of betrayal as I

    walked over to the overlords, who wasted no time pulling me between them so that no one else could

    get to me.

    ¡°No!¡± rissa screams. ¡°Don¡¯t take her!¡±

    There¡¯s a lot of shouting afterward, but I can¡¯t see anything as I¡¯m shoved out of the house and into a

    waiting vehicle. I know Atticus will try and follow us. I know that he isn¡¯t going to give up, but as long as

    they don¡¯t hurt him, I will keep my promise to them.

    . . . . . . . . . . .

    ~ATTICUS~

    ¡°ATTICUS!¡± Damon shouts as he tries to stop me from running after Autumn.

    ¡°AUTUMN!¡± I roar. ¡°AUTUMN, PLEASE!¡± I couldn¡¯t stop shouting her name.

    How could she do this? How could she let them separate us? Didn¡¯t she realize that it was more f*****g

    painful for me when she was not around? She was trying to protect me, but I could only be happy when

    I had her in my arms. Without her, my life was f*****g empty. Why didn¡¯t she realize that I needed her to

    f*****g survive?

    ¡°Don¡¯t go,¡± Damon warns me. ¡°Thest time you went chasing after her, you got into an ident. We

    almost lost you. You still haven¡¯t recovered from it. Let¡¯s all stay calm and think before we act carelessly

    and make this worse.¡±

    Before he can say anything else, I¡¯m already out of the door.

    ¡°ATTICUS!¡± They all shout. I didn¡¯t care what anyone had to say; I wanted to get my wife back. I

    wouldn¡¯t be able to go a day without knowing that she was safe.

    I jumped into the first car I saw and revved the engine before racing out of the driveway. I would not let

    them take her from me. Weirdly enough, that one thought awakened a distant memory inside of me. It

    wasn¡¯t the first time I had thought those words. My eyes narrow as I spot the vehicles taking her away

    from me. There were many of them, not just one, and I wasn¡¯t sure which one they had her in.

    I mashed the elerator harder; I couldn¡¯t lose her for a second time. I couldn¡¯t fail her again. I had to

    save Autumn this time; I had to protect her.

    I loved her. I loved Autumn so much.

    Loving her, was another memory that was buried inside of me. I felt it all slowlying back to me,

    making it hard for me to concentrate on the road.

    I searched my mind for the rest. I wanted to remember her. I wanted to remember marrying her. I tried

    to remember every chance I got to touch and kiss her, every chance I got to see her smile.

    Even though it bothered me, I wanted to remember the times I hurt her so I could make it up to her. I

    wanted to remember every memory as long as she was in it.

    My eyes widen when I spot a figure sh in front of the car, and I mash the brakes hard. As the tires

    screech, so does my brain. I can hear a ringing in my head as my mind triggers the memories that were

    buried since myst ident. I can see her now, Autumn, in her wedding dress. I can hear our vows. I

    remember cing the ring on her finger. I remember the night in the spring. I remember her kissing me

    on the boat in front of everyone. I remember loving every f*****g second of it.

    I remember making her cry; I remember hurting her because of my mixed emotions toward Anya. I

    remember her telling me how much she loved me for many years. It was all there.

    My memory of the ident was also back; a woman had run in front of the vehicle, she was the reason

    I¡¯d lost control, and if I didn¡¯t stop the car now, I¡¯d be in another ident. I can¡¯t risk losing my

    memories of her all over again. I couldn¡¯t let that happen. I never wanted to forget Autumn, never.

    I tried to regain control of the vehicle, but it had a mind of its own and was heading straight toward a

    tree. A f*****g big one.

    ¡°f**k f**k f**k!¡± I roar.

    Why was this happening again? I can¡¯t let it happen. I press down on the door handle and push it open;

    it goes flying as it hits a pole, and I don¡¯t see it again.

    Suddenly, there is a bright light, like a sh of lightning, and without warning, I¡¯m pulled out of the car.

    What the f**k was that?

    I¡¯m on the ground watching the car collide with the tree and go up into mes.

    I¡¯m not sure how I even managed to get out in time, to begin with.

    I hear footsteps and examine my surroundings.

    A man is standing in front of me; he looks my age, possibly younger. I¡¯m not sure, not with my head still

    spinning. His hair is ash blonde, simr to Autumn, but his eyes are a crazy mixture of silver and ck.

    He looks cold and distant, dangerous also.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± I ask him. ¡°Was it you that got me out of there so quickly?¡±

    There is a slight pause as the car goes up into more mes. He doesn¡¯t even flinch like he¡¯s used to

    things like that.

    ¡°Cassius.¡± He answers. ¡°My name is Cassius.¡±

    ¡°How¡ª¡±

    ¡°It looks like you were chasing someone. You¡¯re wasting time speaking to me.¡± He cuts me off.

    I don¡¯t get time to ask any more questions as he gets into his vehicle and speeds off. The pain in my

    head and the memory of Autumn and how much she loves me were enough to make me forget about

    him, at least for now.

    I close my eyes. It was no use chasing after the overlords now. They are already far. I would never get

    to them in time, and even if I did, what could I possibly do with that many of them?

    Damon was right; I had to reason.

    If I wanted to save Autumn, I needed to devise a n first. But I knew that I couldn¡¯t do this on my own.

    I had to seek help from just the right people, and I knew who to look for.

    I dropped myself onto the road; every memory of Autumn was back.

    f**k.

    If I thought I loved her before, I realized that I loved her so much f*****g more now. The woman was the

    reason for my existence. I would do anything for her.

    I can¡¯t believe I ever forgot our time together. They¡¯re the most precious memories of my entire life.

    Autumn has always been the woman for me, and it took me too f*****g long to realize it.

    I had to get her back. I had to save my wife, my mate, my everything.

 Chapter 70

    Chapter 70

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 70

    ~AUTUMN~

    ¡°What was that?¡± I demand as I hear an explosion. I try to look back, but they grab my neck and keep

    my head facing forward.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing for you to worry about.¡± They assure me.

    My heart is racing, and I know I can¡¯t trust them. Atticus warned me that they couldn¡¯t be trusted.

    ¡°If you¡¯re thinking that we broke our end of the promise, you¡¯re mistaken.¡± Owen, the eldest overlord,

    said. I¡¯d just learned his name after hearing the others call him that. ¡°We did not hurt any of your loved

    ones. At least not yet; if you try anything stupid, that will change quickly.¡±

    I swallow and settle back into my seat without saying another word.

    ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± I ask after a few minutes have passed.

    ¡°Back home. Where we live.¡± Alistair answers before Owen can. They were a lot more rxed now that

    they had me. It was another side to them than what I just saw.

    ¡°Why are you taking me there?¡± I demand. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to kill me?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tempt me to do it right now,¡± Jagger warns.

    I bite my lips to force myself to remain quiet. I¡¯m not sure if they were carrying me to their home to

    torture me; I just knew that there was a reason that I was still alive; I had no clue what that reason was,

    however.

    They weren¡¯t taking any chances with me; they made me switch vehicles multiple times throughout the

    trip back to their home. It¡¯s almost like they were scared that they would be ambushed. Were they

    looking out for my father¡¯s men? I was surprised that they¡¯d let me get taken by the overlords in the first

    ce. Did they not want me alive? I was sure that they were keeping a close eye on me. They must

    know by now that the overlords have taken me.

    ¡°Finally,¡± Jagger mumbles. ¡°She¡¯s quiet.¡±

    My eyes are closed, and he might think that I¡¯m asleep.

    ¡°No one thinks you¡¯re asleep.¡± Someone says. I opened my eyes wide, and it was the one with deep

    blue eyes; his name was Dash. How the hell did he know what I was thinking?

    He smirks, ¡°are you surprised I can read your mind, girl?¡±

    I was so shocked that I felt sick to my stomach. How long has he been reading my mind?

    ¡°Since the very beginning.¡± He chuckles. ¡°I¡¯m the one that told my brothers we could trust your words. I

    knew you wouldn¡¯t try anything stupid to protect Atticus.¡±

    I felt worse than before, knowing now that it was true. All this time, he could read our minds. It means

    they weren¡¯t surprised over anything except maybe when I attacked. They yed with us while asking

    those questions, waiting for our responses.

    How many people were aware that Dash could read their minds? I assume they¡¯re only letting me in on

    the secret because they knew they would eventually get rid of me. They weren¡¯t worried about me

    letting anyone else find out the truth.

    What special abilities did the others have? Was Dash the only one that could read minds? He imed

    that he was the one that confirmed they could trust me, which meant he had to be the only one that

    was able to tell I was being honest.

    ¡°Oh look, you scared her into being quiet,¡± Jagger said, taking notes on how to get me to stay silent.

    Dash chuckles, and I make a mental note to keep my thoughts out of my head. How does that even

    work? There had to be a way to stop him from invading my thoughts.

    ¡°You can just ask me.¡± He says, surprising me again.

    ¡°Can you stop doing that?¡± I hiss.

    He shrugs his shoulders, ¡°no can do. It¡¯s my job to ensure you aren¡¯t nning something that could put

    the rest of us in danger.¡±

    I take a deep sigh as we pull up to their home. It¡¯s a ck castle to match their ck souls. Yes, Dash,

    I wanted you to hear that.

    Heughed, and again, it surprised me. I didn¡¯t think the overlords were capable ofughing.

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t we be capable ofughing?¡± he asks. ¡°Weughed earlier when Atticus tried to lie to us.

    Don¡¯t you remember that?¡±

    I press my lips tighter together and try not to show him a middle finger. Would it matter? He can hear

    my thoughts either way.

    I exit the vehicle with all eight overlords surrounding me. It¡¯s almost like they expected me to try and

    run. Where did they want me to go? I couldn¡¯t escape with all of them so close to me. I wouldn¡¯t try to

    leave, not when I was protecting Atticus.

    ¡°Get her to the room,¡± Owen says to Jagger. ¡°We have a few decisions to make in the meantime.¡±

    Jagger looks annoyed that they chose him to escort me to my room, but he doesn¡¯tin. He grabs

    my arm roughly and pulls me along with him.

    ¡°I would have walked on my own.¡± I snap. There was no need for him to drag me with him. I would have

    gone with him willingly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know that.¡± He snaps. ¡°I don¡¯t read minds like Dash.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re sour because you can¡¯t read minds.¡± I taunt him through my words since he

    already didn¡¯t like hearing my voice.

    His jaw clenches as he opens a door and pushes me into a room.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be staying in here until my brothers decide on what we¡¯re going to do with you.¡± He informs me.

    ¡°What is this ce?¡± I ask as I take a look around the unusual bedroom. There were books all over the

    room. On the ground, on the desk, and even on the bed.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t want you to be bored while you were here.¡± He lies. ¡°You may find the pink book to your right

    very interesting.¡±

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°is that some kind of trick?¡±

    I knew he didn¡¯t like me; he may even dislike me more than the other overlord did.

    ¡°Take a look at it and see if it is for yourself. It involves your mother.¡±

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    My head snaps up at his words. My mother? He knew once he mentioned her, I wouldn¡¯t be able to

    resist. I hesitantly reach for it.

    To my relief, nothing weird happens to me after touching it. I read the tiny writing on the front of it.

    ¡®Aura¡¯s diary.¡¯

    I gasp.

    My mother¡¯s diary.

    How did they get this? And how long have they had it? Was it possible that they found my mother and

    lied to everyone else? My heart was racing with the many possibilities after realizing the book belonged

    to her.

    ¡°After we kicked Azai¡¯s men out of their homes and forced them to live elsewhere, we searched his

    home. We found her diary there.¡± He said, answering the question still in my mind. ¡°Your mother didn¡¯t

    leave much behind for us to find.¡±

    I breathed roughly and gently wiped my hand over the pink front cover. It was still in good condition,

    and it baffles me that they¡¯ve kept this with them for so long. There was a mirror in the middle, and I

    stared at myself. I could see the terror yet curiosity in my eyes.

    ¡°You can read through it.¡± He tells me. ¡°We¡¯ve already gone through it thoroughly, and it¡¯s quite useless

    to us.¡±

    I don¡¯t even bother to look up at him as he exits the room and shuts the door behind him. I heard a lock

    click and even the sound of a chain; they were trying everything to prevent me from escaping.

    I was both excited and scared to read my mother¡¯s diary. This was probably something she wanted to

    remain private. However, to know more about her and her life with my father, I knew I had to read it and

    look for any hints that could help me.

    I took a deep breath as I stared at the first page.

    ¡®My life has always been so dull with nothing exciting, nothing that makes me want to wake up in the

    morning. But that all changed when I met him. His gorgeous ash-blonde hair caught my eyes first. I

    loved watching how it shone in the bright sunlight or even in a well-lit room. He was beautiful. And

    dangerous. Everyone feared him, and everyone warned me to keep my distance, but I knew that he

    could never hurt me. Azai loved me. He told me he loved me. I still remember the first time he said

    those words to me, whichpletely changed my life in the best way possible. No one made my heart

    beat the way that he did. I love him. I love Azai with all my heart, and I would do anything for him if it

    didn¡¯t require me to hurt anyone. He¡¯s mine, and I¡¯mpletely his.¡¯

    My heart stopped beating at her words. So it was true; my mother was crazy in love with my father. She

    trusted him wholeheartedly, but he was only using her. He never was in love with her. There were many

    other paragraphs about the way he made her feel. She spoke about him almost the same way that I

    spoke about Atticus. It was sad that he didn¡¯t feel the same way about her. She must have been

    devastated when she realized the truth.

    I flipped the pages, looking for ater date, something that would stand out as this page did.

    ¡®I¡¯m so happy. Today I found out that I am pregnant with Azai¡¯s babies. I can¡¯t wait to tell him the good

    news. I can¡¯t wait to see his face light up like he¡¯s brightened my life.¡¯

    I held my breath; I knew what wasing next. My mother could not have been prepared to find out

    that my father was only using her.

    I skipped a few more pages, searching once more. Would there be anything in this diary that could help

    me? If there were, the overlords wouldn¡¯t have left it with me. At least I was able to learn more about

    my mother and the things she went through because of my father.

    Another paragraph catches my attention, and I quickly read through the page.

    ¡®My babies. I don¡¯t care what I must do, but I must protect my babies from him. I have to protect them

    from the man that I love. How could he do this to me? How could he break my trust? How could he not

    love me the way that I love him? How could he not love his children?¡¯

    My heart breaks yet again. He was a monster to do this to her. She loved him, got pregnant for him,

    and it was all just a sick game to him.

    My mother must have felt like she had no one to protect her. She was the only one that fought back

    against my father. And she¡¯d somehow managed to win. I don¡¯t care what the overlords said; she was

    the only reason he got what he deserved. They seem to think they were powerful enough to kill him on

    their own if given a chance, but from everything I¡¯ve learned, they didn¡¯t stand a chance and should be

    thanking her for saving the lives of so many people.

    ¡®Azai kissed me today. He kissed me after so many days, making me almost forget what I was fighting

    for. But then I held my little angel in my arm, my baby Autumn, my baby that didn¡¯t have the one thing

    that Azai wanted, the dark symbol. I know that I have to make things right for her. I know that I have to

    protect her from him. No one would hurt her as long as I was alive. She was my baby, and no one, not

    even Azai, could change how I felt about her.¡¯

    I dropped the diary as tears filled my eyes. It was unfair.

    It was unfair that my mother sacrificed so much to protect me, but I couldn¡¯t remember a single detail

    about her. What did she look like? What did herugh sound like? What did she look like when she was

    happy? What would it be like to hear her call my name for the first time?

    There were so many things that I had no memory of, and I don¡¯t think there would ever be a chance for

    me to meet her in this life again.

    I wasn¡¯t sure how long I had again before the overlords got rid of me. They were nning something; I

    could feel it. But I also knew that Atticus would be up to something big as well. I had to find a way to

    remain alive until he could get back to me. I needed to stay positive, at least for him. He wille for

    me. I knew it. Atticus was nothing like my father. He truly did love me, and he wouldn¡¯t just sit back and

    let the overlords hurt me. He would find me, and we would be together again. I was sure of it.

 Chapter 71

    Chapter 71

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 71

    ~ATTICUS~

    Austin and his family met me outside their home. I asked for all of them to gather; I was hoping to

    request a huge favor, and I wasn¡¯t sure if they would be willing to help me.

    ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± Austin asks me. He was already in a defensive stance. He knew that something

    had to be wrong for me to arrive here to speak to him. He would also be suspicious after I asked

    everyone to gather as well.

    ¡°The overlords have taken Autumn,¡± I inform him.

    There are surprised gasps all around me. Everyone is shocked that I¡¯ve mentioned Autumn and the

    overlords in the same sentence. It¡¯s surprising to hear myself say those words, also. The more I said it,

    the worse I felt inside. She was no longer by my side. Autumn was in danger, and for the second time, I

    could not get to her in time because of a f*****g ident.

    ¡°The overlords?¡± Hunter asks, intrigued. ¡°What do the overlords want with Autumn?¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to break the news to them. This was supposed to be a secret from everyone, but it

    was no use keeping the truth from the people I needed help from.

    ¡°We recently discovered that the Riveras aren¡¯t Autumn¡¯s real parents.¡± I begin exining. They were

    already shocked by this news; I couldn¡¯t imagine their reactions when I told them the whole truth. ¡°Her

    father is a sorcerer called Azai Reign. I¡¯m not sure if any of you have ever heard that name before

    today.¡±

    ¡°Azai Reign?¡± Hunter asks, his eyes wide. I¡¯m surprised that he knows anything about him.

    ¡°How do you know him?¡± I ask. ¡°ording to the council, as well as the overlords, no one is supposed

    to speak about him. I knew nothing of him until I learned the truth.¡±

    Hunter doesn¡¯t look proud of his knowledge of Azai.

    ¡°There was a point in my life where I had a good rtionship with the council. Once you¡¯re allied with

    them, you learn plenty.¡± He tells me. ¡°I know the crazy s**t Azai did. He had the council and the

    overlords petrified. Not only them, but he also had many affluent, prominent families terrified of what he

    could do. He was a dangerous man. Are you positive that Autumn is his daughter?¡±

    I nod, ¡°it has already been confirmed. She has a power very simr to his. His men also kidnapped her

    and referred to her as their queen. She is no doubt his daughter.¡±

    ¡°This is f*****g insane.¡± James mumbles. ¡°We¡¯re talking about the overlords!¡±

    ¡°I know that this may be too much to ask for. There are others that I¡¯m also willing to ask for help, but I

    couldn¡¯t think of anyone better to join this fight with me than all of you. You have the experience and the

    power to help me free my wife. Please, help me save her before they take her from me.¡±

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    Austin pats my shoulder, ¡°we promised we would help you after you stood by our side when we needed

    you. We will help. There is no question about it.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not easy opponents.¡± Arthur points out. ¡°If we¡¯re going up against them, we are in for a

    dangerous fight. They are trained to deal with fighters like us. f**k, they enjoy it also. And the council

    will also be on their side. That¡¯s not one strong force but two.¡±

    ¡°All of our battles have been crazy.¡± Isabe reminds everyone.

    ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± Gabrie adds. ¡°Autumn needs us, and I¡¯m not backing down.¡±

    ¡°Neither am I,¡± Maya adds. ¡°She needs our help. We have to save her. She was there for all of us when

    we needed her. We can¡¯t let her down.¡±

    I was grateful to have them on my side. My family had money, but when it came to good fighters, we

    weren¡¯t as fortunate as the others. After today, it¡¯s something I would work on, forming a stronger pack.

    We never needed one until now. I never thought this would ever happen to me. I had a peaceful life; I

    never saw the need to join battles or put my family¡¯s life in danger. All of that has changed now that

    Autumn needed me.

    ¡°We have plenty to discuss,¡± Austin says. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and draw up a n. Everyone that knows the

    inside and out of the overlords¡¯ pce can be of great help to us.¡±

    I nod and follow him. Whatever we were nning, we needed to act fast. I was running out of time.

    . . . . . . . . . . .

    ~CASSIUS~

    I pop a grape into my mouth and grab a knife from the table. I focus on the board in front of me, aiming

    my knife at the target. Before I can do anything, my mother¡¯s voice distracts me.

    ¡°Cassius!¡± She cries from the cell. ¡°Let me out of here, son!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m busy,¡± I murmur back, knowing she won¡¯t be able to hear me. I didn¡¯t want to speak with her.

    ¡°CASSIUS!¡± She shouts once more.

    I pinch my forehead in frustration; why wouldn¡¯t she stay f*****g quiet? This was the tenth time she¡¯d

    said my name since I returned home.

    I storm over to the cell I built for her and narrow my eyes, ¡°what the f**k do you want from me?¡±

    Her eyes widen, and the sadness in her gaze feeds the darkness inside me, ¡°this is not you, Cassius.

    This is not the son that I raised as a baby. You¡¯re not your father. You are nothing like your father.

    Please don¡¯t let the darkness consume you as it did him. You never looked at me like this before; you

    always smiled and treated me with love. I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re acting this way. What caused

    this change? I¡¯m telling you again; you are not like your father.¡±

    ¡°How do you know that?¡± I growl. ¡°You didn¡¯t allow me to find this out on my own when you killed him.

    You killed my father. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to let you suffer.¡±

    She closes her eyes and presses her forehead against the iron bars, ¡°I did it to save you. I did it to

    protect you, son. I did it to protect you and your sisters. Your father never loved you. He wanted to use

    you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± I hiss. ¡°He loved me. He loved my sisters. You¡¯re the reason why we were all separated

    at birth. You¡¯re the reason we were never able to be a family. You¡¯re to me for everything.¡±

    I watch as the tear rolls down her cheek, ¡°I love you, Cassius. You are my child. I will never

    purposefully hurt you. Everything I did for you and your sisters was to protect you. I¡¯m sorry if you think

    I made a mistake by separating you. It had to be done.¡±

    Iugh, ¡°this is why the overlords just took Autumn. You sure did an excellent job at protecting her,

    mother.¡±

    Her eyes are wide with horror, ¡°the overlords? What are they doing with Autumn? They¡¯re not supposed

    to even know of her whereabouts or who she was. I¡¯ve been keeping an eye on her for years, and

    she¡¯s had a good, normal life. What changed? How did they find my baby?¡±

    ¡°It turns out that Autumn has more than one enemy, mother. Everyone either wants her or wants to get

    rid of her now that they know who she is.¡± I inform her. ¡°You did not do as good a job hiding her as you

    thought.¡±

    ¡°You must save her son; you can¡¯t let them have her!¡±

    I chuckle, ¡°Rx, mother. Autumn can take care of herself. I¡¯ve seen what she can do. Despite not

    having our father¡¯s dark symbol, she did inherit some of his power. Besides, there are people that care

    about her; she¡¯s made quite a life for herself. Her mate will find a way to get her out. I don¡¯t have to

    step in and reveal myself so soon to everyone. I prefer to stay in the dark until I master my power.¡±

    ¡°Cassius!¡± She scolds me. ¡°She¡¯s your sister. Your blood. How can you not help her?¡±

    I re at her, ¡°my father was my blood as well, and yet you killed him. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re both huge

    disappointments. One can¡¯t protect his sister, and the other, she kills the father of her children. It¡¯s a

    pity you couldn¡¯t see all of the action go down. You should know that they¡¯re looking for you, the

    overlords; they¡¯re also looking for me but you already know this, I¡¯m sure. They¡¯ll never find me, not

    until I¡¯m ready.¡±

    ¡°Autumn¡ª¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes. Autumn. She¡¯s the real reason you killed our father. You were scared that she wouldn¡¯t be

    able to live up to his expectations. But look at her now, doing the same as he did. We¡¯re all the same as

    our father, mother. Does that mean you¡¯ll kill us as you did him?¡±

    She looks distraught by my question. I return to eating my grapes and ying with my knife as she

    cries in the cell.

    I¡¯d seen what Autumn could do. If I thought she needed my help, I would have done something to aid

    her. It was my mother I had a problem with, not my sisters. Besides, if I wanted to continue in my

    father¡¯s footsteps, I would need the help of my sisters as well.

    But there was time for all of that. I wouldn¡¯t rush any of it.

 Chapter 72

    Chapter 72

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 72

    ~AUTUMN~

    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    Reading my mother¡¯s diary has be my new favorite thing to do. It made me feel closer to her. It

    was my only memory of her; I could read anything she wrote for hours. Surprisingly, it was myfort

    during the time I spent locked in this room.

    I didn¡¯t understand how she got the strength to kill my dad when she loved him so much. It must have

    broken her heart in two.

    What was he like? What did he look like? Was he scary to look at? Did his eyes look cold and

    soulless?

    I was probably better off never knowing any of these things.

    I¡¯m still unsure what the overlords n to do with me, but I was okay with them nevering to get

    me.

    That thought quickly gets thrown out.

    My eyes are glued to the door when I hear footstepsing my way. They were finally here for me. It¡¯s

    been a day since I¡¯ve been locked in this room, and there has been no sign of Atticus or my family.

    I was worried that the overlords had lied to me. Did they harm Atticus yesterday? Was that why I¡¯d

    heard an explosion? Did they also punish his family as well as mine?

    There were so many questions that I wish I had the answers to.

    The door flies open, and I try to act unbothered by their presence. I didn¡¯t want to show them what they

    did to me.

    ¡°Come with us,¡± Jagger says as he grabs my arm.

    Dash is also here, and I make another mental note to keep him out of my thoughts as much as

    possible.

    Even if he could hear my thoughts, it didn¡¯t matter, I wasn¡¯t nning anything crazy, and it¡¯s also

    possible that Atticus wasn¡¯ting for me.

    I was alone. No one wasing for me. Not Atticus. Not my family. Not my friends. I had to sit back

    and watch them harm me.

    ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± I ask.

    ¡°We want to determine just how powerful you are,¡± Owen answers me. I didn¡¯t expect him to give me a

    straightforward answer.

    ¡°And how do you n on determining that?¡± I inquire, genuinely curious. I also wanted to know just how

    strong I was and what I could do. I wasn¡¯t sure if their method would be the right way, however.

    ¡°By inflicting pain on you.¡± He answered me, and I immediately stopped walking.

    ¡°What?¡± I demand.

    He quirks a brow at me, ¡°did you think no pain would be involved? This has to be done for us to

    determine what to do with you. If you¡¯re not as dangerous as your father, we can keep you alive while

    locked in one of our cells designed for someone like you. However, if you¡¯re just as powerful as your

    father, we will have no choice but to get rid of you.¡±

    How could they possibly kill me? From what I¡¯ve heard, there had to be a specific weapon to kill my

    father; I assume it would be the same for me. But my father wasn¡¯t a hybrid; I am one; maybe I can be

    killed like any other werewolf.

    Dash looks at me, and he smirks. Once again, he was reading my mind, invading my privacy.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be the good guys?¡± I demand. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to protect the people. I

    haven¡¯t once harmed anyone innocent. I don¡¯t hurt others for my pleasure. Are you so scared of a girl

    that¡¯s done nothing to you or anyone around you because of who her father is?¡±

    Alistair narrows his eyes, ¡°we are the good guys. You may think we¡¯re being too harsh, but sometimes

    we need to make the hard decisions that no one else is willing to make. If you were any average

    person, none of this would have happened to you. You can¡¯t change who your father was, Autumn.

    He¡¯s the reason you are in this position.¡±

    Yet another reason to hate Azai Reign. It¡¯s official; he will haunt me for the rest of my life. He didn¡¯t

    want me as a baby, and even as a grown woman, he was still causing trouble for me.

    Instead of moving me to a torture room, I¡¯m surprised when they carry me to the balcony.

    Are they nning on hurting me out in the open? They tied my hands behind my back with a piece of

    string; it had to be something that would prevent me from using my power; they weren¡¯t stupid enough

    to tie my hands with any regr string and expect me not to get free.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Dash whispered as he finished tying my hands. I don¡¯t have time to ask him why when the

    first wave of pain hits me.

    My eyes widen just as a cry rocks the atmosphere. It takes me a few minutes to realize the screams

    areing from my mouth.

    I didn¡¯t know what was happening; all I knew was that my body was on fire. It felt like someone had

    thrown me into a fire pit.

    I wanted to beg them to stop; I wanted to let them know that it was too much, but I didn¡¯t want to seem

    weak. I didn¡¯t want to give the overlords the satisfaction of knowing how badly I was in pain.

    I close my eyes and swallow my pain. To help, I let myself think of all the good times I had with Atticus.

    I imagined that he was here, next to me, holding my hands, promising me that he was near. I imagined

    that he was kissing me, giving me the strength that I needed to keep on fighting.

    They were waiting for me to snap; they wanted to see if I could break free from their hold on me. If I

    showed too much power, they would never free me.

    But I was weak. I didn¡¯t have enough power to break free. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn¡¯t let go. I

    couldn¡¯t escape. I was not my father. I didn¡¯t have his strength. Soon enough, they would realize that I

    was harmless; I wouldn¡¯t cause the same problems that my father did.

    I wince when the pain increases suddenly.

    Stay strong, Autumn. Stay strong.

    . . . . .

    ~ATTICUS~

    ¡°Is everything ready for the ambush?¡± Hunter asks his men.

    My hands were shaking; I couldn¡¯t control my anger and anxiety as I waited for the signal. It was taking

    too long; everything was taking too long to get to Autumn.

    I f*****g missed her so much. I wanted to have her in my arms. I wanted to tell her I remembered her; I

    wanted her to know I had remembered every second of falling in love with her the first time. I wanted

    her to know how much she¡¯s always meant to me.

    Damon squeezes my shoulder, ¡°don¡¯t worry, brother. She¡¯s going to be okay. We¡¯re going to bring her

    back home safely.¡±

    My jaw clenched; I wasn¡¯t sure if she was okay. I wasn¡¯t sure what condition they had her in. All I knew

    was that Autumn had sacrificed herself for my family. I¡¯ve never met another woman like her. No one

    compared to her, absolutely no one.

    ¡°We know where all their guards are; with this information, we can easily enter their pce,¡± Austin

    says. ¡°That¡¯s where it will get a little tricky. They have many traps throughout that building to prevent

    enemies from getting to them. Prepare for the worst the moment that you step inside.¡±

    I¡¯m trying to pay attention to all of thest-minute warnings. We didn¡¯t have much time to prepare. The

    ckners helped leak some information to us, but we weren¡¯t sure how urate any of it was. Only

    when we got inside would we be able to confirm what was true and what was a lie.

    I¡¯m about to say something when suddenly, I can¡¯t move. My heart and body hurt like never before.

    This pain was unlike anything I¡¯d ever experienced. Suddenly, I understand what¡¯s happening; I know

    why I feel this horrible.

    They¡¯re hurting her. They¡¯re hurting my mate.

    I blink once, then twice, and let out an angry roar. All eyes are on me.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Hunter asks as he joins my side.

    ¡°They¡¯re hurting her,¡± I tell him. ¡°I can feel her pain.¡±

    My knuckles tightened, and I tried breathing because f**k me, I forgot how to do it. I can¡¯t think or focus

    on anything around me. All I can think about is her and what they¡¯re doing to her.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to move!¡± Hunter roars.

    ¡°We will get to her in time,¡± rissa assured me.

    Griffin and Dante are also here, and so is Autumn¡¯s family. They¡¯re all panicking, just like I am.

    I tried to clear my head despite the constant tension in my heart.

    I wasing, Autumn. Just wait a little longer for me, I¡¯ming for you, and nothing and no one can

    f*****g stop me.

    . . . . . . . . . . .

    ~ANYA~

    ¡°Austin, Hunter, James, Lucas, Arthur, and so many others are helping them.¡± Our spy informs my

    mother. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen an army of so many powerful peoplee together to fight against the

    overlords. They¡¯re going to war to free Autumn.¡±

    I watch as my mother¡¯s face turns red with anger. It may surprise her, but I knew how many people

    cared about the Fawns; I knew how many people also adored Autumn. I didn¡¯t understand why they

    did, but it didn¡¯t change the fact that it was true.

    ¡°What the hell are so many people doing helping them?¡± My mother screams. ¡°They¡¯re ruining my

    f*****g ns!¡±

    Out of all the times I¡¯ve seen my mother angry, this was the worst. Her n was working until powerful

    packs decided to help the Fawns.

    ¡°You should have been prepared, mother.¡± I taunt her as she loves doing to me. ¡°The Fawns have

    many allies; it was expected they would have help from so many people. With the kind of money that

    they have, they can also pay anyone to help them.¡±

    ¡°This is not good.¡± She hissed. ¡°If Autumn gets freed from the overlords, we won¡¯t get another chance

    to get rid of Atticus¡¯s parents. They will be too powerful. No one will be able to stop them.¡±

    ¡°Do you think the overlords may win the battle?¡± I ask the spy.

    He shrugs his shoulders, ¡°I only share information, miss. I cannot see the future. But the Fawns have

    an almost unbeatable team on their side. The overlords possess plenty of power, and the council is

    there to help them, but there¡¯s no telling who will win the fight.¡±

    ¡°Knowing how the council works, they will ask the overlords to let her go.¡± My mother says with worry in

    her voice. ¡°They¡¯re brutal fighters, but they don¡¯t enter battles if they know there¡¯s a high possibility they

    will lose.¡±

    ¡°Then what do you propose that we do?¡± I ask her. My mother wasn¡¯t one to give up because of a slight

    inconvenience. Her n was working perfectly until now. If Autumn were freed, we would need another

    n. Her ns weren¡¯t the only ones that were getting messed up by the sudden turn of events. My

    chances of being with Atticus had also decreased now that he was so close to getting her back. I was

    willing to do whatever it took to make my mother¡¯s n work.

    ¡°I have to attack now.¡± She says as her eyes light up. ¡°It isn¡¯t what I initially nned to do, but I¡¯ll have

    to make it a surprise attack. I¡¯ll hold them hostage until their children return. One by one, I would hurt

    every person close to their hearts while they watched. It isn¡¯t my original n, but it¡¯s better than letting

    them live happily.¡±

    She was nning on kidnapping Atticus¡¯s parents. This is insane. This was not how the n was

    supposed to go. If she kidnapped them, wouldn¡¯t that mean they would know who I am? I wasn¡¯t ready

    to reveal the truth.

    ¡°Does this mean you¡¯ll tell them the truth about me?¡± I ask. ¡°Are you going to tell them I¡¯m your

    daughter? I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s the right thing to do, mother.¡±

    I had to convince her that this wasn¡¯t the right n.

    She shook her head, ¡°not yet.¡± She answers me. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for thest few minutes of their lives to inform

    them about you.¡±

    I breathe a sigh of relief.

    I was terrified of Atticus¡¯s reaction when he finally learned the truth about me. I didn¡¯t want him to hate

    me. Autumn had already turned him against me; I couldn¡¯t imagine what would happen when he found

    out that my mother hated his parents. I can¡¯t imagine what he would do when he realized that I helped

    my mother with many of her ns to destroy his rtionship with Autumn.

    We¡¯re also the reason there will be a fight between the overlords and his family.

    There¡¯s so much that he still didn¡¯t know, and I didn¡¯t ever want Atticus to know any of this.

    If it were up to me, he would never find out the truth.

 Chapter 73

    Chapter 73

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 73

    ~AUTUMN~

    I cry out as they continue to increase the intensity of my t*****e. In the middle of my screams, I hear a

    piercing howl. My heart skips a beat. Surely that wasn¡¯t what I thought it was.

    There¡¯s another and another. My heart rate doubles as my hope intensifies. The howls continue to

    increase, telling me there are more wolves than I can count heading our way. They wereing for

    me. My mate, my family, my friends, they were alling to save me. Everything moves in slow motion

    after the sudden realization. I wasn¡¯t the only one to notice, the overlords did as well but how could they

    not?

    The pain stops, and I drop to the ground without warning. I¡¯d managed to stay upright the entire time,

    fighting back as much as I could.

    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Jagger demands.

    ¡°It¡¯s an ambush,¡± Dash says with his eyes glowing. ¡°They¡¯reing our way. Prepare for a battle!¡±

    There¡¯s shouting all around me. I didn¡¯t think the overlords had ever looked this worried. I knew what

    they were capable of doing. I knew that I could lose the people I loved and cared about today if I didn¡¯t

    find a way to stop all of this from happening. I wish there were another way to resolve this. I wanted the

    overlords to believe me when I told them I was nothing like my father.

    ¡°How dare they step foot in our territory?¡± Alistair growls. ¡°No one has ever been stupid or brave

    enough to question our choices.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because of her,¡± Owen says with dark eyes. ¡°They love her. She¡¯s even more dangerous because

    she¡¯s loved. There are people in this world that would give their lives to protect her.¡±

    My eyes widen at his words. I didn¡¯t realize how loved I was until now. Despite not having my biological

    family by my side since a child, I still managed to find people that loved me like I was their own. My

    heart swelled with love and appreciation for each of them.

    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    I was even more desperate to save them now.

    It was up to me to do everything in my power to protect them. They were here for me, and I wouldn¡¯t be

    able to live with myself if anyone lost their life today because of me. Somehow or the other, I would find

    a way to keep everyone I cared about away from danger.

    ¡°All of this can be stopped!¡± I try to reason with them. ¡°There¡¯s no need for a battle today. If you listen to

    me, if you open your mind to what I have to say, this can all end.¡±

    I was hoping that I could find a way to get them to act rationally. They knew just as much as I did that

    both sides would be in danger due to this uing battle.

    ¡°How do you propose that?¡± Jagger asks.

    ¡°You need to let me go,¡± I answer him. ¡°They¡¯re here for me. They won¡¯t leave until you give me up. If

    this battle begins, we are going to lose plenty. I¡¯m not the only one who will lose people I care about;

    you will also lose those closest to you. Please stop this before it¡¯s toote. If I remember correctly if one

    of you dies before you can give your power to another, that power ends with you. I don¡¯t think you want

    that to happen today. Everything you¡¯ve worked for will be destroyed in one day if you choose pride

    over your safety.¡±

    It was the truth. I wasn¡¯t just saying it to scare them. This had to be stopped before anyone got hurt.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t about pride, girl!¡± Alistair hissed. ¡°This is about the safety of our world and its people. You are

    still not to be trusted. You¡¯ve heard what your father did to others, but you weren¡¯t here to witness it.

    You never saw it with your own eyes; that¡¯s why you don¡¯t understand how dangerous you can be

    the second that you lose control of your body. That darkness could consume you the moment that it

    gets a chance to do so and there would be nothing that you or I could do to stop it.¡±

    I try not the be affected by his words. It was true that I was never able to witness the destruction my

    father caused in the past. That didn¡¯t mean I would be my father. Why couldn¡¯t they understand

    this? My father wanted to rule the world; I do not. I want to live a peaceful life surrounded by the people

    I love. That¡¯s the difference between us. He didn¡¯t know how to love but I do.

    ¡°How am I not to be trusted?¡± I demand. ¡°Who have I ever hurt that didn¡¯t deserve it? I¡¯m not a monster.

    Didn¡¯t you just put me through a test? Did I fail or pass? I didn¡¯t attack anyone even though I was in so

    much pain. You were able to keep me under your control. Does that not tell you anything at all?¡±

    They are all quiet, but I can tell that they still do not trust me. They are already convinced that I will be

    just as dangerous as Azai. I didn¡¯t know what I could do to convince them I would be nothing like him.

    ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± Dash says. All eyes are now on him. I¡¯m surprised he agrees with me. His brothers look

    angry that he¡¯s the only one that seems to be on my side. They aren¡¯t blood brothers, but that¡¯s what

    they refer to each other as. ¡°We can save many lives today if we let her go. I¡¯ve been reading her mind;

    she¡¯s not as dangerous as we thought. Autumn Reign is not her father. She¡¯s kind and gentle; she has

    a heart; he didn¡¯t have one. She cares about the people around her, while he never did.¡±

    I flinched at my name. I was not a Reign! I didn¡¯t want to be one.

    ¡°We can¡¯t just let them get away with this,¡± Owen growls. ¡°If they get out of here without a scratch,

    everyone will think it¡¯s okay to break all the rules. If everyone begins to think that way, then our world

    will never be able to have peace again. That can¡¯t happen.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being stubborn for no reason!¡± I growl. ¡°You¡¯re willing to put your brothers in danger so that you

    can prove a point?¡±

    Why couldn¡¯t they listen to me? Why weren¡¯t they listening to Dash? He seemed to be the only one

    thinking rationally out of all the overlords.

    ¡°It may seem stupid to someone like you, but they understand why we must fight today.¡± He tells me as

    he points to the others. ¡°They know what we have to do. When we swore to ept our roles as

    overlords, we knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy, we knew that there would be times where we had to make

    difficult decisions. We are not backing down from this battle.¡±

    My lips tremble with frustration. Nothing I said was convincing them.

    ¡°Get into contact with the council. Tell them that we need them right this second. Tell them to bring their

    strongest men.¡± He shouts to the others. ¡°With them by our side; we will be invincible.¡±

    My heart drops at his words. This was actually happening. I could barely catch my breath as the news

    hit me harder than before.

    I don¡¯t get a chance to say anything else. They¡¯re all running throughout the pce; Jagger grabs my

    arms and runs with me to a cell, where he throws me into.

    I watch with horror as he presses something on the screen in front of him. Whatever it was, it must

    have been to keep me locked inside of here.

    ¡°Listen to me,¡± I beg. ¡°You need to convince them to stop this. You will lose your family. I know they¡¯re

    your family. You will lose them, Jagger. I¡¯ve seen these men fight; I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard everything

    about them. They¡¯re popr for the battles they¡¯ve won when joined together. Save yourself the

    trouble, and just let me go. I promise that I¡¯m not just saying this to mess with your head. I¡¯m saying this

    to save people that we both care about.¡±

    He res at me, obviously not happy that I was hinting they weren¡¯t strong enough to win this battle. I

    was not trying to insult him or the others. Why couldn¡¯t they see that? What else could I do to get them

    to listen to me? I was running out of options. Jagger was thest person that could help me stop this.

    The others were already preparing for impact.

    ¡°If we go down, the people you love and care about are surely going down as well.¡± He growls.

 Chapter 74

    Chapter 74

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 74

    I gasped; his words were like a punch to my stomach. I watch as he storms away from me to join the

    others.

    They weren¡¯t going to y nice. None of them were. And the council would be here any minute now.

    I drop myself onto the ground as I pray for a miracle to save everyone involved.

    Images of Atticus shed before my mind. I¡¯ve loved him for too long to let this be the end for us. Since

    we¡¯ve married, we haven¡¯t gotten a single day without someone or something trying to separate us.

    I couldn¡¯t just sit here and watch everything happen. The overlords didn¡¯t know that I was hiding my

    power, pretending that I was weak earlier so that they didn¡¯t think of me as a threat anymore. While it

    may have worked to convince Dash, the rest of the overlords hadn¡¯t been convinced.

    If I tried hard enough, I could break free from the cell. I had faith that I could do it. I could always fight

    the hardest when the people I cared about were involved. This time they were all here, every single

    one of them, I could feel their strong presence. My love for them will help me break free.

    I grab the iron bars and my eyes widen when it burns me. An involuntary cry leaves my mouth as the

    pain travels throughout my body. I¡¯m f****d to let go and stare at it in horror. It wasn¡¯t any average cell; it

    was most likely designed just for my father or recently built just for me. Was this the cell they nned

    on locking me in once they decided to keep me alive? It had to be. They would have used all their

    resources to ensure it was strong enough to trap me for as long as they desired.

    I listen closely as the howls get louder. This only means that they¡¯d reached the pce. A chill runs

    down my spine. They were moving quickly.

    I was running out of time to stop this mess.

    ¡°DASH!¡± I scream. ¡°Jagger! Someone! Anyone! Stop this madness!¡±

    I knew it was useless calling out to them, but I was desperate to try anything.

    The thought of anything horrible happening to Atticus was killing me inside. I was supposed to keep

    him safe; letting the overlords take me from his home was a decision that I made to protect both him

    and his family.

    My n was backfiring. I thought I was doing the right thing by letting them take me, but I only realized

    that I¡¯d put more people¡¯s lives in danger by my actions.

    My eyes widen when I hear a roar followed by a collision. It was happening.

    The fight had started between them, yet I was still locked inside this damn cell! I was going to miss the

    entire battle if I didn¡¯t find a way to get out of this sted thing!

    My hands are trembling with fear for the lives of the people I love the most. I close my eyes as I try to

    find the inner strength I need to break free. I didn¡¯t know how powerful I was, but I knew that nothing

    would stop me today from saving those that I loved.

    I continued to think of Atticus, rissa, my parents, my siblings, Griffin and his brothers, Gabrie,

    Maya, and their families.

    Say it.

    Say it.

    Say it.

    I covered my ears as the words kept repeating in my head.

    ¡®Bound by this cell, break me free with this spell.¡¯

    ¡®Bound by this cell, break me free with this spell.¡¯

    My eyes sh open, and I can feel the darkness within me rise, ¡°BOUND BY THIS CELL, BREAK ME

    FREE WITH THIS SPELL!¡±

    I¡¯m shouting, screaming the words. I don¡¯t even blink when the iron bars break in half in front of me and

    go flying into the walls.

    My lips part as I watch the entire thing break apart. The sound it makes forces me to cover my ear. It

    was crazy to think that the overlords must have been convinced this cell would be able to hold me but

    somehow, I was able to break the entire thing into multiple pieces right before my eyes.

    Luckily, no one was guarding me. Everyone was too busy in the battle to realize that I¡¯d just broken free

    from the cell. This was my opportunity to get the hell out of here.

    My heart was pounding as I ran throughout the pce, following the sounds. There are so many growls

    and deafening screams that I am scared I¡¯m already toote.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± I screamed as I ran through the halls. ¡°ATTICUS!¡±

    I was terrified that they¡¯d already gotten to him. I know he can¡¯t hear me, and I should keep my mouth

    shut before the overlords realize I¡¯d gotten free, but I can¡¯t stop myself. I need to find him. I need to

    confirm that he¡¯s safe.

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    I rushed out into the balcony; I knew I could get a good view of everything from there. I spot Austin¡¯s

    and Hunter¡¯s wolves; they¡¯re doing insane damage to their opponents. It was hard to find who I was

    looking for with the number of wolves all attacking at the same time.

    A loud horn pierces the sky, and my heart sinks when I see members from the ck council only a

    short distance away. They¡¯d finally reached. It will get only worse from here.

    There was still no sign of Atticus. I was beginning to panic. I had no idea where to find him. He was

    supposed to be with the others. Where was he? Where was my mate? I was crying out inside for him. If

    anything happens to him, I will never be able to forgive myself.

    My heart stops beating when someone grabs me from behind. I gasp when his lips crash to my neck,

    ¡°thank God I¡¯ve found you.¡±

    And just like that, my heart begins to beat again.

    Atticus.

    I couldn¡¯t believe he was holding me. Was it possible that I was hallucinating?

    I slowly turn around in his arm, and my eyes widen as I stare at him. It was indeed my mate, my

    husband. I slowly reach up and drag my hand down his face. Blood was all over his body, and I had no

    idea how much he¡¯d fought to get to me.

    I hate seeing so many bruises on his body. I wanted to kiss away his pain. I wished that my lips could

    heal each wound.

    He leaned into my touch, and I couldn¡¯t hold back my tears as I kissed his forehead. He kisses me

    back, on my hair, my temples, my cheek, my nose, my chin, and finally, he crashes his lips to mine.

    I held onto him tightly and let my body drown in his kisses.

    He slowly pulled away from me to hold my cheeks in his hands. ¡°There¡¯s something I want to ask.¡± He

    whispers.

    Something he wanted to ask? Now? In the middle of a battle?

    I couldn¡¯t say no, not when he looked at me like this was ourst time together.

    ¡°Ask me.¡±

    I wanted to care about everything else, but if these were ourst moments together, I wanted to spend

    them in his arms. I wanted to treasure this moment with him. I wanted him to know just how much I

    loved him. It would have been perfect if he had all memories of the past, all memories of our times

    together.

    ¡°I¡¯m asking for a chance to let me prove to you that I¡¯m different now. I¡¯m asking for a chance to prove

    that you¡¯re the most important woman in my life¡ªno one else. I know I can¡¯t just say words and expect

    you to believe them, but please, give me this one chance. I can¡¯t function knowing you¡¯ve given up on

    me, Autumn. I need to know that there is still time to fix things between us. After everything you¡¯ve

    been through, this may be asking too much of you, but please, give me this chance.¡± He finally says.

    I gasp. I can¡¯t speak. Those words. He¡¯s said them to me in the past; this was before he¡¯d lost his

    memories of us, before the ident.

    Did this mean what I thought it meant?

    My lips parted as I stared at him; I was shocked. It was hard for me to think clearly. There¡¯s so much

    racing in my mind and my heart.

    ¡°W-what did you just say?¡± I stammer.

    He smiles, and my heart melts, ¡°I love you, Autumn Rivera Fawn. I loved you even before my body

    understood what love was. I¡¯m sorry that it took me this long to tell you. I¡¯m sorry that it took me this

    long to remember you. I¡¯m sorry for forgetting our memories to begin with. I could never understand

    how anything could make me forget the greatest thing that ever happened to me.¡±

    ¡°You remember?¡± I gasp, unable to keep the joy in my heart from showing in my expression.

    He picked me up into his arms, and I grabbed his shoulders to steady myself. ¡°No words could make

    up for all the wrong I¡¯ve done to you, Autumn. I wish I knew how much you¡¯ve loved me since the

    beginning. I know in my heart that I would have chosen you. I¡¯m ashamed of myself for not realizing my

    feelings sooner. Please say that you¡¯ll forgive me for everything.¡±

    The tears are flowing now, and he leans forward and kisses them, ¡°how can I not forgive you, Atticus?

    Even without your memory, you¡¯ve been nothing but good to me. If anything, I¡¯ve grown to love you

    more than I did initially. I love you so much, Atticus Fawn. No one will everpare to you. I knew I

    wanted you since the beginning, and that never changed, even after our marriage. It¡¯s always been

    only you, and it will always be you.¡±

    He smiles, and it¡¯s a smile that lights up his face.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s find a way to get out of here alive, so I can spend the rest of my life loving you,¡± Atticus

    whispers against my ear.

    I shivered at his words, and I was even more determined to get us out of this ce alive.

    ¡°The council is here,¡± I say as I look down in horror.

    He stiffens, ¡°Austin expected this. The others are waiting for the right moment to attack.¡±

    ¡°Was this your n to have the upper hand?¡± I ask him, terrified.

    He nods, ¡°they¡¯re waiting for our signal.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no.¡± I gasp. ¡°Dash can read minds, Atticus. He will know where the others are hidden.

    Wherever they are, tell them to get out of there immediately!¡±

    Just as those words left my mouth, a loud explosion rocked our surroundings.

    Atticus covered my body with his, and a deadly silence followed.

    ¡°DAMONNN!¡± rissa¡¯s piercing scream sends us all into a state of panic.

    I grab Atticus¡¯s shoulders, ¡°who was there?¡± I demand. Who was there during the explosion? Who did

    we lose?

    rissa¡¯s screams do not stop. Atticus picks me up into his arms and jumps off the balcony with me.

    We fall onto Austin¡¯s wolf. He¡¯s racing through the crowd with us on his back; he¡¯s heading back to the

    others where the explosion happened.

    I¡¯m surprised when there is nothing except burnt trees. There was no sign of any bodies anywhere.

    With such a dangerous explosion, I think we all expected worse than this. Where was everyone?

    We step down from Austin¡¯s wolf and take a look around us. rissa is right behind me with tears all

    over her face. She runs into my arms and I hug her tightly.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure Damon is going to be okay.¡± I try to soothe her. But where could they be? They couldn¡¯t have

    known about the explosion, so then where were they?

    ¡°They were supposed to be here.¡± She tells me. ¡°They were all supposed to be waiting for when the

    council arrived. While we dealt with the overlords, the other half was supposed to take care of the

    council. That was our n since the beginning. I left Damon here. He should be here with the others.¡±

    I rub her back gently, ¡°it¡¯s a good sign that he isn¡¯t here. It means there is a chance that they all

    escaped. Let¡¯s stay strong and keep on looking.¡±

    ¡°DAMON!¡± She screams at the top of her lungs. ¡°DAMONN!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m right here,¡± he responds. ¡°There¡¯s no need for all of the screaming, rissa.¡±

    We both froze and turned towards his voice.

    She gasped as soon as she saw him. I watch as she ran straight into his waiting arms.

    ¡°I must say, rissa, I¡¯m a bit hurt that you were more worried about Damon than me,¡± Griffin

    comins, pretending to be in emotional pain.

    Her face turns red with embarrassment at his words as she slowly lets go of Damon.

    ¡°You know I was also scared for you.¡± She says.

    Dante sighs, ¡°it¡¯s not like we don¡¯t already know that Damon is her favorite by now.¡±

    ¡°Just because I screamed Damon¡¯s name doesn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t worried for the rest of you!¡± She says.

    The other members from Austin¡¯s pack show up behind us. They were all here, everyone that was

    supposed to be dead by the deadly explosion.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Austin says. ¡°How did you survive?¡± He asks as he hugs his pack members.

    The ckners join us next. Were they also a part of this? Did theye to save me as well?

    They shrug their shoulders, ¡°to be honest, we aren¡¯t sure what happened. Everything turned ck, and

    before we knew it, we were all transported out from where we were standing to a safer location. We

    were confused by it for a few seconds but that was when the explosion hit.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± Austin says. ¡°What the hell could have caused that? And how did they

    know where you were?¡±

    ¡°Dash can read minds. He must have read all of yours to determine your strategy. You have to think

    opposite thoughts if you want to win against them.¡± I inform everyone.

    ¡°I knew they had a secret f*****g weapon.¡± Austin mumbles. ¡°But why did they disclose that information

    to you?¡±

    I sigh, ¡°I don¡¯t think they ever expected to let me go. They wanted to either kill me or lock me in a cell

    forever. They didn¡¯t expect that I had the most amazing friends and family behind me.¡±

    Atticus smiles and kisses my cheek. ¡°How can anyone note for you?¡±

    ¡°We need to get back to the others.¡± I remind them. ¡°They¡¯re facing both the overlords and the council

    at the same time. We have an advantage now that they think they¡¯ve killed some of us.¡±

    Hopefully, this will be enough for us to win.

    ¡°Stay behind me at all times,¡± Atticus tells me.

    I know he wants to protect me, but this was my fight. They almost killed people who meant a lot to me.

    All this time, I¡¯ve been holding back, not showing my true potential because I thought that it would have

    caused more harm than good. Now I knew that to escape from these people, I had no choice but to

    allow my dark side to lead. I had to show them what I was capable of doing to anyone that messed with

    my family and friends.

    They¡¯d made up their minds to dislike me. Whether I behaved well or badly would not make a

    difference. If they wanted to treat me like a monster, I could act like one.

    Austin shifts back into his wolf form, and so do the others. Atticus stays in front of me, protecting me

    from anyone that tries to hurt me. He didn¡¯t have to do it, but yet he did.

    I enjoy seeing the look of surprise on the council¡¯s faces when they realized that we were all still alive

    despite the explosion that was nned. They couldn¡¯t get rid of us that easily.

    Arthur grabs one of the council¡¯s men by the neck and sends them to the ground. Lucy tackles one that

    tries to hurt Austin.

    I looked around me; everyone that I loved was here and fighting. My parents rushed forward and

    hugged me the first chance they got; my siblings were next.

    Gabrie and Maya were not on the battlefield, but they were still close in case anything awful

    happened to their mates.

    I felt sorry for Lucy; she was fighting against her family. Her father and brothers were all tied to the

    council; they had no choice but to fight alongside them. They avoided each other during battle, but I

    wasn¡¯t sure how long they could keep that up.

    Cassandra, the council¡¯s representative for witches, was leading them with the prosecutor by her side.

    Draven, Sir Vincent¡¯s son, was killing mercilessly. I¡¯d already seen someone from James¡¯s pack die,

    and I saw others from the pack feel the pain of his loss.

    How much more would we lose in battle? It had only just begun, and no one seemed like they were

    going to stop anytime soon.

    ¡°LUTHAIS!¡± Lucy¡¯s horrified scream cut through my thoughts.

    I follow her gaze and instantly realize that Luthais was one of her brothers. He was working for the

    council and others when one of the members from Hunter¡¯s pack attacked him.

    There¡¯s a silver sword sticking out of his chest, and I watch in horror as bloodes out of his mouth.

    His eyes are almost entirely white, and his skin is changing color.

    I can hear the cry of Eden and Isabe¡¯s wolves from a distance. They were also not part of the battle,

    but they must have heard Lucy¡¯s gut-wrenching cry, or maybe they felt it in their hearts that their

    brother was seriously hurt.

    The overlords saw this as an opportunity to attack the rest of us now that we were all shocked over

    Luthais dying.

    I watch with horror as Atticus is lifted into the air suddenly.

    ¡°ATTICUS!¡± I scream. They¡¯re repeating what they did to him in the past. His body shook as they

    tortured him mid-air.

    He¡¯s not the only one. They have Hunter next. One by one, they¡¯re torturing the people that I cared

    about. They¡¯d caught us by surprise and used our shock to their advantage.

    This couldn¡¯t be happening. My eyes moved from left to right, watching as they continuously took

    people I cared about. Sir Vincent had my mother¡¯s throat in his hands and was squeezing tightly. It was

    like I was having the worst nightmare possible.

    Griffin is the next person that they take to t*****e. They try to grab rissa, but Damon saves her just in

    time.

    Atticus cries out as they increase his t*****e.

    ¡°STOP HURTING THEM!¡± I scream. ¡°Please stop it!¡±

    No matter how much I begged, they weren¡¯t listening to me.

    I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. I couldn¡¯t lose these people. I couldn¡¯t let them take them from me. I wouldn¡¯t

    allow it.

    ¡°I¡¯m warning you!¡± I scream. ¡°Stop it, or you¡¯ll regret it!¡±

    Raines down from nowhere next, soaking all of us. There¡¯s red everywhere from all of the blood. I

    can still hear the groans and roars of my loved ones above the sound of rain pounding onto my body.

    ¡°Oh no, we¡¯re so scared.¡± Sir Vincent proceeds to taunt me. ¡°Why don¡¯t youe to say goodbye to

    your mother before I end her life in front of you? When you¡¯re done, you can also say goodbye to

    Atticus.¡±

    I lift my head towards the sky and let out a piercing scream.

    I watch as the water droplets join together into what seems to be a chain made only from water. It

    grabs onto the necks of all council members, choking each of them. It doesn¡¯t stop there; it moves onto

    the overlords next. A knife is ripped from inside the pce; they¡¯re all watching it in horror as it goes

    straight for Owen. My eyes narrowed as they pierced his heart. He shouts a piercing roar as he drops

    to the ground in front of his brothers. The link is broken between them, and Atticus falls back to the

    ground. I run to him and wrap my arms around his neck. He holds my waist to steady me before pulling

    me on top of him. We¡¯re both on the ground holding onto each other, but I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m just happy to

    have him in my arms again.

    Isabe and Eden joined us next as we all ran to Lucy, who was holding Luthais in her arms. Hunter

    and James hold onto their mates as they scream for their brother.

    Owen points at Luthais. They¡¯re both dying. Not just one. He doesn¡¯t say anything, but Dash seems to

    understand him as he drags his body to Luthais.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lucy screams. ¡°Do not touch my brother, or I will kill you!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s trying to save him!¡± Dash growls. ¡°If he transfers all of his power to Luthais, he will be saved.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true!¡± Lucy¡¯s father confirms. ¡°Let him do it. Let him save my son.¡±

    I watch in amazement as Owen touches his forehead to Luthais, unconscious and barely breathing. A

    red light surrounds them for a few seconds before disappearing. Owen drops to the ground,pletely

    lifeless, leaving his brothers to mourn his loss.

    Lucy holds Luthais against her as her brothers surround them. They¡¯re all looking down at him with

    pale faces.

    ¡°Why is nothing happening?¡± Isabe cries. ¡°Why is my brother not waking up?¡±

    ¡°Izzy?¡± Luthais croaks.

    We all gasp after hearing his voice. Everyone begins to celebrate when he opens his eyes and hugs

    Lucy back. They can¡¯t stop their tears from having their brother alive and safely tucked in their arms.

    Lucy¡¯s father leans down and pulls his son into his arms. My heart swells with joy to know that we have

    him back.

    We¡¯re shocked when all of the overlords surround him.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Isabe growls.

    ¡°Luthais Cross, son of Richard Cross, you are now a member of the overlords, and as such, you must

    follow all of our rules or be killed.¡± The overlords say in unison. ¡°What will your choice be? Do you

    ept our offer, or do you decline?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lucy demands. ¡°What the hell are they speaking about? He¡¯s not an overlord!¡±

    ¡°He is one now. The moment Owen passed his power onto him, he became one. Let¡¯s not forget that

    the only reason he¡¯s alive today is that Owen chose him.¡± Jagger growls.

    Luthais looks almost in a daze as he looks at everyone around him. I think he¡¯s tired of the fighting, we

    all are, but we are willing to continue if it means it can set him free.

    ¡°I ept.¡±

    His entire family is outraged by his response, but it doesn¡¯t stop him from getting up and joining the

    overlords.

    ¡°But I have a condition; I want this stupid fight to stop immediately. We¡¯ve lost too much already. As the

    overlords, you should be more concerned with protecting the people. Autumn is not a threat if you don¡¯t

    try to hurt her first. Let her go; besides, Autumn cannot be as strong as her father without her brother

    and sister. The power was split amongst them. Since no one knows where her siblings are, I think it¡¯s

    safe to say that she isn¡¯t a threat.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Dash cuts in. ¡°You have a deal. Everyone has ten minutes to get the f**k out of our territory.

    Luthais, you¡¯re one of us now, which means you stay here.¡±

    . . . . . . . . . .

    ~CASSIUS~

    It was never my intention to save my sisters¡¯ friends. But if the overlords killed them, their chances of

    getting out alive would have been slim. I didn¡¯t want to risk it. I needed both of them alive. The only way

    for that to happen was to keep the people trying to free Autumn alive.

    They¡¯re lucky that I decided to pass in for a few minutes just to see what everyone was like in the

    middle of battle. If I hadn¡¯t been there, many would have died from that explosion meant for the

    werewolves.

    I was the one that protected them from the explosion.

    Everything happened so quickly that none of them were even aware that I was there.

    I stayed long enough to ensure that they¡¯d gotten out.

    I wasn¡¯t about to let my mother believe that they¡¯d survived, however. I wanted her to grieve just like I

    suffered when I found out she¡¯d killed my father. If she thought the overlords had both of my sisters

    locked in their dungeons and were waiting for the right moment to kill them, she would me herself

    until she died.

    ¡°Cassius!¡± My mother shouts my name. Today I would not let her voice annoy me.

    I was getting better at ignoring her. I couldn¡¯t deny that she was good at pissing me off however.

    ¡°Are my daughters safe?¡± she cries. ¡°Please tell me that you protected them.¡±

    Why did she always choose when I was in the middle of a game to bother me?

    ¡°CASSIUS!¡± She shouts. ¡°I know you can hear me son. Please tell me everything that happened. Did

    they free Autumn? Is she okay?¡±

    This was my time to shine.

    I couldn¡¯t wait to break her heart!

 Chapter 75

    Chapter 75

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 75

    ~ATTICUS~

    I can¡¯t stop staring at Autumn. This was what love felt like when you finally epted it. It was f*****g

    amazing.

    I loved this woman more than I loved anything in this f*****g world. Others were terrified of her power,

    but I was amazed at her strength. She saved everyone today. I don¡¯t even know if she acknowledges

    how amazing she is.

    Isabe runs over to my mate and hugs her tightly. ¡°Thank you for saving my mate. Thank you for also

    saving my brother. You¡¯re the one that stopped the overlords and the council from taking so many of

    our loved ones from us.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Autumn asks in shock. ¡°I should be thanking you and your family. They were

    only ced in danger because they were trying to save me. I¡¯ll forever be indebted to all of you. Words

    cannot exin how much joy it brings me to know that I have such amazing friends. You¡¯re like family

    to me.¡±

    She isn¡¯t the only one to thank Autumn for what she did today; almost everyone at the battle told her

    how amazing she was. She took my breath away and I¡¯m sure she did the same for the others.

    How could anyone ever think that she would be anything like her father? Autumn had a heart,

    something her father never did. She protected the people she cared about. I was so damn proud of her

    and I wished that she could see herself through my eyes. She would realize just how much I adored

    everything about her.

    ¡°Your eyes are glowing with love,¡± Damon says with a chuckle. ¡°Everyone can see it from a mile away.¡±

    I nce at him for a second before returning my attention to the love of my life. The woman I would

    give everything for. How did I ever get so lucky?

    Iugh, ¡°what can I say, brother? Love has never felt this good.¡±

    Even with Anya, it never felt like this. Autumn was different and she proved that every single day.

    ¡°What do you think saved us from that explosion?¡± He asks me. ¡°You should have been there Atticus,

    it¡¯s hard to exin in words what happened. I don¡¯t understand what caused us to move from one ce

    to another and so quickly. Someone saved us and I wish I knew who it was so that I could thank them.¡±

    I didn¡¯t understand who would do something like that for us.

    The man that saved me from the ident suddenly makes an appearance in my head. He said his

    name was Cassius. I still wasn¡¯t sure if it was him. But it matches the description of what happened to

    Damon and the others today. One minute I was in the vehicle and the next I was on the road, staring at

    the explosion.

    If it was him, why is he saving us? We didn¡¯t know him but on that day it seemed like he knew me. It

    seemed like he knew I was trying to save Autumn.

    Without much information on him, there wasn¡¯t anything I could really find out. But Cassius wasn¡¯t a

    name I¡¯ve heard a lot around here, maybe I could do some digging up and see what I could find out.

    ¡°I never felt this happy to be going home finally,¡± Dante says next to us. ¡°It¡¯s been a long day. Too much

    has happened. I¡¯ll like to go home and see our parents. And then, I¡¯ll like to see Anya. She must be

    terribly worried about us.¡±

    This was just another way that Anya was different from Autumn. If I was in a dangerous battle like this,

    Autumn would be there by my side even if she knew her life would be in danger.

    She turns to look at me and I can¡¯t help but smile.

    I loved her so f*****g much and I can¡¯t wait to tell her this every single day for the rest of our lives.

    I couldn¡¯t wait to get home, either. To hold Autumn in my arms and shower her with all the love I had

    built inside me. I was waiting for the right opportunity to have her all to myself.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about Luthais.¡± I apologize to Lucy and her family. ¡°I knew asking for your help would put

    your family in danger, but I was desperate to get Autumn back.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize.¡± Lucy scolds me. ¡°You and Autumn helped me save my son. Austin and I would

    dlyy down our lives for both of you. Besides, this was the council¡¯s fault. My brothers have no

    choice but to work for them. My sisters were once tied to them as well. If Luthais were free to choose,

    none of this would have happened. My other brothers are also in danger every day they¡¯re f****d to be

    with the council. I wish there was a way for us to free them. I¡¯ve offered multiple times but they don¡¯t

    want to put my family in danger. I also have a son that I must protect no matter what. Hees first, I

    almost lost Roman once, Austin and I haven¡¯t been the same since that scare, we are a lot more

    cautious now. We don¡¯t start battles unless we have no other choice.¡±

    Being an overlord wasn¡¯t easy. His life had just taken a turn for the worse. I was grateful for Austin and

    Lucy. For everyone else besides them also. If they ever needed us for anything, we would dly be

    there for them.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s time for us to leave now,¡± I tell the others. ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone is exhausted after the fight.¡±

    They all agreed with me. Austin¡¯s family invited us to their ce but we had to decline. I just wanted to

    get home with my mate and my siblings.

    I take Autumn¡¯s hand and guide her to the waiting jeep. Damon would be driving. I wanted to spend

    every second holding her in my arms from now on.

    She snuggled into my arms and ced one hand on my chest. I kiss her hair and inhale her scent. She

    always smells so f*****g good.

    A few minutes into the drive and Autumn falls asleep in my arms. I smiled at how adorable she was.

    I close my eyes and enjoy the rest of the ride with her still locked in my arms, away from danger. I could

    see myself spending the rest of my life this way. I couldn¡¯t imagine anyone else but her next to me. It

    was insane that a few weeks ago I wasn¡¯t sure who to choose between her and Anya. I was stupid

    back then.

    How could I not see what I could clearly see now? How was I never able to see that the answer was

    always Autumn, no one else?

    At least that was all behind us now. This was a mistake I would never make again. I tightened my hold

    on her and she moans in her sleep.

    ¡°What the f**k?¡± Damon shouts. The tension in his voice f****d me to open my eyes; Autumn was also

    awakened because of it.

    I follow his gaze, and my body runs cold at the sight in front of me.

    Our home.

    It was on fire.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± rissa asks in horror. ¡°Why is our home on fire? What the hell is happening?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t a simple fire either. The mes were roaring and there were multiple explosions that could be

    heard from inside the vehicle.

    . . . . . . . .

    ~AUTUMN~

    I was still sleepy when Damon¡¯s voice woke me up. Thest thing I expected to see was our home on

    fire.

    What had caused this?

    Was it an ident or was someone responsible for this disaster?

    Damon brings the jeep to an abrupt stop, and we all rush out. I¡¯m right behind Atticus as he runs into

    the house; all of the guards are dead. Every single one of them. It was clear that this wasn¡¯t an

    ident. Someone was definitely responsible.

    It wasn¡¯t looking good for us. Where could his parents be? Were they even alive?

    ¡°Mom?¡± Atticus calls. My heart drops at the panic in his voice.

    ¡°Dad?¡± Griffin shouts.

    Still, there are no responses. Half of the mansion was on fire, and the other half was trashed. They¡¯d

    broken all the sses and appliances all over the house. Who had done such a horrible thing?

    His parents were still nowhere to be found. We searched the entire house, at least the parts that the

    fire wasn¡¯t stopping us from entering.

    ¡°What the f**k happened here?¡± Dante asks as he scans his surroundings.

    The smoke was burning my eyes and scratching my throat.

    ¡°Do you think the council is behind this?¡± Damon asks. ¡°They always y dirty. Maybe they lied to us;

    this could have been their way to get back at us.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is their work.¡± Atticus disagrees. ¡°They are many things, but I don¡¯t think they would

    risk another battle to get even with us. This is the work of someone else, an unknown enemy. Whoever

    it is was waiting for the right opportunity, and they took it while we were preupied in battle.¡±

    rissa looks distraught as she looks around her adoptive parents¡¯ room, ¡°they¡¯re not here. They

    should be here. Where are they?¡±

    ¡°I hate to say this,¡± Damon whispers. ¡°But judging by this mess and destruction, whoever did this, must

    have taken mom and dad as well.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not finished with us,¡± Atticus says. ¡°Why the f**k is this happening to us? It¡¯s only been a few

    hours since ourst battle. Now, our parents are missing.¡±

    Dante throws a chair onto the floor in his frustration.

    ¡°There has to be something we can do to find out who¡¯s done this,¡± I say.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to.¡± rissa gasps. ¡°They left a note for us.¡±

    I followed her gaze; she was right; it was a note stuck to the front door. How did we miss this?

    Atticus runs a hand down his face, ¡°we were right. They have our parents.¡±

    ¡°What the f**k does anyone want with mom and dad?¡± Griffin demands. ¡°They haven¡¯t done a single

    thing to anyone.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re asking that wee alone,¡± Atticus says. ¡°All of us except Autumn.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I demand. ¡°If your parents are in danger, I want to be there to help them.¡±

    Atticus takes a step toward me and gently grabs my shoulders, ¡°I know you think that it will be better if

    you¡¯re there, but after everything, after almost losing you, I want you to be safe. I don¡¯t want to put your

    life in danger again, Autumn. Please, for my sake, stay here. Your parents will stay with you. Just until I

    return for you.¡±

    I closed my eyes; this was his parents, and he was already in so much pain. I didn¡¯t want to add to it. If

    he wanted me to stay back, then I would. But the moment I felt like he needed me, I would be there in a

    heartbeat.

    I kissed his lips and held onto him until it was time for him to leave with his siblings. Whoever

    kidnapped his parents must have a grudge against his family if they asked for everyone except me.

    ¡°You have my full support,¡± I promise him. ¡°Let me know the moment that you need me. I¡¯ll be there in a

    second.¡±

    Watching Atticus leave was the hardest thing I had to do today, despite how horrible it¡¯s been. I¡¯ve

    always done the opposite of what he asked me to do. This time I felt like it was the right thing to let him

    do this alone.

    My mate wasn¡¯t weak, and his family wasn¡¯t either. They could handle themselves, and if they needed

    me, I would be there.

    I turned back to look at the house. It would take some time for everything to be back to normal.

    Whoever did this must hate the Fawns. Atticus didn¡¯t have the chance to call anyone to clean up this

    mess, but maybe I could get some help to stop the fire.

    We are lucky that we got here before the entire thing burnt to the ground.

    ¡°We will call some of our friends.¡± My mother tells me. ¡°They will know just the right people to save your

    new home.¡±Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    Atticus made sure my family was by my side before he left. He always cared for me, even when he had

    other things to worry about.

    I nod and thank her.

    ¡°Who do you think would do something like this?¡± I ask her.

    She sighs, ¡°I wish I knew, darling. The list of our enemies has only multiplied over the past few years,

    and it¡¯s been the same way for the Fawns. It can be anyone at this point.¡±

    ¡°Mom,¡± I whisper. ¡°Do you think Skyler will try to harm my family? I almost lost many of them today,

    multiple times. I¡¯m terrified of what will happen when Skyler returns for me.¡±

    She touched my cheek lightly and kissed my forehead, ¡°I know you¡¯re terrified, darling; we all are. I

    believe that you¡¯re safe for now, however. What Luthais said is true. Without knowing who your siblings

    are, Azai¡¯s men cannot get the power that they need to rule. They need all of you. As long as your

    siblings stay hidden, everyone will be safe.¡±

    I never thought I would wish never to see my siblings in this life, but if that were the only way to keep

    my family safe, I would take it. My mother knew what she was doing when she separated us. She knew

    what had to be done to keep us safe from Skyler and everyone else that wanted to harm us.

    Now I just had to hope that whoever had taken Atticus¡¯s parents didn¡¯t already harm them. I had to

    hope that Atticus would get to them in time.

 Chapter 76

    Chapter 76

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 76

    ~ATTICUS~

    ¡°Is this the correct ce?¡± I ask Damon. It looks too calm.

    I was hoping that Autumn finally listened to me. After almost losing her, I didn¡¯t want to put her in

    danger again. This time, I wanted to keep her safe. For once, I wanted to be able to protect my mate.

    ¡°It has to be.¡± He answers me. ¡°We didn¡¯t make any mistakes.¡±

    ¡°I still think we should have left rissa with Autumn.¡± He adds. ¡°We don¡¯t know who or what we are up

    against. They were powerful enough to kill all of our guards.¡±

    ¡°They may not be my biological parents, but that doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t love them.¡± rissa hissed. ¡°No

    one was stopping me from being here tonight. I can take care of myself. I don¡¯t need anyone to worry

    about me.¡±

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    ¡°This is not the time for ridiculous arguments,¡± Dante growls. ¡°We¡¯re all here, and we¡¯re the ones that

    they asked for. Let¡¯s get our parents back and get out of here.¡±

    ¡°At least we know it can¡¯t be worse than our earlier battle.¡± I try to be positive.

    ¡°To be fair, we aren¡¯t exactly sure of this.¡± Griffin reminds us. ¡°We aren¡¯t sure if the overlords or the

    council is behind this.¡±

    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t have had enough time to prepare all this.¡± Damon points out. ¡°I agree with Atticus;

    someone else chose the perfect time to attack our home while we were not in it.¡±

    I can only hope that this was an easy battle to win. We were all exhausted from the earlier fight. f**k. I

    should be sleeping next to my mate right now. I shouldn¡¯t have to be away from her. We should be

    telling our parents about our victory; instead, we were doing the opposite of this.

    ¡°Do you think mom and dad are okay?¡± Griffin asks. His voice did not hide the pain we all felt at that

    question. We were hoping that they were alive and not harmed in any way. When I found the person

    responsible, I would rip their bodies into pieces.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure they are,¡± I respond, even though I couldn¡¯t be sure about this. I wanted to give him hope; I

    wanted to give us all hope.

    ¡°I can see a house.¡± Damon points to the far right.

    I could see it too.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s where we need to go, then,¡± I say.

    We creep up to it, trying our best not to make noise.

    We didn¡¯t want them to know that we had arrived. However, I knew the chances of that happening were

    very low, considering they would be expecting us.

    We didn¡¯t say another word as we walked to the front door. We considered breaking through the

    window but didn¡¯t want to do anything that could bring harm to our parents. Before we can barge in, we

    hear footsteps.

    My siblings all look at me. We knew nothing good wasing to greet us but at least the suspense of

    not knowing who had kidnapped our parents would all be over soon.

    As soon as the door opens, there¡¯s a loud ringing in my ear. I groan and drop to the ground in pain. I¡¯m

    not the only one; my siblings are experiencing the same pain.

    ¡°f**k!¡± Damon hissed.

    ¡°Witches!¡± I shouted, but the warning was toote.

    We were already surrounded, and they were dragging us into the house, one after the next.

    What the hell do witches want with us? Did we piss some off recently? I doubt this had anything to do

    with Autumn, or they would have also asked for her unless this was a setup to get her alone with her

    parents.

    My heart sank at that thought. I had to hope this had nothing to do with her, or I¡¯ll lose my damn mind. I

    didn¡¯t leave her behind to put her life in danger. I left her to keep her safe.

    The pain stops suddenly, but we¡¯re all on the ground, bound by chains by the time that happens.

    They¡¯d messed with our heads long enough so they could trap us.

    Did they think these things could hold us?

    ¡°Where are my parents?¡± I demand while thrashing against the chains.

    The light in the room is suddenly switched on, and it takes my eyes a second to adjust to the change in

    lighting.

    The first thing I notice is a middle-aged woman, possibly close to my parents¡¯ age looking at me.

    ¡°Who the f**k are you?¡± Damon growls.

    ¡°Let my children go!¡± My mother shouts.

    Her voice was behind me. That meant that she was alive. My heart skipped a beat at the joy I felt at

    that fact.

    I craned my neck to turn and look at her. Both my mother and father were tied to chairs with blood on

    their heads. A low growl tore from me, followed by growls from each of my siblings when they saw what

    I already did. They¡¯d hurt them. They¡¯d put their filthy hands on our parents.

    ¡°I¡¯m an old friend of your parents.¡± She says. ¡°We went to the same academy, just like all of you. The

    only difference is that your parents betrayed me. That¡¯s why we¡¯re here today. To get my revenge.¡±

    What the hell was she bbering about? Why would my parents be friends with someone as crazy as

    she was? How could she hold a grudge for so long?

    ¡°What could my parents have possibly done to hurt you?¡± I demand.

    ¡°They fell in love.¡± She says bitterly. ¡°Your father pretended to be kind to me; he pretended to have

    feelings for me. He made me look like a fool in front of everyone for loving him. I loved him with all of

    my heart, and in return, he destroyed my life. I thought we had something special; he would protect me

    from the other students who bullied me because I was a witch, and he made me feel like we had a

    chance to be together. And then, one day, he dumped me like I was a piece of garbage he couldn¡¯t wait

    to get rid of. But your lovely father didn¡¯t stop there; he wanted to hurt me even more than that. He

    married your mother right after. He treated me like a stranger, like someone he despised. He took

    everything from me when he broke my heart. Now it¡¯s my time for revenge.¡±

    There¡¯s no way my father would do something like that. Unless he realized how psycho she was and

    decided to get out of the rtionship with her because of it, that¡¯s the only thing I could think of.

    And even if he did do it, it still doesn¡¯t make up for what she was doing now.

    ¡°You have everything wrong!¡± My father shouts behind me. ¡°Everything I did was to protect you.¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± She hissed. ¡°Protect me? Are these more of your lies to protect your children from me? What

    could you have possibly needed to protect me from?¡±

    ¡°My feelings for you were real.¡± My father tells her, surprising all of us. I couldn¡¯t believe he would admit

    that when our mother was right next to him. Maybe she already knew all of this, and that¡¯s why she

    didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°I didn¡¯t lie to you in the past about my feelings. I did truly care for you. Letting you

    go was one of the hardest things I¡¯ve ever had to do, but it had to be done. I received threats from my

    inws; they told me that if the marriage didn¡¯t happen, they would have killed you. They had the power

    to do something like that. I wanted to protect you, and the only way for me to do it was to let you go.

    You may not believe me now, but I don¡¯t regret my decision. If I knew you were this kind of person, I

    would have never had any feelings for you. I made the right decision by listening to them. I have a

    wonderful wife who I love more than anything else in this world, and I have the most beautiful children

    anyone can ever wish for. You have convinced me that I¡¯ve made the right decision. It¡¯s time that you

    move on from me, Debra. What we had is long gone. You know now that I never wanted to hurt you.

    Just let us go, please.¡±

    She looks shocked by his words, but she surprises us when she begins tough uncontrobly, like a

    psychopath. She really was insane, wasn¡¯t she? I¡¯m sure my father regretted ever liking someone like

    this. He must hate himself for putting us in this situation.

    ¡°You expect me to believe this?¡± She asks. ¡°I¡¯vee too far to let this go. None of you know the many

    things I¡¯ve done to get my revenge. Do you think this is all I¡¯ve done? You¡¯re all delusional if you believe

    that.¡±

    What the hell did she mean by this?

    ¡°What did you do?¡± I growl, already pissed.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been messing with your family for a while now, Atticus.¡± She tells me with a smile.

    ¡°What are you speaking about now?¡± I demand from her.

    ¡°The ident. Don¡¯t you remember a woman who came in front of your jeep that day? Can¡¯t you recall

    what that woman looked like?¡± She asks. ¡°I know you¡¯ve regained your memory by now. Surely you

    know who that woman was.¡±

    My eyes widen as her words sunk in. Now that she¡¯s brought it up, I remember what that woman

    looked like.

    I couldn¡¯t believe this. Why did it take me this long to notice her?

    It was definitely her. The hair, the eyes, everything. This was insane.

    She was responsible for the ident that caused me to lose my memory.

    I m the chains onto the ground in anger, ¡°why the f**k did you do that? You¡¯re the reason I lost my

    memory. You¡¯re why I couldn¡¯t remember who Autumn was to me!¡±

    ¡°Are you not listening to me?¡± She asks. ¡°I¡¯m sure I exined to you and your parents why I did all

    those horrible things. This is my revenge. All of it. I¡¯m not leaving until I see your parents cry and beg

    me to stop.¡±

    ¡°What other horrible things have you done in our lives?¡± I demand. It seemed as though she was

    responsible for many things that I didn¡¯t know about until now. What else could she have been doing

    behind our backs?

    She smiles. She was waiting for me to ask this question. She got pleasure in telling us all the horrible

    things she¡¯s done.

    Damn it.

    My parents have never once mentioned her to us. There¡¯s no way that we would have ever suspected

    her of being responsible for everything we¡¯ve been through recently.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy that you¡¯ve finally asked this question Atticus. This one is actually one of my favorites. While

    it may not have done exactly what I wanted, it did bring me great joy.¡±

    ¡°Just say it,¡± I growl. I didn¡¯t need to hear all of this nonsense.

    ¡°I was the lovely anonymous person that told the council about your lovely wife. I let them know the full

    truth about her. I sent the video of Azai¡¯s men k********g her as proof. You see, Azai¡¯s men were not the

    only ones prepared to kidnap her that day, I had my people ready to take her, but they beat them to it.

    The tattoos on them were proof of who Autumn was. The council believed me the instant I showed it to

    them. They knew that those men wouldn¡¯t kidnap any random woman. They knew she had to be

    important to them.¡± She confesses. ¡°It¡¯s because of me the overlords kidnapped Autumn. I¡¯m

    responsible for all of it. It¡¯s one of my best works.¡±

    My jaw clenches.

    I don¡¯t think I ever hated someone as much as I hate her right now.

    She was the person who¡¯d done it. All this time, we never even knew that she was responsible for all

    the mess in our lives. All this time, we knew someone had to be ountable but never once would we

    have thought it was her. Judging by my father¡¯s expression, he also wouldn¡¯t have considered that she

    was responsible.

    ¡°And that is not even all.¡± She says with a mischievous glint in her eyes. ¡°There is someone I sent

    personally to destroy all of you.¡±

    Who was she speaking about? Who could she have possibly sent to destroy us? What else did we not

    know about? I thought that thing with the council would have been the worst thing she¡¯s done but

    clearly, she didn¡¯t think so.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t youe out now and introduce yourselves to our guests?¡± She asks to someone inside

    with us.

    I looked around the room, there were other witches present, but I don¡¯t think she was referring to them.

    She wasn¡¯t looking at anyone in the room with us.

    I waited; we were all waiting to find out who else was helping her. It¡¯s understandable that she couldn¡¯t

    have done all of this on her own. She needed to have help from someone. And it had to be someone

    that knew us well, someone that could give her inside information.

    Who would betray us like this?

    The door in front of us opens, and my eyes are drawn to the person¡¯s feet before I look up at their face.

    It took a few seconds before everything could sink in.

    My eyes had to be deceiving me. This could not be the face of the person that was helping her. If it was

    true, it wasn¡¯t something I could ever ept. I can barely form words, but when I finally get the

    strength, only one name cane to my mouth.

    ¡°Anya?¡± I ask in disbelief. I can barely recognize my voice.

    ¡°Anya?¡± Damon asks. ¡°What are you doing here? Don¡¯t you dare try and hurt my f*****g mate!¡±

    Damon doesn¡¯t seem to understand what she is trying to tell us. Or maybe I¡¯m the one that¡¯s

    misunderstanding this entire situation. I wasn¡¯t sure what the hell was happening right now.

    The womanughs, and it¡¯s one of the creepiestughs I¡¯ve ever heard on ady.

    ¡°Have you taken the time to realize the change in Anya recently?¡± She asks. ¡°She¡¯s been different.

    Hasn¡¯t she?¡±

    I frown. Different? I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s her definition of different. But recently, she surely hasn¡¯t been the

    woman I was once in love with.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Dante growls. ¡°What did you do to our mate?¡±

    She smiles, ¡°nothing that serious.¡±

    ¡°Tell us.¡± Damon growls. ¡°What have you done to Anya?¡±

    ¡°She was under my spell this entire time.¡± She finally confessed. ¡°She was doing everything that I

    wanted her to do. The moment I learned that she was connected to all three of you, all Fawns, I knew I

    had to use her. She was perfect in all of this. Imanded her toe between Atticus and Autumn. I

    commanded her to do many questionable things. She was under my control, and none of you knew it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± I growl. ¡°There¡¯s no way she¡¯s been under a spell all along!¡±

    ¡°She has.¡± She smiles. ¡°Hasn¡¯t she been a great help to me all this time?¡±

    ¡°Take that spell out of her!¡± Damon shouts. ¡°Break it right now!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Damon, but if your love for her were strong enough, the spell would have been broken a long

    time ago. But I guess none of your love for this poor girl could have been true. Maybe I should try killing

    her right now. Would that hurt any of you present here today?¡±

    Anya looks at the woman in surprise. Was that the only thing that had shocked her from everything

    she¡¯s just said?

    ¡°If youy a hand on her, I will kill you!¡± Dante and Damon threaten her.

    Something didn¡¯t seem right about this entire thing. How could Anya have been under her control all

    this time? She didn¡¯t look surprised until the woman mentioned killing her to hurt the rest of us.

    ¡°Oh, rx.¡± She hissed. ¡°This isn¡¯t about the girl. This is about your parents. I want them to see each of

    their children die before them today. We should start with rissa since she¡¯s adopted and may mean

    the least to them.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare f*****g touch my sister!¡± I growl.

    Damon can barely form words when the witch grabs rissa by her hair and pulls her forward onto the

    ground.

    We tried to pull apart from the chains, but it wasn¡¯t the typical kind; these were under her spells. Not

    just her spells, the spells of the other witches as well.

    ¡°rissa!¡± Damon shouts when the witch whips her back. I wince at the loud sound it makes. I couldn¡¯t

    watch this. I couldn¡¯t watch her hurting rissa.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± He roared when she did it again. ¡°Take me instead! f*****g take me instead of her! Please!¡±

    ¡°Let our daughter go!¡± My mother begged. ¡°Please don¡¯t hurt her. Please leave her alone. She hasn¡¯t

    done anything to you. We are the ones you¡¯re upset with. Why must you hurt her?¡±

    ¡°Harm us!¡± My father shouts. ¡°Harm us but leave our children out of this! They are innocent! If you want

    us to beg, we will, but please, leave our daughter. I¡¯m begging you. She¡¯s just a child. Let her go.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± The witch hissed. ¡°I¡¯ve waited a very long time for this very moment. I will get my revenge today.

    Your cries are like music to my ears. It reminds me of the cries I made every night since you both

    destroyed my life. Because of you, I never got the life that I deserved. I¡¯ve already destroyed your

    home. When I kill your children, you will have nothing else to live for. You¡¯ll be so alone that even you

    would want to end your pathetic lives.¡±

    ¡°Damon!¡± rissa cries when she whips her again.

    For the first time in my life, I see a tear roll down Damon¡¯s cheek. He¡¯s crying because he can feel her

    pain, just like the rest of us.

    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± He roars as he tries even harder to break free.

    Why the hell couldn¡¯t we break free from these spells? If Autumn had been here, she would have been

    able to free us from this mess in seconds because of how powerful she was. Maybe that¡¯s why they

    asked for her not toe; they knew what she could do, and they knew that she could quickly put all of

    their powersbined to shame. They were prepared for us; Autumn was the only one who could

    throw their ns away.

    ¡°LET HER GO!¡± Damon roars at the top of his lungs.

    And just like that, something strange happens. It takes ce in a few seconds, making me wonder if it

    had ever happened to begin with. Something glows on rissa¡¯s arm, but it disappears before I can

    get a good look at it. As soon as that happened, we were all freed. Our chains were broken, and no

    spell was holding us back from attacking anymore.

    Damon uses that opportunity to lunge for the witch¡¯s throat.

    I won¡¯t waste another second thinking about what just happened. I tackle one of the other witches, and

    my brothers do the same. We each get our witch to kill, and we do it quite quickly now that we have the

    advantage. I grab my witch¡¯s neck and rip it from her body. I use the fire from nearby to burn it to the

    ground.

    I joined Dante and helped him do the same.

    Griffin had already killed his witch by the time we finished this one.

    Damon had the mastermind behind all of this by her throat. He was taking his slow time in killing her.

    Her screams were like music to our ears, just like my parents¡¯ cries made her happy.

    ¡°Noo!¡± She tries to say as he continues to choke her.

    rissa surprises us when she rips the witch¡¯s head from her body and throws it into the fire without

    any warning.

    Where the hell did that behaviore out from?

    ¡°What?¡± She asks, looking at our puzzled looks.

    Damon hugs her tightly to him before we can ask her any questions. She happily melts into his arms.

    ¡°I swear, sometimes they act like they don¡¯t care about the rest of us.¡± Griffin sighs. ¡°We survived also.

    Where are our hugs?¡±

    Our parents rush forward and hug us then. I hold them tightly against me.

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re alive,¡± I tell them. ¡°Don¡¯t ever scare us like this again.¡±

    ~ANYA~

    I had to watch my mother bleeding on the ground; dead, she was dead. Her head was torn from her

    body. Blood was everywhere, and rissa had just thrown her head into the fire. I couldn¡¯t do a single

    thing about it. I couldn¡¯t attack on my own, and I couldn¡¯t cry without them realizing she was someone

    close to me. They didn¡¯t know she was my mother, and it was a good thing I had asked my mother to

    keep it a secret when revealing everything else to them.

    If they knew, I would have been dead along with her today.

    I had to swallow my pain and pretend I was happy for the Fawns when I wanted to kill them all.

    I was over my stupid crush on Atticus. He was partly the reason my mother was dead. They all had a

    part to y in it, but rissa was the one that pushed the knife through her heart. rissa was the one

    I wanted to punish the most.

    She¡¯d killed my mother. And she wanted Damon. I would do everything in my power to ensure she

    never had him.

    I would be smarter this time. I would be the person my mother wanted me to be since the beginning. I

    would pretend to love them; I would pretend that the lie my mother told them was the truth. I¡¯d be the

    woman they all fell in love with through the spell the first time. I¡¯ll be more loving and kind; at least, I¡¯ll

    pretend to be that way until they all fully trust me.

    ¡°She ced me under a spell. She made me act all obsessed and crazy.¡± I whisper to Damon as I wrap

    my arms around his neck, knowing how much it would hurt rissa. I¡¯d pushed her out of the way to

    get to him. I was going to do much more than hug him in front of her from now on. She wouldn¡¯t be

    ready for what I had nned. All this time, I¡¯ve been focused on Atticus, and I never got the chance to

    focus on Damon. Now I realize that I was losing him to rissa. I couldn¡¯t make the same mistake I

    made with Atticus.

    I would ensure that myst name was Fawn by the end of this year. One way or the other, I would

    marry Damon and kill rissa from heartbreak.

    My mother¡¯s spell would be gone now, but mine was still there and strong as ever. I had a firm hold on

    Damon and Dante, and I would use it to my advantage.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± He tries to soothe me. ¡°Everything will be okay from now on, Anya. I¡¯m so sorry you had to

    go through this. I¡¯m here for you. I¡¯ll always be by your side, keeping you safe. No one is going to hurt

    you like this again.¡±

    I wanted to get the remainder of my mother¡¯s body out of here. I didn¡¯t want them to burn everything to

    the ground.

    ¡°I want to take her body,¡± I tell him. ¡°I want to get rid of it myself. I know she not only messed with me

    but with your family as well, but I was under her spell for so long. I want to be the one to burn her body

    to ashes.¡±

    He stiffens, ¡°are you sure that¡¯s what you want?¡±

    Of course, it was, not because of the reason he was thinking of but because she was my mother, and I

    wanted to give her a proper funeral. I didn¡¯t want them to get rid of her body like she was just a b****y

    object.

    I had to do this the right way for both my sister and me. She wasn¡¯t even aware that our mother was

    now gone. I still had to break the news to her. She would be just as devastated as I am now.

    ¡°Please,¡± I beg. ¡°Let me do this.¡±

    His parents look at each other before nodding. Pretending to be kind may work out well for me.

    They¡¯re all happy. They¡¯re hugging, rejoicing that no one in their family was killed. They have each

    other. I have no one except my sister. She¡¯s all I have to live for now, excluding getting my revenge on

    the Fawns for taking my mother away from me.

    I wouldn¡¯t make the same mistakes I¡¯d done in the past; I¡¯d finally learned from them. I knew exactly

    what I had to do to gain their sympathy and trust.

    I would do everything in my power to finish what my mother had started. They would never see it

    coming.

 Chapter 77

    Chapter 77

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 77

    ~AUTUMN~

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m doing the right thing, mother,¡± I whisper. ¡°Atticus hasn¡¯t returned. It¡¯s been hours. I

    think we should go to them. I know where he is.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure Atticus is okay.¡± She promises me. ¡°If he were in pain, you would have felt it. The fact that

    you¡¯re still standing means that he is okay. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s already on his way back home.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m scared,¡± I confess. ¡°So many things have happened to us in the past few days; I¡¯m terrified that

    something will separate us again.¡±

    She hugs me, ¡°if he doesn¡¯t return within half an hour, we will go with you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, mom,¡± I tell her as I hug her tightly.

    I was restless; I wanted to have him near me as soon as possible.

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    We¡¯d managed to stop the fire with the help of hundreds of people who were friends with my parents.

    The mansion was still in a terrible state, but at least it hadn¡¯tpletely burned down. The Fawns had

    enough money to fix it in a short period. Their lives were more important than anything else. I was still

    hopeful that his parents were okay.

    ¡°I hear something,¡± I shout as I hear a vehicle approaching. I don¡¯t wait for my mother as I storm out of

    the parking lot and towards the mansion¡¯s entrance.

    Atticus is already out of the jeep even before it stops, and my face lights up to see him. I run towards

    him, and his hands grip my waist as he lifts me into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck and

    held on for my life.

    ¡°That¡¯s it; I¡¯m never letting you out of my sight again.¡± I tease him. ¡°I¡¯m so happy that you¡¯re back.

    Where are your parents?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re right here, Autumn.¡± His mother tells me.

    Atticus ced me back onto the ground, and I ran towards them. They both hugged me.

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy that you¡¯re both okay.¡±

    ¡°And we¡¯re happy that you are. Life wouldn¡¯t have been the same without you in our lives, Autumn. We

    still believe that you¡¯re the only woman for our son, and we want to give a proper apology for what

    we¡¯ve put you through when we learned of your background.¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s in the past. I know why you did it.¡±

    Mr. Fawn smiles, ¡°I hope your parents can also forgive us for everything.¡±

    ¡°I think they already did,¡± I confess as I point toward their home. ¡°It would have been burnt to the

    ground if they didn¡¯t bring friends to help save what was left of it. I think they¡¯ve already put everything

    behind them.¡±

    Things in my life were already looking brighter. The Fawns and the Riveras were good friends again.

    We had all survived the battles thrown our way these past few weeks. And Atticus and I have never

    been more in love with each other.

    ¡°What on earth happened here?¡± Someone asks behind us.

    It was Gerard Fawn. Atticus¡¯s grandfather. He had finally returned.

    ¡°Grandfather!¡± They all called to him as they ran to hug him tightly. He clearly wasn¡¯t aware of anything

    we¡¯ve been through the past few weeks.

    ¡°I leave you guys for a few weeks, and this is what happens?¡± He demands. ¡°You burnt our home!¡±

    ¡°We have a lot of updates for you,¡± Atticus informs him.

    ¡°Maybe we should start with letting him know my real family¡¯s background,¡± I tell Atticus.

    His grandfather looks at me without a sign of shock on his face, ¡°you¡¯ve finally figured out that your

    father is Azai Reign.¡±

    We all gasp.

    ¡°How did you know this?¡± I ask, confused.

    ¡°My wife, she was very close to you. I convinced Atticus to marry you because that¡¯s what she wanted.

    She wanted you to marry into our family. Your biological mother was like a daughter to her. She loved

    her plenty, and she promised to keep a close eye on you. As you grew up, she fell in love with you like

    you were her own granddaughter. She knew who you were since the beginning because your mother

    told her the truth.¡±

    All this time, Atticus¡¯s grandmother knew my true identity. She loved my mother like her own daughter. I

    couldn¡¯t believe this.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us the truth?¡± Atticus asks.

    ¡°Your grandmother promised me to let you find out on your own. She knew the moment Autumn found

    out; her life would be in danger. She wanted to make sure that she was ready for the truth.¡±

    I can¡¯t fight back the tears at his words. I loved her plenty. I cried a lot when she died. She was also like

    a grandmother to me. Not many had a kind heart as she did.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy I listened to you, grandfather,¡± Atticus confessed. ¡°Marrying Autumn is the best thing that

    ever happened to me.¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°didn¡¯t I tell you that?¡±

    He nods and grins, ¡°I should listen to you more often from now on.¡±

    . . . . . .

    We were back at my home since the mansion was under construction after the fire.

    Atticus was staying in my room. His family was staying in some of our guest rooms. We were like one

    big happy family, at least for now. His parents and my parents were close once more like they¡¯d never

    even fought to begin with. I was delighted to see that their friendships weren¡¯t broken.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you listened to me,¡± Atticus whispers as he kisses my neck. We were finally settled in my

    room, and I was happy to have him all to myself.

    I giggle against his kisses, ¡°I knew I had to let you win at least one battle on your own.¡± I tease him.

    ¡°Surprisingly, I wasn¡¯t even the one to kill that witch.¡± He says in deep thought. ¡°rissa is stronger

    than I expected her to be.¡±

    ¡°You need to start having more faith in the women of this family.¡± I tease him. ¡°We can take care of

    ourselves.¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°I know you can take care of yourself. It¡¯s just something inside me that wants to keep you

    away from danger as much as possible.¡±

    I kiss his cheek, ¡°I know what you mean. I¡¯m always looking for ways to keep you safe also.¡±

    He nibbles on my neck, and my body slowly drifts closer to his.

    ¡°You¡¯re mine. You¡¯ve been mine since the beginning.¡± I tell him as I tighten my hold around his neck.

    ¡°No one is ever going to step between us again.¡±

    He moves his lips to my cheek, and I happily let him kiss me all over my face.

    He smiles against my mouth, ¡°I¡¯m happiest being yours. I will never willingly want anyone else but you.

    I love you, Autumn. I love you so much. I never want to leave your side. I can¡¯t wait to spend the rest of

    my life with you.¡±

    I shiver when he runs his hand down my body, ¡°it feels good to remember everything about you. Like

    that night in the spring.¡±

    I blush, and he kisses each of my fingers, ¡°can you be more beautiful?¡±

    I pushed him down onto the bed and climbed onto hisp to straddle him.

    ¡°What do you remember from that day?¡± I whisper as I grind my body against his.

    His breath hitches, ¡°I remember how beautiful you looked. How irresistible you were to me. How hard it

    was not to touch you in the dirty ways my mind wanted me to.¡±

    I gasped when his hands grabbed my hips and guided my body in slow circr motions.

    I could feel his d**k stir against my lower half, and so did my hunger for him.

    ¡°Do you remember the first time you were inside me?¡± I tease as I unzip his pants. I wanted to feel him,

    and I didn¡¯t want to wait anymore. We¡¯ve been apart for too long.

    ¡°How could I forget?¡± He growls as his grip on my waist tightens.

    I yfully nibbled on his ear, ¡°but you did forget. Remember?¡±

    He groans, ¡°I¡¯m still killing myself inside for forgetting Autumn. I wish I never had.¡±

    ¡°Shhh, I¡¯m notining,¡± I tell him. ¡°I know it wasn¡¯t your fault. I¡¯m just saying that maybe you

    needed a reminder, that¡¯s all.¡±

    He pauses, and the desire in his eyes intensifies, ¡°a reminder?¡±

    I gently pull his d**k out of his pants and stroke it a little, ¡°yes. A reminder.¡±

    His breath hitches, and he mumbles a few curse words.

    ¡°f**k. Autumn.¡± He growls.

    ¡°Do you need a reminder?¡± I whisper as I tease him.

    ¡°I think I do, sweetheart.¡± He whispers like he¡¯s in pain.

    ¡°First. Tell me, Atticus, what it feels like being inside of me?¡± I whisper.

    I didn¡¯t want to make it easy for him. I wanted him to work for it. Besides, I enjoyed teasing him. I can

    do this for as long as our need for each other allows.

    ¡°It felt like drowning, but in a good way.¡± He hissed when my fingers tightened around him. ¡°Like I was

    finally where I belonged. It felt like something I should have been doing for years before. It felt like

    happiness. For once, I felt like the missing puzzle in my life had finally been found.¡±

    His hands move to my hips as he grinds our bodies together. ¡°f**k, this feels so good.¡±

    I tease his lips and feel his growl against me.

    ¡°I can¡¯t f*****g wait anymore, Autumn.¡± He hissed as he ripped my clothes off my body.

    I cry out when he covers my breast with his mouth and simultaneously thrusts his d**k into me. Before I

    can cry out his name, he covers my lips with his mouth, and I dly swallow his kiss.

    Atticus pulls out slowly and pushes into me harder than before. He repeats that motion, and I happily

    let him lead.

    ¡°I love you so much.¡± I cry out.

    He bites down hard on my neck as he buries his seed inside of me. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever find the right

    words to tell you how much I love and need you in my life. Please never leave me again.¡±

    My body drops onto his, and we both fall onto the bed, ¡°I¡¯ll never leave you again. I promise.¡±

    He smiles and strokes my back with his fingers. We stay like that for a few minutes before he speaks

    again, ¡°there¡¯s something that has been bothering me.¡±

    I lift my head from his chest to look at him, ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about Anya.¡± He answers me. ¡°The witch said that Anya was under her spell all this time, and that¡¯s

    why she¡¯s been acting so crazytely.¡±

    ¡°Does it mean that Anya isn¡¯t as bad as we thought she was?¡± I ask. ¡°Has she been under the witch¡¯s

    spell all this time?¡±

    He shrugs his shoulders, ¡°I¡¯m notpletely sure. I don¡¯t know exactly what happened between them.

    But Damon and Dante are convinced that the witch is telling the truth. They want to protect Anya at all

    costs. I was too tired to fight with them over her. All we can do now is keep a close eye on her and see

    for ourselves if her behavior has improved now that the witch is gone from our lives for good.¡±

    I wanted to believe this. I wanted to believe that Anya still had some good in her. If it was true, how long

    was she under the spell for?

    I didn¡¯t want to waste any time thinking about Anya. We¡¯ve already wasted so much time on her.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about Anya anymore,¡± I tell him. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about us.¡±

    ¡°Us?¡± He whispers.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I say. ¡°What do you think our child will look like? Do you think he will look more like you or me?¡±

    His eyes widen, ¡°our child?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± I whisper. ¡°I¡¯m not pregnant. But I¡¯m speaking about the future. I¡¯m curious.¡±

    Heughs and covers my body with his, ¡°how about we make it happen so that we can answer your

    question?¡±

    I giggled as he covered my lips with his.

    I loved him so much. I couldn¡¯t wait to spend the rest of my life with him.

    ¡°I love you, Autumn Rivera Fawn.¡± He breaks the kiss long enough to tell me this.

    ¡°And I love you, Atticus.¡±

    ~THE END~

    A/N:

    Hi, my beautiful readers. We havee to the end of another book. I would like to thank each of you

    for supporting me from the beginning to end. Thank you for your patience, your kind words, your

    support, and for simply being my loyal readers.

    I would like to let you know that the second book on the Fawns will continue right after this chapter. It is

    the first time I¡¯m doing a continuation with my books like this. Since Damon and rissa¡¯s story

    oveps with Autumn¡¯s and Atticus¡¯s story, the second half of this book will focus on Damon and

    rissa. It will continue right here, and the first chapter is up next.

    TEASER:

    My f*******n Step-brother:

    ¡°rissa!¡± Damon hissed. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    I don¡¯t stop unbuttoning my jeans. He had to know how I truly felt about him, and this was the best way

    for me to show it to him.

    ¡°Stop that.¡± He growls.

    I don¡¯t listen to him. Instead, I pulled the pants down and slowly turned around so he could have a nice

    view of my a*s.

    I heard his breathing get louder and felt satisfied.

    I knew that he could see the tattoo of his name on the exposed skin. It¡¯s been hard hiding it all this

    time. Whenever we went swimming, in a pool, or on the beach, I wore clothes to hide them. He¡¯s the

    first person besides the tattoo artist that had it done for me to see it this close.

    My body is filled with a sudden heat knowing that he was watching me, watching it.

    Finally.

    . . . . . . .

    To my readers who will stop here, thank you so much for supporting me till the end. Also, I know many

    of you may be upset that Anya wasn¡¯t caught in this book, but she is a main part of the second book,

    and it had to be done this way. I¡¯m sorry if this may have disappointed any of you:(

    And to my readers who have been with me since my first book on Dreame, I can¡¯t tell you how much

    you mean to me. You keep me going, and you give me the support I need when I feel down. I love you

    all so much and hope you enjoy my next work as well. I¡¯m forever thankful, and I always say this, I¡¯m

    thankful for God, he¡¯s blessed me with each of you, and I¡¯m so grateful because of him.

    May God bless each of you. Onto the next story?

    Lots of love,

    Laura.

 Chapter 78

    Chapter 78

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 78

    Book 2-My f*******n Step-Brother/ Chapter 1

    Reputation was everything to my family. The family that adopted me. And that is why they must never

    find out that the man in my heart is none other than my step-brother Damon Fawn.

    His piercing blue eyes have always been able to see straight through me. He has always been able to

    read me like a book; there¡¯s just one little detail that he¡¯s never been able to read to this day. And that

    was how deeply I was in love with him.

    I¡¯ve been in love with him since my first day at the academy as the adopted daughter of the Fawns. I

    was bullied because I was not their real daughter, but Damon came to my rescue that day, and since

    then, he¡¯s been my hero. My love.

    I¡¯d never felt this way for anyone but him, and I knew nothing could change that.

    The Fawns were involved in a big scandal at the academy and used me as an opportunity to move

    everyone¡¯s attention from it. Luckily for them, their n did work. Everyone forgot about the scandal as

    soon as the news of my arrival broke.

    I wasn¡¯t happy to join their family, that is, until I saw him. He made everything better. He was my

    sunshine¡ªa bright light in my life. I was happy just being by his side until that devastating day. It was

    the day I found out that Damon had found his mate. I was heartbroken to see him with her. I still

    remember how betrayed I¡¯d felt even though he didn¡¯t owe me an exnation. I should have been

    happy for him, but I was anything but that. It wasn¡¯t long after that I found out Atticus and Dante were

    also her mates. My other two step-brothers had the same mate as him. How crazy was that?

    All of that changed a few yearster.

    Atticus married and fell in love with his wife, Autumn Rivera, leaving Dante and Damon fighting for

    Anya¡¯s love. Even though one of my step-brothers had been freed from her trap, it was still t*****e to

    see the others continue to fight for her. She yed with their feelings constantly. I saw it. I think Autumn

    did as well. I was happy that she was able to take Atticus away from Anya; I¡¯ve never seen him happier

    with anyone else. They were destined for each other.

    But this isn¡¯t about them. This is about me and the way my heart beats for a man that could never be

    mine. If my family ever found out, I would be banished from home; there is no question about that.

    They would not hesitate to kick me out. I¡¯ve spent years with them, and I knew they loved me, but they

    also loved their reputation more than anything else.

    If any reporter were even to have the slightest evidence that I was in love with Damon, that would

    destroy everything. I could already see the headlines: ¡®rissa Fawn in love with her step-brother

    Damon.¡¯ Knowing how much they enjoyed twisting stories, I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t even use the term

    step-brother; they would indeed say, brother.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    I duck my head as I walk through the hallway of our school¡ªthe Angelites Academy For Supernaturals.

    I try to keep a low profile as much as possible. Since I was the only adopted child of the Fawns,

    students loved to bully me even after my stepbrothers warned everyone to leave me alone. Damon

    always came to my rescue, and many were scared to bully me, but there were still a few who didn¡¯t

    care. They tried to make my life miserable even though Damon had threatened to hurt anyone who

    dared toy a finger on me.

    I try not to melt at the reminder of his heroic acts whenever I am in danger. This was one of the many

    reasons why I¡¯d fallen so hard for him. No one had ever protected me the way he had. And even

    though my other step-siblings were protective of me, none of them did it the way that he did. He was

    different. Everything about him was. Damon got aggressive whenever I was concerned; he would

    dly kill anyone that tried to hurt me. He was always looking out for me and making sure that I was

    safe and happy.

    I think Anya may have always sensed how much I liked him. And for that, she was never fond of me.

    She tried to keep as much distance between us as possible. But how much could she separate us

    when we lived in the same house? I tried my best to keep space between us ever since I realized I was

    in love with him and we could never be together. However, it hasn¡¯t been easy to ignore someone like

    Damon.

    ¡°rissa!¡± Atticus shouts as he spots me. I look up at him, searching for Damon; I know he¡¯s usually

    beside him, along with Dante. I¡¯m disappointed when I don¡¯t see him anywhere.

    ¡°Wow,¡± Atticus says. ¡°I¡¯m guessing I¡¯m not the brother you wanted to see.¡±

    I roll my eyes, ¡°you¡¯re reading too much into it. Where is Autumn?¡±

    Atticus always teased me about Damon being my favorite but so did the others.

    ¡°She¡¯s already in ss.¡± He informs me. ¡°Speaking about ss. Shouldn¡¯t you already be in yours?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re acting as if you¡¯ve never reached a sste before.¡± I point out.

    He chuckles, ¡°you caught me there.¡±

    I notice the way his body stiffens, and I know why. Anya is walking towards us with Dante and Damon

    by her side. Things were still awkward, especially since Atticus rejected Anya to be with Autumn. She

    wanted him desperately, but he pushed her away so that he could be with his wife. I¡¯ve never been

    more proud of Atticus.

    I try not to act bothered by Damon¡¯s presence, but I can¡¯t stop myself as my lips part the moment his

    scent hits my nose. He always smells heavenly. A fragrance that only he had. No one else.

    ¡°Are you keeping rissa back from her ss again?¡± Damon growls. I try not to shiver in front of

    everyone. Even his voice has a strong effect on my body. And I f*****g love it when he growls. It makes

    my knees weak. I can barely stand on them now that I¡¯ve heard it.

    ¡°I swear you need to stop being so overprotective when ites to her,¡± Atticusins. ¡°She has

    her own life to live. She¡¯s allowed to reachte to a ss.¡±

    I try to hold in myugh. Wasn¡¯t Atticus the same oneining earlier because I waste to ss?

    ¡°She¡¯s a big girl.¡± Anya points out. ¡°She doesn¡¯t need her brothers telling her when to get to ss. She

    can tell the time on her own.¡±

    I notice the way she says the word brothers. She¡¯s reminding me of what Damon was supposed to be

    to me; my brother.

    She¡¯s so wrong. We weren¡¯t blood-rted, and it wasn¡¯t like I¡¯d grown up with him. I¡¯ve only known

    them for a few years and it was enough for me to fall deeply in love with him.

    And I hate her for having him. I hate her.

    But I love him.

    Why is this soplicated?

    I didn¡¯t trust Anya after everything that¡¯s happened in the past, but I couldn¡¯t deny that she¡¯s been nicer

    to all of us the past few days.

    ording to the witch that tried killing all of us, Anya had been under her spell the whole time.

    Apparently, that¡¯s why she was acting like a b***h. I was still trying to find out if that was the truth or a

    lie.

    Only time will be able to tell.

 Chapter 79

    Chapter 79

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 79

    Book 2 Chapter 2

    Dante seems to sense the tension between Anya and me. ¡°Let¡¯s get to ss, everyone.¡±

    He always tries to keep things calm between us. She may have the others fooled by her recent change

    in behavior, but not me.

    ¡°Take Anya with you,¡± Damon tells Dante. The four of them have the same ss, unlike me.

    ¡°Where will you be?¡± Anya asks him.

    ¡°I want to make sure rissa gets to ss without anyone harassing her.¡± He exins to her.

    My heart does that little jump when he makes small gestures like this to keep me safe.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    ¡°I think she¡¯s old enough to care for herself, Damon.¡± She tells him gently, but I can hear the edge in

    her voice.

    ¡°It is okay¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shh,¡± He shushed me. ¡°I¡¯m dropping you to ss.¡±

    I try to hide my smile as Anya practically res at me. I¡¯ve managed to win this round.

    ¡°Has anyone been bothering youtely?¡± He asks me as Atticus, and everyone else separates from the

    two of us.

    I try to walk as slowly as possible; I want as much alone time with him. I don¡¯t think he realizes how

    slowly I¡¯m walking; he¡¯s too preupied with waiting for me to answer his question.

    ¡°No,¡± I lie. ¡°Everyone is behaving. They must after you threatened them about one hundred times

    already for the year.¡±

    He shrugs his shoulder, and I try not to stare at his bulging biceps, ¡°I still think I haven¡¯t done enough to

    protect you from them. And I can¡¯t be by your side every second to keep you safe. It¡¯s been bothering

    me, especially since I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re lying to me to keep me out of trouble.¡±

    I bite my lip, and his eyes drop to them. His gaze lingers there for the first time, and I¡¯m not sure if I saw

    the color fade from his face for a second. He quickly looks away and scratches the back of his neck.

    ¡°We¡¯re here. Remember to tell me if anyone is being an a*s. I can be a f*****g bigger one when it

    comes to your safety.¡±

    Don¡¯t melt, rissa. Don¡¯t you dare melt! Ah¡ªtoote. I¡¯ve already melted like ten times since I saw

    him this morning.

    I attempt to walk around him, and he moves to block me from the ssroom entrance. I gasp as my

    body bounces into his. My hands reach out for support; they¡¯re now pressed against his chest. My body

    freezes from the contact.

    ¡°W-what are you doing?¡± I stammer. I can barely breathe from how close we are. It¡¯s the first time that

    I¡¯ve been able to touch him like this without using some excuse, and I love how warm his body feels

    beneath my hands. I never want to move from this position except to bring him closer to me.

    ¡°I mean it, rissa.¡± He insists. ¡°You must tell me if anyone is hurting you.¡±

    I gaze into his pretty brown eyes. What about him always makes my heart race like it¡¯s on a marathon?

    I could have fallen for any other guy in the world; why did it have to be the one off-limits guy?

    I can¡¯t stop as my hand travels up his chest to his face. Damon¡¯s breaths are faster now that I¡¯m

    touching his cheek. ¡°I promise that I will tell you.¡±

    My eyes stare at his throat as he swallows. That little movement has always been sexy to me, but only

    on him.

    Damon clears his throat and puts some distance between the two of us, ¡°I¡¯ll see you after ss.¡±

    He doesn¡¯t say anything else as he storms away from me. It¡¯s the first time he¡¯s ever left without

    watching me walk into the ssroom. Did I overstep my boundaries this time? It¡¯s not like I tried to kiss

    him.

    I take a deep breath, now was not the time to think about him and how he made me feel. The ss had

    already started. I push the door open, and all eyes are on me as I apologize to the professor for being

    late. He doesn¡¯t scold me, but it¡¯s only because he¡¯s scared of the Fawns. I would be okay if he had

    something to say to me; it was my fault for beingte. I didn¡¯t care that I was, however, because I¡¯d

    gotten to see Damon. That was the real reason I waste for ss. It¡¯s because I was waiting for him. I

    was waiting for him to drop me to my ss, just like he¡¯s always done.

    I spot the dirty looks from the girls in front of me almost immediately. I didn¡¯t expect anything less. They

    were the Gemma sisters. Gemma was theirst name. And they were rich, just like the Fawns.

    Everyone in this school was. There were very few poor students here who were lucky enough to get a

    schrship from the principal. The unlucky part was that they were all bullied by girls like the Gemma

    sisters. This is why I was also bullied. Because I was poor, even though the Fawns had adopted me

    and my life was much better than before, I was still initially from an orphanage. It didn¡¯t matter who I

    was now; I would always be the poor girl to them. I never knew who my parents were; I still don¡¯t know.

    And I don¡¯t want to. They gave me up as a baby. Why would I want to know the cowards that left me

    when I couldn¡¯t fend for myself?

    I hurriedly walk over to my seat and bury myself in the chair; I hate how much they all stare at me. They

    always made me feel ufortable.

    ¡°Today¡¯s ss is all about teaching you how to connect with your inner wolf,¡± Sir Axel says for my

    benefit. ¡°I¡¯ve seen many werewolves make the mistake of not being one with their wolf, and in turn, it

    affects how powerful they can be.¡±

    Leslie Gemma pelts a paper at me when Sir Axel turns around to write on the board. I open it and am

    surprised to see what is written.

    ¡®I know your secret.¡¯

 Chapter 80

    Chapter 80

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 80

    Book 2 Chapter 3

    My secret?

    There was only one secret that I had, and that was my feelings for Damon. I never told anyone before.

    If anyone knew, it would only be because of how I acted around him. But still, no one would be able to

    know for sure.

    She smiles at me, and I try to hide the worried expression on my face. I can¡¯t let her know that she was

    right. I can¡¯t tell her that I genuinely did have a big secret. She was probably doing this to mess with

    me, to get me to confess. That will never happen. This was one secret that would always stay with me.

    No one else must ever know.

    ss finishes quickly after that, and I¡¯m happy to be away from her. I¡¯m happy to be away from all of

    them.

    But I¡¯m looking forward to seeing him more than ever now. I can¡¯t wait to be near him once more. I don¡¯t

    want to have to spend another minute seeing him with Anya. I saw how miserable she made life for

    Atticus and Autumn, even when it was clear he had chosen Autumn over her.

    If she only knew how much I loved Damon, she would no doubt try to make my life miserable as well. I

    was surprised that they still kept her around our family after all she did to separate Atticus and Autumn.

    She was a very sly girl. How much could they believe it was a just a spell? I didn¡¯t trust her at all. I kept

    feeling that there was plenty about her that we didn¡¯t know about. And I also felt like it was my duty to

    find out what she was hiding from the rest of us. She still had to choose between Damon and Dante.

    While I was in love with Damon and didn¡¯t want him to be with her, I also knew that Dante was too good

    for someone like her.

    I wish they would both get over her already, as Atticus did. If he could do it, why couldn¡¯t they as well?

    Atticus also pointed out that he didn¡¯t feel anything for her when he lost his memory after the ident.

    If she was his mate and he didn¡¯t officially reject her, how did he so easily move on from her? How did

    Autumn be his mate?

    I felt like everyone wasn¡¯t asking the important questions.

    When I enter the cafeteria, I spot Damon, and of course, he¡¯s with Anya. Atticus and Autumn, as well

    as Dante, are also with them.

    ¡°Behave yourself, rissa,¡± I whisper under my breath. I knew now that Leslie was keeping an eye on

    me. I still wasn¡¯t sure if she was referring to my feelings for Damon, but I couldn¡¯t take any chances.

    Especially not with the number of people in the cafeteria.

    ¡°Someone¡¯s finally finished with her ss,¡± Atticus says as I join them at the table.

    I smile and take a seat next to Autumn, even though next to Damon is really where I want to be.

    ¡°How was ss?¡± Damon asks me; I can feel his intense gaze. I know why he¡¯s asking that question.

    He still wanted to know if anyone was harassing me.

    ¡°I had a great time.¡± I lied. If I mentioned Leslie and her message, I risked him finding out I liked him. I

    still wasn¡¯t sure if that was what she was referring to, but I wasn¡¯t taking any chances. I didn¡¯t want the

    Fawns to kick me out and separate me from the one person that made me want to keep living. I never

    wanted to be apart from him.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± He asks. I can hear the edge to his voice. He doesn¡¯t believe me. Of course, he would

    be able to see right through my lie. He was good at reading me.

    I wasn¡¯t about to give in now and tell him the truth. I hate lying to him, but this was for his good as well

    as mine. There are things that he must never know, and this was one of them.

    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Damon, the girl said she had a great time,¡± Anya says. ¡°Why are you trying to force her to say

    something else? If she says she had a good time, she did. Let¡¯s talk about something else. Let rissa

    live her life; I¡¯m sure she feels stifled by how overprotective you are.¡±

    My lips part. Why the hell would she say that? I loved his overprotective side.

    Autumn gave me a look, and I felt the same way that she did. We both didn¡¯t like Anya at all. Autumn

    had more reason to dislike her after the many, many things she¡¯s done to try and cause problems

    between her and Atticus.

    I was happy that she wasn¡¯t trying to pull them apart anymore. She did apologize, but that apology

    seemed fake to me. She med it on the spell and imed she wouldn¡¯t have acted that way

    otherwise.

    At least Autumn trusted Atticus enough to let him sit at the same table with her.

    Dante clears his throat and kisses Anya on her cheek, ¡°we can talk about anything you want us to.¡±

    I try not to gag at that sight. Damon gets noticeably irritated that he¡¯d just kissed her in front of him. I try

    not to get upset by his reaction. It¡¯s normal for him to react like that when she is supposedly his mate. I

    still wasn¡¯t sure about that.

    I believe that both Damon and Dante hadn¡¯t found their real mate, just like Atticus hadn¡¯t until he

    married Autumn.

    I just needed to find a way to prove it.

    And I was nning on doing it the first chance that I got. I just wasn¡¯t sure if doing that would make

    Damon upset with me. That was thest thing I wanted to happen. He¡¯s never been angry with me, and

    I didn¡¯t want to change that.

    Whatever I had nned, I had to be smart about it.

 Chapter 81

    Chapter 81

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 81

    Book 2 Chapter 4

    Today was our first day home after the fire had almost burnt it to the ground. I was happy to be home

    and to celebrate; my family was having a party tonight.

    Autumn smiles as she points to the dress in front of me. ¡°I think you have to go to the party in that

    dress.¡±

    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be scandalous if I wore something so short?¡± I ask her.

    I always tried not to do things that would get me on the front cover of a magazine. I wanted to try my

    best to stay out of trouble. I knew that liking Damon alone could get me into more trouble than I was

    prepared for.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be around your entire family. To hell with what any i***t has to say about your outfit. It¡¯s

    your body; if you want to wear it, go right ahead.¡± She tells me.

    I smiled; I had to agree with her. It should be my choice. And I loved the silver dress that sparkled

    under the yellow lights above it.

    ¡°I told the guys we would meet them after the party begins,¡± Autumn tells me. ¡°I want everyone to be

    surprised when they see us. Well, mainly you. I want them to be surprised when they see you and how

    beautiful you look. I¡¯ve made some calls, and I have a hairdresser and a makeup artist on their way to

    dress you up.¡±

    Something about how she said those words to me made me feel like she had an idea that I was in love

    with Damon. That frightened me. I never wanted anyone to know how much he meant to me.

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± She asks me; she must have noticed the fear in my eyes.

    I shook my head, ¡°I¡¯ve never really known how to do my makeup.¡±

    She grins, ¡°well, it¡¯s good that I hired someone. You don¡¯t have to worry about that at all. Everything is

    already taken care of. I¡¯ve thought of everything to make this night perfect for us.¡±

    Iugh, ¡°you have thought about everything, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    She nods as we make our way back into my room.

    Autumn gets dressed first.

    The white dress looked amazing on her. But anything looked beautiful on Autumn; she had the kind of

    face and body to make the ugliest dress look gorgeous. Not that this dress was ugly, it was absolutely

    stunning, like her.

    She helps me get dressed next. The makeup artist enters the room with the hairdresser, and they both

    work their magic.

    ¡°I think you are going to have a hard time tonight,¡± Autumn says as we exit the room after we are both

    finished.

    ¡°Why?¡± I ask, confused.

    ¡°Your stepbrothers will have to send away many guys who will try to flirt with you tonight. You know

    they tend to get a little overprotective when ites to you, especially Damon.¡±

    I swallow at the mention of Damon. I was always looking forward to him being overprotective. It didn¡¯t

    make me feel ufortable or unhappy; the exact opposite.

    But why did Autumn mention Damon out of everyone else? It was true that he was the most protective

    when it came to me, but I didn¡¯t think that she would notice something like that. Could I be right all

    along? Did she know that I was in love with him?

    I had to find out. Unlike many others, I trusted Autumn. I wouldn¡¯t mind her knowing the truth even

    though it terrified me.

    My hands shook as I mustered up the courage to ask her whether or not she knew the truth.

    ¡°Do you know the truth?¡± I whisper. There was no point trying to sneak it out of her. I wanted to ask her

    directly.

    ¡°The truth?¡± She asks, startled by my question. ¡°About what exactly?¡±

    I can tell she already knows what I¡¯m talking about, but she doesn¡¯t want to startle me.

    ¡°About my feelings for someone,¡± I say. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to keep it hidden because I know how wrong it

    is, but I think you¡¯ve been hinting that you know the truth to me for the entire day now.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°you picked up on it. It is true. I do know the truth about your feelings for Damon.¡±

    My cheeks are red at her confession; I¡¯m the one that asked the question but hearing her say it aloud

    was rming to me. It was the first time anyone had said those words to me.

    She was the first person I was sharing my dark secret with, and it made me feel vulnerable. At the

    same time, I felt relieved to know that someone else knew how I felt about him and she was someone

    that I could trust.

    ¡°I promise that I won¡¯t tell anyone. Not even Atticus. This is something he needs to hear from you. I

    won¡¯t tell him even though we promised each other not to have any secrets between us. I think he

    would understand why I kept this from him.¡± She assured me. ¡°You can trust me, rissa. I know this

    isn¡¯t something you want others to know about.¡±

    I was happy that she was so considerate to keep it from him. I wasn¡¯t prepared for my family members

    to know the truth. I couldn¡¯t imagine what Atticus would think of me if he ever found out.

    ¡°How did you learn about my feelings for him?¡± I ask her. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to hide it since my feelings

    for him began. I¡¯ve managed to keep it hidden for so long. What made you notice?¡±

    I had to know never to make the same mistake again. If she could find out, anyone else could if they

    paid good attention to me.

    ¡°Remember that day when Atticus made me sleep in your room?¡± She asks me.

    I nod; I remember that night quite well. Atticus had asked me to keep her in my room. I remember how

    troubled he¡¯d looked that night. I remember wanting to help him with whatever had him so uneasy.

    ¡°I¡¯m still sorry about that day.¡± She apologizes. ¡°I saw something that I shouldn¡¯t have seen the morning

    after when I woke up. I was able to see a tattoo. And I think you know what that tattoo was.¡±

    I cover my mouth with my hand. Of course, I knew what she was speaking about. Two years ago, for

    my sixteenth birthday, I did something without thinking clearly. I got a tattoo with his name on my a*s.

    The left side. It was right at the center. Damon. That¡¯s what the tattoo was.

    I knew it wasn¡¯t the smartest thing to do, but I was so in love with him that I wanted his name on my

    body, anything that made me feel closer to him.

    I remember staring at it in the mirror every day since the day I¡¯d gotten it done. I was so happy. But it

    was a dumb decision. I¡¯d stopped wearing revealing bathing suits to the pool or the beach ever since

    then. I always had to keep it hidden from everyone because I knew they would find out the truth the

    moment that they saw it, just like Autumn had found out the truth just by seeing it.

    I don¡¯t know what I was thinking back then. I was thinking irrationally.

    How did I exin this to Autumn?

    She must think that I¡¯m crazy!

 Chapter 82

    Chapter 82

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 82

    Book 2 Chapter 5

    ¡°You must think that something is wrong with me for liking someone I can never be with,¡± I whisper

    nervously.

    She gently takes my hand in hers, ¡°no one knows more than me what it means to like someone you¡¯re

    not supposed to want. I have been in love with Atticus since the first day I met him. I was never

    supposed to have feelings for him, not when he was dating my best friend. It¡¯s crazy to know I was in

    pain because of Anya, and now the same is happening to you. Because of her.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just her,¡± I admit. ¡°I know Anya is a pain in the a*s, but I would feel the same way if it was any

    other girl. I hate seeing him with any woman that¡¯s not me. I know it¡¯s selfish and wrong, but I don¡¯t

    know how to control my feelings.¡±

    She gently rubs my back, ¡°I know what you¡¯re going through, rissa. I¡¯m here to support you through

    it all. It will not be easy, especially since he¡¯s your stepbrother.¡±

    I nod, ¡°I know that. I know getting a tattoo with his name was stupid, also. Everyone would freak out if

    they knew what I truly felt for him.¡±

    ¡°As I promised you, no one will ever hear it from my mouth.¡± She promises me.

    I smile and hug her, ¡°I wish we were this close since the first day the Fawns adopted me. I wouldn¡¯t

    have been so lonely.¡±

    ¡°I wish the same.¡± She admits. ¡°But at least we have each other now.¡±

    ¡°Why are you always trying to steal my wife from me?¡± Atticus asks as he spots us.

    Autumn gapes at him, ¡°you promised me that you would wait instead ofing to see me without a

    single warning.¡±

    He chuckles and pulls her into his arms, ¡°I couldn¡¯t wait. I wanted to see you in this dress. I can¡¯t wait to

    get it¡ª¡±

    I clear my throat, ¡°I love that you¡¯re together for good now, but I don¡¯t need to hear the rest of that

    sentence.¡±

    Autumn blushes and yfully hits his shoulder, e on, let¡¯s get rissa to the ballroom so that she

    can find herself a date for tonight.¡±

    ¡°A date?¡± Atticus asks. ¡°She doesn¡¯t need a date. I¡¯ve seen all the men present tonight; none of them

    are worthy of my sister.¡±

    Autumn rolls her eyes, ¡°we are not looking for a husband for her, Atticus. Just someone to dance with

    for the night.¡±

    He shrugs, ¡°I¡¯ll love to see what Damon has to say about this.¡±

    My heart skips a beat at the mention of Damon.

    ¡°Damon?¡± Autumn asks. ¡°Why do you think Damon will have to say anything about her dancing with a

    man tonight?¡±

    Atticus looked at her like she was crazy, ¡°have you not been around him? Damon gets crazy protective

    over rissa; sometimes, even I need to tell him to lighten up. Ever since that witch almost killed her,

    he has be even worse. He¡¯s always making sure that she¡¯s out of danger.¡±

    My heart skips yet another beat. It was true. Damon has be even more overprotective ever since

    that awful day. I¡¯d never seen him so scared, but even I was terrified of never seeing him again. I

    thought she was going to kill me while my family watched.

    I¡¯m not sure what happened that night. Everyone was bound by spell-filled chains, but somehow, we all

    broke free from them. Autumn wasn¡¯t there to help us, and I¡¯m sure none of the witches there were

    responsible for freeing us; nothing made sense. I¡¯m happy that we were released, but it still bothers me

    that I didn¡¯t know what truly happened on that night.

    I also couldn¡¯t exin why my arm had been soretely since that night.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Autumn asks me as we near the entrance of the ballroom.

    I wasn¡¯t ready, but as long as she remained by my side, I should be okay.

    ¡°How many people are here already?¡± I ask Atticus.

    ¡°Hundreds.¡± He informs me. ¡°Just stick by our side, and tonight will pass quickly.¡±

    Autumn sighs, ¡°are you truly going to stop her from dancing with someone tonight?¡±

    He smiles, ¡°I would rather step in and stop your ns than watch Damon beat some poor guy up today

    and spoil our party.¡±

    Autumn looks at me and smiles. She knows what hearing him say those words would mean to me. I

    think she¡¯s intentionally trying to provoke Atticus so that he would say exactly what I wanted to hear.

    She hooks her arm through mine, and Atticus sighs behind us. ¡°I miss the times you couldn¡¯t stand

    being away from me.¡±

    ¡°What are you speaking about?¡± Autumn demands. ¡°I¡¯m right in front of you.¡±

    ¡°As long as we aren¡¯t touching, it isn¡¯t close enough.¡± Heins.Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    Sheughs and pulls me along with her. I search the room for Damon; it¡¯s packed, just like Atticus said

    earlier.

    Where is he?

    ¡°His eyes are already on you,¡± Autumn whispers, so only I can hear.

    I try not to show my excitement at her words.

    ¡°He¡¯s to your right, don¡¯t look at him. Pretend you¡¯re interested in someone else.¡± She orders me.

    My eyes snap to hers, ¡°I don¡¯t know if I could do that.¡±

    ¡°If you want a reaction out of him, you will have to push out of yourfort zone. So far, you¡¯re too nice

    to him. Make him ufortable; make him terrified of losing you to someone else.¡± She tries

    exining.

    Would this work?

    I didn¡¯t want to entertain anyone else but Damon. But maybe Autumn did have a point. I¡¯ve tried it my

    way for years, and nothing has changed between Damon and me. He¡¯s never touched me

    inappropriately.

    Not one kiss. Not one s****l touch. Just hugs. That was all. He¡¯s always kept a distance between us

    which was expected since we were supposed to be step-siblings and he was dating Anya.

    I¡¯m the only one between the two of us with dirty thoughts. I can¡¯t stop picturing him kissing my neck,

    his hands on my breasts, and between my legs. I inwardly groan. Why do I have to be the only one

    between the two of us with these thoughts?

    ¡°Who are the two of you whispering about?¡± Atticus asks. ¡°Are you keeping secrets from me, Autumn?¡±

    Her face turns red, and she quickly grabs him for a dance. ¡°I¡¯ll return to you after just one dance with

    Atticus.¡± She apologizes.

    I nod. I knew she pulled him away to distract him from our conversation.

    ¡°Who did you dress like this for?¡± Damon asks.

    I bite my lip to keep myself from telling the truth. How long has he been standing behind me?

    It couldn¡¯t be long. Whenever he was near, I felt this warmness inside of me, just like I do now.

    ¡°Does it matter?¡± I ask as I turn around to face him. My breath gets stuck in my throat as I see him in

    my favorite white shirt. It¡¯s one that I got him as a gift a year ago. The first two buttons are undone, and

    I can¡¯t stop staring at the exposed skin.

    ¡°It matters to me.¡± He confesses as he takes a step toward me.

    I can¡¯t breathe. Not when he¡¯s standing this close to me.

    ¡°I¡¯ll rather not say,¡± I tell him.

    He quirks a brow, ¡°is it someone I¡¯m not fond of?¡±

    I try not tough at his question.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I whisper.

    ¡°Give me a description of him.¡± Damon insists.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± I say as I ce a finger on my lip and pretend to be deep in thought. ¡°He has on a white

    shirt tonight. It looks so good on him. He has piercing blue eyes and surprisingly soft hair.¡±

    He growls at myst sentence, ¡°you¡¯ve touched his hair?¡±

 Chapter 83

    Chapter 83

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 83

    Book 2 Chapter 6

    I have. I have touched his hair. I love touching his hair. I don¡¯t know if Damon knows that he always

    groans whenever I y with his hair, but I love the sound he makes. If I could hear it every day, it would

    make me so happy.

    ¡°rissa.¡± He whispers. ¡°Answer me.¡±

    I can¡¯t help myelf as I slowly reach up and run my hand through his already-styled hair. His breath

    hitches, and I wait; I wait to hear the groan I love so much.

    When I do hear it, my heart rate increases.

    ¡°See,¡± I whisper. ¡°His hair is soft.¡±

    His eyes sh dangerously when my words finally sunk in.

    He gently grabs my wrist and pulls my hand away, but he doesn¡¯t let go of it.

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± He asks cautiously before taking a step towards me.

    ¡°What do you think I¡¯m saying?¡± I answer his question with one of my own.

    ¡°I¡¯m wearing a white shirt. I have blue eyes. ording to you, my hair is soft.¡± He repeats my words.

    ¡°Are you saying you put on this dress for me?¡±

    My body shivers at his question, and I don¡¯t know why.

    Before I could answer him, Anya pushed me away and wrapped her arms around Damon¡¯s neck. My

    heart ached as she leaned forward and pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

    Damon grabs her waist and pulls her closer to him. Why does he even love someone like her? Does he

    not realize by now how hard it is for me to see him with her?

    Of course, he doesn¡¯t know rissa; you¡¯ve never done anything for him to realize your true feelings.

    He now knew that I dressed up just for him; wasn¡¯t that enough of a hint? Or did he think I was lying to

    get him to stop asking me questions?

    Autumn grabbed my arm and pulled me over to where she was standing with Atticus. They¡¯d just

    finished their dance.

    ¡°Can you get something to drink for me?¡± She asks him. He nods and leaves the two of us alone. I¡¯m

    sure she¡¯d done that so we could speak about Damon.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± She asks me.

    I shook my head. ¡°Not in the least. It¡¯s so hard for me to see him with her. I feel like recently she¡¯s been

    kissing him more in public than in the past.¡±

    Autumn nods, ¡°I¡¯ve also noticed that. Maybe she¡¯s behaving this way because she¡¯s already lost Atticus

    and doesn¡¯t want to lose Damon also.¡±

    Then why wasn¡¯t she also kissing Dante like that? Was she okay with losing him?

    ¡°They¡¯re still kissing,¡± I mumble. I can¡¯t hide the hurt from my voice.

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± She tells me. ¡°That will give us enough time to find you a dancing partner for the night.

    Like I told you, Damon is toofortable; you need to make him worry.¡±

    I think Autumn was right. Earlier, when he thought I was speaking about a random guy, I¡¯d seen a side

    to him I¡¯ve rarely seen before.

    ¡°I think I know the right person for the job,¡± Autumn tells me; I¡¯m surprised by how happy she is.

    Who did she find?

    ¡°Look at him.¡± She tells me as she tilts her head to the person next to us.

    My eyes widen.

    Ares Prince.

    Carter¡¯s younger brother.

    ¡°You¡¯re insane!¡± I hiss.

    ¡°Why not?¡± She demands.

    ¡°Do you not remember what happened with Carter? There¡¯s still so much tension between them ever

    since. I don¡¯t think dancing with his brother would make Damon happy. He will be angry with me, and

    that¡¯s thest thing I want to happen.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°Ares is not Carter. He¡¯s perfect for the job. He¡¯s known to be a yer, and that¡¯s good. We

    don¡¯t want someone who will stick to you after tonight. We just want someone for you to have fun with.

    Since Damon doesn¡¯t like Carter after what happened in the past, that¡¯s perfect for us.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about this, Autumn.¡±

    ¡°Trust me. I wouldn¡¯t have asked you to do this if I weren¡¯t sure it would work in your favor.¡± She tries

    some more to convince me.

    I turn to look at Damon, and he¡¯s currently staring into Anya¡¯s eyes as they dance.

    I press my lips together tightly, more determined than ever to listen to Autumn¡¯s request.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll do it. But I have no idea how to approach him.¡± I confess.

    ¡°You were a lot braver when you were doing things like this for me.¡± Autumn teases me. ¡°That¡¯s okay.

    I¡¯ll work some magic. You don¡¯t need it, though. You¡¯re stunning; anyone would jump at the opportunity

    to be your date tonight.¡±

    I try to call her back when she walks over to Ares. I was having second thoughts about this. She

    doesn¡¯t hear my call unless she¡¯s pretending that she can¡¯t.

    I¡¯m not sure what she told Ares, but his eyes are now on me. I don¡¯t feel the tingling or heat I usually

    felt with Damon, but I definitely felt nervous.

    He says something to her, and she smiles. I tried to stay calm as he walked over to me.

    ¡°Autumn just informed me that you¡¯re looking for a dance partner for the night.¡± He tells me.

    I force myself to nod after the death stare Autumn gave me.

    ¡°That¡¯s very lucky for me. I was also searching for a dance partner for the night. And I think I¡¯ve found

    the best one in the room.¡± He says as he lifts my hand to his lips.

    My eyes widen, and I return Autumn¡¯s death stare. She never said anything about this! I force myself

    not to p Ares hard across his face.

    I wrap my arms around his neck as he grips my waist and guides me to the dance floor.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that rissa Fawn is dancing with me tonight.¡± He says as he spins me. ¡°Aren¡¯t your

    brothers super protective over you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have to answer that. We¡¯re not blood-rted.¡± I remind him.

    ¡°You might want to remind them of that. Especially Damon. It¡¯s only because of him that no guy from

    the academy tries to ask you out.¡± He informs me.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I ask him.

    I knew that Damon told everyone not to bully me, but I wasn¡¯t sure what Ares was saying to me.

    ¡°Damon practically told all the guys to stay the f**k away from you, or there would be serious

    consequences. Everyone knows the kind of connections that your family has. That¡¯s why they listen to

    him.¡± He informs me.

    My eyes widen. Was this true? Has Damon been meddling with my love life this entire time? It¡¯s not like

    I had one to begin with but still.

    Why would he do something like that?

    ¡°If this is true, why are you dancing with me?¡± I ask him.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re beautiful.¡± He answers me without a second thought. ¡°I¡¯m not scared of Damon. My

    family is just as influential and powerful as your family. There¡¯s nothing for me to be worried about.

    Besides, we both know our brothers¡¯ rivalry, which will make things more interesting.¡±

    ¡°I told you, I¡¯m adopted.¡± I remind him.

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    I didn¡¯t want him to refer to Damon as my brother. I felt sick to my stomach anytime someone said that

    to me.

    He chuckles, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    He spins me again, and this time my back is pressed to the front of him. I had a clear view of Damon

    now. He still hadn¡¯t noticed, and I wasn¡¯t sure if I was relieved or upset.

    I don¡¯t get time to ponder on that thought because Damon chooses that second to search the crowd.

    I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s me that he¡¯s looking for. A few secondster and I have my answer.

    He¡¯s looking directly at me. His gaze doesn¡¯t stay on me for long; it¡¯s now on Ares, then on Ares¡¯s

    hands on my waist. I can see the surprise on his face to see me in the arms of another man.

    I swallow. Why did I feel like I was cheating on him? Why did I feel like I was betraying him? This was

    absurd! My feelings made zero sense to me.

    My breath gets stuck in my throat. Damon freezes on the dance floor. He was in the middle of a dance

    with Anya, but now he isn¡¯t even moving.

    I pause also. He no longer looks surprised. Instead, he seems angry. Very angry.

    Oh no. I¡¯ve done it, haven¡¯t I?

 Chapter 84

    Chapter 84

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 84

    Book 2 Chapter 7

    His eyes narrow. However, instead ofing after Ares, Damon does the exact opposite. He turns and

    storms out of the room. I blink once, then twice. Did he truly just leave like that? I watch as Anya runs

    after him. I think she was also in shock at first to see that he¡¯d left her in the middle of the dance floor

    without saying a word. She didn¡¯t look in our direction and probably doesn¡¯t realize that he¡¯d been

    looking at Ares and me before storming out of the ballroom.

    What kind of a reaction was that? I couldn¡¯t tell what he was thinking after fleeing the room like I wasn¡¯t

    important to him anymore. He didn¡¯t say anything to Ares and he didn¡¯t try saying anything to me either.

    I expected him to cause a big uproar. I expected him to throw Ares out of our home.

    Walking away from us, I was not expecting that.

    Didn¡¯t Atticus also say that Damon would ruin the party if he saw me with a guy tonight? Was he also

    wrong?

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised.¡± Ares whispers into my ear. ¡°He just left. That¡¯s unlike Damon. After all the threats he¡¯s

    made to everyone at the academy, this is a huge surprise. Maybe he likes me for you after all.¡±

    My jaw clenched, and my hands tightened into fists. I didn¡¯t like the sound of that. If Damon liked him

    for me, I didn¡¯t. Damon was the only man that I wanted and I had my reasons for feeling that way.

    ¡°I need to use the washroom.¡± I lie. I had to find an excuse to get out of this room. I didn¡¯t want to be

    here anymore. If I had to stay another second dancing with Ares I would lose my damn mind. He was

    already starting to get on my nerves.

    ¡°Do you need me to walk with you?¡± He asks. ¡°I can wait until you¡¯re finished.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I assure him. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon. You can look for another partner in the meantime so that you

    don¡¯t feel lonely. I know from your name alone that it wouldn¡¯t be hard for you to do.¡±

    I knew there was no way that I would be back here after what had just happened. This party wasn¡¯t

    going the way I wanted it to. I don¡¯t wait for Ares to respond.

    I turn and push through the crowd, hoping he wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to follow me.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Autumn asks me as she sees me leaving. I pause just so that I could exin

    everything to her.

    ¡°Damon just left,¡± I answer her. ¡°He didn¡¯t try to do anything to separate me from Ares. There was no

    reaction out of him at all. I don¡¯t even think it bothered him. I guess we were both wrong about this. I

    don¡¯t see why I should stay for the rest of the party. It¡¯s boring without him here and Ares is already

    annoying me. I can¡¯t stand being in the same room with him right now.¡±

    I was extremely disappointed by his reaction to seeing me with Ares. I expected so much more; I think

    everyone else did as well. But I was slowly realizing that there was nothing I could have done to

    change his reaction. Whenever Anya was around, he loved to forget about my existence. Tonight was

    no exception.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± She asks. ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a logical exnation for what he just did. I¡¯m

    positive he was upset. I saw the look on his face. He couldn¡¯t have been as unbothered as you believe

    he was. He¡¯s probably just trying to control himself for the party. He wouldn¡¯t want to bring attention to

    our family. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s his reason. He knows that our family has been through enough already, he

    doesn¡¯t want to add to it.¡±

    I thought I¡¯d seen the look on his face too, but his actions said otherwise. I think we¡¯d both misread him.

    Maybe he was finally ready to stop being so overprotective of me. Just the thought of it made me sad. I

    didn¡¯t want him ever to stop being that way with me. I looked forward to it and couldn¡¯t imagine not

    having that in my life.

    ¡°I want to get out of here,¡± I answer her. ¡°It¡¯s all too much for me, and I¡¯ll rather keep away from Ares

    now that I know it doesn¡¯t affect Damon.¡±

    She sighs but finally nods. ¡°I understand. But if you change your mind, you know where to find me.¡±

    I f****d a smile on my face in hopes that she didn¡¯t worry about me. I didn¡¯t want my troubles to spoil

    her night; she¡¯s already been through enough, and I didn¡¯t want to burden her with my problems.

    I tried to avoid everyone that I knew as I made my way out of the room. I didn¡¯t want to have to speak

    to anyone else for the rest of the night.

    I was relieved when I finally made it out. I rushed up the stairs. Next, I headed straight to my room. I

    was done socializing for the night. All I wanted to do was get into my room and forget that tonight had

    happened. Everything about it was a mess.

    Damon¡¯s room is only a few feet away from mine, and I must pass his room first to get to my room.

    I was tempted to step inside and wait for him there. However, I didn¡¯t want to be surprised by Anya and

    him making out like I¡¯d had to see earlier on the dance floor.

    I pause when I hear something; it sounds like someone is pounding the wall. Was Damon in his room?

    Did he leave the dance to go back to his room? Why did he do that? And what was he doing inside of

    there? Was Anya in there with him?

    I knocked when I heard something crash onto the ground.

    What the hell?

    I don¡¯t bother knocking as I barge into his room. Luckily, it wasn¡¯t locked but Damon¡¯s room is usually

    never locked.

    My eyes widen when I see the mess he¡¯d made. He was standing in front of his broken mirror, and his

    hand was bleeding. There was even blood dripping onto the ground where he stood.

    ¡°What the hell happened in here?¡± I demand as I rushed toward him.

    There were even broken chairs against the wall. I could see pieces of it everywhere. I don¡¯t understand

    what could have possibly resulted in this mess. I knew he had to be responsible because of the injury

    on his knuckles but I couldn¡¯t understand why.

    I grab a first aid kit from the bottom drawer of his desk and push him onto the edge of his bed. ¡°What

    happened, Damon? Why is your mirror broken and your hand bleeding? Did you hit it?¡±

    ¡°There was a bug.¡± He answers. ¡°I wanted to get rid of it.¡±

    I gape at him. A bug? He couldn¡¯t be serious.

    After cleaning the cut, I wrapped his hand with the bandage even though I knew it would heal without

    my help.

    He¡¯s quiet while I¡¯m tending to his bruises. When I¡¯m done, I finally look up at him.

    I gasped when I found him looking at me.

    ¡°What are you doing here, rissa?¡± He asks me.

    My lips part, ¡°do you not want me in here with you?¡±

    ¡°You were dancing with Ares thest time I saw you. Ares Prince. Carter¡¯s brother.¡± He answers me. ¡°I

    thought you would still be there with him. The brother of our rival.¡±

    I wince at the tone of his voice. I was right. He was upset with me. I¡¯d hurt him.

    That was thest thing I wanted to do. I wanted to bring him closer to me, not further apart.

    ¡°I told him I had to use the washroom,¡± I exin. I don¡¯t tell him every detail, however.

    ¡°And you couldn¡¯t use the washroom downstairs?¡± He asks me. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    I swallow, ¡°I wanted a break from all the noise. I was heading back to my room when I heard something

    from your room. I wanted to make sure that you were okay, and that¡¯s why I barged in without warning.

    I¡¯m sorry. I tried knocking, but you didn¡¯t answer.¡±

    He nods, ¡°are you going back down to Ares? I assume he¡¯s still waiting for you to finish that dance.¡±

    I bite my lip, trying to hide the pain from my eyes. How could he ask that without any emotion? Did he

    not care if I danced with Ares?

    ¡°If that¡¯s what you want, for me to return to the dance, that¡¯s what I will do,¡± I murmur.

    His jaw clenches as he stares at me. I wait for him to say something. I wait for him to tell me that he

    doesn¡¯t want me near Ares. Of course, he does nothing of the sort. He continues to watch me in

    silence.

    I bite my lip and turn to leave. Before I can do that, he grabs my hand.

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Do you know that Ares is a yer, rissa?¡± He asks. I can hear the edge in his voice. He is worried

    about me. My heart is filled with so much warmth at this realization.

    ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± I answer him.

    ¡°And you¡¯re still willing to dance with him?¡± He asks, and he sounds angry again.

    I turned back around to get a good look at his face.

    ¡°Are you upset with me?¡± I whisper.

    He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. ¡°Why do you think I¡¯m upset with you?¡±

    ¡°You have that look on your face, the look that tells me you¡¯re angry. Since I¡¯m the only one in the room,

    I¡¯m assuming that I¡¯m the one you¡¯re angry with.¡±

    He closes his eyes for a few seconds, and in those few seconds, his breathing gets louder.

    I almost lost my bnce when he finally opened his eyes again and trapped me with his dark gaze.

    ¡°I¡¯m more f*****g upset with myself, rissa.¡± He answers me. ¡°Not you. Never you.¡±

    He was upset with himself? Why would he be upset with himself? He¡¯s done nothing wrong. He never

    does anything wrong.

    ¡°What could you possibly be upset about?¡± I ask him. ¡°There¡¯s nothing that you can be angry with

    yourself over.¡±

    He chuckles, and I¡¯m taken aback by his smile. Everything about Damon is beautiful to me.

    ¡°You can say that because you can¡¯t read my mind.¡± He tells me.

    I frown. ¡°Then tell me. What are your thoughts?¡±

    He sighs. ¡°You¡¯re asking too many questions. If you¡¯re not going back to the dance, why don¡¯t you get

    some sleep? I¡¯ll feel more at ease if I know you¡¯re safely in your room and not getting swept off your

    feet by some f*****g yer.¡±

    I gasp.

    His gaze softens. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have said that.¡±

    No. I¡¯m happy that he did. It¡¯s the first words out of his mouth that seemed genuine about how he felt

    when he saw me with Ares.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going back to the dance,¡± I tell him, and I can¡¯t help but smile after seeing the relieved look on

    his face. ¡°But I¡¯m not going back to my room either.¡±

    He frowns. ¡°If you¡¯re not going back to the dance and you¡¯re also not going to your room. Where are

    you nning on going?¡± He asks, confused.

    I didn¡¯t know how to tell him what my following ns were. I hadn¡¯t thought the entire thing through.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to get upset with me,¡± I whisper. ¡°But I want to stay here for the night. With you.¡±

    His eyes widen, and my heart stops beating as I wait for his response.

    I can¡¯t believe I¡¯d just said that to Damon. I¡¯ve done some crazy things in the past, but I don¡¯t think

    anything beats this.

    What was wrong with me?

 Chapter 85

    "What are you saying?" He finally breaks the awkward silence with a question. "Why will you be staying here instead of in your room?"

    I bite my lip as I fidget with my hands. "I want to spend the night with you."

    "rissa." He groans. "Do you hear what you''re asking me? I''m supposed to be your fucking protector. You''re my adopted sister. How can I let you stay in the same bed with me?"

    My eyes widen, "I know it sounds crazy but I only want to sleep next to you tonight."

    "Why?" He asks. "Why are you suddenly asking me for that? If anyone sees you here in bed with me, they will get the wrong idea. Especially Anya."

    Where was Anya anyway? Was she even still at the party? I saw her when she ran after Damon. Why wasn''t she in here with him? How did he get her to leave him alone? She wasn''t someone to get rid of easily.

    "I''ve had these nightmares recently." I lie. I''m using any excuse I can think of to get him to listen to me. A nightmare seemed like the best excuse for now. Damon usually listened to every word I said to him, and I hoped that he did the same tonight.

    He straightens his back and stares at me with a worried look. It was working. My n was working.

    "Nightmares?" He asks.

    I nod. Since when did I be this good at lying to him? I was this close to getting him to agree, I could feel it.

    "It''s so bad. I wake up terrified almost every night with no one next to me. Tonight, I don''t want to be alone. Just for tonight, I''ll like to be next to someone." I whisper. "And if I must choose, I choose you. No one else. Besides, everyone else is at the party and I don''t want to disturb them."

    And I also want to kiss you and hug you. That''s also what I wanted to say, but I''d already said too much for the night. I didn''t want to push my luck.

    He runs a hand down his face. "Why didn''t you tell anyone about these nightmares before?" He demands. "How long have you been suffering by yourself?"

    "I didn''t want to be a burden to anyone." I lie once more. I didn''t like lying to him, but I didn''t see any other way to get him to agree. Even I knew that I was asking for something quite insane. It would take a miracle for him actually to agree to this.

    He sighs, "rissa, you know you can alwayse to me with any problems. I''ve always protected you from harm. At least I always try to protect you. I hate that you didn''t feelfortable enough to tell me about this."

    His words made me feel guilty about lying to him. He had no clue that I was making all of this up to get him to agree to sleep in the same bed as me.

    "I know I can tell you anything," I promised him.

    Everything except my true feelings for him. And it turns out that''s the one thing I wish I could be open to him about.

    My breath gets stuck in my throat when he gets up from the bed. My hands are shaking when he walks over to the door. Was he nning on leaving me inside here all alone? Was he that upset with what I was asking him to do?

    I was shocked when I heard the lock on the door click.

    He just locked the door with me inside. I turn to him in surprise.

    "I had to lock the door." He exins. "If you''re staying the night in my bed, I can''t let anyone barge into my room and get the wrong impression. That could mess up your reputation and cause unnecessary trouble for the both of us."

    I bite my lip and nod; I''m happy he''s even considering doing this for me.

    "Does anyone know that you left the dance?" He asks me.

    I nod, "I told Autumn. She thinks I''m in my room."

    "That''s good." He says. "At least someone knows where you went; that means no one wille looking for you. They will think you''re sleeping. Besides, they should be preupied with the party."

    Everything about this screamed wrong, but it also felt right.

    "I''m going to spread some pillows in the middle of the bed. You can take one half, and I''ll take the other. That way, if you get one of those nightmares, I''ll be right next to you."

    Pillows? Was he separating us with pillows? I didn''t want to be separated. I wanted to sleep in his arms.

    I couldn''te right out and ask him for that, however. I had to be smart about the entire thing.

    I suddenly got a bright idea. I could pretend to be getting a nightmare. He''ll have no choice but to take me into his arms and remove the pillows between us. I didn''t think a nightmare could be so useful to me until now.

    "Okay." I agree, pretending I was okay with his decision to separate us by pillows. I never thought I would dislike a pillow as much as I do now. He was so close to me yet still so far. Too far. I didn''t make up this lie and went through all of this just so that we would be sleeping so far apart. I had to fix this before this night ended.

    "Are youfortable?" He asks me as I settle into his bed. It felt incredible being in the same bed with him but at the same time, it wasn''t enough for me.

    "Yes," I answer him. "But, can you turn off the lights?"

    With the lights off, it can set the mood for us. I knew Damon would never do anything inappropriate with me but I was still doing everything I could think of.C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    He pauses, "wouldn''t the darkness make you feel more scared?"

    I shook my head. "I actually can''t sleep with the light on."

    He nods, "lights off."

    The room immediately turns into darkness. I can''t see a single thing. But I could hear everything from the sound of his mini fridge right next to the bed to the wild beating of my heart.

    I pretend to fall asleep next, waiting for the right opportunity to use the nightmare to my advantage.

    I know Damon isn''t asleep. I can only hope that he doesn''t know I''m awake, also.

    I groan softly and thrash under the sheets. I''m trying to make this as believable as possible.

    "rissa?" Damon whispers. I could hear the panic in his voice, and even though it made me feel guiltier, I continued.

    I cry out, and he shoves the pillow away from us to pull me into his arms. I breathe in his scent as he runs a hand down my hair gently. "Shh," he tries to soothe me. "I''m here. I''m here, rissa. Nothing is going to hurt you. Not while I''m around."

    "Damon?" I whisper.

    "Yes." He answers me. "What''s wrong?"

    "Can you hold me tighter, please?" I ask him.

    He doesn''t say anything, but his arms tighten around me. I inwardly smiled in triumph. I finally had him the closest we''ve ever been, making me so happy.

    "Your heart is racing," I whisper as I ce my ear to his chest.

    He swallows, "so is yours."

    "I just had a nightmare." I lie.

    "And I just had to witness you having one." He says.

    I leaned closer to him and ced my nose at the base of his neck.

    He freezes at the contact.

    "What are you doing?" He asks. His voice was strained and he seems anxious as he waits for my response.

    I inhaled deeply and almost fainted with happiness and contentment. "I''m smelling you," I say like it''s the most natural thing in the world.

    "Why?" He croaks.

    "Because you smell good," I answer without any hesitation.

    Damon inhales sharply at my words but he doesn''t ask another question after that. I''m happy when he lets me smell him and doesn''t try to push me away. I always knew his scent was addictive but tonight it was even stronger than in the past. Maybe it''s because I''m in his bed, where he always sleeps.

    "Can I ask you a question?" I ask, I wasn''t sure where I was going with this, but I knew what I wanted.

    "Anytime." He answers me.

    "Did it upset you when you saw me with Ares tonight?" I blurt out. I knew I shouldn''t bring it up to him after we were having such a good time but I still wanted to know the truth.

    There''s a long pause as I wait for his response.

    I think he stops breathing, but so do I.

    Should I have kept my mouth shut?

 Chapter 86

    Chapter 86

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 86

    Book2 Chapter 9

    ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± He finally breaks the silence.

    I inhale his scent once more, and I listen to his sharp intake of breath. ¡°I just want to know,¡± I answer

    him.

    I want to knA known womanizer. Brother of Carter Prince, someone I¡¯m not very fond of for obvious

    reasons. I wasn¡¯t upset with you, but I was upset about the situation. He¡¯s thest person I want to see

    you with.¡± He answers me. ¡°He¡¯s not good enough for you, rissa. He¡¯s an a*s. He ys with the

    hearts of so many females, pretends to be interested in them, and moves on to another the moment

    that they fall in love with him. It¡¯s all a game for him. It¡¯s sick.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t the exact answer that I was hoping for, but it still made my heart skip a beat.

    ¡°Out of curiosity, who do you think is good enough for me?¡± I ask. I wanted to ask as much questions

    today, I didn¡¯t want this conversation to stop.

    I knew he would never say the name I wanted him to, but I was still hoping that he would.

    ¡°So far,¡± he whispers. ¡°f*****g no one. You¡¯re too good for all the men around you.¡±

    I gasp. I couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d actually said that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re setting your expectations too high?¡± I ask. ¡°If you keep thinking that way, I¡¯m not

    going to end up with anyone.¡±

    He growls, and I gasp as I feel the vibration from his chest on my body, ¡°I only want the best for you. I

    will not let you settle for less than you deserve.¡±

    ¡°Damon,¡± I whisper.

    ¡°Yes, rissa.¡± He answers me.

    I don¡¯t know how he¡¯s always so gentle and patient with me, but it¡¯s part of the reason I was so deeply

    in love with him.

    ¡°You¡¯re the only reason why I stayed,¡± I whisper.

    His body goes entirely still next to mine. He doesn¡¯t respond immediately, but I feel the tension in his

    body. I wanted to kiss it away.

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± He finally asks. ¡°You stayed because of me? That doesn¡¯t make any

    sense. When were you nning on leaving to begin with?¡±

    I take a deep breath. I¡¯ve never told him these things before. Damon and I have always been close but

    there are so many things that I¡¯ve kept from him. I don¡¯t know where I¡¯m getting the strength to finally

    tell him some of these things.

    ¡°When your family adopted me. I didn¡¯t want to be here. I wasn¡¯t sure that I would fit in. You were all so

    rich and different from what I was ustomed to. The constant bullying at the academy didn¡¯t help

    either. But you, you made everything better; you made me experience true happiness. I¡¯m my happiest

    when I¡¯m next to you.¡± I confess. ¡°I wanted to leave but the moment I saw you, the moment you

    protected me, the moment you fought for me, all of those times, you made me want to stay, just for

    you.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t the full confession that I wanted to make, but it was the safer option for now.

    There¡¯s another pause and once more I wondered if I¡¯d said too much.

    ¡°You¡¯re being very honest tonight.¡± He points out in a strange tone of voice.

    I was expecting him to say more than that. Again, I was disappointed. What did I expect from him? Was

    I expecting him to say that I did the same for him? Did I want him to tell me that I made his life happier

    as he did mine?

    ¡°You¡¯re suddenly quiet.¡± He notes. ¡°Did I say something to upset you?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I answer him. ¡°It¡¯s just that you had very little to say after I opened my heart to you.¡±

    ¡°rissa,¡± he sighs. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious that you¡¯ve also been a big part of my life? Do I need to say it? I¡¯ve

    never been this protective of another woman except for Anya. And she¡¯s my mate; that¡¯s expected from

    me. You, you¡¯re not even my blood sister, but yet I would kill for you. I wouldy down my life for you.

    Does that make you feel better?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°No. It does not.¡±

    My heart says otherwise, however. It wasn¡¯t the confession I wanted from him, but it was better than

    nothing. I knew he wouldy down his life for me. I knew he was very protective of me. Hearing him say

    it did give me butterflies in my stomach, however. At the same time, it terrified me. I didn¡¯t want him to

    ever choose my life over his.

    ¡°I don¡¯t ever want you toy down your life for me, Damon,¡± I add. ¡°You need to stay alive, no matter

    what.¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°luckily, most of the danger has left us for now. We don¡¯t need to worry about anything

    crazy happening for a while. That means you don¡¯t have to worry about meying down my life for you,

    and I don¡¯t have to worry about some crazy witch trying to kill you, either.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to think about the crazy witch and what she¡¯d almost aplished. I had to distract myself

    and Damon was the best distraction.

    ¡°This is nice,¡± I say with a contented sigh. ¡°I wish we could do this every night. Just you and me in your

    bed, talking.¡±

    Touching. Kissing. Making love.

    ¡°As lovely as that sounds, rissa, it¡¯s just not practical.¡± He answers me. ¡°It can cause too many

    problems that neither of us needs.¡±

    He¡¯s wrong. Those are the kind of problems I would happily ept.

    ¡°I wish¡ª¡± I pause to yawn, and Damon pulls the sheets around me.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for you to go back to sleep.¡± He says before I can continue. ¡°You¡¯re tired, and if you have that

    nightmare again, I¡¯m right here with you to keep you safe.¡±

    I wanted to continue our conversation, but I knew that it was useless at this point. I¡¯d already gotten

    more than I¡¯d ever hoped for. I could be content with this, at least for now. Maybeter, I could convince

    him to allow me in here for another time. I¡¯m sure the nightmare trick would work again.

    I snuggle closer against his chest and smile as I listen to the loud pounding of his heart. It¡¯s thest

    thing I remember before sleep engulfed me.

    ¡°Damon!¡±

    ¡°Open the door!¡±

    ¡°DAMON!¡±

    I frown as I try to figure out why someone is shouting Damon¡¯s name so early in the morning. I blink

    once as I felt a warm body shift next to mine.

    I slowly open my eyes, and I gasp when I find Damon next to me. It takes my mind a while to catch up

    to the view in front of me.

    Last night wasn¡¯t a dream. It had actually happened. I¡¯d slept in the same bed as Damon and it was the

    best night of my life! Sleeping next to him in his bed has always been a dream of mine and it was finally

    a reality. This was crazy. I try to remain calm despite the excitement in my heart.

    ¡°DAMON!¡±

    I gasp once more. Damon¡¯s eyes which were just closed, slowly opened. He looks at me next to him

    and runs a hand down his face as he realizes the mess we were both in.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± He growls.

    We were in trouble. Plenty trouble.

    ¡°Damon, why the hell aren¡¯t you opening the door?¡± Atticus demands.

    ¡°He can¡¯t find you inside here,¡± Damon mumbles more to himself than to me.

    I was aware of that. But what could we do?

    ¡°Get on top of me.¡± He tells me.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t open this door in the next minute, I¡¯m breaking it down!¡± Atticus threatens him.

    What was so important that he was this impatient?

    I climbed on top of Damon, so my legs were on either side of his waist, and my head was lying on his

    chest. He pulled the cover over my head to look like it was just him on the bed. His sheets were thick

    enough to keep me hidden without anyone being suspicious.

    He pressed the button next to his bed that unlocked the door without him having to get up.

    ¡°f**k Atticus!¡± Damon shouts. ¡°Can¡¯t I sleep in peace?¡±

    The door flew open then, and everything went silent for a few seconds. I¡¯m scared that Atticus would

    somehow know that I was here.

    ¡°Why did you take so long?¡± he demands. ¡°And since when do you lock your door at night?¡±

    I shifted a little to make myself morefortable, and Damon hissed under his breath. My eyes widen

    when I felt something hard between my legs.

    Surely that couldn¡¯t be what I thought it was? It couldn¡¯t be that huge. I could feel my heart begin to

    race, and I didn¡¯t try to move again after that. I stayedpletely still, but that also meant I was directly

    on top of it. I could feel my cheeks burn with embarrassment.

    I¡¯ve heard about this. His body wasn¡¯t reacting because of me, he¡¯d just woken up, and that was the

    only reason why.

    ¡°Why is your face so f*****g red?¡± Atticus asks.

    Damon growls, ¡°can you tell me why you came here to wake me up from sleep?¡±

    His face was red. Because of me? I try not to smile underneath the sheets. His sheets. In his bed.

    I¡¯m on top of him. On top of Damon for the first time in my life. And it feels so good. It would feel even

    better if there was nothing between us.

    ¡°I can¡¯t find rissa anywhere.¡± He tells him. ¡°She left the party earlyst night. We all thought she¡¯d

    gone to her room, but when Autumn looked for her today, she couldn¡¯t find her. It¡¯s very unusual. I¡¯m

    worried, thest person she was seen withst night was Ares Prince, and you know we don¡¯t have the

    best rtionship with his brother. I was hoping you¡¯d know where to find her. Maybe she told you where

    she was going since she¡¯s closest to you.¡±

    Damon¡¯s body goes entirely still beneath mine. I feel him swallow before he says, ¡°she left earlier this

    morning.¡±

    ¡°To go where?¡± he asks. ¡°We don¡¯t have to go to the academy today.¡±

    ¡°To the beach. With some friends.¡± He lies.

    ¡°The beach?¡± Atticus asks. ¡°With friends? And you believed her?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I believe her?¡± Damon asks him.

    ¡°rissa barely has any friends from the academy. She spends most of her time with us.¡±

    Wow. Did he have to make me sound so pathetic? I didn¡¯t need any new friends, the ones that I had

    were enough for me. Besides, Autumn was the best, and it was even better now that she was married

    to Atticus. I didn¡¯t need anyone else. She was both a friend and family to me.

    ¡°She has a few.¡± Damon disagrees. ¡°Not plenty, but they¡¯re there.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to head down there to ensure that she¡¯s telling the truth?¡± he asks. ¡°I don¡¯t trust Ares.

    He¡¯s Carter¡¯s brother. I wouldn¡¯t want her sneaking out to meet him. Those two seemed a little too close

    for my likingst night. Did you see the way Ares looked at her? Like she was his next target. I¡¯ll much

    prefer that he stays far away from her as possible.¡±

    I could feel the anger radiating off Damon¡¯s chest at his words.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± He answers him. ¡°I trust rissa. If she told me she was heading

    to the beach with some friends, I believed her. Would you get out of my room now that you know where

    she is?¡±

    There¡¯s a pause before Atticus says, ¡°you¡¯re acting weird today. It¡¯s very unlike you to let rissa go to

    the beach unattended. What are you hiding from me?¡±

    Damon sighs, ¡°you should know by now that if I¡¯m this rxed, it means that rissa is safe from

    danger. If I didn¡¯t think that she was safe there, I wouldn¡¯t have let her go on her own.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Atticus finally gives in. ¡°I should also tell you that Anya is waiting downstairs for your date.

    Should I send her up to you?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Damon shouts.

    Atticus chuckles. ¡°I¡¯ll tell her you¡¯ll be down in a few minutes.¡±

    They had a date today? Why didn¡¯t I remember that? The news of their date had just fouled my mood. I

    was no longer happy to be in the same bed as Damon. Anya knew exactly how to ruin that.

    As soon as the door shuts, Damon removes the sheets from my head. I ced my hands on his chest

    and slowly lifted my upper body so that I could look at him.

    The slight movement caused some friction between us, and Damon hissed once more. He grabbed my

    waist and turned us over, so that he was now on top of me. The sheets were between us this time,

    preventing me from feeling him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± He apologizes.

    Why was he apologizing?

    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± He growls. ¡°This can¡¯t happen again, rissa. It¡¯s not okay. Next time I may ask Autumn to

    stay with you if you¡¯re having another nightmare. I¡¯m a man. You¡¯re a young woman. There have to be

    some boundaries between us no matter how close we are.¡±

    I bite my bottom lip in frustration.

    ¡°What was so wrong aboutst night?¡± I demand. ¡°It was nice. Nothing bad happened. You just held me

    while I needed you. Why can¡¯t it happen again?¡±

    He sighed and pressed our foreheads together for a few seconds.

    He doesn¡¯t answer me. Instead, he let go of me and climbed out of bed.

    ¡°I need to get ready for my date with Anya. Atticus cannot see you for at least an hour. And he definitely

    can¡¯t see you exit the room. I¡¯ll look outside; once no one is near, you can return to your room. Maybe

    you can call Autumn and let her know you¡¯re back home. Make it look like you came back from the

    beach.¡±

    His date with Anya. That¡¯s all he cares about now.

    I angrily climbed out of bed and stormed out of his room without bothering to see who was outside. I

    could hear Damon¡¯s curses behind me as he followed me out of the room.

    Luckily, no one was around to cause any trouble for us.

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    He grabs my waist and spins me around. ¡°What the hell was that? Someone could have seen you.¡±

    ¡°Why are you acting as if something happened?¡± I demand. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t feel like we did something

    wrong when we didn¡¯t. I¡¯m going back to my room to stay there for an hour as you asked me to do.

    Have fun on your date with Anya. I can see that¡¯s all you care about right now.¡±

    ¡°Why do you always do this?¡± he demands from me.

    ¡°Do what?¡± I hiss.

    ¡°You always get upset whenever I have a date with Anya. You always throw a tantrum.¡±

    I gape at him. ¡°A tantrum?¡±

    A tantrum?

    How dare he say that!

 Chapter 87

    Chapter 87

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 87

    Book 2 Chapter 10

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry tat I throw a tantrum whenever you have a date with her.¡± I hiss. ¡°Do whatever you

    want. I¡¯m going to my room.¡±

    ¡°rissa!¡± he growls as he grabs me and traps me against the wall. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you upset before but

    never this bad. What¡¯s going on? Tell me what¡¯s wrong. There must be something that¡¯s bothering you

    that¡¯s causing this change in your behavior.¡±

    We¡¯re both breathing hard, and the tension in the air has just doubled.

    I can¡¯t tell him the truth. I can¡¯t say to him that I love him. I can¡¯t tell him I don¡¯t want to see him with her

    anymore. He wouldn¡¯t understand; he would think something was wrong with me.

    ¡°Damon?¡±

    We both freeze. It was Anya¡¯s voice.

    I turned to look at her, and she was ring at us.

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± she finally breaks the silence.

    Damon slowly lets go of me before he walks over to her. I¡¯m unsure what he tells her, but it brightens

    her mood almost instantly. I turn away before seeing him kiss her in front of me; again.

    It was unfair. I¡¯ve been saving my first kiss for him. Yet he didn¡¯t care each time he kissed her in front of

    me.

    I knew I wasn¡¯t capable of kissing anyone else but Damon. I would freak out if that ever happened. I¡¯d

    chosen him, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to ept anyone else.

    I m my room door shut. So much had happened in one night, but it still felt like too little. Did that

    even make sense? It wasn¡¯t much progress. We didn¡¯t kiss. He still only hugged me. What happened

    this morning was an ident and not something that he had intended. I wouldn¡¯t have been on top of

    him if Atticus hadn¡¯t woken us up and tried to barge into the room.

    Nothing had changed between us. Damon was still going on dates with Anya; he was still kissing her

    and touching her in ways I wished he¡¯d touch me.

    There¡¯s a knock on my door, followed by Autumn asking me if she coulde in.

    They weren¡¯t supposed to know that I was still in the house. Atticus could find out that Damon had lied

    to him earlier.

    ¡°Come in,¡± I answer her.

    She locks the door behind her and sits beside me on the bed.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    ¡°How did you know that I was home?¡± I ask her. ¡°Damon told Atticus that I went to the beach.¡±

    ¡°I saw what happened with you and Damon; I was behind Anya. I¡¯ll cover for you.¡± She says. ¡°But you

    need to tell me where the hell you¡¯ve been. You had me so worried. And why would Damon lie to

    Atticus about where you were? And what were the two of you arguing about?¡±

    ¡°I did something I probably shouldn¡¯t havest night,¡± I tell her.

    ¡°What did you do, rissa?¡± she asks. I could hear the worry in her voice.

    ¡°I lied to Damon. I told him that I¡¯d been having nightmares. I asked him to let me spend the night with

    him. In his bed.¡± I confess.

    Her eyes widened, ¡°you did what?¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t control myself after seeing the way Anya kissed him at the dance and then him not bothering

    that I was dancing with Ares. I snapped.¡± I exin.

    She sighs, ¡°I¡¯m guessing since Damon made up that lie about you going to the beach with your friends,

    he must have allowed you to stay the night with him.¡±

    I nod, ¡°and it was the most magical night of my life. He had his arms around me the entire night, and he

    didn¡¯t try anything inappropriate even though I wish he had.¡±

    ¡°rissa, I know what you¡¯ve been going through. I know it isn¡¯t easy, but if anyone had found you in

    bed with Damonst night, you could have been in serious trouble. You need to be more careful next

    time.¡± She tries to warn me.

    ¡°I will,¡± I promise her. ¡°I acted without thinking. I shouldn¡¯t do anything that would result in Damon and

    me being further apart.¡±

    ¡°What was the argument about?¡± she asks. ¡°It sounds like you had a magical night. What spoilt it?¡±

    ¡°I was angry because Damon said it couldn¡¯t happen again. He also said that I always throw a tantrum

    whenever he has to go on a date with Anya.¡± I answer her.

    She rolls her eyes, ¡°who wouldn¡¯t throw a tantrum?¡±

    Iugh. ¡°You¡¯re just saying that to make me feel better.¡±

    ¡°I think I know how to spoil their date today.¡± She tells me.

    ¡°How?¡± I ask. I was desperate for any ideas. I didn¡¯t want him to be alone with her today.

    ¡°Ares Prince.¡± She answers me. ¡°He wants to see you today. They¡¯re having a beach party in an hour.¡±

    ¡°A beach party?¡± I ask. What a coincidence.

    ¡°Yes.¡± She answers me. ¡°Atticus was convinced you would see Ares today, but he also wanted to

    believe Damon. I can tell him I¡¯m going with Griffin to the beach to keep an eye on you. He would

    happily agree with me. We need to sneak you out of the house without anyone seeing.¡±

    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that mean we must let Griffin know what we were up to?¡± I ask her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make up something. All he needs to know is that we want to go to that beach party. Griffin isn¡¯t as

    strict as his brothers. He won¡¯t make a big deal of us going to Ares¡¯s party.¡± She exins.

    ¡°But how would this ruin Damon¡¯s date?¡± I ask her.

    ¡°It just so happens that Damon and Anya are going to a party opposite where we would be staying.¡±

    She tells me. ¡°He¡¯s going to know you¡¯re there. I¡¯ll make sure of it. When he sees you with Ares, he will

    end his date with Anya to take you home.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure he will leave his date with her just to carry me home?¡± I ask her. ¡°Yesterday, Damon

    didn¡¯t seem to care that I was dancing with Ares.¡±

    But he did sayst night that Ares was thest person he¡¯d want to see me with.

    ¡°Oh, it will work this time. Especially since you¡¯ll be in a bikini.¡± She informs me.

    ¡°A bikini?¡± I demand. ¡°I can¡¯t wear one. Remember the tattoo of his name on my a*s? I can¡¯t let anyone

    see it on me.¡±

    ¡°We will just get you a cover-up.¡± She exins to me. ¡°A ck one just to be safe.¡±

    I nod. I was okay with this. I was willing to do this only because I didn¡¯t want Damon to be with Anya. I

    was scared that he would one day find out everything I¡¯d been keeping from him. I was afraid that he

    would one day know how much I¡¯ve always loved him and how hard I¡¯ve tried to keep him away from

    Anya. And it wasn¡¯t only because I wanted him for myself but also because I didn¡¯t trust her.

    Anya was a liar. Nothing anyone said could change my mind about her. Everyone wanted to believe

    that the witch was responsible for her horrible behavior in the past, but I knew that was the real her.

    She had everyone fooled again because she was pretending to be kind for the first time in her life, but

    she would have to do much more than that to convince me.

    ¡°Are you ready to blow Damon¡¯s mind away?¡± Autumn teases me as she shows me the bikini in her

    hands.

    I grin. ¡°I¡¯ve always been ready. I think you¡¯re the one I¡¯ve been missing all along. Because of you, I may

    finally have a chance with Damon.¡±

    She smiles, ¡°I¡¯m just repaying your kindness, rissa. Now, let¡¯s get you dressed for the party!¡±

    I could barely breathe with how nervous I felt but I couldn¡¯t wait!

 Chapter 88

    Chapter 88

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 88

    Book 2 Chapter 11

    ~DAMON~

    Guilt. That¡¯s all I felt as I held Anya in my arms. I¡¯ve always known my soft spot for rissa would put

    me in trouble one day. She¡¯s always been my weakness. I¡¯ve never been able to tell her no. Since the

    first day she came into our lives, I¡¯ve always tried to do everything she wanted. A part of me has always

    wanted to protect her. To make her happy. To make her smile. To make her feel at home.

    That never changed. I¡¯m still that way when it came to her. My weakness for her has only increased

    with time. She knows by now how to bring me to my knees.

    Even though we were close, I¡¯ve always kept her at a distance from me. I¡¯ve never done things that I

    knew would cross the line between us. Usually, rissa wouldn¡¯t ask for more, butst night was the

    first time she asked for something I wasn¡¯t sure I could give her.

    I clenched my jaw at the reminder.

    Last night was one of the hardest nights of my f*****g existence.

    Seeing rissa dance with Ares almost made me lose my mind. I was ready to rip his head from his

    body. But then I saw the worry in her eyes, and I knew I couldn¡¯t ruin her night because of my selfish

    reasons.

    Still, I knew Ares wasn¡¯t good enough for her. I knew I would eventually have to talk her out of it.

    This need to protect her was expected between a brother and sister. f**k. Just thinking about it made

    me sick. I couldn¡¯t see her as my sister, no matter how hard I tried.

    When my parents adopted her, since that first day, I knew that I was screwed. I knew it would be hard

    to see her as my sibling. I fought against those feelings for a long time, and when Anya came into my

    life, it became easier. But now, it was hard again. And each day, it became more difficult.

    Last night I made a f*****g mess of my room just because I saw her dancing with Ares. That just wasn¡¯t

    something a brother was supposed to do. I saw the way my brothers were with rissa, they actually

    acted like siblings but for some reason, I could never be the same with her. If I reacted like this just

    because she danced with someone, what would happen if she decided to date? What would I do then?

    How would I be able to control myself?

    She was in my arms for most of the night. The only time I wasn¡¯t holding her was when I removed all

    the broken ss and chairs from the floor and ced them in the bathroom. If I hadn¡¯t, Atticus would

    have known something was wrong this morning when he had walked in.

    We were so close to getting caught. rissa kept saying we didn¡¯t do anything wrong, but I knew how

    wrong it was even if she couldn¡¯t see it. I knew I couldn¡¯t let that happen again, especially after what

    happened this morning.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    I¡¯ve always had inappropriate thoughts about rissa, things that I¡¯ve f*****g dreamt about. But I¡¯ve

    never acted on any of it. I¡¯ve always tried to push those thoughts away; I knew how wrong it was. She

    expected me to protect her, to keep her safe, to be there for her, but yet I had all these dirty thoughts in

    my head. It made me feel sick. What kind of a man was I? She came to me because of nightmares,

    f*****g nightmares. I should have held her close only tofort her, yet my body had a mind of its own.

    It wanted things I could never give to it.

    I inwardly groaned as I remembered what happened.

    I¡¯d never been more f*****g hard in my life. Just by having her on top of me. I was scared that she

    would think the worst thoughts about me after feeling it beneath her. But rissa surprised me by

    acting the total opposite. It terrified me. I never expected her to react that way. I knew if she ever

    encouraged me I wouldn¡¯t know how to hold back.

    I thought telling her it couldn¡¯t happen again was the right thing to do, but she surprised me by storming

    out of the room. Not once did she care that someone would see her exit my room.

    Her behavior had dramatically changed recently, and I didn¡¯t know how to keep up with it.

    ¡°You¡¯re unusually quiet,¡± Anya whispers. ¡°Is something bothering you?¡±

    Anya has been extremely good to me these past few days. She didn¡¯t deserve my betrayal, even if it

    was just in my thoughts. I had to find a way to control myself. I couldn¡¯t continue behaving this way

    because of rissa.

    ¡°Damon?¡±

    I sigh and hug her tightly, ¡°I¡¯m just happy to have you next to me.¡±

    She smiles and kisses my cheek, ¡°Dante is angry I chose to spend today with you.¡±

    ¡°Can you me him?¡± I ask her. ¡°I would have been angry also if someone had taken you away from

    me.¡±

    She grins, but that smile is eventually wiped from her face. ¡°Was Autumn invited to this party?¡± she

    asks me. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the car Atticus gave to her recently?¡±

    I follow her gaze, and I¡¯m surprised when I see Autumn and Griffin exit the car.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯reing to this party,¡± I inform her. ¡°It looks like they¡¯re going to Ares¡¯s beach

    house.¡±

    Why the hell would Atticus let Autumn attend his party? It was very unlike him to let her go to a party

    like this without him, especially after what happened with Carter. If this were his brother¡¯s party, he

    would likely also be there.

    Maybe he sent them to look for rissa. After all, he still didn¡¯t know she was in my room the entire

    time.

    The car¡¯s back door opens, and I freeze at who I see next.

    rissa.

    She has a ck bikini with a cover-up on the lower half of her body, but she still showed more skin than

    I wasfortable with. Her breasts were exposed for f**k¡¯s sake.

    Why the hell was she here? At Ares¡¯s party after everything we¡¯ve spoken aboutst night. She knew

    how I felt about him. Was this because of this morning? Was she still angry with me? Was she doing

    this to get back at me for telling her that she always threw a tantrum when I had a date with Anya? Or

    was she doing this because I told her she couldn¡¯t stay in the same bed with me again afterst night?

    I narrowed my eyes when I saw Ares walk out of the house to greet her.

    ¡°Since when do they attend Ares¡¯s parties?¡± Anya asks me. ¡°Don¡¯t they care about the rivalry between

    you guys and Carter?¡±

    My body stiffens.

    rissa smiles and I stop breathing for a second.

    Since when does she smile at other men the way she smiles when she¡¯s with me?

    I watch as Ares pulls her into his arms and lifts her into the air like she weighs nothing.

    Anger explodes in my chest.

    ¡°What the f**k?¡± I growl.

 Chapter 89

    Chapter 89

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 89

    Book 2 Chapter 12

    ~CLARISSA

    ¡°Look, there¡¯s Damon!¡± Griffin says as he waves at him.

    I freeze. I knew Damon had been watching this entire time, but now he knew I was aware of him

    looking at me.

    If I wanted this to work, I had to ignore him. Usually, I would go straight to him, but this time I let Ares

    lead me into the beach house. I know it would hurt him that I didn¡¯t even bother to turn around and look

    at him but this had to be done.

    Letting Ares hug me earlier was not part of the initial n, but I wanted to make it as believable as

    possible. He knew I was upset this morning. I wanted to show him that this wasn¡¯t just one of my

    ¡®tantrums.¡¯

    I wanted him to know that he wasn¡¯t the only one that could go on dates. All along I¡¯ve made it super

    easy for Damon, I wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake again.

    ¡°He¡¯s ring at your back,¡± Autumn whispers to me.

    Good, he can see me walking away from him. I¡¯ve yed nice all along, and maybe Damon got the

    wrong impression from me. This way, he can get a clear picture of what I wanted. It was time that I

    fought for him. If he told me he didn¡¯t feel the same way, I would be heartbroken, but at least I would

    know I tried.

    I wasn¡¯t sure when exactly I would be ready to confess my feelings to Damon, but for now, I would

    show him very subtle signs.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised to see you today after you disappearedst night,¡± Ares tells me. ¡°You promised you

    would return, but you never did. I waited the whole night for you.¡±

    I try not tough at his words. Did he think I would believe that? Ares Prince, waiting for a woman to

    return?

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you found someone else at the dance,¡± I say.

    I looked around me; the girls here were dressed in even smaller bikinis than mine. And they all were

    ring at me. I forgot for a moment that I was the main target of bullying. Did I make a mistake by

    coming here today?

    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Why is she even wearing a cover-up?¡± Someone whispered behind me. I try my best to ignore them. I

    was happy that I at least had Autumn next to me in case things took a turn for the worse.

    ¡°Do you want to take a swim with me?¡± Ares asks as he puts his arm around me. It felt weird. Justst

    night, I was in Damon¡¯s arms, and it felt so much better than this. I would much prefer it was Damon

    with me here and not Ares.

    Even if I told Damon the truth, what would that mean for us? It¡¯s not like our family would ever be

    supportive of our rtionship. Everything would turn into a big mess if they found out. That was my

    biggest fear besides Damon rejecting me.

    ¡°rissa?¡± Ares asks again.

    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure that¡¯s such a good idea,¡± I answer him as I move his hand from around me. I was

    scared that my coverup would slip and reveal the tattoo.

    ¡°Why not?¡± He asks me. ¡°We can have some fun in the water. My brothers are in there with some of

    their girlfriends. I can introduce you to them if you haven¡¯t met them already.¡±

    Could he possibly be referring to Carter? Now I knew more than ever that I didn¡¯t want to go into the

    water with him.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine here with Autumn,¡± I exin. ¡°You don¡¯t need to stay with me. You can look around and find

    someone else to swim with.¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°you¡¯re ying hard to get, aren¡¯t you? If that¡¯s the case, you know exactly how to get a

    guy to want you. Because that¡¯s what I want right now, you; I want you, rissa.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s just too bad,¡± Damon says behind me. I gasp. How long had he been standing there? Was

    he listening to our conversation this entire time?

    ¡°Damon.¡± Ares greets him with a smile. He lifts his hand for a handshake, but Damon ignores it.

    ¡°I was just asking rissa to join me in the water.¡± He informs him.

    ¡°That can¡¯t happen because rissa ising home with me. Right now.¡± Damon exins.

    I spun around to gape at him. I didn¡¯t want to go in the water, but I never agreed to leave the party with

    him. That was the n from the start, to get Damon to leave Anya ande for me but the n was

    about to change.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere, Damon,¡± I tell him when I spot Anya behind him. I wasn¡¯t going to make this

    easy for him.

    ¡°You heard that, big brother?¡± Ares asks him. ¡°rissa said that she¡¯s staying. Besides, we have plenty

    of fun activities to look forward to. We were all just about to y some spin the bottle.¡±

    I freeze.

    Spin the bottle? Wasn¡¯t that a kissing game? I couldn¡¯t y that! I promised to give Damon my first

    kiss, and I wouldn¡¯t break that promise. Not for a stupid game.

    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure that¡¯s a good idea,¡± I tell him.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a great idea.¡± Anya cuts in. ¡°I think Damon and I would enjoy ying this game.¡±

    Did she really say that? Was she okay with kissing another man while her ¡®mate¡¯ was right there? I¡¯m

    sure Damon didn¡¯t feel the same way that she did.

    ¡°rissa is still pretty much a child.¡± She adds. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t enjoy a game like this.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± I cut in. ¡°I think this game might be fun after all. Anya is right. Let¡¯s all y.¡±

    Ares grins. ¡°I¡¯m happy to have so many new yers. It was beginning to get boring seeing the same

    yers every single time. This will add some excitement.¡±

    ¡°Are you ying as well?¡± Anya asks Autumn.

    ¡°Are you insane?¡± She demands. ¡°I¡¯ll rather not have my husband freak out at home when he hears

    about this. I¡¯m going to sit this one out. You guys enjoy.¡±

    ¡°You can count me in,¡± Griffin adds behind us.

    This was bing weird. What if the bottlended on Griffin? I definitely would not be kissing him.

    While I didn¡¯t see Damon as my brother, I did see Griffin that way.

    ¡°We have a twist in the game. If the yers refuse to kiss each other, they must kiss the yer next to

    them.¡± Ares tells us. ¡°I think it¡¯s fair enough. We don¡¯t want anyone backing out. We take our games

    quite seriously.¡±

    I¡¯ve never heard about this rule before. But maybe that was an excellent addition to the game. If it

    landed on Griffin, I¡¯d have to kiss the person next to me instead. But would I be brave enough to kiss

    anyone that wasn¡¯t Damon?

    I just had to hope that some magic happened that could help me out. I looked at Autumn just then, and

    she winked at me. She was thinking the same thing that I was. She could move the bottle for me.

    I was safe, after all. Now all we had to do was start the game.

 Chapter 90

    Chapter 90

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 90

    Book 2 Chapter 13

    ~CLARISSA~

    We all stood by a table, and they got the bottle ready for us. There were at least ten of us ying right

    now, and there were others waiting to join in for the second round. Apparently, this was a very popr

    game for Ares and his friends. They were ustomed to ying it. My family avoided games like this

    for obvious reasons. I was only ying because there was a good chance that I could end up kissing

    Damon, especially with Autumn on my side.

    ¡°I¡¯m first,¡± Anya says as she spins the bottle. Itnds on Adrian Willis. My eyes were locked on Damon

    to see his reaction, and I could tell how hard it was for him to watch her kiss Adrian. The timer makes a

    noise, letting them know that they can stop. They break apart, and Anya looks a lot happier than she

    should have, considering she¡¯d just kissed someone other than her mate while he was watching.

    I¡¯m surprised that Damon had even let the kiss happen in the first ce, but by now, he was probably

    used to seeing Anya kiss other men. After all, he¡¯d had to witness her kiss Dante and Atticus multiple

    times.

    I tried not to frown at the reminder. Even Autumn looked disturbed when I nced at her.

    Griffin was next. The bottlended on a woman named Paige. Neither backed down and kissed the

    other without a problem. So far, everyone was following the rules.

    Ares was up next. I was fearful that the bottle wouldnd on me. Luckily, it doesn¡¯t, and I can sigh in

    relief.

    My relief doesn¡¯tst long. It was now my turn, and a part of me wanted to run and hide. It was the

    same part of me that didn¡¯t want to y the game, to begin with.

    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.

    I looked at Autumn for confirmation; I wasn¡¯t sure this was such a good idea anymore. Not after seeing

    Anya kiss Adrian and the impact it had on Damon.

    Autumn nodded, and her confidence helped to build mine. If she believed she could help me, I

    shouldn¡¯t have to worry about anything else.

    I kept my eyes on the bottle as I ced my hand on it. It felt cold to the touch, and I tried not to stop my

    heart from racing in my chest. I was afraid that everyone in this room would be able to hear it and tell

    how scared I was. That was thest thing I wanted to do. They were all already close toughing in my

    face. I didn¡¯t need to give them another reason to bully me. I could tell that there were plenty of women

    in here that were just waiting for the right opportunity to make fun of me.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to y this game if you don¡¯t want to, rissa,¡± Damon assured me. ¡°I can take you

    home right now. Don¡¯t listen to what any of these fools have to say.¡±

    I bite my lip at his words. Only Damon would use this opportunity to call everyone here fools. He was

    aware of the women that bullied me, and I think it was directed at them. As much as I wanted to take

    up his offer, I knew I had to decline it.

    He doesn¡¯t realize that this might be my only opportunity to kiss him. I didn¡¯t think there was a

    possibility that he would ever allow it otherwise. I wasn¡¯t even sure that he would ept it in this game,

    but I was taking any chances that I got. There was only one way to find out, and I didn¡¯t n on

    backing down. If this was my only chance to kiss Damon, I was dly taking it.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I answer him. ¡°I want to do this.¡±

    Only because of you. Again, these words are only said in my mind. He can¡¯t hear my thoughts. A part

    of me wished that he could. It would make things easier for me.

    I didn¡¯t wait for anyone else to say something as I spun the bottle the second Autumn gave me the

    signal to begin.

    It spins a few times before it slowly noticeably stops at Damon. My heart jumps in my chest, and I can¡¯t

    wait to hug Autumn for doing this. I knew that it was only possible because of her. I¡¯ve never been

    happier knowing her biological father was a sorcerer than I am now. It was working to our advantage.

    Finally.

    There are a few gasps around us, and Anya suddenly doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s enjoying the game

    anymore.

    The color is suddenly drained from Damon¡¯s face as he realizes what just happened. I¡¯ve never seen

    him look this pale before. I knew that this was thest thing he was expecting.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s safe to say that the two of you would prefer to kiss the people next to you than kiss each

    other.¡± Ares points out. ¡°And it just so happens that I¡¯m next to you, rissa. I didn¡¯t think our first kiss

    would happen in front of so many people, but I¡¯m all open to it.¡±

    Why did he think I would ever choose to kiss him over Damon? I was ying this game only because

    of him, no one else. And he was the only one I was nning on kissing.

    Damon res at him. ¡°She isn¡¯t kissing anyone.¡± He growls. ¡°So sit your a*s back down before I need

    to do it for you.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t back down from the game now,¡± Adrian says. ¡°No one backs down from the game. It¡¯s the

    rules. And you knew the rules before you even started the game.¡±

    ¡°She isn¡¯t even your blood sister.¡± Another person adds. ¡°And If kissing her is a problem for you, Ares is

    willing to do it. Heck, so many of us are willing to do it if you don¡¯t want to kiss her. Don¡¯t spoil our

    chances.¡±

    This wasn¡¯t going the way I¡¯d nned. I should have known that Damon wouldn¡¯t have given in easily

    like everyone else. If I wanted this kiss to happen, I would have to make it happen on my own. I

    couldn¡¯t wait for Damon toe up with a solution to this problem. I was sure he was already trying to

    think of something to get us out of this.

    ¡°This is taking too long,¡± Ares says as he moves closer to me. Before he can try anything, I move away

    from him and walk over to Damon, who¡¯s looking at me like I¡¯ve just lost my mind. The startled look on

    his face makes me more nervous about my ns, but I can¡¯t stop now; it¡¯s toote to stop. I had to do

    this. If I didn¡¯t, it would always haunt me for the rest of my life.

    Before he could stop me, I grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his. I hear Griffin shouting for us to

    stop behind me, along with a few whistles from some of the guys I barely knew. Soon enough, all of

    that slowly fades away. I couldn¡¯t hear anything except Damon¡¯s loud breathing and the pounding of his

    heart.

    All I was focused on was him. He standspletely still like a rock in front of me. I think I¡¯d just

    shocked the life out of him. Did I make a mistake? He wasn¡¯t kissing me back, and I think everyone

    was beginning to notice.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t count as a kiss unless you kiss her back.¡± Someone shouts behind us, confirming my

    suspicions. ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to start over and kiss her again.¡±

    Damon¡¯s hands slowly grab my waist at his words. I gasped into the kiss as he slid one of his hands up

    my body until he cupped my cheek and angled his face to deepen our kiss.

    I couldn¡¯t believe this was finally happening. Damon was kissing me back. For the first time in my life,

    we were kissing. For the first time in my life, I was kissing someone, and it wasn¡¯t any random person;

    it was Damon! My Damon. The only man I¡¯ve ever dreamed of kissing.

    Damon¡¯s lips are soft and warm as they cover mine. He doesn¡¯t kiss me hungrily; he doesn¡¯t kiss me

    with urgency. No, Damon kisses me like he knows this is my first kiss. He¡¯s very gentle with my body,

    with every part of me that he¡¯s touching. His kisses made me feel like I was floating in the sky, it was

    light but yet it made my toes curl on the ground. I want to wrap my arms around him, but I don¡¯t want to

    bring more attention to us. I needed to remind myself that we had an audience, and everyone still saw

    us as siblings. I couldn¡¯t get carried away, no matter how much I wanted this.

    I could hear the timer ringing in the background, but I wasn¡¯t ready to stop. I¡¯ve wanted this for so long.

    I didn¡¯t want it ever to stop. I bite down on Damon¡¯s lip, and he growls into my mouth. I felt wetness

    immediately between my legs just from that one sound.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough now,¡± Anya said through gritted teeth next to us.

    Her voice seems to affect Damon as he immediately freezes on the spot. He grabs my hips and pushes

    my body away from his. It took me a moment to remember that we were not alone.

    ¡°f**k, dude,¡± Adrian says. ¡°That was one steamy kiss.¡±

    ¡°I forgot she was his sister for a second.¡± Someone whispered behind us.

    My cheeks are on fire at all thements about our kiss.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve had enough of this game,¡± Anya mumbles. ¡°Damon, can you please take me home now.¡±

    ¡°Yes, take her home,¡± Ares tells him. ¡°You can leave rissa with me so we can continue the game.

    There are plenty more chances before I can get my opportunity to kiss her.¡±

    Damon surprised us when a growl tore from the back of his throat.

    ¡°rissa.¡± He says in a rough tone, probably the first time he¡¯s ever used that tone with me. ¡°Let¡¯s go.

    Now.¡±

 Chapter 91

    Chapter 91

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 91

    Book 2 Chapter 14

    ~CLARISSA~

    I¡¯m glued to my spot. Unable to move as everyone was looking at me, waiting to hear my response. I

    hate angering Damon this way. I hate the tone he¡¯s using with me but maybe this was the only way to

    get a reaction out of him. However, I knew this was enough for today. I knew it was time to end this

    game.

    ¡°You don¡¯t always have to do as he says,¡± Ares tells me. ¡°You can stay if you want to. We have plenty

    more activities nned for today. I¡¯m sure you will enjoy it if you¡¯re already enjoying this little game.¡±

    Damon takes a step in our direction and I knew I had to act fast before Damon did something crazy like

    punch him. That was thest thing I wanted to happen today.

    ¡°No.¡± I apologize. ¡°I have to leave now. We have a few things that need to get done at home.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to stay here if Damon wasn¡¯t around. Besides, Damon was getting angrier by the second,

    and I didn¡¯t want a repeat of what happened with Carter and his teammates in the past. I knew the

    mess that little incident caused our family and I didn¡¯t want to add to it.

    Ares shrugs his shoulders, ¡°it¡¯s a pity, but there are always other opportunities for us to continue the

    game.¡±

    Damon grabs my hand and pulls me out of the beach house with him. He doesn¡¯t give Ares a chance to

    say anything more to me. I was happy he¡¯d practically dragged me away, pretending to like Ares was

    not the best idea. It was also very difficult to do. Anya tries to keep up with the both of us. Griffin and

    Autumn are right behind as well.

    Damon lets go of my hand as soon as we are away from the crowd. My cheeks are red when Griffin

    looks at the both of us like we¡¯ve lost our minds.

    ¡°What you two did in there, I¡¯ll never like to speak about it again after today,¡± Griffin says. ¡°How about

    we forget it even happened! I¡¯ll hate for that news to hit our parents. f**k, imagine if Atticus or Dante

    hears about this. Most likely they will since word spreads like crazy. I hope you¡¯re ready to give a

    proper exnation.¡±

    None of these things crossed my mind when I walked over to Danon and kissed him earlier. Luckily,

    Ares has this rule where no one is allowed to take any videos or pictures at his parties. We didn¡¯t have

    to worry about a video of us kissing popping up on our phones. And we didn¡¯t have to worry about our

    pictures showing up in magazines.

    ¡°I¡¯ll like to forget it ever happened as well,¡± Anya says in a dry tone. ¡°I can¡¯t believe rissa did

    something like that.¡±

    She turns to me then and says in a disgusted tone, ¡°He¡¯s your brother. You should have said no to Ares

    and those fools for insisting that you guys kiss. I understand that you¡¯re not used to games like that or

    being in thepany of popr groups other than your family but you should have known better.¡±

    ¡°Hey.¡± Autumn cuts in. ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound worse than it is. Besides, let¡¯s not forget that you also

    kissed someone else inside there. Why aren¡¯t we talking about that instead of focusing only on

    rissa? If it was that easy to say no, why didn¡¯t you?¡±

    I¡¯d almost forgotten about that kiss. Autumn always knew the right thing to say. She¡¯d moved the focus

    from me to Anya. At least for now. I wasn¡¯t sure how long it would stay that way.

    ¡°It was just a game.¡± Anya retorts.

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Autumn says. ¡°Just a game. So we can drop this discussion now. No one is to me for

    anything. It was an innocent game, and it¡¯s over now. We can all pretend it never even happened. I¡¯m

    sure everyone at the party has already forgotten about it.¡±

    I was d I had Autumn to get me out of this conversation. Only she knew how badly I wanted that kiss

    with Damon. And it was only possible because of her. I still had to thank her for what she¡¯d done.

    ¡°Griffin and I can drop Anya home.¡± Autumn offers. ¡°We have something to do in that area. Damon, you

    can take rissa home and ensure she doesn¡¯t try returning to the party. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re worried that

    she will do something like that judging by that expression on your face. You don¡¯t seem to trust us with

    her either since we were the ones that brought her in the first ce.¡±

    I bite my lip to stop myself from saying anything. I knew Autumn was trying to get me more alone time

    with Damon.

    Anya, of course, does not look happy with this n, but I¡¯m surprised when she doesn¡¯t try to make a

    fuss. She honestly was trying her best to convince us all that she was a different person now.

    Damon starts his jeep and opens the door for me. I quietly got into the passenger¡¯s side. I was

    nervous. I knew I was the one that initiated the kiss, but now that the moment was over, the guilt was

    sinking in. What if Damon didn¡¯t want to kiss me? What if I f****d him to do something he didn¡¯t want to

    do?

    I gently touched my lower lip with my fingers; they still tingled from his kiss. Even though I felt guilty, I

    didn¡¯t regret the kiss. It was a memory I was nning to keep with me forever.

    Damon is quiet as he starts the jeep and pulls out of the parking lot. It remains that way for most of the

    drive home. Neither of us was speaking to the other, and I didn¡¯t like it one bit.

    I loved talking to Damon, and because of that kiss, everything was awkward between us. I couldn¡¯t let it

    stay that way. I had to find a way to make him talk to me like he¡¯s always done so freely in the past.

    ¡°Are we going to talk about what happened?¡± I ask him.

    His hands tightened on the steering wheel. I swallowed as he clenched his jaw, something he always

    did when he was upset. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about, rissa. Let¡¯s get you home and back to your

    room.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re upset with me.¡± I point out. I can¡¯t hide the pain in my voice.

    He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed loudly.

    ¡°Tell me. Are you upset with me, Damon?¡± I ask.

    I already knew the answer to that question, but I wanted to do anything to make him talk to me.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he growls. ¡°I¡¯m upset. With you.¡±

    I gasp. It¡¯s the first time he¡¯s ever said those words to me, and if I thought I was in pain before, I was

    wrong. This was what real pain felt like. Hearing Damon tell me that he was upset with me was enough

    to make me sad.

    ¡°What exactly were you thinking while going to that party?¡± He demands. ¡°I told you everythingst

    night, everything about that asshole, and yet you still chose to go to his party. You let that bastard put

    his hands around you and lift you off the ground like you were his next target. Do you even understand

    the trouble you¡¯re causing yourself?¡±

    I bite my lip, and I hate that I can still taste him there. Nothing I¡¯ve tasted before couldpare to the

    taste of Damon. He was everything I thought he would taste like and more.

    It lingered in my mouth, and I never wanted it to leave.

    ¡°I was upset,¡± I mumble while ying with my fingers in myp.

    ¡°Upset?¡± his voice echoes inside the jeep. ¡°What were you upset about, rissa? What did I do that

    was so wrong to make you want to do something like that?¡±

    I look out the window; I¡¯m unsure how to tell him without confessing my feelings for him.

    ¡°Was it about this morning?¡± he asks. ¡°Are you upset that I told you about your tantrums? Or are you

    upset because I said we couldn¡¯t sleep in the same bed again afterst night?¡±

    He knew precisely why I was upset, yet he still chose to ask me. He¡¯d just mentioned both things that

    angered me too.

    ¡°If you know the answer to your question, why are you asking me?¡± I demand.

    He exhales loudly, ¡°I¡¯m asking because I can¡¯t figure out why that would anger you so much. I¡¯m trying

    to understand you. Recently, it¡¯s been hard to understand anything that you say or do. It¡¯s hard to keep

    up with you.¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± I ask him.

    ¡°Exactly what I¡¯m saying to you. There are no hidden messages in my words.¡± He answers me.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t even what I wanted to talk about in the first ce.¡± I snap, trying to avoid that conversation. I

    wasn¡¯t ready to tell him why I was so upset.

    He sighs, trying to regain control of hisposure. Damon rarely ever got upset with me, and I can

    safely say this time was very bad.

    ¡°Then tell me, rissa, what is it that you want to talk about?¡± he asks me after regaining control of his

    emotions.

    I know I shouldn¡¯t say what I¡¯m about to say, but I need to see his reaction. He waits impatiently for me

    to continue, and I blurt it out.

    ¡°The kiss,¡± I whisper.

    His jaw clenched again, and I could see him trying his best to focus on the road and not on my words.

    ¡°Damon?¡± I ask when he doesn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°What?¡± he finally asks.

    I swallow, ¡°aren¡¯t you going to say something about it?¡±

    He pressed his lips tightly together, almost as though he was trying his best to prevent himself from

    responding to my question.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re not going to say anything, then I guess I should,¡± I say more to myself than to him.

    He still doesn¡¯t say anything, but he does look more alert now that I¡¯d said that.

    ¡°I know it might not be a big deal for you since you¡¯ve probably kissed many women even before you

    started seeing Anya, but I wanted to thank you,¡± I mutter.

    He nces at me for a quick second, and I can see how much my words have confused him.

    ¡°Thank me?¡± he asks. ¡°For what exactly?¡±

    I bite my lip before saying, ¡°that was my first kiss. I¡¯ve never kissed anyone before today.¡±N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    I can¡¯t believe I¡¯d just said those words to him out loud. I wasn¡¯t sure if Damon even knew he was my

    first kiss. My heart felt vulnerable after admitting this to him. He would realize just how inexperienced I

    was about this whole dating thing. I¡¯ve spoken to Damon about many things in the past but this was

    one topic we barely ever touched on. I was always scared to bring it up and say the wrong things.

    I watch his shoulders tense, but he remains calm as he focuses his attention on the road. I wasn¡¯t sure

    if he was truly calm or if he was trying to pretend that he was.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if you weren¡¯t expecting it. I was only following the game¡¯s rules, and I didn¡¯t want to cause

    any trouble with the others. They seem to take that game quite seriously. I know it must have surprised

    you when I kissed you. I just wanted you to know that I¡¯m d my first kiss was with you. I trust you

    completely, and I know that no one looks out for me as much as you do. Your kiss was gentle and soft,

    everything I¡¯ve ever¡ª¡±

    ¡°rissa,¡± he swallows as his hands tighten on the steering wheel. ¡°Please don¡¯t finish that sentence.

    That kiss was never supposed to happen. I should have never allowed you to y that game, to begin

    with. It wasn¡¯t right. So please, for the sake of my sanity, let¡¯s not talk about that kiss ever again.¡±

    My lips part, and it¡¯s hard to fight back the tears forming in my eyes from hearing his dismissal of our

    first kiss. My first kiss. It meant nothing to him.

    I didn¡¯t think anything could hurt as much as this did. My heart felt like it was bleeding. I hated this

    feeling so much.

    Why did he have to say that to me? Why?a

 Chapter 92

    Chapter 92

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 92

    Book 2 Chapter 15

    Damon and I didn¡¯t speak for the rest of the ride home. He¡¯d broken my heart, and he didn¡¯t even know

    it.

    Damon and I didn¡¯t speak for the rest of the ride home. He¡¯d broken my heart, and he didn¡¯t even know

    it.

    I closed my eyes when the jeep stopped. I took a deep breath and opened the door before he had a

    chance to do so. Damon usually likes opening my door for me, he didn¡¯t do it every time, but he did it a

    lot in the past.

    I don¡¯t say anything to him as I storm into the house. I walk past Dante and my parents after waving at

    them. I tried not to give anything away. I didn¡¯t want anyone to know how upset I truly was.

    ¡°rissa!¡± Atticus says as he spots me. ¡°d to see that you¡¯re finally back from the beach. How was

    it? And where is Autumn?¡±

    He looks a bit tensed and I think he somehow already knows that we were all at the party. I try to act as

    innocent as possible. Hopefully, Damon could help answer his questions instead.

    ¡°It was okay.¡± I lie. ¡°Autumn is with Griffin. They¡¯re dropping Anya home.¡±

    He frowns, ¡°wasn¡¯t Damon with Anya? Why didn¡¯t he drop her home instead? As far as I know, he had

    a date with her. What is he doing at home with you instead? Did something happen that you guys aren¡¯t

    telling me?¡±

    ¡°Autumn offered,¡± I exin. ¡°She wanted Damon to drop me home.¡±

    He looks confused and slightly suspicious, but he doesn¡¯t bother asking any more questions as he sees

    Damon behind me.

    ¡°So you did end up checking up on rissa after all.¡± Atticus pointed out. ¡°Yet you acted like it wasn¡¯t

    bothering you that she was at the beach earlier today when I asked you.¡±

    My face turns red at his words. Atticus still didn¡¯t know it was all a lie. I don¡¯t wait to hear Damon¡¯s

    response as I rush back to my room.

    I dropped myself onto the bed and fought against the tears that threatened to fall. I¡¯ve been holding it

    back since Damon told me to forget the kiss. I was only trying to exin to him how much the kiss had

    meant to me. I didn¡¯t mean to make him upset.

    Why did it have to be this family? Why did I have to get adopted into his family? I knew I was only

    asking these questions because I couldn¡¯t be with Damon, but it hurt so damn much. I didn¡¯t want

    anyone else but him, and he would never choose to be with me because he¡¯s supposed to act as my

    big brother and nothing else.

    I loved every person in this house, but my love for Damon was on another level. I was crazy about him.

    I would do anything for him. I wasn¡¯t sure if I was doing the right thing, however. I was fighting for him,

    but I wasn¡¯t sure if that was what he wanted. He kept pushing me away every time I tried to get us

    closer to each other.

    I loved every person in this house, but my love for Damon was on another level. I was crazy about him.

    I would do anything for him. I wasn¡¯t sure if I was doing the right thing, however. I was fighting for him,

    but I wasn¡¯t sure if that was what he wanted. He kept pushing me away every time I tried to get us

    closer to each other.

    For the rest of the day, I stayed in bed with my bikini still on. I didn¡¯t bother changing. I was too

    depressed to do anything but lie in bed.

    ¡°rissa?¡± Autumn calls from the doorway a few hourster.

    ¡°Come in.¡±

    She opens the door and joins me on the bed.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t changed?¡± She asks as she notices the same outfit from earlier.

    I sigh, ¡°I¡¯m too depressed to change.¡± I confess.

    She frowns, ¡°depressed? I thought you would be happy. You finally got to kiss Damon, and I also made

    it possible for the both of you to ride home together, alone. Without Anya. And you also sessfully

    ruined their date together.¡±

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    I pout, ¡°thank you so much for earlier. I know you tried so hard to give me everything I wanted, but I

    think we may have caused more damage than good.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± she asks, confused. ¡°What happened to make you think that way? Did Damon say something

    to you?¡±

    I nod, ¡°he did. I tried to tell him how much that kiss meant, but he asked me not to finish my sentence.

    Then he said the kiss should have never happened, and he asked for us never to speak about it again.¡±

    Autumn sighs and hugs me, ¡°I know how much those words must have hurt, but you need to remember

    that Damon has always protected you since the first day his parents adopted you. Even though he

    most likely has feelings for you, it won¡¯t be easy for him to ept. He will feel like he¡¯s betraying his

    parents, and he will feel like he¡¯s betraying Anya. I can speak from experience. It was a little different

    with me since Atticus married me. But I knew how guilty he felt about Anya for a while. He hurt me a lot

    while trying to spare her feelings. Damon is very simr to his brother. It will be harder for him since

    he¡¯s supposed to see you as his younger sister. You¡¯re going to have to be patient with him and also

    with yourself.¡±

    Autumn¡¯s words did make plenty of sense, and she did have more experience than I did when it came

    to things like this.

    Autumn¡¯s words did make plenty of sense, and she did have more experience than I did when it came

    to things like this.

    ¡°Thank you for always making me feel better.¡±

    She smiles, ¡°you¡¯ve always done the same for me. It would be unfair of me if I let you go through all

    these things yourself.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the best, Autumn!¡±

    Sheughs and walks over to the door. ¡°I need to make up with my husband now. He just found out

    that I was at Ares¡¯s party. He¡¯s freaking out a little.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry!¡±

    She waves her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t you apologize for that. It was my idea, to begin with. Get changed and fix

    that frown. I don¡¯t want toe back here and see you like this.¡±

    I nodded, and as soon as she left, I dropped back onto the bed.

    The only good thing about today was my kiss with Damon, and somehow I think that¡¯s probably the

    worst part of his day.

    Autumn was right, however. I had to be more patient with Damon. He¡¯s always protected me from

    harm. It will take some time before he can change from my protector to the man pleasuring me in all

    the ways I dreamed of him doing.

    I blushed at my crazy thoughts.

    There¡¯s a knock on my door, and I freeze. Was that Autumn again? Or could that be Atticusing to

    ask about the party?

    ¡°rissa?¡±

    My eyes widened at that voice.

    Damon.

    What did he want? Earlier he made it seem like he didn¡¯t want to speak to me. Why was he suddenly in

    front of my door?

    Autumn¡¯s words did make plenty of sense, and she did have more experience than I did when it came

    to things like this.

 Chapter 93

    Chapter 93

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 93

    Book 2 Chapter 16

    I rushed to the door but caught myself just in time before I could make a fool of myself. I didn¡¯t have to

    act excited to see him like I usually did. This time, I was upset with him, and he was probably still upset

    with me. I wasn¡¯t sure what had brought him to my door, but I was still happy he¡¯de.

    I slowly pull it open after promising myself to behave. I gaze up at him and try not to be affected by him

    like I usually am. However, it was a total failure. He looked like he¡¯d juste out of the shower. His

    hair was dripping wet, and the white vest clung to his chest in the sexiest way possible.

    Damon¡¯s eyes fall on the bikini still on my body. He frowns for a second before his eyes darken a

    shade.

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you changed?¡± he asks. ¡°It¡¯s been hours since you left the beach house. What have you

    been doing all this time?¡±

    I take a deep breath; be calm, rissa, don¡¯t let his words bring out the worst in you. I was tempted to

    tell him the truth, but ording to Autumn, I had to take things slowly with Damon.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been in bed, sleeping.¡± I lie.

    He looked around my room as though he was searching for proof that I was telling the truth.

    ¡°Did you get any more. .¡± he pauses to look at me. He¡¯s searching my eyes for something, but I don¡¯t

    know what.

    ¡°Any more?¡± I ask, waiting for him to continue.

    ¡°Nightmares.¡± He finishes. ¡°Did you get any more nightmares?¡±

    I cross my arms over my chest and re at him. ¡°Why do you care?¡±

    His jaw tightens, ¡°I always care. When have I ever not cared about your well-being?¡±

    ¡°This morning.¡± I remind him. ¡°When you told me I couldn¡¯t spend another night in the same bed with

    you.¡±

    He swallows, ¡°you know why I said those words to you. Sleeping in the same bed as me is

    inappropriate. I said no to you because of that, not because I didn¡¯t want to be there for you. I told you

    that Autumn would dly stay with you if you need someone with you at night.¡±

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°you don¡¯t get it, do you? I don¡¯t want Autumn, Damon. I want you. You¡¯re the one

    I¡¯m closer to. You¡¯re the one that makes everything easier for me. You¡¯re the only one that would help

    me while I¡¯m going through something that terrifying. Autumn, with her kind heart, would try her best,

    but it wouldn¡¯t be the same as having you there.¡±

    His breath hitched at my confession. He eventually sighs and looks down the corridor. Maybe he¡¯s

    checking to see if anyone wasing our way.

    He turns his attention back to me, and I can see the inner battle that he¡¯s having within himself. ¡°I don¡¯t

    know what you want me to do, rissa. I¡¯m always willing to make everything better for you, but this

    seems like something you can get into serious trouble for. We both can end up in deep trouble. I hate

    putting you in that situation, even if it¡¯s to help you.¡±

    I step closer to him, and his body stiffens at my nearness. I was so close that I could smell everything I

    loved about him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about any of that,¡± I tell him. ¡°So please, do this for me. It¡¯s what I want.¡±

    I can hear his loud breathing and see the concern in the depth of his eyes. He was worried about me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, rissa.¡± He apologizes. ¡°It just seems too wrong. I could never forgive myself if you got into

    trouble for something I gave consent for. I¡¯m supposed to know better. I¡¯m the older one. I¡¯m supposed

    to guide you and protect you.¡±

    Here he was, acting like my big brother again. I didn¡¯t want that. I didn¡¯t want him to be a big brother;

    we were not siblings. I wanted him in apletely different way. Why couldn¡¯t he see that by now?

    I angrily spun around and swung my hips as I made my way back to the bed.

    ¡°What is that on your f*****g a*s rissa?¡± He demands from across the room. His voice echoes

    throughout the room, and I freeze.

    My eyes widen. I looked down to see if I still had the cover-up on. Luckily, it still was there. However, it

    was twisted a little. Could he see the entire tattoo? I quickly adjusted it so that it was fully covering it

    again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about,¡± I answer him, but I can¡¯t hide the nervousness in my voice.

    ¡°CLARISSA.¡± He growls. Why was he saying my name like that? My cheeks were hot as I ced my

    hands on them. Did he see it? Please tell me he didn¡¯t; that would ruin everything. He would think I was

    a freak for getting a tattoo with his name on my a*s.

    I gasped when I heard his footstepsing closer to me. What was wrong with me? Why didn¡¯t I think

    about this when I got up from bed? I didn¡¯t know I could have ever been this stupid. His reaction told

    me that he most likely saw it, but I still wanted to believe that he didn¡¯t.

    I shiver when he grabs my shoulders and slowly turns me around to face him. His hands on my skin

    were hot and felt like it was burning me. And I loved every second of it.

    ¡°Did you get a tattoo?¡± he asks me.

    My eyes widen. Does this mean that he saw the tattoo, or did he only get a glimpse of it?

    ¡°rissa,¡± he growls, growing impatient. ¡°Tell me that my eyes are f*****g deceiving me. Tell me that

    you didn¡¯t put ink on your beautiful skin.¡±

    My body trembles at his tone. My beautiful skin? That was the only thing my mind chose to hear. He

    thought my skin was beautiful?

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± he demands.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t put ink on my skin.¡± I lie. I knew he wouldn¡¯t believe me, but it was worth a try. Judging by his

    choice of words, he hadn¡¯t seen that the tattoo on my a*s was his name. That was the only good thing

    about this situation.

    His breath rasped in his throat as he tried to find the right words to say to me.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± He says between his shallow breaths. ¡°You¡¯re lying to me, rissa. You¡¯re f*****g lying.¡±

 Chapter 94

    Chapter 94

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 94

    Book 2 Chapter 17

    I bit my lip, and he surprised me when he pulled my bottom lip from under my teeth with his fingers,

    ¡°don¡¯t do that in front of me.¡±

    Couldn¡¯t I bite my lip in front of him anymore? It didn¡¯t bother him in the past. Why did it bother him

    now? He¡¯s confusing me with his words and actions. I have no idea what it means anymore.

    ¡°So maybe I did get a small tattoo,¡± I mumble. ¡°I don¡¯t see why it¡¯s such a big deal to you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to lie to him anymore. But at the same time, I was unwilling to tell him I¡¯d gotten a tattoo of

    his name.

    He swallows, ¡°I thought we told each other everything.¡±

    ¡°Why are you so upset about this?¡± I ask him. ¡°Why does it bother you?¡±

    I was not going to let this go. I wanted an answer to my question.

    I watch the frustration on his face as he tries toe to terms with what I¡¯ve done.

    ¡°Because all of the things that you do, no matter how small they are, it always affect me.¡± He finally

    answers me.

    My lips part at his confession. I couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d just admitted that to me. Was it true? Did

    everything I do really affect him so badly?

    ¡°How does it affect you?¡± I whisper as I search his eyes. How does a tattoo affect him? It¡¯s on my body,

    not his. Unless he already knew that the tattoo had his name on it. I quickly dispose of that thought. He

    doesn¡¯t know. I¡¯ll know when he does.

    He takes a deep breath, ¡°I love your skin just the way it is. You didn¡¯t need to get a tattoo. It was

    already beautiful.¡±

    I sighed; I had to exin to him that I didn¡¯t get it just for the sake of getting one.

    ¡°That tattoo holds sentimental value to me,¡± I exin. ¡°I didn¡¯t get it because I wanted to see what it

    would look like. I got it because it actually means something to me. I got it because it helped me be

    closer to someone I know I¡¯ll never get the chance to be that close with.¡±

    His eyes narrow, ¡°you got it because of someone?¡±

    I pause and immediately realize my mistake.

    I bite my lip; I¡¯d said too much. I kept making the same mistakes over and over again. What would he

    think of me if he assumed that I¡¯d gotten the tattoo for some random guy that he¡¯d never heard about

    before?

    ¡°Forget I said anything,¡± I tell him. There was no way I would show him whose name was on my a*s. I

    knew I would cause more damage than good if I let him believe it was for a guy, but I had to do it.

    I knew that one day soon when I thought it was the right time, I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to show him. For now,

    I¡¯ll let him believe what he wants to.

    He suddenlyughs, and it surprises me. What was so funny? It didn¡¯t seem like a genuineugh, more

    like a sarcastic one.

    I watch as he runs a hand through his hair and steps back from me.

    ¡°Clearly, I don¡¯t know you as well as I thought I did.¡± He whispers more to himself than me.

    ¡°Damon!¡± I try to stop him. I¡¯d somehow hurt him with my words.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, rissa.¡± He stops me. ¡°I¡¯m not upset with you. Never with you. I wasn¡¯t upset with you

    earlier either; I lied.¡±

    I watch as he walks out of the room and closes my door behind him. He doesn¡¯t even wait for me to

    respond. He may not be upset with me, but he did seem to be hurt. I stoodpletely still for at least

    ten minutes, thinking of how to make this better. My rtionship with Damon has never been this

    strained before. My desperation to get him to see me how I saw him was beginning to create problems

    between us.

    I had to make things right.

    After showering and finally changing from the bikini into jeans and a top, I decided it was time to leave

    my room for at least an hour. If I kept locking myself inside here, my family would know that something

    was wrong. I didn¡¯t want them to start showing interest in my life and the crazy things I¡¯ve been up to

    lately.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    Besides, I wanted to speak with Damon again. I didn¡¯t like where ourst conversation had ended.

    Everyone was having dinner when I got downstairs.

    ¡°Finally, rissa,¡± Atticus says as he spots me. ¡°I¡¯ve heard you had a very exciting day today. It¡¯s good

    you came down for dinner after locking yourself in the room for so long.¡±

    Did he hear everything? Did he find out that I kissed Damon while ying a game?

    I don¡¯t think he did; his reaction would have been worse than this.

    ¡°I¡¯ll rather not talk about today,¡± Griffin says; he was still traumatized from seeing me kiss Damon.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± Autumn says with a f****d smile. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about today.¡±

    Atticus quirks a brow at her, and I can tell he wasn¡¯t finished speaking to her about today. He may be

    quiet now, but they would have more to talk aboutter.

    Damon walks into the room and sees me. His eyes lingered on me for a second before he took the seat

    furthest away from me. It hurt. Damon always sits next to me at the dining table.

    ¡°Did you two get into some kind of a fight?¡± Atticus asks. He was the first to notice what Damon had

    just done.

    ¡°No.¡± Damon answers him before I can say anything.

    I force a smile on my face, ¡°of course not.¡±

    Griffin quirks a brow as he looks between the two of us. I know he¡¯s wondering if the kiss had pushed

    us further apart.

    ¡°What exactly happened today?¡± Dante asks as he looks at the four of us.

    ¡°Nothing for us to speak about,¡± Autumn says. ¡°Let¡¯s just have a nice dinner.¡±

    Grandfather walks in just then. It was good to see him after he¡¯d left us for a while.

    ¡°Why do you kids look so unhappy?¡± He asks. ¡°Especially you, my rissa.¡±

    He, as well as my adoptive grandmother, were always very loving toward me. They took care of me like

    I was their biological grandchild.

    I take a bite of the fried chicken in front of me and chew quickly. I couldn¡¯t hide my nervousness. I was

    scared that everyone would find out what I did today.

    ¡°Damon and she seems to be fighting. And from the looks of it, this fight might be a serious one.¡± He

    informs him.

    Grandfather sighs and takes Damon¡¯s spot next to me.

    ¡°Fights are normal between siblings. They will get over this.¡± He says.

    I almost choke on my food after hearing him call us siblings. Every time someone referred to us as that,

    I felt sick to my stomach. Did Damon ever feel the same way I did, or was he more upset that I had

    crossed a line today?

    The rest of the dinner passes very quietly. No one says a word after that. Everyone except grandfather.

    He kept talking about the past and how different things were when our grandmother was around. He

    loved talking about her, and we loved listening to his stories.

    Damon doesn¡¯t even finish his dinner when he gets up and leaves without saying a word to anyone. I

    bite my lip and slowly let go of it as I remember what he said earlier.

    I wanted to follow him, but not when everyone stared at me, waiting for my reaction. I force a smile one

    more time and wait at least five minutes before I excuse myself.

    I went to his room, but to my disappointment, he wasn¡¯t there. I ran back down the stairs and walked

    outside. His jeep was still in the garage. Where was he?

    ¡°Do you know where Damon went?¡± I ask one of the guards.

    He nods, ¡°he went for a run, miss.¡±

    I thanked him and ran out of the gates, searching the roadside for him. He wasn¡¯t there either. He must

    have gone into the forest.

    I needed to speak to him. I had to see Damon.

    I knew they didn¡¯t like me going into the forest without someone with me, but I wasn¡¯t technically alone

    if Damon was ahead of me.

    I didn¡¯t waste a second thought as I followed his scent.

    He couldn¡¯t have gotten far. I kept running for a few minutes before finally stopping when I saw three

    vampires in front of me.

    ¡°What is a pretty girl like you doing in the woods alone?¡± One of them asks.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking for someone,¡± I answer them.

    ¡°I assume we¡¯re the ones you¡¯re looking for.¡± Another onements.

    I press my lips tightly together and re at him. ¡°I don¡¯t want any trouble. It was nice talking to you, but

    I have somewhere that I need to be right now.¡±

    I make an attempt to go around them, but one of them grabs my shoulder.

    I sigh, ¡°are you going to make this difficult? My family is not far from here. Maybe you¡¯ve heard of them.

    The Fawns. If you¡¯re smart, you¡¯ll step away from me, and no one will get hurt.¡±

    ¡°The Fawns?¡± Theyugh. ¡°If you were one of them, you wouldn¡¯t be out in these dangerous woods by

    yourself.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m rissa Fawn.¡± I introduce myself.

    One of the vampires takes a few steps closer to me, ¡°you mean the adopted girl? No wonder you¡¯re out

    here by yourself. They don¡¯t actually care about you. You¡¯re not their real child.¡±

    I don¡¯t even flinch at his words because I know it¡¯s not true.

    ¡°Can you let me go?¡± I demand from the vampire, that still has his hand on my shoulder.

    ¡°I will.¡± He answers me. ¡°Right after, we have a little fun together.¡±

    I felt my nails grow sharper, and before he has time to prepare, I scratch his face, making sure to get a

    good piece of his eye.

    He screams from the pain, and I use that opportunity to grab him by his neck and squeeze hard.

    The other vampires move swiftly around me. One grabs my hair, and the other bites down on my

    shoulder. I scream as I felt his teeth pierce my skin.

    A piercing howl covered my scream, and before I knew it, Damon¡¯s wolf was on top of us. It takes him

    seconds, f*****g seconds to kill the vampires in front of me.

    I¡¯m left with a lot of blood on my body and a bite wound on my shoulder.

    I¡¯m suddenly hit with a feeling of dizziness. Damon catches me; I hadn¡¯t even realized he¡¯d shifted back

    to his human form.

    ¡°He poisoned you,¡± Damon growls as he examines my shoulder.

    ¡°rissa?¡± He calls my name, and I can hear the panic in his voice.

    I try my best not to cry in front of him. I didn¡¯t want him to know how much it hurt. But it did. It was the

    first time I¡¯d been bitten by a vampire, and it was just as horrible as everyone had described to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to suck the poison out of your body rissa.¡± He tells me gently as he cradles me in

    his arms.

    I gasped when his lips touched my skin without warning. I tried to grab his hair with one hand as he

    continued to suck the poison out of my body. He stops and spits it onto the ground. I try to stay awake.

    It wasn¡¯t good to fall unconscious after a vampire poisoned you.

    Besides, I know this was the wrong time to have my inappropriate thoughts, but I loved the feeling of

    Damon¡¯s mouth on my body. I wanted to be awake to remember this.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy I got bitten by the vampire,¡± I whisper through the pain.

    Damon paused for a second on my shoulder but soon continued removing as much of the poison as he

    could.

    I turned my face slightly to the side of me so I could look at him while he was saving me yet again.

    He¡¯s saved me so many ways, and he doesn¡¯t even realize it yet.

    He stops, and I can¡¯t hide the disappointment that I feel.

    ¡°We need to get you home. A doctor needs to see you and ensure the poison is out.¡± He informs me.

    ¡°No.¡± I stop him. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave. I want to stay here with you.¡±

    He gazes down at me in his arms, and it¡¯s only then that I realize he¡¯spletely n***d beneath me. If I

    weren¡¯t still so dizzy from the vampire¡¯s bite, I would have been losing my mind all now.

    ¡°rissa.¡± He says in the calmest way possible. ¡°I can¡¯t stay here with you and not have a doctor take

    a look at you. You can barely open your eyes.¡±

    I fought against the pain in my body and f****d myself to shift slightly to wrap my arms around his neck.

    My face is pressed against his chest as I listen to the pounding of his heart.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. You saved me. You got the poison out of my body.¡± I promise him. ¡°I don¡¯t need to see a

    doctor.¡±

    ¡°You are not fine.¡± He growls.

    I cry out suddenly from a sharp pain in my arm.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Damon asks as he tries to help me.

    Thest time I felt something like this was the same day the evil witch had tried to kill me in front of my

    family.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I confess. ¡°My arm is hurting.¡±

    He runs his hands over it, and just like that, the pain disappears. It¡¯s almost like my body responded to

    his touch.

    ¡°How did you do that?¡± I ask in shock.

    ¡°Do what?¡± He asks.

    ¡°Stop the pain,¡± I exin.

    Suddenly the bodies of the vampires next to us go up into mes. My eyes widen at the sight in front of

    me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± I whisper. ¡°Did you set them on fire?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± He answers me in amazement. ¡°Something crazy is happening right now.¡±

    He picked me up into his arms, and I held onto him as he walked with me through the forest.

    ¡°I told you I didn¡¯t want to leave yet,¡± Iin.

    ¡°And I told you that we need to get you home. Quickly. Besides, I don¡¯t know what the hell just

    happened. We need to get out of this forest.¡± He tells me.

    ¡°Damon,¡± I whisper. ¡°I want to stay here. With you.¡±

    He closes his eyes for a second as he stops walking. ¡°Why? Why do you want to stay here with me

    instead of letting a doctor take a look at your shoulder, rissa?¡±

    ¡°Because I need to make things better between us,¡± I whisper. ¡°You¡¯re upset with me. Or you¡¯re upset

    about our situation. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s bothering you, but I want to fix it. I can¡¯t stand us being so

    distant from each other. I¡¯m not used to it.¡±

    He takes a deep breath and starts to walk again.

    ¡°Damon!¡± I snap and wince as my head immediately starts to hurt from shouting.

    He stops walking again. ¡°We can talk about this after when you¡¯re better. I want to make sure that

    you¡¯re out of any danger rissa. You know how dangerous a vampire¡¯s bite can be. You¡¯re lucky he

    didn¡¯t try to turn you into one of them. We must ensure that the poison has left your body and can¡¯t hurt

    you anymore.¡±

    I was tired of this. He wasn¡¯t listening to me. I was trying to improve things between us but apparently,

    Damon was okay with how bad things had gotten between us recently. The more I thought about it, the

    angrier I got. The dizziness was slowly fading away and I knew I could walk on my own now. I didn¡¯t

    need him to carry me anymore. If he didn¡¯t want to listen to me, I wouldn¡¯t listen to him either. I would

    make things very difficult for him.

    ¡°Put me down.¡± I snap.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Put me down, Damon.¡±

    His hands tighten around me. ¡°I¡¯m not letting you go, not until I get you home.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t let me go, I will scream,¡± I warn him.

    ¡°rissa.¡± He warns. ¡°Why are you being so difficult? I¡¯m trying to protect you.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t let me go, I will do even worse than scream since that doesn¡¯t seem to scare you at all,¡± I

    warn him.

    He looks at me like I¡¯ve lost my mind, and maybe I have lost my mind.

    ¡°What do you think will be worse than screaming?¡± He asks, suddenly amused. ¡°Are you nning on

    hitting me?¡±

    I narrow my eyes. ¡°No. I¡¯m nning on kissing you if you don¡¯t let me go. You know, as I did in the

    game.¡±

    He freezes, and I can see the panic immediately begin to sink into his eyes.

    He doesn¡¯t let go of me like I expected him to do, but he does look more alert now.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t do something that crazy.¡±

    ¡°As you can see, I have my strength again. I will do it if you continue to go against my wishes.¡± I warn

    him for thest time.

    Damon sighs and resumes walking with me still in his arms. I couldn¡¯t believe him. He didn¡¯t think I had

    it in me to follow through with my threat.

    I¡¯ll show him!

    I grab his hair and pull him down to meet my mouth halfway. His mouth opens in shock at my kiss, and

    I use that opportunity to thrust my tongue between his lips. Damon stayedpletely still against my

    lips like he¡¯d done earlier at the game until he realized he had no choice but to kiss me back.

    ¡°rissa.¡± He growls against my lips. ¡°Stop this.¡±

    I broke the kiss long enough to whisper, ¡°I¡¯ll stop it when you let me go.¡±

    When he didn¡¯t let me go, I wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. He lets me kiss

    him, and I¡¯m surprised he¡¯s letting me go this far. I wrapped my legs around his waist and buried my

    hands in his hair. I could feel the hunger inside of me intensify. The more I kissed him, the more I

    wanted even more of him.

    ¡°rissa.¡± He growls.

    I bite down on his bottom lip hard and run my tongue over it. Damon shivers under my touch, and I¡¯m

    unsure if I¡¯m finally getting a reaction out of him. Maybe I imagined it.

    He grabs my hair and pulls my face away from his. His breathing is loud enough to hear as he res at

    me with dark eyes. ¡°Do you know how f*****g wrong this is, rissa? This isn¡¯t some f*****g game.

    You¡¯re ying with our lives.¡±

    ¡°I warned you.¡± I remind him. ¡°You¡¯re the one that wasn¡¯t listening to me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I didn¡¯t think you would do something like that!¡± He eximed.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t let me go, it will only worsen.¡± I threaten him.

    He red at me, and his hands slowly let go of me, but my arms were still wrapped around his neck. I

    attempted to climb down from him when I felt something hard pressed against my a*s. My eyes widen

    as I peer up at him.

    He doesn¡¯t even look surprised. His re tells me that I am the culprit.

    I couldn¡¯t believe it. Damon was aroused, very aroused. And this time, I knew it was because of me. I

    was sure of it.

    I¡¯m tempted to look down at it. I mean, he was still n***d, and I could feel it more now that he didn¡¯t

    have any clothes on. It was warm, very warm.

    ¡°Are you not climbing down from me?¡± He asks. ¡°I¡¯m no longer holding onto you.¡±

    I clear my throat, ¡°Damon. . .I can feel¡ª¡±

    He growls and pulls me off his body. I fell t on the ground. I lift my head, and I can finally see it. He¡¯s

    long, hard, and pulsing for me. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever stared at something the way I was staring now. I

    know I¡¯m making a fool of myself, but I don¡¯t know how to look away.

    ¡°Ah fuck.¡± Damon growls as he turns away from me.

    He pushes his head back and stares at the sky. I¡¯m not sure what he¡¯s trying to do, but maybe he¡¯s

    trying to get it back to its normal size.

    ¡°There¡¯s a bag with clothes on one of the trees nearby.¡± He tells me. ¡°I¡¯m going to get dressed. Don¡¯t go

    anywhere.¡±

    I knew what tree he was speaking about. This part of the forest often had clothes in bags for us. Plenty

    of clothes were provided by our family for situations just like this one.

    My cheeks are burning as I watch him leave. Even his a*s was a sight to see. When the hell had my

    mind turned to this inappropriate monster? All I could think about was what his body could do to mine,

    especially after what I¡¯d just seen. I¡¯ve always imagined what it would look like, but I didn¡¯t have to

    imagine anymore.

    I didn¡¯t move from my spot, not after what had just happened. I¡¯m not sure what this means for Damon

    and me. Things kept getting crazier by the second, and I wasn¡¯t sure how to keep track of everything.

    I can¡¯t look at Damon when he walks over to me, fully clothed. But somehow, I could do it when he was

    n***d in front of me. I didn¡¯t understand myself at times.

    Damon sighs, ¡°I think you understand that this, just like this kiss isn¡¯t something I¡¯ll like to speak about

    again.¡±

    I finally look at him, but it¡¯s to re at him with anger.

    He runs a hand down his face. ¡°And now you¡¯re angry again. I don¡¯t know what the hell you want from

    me, rissa, but this is so unlike you.¡±

    I ignored the hand that he was offering as I finally picked myself off the ground. I didn¡¯t bother listening

    to anything else he had to say to me as I walked out of the forest.

    Why was he so clueless? Couldn¡¯t he tell by my actions that I wanted him? Why was he constantly

    pushing me away?

    . . . . . . . . .

    ~ANYA~

    Being a good girl was not working in my favor. I was trying to y nice to fool the others, but somehow

    rissa still seemed to be getting closer to Damon. If I didn¡¯t act fast, I would lose Damon the same

    way that I¡¯d lost Atticus.

    I didn¡¯t want to bring up marriage until I thought it was a perfect time, but I realize now that I don¡¯t have

    much time left.

    This meant that I had no choice but to let go of Dante. They wouldn¡¯t allow me to marry Damon unless I

    were sure that he was the one I wanted. If I had done this since the beginning, I would have never lost

    Atticus. I took too long to choose him because of my mother. This time, I wouldn¡¯t make the same

    mistakes. My mother was no longer here, and I was the one left to make the hard decisions. I can only

    hope that this time my ns will work.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally home.¡± Willow, my younger sister, says as I walk into the living room. She looks lonely as

    she wrinkles her nose and closes the book she is reading.

    ¡°I am,¡± I say.

    ¡°Where did you go?¡± She asks me. ¡°It gets lonely here now that mother is no longer around.¡±

    I close my eyes as I felt instant heartache at her words. I still hadn¡¯t gotten over my mother¡¯s death.

    The wounds in my heart were still fresh.

    ¡°I was out with a friend,¡± I answer her. It wasn¡¯t exactly a lie. I couldn¡¯t tell her that I was nning on

    getting married or even that I was in a rtionship with two brothers. She wouldn¡¯t be able to

    understand anything.

    ¡°When are you going to introduce me to your friends?¡± She asks me. It wasn¡¯t the first time she¡¯d asked

    me this question.

    ¡°Very soon.¡± I lie.

    I¡¯ve kept the truth about my family from the Fawns for obvious reasons. I couldn¡¯t introduce her to them

    now. Willow wasn¡¯t aware of what mother and I had done. And if it were up to me, she would never find

    out. It was my duty to protect my sister from the things we¡¯d done. She didn¡¯t have to get tied up in all

    of this, it¡¯s what my mother would have wanted; for me to keep her out of this.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait.¡± She tells me with a bright smile. Willow was only sixteen; she was turning seventeen in a

    few months. I didn¡¯t want to get her involved in my mess. I wanted to protect her as our mother

    protected her in the past before she died and left us both.

    I took a seat on the couch next to her, and she ced her head on my legs. I gently squeezed her head

    as I thought about ways to convince Damon to marry me. Once I convinced him, everything would work

    in my favor. Everything.

 Chapter 95

    Chapter 95

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 95

    Book 2 Chapter 18

    ~DAMON~

    ¡°What the f**k is wrong with you?¡± I demand from myself.

    I¡¯m inside my room. With the door locked. Lying on my bed. With my eyes closed and all I could think

    about was her. Not Anya. No. I was thinking about rissa.

    rissa.

    She was the only one on my f*****g mind. I tried to get her out of my head, but I couldn¡¯t.

    I couldn¡¯t no matter how hard I tried.

    I couldn¡¯t f*****g trust myself around her anymore. That¡¯s why I locked my door tonight. I couldn¡¯t risk

    hering inside here and asking me to let her sleep in the same bed as me for a second time. I

    almost didn¡¯t survive thest time that had happened. I couldn¡¯t allow myself to lose control. I had to

    keep fighting back as much as I could.

    If I let her sleep in the same bed with me again, there¡¯s no telling what would happen.

    No. Just the thought of it terrified me. She couldn¡¯t stay in the same bed with me, not again, never

    again.

    Not after what happened today in that forest. rissa kept on shocking me. She¡¯d kissed me not once

    but twice. I never thought I would kiss her in this lifetime, but she found a way to make it happen.

    Both times, not kissing her back was one of the hardest things I¡¯ve ever had to do in my life.

    My d**k hardened and demanded attention at just the thought of the way she¡¯d stared at it.

    I swallow.

    I couldn¡¯t get the look in her eyes out of my head. I thought rissa would have looked away. I thought

    she would have gotten shy and done anything to get away. I was standing still, letting her see the

    monster that my d**k was; I wanted to scare her. I wanted her to turn away and never look back.

    However, the sweet girl that I once thought was innocent widened her eyes and openly stared at my

    f*****g d**k. My d**k was as hard as a rock for her. Hard because she kissed me. A damn kiss! She

    didn¡¯t have to touch me anywhere else; all she had to was kiss me, and I was ready to drop to my

    knees in front of her and do anything she asked me to do.

    Even now, she had me wrapped around her tiny fingers.

    I kept denying the attraction and s****l tension between rissa and me. But this time, I couldn¡¯t deny it

    any longer. After today, I couldn¡¯t deny the obvious.

    I f*****g wanted her. I wanted a girl that was supposed to be like a sister to me. f**k, she had myst

    name. She was considered my sister by most outsiders. Yet, I knew I could never see her as my sister.

    I would always be protective of her, but not because I wanted to be her f*****g brother. I wanted

    something else. Something that I could never have.

    The tension between rissa and me had just increased after today. It would be even harder to control

    my need to have her, but I didn¡¯t care what I had to do; I must fight it.

    I still had a f*****g mate, damn it. I was betraying her trust by encouraging this thing between rissa

    and me. And what sense would that make when we could never be anything but siblings? That¡¯s what

    the world saw us as; it¡¯s what our family saw us as. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to change everyone¡¯s minds

    and make them see us as anything else.

    I knew I had to speak to rissa. I knew I had to exin to her how wrong this was. But it was hard to

    exin anything to her. She was stubborn. She wouldn¡¯t listen to me. Instead, she would do something

    drastic to make me change my mind. I was avoiding that from happening as much as I possibly could.

    When rissa was determined to get something, she didn¡¯t give up until she¡¯d gotten it.

    I¡¯d made her angry multiple times today, but I was only trying to protect her from herself. She wasn¡¯t

    thinking about the future; she wasn¡¯t thinking about her life and what would happen if anyone ever

    discovered everything that had happened between us recently.

    Why did I ever think I could get over the strong urge to have her?

    All this time, I thought it would be easy because rissa didn¡¯t see me as anything but a brother, the

    way it was supposed to be. But now I¡¯m beginning to realize how wrong I¡¯ve been this entire time.

    Someone who saw someone else as a brother wouldn¡¯t stare at his f*****g d**k like it was something

    she wanted to eat.

    I punched the wall behind me; I needed to stop thinking about her staring at it. f**k. Why did she do

    that? How long has rissa wanted me? How long has she craved for things I thought I alone craved?

    I¡¯d wanted her so f*****g much today. So much that it f*****g hurt like a motherfucker. I still want her.

    Even now, I¡¯m hard for her. And it might be hard for days toe if I didn¡¯t get the release I needed.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    She didn¡¯t know what she was doing to me. Well, now she might have a fair idea after seeing it for

    herself. It would be hard to convince her that it had nothing to do with her. I had to find a way to make

    her give up on this thing she was trying to achieve. It would only harm her. It would only bring pain, and

    she didn¡¯t realize that. rissa didn¡¯t realize how horrible things could be if she continued down

    this path.

    I had to find a way to show her. I had to find a way to convince her.

    Protecting her has always been the most important thing to me. That would never change.

    I knew that my words hurt her today, and that wasn¡¯t easy for me to do. If I wanted her to stop this

    madness, my words would only get harsher. I wasn¡¯t prepared to hurt her. I wasn¡¯t prepared to break

    her heart. But if that was the only way to protect her from herself, it had to be done.

    But first, I needed to find the damn strength to do it. I needed to remind myself why this had to be done.

    I needed to remind myself that I couldn¡¯t have her. I couldn¡¯t have rissa. I could never have her.

    She¡¯s not mine to keep. She never was.

 Chapter 96

    Chapter 96

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 96

    Book 2 Chapter 19

    ~CLARISSA~

    ¡°How did this even happen?¡± Atticus asks me. ¡°Why did you go out into the woods alone?¡±

    It was the next day after getting attacked by vampires. The doctor had already seen me yesterday and

    confirmed that the poison was out of my body. I was already back to normal, which meant everyone

    around me was ready to ask some questions. I¡¯d already gotten plenty of questions for the morning, I

    guess it was now Atticus¡¯s turn to ask.

    He didn¡¯t look happy with me at all. In fact, he looked extremely disappointed that I would put my life in

    danger like that. In my defense, I didn¡¯t think I would bounce up three vampires in the middle of the

    woods. I was hoping to meet up with Damon, but no one else.

    ¡°I wanted to join Damon on his run,¡± I answer him. ¡°The guard informed me that he went for a run. I

    wanted to catch up with him, but the vampires saw me before I could make it any further. I didn¡¯t think I

    would be in danger when Damon was also there. Besides, it wasn¡¯t that far from our home either.¡±

    He takes a deep breath and I try to prepare myself for his words.

    ¡°Do you know how dangerous your actions were, rissa?¡± Atticus demands from me. ¡°You could

    have waited for Damon to return. You didn¡¯t have to go after him. I know you two are having a fight, but

    it can¡¯t be so important that you would risk getting hurt.¡±

    He was wrong. It was important. I felt like I was running out of time, and I had to fix things with Damon

    before I lost him. Atticus wouldn¡¯t understand this even if I tried to exin it; that¡¯s why I refused to say

    anything in return. It would be better if he thought I agreed with him.

    Yesterday, things took a turn for the worst. If I thought things were bad between Damon and me before,

    I was clearly in for a surprise. Every day we have been pushed further apart from each other.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what were the proper steps to take anymore. If I sat back and did nothing, Damon would

    never make the first move. I knew him; he was not like that. And when I attempted to get closer to him,

    he pushed me further apart. Nothing was going how I wanted it to go.

    Damon walks into the living room then and looks at Atticus and me; he quirks a brow, he¡¯s probably

    wondering about the conversation we were having.

    ¡°Did you know she was following you into those woods?¡± Atticus asks him.

    Damon narrows his eyes, ¡°do you think I would ever allow that if I knew she would do something like

    that?¡±

    Atticus sighs, ¡°I want you both to talk about whatever it is bothering you. It¡¯s causing too much trouble

    already. We¡¯re not used to the two of you fighting. You¡¯re old enough to fix this before it gets worse.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t something that could be easily fixed. Atticus wouldn¡¯t know that because he didn¡¯t know what

    we¡¯d been up to recently.

    ¡°I can¡¯t have that discussion with rissa today.¡± Damon answers him. ¡°I have to meet Anya today.

    There¡¯s something important that she wants to discuss with me.¡±

    Something important? My body immediately stiffens at his words. His eyes fall on my fingers, gripping

    my dress tightly. He swallows, and before Atticus can respond, he¡¯s already out of the room.

    I couldn¡¯t believe this. What could they possibly have to talk about that was so important? Was she

    going to bring up the kiss from the game to him again? Would she demand something from him in

    return for her forgiveness? I knew how sneaky Anya was; I should have known she would be up to

    something.

    ¡°Why do you look so worried?¡± Atticus asks me. ¡°I¡¯ve been noticing a change in you recently, rissa.

    I¡¯ve also noticed the tension between you and Damon. I want you to know that you can always talk to

    me if you need someone to talk to.¡±

    I look to Autumn for help. She¡¯d just walked into the room. She cleared her throat and asked Atticus to

    help her with something. I thanked her with my eyes, and she smiled.

    I wanted to speak with Damon before he left, but we weren¡¯t on speaking terms afterst night. I didn¡¯t

    want to be the one to start a conversation between us.

    I just had to hope that Anya didn¡¯t have anything nned that could ruin my life.

    . . . . . . . . . .

    ~DAMON~

    I met Anya for lunch at her favorite restaurant. Whatever she wanted to discuss with me had to be very

    important. She made me promise that I wouldn¡¯t end our date early this time like I¡¯d donest time

    because of rissa.

    ¡°Is there a special asion?¡± I asked her as I saw the beautiful white dress that she had on.

    She smiles, ¡°there is something special about to happen.¡±

    I quirk a brow and take a seat opposite her. ¡°Do you mind telling me what all of this is about?¡±

    ¡°Before I tell you why we are here, there¡¯s something that I wanted to discuss with you first.¡± She

    exins.

    I nod, ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

    I was worried that she would bring up what had happened yesterday. I wasn¡¯t sure how I would be able

    to make it up to her. But ording to Autumn, she was just as guilty for kissing someone other than me

    in the game.

    I would have felt less guilty if I didn¡¯t have inappropriate thoughts about rissa the entire time.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided that I can¡¯t go on having a rtionship with both you and Dante.¡± She blurts out.

    I stop moving, shocked to my core. What did she mean by this? Was she saying what I thought she

    was?

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± I finally say. ¡°What do you mean by this? Are you breaking up with both of us?¡±

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    Sheughs, ¡°why would you think that?¡±

    What was she so happy about? For years she couldn¡¯t choose between us. When Atticus got married,

    she went almost crazy from the pain of seeing him with someone else. How could she be this calm

    after announcing something this important?

    ¡°I¡¯m just repeating what you¡¯re saying to me,¡± I tell her.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided that I want to be with you.¡± She finally confessed. ¡°Only you. I don¡¯t want anyone else but

    you, Damon.¡±

    My lips parted at her words. Ever since I fell in love with Anya, that¡¯s all I¡¯ve ever hoped to hear from

    her mouth. I thought that my life would beplete once she said those words to me, but all I felt right

    now was gut-wrenching panic.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want Dante?¡± I asked; I needed to confirm it with her first.

    She nods with a bright smile, ¡°I don¡¯t want your brother. I want you. And to show you how serious I am,

    I want us to get married by the end of this month. I want to have yourst name. I want to be

    completely yours.¡±

 Chapter 97

    Chapter 97

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 97

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    Book 2 Chapter 20

    ~DAMON~

    Marriage?

    ¡°Marriage?¡± I repeat. ¡°You want to marry me?¡±

    She nods, ¡°I was waiting for the right moment to ask you. I think today is a perfect time.¡±

    I frown, ¡°shouldn¡¯t I be the one to ask you?¡±

    She sighs, ¡°I don¡¯t want to wait, Damon. I want to have you now. I want us to be one. I want you to

    mark me andplete our bond. It was a hard decision for me to let go of Dante. It was one of the

    hardest things I¡¯ve ever done besides watching Atticus marry someone else, even though I was still in

    love with him. This time, I know what I want. This time, I will not lose the man in my heart.¡±

    I leaned back in my chair; my heart was racing, and so was my mind. I never thought this day would

    evere this quickly. I thought Dante and I would fight for her affection for most of our lives. Now I

    realize that I was wrong. Somehow, Anya has decided that I¡¯m the one that she wants.

    I want to be happy. I truly do, then why do I feel so conflicted?

    ¡°Have you spoken to Dante about all of this?¡± I ask her. ¡°Do you know if he¡¯s okay with us getting

    married? It can¡¯t be easy for him. He loves you just as much as I love you.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°I thought that we could do this together. I don¡¯t want to be the one to break his heart, but I

    know that it has to be done.¡±

    This was not good. This could cause a drift in my rtionship with my brother. We always knew there

    was a possibility that this day would happen, and we always hoped that Anya would choose the one

    she truly wanted.

    ¡°I thought you would have been happier than this.¡± She frowns. ¡°You always told me how hard it¡¯s been

    for you to see me with your brothers in the past. You always told me that you wished that I was only

    yours. Then, why are you acting like I¡¯ve given you the worst news possible?¡±

    It¡¯s true. Seeing her with Dante and Atticus was always so damn hard. I spent most days wishing that

    she was only mine. It was like that for a while but things had changed recently. Ever since Autumn

    married Atticus and rissa started acting differently, my feelings had be a puzzle. A puzzle that I

    hadn¡¯t figured out as yet. I was still trying to figure out what I truly wanted. I was still trying to figure out

    what were the right decisions to make in my life.

    I swallowed; I couldn¡¯t tell her the truth.

    ¡°I am happy.¡± I lie. ¡°I do want to marry you, Anya. I¡¯m just worried that Dante would hate me for the rest

    of my life for marrying you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± She says as she holds my hand. ¡°Dante knows that he would have also married me if I

    had chosen him. He knows that he wouldn¡¯t have denied me because of you. He will be understanding.

    He won¡¯t hate you. I promise you this.¡±

    I take a deep breath. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is the right thing to do, Anya. I feel like another wedding is the

    last thing our family wants right now. It hasn¡¯t been that long since Autumn and Atticus got married.

    These things take time to prepare. I don¡¯t want to throw this onto my family without any warning.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to shock rissa. She was the main person I was worried about. I was scared of how she

    would react if she found out I was marrying Anya. Things between us were still in a mess; I hadn¡¯t fixed

    it yet. I would only make things worse if I announced my wedding.

    ¡°Damon,¡± Anya whispers. ¡°Please don¡¯t say no to me. I chose you. I could have chosen Dante, but I

    chose to be with you. Please don¡¯t break my heart. I want to marry you, and I don¡¯t care about the

    consequences. So please, say yes.¡±

    I could see the tears in her eyes, which was one of my weaknesses. She knew I could never see her

    cry.

    I still didn¡¯t want to tell her yes. I still didn¡¯t want to hurt rissa.

    f**k.

    What the hell was I supposed to do in this situation? Should I say yes or no?

    If I rejected Anya today, I would never be able to forgive myself. If I said yes to her, I would risk

    destroying my rtionship with rissa for good.

    But if I didn¡¯t marry Anya, rissa would continue trying to make moves on me. Dangerous moves that

    could destroy her peace for the rest of her life.

    The more I thought about it, the more it seemed that marrying Anya was the right thing to do.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I finally agree. ¡°If you want to get married, we will get married.¡±

    Her eyes lit up at my words, and she hugged me tightly. I wrapped my arms around her as my heart

    pounded in my chest.

    I wasn¡¯t sure I was doing the right thing, but I couldn¡¯t turn back now. I¡¯d already said yes. The hard part

    hadn¡¯t even begun yet. My parents were not very fond of Anya; however, recently, they have been nicer

    to her. It¡¯s possible that they were warming up to her.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if that was enough for them to agree on us marrying.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to tell everyone!¡± She shouts.

    I slowly pull her away from her to look into her eyes, ¡°I don¡¯t think we should announce this right away.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± She demands. ¡°I¡¯m so happy to announce it to the world. What are you waiting on? Why

    can¡¯t we announce it?¡±

    I wanted the chance to tell rissa before the announcement was made. I wanted to make things right

    between us before she found out the news. I knew that she wasn¡¯t going to ept this easily. rissa

    didn¡¯t like Anya; she never did.

    ¡°I want to tell my family,¡± I exin to her. ¡°I want to ease them into this news.¡±

    ¡°Why do you have to do that?¡± she demands. ¡°Won¡¯t they be happy that you¡¯re marrying me?¡±

    ¡°The first thing that needs to be done is speaking to Dante.¡± I remind her. ¡°He needs to know that you¡¯re

    rejecting him before anyone else finds out. Then we need to give him some time to recover from the

    shock. When I feel he¡¯s okay, we will announce it to everyone else.¡±

    Anya didn¡¯t look happy with this n, but she had to agree with it. I was not going to announce our

    marriage without a proper warning.

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy, Damon.¡± She whispers as she leans forward to kiss me.

    I pulled back slightly without realizing what I¡¯d done until it was toote.

    For some reason, I didn¡¯t want to kiss her. For some strange reason, it felt like I was cheating on

    someone else.

    f**k.

    How could I not kiss the woman I was nning to marry? What the hell was wrong with me?

 Chapter 98

    Chapter 98

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 98

    Book 2 Chapter 21

    ~CLARISSA~

    I waited for Damon to return home. I kept feeling like something was not okay. When I finally saw his

    jeep, I was overjoyed that he¡¯d returned. All of that changed the second that I saw Anya with him.

    Why did he bring her back? Why was she dressed so fancy? Did he take her on a date? He said that

    they had something important to talk about, but he never mentioned that it was a date.

    I tried to remain calm, but my heart was racing just as much as my mind was. My impatience was

    getting the better of me.

    I wanted to know what they had discussed today. I wanted to know why Anya was looking so damn

    happy. Whenever she was delighted, its because she had gotten her way, and when she¡¯d gotten her

    way, it usually ended in someone being upset.

    Who was she nning on upsetting today?

    They walk past me in the corridor, and to my surprise, Damon looks a little tense. There¡¯s something

    he¡¯s hiding from me; I could feel it.

    ¡°Where is Dante?¡± She asks me as she keeps walking.

    ¡°In his room,¡± I answer her.

    They were looking for Dante, but for some reason, Damon looked uneasy.

    ¡°Should I call him?¡± I ask her.

    ¡°No.¡± She answers me with a bright smile. It was the first time I¡¯d ever seen her smile that brightly. ¡°We

    will see him in his room. There¡¯s something important that we have to discuss with him.¡±

    Here they go again, mentioning this important thing no one was telling me about. Whatever it was, it

    involved all three of them. That didn¡¯t seem like good news to me. What could involve all three of them

    besides their weird rtionship?

    I watch as they walk up the stairs. I¡¯m tempted to follow them, but that wouldn¡¯t end well for me.

    I ran towards Autumn, who was in the kitchen.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She says as soon as she sees the look on my face.

    ¡°I think something horrible is going to happen,¡± I whisper.

    ¡°Why?¡± she demands. ¡°What did you see?¡±

    ¡°Damon left to meet Anya today. He said they had something important to discuss. He just came home

    with her, but she looked dressed for a special asion. Now they¡¯re both going to talk with Dante. I¡¯m

    telling you, Autumn, something is not right.¡± I exin.

    She might think I¡¯m exaggerating, but this feeling in my chest couldn¡¯t be wrong.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± She tries to soothe me as she gently rubs my arm. ¡°Let¡¯s just wait and see what happens.¡±

    ¡°I need to listen to their conversation,¡± I tell her. ¡°I need to hear what they are talking about.¡±

    A door ms shut in the house, and we both jump at the sound. There is also some shouting.

    ¡°Dante!¡± I hear Damon shouting his name.

    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Griffin asks as he walks into the kitchen with a beer in his hand.

    ¡°We were just trying to figure out the same thing,¡± Autumn tells him.

    The three of us walk out of the kitchen, and we¡¯re just in time to see Damon grab Dante¡¯s arm.

    He pushes his hand away and growls. ¡°Stay the f**k away from me. I just need to be alone right now.

    Away from you and away from Anya. I can¡¯t see the both of you in front of me.¡±

    ¡°Dante, please.¡± Anya tries to console him. ¡°This was the only way to move forward. I couldn¡¯t keep

    dragging the two of you along. I had to choose one of you eventually, and Damon is the one I want. I¡¯m

    sorry if I hurt you, but please try to understand that this is the best thing for all of us.¡±

    Autumn and I look at each other in horror. What the hell just happened? Did I hear her correctly? Was

    she choosing Damon to be with? Was she letting go of Dante?

    What caused her to change her mind? Why did she suddenly know that it was Damon that she

    wanted?

    Please tell me this was a nightmare. Please tell me this was all a lie. I don¡¯t want it to be true.

    Atticus walks in next, ¡°What¡¯s all the shouting about?¡±

    He takes one look at Damon and then at Dante before ring at Anya.

    ¡°What mess did you make now?¡± He growls.

    ¡°Don¡¯t speak to her like that,¡± Damon warns him.

    ¡°She suddenly decided that she wants Damon,¡± Griffin answers him. ¡°She no longer wants to be with

    Dante. She has disposed of him because she¡¯s gotten everything she wanted already.¡±

    I gape at Griffin. He was sarcastic, but this wasn¡¯t the right time for any of that.

    Dante looks like his whole life is falling apart. If she was rejecting him, why didn¡¯t it seem to bother her?

    Why was she so calm? There was not a single tear in her eyes. She¡¯d just broken Dante¡¯s heart like it

    was nothing to her.

    ¡°I think we all need to stay calm,¡± Autumn says as she tries to lighten the mood. ¡°We can talk about this

    in a civil manner. When did you make this decision, Anya? What made you decide that it¡¯s Damon that

    you want to be with?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s something I¡¯ll rather speak to Damon and Dante about.¡± She tells her. ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be anyone

    else¡¯s business. Damon and I agreed that this was the right thing to do.¡±

    I can¡¯t help but gaze at him in disbelief. Did he think of me even once when they agreed on this?

    He¡¯s avoiding me; I can tell when he¡¯s avoiding me, and he¡¯s doing a very bad job right now.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear more of this,¡± Dante growls. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of it. I¡¯m leaving. I don¡¯t want anyone

    to follow me.¡±

    No one says anything as he storms out of the house.

    ¡°This may not be the right time to mention this,¡± Griffin says. ¡°But I think it¡¯s a good thing that she finally

    chose. This means that Dante is now a free man. He¡¯s finally free again. He may not realize it now, but

    he¡¯s just been saved.¡±

    Anya res at him, and so does Damon.

    ¡°I think you should tell us the truth, Anya.¡± I snap. ¡°Why are you suddenly realizing that you want

    Damon and not Dante?¡±

    Anya crosses her arms and gives me a sad smile, ¡°it wasn¡¯t an easy decision to make, rissa. I¡¯ve

    always loved them both, but I finally realized that I couldn¡¯t have them for the rest of my life. I knew I

    had to choose. I¡¯m sure you understand why my choice had to be Damon.¡±

    I frown. Why would I understand why it had to be Damon?

    ¡°Today, I decided to tell Damon how I truly felt about everything. We had to tell Dante eventually, why

    not today? Besides, if we were going to mention getting married to everyone else, we knew that Dante

    had to find out before anyone else found out.¡±

    I stopped breathing. I think Autumn did next to me as well.

    She didn¡¯t just say that.

    Anya didn¡¯t just say that she was nning on marrying Damon.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I whisper. ¡°I know I¡¯ve just misheard you. I know you didn¡¯t just mention getting married to

    Damon.¡±

    The color leaves Damon¡¯s face as he looks at Anya. He must have asked her to keep it a secret from

    the rest of us, judging by how he red at her. How could he do this to me? How could he let me find

    out this way?

    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± She answers me. ¡°Damon wanted to wait for a little before we made the announcement. But

    since Dante knows, I don¡¯t see why everyone else can¡¯t as well.¡±

    I felt like I was about to faint with this news. I still wanted to believe that all of this was just a nightmare.

    I didn¡¯t want to think that it was happening right now.

    I can¡¯t feel my feet as I walk toward Damon. I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m nning to say or do, but I want to

    look him directly in his eyes. I want to hear the truth from his mouth.

    I don¡¯t stop walking until I¡¯m inches away from him.

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    His eyes found mine, and we stood that way for a few seconds, gazing at each other while everyone

    else looked on.

    ¡°Tell me the truth,¡± I say with all emotion drained from my voice. ¡°Did you agree to marry Anya?¡±

 Chapter 99

    Chapter 99

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 99

    Book 2 Chapter 22

    ~DAMON~

    This should not hurt this much. It should not f*****g hurt like this. Marrying Anya was supposed to solve

    everything. It was supposed to make things better. Not worse.

    But it was worse. Wasn¡¯t it?

    Dante had just stormed out of the house, and I could feel his pain. He was my brother; of course, I

    could feel his pain. He was hurting, and so was I. But forpletely different reasons. He was in

    despair because of Anya, and I was in pain because of rissa.

    I didn¡¯t want to be the reason he was like this. I didn¡¯t want to hurt my brother. And I sure as hell didn¡¯t

    want to hurt rissa. But what the hell was the right thing to do? What other choice could I have made

    to make things better?

    I knew from the start that Dante would have reacted badly to the news, so I asked for enough time to

    exin things to him, but Anya did not give me that time. When we were in the room, she didn¡¯t wait for

    me, she immediately told him everything. I was not prepared for it at all. Seeing my brother like this was

    affecting me horribly.

    But the real pain, the main reason my heart was squeezing painfully in my chest, was the beautiful

    woman in front of me. She was staring at me as if I¡¯d just broken her heart into a million pieces.

    That was never the intention. I was trying to protect her heart, not break it.Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    I swallow. It¡¯s the only movement I could allow my body to make right now. It hurts even to breathe

    while staring at her eyes, now filled with unshed tears.

    f**k ME. I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯m the one that¡¯s hurting her like this. In the past, I would kill anyone that

    made her cry but this time, I was the culprit. I was the asshole making her cry.

    Anya was not supposed to break the news like this. I told her to give me time. I told her that I didn¡¯t

    want to announce it today. Why did she have to do this? I knew it had to happen eventually, but I wasn¡¯t

    ready to break the news to rissa. At least, not like this.

    I wanted to ease her into it. I wanted to make sure that she was ready to hear this announcement.

    Anya had beaten me to it, and now I had to pick up the broken pieces. I had to pick up the pieces of

    rissa¡¯s broken heart and somehow find a way to put them back together, to make it whole again. But

    I knew she wouldn¡¯t let me, not with the way she was looking at me in disbelief. She never expected

    this from me; I knew that much.

    She¡¯s waiting for me to give her an answer. She¡¯s waiting for me to confirm what Anya said is true. But I

    can¡¯t seem to form the words in my mouth. I¡¯m suddenly at a loss for words. I don¡¯t want her to hate

    me. I don¡¯t want her to be disappointed in me. Even though everything Anya said was true, I didn¡¯t want

    to confirm it.

    I can feel all eyes on us. My entire family is standing around us. My parents and grandfather had just

    joined and were catching up on what was happening. My whole family was watching us, everyone

    except Dante.

    I still had no clue how to break the news to my parents. Why did Anya do this? Why did she make the

    announcement without asking me first?

    ¡°Tell me,¡± rissa whispers; this time, her voice breaks, tugging at my heart. It took all of my self-

    control not to reach forward and gently cup her face in my hands.

    ¡°Damon.¡± She says again in that tone that does weird, painful things to my body. ¡°Tell me the truth. Did

    you agree to marry Anya?¡±

    My jaw clenches, and I try to find the words. It was one word, just yes, that¡¯s all I had to say, but the

    moment I did, I knew that everything would change between us. And a part of me, a very sick part of

    me, didn¡¯t want it to change.

    I needed things to stay the same. I couldn¡¯t handle the change. It had to remain the same. It had to.

    ¡°rissa.¡± My mother tries to calm her. ¡°Let¡¯s take this into the family room. We can all talk about it

    calmly in there.¡±

    Yes. Calmly. That¡¯s what we needed to do. But I also knew that this discussion could never be a calm

    one.

    ¡°No.¡± rissa hissed, and it was the first time she¡¯s used that tone on our mother. On my mother. Even

    though rissa was adopted, I don¡¯t think she fully epted my parents as hers. And I know that the

    main reason is partly because of me. I¡¯ve known it for a while, but I¡¯ve been lying to myself. Lying to

    myself because I wanted to protect her from herself and, most importantly, from me. Those lies were

    about to cost me everything. I shouldn¡¯t have ran from it. I should have found a way to deal with

    everything before it reached this point.

    ¡°I want to talk about it now.¡± She adds as she res at me. ¡°I want Damon to tell me the truth. He isn¡¯t

    saying anything and that could only mean one thing.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t owe you any exnations.¡± Anya snaps. ¡°It¡¯s his life. He doesn¡¯t need your consent to

    decide who he wants to marry. As his sister, you should congratte him and be happy for him. What

    are you so upset about, anyway? Can¡¯t you see that marrying me is what he actually wants? I can

    make him happy; I would think that would, in return, make you happy. You should want the best for your

    brother and I don¡¯t see a better option for him than I am.¡±

    Sister. Why did that one word make me feel sick to my stomach? I didn¡¯t see her as my sister. I could

    never see her like that.

    My eyes move from rissa to re at Anya. This was her mess. She¡¯d told them at the wrong time.

    She doesn¡¯t get to tell rissa how to feel at a time like this. She sees my anger and quietly moves

    back without adding to her words. She knows that I¡¯m angry and she knows why.

    ¡°rissa¡ª¡± that¡¯s all I can say. That¡¯s all my mouth is letting me say¡ªher name. I still can¡¯t say that

    one word that she¡¯s waiting for me to say.

    My heart squeezes some more when I see the tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. I did that. I was

    causing her to cry when it was thest f*****g thing I ever wanted to do.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you would do this to me.¡± She says as she continues to look straight into my eyes. She

    isn¡¯t backing down. She¡¯s showing me exactly what I¡¯m doing to her by agreeing to marry Anya.

    ¡°You were not supposed to find out this way.¡± I finally say. ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to find out like this. I know it

    doesn¡¯t make it better, but you were never supposed to find out this way.¡±

    She bit her bottom lip and scrunched her nose as the love in her eyes slowly turned into something I¡¯d

    never seen before. Hatred. Does she hate me? I cannot live with myself if rissa ever decided to hate

    me. My heart wouldn¡¯t be able to take it. I would drop to the ground and beg her to forgive me if I had to

    but seeing her hate me wasn¡¯t something I could ever easily ept.

    There¡¯s so much more that I want to tell her. So much more, but I don¡¯t know how to say it. I didn¡¯t

    know what to say to make her understand that this was the right thing to do. She would disagree with

    me.

    I knew that she would. But why does the right thing hurt so f*****g much? Shouldn¡¯t it be easier? Why

    does it feel like someone is tearing my heart straight out of my chest?

    rissa doesn¡¯t try to say anything in response to my words. She looks tired and still in shock. She

    seems like someone who¡¯d lost the most important thing in their life.

    I watch as she turns and walks away from me. I felt like I was letting her walk out of my life. I didn¡¯t

    want to let her go. I didn¡¯t want things to get bad between us.

    My hands tightened into fists at my sides. It was taking all of my self-control not to grab her and bring

    her back to me. It was taking all of my self-control not to pick her up and take her away from this ce

    ¡ªjust me and her.

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of all of this?¡± My father demands. ¡°Have you truly decided that you¡¯re going to

    marry Anya?¡±

    Now that Dante and rissa knew of my ns to marry Anya, it was time to have the discussion with

    my parents. Even they are surprised by this news, and I¡¯m positive they are also unhappy with my

    decision. I was expecting all of this. I should have been prepared for the pain as well. I should be

    stronger than this. I knew why I had to do it. I knew that this wedding was important. I had to suck up

    the pain and bury it deep inside me.

    ¡°Son?¡± He asks.

    I can¡¯t answer him. I¡¯m still staring at the door, where rissa just walked through. I want to run after

    her. I want to exin. I want to make it better.

    ¡°He has,¡± Anya answers for me. ¡°Damon is the man I want to marry, and while I¡¯m devastated that I

    must let go of Dante, I know I¡¯m making the right decision. Damon is the right choice.¡±

    My parents look at each other. I don¡¯t think anyone in this room is happy with my decision. It shows in

    their faces. It¡¯s not just my parents. My siblings are also not happy.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we discuss this more before we talk about marriage?¡± My mother asks. ¡°It¡¯s a lifetime

    commitment.¡±

    ¡°You were much more supportive when you wanted Atticus to marry Autumn.¡± Anya reminds them.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you be supportive of Damon as well?¡±

    My father adjusts the watch on his hand as he tries to figure out the best way to deal with this entire

    situation.

    ¡°Are you sure this is what you want, son?¡± My mother asks me gently. ¡°Don¡¯t rush into anything you¡¯re

    notfortable with. Everyone is here to guide you both along the way. If you¡¯re unsure, this is your

    chance, to be honest with us.¡±

    Anya looked at me with a panicked look on her face, and I knew that I couldn¡¯t say no. Not with the way

    she was looking at me. I¡¯d already agreed to marry her; she left Dante for me, chose me, and I couldn¡¯t

    disappoint her.

    But rissa. . . How did I fix things with her? How did I make it better?

    ¡°Damon?¡± My mother calls my name. ¡°Do you want to marry Anya? Do you want us to start nning a

    wedding?¡±

    I had to give my mother an answer. The longer I took to say the one word everyone was waiting to

    hear, the more they would think that this entire thing wasn¡¯t my decision, to begin with. I couldn¡¯t make

    them think that I didn¡¯t want to marry Anya. If they did, it would cause plenty of problems for us. For

    rissa.

    You have to do it, Damon. No matter how much it hurts you. This is something that you can¡¯t say no to.

    I can¡¯t recognize my own voice as I answer, ¡°yes. I want to marry her. I want to marry Anya.¡±

 Chapter 100

    Chapter 100

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 100

    Book 2 Chapter 23

    ~CLARISSA~

    I hate him.

    I hate him so much.

    I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.

    How could he do this? How could he agree to marry her? I thought I was getting closer to him. We¡¯d

    finally kissed after wanting it for so many years; we had finally kissed, not once but twice. We¡¯d slept in

    the same bed together. We were having conversations that weren¡¯t the average kinds between friends

    or siblings. Things were different.

    I should have seen the signs. I should have realized this sooner.

    I knew that he was pushing me away while I was trying to bring us closer, but not once did I think he

    would agree to marry Anya, at least not this soon.

    What went wrong? Why did he make this decision and not tell me s**t about it? How long has he been

    nning on marrying her? How long has he known he would break my heart and choose to marry her?

    This decision hasn¡¯t only messed up my life. It also messed with Dante and his life. He was just as

    heartbroken as I was. It hurt to see Dante like that. He didn¡¯t deserve what Anya did to him. She could

    have told him in a better way. She didn¡¯t have to make him feel like he was nothing to her.

    I couldn¡¯t even run after him while I was in so much pain. I had to fix my own heart before I could help

    fix his.

    How could I watch him marry her? How could I watch the love of my life put a ring on someone else¡¯s

    finger? The more I thought about it, the more the tears rolled down my cheeks.

    This wasn¡¯t the Damon I knew and loved. He wasn¡¯t like this. He wouldn¡¯t put me through all this pain

    without a good reason for it. I refused to believe that he actually wanted to marry Anya. I refused to

    believe that he was happy with this poor decision.

    I couldn¡¯t let this happen. I couldn¡¯t let this marriage take ce.

    Everything would be over the moment that they both said I do to each other. I won¡¯t have a chance with

    Damon after that. It would be toote.

    I had two options: let Damon marry her and ruin both of our lives or prove to him that we were meant to

    be together.

    I was not going to make this easy for him. I was not going to let him take the easier way out. I¡¯m going

    to fight. I¡¯m going to fight as I¡¯ve never fought before.

    I will make him drop to his knees and beg me to be his. He doesn¡¯t realize yet that a massive storm is

    coming his way but soon he will know the truth.

    ¡°rissa?¡± Autumn calls as she knocks on my room door.

    I knew Autumn woulde after me. She was like a sister to me. I knew she would be worried about

    me.

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    ¡°Can Ie in?¡±

    ¡°You can,¡± I answer her.

    I needed her. This news had shocked me to my very core. I needed someone to hold onto. Someone

    who understood the pain that I felt.

    She doesn¡¯t wait for another second as she barges into the room. One look at my tear-streaked face,

    and she¡¯s already hugging me.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe he¡¯d do something like this to you.¡± She whispers. ¡°I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s going to marry

    Anya. He doesn¡¯t realize yet what he¡¯s doing but this decision will ruin his life. If he doesn¡¯t stop it soon,

    he will regret everything.¡±

    ¡°I should have known this was eventually going to happen,¡± I admit. ¡°We all knew Anya wanted to

    marry into this family. She wanted Atticus at first, but now she wants Damon. I can¡¯t believe she

    disposed of Dante like he was nothing to her. It makes me wonder what her intentions truly are. Does

    she just want to be apart of this family for money? What does she truly want?¡±

    Autumn sighs, ¡°I also have my doubts about Anya.¡±

    ¡°We need to do something.¡± I plead with her. ¡°Maybe if we hire a private investigator we can dig up

    some information on Anya that can stop this wedding. I know that there¡¯s plenty she¡¯s hiding from us.

    We just need to find out what it is.¡±

    She nods, ¡°I agree with you. But we can¡¯t let the others know what we are up to. Damon and Dante still

    care deeply for Anya. Even Atticus, he doesn¡¯t love her but the time he spent with her in the past has

    made him care for her. If we¡¯re going to do this, we need to do it on our own.¡±

    Her hand squeezes mine gently.

    ¡°We are going to make him beg,¡± Autumn promises me. ¡°He isn¡¯t going tost long. He¡¯s going to regret

    ever agreeing to marry her when it¡¯s clear that you are the one in his heart. We need to make Damon

    realize this before it¡¯s toote. We need him to see that you¡¯re the woman for him. His heart knows it;

    it¡¯s time he catches up with his feelings.¡±

    I smiled; this was why I loved Autumn. She always knew the right words to say. Even though I had this

    heavy feeling in my chest, talking to her has eased the tension within me.

    ¡°Did they announce the date for the wedding?¡± I ask her.

    We needed to know how long we had left.

    ¡°Not exactly.¡± She answers me. ¡°However, the engagement party will take ce in five days.¡±

    Five days? Were they crazy? If they chose such a close date for the engagement, it only meant that we

    didn¡¯t have plenty time before the wedding took ce.

    ¡°Are they in a rush to get married?¡± I demand. ¡°What about Dante? Shouldn¡¯t they have waited for him

    to recover from the pain?¡±

    Or couldn¡¯t he at least wait until my heart had good enough time to recover from the initial shock of this

    marriage?

    Did Damon not care about me at all? I still didn¡¯t understand why he was doing this.

    ¡°We need to find the sexiest dress on earth for his engagement. We need to make him miserable to the

    point that we ruin the entire night for him.¡± Autumn insists. ¡°I¡¯m not going to make this easy for him. He

    made you cry and while I love him like a brother, he deserves what¡¯sing.¡±

    I agree. I was willing to do everything as long as it got Damon back to my side.

    It was time my nightmare tricks returned. That would be my first n. My nightmares. He barely

    survived thest time I spent a night in his room; this time, I¡¯ll make it much harder.

    ¡°He couldn¡¯t stop looking at the door when you left. Breaking the news to you was something that killed

    him inside. I¡¯m positive that he warned Anya to give him some time to break the news to you first. He

    should have never trusted her word. It¡¯s obvious that she couldn¡¯t wait to rub it into your face.¡± She

    sighs, ¡°I think that Damon is afraid.¡±

    ¡°Afraid?¡± I ask, confused.

    Why would he be afraid? What could Damon possibly afraid of?

    She nods.

    ¡°He isn¡¯t stupid. He knows what will happen if anyone finds out you have feelings for each other. He

    wants to protect you, but he doesn¡¯t realize that his decisions are breaking your heart.¡± She exins. ¡°I

    saw the look on his face rissa. Atticus and everyone else aren¡¯t paying attention to the way he

    gazes at you but I have been. That man has feelings for you and no one can change my mind. This is

    the only exnation that I cane up with. He must be trying to protect you from everyone else.¡±

    I swallow. I was aware the possibilities of people finding out and what that would mean for me, but I

    was willing to take that risk for him. I wanted him and nothing else mattered to me. I wish that Damon

    could see things the way that I saw them. I wish that he could understand that I was willing to sacrifice

    everything to be with him.

    ¡°Damon maye looking for you.¡± She tells me. ¡°Do you want to speak to him tonight or should I tell

    him to give you some space?¡±

    I wanted to see him but not right now. It was too much for me. I needed time to process everything.

    A knock on the door catches both of our attention. Was that him? Did hee to speak to me about

    the entire thing?

    Autumn opens the door and we were right, it was him.

    ¡°rissa wants to be alone tonight.¡± Autumn tells him for me. ¡°Please respect her wishes.¡±

    It hurt to turn him away but he should have expected this after the announcement that he just made.

    He doesn¡¯t try to change my mind. Instead, he breaks my heart even more when he leaves just like

    Autumn asked him to.

    After Autumn leaves, I spent the rest of the night crying myself to sleep.

    The next day my eyes were swollen and extremely red. I had to wear makeup to cover it so that

    everyone else couldn¡¯t see just how bad this news had hit me. I didn¡¯t want my family to notice how

    badly Damon¡¯s announcement had affected me. I didn¡¯t need them to get suspicious.

    We were back at the academy and so far, the news about Damon¡¯s engagement hadn¡¯t spread like I

    expected it to.

    What was Anya waiting on to announce it to everyone that she knew?

    I knew she couldn¡¯t wait for every person at the academy to find out that she would soon be getting her

    wish of marrying a Fawn. It wasn¡¯t the Fawn she originally wanted to marry but she seemed to be

    contented with Damon, at least for now. Her mind changed as quickly as some girls changed their

    outfits during the day. I wouldn¡¯t trust it.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe to the academy with Damon?¡± Atticus asks me. ¡°He¡¯s usually the one you love to

    go with.¡±

    Autumn sighs, ¡°is it so wrong that she chose toe with us, Atticus? I was d for herpany.¡±

    Atticus scratches the back of his head, ¡°I was simply asking a question. Damon doesn¡¯t look happy. I¡¯m

    assuming that the both of you are still fighting from the announcementst night. Dante is also refusing

    to speak to the rest of us.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what happens when you decide to marry the wrong woman.¡± Autumn says as she narrows her

    eyes while looking at her husband.

    He shrugs his shoulders, ¡°that doesn¡¯t apply to me. I married the right woman. Didn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t make it easy.¡± She teases him. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I stuck around or you¡¯ll be just as miserable

    as your brother right now.¡±

    Even though I¡¯m upset, I still can¡¯t help but smile at their bickering. It¡¯s easy to tell how much they both

    love each other.

    I freeze when I see Damon in front of us. I was avoiding him. The moment he spots me, his body turns

    to stone. He makes an attempt to walk towards us but before he can reach me, I turned and ran away.

    I¡¯m used to him walking me to ss, but this time, I had to do it on my own.

    ¡°rissa!¡± I hear him shouting behind me.

    Damn it.

    Why was he following me?

    ¡°rissa, please!¡± He begs as his footsteps get closer.

    I sigh and slowly turn around to face him.

    What does he expect me to say? What does he want from me now?

    I gasp when I see the pleading look in his eyes. It¡¯s definitely affecting him that I¡¯m refusing to speak to

    him. What would happen if I ignored him for a week?

    ¡°Please talk to me.¡± He begs once more. ¡°I know that you¡¯re upset. I know that I should have told you

    about the marriage before announcing it to everyone. I¡¯m sorry. Please just talk to me.¡±

    My jaw clenches and I narrow my eyes, ¡°I¡¯m not upset.¡±

    He quirks a brow and I can see that my words have confused him. ¡°You¡¯re not?¡±

    I grip the book in my hands tightly. ¡°No. I¡¯m not. Instead, I¡¯m hurt. My heart hurts. And there is nothing

    that you can say or do to fix it.¡±

    He inhales sharply.

    Before I can see the effect of my words on him, I storm into the ssroom where I know he wouldn¡¯t try

    to disturb me again.

    I take a deep breath now that I¡¯m not next to him. I didn¡¯t want to inhale his scent earlier, I knew that I

    would have immediately melted if I did. I was trying my best to stay strong but I wasn¡¯t sure how long I

    could keep this up for.

    Being away from Damon was not an easy thing for me to do.

    I bury my face against the desk and block out everyone and everything as I tried to think of the many

    ways I could fix this mess.

    What could I do? We¡¯d hired the private investigator but it would take some time before he could get

    any information on Anya. All we had to do now was wait for him to give us the file with everything he¡¯d

    found out about her.

    Now I had to hope that he would eventually find something that could help us. If not, Autumn and I

    would have to personally do our own digging without anyone at home finding out what we were up to.

    We had to find out the truth about Anya. We had to.

 Chapter 101

    Chapter 101

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 101

    Book 2 Chapter 24

    ~CLARISSA~

    After a long day at the academy with me trying my best to avoid Damon, I was finally home. He did try

    multiple times to speak to me, but each time I found a way to dismiss him. He wasn¡¯t happy about it; I

    could easily tell. I knew him well. I knew when he was frustrated, and this time I was the one causing

    his frustration.

    This was only the beginning. Autumn was the one that suggested I avoid him for some time. It was

    working. I¡¯ve never seen him this desperate to talk to me.

    What did he expect after the announcement he madest night? Did he think I would happily

    congratte him and Anya? Was he that clueless? Or was he ying stupid about the entire thing to

    avoid any conversation?

    Again, I chose to return home with Autumn and Atticus.

    I knew it was also upsetting Damon, and that was the point of it.

    I also didn¡¯t want to be around Anya.

    Just as I opened the door to my room, someone grabbed my waist and pulled me inside. I gasped

    when Damon covered my mouth with his hand. Our eyes met, and we were both staring at each other

    silently.

    I can feel the tension in the room. I know he feels it, also.

    ¡°Please let me say something.¡± He whispers. ¡°I need to apologize. I need you to forgive me, rissa. I

    can¡¯t go on like this. I can¡¯t rest when I know you¡¯re hurting. I can¡¯t eat. I can¡¯t f*****g sleep. I can¡¯t focus

    on anything but the pain you¡¯re feeling because of me.¡±

    Don¡¯t skip a beat. Don¡¯t you dare let his words soften you. I¡¯m speaking to my heart, trying to convince

    the weak thing to behave.

    He slowly moves his hand from my mouth. He doesn¡¯t realize now that the only thing he can do to

    make things better is to call off the wedding.

    ¡°How long were you waiting in my room?¡± I ask him, looking around for anything I don¡¯t want him to

    see. I have these crazy moments where I write his name on anything that I can get my hands on.

    ¡°Is that important?¡± He asks.

    ¡°It depends. Were you looking through any of my stuff?¡± I demand.

    His forehead creases, ¡°of course not. I was waiting for you. You left me no choice. You¡¯ve been

    avoiding me sincest night. I keep trying to talk to you, but you¡¯re not giving me a chance to exin

    myself.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can say to fix this, Damon.¡± I snap. ¡°Can¡¯t you see that? You made this decision

    on your own; you made your choice.¡±

    ¡°What choice?¡± He asks desperately. ¡°What choices do I have, rissa?¡±

    I sigh, ¡°please leave.¡±

    His eyes widen. ¡°I want to fix this.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t even look at you right now, Damon!¡± I cry. ¡°I can¡¯t look at you without wanting to cry. Please.

    Just leave.¡±

    My words havepletely shattered him. I can tell by the defeated look on his face. He slowly steps

    away from me. I don¡¯t say anything as I watch him leave and shut the door behind him.

    That was one of the hardest things I¡¯ve ever had to do. I usually do everything in my power to spend as

    much time with Damon as possible. This is the first time I¡¯m begging him to leave.

    I stayed in my room for hours after that incident until I finally fell asleep.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you spend more time with your sister, Cassius?¡±

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    I stare at my brother. He smiles not only with his mouth but also with his eyes. He has a devilish smile

    that makes me smile in return.

    ¡°Mother!¡± I call out to her. Her face is turned to me, and she¡¯s still scolding my brother.

    ¡°Mother!¡± I try to catch her attention again.

    I gasped as my eyes flew open.

    A dream.

    It was a dream.

    Just a dream.

    Then why does it feel so real? Did I dream of my biological mother and brother? Or was my mind

    ying tricks on me?

    I didn¡¯t have many memories of my childhood. I couldn¡¯t remember anything about my parents or

    siblings, if I even had any. When the Fawns adopted me, I was a troubled girl with no memory of my

    childhood. My only memories were growing up in a home with other children just like me. I never

    understood why the Fawns chose me; Damon¡¯s grandparents were the ones that finalized the decision

    when they visited the home.

    My heart is racing in my chest, and tears are forming in my eyes. What is wrong with me? A dream

    shouldn¡¯t have me feeling this depressed.

    I can¡¯t stop myself as I climb out of my bed; I know where I¡¯m going even before I open my room door. I

    keep walking until I see the door I didn¡¯t think I¡¯ll be opening for some time.

    I push it open and see Damon on his bed. He isn¡¯t asleep like I expected him to be. His eyes are wide

    when he spots me. Even he didn¡¯t think I¡¯ll be here tonight, not after all of the things I¡¯d said to him

    before.

    I was still very hurt by his decision. I was still in pain. But I needed him tonight. I needed him more than

    I wanted to admit to myself.

    Neither of us says anything as I walk over to his bed. I¡¯m unsure what to do, but I¡¯m letting my body

    lead tonight.

    Damon¡¯s eyes remain wide as he openly stares at me. I don¡¯t stop walking until I¡¯m standing next to his

    bed.

    He swings his legs out of the bed so that he is now in a sitting position.

    ¡°Wh¡ª¡±

    I didn¡¯t wait for him to finish as I dropped myself onto hisp and wrapped my arms tightly around his

    neck. I buried my face against his neck and let the tears fall freely from my eyes. I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m

    crying. I don¡¯t know whether it¡¯s because of the dream or the news of him marrying Anya.

    All I know is that I need Damon tonight. I needed him like I needed air to breathe.

    ¡°rissa?¡± He whispers as he buries his hand in my hair. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    When the first tear hits his neck, he stiffens, ¡°are you crying?¡±

    I was ugly when I cried and never liked Damon seeing that side of me. But tonight, I can¡¯t help it. I have

    to let my emotions win this battle.

    I tighten my hold around him.

    ¡°Is this because of my marriage announcement?¡± He asks hesitantly.

    I can hear the pain in his voice, and I know that he deserves it after what he did. But it still bothers me. I

    never liked to see Damon in pain.

    ¡°rissa?¡± He tries again. ¡°Please talk to me. I can¡¯t help you if I don¡¯t know what¡¯s bothering you.¡±

    His skin is hot beneath mine. Hot and wet because of my tears. His hands move from my hair to my

    waist, and I can¡¯t help but shiver despite my pain. I still felt the heat from his touch.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t let go of me,¡± I beg.

    His voice hitched at my words. He may think I¡¯m speaking only about tonight, but I meant for the rest of

    our lives. I never want him to let go of me. I never want to let another woman have him.

    ¡°Shh,¡± he whispers. ¡°I¡¯m not letting go. You can stay here as long as you like. I¡¯m going to fix whatever

    it is that¡¯s hurting you.¡±

    I was happy to hear those words from his mouth. It wasn¡¯t the exact words I wanted, but it was enough

    to calm my nerves, at least for now.

    He lets me continue to cry against his neck, and he doesn¡¯t move, not even an inch. This was why I

    loved Damon. The small things that he did for me. They felt like everything to me. He was always there

    for me, even if we weren¡¯t on the best terms. He never let me go through anything on my own. He¡¯s

    always been there for me. He¡¯s the only person that has always stood by my side; he¡¯s never judged

    me, he¡¯s always protected me, and he always takes my side. He¡¯s the most important person in my life.

    I know that I should be happy for him. I know that I should let him marry Anya without interfering, but I

    can¡¯t, not when I know I love him, not when I know that she doesn¡¯t love him back. I can¡¯t sit back and

    let her destroy him. I can¡¯t watch her ruin his life as she so quickly did to Dante. I had to be there for

    him like he¡¯s here for me now.

    ¡°Are you ready to tell me what¡¯s wrong?¡± He asks gently as he continues to run his hand up and down

    my back. ¡°I want to help you. I want to make it better.¡±

    I slowly move my hands up his neck to his hair. I buried them in the strands and moaned at how good it

    felt¡ªbeing in his arms, straddling hisp, burying my hands in his hair. This felt amazing. How can he

    not see how perfectly we fit together? Why doesn¡¯t he realize by now that we are made for each other?

    Why has Damon been so blind for so long?

    I can feel the wild beating of his heart against my body. It¡¯s pounding. Loudly.

    I grab his hair tighter and pull his head backward. His eyes look intoxicated as he gazes at me.

    I slowly trace the sides of his face with my fingers. His lips part at my touch, and he continues to simply

    gaze at me. I love when he watches me like I¡¯m the only woman on this. He never takes his eyes

    off me. And I love it so much. I love how he pays attention to every little thing that I do.

    I can¡¯t stop myself as I crash my lips to his. Damon¡¯s hands on my back freeze at my intrusion.

    I breathe him in.

    I need this. I need him. I have to taste him.

    I crave his touch. I crave everything about him.

    Damon doesn¡¯t push me away like I expected him to. I think he understands that I need this. I think he

    knows exactly what¡¯s happening to me. He lets me kiss him like he¡¯s done in the past. I hate that he

    doesn¡¯t try to kiss me back. I hate that he doesn¡¯t take things further between us.

    He growls suddenly, surprising me, and the masculine sound instantly makes me wet between my legs.

    I didn¡¯t think just a sound from him would have such an impact on my body. Like all the other times, I

    was wrong.

    I can¡¯t stop myself from grinding my lower body against his. His breath hitches from the contact. I can

    feel his immediate reaction to me. There were many things that Damon was capable of hiding from me,

    but his attraction to me was not one of them.

    I needed to take things further than a kiss. I needed to do something to break his control.

    I move my lips from his to whisper in his ear, ¡°can you smell what you¡¯re doing to my body? Can you

    feel how wet I am for you?¡±

    Damon growls some more, and neither of us is prepared when he grabs my waist and throws me onto

    the bed.

    ¡°You have no f*****g clue what you do to me, do you?¡± He demands. I gasped when he ripped my

    dress from my body, so I was leftpletely bare in front of him except for my white panties.

    His eyes are dark with need as he hungrily drinks in every inch of my body. But as quickly as it

    happened, it ended as well. Realization quickly haunts his features. I see the moment that everything

    sinks in for him.

    ¡°f**k me!¡± He growls as he starts to pace the room in a panic. I watch him while he walks up and down,

    trying toe to terms with what he¡¯d just done. He may also be trying to regain control over his body.

    Damon never liked losing control, and this was one of the rare asions where he did. He walks back

    over to the bed, but he keeps his eyes away from me. He¡¯s intentionally avoiding looking at my body

    anymore.

    He grabs his nket and covers my body before finally looking at me. I can see his features soften the

    moment that his eyes meet mine. He regrets what he just did; he didn¡¯t have to say the words; I could

    see it clearly on his face.

    I think Damon wants me, but he hates that he does. That doesn¡¯t make me feel good at all.

    ¡°rissa.¡± He whispers. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I¡¯m so so sorry.¡±

    Here he goes again, apologizing for something I didn¡¯t want him to apologize for.

    I watch as he storms out of the room as if he¡¯d made the biggest mistake of his life.

    He may think this was a bad thing, but for me, it was just the beginning. He¡¯d just proven that he¡¯d

    wanted me all this time, just like I¡¯d always hoped. Now that I know this, I¡¯m not letting him go. I will

    make Damon see that I¡¯m the one he truly wants. I will make him drop to his knees and beg me to

    ept him. And I¡¯m not going to stop until I¡¯ve aplished my goal.

 Chapter 102

    Chapter 102

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 102

    Book 2 Chapter 25

    ~DAMON~

    What the f**k did I do? I announced my engagement to Anya and ripped rissa¡¯s dress from her

    body, all within the span of a few hours.

    All she had on werecey white panties that I couldn¡¯t get out of my freaking mind. And her breasts.

    f**k. rissa has the most beautiful pair of breasts I¡¯ve ever seen in my life. I wanted to suck on them. I

    wanted to y with her n*****s between my fingers. I wanted to bury my face in them.

    I can¡¯t get her body out of my head. I can¡¯t get her out of my f*****g mind. She¡¯s all that I can think

    about.

    I know what I did was wrong. I know that I¡¯ve crossed a line. I know it will take a lot to fix what

    happened. Everything in the past between rissa and I has been somewhat forgivable, but this time,

    I¡¯d done something I should have never done. This time, I was the one that took things to a ce of no

    return. I was never supposed to see her like that. But I lost all damn control when she told me she was

    wet for me.

    I did smell her arousal. I did feel how much she wanted me. But hearing her say it had snapped

    something inside of me. The beast inside me had finally gotten a chance toe out and take what it

    wanted.

    I don¡¯t know where I got the strength to pull away from her tonight. I almost lost my mind while pacing

    in the room. Her scent was still on my body. I could still feel her hands in my hair. Damn it. I didn¡¯t think

    I¡¯d ever love someone¡¯s hands in my hair as much as I loved hers.

    I shouldn¡¯t want her this much. I¡¯m not supposed to want her like this. I should not f*****g ache like this

    for her. The monster in my pants was still pulsing for a chance to be inside her.

    Ah, f**k. What the hell? Why did I think of that?

    I was making a mess out of my damn life. I knew that I was running from rissa. This marriage with

    Anya wasn¡¯t happening because I wanted it to happen; I was going ahead only because it would stop

    whatever was happening between rissa and me. This wedding was a plot to get her to stop wanting

    me. But I think it¡¯s done the opposite.

    It worked for a second, but she was determined to change things between us; I saw it in her eyes. She

    couldn¡¯t hide it from me.

    Things could have been different if Anya wasn¡¯t a part of my life; things could have been different if my

    parents hadn¡¯t adopted rissa and given her ourst name.

    But these things weren¡¯t about to change anytime soon. There¡¯s not a single chance for rissa and

    me to have anything other than a sibling rtionship.

    I had to make her see this. But f**k me; I was scared of the girl. rissa scared me. I¡¯ve never been

    terrified of anything as much as my feelings for her scared me.

    It¡¯s the reason why I kept running. To protect her from herself and me. There was only so much I could

    take. She kept teasing me, and today, I¡¯d snapped. I wasn¡¯t sure where I got the self-control to stop

    anything from happening between us.

    Her f*****g taste hasn¡¯t left my mouth since she first kissed me. And I didn¡¯t want ever to lose that taste

    from my memory. I didn¡¯t ever want to forget what she tasted like. But I knew it was a taste I would

    remember for the rest of my life.

    I spotted Dante walking into the parking lot just as I was about to leave.

    He sees me, and I can see the anger and hurt still in his eyes. I¡¯d been so concerned about rissa

    that I didn¡¯t take the time to realize that my brother was also hurting.

    ¡°Hey,¡± I say.

    He ignores me as he walks straight past me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I apologize.

    That gets him to stop, and I turn to look at him. His back is turned to me, and I can feel the tension in

    the air.

    ¡°What are you sorry for?¡± He asks. ¡°We both know I would have done the same thing in your position.¡±

    I sigh, ¡°I know, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that you are in pain. You are still my brother; it doesn¡¯t

    matter if you hate me for choosing to marry Anya; I still care about you. Thest thing I want is to lose

    you over this.¡±

    ¡°Fuck.¡± Dante hissed. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this day is finally here. You know what¡¯s the funny part about all of

    this?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I ask as he turns around to face me.

    ¡°I always knew that she wouldn¡¯t choose me.¡± He finally answers. ¡°I knew she was crazy about Atticus.

    I knew she wanted him more than the two of us. I knew that if our parents hadn¡¯t stepped into their

    rtionship, she would have married him the first chance that she got. When he married Autumn, I

    hoped that my chances of marrying her had increased. But then I saw her getting closer to you after

    losing Atticus. I realized it was only a matter of time before she chose you over me. A part of me hoped

    that our parents would step in and find a bride for you as well. I know it was selfish of me to wish for it.

    But now my worst nightmare ising true. I have to watch my mate, the love of my life, get married to

    someone else. To my brother.¡±

    I swallow. I don¡¯t me him for wishing for that. I don¡¯t me him at all.

    We are both silent for some time. There¡¯s nothing left to say. What could either of us say to make things

    better? He knew that I wouldn¡¯t call off the wedding. He knew that if he asked me to do it, Anya would

    be upset with him. Dante wanted her to be happy, and he was willing to sacrifice his happiness to see

    her happy. I knew my brother because, at times, he reminded me of myself.

    He finally lifts his head to look me in the eyes.

    ¡°Can you do me one favor as my brother?¡± He asks me.

    A favor?

    I frown. ¡°What do you want?¡± I ask. ¡°I¡¯m willing to do anything as long as it makes it easier for you.¡±

    He runs a hand through his hair before pinning me with his piercing gaze, ¡°please make her happy. I¡¯ve

    noticed that something has happened to Anya ever since the day our parents got kidnapped by that

    witch. She hasn¡¯t been the same. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve noticed the change in her behavior, but I pay

    attention enough to know that she isn¡¯t okay. Don¡¯t ever do anything to hurt her. Don¡¯t ever make her

    cry like Atticus did when he married Autumn. Please don¡¯t make her go through what she went through

    in the past. Be the person I would have been for her if she¡¯d decided to marry me.¡±

    I stiffen.

    How could I make this promise when I¡¯d already done something to hurt her? How could I make this

    promise when I was only marrying Anya because of my feelings for rissa? How did I admit these

    things to him without him getting pissed at me?

    I was f*****g screwed. My life was a f*****g mess.

    I kept digging a deeper hole for myself, and I knew that eventually, I wouldn¡¯t be able to bring myself

    out of it.

    I couldn¡¯t go through with this engagement until I told Anya everything I¡¯d done. It would be wrong of

    me to let her think that my heart waspletely hers. It would be wrong of me to let her marry me

    while thinking that I wasn¡¯t being unfaithful. And I was. Both mentally and physically. The guilt was

    eating me alive.

    I hadn¡¯t touched Anya ever since rissa and I kissed for the first time, and now, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s

    possible for me to ever touch her again. At least, not until I figured out what the hell this thing between

    rissa and me was.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to do as you ask of me,¡± I promise him.

    He nods, and I can see a weight lifted off his shoulders.

    I had to see Anya. This was the first step I had to take to keep my promise to Dante. I jump into my

    jeep and drive out of the garage.

    It doesn¡¯t take me long to find Anya, and when I do, I jump out of the jeep. She told me to meet her in

    front of her home. One thing she never likes doing is bringing me into her house, and I never

    questioned it. I assumed that she was ashamed of where she lived. Anya was someone that let that

    kind of thing bother her.

    She smiles, and I immediately pull her into my arms. My heart sank when it felt nothing like what

    rissa felt in my arms.

    Whenever I was around rissa, I felt like I wouldbust into mes if I didn¡¯t take her into my arms

    and kiss her. It was different with Anya. I felt like I needed Anya, but it wasn¡¯t the same.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Anya asks hesitantly.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I whisper. ¡°I did something horrible, and I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll still want to marry me after

    what I have to say.¡±

    She slowly pulls away from me, ¡°what are you talking about, Damon?¡± She demands. ¡°What could you

    have possibly done that would jeopardize our marriage?¡±

    ¡°I think I have feelings for someone else,¡± I confess. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one I have in my heart Anya. I

    know that makes me a selfish asshole, but I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening to me.¡±

    It was hard to tell her the truth, but I couldn¡¯t lie anymore. It was unfair to her to keep the fact from her. I

    was finally doing the right thing by telling her what was bothering me.

    Her lips part, and I can see the shock in her eyes. Was she shocked by the truth or by the fact that I¡¯d

    actually confessed to her?

    ¡°Who is she?¡± She finally asks.

    Just three words, but those three words terrified me. I couldn¡¯t tell Anya the truth. I couldn¡¯t tell her that

    it was rissa. Even though I wanted to be honest with Anya, I had to protect rissa. I didn¡¯t think

    this throughpletely. I didn¡¯t realize that I would have to mention rissa¡¯s name.

    f**k.

    I wouldn¡¯t do it. I don¡¯t care if Anya hates me for it.

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you,¡± I answer her in an apologetic tone. ¡°I know you¡¯ll hate me for this. I know that you

    wanted to marry me. I know that you let go of Dante because of me. I feel horrible. I¡¯m an asshole; I

    know that. I did things I should have never done while I was with you. I just don¡¯t want to betray you. If

    you want to marry Dante instead, Ipletely understand. It will hurt, but I will not stop you.¡±

    She takes a deep breath and turns away from me. I hate doing this to her. I hate it. But whenever I¡¯m

    around rissa, all of my control snaps. The only option is to stay away from her. To avoid her as

    much as possible.

    ¡°Did you sleep with her?¡± She finally asks after being silent for a few minutes.

    I close my eyes in pain. I didn¡¯t. But I f*****g want to with everything inside of me. Of course, I couldn¡¯t

    say this to Anya.

    ¡°No,¡± I answer her.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    She sighs, ¡°obviously, this news has hurt me, Damon, but I still want to marry you. You¡¯ve watched me

    be with both Atticus and Dante in the past and have stuck by my side through it all. I would be a

    hypocrite if I let this one thing destroy our rtionship.¡±

    My eyes widened at her words. How could she ept this so easily? How could she love me this

    much? I didn¡¯t deserve her, just like I didn¡¯t deserve rissa. I didn¡¯t deserve either one of them.

    ¡°But you must promise me one thing.¡± She adds.

    My body stiffens, ¡°what is that?¡±

    I should have known it wouldn¡¯t be that easy. I was willing to do anything as long as she decided to

    forgive me and give me another chance.

    ¡°Don¡¯t betray me again.¡± She answers me. ¡°After we are married, I don¡¯t expect you to be around any

    other woman but me. Whoever this girl is, I don¡¯t care; I want your promise that you will keep her out of

    your heart and your life. I can ept this now because we aren¡¯t married, but things will change when

    I¡¯m given yourst name. I will expect to be the only woman in your life.¡±

    How could I promise her this when even I didn¡¯t know if it was possible to throw rissa out of my

    heart? What the hell am I supposed to do?

    I was only trying to protect both rissa and Anya, but for some reason, I was making things worse. I

    was hurting both of them because I couldn¡¯t make up my damn mind.

    Even if I chose to be with rissa, it would never work out; our parents and the people around us

    would make our lives miserable.

    If I chose to continue with this marriage, rissa and Anya would both be miserable, including myself.

    I couldn¡¯t win. None of the choices were good ones.

    That¡¯s why I had to stick with my original n to marry Anya for the sake of rissa. If I couldn¡¯t be

    happy, I at least wanted her to be.

    I can only hope she finds it in her heart to forgive me one day.

    I had to build up the courage to have this conversation with her. I couldn¡¯t run from it anymore. I had to

    tell her the truth. I had to convince her that this was better for both of us.

    I¡¯d already spoken to Anya and begged for forgiveness.

    It was time that I fixed my rtionship with rissa. I had to beg her to forget what had happened

    between us. Would she be able to forgive me?

 Chapter 103

    Chapter 103

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 103

    Book 2 Chapter 26

    ~CLARISSA~

    Damon has been avoiding me ever since the little incident in his room. I haven¡¯t seen him around. He¡¯s

    not at home during the day, and he only returns at night when he¡¯s sure I¡¯m deep in sleep.

    He was doing everything to keep the distance between the two of us. Now I knew he was doing

    everything in his power to ensure that nothing inappropriate happened between us again.

    He wanted his engagement with Anya to arrive without any hups. And to him, that would ur as

    long as I didn¡¯t interfere.

    I bite my bottom lip in frustration. Everything I tried backfired on me, every one of my ns to bring me

    closer to him. I was running out of options. I wasn¡¯t sure what else there was that I could do.

    That night, it was never my intention to go back into his room. The dream was the only reason I went to

    him. He was the person I trusted the most to confide in. He was the person that always made me feel

    better. Just being by his side has always made me calm when everything around me felt like it was

    destroying me.

    It was never part of my n to do what I did. I didn¡¯t regret it but I missed him so much. If I had known

    he would have acted this way, I would have never pushed him.

    There just wasn¡¯t much I could do when he was hiding from me.

    My Damon has never been a damn coward. He¡¯s never been this way. Was avoiding me really that

    important to him? Did his engagement with Anya mean more to him than I did?

    He wasn¡¯t returning any of my messages, and every time I asked someone to tell me where he was, no

    one had an answer to give me. He was lying to everyone about his whereabouts or maybe he was

    asking them to lie to me. I trusted Autumn the most out of everyone in the house other than Damon but

    sadly even she had no clue where Damon had been.

    There was one more day, just one more day before that such engagement party, and nothing that I did

    to stop it had worked. I couldn¡¯t avoid it any longer; it was happening. Tomorrow I would have no choice

    but to watch Damon announce his engagement to her in front of hundreds of guests. He would be

    doing the one thing I wished that he¡¯d do with me. I¡¯ve always dreamt of him announcing our marriage

    to every possible person on this, but Anya would be the one getting her wishes fulfilled. She¡¯d

    won this battle.

    The smirk she gave me as she walked into our home proved that even she knew she¡¯d won this time.

    She looked around the house like she owned it. Now that she is closer than ever to getting Damon¡¯s

    last name, she feels entitled to his family¡¯s possessions.

    I felt sick to my stomach. I didn¡¯t believe for one second that this woman loved Damon. If she did, I

    would have acted differently. I would have stepped down and let this marriage happen peacefully.

    But I would not let Damon destroy his life because of her. I would not let her take his happiness away.

    He may not know his mistake now, but I would not stop until he realized it.

    ¡°Everything looks so beautiful.¡± Anya says in her fake ¡®happy¡¯ tone. ¡°Don¡¯t you think so, rissa?¡±

    Autumn holds my hand to stop me from saying anything that could cause problems for me.

    ¡°It is beautiful,¡± Autumn answers for me. ¡°Do you know where Damon is?¡± She asks her.

    She squeezes my hand, letting me know she was asking this question only because of me. She was

    hoping that Anya could help us find him.

    ¡°Why do you ask?¡± She answers her question with one of her own.

    Autumn shrugs her shoulders, ¡°I¡¯m just curious. We are just concerned that Damon might have second

    thoughts about the engagement. He hasn¡¯t taken part in any of the decorations; in fact, he hasn¡¯t been

    around to n the party at all. It¡¯s almost like he doesn¡¯t want it to happen.¡±

    Anya narrows her eyes, ¡°I can assure you that Damon is pleased about our engagement party. He can¡¯t

    stop talking about it. He¡¯s been spending all of his time with me, choosing out my dress and helping me

    find a hairdresser and makeup artist. He¡¯s been doing everything for me; just because you don¡¯t see

    him in the house doesn¡¯t mean he isn¡¯t excited about getting engaged to the love of his life.¡±

    I try not to be affected by her words but fail miserably. All this time, he¡¯s been with her. While I¡¯ve been

    in pain thinking about him getting engaged to her, he¡¯s been having the time of his life with her. He¡¯s

    been shopping with her, giving her his opinion on dresses, and making her happy.

    I wasn¡¯t just hurt anymore. I was angry. Very angry. With him. With her.

    I¡¯m about to say something when footsteps catch my attention. It isn¡¯t just the footsteps; it¡¯s the scent

    that hits me as well.

    It¡¯s him.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    Damon.

    He¡¯s here.

    Anya looks behind us, but I don¡¯t bother turning around to look at him like I usually do. I¡¯m too angry to

    look at him.

    ¡°Damon!¡± Anya greets him with a bright smile. ¡°We were just talking about you.¡±

    I can feel his body tense at her words.

    ¡°You were?¡± He asks hesitantly.

    I can¡¯t believe I haven¡¯t seen him since that night in his room. I can¡¯t believe that he was so okay with

    not seeing me for that long. I can¡¯t believe that I was the only one that was in pain all this time.

    I don¡¯t wait to listen to their conversation. I walk away, not fast but slowly, very slowly. I wanted his gaze

    to burn into my back. I wanted him to watch me walking away from him. I knew how much he hated that

    more than anything else. He hated when I didn¡¯t acknowledge his presence.

    I walk up the stairs and straight into my bedroom. I lock the door and drop to the ground. I clutch my

    dress tightly as I try to find my breath.

    I was losing him. I was losing Damon. Very soon, he would belong to Anya for good, and I wouldn¡¯t be

    able to fight for him anymore. I would have no choice but to ept defeat.

    What could I do to stop all of this? What could I do to end this stupid engagement party?

 Chapter 104

    Chapter 104

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 104

    Book 2 Chapter 27

    ~CLARISSA~

    A knock on the door forces me to get up from the ground. I didn¡¯t want anyone but Autumn to see me

    like this. If it were her, she would have called my name.

    I walk over to the door and unlock it. My breath hitches when I see Damon standing in front of me.

    I gasp at the look on his face.

    I was wrong. So very wrong.

    He wasn¡¯t as unbothered like Anya made it seem. Dark circles were under his eyes, his lips were dry,

    and his face looked like he hadn¡¯t slept in days. What has he been through these past few days without

    being by my side? Is it possible that he¡¯s like this because of me?

    This was not the face of someone happy about their engagement; this was the face of someone that

    was having doubts.

    ¡°Did you eat anything today?¡± He asks, breaking the silence.

    My lips part. Was that seriously the first question he had for me? It¡¯s been days. He¡¯s been ignoring all

    of my messages. He never once exined what he¡¯d been up to. This is the longest we¡¯ve ever been

    apart. And this is the first thing that he says to me?

    I fold my arms stubbornly and re at him.

    He winced at the look I gave him. Good. I wanted him to know exactly how angry I was at him. It¡¯s the

    angriest I¡¯ve ever felt.

    ¡°Is there a reason you are in my room right now?¡± I demand. ¡°Or are you here to apologize for

    something I don¡¯t want an apology for again?¡±

    He swallows and takes a step in my direction. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you,¡± I warn him. ¡°I can¡¯t think

    clearly when you¡¯re near me, and this is the one time I want to be thinking clearly.¡±

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    He pauses, and I can see the confusion in his eyes.

    ¡°Why are you here, Damon?¡± I demand. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be with Anya picking out more dresses?

    Shouldn¡¯t you be with her to ensure she¡¯s happy and cared for? Or are you suddenly finished with

    ignoring me?¡±

    He frowns at me. ¡°Picking out dresses?¡±

    I narrow my eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯ve been up to all this time? Spending all your time with Anya?

    Isn¡¯t that why you¡¯ve ignored me and acted like I no longer exist?¡±

    His jaw clenches, ¡°Austin and Hunter asked for my help. After everything they did for Autumn and

    Atticus, I couldn¡¯t say no. I¡¯ve been helping them find a groom for Hunter¡¯s sister since Atticus was

    busy. Hunter seems to think that his sister is secretly meeting one of the ckners; he doesn¡¯t want

    her to get involved with them since the ckners aren¡¯t allowed to have mates. I wasn¡¯t out with Anya

    all this time. I don¡¯t know where you¡¯ve heard that, but it isn¡¯t true.¡±

    Of course, Anya lied to me, and I foolishly believed her. It was clear that her dishonest ways didn¡¯t

    change, even though she wanted everyone to think that she was different.

    Her lie just made everything easier for me. I knew I wasn¡¯t doing the wrong thing by fighting for Damon

    anymore. She was the same woman she was in the past.

    If she lied to me about this, there was no doubt in my mind that Anya didn¡¯t already know of my feelings

    for Damon. Of course, she knew. She was intentionally trying to hurt my feelings.

    ¡°I came to apologize.¡± He finally says.

    ¡°Of course,¡± I mumble. ¡°To apologize. Just like I expected.¡±

    ¡°Please let me finish, rissa.¡± He begs.

    I don¡¯t say anything. I waited for him to say what he wanted even though I knew I wouldn¡¯t like it.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been avoiding this thing between us.¡± He finally says.

    This thing? Was that what he was calling it? Still, this was thest thing I was expecting him to say. I

    thought he would never acknowledge what happened between us.

    ¡°I know that you must think the worst of me. I¡¯ve always protected you from everything. I¡¯ve always tried

    my best to make you happy. Not once did I ever think I would be the reason that you¡¯re sad. I never

    thought I would ever be saying no to you.¡± He exins in a sad tone. ¡°I¡¯ve always thought that I was so

    protective over you because I saw you like a sister. . .¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± I stop him. ¡°Don¡¯t call me your sister. Never do that.¡±

    He closes his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s the f*****g problem. Isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t see you like a sister. If I did, I would

    have never done what I did that night.¡±

    What was he trying to say to me?

    ¡°I can¡¯t let myself do that anymore. I can¡¯t allow myself to feel anything for you, at least not these

    inappropriate feelings. There¡¯s no chance of anything ever happening between the two of us. We are

    supposed to act like family, like siblings, that¡¯s what my parents expect from us, and it¡¯s what outsiders

    expect as well. If we go against it, there will be plenty of trouble ahead. To avoid anything bad

    happening, I need you to agree with me. I need you to stop trying to change things between us.¡±

    I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s saying this to me. Does he think that it¡¯s easy to throw away my feelings and act like

    they never existed to begin with? How weak does he think my feelings for him are? How weak are his

    feelings for me? Is it that easy for him to push it aside and marry Anya?

    ¡°Say something.¡± He begs. ¡°Please. I hate when you ignore me, rissa.¡±

    ¡°And do you think it¡¯s easy for me when you do the same to me?¡± I demand. ¡°Do you think it makes me

    happy when you leave home for days and don¡¯t tell me anything? Do you think it doesn¡¯t affect me

    when you ignore my calls and messages? If it bothers you when I ignore you, why do you do it to me?¡±

    He closes his eyes in pain. ¡°I didn¡¯t know how to deal with my feelings or yours. I needed time away to

    think. I didn¡¯t want to see you until I was prepared to be near you again.¡±

    ¡°You needed to prepare yourself to be near me?¡± I ask in horror. ¡°It¡¯s never been that way between us

    in the past, Damon. We¡¯ve never had these problems.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± he whispers. ¡°I hate it. That¡¯s why I want things to return to where they were.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t do that.¡± I apologize. ¡°You have no idea how hard any of this is for me. You have

    no idea what I¡¯ve been through all these years, keeping what was in my heart a secret from you and

    everyone else.¡±

    I can see the ssy stare in his eyes as he pleads with me.

    ¡°rissa, I need to protect you.¡± He insists. ¡°I have to protect you from the things you have no clue

    would happen if things change between us. Please, listen to me. If you care about me at all, listen to

    me. Nothing can ever happen between us. Things cannot change. Think about our family and the

    reports that will hit the headlines as soon as anyone gets to find out that something is happening

    between the two of us. I¡¯m preventing all of that from taking ce.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± I snap. ¡°Don¡¯t you get it by now, Damon? Nothing in this world scares me as much as

    losing you does! You have no idea just how much you mean to me. You have no idea what my heart¡ª¡±

    He grabs my hair and pulls me towards him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say it.¡± He whispers with his forehead pressed against mine. ¡°Please don¡¯t say it. If you say

    what¡¯s on your mind, everything will change between us, and I don¡¯t want it to. I don¡¯t want things to

    change between us, rissa. It¡¯s good, just the way that it is. We don¡¯t need toplicate things. We

    don¡¯t need to bring trouble upon our lives.¡±

    There isplete silence after those words leave his mouth. He¡¯s serious about this. I can¡¯t believe

    Damon is so desperate to get me to forget about my feelings for him.

    It hurts.

    Why was he so determined to make me forget about everything? Was this because of Anya?

    ¡°She¡¯s the one that you love.¡± I gasp, finally understanding everything. ¡°All this time, I thought that there

    was a possibility that you didn¡¯t know what you truly wanted. But that¡¯s not true. You want her. You want

    to marry her. I never stood a chance. I¡¯ve been wrong this entire time.¡±

    I¡¯ve been forcing myself onto him without realizing that I was the one he didn¡¯t want. If he wanted me,

    he would have fought for me all along.

    What the hell was I thinking? I was so blinded by my love that I didn¡¯t take a second to think about him

    and what he truly wanted.

    I knew that Anya would make him unhappy, but if she was what he wanted, I had to step back. I had to

    let him stay with the person he wanted to stay with.

    I pull away from him to walk over to the window. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Damon.¡± I apologize. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for

    everything. I didn¡¯t realize until now that I was wrong for wanting to be more to you. I didn¡¯t realize how

    unhappy I was making you.¡±

    ¡°rissa, you have it all¡ª¡± he tries to say.

    ¡°No.¡± I snap. ¡°You wanted things to return to normal between us. You¡¯re getting your wish. I won¡¯t try to

    stop this wedding. I won¡¯t try to be something more. I won¡¯t burden you with talks of my feelings, and I

    definitely won¡¯t try anything inappropriate anymore. You have made your decision very clear; I¡¯m giving

    you exactly what you want. All I¡¯ve ever wanted was for you to be happy, Damon. I didn¡¯t want to

    believe that Anya was your true happiness, but I know now. I won¡¯t make the same mistakes twice.¡±

    He¡¯s about to say something when the door opens.

    ¡°There you two are,¡± Atticus says. ¡°We were looking everywhere for you. We need some extra help with

    the rest of the decorations.¡±

    I don¡¯t turn to look at them. I can¡¯t let Atticus see me like this.

    I know there is plenty that Damon still wants to tell me, but I¡¯m done with this discussion. If I stayed any

    longer with him, I would lose myposure and go straight back to how I acted before.

    I couldn¡¯t believe I was indeed giving up like this. It was different when I thought that Damon wanted

    me as well, but now that I knew he wanted Anya, I couldn¡¯t continue with this.

    It was over.

    Everything was over.

 Chapter 105

    Chapter 105

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 105

    Book 2 Chapter 28

    ~CLARISSA~

    There were so many things happening around me. Last-minute decorations were being hung on the walls; caterers were walking up and down the hallways. We had one hour left before guests started to arrive. Just one hour.

    There were pictures of Damon and Anya added to our home. Pictures that would haunt me every time I had to look at them. Anya was the one to request it. She wanted things done very simrly to Autumn''s marriage to Atticus. It''s like she was trying to relive their marriage through Damon. If they did anything differently, sheined that they treated Autumn better than they did her.

    Damon didn''t try to speak to me again after what happened in my room, but I wasn''t exactly giving him a chance either.

    This time, I was the one that was avoiding him. I knew that avoiding him would affect him even more than if I was by his side, just like he''d done to me the past few days. However, this time, I wasn''t doing it intentionally. This time, I was avoiding him for my own good. My heart needed to distance myself from him if I wanted to survive seeing him with her. This was for me. I was being selfish. To protect myself from any more heart ache.

    I was giving him what he asked from me. He couldn''t have it both ways. He wanted things to go back to normal between us, but I knew there was no chance of that. My heart was broken; it could never be the same again. Every time I looked at him, I would feel pain from his rejection. He may not have openly said the words to me, but it was a clear rejection. He chose Anya. He always chose her. I just refused to ept it in the past. It was my fault for not seeing what was right in front of me. I denied it until Damon came out and told me himself. He didn''t think he had to in the past but after many failed attempts to get closer to him, he realized that it had to be done.

    I stare at the dress in the mirror. I was dressed, not in the white I once wanted to wear, but in ck. This was supposed to be my engagement party, but sadly, I was never lucky enough to get anything I wanted in this life. The one person that fought to give me everything I wanted would soon belong to someone else.

    I knew it was only a matter of time before Autumn barged into my room to check on me. I didn''t want to wait for that to happen. I needed space. I needed time to clear my mind. I didn''t want to be here when the engagement was happening. I didn''t want to see Damon next to Anya, nor did I want to listen to the announcement that wouldpletely shatter my heart.

    I opened my room door and cautiously looked to both sides, checking if anyone was there. When I didn''t see anyone, I quickly ran for the stairs. I was aware that I would have to pass early guests and possibly family members to get to the exit, but it was a risk I had to take. Hopefully, everyone would be too busy with the party to pay attention to me.

    When no one was looking, I ran out of the house and headed straight for the woods. I knew it should be thest ce to go after what happened thest time I went there looking for Damon, but I needed to be alone. Staying in the house was not an option for me. Taking a vehicle was also not an option. I had to be close to home.

    If I tried to exin to anyone, they wouldn''t understand; they would only force me to stay and watch the one thing that would destroy me.

    The moment I entered the forest, my feet started to move on their own. I could feel the wind gushing in my ear with how fast I moved; the night drew closer. I had less than an hour left before my worst nightmare came true.C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    I don''t know how long I kept running; all I knew was that I kept going further and further away from my home.

    A whisper against my ear totally surprises me and forces me to stop. I grabbed onto a tree and held on as I tried to find my breath. What was that? I wasn''t sure what I''d heard, but it was enough to make me worry. Was I not alone like I initially thought?

    My heart was racing, and I hoped I wasn''t in danger like thest time. No one was around to help me this time. They wouldn''t even know that I was in danger since they would still think I was somewhere inside our home.

    I slowly took in my surroundings; I could see the leaves falling to the ground and hear the sounds of nature. But there was no other sound or sight of anything that I had to worry about. Maybe I''d misheard the whispers.

    My frustration over the party had me imagining things that weren''t even there. It was messing with my mind. I knew it was only a matter of time before Ipletely lost all sanity.

    Get a grip on yourself, rissa.

    I had to find a way to cool down before I did something stupid. The time for that had already passed now that I thought about it. This was something stupid. Leaving home while everyone was busy preparing for a big engagement party.

    Whenever it concerned Damon, I always did things without thinking correctly. I knew that he would freak out if he realized that I wasn''t home. But I wasn''t going back there. Not now; I would deal with the consequencester. For now, I would stay here and enjoy the sound of nature.

    I had to hope that no one noticed I was missing and started a search party to look for me. That would be embarrassing. I should have said something to Autumn, at least. If she''d known, she would have covered for me.

    I close my eyes. I couldn''t think about that right now. I had to think about myself and my future. To me, Damon has always been my future. Without him, I wasn''t sure what to do with my life.

    All of my memories of him kept repeating in my mind. I couldn''t get him out of my head. I was hurting. It felt like someone was purposefully trying to rip my heart out of my chest.

    I knew that he felt our connection; I knew that he at least understood that my feelings for him were nothing like my feelings for anyone else. He knew that I didn''t see him as my brother. It''s why he asked me not to say anything. It''s why he asked me not toplicate things.

    I never thought there woulde a day when I would willingly let Damon get engaged to that woman.

    I''ve never been one to back down. I''ve always fought for what I wanted. But this time was different; this time, Damon was the one to ask me to behave; he was the one to ask me to let things happen without causing any trouble.

    I usually did the opposite of what he asked me to do, depending on his request.

    I never got to see how he looked for the party. I was sure he looked the kind of good that left a girlpletely speechless and unable to look at anything else but him.

    If it were our engagement party, I wouldn''t be able to look away. People would have to drag me away from him since I''d want to spend every second by his side.

    I cover my face with my hands and let out a stifled scream of frustration. It wasn''t my engagement party. It was Anya''s.

    I felt trapped and confused. And stuck.

    Why was this happening to me? Why? Why couldn''t Damon willingly be mine? Why did everything around us constantly push us away from each other?

    A sudden crackling caught my attention, and I slowly lifted my face from my hands. It took me a few seconds to determine what caused the sound. My eyes widened in shock as the reddish mes roared before me.

    Fire.

    First, it started as barely anything, but now it was a growing monster ready to pounce on me.

    I couldn''t believe this.

    The forest was on fire. It was actually on fire.

    Where did ite from? As far as I knew, I was the only one here. I would have heard if anyone was trying to start a fire.

    It surrounded me. I picked myself off the ground and searched for a path to escape the hungry mes.

    How did this even happen? And why was the fire a perfect circle around me?

 Chapter 106

    Chapter 106

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 106

    ~DAMON~

    The guests were already arriving, but there was still no sign of rissa. I kept looking at the door,

    hoping to see her, but disappointment kept on hitting me when I saw everyone except her.

    I knew I didn¡¯t leave things on good terms between us. I couldn¡¯t sleepst night. She was all I could

    think about. Getting engaged to Anya hadn¡¯t even crossed my mind once. rissa had taken over my

    thoughts, and I knew it would be that way for a long, long time. Nothing could erase her from my mind,

    not even myself.

    I couldn¡¯t get her words out of my head. She thought that I had no feelings for her. She thought that I

    wanted to be with Anya and not her. She doesn¡¯t realize how wrong she is.

    I wanted to correct her. I wanted to tell her the truth, but I knew that if I did, she wouldn¡¯t stop trying to

    change things between us. I had to let her believe it if I wanted her to forget about us being a

    possibility.

    It still bothered me that I had to hurt her in order to keep her safe. rissa hasn¡¯t been thrown into our

    world the way that my family has been in the past. She doesn¡¯t understand how hostile the world was

    when they got an opportunity to bring an influential family like ours to the ground. I didn¡¯t want her to

    take the fall for the rest of us.

    ¡°You should be happy,¡± Atticus says as he joins my side. ¡°But you look anything but that. It¡¯s your

    engagement party to Anya. At one point in your life, you wanted this more than anything else. There

    was a point where both Dante and I wished that we were in your position today. Of course, that¡¯s before

    I realized my true feelings for Autumn.¡±

    I sigh, ¡°you always know how to read me like an open book. I don¡¯t even know how to feel right now.

    I¡¯m confused by my feelings.¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°are you sure this is what you want, Damon? I know we¡¯ve had our differences, but I

    would hate to see you go down the wrong path.¡±

    I inhale sharply at his question. This wasn¡¯t about me or what I wanted. This was about protecting

    rissa from what she thought she wanted. I didn¡¯t care what I had to do as long as I knew she would

    be safe from any harm, whether it be physical or emotional.

    ¡°I know this is what I must do,¡± I answer him truthfully. ¡°I have to do this.¡±

    He raises one brow at me, ¡°ah,¡± he whispers, ¡°this is what you must do. Tell me again, why do you think

    this is what you have to do?¡±

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    I knew he would read between the lines. I knew that he would understand that this wedding wasn¡¯t

    happening because I wanted it to happen but for apletely different reason.

    That was one answer that I couldn¡¯t give him. I couldn¡¯t exin it without telling him everything that had

    happened between rissa and me in the past couple of days. I couldn¡¯t exin to him what I meant

    without telling him that I had feelings for someone that he considered his sister, something that I was

    also supposed to do.

    Anya walks into the room then, and there are gasps throughout it as everyone sees her dress. Judging

    by the thrilled look on her face, she was overjoyed by their reactions. Anya always loved being the

    center of attention. She loved to be the best dressed and have the nicest jewels amongst those around

    her.

    The opposite of rissa.

    While Anya loved attention, rissa would feel ufortable under all the stares. What was I doing?

    Why the hell was I evenparing the two of them? They were twopletely different women. Both

    were amazing in their own ways.

    ¡°Have you seen rissa?¡± I ask him. I needed an answer before Anya came any closer to us. If she

    heard me asking about rissa, she would be angry, and I didn¡¯t want to ruin her night due to my

    own problems. I¡¯d already done plenty to hurt her feelings, and I promised her to try not to do anything

    to betray her again.

    Anya never found out who the girl was that I had feelings for. If she realized how crazy I acted for

    rissa, it would be a clear indication, and I didn¡¯t want that to happen. If it did, it would cause more

    problems for all three of us.

    ¡°Autumn left a few minutes ago to bring her out of her room.¡± He informs me. ¡°As you already know,

    rissa, just like Dante, is not reacting well to this engagement party. I¡¯m afraid we may not be able to

    persuade her to join the rest of us.¡±

    Dante was also not here. He¡¯d chosen to skip the party, and I wasn¡¯t about to force him to watch

    something like this. I shouldn¡¯t force rissa either; if this were something that would hurt her, it would

    be better that she wasn¡¯t around to see it. Though, I just wished that I could see her, just once. I wanted

    to gaze at her as much as possible before I ced a ring on Anya¡¯s finger. My selfish heart wanted to

    see her as much as she would let me.

    ¡°I can¡¯t find her.¡± A familiar voice says.

    I spun around to see Autumn behind us.

    She was talking about rissa, no doubt. But why couldn¡¯t she find her? Wasn¡¯t she supposed to be in

    her room?

    ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t find her?¡± I demand. ¡°Where is rissa?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve looked everywhere for her.¡± She informs me. ¡°Her dress isn¡¯t in the room, which means that she

    did get dressed to attend the party. However, she isn¡¯t here. I¡¯ve searched the entire mansion. rissa

    is not here.¡±

    I can hear the panic in her voice. Suddenly, I felt dizzy; everything in the room was beginning to spin. I

    couldn¡¯t think properly now that I knew rissa was not in the mansion.

    I knew what she was like. I knew what she was capable of doing when she was hurt.

    f**k! I should have expected this from her. I should have known that she would have done something

    like this. I should have asked the guards to keep an eye on her. To prevent her from leaving and doing

    something reckless.

    I loosened my tie and examined all the faces in the room that were visible to me. I was still hoping that

    she was somewhere in the crowd, even though I already knew she wasn¡¯t there. I would know, after all,

    I was searching all of the faces earlier looking for her.

    She wasn¡¯t here.

    Where the f**k was she then? Where did she run off to?

    ¡°Continue to search inside,¡± I order them. ¡°I will ask the guards if they saw anything that could help us

    find her. If she isn¡¯t in the mansion, it only means she¡¯s left. She isn¡¯t home.¡±

    I had to hope that, for once, rissa didn¡¯t do anything crazy that could put her life in danger. Anya

    spots me walking through the crowd, and she immediately pushes her way toward me. She thinks that

    I¡¯ming for her, but she doesn¡¯t realize that I am trying to leave the party.

    Her eyes widen when I try to go around her. She grabs my arm to stop me from going any further. I

    couldn¡¯t deal with this right now. I had to get to rissa. The engagement party could wait. She was

    more important than this.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Anya demands. ¡°It¡¯s almost time for the announcement. Everyone is waiting for

    us. You can¡¯t leave now!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t find rissa,¡± I inform her. There was no point in lying to her; she had to know the truth. ¡°I

    have to find her. This party can¡¯t happen unless I know that she¡¯s okay.¡±

    She looks horrified by my words. Damn it. I hated that look on her face, but there was nothing that I

    could do about it. I was bing impatient, and I knew if I didn¡¯t find rissa within the next hour, I

    would lose my f*****g mind.

    ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t find her?¡± She demands as her eyes narrow. ¡°Are you sure she isn¡¯t just

    doing this to mess with us? You know just as much as I do that rissa does not want us to get

    married. She dislikes me; she has always hated me even though I¡¯ve been nothing but nice to her. It¡¯s

    unfair, Damon. It¡¯s unfair that you always pick her side over mine. Why are you letting her ruin this

    beautiful night for us? If you walk out of here, people are going to talk; they¡¯re going tough at me.

    Please, for once, think about me and not rissa.¡±

    I shoved my hands into my pocket and rocked back and forth in my shoes. She didn¡¯t know rissa as

    I did. While rissa didn¡¯t want to attend this party, I was sure she wasn¡¯t intentionally trying to

    sabotage this night for us. It was all just too much for her, and she may have acted on her emotions.

    Whatever the case may be, I had to find her.

    ¡°Please, Anya, please try to understand. I have to find her.¡± I plead with her. She had to understand.

    She had to.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re doing this out of all the nights. Tonight is the night you choose to walk out of here

    to look for someone that may or may not be in danger!¡± She snaps. ¡°In case you haven¡¯t realized,

    Damon, she is your sister, not your freaking wife. Everyone here can look for her. Why do you need to

    do it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    That¡¯s all I say as I storm out of the house. I couldn¡¯t listen to Anya¡¯s words any longer. I was losing

    time.

    Something in my heart tells me that she¡¯s in danger. I could feel it pounding in my chest, begging me to

    protect her. To keep her safe.

    Where the hell are you, rissa?

    The guards look up as soon as they see me approaching them.

    ¡°Did rissa leave the mansion earlier?¡± I ask Kyle.

    He nods, ¡°she left over an hour ago.¡±

    Damn it.

    ¡°Did you happen to see where she went?¡± I demand. ¡°Did she take a vehicle with her?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± He shook his head. ¡°She didn¡¯t need to take a vehicle. She went straight into the woods.¡±

    ¡°And you didn¡¯t think to report this to me?¡± I demand roughly.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry.¡± He stutters. ¡°I didn¡¯t know I had to report this to you or anyone else. I was not informed of

    this before.¡±

    Why did she go back into those woods after what happened thest time she was in there? I didn¡¯t

    think rissa would take such a crazy risk again. Why didn¡¯t she tell anyone? If she didn¡¯t want to tell

    me, she could have at least said something to Autumn!

    I was losing my damn mind. How far in the forest did she wander off to? How long would it take me to

    find her?

    Something in the air catches my attention before I can take a step forward toward the woods.

    I frown. It didn¡¯t take me long to figure out what it was.

    It¡¯s smoke.

    I can smell it also.

    ¡°Is there a fire somewhere?¡± I ask as I look around us.

    The guards shrug their shoulders. The music from inside was sting loudly, and it was hard to hear

    them above the noise. Did they turn the music up louder in the past few seconds? It was probably my

    brothers trying to distract the crowd from my disappearance.

    They¡¯re pointing to something behind me. I follow their gazes, and when I see what they¡¯re pointing at,

    my body stops moving, rooted to the ground.

    There was indeed a fire. But it wasn¡¯t in the house.

    It was deep in the woods. . .where rissa was.

    Oh, f**k.

 Chapter 107

    Chapter 107

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 107

    Book 2 Chapter 30

    ~ANYA~

    I couldn¡¯t believe that this was happening on my engagement night! Everything was going as nned

    until a few minutes ago. Somehow rissa had found a way to make this night about her. The b****y

    girl always knew how to destroy my life with her tricks. She wasn¡¯t as innocent as everyone wanted me

    to believe. She was anything but innocent. She was an evil, maniptive b***h.

    Just when I was getting things to go my way, she destroyed them for me. I should have seen this

    coming. I should have been prepared.

    I wanted to see the pain on her face today when Damon announced our engagement in front of

    everyone. Yet, the stupid girl had chosen to be a coward. She ran before anything could happen

    instead of staying as she should have.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Dante asks as he joins my side.

    He wasn¡¯t here earlier, when did he arrive?

    ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t attending the party?¡± I ask him, pretending to care.

    He stiffens, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to, but I thought I should at least be there for you and Damon. It may not be a

    happy asion for me, but it is one for the both of you.¡±

    I nod, ¡°thank you, Dante. I¡¯m happy that you came, but right now, everything is a mess, and I¡¯m losing

    my mind!¡±

    He frowns, ¡°where is Damon?¡±

    I bite my lip in frustration. ¡°He left,¡± I mumble angrily.

    His eyes narrow, ¡°he left you? Alone? On your engagement night?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let her manipte you,¡± Griffin says behind us. ¡°rissa is missing. We¡¯re all looking for her,

    including Damon.¡±

    I narrowed my eyes; Griffin was constantly pushing my buttons. I disliked him just as much as I hated

    rissa. Why was he even listening to our conversation? It had nothing to do with him.

    ¡°rissa is missing?¡± He asks Griffin. ¡°Where was thest ce you saw her?¡±

    ¡°She was supposed to be in her room.¡± He exins to him. ¡°But it turns out that she isn¡¯t even at home.

    Damon went to look for her, but we have no idea where he went either. He disappeared just like she

    did.¡±

    ¡°Maybe she¡¯s in the woods,¡± Dante suggests. ¡°She did that thest time we couldn¡¯t find her.¡±

    ¡°Would she take a risk like that after what happened recently?¡± Griffin asks. ¡°I don¡¯t want to believe

    she¡¯d do something like that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, trust me,¡± I say. ¡°She is capable of doing something that stupid. I¡¯m sure all of you are worrying for

    no reason. She will be back soon. I¡¯m more worried about Damon. What would all of these people think

    if he didn¡¯t return soon? It would look like he left me!¡±

    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be the worst thing in the world now, would it?¡± Griffin asks me.

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°There¡¯s no time for this,¡± Dante growls. ¡°The sooner we find Damon and rissa, the sooner

    everything can move forward.¡±

    He was right. As much as I wanted to forget about rissa tonight, I knew that they had to find her for

    this engagement to happen still. If I wanted it to happen tonight, I¡¯d have no choice but to help them

    find her.

    The forest was probably a good ce to start searching for her. If she wasn¡¯t here and if no vehicles

    were missing, then she had to have left on foot. We needed to speak to the guards.

    ¡°We should search the woods,¡± I tell Dante. ¡°We can go together. Everyone else could wait here and

    keep looking for her.¡±

    I wanted time alone with Dante. I still wanted him under my control. Even though I was marrying

    Damon, I wanted Dante to be under my spell. I loved having both of them do anything for me. Unlike

    Damon, Dante still listened to every word that I spoke to him. He always did everything I asked him to

    do for me. I didn¡¯t want to lose that.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Dante tells me, and I quickly leave. It was better than staying here and having everyone feel

    sorry for me. I knew what they were all thinking. They thought that Damon was having second thoughts

    about the entire thing. They didn¡¯t realize that this was all because of that stupid girl. Her family refused

    to tell the guests what was happening; they protected her like they always did. Everyone always had to

    clean up after rissa¡¯s mess. She did things without thinking, and everyone else was left to pick up

    the pieces for her.

    Just as we were leaving, I spotted someone I shouldn¡¯t have. I freeze. Dante notices that I¡¯ve stopped,

    and he immediately walks over to me.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He asks.

    Willow. What was she doing here? Why was my sister here? Did she follow me here?

    As far as I knew, she never left our home. I¡¯ve always told her to stay there, that it was unsafe to leave

    the house. Then why the hell was she here? And how long has she been disobeying me?

    Her eyes fell on me, and her face brightened when she saw me.

    Oh no.

    ¡°Anya?¡± Dante tries once more to speak to me.

    ¡°Anya!¡± Willow shouts my name.

    Oh no. No. No. No.

    Dante can¡¯t know that she¡¯s my sister. His gaze moves from me to her, and my heart freezes at what I

    see next. No. It can¡¯t be.

    I watched as Willow¡¯s eyes widened the moment her eyes fell on Dante. Her mouth forms a small ¡®o¡¯,

    and her cheeks are red.

    She likes him.

    My sister likes Dante.

    This is not good. She¡¯d just met him. She hadn¡¯t even spoken a word to him.

    I had to get her out of here before she did something stupid.

    I was so focused on her that I hadn¡¯t realized that Dante was frozen beside me as he gazed at her.

    Please tell me this is a nightmare. Please tell me that I will wake up, and this will all be just a f*****g

    dream.

    ¡°How does she know your name?¡± He asks me. ¡°Who is she? I¡¯ve never seen her around before.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a friend I invited to the party.¡± I lie.

    ¡°She isn¡¯t dressed for an engagement party.¡± Dante points out as he gazes at her jeans.

    I press my lips tightly together. ¡°She isn¡¯t rich like you, Dante. This is all that she could afford.¡±

    ¡°I¡ª¡±

    Before he can say anything else, I cut him off, ¡°I need to tell her what¡¯s happening. Can you wait for

    me?¡±

    He initially looks hesitant to leave us, but he eventually listens to me like he usually does.

    I grab Willow¡¯s arm when he leaves and pull her as far away from the house as possible. I needed to

    ensure that no one was looking at us.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡± I demand from her. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here!¡±

    She looks down at her feet as I scold her, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She apologizes. ¡°I told you before that it gets

    lonely now that mother isn¡¯t home with us. I miss her. And when you aren¡¯t home, I have no one to

    speak to. It¡¯s hard, sister. I just wanted to spend some time with you, to meet your friends. I have none.¡±

    I sigh and lift my hands into the air, ¡°I told you it¡¯s dangerous. I told you that when it was safe, I would

    introduce you to everyone.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s partly why I came also.¡± She informs me. ¡°I saw a strange man snooping around the house

    earlier. He ran when he realized that someone was still at home.¡±

    I stopped moving at her words. Someone was at our house while she was home alone? Who the hell

    could that be? If the person ran when they realized someone was home, it only meant that it was an

    enemy. Someone that was trying to get information on me.

    This wasn¡¯t good. This wasn¡¯t good at all.

    ¡°Are you upset with me?¡± Willow asks unhappily.

    ¡°Of course not,¡± I assure her. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you for finding me and being brave. You did the right thing

    bying to find me after you saw that man. I need you to give me a description of him when we get

    home. I need to find out who he was and why he was there.¡±

    She nods and looks behind me. ¡°Is there a party inside?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but you can¡¯t stay here,¡± I tell her. ¡°I¡¯ll have someonee and pick you up. You will be safe with

    them. Trust me.¡±

    She nods, ¡°will it be that man you were just with earlier?¡±

    My back stiffens at her question, ¡°no. It will not be him. I have somewhere that I need to be with him

    right now.¡±

    She looks disappointed by my words, which bothers me more than it should. I knew it was likely just a

    crush; it was understandable since Dante was a good-looking man. However, I didn¡¯t like the idea of my

    sister liking him, even if it was just a harmless crush.

    ¡°If anyone asks who you are. Tell them that you¡¯re my friend. Okay?¡±

    She frowns. ¡°But I¡¯m your sister.¡±

    I nod, ¡°I know, but these people don¡¯t need to know that.¡±

    Her forehead creases, ¡°are you ashamed of me? Is it because of the way I¡¯m dressed? I don¡¯t have on

    a pretty dress as you do.¡±

    ¡°Of course not, Willow,¡± I tell her. ¡°I could never be ashamed of you. One day you will understand why I

    asked you to do this for me. But please, I don¡¯t have time to exin this to you.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°I guess I can do that. I don¡¯t like to lie, but if you ask me to, I will.¡±

    I smile, ¡°thank you, Willow. I¡¯ll wait with you until my friend shows up to pick you up.¡±

    If only they could get here quickly before Dante returns. It could get worse if Griffin or the otherse

    here and see her. They won¡¯t be as understanding as Dante was. I¡¯m sure that they wouldn¡¯t believe a

    word that I said.

    I had to get Willow out of this ce as quickly as possible.

 Chapter 108

    Chapter 108

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 108

    Book 2 Chapter 31

    ~CLARISSA~

    I stepped forward, but the fire taunted me by moving closer to me in return. It wasing towards me,

    closing in. If I tried to move again, it would only move closer to me. It¡¯s almost like it was trying to reach

    me. To tell me something.

    I had to be losing my mind. Maybe I was dreaming. Maybe if I closed my eyes and pretended that I was

    asleep, all of this would go away.

    The heat was bing unbearable; it was enough to remind me that it was not a dream like I was

    hoping it to be.

    Was this how my life was going to end? From a fire? A fire that I had no idea where it came from.

    There were no signs of a fire when I came here the first time, just whispers that I initially thought were

    something made up in my mind. Now I knew there was a possibility that I was wrong.

    Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    Someone must have intentionally done this. The whispers in my head had f****d me to stop, and while I

    wasn¡¯t paying attention to my surroundings, they¡¯d set a fire around me. But still, I would have heard

    something.

    Unless. . . Witches were involved.

    They would have been able to start a fire very quickly. My head spun as I tried to figure out what had

    just happened while also trying to find a way to escape this fire.

    ¡°CLARISSA!¡± I hear a familiar voice shouting my name.

    My heart paused for a second.

    ¡°CLARISSA!¡±

    My heart skips a beat this time. I couldn¡¯t believe it. He was here.

    ¡°Where are you?¡±

    I can¡¯t stop the smile from forming in my lips despite the fire still zing around me.

    Damon. He¡¯de for me. Even though his engagement party was today, he still came for me.

    Of course, he would. He has always protected me in the past. He was always the one to save me from

    everyone, including myself.

    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± I shout, making it easier for him to find me.

    How did he know to follow the fire? He was probably used to trouble following me wherever I went.

    Anywhere danger was present; somehow, I was also there.

    I breathed a sigh of relief when I could finally see him, not just hear his voice. His eyes widen when he

    spots me in the middle of the fire. I could barely get a good view of him because of the mes and it

    bothered me.

    ¡°Wait there.¡± He orders me. ¡°I¡¯ming to you!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± I shout. ¡°Don¡¯te here. There are mes everywhere! We can find another way to get me out

    of here. Get Autumn. I¡¯m sure she can find a way to get rid of these mes. I believe witches are the

    ones who did this. If I¡¯m right, Autumn is the right one to help me.¡±

    If I had listened to Autumn before, none of this would have happened to begin with. I knew I should

    have told her what I was about to do, she would have been able to talk me out of this stupid idea. Now,

    I was in this mess and didn¡¯t know how to get out of it.

    ¡°Witches?¡± He growls. ¡°What the f**k do witches want with our family again?¡±

    ¡°Get Autumn,¡± I say once more.

    ¡°No!¡± He roars above the fire. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you here. We don¡¯t have much time to get you out of

    there; I need to move you now!¡±

    I should have known he wouldn¡¯t listen to me.

    Before I can say anything else, Damon jumps into the fire. I scream the moment the fire touches his

    skin. Damon doesn¡¯t even flinch from the pain. He¡¯s so focused on protecting me that he doesn¡¯t care

    that he¡¯d just been injured.

    I gasped when he grabbed my waist and held my body tightly against his. He buried his face in my hair

    as he held me close.

    ¡°I¡¯m so d you¡¯re safe.¡± He whispers against my ear. I slowly reach up to wrap my arms around his

    neck. It felt so good to be in his arms, where I belonged.

    The danger was not over, however. We still had to get out of here before it was toote.

    I pull away from Damon to examine the wounds on his body. This could have been avoided.

    ¡°Why did you do that?¡± I demand. ¡°You could have gotten seriously hurt!¡±

    ¡°Do you think I care about that?¡± He asks me. ¡°Do you think anything matters to me when your life is in

    danger? You should know me better than that by now, rissa. Nothing will ever stand in the way of

    me protecting you.¡±

    My lips part, and I can¡¯t help but melt at his words. Why does he always do this? Doesn¡¯t he realize by

    now that it¡¯s words like those that make me fall so quickly for him? I was trying to let go of him so he

    could be with Anya, but how could I do that when he said things like this to me?

    I slowly touched one of the red marks on his arm, and he winced.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this, rissa.¡± He reminds me as he removes his partly burnt suit jacket and

    covers my body with it. ¡°We need to jump.¡±

    ¡°Are you insane?¡± I demand. ¡°The fire is much worse than before, and look at how many bruises you

    have because of it already! I won¡¯t let you hurt yourself again because of me!¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice, do we?¡± he demands.

    ¡°If you had listened to me before, we would have had a choice. Autumn would have easily gotten rid of

    the fire.¡± I point out.

    ¡°If I had listened to you by the time Autumn had reached you, the fire would have already gotten to you

    by then.¡± He growls.

    ¡°At least you wouldn¡¯t have been in danger,¡± I mumble.

    ¡°FUCK.¡± He hissed. ¡°Are you listening to yourself?¡±

    ¡°As a matter of fact, I am.¡± I snap. ¡°Now we¡¯re both stuck in the fire. Why are you even here when your

    engagement party is happening now?¡±

    He grabs my face in his hand and forces me to look into his eyes, ¡°does this look like the right time to

    be speaking about any of that, rissa?¡±

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°you shouldn¡¯t be here. You should be back at the party with the woman you chose

    to be your wife.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what is happening around me, rissa; I don¡¯t f*****g care about anything else as much

    as I care about your safety.¡± He growls. ¡°As long as you¡¯re in danger, I will forget about everything else.

    f**k it all. Nothing else matters when you need me.¡±

    My lips part, and my heart does this little annoying flip-flop. Stop it. Don¡¯t do that. Don¡¯t fall for his

    words. Don¡¯t be weak.

    It¡¯s already toote. The fire and emptiness in my heart were already disappearing because of his

    words.

    ¡°I don¡¯t hear anything,¡± Damon whispers as he looks around us. He pauses and his eyes go wide. ¡°The

    fire, where the hell did it go?¡±

    I slowly followed his gaze. I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes. Something was definitely wrong here.

    He was right. The fire was gone. What the hell just happened?

 Chapter 109

    Chapter 109

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 109

    Book 2 Chapter 32

    ~CLARISSA~

    ¡°Something is wrong,¡± I whisper. ¡°The fire should still be surrounding us.¡±

    How was this even possible?

    I was happy it was gone, but it didn¡¯t change the fact that nothing made sense. It was here just a

    minute ago. One minute Damon and I were trying to find a way to escape, and the next, we had

    nothing to escape from.

    ¡°We should get out of here immediately,¡± Damon says as he examines our surroundings. There wasn¡¯t

    any visible danger, but that didn¡¯t mean we were safe.

    ¡°Whatever caused that fire is still around. They¡¯re messing with us. I don¡¯t know what they have

    nned, but we must return to the others. They need to know that we may or may not have another

    unknown enemy.¡±

    Right. Back to the engagement. As soon as we returned, the party would continue as though it had

    never stopped.

    I was sure Anya was making a scene back home since Damon had left to find me during their

    engagement ceremony. She would be pissed, no doubt. Damon didn¡¯t seem to be bothered about her.

    He was too busy being frustrated over the decisions I¡¯ve been makingtely.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be there,¡± I whisper. I did not want to go back. Not tonight. Not while that party was still

    ongoing.

    Damon paused his movements so that he could look back at me.

    ¡°What?¡± he asks. I can feel the tension in the air between us increase.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be at that party, Damon,¡± I say. ¡°It¡¯s why I came into the woods, to begin with. I don¡¯t

    want to go back there. I¡¯ll do anything not to have to witness that ceremony.¡±

    He runs a hand down his face and sighs, ¡°rissa, you don¡¯t expect to remain here after what just

    happened, do you? And you¡¯re crazy if you think I¡¯ll leave you here just because you asked me to.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I mumble. ¡°But I¡¯m not going back there either.¡±

    Damon looks unhappy with me, or maybe he¡¯s upset with our situation. I¡¯m not sure which of those has

    him angry right now. Judging by the re he gives me next, it¡¯s safe to say that I¡¯m the one he¡¯s upset

    with. But ording to him, I¡¯m never the one he¡¯s angry with. But it¡¯s possible that he has changed his

    mind after today.

    ¡°Do you know what could have happened to you if Autumn didn¡¯t tell us that she couldn¡¯t find you

    anywhere?¡± He demands. ¡°Do you understand the danger you put your life in?¡±

    I press my lips tightly together and re at him. I¡¯m aware of what I did, but it doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m proud

    of my actions. Doesn¡¯t he realize how painful it would be for me to watch him get engaged to Anya?

    ¡°Why do you always do things that endanger your life?¡± He demands. ¡°Why don¡¯t you realize by now

    that every time something happens to you, my whole f*****g world turns upside down?¡±

    My lips part; why did he have to say that to me? Why?

    ¡°Why do you always do that?¡± I demand, answering his question with one of my own.

    He frowns, ¡°do what?¡±

    I can still hear the irritation in his voice. He¡¯s still angry with me for putting my life in danger yet again.

    Doesn¡¯t he realize by now that I only put my life in danger when it concerns him? If he gave me what I

    wanted, I wouldn¡¯t have to resort to doing these crazy things to get away from my own emotions.

    ¡°You always say things like this.¡± I snap.

    ¡°Things like what?¡± He demands. How can he be this clueless?

    ¡°You always say things that no one else would,¡± I exin. ¡°Dante, Atticus, and Griffin would never tell

    me that my careless actions turn their whole worlds upside down. They would never get so worked up

    over my disappearance as you do. You have always protected me more than they have done. I know

    they care about me also, but it¡¯s different with you. I can sense the difference; I can feel it in my heart.

    Yet, you keep denying everything. You expect me to forget my feelings when you keep being this

    protective over me. You expect me to throw everything away when your words make my heart skip a

    beat every damn time. Don¡¯t you realize by now that your words and actions are why I¡¯m the way I am

    today?¡±

    His eyes widen at my words, it¡¯s weird, but I don¡¯t think Damon has even realized what he¡¯s been doing

    all along. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s ever considered that he was partly the reason for this.

    My words had just opened his eyes. I didn¡¯t want him to stop doing the things that I loved. I didn¡¯t want

    him to change his behavior towards me now that he understood what it was doing to me. I didn¡¯t want

    to regret saying this to him either.

    ¡°rissa,¡± he whispers as he steps closer to me.

    I didn¡¯t want another apology from him. I was tired of his apologies. I wanted him to fight for me instead

    of saying there was no chance for us. I wanted him to tell me he wanted me just as desperately as I

    needed him. There were so many things that I dreamed of, and all of them included Damon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± I stop him as he stops a few inches away from my body. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize. I¡¯m tired of your

    apologies, Damon. I don¡¯t want to listen to another one from you.¡±

    ¡°How can I fix any of this when you don¡¯t even ept my apology?¡± He whispers. I can hear the pain in

    his voice, and it tugs at my heart. Why does every word out of his mouth affect me this much?

    ¡°I wish things were different, rissa.¡± He confesses. ¡°I do. I wish my parents hadn¡¯t adopted you. I

    wish I had met you under different circumstances. However, if they hadn¡¯t adopted you, I may have

    never met you. I may have never gotten the chance to protect you the way that I love doing. In a way,

    I¡¯m d that they did, I¡¯m d that I got the chance to have you close to me. I have mixed emotions

    about the entire thing. It¡¯s crazy but I don¡¯t think my life would have been the same without you in it.¡±

    My lips part. I couldn¡¯t believe those words wereing from Damon¡¯s mouth. What did this mean?

    Was this the closest thing to a confession I would ever get from him?

    I kept receiving mixed signals from Damon. One minute it felt like he wanted Anya and only her. The

    next, it felt like I was the one that he wanted. And maybe, I felt this way because Damon himself had no

    idea what he wanted. He was torn between the both of us.

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t share the samest name as yours, if we had met under different circumstances, just two

    strangers who happened to like each other. Would you have chosen to be with me then? Would you

    have given me everything that I want now?¡± I ask him desperately.

    I wanted to hear his response to that question. I needed to listen to him tell me yes.

    His eyes searched mine, and my heart was racing in my chest, unable to keep up with my emotions.

    ¡°Please, Damon,¡± I beg. ¡°Tell me that we would have had a chance. Tell me what I want to hear for

    once.¡±

    What¡¯s wrong with me? It¡¯s not like his answer would change our situation now. What difference would

    it make? Why did I need to hear it from his mouth?

    His face looks like he¡¯s in pain as he seems to have an inner battle within himself.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    ¡°rissa¡ª¡±

    He doesn¡¯t get to finish. He doesn¡¯t get to answer me because we hear footsteps and someone calling

    his name.

    No. No. No.

    Why was she here?

    Why did shee to ruin this moment for us?

    ¡°DAMON?¡± Anya screams once more when she doesn¡¯t get a response.

    Damon looks like he wants to apologize yet again. He doesn¡¯t take his eyes away from me. He¡¯s

    searching my face for something. I hear Dante¡¯s voice next; they¡¯re growing closer to us.

    ¡°Answer me, please.¡±

    ¡°Would it change anything now, rissa?¡± He asks me gently. ¡°There¡¯s no use in me answering

    something that will never happen.¡±

    ¡°It may not change anything now, but it means something to me,¡± I tell him. ¡°Just knowing there was

    ever a possibility for us would mean everything to me, Damon. Everything to me.¡±

    His eyes grow softer at my words, and I can tell it¡¯s affected him significantly.

    ¡°DAMON!¡± Anya shouts when she sees us.

    He breaks eye contact with me to look at her and Dante. I don¡¯t turn to them; I¡¯m still gazing at Damon.

    I¡¯m still waiting for his answer.

    ¡°What happened here?¡± Dante asks as he looks around us.

    Damon attempts to walk over to them, but I grab his arm. He looks back at me, knowing what I¡¯m

    asking for. He knows that I¡¯m still waiting for him to say the one thing that I want to hear.

    His gaze lingers on my hand on his arm for a few seconds before he lifts his eyes to look directly into

    mine. He swallows before he says, ¡°yes.¡±

    It¡¯s just one word. Just one word. But it makes my heart scream with joy. This means that he did want

    me. This means that I was right all along. I wasn¡¯t crazy for thinking Damon wanted me as well.

    It also meant that he was only marrying Anya to push me away. He didn¡¯t want her in the way I thought

    in the past. Damon was marrying her to protect me. He wanted to protect me from everyone else and

    their reactions if they ever found out about my feelings for him. Autumn was right all along.

    This time I had no doubts. This time I knew I was not hallucinating. After today, I would never believe

    anything he said to me that imed the opposite. I wouldn¡¯t let him trick me into believing that Anya

    was the one he wanted. I knew now that I was doing the right thing before by fighting for us. Now I had

    to persuade Damon to do the same. I had to show him that there was always a chance when two

    people were right for each other. And we were definitely right for each other. He couldn¡¯t tell me

    otherwise.

    I couldn¡¯t believe this. My heart has never been this happy.

    Damon wanted me.

    He wanted me!

 Chapter 110

    Chapter 110

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 110

    Book 2 Chapter 33

    ~DAMON~

    I couldn¡¯t resist telling her the truth. I couldn¡¯t resist giving her what she wanted to hear for once. I knew

    it wouldn¡¯t change a single thing between us, and I was aware that it might only make things worse.

    However, I couldn¡¯t say no to her today, not after almost losing her.

    My heart still raced from seeing her surrounded by those mes. I was terrified of losing rissa. I

    always knew there was a great chance that she was my weakness, but now I was one hundred percent

    sure that she was. No one terrified me the way that she did. I¡¯ve never wanted to protect anyone the

    way I¡¯ve always wanted to protect her.

    I would never be able to live with myself if anything ever happened to her. It bothers me that something

    terrible could have happened to her today, and I wouldn¡¯t have known anything until it was toote.

    If Autumn hadn¡¯t gone into her room before the engagement ceremony, I could have lost her, and I

    would have never been able to forgive myself. I couldn¡¯t let something like that happen again.

    I knew I was the one to push her into doing something so careless. I was the one that hurt her feelings

    and made her act out. I couldn¡¯t make that mistake again. I had to be very careful with my words and

    actions around rissa.

    I had to protect her from everything, including herself. I knew now that I also had to protect her from my

    selfish actions. I knew it would cause me more trouble in the future, but from now on, I had to pay

    closer attention to her. I had to ensure she wasn¡¯t plotting anything dangerous that could harm her.

    From now on, I will keep a close watch on her. Nothing and no one would stop me from doing what I

    had to in order to keep her safe.

    I would do f*****g anything for rissa. Anything. Anything except what she was asking from me. That

    was the only thing I couldn¡¯t give to her. Everything else I would go to the end of the earth to get for her.

    ¡°Damon?¡± Anya calls once more. rissa slowly lets go of my arm, and I turn towards Dante.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    ¡°When I arrived, rissa was surrounded by fire,¡± I exin to them. I didn¡¯t know how to exin what

    happened, however. Even I was still trying toe to terms with it.

    ¡°Surrounded by fire?¡± He demands. ¡°How did she end up in that situation?¡±

    I shrug my shoulders, ¡°I think we may be under attack like thest time. And by witches once again.¡±

    Anya stiffens at my words.

    ¡°Witches?¡± She asks cautiously. ¡°Why do you think that?¡±

    ¡°rissa believes witches were responsible for the fire, and I agree. The fire disappeared while I was

    trying to get her out of it. Only a witch would be capable of ying tricks like that. There was no water,

    nothing at all to make that fire disappear as it did.¡±

    ¡°This is not good,¡± Dante growls. ¡°Not good at all. We need to get back to our parents. We have to tell

    them what¡¯s happening. We can¡¯t let our guards down again. We almost lost so much thest time that

    we did. We need to be prepared for anything.¡±

    ¡°Before we go,¡± Anya mumbles as she turns towards rissa. ¡°Why the hell did youe here during

    our engagement party? The entire thing is ruined because of you. All of the guests are already leaving.

    My special night is ruined because of your carelessness rissa!¡±

    I stiffen at her tone. While I understood why she was upset, I didn¡¯t like anyone speaking to rissa

    like that, especially not after what she just went through.

    ¡°Anya.¡± I try to calm her down. ¡°We can have a better discussion at home. This is not the time for any of

    this.¡±

    She red at rissa, and even Dante looked upset with her.

    ¡°Why did you put your life in danger like that again?¡± He asks her. ¡°rissa, you should know better

    than this by now. You¡¯re not a child. You should make smarter choices. You¡¯re lucky that Damon came

    in time to get you.¡±

    I don¡¯t think rissa is listening to either one of them. Her entire mood changed the second I¡¯d given

    her the answer she was waiting for. It seems as though she¡¯s still thinking about it.

    ¡°Are you even listening to us?¡± Anya demands.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± I roar. ¡°I agree that she may not have done the right thing bying here on her own

    during the party, but that doesn¡¯t take away from the fact that she was almost killed tonight. Give her

    some time to process everything before you ask her all of these questions.¡±

    I can feel rissa¡¯s eyes on me, and I know that if I look at her, I¡¯ll see the girl that I gave my heart to a

    long time ago. The same girl that always looked at me like I was her hero. No girl had ever looked at

    me like that before I met her. I was a selfish bastard who did everything to see that look on her face. I

    loved the way she made me feel. I loved doing things just for her.

    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Dante says with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, rissa.¡±

    He walks over to her and pulls her into his arms. I tried to remind myself that he was my brother and

    not an enemy trying to take her away from me.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re safe.¡± He tells her right before he finally pulls away.

    It took me a while to realize that Anya red at me the entire time.

    Damn it.

    I still had to deal with her for walking out of our engagement party.

    ¡°How could you do this?¡± She whispered as we started our walk back to the house.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I apologize. I¡¯ve been giving out plenty of apologies recently. So far, it hasn¡¯t solved any of

    my problems.

    ¡°Is that all you have to say to me?¡± She demands. ¡°It was supposed to be our special night, Damon,

    and somehow you managed to make it all about rissa.¡±

    ¡°Was I supposed just to leave her there to die?¡± I growl. ¡°If you were in her situation, would you have

    preferred that I¡¯d left you there to die?¡±

    She narrows her eyes, ¡°that¡¯s different, and you know it. For starters, I wouldn¡¯t have been stupid

    enough to put myself in a situation like that!¡±

    ¡°Careful,¡± I warn her. I didn¡¯t want to hear a single bad word about rissa. I would not allow it.

    She sighs, ¡°we shouldn¡¯t be arguing on such a special day. I just wanted this day to be all about us. I¡¯m

    so disappointed that I didn¡¯t get to enjoy today with you. I was looking forward to finally calling you my

    fianc¨¦. You have no idea how devastated I am that it was called off because of this.¡±

    I sigh, ¡°Anya¡ª¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She stops me. ¡°It¡¯s okay. This just made me realize how badly I want to marry you. Let¡¯s forget

    about the engagement party. We don¡¯t need to have another one after tonight.¡±

    I frown, ¡°what are you saying?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go straight into the wedding!¡± She sings happily. ¡°Let¡¯s get married next week! It doesn¡¯t even

    have to be big as long as I have yourst name and live in the same home as you!¡±

    I stop moving, and so do rissa and Dante behind us.

    Married? Next week? Those were the only words that were spinning in my head over and over again.

    I slowly turn around to nce at rissa and wish I hadn¡¯t. The look on her face did something to my

    heart. Something I would never be able to forget. Never.

 Chapter 111

    Chapter 111

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 111

    Book 2 Chapter 34

    ~CLARISSA~

    I don¡¯t want to believe I¡¯ve heard her correctly.

    How could she ask for the wedding to be next week? That was impossible! I could barely survive this

    engagement night; what would happen on his wedding day?

    Anya knew what she was doing. At this point, she was intentionally trying to ruin my life. And she was

    going a b****y good job at it. I had to stop her. I had to do everything in my power to prevent this from

    happening.

    There was no doubt in my mind that she was rushing to marry Damon. She knew that I didn¡¯t want it to

    happen. She knew that I was willing to do anything to stop it, and she wouldn¡¯t make it easy for me.

    After today, she was more determined than ever for this wedding to happen. She knew that I was a

    bigger threat than she initially thought.

    How could she not care about the engagement party? She was willing to skip it as long as it meant she

    could quickly marry Damon. This wasn¡¯t about marrying him anymore. This was personal.

    This meant I had even less time to convince Damon to fight for us instead of letting me go.

    I couldn¡¯t y safe anymore; I had to take all the risks to make Damon mine.

    Anya kept proving to me that she never loved Dante or Damon. She knew Dante could hear everything

    she was saying, yet she moved up the wedding while he listened.

    I could sense his pain for the entire walk back to the house. He didn¡¯t bother repeating a word after her

    announcement. How could she so easily hurt him when all he¡¯s ever done was protect her? Dante has

    always been crazy about her, his eyes have always only been for her. Atticus was interested in Autumn

    even if he never knew it until after their marriage and Damon, I knew where his heart really was. But

    Dante has always loved Anya and only her. She never deserved him, she never deserved any of them.

    It bothered me that Damon didn¡¯t try once to say no to her. He could have asked for the date to be a

    later one, but he just left her to do as she pleased, even after what had happened earlier.

    He was determined to make me forget about him even though it was clear that his decision wouldn¡¯t

    just hurt me but him as well.

    ¡°Where have you been?¡± Atticus demands when he sees the four of us walking through the gates.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me you were in that forest again, rissa.¡± He adds as he takes one look at me.

    ¡°Have you learned nothing after what happened there in the past?¡±

    I bite my lip as he res at me. I did not want to disappoint anyone, and I didn¡¯t want to cause any

    trouble for them; my emotions always made me act without thinking. I was not proud of it. But I would

    not change it either. I did what I had to do. I wasn¡¯t going to sit down and watch the person that I loved

    get engaged to an awful woman who did not love him.

    ¡°I have something important to discuss with everyone,¡± Damon says as he tries to distract Atticus and

    the others from scolding me. I knew that he intended to protect me yet again. Protecting me was

    always the one thing that came first for Damon; it came naturally for him. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not that

    surprised by his actions anymore. I wish he could see into my heart; I wish he could feel my emotions.

    Only then would he realize that he was making the wrong decision.

    Most guests must have already left since the house was almost empty when I stepped inside. They

    must have already announced that the engagement party was canceled.

    ¡°We think that it¡¯s possible we are being targeted by witches again,¡± Damon tells our family the second

    he had everyone in the family room.

    ¡°Why would you say that?¡± Atticus demands.

    ¡°When rissa was in the forest, she was trapped by fire; it was surrounding her.¡± He exins. ¡°Fire

    doesn¡¯t just form a perfect circle like that without some kind of interference.¡±

    I¡¯m happy that he¡¯s doing all of the talking for me. I was still shocked after hearing about Anya¡¯s

    decision to move up the wedding.

    ¡°You were surrounded by fire?¡± Autumn asks me in horror. ¡°That¡¯s awful. Who on earth will want to hurt

    you?¡±

    ¡°She may not be the target,¡± Griffin says. ¡°The target could be one of us or all of us. She was just easy

    to get to since she was on her own in the middle of the forest while we were all preupied with the

    party. It was the perfect opportunity to strike, and I believe it was only just a warning. They want to

    scare us. Whoever it is, they want us to be aware of them; they want us to know they¡¯re close. It must

    be a sick game to them.¡±

    ¡°But still,¡± Atticus cuts in. ¡°It¡¯s not like they would have known rissa wouldn¡¯t have been at the

    engagement party.¡±

    ¡°It means that they have eyes on us.¡± Grandfather says. ¡°They¡¯ve been watching us, waiting for a

    chance to attack. They weren¡¯t expecting Damon to leave the party to find her. We¡¯re lucky that she is

    still alive. rissa, it would help if you were more careful from now on. We can¡¯t lose you.¡±

    Everyone gets quiet at his warning.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take rissa to her room,¡± Damon says suddenly. He could probably sense that I was still losing

    my mind over his wedding announcement. ¡°She needs to get some rest. She is still in shock from

    everything.¡±

    Autumn hugs me, and so does everyone else after her.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    Damon and I are silent as he walks me to my room. I don¡¯t know what to say. I was not about to

    congratte him. He knows that my mood will only worsen after what Anya said.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to let you marry her.¡± I blurt out as soon as I enter my room. He¡¯s standing by the door,

    looking at me, just looking. Waiting.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± He finally asks after a few seconds pass.

    ¡°I said I¡¯m not going to let you marry her,¡± I repeat for his sake. I wanted to make my intentions clear. I

    wanted him to be prepared because I was not nning on letting him go.

    Damon¡¯s eyes widen in surprise at my words.

    ¡°rissa¡ª¡±

    ¡°Why are you marrying someone that doesn¡¯t truly love you?¡± I demand. ¡°It was so easy for her to throw

    Dante out of her life; what makes you think she wouldn¡¯t do the same to you?¡±

    It bothered me that Damon was so quickly epting all of this. He should be fighting back. He should

    be fighting for us!

    He sighs and walks into the room. I watch as he gently shuts the door behind him before turning his

    attention back to me.

    ¡°This is something that has to be done.¡± He says gently. ¡°I know it¡¯s not something you¡¯re happy about,

    but it is my decision.¡±

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°why are you doing this? I can tell that you¡¯re not happy. I know you better than

    anyone else, Damon. You¡¯re not happy. You¡¯re miserable.¡±

    ¡°rissa, please, try to understand.¡± He pleads. ¡°I can¡¯t have you acting recklessly again. I can¡¯t watch

    you hurt yourself because of the decisions that I¡¯ve made. I¡¯m doing all this to f*****g protect you, and

    you¡¯re not helping me by walking straight into the danger.¡±

    My eyes widen. I was right all along. In his twisted way, Damon was protecting me. Did he think that he

    was somehow protecting me from myself? Was he hoping I would give up on us after he married

    Anya?

    ¡°Damon, please don¡¯t do this. You¡¯re not protecting me by marrying her. You¡¯re killing me instead!¡± I

    exim. ¡°You¡¯re taking all the joy out of my life by choosing to be with her. I can¡¯t stand seeing you with

    her. Can¡¯t you tell what it¡¯s doing to me? Isn¡¯t it obvious that I¡¯m hurting?¡±

    He walks over to me and grabs my shoulders, ¡°this pain is nothingpared to the pain you will feel if

    anyone ever found out about us. Your life would be a f*****g mess. Everyone will judge you. Because

    I¡¯m a Fawn by blood, they will not treat me as badly as they would you. Please try to understand!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about any of that, Damon!¡± I shout. ¡°I want to be with you. Only you. No one else. Why

    can¡¯t you see how badly I want us to be more than what we are now? I don¡¯t want to be your sister. I

    could never be your sister. It¡¯s unfair. I¡¯ve never wanted anything or anyone as much as I want you.

    How do you expect me to watch you marry Anya and not do anything about it?¡±

 Chapter 112

    Chapter 112

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 112

    Book 2 Chapter 35

    ~DAMON~

    No words have ever cut deeper than these spoken by rissa.

    It¡¯s the first time she¡¯s been so clear about her feelings. She¡¯s always given little hints through her

    actions, but it¡¯s the first time her words have been this clear. I¡¯ve always been able to control myself,

    telling myself that I was wrong, that she meant something else. But this time, it was so clear that I

    couldn¡¯t deny her words.

    She doesn¡¯t realize how happy it makes me to know that I¡¯m the one that she wants. She doesn¡¯t

    realize that I want her too. I¡¯ve wanted her for so f*****g long that it physically hurts to be this close to

    her and not have her in my arms. I¡¯m tempted to dip my head lower to touch my lips to hers. I¡¯m

    tempted to nip at her earlobe and suck on the skin behind her ear. I¡¯m tempted to bite her neck and

    im what was rightfully mine since the start.

    Mine.

    f**k.

    Why have I always been this possessive over her? My possessiveness has only grown over the past

    few days. I was so possessive over her that I would literally kill anyone that touched her inappropriately.

    Damn it, I almost killed myself thest time I lost control around her.

    Did all Fawns have the same t*****e to deal with? Atticus was also supposed to love only Anya, but

    somehow Autumn could gain his heart without even trying. It was the same with me. I was thought only

    to have eyes for Anya, but somehow rissa is all that I can see. She has always been by my side,

    and she¡¯s someone I trust more than anyone else in this world.

    Happiness for me meant having her by my side. Nothing could ever feel as good as having her in my

    arms, close to me, where I could touch and smell her.

    This only meant that I would be miserable after marrying Anya. I would lose the one person that made

    me happy. But I would do it all again as long as she got to live a normal life.

    I couldn¡¯t deny my feelings anymore. It was clear as day that I wanted rissa and not Anya. I would

    always care for Anya, and I would always protect her, but I didn¡¯t want her in the way that I wanted

    rissa. It was different.

    But even this fact couldn¡¯t change our faith. It was already toote for us. It was toote the moment

    my family chose her. I couldn¡¯t let her see how affected I was by her words. I couldn¡¯t let her think that

    she¡¯d won. If she knew that she was breaking down the walls I¡¯d put up to keep her safe; she would

    keep pushing. I knew rissa; she never stopped fighting unless she felt there was nothing left to fight

    for.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, rissa.¡± I apologize even though I knew it would only annoy her. She hates when I

    apologize to her, and maybe that¡¯s partly why I always do it. I don¡¯t want to bring her closer to me; I

    want to push her away. ¡°You should get some rest. You¡¯ve had a long day.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t over.¡± She threatens me.

    I turned away from her, ready to leave, before I made another big mistake.

    ¡°If you can marry someone you don¡¯t want, I could do the same.¡± She threatens me.

    I pause midway.

    Marry someone she didn¡¯t want to marry? To get back at me? Was that some sick twisted revenge?

    What the f**k?

    Suddenly, my feet can¡¯t move, not even an inch forward. I¡¯m stuck on the ground, shocked by her

    threat. I never once thought about it. If I married Anya, that meant rissa would also, one day, marry.

    Someone else. Someone that wasn¡¯t me. How the hell was I ever supposed to be okay with that? No

    man has ever been good enough for rissa. She¡¯s always been better than everyone around her, in

    my eyes.

    How does she always know exactly what to say to pierce my heart? How did she know that it would kill

    me inside to even think about her with another man?

    I can hear her footsteps closing in on me. The moment that she appears in front of me, my eyes lifts

    from the ground to focus on her.

    Was this a real threat, or was she only saying this to get under my skin? Would she truly marry another

    man just to hurt me? Would she destroy her life because I was destroying mine to protect her?

    She wouldn¡¯t. She wouldn¡¯t dare.

    ¡°Will that make you feel better?¡± She asks me. ¡°Would you be happier with me if I found someone else

    to love? Someone else to kiss and touch. Someone else to hold me. Someone else to make me feel

    the things that only you make me feel. Would that make you proud, Damon?¡±

    ¡°Stop it.¡±

    They were just two words from me, but they were words that marked my breaking point. They were

    words torn from my chest.

    ¡°Why?¡± She demands. ¡°Why should I stop it?¡±

    I bite my lip to stop saying something I would regret.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love that, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± She demands. ¡°Another man holding me, telling me how much

    he loves me. You¡¯ll love it if he puts a ring on my finger and gives me hisst name. You¡¯ll love it if he

    puts his hand¡ª¡±

    I grab her by her face and pull her closer to me. ¡°I said stop it,¡± I growl.

    Her lips part slightly, but she¡¯s ring at me with those eyes I¡¯ve grown to love so much. Eyes that saw

    straight through me. Eyes that brightened my entire day. Eyes that have somehow grown to hate me.

    Eyes that I was ashamed to look directly at.

    ¡°If it¡¯s this hard for you by just hearing this, imagine how difficult it would be if it happened for real.

    Imagine how hard it would be for you if you had to go through the same thing that you¡¯re putting me

    through right now.¡±

    I knew it would be f*****g hard. I never said that it would be easy. I knew I would experience more pain

    than her if she married another man. But there was nothing I could do about it. Why was rissa not

    understanding what I was trying to show her? What else did I have to do for her to understand that this

    thing between us could end her life for good?

    ¡°What the hell is going on in here?¡± A voice demands.

    I freeze.

    It was Atticus.

    I was so lost in rissa that I didn¡¯t realize someone had opened the door. I slowly drag my gaze from

    her face to stare at my brother, who¡¯s standing at the doorway. He¡¯s looking at the both of us, and I can

    see thoughts racing through his mind.

    rissa pulls away from me to look at Atticus.

    ¡°Damon was giving me a lecture on my bad behavior.¡± She lies. ¡°Unfortunately for him, I¡¯m not going to

    listen to a single word he¡¯s saying to me.¡±

    Atticus frowns, ¡°why won¡¯t you listen to him? Don¡¯t tell me you still haven¡¯t learned your lesson,

    rissa. What else must happen before you learn to behave yourself?¡±

    She folds her arms stubbornly, ¡°I¡¯ll behave when I get what I want.¡±

    My head snaps up at her words. I knew what she wanted. As much as it thrilled me to know that it was

    me, it also pained me to know that I couldn¡¯t give it to her.

    Atticus frowns at her words, and now his attention is solely on her.

    ¡°And what do you want?¡± He asks her. I knew rissa wasn¡¯t crazy enough to tell him the truth, but I

    was still on high alert.

    Autumn barges into the room just then. ¡°I can ask her that question. She¡¯ll faster tell me than tell you.

    After all, she loves me the most.¡±

    rissa looks relieved to see her.

    She pushes both of us out of the room so that she can be alone with her. Autumn was good at

    distracting Atticus, very good at it. Her actions make me believe that she knows about rissa and me.

    Those two have be inseparable ever since Autumn married Atticus. They were closer than

    Autumn and Anya ever was in the past. I was happy that rissa had her in her life.

    ¡°Is there something going on between you and rissa that I should know about?¡± Atticus asks me

    suddenly.

    I tried to act unbothered by his question, but my head was spinning with the possibility of him knowing

    that I had feelings for her. It was thest question I was ever expecting to hear from him.

    I swallow, ¡°what would give you that idea?¡± I ask nonchntly.

    ¡°I have reason to believe that her reckless behavior recently is somehow linked to you.¡± He answers

    me.

    ¡°So far, it¡¯s only when you do something drastic that rissa acts out this way. And somehow, you¡¯re

    always the one running after her. Just like today. It¡¯s also inappropriate for you to be alone in her room

    like you were just now.¡± He points out.

    I press my lips tightly together and turn to face him. ¡°It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve been in a room alone with

    her. Why is it suddenly a problem for you?¡±

    He shrugs, ¡°even though rissa was adopted, she¡¯s still my sister. She may not have the Fawn blood,

    but she has our name. I want to think that you think of her the same way that I do. However, I¡¯ve

    noticed that you¡¯re more protective over her than you should be. And she¡¯s also a little overprotective

    over you. I¡¯m beginning to worry. I¡¯m hoping that I¡¯m wrong about this. If not, I know you know the

    trouble this will cause.¡±

    My hand tightens into a fist, ¡°I can assure you, brother, nothing weird is happening between us. If you¡¯ll

    excuse me, there is something else that I have to do besides have this conversation with you.¡±

    He nods and watches me as I walk away. I don¡¯t think he believes me.

    This wasn¡¯t good. If Atticus had noticed something, he would keep an eye on us from now on.

    I had to be more careful than ever now. I had to make sure that rissa didn¡¯t do anything drastic

    again.

    ¡°Where have you been?¡± Anya demands when she sees me again. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take that long to walk

    rissa to her room. Everyone will get the wrong idea about the two of you if you keep doing things

    like that.¡±

    I swallow¡ªFirst Atticus, now her. I couldn¡¯t give her any more reasons to believe that rissa was the

    woman in my heart. She already knew that there was someone other than her that I cared deeply

    about; I promised myself to keep everyone from finding out who that person was.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about tonight.¡± I apologize. ¡°I knew how much you were looking forward to it.¡±

    She sighs and hugs me, ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter anymore. I¡¯m happy that we can get married soon and forget

    all about this day. But this time, I need you to hire someone to monitor rissa. She must stay out of

    danger for us to have a perfect wedding. I¡¯m tired of her reckless behavior.¡±

    I was also aware that I had to keep an eye on rissa, but I wasn¡¯t going to hire someone to do the job

    for me. Anya didn¡¯t need to know that.

    I can¡¯t bring myself to wrap my arms around her. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to hug her even though I knew

    that she would soon be my wife.

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    I don¡¯t know what I was doing. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the right thing anymore.

    All I care about is keeping rissa safe. That¡¯s all that mattered to me¡ªprotecting her.

 Chapter 113

    Chapter 113

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 113

    Book 2 Chapter 36

    ~CLARISSA~

    Four days. It was just four days before Damon married Anya.

    FOUR DAYS.

    He was doing the same as before, trying to limit any contact with me. I couldn¡¯t believe him. When

    would he stop running away from me? From us?

    However, I was also trying to stay away from him, at least for a little until everything from the fire had

    died down. Everyone were still a little upset with me and I didn¡¯t want to bring anymore attention to

    myself. Besides, Autumn had warned me that Atticus was beginning to notice that there was something

    happening between me and Damon. I knew Atticus, I knew what he was capable of doing when he was

    angry. He always protected me like his little sister and he would do the same even if it was against

    Damon.

    I couldn¡¯t do anything that would make him suspect us anymore. But today, I was ready to make my

    first move. I¡¯d stayed away from Damon long enough. He wouldn¡¯t see iting when I showed him

    what I wanted to show him for a while now.

    And that was the one thing I loved the most about my body. The tattoo of his name on my a*s. I¡¯ve

    always dreamt of the day Damon would see it. I imagined him happy and falling in love with it. I knew

    there was a chance he would hate it but I was willing to at least try.

    I knew that it would have a strong effect on him because I knew Damon well. He already knew that I

    had a tattoo but he didn¡¯t know that the tattoo was his name. He would finally know the truth today.

    ording to Autumn, everyone was leaving in an hour for a dinner. It was a dinner to celebrate the

    wedding that was only a few days away. I would pretend to be sick. I knew that everyone would insist

    that Ie but Autumn would help convince everyone to let me stay at home.

    I owed her plenty. Autumn was the only reason that Atticus wasn¡¯t punching Damon right now. She was

    doing her best to make him believe that there was nothing going on between us. He has been keeping

    a close eye on us and the fact that we were staying away from each other must have convinced him

    that he was wrong, at least for now.

    But tonight, I had plenty to do.

    Damon would be responsible for dropping Anya at her fake home after dinner and then he would return

    here. Autumn would distract everyone and make sure that they stay longer for the dinner. She would

    come up with a good enough excuse, I trusted her. She was good at these things. I don¡¯t understand

    why she does so much for me without expecting anything in return.

    When Damon returned home, it would just be the two of us. That would give me enough time to show

    him the tattoo and get a reaction from him. No one would suspect anything when they returned home,

    Autumn would make sure of it.

    It would be the first time that Damon and I would be alone in the house together ever since things had

    gotten heated between us. I was looking forward to it. He had no idea what wasing to him. And I

    was counting on it, the fact that he wouldn¡¯t be prepared for it would work in my favor. I loved catching

    Damon off-guard. I always got the best reactions when he was like that.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you getting ready?¡± Atticus asks me when he sees me going into the kitchen.

    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± I answer him as I cover my mouth. ¡°I¡¯ve been throwing up since this morning. Hasn¡¯t Autumn

    told you?¡±

    He frowns, ¡°you¡¯ve been sick since this morning and didn¡¯t think to call a doctor?¡±

    I didn¡¯t like lying to him. I didn¡¯t like lying to anyone that I cared about. But this was necessary.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to spoil tonight for anyone.¡± I lie. ¡°I thought I would have gotten better in time for the

    dinner but I was wrong.¡±

    Atticus sighs, ¡°is this another one of your tricks to get out of Anya and Damon¡¯s marriage celebrations?

    If you don¡¯t want to go, you can just say that rissa. We will find someone to stay home with you and

    keep youpany. The happiness in your eyes has died down and I want to know what we can do to

    bring it back. I hate seeing you like this. I¡¯m tired of sitting back and not doing anything about it. I need

    you to tell me what the hell is going on around here.¡±

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°can you not remind me of it every chance that you get? I was a lot more supportive

    of your rtionship with Autumn, are you forgetting that? If I¡¯m not happy with Anya marrying Damon, I

    have my reasons. I wasn¡¯t happy with your rtionship with her either.¡±

    He quirks a brow at me, ¡°I was asking a simple question, why are you so defensive?¡±

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°I¡¯m not feeling well, I told you that. I don¡¯t need to be reminded of something that

    upsets me.¡±

    He nods, ¡°I won¡¯t bring it up again then. I hope you feel better. Should I call for a doctor?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I tell him. ¡°If it gets worse, I will call for a doctor. Can you tell the others for me? I don¡¯t want to

    deal with the many questions everyone would ask me when they find out I¡¯m not going.¡±

    He nods, ¡°I will. Get your rest.¡±

    I smile and hug him. He hugs me back and lets me return to my room without asking any other

    questions.C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    I was happy that he would be the one to tell the rest of my family why I wasn¡¯t attending the dinner

    tonight. I knew that Damon would immediately be worried when he heard that I wasn¡¯t feeling well. I

    also knew that he would want to visit me. However, he would refrain from doing so now that he knows

    Atticus is suspicious about our rtionship.

    We were both trying our best to stay out of each other¡¯s lives while everyone was around. I¡¯m not sure

    if it was easy for Damon but it was so damn hard for me. I missed him every second of every day. If I

    was like this before the wedding, I was afraid of what would happen if the wedding actually took ce.

    It would be over for Damon and me. I didn¡¯t want to stay in a world where there was no chance of us

    ever being together.

    I saw Damon¡¯s reaction when I mentioned marrying a man I wasn¡¯t in love with just to prove a point to

    him. He was pissed at just the idea of it. My words had managed to break through his lies. He was lying

    to himself to make his ns to marry Anya work.

    And Anya. She was doing everything possible to keep us apart.

    Luckily, she would be meeting them at the restaurant. She wouldn¡¯t be here to cause a scene after

    learning that I wouldn¡¯t be there. I knew that she would immediately try to stop Damon froming

    home once she realized we would end up home alone together. Thankfully, Autumn would make sure

    that they both believe it wasn¡¯t just me at home.

    ¡°We need to talk,¡± Autumn says as she barges into my room.

    The urgency in her voice catches my attention immediately. Did something in our n already fail? I

    hope not. Everything depended on today. I needed today topletely break through Damon¡¯s walls.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask her.

    ¡°I only just got a chance to speak to the private investigator. Everyone was so busy with the wedding

    that I took the opportunity to meet him.¡± She exins. ¡°It turns out that Anya does not live in the house

    she wants us to believe she lives in. She has apletely different home and someone lives in there

    with her.¡±

    My eyes widen in shock. ¡°Why would she lie about where she¡¯s living?¡±

    She shrugs her shoulders, ¡°I don¡¯t know but there¡¯s definitely something that isn¡¯t adding up about this

    entire thing. Someone who¡¯s hiding their true home definitely has plenty more to hide. This is serious.

    We were right about her all along rissa. Anya is hiding so much more.¡±

    ¡°Did he give you directions to the ce?¡± I ask her. ¡°Maybe I can go there and have a look while you¡¯re

    at the dinner.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Autumn says in a stern tone. ¡°I don¡¯t want you going there by yourself. We don¡¯t know what

    mischief Anya has been up to and we don¡¯t know how dangerous she is. We can do it together.

    Besides, you need to be here when Damon returns.¡±

    She was right. I didn¡¯t want to waste any chances that I had with Damon. After telling me what she¡¯d

    learned, Autumn refused to give me the address. I think that she doesn¡¯t trust me. She knows I¡¯ll do

    something dangerous like I was used to doing.

    ¡°We¡¯re all leaving now.¡± She informs me as I walk her to the door. ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep everyone away for as

    long as possible but I need you to be alert at all times. Whatever you have nned, make sure it¡¯s over

    by the time we return home. I don¡¯t want everyone to catch you with Damon, things would blow up in

    our faces if that happens. I already know that Atticus would be pissed when he finds out I¡¯ve helped

    you with all of this. But I¡¯m willing to do it because you¡¯re like a sister to me. You helped me plenty

    when I first entered this family, I¡¯m happy to do the same for you.¡±

    I smile and hug her. ¡°I¡¯ll be careful. I promise. I don¡¯t want to cause any arguments between you and

    Atticus. If he ever finds out, I¡¯ll make sure that he knows you¡¯re not to me.¡±

    She smiles, ¡°I¡¯m not worried about Atticus. Even if he¡¯s upset with me, it won¡¯t be for long.¡±

    I chuckle, ¡°of course not, he¡¯s too in love with you to be upset with you for long.¡±

    Sheughs and waves goodbye. ¡°Good luck tonight.¡±

    I breathe a sigh of relief when everyone leaves and it¡¯s just me in the house. I expected them to put up

    more of a fight to insist that I attend the dinner but Atticus must have convinced them to let me stay.

    I spend most of the time in the shower scrubbing my skin from head to toe. If Damon would be seeing

    me without any clothes, I wanted to make sure that my body was glowing. I know that was thest thing

    I should be thinking about but I still wanted to look my best.

    After getting dressed in a jeans and crop top, Ibed through my wet hair and ced some blush on

    my cheeks.

    I considered putting lipstick on but quickly changed my mind.

    I waited an hour in the living room after Autumn texted me to let me know Damon had left to drop Anya

    home. I was bing impatient. Why was he taking this long? I considered changing into something

    sexier but I knew if I did, Damon would immediately know that I was up to something the moment that

    he saw what I had on.

    Maybe he already knew that I was up to something and was intentionally staying away from home. He

    knew that if he came home, it would just be the two of us.

    If he didn¡¯te home in time, that would ruin everything for us. He had toe home. He had to.

    I was about to call his phone when I heard a door close. My heart jumped in my chest.

    It was him. He was home.

    It was just the two of us.

    Finally.

 Chapter 114

    Chapter 114

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 114

    Book 2 Chapter 37

    ~CLARISSA~

    I walk out of the living room and into the hallway. He¡¯s already walking in my direction when he spots

    me. He looks hesitant, and his steps slow down as he nears me. I can see the thoughts racing in his

    mind as though it¡¯s on a screen in front of me. His hands tighten into fists and he¡¯s ready fighting for

    control.

    I know what he¡¯s thinking. I know his concern for me is the only reason he showed up even after

    knowing it would be only the two of us in the house. He had to confirm that I was okay even though he

    knew there was a high possibility I lied about being sick. That was how much Damon cared about me.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be in bed resting?¡± he asks suspiciously as he neared me. His steps are still very slow.

    He wants to keep as much distance between us as possible.

    ¡°No,¡± I answer him. ¡°I¡¯m feeling better. Well enough to be out of my bed.¡±

    He nods as his eyes travel to my exposed stomach. Can he tell that I¡¯ve been preparing for him? His

    body tenses and I think it¡¯s possible that I was right; he could tell that I had been getting my body ready

    just for him to see it. He knows now that I was up to something he wouldn¡¯t like.

    He exhaled loudly and took a look behind him. I think he¡¯s looking for all of his escape routes.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to my room then.¡± He tells me. ¡°I¡¯m d that you¡¯re feeling better. If you need anything, you

    can call me, don¡¯te to my room.¡±

    My jaw clenches at his words, but I quickly mask my reaction. I couldn¡¯t make him any more suspicious

    than he already was.

    I couldn¡¯t let him leave like this. I had to act fast.

    I held my head to pretend that I was getting a headache. ¡°Ow.¡±

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    It was the fastest thing I could think of doing to get him to stay. He turns back around at the sound. I

    didn¡¯t get to see his reaction, but I heard his sharp intake of breath.

    He immediately rushed to my side. It¡¯s crazy how quickly he always jumps to protect me. He was

    someone I could always count on toe to my rescue.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked as he lightly touched my forehead.

    ¡°I feel dizzy,¡± I whisper¡ªanother lie. I can¡¯t seem to stop lying to him recently just to get some time

    alone with him.

    I begin to sway on my feet, and Damon wastes no time picking me up into his arms. He walks with me

    back into the living room and ces me on the couch. I was happy to be this near him again. Damon

    doesn¡¯t realize how much I need his closeness. It¡¯s almost like his body heat feeds my energy. I¡¯m

    always the happiest around him.

    He kneels on the ground and studies me with concern. I¡¯d managed to scare him and convince him all

    at once.

    ¡°Should I call you a doctor?¡± He asks. I can sense his panic. I didn¡¯t want him to worry about me when

    nothing was wrong. I just wanted an excuse to make him stay. It had worked, so now was my time to

    act.

    I lean into him and bury my face against his neck. He stops all movement at my actions. It felt so good

    to be this close to him. I can¡¯t resist as I turn my face so that I can easily inhale his scent. He freezes

    even more than before as his hands lightly grip my waist.

    ¡°rissa.¡± He whispers. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Why do you always smell so good?¡± I ask.

    He sighs, ¡°did you lie to me about feeling dizzy? Was this another one of your tricks to get closer to

    me?¡±

    I don¡¯t answer him. Instead, I wrap my arms around his neck and held on tightly. He gently moves his

    hands to my arms, ¡°rissa, did you lie to me?¡± He repeats.

    Of course, I did. It was obvious. I didn¡¯t have to spell it out to him.

    ¡°Does it matter?¡± I whisper against his warm skin. My lips identally touched his neck while I spoke,

    and I could feel his body shiver from the light touch. My heart skipped a beat at just the thought of

    being able to kiss him again. I desperately wanted to touch my lips to his. I desperately wanted to taste

    him some more.

    ¡°It does matter.¡± He growls. ¡°We¡¯ve talked about this already. Atticus already suspects us, and so does

    Anya. We can¡¯t keep this up. It¡¯s time that you move on. There¡¯s nothing between us, rissa. The

    sooner you realize that, the faster we can move on with our lives.¡±

    I shook my head against him, ¡°no.¡± I say stubbornly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to let go of you. I refuse to stop

    fighting for us. You can try to lie to yourself about your feelings, but you can¡¯t lie to me. I know that you

    want me just as badly as I want you. I¡¯m tired of doing all of the fighting for us. Why can¡¯t you do the

    same? If we both fight, don¡¯t you think we have a better chance of being together?¡±

    I can feel his heartbeat increase at my words, ¡°you¡¯re wrong.¡± He mutters softly. ¡°I don¡¯t want you. I

    never did.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± I insist. ¡°You¡¯ve lied to me before just to get me to stop going after you. You lied to

    me to protect me, and you¡¯re still doing it. I don¡¯t care what you say; I know you want me.¡±

    He inhales sharply. I can feel hisposure slipping away. It was almost time to show him the tattoo.

    ¡°You¡¯re my f*****g adopted sister.¡± He growls. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to protect you, not f*****g l**t after you!¡±

    My eyes widen, ¡°was that just a confession?¡±

    He runs a hand down his face and tries to pull away from me, but I don¡¯t let him go anywhere. I¡¯m not

    letting him get away that easily tonight.

    I can feel him losing control. I knew Damon well enough to know when he was losing an inner battle.

    He was bing desperate to escape before he did something that would change our lives for good.

    ¡°Please,¡± he begs. ¡°I need you to let go of me. Not for me. But for your own good. You need to let go of

    me, rissa. Stop this before it¡¯s toote.¡±

    I pull away from him to look into his eyes. ¡°Why do you keep pushing me away? You¡¯ve never been a

    coward. You¡¯ve always been a fighter. You¡¯ve always been the Damon that has always been my hero,

    he was never someone that chose the easier way out. He was always someone that fought for what he

    believed in. He was always someone that fought for my happiness. Right now, you¡¯re doing the

    opposite. You¡¯re fighting for the wrong things. You¡¯re fighting for something that would take all my

    happiness away.¡±

    I can tell he¡¯s in emotional distress by the look on his face. I know that my words have finally caught up

    to him. But I also know that it isn¡¯t going to be this easy. Even if Damon was aware of what he was

    doing to me, he was still convinced that he was doing the right thing. I had to find a way to prove to him

    that he was doing the opposite of what needed to be done.

    He gently cups my cheeks in his hands, and my eyes widen at the contact. It always feels so much

    better when he willingly touches me first. Damon was always cautious when touching me, and this was

    no exception.

    ¡°I know that you think I¡¯m trying to hurt you. I know that you think I¡¯m not the same as I was before. I

    know that I¡¯m disappointing you. And I hate doing it to you; you have no idea how much I f*****g hate it.

    But rissa, there is no other way.¡± He whispers.

    I bite my lip angrily. There is always another way. I just had to point him in that direction.

    I pull away from him. I stood up to be right before him, giving him a good view of my body. He might

    think he was finally getting through to me, but he was about to get a rude awakening.

    ¡°I wish you would at least try,¡± I whisper, fighting back the tears. ¡°When your family adopted me, I never

    wanted to stay, Damon. I considered running away so many times, but you¡¯re the only reason why I

    stayed. You¡¯re the reason I chose to remain. You were my shining light. You were the one that made

    everything better for me, and not because I thought of you as my brother. My feelings for you have

    always been different. What I feel for Atticus and the others is so different from what I feel for you.

    Nothing, and no one is ever going to change that.¡±

    ¡°rissa, I know you think that way, but I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t understand what you truly feel.¡± He tries to

    reason with me.

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± I insist. ¡°You have no idea what I feel for you. Maybe my words aren¡¯t getting through to

    you, but I have something that might prove how much you mean to me. Just how much you¡¯ve always

    meant to me. This isn¡¯t some stupid crush that I developed out of nowhere. What I feel for you is strong

    and so real that it hurts.¡±

    His jaw clenches, and his gaze softens.

    I move my hands to the front of my jeans. His eyes follow my movements. I see the moment realization

    hits his eyes. He knows now that I¡¯m trying to take it off.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± He asks, his voice was high-pitched. He sees my hands, but he doesn¡¯t want to

    believe that I would do something like that. He¡¯s in denial, and I¡¯m not allowing him to recover. He has

    to see his name on my skin. He has to see how beautiful it looks on me and how proudly I wear it. If

    things were different, I would have happily shown it off. Unfortunately, I¡¯d had no choice but to hide it.

    ¡°rissa!¡± Damon hissed. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    I don¡¯t stop unbuttoning my jeans. He had to know how I truly felt about him, and this was the best way

    for me to show it to him.

    ¡°Stop that.¡± He growls.

    I don¡¯t listen to him. Instead, I continued to slip the pants down my legs until it was at my feet. Then I

    slowly turned around so he could have a nice view of my a*s.

    I knew the moment he¡¯d seen what I¡¯d wanted him to. There was a sharp intake of breath, and even

    though I couldn¡¯t see his face, I knew I had the effect I wanted on him.

    I heard his breathing get louder and felt satisfied. This was what I wanted. This was what I needed to

    do so long ago.

    I knew that he could see the tattoo of his name on the exposed skin. It¡¯s been hard hiding it all this

    time. Whenever we went swimming, in a pool, or on the beach, I wore clothes to hide them. He¡¯s the

    first person besides the tattoo artist and Autumn to see it. To really see it. To know whose name was

    written on my skin.

    My body is filled with a sudden heat knowing that he was watching me, watching it. The person

    responsible for it to begin with finally knew of its existence.

    . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    All the air is suddenly knocked out of my lungs at the sight in front of me. And it was a damn beautiful

    one. I can¡¯t look away even if I want to. My eyes are glued to the spot rissa¡¯s so eager to show to

    me.

    A tattoo of my f*****g name. All along, that damn tattoo has haunted me. Every f*****g day since I found

    out that she¡¯d gotten a tattoo on her a*s, I haven¡¯t been able to sleep because of it. I¡¯ve never been so

    desperate and curious to find out something before this. Now I knew what the tattoo was. I knew it

    wasn¡¯t a tattoo of some random guy she liked. It was a tattoo of my f*****g name. Mine. I¡¯ve been killing

    myself over this, and this whole time, it was my name.

    Damon. It was drawn beautifully on her skin. I didn¡¯t think my name could look so beautiful, but I was

    proven wrong today. I¡¯ve never f*****g loved my name as much as I love it now. I was proud to see it on

    her. So f*****g proud that I felt sick to my stomach to know that something like this could make me this

    happy. I was a sick bastard for loving this. I was a sick bastard for even entertaining anything with her

    knowing that I had to protect her and keep her safe from men like me.

    What the f**k was she thinking?

    MY f*****g NAME.

    How did she not see how wrong this was?

    I know it¡¯s wrong, but still, I¡¯ve never seen anything more f*****g sexy in my entire existence.

    I wanted to run my fingers over it. I wanted to trace the letters with my tongue. I wanted to sink my

    teeth into it and add my own personal mark.

    So many dirty thoughts were running through my head. I knew how wrong it was. I knew I had to stop

    this before I lost my damn mind. I was losing control.

    I had no clue how I was still standing here with a dumb look on my face and not covering her a*s with

    my face.

    She wasn¡¯t moving back around. She was intentionally standing there, giving me enough time to take in

    the ink on her skin. f**k me.

    She knew what she was doing. She knew how to tease me, how to make me yearn for her. She was

    f*****g good at it.

    Since when has rissa been this seductive? Has she always been this way? If she¡¯d acted this way

    with me from the beginning, I wouldn¡¯t have been able tost this long. She might as well have tied a

    chain around my neck and dragged me along. I would have been hers in a second.

    A tattoo of my name. Damn it.

    My eyes are still glued to the damn thing. It¡¯s like a spell on it, begging me to touch it.

    How did she manage to hide this for so long? How has no one else seen it yet?

    ¡°Should I start showing it off proudly from now on?¡± She threatens me. ¡°Should I go to the beach

    tomorrow and let everyone have a good look at it? I¡¯m sure that will stir up plenty of drama; you¡¯ll have

    no choice but to postpone the wedding.¡± She says.

    ¡°Everyone will be talking about Damon¡¯s little adopted sister and how she¡¯s obsessed with him and has

    a tattoo of his name on her a*s. My name will be all over those magazines, and pictures of your name

    on my a*s will be on everyone¡¯s phone. I¡¯m sure it will be a lovely topic on everyone¡¯s lips.¡±

    A low growl tore from the back of my throat. I didn¡¯t want anyone to see that tattoo; it should be for my

    eyes only. Mine. Mine alone.

    I cross the room to her and grab her. I feel her shiver as I lean closer to her ear. ¡°Are you insane? You

    wouldn¡¯t dare put your life in danger like that!¡± I growl. ¡°You¡¯ll keep it hidden as you¡¯ve done in the past.

    Don¡¯t you dare show that part of yourself to anyone else but me!¡±

    ¡°How will my life be in danger?¡± She demands. ¡°The only danger I see is losing you.¡±

    She finally turned around in my arms to look into my eyes. My hands are itching to grab her a*s and

    pull her body onto mine.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose this.¡± She whispers. ¡°No one else makes me feel this way, Damon. My body is hot

    for you. I¡¯ve never wanted any other man in my entire life. You¡¯re all I¡¯ve ever wanted. The only man

    that has ever made me feel like I needed him by my side to breathe.¡±

    ¡°Stop it,¡± I growl. ¡°Stop saying things like that to me.¡±

    I was closer than ever to ripping the rest of her clothes off her body and burying my lips on her skin.

    ¡°I ache for you, Damon.¡± She whimpers.

    Ah, f**k. If she kept this up, I would f*****g lose it in my pants.

    ¡°I wish you would stop pushing me away.¡± She cries. ¡°I wish you would finally give into what we both

    need.¡±

    I wish it were that easy. I wish I could pick her up into my arms and announce to the whole world that

    she was mine. I wish I could take her into my room and f**k her as hard as I wanted.

    She closed the little distance between us, and I knew she could feel how f*****g hard I was for her right

    now. Forget feeling it; I knew she could see it as well. The bulge in my pants wasn¡¯t exactly hard to

    notice.

    She rubs her nose along my neck, and I can¡¯t help but groan.

    She was killing me.

    I couldn¡¯t f*****g take this anymore. I had to have her. I had to taste her. I had to spread her legs and

    bury my tongue inside her honey. I couldn¡¯t wait anymore.

    The front door ms shut, and her eyes widen in surprise.

    They were back already. Our family was home.

    f**k. f**k. f**k.

    I pick her up and pull her behind the thick curtains with me.

    I can hear footsteps as I cover her mouth with my hand to prevent her from making any noises that

    could alert them of where we are.

    We¡¯re so close that I knew she could still feel me between her legs.

    What the f**k was I thinking? I almost destroyed everything I was working so hard for.

    If they hadn¡¯t reached home, rissa¡¯s n would have worked. I would have taken everything from

    her, and then I wouldn¡¯t have been able to turn back.

    I close my eyes in frustration. What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I have no control around her?

    I almost ruined everything for her.

    When the footsteps leave the room, I quickly move away from her. I had to put distance between us as

    fast as possible. I quickly pull her pants back up her body and button them. When everything was how

    it should be, I quickly storm out of the room.

    ¡°Damon!¡± She calls after me.

    I don¡¯t listen to her.

    This couldn¡¯t happen again. There were only a few days before the wedding. I had to have some

    control, at least until then.

 Chapter 115

    Chapter 115

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 115

    Book 2 Chapter 38

    ~ANYA~

    ¡°Who is he working with?¡± I ask Jerod. I¡¯d asked him for a favor to find the person sneaking around my

    home and trying to find information on me. I asked him to find out without alerting whoever it was. I

    didn¡¯t want to frighten them. I wanted them to think that I had no idea that someone was trying to dig up

    information about me.

    ¡°Autumn Fawn.¡± He answers me. ¡°She hired a private investigator to keep an eye on you. You were

    right all along. It was someone from the Fawns that wanted to find out more information about you.¡±

    C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.

    I narrow my eyes at the name. Autumn. I should have known she still didn¡¯t trust me. While everyone

    else seemed to believe my lies, Autumn and rissa didn¡¯t. I was sure they were both working

    together to kick me out of Damon¡¯s life. Autumn must still feel threatened by my existence. She was

    scared that Atticus would one day return to me.

    I had to be extra careful from now on. I couldn¡¯t give the private investigator anything that would seem

    suspicious to them. I had to feed them the wrong information from now on.

    But by now, they knew I lived somewhere different than I imed. It meant that I had to move. But I

    could use this to my advantage. Autumn or rissa will visit my home, hoping to find more clues.

    I could set a trap for them. I¡¯d already moved everything from the house. But I could have someone

    there that could trap them inside the house. I knew now that fire was an easy way to get rid of rissa

    after what happened in the forest. This time, Damon won¡¯t be around to save her.

    But if Autumn was there, that might make things a bit difficult. She would have the power to escape. I

    just had to find a way to keep Autumn busy. I¡¯m sure I would be able toe up with something.

    ¡°Thank you for your help,¡± I whisper as I lean into him for a kiss.

    He kisses me back passionately. ¡°I hope this isn¡¯t the only way you n to repay me.¡±

    I push him out of the house. ¡°I have plenty of ways of paying you back. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯lle to your

    ce tomorrow.¡±

    It¡¯s the one thing he asked me. I could easily give it to him. I have never been loyal to Damon. After he

    confessed that there was another woman in his heart, I knew that it had to be none other than rissa.

    I was surprised that he even admitted the truth to me. If I had any feelings at all for him, I would have

    been hurt. But I was far from it.

    Jerod smiles, and I watch him leave. I roll my eyes as soon as I close the door. When I turn around, I¡¯m

    surprised to see Willow. She watches me with curiosity.

    ¡°Is he someone that you¡¯re dating?¡± she asks. Recently, she¡¯s been very curious about my dating life.

    Especially after she saw me with Dante, I think she wants to know if I have a rtionship with him or

    someone else. Something tells me she hoped I was with Jerod and not Dante. After all, my sister hasn¡¯t

    gotten over her crush on Dante. I felt sick whenever I thought about it. I would never allow her to be

    with a Fawn, especially not one I was close to.

    I shook my head. ¡°No. Just someone that¡¯s doing me a favor.¡±

    ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯re hiding plenty from me?¡± she whispers. ¡°Mother always kept me away from

    everything as well. It feels like you¡¯re both scared of how I would react. I¡¯m not a delicate flower. I can

    handle the truth.¡±

    I sigh, ¡°do not worry. This doesn¡¯t concern you, and it never will. All you need to know is that I¡¯m the

    one that will take care of you from now on. Whatever I¡¯m doing, it¡¯s all for you and mother. That¡¯s all

    that I care about now.¡±

    She holds her head suddenly, and her lips turn blue. I freeze.

    This was not good. Please tell me this wasn¡¯t happen again.

    ¡°Anya.¡± She croaks as she falls to the ground.

    I rush to her side and pull her into my arms on the floor. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I demand as I touch her

    cheek.

    Her skin was freezing like ice. It was even colder, if that was even possible. Since our mother¡¯s death,

    this has been happening to her regrly. I wasn¡¯t sure what was causing it. I pull her towards the

    warmer and wrap her body in a nket.

    ¡°I-m-c-cold.¡± She cries. I knew she was. I could feel it just by holding onto her. I hated seeing her like

    this and being helpless. I wanted to fix this; I wanted to heal her.

    ¡°Shh,¡± I whisper. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It will get better in a few minutes. I promise.¡±

    I didn¡¯t like this. Willow was the only family I had left. I had to protect her. It¡¯s what my mother would

    have wanted. It¡¯s what I want, to protect my sister.

    ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡±

    She was always the delicate one. The weak one between the two of us. She was kind and honest,

    everything that I wasn¡¯t. She was the opposite of me. That¡¯s probably why my mother always protected

    her more. She knew that Willow could get hurt easily because of her pure heart.

    ¡°I know,¡± I tell her as I hold her in my arms. ¡°Nothing is going to happen to you. You don¡¯t need to be

    scared as long as I am by your side. I will fix everything. I promise you.¡±

    I meant those words. I was trying everything to find the cure. But first, I needed to know what disease

    this was.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what was happening to her. My mother never told me that she was suffering from any

    illness. However, I¡¯ve always known how protective she was of her. Maybe she knew something that

    she never told me about Willow. My mother was always good at keeping secrets, but I wish she had

    told me the truth about this one. How could I help her if I knew nothing about it, to begin with? I don¡¯t

    think my mother expected to die. She thought that her n to destroy the Fawns would have worked.

    Instead, she¡¯s gone, and they¡¯re still happy as ever. We¡¯d aplished nothing.

    I couldn¡¯t fail as she had done. I had to finish what she had started. I had people on my side. Witches

    that wanted to avenge my mother¡¯s death. I was lucky that there were people that liked her out there.

    They were willing to fight with me. I just had to find the right opportunity.

    After a few minutes of holding Willow close to me, her lips turn back to their normal shade of red. She

    opens her eyes then, and I can tell it¡¯s over, at least for now.

    ¡°Why does this keep happening to me?¡± She cries. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m going to die?¡±

    ¡°Nobody is going to die.¡± I scold her. ¡°I¡¯ll get the money to find you a good doctor.¡±

    When Damon marries me, I¡¯ll also have ess to his money. I will use that money to help my sister. I

    didn¡¯t have anything to help her right now. I¡¯ve never heard of anything simr to what she¡¯s been

    experiencing, but I¡¯m sure that there was a doctor out there that could help her. Money could fix her; I

    was sure of it. As long as I had the funds, I would find a doctor to run tests on her.

    In our world, money and power are everything. And the Fawns had both. I wasn¡¯t only marrying Damon

    to destroy rissa¡¯s life; I was doing it for my sister as well. I needed this. I needed his money.

    ¡°Are you in love with that man I saw you with?¡± She asks suddenly.

    It was a shock to me that it would be the first question that she¡¯d ask me after what had just happened.

    I pause to look at her, ¡°what man?¡±

    ¡°The one you were kissing.¡±

    I inhale sharply, ¡°he isn¡¯t important.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe she¡¯d brought him up again.

    ¡°And what about the other one?¡± She asks. ¡°The handsome one.¡±

    I already knew she was talking about Dante. She¡¯s brought him up a few times since she first saw him.

    I didn¡¯t like how obsessed she seemed to be with him. What could I do to get her to forget about him?

    Something about how her eyes lighting up whenever we talk about him bothers me. I also feel like it¡¯s

    not the first time my sister has seen him.

    ¡°I¡¯m not in love with anyone,¡± I answer her. ¡°Enough questions about love. It makes me sick. Love is for

    the weak, and I¡¯m not weak.¡±

    The only person I¡¯ve ever truly wanted was Atticus, and that asshole broke my heart when he chose

    Autumn. I wasn¡¯t allowing myself to get hurt by another man again.

    This time it was my turn to do the hurting. I was done getting hurt.

 Chapter 116

    Chapter 116

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 116

    Book 2 Chapter 39

    ~CLARISSA~

    It was the day before the wedding. I tried everything to make him change his mind. Everything. I

    thought after he saw the tattoo, he would realize that my feelings for him weren¡¯t just a silly crush. Now

    I knew that I was wrong. There was nothing that I could do to stop Damon from marrying Anya. He was

    determined to destroy his life so that I would give up on us.

    If he wanted me to do it, why did he have to take things so far? Marrying Anya was the worse thing that

    he could possibly do to me to force me to stop.

    How could he? Why wouldn¡¯t he fight for me? Why did he want to marry someone he didn¡¯t love just to

    keep me away?

    I knew he wanted me and was scared of others judging me, but how could he use that as an excuse to

    separate us? It was not a good enough reason. If he wanted to, he could find a way to make this work.

    If he really wanted me, he would have tried much harder than this.

    I was tired of being nice to him. This time I had to bepletely honest. I had to let him know just how

    much he was hurting me. I had to give him a piece of my mind.

    I walked out of my room and down the stairs, where the decorations were screaming at me to leave this

    ce. I couldn¡¯t stand all of the pictures with them. In every single one of those pictures, Damon looked

    unhappy. Yet, he wanted me to believe this was the best decision for both of us.

    ¡°Look who¡¯s finally out of her room.¡± Griffin teases me. I try my best to fake a smile as I hit his shoulder.

    ¡°Shut up,¡± I mumble.

    Heughs, e on, sis, let¡¯s see a smile on your face for a change. Not that fake one, a real one. I

    miss seeing it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother trying,¡± Atticus says as he joins us. ¡°She doesn¡¯t know how to smile anymore. I wish she

    could tell us what¡¯s truly bothering her.¡±

    I try not to show any emotions. I know he¡¯s trying to find more information on Damon and me. I loved

    Atticus, but I didn¡¯t trust him enough to tell him my real feelings. I knew he would be pissed if he found

    out the truth. He already looked angry that night he saw Damon and me in the room alone.

    ¡°Will you stop picking on her?¡± Autumn asks Atticus as shees to my rescue yet again.

    ¡°What makes you think that I¡¯m picking on her?¡± he asks her. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be on my side?¡±

    I looked around the room for Damon without making it obvious. Anya has been around more than I

    wanted to see her. If this marriage happened, I would have to see her much more than this. I don¡¯t think

    I¡¯ll be able to survive seeing her face everywhere I go.

    ¡°What are we talking about?¡± She asks as she enters the room. ¡°Why is everyone just standing here

    and not helping?¡±

    Griffin sighs and rubs the back of his neck. ¡°I don¡¯t know how I will stand being around her for every

    family asion.¡± He whispers in a low growl.

    At least I wasn¡¯t the only one to think this way. I was sure that every person in this room felt the same

    way. They were all putting up with Anya because of Damon and Dante. If it wasn¡¯t for them, she would

    have been out of our home in a sh.

    ¡°Where¡¯s my husband?¡± Anya asks as she looks around for him.

    I bit my lip angrily; they weren¡¯t even married yet, why was she calling him her husband?

    ¡°Damon hasn¡¯t been home since this morning,¡± Atticus answers her. ¡°I think he¡¯s in a bad mood.¡±

    ¡°Of course, he isn¡¯t.¡± She disagrees. ¡°He¡¯s happy. Very happy. Who wouldn¡¯t be happy when their

    marriage is a few hours away?¡±

    We all get silent at her question.

    Anya walks over to me then, with a threatening look, as she whispers, ¡°I know what you¡¯ve been up to.

    That house is off-limits. Stay away from it.¡±

    My eyes widen at her threat. She knew. Autumn and I didn¡¯t get a chance to look at the house. Anya

    had us busy the past day. Actually, she had Autumn and the others very busy. I refused to take part in

    any of this. Everyone else was only taking part because they cared about Damon.

    Why would she choose today to threaten me about the house? The day before her marriage. It¡¯s

    almost like she wanted me to mention it to the others.

    I watch her like a hawk as she walks out of the room, forcing the others to help her.

    ¡°What did she say to you?¡± Autumn asks me.

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    I didn¡¯t want to drag Autumn into this anymore. If I told her, she would stop me from investigating

    independently. This was probably myst chance to stop this wedding. If I found the proof I needed, it

    would be enough to postpone the wedding, at least until Anya told us the truth.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± I lie. ¡°She¡¯s just trying to rub it in that she¡¯s marrying Damon, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°I think she knows Damon likes you,¡± Autumn tells me. ¡°Just like she knew Atticus wanted me and not

    her. She knew it even before I did. She uses that to her advantage. Don¡¯t let her get to you.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t change anything,¡± I whisper. ¡°Damon is still going to marry her.¡±

    Autumn squeezes my hand, ¡°I thought he would have stopped the wedding when he saw that tattoo.

    I¡¯m sorry that it didn¡¯t work.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I sigh. ¡°At least I know that I tried my best. Unlike him.¡±

    She hugs me, and it¡¯s at that moment that Damon walks into the room and sees us. I press my lips

    tightly together and fight against the tears as I re at him.

    He turns back around and walks straight out of the room.

    ¡°I have to go,¡± I tell Autumn.

    This was my chance to talk to him before he disappeared again for the rest of the day. I wouldn¡¯t have

    another opportunity.

    He¡¯s already walking out of the house and into the garage when I spot him. I ran after him, making sure

    that no one was following us. When he jumps into his jeep, I jump into the passenger¡¯s side.

    His eyes widen when he sees me.

    ¡°What are you doing here, rissa?¡± He asks as he looks around us.

 Chapter 117

    Chapter 117

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 117

    Book 2 Chapter 40

    ~CLARISSA~

    ¡°I¡¯m going with you wherever you¡¯re going,¡± I answer him.

    He runs a hand down his face before exhaling loudly.

    ¡°You can¡¯t.¡± He finally tells me. I was testing his patience but I didn¡¯t care. I don¡¯t care what happens

    after today. I was going to tell him everything I had to. And this time, I was doing it for myself. Not for

    him or anyone else. For me.

    ¡°I need to talk to you.¡± I insist.

    ¡°rissa, we¡¯ve already said everything we needed to. What else do you have to say?¡± He asks. ¡°You

    saw what happened when everyone returned from the dinner. We almost got caught and we had to

    hide. If being together means that we must hide from everyone else, how can it be the right thing to

    do?¡±

    ¡°Why are you like this?¡± I whisper, unable to hide the pain from my voice. ¡°You im to care about me,

    but you don¡¯t. If you did, you wouldn¡¯t put me through all this pain. You love to hurt me; that¡¯s what

    makes you happy. Hurting me brings you joy.¡±

    I know my words this time have managed to anger him.

    ¡°How can you say that?¡± He growls. ¡°Everything that I do is for you. Every f*****g thing. I never think

    about anyone else as much as I think about you. Evert day of my life, I¡¯m thinking of ways to keep you

    safe. How can you tell me that I enjoy hurting you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± I hiss. ¡°This is all just some sick game to you, Damon. You don¡¯t care about me. Stop

    fooling yourself.¡±

    His jaw clenches, and he starts the jeep before I can say anything else.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I demand.

    He leans over me and puts my seatbelt on. I tried not to inhale his scent like I usually love doing.

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    He says nothing as he leans back and mashes down on the elerator.

    ¡°Where the hell are you going?¡± I demand. ¡°Are you taking me to see where you n on taking Anya

    on your honeymoon?¡±

    I was being sarcastic, but it was only making him angrier.

    He¡¯s not the only one; I was fuming inside. There were so many emotions that I wanted to get out of my

    system.

    ¡°Are we running away?¡± I try again.

    His hands tighten on the steering wheel, and he pulls the jeep onto a lonely dirt road. He doesn¡¯t stop

    until he¡¯s far away from the main road.

    ¡°Tell me.¡± He says as the jeepes to a stop. ¡°Tell me everything that you want to. Get it all out.

    Every single emotion, every single thought, everything that¡¯s hurting you, tell me it all right now.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I ask, confused. He didn¡¯t want to hear me a minute ago; what had changed his mind?

    ¡°I¡¯m a horrible asshole who doesn¡¯t care about you, am I not?¡± He asks me. ¡°So say it. Tell me

    everything. Hate me all you want. I¡¯m marrying someone else. I¡¯m hurting you. Im taking your

    happiness away. I¡¯m a heartless fool whose only aim is to hurt you and I want you to tell me that.¡±

    I narrow my eyes. What was this? A chance for me to get all of my emotions out so that he could marry

    Anya without any guilt?

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you,¡± I shout. ¡°You¡¯re right. You are a heartless asshole. You fooled me. You made me

    fall in love with your kind words and actions. All this time, you knew there was never any chance for us.

    You used me. You used me to fill your ego, and now you¡¯re disposing of me just like Anya disposed of

    Dante like he was nothing. You¡¯re no different from her. The two of you deserve each other!¡±

    He winced at my words, and I was happy that he did. I wanted to hurt him just like he was hurting me.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I ever had feelings for someone like you. You¡¯re not the Damon I thought I knew. You¡¯re

    a stranger. My Damon would never hurt me like this.¡±

    He nods. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m not your Damon.¡±

    He was throwing salt in my wounds intentionally. He was trying to make me hate him. And he was

    doing an excellent job at it.

    I unbuckle the seatbelt and grab him by his shirt.

    His eyes are cold as he stares at me. Waiting for me to say something. Waiting for me to hate him.

    He¡¯d hardened his heart to let me go. He¡¯d made up his mind.

    I can¡¯t stop the tears this time. I knew this wedding was happening now; I was in denial all along. This

    wasn¡¯t just a wedding; this was Damon leaving me for good. Abandoning me, like my family in the past

    did to me. The family I never knew. He wasn¡¯t any different from them. I always thought that he would

    never hurt me, but I was so wrong. He was just as bad as they were. Even worse.

    ¡°I love you!¡± I scream as I pound my fists against his chest. ¡°I love you! I love you! I love you!¡±

    Damon lets me hit him without trying to intervene. He lets me hurt him. He closes his eyes as I continue

    to confess my love for him, even though I know it wouldn¡¯t make him change his mind.

    ¡°You¡¯re a coward!¡± I shout. ¡°A coward, Damon!¡±

    He finally opens his eyes, and I gasp at the tears I see in them. He grabs my neck and covers my

    mouth with his. It¡¯s the first time Damon has kissed me without me starting it first. I was caught off-

    guard.

    He kisses me with urgency and hunger like it¡¯s thest time. And it was thest time. He knows it just

    as much as I did. He grabs my waist and pulls me on top of him. I gasp as he pushes his tongue into

    my mouth and gently cups my cheeks.

    Even though I¡¯m angry, I can¡¯t stop wrapping my arms around his neck and rubbing our bodies closer

    together. His hands are all over my body, touching as much of me as he possibly could and I¡¯m doing

    the same. I can¡¯t stop touching him like I¡¯m never going to see him again.

    After what seems like an hour of us kissing, he finally pulls away from me. His lips are red and swollen,

    and I know that mine are the same.

    He touches his forehead to mine as his finger gently rubs my left cheek.

    ¡°rissa.¡± He groans. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be this hard for us to let go. It¡¯s thest thing I want to happen, but

    it¡¯s the only option. I want to keep you safe. That¡¯s all. Safe.¡±

    There he goes again. Pushing me away after kissing the life out of me! I angrily shove him away and

    jump back into the passenger side.

    ¡°Stop lying to yourself!¡± I shout. ¡°You¡¯re not trying to protect me; you¡¯re trying to protect yourself! You¡¯re

    so scared that you finally have feelings for someone¡ªtrue feelings, not those you had for Anya. You¡¯re

    terrified of it, and you¡¯re running from those feelings. You¡¯re running from us!¡±

    ¡°No.¡± He disagrees. ¡°That¡¯s not true. I want to protect you. I promise that¡¯s the only reason I¡¯m not doing

    what you want me to.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not protecting me. I feel hurt, Damon. I can never be happy if you marry Anya tomorrow. You¡¯re

    going to destroy my life. Can¡¯t you see that?¡± I demand. ¡°Are you so blind that you can¡¯t see what

    you¡¯re doing to me? You¡¯re hurting me, damn it. You¡¯re taking away the one thing in my life that brings

    me happiness! You¡¯re the only thing thatpletes me, and you¡¯re marrying someone else!¡±

    He doesn¡¯t say anything and it angers me further. How could he kiss me so passionately and then let

    me go a secondter? How was he able to let go of me so easily? It was so easy for him but for me, it

    was the hardest thing I¡¯ve ever had to do.

    ¡°If you marry her, I will never forgive you.¡± I threaten him. ¡°I will never speak to you again if you marry

    that woman. I don¡¯t care what you¡¯ll have to say to me after. I will cut all ties with you, and I will leave

    that house. I will run away. You¡¯re the only reason I chose to stay in the past; I told you that already.

    After you betray me, I will have no reason to stay.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re bluffing.¡± He says in horror. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t do that. You care about everyone in that house, and

    you know it. You won¡¯t leave just because I hurt you. You won¡¯t do something so stupid!¡±

    ¡°Take me back home,¡± I shout. ¡°Take me f*****g home!¡±

    ¡°rissa¡ª¡±

    I turned my body away from him so that I was looking out of the window. I refused to speak to him

    again after today. He¡¯d made his decision, and now I was making mine. I was giving him what he

    wanted.

    However, I was still not going to let this wedding take ce. Anya wasn¡¯t the person she wanted

    everyone to think that she was. I had to prove to Damon and everyone else that she was evil. I had to

    go to that house tomorrow when everyone was busy with the wedding. I will find out everything I

    needed to in that house; I knew it.

    I was finally going to figure out who Anya truly was.

 Chapter 118

    Chapter 118

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 118

    Book 2 Chapter 41

    ~The Wedding~

    ~CLARISSA~

    It was finally here. The day I had hoped would never reach was finally here. Damon would marry Anya

    today unless I found the proof I needed to show everyone she was a liar. It was not easy getting the

    address from Autumn without her finding out what I was doing, but I finally had it, and I was going there

    before the wedding ceremony started.

    But before that, I wanted to see Damon onest time. I wasn¡¯t sure if I would be able to return in time. I

    wasn¡¯t sure if he would be a married man by the time I got back. I had no idea how long any of this

    would take.

    I didn¡¯t n on speaking to him, but I wanted him to have onest good look at me. I wanted him to see

    what he was letting go of.

    ¡°You look absolutely beautiful.¡± Autumnpliments me when she sees me in the long ck dress she

    chose for me to wear.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I tell her. ¡°And so do you.¡±

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    She holds my hand and walks with me down the stairs. I know she¡¯s trying to give me the strength to

    attend the wedding.

    I decided to make everyone think that I was attending the wedding without them having to force me. I

    felt it was the best way to ensure less attention on me.

    I spot Damon at the top of the stairs. He¡¯s already dressed in his suit, and he looks handsome just

    standing there. He looks exactly the way I dreamt of him looking while getting married to me.

    Anya was getting to live my dream, and she didn¡¯t even deserve it.

    His eyes finally fall on me, and his body goes entirely still. Griffin is talking to him, but he isn¡¯t paying

    any attention to him. His eyes are glued to mine.

    I could feel the tears slowly rolling down my cheeks. I didn¡¯t think anything could break my heart as

    much as this did. Autumn stops moving when she realizes what¡¯s happening. I know that anyone can

    see us. I know that it¡¯s possible Autumn isn¡¯t the only one watching us right now. Neither of us was

    moving. The tears weren¡¯t helping our situation either. If Atticus came out and saw this, his

    assumptions would be confirmed.

    Autumn tugs at my arm, and I know it¡¯s time for me to let go. Damon may not have realized it yet, but

    his actions today have severely damaged the beautiful rtionship that we once shared.

    Things could never be the same between us after today, even if the wedding doesn¡¯t happen. I would

    never be able to forgive him for hurting me.

    I gave him many opportunities to choose me. I gave him many opportunities to fight for us. I threw

    myself at home multiple times, and each time he pushed me away.

    ¡°You got this,¡± Autumn whispers as she hands me a handkerchief.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I whisper as I wipe my tears. I still couldn¡¯t believe that this was happening. I couldn¡¯t wait

    for it all to be over.

    If seeing Damon in his suit was this hard for me to watch, how difficult would it be to see Anya in her

    wedding dress walking toward him? Thankfully, I wouldn¡¯t be here to see any of that.

    ¡°Do you need me to get you anything?¡± Autumn asks me gently.

    ¡°No. You¡¯ve done plenty for me already.¡± I assure her.

    I waited for everyone to get busy with something Anya assigned for them. Autumn was thest to go.

    Anya was using every opportunity to get every member of the family busy. It was surprising that she

    wasn¡¯t trying to get me to do something like take pictures of her and Damon. I was sure she was

    waiting for the right opportunity to t*****e me.

    I looked around me and noticed that there was no one next to me that could see me leaving.

    This was it.

    Now was my time to leave.

    I was sure this time that no one would realize that I was gone. Damon would be too busy with his

    wedding to notice I was missing. Autumn would also be busy.

    I had to leave now, and I had to act fast before anything got a chance to start.

    . . . . . . . . . .

    ~DAMON~

    What the hell was I doing with my life? Why the f**k was this so hard to do?

    I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought protecting rissa from herself and even from me would

    be the best decision.

    Now I knew how f*****g wrong I¡¯d been all along.

    She was right. Everything she said to me yesterday was true. I was a coward for not fighting for her. I

    was a coward for choosing to marry Anya instead of ending things with her. I was an asshole for hurting

    her because of my poor decisions.

    I med everything on protecting her, but maybe she was right about me being scared. Perhaps my

    feelings for her terrified me to the point that I kept pushing her away without even realizing it.

    This day had reached much faster than I expected it to. Seeing the tears in rissa¡¯s eyes earlier had

    broken my heart. It hadpletely left me shattered inside. I was doing this to protect her, but it only

    dawned on me that I was hurting her more than ever by marrying Anya.

    She may never be able to forgive me after today. If I married Anya, I would not have the rissa that I

    was crazy about in my life anymore. My actions would destroy the joy in her heart. I would lose the one

    person I never wanted to lose.

    No matter how much I wanted to protect her, I couldn¡¯t break her heart anymore to do it. I had to find

    another way. I couldn¡¯t marry Anya. I had to find a way to end this.

    I had to find a way to stop this wedding.

    I had to.

 Chapter 119

    Chapter 119

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 119

    Book 2 Chapter 42

    ~DAMON~

    This was all my f*****g fault. I waited till my wedding day to realize that it was the wrong f*****g

    decision.

    I knew everyone would be pissed at me after today. My family would be frustrated after already asking

    me numerous times to rethink my decision. Dante would be angry with me for breaking Anya¡¯s heart.

    And Anya, she would surely hate me for ending things with her on such an important day.

    But rissa, she would be the only one that would be happy with my decision, and that was all I f*****g

    cared about. I wanted her to be happy. I didn¡¯t want to hurt her anymore. I would find another way to

    make things work between us. There had to be another solution to our situation. I was done pushing

    her away. I was done doing the opposite of what she wanted from me.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    ¡°Is the groom ready for his big day?¡± Atticus asks as he taps my shoulder.

    My jaw clenches. I had to tell him the truth. I knew there was a big possibility that he would suspect my

    decision had something to do with rissa, but I didn¡¯t care, not after the look on her face earlier.

    I didn¡¯t care if Atticus called me out on my actions. I didn¡¯t care if Anya called me the worst names

    possible; I couldn¡¯t marry her.

    ¡°I can¡¯t marry her,¡± I tell him. ¡°I can¡¯t marry Anya.¡±

    Atticus looks at me like I¡¯ve just lost my mind. ¡°What the hell is that supposed to mean?¡±

    ¡°Exactly what I said. I¡¯m not marrying her.¡± I answer him.

    ¡°You were ready to marry her just a few minutes ago. You¡¯re the one that put your suit on. No one f****d

    you to do this. All of the guests have arrived, and they¡¯re expecting to see a wedding! Damon, we¡¯ve

    always let you make your own decisions, but this is uneptable. It¡¯s not just about you anymore;

    when have you ever been this irresponsible? I feel like I barely know you anymore.¡±

    I didn¡¯t have time to exin to him. I had to find Anya. I had to tell her that this wedding couldn¡¯t

    happen. She may already be in her wedding dress. I never wanted to hurt her. I knew Atticus did the

    same thing to her, but what I¡¯m doing is much worse. I¡¯m breaking her heart on her wedding day. I

    should have listened to everyone else around me. I should have given this wedding more thought. I

    rushed into it thinking that I was protecting rissa, and instead, I¡¯d done the opposite.

    But before that, I had to meet rissa. I had to tell her that this wedding was not going to happen. I

    had to see the relief on her face. I was ready to face whatever punishment she had for me after putting

    her through that t*****e, to begin with. I was prepared for everything as long as it meant I didn¡¯t lose

    her.

    ¡°Damon!¡± Atticus calls after me as I rush out of the room.

    I race towards rissa¡¯s room. I don¡¯t even bother to knock as I barge into it. I take a look around. I¡¯m

    shocked to find the roompletely empty. Thest ce I saw her was at the bottom of the stairs

    with Autumn. I storm out of the room and down the stairs. I had to find Autumn.

    Atticus was right behind me, and I knew that this wasn¡¯t how I wanted him to see me. I¡¯d just

    proimed that I wasn¡¯t going to marry Anya, and minutester, I was barging into rissa¡¯s room and

    running down the stairs like a hysterical person.

    I bounce into Griffin while searching the crowd.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He asks when he sees the look on my face.

    ¡°I need to speak to rissa,¡± I answer him. ¡°Where is she?¡±

    He shrugs his shoulders, ¡°I¡¯ve been too busy to keep an eye on her.¡±

    My jaw clenches at his response. Someone was always supposed to keep an eye on rissa.

    Whenever someone wasn¡¯t paying attention to her, she always did something drastic, especially at a

    time like this.

    A cold shiver ran down my spine as I remembered her threat yesterday. She threatened to leave for

    good. I thought that she was bluffing. I thought that it was a harmless threat. Now, I wasn¡¯t so sure

    about that.

    ¡°I need to find her,¡± I say as panic begins to sink in.

    Atticus catches up to me then, and he¡¯s angrier than before.

    He grabs my shoulder, ¡°what the f**k is going on? You can¡¯t just walk out on your wedding day like this

    without giving a proper exnation!¡±

    I run a hand down my face, ¡°I can¡¯t do it. I don¡¯t love Anya the way that I thought I did. My feelings for

    her are not the same as before. I can¡¯t marry her.¡±

    I can¡¯t tell him the entire truth. I can¡¯t tell him I can¡¯t marry her because she wasn¡¯t the woman in my

    heart. I couldn¡¯t tell him that rissa was the only woman I craved. The only woman I needed.

    Atticus looks shocked by my words. Of course, he would be; just yesterday, I was sure I was doing the

    right thing. Just yesterday, everyone believed that I loved Anya. They thought I was marrying her

    because I wanted to. No one knew the real reason behind my actions.

    ¡°Anya just arrived.¡± He informs me. ¡°I¡¯m not a big fan of her, but I think she at least deserves the truth.

    You need to properly exin to her why this wedding will not be taking ce. It¡¯s the right thing to do.

    In the meantime, I will try to find rissa. There¡¯s no telling what trouble she¡¯s up to now.¡±

    I knew he was right. I knew I had to speak to Anya, but I had this strange, unsettling feeling in my

    chest. I was desperate to see rissa. I hated the way I left things between us this morning. I had to fix

    it. I had to wipe her tears and make everything better for her, just like I¡¯ve always done in the past.

 Chapter 120

    Chapter 120

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 120

    Book 2 Chapter 43

    ~CLARISSA~

    Empty.

    The house waspletely empty.

    Anya must have cleared it after discovering we had hired someone to monitor her. It¡¯s why she told me

    to stay away from her home. She was only trying to provoke me.

    If I had told anyone about it, they would have thought I was making everything up to stop the wedding.

    Maybe that¡¯s what she wanted all along.

    She wanted to make me look like a fool. She wanted to y the victim once more.

    I dropped myself onto the floor and buried my face in my hands. This was myst chance to stop the

    wedding. It was myst chance to prevent Damon from ruining his life for me.

    I couldn¡¯t believe it was all over. Anya had yed me. She did this to distract me from the wedding.

    She knew I would go to the house as ast resort. She knew I would try to find evidence.

    How could I have been so stupid?

    I slowly lift my head from my hands after realizing something I should have noticed sooner.

    What was that scent? The sound?

    I¡¯ve heard it before in the forest.

    Where was iting from? I picked myself off the ground and walked out of the room, only to realize

    that all the exits were on fire.

    A chill runs down my spine as I soon realize Anya¡¯s true n. She wanted to kill me in this house. It

    wasn¡¯t just a distraction; she wanted me dead.

    She was much worse than we initially thought. Why would she want to kill me? To get me out of

    Damon¡¯s life for good?

    I ran to another room, and to my horror, the windows were already covered with mes. After searching

    the entire house, it was confirmed that there was no ce for me to escape.

    I could feel the heat pouncing on my skin, threatening to hurt me. I blinked once, then twice; I couldn¡¯t

    believe this was happening to me.

    No one knew that I was here except Anya. No one would even realize that I was missing, and even if

    they did, they wouldn¡¯t know where to search for me.

    I was in trouble. And this time, I was the only one that could save myself. There would be no Damon

    coming to my rescue.

    The mes were getting closer and closer, closing in on me. I screamed as a piece of wood dropped

    onto the floor next to me.

    I moved back to the first room I was in; it was the safest ce in the house, at least for now.

    I look around, trying to figure out how to get out of there alive.

    I had to be missing something. I could try shifting into my wolf, but recently it hasn¡¯t been that easy and

    even if I did, I would still be trapped. I didn¡¯t have much time to think about anything. I had to move.

    I hold my arm in pain when the mes finally catch up to me. I had to suck it up. It wouldn¡¯t be the only

    burn to get out of this ce.

    Even if I got out alive, what proof would I have to me Anya for trying to kill me?

    I let out a scream of frustration.

    I have to find something. Anything to prove who Anya indeed was. I had to. I was running out of time.

    I closed my eyes as I felt something move inside of me; it was a strange feeling, unlike anything I¡¯d

    ever felt before.

    Suddenly, there was a piercing scream, and it took me a few seconds to realize that the sound was

    coming from me. I didn¡¯t understand why I was screaming; all I knew was that my heart was in pain.

    I opened my eyes, and the most fascinating yet shocking thing happened next. The fire formed a

    pathway before me, showing me the way. It doesn¡¯t take me long to start to move forward. I walked

    between it, and for some strange reason, Ipletely trusted it even though it could kill me.

    I followed the path until I stopped before a strange untouched painting on the wall. Why was it pointing

    me to this painting? I slowly lifted it off the wall and watched as a picture fell from behind it. I catch it

    before it can touch the ground.

    It took me a minute to realize what I was holding in my hands, but the moment I did, the ground shook

    beneath my feet.

    It was her¡ªthe witch.

    One picture. Just one picture was staring me straight in the eye. A picture that had only been freed

    because of the fire that was set to trap me inside this house.

    I didn¡¯t have time toprehend what was happening. The mes were howling in my ear, reminding

    me it was time to go.

    I rush out of the house, following the path before the fire can burn it entirely down to the ground.

    I clutch the picture to my chest as I watch the house burn to the ground before my eyes. It was falling

    apart right in front of me.

    I bring the picture closer to my eyes, taking a good look at it for a second time. I still couldn¡¯t believe

    this.

    It¡¯s a picture of Anya with the witch that had tried to kill me. She was hugging her tightly with another

    girl next to them.

    This meant that they knew each other all along. Everything that we once thought was a lie. Anya wasn¡¯t

    under a spell; she was working with the witch.

    But who was she to her? Judging by this picture, it¡¯s possible that she was her mom or an aunt.

    Was this why she was so desperate to marry Damon? Was she slowly plotting her revenge?

    The wedding would take ce in less than an hour, and I was still in front of this burning house with the

    proof I needed to bring Anya down.

    I had to save Damon from making the biggest mistake of his life. I wouldn¡¯t let her get away with this.

    She was a psychopathic liar, and I had to show this proof to everyone.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± A strange voice asks.

    I spun around to find the young girl from the picture standing before me.

    What was happening? What was she doing here?

    If she didn¡¯t know who I was, it meant that Anya had kept her horrible secrets from her. This girl knew

    nothing about me.

    I take a step towards her. ¡°Before I answer you. Can you please answer just one question of mine?¡±

    Something about the look in her eyes made me believe that she was a kind person. She would tell me

    the truth.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    She looks hesitant at first but eventually nods her head.

    ¡°Who is this woman?¡± I ask her as I point to Anya in the picture.

    She takes one look at the picture and then back at me.

    She doesn¡¯t hesitate as she says, ¡°That¡¯s Anya. My sister.¡±

    Her sister? I saw no resemnce between the two of them. I would never think that they were siblings.

    I tried to remain calm, and I didn¡¯t want to frighten the girl. I needed more answers from her.

    ¡°And who¡¯s the woman next to her?¡±

    She frowns, ¡°that¡¯s our mother, but why are you asking so many questions? And what happened to our

    home? Anya told me we had to move, but I forgot to take this picture of us with me. I hid it behind a

    painting as a joke once. Anya told me to remove everything that meant a lot to us from the house. I

    returned for it but was shocked to see the house on fire. And then I saw you running out of it. Who are

    you?¡±

    Their mother.

    Their mother?

    I couldn¡¯t believe it.

    Anya¡¯s mother was the witch that had tried to kill me! This was insane!

 Chapter 121

    Chapter 121

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 121

    ~CLARISSA~

    The witch was Anya¡¯s mother all along. That¡¯s why she lied to protect her before she died. It all made

    so much sense. The witch knew so much about our family because she was Anya¡¯s mother the entire

    time. She had so much information about us because of Anya. She must have sent her into our lives to

    destroy our family. It was a sick twisted n that started years ago when Anya first entered our lives.

    Was this the reason that Damon, Atticus, and Dante think she was their mate?

    It would exin so much. It would exin why Atticus fell in love with Autumn and found out that she

    was his true mate. It would exin my feelings for Damon and his feelings for me.

    Anya was never their mate, to begin with. Did this mean that Damon was mine? I¡¯ve always felt such a

    strong connection to him, but I thought it would be impossible for him to be my mate when Anya was

    his.

    Now I realized that all along, he was mine. He¡¯s been mine this entire time.

    This would mean that Dante only loved her because of a spell as well. Anya would be a witch just like

    her mother. She must have used a spell on all of them. She¡¯d hidden so much from us.

    Why did we ever ept her into our lives? Why did we allow her to cause so much trouble for us?

    What else was she nning? She must have been plotting something else after her mother was killed.

    Her mother¡¯s n to get rid of us had failed; she would want to finish the job for her.

    I had all the proof I needed to expose her to everyone. But I needed to get to them before the wedding

    began.

    ¡°I¡¯m a friend of your sister,¡± I exin. ¡°She¡¯s getting married to someone close to me today.¡±

    Her eyes widened, ¡°married?¡± she demanded. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Anya wouldn¡¯t keep something that

    big from me.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t realize how much her sister has been keeping from her. There was so much more. I didn¡¯t

    have the time to exin everything to her. I had to take her with me so that she could see what her

    sister had been up to.

    ¡°If youe with me, I can show you that I¡¯m not lying to you,¡± I tell her. ¡°The wedding is happening at

    my home as we speak. I need to get back there right away.¡±

    She bites her lip nervously as she looks around. ¡°Anya never likes it when I leave home.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure she can understand this one time why you had to leave,¡± I tell her.

    She still looks uncertain but eventually nods her head.

    It was time to get back home. It was time to expose Anya.

    . . . . . . .

    ~DAMON~

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Anya demands when she sees me. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to be here. Are

    you impatient to see what I look like in my wedding dress?¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to tell her that the wedding was off. I didn¡¯t know how to say it without hurting her

    feelings.

    Since when have I ever made such bad decisions that affected everyone around me? Every decision of

    mine recently has been extremely stupid.

    ¡°We need to talk,¡± I tell her gently.

    Her eyes narrow, ¡°we don¡¯t have time to talk, Damon! The ceremony is about to start, and I don¡¯t want

    to bete!¡±

    I swallow and take a look around me. I couldn¡¯t even look her in the eyes.

    I mutter a few silent curses under my breath.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asks when she realizes my weird behavior.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to tell you this, Anya, but there isn¡¯t going to be a ceremony.¡± I finally say. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.

    This wedding can¡¯t happen today.¡±

    Her mouth opens as her eyes widen, ¡°what the hell do you mean by that? Of course, there¡¯s going to

    be a wedding. I¡¯m in a white dress. A white dress, Damon! There are hundreds of guests outside

    waiting to see us get married! I don¡¯t care what you have to say to me, we¡¯re going out there, and we

    will be married by the end of today!¡±

    I run a hand down my face and try to remain calm. At least one of us needed to be calm under these

    circumstances. However, I still felt this unsettling feeling in my chest, which had nothing to do with

    Anya.

    I was worried about rissa. I needed to know if she¡¯d gotten herself into trouble again. I needed to

    know if Atticus had found her.

    ¡°Does this have anything to do with rissa?¡± She shouts suddenly.

    Her words have shocked me to my core. Why did she ask about rissa? Did she already know that

    she was the woman I was in love with? Or did she mean something else? I had to find out.

    ¡°Why are you asking about rissa at a time like this?¡± I ask hesitantly.

    I was anxious and even more uneasy than I was before. No one was supposed to know this. No one.

    How could I protect rissa if Anya knew about our secret?

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    ¡°You didn¡¯t think I would notice how you stare at her like she¡¯s thest woman on earth?¡± she demands.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m stupid? Do you think I¡¯m blind? I¡¯ve seen the way the two of you look at each other. It

    makes me sick to my stomach. She¡¯s your sister, for crying out loud. I¡¯ve always thought that rissa

    was the only sick one running after you, but when you confessed to me that night about having another

    woman in your heart, I knew that you felt the same way. I knew that it wasn¡¯t just her. I wanted to

    believe that you loved me. I wanted to believe that you wanted to marry me. Now I knew that you had

    this nned all along. You never loved me. You never cared about me. She¡¯s all you¡¯ve ever cared

    about, and you know it.¡±

    I take a step towards her in horror, ¡°you knew all along? All this time, you knew she was the woman I

    was talking about?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t stomach this fact. She knew, and she pretended like she didn¡¯t. Why? Why would she say

    nothing? How could she still be willing to marry me after knowing this?

    ¡°Of course, I knew.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡± I ask her.

    What do I do now? Do I beg her not to say anything?

    ¡°I was hoping that you wouldn¡¯t do something stupid like this.¡± She hissed. ¡°If you don¡¯t marry me today.

    I will make sure that every single person knows the truth about you and rissa! I will announce to the

    world that you¡¯re in love with your sister. I¡¯ll make sure that everyone knows she loves you too. Your

    family¡¯s name will be all over. I hope you make the right decision, Damon.¡±

 Chapter 122

    Chapter 122

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 122

    ~DAMON~

    What the hell did she just say to me? Was she going to ckmail me into marrying her?

    This wasn¡¯t the Anya that I knew and cared about. Since when has she been this way?

    ¡°I know that you¡¯re hurt.¡± I try to reason with her. ¡°I know you don¡¯t mean anything you just said to me.

    You¡¯re trying to hurt me for hurting you, and that¡¯s understandable. I know that this must be hard for

    you, Anya. I never wanted to hurt you. I¡¯ve always been conflicted over my feelings. I could never tell

    what I wanted. I decided to marry you for the wrong reasons. I should have never asked you to marry

    me. I should have never made you think there was a chance for us to be husband and wife. I know I

    was wrong. I know that I deserve to be punished.¡±

    I take another step towards her. I would do anything for her to stop this madness. I couldn¡¯t let her go

    through with this threat.

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t punish rissa for something that I did. I was wrong. I was the one that hurt you. I was

    the one that betrayed you. She had nothing to do with anything. She¡¯s innocent. Please, don¡¯t do this.¡± I

    beg her. If I had to go down on my knees, I would.

    Her jaw clenched as she red at me. ¡°Look at how pathetic you look right now. Begging for a woman

    that you could never be with. Society will never allow the two of you to be together. Everyone will turn

    against you. When you turn your back, everyone willugh at the two of you. They will scorn both of

    you. Your lives will be over for good. If you care about rissa at all, you will marry me. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s

    why you even agreed to marry me,. Wasn¡¯t it? To protect her. You did it all for her. Nothing was ever for

    me.¡±

    I knew she was right. She was saying everything that I was afraid of.

    ¡°I agree that the wedding wasn¡¯t because I wanted to marry you,¡± I confess. ¡°But I have loved you in the

    past. I have cared for you. You know this. My feelings may have changed recently, but I¡¯ve always

    protected you from everyone and everything. I know my actions in the past don¡¯t make up for all the

    wrong I¡¯ve done recently, but please, if you cared about me at all, don¡¯t hurt rissa.¡±

    She folds her arms over her chest stubbornly. ¡°I already told you. Once you agree to marry me, I will

    keep my mouth shut. No one will ever have to know about you and rissa. The secret will die with

    me. You¡¯ll be my husband, and I¡¯ll be your wife. You¡¯ll forget about her, and she will forget about you.¡±

    My hands tightened into fists at my sides, ¡°are you okay with marrying a man that doesn¡¯t love you?

    You said yourself that I was sick for wanting to be with rissa. Why do you still want to be with

    someone like me?¡±

    She took a step towards me and buried her hands in my hair.

    I couldn¡¯t move even an inch. I was too worried that I would do something to anger her. I didn¡¯t want her

    to snap and announce the truth to everyone. There were hundreds of guests present. All she had to do

    was walk into that room in her wedding dress, and all eyes would be on her.

    I had to be careful with what I was saying to her. I couldn¡¯t piss her off any more than she already was.

    ¡°Because, unlike you, I¡¯m still in love with you.¡± She confesses. ¡°Your feelings for me may have

    changed, but my feelings for you are still inside me. I can¡¯t just let go of it. I want to marry you, Damon,

    despite how imperfect you are. I want to marry you for all the good times that we¡¯ve shared, not

    because of the bad. The decision is in your hands now. It¡¯s up to you what you want to do. Will you

    marry me, or will you let everyone know about your big secret?¡±

    . . . . . . . . .

    ~CLARISSA~

    I¡¯d made it back. Finally, I had to give the news to everyone. It was time that they all knew who Anya

    truly was. I couldn¡¯t believe that she¡¯d made us all into fools. She honestly thought that she would get

    away with this. She was the evil mastermind behind everything all along. She was the one that leaked

    information to that witch. It¡¯s why she¡¯d known so much about all of us. Anya was the spy all along.

    If Autumn and I hadn¡¯t decided to do our digging, she would have gotten away with it. She would have

    married Damon and f****d her way into our family. What was her next evil n? To kill us all in our

    sleep?

    She must want revenge for her mother¡¯s death. She must have something nned. But what was it? If

    I confronted her about her lies, would she have a backup?

    It seemed that even her sister had no idea what she had been up to. It was only fair that I showed this

    girl what her sister¡¯s true colors were.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been here before,¡± Willow tells me as we walk through the gates. There were hundreds of vehicles

    and people everywhere.

    That was a good sign. The wedding hadn¡¯t started yet. I wasn¡¯t sure if confronting Anya in front of so

    many people would be a good idea, but I had no choice. They had to know now.

    ¡°You have?¡± I ask her.

    ¡°Yes. I followed my sister here.¡± She tells me. ¡°Multiple times. But I lied to her. I wanted to see where

    she often went. She came here plenty. She has always kept everything from me.¡±

    ¡°Your sister hasn¡¯t exactly been honest with you either,¡± I inform her. ¡°She has hurt a lot of people.¡±C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    ¡°That can¡¯t be.¡± She defends her. ¡°Anya has always been kind to me. She has always loved and

    protected me from everything. She can¡¯t be a bad person. She wouldn¡¯t hurt anyone. I¡¯m sure that you

    are mistaken.¡±

    I take a deep breath, ¡°has Anya ever told you how your mother truly died?¡±

    ¡°Truly died?¡± She asks. ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    Before I can say anything, I hear someone shouting my name. I see Autumn running towards me.

    Her eyes widen when she sees the bruises all over my body. Even the dress was burnt in different

    ces. I knew she would have plenty of questions for me, but I wouldn¡¯t have the time to answer them.

    ¡°What happened to you?¡± She asks in horror as she reaches me. ¡°Who did this to you?¡±

    ¡°Where is Damon?¡± I demand without answering her questions.

    ¡°I can take you to him, but aren¡¯t you going to tell me what the hell is happening?¡± She demands from

    me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to exin,¡± I tell her. ¡°I need to stop this wedding before it¡¯s toote.¡±

    She looks uneasy but eventually nods and pulls me along with her. I follow her for a few minutes with

    Willow right behind me.

    However, something in front of me forces me to a stop.

    It¡¯s Damon. And Anya.

    His hands are on her waist, she¡¯s in her wedding dress, and they¡¯re both kissing passionately like they

    can¡¯t live without each other.

    And just like that, my heart shatters in my chest.

 Chapter 123

    Chapter 123

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 123

    ~CLARISSA~

    After everything, how could he still hold her in his arms and treat her like he was in love?

    I grew closer and closer to hating Damon every second that passed by. The man that I was once crazy

    over, the man that once was my protector, was also the reason for my pain.

    Things have changed so much for us. Still, despite everything, I wanted to protect him from Anya. I

    would not let her hurt him. I would not let her hurt any of us.

    When Damon lifts his face and finally breaks his kiss with her, he doesn¡¯t look at anyone else but her. It

    hurt my feelings to see him behaving this way. In all their years together, I¡¯ve never seen him act like

    she was the only woman he cared about.

    Was he trying to change for her? Did he feel guilty and want to make everything up to her? Was he

    trying to be a good husband to her?

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Autumn whispers. ¡°Just a second ago, Atticus told me that Damon¡ª¡±

    She didn¡¯t get to finish; Damon turned and saw me next. His eyes widened, and his gaze lowered to

    the bruises all over my body. He¡¯s taking in everything. He seems shocked as he tries to figure out

    what happened to me.

    I watch as he slowly lets go of Anya, and before I know it, he¡¯s running toward me. My heart skipped a

    beat, and I felt like stabbing the damn thing for betraying me at a time like this. I should not be happy to

    see him; I should not be satisfied that he was running towards me, not after the way he kissed Anya

    just a few seconds ago.

    Anya¡¯s eyes are one of panic as she watches him leave her side. ¡°Damon!¡± She shouts to try and catch

    his attention.

    He doesn¡¯t listen to her. He¡¯s still moving towards me.

    ¡°DAMON!¡± She screams again, but then her eyes fall on me before moving to her sister, who¡¯s still

    standing behind me.

    I see the moment real fear touches her eyes. She knows it wasn¡¯t a good sign that her sister was with

    me. She knows it wasn¡¯t a good sign that I had survived her trap for me. She was surprised I had made

    it out alive and terrified that I had somehow found her sister. She knows I¡¯ve found something she

    never wanted anyone to know about her. But she may not know that I knew the whole truth just yet. I

    didn¡¯t want to alert her, and I didn¡¯t want her to try and run, either.

    Damon grabs my arms gently the moment he reaches my side.

    ¡°What happened to you?¡± He demands as he scans my body. ¡°Why are there so many bruises on you?

    Who did this to you?¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to answer him. I was still pissed that he was kissing Anya after shattering my heart.

    I can hear the concern and anger in his voice, but right now, all I¡¯m concerned about is getting Anya out

    of our lives for good. I was done with her messing around with my family. I wanted her gone for good.

    ¡°I need to tell you something important,¡± I tell him. I can see Anya approaching us from the corner of my

    eye. I needed to distract her.

    I turned towards Willow; she was the best distraction that I could use at this time.

    ¡°Go to your sister and ask her what she¡¯s been keeping from you,¡± I tell her. ¡°Ask her to tell you the

    truth about your mother and why she died.¡±

    She nods and leaves my side. She looked determined to find out the truth from her. That¡¯s exactly what

    I wanted. From the looks of it, Anya at least cared about her sister if she didn¡¯t care about anyone else.

    Damon looks at me like I¡¯ve lost my mind.

    ¡°Her sister?¡± He asks. ¡°Anya doesn¡¯t have a sister. How do you know that woman?¡±

    ¡°Look,¡± I told him as Willow joined Anya¡¯s side. ¡°Anya has been lying to all of us. That woman is her

    sister, her younger sister. I have the proof other than the fact that the girl told me she¡¯s her sister.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± He asks, baffled by this new information. ¡°Why the hell would she keep her sister from the rest

    of us?¡±

    ¡°I think we should ask her that ourselves,¡± I tell him. I wanted to hear Anya¡¯s excuse for lying about not

    having a sister.

    I would pretend that I didn¡¯t know who her mother was. I would give her the opportunity, to tell the truth

    even though I knew she wouldn¡¯t.

    Atticus joins us next, and he can already tell that all is not well. He knows when something awful is

    about to happen. Just one look at me, and he already knows I haven¡¯t been up to any good. He told me

    to stop risking my life, but I didn¡¯t listen. If the fire hadn¡¯t guided me today, I would have been dead, and

    Anya¡¯s ns would have been sessful.

    I still didn¡¯t understand what had happened, but after all this was over, I would have to tell Autumn

    everything that happened to me inside that house.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Grandfather asks as he senses the tension in the air. I needed everyone to join us.

    They all had to know.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask Anya that?¡± I say. ¡°I would like her to tell everyone here why she¡¯s been keeping

    the fact that she has a sister from the rest of us. What does she have to hide?¡±

    Anya looks like she¡¯s finally been cornered. It felt good to see her look this scared. She had no idea

    what wasing to her.

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    ¡°Her sister?¡± Dante asks. ¡°You told me that she was a friend.¡±

    Her friend? When did Dante even meet Willow?

    ¡°We can¡¯t have this conversation when everyone is around,¡± Atticus says. ¡°We need to leave.¡±

    ¡°During the wedding?¡± Dante asks. ¡°There will be a million rumors.¡±

    ¡°And a billion if everyone listens to this conversation,¡± Atticus adds. ¡°We can take this to our new pack

    house.¡±

    Of course, the new pack house. After the many, many attacks on our family, we were working on

    rebuilding our pack, making it stronger to fight against anyone that threatened our peace with the help

    of Austin and his family. Since they were so sessful, they were willing to help us. We needed

    protection against people like Anya and her mother.

    ¡°And what do we do about everyone else here?¡± Griffin asks.

    ¡°We can deal with them when we return,¡± Atticus answers him. ¡°Something tells me that this can¡¯t wait.¡±

 Chapter 124

    Chapter 124

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 124

    ~CLARISSA~

    Autumn, Atticus, and I were in the same vehicle together. Griffin and Damon were with Anya and her

    sister in the vehicle ahead of us. And Dante was with everyone else behind.

    ¡°Do you mind telling us where you were?¡± Atticus asks me as he looks at me through the rearview

    mirror.

    ¡°I had to get answers,¡± I tell him. ¡°Once we reach the pack house, I¡¯ll exin everything. But Autumn,

    we were right about Anya all along. However, she¡¯s much worse than any of us ever thought.¡±

    Atticus¡¯s hands tighten on the steering wheel at my words. I had finally cornered her. She had nowhere

    to run to. Her time was very limited.

    ¡°I told you not to go there without me.¡± Autumn scolds me. ¡°I knew how dangerous it would have been.

    Look at your condition; why must you always put yourself in danger?¡±

    Now she sounded just like Atticus, scolding me for putting my life in danger.

    ¡°Where did she go?¡± Atticus demands. ¡°And how do you seem to always know more than me when it

    concerns rissa? How much have you been keeping from me, Autumn? I thought that there were

    supposed to be no secrets between us. What exactly have the two of you been up to all this time?¡±

    Autumn gets silent at his questions. She knows just as much as I do that there was plenty she was

    keeping from him.

    ¡°Tell me.¡± He insists. ¡°What have you both been hiding from me?¡±

    Before she can give an answer, we hear a loud explosion behind us.

    ¡°What the f**k was that?¡± Atticus asks.

    I looked back to see that another vehicle had just crashed into Dante¡¯s jeep. What¡¯s happening? This

    wasn¡¯t good.

    Another vehicle overtakes us and moves to block Damon¡¯s jeep from going any further.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Autumn asks in horror.

    They¡¯re not the only vehicles. There¡¯s moreing. Four others, to be exact.

    ¡°It¡¯s an ambush,¡± Atticus shouts. ¡°We¡¯re under attack!¡±

    He pulls the jeep to a stop at the side of the road, and we all get out.

    ¡°It¡¯s Anya!¡± I shout. ¡°She must have had this n all along. This must be her backup n if the

    marriage didn¡¯t take ce. They were waiting for us!¡±

    ¡°Why would she want to attack us?¡± Atticus demands, clueless like always.

    ¡°Because we killed her mother!¡± I shout. ¡°The witch that imed to have Anya under her spell, the

    same witch that tried to kill me, and the same witch that wanted us all dead is none other than Anya¡¯s

    mother.¡±

    I pull the picture out of my dress and show it to them.

    Atticus¡¯s eyes turn dark with fury as realization finally hits him.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. All this time, she¡¯s been our enemy. All this time, it¡¯s been her.¡± Autumn gasps. ¡°How

    could she do this?¡±

    Atticus ran a hand down his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looks like he¡¯s in a state of

    shock. Of course, he will be; at one point, Anya was the love of his life; at least, that¡¯s what she wanted

    him to believe.

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°And who are all of these people?¡± Autumn asks as they jump out of their vehicles.

    Dante and the others joined us next.

    ¡°It must be friends of Anya or friends of her mother,¡± I answer her. ¡°She was nning to marry into our

    family. She must have wanted to get closer to us, to gain our trust before she attacked. She didn¡¯t

    expect me to find out the truth before she could marry Damon.¡±

    ¡°What madness are you saying, rissa?¡± Dante asks.

    ¡°Are you not realizing that Anya is no longer beside us?¡± I ask him. ¡°She¡¯s joining the others.¡±

    At my words, he looks around for her and is surprised to see her with the enemy.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± Damon demands.

    ¡°Anya¡¯s mother is none other than the witch who tried to kill me, Damon,¡± I answer him as his eyes

    widen.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. The woman you were nning to marry, the woman that I begged you to stay away

    from, turns out to be the same woman that was almost responsible for my death.¡± I taunt him. ¡°She isn¡¯t

    the sweet, innocent girl the three of you thought she was. This was all a n that she came up with

    along with her mother. She was sent to harm us. And she did a very good job at it.¡±

    I push the picture onto his face, and he grabs it from my hand. His eyes narrow as he crumbles it.

    ¡°ANYA!¡± He roars. His voice rocked the atmosphere but had no effect on her. She didn¡¯t look afraid now

    that she had others on her side.

    Dante is the only one that looks heartbroken, maybe because he¡¯s still under her spell, unlike the

    others.

    He walked over to her even though she was now surrounded by people who nned to harm us.

    I tried to stop him, but Atticus held me back.

    ¡°Is this true?¡± He asks her gently. ¡°Are you responsible for everything that has been happening to my

    family recently? Was everything just a n to get closer to us so that you could hurt us in the end?¡±

    Her eyes were emotionless and cold as she red at him. She didn¡¯t have to pretend anymore; she

    could show her true feelings.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s true.¡± She snaps. ¡°Did you think I was truly in love with you all this time? Are you blind? It

    was obvious that I didn¡¯t love you. I liked you the least out of those other two. The only one I ever had

    feelings for was Atticus, and that asshole broke my heart when he chose to be with Autumn. I tried my

    best to protect him from my mother. She had ns to get rid of all of you just to hurt your parents, but I

    asked her to protect Atticus. I should have never listened to my heart because, in the end, it cost me,

    my mother. I never loved you, Dante, and I never loved Damon. You don¡¯t love me either; you¡¯re under

    a spell I put on you. At first, it was my mother, but after she died, I had to continue with her n. I had

    to finish the job for her.¡±

    How could she speak to him like that? He was in pain, for crying out loud! Why wasn¡¯t the spell

    breaking? Why was he the only one that still loved her so much?

    ¡°I know my f*****g feelings, and it¡¯s not because of a damn spell!¡± Dante roars. ¡°I love you, damn it.

    How could you betray my feelings for you? I trusted you. I protected you. Why would you do this to me?

    Why Anya, why?¡±

 Chapter 125

    Chapter 125

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 125

    ~DAMON~

    I still couldn¡¯t believe it. Anya was a traitor all along? The woman before us looked nothing like the

    woman I once thought I was crazy in love with. She was apletely different person that had us all

    under her spell.

    f**k.

    How could she do this to me? How could she do this to my brothers? This couldn¡¯t be happening. This

    had to be a f*****g nightmare!

    ¡°How could you?¡± Dante asks in a broken voice.

    I could feel his pain, and I wanted her to pay for everything she¡¯d done. She didn¡¯t deserve to live, not

    after all the pain she¡¯s brought to my family.

    ¡°Despite everything you¡¯ve done, I still f*****g love you, and I hate it!¡± He shouts. ¡°I still love you, Anya,

    damn it! I still love you!¡±

    Only then do I notice that she has a knife in her possession? When did she even get that? And was

    she nning to use it on my brother? For her sake, I hope she didn¡¯t.

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°I wish I could say I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not.¡± She hissed. ¡°Your family killed my mother. They killed her like

    garbage, and they would have disposed of her the same way if I hadn¡¯t been there to stop it!¡±

    Of course, she¡¯d ask for a chance to dispose of the body for us. Not once did I think it was because the

    witch was her mother. All of the signs were there, and I chose to ignore them all.

    What the hell was wrong with me? Why didn¡¯t I realize this before? How did rissa even find any of

    this out?

    ¡°What?¡± Anya¡¯s sister demands as she finally exits the vehicle, even though Anya had told her to stay

    in there. ¡°Are these people responsible for our mother¡¯s death?¡±

    Anya¡¯s eyes soften as her sisteres into her view. She was probably the only person that Anya

    actually cared about. ¡°You weren¡¯t supposed to be here today. You weren¡¯t supposed to see or hear

    any of this. It¡¯s only because of that stupid rissa that you¡¯re here.¡±

    I growl at her words. I was pissed at Anya; hearing her say things about rissa only worsened

    everything.

    ¡°Why did they kill our mother?¡± She demands from her. ¡°What did you and mother do? They seem like

    nice people. What caused all of this to happen?¡±

    ¡°They are not nice people,¡± Anya growled. ¡°They are anything but nice. You have known me your whole

    life. Do you think I¡¯ll lie to you, Willow?¡±

    Willow looks hesitant, but she wants to believe her sister.

    ¡°Lying to your sister now?¡± Dante asks her with a sarcasticugh. ¡°First, you lied to all of us, and now

    you¡¯re also lying to her? Tell her the whole truth. Tell her how you ced us all under a spell so that we

    would love you; you made my brothers think that you were their mates. You made the three of us fight

    for you. If Autumn didn¡¯t enter the picture, Atticus would have still been under your spell. Tell her how

    your mother kidnapped my parents and almost killed our sister. Your mother is only dead because she

    tried to mess with our family first. She left us no choice. We had to kill her. We never wanted to. We

    didn¡¯t even know who she was until the day she kidnapped mom and dad. She was obsessed with

    hurting our family, and I¡¯m afraid you are no different from her.¡±

    Dante turns to Willow, and the poor girl has tears running down her cheeks. ¡°Do you know what she

    told me when I asked her who you were? She said that you were just a friend. A friend. Why would she

    lie to me about that? She never told us that she had a sister. Never. It was just another lie that Anya

    had told to hide her dark secrets. Are you ashamed of your sister, Anya?¡±

    ¡°Anya.¡± Willow croaks. ¡°Please tell me this is all a lie. Please tell me that you¡¯re not like this. There has

    to be a mistake. There has to be a reason why you and your mother did all of this. I don¡¯t believe that

    you¡¯re a bad person.¡±

    Anya is ring at Dante, avoiding her sister¡¯s innocent gaze. She¡¯s angrier than before and has no

    reason to be.

    ¡°How dare you speak to her?¡± Anya roars. ¡°She¡¯s my sister. You¡¯re not allowed to speak to her like that!

    You¡¯re not allowed to fill her head with lies about me! Your family is good at acting like the victim. It¡¯s

    easy for you since your family has the money and power to do as they please. I grew up in a home

    where we had to fight for everything we had, which isn¡¯t even much. I¡¯m tired of seeing you happy.

    Tired of it! I want you all to pay for killing my mother!¡±

    My eyes widen when she lifts the knife into the air.

    ¡°DANTE!¡± I shout. ¡°Watch out!¡±

    ¡°Noooo¡ª¡± Willow screams, surprising all of us when she jumps in front of him to protect him.

    Anya stops mid-air and looks at her sister in surprise.

    Dante looks shattered inside after realizing that Anya is truly willing to kill him.

    She was heartless. b****y heartless.

    ¡°No more killing. Please.¡± Willow begs her. ¡°You have to stop this. You can¡¯t keep going. This is not you.

    You¡¯re not like this, sister. You¡¯re nothing like this.¡±

    Unlike Anya, Willow was nothing like her sister. It was a strange sight to see. How were they so

    different?

    ¡°These people killed your mother, and yet you¡¯re protecting them?¡± Anya demands from her, surprised

    by her own sister¡¯s actions.

    ¡°This is wrong,¡± Willow tells her.

    ¡°Grab her and lock her in the vehicle!¡± Anya orders the other witches surrounding her.

    Dante growls and picks her up into his arms before they can get to her.

    ¡°Let my sister go!¡± Anya screams.

    ¡°Now you know what it feels like when someone purposefully tries to harm the people you care about.¡±

    He tells her.

    I know he was only bluffing; there was no way he would hurt the girl. He walks over with her still in his

    arms. He ced her on the ground while Anya pierced holes in his back with her angry gaze.

    Willow looked scared, and she shouldn¡¯t be. Our family wouldn¡¯t hurt her.

    I watched as rissa tried to calm her down and felt my heart warm with pride.

    ¡°If you want to live, you will not try anything stupid.¡± Autumn threatened her. ¡°You know what I can do

    when my family is in danger. This is yourst warning. Your mother didn¡¯t have to die, nor did you,

    Anya. Make your choice.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about dying as long as I take at least one of you down today.¡± She answers her.

    Her words make my blood run cold.

    The only person that will be dying today if anyone gets hurt from my family, is her.

 Chapter 126

    Chapter 126

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 126

    ~CLARISSA~

    I held Willow in my arms as I tried to calm her down. She wanted to run back to her sister, but I couldn¡¯t

    let her. This would soon turn into a battlefield. It would be better for her to stay on our side, where we

    could easily protect her.

    ¡°Please,¡± Willow begs. ¡°Let me go to her. I can stop this from happening. I can talk her out of it. I need

    some time.¡±

    ¡°She will not listen to you, Willow.¡± I try to tell her. ¡°Here is the safest ce for you. We can protect you

    if you¡¯re on our side.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill her.¡± She begs me. ¡°She¡¯s all that I have. Please don¡¯t kill her. I beg of you.¡±

    I tried to reassure her, but even I wasn¡¯t sure if Anya would make it out alive today. It all depends on

    her actions. I didn¡¯t want to take away Willow¡¯s only family member, but if she tried to harm my family, I

    could do nothing to stop her death.

    ¡°Bring my sister back to me and kill whoever you must to get to her,¡± Anya orders the witches around

    her.

    We were stronger than all of thembined. What was she thinking? Did she intentionally want to get

    herself killed?

    Griffin and Atticus shifted into their wolves, guarding the rest of us. Autumn moves further back,

    preparing herself to attack if she needs to.

    I know the moment the first witch attacks us, I feel it. But the pain doesn¡¯tst long; it¡¯s all thanks to

    Autumn. She¡¯s been practicing her power. She knows how to shield us from their spells, but it wouldn¡¯t

    last long. We will have to attack while she is giving us the advantage.

    Atticus doesn¡¯t even wait a second before he lifts his head back and howls loudly. It was a howl to alert

    the pack that we were in trouble. I didn¡¯t think we needed them, however, it was always a good idea to

    call for backup.

    Griffin attacks first, and Atticus goes next. We stood back and examined our surroundings, I expected

    more witches toe out and try to surprise us, but so far, these witches seemed like our only

    problem.

    Grandfather joins in with my adoptive parents next.

    ¡°They don¡¯t even seem to need our help,¡± Autumn whispers next to me.

    ¡°Please,¡± Willow begs once more. ¡°Please let her live. I know what she did was wrong, but please, don¡¯t

    hurt her.¡±

    Hearing the pain in her voice tugged at my heart. We never wanted to hurt Anya. She annoyed the hell

    out of us, and she did very unforgivable things, but we never wanted to kill her. Especially not now

    when we knew how kind her sister was.

    ¡°I can¡¯t stop them much longer,¡± Autumn tells me. ¡°The pain will return. We¡¯re going to have to keep

    going despite it.¡±

    I nod. I was prepared to take the pain. Our family had already killed three of the witches. There were

    four left, and then there was Anya.

    I knew Autumn didn¡¯t want to use her full power for fear of anyone trying toe for her again after

    what happened in the past. I didn¡¯t want her to use it either. That would bring more trouble for us than

    Anya did.

    She would be left forst.

    Dante was refusing to fight. He didn¡¯t want to hurt Anya, but I knew he would step in if someone in our

    family got hurt.

    How could Anya give up someone like him? She could have been happy. She could have gotten

    everything. If she wanted money and power, Dante would have happily given everything he had to her.

    He would have given her sister a good life as well.

    All she had to be was honest from the start. She should have never taken her mother¡¯s battle as her

    own. She should have done the right thing and told us the truth.

    ¡°It¡¯s happening now!¡± Autumn shouts to alert the rest of us.

    Damon jumps in after her warning. He takes down another witch within a second by catching her off-

    guard. He grabs her by her neck and rips her head off her body. I wince at her screams before she

    died.

    ¡°Stop this now, Anya!¡± I shout. ¡°Your sister doesn¡¯t want to watch you die. We can¡¯t protect you if you

    keep going. Think about her! She needs you! She needs her sister.¡±

    I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m trying to protect her. Maybe it¡¯s because of Willow, or perhaps it¡¯s because I cared

    for her without even knowing it. We did spend plenty of years around each other. Even though it wasn¡¯t

    the best time of my life, it was still time spent together.

    Another howl rocks our surroundings, and I know what that means. The pack was on its way. They

    were close. These witches did not stand a chance. If they wanted to live, they would have to run.

    Was this all Anya had nned? Did she have others willing to help her that didn¡¯t know she needed

    their help? Did she think that this would be enough to kill us?

    ¡°Okay!¡± Anya shouts suddenly when there¡¯s just her and two other witches left. ¡°You¡¯re right. I don¡¯t

    want to die. I want to live for my sister.¡±

    Everyone pauses mid-battle.

    ¡°Bring her to me.¡± She begs me. ¡°Please just bring her so that I can leave and nevere back. I

    promise never to bother your family again. All I want is my sister back.¡±

    Damon¡¯s wolf looks at me, and I can tell that he doesn¡¯t want me to listen to her.

    When I make one step forward, he shifts back into his human form. I know he wants to tell me to stop,

    but no wordes out of his mouth as he watches me walk closer and closer to Anya.

    Could I trust her? Was she offering peace between our families, or was this a trap?

    My entire family was on alert. They watched her like a hawk, waiting for her to try something stupid.

    Willow¡¯s hold on my hand tightens, and I slowly hand her over to Anya.

    Anya smiles and hugs her sister tightly to her. ¡°I love you so much, Willow. I love you.¡±

    It was good to see them embrace. Was this indeed the end? Was the battle over?

    ¡°But I¡¯m sorry. I can never forgive them for what they did.¡±

    I frown.

    Before I can understand her words, she pushes Willow onto the ground and tries to stab me with the

    knife. I gasp in shock, but before her knife can touch me, a de is pierced straight through her heart.

    Anya cries out at the pain, and I¡¯m surprised to see Damon behind her.

    How did he get here so quickly? He¡¯s looking at his hands like he can¡¯t believe he¡¯d just stabbed her.

    The pack surrounds us then, and the other two witches have nowhere to run and hide.

    Anya drops to the ground with her mouth and eyes wide open.

    A piercing scream touches my ear, and I look down to find Willow screaming her sister¡¯s name.

    No.

    I tried to stop it. I tried to prevent Willow from losing her sister.

    Why couldn¡¯t Anya just let it go? Why did she have to do this to herself?

    Why?C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

 Chapter 127

    Chapter 127

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 127

    ~CLARISSA~

    Anya was dying in front of us. Even though I didn¡¯t like her, it was still hard for me to watch. I never

    thought that Damon would be the one actually to kill her.

    I thought he would never be able to do something like that.

    ¡°Anya!¡± Willow screams as she holds her head in herp. ¡°Please. No! No! No!¡±

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    Anya gently touches her cheek and gazes up at her. ¡°Don¡¯t c-cry.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re all that I have!¡± She screams. ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me. I beg you. Please don¡¯t go.¡±

    Dante drops to the ground next to her with tears in his eyes. Even Damon and Atticus seemed to be

    affected by seeing her like this. None of them wanted her dead despite everything she¡¯d put them

    through.

    Anya drags her gaze away from her sister to look at Dante. Her hands are shaking as she takes his

    hand in hers. ¡°I know it¡¯s toote to¡ª¡± she coughs up blood but still tries to speak. ¡°To apologize. I¡¯m all

    that Willow has left. I know after I die, the spell I left on you will disappear also. But please, I beg of

    you. Please.¡±

    ¡°Please, what?¡± Dante asks her almost desperately as she continues to cough up blood. I can see the

    fear in his eyes. He knows that he¡¯s losing her forever. I can¡¯t imagine the pain that he must feel to

    know that he will never see her again.

    ¡°Please marry my sister.¡±

    A dead silence follows.

    We¡¯re all shocked by her words. No one is making a sound except her. She¡¯s crying, begging him now

    to marry Willow. She¡¯s repeating herself, over and over again.

    ¡°Anya¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t refuse me.¡± She begs. ¡°Your love was never real. It was a spell. I know that. You don¡¯t owe me

    anything, not after how much I¡¯ve hurt and betrayed you. But please, I¡¯m begging you, please marry

    her. She has no one. No one. She needs someone in her life. Out of everyone, I know you¡¯ll protect her

    the most. I trust you the most to take care of her.¡±

    Dante looks heartbroken as he listens to Anya. I don¡¯t care what she says; he loves her, spells or not;

    Dante was in love with her. How could he marry her sister?

    ¡°She¡¯s just a child.¡± Dante tries to tell her. ¡°She¡¯s too young.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t just a child. How old was Willow?

    ¡°She¡¯s s-seventeen.¡± She disagrees. ¡°You¡¯re not that much older than her. I can only go peacefully if

    you promise to marry her, Dante. Please. Please do it for me. I¡¯m begging you. I¡¯m b-begging.¡±

    It was hard watching this. Willow wasn¡¯t even getting the chance to grieve for her sister.

    ¡°What if I promise to care for her without marrying her?¡± He asks her desperately. Dante didn¡¯t want to

    marry her, I could tell. Why would he? Anya was the one he loved, and she was dying in front of him.

    ¡°No.¡± She cries. ¡°It¡¯s not enough. If you marry her, she will have a good life. Everyone will be f****d to

    ept her. Let her join the Academy with you. Please, marry her, Dante. It¡¯s my dying wish. I know I

    don¡¯t deserve anything, but please, I need to know that you¡¯ll marry her.¡±

    Dante looks at Willow, crying for her sister, and I watch the moment he decides to make her wishe

    true.

    ¡°I promise.¡± He whispers. ¡°I promise to marry Willow.¡±

    The promise for some reason has left a weird feeling inside my heart. Maybe it¡¯s because I know the

    sacrifice Dante is making for her.

    I can see the peacefulness his words have on her. She doesn¡¯t deserve to die in peace, but Willow did

    deserve to see her sister happy before she died.

    As soon as those words left his mouth, Anya¡¯s eyes slowly closed, and she breathed herst breath

    before us all.

    I closed my eyes as Willow¡¯s screams echoed around us. You could hear the grief in her cries. I

    couldn¡¯t imagine her pain. That was her sister. Her sister. No matter how bad of a person Anya was,

    she was still a good sister.

    ¡°We need to get back,¡± Atticus says as he touches Dante¡¯s shoulder.

    He was right. We couldn¡¯t stay here.

    We all watch as Dante lifts Anya¡¯s dead body into his arms and walks with her to the jeep. Willow runs

    after him, still crying.

    I didn¡¯t want to look at Damon. I was scared to see him grieving for her as well. He was the one that

    had killed her. I knew he would feel guilty for the rest of his life even though she deserved it.

    He was only protecting me. Like always.

    The drive back home was an incredibly sad one. No one could form any words. We had a mixture of

    emotions.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s going to marry her.¡± Atticus finally breaks the silence. ¡°He loved Anya. He did. It

    had nothing to do with the spell.¡±

    ¡°I hate this,¡± Autumn says as she gently rubs Atticus¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It should have never ended this way.¡±

    When the jeep stops, we all get out. Dante gives Anya to one of the maids, asking them to take good

    care of her body until he returns.

    He surprises all of us when he grabs Willow¡¯s hand and starts to walk with her.

    ¡°Dante!¡± Atticus shouts.

    ¡°Where the hell is he going?¡± Damon demands.

    He wasn¡¯t stopping for anyone. We all ran behind him, unsure of what else to do.

    ¡°Please tell me he isn¡¯t going to do what I think he is,¡± Autumn says as she covers her mouth with her

    hand.

    We watch in horror as he pulls her into the hall where Damon was supposed to marry Anya. Gasps

    were all over the room as the guest¡¯s gaze fell on them. This wasn¡¯t happening.

    He wasn¡¯t going to marry her, not like this. It wasn¡¯t right this way. Her sister had just died. He¡¯d just lost

    the love of his life. They weren¡¯t even dressed appropriately, and they both had blood on their bodies!

    The music starts to y, and everyone sits down despite the look of horror on each of their faces.

    It finally sinks in that he was serious about this.

    This was indeed happening.

    Dante was going to marry Willow!

 Chapter 128

    Chapter 128

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 128

    ~CLARISSA~

    Dante was now married. Married. And to Anya¡¯s sister, Willow. Nothing we said stopped him. He was

    determined to fulfill Anya¡¯s dying wish and he¡¯d done it right after her death.

    Even Willow didn¡¯t try to go against him. But I knew she was also doing it for her sister. Despite

    everything Anya had done, they both still loved her like crazy. It was the one thing that they had in

    common.

    It was a horrible day for our family. So many things had happened one after the next.

    I can¡¯t even imagine the kind of articles we would have to read tomorrow about this entire thing. They

    would report on Anya¡¯s death and that Dante had married his mate¡¯s sister.

    Whatever they wrote, it was bound to anger us all.

    I didn¡¯t want to think of the picture that would be posted alongside those articles. There were no

    wedding kisses at the end of the ceremony; there was no hugging, nothing except crying.

    Willow hadn¡¯t stopped crying since Anya had died. I didn¡¯t expect her to stop crying anytime soon. But

    Autumn and I would try our best tofort her. I knew what it meant to lose someone close to you.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    We tried our best to save Anya. We tried our best to give her another chance, but ultimately, she chose

    death. Maybe she felt like that would be the best decision to make for her sister. Perhaps she knew that

    Dante would marry Willow if she died.

    I wasn¡¯t sure of her reasons, but in the end, she didn¡¯t get everything she wanted. I knew she at least

    wanted to kill me, but even that didn¡¯t happen as she had nned. Damon hade to my rescue yet

    again.

    ¡°There is something you need to know,¡± Autumn tells me as we finally get a chance to be alone.

    The guests had all just left even though they all had many questions for us.

    My grandfather was good at getting them all to go. He was always good at that.

    ¡°What is it?¡± I ask her. It felt like she¡¯s been trying to tell me something since I returned with the news

    about Anya.

    ¡°Damon was nning on ending¡ª¡±

    She doesn¡¯t get to finish when Damon enters the living room. His eyes fell on Autumn before they fell

    on me.

    ¡°I would like to speak with rissa privately, please.¡± He asks Autumn.

    I didn¡¯t want to talk to him. I was still angry with him.

    If I hadn¡¯t found the proof against Anya, he would be married to her by now. Then everything between

    us would have been over for good.

    Autumn looks hesitant to leave, but when she realizes his desperation, she finally decides to leave us

    alone.

    Damon sits opposite me, and it looks like he¡¯s trying to find the right words to say to me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything.¡± I stop him before he can say a single word. ¡°It¡¯s clear that this thing between us

    was never going to work out.¡±

    He swallows but doesn¡¯t give any emotion away.

    ¡°I tried my best to get you to fight for me. To fight for us. But you did the opposite each time.¡± I remind

    him. ¡°You broke my heart over and over again.¡±

    His two hands were sped tightly together as he quietly listened to everything I had to say.

    ¡°You were right to want things between us to stay the same. Our rtionship before I made things

    complicated was much better than it is now.¡±

    He still says nothing. He still leaves me to ramble on.

    I¡¯m unsure where to go with this, but I don¡¯t stop.

    ¡°I thought I was doing the right thing by fighting for you. I thought I was doing the right thing by

    constantly offering myself to you.¡± I confess. ¡°I was so blinded by my feelings that I let my heart lead.

    I¡¯m sorry if I made you ufortable with my actions.¡±

    I closed my eyes to find the strength I needed to continue. ¡°When I saw you kissing Anya earlier, my

    heart shattered. It was the reminder I needed to know that you and I were never going to work out. I

    was stupid for thinking that love would prevail. I was stupid for thinking that everyone around us would

    happily ept our rtionship. While you were able to have your rtionship with her public, it will

    never be possible with me.¡±

    Damon tries to say something, but I raise my hand to stop him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize for your actions, Damon. I¡¯ve heard your apology a hundred times

    already; nothing you say can be different from what you¡¯ve said in the past. I understand now that there

    can never be anything between us.¡± I confess. ¡°And the tattoo. It was a stupid decision on my part. I will

    find a way to get it removed.¡±

    His jaw clenched, and I knew I had struck a nerve.

    It was a lie. Despite my frustration with him, I was never removing that tattoo.

    ¡°You always wanted things to go back to normal between us. I¡¯ll try my best to get things back to where

    it was before. I¡¯ll try to ensure it¡¯s no longerplicated, how you like it.¡± I assure him.

    ¡°rissa¡ª¡±

    ¡°You were nning on marrying Anya today, Damon.¡± I remind him. ¡°You were going to put a ring on

    her finger and give her yourst name. The reality didn¡¯t sink in until I saw you kissing her in her

    wedding dress. I¡¯m tired of fighting for us. I¡¯m tired of fighting for you.¡±

    I don¡¯t want to cry in front of him; I don¡¯t want him to show him my weakness anymore.

    ¡°I think you were right all along,¡± I confess. ¡°I need to have my own life. It shouldn¡¯t revolve around you

    anymore. I need to get out there and start dating. I need to do things that make me truly happy. I

    thought my happiness was only being with you, but you¡¯ve brought me only pain the past few days. It

    just proves that we aren¡¯t meant to be like I initially thought.¡±

    Damon finally gets up from his chair after not moving an inch since he¡¯d sat down.

    His face is emotionless as he asks, ¡°is that truly what you want, rissa?¡±

 Chapter 129

    Chapter 129

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 129

    ~DAMON~

    rissa¡¯s words f*****g hurt. I wasn¡¯t sure if this was intentional or if she truly felt that way about us.

    I was finally ready to fight for us. I was prepared to give her everything she wanted but she didn¡¯t seem

    to want it anymore. I had hurt her too much in the past.

    Her eyes are sad as she says, ¡°yes. This is what I want. It¡¯s what¡¯s best for both of us. We are not good

    for each other. You were right all along. It was never going to work between us. Our family will never be

    able to ept it.¡±

    I want to get on my knees; I want to beg her to give me a chance. I want to do anything to make her

    change her mind.

    But I didn¡¯t want to go against her wishes. I¡¯ve already gone against them in the past. If this was truly

    what she wanted. I would stand back and let it happen no matter how much it f*****g pained me.

    Hearing her say she would get rid of the tattoo bothered me a lot more than it should. It was her body; it

    was her choice. But damn it; I loved it on her. I didn¡¯t want it gone. Knowing my name was on her body

    made it seem like she was mine. If she removed it, she was allowing someone else to take my ce.

    This was all my fault. I¡¯d done this. She¡¯d wanted me for so long. She gave me many opportunities, as

    she¡¯d said earlier.

    I didn¡¯t want to show her how upset I was. I didn¡¯t want to worry her. I deserved this pain; I deserved to

    be unhappy after the number of times I¡¯ve made her cry because of my dumb decisions.

    I¡¯d realized my mistakes toote. Maybe this was for the best.

    But she was f*****g mine, damn it.

    Now I understood why I¡¯ve always wanted her so much. Anya was never my mate, to begin with. Her

    spell was the only reason it became easier to stay away from rissa.

    Now that everyst bit of that spell was gone, my need for rissa had grown at an rming rate.

    I wasn¡¯t sure how I would find the strength to stay away from her.

    Even now, her scent had filled the room. My body felt sensitive to it. Anytime I walked into a room now,

    I would be overwhelmed with the need to taste her because of that damn scent.

    How do I move on from her? How do I let her go?

    I took another step toward her and felt satisfied when I heard her heartbeat increase. It meant her

    feelings were still there; she was trying her best to control them.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t get the chance to tell you what I wanted to,¡± I say in a low voice.

    ¡°Does it matter?¡± she asks. ¡°You were going to apologize, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    I exhale slowly, ¡°no.¡± I breathe out. ¡°I wasn¡¯t.¡±

    Her eyes widened a little, ¡°then what were you going to say?¡±

    My gaze softens, ¡°I don¡¯t think it makes sense for me to say it anymore, rissa. It seems like you¡¯ve

    made your mind up.¡±

    Her lips part, and she looks curious.

    ¡°There you two are.¡± My mother says as she finds us standing a little too close to each other. ¡°What are

    you doing in here? Everyone is about to leave.¡±

    rissa¡¯s cheeks are red as she turns to look at her.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± I ask her.

    ¡°I know Anya wasn¡¯t exactly the best person. She¡¯s done a lot of wrong things, especially to our family.

    However, I think her mother brainwashed her and the things that she did was because of that. Your

    brother still loves her; it seems his love had nothing to do with the spell. And he¡¯s now married to

    Willow, who¡¯s her sister. Willow is now a daughter-inw of this family and needs to be treated like one.

    Since they both care deeply for her, I think it¡¯s only fair that we bury her and give her a proper send-off.¡±

    My hands tighten into fists at my sides. I knew before she died I wanted her to pay after finding out

    about the things she¡¯d done. I felt like she deserved to die, but I couldn¡¯t deny the pain I still felt in my

    heart at knowing she was gone. Despite all the wrongs she¡¯d done, I¡¯d grown an attachment to her. It

    felt worse knowing that I was the one to kill her.

    But it had to be done. I would always choose to save rissa over everyone else. She¡¯s always the

    first person I run to protect. Anya could have given up; we were willing to let her go. But she was too

    blinded by revenge. She wanted to kill rissa. She wanted to hurt us all. If I hadn¡¯t killed her,

    someone else in my family would have.

    ¡°We will be there in a second,¡± I tell mother.

    She nods and leaves us alone.

    rissa surprises me when she tugs at my shirt, ¡°thank you.¡±

    I frown, ¡°thank you?¡±

    She nods and peers up at me, ¡°for saving me earlier.¡±

    I can¡¯t stop gazing into her eyes. I saw glimpses of the same rissa, that saw me as her hero.

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    ¡°Why are you thanking me?¡± I whisper. ¡°Protecting you has always been something that brings me joy.

    I¡¯ve told you this already. I will always protect you when you need me. I still don¡¯t understand how you

    found out Anya¡¯s true identity or why you had so many bruises.¡±

    She looks down nervously, ¡°we hired a private investigator to keep an eye on Anya. He got back to us

    and told us that Anya lied about where she was living.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why didn¡¯t you tell me anything?¡± I demand from her. ¡°I could have helped.¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t think that any of you would have believed us.¡± She answers me.

    ¡°We?¡± I ask. ¡°Who else knew about this?¡±

    ¡°Autumn.¡± She answers me.

    Of course, Autumn.

    ¡°Autumn wanted me to wait on her to visit the house and have a look around for any clues. But then

    Anya moved up the wedding date, and she had no time. The day before the wedding, Anya threatened

    me to stay away from her home. She nned to trap me inside the house since she knew I would try to

    get information on her. I waited for everyone to get busy with the wedding, and then left. Someone set

    the house on fire while I was inside it. That¡¯s why I had so many bruises while trying to get out.¡±

    My blood boiled at this new information. Anya was nning to kill rissa even though she knew I was

    in love with her.

    She even tried to ckmail me into marrying her while it was happening.

    How could she have been so heartless all along? Why did I ever trust someone like her? Why was I so

    blind? I could have lost rissa because of my carelessness.

    Now more than ever I want to pull her into my arms and never let her go but I refrained from doing it. I

    couldn¡¯t be selfish. I couldn¡¯t.

 Chapter 130

    Chapter 130

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 130

    ~CLARISSA~

    It was hard acting like I was okay with not being with Damon. But it had to be done.

    I hate that he didn¡¯t once try to fight for me. He didn¡¯t tell me that he wanted me. He didn¡¯t tell me what I

    wanted to hear.

    I gasp when he gently cups my cheek in his hand, ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re safe, rissa.¡±

    I nod and quietly move away from his touch before I caved and gave in to my feelings.

    We both joined the others as they got ready for the funeral. A wedding and funeral are all on the same

    day; that¡¯s thest thing I would have expected to happen on Damon¡¯s wedding day.

    The rest of the day wasn¡¯t easy. We tried our best tofort Willow, but in the end, nothing we did or

    said could make her feel better.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    ¡°I feel so sorry for her,¡± Autumn whispers. ¡°Anya shouldn¡¯t have left her this way. All she had to do was

    leave.¡±

    ¡°Her thirst for revenge was stronger than her love for her sister,¡± I suggest. ¡°We gave her the option to

    live, but she chose to die trying to kill me.¡±

    I¡¯m sure Anya knew there wasn¡¯t a chance for her to kill me, not with my entire family standing around

    me, waiting to protect me. Still, she chose to continue with her n.

    I never understood her. She could have gotten everything in life. Did she not want to be happy?

    ¡°What did Damon want to tell you?¡± Autumn asked me as soon as we were back home and alone.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t give him a chance to speak,¡± I confess. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to hear another apology from him.¡±

    Though, ording to him, he wasn¡¯t nning on apologizing to me. If he wasn¡¯t going to apologize,

    what was he nning on saying?

    ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯ve wanted to tell you,¡± Autumn says.

    I knew there was something that she¡¯s been trying to tell me for a while now. She never got to finish her

    sentence.

    ¡°What is it?¡± I ask curiously.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is the right time to tell you since it seems like you¡¯re ready to let go of Damon, but

    he was never going to marry Anya.¡± She exins.

    I frowned, ¡°he was in his suit. She was in a wedding dress. They were kissing passionately when I

    returned. How was he never going to marry her?¡±

    She wasn¡¯t making any sense.

    ¡°Before you returned from Anya¡¯s home, Atticus told me that Damon confessed that he couldn¡¯t marry

    Anya. He said that he didn¡¯t love her and that he was nning on stopping the wedding. He was

    looking around frantically, and I believe he was looking for you. Atticus told him to see Anya at least

    and exin to her what was happening. I don¡¯t understand why he ended up kissing her, but I¡¯m sure if

    you ask him, he will answer your question. He was never going to marry her. I know he changed his

    mind toote, but I believe Damon was finally willing to give you what you wanted all along.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe what I was hearing. Had he decided to stop the wedding? Was that what he wanted

    to tell me?

    Why didn¡¯t I let him speak? I was so tired of his apologies that I didn¡¯t want to hear them anymore. I

    should have waited and listened to what he had to say before saying what was on my mind.

    Half of the things I said to him were all lies. I just wanted to pretend that I was okay. I wanted to hurt

    him as he had done to me. I wanted him to drop to his knees and tell me he loved me. I wanted him to

    say to me that he would fight for us.

    I hoped he would have done at least one of those things, but he never did. Instead, he left me to speak,

    and he even agreed with me.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this,¡± I whisper. ¡°What do you think made him change his mind?¡±

    She smiles, ¡°you¡¯re why he changed his mind. I know that you want him to beg you to take him back. I

    know you don¡¯t want to make it easy for him. I don¡¯t think you have long to wait. I¡¯ve seen the longing in

    his gaze as he looks at you. He can¡¯t even hide it anymore. Eventually, he will confess his true

    feelings.¡±

    I hope he wouldn¡¯t keep me waiting long. I didn¡¯t want to be the one to ask him to fight for me. I wanted

    Damon to do it on his own, without my help.

    Atticus walks in then and quirks a brow at us. ¡°I¡¯m very disappointed in the both of you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Autumn asks. ¡°What did we do?¡±

    ¡°You could have trusted me enough to tell me that you were hiring a private investigator to keep an eye

    on Anya.¡± He growls. ¡°One of you could have gotten seriously injured because of your big secret. Why

    couldn¡¯t you tell me, Autumn?¡±

    She narrows her eyes, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but weren¡¯t you the one that always trusted Anya in the past?¡±

    ¡°I thought we were over this. I thought you trusted me. If you believed in me even a little bit, you would

    have known that I could have helped you. I wouldn¡¯t have dismissed your suspicions.¡± He tells her

    calmly, but even I can hear the edge to his voice.

    She sighs, ¡°I do trust you. I¡¯m sorry for keeping this from you.¡±

    ¡°What else have the two of you been hiding from me?¡± He demands.

    Autumn looks at me, and I try to remain calm. This was one secret I still couldn¡¯t tell him, and Autumn

    knew that. I knew she wouldn¡¯t sell me out.

    Damon walks in with Dante and Willow next. Willow¡¯s eyes are dark and sad, and I don¡¯t think she even

    realizes yet that she was married to Dante.

    She was still in shock.

    Dante¡¯s knuckles were bruised, and so was his face. Those bruises weren¡¯t from the fight. They were

    new. It frightened me.

    ¡°Did you get into another fight?¡± I ask him as I lift my hand to touch his face.

    He flinches away from me, and it shocks me. He never did that in the past.

    ¡°I found him like this,¡± Damon tells us. ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to tell me where he got it from.¡±

    Before I can ask any more questions, Willow drops to the ground, curled up in a ball.

    ¡°Sister.¡± She cries out.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening to her?¡± Autumn demands.

    I drop to the ground next to her and touch my hand to her forehead. My eyes widen in horror.

    ¡°She¡¯s freezing!¡± I shout. ¡°Call a doctor!¡±

 Chapter 131

    Chapter 131

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 131

    ~CLARISSA~

    It¡¯s been a week. One week since Dante married Willow. One week after Anya¡¯s death. One week since

    I told Damon that I wanted things to go back to normal between us.

    Willow¡¯s tears had decreased, but she was still tremendously sad.

    The doctor couldn¡¯t find anything wrong with her when we called him to have a look at her. Yet, her skin

    remained ice cold for a while before returning to its average temperature.

    It was unlike anything any of us had ever seen before. We didn¡¯t know what the cause was, and the

    doctor did not help us one bit.

    Today was the first day we would take her back to school with us. The first time she was ever going to

    step foot in our academy. I knew it wouldn¡¯t be easy. Everyone knew that she¡¯d married her sister¡¯s

    supposedly mate.

    While Dante was always in love with Anya, I didn¡¯t believe that she was ever his mate. If she were, she

    would have had strong feelings for him, but she never did.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    However, everyone at school did not know the whole story. Both Willow and Dante did not want the

    truth of her sister¡¯s death to be revealed to the public. They didn¡¯t like the people to know how horrible

    of a person she was.

    Besides, if people knew the truth about Anya, Willow¡¯s life would be even worse. It was always going to

    be difficult the moment people knew she was Anya¡¯s sister. I still remember how hard it was for Autumn

    when she married Atticus. This time it was much worse. Luckily for Willow, we would do our best to

    protect her from the public.

    ¡°Did you see the articles posted this morning?¡± Autumn asks me.

    ¡°The ones about Willow and Dante?¡± I ask her.

    She nods, ¡°it reminds me of my first day at the academy as the wife of Atticus Fawn.¡±

    She purposefully said hisst name.

    ¡°I remember,¡± I tell her. ¡°I feel so sorry for her.¡±

    And for me. It¡¯s been a tough week acting like Damon didn¡¯t mean as much to me as he did before.

    I¡¯ve been the one avoiding him as much as I could. I wasn¡¯t sure how far I¡¯d have to push him to admit

    that he wanted to fight for us.

    It still surprised me that Damon had called off the wedding after telling me multiple times that it was the

    right thing to do. What had caused him to change his mind?

    I would never know the answers unless I confronted him about it, but I wouldn¡¯t give him the

    satisfaction. I was tired of chasing him.

    ¡°Damon hasn¡¯t been showing any interest in me since ourst conversation,¡± I confess to Autumn. ¡°It¡¯s

    bothering me. He¡¯s giving me exactly what he thinks I want, but this time it¡¯s not what I actually want

    from him.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°give him some more time. He¡¯s giving you space because he thinks that¡¯s what you want.

    Eventually, he isn¡¯t going to be able to control himself.¡±

    I¡¯m about to disagree when I spot him walking toward us, and I try to act unbothered. The key word

    there is ¡®try.¡¯

    I¡¯m not sure how sessful I was.

    ¡°Can I walk you to ss?¡± He asks me the second that he reaches my side.

    Autumn gives me a look as if to say, ¡®I told you so.¡¯

    She leaves us alone, and I felt like pulling her back. I didn¡¯t want to be alone with him; that¡¯s when it¡¯s

    hardest to control myself.

    ¡°I could walk myself,¡± I tell him.

    He shrugs his shoulders, ¡°wasn¡¯t this what you wanted?¡± He asks. ¡°For things to return to normal. This

    is what I always do. I walk you to ss and tell everyone around you to treat you with the respect you

    deserve.¡±

    While this was true that he¡¯s always done this in the past, it still felt weird after everything that had

    happened between us.

    It also feels weird now that Anya is no longer trying toe between us.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this,¡± I tell him. ¡°Not anymore.¡±

    He grabbed my hand and f****d me to a stop. The devastated look on his face takes me aback. Did my

    words hurt him that much?

    ¡°I know that you¡¯re angry with me. I can feel it every time I get near you. I¡¯m willing to do everything you

    ask of me, but what I¡¯m not willing to do is stop protecting you. And this rissa happens to fall under

    that category.¡± He says in a low growl.

    ¡°But¡ª¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care who f*****ges into your life and who goes out of it.¡± He adds. ¡°But I¡¯m always going to

    be here protecting you. As long as I¡¯m alive, I will keep you safe. So please, do not stop me from doing

    the one thing that I love most in this world.¡±

    My heart skips a beat. This was unexpected. I didn¡¯t think my words would have affected him this

    much.

    But it still wasn¡¯t the confession that I was looking for.

    ¡°rissa Fawn!¡± The professor exims as he sees me standing outside of the ssroom door staring

    at Damon. ¡°You¡¯rete for ss as usual. What are you doing just standing there?¡±

    I lowered my gaze; I couldn¡¯t look into his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll see you after ss.¡±

    I can feel all eyes on me as I enter the ssroom. I know everyone will have plenty of questions for me,

    but I didn¡¯t think they were brave enough to ask them, especially not after seeing Damon right outside

    the door, still looking into our ssroom.

    He was making sure that no one was trying to bully me, just like he¡¯s always done in the past. I tried not

    to melt at his earlier words.

    Protecting me was the one thing he loved the most in the world, his words, not mine.

    My cheeks felt hot, and I needed some water to cool down.

    It was hard to pay attention in ss after that little incident. I often wished that I was in the same ss

    as the rest of my family. I hated being away from them.

    I was surprised when I saw Willow walk through the door in the middle of our ss, totally distracting

    me from my earlier thoughts.

    ¡°ss,¡± Sir Richards calls for our attention. ¡°Meet your new ssmate. Willow Edwina.¡±

    His words surprised everyone in the room, including me.

    What was she doing in this ss?

 Chapter 132

    Chapter 132

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 132

    ~CLARISSA~

    Willow sits beside me, and I can tell how ufortable she is. The gossip hasn¡¯t stopped since our

    professor made his announcement.

    The whispers continued even after he asked them to be quiet. They never listened, and unfortunately,

    this professor was never good at getting them to do anything asked.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you supposed to be in a lower ss?¡± I ask her gently. I didn¡¯t want to make it sound like I

    didn¡¯t want her here with me. I was more than happy to have someone I knew in this ssroom with

    me. And Willow was now a member of our family, which meant I had to treat her like I would Autumn.

    ¡°Your parents were concerned that I would be alone.¡± She tells me. ¡°They asked for me to be moved up

    to this ss with you.¡±

    And, of course, our school would abide by their request. I¡¯m sure that money was even part of this

    decision.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy you¡¯re here with me,¡± I inform her. ¡°I always wished forpany during these boring

    sses.¡±

    Why didn¡¯t they do this for me as well? Move me up to a ss with the others. I¡¯ve always felt alone

    before this. At least I had Willow by my side from now on. I¡¯m sure Damon would also feel at ease if he

    knew I hadpany from today.

    ¡°Anya never told me anything about her friends or enemies. She never even told me she was marrying

    your brother.¡± She whispers a few minutester.

    I freeze.

    My brother.

    Just like always, I felt sick to my stomach when someone referred to Damon as my brother.

    Willow didn¡¯t know anything about us; she didn¡¯t realize how much her words would upset me. I

    couldn¡¯t me her. It was normal for her to think that Damon was my brother. It wasn¡¯t her fault that I

    was crazy in love with him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t know by now, but I¡¯m adopted,¡± I tell her.

    Her eyes widened, ¡°adopted?¡±

    I nod. ¡°I¡¯m not their biological daughter.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re all so close to you.¡± She confesses. ¡°I would never think that you were adopted. You¡¯re lucky

    to have a family that loves you so much.¡±

    I swallowed; I knew I was lucky to have them. But it wasn¡¯t the easiest thing in the world to be in love

    with someone I was not supposed to love. It¡¯s not like I can ever tell this to Willow. If she ever finds out

    how much I loved Damon, she may get distraught knowing that her sister was supposed to marry him. I

    was afraid that she would be angry with me.

    We never spoke about one other thing, and that¡¯s the fact that Damon was also the one to kill Anya. I

    wasn¡¯t even sure if Dante or Willow med Damon for any of it. I haven¡¯t seen the two of them have a

    normal conversation ever since that day. Dante has never been normal ever since her death.

    He keeps disappearing for hours and sometimes returning with bruises. No one knew what he¡¯s been

    up to, but we were all worried about him.

    He and Willow did not behave like a married couple either. He barely spoke to her, and they didn¡¯t even

    sleep in the same room together. Dante requested that she stay in a separate room despite being

    married to her.

    They were in a loveless marriage. I would have never wished for something like that for either one of

    them. I don¡¯t know why Anya insisted that he marry her. Maybe she feared that Dante would one day

    stop caring for her if he found his true mate. Perhaps she wanted to make sure that no matter what, he

    would be f****d to protect Willow.

    I¡¯m not sure what was her real reason, but this was the reality now. Eventually, Dante has no choice but

    to ept Willow as his wife.

    The rest of the day passed quickly, and I was happy to be home and away from all of the gossipers.

    There were too many eyes on us at the academy. It felt like everyone was constantly staring at us.

    If they were like this after Anya¡¯s death, what would they be like if they ever found out I was in love with

    Damon?

    I knew that¡¯s what Damon had always wanted to protect me from since the beginning.

    I sigh. He had his reasons, and I kept pushing him. I still didn¡¯t think that I was wrong. I was fighting for

    love.

    ¡°We have a family announcement.¡± Grandfather says after gathering all of us in the family room.

    When he¡¯d called for all of us, I had no idea what this announcement would be about, and I was still

    very clueless.

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    ¡°As each of you knows, around this time, we always have a family vacation.¡± He reminds us. ¡°I¡¯ve

    discussed this with your parents, and I know it¡¯s been a very rough time for our family. We weren¡¯t sure

    if we should continue the tradition, but after much thought, we think this is for the best. You kids will be

    returning to our Flora beach house this weekend. Two days just to rx and remind yourselves why it¡¯s

    good to be still alive.¡±

    Atticus quirks a brow, ¡°aren¡¯t you guys going to be there?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± He answers him. ¡°Unfortunately, we have some business to take care of. That doesn¡¯t mean you

    should spoil your fun for us. You are an adult now; you can take care of yourself. You don¡¯t need us

    there.¡±

    ¡°Is this really such a good idea?¡± Dante asks, looking unhappy as usual.

    ¡°Yes, Dante.¡± He tells him. ¡°This is a good idea, especially for you. I know you¡¯ve taken the hardest hit

    between your brothers. As such, you need this trip more than anyone else.¡±

    He doesn¡¯t look pleased, but he doesn¡¯t go against grandfather¡¯s words either.

    ¡°I guess that settles it,¡± Autumn says with a bright smile. ¡°We¡¯re going to have some fun this weekend!¡±

    Of course. . .fun. I couldn¡¯t wait.

 Chapter 133

    Chapter 133

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 133

    ~CLARISSA~

    A family vacation. I wasn¡¯t sure if that¡¯s what we needed now. But it would be good to get out of the

    house. Maybe this could help Willow¡¯s mood improve as well.

    I was in the middle of packing for it. We would be leaving in a few minutes.

    ¡°It¡¯s a beach house,¡± Autumn says, walking into my room. ¡°That means that I get to choose your

    swimsuits.¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°did you forget a certain tattoo on my body.¡±

    I still couldn¡¯t let anyone see it. Besides, Damon already thought that I¡¯d gotten rid of it.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. That¡¯s why we have the coverups that you usually use. I have fancy ones that will have

    Damon¡¯s head spinning.¡± She teases me.

    Autumn seemed to believe that Damon would soon confess his feelings for me, but I didn¡¯t think it

    would be that simple.

    ¡°And what about Willow?¡± I ask her. ¡°We need to help her rtionship with Dante. Those two act like

    they¡¯re strangers. I understand they were strangers before Anya died, but we must help them.¡±

    Autumn nods, ¡°I¡¯ve already been thinking of ways to help her. Dante¡¯s heart does belong to Anya,

    which means none of this is going to be easy. Willow would also feel like she¡¯s betraying her sister by

    being with Dante. However, I have noticed her cheeks turn red whenever he¡¯s close to her. I think there

    is a good chance that she has a little crush on him.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± I ask, suddenly very eager to know more. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I notice that before?¡±

    Sheughs, ¡°maybe because you¡¯re too caught up in your love life to notice anything happening around

    you.¡±

    That was true.

    Was this a good time to mention the fire incident? I¡¯ve kept this a secret from Autumn, and I don¡¯t know

    why. I hadn¡¯t told anyone that the fire had helped me to escape that day. How could I exin that fire

    helped me escape from itself? That made no sense to me, and I¡¯m sure that it would make zero sense

    to everyone else as well.

    But Autumn has always been very understanding. She¡¯s also someone that I could easily trust. Out of

    everyone, she should at least know what happened that day.

    ¡°There¡¯s something I have been keeping from you,¡± I confess. ¡°From everyone.¡±

    She frowns and sets the bikini she was holding aside, ¡°you¡¯ve been keeping something from me?¡± She

    asks. ¡°Why? I thought we told each other everything.¡±

    I swallow, ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure how to bring it up.¡± I exin. ¡°It¡¯s something that has me a little confused and

    afraid.¡±

    ¡°And it has nothing to do with Damon?¡± She asks curiously.

    I shook my head, ¡°no, for once, it has nothing to do with Damon.¡±

    ¡°Well, tell me.¡± She urges me. ¡°What can be so bad that you¡¯ll consider keeping it a secret from me?¡±

    I y with my fingers nervously, ¡°when someone set the house on fire, I was trapped. There was

    nowhere for my escape. The fire was closing in on me, and I was terrified that I wouldn¡¯t be able to

    return to stop the wedding. I hadn¡¯t even found the picture until something strange happened. The fire

    formed a pathway in front of me. I followed it, and it led me straight to the picture. It¡¯s only because of

    the fire that I was able to find it, and it¡¯s also the reason that I was able to escape. I know you might

    think that I¡¯m crazy or abnormal. Or maybe I hallucinated that day; I¡¯m unsure of anything right now.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not abnormal.¡± Autumn scolds me. ¡°What about me? My father is some insane sorcerer that

    tried to take over the world. If anyone¡¯s abnormal, it¡¯s me.¡±

    I smile, ¡°how do you always know how to make me feel better?¡±

    She shrugs her shoulders, ¡°I can¡¯t say. It justes to me naturally. But, strangely, the fire guided you.

    I¡¯ve never heard of anything like that before. But do you think it was also trying to help you that day

    Damon found you in the forest?¡±

    I frown. Why hadn¡¯t I thought about it before?

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it was trying to help. It had surrounded me and was closing in. It didn¡¯t make a pathway for

    me on that day.¡± I tell her. ¡°Do you think I was hallucinating? I was surrounded by a lot of fire. The heat

    of the mes could have made me think I saw something that didn¡¯t even happen.¡±

    She gently rubs my shoulder, ¡°don¡¯t worry. We will figure this out.¡±

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    Atticus walks into the room and finds us deep in thought.

    ¡°Every time I see the two of you together, I get scared.¡± He confesses. ¡°I feel like you¡¯re never up to any

    good. The two of youbined is a dangerousbination.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not up to any mischief,¡± Autumn assured him. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry.¡±

    ¡°At least I¡¯ll be able to keep my eyes on the two of you while we¡¯re at the beach house.¡± He says in a

    relieved tone.

    Autumn rolls her eyes, ¡°you¡¯re being dramatic.¡±

    ¡°Does anyone know where Dante has been sneaking off to?¡± I ask them. It¡¯s been bothering me.

    ¡°No clue,¡± Atticus answers me. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to follow him one of these days when he least

    expects it. Whatever it is that he¡¯s doing can¡¯t be any good.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not coping with Anya¡¯s death very well.¡± Autumn sighs. ¡°It was always obvious that Dante loved

    her. He was the only one out of the three of you that didn¡¯t have eyes for another woman.¡±

    Atticus frowns, ¡°the only one? Does that mean Damon had eyes for another woman other than Anya?¡±

    Autumn and I freeze at his question.

    I know she didn¡¯t mean to let that slip out, but what were we supposed to tell him now?

    He already suspected that Damon and I were sneaking around, but now he knew Damon was

    interested in someone other than Anya.

    We were screwed.

 Chapter 134

    Chapter 134

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 134

    ~CLARISSA~

    Damon walks into the room, and he can sense the tension right away. I¡¯m not sure if he was here to

    see Atticus or me.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He asks.

    ¡°I¡¯ve just heard from Autumn that I¡¯m not the only one who had eyes for another woman while dating

    Anya. It turns out you also did.¡± Atticus answers him. ¡°Do you mind telling me who that woman is or

    was?¡±

    Damon quirks a brow at him and shoves both hands in his pockets. ¡°I don¡¯t know what Autumn is

    talking about. Maybe she can enlighten the both of us.¡±

    I¡¯m surprised that Damon could act so calmly under these circumstances. I was already sweating

    profusely, and I wasn¡¯t the one being questioned.

    Atticus looks at his wife and waits for her to exin.

    ¡°I misspoke.¡± She quickly says. ¡°I thought I heard Damon once saying that there was a girl he liked, but

    clearly, I heard wrong. Maybe he was referring to Anya, and I misinterpreted what he said. I was kind of

    eavesdropping on the conversation.¡±

    Atticus exhales loudly, ¡°if there wasn¡¯t another woman, why did you decide to end the wedding?¡±

    Damon looks irritated by his question, ¡°do we really need to speak about this now? I thought we all

    admitted that it was a good idea to forget about that. So many horrible things happened that day, and

    all I want to do is forget about it.¡±

    Atticus gives up after listening to him speak. ¡°Forget I said anything. Is everyone finished packing?¡± He

    asks as he takes a look at his watch. ¡°We need to leave in five minutes.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we are all packed,¡± Autumn says as she shoves more bikinis into my bag before zipping it up.

    Damon nces at me for a quick second, and I try not to fall on my face because of the hungry gaze in

    his eyes. When I looked up, Atticus was looking at me, and I knew my cheeks must be extremely red.

    I don¡¯t wait to give Atticus a chance to examine my reaction to Damon. Instead, I practically ran out of

    the room with my bag.

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    ¡°Wait,¡± Atticus calls after me.

    ¡°What?¡± I ask him, praying it wasn¡¯t anything to do with Damon.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t discussed who¡¯s going in what vehicle.¡± He answers me.

    Oh.

    I usually always went with Damon, but things weren¡¯t exactly perfect between us. If I went with him, the

    entire drive would be awkward. But if I acted like I didn¡¯t want to go with him, Atticus would know that

    something was going on between us.

    ¡°rissa wille with me.¡± Damon answers him for me. ¡°Just like she always does.¡±

    Atticus nods and grabs Autumn¡¯s bag. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    I follow Damon to his jeep; Willow and Dante are already ahead of us.

    ¡°Who will Griffin being with?¡± I ask.

    ¡°He already left behind Dante,¡± Atticus informs me. ¡°He knows Autumn takes forever to pack.¡±

    She yfully hits his arm before getting into the jeep.

    Damon opened the door for me, and I quietly got in.

    I kept thinking that this wasn¡¯t a good idea. I could think of many ways that this could go wrong.

    I didn¡¯t know what to say or do to ease the tension between us.

    I try to distract myself with the wind blowing my hair and the soft music on the radio soothing my ear.

    Even the moon looked extra beautiful tonight. Things would have been perfect if Damon and I were on

    better terms.

    I notice in the middle of the drive when his hands suddenly tightened on the steering wheel like

    something was bothering him. I¡¯m shocked when he pulls over to the side of the road.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask, concerned.

    His eyes are closed, and he has one arm over them.

    He raises his hand to stop me from talking, ¡°I just need a second.¡±

    I waited there in silence until he finally pulled back onto the road. I¡¯m not sure what the hell just

    happened, but I wish he would say something to me.

    ¡°Are you going to tell me what just happened?¡± I ask him.

    His jaw clenches, and he ignores me. Doesn¡¯t he realize by now that it irritates me when he ignores

    me? It was a simple question, why couldn¡¯t he answer me?

    ¡°Damon?¡± I ask again.

    ¡°No.¡± He finally answers me.

    I frown.

    No?

    It bothered me that he¡¯d just said no to me.

    I stayed quiet for a few more minutes until I couldn¡¯t control myself anymore.

    ¡°Why?¡± I ask him. ¡°Why can¡¯t you tell me?¡±

    He sighs, ¡°rissa, would you please just drop it? It¡¯s nothing for you to be concerned about.¡±

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°I¡¯m not going to drop it. I want to know why you had to stop the jeep and looked like

    you were in pain!¡±

    I¡¯m not happy when we pull onto the driveway for the beach house. We were already here. I was

    disappointed that I didn¡¯t get an answer.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me?¡± I try one more time.

    He exhaled and held onto the steering wheel even though we¡¯d arrived at our destination. ¡°If I tell you, it

    will go against what you want. I don¡¯t want to do that.¡±

    My forehead creased, ¡°what is that supposed to mean?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to drop this, are you?¡± He asks, tongue in cheek.

    I narrow my eyes. ¡°No.¡±

    He doesn¡¯t say anything as he jumps out of the driver¡¯s side and ms the door shut. I lean back

    against the seat and close my eyes in frustration.

    I couldn¡¯t believe him.

    My eyes flew open when I heard footsteps.

    Damon opens my side of the jeep and helps me to my feet. I¡¯m confused when he leans closer to me.

    ¡°The reason I stopped is because of you.¡±

    I held my breath, unsure of the point he was trying to make.

    ¡°Because of me?¡± I ask quietly.

    His eyes are one of regret as he whispers, ¡°yes. Your scent travels much faster with the wind. It filled

    the f*****g jeep. It consumed me. I had to stop. I had to stop before I lost all control.¡±

    W-what?

 Chapter 135

    Chapter 135

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 135

    ~DAMON~

    f**k it. f**k it all. I wanted her. I wanted her so much.

    ¡°Your scent is so addictive,¡± I growl. ¡°Whenever you¡¯re not close to me, I feel like something is missing.

    And now I know what it is. Your f*****g smell. I want it on me; I wish I had perfume with it, and still, that

    wouldn¡¯t be enough.¡±

    I watched as her cheeks turned to a beautiful flushed pink.

    She gasped when I leaned into her neck and inhaled deeply.

    I wanted to say more to her, but the sound of Atticus¡¯s jeep nearing us was all I needed to push away

    from her. I took her bag from the jeep and strode into the beach house.

    ¡°Took you guys long enough,¡± Griffin yells from the corner of the kitchen.

    ¡°Already looking for food, typical,¡± I shout back.

    He chuckles and walks out with a beer in his hand. ¡°Want one?¡±

    No. I wanted the woman whose scent was still lingering in my nose.

    I still grab it from him. Maybe drinking would be able to help me with my need for rissa.

    I pitch the cover onto the counter before gulping it down.

    ¡°Wow, someone¡¯s a little thirsty,¡± Atticus says as he joins us with Autumn.

    ¡°Have one,¡± Griffin tells him. ¡°We have enough for everyone.¡±

    ¡°Willow, do you want one?¡± Autumn asks her.

    I¡¯m not sure why Autumn offered her a drink, but rissa definitely seemed to have a clue.

    Willow shook her head, ¡°no. I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t drink.¡±

    Autumn smiles and leans into rissa, ¡°a little longer with this family, and that will all change.¡±

    rissa smiles, ¡°of course, just look at you, for example.¡±

    Autumn grins, ¡°I was speaking from experience.¡±

    I can¡¯t take my eyes off rissa, no matter how damn hard I try. I knew this wasn¡¯t the best ce to be

    so f*****g drawn to her, but I didn¡¯t know how to stop.

    I force my attention onto Dante. He was my brother, and after Anya¡¯s death, he needed us more than

    ever.

    Things have been a little rocky between the two of us. I will always have to live with the fact that I killed

    the woman my brother was in love with.

    I knew Dante was angry, but I also knew that he didn¡¯t me me. He knew I had to do it. He knew I had

    to save rissa.

    ¡°Drink a beer,¡± I tell him as I grab one from the fridge and hand it to him.

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± He says.

    ¡°Drink it.¡± I try again. ¡°You look like you need it.¡±

    He grabs it from my hand but doesn¡¯t drink from it.

    ¡°While you boys talk, we are going to get dressed in our bikinis,¡± Autumn announces suddenly.

    I froze. Bikinis? I could barely make it out alive when rissa wore normal clothes; now, I was about to

    be tortured even more.

    It still bothered me that there was a possibility that she removed her tattoo of my name. Today I could

    find out for good. If she wore something to cover up her lower half, there was a good chance it was still

    there.

    ¡°Come with us, Willow,¡± Autumn tells her as she holds her hand. ¡°We have something for you.¡±

    Dante doesn¡¯t even look up as they drag her to one of the rooms.

    ¡°I know this isn¡¯t the best time to bring this up, but Willow is your wife, and you haven¡¯t shown her any

    attention since we got here.¡± Atticus points out.

    Dante res at him, ¡°you¡¯re one to talk. You weren¡¯t that different when you married Autumn.¡±

    Atticus sipped his beer, but I could tell Dante¡¯s words had hit a nerve.

    ¡°While that is true, I was under a spell.¡± He reminds him. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that until a week ago. So

    technically, I wasn¡¯t thinking back then. You, on the other hand, know exactly what you¡¯re doing. Willow

    is going through the same pain that you are. You have something inmon with her. Why don¡¯t you

    try opening up to her? She may need it more than you think.¡±

    And so did Dante, even if he didn¡¯t realize it yet. If he had someone to talk to, it might help ease the

    pain.

    ¡°You¡¯re a f*****g pain in my a*s Atticus,¡± Dante growls as he finally opens the beer and took a sip.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be your real brother if I wasn¡¯t.¡± He teased him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head down to the beach,¡± Griffin says as he takes his shirt off. ¡°The girls can join us when they¡¯re

    finished.¡±

    That was a good idea. I needed that water to cool down my body and remind myself to behave.

    It was just two days. Two days.

    I pushed the back door open and walked out into the white sand.

    I took a deep breath, and even the clean scent of the ocean was not enough to help me forget about

    rissa. Even this didn¡¯t beat the smell of her sweet body.

    ¡°Whoever gets in the waterst has to drink ten beers!¡± Griffin shouts suddenly when he¡¯s ahead of the

    rest of us.

    ¡°f**k!¡± Dante shouts as he races after him.

    Atticus pushed me onto the sand, and I let out a string of curses.

    Of course, I was now thest one because of Atticus. f*****g d**k.

    They couldn¡¯t stop theughter and apuse as I jumped into the water with them.

    ¡°Ten beers.¡± Griffin cheers. ¡°I¡¯lly them all out for you.¡±

    I sshed water onto his face and he grinned at me.

    ¡°ATTICUS!¡± Autumn shouts from the sand. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to wait for me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sweetheart.¡± He apologizes. ¡°I had a bet to win with the guys.¡±

    She rolls her eyes. Willow walked out behind her, and Griffin whistled behind me.

    ¡°Asshole,¡± Atticus says as he taps him on his head. ¡°That¡¯s your brother¡¯s wife.¡±

    ¡°You may want to tell that to him,¡± Griffin replies.

    Dante isn¡¯t paying attention to either of them. He¡¯s watching her, actually watching her for the first time

    since Anya¡¯s death.

    He looks like he might need the ten beers more than I did.

    I don¡¯t get the chance to examine his reaction because soon enough, I¡¯m distracted when rissa

    walks out in a white bikini.

    On second thought, it looks like I¡¯ll be needing those ten beers.

 Chapter 136

    Chapter 136

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 136

    ~CLARISSA~

    ¡°You¡¯re sure no one can see my tattoo?¡± I ask Autumn for the tenth time. She¡¯d made me ditch the

    cover-up. Apparently, she had the kind of makeup that was really good at concealing tattoos. I¡¯d

    checked the mirror several times on my own and didn¡¯t see anything to worry about. However, I was

    afraid it woulde off in the water.

    Autumn, however, promised me that I didn¡¯t have to worry. She said that it was waterproof. I had to

    hope that she knew what she was talking about. But so far, I knew I could trust Autumn. She never lets

    me down.

    But if the water, by some miracle, washes it off, I would be in plenty of trouble. There would be too

    many people around to hide it from.

    I was hoping that this would upset Damon. Since I walked freely without my coverup, he would be

    convinced that the tattoo was gone. I knew it would take something drastic like this to make Damon

    snap. I just had to hope that this n worked, unlike all others.

    Willow looked absolutely beautiful in the ck bikini Autumn had chosen for her. ording to her, it¡¯s

    the first time she¡¯s ever worn one.

    I felt sorry for Willow. She didn¡¯t have a normal life. Her mother and sister locked her up at home most

    of the time. She didn¡¯t have any friends; at least she had us now. My family was good at making

    someone like her feel weed and protected.

    I wanted to see Dante¡¯s reaction to her; I wanted to know if he felt anything at all toward her. However,

    the second I stepped closer to the ocean, the first person my eyes fell on was Damon.

    He was already looking at me; I felt a tingle in my skin at the longing in his gaze.

    I still couldn¡¯t believe what he¡¯d said to me earlier. He¡¯s never been that open with me before. He was

    always good at hiding his true feelings.

    Did my scent really have such a strong effect on him? How long has this been happening?

    Damon¡¯s eyes travel to my legs, and I know he¡¯s waiting for me to turn around.

    I¡¯m not going to make it that easy for him.

    ¡°You girls should make a bet,¡± Griffin tells us as we walk into the water.

    ¡°A bet?¡± Autumn asks him.

    ¡°Yes.¡± He answers her. ¡°Like the one Damon just lost. Now he has to drink ten beers as soon as we get

    out of this water.¡±

    Ten beers?

    ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± Autumn replies. ¡°I¡¯m just here to enjoy the water with my mate. Everyone else should

    partner with their husband.¡±

    ¡°Everyone else?¡± Griffin asks with a chuckle. ¡°That leaves Dante and Willow. What should the rest of us

    lonely people do?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a girlfriend?¡± Autumn asks him. ¡°You should have brought her.¡±

    Griffin sighs, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to the rumors, sis; I have no girlfriend. Not everyone is lucky like you to find

    the love of their life.¡±

    Autumn sighs and hugs Atticus, who can¡¯t wait to get his hands around her. I tried not to get caught

    looking at Damon, but there were times I couldn¡¯t help but nce at him.

    He wasn¡¯t looking at me like earlier, but I knew he wasn¡¯t exactly unbothered either. I could tell by his

    silence andck of attention to the conversation that his mind was far and it most likely had something

    to do with me.

    ¡°Willow,¡± Autumn says suddenly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell Dante more about yourself? Let him get to know

    you more.¡±

    We¡¯re all startled by the low growl that follows soon after from Dante. I didn¡¯t expect him to get so upset

    because of that.

    ¡°Willow doesn¡¯t have to do anything she doesn¡¯t want to.¡± He says. My eyes widen when he storms out

    of the water.

    ¡°Dante!¡± Atticus calls after him. ¡°We¡¯re all having fun; where the hell do you think you¡¯re going?¡±

    ¡°For another beer!¡± He shouts back, already close to the house.

    Well, that didn¡¯t go as nned.

    ¡°I¡¯ll join him for those ten beers,¡± Damon adds as he follows after him. I was disappointed to see him

    leave.

    I thought he would have stayed longer in the water since I was here. I wasn¡¯t even sure if he¡¯d gotten a

    good view of my a*s.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let my brother¡¯sck ofmunication bother you,¡± Griffin tells Willow, trying to cheer her up.

    She smiles, ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±

    It¡¯s the first time she¡¯s said anything since entering the water with us. Willow¡¯s voice was very soft and

    almost angelic. I loved hearing her speak.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to head to the shower,¡± I tell Autumn. ¡°I may join you again, but a littleter.¡±

    Autumn doesn¡¯t look happy, but she doesn¡¯t stop me either. I was d Atticus was keeping her

    company.

    I ran to the side of the house where there was an outdoor shower readily avable to help remove the

    unwanted sand from my body.

    I was tempted to walk into the house and taunt Damon some more, but I figured it was probably best to

    stay out here. Besides, Dante was with him.

    If I wanted him to think I was over him, I had to at least pretend that I didn¡¯t want to be near him every

    second that went by.

    I start the shower and position my body under the warm water. It felt good against the cool wind. I spent

    a few minutes just enjoying the water when something felt strange.

    I gasped when I realized someone was standing in front of me.

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    When I opened my eyes, I was shocked to see that it was Damon with a beer in his hand.

    ¡°W-what are you doing here?¡± I ask him in surprise. I¡¯m not sure how to react to him here. Was he not

    afraid that someone woulde and see us standing this close together under the shower?

    The Damon in front of me didn¡¯t seem to care about anything but me right now. This Damon looked

    fearless and almost reckless. I¡¯m not sure how to feel about it.

    He leans into me and ces one finger under my chin, forcing me to look directly into his eyes. I blink

    against the water as I peer up at him.

    ¡°Why did you remove it?¡±

    It was one question, just one question, but it made my heart race like never before.

 Chapter 137

    Chapter 137

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 137

    ~CLARISSA~

    ¡°Remove what?¡± I gasp. I couldn¡¯t believe this was happening right now. It felt like a dream, and this

    feels like the Damon I¡¯ve always craved. It felt too good to be true.

    ¡°The one thing on your body that made me the happiest man alive.¡± He growls.

    Did it really make him that happy?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± I lie.

    I didn¡¯t want to assume he was speaking about the tattoo; I wanted to hear him admit it first.

    He breathes me in, ¡°You know exactly what I¡¯m talking about.¡±

    I tried to stop my heart from doing the inevitable, but I was losing all control because of his nearness. It

    had me confused and, quite frankly, stupid.

    ¡°My name.¡± He croaks in a pained whisper.

    What was he doing to me? His voice. The way he was looking at me. Everything was doing something

    strange to my body. I think he knew exactly what he was doing. This was intentional.

    ¡°Your name?¡± I gasp. ¡°What about it?¡±

    His hand travels up my thighs, and all the air is pushed out of my lungs from his unexpected touch. His

    hands are warm despite of how cold the night¡¯s air was.

    ¡°Why is it no longer on your beautiful body?¡± He finally asks the question I was waiting on. ¡°It¡¯s gone.

    Why is it gone?¡±

    I take a second to think about how I wanted to respond to his question.

    ¡°Because you didn¡¯t want it there, to begin with.¡± I remind him after finding my voice.

    He inhales sharply before cupping my cheek in his hand.

    ¡°I was a f*****g fool.¡± He whispers close to my ear. ¡°A fool that didn¡¯t realize his mistakes until it was too

    late.

    ¡°Yes, you were.¡± I agree.

    ¡°I wish it was still there.¡± He confesses. ¡°It meant more to me than you will ever know.¡±

    I felt a shiver down my spine at hearing him admit how much it meant to him. That¡¯s all I ever wanted to

    listen to him say. I always imagined this would be his reaction after finding out about it. Another

    reminder that this could just be a painful dream. If it was, I was afraid to wake up.

    ¡°Why did you get it?¡± He asks, rubbing his nose against the base of my neck.

    I swallow, ¡°Because I wanted to be as close to you as possible. Your name on my body made me feel

    like you were a part of me. Something I didn¡¯t think would ever be possible considering who you are to

    me.¡±

    ¡°I thought we were already close.¡± He tells me.

    ¡°Not as close as I wanted us to be,¡± I confess.

    ¡°And how close is that?¡± He asks, waiting for me to give him an answer.

    I don¡¯t know how to respond to that. I was finally getting a reaction out of him, and thest thing I

    wanted to do was to say something that would scare him.

    I gasped when his finger slid past my n****e. ¡°Is this close enough?¡±

    ¡°What a-are are you doing?¡± I stammer.

    ¡°I asked you.¡± He growls. ¡°Is this close enough?¡±

    I can barely think clearly to answer his question. But it wasn¡¯t close enough; it was never close enough.

    ¡°No.¡±

    I cry out when he pushes my bikini out of the way, and the cool air touches it. Thankfully, the water

    flowed above us, providing the extra warmth I needed.

    Soon enough, it didn¡¯t matter because Damon¡¯s face was inches from my breast.

    ¡°Is this close enough?¡± He asks as his warm breath brushes my exposed skin.

    ¡°No.¡± That was all I could say once more.

    Before I could say anything else, Damon¡¯s mouth quickly covered my n****e, closing over it, his lips

    gently on top of it, barely moving. He wasn¡¯t sucking; he wasn¡¯t doing anything; he just kept his mouth

    over it.

    What was he waiting on? And why did this feel so good?

    I think he¡¯s waiting for me. I think he¡¯s waiting for my permission to keep going. He wants to know if I¡¯m

    okay with this. After all, I was the one that told him things should return to normal between us.

    Right now, I don¡¯t care about any of that. Damon was finally showing me the attention I¡¯d always

    wanted from him.

    I can¡¯t stop myself as I bury my hands in his hair. I cry out when he finally begins to suck on my n****e

    in the gentlest way possible. He¡¯s cautious with my body, easing me into everything. Both of his hands

    are on my waist and traveling higher.

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    I gasp when he lifts me into the air and pushes me up against the wall while still having his mouth on

    my breast. He opens his mouth wider, taking more of it into his mouth.

    My eyes roll back into my head from the intense emotions that came with it.

    A sound inside the house forces us to break apart.

    Damon is breathing hard, almost like he¡¯s fighting for air.

    ¡°It¡¯s still there,¡± I say suddenly before I can stop myself.

    His forehead creases. ¡°What?¡±

    He didn¡¯t realize yet that I was speaking about the tattoo.

    ¡°I never removed it,¡± I say again.

    His eyes widen when it finally sinks in. ¡°What do you mean? I can¡¯t see it. You said you would get rid of

    it, and it¡¯s not on your body anymore.¡±

    ¡°Come to my room tonight,¡± I whisper. ¡°I¡¯ll show you that it¡¯s still there.¡±

    I was used to sneaking into Damon¡¯s room. Now it was his chance to do the same.

    I don¡¯t say anything else as I turn and walk away from him. I give him a full view of my a*s; I¡¯m sure

    he¡¯s still confused about why he couldn¡¯t see the tattoo.

    I had to thank Autumn for her genius move. If I had worn the cover-up, Damon would have assumed

    the tattoo was still there.

    He was convinced it was gone because I¡¯d finally ditched the coverup. I inwardly smiled at my tiny

    victory.

    Just how far was Damon willing to go?

 Chapter 138

    Chapter 138

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 138

    ~DAMON~

    I was losing my f*****g mind. rissa had left the group to go to her room for over an hour. I wanted to

    go to her so badly after what she¡¯d told me earlier, but my damn brothers weren¡¯t giving me an

    opportunity.

    The longer Atticus stayed here, the longer I¡¯d have to wait as well. I couldn¡¯t let him see me going after

    rissa; it would be too obvious.

    Still, I was restless. How could the tattoo still be there if I couldn¡¯t see it? The thought of it being there

    made me thrilled and excited. I wanted to see it again, and this time I wanted to appreciate it the proper

    way, like how it should have been done the first time.

    ¡°You¡¯re looking a little tense, brother.¡± Atticus points out. ¡°Have another beer.¡±

    I resisted the urge to growl. Of course, I was tense when I couldn¡¯t leave here even though I wanted to.

    I didn¡¯t want rissa to think that I¡¯d let her down yet again. The fact that she was waiting for me meant

    everything to me. I had hurt her too much in the past. I wasn¡¯t going to do it again.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I lie. ¡°Hand me that beer.¡±

    I grab the bottle from his hand and take a sip. I didn¡¯t want to drink anymore. I¡¯d had enough already,

    and I wanted to remember every single detail about tonight. I also didn¡¯t want rissa to think that I

    was only acting this way because I was intoxicated. I wanted her to know that it was all me.

    ¡°I wish rissa didn¡¯t leave so early,¡± Autumn whispers. ¡°We could have yed some more games

    together.¡±

    She wouldn¡¯t have left if she knew I would have taken this long to go after her.

    I take a look around the room, trying to distract myself. If I kept thinking about rissa, I would lose my

    mind before I even got to her.

    Dante was knocked out on the couch, and Willow looked like she wanted to cry while sitting on the sofa

    opposite him.

    ¡°Why did you guys let Dante drink so much?¡± Autumn demands. ¡°This was supposed to be his night to

    get to know his wife better. Now he¡¯s knocked out on the couch and probably dreaming about the girl

    whose name should not be mentioned.¡±

    ¡°What did we do?¡± Atticus asks. ¡°Sweetheart, you were the one who made it a little too obvious.¡±

    She narrows her eyes, ¡°did I?¡±

    Atticus senses the change in her mood, and he knows he¡¯s upsetting her. This was good; if Autumn

    were to walk out of the room with anger, he would follow her like a lost puppy. That was what I was

    counting on happening.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Atticus tells her. ¡°I had it all under control. He was listening to me. If you had let things happen

    naturally, he would have spoken to her and tried to learn more about her. However, you interfered with

    my n.¡±

    Autumn¡¯s eyes narrowed, and I think my brother had a little too many drinks. He didn¡¯t realize yet how

    upset she was with him. But soon enough, he would know.

    It was happening too slowly.

    ¡°Excuse me for trying to help your brother be happy.¡± She snaps as she storms out of the room.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± Atticus growls as he throws his beer onto the ground. ¡°I need to stay away from those things;

    I¡¯m saying s**t to my wife that I don¡¯t even mean.¡±

    I inwardly sigh when I watch him get up and walk after her. It was just me and Griffin left. And Willow,

    but she was too busy staring at an unconscious Dante.

    ¡°Watch them make up in literally seconds.¡± Griffin chuckles. ¡°To think Atticus never even knew he

    wanted Autumn when he first married her. I¡¯m hoping things could change like that for Dante. But only

    time will tell.¡±

    I sigh, ¡°What about you?¡± I ask him. ¡°Do you have any girl that you¡¯re interested in?¡±

    Heughs, ¡°Nope.¡± He says. ¡°And you? I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a girl that¡¯s giving you that lost longing looks in

    your eyes.¡±

    I pause, ¡°what do you mean?¡±

    He sighs, ¡°Don¡¯t try to lie to me. Everyone can tell there¡¯s someone you¡¯re interested in. We all thought

    it was Anya, but now that she¡¯s gone, the look in your eyes is still there. It means she¡¯s been someone

    else this entire time. You can trust me; I won¡¯t hunt her down and ask her about your rtionship.¡±

    My hand tightens on the beer. So it¡¯s not just Atticus that has noticed my strange behavior. However,

    Griffin didn¡¯t seem to know anything about rissa. That was a good sign.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re wrong.¡± I lie to him. ¡°There¡¯s no one.¡±

    He sighs, ¡°Still not ready to tell me, I see.¡± He says as he rocks back in his chair. ¡°That¡¯s okay. I¡¯m here

    if you ever need some rtionship advice. I¡¯ve been told that I¡¯m good at those things. Just ask

    Autumn; ording to her, I¡¯ve been a great help to her and Atticus.¡±

    I¡¯m sure he was. I look over at Willow, and I can¡¯t help but feel sorry for her. She¡¯s been through plenty.

    ¡°Maybe you should talk to her,¡± I suggest to Griffin. ¡°You¡¯re good at talking to women; they always like

    you.¡±

    It was the truth. Autumn had easily trusted him when she¡¯d married into our family. He was good at

    making them feelfortable.

    He nods, ¡°she does look like she needs somepany.¡±

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    I waited until he walked over to her and started a conversation to finally get up from my chair.

    Finally, I could leave my spot to get to rissa.

    Would she be asleep by now? I was hoping that she wasn¡¯t. I was desperate to be near her again.

    I don¡¯t wait for another opportunity as I storm over to her room. I don¡¯t bother knocking as I barge into it.

    I¡¯m not prepared to see rissa utterly n***d on the f*****g bed.

    Motherfucker.

 Chapter 139

    Chapter 139

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 139

    ~CLARISSA~

    I can feel Damon¡¯s eyes on me. I knew now that I¡¯d made the right decision by removing all my clothes.

    For a second, I was scared that he wouldn¡¯t have appeared.

    Then I figured that he was probably waiting on the right time to visit me. I knew he would be worried

    that Atticus would suspect us. And when I had left him by the table, everyone was already seated there

    with him. So I waited and waited and waited. And here he was, finally.

    I listen to his footsteps as he nears the bed. He¡¯s getting closer to me. I knew he could see the tattoo

    that was still clearly there. I¡¯d already removed all of the makeup, and it was visible once more.

    ¡°You were telling the truth.¡± He whispers hoarsely. ¡°How did you hide it?¡±

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    I spun onto my back so that my n***d body was in his full view.

    His eyes almost popped out of his head at finally seeing mepletely bare for him. There was

    nothing left for his imagination anymore; he could see it all in front of him. And this was the reaction I¡¯d

    only hoped for in the past.

    I wasn¡¯t giving him a chance to back out of this. If he wanted me, he had to take me now before it was

    toote. I was doing everything I could to make him snap, and it finally worked for me.

    I watch him visibly struggle to drag his gaze from my body to look at my face while he waits for me to

    answer his question.

    ¡°Makeup.¡± I finally say. ¡°Autumn hid it for me with waterproof makeup. It worked. Now I have a solution

    to the problem I¡¯ve had all these years. I don¡¯t know why I hadn¡¯t thought about it before.¡±

    ¡°Autumn?¡± He quirks a brow, and I realize that I just let it slip that Autumn knew about us. As far as I

    knew, he wasn¡¯t aware that Autumn had been helping me all along. Many of my ns were only made

    possible because of her.

    ¡°Forget I said that,¡± I mumble. I didn¡¯t want to drag her down with me.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± He assured me. ¡°I already figured Autumn knew everything. You two are too close for her not

    to know about your love life.¡±

    My love life?

    He knew all along? I guess Autumn and I haven¡¯t exactly been all that discrete. Even Atticus knew that

    we were keeping secrets from him.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy you didn¡¯t remove it.¡± He confesses. ¡°Very f*****g happy.¡±

    I could see the heat in his eyes, making my knees weak. I could feel my body begin to prepare itself for

    him. I was getting wet in ces that I wanted him to touch.

    He¡¯s never touched me there before. And today, I was hoping that he would. I wanted it so badly.

    He crosses the little distance between us. My heart rate elerates when he climbs onto the bed and

    positions himself above my body.

    ¡°Beautiful.¡±

    ¡°W-what?¡± I ask.

    ¡°You¡¯re so damn beautiful, rissa.¡± He whispers. ¡°You¡¯re perfect. Everything about you is just perfect.

    There¡¯s nothing about you that I¡¯ll ever want to change.¡±

    My breath gets stuck in my throat. Was I still dreaming?

    ¡°I¡¯ll dly do anything you want me to.¡± He whispers.

    ¡°It¡¯s not about what I want today,¡± I whisper back. ¡°I want to know what you want. Whatever it is that

    you want, show me today. I want to know that you want me. I want to know that you need me. I don¡¯t

    just want your words. I need to see your actions as proof.¡±

    His eyes sh dangerously, and for the first time, I see how desperately Damon wants me. It¡¯s the first

    time I could see straight through him so clearly, and I think he¡¯s letting me.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡± He groans.

    ¡°And why is that?¡± I demand. He wasn¡¯t about to take this from me again. I wouldn¡¯t let that happen.

    ¡°Because the things I want to do to you should be done at the right time.¡± He answers me, gazing into

    my eyes.

    My lips part, ¡°Now is the right time.¡±

    He shook his head, ¡°I never said I wouldn¡¯t start tonight. But I¡¯m not doing everything. You¡¯re not ready.¡±

    How could he say that? I¡¯ve been ready for him for a long time now.

    I soon forget about that when he dips his head and presses his lips against my neck. I buried my hands

    in his hair and pushed him tighter against me as he continued to trail kisses along my neck.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to do anything that I don¡¯t think you¡¯re ready for rissa.¡± He tells me as he slowly

    moves his lips to my chest.

    I wanted his mouth on my breasts again. It was cut short before. I didn¡¯t get the chance to enjoy it for

    longer.

    I held my breath when he finally moved to my left n****e, he lightly blew on it and my back flew off the

    bed. He covers it without warning, and I can¡¯t help but moan. How was he so good at this?

    I can¡¯t help but rub my legs together. I wanted him down there, but he was doing everything but

    touching me there.

    Damon moves from my breast to my stomach, and all I can do is watch him as he moves. His hand on

    my thigh moves a little higher, closer to the spot I wanted him to touch.

    To my surprise, he spun me around so that his face was now above my a*s. Just when I thought he

    was finally going to touch me there.

    I bit down on my pillow when his lips touched the spot where his name was tattooed. He lightly traces it

    with his tongue, and I didn¡¯t think anything could feel this good. I¡¯m tempted to do it again to feel his

    tongue on another part of my body.

    I¡¯m not prepared for when he bites down on it. It¡¯s a gentle bite but yet it had me filled with so much

    need.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t ever take this away from me,¡± Damon begs as he worships my body.

    His mouth travels up my back until he suddenly stops.

    I spun around and was disappointed to see him moving to the door.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°If I keep this up, I¡¯m going to do everything else that I want to do to your sweet body.¡± He tells me.

    ¡°Tomorrow. I¡¯ll meet you back here.¡±

    Tomorrow?

    Tomorrow would be ourst night at the beach house. I was afraid that he would change his mind when

    we returned home.

    I had to find a way to convince him that I was ready. Tomorrow. I would tease him so much that he had

    no choice but to give in to me.

 Chapter 140

    Chapter 140

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 140

    ~DAMON~

    I was f*****g hard. Hard as stone. It was ufortable for me to sit still as I watched rissa

    purposefully walk around in a bikini in front of me.

    She knew what she was doing. She knew that she was taunting me, and she was f*****g enjoying it.

    The second I got her alone in her room tonight, I would pounce on her like a man starved for food. And

    she would be my only f*****g meal.

    Her body would be mine tonight.

    I still couldn¡¯t believe makeup was that good at hiding her tattoo. It still bothered me whenever I couldn¡¯t

    see it. I wanted her to be able to wear it proudly wherever she went. But that would mean other men

    would have a clear view of her a*s, and I didn¡¯t want that. I was conflicted. I didn¡¯t know what I actually

    wanted.

    My eyes narrow when she intentionally drops a cup onto the ground. She winks at me, f*****g winks at

    me.

    She wouldn¡¯t f*****g dare do what I thought she was going to.

    My hands tightened on the ss as I watched her bend down to pick it up. She lingers on the ground,

    still bent over, and I almostpletely lose my mind when she touches her breast right there in front of

    everyone. I m my fists onto the table to bring all attention to me, making sure that no one sees the

    show she is giving to me.

    The wine bottle next to me flips and spills all over us.

    ¡°What the f**k, Damon!¡± Dante growls. ¡°Why the hell did you just do that?¡±

    I ignore him, rissa is already walking out of the room, and I mutter a few silent curses.

    Why was she so good at teasing me? I couldn¡¯t stand up right away. If I did, it would be clear how

    aroused I was. The pants I wore weren¡¯t enough to hide my need for her.

    And so, I sat down with my hard d**k and continued to y cards with my brothers. Still, I couldn¡¯t get

    her out of my head. Every time someone walked into the room, I kept hoping that it was her. She had

    me wrapped around her tiny little finger.

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    ¡°Damon is usually good at this game, yet he¡¯s losing more than anyone else,¡± Griffin notes. ¡°Why are

    you so distracted?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just bored.¡± I lie.

    ¡°Everything is too peaceful for him.¡± Atticus points out. ¡°He needs to have some chaos in his life for him

    to have some fun.¡±

    I re at him. ¡°Let¡¯s y again; I know how to shut you up.¡±

    However, soon after, rissa walks right back into the room, distracting me yet again. Was she

    purposefully making me lose? Did she make some kind of deal with Autumn? Why the hell was she

    doing this to me?

    I breathed a sigh of relief when she finally returned and took a seat right next to me.

    She was doing everything to make this difficult for me. I didn¡¯t mind as long as she stayed close to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m going for a swim,¡± Griffin says, removing his shirt. ¡°After this fool spilled wine over us, we all

    should.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± Dante says as he joins him in removing his shirt.

    Atticus grabs the wine bottle and throws Autumn over his shoulder.

    I was happy when they all got up and left, allowing me to be alone with rissa again. Everyone was

    too busy having fun to be concerned about the two of us.

    She attempts to go with them, but I grab her waist and pull her over me.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± I growl against her ear.

    She gasps as she feels my arousal beneath her tiny body. ¡°You did this. You teased me and awoke this

    part of me. You don¡¯t get to leave just like that.¡±

    ¡°Damon.¡± She gasps. ¡°Anyone can walk in and see us.¡±

    I knew it was true, I understood how risky this was, but for some reason, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to care

    anymore. My fear of someone finding out about us has kept me from doing things that made me happy;

    I wasn¡¯t going to make the same mistake twice.

    ¡°Damon.¡± She tries to push me away. ¡°Someone could see us.¡±

    I ignore her as I bury my mouth in her neck. She smelled f*****g fantastic, as always.

    I use my hands on her hips to grind her against my d**k.

    I groan at how good it feels to have her on top of me. rissa moaned when I gently bit her earlobe.

    I wanted to sink my d**k inside her p***y, but I knew I had to wait. I couldn¡¯t rush this. I had to make

    sure rissa was ready for me. I wanted to make this as memorable and pleasurable for her as

    possible. She deserved only the best, and I was prepared to give it to her.

    I growl when she sticks her hand into my pants and gently rubs my aching d**k. The damn thing

    jumped at her soft touch. It was the first time she touched me there and f**k me; it was almost too

    much for me to take.

    ¡°You want me.¡± She whimpers.

    ¡°I want you,¡± I repeat.

    ¡°Then take me.¡± She begs. ¡°I¡¯m yours. It¡¯s so easy to get it inside me. I¡¯m wet and achy for you, Damon.

    Put it inside me.¡±

    Her sweet cries were enough to make me bend her over and slip it inside, but I knew I had to have

    control. I couldn¡¯t let it get to my head. I had to think about her first.

    ¡°You¡¯re not ready yet,¡± I whisper. ¡°Be patient.¡±

    She grabs my hand and pushes it into her bikini bottoms.

    I freeze.

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    I¡¯ve been avoiding touching her there because I knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop myself the moment that

    I did. It was much softer than I imagined it to be.

    She pushed my hand lower, and all thoughts flew out of my head when I touched her opening.

    It was dripping wet, and she hadn¡¯t even touched the beach yet for the day.

    Where the hell was I supposed to get the strength to resist this?

    She rubbed her p***y against my hand, and I could feel her juices spilling all over me.

    If she kept this up, I would blow in my f*****g pants.

    ¡°rissa,¡± I growl. ¡°Stop. Now.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She cries out as her o****m nears. I knew it was near; I could tell by her faster breaths and how

    she thrashed against me. ¡°I want this. I want you.¡±

    I wanted her also. Damn it. I was dying to be inside of her. But it couldn¡¯t happen now, not here. I

    wouldn¡¯t let it happen.

    I force my hands out of her bikini and lift her off me. ¡°Not yet,¡± I repeat.

    Her eyes shed with annoyance, and I couldn¡¯t stop myself as I pushed a finger into my mouth and

    tasted her.

    I close my eyes as her taste fills my mouth.

    f**k!

 Chapter 141

    Chapter 141

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 141

    ~CLARISSA~

    I watch Damon as he continues to suck on his fingers, tasting me. It was the sexiest thing I¡¯d ever seen

    in my life. His eyes were closed, and it looked like he was enjoying it.

    I was angry that he wasn¡¯t giving me what I wanted but seeing him do this has definitely dampened my

    anger.

    I attempted to get closer to him, but I heard Dante and Atticus talking,ing closer.

    Damon¡¯s eyes shed open at their voices, and I almost fell on my a*s after seeing the darkness and

    need in his eyes.

    I knew it wouldn¡¯t be long before Damon lost all control. He was hanging on by a thin thread. It would

    soon burst, and when that happened, I had to be ready to ept him, or he would me himself for

    rushing into it.

    Damon turns around and storms out of the front door before Atticus can see us in here all alone.

    ¡°rissa!¡± He says the second he walks back into the house and sees me. ¡°Why are you here all

    alone? Get into the water; I will get the beach ball.¡±

    I¡¯m d he didn¡¯t realize how flustered I was. He probably would have been more concerned if Damon

    was still inside with me.

    ¡°And where is Damon?¡± Dante asks. ¡°We¡¯re all waiting for him to join.¡±

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°He said something about going to the toilet.¡± I lie.

    Before they can ask any more questions, I¡¯m already out of the door. I was d to see Dante in a better

    mood today, however. He was actually smiling, and he hadn¡¯t smiled since Anya died. He wasn¡¯t

    exactly smiling at Willow, but a smile was still good, even if it wasn¡¯t directed at her.

    I jumped into the water with Autumn and Willow right next to me.

    ¡°Finally,¡± Autumn says. ¡°I was worried that you wouldn¡¯t ever join the rest of us.¡±

    I hug her, and she is still in my arms. ¡°Thank you,¡± I whisper into her ear.

    ¡°For what?¡± She asks, confused.

    I hadn¡¯t told her what had happened between Damon and mest night or this morning. I never got the

    chance to say to her Atticus was always by her side.

    ¡°Your n worked,¡± I inform her. ¡°He¡¯s getting closer to me. He¡¯s finally giving me what I want.¡±

    Not everything but it still made me happy. My body still tingled from his touches and kisses. And

    tonight, I couldn¡¯t wait for more.

    She chuckles, ¡°You¡¯re very wee. As soon as we get some time alone, you must give me all the

    details without leaving anything out.¡±

    ¡°Wow, wow, wow,¡± Griffin says as he sees us still hugging. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening here, but I

    love it.¡±

    Autumn rolls her eyes and throws water onto him. ¡°Keep your dirty thoughts to yourself.¡±

    He grins, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not something I can easily do.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t have my wife to myself because of you,¡± Atticus says in an annoyed tone. ¡°She talks about you

    more than anyone else.¡±

    ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m more interesting than you are.¡± I tease him.

    ¡°The only problem is that she chooses what to tell me about you.¡± He adds. ¡°And conveniently leaves

    things out.¡±

    Autumn¡¯s cheeks are red at his words. I¡¯m also a little caught off-guard. I didn¡¯t know how to respond to

    that because there was still plenty that we were keeping from him. And it stayed that way for as long as

    possible.

    ¡°What¡¯s the conversation about?¡± Damon asks as he joins us.

    ¡°The secrets my wife has been keeping about rissa,¡± Atticus answers him without a second thought.

    Damon pauses for a split second before acting unbothered.

    ¡°Can we talk about something else?¡± Autumn asks him. ¡°We¡¯ve been over this already.¡±

    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t get upset with me when I start keeping secrets from you.¡± He growls before throwing

    the beach ball into Dante¡¯s face.

    He pelts it right back, and Atticus catches it with ease.

    Damon was the next one to catch it before throwing it toward Griffin.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t the girls allowed to y also?¡± Autumn asks. ¡°Are we just supposed to watch?¡±

    We spent an hour ying against each other in the water before we all decided to take a break.

    ¡°Willow is loosening up a little bit,¡± Autumn whispers as we walk into the kitchen. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°Dante is also,¡± I tell her. ¡°He isn¡¯t back to normal, but I saw him smile earlier.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°If only we¡¯d taken a longer vacation. Two days are not enough to help them get closer to

    each other.¡±

    I agreed with her. Two days were not enough. It wasn¡¯t even enough for Damon and me.

    I wished I had more time with him. I was enjoying teasing him while everyone else remained

    preupied.

    Besides, our family needed this afterst week. It was probably one of the worst times for us besides

    when grandmother died.

    ¡°There are more articles about Willow,¡± Autumn snarls. ¡°Why can¡¯t they just leave her alone? It¡¯s so

    unfair what they¡¯re saying about her. It¡¯s not her fault that Dante married her. This was what Anya

    wanted, and no one seems to care about that.¡±

    ¡°They think we¡¯re lying.¡± I say. ¡°They don¡¯t seem to understand why Anya would want her sister to

    marry Dante.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re all forgetting that Anya was nning to marry Damon. Why should they care if her sister

    married Dante?¡± Autumn demands. ¡°Somehow it was okay when Anya was with all three Fawn

    brothers but when her sister marries one of them, it¡¯s wrong.¡±

    I also didn¡¯t understand how their minds worked.

    ¡°It¡¯s because they don¡¯t know the truth about Anya.¡± I point out.

    She sighs, ¡°and they will never know the truth. Not when both Dante and Willow want it all to stay a

    secret.¡±

    We both stop talking when Willow walks into the kitchen, looking for us.

    ¡°Do you need my help with anything?¡± She asks sweetly.

    ¡°No.¡± I assure her. ¡°I hope you¡¯re enjoying our mini-vacation.¡±

    She smiles but it looks totally fake.

    ¡°I am.¡±

    I knew it was a lie and Autumn knew as well when she turns and gives me a knowing look.

    I didn¡¯t know what else to do to make this easier for her.

    When Damon walks in and looks me up and down, all thoughts flew out of my head.

    Tonight.

    I couldn¡¯t wait.

 Chapter 142

    Chapter 142

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 142

    ~CLARISSA~

    I¡¯m restless and impatient. Atticus has Damon caught up in a card game with the others, and he isn¡¯t

    getting a chance toe to my room.

    I¡¯ve been in and out of my room for two hours so far, and each time I could feel his eyes on me. He

    knows I¡¯m waiting on him.

    I can sense his impatience, but he has to hold it in front of everyone else.

    I could feel his eyes following me as I walked into the kitchen and then out of it.

    ¡°Where the hell is your head at?¡± Dante asks. ¡°You¡¯re causing us to lose this game.¡±

    Damon growls and buries his hand in his hair; he looks like he wants to pull the strands out. ¡°I¡¯m bored.

    Why are we even ying this again?¡±

    He wasn¡¯t bored. He wanted toe to me.

    I walked back to my room and f****d myself to stay there until he was ready for me. I got out of my

    clothes once more. I loved his reactionst night to seeing me n***d, and I wanted to do the same to

    him tonight.

    Iy on my back, looking at the stars in the ceiling. How much longer would I have to wait? I didn¡¯t think

    there would ever be a day when I would wait n***d in my bed for Damon toe for me.

    I let out a little giggle at the thought of it. Everything that I wanted was finallying true. And it wasn¡¯t

    a dream. This was my reality.

    When the door finally opens, I quickly look up and feel relief flow throughout my body when I find

    Damon in front of me. He quickly locks the door before moving towards the bed.

    I gasp when he lifts my body off the sheets and covers my mouth with his. I wrap my arms around his

    neck and straddle his hips.

    Damon groans into my mouth, and I can feel how much he wants me between my legs. I gasp when he

    grabs my hips and purposefully rubs me up and down his body while still kissing me. I was growing

    increasingly wet, and the proof rubbed onto his pants and bare chest.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± He hissed before throwing me onto the bed and climbing over me.

    ¡°It¡¯s ourst night here,¡± I whisper. ¡°Why can¡¯t you give me what I want?¡±

    He gently rubs my cheek with his thumb finger. ¡°Because I want to make this as special for you as

    possible.¡±

    ¡°Anything with you is special,¡± I assure him. ¡°I want you now, Damon. I don¡¯t want to wait any longer.¡±

    I stop talking when he uses his hand to spread my legs wide. My a*s flies off the bed when his finger

    sinks into my p***y without warning. I could feel it squeezing him, asking for more.

    Damon presses his head against my forehead, and I can see the look of pain on his face as he tries his

    best to hold back. ¡°I¡¯ve never felt anything like this before. You feel so damn good, rissa. How could

    I have stayed away from you for so long?¡±

    Even I wanted to know the answer to that question. Why did he take this long to be this close to me?

    ¡°Damon!¡± I cry out as he pulls his finger out, only to push it back in, this time deeper than before.

    ¡°rissa.¡± He groans as he keeps repeating the motion, each time getting deeper inside me.

    Even though this felt amazing, it still wasn¡¯t enough. It still wasn¡¯t what I needed.

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    Damon covers my breast with his mouth, taking it against his tongue. My lips part, and it¡¯s hard not to

    scream when he¡¯s bringing me so much pleasure. I can¡¯t hold it in anymore, and I think Damon realizes

    it because he covers my mouth with his hand to stop me from screaming. I bite his fingers to prevent

    myself from bringing attention to us.

    Everyone was still awake; they would easily hear me. Thest thing I wanted was for everyone to

    barge into my room because they listened to my screams of pleasure.

    Damon uses both hands to spread my legs even wider as he travels down my body. He covers my

    scream with his hand the second his tongue dips into my opening.

    I couldn¡¯t help but thrash against him as he continued to practically lick and suck on my p***y. My eyes

    rolled back into my head at the pleasure he was bringing to me.

    ¡°Damon.¡± I cry. ¡°Please, please.¡± I was begging him for something, and even I didn¡¯t know what it was. I

    could feel the tears forming in my eyes, the good kind.

    When he finally lifted his head, his entire mouth was wet with my juices. My lips are parted as he finally

    moves his hand from over my mouth.

    He slips his finger back into me without warning, and I gasp at how sensitive it feels.

    ¡°Please, Damon,¡± I beg. ¡°Please. I¡¯m ready. I can¡¯t wait any longer. I can¡¯t.¡±

    I can see the struggle on his face, he was losing the battle and he knew it.

    He pulls his finger out suddenly and covers my mouth with his. I held onto him as he continued to kiss

    me with so much passion that I almost fainted.

    I whimper when he pulls away from me and heads for the door. This is exactly what he didst night.

    He kept running from me even though I could see how aroused he was. He could barely walk with how

    big he¡¯d grown.

    Why couldn¡¯t he make us both happy and give us what we needed?

    ¡°Why are you leaving?¡± I demand. He can¡¯t leave without finishing what he started!

    ¡°I¡¯ll know when you¡¯re ready.¡± Was all he said before storming out of my room.

    I fell back against my bed unhappily. He kept giving me pleasure and then rudely taking it all away.

    I¡¯d failed in getting all of him tonight. But luckily for me, we both lived in the same house. This meant as

    long as Atticus wasn¡¯t keeping an eye on us, I could get him alone.

    I wasn¡¯t letting him get away from me. I wasn¡¯t going to let the next opportunity pass. One way or

    another, Damon would be inside of me.

 Chapter 143

    Chapter 143

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 143

    ~CLARISSA~

    I frustratingly packed my bags with the aching feeling between my legs. I wanted more, and Damon

    wasn¡¯t giving it to me.

    I shut the door as I met everyone outside. It was time to leave. It was midnight, and we had to get

    home soon since we had sses tomorrow. If we didn¡¯t, we could have stayed an extra night.

    ¡°Are we sticking to the same arrangement as before?¡± Atticus asks. ¡°You cane with us if you want,

    rissa.¡±

    I bite down hard on my lip. I wanted to head back with Damon, but I also wanted to teach him a lesson

    for not giving me what I wanted. He was ying with my emotions and I didn¡¯t like it.

    ¡°If that¡¯s what you want, sure.¡± I smile at Atticus.

    I could feel Damon¡¯s gaze digging into my back. He was angry that I had epted Atticus¡¯s invitation.

    Even though I was doing this to upset him, I knew that it would bother me as well.

    We could have gotten more alone time in his jeep. I move that thought out of my head. I had to stick

    with my n. Whenever I made Damon wait, he always got more desperate for me. This would work in

    my favor; I had to suck in all the pain.

    The drive home was a boring one, and without realizing it, I¡¯d fallen asleep.

    The next time I woke up, it was already morning, and time to get dressed for the academy.

    Apparently, all of Damon¡¯s attention had drained me of my energy. I couldn¡¯t remember thest time I¡¯d

    slept so well.

    I quickly put on a pair of jeans and a top and opened my room door, only to find Damon waiting for me.

    I didn¡¯t have time to prepare as he mmed his lips against mine. I gasp against his mouth.

    My mouth opens in surprise and he uses that to his advantage and he sticks his tongue in. I moan as

    he grabs my waist and pulls me tighter against him.

    He breaks the kiss a few secondster. ¡°You left mest night.¡±

    ¡°Because you didn¡¯t give me what I wanted,¡± I tell him.

    I stop talking when his lips touch the spot beneath my ear. It¡¯s a soft kiss, but it travels throughout my

    body.

    ¡°Who carried me to my roomst night?¡± I manage to ask despite the pounding of my heart.

    I wasn¡¯t aware of anything that had happened while I was asleep.

    ¡°I wanted to.¡± He growls. ¡°But f*****g Atticus beat me to it. I couldn¡¯t do anything but watch. If I tried to

    make a problem about it, he would have suspected us even more.¡±

    I fought against a smile at his apparent frustration since Atticus was the one who had carried me to my

    roomst night.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired of this.¡± He sighs. ¡°I want to be able to kiss you in the open. I want to be able to tell everyone

    that you¡¯re mine.¡±

    I gasped, unsure if I¡¯d heard him correctly.

    He wanted to tell everyone that I was his?

    He gently kisses my forehead before pushing away from me. ¡°I¡¯ll see you in the jeep.¡±

    I watched him walk away as I fell back against the wall. I didn¡¯t know how to react to Damon so openly

    expressing his feelings. It made me all nervous and giddy inside.

    . . . . . . .

    ~DAMON~

    I couldn¡¯t hold it back much longer. rissa was using all of the tricks in the books to make me give her

    what she was asking for. She may think I was unfair, but she had no idea how much harder this was for

    me. Denying her what she wanted was costing me everything.

    She didn¡¯t realize how painful it was for me not to be inside of her, especially when she was begging

    me for it. Saying no to her was never f*****g easy for me.

    Even now, all I could think about was burying my d**k inside her tight p***y. And f**k, it was so tight;

    yesterday it squeezed the life out of my finger. I could still feel her walls around it, stretching and

    pulling.

    I groan as I cover my face with my hand. We would be returning to the academy today, and I would

    have no choice but to keep my hands to myself when it¡¯s thest thing I want to do.

    I would be f****d to watch her from a distance while dreaming of taking her in every way possible.

    rissa would be the f*****g death of me.

    I knew her well; she would use this opportunity to t*****e me for not taking her virginity. And she was a

    virgin; she saved herself for me. Every time I thought about it, my heart filled with pride. She had never

    mentioned it to me, but I knew it was true. I was so involved in her life that I knew there had never been

    another man but me in her life. This is why I wanted to make it as special as possible for her. I didn¡¯t

    want to rush things. I wanted to give her a chance to enjoy all of the pleasures I could bring to her body.

    I wanted to take it one step at a time.

    rissa was bing impatient, and I didn¡¯t me her. I felt even worse than she did.

    I wouldn¡¯t keep her waiting much longer.

    ¡°You look like you didn¡¯t get any sleepst night.¡± My mother says as she examines my face. ¡°Is

    something bothering you, Damon?¡±

    I swallow. Yes, mother. Somebody was bothering me. The once innocent girl that you adopted and

    brought home to t*****e me every damn day of my life.

    If she could read my mind, I would be screwed.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± I lie. ¡°We just got hometest night, and I didn¡¯t feel like sleeping. Had too much to

    drink.¡±

    She sighs and kisses me on my cheek. ¡°I was worried that you were still affected by Anya¡¯s death like

    your brother. I¡¯m very worried about Dante. He didn¡¯t just lose Anya, but he married her sister because

    she asked him to. Did you discover why he¡¯s getting these random bruises on certain days?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°Atticus tried finding out, but he doesn¡¯t want to talk to us about it.¡±

    She nods, ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him.¡±

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    I say goodbye to her and head down to the jeep where I¡¯d told rissa to meet me.

    Now I had to prepare myself for the t*****e toe.

 Chapter 144

    Chapter 144

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 144

    ~CLARISSA~

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe so much happened,¡± Autumn says as she tries to contain her excitement. ¡°I knew it. I

    always knew how crazy he was about you. He¡¯s finally showing you his true feelings, and I¡¯m so happy

    for you. It took him a long time to finally admit it but at least he¡¯s finallying around.¡±

    We were in the cafeteria, getting lunch.

    I wanted to be happy, but there were still a few things that were bothering me. One of them was the fact

    that he¡¯d kissed Anya right after he¡¯d told Atticus that he wanted to stop the wedding.

    There were still missing nks that I wanted Damon to fill in. However, I didn¡¯t want anything to spoil

    what we had going on right now. I wanted to enjoy it as much as possible before things blew up in our

    faces.

    I knew we couldn¡¯t keep this a secret for the rest of our lives. Eventually, our family would have to see

    the truth about us. I knew they wouldn¡¯t take the news well, but it had to be done.

    I wasn¡¯t willing to end things with Damon, and I knew now that he felt the same way. He wasn¡¯t being a

    coward anymore; he was doing what he always wanted to do.

    This was just the beginning for us. Things would only get worse from now on. Before that happened, I

    wanted to enjoy my time with him.

    ¡°How do you think everyone will react when they discover the truth?¡± I ask Autumn. ¡°I¡¯m terrified.¡±

    Autumn looks worried at my question, ¡°I can¡¯t say, but I know it would not be easy. Atticus already looks

    pissed anytime he thinks about you and Damon. He doesn¡¯t know for sure, and that¡¯s why he¡¯s calm for

    now, but when he confirms it, I¡¯m worried about what he might do.¡±

    I was also most terrified of Atticus¡¯s reaction. Griffin was yful and wouldn¡¯t react the way that Atticus

    would. And then there was Dante; he would be angry that Damon had never loved Anya to begin with.

    He would be upset that the entire time Damon was with her, he truly wanted to be with me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about any of this,¡± Autumn tells me. ¡°You¡¯ve been through enough already. This is your

    chance to rx and enjoy your time with Damon. When you¡¯re both ready, you cane forward and

    let everyone else know the truth.¡±

    We stop talking when Atticus, Dante, and Willow join us at the table.

    ¡°We¡¯rete for ss,¡± Atticus says as he looks at the time.

    Ourst ss for the day. Thankfully, this was one of the only sses I had with Damon. But it was

    also a ss that I had with Atticus, which meant that we couldn¡¯t give him any reason to suspect us.

    However, it was difficult to keep my hands to myself when Damon was around.

    He¡¯s already waiting for us when we walk into the ssroom. I¡¯m surprised he didn¡¯t walk me to ss

    like he usually did. Probably because he knew Atticus and Autumn would be with me as well.

    He pulls the chair out that was next to his table and I quickly sat down.

    ¡°What about us?¡± Atticus asks him. ¡°You couldn¡¯t save a seat for your brother?¡±

    Damon ignores him and takes his seat next to me. I gasp when his hand touches my thigh.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I whisper. ¡°Atticus is in this ss with us. What if he sees?¡±

    ¡°I miss you,¡± Damon whispers, ignoring my question.

    My heart jumped at his confession. Does he really miss me?

    ¡°What took you so long?¡± He asks. ¡°You¡¯rete to ss.¡±

    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.

    ¡°I got carried away while speaking to Autumn,¡± I exin to him. ¡°I thought you would have walked me to

    ss like usual.¡±

    ¡°I got caught up.¡± He growls. ¡°And I also knew that if I came for you, I wouldn¡¯t be able to keep my

    hands off you. I couldn¡¯t take that risk knowing that you were with Atticus.¡±

    I had to control my heart; at this rate, it would explode with love for Damon.

    ¡°We should stop talking about this here.¡± I remind him. ¡°It¡¯s not just the two of us.¡±

    Even though everyone was caught up in their own conversations, I didn¡¯t want to take that chance.

    Since when did Damon be so careless? I¡¯m the one more concerned about someone finding out

    about us between the two of us; that was very unusual. It¡¯s like we¡¯d switched roles.

    He¡¯s about to respond when Kevin walks up to me and hands me a rose. Kevin was a guy from one of

    my previous sses. He¡¯s barely ever spoken to me before. Why was he giving me a rose?

    ¡°Why are you giving this to me?¡± I ask him, confused. He¡¯s never shown any interest in me whatsoever.

    It made no sense.

    ¡°I bought it for you.¡± He answers me. ¡°I was wondering if you would let me take you on a date.¡±

    I gape at him, surprised that he would ask me such a thing in front of Damon. Everyone was usually too

    scared to ever approach me in front of him.

    What the hell had possessed him?

    Damon was already possessive when there was nothing going on between us; I couldn¡¯t imagine how

    worse he¡¯d gotten now that there was something between us.

    I can feel the tension in the air increase. Damon red at him like he was ready to rip his head out of

    his body. How could he still stand there after Damon gave him such a murderous look?

    As far as I knew, Kevin was a coward. He stayed away from fights.

    Damon let out a low growl, and my stomach churned with fear. I look behind us to see Atticus looking at

    him. He was waiting to see his reaction.

    No.

    I had to stop Damon before he overreacted.

    I couldn¡¯t let him show too much emotion, or that will confirm everything for Atticus.

    I had to act fast.

 Chapter 145

    Chapter 145

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 145

    ~ATTICUS~

    I watch quietly, waiting for Damon to make a scene.

    I¡¯d paid Kevin plenty of money to give that rose to rissa and ask her out. I knew that no one in their

    right mind would ever pursue her while we were around. That¡¯s why I stepped in and used cash to help

    me.

    I¡¯ve been suspecting Damon and rissa for some time now. Damon didn¡¯t want to admit to anything,

    and I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. However, I couldn¡¯t deny what my eyes were seeing.

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    Something was going on between the two of them. They weren¡¯t exactly good at hiding.

    Yesterday, at the beach house, I noticed Damon couldn¡¯t stop staring at her. I also noticed that she left

    around the same time on both nights, and it made Damon impatient each time. He stopped paying

    attention to anything before him as long as she¡¯d left the room.

    I still wanted to believe that I was wrong. I tried to think that nothing was happening between them.

    After all, it made me feel sick to my stomach thinking of Damon with someone who¡¯s supposed to be

    our sister.

    He should know better. Even if rissa didn¡¯t know, Damon should have had some self-control.

    rissa looks at me, and I see the fear in her eyes. It¡¯s another reason for me to think that this was

    genuinely happening. They were possibly sneaking around behind all of our backs.

    f*****g hell.

    This couldn¡¯t be happening. Please don¡¯t be true. Please don¡¯t be f*****g true.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Autumn asks me. ¡°You seem a little tensed.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t tell her what I¡¯d done. Autumn was lying to me. My mate was lying to me because of my

    sister. She was keeping secrets for rissa. If I told her what I was up to, she would no doubt warn

    rissa and possibly Damon.

    I had to catch them in the act. I had to do it so that they could not deny the truth to me.

    If it were true, if it turned out that something was going on between them, I would have to stop it. It just

    wasn¡¯t possible for anything to happen between them. It was wrong. Very wrong.

    ¡°Atticus?¡± Autumn tries again.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to figure out why Kevin is giving a rose to rissa.¡± I lie. ¡°I never knew that he liked her.¡±

    Autumn follows my gaze, and she gasps in surprise. Even she seemed worried.

    My eyes don¡¯t ever leave Damon. I heard his low growl; I think everyone heard it. Thankfully, the

    professor was alsote to ss, allowing me to pull this off.

    I watch as rissa ces her hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. She whispers something

    to him, and he turns to look at me.

    I close my eyes when he looks away.

    He would pretend to be calm so I didn¡¯t suspect them.

    Autumn ces her hand on my arm. ¡°Atticus. Something is wrong. Please talk to me.¡±

    ¡°Why should I talk to you when you¡¯ve been keeping so many secrets from me?¡± I ask her.

    I didn¡¯t mean tosh out at her.

    I wasn¡¯t angry with Autumn. I was mad at Damon. He was the one I wanted tosh out at. He was the

    one that had some f*****g exining to do.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± She demands. ¡°Are you still angry about that thing with Anya? I told you I

    was sorry.¡±

    She continued to lie to me. She knew that wasn¡¯t the only lie she¡¯d told me. She knows.

    I never knew my mate was this connected to rissa. She would even lie to me to protect her? It¡¯s not

    like I would ever hurt her, to begin with, but Damon, on the other hand, I couldn¡¯t promise not to hurt

    him if any of this turned out to be true.

    He wasn¡¯t a child. He knew it would be wrong to have inappropriate rtions with rissa even though

    she was adopted. She was still our sister, for crying out loud!

    I open my eyes and watch Damon struggle to control his emotions. It must be killing him inside. I know

    he really wants to grab Kevin by his neck. His hands dug into his jeans, and it was bing harder for

    him to control himself.

    ¡°Damon seems a little tensed, don¡¯t you think?¡± I ask Autumn, waiting for her reaction.

    ¡°What?¡± She demands. ¡°We were discussing a different topic; why are you suddenly bringing up

    Damon?¡±

    I shrug my shoulders, ¡°it¡¯s just weird to me. Kevin seems like a good guy. He isn¡¯t a yer. Why is

    Damon so upset that he¡¯s giving a rose to rissa?¡±

    It was true. Kevin wasn¡¯t a yer. He wasn¡¯t a bad person. He was even the professor¡¯s favorite with

    how well he performed in sses.

    Damon shouldn¡¯t have any problem with it unless he wanted rissa for himself.

    I watch as rissa turns him down and tells him she isn¡¯t interested. I got up from my seat and walked

    over to them despite Autumn¡¯s disapproval.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask them.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Kevin answers me. ¡°I¡¯m just asking rissa to go on a date with me, but she doesn¡¯t seem

    interested.¡±

    ¡°Kevin is a good guy, rissa.¡± I try to tell her, stirring up trouble. I wanted to see Damon¡¯s true

    feelings. I didn¡¯t want him to hide them from me anymore.

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± She tells me. ¡°I can¡¯t ept this rose.¡±

    I nod, ¡°it just seems you haven¡¯t been on a date once. He can show you how nice it could be if you give

    him a chance.¡±

    ¡°She said she doesn¡¯t f*****g want to date him.¡± Damon growls, and I quirk a brow at him.

    ¡°I was speaking to rissa,¡± I tell him. ¡°What does it have to do with you?¡±

    Damon gets up from his seat and res at me.

    I fold my arms and remain calm.

    So it was true.

    This was not good. Not f*****g good at all.

 Chapter 146

    Chapter 146

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 146

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    ~DAMON~

    My brother was asking for a f*****g death wish. Why was he insisting that rissa go on a date with

    Kevin? The Atticus I knew would never force her to do anything she didn¡¯t want to do. Which meant

    there must be another reason.

    Maybe this was a test for me. Perhaps he still didn¡¯t believe me when I said nothing was happening

    between rissa and me.

    I didn¡¯t f*****g care if this was a test. I was not letting rissa go on a date with f*****g Kevin. If Atticus

    kept insisting on this, we would have a severe problem.

    I¡¯m a few seconds away from grabbing Kevin by his shirt and pulling him outside with me.

    rissa stands up from her seat and tries calming us down.

    Autumn runs over to Atticus and grabs his arm. ¡°What are you doing?¡± She demands. ¡°Everyone¡¯s

    looking. We don¡¯t need to draw any more attention to our family.¡±

    Atticus takes a deep breath and tells Kevin to leave.

    Good.

    He then looks over at me as if to say this wasn¡¯t over.

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong,¡± rissa whispers when we finally took our seats. ¡°I think Atticus knows about

    us.¡±

    My jaw clenched; I also thought the same. However, I didn¡¯t want rissa to worry about this.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not the case.¡± I lie.

    I had to keep her calm. She¡¯s been through enough; whatever happened next, I wanted to shield her

    from it all.

    ¡°I just got you.¡± She whispers with tears in her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t want anything to separate us.¡±

    A low growl forms in the back of my throat while seeing a tear roll down her cheek. I didn¡¯t care that

    Atticus was still watching us when I leaned forward and wiped it away with my thumb finger.

    ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen,¡± I promise her. ¡°I¡¯ll ensure that nothing and no onees between us

    again.¡±

    She nods and tries topose herself; we aren¡¯t alone. There were too many people around us.

    I ran a hand through my hair as my mind raced with ways to get us out of this situation. How did I make

    rissa mine without everyoneing for us?

    This was the reason I tried to avoid anything happening between us since the beginning. I knew things

    would eventually turn into a disaster. Now that I¡¯ve tasted what it was like to be with rissa, I never

    wanted to lose her. It was hard in the past; now, it is even harder.

    I could never let her go. I instead would rather die than let go of her. She was mine. Mine. It made me

    even happier that she¡¯s always wanted to be mine since the start.

    When the professor enters the ssroom, everyone gets quiet after he insists. I lean back in my chair

    and look over at Atticus. The bastard is still ring at me.

    He f*****g knows. There¡¯s no question in my mind anymore. It was only a matter of time before he

    confronted me about it.

    I couldn¡¯t t have rissa around when he asked me about her. There was no use hiding it anymore; I

    had toe clean with everyone. My entire family had to know that I was in love with rissa.

    How could I get rissa out of the house without her suspecting anything?

    She looks at me again, and I know she¡¯s trying to figure out what I was thinking about. I couldn¡¯t show

    her how worried I was.

    I mask my genuine emotions and smile at her.

    ¡°I want to take you somewhere nice,¡± I tell her. ¡°But I need you to go there and wait for me first.¡±

    I was making things up along the way. I didn¡¯t have a ce in mind yet. While I did want to do

    something special for rissa, it was not supposed to happen today.

    ¡°Somewhere nice?¡± She asks with a sparkle in her eyes.

    I hated lying to her, but I loved seeing the excitement on her face. She looked extra beautiful when she

    smiled.

    ¡°Mhm,¡± I murmur.

    ¡°Why will I have to wait for you?¡± She asks. ¡°Can¡¯t we just go together?¡±

    I held onto the edge of the desk, squeezing it. Atticus hadn¡¯t stopped looking at us, and I could feel his

    death stare.

    ¡°There is something that I need to do before,¡± I say; it wasn¡¯t aplete lie. ¡°As soon as I¡¯m done, I¡¯ll

    return to you.¡±

    She looks a bit hesitant at first but eventually agrees. ¡°Can you tell me where we¡¯re going?¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°it¡¯s a secret for now.¡±

    She pouts, and it takes all of my self-control not to lean over and kiss her in the middle of the

    ssroom.

    This was the hardest thing I¡¯ve ever had to do, refrain from touching her when that¡¯s all I wanted to do.

    Her scent was everywhere in the room; it was more potent than any other scent.

    Before I did something stupid, I excused myself from the ssroom. It also gave me enough time to

    call and set up something special for rissa. I hoped that it would be enough to distract her.

    After ourst ss, I drop her off at the rooftop restaurant. It¡¯s the best ce I could findst minute.

    I¡¯d asked them to decorate the ce ording to what I thought she would like. I also rented it out so

    that no one else would be there except her and the people serving her tonight.

    After saying goodbye to her, I was on my way back home. I¡¯d already sent everyone a message; they

    knew I had something important to talk to them about.

    I couldn¡¯t believe I was finally going to do this. I always thought that my feelings would stay hidden

    inside of me for the rest of my life.

    So many things have changed. Anya was gone forever, and rissa was my true love. All along, it¡¯s

    only been her. And my feelings for Anya were all because of a spell. Everything made so much sense

    now.

    I knew my family would not take this news lightly, but I didn¡¯t care; in less than an hour, they will know

    everything.

    Everything.

 Chapter 147

    Chapter 147

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 147

    ~DAMON~

    As I walk into the family room, Atticus is already there waiting for me.

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    His hands are to the front of him and it looks likes he¡¯s waiting for an opportunity to use them.

    ¡°Is there something that you want to tell me?¡± He asks in a strained voice. ¡°It¡¯s thest time I will ask

    you nicely, Damon.¡±

    I pinch the bridge of my nose and try to stay calm, ¡°I¡¯m waiting for everyone else to join us. I¡¯ll answer

    your question when they arrive.¡±

    He looks surprised by my words. It must be a shock to him that I would ever consider spilling the truth.

    ¡°You¡¯ve invited everyone?¡± He asks. ¡°To hear this entire conversation.¡±

    I nod, ¡°Yes. Does that upset you, brother?¡±

    He narrows his eyes, ¡°I hope you¡¯re not bluffing.¡±

    ¡°I have no reason to,¡± I tell him. ¡°I¡¯m ready toe clean about everything.¡±

    His hands tighten into fists by his sides, and I know it¡¯s only a matter of time before Atticus loses

    control.

    I don¡¯t me him. For a long time, I was disgusted by my feelings. For a long time, I kept fighting it

    because I thought it was wrong.

    Now, I knew my thoughts were what was wrong. Being with rissa feels better than anything else in

    my past. Nothing feels better than having her in my arms.

    I was wrong for denying it and causing her so much pain in the past. Now I just had to convince my

    family the same.

    I knew it wouldn¡¯t be that easy. It took me forever to ept it; I assume it would be more challenging

    for them. This news was about to change everything between us.

    However, I couldn¡¯t keep hiding the truth. It was time that everyone knew.

    We stopped talking the moment we heard footsteps. My parents were the first to enter, followed by my

    grandfather.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Damon?¡± My father demands. ¡°What was so urgent that you needed all of us in one

    room?¡±

    ¡°Does it have something to do with Dante?¡± My mother asks. ¡°Did you find out where he¡¯s been going?

    Did you talk to him?¡±

    Dante walks in next with Willow next to him. I was mostly worried about Dante¡¯s reaction. I knew

    everyone would have a bad reaction, but Dante would take it the hardest even if he wouldn¡¯t show it to

    us.

    ¡°What about me?¡± Dante asks. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡±

    My mother looks at me, realizing it has nothing to do with him.

    Autumn joined us next, but I knew none of this would be new to her. She already knew everything,

    thanks to rissa.

    Griffin was thest person to enter.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He asks. ¡°I was supposed to stay back for a game at the academy today. Why did

    you want us all here?¡±

    Now that they were all here, standing in front of me, waiting for a response, I didn¡¯t know how to begin.

    I had no clue how to exin what was happening between rissa and me.

    ¡°Damon?¡± My mother asks. ¡°Are you okay? Did something happen? Do you need our help with

    something?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mom.¡± I finally answer her. ¡°I need your help. I need all of you to be open-minded and understand

    what I will soon say to you. This isn¡¯t easy for me to tell you, but I can¡¯t keep hiding the truth from you

    anymore. It¡¯s killing me inside; I¡¯m tired. I¡¯d been hiding it for years, and I need to get it off my chest

    before it blows up in my face.¡±

    ¡°Just f*****g say it,¡± Atticus growls behind me.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± My mother scolds him. ¡°Watch yournguage. What is all of this about? Do you know what

    Damon is trying to tell us?¡±

    His jaw clenches, ¡°I have an idea, but I¡¯m waiting for my brother to confirm it. If it has anything to do

    with rissa, then yes. I know what he¡¯s about to say.¡±

    ¡°Atticus.¡± Autumn tries to stop him.

    It¡¯s no use. It wasing out today. Nothing was going to stop that.

    ¡°rissa?¡± Dante asks. ¡°What does this have to do with her?¡±

    ¡°Are you going to tell them, or do I need to do it for you?¡± Atticus asks me through gritted teeth.

    ¡°Did rissa get herself in more trouble?¡± My father asks. ¡°How many times do we have to speak to

    her? Sometimes I wonder if there¡¯s something wrong that we¡¯re doing. She always seems so unhappy.¡±

    Yes, she was unhappy in the past, and I was always the reason, but I don¡¯t want it to be that way

    anymore.

    ¡°I assume my brother here is why rissa has been so moodytely.¡± Atticus cuts in. ¡°Has anyone

    ever noticed that her life somehow always revolves around him?¡±

    Dante shrugs, ¡°It¡¯s known that Damon is rissa¡¯s favorite. They¡¯ve always been close to each other

    and inseparable. But what does that have to do with anything?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t let Atticus break the news to them; I had to do it on my own.

    ¡°It¡¯s true that rissa has always been attached to me. And it¡¯s also true that I¡¯ve always been very

    protective of her. At first, I thought it would go away with time. I thought I was protecting her from

    everything that could harm her. Soon enough, I realized that it was much moreplicated than that.¡± I

    begin to exin.

    Everyone looked confused; I knew they still had no clue what I was talking about.

    ¡°When Anya came into my life, it became easier for me to ignore my feelings,¡± I add.

    ¡°Your feelings?¡± My mother asks. ¡°Ignore your feelings for who?¡±

    She already knew it was rissa; she was tonight¡¯s main topic after all.

    ¡°My feelings for rissa,¡± I answer her.

    Dante takes a step towards me. ¡°You mean your brotherly feelings for her? You were worried because

    you were so protective of her? Please tell me that¡¯s what you truly mean.¡±

    I don¡¯t look away from his piercing gaze. There was nowhere for me to run anymore.

    ¡°I never meant to act on anything. My feelings were supposed to stay buried. However, whenever

    someone other than me took an interest in her, I would lose my mind. And there were times when I

    couldn¡¯t choose between her and Anya. Now I realize that Anya¡¯s spell was the reason for that. If her

    spell weren¡¯t around, I would have given in to my feelings sooner. I know this isn¡¯t what anyone in this

    family wants to hear, but it¡¯s true; my feelings for rissa are not the ones a brother would feel for his

    sister. It¡¯s the opposite. I want her, I want her more than I¡¯ve ever wanted anything in my life, and I¡¯m

    willing to fight for her. I don¡¯t care what happens to me in the process; as long as she wants me to,

    nothing will keep us apart.¡±

 Chapter 148

    Chapter 148

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 148

    ~DAMON~

    ¡°You son of a b***h!¡± Atticus roars as heunches for my throat.

    I moved away before he could grab me. He eventually grips my shirt and pulls me towards him. ¡°How

    dare you touch her?¡± He demands. ¡°She¡¯s our sister!¡±

    I winced at his tone. She may be a sister to him, but she never was one to me. I had so much love for

    rissa and it was not the same kind that my family had for her.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to apologize for loving her,¡± I shout. ¡°I love her. I realized it too f*****gte, and I won¡¯t

    keep denying it anymore. It was too painful for rissa and also for me. I¡¯m not letting go of her. I don¡¯t

    care if you want to beat me the f**k up. Go right ahead. I¡¯ll dly let you.¡±

    ¡°This can¡¯t be happening.¡± My mother gasps as she leans against my father for support. I didn¡¯t want to

    do this to them. I knew the effect it would have on all of us. But rissa was worth it.

    ¡°You should know better than touching her. She¡¯s innocent. She doesn¡¯t know what she f*****g wants!¡±

    Atticus roars. ¡°How can you even see her as someone other than a sister? You¡¯ve taken care of her

    more than any of us here. Was that your ill intention all along? Did you always want her? Since the

    beginning?¡±

    I clench my jaw but don¡¯t move his hands from my shirt. My attention falls on Dante. He had a soulless

    gaze on his face. It was cold and distant. I knew I¡¯d managed to make things worse for him.

    f**k. He was the one I was most worried about.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you say; you must end things with rissa.¡± My father growls. ¡°Have you ever

    thought about your family and the impact something like this would have on us? People are waiting

    every damn second for a story like this to bring us to the ground. Don¡¯t you think our family has been

    through enough already?¡±

    My grandfather was silent throughout the entire thing, but I could see the displeasure on his face. Even

    he was disappointed and disgusted by my actions.

    ¡°Say it now; promise us you will leave rissa alone after today.¡± Atticus growls, ring at me.

    I look him dead in the eye as I say, ¡°Never.¡±

    I don¡¯t have time to prepare before he punches me hard in the face. I fly backward a few feet, and I

    touch my lips to feel blood. I clench my jaw and wipe it away. If he thinks one punch will make me

    change my mind, he can think again.

    ¡°Atticus!¡± Autumn shouts as she grabs his arm to prevent him froming for me again.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± She cries. ¡°He¡¯s your brother. If you hurt him, it will also hurt you.¡±

    His attention turns towards her, narrowing his eyes at her, ¡°You knew all along. You knew about his

    rtionship with her, and you let it happen. You didn¡¯t just let it happen; you kept the truth from me. I¡¯ve

    been nothing but honest with you recently, but somehow you¡¯re constantly lying to me. I thought what

    we had was much stronger than this, Autumn. I¡¯m disappointed in you.¡±

    I can see the pain in her eyes from hearing him say that. I knew he was just angry; he didn¡¯t mean it

    and would most likely apologize to herter.

    She swallows, ¡°I know you¡¯re upset. I know that rissa is like a baby sister to you. But you must

    understand that she knows what she wants, and it¡¯s always been, Damon. She¡¯s been in love with himText property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    for a long time Atticus. She knew long before Damon knew. Doesn¡¯t this remind you of us and what we

    had to go through in the past? If we were in their position, wouldn¡¯t you still fight to be with me?¡±

    ¡°This is not the same thing!¡± He growls. ¡°Damon was supposed to treat rissa like a sister. He was

    never supposed to touch her inappropriately or f*****g l**t after her. I saw how he looked at her at the

    beach house; it makes me sick every time I think about it.¡±

    I closed my eyes; this was going much worse than I expected it to go. Dante still hasn¡¯t said a word to

    me. Neither has Willow or Griffin.

    ¡°So that kiss,¡± Griffin finally says. ¡°When Anya was still alive, we were all ying that game. That

    wasn¡¯t even your first kiss with her?¡±

    ¡°It was our first kiss,¡± I answer him. ¡°Things have only recently changed between us. As I said, I¡¯ve

    been running from my feelings for a very long time.¡±

    ¡°What kiss?¡± My mother asks, confused.

    The kiss that changed everything. I don¡¯t say that out loud.

    ¡°My sister,¡± Willow whispers. ¡°She wanted to marry you. But you loved rissa all along?¡±

    ¡°Willow,¡± Autumn whispers. ¡°Please remember that Anya used a spell on Damon to keep him. It¡¯s not

    his fault; please don¡¯t think that way.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t f*****g care if she had a spell on him!¡± Dante roars. ¡°He didn¡¯t know he was under a spell. He

    didn¡¯t know what she was up to, but he still went behind her back and had these insane feelings for

    rissa.¡±

    ¡°Dante¡ª¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear a single word out of your mouth.¡± He growls. ¡°You promised me that you would

    make Anya happy. You listened to me pour my heart out to you; you knew how much I loved her; you

    knew that I would f*****g die for her. Still, you stood there, and you made promises to me that you knew

    you could never keep. If you knew that you had feelings for rissa, if you knew that you could never

    give her your full heart or make her happy, why didn¡¯t you tell me? All you had to do was say

    something, and I would have fought for her. I would have never given up and allowed her to get closer

    to you. I stepped back for both of you. I thought that would make you f*****g happy, Damon. I thought I

    was making you both happy! Now I know how f*****g wrong I¡¯ve been about you this entire time. My

    own brother, I trusted you and you broke my trust!¡±

    I don¡¯t know how to respond. I was doing like he asked, staying silent. But it was still hard to listen to

    his words and say nothing in return.

    ¡°I can never forgive you for this.¡± He finally shouts before storming out of the room.

    Damn it!

 Chapter 149

    Chapter 149

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 149

    ~CLARISSA~

    The rooftop pool in front of me was absolutely beautiful. Damon had the whole ce decorated just for

    me. I was the only one here except for all the waitresses he had bringing food almost every minute for

    me.

    Not to mention the hundreds of roses everywhere. But my favorite was the sign that stole my heart.

    ¡®Be mine. Forever.¡¯

    He didn¡¯t even have to ask. I was already his a long time ago.

    He promised that he would be back in less than an hour. However, an hour had passed, and it bothered

    me that there was a possibility that something had happened on his way back to me.

    I tried calling his phone, but it kept going straight to voicemail.

    I considered calling Autumn or Atticus but refrained from doing it. After what happened earlier, calling

    either wasn¡¯t a good idea.

    I don¡¯t think Damon told anyone that he was taking me here. If I called any family member, they may

    immediately ask for my location. I wouldn¡¯t be able to give it to them.

    ¡°You look a little unhappy, miss.¡± The main server says to me. ¡°I was asked to make sure you¡¯re happy;

    if you¡¯re not, I¡¯m afraid your partner will be troubled with all of us. I don¡¯t want to disappoint him.¡±

    He asked her to keep me happy. My heart skipped a beat at that fact.

    Damon kept on surprising me. Everything felt like a dream to me. It was all too good to be true.

    Whenever things were going this smoothly, something horrible always happened. I pushed that thought

    to the back of my mind. I didn¡¯t want to be negative today.

    There were other things I could keep my mind upied with. Like the one thing that I couldn¡¯t stop

    thinking about.

    Was it finally going to happen today? Damon knew how much I wanted us to finish what we had

    started. He knows how crazy I was about him. I was looking around for some ce nice that it could

    happen for the first time, but I doubted it would be here.

    It was too open, and there were many servers around. Even if he sent them away, he wouldn¡¯t take that

    risk.

    He kept saying I wasn¡¯t ready for it, but he didn¡¯t realize how long I¡¯d been waiting. I don¡¯t know what

    else to do to make him realize that I was more than ready for him.

    I didn¡¯t want to wait anymore. I wanted to be as close to him as possible. I wish he would see things the

    way that I saw them. I felt like we were running out of time. The moment our family found out about us,

    everything would change. They would constantly try to separate us. I wanted everything to happen

    before they found out.

    I took out my phone after I received a message. I looked at the caller ID.

    It was Autumn. I quickly clicked on the message and felt like my whole life was spiraling out of control

    the moment that I read it all.

    No.

    This wasn¡¯t happening. Not now. It can¡¯t happen now. Damon and I had only just gotten closer after

    waiting years for it to happen.

    My hands shook as I read it over and over again.

    ¡®Come home. Everyone knows about you and Damon. He just confessed.¡¯

    Why would Damon do that? Why would he tell them about us when he knows how they would react?

    Did this mean that all of this was just a distraction? He never intended to set up this romantic night for

    us; it was all just a decoy so he could tell everyone the truth while I was not around.

    I couldn¡¯t believe that this was the reality.

    My entire family now knew that Damon and I were in a rtionship, not the kind they would be proud

    of. Why would he choose today out of all days to do this? Why didn¡¯t he wait?

    How could I stop something that has already happened?

    Damon was taking the heat all on his own. They would no doubt me him for everything.

    I couldn¡¯t let him deal with them on his own. I had to get home immediately.

    ¡°I need a car,¡± I shout.

    Everyone is suddenly looking at me like I¡¯ve lost my mind. And I was losing it. The thought of Damon

    alone in the room while everyone at home judged him for being with me, was enough to drive me

    insane.

    After a few minutes of frantically asking for a car, one of the servers agreed to drop me home. If they

    hadn¡¯t, I would have found another way to get there before things started to go crazy.

    The ride back home was an ufortable one. It took way longer than it should have.

    When I finally saw the mansion, I quickly paid the server and got out the vehicle. After getting through

    the gates, I ran inside the house but everyone was nowhere to be found. It meant that they were all

    gathered somewhere.

    The family room. It would be the perfect ce for a confession.

    I¡¯m about to barge into it when I see Dante standing before me. He looks up, and I can see the anger in

    his gaze.

    ¡°Dante,¡± I whisper.

    I wait for him to shout at me, to tell me the worst things possible. But he does the opposite.

    He moves to the side and lets me pass him. However, I¡¯m not sure how to feel when he follows me.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what I would walk into, but thest thing I expected to see was Atticus getting ready to

    punch Damon, who already had a bruised lip.

    ¡°Stop!¡± I shout.

    At my voice, all eyes turn to me. I can see the shock and surprise on Damon¡¯s face as he looks at me.

    He still expected me to be back at the rooftop restaurant.

    I watch as the blood drains from his face. He was trying to protect me from seeing this. I knew that now.

    He didn¡¯t want me around to see or hear what they had to say. My heart warmed at that fact. Always

    protecting me. That¡¯s what he does.

    It was my turn to protect him this time. I couldn¡¯t stand back and watch everyone attack him like he was

    the one to me when I was not innocent in any of this.Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    They needed to know the truth. They had to know that I was the one who f****d him into everything.

    It¡¯s the only way to fix this.

 Chapter 150

    Chapter 150

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 150

    ~DAMON~

    My blood runs cold.

    What was she doing here?

    She shouldn¡¯t be here. Why the hell was rissa standing in front of me right now? Who even brought

    her here?

    I did everything to keep her froming here tonight. Everything.

    I attempt to move towards her, to protect her from what everyone is saying, but Atticus beats me to it.

    He¡¯s already in front of her, and I can¡¯t see the expression on his face from where I¡¯m standing.

    ¡°Is it true?¡± He asks her. ¡°Are you in love with Damon?¡±

    Her face turns pink at his question, but she doesn¡¯t look afraid.

    rissa doesn¡¯t even hesitate as she says, ¡°It¡¯s true. I love Damon.¡±

    There were multiple gasps throughout the room, and my parents looked like their whole lives were

    shattering in front of their eyes.

    Hearing her say it only made me want to protect her more fiercely than before.

    ¡°rissa, what are you even saying?¡± My mother demands. ¡°He¡¯s your brother. You can¡¯t love him in

    that way. I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not right. Totally wrong. We didn¡¯t raise either of you this way.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± rissa snaps. ¡°Damon could never be my brother. Having the samest name does not mean

    we share the same blood. We may live in the same house, but I¡¯ve never seen Damon how I look at

    everyone else. To me, he is different. I never tried to stop my feelings, and even if I had, I would have

    failed miserably. My feelings for Damon could never end.¡±

    Atticus turns to re at me, ¡°You did this. You screwed with her innocence and turned her into this. You

    messed with her head, and now she doesn¡¯t know what she truly wants.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong, Atticus.¡± rissa disagrees with him. ¡°You¡¯re wrong about everything. Damon was not

    the one to pursue me first; in fact, it was the other way around.¡±

    ¡°Pardon me?¡± My mother asks her. ¡°You pursued Damon?¡±

    ¡°rissa.¡± I tried to stop her, but she wasn¡¯t listening to me.

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s true. It was me.¡± She insists. ¡°Damon has always protected me; he¡¯s always given me

    everything I ever wanted. However, there was just one thing that he made sure not to give to me, and

    that was the chance to be with him. He kept some distance between us even though I begged him for

    more.¡±

    I could see the surprise on everyone¡¯s faces at her words. I¡¯d kept this from them before, but rissa

    dly spilled the truth to everyone.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    Why the hell was she doing this?

    ¡°rissa, stay out of this,¡± I shout. ¡°Let me do the talking.¡±

    ¡°No, Damon.¡± She snaps. ¡°This isn¡¯t just about you. This concerns me as well. They need to know the

    truth. I was the one that insisted on this rtionship. I was the one that pushed for it. You didn¡¯t force

    me to do anything that I didn¡¯t want to do; in fact, it was the exact opposite.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Atticus asks in a disgusted whisper. ¡°Are you even hearing yourself, rissa? I

    don¡¯t believe it. I don¡¯t believe that you could ever be that way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you and everyone else, Atticus, but it¡¯s the truth. I was the one that was crazy

    obsessed with Damon since the beginning. It was always hard for me to see him with Anya, especially

    when I knew she didn¡¯t love him as I did. I took advantage of Damon¡¯s kindness towards me. I used it

    for my benefit.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense,¡± I growl. ¡°I¡¯ve always been yours since the start; you never had to f*****g fight for me.

    My heart has always belonged to you, rissa.¡±

    ¡°I know that none of you may believe me, but you can ask Autumn to tell you the truth. She knows just

    as much as I do that I was the one who went after Damon.¡± She confessed. ¡°There were many times

    that he turned me down. He pushed me away repeatedly, but I wouldn¡¯t give up. I couldn¡¯t imagine a

    life where Damon wouldn¡¯t be mine; I needed him. I don¡¯t know what Damon told all of you, but what

    I¡¯m telling you now is the full truth.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± My father says as he runs a hand down his face while still trying tofort my mother. ¡°This can¡¯t

    be happening. It has to be a nightmare.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you had to find out this way.¡± She apologizes. ¡°It¡¯s not something that I regret. Damon

    makes me happy, and I rather spend the rest of my life alone than be with someone other than him.

    He¡¯s the only one for me.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Damon,¡± Atticus says. ¡°You¡¯ve turned her into a girl that¡¯s obsessed with you. You see

    what you¡¯ve done to her innocent heart?¡±

    ¡°Can you stop that?¡± rissa demands from Atticus. ¡°He may not be my brother, but he is yours. Your

    words are hurting him, in case you haven¡¯t noticed. Damon is always protecting me; now, I want to

    protect him, also. You have no right to speak to him like that. He did nothing wrong. What else must I

    say to prove I¡¯m the me?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Atticus snaps at her. ¡°There is nothing that you can say here tonight that would make me

    think otherwise.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± rissa asks, epting the challenge. ¡°Then it might not interest you to know that I have a

    tattoo of Damon¡¯s name on my body, and I¡¯ve had it for a while, hiding it from the rest of you.¡±

    My eyes widen. Why the f**k would she say that in front of all of them? She was determined to make it

    look like she was to me for everything.

    ¡°You have to be f*****g bluffing.¡± Atticus growls.

    ¡°No.¡± She sighs. ¡°I¡¯m not. The tattoo is on my a*s. It was easy to hide under all of my clothes.¡±

    There are more surprised and horrified gasps throughout the room, which was expected after what

    rissa had just shoved down their throats without any warning. Even I wasn¡¯t prepared for her to tell

    them about the tattoo.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Atticus says. ¡°You didn¡¯t cover much up on that trip. There was no f*****g tattoo;

    someone would have seen it.¡±

    ¡°Autumn helped me cover it up with makeup.¡± She informs him. ¡°If you want I can show it to you!¡±

    ¡°rissa!¡± I growl. She was not showing her a*s to anyone in this room.

    Atticus looks at Autumn for confirmation, and when she nods, I see the moment Atticus sees red.

    He turns around tounch at me again, but Dante beats him to it. Thest thing I hear is rissa

    screaming before he tackles me to the ground.

 Chapter 151

    Chapter 151

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 151

    Book 2 Chapter 74

    ~CLARISSA~

    ¡°How could you do that to Anya!¡± Dante roars. ¡°If you never loved her, you should have let her f*****g

    go! You should have told me the truth from the start!¡±

    I watch in horror as Dante punches him in the face while he¡¯s lying on the ground. Damon doesn¡¯t do

    anything; he lets Dante hurt him. It¡¯s almost as though he thinks he deserves this.

    I could feel myself begin to panic as the fighting only worsened.

    Everyone else kept on watching without trying to help him.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± I scream as I run over to Dante and try to pull him off Damon.

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    He doesn¡¯t listen to me; he continues to hit Damon.

    ¡°Stop him!¡± Autumn shouts at Atticus. ¡°He¡¯s hurting him!¡±

    Dante doesn¡¯t want to stop; it seems like fighting is what he does to get some of his emotions out.

    Everyone was letting him continue because it was what they all wanted to do also. They kept ming

    Damon when I was the one who was at fault.

    Why wasn¡¯t anyone ming me for all of this? Why was all the me going toward him even after I¡¯d

    spoken my truth?

    ¡°Dante!¡± I scream as I jump on top of him. ¡°Stop hurting him!¡±

    He shoves me off him, and I fall onto the ground; I wince as the hard-tiled floor hits my head.

    ¡°rissa!¡± Autumn shouts as she runs towards me.

    Damon looks at me on the floor, and I see the moment everything changes for him.

    No.

    Don¡¯t do it.

    I knew what was going to happen before it even began. I open my mouth to stop him, but nothing

    comes out.

    I watch in horror as he grabs Dante by the throat and pushes him off. He doesn¡¯t stop there; he shoves

    him up against the wall with his hand still squeezing around his neck.

    ¡°We have to stop them,¡± I say to Autumn. ¡°We must stop them before they do something they will

    regret.¡±

    They may be pissed with each other now, but soon enough, they will return to their usual selves. When

    that happened, they would regret everything. They were brothers who loved each other, after all.

    Dante isn¡¯t the only one throwing punches anymore; Damon is returning them. They¡¯re throwing down

    tables, breaking portraits, and making a mess everywhere. It¡¯s hard to watch.

    I attempt to go towards them, but Autumn stops me. ¡°If you get hurt trying to help, it will only anger

    Damon even more. Stay here.¡±

    Griffin finally breaks out of his shock and realizes what is happening. I watch as he grabs Dante and

    tries to pull him away from Damon.

    Atticus was still pissed and chose not to interfere. Autumn seemed to be angry with him as she red

    at him.

    When Griffin finally has Dante under control, Damon moves in my direction. He stoops down on the

    ground and helps me to my feet.

    He gently cups my cheek in his hand, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    My bottom lip trembles as I watch the bruises on his face; I gently touch the one near his lip, and he

    winces. ¡°Am I okay?¡± I ask. ¡°What about you? There are bruises all over your face.¡±

    He forces a smile on his face for me, ¡°It doesn¡¯t bother me as long as I know you¡¯re okay.¡±

    ¡°It should bother you.¡± I cry. ¡°You¡¯re hurt because of me. You¡¯re bleeding. I hate seeing you like this,

    Damon. I hate it so much.¡±

    He wipes my tears away and leans in to kiss my forehead.

    ¡°You got to be f*****g kidding me.¡± Atticus growls, still not epting our rtionship.

    ¡°This rtionship cannot happen.¡± Grandfather finally steps in. ¡°It¡¯s wrong. Even though you¡¯re

    adopted, rissa, it doesn¡¯t mean that Damon should be seen as anything else but your brother.

    You¡¯re supposed to treat each other like everyone else in this family. You need to have some control

    and stop this immediately.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± Atticus says, not to anyone¡¯s surprise. ¡°rissa is our sister even though she¡¯s adopted.

    She¡¯s our baby sister, and Damon should realize this soon before he does something he can¡¯t take

    back.¡±

    I freeze, and Atticus doesn¡¯t miss it.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t f*****g tell me you already slept with her!¡± Atticus says in disgust. ¡°If you say yes, I¡¯m

    going to f*****g beat the s**t out of you!¡±

    I spun around to face Atticus while also preventing him from getting to Damon. ¡°He didn¡¯t! Leave him

    alone!¡± I shout. ¡°I know none of you want to hear this, but I¡¯ve been the one who¡¯s been asking him to

    take things further between us; however, he hasn¡¯t granted my wish.¡±

    ¡°Oh fuck.¡± Griffin groans. ¡°This is not the conversation I want to participate in.¡±

    ¡°Please listen to the rest of us.¡± Grandfather says. ¡°We only want what¡¯s best for the both of you. Do

    you understand what will happen if this news hits those magazines?¡±

    ¡°I think what all of you are concerned about is how this is going to affect our family.¡± Damon growls.

    ¡°You don¡¯t care that I love rissa; all you care about is what this will do to your fame. If you wanted to

    do something for us, you would help us find a way to be together instead of trying to push us apart.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re insane if you think this could work!¡± Atticus shouts. ¡°If it¡¯s hard for us to stomach, how would

    outsiders react? They would have the worst things to say about rissa, and I know you understand

    what I mean when I say this. You¡¯re not f*****g dumb, Damon.¡±

    ¡°Listen to us.¡± Grandfather adds before Damon can respond to Atticus. ¡°We will forget about all of this

    as long as you agree to do the same. We can¡¯t ept this rtionship. It will not work out for any of

    us.¡±

    Damon pulls me against his chest, ¡°I rather leave this family than let go of rissa. If you can¡¯t ept

    our rtionship, we¡¯re leaving and never returning.¡±

    ¡°Damon¡ª¡±

    ¡°Pack your things, rissa.¡± He tells me. ¡°We¡¯re leaving. For good.¡±

 Chapter 152

    Chapter 152

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 152

    Book 2 Chapter 75

    ~DAMON~

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± My mother demands. ¡°You can¡¯t leave. This is your home. This is both of your

    homes. You belong here.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking irrationally.¡± My father insists. ¡°We love both of you and are only trying to do what¡¯s

    best for you. Damon, think about what you¡¯re doing. If you love rissa like you say you do, why would

    you want to put her through the pain that you know will follow when others learn of your rtionship

    with her?¡±

    My jaw clenches at his question. That one question has always bothered me because it¡¯s something

    that I¡¯ve asked myself multiple times in the past.

    My fear of what would happen when everyone learned of my love for her almost made me lose her. I¡¯ve

    learned from my mistakes. I was not going to let these fears run my life. When that time came, I would

    deal with it. For now, I only wanted a ce where rissa and I could feel at home. It wasn¡¯t here

    anymore; I felt judged by the people I loved the most, and I knew rissa felt the same way.

    ¡°Will you ept our love for each other?¡± I ask my parents. ¡°Will you allow us to be together in your

    home?¡±

    They looked at each other, and I knew the answer before they said it.

    ¡°We know what¡¯s best for you, Damon.¡± My mother tells me. ¡°We¡¯ve always done everything for our

    children so that they could live afortable life. I know that there are certain things from the past that

    you and your siblings disagreed on. However, I¡¯m sure that youter realized that we were right. In the

    case of Atticus and Autumn, for instance. Atticus wasn¡¯t happy with our decision for him to marry her,

    and his trust and obedience were why he listened to our words. Now, he cannot live without her. I know

    it may seem like we¡¯re in the wrong again, but in the future, you would thank us for not allowing this

    rtionship to proceed.¡±

    rissa grabs my hand, I look over at her, and I can see the fear in her eyes. She¡¯s scared that my

    parents are getting through to me. She¡¯s terrified that I would leave her and listen to their words. I felt

    like punching myself in the face for ever making her feel like there was a chance that I wouldn¡¯t fight for

    her.

    I squeezed her hand to assure her that I wasn¡¯t going anywhere.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    ¡°I know that you only want the best for the both of us, but I also know that you¡¯re wrong about this,¡± I tell

    them. ¡°I won¡¯t let you or anyone else stop me from being with rissa. The rumors, the res, the

    judgments, I could handle all of it. However, I cannot handle losing rissa. My decision is final. Since

    you can¡¯t ept us, we are leaving.¡±

    Autumn blocks our way.

    ¡°You can¡¯t leave.¡± She tells rissa. ¡°Please, you can¡¯t leave.¡±

    I watch as they both hug each other. It was insane how much they acted like sisters. None of my

    brothers were begging me to leave. They were all pissed at me, all except Griffin. However, he wasn¡¯t

    stopping me either. I think he understands that there wasn¡¯t anything that he could say to make me

    stay.

    Atticus was still throwing daggers my way, and Dante looked like he wanted to kill me.

    I was okay with him hitting me; I knew I deserved it for what I¡¯d done in the past. I was not okay with

    him almost hurting rissa because of his anger.

    If she¡¯d gotten a single bruise earlier, there would be a different oue.

    Willow was still silent. I think she was in shock. She didn¡¯t know the whole story. She didn¡¯t know much

    about Anya at all. All she knows is what was said while she was around, but I wasn¡¯t even sure she

    believed us. As far as I knew, Willow could be feigning innocence as Anya had. Maybe this was a n

    made by Anya; perhaps she was hoping that Willow would finish what she had started.

    I shook that thought out of my head. She didn¡¯t seem to be anything like Anya. I was reading too much

    into it.

    After Autumn and rissa stopped hugging, we walked over to our rooms separately. So far, no one

    has tried to stop us.

    A few minutester, our clothes were packed, and my parents were waiting for us at the front door.

    ¡°Do not do this, son.¡± My mother begs. ¡°This isn¡¯t right. You¡¯ll live a very difficult life if you leave home.¡±

    ¡°rissa,¡± my father tries to speak to her. ¡°You may be adopted, but we love you like our blood. You

    are connected to us. I know you¡¯ve never fully given your heart to us, but we have given ours to you.

    Please reconsider this, is this thing between you and Damon more important than our family?¡±

    Did he truly have to ask that question? Wasn¡¯t it obvious by now that rissa was the most important

    person in my life?

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± rissa apologizes to them even though she doesn¡¯t need to. They¡¯re the ones pushing us

    away.

    ¡°Goodbye, Mom,¡± I tell her. ¡°Goodbye, Dad.¡±

    I don¡¯t bother saying bye to the others. I was still pissed at Dante for causing rissa to fall back onto

    the ground.

    I knew it was not intentional, but it still sent my blood boiling at the reminder.

    I take rissa¡¯s hand in mine and pull her towards my jeep. I wasn¡¯t sure where we were going. But

    maybe returning to the beach house wasn¡¯t such a bad idea. I knew my parents owned it, but I would

    only stay there until I found us a ce to stay. It wouldn¡¯t be long. Maybe just for one day.

    It was toote to go searching for a ce now.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± rissa asks me when I pull out of the driveway.

    ¡°Back to the beach house,¡± I inform her. ¡°Just for tonight. Tomorrow I¡¯ll find somewhere for us to stay.

    Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll make this work for the both of us.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t going to let my family stop us from being together. Not today. Not ever.

 Chapter 153

    Chapter 153

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 153

    Book 2 Chapter 76

    ~CLARISSA~

    I still couldn¡¯t believe that Damon had left everything behind for me. He didn¡¯t even give it a second

    thought; the moment he realized they wouldn¡¯t ept us, he chose to leave.

    We had just settled into our room. Our room. We weren¡¯t sleeping separately tonight or other nights to

    come.

    It all still felt like a dream to me. Damon pushed me away so long that I didn¡¯t think this day would ever

    come. It¡¯s why I still couldn¡¯t believe it.

    I bite my lip as I remember him confessing his love for me in front of the entire family. I didn¡¯t even need

    to ask him to do it for me. I was still upset that he¡¯d tried to keep me from being there, but the fact that

    he did it only to protect me was enough to make my heart flutter.

    I held my breath when he returned to the room with a towel wrapped around his waist. He¡¯d just

    showered. His hair was dripping wet, and his chest glistened from the water still on it.

    After everything, I shouldn¡¯t think about running my tongue along his abdomen, but it looks too good. I

    want to confirm for myself that this is happening.

    ¡°Stop that.¡± Damon growls. ¡°I¡¯ve had a very f*****g rough day, rissa; I don¡¯t have the energy to say

    no to you today. Don¡¯t give me that look.¡±

    I try not to pout at his words.

    ¡°I guess you still don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready for you,¡± I whisper more to myself than to him. He doesn¡¯t say

    anything, just continues to stare at me. I had nothing on except underwear but it didn¡¯t seem to affect

    him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I whisper. ¡°I know after what just happened; it¡¯s thest thing that would be on your mind.¡±

    He narrows his eyes, ¡°f**k rissa.¡±

    What did I say now?

    He stormed over to the bed and climbed over me. I gasp when the water droplets from his chest drip

    onto my body.

    ¡°It is on my mind.¡± He growls. ¡°Being inside of you has never left my f*****g mind, not even for a

    second. Do you think it¡¯s easy for me to hold back? Nothing is harder than staying away from you,

    rissa. I want you more than any f*****g piece of gold on this b****y.¡±

    My lips part at his confession.

    ¡°Do you think anyone can stay away from lips like this?¡± He whispers as he gently leaves a peck on my

    lips.

    ¡°Or this chest?¡± He asks as his hand travels right above my breasts.

    He does the same thing he did to my lips. He leaves a soft kiss there.

    ¡°And you already know how crazy I am for these.¡± He growls as his hands grip both of my breasts and

    tightly squeeze.

    He doesn¡¯t stop there. I¡¯m a little disappointed when he doesn¡¯t touch my n*****s; I thought he would

    have left a kiss as he¡¯d done before.

    He grabs my thighs next. ¡°I love touching and squeezing them. I love how easily they get pink for me.¡±

    I gasp when he spreads my legs wide and settles his face between my thighs. He slowly nibbles on

    both sides, and I almost lose myself in those seconds. I was getting increasingly wet between my legs,

    and I¡¯m sure that he could smell my arousal.

    ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful down here, rissa.¡± He whispers as he slowly removes my panties so I¡¯m left

    bare for him.

    ¡°I can stare at it for days.¡± He says in a husky tone. ¡°For hours. For months. It doesn¡¯t matter the order.

    I love how responsive she is for me.¡±

    I cry out when he flicks his finger against it but in a gentle manner. ¡°See.¡± He says as if to prove his

    point.

    ¡°She glistens.¡± He groans. ¡°Every f*****g time.¡±

    ¡°Damon!¡± I cry when he slips a finger inside. He closes his eyes like he¡¯s in pain. ¡°I can¡¯t hold back

    tonight, rissa. I¡¯m so sorry, but I need you. I need to get f*****g lost in your p***y. I need to bury my

    d**k inside of you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think any words could make me this happy, but there they were, bringing joy throughout my

    body.

    I know how he feels because I felt exactly the same way. I didn¡¯t just want this; I needed it.

    I push him away, and his eyes are wide with surprise. After all, I¡¯ve been the one begging for this for so

    long.

    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± he asks me gently. ¡°Do you want to wait? I¡¯m sorry¡ª¡±

    ¡°I want to touch you,¡± I say before he can say anything else.

    ¡°What?¡± he asks, surprised.

    I don¡¯t allow him to think about what I just said. I pushed him down on the bed and climbed on top of

    him.

    He still had the towel on, but I could feel him beneath me. He¡¯s big and pulsing beneath me.

    ¡°rissa, I don¡¯t think I can¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shh,¡± I whisper as I lightly blow on his chest. I loved watching him shiver under me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve dreamt about this,¡± I confess as I kiss his chest gently.

    ¡°About this?¡± he asks, surprised.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I admit as I run my hands down his chest. ¡°You¡¯re beautiful, Damon. And most importantly, you¡¯re

    mine.¡±

    His eyes sh dangerously at my words.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    ¡°But there¡¯s a part of you that I haven¡¯t made mine yet,¡± I whisper against his ear. I felt his d**k stir

    beneath me at my words. He knows what I¡¯m talking about.

    I removed the towel from around him and positioned myself so that I was facing it.

    ¡°What are you doing¡ª¡±

    I covered his d**k with my mouth, and Damon¡¯s entire body shook in response. I ced both hands on

    his thigh and made myself morefortable as I tried to take more of him into my mouth.

    ¡°rissa.¡± He groans. ¡°I can¡¯t¡ªah, f**k!¡±

    He grabs my hair and pulls me off him. I didn¡¯t have time to prepare as he turned us over, so I was now

    under him.

    ¡°Look at me,¡± he whispers, and that¡¯s the only warning I have before he thrusts forwards. I cry out when

    I feel him inside of me.

    ¡°Damon.¡± I gasp as I grab the sheets on either side of us.

    ¡°Shh,¡± he whispers, but I can hardly recognize his voice. He sounds like he¡¯s in pain.

    He slowly pulls out of me only to push right back in, this time deeper than thest.

    Damon¡¯s body began to shiver above mine, and I ran my hands up and down his back to support him.

    ¡°f**k rissa.¡± He growls. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to stop.¡±

    Why would he want to stop this?

    ¡°Keep going!¡± I cry.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt you?¡± he asks in surprise.

    I shook my head, and I didn¡¯t even realize tears were flowing down my cheeks. He leans over and

    kisses each of them. They were happy tears, I¡¯ve wanted this for years, and I finally had it.

    Damon was mine,pletely mine.

    He buries his face against my neck, and I gasp when his teeth graze the spot beneath my ear as he

    begins to really move. I bite my lips to stop the screams of pleasure. But before anything could happen,

    Damon rudely pulls out of me and grabs my dress from the side of the bed.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I ask in shock.

    ¡°Put on your clothes!¡± he orders me. ¡°Something is wrong.¡±

    Something is wrong?

    ¡°Someone is here.¡± He continues as he grabs pants from the suitcase.

    Was someone here?

    Did Dante or Atticus follow us here?

    ¡°Is it¡ª¡±

    I gasped when I heard a bang on the door.

    ¡°It¡¯s not my brothers,¡± Damon says with worry in his eyes as though he¡¯d just read my mind.

    ¡°Then who could it be?¡± I ask him.

    ¡°Whether we like it or not, we are about to find out.¡± He whispers as he takes my hand in his.

 Chapter 154

    Chapter 154

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 154

    Book 2 Chapter 77

    ~AUTUMN~

    ¡°What the hell is wrong with you?¡± I demand from Atticus. ¡°How could you hit your brother?¡±

    He runs a hand down his face, ¡°how can you be okay with all of this?¡± He demands. ¡°rissa is my

    sister, and until a few days ago, I thought Damon also considered her his sister.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re in love,¡± I shout. ¡°In love, Atticus. Like the both of us. I love you, and if I were in rissa¡¯s

    situation, I would have done the same thing. Their love for each other is not wrong. You shouldn¡¯t treat

    them the way that you did earlier.¡±

    He sits on the edge of the bed and drops his face in his hands. ¡°You don¡¯t understand, Autumn. It¡¯s

    hard to ept my sister and brother being in love. I know she¡¯s my adopted sister, but she¡¯s my sister.

    He¡¯s my brother. Every time I think about it, I feel sick to my stomach. I don¡¯t know how to ept it. I

    don¡¯t know how to be happy for them. I wish it were easier; I wish it were different.¡±

    I sit beside him and gently ce a hand on his tensed shoulder. ¡°I know it¡¯s going to be hard. It isn¡¯t a

    situation that your family would easily ept, I understand that, but you shouldn¡¯t have done what you

    did. Damon may not have supported our marriage initially, but he did ept it eventually, I¡¯m sure he

    will appreciate it if you could do the same thing for him.¡±

    I can see how much this is hurting Atticus, but he needs to ept them one way or the other. If he and

    the rest of the family don¡¯t ept them soon, we will lose them both. And that¡¯s thest thing that I

    wanted. rissa was like a sister to me. I would not lose her over something like this.

    ¡°You need to talk to your family.¡± I urge him. ¡°They will listen to you.¡±Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Did you even see the look on Dante¡¯s face?¡± He demands. ¡°He recently lost the woman he was in love

    with, and now he finds out that rissa and Damon are in love with each other. I don¡¯t think there is

    anything that I could say to make him change his mind.¡±

    I sigh. I knew Dante would probably be thest one to ept any of this, but the main problem was the

    family¡¯s elders. They had to ept it first, and I knew Atticus would be able to convince them. He was

    always good at convincing his family; my job was to get Atticus first to understand what I was trying to

    say to him.

    ¡°You care about both rissa and Damon.¡± I remind him. ¡°And their happiness is being with each

    other. I know you¡¯re still upset with me for keeping this from you, but I had to be there for rissa. I

    don¡¯t know how to exin it, but I wanted to make her happy. I have this bond with her, my heart tells

    me that she¡¯s my sister, and maybe it¡¯s because of the support she¡¯s always given to me. I wanted to

    return the favor. She was there for me during the hard times, and I wanted to take care of her as well. I

    hope you can forgive me for it, Atticus. But please, right now, I need you to try your best to ept

    them. They will need all of us when outsiders learn about their rtionship. It won¡¯t be easy for them,

    and you know it. We can¡¯t abandon them when they need us the most.¡±

    He surprised me when he wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face in my chest. ¡°I didn¡¯t

    mean to go all crazy on them or you.¡± He whispers. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Autumn. Just the thought of them being

    together made me angry. I didn¡¯t want to believe that Damon was taking advantage of rissa. I didn¡¯t

    want to believe that he would ever overstep his boundaries like I thought he did. Now that I know how

    much they love each other, I think I¡¯m willing to try and be more understanding.¡±

    I bury my hands in his hair and press my lips to his forehead. ¡°Thank you, Atticus. I know this isn¡¯t easy

    for you. But thank you. With your help, we could convince your family to bring them back home.¡±

    ¡°Do you know where we can find them?¡± He asks me.

    ¡°Thest message from rissa informed me that they were returning to the beach house. They will

    stay there until tomorrow. Damon is hoping to find somewhere else to stay.¡± I answer him. ¡°If we can

    get your parents down there by tomorrow or even tonight, we can convince them to return home.¡±

    Atticus nods, ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s talk to my parents.¡±

    We barge into their room a few minutester. His mother¡¯s eyes were swollen and she¡¯s definitely been

    crying.

    ¡°Mom.¡± Atticus greets her first. ¡°Dad.¡±

    ¡°We are having a private discussion Atticus, why don¡¯t youe backter?¡± His father asks him.

    ¡°This is important.¡± Atticus informs him. ¡°It¡¯s about rissa and Damon. I think that you should support

    their rtionship.¡±

    His parents looks both surprised and unhappy with his suggestion.

    ¡°Atticus, what are you saying?¡± His mother demands. ¡°Just a while ago you were saying something

    completely different. How can we allow this rtionship to continue?¡±

    ¡°You love them both.¡± Atticus answers her. ¡°One of them is your biological son, and the other, is your

    daughter no matter what others say. I know this isn¡¯t something any of us can easily ept, it¡¯s

    something that none of us expected. However, we all love them. We want them to be happy and if it¡¯s

    being with each other, we should not get in the way. This is simr to when you learned the truth about

    Autumn. It was hard at first to ept everything but eventually you did the right thing. You epted

    her. Please consider doing the same for Damon and rissa. If you don¡¯t, we will lose them both.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t have said it any better. Now all we had to do was hope that it works.

 Chapter 155

    Chapter 155

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 155

    Book 2 Chapter 78

    ~CLARISSA~

    ¡°Who are you?¡± I scream. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Damon¡¯s arms are tight around me. I lean more into him, terrified of what is about to happen. There

    were so many of them, at least fifteen men surrounding us.

    After the banging on the door earlier, they broke it down before we had even gotten a chance to open

    it. Then they¡¯d dragged us outside. Damon fought hard until he¡¯d gotten me into his arms again, but I

    wasn¡¯t sure how long it would be before they¡¯d dragged me away from him again.

    Now it seemed like they were ying with our emotions. They could take me; with the amount of them,

    I knew they could drag me away from him if they really wanted to. However, it seemed as though these

    men had plenty to say before they tried to attack us.

    There¡¯s a tattoo on the side of their neck, continuing down their arm. Something about it seemed

    familiar to me.

    Where have I seen it before? If I hadn¡¯t seen it, I knew I¡¯d at least heard about it. My brain was not

    functioning properly, and it was because of the fear in my heart. I was terrified that these people would

    harm my mate. I was terrified of what they were capable of doing. I knew nothing about them, but they

    seemed to know me.

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    There was this look in their eyes that creeped me out; they stared at me like I was their prize.

    ¡°We are here because of you, rissa.¡± The leader says, at least that¡¯s what he introduced himself as

    earlier. ¡°Like I¡¯ve said to you before. It seems as though you aren¡¯t listening to me. I don¡¯t like that,

    rissa. I need to have your full attention.¡±

    Damon¡¯s hands tighten around me, holding me even closer than before. There was a strange darkness

    about these men; it terrified me.

    The strangest part of all of this was the fact that a piece of me, a tiny piece, felt like I knew them. Like I

    knew all of them. It didn¡¯t make me feel any better. I shouldn¡¯t know these people. Anyone that behaved

    like this should not be people that I knew.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I demand. ¡°I don¡¯t know any of you. Why could you possibly be here for me?

    Please give me an exnation for all of this. Do you even know who my family is?¡±

    I can¡¯t stop staring at the tattoo. I know I¡¯ve seen it somewhere in the past.

    But where?

    ¡°You¡¯re our princess, that¡¯s why.¡± He informs me. ¡°Our very own princess rissa. And yes, I know who

    your family is rissa. They aren¡¯t important. There is nothing they can do to stop this from

    happening.¡±

    ¡°W-what?¡± I ask in disbelief. ¡°Are you insane? Your princess? Is this some prank on us?¡±

    Was some i***t trying to mess with us? Maybe someone found out about my rtionship with Damon,

    someone other than our family, and this was possibly a dumb game to that person.

    He chuckles, ¡°You remind me a lot of your sister rissa.¡± He tells me. ¡°She was just as clueless about

    us when I first exined who we were to her. She also gave me a lot of trouble. However, she was

    much easier to kidnap. All it took was one cloth over her face, and she was unconscious. You didn¡¯t

    give us the chance to do the same to you.¡±

    My sister?

    I stiffen in Damon¡¯s arms.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you¡¯re talking about,¡± I confess. ¡°I was adopted, and I know nothing about my real

    family.¡±

    I have dreamt of a brother multiple times but not a sister. These people were insane. I had to find a way

    to call for help. I couldn¡¯t wait for them to kidnap me, and clearly, that was their crazy n.

    I buried my head against Damon¡¯s chest and pretended to stay there while trying to send a message to

    Autumn. It was just one word, ¡®help,¡¯ but I knew it would be enough to get her toe for me.

    She already knew where I was. Now all I had to do was find a way to buy some time. Maybe if I kept

    asking questions, I could keep them talking.

    I didn¡¯t understand these men¡¯s power, but if they tried to hurt Damon, I wouldn¡¯t stand back and watch.

    ¡°Your sister has been by your side all along,¡± he informs me. ¡°You just haven¡¯t known about it.¡±

    Of course she has. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. If my sister was by my side, I think I would be

    able to tell. Surely there would have been signs.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± I snap. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me your name? Who exactly are you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know everything after we take you with us .¡± He answers me. ¡°I¡¯ll answer all your questions once

    youe with me.¡±

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°I¡¯m nevering with you.¡±

    It was the truth. I would fight until I had nothing left within me. I would not give up. I would not let them

    win.

    ¡°If any of you take a step forward¡ª,¡± Damon begins to say before he¡¯s rudely cut off.

    ¡°Do you think you could stop all of us from taking her?¡± He demands. ¡°If you give up now, we will let

    you live, but if you insist on disobeying us, today will be yourst day alive, Damon Fawn. We¡¯ve been

    watching you a while now, and I can safely say that you are not fit for our princess. She¡¯s too good for

    you. It will be in your best interest to let her go as you¡¯ve done in the past. We know your true love died.

    Anya, was it? Anyway, after her death is when you suddenly decided that you wanted to be with our

    princess. I think that she¡¯s your second choice. For that, you must let her go or die a painful death!¡±

 Chapter 156

    Chapter 156

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 156

    Book 2 Chapter 79

    ~CLARISSA~

    My eyes widen at his threat. I knew Damon would never willingly let me go. I couldn¡¯t stand back and

    let them harm him because of me. He¡¯s already in a lot of trouble with everyone else. Some of his

    bruises hadn¡¯t evenpletely healed from his fight with Dante. What the hell did these people want?

    And how did they know about Anya?

    How long have they been watching us? How long have they been nning all of this? They chose to

    attack us when it was just the two of us. It means that they have been waiting for this opportunity to

    strike.

    ¡°I think you have the wrong person,¡± I say. I¡¯m trying to stall them. I knew Autumn would be on her way

    with help as long as she¡¯d seen my message. It wouldn¡¯t take long for her to be here. ¡°There¡¯s nothing

    that I can do for you. So please, if you want, I can help you find who you¡¯re truly looking for. I¡¯ll help, but

    you must promise not to hurt Damon. He has nothing to do with any of this, so please leave him alone.¡±

    ¡°We will leave him alone when he lets go of you, rissa,¡± Skyler assured me. ¡°That¡¯s all he has to do.

    Let go of you. His future depends solely on him.¡±

    They weren¡¯t listening to me. They seemed to be convinced that they had the right person. And they

    would undoubtedly hurt Damon unless he let go of me. How did I convince him to let me go? I would do

    anything to save him.

    But something still bothered me. What if these people were telling the truth? I didn¡¯t know anything

    about my life before the Fawns entered it. What if this wasn¡¯t a lie?

    Who was I, exactly? Who was my real family?

    . . . . . . . . .

    ~AUTUMN~

    ¡°We¡¯re almost there,¡± Atticus tells me as he holds my hand to keep me calm. I¡¯d just gotten a message

    from rissa. It was just one word, but it sent chills down my spine.

    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t send that unless she were in serious trouble,¡± I tell him. ¡°I¡¯m scared, Atticus. I¡¯m scared

    that something horrible is happening.¡±

    My hands were shaking, and Atticus could tell by the way he kept ncing at me, trying to see if I was

    okay.

    I didn¡¯t understand what could have happened within a few hours of them leaving home. I thought they

    would be safe at the beach house. I thought that everything would be okay once we got to them and

    told them that they could return home. However, we never got the chance to do it before this damn

    message was sent to my phone. We were toote.

    ¡°Call Dante,¡± Atticus says as his phone quickly obeys.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Dante asks after answering. ¡°I hope it has nothing to do with Damon. I don¡¯t want to

    speak to him. If I see him, I¡¯ll only want to punch his face again.¡±

    Atticus looks at me before saying, ¡°rissa just sent a text asking for help. Something has happened

    to them. They¡¯re at the beach house where we spent those two days recently. I¡¯m almost there. I need

    you to tell the others and join us there as soon as possible. I don¡¯t know what we¡¯re against, but we

    should prepare ourselves for the worst. This could have something to do with that fire surrounding

    rissa in the forest. Maybe those people finally got the opportunity to strike again. Just be on the

    lookout for an ambush and warn the others!¡±

    Just as he ends the call, we pull up to the driveway. Atticus reaches over and removes my seatbelt for

    me. Just as I open the door, the sound of rissa¡¯s screams sends a cold shiver down my spine.

    ¡°rissa!¡± I scream in response. I rush out of the vehicle and run toward the horrifying sounds.

    Atticus grabs my hand and pulls me along with him as we move in the same direction.

    Before we could move forward, we were both f****d to stop. We couldn¡¯t move an inch. There was

    something in front of us preventing us from reaching our destination.

    Fire.

    There was fire everywhere. So much fire that it made it hard for me to see anything.

    ¡°Where the hell did this firee from?¡± Atticus shouts above the mes. It wasn¡¯t there a second ago.

    Was this why she called us? Because of a fire? Just like the one that had trapped her in the forest. Was

    it another ambush? Another attack on our family?

    ¡°rissa!¡± I shout. ¡°Where are you?¡±

    I gasped when someone grabbed me by my waist and pulled me along. I look back in time to see two

    men dragging Atticus; he is unconscious. How could he be unconscious? He was speaking to me a few

    seconds ago!

    What the hell did they do to him?

    ¡°Atticus!¡± I scream.C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    The man still holding me covers my mouth, and I bite down on his hand hard.

    He chuckles against my ear, ¡°Still so feisty.¡±

    I freeze.

    I knew that voice. I quickly look up, and horror settles in my stomach.

    Skyler.

    He was back for me.

    Did he force rissa to send me that message? Or did he use her to lure me here tonight?

    ¡°You didn¡¯t think I would forget about you, did you?¡± He asks with a bright smile.

    ¡°Where is rissa?¡± I demand. ¡°What did you do to her?¡±

    He sighs, ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to speak to her nicely, but yet she was the one that tried to kill me with this

    fire. She is just as aggressive as you are.¡±

    ¡°She tried to kill you with this fire?¡± I repeat his words.

    He nods, ¡°Look ahead and see for yourself.¡±

    I follow his gaze, and my body turns to stone at what I see next. rissa was in front of me, protecting

    a bleeding Damon on the ground beside her. But that¡¯s not what terrified me.

    The dark symbol. It was true. And it was staring me straight in the eye.

    I can¡¯t breathe.

    rissa.

    It couldn¡¯t be true.

    I look up to Skyler for confirmation, and he grins at me. ¡°Say hello to your sister, Autumn. I know how

    much you wanted to meet her.¡±

 Chapter 157

    Chapter 157

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 157

    BOOK 2 CHAPTER 80

    ~CLARISSA~

    There was fire everywhere, and for the first time in my life, I felt powerful. I didn¡¯t have to wonder where

    it came from anymore. I knew this time that this fire belonged to me. It was listening to mymand,

    helping me as it had done in Anya¡¯s home.

    What did this mean? Who the hell am I?

    ¡°rissa!¡± I heard a scream that I recognized immediately.

    I look up and feel happiness seep through my body when I see Autumn with tears in her eyes staring at

    me.

    ¡°Say good night, princess.¡±

    That¡¯s thest thing I remember hearing before everything goespletely nk.

    The next time I open my eyes, I¡¯m strapped to a table with a bright light above my head.

    I look around the room and am surprised when I see Autumn on a table next to me, strapped down.

    Why did they have both of us here? Where was Damon?

    Please tell me they didn¡¯t hurt him. Please tell me he¡¯s okay.

    ¡°Autumn,¡± I croak. ¡°Wake up!¡±

    Her eyes are still closed, and I know I must keep trying. She had the power to get us out of here; I

    know she did.

    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

    I just had to figure out where the hell this was.

    ¡°Autumn!¡± I shout louder.

    Her eyes slowly open, and she looks around the room before her eyes fall on me. ¡°rissa?¡±

    I breathe a sigh of relief. ¡°Do you know where we are?¡±

    She takes a look around us before shepletely freezes. She looks over at me once more.

    Her eyes have tears, making me sad to see her this way.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I assure her. ¡°I¡¯m here with you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Look at your arm rissa.¡±

    I frown. Look at my arm. It was a weird request, but I did as she asked. I was surprised when I saw a

    symbol that wasn¡¯t there before. It was almost like it was part of me, like a branding.

    It was a weird symbol, one that I didn¡¯t recognize¡ªa circle with a serpent inside.

    ¡°Did those psychopaths do this to me?¡± I ask in horror. ¡°Did they brand me with this horrible symbol?¡±

    The tears are flowing more from Autumn, and it scares me. ¡°No.¡± She whispers. ¡°rissa, you were

    born with that symbol. They did not have to put it there. It is a part of you. You¡¯re one with that symbol.

    It¡¯s known as the dark symbol.¡±

    ¡°The dark symbol?¡± I ask her. I¡¯ve heard that already.

    She nods, ¡°do you remember what I told you about my father?¡± She asks. ¡°Azai Reign. The sorcerer

    who tried to rule the world. I was the only sibling out of three that didn¡¯t possess the dark symbol. My

    other two siblings were born with it.¡±

    What was she trying to tell me?

    ¡°I know it may seem scary at first, rissa, but the proof is right before us.¡± She says. ¡°You¡¯re the

    daughter of Azai Reign. You are a Reign. And most importantly, you are my sister.¡±

    Autumn¡¯s words have shocked me to the very core. For a few minutes, all I can do is stare at the bright

    lights above me. It¡¯s not possible. I cannot be his daughter. I cannot be a sorcerer¡¯s daughter.

    No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I couldn¡¯t deny the things I¡¯d seen or the power inside of me

    that had only recently been unleashed.

    That fire has been waiting for the right opportunity to break free, and it has finally done so.

    Everything those men said to me made sense now. It¡¯s why they referred to my sister multiple times.

    It¡¯s been Autumn all along. She¡¯s been my sister this entire time.

    I still didn¡¯t want to believe it. I never thought that my birth father would be someone so insane. A part

    of me always hoped that my parents were alive, but I was happy that he was gone. I can¡¯t imagine what

    life would have been like if he was still alive. Things would have been so much more different. I would

    have never met Damon, and I can¡¯t find anything more depressing than not having him in my life.

    ¡°I know it¡¯s scary,¡± Autumn tells me. ¡°It was hard for me at first to ept it. Even now, I wish my father

    was someone else, but there¡¯s no use running from it. And if I had a chance to wish for a sister, I would

    have wished for someone like you. Knowing now that you are indeed my sister, it makes me so happy.

    I¡¯m happy that it¡¯s you, rissa.¡±

    I can feel the tears forming in my eyes at her confession. We were both crying now.

    ¡°I feel the same way, Autumn,¡± I respond. ¡°You were wonderful to me even before I knew who you

    were. I¡¯m thankful that I¡¯ve finally found you.¡±

    She smiles, ¡°No matter what happens today. I¡¯m d we are finally reunited.¡±

    I nod; it¡¯s true; we had no clue what would happen to us after this reunion.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re listening to us, Skyler,¡± Autumn says suddenly. ¡°You cane out from the dark now. I

    can sense you.¡±

    A shiver runs down my spine when I hear a man¡¯sughter.

    He does as she says and walks into the light where we can have a full view of him.

    ¡°You have improved, Autumn.¡± He praises her. ¡°I¡¯m impressed. I must say that this was indeed a

    beautiful reunion.¡±

    ¡°Why are we here?¡± She demands. ¡°What the hell do you want with us?¡±

    ¡°Is that any way to speak to an old friend?¡± He asks her. ¡°I¡¯m on your side, Autumn. I don¡¯t mean you or

    your sister any harm. We are here to protect you both.¡±

    ¡°Stop lying.¡± She growls. ¡°You¡¯re here to control us. You want to turn us into the monster our father was.

    I don¡¯t care what you try; it will never work. rissa and I are nothing like our father, and nothing you

    do to us can change that.¡±

    The thought of us ever bing like our father terrified me.

    ¡°I hate to hear you curse your father¡¯s good name, Autumn.¡± He scolds her. ¡°He was a very good man

    with different views from society. If you open your mind a little, maybe you could see that too.¡±

    ¡°Get us out of here.¡± She shouts, ignoring his words.

    ¡°Where is Damon?¡± I demand. ¡°What did you do to him?¡±

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    Chapter 158

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 158

    BOOK 2 CHAPTER 81

    ~DAMON~

    ¡°Damon!¡± I hear someone shouting my name. ¡°Son! Wake up!¡±

    Mother. It was her panicked voice. Every part of my body was in pain, and I couldn¡¯t remember

    anything.

    ¡°Damon!¡±

    I slowly open my eyes and find her standing above me with tears in her eyes.

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Mom.¡±

    She runs a hand down my face, ¡°You¡¯re okay. We are here now.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± I ask as I take a look around me.

    Most of the beach house was burnt to the ground, and Atticus was unconscious a few feet away from

    me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember?¡± she asks. ¡°Atticus sent us a warning; he told us that rissa sent Autumn a

    message asking for help. When we arrived, we found the house on fire. After searching, we found you

    and Atticus unconscious on the sand.¡±

    At her words, I could feel my mind begin to spin. All of the memories of the fight were returning to me.

    rissa and I were attacked by men I hadn¡¯t seen before. I tried to protect her from them, I wanted to

    prevent them from taking her, but I had failed miserably.

    Ist remember hearing rissa¡¯s screams and then a sudden burst of mes. I was knocked out after

    that.

    ¡°Where is rissa?¡± I shouted as I pushed myself off the ground. I wince at the sudden ringing in my

    head. I ignored the pain as I looked around for her.

    Atticus groaned as my father tried waking him.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t see no sign of her or Autumn.¡± She informs me.

    ¡°Autumn is missing as well?¡± I ask her in horror.

    What the hell did this mean?

    ¡°Why would they take both Autumn and rissa?¡± I demand. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡±

    Unless. . .

    A new fear sinks as I realize something I should have done since I first saw that tattoo on those men.

    ¡°What is it?¡± My mother asks me.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Autumn?¡± Atticus demands the second he¡¯s awake and back to his senses.

    I held my head as everything started to make sense. I saw something before I lost consciousness,

    something that could change all of our lives for good. It wasn¡¯t the first time I¡¯d seen it. It also happened

    on the same day that Anya¡¯s mother was killed. I dismissed it back then, but now I realize I should have

    looked more into it.

    ¡°The dark symbol,¡± I whisper.

    ¡°What did you just say?¡± Atticus demands, he wasn¡¯t the only one who¡¯s heard me.

    ¡°Did you just say the dark symbol?¡± Griffin asks me.

    ¡°I have to be mistaken,¡± I whisper, trying to find the strength now that I know who¡¯s taken rissa from

    me.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Damon?¡± Atticus growls. ¡°Would you please f*****g exin what is happening here?

    Where is my wife? Where is my sister? Where the hell are they?¡±

    ¡°I saw the dark symbol.¡± I finally answer him.

    ¡°Where did you see it?¡± He asks. ¡°Who was it on?¡±

    ¡°rissa.¡±

    There¡¯s a moment of silence as my answer reaches the ear of everyone around me.

    ¡°rissa?¡± My mother asks in disbelief. ¡°What was the dark symbol doing on rissa?¡±

    ¡°The fire in the forest,¡± I say in horror. ¡°An outsider didn¡¯t cause it. That was rissa¡¯s doing. She didn¡¯t

    know it then. She didn¡¯t understand it. She was so upset that I was getting engaged to Anya that she¡¯d

    done that herself. On the day that Anya¡¯s mother died, all of those witches lost their power somehow

    and gave us the upper hand. It wasn¡¯t their mistake; it was rissa¡¯s power awakening. I¡¯d seen the

    symbol back then but thought nothing of it; now I realize I should have paid more attention to it. All of

    the signs have always been around.¡±

    ¡°This is insane,¡± Atticus says as he lifts his head towards the sky. ¡°f*****g insane. Does this mean what

    I think it does?¡±

    I nod, ¡°rissa is none other than Azai Reign¡¯s daughter. Autumn¡¯s sister. They¡¯ve been sisters, and

    none of us knew it.¡±

    ¡°Actually,¡± Grandfather says as he walks towards us. ¡°Your grandmother and I knew all along who

    rissa was. It¡¯s why we convinced your parents to adopt her.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± My mother demands from him. ¡°You knew that rissa was a Reign this entire time, and you

    never once thought we should know this?¡±

    He nods, ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t have adopted her if you¡¯d known the truth. We made a promise to

    protect those girls, and it is a promise I intend to keep. I¡¯m d we epted rissa into our lives; she

    brought us joy. It doesn¡¯t matter who her father is; you¡¯re her parents now. You must protect her as

    well.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± My father says in shock. ¡°You knew the dangers, and you still chose to protect

    her?¡±

    ¡°Is she not your daughter?¡± He demands from my father. ¡°Would you not give your life for her even after

    knowing who her real father is?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I would.¡± My father growls. ¡°But you should not have kept this a secret from the rest of us.

    We should have known the truth. We have a family to protect. What would be done about the f*****g

    overlords now that rissa is revealed to be a Reign? What are we supposed to do?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time to fight!¡± I roar. ¡°rissa is missing! My mate is missing! I need to get her back

    before I lose my f*****g mind.¡±

    ¡°Your mate?¡± My mother demands. ¡°You don¡¯t just love her? She¡¯s also your mate?¡±

    I closed my eyes; she was indeed my mate. I hate myself for taking so long to notice who she was to

    me.

    ¡°The moment Anya died, I knew for sure,¡± I answered her. ¡°I always had doubts, but when Anya¡¯s spell

    completely left my body, I knew rissa belonged to me.¡±

    And after joining with her a few hours ago, I knew that I wasn¡¯t f*****g wrong. I was only a few seconds

    away from marking her before those bastards took her from me.

    ¡°They have Autumn. Once again, they have her.¡± Atticus says in disbelief. ¡°How the f**k are we going to

    find them now?¡±

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    Chapter 159

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 159

    BOOK 2 CHAPTER 82

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    ~DAMON~

    ¡°We can¡¯t do this on our own,¡± Atticus says. I knew we couldn¡¯t. Of course, we couldn¡¯t. Not when we¡¯ve

    been failing so far.

    It¡¯s been a few hours since Autumn and rissa have been kidnapped.

    We had no leads, and despite the money already spent, no one could help us find them. We¡¯d also

    been searching within those hours, and I felt restless. I had no idea what those psychopaths were

    doing with my mate. I¡¯ve never been away from rissa for this long while, not knowing where she

    was. It was killing me inside.

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± I agree. ¡°You know exactly how I¡¯m feeling. If I don¡¯t find her soon, I will lose it.¡±

    He nods, ¡°I¡¯ve called Austin and his family over. I¡¯ve already informed them of what¡¯s happening.

    They¡¯re going to help us.¡±

    ¡°Where the hell could he have them?¡± I ask him. ¡°We¡¯d followed every lead possible, including

    everything Autumn has told us in the past. Why aren¡¯t we finding them?¡±

    ¡°He must have moved,¡± Atticus answers me. ¡°It¡¯s the only exnation. But since they love being

    underground, I assume they are in a different location. That¡¯s why it¡¯s much harder to find them.¡±

    ¡°And what about the overlords?¡± I ask him. ¡°What are we going to do when they find out that rissa is

    also a Reign?¡±

    Frustrated, he closes his eyes, ¡°I don¡¯t know, Damon. I was hoping that Autumn would never find her

    siblings. I know it¡¯s a selfish wish, but I knew that her life would be in more danger once she found

    them. Now we know that rissa was her sister all along. That¡¯s insane. Together they¡¯re more

    powerful. Now all that¡¯s missing is theirst sibling. I don¡¯t even want to think about it. All I want to do is

    find Autumn. We will deal with everything else after.¡±

    I nod; I also want rissa back quickly. I didn¡¯t want to wait longer to have her back in my arms.

    ¡°They¡¯re here!¡± My mother informs us.

    Austin, Hunter, Isabe, Lucy, Arthur, and Gabrie are the six that I see. Where were the others?

    Gabrie runs over to Atticus and hugs him, ¡°Are you okay?¡± She asks.

    He shook his head. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m alive but barely breathing. I don¡¯t know where she is. I don¡¯t know

    what to do to find her.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Austin tells us. ¡°We will find a way to get them back. One way or another, we will get

    them both back alive.¡±

    Hunter nods at me, and I acknowledge his presence. ¡°What do we know so far?¡± He asks.

    ¡°We know that Skyler is responsible for taking them. He¡¯s the leader of Azai¡¯s remaining followers.¡± I

    answer him. ¡°We don¡¯t know much about them. They were hidden for so long, and almost all of the

    information about them has been destroyed.¡±

    ¡°How did those men not burn alive?¡± Austin asks. He already knew of rissa¡¯s power after Atticus

    gave him a summary of what had happened over the phone.

    ¡°I assume they must possess something that protects them from it,¡± I suggest. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is,

    but I wish those motherfuckers had diedst night in that fire.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible that they also cannot be harmed by Azai¡¯s power; they are considered one. rissa and

    Autumn are both their princesses.¡± Gabrie says. ¡°If rissa and Autumn cannot hurt them, we at

    least can.¡±

    It was true. I liked the way she thought. If they couldn¡¯t hurt them, we definitely could. And hurt them

    was exactly what I was nning on doing.

    ¡°I have someone who has eyes everywhere,¡± Hunter tells us. ¡°I already got into contact with him. All we

    have to do now is wait for him to respond.¡±

    That¡¯s good. We needed someone like that to give us some good news.

    ¡°Maya and Kane, along with Eden and James, are already out there looking,¡± Austin tells me. ¡°Lucas is

    having some marriage problems and sadly could not make it. As you can tell, life with those ckners

    isn¡¯t exactly easy.¡±

    He didn¡¯t need to tell me that. I understood how hard it was for them not to be in love and marry

    someone who wasn¡¯t their mate. Their rules were freaking insane.

    ¡°What are we waiting for?¡± I ask them. ¡°We¡¯re wasting time just standing here and waiting for someone

    to tell us where to start looking.¡±

    Atticus nods, ¡°Let¡¯s get the hell out of here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ming with you,¡± Dante tells me, and I¡¯m surprised he even said a word to me. Things weren¡¯t

    exactly good between us.

    ¡°I¡¯ming as well,¡± Willow says.

    ¡°No.¡± Dante stops her. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± She demands. ¡°Autumn and rissa have both been nothing but kind to me. Why can¡¯t I help

    search for them with the rest of you?¡±

    ¡°Because your sister asked me to protect you, and that¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m going to f*****g do.¡± He

    answers her.

    She looks disappointed by his words, but she doesn¡¯t try to change his mind. She steps back and

    allows him to move past her.

    ¡°We¡¯reing as well.¡± My mother tells me. ¡°They¡¯re both our daughters, and we are getting them

    back.¡±

    It felt good to hear her say that. I needed their support. I needed everyone¡¯s support to get rissa

    back.

    ¡°We got it,¡± Hunter says suddenly.

    ¡°Do you know where to find them?¡± I demand, hopeful.

    He nods, ¡°I have information, and it¡¯s exactly what we need right now.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Austin shouts as we all follow him out of the house.

    We got into different vehicles while Hunter led in his. I hoped that Hunter knew what he was talking

    about. He was usually good at finding missing people. They¡¯d helped our family in the past, and I

    believed I could trust their word. If they said they knew where to look, we would blindly follow.

    This was it.

    I¡¯ming for you, rissa. I¡¯ming for you.

 Chapter 160

    Chapter 160

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 160

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    BOOK 2 CHAPTER 83

    ~CLARISSA~

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t he telling us where our mates are?¡± I ask Autumn. Skyler refused to tell us what he had done

    to Damon and Atticus. They were both present when they¡¯d taken us from the beach house. So what

    did they do to them?

    I needed to know the truth and I couldn¡¯t wait any longer.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Autumn assured me. ¡°We are going to get out of here, and we will find them. Trust me.¡±

    I force myself to smile. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve been my sister all along. I should have known. You

    always acted like my long-lost sister.¡±

    She nods, ¡°I should have known as well. I felt a connection with you more than once. Something inside

    me kept telling me you were my sister, but I ignored that inner voice. I should have listened to it and

    dug deeper.¡±

    We both get quiet as the reality of our situation begins to sink in.

    ¡°They will let us go,¡± Autumn tells me suddenly.

    ¡°Why do you think they will?¡± I ask her. She seemed confident that these men would somehow free us.

    ¡°Because they also let me go.¡± She answers me. ¡°I didn¡¯t understand why at first, but now I know. They

    need all three of us together. They need our brother. Only when they have the three of us can they do

    what they have nned?¡±

    My brother.

    I knew him from my nightmares. If those dreams were indeed from my past, his name had to be

    Cassius. But were those dreams memories from my past? If that was true, where were they now? Why

    did they put me up for adoption? None of it made sense to me.

    If they genuinely needed all three of us, why did they kidnap us now only to let us go again? They had

    done that to Autumn before; they¡¯d taken her but let her escape. She was the one that freed herself,

    but she was convinced that they wanted her to flee in the past.

    ¡°They must have a reason for taking us only to release us afterward,¡± I tell Autumn. ¡°What do you think

    their reason is?¡±

    She shrugs, ¡°I wish I knew the answer, rissa. I wish I had the power to protect you right now. But

    these men, they know how to stop us from using our power. It must have been something our father

    taught them in the past. We can¡¯t leave here unless they want us to.¡±

    We both stopped talking the second Skyler walked back into the room. I don¡¯t think it made a difference

    if he¡¯d heard us; I was sure they had cameras here to spy on us when they weren¡¯t around.

    ¡°I brought you both some food.¡± He says as he walks in with a syringe in his hand.

    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Autumn demands. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to let us go like you didst time?¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°I thought you were the one that escaped Autumn. Why do you think I let you go thest

    time?¡±

    Autumn narrows her eyes, ¡°I¡¯m not ying this game with you. Let us go.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something I want to experiment with first.¡± He tells her as he ys with the syringe in his hand.

    ¡°If you hurt my sister. I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Autumn threatens him as he nears me.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to hurt her.¡± He promises her. ¡°You know that I need you both alive for my ns. I

    wouldn¡¯t do anything to hurt her intentionally.¡±

    ¡°So then, what is that?¡± I demand from him.

    ¡°Just a little booster to help you rx after I give you some depressing news.¡± He answers me.

    I freeze.

    Depressing news? What the hell did he mean by that?

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I demand. ¡°Does this have anything to do with Damon?¡±

    I can feel myself panic at the thought of something happening to him. Skyler had avoided speaking

    about him before; was this the reason why?

    He doesn¡¯t answer me, and it only makes the unsettling feeling in my chest worsen.

    ¡°Answer me!¡± I shout.

    ¡°She¡¯s impatient just like you are.¡± He tells Autumn.

    ¡°Where is Atticus?¡± Autumn asks as I see the same fear reflected in her eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Atticus is safe and with his family.¡± He answers her.

    Why does he only answer Autumn? Why doesn¡¯t he answer my question as well? Was he intentionally

    messing with me so that I would be angry? What evil intentions did he have toward me?

    He inches closer, and I wince when the needle hits my vein.

    ¡°rissa!¡± Autumn shouts with horror as she helplessly watches him inject something into my veins.

    I felt no pain, none whatsoever. However, there had to be some reaction to it. Maybe the side effects

    took a while to kick in.

    ¡°What are you doing to her?¡± Autumn demands.

    ¡°I told you it¡¯s to keep her calm.¡± He answered her, but somehow I knew he was lying. It was probably

    to do the exact opposite.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t answered my question,¡± I growl. ¡°Where the hell is my mate?¡±

    His eyes are apologetic as he looks at me, ¡°I regret to inform you that Damon Fawn is no longer on this

    earth. He¡¯s dead.¡±

    All of the blood drains from my face at his words.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying,¡± I whisper. I can barely recognize my voice. Everything was beginning to spin, and it had

    nothing to do with him sticking a needle into my vein.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him, rissa!¡± Autumn tried to calm me down. ¡°He did this to me in the past. He told me

    things about Atticus to make me angrier. I think he¡¯s only doing this to do the same to you.¡±

    ¡°What I told you about Atticus was the truth,¡± Skyler says, deep in thought. ¡°Was he not back with Anya

    after you went missing?¡±

    ¡°You failed to tell me key points in that story!¡± Autumn hissed.

    I couldn¡¯t listen to their conversation anymore. I was losing my mind.

    Damon.

    Damon, where are you?

 Chapter 161

    Chapter 161

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 161

    BOOK 2 CHAPTER 84

    ~CLARISSA~

    ¡°Tell me you¡¯re lying!¡± I scream. ¡°Tell me you¡¯re lying to me! Tell me Damon is still alive!¡±

    This couldn¡¯t be happening. I¡¯ve loved him for so long that I can¡¯t imagine not having him in my life

    anymore. Skyler had to be lying to me. He just had to be. I wanted to grab onto his shirt and demand

    that he tells me the truth.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, princess.¡± He apologizes. ¡°Damon is dead. You should feel the broken bond by now, you

    neverpleted the mate bond with him, but I¡¯m sure you can still feel the loss of him.¡±

    ¡°Nooo,¡± I scream as I cover my ears.

    ¡°Let me go!¡± Autumn shouts. ¡°She needs me. Please let me go to her!¡±

    ¡°If you want to go to her, you must find the strength to break free on your own, Autumn. Just like you¡¯ve

    done in the past.¡± He answers her. ¡°However, it isn¡¯t going to be as easy as before. I¡¯ve made sure to

    add a little extra this time.¡±

    Something wasn¡¯t right. Whatever he¡¯d put inside of me, it was finally beginning to affect me.

    ¡°What did you do?¡± I demand.

    ¡°Nothing that won¡¯t help you ovee the grief of losing someone you love.¡± He answers me before

    leaving the room, leaving Autumn and me behind.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, rissa.¡± Autumn apologizes. Why was she apologizing? She wasn¡¯t responsible for any

    of this.

    ¡°What have they done to me?¡± I cry out.

    I was out of control. The fire inside of me was threatening to break free. My veins felt like they were on

    fire and like they were getting burnt.

    The fear of Damon no longer being in my life also sent me insane. If I didn¡¯t have him, I would lose all

    control. But I didn¡¯t want to trust Skyler¡¯s word. I had to see he was gone for myself before my world

    flipped upside down.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Autumn shouts as she tries to free herself to get to me.

    I gasp when the fire seeps into the room from the outside. It was my doing; I know it was.

    ¡°We need to get out of here,¡± Autumn says as she spots it the same time as I do. It was spreading. The

    fire was spreading everywhere and quickly.

    Autumn yells, and the straps around her all snap. She quickly climbs down from the table but pauses

    when she takes a look between us.

    The fire around me was stopping her from reaching me.

    ¡°I can¡¯t use my power.¡± She gasps. ¡°I was able to break free from the straps, but nothing is happening

    right now to stop the fire.¡±

    She was powerless; they¡¯d also messed with her power. Preventing her from using it. Or was it possible

    that she couldn¡¯t use her power on me? Maybe they didn¡¯t work on each other. It could be a possibility.

    We still didn¡¯t know everything about the power within us and we never got the chance to experiment

    with it.

    Was this why they brought us here? To experiment on us?

    I can see Damon¡¯s image in my mind, him smiling and telling me that I mean the world to him. I can see

    memories of us being together, and it didn¡¯t make any of this easier for me.

    I screamed in agony, and the straps around me burst at the impact.

    Autumn reaches me just then and helps me down onto the ground.

    ¡°Get out of here!¡± I shout.

    ¡°What?¡± She demands, surprised.

    ¡°Go find help, Autumn,¡± I tell her desperately.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± She demands. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, rissa? Tell me what¡¯s happening.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m losing control!¡± I manage to say before letting out another agonized scream.

    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you.¡± She insists. ¡°I can help you. I¡¯m not going to give up on you. We can get you out

    of this.¡±

    I knew that Autumn wanted to protect me, but she didn¡¯t realize how dangerous it was to stay with me.

    Those bastards had done this to me. Whatever it was they¡¯d injected into me had caused this reaction.

    Telling me about Damon was used to trigger it off.

    They knew exactly what they were doing; this was nned long before.

    Autumn tries to hug me, but I push her away. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you, sister,¡± I shout. ¡°Please leave

    while I¡¯m still aware of what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯m holding onto everything to protect you from me.¡±

    ¡°rissa, please,¡± she cries. ¡°I¡¯m your sister. I need to stay and protect you.¡±

    ¡°And I need to protect you!¡± I insist. ¡°Go, Autumn. GO!¡±

    She wasn¡¯t listening to me. She was being stubborn, and I didn¡¯t me her. If I were in her situation, I

    would have done the same.

    ¡°You can bring the others to me.¡± I try another approach. ¡°If you stay here, we¡¯re both going to suffer. If

    you leave and find the others, we have a better chance.¡±

    I see the determination in her eyes as she steps closer to me, despite the fire getting closer to her. She

    did not look scared of it. Instead, she looked terrified of losing me.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to find the others, and when I do, I¡¯ming back for you.¡± She promises me. ¡°I¡¯m not

    leaving you; I¡¯m just getting help. Before this darkness ovees you, remember that you have people

    who would die for you.¡±

    I fought back the tears as I watched her turn and run out the door.

    When she leaves, I drop to the ground in emotional pain.

    ¡°Damon.¡± I cry. ¡°Please be alive, my love. Please tell me that you¡¯re still alive.¡±

    I can feel the darkness get stronger. Was this what my father faced daily in his life? The darkness

    inside him taking over his body and trying to control it.

    Was there a chance that he was once a good person before the darkness destroyed him?

    Those are myst thoughts before everything turns nk.

    The darkness had won.

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    It had finally taken over me, and now, nothing could stop it from doing what it wanted.

    It was toote.

    Toote.

 Chapter 162

    Chapter 162

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 162

    BOOK 2 CHAPTER 85

    ~DAMON~

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, they must be somewhere close,¡± Hunter says as he looks around us. ¡°The information

    I¡¯ve gotten from my trusted source has to be true. He¡¯s never let me down in the past.¡±

    We¡¯ve been searching for hours. f*****g hours. ording to Hunter, someone had seen those damn

    men taking Autumn and rissa along this path. Yet, there were still no signs of them.

    ¡°If they did anything to Autumn or rissa, they would never live to see another f*****g day.¡± Atticus

    growls.

    I couldn¡¯t believe I¡¯d let them take her. I couldn¡¯t believe that I was not strong enough to protect her.

    It bothered me that I¡¯d failed her not once but multiple times. How was I such a horrible mate?

    Atticus suddenly stops walking, and I turn to look at him.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask.

    Could he sense that Autumn was in pain?

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°I sense her.¡± He whispers as he looks around him, searching the woods for her.

    ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± Austin asks him as he also tries to search his surrounding for her.

    ¡°I¡¯m certain.¡± He answers him. ¡°I would know Autumn¡¯s scent anywhere.¡±

    This was a good sign. We were heading in the right direction. It turns out that Hunter¡¯s source was

    reliable indeed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move faster!¡± I tell the others.

    ¡°ATTICUS!¡±

    It was Autumn¡¯s voice.

    We turned toward the sound, and she was indeed here. I looked behind her, hoping to see rissa, but

    there was still no sign of her.

    She runs straight into Atticus¡¯s arms as he meets her halfway. He picks her up and kisses her roughly.

    I rush over to them, ¡°Where is rissa?¡± I demand.

    Her cheeks were wet, and she¡¯d been crying.

    ¡°I begged her to let me stay.¡± She tells me. ¡°I begged her to let me help her.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I demand. ¡°Did they do something to her? Where the hell is she?¡±

    ¡°They injected her with something.¡±

    My blood runs cold at her words.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it did to her, but then they lied and told her you were dead. I think she needed to feel

    the pain to activate it.¡± She continues. ¡°She¡¯s losing control of herself. The darkness is slowly

    consuming her, and there¡¯s nothing that we can do.¡±

    ¡°Where is she?¡± I demand. ¡°Take me to her.¡±

    ¡°The ce is on fire.¡± She informs me. ¡°Everything is burning down.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. Please take me to her.¡±

    She nodded, and I ran behind her, letting her lead me to my mate. It took us a few minutes, but I knew

    we were at our destination when I saw the raging fire before me.

    ¡°Are those bastards inside there with her?¡± I demand. I couldn¡¯t wait to sink my teeth into them and rip

    their heads out.

    ¡°No.¡± She answers me. ¡°I looked around for them, hoping to get my revenge for what they¡¯d done to my

    sister, but they were nowhere around. I think this was their n all along. They wanted rissa to lose

    control. I¡¯m not sure why he didn¡¯t do the same to me. I think they were experimenting and wasn¡¯t sure

    how well it would work on us; that¡¯s why they chose to do it to one of us and not both.¡±

    I narrowed my eyes; they¡¯d done their parts and left before we could reach them. They must have

    known we would be here for rissa and Autumn.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Atticus demands as he grabs my shoulder. ¡°That house is burning down. You

    can¡¯t go in there. We can find another way to get her out. rissa controls that fire, it would not harm

    her, but it will harm you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t f*****g care!¡± I roar.

    I pushed his hand away and ran into the house despite my mother¡¯s screams.

    ¡°rissa!¡± I shouted as I shielded my face from the fire with my hand.

    I wasn¡¯t sure where to look for her, but I wouldn¡¯t give up until I had her in my arms.

    ¡°CLARISSA!¡±

    I can¡¯t believe those bastards told her that I was dead. I can¡¯t imagine the pain she¡¯d felt from that one

    lie.

    ¡°Where are you?¡± I shout. ¡°Say something! Please!¡±

    Still, there was no response. I groaned as a wooden board fell on top of me. I kick it away and ignore

    the pain in my shoulder.

    ¡°rissa,¡± I whisper when I finally see her in front of me. She wasn¡¯t looking at me. Her eyes seemed

    distant and cold. She looked nothing like what I remembered. She had the same features, but there

    was a darkness about her that made me ufortable. Autumn was right; the darkness was

    consuming her.

    ¡°rissa,¡± I say louder as I walk closer to her.

    That gets her attention, and she slowly lifts her face to get a good look at me.

    ¡°Don¡¯te any closer.¡± She hissed.

    I paused; it was hard to stay a few feet away when all I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and

    bury my face in her hair.

    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± I tell her calmly. ¡°Your mate. Damon. I¡¯m here. I¡¯m not dead. I¡¯m in front of you, sweetheart.¡±

    She narrows her eyes, ¡°Lies. You¡¯re lying to me. My mate is dead.¡±

    My eyes widen, ¡°can¡¯t you see me, rissa?¡± I demand. ¡°I¡¯m right in front of you. Let mee to you.

    If you touch me, you can see I¡¯m real and in front of you.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± She shouts. ¡°You¡¯re messing with me. Do you take me for a fool?¡±

    ¡°rissa, please,¡± I beg. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±

    I took one step forward, and she flinched like she expected me to hurt her. It pained me to see her like

    this.

    ¡°Stay back!¡± She shouts. ¡°I¡¯m warning you to stay back.¡±

    I don¡¯t listen to her. I¡¯m a few inches away from her, close enough to touch her, but it doesn¡¯t happen.

    Before I can wrap her into my arms, I¡¯m flown backward into the air.

    My eyes widen when my back hits the door, and my body is thrown onto the ground. She¡¯d just thrown

    me out of the burning building without even putting her hands on me. I couldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°Damon!¡± My mother screams my name.

    She isn¡¯t the only one shouting my name.

    I look up and see rissa standing before me with soulless eyes.

    ¡°rissa,¡± Autumn shouts behind me. ¡°Don¡¯t do it! Don¡¯t hurt him!¡±

    Would she really hurt me? Did Ipletely lose her?

 Chapter 163

    Chapter 163

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 163

    BOOK 2 CHAPTER 86

    ~DAMON~

    Atticus rushes to my side, and so does Dante. He was still angry with me, but he was ready to fight to

    protect me.

    Austin and Hunter move to protect their mates if needed.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± Isabe asks in horror. ¡°What can we do to help her?¡±

    ¡°Move out of my way.¡± rissa orders in a voice I couldn¡¯t even recognize.

    ¡°I only want him.¡± She says as she points at me.

    Atticus moves in front of me, ready to fight back.

    ¡°No!¡± I shout. ¡°No one is going to hurt her. That¡¯s still rissa. She doesn¡¯t know what she¡¯s doing.¡±

    ¡°Are we supposed just to stand back and watch you get hurt?¡± Atticus demands from me. ¡°We need to

    do something to protect you, at least.¡±

    I pick myself off the ground and push him out of the way. ¡°Everyone stay back.¡±

    rissa¡¯s eyes focus on me. ¡°Pretending to be my mate just to hurt me.¡± She shouts. ¡°I¡¯m going to

    show you what real pain feels like.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s kidding,¡± Griffin says as he looks at me. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡±

    ¡°I am!¡± I shout. ¡°Everyone move back so that no one else gets hurt.¡±

    They do as I say, but I know that if rissa does hurt me, they will step in. I had to prevent that from

    happening. I had to protect her no matter what.

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°I¡¯m not pretending to be Damon.¡± I try to exin to her. ¡°Those men lied to you. I am your Damon. I¡¯m

    still the man you fell in love with. I haven¡¯t changed rissa. I¡¯m not going anywhere. I¡¯m staying here

    to prove to you that I love you. Do you hear me? I love you, rissa. I love you so much that it hurts!¡±

    Her hands tighten into fists at her sides. I¡¯ve seemed to anger her even more than before. I thought

    telling her I loved her would help, but it only worsened things.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± She screams as a burst of mes is thrown directly at me. I dodged it before it could hit

    me, but I didn¡¯t move fast enough to miss the second one.

    I roar in pain as ites into contact with my shoulder. I fell onto the ground but quickly got straight

    back up. I didn¡¯t want to give my family a chance to interfere.

    ¡°Damon,¡± Dante growls. ¡°What the f**k do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± He demands. ¡°She will kill you if we

    don¡¯t stop her.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± I disagree. ¡°She will never kill me. rissa will never let that happen. She will stop herself in time.

    I know she will.¡±

    Her eyes narrow, and she takes a step towards me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stop,¡± I tell her. ¡°Go ahead and let all of your emotions out. I will prove to you one way or the

    other that I¡¯m your Damon.¡±

    ¡°Are you insane?¡± Atticus demands. ¡°Why the hell are you provoking her?¡±

    ¡°Ignore them,¡± I tell her. ¡°Just pay attention to me.¡±

    If my mate were truly gone, if the darkness had consumed herpletely, she would have gotten rid of

    me a long time ago. The fact that she was hesitating meant that she was still conscious of what was

    happening. She¡¯d just lost control of her body.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to regret not listening to them.¡± rissa threatens me as she lifts her hands into the air.

    I prepared myself for another one of her attacks. She was powerful, my mate. Beautiful also. She was

    so damn beautiful, even when she was trying to kill me.

    I wince when the mes hit me harder this time; I¡¯m thrown into the air and against a tree with so much

    force that it cracks behind me.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± My brothers roar.

    ¡°rissa, this is enough! We are not going to let you hurt him anymore!¡± Dante shouts.

    ¡°We don¡¯t want to hurt you,¡± Atticus tells her. ¡°So please stop this before it gets to that point.¡±

    She chuckles, ¡°Do you three think you stand a chance against me?¡±

    I wince at the pain in my head as I struggle to get up. I don¡¯t care about the bruises as I force myself to

    walk towards her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± I shout at my brothers. ¡°Don¡¯t do it!¡±

    ¡°I think you have no choice but to let us step in,¡± Hunter tells me. ¡°She needs help. If we can stop her in

    time, we can find a way to give her control of her body once more before it¡¯s toote.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± I insist. ¡°I can do this. I can stop her.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve given you enough time.¡± Atticus insisted.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Autumn shouts. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt her.¡±

    Everyone turns to look at her.

    I¡¯m happy that she at least was on my side. She, indeed, was rissa¡¯s sister. She would do anything

    to protect her as well. I knew my brothers didn¡¯t want to hurt her either; to them, she was also their

    sister, but they were more determined to save me from her. At least Autumn would still choose to

    protect her under these circumstances.

    ¡°I can help.¡± She says. ¡°I can feel my power returning. I can protect him while he tries to get to her.¡±

    That¡¯s a good idea. Autumn had the opposite power to rissa. She could control water. If she could

    protect me long enough from the fire, this might work.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Atticus says. ¡°But if this doesn¡¯t work, we are all stepping in.¡±

    This meant that no matter what, this n had to work. I didn¡¯t know what I was nning on doing, but

    whatever it was, I had to think of it fast.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Autumn asks me. I nod, and soon after, I¡¯m surrounded by a water barrier.

    rissa stiffens when I approach her, but it doesn¡¯t stop me. I keep walking until we¡¯re inches apart.

    ¡°Stay back!¡± She growls. There¡¯s fire all around her, but it cannot hurt me, not with Autumn¡¯s protection.

    I buried my hands into her hair and whispered, ¡°I love you. I love you so much, rissa.¡±

    I can hear her breathing increase rapidly at my words.

    I moved my face so that my mouth was right below her ear. I was going to im her¡ªsomething I

    should have done a long time ago.

    ¡°Stop!¡± rissa screams as she thrashes against my hold on her. It¡¯s getting hotter; Autumn¡¯s shield

    could only do so much. I had to move quickly.

    I sink my teeth into rissa¡¯s neck, and her cry echoed throughout the forest.

    I was marking her, iming her as mine. I didn¡¯t know what else to do to bring her back to me. I hoped

    this would remind her of our love for each other. I was hoping that it would be enough to save her.

    Please. Pleasee back to me. Please, rissa.

    Come back.

 Chapter 164

    Chapter 164

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 164

    BOOK 2 CHAPTER 87

    ~CLARISSA~

    What am I doing? I can feel Damon¡¯s teeth in my neck, and I can also feel the fire inside of me begin to

    die down. I was gaining back control of my body.

    Damon was helping me. Our mating bond was giving me control back once more. I was grateful for

    this. If I had hurt Damon more than I¡¯d already done, I would have never been able to forgive myself.

    When he finally lifts his head, I am inplete control of my body again. He can tell. I know he can.

    He smiles a beautiful one that lights up my entire life.

    ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± He whispers.

    I nod as I wrap my arms around his neck and hold him tightly. He lifts me into his arms, and I giggle

    against him.

    ¡°I love you, Damon.¡± I cry. ¡°I¡¯ve loved you for so long, and I¡¯m going to love you even longer.¡±

    He kisses my forehead, cheeks, and neck right above his mark on me. ¡°I¡¯m never letting anyone take

    you from me again.¡± He promises me.

    ¡°I¡¯m never leaving your side again either,¡± I promise him.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for hurting you,¡± I whisper as I pull back to look at the bruises. I never thought I would

    have it inside of me to hurt Damon. Now I knew how dangerous the darkness inside of me could be.

    ¡°Hey, look at me.¡± He says as he lightly touches my chin. ¡°You didn¡¯t hurt me. This was nothing. And it

    isn¡¯t your fault either; you were not in control of your body. The men who kidnapped you are to me,

    and I can¡¯t wait to find them and make them pay.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good to have you back, sis,¡± Griffin says as he takes me from an unhappy Damon.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to be back,¡± I tell him as I return his hug.

    ¡°Thank you for not hurting us.¡± He teases me. ¡°For a second, I thought you would burn us all alive.¡±

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    ¡°Stop teasing her before she hurts you,¡± Atticus says as he pulls me from Griffin to hug me. Everyone

    seemed to take turns holding me like I was a child.

    My parents are next¡ªthe parents I should have epted a while ago.

    My mother hugs me, ¡°I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re safe and back with us. There is something we have for you

    back home. I think this will make you happy.¡±

    I¡¯m unsure what she¡¯s talking about, but I was curious to know what it was.

    Isabe and Lucy are thest to hug me. They told me that Gabrie and Arthur would be joining us

    soon along with Maya and Kane as well.

    It was only then that I realized Autumn was missing. I spun around to look for her and found her in a

    corner crying.

    I ran to her, and she pulled me into her arms. ¡°I was so scared that I would lose you, rissa.¡± She

    cries. ¡°I was scared I would have to hurt you to stop you. I¡¯m so happy to have you back.¡±

    I tightened my arms around her, ¡°I knew you would have found a way to save me without hurting me. I

    had full faith in you, sister. I¡¯m so lucky to have you.¡±

    She smiled and held me briefly before walking me back to Damon. ¡°He¡¯s the one you should thank. He

    was determined to bring you back, not once thinking about his well-being.¡±

    ¡°And I have to thank you, Autumn, for protecting me. I wasn¡¯t burnt alive because of you.¡± He thanks

    her, and she smiles.

    ¡°At least now you know never to mess with rissa. She has the power to bring you to your knees.¡±

    She teases him.

    His eyes twinkle as he looks at me, ¡°she doesn¡¯t need her power to bring me to my knees; all I need is

    one look from her.¡±

    I blush at his words.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here,¡± Hunter tells the rest of us. ¡°This ce isn¡¯t safe. After today, I suggest you

    prepare for those men¡¯s return. They aren¡¯t finished with either of you. This was just a test.¡±

    I knew he was right. But I wasn¡¯t sure how to prepare for their return. If our power couldn¡¯t hurt them,

    how could we eliminate them?

    The entire ride home, Damon kept his hands around me. It¡¯s almost like he was scared he was going to

    lose me. It felt good to be in his arms.

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re alive,¡± I whisper. ¡°I thought I¡¯d lost you forever. I can¡¯t even begin to exin the

    pain I felt after Skyler told me that you were gone.¡±

    He presses his lips against my hair, ¡°I¡¯ll never leave you, rissa. I would even fight death to be with

    you.¡±

    I smile and lean over to kiss him.

    ¡°Gross,¡± Griffin says next to us. I¡¯d forgotten that he was riding in the back with us.

    ¡°Don¡¯t pay any attention to him,¡± Damon whispers as he kisses me again, more profound this time.

    When we finally return to the house, Griffin looks relieved to be out of the vehicle finally. Iugh as he

    practically runs into the house to get away from us.

    My mother takes my hand and guides me into the house. ¡°We should have never let you go that day.

    This is your home, and it always will be.¡±

    She takes a paper from inside the front desk and hands it to me. I take one look at it and stare at her in

    shock.

    ¡°You¡¯re no longer our adopted daughter.¡± She whispers. ¡°You can now do as you please. You can marry

    Damon. One way or another, you¡¯ll always be our daughter rissa. One way or another, you will have

    ourst name.¡±

    I smile as the tears fall from my eyes onto my cheek as I wrap my arms around her. ¡°Thank you so

    much, Mom. Thank you so much.¡±

    ¡°It feels so good to hear you call me that.¡± She admits as she wipes my tears. ¡°I¡¯m so lucky to have

    such a beautiful daughter. I wish you and Damon nothing but happiness, my child.¡±

    ¡°I do as well.¡± My father says as he hugs me. ¡°We love you so much, rissa. We made the right

    choice when we adopted you. Nothing can ever change my mind on that.¡±

    ¡°Hurry up and marry her so she can have ourst name again!¡± Griffin shouts from across the hall.

    ¡°Guys,¡± Autumn says as she stares at something on her phone. ¡°I don¡¯t know how but somehow, news

    about Damon and rissa is spreading everywhere.¡±

    My father clears his throat, ¡°we announced it.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Damon demands.

    ¡°There was no point in hiding it anymore.¡± He tells him. ¡°They would have found out one way or

    another; I thought it was best that we are the ones to break the news.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to see what they¡¯re saying,¡± Lucy whispers as she walks in. ¡°People can be so mean.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± I say as I hug Damon. ¡°As long as I have Damon and the support of my family, what

    anyone says about us does not matter to me.¡±

    Willow walks in then and runs to Dante, surprising all of us. She throws her arms around him. ¡°I¡¯m so

    happy you¡¯re safe.¡±

    I look at Damon, and he quirks a brow at me. Dante stiffens and pushes her away, ¡°what are you

    doing?¡±

    I felt terrible for her. I knew how hard it was for Dante, but he didn¡¯t have to be that mean. She was only

    concerned for him.

    I walk over to her and hug her. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, Willow.¡±

    She smiled even though I could see the pain in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m d that you and Damon are back.¡±

    I was surprised that she was happy to see us after what she knew now about Damon and me.

    ¡°We¡¯re not going anywhere this time,¡± I promise her.

    Damon takes my hand and pulls me with him toward his room.

    He opens his door and pulls me inside with him.

    Damon¡¯s mouth is on mine before I can say anything else.

    I gasp, and he uses that opportunity to stick his tongue into my mouth. I wrapped my arms around his

    neck and pulled him closer to me. I needed this. I needed to be this close to him again.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait.¡± He groans. ¡°I need you now, rissa. You¡¯re mine, and I¡¯ve never wanted anything more

    than I want you right now.¡±

    ¡°Then take me, Damon,¡± I whisper. ¡°I¡¯m yours. Only yours.¡±

    He removes each of my clothing, one by one, until I¡¯m leftpletely n***d in front of him. He rips his

    clothes from his body before lifting me and pressing me up against the wall.

    I cry out when he ms into me. The first thrust sends my body into a burst of pleasure.

    ¡°I love you.¡± He groans as he buries his face against my neck. ¡°I love you more than you will ever

    know.¡±

    I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on as he continued to push in and out of me. ¡°I can¡¯t

    believe I¡¯m f*****g inside you.¡± He growls. ¡°Nothingpares to this.¡±

    I bit down on his ear, and he groaned.

    ¡°I love you so much, Damon. Thank you for making it all worth it in the end.¡± I whisper.

    His thrusts are faster now, and I can feel my c****x nearing. ¡°Deeper.¡± I cry out. ¡°I need you deeper

    inside of me.¡±

    He pushes my legs wider and does just exactly that. ¡°Damon!¡± I screamed as I climaxed all over him.

    ¡°Oh fuck¡ª,¡± he groans as he buries his seed inside me. I continued to hold him until everyst drop of

    him was inside of me.

    ¡°Thank you for never giving up on me, rissa.¡± He whispers as he holds me tightly against him. ¡°I

    know that I don¡¯t deserve you, but I¡¯m happy that you chose me. I¡¯m so happy that out of everyone, I¡¯m

    the one that you chose to be with. You have no idea just how happy that makes me. I¡¯m a f*****g lucky

    man, and it¡¯s all because of you.¡±

    I wipe the sweat from his forehead and lean in to kiss him once more. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to spend the rest of

    my life with you, Damon Fawn.¡±

    After years of wanting to be with Damon and thinking it would never happen, that day was finally here.

    He was mine, and I was his. Nothing, and no one would ever change that.

    ~THE END~

    A/N:

    Hi, my beautiful readers; once again, thank you so much for sticking to the end of another one of my

    stories.

    Dante and Willow¡¯s story is next and starts in this book. (The first eight chapters will be posted today)

    Here¡¯s a sneak peek:

    I¡¯m standing in front of Dante with absolutely nothing on my body. I¡¯m n***d before him. I don¡¯t know

    where I got the strength, but I¡¯m not backing down today.

    ¡°Take a good look at me, Dante,¡± I whisper. ¡°I¡¯m not Anya. I¡¯m different from my sister. For once, I want

    you to look at me and not think of her.¡±

    ¡°Put on your f*****g clothes, Willow.¡± He growled.

    ¡°No.¡± I snap. ¡°Not until you see me as a woman. Not until you ept me as your f*****g wife!¡±

    . . . . . .

    To those of you that will stop here, thank you so much for your support, and to my loyal readers who

    will join me for another story, I hope you will also enjoy this one, thank you so much for being such

    amazing readers. May God continue to bless each of you. I¡¯m forever thankful to God for all of you?

    I love you all and thank you again for your amazing support.

    Lots of love,

    Laura.

 Chapter 165

    Chapter 165

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 165

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 1/ MY DEAREST HUSBAND

    ~WILLOW~

    Married. To my sister¡¯s lover. To the man that is still in love with my sister. To the man that I have a

    foolish crush on.

    That¡¯s what my life had be in the past few days.

    It was never supposed to be that way. The first time I saw Dante Fawn, I knew the feelings in my heart

    were strange. I couldn¡¯t stop staring at him; I¡¯d never experienced such unfamiliar emotions in my life

    before.

    However, the man has always only had eyes for my sister. They were lovers, him and my sister. I didn¡¯t

    know the whole story, and I wasn¡¯t sure how long they¡¯d been lovers, but I knew it was at least more

    than one year.

    When I first saw him, I had no idea who he was. I never knew my sister was in a rtionship with him

    or that she¡¯d also had rtionships with two of his brothers. I didn¡¯t know that he loved her. I didn¡¯t

    know anything. My sister had kept me in the dark the entire time. She, just like my mother, always held

    the truth from me.

    You¡¯re probably wondering why I was in this situation; you¡¯re probably wondering why I¡¯m married to

    my sister¡¯s lover.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    It all started the day of my sister¡¯s death. She was killed right in front of me and by none other than my

    husband¡¯s brother. Damon Fawn, one of my sister¡¯s lovers, was the one to kill her.

    Before she died, she asked for something she shouldn¡¯t have. She begged the one man who loved her

    more than anyone else to marry me.

    He was in so much pain that day; I¡¯d never seen a man look so helpless and broken in my life until that

    dreadful day.

    He was the only one besides me that loved Anya. My mother loved her also, but just like Anya, she

    was also dead. And her killers were the family I was married into.

    This world was a strange one indeed, you¡¯re never sure what direction your life will take.

    I continue to scribble in my diary. It was the one thing that kept me sane during this rough time.

    My sister¡¯s world before she died was a veryplicated one. It was filled with revenge and betrayal.

    She did horrible things, unforgivable things. However, I didn¡¯t entirely me her. Whether or not I

    wanted to believe it, I knew my mother was to me for everything. She never healed from her past

    and dragged Anya down with her.

    If my mother hadn¡¯t done this, my sister might have been happily married to Dante. Since he was the

    one that loved her, I¡¯m sure she would have fallen for him eventually. Since she was blinded by my

    mother¡¯s revenge, she never got to live an ordinary life. She did everything for our mother; she even

    lost her life because of her.

    I didn¡¯t me Damon for her death, she tried to kill rissa, the love of Damon¡¯s life, and he stepped

    in. I think my sister wanted to die that day. She didn¡¯t want to live. She purposefully got herself killed.

    And part of me believes it was because of me. She wanted someone to take care of me. She wanted

    someone with power and money to protect me. She knew that I might have been dying, and she didn¡¯t

    know how to help me. She knew Dante would grant her wish if she was dying. Her dying wish. And she

    was right; he did marry me. And he married me on the same day that she died.

    My wedding anniversary was the same as my sister¡¯s death anniversary. How unfortunate was that?

    I remember Dante grabbing my hand and pulling me down the aisle with him. I remember the priest

    looking at us in horror. We were covered in my sister¡¯s blood. I didn¡¯t have a pretty wedding dress like

    my sister had on that day. My hair wasn¡¯t perfect like hers. My face had nothing on it, not even a blush.

    I remember the whispers from the guests who were present. I remember the look of disbelief on his

    family¡¯s faces.

    I should have said no that day. I should have done everything to stop that wedding from happening. He

    was my sister¡¯s lover, after all.

    But in the end, I said yes. I said yes to marrying Dante.

    Instead of I don¡¯t, I said, ¡®I do.¡¯

    And now I was the wife of Dante Fawn.

    Willow Fawn. That was my name now. I was living the life my sister should have lived. I had taken her

    ce, and she was the one that wanted it to be like this.

    Life hasn¡¯t been a bed of roses since then. It has been theplete opposite.

    Dante and I were sleeping in separate rooms. We did not act like husband and wife. Even at the

    academy, he acted like he didn¡¯t know me.

    Everyone had the worst things to say about me. They said that I had stolen my sister¡¯s boyfriend. They

    said that I always wanted him. They said that I had this look of longing on my face whenever I gazed at

    him, and maybe that wasn¡¯t so much of a lie. I did find myself staring at him many times. Dante has

    never once caught me looking at him; at least, I didn¡¯t think so.

    He was always in his own world. While his family has been trying their best to bring us closer to each

    other, nothing seems to be working. He was still in pain. He still med himself for Anya¡¯s death. I think

    he also still med his brother. Their rtionship was now a strained one.

    I hear a door m outside and then some shouting. I gently close my diary and lock it before walking

    out of my room.

    Could it be Dante? He¡¯d left two hours ago, and I patiently waited for him to return.

    As soon as I got outside, I saw Atticus ring at him.

    I gasped when I saw the bruises on his face. This wasn¡¯t an unusual sight. Since our wedding day,

    Dante has been showing up at home with bruises all over his body. He never has an exnation for it.

    Could tonight be any different?

    ¡°Where the hell have you been?¡± Atticus growls. ¡°Answer me Dante!¡±

 Chapter 166

    Chapter 166

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 166

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 2

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°Why the f**k do you need to know that?¡± Dante growls.

    Atticus crosses his arms over his chest and I can¡¯t remember thest time I¡¯ve seen these two this

    angry with each other.

    ¡°A f*****g underground fighting ring?¡± Atticus growls. ¡°Are you a lunatic?¡±

    A fighting ring? What was that exactly?

    Dante looks surprised that Atticus knows the truth.

    ¡°Did you follow me there?¡± He asks him. ¡°Did you f*****g follow me there, Atticus?¡±

    ¡°Of course I did!¡± He roars. ¡°You kept returning home with a million bruises and acting like everything

    was okay when we all knew it wasn¡¯t. Why the hell would you join something like that?¡±

    Dante narrows his eyes and moves closer to his brother, ¡°You may not have loved Anya, but I did.

    She¡¯s dead. She¡¯s dead, Atticus. Tell me you wouldn¡¯t do the same if Autumn died. The woman I love is

    gone, and now I¡¯m stuck in a marriage to her¡ª¡±

    He stops talking when he hears my gasp. I covered my mouth; I didn¡¯t realize I¡¯d made a sound until

    now.

    Atticus turns to look at me as well, and I felt ufortable under both of their gazes.

    Before anyone could say anything, I opened my room door and safely got back inside.

    I knew he didn¡¯t realize I was standing there, but he¡¯d said exactly what he was thinking. It wasn¡¯t a

    secret that Dante never wanted to marry me. It also wasn¡¯t a secret that he didn¡¯t love me, not even a

    little bit. I think it¡¯s even possible that he hates me. He hates being married to me.

    A knock on my door f****d me to open it. I was expecting to see Atticus there, but it surprised me when

    it was Dante. He barely ever says a word to me. Not unless he had no other choice.

    ¡°Willow¡ª¡± That¡¯s all he gets out of his mouth before I reach over and gently touch the bruise on his

    forehead. I don¡¯t know why I did it; I also am not sure why I haven¡¯t moved my hand.

    Dante has a look of shock on his face, his eyes are wide, and I think he may have forgotten what he

    was going to say.

    When he finallyes to his senses, he moves my hand.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I whisper. ¡°Your bruises. They¡¯re just worst today.¡±

    I knew how much he hated it when I touched him.

    His bruises were worse than before. This fighting ring, was it somece that men went to fight? It

    would match the name.

    ¡°About what I said earlier¡ª¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to exin yourself.¡± I cut him off. ¡°I know that you loved Anya, and I¡¯m happy she had

    at least one person who truly loved her besides my mother and me. I¡¯m aware that the only reason you

    married me was because she asked you to. I don¡¯t need an apology.¡±

    ¡°Willow¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay, Dante. Please don¡¯t embarrass me further. Please.¡± I stop him once more.

    I didn¡¯t want to hear how much he loved her. While it was confirmed that I was happy his love for her

    was genuine, it didn¡¯t make any of this easier.

    It didn¡¯t help that I had all of these bottled emotions trapped inside me, all directed at him. He just was

    clueless in this matter.

    He¡¯s about to say something when his mother rushes to his side. ¡°Dante!¡± She hissed. ¡°What have you

    been doing to yourself, my son?¡±

    I knew it wouldn¡¯t be long before his entire family stood in front of my room, scolding him.

    ¡°Look at what you¡¯ve done to your face!¡± She shouts. They were all losing their patience with him.

    I didn¡¯t think the shouting would help. He¡¯s in too much pain emotionally.

    ¡°Fighting?¡± His father asks behind him. ¡°Is that what you do for fun now?¡±

    Autumn joins us next with rissa. Those two were inseparable, especially since they discovered they

    were biological sisters. I often wanted to be as close to them as they were with each other, but I could

    never really bond with them freely. It felt weird knowing my sister¡¯s history with both of them.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it,¡± Dante growls.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you say,¡± his mother says. ¡°You are opening up about this right now. I¡¯m tired of

    seeing you this way Dante. Enough is enough.¡±

    ¡°I said, I don¡¯t want to talk about it, mother.¡± He repeats.

    ¡°You need to listen to your mother!¡± His father shouts. ¡°Why are you hurting yourself?¡±

    ¡°It will heal soon,¡± Dante tells him. ¡°These physical bruises, they all go away eventually. It¡¯s the

    emotional one that leaves the scar.¡±

    Their gazes softened at his words, but I could see this was far from over. Dante was not backing down,

    and his parents were not happy.

    ¡°You will listen to us. You will quit.¡± His mother snaps. ¡°You will leave that ce and never step back

    inside that fighting ring again.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Dante growls. ¡°I will do no such thing. It¡¯s the only thing keeping me sane, and I don¡¯t n on

    stopping it anytime soon.¡±

    ¡°Why are you not listening to us?¡± His mother demands. ¡°You¡¯ve never been this stubborn in the past. I

    know you¡¯re still hurting from Anya¡¯s death, but you need to learn to move on, son; stop hurting

    yourself, none of it was your fault, and you¡¯re aware of that.¡±

    Oh no. Something was terribly wrong.

    I gasp. It was happening again. I could feel my body begin to freeze like I was trapped in a freezer.

    All eyes turned to me, and I could see the shock on everyone¡¯s faces when they realized what was

    happening.

    ¡°I think she¡¯s going into shock again.¡± Dante¡¯s mother gasps. ¡°Call the doctor!¡±

    ¡°Willow?¡± Autumn whispers as she holds my hand. ¡°We¡¯re here, okay. Nothing is going to happen to

    you. Stay calm.¡±

    ¡°We need to get her close to some heat!¡± His mother shouts. ¡°Now!¡±

    I try to say something, but my lips are stuck together.

    ¡°Willow?¡± Dante says my name. It¡¯s thest thing I hear before going unconscious.

 Chapter 167

    Chapter 167

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 167

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 3

    ~DANTE~

    I pick Willow up into my arms and carry her downstairs near a fire pit.

    ¡°Why does this keep happening to her?¡± I ask my mother. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any sense. Even the doctors

    don¡¯t know what is wrong with her.¡±

    I¡¯m tired of seeing her like this. Anya asked me to protect her sister and I wasn¡¯t doing a damn good job

    at it. If she was here, she would be disappointed with me. I hate myself for not granting her wish.

    Why couldn¡¯t the doctors help her by now? What more was needed to help her?

    ¡°It is a bit strange,¡± Autumn whispers. ¡°I¡¯m worried about her.¡±

    I was also, but not because I cared about her. I was worried because I promised Anya that I would

    protect her. I didn¡¯t want to break my promise to her.

    She wanted me to marry her sister to give her a better life. What good was marrying her if I couldn¡¯t

    figure out what was happening to her?

    ¡°Just keep her close to the fire Dante.¡± My mother orders me. ¡°If it¡¯s anything like thest time, she

    would be okay in a few minutes.¡±

    I did as she said. I held Willow close to me. It was the first time I was willingly holding her like this. I¡¯ve

    made sure to keep a distance between us in the past. However, today was the first day I allowed

    myself to be this close.

    I don¡¯t know why. I can¡¯t exin it.

    I can¡¯t stop myself as I gently move her hair out of her face. I couldn¡¯t deny that Willow was beautiful,

    very beautiful. She was like a breath of fresh air in my dull life. She was someone I had to keep away

    from my darkness; if she got any closer, it would pull her in and destroy her life just like it had done to

    mine.

    Willow looked nothing like Anya. I was scared at one point that she would remind me of her sister; I

    was terrified that it would be painful if she did. However, it turns out that not only did she look nothing

    like Anya, but she also had apletely different personality. They were twopletely different

    women.

    I didn¡¯t know how to feel about it. Part of me hoped that I could find some of Anya in Willow, while a

    more significant part of me wanted the opposite.

    I could feel her skin returning to its average temperature, and I let go of a breath I hadn¡¯t realized I was

    holding.

    ¡°Her color is returning,¡± Autumn says.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± rissa asks as she enters the room.

    ¡°Did something happen to Willow?¡± She gasped when her eyes fell on her.

    Before anyone could answer, Willow opened her eyes; I was the first person she saw. Her lips part, and

    her cheeks turn a bright red.

    Her reaction confused me. She almost looked flushed under my gaze.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± I ask her.

    She bites down on her lip before saying softly, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Did it happen again?¡±

    I nod, and her eyes grow sad. ¡°Am I going to die?¡±

    My jaw clenches at her question; it¡¯s thest thing I expected her to ask me. I don¡¯t know why I felt

    angry because of that one question. It made no sense to me.

    ¡°Of course not,¡± I growl. ¡°You¡¯re not going to die. Anya asked me to keep you safe, and I¡¯ll do just that.

    We called a different doctor. I hope this one will have more answers than thest, and even if he

    doesn¡¯t, we will find someone else. I won¡¯t stop until I get some f*****g answers.¡±

    She looks surprised by my response. It took me a few seconds to realize I was still holding her. I

    abruptly let go of her and stood back, letting my family take over for me.

    I don¡¯t say anything else as I storm out of there. I didn¡¯t want to care for Willow. I didn¡¯t want to worry

    over her, and I sure as hell didn¡¯t want to hold her like I did just a moment ago.

    I knew Anya never loved me, and I knew that she used me since the beginning. I knew everything after

    her death. However, that didn¡¯t change the way I felt about her. She imed that I was under a spell;

    she imed that I would forget about my feelings for her after she was gone.

    It¡¯s been weeks since then, and I still haven¡¯t recovered. I think I love her even more now that she¡¯s

    gone.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Damon says as he joins me outside. ¡°Can we talk?¡±

    My hand tightens into a fist at my side. I didn¡¯t want to talk to him. Things were still rocky between us. It

    was hard to forgive Damon for stuff he¡¯d done in the past. He was my brother, I knew that, and I would

    die before I let anyone hurt him. However, I was still so damn pissed. He should have told me the truth.

    Instead, he kept me in the dark. If I¡¯d known, then Anya may have still been alive today.

    ¡°Now is not a good time Damon.¡±

    ¡°When will it ever be a good time, Dante?¡± He demands. ¡°I¡¯ve said I¡¯m sorry a million times. Tell me,

    what can I do to fix this?¡±

    I spun around and growled at him. ¡°Go back in time and undo what you did. Maybe then I could forgive

    you.¡±

    He sighs and throws his hands in the air. ¡°You¡¯re never going to let this go, are you!¡±

    I don¡¯t answer his question. Even I don¡¯t have the answer to give to him.

    ¡°At least answer me this.¡± He says suddenly. ¡°When the hell are you nning on stopping?¡±

    ¡°Stopping?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± He says. ¡°I know about the fighting ring. When are you going to give it up? Don¡¯t you think you¡¯ve

    suffered enough already?¡±

    I want tough out loud at his question. Suffered enough already?

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    I could never suffer enough after letting Anya die. Never.

 Chapter 168

    Chapter 168

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 168

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 4

    ~WILLOW~

    Another doctor. Same answer. Each doctor did not know what was wrong with me. They kept saying

    that it wasn¡¯t anything serious and that I shouldn¡¯t worry.

    Why shouldn¡¯t I worry when it felt like I could freeze to death any day now? Why couldn¡¯t they see how

    terrified I was of dying?

    I felt like these doctors couldn¡¯t help me. They were useless in my case. We had to find someone else

    who knew what was happening to me. But who could that be?

    I was surprised earlier to see Dante holding me. It¡¯s not something that I expected to wake up to. He¡¯s

    always kept plenty of distance between the two of us. Just the thought of it made me feel butterflies in

    my stomach. Even the slightest bit of attention from Dante made me all giddy inside. I don¡¯t think he

    even knows what he does to me.

    ¡®I won¡¯t stop until I get some f*****g answers.¡¯

    Those were his words, and even though I knew he was only protective because of Anya, it still made

    my stomach flutter. It made me happy to know that he was that determined to help me.

    I didn¡¯t understand how my sister didn¡¯t fall in love with a man like Dante. He was everything a girl like

    me could ever dream of marrying. His green eyes sparkled under bright lights, and his dark brown hair

    begged to be touched. His muscr arms were built for protection. You could tell that Dante was a

    protector, someone who protected those he loved fiercely. He was also loyal; even after my sister¡¯s

    death, he never looked at another woman. She¡¯s all that he could see. There were so many qualities

    about him that stood out to me. He was like a dreame true. If only Anya had seen in him what I

    saw in him now.

    But if she¡¯d done so, wouldn¡¯t things have been much different now? I wouldn¡¯t have been married to

    Dante and she would have been in my ce. I¡¯m not sure how I felt about that. The thought of anyone

    with Dante other than me bothered me to the point that I felt ufortable.

    I¡¯ve never really gotten the chance to learn about men. However, the men at the academy were a huge

    letdownpared to Dante. He was different from them. He wasn¡¯t wild and a jerk like some of the

    others. He was gentle but fierce. He was soft to the people he loved but could kill his enemy in the blink

    of an eye.

    I grabbed my diary and touched the pen to the clean page.

    My dearest husband,

    Today you held me in your arms while I was unconscious. You were the first person I saw after waking

    up. Your eyes were filled with concern I¡¯ve never seen before. My heart flutters whenever I¡¯m reminded

    of how worried you were about me. I wish that one day I could tell you how I truly feel. I wish that one

    day I would feel your lips on mine¡­

    I gasped and threw the book onto the floor. What was I thinking? It was one thing to have a crush on

    him but to dream of him kissing me.

    It was wrong.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    But was it? I was his wife, after all.

    I close my eyes and drop myself onto the bed. Yes. I was his wife, but he didn¡¯t treat me that way. He

    was also still in love with my sister. Dreaming of kissing him would only end in heartbreak. I shouldn¡¯t

    do that to myself.

    A knock on my door forces me out of my thoughts. I quickly ran to open it, after putting my diary away.

    ¡°We have a party to attend.¡± rissa reminds me with a big smile.

    ¡°And we are here to help you get dressed,¡± Autumn says, forcing herself into my room.

    ¡°She¡¯s good at these things,¡± rissa assured me. ¡°You will look stunning when she¡¯s done with you,

    not that you aren¡¯t already beautiful.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve noticed that your wardrobe isn¡¯t vast,¡± Autumn tells me. ¡°That¡¯s why rissa and I went

    shopping for you. We have a selection of outfits that you can start wearing tonight. We even chose

    some stuff for the academy.¡±

    ¡°You did that?¡± I ask in surprise. ¡°For me?¡±

    I¡¯ve always loved seeing my sister dressed in fancy clothes. I¡¯ve often wished for a chance to have that,

    but my mother always rified that she could not afford to get me more than I already had. I never

    comined, but looking at the outfits packed in the boxes in front of me, filled me with excitement.

    ¡°I love that look on your face,¡± rissa says enthusiastically. ¡°This is good. It means we made the right

    choice. We feared you¡¯d be upset with us for being so pushy.¡±

    ¡°Why would I be upset?¡± I ask, confused. ¡°You did something nice for me.¡±

    Autumn smiles and hugs me, ¡°I knew you were awesome since we first met you.¡±

    ¡°Time to unpack and switch up your style.¡± Autumn winks at me. I watch as both girls empty the boxes

    of clothes onto my bed. Even though it was plenty of outfits, it didn¡¯t take them long to sort everything

    out.

    ¡°This is what we want you to wear tonight for the party,¡± Autumn informs me.

    I gape at the outfit in front of me. ¡°Where is the rest of it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a mini skirt and crop top.¡± rissa points out the obvious. ¡°It¡¯s meant to look like that, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Autumn and rissa always tried to get me to wear outfits like this. I remembered that one time they

    made me wear a bikini; it was the first time I¡¯d ever seen Dante look at me. I was happy for days

    because of that one look of desire. At least, I¡¯d hoped it was desire.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll wear it.¡± I tell them. Hopefully, this would also help me to get a reaction out of Dante.

 Chapter 169

    Chapter 169

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 169

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 5

    ~DANTE~

    We were waiting over an hour for the girls. They always kept us waiting like this. It wasn¡¯t anything new.

    ¡°From now on we need to give them the wrong time for an event.¡± Damon groans.

    ¡°That¡¯s actually not a bad idea brother.¡± Atticus chuckles. ¡°I might have to try that the next time.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯reing!¡± Griffin announces. ¡°And damn, why do they have to belong to my brothers?¡±

    Atticus taps him on his head, ¡°Can you not be an a*s for once?¡±

    I follow their gazes and felt all the hairs on my body stand up.

    Long, creamy legs, bright red lips. Smooth exposed stomach. I felt like my eyes were about to betray

    me.

    What the hell is she wearing? Whenever rissa and Autumn helped her dress, I always felt smoke

    coming out of my b****y ears.

    It¡¯s not like I could tell her about it either. I barely spoke to Willow begin with. If the first thing I said to

    her was to change her clothes, I would sound like aplete a*s. That¡¯s thest thing I wanted to do.

    I¡¯ve already been a bad husband to her. I didn¡¯t treat her like she was my wife. Instead, I treated her

    like the sister of my wife. I acted like I was married to Anya and I was just doing her a favor. And maybe

    I acted that way because that¡¯s how I truly felt. I couldn¡¯t ept Willow as my bride no matter how hard

    I tried.

    I hope that one day she could forgive me for all of this.

    ¡°We¡¯rete but it¡¯s totally worth it.¡± Atticus says as he kissed Autumn.

    Damon lifts rissa into his arms and it¡¯s still hard for me to see the two of them together after knowing

    what I knew. However, I was trying hard to be happy for them.

    . . . . .

    We were finally at the party and it was not going well. Willow had bumped into Sharon and she was

    being a pain in my a*s.

    ¡°Come on, your marriage is a fake, and everyone knows it,¡± She says as she rolls her eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t

    even have a wedding ring on your finger. What woman doesn¡¯t wear a wedding ring? Even Dante

    doesn¡¯t have one. It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re married on paper; if Dante doesn¡¯t recognize you as his

    wife, you¡¯re a nobody, and everyone else is free to date him.¡±

    What the f**k was her problem?

    I¡¯ve never gotten a ring for Willow because of mymitment to her sister. I felt I would disappoint

    Anya if I ever put a ring on Willow¡¯s finger. It also felt like I would ept the marriage if I bought her a

    ring. So far, I hadn¡¯t epted that Willow and I were married. However, I didn¡¯t like what everyone said

    in front of her face and behind her back. It was pissing me off.

    ¡°I¡¯ve forgotten how f*****g mean the girls from the academy can be.¡± Atticus growls.

    ¡°Can you ensure Willow doesn¡¯t leave this party until I return?¡± I ask Atticus.

    He quirks a brow at me, ¡°Why are you leaving?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something I should have done a long time ago,¡± I answer him.

    There¡¯s a knowing look in his eyes as he lets me leave.

    As soon as I got to the jeep, I dialed a number I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d need until now.

    ¡°Josh,¡± I say when he answers.

    ¡°How can I help you, Dante?¡± He asks me.

    ¡°I need something from your jewelry store,¡± I answer him.

    ¡°At this hour?¡± He asks, surprised.

    I nodded even though he couldn¡¯t see me. ¡°I need it urgently. Can you meet me there?¡±

    He sighs, ¡°You¡¯re lucky you¡¯re a favorite customer.¡±

    ¡°It does have its perks.¡± I chuckle. ¡°I¡¯ll see you there in a few minutes.¡±

    Getting a ring for Willow was thest thing I ever expected to do. I thought we¡¯d spend the rest of our

    marriage without getting one.

    Josh pulls up at the store just as I did. He shakes my hand before pulling out his keys and opening the

    multiple locks at the front gate.

    ¡°What can I help you with?¡± He asks as soon as we step inside.

    ¡°I need a ring for my wife,¡± I answer him.

    My wife. It felt strange saying those words.

    He turns around, surprised. Did everyone know that I was not in love with her? That was a stupid

    question. Of course, everyone already knew. I wasn¡¯t good at hiding it. That¡¯s why Willow was being

    bullied at the academy. Because of me. Because I couldn¡¯t let the past go no matter how hard I f*****g

    tried.

    No one understood how much I loved Anya. She was everything to me. I was willing to let her go just

    so she could be happy, but in the end, even that wasn¡¯t enough.

    She made it clear that Atticus was the only one she ever had feelings for. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t already

    know it. I always knew that she liked him better than me and Damon. All of the signs were there. When

    he¡¯d married Autumn, the light in her eyes had slowly disappeared until I couldn¡¯t see it anymore.

    Everyone saw her as this crazy woman, but I could never see her that way. All I saw was the girl I fell in

    love with. I loved everything about Anya, even her ws. After learning about the horrible things she¡¯d

    done, I still couldn¡¯t bring myself to hate her.

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Dante?¡± Josh calls out to me. I must have spaced out while he was talking.

    ¡°What do you think of these?¡± He asks when he has my undivided attention.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to look at any,¡± I say to him.

    ¡°Pardon?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to see the ring. I want it to be the most expensive ring you have inside of here.¡± I answer

    him.

    I wanted to shut Sharon up. I wanted her to stop harassing Willow. When they saw the ring, they would

    have fewer things to say about our marriage.

 Chapter 170

    Chapter 170

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 170

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 6

    ~WILLOW~

    I couldn¡¯t find Dante anywhere. After Sharon had the worst things to say about our marriage, he¡¯d

    disappeared.

    A part of me was hoping that he would defend me. However, I knew that only in my dreams would

    Dante ever stand up for me in front of so many people or even treat me like his wife.

    ¡°I swear I hate girls like Sharon.¡± Autumn mumbles. ¡°Why can¡¯t they just mind their own business?¡±

    ¡°Because that¡¯s their business,¡± rissa answers her. ¡°Gossiping about everyone but themselves.¡±

    ¡°I can see now why my mother never wanted me to attend any schools,¡± I say while deep in thought.

    ¡°She kept me home to protect me from the outside world. But it also left me without any experience.

    This is all so new to me.¡±

    ¡°Dante¡¯s back,¡± Autumn informs me.

    I can¡¯t help myself as I follow her gaze. I wanted to stare at him even if he could see me.

    His eyes aren¡¯t on me; it¡¯s on Sharon and her friends. I¡¯ve never seen him look at another woman

    except my sister; it made me ufortable to see him look at her. She catches his gaze and blushes.

    I cringe at the sight. His eyes are emotionless as he approaches me.

    ¡°There¡¯s something I want to give to you, Willow.¡± He informs me.

    Something that he wanted to give to me? What could that be?

    ¡°I should have given you this a long time ago.¡± He says as he pulls something out of his pocket. ¡°I¡¯m

    sorry that I took this long.¡±

    When he opens the tiny box, I¡¯m almost blinded by the diamond inside. My lips part, shocked at the ring

    in front of me.¡¯

    ¡°This is for me?¡± I ask in disbelief.

    He nods, ¡°You¡¯re my wife. This is your ring.¡±

    My bottom lip trembles at his words. This couldn¡¯t be real. It had to be a dream. There are gasps all

    around us as he removes the ring from the box.

    ¡°Give me your hand.¡± He tells me. ¡°Please.¡±

    I do as he asks, and he quickly puts the ring onto my finger. It was a perfect fit. How did he know my

    size?

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ever take it off.¡± He orders.

    I could hear the gasps all around me as everyone admired the ring now on my finger. When did he buy

    this ring for me? And why did he decide to get it? Dante has never once acted like my husband. Why

    would he suddenly do something like this in front of so many people?

    His actions confused me and also made my heart flutter. I didn¡¯t like it. I was okay with having a crush

    on him, but this feeling was much stronger. It made me want him even more than before. It was almost

    unbearable.

    ¡°Can I see it?¡± Someone whose name I couldn¡¯t remember asked me. She wasn¡¯t the only one;

    everyone surrounded me while trying to get a better look at the ring.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen any ring this beautiful.¡± She whispers while admiring it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s give Willow some space,¡± Autumn announces as she takes my hand and helps me to escape.

    I look behind me, searching for Dante. He¡¯d disappeared in the crowd.

    ¡°Why did Dante get me a ring?¡± I ask Autumn as I stare at the sparking diamond before me. ¡°It¡¯s

    beautiful. The most beautiful thing I¡¯ve ever owned.¡±

    Autumn smiles, ¡°it¡¯s about time he did something nice for you. But I¡¯m just as surprised as you are.

    Maybe he¡¯s finally growing a conscience. Either way, I¡¯m happy that he did. You deserve this and much

    more.¡±

    I didn¡¯t do anything to deserve something like this. Dante¡¯s actions had me very confused.

    ¡°It fits you perfectly,¡± Autumn tells me. ¡°It means he had your measurements already.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± I ask. ¡°I¡¯ve never given it to him.¡±

    She shrugs her shoulders, ¡°Only he has that answer.¡±

    My lips parted when I saw him speaking to Sharon. What could he possibly be saying to her? She

    looked excited that he was giving her some attention. It made me angry. My eyes narrowed, and I felt

    like pulling her hair.

    ¡°You¡¯re jealous.¡± Autumn points out in excitement. ¡°You¡¯re jealous. My suspicions were right. You do

    like him.¡±

    ¡°Why is he talking to her?¡± I ask. ¡°She was so mean to me earlier.¡±

    I bite my lip to stop myself from saying anything further. I didn¡¯t control Dante; he could do as he

    pleased. However, the anger inside of me only intensified the longer he stood talking to her.

    ¡°He¡¯s never even given another girl a second nce. Anya is all he¡¯s ever been interested in.¡± I point

    out. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why he would talk to her.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure there is a logical reason.¡± Autumn tries to assure me. ¡°He¡¯s your husband, Willow. If you have

    a question, you can ask him. I also feel like it¡¯s times you sleep in the same room with him.¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t even sleep in the same room?¡± Someone asks behind us. Autumn freezes.

    We both spun around to see who it was, but the girl was already running and announcing this new

    information to everyone. The girls wereughing and giggling while pointing at me.

    Autumn ps a hand over her head, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Willow. I didn¡¯t know anyone was listening to us. I

    should have paid better attention to our surroundings.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I promise her. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. I¡¯m sure they would have found some way to get this

    information. Everyone should know now than finding it outter.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want Autumn to feel bad; she was too nice. I was getting used to the bullies from the academy.

    It still hurt when they tried to bring me down, but I was gaining the experience I needed to fit in.

    Dante looks over at me as theughter continues, and I think I see regret in his eyes for a split second.

    My jaw clenches when Sharon leans into him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be here anymore,¡± I tell Autumn. ¡°Can we please leave?¡±

 Chapter 171

    Chapter 171

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 171

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 7

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°I wanted to p each of them on their ugly faces!¡± rissa hissed next to me. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Dante say

    something? He just stood there while they all had so much to say.¡±

    ¡°To be fair, there wasn¡¯t anything he could say to make it better.¡± Autumn points out. ¡°They are indeed

    sleeping in separate rooms.¡±

    ¡°At least he got her this beautiful ring,¡± rissa says as she brings my hand closer to her face. ¡°Even

    though he upsets me sometimes, I must say that Dante at least made one good decision tonight. Did

    you see Sharon¡¯s face when she saw the ring?¡±

    Autumn nods, ¡°Sharon is just upset that she didn¡¯t get a chance to have Dante herself. She knew that

    there was nothing she could do as long as Anya was around. Now that Anya¡¯s gone, she thinks she

    can have him even though he¡¯s married.¡±

    ¡°Women like her makes me so angry.¡± rissa mumbles. ¡°Damon was holding me back the entire time;

    if he weren¡¯t around, I would have fried her hair!¡±

    Autumn covered her mouth, but even that couldn¡¯t stop herughter. ¡°That would have been such a

    funny sight to see.¡±

    I had to agree. Seeing something like that happen to Sharon would have ced me in a better mood.

    ¡°Damon and Atticus aren¡¯t happy we left the party early.¡± Autumn sighs.

    ¡°Are you sure they aren¡¯t following us back home?¡± rissa asks. She looks behind us to confirm.

    ¡°They¡¯ll stay to keep Dantepany,¡± Autumn answers her. ¡°They know he hasn¡¯t been himselftely.¡±

    rissa nods and then looks over at me. ¡°You haven¡¯t said a single word. Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡±

    I nod, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I never know what to say around the two of you.¡±

    Her eyes widen, ¡°do we make you nervous?¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°you¡¯re so close to each other. You¡¯re sisters. I sometimes feel like it may be hard for

    me to¡ª¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure how to exin myself.

    ¡°Just because we¡¯re close doesn¡¯t mean that we don¡¯t have space for a new sister. We may be sisters

    by blood, but we¡¯re open to another. And we think that you¡¯ll be perfect to fit into that position.¡± Autumn

    assures me.

    ¡°I agree with Autumn. We need someone like you toplete us. So please, feel morefortable

    around us. We promise that we will always protect you.¡± rissa promises me.

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    I¡¯m surprised by their kindness. Anya and my mother have been nothing but mean to them both. They¡¯d

    done things I still hoped were not true. Still, Autumn and rissa treated me like I was, indeed, their

    long-lost sister.

    We pulled up to the mansion. They walked me back to my room. They asked if I wanted to spend more

    time with them, but I was too sad to join them. It still bothered me that everyone knew Dante and I

    didn¡¯t sleep in the same room. The rumors would only get worse from now on.

    Women like Sharon would throw themselves at Dante now that they knew he had no feelings for me. I

    grabbed a pillow from the bed and buried my face into it. The thought of women like her throwing

    themselves at him made me frustrated. I knew there was no chance he would ever give them what they

    wanted, but it still bothered me.

    I went back to my diary. The one ce I felt safe.

    My Dearest Husband,

    Today you did something that left me breathless. You gave me a ring and ced it on my finger in front

    of hundreds of girls who wished you were theirs. It made my heart flutter once more. It scared me

    because it made me want you more than I already did. I want you to continue to be nice to me, but at

    the same time, I wish that you didn¡¯t. Because if you did, my heart would lose this battle, and if it did, I

    won¡¯t be able to stop myself from taking what should have been mine since the beginning.

    I dropped the pen onto the bed and ced the diary where it belonged. I don¡¯t know why I put my

    thoughts into that book. It was a disaster waiting to happen if anyone ever tried to read it.

    My door opens suddenly, and I¡¯m surprised to see Dante standing at the entrance. What was he doing

    back already? He should still be at the party with his brothers.

    He usually knocked before entering. Did something happen?

    I slowly got up from the bed and walked over to him. ¡°Did something happen?¡± I ask.

    The first thing I did was search his face for any bruises. However, to my relief, there were none.

    ¡°Take your things. You¡¯re moving out.¡± He announces suddenly.

    My lips part. Moving out?

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± I whisper. ¡°Did I do something wrong? Are you kicking me out of your home?¡±

    He runs a hand down his face impatiently, ¡°No, Willow. You¡¯re moving into my room.¡±

    I¡¯m left speechless.

    ¡°Moving into your room?¡± I ask; I don¡¯t think I¡¯d heard him correctly. Dante didn¡¯t want me in the same

    room with him in the past. Why would he ask me to move into his room the same night he gave me a

    ring? What was he up to?

    ¡°Yes.¡± He says. ¡°Get your things. It¡¯s time that we stay in the same room together.¡±

    I lick my lips, and his eyes linger briefly before he looks behind me. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡±

    ¡°Why are you suddenly being nice to me?¡± I demand. ¡°First, you gave me a ring in front of everyone.

    And now, you¡¯re asking me to stay in the same room with you even though you were the one who

    asked for separate rooms to begin with.¡±

    He steps towards me, and all of the organs in my body freeze. It¡¯s almost like all of my life was

    suddenly sucked out of my body.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired of the f*****g rumors.¡± He growls. ¡°I¡¯m tired of what people are saying about you. If this is what

    it takes to shut them up, then please listen to me and get your things into my room.¡±

 Chapter 172

    Chapter 172

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 172

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 8

    ~WILLOW~

    I couldn¡¯t believe it. I was in Dante¡¯s room for the first time. He¡¯s kept this part of him away from me

    since marrying me. It felt strange yet exciting to finally be inside here.

    However, it felt natural to be in here, like this was meant to be.

    All my things were packed in a corner, and he promised to have a ce for them soon. I wasn¡¯t sure

    what was happening.

    ¡°If you¡¯re ufortable sleeping in the same bed with me,¡± he says suddenly. ¡°I can sleep on the

    sofa.¡±

    I bit my lip. Was I ufortable with him sleeping in the same bed with me? I didn¡¯t think I was. I

    trusted him.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± It was barely a whisper, but he¡¯d heard me. He nods and brings a sheet out of his closet.

    ¡°You can use this one.¡± He told me, and I quietly took it from him.

    I knew my cheeks were red, but I couldn¡¯t stop it even if I tried.

    I barely moved when he grabbed his t-shirt from the bottom and pulled it over his head. Dante was now

    shirtless in front of me, and I could see each of his muscles. The lights were dimmed, and I was

    grateful for it. I knew I should turn away, I knew that I should look away, but my body had a mind of its

    own.

    He walks into the bathroom, and I finally let go of the breath I¡¯d been holding. Could he tell that I was

    looking at him?

    What did Anya think when she asked Dante to marry me? Was she okay with me wanting someone

    she once had a rtionship with? Was she indeed okay with him loving her and not me? Because I

    was not okay.

    For the rest of my life, I would be married to a man that was in love with my sister. If that wasn¡¯t bad

    enough, I wanted him. I didn¡¯t want to like him but I did.

    I try to catch my breath when he walks out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist and

    water dripping from his hair onto the floor. Do all men exit the shower looking that good?

    I force myself to close my eyes. I couldn¡¯t keep staring at him; I didn¡¯t want to make him ufortable

    if I was caught.

    My eyes are still closed when he walks over to the bed and sits on it. I know when he¡¯s next to me, I

    can hear his uneven breaths.

    Maybe this wasn¡¯t such a good idea after all. Having him this close was doing unexinable things to

    my body. I wanted to close the distance between us. I wanted to get on top of him and bury my hands

    in his hair. I wanted to lean into him and inhale his scent.

    ¡°Why were you speaking to Sharon earlier?¡± I ask quietly. I couldn¡¯t stop myself this time. It was

    bothering me.

    He turns to look at me, ¡°why do you want to know that?¡±

    I exhale, ¡°because she had the worst things to say to me. It bothered me that you would still stand

    there and speak to her after everything she¡¯d said.¡±

    He frowns, ¡°It bothered you that I spoke to her?¡±

    I flush at his prating gaze. I didn¡¯t want to admit to it, but those were words straight out of my

    mouth. I had no way to back down from it now.

    ¡°You¡¯ve always only had eyes for my sister,¡± I say finally. ¡°You¡¯ve always been faithful to her. So faithful

    that you wouldn¡¯t even look my way. So yes, it bothered me that you¡¯re suddenly looking Sharon¡¯s way.¡±

    He inhales sharply and traps me with his prating gaze. ¡°It¡¯s not what you think.¡± He finally says.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t?¡± I ask. ¡°So then, why were you speaking to her for so long?¡±

    He ced one hand behind his neck and looked at the ceiling, ¡°I wasn¡¯t happy with the things she¡¯d

    said to you earlier.¡±

    I held my breath, ¡°were you speaking to her about me?¡±

    He nods without looking my way, ¡°I had to find a way to get her to stop. I wanted to speak to her first, to

    give her the opportunity to stop now before I used a different method to shut her up.¡±

    There it goes again. Flutter. Flutter. Flutter.

    My heart is fluttering. For him. Because of his words that weren¡¯t even meant to have this kind of

    reaction on me.

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    That was all I could say to his words.

    ¡°Is that the only question you have for me?¡± He asks, still staring at the ceiling.

    No. I had plenty more, but I knew this wasn¡¯t the right time to ask them. We weren¡¯t that close yet. I had

    to take my time, especially with Dante. His heart was still bruised, and he could take things the wrong

    way.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I lie. ¡°That¡¯s all I have for now.¡±

    He turned onto his side so that he wasn¡¯t facing me. That was good; it was easier for me to speak to

    his back.

    ¡°Thank you, Dante,¡± I whisper.

    His back stiffens, ¡°why are you thanking me, Willow?¡±

    ¡°Because of everything you did for me today and in the past,¡± I answer him. ¡°I know you¡¯re not doing

    any of this for me; I know you¡¯re doing it because of my sister, but it still means a lot to me.¡±

    He sighs, ¡°Get some sleep. I don¡¯t deserve your thank you.¡±

    I won¡¯t bother disagreeing with him. If he wanted to sleep, I would let him.

    I close my eyes as well, and soon enough, I drift off into a peaceful sleep with him right next to me.

    ¡°Anya!¡±

    I woke with a start. I stare at Dante next to me. He was thrashing against his pillow.

    It seemed as though he was having a nightmare.

    I move closer to him. ¡°Dante,¡± I whisper.

    ¡°Anya!¡± He shouts again.

    How often has he been having these nightmares? I hesitantly touched his arm, trying to wake him up.

    His eyes sh open, but I don¡¯t think he was seeing me.

    ¡°Anya,¡± he cries.

    I gasp when he pushes me back down onto the bed and rolls on top of me.

    I don¡¯t have time to prepare as he crashes his lips to mine.Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

 Chapter 173

    Chapter 173

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 173

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 9

    ~WILLOW~

    My eyes widen at the sudden attack on my lips.

    Dante was kissing me. My husband was finally kissing me for the first time in our marriage.

    I should have been happy, and I probably would have been under different circumstances. This wasn¡¯t

    how I wanted our first kiss to be. He wasn¡¯t thinking of me while his lips were on mine.

    In his mind, he¡¯s kissing my sister. He was still dreaming of her. I felt my heart sink at realizing how

    pathetic my life was.

    This couldn¡¯t be happening to me. How much more cruel could this life be to me?

    I lost my sister. I married her lover. He¡¯s finally kissing me, and she¡¯s the one he¡¯s thinking about.

    The worst part about this was that I couldn¡¯tpete with Anya. She wasn¡¯t here for me topete.

    And even if she were still alive, I wouldn¡¯t dream of doing that to her. I had nothing but love in my heart

    for my sister. I knew she wasn¡¯t perfect, and I know she did some horrible things, but she was still my

    sister, and I loved her. While she was alive, she has always protected and loved me as well; even while

    dying, protecting me was on her mind.

    Dante groans, and it sends a shockwave throughout my body. I gasped when I felt something between

    my legs, a strange yet pleasurable feeling I¡¯d never felt before.

    I¡¯m not happy that I¡¯m enjoying this kiss. It wasn¡¯t meant for me. I shouldn¡¯t like it as much as I did.

    Dante¡¯s lips were soft against mine, and his hands were now on my waist. Even they had a powerful

    hold on me.

    I should be pushing him away. Why wasn¡¯t I doing that?

    When he finally lifts his lips from mine, I can breathe again but not for long. Dante surprises me by

    moving to my neck. The moment his lips touched my skin, I lost all control of my body. I can¡¯t stop

    myself as I bury my hands in his hair.

    It¡¯s surprisingly soft. Dante smells better than any perfume I¡¯ve ever had in my entire lifetime. It makes

    me feel like I¡¯m intoxicated even though I¡¯ve never experienced what it was like to be intoxicated

    before.

    I felt dizzy with pleasure and needbined as one.

    He growls against my neck, and I swear I feel something wet between my legs.

    ¡°I can f*****g smell you.¡± He says in a husky whisper.

    I gasp.

    Can he truly smell me? My lips part, and I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever felt this good. It was like a paradise I¡¯d

    never known about until now.

    It was wrong. A dark paradise that I had to escape before things got worse.

    ¡°Dante,¡± I say his name as I ce both hands on his shoulders and try to push him off me. As much as

    I enjoyed this, I couldn¡¯t let him continue. I couldn¡¯t use his pain to feed my pleasure.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t stop me.¡± He begs. ¡°I need you tonight, Anya. I need you, Anya. Only you.¡±

    His words made everything inside of me turn to ice.

    ¡°I love you, Anya.¡±

    And then that ice shatters.

    ¡°Get off me!¡± I shout. ¡°Get off me, Dante!¡±

    My voice finally manages to get through to him. He blinks once, then twice, before looking at me. I

    knew that he could see me this time and not Anya.

    ¡°Willow?¡± He croaks in confusion.

    I don¡¯t say anything. I¡¯m not sure what to say to make this better. I couldn¡¯t exactly tell him that I was

    encouraging his kisses earlier.

    I don¡¯t think I need to tell him, however.

    He looks at my swollen lips before sniffing the air, and his eyes widen in disbelief.

    I suddenly remembered what he said earlier about being able to smell me. I feel all the blood rush to

    my cheeks. Could he still smell me now?

    Can he somehow tell my body was enjoying everything he¡¯d done to me?

    ¡°What did I do?¡± He whispers in horror.

    I don¡¯t think he¡¯s speaking to me. I think he¡¯s speaking to himself.

    He touches his lips, still in denial.

    ¡°I think you were dreaming.¡± I try to exin what happened. ¡°You were shouting Anya¡¯s name. You

    were having a dream about her.¡±

    He drags his gaze back to me, ¡°Did I¡ª¡± he swallows like he doesn¡¯t even know how to form a

    sentence.

    ¡°Did I kiss you, Willow?¡± He asks.

    The pain in his eyes makes me want to lie to him. I did not want to make him feel worse than he

    already did.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s important right now.¡± I try to say.

    He narrows his eyes, ¡°Just answer me. Please.¡±

    I bit my lip and slowly nodded. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to say it.

    He inhales sharply and closes his eyes. He acts like he¡¯dmitted a grave sin by kissing me. Was it

    indeed that bad?

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    I watch as he buries his face in his hands. ¡°Fuck.¡±

    ¡°Dante¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± He stops me. ¡°Don¡¯t try to make me feel better.¡±

    Does he enjoy the pain? Does he enjoy hurting himself that much?

    I¡¯m helpless as I watch him beat himself up for something he¡¯d done without realizing it. He wasn¡¯t

    aware of what he was doing. Why was he so upset?

    ¡°Can we talk about this?¡± I ask him gently. ¡°It isn¡¯t a big deal.¡±

    It was in fact, a big deal to me. It was my very first kiss with him. And it was more magical than I ever

    expected it to be. Minus the part where he called me Anya and said he loved her.

    ¡°I have to go.¡± He says suddenly. ¡°I thought this would work. I thought it would be easier than this. I¡¯m

    sorry, Willow. I can¡¯t do this, definitely not tonight.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡ª¡± I try to stop him, but he¡¯s already out the door.

    I wanted to run after him, but I knew that it was useless.

    I slowly rubbed my finger across my bottom lip. I could still feel him there.

    I inwardly groan as the feelings between my legs intensify.

    Why was this happening to me?

 Chapter 174

    Chapter 174

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 174

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 10

    ~DANTE~

    I can still f*****g taste her. Smell her. Feel her. Willow was softer than any woman I¡¯d ever had in my life

    in the past, including her sister.

    I was angry, f*****g angry that I had done something so unforgivable, even if it was in my sleep.

    How could I have thought that she was Anya? I should have awakened the moment her scent hit my

    nose. It wouldn¡¯t have taken me long to know that it wasn¡¯t Anya beneath me but Willow.

    Damn it.

    What the hell was wrong with me? I brought Willow to my room to protect her from the rumors; I did not

    bring her to bury my d**k inside her.

    Why did that thought even cross my mind?

    I felt sick to my stomach. I was a sick bastard.

    She was Anya¡¯s sister, for crying out loud.

    I couldn¡¯t stay here. Not tonight. Not when her scent still surrounded me. I hated to admit it, but the

    moment I¡¯d tasted her in my mouth, I wanted b****y more.

    I must be going insane; that¡¯s the only exnation for this. As a man, my need to have a woman

    beside me was messing with my head. That would exin my desire for something more.

    To hell with that. I rathered spend the rest of my life without a single woman than have strong desires

    for a woman that wasn¡¯t Anya.

    When I married Willow, I promised myself never to touch her. I didn¡¯t even kiss her on the altar. It was

    all about fulfilling Anya¡¯s dying wishes, nothing else.

    And today, I¡¯d broken that promise. If she hadn¡¯t woken me, there¡¯s no telling how far I would have

    taken things while thinking it was Anya beneath me.

    I grab the keys from the desk in front of me.

    ¡°Where are you going this hour?¡± Atticus asks me.

    Ah f**k, just what I needed today.

    Why was he even waking at this hour?

    ¡°I need to go for a drive.¡± I lie.

    ¡°Why?¡± He asks. ¡°Did something happen with Willow? We noticed that she isn¡¯t in her room.¡±

    I clear my throat, ¡°I asked her to move into my room.¡±

    He looked surprised.

    ¡°Are you telling me she¡¯s sleeping in the same room as you?¡± He asks for confirmation.

    ¡°What¡¯s so weird about that?¡± I demand. ¡°She¡¯s my wife, isn¡¯t she?¡±

    He quirks a brow at me and ces both hands in his pockets, ¡°I know that. We all know that. However,

    I just never realized that you knew it as well.¡±

    My jaw clenches, ¡°is this another one of your lectures, Atticus? Because I could do without a lecture

    tonight. Save it for someone that needs it.¡±

    He nods, ¡°I can see that you¡¯re not in a good mood. I¡¯ll let you go. We can speak in the morning.

    Hopefully, by then, your mood will change.¡±

    I¡¯m grateful that he didn¡¯t press on this subject.

    I was going to the one ce my family would disapprove of. It¡¯s the ce that has kept me sane for the

    past few weeks. And it was the one ce that stopped me from thinking about Anya. It was my safe

    ce.

    I walked into the garage and started the Jeep.

    The drive to the underground ring wasn¡¯t an easy one. Usually, Anya was the only person I could think

    about. Tonight was different. Since Willow¡¯s scent was still all over my body, she was on my mind

    tonight.

    Why was she not disgusted that I had kissed her? She should have been angry with me; instead, she

    said it wasn¡¯t a big deal. How was it not?

    My hands tighten on the steering wheel. Was it, not her first kiss?

    My jaw clenches. Whether it was her first kiss or not had nothing to do with me.

    I pulled up to the gates for the underground ring, and the second they saw my jeep, they let me in.

    After parking, I leave the vehicle and head to the first booth. The receptionist smiles brightly when she

    sees me.

    ¡°What a pleasant surprise this is. You¡¯re not on tonight Dante.¡± She whispers seductively. ¡°Why are you

    here? Is it to see me?¡±

    I flip the bottle cap in front of me. ¡°Are there any spots avable?¡± I ask her, ignoring her question.

    She smiles, ¡°I¡¯m sure I can squeeze you in. The bets will rise once they know you¡¯ll be on tonight.¡±

    I nod. Good.

    I needed a fight more than ever. I had to get Willow out of my head. It¡¯s the first time she¡¯s the one that

    I needed to get out of my mind and not Anya.

    I walk down the corridor and into the first door on the right. The stadium was packed tonight, and a fight

    was already in session.

    ¡°Look who made it in tonight.¡± Jaguar, the owner of the underground ring, greets me. He was always

    happy to see me.

    There were a few gasps as the women across from us spotted me. It had zero effect on me.

    ¡°Those women will pay good money to sleep with you,¡± Jaguar informs me. ¡°Why don¡¯t you give one of

    them a chance?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about the f*****g money,¡± I tell him. ¡°Do you not know who I am? Money isn¡¯t important.

    This has nothing to do with that.¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°This makes you more desirable to these women. The fact that you don¡¯t give them any

    attention. All the other men throw themselves at them. You¡¯re different. They want you.¡±

    Hearing that they wanted me did nothing for me. I didn¡¯t want them. None of them.

    ¡°What brings you in tonight?¡± He asks me. ¡°Not that I¡¯m not happy to see you. I¡¯m always happy to

    wee you into the ring.¡±

    ¡°What brought me in shouldn¡¯t matter, should it?¡± I ask him.

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    He chuckles. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    The bell rings suddenly, signaling that the fight is over.

    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re up next.¡± He tells me as he taps my shoulder.

    Finally.

    Time to bury my pain.

 Chapter 175

    Chapter 175

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 175

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 11

    ~DANTE~

    The screams erupted around me the second that I stepped into the ring. It helps cancel out the pain

    inside my heart. Images of Anya in front of me distract me for a second, but when my opponent takes

    his first swing at me, I¡¯m back to defend myself.

    I duck from his second attack and let him try again. My technique was to let them fight first, get them

    tired, and then hit them with most of my strength. So far, I¡¯ve never met an opponent with whom I had

    to use every method I knew. None of them were stronger than me.

    Maybe it was my emotional pain fueling my determination to win the matches. However, it wasn¡¯t even

    about winning; it was mostly about forgetting the grief inside of my heart, even if it was only for a few

    minutes.

    I let my opponent get another punch at me; I ignore the pain in my jaw. I allowed him to hit me because

    I needed the pain.

    After a few more punches, I finally begin my counterattack.

    I can hear the apuse get louder as I begin winning the fight, a mixture of males and females

    cheering me on.

    I use the sound to bury the pain. I wish itsted longer.

    No one understood me. My family. Friends. Enemies.

    No one could understand why I was still in love with Anya. They expected me to let go of her after her

    death. They expected me to forget about her.

    I didn¡¯t know how to exin it to anyone. Anya never treated me well enough for me to love her this

    deeply. But loving her had nothing to do with what she did or didn¡¯t do. The love in my heart was true

    and pure.

    I loved her with my whole heart. When she died, I lost a part of me. A portion of me that would never

    return.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    Outsiders didn¡¯t know the truth about Anya. They didn¡¯t know the things she¡¯d done.

    I¡¯ve done my best to keep it that way.

    I didn¡¯t want her reputation to be ruined after her death. I knew my family disagreed with me, partly

    because this made Willow¡¯s life more difficult. Everyone saw her as a thief, someone who¡¯d stolen her

    sister¡¯s mate.

    Anya was famous, and many liked her despite the wrongs she¡¯s done. They liked her more after her

    death.

    The bell rings suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts. I hadn¡¯t even realized I¡¯d won the fight

    already. The cheers are louder than before. The referee grabbed my arm and lifted it to signal that I

    was the winner. I look around the stadium and all I can see are excited faces. I¡¯m gaining their trust

    after each fight that I won.

    Jaguar shakes my hand as I exit the ring. ¡°Always a pleasure watching you fight. Hope we get to see

    you again soon.¡±

    I nod, ¡°I will be back before the end of the week.¡±

    Or maybe sooner. There¡¯s no telling what else I¡¯ll do that would bring me straight back here to fix it.

    ¡°Dante!¡± the woman next to me, screamed my name.

    One of them walks over to me. She¡¯s dressed in a mini skirt and a white b*a. That was a casual outfit in

    here. She purposefully pushed herself closer so I could get a good view of her breasts.

    My jaw clenches.

    ¡°Can I have your number?¡± She asks seductively.

    ¡°I¡¯m married,¡± I answer her.

    She looks surprised, ¡°I don¡¯t see a ring.¡±

    Even if she couldn¡¯t see a ring, I¡¯m positive that she knew I was married. I haven¡¯t met anyone unaware

    of my marriage to Willow. However, it¡¯s never enough to stop women from approaching me. Even if I

    weren¡¯t married to Willow, I wouldn¡¯t be interested in them.

    ¡°Then will you take my number?¡± She asks desperately. ¡°You can call me whenever you need someone

    to talk to or do other things.¡±

    ¡°Let the man pass,¡± Jaguar tells her. ¡°This part of the ring is not for spectators.¡±

    She angrily folds her arms as she walks away.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Anytime!¡± He grins. ¡°I can¡¯t have my best fighter harassed just after a fight. Call me if you ever need

    anything!¡±

    I nod and walk away before someone else tries talking to me.

    I didn¡¯t want to go home, but there wasn¡¯t anything else left for me to do here.

    ¡°Congrattions!¡± The receptionist shouts as I walk towards my jeep.

    I wave at her before getting into the vehicle and driving away. I knew my family would freak out when

    they saw more bruises on my body, but I would be prepared for their reactions.

    No matter what they said to me, I wouldn¡¯t stop fighting. This was a part of me now. I wasn¡¯t going to let

    go of it that easily.

    It doesn¡¯t take me long to reach home, and when I do, I stay in my Jeep for over an hour. I wanted to

    ensure Willow was asleep when I returned to the room.

    I didn¡¯t want to be asked any more questions. I didn¡¯t have the answers she was seeking.

    After finally convincing myself that it was time to leave the garage, I moved towards the house. I walk

    up the stairs and straight into my room.

    The lights are off, and she¡¯s in the bed with the sheets around her.

    She must be asleep.

    I breathe a sigh of relief. I quietly walked into the bathroom and got rid of my b****y clothes. After taking

    a shower, I changed into shorts and a T-shirt.

    I was still trying my hardest to be as quiet as possible. I didn¡¯t want to do anything to wake her.

    However, the second I step out of the bathroom, the lights are on, and she¡¯s standing right before me.

    Ah f**k.

    Why was she still waking? She should have been asleep.

    Her eyes widen when she spots the bruises on my face.

    ¡°You did it again.¡± She whispers in horror.

    My hand tightened into a fist.

    ¡°Why are you waking at this time, Willow?¡±

 Chapter 176

    Chapter 176

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 176

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 12

    ~Willow~

    He had bruises on his face again. These were fresh bruises. It meant that he¡¯d only just gotten them.

    ¡°Why did you do this to yourself?¡± I demand from him. ¡°Was kissing me so bad that you must hurt

    yourself to forget about it?¡±

    His jaw clenches, and the muscles in his arms pulse almost angrily, ¡°why are you still awake?¡±

    He ignored my question about kissing me. I couldn¡¯t believe this. Dante must truly hate being married

    to me.

    It all made sense now. Those fights were helping him stay married to me. It was the only thing that kept

    him sane.

    He looks over his shoulder when I don¡¯t respond to his question.

    I don¡¯t say anything as I walk out of the room. He doesn¡¯t follow me either, not that I was expecting him

    to.

    I walk toward the medicine cab. Autumn told me about it. She mentioned that it might be a good

    idea to help take care of Dante¡¯s wounds whenever he returned home like this.

    I knew that Dante was protecting me only because of Anya, but I wanted to protect him in return still.

    I grab one of the kits and walk up the stairs back to his room. He doesn¡¯t even look up at the door when

    I return.

    He is lying on his tummy with his face turned to the side. His eyes are closed, and he¡¯s breathing

    heavily. He must be tired from the fight.

    I quietly walked over to his side and sat on the edge of the bed. His entire body tensed when he

    realized how close I was to him.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± He asks without opening his eyes.

    ¡°Taking care of my husband,¡± I answer without a second thought.

    His jaw clenches at hearing me refer to him as my husband. Was it, not the truth? I don¡¯t understand

    why that should bother him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to take care of me.¡± He tells me.

    I ignore him and dab the cotton on the medicine. Without waiting for his permission, I press the soaked

    cotton against the bruise on his forehead.

    He winced at the pain, and I leaned down to blow on it. I wanted to make it better. I knew he would heal

    eventually, but right now, he was still in pain.

    ¡°I told you I was okay.¡± He snaps angrily.

    ¡°And I told you I¡¯m going to care for you, just like you do for me.¡± I insist.

    He doesn¡¯t seem happy with my response, but he doesn¡¯t stop me again.

    ¡°Turn over,¡± I order him.

    He slowly turned around so that he was facing me.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Can you remove your shirt?¡± I ask him.

    He frowns, ¡°why?¡±

    ¡°Because I can see a bruise on your chest,¡± I answer him.

    His tongue is against his cheek as he lifts the shirt off his body.

    I gasped when I saw the deep wound in his chest.

    ¡°Does pain make everything better for you?¡± I demand.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to answer any of your questions.¡± He growls. ¡°If you must ask me questions, you can

    leave the medicine here; I¡¯ll put it myself.¡±

    I press my lips tightly together. Why wasn¡¯t he willing to get help? Why was he purposefully putting

    himself in situations to get hurt?

    I was also in pain after losing my sister and the only family I had left, but I¡¯m not letting it affect me the

    way that it¡¯s doing to him. I share his pain. If he¡¯d open up to me, maybe we could help each other.

    I sigh and press the cotton against the wound on his chest. His forehead creased, and I could sense

    how much pain he was in.

    I leaned forward and lightly blew on his chest.

    I gasp when he grabs my hand.

    I look up at him, and his eyes are dangerously dark.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m not finished.¡± I try to disagree.

    ¡°It will heal.¡± He cuts me off. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Why was he so cold towards me? He didn¡¯t treat me horribly, but he didn¡¯t treat me like I was his wife

    either.

    I thought things were finally changing between us when he moved me to his room, but not much had

    changed. Everything was still the same. We were still strangers living in the same house. I knew more

    about rissa and Autumn than I knew about Dante.

    He¡¯s secretive about his past and present. He doesn¡¯t even try to let me in.

    What kind of marriage was this?

    I angrily grabbed the medicine kit and dropped it on the desk beside me.

    Then I walk over to my side of the bed and bury myself under the sheets.

    I hug them closer to me. It wasn¡¯t like Dante would willingly embrace me; these sheets were all I had to

    keep me warm on days like this. I didn¡¯t even have my sister any longer. She would often take me in

    her arms and hold me close to her. She was no longer here to do that for me.

    I don¡¯t think Anya knew what she was doing when she asked Dante to marry me. She was desperate to

    save me, but in doing so, she made my life miserable.

    Being in a loveless marriage was not an easy thing to deal with daily, especially when feelings were

    utterly one-sided.

    I closed my eyes and f****d myself to go to sleep. It was the one time that I could forget about all of my

    problems. Of course, there were days that I dreamt of Dante. I hoped that tonight wouldn¡¯t be one of

    those days. I didn¡¯t want to dream of a man that could never give me his heart, even if he was my

    husband.

    Dante was thest thing on my mind before I finally fell asleep.

    . . . . .

    I can feel the sunlight on my face, begging me to wake up and face another day. I stretched and felt a

    hand over my chest.

    I froze at the contact.

    I slowly opened my eyes to find Dante¡¯s arm on top of me. What was it doing there? I could hear his

    uneven breathing. He was definitely in a deep sleep.

    I slightly turn my face and see his lips only inches away from mine. I can¡¯t look away even if I wanted

    to.

    I can¡¯t stop myself as I lift my hand to trace his bottom lip with my finger lightly.

    It¡¯s just as soft as I remembered. A part of me, a big part, wants to press my lips against them.

    I gasped when his eyes shed open without any warning. I can¡¯t move. Not even an inch.

    Dante is staring at me, and my finger is still on his lip.

    This isn¡¯t happening to me!

 Chapter 177

    Chapter 177

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 177

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 13

    ~WILLOW~

    He doesn¡¯t say anything. All he does is watch me like I was a ticking time bomb. Did I make him that

    ufortable?

    I still can¡¯t move my finger. I¡¯m numb after being caught.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± he finally asks, breaking the silence.

    I flushed under his piercing gaze, ¡°I was just about to wake you.¡± I lie. ¡°Your arm, it¡¯s um¡ª¡±

    Right above my breast. I don¡¯t finish my sentence. When he realizes what I¡¯m trying to say, he moves

    his arm from on top of me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± he apologizes. ¡°I¡¯m not used to havingpany in my bed. It may take some time for me to

    get ustomed to it. If you want, I can separate us with some pillows or even get another bed for the

    room.¡±

    Of course, he would suggest something like this just because he¡¯d touched me in his sleep.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I assure him. ¡°It doesn¡¯t bother me.¡±

    He nods and walks into the bathroom. I bury my head against the pillow.

    While he¡¯s showering, I pull my diary out from under the mattress.

    My dearest husband,

    You kissed me for the first time. You¡¯ve done the one thing I¡¯ve been dreaming about since I married

    you. However, I felt hurt when you said my sister¡¯s name. You were thinking of her the entire time. I do

    not me you; I know you love her, and I know our marriage was f****d onto you. Still, my heart doesn¡¯t

    know how to forget your lips on mine. And I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible to ever forget.

    I quickly ced it back under the mattress when I heard the shower turn off.

    It was my turn to get dressed for the academy. I pass him as soon as he¡¯s getting out. I held my breath

    as his scent hit my nose. It¡¯sforting and intoxicating all at once.

    I cover my mouth and nose, trying to cancel it out.

    ¡°Are you sick?¡± Dante asks me, noticing my strange actions.

    I shook my head. I don¡¯t wait for him to ask any more questions as I shut the bathroom door. I quickly

    showered and got out a few minutester.

    When I walk outside, Dante is already dressed while I¡¯m still in my towel.

    He looked up at my entrance, and his eyes immediately turned a darker shade. I didn¡¯t think it was

    possible for eyes as bright as his to get that much darker during the day.

    I cleared my throat and walked over to the closet. It took me a while to remember that Autumn and

    rissa had removed my old clothes. These were all outfits chosen by them.

    I take leather pants out and match them with a white crop top.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to get dressed,¡± Dante informs me. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting in the jeep.¡±

    I don¡¯t say anything as I watch him leave. When alone, I drop the towel onto the ground and quickly get

    dressed.

    When I walked down the stairs, I could hear someone whistling. When I look to my left, it¡¯s rissa.

    Both she and Autumn are happy to see my outfit.

    ¡°I knew it would fit you amazing!¡± Autumn exims. ¡°Let¡¯s see what those awful girls at the academy

    have to say now.¡±

    They¡¯ve had plenty to say about my outfits in the past. They imed that Anya had a much better style

    than I did.

    ¡°We don¡¯t care about their opinion.¡± rissa snapped. ¡°What did Dante say when he saw this on you?¡±

    ¡°He hasn¡¯t seen it,¡± I answer her. ¡°He¡¯s already in his vehicle.¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get you outside,¡± Autumn says as she hooks her arm in mine.

    Dante doesn¡¯t even look up at me when I step into the jeep. His eyes are on his phone. After I buckle

    myself in, he starts the Jeep and pulls out of the garage.

    That was disappointing.

    Neither of us says a word for the entire drive to the academy. When we arrived, I silently exited and

    reunited with rissa and Autumn. They¡¯d arrived at the same time as us.

    ¡°Did he have anything to say about your outfit?¡± Autumn asks me.

    I shook my head, ¡°No. He didn¡¯t even look at me, not once.¡±

    rissa looks annoyed, ¡°I can¡¯t believe him. You look amazing. Look at the many guys already staring

    at you.¡±

    I followed her gaze and realized that she was right.

    Men weren¡¯t the only ones staring at me; so were the girls.

    ¡°I think I know what¡¯s going on,¡± Autumn says suddenly. ¡°Isn¡¯t today their anniversary?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I ask, surprised.

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± rissa whispers. ¡°It¡¯s on this day that Dante asked Anya to be his girlfriend. It¡¯s the

    same for Damon and Atticus.¡±

    Oh.

    I didn¡¯t know how to feel about this.

    ¡°He¡¯s going to be in a worse mood today.¡± Autumn sighs. ¡°I think it¡¯s best to avoid him for the rest of the

    day.¡±

    She was right. He was already in a bad mood because ofst night. He must hate himself for kissing

    me in his sleep.

    ¡°Look who¡¯s finally made it,¡± Sharon says as we bounce into her.

    ¡°What does she want?¡± rissa mumbles.

    ¡°We were waiting for you.¡± She announces. ¡°Everyone has prepared a surprise for you inside.¡±

    What could she be talking about? A surprise? I¡¯m sure it wouldn¡¯t be a good one.

    ¡°We have nothing to say to you, Sharon.¡± rissa snaps as we pass her.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    ¡°Of course, the girl who slept with her brother will have nothing to say to me.¡± She retorts.

    rissa stiffens, and Autumn grabs her arm to stop her from doing anything. I touched her other arm; I

    didn¡¯t want to see rissa get in trouble because of that woman.

    We finally seeded in calming rissa down and walking into the school. However, the second we

    entered the hall, I understood what Sharon meant.

    ¡°What the hell is this?¡± rissa demands.

    On both sides of the walls were pictures of Anya and Dante kissing. There were hundreds of flyers

    everywhere, wishing them a happy anniversary.

    I felt a sharp pain my chest.

    How could people be this cruel?

 Chapter 178

    Chapter 178

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 178

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 14

    ~WILLOW~

    They were everywhere. My sister and my husband. They must have taken a million pictures together

    for there to be this many. How many times did he kiss her? How many times have they done even

    more?

    My stomach churned at just the thought of it.

    Why would anyone choose to y such a foolish prank on us? I was still heartbroken from Anya¡¯s

    death. None of these people actually loved her, yet they seemed to believe otherwise. Rather than

    comfort me after losing my sister, these people preferred to scar me emotionally.

    I was still trying to gain the affection of Dante. With all of these pictures, his emotion for Anya would

    only resurface.

    ¡°We need to get these pictures down,¡± Autumn tells rissa. ¡°Immediately.¡±

    They were thinking the same thing that I was. However, I knew nothing could get rid of those pictures

    fast enough. Dante was only a few feet away from us.

    ¡°I wish I could have burnt them to the ground.¡± rissa hissed. ¡°However, I have no choice but to hide

    my power.¡±

    When Dante finally looks up from his phone, he sees me staring at him wide-eyed.

    He looks confused at first until his eyes fall on the pictures right before him. I watch as realization

    quickly dampens his mood.

    His lips parted, and his forehead creased. I watch as the phone from his hand drops onto the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Dante.¡± Autumn apologizes. ¡°I don¡¯t know who¡¯s responsible for this, but we will get rid of

    every one of these pictures.¡±

    Dante looks at her then, ¡°Get rid of them? They are pictures of Anya. I don¡¯t want you to destroy them.

    Take them down but don¡¯t destroy them. You can give them to me.¡±

    I try not to take his words to heart. I tried my best; however, I failed miserably.

    Was he nning on staring at those pictures every chance that he got? The fact that he didn¡¯t want

    Autumn to destroy them and instead give them to him told me all that I needed to know.

    I watch with horror as he takes one of the pictures, walking past me.

    I see the smirks on everyone¡¯s faces. It¡¯s almost like they enjoyed hurting me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let them know how much it¡¯s hurting you,¡± rissa whispers. ¡°Don¡¯t give them the satisfaction

    that their n has worked. Instead, lift your head and keep on fighting back. You have us by your side,

    and I promise Dante will soon be on your side as well. All he needs is some time to heal.¡±

    I truly wanted to believe her, but I didn¡¯t think that it was possible for Dante to ever heal from Anya¡¯s

    death. She was his true love, even if she didn¡¯t see it that way.

    Seeing my face every day must make everything much more difficult for him.

    ¡°What the hell is all of this?¡± Atticus demands as he takes a look around us. He¡¯d just entered.

    ¡°Someone decided to y a little prank on Willow,¡± Autumn answers. ¡°A sick, twisted joke.¡±

    Atticus narrows his eyes, ¡°I¡¯ll get to the bottom of this.¡±

    rissa and Autumn take both of my arms and walk with me to ss.

    ¡°Good morning, ss,¡± the professor greets everyone just after we¡¯ve taken our seats. ¡°Today, we¡¯re

    discussing ideas for our new fundraiser. It¡¯s almost that time when we ept someone that can¡¯t afford

    to attend this academy. This fundraiser will go towards that schrship just like it always does.¡±

    I was learning new things about the academy every day.

    I looked around the room for Dante; he wasn¡¯t there. Did he lock himself in somewhere with that picture

    of Anya? I tried to get images of that thought out of my head.

    ¡°We want fresh new ideas this year.¡± The professor announces. ¡°Whoever has one can raise their

    hands, and I¡¯ll give you a chance to speak.¡±

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    I was not used to things like these and decided not to take part. Everyone already hated me; I didn¡¯t

    want to give them more reasons to do so.

    ¡°We can sell jackets for the event.¡± Someone offers, and the professor seems to like the idea. ¡°My

    father is a designer. He can help us out.¡±

    ¡°Anyone else?¡±

    ¡°What about a kissing booth?¡± Sharon offers. ¡°But only with guys. Every guy from our ss must take

    part in it. However, no one can know who they¡¯re kissing until they enter the booth. It will be private.

    With no one to make anyone feel ufortable.¡±

    She looked at me when she said thest line.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a good idea.¡± Autumn disagrees. ¡°The guys should have a choice. They shouldn¡¯t be f****d

    to take part in this.¡±

    I knew that she and rissa would be pissed if Damon and Atticus were f****d to kiss other women

    because of Sharon¡¯s idea.

    ¡°I understand your concern Autumn but Sharon has a good idea. Our aim for the fundraiser is to make

    just enough to cover the schrship. It will allow someone to improve their life, someone who deserves

    it.¡±

    Autumn doesn¡¯t say anything at that. Atticus and Damon, along with Dante, were not in ss. I¡¯m not

    sure where they were. I¡¯m sure if Atticus and Damon were here, they would also protest. Dante, on the

    other hand, I¡¯m not sure what his reaction would have been like. He¡¯s hard to read at times.

    The thought of Dante kissing another woman in the kissing booth bothered me. However, I knew that it

    was for a good cause. It¡¯s not like I had a say in any of this.

    Dante would never know that I had feelings for him. If he thought that I would be okay with this kissing

    booth idea, he would go along with it.

    ¡°I swear girls from this academy would use any excuse to kiss already-taken guys.¡± rissa mumbles.

    ¡°Can¡¯t I just burn their hair just once?¡±

    Autumn sighs, ¡°As much as I would love to see that, you know that you can¡¯t reveal the truth to anyone.

    People are keeping an eye on us. We can¡¯t give them any reason to suspect you.¡±

    ¡°I guess we must find a way to live with this,¡± rissa says as she crosses her hand over her chest

    angrily.

    I felt the same as she did, but I tried to bury those feelings.

    I had to find a way to get rid of them before I got hurt. I had to. If I kept these feelings in my heart, I

    would surely get my heart broken soon.

 Chapter 179

    Chapter 179

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 179

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 15

    ~DANTE~

    ¡°A kissing booth?¡± I ask Damon, surprised at what I¡¯d just learned.

    Why on earth did theye up with that idea? That sounds like trouble.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a booth,¡± Damon answers me. ¡°It¡¯s a private room where any girl coulde in and make out

    with guys from the academy.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re telling me there¡¯s no way we could get out of this?¡± I demand. ¡°There should be a f*****g

    rule that excludes married men, at least.¡±

    ¡°If there was a rule like that, what the hell am I supposed to do?¡± Damon demands. ¡°I¡¯m not married to

    rissa. Not yet.¡±

    This was the first discussion we¡¯d had like this in a while. It felt good but still strained.

    ¡°Does the girl have a say on who she¡¯s getting to kiss?¡± I ask him.

    He shook his head, ¡°she doesn¡¯t know. It¡¯s a surprise. To make things fair, they won¡¯t know until they

    enter the room.¡±

    ¡°Autumn and rissa are probably losing their f*****g minds,¡± I mutter.

    ¡°And what about Willow?¡± Atticus asks as he sneaks up behind us.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± I growl. ¡°Why do you always show up in time to be a pain in my a*s?¡±

    He shrugs, ¡°Someone needs to be here to guide you along the right path.¡±

    I ignore him, ¡°why did you mention Willow?¡± I ask. ¡°What about her?¡±

    He quirks a brow, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that she would also be upset that you¡¯ll be kissing another woman?¡±

    I frown, ¡°Autumn is in love with you. With Willow, it¡¯s different; she doesn¡¯t love me. It wouldn¡¯t affect her

    as badly. Not that I even want to kiss anyone. I¡¯d rather find a way to get out of it.¡±

    The word kiss reminds me of the one I shared with Willow in bed.

    I inwardly groaned at the reminder. What was so special about that kiss? Why can¡¯t I forget it? I was

    half asleep when that kiss happened. It shouldn¡¯t be this hard to forget about it.

    ¡°She¡¯s still your wife.¡± Atticus says suddenly as he taps my shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ve made simr mistakes in the

    past. I don¡¯t want to see you doing the same.¡±

    My jaw clenches. He¡¯d made mistakes; I¡¯m aware of that. However, he was never actually in love with

    Anya.

    I was the only one that loved her; even Damon didn¡¯t love her. They both had women that they truly

    loved, and both of them had their mates.

    I was not the same. Anya must have been my mate. I may never know the truth, the spell died with her,

    and with her death, I couldn¡¯t tell genuinely. However, the pain I felt may be all I needed to confirm that

    Anya was my mate. But if she was, wouldn¡¯t she have had some feelings for me as well? Or did she

    bury those feelings for her revenge on my family?

    ¡°I¡¯m sure we can find a way to get out of this kissing booth nonsense,¡± Atticus tells us.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind it at all,¡± Griffin announces. ¡°I think it might be fun.¡±

    Of course, he would think that way. He wasn¡¯t in love with anyone, as far as we all knew.

    ¡°If you want to take part, you can,¡± Atticus tells him. ¡°However, for the three of us, we need to find a

    way to make sure that the only woman kissing us is the one that we love.¡±

    I think he meant to say the two of them. The woman I love is no longer here with us.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    ¡°All we need is to find a way to let Autumn know who¡¯s entering the room,¡± Atticus says. ¡°She can warn

    rissa and Willow so they don¡¯t kiss random strangers.¡±

    I stiffen at the thought of Willow kissing a stranger. I know that it shouldn¡¯t bother me, but it did. It

    bothers me because I know Anya wouldn¡¯t want her sister kissing any strange man.

    That¡¯s the only reason I could think of. For that reason, I had to find a way to ensure that she didn¡¯t take

    part in this.

    We had no choice but to take part, but there wasn¡¯t a rule that f****d the women to participate.

    ¡°I¡¯m heading to my room,¡± I tell my brothers.

    ¡°Already?¡± Atticus asks. ¡°I thought we were going to drink some beers and y some game?¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°I¡¯m exhausted. What those assholes did today still has me f*****g pissed.¡±

    ¡°You mean the pictures with you and Anya?¡± Atticus asks. ¡°I think a girl was responsible for that. Or

    possibly more than one girl. They¡¯re crushing on you and think there¡¯s a chance to have you since

    Anya is gone.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s insane,¡± I growl. ¡°I¡¯m married.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t even have a wedding ring.¡± Atticus points out.

    I swallow. I got a ring for Willow, but I never thought about getting one for myself. And I wasn¡¯t nning

    on doing it either. I didn¡¯t need a constant reminder that I was married to Anya¡¯s younger sister.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see you guys in the morning.¡± I dismiss them.

    I climbed the stairs two at a time, moving quickly toward my room.

    I knew Willow was already in bed. I hadn¡¯t seen her since I returned home. When I opened the door, I

    felt relief flood my body when I saw her tucked under my sheets. I don¡¯t know why I felt so relieved to

    see her in my room, lying in my bed. It¡¯s almost like I was looking forward to seeing her.

    I shook that thought out of my head.

    She looks up at me when I close the door and walk over to my side of the bed.

    I remove my watch and ce it on the bedside table.

    ¡°There¡¯s something I want to talk to you about,¡± I say suddenly before I can talk some sense into

    myself.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± She asks nervously.

    Did I make her nervous?

    ¡°It¡¯s about the kissing booth.¡± I blurt out. ¡°Can you not take part in it?¡±

 Chapter 180

    Chapter 180

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 180

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 16

    ~WILLOW~

    Did I hear him correctly? There¡¯s no possible way that Dante just asked me not to take part in the

    kissing booth. I knew it wouldn¡¯t bother him one bit.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± I whisper. ¡°Why don¡¯t you want me to take part? Aren¡¯t you also taking part in it?¡±

    He nods, ¡°I am.¡± He answers me. ¡°But I have no choice but to take part in it. I¡¯m asking you to stay out

    of it for your own good.¡±

    ¡°My own good?¡± I ask, confused.

    His jaw clenches, ¡°yes, you¡¯re unlike many of those girls who will be participating in it. They¡¯re

    experienced. They¡¯ve probably kissed dozens of men already. They know what they¡¯re doing. You¡¯re

    innocent; you¡¯re not like them. Kissing a stranger would make you ufortable.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to say that I¡¯m a bad kisser?¡± I demand, surprised that he would even hint at that.

    I could feel my cheeks get red with anger. I knew that I was innocent; I knew that I was also very

    inexperienced. However, he didn¡¯t need to point this out without considering how it would hurt my

    feelings.

    He turned his face to look at me; I could see the surprise in his eyes.

    ¡°When did I say that you were a bad kisser?¡± He demands.

    ¡°You just said that those girls knew exactly what they were doing while I don¡¯t.¡± I remind him of his own

    words.

    I was embarrassed that my first kiss was so horrible for him. I knew he didn¡¯t want to kiss me; he was

    thinking of my sister. Still, hearing him admit how bad it was for him made me very upset.

    ¡°Willow¡ª¡±

    ¡°In case you didn¡¯t know, that was my first kiss!¡± I snap. ¡°I¡¯ve never been kissed by any other man

    before. Not on my cheeks or my lips or my chest or my neck¡ª¡±

    He covers my mouth with his finger, stopping me from saying anything else.

    His eyes were cold and almost dark as he red at me, ¡°I never said that kiss was bad.¡± He finally

    says.

    My eyes widen. Does that mean he enjoyed it as much as I did? I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not what he meant, but

    my heart would happily assume that¡¯s what he was trying to tell me.

    He seems to be searching for the right words, ¡°I¡¯m just saying that guys from the academy are f*****g

    horny bastards. They¡¯ll put their hands all over your body and try to touch ces they shouldn¡¯t. And if I

    find out that anyone put their f*****g hands on you, I will chop each of their fingers off!¡±

    My lips part in surprise. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I thought I felt butterflies in my

    stomach. I didn¡¯t know hearing a man mention cutting off someone¡¯s fingers for me would ever make

    me this giddy, but I was learning new things about myself every day.

    ¡°You¡¯ll chop their fingers off for touching me?¡± I repeat his words, unsure if I¡¯d heard him correctly. I

    needed him to confirm it for me.

    Someone needed to pinch me; this had to be a dream. Why would he ever do something like that for

    me?

    Realization seems to hit him finally, and he quickly clears his throat, ¡°I meant that Anya would want me

    to do that if anyone touched you inappropriately. I promised to protect her sister, and that¡¯s exactly what

    I n on doing. If anyone takes advantage of you, I¡¯ll make them pay. So please, for your sister, don¡¯t

    participate in this.¡±

    I flush at his words. Again, he was only doing it because of my sister. Everything he did for me was only

    because she¡¯d asked him to do it.

    For once, I wished he would do it for me and only for me. Thinking like this would get me nowhere.

    I sigh, ¡°If it means that much to you. I won¡¯t take part.¡±

    I wish I could ask him to do the same for me. I hope he can find a way to avoid letting another woman

    kiss him. I knew Sharon and the other girls that threw themselves at him were waiting for this

    opportunity.

    Girls seemed crazy for the Fawns, and I knew exactly why. If Anya hadn¡¯t asked Dante to marry me, he

    would have never looked my way. I would have been like any other girl trying to catch his attention. I

    think my sister knew this. She knew that she was the only person who would be able to get him to

    marry me, and she used that to her advantage.

    It¡¯s still crazy that she never fell for Dante¡¯s apparent charms. How could she not see him the way that I

    did?

    He seemed to rx a little after I told him I wouldn¡¯t participate in the kissing booth. I hadn¡¯t heard

    about a kissing booth until they mentioned it today.

    He walks into the bathroom and does his usual routine beforeing to bed. I was beginning to enjoy

    seeing hime out of the shower every time he was preparing for sleep. I was worried that it was

    something I would soon be looking forward to every night.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    I could still smell the soap on him when he pulled the covers over his body. He smelled so good.

    He always does.

    I turned to the other side to not stare at his back. I closed my eyes and tried to force myself to fall

    asleep. I was learning that it was very difficult to fall asleep when a sexy man was sleeping right next to

    you.

    Every sound he made, even the sound of his breathing, the little movements of his sheets, I was aware

    of it all.

    Screw this.

    I was turning back around to stare at him, even if it was just his back.

    However, when I finally did turn around, I was surprised to be face-to-face with him.

    Dante swallows hard, and so do I.

    ¡°You look nothing like her.¡±

    I gasp.

    I knew I looked nothing like Anya. Did it bother him that I didn¡¯t?

    He turns on his back and stares at the ceiling.

    I guess looking at me was painful for him. I angrily closed my eyes and f****d myself to fall asleep.

 Chapter 181

    Chapter 181

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 181

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 17

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°I¡¯m not taking part in the kissing booth,¡± I tell Autumn.

    She gapes at me.

    ¡°Why?¡± She demands.

    ¡°We had so many ns for today,¡± rissains. ¡°And all of it included getting Dante jealous.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t even like me; why do you think he will get jealous?¡± I ask her.

    She sighs, ¡°I don¡¯t think you know much about men like Dante. I¡¯m telling you that we need to get him

    jealous.¡±

    ¡°He asked me nicely not to take part in this,¡± I exin to her. ¡°I don¡¯t want to do anything to make him

    upset with me.¡±

    Autumn quirks a brow at me, ¡°Are you telling me that Dante asked you not to take part?¡±

    I nod.

    She looked at rissa, and they both looked excited about this news.

    ¡°He¡¯s so jealous.¡± rissaughs.

    ¡°No, he¡¯s not.¡± I disagree. ¡°He said that Anya would be upset if he let me participate in something like

    this. He said that the guys from the academy may try to take advantage of me and that I was too

    innocent for this.¡±

    Autumn doubles over inughter. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that¡¯s what he said to you.¡±

    ¡°Dante truly does have a way with words, doesn¡¯t he?¡± rissa asks.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what was so funny.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Willow, but you are taking part in the kissing booth this year,¡± Autumn tells me.

    My forehead creases, ¡°what are you talking about? I already told Dante that I wouldn¡¯t be taking part in

    this.¡±

    ¡°We have a n,¡± Autumn whispers. ¡°Atticus will let us know exactly who¡¯s entering the room so we

    can enter at the right time. You won¡¯t have to kiss a stranger. None of us would.¡±

    I frown, ¡°isn¡¯t that against the rules?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about the rules when it involves Damon.¡± rissa mumbles. ¡°I rather burn this entire ce

    down than let him kiss another woman.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure that this n will work?¡± I ask them.

    I didn¡¯t want there to be a possibility of their n not working. If that happened, I would be f****d to kiss

    a stranger, and that¡¯s thest thing I wanted. Dante was the only man I wanted to kiss, even if he didn¡¯t

    want to kiss me.

    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re sure,¡± Autumn assured me. ¡°I¡¯ll do everything in my power to ensure it does.¡±

    Sharon is right in front of us with a group of her friends. I watch as she purposefully puts on lip gloss in

    front of me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure Dante is a great kisser.¡± She shouts. ¡°I can¡¯t wait for my chance to kiss him.¡±

    Autumn and I again had to drag rissa away before she could make a scene in public.

    ¡°I swear one of these days; she¡¯s going to get what¡¯sing to her.¡± rissa growls.

    ¡°We know that she wouldn¡¯t get an opportunity to kiss him,¡± Autumn says. ¡°There¡¯s no reason for us to

    get worked up over her.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± rissa says, finally calming down.

    Girly screams suddenly erupt around us.

    ¡°It¡¯s starting,¡± Autumn tells me as she drags me forward.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if this is a good idea.¡± I protest. ¡°I¡¯m sure if I get Dante, he wouldn¡¯t even want to kiss me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better than him kissing someone like Sharon, right?¡± She asks me.

    I frown; the thought of Sharon kissing him angered me.

    I nod, ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s do this.¡±

    . . . . . . . . . .

    ~DANTE~

    ¡°Are you hearing those screams?¡± Griffin asks. ¡°Those women can¡¯t wait to get their hands on one of

    you.¡±

    Atticus looks sick after hearing it.

    ¡°We have a n,¡± Atticus says as he looks for Damon for confirmation.

    What did they know that they weren¡¯t telling us?

    ¡°You have a n?¡± I ask him.

    He nods, ¡°It¡¯s nothing that you have to worry about. Didn¡¯t you say that Willow won¡¯t be participating?¡±

    I nod; thankfully, she¡¯d listened to me. Unlike my brothers, I didn¡¯t have anything to worry about.

    ¡°It¡¯s starting,¡± Damon says. ¡°Who¡¯s going first?¡±

    ¡°Griffin,¡± Atticus answers as we watch him enter the room from the back entrance. ¡°He¡¯s signed up to

    take part more than once.¡±

    I chuckle, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect anything different from our younger brother.¡±

    One after the next, everyone around us takes their turn. It was almost time for me to enter. I just had to

    get it over with.

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious to find out who you¡¯ll be kissing?¡± Atticus asks me. ¡°You can check upfront. The first

    person in line will kiss you in the next few minutes.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t curious, but I still wanted to know who it was. I walk out to the front, hoping that none of the

    girls would see me looking. I didn¡¯t want to hear their screams again.

    Luckily, they were too excited to look my way. I follow the line, searching the faces, Sharon is first in

    line, but the person behind her makes everything spin.

    Willow.

    What the hell was she doing there? She agreed not to partake in this event. So then, why the hell was

    she in line?

    My hand tightened into a fist as I f****d myself to have some self-control. I wanted to walk over to her

    and pull her out of the line, but that would cause too much attention on us.

    I storm back to Atticus, who looks surprised to see me looking like I wanted to kill someone.

    ¡°After me, who¡¯s next?¡± I demand from him.

    ¡°Eric.¡± He answers me. ¡°Eric is next.¡±

    My eyes are narrow when they zero in on the person in question.

    I walk over to Eric and grab him by his shirt, ¡°switch ces with me.¡±

    ¡°W-what?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make me repeat it, or I¡¯ll drag you out of that room the second you enter it.¡± I threaten him.

    His eyes widen as he slowly nods, ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal. You can have my spot if you want. All you

    had to do was ask.¡±

    I let go of him and storm over to Atticus.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± He demands.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe she lied to me,¡± I growl. ¡°She f*****g lied!¡±

 Chapter 182

    Chapter 182

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 182

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 18

    ~WILLOW~

    I was having doubts about this. What would I do if someone else was inside that room? Would they

    allow me to back out?

    ¡°Willow.¡± They call my name. ¡°You¡¯re up next.¡±

    I watched as Sharon exited the room with a pissed look on her face. Whoever she¡¯d gotten to kiss

    wasn¡¯t who she wanted. That¡¯s a good sign? Isn¡¯t it?

    It meant that she didn¡¯t get to kiss Dante.

    ¡°Willow?¡± They call my name again.

    I build up the courage to take a few steps forward. My hands shake when I open the door and enter the

    room.

    Music was ying, canceling out the noise from outside. The lights were dimmed but I could still see

    clearly. I look around the room for Dante. At least, I was still hoping that it was Dante.

    The door in front of me opens, and I breathe a sigh of relief when I see the familiar face of the man I

    married.

    It was him. Autumn and rissa were right. They made it happen.

    He doesn¡¯t look surprised to see me. Did they also exin to him about their n?

    Dante looks angry, and I think it¡¯s possible that he knew nothing about this unlike what I was hoping.

    He still looks like someone who thought I wouldn¡¯t participate in the kissing booth.

    This wasn¡¯t good. I didn¡¯t want to upset him, but he now seems furious.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    ¡°Are you surprised to see that it¡¯s me?¡± He asks me; I can barely recognize the tone of his voice. I don¡¯t

    think I¡¯ve ever seen Dante this angry in the past, and it felt horrible to know that his anger was directed

    toward me.

    ¡°No,¡± I answer honestly. ¡°I was hoping that it would be you.¡±

    He chuckles, and I can sense the sarcasm, ¡°is that another lie?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, Dante,¡± I answer him truthfully. His questions were confusing

    me.

    ¡°Is that what you wanted, Willow?¡± He demands. ¡°To be kissed by a stranger?¡±

    I gape at him. ¡°What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you so angry?¡±

    He takes a step towards me, and I take one back. I wasn¡¯t used to him reacting this way.

    ¡°You lied about not taking part in this event.¡±He exins as he takes another step forward. ¡°I saw you

    getting ready to enter the room, and I knew it was all a lie. You said that you wouldn¡¯t take part. I had to

    f*****g switch ces with that motherfucker so he couldn¡¯t kiss you.¡±

    I gasp. Was there initially someone else? That couldn¡¯t be possible. Autumn said that Dante would be

    the one in the room. Was there some mistake?

    Something must have gone wrong. I knew they would never purposefully let me kiss someone other

    than Dante.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re misunderstanding¡ª¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I am Willow.¡± He growls. ¡°If you wanted to kiss someone that badly, you could have just

    said so.¡±

    I don¡¯t get time to respond when he grabs me by my neck and pulls me towards him.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I gasp.

    ¡°The room is rented out for a kiss.¡± He answers me. ¡°You paid for a kiss, and I will give you one.¡±

    My eyes widen when his lips crash onto mine. For the first few seconds, all I could do was stare at him

    wide-eyed while he devoured my lips.

    I¡¯m in shock. I¡¯m not sure what to do. He was right, I did pay for a kiss, but he seemed to be under the

    impression that I wanted to kiss someone else. He didn¡¯t realize that this was exactly what I wanted. A

    kiss from him. No one else.

    His taste, like mint, explodes in my mouth, making me whimper. I felt him shiver in my arms and I

    wonder if it had anything to do with the sound that just came out of me.

    He picks me up and pushes me against the wall. I gasp against his mouth. What was this strong feeling

    in my chest? I¡¯ve never been kissed like this before. Myst kiss with him was nothing like this.

    This kiss was possessive and almost desperate. I could feel the anger radiating from his body,

    transferring onto my lips.

    What made this special was knowing that, unlike our first kiss, this time, he was very aware that it was

    me he was kissing. He wasn¡¯t thinking about my sister. He thought of me even though he only did it to

    prove a point.

    I couldn¡¯t believe that another girl would be experiencing this right now if Autumn and rissa hadn¡¯t

    convinced me to take part in this event.

    I was so happy that I had listened to them.

    I could hear a knock on the door, but I don¡¯t think Dante did.

    He continued to kiss me, ignoring the sound from outside. They were trying to get our attention but

    were failing miserably.

    Dante picks me up and throws me onto the couch before climbing on top of me. It almost feels like he¡¯d

    lost control of his body.

    I heard another knock; this time, it was louder.

    ¡°f*****g leave us alone!¡± Dante lifts his mouth from my own long enough to shout those words before

    going right back in.

    This doesn¡¯t seem like him at all. Was I dreaming? If I pinched myself right now, would I wake up and

    realize it wasn¡¯t real, to begin with?

    I gasp when his hand travels up my leg. He was touching me. His hand felt warm and big. I had this

    ufortable feeling between my legs; for some weird reason, I wanted to feel his big hands there as

    well.

    Was something wrong with me? Why was I acting so strangely?

    ¡°Willow!¡± Someone shouts. ¡°Your time is up!¡±

    He ignores them as he moves his mouth from my lips to my neck. I bury my hands in his hair as he

    nibbles on my skin. I wanted to bring him even closer to me.

    Why did this feel so good?

    The door flies open suddenly, and the room light gets brighter than it was just a few seconds ago. Both

    Dante and I freeze.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to break this up but you only paid for five minutes, and ten minutes have just passed.¡± The

    woman who¡¯d let me in earlier says sternly.

    Dante lifts his head to look at me. I can see the shock on his face. I was right; he wasn¡¯t even aware of

    what he was doing.

    I¡¯ve never seen someone look this disgusted with themselves as he did now.

    He moves from on top of me and aggressively wipes his lips. It¡¯s almost like he wants to get my taste

    out of his system. His head was slightly thrown back and it looks like he was fighting for control.

    His jaw was tight as he ran a hand through his hair.

    I slowly got up from the couch while fixing my dress.

    Dante seemed to be getting angrier by the second. His hands are fisted and I can see his veins oh so

    clearly.

    I watched in horror as he mmed his fist against the wall without warning before storming out of the

    room.

 Chapter 183

    Chapter 183

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 183

    Book 3 Chapter 19

    ~DANTE~

    What the f**k was wrong with me?

    Why did I lose control like that? When I saw Willow inside that room, waiting eagerly and all innocently

    for a stranger that she didn¡¯t even know, everything snapped.

    The kiss was supposed to be a lesson; there wasn¡¯t even supposed to be a kiss. That decision

    happened in a split second.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    Atticus grabs my arm the second I exit the room, ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Willow was inside that room,¡± I answer him.

    I can¡¯t remember thest time I¡¯ve ever been this angry. I was f*****g furious, and I didn¡¯t know how to

    calm down.

    Why did she tell me that she wouldn¡¯t take part if she were going to do the exact opposite?

    ¡°She was?¡± Atticus asks. ¡°I wonder why she said differently. So she¡¯s the person you were referring to

    earlier? The one that lied to you.¡±

    I run a hand down my face. ¡°I told her how many f*****g assholes attended this Academy, and she still

    chose to participate. Kissing wasn¡¯t the only thing that could have happened inside that room with one

    of those assholes.¡±

    ¡°Did you just storm off on her like that?¡± Atticus demands. ¡°You should have spoken to her. Find out

    why she did it. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just a misunderstanding.¡±

    ¡°To hear her say what?¡± I demand. ¡°That she wanted to kiss a random stranger?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know if that¡¯s what happened.¡± He disagrees. ¡°Why are you behaving like this? Why are you

    so angry?¡±

    I take a deep breath, digging deep for an answer to his question. The first thing I could think about was

    Anya and my promise to her.

    ¡°Because Anya begged me to protect her sister while dying,¡± I growl. ¡°I promised to do everything

    possible to make herst wishese true. If Willow lies to me again, I won¡¯t always be there to

    protect her. I don¡¯t want to disappoint Anya even if she isn¡¯t here. I don¡¯t want to let her down.¡±

    Atticus takes a deep breath and looks around us, checking if anyone is listening to our conversation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯ve always loved her so much.¡± Atticus sighs.

    His words angered me. ¡°You may have forgotten all of the years you¡¯ve spent with her because of

    Autumn, but every second I spent with Anya still lives rent-free in my head. I¡¯m not going to magically

    forget about it just because I married someone else.¡±

    Atticus nods, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I said anything. You can¡¯t help who you fall in love with. I hope one day you can

    learn to love¡ª¡±

    ¡°Can you make sure that Willow gets home safely?¡± I ask my brother, stopping him from finishing that

    sentence.

    He looked shocked when I asked him, ¡°And what about you? Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± He

    demands.

    I clenched my jaw, ¡°I can¡¯t stay here. I have to go somewhere to clear my head. If I don¡¯t, I might say

    something I regret.¡±

    I knew I should stop and listen to Willow¡¯s exnation. However, I was too angry to converse with

    anyone, especially her.

    I had to calm down first. And there was one thing that had proven in the past to calm me down.

    I said goodbye to Atticus and walked away before he could ask questions. I¡¯m sure he had an idea of

    where I was going. He knew that the fighting ring was where I went when things got this heated.

    I¡¯m surprised that he didn¡¯t do more to stop me.

    When I reached the vehicle, I quickly got in and pressed my forehead against the steering wheel.

    Things kept getting worse for me. Whenever I felt like this, the first thing I did was look for Anya. All I

    had left of her were pictures.

    I pulled my wallet out of my pocket and removed the picture of her.

    I held it between my fingers and gazed at her beauty.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to kiss her,¡± I whisper. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    I felt like I had betrayed her in some way. Crossing her was something I would never be able to forgive

    myself for.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time I¡¯d kissed Willow. It was the second f*****g time, and this time I had no damn

    excuses.

    ¡°Why did you ask me to marry your sister Anya?¡± I asked the picture in front of me, knowing it wasn¡¯t

    possible to get an answer from her.

    I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed a number I didn¡¯t think I would be calling tonight.

    ¡°What can I do for my favorite fighter today?¡± Jaguar asks as soon as he picks up my call.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to lose the fight tonight,¡± I tell him.

    ¡°What?¡± he asks, surprised. ¡°I wasn¡¯t even told that you would be on tonight.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ast-minute decision,¡± I exin. ¡°I need to be in that ring tonight, but I won¡¯t win. I¡¯ll let the

    opposition win tonight.¡±

    There¡¯s a long pause.

    ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°Why would you want to lose willingly?¡± he asks me. ¡°Everyone loves to see you win.¡±

    ¡°You can win the bets if I lose tonight.¡± I try to persuade him. ¡°Think about it. Everyone else would be

    voting for me. If you vote against it, you¡¯ll win big time.¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°If that¡¯s what you want. Who am I to stop you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be there in less than an hour,¡± I inform him. ¡°I don¡¯t want to wait for the fight when I arrive. I¡¯m

    hungry for a fight.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure that everything is prepared for you.¡± He assures me. ¡°You¡¯re about to make me richer

    tonight.¡±

    I sat back against my seat and let out a breath I didn¡¯t know I was holding.

    I wanted to lose the fight tonight. I deserved to get beaten up. I should never have kissed Willow. I

    should never have betrayed Anya.

    Tonight I¡¯ll make sure that my body pays for my mistakes. I¡¯ll never do something like that again. I¡¯ll

    make sure that I learn my lesson.

 Chapter 184

    Chapter 184

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 184

    Book 3 Chapter 20

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°We don¡¯t know what happened.¡± Autumn apologizes as soon as she spots me. ¡°You were supposed to

    enter the room with Dante, but something went wrong.¡±

    ¡°He was very angry with me,¡± I whisper, still shocked by our kiss.

    Dante was a very good kisser; I knew that without having to kiss anyone else topare.

    ¡°He thinks that I lied to him.¡± I continue to exin. ¡°I didn¡¯t get a chance to tell him I changed my mind,

    but only because I knew it would be him inside that room.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault.¡± Autumn apologizes. ¡°We should have told him you were participating. I didn¡¯t think it

    would upset him so much.¡±

    ¡°I think he¡¯s more angry that she almost kissed a stranger,¡± rissa suggests. ¡°ording to Atticus, he

    insisted that the guy after him switch ces with him so he could be in the room with you. All we need

    to do is exin that something went wrong.¡±

    ¡°What the hell did you do?¡± Someone screeches behind me.

    I spun around to see Sharon ring at me.

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Autumn demands. ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re speaking to?¡±

    ¡°Stay out of this!¡± Sharon snaps at her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± I ask her.

    It seems as though everyone is angry with me today for unknown reasons.

    ¡°I paid plenty of money to kiss Dante today!¡± She hissed. ¡°I know that you three had something to do

    with this. Someone made Dante switch ces with Eric, and I want to know who was responsible for

    it!¡±

    ¡°You paid to kiss Dante?¡± rissa demands. ¡°How desperate do you have to be to pay someone for a

    chance to kiss my brother?¡±

    ¡°Your brother?¡± Sharonughs. ¡°Isn¡¯t Damon also your brother? As far as I know, you¡¯re waiting for a

    chance to stick your tongue down Dante¡¯s throat as well!¡±

    My eyes widen as her dress is suddenly up in mes. Sharon starts to scream when she realizes that

    her clothes are on fire.

    There was a pool near us, and she jumped straight into it.

    Autumn res at rissa, ¡°What did you do?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± rissa asks innocently. ¡°You know that she deserved it.¡±

    ¡°I know she deserves it, but I warned you that you must be more careful. We can¡¯t let the overlords find

    out about you, rissa. Do you forget what they almost did to me? I don¡¯t want them toe for you

    as well.¡±

    Why were they so scared of the overlords? I knew nothing about them or why they were after Autumn

    and could be after rissa. However, I could tell how serious this entire thing was by Autumn¡¯sT¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    expression alone.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s time we get out of here,¡± Damon says as he approaches us.

    rissa looks guilty as she stares at him. ¡°Did you just see that?¡±

    He stares at her, and I can see that even he is a little upset, ¡°I did. It¡¯s time to go. Tonight was much

    more eventful than any of us were expecting.¡±

    rissa hugs him, and that seems to calm Damon down a little. He picks her up into his arms without

    warning, and she buries her face against his neck.

    ¡°They loved each other and kept it a secret for so long,¡± I whisper. ¡°I¡¯m happy for them. I wish my sister

    could have been as well.¡±

    Autumn holds my hand, ¡°there was a time that I considered Anya, my closest friend. I wish things were

    different as well.¡±

    We joined the others at the parking lot. Atticus immediately shouts for everyone to get into their

    vehicles.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Autumn asked him as soon as we got inside.

    ¡°I f*****g knew it.¡± He growls. ¡°I put a tracker on Dante¡¯s jeep. I know where he¡¯s heading.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡± I demanded before I could stop myself. I couldn¡¯t hide the anxiousness in my voice. I was

    worried about him.

    His anger could cause him to do something stupid, and that¡¯s thest thing I wanted to see happen.

    ¡°He¡¯s going to that f*****g fighting ring again!¡± Atticus growls. ¡°I don¡¯t care what he has to say; I¡¯m

    stopping that s**t tonight!¡±

    Autumn looks over at me to see my reaction, and I know she can see the horror on my face from

    learning this new information.

    He woulde home with bruises again if we didn¡¯t get there in time.

    I didn¡¯t want to be the reason for his bruises. I didn¡¯t want to cause him any harm. If I had known this

    would have happened, I would have never taken part in the kissing booth. If Dante had given me a

    chance to speak, he wouldn¡¯t have been so angry with me.

    I held onto the door as Atticus mashed down on the elerator. We were speeding on the roads faster

    than I¡¯d ever experienced.

    Damon and rissa were behind us and moving just as fast. They were all trying to stop Dante from

    harming himself.

    When we arrive at the underground ring, Atticus speaks to the receptionist and hands her some money

    so that she can let us in.

    When we entered the fighting arena, I could hear women screaming Dante¡¯s name.

    We were toote. I follow their gazes and felt my heart drop. Dante was on the ground with another

    man punching him repeatedly in his face.

    He wasn¡¯t even fighting back.

    ¡°The f**k?¡± Damon growls. ¡°Why is he just lying there and not fighting back?¡±

    ¡°That asshole wants to lose the fight,¡± Atticus shouts. ¡°He¡¯s intentionally losing. He wants the pain.¡±

    I close my eyes to stop myself from seeing any more of it.

    I couldn¡¯t do this.

    I couldn¡¯t see Dante get beaten up right in front of me.

    ¡°We have to stop this.¡± rissa hissed. ¡°He¡¯s going to kill him at this rate!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s too much security.¡± Atticus points out as he examines the arena. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous to get you

    girls involved. We should have left you home.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t going to sit back and watch this. Before I knew what I was doing, I was already halfway down

    the pathway toward the ring.

    The security stopped me before I could go any further.

    ¡°I¡¯m his wife!¡± I shout. ¡°Let me go to him!¡±

    The man chuckles, ¡°Almost every woman here pretends to be his wife daily. I don¡¯t believe you, chick.¡±

    ¡°DANTE!¡± I scream. ¡°DANTEEE!¡±

    His eyes which were once closed, immediately snapped open.

    My lips part when he searches the crowd until he finally finds me. The look he gives me startles me.

    Oh.

    I think I was in more trouble than before.

 Chapter 185

    Chapter 185

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 185

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 21

    ~DANTE~

    I must be hallucinating. Willow wouldn¡¯t be here. There¡¯s no possible way that she¡¯s standing a few feet

    away from the ring while screaming my name. Yet, it all felt so real. She looked real. All of this looked

    real.

    Maybe I¡¯d been punched so much in my face that I was seeing things. But why, out of everyone, would

    I see her?

    I looked behind her, and to my horror, my siblings were also there.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    f**k.

    They were all there. Everyone except Griffin. It meant that I wasn¡¯t hallucinating. Willow was indeed

    here. That wasn¡¯t the only thing that made me panic. The fact that those f*****g guards had their hands

    on her made me furious. No one should ever put their hands on her unless they wanted them cut off!

    My eyes widen when I see her eyes roll back in her head. It didn¡¯t take me long to realize what was

    happening.

    She¡¯s going into shock. It¡¯s happening again. I knew what came right after. I knew what was going to

    happen.

    f**k! f**k! f**k!

    I had to get to her. She needed me.

    I grab my opponent by his wrist when he tries to hit me with another punch. I pulled him onto the

    ground and trapped him in an arm lock. I don¡¯t let go until the referee stops the fight. I didn¡¯t care that

    I¡¯d just won the fight after nning to lose it. All I cared about was getting to Willow.

    I jump out of the ring before they can announce me as the winner.

    ¡°Get your f*****g hands off my wife!¡± I growled at the security guard, who still held her without realizing

    something was happening to her.

    Just as I forcefully took her from him, she wentpletely still in my arms.

    ¡°Willow,¡± I whisper.

    No response.

    Damn it.

    There are gasps all around me as I pick an unconscious Willow up into my arms and storm out of the

    arena with her. I could hear everyone asking for her name, but I ignored everything as the door closed

    behind me.

    ¡°We need to get her to a fire!¡± I shouted to my siblings, who were right behind me. Anything with heat

    would help. We weren¡¯t home, and that made it harder for all of us. She should have never been here,

    to begin with.

    I ran into the parking lot and ced her in the front seat of the vehicle.

    ¡°I can start a fire, but it can¡¯t be here,¡± rissa tells me.

    ¡°We can drive into the woods,¡± Damon suggests. ¡°There¡¯s a track like a minute away. We don¡¯t have to

    go far in. Just somewhere that¡¯s secluded.¡±

    I nodded and quickly got into the vehicle. I mash down on the elerator and don¡¯t stop until inside the

    track Damon mentioned.

    When I was sure that we had a safe spot, I lifted Willow out of the jeep and sat down with her still in my

    arms as rissa started a fire in front of us.

    She was cold against my warm skin. I¡¯ve seen this happen to her in the past, but this is the first time

    that I felt something tug in my chest at the sight of her unconscious in my arms.

    I was scared. f*****g terrified as I held her close against my chest.

    ¡°Why is this taking so long?¡± I demand. ¡°It¡¯s never taken this long before.¡±

    ¡°Maybe we took too long to get her in front of the fire,¡± Autumn suggested with worry etched in her

    voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s so unfair.¡± rissa whispers, ¡°Why does this keep happening to her?¡±

    I ced my hand against her cheek; it was still very cold.

    ¡°Willow?¡± I whisper.

    There wasn¡¯t any response, not even tiny movements of her fingers or toes.

    Her lips were turning f*****g blue. I was beginning to panic.

    Was I the reason for this? Did it scare her to see me in the middle of a fight?

    I tightened my hold on her, hoping to give her more of my warmth.

    rissa held out her hand in front of her.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I demand.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to create heat; I¡¯m trying to warm her up.¡± She exins.

    We all wait patiently, hoping that this will at least work.

    rissa gasps suddenly, and we¡¯re all shocked to see a cut forming in the palm of her hand. I watched

    with confusion as her blood dripped onto the grass.

    Damon rushed over to her and held her hand in his as he examined it, ¡°how the hell did this happen?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She whispers. ¡°I tried to focus my power on Willow, but this happened instead. I couldn¡¯t

    help her, and I now have this wound in my hand.¡±

    Autumn and rissa stared at each other as they tried to figure out what was happening.

    What did this mean?

    ¡°Do you think this disease isn¡¯t natural?¡± I ask them. ¡°Is it possible that she¡¯s under some kind of spell?¡±

    Was that why no doctors were able to see anything wrong with her? Could that be the reason?

    ¡°We can¡¯t say for sure,¡± Autumn answers me. ¡°It is weird that rissa couldn¡¯t help her. We have to do

    more digging into this.¡±

    ¡°I just warmed this cloth,¡± rissa tells me. ¡°Wipe her arms and face with it.¡±

    I took it from her and gently rubbed it all over her arms before moving to her face. I could slowly see the

    color returning to her skin and lips the more I rubbed it on her body.

    I moved the warm cloth to her neck, hoping to see her open her eyes soon.

    ¡°She¡¯s waking up!¡± Autumn exims.

    My hand stops moving as my gaze moves from her neck to her face.

    I sigh of relief when her eyes slowly open and blink at me.

    She looks surprised to see me.

    I held my breath when she gently rubbed her hand on my cheek, wiping away the blood from my earlier

    fight. I was so desperate to keep her safe that I forgot all about the fight.

    This just reminded me of something that made me pissed. I slowly let go of Willow and jumped to my

    feet.

    I grab Atticus by his shirt without warning, ¡°Why the f**k did you bring Willow to the fight?¡±

 Chapter 186

    Chapter 186

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 186

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 22

    ~WILLOW~

    Everyone is shocked to see Dante¡¯s anger towards his brother. One minute he was this gentle person

    taking care of me, and the next, he was this raging beast ready to take on his brothers.

    I didn¡¯t understand why he was this angry. So what if they brought me along with them? Why should

    that make him this angry?

    ¡°Why are you ming Atticus?¡± Damon growls. ¡°It¡¯s your recklessness that f*****g caused all of this in

    the first ce!¡±

    ¡°Please calm down, Dante.¡± rissa tries to lighten the mood. ¡°I know this entire experience was

    stressful, but there¡¯s no need to me anyone. We can all be adults about this. The main thing is that

    Willow is now safe from any harm.¡±

    ¡°None of you were supposed to be there!¡± He growls. ¡°It¡¯s the one ce I go to release my anger. Yet

    all of you followed me there and messed everything up! I was supposed to lose that f*****g fight!¡±

    ¡°What the hell were we supposed to do?¡± Atticus demands. ¡°Watch you get beat up? And what the f**k

    is wrong with you? Why did you lie there and let that man kick your a*s? Why are you constantly happy

    to get your a*s beaten up?¡±

    ¡°f**k!¡± Damon growls. ¡°If you want to get your a*s beaten up so much, you could ask the two of us. We

    would happily knock some sense into you!¡±

    I knew they were only angry because they cared about their brother. It was their love for him that made

    them react this way. I wish that Dante could understand them.

    ¡°Guys,¡± Autumn says as she steps between Atticus and Dante. ¡°Please remember that Willow has still

    not fully recovered. I think it¡¯s best we leave this for another time. Dante should take her home so that

    she could get some rest and heal the right way.¡±

    I¡¯d almost forgotten about fainting.

    Dante looks over at me the second she mentions my name.

    I watch nervously as he approaches me, ¡°does anywhere hurt?¡± he asks gently.

    The genuine concern in his voice takes me by surprise. He was angry with me earlier; why was he

    acting so differently suddenly? Did he forget all about the kissing booth already?

    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡±

    I was okay, physically, at least. Emotionally I was a wreck, and he was the reason for it.

    Seeing him at the fighting ring with blood all over his body made me realize something I didn¡¯t know

    before.

    My feelings for him weren¡¯t just some simple crush. It¡¯s much, much stronger than that, to the point that

    it would hurt me ever to see him in pain. I wasn¡¯t sure what that meant; all I knew was that it was no

    longer just a crush.

    A part of me would do everything in its power to protect him. While Dante always protected me

    because of his promise to my sister, with me, it was different. I wanted to protect him because I

    personally couldn¡¯t be happy if anything ever happened to him.

    He walks me to his jeep and helps me get in. I held my breath when he leaned into me to fasten my

    seatbelt. The scent of his blood mixed with his sweat hit my nose, and I was surprised that even that

    was something I enjoyed.

    I didn¡¯t understand my own body at times.

    When he enters the driver¡¯s side and pulls out of the track, I can¡¯t help myself as I blurt out, ¡°I didn¡¯t

    know someone else would have been in the room.¡±

    He had to know the truth. I didn¡¯t want there to be any misunderstandings between us. He didn¡¯t give

    me a chance to exin before, and this may be the best time to tell him everything.

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    His hand tightens on the steering wheel, ¡°it¡¯s okay. I think I overreacted a bit. Let¡¯s forget that

    happened, okay?¡±

    Forget it happened? Just like that? Was this the same person from before? I was not okay with just

    forgetting it. I had to give my side of the story before he continued to think the worst of me.

    ¡°It¡¯s not okay for me,¡± I whisper as I y with my fingers on myp. ¡°I truly wasn¡¯t nning on taking

    part in the kissing booth. I nned on doing just like you asked and staying as far away from it as

    possible. However, Autumn and rissa told me that they had a n. They said that if I participated, I

    wouldn¡¯t have to kiss a stranger. I know you think I went into that room thinking I would kiss some

    stranger, but you¡¯re mistaken. I didn¡¯t go into the room hoping to see someone else; I went into the

    room hoping to see you. I wasn¡¯t surprised when I saw you, Dante. I was actually relieved that it was

    you.¡±

    I watch the movement in Dante¡¯s throat as he swallows hard. He doesn¡¯t say anything. I¡¯m not sure

    what he¡¯s thinking. I hoped this confession would make him happier; however, I was disappointed when

    I didn¡¯t get much of a reaction.

    Did telling him this change anything? Did he still think that I was wrong for taking part in the kissing

    booth?

    There were so many questions in my head, and I didn¡¯t know if I should ask them or not.

    ¡°I owe you an apology, Willow.¡± He finally breaks the silence.

    My lips part. Did he really just say that?

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I assure him. ¡°You thought I¡¯d lied to you.¡±

    His jaw clenches, ¡°is there anything that you may have possibly neglected to tell us?¡±

    I frown, ¡°why are you asking that out of nowhere?¡±

    He looks directly ahead, ¡°rissa tried to warm you with her power earlier, but she couldn¡¯t. Instead,

    she was harmed trying to help you.¡±

    ¡°Harmed?¡± I gasp. ¡°Harmed in what way?¡±

    ¡°There was a cut in the middle of her palm. It appeared out of nowhere. We haven¡¯t confirmed if it was

    because of you or something else.¡± He exins.

    What did this mean? How was that even possible?

 Chapter 187

    Chapter 187

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 187

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 23

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°Do you think your mother ced a protection spell on you?¡± He asks me. ¡°She¡¯s a witch, which makes

    you one. Do you have any idea what it might be?¡±

    I bit my lip hard. It was true that my mother was a witch, and so was my sister. However, ording to

    my mother, I¡¯ve never shown any signs of being a witch.

    She¡¯s always thought that there was something wrong with me. I¡¯ve never been able to do anything a

    witch could. I don¡¯t know spells and even if I did, I wouldn¡¯t be able to create magic.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say,¡± I answer him. ¡°It¡¯s possible. My mother has always been very protective of me.¡±

    He nods and opens his wallet to check for something. I¡¯m about to ask him what he¡¯s looking for when

    something catches my eye.

    Why does he have a picture of Anya inside of his wallet?

    I knew he loved her, but he was married to me. I felt some strange emotion in my chest that I

    immediately recognized.

    It appears that I might be jealous of my own sister. That was impossible; I loved Anya with all my heart

    and wished she was still with us. So then, why do I feel this way?

    Dante catches me staring at it, and he quickly shuts his wallet, almost like he doesn¡¯t want me to see it.

    Was it possible that he felt guilty? Why would he? He¡¯s never felt guilty in the past because of his

    feelings for her. He¡¯s never tried to hide it, either. He was always very open about how much he loved

    her.

    We¡¯re silent for the rest of the drive home. There was nothing left for either one of us to say. I had to

    ept that Dante would never look at me differently. I will always be the sister of the woman he was in

    love with. He will never see me as his wife.

    It felt like I was giving up without even putting up a fight. However, how could you win a fight that you¡¯d

    already lost?

    I couldn¡¯tpete with someone that was no longer here.

    ¡°Why did you let that man hurt you when you could have won that fight?¡± I finally ask him, breaking the

    silence.

    We had just pulled into the garage, and Dante was waiting for me to step out of the vehicle.

    His hand stops at the door, ¡°why do you think I could have won that fight?¡±

    I knocked out before I could see what happened in the end, and still wasn¡¯t sure who¡¯d won the fight.

    After fainting, I wasn¡¯t aware of anything; how could I be?

    ¡°I know you,¡± I whisper.

    He frowned, ¡°you know me?¡±

    I nod shyly, ¡°I didn¡¯t need to see you in a fight to know how strong you are. I¡¯m positive that you were

    letting that man win. What I don¡¯t understand is why you would willingly do something like that unless

    you wanted to feel pain.¡±

    It brings me back to what his brothers said when they saw him lying on the ground. Was that truly what

    he wanted? To feel pain?

    He doesn¡¯t answer me. My hands tightened into fists when he opened the door.

    ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡± I demand. ¡°There must be a reason why you hate me this much. You hate

    me to the point that you would rather get beaten up after kissing me. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever done

    anything to disrespect you. I don¡¯t understand what I¡¯ve done wrong, so please, help me to

    understand.¡±

    He ran a hand down his face, and I could see how impatient he was bing. Even speaking to me

    was painful for him.

    Would he be happier if I kept my mouth shut from now on? Would that make him morefortable

    around me?

    He gets down from the jeep without answering me.

    ¡°Dante!¡± I try again.

    I wanted an answer. I needed a solution.

    ¡°Just leave it alone, Willow.¡± He says in a low growl.

    ¡°As your wife, don¡¯t you think I at least deserve some answers?¡± I demand.

    His eyes sh dangerously at my question. Dante didn¡¯t like when I referred to myself as his wife. What

    would he prefer I call myself?

    He ms his door shut and walks over to my side. When he opens the door, I¡¯m reminded of how sexy

    Dante is, even when he fumes with rage.

    This discussion was not going in the direction I had hoped.

    ¡°Do you want to know the truth?¡± he demands.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have asked if I didn¡¯t.¡± I retort.

    He buries his hand in my hair and pulls my face closer to his. ¡°Remember that you¡¯re the one that

    insisted on hearing this.¡±

    I pressed my lips tightly together as I waited for him to continue.

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°You¡¯ve indeed done nothing wrong, Willow.¡± He whispers. ¡°You¡¯re not to me for how messed up my

    life is. You¡¯re just an innocent girl that got caught up in the games of your mother and sister. You¡¯re not

    the reason that despite everything Anya did to me and my family, I still love her. You¡¯re not the reason I

    still can¡¯t f*****g get her out of my head. You¡¯re not the reason that I wish things were different. I still

    wish that she was here. I still wish that she f*****g cared for me more than she did Atticus. It¡¯s not your

    fault that she never even cared for me, to begin with.¡±

    His voice broke with thatst line, and so did my heart.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault that you look nothing like her. It¡¯s not your fault that I keep searching for pieces of her

    in you. It¡¯s not your f*****g fault Willow.¡±

    Please stop.

    My heart was begging for him to stop. It couldn¡¯t handle it. I knew I was the one that asked for this, but I

    didn¡¯t expect it to hurt this much.

    Why was it this painful?

    ¡°You¡¯re not the reason that I still dream of her every night.¡± He chokes. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault that Anya

    begged me to marry you. None of this was ever your fault. You did nothing wrong, and that¡¯s the f*****g

    problem!¡±

    I gasp.

    Was he upset because I did nothing wrong? How could that be any reason to be upset with me?

    ¡°Because you did nothing wrong, I can¡¯t find a single f*****g w in you. I can¡¯t find a reason to say this

    marriage cannot work. Because you¡¯re so damn f*****g perfect, I don¡¯t have an excuse to leave this

    marriage. I¡¯m stuck in it because of Anya and how f*****g perfect you are.¡±

    ¡°Please stop.¡±

    They are words from my mouth; I hadn¡¯t even realized I¡¯d said them out loud until I saw the expression

    on his face.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear anything more.¡± I cry. ¡°So please, stop, I beg of you.¡±

 Chapter 188

    Chapter 188

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 188

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 24

    ~WILLOW~

    My hands are over my ear. I couldn¡¯t listen to any more of this. I was right; he did hate me.

    How could someone being perfect be a problem? And I was far from perfect. Why did he even think

    that I was perfect? What did I ever do to make him think that way about me?

    ¡°You¡¯re nothing like Anya, and maybe that¡¯s the problem, Willow.¡± He whispers more to himself than

    me.

    It was the first time I regretted asking him a question. I wasn¡¯t prepared for a response such as this

    one. I was not ready for the ufortable sensation in my heart.

    ¡°I asked you to stop.¡± I snap.

    He tries to take my hand and I pull away from him.

    ¡°Let me help you out of the jeep.¡± He offers.

    I narrow my eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t need your help, Dante.¡±

    ¡°Let me help you, Willow.¡± He growls.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired of you doing things for me because my sister asked you to do it!¡± I hiss. ¡°If you¡¯re only going

    to help me because of her, don¡¯t. I can take care of myself. I may look helpless, but I can assure you

    that I am not. So please, move aside so that I can pass.¡±

    His eyes are dark as he watches me for a few more seconds. The muscle in his jaw ticks, but he finally

    does as I ask.

    I fought back the tears as I walked away from him. Why was I stuck in this loveless marriage? Why

    couldn¡¯t Dante at least try to open his heart to me? This marriage had already joined us; why couldn¡¯t

    we work together to make it work?

    I couldn¡¯t believe that he still had a picture of my sister in his wallet. I was grateful he loved her so

    much, but we were married now. Wasn¡¯t that disrespectful towards me?

    If word got out that he still had a picture of my sister in his wallet, the rumors about our marriage would

    spread even more.

    Why did he agree to marry me if he knew the only person he could ever love was Anya?

    He should have found a way to stop the wedding instead of ruining our lives. A part of me wanted to

    stay married to him; it was a big part of me. But the part of me that was hurting right now felt like it

    would be better if we stayed apart.

    ¡°Willow!¡± Autumn shouts my name before I can run up the stairs.

    I turn to look at her, and she immediately realizes that something is wrong.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± she demands. ¡°Do you still feel unwell?¡±

    I bit my lip and tried not to cry. ¡°I don¡¯t feel good at all. Emotionally. My heart hurts.¡±

    Her eyes widen. ¡°Is it Anya? Do you miss your sister?¡±

    I shook my head. I did miss her, but to my horror, this pain in my chest was for apletely different

    reason.

    ¡°Then what¡¯s wrong?¡± she demands.

    ¡°Dante said some words that hurt me,¡± I confess.

    She looks shocked and slowly guides me into the family room. When she has me seated, she gives me

    her full attention, ¡°What did he say?¡±

    ¡°I asked him if I did anything wrong for him to react so badly every time he got a little closer to me. After

    spending time with me, he always goes to that fighting ring and gets beaten up. I know that our

    marriage is doing this to him.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that,¡± Autumn whispers. ¡°Dante is this way because he¡¯s grieving. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not the

    reason for any of this.¡±

    ¡°He dislikes me because of how perfect I am.¡± I disagree. ¡°That¡¯s what he told me. He said that

    because I¡¯m not wed, he cannot find a single reason to end our marriage. He¡¯s upset because he¡¯s

    trapped in our marriage, and there is nothing he can do about it.¡±

    Autumn looks appalled by this new information.

    ¡°Dante said this to you?¡± she asks. I can see the disbelief in her eyes.

    I nod.

    She squeezes my hand. ¡°I don¡¯t think he meant it, Willow. I think he¡¯s just frustrated with himself. I think

    he¡¯s just trying to push you away because he¡¯s scared that he might be developing feelings for you.¡±

    I wish that were the case, but I knew that the only person Dante had feelings for was Anya.

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°I think that you should know what happened after you fainted.¡± She says suddenly. ¡°I know you think

    that Dante doesn¡¯t care for you. I know you believe that he only protects you because of Anya.

    However, what I saw today proved that he doesn¡¯t just care for you because of your sister.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying,¡± I admit. ¡°Why do you think otherwise?¡±

    ¡°When Dante saw you faint, he lost all control. We don¡¯t know why he wanted to lose the match, to

    begin with, but the second he saw you lose consciousness, none of that mattered to him. He was able

    to win that match within seconds just so that he could get to you.¡±

    ¡°But that could mean he was trying to protect me because of Anya. That¡¯s what he promised her. To

    protect me. That was all he was doing. Everything he does is because she asked him to do it.¡± I try to

    show her.

    ¡°I can see why you would think that way, but if it were because of Anya, he wouldn¡¯t have told the

    security to let go of his wife.¡± She informs me.

    My lips part in surprise. She must have misheard him.

    ¡°Did he say that?¡± I ask. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s what he said?¡±

    She nods. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t tell you if I wasn¡¯t positive that¡¯s what he said to the security. I believe that even

    Dante doesn¡¯t realize what he truly feels. I do believe that he loved Anya, but I also believe that he has

    feelings for you that have nothing to do with your sister.¡±

    Autumn¡¯s words have managed to give me some hope. Maybe there was a chance to save my

    marriage.

 Chapter 189

    Chapter 189

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 189

    BOOK 3 CHAPTER 25

    ~DANTE~

    I was a f*****g asshole. Anya asked me to protect her sister, not say words to hurt her. I was in such a

    mess. I had no idea how to deal with the strong emotions stuck in my chest.

    When Willow asked me why I acted the way I did, I was thrown off-guard. The truth was that even I

    didn¡¯t have the answers to give to her.

    I knew I was lying to myself about many things, but even I wasn¡¯t sure what those were.

    My mind was in shambles.

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    I felt horrible for speaking that way to her. Not once but twice for the f*****g day. She kept catching me

    off-guard, and my reaction to her behavior was tosh out at her. It was not a good one, and I did not

    know how to stop. I¡¯ve never been this big of an asshole, buttely, I can¡¯t seem to stop.

    I keep picking fights with my family and Willow. I had to find a way to have more control over my

    actions and words.

    ¡®If you¡¯re only going to help me because of her, don¡¯t.¡¯

    Those were her words, and it was stuck in my head, adding to the t*****e. It was true; for everything

    that I did for Willow, my excuse was always that I¡¯d done it because it was what Anya would have

    wanted me to do.

    It wasn¡¯t an excuse. It was the truth. I only married her because Anya asked me to do it. The fact was

    that I could never give my heart to someone other than Willow¡¯s sister.

    Whenever I kissed Willow, I felt like I was betraying her sister. Whenever I got closer to her, I felt like I

    had to take a few steps back. I wasn¡¯t doing any of this on purpose. My heart and mind were constantly

    in a battle with each other to do the right thing; they both had different ideas of what the right thing was.

    ¡°You look like you need a drink,¡± Damon says as he joins me in the kitchen.

    I needed more than a drink. In fact, I don¡¯t think drinking would help me even a little. Nothing could help

    me out of this mess. If given a chance, I¡¯m sure that I would somehow find a way to make everything

    worse than it already was.

    ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood to be lectured right now, Damon,¡± I warn him.

    I wanted to be alone; that way, I could bury myself in my guilt. Besides, I was tired of my brothers trying

    to make decisions for me. None of them understood the pain I was going through. They had the woman

    they loved with them for the rest of their lives. They had no f*****g right to judge me.

    ¡°I¡¯m not here to give you a lecture.¡± He assures me. ¡°I¡¯m here to have a drink. You can join me if you¡¯d

    like. Of course, you can also say no. It¡¯s your decision. I won¡¯t force you to do anything you don¡¯t want

    to do.¡±

    He goes to the fridge and gets two sses from the cab. After pouring the liquor into the sses,

    he hands one to me.

    I stare at it briefly before finally taking it from him. I don¡¯t waste a second as I gulp the entire thing in

    one go. It wasn¡¯t a magic drink; I still felt like s**t.

    Damon doesn¡¯t say anything as he does the same. I watch as he refills my ss.

    ¡°Are you trying to get me drunk?¡± I ask him suspiciously.

    He shrugs his shoulder, ¡°I¡¯m just trying to help you to loosen up a little bit. You¡¯ve been too tensed

    lately.¡±

    I took the ss from him and winced when the liquor went down my throat again.

    Every time I took a drink, Damon would refill the cup for me. I wasn¡¯t even sure if he was refilling his

    cup as well.

    ¡°How is Willow doing?¡± he asks me.

    I sigh, ¡°She¡¯s angry with me. For the first time in our marriage, she¡¯s truly angry with me.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    I nce at him, ¡°I was aplete asshole to her. That¡¯s why.¡±

    He hands me the refilled ss once more, ¡°I know that you still love Anya. None of us can truly

    understand why you still love her after she betrayed you and after she betrayed all of us. However,

    don¡¯t you think you should try to make your marriage work with Willow?¡±

    My jaw clenches. ¡°Let me ask you something, Damon. If rissa died and you were f****d to marry her

    sister. Would you be able to give her sister a chance? Would you be able to make that marriage work

    after knowing she¡¯s the only person you could ever love?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t like Willow even wanted me, either. She was f****d into this marriage just like I was.

    Damon doesn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Your silence tells me everything I need to know,¡± I tell him.

    He sighs, ¡°I was just trying to show you that you might be happier if you let go of the past. I never said it

    would be easy. However, Willow seems like a nice girl. Unlike Anya, she is kind and gentle. She¡¯s also

    innocent.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to remind me that she¡¯s nothing like her sister,¡± I growl. ¡°I think I¡¯ve had enough of this

    conversation.¡±

    I attempted to get up from the chair but quickly held onto the counter for support. I¡¯d had too much to

    drink; it would seem.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you,¡± Dante says as he puts my arm around his neck. He walked with me up the stairs,

    ensuring I didn¡¯t fall t on my face.

    I try to walk on my own when I see my room door. ¡°Take it easy,¡± he tells me as he tries to steady me. ¡°I

    think you should get some sleep now.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t f*****g sleep with Willow in the same room as me. Didn¡¯t he understand that? Sleep was

    f*****g difficult for me ever since she entered my life. It wasn¡¯t about to magically get easier tonight.

 Chapter 190

    Chapter 190

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 190

    Book 3 Chapter 26

    ~WILLOW~

    He was drunk. Dante was drunk. I could quickly tell by the way he moved. His feet were wobbly as he

    exited the shower with nothing but his towel wrapped around his waist.

    To my surprise, instead of putting clothes on, he walks over to the bed. I¡¯m speechless when he hovers

    over me. The water from his skin drips onto my nightgown, and I gasp from the contact. His hands are

    pressed against either side of me on the bed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t hate you.¡±

    It was just four words, but those four words made my heart feel like it was running a marathon. It was

    pounding uncontrobly.

    ¡°I¡¯m not perfect,¡± I whisper. ¡°There are many reasons that you can find to end our marriage.¡±

    I knew he was intoxicated and most likely wouldn¡¯t remember this conversation tomorrow, but I still

    wanted him to see that I was far from perfect.

    He smiles, a slight curve on his lips that makes my heart skip a great.

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± He disagrees. ¡°Your eyes are always wide and pure. Your smile is always innocent.

    Your walk is proper and almost seductive. Your hair is the perfect length. Your lips are shaped to

    perfection. Your voice is soothing and sweet. Your words are always kind. Every part of you is

    somehow made just the right way. You are perfect. You are.¡±

    My lips part in utter shock. I knew he was drunk, but was that how he saw me? I would have never

    thought that Dante saw me this way.

    Then it urred to me there was a possibility that he was thinking of Anya, just like he¡¯d done in the

    past.

    ¡°Who am I?¡± I ask him, waiting hesitantly for his response.

    ¡°What?¡± he asks.

    ¡°Who do you see when you look at me?¡± I try again.

    My heartbeat had increased once more as I waited for his reply.

    ¡°Willow.¡± He answers me.

    I closed my eyes and felt the relief wash over me.

    ¡°Repeat it,¡± I whisper.

    He leaned closer into me, and I could feel his wet skin closer to mine. ¡°Willow.¡±

    ¡°Again.¡±

    His mouth is close to my ear, ¡°Willow.¡±

    I breathe him in. Why did this make me happy? Why did my body want to shout for joy because he was

    saying my name and not my sister¡¯s?

    ¡°I wish you would only say my name from now on,¡± I confess. As long as he couldn¡¯t remember any of

    this, it was safe for me to say exactly what I wanted to.

    He stays silent. I open my eyes to find him staring at me with a confused look.

    It was only now that I realized how close we were to each other. Dante was most likely n***d beneath

    that towel. His skin was still glistening from the water droplets. A part of me wanted to lean forward and

    kiss each of them.

    I felt myself blush at the thought of doing that.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    I couldn¡¯t help myself as I ced my hand on his chest, right above his heart. Dante flinched at the

    contact, making me wonder if he didn¡¯t like it when I touched him.

    ¡°Why do you hurt yourself every time you kiss me?¡± I whisper. ¡°Is kissing me that unpleasant?¡±

    His gaze drops to my lips, and even in his intoxicated state, his eyes darken. ¡°No.¡±

    That¡¯s all he says. Just no.

    ¡°Then why?¡±

    I stop breathing when he touches my bottom lip with his finger. ¡°It¡¯s quite the opposite.¡± He pauses

    before adding, ¡°That¡¯s why I hurt myself.¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s not unpleasant?¡± I ask.

    He nods.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not for you to understand.¡± He stops me. ¡°Kissing you is wrong.¡±

    ¡°Kissing your wife is wrong?¡± I ask in disbelief.

    He looks like he¡¯s in pain. ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand what it means to love someone and not have

    that person love you back. I don¡¯t think you know the feeling of heartbreak when you find out that the

    person you loved the most was only using you to fulfill her promise to her mother. I don¡¯t think you

    realize how painful it is when someone tells you that you were never important to them.¡±

    ¡°Dante¡ª¡±

    ¡°And then have her ask you to marry her sister. Her perfect, wless sister.¡± He adds. ¡°To add to it all,

    instead of turning her down, you say yes, you grant her dying wish because even though she didn¡¯t

    love you, it didn¡¯t matter because you loved her.¡±

    My heart ached. It ached for Dante.

    What my sister did to him was horrible. She was still my sister, and I still loved her, but a part of me felt

    resentment for all the wrong things she did to him.

    I felt a tear slowly roll down my cheek. I was crying without even realizing it. I was crying for him and

    his broken heart. I was crying because my sister was lucky enough to have his love, but I will never get

    to experience it. I will never know what it¡¯s like to be loved by Dante Fawn. For the rest of my life, I¡¯ll

    have to live with the fact that he loved her and only her.

    Dante wipes my cheek with his thumb. He looks fascinated and drawn to it.

    ¡°Do you cry because of me?¡± he asks. ¡°Do you feel sorry for me?¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to answer him. I didn¡¯t want him to think that I pitied him.

    As I stare up at him, it dawns on me that I am definitely jealous of my sister. I was jealous that she met

    him first. I was jealous that he fell in love with her. I was jealous that he wanted her and not me. I was

    jealous that she would always be the one to know what it was like to be loved by him while I will never

    know.

    I felt sick to my stomach, knowing that I felt this way.

    How?

    How could I feel this way about my sister, who was no longer around?

    What was wrong with me?

 Chapter 191

    Chapter 191

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 191

    Book 3 Chapter 27

    ~WILLOW~

    I gasped when Dante suddenly falls on top of me. It¡¯s enough to distract me from the painful fact that I

    wanted what Anya once had.

    ¡°Dante?¡± I whisper.

    No response. He¡¯d fallen asleep on top of me. As much as I wanted to keep him there, his weight was

    overwhelming.

    I gently pushed him onto his side of the bed and ced the covers over him. He was still in his towel. I

    considered removing it and getting him some pants, but I quickly dismissed that idea. That wouldn¡¯t

    turn out well in the end for me.

    However, I take a clean towel and gently wipe the water droplets from his face. I swallow as I move the

    cloth to his neck and chest. He stirs a little when I touch him there. I pause and wait for him to stop

    before continuing.

    I gasped when he grabs my arm suddenly. His eyes are closed, and I think that he¡¯s dreaming again.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me,¡± he begs. ¡°Please don¡¯t leave.¡±

    I ced my free hand over his and gently squeezed, ¡°I¡¯m never leaving.¡±

    I knew he was dreaming of Anya again, but I wanted tofort him even in his sleep. I¡¯ve never seen a

    man grieve like this before. Anya was so lucky to have his love; why couldn¡¯t she see that? How could

    she take advantage of his love for her?

    He let go of my hand then, but I was unprepared when he grabbed my waist and pulled me on top of

    him. I¡¯m left sprawled out on a half-naked Dante, who¡¯s still deep in sleep.

    I can¡¯t move an inch without fear of waking him up.

    I stayed like that and gently ced my ear against his chest to listen to his heartbeat. His body felt

    warm beneath mine. It was veryforting. I can¡¯t remember thest time I felt this good.

    His arms were still wrapped around my waist, trapping me against his body.

    Dante didn¡¯t stir again; instead, he looked like he¡¯s never been more at peace. Maybe he believed that

    Anya was with him.

    If I could help him just by letting him think that, I was willing to do it for him. When he moved his hand, I

    could quickly get down from on top of him.

    For now, I would enjoy having him this close to me. I close my eyes and breathe him in. I¡¯m not sure

    when I¡¯ll ever get an opportunity to be this close to him again.

    I could feel myself drifting asleep, but I was too happy to move. I gently squeeze his shoulders, and

    that¡¯s thest thing I remember before everything goes nk.

    . . . . . . . . . .

    ~DANTE~

    For the first time in a long while, I had gotten a good night¡¯s sleep. My body felt rxed and almost

    contented.

    That changed when I felt a soft, luscious body above mine.

    Without opening my eyes, I used my hands to squeeze gently, and I was surprised when I felt a firm,

    very feminine a*s.

    What the f**k?

    My eyes flew open to find Willow sleeping soundly on top of me. For a few seconds, all I could do was

    stare at her in shock.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    I don¡¯t understand.

    Why was she on top of me? There¡¯s a perfectly soft bed with more than enough space for her. How did

    she end up on top of me? The stiffness of my arms told me she¡¯d been here a long time.

    I¡¯m even more surprised to learn that I didn¡¯t want to wake her. I was rather contented just watching her

    sleep. She looked so peaceful and happy that it felt like a crime to move her from on top of me.

    I stayed that way for a few minutes, just watching her breathe. It¡¯s the first time a woman¡¯s breath has

    captivated me this much. I think I enjoyed it more than I should have.

    Willow stirs a little, and I wait for her to open her eyes, but she doesn¡¯t. Instead, she gives the softest

    contented sigh I¡¯ve ever heard. I think it¡¯s possible that it was my new favorite sound.

    It¡¯s not her fault I¡¯m a damaged soul with a broken heart. It¡¯s not her fault I didn¡¯t know how to act now

    that I had lost Anya.

    I didn¡¯t understand how Willow couldn¡¯t see how perfect she was. Laying here on top of me, I could see

    it even more clearly.

    Perfection.

    The correct word to describe her.

    When she stirs again, I felt something else stir that should f*****g stay hidden. It was only then that I

    realized I was n***d under the towel.

    What the hell happenedst night? I remember having too many drinks because of my damn brother. I

    couldn¡¯t remember much after that; everything was a distant blur.

    I quickly closed my eyes when she let out a small yawn. I could feel her waking up.

    I stayedpletely still, controlling my breathing so she would think I was asleep.

    It was better for her to find us in such a position than for her to find me already awake and unmoving.

    I knew the moment she opened her eyes when I heard her small, quiet gasp.

    I try not to make a single sound when her knee almost hits my crotch. She was frantic that she¡¯d

    awakened on top of me. Was she not aware that she had fallen asleep on me?

    To my surprise, she stops trying to get down from on top of me.

    Why?

    I was close to opening my eyes when I felt her hands in my hair. It¡¯s almost like she was caressing it.

    This reminded me of the time she had her finger on my lips. Why did she choose to touch me when I

    was asleep?

    I stayed utterly still, I didn¡¯t want to startle her like I¡¯d donest time.

    All of the air is knocked out of my lungs when I feel her lips touch my forehead.

 Chapter 192

    Chapter 192

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 192

    Book 3 Chapter 28

    ~WILLOW~

    What was I doing? I shouldn¡¯t be kissing any part of Dante, definitely not when he was asleep and not

    aware of my actions.

    It wasn¡¯t like I would ever have the chance to do something like this if he was awake. That¡¯s enough to

    remind me how wrong this was.

    I quickly stop kissing his forehead and roll off his body. Without waiting for him to wake up, I rush into

    the bathroom and lock myself in.

    My heart was pounding in my chest, and my cheeks were red. Still, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever looked this

    refreshed. I thinkst night may have possibly been the best sleep I¡¯ve ever gotten in my life, and it was

    all because of Dante. His presence beneath me, his warmth, his protective aura, everything made it

    easy for me to have a wonderful sleep.

    How could I go back to sleeping like I usually did after what I experiencedst night?

    My skin felt hot to the touch. This was the effect he had on my body. Thankfully, I was able to wake up

    before he did. If he¡¯d opened his eyes and seen me on top of him, he would have freaked out.

    I don¡¯t know what happenedst night after I fell asleep. All I know is I was so happy being on top of

    himst night that I fell asleep very quickly. It was only supposed to be a small nap; somehow, I¡¯d slept

    the entire night. From the position I¡¯d woken up in, it was clear that I hadn¡¯t moved at all. I¡¯d stayed on

    top of him the entire night.

    I still couldn¡¯t believe what Autumn had told me about Dante. I was ready to give up until I heard what

    she said after I fainted. He¡¯d won that fight to get to me. He¡¯d even called me his wife in front of those

    security guards who refused to let me get closer to him. Those were the same guards who thought I

    was lying when I told them I was his wife.

    Now that I thought about it, they¡¯d mentioned other women iming to be his wife in the past. It was

    already difficult seeing women throw themselves at him from the academy; now, I also had to worry

    about women from the underground fighting ring throwing themselves at him.

    I saw the way they stared at him while he fought. They were all fascinated by him, and I knew they

    would kill to be closer to him. I didn¡¯t know how I felt about him going to one of those fights again. I

    knew I couldn¡¯t stop him, but maybe there was a possibility that he would allow me to go with him from

    now on. If I¡¯m there, it could remind those women that he wasn¡¯t avable.

    What was wrong with me? Since when have I turned into such a jealous person? The thought of

    anyone flirting with Dante was beginning to bother me more than before.

    Even more disturbing than any of this was the fact that I was envious of my own sister because of the

    love my husband had for her.

    I had to speak to someone about this. I was beginning to drown in my guilt.

    After showering, the first thing that surprised me was how upset I was because I didn¡¯t have Dante¡¯s

    scent all over my body anymore. I was baffled to learn that I wanted it to stay with me always.

    When I walk out of the bathroom, I¡¯m disappointed when Dante isn¡¯t still in bed. He was nowhere in the

    room. He must have left while I was showering.

    After getting dressed, I walk down the stairs, searching for him. I don¡¯t find him; instead, I find Autumn.This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°You look extra beautiful this morning.¡± Shepliments me. ¡°You must have slept well.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t exactly been feeling the best,¡± I confess. ¡°There¡¯s something I want to talk to you about.¡±

    She nods and takes me into the family room with her. ¡°You can tell me anything.¡±

    I y with my fingers in myp, ¡°I¡¯ve been feeling guilty recently.¡±

    ¡°Guilty?¡± She asks. ¡°About what?¡±

    I try not to cry as I exin to her, ¡°I¡¯ve found myself feeling jealous recently.¡±

    ¡°Jealous?¡± She asks.

    I nod, ¡°jealous of my sister. Dante loved her with all his heart. He still loves her and only her. I wish he

    would show me just a little of that love. She never appreciated him. I hate myself for feeling this way.

    She¡¯s my sister, and while she¡¯s done some horrible things, she never mistreated me. She¡¯s always

    done everything in her power to protect me. And now, after she¡¯s gone, I envy her. It shouldn¡¯t be this

    way, her dying wish was to give me a better life and here I am feeling this way.¡±

    Autumn gives me a sympathetic look, ¡°you don¡¯t have to feel guilty. I¡¯ve been in a simr position in the

    past. You are allowed to feel this way; Dante is your husband whether he wants to ept it or not.¡±

    ¡°I feel horrible, Autumn.¡± I cry.

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m jealous of my sister,¡± I whisper with tears flowing down my cheeks. ¡°I¡¯m jealous of her. I¡¯ve never

    been in the past. But now that I¡¯m married to Dante, and he¡¯s so in love with her, I can¡¯t help but feel

    envy towards her. Am I a horrible sister? Anya isn¡¯t even alive; how can I envy the love Dante has for

    her?¡±

    She hugs me, ¡°Don¡¯t me yourself for this. You need to remember that Anya never was in love with

    Dante. Even if she were alive, you having feelings for him wouldn¡¯t have been a big problem for her.

    You¡¯re not doing anything wrong. Anya was the one that pushed both of you into this marriage. It¡¯s only

    normal for you to develop feelings.¡±

    I felt myself rx a little, but the guilt was still there.

    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t judge you for feeling this way.¡± She promises me. ¡°This also means that your feelings for

    Dante are certainly intensifying.¡±

    It was true. My feelings were growing every second of every day. I didn¡¯t know how to stop it and part of

    me didn¡¯t want to.

    ¡°There¡¯s this pool party tonight.¡± She tells me suddenly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t nning on going, but I think this

    might benefit you. We will go, have a good time, and hopefully, it can get your mind off this.¡±

    A pool party?

    Whenever we went to parties, it never went ording to n.

    ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea?¡± I ask her.

    ¡°Trust me, I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± She promises me.

 Chapter 193

    Chapter 193

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 193

    Book 3 Chapter 29

    ~WILLOW~

    We had just arrived at the pool party. Dante and his brothers had some business to care for and would

    be here in about an hour. Because of this, Dante never got to see what I wore before I left the house.

    ording to Autumn, this would make him lose his mind. She always chose outfits for me that she

    thought would have a major effect on him.

    ¡°Remember, tonight is about making sure you clear your mind. It¡¯s all about having fun.¡± Autumn

    reminds me.

    Right. Having fun. I can surely do that, can¡¯t I?

    rissa brings a ss of wine and hands it to me, ¡°I think this might be enough to help you ease the

    tension.¡±

    I look at her rmingly, ¡°are you sure?¡±

    She smiles. ¡°It will help. Trust me.¡±

    ¡°This reminds me of spending time with ra and Scarlett.¡± Autumn chuckles. ¡°I miss them. Have you

    heard from them recently?¡±

    rissa nods, ¡°I¡¯ve heard a rumor going around the school.¡±

    ¡°A rumor?¡± Autumn asks her.

    I didn¡¯t know these women that they spoke about. But they seemed to be good friends.

    ¡°I think ra caught Scarlett and her ex-boyfriend making out,¡± rissa answers. ¡°Details are kind of

    sketchy and I might be wrong but it can be the reason why they have been missing the Academy

    recently.¡±

    ¡°But isn¡¯t that what ra wanted?¡± Autumn asks her. ¡°She wanted her sister to flirt with Carter and

    make him fall in love with her so that she could break his heart.¡±

    This story was a bit confusing. I was lost. ra and Scarlett were sisters? And ording to Autumn,

    ra asked Scarlett to flirt with her ex-boyfriend and break his heart when he fell for her. That seemed

    like a recipe for disaster.

    ¡°ra didn¡¯t know about this specific hook-up,¡± rissa informs her. ¡°I think it¡¯s possible Scarlett likes

    Carter.¡±

    Autumn sighs, ¡°I was worried that something like that would happen when I first heard of their n. I

    mean, it¡¯s Carter Prince; he knows how to charm almost every girl thates his way. He must have

    found a way to get to Scarlett. Now her rtionship with her sister is in jeopardy.¡±

    ¡°I have to say, I¡¯m happy we never fell for the same Fawn brother.¡± She adds.

    rissa wrinkles her nose in disgust. ¡°Of course not. Atticus is my brother. But Carter has always been

    such a damn yer. When will he learn?¡±

    Carter Prince. I wasn¡¯t here long enough to know everything about him, but he was indeed popr with

    the girls, just like my husband was. Even I had heard of him already.

    ¡°I hope we see them around soon.¡± Autumn continues. ¡°I miss them so much. I hope this doesn¡¯t cause

    a rift between them. They love each other.¡±

    rissa nods, ¡°I believe they would no doubt move on from this. It¡¯s ra and Scarlett. Those two are

    inseparable, and no guy will change that.¡±

    rissa handed me another ss; this one was not wine. I was sure of it by the taste. It burned my

    throat.

    ¡°We don¡¯t n to stop handing you drinks tonight,¡± Autumn warns me. ¡°From my experience, it helps a

    lot. It brings you closer to your husband. Trust me when I say that.¡±

    She looks at rissa, and they both beginughing. They knew something that I didn¡¯t.

    ¡°How much longer must we wait before our men get here?¡± rissa asks, looking around. She seemed

    to be bored and restless. I could tell that she didn¡¯t like to be away from Damon for too long.

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be long,¡± Autumn answers her. ¡°I called Atticus not too long ago. They will be here in a few

    minutes.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure Damon is just as restless as I am,¡± rissa says as she blushes. ¡°I love him so much.¡±

    ¡°When are the two of you nning on getting married?¡± Autumn asks her. ¡°You have to get the Fawn

    last name once again.¡±

    rissa sighs, ¡°I¡¯ve been asking Damon daily for an update. However, he wants to do things the right

    way. He doesn¡¯t want to jump straight into the wedding.¡±

    ¡°I bet he¡¯s nning to propose to you!¡± Autumn exims.

    rissa¡¯s eyes light up at the possibility of Damon proposing to her.

    ¡°He has been very secretivetely.¡± rissa points out. ¡°I never thought I would live to see the day

    Damon proposes to me!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited; I don¡¯t know for sure,¡± Autumn whispers.

    rissa tenses as we suddenly have uninvited guests next to us.

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Why did you even show up to a pool party?¡± Sharon asked as she red at me. ¡°This is only for

    women with a nice figure. You¡¯re hideous to look at. I feel so sorry for Dante; this is what he has to see

    every night when he goes home. It makes sense why he¡¯d want to sleep in separate rooms.¡±

    Autumn grabs rissa¡¯s hand. We both knew what happened thest time Sharon said something that

    made her angry. It appears that she didn¡¯t learn anything from that incident.

    What would it take for her to leave me alone finally?

    ¡°Are you still upset that you didn¡¯t get a chance to kiss my husband at the kissing booth?¡± I taunt her.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you look for avable men instead of hunting for married ones?¡±

    She narrows her eyes.

    ¡°Or is there a possibility that none of the avable men want you?¡± I ask her. ¡°Did they also reject you?

    It would make sense. Everything ising together now. You¡¯re after married men because none of

    the avable wants you.¡±

    She steps towards me, and both Autumn and rissa move to block me from her. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare take

    a step closer to her.¡± rissa threatens her.

    She rolls her eyes, ¡°are these your bodyguards, Willow?¡± She asks. ¡°Are you so afraid of me that you

    need two grown-ass women to protect you? It¡¯s sad. Dante was never into weak women with hideous

    bodies like yours. Have you ever seen your sister in a bikini? She had men turning to look at her from

    all directions the second she stepped into parties like this one. I can¡¯t say it¡¯s the same for you. No one

    is interested in you. Not even your husband.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her, Willow,¡± Autumn tells me. ¡°She¡¯s just jealous.¡±

    ¡°Jealous of what?¡± Sharon demands. ¡°It¡¯s quite obvious that even Willow does not have the attention of

    Dante, and she¡¯s supposedly his wife. That man does not want her. It¡¯s almost as though he hasn¡¯t

    even consummated their marriage.¡±

    Autumn stiffens at her words, and I¡¯m unsure what Sharon is trying to tell me. She pauses to look at

    me.

    ¡°It¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it?¡± She taunts me. ¡°You and Dante have not even consummated your marriage. Have

    you?¡±

 Chapter 194

    Chapter 194

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 194

    Book 3 Chapter 30

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°Consummated out marriage?¡± I ask.

    She looks at me like I¡¯m insane, ¡°Are you some freak? Do you not know what that means?¡±

    ¡°Who the hell do you think you¡¯re talking to?¡± rissa demands as she moves closer to Sharon. I was

    scared that she would do something.

    Autumn takes my hand and guides me back to where the others are. Dante and his brothers had just

    arrived. ¡°What was she speaking about?¡± I ask her. ¡°What did she mean when asked if we hadn¡¯t

    consummated our marriage?¡±

    Willow looks at Griffin, and he quirks a brow. He seems surprised and a little flustered by my question.

    She took me further away, just the two of us. ¡°It means to you know. . . Complete the marriage by

    sleeping with your husband.¡±

    I frown, ¡°Dante and I have already slept in the same bed together.¡±

    She smiles, ¡°That¡¯s not the kind of sleep I¡¯m referring to. It means s****l i*********e with that person.

    When you join your bodies, everything fits together like a puzzle.¡±

    I can tell it¡¯s hard for her to exin this to me. But now that I understood what she meant, I felt a sharp

    pain in my stomach.

    Sharon was right. We hadn¡¯t consummated our marriage, and I don¡¯t think we ever will.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about her,¡± Autumn assures me. ¡°Atticus and I didn¡¯t consummate our

    marriage right away either. It took us a while. It will happen when both you and Dante are ready for it.¡±

    Autumn seemed to believe that Dante would one day change his mind about our marriage. I didn¡¯t see

    him ever changing. He was too stuck in his past to see a future with me.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m ready to leave,¡± I tell Autumn.

    ¡°We just got here.¡± She pouts. ¡°Are you sure you want to leave?¡±

    I nod, ¡°you don¡¯t have to leave early because of me.¡± I assure her. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Dante to take me home.¡±

    She nods, and we walk over to where the guys are still standing, looking at us. Had they all heard me

    earlier? That was a bit embarrassing.

    ¡°Can you please take me home?¡± I ask Dante.

    He looks surprised and worried at the same time.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he demands. ¡°Did something happen while we weren¡¯t here?¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°My head feels like it¡¯s spinning. I want to go home.¡±

    He nods and hands the drink in his hand to Griffin. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    All eyes are on us as we leave the party early. I¡¯m sure everyone was wondering why. Sharon would

    know the truth and most likely spread the news to everyone. By tomorrow, everyone would know that

    Dante and I hadn¡¯t consummated our marriage yet.

    When I enter the jeep, Dante hands me his shirt from the backseat. ¡°Put this on.¡±

    I turn in my seat to look at him, ¡°why? I¡¯m not cold.¡±

    I try not to stare at his bare chest. It was a masterpiece.

    His jaw clenches, ¡°your body is exposed. I¡¯m asking you to please use this to cover yourself up.¡±

    Iugh without humor, ¡°Are you saying my body makes you ufortable?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not what you¡ª¡±

    ¡°Am I that hideous to look at Dante?¡± I demand as I put the shirt over me. ¡°Does it make you feel to

    puke when you look at me? Be honest with me. What does it make you feel when you see me this

    way?¡±

    ¡°What the f**k Willow?¡± he asks. There is a shocked look on his face.

    ¡°What?¡± I shout. ¡°Did I say something to offend you? Did I ask you to cover your body, hinting that it

    disgusts me?¡±

    ¡°What has gotten into you?¡± He demands. ¡°You¡¯ve never been this¡ª¡±

    I won¡¯t let him finish his sentence as I raise my hand to silence him.

    I can¡¯t exin it. I don¡¯t know why I feel like this. I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m acting out. Maybe it¡¯s those

    drinks from earlier. All I know is I must say everything on my mind, or else I¡¯ll go crazy.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer me, Dante.¡± I remind him. ¡°Am I that hideous to look at? Does my body bother you

    that much?¡±

    ¡°Willow, can you just drop this?¡± He asks, almost pleading.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s true then.¡± Ie to my very own conclusion. ¡°You do find my body hideous to look at.

    Maybe that¡¯s why you haven¡¯t consummated our marriage. Technically our marriage isn¡¯t even

    complete because you never fulfilled your part as my husband.¡±

    Dante exhales loudly and puts the jeep in reverse. His hands are tight on the steering wheel as he pulls

    onto the main road, ¡°who told you that you¡¯re hideous to look at? And why would you believe them

    when I¡¯ve already told you how perfect you are?¡±

    I bit my lip angrily, ¡°Right, I¡¯m perfect, and because I¡¯m perfect, you can¡¯t find a reason to end this

    marriage. How very tragic for you.¡±

    ¡°Did my sister give you something to drink?¡± He demands. ¡°This isn¡¯t like you. I can even smell the

    alcohol on you.¡±

    ¡°It sounds like you already know the answer to your question.¡± I snap.

    His jaw clenched, and I could tell he was growing impatient with me.

    I grab his shirt and pull it off my body. He breaks eye contact with the road to look at my exposed body

    again. ¡°Why the hell did you remove it?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you looking at the road?¡± I demand. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one that said my body is perfect? If that¡¯s

    true, then it shouldn¡¯t bother you at all.¡±

    Dante suddenly stops at a traffic light, and there¡¯s a group of men in a vehicle right next to us.

    ¡°Willow,¡± He growls. ¡°Cover yourself.¡±

    I ignore him even when the men look at me and start whistling.

    ¡°WILLOW,¡± Dante says, my name louder. ¡°If you don¡¯t cover yourself¡ª¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll do what?¡± I demand while ring at him.

    I¡¯m surprised when he steps out of the jeep and walks over to the strangers from the other vehicle.

    My mouth parts when he grabs the driver¡¯s hair and ms it against the steering wheel.

    ¡°DANTE!¡± I shout.

    He ignores me as he goes for his other victim.

    What was wrong with him? He didn¡¯t stop until he¡¯d punched every single one of them. When he finally

    returns to the jeep, the men drive off quickly. They looked terrified of him.

    ¡°What the hell is wrong with you?¡± I demand. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to go that far!¡±

    ¡°They will live.¡± He says dryly. ¡°Won¡¯t they?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you,¡± I whisper in shock. ¡°Why did you do that?¡±

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Those men were staring at you with lust-filled eyes!¡± He growls. ¡°Of course, I had to do something

    about it. No one can look at you that way and not get something in return.¡±

    I ced a hand over my forehead and rocked back against my seat. ¡°Why Dante? Please tell me why

    no other man should look at me that way when you don¡¯t even want me to begin with!¡±

    I can feel the anger radiating from him, filling the atmosphere.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re my f*****g wife, Willow!¡± He roars. ¡°You¡¯re my wife, and I will not stand back and let

    another man disrespect you in front of me!¡±

 Chapter 195

    Chapter 195

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 195

    Book 3 Chapter 31

    ~DANTE~

    My wife.

    Ah, f**k. I knew it was a mistake right after I said those words. I didn¡¯t know what happened to me. The

    second those men pulled up to us and started staring at Willow in front of me, I lost all f*****g control.

    The only thought in my head was to make them pay. When they started whistling and saying things, I

    knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back.

    Willow was getting under my f*****g skin. I¡¯ve never seen her behave this way before. She was always

    quiet and well-behaved. Not like this.

    Tonight, she was anything but quiet. She spoke what was on her mind, and I don¡¯t think anything has

    bothered me as much as this.

    Why did I have to go and f*****g say what I just said?

    ¡°Suddenly, you acknowledge me as your wife?¡± Willow asks me with a judging look on her face. Her

    gaze was piercing, and f**k me; it made me nervous.

    Nervous! f*****g nervous!

    ¡°You are my wife, are you not?¡± I ask her as the light changes. I don¡¯t wait for her to respond as I mash

    down on the elerator. I needed the drive to distract me from her. I needed anything, anything at all,

    to distract me from her.

    I stiffen when she unbuckles her seatbelt. What was she nning on doing now? I was very aware that

    she¡¯d had too many drinks today. When I got home, someone had to give me some answers.

    I don¡¯t believe that Willow willingly drank so much. Someone had to encourage her.

    I quickly nced at her and could see her trying to move from her seat now that she didn¡¯t have the

    seatbelt on her.

    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± I demand. ¡°That¡¯s for your safety. Put it back on.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m answering your question.¡± She snaps, leaving me baffled. Removing her seatbelt was somehow

    answering my question. How?

    I kept my eyes on the road; I didn¡¯t want to have another look at her perfect body in that bikini. It¡¯s why I

    asked her to cover herself, to begin with. It was too much for me. I knew I gave a different excuse, but

    the real reason was she looked too f*****g good. She made me want things I shouldn¡¯t. Usually, I could

    have control; today, something felt different. For the first time in our marriage, it felt like she was indeed

    my wife.

    I shook that thought out of my head. I knew we were married by paper, but my heart could never

    belong to her. I loved Anya. Only Anya.

    I hated myself for desiring her; I loved her sister, for crying out loud. Why did my d**k stir at just the

    f*****g sight of her? My desire to have her was much stronger than it¡¯s ever been for anyone else.

    I can¡¯t remember it being this hard to avoid her in the past. What was happening to me? And now she

    was acting very unlike herself. This side of Willow seemed very hard to control. Not that I ever wanted

    to control her. But this side of her made it more difficult for me to think.

    She wasn¡¯t giving me a chance to get a grip on myself.

    Willow leaves me stunned when she suddenly picks herself off the passenger¡¯s side and climbs on top

    of me while I¡¯m still driving.

    For a moment, my entire body goes entirely still. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been in this much shock before. I

    can¡¯t remember thest time I fought this hard to remember how to drive.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I swallow hard.

    ¡°I told you I¡¯m answering your question.¡±

    ¡°What question?¡± I demand.

    ¡°You just asked it.¡±

    ¡°What f*****g question, Willow?¡± I ask, barely recognizing my voice.

    I couldn¡¯t remember anything; I could barely remember my name with her on top of me while wearing

    nothing but the tiniest pieces of cloth I¡¯d ever seen. Damn, this woman. She should not tempt me this

    easily without even f*****g trying!

    ¡°You are my wife, are you not?¡± she repeats my question, reminding me of my own words. That¡¯s what

    she was referring to? I couldn¡¯t even remember why I asked that question in the first ce.

    ¡°How is this answering my question?¡± I demand, finding my voice again.

    I couldn¡¯t think clearly. She was making it so damn hard for me even to drive. If she kept this up, I

    would crash my damn jeep before she could exin what was happening.

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°It¡¯s the best way to answer your question.¡± She whispers while looking at me.

    My hands tighten on the steering wheel. I was losing my f*****g mind. It¡¯s even possible that the road

    was bing blurry right before my eyes.

    ¡°I have to be honest with you, Willow. There¡¯s no possible way that this could answer my question.¡± I

    say. ¡°So please, go back to your seat.¡±

    Why was it so hard for me to tell her that?

    ¡°Not until I answer your question.¡±

    I exhaled loudly; breathing was bing a problem also. And f**k, her scent was filling my nose and

    making things worse for me.

    My body turned to stone when Willow suddenly wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her

    body tightly against mine.

    Her scent hit me harder than before. And her skin, it was so f*****g soft. Softer than anything I¡¯ve ever

    felt before.

    ¡°I am your wife.¡± She whispers. ¡°That means that I¡¯m allowed to be this close to you. It means that I¡¯m

    also allowed to kiss you.¡±

    Kiss me?

    My eyes widen when she presses her lips against my neck.

    ¡°Does that answer your question?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± My voice is a hoarse whisper. ¡°It doesn¡¯t answer my question.¡±

    I was still totally lost, amongst other things. If she didn¡¯t start exining soon, I would lose my mind.

    I stay still as she runs her hands up and down my bare chest. ¡°Touching you, it¡¯s allowed; as your wife,

    I¡¯m allowed to touch you. Am I not?¡±

    T-touch me?

 Chapter 196

    Chapter 196

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 196

    Book 3 Chapter 32

    ~DANTE~

    I don¡¯t know how to answer that question.

    A part of me screams yes. Another part, the part of me that still belongs to Anya, shouts no.

    I swallow hard once more, ¡°do you want to?¡±

    I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m entertaining this conversation but I want an answer.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    Her nose is pressed against my throat, ¡°do I want to what?¡± She asks.

    Maybe I shouldn¡¯t be driving when she¡¯s distracting me like this. It wasn¡¯t a good idea at all.

    ¡°Do you want to touch me?¡± I ask her. I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m even asking this. But I need to f*****g know

    her answer.

    ¡°I already am.¡± She whispers as she presses a kiss to my throat. I swear I f*****g see stars.

    Stars? I must be losing my mind.

    ¡°You can touch me too.¡± She whispers seductively as she rubs her lower half against mine.

    ¡°f**k!¡± I hiss when I feel my d**k stir some more. The damn thing was now hard as a rock. I was sure

    she could feel it under that tiny bikini bottom. It barely covered anything, to begin with. If I looked a little

    lower, I could see more of her.

    f**k!

    No. I would not think like that about her. I can¡¯t. I would never forgive myself if I did.

    My hands tightened on the steering wheel; I had to keep my grip on the damn thing before I used my

    hands to do something else. Something that I knew I couldn¡¯t, not even if I wanted to. Not even if she

    begged me to do it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea, Willow.¡± I try to tell her.

    She pouts at me. My gaze lingers on her lips longer than needed. I quickly turn my attention back to the

    road. Again, I knew the right thing to do was to stop the vehicle, but I knew if I did, I wouldn¡¯t have

    anything distracting me from her. And I was scared of what I would do if given that opportunity.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re drunk right now,¡± I exin. ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying or doing. I don¡¯t think

    this is something you want.¡±

    My breath gets stuck in my throat when she presses harder on top of me.

    Motherfucker.

    ¡°Would you consider doing it if you knew I wanted you to touch me?¡± She asks me.

    The vehiclees to an abrupt stop at her question. I couldn¡¯t stop myself this time. Was this just the

    alcohol talking?

    I grab her head to stop her from hitting the windshield when she is f****d backward. This time I had no

    choice but to touch her¡ªone hand on her back and the other still on her head, cradling her against my

    chest.

    Both of us are breathing hard. The radio wasn¡¯t on, making it much easier to hear every sound from her

    tiny body.

    ¡°You want me to touch you?¡± I ask in a hoarse whisper.

    Not once did I ever think that Willow would want that from me. I wasn¡¯t even aware she had thoughts

    like this on her mind. However, I knew there was a possibility that all of this was only because she was

    drunk. I couldn¡¯t tell for sure, not until she¡¯d sobered up.

    My breath hitches when she grabs my hands and guides them to her breasts.

    My eyes widen as I watch her beautiful breasts in my own hands. They fit perfectly, like they were

    made for them.

    This couldn¡¯t be happening. The rain pouring onto the vehicle pulls my attention away from her for a

    few seconds. Where did this raine from?

    I soon forget about the rain when I hear a soft moan from Willow¡¯s mouth. I snap my head in her

    direction, her lips parted and cheeks flushed. All the blood drains from my face when her arousal hits

    my nose. It was so f*****g high that it was possible she¡¯d just. . . That can¡¯t be true. She wouldn¡¯t have

    climaxed just from my hands on her breasts.

    ¡°I¡¯m your wife.¡± She cries as she continues to rub her lower body against mine. ¡°Please repeat it,

    Dante. Tell me that I¡¯m your wife. I want to hear you say it. Please.¡±

    f**k. f**k. f**k.

    The desperation in her voice was doing unspeakable things to my body. It was like a damn spell, an

    enchantment. She was trapping me with her voice and scent. She was snapping my control in half.

    No.

    I couldn¡¯t let this happen. I wouldn¡¯t betray Anya.

    I would never do that to her, even if this is what she would have wanted.

    Still, I wasn¡¯t a f*****g saint. I can¡¯t help myself as I squeeze Willow¡¯s breasts still in my hands. Why

    were they so f*****g soft and perfect? I was right; every single part of Willow was perfect. Nothing and

    no one can change my mind about this.

    ¡°Dante.¡± She cries out and f**k me; I loved hearing her say my name like that. I loved knowing that I

    was the one touching her and not some random asshole.

    ¡°Say it, please.¡± She begs again. ¡°I need you to say it. I need to hear you call me your wife.¡±

    I move my hands from her breasts to bury them in her hair. I know I¡¯m seconds away from losing all

    control. I could feel it slipping even though I was fighting back with everything inside me.

    I lean into her and move my mouth to her ear, ¡°why?¡± I whisper. ¡°Why do you want to hear me say it so

    badly?¡±

    She doesn¡¯t answer me, and I pull her closer, ¡°why, Willow?¡± I ask again, this time with a low growl.

    ¡°Because¡ª¡±

    She doesn¡¯t get to finish. Some f*****g asshole decided to disturb us just when I was about to get an

    answer.

    A low growl tore from my throat as I looked back to see what vehicle was shing lights behind us.

    Ah, f**k.

    Of course, my brother Damon.

 Chapter 197

    Chapter 197

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 197

    Book 3 Chapter 33

    ~DANTE~

    Willow falls on top of me suddenly, and it takes me a few seconds to realize she¡¯d fallen asleep.

    I sigh, maybe it¡¯s for the best. A sleeping Willow was much easier to handle than a drunk one.

    I slowly pick her up and gently ce her back on the passenger¡¯s side.

    There was a knock on the door right after I buckled her in.

    I open my door and find Damon standing there. ¡°What are you doing parked to the side of the road?¡±

    He asks me. ¡°Did something happen?¡±

    Something did, but I wasn¡¯t about to tell him that.

    ¡°No.¡± I lie. ¡°I just needed to make sure that Willow was okay. She fell asleep, and I worried she was too

    cold.¡±

    I grab my shirt and cover her body.

    He nods, ¡°alright. Drive safe. I¡¯ll see you at home.¡±

    I nod and shut the door. I¡¯m not sure what the f**k just happened, but I knew I had to take a very cold

    shower tonight to help with my situation.

    After tonight, I knew that my life would be a pain from now on.

    The feel of Willow¡¯s breasts in my hands was not something I would easily be able to forget. Every time

    I looked at her from now on, I would keep thinking about them and how good they felt.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what happened to me tonight. She shouldn¡¯t have tempted me that much. I never knew

    how much I wanted her until tonight.

    How long have I felt this way? It wouldn¡¯t change the fact that I didn¡¯t love her, however. It also wouldn¡¯t

    change the fact that I loved Anya.

    Still, something about Willow made me want to forget about everything else, including her sister. I

    wasn¡¯t sure what it was, but it was f*****g intense.

    Pulling into the garage, I quickly exited and took her into my arms. I swallow at how good even this felt.

    I stormed into the house and went straight for my room. I didn¡¯t feel like answering any questions

    tonight. I knew my parents would have plenty after seeing me carrying a sleeping Willow in my arms.

    I gently ce her onto our bed. She looked beautiful even while she slept. I walked over to her closet

    and pulled out a satin robe.

    I tried not to look at her body while I ced the robe over her. I quickly pulled the covers over her body

    when I was done. I didn¡¯t want to be tempted for the hundredth time tonight.

    When she¡¯s safely tucked into bed, I storm out of the room. I needed some time away from her.

    I had to get her f*****g scent out of my head.

    I was halfway down the stairs when I remembered something. Before I knew it, I was walking back to

    the room.

    I pushed the door open and strode over to her. I leaned over and gently moved her hair from her face

    before whispering, ¡°You are my wife, Willow. And you always will be.¡±

    . . . . . . . .

    ~WILLOW~

    I groaned and held my head in pain. Why was it hurting this much? I sat up from the bed and slowly

    opened my eyes. I wince as the light hits my face.

    How long was I asleep?

    I freeze when I see Danteing out from the bathroom in nothing but a towel¡ªsomething I love

    seeing. My head hurts so much that I cannot concentrate on him.

    He stops walking when he sees me awake. There¡¯s this heated look in his eyes that I haven¡¯t seen

    before. It makes me curious. What was that look about?

    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake.¡± He says as he walks over to me.

    Why was he walking over to me? He barely ever gave me any attention unless it was necessary. Was I

    missing something?

    ¡°Why do I feel so horrible?¡± I ask him.

    He sighs and hands me a drink. ¡°I had this made specifically for you.¡± He tells me. ¡°Drink it; it will help.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± I ask. ¡°Did I hit my head somewhere?¡±

    He shook his head, ¡°Autumn and rissa gave you way too many drinksst night. They should have

    known better than to do something like that.¡±

    He looks angry with them.

    ¡°They were only trying to help me rx.¡± I defend them. I couldn¡¯t remember everything clearly, but now

    that he mentioned it, I remember drinking multiple times.

    Another memory makes everything run cold.

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Dante asks, sensing the change in my mood.

    I nod even though I feel sick to my stomach.

    ¡®You and Dante have not even consummated your marriage. Have you?¡¯

    That¡¯s the question Sharon asked me at the pool party.

    ¡°You don¡¯t look okay,¡± Dante says as he studies me. He looks a little flustered, which surprises me.

    ¡°Do you remember what happenedst night?¡± He asks hesitantly.

    Why does he look so worried?

    ¡°Do you mean the part where Sharon asked me if we consummated our marriage?¡± I ask him; I can¡¯t

    hide the anger in my voice. It upsets me every time that I think about it. She had no right sticking her

    nose into our married life. I was more upset that Dante and I didn¡¯t act like a married couple, however.

    That¡¯s what honestly had me feeling this way.

    Dante looks surprised at my question, making me wonder if he was asking about a different incident.

    Did something else happenst night? I tried my best to remember, but nothing wasing back to

    me. Maybe I was reading too much into nothing.

    ¡°We have a problem,¡± Autumn announces as she barges into our room without warning.

    It must be severe for her to enter without even knocking.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Dante demands.

    She pushes a magazine into his face, and I watch him pale.

    I moved to his side and took a look at the headline.

    It was titled the virgin bride. Under the title was a picture of me. I let out a surprised gasp and covered

    my mouth in horror.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    This wasn¡¯t happening.

 Chapter 198

    Chapter 198

    Book 3 Chapter 34

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°It has to be Sharon.¡± Autumn hissed. ¡°I should have known she would be up to something like this.¡±

    ¡°She couldn¡¯t wait for an opportunity to talk to those damn reporters,¡± rissa says as she barges in. ¡°If

    I didn¡¯t have to worry about the overlords, she would see my worst side.¡±

    Autumn walks over to me, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t. Not in the least. Everyone from the academy would know about Dante and me after reading

    this article. They would see that we never consummated our marriage. They bullied me before even

    knowing this; it would only increase after this.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    ¡°Mom and Dad want to see you,¡± Atticus says to Dante. ¡°You as well, Willow.¡±

    Dante doesn¡¯t look at me. Instead, he storms out of the room. He looks pissed as I follow behind. I¡¯m

    sure that his parents would be angry over this article. They hated anything that messed with their

    reputation.

    When we walk into their room, they seem to be deep in a deep conversation.

    They turn to look at us after Dante shuts the door behind him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you both have seen the articles by now.¡± His father says.

    Dante clenches his jaw but nods his head.

    ¡°Now, son, your mother and I have been very patient with you. We know what you went through was

    not an easy thing. We¡¯re also aware that you also had a difficult time Willow. However, it¡¯s about time

    that you both tried to make your marriage work. The rumors are getting out of hand.¡± Mr. Fawn says in

    a calm but annoyed tone. ¡°As a man of this family, you must step up and do your duty as a husband.

    Willow is your wife, whether you want to ept it or not. Atticus didn¡¯t want to marry Autumn at first,

    but he did his duty as a son of this family, and now he can¡¯t live without her. As a Fawn and a son of

    this family, we expect the same from you, Dante.¡±

    Dante¡¯s mother steps closer to us, and I can see the sadness in her eyes, ¡°We truly are sorry for

    everything the both of you went through in the past. You both lost someone you loved. We tried to give

    you the time needed to heal Dante. You as well Willow. But things are getting out of hand. You knew

    what you were doing when you married Willow. You decided to marry her, and now you must do your

    part as her husband.¡±

    Dante takes a step closer to his parents, ¡°what are you trying to say?¡± he demands. ¡°Are you trying to

    force us to do something we don¡¯t want to do?¡±

    His mother sighs, ¡°No one wants to force you to do anything you don¡¯t want to. We¡¯re just asking that

    you try to do better. However, something needs to be done about these articles. The damage is already

    done. Now we must find a way to make people believe it is all lies.¡±

    ¡°How do you propose we do that?¡± Dante asks her.

    ¡°We never got the opportunity to do the traditional honeymoon ceremony.¡± She answers him. ¡°You were

    supposed to take Willow to the same spring your brother took Autumn to. She is your wife, and to have

    a long sessful marriage with her, we believe this must be done. Not only will it put the rumors to

    rest, but it will also bring you and Willow closer to each other.¡±

    Honeymoon? Ceremony?

    ¡°Are we supposed to take another trip to that ind?¡± Dante asks. He looks horrified at that idea for

    some reason.

    What happens at that ind for him to react this way?

    His father nods, ¡°we have already made all the necessary arrangements. We leave tomorrow, and

    we¡¯ve also invited a few friends to ensure the word spreads. We expect both of you to at least act like

    you¡¯re deeply in love when you are out in public.¡±

    Act like we¡¯re deeply in love? What was even love between a man and a woman?

    ¡°Why must we do that?¡± Dante demands. ¡°It¡¯s been weeks since the wedding. That ceremony only

    happens right after the wedding. How can this count?¡±

    ¡°It will.¡± His father snaps. ¡°We¡¯re done discussing this. This article puts a strain on your rtionship. We

    can¡¯t let this madness continue any longer. We must put a stop to these rumors once and for all.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t do it tomorrow.¡± Dante insists. ¡°I have a fight, and I can¡¯t miss it.¡±

    ¡°A fight?¡± His mother gasps. ¡°Didn¡¯t we already speak about this nonsense Dante?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve spoken about it, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I must listen to you. I¡¯m old enough to make my

    own decisions. I¡¯m not leaving that underground ring.¡± He answers her.

    His mother approaches him and grabs his arms, ¡°Why are you insisting on ruining your life, son?¡± She

    demands. ¡°For a woman that never loved you, to begin with. Why are you destroying your life? You

    have a wonderful wife and a happy home. Why must you ruin everything for her?¡±

    Dante winced at her words, and a part of me wanted tofort him. It must not be easy for Dante to

    hear that my sister never loved him. It was difficult for even me to hear at times.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to leave the underground ring, at least cancel that fight for tomorrow.¡± His father

    demands. ¡°One way or the other, you are going to that ind with us. We will not let your names be

    tarnished. As your parents, we must do the right thing even if you refuse to do it.¡±

    Dante¡¯s jaw clenches, and I can feel the tension in the room. It was much worse than before.

    His parents dismissed us after continuing their ns. When we exit the room, Dante doesn¡¯t even

    bother speaking to me. Instead, he storms away from me.

    I sigh; whatever they had nned for the ind seemed to upset Dante. Autumn would surely be able

    to tell me more about it.

    I had to speak to her.

 Chapter 199

    Chapter 199

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 199

    Book 3 Chapter 35

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°It¡¯s time to board the yacht,¡± Autumn tells me.

    I couldn¡¯t stop staring at the boat in front of me.

    It was beautiful.

    ¡°Will Dante be here?¡± I ask her. He didn¡¯te homest night, and no one had seen him the entire

    day. I knew his parents were about to lose their minds, but I felt worse.

    If Dante didn¡¯t attend this ceremony, I would look like a fool in front of everyone. I couldn¡¯t imagine what

    else the bullies would find to say about me.

    A part of me knew that Dante wasn¡¯t the type of man to let that happen to me. However, another part of

    me knew this was difficult for him; I don¡¯t think Dante would ever find the strength to forget about my

    sister.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure he will be here in time.¡± Autumn tries tofort me.

    ¡°There¡¯s something I forgot to mention. Damon told me that Dante looked a little flustered when we

    found his jeep parked at the side of the road after the party.¡± She adds.

    I frown, ¡°his jeep was parked on the side of the road?¡±

    She nods, ¡°We returned from the party early and expected to meet you guys home. However, we saw

    you parked on the side of the road. You were knocked out in the front seat, and Dante was covering

    your body with his shirt.¡±

    I don¡¯t remember knocking out in his vehicle. I kept getting my memories back gradually, but everything

    after we left the party, was still nk.

    ¡°I can¡¯t remember anything,¡± I confess.

    ¡°We did give you a little too much to drink.¡± Autumn apologizes.

    ¡°Atticus and Damon heard plenty from Dante. He was pissed that we let you drink so much. He asked

    them to control their wives.¡± She chuckles. ¡°Like Atticus could ever control me. And rissa, he knows

    damn well Damon can¡¯t control anything that she does.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t me you at all for anything.¡± I reassure her. ¡°But I do want to remember what happened. I feel

    like there is plenty I¡¯m missing.¡±

    ¡°Trust me; it will all return to you very soon.¡± She assured me. ¡°Let¡¯s get on before we¡¯re left behind and

    miss all the fun they have nned for you.¡±

    All of the fun? What kind of fun?

    ¡°I was told that Dante would be the one to carry me onto the yacht.¡± I pointed out. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I wait for

    him toe?¡±

    Autumn sighs, ¡°That¡¯s usually what¡¯s supposed to happen, but since today isn¡¯t the wedding day and

    Dante is nowhere to be found, his parents suggested that it would be better for you to board the yacht

    while we wait for his arrival.¡±

    I try not to look disappointed. I wanted him here. I wanted him to carry me onto the yacht ording to

    the traditions.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Willow; he will make up for it in the spring.¡±

    That¡¯s if he even showed up.

    As we walked onto the yacht, I was reminded of the questions I wanted to ask Autumn. I never got the

    chance because everyone was so busy nning for today.

    ¡°What is the ceremony about?¡± I ask her. ¡°I was told about a spring and you also mentioned it a few

    minutes ago. Why does Dante seem to be so bothered about it? In fact, he was very against it.¡±

    Autumn turns pink with my question. ¡°It¡¯s a very intimate ceremony.¡± She confesses. ¡°Both you and

    Dante will have to enter the spring at exactly midnight. You¡¯ll be rubbed in oil as preparation. You¡¯ll also

    have to repeat some words to each other, and that¡¯s it.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I whisper. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound so bad. Why will that be so hard for Dante to do? Marrying me was

    more difficult than that.¡±

    She bites her lip before continuing, ¡°There¡¯s one tiny little detail I didn¡¯t include.¡±

    I look at her, waiting for her to finish.

    ¡°You¡¯ll both have to be n***d for the ceremony.¡± She finally blurts out.

    I almost choke on absolutely nothing. How can we see each other n***d? I wasn¡¯t prepared for

    something like that.

    I¡¯m aware that Dante saw a lot of me in my bikini, but to see every part of me, I didn¡¯t know how to

    react to knowing this part of the ceremony existed.

    ¡°I promise you that it isn¡¯t as bad as you may think it is.¡± She tries tofort me. ¡°If I¡¯m being honest, I

    was also very nervous. I was in love with Atticus while he still thought he was in love with Anya. I

    wasn¡¯t sure what it would be like seeing each other without any clothes. However, two friends, Scarlett

    and ra, gave me a few drinks. It helped with the tension. It also made me confident or crazy enough

    to do things I¡¯m proud of today. It was a very nice ritual with Atticus, and I¡¯m happy I did that with him. I

    think it will be the same way for you and Dante.¡±

    I¡¯m about to respond when the whispers begin around me.

    ¡°Ignore them,¡± rissa says as she joins us. ¡°I don¡¯t know why our parents invited these losers.¡±

    ¡°It had to be done,¡± Autumn says. ¡°They wanted them here to spread the news. I don¡¯t think they

    expected Dante not to show up.¡±

    ¡°I know Dante. He will be here.¡± rissa says as she looks around. ¡°But he better be here soon to shut

    these people up. I¡¯ve already seen posts where people said that Dante stood Willow up and doesn¡¯t

    want to do the ritual with her.¡±

    Just like I expected, it¡¯s happening a lot sooner. They¡¯re already spreading rumors about us. Or, in this

    case, it wasn¡¯t rumored at all. Dante wasn¡¯t here, and it does look like he won¡¯t show.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill him,¡± Atticus growled as he looked around.

    I was about to give up.

    But then I hear gasps all around us. Everyone is pointing at something.

    I follow their gazes, and I¡¯m shocked to see Dante walking toward me covered in what had to be blood.

    ¡°That asshole still went to the b****y fight!¡± Atticus growls.

    I gasp. Tonight was his fight.

    He still went.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    How could he?

 Chapter 200

    Chapter 200

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 200

    Book 3 Chapter 36

    ~WILLOW~

    I¡¯m in shock.

    Why did he do this to himself right before our trip to the ind?

    This was supposed to be our night. It was supposed to bring us closer. Yet, he¡¯d found some way to

    spoil it even before it got a chance to begin.

    I can only stare at him as he walks over to me. The whispers are getting louder, and I can almost hear

    each of them.

    Dante surprises all of us when he picks me up into his arms bridal style. I wrap my arms around his

    neck to steady myself as he walks. What was he doing?

    It looks like he¡¯s taking me down from the yacht. Did he no longer n on going? Shouldn¡¯t he have

    discussed this with me first?

    Everyone expects us toplete the ritual tonight. I don¡¯t even look back at them. I don¡¯t want to see

    the look on their faces.

    ¡°Dante,¡± I say his name. ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯re alreadyte. We are supposed toplete the

    ritual tonight. Why are you moving me from the yacht?¡±

    He didn¡¯t answer me; a few secondster and we were already out of the yacht. I could see the shes

    of light all around us, and I knew it meant that the guests were taking hundreds of pictures of us.

    This entire incident reminded me of our wedding. Except we were both covered in blood on that day.

    I expected Dante to take me back to his vehicle, but instead, he turned around and headed for the

    yacht again.

    I¡¯m confused. What was happening? Why would he take me down only to put me back on there?

    ¡°It¡¯s tradition to carry you onto the yacht for the ceremony.¡± He finally answers me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯mte.¡±

    My eyes widen at his words. Not once did I think this was how my night would begin. I thought I would

    end up alone on that ind with strangers gossiping andughing behind my back and even in front of

    my face.

    Instead, Dante came for me even though he was covered in bruises. He came, and for now, that was

    all that mattered to me.

    I¡¯m surprised when everyone starts pping when he puts me back on the yacht. These were the same

    people gossiping about me just a few minutes ago.

    ¡°Give me a second. I need to get cleaned up.¡± Dante tells me before disappearing again. I watch as his

    parents run after him. I¡¯m sure that he would be hearing plenty from them. He had us convinced that he

    wouldn¡¯t be here tonight.

    ¡°I told you he would be here.¡± rissa winks at me. ¡°I just didn¡¯t think he would show up in blood and

    bruises, with a torn shirt and a busted lip. Leave it to Dante to make an entrance that no one could

    forget.¡±

    He was good at those, very good at it. I couldn¡¯t get it out of my head. I had tingles all over my body.

    ¡°Scarlett!¡± Autumn gasps suddenly.

    ¡°Where?¡± rissa demands as she looks for her. ¡°Where is Scarlett?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯sing our way!¡± Autumn answers her.

    I follow their gazes to see a very beautiful girl heading our way. She looked like she was drunk. She

    could barely walk properly.

    Autumn helped bring her to us before she fell.

    ¡°Autumn!¡± Scarlett smiles as she hugs her tightly. ¡°It¡¯s so good to see you.¡±

    ¡°I missed you,¡± Autumn tells her. ¡°Is everything okay? It looks like you¡¯ve had plenty to drink.¡±

    She giggles and hugs rissa next. ¡°Everything is not okay. But I¡¯m happy that the two of you have

    found love.¡±

    Autumn looks at rissa, and the both of them look worried.

    ¡°Is ra not with you?¡± Autumn asks her hesitantly.

    She shook her head and pressed her finger against Autumn¡¯s mouth, ¡°Don¡¯t say her name. She might

    show up and say mean things to me again. I can¡¯t look her in her face after what I¡¯ve done.¡±

    rissa rubs her back gently, ¡°It¡¯s okay. We don¡¯t have to talk about your sister if you don¡¯t want to.¡±

    My eyes widen when she begins to cry in front of us. ¡°I miss her. I miss ra. I can¡¯t forgive myself for

    betraying her. I can¡¯t.¡±

    Autumn looks brokenhearted to see her friend in such distress. I¡¯m not sure what was happening, but it

    was even hard for me to see her like this. Whatever happened between them must have been horrible.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that whatever you did, you can make up for it,¡± Autumn tells her.

    She shook her head, ¡°I can¡¯t make up for it. I did the unforgivable. ra loved Carter. It was only

    supposed to be a game, something to teach Carter a lesson. But instead¡ª¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to talk about it.¡± rissa tries to tell her soothingly.

    ¡°I love him.¡± She yells out suddenly. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t, but I do. I love him so much.¡±

    My heart drops at her words. Her pain, all of it, I felt the same way. I had strong feelings for Dante, but I

    felt guilty because my sister was once with him.

    ¡°I think you should get her into one of the rooms,¡± rissa whispers to Autumn. ¡°People are beginning

    to stare, and I don¡¯t want videos of this being posted.¡±

    Autumn nods and takes Scarlett away with her. I watch them leave with a heavy heart. Seeing her like

    this just reminded me of my pain.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± rissa asks me. ¡°You look a little pale.¡±

    I nod even though I feel the opposite of okay.

    ¡°Is it because of my brother?¡± She asks me. ¡°I know Dante can be a little too much at times, but I want

    you to know that I think he made the right decision when he married you. I know all of this was only

    made possible because Anya asked him to do this, but I can see him in the future being happily

    married to you.¡±

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    I was surprised to hear rissa say this to me.

    Was it truly possible to be in a happy marriage with Dante?

 Chapter 201

    Chapter 201

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 201

    Book 3 Chapter 37

    ~WILLOW~

    When Dante returns, he¡¯s dressed in a white unbuttoned shirt and he looks handsome as ever.

    ¡°Now that our son is here and we are on our way to our destination, we have a little activity. We¡¯ve

    hired the best romantic painter in the world and he¡¯s going to paint this lovely couple for us today.¡±

    Dante¡¯s father announces.

    Did I hear them correctly? Was someone going to paint us?

    ¡°Sit on top of Dante.¡± His mother tells me.

    I¡¯m nervous toply, but when I see the many eyes on us, I do as she says. Dante¡¯s body is

    immovable as stone under mine.

    ¡°Put your arms around his neck.¡± The painter orders me. I follow his instructions without saying a word.

    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Put one hand around her waist.¡± He orders Dante. He also follows his instructions without interrupting

    him.

    It felt weird with everyone staring at us, but it felt good to be in his arms again, even if it was just for a

    painting.

    Dante¡¯s parents were determined to do everything in their power to make everyone believe that we

    were in love; they wanted the word to spread that we were in a happy marriage.

    Now that I was sitting on hisp, I felt this strange feeling in my chest, like I¡¯d done this before.

    But when?

    Because of our pose, I¡¯m already looking into Dante¡¯s eyes, and he¡¯s also gazing into mine. I want to

    ask him if anything happened in the jeep after I got drunk, but we¡¯re not allowed to move or speak.

    How much longer must we stay this way? I try not to blush under Dante¡¯s piercing gaze but it was hard.

    ¡®Please repeat it, Dante. Tell me that I¡¯m your wife. I want to hear you say it. Please.¡¯

    I freeze. That memory. It was all slowlying back to me.

    Why now? Why in front of everyone while someone painted us?

    Everything that happened that night was rushing back to me.

    I could feel all the blood draining from my face.

    Dante¡¯s hand on my breast. Begging him to call me his wife, asking him to touch me, and straddling

    him while driving.

    I gasp and bury my face against his neck in embarrassment. I could hear the whispers again, but I was

    too embarrassed to show my face or look into his eyes.

    What the hell was wrong with me? I was never drinking again!

    The intoxicated side of me did embarrassing things.

    This was what Dante was asking me yesterday morning. He was referring to everything that happened

    in the jeep. That¡¯s why he looked so confused when I mentioned what Sharon had said. He wasn¡¯t

    speaking about that incident; he was talking about what I¡¯d done while drunk.

    Dante gently touches my back, and I know he¡¯s shocked at my sudden weird behavior.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He asks me gently. ¡°Is your body bing cold again? Do we need to call a doctor?¡±

    I wish it were. That would be less embarrassing than what I was experiencing right now.

    I don¡¯t answer him. I don¡¯t know how even to bring up the things I¡¯d done in a conversation.

    I shivered as both his hands wrapped around me protectively. He stands with me still in his arms and,

    without saying anything to anyone, walks with me back to one of the rooms in the yacht.

    Even after we¡¯re safely locked inside, I still don¡¯t move my face from his neck.

    ¡°Are you going to tell me what¡¯s wrong, Willow?¡± He asks again. ¡°I need to know. That¡¯s the only way I

    can help you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I finally force myself to say.

    He stops moving when he hears me.

    ¡°You¡¯re sorry?¡± He asks for confirmation. ¡°For what exactly?¡±

    I don¡¯t answer him. I¡¯m too embarrassed to say anything else.

    He gently moves my legs from around his waist and puts me to sit down on the edge of the bed. He

    now has a clear view of my face, but I¡¯m refusing to look him directly in his eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m the one that should be apologizing for showing up sote tonight.¡± He says. ¡°Why are you the one

    apologizing when you¡¯ve done nothing wrong?¡±

    My cheeks turn red at his question. How could he pretend like nothing had happened? He remembered

    all along. Was he never going to tell me about the things I¡¯d done?

    ¡°I remember.¡± I finally answer him.

    He looks confused, but I see when he realizes what I¡¯m trying to say.

    His brow raises slightly, ¡°You remember what happened after we left the pool party?¡±

    I slowly nod and hide my face behind the palm of my hands.

    He¡¯s quiet as he waits for me to say something. I can¡¯t. Not with the way I felt right now.

    I made Dante touch my breasts! I grabbed his hand and ced it over them! I asked him to touch me.

    I kept wishing it was all just some nightmare, but I knew it was true; I knew it did happen.

    ¡°Willow,¡± he whispers. His voice is soft, making me feel all kinds of things in my stomach. It surprised

    me that a man who enjoyed fighting that much could have a gentle side like this.

    I slowly lift my gaze to look at him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize for what happened.¡± He tells me. ¡°I should apologize.¡±

    I frown, ¡°you didn¡¯t do anything wrong. I was the one who acted. . .¡±

    I can¡¯t say it.

    ¡°You had plenty of drinks. I know that wasn¡¯t what you truly wanted.¡± He assured me.

    He¡¯s wrong, though. That¡¯s exactly what I wanted, but I never wanted it to happen that way. I wanted to

    be aware of everything, and I wanted him to be the one to do it of his own free will. I didn¡¯t want to have

    to beg him to call me his wife.

    I wished he would touch me on his own without my interference.

    That night, he¡¯d also done something else. He¡¯d beat up those men who werementing on my body.

    Why would he do that for me? He told me that he wouldn¡¯t let another man disrespect his wife in front

    of him.

    I ced a hand over my chest at the intense emotions I felt there.

    What was this feeling? Why was I so giddy with happiness from that memory?

    Dante follows the movement of my hand, and his eyes zero in on my breasts. His face gets a little

    flustered, and he moves away from me.

    There is a knock on the door just then. When Dante unlocks it, his mother walks in.

    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived. It¡¯s time.¡± She announces.

    We¡¯re here?

    Already?

 Chapter 202

    Chapter 202

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 202

    Book 3 Chapter 38

    ~DANTE~

    Why can¡¯t I stop noticing how beautiful Willow has been recently?

    f**k. I can¡¯t stop staring at her. I would force myself to look away for a few seconds, and right after, I¡¯m

    back to gazing at her.

    Her sweetness was hard to ignore. I¡¯d never met a woman like Willow before. It always amazes me

    how different she was from everyone else. I¡¯ve loved Anya for so long that I¡¯ve never looked at anyone

    else. But for the first time, another woman has my attention, and it turns out it¡¯s her sister.

    Was it a coincidence? Was there something about both of them that called out to me?

    It couldn¡¯t be. They were both opposite in every damn way. There¡¯s not one thing about them that is

    simr. They¡¯re nothing alike. Nothing.

    So then, why do they both have the power to hold my attention? What was it about the both of them?

    I take her into my arms again and walk with her down the yacht. I had to make up for beingte. I tried

    not to let her scent fill my nose, but it was an impossible task.

    I saw the worry in her eyes when I finally arrived earlier. I heard what those damn guests were saying.

    They were always waiting to say the worst things about Willow.

    I was the reason behind it. Because of my stupid actions, they always found things toment on. If I

    acted the right way, they wouldn¡¯t be able to say anything bad about Willow or our marriage. I knew it

    was all my fault.

    I knew I should have skipped the fight tonight. I knew I had to be there for her. However, I couldn¡¯t do it.

    Fights are now my unhealthy addiction. It¡¯s the only way I can cope with the stress. I couldn¡¯t sleepst

    night thinking about the ritual and the possibility of seeing Willow n***d.

    Original from N?velDrama.Org.

    I¡¯m torn between doing what was right and what my heart told me to do. I was still connected to Anya. I

    was still grieving for her.

    I should not be able to feel anything for another woman until I recovered. But for some reason, Willow

    was the only person who could get to me now that Anya was gone. She was the only woman who

    could quickly gain my attention without even trying.

    It was almost time.

    I let my family take Willow into the beach house. I knew what would happen after this. They would

    cover her body in oil and prepare her for the ritual.

    I was not prepared to see Willow n***d. I saw her in that bikinist time and almost lost my f*****g mind.

    I don¡¯t think I had the willpower to not look at her. Still, I didn¡¯t want to make anything ufortable for

    her.

    I had to gain the strength to look anywhere but at her body. Her perfect body.

    ¡°Are you ready for midnight?¡± Atticus asks me as he joins my side.

    I shook my head, ¡°how did you survive that night with Autumn?¡±

    Atticus had a familiar situation in the past. He wasn¡¯t in love with Autumn when he entered that spring

    with her; at least, I didn¡¯t think he loved her back then.

    He chuckles, ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy. She made it real f*****g hard for me on that night.¡±

    I quirk a brow, ¡°she made it hard for you?¡±

    Heughs, ¡°Autumn did some surprising things that night. I was crazy for not taking her then and there.

    I waited too long to realize what I truly wanted.¡±

    I nod, ¡°I¡¯m sure it will be much more difficult for me. You always had some feelings for Autumn. I don¡¯t

    have feelings for Willow. I still have my heart filled by her sister.¡±

    Atticus nods, ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to just throw Anya out of your heart. She was your first love, and

    unfortunately, she died before you could get any closure. Out of the three of us, you were the only one

    that truly loved her. We all understand what you are going through. I have someone that I love with all

    my heart, and I can¡¯t imagine losing her one day. However, I don¡¯t think you know this yet, but I¡¯ve seen

    affection in your eyes for your wife recently.¡±

    His words cut through me like a sharp knife. It was thest thing I was expecting him to say. When

    have I ever had affection in my eyes for Willow?

    He must be mistaken.

    My jaw clenches, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡±

    He sighs, ¡°You can try to hide your feelings all you want, Dante. The longer you take to ept it, the

    harder it will be for you when Willow slips away.¡±

    My grip tightens on the cup in my hand. I didn¡¯t want to think about Willow ever slipping away from me.

    She was my wife; she was not going anywhere.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re mistaken, Atticus. I only have feelings for Anya. No one else.¡± I growl.

    He raised his hands in defense. ¡°You don¡¯t need to get all worked up. I was saying it as I saw it. I was

    mistaken. I don¡¯t know you as well as I thought.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything,¡± I shout. ¡°I¡¯m tired of you trying to control my life.¡±

    ¡°Control your life?¡± he demands. ¡°I¡¯m trying to save your life, brother. I¡¯m trying to bring you out of that

    hole you¡¯ve dug for yourself. I¡¯m trying to show you that I went through something simr. I don¡¯t want

    you to make the same mistakes that I made. That¡¯s all.¡±

    I exhale loudly and pinch the bridge of my nose. I was being an a*s for no reason. Why was I this

    pissed because Atticus suggested I may have feelings for Willow? I could have politely said no.

    We both stop talking when the door opens, and Autumn walks out. I look behind her but don¡¯t see

    Willow anywhere.

    rissa walks out next, and so does my mother. Where was she?

    Why did I desperately need to see her?

 Chapter 203

    Chapter 203

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 203

    Book 3 Chapter 39

    ~WILLOW~

    I¡¯m nervous while walking out the door. It takes me a few seconds to build up the courage.

    I can feel Dante¡¯s eyes on me the second that I¡¯m in front of his view. It feels weird being n***d under

    the robe. It¡¯s almost like he can see everything even though my body is covered. That¡¯s what it felt like.

    ¡°Have a great time!¡± His mother shouts behind us. ¡°Remember to be in that spring at exactly midnight.¡±

    Dante helps me onto the jeep and I try to hold in the gasp when his hand identally touches my

    breast. He doesn¡¯t realize it because he doesn¡¯t show emotion as he buckles me in.

    My heart is pounding as I watch him enter the driver¡¯s side.

    The silence between us was awkward, but it allowed me to look at him and take everything in. He still

    wore clothes, but soon enough, he would be n***d before me. Why did a part of me want so badly to

    see him like that?

    ¡°Do you still think that I¡¯m perfect?¡± I whisper before I can stop myself.

    He nced at me for a quick second before turning back to the track in front of us. ¡°Why do you ask

    that?¡±

    I held the robe tighter against my body. I didn¡¯t think that I would ever worry about what someone

    thought of my body or the way I looked without any clothes on. But the thought of Dante seeing me

    utterly bare for the first time made me a little nervous.

    I was scared that he wouldn¡¯t like what he saw. I was afraid that he wouldpare me to my sister. I

    knew it was stupid. He didn¡¯t love me. I shouldn¡¯t worry about this, but I couldn¡¯t help myself. I cared

    about Dante¡¯s opinion.

    He always told me how perfect I was. I didn¡¯t want him to think less of me. I never knew it meant this

    much to me until now.

    ¡°No man has ever seen me n***d before. You always tell me how perfect I am.¡± I whisper. ¡°I¡¯m worried

    that you wouldn¡¯t like what you see.¡±

    ¡°f**k Willow.¡± He growled. ¡°How can you say that so easily?¡±

    I can see the shock on his face. I knew my face must be even redder than it¡¯s been in the past. I don¡¯t

    know why I blurted out the truth to him. I should have kept it to myself.

    ¡°I just¡ª¡±

    I don¡¯t know what to say.

    His hands tighten on the steering wheel as he elerates the vehicle. ¡°I¡¯ve seen plenty of you already,

    Willow. I can assure you that there is no possible f*****g way that I won¡¯t like what I see.¡±

    I gasp.

    ¡°Not that I¡¯ll be looking.¡± He adds. ¡°I don¡¯t want to make you feel ufortable. It¡¯s just for the ritual,

    and I can keep staring at your face instead of looking at your body. But if I were to look, you don¡¯t have

    to worry about me not liking what¡¯s in front of me. Not when you¡¯re the person in front of me.¡±

    I looked down at my chest; something was happening to me again. My heart was doing things it¡¯s never

    done before.

    I look at Dante again, and once more, I felt my heartbeat increase. He was responsible for this.

    I¡¯ve never known what it meant to be in love with a man before. It¡¯s why I didn¡¯t understand my feelings.

    I loved my sister and my mother; I knew what that kind of love was.

    But this love, it was unlike anything I¡¯ve experienced before. Did that mean I loved Dante? Was I in love

    with him? Was I in love with the man that still loved my sister?

    I close my eyes at the pain I felt from that one question.

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    I¡¯m sorry, Anya. I¡¯m sorry for loving someone that once belonged to you. I¡¯m sorry for feeling envious

    because of his feelings for you.

    She was all I had after my mom died. Seeing her every day always gave me a reason to fight my

    sickness. I never thought that I would ever want something she once had.

    I turn to look at Dante once more. His jaw is tight, and his shoulders look tense as he stares straight

    ahead. I know he¡¯s intentionally trying to keep the focus on the road instead of on me.

    I must make him ufortable. Why wouldn¡¯t he be after what I just asked him?

    ¡°Willow,¡± he says suddenly. ¡°Can you please not stare at me while I¡¯m driving?¡±

    I quickly look away. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for making you ufortable.¡±

    He exhaled loudly, ¡°You¡¯re not making me ufortable, Willow. You¡¯re more of a distraction than

    anything else. When you do things like that, I tend to forget that I must not crash my f*****g jeep.¡±

    I bite my lip and try to focus on anything else but him. It was a hard task, but I f****d myself to do it.

    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Dante says as the jeep stops abruptly.

    I could feel my heartbeat move even faster now that we¡¯d arrived at the spring.

    Dante leans back against his seat with closed eyes, ¡°I can hear your heartbeat, Willow. You don¡¯t need

    to feel anxious. I told you I won¡¯t look.¡±

    He misunderstood me.

    I do want him to look. Knowing he wouldn¡¯t be disappointed, I felt more confident. I wanted him to see

    every part of me.

    Part of me wants to tell him this, but the other half tells me to keep quiet.

    ¡°We have five minutes.¡± He announces. ¡°I¡¯m going to get undressed. I¡¯ll wait in the water for you.¡±

    I nod without saying anything.

    ¡°If you hear music, don¡¯t be startled. It¡¯s something they do to make the ritual more romantic.¡± He adds

    before shutting the door.

    I leaned back against the seat. I couldn¡¯t believe this was happening.

    I checked the time, and when I had two minutes left, I got out of the jeep and removed my robe. I had

    nothing on my body except the oil they¡¯d rubbed me down in.

    This was it.

    It was time.

 Chapter 204

    Chapter 204

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 204

    Book 3 Chapter 40

    ~WILLOW~

    One minute to midnight, I¡¯m standing n***d in front of the spring. Dante is in front of me with his back

    facing me. He¡¯s staring at the bright moonlight. I haven¡¯t seen it this bright in a long time. It looked

    beautiful, especially now that I was looking at it with Dante right in front of me.

    I slowly walk toward him, he knows I¡¯m here when his shoulders tense. He told me that I was a

    distraction. I thought I made him ufortable, but apparently, I was good at distracting him instead.

    When he turns around, he does exactly as he says. He looks into my eyes and avoids looking at the

    rest of my body.

    I tried my best to do the same even though I wanted to drag my eyes down the rest of his body. I felt

    embarrassed by my own need to see more of him.

    The sound of the rm on Dante¡¯s watch tells me that it is now precisely midnight. His mother said to

    me that there were certain words that we would have to repeat to each other. I wait for Dante to begin.

    He looks hesitant or nervous. Maybe he doesn¡¯t want to do it with me. I was told that this ceremony

    was important to have a happy marriage. Maybe Dante doesn¡¯t want to stay with me for the rest of his

    life. I begin to panic at the thought of not being married to him. I don¡¯t get to ponder more on that

    thought when he finally begins the ritual.

    ¡°I, Dante Fawn, choose Willow as my partner in this life and any other life I¡¯m blessed with. She is the

    only woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.¡± He whispers.

    I never knew that words could make me this weak yet alive at the same time. It made me feel things

    that I wasn¡¯t prepared to feel.

    He only looks at my face while waiting for me to say my part. I had to repeat everything he¡¯d just said.

    ¡°I, Willow Fawn, choose Dante as my partner in this life and any other life I¡¯m blessed with. He is the

    only man I want to spend the rest of my life with.¡±

    There.

    It was done. And it felt amazing. I feltplete in so many ways.

    ¡°The ritual isplete,¡± Dante whispers. ¡°I can turn around and wait for you toe out of the water.¡±

    He was determined to ensure that he didn¡¯t see me n***d tonight. I had other ns, however.

    Before he can turn around, I gently ce my hand on his chest to stop him.

    He looks down at my hand, and I can see the confusion and panic in his eyes. ¡°What are you doing,

    Willow?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that for me, Dante,¡± I tell him softly. ¡°I know you think that I might be

    ufortable if you see me without any clothes on, but I promise you that I wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    He takes a step back from me, ¡°Willow¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not demanding that you look at me, Dante.¡± I point out. ¡°I¡¯m just saying I would not hate it if you

    did.¡±Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    He looks genuinely surprised to hear me say that. ¡°You would not hate it?¡± he asks. ¡°Are you sure of

    that, Willow? I don¡¯t think you understand what you¡¯re saying to me.¡±

    ¡°Why do you always speak to me like a child?¡± I ask him. ¡°I know what it means when a man looks at a

    n***d woman. We¡¯re married. It should not be this hard.¡±

    ¡°Willow, I¡ª¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to give any excuses, Dante.¡± I stop him. ¡°Either you want to see me, or you don¡¯t. It¡¯s

    your choice.¡±

    He closes his eyes and swallows hard. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to. It¡¯s hard for me. I keep feeling guilty.

    Whenever I look at you differently, I feel like I¡¯m betraying your sister. I can¡¯t exin it, Willow. I don¡¯t

    think this is a good idea.¡±

    ¡°I love my sister, Dante,¡± I say, and he opens his eyes to fix me with a piercing gaze. ¡°Losing her was

    also hard for me. However, don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s painful for me when you keep mentioning how much

    you love her?¡±

    He frowns, ¡°why would that be painful for you, Willow?¡± he asks. ¡°We were never in love with each

    other. This marriage only took ce because that¡¯s what Anya wanted. You knew since the beginning

    how much I loved her.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I know how much you love her, Dante!¡± I snap. ¡°How can I not know when you take any

    excuse to remind everyone of it? I¡¯m not a robot. I have feelings. I have to listen to everyone make fun

    of me. Everyone says that you don¡¯t love me. They me me for my sister¡¯s death. They im that I

    stole my sister¡¯s mate. The rumors have only intensified recently. But you don¡¯t seem to care about any

    of that. All you care about is my sister and disappointing her. I¡¯m happy that she had someone to love

    her so deeply, but I wish that someone wasn¡¯t you!¡±

    Dante looks entirely shocked by my outburst. Even I am surprised by my outburst. Where did all of this

    evene from? Not once did I ever think I would admit any of this to Dante but hearing him tell me

    how much he loved Anya seemed to fuel the feelings inside of me.

    ¡°I never knew you felt this way.¡± He says, looking at me. ¡°I¡¯ve never known Willow. I¡¯ve always thought

    you were only staying married to me because of Anya. I thought our feelings were mutual. I don¡¯t¡ª¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel sorry for me.¡± I snap. ¡°I just want you to be careful with what you say around

    me. You have no idea how much it hurts. It hurts me to the point that I think I might be in love with you!¡±

    Oh no.

    I didn¡¯t just say that!

 Chapter 205

    Chapter 205

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 205

    Book 3 Chapter 41

    ~DANTE~

    I must have misheard her. There¡¯s no possible way that Willow said she might be in love with me.

    We haven¡¯t. . . I kissed her in my sleep. I touched her inappropriately once when she was drunk in my

    Jeep. We kissed for the fundraiser. But other than that, when have we ever been close? We¡¯ve only

    recently started sleeping in the same room together.

    She barely knew me. The marriage was f****d. It was only to grant a dying wish.

    How can she love me?

    I¡¯ve never seen love in her eyes for me, nor have I been looking. I was correct in the past when I felt

    that Anya never loved me as much as I loved her; I may be right now as well.

    I haven¡¯t been paying enough attention to Willow as I initially thought. If I had, I would have noticed how

    much my words and actions hurt her.

    She was happy that someone loved her sister as much as I did, but she wasn¡¯t pleased that it

    happened to be me that loved her. She didn¡¯t want me to love Anya?

    I don¡¯t know what to do with any of this new information. This was new to me. All of it.

    I have to be careful of my words. I couldn¡¯t do anything to make this more painful for her.

    The truth was I didn¡¯t love Willow. I was not in love with her. However, I would be an asshole if I told her

    this. I¡¯m sure she already knows the truth.

    ¡°You love me?¡± I ask in disbelief.

    I¡¯ve been avoiding looking at her body all this time. I told myself that I did it because of her, I did not

    want to make her feel ufortable, but I knew it was a f*****g lie.

    Willow¡¯s body tempted me. It¡¯s drawn me multiple times while she was fully clothed. I feared what

    would happen if I saw every part of her. The feel of her soft breasts was still imprinted on my memory.

    Sometimes I found myself waking up from sleep dreaming about touching them. Then I would look at

    her and wish I could feel her like she asked me to that night in the jeep.

    I wanted Willow, no doubt. But it was not love. And if it wasn¡¯t love, I didn¡¯t deserve to put my hands on

    her. She deserved love, not l**t. I didn¡¯t know how to tell her this.

    ¡°I think I do.¡± She whispers with a defeated look in her eyes. It f*****g hurt to see that look on her face

    and not be able to fix it. ¡°Every time you say something nice, my heart beats faster. Every time I look at

    you, I have these strong feelings. When you insist on telling everyone how much you love my sister, I

    feel jealous. I love Anya, and I hate that I¡¯m jealous of your love for her. I hate that I wish that love were

    for me instead.¡±

    I don¡¯t know what the f**k to say. How do I make this better?

    ¡°And when you do things like keep all her pictures with you or have a picture of her in your wallet.

    Those little things break my heart even more.¡± She cries. ¡°I don¡¯t want to feel like this. I don¡¯t even

    know why I¡¯m telling you. Maybe it¡¯s too much for me to bear. Maybe I want you to at least try and

    consider my feelings from now on. I don¡¯t know, Dante; I know that I can¡¯t keep on feeling this way and

    do nothing about it. I¡¯ve never felt this way before. I¡¯d never known what it meant to love a man or even

    like him before I met you. I believe it started as a crush. Since the first day I saw you, even when Anya

    was alive, I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about you. Everything intensified after the night you kissed me while

    thinking I was Anya. And it¡¯s only skyrocketed since then.¡±

    My eyes widen as I felt my heart move faster at her confession.

    I was aplete piece of s**t. All this time, Willow has been in pain because of my actions, and I¡¯ve

    done nothing but make everything worse. Even now, I couldn¡¯t do anything for her because I didn¡¯t feel

    the same way.

    When a tear rolls down her cheek, I felt it in my chest. I knew this wasn¡¯t what Anya wanted. When she

    left her sister for me to take care of, she didn¡¯t want me to hurt her in this way.

    Everything that I did was not intentional. I never wanted to hurt her. I was so lost in my sorrow that I

    didn¡¯t once think about her feelings.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    I step towards her and slowly lift my hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks. The more I wiped, the

    more she cried.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Willow,¡± I whisper. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that I was hurting you. I didn¡¯t know you felt this way. I¡¯m

    sorry that I¡¯m such an asshole. I¡¯m sorry for all the times I spoke about Anya before you. I hope you can

    find it in your heart to forgive me. I should have known. I should have paid more attention to you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± She tries to assure me. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault for not knowing. I know this marriage isn¡¯t what

    you wanted. I don¡¯t me you at all, Dante. But I had to let you know. Keeping it inside of me was only

    bing worse. I had to let you know the truth.¡±

    Doesn¡¯t she also deserve the truth from me? How can I tell her I want her but don¡¯t love her? How

    could I exin that¡¯s the reason why I had to keep my distance? I couldn¡¯t mention Anya anymore. I

    couldn¡¯t be selfish.

    ¡°Will you at least look at me tonight?¡± She whispers pleadingly. ¡°Please look at me for once and

    pretend that I¡¯m the one you want. Please. I know it¡¯s too much to ask, but just for tonight, look at me

    and see only me.¡±

 Chapter 206

    Chapter 206

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 206

    Book 3 Chapter 42

    ~WILLOW~

    I knew I should stay quiet. I knew I shouldn¡¯t be begging him for this. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever turn into

    someone like this. Why was I so desperately looking for Dante¡¯s attention? Why did I need him so

    badly? Why did it feel like I would die if he didn¡¯t touch me soon?

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    I had so many questions and no one to help answer them. My mother never taught me any of this. She

    never taught me what it would be like when I finally had feelings for a man. She never taught me what it

    meant to love someone other than my family.

    I was learning every new thing about my body on my own.

    I had to be in love with Dante. The more I thought if it, the more confident I was that the feelings in my

    heart were love and nothing else.

    ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re asking me to do Willow?¡± he asks. I can barely recognize his voice. It

    sounded much different than it usually did.

    ¡°I said it, didn¡¯t I?¡± I remind him. ¡°I know what I want. You don¡¯t have to do anything you don¡¯t want to. I

    was just telling you how I felt. I don¡¯t expect you to do it.¡±

    I gasped when Dante grabbed me by my waist without any warning and lifted me out of the water. He

    guided my legs so that they were now wrapped around his waist.

    Oh.

    Even that felt amazing. Clinging onto him without any clothes on. We were both still very n***d. I

    tightened my arms around his neck and leaned against him as I allowed him to walk with me. I wasn¡¯t

    sure where he was taking me, but I would let him carry me wherever he wished.

    My back hits the front of his jeep suddenly. He leaves me spread out on top of it as he walks backward

    without looking at my face.

    I shivered from the loss of his warmth. My body was still wet from the water, and the coolness of the

    wind did not help.

    ¡°Dante¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shh.¡± He stops me. ¡°Tonight, I¡¯m going to study every inch of your body like it¡¯s a f*****g assignment.¡±

    My eyes widen, and I felt all the blood travel to my cheeks. It was burning from the intensity of his

    words and his stare.

    There was so much passion in his eyes as he gazed at my body; it made me feel like I would pass out.

    I watch him as his gaze drops from my neck to my chest. He was breathing hard, so hard that I could

    hear him from over here.

    He wasn¡¯t moving quickly; he was taking his sweet time sweeping his gaze from my chest to my

    breasts.

    I think I heard his breath hitch, but it¡¯s also very possible that the sound came from me and not him. I

    wasn¡¯t sure, not now. I couldn¡¯t look away. I felt like I was under some spell.

    His eyes moved even lower to my belly button. He stayed there for a few seconds longer than I

    expected him to. I think he¡¯s hesitant to carry his gaze any lower. My legs were shut tightly, and I knew I

    wanted him to see that part of me between my legs.

    I wasn¡¯t sure why I needed it so much.

    When Dante finally drops his gaze lower, I can¡¯t stop myself as I spread my legs wide enough for him to

    get a good view of the one ce in my body that aches the most for him.

    Dante swallows hard, and his eyes darken to a different shade. Almost ck. I¡¯ve never seen it look

    this dark before.

    And then I saw something I hadn¡¯t seen before. Dante¡¯s d**k gets bigger right in front of my eyes. I

    gasp at its size. I¡¯ve heard girls talking in the academy about this before. I knew what it meant. He was

    aroused. I was doing this to him. I felt overjoyed at this fact. It meant that he did honestly like what he

    saw. I¡¯d heard girls say that they weren¡¯t satisfied by their boyfriend and the size of his. . . But Dante, I

    didn¡¯t have anything topare, but I was sure nothing could beat this.

    Was that supposed to be inside me? I flushed at the thought. Why was I thinking so far ahead? I was

    sure Dante was not about to do anything more than look at me tonight. He¡¯s still looking, in fact.

    He doesn¡¯t take his eyes away, and surprisingly, it doesn¡¯t make me nervous. It makes me want to

    touch myself and show him.

    I didn¡¯t think I would ever have such dirty thoughts. But with Dante, I had no control. I wanted things I¡¯d

    never wanted in the past.

    His eyes sh to mine, and I gasp at the hunger I saw in the depths of it.

    ¡°Get in the jeep.¡± He says suddenly, surprising me.

    I¡¯m startled by it. I thought he was enjoying this. I thought he wanted to keep looking at me. I don¡¯t

    know what changed in a few seconds.

    ¡°But Dante¡ª¡±

    ¡°Get in the f*****g jeep Willow.¡± He growls even louder than before.

    My eyes widen by his tone. He¡¯s never spoken to me in that tone before. I¡¯m shocked. All the

    happiness I felt suddenly shattered like it wasn¡¯t even there, to begin with.

    When I don¡¯t move fast enough, he storms over, picks me up roughly in his arms, and shoves me into

    the jeep.

    He doesn¡¯t ask me to wear my robe or cover my body. His d**k is still very erect and almost hungry. It

    was a beast. A beast that I wasn¡¯t scared of.

    He grabs his clothes from the ground and puts his shorts on before throwing everything else in the

    back seat.

    I¡¯m quiet when he finally gets in and shuts the door so loudly that I jump in my seat.

    What was wrong?

 Chapter 207

    Chapter 207

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 207

    Book 3 Chapter 43

    ~DANTE~

    f**k ME.

    If I didn¡¯t get Willow down from that jeep in time, I would have f****d her hard against it without a

    second thought.

    I wanted her. I f*****g wanted her.

    I felt like I would snap the second I got my hands on her sweet body. That¡¯s why I stopped it before

    anything could happen.

    I know I¡¯d managed to hurt her again. I could sense her sadness from my seat.

    f**k.

    Her scent burned the f*****g air. I could smell her. I could smell her everywhere. And damn it. I wanted

    to spread her legs and bury my nose in her p***y.

    ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡± She whispers.

    Ah¡ªs**t. Even her voice was pulling me in.

    She did do something wrong. She spread her f*****g legs wide for me without me asking. When I

    looked at her legs, I wasn¡¯t nning on looking there. I wasn¡¯t prepared for Willow spreading them so

    wide and disying her p***y for me like it was a painting in a damn museum.

    I breathed in hard and immediately regretted it. I¡¯m hit with her powerful scent. My hands tighten on the

    steering wheel. I can¡¯t find the strength to speak. All of my inner strength was preupied. It was too

    busy keeping me off Willow.

    ¡°Dante, please tell me what I did wrong.¡±

    I close my eyes for a second before opening it back. As much as I wanted to drive the jeep off a cliff

    and end this t*****e, I couldn¡¯t. She was in here with me. And I at least had to keep her safe.

    ¡°Stop talking, Willow,¡± I beg.

    Please stop talking. I don¡¯t know how much longer I can hold myself back. I was considering leaving

    the jeep for her and getting back on my damn feet¡ªanything to stop me from doing something stupid.

    ¡°Is it because I spread my legs for you?¡± She whispers. ¡°Did you not like that?¡±

    MOTHERFUCKER.

    How can she ask that? It was pretty evident how much I f*****g loved it. Her innocence was dangerous.

    Did she not see how f*****g hard my d**k was? I¡¯m sure she did. I saw her looking at it. And she

    shouldn¡¯t have done that. I enjoyed it more than I should have.

    I loved it a little too much. In fact, every night that I went to sleep after today, I would dream of her

    pretty pink clit waiting for someone like me to devour it. I¡¯ll dream of her hungry eyes looking at me. At

    it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why I did it.¡± She continued to ramble on even though I begged her to stay quiet. ¡°I just

    wanted you to see that part of me. I can¡¯t exin it. I¡¯ve never felt that way before. I needed you to see

    my¡ª¡±

    ¡°Willow,¡± I growl. ¡°I¡¯m begging you. Please stay quiet. I don¡¯t want to talk about this. You asked me to

    look at you finally, and I obliged. Please just let this go.¡±

    She finally stopped speaking, and I felt only a little rxed. I still had to get her back to the beach

    house. I needed to be around people. That way, I wouldn¡¯t lose control. I wouldn¡¯t do something I could

    never take back.

    I promised myself to keep my hands to myself for Willow¡¯s sake. It was for Willow. Not for Anya. Not

    touching her was solely for her. I didn¡¯t want to take advantage of her innocence.

    She didn¡¯t understand what she was offering to me. If Willow did love me, I couldn¡¯t hurt her like that. I

    couldn¡¯t do it to her. She deserved only the best. She didn¡¯t deserve to be f****d by an asshole like me.

    She deserved someone who would make love to her. Someone that would worship her body. I wasn¡¯t

    capable of that. Not now. And I didn¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever be capable of it.

    My heart was still stuck in the past. As long as it remained there, I couldn¡¯t take such a precious thing

    from Willow.

    Just a few more minutes again; that¡¯s all I needed to get far away from her and get my sanity back.

    I¡¯d never had to do anything this damn difficult in my life. Never. Except probably ept that Damon

    would marry Anya in the past, a wedding that never happened. Even marrying Willow wasn¡¯t as difficult

    as this.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    Deep breaths. Think about something else. Anything but her spreading her legs and disying her

    f*****g p***y to you. And I swear it was the prettiest p***y I¡¯d ever seen in my life. I knew it would have

    been like that. I knew it would have been perfect, just like every other part of her. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t

    want to look. But when she asked me, I could not say no to her. I didn¡¯t have the willpower to say no to

    her.

    I feel a sharp pain in my chest when I hear Willow wiping her nose and sniffling beside me.

    I stole a nce at her and felt even worse when I saw her wiping tears from her face.

    Congrattions asshole. You made her cry again.

    ¡°Willow,¡± I whisper. ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to force yourself to care for me, Dante.¡± She says as she continues to wipe her tears

    from her cheeks. ¡°I know everything you do for me is because of Anya. Please don¡¯t fake anything for

    my sake.¡±

    ¡°Willow, I asked you to get inside the jeep for your own good.¡± I try to exin. ¡°It¡¯s not because you did

    anything wrong. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong; I can promise you that.¡±

    ¡°Then, did you not like what I showed to you?¡± She whispers.

    I stopped the jeep and leaned back against the seat.

    ¡°Willow, that¡¯s not it either,¡± I answer her. ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡±

    Why couldn¡¯t she listen to me and drop this?

    ¡°Then why?¡± She demands. ¡°Why did you behave that way?¡±

    ¡°Because I wanted to f**k you!¡± I growl. ¡°I wanted to f**k you, Willow! And that¡¯s not something a girl like

    you deserves. Do you understand that?¡±

 Chapter 208

    Chapter 208

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 208

    Book 3 Chapter 44

    ~WILLOW~

    I gasp when I felt myself grow extremely wet between my legs just from Dante¡¯s words.

    Did he want to f-fuck me? Why did that turn me on so much? At the academy, you learned plenty from

    the girls in the bathroom. I even heard this from them as well. I knew what it meant. At least, I think I

    did.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± I say. ¡°Why is that such a bad thing? Doesn¡¯t that also mean consummate our

    marriage?¡±

    ¡°Willow.¡± He groans. ¡°You¡¯re not a girl that¡¯s meant to be f****d. You¡¯re the kind of girl that you worship.

    You¡¯re the kind of girl that deserves love. You need someone to make love to you, not f**k you. And

    right now, that¡¯s all I¡¯m capable of doing. And I won¡¯t f*****g do that to you.¡±

    Here goes my heart again. Why does every single thing that he says to me have such a strong effect

    on me?

    ¡°What if I want you to f**k me?¡± I ask.

    Dante snaps his gaze my way at my question. I don¡¯t think either of us realized I was still very n***d

    until now. We¡¯d left so quickly that I didn¡¯t bother covering up myself.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re asking for, Willow.¡± He growls. His nails were digging into the sides of him,

    and I knew I was pushing it.

    I wasn¡¯t crying anymore now that I knew why he was pushing me away.

    ¡°Please, Dante,¡± I whisper. ¡°I want this.¡±

    He shook his head and covered his face with one hand. ¡°Stop saying that, Willow. You don¡¯t know what

    you want.¡±

    I turn towards him, knowing exactly what affected him. He nces at me, and I can see the worry on

    his face.

    ¡°I know what I want.¡± I insist.

    ¡°Willow¡ª¡±

    I open my legs wide in front of him for the second time tonight. I wasn¡¯t scared that I was doing

    something wrong anymore. I knew now that my actions made him want to f**k me. His words. Not

    mine.

    I watch as a whirlpool of emotions runs through Dante¡¯s face.

    A low growl is torn from his throat before he grabs my legs and pulls me towards him. My back hits the

    door as he buries his face between my legs.

    What was he doing?

    My eyes widen when I felt his nose right in my intimate spot.

    ¡°D-Dante¡ª¡±

    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    Was he smelling me down there?

    I felt my cheeks begin to burn at that realization. I hear another low growl before I felt something that

    sends my a*s off the seat.

    Dante¡¯s tongue. It¡¯s inside my p***y. Deep inside.

    Oh. Oh. I don¡¯t know what to do with myself. I can feel something begin to grow inside of me. It was so

    strong that it made me feel like crying.

    ¡°Ah¡ª,¡± I cry as I bury my hands in his hair. Dante¡¯s hold on my thighs tightened as he pulled me closer

    so his tongue could go even deeper than I thought possible.

    ¡°FUCKKK!¡± Dante roars against me. His voice vibrates against my p***y, and I cry out some more.

    ¡°Even the taste of you is f*****g perfect, Willow.¡± He growls as he continues to taste me with his tongue.

    ¡°It¡¯s wrong. It¡¯s so f*****g wrong how perfect you are. No one should be allowed to be this damn

    perfect.¡±

    Was this what it meant to be f****d? Because it didn¡¯t feel like it. It felt more like him making love to me.

    I must be crazy for thinking this. But he was so gentle. He wasn¡¯t rough. He wasn¡¯t hurting me. He was

    giving me so much pleasure. It felt so good.

    Even his words to me were kind. He always tells me how perfect I am. No one has ever called me

    perfect before him.

    ¡°Dante, please,¡± I beg for something I didn¡¯t even know I wanted. I¡¯m moving my body faster against his

    face.

    I¡¯m begging him, and I¡¯m unaware of what I¡¯m begging him for.

    He angles his face and begins to move faster inside of me. I can¡¯t help but stare at him while he slides

    his tongue in and out of my p***y.

    With each swipe of his tongue, Dante took in as much of me as his mouth would let him. I was

    fascinated looking at him.

    He suddenly pulls away from me without any warning and covers my body with the robe. I¡¯m startled by

    his actions yet again. What was happening?

    ¡°Someone is here.¡± He says before I can ask him what was wrong.

    He winced as he adjusted his pants. I could still see the big bulge. It looked painful. Was he in pain

    down there?

    I don¡¯t say anything as I watch him jump out of the jeep and look around us.

    My eyes widen when he shoves someone against the front of the vehicle. He grabbed him by his hair

    and shoved him up against the door next. The man¡¯s face is pressed down hard on the window.

    Who was he? Why was he following us? This was their private ind, as far as I knew. Dante should

    know everyone here, but it didn¡¯t seem like he knew this person.

    ¡°Who the f**k are you?¡± I can hear Dante shout.

    ¡°Your parents sent me.¡± The guy answers him.

    ¡°My parents?¡± Dante asks; I can hear the surprise in his tone. ¡°Why the hell would my parents send you

    here?¡±

    ¡°To take pictures of you and Willow.¡± He answers me. ¡°They want everyone to see that you¡¯re in a real

    marriage. They want everyone to believe that you¡¯re in love. I¡¯m here to make sure that the pictures

    show just that.¡±

    I think Dante just saw red; I can practically see the smokeing from his ear.

    ¡°Did you take any f*****g pictures of Willow n***d?¡± He roars.

    My eyes widen. I didn¡¯t think of that. Please tell me this man didn¡¯t see me n***d.

    ¡°No!¡± He answers him. ¡°I swear I didn¡¯t. I was only supposed to take pictures of you two returning. I

    didn¡¯t get a chance to take any. You can check yourself.¡±

    Dante grabs the camera from him and smashes it to the ground before mashing it with his foot.

    ¡°My camera!¡± The man cries in horror. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Get out of my face before I f*****g kill you.¡± Dante threatens him.

    The guy doesn¡¯t need to be told twice as he leaves the camera behind and runs away from Dante.

    His mood is worse when he enters the jeep again. ¡°My parents.¡± He growls before starting the vehicle

    and racing back towards the beach house.

 Chapter 209

    Chapter 209

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 209

    Book 3 Chapter 45

    ~WILLOW~

    Dante is fuming when he storms inside the beach house with me right behind him.

    ¡°Look who¡¯s finally back!¡± Atticus announces as he spots us first.

    ¡°Father!¡± Dante shouts. ¡°Mother!¡±

    Both his parents turn to look at us.

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± His mother asks. ¡°Did something happen? Did you notplete the ritual?¡±

    Of course, that¡¯s the first thing everyone will be concerned about. The ritual. Thankfully, it was

    complete.

    ¡°Can someone exin to me why there was a f*****g photographer waiting to get pictures of Willow

    and me returning from the spring?¡± he demands as he throws the broken camera onto the ground.

    His father walks towards us, ¡°Did you get rid of the footage?¡± he demands.

    ¡°Of course I did.¡± Dante roars. ¡°That ritual was supposed to be something private between Willow and

    me. How could you send someone to take pictures of us?¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t take pictures of you in the spring.¡± His mother tries to exin. ¡°He was only supposed to take

    pictures of the both of you returning together.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this.¡± Dante spat angrily. ¡°Forcing me novelwn toplete this ritual wasn¡¯t

    enough? You had to send a photographer to let the entire f*****g world know what we¡¯d just done?¡±

    I gasp. Dante looks at me when he realizes what I¡¯ve just heard.

    I don¡¯t wait to hear anything else as I rush up the stairs and away from everyone else. I could hear his

    parents scolding him for saying that in front of me, but I didn¡¯t wait to hear more of their argument.

    After everything that happened tonight, hearing Dante say that he was f****d toplete the ritual with

    me was thest thing I wanted to hear.

    He was f****d. f****d.

    And I didn¡¯t help by forcing him to look at me tonight. I was worse than his parents.

    I angrily pulled the robe out of my body and changed into a nightgown.

    I grabbed my diary from the suitcase and pulled out a pen along with it.

    My dearest husband,

    Today I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry for asking for something you weren¡¯t ready to give me. I¡¯m sorry for telling

    you I think I¡¯m in love with you. I¡¯m sorry for making everything so much harder for you. I¡¯m sorry you

    were f****d to marry me by my sister. I¡¯m sorry you were f****d to do a ritual that may or may not

    guarantee a long marriage to me. However, I¡¯m not sorry for the feelings in my heart. I¡¯m not sorry for

    loving someone like you. I¡¯m not sorry that even though my sister didn¡¯t love you, I still do. I¡¯m not sorry

    that I got to experience such pleasures with your tongue. I¡¯m not sorry that my taste is still in your

    mouth. I¡¯m not sorry that I¡¯ll go to sleep smelling like you tonight. And I¡¯m not sorry that I¡¯ll dream of

    today for the rest of my life. . .

    A knock on the door forces me to put the diary away. I wasn¡¯t sure if bringing it with me was a good

    idea, but now I knew I needed it. Leaving little messages for him in my diary made me feel much better,

    even though I knew he would never get the chance to read it in this life.

    When I open the door, I¡¯m surprised to see Dante novelwn right before me. I didn¡¯t expect him to

    come after me.

    Did he feel sorry for me? I didn¡¯t want his sympathy.

    ¡°Willow, I¡¯m sorry.¡± He apologizes. ¡°I was angry with my parents. I wasn¡¯t thinking properly. I didn¡¯t

    mean to say what I said.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize, Dante,¡± I assure him. ¡°You can¡¯t control the way you feel. You weren¡¯t

    thinking, but you said exactly what was in your heart. You were f****d into all of this. It¡¯s not new to me.

    We all knew that you were f****d into everything.¡±

    ¡°Still,¡± he tries to say. ¡°I would never intentionally say something to hurt you. I mean it when I say I

    wasn¡¯t thinking. I willingly got into that water with you tonight. No one put a g*n to my head and f****d

    me into it.¡±

    I knew he was only trying to make me feel better. However, I didn¡¯t want him to go through all of that

    trouble for me. I can handle the truth. It was hard to stomach but I rather his honesty than his lies. As

    long as he wasn¡¯t mentioning his love for Anya, I would be okay.

    ¡°Dante, I¡¯m sorry about everything.¡± I apologize. ¡°Tonight, I went too far. You made it quite clear that my

    sister was the love of your life and still is. Yet, I insisted that you do things for me that I should have

    never asked for. I¡¯m sorry if I made tonight difficult for you.¡±

    Dante looks horrified by my words. Would he not ept my apology?

    He steps into our room, and I take one step back.

    ¡°Willow.¡± He says softly. ¡°Tonight is thest thing you need to be apologizing for. Again, no one f****d

    me to do anything.¡±

    ¡°Stop lying, for my sake!¡± I exim. ¡°You didn¡¯t want to do it. You made that very clear to me at first.

    You said it would make you feel guilty, yet I still begged you to do it for me.¡±

    Dante grabs my face roughly in his hands, forcing me to look directly into his eyes. ¡°Listen to me,

    Willow. Just listen. Let me talk. Do not apologize for something that wasn¡¯t your fault. We had a ritual to

    do. I think we both got a little carried away because of it. You said some things, and I did some things.

    But you don¡¯t need to apologize for any of it.¡±

    ¡°But¡ª¡±

    ¡°What I did tonight, you couldn¡¯t have possibly f****d me to do it.¡± He cuts me off. ¡°Do you understand

    that? So please, let¡¯s forget it. Let¡¯s forget everything that novelwn happened and return to how

    things were between us.¡±

    Forget everything that happened?

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    How could I possibly do that?

    I confessed my love for him! How was I supposed to act like things were normal between us when it

    never was, to begin with?

 Chapter 210

    Chapter 210

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 210

    Book 3 Chapter 46

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°Okay,¡± I mumble as I pull away from him.

    I angrily got onto the bed and pulled the sheets over me. ¡°I¡¯ll forget everything that happened between

    us tonight. I¡¯ll make a mental note to pretend everything was just a dream. You can sleep peacefully,

    knowing that things are back to normal between us.¡±

    I¡¯m unsure if he can sense the tone of my voice, but he doesn¡¯t bother trying to argue with me again.

    Instead, he walks into the bathroom and shuts the door behind him.

    I¡¯m angry. Very angry.

    Why did his words upset me this much? It¡¯s not like I expected things to change between the two of us

    magically. I knew he didn¡¯t love me.

    But still, his mouth was on parts of my body tonight that would stick with me for the rest of my life.

    Those memories were not going anywhere, and even though Dante wanted me to forget them, I

    couldn¡¯t grant his wish.

    When Dante returns from the bathroom, he looks miserable. Something is bothering him, I can tell.

    His hair was dripping wet, and it was leaking onto his body. He didn¡¯te out with a towel this time;

    instead, he was already wearing pants. It¡¯s almost like he didn¡¯t trust me around him.

    Dante catches me staring at his chest, and he pauses for a few seconds. I could feel the tension

    between us intensify in those couple of seconds.

    I watch as he swallows hard before joining me on the bed.

    There¡¯s nothing left to be said between the both of us.

    I inwardly groaned at how sensitive between my legs felt. I felt like something was missing. Something

    that should have happened but never did.

    ¡°If you want, I can remove the pictures I still have of Anya.¡± He says suddenly. ¡°There are things I still

    can¡¯t do for you, Willow, but I¡¯m willing to try and make things easier for you. I can¡¯t destroy the pictures

    of Anya, but I can move them to somewhere you won¡¯t ever have to worry about seeing them again.¡±

    I inhale deeply, ¡°You don¡¯t get it, do you, Dante?¡± I ask.

    How does he not understand anything about me at all? Were all men this clueless?

    ¡°Get what?¡± he inquires.

    I turn to look at him, and I can¡¯t hide the annoyance from my face.

    ¡°I don¡¯t just want you to move the pictures because I asked you to. I want you to move them of your

    own free will. I want you to care about my feelings enough that you do it without me asking. If you take

    the pictures of my sister and move them to another location, then that doesn¡¯t do anything at all for me.

    I¡¯ll still know that you have them; I¡¯ll still know that you¡¯re finding time out of your day to look at them.¡± I

    exin in the best way possible.

    Dante looks surprised every time I exin how much it bothers me that he¡¯s so in love with my sister.

    I¡¯m sure he thinks that my love was fake, just like Anya¡¯s.

    Indeed, I didn¡¯t know what love was, but I believed that what I felt for him was undoubtedly love. I saw

    the way Autumn looked at Atticus; it mirrored the way I looked at Dante. I knew she loved Atticus more

    than anyone else. I saw the same look on rissa¡¯s face whenever she gazed at Damon.

    Whenever I stared in a mirror and thought of my husband, I had the same expression as they did for

    their mates.

    ¡°Willow, please give me some time to get rid of them.¡± He pleads. ¡°As I¡¯ve said, it¡¯s hard for me to move

    on from your sister. I know this is thest thing you want to hear me say, but I don¡¯t know how to

    exin why I can¡¯t do as you ask without mentioning my feelings for her. I¡¯m willing to do everything

    that you ask of me, but all I need is some time. Please.¡±

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    ¡°We¡¯re husband and wife, Dante.¡± I remind him. ¡°Would you be okay with me keeping pictures of one of

    your brothers? What if I was in love with Griffin and kept pictures of him with me? How would that make

    you feel?¡±

    I was surprised when a low grow tore from his throat.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ever f*****g say something like that again to me, Willow.¡±

    I quirk a brow at him, ¡°I think even I would have handled that better than you. Oh wait, I did.¡±

    His jaw clenches, and I roll my eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± I snap. ¡°I¡¯m going I sleep. We can discuss this another time.¡±

    Or never.

    I didn¡¯t want to bring this up again. I wanted Dante to do this for me on his own without me having to

    beg him for it.

    I ced both hands on my tummy and closed my eyes while trying my best not to think about our time

    in the spring or the many things that happened after.

    An hour passed. And then another.

    I was waiting for Dante to fall asleep since I was unable to. I didn¡¯t make a sound or a single

    movement.

    He thinks I¡¯m asleep. If he knew I was awake, he would have said something by now.

    I heard him exhale loudly, and I wondered if he was wide awake because of the things I¡¯d said to him

    earlier.

    I don¡¯t know where I found the courage to confess my love for Dante, but I didn¡¯t regret my decision

    anymore. I¡¯m d that he knows how I truly feel. While Anya never loved him, I at least did. And

    maybe, one day, I can make up for all the wrong things she¡¯d done.

    I don¡¯t say anything when I feel hime closer to me.

    ¡°Willow?¡±

    I kept my eyes closed. I didn¡¯t want him to know I was still awake. I felt his hand move my hair out of

    my face. What was he doing?

    I try to keep calm when I feel his lips on my forehead, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m unable to love you, Willow. I¡¯m so

    sorry. I¡¯m sorry for loving your sister. Maybe things would have been different if I¡¯d met you first. Please

    forgive me for all the pain I put you through.¡±

    I could feel my heart explode with excruciating pain at his words.

    I was right.

    Dante could never love me. As long as Anya was in his heart, there would be no space for me.

 Chapter 211

    Chapter 211

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 211

    Book 3 Chapter 47

    ~WILLOW~

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    Dante was sleeping next to me when I woke up the next day. I was still very heartbroken; it possibly

    even felt worse now that I wasn¡¯t half asleep and wide awake.

    I couldn¡¯t believe I¡¯d confessed my feelings for Dante, and instead of hearing something nice in return, I

    got the worst possible response.

    I didn¡¯t know how to face him anymore. Not afterst night.

    Things could never be the same between us again.

    I hate how good he still looked to me. Even after breaking my heart without realizing it, Dante still

    looked like a masterpiece on the bed.

    I took my diary out once more. It was where I could express my true feelings without the fear of

    someone finding out.

    My dearest husband,

    I always knew that you didn¡¯t love me. Since the beginning, I¡¯ve known that Anya was the only woman

    you would ever love. However, a small part of me always wished that there were some feelings for me

    in your heart. Last night you confirmed that you could never love me. Last night you admitted that there

    was no room for me in your heart. The hardest part is knowing that I can¡¯t me you for anything. I

    can¡¯t force you to love me or even like me. My heart hurts, and there is no possible reason for me to tell

    you this. Admitting my feelings to you has only made things worse between us. Now I¡¯m stuck with this

    horrible feeling in my chest¡ª

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Dante asks beside me.

    I jump at his question. I didn¡¯t expect him to wake up so quickly. He looked like he was in a deep sleep

    just a moment ago.

    I quickly shut the book and shoved it into my suitcase. ¡°Nothing.¡± I lie.

    He runs a hand down his sleepy face and sits up against the bedhead.

    ¡°I saw you writing something.¡± He points out. ¡°What was it?¡±

    ¡°Am I not allowed to have some privacy?¡± I demand. ¡°Sometimes I write in my diary. That¡¯s all.¡±

    He looks surprised once more.

    ¡°A diary?¡± He asks.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I snap.

    Why does sleepy Dante look so hot? Why couldn¡¯t I behave?

    ¡°A diary?¡± he repeats.

    Please stop asking questions about it.

    I¡¯ve never seen him look this curious about anything before.

    ¡°Read something from it for me.¡± He says suddenly.

    My eyes sh to him. ¡°What do you mean to read something from it?¡±

    He quirks a brow, ¡°Exactly what I said, Willow. Read from it. I want to know what you write about.¡±

    I could feel myself begin to panic at his words. Those were my private thoughts. I didn¡¯t want him to

    ever read from it.

    ¡°No.¡± I hiss. ¡°It¡¯s private.¡±

    He gets out of bed and moves towards my suitcase. I quickly got out and moved in front of him before

    he could get to it.

    ¡°Why are you so protective of that book?¡± he asks me. ¡°Are you sure it isn¡¯t a book of spells?¡±

    My eyes widen at his usation. That¡¯s why he was so interested in it. He thought that I was practicing

    spells.

    ¡°What are you implying?¡± I hiss.

    I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been this upset with him. I¡¯ve never thought about using any spells on him or his

    family. I wasn¡¯t my sister. Besides, I couldn¡¯t do any spells even though my mother was a witch.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been so f*****g confused recently, Willow,¡± he growls. ¡°You¡¯re making my head spin, anovelxo

    fast updatend it¡¯s not normal. I need to know what¡¯s in that book.¡±

    Iugh without humor, ¡°are you using me of putting a spell on you?¡±

    His jaw clenches, ¡°I¡¯m not using you of anything. I want to see what¡¯s in there. If it¡¯s nothing bad,

    why can¡¯t I see it?¡±

    I cross my arms over my chest angrily, ¡°The one person you were supposed to use of putting a spell

    on you; you didn¡¯t. Yet, the innocent sister, you¡¯re so ready to use her of doing things that the

    woman you¡¯re still in love with did. Congrattions Dante. I hope you¡¯re happy. It¡¯s up to you if you

    want to look at my diary or not. I will not stand in your way anymore, but I would not stand here and

    listen to you use me of such horrible things.¡±

    I angrily storm out of the room and find Autumn waiting for me.

    ¡°How was your honeymoon night?¡± she asks brightly.

    I don¡¯t get to answer her when Dante rushes out of the room to find me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Willow.¡± He apologizes. I knew he didn¡¯t read the diary; he couldn¡¯t have possibly read it that

    quickly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need your apology, Dante.¡± I snap. ¡°I just want all of this to be over. I don¡¯t want to stay here

    with you anymore. The ritual is over. Can we go home now?¡±

    I knew they nned more fun activities for us today, but I was not up for it. I didn¡¯t care that everyone

    would start rumors once we left earlier than nned. I was just tired and stuck with a broken heart.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Autumn asks as she looks between Dante and me.

    I take her hand and pull her down the stairs with me. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything when we¡¯re home,¡± I

    promise her. ¡°For now, can you ensure we leave right away?¡±

    Autumn looks surprised, but she doesn¡¯t have to do anything. Dante passes us and walks over to his

    parents.

    ¡°After what you didst night. I¡¯m not taking part in your games anymore.¡± He tells them. ¡°I want to take

    Willow home. Now.¡±

    His parents look horrified at his words.

    ¡°But Dante¡ª¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t leave now. I¡¯ll find another way to get Willow and me out of here.¡±

    They looked at each other, and I could see the defeat in their eyes. Dante wasn¡¯t happy with either one

    of them.

    ¡°Okay.¡± His mother agrees. ¡°If this is what you want, we will leave right away. But don¡¯t me us when

    you¡¯re bombarded with questions about your decision.¡±

    I watched as everyone scrambled to get things done as quickly as possible to take us back home

    earlier than nned.

    I hugged myself when people weren¡¯t looking and closed my eyes as I fought the tears. Why does it

    hurt so much?

    I miss you, Anya.

    Part of me wishes she was still here, while the other part of me was scared of what that would have

    meant for my marriage to Dante. I was scared of losing him.

    He was never mine since the start. How could I lose someone that never belonged to me?

 Chapter 212

    Chapter 212

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 212

    Book 3 Chapter 48

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°He said that to you?¡± rissa demanded in shock.

    We were in Autumn¡¯s room. I exined everything to them in detail about Dante¡¯s words to me. It

    wasn¡¯t something I could keep to myself. If I did, I would be too depressed to do anything about it.

    Our trip back home was a very awkward one. All of the guests couldn¡¯t stop talking behind our backs.

    That was expected. Dante didn¡¯t bother speaking to me after our small fight, either. But at least it

    allowed me to talk to rissa and Autumn.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe him.¡± Autumn hissed. ¡°Does he not care about your feelings?¡±

    ¡°He does.¡± rissa snaps. ¡°He¡¯s just an a*s like most men who can¡¯t figure out their feelings. That¡¯s

    where wee in, Willow. We know how to make them cave. We¡¯ve had experience.¡±

    ¡°To be fair, he thought I was asleep.¡± I remind them. ¡°He didn¡¯t know I was awake. He didn¡¯t know that I

    could hear him.¡±

    Part of me wished I was asleep when he said those words. It wasn¡¯t something I could ever easily

    forget.

    I already felt guilty for loving Dante. Now I felt even worse.

    ¡°You know what this means,¡± Autumn says as she turns to rissa. ¡°We have to step up our game.

    Dante doesn¡¯t realize his feelings, and we must show it to him.¡±

    ¡°Show it to him?¡± I ask. ¡°There is nothing to show. Dante is still in love with Anya, and there is no ce

    in his heart for me. Nothing I do will change that. He made that very clear.¡±

    ¡°I refuse to believe that.¡± Autumn disagrees. ¡°And we are going to prove it to you. I know you won¡¯t like

    this idea of ours but believe me when I say it will work.¡±

    I was already worried.

    ¡°What idea?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not going to be easy for you.¡± Autumn points out to me. ¡°I can guarantee you that Dante would also

    be very pissed. However, believe me when I say it will be worth it. It will prove to you that no matter

    what Dante says, he has some feelings for you.¡±

    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    Why was Autumn this convinced that Dante had feelings for me? rissa did as well. Was I the only

    one that didn¡¯t think he liked me?

    I was crazy enough to tell him I was in love with him; maybe I could also listen to this n Autumn and

    rissa had for me.

    ¡°What Is it?¡± I ask.

    ¡°It will involve another guy,¡± Autumn informs me. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard about Carter Prince. We¡¯ve

    mentioned him a few times. He has a lot of brothers. They¡¯re all popr, just like we are. Even though

    Atticus might explode if he ever finds out about this n, I¡¯m willing to go through with it to bring you

    and Dante closer to each other. We will ask one of Carter¡¯s brothers to help us make Dante jealous.

    Once he loses control of his emotions, you¡¯ll know the truth.¡±

    Would this work? Thest time Dante thought I was trying to kiss another guy in the kissing booth, he¡¯d

    lost his mind. He¡¯d kissed me that day. I still remember that kiss so clearly, like it happened yesterday.

    Kisses from Dante weren¡¯t something that could easily be forgotten.

    ¡°Remember. Do not listen to a single word that Dante says.¡± rissa tells me. ¡°Even he doesn¡¯t want to

    ept his true feelings. Even if he says he doesn¡¯t love you, do not listen. Trust me. I know my brother.

    He has strong feelings for you. We need to help him realize that those feelings are there.¡±

    Why must it be this hard? Why couldn¡¯t it be easier? If he genuinely had feelings for me, shouldn¡¯t he

    tell me constantly like he always did for Anya? She never had to beg him for her love or even y

    crazy tricks like me. Yes, she did spells, but she never needed it for Dante. He loved her without those

    spells.

    I wasn¡¯t like my sister. I didn¡¯t want to use spells to get Dante. And I also didn¡¯t want to do these tricks

    to y with his emotions either. But what other option did I have?

    I just needed to know the truth. If rissa believed that Dante had feelings for me, I wanted to witness

    those feelings on my own. And maybe the only chance I would get to do that is if I let rissa and

    Autumn help me.

    ¡°Which one of Carter¡¯s brothers is going to help us?¡± I ask them.novelxo fast update

    ¡°His name is Ares Prince,¡± rissa answers me. ¡°Girls are always swooning over him, and believe me,

    he is the perfect candidate to make Dante jealous enough to admit that he has feelings for you.¡±

    ¡°Wouldnt this make Dante angry with me?¡± I ask them.

    ¡°After what Dante said to you, why would he get angry?¡± rissa asks me. ¡°That¡¯s all you need to say

    to him. Remind him that he¡¯s really into Anya and what you do has nothing to do with him.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good one.¡± Autumn chuckles. ¡°That always gets them mad. If Dante is anything like his

    brother, we have nothing to worry about. This n will work perfectly.¡±

    ¡°But if Dante doesn¡¯t even like Carter and his family, why would he attend their party?¡± I ask them.

    ¡°Because you will be going,¡± rissa answers me. ¡°As long as you¡¯re going to be there, Dante will also

    be there to ¡®protect you.¡¯ At least, that¡¯s the excuse he will use.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s n out her outfit!¡± Autumn says with excitement.

    They loved dressing me up. The fun part for me was seeing Dante¡¯s reaction to my clothes.

    I was still angry with him for assuming I was practicing spells on him. However, I couldn¡¯t me him for

    reacting that way after what Anya did to him.

    It was up to me to prove that I was nothing like her. However, maybe that was the problem. Maybe

    Dante wanted me to be more like Anya.

    I sigh and try to focus on the outfits Autumn was throwing onto the bed.

    Maybe this time, I could finally prove to them that I was right all along; Dante didn¡¯t have feelings for

    me.

 Chapter 213

    Chapter 213

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 213

    Book 3 Chapter 49

    ~DANTE~

    I had the pictures of Anya in my hands. Looking at her now, I didn¡¯t think it would be so f*****g hard to

    let go of every single one.

    Willow didn¡¯t want me to store them somewhere else. I asked for some time, and it¡¯s been a few days

    since that incident. Willow has been very distant with me, and part of me still worries that she¡¯d heard

    me that night.

    I knew she needed to hear it to understand that I couldn¡¯t give her what she wanted. However, I never

    wanted to hurt her. f**k, I never wanted to hurt a sweet girl like Willow.

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    I wish it weren¡¯t like this. I wish she was given a better life than this. After losing Anya, she shouldn¡¯t

    have to feel the heartache that I¡¯ve been giving to her since I married her.

    How did I say goodbye to the only woman I¡¯ve ever loved so that I could give her sister a better life?

    My brothers were luckier than me. They could find love, and even though it wasn¡¯t easy, they still had

    the women of their dreams in their lives.

    I wasn¡¯t that lucky.

    I wanted to make Willow happy. I didn¡¯t want to hurt her anymore. And this wasn¡¯t because of Anya. I

    wanted to make her happy because she deserved to be happy.

    I¡¯ve never met anyone like her in my life. She didn¡¯t deserve any of this. None of it was her fault. She

    got mixed up in the mess her sister and mother created. She was innocent. At least, I hoped she was. I

    didn¡¯t want to trust her and then have her betray me just like Anya did. I wanted to believe that she was

    indeed nothing like her sister.

    I wanted to hate Anya. I knew what she did to me. I knew what she almost did to my family. I¡¯m very

    aware of the wrong things she¡¯s done. I¡¯ve tried to hate her, damn it; I¡¯ve tried so f*****g hard to hate

    her. Even now, I wanted to hate her to make this easier. However, I couldn¡¯t; no matter how hard I tried,

    I couldn¡¯t hate her.

    If everyone knew our story, they would call me a fool for loving her after everything she¡¯d done to me.

    They wouldugh behind my back, and even that wouldn¡¯t change the way I saw Anya.

    I angrily shoved the pictures into the garbage bin in front of me. Maybe hating her would be easier if I

    did things like this.

    There was only one picture left of her, and it was still inside my wallet. I know Willow had seen that

    picture once. I remember feeling guilty when I caught her looking. I felt like I was being unfaithful to her.

    Now, after knowing how she truly felt about me, the guilt felt much worse than before.

    I wasn¡¯t ready to get rid of that picture yet. It was thest one I had of Anya. I¡¯d already deleted

    everything about her from my phone. None of it was easy for me. I was trying to clean any trace of her

    out of my life. But even if I did all of this, she would still be stuck in my head and heart.

    I¡¯d tried everything possible to move Anya out of my life, but apparently, I wasn¡¯t trying hard enough.

    I¡¯d gotten a soft spot for Willow. I now cared about her feelings. I¡¯ve always cared about her feelings,

    but it¡¯s gotten worse. I couldn¡¯t stand to see tears in her eyes, ever. Especially not tears caused by me.

    ¡°You don¡¯t look good.¡± Damon points that out when he sees me walking back into the house after

    getting rid of something I thought I would keep in my life forever.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been having a shitty day,¡± I admit.

    He sighs, ¡°Anything I could do to help you?¡± He asks.

    I shook my head. ¡°Anytime you or Atticus try helping me, I always end up in an even worse situation. I¡¯ll

    rather you two keep your suggestions to yourself.¡±

    He shrugs his shoulders, ¡°I was just offering.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    He nods, ¡°You should know your wife ns to go out with rissa and Autumn today. I don¡¯t think

    they¡¯re up to any good.¡±

    I pause at his words, ¡°Why would you say that?¡± I ask him. ¡°Did you hear something?¡±

    Autumn and rissa were never up to any good. They encouraged Willow to do things that drove me

    f*****g crazy. I didn¡¯t want to think about what they were up to again.novelxo fast update

    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± He answers me, but I¡¯m sure he¡¯s lying. ¡°But they¡¯re going to Carter¡¯s partyter. His family¡¯s

    infamous yearly party. You know the kind of s**t that goes down at that beach house. His brothers will

    be there, looking for a new girl to target.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re f*****g letting rissa go to something like that?¡± I demand. That didn¡¯t sound like my

    brother at all.

    He sighs, ¡°My mate doesn¡¯t listen to me. You know this. The most I can do is join her. Besides, I trust

    her; I know she wouldn¡¯t do anything bad.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve gotten soft, brother.¡±I point out. ¡°In the past, you would have found a way to stop rissa.¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Willow is the one you should be worried about,

    not rissa.¡±

    ¡°Willow?¡± I ask. ¡°Why should I be worried about Willow? She doesn¡¯t do anything crazy as long as

    rissa and Autumn don¡¯t get involved.¡±

    Damon nods, ¡°And they¡¯re both going to be at that party tonight. I don¡¯t know about you, but if that were

    my wife, I would be there.¡±

    My jaw clenches at his words.

    Things weren¡¯t good between Willow and me. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was a good idea to go to that party

    tonight.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure she will be fine,¡± I say, even though my heart beats uncontrobly. ¡°Will you keep an eye on

    her for me? Ensure that she¡¯s safe, and no one is bothering her.¡±

    Damon sighs, ¡°I can¡¯t promise you anything, but I¡¯ll try my best.¡±

    I didn¡¯t feel good about this, but I wanted to give Willow some space. Now that I knew how she felt

    about me, I didn¡¯t want to be around her and make things worse for her constantly.

    I wanted her to be happy. I was tired of ruining things for her.

 Chapter 214

    Chapter 214

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 214

    Book 3 Chapter 50

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°You look breathtaking,¡± Autumn tells me.

    ¡°We did a great job,¡± rissa says as she high-fives Autumn.

    They dressed me in a short white dress as the theme of the party was to wear white. Anything white

    with a touch of silver.

    The silver was present in all other essories they ced on my body.

    ¡°Damon already informed Dante of the party,¡± rissa informs me.

    ¡°And?¡± I ask nervously with a hint of excitement. ¡°Is heing?¡±

    She sighs, ¡°he¡¯s noting.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t hide the disappointment from my face. ¡°I told you that he didn¡¯t care.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± rissa disagreed. ¡°Even though he said he¡¯s not attending the party, he still asked

    Damon to look after you. Dante cares about you, and we will prove it to you tonight, just like we

    promised.¡±

    I knew he only asked Damon to look after me because that¡¯s what my sister would have wanted. I

    didn¡¯t bother telling this to rissa; I knew she wouldn¡¯t believe me. For some reason, she was

    convinced that Dante had feelings for me even though I¡¯d heard him confess that he didn¡¯t love me. He

    felt sorry for me, I was sure of that, but that was the only emotion he felt for me; pity.

    When we left the room, I was surprised to see Dante walking up the stairs towards us. I could feel my

    heart begin to flutter. It was no use hiding it when I¡¯d already confessed my feelings for him.

    I held my breath as he grew closer. Autumn and rissa remained quiet while waiting for him to see

    my outfit.

    My heart drops when he walks past me without even ncing my way.

    rissa looks at Autumn, and I can see the look of shock on both of their faces. They didn¡¯t expect him

    to walk past me without even looking at me.

    Just what I needed. Tonight was already not going the way they had nned.

    Was any of this even worth it? I didn¡¯t want to flirt with anyone other than Dante. I didn¡¯t want another

    man to have my attention. What if I did all of this, and it didn¡¯t change anything between Dante and

    me? It would all be for nothing.

    ¡°I know that look,¡± Autumn says. ¡°You¡¯re not giving up before the n even begins.¡±

    rissa agreed, and they both practically dragged me down the stairs and into the waiting jeep.

    Damon and Griffin quirked a brow at them as they finally got me into the vehicle.

    ¡°Atticus is lucky he has business with our father today.¡± Griffin groans. ¡°This is not something he would

    have enjoyed.¡±

    ¡°I think we¡¯re the lucky ones.¡± Autumn disagrees. ¡°Atticus already hates Carter. Those two shouldn¡¯t be

    in the same house together.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t exactly like him either.¡± Damon growls.

    ¡°Remember, this has nothing to do with you, Damon.¡± rissa tries to remind him. ¡°We¡¯re trying to

    force Dante into admitting his true feelings. So please, bear with Carter and his family for one night. We

    need them for our n to work.¡±

    ¡°I think this is just going to stir up trouble,¡± Griffin tells them. ¡°You know I¡¯m usually very supportive of

    your ns. However, I think this one will turn into a big mess. Willow already gets bullied. Dante

    doesn¡¯t exactly like that family, either. I would hate for this to go in the wrong direction.¡±

    ¡°We have no other option,¡± Autumn tells him. ¡°We need to do something big for Dante to open his eyes,

    or he¡¯ll never ept his feelings for Willow.¡±

    I wanted to remind them that he had no feelings for me but chose to remain quiet once more.

    Once Autumn and rissa¡¯s minds were made up, there was nothing anyone could do or say to

    change it.

    ¡°Were you two always plotting like this behind my back as well?¡± Damon asks suspiciously.

    rissaughs, ¡°Of course we were. And it worked, didn¡¯t it?¡±

    He shook his head but couldn¡¯t hide the smile on his face.novelxo fast update

    When we arrived at the party, the ce was full of people from the academy and even some new faces

    I hadn¡¯t seen before.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure this is a good idea,¡± I mumble again.

    If Dante wasn¡¯t here, I didn¡¯t see the point of any of this.

    ¡°It is.¡± Autumn insists. ¡°Damon will send Dante pictures of you around Ares. Once Dante shows up

    here, trust me when I say that¡¯s all the confirmation you need.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I ask hesitantly.

    She nods, ¡°You need to promise me something. If Dante shows up here, you won¡¯t give up on him.

    You¡¯re going to fight for him. Only if he does something incredibly stupid should you forget about trying

    to make your marriage work.¡±

    I bite my lip but eventually nod my head. Even I didn¡¯t want to give up on Dante. I wanted to give him a

    chance because he wasn¡¯t a bad person. He chose to love Anya despite everything she¡¯d done to him;

    that was proof enough of the kind of person Dante was.

    To me, he was worth fighting for.

    ¡°I promise.¡±

    She smiles and pulls me forward with her. rissa and Damon are to the front of us while Griffin is

    behind, greeting some of his friends.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were going toe.¡± Someone says next to us. I turned to see a good-looking guy

    with the brightest blue eyes I¡¯d ever seen.

    ¡°Ares.¡± rissa smiles.

    ¡°You¡¯re smiling a little too much around him.¡± Damon growls.

    She elbows him in his chest and forces another smile.

    ¡°This is Willow.¡± Autumn introduces me. ¡°She¡¯s the one we were telling you about.¡±

    ¡°I know who Willow is.¡± He says as he looks at me. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to

    spending the rest of the party by your side.¡±

    ¡°Where is that good-for-nothing brother of yours?¡± Damon asks as he looks around.

    ¡°You mean Carter?¡± he asks him.

    Damon nods.

    ¡°My brother will not be attending the party tonight.¡± He answers him. ¡°I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s having a little crisis

    in his love life.¡±

    rissa looks at Autumn, and I know they¡¯re thinking about Scarlett.

    ¡°Crisis?¡± Autumn asks. ¡°We know he yed ra and did the same to Scarlett.¡±

    ¡°The sisters?¡± Ares asks. ¡°Are we just going to pretend that Scarlett wasn¡¯t ying Carter too? Wasn¡¯t it

    all just a n to get revenge for her sister?¡±

    rissa rolls her eyes, ¡°we are not here to discuss this. We are here for Willow. Are you going to help

    us or not?¡±

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    He looks at me, and unlike Carter, something about Ares seems genuine.

    ¡°I said I would, and I¡¯m a man of my word.¡±

    ¡°Great!¡± Autumn says happily. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with.¡±

 Chapter 215

    Chapter 215

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 215

    Book 3 Chapter 51

    ~DANTE~

    I tried to sleep. But I couldn¡¯t. Without Willow in the bed with me, it was damn near impossible. I¡¯d

    grown ustomed to having her next to me every night. Her quiet sighs, the small noises she made

    when she slept, her scent, opening my eyes, and seeing her in front of me. I didn¡¯t have the pleasure of

    any of that tonight.

    My bed was empty. f*****g empty. It felt like something was missing in the room and someone definitely

    was.

    She was at that dumb party. They¡¯d left over two hours ago.

    I¡¯d walked past her without saying anything earlier. I did it because I knew I would overreact if I saw

    what they¡¯d made her wear for the party. I knew I couldn¡¯t take that chance. But now I regretted it. I

    should have stopped; I should have asked her not to go. But why would she do that for me when I¡¯ve

    done nothing but hurt her?

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    I punched my pillow angrily.

    Damn it.

    It shouldn¡¯t be this hard to spend one night without her.

    I should have at least gone to that party with her. I knew how much those damn assholes liked bullying

    her. I should have gone to make sure that she was safe and not getting taken advantage of.

    What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I in such a mess tonight?

    I picked up my phone, intending to call my brother, when I realized I was acting like a maniac. I was the

    one convinced that I had no feelings for Willow. So then, why did all of this bother me so much?

    She went to a party with my family. What was there to be worried about? I should be happy that they

    were there to keep herpany and keep her away from danger.

    I knew my brothers; they wouldn¡¯t let anything happen to her.

    Then why am I dialing Damon¡¯s number? I can¡¯t stop myself. All I can do is watch my fingers betray

    me.

    He answered on the third ring just as I was close to ending the call.

    ¡°Can I help you?¡± He asks. Something in his voice bothered me, and I soon realized what it was.

    ¡°Are you drunk?¡± I ask him, concerned. If he were drunk, would he be keeping an eye on Willow? I

    couldn¡¯t count on Griffin; he would be too busy having drinks at the party as well.

    ¡°Maybe a little.¡± He answers me with a chuckle.

    ¡°Why the f**k are you getting drunk when you should be looking after Willow?¡± I demand. ¡°Do you ever

    look after the people I ask you to?¡±

    Whenever I asked him to protect Anya in the past, he only hurt her. He was beginning to piss me off. I

    thought it was possible for us to move past what he¡¯d done, but this only put more strain on our

    brotherly bond. Why could I never trust my brother to do a simple thing like protect a woman I cared

    about?

    ¡°Rx.¡± He shouts into the phone. I could hear the music sting. It did nothing to brighten my mood.

    ¡°You telling me to rx isn¡¯t f*****g working!¡± I growl.

    ¡°She¡¯s in good hands.¡± He assured me. ¡°She¡¯s with Carter¡¯s younger brother. They¡¯re having a good

    time. And don¡¯t worry. He¡¯s nothing like Carter. He¡¯s a good kid.¡±

    What.The.Fuck?

    ¡°I swear, Damon, you better be f*****g joking right now.¡± I threaten him.

    Even if it were a joke, I would still be pissed with him.

    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± He insists.

    ¡°What younger brother?¡± I growl. ¡°Tell me his f*****g name.¡±

    ¡°Ares.¡± He answers me; he doesn¡¯t even sound interested in this conversation anymore.

    Just how much did he have to drink? I couldn¡¯t respond. I was still in shock. It¡¯s not possible. They

    wouldn¡¯t all sit back and let Willow hang out with Ares. He wasn¡¯t as bad as Carter, but he novelxo

    fast updatewas still a Prince, and those men didn¡¯t know how to be nice to a woman.

    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡± He asks as I feel my phone vibrate against my ear. ¡°Check your messages.¡±

    I end the call and do as he says. A chill runs down my spine when I see Ares with his arms around

    Willow as they sit beside each other on a sofa.

    A low growl forces its way out of my throat. I didn¡¯t even waste a second as I rushed out of my room

    and grabbed my keys.

    I couldn¡¯t f*****g believe it. One day I left Willow alone with my family, and they chose to let this happen.

    I would never do something like that to them. If they asked me to look after someone, I would do it the

    right f*****g way.

    Who could I even trust anymore?

    I stare at the picture on my phone, and curses leave my mouth.

    Why did this bother me so much? Why the f**k did I want to kill Ares for even talking to my wife?

    It happened in the past when those men werementing on her body. I didn¡¯t think twice about

    making them all pay. I told myself that I didn¡¯t want Anya to be disappointed in me. I said to myself that

    Anya wouldn¡¯t want other men looking at her sister in that way.

    But what excuse did I have now?

    Willow seemed to be enjoying the conversation with Ares. Both of them seemed happy.

    She looks happier with him than she¡¯s ever looked with me.

    If I weren¡¯t such a selfish asshole, I would have left her to have a good time with him.

    But I was selfish and I didn¡¯t want to see her with him or anyone else.

    I don¡¯t know the f*****g reason for this yet, but I didn¡¯t have time to figure it out.

    I jumped into my jeep and raced out of the garage.

    I knew exactly where I was heading. f**k Carter, and f**k his brothers. They were always making our

    lives miserable.

    The thought of Ares doing more than just putting his arms around Willow made me suddenly panic.

    What the f**k? What¡¯s wrong with me?

    What the hell was my problem?

    I didn¡¯t have feelings for Willow.

    I loved Anya. Only Anya.

    So why did I feel like I was about to lose my f*****g mind?

 Chapter 216

    Chapter 216

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 216

    Book 3 Chapter 52

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°Can you excuse me for a second?¡± I ask Ares.

    He nods, and I walk over to where Autumn and everyone else stands, looking at us.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do this anymore,¡± I confess.

    It was hard to pretend I was having a good time.

    We were in a more private area of the house just so that rumors about me and Ares wouldn¡¯t spread all

    over.

    Autumn and rissa had thought about everything to protect me. But I knew they wouldn¡¯t be able to

    protect me from Dante if my actions tonight angered him.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you?¡± rissa demands.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t even look like Dante ising,¡± I say. It¡¯s been over two hours, and there was no sign of

    him.

    ¡°He called a few minutes ago,¡± Damon tells me. ¡°I acted like I was drunk and like none of us were

    keeping an eye on you. Trust me; my brother will be here.¡±

    Even Damon seemed convinced that he would be here.

    ¡°Just keep talking to Ares for a few more minutes.¡± Autumn tries to persuade me. ¡°If Dante still doesn¡¯t

    show up, then we can stop all of this and go home. I promise.¡±

    I sigh. I¡¯d made it this far already; I could wait a few more minutes for Dante.

    I was inwardly praying for him to show up. This was the only sign I needed from him to keep fighting for

    our marriage.

    I f****d myself to walk back to Ares, who was waiting for me, with a smile. He wasn¡¯t that bad of a

    person. He didn¡¯t try anything weird or make me feel ufortable.

    I wasn¡¯t sure why he was helping me.

    ¡°He will show up.¡± He promises me as I take my seat next to him once more.

    ¡°Even you¡¯re convinced that he will?¡± I ask.

    He nods. ¡°You¡¯re his wife. If he cares for you at all, he will be here. My brothers and I have sort of a

    reputation. It isn¡¯t always true what people say about us, but it will be enough to bring Dante Fawn here

    to take his wife away.¡±

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. Dante will note. Also, I¡¯ve heard the rumors about your

    family. I¡¯ve seen the way Carter acts. He is a yer. I believe at least some of the rumors are true.¡±

    He sighs and leans closer to me, ¡°Don¡¯t believe everything you hear. My brother isn¡¯t that bad. If you

    get to know him, you¡¯ll agree with me. Also, I¡¯m pretty sure your boyfriend is already here.¡±

    ¡°My boyfriend?¡± I ask, confused.

    ¡°Dante Fawn.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s my husband.¡± I remind him.

    He winks at me, ¡°I prefer to call him your boyfriend.¡±

    I ignore him, ¡°why do you think he¡¯s already here?¡±

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    I didn¡¯t see a single sign of Dante anywhere. Was he saying this to mess with me?

    He leans back against the sofa with both hands behind his head. ¡°I¡¯ve been timing him. He called

    Damon a few minutes ago. If he¡¯s angry after seeing you with me, he is most likely driving at full speed.

    That means that he should be here by now. He¡¯s probably parking recklessly, with no care in the world,

    barging through the crowds looking for the both of us. It will take him longer than usual since we¡¯re in

    this private area, but I¡¯m sure he will find you soon enough.¡±

    I gape at him. ¡°You have quite an imagination.¡±

    He grins, ¡°Or maybe I just checked my phone and saw your boyfriend barging into the house through

    the cameras like he wants to murder someone. Most likely me.¡±

    My mouth parts. ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡±

    ¡°Three.¡± He whispers. ¡°Two. . . One.¡±novelxo fast update

    The door flew open suddenly, and my head snapped in its direction. Just like Ares and everyone else

    promised me, standing in front of me with a murderous expression on his face was none other than

    Dante.

    ¡°Ares,¡± Dante says his name like he wants to rip his neck from his body.

    Ares doesn¡¯t look afraid. Maybe it¡¯s because his brothers are all over the house. If anything happens to

    him, they will be here in a split second.

    Ares stands up to greet him, and I begin to panic. This wasn¡¯t the right person for Dante to start a fight

    with. It wouldn¡¯t end well for anyone here.

    I immediately jump in front of Ares. Dante looks shocked by my actions. He might think that I was trying

    to protect Ares from him, but I was doing the exact opposite. I was trying to protect him.

    ¡°Look who¡¯s finally joined us!¡± Damon says as he hits Dante on his back. ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±

    Dante growls at his brother. ¡°Stay the f**k out of my way Damon.¡±

    ¡°Having some problems with your brother?¡± Ares asks. ¡°I can help you both out.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I help you break your nose first?¡± Dante threatens him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sensing a lot of tension in here,¡± Ares says as he sniffs the air.

    ¡°Let¡¯s all calm down,¡± rissa says as she tries to ease the tension.

    Dante takes another step toward Ares, and I quickly ce both hands on his chest to stop him from

    moving forward.

    His eyes look hurt as he gazes at me, ¡°Move your hands, Willow.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°Please, let¡¯s just go.¡±

    ¡°Move. Your. Hands.¡±

    I was beginning to panic. If I didn¡¯t stop Dante from picking a fight with Ares, there¡¯s no telling what

    would happen here tonight.

    Since I never thought that Dante woulde, I didn¡¯t have the chance to prepare for any of this.

    What am I supposed to do now?

 Chapter 217

    Chapter 217

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 217

    Book 3 Chapter 53

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°Are you not going to move?¡± Dante asks for thest time.

    He would have to forcibly move me if he wanted me to get out of the way. I would never let him walk

    straight into trouble, not while I was alive.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°We were just talking, and Ares was very respectful¡ª¡±

    I don¡¯t get to finish my sentence when Dante grabs me by my waist and throws me over his shoulder.

    ¡°Dante!¡± I gasp. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    He doesn¡¯t answer me as he storms out of the room with me still in his arms.

    I could see all the surprised looks as everyone began taking pictures of us. This was sure to make the

    headlines by the end of the night. At least I was being photographed with Dante and not Ares.

    I don¡¯t bother trying to get down from him. I liked that he was carrying me.

    Did this mean that everyone was right all along? Did Dante have feelings for me but didn¡¯t realize it

    yet? I could feel my heart fill with hope at the possibility of Dante liking me.

    I never thought it would be possible for Dante to ever have feelings for anyone other than Anya.

    I didn¡¯t want to get my hopes up. There was still a chance that he was doing this because it would be

    what Anya would have wanted from him.

    Dante opens his Jeep and practically throws me onto the seat. I¡¯m extremely quiet but giddy with

    happiness as he leans over and buckles me in. His scent fills my nose, and I lean in to smell him some

    more. Dante doesn¡¯t seem to realize as he pulls away and walks to the driver¡¯s side.

    He was still very pissed. I could tell by the vein in his head that threatened to pop.

    ¡°Are you upset with me?¡± I asked before he could even start the vehicle.

    He ces both hands on the steering wheel and stares straight ahead.

    ¡°Why were you in there with him?¡± he asks, ignoring my question. ¡°There were so many other ces in

    that house for you to be in, yet you chose to be on a small sofa with another man while his arms were

    around you.¡±

    ¡°His arms weren¡¯t around me.¡± I disagreed. ¡°His arm was behind me, but it wasn¡¯t touching me.¡±

    Dante growls, and I try not to be intimidated by him.

    ¡°Do you understand how much worse all of this could have ended if someone else had seen the two of

    you like that?¡± he asks me. ¡°We recently went on a damn trip to an ind just to stop the rumors about

    our marriage, and a few dayster, you¡¯re already doing something that could reverse it all.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to say that I¡¯m the reason behind all the rumors?¡± I demand. ¡°Because I¡¯m absolutely

    sure that your behavior towards me is what started the rumors, to begin with. Everyone can see the

    truth in your eyes and actions, Dante. They can clearly see that there is a big difference in the way you

    treated Anya in the past and how you treat me now.¡±

    His jaw clenches, and he aggressively starts the Jeep.

    ¡°Just like you to run from everything.¡± I snap. ¡°You can¡¯t give a response because you know it¡¯s the

    truth. I¡¯m not at fault for any of this, and you know it.¡±

    He leans back against the seat and closes his eyes. I can tell that he was trying to regain control of his

    emotions.

    ¡°I know you aren¡¯t to me for any of this, Willow. I f*****g know it.¡± He growls. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any

    of this easier. In fact, your innocence in all of this makes everything so much harder for me.¡±

    ¡°Well, then maybe I should stop being so innocent,¡± I suggest.

    His head snaps in my direction, and I can see my words have angered him. ¡°Just because it makes

    things harder for me doesn¡¯t mean I want you to change that about yourself.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s be honest with each other, Dante. You would be much happier if I were more like Anya!¡± I shout.

    ¡°The reason this marriage can¡¯t work is because I¡¯m nothing like my sister. So maybe, I should be more

    like her because, unlike you, I actually want our marriage to work.¡±

    Dante looks at me like I¡¯ve just lost my mind.

    ¡°Willow¡ª¡±novelxo fast update

    ¡°Don¡¯t try and tell me otherwise.¡± I snap. ¡°Were you even here for me tonight?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± he asks as his forehead creases.

    ¡°Tell me the truth, Dante. Did youe here tonight because you didn¡¯t want to see me with Ares, or

    did youe because it¡¯s what Anya would have wanted you to do?¡± I demand. ¡°Everything you do is

    because of her. Even after she¡¯s no longer here, you still do things to please her. Did you also do this

    for her, or did you do it for me?¡±

    I could feel my heart pound in my chest as I waited for him to answer me.

    He¡¯s broken my heart so much recently; I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he did it again.

    ¡°Willow, I don¡¯t know how to answer that.¡± He finally says.

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°it¡¯s a simple question, Dante. It shouldn¡¯t be that hard for you to answer me. As your

    wife, I deserve to know. Did youe here for me, or did youe for my sister?¡±

 Chapter 218

    Chapter 218

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 218

    Book 3 Chapter 54

    ~DANTE~

    I couldn¡¯t look away from her piercing gaze as she waited for me to give her an answer.

    Did Ie here for her, or did Ie for Anya?

    I already knew the answer to that question. I didn¡¯t need to think twice.

    I was here for Willow. Only Willow. My promise to Anya had nothing to do with my decisions tonight.

    However, for some reason, the following words that came out of my mouth were the exact opposite.

    ¡°Anya would have wanted me to be there for you tonight.¡± I lie. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t have wanted you tond

    yourself in more trouble. I was doing what she would have wanted me to do.¡±

    All lies¡ªall of it.

    Why the hell couldn¡¯t I just tell her the truth? Why did it scare me to admit that I came here for her?

    Was I afraid that she would take it the wrong way? Was I terrified she would take advantage of me as

    Anya had done?

    What was my f*****g reason?

    Whatever my reason was, it wasn¡¯t worth seeing the pain on her face. Her bottom lip trembles

    uncontrobly as she turns her face so she no longer looks my way.

    She says nothing to me as I pull out of the driveway.

    The guilt in my chest was growing. I should have told her the truth. I should have said to her that I

    came here for her. Why was it so hard for me to admit it?

    f*****g Ares. I could see his stupid face in my head.

    He was in that room, smirking at me. Smirking!

    And Willow protected him from me. She stood in front of him like he was someone that she needed to

    protect.

    Nothing had f*****g hurt as much as that did. I didn¡¯t want her protecting some pathetic fool unless that

    fool was me.

    Why did she protect him from me? She barely knew that guy. She¡¯d only spoken to him once, as far as

    I knew. They couldn¡¯t have gotten that close so quickly.

    She told me that she thought she was in love with me. Did she already change her mind? Did she have

    feelings for him now?

    ¡°Do you like him?¡±novelxo fast update

    It took me a while to realize I¡¯d asked that question out loud.

    I can feel her gaze, but my eyes are stuck on the road. I couldn¡¯t look her in the face; I was scared she

    could see through my lies.

    ¡°Do I like who?¡± she asks; her voice sounds shaky, and it bothers me more than it should.

    ¡°f*****g Ares,¡± I growl. ¡°Do you like him?¡±

    She grows quiet at my question, and I steal a nce at her. She isn¡¯t looking at me anymore. She¡¯s

    staring straight ahead, and she looks like she¡¯s lost in her own thoughts.

    ¡°Willow?¡± I ask again. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to answer me?¡±

    ¡°Whether I like him or not shouldn¡¯t have anything to do with you.¡± She says without any emotion in her

    voice.

    My jaw clenched, and my hands were close to breaking the steering wheel in half. ¡°You¡¯re married to

    me. Of course, it has something to do with me. I should know if you have feelings for someone else.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She snaps. ¡°You don¡¯t have the right to know anything. You¡¯ve had feelings for my sister since the

    start of our marriage. You¡¯ve been so in love with her that you couldn¡¯t see how much you hurt me.

    Tonight you had the audacity to admit that you only came because of Anya and not because of me. So

    no, Dante, I do not owe you any answers or exnations. From now on, we should both just pretend

    that we aren¡¯t married. You¡¯ve been doing that so well already; now it¡¯s my turn.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t listen to this anymore. The thought of Willow acting like we aren¡¯t a married couple and being

    closer to men like Ares was sending me f*****g insane.

    I pulled the jeep into a side street and angrily got out. My initial intention was to clear my head for a few

    seconds before getting back into the jeep, but I ended up doing something totally different.

    My body has a mind of its own as I pull her door open and unbuckle her seatbelt.

    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± she demands.

    I grab her waist and pull her out of the vehicle. I do not stop until she is trapped between the jeep and

    my body.Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    We¡¯re both breathing hard as I gaze into her eyes. I¡¯m very aware of her perfect body pressed up

    against mine but I couldn¡¯t let it distract me tonight.

    I couldn¡¯t hold it back anymore.

    I wanted to keep the truth from her, but she had to know. She had to.

    ¡°I didn¡¯te because of Anya.¡± I finally blurt out.

    ¡°What?¡± she asks as she waits for me to exin myself.

    ¡°You asked me earlier if I came for Anya or because of you.¡± I remind her. ¡°I¡¯m telling you that I came

    for you. Not for Anya or anyone else. I came because of you, Willow.¡±

    Her lips parted slightly, and right now, all I could think about was kissing them.

    ¡°But I asked you earlier, and you told me you came because of Anya. You said that it¡¯s what she would

    have wanted you to do.¡± She reminds me of my earlier words.

    She didn¡¯t need to remind me; I remembered the lie I had told.

    ¡°I lied,¡± I whisper. ¡°I lied, Willow. I came for you. I promise, I only came for you.¡±

 Chapter 219

    Chapter 219

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 219

    Book 3 Chapter 55

    ~WILLOW~

    Did he reallye for me? And not for my sister? How could that be?

    Why did he lie earlier? What could have possibly been the reason for that lie?

    ¡°Why did you lie?¡± I whisper. ¡°Is it so hard to ept that there¡¯s a possibility that you might care for

    me?¡±

    His eyes look dark with some unknown emotion as he gazes down at me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he whispers in a defeated tone. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening to me, Willow.¡±

    His body goes still briefly, and he tilts his head to the side.

    ¡°Hold on.¡± He whispers. ¡°Don¡¯t say anything.¡±

    I remain quiet as I wait for him to exin his strange behavior.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± He growls. ¡°They followed us to take pictures of us.¡±

    ¡°Who followed us?¡± I ask as I try to look around.

    He cups my face with both hands and forces me to keep my eyes on him. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± He orders me. ¡°I

    don¡¯t want them to know I¡¯m aware of them.¡±

    ¡°Is it another photographer?¡± I ask.

    He shook his head. ¡°These aren¡¯t from my parents, I¡¯m sure.¡±

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    I held my breath as Dante gently pressed one finger on my bottom lip before letting go. There¡¯s

    something in his eyes that make me shiver from head to toe.

    Before I could respond, he did thest thing I expected him to do.

    He covers my mouth with his own, and I swear I almost die against his jeep in the middle of nowhere.

    It was very unexpected, and I think this is the reason why I can¡¯t seem to find my breath.

    He takes both of my hands and ces them above my head, preventing me from stopping the kiss. I

    don¡¯t think he realizes that there wasn¡¯t anything in this world that would possibly make me stop him

    from kissing me.

    He shoves his body harder against mine, and I can feel every part of him pressed up against me.

    I gasp against his lips, and he uses that opportunity to stick his tongue into my mouth. I was melting.

    My knees felt weak, and I was having trouble standing. I was happy for the support of his body; I

    needed it, especially now.

    He deepens the kiss, and I can¡¯t stop the moan that escapes my mouth.novelxo fast update

    Dante lets go of my hands suddenly. To my disappointment, he also stops the kiss. He leans his

    forehead against mine for a few seconds.

    ¡°Get inside the jeep.¡± He says in a hoarse whisper. His breath is warm against my ear, sending a chill

    down my spine.

    It takes me a few seconds to collect my thoughts, but I eventually do as he asks.

    I watch as he walks over to the other side and jumps into the jeep. He reversed out of the street, and I

    saw the shes before me. They were taking pictures of us all along, just like Dante said.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I had to do that to you, Willow.¡± He apologizes when we have driven far away from them. ¡°I

    had to give them something to write about. Anything to prove that our marriage is not a failure. If I

    didn¡¯t, the rumors about you would only have worsened.¡±

    Of course, he hadn¡¯t kissed me because he wanted to; he only did it for the rumors to stop.

    Still, earlier, he admitted that he¡¯d lied abouting for me because of his promise to Anya. But that

    could have been to prevent any more rumors, just like the kiss tonight.

    I turn to look at him. He was focused on the road, but there was something bothering him.

    I had to know the truth. I knew he at least didn¡¯te for Anya but for me. However, I had to know if

    this was done to protect his family¡¯s reputation. Did his parents force him toe like they usually did?

    ¡°You said that you came because of me.¡± I remind him. ¡°Why? Why did youe for me? Was it to

    prevent any more rumors about our marriage?¡±

    His hands tighten on the steering wheel. ¡°You never gave me an answer. Do you like Ares? Were you

    with him because you wanted to be there, or was there another reason?¡±

    Was he avoiding my question by trying to distract me with questions of his own?

    I wanted to get a reaction out of him. This was my chance to prove that Dante had feelings for me. This

    might be my only chance.

    He lied to me earlier. It was my turn to tell my lie and see his reaction.

    ¡°Tell me, Willow.¡± He tries again. ¡°Do you like Ares?¡±

    I take a deep breath; I never liked ying with Dante¡¯s feelings. I always tried to be honest with him,

    but it had to be done today. I didn¡¯t have another choice. I had to lie to him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know when it happened or why it happened, but I do like him.¡± I finally say. ¡°I like Ares.¡±

 Chapter 220

    Chapter 220

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 220

    Book 3 Chapter 56

    ~WILLOW~

    One second passes. Then another. And another. I see the moment my words finally hit Dante, striking

    him.

    I wait to see his reaction. It was slow at first but I was finally seeing the effect of my words.

    I can see the shock on his face as he tries toe to terms with my confession.

    My lips part when he stops the jeep in the middle of the road without a care in the world. Luckily, there

    was no one behind us.

    He slowly turns to look at me, and I can see the disbelief in his eyes. ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    He doesn¡¯t want to believe he¡¯d heard me correctly. It makes me scared to repeat my words.

    ¡°You asked me if I liked Ares. I said that I do like him.¡± I repeat, even though it was one of the hardest

    things I¡¯ve ever had to force myself to say. It was also one of the biggest lies I¡¯ve ever told.

    Dante always ims that everything he does for me is to fulfill his promises to my sister. This time, it

    can¡¯t possibly have any links to her. He couldn¡¯t get upset just because I liked someone else. She didn¡¯t

    ask him to prevent me from liking someone other than him. She asked him to marry me and protect

    me. That was all. If he was angry with me because of what I¡¯d said, it would have nothing to do with

    Anya.

    The only reason Dante could ever get upset over this is if he had some feelings for me. This was my

    only way of confirming this. So far, I was almostpletely positive that he did, in fact, have feelings

    for me.

    I watch as his forehead creases and his eyes narrow a little. His hands are clenched to his side; he¡¯s

    no longer holding the steering wheel.

    ¡°You like him?¡± he asks in disbelief. I can barely recognize his voice. I¡¯ve never heard him speak so

    softly in the past. I almost didn¡¯t hear him.

    I nodded even though my heart was begging me to stop. I couldn¡¯t. I had to know the truth. I had to

    know that Dante at least liked me.

    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± I whisper.

    He frowns at me, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Does it hurt when I say that I like him?¡± I ask.

    I can¡¯t hide the desperation in my voice.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± he whispers. ¡°What does that have to do with any of this?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just answer me?¡± I demand. ¡°I want to know if it hurts when I say I like him. Do I need to say

    it some more?¡±novelxo fast update

    He doesn¡¯t give me an answer.

    ¡°Fine.¡± I snap. ¡°I¡¯ll keep repeating it until you give me an answer. I like Ares; I like Ares, I like¡ª¡±

    I don¡¯t get to finish my sentence when Dante grabs me by my waist and pulls me on top of him.

    He grabs my cheeks and buries his face in my neck. I couldn¡¯t move. I can¡¯t breathe. If he kept this up,

    I would die from no air in my lungs.

    ¡°Yes, it f*****g hurts Willow.¡± He finally admits. ¡°It f*****g hurts so much. Is that what you want me to

    say? Why do you want me to admit that it hurts? Does that somehow make you happy?¡±

    I was happy with his response, but I was not happy that I was hurting him.

    I can¡¯t find my voice. I want to tell him it was all a lie, but I can¡¯t seem to form any words in my mouth.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why it hurts.¡± He whispers. I can hear the distress in his voice. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t hurt this much,

    but it does, and I don¡¯t f*****g know why, Willow. I¡¯ve never felt pain like this before. You told me that

    there was a chance that you loved me. When did that all change? How can you love me but like him? It

    doesn¡¯t make any sense. Are you just like Anya? Are you trying to y with my f*****g heart as well?¡±

    I stop moving at his question. It was true that I was ying with his heart but for entirely different

    reasons. Anya wanted to gain his trust and use him. All I wanted was his love. We were not the same.

    We wantedpletely different things. She never saw him the way that I see him now. How can we be

    the same? I knew I couldn¡¯t keep this up anymore, not when he reminded me of everything my sister

    did to him.

    I didn¡¯t want to be like her. I didn¡¯t want to be the reason that Dante was in pain.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like Ares.¡± I blurt out. ¡°I said I did, but I was lying, just like you lied earlier.¡±

    His body freezes against mine.

    ¡°I can¡¯t possibly love you and like him at the same time Dante. Just like you said.¡± I exin to him. ¡°I

    lied. I promise that it was all a lie. I¡¯m not my sister. I will never do the things she did to you. I will never

    take advantage of your kindness.¡±

    My hands are now in his hair as I try tofort him. He may not know why it hurts, but I did. His family

    was right; he did have feelings for me. Because of his love for my sister, he didn¡¯t want to ept it. I

    understand that now.

    ¡°Why did you lie to me, Willow?¡± He asks suddenly, his question crashes into my thoughts, and I

    swallow hard.

    What should I say to that? Should I tell him the truth?This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 221

    Chapter 221

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 221

    Book 3 Chapter 57

    ~DANTE~

    I couldn¡¯t believe what I was hearing. Why would she do this to me?

    She¡¯d made me vulnerable in front of her. Just like Anya had done, she imed she was nothing like

    her sister, but for the first time since I¡¯d met Willow, I could finally see simrities between them.

    ¡°Why Willow?¡± I croak. ¡°Why did you intentionally lie to me? What could you have possibly gained by

    doing that?¡±

    She doesn¡¯t answer me, and I slowly move my face from her neck to stare into her eyes. They¡¯re wide

    with panic. What does she have to be so scared about?

    I grab her arms and re at her, ¡°Are you sure this wasn¡¯t a game for you like it was for Anya? She

    constantly yed tricks like that on me until, one day; she finally spoke the truth. She confessed that

    she never loved me. Are you doing the same thing your sister did to me, Willow?¡±

    Rain begins to pour around us heavily. Willow winces at the roaring thunder and shes of lightning. I

    don¡¯t move an inch. I¡¯m focused on every single movement that she makes as I wait for her to give me

    an answer.

    I squeeze her arm tighter, ¡°Answer me, Willow. Answer me!¡±

    My jaw clenches, and I push the door open despite the rain. It didn¡¯t look like I would get an answer

    from her.

    Her eyes widen, ¡°what are you doing?¡±

    I lift her off me and ce her on the seat as I walk out into the rain, leaving her behind. I knew I was in

    the middle of the road. I knew I was doing something f*****g risky by being here, but I had no care in

    the world right now.

    I was pissed, confused, and filled with many emotions I didn¡¯t understand. I needed to calm down

    before I spoke to Willow again. I didn¡¯t want to say anything to hurt her.

    ¡°Dante!¡± I could hear Willow screaming my name. ¡°Get back in the jeep! You¡¯re getting soaked!¡±

    Why did she care? She didn¡¯t care a second ago when she lied to me about liking Ares. How do I even

    know for sure that it was a lie? Maybe she¡¯d lied to sneak around with Ares behind my back. That was

    something Anya was good at doing.

    No, Anya didn¡¯t even have to sneak around behind my back. She did it in front of me.

    I let out a frustrated roar at my miserable life. The pain never stopped. It always got worse. With Willow

    in my life, the pain was not getting any easier for me to handle. She brought a new kind of pain with

    her.

    I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn¡¯t realize Willow was running towards me until it was toote.

    She crashes into my arms and hugs me tightly against her body.novelxo fast update

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for lying, Dante.¡± She cries. ¡°I never meant to hurt you. I did it for selfish reasons. I promise

    you that I¡¯m nothing like my sister. I will never do the things to you that she did to you. I will never hurt

    you as she did. Anya may not have loved you, but I promise I do.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think there was a single word in this world to ease the pain in my chest, but hearing Willow

    admit that she was nothing like Anya, hearing her admit that she truly loved me did something to me. It

    calmed the storm in my heart.

    ¡°I love you, Dante.¡± She cries against my chest. My breath hitches when she grabs my shirt and

    screams, ¡°I love you. Only you. I don¡¯t like anyone else. I promise you¡¯re the only man I¡¯ll ever love for

    the rest of my life. I¡¯m not my sister. If I say I love you, I mean it. I love only you.¡±

    I grab Willow from her waist and push her away from me. Her eyes widen, and I can see the pain in her

    eyes from my rejection. f**k me. I couldn¡¯t say no to her. Not when she looked at me like that.

    The rejection doesn¡¯tst long because it only takes a second for me to give in to her. Her eyes widen

    when I move towards her, she doesn¡¯t move backward from me, and it only pleases me more. I grab

    her by her waist and shove her against my Jeep.

    I pulled her hair; her head was pushed back so that she could stare straight into my eyes. Damn it.

    Why was everything about her so damn perfect? Why couldn¡¯t I gaze into her eyes without acting like a

    man who was starving for his woman? What hold did this woman have on me?

    ¡°Say it again.¡±

    I needed to hear her say it. I needed to know that she loved me.

    Her eyes are filled with raw passion as she whispers, ¡°I love you.¡±

    I move my lips to her ear, gently touching her skin as I growl ¡°louder.¡±

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°I love you.¡± She obeys.

    ¡°Still not f*****g loud enough, Willow,¡± I growl. ¡°I need you to shout it so that the f*****g world knows you

    belong to me. I need you to scream it loud enough so men like Ares Prince know you¡¯re f*****g mine.¡±

    ¡°I LOVE YOU, DANTE!¡± She screams at the top of her lungs, and my heart is filled with so much joy

    that I can barely contain it.

    ¡°Thank you for not being anything like Anya,¡± I whisper against her lips before crashing my mouth to

    hers.

 Chapter 222

    Chapter 222

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 222

    Book 3 Chapter 58

    ~WILLOW~

    I cry when Dante grabs my legs and guides them around his waist before pressing me harder against

    his jeep. His mouth was aggressive and hungry as he practically devoured my lips. I¡¯ve had his kisses

    in the past before, but none of thempared to this one.

    It felt wild and free like he was finally kissing me without the thought of my sister in the back of his

    mind.

    He didn¡¯t give a care in the world that we were in the middle of the road, and for some reason, neither

    did I.

    I moaned into his mouth and buried my hands in his hair. I was dying to bring him closer to me.

    ¡°Your body is the softest I¡¯ve ever had the pleasure of having in my arms.¡± He growls against my lips

    before deepening the kiss even more.

    I pull on his hair to force his lips apart from mine. His eyes were wide with surprise that I¡¯d just stopped

    the kiss.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He whispers. ¡°Was I too rough?¡±

    I could see the horror in his eyes at the possibility of being too rough with me.

    I shook my head, ¡°touch me.¡± I beg. ¡°Please touch me.¡±

    His eyes darken with passion and need, ¡°where?¡±

    I guide his hands to my breasts. His eyes are growing darker by the second as he stares at them

    through my dress. I didn¡¯t wear a b*a today. The white dress was a thin material, and I knew he could

    see everything now that it was wet and sticking to my skin.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t wear a f*****g b*a to meet that asshole!¡± He growls. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wear a f*****g b*a

    Willow?¡±

    Was he jealous?

    ¡°He¡¯s not the one I¡¯m in the middle of the road with, in the pouring rain begging that he touches me.¡± I

    remind him.

    His eyes lit up at my words, and a low growl tore from the back of his throat.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    His lips are against my ear once more, ¡°he also doesn¡¯t get to see your bare breasts as you¡¯re pressed

    up against my jeep.¡±

    My bare b-breasts? But my dress was still¡ª

    My eyes widen when he rips my dress from my body. ¡°You wore this to see him today. I¡¯ll get another

    one for you.¡± He hissed before burying his lips in my neck.novelxo fast update

    ¡°No.¡± I cry out as he continues to devour my neck. ¡°I didn¡¯t wear it for him; I promise I wore it for you. To

    get a reaction out of you. But you passed me straight in the hallway. You didn¡¯t even spare a second to

    look at me.¡±

    My bare breasts felt happy to be pressed against him. I wish his shirt weren¡¯t between us.

    He moves his lips to my chin, and he kisses me there before moving closer to my ear, ¡°I had to.¡± He

    confesses. ¡°I couldn¡¯t look at you, Willow. If I¡¯d seen what you were wearing, I would have lost my

    freaking mind. I knew I would have begged you not to go if I saw you. That¡¯s why I f****d myself not to

    look at you, but I swear to you, it wasn¡¯t f*****g easy. It¡¯s never easy to ignore someone like you.¡±

    It was a shock to know that Dante had wanted to look at me. It was even more shocking to learn that

    he would have begged me to stay home and not go to the party. If he¡¯d done that, I would have listened

    to him. I would have stayed with him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ever leave like that again.¡± He demands from me as he moves his mouth closer to my breasts. ¡°I

    couldn¡¯t f*****g sleep, Willow. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening to me, but I¡¯m already so f*****g attached

    to you. I need you in my bed every night beside me, or I¡¯ll never be able to sleep a day in my life again.¡±

    I cry out when he covers my n****e with his mouth, he sucks on it, but he¡¯s very gentle as he stares into

    my eyes. My back moves off the jeep, and Dante opens the back door and pushes me inside as he

    climbs in right after me.

    ¡°Where do you want me?¡± He asks as he buries his face against my breasts. ¡°Where do you want my

    lips, Willow? Where do you want my hands? I¡¯ll do anything you want from me tonight.¡±

    I could feel the aching between my legs. I wanted him there, but I didn¡¯t want his lips or his hands. I

    wanted something else. Something that only he could give to me.

    I didn¡¯t know how to say it. I didn¡¯t know how to tell him what I needed. So I decided to show him

    instead.

    I slowly move my hands down his chest, to his stomach, and then lower. I could feel him hard and

    ready for me between my legs.

    ¡°f**k Willow.¡± He growls when I finally touch him down there.

    My eyes widened at how big he felt in my hand, his jeans were still on, and even that couldn¡¯t prevent

    me from feeling him.

    A loud crash sends my body flying; Dante grabs my head and cradles me against his chest so that he

    gets most of the impact.

    What the hell was happening?

    His jeep stops moving briefly, and Dante gets up to see who¡¯d just crashed into us. He still has me

    cradled against his chest as he stares out the window.

    His eyes widen, ¡°Get out of the jeep, Willow!¡± He roars suddenly.

    W-what?

 Chapter 223

    Chapter 223

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 223

    Book 3 Chapter 59

    ~WILOW~

    Before I could understand what he was trying to tell me, I heard another loud bang. Whoever it was that

    had hit us a few seconds ago was doing it again.

    It wasn¡¯t an ident; they intentionally hit us from the back.

    Dante throws his shirt over my body before throwing me out of the jeep. I thought I would hit the

    ground, but to my surprise, he shifted right before my eyes, and my body fell on top of his wolf before I

    even had a chance to hit the ground.

    It was the first time I was face to face with Dante¡¯s wolf. Strangely, he brought me greatfort. I held

    onto him as he raced through the woods with me on his back. I couldn¡¯t resist rubbing my hands on his

    ck fur; there were even some spots of brown. He was beautiful and huge. He looked like he could

    take down multiple other wolves simultaneously.

    He moved so quickly that I couldn¡¯t tell if someone was following us. I buried my face against his fur

    and held on even tighter as he increased his speed.

    Dante doesn¡¯t stop until we are in front of his home. When he slowed, I slowly got down from on top of

    him.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    His wolf turns to look at me with curious eyes. He slowly moves towards me, and I don¡¯t move an inch.

    I let him sniff my neck and my hands before he moves backward.

    Damon¡¯s jeep pulls up beside us, and he gets out with rissa. Autumn and Griffin exit next.

    Dante shifts back into his human form, and Damon throws him his pants.

    ¡°What the hell happened?¡± Damon demands. ¡°I saw your jeep, and it¡¯s f*****g totaled. Did you get into

    an ident?¡±novelxo fast update

    Dante looks at me, ignoring Damon. ¡°Are you okay?¡± He asks as he approaches me.

    I¡¯m shocked by his concern.

    I nod, and only when he seems convinced I¡¯m not hurt does he turn back toward his brother.

    ¡°Someone hit us from the back.¡± He tells him. ¡°At first, I thought it was an ident, but then they

    intentionally hit us again. I took Willow and ran with her. I didn¡¯t stop until I saw the house.¡±

    ¡°Someone attacked you?¡± rissa asks in horror. ¡°Who the hell is after you?¡±

    Dante shrugged, ¡°It looked like a grey truck, but I couldn¡¯t get a good look at it or the driver since it was

    raining so much.¡±

    ¡°What the f**k is happening again?¡± Griffin demands. ¡°Do we have another psycho person out for us?¡±

    I wince at his question. I knew thest psychos after his family happened to be my family.

    ¡°Sorry, Willow.¡± He apologizes when he remembers that I was here.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I assure him. I knew the damage my mother and sister had brought to their family.

    Dante runs a hand down his face, ¡°I should have stayed back. I should have fought, but I was too

    worried about Willow. The thought of whoever it wasing for her terrified me. I had to get her out of

    there to safety.¡±

    My lips part, and rissa¡¯s eyebrows nearly hit her head. Autumn¡¯s expression mirrors her own.

    They¡¯re both just as surprised as I am to hear Dante admit he was worried about my safety.

    I don¡¯t think he even realizes how concerned he is for me. He¡¯s too caught up in everything to

    understand what he¡¯d just said in front of everyone.

    ¡°You think they were there for Willow?¡± Damon frowns. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Dante sighs. ¡°I can¡¯t exin it. I just had this bad feeling in my chest. I hope I¡¯m wrong.¡±

    Autumn turns towards me, ¡°is there someone that could be after you?¡± She asks me. ¡°Did your sister

    and mother have any enemies you may have neglected to tell us?¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. My mother and sister often kept everything from me. I didn¡¯t even

    know about their ns to destroy your family until I heard from you. They kept every single thing from

    me. I was always locked up at home. They never let me go anywhere unless they were also with me.¡±

    They all look like they pity me, and I hate the look on their faces.

    ¡°That seems strange, doesn¡¯t it?¡± rissa asks Damon. ¡°Why would they hide her from the world? Why

    would they keep her locked up and away from everyone else? It almost seems like her mother was

    hiding her from someone.¡±

    I never thought about it like that. Why would my mother need to hide me from anyone? She never

    mentioned anything to me. I always thought that they kept me from school because they didn¡¯t have

    enough money to send me. But could there have been another reason all this time?

    Were those people responsible for hitting Dante¡¯s jeep after me and not him?

 Chapter 224

    Chapter 224

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 224

    Book 3 Chapter 60

    ~DANTE~

    The thought of someone being after Willow makes me sick. I would never stand back and let someone

    hurt her.

    But why would anyone want to hurt her? I can¡¯t help but steal a nce at her and that¡¯s when I notice

    something I¡¯ve seen multiple times in the past.

    ¡°It¡¯s happening again,¡± I shout as Willow begins to faint right before me.

    I grab her just before she can hit the ground and rush into the house with her in my arms. Thest time

    this happened, I took too long to get her in front of the fire. Not today.

    I moved as fast as I could.

    I held her close to my chest as I waited for her body to return to its normal temperature.

    ¡°Why does this keep happening to her?¡± I demanded from Damon even though I knew he couldn¡¯t

    answer me. None of us knew what this was.

    ¡°We can¡¯t keep letting this happen,¡± rissa says. ¡°We need to find answers. If the doctors can¡¯t help

    us, we must find someone else. There¡¯s something wrong with her, and we must find out what it is

    before it worsens.¡±

    I agreed. I knew it was serious, but now the real fear was kicking in. I¡¯d never been this terrified of

    seeing her like this.

    ¡°Do you think those people were really after her?¡± rissa asks. The fear in her voice mirrored the fear

    that I felt in my heart.

    ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure, but if they are, they will have to go through me before they can even think about

    getting to her,¡± I answer her.

    ¡°Her color is returning,¡± I whisper. I could feel the warmthing back into her body. I take her into our

    room and ce her on the bed as her eyes open.

    ¡°D-Dante?¡± She whispers.

    I gently cradle her face, ¡°I¡¯m right here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡± She cries.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to let anyone hurt you,¡± I promise her. ¡°And I¡¯m also going to find someone to help you

    with this illness. Nothing will happen to you. Not when I¡¯m alive.¡±

    She shook her head, ¡°that¡¯s not what scares me.¡±

    I frown, ¡°then what does?¡±

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    Whatever it was, I would do everything I could to protect her from it.

    Her eyes are almost filled with tears as she says, ¡°I¡¯m scared that one day you¡¯ll realize you can never

    love me. I¡¯m scared that one day you¡¯ll realize you can¡¯t move on from my sister. I¡¯m scared that one

    day you will leave me.¡±

    Her words shock me to my core. Not once did I ever think about leaving Willow. I¡¯ve been so lost in my

    grief of losing Anya that I didn¡¯t think of much, but I at least knew all along that I would always stay by

    Willow¡¯s side because of my promise.

    Now I realized that she was the reason I wouldn¡¯t be leaving. It no longer had anything to do with my

    promise to Anya. I didn¡¯t want to leave her, ever.

    I lean forward and kiss her forehead, ¡°I¡¯ll do everything I can to not hurt you anymore, Willow. I¡¯m sorry

    that I hurt you in the past. Now that I know how you feel, I¡¯ll take away all the pain I gave to you in the

    first ce.¡±

    Her bottom lip trembles as she whispers, ¡°I know you don¡¯t love me. I don¡¯t want you to fornovelxo

    fast updatece yourself to do anything for me.¡±

    I still loved Anya. However, feelings were growing inside of me, and they were all directed toward

    Willow. All I needed was some time to understand those feelings before I could admit to Willow that

    there was a possibility that I could love her.

    I take both of her hands in one of mine, ¡°You¡¯re not forcing me to do anything for you. From now on,

    everything I do for you will be of my own free will.¡±

    I¡¯ve done so much to hurt Willow. I couldn¡¯t live with myself if I hurt her again. I didn¡¯t f*****g care that I

    didn¡¯t love her; I would treat her like she was the only f*****g woman in this universe from now on. I

    would act like I was in love with her if I had to do it. I would not let her ever worry about me leaving her.

    ¡°You need to rest,¡± I tell her. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon to check on you.¡±

    I wait until she closes her eyes before storming out of the room.

    I found the people I was looking for in the kitchen.

    Damon turns to look at me, and he quirks a brow at the deadly re I was giving him.

    ¡°Why the f**k did you let her hang out with Ares?¡± I demand as I grab his shirt. ¡°She¡¯s my wife. You

    know the reputation that those assholes have. I will never do something like that to you.¡±

    Damon clenches his jaw and shoves me backward, ¡°we were there the entire time. Nothing happened.¡±

    ¡°Why did you pretend that you were drunk?¡± I demand. ¡°You wanted me there. Is that what you three

    are resorting to now? Games? ying with my feelings? Have I not been hurt enough by the person I

    loved the most? Now my own family is ying games with me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it, Dante!¡± rissa tries to defend their actions. ¡°We¡¯re only doing this for you. I swear, we

    weren¡¯t ever trying to hurt you. We thought this could help you open your eyes and finally ept Willow

    as your wife.¡±

    ¡°I epted her as my wife the day I walked down the aisle with her. I epted her as my wife the

    second I said, ¡®I do.¡¯ I don¡¯t need your help for that.¡± I roar.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t think you would react this badly,¡± Autumn whispers. ¡°We¡¯re sorry, Dante. We shouldn¡¯t have

    taken things so far.¡±

    ¡°Did any of you even once think about Willow and the rumors all of this could have caused? She would

    have been seriously bullied over something like that. She already gets bullied because of me; if anyone

    had seen her with Ares, she would have had to deal with a new group of bullies.¡±

    ¡°Thankfully, no one saw them talking to each other,¡± Damon assured me. ¡°We were there to make sure

    none of that happened.¡±

    ¡°I would like all of you to stop interfering with my life with Willow,¡± I ask of them. ¡°From now on, stay out

    of our personal lives.¡±

    ¡°Why do you keep pushing your family away?¡± rissa demands. ¡°We¡¯re only trying to help you.¡±

    ¡°I think we should all stay calm.¡± Autumn cuts in. ¡°Someone may be after Willow. We can¡¯t be reckless

    with her. From now on, someone must always be by her side, including you, Dante. We must protect

    her.¡±

    The problem with staying by Willow¡¯s side more than usual was the fact that she tempted me, unlike

    any other.

    Her scent was still on me, and f**k me; I wanted her all now. Why did I crave her to the point that I felt I

    would f*****g lose my mind if I didn¡¯t have her soon?

 Chapter 225

    Chapter 225

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 225

    Book 3 Chapter 61

    ~WILLOW~

    I woke up needy and missing Dante¡¯s touch. I¡¯m not sure why I feel this way. I should be worried about

    my own life. Someone may or may not be out to get me. And if that person wasn¡¯ting for me, he

    was after Dante, which terrified me even more.

    Still, I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about the way he kissed me. Dante always kisses me so passionately that

    it¡¯s hard to think of anything but his kisses.

    Did he also kiss Anya as he kissed me? Did he kiss her like she was thest woman on earth?

    I didn¡¯t want to think about him kissing my sister, but I couldn¡¯t help but wonder.

    I wanted Dante to love me more than he ever loved her. I knew I was being selfish. I knew that I

    couldn¡¯t force someone to love me. I never wanted to force him to do anything for me. I wanted him to

    like me on his own.

    I look around the room for him, but there is no sign of him. It was so crazy that I actually missed him so

    much at this moment.

    The door flew open suddenly, and I held my breath when I saw him walking in.

    His eyes are drawn to me on the bed almost immediately. I could feel all the blood rush to my cheeks at

    the reminder of what happened in the rain against his jeep.Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    Dante asked me to repeatedly tell him that I loved him. And then he thanked me for being nothing like

    my sister.

    His actions confirmed that he had feelings for me, but he was yet to admit them to me. I think he hasn¡¯t

    even epted those feelings and may possibly be rejecting them because of my sister. As long as he

    thinks he¡¯s betraying her, he will continue to push me away. But that only meant that I had to fight for

    him.

    If I wanted Dante to open up to me, I had to show him more of my love and hope that it would be

    enough to make him ept his feelings for me.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake.¡± He says as he moves towards me.

    I try to find my breath. His sleeves were rolled up halfway, and his shirt was unbuttoned at the top.

    Every little detail about Dante had my heart beating faster and my body begging for a taste of him.

    ¡°I am,¡± I whisper. ¡°Where have you been? I woke up, and you were gone.¡±

    His jaw clenches, ¡°I had to have a word with my family.¡±

    I quirk a brow, ¡°a word?¡± I ask. ¡°About what?¡±

    He looks angry as he says, ¡°They should have never kept you in a room with Ares. You may be new to

    all of this, but they aren¡¯t. Their actions were reckless, and I can¡¯t have something like that happening

    again.¡±

    ¡°Why are you so angry with them?¡± I demand. ¡°They care about you, Dante.¡±

    He leans back against the chair and crosses his arms over his chest. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about something else.¡±

    I didn¡¯t understand how Dante could be so upset with his family but still love Anya. How could she not

    see how much he loved her? The more time I spent with Dante, the more I hated what my sister did to

    him. She messed with his heart and his life. And now I was left with all of the broken pieces.

    ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± I ask. ¡°Is there something else that you want to ask me?¡±

    His eyes are dark as he asks, ¡°What did you and Ares talk about?¡±

    My eyes widen at his question. How did I tell him that we spoke about him the entire time?novelxo

    fast update

    I quickly turned my face in the other direction. I couldn¡¯t look him in the eyes.

    ¡°Willow?¡±

    I close my eyes and pretend to be asleep.

    I gasp when I feel his hands on my legs. He drags my body to the edge of the bed and pulls me up to a

    seated position. He ces both hands on either side of the bed and leans into me.

    ¡°I asked you a question.¡±

    I swallow, ¡°we spoke about his reputation and his family¡¯s reputation. Apparently, they don¡¯t have a

    good one when ites to women. He said that most of the rumors were lies and that his family were

    actually good people.¡±

    Dante¡¯s eyes narrow, ¡°and you believed him?¡±

    I shook my head.

    His jaw clenches, ¡°what else?¡±

    I could feel the heat in my cheeks as he waited for me to tell him more. I thought our conversation

    about Ares was over when I admitted that I didn¡¯t like him. Why was he asking me so many questions?

    ¡°Willow,¡± he growls. ¡°What else did he say to you?¡±

    ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± I whispered as I searched his eyes.

    ¡°I need to know if I have to kill him.¡± He answers me like killing him was the easiest thing in the world

    for him.

    ¡°Dante¡ª¡±

    ¡°Answer me, damn it.¡±

 Chapter 226

    Chapter 226

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 226

    Book 3 Chapter 62

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°We spoke about you,¡± I answer him.

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    ¡°About me?¡± he asks.

    I look down at my hands, unable to look him in the face. It was always hard to look at him when I was

    this nervous. I don¡¯t think Dante understands just the kind of effect he has on me.

    ¡°What did he say about me?¡±

    Even though I was no longer looking into his eyes, I could still feel them on me. It didn¡¯t make this

    easier for me.

    ¡°I was waiting for you,¡± I admit. ¡°I was hoping that you woulde for me. The entire time, I kept

    looking out for you. Eventually, Ares noticed that I was looking for someone and he correctly assumed

    it was you.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe I was telling him all of this. ¡°For some reason, he was convinced that you would be

    there for me. I don¡¯t know why but he was sure that you wereing.¡±

    ¡°And you?¡± he asks. ¡°Were you convinced that I would be there also?¡±

    I can¡¯t answer him, and he gently touches my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes.

    ¡°Tell me.¡± he urges me to go on. ¡°Did you think I woulde for you?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t lie, not after what happened earlier. ¡°No,¡± I confess. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would.¡±

    Dante looks upset with my response. Did he want me to have more faith in him?

    ¡°Is that all he said to you?¡± he asks me with deep concern in his eyes.

    Was he indeed that wary about Ares and his family? Ares didn¡¯t seem dangerous to me, but Dante

    somehow saw him as a threat.novelxo fast update

    I looked down at my hands once more, and it was only then that I realized I was still in his shirt. Dante

    sees it at the same time as I do also.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± he growls. ¡°How did I not realize how f*****g wet that is still?¡±

    It was still wet and sticking to my skin. I stayedpletely still as he grabbed the bottom of the shirt

    and pulled it off me.

    ¡°I let you sleep in this wet¡ª¡± he stops talking when he sees my bare breasts in front of him.

    He swallows hard. I think Dante had forgotten all I had on underneath was a panty.

    He walks into the bathroom andes back out with a towel. He doesn¡¯t say a single word as he

    wraps me in it.

    I was a little disappointed. Part of me wanted him to do more than look at them. Earlier, he acted like he

    was starving for me. Now, he looked like he had a bit more control. Was the moment already over

    between us? Would he never try to touch me like that again?

    He walks over to my closet and takes out some pajamas for me. I noticed that he chose the ones that

    covered my entire body. It¡¯s almost like he was trying to cover me up so he wouldn¡¯t have to see any

    part of me except my face.

    That bothered me. Did he not like what I looked like? We¡¯d gone through this already; he told me he

    did. So that couldn¡¯t be it.

    ¡°You can put this on.¡± He tells me as he gives me pants and a top.

    I dropped the towel from around my body so that he could see my breasts again. I wanted to see his

    reaction. I¡¯m happy when his neck and face turn red. Does he realize that it was intentional?

    I return the pajamas to him, ¡°I don¡¯t want to wear those.¡±

    He quirks a brow, and I can tell the effect I¡¯m having on him. I think it¡¯s hard for him not to look at them.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with them?¡± he asks me.

    I move from the bed and give him a good view of my a*s as I walk over to the closet and bend over. I

    heard Dante¡¯s breath hitch, and I inwardly smiled. He was looking at me.

    I stayed that way longer than needed as I took a revealing lingerie from the drawer. I knew rissa or

    Autumn must have been the one to pack it in here for me.

    Dante¡¯s eyes fall on it, ¡°is that what you¡¯re nning on wearing?¡± he asks. ¡°For the entire night?¡±

    I nod, ¡°is there something wrong with it?¡±

    ¡°Willow¡ª¡± he pauses as he searches for the right words. ¡°Aren¡¯t you cold? Shouldn¡¯t you wear

    something with a little more cloth in it?¡±

    I walk over to him, and I almost smile when he looks down at my breasts. I was right; he couldn¡¯t look

    away from them even if he tried.

    ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine, Dante,¡± I assure him. ¡°In fact, I feel a little warm, and that¡¯s why I need to wear as

    little as possible. Or maybe nothing at all.¡±

    I could hear his loud breathing, and I loved having this kind of effect on him.

    I slowly put the lingerie onto my body and walked over to the bed. I tried to be as seductive as possible

    as I climbed onto it. I heard his sharp intake of breath.

    ¡°What the f**k are you doing, Willow?¡±

 Chapter 227

    Chapter 227

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 227

    Book 3 Chapter 63

    ~DANTE~

    I couldn¡¯t f*****g breathe. There¡¯s no way that Willow wasn¡¯t doing this intentionally. She was teasing

    me; I could tell. But she had no f*****g clue who she was messing with.

    ¡°What?¡± She asks innocently as she finallyys down on the bed. ¡°I told you that I¡¯m feeling warm. Is

    there something wrong with my outfit?¡±

    That wasn¡¯t a f*****g outfit. She barely had anything on.

    ¡°Put those sheets over your body,¡± I order her. ¡°Cover yourself up from me.¡±

    She frowns, ¡°why would I hide my body from you when you¡¯ve told me that you enjoy looking at me?¡±

    Did she forget already? How could she not remember why it was essential to cover herself up around

    me?

    ¡°Willow,¡± I growl. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking of doing, but I beg you to please stop.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me you couldn¡¯t sleep when I wasn¡¯t in bed?¡± She asks me. ¡°Come join me. You look

    tired. Since I¡¯m here, you can get some sleep while I watch you.¡±

    My entire body goes entirely still. ¡°Watch me?¡±

    She nods and smiles so sweetly that I almost lost all of my s**t. ¡°Watch you. I like watching you while

    you sleep.¡±

    Did she think I could f*****g sleep next to her when she looked like that?

    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep with you looking like that, Willow,¡± I tell her.

    She passed her hand down her body and f**k me; all I could do was helplessly watch like my life

    depended on it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this? It¡¯s beautiful, is it not?¡±

    My jaw clenches. ¡°I¡¯m not staying in here with you tonight.¡±

    Her eyes widen, ¡°but I don¡¯t feel well.¡± She says with panic in her voice. ¡°What if something happens to

    me again? Who will be here to look after me?¡±

    Ah, f**k.

    If I couldn¡¯t leave her, I needed some time to myself to regain my strength. I rushed into the bathroom

    and headed straight for the shower.

    I had to think about anything but shoving my d**k inside Willow¡¯s sweet p***y. And it was f*****g sweet.

    Too sweet for a man like me.

    I threw my pants onto the ground and tried to calm my f*****g d**k. It was begging to be inside of her. I

    held the damn thing in my hand and tried to get some release. I knew it was useless after my third

    attempt. This wasn¡¯t going down anytime soon, not until it had gotten what it wanted, and that was the

    woman in a f*****g lingerie lying on my bed and waiting for me to return.novelxo fast update

    ¡°Dante?¡±

    What the f**k?

    I spun around to see Willow in front of me. Her eyes were wide as she stared at my d**k still in my

    hand.

    ¡°MOTHERFUCKER¡ª,¡± I growl as I spun around so that my back was facing her.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing inside here, Willow?¡± I demand.

    ¡°You were taking too long.¡± She exins. ¡°I thought something had happened to you. I just wanted to

    make sure that you were okay.¡±

    ¡°You could have just called my name.¡± I point out.

    ¡°I tried that.¡± She says. ¡°I called your name twice, but I didn¡¯t get a response from you.¡±

    Why the f**k was she still just standing there?

    ¡°Willow, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s time that you leave the bathroom?¡± I ask her almost desperately.

    ¡°What were you doing just now?¡± She asks me innocently.

    My jaw clenches, and I try not to pound my fist against the wall.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± I growl. ¡°So please, just get out. I¡¯ll be out of the shower in a minute¡ª¡±

    I stop talking when she gets in the shower with me.

    My body turns to stone when I felt her hand on my back.

    ¡°Willow,¡± I growl. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I be in here with you?¡± She whispers. ¡°Am I not allowed in here with you?¡±

    My breath hitched at her question. She¡¯s my f*****g wife. Of course, she¡¯s allowed to be in here with

    me. But f**k, I couldn¡¯t have that happening.

    ¡°I¡¯m begging you, Willow,¡± I whisper. ¡°Please get out. Now.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± She asks. ¡°Why do you want me to leave?¡±

    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    ¡°You know why!¡± I shout. ¡°I¡¯ve told you already what happens to me. I told you what I feel like doing to

    you. I told you that you deserve more than that. So please, listen to me and return to the room.¡±

    ¡°But this is what I want, Dante.¡± She whispers. ¡°I want you to f**k me. I wouldn¡¯t say it if I didn¡¯t mean it.

    I want to be as close to you as I possibly can. So please, Dante, please f**k me.¡±

    I could feel my f*****g d**k doubling in size at her words. I¡¯ve never seen it grow this f*****grge in my

    entire life. He wanted her just as much as I did.

    I spun around so that I was facing her once more. Her eyes went straight to it, and I ignored how much

    that turned me on. The water was dripping onto both of us and seeing her like this with barely anything

    on made me want her even more than before. But I wouldn¡¯t let this happen. I couldn¡¯t.

    I grab her arms and shove her against the wall hard. I pressed my body against her so that my d**k

    was resting on her a*s. She moans at the contact and f**k me; I wasn¡¯t expecting it. She was f*****g

    killing me.

    This is the closest to her it could ever be. I wouldn¡¯t allow anything more than this. My lips are near her

    ear when I hear her soft gasp. ¡°I¡¯m not going to f**k you, Willow. Ever.¡± I can¡¯t resist biting her neck as I

    growl. ¡°Get the f**k out of here. Now.¡±

 Chapter 228

    Chapter 228

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 228

    Book 3 Chapter 64

    ~WILLOW~

    Dante¡¯s teeth on my neck before he asked me to leave made everything much harder. It made me want

    to be with him even more than before. It made me want things that I knew I shouldn¡¯t. Why didn¡¯t he

    want to give me what I wanted when it was clear that he wanted it also? I could feel his arousal; he

    wasn¡¯t trying to hide it from me. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something he could hide, either. He looked ready to be

    inside of me. I bit my lip hard at the thought of feeling him there.

    ¡°Willow.¡± He growls my name.

    He wasn¡¯t going to do it. Not tonight. I could tell by the determination in his voice to get me out of the

    bathroom.

    I spun around in his arms, and instead of running as he asked, I ced both hands on his chest and

    pushed him backward until he hit the wall. My breasts are pressed against his chest as I peered up at

    him, ¡°You will f**k me, Dante Fawn. Maybe not tonight or tomorrow. But you will.¡±

    I could see the whirlpool of emotions in his eyes as my words settled.

    They are dark with desire as he watches me leave. I make sure to move my waist seductively. I knew I

    was taking things a bit too far, but every single second of each day I spent with Dante was turning me

    into a woman that was starved of him. I was bing desperate to have a part of him that I craved.

    My heart is racing when I finally exit the bathroom and shut the door behind me. Where did I get the

    confidence to do something like that?

    I ce one hand on my neck and felt a shiver down my spine. Why did I enjoy his teeth on my skin that

    much? I wanted to walk back into the bathroom and ask him to bite me a second time and then maybe

    a third. I felt like begging him to bite other parts of my body, not just my neck.novelxo fast update

    I was getting through to him. I knew I was. I couldn¡¯t stop fighting, not now. Soon enough, he will ept

    his feelings for me.

    I grabbed a towel and dried my skin, changing into a new lingerie. I wasn¡¯t going to make it easy for

    him. He was determined to keep his hands off me; I would do everything I could to help him change his

    mind.

    I would do everything in my power to make him ept his feelings for me, and this seemed like the

    easiest way.

    Dante finally exits the shower what seems like a whole hourter. It felt like he was hiding in there from

    me. Or maybe, he was doing that thing I¡¯d caught him doing under the shower.

    I¡¯d never seen something so erotic in my life before, and I wanted to stare some more, but Dante didn¡¯t

    give me a chance to do it. Everything that he did, it had the power to make me stop and stare. I felt like

    I was under an incredibly powerful spell, and maybe I was paying for the horrible things my sister did to

    his family in the past. Maybe this wasn¡¯t something I could avoid.

    I watched him walk toward the bed; I could tell he avoided looking into my eyes. He was shirtless, and

    there was still a bulge in his pants.

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    Did that mean he was still aroused?

    My body was under the sheets, and he couldn¡¯t see my lingerie. I was waiting for the right time to show

    it to him.

    He quietly gets into the bed with me and doesn¡¯t bother pulling the sheets over his body. He has one

    hand behind his neck and is looking at the ceiling. I can tell that he has plenty on his mind.

    I knew he was trying to distract himself from me. And that wasn¡¯t something that I was okay with. I

    wanted to have his undivided attention, especially tonight.

    I slowly pulled the sheets off my body and, without any warning, climbed on top of him. I make sure to

    position myself right above the bulge in his pants.

    His eyes are full of panic as he feels my body on top of his, ¡°what are you doing, Willow?¡± he growls.

    ¡°I wanted to show you my outfit for the night.¡± I feign innocence.

    ¡°And you couldn¡¯t have done that in your side of the bed?¡± he demands. I knew he was fully aware of

    my intentions, but I wasn¡¯t going to back down. If this was the only way to get past Dante¡¯s thick walls, I

    was willing to do it.

    I take his hand in mine and guide them to my waist, ¡°can you feel how soft the material is?¡± I whisper.

    His eyes are dangerously dark.

    ¡°Not as soft as your skin.¡± He says, and I¡¯m surprised to hear him admit that.

    I move his hands to my exposed chest, ¡°are you sure?¡± I ask. ¡°It feels much softer than my skin.¡±

    ¡°Willow.¡± he inhales sharply. ¡°What are you trying to do? I already told you that nothing is going to

    happen between us. Not when I have no f*****g control over myself. I¡¯ve told you a million times that

    you deserve more than what I¡¯m willing to offer you. Stop trying for something that I can never give to

    you!¡±

 Chapter 229

    Chapter 229

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 229

    Book 3 Chapter 65

    ~DANTE~

    She¡¯s going to f*****g kill me. I know it. Willow was out for my throat. If this was the way to go, so be it. I

    felt trapped under her seductive gaze.

    How did she have so much f*****g power over me without even trying?

    I didn¡¯t know how much longer I could deny her. I was using every singlest bit of self-control to say

    no to her. She may not know just how close I was to losing this inner battle. If she only knew the

    thoughts in my mind, she wouldn¡¯t be asking for this.

    Why was she insisting on having her way? Why did she want me even though I told her multiple times

    that I couldn¡¯t love her?

    Why doesn¡¯t she understand that she deserves so much more than this? What more can I do to make

    her see that this wasn¡¯t the best thing for her?

    I was only trying to protect Willow. I wish she could see things the way that I did.

    What if I gave her what she wanted, and then she hated me for the rest of her life because I couldn¡¯t

    give her more than that?

    I was only seconds away from f*****g her hard against the bathroom tiles just a few minutes ago.

    Luckily, she¡¯d listened and left in time. But now she was back to taunting me with her body and her

    words. She was very good at taunting me.

    I could feel my d**k stir beneath her p***y. The thin lingerie did nothing to stop me from seeing and

    feeling every part of her. All I had to do was move my pants out of the way, and I could sink into her

    softness.

    f**k. I knew I would drown in the pleasure of finally being inside Willow.

    Why was she suddenly behaving so recklessly? What had caused this change in her?

    I didn¡¯t know what to do with this side of her. I didn¡¯t want to control her or demand that she listen to

    me.

    But f**k, how the hell am I supposed to have a sane mind around her when she¡¯s acting thinovelxo

    fast updates way?

    I resisted the urge to growl when she rubbed her lower body against mine.

    ¡°Am I doing this right?¡± she whispers. Her eyes were half closed, and she looked drugged even though

    I knew she wasn¡¯t.

    I grab her waist to stop her from moving. If she kept that up, I would do the one thing I knew she would

    eventually hate me for.

    Her eyes widen as she watches me, ¡°what are you doing, Willow?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m rubbing my pussy¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shhh,¡± I warn her. ¡°Don¡¯t finish that f*****g sentence.¡±

    ¡°You were the one that asked.¡± She teases me.

    I gently cup her cheek in my hand, ¡°Willow,¡± I whisper, ¡°I know that you think you¡¯re in love with me, and

    maybe that¡¯s why you¡¯re pushing for something to happen between us. You may think this is what you

    want but believe me. It isn¡¯t. This will only cause more problems for both of us.¡±

    ¡°I know what I want, Dante.¡± She assures me. ¡°You cannot know more than me. My feelings are my

    own; you don¡¯t know what I feel. Why can¡¯t you do this for me when I know you want it also?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s wrong,¡± I answer her. ¡°It¡¯s totally wrong. If I let myself give into my selfish needs, I will only

    hurt you. I know that you may think everything I do is because of Anya, but I can promise you that I¡¯m

    holding back for your sake. I¡¯m not giving in to my desires because I want to protect your heart.¡±

    Her eyes looked sad as she gazed down at me, ¡°you¡¯re truly convinced that you can never love me,

    aren¡¯t you?¡±

    My jaw clenches at her question. I didn¡¯t have an answer for her. Not yet. I didn¡¯t know how long it

    would take for me to have an answer for her.

    ¡°I can¡¯t answer you,¡± I confess. ¡°I need time.¡±

    My words, for some reason, seem to fuel the determination in her eyes. Did I somehow give her hope?

    f**k. I didn¡¯t want to hurt her.

    I stiffen when she drops her body on top of mine and wraps her arms around me tightly.

    What was she doing?

    ¡°Willow?¡±

    ¡°Can I just stay like this for tonight?¡± She whispers. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything. All I¡¯m asking is for

    you to hold me for the entire night. Please.¡±

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    I¡¯m shocked to my core. I didn¡¯t know how to say no to her.

    But if I said yes, the rest of tonight would be hell for me. Her scent was already surrounding me. If she

    stayed on top of me, I would also feel every curve of hers pressed all up against me.

    That didn¡¯t sound like such a good idea.

    ¡°Willow,¡± I whisper. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea either. It¡¯s just as bad as me doing things to your

    body.¡±

    When she whimpered at my response, I knew there was no f*****g possible way that I could refuse her.

    f**k!

 Chapter 230

    Chapter 230

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 230

    Book 3 Chapter 66

    ~WILLOW~

    I was doing everything to get closer to Dante. I didn¡¯t want to give up on us without a fight. But I didn¡¯t

    know how long I would keep this up. If Dante kept pushing me away, eventually, I would give in and let

    things drift apart between us.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to make this easy for me, are you?¡± Dante whispers. My head was against his chest,

    and my arms were wrapped around him.

    Finally, he was catching on.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to stop until you admit that you have feelings for me as well, Dante.¡± I finally admit.

    ¡°You¡¯re denying your feelings for me, and you¡¯re preventing the both of us from being happy. I know

    why you¡¯re doing it, but I wish that, for once, you would think about someone other than my sister.¡±

    He doesn¡¯t say anything in response. I held my breath when both of his arms were suddenly wrapped

    around my body. He hugged me back, and I think my chest exploded with joy.

    ¡°Just for tonight.¡± He whispers.

    I nod and felt my eyes begin to shut close slowly. I was drifting off into a peaceful sleep. I always felt

    safe in Dante¡¯s arms. He always made me feel like no one could hurt me as long as I was with him. But

    the only danger around me felt like it was him. His words, his actions, all of it had the power to crumble

    me. He was my weakness.

    It¡¯s the middle of the night when I wake up to Dante¡¯s cries in his sleep.

    ¡°Anya!¡±

    I felt sick at hearing my sister¡¯s name in his mouth once again.

    He¡¯s having one of those nightmares again. I gently rub his chest as I whisper his name soothingly. I¡¯m

    hoping I can help him even though he¡¯s dreaming of her. I hate when he dreams of Anya. I hate when

    he even thinks about her. Why does he turn me into this kind of a person? I¡¯ve never been this jealous

    of anyone in my life.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry.¡± He cried some more.novelxo fast update

    I closed my eyes. How many times would he apologize to her when she was the one that hurt him?

    She should have been the one begging for his forgiveness.

    When he finally stops calling her name or saying anything in his sleep, I slowly move his hands and get

    down from on top of him. Every time he said her name, it pushed me further away from him.

    I walk to his desk and take his wallet out of the drawer.

    I take a deep breath.

    I knew exactly why I was holding this in my hand. I knew what I wanted to find out. I just wasn¡¯t sure if I

    was ready for it.

    I avoided checking it because I knew how much it would hurt if Dante still had a picture of my sister in

    his wallet.

    By his actions, I could rightfully guess what I would see, but I still wanted to believe that he cared about

    me enough to at least move the picture.

    I slowly opened it and jumped when I felt Dante behind me.

    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± He demands.

    ¡°There¡¯s something I need to confirm,¡± I answered him even though my heart was pounding against my

    chest.

    He looks at my hands, and I see the panic on his face. I¡¯ve never seen Dante look this guilty in front of

    me. It¡¯s the answer I needed. However, I still wanted to look for myself.

    ¡°Give me my wallet Willow.¡± He demands as he takes a step closer to me.

    My lips part, ¡°It¡¯s still there, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    His jaw clenches, and he takes another step closer to me. I move backward. I wasn¡¯t giving it up until I

    saw that her picture was still inside.

    ¡°Willow,¡± he growls. ¡°Give it to me.¡±

    I opened it in front of him, ¡°Willow¡ª¡±

    My eyes are wide as I stare at my sister¡¯s face. My hands tremble as the wallet falls from my hand and

    hits the ground. The silence that followed after was deadly. I don¡¯t think Dante knew what to say. But I

    knew what I wanted to tell him.

    ¡°After everything I told you. After all of the pain this has caused me in the past, you still chose to keep

    her picture in here?¡± I ask in disbelief.

    He looks like he¡¯s in distress as he tries to answer me.

    ¡°I¡ª¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to give me any exnations!¡± I snap. ¡°All this time, I thought there was a chance you

    had feelings for me. I kept fighting because I thought there was a chance for us. Everyone kept telling

    me that you cared for me, maybe not as much as you cared for Anya, but I was beginning to actually

    believe it.¡±

    ¡°Willow, will you give me a chance to exin.¡± He tries to reason with me.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to exin anything, Dante!¡± I shout. ¡°You didn¡¯t want to touch me earlier, no matter

    how much I begged for it. You refused to give me what I wanted because of some dumb excuse that

    you¡¯re protecting me. You weren¡¯t trying to protect me at all; you were trying to put more distance

    between us, Dante!¡±

 Chapter 231

    Chapter 231

    Chapter 231

    Book 3 Chapter 67

    ~DANTE~

    I¡¯d screwed up. f*****g big time. Willow was visibly upset. I¡¯d done this to her by keeping that picture of

    Anya in my wallet. I¡¯d gotten rid of everything except that picture, and the longer I held onto it, the more

    I hurt Willow.

    Why was I so f*****g dumb when it came to things like this? I should have known that Willow would

    eventually want to look for that picture in my wallet.

    Damn me.

    Why did I keep screwing things up? Why couldn¡¯t I do something right for once?

    She still believed that I was denying her only because of Anya. She still thought that I didn¡¯t want her.

    She still didn¡¯t realize that if she let me, I would f**k her in every single part of the room. No matter how

    many times I exined this to Willow, she would still believe that I was pushing her away because I

    only wanted Anya.

    I didn¡¯t make it better by leaving that picture in my wallet, either. Now I didn¡¯t know how to make things

    easier for her to trust me.

    ¡°Willow,¡± I whisper as I try to take a step closer to her. When she moves away from me, I felt it straight

    in my chest. I didn¡¯t like it when she pulled away from me. She never did before. She always let me

    come closer to her.

    ¡°Why did you love my sister so much?¡± She demands. ¡°What did she ever do to make you happy?¡±

    I stop trying to get closer to her. It was a question many had asked me before, but hearing it from

    Willow¡¯s mouth had more of an effect on me than others.

    Why did I love Anya? Why did I give her my heart without asking for anything in return?

    She never did anything for me. Even when Anya was somewhat good to me, it was all a pretense. It¡¯s

    something that has always puzzled me. I knew I was under a damn spell at one point but that damn

    spell was long gone.

    It¡¯s not fair. Why couldn¡¯t I forget her like my brothers had so easily done?

    ¡°I was nning on getting rid of the picture.¡± I finally say. ¡°It¡¯s thest¡ª¡±

    ¡°Please stop lying to me.¡± She snaps. ¡°I¡¯m tired of the lies. You don¡¯t have to lie anymore to ¡®protect¡¯

    me. I should have never listened to your family. I should have trusted my gut. You don¡¯t care for me;

    you don¡¯t even like me a little. The only person you care about is Anya, and she¡¯s not even here. She

    never loved or cared about you, but somehow she still has your heart. I hope you can be happy with

    her in your heart from now on. I won¡¯t try to get closer to you anymore, Dante. I¡¯m done trying.¡±

    I stiffen at her words. ¡°What the hell are you saying, Willow?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so wrong with what I just said?¡± She demands. ¡°I¡¯m tired of waiting. It hurts too much, Dante.

    Can¡¯t you see that? Can¡¯t you see the pain in my eyes? What would it take for you to ept me,

    Dante? How long must I wait for you to heal from losing my sister? What do I have to do to make that

    possible?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± I roar. ¡°I don¡¯t have answers to any of your questions! I¡¯ve told you multiple times that I

    don¡¯t have your answer. I keep searching for the answers, hoping to give you one, but I don¡¯t have one.

    They¡¯re not here yet, Willow. Please try to understand that!¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She snaps. ¡°I¡¯m done waiting for a husband still trapped in his past. I¡¯m done, Dante. You can

    continue the rest of your life grieving for someone that never loved you, and I¡¯ll pretend that I¡¯m okay

    with it. That¡¯s how our marriage will be from now on.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think words could hurt this much. She was the one pushing me away now. She was giving up,

    and I didn¡¯t want her to. I didn¡¯t want her to give up on me. If she did, I don¡¯t know how I could keep

    going.

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    When Anya died, I thought my life was over. The only reason I¡¯m still here is Willow. I didn¡¯t know it

    before, but I know it now.

    She was the only reason I didn¡¯t do something stupid to get myself killed. She¡¯s the only reason I didn¡¯t

    give up on life.

    She¡¯s my reason for living now.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t,¡± I whisper. I knew I should let her go for her own good. I knew begging her to stay would

    make it harder on her, but I would be selfish because that was the only way I would survive in this cruel

    world, by having her fight for me.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t what?¡± She demands.

    I step towards her, and this time she doesn¡¯t try to move back from me. It gives me hope that I hadn¡¯t

    completely lost her.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t give up on me,¡± I whisper. ¡°You¡¯re why I haven¡¯t given up on life yet, Willow. So please,

    don¡¯t give up on me yet. Please.¡±

    I meant every word. I would even get down on my knees if I had to.

    Willow may think that she didn¡¯t mean a lot to me, but she did. She meant more to me than she would

    ever know.

 Chapter 232

    Chapter 232

    Chapter 233

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    Book 3 Chapter 68

    ~WILLOW~

    The desperation and fear in Dante¡¯s eyes took me by surprise. I¡¯ve never been more sure that I was in

    love with him than I am now. Seeing that look in his eyes made my heart feel like someone was

    squeezing it.

    How did I say no to him when he looked at me like I was his only reason for staying alive? I could hear

    my own heart pounding louder than ever to his confession. It was thest thing I ever expected to hear

    Dante say to me.

    I move closer and ce my hand on his cheek, ¡°okay.¡± I whisper. ¡°I won¡¯t give up on our marriage. I¡¯ll

    keep fighting for you. I¡¯ll keep fighting until you no longer feel the pain of losing my sister. I¡¯ll keep

    fighting until you whisper my name in your sleep. I¡¯ll keep fighting until I¡¯m the only woman that you¡¯ll

    ever need in your life. I¡¯ll keep fighting Dante but I need you to fight back as well. I can¡¯t keep fighting

    for this on my own. You need to help me from now on.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe I was the only reason that Dante wasn¡¯t giving up on life. I couldn¡¯t believe I was his

    motivation to keep fighting.

    Hearing him admit that made everything feel so much better. My heart felt like it could finally beat

    again. This was all I needed from him. Just some proof that I meant something to him. I didn¡¯t want to

    get it out of him in this way, but I was d that he at least begged me to keep on fighting for him.

    He picks the wallet up from the ground. He stares at Anya¡¯s picture briefly before slowly removing it. I

    ce my hand over his, stopping him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± I whisper. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this today. Do it when you¡¯re ready. I¡¯m sorry for rushing you

    into this, Dante. You lost someone important to you. No amount of time could help make the pain go

    away. I know this because Anya was someone close to me as well. Despite everything she¡¯s done to

    you and your family, I still love her and would do anything to see her again.¡±

    I gasped when Dante grabbed me and crushed me against his chest. He buries his face in my hair and

    whispers, ¡°Thank you, Willow. Thank you for not giving up on me.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t move or breathe. All I could do was hold onto him as tightly as I could. For the first time in our

    marriage, it felt like Dante needed me as much as I needed him.

    . . . . .

    It¡¯s been a week since that night in Dante¡¯s room. Things have been better, but we haven¡¯t touched

    each other since. I¡¯ve been giving him the time I knew he needed. I wasn¡¯t trying to rush things

    anymore. I wasn¡¯t trying to force him into anything he didn¡¯t want to do.

    It¡¯s been hard keeping my distance when all I wanted to do was kiss and get closer to him. But I

    realized this was the right thing for both of us.

    Dante needed this time for himself.

    I should have realized sooner how hard all of this was for him. I should have known that the pain I felt

    in my heart for my sister must be even worse for him. He never got closure from her death. She died

    with so many secrets. He never got a proper exnation or apology from her for all the wrong she¡¯d

    done to him.

    I was happy to know at least that he wanted me here.

    ¡°There¡¯s this party tonight,¡± Autumn tells me as she walks into the kitchen. ¡°I don¡¯t know if Dante

    mentioned it to you already, but we¡¯re all going.¡±

    I nod, ¡°he did.¡±

    I was surprised when he told me. He said that he wanted me to go with him, unlike the many other

    times when his family invited me to apany them.

    She smiles, ¡°I¡¯ve noticed that the both of you seem to be in better moods recently. Did something

    happen that you¡¯re not telling the rest of us?¡±

    I returned her smile, ¡°Not anything important, but I think we understand each other more than before.¡±

    She hugs me, ¡°I¡¯m so happy to hear that. We were all worried that we messed things up. Dante was so

    mad at us that we felt horrible. We¡¯re not going to try anything crazy tonight. Trust us.¡±

    I hug her back, ¡°I know you didn¡¯t have any bad intentions. I know that you and everyone else were

    only trying to bring us closer, and even though Dante was mad at you, I¡¯m sure he knows the truth as

    well.¡±

    She nods, ¡°Do you have a dress for tonight, or do you want my help?¡±

    ¡°I think I need your help,¡± I confess.

    She grins and pulls me towards her room.

    I already had an outfit nned out, but I knew Autumn loved dressing me up; I didn¡¯t want to take that

    away from her.

    After getting dressed, I¡¯m pleased when I find Dante waiting at the bottom of the stairs for me. He didn¡¯t

    hide the desire in his eyes from me and it made my toes curl in my shoes.

    I didn¡¯t know how I could survive the night with him looking at me like that.

    Would I be able to control myself?

 Chapter 233

    Chapter 233

    Chapter 234

    Book 3 Chapter 69

    ~DANTE~

    She was so f*****g beautiful.

    Keeping my hands off her would be so damn hard for the rest of the night.

    How would I survive if I didn¡¯t at least get on taste? But I knew one taste would only lead to something

    else.

    Willow hasn¡¯t tried seducing me since the wallet incident. I was happy that she was willing to still fight

    for our marriage even though I didn¡¯t deserve her or her patience with me.

    I¡¯ve done nothing but give pain to Willow. None of the pain was intentional, but that didn¡¯t make it any

    better.

    When I thought back to the things I¡¯d said and done, I knew that I was a lucky man to have her as my

    wife.

    I often questioned Anya¡¯s decision to force me to marry her sister, but for once, I was happy that she¡¯d

    done so. I knew she did it for selfish reasons; I knew she was only thinking about herself and her family

    when she asked me to marry Willow. But that didn¡¯t matter because she unknowingly gave me

    someone that made me want to keep living.

    She¡¯d done something for me without even realizing it. In the past, Anya has always done things to

    make my life more difficult. This was the first time she¡¯d done something good. It just so happened that

    she did it for totally different reasons.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    She gave me the one person that she cared about more than anyone else in this world.

    I was foolish for ever seeing Willow as a burden. I was stupid for thinking that my marriage was some

    punishment. My eyes were finally opening, and I wish I¡¯d seen these things much sooner. That way, I

    wouldn¡¯t have hurt Willow on multiple asions. Seeing the hurt in her eyes when she saw that picture

    of her sister still in my wallet was my undoing.

    That look in her eyes still haunted me, as well as the hurt in her voice. I couldn¡¯t get it out of my head. I

    wanted to find a way to make it up to her but I still had no clue what the hell I was doing.

    Inviting her to this party and properly introducing her as my wife was my first step. I wanted everyone to

    know how important she was to me.

    I didn¡¯t like her silence, and she¡¯s been silent the entire road. I was the reason for this. I¡¯d hurt her with

    that picture of Anya in my wallet. And then I begged her for more time.

    She was giving me that time, but part of me wanted her to return to the woman trying to get closer to

    me.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I ask her when the silence became too much for me.

    Something was wrong. I could tell. She wasn¡¯t talking, and she kept clutching her stomach. Why didn¡¯t I

    notice this sooner?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She whispers.

    ¡°Is your body bing cold?¡± I ask her gently. I had to know if we needed to get her in front of a fire pit

    or anything to help return her temperature back to normal.

    I didn¡¯t notice her body turning pale or any of the signs I usually saw.

    ¡°I feel weird.¡± She gasps. ¡°Something is wrong with me, Dante. I don¡¯t know what it is, but I¡¯m scared.¡±

    I pulled to the side of the road and jumped out of the truck. I walked over to the passenger¡¯s side and

    opened the door.

    ¡°Tell me where it¡¯s hurting,¡± I tell her as I look around for help. There were no vehicles around; my

    brothers were already at the party. We were thest two to leave the house.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She gasps.

    ¡°Your forehead is sweating,¡± I whisper as I press my cold hand against it. Usually, it was freezing cold,

    not hot.

    Was the opposite happening to her?

    I staypletely still when she grabs my face and buries her lips in my neck.

    ¡°W-Willow?¡±

    I¡¯m in shock. I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s doing. I don¡¯t move, not even an inch. My body is filled with

    immediate heat at her touch.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening!¡± She cries out as she lifts her mouth from my neck.

    She grabs my face for the second time and, this time, shoves it hard against her chest.

    ¡°I need you, Dante.¡± She cries. ¡°I need you to do something. Anything. Please.¡±

    I¡¯m nestled between her breasts and stillpletely lost as to what was happening.

    I staypletely still when a strong scent hits my nose. It took my brain a few seconds to figure out

    what was happening. When I do, the blood in my veins runs cold.

    She¡¯s rubbing her legs together and gasping my name, continuously begging me to help her.

    I freeze.

    This couldn¡¯t be happening. This couldn¡¯t be what I thought it was.

    But it was. I couldn¡¯t deny it. Her scent was getting stronger. It was bing difficult for me to see

    anything else but her.

    No.

    Oh f**k no.

    This can¡¯t be true. It f*****g can¡¯t.

    I¡¯m his by another strong wave and I have to grab the truck for support.

    She¡¯s going into heat.

    Willow was going into f*****g heat.

    I¡¯m going to lose my mind. I¡¯m going to f*****g lose my mind.

    What the hell am I supposed to do?

 Chapter 234

    Chapter 234

    Chapter 235

    Book 3 Chapter 70

    ~DANTE~

    ¡°I¡¯m taking you home,¡± I inform her.

    She grabs my arms, stopping me from going anywhere. ¡°No!¡± She gasps. ¡°I can¡¯t wait that long, Dante.

    I need you now. I need you to help me.¡±

    I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t help her.

    That would mean doing the one thing I wasn¡¯t ready for. I didn¡¯t want to take something so special from

    Willow when I wasn¡¯t prepared to give myself fully to her.

    ¡°Willow,¡± I growl. ¡°No. I can¡¯t.¡±

    She grabs my hair and stares straight into my eyes. ¡°It hurts Dante. I need you to stop the pain.¡±

    Her head hits the seat, and she screams. My heart doesn¡¯t know how to handle her pain. What the hell

    was happening to me?

    ¡°What¡¯s happening to me?¡± She cries. ¡°Why is it so painful?¡±

    I had to do something, anything, to make the pain easier for her.

    I took her into my arms and carried her into the truck¡¯s backseat. I sat down and pulled her on top of

    me.

    ¡°Dante?¡± she cries. I swallow at the confusion in her eyes. She knew nothing about this. If she¡¯d known,

    she would have had apletely different reaction.

    ¡°You¡¯re going into heat.¡± I try to exin to her.

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± She gasps. I could feel her tears against my chest, making me growl. I didn¡¯t

    like her crying; I didn¡¯t like seeing her in any kind of pain. I wanted to do anything possible to ease that

    pain, but I wasn¡¯t ready for this. Not in the least.

    ¡°It means that unless I bury my seed inside you, you¡¯ll be in plenty of pain, Willow.¡±

    I see the surprise in her eyes as my words finally registered in her brain.

    ¡°W-what?¡±

    She wasn¡¯t understanding me. It seems that Willow¡¯s mother didn¡¯t teach her anything about

    werewolves or witches. Maybe that¡¯s why I¡¯d never seen her do anything like her mother. She didn¡¯t

    know how to perform spells or bond with her wolf.

    ¡°It means I have to f**k you, Willow,¡± I growl. ¡°I have to f**k you over and over again. Multiple times until

    your body stops hurting and calling for me.¡±

    Her eyes are wide with shock, ¡°f-fuck me?¡±

    I¡¯d told her multiple times in the past that I wouldn¡¯t do that to her. Not until I was sure that I was worthy

    of being inside her. It wasn¡¯t time. But I never expected this to happen to Willow. In all my years of

    being with Anya, she¡¯s never gone into heat. Willow was younger than her sister, but yet this was

    already happening.

    I didn¡¯t know how to deny her what she clearly needed from me. I¡¯d run from it long enough; now, there

    was nowhere to escape.

    She grabs my shirt and pulls me closer to her, ¡°you have to, Dante. You have to. I can¡¯t take this pain.

    It¡¯s too much for me. I¡¯m in so much pain. Please, do this for me. Please.¡±

    ¡°Willow,¡± I whisper as I grab her face with both hands. ¡°I can¡¯t do this to you. I can¡¯t. You deserve more

    than this. You deserve so much more.¡±

    She grinds her lower body against mine in a desperate attempt to convince me, ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I¡¯m in

    love with a man who loves my sister. I¡¯m jealous of my dead sister, who has done nothing but love me.

    I¡¯m not a saint. I don¡¯t deserve more, Dante. This is what I deserve.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make me do this to you, Willow,¡± I beg her. ¡°Please.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t stop it, Dante!¡± she cries, and my d**k stirs in response beneath her.

    f**k. f**k. f**k.

    My eyes almost pop out of my head when she reaches into my pants and pulls it out. It¡¯s in her hands

    now, and damn it; it¡¯s the hottest thing I¡¯d ever seen in my life.

    Willow holding my f*****g d**k in her hands was unlike anything I¡¯d ever had the pleasure of

    experiencing.

    A string of curses leaves my mouth when she tries to rub it against her p***y.

    ¡°Why the f**k aren¡¯t you wearing anything underneath?¡± I demand. She was bare under there. Wearing

    nothing under that dress.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    She cries out as the tip touches her opening, and I wince at how good it feels.

    Motherfucker.

    ¡°Fuck¡ªah. Stop.¡± I groan.

    She was going to make me lose my f*****g mind.

    She grabs my hair and pulls my head backward, ¡°I want it inside me. I need to feel you inside me,

    Dante.¡±

    My eyes widen when she bites my lip until I can taste blood. I¡¯d never seen this side of Willow before.

    If she kept this up, I would f*****g explode in seconds.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re asking for,¡± I growl against her ear. ¡°You¡¯re going to regret this, Willow.

    You¡¯re going to hate me.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She cries, ¡°I will hate you if you don¡¯t stop this pain tonight. I will hate you if you don¡¯t give me

    what I want when I need it the most. I will hate you if you can¡¯t do your duty as my husband.¡±

    My jaw clenches, and my hands on her waist tighten.

    I angrily push her away from me and step out of the vehicle.

    Her eyes are wide with shock. She doesn¡¯t realize that I¡¯m angry with myself, not her.

    I should be able to do this for her. I f*****g wanted her more than I¡¯ve ever wanted; another woman in

    my life at this exact moment, even more than I¡¯ve ever wanted Anya. Yet, I wasn¡¯t easing her pain. I

    was still pushing her away.

    What the f**k was my problem?

    ¡°Fine!¡± She shouts as she spreads her legs for me to see. I almost lose all my s**t when she pushes a

    finger inside her sweet p***y in front of me. ¡°I¡¯ll find someone else to ease my pain since my own

    husband can¡¯t do anything for me!¡±

    My eyes narrow dangerously. A loud growl forces its way out of my throat.

    I storm over to her and pull her out of the truck. Her legs are now wrapped around my waist as I pull

    her hair back. ¡°No man is allowed to f*****g touch you, Willow. You¡¯re mine!¡± I roar.

 Chapter 235

    Chapter 235

    Chapter 236

    Book 3 Chapter 71

    ~DANTE~

    The thought of another man taking care of Willow in this state made me lose all control.

    ¡°I was yours since the second I saw you, Dante!¡± she shouts. ¡°So, can you please just do this for me?¡±

    She didn¡¯t have to beg me. I wanted to. If she could read my mind, she would realize how badly I

    needed her. I needed to be inside her more than she needed me. I felt like I would f*****g die if I didn¡¯t

    bury my d**k inside Willow right this instance.

    ¡°I beg you not to hate me after this, Willow,¡± I growl before shoving her hard against the truck.

    ¡°I could never hate you, Dante,¡± she whispers.

    I don¡¯t wait for her to say anything else as I rip her dress and cover her n****e with my mouth. Her a*s

    flew off the truck, but I held it in ce as my d**k continued begging to be inside her. The damn thing

    was just as hungry for her as I was.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t think of anyone else tonight.¡± She cries out as I push a finger into her p***y.

    I knew what she meant. I knew she asked that I didn¡¯t think of Anya when I f****d her tonight. I hate that

    there was ever a doubt in her mind. I hate that I did this to her.

    I grabbed her hand and ced it on my d**k, ¡°Do you feel that? I¡¯m this way because of you, only

    because of you, Willow. I can assure you that I wasn¡¯t thinking of anyone else, and I still am not. You

    are the only person on my mind right now, and it will stay that way for the rest of the night.¡±

    Willow moaned at my words, and I hissed when she started pumping my d**k in her hand.

    ¡°How the f**k do you know to do that?¡± I growl. The thought of her doing that for another man made me

    f*****g pissed.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been doing some research.¡± She blushes. ¡°I wanted to give you as much pleasure as you give

    me.¡±

    Her words take me aback. Anya never once considered my needs any time in our rtionship. Yet

    Willow kept looking for ways to please me.

    I was in love with the wrong sister all along. I should have met Willow a f*****g long time ago. Things

    would have been so different for both of us.

    I push her hand away, ¡°If you keep that up, I will explode in your hand, Willow. There¡¯s somewhere else

    that needs it desperately, and I¡¯m going to f*****g give it exactly what it needs multiple times for the

    night.¡±

    She gasps when I position my d**k right above her opening. ¡°Are you sure this is what you want?¡± I

    asked her gently, even though I didn¡¯t think I could stop anymore.

    She nods, ¡°I¡¯ve never been more sure of anything else in my life Dante.¡±

    My eyes narrow, and I don¡¯t wait for her to change her mind. I thrust forward as hard as I could, trying

    my best not to hurt her. Her eyes widen, and I swallow her cries with a kiss.

    I slowly pull out and push right back in. Each time I did, I got deeper inside of her. ¡°Tell me, does it

    hurt?¡±

    She nods, ¡°It does, but not because of you. I need you to release inside of me. I need to feel it

    everywhere inside me, Dante; I need it buried inside me.¡±

    Her words push me over the edge, and I¡¯m pounding in and out of her suddenly, like a f*****g madman.

    I can¡¯t stop. I let her scream, shout my name, and it¡¯s like f*****g music in my ear as I continued to

    pound in and out of my wife, the only woman who¡¯s ever loved me like this.

    The only woman that deserves all of me.

    I roar as the pleasure takes over; I don¡¯t stop until my seed is buried deep inside her. Willow screams

    my name and buries her teeth in my neck. I let her bite and scratch me as much as she wanted. This

    was all about her and what she needed tonight. I would f*****g give my soul for her right now if she

    needed it.

    I slowly pulled out of her and caught her body before it could hit the ground.

    Her eyes are filled with so much love for me that I almost lose all my s**t just staring at her.

    So this was what it felt like to have a woman that loved you and only you.

    She¡¯s about to say something when she gasps and reaches for me a second time. I meet her halfway

    and don¡¯t waste another second as I thrust my d**k into her. She screams my name and f**k me, I

    loved hearing it.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Say my name and only my name for the rest of your life,¡± I growl as I f****d her over and over again.

    I didn¡¯t care how many times I had to be with Willow tonight; I didn¡¯t care about anything but taking her

    pain away. I wouldn¡¯t think about anything else until I knew she was safe from all pain.

    I¡¯d never felt anything like this in my life before. Being inside of Willow was the most pleasure I¡¯d ever

    experienced in my life.

    After tonight, I knew I would be drugged. I knew I would need this every second of every day to f*****g

    breathe again.

 Chapter 236

    Chapter 236

    Chapter 237

    Book 3 Chapter 72

    ~WILLOW~

    I woke up in Dante¡¯s room, but there was no sign of him anywhere. I felt sore between my legs but was

    totally satisfied. I can¡¯t remember ever feeling this happy. In fact, it¡¯s the happiest I¡¯ve ever felt in my

    entire life.

    I was only worried that I had pushed Dante too far. I knew he wasn¡¯t ready to sleep with me, but I

    couldn¡¯t help myself. When I went into heat, all I could think about was him being inside me. I¡¯d never

    felt anything that intense before, and it was impossible for me to ignore it.

    Thankfully, Dante gave in and did what I needed the most.

    I walk over to the mirror and am not surprised when I see his markings all over my body. Dante had

    bitten and sucked on every part of my bodyst night. I blushed at the reminder of how passionate he¡¯d

    acted. He behaved like a man who¡¯d lost all control for his woman.

    I shivered at the reminder of having him inside me multiple timesst night. It was a mixture of pain and

    pleasure. It was painful when Dante wasn¡¯t inside me but the moment that he was everything felt

    amazing and perfect.

    I didn¡¯t think that there was anything that could possibly make me happier than I felt right now.

    I was walking on cloud nine when I exited the room after getting dressed. I wore his marks proudly, and

    I knew that everyone would know what we didst night. However, I didn¡¯t care, not even the least.

    There was just one problem. Why did he leave? Why didn¡¯t he wait for me to wake up? Was he having

    second thoughts about everything?

    That was the only fear that I had at this moment. Dante wasn¡¯t exactly ready for it at first; it was only

    because of my pain that he gave into it finally.

    I try to push those negative thoughts out of my head as I walk into the kitchen in search of him.

    ¡°Someone looks like she¡¯s been busyst night.¡± Autumn teases me as she winks at rissa.

    They gave each other knowing looks, and I tried hard not to blush.

    ¡°Do you know where Dante is?¡± I ask them. ¡°He wasn¡¯t in the room.¡±

    Autumn nods, ¡°he¡¯s talking with Atticus about something in the family room.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    I didn¡¯t wait for them to tease me anymore as I ran toward the room. I had to see him. Afterst night, I

    wanted to be close to his side, not apart.

    . . . . . . .

    ~DANTE~

    I didn¡¯t know what I was feeling inside. My emotions were in a f*****g mess. I¡¯d slept with Willow. I¡¯d

    f*****g slept with Willow.

    I¡¯d done the one thing I promised myself not to do. I¡¯d been staring at Anya¡¯s picture all morning, and I

    couldn¡¯t help but feel guilty. I promised Willow that I wouldn¡¯t think of anyone else but herst night, and

    I did just that.

    Now that it was the next day, I couldn¡¯t help but think of Anya.

    Why did I care about her so much that she affected my life even when she was gone?

    I didn¡¯t regret sleeping with Willow, but I still felt guilty. I still felt like I¡¯d done something wrong.

    I was a damn mess and needed someone to talk to before I did something stupid like make Willow feel

    horrible aboutst night.

    She¡¯d looked so peaceful sleeping in my bed earlier. I didn¡¯t want to leave, but I couldn¡¯t get these

    f*****g thoughts and feelings of guilt out of my head.

    Why couldn¡¯t memories of Anya leave me alone?

    ¡°You look like you¡¯ve had a rough morning,¡± Atticus tells me as he takes in my appearance.

    I didn¡¯t even want to look at my face in a mirror.

    ¡°It¡¯s possibly the worst morning of my life,¡± I admit. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happenedst night. First, Willow

    went into heat¡ª¡±

    ¡°Wow.¡± Atticus stops me. ¡°That would exin why the two of you never showed up at the party. We

    were worried when you weren¡¯t answering your phones, but when we returned home, your truck was

    parked outside.¡±

    I nod, ¡°I don¡¯t know where to start. So many things happened that my mind feels like it¡¯s a mess.¡±

    ¡°Take it easy.¡± He tries to calm me down. It wasn¡¯t helping. I don¡¯t understand what¡¯s happening to me.

    I didn¡¯t want to hurt Willow, andst night was f*****g amazing. Being with her made me feel all kinds of

    good. However, this guilt was eating me up inside. I had to get it out. I had to find a way to get it out of

    my head.

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    ¡°I f*****g messed up, Atticus,¡± I shout, unable to stop myself. The words just kept flowing. ¡°I slept with

    Willow. I slept with her while I was still in love with her sister. I promised myself not to do that to her. I

    tried my best to be the man she deserved, but I caved, and this is the worst thing I could have possibly

    done.¡±

    Atticus is about to respond when we hear a loud crash outside.

    I look at him, and he looks back at me with wide eyes.

    Panic runs through my body at the thought of anyone hearing me.

    Please tell me it wasn¡¯t Willow. Please.

 Chapter 237

    Chapter 237

    Chapter 238

    Book 3 Chapter 73

    ~WILLOW~

    My lips are parted, and my hands are clutching my chest. It¡¯s just as I had expected. He regretted

    everything that happenedst night.

    I could hardly breathe. I held onto the wall for support, but I felt like my heart couldn¡¯t take the pain.

    Nothing has ever hurt this much, not even losing my sister. Nothing should ever hurt this much but it

    did, I was falling apart. I only had a few seconds before I crashed.

    Dante¡¯s words had justpletely shattered my heart. I turned to run away when I identally

    knocked down the vase next to me. My eyes widened; if he walked outside, he would see me. Then he

    would know that I¡¯d heard him.

    I didn¡¯t want him to know. I didn¡¯t want him to see what he¡¯d done to me. If he did, he would try to

    apologize and I didn¡¯t want his f****d apology. I ran as fast as I could, and I didn¡¯t stop until I reached

    his room. I quickly shut the door behind me.

    I climbed onto the bed and pretended I was asleep when I heard his footsteps. He was running; maybe

    he¡¯d seen me. I still hoped that I was fast enough.

    My eyes were tightly shut when the door flew open. I could hear his loud breathing and knew that he

    was most likely panicking.

    ¡°Willow?¡±

    I open my eyes and see him right above me. His eyes are searching my face for answers. He was

    trying hard to find out if I¡¯d heard him without asking me.

    He couldn¡¯t hide the worry from his eyes. I could see right through him.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask him.

    He looks around the room; I¡¯m unsure what he¡¯s searching for.

    ¡°Did you leave the room just now?¡± He asks frantically.

    I quirk a brow, ¡°leave the room?¡±

    He nods, ¡°were you downstairs?¡±

    I shook my head immediately. ¡°No. Did something happen?¡±

    His eyes widen, ¡°no.¡±

    He seems to rx a little now that he believes me. It¡¯s also possible that he¡¯s still trying to convince

    himself.

    I was trying my best to hold everything inside of me. It was hard. I wanted to cry and scream. I wanted

    to me him for everything, but I couldn¡¯t. He made it clear multiple times that his heart belonged to my

    sister. He made it clear that I would get hurt if he did what I was asking him for. Last night, I finally got

    what I wanted but it came with a price.

    He was right all along. A part of me always hoped that Dante would learn to love me. I was wrong for

    dreaming of something like that.

    ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t leave the room?¡± He asked me for the second time today.

    I force a smile on my face, ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡±

    He scratches the back of his neck and looks around the room nervously. ¡°How are you feeling? Are you

    hurt anywhere?¡±

    Yes. My heart is bleeding, Dante. It feels like you took a knife and stabbed me there. It feels like it¡¯s no

    longer beating for you or anyone else.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± I whisper as I fight back tears.

    He nods, ¡°is there anything you want to eat or drink?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m craving something.¡± I lie. ¡°A book.¡±

    He quirks a brow at me, ¡°A book?¡±

    I nod, ¡°it¡¯s something my mother always read to me when I was younger. It¡¯s called ¡®The lost girl.¡¯ Can

    you get it for me?¡±

    I wanted him to leave. I wanted an excuse to get some time for myself.

    He nods, ¡°is there anything else that you need?¡±

    I shook my head and waited for him to leave. He looked hesitant at first, and maybe a part of him

    already suspects that I¡¯d heard everything he¡¯d said. Still, he doesn¡¯t bother to ask me for a third time.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back as fast as I can.¡± He promises me.

    The second he shuts the door behind him, everything falls apart. I¡¯m screaming, crying, throwing up in

    the bathroom.

    I stay on the tiled floor for a long time before walking to the bed and searching for my diary. When I

    found it, I grabbed the pen and started writing.

    My dearest husband,

    Here is where our story ends. Afterst night, I thought things between us would finally improve. I

    thought I would finally have your heart. Now I know there was never a chance for that in this life. Your

    heart is and always has been my sister¡¯s. I¡¯m sorry for loving you so much. I¡¯m sorry for making you do

    something that you regret. I¡¯m sorry for everything Anya did to you. I¡¯m sorry I could never be anything

    like her. I wanted to be strong; I wanted to stay for you. I wanted to make this marriage work. I can¡¯t

    take the pain anymore, Dante. I can¡¯t. My heart is bleeding, and there is nothing I can do to stop it. If

    you ever read this, please know that I love you more than I¡¯ve ever loved anyone else. The happiest

    moments of my life were spent with you. Last night, you gave me a part of you, and I¡¯m taking it with

    me for the rest of my life. I love you, and I hope that you can be happy. I know that I make everything

    worse for you; now that I¡¯m no longer here, you can find your peace again.

    I couldn¡¯t stop the tears as I took the ring off my finger and ced it on the desk beside the diary.

    This was the best thing I could do for him. He was not ready for marriage and may never be. I couldn¡¯t

    keep forcing him to have feelings for me.

    It was time for me to go.

    I couldn¡¯t say goodbye to everyone else; I knew they would call Dante or try to stop me.

    I had to leave when no one was watching me.

    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    I didn¡¯t want to say goodbye, but I had to. I had to be strong. I needed to be strong. I had to prove that I

    could survive on my own.

 Chapter 238

    Chapter 238

    Chapter 239

    Book 3 Chapter 74

    ~WILLOW~

    I¡¯d safely made it out of the house without anyone seeing me. I didn¡¯t leave a note, but if I ever saw

    them in the future, I would give them a proper apology for leaving without an exnation.

    I didn¡¯t just love Dante; I loved his entire family. They epted me despite everything my sister tried to

    do. She¡¯d done unimaginable things and they still treated me like their own. This is thest thing I

    wanted to do to Dante and his family but I had to do this. It may be hard at first but maybe we could

    both be happier after this.

    I took a deep breath and wiped my tears from my face. I could barely see through them. Everything

    was blurry, and my mind felt foggy.

    I don¡¯t know how long I walked, but I eventually saw a woman driving slowly next to me. Thankfully she

    stopped and dropped me close to the ce I once called home. It was my very first home. We¡¯d moved

    around a few times, but this was where I had all my childhood memories.

    My mother never exined why we had to move so much, but now I had an idea. She moved because

    she wanted to be closer to Dante and his family. Her entire life revolved around them.

    This pain, it must be my punishment for the things they¡¯d done. It had to be. I was paying for their

    mistakes.

    I didn¡¯t think it was possible to ever recover from this heartache.

    Before I could walk into the house, I felt a shiver down my spine. I looked around me but couldn¡¯t see

    anyone. Suddenly, I was reminded that there was a possibility that someone could be after me. I wasn¡¯t

    thinking about my safety when I left Dante. I was only thinking about his happiness. I knew he would be

    happier without me there.

    I would no longer be a burden to him.

    My eyes widen when a car pulls to my side, and two women step out. They were dressed in all ck

    and had shades over their eyes.

    ¡°Get in the car!¡± One of them orders me. ¡°Now!¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± I demand as I take a step back.

    ¡°We will exin everything in the car, but you must trust us. If you don¡¯t, your life will be in danger.¡±

    I don¡¯t know why I believed their words but I felt like I could trust them. I quickly got in after them, and

    within seconds they were driving away.

    ¡°How much time do we have, Daisy?¡± The girl with blue hair asks.

    ¡°Enough,¡± Daisy answers her.

    ¡°I¡¯m Dana.¡± She introduces herself. ¡°And this is my sister Daisy. We work for your mother.¡±

    My eyes widen at her words.

    My mother?

    ¡°You work for mom?¡± I ask. ¡°But I¡¯ve never seen either of you in my life. If you work with her, I should

    have met you at least once.¡±

    I knew my mother was involved in some crazy stuff, but I didn¡¯t think she had women like this working

    for her. They looked skilled and like they knew how to fight.

    They look at each other for a few seconds. ¡°Should we tell her?¡± Dana asks her sister.

    ¡°Tell me what?¡± I demand. ¡°Why is my life in danger? I¡¯ve harmed no one. Why would anyone want to

    hurt me?¡±

    Did this mean someone was really after me the night Dante lost his Jeep?

    Was someone trying to hurt me that night?

    ¡°The woman you thought was your mother all these years is not your birth mother, Willow,¡± Daisy says

    suddenly.

    I could hear ringing in my ears at her words.

    What on earth was she saying? How was she not my birth mother? She had to be. There were no

    signs that she wasn¡¯t my real mother. Why were they telling me this now? What did they want?

    ¡°Is this some kind of joke?¡± I demand. ¡°Did Dante send you two to find me?¡±

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    That would make more sense than what they were trying to tell me. He must have read my diary and

    sent these women to bring me back. His family was wealthy and powerful; he could easily send people

    for me.

    I wasn¡¯t going back. Not after what I¡¯d heard him say.

    ¡°Dante?¡± Dana asks. ¡°The man you married?¡±

    I nod. ¡°You don¡¯t have to pretend in front of me. I know he sent you. You can drop me here; I¡¯m not

    returning to him.¡±

    ¡°Willow,¡± Daisy tells me calmly. ¡°We are not here because of Dante. He did not send us. We¡¯ve been

    following you for a while now. We wouldn¡¯t reveal ourselves until we were sure you needed us. And

    today, you need us. Cassius is after you. If he finds you, you¡¯ll be dead.¡±

    I¡¯ll be what?

    Who the hell was Cassius, and why did he want to kill me?

 Chapter 239

    Chapter 239

    Chapter 240

    Book 3 Chapter 75

    ~DANTE~

    I had this uneasy feeling in my chest. I am terrified that Willow heard what I¡¯d said to Atticus. It has

    been on my mind ever since I left home. I kept repeating my words in my head and thinking how she

    would interpret them.

    She imed that she was in the room the entire time, but I could tell that something was bothering her.

    I¡¯d gotten the book she wanted me to find, but that¡¯s not all I brought back. I had balloons and roses

    and teddy bears¡ªeverything you could give a woman after what she¡¯d given to mest night. But

    nothing could everpare to what she offered mest night.

    It was a night I would never forget. Willow brought me the kind of pleasure I didn¡¯t think possible. I

    didn¡¯t care that she¡¯dpletely drained mest night. I was happy to be of service to her. Despite the

    guilt in my heart, I would do it again.

    If she¡¯d heard me, I had to find a way to apologize. She was never supposed to hear that conversation

    with Atticus. It was supposed to be between the two of us. I was having a mental breakdown, and I said

    some things that I shouldn¡¯t have.

    I would go down on my knees and beg for her forgiveness if I had to. A part of me was still hoping that

    she hadn¡¯t heard anything. A part of me was praying that she was telling the truth.

    ¡°Wow!¡± Griffin says when he sees me walking into the house with my hands full. ¡°Is all of that for me?¡±

    ¡°Get out of my way Griffin,¡± I growl.

    My words offended him, ¡°Who screwed with you this morning?¡±

    ¡°No one screwed with him.¡± rissaughs. ¡°He¡¯s just excited to get back to his wife. I have no clue

    what the two of them were up tost night but judging by the love bites on Willow this morning; I¡¯m sure

    it¡¯s something special mixed with some spice.¡±

    I freeze in my spot. Did she see Willow this morning?

    I dropped everything onto the ground and turned to look at her. ¡°You saw Willow this morning?¡±

    Autumn walks in just then, ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡±

    I swallow as I try to collect my thoughts. My head felt like it was about to explode.

    ¡°I left Willow in my bed this morning. She was asleep. Then I went to have a conversation with Atticus.¡±

    I tried to exin, but the words weren¡¯ting out fast enough. ¡°Did she leave the room while I was

    speaking to him?¡±

    Autumn looked at rissa; they both didn¡¯t understand why I was behaving this way.

    ¡°She did,¡± Autumn answers me. ¡°We saw her earlier, and she looked excited to find you. She asked us

    where you were, and we told her you were conversing with Atticus. Is something wrong?¡±

    ¡°f**k!¡± I shout.

    I don¡¯t wait to answer any of their questions. I had to tell Willow I was so deeply sorry.

    I was racing up the stairs; I didn¡¯t stop running until I¡¯d barged into the room. My heart drops when I

    don¡¯t see her lying on the bed where I left her earlier.

    ¡°Willow?¡± I call. I walk over to the bathroom and knock on the door. There was no response. I leaned

    against it; there was no sounding from inside.

    ¡°Willow?¡± I try one more time.

    ¡°What the hell is going on, Dante?¡± Damon asks me as he barges into the room with everyone else.

    I ignored him as I knocked on the bathroom door onest time.

    ¡°Dante!¡± rissa shouts my name. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡±

    I can¡¯t pay attention to anyone else but Willow right now. I pushed the door open, and I felt even worse

    when the bathroom was empty. There was no sign of her in the room.

    ¡°Where is Willow?¡± I demand.

    They all look at each other in confusion.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t she supposed to be in here?¡± Autumn asks me. ¡°None of us has seen her since she asked us

    where to find you. Didn¡¯t shee to meet you this morning while you were speaking with Atticus?¡±

    My brother walks in just then and senses the tension in the room.

    ¡°What did I miss?¡±

    ¡°Dante is acting weird, Atticus,¡± Autumn exins to him. ¡°Did Willow note to the room earlier while

    you two were conversing? Did she not meet Dante?¡±

    His eyes widen at her question. He immediately looks at me. He was there; he knew someone had

    heard us. We were both worried that it was Willow. This was the confirmation we needed.

    ¡°She heard us?¡± He asks in disbelief. ¡°She heard everything you said?¡±

    I ignore him as I barge out of the room, shouting her name.

    I wouldn¡¯t stop until I searched every corner of the house. She had to be around here somewhere. She

    wouldn¡¯t just disappear like that. And she wouldn¡¯t leave without telling me first.

    Everyone joined me in searching for her. When it was evident that she wasn¡¯t in the house, I went out

    to meet the guards. If she left, they would have seen her.

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    ¡°Did my wife leave?¡± I demand from the first one I see.

    He nods, ¡°She left almost two hours ago Mr. Fawn. Right after you left.¡±

    My blood runs cold at his words.

    She left?

 Chapter 240

    Chapter 240

    Chapter 241

    Book 3 Chapter 76

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°Who is Cassius?¡± I demand. ¡°What does he want with me? Why does he want me dead?¡±

    Daisy looks at Dana and they¡¯re both not making this easier for me. My head feels like it¡¯s spinning.

    ¡°Because you and your sisters are the only ones in this world with the power to defeat him and his

    sisters,¡± Dana answers me.

    The silence that follows makes both girls look at me for confirmation that I¡¯d heard them.

    This had to be a joke. I didn¡¯t have any power. Why were these people messing with me?

    If they were trying to make fun of me, they could stop, I wasn¡¯t falling for this. Maybe these were two

    girls crazy about Dante and they were finding ways to drive me insane. He had plenty of stalkers, I

    wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they belonged to that group.

    ¡°I only had one sister. Her name was Anya, and she¡¯s dead.¡± I inform them. ¡°I think you have the wrong

    girl. Maybe there¡¯s another Willow out there that you should be searching for. I would really love it if

    you¡¯d both let me go. I have to be somewhere soon.¡±

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    That was a lie. I didn¡¯t have a ce I stay but these women didn¡¯t need to know that.

    Daisy sighs, ¡°I know this isn¡¯t easy for you to ept. Anya¡¯s real father kidnapped you and gave you to

    Anya¡¯s mother to hide. He had an argument with your father; they were friends once, that¡¯s until your

    father found out that he was stealing from him. When he asked him to leave, he did but he took you

    with him. They couldn¡¯t find you because Anya¡¯s mother kept moving, and we couldn¡¯t search for you

    when we didn¡¯t know where to look. The only possible way to locate you was if your power started to

    activate. And it did.¡± She says looking at me. ¡°We know you¡¯ve been fainting; your body sometimes

    gets as cold as ice. It¡¯s your power surfacing. You¡¯re not sick, Willow.¡±

    ¡°My father?¡± I ask with wide eyes. They knew about my sickness? This kept on getting creepier by the

    second.

    Dana nods, ¡°When your father found Anya¡¯s father, he fought with him. He wanted information on your

    whereabouts. He didn¡¯t want to stop fighting until he¡¯d found you. Unfortunately, they both died that day

    and still, there was no news of where you were.¡±

    My heart aches at this, even though I¡¯d never met him.

    ¡°How am I supposed to believe any of this?¡± I demand. ¡°The only sign that any of this is true happens

    to be the one thing that points to me being sick.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not sick,¡± Dana assured me. ¡°Your sisters all share a close resemnce to you. You¡¯re triplets.

    I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed that you never looked like Anya or her mother. It¡¯s because you were never

    rted to them.¡±

    This was all so much for me to take in. How am I supposed to believe any of this without any solid

    proof? Did I really have two sisters that looked like me?

    The only way for me to find out the truth was to stay in this vehicle with these strangers.

    ¡°You said that Cassius has sisters. Are they all evil?¡± I ask. ¡°Who are they? What do they want?¡±

    Daisy takes a deep breath, ¡°You know his sisters, but before we can tell you about them. You should

    know the story of their father. His name was Azai Reign, and he was the most powerful sorcerer alive.

    He wanted to use his power for evil. He wanted to rule the world. Luckily, the mother of his children

    realized the monster he truly was and killed him. He also had triplets. They were all separated at one

    point. No one knew who they were until now. The girls seem innocent so far, but eventually, the evil

    inside of them will take over. Cassius, their brother, he¡¯s the opposite. He already has evil running

    through his veins. He¡¯s just like his father, and he wants revenge for his death. He wants to finish what

    his father started. His first step is to get rid of you and your sisters. He knows the three of you could kill

    him. You¡¯re his only weakness.¡±

    The more I heard about this story, the more frightened I became.

    I¡¯ve been so lost and in love with Dante that I had no idea what was happening around me.

    ¡°Cassius isn¡¯t stupid,¡± Dana informs me. ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to reveal himself yet. And he knows it

    wouldn¡¯t have been easy to get to you without revealing himself since you are married to Dante. That¡¯s

    why this was the perfect opportunity for him to get you. Luckily, we were also keeping an eye on you

    and were able to get to you first.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe this. If they hadn¡¯t found me, Cassius would have killed me. And that¡¯s not even the

    craziest part.

    My mother and sister weren¡¯t actually rted to me all this time. Was this why I was so different from

    them?

    ¡°Your fate was to marry into that family, the Fawns.¡± Dana informs me. ¡°It was meant to happen. It

    allowed you to get closer to the enemy. This will give you an advantage. Your job is to kill Cassius and

    his sisters.¡±

    ¡°Get closer to the enemy?¡± I ask, clueless. ¡°What are you talking about? Which one of the Fawns is my

    enemy?¡±

    ¡°We mentioned before that you know both of Cassius¡¯s sisters. He needs both of them to finish what

    his father started. Once he awakens the evil inside of them, he will get his wish. This is where you and

    your sisters will have to step in. Before this happens, you must kill all three of them.¡± Daisy informs me.

    ¡°Who are his sisters?¡± It felt like they were intentionally not telling me who they were.

    ¡°Autumn and rissa Fawn. They are the daughters of Azai Reign, destined to join forces with their

    brother and cause destruction to everything around them.¡±

 Chapter 241

    Chapter 241

    Chapter 242

    Book 3 Chapter 77

    ~DANTE~

    I rush into my room, hoping to find something, anything that could help me find Willow. Maybe she went

    somewhere to cool her mind. But that wasn¡¯t like her. She never went ces by herself. She never left

    without anyone knowing where she was.

    I rush over to the desk, and my eyes fall on a small object that makes my insides churn ufortably.

    Her ring. She took it off.

    I picked it up into my hand and held onto it tightly. This wasn¡¯t f*****g happening. She wouldn¡¯t leave

    me. Willow would never leave me. She promised to fight for this marriage. She promised me that she

    wouldn¡¯t give up on me.

    Her diary was next to it. I used her once of writing spells in there. I gently took it into my hands and

    sat on the edge of the bed. I had to be seated for this. My knees felt weak.

    I didn¡¯t know where Willow went, but the fact that she left her ring meant that she wasn¡¯t nning on

    coming back.

    I take another look at her diary.

    If she left it here, she must have wanted me to read it.

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    Please let there be something inside here to lead me to her.

    The first three words hit my heart.

    My dearest husband.

    Her entire diary, was filled with letters to me. I swallow hard and f****d myself to keep reading even

    though my heart was begging me to stop.

    Today you held me in your arms while I was unconscious. You were the first person I saw after waking

    up. Your eyes were filled with concern I¡¯ve never seen before. My heart flutters whenever I¡¯m reminded

    of how worried you were about me. I wish that one day I could tell you how I truly feel. I wish that one

    day I would feel your lips on mine¡­

    f**k.

    Reading this made me feel a hundred times worse.

    I turned the page and held my breath. I couldn¡¯t stop reading. Every word of hers felt like a f*****g d**g I

    couldn¡¯t get enough of. I was holding onto each word, hoping it would bring her closer to me.

    You kissed me for the first time. You¡¯ve done the one thing I¡¯ve been dreaming about since I married

    you. However, I felt hurt when you said my sister¡¯s name. You were thinking of her the entire time. I do

    not me you; I know you love her, and our marriage was f****d onto you. Still, my heart doesn¡¯t know

    how to forget your lips on mine. And I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible ever to forget.

    I closed my eyes and tried to find the strength to continue. She¡¯d wanted me to kiss her. And the first

    time that I did, I was thinking of Anya. What the f**k was wrong with me?

    Today I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry for asking for something you weren¡¯t ready to give me. I¡¯m sorry for telling

    you I think I¡¯m in love with you. I¡¯m sorry for making everything so much harder for you. I¡¯m sorry you

    were f****d to marry me by my sister. I¡¯m sorry you were f****d to do a ritual that may or may not

    guarantee a long marriage to me. I¡¯m not sorry for the feelings in my heart. I¡¯m not sorry for loving

    someone like you. I¡¯m not sorry that even though my sister didn¡¯t love you, I still do. I¡¯m not sorry that I

    got to experience such pleasures with your tongue. I¡¯m not sorry that my taste is still in your mouth. I¡¯m

    not sorry that I¡¯ll go to sleep smelling like you tonight. I¡¯m not sorry that I¡¯ll dream of today for the rest of

    my life.

    I closed the book and moved it to the side of me. I couldn¡¯t keep reading. The guilt inside of me was

    increasing with each page that I turned. I never wanted to hurt Willow. I always wanted to protect her. I

    married her too quickly. I should have healed from losing Anya before I made her my wife. I married her

    because of Anya, but I stayed married only because of her.

    All of this happened because I couldn¡¯t just be a f*****g man. All I had to do was push my past behind

    me and focus on my present life with Willow.

    Unlike Anya, Willow loved me with all her heart. She¡¯d given me a life I couldn¡¯t even dream of having

    with her sister. And now, she¡¯d taken that life with her. Without her, I was left with nothing but f*****g

    pain.

    I had to get her back. I had to find her and apologize. I had to tell her that even though I loved Anya,

    she was in the past. I had to promise her that I wouldn¡¯t ever put her sister above her ever again. I had

    to beg her to give me onest chance.

    This time I wouldn¡¯t f*****g mess it up. I would love her the way she deserved to be loved.

    I grabbed the diary once more. If I wanted to find her, I had to keep reading. I had to hope that there

    was something in here to help me.

    I kept reading until I reached thest page. I could feel my heartbeat increase with each new word.

    If you ever read this, please know that I love you more than I¡¯ve ever loved anyone else. The happiest

    moments of my life were spent with you.

    I felt a tear roll down my cheek, it was a reflection of what I felt inside. I was slowly slipping into

    depression.

    I held her diary to my chest; nothing here could lead me to her. She¡¯d left me, and I had no clue where

    to start searching.

    Why did I do this? Why did I ruin the one good thing in my life?

    ¡°Did she leave behind anything?¡± Atticus asks as he rushes in with Autumn behind him.

    ¡°She¡¯s gone,¡± I say with no emotion. I was about to lose myposure.

    Everything was taking its slow time to sink in. I knew the second it did; I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back

    my emotions.

    ¡°What do you mean gone?¡± Autumn demands.

    ¡°She left her ring behind,¡± I say. ¡°She heard a stupid conversation I had with Atticus earlier. I said some

    things that I didn¡¯t mean. I was in shock. I was thinking about Anya. . .¡±

    I couldn¡¯t finish my sentence.

    ¡°She¡¯s gone,¡± I whisper in disbelief.

    ¡°We will find her,¡± Atticus promises me. ¡°She couldn¡¯t have gone far.¡±

    She¡¯s gone.

    Willow¡¯s gone.

    She left me.

    What was this excruciating pain in my heart? I clutched my chest and stayedpletely still.

    It hurt.

    It f*****g hurt so much.

 Chapter 242

    Chapter 242

    Chapter 243

    Book 3 Chapter 78

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°Get me out of this vehicle!¡± I shout. ¡°Now!¡±

    These people were insane. ording to them, my job was to kill Autumn and rissa along with their

    brother. I didn¡¯t even know they had a brother. I would never harm anyone rted to Dante¡¯s family. I

    was not my sister. I would not hurt them.

    ¡°We know you¡¯ve gotten close to them, but trust us when we say they wouldn¡¯t always be how you

    remember them.¡± Dante tries to exin to me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you say. Autumn and rissa are two of the nicest girls I¡¯ve ever met. There isn¡¯t a

    drop of evil inside of them. If you think that there¡¯s even the slightest chance that I would harm them,

    you are dreaming!¡± I shout.

    ¡°If we let you out of this vehicle, Cassius will kill you!¡± Dana shouts. ¡°We are the ones sacrificing our

    lives to protect you. If the world didn¡¯t depend on you, we would have easily done what you¡¯re asking

    for. Unfortunately, all of our lives depend on you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to respond to that. I angrily fold my arms and stare out of the window. They seemed

    convinced I was this chosen girl destined to save the world.

    My life kept spiraling out of control. First, it was losing Anya, falling in love with Dante, and now this. I

    couldn¡¯t catch a break.

    ¡°We¡¯re already here,¡± Daisy says to me gently. She seemed to be the kinder one. ¡°You¡¯ll be safe here.

    Cassius wouldn¡¯t risking here when he knows all three of you are together. He will only attack

    when you¡¯re alone.¡±

    I slowly got out of the vehicle. I was surprised to see a small cottage. I wasn¡¯t sure what I was

    expecting. It wasn¡¯t this.

    ¡°It¡¯s an illusion,¡± Daisy informs me. ¡°When you walk inside, you¡¯ll see what I mean.¡±

    I follow them into the house, surprised to see everything empty.

    ¡°Keep walking.¡± They tell me. ¡°We have to go underground.¡±

    I entered an elevator and then we stepped out

    I walk through another door and then another. When I stepped through thest one, I was met with a

    massive structure. It didn¡¯t look like a house; it looked like a training institution.

    There were women and men with arrows aimed at targets. Some of them had weapons I¡¯d never seen

    in my life before.

    Were they all preparing to fight against Cassius?

    ¡°Everyone has one mission and one mission only. To kill Cassius and his sisters.¡± Dana says as if

    reading my mind. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t been separated from your family, you would have the same goals as

    everyone else. Once you¡¯re reunited with them, it¡¯s expected that youply.¡±

    Did these people seriously think that I would kill two of the closest people to me? I loved Autumn and

    rissa like my own sisters. I would never harm them, even if their brother had evil intentions. If any of

    this was true, then there must be another way to get rid of Cassius. We shouldn¡¯t have to kill them all.

    Shouldn¡¯t we be able to kill him only? Shouldn¡¯t that be enough?

    We walked into an all-white room. Everything was white, including the furniture, and the curtains. Even

    the woman standing near the window had white clothes on and even the hair on her head was white.

    ¡°She¡¯s here, Madam.¡±

    The woman slowly turns to look at me. She doesn¡¯t run to hug me like a mother would who hadn¡¯t seen

    her missing daughter in years. Instead, she stands there and studies me. She¡¯s taking me in slowly.

    Was she trying to confirm if I was indeed her daughter?

    ¡°I told them they had the wrong person,¡± I tell her. ¡°I told them I¡¯m not your daughter. I don¡¯t have any

    power. I¡¯m not who you¡¯re looking for.¡±

    She looks at Dana and Daisy. Then she bursts intoughter.

    Did I say something hrious?

    ¡°I guess you are my daughter.¡± She says as she continues tough. ¡°Your sisters are the same. Always

    disagreeing with Dana and Daisy.¡±

    ¡°Why am I here?¡± I demand. ¡°You don¡¯t look like someone who hasn¡¯t seen her daughter in years. I

    expected a different reaction.¡±

    Her eyes soften, ¡°affection isn¡¯t something I show to my children. It will make them weak. I need all

    three of my girls to be physically and mentally strong.¡±

    No affection? None at all?

    ¡°Still, it¡¯s been years, and I was supposedly kidnapped.¡± I remind her. ¡°For all you know, I could have

    been dead.¡±

    She nods, ¡°will a handshake make you feel better?¡±

    I exhale in frustration. This was not what I expected.

    ¡°Is she in here?¡± I hear a feminine voice ask as the door opens once more.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    I turn toward the sound, and I¡¯m surprised to see two beautiful women walking toward me. I

    immediately know who they are without having to ask.

    They weren¡¯t lying. I shared a striking resemnce to both of them. It was all the proof I needed.

    These people were my real family.

    This was my home?

    ¡°Sister!¡±

    Before she can approach me, her mother stops her. Should I also call her my mother? She was my

    birth mother after all but I didn¡¯t feel the connection.

    ¡°We don¡¯t show emotions, Caroline.¡± She reminds her. ¡°No hugging. Just greet her.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, mother.¡± Caroline apologizes. ¡°It won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    She turns to me and gives me a tiny smile. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you finally, Willow. We¡¯ve been waiting a

    long time to be reunited with you, my sister.¡±

    ¡°Your turn, Winter. Introduce yourself to your sister.¡± Mother says.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Willow. I hope you¡¯ve been well.¡± She greets me.

    Well?

    My life kept moving from bad to worse.

    How on earth did I get out of this situation?

 Chapter 243

    Chapter 243

    Chapter 244

    Book 3 Chapter 79

    ~DANTE~

    ¡°What do you mean she just disappeared?¡± I roar.

    I¡¯d gathered as many of our men as I could. I had people searching every f*****g area close to home,

    and somehow no one knew anything about Willow or where she could be.

    ¡°She¡¯s my wife!¡± I shout. ¡°My wife! I want her back home with me! Do whatever you must to find her. I

    don¡¯t care what it¡¯s going to cost me. I¡¯ll give everything to have her home back with me. Do you f*****g

    understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± They all say before dispatching.

    I was trying hard not to crumble in front of everyone, but Willow¡¯sst words kept repeating in my head.

    She thought I would be happier without her. She left because she felt like that¡¯s what I would want.

    She was wrong, so terribly wrong.

    She doesn¡¯t understand how much worse losing her made everything else. I was trying my f*****g best

    to get Anya out of my heart and mind for her. I was doing everything, but f**k, I¡¯d still managed to mess

    everything up. I¡¯d still managed to f*****g hurt her.

    How could I even be considered a man after what I did to her? She¡¯s my wife. I¡¯m supposed to love,

    cherish and protect her heart. I did the exact opposite of that. I put someone who¡¯d hurt me multiple

    times above someone who¡¯s done nothing but wish me the best.

    I was a f*****g fool. A big one.

    ¡°You need to calm down.¡± Atticus tries to keep me rxed. ¡°If you want to find her, you must think

    clearly. We need to start with ces she¡¯s used to being. ces where Anya used to stay. She would

    most likely go anywhere that she once called home.¡±

    I take a deep breath. ¡°Are you sure? Wouldn¡¯t she want to stay away from ces she knows we will

    look for her?¡±

    He shrugs his shoulder. ¡°We don¡¯t know anything right now. It¡¯s best that we search everywhere we

    think she can be.¡±

    I angrily punch my hands down on the desk in front of me. The fragile thing breaks in half.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Atticus stops me before I can do more damage. ¡°Stop this, if you injure yourself, you¡¯re not going

    to be able to find her. We don¡¯t know where she is. She needs you to be on your best behavior. She

    doesn¡¯t know anyone out there, Dante. We need to find her quickly. If you care about her, you won¡¯t

    hurt yourself or even me yourself for her disappearance.¡±

    ¡°How can I not me myself?¡± I demand. ¡°I¡¯m the reason she left. She stayed with me despite every

    single thing I¡¯d done. I put Anya above her every f*****g chance that I got. Anya has done nothing for

    me, and Willow is the opposite of her. She loved me, Atticus. She loved me with her whole heart since

    the moment she met me. I feel like my chest is about to explode with pain.¡±

    I can¡¯t remember thest time I openly told my brother how I felt. I usually held back. But today, I

    couldn¡¯t. I needed someone to talk to. I needed someone to keep me sane. Willow was the only one

    who could do that for me, and she wasn¡¯t here.

    She wasn¡¯t here.

    She¡¯d left because of me. She¡¯d left because I¡¯d hurt her. She¡¯d left because I made her believe I would

    be happier without her.

    ¡°She loves you. You said so yourself.¡± He reminds me of my own words. ¡°If she truly does, she wouldn¡¯t

    be able to stay without you for long. She will return to you. But first, we will search; we will search every

    damn inch of this world if we have to.¡±

    I knew he was trying to cheer me up, but nothing could make me feel better until I saw Willow again.

    I wanted to hold her in my arms and beg for her forgiveness over and over again. I wanted to tell her

    that she was wrong; I wanted to tell her that she was the one I needed to be happy.

    I thought I was happy with Anya, but all she brought to me was pain. Willow was the one that brought

    me happiness.

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    I couldn¡¯t stay in my room anymore. Every single damn thing reminded me about her in there. Even the

    bedsheets still smelled like her. I refused to have them changed. They would stay the same until I

    found her back.

    Nothing in that room would change until I¡¯d brought Willow back home with me.

    ¡°I asked Austin and his family to help us,¡± Atticus informs me. ¡°They¡¯ve helped us so much in the past,

    and they¡¯re good regarding things like this. We will find her, Dante. I promise you; we will find Willow.¡±

 Chapter 244

    Chapter 244

    Chapter 245

    Book 3 Chapter 80

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°Is there any chance that I can leave here?¡± I asked the woman that was supposed to be my birth

    mother. ¡°Do I have a choice in this matter?¡±

    Her face gets serious at my question, even worse than before.

    ¡°You are not to leave this ce without my permission.¡± She orders me. ¡°Your sisters¡¯ lives were in

    danger the second you went missing. Cassius is getting stronger each day that goes by. The faith of

    the world lies in you and your sisters. Do not y with your life Willow.¡±

    I don¡¯t say anything in return.

    ¡°I heard that the woman who hid you from us has died.¡± She tells me. ¡°While her death brought me

    great joy, I know it must not have been easy for you. How have you been taking the death of that

    devious woman and her daughter?¡±

    I swallowed, and while they weren¡¯t the best people, I still loved them. It wasn¡¯t easy hearing my birth

    mother speak about their deaths like it was nothing. However, I had to remind myself that she couldn¡¯t

    show emotions.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy, but Dante and his family were there for me the entire time. Because of them, I was able

    to recover from the pain.¡± I answer her.

    She nods, ¡°It¡¯s quite unfortunate that you¡¯re going to have to fight all of them in the near future.¡±

    My eyes widen, ¡°all of them?¡±

    She quirks a brow at me and walks over to her chair. ¡°Did you think they would just sit back and let you

    hurt Autumn and rissa? That entire family cares about those girls. You¡¯ll have to kill all of them to

    get to those two. I¡¯m sorry you had to get close to them. If that horrible man hadn¡¯t taken you from us,

    you wouldn¡¯t have even met the Fawns until it was the right time.¡±

    She leans back against her chair and sighs, ¡°Because of him, I have to start all over from the

    beginning. You know nothing of your power. I have to teach you everything that your sisters already

    know. You¡¯re the weakest one among you three. You¡¯re very emotional, and you¡¯re physically weak. We

    don¡¯t have much time, but training must start from today. Some training is still better than none.¡±

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°like I told Dana, I won¡¯t hurt Autumn and rissa. They are like family to me.¡±

    She ms her hands down on her desk, ¡°And we are your blood. I made you. I gave birth to you. Do

    you think it was easy to learn about my children¡¯s future? It was tough, but I had toe to terms with

    it eventually. This is our life now. You need to understand the gravity of the situation. This isn¡¯t just

    about you, Willow; this concerns all of us. Autumn and rissa are the daughters of a sorcerer that

    wanted to kill us all. They must be stopped before Cassius gets to them.¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t we just kill Cassius?¡± I demand. ¡°He seems like the main threat. He¡¯s the evil one. rissa

    and Autumn are nice people. They wouldn¡¯t hurt anyone. Not intentionally.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°I can¡¯t have this conversation with you now. I have plenty of work to get to. We can

    continue thister.¡±

    ¡°But¡ª¡±

    ¡°Leave now, Willow.¡± She dismisses me.

    I angrily stormed out of her office. Caroline was already waiting for me at the door.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like that conversation went well between you and our mother.¡± She notes.

    ¡°How is she even a mother?¡± I demand. ¡°She doesn¡¯t care about me. She hasn¡¯t seen me in years, and

    she already acts like I¡¯m a disappointment.¡±

    She lightly pats my shoulder, ¡°I promise you that she cares. She has a lot on her shoulders and tries to

    act emotionless. We¡¯ve been around her long enough to know that she actually does care about us.

    She just doesn¡¯t know how to show it.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t kill Autumn and rissa. I can¡¯t hurt two people that I love.¡± I try to tell her. Maybe she could

    help me; she showed much more emotion than everyone else.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Willow.¡± She apologizes to me. ¡°You don¡¯t know what they are capable of. Cassius has the

    power to control them if he gets to them. All he needs is their trust, and it will be over for the rest of us.¡±

    ¡°Then why can¡¯t we warn them instead of trying to hurt them?¡± I demand.

    She¡¯s about to respond when everything begins to spin.

    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Willow?¡±

    That¡¯s thest thing I hear before everything goes nk.

    The next time I wake up, I¡¯m surrounded by my sisters and someone that looks like a doctor.

    ¡°She¡¯s awake!¡± Caroline shouts with excitement.

    ¡°Is my power causing this?¡± I ask them. ¡°That¡¯s what Dana and Daisy told me in the car. I¡¯ve been

    fainting a lot more than usual after my mother¡¯s death. I thought I was sick. Now, I know that I¡¯m not.¡±

    The doctor looks concerned as she ces her pen on the table beside me. She removes her sses,

    and it looks like she¡¯s about to tell me some bad news.

    ¡°This fainting had nothing to do with your power surfacing.¡± She exins. ¡°There¡¯s apletely

    different reason for it.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Does it mean that I was truly sick? Did I not have long to live?

    She takes a deep breath before she speaks again.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯re pregnant, Willow.¡±

 Chapter 245

    Chapter 245

    Chapter 246

    Book 3 Chapter 81

    ~WILLOW~

    I fainted for the second time in one day. I had hoped I was dreaming when I opened my eyes, but

    Caroline was there to remind me that I was pregnant.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t even allowed to be with a man.¡± She tells me. ¡°Our mother is very strict about that. She

    didn¡¯t get the chance to control your life, but she has been controlling ours.¡±

    Maybe it wasn¡¯t such a bad thing that she was controlling their lives. They weren¡¯t the ones pregnant

    for a man in love with their sister.

    Pregnant.

    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    I was pregnant with Dante¡¯s child.

    I ce one hand over my tummy and felt a sense of pride hit me all at once. Not once did I think about

    getting pregnant the night we consummated our marriage. This was quite a shock to me.

    I was given such happy news, but Dante was not here to celebrate it. But would he have celebrated it?

    He wouldn¡¯t want to have a baby with me, not when he was still in love with Anya. Our baby would be a

    mistake to him.

    I could see the look of disappointment on his face in my mind. I didn¡¯t want to think about it. I wanted to

    pretend that there was a world where Dante would be happy with the news of our baby.

    It didn¡¯t matter if he didn¡¯t want our baby because I knew that I would love our child with my whole

    heart. I would love our baby so much that he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about his father.

    ¡°You can¡¯t let our mother know this,¡± Winter warns me. ¡°She will force you to get rid of your baby.¡±

    Caroline nods, ¡°Mother is kind at heart, but she doesn¡¯t like to show it. She doesn¡¯t care about anything

    but getting rid of Azai¡¯s offspring.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re willing to keep this secret of mine even though it could get you in trouble?¡± I ask, surprised by

    their kindness.

    Why would they do this for me? It¡¯s true that we were sisters, but they grew up together. I was nowhere

    around for a bond to form between us.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Caroline assured me. ¡°You¡¯re our sister. Even though you didn¡¯t grow up with us, you¡¯re

    still one of us. We will do anything and everything to protect you and your unborn child.¡±

    My heart warms at their kindness.

    ¡°I hope that one day I can repay your kindness,¡± I whisper.

    Winter nods, ¡°You can by helping us to stop Cassius and his sisters from destroying our world.¡±

    I stiffen at her words. ¡°rissa and Autumn are family to me. I will not be able to hurt them, and I will

    fight anyone who tries to harm them.¡±

    I don¡¯t hesitate to tell them what I feel about their n.

    Winter looks at Caroline, and I can see that my words didn¡¯t make this easier for us.

    ¡°Is there some way that we can stop Cassius without harming them?¡± I ask. ¡°I¡¯ll do anything to protect

    them.¡±

    Caroline sighs, ¡°If we get to Cassius before he can manipte them into helping him, we might have a

    chance. However, if we cannot stop him, we must choose between them and the world. That decision

    will be in your hands, Willow.¡±

    A part of me still wished that all of this was a lie. I was pregnant, and so many dangers were lying

    ahead of me. I wanted a normal life with my baby and my loved ones by my side. It didn¡¯t seem like I

    would be so lucky to have that.

    ¡°How soon do you want to challenge Cassius?¡± I ask them. ¡°We need to do it before your mother

    realizes that I¡¯m pregnant. I don¡¯t want anything to happen to my baby. I will fight with my life to protect

    my child.¡±

    Caroline nods, ¡°The faster we get rid of him, the faster we can return to normal lives. There¡¯s just one

    problem. You have no experience, unlike Winter and me. Mother will not be willing to attack him when

    you have zero control of your power.¡±

    It was true. I wasn¡¯t even aware that I had any power until now.

    It means that I have to try as hard as I can to impress my birth mother and prove to her that I can win a

    fight against Cassius Reign. I had to prove to her that I was strong enough to take him down with my

    sisters by my side.

    It was up to me to show her that I wasn¡¯t weak.

    If my sisters and I could defeat him, then Autumn and rissa would be safe. They would be able to

    live their lives peacefully. That¡¯s all I wanted. For Dante and his family to be happy and away from all

    danger.

    ¡°Can you please help train me?¡± I ask. ¡°I prefer if my sisters train me rather than a stranger.¡±

    Caroline smiles, ¡°I¡¯ll talk to our mother. I will convince her you¡¯ll learn faster if we train you.¡±

    ¡°We will make you as strong as us in no time,¡± Winter assures me.

    Without their mother, they seemed a lot more gentle and caring. They are f****d to act emotionless, just

    like her, whenever she¡¯s around. I much prefer this side of them.

    ¡°Defeating Cassius will not be easy,¡± Winter warns me. ¡°There is even a chance that none of us will

    make it. It¡¯s a sacrifice we must make for the sake of everyone else. You must be prepared to lose

    everything, Willow.¡±

 Chapter 246

    Chapter 246

    Chapter 247

    Book 3 Chapter 82

    ~DANTE~

    It¡¯s been more than one week since I¡¯dst seen Willow. More than one f*****g week. I¡¯ve searched

    every damn corner of this ce, and there hasn¡¯t been any clue pointing to her.

    Wherever she¡¯d gone, she was hidden well. Even Austin and his family were no help, and they were

    the very best.

    ¡°Someone must have taken her,¡± Hunter says. ¡°Willingly or unwillingly.¡±

    I closed my eyes; the thought of someone holding her against her will made me feel even worse than I

    already did.

    Each day that passed without Willow felt like t*****e. The pain only increased every second of every

    day.

    I hate myself for the things I¡¯d said after our night together.

    That was the best night of my f*****g life, and I messed it up because of my past.

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to stop the search anytime soon,¡± Austin assures me. ¡°When my sister went missing,

    and we couldn¡¯t find her, it was hell for us. I know what it feels like.¡±

    I nod, ¡°I appreciate it. I want Willow back. I¡¯m the reason she¡¯s gone, and I feel sick every time I think

    about what she went through because of me.¡±

    Austin sighs, ¡°We¡¯ve all done foolish things we wish we could take back. At least you realize your

    mistake. Once you get her back, please don¡¯t hold back; tell her how you truly feel. Trust me; she will

    forgive you.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s time we head back home,¡± James says as he checks the time.

    Hunter nods, ¡°Isabe must be restless. She¡¯s already upset she couldn¡¯t be here.¡±

    They were parents now; they couldn¡¯t be around as much as they could in the past when they didn¡¯t

    have babies to worry about.

    They say their goodbyes, and I watch them all leave. When I was left alone, I slowly walked back to my

    room. As usual, I¡¯m hit with a wave of sadness the second I step into it and don¡¯t see any signs of

    Willow. Even her scent was disappearing from the room, and I hated it. I tried to keep her in here with

    me, but everything was slowly fading with time.

    I grabbed my wallet and stormed out of the room. I don¡¯t stop until I¡¯m next to the fire pit. Without a

    second thought, I threw the damn thing into the fire.

    I should have done this a long time ago. I should have gotten rid of everything that reminded me of

    Anya. I shouldn¡¯t have made Willow feel like I didn¡¯t want her.

    I f*****g hate myself. I hate myself.

    I took too long to do it, and now it was toote. Willow was long gone, and it didn¡¯t look like she was

    returning to me. I grabbed more things I knew reminded me of Anya and angrily shoved everything into

    the fire. I didn¡¯t want anything reminding me of her anymore. I didn¡¯t want anything in my life that would

    push Willow further away from me. I was done with my past, f*****g done with it.

    Willow. Please. Pleasee back to me. Please.

    I couldn¡¯t even beg her because she was no longer around. I had no one to talk to.

    I angrily punched the wall over and over again.

    ¡°Dante!¡± My mother shouts. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    I don¡¯t stop despite her desperate pleas to stop me from hurting myself.

    She grabs my hand and tries to stop me from punching the wall again, ¡°Talk to me, son. Please.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t talk. I couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Dante!¡± She begs. ¡°Please. I¡¯m your mother. Tell me what¡¯s going on. What happened between you

    and Willow?¡±

    ¡°I made a mess of my life,¡± I whisper. ¡°Willow is gone, and it¡¯s all my fault. She isn¡¯ting back. I let

    my past ruin my future. I can¡¯t go on without her mother. She¡¯s my only reason for living, and she¡¯s

    gone.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that,¡± she whispers. ¡°We are all here for you. And Willow is a sweet girl; she wille back.

    She wouldn¡¯t leave you for long.¡±

    She only said these things tofort me, but it wouldn¡¯t work. It¡¯s the first time my mother isn¡¯t

    concerned about what the public would think about us.

    I haven¡¯t gone to the academy ever since Willow disappeared, and I don¡¯t n on going back until I

    have her in my life again. I couldn¡¯t focus on anything except her.

    ¡°If she knew how much pain you were in right now, I know she would return.¡± She tells me.

    I pause at her words.

    Why hadn¡¯t I thought about that before?

    Willow never liked to see me physically hurt. Her love for me was the reason she wouldn¡¯t be able to

    bear seeing me like that.

    I know what I had to do to get her back now.

    I had to get back in that ring and let my opponents beat the s**t out of me.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± I whisper as I hug my mom tightly. She tries to talk to me some more, but I¡¯m already out

    of the house before she can stop me.

    I knew no one around me would let me out of this house if they knew what I was up to; I couldn¡¯t let any

    of them know of my n to get Willow back to me.

    I quickly dialed the one number that would help me in this situation.

    ¡°What can I do for my favorite fighter?¡± he asks the second he answers the phone.

    ¡°I need you to set up some matches for me. I¡¯m going to lose each of them.¡± I tell him. ¡°It¡¯s not going to

    be likest time. This time I will lose every single one of these matches.¡± I promise him.

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    It was a promise I nned on keeping.

 Chapter 247

    Chapter 247

    Chapter 248

    Book 3 Chapter 83

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°My tummy is already showing, and it¡¯s only been a few days,¡± I whisper. ¡°How long will the baggy

    clothes be able to hide it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Caroline whispers back.

    We were trying to be as quiet as possible; we didn¡¯t need anyone hearing this and reporting it to my

    birth mother.

    I missed Dante every single day that went by. I knew I did the right thing by leaving, but that didn¡¯t

    make it easier. I wanted to see him, but even if I decided that I wanted to go back, there was no way

    that my birth mother would let me leave this ce. I was trapped here for a long time.

    They were convinced that Cassius was waiting for the right time to attack. I didn¡¯t even know what this

    man looked like. There were no pictures of him; I don¡¯t think they had even seen him. They just knew

    that he was waiting to kill us.

    I sighed as my thoughts went straight back to Dante.

    He was probably happy now that I was gone. He would be able to live his life more peacefully. He

    would no longer have to worry about hurting my feelings.

    This is what I wanted. It¡¯s why I left so that he could be happy again.

    I push thoughts of him out of my head. I started thinking about Cassius and how we would defeat him

    without harming rissa and Autumn.

    I¡¯ve been training for a few days now, and I haven¡¯t seen much improvement. I was nowhere close to

    my sisters and their advancement.

    I notice a few of the women looking at something on their phones. They were all glued to the screen

    like it was something important.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening there?¡± I ask Winter. ¡°What are they looking at?¡±

    She looks over at them. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ll go see.¡±

    Caroline and I wait for her to return.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing important.¡± She dismisses it.

    The women all look over at me after Winter said something to them.

    I could see them whispering in front of me. It was obvious that they didn¡¯t want me to know what they

    were talking about. I didn¡¯t like when anyone kept secrets from me.

    Winter looks at me then, and I can see the worry in her eyes. She quickly tries to hide it from me, and it

    only makes me feel more curious than before.

    She walks over to us, and instead of speaking to me, she pulls Caroline to the side and starts

    discussing with her. What were they keeping from me?

    ¡°I can see you.¡± I wave at them. ¡°I know you¡¯re trying to keep something from me. Just tell me what¡¯s

    going on.¡±

    They look at each other.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I ask Caroline a second time. ¡°What are the two of you keeping from me? Please

    tell me. Why does everyone seem to know something that clearly involves me?¡±

    They look a bit nervous to tell me. The longer they took to say anything, the more anxious I got.

    ¡°You¡¯re scaring me,¡± I admit. ¡°Did one of you finallye face to face with Cassius? Or did he threaten

    you guys over the phone?¡±

    Winter shook her head. ¡°No. That¡¯s not what we¡¯re talking about. This has nothing to do with Cassius.¡±

    ¡°Then tell me.¡± I insist. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about your husband.¡± Caroline finally answers me.

    I freeze at her words.

    My husband?

    What about Dante?

    ¡°Did something happen to him?¡± I demand. ¡°Is he looking for me?¡±

    For some reason, I felt excited at the thought of Dante searching for me.

    ¡°No, he isn¡¯t looking for you.¡± She sighs. ¡°He¡¯s kind of busy doing something else.¡±

    I pause. Doing something else? A million thoughts shed through my mind at those words. Was he

    already seeing someone else? That¡¯s not likely; he was too crazy about my sister to start seeing

    someone else the second I left.

    ¡°Let me see.¡±

    They hesitate once more.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is something you should see, Willow,¡± Winter tells me. ¡°I don¡¯t even think it¡¯s a good

    idea that we are discussing this right now. It¡¯s just a distraction, and it¡¯s thest thing you need right

    now. You already have too much to deal with.¡±

    I grab the phone from her and stare nkly at the video in front of me.

    ¡°What is this madness?¡± I demanded when I could find my voice again.

    ¡°The fighting ring. He¡¯s doing a fight every night for one week.¡± Winter exins. ¡°This is already his fifth

    night. He has two more left.¡±

    My eyes widen, ¡°this doesn¡¯t make any sense. Dante never loses his fight unless he wants to, and he¡¯s

    losing this one. He looks awful!¡±

    My heart hurts at his condition. What the hell was he doing to himself? Why was he just letting that man

    beat him like that?

    ¡°He¡¯s lost all other four matches.¡± She informs me. ¡°And he¡¯s going to lose the fifth. Maybe he¡¯s finally

    facing stronger opponents.¡±

    No.

    That couldn¡¯t be it. There has to be more to this.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you. He never loses a fight unless it¡¯s intentional!¡± I exim. I was beginning to panic.

    He was about to do this same thing to himself tomorrow night as well.This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard the opponent gets stronger each night,¡± Caroline whispers. ¡°It¡¯s only going to get worse from

    tonight.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t let this happen,¡± I whisper. ¡°I need to get there. I need to stop him before he does something

    stupid!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Winter demands. ¡°You can¡¯t leave here, Willow. It¡¯s unsafe, and our mother will never allow it!¡±

    ¡°I must!¡± I insist. ¡°Please. You need to let me go. I need to see Dante! I have to stop him!¡±

 Chatper 248

    <h2>Chapter 248 - The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn</h2>

    Book 3 -Chapter 84

    ~DANTE~

    "What the hell are you thinking?" Atticus demands from me. "Are you trying to get yourself fucking killed?"

    I re at him. "Do you know what it feels like when your wife leaves you, and you''re the fucking reason why?" I demand. "Do you know what that guilt feels like? I can''t fucking breathe without her Atticus. I''d rather die in that ring trying to get her back than sit back and do nothing."

    His jaw clenches. "Why the fuck do you think this stupid n of yours will work?" he demands.

    "Because she loves me." I roar. Then softer, "She loves me. Willow loves me. If she sees me getting my ass beat in that ring, she wille. I know she will."Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    He grabs me by my shirt, "And what if she isn''t even watching those matches? What if she doesn''t even know what you''re up to?"

    I angrily shove his hands off me. "It doesn''t matter. At least I know there''s a chance that she''s watching. At least I know there''s a tiny chance that she woulde. That''s all I need to know to continue with thesest two fights."

    He looks at me like I''d lost my mind. And maybe I have lost my mind. Willow is the only woman I''ll ever do something like this for. She''s the only woman I''ll sacrifice everything for. She''s the only woman that ever deserved everything I had to offer.

    "Everything you worked for, your reputation, is going down the drain. Your opponents see you as a joke now!" He snaps. "I''ve never been supportive of this side of you. I''ve never liked seeing you in those fights, but I''ve grown to ept it because I saw how good you were and what it was doing for you. Now, I''m forced to see you get your ass beat, night after night. I''m tired of seeing you destroy your life, Dante. It''s mentally draining!"

    "I don''t fucking care about any of that!" I roar. "All that matters to me is getting Willow back. Can''t you see that?"

    I know he understands me; I know he feels my pain because he went through it once before. Yet, he was still trying to stop me from doing what I had to.

    "It''s not like we aren''t searching," he points out. "Everyone is out in their numbers looking for her. We''re all looking. Why can''t you look with us instead of doing something this risky?"

    "I have been looking." I remind him. "And each second of every day I don''t find her, I lose my reason to keep living. This is myst desperate call for her to return to me. This is myst hope, can''t you see it? If this doesn''t work, Willow will not return home to me."

    "Do what the fuck you want!" he shouts at me. "But I won''t be there when you get your ass beaten in that fucking cage. I''ve seen enough already; I can''t watch it anymore. I''ll be out with our family searching for Willow. I hope you can change your mind ande with us instead of letting someone beat you in a damn cage."

    I ignore him. I knew he was frustrated with me andshing out. Nothing any of my family members said to me could make me back out of thesest two fights.

    Since thest five nights didn''t work, I''d moved myst fight to tonight. Instead of one match, I''ll have both matches tonight. I think that''s why Atticus was freaking out this much. He knew that tonight would be much worse than the other five.

    Every day, I returned home with bruises all over my body, breaking everyone''s hearts. Yet, no one''s heart was as broken as mine when I looked up from the ring each night and didn''t see Willow.

    I wouldy on the ground, defeated for a few minutes, under all the screams and blood, waiting for her to show up.

    Tonight was myst chance to see her. I knew she wouldn''t show herself again after this.

    "She wille," I tell Atticus. "She wille, because she loves me."

    I don''t know why I was saying these words to him; maybe I was trying to convince myself by telling him this. Maybe I was trying to give myself hope to keep going.

    "And if you care about her, why would you hurt yourself knowing it would also hurt her?" He asks me.

    I knew it was hisst resort to try and convince me to stop.

    "Because it''s my only chance of returning her to me," I answer him. "I need her in my life Atticus."

    He doesn''t say anything as he storms out of the family room.

    I didn''t want to hurt Willow, but if this was my only chance of getting her back to me, I was taking it.

    So far, my n was not working. She hasn''t shown up for the first five nights. Either she didn''t see the matches, or someone held her against her will.

    I''d made sure to have each of these matches broadcast everywhere. I wanted to try everything I could so that she would know exactly what I was up to without her there.

    As I make my way out of the house, I see each of my family members watching me with disappointment in their eyes. The fear was there also. They were scared of how badly I would get injured tonight.

    I don''t bother saying anything to them as I jump into my truck.

    This was it.

    Myst chance to get Willow back into my life.

 Chapter 249

    Chapter 249

    Chapter 250

    Book 3 Chapter 85

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe we are sneaking out for the first time,¡± Caroline whispered as we entered the elevator.

    ¡°It feels like I¡¯m suddenly wild and free.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to whisper anymore,¡± Winter tells her. ¡°They can¡¯t hear us in here. Don¡¯t get too

    excited, there¡¯s still a chance for someone to realize we¡¯re missing and raise the rm.¡±

    Caroline shrugs her shoulders, ¡°I still feel like they can hear us. I¡¯ll be whispering for the rest of the

    night until we return home.¡±

    I¡¯d convinced them to let me see Dante onest time. However, they¡¯d only agreed because they were

    tagging along. They didn¡¯t want me roaming around alone, especially since Cassius would be watching

    our every move from now on.

    ¡°Remember, you¡¯re only going there to stop the fight.¡± Winter reminds me. ¡°We¡¯re not staying long.

    Dante can¡¯t know where you¡¯re staying. You have to keep everything a secret. Once you stop the fight,

    we will be returning home immediately. We can¡¯t risk mother finding out what we¡¯ve been up to. If she

    finds out, we will all be punished severely. Especially you. I can assure you that you don¡¯t want to know

    what her punishments are like. Since you¡¯re pregnant, we want to avoid mother¡¯s punishments.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± I answer her. ¡°You¡¯ve told me this fifteen times for today alone. Trust me; I remember every

    word.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t even exaggerating. She kept repeating it to me. I knew I couldn¡¯t stay after stopping the fight,

    but part of me wanted to be by Dante¡¯s side a little longer. I know that I was the one that made the

    decision to leave him but it was never an easy one.

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    ¡°The fight already started,¡± Caroline informs me. ¡°We aren¡¯t going to make it in time to stop it. Are you

    sure you still want to go there?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I demand as a shiver runs down my spine. ¡°How could it have started already? That¡¯s not the

    time I was told it would be starting.¡±

    I wanted to get there to stop it, I didn¡¯t want to reach there when Dante was already bruised from head

    to toe from his match.

    ¡°They started earlier today for some reason.¡± She informs me. ¡°It looks full. It must be a sell-out. Most

    of them are girls still hoping that Dante will win thisst match. He has a lot of female fans.¡±

    Of course he did, even in the academy, there were plenty women who were crazy over him.

    ¡°There¡¯s something else,¡± Winter notes as she checks her phone. ¡°Willow just might make it to hisst

    match. He¡¯s doing both tonight instead of leaving a match for tomorrow.¡±

    Tonight? Two matches?

    Was he insane?

    Why was he doing this to himself? It seemed like Dante was determined to suffer tonight. He wanted

    this. He was intentionally hurting himself.

    ¡°He must feel guilty towards Anya. He must be using this opportunity to hurt himself now that I¡¯m gone.

    He knows if I were there, I would have stopped him from doing something that risky. Now that I¡¯m no

    longer there, he¡¯s doing what he wanted to do since the day she died.¡±

    It¡¯s the only exnation for this. He always wanted to harm himself after Anya¡¯s death. This was his

    chance to do it without me there.

    But what about his family? Why weren¡¯t they stopping him from doing this?

    They must have tried. Dante was very stubborn when he wanted to get something done. I¡¯m sure they

    are all worried about him.

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re ready to see your husband again?¡± Caroline asks me. ¡°I know he¡¯s still hung up on

    Anya. I know the pain you went through because his heart was never yours. We were keeping an eye

    on you. We know everything. I¡¯m surprised you are concerned about him after everything he did.¡±

    We were already in the car, and I was thankful it was dark, and she couldn¡¯t see my eyes.

    It still hurts every time I¡¯m reminded that Dante never loved me.

    ¡°Indeed, he never loved me, but it¡¯s also true that I¡¯ve loved him since the beginning,¡± I tell her. ¡°I can¡¯t

    see him destroy his life and do nothing about it. I hate to admit it, but I miss him. I knew it would be

    difficult, but my emotions have intensified since I got pregnant.¡±

    Caroline sighs, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing our mother never allowed us to be with a man. I can¡¯t imagine loving

    someone and having him rip my heart into a million pieces. It must be harder to know that he¡¯s in love

    with someone you originally thought was your sister. Men are such fools sometimes. Anya tried to

    destroy his family; she never loved him, and still, he seems to love her. You¡¯re the one he should be

    crazy about; you¡¯re the one that cares about him.¡±

    I knew this, everyone around him knew it as well. Dante was the only person that didn¡¯t see it that way.

    His love for her was pure and true. My sister was very lucky and she threw it all away.

    I could feel my heart begin to race as we pulled into the parking lot that brought me nightmares.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this.¡± Caroline repeats. ¡°We can turn back around and forget any of this

    happened before it¡¯s toote.¡±

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°I have to. He¡¯s the father of my unborn child. I can¡¯t let him do this to himself. I love

    him.¡±

    She nods and exits the vehicle. Winter is next, I¡¯m thest to climb out of it.

    I could feel the fear in my heart increase with each step that I took closer.

    The cheers and cries were loud. I could hear it even though we hadn¡¯t reached the arena.

    The moment I pushed the door open, everything around me begins to spin.

    My heart squeezes tightly at the sight in front of me.

    Dante.

    No. No. No. No!

 Chapter 250

    Chapter 250

    Chapter 251

    Book 3 Chapter 86

    ~WILLOW~

    I was toote. Dante was lying on the ground while they announced the winner. He wasn¡¯t moving, and

    his eyes were closed.

    My mind and heart were racing together as I fought back the tears. How could he let them do this to

    him?

    Everything was so loud but nothing was as loud as the wild beating of my heart, threatening to explode

    in my chest.

    I¡¯ve seen Dante get beaten before in the past, but nothing couldpare to this. There was so much

    blood everywhere, and it wasn¡¯t easy to recognize his face. My heart could not handle it. It was

    bleeding just as much as he was.

    His opponent was standing above him with a look of pride on his face. He was happy he¡¯d done this to

    him. While I knew this was just a match, I¡¯ve never hated someone as much as I hated him now.

    ¡°DANTE!¡± I scream at the top of my lungs. He wouldn¡¯t hear me, not with the loud spectators around

    us. Dante was everyone¡¯s favorite, and he¡¯d lost all matches. They were all in disbelief.

    I tried to rush past security, but they weren¡¯t letting me get through.

    ¡°He¡¯s my husband!¡± I shout. ¡°We went through thisst time! Let me in! I beg of you, let me go to him!¡±

    ¡°No one is allowed back there.¡± They growl. ¡°It¡¯s only for fighters. Stay back, or we will have to escort

    you outside.¡±

    ¡°Please!¡± I beg. ¡°I need to go to him.¡±

    There was no one tending to his wounds. Everyone was more concerned that he¡¯d lost the match,

    while others were happy that the opponent had won. Everyone who ced bets against him was

    grinning from ear to ear.

    It was hard to watch.

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    ¡°Escort her out!¡± Someone shouts.

    The second they started to move me backward, I couldn¡¯t control what happened next, even if I wanted

    to.

    I narrowed my eyes, and there were surprised gasps everywhere when the ground started to turn to

    ice. My gaze dropped to the floor in surprise. I was also in shock, just like everyone else.

    I look back at my sisters, and they shrugged their shoulders. This wasn¡¯t their doing; it only meant that

    this was all mine. I was freezing the floor.

    The security guards around me all let go as they looked down in surprise.

    They were distracted, and it was exactly what I needed right now¡ªa distraction to get closer to Dante.

    I used that opportunity to run into the ring. Everyone was too surprised with what was happening to pay

    any attention to me. It was the first time I was grateful for the power to do something like this. It wasn¡¯t

    a good idea to use it for the first time in front of so many people, but all I cared about was getting to

    Dante.

    My heart squeezes tighter when I drop myself onto the ground next to him.

    ¡°Dante!¡± I shouted when I got a closer look at him.

    It was even worse than I initially thought.

    Why did he do this to himself?

    Why?

    He doesn¡¯t move even when I call out to him over and over again.

    He must be unconscious. They¡¯d beaten him so badly that they¡¯d knocked him out.

    The second my hand touches his cheek, his body jumps. He still doesn¡¯t open his eyes. I moved my

    other hand onto his chest; I was as gentle as possible. I didn¡¯t want to hurt him more than he already

    was.

    His head thrashes from side to side; he is waking up.

    ¡°Dante,¡± I whisper. ¡°Wake up. Please wake up.¡±

    I can see him trying to open his eyes. He was forcing it. I move my hand to his neck and ce his head

    on myp.

    ¡°W-Willow?¡± He croaks as he finally manages to open his eyes a little.

    I can¡¯t stop the tears this time now that he¡¯s looking directly into my eyes. I can see the disbelief in his

    face. He doesn¡¯t believe that I¡¯m here. He thinks it¡¯s a dream.

    ¡°Why?¡± I demand from him. ¡°Why did you do this to yourself?¡±

    I wanted to grab him by his arms and shake him, but I refrained from doing that. He was already in so

    much pain.

    ¡°How could you do this Dante?¡± I demand once more. ¡°Why did you let them beat you like this? Why

    did you do this to yourself?¡±

    I was still in shock. I still couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d let them do this to him. I knew how strong Dante was; he

    could have won these fights if he wanted to.

    He could barely lift his hand as he tried to touch my cheek. I moved my hand to the back of his to

    support him as he touched me.

    ¡°Am I dreaming?¡± He whispers, I can hear the pain in his voice.

    My bottom lip trembled as I shook my head. ¡°You¡¯re not dreaming, Dante. I¡¯m here. I¡¯m here in front of

    you.¡±

    His eyes widen a little at my words. He still doesn¡¯t believe it, but he hopes it is the truth.

    ¡°Willow,¡± he whispers again.

    ¡°Why?¡± I ask, unable to hide the distress from my voice, ¡°Why did you do this?¡±

    ¡°For you. I did this for you.¡± He whispers just before his hand falls from my cheek, and he bes

    unconscious again.

 Chapter 251

    Chapter 251

    Chapter 252

    Book 3 Chapter 87

    ~WILLOW~

    Caroline and Winter rush to our side.

    ¡°Please help me get him out of here while everyone is still distracted,¡± I beg. ¡°He¡¯s badly injured.¡±

    They both nod, and we sessfully carry him through the back without anyone stopping us.

    ¡°I need to tend to his wounds,¡± I tell my sisters.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for that Willow.¡± Winter hisses at me. ¡°We must get back before our mother finds

    out we are missing. You used your power in front of hundreds of people. Cassius must know exactly

    where we are by now. We need to get moving.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± I shout. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving Dante. Not when he is like this.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not going to die.¡± She points out. ¡°He will live. Your life is more in danger than his at this moment.

    So please, let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Willow,¡± Dante croaks. His eyes are still closed as he shifts ufortably on the ground.

    He was waking up again.

    ¡°Willow.¡± He tries again. He¡¯s waiting for me to respond.

    I grab his hand and squeeze it gently, ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±

    I felt his body rx slightly at my words, ¡°Don¡¯t leave me again. Please don¡¯t leave me, Willow.¡±

    ¡°We have to go!¡± Winter shouts.

    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving without Dante!¡± I repeat myself. ¡°I¡¯m not. You¡¯ll have to force me, but I¡¯m not willingly

    leaving him when he¡¯s like this.¡±

    She sighs and holds her head in frustration. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this is happening right now. Are you risking

    your life and everyone else¡¯s for his right now?¡±

    I don¡¯t bother answering her.

    ¡°Just let her do what she has to.¡± Caroline intervenes. ¡°Our sister loves this man. If she wants to tend to

    his wounds, let her. We will leave soon. Do not worry.¡±

    Winter walks away from the both of us angrily. She was pissed, and I was sure we would both get a

    lecture about this when it was time to return home.

    ¡°You told me once that my power can help heal someone as long as it isn¡¯t one of Azai¡¯s offspring,¡± I

    say to her. ¡°Please teach me how to do it.¡±

    Her eyes widen, ¡°if you use your power to heal him, you¡¯ll be extremely weak for two days. Are you

    sure that¡¯s such a good idea?¡±

    I nod, ¡°I want to heal him as much as possible before leaving. I¡¯m not going to see him again after this. I

    want to ensure he¡¯s safe from danger and back to his normal self.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°ce your right hand over his heart.¡±

    I do as she says.

    She grabs my left hand and pulls her de out. My eyes widen when she cuts the middle of my hand.

    ¡°Let your blood touch his lips.¡± She orders me.

    I don¡¯t waste another second and I do as she says. I can feel myself grow weaker as Dante¡¯s body

    slowly begins to heal in front of me.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be enough to heal himpletely, but he should regain consciousness any minute now.¡± She

    informs me.

    ¡°We can¡¯t have him following us,¡± Winter says as she returns.

    ¡°He won¡¯t,¡± Caroline assures her. ¡°While Willow¡¯s blood will heal him, it will also make him incredibly

    dizzy at least for an hour. He won¡¯t be able to follow us. You know this sister. I don¡¯t need to remind you

    of it.¡±

    I move my hand from his heart and gently move his hair from his face. He stirs slowly, and I don¡¯t make

    a sound as he opens his eyes.

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    He slowly takes in his surroundings before finally looking at me. It takes a few seconds for everything to

    hit him.

    When he realizes I¡¯m in front of him, his eyes widen in shock.

    ¡°Willow?¡± He calls my name in a whispered surprise. ¡°Are you really in front of me?¡±

    I nod and can see the pain in his eyes so clearly that it hurts.

    ¡°I knew you woulde.¡± He whispers. ¡°I knew that you woulde.¡±

    ¡°You said earlier that you did this for me.¡± I remind him. ¡°Why would you do something like this for me,

    Dante? Why would you hurt yourself over and over again for me? Do you not know me at all? Why

    would seeing you in pain ever make me happy?¡±

    He tries to sit against the wall, and I rush to help him. He was still frail. I could see the stain of my blood

    on his lips. I was surprised that he hadn¡¯t asked me about it yet.

    ¡°I should have been honest; I didn¡¯t do it for you. I did it for my selfish reasons.¡± He confesses.

    My lips part, ¡°for your selfish reasons?¡±

    He nods, ¡°I wanted to see you again, Willow. I wanted to bring you back into my life. I knew that it

    wouldn¡¯t be possible to have you in my life again when I searched every f*****g ce I knew that you

    could be and didn¡¯t find you. I knew you were hiding from me or being held against your will.¡±

    Caroline and Winter were nowhere around now that he¡¯d opened his eyes. They were either giving us

    some privacy or making sure that he didn¡¯t see them.

    ¡°I was scared I would never see you again, but then I remembered you loved me. I remembered you

    loved me so much that it would hurt you if you saw me in physical pain.¡± He continues. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to

    hurt you, but I had no choice. Like I said, I¡¯m f*****g selfish when ites to you. I wanted you back in

    my life one way or the other. I nned these matches for you, Willow. I lost each of them, hoping you¡¯ll

    see and return to me. Each night, I waited till the end, watching as every person came into that arena

    and kept hoping that it would be you.¡±

    I¡¯m left dumbstruck by his confession.

    All of this, him hurting himself in front of hundreds of people, was only to get me back into his life?

    Why?

    Why would he go through all of this pain for me to return?

 Chapter 252

    Chapter 252

    Chapter 253

    Book 3 Chapter 88

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°Why?¡± I whisper. ¡°Why do you want me back into your life when it¡¯s clear that Anya is the only woman

    you¡¯ll ever love?¡±

    His eyes are dark as he growls, ¡°Anya is my past. She¡¯s in the past, Willow. I promise you that she¡¯s in

    the past. I will never let here between us again. I swear on my life.¡±

    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    Even though it felt good to hear him say this, I knew that it was a lie. I knew that she wasn¡¯t in the past.

    I knew he was still crazy about my sister.

    I close my eyes to hide the pain. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. I waited for you to get over her, Dante. I waited for

    weeks, hoping that you would be able to move on from her. I waited like a fool, dreaming that you

    would love me as you love her. I don¡¯t want to be your second choice. I don¡¯t want to be someone you

    fall back on because you cannot be with the woman you love.¡±

    His forehead creases, and he tries to move towards me. He winces when the dizziness hits him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to move; you¡¯re not fully healed.¡± I remind him.

    He exhaled sharply, ¡°You¡¯re not that woman.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I ask, confused.

    ¡°You can never be my second choice, Willow.¡± He exins. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you when I fell in love with

    Anya. I didn¡¯t know you even existed back then. It was never a choice between you and her.¡±

    ¡°Are you telling me you would have chosen me if Anya was still alive?¡± I ask, even though I already

    knew the answer to my question.

    His eyes are sad as he looks at me, ¡°if I had met you first. I would have beenpletely and

    wholeheartedly yours. I can promise you that.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m asking Dante,¡± I whisper. ¡°I¡¯m asking if Anya was still alive. Would you have

    chosen me?¡±

    He winces again, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s from the pain.

    I pick myself up from the ground, ¡°you don¡¯t have to answer that question. I think it¡¯s time that I leave.

    I¡¯ll call someone to alert your family about your condition. You¡¯ll be dizzy for an hour and unable to

    move from that spot. I¡¯ll make sure someone finds you and drops you home safely.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± He exims. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me, Willow. Please don¡¯t.¡±

    I can hear the desperation in his voice.

    ¡°I can¡¯t stay by your side any longer, Dante,¡± I tell him as I walk away.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± He shouts. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for everything. I don¡¯t deserve you, but please give me onest

    chance. Please, Willow!¡±

    The tears are running down my cheeks at his pleads for me to stay with him. I wanted to stay, but he

    didn¡¯t say the one thing I wanted him to. He didn¡¯t tell me that he loved me, and he didn¡¯t say that he

    would choose me over Anya. If he couldn¡¯t say those two things to me, I wouldn¡¯t ept him back into

    my life. I couldn¡¯t do that to the both of us all over again. The pain was too much.

    Even if he said those words to me, I didn¡¯t live a free life anymore. My birth mother was determined to

    keep me with her. If everything she¡¯s said to me is true, I have no choice but to stay with them until

    Cassius is defeated. I couldn¡¯t be selfish. I had others to think about, including my unborn baby. Our

    baby.

    If I opened my mouth and told Dante I was pregnant, he would never stop looking for me. I couldn¡¯t let

    that happen.

    ¡°Hello. . .Willow.¡±

    A shiver runs down my spine at the deep but creepy voice. I¡¯ve never heard it before, but somehow I

    already knew who it was. No one else here should know my name.

    My sisters had left to give me some privacy with Dante. I knew they were close, but were they close

    enough to sense that I was in danger?

    I slowly turned around to see the enemy face to face.

    Sharp silver eyes are the first thing I see, followed by shoulder-length dark blonde hair. A sharp jawline.

    He was tall. Very tall. I couldn¡¯t stop the shivers down my spine; they were spiraling out of control at his

    nearness and not in a good way.

    I expected him to look scarier, but he was surprisingly strikingly handsome. I shouldn¡¯t have expected

    anything else. rissa and Autumn were extremely beautiful; obviously, their brother would also look

    simr to them.

    I don¡¯t get time to scream when pain pulses through my veins. I try to open my mouth, but nothing

    comes out.

    Cassius grabs me by my hair, and I try to hold onto his neck, but my hands can¡¯t move.

    Thest thing I hear is Dante shouting my name before everything goespletely dark before me.

 Chapter 253

    Chapter 253

    Chapter 254

    Book 3 Chapter 89

    ~DANTE~

    I wasn¡¯t sure what the f**k was happening.

    Who was that man?

    Why was he taking Willow with him?

    I was trying my f*****g best to get to her, but for some reason, everything in front of me was blurry. I

    couldn¡¯t even see the asshole¡¯s face clearly.

    ¡°WILLOW!¡± I roar as I helplessly watch him carrying her unconscious body.

    My eyes are wide with shock when they disappear right before my eyes.

    Was I hallucinating again? Since Willow left me, I¡¯ve been hallucinating a lot. Maybe this was another

    one of those hallucinations. However, this one felt real.

    ¡°NOOO!¡± I roar. ¡°WILLOW¡ª,¡±

    Two women rush over to me and grab my shoulders, ¡°what happened? Where is Willow?¡±

    I frown at them. I couldn¡¯t recognize their faces.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± I demand.

    ¡°That¡¯s not important!¡± One of them hisses at me. ¡°Tell us what happened to Willow. Why are you

    shouting her name?¡±

    I could barely keep a clear mind, ¡°someone took her. I couldn¡¯t see his face. Everything is f*****g blurry.

    I can¡¯t even stand. I couldn¡¯t get to her, and he took her. He f*****g took my wife.¡±

    ¡°Cassius.¡± One of the women gasps. ¡°He came. He took her.¡±

    ¡°I told you we shouldn¡¯t havee here, Caroline!¡± The other one shouts. ¡°I told the both of you that

    we had to leave here! Instead, she stayed back to help this asshole who never even loved her!¡±

    She was pointing at me.

    She¡¯s wrong.

    So f*****g wrong.

    I do love Willow. I love Willow with my entire heart. I f*****g love her more than I loved Anya. I never got

    the chance to tell her. I wanted to speak out to her at the right time when I wasn¡¯t f*****g dizzy and

    could hardly move.

    ¡°What do you mean she stayed back because of me?¡± I demand. ¡°Is Willow¡¯s life in danger? Who was

    that man that took her?¡±

    There were so many questions, and it didn¡¯t help that my mind was already spinning.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Winter.¡± Caroline apologizes. ¡°I knew how much Willow loved him. I knew that she wouldn¡¯t

    forgive us if we took her away before she got a chance to help him. We haven¡¯t seen our sister since

    she was a baby. I wanted to earn her trust. I wanted to have a good rtionship with her.¡±

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    These two women were Willow¡¯s sisters?

    ¡°Willow only has one sister. That¡¯s Anya.¡± I tell them. ¡°Who the hell are you two?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to burst your bubble, but we are her real siblings. Anya was never her real sister; she was

    lied to by Anya¡¯s mother. She was kidnapped as a baby by Anya¡¯s father. It¡¯s a long story, and I don¡¯t

    have the time or patience to tell you.¡± Winter snaps.

    It was clear that she didn¡¯t like me. That was fine with me; I didn¡¯t like myself either. I was angry with

    myself for putting Willow through so much.

    Even though her life was in danger, she still came for me today. She still came to protect me. Willow

    loved me more than anyone else, and I felt the exact f*****g way about her.

    I hate myself for taking this long to realize it. When she asked me if I would choose her over Anya if

    she were still alive, I shouldn¡¯t have hesitated; I should have told her immediately that I would happily

    choose her over anyone else. I didn¡¯t care who it was; I would always choose her. She was the only

    woman for me. I wish I had realized this sooner. I wish I had learned how much I loved her at the right

    time. Now, it felt like it was much toote.

    ¡°Are you telling me the truth?¡± I demand.

    ¡°Are you blind?¡± She asks me. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell the resemnce between us?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s still a bit dizzy because of Willow¡¯s blood.¡± Caroline reminds her.

    Dizzy because of her blood?

    I was f*****g lost in this conversation.

    ¡°DANTE!¡±

    It was Atticus.

    He was here.

    He must have seen the match from his phone. Or maybe someone had called and told him I¡¯d gotten

    my a*s beaten to the point that I lost consciousness.

    When Willow hadn¡¯t shown up at first, I¡¯d totally given up. I wanted to die inside that ring tonight. I

    thought she was gone for good. I¡¯m d that I didn¡¯t. I got to see her again. But now she was gone

    again, and her life looked like it was in danger.

    ¡°DANTEE!¡± I hear rissa¡¯s terrified scream.

    Did they alle?

    I felt rissa¡¯s arms around me. ¡°Why the hell did you let them do this to you?¡± She demands from me.

    ¡°Are you insane? Why are you trying to get yourself killed?¡±

    ¡°Someone took Willow,¡± I say without answering her question. ¡°He took Willow against her will, right

    there before me. And I couldn¡¯t f*****g do a single thing about it!¡±

    ¡°Someone took Willow?¡± Autumn gasps. ¡°She came to see you? Is he the reason that she¡¯s been

    missing?¡±

    ¡°Who would do such a thing?¡± rissa demands. ¡°Why would anyone want to hurt her?¡±

    ¡°Your brother.¡± Winter hissed. ¡°Your brother is the one that took our sister.¡±

    Suddenly, everything was clear again. I could see everyone in front of me. I could even move my feet

    and stand. Atticus rushes to help me up, and I let him.

    Winter was right; she did resemble Willow. She was telling the truth. It meant that she was most likely

    telling the truth about this as well.

    ¡°My brother?¡± Autumn asks in surprise. ¡°How do you know my brother?¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t important.¡± Winter snaps. ¡°All you need to know is that your brother has our sister, and he

    will kill her if we don¡¯t stop him in time!¡±

 Chapter 254

    Chapter 254

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 255

    Book 3 Chapter 90

    ~DANTE~

    ¡°Kill her?¡± I can¡¯t recognize my own voice. ¡°Did you just say he wants to kill her?¡±

    Every vein in my body threatened to burst at the thought of someone hurting Willow. I f*****g watched

    that bastard take her away from me, and I could do nothing about it. Not only did I fail her since the

    start of our marriage, but I also managed to fail to protect her as well.

    I was useless when it came to keeping Willow happy. I realized toote that I loved her. I took too long

    and let my past ruin our future, and now I would have to pay for it for the rest of my life.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Caroline answers for her sister. ¡°Cassius ns on killing her.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± I frown. ¡°Why would anyone want to kill Willow? What had she ever done to

    anyone?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not what she has done, it¡¯s what she¡¯s capable of doing,¡± Caroline exins.

    ¡°And what is she capable of doing?¡± I demand.

    They weren¡¯t making any sense at all. I didn¡¯t even know Willow had sisters until now. All this time, we

    all thought that Anya was her sister. It would exin why she was so different from her.

    ¡°She¡¯s capable of killing him.¡± She answers me. ¡°Cassius, Autumn, and rissa, the three children of

    Azai Reign. They possess the power that could destroy our world. My sisters and I possess the power

    to stop them.¡±

    My brothers and I all freeze at her words. They had the power to kill Reign¡¯s daughters? It meant that

    both rissa and Autumn were in danger around these women.

    They couldn¡¯t be trusted even though they were Willow¡¯s sisters. They seemed trained. It meant that

    they were preparing all these years to get rid of them.

    ¡°What the hell do you mean by that?¡± Damon demands. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere near rissa and

    Autumn. If you try toy a finger on them, I would rip you both apart.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t promise for the future, but right now, I can assure you that we don¡¯t want to hurt them. We need

    them to get Willow back safely.¡± Winter hisses at him. ¡°This isn¡¯t about any of us; this is about the

    safety of our world. Cassius must be stopped before he causes any more damage. For that to happen,

    we need to get Willow back alive!¡±

    ¡°I think if we are given a chance to speak to our brother, things might be different,¡± Autumn says.

    ¡°rissa and I have no intention of taking over the world. We are nothing like our father. If Cassius is

    anything like the both of us, we can help change his mind.¡±

    Caroline sighs, ¡°It isn¡¯t that easy, Autumn. You may think he¡¯s just like both of you, but he¡¯s just like his

    father. He¡¯s already just as evil as he is. My sisters and I are the only people standing between him and

    what he truly wants. You may not believe me when I say this, but if he gets into your heads, he will

    have the power to control both of you. He¡¯s already more advanced and powerful than the two of you

    combined. You¡¯re both new to this; he had years of practice.¡±

    rissa and Autumn look at each other, and I can see the fear in their eyes. I don¡¯t think they¡¯re

    concerned about themselves. I believe they are scared that they will lose their brother before getting to

    know him.

    ¡°There is one other thing you should know,¡± Caroline announces suddenly.

    Everyone turns to look at her. What else could she possibly have to say to us? She¡¯d already said

    some things that were freaking hard to believe.

    ¡°Is it more bad news?¡± Griffin asks. ¡°Because we can all do with some good news after everything

    you¡¯ve just dropped on us.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a mixture of both.¡± She answers him as she turns to look at me.

    Something in her eyes made me feel uneasy. Whatever it was, it was most definitely a serious topic.

    ¡°Should you be the one to break the news?¡± Winter asks her. ¡°If Willow chose not to say anything to

    him, we shouldn¡¯t either.¡±

    Caroline looks at her sister, ¡°he needs to know what he¡¯s about to lose if we don¡¯t get Willow back in

    time.¡±

    ¡°What the hell are the two of you talking about?¡± I demand. ¡°What did Willow not tell me?¡±

    I didn¡¯t understand how anything they had to say to me could be more important than Willow getting

    kidnapped.

    ¡°Willow isn¡¯t the only one in danger.¡± She finally answers me.

    ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± I demand.

    ¡°Willow is pregnant with your child Dante.¡± She announces. ¡°And now Cassius has them both. There¡¯s

    no telling what he¡¯s going to do.¡±

    P-pregnant?

    Pregnant?

    This couldn¡¯t be.

    ¡°No,¡± I whisper. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. She can¡¯t be pregnant.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying the two of you didn¡¯t have s*x?¡± Winter demands.

    My face pales at her question.

    ¡°She went into heat¡ª¡±

    I can¡¯t finish my sentence.

    It¡¯s all too much for me to take in at once.

    Willow was pregnant? With my baby?

    I didn¡¯t think there was anything in this world that would make me feel worse than I did before, but I was

    wrong. It felt like someone had just ripped my heart out of my chest. I¡¯d done so much to hurt Willow,

    and now she was pregnant. Pregnant.

    And now a psychopath f*****g had her.

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    No.

    This wasn¡¯t f*****g happening!

 Chapter 255

    Chapter 255

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 256

    Book 3 Chapter 91

    ~WILLOW~

    I looked around me; I was in a room with ss walls. I was trapped with nowhere to run. Cassius was

    standing outside looking at me. He was standing there, staring, not saying a single word. He was

    creeping me out. I felt like he would snap any minute now and do something insane. Why were his

    eyes so scary but captivating to look at?

    Another shiver runs down my spine and not in a good way. I couldn¡¯t believe this was happening.

    I didn¡¯t know much about this man. All I knew was that he was Autumn and rissa¡¯s brother and had

    the power to destroy our world.

    What more did you need to know about someone? The fact that he could destroy our world was

    enough to know the kind of person he was.

    There was so much darkness in his eyes that it terrified me. I¡¯ve never seen a man with such soulless

    eyes. It¡¯s almost like he was consumed by his need to take over the world. Just like his father.

    ¡°Are you not going to say anything?¡± I demand. The silence was making me feel ten times worse.

    He doesn¡¯t answer me. Instead, he walks towards a table and grabs a drink.

    Was this the appropriate time for him to be drinking? Wouldn¡¯t he already be consumed with his greed

    for power? What else did he need?

    I jump when he ms it against the ss wall until it shatters into hundreds of pieces.

    What the hell?

    Why did he do that? How insane was this man?

    He looks up at me and I can see the wickedness in his gaze. He¡¯d intentionally done that to scare me

    and he had seeded. I could see the victory in his eyes.

    A true psychopath.

    ¡°You¡¯re terrified.¡± He finally says. ¡°I thought my opponent would be stronger than this. Not some weak

    girl who has no clue what she can do. You bring shame to your family, Willow. This was supposed to be

    an exciting night for me but you are making it quite the opposite of that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m new to this.¡± I snap. ¡°I didn¡¯t know who I was until a few days ago.¡±

    I needed to remind him of that fact. I don¡¯t think he cared about that.

    With his tongue against his cheek, he does the same thing to another ss.

    This time, I don¡¯t even blink.

    He quirks a brow, ¡°You learn quickly, Willow. It¡¯s a shame I¡¯ll have to get rid of you before we can get to

    know each other better.¡±

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you thought this entire thing through.¡± I point out to him. ¡°You chose the worst timing to

    kidnap me. My sisters were right there.¡±

    ¡°And they did nothing to help you.¡± He says before I could continue.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t give them a chance to. You took the cowardly way out. You waited until they weren¡¯t around

    to snatch me. I thought you were powerful. Why didn¡¯t you try to take me when they were around?¡±

    He quirks a brow, ¡°I may be powerful, but I¡¯m not stupid. There¡¯s always the right time to attack, and I

    always n my calctions urately.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± I snap. ¡°Your calctions have failed you this time.¡±

    ¡°And why is that?¡± He asks, suddenly uninterested in our conversation.

    ¡°Because Dante was there.¡± I hiss.

    ¡°The husband who didn¡¯t want you to begin with?¡± He asks. ¡°The same husband who watched me take

    you and didn¡¯t do anything about it?¡±

    I wince at his questions but try to hide my facial expressions from him. I didn¡¯t want him to know what

    kind of effect his words had on me.

    ¡°I meant that his family would have already been on their way to get to him after the fight,¡± I exin. ¡°It

    means that Autumn and rissa will be there. Do you know what that means since you seem to know

    everything?¡±

    His eyes narrowed slightly, and I knew he understood what I meant.

    ¡°Yes, Cassius,¡± I smile. ¡°My sisters will be there when Autumn and rissa arrive. It means that just

    like you¡¯re holding me captive, they can do the same.¡±

    I knew my sisters wouldn¡¯t hurt them. They couldn¡¯t. Not without me. He didn¡¯t need to know that

    however.

    Cassius needed his sisters just like I needed mine.

    ¡°I guess you didn¡¯t think everything through.¡± I point out. ¡°Your ns were poorly executed.¡±

    His hands tightened into fists at his sides, and he angrily stormed off.

    When he was gone, I fell back against the floor. I had to find a way to get out of here.

    Did Cassius already know I was pregnant?

    I was terrified of what he could do to me if he ever found out.

    He didn¡¯t have to kill me, but he could hurt my baby.

    I gently touched my stomach and felt my fear double.

    I had to get out of here!

 Chapter 256

    Chapter 256

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 257

    Book 3 Chapter 92

    ~DANTE~

    ¡°I want every f*****g influential person we know out and searching for Willow!¡± I roar. ¡°She¡¯s pregnant

    with our child. Our baby. They¡¯re both in danger, and I need everyone we know to help bring them back

    to me. I¡¯m willing to pay as much as needed. All I want is the two of them safely back to me.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re already gathering everyone we know.¡± Atticus tries to assure me. ¡°I know this isn¡¯t easy for you

    brother. We are all here for you. We¡¯re going to get Willow back.¡±

    I was losing my damn mind.

    My wife was pregnant. Pregnant. I was still in shock. I kept repeating that one word in my head. Why

    did I have to find out this way?

    Why didn¡¯t she tell me? Was she ever nning on telling me?

    It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t deserve it after the things I¡¯ve said in the past. I deserved much worse than this after

    the pain I¡¯ve brought upon her. I was a failure as a husband.

    Why did Willow even love me after the horrible things I¡¯ve done and said?

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to magically find Willow!¡± Winter hissed at us. ¡°You¡¯ll keep searching and never find

    her this way. Cassius can only be found if he wants to be found. He¡¯s been hiding all of these years,

    and he¡¯s done a good damn job at it.¡±

    ¡°There are people amongst us that are trained trackers. Hundreds of them will be out in their numbers.

    Cassius has messed with the wrong person¡¯s woman!¡± I roar.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t going to be that easy.¡± Winter snaps. ¡°We need to hold rissa and Autumn as hostages if we

    want him to let go of Willow!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Atticus demands as he walks over to her with a prating gaze. ¡°Why the hell would we do

    something like that?¡±

    ¡°Rx.¡± Winter hissed. ¡°We¡¯re not truly holding them hostage. It¡¯s just to convince Cassius that his

    sisters are in danger as long as he¡¯s holding Willow captive. Cassius needs both of them alive to make

    his ns work. Without them, he doesn¡¯t stand a chance against everyone else. Unlike his father, he

    relies on his siblings. We just have to pretend that we¡¯re holding them as hostages. Then, we can

    convince him that we will make a trade. If given the right opportunity, we can kill him before he causes

    any more harm to our families.¡±

    ¡°And why the hell would we trust you?¡± Damon demands. ¡°You made it very clear that you want to kill

    all three of Reign¡¯s children. This could be a n of yours to harm them both.¡±

    ¡°I can assure you we won¡¯t do something that despicable.¡± Caroline cuts in. ¡°My sister does have a bit

    of a temper, but she¡¯s no liar. If she says she¡¯s doing something, she will. You can trust us. We also

    desperately want to get Willow back.¡±

    ¡°I wish you would at least give us a chance to speak with Cassius,¡± Autumn whispers. ¡°Something must

    have triggered this kind of behavior in him. He may think he can manipte us into helping him, but we

    can do the opposite.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not possible.¡± Winter snaps. ¡°Why can¡¯t you believe me when I tell you that he¡¯s a freaking

    monster? That man will do everything in his power to destroy this world. He wants to be the only ruler.

    If given the chance, he can even kill the both of you and consume your power. I wouldn¡¯t trust him with

    my life, nor should you.¡±

    The fear in her tone told me she knew exactly what she was speaking about. I wouldn¡¯t try to befriend

    him, not after he kidnapped my pregnant wife.

    ¡°I always hoped that he would be nothing like our father,¡± Autumn whispers. ¡°I hoped he would live a

    good life with our mother.¡±

    ¡°Our mother?¡± rissa asks. ¡°Do you know if she¡¯s also by his side? From what I can remember, they

    were both supposed to be together. She gave up Autumn and me to give us better lives, but she kept

    Cassius. He wasn¡¯t always this monster. He was once normal. I¡¯m not sure what happened to him to

    cause this massive change.¡±

    Winter shook her head. ¡°No. We¡¯re not sure where her whereabouts are. He may have already killed

    her before she did to him what she did to your father.¡±

    Autumn and rissa gasped at her words.

    ¡°Would he kill our mother?¡± Autumn asks in shock. ¡°His mother?¡±

    ¡°Cassius is a monster.¡± Winter snaps. ¡°You¡¯ll see for yourself soon enough.¡±

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    The more she spoke about him, my hatred for him grew. The panic in my chest was rising, and I could

    almost taste my fear.

    I¡¯ve never felt this terrified, not even when Anya died. My love for Willow was iparable. I felt a

    bond with her, something stronger than what I felt for Anya. This was all the proof I needed. I thought I

    knew what pain was when Anya died. I was freaking wrong. This was pain.

    If Willow died, I would die with her; that¡¯s how much I f*****g loved her.

 Chapter 257

    Chapter 257

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 258

    Book 3 Chapter 93

    ~DANTE~

    After searching for hours, we realized that Winter was telling the truth.

    We were wasting our f*****g time, and I didn¡¯t have time to waste. I had to get to Willow before that

    man hurt her and our baby.

    ¡°Are you ready to listen to me now?¡± She demands from us. ¡°You can either do as I say or spend

    weeks or months looking for Cassius.¡±

    My jaw clenched. I didn¡¯t know if my brothers would agree to something like this. It was putting their

    mates in danger, which was thest thing they would ever want to willingly do.

    I turn to them, ¡°please.¡±

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    It¡¯s the only word I could get out. What else could I do? I had no other choice but to plead with them to

    let this happen.

    ¡°We are willing to do it,¡± Autumn says. ¡°Make whatever ns that you must. If this is the only way to get

    Willow back, so be it.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think I could love my brother¡¯s mate more than I did now.

    ¡°It would be best if Winter and I meet our mother by ourselves,¡± Caroline suggests. ¡°She isn¡¯t even

    aware that we left home with Willow.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I demand. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t she know the truth?¡±

    Winter narrows her eyes at me. ¡°Willow was safe where we were. Cassius wouldn¡¯t have dared to take

    her. But when you announced your fights, Willow found out and became frantic. She had to see you,

    and since we wanted to be good sisters to her, we let here to you despite knowing the danger that

    was lying ahead. We thought we would be safe as long as the three of us were together, but clearly, we

    were wrong.¡±

    I felt like she¡¯d just punched me in the stomach.

    I was at fault. All of this happened because of me and my selfish ways.

    If I didn¡¯t have to protect Willow, I would f*****g ruin my own life for my poor choices. The more I found

    out, the more I hated myself.

    I was a fool, a fool who wanted his woman back in his arms.

    ¡°No one moves while we¡¯re gone,¡± Winter warns us.

    ¡°I don¡¯t trust them,¡± Atticus growls the second that they walk away.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have another choice.¡± I remind him. ¡°They¡¯re my only hope.¡±

    It takes an hour before they finally return. They were both quiet, and it looked like we were about to get

    bad news. I held my breath.

    ¡°We¡¯ve made a deal with him,¡± Winter announces suddenly. ¡°Our mother found a way to get into

    contact with him quite quickly. Actually, he was the one that contacted her. He has a few requests that

    he wants us to follow. We must meet exactly where he wants us to meet. There, we will pretend to

    make the trade.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re going ahead with this n.¡± Atticus growls. ¡°I don¡¯t want to put Autumn and

    rissa in danger.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Autumn tries to calm him down. ¡°Willow is like a sister to us. We must do everything that we

    can to get her back. Cassius can¡¯t hurt us. He won¡¯t. Not when he needs us alive to do what he wants.¡±

    Atticus and Damon looked like a mess, mirroring what I felt inside. This didn¡¯t just include Willow; it had

    their mates as well. Cassius was the new viin in our story. He threatened the peace my family was

    close to achieving.

    We wouldn¡¯t be able to rest until we¡¯d gotten rid of him. It wouldn¡¯t be easy for Autumn and rissa; he

    was their biological brother.

    It would be f*****g easy for me, however. Anyone that threatened the lives of my wife and my unborn

    child would have to feel my wrath.

    I couldn¡¯t wait to get my hands on his neck and strangle him, amongst many other things.

    ¡°We¡¯re messing with a dangerous sorcerer,¡± Hunter says as he walks into the meeting room with Austin

    and his family. ¡°He can bring much harm to every single one of us if we don¡¯t think this thing thoroughly

    through.¡±

    ¡°Hunter is right,¡± Arthur says as he walks in with Gabrie. ¡°We know enough about Azai Reign to know

    what his son can do. Unlike Autumn and rissa, he doesn¡¯t have anything to live for. He doesn¡¯t have

    a weakness except Willow and her sisters. We must keep the three of them safe if we want our families

    to live to see another day.¡±

    I close my eyes and try to fight the fear. My mate was in the hands of a f*****g maniac. The longer we

    took to do this exchange, the more harm could be done to her.

    ¡°He can¡¯t know that we¡¯re not nning on giving Autumn and rissa to him,¡± Austin says. ¡°He cannot

    know that we have other ns. Everything must go smoothly if we want to get everyone back alive.¡±

    ¡°All we need is to get Willow back,¡± Caroline says. ¡°Once we have Willow back, we will have all we

    need to kill Cassius before he can kill the rest of us.¡±

    That¡¯s all I¡¯m wishing for now that she¡¯s gone. I want to have her back in my arms. I want to shower her

    with so much love that she never has topare herself to her sister again. I want her to know that

    Anya is no longer haunting my thoughts. I want her to see that she¡¯s the only one in my mind and heart

    from now on.

    No one else. Only her. She was the only woman for me. Without her, I can¡¯t f*****g breathe.

 Chapter 258

    Chapter 258

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 259

    Book 3 Chapter 94

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°For an evil sorcerer, you don¡¯t look that powerful,¡± I im after watching him for hours. I was lying. I

    wanted to get under his skin. So far, he¡¯d dismissed everything I¡¯d said to him.

    It probably wasn¡¯t the best idea to provoke him, but I wanted to distract him as much as I could.

    He quirks a brow. ¡°Do you want me to hurt you and show you exactly the kind of power that I have?¡±

    ¡°Hurt me?¡± I grin. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t. Not when you need your sisters to save your ns.¡±

    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    I was afraid, I truly was, but for some reason I couldn¡¯t keep my stupid mouth shut. The words kept

    coming out of my mouth.

    I didn¡¯t like Cassius one bit. It was hard for me to believe that the man in front of me was the brother of

    Autumn and rissa. They were nothing like him.

    He chuckles, ¡°The n was to bring you back alive. No one said anything about not hurting you in the

    process. I can take away that pain you¡¯ve been feeling.¡±

    ¡°Pain?¡± I ask.

    He nods, ¡°emotional pain¡ªunrequited love. You¡¯ve loved him since the first day you met him. He was

    always the man for you. Unfortunately, he was already in love with the girl you thought was your sister.

    It¡¯s such a shame that she never loved him, yet he would give his life for her.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say anything else!¡± I snap.

    He was doing to me the same thing I was trying to do to him; the only difference was that he was

    winning.

    He quirks a brow, ¡°but I¡¯m only getting started, Willow. You fell in love with your sister¡¯s rejection. She

    rejected him. She never wanted him; all she wanted was revenge. Your husband is a foolish man; I can

    never love someone as foolish as he is. How can he not love the woman who would do anything for

    him but be willing to give up his life for a woman who wanted to take everything he ever loved away

    from him?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything about him!¡± I hiss. ¡°He isn¡¯t a fool for loving her. He thought that she loved

    him at first. She had him under a spell. There¡¯s plenty of information that you¡¯re missing. Leave my

    husband¡¯s name out of your filthy mouth!¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°I wonder if you¡¯ll still be speaking that way if your precious husband chose to save your

    dead sister over you. If given a chance, Dante would leave you in the dust and save Anya. She¡¯s not

    here presently to prove my point, but there¡¯s a way that I can make it happen.¡±

    For a few seconds, I couldn¡¯t move an inch. His words had left mepletely speechless. How could

    Dante ever have a choice between Anya and me when she wasn¡¯t even here anymore? She was gone,

    and she wasn¡¯ting back.

    ¡°What the hell do you mean by that?¡± I demand.

    I didn¡¯t trust Cassius, and he was very good at freaking me out.

    I knew he could do many filthy spells, but I hoped nothing would involve Anya or Dante. I wanted my

    husband far away from this monster.

    ¡°I possess the power to bring back Anya into this world.¡± He answers me. ¡°I can bring her back long

    enough to haunt your husband. He will be running after her the second that I do. If you want, I can

    prove to you that I am right. Dante will choose her over you in a split second. She¡¯s the one he loves.¡±

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°you don¡¯t have the power to resurrect anyone. If you did, you would have

    resurrected your father a long time ago!¡±

    His father was his role model. He wanted to be just like him. If he truly had the power to do something

    that insane, he would have done it a long time ago.

    ¡°Why would I want to resurrect someone that wants to achieve the same thing as I do?¡± He asks me.

    ¡°There can only be one. And that¡¯s me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± I snap. ¡°You can¡¯t bring Anya back.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t bring her backpletely.¡± He admits. ¡°But I can at least convince him that I can. Maybe then

    you¡¯ll realize that you mean absolutely nothing to that man. You might as well kill yourself to protect

    your heart from the pain.¡±

    I narrow my eyes, ¡°we will just see about that.¡±

    I was afraid of his ns. He definitely wanted to mess with our minds and emotions. I wasn¡¯t sure what

    Cassius was capable of doing. He was too powerful. Even without Autumn and rissa, he had a

    powerful aura surrounding him.

    He had years to prepare, and he was ready to achieve his goals.

    But would Dante truly leave me to die if there was a chance that he could get Anya back from the

    dead?

 Chapter 259

    Chapter 259

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 260

    Book 3 Chapter 95

    ~DANTE~

    ¡°Is this where he said Willow would be?¡± I demand. ¡°She¡¯s nowhere around.¡±

    What was the maniac nning now?

    ¡°He said somewhere around here.¡± Atticus reminds me. ¡°It¡¯s the forest. She can be anywhere.¡±

    ¡°Willow?¡± I call. ¡°Willow, can you hear me?¡±

    Staying sane at a time like this was a task by itself. Before we knew it, we were all shouting her name.

    ¡°We must have gotten something wrong,¡± I whisper.

    Where the hell was she?

    ¡°Maybe we¡¯re looking the wrong way,¡± Damon suggests. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to where we started and turn

    left.¡±

    I nod and let him lead this time.

    ¡°If that asshole asks for Autumn and rissa, I will kill him.¡± Atticus growls.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it will be that easy brother.¡± Griffin points out. ¡°It¡¯s the first time we will be dealing with a

    sorcerer. You saw how powerful rissa and Autumn are, and they are new to all of this. He has

    experience and is extremely dangerous. He is also just as evil as he is powerful. We should all think

    twice before attacking with no solid ns.¡±

    I stopped moving, and so did my brothers. I could see her. I could see my wife, and she was alive.

    I couldn¡¯t contain my excitement and relief. She was here. I wasn¡¯t hallucinating.

    She was tied to a tree in front of me. She looked tired and scared. That f*****g asshole did this to her.

    ¡°Willow,¡± I say under my breath, and she seems to hear me. Her gaze shes to mine, and I can see

    the happiness mixed with panic in her pretty eyes. She was worried for our safety. Of course, she

    would be. She was perfect¡ªmy perfect bride.

    Before I could move toward her, a figure next to us caught my attention. I was too distracted by Willow

    to notice her sooner.

    Time stops moving when the persones into my view.

    Oh, hell no.

    This couldn¡¯t be true.

    I had to be hallucinating. Maybe the thought of losing Willow had finally driven me to insanity.

    I blinked once, then twice. She was still the same. Nothing had changed.

    Anya?

    What the f**k?

    Why was she standing in front of me?

    ¡°Is anyone else seeing what I¡¯m seeing?¡± Griffin asks in disbelief.

    ¡°I sure as hell am,¡± Damon mutters in surprise.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t f*****g happening!¡± Atticus exims. ¡°s**t!¡±

    They were all just as stunned as I was. It meant that I wasn¡¯t goingpletely insane. She was truly

    standing in front of me.

    But that was impossible. Anya had to be dead. We were all there, we all saw her die.

    ¡°Dante,¡± she gasps.

    My chest squeezed tightly at hearing her voice after so long. This couldn¡¯t be real. Someone had to be

    f*****g messing with me.

    ¡°Don¡¯te near us,¡± Damon growls when she takes a step forward.

    Her eyes aren¡¯t on anyone else but me. She¡¯s staring directly into my eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for everything.¡± She cries. ¡°I was wrong for never loving you. I messed up the only good

    thing in my life, and I greatly regret it. I wish that you could give me another chance, Dante. I hope that

    you¡¯ll let me love you this time. I promise never to hurt you again.¡±

    ¡°How the hell are you standing in front of me?¡± I ask in horror. ¡°You were supposed to be dead. How

    are you here?¡±

    Her gaze wavers a little, ¡°That isn¡¯t important right now, Dante. I¡¯ll tell you after you admit that you still

    love me. I¡¯m sorry for forcing you to marry Willow. I thought that¡¯s what I wanted. I thought that would

    be the best thing for her. I was wrong. You could never love her, and because of that, she got hurt. YouCopyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    both did. I¡¯m here to fix all of the mistakes that I made. I¡¯m sorry to you and your family. Please tell me

    you love me, and let¡¯s fix this. We can all be happy, Dante. All you need to tell me is that you love me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t f*****g believe a word she says.¡± Atticus growls. ¡°Anya was never capable of being nice to

    anyone. I don¡¯t know what the hell is happening here. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s f*****g alive or dead, but

    either way, she was never good to us. Don¡¯t let her get into your head. This could be that asshole¡¯s

    tricks. He¡¯s messing with our heads.¡±

    He was right. This could be a f*****g spell to mess with us. But it was also possible she was standing

    before me right now. Sorcerers as powerful as Cassius should have resurrection spells, but it always

    came with a deadly price.

    ¡°Tell my sister that you love me.¡± She begs. ¡°Tell Willow to give up on you. Let her live her life

    peacefully. The only way she will ever let you go is if you admit I¡¯m the only woman in your heart. Tell

    her the truth, Dante. Tell her that you only love me. Tell her!¡±

    ¡°I c-can¡¯t.¡±I stammer.

    ¡°Of course, you can,¡± she whispers. ¡°You love me. Don¡¯t you?¡±

    I can¡¯t answer her. I¡¯m lost for words.

    ¡°Cassius did this for me. He brought me back, but the only way for me to stay alive is for Willow to die.

    You must push a sword into her heart and kill her. Once she¡¯s dead, I will return to you for good. I

    promise that I love you, Dante¡ªonly you. I¡¯ll never hurt you again. End her life and give me my life

    back. We can be happy again Dante. You just have to kill her and end her misery.¡±

 Chapter 260

    Chapter 260

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 261

    Book 3 Chapter 96

    ~WILLOW~

    Dante wasn¡¯t saying anything, and my heart kept sinking at the look on his face. Was he that happy to

    see her? Was he truly going to do as she asked?

    I knew his heart still belonged to her. But I was sure I meant more to him than this.

    Was I wrong?

    Did Dante have zero feelings for me as Cassius suggested?

    I didn¡¯t want him to be right but I couldn¡¯t ignore the signs in front of me. He looked like he was

    enchanted by her.

    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    I knew this wasn¡¯t the real Anya. I knew it was a fake. Cassius didn¡¯t have enough time or the blood

    needed to resurrect Anya. He needed the blood of Autumn and rissa along with his, and then he

    needed something that belonged to Anya. At least, that¡¯s what I heard him say. It could have all been

    lies to mess with my emotions. He loved messing with people¡¯s emotions, it brought him great joy.

    This was just a distraction, his genius n, at least that¡¯s what he called it.

    I was shouting for Dante to hear me, trying to warn him, but Cassius was one step ahead of me. He¡¯d

    put a spell on me and I couldn¡¯t speak for ten whole minutes.

    Dante couldn¡¯t hear my words even though he could see me. Though right now, the only person he

    seemed to see in front of him was Anya. He¡¯d forgotten abouting to protect me.

    Cassius had one of his shapeshifter friends to do the job for him, and she was doing a damn good job

    at it. While she distracted Dante and his brothers, Cassius was busy searching for Autumn and

    rissa. He knew they wouldn¡¯t give them up easily. He was brilliant, but I was hoping that my family

    was smarter. I was praying that they were prepared for this. So far, it didn¡¯t seem that way but no one

    would expect to see Anya when she was supposed to be dead.

    I still hadn¡¯t seen what Cassius could do, but I didn¡¯t want to find out. I was hoping that we could kill him

    before a battle could begin.

    Dante steps towards the fake Anya, and my heart drops a little. I didn¡¯t want to see this. I didn¡¯t want to

    see him get closer to her in front of me. He¡¯s wanted this since she died, and it was finally here. It was

    his chance to tell Anya how much he loved and missed her.

    I couldn¡¯t stop the tears streaming down my face from the sight before me.

    I watch helplessly as Dante pulls her into his arms. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s you. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re in front

    of me right now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy that you¡¯re holding me Dante.¡± She whispers. ¡°Now tell Willow that you don¡¯t love her. Tell

    her that I¡¯m the only woman you¡¯ll ever love. Tell her that she can never have a future with you as long

    as I¡¯m in your heart. And when you¡¯re done breaking her heart, kill her for me.¡±

    The tears were clouding my vision. Everything was blurry, but I could tell that he still had his arms

    around her.

    Suddenly, I hear a piercing scream. It was the shapeshifter.

    Why was she screaming?

    I rubbed my eyes with my hands and was leftpletely shocked when I saw Dante with a b****y knife

    in his hand. He¡¯d just pierced her straight through the heart.

    ¡°Willow is the only right choice for me.¡± He growls. ¡°Even if you were the real Anya, it wouldn¡¯t make a

    difference.¡±

    My lips parted in surprise at his words. I couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d just said that in front of us.

    Even if it were the real Anya. . . Does this mean he knew she was a fake all along?

    Would it truly not make a difference if this was the real Anya? They don¡¯t waste any time getting rid of

    the shapeshifter. She was easy to get rid of, I wish Cassius would be this easy as well.

    Dante turned to me once more, and I could see the relief in his eyes. He doesn¡¯t waste another second

    as he runs to my side and pulls me into his arms.

    His hands were buried in my hair as he held me close, ¡°I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re alive, Willow. I¡¯m so happy

    to have you in my arms again.¡±

    I felt his lips against my forehead and I leaned into him some more.

    I breathed in his scent; it felt good to have him this close to me again. As much as I wanted to stay

    here, I knew we had people to protect.

    ¡°We have to hurry!¡± I shout, finding my voice again. ¡°This was only a distraction! Cassius is going for

    Autumn and rissa! If he gets his hands on them, we¡¯ll all be in trouble!¡±

    Damon and Atticus didn¡¯t need to be told twice. They were already running before I could finish my

    sentence.

    Dante helps me to my feet, and we run behind his brothers.

    I heard a piercing scream, and my heart dropped when I immediately knew it belonged to Caroline. He

    was already attacking them.

    ¡°No!¡± I screamed as I increased my speed. I was running as fast as I possibly could.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Dante shouts next to me as he grabs my hand to prevent me from tripping.

    The fear in his eyes as he looks at my tummy makes me wonder if he knew I was pregnant. I quickly

    shook that thought out of my mind. I could find that out once we all got out of this alive.

    We came to an abrupt stop when we saw what was happening in front of us. Caroline was trying to

    take on Cassius by herself and was clearly failing.

    I attempt to rush toward her, but Dante grabs me by my waist and pulls me back towards him. ¡°No!

    Stay back. It¡¯s too dangerous, Willow.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s my sister!¡± I scream. ¡°I must help her!¡±

    ¡°Where is Autumn and rissa?¡± Cassius roars. ¡°The deal was an exchange. I give you Willow and

    you give me my sisters. Where the f**k are they?¡±

    ¡°You will never f*****g know!¡± Atticus roars.

    Dante pulled me back a second time. ¡°Let us do it! You stay back!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± I shout. ¡°He¡¯s dangerous!¡±

    I watched in horror as he and his brothers shifted into their wolves. They don¡¯t waste a second as every

    single one of them attacked from all different directions.

    Cassius waved a hand, and they all fell back hard against the ground. He didn¡¯t even have to touch

    them and already they were hurt.

    ¡°Dante!¡± I scream as his wolf howls from the pain. He was messing with their heads. They could hardly

    move because of it.

    I rush towards Cassius, but Dante¡¯s wolf surprises me when he jumps in front of me, preventing me

    from going any closer. He was still in pain but somehow managed to reach this far. He was trying to

    protect me.

    ¡°I have to do this!¡± I shout. ¡°I have to stop him. My sisters and I are the only ones who can stop him.¡±

    I can see the understanding in his eyes as he slowly steps aside.

    As soon as he does, his wolf falls to the ground as he howled some more.

    ¡°STOP HURTING HIM!¡± I scream at the top of my lungs.

    I rushed over to Caroline¡¯s side, and she held my hand tightly.

    ¡°Try to freeze him!¡± She shouts at me.

    I focused my energy on him and gasped when nothing happened.

    ¡°Try harder, Willow!¡± She screams. ¡°I need you!¡±

 Chapter 261

    Chapter 261

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 262

    Book 3 Chapter 97

    ~WILLOW~

    I was trying, but nothing was happening. I didn¡¯t have enough practice for this.

    I was up against the strongest sorcerer alive and I was unprepared. When Dante¡¯s wolf howls louder,

    and I see blood, everything goes ck. The next thing I see is a force of ice covering the trees and

    moving with incredible speed towards Cassius.

    There was a strong wind, working hand in hand with my power, and I knew it had to belong to Caroline.

    I could feel myself grow stronger as I fought to protect the people that I loved.

    We both scream as we attack him as hard as we could. He fell back a little, but not by a lot. He was still

    standing strong. This wasn¡¯t working.

    We couldn¡¯t do this without Winter. We needed her.

    How was Cassius still so strong without Autumn and rissa¡¯s help?

    ¡°Where is Winter?¡± I ask as I look behind us, hoping to see her somewhere.

    In order to kill him, we needed her. The three of us had to work together to get rid of him.

    ¡°She¡¯s with the others!¡± Caroline answers me.

    By others, did she mean Autumn and rissa?

    ¡°Tell me where my sisters are, and no one gets hurt!¡± He roars as darkness shoots out of him and

    attacks Dante and his brothers. His focus was mostly on them. He knew that they were my weakness.

    He was trying to kill them to hurt me.

    ¡°WINTER!¡± Caroline screams. ¡°We need you!¡±

    Within seconds, tree vines grabbed Cassius by his waist and pulled him down with a hard force.

    ¡°Attack him!¡± Winter shouts behind us. ¡°Use everything that you have!¡±

    He manages to free himself from Winter¡¯s spell but now he looks pissed.

    He narrows his eyes at me, ¡°You¡¯re the weakest. I need to get rid of you first.¡±

    My eyes widen when the darkness shoots out towards me. He doesn¡¯t get to me; Dante throws himself

    in front of me without any warning and takes the hit for me.

    I see red when bloodes out of his mouth. For a few seconds, I couldn¡¯t breathe or move.

    Everything wentpletely still as I watched his body drop to the ground.

    ¡°No!¡± I gasp.

    ¡°Willow!¡± Winter shouts. ¡°You can¡¯t get distracted!¡±

    I ignore her as I drop to the ground beside him.

    ¡°Dante!¡± I scream.

    He wasn¡¯t moving. His eyes were open, but I could see him slowly slipping away.

    ¡°Your blood, Willow!¡± Caroline shouts. ¡°Give him your blood!¡±

    I grab the knife from his pants and cut the palm of my hand. I let my blood touch his lips and prayed for

    a miracle.

    ¡°Please, Dante.¡± I cry. ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me. Please, I¡¯m begging you.¡±

    ¡°THAT¡¯S ENOUGH!¡±

    It was Autumn. She was here with rissa. What were they doing? They shouldn¡¯t be here!

    ¡°Stop hurting them, Cassius!¡± rissa shouts. ¡°Please!¡±

    Cassius looks surprised to see them in front of him. He seemed convinced that they wouldn¡¯t show up.

    I see a sh of emotion in his eyes before he covers it.

    He quirks a brow at them, ¡°sisters. It¡¯s so good to see you again. Is this the way to greet your brother,

    who you haven¡¯t seen in years?¡±

    ¡°Please stop this.¡± Autumn pleads with him. ¡°We do not want to fight you.¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°You can¡¯t fight me. Don¡¯t you know that by now? Your power doesn¡¯t work against me. It

    works on everyone else but me.¡±

    I held onto Dante tightly, ignoring their conversation. Were they trying to distract him or reason with

    him? I didn¡¯t know their n.

    ¡°I love you.¡± I against his neck. ¡°I love you so much, Dante. Our baby loves you. Please, don¡¯t go

    anywhere.¡±

    My heart skipped a beat when I felt his hand move.

    I began to breathe again as I felt his heartbeat, it was returning to normal. I gently ced him on the

    ground. I knew he would need some time to get back to normal. My blood would keep him dizzy. That¡¯s

    a good thing, I didn¡¯t want him jumping into danger for me again.

    I focus on Cassius. He tried to kill my husband and his family. I could never forgive him for that.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± I scream as ice shoots out from every single direction. Everyone ducks as the ice

    strikes him like daggers falling from the sky.

    Austin¡¯s family jumps out from all different directions at the exact same time. Where had they been

    hiding? They seemed to be waiting for the right time to attack.

    I could see their wolvesing in great waves to attack him from all directions. He fought back but he

    couldn¡¯t stop all of them from reaching him in time. Hunter and Isabe¡¯s wolves grab onto his leg and

    arm. He shouts in pain, and my eyes widen when he shoves them hard against each other with his

    dark force.

    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± He roars as ck mes form around him. There¡¯s fire everywhere followed by the horrific

    cries of wolves.

    How was he this powerful? There were so many of us, but he was still somehow on top.

    ¡°Willow and my sisters return with me!¡± He roars. ¡°If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll kill every single person here tonight.¡±

    ¡°No one ising with you!¡± Atticus shouts.

    Autumn jumps in front of Atticus when a fireball is suddenly flying in his direction. The me doesn¡¯t

    harm her, just like Cassius said earlier. Their power could be used on anyone else but themselves.

    When he tries to attack Damon, rissa does the same thing as her sister.

    We couldn¡¯t jump in front of everyone he tried to strike. We were in serious trouble.

    ¡°Stop it,¡± Caroline whispers. ¡°I¡¯lle with you. Just stop hurting everyone else.¡±? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    His eyes zero in on her.

    ¡°No!¡± I scream along with Winter.

    ¡°We can still kill him!¡± Winter shouts. ¡°We can¡¯t give up. This is our only chance!¡±

    Caroline ignores all of us and throws herself into his waiting arms. We don¡¯t have a second to react

    when they both disappear in front of our eyes.

    ¡°CAROLINEEE¡ª,¡± I scream.

 Chapter 262

    Chapter 262

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 263

    Book 3 Chapter 98

    ~WILLOW~

    ¡°He has Caroline!¡± Winter screams. ¡°He has my sister!¡±

    I hugged her tightly as the tears came rushing down. Caroline had sacrificed herself for me. She¡¯d

    taken my ce. It was the only way to save the rest of us from him.

    We weren¡¯t prepared for him. He was much stronger than any of us anticipated.

    ¡°I¡¯ve failed.¡± She gasps. ¡°I couldn¡¯t kill him.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t fail,¡± I assure her. ¡°You tried your best. Everyone did. We know exactly what we¡¯re up

    against now. We can take him down but not now. We can find Caroline and bring her back safely. He

    still doesn¡¯t have what he wanted when he came here. He doesn¡¯t have Autumn and rissa. He will

    keep Caroline alive for another trade, I¡¯m sure of it.¡±

    ¡°This was the f*****g scariest night of my existence.¡± Griffin hissed. ¡°What the f**k is that psychopath?¡±

    ¡°Our brother.¡± Autumn gasps. ¡°The son of Azai Reign. A sorcerer. And sadly, a monster. He¡¯s just like

    Winter described. He¡¯s just like our father.¡±

    I can hear the hurt in her voice from admitting that her brother had turned into a monster. It must be

    hard for Autumn and rissa. They were hoping that they could change him. They were hoping that

    love could bring him back.

    He was too lost for any of that to happen. All he wanted was power, just like his father was obsessed

    with it.

    ¡°How are we nothing like him?¡± rissa whispers. ¡°Are we one day going to turn into a monster as

    well?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± I assure her. ¡°You and Autumn are nothing like your brother or father. You¡¯re kind,

    sweet, gentle. I¡¯ve never met kinder people than you two. There is no way that you¡¯ll ever turn into

    someone like him.¡±

    I was trying to be strong for everyone, but the truth was that I was terrified inside after what happened

    today. Cassius was unlike anyone I¡¯ve ever met. He was terrifying, and he wanted to kill us all to gain

    what he wanted.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you guys, but I want to get home quickly after tonight,¡± Lucy whispers. ¡°I can¡¯t wait

    to see my baby. I thought I wouldn¡¯t be able to see him again after what we just had to witness.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m right there with you.¡± Isabe agrees with her.

    ¡°Thank you for being with us today.¡± I thank them. ¡°You didn¡¯t have toe here and risk your lives, but

    you still did. Thank you so much.¡±

    Gabrie and Maya both hug me at the same time. ¡°We¡¯re always here if you need us. And we will help

    search for your sister also. We don¡¯t know where Cassius has taken her, but we will find her. She risked

    her life for all of us today. We need to find a way to repay her kindness.¡±

    I could feel the tears in my eyes at their words. I was terrified of losing Caroline. Winter was almost

    inconsble. Our mother was by her side, but she didn¡¯t seem good atforting her. I¡¯m sure she

    med me for this. I was the one that encouraged them to leave the safety of their home so that I

    could help Dante.

    If I hadn¡¯t made that decision, they would still be safe. But how long would I have stayed hidden for?

    And I had to get to Dante; I was scared he would have gotten himself killed.

    I look for him in the crowd, and I can see him staring straight at me. He was still a bit dizzy but his eyes

    were focused on me. We had plenty to talk about after what just happened.

    I¡¯m still shocked that he didn¡¯t choose the shapeshifter pretending to be Anya over me. Did this mean

    that Anya was certainly in his past? Or was he aware that she was a shapeshifter from the start?

    I would love nothing more than to know Dante loved me back. It¡¯s all I¡¯ve ever wanted.

    After an hour of talking, we all said our goodbyes; I was surprised that Dante didn¡¯t try to speak to me

    yet.

    He hugged me tightly when he found me earlier, but that was it. Nothing else. He didn¡¯t say a single

    thing to me except that he was happy that I was alive.

    Why wasn¡¯t he saying anything?

    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    He begged me to stay with him thest time he saw me; why wasn¡¯t he doing it now? Did seeing Anya

    again make him change his mind about us?

    I tried to push that thought out of my head. I needed to be there for my sister. She was the one in the

    most pain.

    When we returned to the house, I spent the next few hoursforting Winter while Dante and his

    brothers went out onest time to see if they could find Caroline.

    It was the next day when they returned. None of us had gotten any sleep. We were all exhausted.

    I was still waiting for a chance to get Dante alone.

    The second he walks through the door, his eyes immediately search for me. When they find me, he

    doesn¡¯t think twice before moving towards me like he¡¯d waited years to see me even though we¡¯d seen

    each other a few hours ago.

    I staypletely still until he stops right in front of me.

    I open my mouth to say something, but nothinges out.

    ¡°We need to talk, Willow.¡±

 Chapter 263

    Chapter 263

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 264

    Book 3 Chapter 99

    ~DANTE~

    I¡¯d finally gotten Willow alone in my room, where I¡¯d been dying to have her. It felt unreal to have her

    back here after all of the craziness we¡¯ve had to go through the past few days since she left me.

    ¡°Go ahead.¡± She says without any emotion. ¡°Say what you want to tell me. I¡¯m listening.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Willow. For everything.¡± I apologize. This is the most sincere I¡¯ve ever been in my life. I

    meant every word I was about to say to her. ¡°When you entered my life, I was still getting used to the

    idea of Anya¡¯s betrayal and losing her simultaneously. Our marriage wasn¡¯t easy for me initially; it

    happened too quickly after Anya¡¯s death. I was confused and lost. I¡¯m not trying to make excuses for

    my actions; I just want you to know that I wouldn¡¯t have been such a fool if I¡¯d met you under different

    circumstances.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t say anything as she waits for me to continue.

    ¡°But then I got to know you. Little by little, you made your way into my heart. You showed me what it

    meant to be loved by someone. Not the fake kind of love that Anya showed to me. With you, I didn¡¯t

    feel lonely; I didn¡¯t feel like I was fighting a losing battle. You made everything better, Willow. You gave

    me hope again; you gave me a reason to live. You gave me everything and more than I ever wanted

    from Anya.¡± I whisper, staring intensely into her eyes.

    ¡°You loved me when I was impossible to love. You did things for me that no one would have ever done.

    You shined your light into my life and made it into something wonderful.¡± I tell her. ¡°Willow, I¡¯ve never

    known another woman like you. I¡¯m sorry for ever making you feel like a second option. I¡¯m sorry for

    ever making you believe I could never love you. I¡¯m sorry for taking so long to heal from Anya. I¡¯m sorry

    that I didn¡¯t give myself to you right away. I¡¯m sorry that I was a horrible husband. All I want to do from

    now on is to make it up to you, Willow.¡±

    ¡°Dante¡ª¡±

    ¡°I know I was wrong, Willow.¡± I cut her off. ¡°Those things that I said to Atticus that day, I didn¡¯t mean any

    of it. I was in shock. That night with you was the best night of my f*****g life, and it terrified me to the

    point that I thought it was wrong. I thought the feeling in my chest wasn¡¯t allowed. I was foolish back

    then. I knew I needed you; I couldn¡¯t live without you, and I was afraid of losing you. I didn¡¯t want to

    take advantage of your love for me, and it felt like I¡¯d done just that. I¡¯m so sorry that you heard those

    horrible words from my mouth, and I¡¯m even ashamed that I said those words to you.¡±

    I don¡¯t wait for her to say anything else. I had to do everything possible to make her understand and

    believe how much I loved her.

    ¡°When you left, everything fell apart. I felt like my entire life was over. I missed you like f*****g crazy. All

    I wanted was to have you back into my life again. I wanted the chance to tell you all of the things I¡¯m

    saying to you now. Willow, at this point in my life, you¡¯re the only woman I am in love with. I swear to

    you, there is no one else but you. After learning that you¡¯re pregnant with my baby, our baby, my whole

    life shed before my eyes. Cassius had kidnapped you, and he was holding you captive with our

    unborn baby. It was a terrifying time for me. It made me realize that I would f*****g die without you.

    When Anya died, you were my only reason for living, and you still are. Without you, I see no reason to

    stay on this earth.¡±

    I take a deep breath. ¡°f**k. I just love you so much. I f*****g love you Willow and it would mean the

    world to me if you could give me onest chance. Please. I¡¯ll never hurt you again. Never.¡±

    The words were pouring out from me one after the next. I had to make sure she understood just how

    deeply in love I was with her. I had to make sure she knew that Anya was in the past and would never

    come between us again.

    ¡°Did you know that it was a shapeshifter?¡± she asks me.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°When you stuck the knife into her chest. Did you know it wasn¡¯t the real Anya?¡±

    I swallow. ¡°I didn¡¯t know at first. I was shocked to see her, that was my initial reaction. I only knew it

    wasn¡¯t her after I stabbed her.¡± I confess.

    ¡°Two weeks.¡± She says suddenly.

    Two weeks? What could she possibly mean by that? I expected her to say more to me, but this left me

    surprised.

    I frown. ¡°Two weeks?¡±

    She nods, ¡°That¡¯s all I¡¯m asking for. You can¡¯t touch me, kiss me, hug me. You need to keep your

    distance from me. We will sleep in the same bed, but you won¡¯t be able to do anything but speak to me.

    That¡¯s your punishment.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a little too harsh?¡± I ask. I would rather she punched me multiple times than not

    be able to touch her.

    I couldn¡¯t imagine having her in the same bed as me and not being able to touch her the way I wanted

    to.This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    She narrows her eyes, ¡°then I won¡¯t even return home to you. I¡¯ll stay with Winter and help her search

    for Caroline.¡±

    I pull her into my arms without a second thought, ¡°I ept. It¡¯s a small request after all of the s**t I¡¯ve

    done to you. I can do it. I can do anything you want from me, Willow. Just don¡¯t ever leave me again. I

    can¡¯t live without you. I can¡¯t f*****g breathe when you¡¯re not by my side.¡±

    She smiles against my chest, ¡°You¡¯re breaking the rules right now.¡± She whispers. ¡°You¡¯re not

    supposed to touch me for two weeks.¡±

    I growl, ¡°just a few more seconds, please.¡±

    And then add on the rest of my life.

 Chapter 264

    Chapter 264

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 265

    Book 3 Chapter 100

    ~WILLOW~

    I could feel Dante¡¯s eyes on me with every move I made. His needy gaze hadn¡¯t left me since we woke

    up this morning. It was thest day. After midnight, he would be able to touch me again.

    I asked this as a punishment for him, but I felt like I punished myself more than I did him. Sleeping next

    to him every night, hearing him tell me the sweetest things and how much he loved me, and not being

    able to touch him or let him feel me. It was t*****e.

    I knew he wanted me, also. Every night, I could see the longing in his eyes. Today, it was much

    stronger.

    My pregnancy hormones were also taking over, and for some reason, Dante seemed to love and want

    me even more while pregnant.

    Everyone was happy that there was a baby on the way.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I will have my first grandchild!¡± His mother exims with joy.

    ¡°You have truly blessed us all, Willow.¡± His grandfather praises me.

    ¡°I can¡¯t contain my excitement,¡± rissa admits. ¡°I¡¯m going to be an auntie, and I can¡¯t freaking believe

    it!¡±

    Griffin nods, ¡°And I¡¯m going to be an uncle. I¡¯m going to teach him so many things.¡±

    ¡°Why do you think it¡¯s a boy?¡± I ask him.

    He wiggles his eyebrows at me, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be a boy? My uncle senses are tingling. It¡¯s a boy.¡±

    I stole a nce at Dante, and I was surprised to see a bright smile on his face as he watched me

    interact with his family. This was the happiest I¡¯d ever seen him, and I couldn¡¯t believe how far we¡¯d

    come in just two weeks.

    The only thing that could have made this better was having Caroline back with us. We¡¯d searched

    everywhere for her, my mother tried contacting Cassius again, but he¡¯dpletely disappeared. I

    guessed that he was hiding. Even though he was powerful and winning the battle, he did get seriously

    hurt during the fight.

    We all knew he wouldn¡¯t dare kill her. But we didn¡¯t know the condition she was in either. She sacrificed

    herself for me, and I would never forget it. I couldn¡¯t wait for the chance to return the favor; I lost her

    when I was a child, and just when I found her back, I¡¯d lost her again.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Dante asks. ¡°You look distracted.¡±

    Everyone turns to look at me.

    ¡°I¡¯m worried about Caroline,¡± I confess. ¡°I feel terrible that she gave everything up for me.¡±

    ¡°We will find her, Willow,¡± Autumn promises me. ¡°I know how difficult this must be for you. First, you lost

    Anya, and now Caroline has been kidnapped by our brother. I still can¡¯t believe he¡¯s turned so evil. I

    wish there were a chance for us to meet him in the past and prevent him from losing himself.¡±

    rissa nods, ¡°I keep getting back memories from my past every single day. He wasn¡¯t always this evil.

    He was a normal boy who enjoyed ying and doing fun things. I can¡¯t believe we¡¯ve lost him before

    getting to know him better.¡±

    We were all in pain for different reasons, but I was still grateful that we had each other tofort us

    during these difficult times.

    ¡°This is a happy asion. We have a baby on the way, and we¡¯re all still alive despite the many, many

    challenges. As long as we are together, we can face anything!¡± Atticus says as we all raise our sses.

    Later that day, exactly five minutes to midnight, Dante entered our room with a look of longing in his

    eyes. I could see every raw emotion on his face as he watched me like I was his next meal.

    ¡°It¡¯s not midnight yet.¡± I tease him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to remind me.¡± He growls as he takes a step towards me.

    I take one back, and he doesn¡¯t stop until I¡¯m jammed against the wall, but still, he wasn¡¯t touching me.

    ¡°Three minutes left.¡± He whispers. ¡°I¡¯m counting down the seconds.¡±

    He didn¡¯t do anything but stare into my eyes, and I could feel myself grow wet between my legs without

    him even touching a single hair on my body.

    He leaned in closer so that his lips were inches away from mine. Both of his hands were on the wall to

    the sides of me.

    ¡°Three,¡± he whispers. ¡°Two.¡±

    I could hardly breathe. I needed this.

    ¡°One¡ª¡± he doesn¡¯t even finish when his mouth crashes down on mine.

    I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him tightly as he lifted me off the ground. I moaned loudly

    into his mouth. His grip was firm, and he held me like I was the most precious thing in the world to him.

    I felt safe and desired in his arms.

    ¡°I love you, Willow.¡± He growls against my lips. ¡°Keeping my hands and lips off you these two weeks

    has been the hardest f*****g thing I¡¯ve ever had to do. I need you every second of every day. I don¡¯t

    want to spend a day without having you in my arms again.¡±

    I bit down hard on his lip, and he growled even louder.

    ¡°I¡¯ll f*****g die if I don¡¯t get inside of you now.¡±

    ¡°Then what are you waiting for?¡± I gasp. ¡°It¡¯s been hard for me also. These pregnancy hormones are

    driving me insane. I¡¯ve been needing you since the first night.¡±

    He pulls my hair back and res, ¡°You¡¯ve needed me all this time, and you didn¡¯t think to tell me?¡± He

    demands. ¡°I¡¯m okay with suffering myself, but I cannot live with myself if I don¡¯t spend the rest of my life

    giving you exactly what you want and need.¡±

    ¡°Rx,¡± I whisper. ¡°I have you now.¡±

    He rips my dress from my body, and he looks pleased when he finds me wearing nothing underneath.

    ¡°I knew you woulde for me,¡± I whisper as I run my hands down his bare chest. ¡°I didn¡¯t want

    anything between us. I wanted to be ready for this.¡±

    I¡¯ve been ready for it a long time now.

    He grabbed both of my breasts in his hands and squeezed it tightly. ¡°I¡¯ve missed them so much. They

    fit perfectly in my hands, just like they always do.¡±

    I gasped when he took my n****e into his mouth before moving to the next one.

    I desperately unbutton his pants, and he helps me. We were both desperate for one thing.

    I cried out when I felt him down there. It¡¯s bigger than I remembered it. I can feel the hunger pulsing as

    it waits to get inside me.

    ¡°Look at me.¡± He growls, and I do.

    Without warning, he ms into me, and I scream his name.

    ¡°You¡¯ve given me everything I¡¯ve ever wanted, Willow.¡± He whispers as he leaves kisses on my neck.

    ¡°Thank you foring into my life and being my reason to live.¡±

    I smile and pull his lips against mine. I kissed him with all the love I felt for him. I gasped when he

    began to move inside of me. Dante pounds in and out of me like it¡¯s ourst time together. It¡¯s better

    than any time we¡¯ve been this close together. Nothing is keeping us apart anymore. Nothing and no

    one will ever separate us again.

    He roars when he climaxes, and I hold him close against me as he releases.

    ¡°I love you Dante.¡± I cry. ¡°I love you so much.¡±

    ~THE END~

    . . .

    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    ~A/N:

    Hi, my beautiful readers; thank you for staying for another of my stories. Your support always means

    the world to me. I would like to thank my loyal readers for continuing to support my book through it all. I

    hope that you¡¯ve enjoyed this story and will continue to enjoy my future stories as well.

    The following story will focus on Scarlett and Carter. The book¡¯s title is ¡®Dirty Desires¡¯ and will continue

    here as book four. The first few chapters have already been posted.

    Synopsis:

    What do you do when your older sister asks you to make her ex-boyfriend fall in love with you and

    break his heart like he broke hers? You say yes, of course. Familyes first. Now, what do you do

    when you begin to fall for the yer who broke your sister¡¯s heart? You fight your feelings, of course. . .

    Or kiss him under the moonlight and pray you can tell her the truth one day.

    Neen-year-old Scarlett Mae has her peaceful life turned upside down when her sister asks her for a

    crazy favor- to make her ex-boyfriend fall for her. Scarlett stupidly epts her sister¡¯s requests but

    soon realizes she underestimated Carter Prince¡¯s ability to woo a woman. Now she¡¯s fighting back her

    feelings and hiding the truth from her sister, but all secrets eventually muste to light; is anyone

    ready to face it?

    Here is a sneak peek:

    ~CARTER~

    No one knew the real reason I ended things with ra. I was supposed to stay away from any woman

    that was too good for me. Then ra¡¯s pretty sister started looking my way. Scarlett was everything I

    knew to stay away from. She was too gentle, too innocent for me. My ways would rip her apart if she

    ever let me near her heart. But still, I can¡¯t seem to stop going after her. I know it¡¯s f*****g wrong. I know

    I should stay away, but every time I see her pretty face, I want to pull her panties down and suck on her

    p***y. s*x was my weakness. Not being able to have a mate was another one. And Scarlett has just

    been added to my list. I knew all I needed was one taste, and she would be in danger. That¡¯s why, no

    matter what she offers me, I have to keep her far away. I can never sleep with Scarlett Mae. She was

    off-limits. Off-fucking-limits.

 Chapter 265

    Chapter 265

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 266

    Book 4 Dirty Desires ¨C Chapter 1

    Carter Prince. He¡¯s the star yer of the football team, the man of every girl¡¯s dreams and deepest

    desires, and the alpha of the Serenity Moon pack. His face is stered on the front cover of every

    school newspaper, with his dark grey eyes and light blonde hair, not to mention his hard-rock chest and

    perfect smile.

    Oh, and if I forgot to mention, he¡¯s also my older sister¡¯s boyfriend. She¡¯s twenty-one, and he¡¯s the

    same age as her, while I¡¯ve just turned neen. ra is beautiful in every way, and they suit each

    other more than any couple I¡¯ve known. She¡¯s the captain of our school¡¯s cheerleader club and the

    prettiest girl I¡¯ve ever known. ra has green eyes and long ck hair, which girls would die for. She

    isn¡¯tcking in her figure either; once, I saw a guy on a scooter crash into a car while trying to get a

    better look at her a*s.

    It was not a pretty sight, but it¡¯s something I¡¯ve grown used to by now. ra wasn¡¯t just beautiful; she

    was also very kind. She had a cheerful personality, and everyone adored her. She was a straight-A

    student; it was the one thing we shared.

    She was popr, and I was not. She loved the spotlight, and I hated it. I loved hiding my face behind

    books and staying out of everyone¡¯s way. I¡¯ve survived many of my school years, and I nned on

    keeping it that way. While many knew who my sister was, no one knew who I was except my best

    friend Jenna, of course. We became next-door neighbors ten years ago, and we¡¯ve been inseparable

    since then. She¡¯s the best friend any girl could ever wish for, more of a friend than my sister ever was.

    While my sister was never mean to me, she never tried growing a bond with me either, and that was

    okay; we lived separate lives even though we were under the same roof.

    ¡°Scarlett!¡± my best friend screams my name from across the track field. I pull the headphones off my

    ear and turn towards her. She¡¯s running toward me with a grin on her face.

    ¡°You¡¯re in a cheerful mood today,¡± I tell her as she catches up to me.

    Sheughs, ¡°Aren¡¯t I always in a good mood whenever I see you?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m known to brighten everyone¡¯s day like ra,¡± I say sarcastically.

    Sheughs, ¡°I don¡¯t know about everyone¡¯s day, but as long as you¡¯re brightening my day, that¡¯s all that

    matters.¡± she tells me as she wraps her arms around my shoulders.

    ¡°Come on, tell me the truth. Why are you this happy today?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Our favorite author has just released her most recent book!¡± she screams. ¡°How can you forget? Did I

    not mark it on your calendar?¡±

    I pull out my phone and check the date on the phone. How did I forget that it was Friday?

    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± I scream. ¡°Ahh, I¡¯m so ready for tonight! I hope you know you must sleep over, and I¡¯m

    not taking no for an answer!¡±

    She rolls her eyes, ¡°just try and stop me!¡±

    ¡°Oh, look!¡± Someone interrupts us. ¡°The less important Mae sister.¡±

    Jenna and I stop walking at the rude interruption.

    ¡°Amy,¡± I say as I force a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t you have something better to do than waste time on the less

    important Mae sister? I¡¯m not that interesting, trust me. You¡¯ll only be wasting your time trying to get a

    reaction from me.¡±

    She flips her hair and pushes her sunsses off her eyes. She¡¯s about to respond when someone

    catches her attention.

    I follow her gaze, and it¡¯s none other than the famous Carter Prince. He¡¯s running onto the field with the

    rest of his team.

    I frown as Amy tries to shorten the length of her skirt like it isn¡¯t already shorter than it should be. Jenna

    gives me an annoyed look, and I stifle my chuckle. It¡¯s official: we didn¡¯t like this girl, but who can me

    us? Amy was tough to like; she was the typical mean girl you found in almost any school. She should

    have matured by now, but I don¡¯t think she ever will.

    I turn my attention to the football field, and the men are all high-fiving each other; they¡¯d won another

    match earlier today. I don¡¯t think many teams stood a chance against The Fearsome Beasts; that¡¯s

    what they called them. It was one of their many, many names. I think the name did suit them; they were

    good at what they did. I couldn¡¯t deny that truth.

    Jenna pulls at my arms and has a worried look on her face. I follow her gaze, and it¡¯s only then that I

    spot my sister rushing into the field. I¡¯m not sure if I see correctly, but it looks like she¡¯s crying. She has

    her phone in her hand, and it seems like she¡¯s shoving it into Carter¡¯s face.

    He doesn¡¯t seem surprised to find her there; it¡¯s almost like he¡¯s expected her toe storming into the

    field with something to say. He doesn¡¯t try to calm her or even tofort her. In fact, his teammates

    seem to be more concerned for my sister than her boyfriend is.

    ¡°What do you think is happening?¡± Jenna asks me.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious,¡± Amy says? ¡°It looks like your sister finally found out that Carter has been screwing all

    of the women in our school except her.¡±

    My jaw drops at her words, ¡°what are you talking about?¡± I demand. ¡°Carter loves my sister. They do

    everything together.¡±

    Amyughs, ¡°Are you delusional, or have you been living under a rock? He¡¯s been doing this since he

    first hooked up with your sister. Everyone in the school knows it. Carter doesn¡¯t belong to one woman;

    he¡¯s never been that way, why would you or your sister believe he would be faithful to her?¡±Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

 Chapter 266

    Chapter 266

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 267

    Book 4 Chapter 2

    ~SCARLETT~

    I couldn¡¯t believe this. Carter has been cheating on my sister all this time? What the hell is wrong with

    him? She¡¯s perfect in every way; she¡¯s the best girlfriend any man would want. How on earth could he

    do this to her?

    I couldn¡¯t stand here and watch this like ra¡¯s so-called friends. We weren¡¯t that close, but she was

    still my sister. I would not let some loser hurt her in front of hundreds of other students.

    I push Amy out of my way and storm toward them. No one is paying any attention to me, but when

    have they ever done that? I was almost invisible, and even though I loved that about my life, I was

    finally stepping into the spotlight today to save my sister.

    ¡°How could you?¡± I hear ra scream as I grow closer to them.

    He doesn¡¯t answer her; he gives her zero exnations.

    ¡°How many were there?¡± She demands from him. ¡°Did you sleep with the entire school? How many

    were there, Carter? I thought you loved me. I foolishly trusted every word that came out of your filthy

    mouth. You¡¯re a disgusting piece of s**t, and I hope you one day suffer like what you¡¯re doing to me

    today.¡±

    ¡°You knew from the start what I am,¡± he finally says. ¡°I never tried hiding it from you. I¡¯m a free man. I

    don¡¯t have to worry about finding a mate. I want to live my life. I don¡¯t n on ever settling down. Not

    for you, not for anyone.¡±

    If I forgot to mention before, I¡¯d say it now: Carter¡¯s family has suffered a curse for generations. His

    family is the only one of our kind that was not blessed with mates. It sounds unbelievable since mates

    are the one thing separating werewolves from everyone else. I don¡¯t know the exact story, but they

    were cursed. Because of this, they can date freely without worrying about their mate getting offended

    since they didn¡¯t have any.

    It doesn¡¯t mean he has to be an a*s to my sister because of it. His excuse was dumb, and he still didn¡¯t

    apologize to her.

    She¡¯s crying more than ever now, and I hate seeing my sister like this; she¡¯s always been one to

    compose herself, afraid of ruining her reputation. She must be in a lot of pain to do this out in the open

    for everyone to see.

    I couldn¡¯t let her do anymore to her reputation; she would regret it by tomorrow.

    I walk over to them and stand directly in front of Carter. His eyes slowly move from my sister to me. It¡¯s

    the first time we¡¯ve looked into each other¡¯s eyes. I¡¯m startled a little at first from seeing him this close.

    It¡¯s unfair that someone with such a dirty character is given so many good looks as well. Maybe that¡¯s

    why his character is so poor: because of his eyes, he thinks he¡¯s better than everyone else. He thinks

    that he can treat anyone in whatever way he wishes to because he knows that he will get another

    woman in a snap of his fingers.

    Carter has visited our house multiple times, but he¡¯s always stayed locked up in my sister¡¯s room. He

    never stayed over for dinner with my parents, and we never said a word to each other before. I never

    thought that I would be in this position; everyone had their phones out, and they were recording every

    second of our first-ever exchange.

    By the look on his face, he recognizes me; at least he knows I¡¯m ra¡¯s younger sister. It would be a

    shame if he didn¡¯t even know this small detail about her life.

    I narrow my eyes, and before he can see iting, I punch him straight in his lips. There are shocked

    gasps around us, including from my sister. No one expected a bookworm like me to do something like

    that. I punched the most popr guy in our school, for crying out loud. Where did I find the strength to

    do something like that?

    Carter doesn¡¯t even wince from the punch. Instead, he rubs his thumb finger over his bleeding lower lip.

    ¡°That¡¯s for my sister, you dumb jerk!¡± I shout. He quirks a brow at me, and I feel like punching him for a

    second time. I grab ra¡¯s hand and pull her away from the field.

    ¡°Who does he think he is?¡± I ask her. ¡°He has no right treating you that way. You¡¯ve been nothing but

    good to him, and you deserve so much better; you CAN do better than him. There are so many men

    that will willingly jump to give you anything that you want. Yet that asshole had you and chose to cheat

    on you with a bunch of nobodies. I want to go back and punch him again. Maybe even knee him in his

    crutch!¡±

    ra is quiet as we head over to our car. I don¡¯t think she¡¯s hearing a word I¡¯m saying to her. She¡¯s in

    too much shock to understand anything that¡¯s happening around her.

    ¡°And what kind of friends do you even have?¡± I demand. ¡°They just stood there and watched while that

    jerk had nothing good to say to you. They¡¯re all not worthy of your kind heart.¡±

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    She¡¯s quiet throughout our drive back home; we never go home together; Carter is the one who usually

    drops her home.

    When we finally walk into the house, I watch my sister drop to the floor and cry her eyes out. It¡¯s the

    worst I¡¯ve ever seen her before. She must have loved him with her entire heart. I couldn¡¯t believe that

    we were so blind all this time; everyone knew that he was cheating on her except us. How could we

    have not seen the signs? My sister was too blinded by love, while I was never interested in her love life.

 Chapter 267

    Chapter 267

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 268

    Book 4 Chapter 3

    ~SCARLETT~

    The next day at school, my sister still wasn¡¯t in high spirits. I tried to cheer her up yesterday, but she

    wanted no part of it. I can¡¯t me her, though; it was only the second day, and she¡¯d just gone through

    a messy breakup. I wish there were some way for me to help her. I wasn¡¯t used to seeing her like this.

    Everywhere we went, people were talking behind her back, whispering,ughing. She was still popr;

    that hadn¡¯t changed, but her reputation had taken a hit. She knew this; I knew this, everyone knew it.

    She would have to do something drastic to regain everyone¡¯s respect. If I were her, I would let people

    do and say whatever they wanted; I wouldn¡¯t waste my time in the spotlight around dense people. But

    my sister and I were too different for her to do something like that.

    ¡°How is she holding up?¡± Jenna asks as she joins the both of us.

    ¡°Not good at all.¡±

    ¡°I think you should carry her in the other direction.¡± She informs me.

    ¡°What are you¡ª¡±

    I don¡¯t get to finish my question when I spot Carter with a woman wrapped around his arms, snuggling

    into his neck. I expect him to look at my sister, but instead, his eyes are on me when he spots the three

    of us. I narrow my eyes. Does he want another punch to the face? I would be happy to do it for him. But

    in this case, punching him twice would not be enough.

    Shouldn¡¯t he have waited before disying how much of an asshole he was?

    ra doesn¡¯t try to talk to him again, and I¡¯m happy she isn¡¯t letting him ruin her life any more than he¡¯d

    already done. I don¡¯t know if he watches us walk away, but I can feel the hairs on my neck tingle as

    though he was still watching me. Why was he even looking at me? He should be looking at ra. He

    should be begging for her forgiveness. He should be doing anything but have another woman wrapped

    around him.

    ¡°Can you believe him?¡± Jenna asks us. ¡°ra, I¡¯m so sorry he¡¯s doing this to you. He¡¯s dumb. Any man

    would be lucky to have you. And soon enough, you will find someone much better than him.¡±

    ¡°Thank you both,¡± ra tells us. ¡°I¡¯m trying not to let his actions affect me anymore, but it¡¯s hard. I

    thought he loved me, too. He never told me he did, but I always thought he was bad at showing his

    emotions. Now I know that he never said it because he never actually loved me. All this time, my love

    was one-sided. I can¡¯t believe how stupid I¡¯ve been.¡±

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t stupid,¡± I tell her. ¡°You just chose to love the wrong person. And that¡¯s okay, people make

    mistakes. He¡¯s the stupid one, and soon enough, he will realize his mistake.¡±

    ¡°I want him to realize it now.¡± She says suddenly, ¡°I want to see him suffer right away. I don¡¯t want to

    have to wait. And I hate having to see him happy with other women. I will have no choice but to spend

    the rest of my school days looking at him and the multiple women he will hook up with. Now I know that

    there will be many.¡±

    She pulls Jenna and me into the bathroom suddenly. After checking that it was just the three of us in

    here, she turned to us.

    ¡°I think I have an idea; I know how to make him pay for what he¡¯s done to me.¡± She says.

    Jenna gives me a look and leans against the mirror, ¡°you have an idea?¡± She asks. ¡°And what is this

    idea? If it¡¯s anything that can get us in trouble, I¡¯m in. Things have been too boring around here; I¡¯m

    ready to spice things up.¡±

    ¡°My n includes you,¡± she tells me. ¡°I can¡¯t pull it off without you.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± I ask in a squeaky voice. ¡°Why would it include me? If you want me to punch him again, I¡¯ll dly

    do it, but if our parents get called in this time, I¡¯m ming you for asking me to do it.¡±

    She shakes her head, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not asking you to punch him again. I don¡¯t know why you did it in

    the first ce. That act could havended you in serious trouble if Carter had reported it to the principal

    or if any teachers had seen you hit him.¡±

    Carter would not run to the principal because a girl hit him, it would ruin his reputation, and everyone in

    the school and other nearby schools would spend the rest of the yearughing at him. Come to think of

    it that would have been the perfect kind of revenge. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s worth getting in trouble, however.

    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± I ask her. ¡°If punching him is not an option. I¡¯m not sure what else I can

    do to help you.¡±

    ¡°You may think it¡¯s a little crazy,¡± she tells me. ¡°But I want you to keep an open mind.¡±

    Keep an open mind. Now, she¡¯s beginning to freak me out a little. Just how crazy was this n of hers?

    My sister never really did crazy stuff, as far as I know, so why would shee up with a crazy n?

    ¡°Tell me,¡± I say, urging her to continue.

    ¡°It¡¯s the only way I can think of hurting him like he hurt me. He clearly doesn¡¯t care for me or any

    woman that he¡¯s sleeping around with. The only way to hurt him is if he falls first. He needs to actually

    have feelings to get hurt. We need to get him to care for you, to start liking you. The moment that he

    begins to fall for you, as I did for him, you end things with him and let him feel the pain that he¡¯s been

    doing to others.¡±

    My jaw drops, and it takes me a moment topose myself. She¡¯s asking me to make her ex-

    boyfriend fall in love with me?

 Chapter 268

    Chapter 268

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 269

    Book 4 Chapter 4

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re hearing yourself right now. Carter is YOUR ex-boyfriend. Why would I try to make

    him fall in love with me?¡± I ask her. ¡°That¡¯s too insane. I don¡¯t like the guy; spending any time at all with

    him would be t*****e. I don¡¯t want to be around him. I much rathery in my bed, reading a romance

    novel.¡±

    ¡°Please,¡± ra begs me. ¡°You¡¯re the only one I trust to do this for me. He will never expect someone

    like you to do something like this.¡±

    ¡°Someone like me?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Yes, you don¡¯t care for him at all. So the mere fact that you¡¯ll suddenly be showing him any attention at

    all would throw him off guard. If you surprise him, he will not be prepared at all.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re listening to yourself here, ra,¡± I hiss. ¡°This is your ex-boyfriend. Carter Prince.

    The guy you were once in love with and probably still are. You¡¯re asking me to pretend to have feelings

    for him and also to make him have feelings for me. Are you not hearing how insane this sounds? First,

    he would never fall for it; I¡¯m nothing like the girls he goes for. Carter likes a certain type; you belong to

    the category of girls he dates. The popr, drop-dead gorgeous kind. I¡¯m neither of those two, and the

    only time he noticed me was when I punched him in the face, which is something that would get

    anyone to notice me.¡±

    ¡°I have to agree with Scarlett,¡± Jenna finally cuts in. ¡°Getting her to flirt with Carter is not a good idea.

    She¡¯s your sister; I don¡¯t think even Carter would fall for that. As bad as he is, I doubt he would want to

    try dating the girl that punched him. Plus, I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve noticed this, but Scarlett doesn¡¯t know

    how to flirt at all.¡±

    I roll my eyes at her, ¡°and you have all the experience in the world?¡±

    ¡°Hey,¡± she pouts, ¡°I was only trying to help you escape this. No need to point out the obvious.¡±

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t need to know how to flirt or even be the most popr girl in school,¡± ra tells us. ¡°If you

    haven¡¯t noticed already, I¡¯m the most popr girl in school, and that still wasn¡¯t enough to let him fall in

    love with me. Carter will fall for a woman that¡¯s hard to get. None of the women around him poses a

    challenge. They all threw themselves at him, including me; I gave in very easily. He needs a girl like

    you, someone who¡¯s hard to get, someone who puts up a fight and doesn¡¯t let him get his way easily. It

    will be easy for you to do this because you don¡¯t like him. You won¡¯t fall for his charms, and he will be

    the only one falling. Believe me, Scarlett, I can get him to fall in love with you. And if you¡¯re worried

    about your image, I can fix that. You are beautiful; you hide behind big sweaters. I¡¯ll get your hair and

    makeup done, give you some of my outfits, or maybe we can go shopping. Whatever it is, I can make

    him fall head over heels for you. I know the things he likes. If you show the same interest, he will

    definitely want to get closer to you. Make him think that you are friends at first. Do everything slowly; if

    it moves too fast, he will get over you as quickly as he got over me and all the other girls he screwed

    over.¡±

    ¡°I find it hard to believe that you just came up with this n,¡± I say. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve had much time to

    think about it.¡±

    ¡°It was on my mind sincest night,¡± she confesses. ¡°I just wasn¡¯t sure if it was the right thing to do, but

    after seeing Carter with that other girl today. I know that I want to see him suffer. It¡¯s unfair that he gets

    to be happy after destroying my life.¡±Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    I groan and drop my head on Jenna¡¯s shoulder. She gently pats me on the head as my sister waits for

    me to answer.

    ¡°Please, Scarlett,¡± she begs one more time. ¡°Like I said, you¡¯re the only one I trust to do this. Any other

    girl would fall for Carter before he can fall for them. You¡¯re the only woman I know who thinks he¡¯s

    stupid or isn¡¯t worth the hype. I never ask you to help me with anything. It¡¯s the only time I ask you to do

    something for me. Will you help me?¡±

    She was right. She never asked me for my help before. At least not for anything like this.

    I raise my head off Jenna¡¯s shoulder and turn towards my sister, ¡°I¡¯m only doing this because you¡¯re my

    sister, and I also want to see Carter suffer for his foolish ways. But don¡¯t me me if this n fails. I

    don¡¯t think I can ever make someone like him fall in love with someone like me. I still think it will not

    work. But if this is what you want me to do, I will do it for you. I will help you, sister, but only because I

    care for you.¡±

    ra screamed with excitement the moment that I agreed to help her. My eyes widen as someone

    walks in and hears her crying.

    ¡°Ha, ha,¡± I say awkwardly, faking myugh. ¡°We¡¯re just practicing screaming for ss. You know,

    normal girl stuff.¡±

    The girls look at us like we¡¯re crazy until they spot my sister.

    ¡°Hi ra,¡± she says nervously. ¡°We heard what happened with Carter. He¡¯s a jerk.¡±

    ra smiles and thanks them before we walk out of the bathroom.

    I couldn¡¯t believe what I just did.

    Did I truly agree to get Carter Prince to fall in love with me?

 Chapter 269

    Chapter 269

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 270

    Book 4 Chapter 5

    ~SCARLETT~

    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand how I¡¯m supposed to pretend to like someone I hate,¡± I tell my sister as we walk

    into the cafeteria. It¡¯s the first step to see if Carter would notice me. ra wants to see how much work

    she needs to put in to get him to pay any attention. I told her earlier that punching him a second time

    would be the perfect way, but she was totally against it.

    ¡°Okay,¡± she says, looking at the table to the furthest right, ¡°I see him, and he¡¯s there with a woman on

    hisp; of course, he would be doing something like that in the middle of the cafeteria.¡±

    I follow her gaze and shake my head in disgust. This was apletely different girl from who we saw

    him with earlier. At least he was always around ra in public ces when they were dating, not

    showing up with a different girl every second. I wish I could say the same about what he was doing

    behind closed doors, however.

    ¡°This is the first test,¡± she tells me. ¡°Walk towards them and spill water over their table. I want to see his

    reaction to you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d much rather punch him,¡± I tell her.

    She gives me a look and hands me a cup of water, ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t have much time left.¡±

    I press my lips tightly together in annoyance and grab the cup from her. Neither Carter nor the girl on

    hisp notices meing towards them. I guess that¡¯s a good sign for now. That¡¯s the good thing

    about not being famous: you can walk right in front of someone, and they won¡¯t even notice you. I loved

    being invisible; I wouldn¡¯t be doing this if my sister wasn¡¯t so heartbroken over her breakup. I¡¯m hoping

    with time that, she would get over him and ask me to stop this n.

    As I walk closer to them, I clutch the cup closer to my chest. I can¡¯t believe I will throw water all over

    their table.

    ¡°Carter!¡± Someone shouts his name and bumps straight into me. My eyes widen when I identally

    throw the water onto Carter and the girl. I cover my mouth with my hand in shock as the girl begins to

    scream and jumps out of hisp.

    Carter looks up at me then, ready to say filthy words, I¡¯m sure. However, when he sees that it¡¯s me, he

    doesn¡¯t say anything. Maybe he thinks that saying anything to me isn¡¯t worth his time. It¡¯s the only

    reason I can think of.

    ¡°You!¡± The girl shouts. ¡°How dare you throw water on top of us?¡±

    ¡°It was a mistake.¡± I apologize. I want to add a few other words, but I don¡¯t because I know that my

    mission is not to get Carter to hate me but for him to notice me and start liking me.

    I shiver at the thought of him liking me. This is not good. I can¡¯t even entertain the idea; how am I

    supposed to allow it to happen?

    Why am I even worried? Carter would never fall for me; how could someone that dated someone as

    amazing as my sister ever fall for me? I was worrying for nothing. As soon as ra realized he wasn¡¯t

    falling into her trap, she would move on from this crazy idea.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to pay for my dress!¡± She shouts. ¡°Do you know how much I paid for it?¡±

    It was water. What was that going to do to her dress?

    ¡°Calm down,¡± Carter tells her. ¡°It¡¯s nothing to get bothered about. Besides, I like my women wet either

    way.¡±

    He¡¯s staring straight at me while saying those awful words. I gape at him and swallow the nasty words I

    want to respond with.

    ¡°Oh, Carter,¡± she blushes and kisses him.

    I wanted to puke and quickly leave before seeing more of that awful disy.

    ¡°That was horrible!¡± I say to ra when I rejoin her at one of the tables.

    She can¡¯t control herughter, and I frown at her; she¡¯s why I was in that mess in the first ce, ¡°look

    on the bright side. At least he noticed you.¡±

    ¡°Of course, this will be funny to you. You¡¯re not the one that keeps drawing attention to herself over

    stupid things.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯re doing an excellent job so far. Both times you¡¯ve spoken to Carter, you¡¯ve shocked him to

    the core. You¡¯re guaranteed to leave an impression on him. I can assure you that no other girl has done

    what you¡¯ve managed to do to him in just two days.¡± She praises me.

    I¡¯m not sure if this was something worthy to be praised over, but as long as it was making my sister

    happy, who am I toin?

    ¡°What are we supposed to do now?¡± I ask her.

    ¡°I want you to follow them,¡± she tells me as they pass us. ¡°I want to know if Carter will notice that you¡¯re

    following him. If he doesn¡¯t, it¡¯s not a good sign. We want him to notice you as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°I hardly think following him around will give him a good impression of me.¡± I disagree.

    ¡°Just do it.¡± She tells me. ¡°You only have to follow him around today. I need to figure out how much

    work I must get done on you.¡±

    ¡°Get done on me?¡± I ask in horror.

    ¡°Yes, like shopping for clothes and makeup. Now go before you lose them.¡± She hurries me.

    I mumble a few words as I run behind Carter and his woman for an hour. I follow them briefly before

    they both slip into a ssroom.

    That¡¯s odd. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a ss there right now.

    I peep into the room, and just as I expected, the space is empty. I carefully open and close the door,

    trying my best not to make any sounds. I look around me, but they are nowhere to be found.

    That¡¯s weird.

    I¡¯m sure I saw theme in here.

    I¡¯m about to leave when a sound hits my ear. A moan, actually. And then a pping sound.

    ¡°Carter.¡± She moans. ¡°Faster, faster. f**k me.¡±

    I can feel myself pale.

    It couldn¡¯t be true.

    They wouldn¡¯t be having s*x in a ssroom.

    Would they?

 Chapter 270

    Chapter 270

    Chapter 271

    Book 4 Chapter 6

    ~SCARLETT~

    I follow the sound even though my mind is telling me to leave. This couldn¡¯t be good, the moans were

    getting louder, and my ear felt like it was bleeding.

    My eyes widen when I see Carter¡¯s bare ass. The girl is screaming his name as he rocks in and out of

    her; her nails scratch his back, and she looks like she¡¯s having the best time of her life.

    They aren¡¯t kissing. It¡¯s not any form of love. They¡¯re simply f*****g. And it looks like that¡¯s all Carter is

    capable of.

    My hatred for him just doubled by witnessing this horror. I couldn¡¯t believe men like him existed and

    were somehow worshipped by women.

    Carter picks her up and bends her over a desk. My heart rate picked up.

    What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I still here watching the two of them?

    The girl¡¯s eyes were closed; if she were to open them, she would see me. I didn¡¯t want to seem like a

    total freak.

    I hurriedly ran out of there, not caring that I mmed the ssroom door shut on my way out.

    If I thought I disliked Carter before, I knew that I more than disliked him now. The man had no control;

    how could he be having s*x with a girl in a ssroom?Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    It¡¯s only the second day that he and my sister have broken up. He didn¡¯t even wait a day to start

    screwing another girl. I should have expected this since he was sleeping around with other women

    even while he was with her.

    ¡°Did you find them?¡± ra asks me when she finds me running towards her.

    ¡°And why is your face so red?¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to tell my sister what I just saw. She was hurting enough already, and I couldn¡¯t do any

    more damage to her. She didn¡¯t deserve any of this.

    ¡°No, they were already gone. I tried to catch up to them, but they got lost among all the students.¡± I lie.

    She sighs, ¡°I guess that¡¯s okay. Clear your schedule after school. We¡¯re going shopping. We need to

    get you a new wardrobe.¡±

    ¡°I like hiding under my hoodie and baggy clothes,¡± Iin. ¡°Do we have to change what I wear?¡±

    She nods, ¡°If we want him to fall in love with you. We have to catch his attention. The only chance of

    him noticing you is if you wear the kind of clothes he likes to attract his eyes. I know what he loves to

    see in a woman, and I can find the perfect fit to suit your body type.¡±

    Will the torture ever end? I know this n was to torture Carter in the end, but so far, the only one

    being tortured is me.

    I spend the rest of my day dreading going to the mall. I tried sneaking away before ra could find me,

    but she saw me in time. And my best friend was the one who told her where to find me. She was such

    a traitor!

    Jenna was looking forward to seeing me get a makeover. I should have expected that from her, she

    loved makeovers.

    ¡°I¡¯m so excited to see what ra does to you.¡± She says as we walk into the first store.

    ¡°Of course, you would, traitor.¡± I snap.

    She links her arms through mine and pulls me further into the store, ¡°Are you still upset about that? You

    should smile. Your sister is paying for everything, and you¡¯ll be turned into one of those hot girls from

    school.¡±

    I roll my eyes, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be one of those hot girls from school. I¡¯m perfectly contented with the

    way I am now.¡±

    ra grabbed a few dresses and shoved me into the dressing room. I angrily removed my clothes, and

    the first dress I tried on was a light blue with embellished long sleeves. The dress was so short that it

    barely covered my ass. I don¡¯t think this was even appropriate to go to ss in. If my pen were to fall

    onto the floor, there was no way I would be able to bend over without shing everyone behind me.

    ¡°How¡¯s it going in there?¡± ra calls.

    I sighed and pushed the curtain aside so that she could see how the dress looked on me.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Jenna shouts. ¡°You¡¯re getting that one.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± ra says as she studies me. ¡°I always knew you were hiding your figure behind those

    clothes you wore. This color brightens up yourplexion.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too short.¡± I disagree with both of them.

    ¡°Short is good,¡± ra informs me. ¡°Carter loves short dresses, skirts, tops, the more skin, the better.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Carter would love that. Did he see a woman for anything other than her looks?¡± I demand.

    raughs, ¡°Isn¡¯t that the whole point of this n? To get him to see you for more than your looks.

    But sadly, the only way to get his attention at first is through what you wear. After he gets hooked, you

    can wear longer dresses and skirts. He would already be too hooked to notice.¡±

    I sighed and spent hours more trying on outfits my sister and best friend chose for me. I knew that

    tomorrow would be hell at the academy, but there was nothing I could do. I¡¯d already agreed to help my

    sister.

 Chapter 271

    Chapter 271

    Chapter 272

    Book 4 Chapter 7

    I can barely walk in the heels ra chose for me to wear. If I fall and embarrass myself, I¡¯m ming

    her. Jenna can¡¯t control herughter next to me, and I shoot her a re. She¡¯s part of the problem.

    That¡¯s why ra found me yesterday and carried me to the mall. But if Jenna hadn¡¯t told her, ra

    would have found another way to get me to the mall; it wasn¡¯t like I could have avoided her forever

    since we lived in the same house.

    ¡°Are you seeing what I¡¯m seeing, Scarlett?¡± Jenna asks me.

    I wasn¡¯t paying attention to anything around me; I was too busy staring at the heels and trying not to

    trip.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I ask her.

    ¡°Look up.¡± She whispers.

    I do as she says, and only then do I realize all eyes are on me. I suddenly feel nervous under all the

    stares. I was no longer invisible. People were looking at me, at my body. I missed the clothes that

    covered me whole.

    Men looked like they wanted toe and talk to me. I didn¡¯t want to talk to any of them, however. I was

    never interested in finding love, and I still am not.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe so many people are looking at you.¡± She whispers. ¡°I mean, you do look gorgeous. You

    always looked gorgeous, but it seems like it¡¯s the first time everyone in school notices it.¡±

    I¡¯m about to respond when I spot Carter a little distance away. He isn¡¯t looking at me, like always; he

    has another girl by his side. She has his attention, but we all know she only has it for an hour before he

    moves on to another girl. I don¡¯t know how girls could stoop so low to get a chance with him. But who

    was I to talk after what I was getting myself into for my sister?

    Girls would think that I was no different when they saw me hanging out with him if things ever got that

    far.

    ¡°We need him to see you,¡± Jenna tells me.

    Doesn¡¯t she think I already know that? I¡¯m unsure what I could do right now to get his attention.

    She grabs my book and drops it on the floor next to him. My eyes widen, and I shoot her a re.

    ¡°Drop down and pick it up.¡± She tells me in a hushed tone.

    We did have his attention now. He was looking at the book on the ground.

    Before I can lose his attention, I bend over so that he can get a good view of my ass. I hated doing this

    so much. Just the thought of the asshole staring at me made me sick to my stomach. I take a little

    longer than needed to pick the book off the ground. When I raise, I find him eye-fucking me. I didn¡¯t

    think that was a thing until I saw the look in his eyes. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he were undressing me

    in his mind.

    The girl in his arms is saying something to him, but he¡¯s still staring at me. He doesn¡¯t look surprised

    that I¡¯m dressed like this. Does he even recognize me, or does he think that I¡¯m a new girl?

    Jenna took my hand, reminding me that it was time for me to start back walking. I think I got carried

    away for a quick second, but there was something about Carter¡¯s eyes that made you want to stop and

    stare.

    I can¡¯t believe I just thought that.

    Clear your head, Scarlett!

    ¡°Scarlett!¡±

    I stop walking when I realize that he¡¯s just said my name. It¡¯s the first time that he¡¯s called me. The first

    time that he¡¯s ever said my name. Even while he was dating my sister, he never called out to me. I felt

    strange hearing my name in his mouth.

    I spun around to face him, and I was surprised to see the look of concern on his face.

    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± He asks me.

    ¡°I am heading to ss,¡± I tell him.

    He leaned into me so that only I could hear what he was about to say next, ¡°No. I meant, what the f**k

    do you think you¡¯re doing dressing like that to school.¡±

    My jaw drops. Did he really say that to me?

    I¡¯m so confused right now. ra said that he would love this. It was his favorite color, light blue. So

    then, why does he seem angrier than ever right now?

    ¡°I think I can choose to wear whatever I wish to,¡± I tell him.

    He shakes his head and leans even closer to me, pressing both hands on the side of the wall behind

    me; I¡¯m forced to press against the wall to put as much distance between us as possible. ¡°I can tell how

    ufortable you are in those things.¡± He growls. ¡°And I just saw your f*****g panties.¡±

    My cheeks are red, ¡°Y-you¡¯re lying.¡±

    Damn it. I don¡¯t believe that I just stuttered.

    ¡°Blue. Blue thongs to match with your blue dress. Either something¡¯s wrong with you, or you want to

    show me your panties, Scarlett. So tell me, do you want me to see your blue panties?¡± He asks. ¡°Do

    you want me to dream of them at night? To picture me pulling them off your body with my mouth?¡±

    All this time, while he was saying dirty things to me, my eyes were on the ground, but I couldn¡¯t stop

    myself as my face snapped up to look at him. What was wrong with him? How dare he ask me

    something like that? And why do I suddenly feel myself wet down there?

    It doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s joking. His eyes tell me that he¡¯s dead serious.

    ¡°You dated my sister,¡± I snap. ¡°Have some self-respect.¡±

 Chapter 272

    Chapter 272

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 273

    Book 4 Chapter 8

    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    ~SCARLETT~

    His eyes turn darker, fierce, and dangerous. My heartbeat quickens. Was this how he trapped other

    girls around the Academy?

    I was not one of them.

    I push him away from me, and he lets me do it even though he¡¯s stronger. I knew I was still in character

    and I made sure to sway my hips as I walked away, knowing that he was watching me.

    When I turned the corner, I stopped for a second to catch my breath.

    I couldn¡¯t believe it. I let Carter Prince see my panties. I knew it was possible to sh him, but I didn¡¯t

    think it would actually happen.

    And why did he stop me to ask why I was dressed like this? He barely paid any attention to me, so why

    did he know that I was ufortable in these clothes? Only someone that has been watching me for a

    long time would be able to tell. At least, that¡¯s what I assumed. Or maybe I¡¯m just making it so apparent

    by the way I¡¯m walking.

    ¡°What the hell did he say to you?¡± Jenna demands. ¡°That looked like a very intense conversation.¡±

    ¡°It was weird,¡± I tell her. ¡°He seemed angry that I chose to wear such revealing clothes. I¡¯m not sure if

    he sees me as ra¡¯s younger sister and wants to protect me or if he was just ying with me, but the

    first one doesn¡¯t make any sense since he never cared for ra, to begin with.¡±

    ¡°Tell me exactly what he said.¡± She urges me.

    ¡°He asked me what I was doing dressed like that, and he said I looked ufortable,¡± I say. ¡°Of

    course, he chose different words.¡±

    ¡°Was that all?¡± She asks. ¡°I have a feeling that there is more to his story. Your cheeks are on fire. He

    must have said more to you. Something that has you acting this way.¡±

    I groan, ¡°it¡¯s all ra¡¯s fault. She made me wear this short dress, and it¡¯s causing problems for me

    already.¡±

    ¡°What did he say?¡± Jenna asks, even more, excited than before to hear what I had to say.

    ¡°He said he saw my underwear!¡± I say in embarrassment.

    Jenna¡¯s jaw drops. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. I always knew that Carter Prince had a dirty mouth with no filter;

    he was known for it, but I can¡¯t believe he said that to you.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure he wasn¡¯t messing with you to make you change your outfit?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± I whisper with regret. ¡°He knew that they were thongs, and he knew their color.¡±

    My face turns even redder when I spot my sister walking towards us. I know she wants me to catch

    Carter¡¯s attention, but I¡¯m unsure how she will feel about himmenting on my panties.

    ¡°Did Carter see you?¡± She asks as she joins our side.

    ¡°I think he saw a little too much of her,¡± Jenna says.

    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ra asks us.

    ¡°He acted strangely when he saw me,¡± I tell her. ¡°He told me that I looked ufortable in these

    clothes, and he wanted to know why I was dressed like that.¡±

    Her eyes widen, ¡°Did he really ask you that?¡± She asks. ¡°Do you think he¡¯s concerned about you

    because you¡¯re my younger sister?¡±

    I shrug my shoulders, ¡°I think you¡¯ll have a better idea about his actions than me. I just found it to be a

    bit weird. He¡¯s never spoken to me before, but the first time he did, he chose toment on my outfit.¡±

    ¡°I expected the opposite reaction from him,¡± ra confesses. ¡°I thought dressing that way would get his

    attention. It got his attention, but not how I wanted it to happen. I wasn¡¯t even aware that Carter ever

    noticed you. He never spoke about you and barely paid any attention to you.¡±

    It was true. ra was the center of his attention when he wasn¡¯t entertaining other girls behind her

    back, that is.

    ¡°What do you think I should do next?¡± I ask her. ¡°So far, this was a fail. He noticed me but in the wrong

    way.¡±

    Definitely in the wrong way. I don¡¯t tell ra about himmenting on my underwear. I¡¯m not sure how

    she would react to it. But isn¡¯t that what she wanted all along? For him to fall for me? Carter was the

    kind of man who fell for what a girl wore, ording to my sister; then hisment on what I wore

    underneath my dress may not be as bad as I expected it to be.

    ¡°There is a pool party tonight,¡± she tells me. ¡°Everyone is invited.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not invited.¡± I disagree. I was never invited to these events, and it never bothered me. I don¡¯t need

    to attend a party to feel like I¡¯ve made it in life.

    ¡°Yes, you are,¡± ra tells me. ¡°I already got the invitations for you and Jenna. No one would dare say

    no to me.¡±

    ¡°I would much rather stay in bed reading a book,¡± Iin.

    She folds her arms, ¡°we¡¯ve been through this already. These are the steps that have to be done. If

    Carter gets bothered by you in a short dress, think of the reaction we would get if he sees you in a

    bikini.¡±

    ¡°He isn¡¯t the only one who would see me half naked; everyone from our school would be there as well.¡±

    I point out to her. ¡°You know I hate to get any attention, and today there were so many eyes on me. I

    almost fell multiple times because of those people staring at me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± ra exims. ¡°It means that we¡¯re doing it right if so many people are noticing you on

    just the first day. Before we know it, you¡¯ll be just as popr as me, and believe me; Carter can¡¯t resist

    a popr girl. He has to get every girl that¡¯s in the spotlight. I think it¡¯s a dare between him and his

    friends. I find it hard to believe that he¡¯s enjoying screwing around with so many women

    simultaneously.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think so. Why would he do it if he didn¡¯t enjoy it? Carter was an asshole. And nothing would

    change my opinion about him.

    Absolutely nothing.

 Chapter 273

    Chapter 273

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 274

    Book 4 Chapter 9

    ~SCARLETT~

    It was official; my sister had utterly lost her mind. That¡¯s the only exnation for the tiny piece of cloth

    she chose for me to wear at the party tonight.

    She must really hate me. Carter wasn¡¯t the one she was taking revenge on at this point; it was me!

    ¡°You look stunning!¡± Shepliments me while I look at her like she is my greatest enemy.

    ¡°I¡¯m barely covering anything!¡± I exim as I stare at myself in the mirror. It¡¯s a navy blue two-piece that

    showed too much skin. I waspletely ufortable wearing this in front of hundreds of people I

    didn¡¯t even like.

    ¡°I want a wrap to go with this,¡± Iin.

    ra sighs, ¡°You¡¯re not going to catch Carter¡¯s attention with a wrap around your body.¡±

    I didn¡¯t care about that; I cared about hiding my body from all the creeps that would be staring at me for

    all of the wrong reasons!

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand how you¡¯re so okay with your ex-boyfriend eyeing your sister. This still feels so

    wrong to me. Are you sure we¡¯re doing the right thing?¡± I ask her. ¡°How can you be okay with Carter

    staring at me like I was his next victim? I am sure as hell not okay with it. How can you be?¡±

    I thought by now she would change her mind about the entire thing, but I was being proven wrong. My

    sister seemed more determined than ever to get back at Carter by making him fall in love with me.

    She would do every damn thing possible to make him pay for what he did to her, and while I was so

    happy to be a part of it, I didn¡¯t want to do it this way.

    Her eyes turn watery, and I bite my lip. I didn¡¯t want to make her sad.

    ¡°Ever since I met Carter, since the first time Iid my eyes on him, he was everything to me. I would do

    everything to be near him; I would put my life on hold to make him better. I fell head over heels in love

    with him, and all this time, I thought that he felt the same about me. Do you understand what it means

    to find out that the man you thought loved you was sleeping around with multiple girls all along? He

    destroyed all of the dreams I had for the both of us. I thought we would start a family together and even

    grow old together. Everything was destroyed in a few minutes. He didn¡¯t try to fight for me, and not

    once did he apologize to me. I know that I¡¯m asking plenty of you, but I can¡¯t think of anyone else that I

    trust enough to do this for me. Anyone else would fall the moment Carter turned on his charm. With

    you, I know that no matter what he does, you will keep a clear head. I know that you would end things

    the moment that he falls for you. I trust you, Scarlett; it¡¯s the only reason I¡¯m asking you to do this for

    me. You¡¯re the only person I trust this much. I hate to put you through this, but you¡¯re the only one I

    have.¡± She cries, and my heart breaks.

    I knew my sister was hurt over this, but I didn¡¯t think she was this in love with Carter. I always knew she

    was crazy over him, but I never expected her to be sopletely broken over their breakup. I thought

    she would have eventually found a way to pick herself up like she usually did. He was so wrong for

    breaking her and not even having the decency to apologize for what he¡¯d done.

    She was right. Who else could she trust to do this without them falling in love with him? All the girls at

    the academy were in love with him, while I disliked him so much. There was no way that I would let his

    charms get to me. I was immune to his flirtatious ways.

    ¡°I¡¯m so going to rock this bathing suit,¡± I tell her as I pose in front of the mirror. ¡°Do you think he would

    like me like this? Or should I pose a different way?¡±

    Sheughs, ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter how you pose. You look hot either way. The moment you enter the party,

    his eyes will be on you. As far as I know, Carter has had almost every popr girl in school. You will be

    the first that he hasn¡¯t gotten his ws on. It would drive him crazy. And that¡¯s exactly what we want:

    Carter Prince going all crazy for innocent Scarlett Mae.¡±

    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    I don¡¯t know how ra is this strong to let another woman try and catch the attention of her ex-

    boyfriend, knowing it¡¯s her sister. I don¡¯t know where she finds the strength. But maybe it¡¯s okay

    because she knows that I¡¯m probably one of the only girls that didn¡¯t see Carter in that way. No matter

    how good-looking he was. He was too good-looking for his rotten personality. It was a waste of such

    handsome features.

    I only saw a spoiled rich boy who had to have every woman that crossed his path. A man that had eyes

    for one woman alone was more attractive in my eyes. Carter was just a little boy that enjoyed sleeping

    around.

    I take a second to look at my sister.

    ¡°You look beautiful,¡± Ipliment her. ¡°You always do. Carter is so dumb for letting you go. Hopefully,

    he realizes that tonight instead of noticing me.¡±

    I was praying for this to happen. I wanted his eyes on her, not me.

    ¡°I know you hate being in the spotlight, but I think it¡¯s safe to say you¡¯ll have everyone¡¯s attention

    tonight.¡± She tells me.

    I hope that she was wrong. I didn¡¯t want to be the center of attention for any event, including this one.

    She grabs the key from her desk, and I follow her out the door. Our parents were asleep, and we didn¡¯t

    bother waking them. They knew we would be out partying tonight. Or maybe they knew that ra

    would be out; they wouldn¡¯t expect me to be a part of a pool party.

    It takes us an hour to reach the house. I can¡¯t remember the person¡¯s name hosting the party, but I

    don¡¯t think that¡¯s important. Once ra knew how to get me in without any problems.

    Jenna joins us at the front entrance, and we get into the party without any problems, to my surprise. I

    guess no one really ever said no to my sister. Except Carter, of course, but he was an exception.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re inside a party filled with all the popr kids. How crazy is this, Scarlett?¡± She asks

    me.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I say dryly. ¡°Crazy indeed.¡±

    ¡°Do you see Carter anywhere?¡± ra asks me as she searches the crowd for him. There were so

    many people here that I doubted we could find him easily.

    ¡°Look for the man surrounded by the most girls.¡± I point out. I was sure that he wouldn¡¯t be here with

    just one girl. It was a pool party; after all, he had to show all his friends that he could get more than one

    girl without any problems.

    Pathetic.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s inside here,¡± Jenna says, helping us search for him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go out to the pool area,¡± ra suggests as we follow her from one room to the next before we

    finally reach the door towards the pool.

    When we¡¯re finally outside, it¡¯s not hard to spot Carter. He¡¯s leaned against the wall with two girls on

    either side of his arms. He¡¯s sticking his tongue down one of the girl¡¯s throats while the other girl is

    rubbing her hands down his chest; if given the chance, she would go even lower. It made me sick just

    looking at it. I didn¡¯t want to imagine how ra felt having to see this.

    Carter didn¡¯t care about anyone but himself.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I ask her.

    I could see the tears in her eyes; she was fighting hard to stop them from streaming down her cheeks.

    She looks away for a second and tries topose herself.

    ¡°I will be,¡± she tells me. ¡°He may be happy right now, but with your help, I will have him on his knees.

    Once he¡¯s on his knees begging for my forgiveness, I know I¡¯ll be happy again. I want to see the same

    broken look on his face. I want him to suffer for hurting me like this.¡±

    Jenna looks at me and we both try tofort her. I felt like walking over to Carter and punching him for

    a second time.

    This revenge means plenty to my sister. This was the chance for her to make him pay. I had to do this

    for her, no matter how much I hated it.

 Chapter 274

    Chapter 274

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 275

    Book 4 Chapter 10

    ¡°How should we get his attention?¡± I ask ra after looking at Carter, who is still busy with those other

    women.

    Didn¡¯t they ever get tired of making out? I fold my arms and try to ignore them.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do much,¡± she tells me. ¡°Almost all the men are looking your way right now.¡±

    She was already looking better than earlier when we¡¯d just walked in.

    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    I fakeugh, ¡°No, sister, their eyes are on you.¡± I disagree with her. ¡°You¡¯re the most beautiful girl here.¡±

    ¡°I think their eyes are on the both of you.¡± Jenna corrects us both. ¡°I¡¯ve seen a good few men look at

    both of you individually. You¡¯re both very attractive. You¡¯d have all the eyes in the room if half of them

    weren¡¯t already drunk.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± I whisper under my breath.

    Carter still wasn¡¯t looking our way, and I knew it upset ra. She wanted this n to work immediately.

    She didn¡¯t have much patience when it came to revenge. She wanted it to happen in the blink of an

    eye.

    ¡°If there is one thing that would draw his attention, it¡¯s having other guys interested in you.¡± She tells

    me as a few guys walk up to us. ¡°This is good. Entertain them for as long as you could.¡±

    Entertain them? For as long as I could?

    Was she insane?

    I didn¡¯t want to entertain many horny men just to get Carter to look my way! They assured me that my

    bikini would be enough to attract his eyes, but that didn¡¯t seem to be working! How were they so sure

    that this n would work when thest one had failed?

    I force a smile on my face and start a conversation with the first guy that approaches me. This was one

    of the hardest things I¡¯ve ever been forced to do in my life. As soon as one guy left, another came

    running.

    I didn¡¯t only have to entertain Carter but every other guy at this party. Well, it wasn¡¯t precisely every guy

    at the party, but it sure did feel like it. I wanted to run and hide. I had to keep reminding myself that

    Carter deserved what wasing to him, that is, if he did fall for ra¡¯s trap.

    Even though he was never faithful to her, ra did look like she knew a lot about him. She might just

    be able to pull this off because of how well she knew what he liked and what caught his attention.

    ¡°Hi,¡± Jason, a guy from ss, introduced himself to me as though we¡¯d never spoken before. He was

    the fifth guy to approach me, and still, Carter hadn¡¯t realized my presence.

    Tonight was a failure. Why didn¡¯t we give up and return home? Pretending tonight never happened

    would be the best thing for ra and me.

    ¡°Can you tell me your name, pretty girl?¡± He asks me.

    Did he not remember that we had a ss project together once? I felt like rolling my eyes, but the look

    my sister gave me told me she wanted me to go along with it.

    ¡°Hi!¡± I greet him, pretending to be shy. Should I blink my eyes and flip my hair like the other girls were

    doing? Should I openly flirt and fake another smile?

    I wasn¡¯t sure how to do it without making a fool of myself. But maybe that wasn¡¯t such a bad idea; it

    would get Jason to leave me alone.

    ¡°Jason!¡± I hear an intense and, might I add, sexy voice call out to him. I didn¡¯t have to ask myself who it

    was; secondster, Carter stood beside us.

    Did I just refer to Carter¡¯s voice as sexy?

    He didn¡¯t look at me, nor did he look at my sister. He was practically ring at Jason, but it also

    seemed like he was trying to act calm and collected. He wasn¡¯t fooling me. He probably was fooling

    Jason, however.

    The guy looked overjoyed that Carter Prince was talking to him. He was so happy about it that he must

    have forgotten about my existence once more. I can¡¯t say I wasn¡¯t d for the distraction. I didn¡¯t like

    the way Jason looked at my body. The entire time he stood saying hi to me, he wouldn¡¯t stop staring at

    my boobs.

    ¡°There are some girls I¡¯d like to introduce you to,¡± he tells him, and Jason looks extremely excited to

    meet them.

    Carter turns to my sister, ¡°ra,¡± he greets her, and she shows him the finger.

    He slowly moves his gaze from her and pins me with his dangerous eyes, just like he did the day he

    told me he saw my panties. My cheeks turn red at the reminder. Today, he could see much more than

    just my underwear. I was exposed in every way possible, but unlike Jason, his eyes were glued to

    mine. He wasn¡¯t looking at my body, at least, not yet.

    His jaw clenches, and I can tell that something about me pisses him off. He doesn¡¯t try to hide his

    annoyance, but unlike the other day, he says nothing about what I chose to wear today.

    I watch as he walks off with Jason by his side.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± I ask ra. ¡°He didn¡¯t seem to have much of a reaction about my outfit.¡±

    ¡°He was bothered,¡± she answers me. ¡°He probably didn¡¯t say anything to you because I was here. We

    may have to leave you alone for the remainder of the party. To see if he will approach you then.¡±

    My jaw drops, ¡°are you insane?¡± I demand. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be here by myself. Do you see how many

    creepy looks people are sending me? Can you imagine what will happen the moment I¡¯m left alone? I

    would rather not like to be put through such embarrassment. I¡¯m ufortable and want to go home

    as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just for a little,¡± ra assured me. ¡°I¡¯m sure the moment Carter sees you by yourself; he will try to

    talk to you. And you don¡¯t even have to stay with him long. You will seem more attractive to him if you

    turn him down or act as if his presence annoys you.¡±

    ¡°His presence does annoy me; I don¡¯t have to act,¡± I tell her.

    ¡°We will be back soon, and if anyone tries to harass you, we wille and steal you away.¡± My sister

    promises.

    I bite my bottom lip and agree, even though I¡¯m incredibly ufortable with her n. I¡¯m unsure how

    long she will let me proceed with this before she realizes that Carter would not fall for me. Look at how

    many girls he had at his call; they all threw themselves at him. He wouldn¡¯t waste his time on me when

    neither of us liked each other.

    ¡°I think I have a better idea,¡± Jenna tells the both of us.

    I was open to other ideas because I thought that this one sucked.

    ¡°How about we get her in the back of Carter¡¯s truck?¡± She asks us.

    I stare at my best friend as though she¡¯d lost her damn mind.

    ¡°What on earth are you suggesting?¡± I demand from her.

    I thought her n would be better, but it was a hundred times worse!

    ¡°Hear me out,¡± she pleads. ¡°You don¡¯t want anyone to approach you. If you stay here alone, someone

    will. You look absolutely beautiful; men will be tripping to be near you. If you¡¯re on top of Carter¡¯s truck,

    he will notice you instantly, and you don¡¯t have to worry about anyone hitting on you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea,¡± ra says with a sparkle in her eyes.

    I¡¯m about to protest when I see two boys approaching us.

    ¡°Point me toward his truck,¡± I tell them.

    They smile at each other, and I feel like pulling at their hair. They¡¯re lucky they aren¡¯t the ones being put

    through this nonsense for a guy they didn¡¯t even like.

    I followed their direction after memorizing the number te, even though I knew there was only one of

    his kind. It¡¯s also the only yellow vehicle in the parking lot.

    Instead of climbing onto the truck¡¯s bed, I settle for leaning against it. I wasn¡¯t sure how long I¡¯ll have to

    wait here for him, but I would be happy if he never showed up.

    I fold my arms and stare at the balcony; anyone can look down from the pool area and see me leaning

    against his truck.

    I sigh as I spot him with his arms around another girl; I want to gag in disgust as I see him lean in and

    kiss her neck while ying with the straps of her top. He has no decency, does he?

    I narrow my eyes, and that¡¯s exactly when his gaze wanders down at his truck before it falls on me. My

    breath gets stuck in my throat at the look in his eye. I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s angry or not. It¡¯s hard to tell.

    I tried to act like his gaze didn¡¯t affect me, but I didn¡¯t believe I was winning the battle.

    I gopletely still as he untangles himself from the girl despite her desperate calls for him to return to

    her. When he starts to move, I begin to panic.

    Oh no.

    Please tell me he isn¡¯ting here!

 Chapter 275

    Chapter 275

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 276

    ~SCARLETT~

    No. No. No. No.

    Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm, Scarlett.

    There was no point in staying calm in this situation! I needed to find a way to escape.

    I take a deep breath and try to convince myself that I was overreacting.

    He was noting here.

    I repeat the words over and over in my head, hoping that it would help with my racing heart. The damn

    thing felt like it would jump out of my chest any second.

    Why was I even reacting like this? It¡¯s not like I was scared of Carter. I hated his guts. Maybe he was

    heading for some food. I was okay with anything if he didn¡¯t show up here.

    What am I supposed to do if he doese here, however? I knew this was part of Jenna¡¯s n, but I

    had hoped it wouldn¡¯t have worked.

    Maybe I¡¯m reading too much into this. Perhaps he didn¡¯t see me. Maybe he left to get a drink for one of

    the girls tangled in his arms a few minutes ago.

    All those thoughts rush out of my head the second I spot him from a distance.

    I hadn¡¯t been wrong. He did see me. He wasing my way. It was toote to run now. I wasn¡¯t

    someone that ran from my problems either. I would face him head-on.

    I bite my lip to keep from screaming in frustration. He kept moving straight towards me with a relentless

    look on his face.

    His sheer white shirt was unbuttoned at the top, and I¡¯m convinced one of the girls had done that to

    him. For some unknown reason, it annoys me. I tell myself that I felt this way because of my sister

    since she didn¡¯t deserve to have to see him with other girls. Part of me feels that¡¯s not the only reason,

    but I quickly push that thought aside. I didn¡¯t have time for ridiculous thoughts when he was closing the

    distance between us.

    His steps slow when he nearly reaches his truck, and my eyes are on him like a hawk. This is how

    ra told me to look at him. She tried teaching me how to look attractive to a guy. Sheughed a good

    few times when I looked constipated instead of flirtatious. I¡¯m just listening to her words. I was doing

    everything she told me to do. Though, I¡¯m sure that I look ridiculouspared to her. She has plenty of

    experience under these circumstances, while I have zero. I haven¡¯t dated anyone before, and it was my

    decision; no one ever caught my attention enough for me to want to form a rtionship with them.

    Carter rubs a finger over his lip while his tongue is against his cheek as his eyes pin me in my spot; I

    don¡¯t think I can move when he¡¯s looking at me like this.

    I staypletely still. I probably should flip my hair, but I didn¡¯t want to look like a fool. I was horrible at

    this.

    Could Carter tell I was trying to flirt?

    ¡°Are you not going to say anything?¡± I ask him; the silence makes me ten times more nervous.

    He quirks a brow and folds his arm over his chest, which makes his muscles bulge. Why did he make

    such a small movement look so good? I try not to be flustered; I¡¯m sure he¡¯s used to those small

    movements attracting his many girls with their tiny brains. I won¡¯t give him the satisfaction. I was not

    like every other girl Carter slept with.

    ¡°What are you doing here, Scarlett?¡± He asks, finally breaking his silence. I¡¯m surprised by the concern

    in his voice.

    Why does he always act like he cares about me when I know he doesn¡¯t care about anyone else but

    himself?

    It was my turn to fold my arms and re at him, ¡°Is there aw that states I cannot be here?¡± I ask him.

    He chuckles, and I hate that it makes my heart flutter a little. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard him chuckle

    like this before. Or maybe I never paid attention enough to have ever heard it.

    I was surprised by myself; I noticed things about Carter that I hadn¡¯t ever seen before. I didn¡¯t want to

    learn new things about him. I didn¡¯t want to be closer to him. I just wanted to get over with this.

    ¡°No, there isn¡¯t,¡± he says and takes a step closer to me. I try to remain calm as he ms both his hands

    on either side of my face and leans into me so that his lips are close to my ear, ¡°But I think it¡¯s only fair

    of me to ask such a question when your bare ass is pressed up against my f*****g truck. First, you

    showed me your panties; now you¡¯re pressing that firm ass on my property. Are you trying to tell me

    something, Scarlett?¡±

    I¡¯m sure that my cheeks are red by now. What is it about Carter? How does his words affect me so

    much? I mean, how could they not affect me? No man has ever spoken to me like that before. Every

    other guy usually had respect when speaking to me. Every other guy would take his time and try not to

    offend me. The guys interested in me were never the kind of guys interested in my sister. All the

    popr men ran after her; I was the opposite until now. Her makeover was making men do things they

    wouldn¡¯t have done if I was still in my baggy clothes.

    Carter¡¯s mouth has never had a filter, and unfortunately, I¡¯m his next victim. I had to get used to words

    like these.

    ¡°Is that such a problem?¡± I ask him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you used to girls having their asses pressed against your

    truck?¡±

    ¡°Truck, bed, desk, fridge, bathroom floor,¡± he teases, ¡°I¡¯m used to their asses pressed against many

    things, Scarlett. What¡¯s your point?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d just said that to me. I could feel the smokeing out of my ear. Why was I so

    pissed? Why was I letting him get under my skin?

    I wrinkle my nose in disgust, ¡°I¡¯m heading back inside. Thest thing I want to do is have a

    conversation with an ass like you.¡±

    I know that ra would have wanted me to try a little harder, but I¡¯ve had enough of this conversation. I

    would rather not hear about where Carter f****d his many girls. I¡¯m sure my sister wouldn¡¯t want to

    listen to this either. She was already having a hard time epting what he did. How many girls did he

    cheat on her with?

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    Did he sleep with every woman in our academy?

    He was sick.

    ¡°What does inside have to offer you?¡± He asks me. ¡°You¡¯re the one that left the party and chose my

    truck to stand in front of. There are hundreds of vehicles here. Why did you choose mine? Was it not to

    get my attention? You have it now. Are you ying hard to get?¡±

    I clear my throat, ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was yours. Or maybe I was nning on smashing your windshield for

    hurting my sister. I guess we will never know now, will we?¡±

    Smashing his windshield was a very good idea. I¡¯m sure Carter loved his truck much more than he ever

    loved ra.

    ¡°Let me see. You expect me to believe that ra¡¯s baby sister, the girl who¡¯s always reading a book,

    avoiding parties, and constantly locked up in her room, was really just about to smash my windshield?¡±

    He asks in a sarcastic tone.

    He had me there, didn¡¯t he? How did he even know this much about me? I was sure that Carter paid

    zero attention to my life. Then how does he know that I love to read and stay locked up in my room?

    Maybe it¡¯s possible that ra spoke to him about me a few times and by some miracle he remembered

    what she had said to him. It¡¯s the only exnation that I could think about.

    ¡°Can you move aside?¡± I ask.

    ¡°What¡¯s the magic word, Scarlett?¡± He asks in a throaty whisper.

    Damn, that voice of his. I can see why girls sometimes get lost listening to it, which irritates me. I don¡¯t

    want to think of his voice like they do; it shouldn¡¯t have any impact on me.

    I shove his body away from mine, and he lets me. I press my lips together when I hear his chuckle

    once more. Ugh, I hate it.

    ¡°Showing me your ass again Scarlett?¡± He shouts. ¡°Never knew you were this type of girl. p it for me

    while you¡¯re at it!¡±

    I swallow. I¡¯m not this type of girl. I wanted to scream those words at him, but I chose to ignore him and

    his attempt to get under my skin yet again.

    I hate him. I absolutely hate Carter.

 Chapter 276

    Chapter 276

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 277

    ~SCARLETT~

    I spot two drunk guys at the entrance, and I have no choice but to pass between them to get back

    inside. It was either that or staying outside with Carter. I was willing to take the chance; spending time

    alone with Carter Prince was too dangerous and something I wasn¡¯t about to y games with. I was

    already putting everything at risk enough when it came to messing with him and trying to catch his

    attention. He was catching onto it as well.

    I¡¯ve never done anything in the past to seize his attention, and suddenly, I¡¯m going out of my way to

    hold his attention. Of course, he will find somethingpletely off. I had to make this more natural, not

    forced. I didn¡¯t need him to figure out our n. If he knew, everything would backfire on us and it¡¯s the

    last thing I needed to happen.

    I don¡¯t think my sister and best friend realized how they made me look in front of Carter. I was

    beginning to look desperate and I didn¡¯t like it. I didn¡¯t want him to think that he was so desirable that

    even I wanted a piece of him.

    I take a deep breath and attempt to go between the men.

    ¡°Sexydy,¡± the guy says as I try to squeeze between him and his friend.

    ¡°I would like to get back inside, please,¡± I tell them. I thought asking nicely would help me in this

    situation, but the look on their faces told me I was in for a surprise.

    My eyes widen when I feel someone¡¯s hand on my ass.

    I spun around to face the second guy and, before he could react, pped him hard across the face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare touch me again, you asshole!¡±

    I¡¯ve never been so disrespected in my life. I felt like pping him over and over again.

    ¡°What the f**k?¡± He snaps, his face red from the p. I didn¡¯t hit him hard enough. This might be the

    right time to go for a second round.

    ¡°f**k, dude,¡± his friend says. ¡°Did you just let a girl p you? Aren¡¯t you going to do something about it?

    She¡¯s just a little girl, show her what you can do.¡±

    He grabs my hand, and I knee him in the crotch as hard as possible.

    He fell to the ground as he groaned from the pain. ¡°Try to touch me again and see what happens!¡± I

    threatened both of them.

    I¡¯m about to do even worse when I feel Carter¡¯s presence behind me. His tall frame is towering over my

    body, and I can¡¯t exactly see the expression on his face. He intimidates the two men next to me. That¡¯s

    expected since they¡¯re much smaller in size.

    They back up a bit, and I couldn¡¯t believe they were such cowards. They acted so differently when it

    was just me.

    Carter grabs both of them by their shirts and ms their faces to the ground. I knew that Carter was

    fierce, but I¡¯ve never actually seen him in a fight before. It was impressive. They were no match for him,

    none whatsoever.

    I didn¡¯t expect anything different, not from these cowards.

    ¡°Apologize to her.¡±

    I lift my gaze to peer at him. Apologize to me.

    I¡¯m surprised by his words. I never knew that Carter had this side to him. Women willingly threw

    themselves at him, and for some weird reason, I thought he would excuse their behavior towards me. I

    thought he would praise them and tell them to try touching me more. I didn¡¯t expect that it would upset

    him like this.

    I continue to stare at him, studying the lines on his forehead. I¡¯ve seen Carter angry before, but I think

    this was the angriest I¡¯ve ever seen him.

    ¡°I¡¯m s-sorry,¡± they stutter at the same time. ¡°P-please forgive us.¡±

    I don¡¯t think Carter was pleased with their apology. I know I wasn¡¯t. It meant nothing to me.

    ¡°Her name is Scarlett.¡± He growls. ¡°Remember that name if you want to live to see another day. If any

    of you ever touches her again, you¡¯ll wish you were dead. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying to you?¡±

    My lips parted slowly. Was Carter trying to protect me from these men? But why? I¡¯ve never seen this

    protective side in him before. Why was he doing it for me? We barely spoke to each other, and he was

    aplete asshole. Why was he suddenly showing a nice side to him?

    They nod their heads even though it¡¯s still smashed to the ground by his strong hands.

    ¡°Now get the f**k out of here; your faces make me sick.¡±

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    He doesn¡¯t need to tell them twice; they¡¯re running like their lives depend on it when he lets go of them.

    I pressed my lips tightly together and pretended I wasn¡¯t impressed.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t need your help,¡± I say. ¡°But thank you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t like him, but I knew I at least had to thank him for stepping in when he didn¡¯t have to. I knew

    men who would stand back andugh instead of trying to help.

    He isn¡¯t saying anything, prompting me to look at his face finally. He¡¯s anything but happy, making me

    wonder if Carter was worried about me. As far as I know, he doesn¡¯t care about anyone other than his

    family. And Carter had a big family, with seven brothers and one sister. They all stuck together. No one

    messed with them unless they wanted their lives to be ruined.

    My eyes widen when his hands go to his shirt, and he unbuttons it before me.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I demand from him. I attempted to stop him but quickly paused. What was I

    doing?

    He doesn¡¯t answer me; instead, he shrugs the shirt off his body and hands it to me. ¡°Wear this.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s yours. Why should I wear something that belongs to you?¡± I ask, confused.

    I didn¡¯t want to wear anything that belonged to Carter. We weren¡¯t together, and we were not friends.

    ¡°Do you want other drunk bastards trying to touch you like that again?¡± He asks me, annoyed. ¡°If you

    don¡¯t, I suggest you put this on and stopining.¡±

    I¡¯m not happy with his tone, but I didn¡¯t want a repeat of what just happened. I angrily took it from him

    and ced it on my body.

    I almost choke on nothing when his firm, masculine scent hits my nose. I could smell him better than

    ever. The shirt was even warm from just being worn by him.

    Why did it feel so good against my skin?

    ¡°Let me take you back to my truck.¡± He offers.

    ¡°What?¡±

    I¡¯m not sure what he¡¯s offering me. Why would he take me back to his truck? I have no reason to be in

    there. I need to get back to ra and Jenna. I¡¯m sure they must have noticed that Carter was now

    missing from the party, and they would know that he¡¯de after me.

    ¡°Come back to my truck.¡± He repeats for my sake.

    ¡°No, thank you,¡± I say as I turn away from him. I don¡¯t have a chance to walk far when his handes

    down on my waist.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I gasp.

    He ignores me as he throws me over his shoulder and walks with me back to his truck. I couldn¡¯t

    believe this. Who did he think he was to lift me like I was nothing?

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to bite you, I suggest you put me down this instance!¡± I warn him.

    His hands are now on my bare legs, and I hate how sensitive it makes my skin feel.

    He opens his truck door and gently puts me down on the seat. His hands are on either side of me, and

    his face is inches away from mine, ¡°stay here. I¡¯ll get your sister and drop the two of you home.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to do that.¡± I begin to protest, but he¡¯s already walking away.

    Doesn¡¯t he realize that ra and I came in our vehicle? We didn¡¯t need him to drop us home. And what

    makes him think that ra would want to be in the same car as him? She couldn¡¯t stand him. She

    wanted to see him suffer.

    I sigh and press the back of my head against the seat in frustration. Things kept going in the wrong

    direction. Or maybe it¡¯s going exactly how ra wants it to go.

    I don¡¯t think she would be expecting him, especially not when he asks her to go home with us. I expect

    her to throw a drink in his face, and he would deserve it.

    A few minutester, he¡¯s returning but without my sister. Where was she? Did she refuse toe with

    him? That¡¯s expected, but didn¡¯t she think to at least return for me? Was she just nning on leaving

    me here?

    He walks over to the driver¡¯s side and jumps into the truck.

    What¡¯s happening?

    ¡°Where¡¯s ra?¡± I ask, unable to hide the panic from my voice.

    She wouldn¡¯t leave me with him, would she?

 Chapter 277

    Chapter 277

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 278

    ~SCARLETT~

    He was ignoring me. Carter was ignoring my question about ra. Of course, he would; he loved

    frustrating me just like my sister did, apparently.

    ¡°I asked you about ra!¡±

    ¡°ra didn¡¯t want toe,¡± he tells me as he starts the vehicle. My eyes widen as he backs out of the

    parking lot. ¡°She wants to enjoy the party with that best friend of yours. She told me to drop you home

    and she will returnter. Of course, she had a few interesting choices of words, but I chose to ignore

    them.¡±

    I gape at him in shock. Why that little¡ªI couldn¡¯t believe my sister; I knew she wanted me to get closer

    to Carter, but did she understand the trap she was setting for me? I could barely stand the guy; how

    can I survive an entire drive to my home?

    I swear ra honestly doesn¡¯t think about me sometimes. But I¡¯m the one that agreed to do this for

    her; I¡¯m to me. I¡¯m the one that set myself up for this disaster, and now I had to deal with the

    consequences.

    The things you do for the people you love.

    ¡°Are you sure she said that, or are you making it up?¡± I ask. I didn¡¯t fully trust anything that came out of

    Carter¡¯s mouth. I was still trying toe to terms with the fact that ra had left me to fend for myself.

    He pulls onto the main road and looks at me, ¡°Are you calling me a liar, Scarlett?¡±

    I hate hearing my name on his filthy mouth. No one ever said my name the way that he does. There is

    just something about how he said it that made my blood boil.

    I don¡¯t respond to him, and he doesn¡¯t bother pestering me.

    ¡°Do your parents know you left the house like that?¡± He asks me as he lets his gaze travel down my

    body.

    ¡°Look at the road.¡± I snap as I pull his shirt tighter around me.

    My body, for some reason, felt wide awake after he stared at it. It¡¯s almost like my body was saying,

    look at me again.

    I didn¡¯t know I had it in me to enjoy when someone looked at me with such reckless desire. It usually

    irritated me. This was a first for me.

    ¡°So,¡± he adds. ¡°Do they know? Or should I knock on your door and let them see how you left the

    house? They would be very interested to know what their daughter is wearing.¡±

    ¡°My parents will not try to punish me if that¡¯s what you expect,¡± I tell him. ¡°They never said anything to

    ra; what makes you think they would have something to say to me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the innocent one.¡± He says under his breath. ¡°ra enjoys the spotlight. You do not. You¡¯re the

    opposite of her. It means that you¡¯re doing things that make you ufortable. That¡¯s why I assumed

    they would have a problem with it.¡±

    ¡°They won¡¯t.¡± I snap. I hate how well he knew me. He shouldn¡¯t know me that well.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± he says. ¡°I have one sister, and none of my brothers, including me, will let her leave the

    house like that. We know what goes on in the dirty minds of men.¡±

    Interesting indeed that Carter suddenly cared about someone other than himself.

    ¡°Of course, you will know that,¡± I fake augh. ¡°You¡¯re the king of not just a dirty mind but a dirty mouth.

    You know exactly what happens in other men¡¯s minds because you think exactly like they do.¡±

    ¡°Girls tend to like my dirty mouth,¡± he says as he chews on a toothpick. Where did he even get that?

    ¡°Are you telling me it¡¯s aplete turn-off for you?¡± He asks.

    I roll my eyes at him, ¡°do I need to answer that question?¡±

    Everything he did was aplete turn-off for me.

    ¡°Maybe you don¡¯t like it because you don¡¯t know what this dirty mouth can do to your beautiful body.¡±

    He suggests.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take a pass on that offer,¡± I tell him as he approaches my house. I was so happy that we were

    already so close to home. I couldn¡¯t stand being in his truck for another second.

    I narrow my eyes when he begins to slow down.

    ¡°You¡¯re driving ridiculously slow.¡± I point out. ¡°My house is right there. I¡¯m sure you know where it is;

    you¡¯ve been here a few times with ra.¡±

    He quirks a brow at me, ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t quite remember where you live, Scarlett. You may need

    to remind me.¡±

    I roll my eyes. ¡°Stop ying and just get me home.¡±

    I was close enough to jumping out of his truck and walking home.

    When I was about to do it, he increased the speed, and I felt like showing him my middle finger.

    I sigh of relief when he finally stops in front of my house. I was home, and I had surprisingly made it

    back alive.

    Before I can open the door, he jumps out of his truck and opens it for me. I¡¯m surprised that someone

    like Carter does this for a girl. I¡¯ve seen him exit a car multiple times, whether it be with my sister or

    another girl; he never opens the door for them. So then, why did he do it for me?

    What was Carter trying to do? Why was he suddenly acting like a nice guy even though I knew he

    wasn¡¯t?

    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    He looks at me briefly before leaning over to unbuckle my seatbelt. The scent of the shampoo in his

    hair makes my knees go weak. How does he smell so damn good? I always thought that guys smelt

    sweaty and just not nice. Carter was the exact opposite of what I thought guys smelled like. He made

    me want to grab his hair and pull him closer to me to get a better sniff of him.

    I freeze.

    I was genuinely worried with the direction of my thoughts. I shouldn¡¯t be thinking this way. I¡¯ve never felt

    this way about him in my life.

    What was happening to me?

    ¡°You smell good,¡± he whispers, his face close to mine.

    I swallow the emotions bottled up in my chest from hearing him say that to me.

    Why did he say those words? And why was I letting him flirt? At least, I think he was flirting; I could be

    wrong.

    Come on, Scarlett, he must say this to every girl he drops home. If he was trying to get me to fall for

    him, he had another thinging; I would not fall for him that easily. If anything, he will be the first one

    to fall for me.

    ra did say that Carter always wanted the popr girls. My poprity has increased since she gave

    me a makeover and introduced me to a few of her friends. Maybe I was finally sparking Carter¡¯s

    interest.

    ¡°I wish I could say the same for you.¡± I snap intentionally as I push him away from me and jump down

    from his truck, ¡°you smell like every different girl you had wrapped around your arms today.¡±

    He quirks a brow at me and leans on his truck with his arms crossed over his chest, ¡°are you jealous?¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± I shout as I walk backward into my house. I refused to give him a view of my ass even though I

    still had his shirt on. ¡°Goodbye, Carter.¡±

    He smiles at me, and I hate how it melts my heart. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen a genuine smile from

    Carter like this one. Or maybe this was actually his fake smile, and he¡¯s using it to charm his way into

    my heart.

    I shook my head and quickly rushed back into the house. Spending any more time with him was too

    dangerous. From now on, I had to limit the time we spent together alone.

    As soon as I¡¯m safely tucked into my bed and away from Carter Prince, I bury my face in my pillow.

    What on earth was I getting myself into? I felt like ra and me were going into dangerous waters by

    ying with someone like Carter. It felt like more than one person could get hurt because of this stupid

    n.

    But wasn¡¯t that what she wanted? My sister wanted Carter to be in emotional pain.

    I tighten my hold on the sheets wrapped around my body as I try to catch my breath. I couldn¡¯t stop

    thinking about the way he protected me today. He didn¡¯t have to do it. He didn¡¯t have to care about me

    at all. But still, he chose to threaten those guys to stay away from me. I¡¯ve never known this side of

    Carter existed, and I¡¯m unsure how to feel about it.

    This could all be part of a game to him. I was probably the most difficult girl for him to flirt with; he was

    doing everything possible to make my heart flutter, which he usually wouldn¡¯t do for anyone else.

    I was his first real challenge.

    I would not let him win if that¡¯s what he was trying to do. I was stronger than that.

 Chapter 278

    Chapter 278

    Chapter 279

    ~CARTER~

    I watch her walk away from my truck. I¡¯ve always seen Scarlett walking around at the Academy in

    oversized sweaters and joggers too big for her petite body. I¡¯ve always wondered what she would look

    like under all those clothes.

    ¡°FUCK.¡± I growl.

    It was much better than I ever imagined. Scarlett was f*****g sexy. I don¡¯t n to stop looking until she

    opens her door and walks inside. My shirt looked f*****g good on her. She hid her pretty ass from me,

    and I chuckled softly.

    When she reaches her door, she¡¯s forced to turn around to unlock it. I watch her fumbling with the key.

    ¡°Do I make you nervous Scarlett?¡± I ask her. She turns around for a quick second, and in that second, I

    see her light blue eyes and be lost. It reminds me of the first day I saw her.

    The first time I saw Scarlett, her eyes were the first thing that caught my attention. After that day, light

    blue became my favorite color. No one knows this, and no one will ever f*****g know that her eyes are

    the reason I look for that color everywhere that I go.

    Her eyes widen, and she pushes the door open. I smile as she walks inside and quickly shuts the door

    behind her, and if I heard correctly, she also locked it. I chuckled and spun around to look at her ass

    print on my truck.

    Scarlett¡¯s bare ass pressed against my jeep was the sexiest thing I¡¯d ever seen, and it wasn¡¯t

    something I could ever get out of my head.

    I run my hand over the exact spot and imagine holding her cheeks. Her ass was made for squeezing.

    I look back at her house and find her peeking through the curtain. She jumps when I spot her and

    quickly moves away from the window.

    I could stay the entire night just standing outside her house but I had somewhere to be.

    I checked the time on my watch; I had to get home. My brothers were having a game night; they would

    be pissed if I got homete.

    I jumped into my truck and pulled out of the driveway. I couldn¡¯t get Scarlett out of my head for the

    entire drive home.

    Back when I was dating ra, I would always look forward to seeing Scarlett. There was always

    something about her that made me smile. In a world filled with danger and uncertainty, she was like a

    shining bright light.

    My interest in Scarlett grew as I learned about her from ra. Her sister never willingly told me stories

    about her. I would always ask about Scarlett from time to time. I knew more about her than any other

    girls I slept with.

    I don¡¯t n on doing anything with her. I was only messing around with her. She was ra¡¯s baby

    sister; she wasn¡¯t so much of a baby now, but I always referred to her that way. To me, she was off-

    limits.

    She would always be off-limits to me.

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    ¡®I hope you suffer for hurting me! I hate you so much, Carter!¡¯

    Those were the words ra said to me tonight. I knew she meant every single one of those words. I

    deserved it. I deserved everything that came to me for hurting her.

    No one knows why I ended things with her except my family, and it would stay that way. ra was a

    good girl and deserved better than me. Hopefully, one day, she would realize I did the right thing by

    ending things between us. Of course, I chose the most asshole way to break up with her, but I knew

    she would never let go of me if I wasn¡¯t harsh with her. It had to be done that way. I did the best thing I

    could have ever done for her.

    I wish there were a different, better way to end things with her. I still hoped we could be friends after

    everything. I knew that was asking too much of her. That¡¯s why I chose to stay away from her. I wish I

    could say the same about Scarlett. Even though she was off-limits, I had no intention of staying away

    from her. I wanted to be near her as much as possible.

    It was good that she saw me as a cheating asshole. That way, she wouldn¡¯t ever want someone like

    me. Part of me knew that if Scarlett Mae decided one day that she wanted me, it would all be over; I

    wouldn¡¯t know how to say no.

    I shook that thought out of my head. It was a fantasy that had to remain as one. But still, what would

    happen if Scarlett started to fall for me? What would I do if the impossible happened?

    That should never f*****g happen. That¡¯s why no matter what happens, I would keep being the asshole

    she knew I was. Everything I did made her hate me with a passion. I wouldn¡¯t change my ways. I would

    keep being the asshole she hated.

 Chapter 279

    Chapter 279

    Chapter 280

    ~CARTER~

    When I pulled up to the house, I noticed that all the cars were already there. It meant that I was thest

    one to return home.

    I take a deep breath before facing my brothers. When I push the door open, I¡¯m hit with the scent of my

    mother cooking in the kitchen. Her meals are what brought us together every night. No matter where

    we were, we came home in time to enjoy the dinner that she made.

    Our family portrait wasid proudly on the wall. One of thergest portraits I¡¯d ever seen. It was the first

    thing every guest saw when they entered our mansion. It was our parent¡¯s pride and joy.

    Almost everyone who entered our home stopped and stared at the portrait before moving forward. For

    me, I¡¯d gotten used to that picture by now.

    I walked down the hallway and made a second left; I found my mother exactly where I knew she would

    be.

    ¡°You¡¯rete.¡± She scolds me. ¡°Your brothers have been singing this in my head for the past hour.

    Where have you been?¡±

    Dropping ra¡¯s sister home. I don¡¯t say those words out loud. I knew my mother would have plenty to

    say about that.

    ¡°At a party.¡± It was only partly true.

    She sighs, ¡°When will you start getting serious about your life, Carter?¡±

    It wouldn¡¯t be a typical day if my mother didn¡¯t remind me of my poor decisions. I lean over the counter

    and kiss her on her cheek. It always worked.

    She smiles, ¡°They¡¯re waiting on you. After one game, I want everyone inside for dinner.¡±

    I nod and rush out the back door to enter our backyard. With ten acres ofnd for our leisure, we had a

    combination of a basketball court, a tennis court, pools, and all you could think about to have some fun.

    The basketball court was first, right next to the house.

    ¡°You¡¯re f*****gte, Carter!¡± ric growled the second he saw me. ¡°Why do you always keep us

    waiting?¡±

    He walks up to me, and I narrow my eyes.

    ¡°I never asked you to wait.¡± I retort. ¡°Now get the f**k out of my face.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± he asks as she shoves my chest. ¡°What are you going to do about it?¡±

    I push him backward as I re at him. It doesn¡¯t take us more than a few seconds to start grinning at

    each other. This was how we greeted each other almost every day.

    ¡°Let¡¯s y ball!¡± He shouted to alert my other brothers that I was finally home.

    They all came running out of the house like a bunch of lunatics. I expected them to be out here waiting

    with ric, but they all anticipated that I would bete and waited indoors instead.

    ¡°Throw the ball!¡± I shout at ric. He¡¯s the eldest of the nine of us and the biggest pain in my ass. We

    were verypetitive about many things; basketball got us the most riled up.

    ¡°Ignore him,¡± Apollo shouts. He¡¯s three years older than me and the second born. ¡°Send the ball my

    way!¡±

    We¡¯ve always been thispetitive. Always fighting to win. At any sport, whether it be football or

    basketball, even baseball.

    ¡°The winner has to get the most food!¡± Ares shouts. He was always thinking about his stomach. Ares

    was the fourth, and he was neen years old.

    ¡°Can you guys stop making so much noise?¡± Violet asks as she tries to read her book on the porch.

    She¡¯s the calmest amongst us and, unfortunately for her, the only girl.

    Everyone knows she¡¯s the spoilt princess; she gets everything she wants, and no one can hurt her

    unless they want her eight brothers to beat the s**t out of them.

    ¡°You can go read in your room!¡± Cole tells her as he joins in on the game with the rest of us.

    ¡°ric,¡± she pouts. ¡°I want to read out here. Can¡¯t you guys yter?¡±

    Apollo and I give each other a look we always do when Violet uses her charm on our older brother. He

    never says no to her and treats her like the princess that she is.

    ¡°Come on, boys,¡± he says, ¡°let¡¯s wrap this up and head inside. Mom¡¯s making some honey-zed

    turkey for us.¡±

    ric passes the ball to Cole, who looks upset that his game just got squashed because of his fifteen-

    year-old sister. We never even got a chance to y. There was always tomorrow. Same time, same

    ce.

    I head inside with the rest of my brothers, and we all take our seats assigned to each of us since we

    were younger.

    ¡°This looks so good, Mom,¡± I tell her as she fills our tes.

    ¡°Thank you, Carter,¡± she smiles. ¡°And where is Violet? Why isn¡¯t she in here with everyone?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s reading her book,¡± ric tells her. ¡°She wille to eat; let her enjoy the book, Mom.¡±

    Mother shakes her head at my brother, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you spoil her so much. She will run to you for

    everything, and you¡¯ll regret letting her get her way every time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll deal with that when the timees.¡± He assures her.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be saying the same thing when she falls in love, and you have no control over her

    decisions. She would be so used to you giving her everything she wants that she won¡¯t listen when you

    say no.¡± Mother tells him.

    We all stiffen at her words. The thought of Violet falling in love with some asshole didn¡¯t sit right with all

    of us. I guess we would always see her as our little sister. Luckily, so far, she didn¡¯t seem interested in

    anything else but her books. We were safe, at least for now.

    ¡°I was looking forward to seeing ra today.¡± My mother says suddenly. The entire table grew quiet at

    the mention of her.

    My jaw clenched, and my fork hit the te. ¡°Not this again, mother.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to talk about ra, not now, not in front of my entire family.

    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Are we supposed to act like she never existed?¡± She asks me.

    ¡°You know why I had to end things with her.¡± I remind her. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to hurt her but it had to be

    done. Look at what¡¯s happening to ric and his marriage because he didn¡¯t end things when he

    should have.¡±

    ¡°Wow.¡± ric looks at me. ¡°Did you have to drag me down with you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± My mother cuts in before we could start an argument. ¡°I¡¯ll try not to bring her up again. Eat

    your food.¡±

    I was no longer hungry. I had lost my appetite.

 Chapter 280

    Chapter 280

    Chapter 281

    ~SCARLETT~

    My sister and best friend were not giving me a chance to breathe. They were throwing questions at me,

    one after the next.

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    I didn¡¯t want to remember anything aboutst night. I wanted to forgetst night ever happened.

    ¡°You need to tell us what happenedst night between you and Carter!¡± ra repeats as Jenna joins

    us in the car. It was the next day, and I was still in shock and scarred fromst night, and it was all

    these two traitor¡¯s fault.

    They abandoned me when I needed them the most.

    How could they have left me to deal with Carter on my own?

    How could they let him drop me home?

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe the two of you!¡± I snap. ¡°You guys are such traitors. How could you let me leave with

    Carter all by myself? Do you even realize how awful that was for me?¡±

    A part of me knew that wasn¡¯t entirely true. It wasn¡¯tpletely awful, but that wasn¡¯t something I was

    ready to admit.

    Jenna gives me a sneaky smile, ¡°it was ra¡¯s idea. She said it would be best for the two of you to

    leave together so that you could get closer to him. But did that happen? Did you happen to get closer to

    Carter?¡±

    I sigh, ¡°I knew my sister would be the one to throw me under the bus. She lives to see me in pain.¡±

    ra rolls her eyes, ¡°stop being so dramatic.¡±

    ¡°Come on,¡± Jenna says impatiently. ¡°You need to spill the tea. We want to know everything! And don¡¯t

    leave a single detail out.¡±

    I roll my eyes, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t tell you anything for abandoning mest night. I thought I would have died!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being dramatic again!¡± ra exims. ¡°If you want to get closer to Carter, you¡¯ll have to spend

    time alone with just the two of you. It¡¯s something you have to get used to.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the problem,¡± I snap. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get closer to him. I¡¯m only doing this for you. Don¡¯t I have a

    say in how I get closer to him?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± ra answers me. ¡°If we want him to fall in love with you, we must do things my way. If it were up

    to you, you wouldn¡¯t try to get close to him and instead try to push him away.¡±

    ¡°I have a question for you,¡± I tell my sister. There is something that has been bothering me aboutst

    night. I wanted to know if I was wrong about Carter. ¡°Did Carter ever open his truck door for you or any

    door?¡±

    Sheughs, ¡°Come on, Scarlett. It¡¯s Carter Prince. He doesn¡¯t do romantic. Everyone knows this,

    including me, and I would know plenty since I dated him. But why do you ask?¡±, she pauses before her

    eyes widen. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he did it for you?¡±

    I¡¯m not sure how to answer this question. On the one hand, my sister would be happy to know he was

    falling for me or at least pretending to fall for me. But on the other, she would be sad that he was so

    quick to care for me when he never did anything for her.

    ¡°It looked like he was going to, but I opened the door before, so I can¡¯t say.¡± I lie to her. I¡¯m unsure if I¡¯m

    doing the right thing by lying to her, but I was scared of hurting her. She was going through enough

    already. I knew she didn¡¯t choose the best way to deal with her heartache, but she was my sister, and

    she wasn¡¯t a bad person. She¡¯s never wished bad on anyone except Carter, but that was only because

    he hurt her first. And he did it in the worst way possible.

    Whenever I think about what he¡¯s done, I know I must continue with this n.

    ¡°But are you ever going to tell us what happened?¡± Jenna asks; she seemed the most anxious to hear

    the stories I had to tell fromst night.

    ¡°Carter saw me standing next to his truck from the pool area. He immediately came down to ask me

    what I was doing there. I exined that I might have been there to wreck his windshield for hurting

    ra. Of course, he didn¡¯t believe me because I¡¯m apparently too nice even to break someone¡¯s

    windshield or anything at all.¡±

    raughs, ¡°Of course, you¡¯re too nice for that. I¡¯m happy you stood up for me, but I don¡¯t think you

    should keep doing that around him. We want him to start liking you. You¡¯ll need to try at least to be nice

    to him.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure my sister knows what she¡¯s speaking about. Carter seemed to be treating me better when I

    acted mean to him. For some reason, it seemed like he liked it when I was mean to him.

    ¡°So what happened next?¡± Jenna asks me, still listening intently. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m reading a novel, but it¡¯s

    your life! How cool is this?¡±

    ¡°Very cool,¡± I say dryly. ¡°Something strange happened next. It makes me wonder what type of person

    Carter is. I felt like I saw another side to himst night.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± ra asks me as she tilts her head to the side, trying to hear me better.

    ¡°I left him by his truck and was heading back inside, but two drunk guys were by the entrance. They

    tried to harass me, and one even touched my ass. Of course, I pped him, but then they tried to

    attack me, and that¡¯s when Carter stepped in. I could have handled it independently, but he still showed

    up. He smashed their faces to the ground and asked them to apologize. After they did, he told them to

    remember my name and never to try anything like that again on me. Then he gave me his shirt to cover

    up my body so that no other guys tried to interfere with me again. And if that surprises you, there¡¯s

    more. I told him that I was heading back inside, but he insisted that I go back to his truck. When I said

    no, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, and carried me back to his truck.¡± I tell them.

    I wait for a response, but they¡¯re both reticent. It freaks me out since they¡¯re always so noisy, especially

    when talking about Carter.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to say something?¡± I ask.

    ra shakes her head at me, ¡°I feel like you¡¯re talking about a different person.¡± She admits. ¡°Are you

    sure that was Carter and not one of his brothers that resembles him?¡±

    ¡°I wish!¡± I exim, ¡°But it was definitely him. No one else.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s crazy,¡± Jenna says. ¡°I would not expect something like that from Carter. But this means that

    ra¡¯s n is working. He¡¯s beginning to care for you, and we haven¡¯t even tried hard enough yet.¡±

    What did she mean by that? I was trying pretty freaking hard. They weren¡¯t the ones putting their lives

    on the line like me. Of course, it would seem like nothing for both of them.

    ¡°We need to see his reaction to you at school today,¡± ra says. ¡°I need to figure out if he¡¯s messing

    with you or falling. I¡¯m not sure how we will be able to tell, but we just have to wait and see.¡±

    How wonderful, another day of seeing Carter Prince!

 Chapter 281

    Chapter 281

    Chapter 281

    ~SCARLETT~

    My sister and best friend were not giving me a chance to breathe. They were throwing questions at me,

    one after the next.

    I didn¡¯t want to remember anything aboutst night. I wanted to forgetst night ever happened.

    ¡°You need to tell us what happenedst night between you and Carter!¡± ra repeats as Jenna joins

    us in the car. It was the next day, and I was still in shock and scarred fromst night, and it was all

    these two traitor¡¯s fault.

    They abandoned me when I needed them the most.

    How could they have left me to deal with Carter on my own?

    How could they let him drop me home?

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe the two of you!¡± I snap. ¡°You guys are such traitors. How could you let me leave with

    Carter all by myself? Do you even realize how awful that was for me?¡±

    A part of me knew that wasn¡¯t entirely true. It wasn¡¯tpletely awful, but that wasn¡¯t something I was

    ready to admit.

    Jenna gives me a sneaky smile, ¡°it was ra¡¯s idea. She said it would be best for the two of you to

    leave together so that you could get closer to him. But did that happen? Did you happen to get closer to

    Carter?¡±

    I sigh, ¡°I knew my sister would be the one to throw me under the bus. She lives to see me in pain.¡±

    ra rolls her eyes, ¡°stop being so dramatic.¡±

    ¡°Come on,¡± Jenna says impatiently. ¡°You need to spill the tea. We want to know everything! And don¡¯t

    leave a single detail out.¡±

    I roll my eyes, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t tell you anything for abandoning mest night. I thought I would have died!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being dramatic again!¡± ra exims. ¡°If you want to get closer to Carter, you¡¯ll have to spend

    time alone with just the two of you. It¡¯s something you have to get used to.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the problem,¡± I snap. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get closer to him. I¡¯m only doing this for you. Don¡¯t I have a

    say in how I get closer to him?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± ra answers me. ¡°If we want him to fall in love with you, we must do things my way. If it were up

    to you, you wouldn¡¯t try to get close to him and instead try to push him away.¡±

    ¡°I have a question for you,¡± I tell my sister. There is something that has been bothering me aboutst

    night. I wanted to know if I was wrong about Carter. ¡°Did Carter ever open his truck door for you or any

    door?¡±

    Sheughs, ¡°Come on, Scarlett. It¡¯s Carter Prince. He doesn¡¯t do romantic. Everyone knows this,

    including me, and I would know plenty since I dated him. But why do you ask?¡±, she pauses before her

    eyes widen. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he did it for you?¡±

    I¡¯m not sure how to answer this question. On the one hand, my sister would be happy to know he was

    falling for me or at least pretending to fall for me. But on the other, she would be sad that he was so

    quick to care for me when he never did anything for her.

    ¡°It looked like he was going to, but I opened the door before, so I can¡¯t say.¡± I lie to her. I¡¯m unsure if I¡¯m

    doing the right thing by lying to her, but I was scared of hurting her. She was going through enough

    already. I knew she didn¡¯t choose the best way to deal with her heartache, but she was my sister, and

    she wasn¡¯t a bad person. She¡¯s never wished bad on anyone except Carter, but that was only because

    he hurt her first. And he did it in the worst way possible.

    Whenever I think about what he¡¯s done, I know I must continue with this n.

    ¡°But are you ever going to tell us what happened?¡± Jenna asks; she seemed the most anxious to hear

    the stories I had to tell fromst night.

    ¡°Carter saw me standing next to his truck from the pool area. He immediately came down to ask me

    what I was doing there. I exined that I might have been there to wreck his windshield for hurting

    ra. Of course, he didn¡¯t believe me because I¡¯m apparently too nice even to break someone¡¯s

    windshield or anything at all.¡±

    raughs, ¡°Of course, you¡¯re too nice for that. I¡¯m happy you stood up for me, but I don¡¯t think you

    should keep doing that around him. We want him to start liking you. You¡¯ll need to try at least to be nice

    to him.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure my sister knows what she¡¯s speaking about. Carter seemed to be treating me better when I

    acted mean to him. For some reason, it seemed like he liked it when I was mean to him.

    ¡°So what happened next?¡± Jenna asks me, still listening intently. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m reading a novel, but it¡¯s

    your life! How cool is this?¡±

    ¡°Very cool,¡± I say dryly. ¡°Something strange happened next. It makes me wonder what type of person

    Carter is. I felt like I saw another side to himst night.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± ra asks me as she tilts her head to the side, trying to hear me better.

    ¡°I left him by his truck and was heading back inside, but two drunk guys were by the entrance. They

    tried to harass me, and one even touched my ass. Of course, I pped him, but then they tried to

    attack me, and that¡¯s when Carter stepped in. I could have handled it independently, but he still showed

    up. He smashed their faces to the ground and asked them to apologize. After they did, he told them to

    remember my name and never to try anything like that again on me. Then he gave me his shirt to cover

    up my body so that no other guys tried to interfere with me again. And if that surprises you, there¡¯s

    more. I told him that I was heading back inside, but he insisted that I go back to his truck. When I said

    no, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, and carried me back to his truck.¡± I tell them.

    I wait for a response, but they¡¯re both reticent. It freaks me out since they¡¯re always so noisy, especially

    when talking about Carter.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to say something?¡± I ask.

    ra shakes her head at me, ¡°I feel like you¡¯re talking about a different person.¡± She admits. ¡°Are you

    sure that was Carter and not one of his brothers that resembles him?¡±

    ¡°I wish!¡± I exim, ¡°But it was definitely him. No one else.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s crazy,¡± Jenna says. ¡°I would not expect something like that from Carter. But this means that

    ra¡¯s n is working. He¡¯s beginning to care for you, and we haven¡¯t even tried hard enough yet.¡±

    What did she mean by that? I was trying pretty freaking hard. They weren¡¯t the ones putting their lives

    on the line like me. Of course, it would seem like nothing for both of them.

    ¡°We need to see his reaction to you at school today,¡± ra says. ¡°I need to figure out if he¡¯s messing

    with you or falling. I¡¯m not sure how we will be able to tell, but we just have to wait and see.¡±

    How wonderful, another day of seeing Carter Prince!

    Chapter 282

    ~SCARLETT~

    ¡°Do you see him anywhere?¡± ra asks. Today felt like a repeat of yesterday and the day before that.

    Since I agreed to do this for my sister, Carter is all that we speak about.

    He¡¯s be the center of our attention.

    Where is Carter? Would Carter like what I¡¯m wearing? What did Carter do today? It was bing

    frustrating. All I wanted to do was lie in bed and read novels. Even sleeping would interest me more

    than talking about Carter at this point.

    I felt a shiver down my spine every time I rememberedst night. I didn¡¯t need a reminder of it every

    second. They seemed to be convinced that Carter was already starting to develop feelings for me.

    I knew he was just messing around with me like he did with all the other girls he tried to sleep with. It

    was simple with everyone else but I was not about to make things easy for him.

    One thing has been bothering me, which I intentionally left out aboutst night.

    It happened when I¡¯d shut my door after Carter dropped me home. He did something that baffled me.

    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    He touched his truck, which would have been normal behavior if he hadn¡¯t touched the exact spot I had

    been leaning againstst night.

    My cheeks burned as I remember pressing up against it while looking at him. I could still smell him.

    Why did he touch it? Did he know he was touching the exact spot my ass had been on?

    Did he have a sick, twisted reason for doing it?

    I shook that thought out of my head. I didn¡¯t want to spend any time thinking about the questionable

    things that he did.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be seeing much of Carter today,¡± Jenna tells the both of us. I¡¯m suddenly interested

    in what she has to say¡ªnot seeing much of Carter? That sounds spectacr to me.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± My sister asks. ¡°Is he skipping school to be with one of his many girls again?¡±

    She shook her head, ¡°he¡¯s going to be busy with practice. Did you forget ra? Carter has a game

    tonight. I just heard someone speaking about it. We should have known this already. I can¡¯t believe I let

    the game tonight slip my mind!¡±

    ra¡¯s eyes widen, ¡°You¡¯re right! How did I forget about something like that?¡±

    ¡°To be fair, you were preupied.¡± I remind her.

    Preupied trying to ruin my life; that¡¯s what she was busy doing.

    I¡¯m trying to hide how happy I am by this new information. It meant that I was a free girl for the rest of

    the day. I didn¡¯t have to worry about looking good for Carter or trying to catch his attention. I didn¡¯t have

    to fear hurting my sister or seeing her cry because of that asshole. And most importantly, we didn¡¯t

    have to see him ruin our lunch by sticking his tongue down a random girl¡¯s throat.

    ¡°That settles it,¡± ra says suddenly. The tone of her voice worries me. What was sheing up with

    now? She looks at me and smiles, ¡°We¡¯re going to the game tonight.¡±

    My mouth slowly opened in disbelief. I knew it was too good to be true.

    Just my luck. I should have expected her to devise a n like this one. I thought Carter having a game

    tonight would be good news for me, but it was the opposite.

    Is everyone out to make my life miserable?

    ¡°Why would we attend the game?¡± I ask her. ¡°It¡¯s not like I can catch his attention while he¡¯s in a game.

    Everyone knows how seriously Carter takes his games. He loves to win, and nothing everes

    between his thirst for sess.¡±

    There was no way that I would be able to catch his attention tonight. I don¡¯t understand why ra

    would even bother carrying us to that thing. I¡¯ve never went to a game before. I never had a reason to

    do it. And I wished to keep it that way.

    I didn¡¯t want to see Carter in his spotlight with everyone screaming his name. To me, he wasn¡¯t a star,

    not after what he did to my sister.

    Thest thing I wanted to do was be added to one of his supporters list.

    ¡°Once Carter and his team win, a huge celebration will be on the field. He will spot you in the crowd. If

    he¡¯s truly interested in you, he wille to you. This is the first test to see whether he¡¯s only messing

    around or is beginning to have feelings for you.¡± She tells me.

    I was sure that ra would be proven wrong tonight. Carter wouldn¡¯t even bother to look my way

    tonight, let alone try toe and talk to me. With the number of women surrounding him, why would he

    want toe to me?

    I¡¯ve seen videos of these gamese across my phone a few times. I¡¯ve ignored the majority of them,

    but I had a good idea of precisely what took ce.

    Carter and his teammates would be worshipped tonight like they were some legends.

    I wince at the thought of hundreds of girls screaming his name.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t force me to attend this event,¡± I beg. ¡°Save me from this torture!¡±

    She rolls her eyes. ¡°Watching the fearsome beasts is not torture. Trust me; you¡¯ll have a good time.¡±

    Her idea and my idea of a good time werepletely different.

    I couldn¡¯t believe this was happening to me. Tonight, I¡¯ll be attending a game I wouldn¡¯t have been

    caught dead in a few days ago. How quickly my life was changing!

 Chapter 282

    Chapter 282

    Chapter 283

    ~SCARLETT~

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m at one of these football games,¡± I mumble.

    ¡°Oh, cheer up!¡± ra tells me. ¡°How can you not enjoy this? It¡¯s better to be at an event like this

    instead of being locked up in your room like you always are.¡±

    ¡°In case you haven¡¯t noticed, sister, I prefer to be locked up in my room. It¡¯s a lot more entertaining for

    me than this!¡± I point out.

    She rolls her eyes, ¡°You just need time to adjust to this. Believe me, when our academy wins, you¡¯ll

    celebrate like the rest of us. I wish I knew how to describe the joy it brings.¡±

    I was sure that she was speaking gibberish. There was no way that I would ever enjoy something like

    this.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do this, ra,¡± I confess. ¡°This is too much for me¡ªthe annoying crowd, the

    screaming girls, how close everyone is seated. I want to go home and rx. I¡¯ve seen enough, and this

    is not for me.¡±

    ¡°Please, Scarlett.¡± She begs. ¡°You need to just sit down for a few minutes, and you¡¯ll see you will enjoy

    the game just like reading your books.¡±

    ¡°I already agreed to try and make Carter fall in love with me because he broke your heart, so I can

    break his. You¡¯re my sister, and he was your boyfriend; I keep trying to make you see that this n may

    backfire on all of us, but you won¡¯t listen to me. I¡¯m already doing so much; why must I attend this game

    also?¡± I demand.

    ¡°Carter deserves everything that¡¯sing for him. I¡¯m incredibly grateful you even considered doing

    this for me because I asked you to. You¡¯re more than my sister Scarlett. I promise you only need to

    continue this for a little while longer. Carter is already falling for you.¡±

    Someone clears their throat at us and gains our attention.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she apologizes. ¡°I don¡¯t have a ticket, so I must stand in the back here.¡±

    ¡°Do you go to our school?¡± I ask her. ¡°I¡¯m Scarlett, by the way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ra, her sister.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m Jenna, the best friend.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not from here,¡± she answers. ¡°I came with a woman that I work for. Her name is Giselle. As for my

    name, I¡¯m not sure how to exin it, but I¡¯ve lost my memories of my past and have no idea what it is

    or who I am. I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t give a proper introduction.¡±

    Her words surprise me, and I¡¯m incredibly unhappy she lost her memories.

    ¡°If you want, you cane sit with us,¡± I suggest. ¡°We have an extra seat, and I would prefer giving it

    to you than any other girls around here. They often scream, and I don¡¯t want to go deaf tonight.¡±

    Sheughs.

    ¡°Is that a yes?¡± ra asks her.

    She nods. ¡°I¡¯d love to; I only hope that Giselle does not get angry with me.¡±

    I roll my eyes, ¡°I see Giselle is one of those.¡±

    ¡°Where are your seats?¡± She asks.

    I smile, ¡°there is one benefit of having a popr older sister. We get front-row seats! Even though I

    hate these games, I know it¡¯s impressive to get the opportunity to sit up front.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you just overheard our little conversation,¡± ra says, embarrassed.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me telling anyone,¡± she assures us.

    I knew we could trust her. ra and I had to stop discussing our ns in public ces. If one of those

    screaming girls had heard our conversation, it would be over for us.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to say anything along those lines,¡± ra rifies. ¡°I can already see you¡¯re not like that.

    I wanted to exin properly so you don¡¯t think we¡¯re crazy. Also, this could help so that you would

    understand any future conversations that we may have.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me,¡± she tells her. ¡°I know it¡¯s private.¡±

    My mind stops noticing their conversation when I remember my alone time with Carter. I felt this weird

    feeling in my belly, something I¡¯ve never felt before and it makes me uneasy.

    The crowd suddenly erupts into a loud cheer, it¡¯s enough to distract me from my ufortable

    thoughts.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± I ask ra.

    ¡°They¡¯reing out.¡±

    I follow her gaze and spot our school¡¯s team heading onto the field. And then I see him, and for the first

    time in my life, my heart skips a beat because of Carter Prince. I¡¯ve never seen him like this before. He

    looked so happy and alive like football was his life. He was smiling at his team and waving at the

    crowd. They loved him, everyone here. They were all cheering for him.

    His light blonde hair sparkles under the stadium lights, and I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen anyone look this

    handsome.

    For the first time, I think I understand why girls went so crazy over him. Because of this, I saw him in all

    his glory, ying his favorite game and being the f*****g star yer.

    And he certainly was the best yer on the team. There was no question about that. The game starts

    and proves my point within the first few minutes. Carter was the first to score, and he was also the

    second. He was also the reason why his teammate scored the third goal. Just like I said, he was the

    star yer.

    He couldn¡¯t have gotten this good just by luck. He must train very hard to be that good at something

    like this. I always thought he was this spoilt, rich kid with no ambition or goals. I can see that I was

    wrong; this was his dream, which he worked towards, and it showed.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± ra says beside me. ¡°I forgot how good Carter looked at these games. He always outshone

    everyone around him. I used to feel so proud knowing that I was his girlfriend. I felt lucky knowing I was

    the one he wasing home to at night while all the other girls wished they had him. Now I know that

    they had him all along. I was the fool.¡±

    My sister¡¯s words are enough to snap me back to reality. It¡¯s just what I needed to stop falling for

    Carter¡¯s skills on the field. I got a bit carried by how good he was and how much everyone adored him

    while he yed. I¡¯m happy for her reminder; I needed to remind myself who he was constantly. Yes, he

    had good qualities, but it seemed like the bad outweighed them all.

    ¡°At least you¡¯re not stuck in that rtionship with him anymore. I think that you¡¯re lucky to have found

    out. Imagine if you were still with him thinking that he loved you and was loyal to you when he was

    cheating, and everyone around you knew it and didn¡¯t bother telling you.¡± I tell her. ¡°Trust me, you¡¯re

    doing much better without him and his cheating ways.¡±

    She agrees with me but I can still see the excitement and pain in her eyes.

    The girl who¡¯d just joined us excused herself before the game could end and we all said goodbye even

    though our eyes were stuck on the game

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    ¡°I almost forgot about this part!¡± ra exims suddenly.

    ¡°What part?¡± I ask her, curious.

    ¡°I always hated this part.¡± She tells me.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I demand. ¡°Will you just exin it to me?¡±

    ¡°At the end of all Carter¡¯s games, the star yer must kiss someone from the crowd. Carter was the

    star yer at almost every game, and I would have to watch him kiss other girls. I hated it, but I knew

    that it was just a silly tradition and didn¡¯t think much of it.¡± She exins.

    You got to be kidding me. What kind of stupid tradition was that? Why would he kiss random girls from

    the crowd? I bet that this must have been a tradition that he had created to be able to kiss any girl he

    wanted to kiss. I doubt anyone here wouldin about him kissing them, however. They were

    excited about this part.

    ¡°So how do they choose who he kisses?¡± I ask ra.

    ¡°Whoever the camera falls on,¡± she tells me as she points to the huge screen on the edge of the field.

    I watch the camera move around the crowd, searching for a girl for Carter to kiss.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m staying for the end of this,¡± I tell her as I stand up, attempting to leave. ra holds my

    hand to stop me from walking out. ¡°It¡¯s almost over.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure I wanted to stay back to watch Carter kiss some random girl from the crowd. I had better

    things to do than that.

    ¡°Ugh, guys,¡± Jenna calls to us.

    ¡°What?¡± ra and I ask at the same time.

    ¡°You might want to see who the camera just stopped at.¡± She tells us.

    I follow her gaze, and my body runs cold at what I see next.

    Me.

    It was me.

    I was the girl from the crowd that Carter had to kiss today.

    Oh no.

    No. No. No.

    This wasn¡¯t happening to me!

 Chapter 283

    Chapter 283

    Chapter 284

    ~SCARLETT~

    The crowd goes hushed as they realize who I am, the little sister of the girl Carter Prince once dated.

    The silence is making things a lot worse. I thought I hated the noise, but I hated this silence more under

    these circumstances.

    It wasn¡¯t like I can run and hide now. There were too many eyes on me, and I didn¡¯t want to be known

    as a coward for running and hiding from a kiss.

    Out of all the possible things I thought could have gone wrong tonight, this was thest one I expected.

    Luck was not on my side.

    I spot Carter from a distance, and his eyes are stuck on me like glue. He looks surprised, almost as

    though he wasn¡¯t expecting to see me here. Was he disappointed that I was the girl he had to kiss

    tonight?

    I watch as he walks towards me, pushing through the crowd to get to me.

    He¡¯s smiling, actually smiling. Of course, he would be enjoying something like this. I want to knock the

    smile out of his pretty face!

    His stride toward me felt like it was moving in slow motion with the ufortable silence around me.

    Even now, no one was making a single sound. I don¡¯t think this has ever happened in one of these

    games. Today might go down in history as the day everyone wentpletely silent for a game won by

    our Academy.

    When Carter finally reaches me, I¡¯m hit by his luscious scent. Even all sweaty and muddy, Carter still

    smelled amazing. It was insane to me.

    He leaned down so that his mouth was inches away from mine, and I swear I almost forgot how to

    breathe. Everything started to spin.

    I¡¯m scared of my own feelings. I don¡¯t know anything anymore.

    ¡°Spotlight suits you, Scarlett Mae,¡± he whispers before his lips touch mine. I¡¯m not sure what I expected

    from his kiss, but it most definitely wasn¡¯t this. My body practically melted from his lips on mine. I felt

    like I was burning with a sudden need, like fireworks all around us. Or maybe there was fireworks, but I

    couldn¡¯t tell while Carter kissed me.

    I¡¯m unsure what¡¯s happening to me, but I felt like my control was slowly slipping away. I¡¯m not even

    aware of what I¡¯m doing when my arms move to wrap around his neck as his own arms wrap around

    my waist.

    I gasp against his mouth when he picks me up into his arms with ease.

    Carter deepened the kiss, and I almost cried out when he forced his tongue into my mouth. I didn¡¯t

    know that kissing could make you feel this good. I felt like I was in apletely different world, one

    where Carter was leading every move.

    Suddenly, I wanted more. I felt like running my hands down his chest, amongst other things.

    The sudden cheer around us reminds me of where we were. It breaks whatever spell I was under, and I

    quickly push Carter away from me. Both of us are breathing hard, and his lips are now red from my

    lipstick.

    I can¡¯t stop staring at him; I¡¯m not sure what to take from what just happened. There was a vital spark

    between us. Something I¡¯ve never felt around anyone else before. It made me terrified. I didn¡¯t like

    feeling that vulnerable, not for someone like Carter.

    ¡°That was some kiss!¡± The announcer said into his mike. One nce around me, and I can see how

    pissed the girls in the stadium are right now, and I¡¯m sure their anger is directed at me. They all wanted

    to kiss him; I¡¯m sure that¡¯s why half of the girls here came tonight, for a chance to kiss Carter. I didn¡¯t

    know something like that existed in our academy until now.

    Carter¡¯s teammates rush into the crowd and pick him up before he can say anything to me. I watched

    as they carried him back onto the field while everyone cheered for them. They¡¯d won yet another

    match.

    Even though I¡¯m not the biggest fan of Carter, I¡¯m happy they¡¯ve won. I know now that he works hard

    and deserves to win, even though he was an ass in his personal life.

    ¡°I cannot believe that you just kissed Carter Prince!¡± Jenna exims next to me.

    Her voice reminds me that I wasn¡¯t alone. She wasn¡¯t the only one who saw me kiss him; ra did as

    well, and she hadn¡¯t said anything since it happened.

    My gaze snaps to hers. She looked like she¡¯d just seen a ghost, and I felt guilty for enjoying that kiss. I

    would have never kissed him if this wasn¡¯t what ra wanted, but seeing her face now made me feel

    horrible.

    Why was she doing this to herself?

    If, by some miracle, Carter did develop feelings for me, wouldn¡¯t that make her feel worse?

    I wish she could see it the way that I did.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked her; I was worried that this had been too much. Maybe now she would decide

    for us to call off this n of making Carter fall in love with me.

    She smiles, ¡°Of course I am. I mean, I never thought I¡¯d ever have to witness you kiss him in front of

    me, but if it helps to get him to fall for you. I¡¯m all for it.¡±

    I gape at her, shocked by her response.

    Was she seriously going to let this torture continue after what she just witnessed?

    The determination in her eyes is all the answer I need.

    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    I inwardly groan. How far would we have to take this ridiculous n for ra to call off this entire

    thing?

 Chapter 284

    Chapter 284

    Chapter 285

    ~CARTER~

    ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± I ask ric as I pass the ball to him.

    He quirks a brow, ¡°since when do you ask questions during a game?¡±

    My jaw clenches, ¡°I¡¯ve just had something on my mind.¡±

    I¡¯ve had f*****g plenty on my mind, but I wasn¡¯t about to tell him that. My brothers enjoyed teasing me

    over the most minor things.

    ¡°Shoot.¡± He tells me.

    ¡°You know that lucky for us; we aren¡¯t blessed with mates like other wolves. But what does it mean

    when you kiss someone and feel an instant connection? And all you can think about is kissing her

    again.¡±

    Apollo spits the water he¡¯d just been drinking out of his mouth after hearing my question. I knew to

    them this was just a huge joke. They wouldn¡¯t take me seriously.

    I should have just kept my original n to shut my mouthpletely.

    It¡¯s just that since I kissed Scarlett, I couldn¡¯t get that kiss out of my head. It¡¯s the first time that

    something like that happened to me.

    I¡¯ve kissed hundreds of women in the past, so many that I lost count a long time ago, but none of those

    kissespared to that one kiss with her. It was strange to me and a bit rming.

    If we aren¡¯t allowed to have mates, then what exactly was I feeling?

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re falling for a girl,¡± Apollo chuckles. Of course, they would never think that I¡¯ll fall for

    a girl. My brothers often said I would die alone, and I honestly believed them.

    I kept moving from girl to girl, and sometimes, it felt like I was doing it because I was searching for a

    connection I knew I could never have.

    We were always surrounded by werewolves who found their mates and knew what it was like to feel

    complete. We didn¡¯t have that satisfaction. The most I could have was someone easy to live with.

    Sometimes, I tried to convince myself that we had it easier. We didn¡¯t have the greatest weakness

    known to a werewolf. Other times, like today, I hated it.

    It felt like I was fighting a battle that couldn¡¯t be won.

    My parents are probably the only two of our entire family to be in love with each other. And still, their

    connection wasn¡¯t that of mates. The truth remained that my mother¡¯s mate was still out somewhere,

    and if he came into her life now, we have no idea what would happen next. We know that the mate

    bond is hard to ignore. And even though she¡¯s in love with our father and the family they created

    together, I¡¯m not sure she could ignore her mate if he ever shows up.

    I don¡¯t want to think about that. I would like to believe that my parents would stay together no matter

    what life throws at them.

    ¡°Why do you ask that?¡± ric asks me, concerned. My older brother was always like this; he got

    serious quickly whenever he sensed that any of his younger siblings were distressed. Of course, he

    fussed over Violet the most; she was his little princess.

    ¡°If any of you attended the game today, you would know what I was speaking about.¡± I retort.

    They¡¯re usually there at every game; my entire family always came to support me. But today, they were

    all busy, and I loved reminding them that they didn¡¯t show up to support me.

    ¡°Ah, stop being such a pussy.¡± Ares says.

    ¡°I¡¯ll remember that when you try out for the teamter this year,¡± I say to him, and he quickly

    apologizes.

    ¡°So tell us,¡± ric tells me. ¡°What happened at the game that¡¯s making you ask such a question?¡±

    I could feel all eyes on me. I¡¯d managed to spark each of their interest. Lucky me.

    ¡°I bet it¡¯s from that tradition where he has to kiss a girl at the end of the game.¡± Apollo points out. ¡°Did

    one of those girls finally touch your heart, brother?¡±

    They all begin tough at his question; what they don¡¯t realize is the fact that he is spot on. That¡¯s

    exactly what happened. I kissed a girl, my ex-girlfriend¡¯s younger sister, and now I¡¯m questioning every

    f*****g thing in my life.

    This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Is that true?¡± ric asks, reading me like an open book. ¡°Who¡¯s she?¡±

    I stretch my arms above my head and prepare for the reaction I¡¯m about to get, ¡°She¡¯s Scarlett Mae.¡±

    ¡°Mae?¡± ric asks me. ¡°As in ra¡¯s younger sister?¡±

    I nod, and Apollo throws the ball at me. ¡°f**k Carter. You go for them all, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°The camera stopped on her. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the one that asked for it.¡± I answer him. Though, I would

    be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t happy that the camera hadnded on her.

    I hadn¡¯t even expected to see Scarlett in that crowd. She never attended my games. I don¡¯t know why

    she was there but f**k, it made me so f*****g happy to see her there.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you would have said no either way.¡± Apollo teases.

    He¡¯s wrong. There¡¯s a good f*****g chance I would have said no if I knew the kiss would have left me

    feeling this way. One taste of Scarlett, one f*****g taste, and everything was already spinning out of

    control.

    My interest in Scarlett has always bothered me but this is the first time I¡¯ve ever gotten so close to her.

    That kiss had f*****g wrecked me. Now what the hell am I supposed to do with all this tension locked in

    my body? Who do I go to for release?

 Chapter 285

    Chapter 285

    Chapter 286

    ~SCARLETT~

    I touched my lips while I stared at my pink cheeks in the bathroom mirror.

    My body was still tingling from head to toe.

    I kissed Carter. Technically, he kissed me, but I also kissed him back in front of hundreds of spectators.

    A part of me didn¡¯t want the kiss to stop.

    I grab my phone and stare at the video I was tagged in. Why did we look so perfect together? I always

    thought he looked perfect with ra, but I was wrong. For some strange reason, we matched perfectly,

    at least while kissing. Any other time, I looked like a nerd who was trying her best to gain the attention

    of the most popr guy at school.

    This was all ra¡¯s fault. She gave me a makeover, and I didn¡¯t recognize myself anymore. She¡¯d

    made me into someone who looked perfect next to Carter Prince.

    I bit my lip and pressed my head against the mirror. I couldn¡¯t even recognize myself anymore. I looked

    and felt like a different person.

    I didn¡¯t like feeling this way. Something felt wrong.

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    What was I doing to myself? Was it worth it?

    Every bone in my body told me I was doing the wrong thing by listening to ra. Her revenge blinded

    her. In the end, she would only get hurt.

    I saw her face when Carter kissed me. She was hurt. She didn¡¯t want to admit it, but she was in pain.

    Not once did Carter seem to care that she was next to us, either. His focus was entirely on me, and a

    part of me felt thrilled that I was the center of his attention.

    I hated that I felt this way. It was wrong. So very wrong.

    The only thing that kept me going was how Carter treated her after the breakup. He disrespected her in

    every way possible, and even I wanted him to pay for hurting her. But I wasn¡¯t sure if this was the right

    way to do it, especially not after that kiss.

    The door flew open suddenly, and I lifted my face from the mirror to find ra with tears in her eyes.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± We both ask each other at the same time.

    ¡°You go first.¡± I urge her. ¡°Why are you crying?¡±

    She sighs and hugs me. I froze for a second; ra barely ever hugged me. This revenge n of hers

    has us the closest we¡¯ve ever been. This is another reason that made me want to continue with it.

    ¡°I saw pictures of Carter and I on my phone.¡± She confesses. ¡°I thought he loved me, Scarlett. He

    treated me with love and respect. At least, I thought so. I was so shocked when I saw those pictures of

    him in another girl¡¯s arms. I was so stupid for months; he had me fooled for a long time. I thought he

    was a good person; I did. I knew there were things that he wasn¡¯t perfect at. He was never romantic or

    did the little things like open doors for me, but he always protected me. He was always there when I

    cried, and he never sat back and let anyone bully me. I can¡¯t believe that all those memories were fake.

    I can¡¯t believe that it¡¯s all over for us.¡±

    My heart squeezes at her words. She was still deeply in love with Carter despite everything he¡¯d done.

    It hurts my heart.

    How could I be so selfish and even, for a split second, be happy that Carter showed me some

    attention? What the hell was wrong with me? ra mattered the most to me; I wouldn¡¯t do anything to

    hurt her or betray her trust.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it was all fake, ra,¡± I whisper. ¡°Maybe there are some things that we don¡¯t fully know.

    Maybe he had a good reason for doing what he did.¡±

    I searched for the right words, hoping to make her feel better. However, even I didn¡¯t believe those

    words. If Carter cared about her, he wouldn¡¯t have done what he did.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re just saying that to make me feel better.¡± She pouts. ¡°But thank you, Scarlett. After my

    breakup with Carter, I lost plenty of my close friends. I thought they would all support me, but instead,

    they showed their true colors. They were only ever around me because of Carter.¡±

    ¡°They were never your real friends.¡± I hiss.

    I saw the way they all reacted when she was falling apart.

    ¡°You should be happy that you¡¯re no longer surrounded by fake friends who never cared about you.¡±

    She smiles, ¡°My real friend was always you. You¡¯re the only one that stuck with me through it all. You¡¯re

    the only person I trust. Thank you, Scarlett. Thank you for being an amazing sister.¡±

    Why did I suddenly feel so guilty? Why do I feel like I¡¯m already betraying her?

 Chapter 286

    Chapter 286

    Chapter 287

    ~CARTER~

    I threw the ball into the hoop, and Apollo groans. ¡°f**k you!¡±

    I chuckle. ¡°Don¡¯t be such a sour p***y because you lost.¡±

    He chuckles as he grabs the ball and aims it at me. He pauses for a second like something just

    crossed his mind.

    ¡°Do you mind telling me what¡¯s been bothering you?¡± He asks me. ¡°I¡¯ve been noticing some changes in

    you recently. You don¡¯t behave as the wild as you did in the past.¡±

    ¡°Changes?¡± I quirk my brow. ¡°I¡¯m the same way I¡¯ve been since I learned to talk brother. Nothing has

    changed.¡±

    I¡¯m unsure what he¡¯s referring to, but he must be wrong.

    He sighs. ¡°I¡¯m being serious. ric pointed it out to me, and I¡¯ve been noticing your strange behavior

    ever since. . .¡±

    ¡°Ever since what?¡± I ask him. I knew what he wanted to say, but I needed to confirm it.

    He exhales loudly, ¡°ever since you intentionally ruined your rtionship with ra.¡±

    ra.

    My family hasn¡¯t missed the opportunity to remind me about our breakup ever since the day it

    happened for everyone to see.

    My jaw clenches at the mention of her name. I still felt f*****g guilty after making her cry. I didn¡¯t like

    speaking about our breakup.

    He throws the ball into my hand, and I catch it.

    ¡°Everyone at home knows why I ended things with her.¡± I remind him. ¡°It was the best thing I could do

    for her. Mates, serious rtionships, those things aren¡¯t for us. You know as well as I do that I did the

    f*****g right thing for her.¡±

    He nods, ¡°Mom misses her, you know. Our sister does, too. They were bing good friends.¡±

    I take a deep breath. He didn¡¯t need to remind me. She spoke about ra any chance that she got.

    They both did.

    ¡°Let¡¯s face it, ra¡¯s the best girl I ever brought home to meet the family,¡± I admit. ¡°Of course, mother

    was very fond of her. And, of course, Violet loved her also. But there¡¯s nothing I can do about that now.

    ra wants nothing to do with me, and even though I¡¯m selfish, I won¡¯t force my way into her life again

    after what I did to her.¡±

    He nods but then chuckles, ¡°Remember that girl that walked outside naked for breakfast?¡±

    I inwardly groan. I didn¡¯t need a reminder of that morning.

    ¡°I¡¯ve made some dumb decisions in the past.¡± I chuckle. ¡°Rest assured, after the trouble that incident

    got me into with Mom, I¡¯m never doing something like that again. I think I shouldn¡¯t bring anyone home

    anymore.¡±

    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.

    I was tired of the mistakes.

    And I was bound to make ten times worse decisions in the future.

    I threw the ball back at him.

    ¡°ra was a nice girl. She loved you.¡±

    Why wasn¡¯t he letting this conversation go?

    ¡°She loved me too much,¡± I growl as he threw the ball into the. ¡°That¡¯s why I had to make her hate

    me. I was bound to hurt her one way or the other. Our family is f*****g cursed. We aren¡¯t lucky like the

    rest.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± He says. ¡°I know you did the right thing for her, but I¡¯m worried about you. Everyone thinks

    you¡¯re a big asshole. They don¡¯t realize you sacrificed your happiness so she wouldn¡¯t get hurt.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not such a saint,¡± I say. ¡°I never loved ra. To me, she was always more of a friend. I never

    should have gotten into a serious rtionship with her. I saw something in her; unlike all the other girls,

    she was the only one who loved me and didn¡¯t want me for s*x. I saw in her what my life could have

    been like if I was allowed to have a mate. That was unfair to her. I was selfish.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He says as he remembers something I¡¯ve told him in the past. ¡°You never slept with her

    even though she wanted you to.¡±

    ¡°She was too nice.¡± I sigh. ¡°I knew I had to end the rtionship eventually. I didn¡¯t want to sleep with

    her and then leave her. Everyone thinks I¡¯m aplete asshole and even though I am, I couldn¡¯t do it

    to her.¡±

    My family had a dark secret that we kept from the entire world. No one knew about it. We couldn¡¯t let

    anyone find out. If they did, our lives could be ruined for good.

    It was a sickness that we couldn¡¯t get rid of, something that came with the curse. It¡¯s one of the reasons

    that none of my siblings had a serious rtionship with anyone. Even ric, at twenty-six, had only

    gotten married a year ago, and already their marriage was failing. His wife discovered our secret, and

    she¡¯s hated him ever since. He¡¯s been trying to save his marriage, but so far, he has failed. She saw

    him as a freak.

    No one med her. He should have told her before marrying her. He shouldn¡¯t have waited until now

    for her to find out.

    I felt sorry for my brother. He took a risk when he married her and didn¡¯t tell her about our sickness.

    Now, he was left to pick up the broken pieces of his marriage.

    He¡¯d wanted to have a child with Nicole so desperately, but now that seemed like an impossible dream.

    His failed marriage was one of the main reasons I ended things with ra. I saw what would happen to

    us if I took things further.

    I did the right thing.

    I knew I did.

    Now, I had to fight to do the right thing about her sister.

    I couldn¡¯t get carried away even though her taste still lingered in my mouth from just one kiss. I had to

    fight it. I had to forget about Scarlett before it was toote.

 Chapter 287

    Chapter 287

    ~SCARLETT~

    Out of all the days at the academy, this was always the one I hated the most. It was one day of the year

    where every girl from the academy had no choice but to participate in sports. I usually skipped it by

    finding something else to do, but ra was forcing me to attend this time.

    She was the one who enjoyed sports; I was the opposite. This would be easy for her, but for me, it

    would be pure torture.

    ¡°Since Carter is the star yer, he will train all the women there. You have toe with me.¡± She begs.

    ¡°This is a good chance for me to see our progress. So far, you¡¯ve done better than I expected. So

    please, please, please,e with me.¡±

    There was no chance of me saying no to her when she was begging this much.

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky to have a sister like me.¡± I tease. ¡°No one else would go through this much trouble for

    anyone!¡±

    She rolls her eyes, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fortunate. That¡¯s one thing we both could agree on.¡±

    She pulled me out of the ssroom and practically had to drag me out onto the field. I spot Carter

    almost immediately; how could I not? He was in the middle of the field with mesmerized girls around

    him. They surrounded him like he was their next big meal.

    Was there any other girl beside me that didn¡¯t go crazy over him?

    I narrowed my eyes; he seemed to enjoy all of the attention. He allowed them to touch him wherever

    they pleased even though we were still on school grounds.

    He made me sick. They all did.

    ¡°You look angrier than I do to see him with so many girls.¡± ra chuckles.

    I wrinkle my nose in disgust. ¡°Just look at him out there. I don¡¯t understand why women like him, no

    offense to you. There isn¡¯t anything charming about him except his skills in sports. Other than that, he¡¯s

    just some asshole sleeping around with anyone he gets a chance to.¡±

    My sister smiles, ¡°how are you so immune to his obvious charms?¡±

    I shrug my shoulders, and he looks my way simultaneously. My lips part when his prating gaze hits

    me head-on.

    ¡°H-he isn¡¯t even that good-looking.¡± I lie. My heart was doing some weird fluttering thing, but I ignored

    it.

    His lips curled yfully as though he¡¯d somehow heard me. I clench my jaw and bite down hard on my

    bottom lip.

    I hate him.

    I hate Cater Prince.

    ¡°Show me again, Carter,¡± Amy whispers as she seductively runs her hand up and down his arm. ¡°It¡¯s so

    hard.¡±

    I watch in annoyance as he touches her inappropriately while showing her how to shoot a basketball.

    Another one approaches him and tries to gain his attention by pretending to be a lost, needy girl.

    I didn¡¯t know how to shoot a basketball, but I wouldn¡¯t beg him to show me what to do. I would rather

    practice and fail a hundred times than let him teach me.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough,dies,¡± Carter says suddenly. ¡°There are others here who haven¡¯t gotten a chance to

    learn. Practice what I¡¯ve shown you while I tend to them.¡±

    I purse my lips as I watch him moving towards us. The other girls were pouting now that he wasn¡¯t

    giving them any attention. I was sure they¡¯d only signed up to see him.

    I had to fix my expression. I couldn¡¯t act like he was thest person I wanted to see today.

    I felt ra¡¯s mood immediately dampen.

    ¡°Do you need any help?¡± He asks her.

    She frowns, ¡°I¡¯ve gotten enough help from you Carter. Trust me, I don¡¯t need any more. Instead, why

    don¡¯t you try to train someone else?¡±

    She turns and walks away, leaving me alone with the biggest viin in my life. I hate when she does

    this to me.

    Can¡¯t she tell that I hate being alone with him? I always felt things that I shouldn¡¯t feel. He always said

    something that made my heart race. He also said things that made me feel like punching him again.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you at one of these practices.¡± He says with his tongue against his cheek.

    ¡°And?¡± I ask. ¡°Is that a problem? If you want me to leave, I¡¯ll happily walk away this second.¡±

    I was waiting for the right opportunity to storm out of here.

    He focuses his prating gaze on me, and I swear I almost tripped.

    Why does he look even more attractive when he tilts his head and looks at me like that? I shook my

    head. Get a grip, Scarlett!

    He steps closer to me and leans down so that his lips are close to my ear.

    ¡°Your ass print is still on my truck,¡± he teases me, and I swear all the hair on the back of my neck

    stands up. ¡°I don¡¯t n on ever washing it as long as a part of you is still there.¡±This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 288

    Chapter 288

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 289 ~SCARLETT~

    I m my elbow into his chest, and he coughs betweenughter.

    ¡°Did she just hit Carter?¡± I hear one of the girls ask angrily.

    I roll my eyes and ignore her as I storm out of the field.

    I could hear ra shouting my name as she ran after me.

    She grabs my arm as soon as we hit the hallway.

    ¡°What the hell was that about?¡± She demands from me. ¡°Why did you hit him?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s an ass.¡± I hiss. ¡°A massive one.¡±

    ¡°What did he say to you?¡± She asks as she studies my face.

    Should I tell her? She already knew his mouth was dirty; this wouldn¡¯t surprise her. But for some

    reason, I couldn¡¯t say it.

    What was wrong with me? Why couldn¡¯t I just tell her?

    ¡°He has a foul mouth. Let¡¯s leave it at that.¡± I say.

    She sighs, and Jenna joins our side just then.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± She asks as she senses the tension.

    ra raises her hand, ¡°guess who just hit Carter for the second time.¡±

    Jenna gasps, ¡°you didn¡¯t?¡±

    I roll my eyes and fold my arms against my chest. ¡°He had iting.¡±

    ra looks frustrated. ¡°We want him to fall for you, Scarlett. He¡¯s not going to fall for you if you keep

    hitting him. You¡¯ll turn him into your enemy much faster than anything else!¡±

    I inwardly groan, ¡°I¡¯m trying my best ra. He isn¡¯t easy to get along with. Something about him sends

    my blood boiling, and I can¡¯t bloody stand the man!¡±

    ¡°I think we all need to cool down a little,¡± Jenna whispers. ¡°These things happen sometimes. ns

    don¡¯t always go the way you expect it to. Let¡¯s not give up. Scarlett needs a little more time to warm up

    to Carter.¡±

    More time to warm up to him? I didn¡¯t think any time in the world could help fix how I felt about him.

    I was angry with his words, but most of my anger was for something else. It bothered me that my body

    responded to those words. A part of me enjoyed hearing him speak such dirty things in my ear.

    I was never someone to enjoy something like that. It worried and angered me at the same time.

    ¡°He¡¯s leaving the field,¡± Jenna announces.

    ¡°And so are all the girls, I¡¯m sure,¡± I add.

    She chuckles, ¡°You¡¯re right. They¡¯re all following him like he¡¯s their king.¡±

    I roll my eyes and look at ra, who¡¯s still gazing at me. This time, her eyes are narrowed, and she

    seems to be paying close attention to me.

    ¡°What?¡± I ask her.

    ¡°There¡¯s something strange about you today.¡± She points out. ¡°I know that you never liked Carter after

    you learned that he cheated on me, but for some reason, those feelings seem to have intensified.¡±

    I sigh, ¡°I¡¯m learning new things about him daily; of course, that hatred would only double with time.¡±

    Hatred mixed with something else. I was beginning to realize that I wasn¡¯tpletely immune to

    Carter¡¯s charms like we initially thought. I was starting to see that I was attracted to him.

    A part of me wanted to experience those things he whispered to me.

    What was I thinking?

    Something had to be wrong with me. I couldn¡¯t possibly be attracted to him. I couldn¡¯t possibly want him

    to do dirty things to my body.

    ¡°He¡¯sing this way.¡± Jenna tries to alert us.

    I tried to stop my heart from racing, but the damn thing was suddenly betraying me.

    He looks at ra briefly before walking over to me. ¡°Can we talk for a bit?¡±

    My eyes widen in surprise. Why did he want to speak to me?

    I look at ra, and I can see the confusion in her eyes. Even she doesn¡¯t understand why he¡¯s asking

    to speak to me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I have the time.¡± I lie.

    ra narrows her eyes at me, and I know she wants me to say yes. She would use any opportunity to

    get me closer to Carter.

    He swallows hard, ¡°I want to speak to you, Scarlett.¡±

    Why was he suddenly serious? What could this be about? He was always yful and speaking

    nonsense. This was the first time I¡¯ve ever seen him this serious.

    I slowly nod, and he surprises me by grabbing me by my waist and pulling me into a ssroom. I can

    hear ra¡¯s surprise gasp behind us, but I don¡¯t get a chance to look at her.

    ¡°W-what are you doing?¡± I demand.

    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    I agreed to speak to him for a few minutes, but I never told him he could put his hands on me.

    ¡°I need you to do something for me.¡± He answers me. ¡°I need you to promise me you will do as I say.¡±

    I frown.

    What the hell was wrong with him?

    Why would I ever do him a favor?

    ¡°Are we friends?¡± I demand. ¡°Why do you think I would ever do something for you?¡±

    His jaw clenches, and he grabs my waist tightly.

    ¡°Listen to me.¡±

    Listen to him? I was done listening.

    I attempted to move away from him, but his grip was too firm.

    He leans into me, and I freeze at his nearness. ¡°This is important.¡±

    ¡°Let go of me.¡± I hiss.

    He ignores me and instead pins me with his prating gaze.

    ¡°Keep your bedroom windows locked tonight, Scarlett.¡± He growls in a harsh tone. ¡°No matter what

    happens, keep them locked.¡±

    I frown.

    ¡°W-what?¡±

    It was getting hard to breathe with him this near and gazing at me.

    He doesn¡¯t repeat himself, instead, he lets go of me and storms out of the ssroom.

    I fall back against the wall.

    What the hell was that about?

 Chapter 289

    Chapter 289

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 290 ~CARTER~

    Tonight was a f*****g full moon. It was the one night of every month that my family dreaded the most.

    Our dark secret.

    I close my eyes while holding onto the ball in my hand. I sensed ric just as he tried to take it from

    me.

    ¡°You¡¯re too slow,¡± I say as I shoot and score.

    I open my eyes to see his amused smile.

    ¡°We have iing!¡± He shouts as Armando rushes for the ball.

    ric grabs it in time, but Apollo shoves him, allowing Ares to snatch it.

    We were all lining up for tonight. It was ourst game before my mother locked us all up in separate

    rooms, chained to the ground.

    ze, Cole, and Conor didn¡¯t have to worry about this sickness. It only happened once we turned

    seventeen. At the age of twenty-one, I was used to this by now, but it still was not something I enjoyed

    going through every f*****g month.

    ¡°Sucker!¡± Ares grins when he shoots and scores.

    He doesn¡¯t get to brag anymore when Armando rips the ball from his hand and dunks it.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good game!¡± ric chuckles.

    It was. At least we were having some fun before darkness took over.

    ¡°Boys!¡± My mother calls. ¡°You know what time it is. That¡¯s enough games. We can¡¯t waste any more

    time. I can¡¯t stop all of you at once.¡±

    Ten minutes to midnight.

    I f*****g hate this.

    ric pats my shoulder as we walk towards my mother. He can always sense my frustration. He

    always knew when it was bing too much for me. ric was a good older brother; he did his job

    well.

    ¡°You know your assigned rooms.¡± She says. She gives each of us a kiss on the cheek before saying

    goodnight.

    We didn¡¯t say anything to each other as we walked down to the basement and into our rooms. Not our

    bedroom, the space used to chain and trap us from doing what the curse forced out of us.

    It was a sick curse in my mind. I didn¡¯t understand what our ancestors could have possibly done to be

    given a curse as bad as this one.

    Every night, on a full moon, we went hunting. Not for an animal, but for women to f**k over and over

    again until the beast was satisfied. Usually, that wouldn¡¯t be a problem for me; I¡¯ve slept around with

    many women. However, this was different; we didn¡¯t know what we were doing. We would wake up the

    next day and not remember anything about our night.

    We never found out if the woman or women that we met during the full moon had consented to s*x or

    not. That¡¯s where the problem came in. It was a sickness, and I was ashamed of it. I was not okay with

    doing anything against anyone¡¯s wishes.

    It made me feel sick to my very core.

    It¡¯s the reason that ric¡¯s wife is nning on leaving him soon. She¡¯d screamed and cried for hours

    the first day she learned about our curse. He¡¯d managed to hide it for months, but she eventually got

    suspicious when he disappeared on every full moon. We tried to exin to her that he was locked up

    and wouldn¡¯t roam around sleeping with other women because of this. It didn¡¯t work. She didn¡¯t want to

    hear a single thing any of us had to say. I know that he¡¯s trying to win her back, but she¡¯s too disgusted

    by him to stay married to him. I knew it was only a matter of time before she threw divorce papers in his

    face, for a second time.

    I didn¡¯t me her, none of us did. We were disgusted by ourselves also. It made us all feel sick inside,

    but we were learning to live with it. We were also constantly searching for ways to end the sted

    curse.

    It wasn¡¯t something we could control. It came and went as it pleased every full moon night. It was one

    night where we would lose all control.

    It was sickening and frightening that we had no control of our bodies on nights like this. We had all

    learned to ept it by now, but I f*****g hated every second of it.

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    I still remember the first night it happened. I was terrified of myself the next day. If these rooms hadn¡¯t

    existed, there¡¯s no telling the damage we could have caused to people around us.

    Luckily, our parents built these rooms specially for this. To prevent us from making a big mistake.

    I never remember what happened. Even though I¡¯m locked in a damn room with nowhere to go, I

    always wake up with bruised knees and fresh cuts all over my body. They were wounds from trying to

    escape the entire night. The worst part was not remembering a single damn thing.

    Tonight would be no different.

    I close my eyes when my mother walks into the room and bounds by hands with the chains.

    She gently touches my cheek, ¡°I know it isn¡¯t easy, Carter. I know that you and your brothers struggle

    because of the curse. I promise we will find a way to end this for good.¡±

    I force a smile for her sake and watch her leave. When the door shuts, I close my eyes.

    I know the second midnight arrives. I can feel my body losing all control.

    It was time.

 Chapter 290

    Chapter 290

    Chapter 291

    ~SCARLETT~

    ¡°It was all just a dream,¡± I whisper to myself. I hadn¡¯t been able to sleep the entire night ever since

    Carter left my room. I refused to believe anything happened.

    It was time to get dressed to leave for the Academy, but I was still trying to convince myself thatst

    night was only a dream and nothing to worry about.

    The tingling sensation in my chest, neck, and lips said differently, however. I could still feel his lips on

    my body. They were warmer and softer than I expected.

    ¡°It was only a dream; why are you thinking about how soft his lips were?¡± I asked myself; I was

    annoyed. Very annoyed.

    I angrily climb out of my bed and walk into the bathroom. I pull the drawer open and remove some

    products. I¡¯m busy organizing everything for my bath when something in the mirror catches my

    attention. I pause midway and slowly walk toward the vertical mirror before me.

    I blink once, then twice, before a scream escapes my mouth. I couldn¡¯t believe it. This wasn¡¯t

    happening to me!

    It wasn¡¯t possible; my eyes had to be betraying me! That was the only exnation for this madness in

    front of me.

    I hear a knock on my bathroom door, ¡°Scarlett?¡± I hear ra¡¯s panicked call. ¡°Is everything okay?¡±

    ¡°It is!¡± I shout back. ¡°I was just practicing to sing. You know I have a horrible voice!¡±

    I could hear herughter behind the door. ¡°We¡¯rete! Hurry up!¡±

    When she¡¯s gone, I move even closer to the mirror. There were love bites on my chest. Love bites! I¡¯ve

    never had one of these in my life! And now I had more than one on my chest, and every single one

    belonged to Carter. He did this to me!

    Carter Prince gave me freaking love bites! This isn¡¯t happening! It must still be a crazy dream. I pinch

    myself and wince at the pain.

    How could I have let something like this happen to me? I¡¯ve always cringed at the things he¡¯d done to

    other women openly in front of everyone. Was I just like the others now?

    I couldn¡¯t let ra see this; she would freak out!

    What am I supposed to do? She had already chosen an outfit for me today, which just happened to be

    a top that showed off my chest area.

    I couldn¡¯t wear that. I had to hide these marks until they disappeared on their own.

    After showering, I angrily grabbed a turtle neck sweater and threw it over my head. Then I grabbed a

    short skirt so she didn¡¯tin about my outfit.

    The second I step into the car, she¡¯s already ring at me.

    ¡°That is not the outfit I chose for you, Scarlett.¡± Sheins.

    ¡°I know.¡± I point out. ¡°But I think this also looks good.¡±

    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    ¡°It¡¯s not his favorite color.¡± She says.

    ¡°I know.¡± I snap. ¡°But believe me; he will like this.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I know I¡¯m pushing you too much. I¡¯ll let you wear what you want, at least for

    today.¡±

    I fake a smile, ¡°I¡¯m so lucky to have such an understanding sister.¡±

    She rolls her eyes and shoves me yfully.

    I wouldn¡¯t know how to react if I saw Carter today. I had to be prepared for it. Nothing aboutst night

    made any sense to me. It felt unreal. He didn¡¯t speak a single word to mest night, and yet he did all

    those things. I shivered at the reminder.

    ¡°What do we have nned for today?¡± Jenna asks the second we exited the car. She was already early

    and waiting to start another day of torturing me. She was enjoying my torture a little too much for my

    comfort.

    ¡°I want to find out if we¡¯re making any progress,¡± ra answers her while deep in thought.

    ¡°How do you expect to do that?¡± I ask her. ¡°There¡¯s no way to tell exactly what Carter is thinking. Why

    don¡¯t we avoid him for the rest of the day?¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to give him any ideas that I¡¯d enjoyed what he¡¯d donest night.

    I¡¯m suddenly reminded of his words from yesterday.

    Keep your windows closed.

    I stop walking. He knew he would do that to mest night, right? Why else would he have asked me to

    lock my windows? But that wouldn¡¯t make any sense. If he wanted to sneak into my room, he would

    have asked me to open my windows.

    Unless he knew I would do the opposite of what he wanted me to do.

    I¡¯m so confused.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Jenna asks me. ¡°You haven¡¯t heard a word ra just said to you.¡±

    I frown, ¡°I think I have a lot on my mind this morning.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯sing,¡± ra whispers next to me.

    I freeze. I couldn¡¯t stop myself as I looked for him in the hallway. She was right, he was approaching us.

    I expected him to walk over to ra, but he shocks all of us when he stops right in front of me.

    ¡°Did you do what I asked you to dost night?¡± He asks me.

    My breath gets stuck in my throat.

    Does he not remember what he did? How could he not know I¡¯d done the opposite? Something about

    the fear in his eyes made me numb inside.

    My lips parted, and all I could do was nod once. He seems to rx a bit and, without saying anything

    else, walks away.

    ¡°What did he mean by that?¡± ra asks me. ¡°What did he ask you to do?¡±

    I roll my eyes, ¡°something dumb.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± She asks again. ¡°And why didn¡¯t you tell me anything?¡±

    ¡°I thought he was making a stupid joke,¡± I confess. ¡°He told me to lock my windows. I don¡¯t know what

    the hell that was supposed to mean.¡±

    ¡°And you did as he asked?¡± She frowns.

    I shook my head. ¡°I lied to him. There¡¯s no way he could know if I¡¯d left it open.¡±

    ¡°Is that all, or did something else happen?¡± she asks me with concern.

    I shook my head. ¡°No.¡±

    I¡¯d just lied to my sister again. Ever since she asked me to help her get revenge on Carter, I¡¯ve been

    lying to her. I felt horrible, but I didn¡¯t want to hurt her.

    I didn¡¯t understand how Carter didn¡¯t even remember what he¡¯d done.

    Was it possible that he had a twin brother none of us knew about?

    I immediately dismissed that thought.

    I knew it was him. It was most definitely Carter yesterday. I knew him. I knew his eyes, his dark gaze,

    his lips. . . His scent. It was definitely him.

    Then why doesn¡¯t he remember what happenedst night?

 Chapter 291

    Chapter 291

    Chapter 292

    ~SCARLETT~

    ¡°It was all just a dream,¡± I whisper to myself. I hadn¡¯t been able to sleep the entire night ever since

    Carter left my room. I refused to believe anything happened.

    It was time to get dressed to leave for the Academy, but I was still trying to convince myself thatst

    night was only a dream and nothing to worry about.

    The tingling sensation in my chest, neck, and lips said differently, however. I could still feel his lips on

    my body. They were warmer and softer than I expected.

    ¡°It was only a dream; why are you thinking about how soft his lips were?¡± I asked myself; I was

    annoyed. Very annoyed.

    I angrily climb out of my bed and walk into the bathroom. I pull the drawer open and remove some

    products. I¡¯m busy organizing everything for my bath when something in the mirror catches my

    attention. I pause midway and slowly walk toward the vertical mirror before me.

    I blink once, then twice, before a scream escapes my mouth. I couldn¡¯t believe it. This wasn¡¯t

    happening to me!

    It wasn¡¯t possible; my eyes had to be betraying me! That was the only exnation for this madness in

    front of me.

    I hear a knock on my bathroom door, ¡°Scarlett?¡± I hear ra¡¯s panicked call. ¡°Is everything okay?¡±

    ¡°It is!¡± I shout back. ¡°I was just practicing to sing. You know I have a horrible voice!¡±

    I could hear herughter behind the door. ¡°We¡¯rete! Hurry up!¡±

    When she¡¯s gone, I move even closer to the mirror. There were love bites on my chest. Love bites! I¡¯ve

    never had one of these in my life! And now I had more than one on my chest, and every single one

    belonged to Carter. He did this to me!

    Carter Prince gave me freaking love bites! This isn¡¯t happening! It must still be a crazy dream. I pinch

    myself and wince at the pain.

    How could I have let something like this happen to me? I¡¯ve always cringed at the things he¡¯d done to

    other women openly in front of everyone. Was I just like the others now?

    I couldn¡¯t let ra see this; she would freak out!

    What am I supposed to do? She had already chosen an outfit for me today, which just happened to be

    a top that showed off my chest area.

    I couldn¡¯t wear that. I had to hide these marks until they disappeared on their own.

    After showering, I angrily grabbed a turtle neck sweater and threw it over my head. Then I grabbed a

    short skirt so she didn¡¯tin about my outfit.

    The second I step into the car, she¡¯s already ring at me.

    ¡°That is not the outfit I chose for you, Scarlett.¡± Sheins.

    ¡°I know.¡± I point out. ¡°But I think this also looks good.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not his favorite color.¡± She says.

    ¡°I know.¡± I snap. ¡°But believe me; he will like this.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I know I¡¯m pushing you too much. I¡¯ll let you wear what you want, at least for

    today.¡±

    I fake a smile, ¡°I¡¯m so lucky to have such an understanding sister.¡±

    She rolls her eyes and shoves me yfully.

    I wouldn¡¯t know how to react if I saw Carter today. I had to be prepared for it. Nothing aboutst night

    made any sense to me. It felt unreal. He didn¡¯t speak a single word to mest night, and yet he did all

    those things. I shivered at the reminder.

    ¡°What do we have nned for today?¡± Jenna asks the second we exited the car. She was already early

    and waiting to start another day of torturing me. She was enjoying my torture a little too much for my

    comfort.

    ¡°I want to find out if we¡¯re making any progress,¡± ra answers her while deep in thought.

    ¡°How do you expect to do that?¡± I ask her. ¡°There¡¯s no way to tell exactly what Carter is thinking. Why

    don¡¯t we avoid him for the rest of the day?¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to give him any ideas that I¡¯d enjoyed what he¡¯d donest night.

    I¡¯m suddenly reminded of his words from yesterday.

    Keep your windows closed.

    I stop walking. He knew he would do that to mest night, right? Why else would he have asked me to

    lock my windows? But that wouldn¡¯t make any sense. If he wanted to sneak into my room, he would

    have asked me to open my windows.

    Unless he knew I would do the opposite of what he wanted me to do.

    I¡¯m so confused.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Jenna asks me. ¡°You haven¡¯t heard a word ra just said to you.¡±

    I frown, ¡°I think I have a lot on my mind this morning.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯sing,¡± ra whispers next to me.

    This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    I freeze. I couldn¡¯t stop myself as I looked for him in the hallway. She was right, he was approaching us.

    I expected him to walk over to ra, but he shocks all of us when he stops right in front of me.

    ¡°Did you do what I asked you to dost night?¡± He asks me.

    My breath gets stuck in my throat.

    Does he not remember what he did? How could he not know I¡¯d done the opposite? Something about

    the fear in his eyes made me numb inside.

    My lips parted, and all I could do was nod once. He seems to rx a bit and, without saying anything

    else, walks away.

    ¡°What did he mean by that?¡± ra asks me. ¡°What did he ask you to do?¡±

    I roll my eyes, ¡°something dumb.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± She asks again. ¡°And why didn¡¯t you tell me anything?¡±

    ¡°I thought he was making a stupid joke,¡± I confess. ¡°He told me to lock my windows. I don¡¯t know what

    the hell that was supposed to mean.¡±

    ¡°And you did as he asked?¡± She frowns.

    I shook my head. ¡°I lied to him. There¡¯s no way he could know if I¡¯d left it open.¡±

    ¡°Is that all, or did something else happen?¡± she asks me with concern.

    I shook my head. ¡°No.¡±

    I¡¯d just lied to my sister again. Ever since she asked me to help her get revenge on Carter, I¡¯ve been

    lying to her. I felt horrible, but I didn¡¯t want to hurt her.

    I didn¡¯t understand how Carter didn¡¯t even remember what he¡¯d done.

    Was it possible that he had a twin brother none of us knew about?

    I immediately dismissed that thought.

    I knew it was him. It was most definitely Carter yesterday. I knew him. I knew his eyes, his dark gaze,

    his lips. . . His scent. It was definitely him.

    Then why doesn¡¯t he remember what happenedst night?

 Chapter 292

    Chapter 292

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 293 ~CARTER~

    I¡¯d never been more worried in my f*****g life than this morning when I woke up in my backyard with no

    memory ofst night or how I¡¯d escaped the room.

    I¡¯d managed to break free from all of the chains. It¡¯s never happened in the past. I¡¯ve always woken in

    that room with bruises. This time, there were even more bruises.

    It meant that I had been roamingst night. It made me feel sick to my stomach.

    Who did I f**k? Did I hurt anyone?

    At first, I was terrified I had gone straight to Scarlett the second I¡¯d broken free. I was pacing all

    morning, waiting for her to show up. I was even tempted to drive to her house and check for her myself.

    When I didn¡¯t see a look of fear in her eyes this morning, it relieved me. But I still had to confirm that I

    hadn¡¯t done anything to hurt or frighten her under the influence of the full moon. That¡¯s why I asked her

    if she¡¯d done as I¡¯d asked.

    ¡°What the hell happenedst night?¡± Ares asks when he sees me in the locker room.

    ¡°Why do you think I¡¯ll have a f*****g answer to give you?¡± I demand. ¡°I woke up in the f*****g backyard. I

    don¡¯t know what trouble I got myself intost night, Ares.¡±

    I was relieved that I hadn¡¯t visited Scarlett, but I was still worried about what I¡¯d done. I was not okay

    with physically hurting a woman. But apparently, I was good at emotionally breaking them after what I¡¯d

    openly done to ra.

    I shook her out of my head. I didn¡¯t want to think about ra. I had hurt her too much.

    ¡°Has any girl walked up to you yet?¡± He asks me. ¡°Maybe if you slept with someone from the academy,

    they wille up to you and mention what happened.¡±

    I run a hand through my hair. ¡°This can¡¯t happen again.¡±

    Ares nods, ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯re already purchasing more chains and locks. It won¡¯t happen again; don¡¯t

    beat yourself up too much. You can¡¯t control what happens on a full moon. It¡¯s not your fault.¡±

    It still felt like my fault. Why could I not have any control? But how could I have any control at all when I

    wasn¡¯t even aware of what I was doing at night on a full moon?

    ¡°I¡¯mte for ss.¡± He tells me as he exits the locker room. ¡°We will catch upter.¡±

    I felt like skipping all sses for the rest of the day. This morning was one of the most challenging

    mornings for me.

    Now that I knew I hadn¡¯t hurt Scarlett, I felt it would be a good idea to ditch the academy for the rest of

    the day.

    As soon as I exit the locker room, I hear a familiar, irritating voice.

    ¡°Carter!¡±

    I frown. Not Amy again.

    The damn girl didn¡¯t want to give me a break. She was constantly running after me.

    ¡°Yes, Amy,¡± I growl. ¡°What can I do for you today?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m having a party tonight; I was wondering if you¡¯d like toe.¡± She says with a bright smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I have practice tonight,¡± I tell her. ¡°I can¡¯t make it.¡±

    She pouts in the most unattractive way possible. She¡¯s about to say something else when I spot my

    teammate and friend.

    ¡°There you are!¡± Nick shouts. ¡°We¡¯ve been looking for you everywhere.¡±

    He knew I needed saving from Amy; I didn¡¯t even have to try and exin.

    I don¡¯t bother saying goodbye to Amy as I join his side.

    ¡°You look like s**t today.¡±

    I quirk a brow, ¡°I¡¯ll still beat you at practice tonight even though I look and feel like shit.¡±

    Heughs, ¡°We will just see about that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m skipping the rest of sses for the day,¡± I informed him. ¡°Cover for me while I¡¯m not there.¡±

    He nods, ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do. Just don¡¯t skip practice even though you don¡¯t need it. We need you.¡±

    I shoved him into the ssroom, and I could hear himughing from the hallway.

    What could I do for the rest of the day? Before I could answer my own question, I spot Scarlett by

    herself, and my lips curl into a smile. Despite everything, she still brought a smile to my face. I walked

    over to where she was standing reading a book and leaned against the wall next to her.

    She jumps when she sees me, ¡°why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m skipping sses for the day. Do you want to join me?¡± I ask, yfully.

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    She gapes at me, ¡°Are you insane? I don¡¯t skip sses; what makes you think I would do something

    like that with someone like you?¡±

    ¡°Ouch,¡± I whisper. ¡°Don¡¯t you realize that I have feelings? Your words are hurting me.¡±

    She narrows her eyes, ¡°Get out of my way, Carter. I¡¯mte for ss.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯rete, just skip it.¡± I try again.

    I loved messing with her. Her cheeks always got red when she was pissed with me. I still remember the

    bruise I¡¯d gotten on my lips from her punch. It was a mighty turn-on.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you just leave me alone?¡± She demands as she presses a finger against my chest.

    I gopletely still when she¡¯s suddenly sshed with water. My eyes narrowed when I saw Amy with

    a bottle of water in her hand.

    ¡°How dare you speak to Carter like that, b***h?¡± She demands.

    ¡°What the f**k is wrong with you, Amy?¡± I growl.

    I am surprised when Scarlett ps her hard across her face without warning. I can¡¯t stop the smile on

    my face.

    ¡°What the hell¡ª¡± Amy doesn¡¯t get to finish her sentence as Scarlett walks away, totally ignoring her.

    I ran after her. ¡°Scarlett!¡±

    ¡°Stop following me!¡± She hissed as she walked out of the academy.

    I didn¡¯t stop, I couldn¡¯t stop. I had to make sure that she was alright.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about Amy.¡± I apologize when she stops by her car. ¡°I didn¡¯t think she would do something

    like that. I¡¯ll talk to her after this. This is thest time she will ever do something like that, I promise.¡±

    Scarlett rolls her eyes and ignores me as she grabs the edge of her sweater and pulls it over her head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need your help to deal with someone like Amy.¡±

    She has clothes underneath, but that¡¯s not what catches my attention; it¡¯s the marks on her chest that

    make everything around me gopletely dark. It was all I could see.

    I feel everything around me begin to spin. Those were f*****g hickeys.

    Hickeys?

    What were they doing there on her body?

    Where the f**k did she get those from?

 Chapter 293

    Chapter 293

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 294 ~SCARLETT~

    I was pissed. I couldn¡¯t believe Amy just did that to me. I wasn¡¯t even after Carter. Why the hell was I

    her next target? She could have him.

    I angrily searched the bag in the car for any spare clothes to wear over my tube top. I knew I should

    have something in here.

    ¡°What¡¯s that on your chest?¡± Carter asks suddenly, his tone is rming.

    Everything stills around me at that one question¡ªmy chest.

    What was on my chest?

    You¡¯re so freaking dumb, Scarlett!

    How could I have forgotten about the love bites all over my chest?

    I wore the damn thing to hide it in the first ce. This was all Amy¡¯s fault. If she hadn¡¯t been such a

    jealous b***h, I wouldn¡¯t be in this position.

    I hide my chest with my arms and stare at him with a nk look.

    ¡°Scarlett?¡± He calls my name with panic. ¡°Where did you get those marks from?¡±

    I could see his mind racing as he tried tobine two and two. He was trying to figure out if I had lied

    aboutst night.

    Does this mean that he was indeed drunk the entire time? He wasn¡¯t messing with me earlier; he

    honestly couldn¡¯t remember what he had done.

    I can see the shock and surprise on his face. I knew this was his genuine reaction.

    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± I snap.

    His gaze darkens to a dangerous shade. I gasped when he grabbed my shoulders, ¡°Who did this to

    you?¡±

    I¡¯m surprised to see so much possessiveness in his eyes. This was not the Carter I was used to seeing.

    He¡¯s never acted this way in the past for my sister or any other woman. Why was he behaving this way

    for me?

    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    ¡°Scarlett,¡± he growls. ¡°Who the f**k put his mouth on your body?¡±

    My lips part, and I try to catch my breath.

    ¡°You don¡¯t remember?¡± I ask him. ¡°Were you drunkst night?¡±

    For the first time since I knew Carter, I saw deep fear in his eyes. Why did my question terrify him?

    ¡°You didn¡¯t lock your windows, did you?¡± He whispers.

    I bit down on my lip hard, and he used his index finger to pull my lip down from under my teeth.

    ¡°Answer me.¡± He growls.

    I slowly shook my head. ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Why did you not listen to me?¡± He demands. ¡°I asked you to keep the sted window closed. Why the

    f**k did you not listen to me, Scarlett?¡±

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t have to!¡± I shout. ¡°I don¡¯t have to listen to every word that you say to me, Carter. You

    and I are not in a rtionship and we are definitely not friends. I don¡¯t answer to you!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t f*****g care about that Scarlett!¡± He shouts. ¡°I said that for your safety.¡±

    ¡°My safety?¡± I demand. ¡°What the hell are you trying to protect me from?¡±

    He squeezes down on my shoulders and pulls me closer to him, ¡°Me.¡±

    ¡°W-what?¡±

    ¡°I was trying to protect you from me.¡± He growls. ¡°You have no f*****g clue what I¡¯m capable of doing.¡±

    On the contrary, I did. I was wide awakest night. I knew exactly what he was capable of doing.

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re capable of, Carter.¡± I hiss. ¡°Last night you. . .¡±

    I can¡¯t continue. I don¡¯t know how to exin what happened.

    His hands are on my neck, ¡°tell me. What did I do to you, Scarlett?¡±

    Why is he so scared? Why does he sound worried?

    His eyes scan my body for more marks, and all I can do is staypletely still as he examines every

    inch of it.

    ¡°Tell me I didn¡¯t hurt you.¡± He begs as he continues to scan me from head to toe.

    His finger gently touches one of the marks on my chest, and I hold in the moan that threatens to burst

    free from my mouth.

    Why did I love his touch so much? Why did I want even more?

    ¡°Please, Scarlett, please say something.¡±

    I exhale slowly and look him directly in his eyes.

    ¡°You did not hurt me, Carter,¡± I assure him.

    ¡°But these marks¡ª¡±

    ¡°You had no idea what you were doing. I won¡¯t hold it against you. Let¡¯s forget that it happened and

    move on with our lives.¡± I suggest.

    He shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯ll worry every f*****g day for the rest of my life if I don¡¯t know what I did to

    you.¡±

    ¡°This was all that happened,¡± I promise him as I point to my chest. ¡°Nothing else.¡±

    He looks genuinely shocked by my words. I don¡¯t think he even believes me. Did he think he wasn¡¯t

    capable of not hurting me?

    What exactly was Carter terrified about? Why did he think that he did more than this to me? Why was

    he convinced he¡¯d hurt me?

 Chapter 294

    Chapter 294

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 295 ~CARTER~

    The one thing I was most terrified about took cest night. I broke free, and I went straight for

    Scarlett. I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s lying or telling me the truth. I don¡¯t know if I did the worst thing possible to

    her or did not hurt her.

    I press both thumbs on her cheeks and stare deeply into her confused eyes, ¡°Are you telling the truth,

    Scarlett?¡±

    Her lips parted slightly, and f**k me; I wanted to kiss her without caring about who would see.

    ¡°I am,¡± she whispers. ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything I didn¡¯t want you to do.¡±

    I take a deep breath and let go of her.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Carter?¡± She demands. ¡°Why are you so worried that you did something to me?¡±

    I run a hand down my face. I had to get out of here. I touched herst night. My marks were on her

    body. I knew Scarlett through ra, and I f*****g know she¡¯s never been touched by a man until

    yesterday. I was the one who did those things to herst night, and I couldn¡¯t remember one f*****g

    thing.

    My filthy hands had touched her.

    I felt sick. I felt like burning my f*****g hands.

    I don¡¯t remember kissing her, nibbling on her skin, or leaving those marks. I don¡¯t know a single thing,

    and it was eating me up inside.

    I was searching my mind, begging it to remember something, anything, just like all those other nights I

    woke up after a full moon with no memory of what I¡¯d done. This time, it meant much more; I needed to

    know what the f**k I did.

    I grab her waist and pull her towards me. ¡°Promise me,¡± I whisper. ¡°Promise me that I didn¡¯t hurt you

    last night. Promise me, please.¡±

    Her eyes are wide, and she looks terrified as she stares at me.

    ¡°Scarlett,¡± I whisper. ¡°Promise me.¡±

    Her bottom lip trembles as she whispers, ¡°I promise.¡±

    I let go of a breath I wasn¡¯t aware I was holding onto.

    I quickly remove my hands from her waist and look around us. Luckily, there wasn¡¯t anyone out here

    paying attention to us. I didn¡¯t need anyone to see those marks on her. I grabbed the bag from inside

    her car and angrily searched through it; there wasn¡¯t anything here to cover her.

    I lift my hoodie off my body and throw it over hers. I don¡¯t bother waiting for her to say anything as I

    storm out of the parking lot. I ran onto the field and made a run for it. I don¡¯t know how long I stay

    running, but I don¡¯t even bother staying for practice. Instead, I head straight for my truck and leave the

    academy.

    I don¡¯t stop the vehicle until I return home. My parents looked surprised to see me back so early. So

    does ric.

    ¡°Why are you here already?¡± He asks me. ¡°Did something happen? Did someone from the academy

    approach you aboutst night?¡±

    I¡¯m breathing hard, and I can¡¯t stop myself as I angrily punch the wall in front of me.

    ¡°CARTER!¡± ric shouts. ¡°What the f**k are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Son!¡± My mother and father shout at the same time.

    ric grabs my hands and stops me from causing more harm to myself.

    ¡°I¡¯m f*****g tired of this,¡± I growl. ¡°How long must we go through this torture? How long must we be

    chained on every single full moon? And this time, those chains were not even enough to hold me!

    What¡¯s going to happen if no chains can stop me from going out there?¡±

    ric looks torn by my words. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He demands. ¡°I know it¡¯s always been hard on you,

    like for everyone else, but you¡¯ve always epted it. Why are you suddenly so bothered? What

    happened, Carter?¡±

    I swallow and close my eyes.

    f**k this.

    Why did it have to be her?

    Why did I go after herst night?

    She¡¯s the one woman I wanted to protect from myself. Why the f**k did I go to her?

    ¡°Who did you hurt?¡± ric asks with concern in his eyes. ¡°Was it ra? Did you go after ra?¡±

    I can see the worry clear as day in his gaze.

    ¡°ra?¡± My mother asks. ¡°Was it her?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°You can both rx. It wasn¡¯t her, but that doesn¡¯t make it any better.¡±

    ¡°Then who was it?¡± ric demands. ¡°Who could possibly make you react like this?¡±

    I take a deep breath before I say in a quiet voice, ¡°Scarlett.¡±

    Everything goespletely silent after that one word.

    This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Scarlett Mae?¡± ric asks for confirmation.

    I nod.

    ¡°H-her sister?¡± My mother asks in disbelief. ¡°You went after ra¡¯s sisterst night?¡±

    I felt even worse than my mother¡¯s panicked voice.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this.¡± She whispers. ¡°This is just horrible. We must go over there and apologize to them

    both Carter. We can¡¯t leave things like this.¡±

    ¡°How can we do that?¡± I ask her. ¡°How can we apologize when they don¡¯t know anything about this

    curse? It doesn¡¯t look like ra knows anything. I don¡¯t think Scarlett told anyone. ording to her, I

    didn¡¯t take things far.¡±

    ric takes a step closer to me, ¡°you didn¡¯t do it?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t know if to believe her, but I don¡¯t think she would lie over something this

    serious. She said that I didn¡¯t hurt her, and I want to believe her.¡±

    Her reassurance was the only thing keeping me sane right now.

    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± ric mutters more to himself. ¡°I¡¯ve done some f****d up things

    because of this curse, and each time, I ended up f*****g my target. How is it possible that you didn¡¯t

    take things too far with her, and you have less experience than I with this curse?¡±

    I run a hand down my face. ¡°I don¡¯t know ric. I can¡¯t say. All I know is that this can¡¯t f*****g happen

    again. I don¡¯t care what must be done to stop me. I can¡¯t break loose and put Scarlett or anyone else¡¯s

    life in danger again.¡±

 Chapter 295

    Chapter 295

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 296 ~SCARLETT~

    ¡°Have you ever noticed anything strange with Carter on full moons?¡± I ask ra. It¡¯s been a few days

    since myst encounter with him.

    It¡¯s been on my mind constantly. I couldn¡¯t get it out. Something strange was happening, and maybe my

    sister would have a better idea than I did.

    She shrugs, ¡°Just that one thing I mentioned to you before. He was always busy on those days. He

    canceled the dates. He never showed up sometimes. I never saw him on the night of any full moon.¡±

    This added to my suspicions. Something happened on a full moon. ra seemed to be convinced that

    he was cheating on all these full moons, but I felt like there was something else.

    He had to be keeping something from her.

    ¡°Why are you suddenly asking about him?¡± She asks me. ¡°Did he say something to you?¡±

    I bit down on my lip. I didn¡¯t mention to ra what happened. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to tell her the truth.

    How would she react knowing Carter entered my room and did unspeakable things to my body? How

    would she react if she ever found out that a part of me enjoyed every second?

    The worst part about this entire thing was the fact that Carter didn¡¯t remember a single thing. He had no

    idea what he¡¯d done to me.

    I couldn¡¯t get that look on his face out of my mind.

    What are you hiding, Carter?

    ¡°There¡¯s a beach party tonight,¡± ra informs me suddenly. ¡°Carter and his family will be there. You¡¯re

    coming with me.¡±

    I knew by now that saying no would not help me. This time, I nod my head without bothering to

    comin. A part of me wanted to see Carter again. I hate to admit it to myself, but it was the truth; a big

    part of me was desperate to see him. I wanted to be near him, and I didn¡¯t know why.

    Was it that kiss? The first one or the second one?

    Was this why all the girls got so hooked on him? Were they ruined after just one kiss from him? Did

    they all crave more like I did right now?

    The right thing would be to run and hide. Staying far away from Carter before things worsened would

    be the best decision. However, I couldn¡¯t, not now. I had to see him.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going toin?¡± ra asks suspiciously.

    I shook my head. ¡°What¡¯s the name of the beach?¡±

    ¡°Radiant Bay.¡± She answers me. ¡°It¡¯s a big party; prepare to get much-unwanted attention.¡±

    . . .

    We were at the beach party after getting dressed for over two hours. ra insisted that our make-up

    and outfits had to be perfect. She wanted to blow Carter¡¯s mind away.

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s Griffin,¡± ra informs me. He was one of my sister¡¯s good friends. I knew him also. He

    wasn¡¯t a jerk like many of the men I knew.

    ¡°Good to see you.¡± Griffin greets us. ¡°I¡¯m sure you all know my future sister-inw, Autumn. And these

    girls need no introduction either.¡±

    I smiled brightly at her; she looked a bit nervous, and I wanted to make her morefortable.

    ¡°We¡¯ve barely spoken in the past; I¡¯m sure we can be great friends,¡± I inform her.

    ¡°That would be great since Autumn can do with some new friends after what happened with Anya,¡±

    Griffin adds.

    I gave ra a knowing look. We knew exactly what he was talking about. What Autumn was going

    through was horrible. Anya wasn¡¯t precisely a kind person, though she had plenty of others fooled.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel ufortable around us,¡± ra assured her.

    ¡°How about we don¡¯t even bring that up,¡± I add.

    Griffin grins, ¡°I knew you girls were my safest option to introduce Autumn to.¡±

    We smiled as he turned to her and added, ¡°I told you I would ensure you weren¡¯t ufortable.¡±

    We were also going to help with that.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to meet a few guys from the team,¡± Griffin excused himself as he walked over to the football

    yers.

    It was their after-party for the match Carter and his team had won. It was the exact game that he kissed

    me in front of hundreds of spectators.

    ¡°Do you want a drink, Autumn?¡± ra asks her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t drink.¡± She responds.

    My sister smiles, ¡°Scarlett doesn¡¯t either, but I¡¯m ensuring she gets drunk today.¡±

    She was what? No one said anything about making me drunk.

    ¡°Is that the famous bride of Atticus Fawn?¡± Someone asks behind us.

    I knew that annoying voice. I hated it.

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    I roll my eyes as Amy joins us, ¡°Why do you show up everywhere we are?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking to you, darling. I was talking to the girl who stole her best friend¡¯s boyfriend. But you

    should know plenty about that since you¡¯re also stealing your sister¡¯s boyfriend.¡±

    She was getting on my freaking nerves.

    ¡°Ex-boyfriend.¡± I snap. ¡°And I¡¯m not stealing anyone. Neither did Autumn. Get your facts straight before

    you go speaking nonsense.¡±

    ¡°A little defensive?¡± Amyughs.

    I was defensive and maybe it¡¯s because I already felt guilty.

    ¡°You¡¯re not wanted here, Amy.¡± ra hissed. ¡°Leave before we make you.¡±

    Amy flips her hair and walks away.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about her.¡± I apologize. ¡°She¡¯s a pain in our ass.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Scarlett assures me. ¡°I know this is something I¡¯ll have to get used to now that I¡¯m marrying

    Atticus.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want that drink now?¡± ra asks her.

    I watch as Autumn grabs the bottle out of ra¡¯s hand, totally surprising me. She takes a big gulp, and

    I¡¯m shocked to see her act this way. She must be under a lot of stress.

    I could learn from her. I was also under a lot of stress. I couldn¡¯t get Carter out of my damn mind. I

    couldn¡¯t get his touch, scent, or lips out of my head. I felt like I was about to go crazy.

    There was still no sign of Carter. Where was he? And why was I looking for him?

    I grab the bottle from Scarlett and take a bigger gulp than she¡¯d done.

    ¡°I thought I would have to beg the two of you more than this.¡± raughs as she watches us take

    turns.

    I couldn¡¯t stop it. I had to drown the madness before it consumed me.

 Chapter 296

    Chapter 296

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 297 ~SCARLETT~

    I¡¯m already tipsy when Atticus appears out of nowhere and sweeps Autumn off her feet. Literally.

    ¡°Where¡¯s he taking her?¡± I ask ra.

    She shrugs her shoulder, ¡°I guess home. They¡¯re getting married soon.¡±

    I can barely pay attention to her words when I spot Carter. He¡¯s even more dashing tonight for some

    reason. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯ve had too many drinks.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough now,¡± ra whispers as she takes the bottle from me. ¡°We don¡¯t want you too

    drunk, or you¡¯ll pass out before getting a chance to flirt with Carter.¡±

    Flirt with Carter. I didn¡¯t have a clue about flirting with anyone.

    I watch in annoyance as a woman throws herself into his arm and immediately starts kissing on his

    neck.

    His eyes find me, and they narrow slightly. He slowly pushes her away from him, and I¡¯m not sure why

    he did it.

    This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    I take a deep breath and walk towards the beach. I could hear ra calling after me, but I ignored her.

    Even under the influence of alcohol, I knew I had to keep my distance from Carter. He did things to my

    body that frightened me.

    I didn¡¯t want to be one of his many girls. I didn¡¯t want to be treated like the rest. I deserved more than

    that.

    Why am I even thinking like this? Am I forgetting that the only reason any of this has been happening is

    because of ra and her thirst for revenge?

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be walking the beach by yourself.¡± I hear Carter¡¯s voice behind me.

    I spun around and was surprised to see how far we were from everyone else. I¡¯d walked a great

    distance and hadn¡¯t even realized it.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s more dangerous having you by my side than being alone.¡± I retort.

    He smiles, showing the white of his teeth. ¡°Dangerous?¡± He asks. ¡°Me?¡±

    He steps towards me, and I don¡¯t move an inch from where I stand.

    ¡°Are you afraid of me, Scarlett?¡± He asks while pinning me with his gaze.

    ¡°Why would I be afraid of you?¡± I demand.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one that said it¡¯s more dangerous being next to me than being alone. I would say that¡¯s a

    good reason for me to think that you¡¯re afraid of me.¡± He points out.

    He had me there. Though I wasn¡¯t afraid of him, I was more fearful of myself around him.

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of you,¡± I assure him.

    ¡°Then why is it dangerous being next to me?¡± He asks, reminding me yet again of my own words.

    ¡°Because of the things that happen to me when you¡¯re next to me.¡± I blurt out. ¡°Things that I am not

    happy about.¡±

    He frowns, ¡°Things happen to you when I¡¯m next to you? What kind of things? Are people bullying

    you?¡±

    I¡¯m surprised by the genuine concern in his voice.

    ¡°Bullying me?¡± I demand. ¡°Even if they were, that wouldn¡¯t bother me.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± he says as he tries to interpret my words. ¡°Then what kind of things?¡±

    I stab my finger into his chest. ¡°You know exactly the kind of things I¡¯m talking about since you are the

    reason those things have started to happen in my life!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯mpletely clueless right now, Scarlett.¡± He confesses. ¡°I¡¯m unaware I¡¯ve been doing

    things to you when I¡¯m next to you. Please help me to understand what you¡¯re trying to say to me.¡±

    Was he truly this clueless about everything or was he intentionally ying dumb?

    ¡°Who¡¯s the one that kissed me in front of hundreds of spectators because of some silly tradition?¡± I

    demand. ¡°And who¡¯s the one that entered my room in the middle of the night and touched me in ces

    I¡¯ve never been touched before?¡±

    His eyes look surprised. He wasn¡¯t expecting me to say that, I can tell.

    ¡°Look, Scarlett,¡± I¡¯m surprised by the pain in his voice. ¡°Everything that happened that night, I f*****g

    wish I could take it back.¡±

    ¡°Take it back?¡± I demand. I didn¡¯t expect my voice to be so loud. I¡¯m taken aback a little.

    Why am I so angry that he wants to take it all back? It shouldn¡¯t bother me that he wanted to. Then why

    does my chest feel like it¡¯s about to explode in frustration?

    ¡°Yes,¡± he whispers. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to exin to you what happened, but I do regret it. I can¡¯t f*****g

    remember a single thing, and it bothers me that I did things to you that you may not have wanted me to

    do.¡±

    I was tired of this. If he could take back what he did, then so could I. Except, there wasn¡¯t anything for

    me to take back.

    My eyes zero in on his lips.

    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one with something to take back.¡± I hiss.

    He tilts his head to the side and studies me. He looks genuinely confused right now, and that was okay

    with me.

    I grab his face and tiptoe until I can press my lips against his.

    If anyone had anything to take back, it would be me, not him!

 Chapter 297

    Chapter 297

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 298 ~SCARLETT~

    Carter grabs me by my waist and pulls me off him before I even had the chance to deepen the kiss.

    I¡¯m utterly surprised.

    Why did he do it? Why didn¡¯t he let me kiss him?

    Was this what rejection felt like?

    I shook the disappointment out of my chest.

    ¡°Now I can also take back my kiss,¡± I shout.

    Carter has a dazed and drugged look in his eyes as he gazes at me.

    ¡°What was that for?¡±

    ¡°If you want to take back what you did, I could also take back what I did.¡±

    ¡°Scarlett,¡± he whispers. ¡°Are you upset that I said I wanted to take back what I did without your

    permission that night?¡±

    I can see the surprise in his eyes as he gazes at me.

    I was upset, but I didn¡¯t want to admit it to him or myself.

    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    I grab him by his shirt, ¡°Nothing you say or do affects me in any way, Carter.¡±

    His eyes narrow, ¡°I must say that your actions say otherwise.¡±

    I held my breath when he leaned closer to me so his face was inches away from mine.

    ¡°Your heartbeat races whenever I¡¯m near you.¡± He growls. ¡°And your scent, I can f*****g tell when a

    woman is aroused, Scarlett, and your f*****g scent is all over my nose. It burns.¡±

    I gasp at his words.

    ¡°Why do you have such a dirty mouth?¡± I whisper.

    It was meant to sound like I was annoyed, but it came out like I was breathless.

    ¡°Do you want me to stop?¡± He whispers against my ear. ¡°If you want me to stop speaking dirty, I will,

    but only for you.¡±

    I felt a shiver down my spine.

    I could feel myself grow wet between my legs, and my body jumped when Carter growled low and

    dangerous.

    ¡°I know your p***y is wet for me, Scarlett.¡± He says in a dangerously low tone. ¡°I can smell you.¡±

    He didn¡¯t evenst a second of trying not to speak dirty to me.

    I shove him away when I hear ra calling my name. He quirks a brow at me.

    ¡°You have to get out of here!¡± I hiss. ¡°She can¡¯t see us together.¡±

    He looks reluctant to leave but eventually does. I breathe a sigh of relief when he¡¯s out of sight.

    ¡°What are you doing out here by yourself?¡± She demands from me. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking all over for you. I

    thought you had drowned or someone had kidnapped you! Don¡¯t you dare ever scare me like that

    again!¡±

    I hug her tightly, ¡°You¡¯re the one that asked me to drink.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°I thought this would help loosen you up. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d start acting reckless.¡±

    She takes my hand and helps guide me back to the party.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Carter since you left.¡± She points out. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if he noticed you were missing or

    not. It¡¯s hard for me to tell.¡±

    Just as she¡¯d mentioned his name, he returned to the party. He nced at me for a quick second

    before grabbing a drink his brother ric handed to him.

    His eyes still look drugged as he takes a big gulp.

    ¡°ric barely attends these parties,¡± ra whispers. ¡°Why is he here tonight?¡±

    This was probably the first time I¡¯d heard ra mention Carter¡¯s older brother. He was the eldest and

    the only married one.

    ¡°Have you ever spoken to him?¡± I ask her.

    She nods, ¡°Maybe once or twice when Carter brought me home. He¡¯s kind and a lot more mature than

    the rest of them. I guess it¡¯s because he¡¯s the oldest.¡±

    ric nced in our direction, and I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the fact that I¡¯m partly drunk, but I think I saw

    ra blush a little.

    I had to be totally out of it. She wouldn¡¯t blush for ric Prince. He was married and also Carter¡¯s older

    brother.

    ¡°You seem more interested in ric than Carter tonight.¡± I tease.

    Her cheeks turn a bright red. It was meant to be a joke, but I think I may have offended her.

    ¡°Nonsense.¡± She whispers. ¡°Carter is the only one who has my attention. Carter and you, of course.

    You need to go over there and start flirting with him!¡±

    Now, it was my cheek¡¯s turn to burn. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about flirting ra.¡±

    ¡°Never mind.¡± She sighs. ¡°Those other girls are trying to get into his pants again.¡±

    I followed her gaze and felt the urge to growl. How many girls does he flirt with daily? It made me feel

    sick to my stomach.

    ¡°Can we s***h his tires?¡± I demand.

    Her eyes widen. ¡°s***h his tires? That isn¡¯t flirting, Scarlett; that will cause him to dislike you.¡±

    ¡°I need to use the washroom.¡± I lie. ¡°I will be back in a few minutes. You can find Jenna in the

    meantime.¡±

    Instead of moving towards the bathroom, I head to the parking lot. I don¡¯t stop until I see his truck. I

    wanted to do something, anything at all, to his beautiful truck. He was so good at breaking hearts I

    wanted to break his.

    ¡°What are you doing, Scarlett?¡±

    I jump.

    ¡°Do you follow me everywhere?¡± I demand.

    Carter moves before me, ¡°I needed something from my truck. I had no intentions of following you this

    time.¡±

    I can¡¯t hide the disappointment at his words.

    ¡°I know.¡± I hiss. ¡°You intended to bring those girls back to the truck with you so that you could f**k them.

    Wasn¡¯t that your real intention?¡±

    His lips curl dangerously, ¡°I like hearing the word f**k from your mouth Scarlett. You should say it more

    often but only to me.¡±

    I frown. ¡°You¡¯re sick.¡±

    He jams me up against his truck, ¡°I like when your ass is pressed against my belongings.¡±

    I gasp. ¡°I hate you!¡±

    He winced, ¡°That¡¯s good. Keep hating me.¡±

    I can¡¯t help but stare at his lips.

    ¡°You smell like them!¡± I wrinkle my nose in disgust.

    His eyes turn a darker shade, ¡°Let¡¯s fix it so I smell like you.¡±

    I gasped when he grabbed me by my waist and pushed me into the back of his truck. Before I had a

    chance to understand what was happening, his mouth was already on mine.

 Chapter 298

    Chapter 298

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 299 ~CARTER~

    I shouldn¡¯t be kissing her. My hands shouldn¡¯t be allowed to touch her body after what happened on the

    last full moon. However, I¡¯ll f*****g die tonight if I don¡¯t get a taste of her.

    I hated myself for not remembering. I needed this to have at least one memory of having my hand and

    mouth on Scarlett¡¯s beautiful body. She wasn¡¯t like everyone else. No one else made me feel the way

    that she did.

    Scarlett moans into my mouth, and I f*****g swear, she¡¯s the sexiest girl I¡¯ve ever had in my arms.

    Her scent was the strongest I¡¯ve ever been around. It consumed me and made me want to do things for

    a woman I never thought about doing before.

    I try my f*****g hardest to keep my hands to my side, but I nearly lose my damn mind when she guides

    my hands to her breasts.

    I can hardly breathe when I feel how soft they are.

    ¡°They¡¯re f*****g perfect,¡± I growl as I cover her neck with kisses.

    She buries her hands in my hair and lets me do as I please.

    She¡¯s drunk. I can tell. I know I shouldn¡¯t touch her while she¡¯s in this condition, but I will f*****g die if I

    stop now.

    ¡°Suck on them.¡±

    I freeze.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d heard her correctly. I¡¯ve never paused in the middle of making out with a girl before. I

    was never shocked to the point that I couldn¡¯t move. Suddenly, I felt like I had no experience. I felt like I

    would f*****g mess this up.

    ¡°S-suck on your perfect breasts?¡± I ask for confirmation.

    f**k. I sound like an inexperienced nerd.

    ¡°Please, Carter.¡± She cries as her ass lifts off the seat.

    I growl as I move her clothes out of the way so that I can get to her n*****s. My mouth closes over one

    while I use my fingers to y with the other.

    Scarlett gasps under me like it¡¯s the first time she¡¯s ever experienced this.

    Did it mean I hadn¡¯t even sucked on her n*****s that full moon night?

    I move from her breasts back to her neck. I¡¯ve never been so fascinated by another woman¡¯s body like

    this. I wanted to study every inch of her, and I knew I would never get bored.

    ¡°Carter.¡± She cries out as I spread her legs wide. I wanted to settle between her legs. I wanted so

    f*****g more than this.

    I¡¯ve f****d multiple girls in the past. I¡¯ve usually skipped these stages. I couldn¡¯t do that with Scarlett. I

    wanted to pleasure her in all the ways possible.

    This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    The door flew open suddenly, and everything was dead silent. Scarlett and I drift apart at the

    interruption. I slowly looked back to see who our uninvited guest was. I wince as I see ric looking at

    us with a look of horror on his face.

    For a few seconds, neither of us said anything to each other. I look back down at Scarlett, and I can

    see the worry in her eyes. Even in this state, she knew we¡¯d gotten caught doing something that we

    shouldn¡¯t be doing.

    ¡°Carter,¡± he growls. ¡°Can I interrupt you for a quick second?¡±

    My body was hiding Scarlett¡¯s breasts from him. The thought of him seeing them made me f*****g

    pissed.

    ¡°Turn the f**k around,¡± I growl.

    He looks annoyed, but he does as I say so that I can fix Scarlett¡¯s clothes.

    She looked embarrassed, and I felt like kicking my brother in his face. Why did he have to show up

    now?

    ¡°Scarlett¡ª¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s forget this ever happened!¡± She whispers as she jumps out of my truck and walks away without

    turning back, not even once.

    f**k.

    I want to run after her. I want to finish what I started, but my f*****g brother is standing in my way.

    ¡°You have the worst timing ever,¡± I growl.

    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± He demands from me.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it obvious what I was doing?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend to be a smart ass. Do you know who that was?¡± He shouts. ¡°What the hell are you

    thinking, Carter?¡±

    ¡°I was thinking my brother is a f*****g d**k for interrupting me,¡± I growl.

    His jaw clenches, and he takes a step back in disbelief. ¡°That¡¯s ra¡¯s younger sister. Her f*****g

    younger sister. She¡¯s clearly drunk and doesn¡¯t know what the hell she¡¯s doing. I know you had some

    drinks, too, but you know exactly what you¡¯re doing.¡±

    I don¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Are you even considering ra¡¯s feelings?¡± He asks. ¡°I know you never loved her and I know you

    can¡¯t have a f*****g mate, but I know you at least have a heart. Do you understand what will happen to

    her if she ever finds out what the hell you were just up to?¡±

    I grab him by his shirt. ¡°This has nothing to do with ra. Absolutely nothing.¡±

    ¡°You know that¡¯s a f*****g lie.¡± He growls. ¡°You know she deserves better than this. You ended things

    with her to protect her. Do you think messing around with her younger sister would protect her in any

    way?¡±

    I push him away from me. ¡°I¡¯m done with this conversation. I don¡¯t have anything else to say to you,

    ric.¡±

    ¡°I thought you had more f*****g integrity than this.¡± He whispers in disappointment.

    It stung. His words. They f*****g stung.

 Chapter 299

    Chapter 299

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 300 ~SCARLETT~

    I woke up with an excruciating pain in my head and nausea in my chest. I wince as I try to remember

    what brought this on.

    Thest thing I recalled was ra forcing me to drink with Autumn. She didn¡¯t exactly force me, but

    she¡¯s the main culprit in all of this. If she hadn¡¯t suggested it, I wouldn¡¯t have drunk anything. She was

    turning me into her. The drinking, the parties, going after Carter, all of it.

    I angrily walk over to the shower and let the water rain on me.

    When the first drop of water hits me, I get a memory of Carter, one that I hoped was just a dream.

    There¡¯s no way I¡¯d done unforgivable things with him yesterday.

    I turn off the shower and wrap myself in a towel. My breasts felt sensitive, and I gasped when I got an

    image of his mouth on them.

    What did I do? I could feel the panic begin to sink in. What on earth was wrong with me?

    This couldn¡¯t be true.

    ra asked me to flirt with Carter; she did not say we should take it that far.

    I knew I was betraying my sister. I knew I was doing the one thing she never expected from me. I was

    falling for Carter. I was falling hard for him.

    She trusted me. She thought I would be the only one immune to his charms. She thought I would be

    able to help her without breaking her trust.

    She was so wrong. I was no different than those other women who threw themselves at Carter.

    I was ashamed of myself. I couldn¡¯t believe I was turning into the kind of person that my sister couldn¡¯t

    trust. I¡¯ve always been honest. Since I started this foolish revenge n, I was turning into someone I

    couldn¡¯t recognize.

    Even if I told ra I wanted to stop this, it wouldn¡¯t change the feelings growing in my chest.

    There was nothing anyone could do to rip those feelings out of me. They were already there and

    growing stronger by the second.

    Every second I spent more with Carter, my feelings grew. It no longer felt like I was trying to make him

    fall in love with me. Now, it felt like I was falling in love with him.

    ¡°Scarlett?¡± I hear ra knocking on my room door. I quickly throw an oversized hoodie over my head

    and open the door.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask her.

    ¡°You need to get dressed. You¡¯ve been sleeping the entire day. We only have a few hours left before

    Carter¡¯s game tonight.¡± She informs me.

    This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    I¡¯ve been sleeping the entire day? What time was it?

    ¡°Carter¡¯s game?¡± I ask for confirmation.

    She nods, ¡°I mentioned this to you before. They have another game tonight. We have to be there.¡±

    The worst part about this news was knowing I wanted to be there as much as she wanted me there. I

    loved seeing him on that field. I wouldn¡¯t miss it for anything.

    ¡°Jenna will meet us there.¡± She tells me.

    Since ra asked us for help, she and Jenna have been inseparable. They were pretty much best

    friends now. The three of us were perfect for each other; that could change if ra learned I was

    developing feelings for Carter and keeping the truth from her.

    ¡°I feel like something is wrong with you.¡± ra points out. ¡°Recently, you haven¡¯t been yourself. Are you

    okay, Scarlett?¡±

    She¡¯s already noticing changes in me. I had to be better at hiding my feelings around her.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I lie. ¡°Fine. I¡¯m just not excited to attend another one of Carter¡¯s games.¡±

    She sighs, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they never choose the same girl twice. You won¡¯t have to do the same thing as

    last time.¡±

    I turn to look at her. What was she trying to say?

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± I ask. ¡°How won¡¯t I have to go through the same thing asst time?¡±

    She quirks a brow at me, ¡°Have you already forgotten Scarlett?¡± She asks me as she ces some

    body shimmer on my arms.

    ¡°Forgotten what?¡±

    I was utterly lost.

    ¡°At the end of the game, the star yer must kiss someone from the audience. Don¡¯t you remember

    that the cameranded on you?¡± She tries to remind me. ¡°This time, you don¡¯t have to worry about that.

    Carter will be the star yer, I¡¯m sure, but you don¡¯t have to worry about kissing him. Another girl from

    the crowd would be able to kiss him tonight.¡±

    I felt something cold in my stomach at her words.

    Another girl would have the chance to kiss Carter tonight?

    Suddenly, I didn¡¯t feel like attending the game anymore.

    How could I have forgotten such a main part of his games?

    I didn¡¯t want to see Carter kiss another girl. I hated that it bothered me this much, but I couldn¡¯t deny it.

    I was jealous.

    I inwardly groan. What was wrong with me?

 Chapter 300

    Chapter 300

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 301 ~SCARLETT~

    We were at the game, and my hands were shaking. I haven¡¯t been able to stop it since we got here.

    I was a lot more affected than I expected. How was I so worried about who Carter would end up kissing

    to the point that my hands were shaking?

    This didn¡¯t seem okay. Something was most definitely wrong with me. I¡¯ve had so much hatred towards

    Carter for what he did to ra; where did all of that hatred go? When did those feelings begin to

    change?

    Why did it take me this long to realize it?

    ¡°They¡¯re already winning,¡± ra says with excitement. ¡°Even though I hate his guts for cheating, I¡¯m

    always happy to watch him y.¡±

    That¡¯s right, Scarlett, that bastard cheated on your sister! He cheated on her! Why on earth are you

    developing feelings for him?

    ¡°He¡¯s going to be the star yer again tonight.¡± Jenna sighs. ¡°Carter does know his game. No one can

    take that from him.¡±

    ¡°Are we suddenly praising Carter?¡± I ask. I needed to say something against him if I wanted my sister

    to believe nothing was happening with me. If I suddenly started saying nice things about Carter, she

    would notice my change.

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± ra says as she rolls her eyes. ¡°Why do we have good things to say about him? He¡¯s

    nothing but a lying, cheating ass!¡±

    Why do I suddenly feel offended that my sister said that about him? I wanted to bury my face in my

    hands and never look up again. I didn¡¯t know what to do with these feelings. I didn¡¯t want to ept

    them. I wanted to run and hide from them.

    I couldn¡¯t ever allow my feelings to ruin the rtionship I had with ra. Sisters came first. I couldn¡¯t let

    a guye between us.

    The first step was not to be bothered by the fact that Carter would be kissing some random woman on

    the stand today.

    ¡°And tonight, the star yer just as we all expected is Carterrrrr Prince!¡± The announcer shouts. The

    crowd erupts into a roar.

    I try to stay calm but I can hardly breathe when the camerands on a girl.

    It was happening.

    I could feel my heart sink when Carter rushed through the crowd over to the girl without a second

    thought. With each step he took towards her, I felt a little piece of my heart break.

    This was insane! I shouldn¡¯t care. I shouldn¡¯t care if Carter even looked at another girl. Why did it

    bother me this much?

    I knew I should look away, but I couldn¡¯t. I watch in horror as she wraps her arms around his neck and

    pulls herself up so their lips touch. I quickly look away to find the same look of pain on ra¡¯s face.

    I forgot that this was all about her. She was the one hurting the most. I was being selfish, only thinking

    about myself. I can¡¯t even imagine how hard it must be on ra to see Carter move on so quickly from

    her.

    I move my gaze from her face towards Jenna; I hold back a gasp when I find her looking at me with a

    knowing look.

    She knew.

    Jenna had known me for a long time; she knew how to read me well. Even though my sister couldn¡¯t

    see straight through me, she could.

    I tried to stay calm, but I couldn¡¯t stop the wild beating of my heart.

    Jenna knew! She knew that I was starting to have feelings for Carter. It didn¡¯t make me feel any better.

    This was something I wanted to bury for good. I never wanted anyone to find out that I had feelings for

    Carter.

    ¡°ra,¡± I whisper. ¡°Jenna and I need to use the washroom. We will meet you outside when you¡¯re done

    here.¡±

    She had a meeting with some of the cheerleaders now that the game was over. This would give me

    some time to speak with Jenna. I had to find out just how much she knew.

    The second we reach the washroom, she pulls me into a stall and locks the door.

    ¡°What the hell are you thinking?¡± She demands from me.

    I try to y it cool, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    She rolls her eyes, ¡°Don¡¯t you y dumb with me, Scarlett Mae. I know that look I saw you giving

    Carter. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen that look on your face since I¡¯ve known you. Do you mind telling me

    what the hell is going on?¡±

    ¡°Shh,¡± I whisper. ¡°What if someone hears you?¡±

    She sighs, ¡°I already checked. There is no one in here but us.¡±

    I can¡¯t even look her in the face. I¡¯m too ashamed.

    ¡°Tell me, Scarlett. Do you have feelings for Carter?¡± She asks. ¡°Are you and Carter starting something

    that ra should know about?¡±

    I bit my lip nervously, ¡°No, we are not starting anything. However, we have kissed more than once since

    that game where he kissed me in front of everyone.¡±

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    ¡°What?¡± She shouts. ¡°And why didn¡¯t you tell us? We¡¯ve been trying our best to get Carter to notice

    you, and all this time, so much has been happening, and you chose to keep it from us. Why?¡±

    I fumble with my hair, ¡°I was scared that I would hurt ra. I know she wants Carter to fall in love with

    me, but if I¡¯m honest, Jenna, I think I¡¯m falling for him instead.¡±

    I felt like breaking down and crying now that I¡¯d admitted it out loud.

    ¡°I¡¯m so ashamed of myself,¡± I confess. ¡°ra¡¯s going to hate me the second she finds out.¡±

    Jenna¡¯s gaze softens, pulling me into her arms, ¡°We will find a way to fix this. I promise you, Scarlett.

    You¡¯re not going to lose your sister over this. I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡±

 Chapter 301

    Chapter 301

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 302 ~SCARLETT~

    Jenna knew now that I was falling for Carter. I knew it was time for me to get rid of these feelings.

    However, it was easier said than done. If I could turn my feelings off, I would happily do it.

    Life was a lot simpler when I wasn¡¯t looking for the affection of the most popr yer in our Academy.

    ¡°You look like you didn¡¯t get any sleepst night.¡± ra points out.

    That¡¯s because I didn¡¯t. I couldn¡¯t sleep because of Carter. I couldn¡¯t get the image of him kissing a

    random girl in front of so many spectators. Thest time that had happened, I was the girl he had

    kissed in front of everyone.

    I hated that I had enjoyed it. At that time, I also hated that I was there. Everything was so different now.

    It was crazy how quickly my feelings for him had grown.

    I knew I had no right to get jealous. He was my sister¡¯s ex-boyfriend. He was also an asshole, and we

    were not in a rtionship. He could kiss whoever he wanted to.

    I don¡¯t know how ra was ever okay with him openly kissing other girls after each of his games while

    she was standing right there in the middle of the stadium. If I were his girlfriend, I would never be okay

    with something like that. I wasn¡¯t even his girlfriend, and it bothered me to the point that I could not

    sleep.

    That wasn¡¯t the only reason I couldn¡¯t sleep. I kept thinking about ra and how badly I was betraying

    her. Even if I stopped now, it wouldn¡¯t change anything; I had already betrayed her.

    The first time I lied to her about Carter was only just the beginning. At first, I lied because I thought I

    was protecting her. Now, it was different; I was lying to hide the fact that I liked Carter.

    ¡°Scarlett?¡±

    I look at my sister. It was hard even to look her in the eye.

    What would happen if I chose to tell her the truth today? Would she hate me?

    I didn¡¯t want her to hate me. I didn¡¯t want to hurt her either.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why I had trouble sleepingst night.¡± I lie. ¡°But you also look like something is bothering

    you.¡±

    Her cheeks turn red at my words. Was she also hiding something from me?

    ¡°I had trouble sleeping, thinking about ways to get Carter to fall in love with you.¡± She tells me.

    Somehow, I felt like that was also a lie. But why would she lie about that?

    ¡°What new ways did youe up with?¡± I ask her, genuinely curious. ¡°And do you think that we are

    getting anywhere? I don¡¯t think he¡¯s falling for me.¡±

    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    She sighs, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, Scarlett. I thought we were getting somewhere. I noticed that he was giving

    you more of his attention, but I also was hoping he wouldn¡¯t kiss anyone at the gamest night. I don¡¯t

    know what I was thinking. Nothing and no one will ever stop Carter from kissing random girls at that

    game.¡±

    I tried not to let her words bother me, but I failed miserably.

    Why did he have to kiss her? Why couldn¡¯t he have just said no and made my life easier?

    Carter didn¡¯t like me. He was only messing around with me. He was not falling in love with me. I was

    the one catching feelings for him instead. My sister¡¯s n was backfiring. She was setting herself up to

    get hurt. We would both get hurt by the time her revenge ends.

    . . . . .

    We were at the academy, and thest person I wanted to see today was Carter. I was still hurt that he¡¯d

    kissed someone. A part of me hoped that the kiss in his truck meant something to him. Part of me was

    sure that he felt something like I had.

    I had too many drinks that night. It¡¯s the only reason I was being this delusional. At least now my eyes

    were open again. I was no longer getting blinded by his charm. His kisses and touches made me into

    one of those foolish girls who all believed they had a chance with him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see you after my ss,¡± ra tells me as we separate.

    I always hated having separate sses from her. Jenna walks up to me, and it still feels weird now that

    she knows about Carter and me.

    ¡°I should warn you that he¡¯s right behind us.¡± She tells me.

    I already knew who she was talking about.

    ¡°Scarlett!¡±

    It¡¯s my name in his mouth; he¡¯s saying my name.

    Jenna stops, but I grab her hand and keep on walking. I had nothing to say to him anymore. I don¡¯t

    care if ra gets upset with me for throwing away this opportunity. She wasn¡¯t here, and she also

    didn¡¯t know how messed up my mind was because of him.

    I wouldn¡¯t let Carter get to me again. I had to bury my feelings for him.

 Chapter 302

    Chapter 302

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 303 ~SCARLETT~

    Ignoring Carter was not working out well for me. He¡¯s tried speaking to me multiple times during the

    day, but each time, I ignored him. Thankfully, each of these times, ra was nowhere to be found.

    Today, she¡¯s barely been around. I had no idea what she was up to. I was just d she wasn¡¯t here to

    see me ignore Carter.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s been trying to talk to you so much today,¡± Jenna tells me in disbelief.

    I was just as surprised as she was. I was even more astonished that I could ignore him for this long.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Scarlett; I think ra¡¯s n might work.¡± She tells me as she takes a bite of her

    sandwich.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I ask her.

    She couldn¡¯t be talking about ra¡¯s revenge n.

    ¡°What other n but the one to make Carter fall in love with you?¡± She answers my question with one

    of her own. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen Carter try so hard to get someone to speak to him. Girls are usually

    running after him, not the other way around. Even with ra, he never did anything like this.¡±

    I sigh, ¡°You¡¯re wrong, Jenna. He¡¯s only trying to mess with me. If Carter were falling for me, he wouldn¡¯t

    have kissed anyonest night.¡±

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    ¡°Last night was part of a tradition.¡± She reminds me. ¡°He has to do that. He¡¯s the star yer. If it were

    anyone else, they would do the same. And if I¡¯m being honest, I haven¡¯t seen Carter going after any

    other girl since you started showing interest in him.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to be hopeful that what she told me could be true. I didn¡¯t want to hope for something I

    could never have.

    ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± I ask her. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one that told me I had to regain control of

    myself before ra got hurt? I can¡¯t do that if you¡¯re trying to point out that there¡¯s a possibility that

    Carter may be falling for me also.¡±

    Her eyes widen, ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry, Scarlett. I wasn¡¯t thinking. I was just curious and a little bit

    excited by Carter¡¯s behavior. I truly have never seen him act that way for anyone else.¡±

    ¡°Where is ra anyway?¡± I ask her. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen her around for most of the day.¡±

    ¡°ric Prince is here with his wife today for official business with our principal.¡± She informs me. ¡°Since

    ra is so popr, she was asked to show them around the academy. It¡¯s possible she also

    volunteered. It was a bit weird since I¡¯m sure ric already knows this academy well. After all, he did

    attend it also. I¡¯m not sure why they need a tour guide.¡±

    Why didn¡¯t I know this? I was so caught up with Carter that I didn¡¯t even know what was happening in

    my sister¡¯s life.

    ¡°We have iing,¡± Jenna whispers to me.

    Before I can look behind me, I see two hands on the table before me. I could feel Carter¡¯s chest leaning

    lightly against my back.

    ¡°You¡¯re not getting away this time.¡± He growls.

    I could feel my heart racing from having him this close to me again. When I finally found the strength to

    stay away, he did something like this to mess with my heart again!

    ¡°Why are you avoiding me, Scarlett?¡± He demands.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go see what ra¡¯s up to,¡± Jenna says ufortably. My eyes widen as I watch her leave.

    Why on earth would she leave me alone with him? She was such a damn traitor, as usual!

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I hiss. ¡°Everyone is looking at us!¡±

    ¡°Let them f*****g look, I don¡¯t care about them, I care about you.¡± He growls.

    I want to scream in frustration when my heart immediately responds to his words.

    ¡°Why are you ignoring me, Scarlett?¡± He demands. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to focus on anything because

    you keep blowing me off. f**k, I even failed at practice for the first time in my life. Do us both a favor

    and tell me what this is about.¡±

    I angrily spun around in my chair to look at his face. I had to see him when I told him what was

    bothering me.

    ¡°Do you just kiss anyone for your pleasure?¡± I ask him angrily.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You f**k girls, you kiss them, you jam them up against your belongings. You treat them like they¡¯re

    your property. Nothing is special with you; everything you do with me, you do with every girl as long as

    they¡¯re willing.¡±

    ¡°Scarlett, I don¡¯t know what the f**k you¡¯re trying to tell me here.¡±

    I angrily poke a finger at his chest, ¡°You kissed me in your truck. You did so many things that no other

    man has ever gotten the chance to do, and you acted like it was nothing at all. You acted like it wasn¡¯t

    special. Instead, you kissed another girl before me at your game for everyone to see! I don¡¯t want to

    have anything to do with someone like that!¡±

    I don¡¯t wait for him to say anything as I push him away. He doesn¡¯t follow me as I walk away from him.

    I didn¡¯t want him to follow me. I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. Carter and I could never have anything

    special.

 Chapter 303

    Chapter 303

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 304 ~CARTER~

    I m my fist against the steering wheel. I¡¯d f*****g messed up again. I never thought kissing someone

    at the stadium after the game would have made Scarlett angry with me.

    If I had known, I wouldn¡¯t have done it.

    The stupid tradition was only a way for the academy to make more money. They knew more girls would

    come to the games once they knew there was a chance to kiss the star yer. It was a good strategy

    until now. It was f*****g messing with my life.

    I always knew ra wasn¡¯t happy when I kissed other girls at the end of my games, but she never

    reacted as severely as Scarlett did today.

    But why was she even angry? Didn¡¯t she hate me? Why did this bother her that much?

    It didn¡¯t matter why. I had to find a way to stop it if it meant that she would start speaking to me again.

    I¡¯ve spent the whole day wondering what the f**k I did to make her ignore me like that. I was restless

    for hours. Now I knew the reason, and I was even more restless than before. I had to find a way to

    make it up to her.

    I¡¯m about to leave the parking lot when I see ra, ric, and Nicole walking out of the academy.

    I frown. What were the three of them doing together? I wasn¡¯t even aware that ric would be here

    today. I was even more surprised to see Nicole with him. Their arguments were so bad recently that it

    was very rare to see the couple together.

    I hadn¡¯t spoken much to ric since our mini argument after he found me with Scarlett. It¡¯s the first

    time we¡¯ve ever fallen out this badly. I knew he wanted me to stay away from Scarlett, but it wasn¡¯t

    something that I could do right now. Even if I tried exining it to him, he wouldn¡¯t understand.

    I knew it was wrong. I knew that it was too soon after my breakup with ra to be going after her sister.

    It was never my intention for things to reach this far. I was only supposed to mess around with her, a

    harmless game, but now it was so much more than that. One f*****g taste, and I had lost my mind. I

    wanted to taste her over and over again. I couldn¡¯t get enough. I felt like I was under a f*****g spell.

    Scarlett doesn¡¯t realize the hold she has on me.

    ra looks up in my direction, and her eyes widen when she sees me.

    I don¡¯t want to hurt you, ra. I never wanted to hurt you. I¡¯ve never spoken those words directly to

    her, I¡¯ve always kept it in my head.

    I can see the pain in her eyes as she looks at me. I regret ever dating her. If I knew I would hurt her this

    badly, I wouldn¡¯t have started something I couldn¡¯t finish.

    Nicole says something to her, and she breaks her eye contact with me to look at her. I don¡¯t wait

    around. I pull out of the parking lot, and ric watches me as I leave. Any other time, I would have

    stopped and spoken to my brother.

    I hate this. I hate arguing with him.

    I pull out my phone and dial Coach Dillon¡¯s number. He answers on the second ring.

    This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°What¡¯s up, yer?¡± He asks me.

    ¡°I need to find out something,¡± I tell him.

    ¡°Tell me.¡±

    I knew he was about to flip.

    ¡°Can we stop the tradition at the end of our games where we have to kiss a random girl from the

    stand?¡± I ask.

    There is a long pause on the phone, followed by uncontrobleughter. ¡°Tell me you¡¯re f*****g joking,

    Carter.¡±

    ¡°I wish I could,¡± I growl. ¡°I¡¯m serious about this. I want that tradition to stop.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your f*****g problem?¡± He asks me. ¡°f*****g around with girls is your specialty. Why do you

    want it to stop all of a sudden? Something going on with you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need a lecture,¡± I tell him. ¡°All I need to know is if it¡¯s possible to end it.¡±

    ¡°f**k no.¡± He answers me. ¡°This has been happening for years. If you don¡¯t want to kiss anyone, then

    stop being the star yer.¡±

    I knew he meant it as a joke, but I took it seriously.

    ¡°Thanks for nothing,¡± I say as I end the call.

    I knew I would hear more about this for practice. First, I failed for the first time, and now I was asking to

    change a tradition that was sessful for years.

    Dillon said it himself: If I wanted to stop kissing random girls after my games, I had to stop being the

    star yer.

    Ares will be trying out for the teamter this week. It was supposed to beter this year but I managed

    to get an open spot for him. Since he was my brother, the coach was willing to give him a chance. I¡¯ve

    trained him personally for this. I could step aside a bit to let him shine. That way, he would be happy,

    and Scarlett wouldn¡¯t get hurt by my actions.

 Chapter 304

    Chapter 304

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 305 ~SCARLETT~

    ¡°What were you doing with ric and his wife today?¡± I ask ra.

    She¡¯d just gotten home from the academy. I hated not knowing what was happening in her life because

    I was too busy falling for Carter. I wanted to fix that.

    ¡°I volunteered to be their guide for the day.¡± She answers me.

    ¡°But they know every inch of that ce, at least ric does.¡± I point out. ¡°What were they even doing

    there?¡±

    She looks a little nervous as she says, ¡°It turns out that ric will be one of my professors. He¡¯s

    starting next month. His wife is also going to be working there. He got the job for her as well.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± I ask in disbelief. ¡°What is his wife like? She¡¯s absolutely beautiful.¡±

    ra looks offended by my words for some reason. I¡¯m not sure why.

    ¡°She is very beautiful.¡± She agrees. ¡°But I sensed some tension between the two of them. ric was

    sweet to her the entire time, but she was a little harsh with him.¡±

    ¡°Harsh with him?¡± I ask, surprised. I always thought they had a good marriage. So far, everyone I

    thought were in a perfect rtionship was a lie.

    She nods, ¡°she criticized everything he did. She didn¡¯t even thank him for getting her that job. She

    acted like he didn¡¯t do anything for her even though we all know she wouldn¡¯t have gotten it if he hadn¡¯t

    arranged it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s crazy,¡± I whisper. ¡°I never knew their marriage was like that. I thought Nicole was a sweet girl.¡±

    ra shrugged her shoulders, ¡°Maybe she was having a bad day, and that¡¯s why she was behaving

    like that. I can¡¯t judge her after meeting her only once.¡±

    She turns to look at me, ¡°I forgot to mention something. I was in the parking lot at the same time Carter

    was leaving the academy. I don¡¯t know if you noticed anything strange today, but he seemed upset

    about something. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen him that upset before.¡±

    I stiffen at her words. Did that have anything to do with what I said to him earlier? I didn¡¯t believe it.

    Why would my words affect him? He didn¡¯t let anything bother him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about it.¡± I lie. ¡°Maybe he had a bad day at practice.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± ra tells me. ¡°Carter never performs badly at practice. I¡¯ve watched him a few

    times, and he always shone brighter than all the other yers.¡±

    Her words surprise me. Earlier, he confessed to me that he failed at practice because he couldn¡¯t get

    me out of his mind.

    Did he lie to me, or was he telling the truth?

    ¡°I wanted to thank you, Scarlett,¡± ra says suddenly.

    ¡°Thank me?¡± I ask.

    She nods, ¡°Thank you for doing this for me. Thank you for being my sister.¡±

    I force a smile on my face as I pull her in for a hug. The guilt was growing stronger by the day.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to spend the rest of the night in my room.¡± I tell her. I couldn¡¯t keep looking her in the

    eyes after betraying her.

    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

    She nods, ¡°I¡¯ll stay up a little.¡±

    I give her a hug before walking away.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been attending a lot more parties and games recently.¡± My mother tells me when I walk past

    her.

    I pause, ¡°I have.¡±

    ¡°Is there something that I need to know about you?¡± She asks me.

    I shook my head. ¡°Nothing at all.¡±

    She nods, ¡°I¡¯m proud of you. I know ra¡¯s been through a lot recently because of that horrible boy. I¡¯m

    d that you are there to protect her.¡±

    Was it everyone¡¯s job to make me feel worse tonight?

    I nod and walk away before she can say anything else to me. I was afraid someone would be able to

    see straight through me.

    I spend the rest of the night turning and twisting in my bed.

    I couldn¡¯t sleep. I was restless. Why did I tell Carter I didn¡¯t want anything to do with him?

    The truth was that I still wanted him by my side. I inwardly groan as I bury my face in my pillow.

    I¡¯ve never experienced feelings like these before. I had no idea what to do with them. How did others

    have any kind of control when they liked someone?

    I hear something, and when I look up from my pillow, I¡¯m shocked to see Carter standing in front of me.

    I blink once, then twice.

    Was I dreaming?

    There¡¯s no way that he¡¯s actually in front of me right now.

    ¡°I know I¡¯m thest person you want to see right now, Scarlett,¡± Carter says. ¡°But can you please spare

    a few seconds to speak with me?¡±

    Was this real?

    Carter was in my room? Again?

 Chapter 305

    Chapter 305

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 306 ~SCARLETT~

    ¡°What are you doing in my room?¡± I demanded the second I found my voice again.

    I hate how good he looked standing in the middle of my room. The lights were dimmed, but that didn¡¯t

    hide any of his masculine features from me. He had on a white shirt that was unbuttoned at the top. I

    could see his smooth chest glistening, almost like he¡¯d juste from practice. I could see his sweat,

    and a part of me wanted to walk over to him and lick it.

    Oh, my goodness. I didn¡¯t just think that.

    Tonight wasn¡¯t a full moon, and this time, he looked fully aware of what he was doing. So what was he

    doing here?

    ¡°I had to see you, Scarlett.¡± He says desperately.

    I¡¯m surprised by his words. I hate that my heart even skips a beat. This was exactly why I was trying to

    stay away from him. He was a yer, and he knew how to make girls fall for him. I was inexperienced

    with romance. Maybe that¡¯s the reason why I was falling for him. I wasn¡¯t prepared to have someone

    like Carter show interest in me.

    ¡°Why?¡± I demand. ¡°I told you I had nothing left to say to you. Go back to that random woman you

    kissed after your game. I¡¯m sure that she will wee you with open arms.¡±

    He walks over to my bed and leans over me with both hands on the sides of my pillow. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to

    kiss her. I did it because that¡¯s what¡¯s expected of me after each game. It¡¯s how the academy makes

    extra money. Our school¡¯s main goal is always to make more money. It didn¡¯t earn its title of the richest

    academy by doing nothing.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for a lecture on our academy. If you¡¯re done, you can leave before someone walks in here and

    finds you in my room. I would hate for anyone to get the wrong impression.¡±

    He swallows hard, and I¡¯m drawn to the movement of his throat. Even that seemed seductive to me.

    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    ¡°Tell me, Scarlett,¡± he whispers. ¡°Is it possible that you have feelings for me?¡±

    My eyes widened, and I could feel my cheeks turning red.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± I shriek. ¡°I don¡¯t have feelings for you. I will never have feelings for someone

    like you. Are you forgetting what you did to my sister? Why would I ever have feelings for someone

    who hurt ra?¡±

    I can see that he isn¡¯t convinced. I would never admit that I liked him, at least not to him.

    ¡°I can see your n*****s through that thin shirt.¡± He whispers suddenly.

    I gasp and cover them with my hands. ¡°How dare you?¡±

    His eyes darken a shade, ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be an ass Scarlett. It¡¯s just when I¡¯m around you, I can¡¯t help

    but f*****g want you. Your scent f*****g drives me insane. Every second of every day, all I could think

    about was spreading your legs and sticking my tongue inside you.¡±

    My heart felt like it would explode any second now. If anyone else had said those words to me, I would

    have kicked them in their crotch. With Carter, it was different. His words turned me on. His words made

    me want to beg him to give me everything he had just said.

    ¡°Your words say one thing, but your body says the opposite.¡± He whispers as he leans into me. ¡°Let me

    take your body to ces it¡¯s never been Scarlett. Knowing no other man ever had the opportunity to be

    this close to you makes me so f*****g happy.¡±

    I freeze.

    ¡°What makes you think that no other man has touched me?¡± I demand.

    He smirks, ¡°You said so from your own mouth, Scarlett. But even if you hadn¡¯t said anything, I would

    have known the truth. Everyone from the academy knows you¡¯re untouched.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± I lie. ¡°I have been touched. I lied to you before. You aren¡¯t my first for anything.¡±

    I can see the yfulness leaving his face. He wasn¡¯t in a yful mood any longer. He was pissed. In

    fact, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen Carter this angry before.

    ¡°Did someone else touch you, Scarlett?¡± He growls. ¡°Tell me the truth. Did someone other than me

    touch your breasts? Did someone other than me suck on them?¡±

    My eyes were ready to pop out of my head. How could he ask those questions so casually? When did

    things be so intimate between us? Just a few days ago, I was ready to punch him.

    He grabs my neck and pulls my face closer to his, ¡°Answer me, Scarlett. Was there another man before

    me? And if there was, I want his f*****g name.¡±

 Chapter 306

    Chapter 306

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 307 ~CARTER~

    I needed to be stopped. I shouldn¡¯t be doing this to Scarlett. I shouldn¡¯t be demanding she tell me the

    truth. Still, the thought of another man touching her was too much for me to handle. I was losing control

    of my body and emotions. I¡¯ve never felt this jealous in my entire life. No one else but Scarlett could do

    this to me.

    I was sure that she¡¯d never had a boyfriend. I was convinced that she was never dating anyone. Then

    how could any man have touched her before me?

    She wasn¡¯t answering me, and I was bing impatient. I had to know. I had to know before I lost my

    damn mind waiting to find out the truth.

    ¡°Scarlett,¡± I growl. ¡°Answer me.¡±

    ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± she gasps. ¡°What will my answer do for you?¡±

    I press my thumb against her bottom lip, ¡°I won¡¯t be able to sleep tonight if you don¡¯t answer me.¡± I

    confess. ¡°Everyone thinks I¡¯m the greatest asshole alive. They think that I¡¯m incapable of caring for a

    woman. If only they could see what happens to me whenever you are around me.¡±

    She frowns, ¡°You¡¯re lying. You don¡¯t care about me. You don¡¯t care if there was another man before you

    or not. Stop ying with my feelings, Carter. I will not let you hurt me like you hurt my sister.¡±

    I swallow hard, ¡°I have no intention of hurting you, Scarlett. My only intention is pleasuring you in every

    possible way.¡±

    She gasps when I slide my hands up her leg. I¡¯ve been f*****g dying to touch her there. I¡¯ve been

    fighting against it, but tonight, I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop. I needed a little taste, just a little.

    ¡°Who touched you before me, Scarlett?¡± I ask again. I was still not letting go of this. I had to know, even

    though my mind was slowly bing drugged because of the scent of her arousal.

    Her ass lifts off the bed when I graze my fingers against her panties.

    ¡°Does it bother you that someone else may or may not have touched me before you?¡± She asks me.

    I growl as I rip her underwear. I grab the torn material and press it to my nose. Scarlett¡¯s eyes widen.

    ¡°W-what are you doing?¡± She stutters.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been dying to bury my nose against your panties,¡± I confess. ¡°There¡¯s something else I want to

    bury my nose into. But before any of that, I need you to tell me the truth before I lose my f*****g mind,

    Scarlett. You don¡¯t realize how angry the thought of another man near you makes me.¡±

    She surprises me when she ps me hard across my cheek. I deserved it, but I wasn¡¯t exactly sure

    what I had done this time to cause this. She pushes me down on the bed and climbs onto myp.

    ¡°Scarlett?¡± I ask, surprised that she was on top of me.

    Her eyes widen when she feels my arousal pressed against her p***y. She didn¡¯t have panties on

    anymore. She could feel me even though I still had pants on.

    ¡°No one, not a single person, has ever touched me. I¡¯ve never been kissed before you; I¡¯ve barely even

    had any guy look at me before I started dressing this way.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± I whisper. ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you for a long time. Long before you changed your style

    of clothes. Your eyes have always been the prettiest eyes I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±

    They brighten after mypliment.

    ¡°My eyes?¡± She whispers in disbelief.

    ¡°They¡¯re my favorite color, Scarlett,¡± I inform her.

    She nods, ¡°I know it is.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± I ask her. ¡°Did you also know that your eyes are the reason that light blue is my favorite

    color?¡±

    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    Her eyes widened in surprise, and they looked extra beautiful tonight.

    ¡°My eyes?¡±

    I nod, ¡°The first time I saw you, your eyes caught my attention. I couldn¡¯t get them out of my head. It

    was on that day that I decided light blue was my favorite color. Not just any light blue, the exact shade

    of your pretty eyes.¡±

    ¡°Now you¡¯re just lying¡ª¡±

    I don¡¯t let her finish as I grab her legs and move her body against my d**k.

    I groan at how f*****g good it felt.

    ¡°Carter!¡± She cries out at the friction.

    I couldn¡¯t stop myself. I spun us around to be on top of her this time. I spread her legs wide, ¡°Wider,

    spread them for me, Scarlett.¡± I say in a hoarse whisper. I positioned myself so that I could get a closer

    look at her p***y.

    She does as I ask, and I don¡¯t think twice before burying my nose in her sweetness. Her ass lifts off the

    bed again, giving me more ess to her. I inhale deeply, f**k me! f**k ME!

    I would f*****g sell everything I owned to bury my face against her p***y every day for the rest of my

    life.

    Before I got a chance to taste her, I heard footsteps nearing her room.

    AH f**k.

    I roughly pull away from Scarlett and jump out of her window without a second thought.

    I ran over to my truck, which was parked a few feet away from her house. I jumped in and dropped my

    forehead onto the steering wheel.

    I was f*****g sweating from head to toe.

    What the hell was my problem?

    That should have never happened. I went over to Scarlett¡¯s house to apologize for my behavior. I went

    to beg for her forgiveness. Instead, I lost all control and almost stuck my tongue into her p***y.

    My nose was still wet. I rub my thumb finger over it and, without a second thought, stick it into my

    mouth.

    My eyes widened as her taste filled me.

    What the¡ªMOTHERFUCKER!

 Chapter 307

    Chapter 307

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 308 ~CARTER~

    Scarlett¡¯s taste was still in my mouth, and I was hard as stone. Usually, I would find a woman and f**k

    her to my heart¡¯s content, but I wouldn¡¯t do something that stupid tonight. Now that I knew how much

    my actions affected Scarlett, I didn¡¯t want to do anything to hurt her again.

    I had no choice but to return home and get in a cold shower. It was f*****g hard not burying my d**k

    inside her earlier. I wanted to, but I knew I couldn¡¯t. I knew I had to keep that part of Scarlett off-limits to

    me. I couldn¡¯t take something so special away from her when I had no intentions of being together.

    It¡¯s not like I¡¯d gotten a chance to do it, either. If someone hadn¡¯t interrupted us, there is no telling how

    far I would have taken things.

    What was I even doing?

    I couldn¡¯t afford another rtionship. If I got together with Scarlett, I would end up hurting her like I did

    to ra. I didn¡¯t want to do the same thing to both sisters. But with Scarlett, it was different; she was

    the one I wanted more than anyone else.

    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    If I didn¡¯t have this sick curse to worry about, I would have swept her off her feet and made her my wife

    without a second thought. Unluckily for me, I didn¡¯t have that option.

    When I pull up to the driveway, I¡¯m surprised to see Nicole¡¯s car parked up front. What was she doing

    here? She hadn¡¯t stepped foot in our house since she decided to walk out on ric after learning about

    our secret.

    I had a bad feeling about this. The first thing I heard after entering the house was shouting.

    I paused and listened. My eyes widened when I heard ss shattering. I ran towards the sound and

    found Nicole pelting ric¡¯s belongings all over the kitchen.

    ¡°Nicole, please,¡± he begs. ¡°Calm down.¡±

    Our parents weren¡¯t home, but all of my brothers were. They were standing and watching in horror.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I ask Ares.

    ¡°Nicole is having another breakdown.¡± He answers me. ¡°She¡¯s asking for a divorce again.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do this in front of my siblings,¡± ric begs her. ¡°We can do this somewhere else. Don¡¯t drag

    them into this.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care who hears or sees!¡± She shouts as she pelts a shoe at him. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be with a

    monster. You are all monsters. You are all sick in your head! I don¡¯t want to be a part of this family

    anymore!¡±

    ¡°Just divorce her,¡± I growl. ¡°Why are you putting up with this?¡±

    ric res at me, ¡°Stay out of this Carter.¡±

    I clenched my jaw in response.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you calm down, Nicole?¡± Apollo tries to ease the tension.

    ¡°Calm down?¡± She demands. ¡°Why the f**k should I calm down? I¡¯m married to a freak, and everyone

    expects me to act like everything is okay!¡±

    ¡°My brother is not a freak!¡± Violet shouts as she walks into the kitchen. ¡°You¡¯re the freak!¡±

    Nicole narrows her eyes at her, ¡°Stay out of it, little girl. Don¡¯t put your mouth into an adult conversation.

    You don¡¯t know anything.¡±

    ¡°I know that you¡¯re a bitch.¡± Violet hissed.

    ¡°How dare you?¡± Nicole shouts. ¡°Where is the respect for your sister-inw? This is why I never liked

    you. ric always treated you like you were some princess. He gives you everything that you want.

    You¡¯re now a spoilt brat with no respect for your elders.¡±

    I narrow my eyes when she walks closer to my sister. If she did anything foolish, I wouldn¡¯t hold back.

    We were all keeping our distance only because of ric. He¡¯s mentioned in the past not to interfere.

    ¡°My brother deserves someone better than you,¡± Violet says softly. ¡°You were never good enough for

    him. I¡¯ll be happy if he finally divorces you.¡±

    Nicole raises her hand to p her. I move forward to stop her but ric beats me to it and grabs his

    wife¡¯s wrist.

    She res at him, ¡°Let go of my hand, ric.¡±

    ¡°Go to your room, Violet.¡± He orders our sister.

    She looks at him, and he forces a smile of reassurance for her. She left the room, and I knew that was

    the right decision. We didn¡¯t like it when anyone tried to hurt our sister.

    ric takes a deep breath and slowly lets go of Nicole¡¯s wrist.

    She¡¯s still ring at him.

    I¡¯ve never seen my brother look so defeated before. Even though we weren¡¯t on good terms, I wanted

    tofort him.

    ¡°Is a divorce truly what you want from me, Nicole?¡± He asks her gently. ¡°You want it so badly that you¡¯re

    making a scene before my family.¡±

    She narrows her eyes, ¡°What have I been saying all along?¡± She demands. ¡°I cannot be with a monster

    like you, ric.¡±

    He nods, ¡°Okay then.¡± He whispers. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a divorce.¡±

    I felt his pain.

    He¡¯d fought hard to keep her, but in the end, it wasn¡¯t enough.

 Chapter 308

    Chapter 308

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 309 ~SCARLETT~

    It was thest game before we went on a two-week break from all sses. Autumn¡¯s wedding was also

    coming up. ra and I knew we had to be there to support her. We¡¯d already received the invitations

    from the Fawns.

    Jenna wasn¡¯t with us tonight; she¡¯d skipped because of a family event.

    I hadn¡¯t seen Carter since the night he came into my room.

    I could feel my cheeks turn red at the reminder of that night. Carter had done things to my body that

    made me see stars.

    ra had walked into the room before he could take things further, and thankfully, she didn¡¯t suspect

    anything.

    I couldn¡¯t get that night out of my head. I knew I should have pushed him away. Instead, I¡¯d wanted him

    to do even more to me that night. I was ready to give Carter a part of myself I¡¯d never given to anyone

    else.

    It terrified me.

    I kept telling myself that I would stay away from him, but a part of me knew I was already hooked.

    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    It¡¯s been two days since that night. I was looking forward to seeing him during the game tonight.

    I didn¡¯t want to see him kiss another woman after the game, but I understood now that he didn¡¯t have

    an option. This was something every single one of the yers had to do as long as they yed

    phenomenally. I had to try and control my jealousy tonight before ra suspected something.

    As soon as the crowd began to chant Carter¡¯s name, I knew that he was on the field. I searched for him

    and felt my heart skip a beat when I saw him.

    Why did it feel like forever since I¡¯dst seen him when it¡¯s only been two days? Carter always looked

    amazing under the spotlight. He was made just for it.

    When the game started, I held my breath. Carter gets the ball quickly, but he passes it to his brother

    almost immediately.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never known Ares was part of the team,¡± I tell ra.

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t.¡± She informs me. ¡°He was supposed to try out for the team at the end of the year; Carter

    must have found a way to get him into the team earlier.¡±

    Ares was also a good yer, from what I could see, but he wasn¡¯t anythingpared to Carter.

    Carter moved effortlessly while he yed; it wasn¡¯t like that for Ares. I could tell he was trying hard.

    When he scores, the sounds from the crowd are deafening.

    ¡°He¡¯s good.¡± ra points out. ¡°Carter has trained him well for this day.¡±

    While everyone is looking at Ares, I¡¯m staring at Carter. There¡¯s a look of pride on his face as he

    watches his brother celebrate his first goal. He didn¡¯t seem to care that he was sharing the spotlight

    with his brother. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen him look this happy. Seeing him like this made me feel good

    inside.

    When the game continues, I¡¯m surprised when Carter does the same thing and passes the ball to his

    brother. Usually, he¡¯s the one to score.

    ¡°Carter isn¡¯t ying like he usually does.¡± ra pointed out precisely what I was thinking.

    ¡°Do you think he¡¯s injured?¡± I ask her.

    She shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t think so; if he were injured, we would have known. I think he¡¯sying low

    so that Ares could shine tonight.¡±

    That would make sense.

    ¡°Does this mean he wouldn¡¯t be the star yer tonight?¡± I ask her.

    Part of me loved seeing Carter as the star yer, but the other half was sad to see him kiss other girls.

    I wish there were a way where he could be the star yer and not have to kiss random strangers at the

    end of the game.

    ra nods, ¡°It does look like Carter isn¡¯t going to be the star yer tonight.¡±

    ¡°Are there any games that they¡¯ve ever lost?¡± I ask her. So far, I¡¯ve only seen his team win.

    She doesn¡¯t have to think twice before saying, ¡°Dawn Riders.¡±

    ¡°Dawn Riders?¡± I ask her.

    She nods, ¡°That¡¯s the name of their biggest rival. They are fairly new, but they have been performing

    well. They are the only team that threatens the fearsome.¡±

    I was new to all of this. Suddenly, I was interested in everything that concerned Carter. Since this game

    meant so much to him, I wanted to know as much about it as possible. ra knew plenty about him

    since she¡¯d been by his side for a long time. It was not the same for me. There was plenty I still didn¡¯t

    know about him.

    The crowd cheers when it¡¯s announced that our academy just won. I wait patiently for them to

    announce the star yer. We¡¯re all shocked when they say Carter¡¯s name instead of his brother¡¯s.

    What was going on?

    Why didn¡¯t they give the award to Ares? It didn¡¯t make any sense to me.

    ¡°I was sure they would give it to Ares,¡± ra whispers. ¡°He scored the most goals.¡±

    Carter looks upset on the field as he walks over to his coach.

    ¡°They¡¯re arguing.¡± ra points out. ¡°Why does it look like Carter doesn¡¯t want to be the star yer

    tonight?¡±

    Her question sends my head spinning. Was it possible he didn¡¯t want to be the star yer because of

    me?

    That¡¯s not possible. He wouldn¡¯t do something like that for me. Or would he?

 Chapter 309

    Chapter 309

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 310 ~CARTER~

    ¡°Ares deserves the Star yer award,¡± I growl.

    I tried my f*****g best for my brother to win star yer. I didn¡¯t want this award if it meant I would have

    to kiss a random stranger.

    Damn it!

    I wasn¡¯t sure what the hell was happening here. How did I still win it? I did everything to make sure that

    he was on top the entire time. He deserved that award.

    ¡°Ares did score most of the goals, but you were the one helping him.¡± Dillon points out to me.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I helped him,¡± I growl. ¡°He was the one that scored.¡±

    ¡°We both know you weren¡¯t ying to the best of your abilities tonight, Carter.¡± He says under his

    breath. ¡°Is this about that thing you called me on the phone to talk about?¡±

    I clench my jaw.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be,¡± he says in disbelief. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have misyed today just to avoid kissing someone

    from the stand. You wouldn¡¯t y with your future like that.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know me. I didn¡¯t care about that as long as I didn¡¯t hurt Scarlett again.

    ¡°Tell me you didn¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Ares asks as he joins us. ¡°Everyone is looking. This doesn¡¯t look good.¡±

    ¡°Your brother here yed poorly, so you would have a chance to win star yer tonight.¡± Coach

    informs him.

    I narrow my eyes. Why the f**k would he tell him that?

    Ares looks at me, ¡°Did you do that?¡±

    My jaw clenches. f**k this.

    ¡°You deserve to be the star yer tonight, Ares. You were phenomenal out on that field.¡± I assure him.

    He shakes his head at me and I can tell he isn¡¯t happy with my response. He knows I was avoiding his

    question.

    ¡°I want to do it on my f*****g own, Carter.¡± He growls. ¡°I don¡¯t want your help. I want to make it on my

    own just like you did!¡±

    I stay quiet at his words and run a hand through my hair.

    ¡°I¡¯m not epting this award,¡± I growl. I would deal with Arester.

    This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°You must.¡± Coach growls.

    ¡°Give it to Ares if you want someone to kiss a girl from the stand, but I want no part of it,¡± I inform him.

    ¡°You¡¯re epting the f*****g award, Prince!¡± He shouts. He always called me by myst name when he

    was mad at me, which wasn¡¯t that often.

    I ignore him as I walk out of the field and to my locker room. No one was going to force me to ept

    that award. I would deal with the consequences another time.

    . . . . . . .

    ~SCARLETT~

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± I ask ra. Carter just stormed out of the field, and he was supposed to ept

    the award. The crowd is wild now that he¡¯s gone.

    ¡°We¡¯re sorry, but there was a mix-up with the announcement; tonight¡¯s star yer is Ares Prince,

    Carter¡¯s younger brother and a new addition to the team!¡± Thementator announces suddenly.

    There are a few gasps around the stadium. I think some of the girls are disappointed that it wasn¡¯t

    Carter. However, there were many other girls excited for a chance to kiss Ares. He was also just as

    famous as Carter, and I¡¯m sure this game was about to raise his poprity.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± I tell ra. She¡¯s too busy looking at the field to pay attention to me.

    I rush out of the stadium and go through the back entrance to the yer¡¯s locker room. I knew that was

    where Carter would have stormed off.

    I needed to know if he¡¯d truly yed poorly today just so that he didn¡¯t have to kiss anyone. I needed to

    find out if he¡¯d done it because of me.

    I knew I was foolish for ever hoping there was a chance he did it for me. I wasn¡¯t that important to him. I

    was just a random girl he was messing with, and I was falling for his lies.

    He imed that light blue was his favorite color because it was the color of my eyes. Those words

    made my heart race like it was in a marathon. I couldn¡¯t get it out of my head. I knew it couldn¡¯t possibly

    be true. However, I wanted to believe it. I wanted to believe that Carter Prince loved my eyes so much

    that light blue became his favorite color. It seemed too good to be true.

    I knew that if anyone saw me in the boy¡¯s locker room, they would freak out. I was hoping that

    everyone was still on the field. Carter was the only one I¡¯d seen leave it.

    I push the door open and look around for him. When I see no sign of anyone, I slowly step inside and

    shut the door behind me.

    I don¡¯t know what was wrong with me. A few weeks ago, I wouldn¡¯t even dream about doing something

    like this for someone like Carter. I was losing my mind. That¡¯s the only exnation for my crazy

    behavior.

    I gasped when someone grabbed me by my waist and shoved me against a locker. I lift my chin to see

    Carter breathing hard above me.

    My lips part slightly as I gaze up at him. It felt so good to have him this close to me again.

    ¡°What are you doing in the boy¡¯s locker room, Scarlett?¡± He growls.

 Chapter 310

    Chapter 310

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 311 ~SCARLETT~

    I bite my lip and take a deep breath before I say, ¡°I saw you leaving the field; I was worried.¡±

    It was only partly the truth.

    His tongue is against his cheek as he leans closer, ¡°I think you¡¯re lying to me, Scarlett. What is the real

    reason that you¡¯re in the boy¡¯s locker room tonight?¡±

    I try to breathe. I wasn¡¯t ready to ask him, but I knew he wouldn¡¯t rest until I told him the truth.

    ¡°Did you y poorly today and refuse to ept the award so you wouldn¡¯t have to kiss someone from

    the stand?¡± I asked him the one question I wanted to ask. I blurt it out all at once. I knew there was no

    taking it back now that he¡¯d heard it.

    He exhales sharply, ¡°Why do you want to know that Scarlett?¡±

    ¡°I just want to know,¡± I whisper. Did I have to tell him why? Shouldn¡¯t he already have an idea?

    He tilts his head closer to mine, ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question.¡±

    ¡°Did you let Ares score so you wouldn¡¯t hurt me by kissing someone else?¡± I whisper. I didn¡¯t want to

    make myself believe that he would do something like that just for me. The Carter I knew was selfish; he

    wouldn¡¯t do something like this for anyone.

    His eyes are bright as he gazes at me. ¡°Would that make you happy?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°No, it wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    He frowns, ¡°I was sure this would make you happy.¡±

    I knew that my response had shocked him. It shocked me, also. I thought I was happy that he hadn¡¯t

    kissed anyone.

    ¡°Tell me, Scarlett,¡± he says softly. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it make you happy?¡±

    It was hard to look him directly in his eyes, but at the same time, I couldn¡¯t look away. I was lost in

    those eyes.

    ¡°Because I know the sacrifice you would make to avoid hurting me,¡± I answer him.

    He quirks a brow at me, ¡°Sacrifice? What sacrifice?¡±

    I press my hands against his chest lightly. ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you on the field, Carter. Since my first

    game, I saw how much you enjoyed being the star yer. You move with so much grace and skill that

    you captivate everyone in that stand, including me. There¡¯s no one else on your team that can keep up

    with you. I haven¡¯t seen anyone on the rival teams that couldpete, either. I would hate for all of that

    to end because of something I said to you. I never want to take away something that makes you happy,

    Carter. And why would you ever do something like that for me?¡±

    He leaned even closer into me, so close that I could feel his warm breath on my face. Our lips are just

    inches apart; if I moved forward just a little, I could kiss him. His lips parted slightly, and my gaze was

    stuck on them. They were very kissable, especially now. It took all of my self-control not to give in to my

    needs.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s possible that there¡¯s one person more important than football to me.¡± He whispers.

    I felt like all the air had just been pushed out of my lungs at his words.

    ¡°Y-you d-don¡¯t mean that.¡± I stutter.

    What the hell was my problem? Why was I speaking like that all of a sudden?This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Oh, but Scarlett, I haven¡¯t been more honest about anything else in my life.¡± He assured me. ¡°You

    mean more to me than football does. I did y poorly today for two reasons. One of them was to help

    my brother, and the other. . . I think you know the answer to that.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    His lips touch mine lightly, and it feels like electricity in my veins. ¡°For you. I¡¯d rather lose that match

    than hurt you again, Scarlett.¡±

    I gasp against his lips, and he inhales sharply, almost like he¡¯s breathing me in.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± I whisper. ¡°Why would you do something like that for me? I¡¯m nothing to you.¡±

    ¡°Nothing to me?¡± He asks; I can tell he thinks I¡¯d just said the most ridiculous thing possible. ¡°What

    makes you think that?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to lie to me,¡± I whisper. ¡°I¡¯m not your girlfriend, not even your friend. We¡¯re barely

    acquaintances. Why would you do anything that major for me?¡±

    Instead of answering my question, Carter pulls my bottom lip into his mouth and sucks it hard. I gasp,

    and he does the same to my top lip. I could feel butterflies in my stomach.

    What was happening? Why did I suddenly feel weak in the knees?

    When Carter¡¯s about to deepen the kiss, we hear footsteps. He picks me up into his arms and walks

    into one of the shower rooms. He shuts the door and locks it.

    I can hear men¡¯s voices. My eyes widen. They were all entering the locker room at the same time.

    I was stuck in here with Carter!

    What was I supposed to do?

 Chatper 311

    <h1>Chapter 311 - The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn</h1>

    ~SCARLETT~

    I open my mouth to say something, but Carter ces his finger on my lips to stop me. My eyes are wide with fear as I gaze up at him.

    "You in there, Carter?" I hear one of his teammates ask.

    "I am."

    "How long do you have in there?" he asks. "I don''t hear any water."

    "I just got in," Carter answers him. He leans forward and puts the shower on. I gasp when the water sshes all over my body.

    "You didn''t tell me how long you have again."

    "I''ll be in here a while," Carter shouts back. "Don''t disturb me."

    What did he mean by that? I wanted to get out of here. I was sure that ra was searching for me by now. Thest ce she would think about looking was in the boy''s locker room!

    "Carter¡ª"

    "Shh," he whispers as he leans forward so our lips are inches apart. "You have to be quiet."

    "But¡ª" I don''t get to finish when he crashes his lips to mine. He swallows my gasp as he wraps his arms tightly around my waist. My heart is pounding against my chest as Carter kisses me passionately. I knew he was doing it to distract me, and it was working.

    The longer he kissed me, the more I forgot about our situation. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tightly.

    I knew I should put a stop to this. I knew that this was wrong. I shouldn''t be kissing Carter, especially not at a time like this.

    Why did it have to be him? There were hundreds of other men all around me, in every direction that I turned; why the hell did I have to fall for Carter?

    He was my sister''s ex-boyfriend! Certain guys were always off-limits, no matter what. He was supposed to be off-limits to me.

    Why did my feelings for him change? Why didn''t I hate him anymore? Why was I holding onto him instead of pushing him away?

    I bite my lip to stop moaning when he covers my neck with aggressive kisses. I grabbed onto his hair and held him tightly against me. This wasn''t close enough. The water made everything so much better. It was warm and somehow helped me to be closer to Carter. I felt like ripping his shirt and kissing him all over his chest.

    When Carter moves to my chest, I''m reminded of the night in my room. He doesn''t suck on my skin like he did back then; I think he''s afraid of leaving marks on me like he''s done before.

    "There are so many things I want to do to you, Scarlett," he growls against my ear. "I''m tempted to fucking risk it all right here. I don''t care who hears; all I want is to have every single part of you. I know I''m an asshole, but fuck me, Scarlett; I''ve never wanted another woman as much as I want you now."

    I shiver in his arms; no one has ever spoken to me like that before. I should be disgusted, but I''m quite the opposite. I loved knowing that he wanted me this much.

    But did he truly want me? Or was this just a game to Carter? Was he messing with me so that he could get into my pants? I''ve heard about this before. There were many guys from the academy who went after innocent girls.

    I couldn''t tell with Carter. He''d done so many wrong things to ra. He''d messed with her so badly that she was still stuck on him after the breakup.

    She was just like me. She also fell head over heels for him. He''d used his charm and sweet talk to get her to fall in love with him, just like he did to me. And I was foolishly falling for it.

    All thoughts flew out of my head the second his hands squeezed my breasts. I couldn''t stop the cry that escaped my mouth from his touch.

    "Carter?"

    My eyes widen.

    "What the fuck do you want?" Carter growls at his teammate for the interruption.

    "I thought I heard something." He says. "Fuck, I must be losing my mind. I need some sleep."

    The second he walks away, Carter lets his hand travel up my leg. I try my best to stay quiet when his fingers graze my panties. I try to breathe when he pushes it to the side. I wait for him to touch me there, but he doesn''t. Instead, he covers my lips with his once more. I moan into his mouth and grab onto his hair a second time.

    He breaks the kiss and covers my nipple with his mouth. I gasped at the feelings it uncovered. It didn''t matter that he did it over my clothes; the water had already stuck everything to my skin.

    I''m too dizzy with his mouth on my nipple to prepare for my reaction when he finally pushes his finger into my wetness.

    "CARTER!" I cry out.

    "Fuck Scarlett." He groans.

    "Now everyone''s gonna know I have a girl inside here with me." He says in a hoarse whisper. When he pulls his finger out, I almost scream.

    No. This had to stop. His words were enough to remind me of where we were.

    Carter has a yful look in his eyes, and I can tell he''s proud the guys now know what he''s up to in the shower.

    It confirms my earlier suspicion. This was just a game for him.N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    How foolish are you, Scarlett? How could you let him use you like that?

 Chapter 312

    Chapter 312

    ~SCARLETT~

    ¡°Get me out of here.¡± I hiss as I push his body away from mine.

    He looks surprised by the sudden change in my mood.

    ¡°They¡¯re all still out there.¡± He reminds me. ¡°They know I have a girl in here. Do you want them to know

    that it¡¯s you?¡±

    Of course, I didn¡¯t want them to know it was me. If they knew it was me, then word would spread, and

    eventually, ra would find out.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you,¡± I whisper. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re such a horrible person.¡±

    He frowns, ¡°What did I do now, Scarlett?¡±

    ¡°You used me,¡± I whisper. ¡°You wanted everyone to know you had me in here. You¡¯re proud that your

    teammates know you have a girl in here.¡±

    He pretends to be surprised by my words. He doesn¡¯t have to pretend around me. I could see straight

    through him.

    ¡°All those things you said to me earlier, they were all lies, weren¡¯t they?¡± I ask him. ¡°You didn¡¯t lose the

    game on purpose, so you wouldn¡¯t have to kiss someone from the stand. You had reasons for not

    wanting to, which had nothing to do with me. Yet, I was foolish enough to believe you. I was foolish

    enough to let you kiss and touch me, just like that night in my room.¡±

    He steps back from me, ¡°Is that what you think of me, Scarlett?¡±

    I don¡¯t answer him, and he looks hurt by my silence.

    I watch as he storms out of the shower only to return a minuteter with a towel and one of his t-shirts

    on the other. He throws his clothes over my body and covers my head with the towel.

    I don¡¯t have time to prepare when he lifts me into his arms and throws me over his shoulder.

    ¡°What do you think¡ª¡±

    ¡°Stop talking unless you want someone inside here to recognize your voice.¡± He cuts me off.

    I stay quiet immediately. I can¡¯t let anyone know it¡¯s me. I hear whistles throughout the locker room as

    he carries me out of the shower.

    ¡°Who¡¯s the mystery girl Carter?¡± I hear someone ask.

    ¡°Since when does he block their faces?¡± Someone else asks with curiosity in their voice.

    This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tightly, afraid of falling and revealing myself. The

    questions don¡¯t stop, but Carter doesn¡¯t bother answering them.

    I breathe a sigh of relief when I hear a door close. He doesn¡¯t put me down, though; he keeps walking

    for a few minutes again.

    When he finally sets me on the ground, my body is dizzy from being that close to him for so long. His

    scent was somehow transferred to my body. I could smell him on my clothes.

    No, it was his clothes. I look down, suddenly remembering that he¡¯d given me his shirt to wear. He must

    have done that so no one could recognize my outfit and link it back to me.

    He removes the towel from over my head, and I hate how my heart skips a beat the second I see his

    eyes on me.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about anyone knowing it was you.¡± He tells me. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure that no one

    even mentions I had a girl in the shower with me.¡±

    My lips parted slightly, ¡°Why would you do that?¡±

    He runs a hand down his face, ¡°If you don¡¯t know the answer to that question yet, Scarlett, then I can¡¯t

    help you.¡±

    I fold my arms over my chest and narrow my eyes, but before I can say anything, I see ra standing

    across from us. My eyes widen in surprise. I can¡¯t hide the shock on my face.

    Her gaze moves from Carter to me. I know how bad this must look. I had his shirt over me, and we

    were both wet.

    I didn¡¯t want her to get the wrong impression. However, would it really be the wrong impression? Carter

    had his finger and mouth in ces no other guy had ever been just a few minutes ago.

    Carter follows my gaze, and he stiffens at the sight of my sister.

    She walks over to us, and I see her fighting to stay calm.

    ¡°Why are you with my sister?¡± She asks Carter. ¡°Isn¡¯t there another girl for you to mess around with?¡±

    His jaw clenches, ¡°ra¡ª¡±

    He doesn¡¯t get to finish when she ps him hard across his face. I¡¯m shocked and unable to move

    even an inch.

    My sister never hits anyone. Why did she hit him? Wasn¡¯t this what she wanted?

    She grabs my hand and pulls me away from him. She doesn¡¯t stop until he¡¯s out of our sight.

    ¡°ra¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± She smiles. ¡°I know you were only doing what I asked you to do. I think our n is working.

    Carter is most definitely falling for you!¡±

    I freeze.

    She thought it was all part of the n. She thought I was doing all of this because of her. She didn¡¯t

    realize yet that I was falling for Carter.

    I hate this. I hate it so much.

 Chapter 313

    Chapter 313

    ~CARTER~

    I was pacing from left to right. I couldn¡¯t get Scarlett out of my f*****g mind. She was all I could think

    about. ra¡¯s earlier p wasn¡¯t even on my mind.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ric asks as he walks into the living room.

    Was he suddenly speaking to me again?

    ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t speaking to me.¡± I confront him.

    He looks guilty and avoids eye contact, ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry about that night. I don¡¯t know why I got so

    worked up. It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t know your ways and how you deal with your issues. I should have stayed

    out of it. What you do with Scarlett or ra shouldn¡¯t be my concern. I was trying to look out for you; I

    didn¡¯t want you to make a big mess of your life.¡±

    I nod, ¡°I¡¯m over it.¡± I assure him. ¡°You¡¯re my older brother. You can correct me if you think I¡¯m doing

    something wrong.¡±

    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    He looks pleasantly surprised by my response. ¡°That¡¯s good to know, Carter.¡±

    I nce at him as I walk over to the sofa, ¡°I know you probably don¡¯t want to talk about this, but just in

    case I¡¯m wrong, tell me, are you finally divorcing Nicole?¡±

    He looks ufortable with my question, and I immediately take it back, ¡°Forget it. You don¡¯t have to

    answer that.¡±

    He shook his head and sipped the beer in his hand, ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. Talking about this is something I

    have to get used to. Everyone¡¯s already asking me questions about my marriage. I believe the word

    has already spread everywhere. I wanted to keep it hidden, but it isn¡¯t something I can hide anymore.¡±

    He leans against the wall with his eyes on the ceiling, ¡°I tried my best to make my marriage work. I

    never wanted to have a divorce. I was positive I could keep Nicole happy for the rest of our lives. I

    never wanted to hurt her. I was dishonest from the start. I¡¯m the reason she hates me. I n on giving

    her the divorce she wants; everything¡¯s being finalized.¡±

    I can tell how difficult all of this is for him. He doesn¡¯t try to hide his pain from me, and I¡¯m d he¡¯s

    letting his genuine emotions out. That way, he would be able to heal eventually.

    ¡°What about you?¡± He asks. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re messing around with Scarlett. I should have known on

    that night that you are better than that. Drunk or not, you wanted to be there with her.¡±

    He pauses for a second before he adds, ¡°You like her, don¡¯t you?¡±

    I tried to act unbothered by his question, but it surprised me. I didn¡¯t think anyone could tell that I

    genuinely liked Scarlett.

    My jaw clenches as I try to look at anything but my brother.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± He assured me. ¡°I don¡¯t n on telling anyone if you¡¯re worried about that. I just wanted to

    let you know that I¡¯m here for you if you ever need someone to talk to.¡±

    I take a deep breath and stand up, ¡°I think like is a small word to describe what I feel for Scarlett. There

    are things I¡¯m willing to do for her that I wouldn¡¯t ever think about doing for someone else. I¡¯m scared,

    no, I¡¯m terrified. I know I can never have anything solid with her. I know our life demands that we stay

    single; it¡¯s why we were never blessed with mates. I know Scarlett is the closest to a mate I¡¯ll ever

    have. But she could never be mine.¡±

    ric ces a hand on my shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t let my failed marriage stop you from having something

    special.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s easier said ric. Scarlett doesn¡¯t want me. She doesn¡¯t trust me. She thinks I¡¯m this horrible

    person who purposefully hurt her sister.¡± I informed him. ¡°There¡¯s no chance for us, but still, I wake up

    each day excited at the thought of seeing her. It¡¯s hard to exin.¡±

    He nods, ¡°You don¡¯t need to exin to me. I know what it¡¯s like to love someone and know you can¡¯t be

    with her. I feel that way with Nicole every day. Knowing the person you love hates you is enough to

    make you hate life. But we can¡¯t give up; we need to keep fighting for the things that we love.¡±

    Keep fighting? For the things that we love?

    But did I love Scarlett? Or was I only attracted to her? I knew I didn¡¯t just like her; I knew it was more

    than that, but I wasn¡¯t sure if I could say yet that I was in love with her.

    All I knew was that I felt like I would die if I weren¡¯t near her.

    That¡¯s it. I didn¡¯t care about the consequences. I was going to her house. . . tonight, and no one would

    stop me.

 Chapter 314

    Chapter 314

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 315

    ~SCARLETT~

    ra was sitting across from me. I couldn¡¯t look her in the eyes. She was convinced that I was only

    close to Carter because of her. She was confident that her n was working. I wanted to tell her the

    truth. In fact, more than once tonight, the truth almost came out. But each time I opened my mouth to

    say something, nothing escaped.

    I was ashamed and scared. I didn¡¯t know how to tell my sister that I did the one thing she trusted me

    not to do. I didn¡¯t know how to risk our rtionship.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what was happening with Carter either. I didn¡¯t know if he was honest with me or if it was

    all a lie. I didn¡¯t know if I was one of his many experiments or not.

    I never thought I would turn into one of the girls I¡¯ve always disliked.

    ¡°There¡¯s someone at the door,¡± ra tells me, breaking me out of my thoughts.

    I got up from the chair and walked over to the front door. I got there just in time to hear the doorbell

    once more.

    When I opened the door, I saw a strange guy standing there. I¡¯ve never seen him before.

    ¡°How can I help you?¡± I ask. ¡°Are you here to see ra?¡±

    Usually, when men came to our home, they wanted to ask my sister out on a date.

    He shook his head, ¡°I didn¡¯te here for ra; I came here for you.¡±

    It takes me a few seconds topose myself. Did I hear him correctly? He came here for me?

    I clear my throat, ¡°why exactly would you be here for me? Do I know you from somewhere?¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°We go to the same academy. I¡¯ve been noticing you for a while. I wanted toe say

    hello.¡±

    I frown, ¡°And you couldn¡¯t say hello at the academy? You do realize that it¡¯s weird that you came to my

    home when I don¡¯t even know who you are?¡±

    He smiles, ¡°I know it wasn¡¯t the smartest decision, but I wanted to talk to you when no one else was

    around.¡±

    ¡°What do you want?¡± I ask as I narrow my eyes.

    ¡°Go out with me.¡± He yells out. He seems confident that I would say yes.

    I wasn¡¯t interested in dating anyone. .. unless their first name was Carter and theirst name was

    Prince.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not interested in dating anyone right now.¡± I try my best to be polite. ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯s

    another girl who¡¯d love for you to ask them out.¡±

    I attempt to close the door, but he pushes his hand out to stop me.

    I frown, ¡°Is there something else that you want?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not taking no for an answer.¡± He insists.

    I wasn¡¯t worried before, but now I was slightly concerned.

    What was this stranger¡¯s intentions?

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to cause any trouble, so please, move your hands and leave my home quietly.¡± I threaten

    him.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that until you agree to¡ª¡±

    He doesn¡¯t get to finish when someone grabs him by his shirt and ms him against the wall.

    I gasped, surprised to see Carter here.

    What was he doing here?

    He grabs the stranger by his neck, and if looks could kill, he would be dead by now. I¡¯ve never seen

    Carter look this fierce before.

    ¡°She said to leave.¡± Carter growls.

    ¡°Is everything okay out there?¡± I hear ra call from the living room.

    ¡°It is!¡± I lie. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a few minutes!¡±

    I didn¡¯t want her to know that Carter was on our doorstep. I quickly shut the door.

    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    I watch in horror as he drags the man¡¯s body from the ground and throws him against his vehicle.

    I wince at the sound it makes. That must have hurt.

    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Carter demands.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m Alvin.¡± He answers him.

    ¡°Why the f**k are you here?¡±

    The man looks between me and Carter. ¡°I like her. I wanted to take her out on a date.¡±

    A murderous look crosses Carter¡¯s eyes. ¡°She¡¯s not f*****g avable.¡± He growls.

    Wait a minute. Since when wasn¡¯t I avable? Not that I wanted to be avable for that psycho, but still.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know that Scarlett was dating anyone.¡± He apologizes. ¡°I¡¯ll leave now.¡±

    I opened my mouth to correct him but decided it would be best if he thought I was dating Carter.

    Carter doesn¡¯t look like he wants to let go of the man. He looks like he wants to hurt him.

    ¡°Carter,¡± I whisper. ¡°He wants to leave. Let him. I don¡¯t want to disturb ra. She doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s

    happening out here.¡±

    He lets out a low growl as he picks the man up from on top of his car and shoves him into it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ever show up here unless you want to turn in a f*****g corpse.¡±

    I watch as he starts his car and drives off without a second thought.

    Suddenly, I¡¯m reminded that it was just Carter and me here. We were standing in the middle of the

    road, and for the first time, I felt the nervousness that girls often felt when they were around someone

    they liked.

    ¡°How is the security so poor in your home?¡± Carter demands. ¡°For a family of your status, it should be

    better than this.¡±

    I frowned; this was not what I expected to hear him say.

    We¡¯ve never really had any problems with danger in the past; it¡¯s why my family rarely bothered about

    things like that.

    ¡°Why are you here, Carter?¡± I demand.

    He shouldn¡¯t be in my home, not when ra was inside and could step outside any minute now.

 Chapter 315

    Chapter 315

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 316 ~SCARLETT~

    He steps towards me, and I¡¯m tempted to take one back. I staypletely still, however.

    ¡°I had to see you, Scarlett.¡± He confesses.

    My heart skips a beat, and I try to ignore it.

    ¡°Why?¡± I whisper. I can¡¯t even recognize my own voice. It was unfamiliar to me.

    He swallows hard, ¡°I want to kiss you again.¡±

    My eyes widen at his confession. I could feel my cheeks turn red. How could he say something like that

    so freely?

    ¡°I can¡¯t get your f*****g taste out of my head.¡± He keeps going. ¡°I want to feel your soft body¡ª¡±

    I press my finger to his lips. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± I demand. ¡°You can¡¯t say those things

    here.¡±

    He takes my finger off his mouth and pulls me closer, ¡°Then go somewhere with me tonight.¡±

    His eyes trapped me; they made me feel like I was no longer standing; they made me feel the most

    alive I¡¯ve ever felt in my entire life.

    I felt butterflies in my stomach. They were stupid butterflies that didn¡¯t understand he was trying to set

    us up. They were stupid butterflies that didn¡¯t get that Carter was a yer and knew how to win the

    game.

    It all started when my sister asked me to make Carter fall in love with me. I¡¯d seeded in making

    myself fall in love with him instead.

    I did love him. I was crazy in love with Carter. It was the only exnation for my odd behavior. Only

    love could make me this stupid for someone like him.

    His earlier question reys in my head.

    ¡°Where?¡± I ask him cautiously.

    He cups my cheek in the palm of his hand, ¡°anywhere. It doesn¡¯t matter as long as it¡¯s with you.¡±

    Stupid, stupid heart.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Did I agree to this without knowing where he would be carrying me? I shouldn¡¯t be agreeing on going

    anywhere with Carter. Even after learning the obvious, I still find myself walking with him.

    He opened the truck¡¯s door for me, and I quietly got inside.

    I was insane. I was losing my mind.

    I get chills when he enters after me, the good kind.

    Carter keeps driving for over an hour before he finally stops somewhere.

    I knew where this was almost instantly.

    ¡°Why are we here?¡± I ask him.

    ¡°I want to take you for a ride in my yacht.¡± He answers me.

    My lips part, ¡°Look, Carter, if this is something you do just to get all of your girls to sleep with you, know

    that I¡¯m nothing like them. You won¡¯t get me to sleep with you by doing things like this.¡±

    He gets out of his truck and opens my door for me. He leans closer and removes my seatbelt; his scent

    immediately makes me dizzy.

    ¡°I don¡¯t bring girls to my yacht.¡± He answers me. ¡°You¡¯re the first one, I promise.¡±

    Now, I knew this had to be a lie. He expected me to believe he never brought a girl here, and he was

    known for his yer ways.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to lie to me.¡± I snap.

    His hands close around my waist as he helps me down from his truck. I bit back the sigh from having

    his hands on me even though he quickly let go of me as soon as my feet hit the ground.

    ¡°You can ask around. I¡¯ve never brought a girl here.¡± He repeats, then softer, ¡°until now.¡±

    Stop it; I want to scream at my heart. Stop beating for him!

    He guides me to the yacht, and the entire staff awaits us. I gasped at how beautiful it was. There were

    roses everywhere.

    Did he do all of this for me? How long was he nning this for? When I asked him where he wanted to

    carry me, nothing about his yacht was mentioned. Was he positive that I wouldn¡¯t have turned him

    down?

    I look at the waitress, ¡°Is it true he¡¯s never brought another girl here?¡±

    She looks startled by my question. Carter had just left me alone to speak with the rest of the crew to

    ensure everything was okay.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay; I won¡¯t tell him I spoke to you,¡± I assure her.

    She shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s okay. You can tell him because you¡¯re the first girl he¡¯s brought here. I

    promise you.¡±

    My lips part, and this time, there¡¯s no telling my heart what to do.

    This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    When Carter returns, it¡¯s hard to hide my happiness from him.

    I shouldn¡¯t be this happy. I shouldn¡¯t feel this good. It makes me feel horrible. I was a traitor. My sister

    would hate me for all of this.

    ¡°I know you won¡¯t want to stay outte; I¡¯ll take you back home in less than three hours.¡± He tells me.

    Hopefully, ra will fall asleep and forget about me. I didn¡¯t want her to start searching for me.

    ¡°Why are you doing this, Carter?¡± I whisper. ¡°Is it all just a game for you?¡±

    It¡¯s not like he would openly admit it to me, but I still wanted to ask.

    He moves closer to me, ¡°I wish this were all just a game, Scarlett, I do.¡±

 Chapter 316

    Chapter 316

    The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 317

    ~SCARLETT~

    I believed him. For some strange reason, I believed Carter. I knew I would regret it eventually, but just

    for tonight, I wanted to let myself believe that he was telling the truth.

    ¡°Your eyes are brighter than usual tonight,¡± he whispers. ¡°I like seeing it like this. It was already the

    most beautiful eyes I¡¯d ever seen; now they¡¯re out of this world.¡±

    Damn it.

    He was good. Carter was good at making my toes curl in my shoes.

    He holds my hand and takes me into a room. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to stay inside, let me know, I¡¯ll take us

    back out.¡±

    I swallow. If I stayed in here with him, things might happen between us. But would that be so bad?

    Yes, Scarlett. It would.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay here,¡± I assure him despite the ufortable feeling in my chest.

    I look around the room nervously. I wasn¡¯t sure if this was the right thing to do. This entire night, I¡¯ve

    been making decisions I wasn¡¯tfortable with.

    I look at the breathtaking man in front of me.

    He did this to me. Only Carter could make me make stupid, irrational decisions.

    ¡°Why did you cheat on my sister?¡± I ask him. I needed a distraction, and I had to know the truth. I was

    hoping he wasn¡¯t the total asshole that we all thought he was. There could never be any reason that

    would make me forgive his actions, but I still had to know.

    His jaw clenches, ¡°it¡¯s not something I want to talk about, Scarlett,¡± he tells me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    I frown, ¡°you broke her heart. She loved you and only you. Yet, you did the worst thing possible to her.

    She still hasn¡¯t recovered from it. And you have no nothing to say to defend yourself?¡± I demand.

    His eyes look like they¡¯re in pain.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who¡¯s worse between us,¡± I confess. ¡°You broke her heart, and now I¡¯m going to break

    hers by doing so many things with you behind her back. I¡¯ve never been this close to another man, and

    somehow, I chose you out of everyone else. I chose the man that broke my sister¡¯s heart. I can never

    forgive myself for this, Carter. I hate myself, and I hate you for making me do things like this.¡±

    He takes a few steps toward me and stops a few inches away, ¡°this isn¡¯t exactly easy for me either,

    Scarlett. There are things about me that I can never tell you. I know I¡¯m wrong for you in every way

    possible, but still, I look forward to seeing you every single day. I can¡¯t exin it. All I know is that I

    must kiss you right now, or I will lose my f*****g mind.¡±

    ¡°Then kiss me,¡± I whisper. I couldn¡¯t believe I¡¯d said those words. I felt like someone else had taken

    over my body, and I had no control over it.

    I don¡¯t think Carter expected it either. He looks surprised at first but it doesn¡¯tst long.

    Without warning, he buries his hand in my hair and crashes his lips against mine. I moan against his

    mouth, unable to hide how much I craved this.

    He breaks the kiss to whisper into my ear, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Scarlett. This isn¡¯t enough for me. I need more of

    you. If I don¡¯t get more of you tonight, I¡¯m not going to f*****g survive.¡±

    I don¡¯t protest when his hands slide up my thighs, ¡°I¡¯ve never wanted so much from another woman in

    the past, Scarlett. You¡¯re the only one that makes me feel this way. I don¡¯t know how to f*****g exin

    it, but I need this, I need you.¡±

    It was all a lie; I knew he was lying to me. I knew this was all his n to get under my clothing. I knew it

    all, but still, I let him touch me.

    My foolish, foolish heart.

    I gasp when his hand gets under my dress and inches closer to my core.

    My eyes roll back into my head when his finger gently rubs the sensitive spot between my legs.

    N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    ¡°f**k Scarlett.¡± He growls. ¡°I want to rip every piece of clothing off your body and bury myself inside

    you.¡±

    I gasped at his dirty words. I thought I¡¯d hated them in the past, but it was quite the opposite. I loved it

    when Carter spoke dirty to me. I wished that I was the only girl he spoke this way with. However, I knew

    that was impossible with his insane record.

    I bit my lip when he pulled my panties down my legs. He¡¯s a lot gentler than I expected.

    He presses his forehead against mine as his finger grazes my opening. I force myself to stop the

    scream that threatens to escape my mouth.

    Carter doesn¡¯t realize how much my body responds to him. He doesn¡¯t realize that no other man could

    ever get to see this side of me.

    He picks me up and puts me on top of a table. I suddenly feel shy when he spreads my legs wide.

    ¡°f**k f**k f**k!¡±

    The look in his eyes and the hunger in his voice almost sends me over the edge. It somehow makes

    me more confident.

    His eyes are glued to my p***y as he watches his finger slowly slide into me. He never takes his eyes

    away. I watch as he swallows hard before closing his eyes. It looks like he¡¯s trying to find the strength

    to stop.

    I didn¡¯t want him to stop.

    I grab his hand when he tries to pull away, and his eyes sh open. There¡¯s a dangerous yet excited

    look in them. They make me feel wild and free.

    I cry out when I push his finger back into me.

    ¡°Scar¡ª¡± his eyes are wide, ¡°MOTHERFUCKER!¡±

    He pulls it back out and pushes it back in harder. When that doesn¡¯t seem like enough, he pulls his

    finger out once more.

    Without warning, he pushes my legs further apart and buries his face against my p***y.

    ¡°CARTER!¡± I scream. I can feel his tongue sliding into me.

    It¡¯s unlike anything I¡¯ve ever experienced.

    I bury my hands into his hair and feel my legs tremble uncontrobly. It felt amazing and too much all at

    the same time. I didn¡¯t know if to pull him closer or push him away.

    A loud sound makes us both pause.

    It took me a while to realize that it was my phone ringing.

    I quickly pull apart from Carter and pull my phone out of my purse. I look down at the caller ID and gasp

    when I see ra¡¯s number. It was like a cold ssh of water on my face.

    I can¡¯t answer her, not after what I¡¯ve just done. I immediately regret everything. It¡¯s the worst I¡¯ve ever

    felt.

    Carter is staring at me and he can sense the shift in my mood almost immediately.

    ¡°Please, take me back home,¡± I beg him. ¡°This was a mistake. I need to get home now.¡±

 Chapter 317

    Chapter 317

    I¡¯d f*****g messed up.

    I should have never dated ra. I should have never started something with her that I knew I wouldn¡¯t

    be able to finish.

    Scarlett felt guilty; I could sense her guilt the entire drive back home to her house. I didn¡¯t want to make

    her feel like this. But I also didn¡¯t want to let her go. At least not yet. I knew one day I¡¯d have to gain the

    strength to stay away from her, but I wasn¡¯t ready for it yet. I needed more time with her. I was hoping

    that she would give it to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I did something you weren¡¯tfortable with.¡± I apologize. Even though I f*****g enjoyed

    every second of our time in my yacht, I would never touch her again if I knew that she didn¡¯t want it

    also.

    She doesn¡¯t answer me. Instead, she looks out the window at her house. We¡¯d just pulled up to it.

    ¡°I want to make it up to you.¡± I continue.

    ¡°Carter,¡± she whispers. ¡°Please stop.¡±

    It¡¯s all she says to me before she opens the door and rushes back into her home.

    I clench my jaw as I watch her leave.

    f**k.

    I want to run after her.

    I want to speak to ra and tell her I was f*****g crazy about her sister. I wanted to beg her not to

    me Scarlett and put all me on me.

    However, I knew that I couldn¡¯t. If I did, Scarlett would hate me for the rest of her life.

    I press my head against the steering wheel.

    What was the right move to make? How did I make this work between us?

    . . . . . .

    ~SCARLETT~

    The next day, my heart is full of memories of my night with Carter. I knew I told him that it was a

    mistake, but I couldn¡¯t hide my true feelings, at least not when I felt like this. I haven¡¯t left my bed since

    I woke up an hour ago.

    I¡¯m smiling to myself when my sister barges into my room.

    The look of disbelief in her eyes immediately frightens me.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I ask her hesitantly.

    This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°What is this?¡± She asks as she shows me her phone.

    I took one look at the picture in front of me and felt all of the blood leave my face.

    It was a picture of Carter and me on his yacht.

    Oh no.

    No, no, no.

    ¡°ra, I can¡ª¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this.¡± She whispers.

    ¡°Wait, let me¡ª¡±

    ¡°Carter took you to his yacht! That¡¯s amazing. I was right; he¡¯s falling in love with you. He hasn¡¯t done

    this for anyone before. You¡¯re the first.¡±

    It took me a second to realize she was happy about those pictures. Why wasn¡¯t she mad at me? When

    I came homest night, I never mentioned that I was with Carter.

    Why was she reacting like this? She should be mad at me. She should be upset. She should be

    disappointed in me. Why was she happy?

    I frown, ¡°you¡¯re not upset that I didn¡¯t mention it to you?¡±

    She smiles, ¡°You don¡¯t have to report everything to me, Scarlett. I know that you¡¯re already sacrificing

    so much for me. Of course, I¡¯m not upset. I¡¯m happy to know that my n is working. I can¡¯t wait for the

    day Carter¡¯s heart breaks like mine when I found out he was cheating on me.¡±

    I bit my lip hard.

    How could I break his heart when I was in love with him? If I broke his heart, I would also break mine.

    I couldn¡¯t do this anymore. I couldn¡¯t betray my sister like this, and I didn¡¯t want to break Carter¡¯s heart

    either.

    I had to stop this now before it was toote.

    I knew Carter would be at the academy today for reasons that didn¡¯t have anything to do with sses.

    There was no reason to attend the academy today, but I knew I had to see him. I couldn¡¯t risk him

    coming to my home again.

    ¡°There is something I must do today,¡± I inform my sister. ¡°I won¡¯t be long. We can go out somewhere

    later, just the two of us.¡±

    Maybe tonight, I could find the strength to tell her what I¡¯d done.

    After I said goodbye to my parents, I let our driver take me to the academy. It doesn¡¯t take me long to

    get there. The second I¡¯m out of the car, I¡¯m already searching everywhere for Carter.

    I bit my lip when I saw him exiting the field. He must have just finished practice. He looks surprised to

    see me.

    He walks straight towards me without either of us saying a word to each other.

    I don¡¯t waste any time pulling him into an empty ssroom.

    Before I can say anything, he grabs me by my waist, shoves me against the wall, and crashes his lips

    to mine. I gasp against his mouth. I didn¡¯t think I would ever do something like this at the academy, but I

    couldn¡¯t stop as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back.

    He breaks the kiss to press his mouth against my neck, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Scarlett,¡± he apologizes. ¡°I have no

    control around you. I feel like kissing you every time I see you.¡±

    I fight back the tears as I push him away from me.

    ¡°This has to stop Carter,¡± I tell him. ¡°I can¡¯t keep doing this, not when you dated ra. She¡¯s my sister,

    and I¡¯m breaking her trust every second I spend with you behind her back. She means everything to

    me, and even though we weren¡¯t the closest in the past, she¡¯s still my sister, my blood, and I can¡¯t hurt

    her like this.¡±

    His eyes look devastated at my words. He knew exactly what I was trying to do.

    ¡°No,¡± he immediately tries to stop me. ¡°You can¡¯t do this now. We¡¯re in too deep, Scarlett.¡±

    ¡°I have no other choice!¡± I exim. ¡°I won¡¯t do this anymore, so please, don¡¯t make this harder. Stay as

    far away from me as possible. Don¡¯t do things like this anymore. Let¡¯s not speak to each other, I beg of

    you.¡±

    I was breaking my own heart with each word that came out of my mouth.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious about this.¡± He says in disbelief. ¡°Afterst night, I thought things were good

    between us. I thought you were willing to give this a chance.¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°those pictures today, ra saw them. She knows I was in that yacht with you, and I

    never said a single word to her about us. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t think much of it, but I¡¯m unwilling to take

    that risk again.¡±

    His eyes narrow, ¡°I¡¯ll remove every single one of those pictures, and I¡¯ll find the people that leaked it; I

    will make them pay, I promise you.¡±

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t change a single thing, don¡¯t you get it?¡± I demand. ¡°This is wrong. Us, it¡¯s wrong.¡±

    He closes his eyes and turns away from me. I flinch when he ms his fist against the desk before him.

    He doesn¡¯t say anything to me as he storms out of the ssroom.

    I fell back against a chair and buried my face in my hands. That was one of the hardest things I¡¯d ever

    had to do.

 Chatper 318

    Chapter 318

    ~SCARLETT~

    It was Autumn''s wedding day, and we were in the Fawn''s yacht, but all I could think about was Carter. He didn''t try once to contact me since I asked him to stay away.

    I knew I was the one who told him not to approach me, but part of me thought he would have tried to fight more. It meant that I wasn''t that important to him, to begin with.

    I try to distract myself by focusing on Anya and Atticus. He was married to Autumn, but Anya was all up in his face. It was disgusting.

    "Can you believe them?" ra asks me in disbelief. "Autumn deserves so much better than this. Why are men such assholes? All of them remind me of Carter and his dirty ways."

    I try not to be affected by my sister''s words. I didn''t want to say anything awful about him. I was already in too deep.N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    "Scarlett?" She calls my name. I look at her, and I think she can see the guilt in my eyes.

    "What''s wrong?" She asks.

    "Nothing." I lie. "I''m just worried about Autumn."

    ra nods, "she looks beautiful tonight. We should go congratte her and give her our support."

    I nod in agreement. She would need more than our support tonight.

    "Autumn!" I shout her name as we approach her. When she spots us, her face immediately brightens. I was happy that we could bring somefort to her.

    "Congrattions on your wedding!" We scream as we pull her in for a hug. "We''re so happy for you."

    "But we have noticed Anya all up in your husband''s space. She needs a reality check." I point out. "If you want, I''ll give it to her."

    "There is no need for any of that," She informs me.

    "And here hees," ra warns us.

    I follow her gaze, and to my surprise, Atticus has just joined us. "Autumn." He greets her, ignoring the rest of us. "Do you want to join us? We''re at the front of the yacht."

    "She''s good here with us." I step in.

    "Right," Atticus says. "Aren''t you the one that let her get drunk that night at the beach? I think you were drunk as well."

    I give him a thumbs up, "at least you have a good memory. Hopefully, you remember that you''re married to Autumn and not Anya."

    I enjoyed messing with him. He deserved it after what he was doing to Autumn. She was too sweet for him.

    His jaw clenches, "are youing with me?" He asks as he returns his attention to Autumn.

    "I''lle in a bit." She answers him after much thought.

    He doesn''t look pleased with her response, but he doesn''t try to change her mind.

    "I hope you''re not going to get her drunk again," Atticus warns us. "There are many guests here. I would hate for there to be a repeat ofst time."

    "Don''t you worry.¡± ra cuts in. "We will take good care of her."

    He looks hesitant to leave, but he finally does.

    I make sure to wave at him as he leaves. He could go back to Anya if he pleased. We would keep Autumn with us as long as she wanted to stay.

    I watch as Anya goes straight to Atticus the second he returns. She''s already flirting and touching him inappropriately. She''s acting like he''d married her instead of Autumn.

    I roll my eyes, "now I want to get you drunk tonight."

    Sheughs, "As much as I''d love to help you piss him off, I don''t think that''s a good idea. He''s right; there are many important guests present tonight. My parents are here as well. I don''t want to get into another argument with them because of my actions."

    "I understand," I tell her. "But if you ever change your mind, the bottle isn''t far away. It will help ease all your stress. ra always told me how good it made her feel, but I only got to experience it at the beach that day. Though, the next day, all the paines rushing back in."

    She looks a little lost before she speaks again.

    "Thank you foring," she thanked us. "I''m happy to see you both here. I''ve been feeling a bit depressed, but you have brightened up my night. There''s just something about the both of you; I always feel better around you."

    At first, I had no intention ofing because of my situation with Carter. However, I knew I wanted to be here to support her, and I was d I made the right decision tonight.

    "We weren''t missing it; we promised to be your friends. We''re just keeping that promise." I assure her. "And we''re just as happy to spend more time with you. We should meet up after this. The academy is about to resume; we can n something then."

    "We''re happy to be here, Autumn," ra adds while pouring herself a drink. "Are you sure you girls don''t want to join me?"

    "Maybe one drink won''t hurt," Autumn says as she epts the ss from ra. I knew she was hurting. I knew her heart was in pain. We were both in pain, but for different reasons. Autumn had married into a loveless marriage. I, on the other hand, had fallen in love with a man I could never be with.

    ra keeps pouring drinks for Autumn and herself. I was trying not to drink as much; I was afraid I would spill too much to my sister. I couldn''t risk telling her the truth in a drunken state.

    "Cheers to your marriage!" I mumble as I sh our sses together and pretend to drink. "May Atticus open his eyes and notice the gem in front of him before it''s toote!"

    ra sighs, "Men do mess everything up."

    I can''t hide the guilt from my face at her words. Men weren''t the only ones that messed everything up. I had also messed up. So badly that I was scared to tell my sister the truth.

    "Who does she think she is anyway?" ra asks. "Her rtionship with Atticus was over when he agreed to marry you. You need to go there and show her that he''s your husband."

    "I agree," I shout. "Go and do something that proves he''s yours."

    "I''m going over there," Autumn says suddenly.

    We were delighted to see the determination in her eyes. That was her husband. Anya would have to learn that today.

    "Let''s cheer for her," ra tells me. She doesn''t need to tell me twice. We both cheer loudly, supporting her as much as we can.

    When she''s a reasonable distance away, I turn to ra with every intention of telling her the truth.

    "Seeing Autumn this hurt reminds me of everything Carter put me through." She says before I can say anything.

    I bit my lip to prevent myself from responding.

    "I''m so happy you''re helping me get my revenge Scarlett." She tells me for the hundredth time. "I''m sorry for dragging you into this mess with me. I know it''s petty of me to want this so badly. I want him to feel some remorse. I want him to feel pain. I know it makes me a horrible person, but I can''t help how I feel."

    I can''t tell her, not when she''s like this. She was also drunk and probably wouldn''t remember anything I said to her tonight.

    ¡°ra,¡± I whisper. ¡°Is Carter really such a horrible person? Could there be a good reason that he broke up with you?¡±

    She takes another sip of her drink. ¡°What do you mean? What possible reason could make anyone cheat? He''s an ass and always will be one.¡±

    I flinch once more. She was convinced that he was a horrible person.

    I couldn''t tell her. At least not tonight.

    I had to wait for the right opportunity to spill the truth finally.

 Chapter 319 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    Fucking hell. That''s what it felt like without seeing or hearing from Scarlett. At first, I didn''t want to do what she begged me to do. I wanted to keep fighting. I wanted to tell her that I fucking needed her more than I ever needed another woman in my life.

    But the reality of my life made me realize that it was for the best. Because I cared for Scarlett, I wanted to do what would be best for her. I wanted her to be safe from me. I wanted her never to find out about my secret.

    </section><section>

    It was better for things to end now than end the way my brother''s marriage did. His marriage still wasn''t entirely over, they were still in the middle of getting a divorce, but it was a fucking messy one.

    She never tried contacting me, not even once. Since the academy was closed for a little while, I didn''t even have the opportunity to see her. Instead, I remainedpletely miserable at home with not one shit to do.

    I didn''t want to y any game; I didn''t want to go out and fuck around. I was stuck to my bed like a teenage girl who''d just gotten her heart ripped into tiny pieces by aplete asshole.

    I did have the opportunity to see her in pictures at Autumn and Atticus''s wedding. They weren''t exactly my friends, more like enemies. We hardly got along with the Fawns, but Scarlett seemed to like them. The only Fawn I could tolerate was Griffin; everyone else was a pain in my ass.

    She looked breathtaking in those pictures and not at all bothered that we weren''t seeing each other anymore. In fact, I seemed like the one having the most pain.

    My room door flew open suddenly, and my brother was standing a few feet away from my bed.

    "Are you never leaving this room?" ric asks me.

    I sigh, "That''s the n."

    He takes a deep breath, "Come on Carter. I hate seeing you like this. Let''s y some game, anything at all, to ease the pain."

    I frown, "how do you know I''m in pain?"

    He chuckles, "Your face mirrors my own. I know how to hide it better than you."

    "Ha." I fakeugh. "You''re better at hiding it than I am? In what universe is that true, brother?"

    He smiles, "I''m not the one locked up in my room with no intention of doing anything to fix his situation. I''m still fighting back. What are you doing?"

    I clench my jaw, "why don''t you leave me the fuck alone?"? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    "Because you''re my brother." He answers me. "I have to be your support when you feel like you have no one else. That''s my job as the eldest."

    I try not to get emotional at his words, but I finally force myself to get up.

    He wraps one arm around me and squeezes my shoulder. "You did the right thing. You were once with ra, and you broke her beautiful heart; if you continued to sneak around with Scarlett, it would have destroyed their sister bond. Besides, marriage truly isn''t for us. I know I said differently in the past, but I would hate to see the same thing that happened to me happen to you as well."

    A part of me still wanted to believe that there would be a chance for Scarlett and me. A part of me didn''t want to give up on us.

    "You know Carter," he continues. "I think you''re in love."

    I freeze at his words.

    I-in love?

    That''s impossible. I couldn''t be in love. I''ve never been in love. I''m incapable of loving anyone.

    "That''s not possible."

    He nods, "I think it is. I didn''t think it was possible for me to fall in love with someone when I couldn''t have a mate, but somehow, I fell hard for Nicole. I''ve never seen you react this way to another woman in the past. I see love and pain in your eyes."

    I shook my head, "You''re wrong, brother. I care deeply for Scarlett, but I do not love her. I would do fucking anything for her happiness, but that doesn''t mean that I''m in love with her, and that''s the truth."

    He sighs, "You know your feelings better than I do; you don''t need to get defensive. I was pointing out what I think I saw in you."

    I nod, "I understand, but don''t say that again. I can''t love. Loving is impossible for someone like me. I don''t deserve love. This curse, it''s the fucking worst. Someone with a curse like this doesn''t deserve to be loved. I don''t ever want to destroy an innocent girl''s life. I don''t ever want to fall in love, and I don''t want anyone to fall in love with me. No one deserves to have a man like me. No one."

    Scarlett could do much better than me. She deserved so much more.

    </section><section>

    I close my eyes to hide the pain.

    One day, she would find someone good for her. One day, she would belong to someone else. One day, Scarlett would find her mate and forget all about me.

    </section>

 Chapter 320 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    It was the first day back at the Academy after our break, and I was nervous. I didn''t know how I would react when I saw Carter today. I was terrified of my own emotions. I was scared that I would run into his arms and tell him how much I missed him. I was terrified that I would m my fist into his chest and ask him why he didn''t fight for me, not even once.

    I had to find the strength to ignore these emotions swirling in my chest.

    </section><section>

    "Something is wrong," ra says suddenly.

    "I''m sorry, what?" I ask her. I wasn''t paying attention before. Jenna joins our side at the same time and gives us both a tight hug.

    "What are we talking about?" She asks, trying to catch up to our conversation.

    "I was just pointing out that something was wrong with Scarlett." My sister repeats herself.

    I pause, "something wrong with me?" I ask for confirmation.

    She nods with concern in her eyes, "is something wrong, Scarlett?" She asks me. "Are you upset about something? Is someone bothering you?"

    I try not to cry in front of her. There were so many things bothering me, and I didn''t know how to tell her. She was the one person I wanted to tell everything to but also thest person I could ever spill the truth to.

    "No." I lie. "Nothing is wrong."

    She grabs my hand and pulls me into the washroom with Jenna behind us. She checks every bathroom stall before turning towards me again.

    "This has to do with Carter, doesn''t it?" She asks me.

    I can''t hide the surprise on my face from her in time.

    "It is." She whispers more to herself than to me.

    Jenna nods, "I think this Carter thing is messing with her, ra. I think she shouldn''t continue with this n of yours. It might be best for everyone involved."

    Jenna already knew exactly what was wrong with me. She knew I was in love with him. She knew everything while ra was still lost. She couldn''t read me as well as my best friend did. I knew Jenna was trying to get her to stop because she knew what it was doing to me. She knew that both of us would end up getting hurt in the end.

    Besides, if ra forced me to go near Carter today, it would go against everything I said to him thest time I saw him.? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    "I think you''re right, Jenna," ra says finally. My head snaps up to look at her. Both Jenna and I are shocked at her words. We never expected her to agree. She was so determined in the past to make Carter pay that it was a great shock to hear her say this.

    "What do you mean?" I ask her, still not sure that I''d heard her correctly.

    "All this time, I''ve only been thinking about myself, Scarlett." She whispers. "I''m ashamed to admit it. I never thought about you and what this was doing to you. I turned you into someone you''re not. I forced you to go to parties; I forced you to dress differently. I ced you in ufortable situations, and I made you get closer to Carter even though you hated his guts. I''m ashamed of myself."

    "No," I whisper as I grab her hands. "None of this is your fault. You didn''t make me ufortable, I promise. I was happy to do it for you. Besides, you''re more of a good person than I am, ra."

    She frowns, "That''s so not true, Scarlett. No one else would do something like this for me. Any other girl would have used the opportunity to sleep with Carter. You''re not like those other girls. You''re different from all of us. I''m so grateful that you are my sister, and I''m so sorry I didn''t recognize how lucky I am to have you much sooner than this."

    I pull her into a hug and can''t stop the tears from falling. I''d betrayed my sister in the worst way possible, and still, I didn''t know how to tell her the truth.

    "I''m never going to force you to do something you don''t want to do again." She promises me. ¡°I made a mistake, Scarlett. My revenge blinded me. I should have left it alone. I should have forgotten about Carter and focused on my healing. Instead, I made everything worse with my stupid n. I hope you forgive me one day for putting you through this mess."

    </section><section>

    "No, ra," I stop her. "Please don''t apologize; it will make me feel like a horrible person if you do. I beg you, please don''t apologize."

    She hugs me back tightly, "You''re not a horrible person. I''m the horrible one. From today onwards, you''ll never have to speak to Carter again. I promise. You can go back to your normal ways; you can forget about him for good."

    </section>

 Chapter 321 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    After spending an hour in the bathroom, I finally exited with ra and Jenna.

    We werete for our first ss and didn''t see the point in attending it.

    </section><section>

    "We should have gone to the beach instead." Jenna sighs. "Swim our sorrows away."

    It was easier said than done. A beach day wouldn''t be enough to drown my sorrows. I needed more than that.

    My conversation with ra only tripled my guilt. I don''t think there was anything I could ever say or do to make my sister forgive me when she found out the truth.

    "Our next ss will start in half an hour." I remind them. "I don''t want to skip any more sses."

    Jenna sighs, "Nerd Scarlett has returned."

    I roll my eyes and shove her away from me.

    She''s about to say something else when she pauses midway. Her eyes are wide. I followed her gaze, and in front of us were Carter and two of his brothers. ric Prince and Ares Prince.

    Did ric already start teaching sses?

    He looks at ra, "Don''t you have a ss now?"

    ra blushes under his prating gaze. "I¨CI... We''re. . ."

    She can''t even form a sentence in front of ric. I''ve never seen her this nervous in my entire life. ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    I try my best not to look at Carter while she tries to form a sentence. However, I eventually gave in. To my disappointment, he isn''t looking at me. His eyes are on his phone, and he seems to be concentrating on it.

    He''s probably busy messaging some new girl that he can''t wait to sleep with.

    I bit my lip to stop myself from saying something to him. Why was I this angry that he was ignoring me? I was the one that begged him to stay away from me.

    What the hell was wrong with me? Why couldn''t I behave around him?

    "I didn''t quite get that, Miss ra Mae." I hear ric say to my sister.

    I was too caught up in Carter ignoring me to pay attention to her. A part of me knew that I should probably step in and help her form a sentence, but I couldn''t focus on anything except the man in front of me.

    "She''s trying to say we came a bit toote." Jenna cuts in. "We didn''t have time to attend ss, so we''re just waiting to attend our second one."

    "Late on your first day back." ric notes with concern in his voice.

    I noticed his attention was mainly on ra; he barely acknowledged Jenna and me. Maybe that''s why she felt so nervous under his gaze; she had his full attention.

    I force myself to study her reactions to Carter''s eldest sibling. It was weird to me. No one ever had that effect on her, not even Carter.

    Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked like it was hard to stand. She could barely look him in his eyes.

    Why was she this nervous around him?

    "Come on, ric," Carter cuts in, and I almost lose my mind at finally hearing his voice after so long. I love Carter''s voice. "You haven''t even started teaching here, and already you''re scolding the students. We have more important things to do."

    ric looks surprised at his brother''s words. He doesn''t bother saying anything else as he walks away. I watch Carter as he goes and feel my heart sink.

    Was it really over for us? He never once looked at me, and it was the opposite for me. I couldn''t stop staring at him and wishing he would at least acknowledge me. He acted like we were strangers.

    "What happened there?" Jenna asks ra. "I''ve never seen you that nervous in front of anyone before. Does he scare you?"

    I turn to my sister, as I wait for her to answer Jenna.

    "Oh, no," ra disagreed. "I''m definitely not scared of ric. He''s one of the sweetest men I''ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. He isn''t like the rest of them. He''s kind and gentle. I don''t know why I always choke on my words when he''s around."

    "It''s probably because Carter was right there." Jenna points out.

    "You''re right," ra says. "Carter was right there. He didn''t even acknowledge Scarlett. I thought he was falling in love with her, but I was clearly wrong. I guess that''s for the best. Now, we can all truly move on from the past."

    Her words cut through me like a knife. He doesn''t love me. He never even liked me. I was foolish, for thinking there was a chance that he did. All of the signs were always there.

    I turned around to look for him, but he was already out of my view.

    I hate this.

    </section><section>

    I hate this so much.

    The pain in my chest was almost too much for me to bear.

    </section>

 Chapter 322 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    "You did a good job ignoring her yesterday," ric tells me.

    "He''s right." Ares agrees. "You did a great job. However, she was looking at you the entire time."

    </section><section>

    My head snaps up at his words. "She was looking at me?"

    He nods, "the entire time. She never once looked away. I''ve never seen her look that way at anyone else before."

    I close my eyes and lean back against the chair.

    "Why would you tell him that?" ric growls.

    "Ow!" I hear Ares say. ric must have tapped him on his head.

    "Forget what he said. You''re doing great."

    I wasn''t doing fucking great. Yesterday, staying away from Scarlett was fucking brutal. There were so many times I almost lost control. My brothers by my side were the only reason I didn''t grab Scarlett and cover her body with my kisses.

    "I''m not worried about any of that." I finally say as I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling. "Tomorrow is a full moon. I lost control during thest full moon, and it was because of her. My emotions are in a mess now that I''m forcing myself to stay away from her. I''m scared. Terrified of what I''m capable of doing tomorrow."

    ric knows just how much pain I am in. He knows that I''m terrified.

    I wasn''t speaking to Scarlett; I was doing as she asked. However, because of this, I couldn''t beg her to lock her windows or take a ne and get as far away from me as possible. Even if I asked her to do this, she wouldn''t listen to me. Scarlett was very stubborn and always did the opposite of what I asked.

    There was nothing I could do to get Scarlett to stay far away from me tomorrow. That meant that it was up to me to ensure that I couldn''t get out of that room. My parents had doubled the chains and even brought more barriers for the doors. It would be close to impossible for me to escape.

    It would take something crazy like Scarletting to my house to make me break free. I knew she would never do something like that.

    "You look like shit," Apollo says as he joins us.

    "Thanks for pointing out the obvious, dumbass," I growl.

    He chuckles and taps me on my shoulder, "Cheer up, little brother. I know this is hard for you, but at least you''re not alone."

    Everyone except my parents now knew that I had feelings for Scarlett. They were all shocked at first, but they were very supportive. They understood what this meant. They saw what happened to ric when he fell in love with Nicole. They knew that I was having a fucking hard time.

    "You just had to fall for your ex-girlfriend''s younger sister, didn''t you?" Ares asks me.

    "Of course he did," Apollo answers for me. "It wouldn''t be Carter if he wasn''t the most problematic man in our academy."

    I narrow my eyes at them, "Did I ask for the two of you assholes to join me? I was good being by myself."

    "Leave him alone." ric cuts in with his stern voice. "This isn''t easy for him. He needs our support."

    Ares frowns, "This is the only way we can support. It usually works."

    Apollo agrees, "This kind of support is the best. We''re trying to lighten the mood."

    I was a few seconds away from grabbing them by their throats, and they knew it.

    "Nicole is here," Violet says as she enters the room. There is deep concern in her eyes. She was always terrified when Nicole came over.

    ric hugs her, "it''s okay."

    "It''s not." She cries. "She always hurts you. Both physically and emotionally. And you don''t do anything at all to stop her. You let her speak horribly to you. You even let her hurt you physically. I''m tired of seeing you like this, ric. You''ve always protected all of us, and you won''t even let us protect you from her."

    He gently rubs her back, "it''s only for a little bit again. Soon enough, Nicole will walk out of my life, and you won''t have to worry about any of this again."

    My jaw clenches. I fucking hated Nicole with everything inside of me. The more we got to know her, the more she seemed more like the monster than my brother did. This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    "You promise?" Violet asks him.

    He chuckles, "I promise."

    I can see the pain in his eyes while making that promise to her. Even though Nicole mistreated my brother, he was still crazy about her. He still wanted to make his marriage work. And more than any of that, ric wanted a child.

    I was happy that he never got Nicole pregnant. I couldn''t imagine her having a child and using that baby to take advantage of him.

    I shook that thought out of my head.

    </section><section>

    I had enough worries of my own to be making up scenes in my head that wouldn''t ever happen.

    I had to make sure that I never got out of that room tomorrow. I would not put Scarlett''s life in danger. I rather fucking die trying to escape than to hurt her.

    </section>

 Chapter 323 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "What did you say?" I ask ra.

    She quirks a brow, "tomorrow is a full moon?"

    </section><section>

    A full moon.

    My heart jumps at the reminder of what happened thest time there was a full moon. I could barely control the wild beating of my heart at the memories in my head.

    I never got the chance to ask Carter what exactly happened on a full moon. I never got a chance to find out the truth.

    Was there a chance that he woulde to my house tomorrow night?

    I try not to get excited at the thought of seeing him again. I wouldn''t just get to see him; I would have the chance to get his wild kisses just likest time. That night, he acted like he was starved for me.

    I wanted him that crazy over me again. I desperately wanted another night just like that night.

    "What do you think about ric?" ra asks me out of nowhere. It was enough to get me out of my crazy thoughts.

    I frown, "Carter''s older brother?"

    She nods. "For some reason, I''m always drawn to him. He makes me nervous, but I''m happy whenever I see him."

    My eyes are wide as I stare at my sister. "ric? The married man ric Prince? The man that would soon be lecturing you and other students? That ric?"

    Her cheeks are red at my questions.

    "I know who he is." She reminds me. "It''s not that I like him or anything; he''s always nice to me, and I would like to be friends."

    I bit my lip. "Are you sure this isn''t another n of yours?"

    She frowns, "another n?"

    I nod, "you know, another n to get Carter jealous. Since you stopped me from flirting with him, is it possible that you want to use his brother to get him jealous and make him want to be with you again?"

    She looks surprised by my question.

    "Of course not." She snaps. "It''s not like me to do something like that. Besides, I don''t want to be with Carter after what he did to me. All I ever wanted was revenge, but I don''t need to see him in pain anymore. I''m healing slowly. I''m ready to work on myself."

    I smile, "I''m happy to hear that ra. You deserve so much happiness."

    She returns my smile, "but back to ric. Doesn''t he always look like he weights the world on his shoulders? I want to be the one to help him. I want to make him happier. But just as a friend."

    Her words have left me speechless. Since when did she care this much about ric?

    "Are you sure you don''t have a crush on him?" I ask.

    She shook her head, "he''s married, Scarlett. I would never go after a married man. I don''t know how to exin it; I want to be there for him and take his sorrows away. He''s the eldest, and he takes care of all his siblings, but he doesn''t let anyone look after him. I want to be the one to be there for him and help share his pain."

    Again, I''m speechless. ric is the only other man I''ve ever seen my sister this interested in, except for Carter, of course. But she seemed to be getting over Carter; at least, that''s what I could tell from her words. I wasn''t sure what her heart was telling her. ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    "I don''t know what to say, ra," I tell her. "If it''s okay with his wife, I don''t see no reason why you can''t be his friend."

    She sighs, "That''s the hard part. I don''t think he will ever see me as a friend. He will always see me as his little brother''s ex-girlfriend. And since he will be a professor at the academy, I''m sure he will only see me as a student."

    I held her hand, "maybe you can start slowly. Talk to him, get to know him more, and maybe he will start considering you as a friend or someone he can confide in."

    She smiles and hugs me, "Thank you, Scarlett."

    She wouldn''t be thanking me when she found out what I was doing with Carter behind her back.

    But was it so bad now? All this time, I thought that ra was still hung up on Carter. I thought that she was still grieving for him. However, today was the first day I realized there was a good chance that my sister was already over Carter.

    She spoke about him easily, and the fact that she didn''t care about revenge anymore meant that she was moving on. The fact that she could talk about bing friends with ric was another sign that she was over Carter.

    If true, would it be so bad if I was in love with him? If she no longer wanted to be with him, would it be so horrible if I wanted a chance to call him mine?

    </section><section>

    Would it?

    How good would it be to finally be able to call him mine? Was that too much to ask for?

    </section>

 Chapter 324 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    The full moon was finally here.

    I''d managed to stay away from Carter all this time. However, a big part of me wished he would show up at my window again.

    </section><section>

    I''m in my room, with my sheet covering half of my body. I''m staring out the window.

    I know I should keep it closed. But, just likest time, I have them wide open. It''s an invitation for him. An invitation to let him know that I would dly let him into my room. . . Into my life.

    I knew I may regret this decision in the future, but that was okay with me.

    I wanted this. I wanted him.

    I want him here. I want onest night of passion between the two of us. I don''t just want it; I need it. I need Carter. I was tempted to go to his house and beg him to take me into his arms. This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    When the clock strikes midnight, my heart breaks a little when I see no sign of him. I stayed an entire hour after. . . waiting.

    He never showed up. The longer I waited, the more my heart broke.

    I wanted to see him. I wanted him to show me a sign that he cared. I wanted him to show me that he wanted me again. I didn''t want him to listen to me. I wanted him to do the opposite.

    I fight back the tears. I couldn''t justy here in my bed and do nothing about it. I had to do something, anything.

    I walked out of my room and straight out of the house.

    I informed the guards that I would be out for a little or possibly the entire night.

    I got into my car and didn''t stop driving until I was a little distance from Carter''s home.

    What are you doing, Scarlett? Are you stalking him now? You''re the one who told him to stay away from you.

    I was talking to myself, trying to discover what was happening in my head. Even I didn''t understand myself tonight. I felt like I''d lost my mind.

    Was it stupid that I wanted him to fight for us? I was disappointed when he listened to me and stayed away.

    I keep driving until I''m in front of his driveway.

    My legs were shaking when I got out of my vehicle and walked over to the security.

    Unlike my home, Carter''s family had a lot of guards. They were strict when it came to protecting their family.

    "Hi," I greet them. "I''m Scarlett, a friend of Carter''s. I was wondering if there was a chance that I could see him tonight. Can you tell him that I''m outside?"

    The guards look at each other before the main one walks up to me, "I''m afraid that''s not possible tonight, miss. You cane back tomorrow. Tonight, he''s not home."

    He''s not home?

    "Can you tell me where I can find him?" I try again.

    I didn''t want to leave until I''d gotten a chance to see him at least once. For some reason, I didn''t want to believe that he wasn''t home tonight. However, I don''t think the guards had a reason to lie to me unless they were tired of random girlsing up to them and asking to see Carter.

    "I''m sorry, we can''t give that information out to anyone but family."

    I sigh and try to clear my mind as I return to my car. He was probably out fucking some random girl in a club. I was stupid foring here. I thought he''d stopped his yer ways after me, but I had to be wrong. He was out with another girl right now. Where else would Carter be at this hour of the night?

    I open the car door and step inside.

    I gasped when, out of nowhere, two hands grabbed me and pulled me back out. I already knew who it was just by the way my body reacted.

    "Carter!" I gasp when he jams me up against my car.

    I don''t have a chance to move when he covers my mouth with his. I''m in shock at first, but it doesn''t take long for me to respond to his kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. I couldn''t believe how much I''d missed this. I was fighting to get as close to him as possible. In fact, it felt like I wasn''t close enough. I felt like I would die if I didn''t get closer to him.

    "You''re fucking mine." He growls as he rips my clothes off my body.

    I didn''t care where we were. If it were with anyone else, something like that would bother me. Because it was Carter, I felt safe with him. I knew that he would take care of me.

    He doesn''t stop until I''m standingpletely naked in front of him. He immediately swoops in to cover every inch of me with his hands and mouth. I cry out when I feel his mouth on my nipple while his hands spread my legs wide.

    "Carter." I scream.

    He growls against my breasts as his finger pushes inside of me. I bury my hand in his hair and pull him harder against me. This wasn''t enough. I needed more. Much more.

    I don''t even recognize myself as I begin to rip his own clothes off his body. It was only then that I saw the bruises on his body; they were all fresh.

    How did he get this?

    "Carter?" I gasp as I touch them with my fingers.

    He shoves my hand away and proceeds to cover my lips with his own. He''s kissing me aggressively; it''s almost like he doesn''t care that his body is bruised.

    How could he not?

    "Carter?" I try again, but he doesn''t listen to me. My eyes widen when he pushes me into my car and immediately goes between my legs.

    I cry out when his tongue stretches inside of me. This is what I wanted all along, for him to be this hungry and desperate for me.

    My eyes roll back into my head, and I bury my hands again in his hair, pulling him harder and closer against me.

    "Please." I cry. I don''t know what I''m begging for, but Carter seems to know when he pushes a finger into me at the same time his tongue does.

    He pulls me out of the car without any warning and pushes me up against it once more.

    I scream his name when he thrusts his dick inside of me. I don''t feel any pain at all; it''s all pleasure. Carter''s much bigger than I expected any man to be down there. Hepletely stretches and fills me. I can barely breathe when he pulls out and ms into me over and over again.

    "Carter! Carter! Carter!"

    "Fucking mine." He growls. "Mine." Thrust. "Mine." Out. "Mine." In.

    With each movement inside me, I''m screaming louder and louder. I''ve never experienced anything like this in my life. With each thrust, I felt my love for him multiply.

    "Please, Carter. I want more." I beg him. "This isn''t enough."

    He spreads my legs wider and goes deeper inside of me. My eyes almost pop out of my head at what it did to me. I was dying but in the sweetest way possible.

    He roars my name as he grabs my waist and his nails dig into me. He was close, I could feel it by his quicker and more desperate movements.

    My mouth was slightly parted as his seeds flowed into me like a river; they kepting and never stopping.

    I wrapped my arms around him and held him close as he groaned against my neck. I never let go, not even when I was sure that he was done.

    When he pulls out of me, my mouth opens slightly.

    He''s not done. He''s still hard and standing strong. I''ve never seen anything like it before. To my shock, it''s bigger than before. I think that it''s growing with each second.

    I gasped when he reached for me again. He bends me over and pushes into me once again. I dly wee him. I let him fuck me in every position that pleases him. His happiness was mine. It felt good to satisfy all of his needs. I wanted him to bury everything he had left deep inside of me. I wanted to open myself up to him.

    I''d never wanted to give someone all of me like I did now.

    My eyes widen when he throws me into the air and shifts into his wolf. He catches me before I can hit the ground. I held on tightly as he raced through the forest with me on his back.

    When he stops in the middle of nowhere, he shifts back into his human form and grabs my waist. He doesn''t waste another second as he kneels in front of me and covers my pussy with his mouth. He opens it wide and takes as much of me as he can.

    It''s the sexiest thing I''d ever seen a man do in my life.

    I could barely find my voice as he brought me to climax over and over again.

    He pulls me onto the ground and fucks me against the leaves. My eyes are wide as I look at the bright moonlight above us. It felt closer to us for some reason. This seemed like the most beautiful spot to get the perfect view of the full moon.

    Was this why he brought me here?

    All thoughts flew out of my head when his dick pushed into me again. I''d lost count at this point.

    I held him tightly and let him thrust in and out of me as he pleased. I''d never felt this much pleasure in my life.

    "Please don''t ever leave me, Carter." I cried against his neck while he continued to take a part of me each time he entered me.

    "Please don''t treat me like every other girl in your life," I beg him. "Please."

    I don''t think he can even hear me. He''s too busy with bringing us both to climax.

    I''m not sure how long or how many times he buried his seed inside me, but eventually, I drifted into a peaceful sleep with his body on top of mine.

    </section><section>

    I love you, Carter.

    I love you so much.

    </section>

 Chapter 325 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    I groan as the sunlight hits my face. I turned onto my back and winced as a wooden stick dug into my skin.

    What the fuck?

    </section><section>

    What would a stick be doing in here? And why could I feel sunlight?

    My eyes snap open, and a string of curses leave my mouth. I wasn''t in the room. I was supposed to be locked inside there still.

    What the fuck was I doing in the middle of the woods?

    I run a hand down my face. There''s only one reason I would have broken out of that roomst night. And that would be to go straight to Scarlett.

    A chill runs down my spine.

    No.

    I wouldn''t have hurt her. I wouldn''t have done something to her.

    I begin to panic at the thought of something happeningst night.

    I pick myself off the ground, and it''s only then that I realize a naked woman is lying right next to me.

    One look at her face, and everything goes nk before me. N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    I''d never felt more sick in my life.

    No.

    No.

    Not her.

    Not Scarlett.

    FUCK NOOOO!

    She was in a deep sleep; there were bruises and love bites all over her body. No.

    What the fuck did I do to herst night?

    She smelled just like me. My scent was all over her body. There was no doubt in my mind that I had done something horrible.

    How could I have done something like that to someone as sweet and innocent as her? This couldn''t be happening.

    I was afraid to touch her. My hands shook as I approached her. The closer I got to her, the worse it got.

    I can barely look at her. I was disgusted and ashamed of myself. I force myself to pick her up into my arms. I had no right to touch her after what I didst night, but I had no choice. I had to cover her up and get her back home.

    She sighs and snuggles against my chest. The sweet sound makes my heart twist.

    I couldn''t remember a single fucking thing but this was enough for me to know what the fuck happened.

    If I needed more proof that I didn''t deserve her, this was it. I could never be with someone like Scarlett; I was fooling myself in the past.

    Did I force her into this? Did I take her against her will? There were so many questions that I wanted to ask, but I couldn''t. I wanted to get her home safely and disappear from her life for good.

    I would never again do something like this to Scarlett. I would do everything I could to stay away from her from now on.

    I was happy that she was still in a deep sleep; I wouldn''t know what to say to her if she woke up.

    We weren''t far from my home. It surprised me when I saw her car at the front of the house.

    It meant that I didn''t bring her here. She came here on her ownst night.

    But why?

    Why would shee here when she was the one who asked me to stay away from her?

    I shook that question out of my head. It didn''t matter anymore. All that mattered was that I kept her far away from me. I wouldn''t hurt her again.

    As I look down at her perfect body in my arms, it dawns on me that I would do anything to keep her safe, even if it means keeping her as far away from me.

    I gently ce her into her car and search the back for clothes. I knew she always had some in her bag. When I find them, I gently put the clothes onto her body.

    I couldn''t stop cursing at myself as I dropped her home. Luckily for me, the security at her house was still very weak. It made it easy for me to climb up to her window with her still in my arms. I gently ce her onto her bed and cover her body with a nket.

    I lean over her and ce a long kiss on her forehead before jumping out of her window and shifting into my wolf. I race through the forest with incredible speed; I don''t stop until I return home.

    I could barely walk into my house and I still had no clothes on.

    ¡°What the fuck?" I hear ric shout.

    My mind was still on Scarlett even though I could barely feel my feet.

    I''m so sorry, Scarlett. I''m so sorry.

    I wish I knew how to make it up to you.

    I was aplete asshole. This curse was turning me into the monster I always knew that I was. I''d taken something important from Scarlettst night. She''d never given that part of herself to another man, yet I forcibly took it from her.

    I was a sick bastard and deserved to die.

    "CARTER!" I hear my brother shouting.

    </section><section>

    I could barely hear him as dizziness and pain overtook my body.

    I drop to the ground, and everything goespletely nk.

    </section>

 Chapter 326 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    When I open my eyes, I''m lying in my bed. My body felt satisfied like I''d just had the best night of my life.

    I''d never felt this happy. The only thing that could make today perfect was ra telling me she would be okay with me dating Carter. I knew that I was wishing for the impossible. Even if she were over Carter, she would never want me to date him after everything he''d put her through.

    </section><section>

    I''m on cloud nine when I exit my shower. Part of me didn''t want to bathe; I wanted to keep Carter''s scent on me. However, I knew my sister would immediately be able to tell if I hadn''t showered.

    I covered up the marks on my body with makeup, I couldn''t let anyone see them.

    I blushed at the reminder of his hands and mouth all over me. I could still feel him between my legs. He''dpletely filled me in the best way possible.

    I always knew I was waiting for someone when I chose not to ever be with a man; now I knew it''s been him all this time. He''s the one that I was waiting for, and I''m d that he was my first. I knew that I would never give that part of myself to anyone else, even if there was a chance we could never be together.

    When I exit my room, ra is already by my door.

    She quirks a brow when she sees my bright smile.

    "Someone is in a good mood today." She points out.

    My smile brightens, "of course, I''m in a bright mood when I see your face first thing in the morning."

    She rolls her eyes. "Stop messing with me. You''ve never been this happy to see me before. What happened between yesterday and today? I could have sworn someone had broken your heart from how you behaved the past few days. And now, suddenly, you''re happier than ever."

    I bit my lip. Damn it. I was not very good at hiding my emotions around her.

    "I''m just happy that you''re finally happy."

    It wasn''t aplete lie. It was true that I was d my sister was finally getting over Carter and moving on with her life.

    "You know, there''s a game tonight." She tells me suddenly. "I know I said that you don''t have to do things you don''t want to anymore, but I''d like it if you came with me tonight."

    This was great. ra didn''t know that I actually wanted to see Carter y tonight. I couldn''t make it obvious, which made it much easier for me.

    "I''m sure that one game wouldn''t hurt," I tell her.

    She grins and ps her hands. "This is wonderful. We will have a great time now that I''m not forcing you to flirt with Carter for my stupid revenge nonsense."

    Iugh, "You''re right. We are going to have fun."

    I already had an idea for my outfit. It was Carter''s favorite color, the exact shade of my eyes. I wanted to tell him that I loved him tonight.

    "We''re going to have such a good day at the academy today," she says. "I can just feel it."

    I smile as we exit the house and get into the waiting vehicle. It doesn''t take us long to arrive, and when we do, the first thing that I do is look for Carter''s truck.

    When I spotted it, I knew he was already at the academy. I could feel the excitement and nervousness double in my chest.

    "Do you know when ric will be starting sses?" I ask her.

    She immediately blushes at the mention of his name.

    "I''m not sure." She answers me. "I think he starts in three weeks. I may be wrong."

    I''ve been seeing him around the academy more times than recently. He was probably getting closer to the students before he officially started.

    I''m about to respond when I see Carter talking to one of his teammates a few feet from us. ra spots him at the same time that I do.

    "It''s okay." She tells me. "You don''t have to feel ufortable around him anymore."

    She has itpletely wrong. She doesn''t realize why I''m reacting this way.

    "I think Jenna just arrived," I tell her. "Can you go meet her in the car park? I''ll wait here for the both of you."

    She nods and doesn''t ask any questions as she leaves. I wanted to speak to Carter after what happenedst night and couldn''t do that in front of ra. I had about five minutes before she returned with Jenna; I had to act quickly.

    I don''t waste any more time as I walk up to him. I see him tell his friend to leave. His entire body stiffens when he senses me. He doesn''t even have to look down to know that it''s me.

    I y with my fingers nervously as I try to form the right words.

    I don''t even get a word out when he turns to me and gives me one of the coldest looks I''ve ever seen in my entire life.

    The words get stuck in my throat, and I''m terrified of what wille from his mouth. I knew that whatever it was, it wouldn''t be any good.N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    "You asked for me to stay away from you." He says. "I don''t know what happenedst night, but it doesn''t change anything between us. Let''s continue to keep our distance, Scarlett."

    My entire heart shatters.

    Shatters.

    After everything that happened between usst night, how could he say this to me today? How could he break my heart like it meant nothing to him?

    </section><section>

    How?

    How could he?

    </section>

 Chapter 327 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    We were at the game, but I couldn''t pay attention to anything or anyone. Carter''s words were reying over and over in my head.

    How could he betray me like this? Was he already seeing someone else?

    </section><section>

    Did he finally get me to sleep with him and decide that one time was enough? Was that what all of this was about? Did Carter use me to get into my pants and then dump me like garbage the next day?

    I couldn''t believe it.

    Was he indeed just a heartless asshole? Was ra right about him all along? Did he certainly not have a heart?

    My head was spinning, and my heart was in pain.

    "They''re taking longer than usual toe out today." ra points out.

    "What''s up with you?" Jenna asks me. "You''ve been unusually quiet for the entire night."

    "She''s right," ra notes. "Ever since I returned with Jenna from the carpark, you''ve been acting strangely. Did something happen while we left you alone?"

    Plenty happened; I didn''t know how to tell her.

    "I have a headache." I lie.

    It seems that lying is all I''m good at these days.

    I could hear the girls screaming Carter''s name, and it didn''t make any of this easier for me. Which one of these girls would he go home with tonight? Which one of these girls would he pretend that he was in love with? Which one of these girls would he use for his own pleasure and then dispose of her like she was nothing the next day?

    "They''reing out!" Jenna exims. "Why do they always look so good while doing it?"

    I followed her gaze and held my chest when I saw Carter. He looked amazing, just like he always did on that field. The screams are almost deafening tonight; they''re louder for some reason.

    "I hate to admit it, but Carter shines under that spotlight," ra says. She always says this about him.

    She wasn''t wrong.

    It was hard for me to watch him shine after he broke my heart into a million pieces. It was unfair. It was very unjust to me.

    How could he do this? How could he treat me so badly after making me believe that he actually had a heart?

    I couldn''t do this. I can''t sit in these stands while everyone chanted his name. I couldn''t do this to myself. N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    But I wasn''t about to let him get away with this. I wasn''t about to let him break my heart and not say a single word to him.

    I was going down there. I would tell him exactly the kind of monster that he was.

    "I''ll be back," I tell ra.

    "Wait, why?" She asks. "Do you want us toe with you?"

    "No." I shook my head. "I can do this on my own. I''ll be back soon. I promise."

    I had no intentions of returning. I would tell Carter what I had to do and leave this sickening ce.

    "Alright." She tells me. "Come back quickly!"

    . . . . . . . . . .

    ~CLARA~

    "Is something going on with Scarlett?" I ask Jenna. "I thought she would have improved after I stopped her from flirting with Carter, but recently, she looks worse."

    Since I asked Scarlett to go along with my revenge n, she''d been acting strangely. I thought it was because I was forcing her to do things she was ufortable doing. Now, I wasn''t so sure that was the problem. It felt like it was something far more serious. I knew that if there was anyone who would know something about my sister, it would be Jenna.

    Her eyes widen, "I don''t know what you''re talking about."

    I frown, "are the two of you keeping something from me? I thought we were friends. I know I''m not your best friend like Scarlett is, but haven''t we gotten closer these past few weeks?"

    She sighs, "That''s not it, ra. Of course, we''re good friends now. It''s just that I think Scarlett should be the one to tell you what''s going on. You shouldn''t hear it from me. It''s not my ce to tell you."

    What was that supposed to mean? So, there was something that they were both keeping from me.

    What could that be?

    "I don''t understand," I whisper. "What could it be that you''re both afraid to tell me? Why are you keeping it a secret?"

    Jenna bites her lip and looks at the field. Suddenly, there are gasps throughout the entire stadium. Even Jenna''s eyes widened bigger than I''d ever seen them before.

    I follow her gaze, and my eyes widen when I see Scarlett storming into the field.

    "What the hell is she doing there?" I demand in shock.

    Why was my sister walking through the field during a game?

    "Please don''t tell me she''s going to do what I think she is," Jenna whispers in horror.

    What the hell was happening?

    "What do you mean?" I ask. "What is she doing there?"

    All of the yers stop ying and turn to look at her in surprise. Carter had the ball, but he stopped moving when his gaze fell on her.

    Why was she walking straight towards him?

    I can hardly breathe when she stops a few inches away from him.

    "Is she crying?" I ask in disbelief. I couldn''t tell for sure, but it looked like it. The camera was now focused on both of them, and I could confirm there were tears in her eyes. I''d never seen my sister look this broken in my entire life. It was one of the hardest things I''d ever had to witness. She was always the strong one.

    "Jenna," I gasp. "What the hell is happening? Why is Scarlett crying in front of Carter? Please tell me something! Anything!"

    She doesn''t answer me, and it makes me more frustrated.

    I watch in horror as Scarlett ps Carter hard across his face. She wasn''t doing this because of me. She knew that I was over Carter. She knew that I had moved on.

    This wasn''t about me.

    This was about them.

    But that would mean. . . No. It couldn''t be true.

    I looked at Jenna for confirmation, and she could barely look me in the eyes.

    "Please tell me this isn''t true," I beg her. "Please tell me Scarlett didn''t fool around with him behind my back. Please tell me she didn''t do exactly what I thought she would never do."

    Jenna looks like she''s in pain. "I''m so sorry ra. She never meant for it to happen. She tried to fight it, but ultimately, her feelings won. She couldn''t stop it. She fell in love with him. She loves Carter. And from the looks of it, he also broke her heart."

    "No," I whisper.

    She wouldn''t do this to me.

    Scarlett would never betray me like this.

    She would never fall for the one man that broke my heart. She could never love Carter. She could never hurt me like this.

    "ra," Jenna whispers.

    I push her hand away as I get up from my seat.

    No.

    I couldn''t believe this.

    </section><section>

    I couldn''t.

    The pain of betrayal was almost too much for me to take.

    </section>

 Chapter 328 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    The shing lights were above me. The cameras were directly on me. I could see my face on the big screens. The tears weren''t stopping, and I''d pped the most significant yer in the middle of the field at one of his essential games.

    I didn''t know what was happening to me. I couldn''t control my body; it had a mind of its own. It wanted to hurt Carter; it wanted to demand an exnation from him.

    </section><section>

    "You betrayed me," I whisper, unable to hide the pain from my voice. "You made my heart beat like crazy for you. You made me want a life with you. You made me think of you every second of every day. You kissed and touched me in ces no other man ever did. You told me sweet things that no one ever said to me in the past. You made me believe every word you ever said to me. You told me my eyes are the reason your favorite color is light blue. You made me believe that there was a chance that you were a good person. I did things that I knew would hurt my sister because of you. I betrayed her because of you. I did it all because I fucking love you, Carter! You made me fall in love with you, and then you broke my heart!"

    The tears weren''t stopping. The pain in my chest kept expanding.

    "How could you do this to me?" I demand as I grabbed his uniform. "You took the one thing from me that I didn''t want to give to anyone else, and then you disposed of me like garbage. You treated me like I was a nobody. The second that I gave myself to you, you pushed me away.¡±

    I can''t recognize my voice as I whisper, ¡°I hate you, Carter; I hate you so much."

    I''d embarrassed myself enough tonight. No matter what I said to Carter tonight, it wouldn''t change a damn thing about him. This was the real him; this was the person who also broke my sister''s heart without a care in the world. I should have never expected anything different from him.

    My feelings never mattered to him. He never cared about me.

    I rushed out of the field as I wiped the tears away. He never once opened his mouth to apologize. He never once tried to console me. He watched me break down in front of him and never did anything to help me. He truly didn''t have any emotion.

    I''m about to exit the stadium when I see ra standing in front of me with a look of betrayal on her face. I wasn''t the only one that had been betrayed. She''d also been betrayed by me.

    "Scarlett!" I hear Carter shouting my name.

    He was right behind me. He''d left the field. Why was he even following me? I knew it wasn''t to give me an apology. Someone like Carter wasn''t capable of doing something nice.

    ra moves her gaze from me to him, and he spots her at the same time that she sees him.

    Her eyes narrow, and she looks emotionless as she walks over to him and ps him hard across his face. That was his second p for the night.

    She turns to look at me.

    "ra¡ª"

    She raises her hand to stop me.

    "I have nothing to say to you, Scarlett."

    I can hear the pain in her voice, and it breaks my heart even further than before.

    "Please, ra, please hear what I have to say," I beg her. "Everything that happened. . . I never meant for it to happen. I never meant to fall in love with him. I couldn''t stop my feelings no matter how hard I tried."

    "Don''t." She stops me for a second time. "There''s nothing you can say to change what you did. It''s already done. You chose him over your rtionship with me, and he did to you the same thing that he did to me."

    I bit my lip and tasted my tears.

    "I''m so sorry ra." I cry. "I''m so sorry."N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    I watched her walk away from me and knew there was nothing I could say to make any of this better.

    My tears are even worse now. They''re uncontroble, and my body trembles with the shock of everything.

    "You did this," I whisper. "You took everything from me."

    He looked away from my prating gaze, and when he looked back at me, the cold stare was back.

    "You knew what you were getting yourself into when you started messing around with me." He tells me.

    My gaze hardens. "You think you''re the only one that knows how to y games?" I demand. "Everything from the start was ra''s revenge n."

    He freezes and narrows his eyes.

    "What?" He asks.

    "All of it from the start was all a lie, Carter. ra asked me to flirt with you; she wanted you to fall in love with me so that I could break your heart. From the start, it was all a lie." I snap.

    His eyes narrow, "then I guess it''s a fucking good thing that I never liked you from the start, either."

    I nod, "fuck you Carter. I hope one day the girl you love breaks your heart and never looks back."

    He smiles, "That has already happened, Scarlett. And I''ve already moved on from that."

    What?

    </section><section>

    There was a girl that he loved that broke his heart. I shouldn''t care about that.

    "Good," I shout. "From today onwards, I hope we never have anything to say to each other again. Goodbye, Carter. I wish I never have to see you again.¡±

    </section>

 Chapter 329 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    I''ve never hated myself more than I do right now. I watched her walk away from me. I watched her cry her eyes out and never told her how I truly felt. I made her believe that I didn''t care about her. I made her believe that I was a heartless asshole. I made her think that everything I ever said to her was a lie.

    I did it all because I felt like she deserved better than me. I didn''t know how to offer Scarlett a good life as long as I was under this curse. She would suffer because of it, and I couldn''t allow that. I couldn''t allow her to suffer because of me.

    </section><section>

    I didn¡¯t want her to hate me like Nicole hated my brother when she found out the truth.

    Though, she already hated me. I¡¯d hurt her even more than I ever hurt ra. I was never supposed to sleep with her. I was never supposed to take that away from her. But even the chains were not enough to hold me inside that room.

    Still, I never expected her to walk out onto the field in the middle of a game to confront me.

    Everyone saw her at her worst, and it was my fault. She didn''t give a care in the world when she walked out onto that field and pped me across my face. And damn me, it took me those few seconds to realize that I was indeed in love with her. In those seconds, I realized just how much I loved her. I was crazy about Scarlett, crazy to the point that I let her go for her own good. It would hurt now, but eventually, the pain would ease.

    She said she loved me; and the second that she did, I was tempted to drop to my knees and beg for her forgiveness. In those seconds, I almost forgot about everything else.

    Scarlett didn''t know what she did to me. She had no clue how much she meant to me. She thought she was just like any other girl to me. She may never know the truth, not when the secret was safe with me.

    I didn''t just destroy what I had with her. I also destroyed her rtionship with her sister.

    She was right; I did take everything from her. I ruined her happiness, and there was nothing that I could do to make it up to her. There was nothing I could do to help her fix things with ra. I knew there was no chance for us either.

    I couldn''t just fucking stand here and say there was nothing I could do to fix things.

    I knew what I had to do. I had to find ra and beg her to forgive Scarlett. It was the least I could do after everything I put her through.

    I m my fist against the wall in front of me and press my forehead against it. I wanted to run after Scarlett so badly. I hated myself for what I just did to her.

    I did the opposite of what I really wanted to do.

    "Hey!" Ares catches up to me. "What the hell was all of that about?"

    He wasn''t home this morning; he didn''t know the entire story. He didn''t know I had fucked Scarlettst night like she was nothing to me. He didn''t know that I had done the unforgivable.

    It surprised me that Scarlett could love me after what I did to her. How long did she know that she loved me? Was that why she epted what I did to herst night? Because she loved me.

    Even if she could forgive me, I couldn''t forgive myself. Her first time shouldn''t have been in the middle of the fucking woods. It should have been special, and I should have worshipped every single inch of her body. Instead, I couldn''t even remember a single detail aboutst night. I had no idea what it felt like to be inside her or what she looked like while I buried my seed inside her.

    I felt sick, sick, sick!

    "Carter?"

    "I broke freest night again, Ares," I inform him. "I made a fucking mess out of everything. I went straight for Scarlett. I took her into the woods, and I . . ."

    I couldn''t even finish my sentence.

    "Fuck." Ares whispers. "I didn''t know. Why didn''t you say something sooner? We could have fixed this before it turned into this mess."

    He didn''t understand.

    "She didn''te here tonight toin about that," I exin. "She didn''t hit me because ofst night. She pped me because I told her that it meant nothing to me. I told her that we should both keep our distance from each other."

    He frowns, "why would you do that?"

    </section><section>

    "Why else?" I demand. "This curse is the worst thing that¡¯s ever happened to our family. I cannot drag Scarlett down with me. She deserves to have a normal, happy life. She deserves to be with someone else."This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    Just the thought of her with another man was enough to drive me insane. I didn¡¯t want to think about it. However, I wanted her to be happy even if it meant that it wasn¡¯t with me.

    </section>

 Chapter 330 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    It was the next day after that horrible game, which we lost since I couldn¡¯t y after what happened.

    I¡¯d just arrived at the academy and I was waiting for ra to show up. I¡¯d messaged her and asked if we could meet up. I was surprised when she agreed.

    </section><section>

    Last night, was one of the worst nights of my life. My hands were bruised with the amount of times I punched the wall at our home. Everyone tried to stop me but failed.

    They eventually gave up and left me alone to fight my own pain, everyone except ric. He stayed with me the entire night and tried to talk me out of it.

    It didn¡¯t work.

    When I see ra walking towards me, I tried to hide my hands from her. I didn¡¯t want her to know that I was affected byst night. I didn¡¯t want her to know that I had feelings for Scarlett.

    "What the hell do you want, Carter?" She demands. "Are you here to bring me more pain? Hurting my sister and I isn''t enough for you? Do you want me to introduce you to someone else?"

    I flinch at her questions.

    "I''m not here for any of that," I answer her.

    She quirks a brow and folds her arm over her chest, "So why are you here? I''m sure it isn''t because of me."

    I swallow hard. "I wanted to tell you that this isn''t Scarlett''s fault. I was the one who flirted with her and forced her to get closer to me. She was inexperienced and wasn''t prepared for my behavior. You know how easy it is for me to turn on my charm; I''ve fucked around enough to know how to make a girl fall for me. Scarlett just got caught up in all of it because of her innocence. She''s not at fault; I am."

    ra looks surprised at my words.

    "You''re here to put all of the me on yourself?" She asks for confirmation. "Am I hearing you correctly?"

    I nod. "She''s innocent in all of this, ra. Let''s be honest; your anger and hatred are truly directed at me. I''m the one you hate; I''m the one that keeps hurting you."

    Sheughs, "I never expected anything differently from you, Carter. I knew exactly what you were capable of doing. I know you have no boundaries, and put your dick wherever you feel like putting it. However, I thought I knew Scarlett. She''s loyal and sweet; she''s nothing like you. What she did was the biggest shock to me; it''s still something I''m having a tough time epting."

    "Again, she wasn''t prepared for me. She didn''t know what I was capable of doing. I lied to her, I wooed her using every trick in the book, I did everything to get her to trust me so that I could get closer to her." I continue. I wanted to say the worst possible things about myself so that ra could forgive Scarlett.

    "It''s not just your fault, it''s mine also." She says suddenly.

    "Yours?" I ask, surprised.

    She nods, "I asked Scarlett to flirt with you; I asked her to get closer to you even after knowing what you could do. I thought my sister would be the one person immune to your charms. Apparently, even she couldn''t be spared. So, really, I have no one to me but myself."

    Scarlett had already informed me of this n. I knew she said it to hurt me and it fucking did. I hated that it was all a game for her from the beginning. At the same time, I knew it wasn¡¯t a game now. I also knew I deserved everything that I got.

    "You really do hate me, don''t you?" I ask. I still wanted ra to be my friend after our past. There was no chance of that anymore. I''d done too much damage to her and Scarlett.

    She smiles, and I can see the pain through it. "I do, Carter. Not only did you take my happiness from me, but you also brought immense pain to my little sister. You embarrassed her in front of an entire stadium filled with your fans. Everyone is still talking about the way you turned her into a fool. Even though I''m hurt by what she did to me, I will still protect her from assholes like you. She will always be my little sister, and I hate you for what you did to her. You took advantage of an innocent woman, and you''re proud of it. You should be ashamed of yourself."

    I tried not to be affected by her words, but it was damn hard. I didn''t like that people were saying things about Scarlett. I did n on dealing with each of them as soon as I''d finished with this conversation.

    "Does this mean that you n on forgiving Scarlett for everything?" I ask her.

    She narrows her eyes, "it''s none of your business."N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    "It isn''t, but I want to know ra." I almost beg. I couldn''t hide the desperation in my voice. "Will you forgive her for everything?"

    I don''t know if it''s the tone of my voice that catches her off-guard, but she looks totally surprised.

    "Even though it''s none of your business, since you want to know it so badly, I¡¯ll tell you. Yes, I do n on forgiving my sister. However, I still need time to process everything before I can return to being normal with her."

    </section><section>

    I breathe a sigh of relief at her words.

    "Thank you, ra," I whisper. "I always knew that you were a good person. My mother still misses you, and so does my sister. They always speak about you. They loved you. I know this might mean nothing to you now, but I''m so sorry for everything I did to you. I never wanted to hurt you. I know you don''t believe me and probably never will, but hurting you was never something I was okay with. Even though I don''t deserve your forgiveness, I still hope that one day you can forgive me."

    </section>

 Chapter 331 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    It''s been four days since the biggest heartbreak in our academy. At least, that''s what everyone is calling it. They''ve never seen anyone embarrass themself the way that I did on that day.

    Thements and rumors about me had died down drastically yesterday. I''m not sure what happened, but I was grateful that it was almost over. Going to the academy was bing a great task, especially since ra still wasn''t speaking to me.

    </section><section>

    I tried multiple times to get her to say something, but she ignored me each time. She always locked herself in her room and refused to answer me when I knocked on her door.

    I didn''t want to push her or force her to forgive me. And so, I was giving her the space that I knew she needed. What I did was unforgivable. I''d gotten carried away because of my feelings.

    I exited my room and saw her standing before my door. She''s looking at me, and my hands and lips begin to tremble. It''s the first time she''s acknowledged me since that night. This is the closest we''ve ever been since then.

    "Can we talk?" She asks me.

    I nod, unable to say anything. I was in shock that she was actually speaking to me.

    "I''m sorry I couldn''t speak to you the past few days." She apologizes.

    My eyes are wide; why was she the one apologizing?

    "ra¡ª"N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    "Let me finish, please." She stops me.

    I nod. I bit my lip to stop myself from cutting her off again.

    "What you did, it was difficult for me to ept because it''s something I never expected from you. I''ve known you since you were a baby. I know that you''re kind and loyal. I know you''re sweet and one of the most trustworthy people I''ve ever known. So that''s why it hurt so much when I found out you had feelings for Carter and chose to keep the truth from me."

    She takes a deep breath, "at the same time, I knew that I was to me for everything. I was the one that pushed you towards him. I was the one who told you to get closer to him. I made you change how you dressed and forced you to attend his games and parties. I pushed you right into his arms even though I knew that you had no experience with men, especially men like Carter. He has all the experience in the world when ites to women. He knows how to make a woman want him. I should have known he would have used his yer ways on you. I should have known you would have gotten caught up in it just like I had."

    Why was she taking the me for the entire thing?

    "ra," I whisper. "I''m the one to me for everything. I knew what Carter did to you in the past. I knew what he was capable of. Still, I allowed myself to be fooled and caught up in his lies. I believed him when he acted like he had feelings for me. You''re my sister; I shouldn''t have done something so horrible to you."

    She smiles, and it reaches her eyes as she pulls me in for a tight hug. "Let''s just agree that we both made mistakes. I wish you would have told me. All you had to do was tell me you were developing feelings for him. I would have stopped it right away. I wouldn''t have forced you to get closer to him. All this could have been avoided if I''d moved on without trying to hurt Carter back."

    "Thank you, ra." I cry. "I thought I had lost you for good. Thank you for forgiving me."

    She kisses my forehead, "You''re my little sister Scarlett. There''s nothing in this world that can keep me angry at you for long. We''re going to move past this. I experienced the pain you''re feeling now. I know that none of this is easy for you. Carter broke both of our hearts. He''s an asshole, and we should stay away from him for good."

    I wanted to agree with her, but a big part of me missed him like crazy. I''ve never felt this way for any other guy. It wouldn''t be easy for me to forget about him like nothing happened between us.

    "Give me a minute," I tell ra as I walk to the bathroom sink.

    I''ve been puking a lot since yesterday.

    "What''s wrong?" She asks me from the bedroom. She could hear me. I knew she could.

    "I think I''m sick," I say as I walk out, wiping my mouth.

    "Sick?" She asks.

    I nod, "I may have taken on all the drama a bit too much. It''s affecting my health."

    </section><section>

    Her eyes soften, "it''s going to get better from today, Scarlett. I promise you."

    I hoped that she was right. I didn¡¯t know if I would ever be able to recover from this.

    </section>

 Chapter 332 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "Have you put on weight?" ra asks me as we step out of the car.

    Things were already returning to normal between us and I was happy about that.

    </section><section>

    I looked down and noticed that my tummy did look slightly bigger. It was usually t.

    "I have been eating more since that night," I answer her. "It''s probably just from that."

    "You said that you were sick earlier, didn''t you?" She asks me.

    I nod.

    What was she getting at?

    "I think I know the answer, but did you have sex with Carter?" She asks me. "Did you reach that far with him?"

    I blush at her question, unable to look her in the eyes.

    "Scarlett?" She says my name as she waits for me to answer.

    "Yes," I finally say. "We did take things that far. I know you might think I''m stupid, but I''m in love with him. I did that with him because I thought he had feelings for me, also. I knew there was a chance that I would regret it, but my body and emotions took over."

    She seems like she''s lost in thought.

    "What''s wrong?" I ask her.

    "Carter never slept with me, not even once." She says suddenly. "He would always find excuses not to take things that far. There were times that I even begged him like a fool. He didn''t think twice to do it with you."

    My heart breaks at her words, "Maybe this just means that Carter cared about you more than he ever cared about me. Think about it: if he always knew your rtionship wouldn''tst, why would he not want to sleep with you? The only reason I could think of was that he was trying to protect you from his ways. If you''d slept with him, the break up would have been much worse."

    Her gaze softens, "like it is for you." She whispers. "I don''t know if this is the right time to say this, but I think you should take a pregnancy test."

    My eyes almost pop out of my head at her suggestion.

    "A pregnancy test?" I ask in horror.

    "Pregnancy test?" Jenna asks behind us. She''d just arrived and must be as lost as I felt in this conversation.

    "Why on earth would I take a pregnancy test?" I demand.

    "Yes," Jenna whispers. "Why would Scarlett need to take a pregnancy test?"

    She was frightening me.

    "Did you use protection when you slept with him?" She asks me.

    Protection?

    "It never crossed my mind to use it," I confess. "He also. . . I think he was so lost in me. . . I don''t think he used any."

    Memories of that night made my feelings for hime alive. The pain that followed was almost too much for me to handle.

    "Wait a minute. I thought a she-wolf had to go into heat to get pregnant." Jenna points out.

    I never paid much attention to the pregnancy sses at the academy. Maybe I should have.

    "Not really," ra answers her. "When a She-wolf goes into heat, it increases the chances of her getting pregnant because of how often they have sex in just one night. The male releases multiple times to ease her pain. That''s why most people assume she must go into heat to get pregnant. ording to our professor, that''s not always the case."

    I could feel myself begin to turn pale.

    I couldn''t be pregnant. Could I?

    Carter did release multiple times inside of me that night. He did it against my car and even in the middle of the woods.

    "I''m only suggesting Scarlett." My sister informs me. "You have been eating more, gaining weight, and sick. All of those are signs that you could be pregnant."

    "This isn''t right," I whisper.

    "It wouldn''t hurt to take a test," Jenna tells me. "Since when have the two of you started talking again?"

    "We worked things out earlier," ra informs her.

    I couldn''t pay attention to their conversation.

    What would happen to me if it turned out that I was pregnant?? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    Carter wanted nothing to do with me; I''m sure he wouldn''t want anything to do with our baby, either.

    Does this mean that I''ll have to take care of our baby on my own?

    I never wanted to have a baby at this age; I always wanted to finish the academy, get a nice job, and find my mate.

    Nothing was going the way I had nned all my life, and all of it was because of Carter. He''d turned my world upside down, and he was nowhere around when I needed him the most.

    "I''ll get the test," Jenna tells me. "I''ll be back in less than a half an hour. Meet me in the bathroom when I return."

    This wasn''t happening.

    </section><section>

    Please tell me ra was wrong.

    She had to be.

    </section>

 Chapter 333 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "I''m freaking out," I tell ra. I was praying that I wasn''t pregnant. However, a part of me already believed that I was.

    Jenna had returned ten minutes ago and I''d already taken the test. We were just waiting on the results.

    </section><section>

    "I''m freaking out," I repeat. "I think I''m going to lose my mind."

    "Shh," ra tries to calm me down. "It''s going to be okay. I''m right here; you''re not in this alone."

    "I''m here for you also, Scarlett," Jenna promised me.

    The test was turned upside down in my hand. I was too scared to turn it around. The tension was rising with each second that I stood just staring at it.

    "You have to look at it, Scarlett." ra encouraged me. "If you spend any more time waiting to look at it, that will not change the result.¡±

    I knew she was correct, but that didn''t mean that this was easy for me; I was still losing my mind.

    I slowly turned it around in my hand and held my breath.

    One word.

    It was only one tiny word. This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    But it changed my life for good.

    Pregnant.

    ¡°Pregnant,¡± I whisper in disbelief.

    I was pregnant with Carter''s baby. Carter¡¯s baby! I was pregnant by a man that didn''t even want me!

    "I can''t believe this," ra whispers. "You''re pregnant. I didn''t think it would turn out to be true. I was hoping that I was wrong. This is insane.¡±

    "My best friend is pregnant." Jenna gasps. "And the father of her child is Carter freaking Prince!"

    "How has he not gotten any other girl pregnant?" ra asks in disbelief. "Why did it have to be my innocent sister?"

    "He probably used protection with everyone else," Jenna answers her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure why he chose to be risky with Scarlett.¡±

    My head was spinning. My entire life was about to change. All of my ns and goals, I could feel it all slipping away.

    "I''m pregnant?" I gasp. "Pregnant?"

    How was I not screaming yet?

    How am I supposed to handle this news?

    "It''s going to be okay," ra promises me. "We''re not leaving your side. No matter what happens, we will stand by you.¡±

    "She has to tell Carter," Jenna says suddenly. "He has to know what he did. He must own up to his mistakes and be a man for once. We can''t let her do this on her own without him.¡±

    "No." I snap. "I don''t want to have anything to do with him. Even if he knew about our baby, he wouldn''t want anything to do with it. I won''t put my child through that. It''s better if he doesn''t know. It''s better for all of us."

    In a perfect world, I could tell Carter that I was pregnant and he would be happy. But this was far from a perfect world.

    "You can''t hide it from him forever, Scarlett," ra informs me. "Your belly isn''t going to stay this size. It''s going to get bigger and bigger. Soon enough, everyone in the academy will know that you are pregnant. Even if you hide under those oversized t-shirts, it will still show."

    "When that dayes, I''ll lie," I inform her.

    "Lie?" She asks.

    I nod, "I''ll tell him that I slept with someone else after him. I''ll tell him that he is not the father of my baby."

    ra sighs, "Scarlett, he will never believe you. He knows the kind of person you are. He knows there is no way you''ll sleep with someone else so soon after you both slept together. It won''t be hard for him to figure out exactly when you got pregnant; he will know he is the father."

    I didn''t want to listen to any of this right now. I just knew that I''d never felt this need to protect something as strongly as I did now.

    "Give her some time," Jenna whispers. "This can''t be easy for her."

    ra nods, "You''re right."

    They both wrapped their arms around me and pulled me in for a tight hug. I hug them back as thoughts raced through my head.

    How was I supposed to get through this?

    Eventually, everyone would know that I was pregnant, including my parents.

    My parents. Oh no.

    What am I supposed to do about them?

    They would freak out. I knew that they would. It''s thest thing they would ever expect from me.

    "Someone''sing in," Jenna says. "Let''s get out before they start asking questions."

    We do as she says and walk out of the bathroom. The second that we do, I see Carter walking in our direction.

    I freeze.

    His scent hits me from afar, and it''s hard to breathe. Was I more connected to him now that we had slept together? Or was it because I was carrying his baby?

    A few of his teammates were by his side, all looking at me. All except him.

    I look away as he nears me. Would he even acknowledge me?

    I held my breath as he walked straight past me like I meant absolutely nothing to him.

    </section><section>

    I felt my heart sink.

    It was all the proof I needed to know that it was better to keep my pregnancy to myself. Carter didn''t have to know anything.

    </section>

 Chapter 334 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    She''s so beautiful. Scarlett is fucking breathtaking without even trying to be.

    I don''t know how I survived walking past her and not pulling her into my arms. She had this lovely glow on her face, and I wanted to kiss her perfect lips. And her scent. Damn it. I missed that scent. I missed her voice. I missed every single thing about her.

    </section><section>

    I can barely stand on my feet when we move into the locker room. It was time for practice, but I knew that I wouldn''t be able to focus.

    "You''re better off without her," Craig says.

    I m him against the locker, and his eyes widen. "What the fuck?"N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    "Watch whates out your mouth about her," I growl.

    "What did I say?" He asks in shock.

    Ares pulls me off him and forces me out of the locker room.

    "Your mood is worsening each day that goes by." He tells me. "Why don''t you just talk to Scarlett? I''m sure it''s something that the both of you need to do."

    Talk?

    Talking wasn''t going to solve anything. I had to keep away from her. I had to keep her safe from me. I had to be prepared for the next full moon. I wouldn''t let there be a repeat of thest two times. The curse inside of me would not win, not again.

    "Talk to her?" I growl. "She fucking hates me. I''m thest person that she wants to talk to. She only started speaking to me at first because of her revenge n with ra. After what I did, I''m sure she wants nothing to do with me again."

    Even if she wanted something to do with me, I wouldn''t allow it.

    "They seemed to be close again." He says.

    He was right. I did notice them standing next to each other. They weren''t really on speaking terms when ra found out about us. They must have worked it out.

    I felt relieved to know that ra had forgiven Scarlett. I wanted her to have her sister again. I didn''t want her to go through the pain alone.

    Hopefully, she will eventually move on from me quickly. I would hate to see Scarlett suffer because of me. I already hated myself for making her cry.

    She looked better today than thest time I saw her. She wasn''t crying and it gave me some relief to know that she was doing better.

    "You boys ready for practice?" Our coach asks.

    No. I wasn''t ready for anything. Still, I nod my head and run out into the field. I needed a distraction from Scarlett. I still wanted to run back to her even though I knew that I couldn''t.

    After ten minutes into the game, everyone was already looking at me like I was a different person.

    "What''s going on, Carter?" The coach asks. "Ever since we lost that game, you haven''t been yourself. You haven''t been performing like you usually do. This is not good for your reputation. You''ve worked too hard to throw it all away now."

    It was hard to focus without Scarlett in my life. She was on my mind every second of every day, and the pain was almost unbearable.

    "I''m sorry, coach." I apologize. "I''ll try harder."

    I was making promises I knew that I couldn''t keep. I may never be able to y like I used to again. Not when I knew I''d hurt Scarlett.

    Why did I have to be cursed? Why couldn''t I be normal like every other werewolf out there?

    "I think you should have a few days off." He tells me. "I''ll talk to the principal. Stay home and rest for at least a week."

    An entire week without the academy? That meant that I wouldn''t have the chance to see Scarlett. I lived for the opportunity to see her every day.

    "No." I immediately declined. "I have toe to the academy every day. I can''t miss a practice. I have sses. I don''t want to miss anything."

    He sighs, "I know you hate to miss practice, but I can see you need this break, Carter. It''s okay to need a break. We all need a break every once in a while. You''ve had a rough week. We all know it. Take some time off."

    Fuck.

    He wasn''t letting this go.

    Ares ces a hand on my shoulder, "I''ll make sure that he gets his rest, coach."

    "You can leave now." He orders me. "I''ll meet with the principal in an hour."

    Shit.

    I don''t say anything as I storm out of the field. When I reach the lockers, I m my fist against it.

    Nothing was going how I wanted it to. Everything was getting worse.

    What the fuck am I supposed to do for an entire week without seeing Scarlett? That was freaking torture.

    Maybe that was a good thing. I did want to torture myself after what I did to her.

    But that was too damn hard.

    It was too much. Everything was too much without Scarlett.

    I miss her.

    I miss her so much.

    I miss her smile, her scent, her words, her eyes.

    I miss everything.

    </section><section>

    Damn it, I want to see her now. I need her.

    I fucking need her so damn much.

    </section>

 Chapter 335 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    It''s been a week since I learned I was pregnant¡ªan entire week. Every day, I looked forward to seeing Carter, but he never showed up. He wasn''t at the academy for an entire week, and I didn''t know why. Not seeing him was hard; it was the one thing I kept looking forward to. Each day, I was left disappointed. Thest time I saw him was when I found out I was pregnant.

    His family threw a party justst night, and I was hurt to know that he was back to his normal ways. Maybe that''s why he wasn''t showing up to the academy. He was too busy partying and hooking up with random girls.

    </section><section>

    I stare at the bump in my tummy. It was growing bigger with each day.

    I knew that it was time I told my parents the truth. I didn''t want to hide it from them anymore.

    I didn''t want to tell them what I''d done, but I never liked keeping secrets, especially from them. I knew that, eventually, I wouldn''t be able to hide this. It was better to get it out in the open now thanter.

    ra meets me outside their bedroom door. She promised to help me through it. She knew as well as I did that our parents would not take this news well.

    When we open the door, they''re both seated at their desk, reading.

    My mother looks up at us first.

    "Both of you here, at the same time, is something going on?" She asks.

    "Mom," I whisper. "Dad. There is something that I have to tell the both of you. I''m begging you, please do not get angry."

    I knew they would, but I just had to say it. I also wanted them to know that this wouldn''t be something either of them wanted to hear.

    "What''s this about?" My father asks me as he gets up from his chair.

    I can see the concern in his eyes. He knows this is serious. I hate that I had to do this to them. They trusted me.

    I bit my lip and looked to ra for support. She smiles at me and squeezes my hand.

    I try to breathe through the nervousness. It wasn''t helping, not in the least.

    "You can tell us anything." My mother assured me.

    "I''m pregnant." I blurt out without thinking. I just wanted to get it over with.

    There''splete silence as both of my parents look at each other. The silence is ufortable, and I can''t tell what either of them was thinking. ra looks at me, seeing the panic in my eyes. She''s about to open her mouth when they do something neither of us expected.

    They double over inughter.

    I frowned.

    What was so funny?

    Did they not think that I was serious? I should have known I would have to exin at first that this wasn''t a joke.

    "You''ve never had sex; how can you be pregnant?" My mother asks me. "We know that there isn''t a single guy you''re interested in. You''re our innocent bookworm, Scarlett. You expect us to believe that someone got you pregnant? Pleasee with a better prank than this, girls.¡±

    "It truly was funny." My father chuckles. "What a joke."

    "I agree." My motherughs.

    I expected many reactions from my parents, but this was not one of them.

    How could they not take me seriously?

    "It is true, Mom," ra tells her. "She is pregnant. It''s not a joke."

    They look at each other for a second time, and I can feel the tension enter the room. They finally understood that I was serious and not ying a prank on them.

    "What?" My mother gasps. "You''re serious?"

    "Scarlett?" My dad asked me for confirmation.

    "It''s true," I whisper. "I''m pregnant."

    "Pregnant?" My father roars. "By who?"

    I wince at his tone.

    "Who got my daughter pregnant?" My mother gasps.

    "Who is it, Scarlett?" My father demands. "What scumbag got you pregnant without marrying you first? Who would be so foolish to mess with my daughter?"

    I look at ra with panic in my eyes. I didn''t want to tell them. I hadn''t even told Carter yet. If I told them, there''s no telling what they would do to him.

    "Scarlett!" My father roars. "If you don''t tell me this instance, I will do everything in my power to find out, and when I do¡ª"

    "It''s Carter P-prince." I stutter.

    "A PRINCE?" He roars.

    "Did you just say, Carter?" My mother asks in disbelief. "The same Carter that broke ra''s heart?"

    I nod, "Yes, mom. It''s the same Carter Prince that you know of."

    "How dare he mess with my both daughters?" My father demands. I could feel the anger radiating off him.

    "Why did you do something like that, Scarlett?" My mother asks in disbelief. "After everything he did to your sister, why would you still have sex with him?"

    My bottom lip trembles as I say, "I don''t know, Mom. I fell in love with him. . ."

    "It''s my fault." ra cuts in. "I had this dumb revenge n, and I wanted Scarlett to help me. She flirted with him because I asked her to. I didn''t realize untilte that I was making a mistake."

    "I''m not going to sit back and let him get away with this." My father shouts. "Get my car ready!"

    </section><section>

    My eyes widen, "where are you going, father?"N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    "To pay Carter and his parents a visit."

    </section>

 Chapter 336 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    "You suck,"  ze says as he throws the ball into my chest.

    My brothers were trying to cheer me up. I was forced to y this game with them, and I was losing miserably. It was intentional. I wasn''t even trying.

    </section><section>

    "Since when did you be so boring?" Cole asks me.

    "Stop messing with him." ric defends me like he always does.

    I didn''t want to win. I wasn''t trying to.

    One week. An entire week without seeing Scarlett. It was fucking torture, just like I knew it would have been. Nothing in the world could make this easier for me.

    "She keeps looking for you, you know," Ares says suddenly.

    The ball falls from my hand, and I slowly turn to look at him.

    "Every day, when she sees anyone associated with you, she searches for you." He continues. "And then her eyes are filled with disappointment when she doesn''t see you."

    My jaw clenches.

    ric res at him and shoves the ball into his chest. He didn''t want us to speak about Scarlett; he knew what the situation was doing to me. He doesn''t realize that I lived for these conversations. I held onto any news about her.

    "Have you¡ª" my voice breaks a little. "Have you been looking after her?"

    He nods. "Just like you asked. No one is bullying her. They''ve all stopped talking about the big incident."

    Good.

    It''s the only reason I agreed to stay away from the academy for a week. I had my brothers looking after her from afar.

    An ufortable silence follows for a few seconds before Apollo throws the ball into my hands.

    "Back to the game." He tells me. "We were winning."

    My hands tighten on the ball. Before I can throw it, Violet walks out of the house and looks directly at me.

    "We havepany." She informs us.

    "We always havepany; as long as it isn''t Nicole, we''re fine," I respond.

    Thest person I wanted to see today was my brother''s wife. We had enough problems to deal with; we didn''t need her adding to the torture.

    "I don''t think you''ll be fine when you find out who''s here, Carter." She disagrees.

    I pause with the ball in my hand. "Why do you say that?"

    "Because the people here are girls you''ve messed around with." She answers me. "And their parents are here with them. I think you''re in trouble."

    Two girls?

    "What?"

    "Who is it?" ric asks her.

    "ra and Scarlett." She answers him.

    Scarlett?

    My eyes widen, and it takes a while for my body to catch up with my mind. What was she doing here?

    I rush out of the backyard and into the house. If Violet were messing with me, she would not hear the end of this.

    I rush into the hallway with my brothers right behind me.

    "Where are they?" I demand from Violet.

    "They''ve just arrived." She answers me. "They''re still at the entrance."

    I rushed towards the front of the house and held my breath when I saw Scarlett. She was here.

    Violet was telling the truth. They were both here.

    So were their parents.

    Why was everyone here? They''ve never visited my home all together like this before. It''s the first time.

    Something must be wrong. Why else would they be here? Scarlett made it clear that she never wanted to speak to me again. What would force her toe here?

    What was happening?

    Was I still dreaming about her? If it was a dream, I didn''t want to wake up. I wanted to look at her more.

    I take a step forward, and in that second, her father''s eyes fall on me. I''ve never seen someone look at me with such hatred in my life. In that second, I knew that he''de here for me. He must have found out that I''d slept with Scarlett. He was here to punish me. I''d dly take any punishment he had to give to me. I deserved the worst possible pain for hurting her.

    "You!" He roars.

    None of us are prepared when he runs up to me and grabs me by my cor. ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    "HOW DARE YOU!" He shouts.

    "What the hell is going on here?" ric demands.

    My parents hear themotion and run over to us.

    "What is this about?" My father roars as he sees what''s happening.

    "Get your hands off my son!" My mother shouts.

    "Dad!" Scarlett cries. "Please stop this!"

    "No!" Her father shouts. "He ruined your honor. He took advantage of your innocence and then dumped you like you were garbage. I said nothing when you hurt my ra, even though it killed me inside, but what you did to Scarlett is even worse. I will not sit back and let you get away with it this time!¡±

    "Dad!" Scarlett tries again.

    "Stop interfering!" He scolds her. "He needs to pay for what he did."

    "What did he do?" My mother demands.

    Even now, she never knew all the details about Scarlett and me. But she was about to find out today.

    "He got my daughter pregnant!"

    A deadly silence followed.

    Confusion. Pain. Shock. They were all emotions swirling through my veins.

    I looked down at my hands, they were shaking uncontrobly.

    </section><section>

    P-pregnant?

    Scarlett was pregnant?

    </section>

 Chapter 337 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    My eyes are wide. My father just informed Carter and his entire family that I was pregnant with his baby.

    The silence is unbearable as I wait for someone to say something.

    </section><section>

    There are looks of shock throughout the room. No one was expecting him to say something like that.

    "Did you say he got Scarlett pregnant?" Carter''s mother asks. "Not ra? Scarlett?"

    His mother''s reaction tells me that Carter never told her about us. She looked surprised that we were even that close to each other.

    "Carter." His father growls. "Is this true?"

    I don''t think he''s listening to him. Carter''s lost in his own world. His face is white, and he looks like someone who''d just been given the worst news possible.

    Did the news of my pregnancy really make him feel so horrible?

    Why was I even expecting a different reaction? Carter didn''t even want me. He used me to get his way and disposed of me when he was finished. Of course, he wouldn''t be happy with this news.

    It turns out that Carter actually cared more for ra than all of us thought. He didn''t even touch her, not once. He made sure to protect her from his yer ways. But with me, he took all that I had to offer him. He took all of me and left mepletely broken without him.

    "Don''t ask him." My father shouts. "My daughter wouldn''t lie about something like that. He''s the father of her unborn child! He took advantage of my daughter''s innocence and must now own up to his awful behavior!"

    "Carter?" His mother tries again.

    He ignores her and surprises all of us when he removes my father''s hands from his cor and walks over to me. He doesn''t stop until he''s inches away from my body.

    His eyes are glued to mine, and even now, I''m still happy to be this close to him despite everything that happened between us. It''s been too long since thest time I saw him.

    "Is it true?" He whispers. I can barely recognize his voice.

    I don''t open my mouth to say a single word. I''m still trapped under his gaze. He''s searching my face, waiting for me to give him an answer.

    "Did I?" He closes his eyes briefly before opening them again to reveal raw pain. "Did I get you pregnant, Scarlett?"

    My lower lip trembles as I slowly nod my head to give him the confirmation that he needs.

    His hands tighten into fists at his sides, and he looks angry. Did he think that I came here to trap him? Did he think I would use this as an opportunity to force him to take care of me and our baby?

    He was utterly wrong if he thought I would ever stoop that low!

    "You don''t owe me anything," I tell him. "This is my baby. I can take care of my baby on my own. You don''t need to support me. You don''t need to be there for me. I don''t need anything from you."

    "Scarlett!" My father roars. "Do not let him get away with what he did to you. He must support you. He cannot get away with it!"

    "Father, please," I beg him. "We can have this discussion at home. Carter didn''t force me to do anything I didn''t want to do. I know you''re angry, but please don''t force me to be here. I want to go home."

    "If Carter did this," his mother cuts in. "Then he must take responsibility for his actions. We didn''t raise our son to be irresponsible. We will support Scarlett through the entire pregnancy."This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    "Mrs. Sonia, I know that you want to do the right thing, but I do not want to force Carter to do something he doesn''t want to do," I inform her. "The only reason he knows that I''m pregnant today is because of my father. I never nned on telling him anything. He rified to me that what happened between us was a mistake. I do not need him."

    It was a lie. It wasn''t easy without him, but I wasn''t about to admit it in front of him. He''d hurt me too much. Even now, he was still hurting me.

    "But sweetie," his mother tries again. "Our son got you pregnant. It''s our grandchild. Our first grandchild. We want to have him in our life. We want to have you in our life also."

    "He doesn''t want our baby." My voice broke when I said those words. "I do not want my baby to grow up in a home where his father doesn''t want him."

    </section><section>

    Carter''s head snaps up at my words. It''s hard to read the expression on his face as he announces, "I will marry Scarlett tomorrow.¡± He pauses before he looks me directly in my eyes and says, ¡°She will be my wife."

    He will do w-what?

    </section>

 Chapter 338 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "Marry me?" I ask him.

    There''s no possible way that I''d just heard him correctly. Carter would never willingly agree to marry me.

    </section><section>

    He nods and turns to my father. "I will marry Scarlett. It''s my promise to you and her."

    No.

    I will not allow this, not like this.

    "You don''t want to be with me. Why will you marry me?" I demand. "You made it clear to me that everything that happened between us was a mistake, Carter. You made it clear that we should continue to keep our distance. Why are you suddenly suggesting marriage?"

    I didn''t feel like having this conversation in front of our families, but I didn''t have a choice. Our families were involved in our rtionship now. We were in too deeply. It didn''t just concern us alone anymore.

    "Scarlett, I know I''m a horrible person." He tells me. "I know what you think about me. However, I will not stand back and do nothing while you''re pregnant with our baby. I don''t care what anyone says; I am marrying you tomorrow. This marriage will happen. The only person that can stop this marriage from taking ce is you."

    This isn''t enough for me. I didn''t want him to marry me because he had no choice. I wanted him to marry me because he loved me! And he didn''t.

    Carter didn''t love me. He was only marrying me because of our parents. He wanted to please them. It had nothing to do with me and our baby.

    I couldn''t let this happen. I could never be happy this way.

    "No." I snap. "I don''t want to force you into anything. I disagree with this. I will not let this wedding happen."

    "Scarlett, will you just¡ª"

    "I don''t need your pity, Carter," I assure him. "I''ve proven before that I can take care of myself."

    "I never said you couldn''t. . . But I can''t let you do this on your own. I won''t let that happen." He insists.

    "I will not marry you like this!" I hiss.

    "Scarlett." My father cuts in. "Think about the future of your child. Marrying Carter is the best option for you. People will talk, and they will insult you and your baby. If you don''t want to do it for yourself, then think about him."

    I close my eyes in pain. My father was right, even though I wished he wasn''t. This wasn''t about me. This was about my baby and what was the right thing to do for him.

    Carter took a step forward so that we were inches apart. "I will marry you. And I promise you, I will take care of our baby. I will care for you. I will not look or touch another woman while I''m married to you. I can promise you this."

    It still wasn''t the three words I wanted to hear from him. However, for now, I had to ept it. If I wanted my baby to have a good rtionship with his father, I had to push my feelings aside.

    "What do you say, Scarlett?" His mother asks me. "Will you marry my son?"

    I slowly nod my head.

    "W-what?" ra demands. "Scarlett, he used you and hurt you multiple times!"N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    I turn towards her, and I can see the raw horror on her face. Was she upset because she still had feelings for Carter, or was my sister worried about me?

    "It''s okay," I assure her. "I can do this. You know more than anyone that I can take care of myself. I''m only doing this for my baby."

    "Father," she gasps as she turns to him. "Are you going to let her marry him? He will only hurt her more. You saw what our breakup did to me, but you didn''t see what heartbreak did to Scarlett. I was there; I saw everything. I don''t want to see that happen to her again."

    I knew that ra was worried about me, but I could take care of myself. Even if Carter hurt me again, I could handle it. I would be strong for my baby. At least, I would try my best to be.

    I''m about to walk over to ra andfort her, but I''m shocked when ric walks past everyone and pulls her into his arms.

    Everyone looks on in wonder as we watch him rub her back and whisper soothing words.

    "I''m right here." He promises her. "I will make sure that Carter doesn''t hurt Scarlett again. This is my promise to you.¡±

    ra freezes in his arms for a second, but that doesn''tst long; she practically melts in his arms afterward and hugs him back.

    "What the hell is this?" I hear someone shout from the doorway.

    I turn to look at the door and am not surprised when I see ric''s wife.

    </section><section>

    ric immediately tenses when he sees her. He''s not the only one; his entire family looks worried now that she''s here. Why? Did they not have a good rtionship with her?

    ¡°ALARIC?¡± she screams his name.

    </section>

 Chapter 339 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    Fuck.

    Nicole.

    </section><section>

    What the hell was she doing here?

    She was thest person any of us wanted to see right now.

    I follow her gaze and see her ring at ric with his arms still around ra. He was only trying tofort her, but I knew Nicole would not see it that way.

    But should that even matter? She wanted a divorce from him. What he did shouldn¡¯t bother her anymore.

    ¡°Why are you hugging your brother¡¯s ex-girlfriend? It¡¯s not even a full moon, and you¡¯re already showing¡ª¡±

    I grab her hand and pull her away. I could hear ric walking behind me. N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± She demands from me.

    I push her into a room, and my brother shuts the door.

    ¡°What the fuck is wrong with you?¡± I demand from her. ¡°The full moon isn¡¯t something we discuss with anyone who doesn¡¯t know about our curse.¡±

    ¡°Tell your brother to speak to me with respect!¡± She shouts at ric.

    He sighs, ¡°Carter, I can take it from here.¡±

    I don¡¯t bother fighting him down as I head for the door.

    ¡°Why were you hugging that girl?¡± I hear her ask him right before I walk out of the room.

    I run a hand down my face. Nicole almost exposed my secret in front of Scarlett. I never wanted her to find out about the curse. Now, it would be harder than ever to hide the truth from her.

    I was fucking screwed.

    I spot my mother in front of me, with my father a few feet behind her.

    "How could you do such a thing, Carter?" She demands from me.

    "We raised you better than this." My father scolds me as we move to the family room. ¡°How could you get her pregnant and then let her go like she means nothing to you?"

    My jaw clenches. "I didn''t knowingly get her pregnant," I exin.

    "What?" My father demands.

    He looks at my mother, and they both stiffen.

    "Are you possibly speaking about that incident on the full moon?¡± My mother asks. "Did it happen on that night?"

    I swallow, "it did. I slept with Scarlett on that night. I can¡¯t remember all of the details. I just knew when I woke up that I¡¯d done the unforgivable. I let Scarlett go because I wanted to protect her from me. I didn¡¯t do it because I wanted to hurt her. I would never purposefully hurt her.¡±

    "Why didn''t you tell us anything?" My mother demands.

    I don¡¯t have an answer to give her. Not yet.

    "I can''t believe this." My father sighs. "I thought those chains would have been enough to hold you."

    "It''s the second time I went after her," I confess. "The first time, surprisingly, I didn''t sleep with her, but the second time. . . I don''t know what happened either night, but the second time, I was positive I''d done it."

    "Why are you only going after her?" My mother asks even though she knows I don''t have the answer to give to her.

    I couldn''t exin what was happening. None of us could.

    It''s the first time something like this has ever happened to us.

    "I don''t know, mother," I answer her. "I wish I had the answer. When I realized what I''d done to Scarlett, I told her it was best that we went our separate ways. I was only trying to protect her. Somehow, I managed to hurt her more."

    My mother hugs me. "I''m so sorry, Carter. I''m so sorry that you''re going through this. You should havee to me; you should have told your father and me. We wouldn''t ever judge you."

    "I knew that you loved ra." I try to exin. "I knew you wouldn''t approve of my feelings for Scarlett."

    My mother frowns, "you have feelings for her?"

    I swallow, "I do. I''ve been fighting my feelings for so long, but I don''t know how to anymore."

    Especially now that I knew she was pregnant.

    I wanted to love her. I wanted to protect her and our baby. I wanted to tell her that meeting her was the best thing that ever happened to me. There were so many things I wished I could say to her, but I was too afraid that she would hate me like Nicole hated ric when she found out about our curse.

    I didn''t want to put either one of us through that.

    It didn''t matter anymore. Now that she was carrying my baby, she would find out soon enough.

    Since the baby was mine, he would carry the same curse that I had.

    "I do love ra," my mother admits. "She was the only girl you brought home that actually loved you. I knew she was good for you, but I also understood why you ended things with her. However, if I''d known you had feelings for her sister, I wouldn''t have stood in your way, Carter. Scarlett looks like a lovely girl, just like her sister. I would love to get to know her better."

    I closed my eyes; Scarlett was more than just a ''lovely'' girl. She was the love of my life. She was the woman of my dreams. And now she was carrying my baby.

    I never wanted to have a child. I never wanted my son or daughter to live a life chained to a curse. Now, there was nothing I could do to stop that from happening.

    I was happy that Scarlett was having my baby; I was overjoyed that we were having a baby together. However, the curse would always prevent me from beingpletely happy.

    </section><section>

    I didn¡¯t know what to do anymore.

    I felt trapped, lost. . . Scared.

    </section>

 Chapter 340 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "You look beautiful." rapliments me. "The most beautiful bride I''ve ever seen."

    I smile and hug her tightly.

    </section><section>

    "Are you sure this is okay for you?" I ask for the hundredth time. I wanted to make sure that she was okay with me marrying Carter.

    She sighs, "Stop asking me that. I told you that I''mpletely over Carter. I don''t see him the way that you see him. I will always care for him, and I''m happy for our memories, but I''m over everything. I didn''t tell you before, but Carter met with me after I found out the truth about the two of you."

    My eyes widen, "he did?"

    She nods. "He asked me to forgive you."

    I''m shocked to know this. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    "He asked you to forgive me?" I ask for confirmation.

    She bit her lip, "he did, Scarlett. He put the entire me on himself. He said that you were innocent in all of this. He wouldn''t leave until he heard me say that I nned on forgiving you for not telling me the truth. I didn''t realize then, but I realize now that Carter does care for you. If he didn''t, he wouldn''t have bothered to ask me to forgive you. If he didn''t care, he wouldn''t have decided to marry you either. On that day, he even apologized to me for everything that he did. A part of me will always me him for our break up, but I no longer am crazy about him like I used to be."

    I can see the sincerity in her eyes. She meant all of these words. I felt like a weight had just been lifted off my shoulders.

    "You don''t have to worry about me anymore, Scarlett." She promises me. "You need to worry about yourself and your baby from now on. Carter''s family is very nice. They would take good care of you. I''m sure of that. Carter isn''t the guy I ever saw you marrying, but as long as he lives up to his word, I think this might be good for you."

    I was surprised by ra''s words. She was the one against the wedding just yesterday. Maybe she''d gotten time to think things over. I was happy that she was being supportive. I needed a supportive sister right now, and she was the best out there.

    There was one thing that still bothered me. When ric''s wife entered the house, she mentioned the full moon. I was still curious about the effects it had on Carter. I saw the panic in his face the second she said those words.

    He didn''t wait for her to finish her sentence either; he''d pulled her away, and ric had run after the both of them. I knew there was something serious that Carter was hiding from everyone else. I wanted to get to the bottom of it.

    ra had watched them all walk away, and she didn''t look happy yesterday. I didn''t know if she was hurt because of Carter or ric. Today, I was sure that it was because of ric. I believed her when she said that she was over Carter. I knew I wouldn''t have to worry about her when it came to him anymore. But ric, I could see that my sister was developing feelings for him even if she hadn''t realized it herself.

    I knew it wasn''t a good idea for her to go down that road. ric was married, and Nicole seemed like someone who would fight for her husband. But who wouldn''t when their husband was ric Prince?

    I could only hope that ra only had a slight crush and would get over him soon. I didn''t want to see her hurt over a Prince again.

    "Let''s go show everyone what the most beautiful bride in the world looks like." ra teases me. Her words brought me back to reality.

    I was marrying Carter Prince today. A few weeks ago, I never imagined something like this happening to me. My life had taken apletely different turn.

    I smile and hug her, "I love you sis."

    She hugs me back, "I love you more. Let''s stop this before I make you cry on your big day. I know a lot of girls are already crying today. I don''t need to add you to that list."

    I knew the girls she was speaking about.

    There were hundreds of girls depressed because of this wedding. No one ever thought that Carter would marry me. After I embarrassed myself in front of the entire stadium, everyone felt that he didn''t care about me. This was a surprise for them all and not the good kind.

    No one could believe it. They thought I''d put Carter under some spell even though I wasn''t a witch. They were making up the most unbelievable stories possible. ra had taken my phone away so I wouldn''t read any more of the madness.

    I was d she''d done it. I was already nervous about this day. I didn''t know if I was doing the right thing.

    </section><section>

    I ce a hand over my stomach.

    This is all for you, my sweet baby. You''re my life now. I live for you. And I promise to protect and love you for the rest of my life and yours.

    </section>

 Chapter 341 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    I always knew Scarlett was beautiful, but this is the most beautiful I''ve ever seen her.

    All I could think about was how much I loved her as I watched her walk down the aisle towards me. She had on the most elegant wedding dresses I''d ever seen and everything about her sparkled like never before.

    </section><section>

    I could have pictured this day a million times in my head and still, it wouldn''t havepared to seeing her now.

    I knew she didn''t want to marry me, and I was the only one to me. I convinced her that I didn''t care for her; I made her think that I was the biggest asshole in the world. I did what I thought was the right thing to protect her from me.

    What would happen when the next full moon appears? I still didn''t know what was wrong with me. I was afraid that I would go after a different woman. If that happened, I would never be able to look Scarlett in her eyes again.

    There were so many risks involved with marrying her. However, I was being selfish today. I wasn''t marrying Scarlett because she was pregnant; I was marrying her because I wanted her, and I didn''t want another man to have the chance of ever loving her like I did.

    I would never give her up after today. However, I still didn''t deserve her, and I didn''t want to confess my feelings until I was sure that she wouldn''t hate me after finding out the truth about me and my family.

    All thoughts leave my mind when she finally joins me, and the ceremony begins. She''s even more beautiful up close. It took every bit of strength inside of me not to lean forward and pull her into my arms.

    She smelled amazing. Her scent was powerful; it made me want her like crazy.

    What was wrong with me? I felt like she had me under a spell. I felt like I had to have her or lose my damn mind.

    I can''t stop staring at her.

    Pregnancy agrees with her; she has a beautiful glow on her face that shines even through her eyes. Outsiders still didn''t know that she was pregnant, and we didn''t n on telling anyone. However, soon enough, they would all know the truth. I didn''t care about that; the only thing that bothered me was the rumors that would follow immediately. They would all say I was forced to marry her because I got her pregnant. But only I knew that it wasn''t the truth. Even Scarlett thinks that I married her because I had no choice.

    Hopefully, one day, I could tell her the truth without fearing she would leave me.

    The moment that we both say I do, I know that she''s mine.

    She was now a Prince.

    Fuck.

    That made me happy.

    Happy wasn''t even enough to describe how good this made me feel.

    She still isn''t looking at me, but again, I know it''s my fault. She would keep avoiding me for as long as she could. I deserved it after what I did to her.

    "You may kiss the bride."

    I was waiting for those words.

    I knew I didn''t deserve the chance to touch and kiss her again after what I took from her, but I would be a madman if I didn''t take this opportunity. I cup her cheek in my hand and press my lips against hers. The second I taste her, I lose all control. A low growl escapes my mouth, and I can''t stop myself as I pick her up into my arms and deepen the kiss.

    Scarlett isn''t kissing me back like she usually does, and though it hurts, I can feel the wild beating of her heart; it''s the reminder that I needed to know that she wasn''t as unaffected by my kiss as she wanted me to think.

    When I finally break the kiss, our eyes meet.

    You''re mine now, and I''m never letting you go. I didn''t say those words out loud, but I knew she could read it in my eyes.

    "Wee to the family, Scarlett." My mother weed her, and I was grateful that everyone was so weing to her. I wanted her to feel asfortable as possible around my family. I didn''t want her to regret marrying me. "We loved ra when Carter first introduced her to us, and I know we''re going to love you as well. Thank you for giving our family a chance. I will treat you like I treat my daughter. This is my promise to you."

    Scarlett looks grateful for my mother''s kind words. I feel a sense of pride as I watch them hug each other. N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    When Nicole stepped forward to congratte us, I knew that I had to be on high alert.

    I didn''t trust that woman, not even a little. ric is right behind her, and I can see him tense a little. He knows just as well as I do that she couldn''t be trusted. He was the one who''d been married to her; he knew her better than everyone else.

    "Congrattions, Scarlett," she says. So far, so good.

    "Thank you," Scarlett responds with a kind smile. I wanted to step between them and protect her from whatever foolish words came from Nicole.

    "Enjoy it while itsts. I was once in your ce; I was the first daughter-inw. I know what to expect from this family now, but you will soon find out as well. Don''t say I didn''t warn you.¡±

    My entire body goespletely still as a stone.

    </section><section>

    Scarlett looks at me and fuck me. What the hell am I supposed to tell her now?

    What the fuck was wrong with my brother''s crazy wife?

    </section>

 Chapter 342 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    Nicole''s words were the confirmation that I needed. The panicked look on Carter''s face tells me this had something to do with the full moon. Whatever it was, he didn''t want me to find out about it. I have never seen him look this terrified before. It bothered me that I didn¡¯t have the slightest clue what this was about.N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    Nicole seemed to be convinced that something would happen the moment that I found out the truth.

    </section><section>

    Does this mean that Carter¡¯s family didn¡¯t like Nicole? That would exin the tension in the room when she entered and saw ric hugging ra.

    It meant that I was right.

    ¡°Nicole.¡± Carter growls. She doesn¡¯t look affected by his tone. She must be used to it.

    Judging from their expressions, they both didn¡¯t like each other at all.

    Now, I was sure more than ever that there''s a reason he always disappears on a full moon. However, he neverpletely disappeared since he found me thest two full moons.

    Why did he look for me on those days? Was there any particr reason behind it?

    I remember precisely one time that he practically begged me to keep my window closed. I thought he was messing with me then, but now I didn''t know if that was the case.

    He was trying to protect me that day. He was trying to protect me on both asions.

    There was something that terrified him. Did he find me each night to protect me from whatever it was? Or was it supposed to be a distraction from something else?

    Whatever it was, I wouldn''t rest until I discovered the truth. Maybe if I spoke to Nicole, she could give me the answers I was looking for.

    But something told me that it might not be the best idea to speak to ric¡¯s wife. I had very bad vibes from her.

    I knew if I asked Carter, he wouldn¡¯t tell me the truth. He would find excuses to keep it from me.

    There wasn''t much he could hide from me anymore. We were married now.

    Married.

    I was his wife.

    I couldn''t believe it. I was now a part of his family, and I was also pregnant with his baby.

    Despite everything we''ve been through recently, I would be lying if I said I wasn''t happy to be called his wife. I knew that many girls wished they were in my position.

    It''s crazy to me that I disliked Carter just a few weeks ago. I used tough at the girls who followed him like he was their idol. I used to even make fun of them. Now, I was married to him.

    Life, indeed, was unpredictable at times.

    ric grabs Nicole''s arm and pulls her away from us while Carter throws daggers with his eyes at the both of them.

    I stare at the ring on my finger. I wasn''t sure if Carter had chosen this for me or if his parents had done it for him. However, I loved it. It suited me well. It matched my personality.

    ra walks over to us and hugs me tightly. "I''m so happy for you, Scarlett."

    She pulls away from me and looks at Carter. "If you ever hurt my sister again, I will make sure that you pay in the worst way possible."

    Carter looks amused by her threat, but he still nods his head. "That''s not going to happen. Ever."

    Was he that convinced that he wouldn''t hurt me again?

    ra surprises both of us when she smiles at him. "Good. I didn''t think that I would one day have to call you my brother-inw, but I must say, I might like it as long as you treat my sister well."

    Carter''s eyes soften. "Whatever works for you, ra."

    For some reason, it felt like they were both healing from their past in that second, right in front of me.

    It made me happy to finally see it happen. I was thrilled that ra was over him for good. It made everything so much easier for me.

    "Wee to the family, Carter." My mother wees him again. "I know we had a rough start, but I hope our rtionship can improve from today onwards."

    "Thank you, Mrs. Mae," he thanked her. "I promise to protect both Scarlett and our baby. I won''t hurt her again. She is safe with me."

    My heart skips a beat at his words. I knew he was only doing this for his family''s sake, but it still made me happy to hear him make these promises to my family.

    Everyone present were close family members and a few friends of our parents. The wedding wasn''t open to the public, but our pictures would be posted for everyone to view.

    A lot of girls still didn''t believe that it was true. They thought it was all a horrible rumor. The pictures would finally get them to shut their mouths about our wedding.

    Hopefully, after this, they would all stop bugging me. However, after what I saw happened to Autumn, I knew marriage wouldn¡¯t change much in our world.

    Married men sometimes seemed to get more attention than the unmarried ones.

    The girls at our academy liked an off-limits man. I think it excited them at the thought of him choosing them over his wife.

    I frown at that thought.

    Could I truly trust Carter?

    He promised me that he wouldn''t look or even touch another woman now that we were married. But I knew him. He''s spent half of his life sleeping with random women. He knew nothing about settling down, and this had happened out of nowhere. He didn''t get the chance to prepare.

    </section><section>

    All I knew was that if Carter cheated on me while we were married, it would be over for us for good. I would never be able to forgive him.

    For both of our sakes, I pray that he never hurt me like that.

    </section>

 Chapter 343 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "I know the both of you already slept together," ra whispers. "But I still wanted to get you something to spice things up."

    W-what?

    </section><section>

    She pushes a bag into my hands. I took one look inside of it and stared at her in horror.

    "What do you expect me to do with lingerie?"

    Sheughs, "It''s to add some excitement to your marriage. It''s your wedding night after all and just because you''re pregnant already doesn''t mean you can''t have some fun.¡±

    "I know you''re over Carter, but are you that over your past to give me something like this?" I demand in shock.

    She shrugs, "Carter is like a brother to me now. Besides, I know you love him. I''m going to be your special Cupid. I''ll help you make him love you back."

    "Do you think that''s possible?" I ask her. "Your whole revenge n was to get Carter to fall in love with me, and instead, I was the one that fell head over heels in love with him."

    "Trust me, I can make it happen this time.¡±

    Iugh, "I think you''ll make me fall more in love with him before you get him to fall in love with me."

    She rolls her eyes at me, "I can do it. I got him to care about you, didn''t I? We need to try a little harder. Plus, now that you''re married to him, everything will be much easier."

    "What n is she trying to force you into now?" Jenna asks as she walks into my new room. It wasn''t just my room; it was also Carter''s.

    We would be sleeping in the same room together. My cheeks turned a bright red at that reminder. It meant that I would have to share a bed with him.

    Would I be able to control myself around him? I didn''t trust my feelings. I knew it wouldn''t be easy to resist my desires. However, I didn''t want to get hurt for a second time.

    "She wants to make Carter fall in love with me," I answer my best friend.

    She sighs, "We tried that already and failed."

    "That''s what I''ve been trying to tell ra, but she''s too stubborn to listen to me, "I tell her.

    "I think ra should focus on her own problems." Jenna points out.

    I frown, "her problems?" I demand. "What problems does she have?"

    "It''s nothing?" ra tries to dismiss it almost immediately.

    "Jenna?" I ask again. "Did something happen while I was busy getting married?"

    ra sighs, "It''s nothing important."N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    "Then why are you trying to hide it from me?" I ask her.

    She sighs, "It is about Nicole. ric''s wife".

    I tense at the mention of her. I still hadn''tpletely gotten over her warning from earlier today. I couldn''t get her words out of my head.

    "What happened with her?" I ask her.

    "That bitch told ra to stay away from ric," Jenna answers for her.

    My eyes widen. "Did that really happen?"

    ra sighs, "she did. I exined to her that I had no intention of stealing ric from her, but she didn''t believe a word I said. She even threatened to spread nasty rumors about us if I didn''t stay away from him."

    "She must have a mental problem or something," I mumble. "You and ric are two different worlds apart. He''s going to be your lecturer, and you, his student. There is a small gap between your ages as well. Plus, you''re both loyal people. He would never cheat on Nicole, and you would never cross that line. She needs to focus on being a kinder person before she makes unnecessary enemies."

    "She''s already made one." Jenna snaps. "I do not like that woman. She smells like trouble."

    I didn''t want to judge Nicole wrongfully, but I didn''t like her much either. She did seem like trouble. She looked like someone who enjoyed stirring up drama. I''d had enough of that and didn''t need anymore.

    "I think we should leave Scarlett to get dressed for her husband now," Jenna says as she wiggles her eyebrows at me.

    ra empties the bag, and the white lingerie falls out of it. She leaves it on the bed and waves goodbye to me.

    "Carter Prince!" Jenna shouts at the door. "You married Carter freaking Prince! Way to go, Scarlett! Teach me your ways so I could marry into the Prince family also!"

    I sigh when she leaves and stare at the lingerie on the bed.

    Did ra think I''d wear this for Carter tonight when we weren''t even on speaking terms? Things were still very awkward and tense between us.

    We hadn''t had a proper conversation since that awful night.

    The door opens suddenly, and I try not to gape at a shirtless Carter at the entrance.

    Was this something I would have to get used to from now on? His hair was wet, and he''d just gotten out of the shower.

    He didn''t use the bathroom in this room. Then which one did he use?

    His eyes fall on me briefly before hezily drags it to the bed.

    My eyes widened when I realized what he was about to see.

    </section><section>

    No. No. No.

    I would kill ra for this embarrassment!

    </section>

 Chapter 344 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    I''m about to exin the lingerie on the bed when I realized something I should have realized sooner.

    He was drunk.

    </section><section>

    He was drunk?

    Why would he choose tonight to drink?

    The way he swayed on his feet towards the bed was the confirmation that I needed.

    Was marrying me so difficult that he had to drown his sorrows away with alcohol?

    I tried not to let it bother me, but it wasn''t something I could easily ignore.

    I watch as he drops to the ground next to my feet.

    "Carter!"

    I move to the ground to help him to the bed, but he pushes my hands away. His rejection hurts me.

    "Don''t." He growls.

    I fight back the tears as I attempt to move away from him when I hear him whisper, "I don''t deserve your help."

    I freeze.

    I couldn''t believe he''d just said that.

    "Why don''t you deserve my help?" I ask him.

    "I''m a monster." He whispers.

    My eyes widen. I don''t know what''s happening, but he seemed to be convinced that he was a ''monster.''

    "What are you talking about, Carter?" I demand. "Does it have something to do with the full moon?  Does it have anything to do with what Nicole tried to warn me about?"

    His eyes snap up at my questions, and I''m taken aback by the fear on his face.

    "Please don''t ever mention the full moon to me." He begs. "Don''t. I never want to speak about it. Not with you."

    I move back onto the ground next to him.  "Is it really that bad that it makes you behave this way?"

    He can''t even look me in the eyes as he ignores my question.

    "Carter, please," I beg. "Please tell me that the man I fell in love with isn''t the one who turned his back on me. Please tell me that you had a reason for hurting me. Please, I''m begging you."

    He doesn''t respond to me, and I can''t stop the tears this time. I still was hurt over everything. I was still heartbroken.

    "I gave you my heart. I gave you a part of me that I never gave to anyone else." I whisper. "I''m still here waiting for you to give me an exnation. I''m still willing to make things work. All I need you to be is honest with me. What happens on a full moon? Please just tell me."

    "No." He snaps. "I hurt you. I hurt you and your sister. I don''t want to hurt anyone anymore. So please, don''t ask me anything. Don''t ask me, Scarlett. I''m begging you. Stop asking."

    Why doesn''t he want to tell me the truth? What could he possibly be hiding?

    "Let me at least help you onto the bed." I try again, but he pushes me away a second time when I reach for his arm.

    Ignoring his protests, I make another attempt to help him. I reach for his arm for the third time, but he pulls away before I can touch him.

    He moves so quickly that it causes me to lose my bnce. Before I could hit the ground, he caught me in his arms.

    There''s a look of urgency in his eyes as he leans into me, "You''re carrying my baby. Please be careful from now on, Scarlett."

    "He isn''t just yours," I whisper. "He''s mine also."

    "Our baby." He says softly, and there''s a glow in his eyes as he says those two words. I''m lost in those eyes before I realize how close I am to him.

    "Our baby," I repeat.

    He buries his face against my neck, and I can''t help but bury my hands in his hair. For some reason, I felt like Carter was in much pain. I could feel his pain through this hug.

    "Thank you for keeping him safe." He whispers.

    Did he think that I would ever consider the possibility of abortion? That never once crossed my mind. I loved him too much to ever think about it.

    "I wish you could be honest with me, Carter." I try one more time. N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    I didn''t want to give up. I wanted him to tell me the truth.

    He freezes the second I say that. It seems he locks me out of his life whenever I mention the full moon.

    "Get some sleep." He tells me. "I don''t think I will be sleeping here tonight."

    "What?" I demand. "We are married now. Doesn''t that mean that we both will sleep in the same room from now on? Isn''t this your room? Where do you n on going?"

    "I don''t know yet."

    I angrily pull away from him and move back onto the bed. I grab a pillow and throw it at him.

    "If you don''t want to sleep here, that''s up to you." I snap. "Sleep at another girl''s ce if you like. We know that''s what you want to do."

    He picks himself off the ground and leans over me to ce the pillow back onto the bed. I narrow my eyes when he pulls the sheets over me.

    "I do n on sleeping here with you." He says suddenly. "Just not tonight. I had too much to drink. I don''t trust myself around you."

    He doesn''t trust himself around me?

    "What does that mean?" I ask him. "Why don''t you trust yourself around me?"

    "You''re pregnant now, aren''t you?" He asks me. "I did that to you. I''m sure you didn''t want to be pregnant with my baby. Our baby. I''m sure it''s thest thing you wanted, Scarlett, but I did that to you. I took everything from you like you said to me before. You''re forced into this marriage with me, and everything is my fault. I can''t trust myself around you; I keep doing things to ruin your life. I don''t want to ruin it anymore than I''ve already done."

    </section><section>

    I''m left speechless by his words.

    Was that what he thought about our marriage?

    </section>

 Chapter 345 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    Waking up in the middle of the forest after my wedding day wasn''t how I ever imagined it to be.

    I wince at the pain in my head. Everything fucking hurt but nothing pained as much as my heart did. It fucking burned like never before.

    </section><section>

    I hated myself with everything inside of me.

    I''d said things to Scarlett yesterday that I shouldn''t have. I kept messing things up between us. Part of me felt I was intentionally sabotaging my rtionship with her so I couldn''t get more attached. I was already hooked on her and couldn''tst a day without her by my side. There''s no telling what will happen if I get any more attached to her.

    I shouldn''t be this fearful of my feelings. I shouldn''t see it as the enemy.

    I shouldn''t be scared of this fucking curse. I was letting it rule my life and ruin it simultaneously.

    Scarlett had an idea that something terrible happened on a full moon, but she still wasn''t aware of what it was.

    She begged mest night to tell her the truth, but I couldn''t bring myself to do it. I''d just gotten her back after letting her go in the past; I didn''t want to lose her so quickly again. I wanted to spend some time with her as my wife before she found out the truth about me.

    I wouldn''t be able to live with myself if I saw the same hatred in her eyes that I saw in Nicole''s eyes when she looked at my brother.

    I wince as the sunlight hits my eyes. I froze when I realized what it meant.

    We had sses today.

    Fuck.

    I was supposed to go with Scarlett today; it would be her first day back at the academy as my wife. I knew it wouldn''t be easy for her after everything we went through together publicly.

    The girls at our school were brutal when they wanted to be, especially girls who wanted a chance to be with me.

    Damn it, Carter! How are you such a fucking screw-up? N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    I raced through the forest and didn''t stop until I ran into the house.

    ric stopped me before I could reach the stairs.

    "Where is she?" I ask him.

    "You''re toote." He informs me. "She left almost an hour ago with ra."

    "ra?" I ask.

    He nods, "She came here to pick her up."

    Damn it.

    "Where were youst night?" He asks me. "It was your wedding night. You should have stayed with your wife."

    I sigh and run a hand down my face, "I couldn''t. I screwed up and had too much to drink. I didn''t want to stay in the room with her when she kept asking me questions about the full moon."

    "What?" He asks, his eyes were wide with surprise. "What does she know about the full moon?"

    "Rx," I tell him. "She doesn''t know anything. She knows that something bad happens every full moon, but she doesn''t know the exact details of it. You can thank your wife for that. Scarlett only has an idea about everything because of her. Why is she so determined to ruin all of our lives?"

    He breathes a sigh of relief, "I know Nicole does things without thinking sometimes. I''m sorry on her behalf, Carter. I''m trying to finalize the divorce, but she''s suddenly acting like she never wanted to divorce me in the first ce.¡±

    I stiffen, "what do you mean by that? Does she not want the divorce anymore?"

    Please say no. I couldn''t stand that woman; I didn''t want Scarlett near her. If ric chose to stay married to her, we would have no choice but to allow her into our home, and it''s thest thing any of us wanted.

    "I don''t know." He answers me. "One minute, she says that she wants to divorce me, and the next, she ims it''s thest thing she wants from me. I don''t know what kind of game she''s ying with me, but I''m growing tired of it."

    "Don''t fall for her trap, ric," I warn him. "She makes your life miserable. She doesn''t truly love you; if she did, she wouldn''t do the things that she did. Nicole is ying with your life; she''s ying with all of us. I don''t know what her problem is but don''t get sucked into her world again. You''re finally moving on with your life, and we are all behind you; we will support you; leave her out of your life."

    His eyes snap to mine, and I can see he isn''t over her. I never expected him to be. I knew he loved her. I wish he didn''t.

    "I''ve been trying to push her out. It was fucking hard for me to agree to this divorce in the first ce." He confesses. "But now that she seems to want to make things work between us, I feel conflicted about what to do. I need some time to think about everything."

    I take a deep breath. If he needed the time, there was nothing else I could say to make him change his mind.

    "I have to go now," I tell him. "Scarlett would need me by her side today."

    He nods, "I know. Those girls aren''t going to make it easy for her. At least she has ra by her side. I know she will protect her."

    I quirk a brow at him, "Are you and ra suddenly friends? You seem a lot closer to her recently than I remember.¡±

    He pales at my question, "Nonsense. We aren''t that close. She will be my student soon, and she''s your ex-girlfriend."

    I nod. "We can continue that discussion about Nicoleter. I''ll see you when I get home."

    He doesn''t say anything as he watches me leave.

    I rushed to my room and quickly changed. I don''t bother saying goodbye to my parents as I rush out the door.

    </section><section>

    I didn''t waste a second jumping into my truck and reversing out of the garage.

    Scarlett would need me today. I had to be there for her. I was already fuckingte.

    </section>

 Chapter 346 -

    <section>

    ~NICOLE~

    "Fuck me, please," I beg. "Please Ace. I need you tonight."

    He grabs me by my neck and shoves me against the desk behind me.

    </section><section>

    "Why are you here, Nicole?" He demands. "I told you that it wouldn''t happen again."

    "I love you!" I cry. "You know that I''m crazy about you."

    "My family knows nothing about love." He growls.

    "That''s a lie!" I snap. "What about Arthur? He''s your brother, and he fell in love with his mate. He left your family behind for his mate. Why can''t you love me?"

    "You''re not my mate." He growls. "We just fucked a few times. That was all it was. Nothing more.¡±

    He pauses before he adds, ¡°We''re all still paying for the mistakes that my brother made. I would never make the same mistakes that he did.¡±

    "I know you''re a ckner, which means you''re supposed to be heartless, but at least give me a chance," I beg him. "I''ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you. So please, at least give me something tonight."

    He lets go of me, "Leave from here, Nicole. I''m not going to tell you again."

    "I was willing to leave my husband for you!" I scream. "I was willing to divorce him so I could be yours alone!"

    He res at me, "What did you just say?"

    "You heard me the first time." I snap.

    He narrows his eyes, "You were married this entire time, and you let me fuck you like that?"

    I shiver at his question, "You don''t know anything about my husband. He''s a monster, Ace. A monster! You were my escape from him. You brought me so much happiness in the little time we spent together. I''m only alive today because of you. You''re the one I want. If you tell me to divorce my husband, I will dly. Just say the word."

    His eyes are almost emotionless when he turns around to stare nkly at the wall.

    I walk over to him and ce a hand on his shoulder. I feel him tremble slightly, and it takes me a few seconds to realize he isughing.

    Laughing?This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    What was heughing about?

    "Ace?" I try again.

    "You''re a fucking psycho, aren''t you?" He asks me. "Why do I always choose the craziest girls to put my dick into?"

    I freeze at his words.

    "W-what?"

    He turns to look at me. "We were never close. You and I, there''s none of that. I just needed someone easy, and you were that person. Now that this is over, I''ll find someone else. If I were you, I would try to fix my marriage. And pray I never meet your husband; I''m not one to keep secrets for women like you."

    "But Ace!"

    "Move out of my way." He roars. "There''s nothing left for us to talk about."

    My eyes widen as I drop to the ground and watch him storm out of the hotel room.

    I couldn''t believe this was happening to me. How could he do this to me?

    How could I let him do it?

    I knew from the start that Ace was a ckner. I knew that they knew nothing about love and mates. Still, I got mixed up in his dangerous aura.

    Even after all of the stories I''d heard about his family, I wanted to be close to him.

    There were rumors that they killed their mates just so that they wouldn''t be vulnerable because of them. I knew I wasn''t Ace''s mate and would be safe from such a devastating death.

    Since the first day I saw him, I fell deeply in love with him. He was looking for a woman to fuck, a woman that he could fuck with no strings attached and I was happy to offer myself to him even though I was still married to ric.

    Back then, I had no idea about his family''s curse. I didn''t know how much of a monster my husband was. I kept meeting with Ace after the first time I slept with him; I couldn''t get enough of him. He fucked me in ways ric never could.

    Before I knew it, I was obsessed with him. I wanted to be by his side more than he would let me. I never told him about ric, but I assumed he would know. ric and his family were just as popr as the ckners. I thought he would have recognized me, but today, he confirmed that he never had one clue about my marriage to ric.

    Did he truly not have feelings for me as well? I had hoped that if I gave myself to him freely, he would eventually fall in love with me. But clearly, I was wrong.

    I didn''t want to give up on him, on us.

    I made the right decision by telling ric to postpone the divorce. If Ace would not ept me, I wouldn''t need to divorce ric anymore. I could stay married to him even though it killed me inside to be his wife.

    His family were all fucking maniacs. Now that Scarlett and ra were tied with them because of the wedding, I hated them all even more. I saw ra staring at ric at her sister¡¯s wedding; the poor girl was smitten with him.

    Iugh at the thought of messing with her. Even though I no longer wanted ric, it didn''t mean I would stand back and let another woman have him. No one could have even a taste of him while I was around. I would never allow it.

    And I knew exactly how to mess with ra. First, I had to mess with her sister. She loved Scarlett.

    I dial a number on my phone. "Did you get the information I sent you?" I ask.

    </section><section>

    "I did," she answers me. "What do you want me to do with it?"

    "Show it to a few girls at the academy," I answer her. "No one knows Scarlett is pregnant. Family and close friends are the only people that know. Now, everyone else would find out the truth. They would all know Scarlett forced Carter to marry her by getting pregnant."

    </section>

 Chapter 347 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "He hates being married to me," I tell ra. "He left homest night. I waited the entire night for him to return, and he never did. I didn''t get any sleep. I don''t know where he went or where he even slept. I know he left so he wouldn''t have to be in the same room as me."

    She sighs, "I can''t believe him. He promised to make your life easier from now on. How is this making it easier? When I see him, he will have to hear plenty from me!"

    </section><section>

    "No!" I exim. "I don''t want you interfering, ra. You''ve been through enough because of Carter and me. I don''t need you to worry about me anymore. I can take care of myself."

    She rolls her eyes, "I''m your sister Scarlett. It''s normal for me to worry about you when you''re married to Carter Prince. You can''t keep running from the truth. You need me to step in and help however I could."

    "You already helped me when you forgave me for what I did." I remind her. "I promise that I''m okay and I can handle this on my own."

    She sighs, "Okay. I''ll stop offering to help if it bothers you this much."

    I''m about to respond when I see Ares walking towards us.

    He looks surprised to see me.

    "Where is Carter?" He asks.

    Even Carter¡¯s brother was shocked that he wasn''t by my side the day after our wedding.

    "I was just about to ask you that," I confess. "He didn''te homest night."

    His eyes widen. "Carter didn''te homest night?"

    Did no one know that he left me on our wedding night?

    "I don''t think this is the ce to discuss this," ra whispers. "If anyone at the academy finds out, they will use it as an opportunity to bully Scarlett. She''s been through enough already; she doesn''t need to be put under any more pressure, especially not now."

    Ares nods, "I''ll find out where Carter is and get back to you."

    I nod. Even though I was still upset aboutst night, I wanted to know that he was okay.

    "Something is wrong," ra says suddenly. N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    At that exact time, I noticed everyone staring at their phones with their mouths wide open in shock.

    "What''s going on?" I ask her.

    "Someone must have sent a viral message." She tells me. "I''ve seen this happen before."

    "Why didn''t we get anything?" I ask her.

    She sighs, "Because Scarlett, whatever it is, it''s most likely something about us."

    My eyes widened, and I knew she was right when all eyes turned to look at me. They were already talking behind our backs, but it seemed as though they wanted to confront us now. I watched as a few girls approached us with a look of fury on each of them.

    "I knew Carter wouldn''t have married you unless you''d done something to force him to marry you." One of the girls snaps at me.

    I didn''t even know her personally. I had no idea what her name was.

    "You''re an embarrassment to all women." Another one hissed at me.

    "Watch how you''re talking to my sister!" ra shouts.

    "How can you still stand up for her after what she did to you? She married your ex-boyfriend. I don''t know about you, but I could never speak to my sister if she betrayed me like that." The first girl snaps at ra.

    I held my sister''s hand to stop her from saying anything else.

    "What is this about?" I demand.

    "Stop ying dumb." She rolls her eyes. "You forced Carter to sleep with you and let him knock you up."

    My mouth parts open slightly. She knew that I was pregnant with Carter''s baby?

    "Is it even his baby?" Another one asks. "I''m sure she made up some story. We all thought she was innocent, but she was probably sleeping around all this time. Poor Carter. I feel so sorry for him. He was forced to marry someone he''s not in love with."

    "Who told you that she''s pregnant?" ra shouts.

    "It doesn''t matter who told us. Everyone at the academy knows the truth now. That''s the most important thing." She hissed back.

    "Carter is my husband whether you like it or not," I tell them all. "He married me, and I know it must suck that you never got a chance with him, but you must know that he was never interested in any of you. The truth hurts, but you should stop trying to bully me because of it. It isn''t going to work."

    My words seemed to have angered them all. ra moves before me when they try to get closer to me.

    </section><section>

    "Stay the hell away from my sister if any of you wants to live!" She threatens them.

    "She has to apologize to Carter for tricking him!" The girls scream. "We''re not letting her get away with this! That baby isn''t even Carter''s, and she knows it!"

    </section>

 Chapter 348 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    "Where the hell have you been?" Ares asks me when I jump out of my truck. I immediately knew that something had to be wrong. He wouldn''t lead with that question if everything were fine.

    "Did something happen?" I demand. I was restless the entire drive to the academy. I was worried about Scarlett. I promised to protect her, and already I had failed.

    </section><section>

    He shook his head. "Scarlett is looking for you." He informs me. "Is it true that you left her alonest night? It was your wedding night, you should have stayed with her. She''s pregnant with your child, Carter; you need to be more careful from now on. You can''t be like how you were in the past. You have your own little family now.¡±

    "Be quiet," I growl. "We''re not home where we can talk freely. I don''t want anyone to know about Scarlett. If they find out, she would be bullied, and I would fucking kill anyone that say anything to hurt her. I would hate to be expelled from the Academy when all I want to do is be near my wife.¡±

    "It''s just us here." He assured me. "I''m not that stupid. No one can hear us; we are safe to have this discussion. Why does everyone think that I would somehow be the one to leak that she is pregnant?¡±

    I run a hand down my face. "Is she okay? How does she look? Does she look mad at me?"

    He quirks a brow at me, "I never once thought I''d live to see the day when something like this would bother you."

    I push him aside, "I''m wasting time talking to you when I should be near her."

    I don''t even make it far when I hear him gasp.

    "Carter!" He calls out to me.

    The sudden change in his tone makes me stop in my tracks. I slowly turn around to look at him.

    "What''s wrong?" I demand.

    "I think you need to see this." He tells me with his eyes glued to his phone.

    I walk over to him, and he hands the phone to me.

    One look at the article and everything around me begins to spin.

    "How the fuck did they find out?" I ask in horror.

    No one was supposed to find out this quickly. How did they know that Scarlett was pregnant with my baby?

    A shiver runs down my spine as her name repeats in my head. If we knew about it already. . .

    "Scarlett!" My eyes widen as I whisper her name in a panic.

    Ares and I look at each other, and within seconds, we''re racing out of the parking lot and into the hallway.

    I could hardly breathe as I searched through every face in front of me.

    "I see her!" Ares shouts suddenly.

    I follow his gaze, and everything stills in those few seconds. This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    Girls surround her. They''re saying something to her.

    "We''re not letting her get away with this! That baby isn''t even Carter''s, and she knows it!" I hear them shout one after the next.

    They''re all iming that it isn''t my baby.

    My blood boils at their words.

    What the fuck is wrong with these women?

    I walk over to them and pull Scarlett to my side.

    She looks up at me, and I can see the surprise in her eyes.

    They''re all gaping at me in shock.

    Were they this shocked to see me? Did they think I wouldn''t be here to protect my wife?

    "Even though my life isn''t any of your fucking business, the baby is mine. No one else''s. It''s my baby, and if any of you open your filthy mouths again and disrespect my wife or unborn child, I will do everything in my power to ruin your pathetic lives." I roar.

    "Carter¡ª"

    I narrow my eyes, and they quickly look down at their feet.

    I was fuming with anger.

    "If anyone dares to bully Scarlett again, just know she''s a Prince now." Ares threatens them. "You know what we do to people that disrespect our family."

    Scarlett looks at him with surprise, but I can see the happiness in her eyes that he''d stood up for her.

    Now that she was one of us, everyone from my family would protect her. No one would sit back and let her be bullied. I felt a sense of pride to know that she was this protected and loved already.

    They all move to the side as I take her hand and walk away with her.

    I take a deep breath when we''re eventually inside an empty ssroom. ra had stayed back with Ares, and I was sure they were giving out more threats now that Scarlett was safe with me.

    "I''m so sorry, Scarlett." I apologize sincerely. "I know I should have been here with you since earlier today. I could make up a bunch of excuses for my actions, but that wouldn''t change a single thing. I can promise you that something like this will not happen again. I''ll make sure that everyone keeps their mouth shut around you from today onwards. I should have dealt with this sooner. I hate that I wasn''t here when you needed me.¡±

    I was fucking pissed.

    How dare they say that the baby wasn''t mine?

    They fucking knew nothing at all.

    </section><section>

    If I never questioned it, who the hell do they think they are?

    Her eyes look tired as she asks, ¡°Did you spend the night with another womanst night? Is that why you never returned home?¡±

    </section>

 Chapter 349 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    I couldn''t help but ask the one question I wanted to ask sincest night. I knew he promised me that there would be no other woman in his life after he married me, but I wasn''t convinced just yet.

    I needed more proof than just his words.

    </section><section>

    "Scarlett," he whispers. "I know that I''ve done plenty to hurt you in the past. I know it''s hard to trust me, but I can promise you that thest thing you need to worry about is another woman. I''m not interested in anyone else but you. There is no one else but you. I promise you."

    My heart skipped a beat, and I ced a hand over my chest.

    "If that''s true," I murmur. "Why does it seem like you are constantly pushing me away? Why does it seem that you were forced to marry me? Last night, you chose to stay out; I still don''t know where you went. I stayed up the entire night waiting for you to return."

    He runs a hand down his face and looks torn as he whispers, "I woke up in the forest. I stayed out there in the woods for the entire night. There was no one else with me. I had too much to drink, and I didn''t trust myself to be in the same room with you."

    "You already got me pregnant; what more could you possibly be worried about?" I demand. "You''re acting like you physically hurt me when we both know that didn''t happen."

    His forehead creases, "I can''t remember anything from the night I got you pregnant, Scarlett, and I don''t think I ever will. I don''t know if I forced you to do things you didn''t want. I don''t know if I did in fact hurt you. You have no idea how much that''s been killing me inside."

    He didn''t remember anything? Nothing at all?

    He also remembered nothing from the first night he sneaked into my room.

    Both nights were on a full moon. Was this his big secret? Did he do things on full moons that he wasn''t aware of until the next day?

    I ce a hand on his chest and lean closer to his body, "Trust me when I tell you that you didn''t hurt me, at least not physically. You didn''t do anything against my will either."

    His eyes snap to mine, and I can tell he doesn''t fully trust me.

    "However, you did hurt me emotionally," I add. "You said things that broke my heart. I allowed myself to be tricked by your words. I allowed myself to be embarrassed in front of hundreds because of my feelings for you. I wish there were a reason that you did what you did to me, Carter. I wish there were a reason for me to trust you again. But right now, I can''t help but feel resentment for everything you''ve done. I don''t need you to protect me either. I could have handled everything today on my own without you."

    He swallows hard, "you don''t think I don''t know that Scarlett?" He whispers. "I know you''re capable of taking care of yourself. That doesn''t mean that I don''t want to take care of you and our baby. I made promises to you, and I will spend the rest of my life fulfilling those promises.¡±

    I narrow my eyes, "I don''t want it if you''re only doing it because you''re forced to do it for me."

    He runs a hand down his face, "that''s not the case. I want to protect you. I want to be there for you."This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    "Then why do you keep hurting me?" I demand. "Why do you keep breaking my heart? Why did you leave me on our wedding night?"

    He looks like he''s in pain as he whispers, "I don''t want to hurt you. I swear that''s thest thing I want to do to you, Scarlett. But I also can''t tell you why I keep pushing you away. I''m scared¡ª"

    He doesn''t finish his sentence.

    He''s scared?

    Of what exactly?

    "You''re scared?" I ask. "Scared of what? You can tell me, Carter. I promise that I won''t judge you."

    I knew that whatever it was that he was hiding from me, it was something that made him feel disgusted with himself. The fact that ric''s wife had so many bad things to say about his family meant that it had to be horrible.

    "Nothing." He says suddenly.

    "Carter¡ª"

    "It''s nothing, Scarlett." He growls. "Forget I ever said anything to you."

    "Wait¡ª"

    He removes my hand from his chest and rushes for the door.

    He pauses briefly to add, "I can promise I won''t spend another night away from you. Last night was a mistake, and I will never do something like that again. You deserve better, and I n to be a better person for you."

    I watch as he leaves the ssroom without giving me a proper answer.

    A few minutester, ra and Ares enter the ssroom to check on me.

    ¡°Carter has practice now,¡± Ares informs me. ¡°He asked me to look after you since he can''t do it himself.¡±

    W-what?

    Did he n on leaving someone with me every time he couldn''t be around?

    </section><section>

    I didn''t understand Carter at all. One minute, he acted like he cared deeply for me, and the next, he acted like I was a stranger he couldn''t wait to get away from.

    What could I do to get the truth out of him?

    </section>

 Chapter 350 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    Everything that happened today has been on my mind ever since I returned home with Scarlett. She refused to talk to me the entire ride home.

    I didn''t me her. I was keeping my dark secrets from her. Who would be able to trust their husband if he kept on lying to them?

    </section><section>

    I knock on my parent''s bedroom door, and a few secondster, my mother opens it to greet me.

    "Carter," she smiles as she hugs me. "I was told that you and Scarlett had a rough day today."

    I knew the news would have reached them by now.

    Our phones were going crazy with iing calls. Everyone wanted to know if I married Scarlett only because she was pregnant.

    The videos from earlier were everywhere. N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    We still didn''t know who was the one who leaked that information, but I nned on doing everything in my power to find out the truth.

    I wouldn''t rest until I found the person behind it and made them pay.

    "It wasn''t the best," I say as I run a hand through my hair. "I don''t think the academy is the best ce for Scarlett to be right now."

    My father frowns, "what are you trying to say?"

    "Do you want us to move her to another academy?" My mother asks.

    "No." I disagree.  "I want to keep her away from the academy for a few days. I know that everyone must know the truth by now. Things will only get worse in the following days. I want to protect her from that."

    My father nods, "I agree with you, son. Our family should take a mini-vacation to one of our inds. It would be good for us to spend some time away."

    That wasn''t exactly what I was suggesting. A mini-vacation? I don''t think Scarlett would even want that. Not when she was still angry with me.

    "I don''t know if¡ª"

    "It''s a good n." My mother says, cutting me off. "You and Scarlett haven''t gone for your honeymoon yet, and this is a good opportunity. We have multiple houses on Royal Ind. You and Scarlett can take one, and everyone else can stay in another."

    Scarlett and me alone in a house together? That screamed trouble. I knew she wouldn''t drop the topic of the full moon for our entire trip. However, I was still willing to take the risk if it meant she wouldn''t have to deal with ridiculous girls from our academy.

    I didn''t want anything to stress her out. The stress wouldn''t be good for our baby either.

    I would do anything to protect them both.

    "Okay." I agree. "You can inform the others."

    "Inform the others about what?" ric asks as he enters the room. "Is there something going on that I should know about?"

    My mother ps her hands together with excitement. At least someone was happy about the trip.

    "Since things are rough for Scarlett at the academy, we''ve decided that now is a good time for a mini-vacation." My mom informs him. "We''ll be going to Royal Ind for a few days. I think our family is in need of something like this."

    ric looks nervous and says, "If we''re going to Royal Ind, I would be happy if Nicole can join us."

    I stiffen at his request.

    Oh, hell no.

    That woman would spoil it for the rest of us.

    "You want Nicole there?" My mother asks for confirmation. "I thought that you were nning on divorcing her."

    He sighs, "She told me that she wants to try one more time."

    I freeze. "And you''re willing to try with her again after everything she''s put you and our family through?"

    "I know no one will be happy with this decision, but I''m not ready to give up on our marriage." He informs me. "If she''s willing to work things out between us, I want to do the same."

    I squeeze my temples in frustration. I couldn''t believe this madness. We already had so much to deal with; I couldn''t handle that crazy woman around my pregnant wife.

    "If you want this, ric, we will support you." My mother tells him. "But I hope that you''re making the right choice."

    He nods, "I think I am, mother. She promised to try and be better. She also agreed to be more understanding. And she even apologized for the things she said to Scarlett. She felt horrible and promised me that something like that wouldn''t happen again. I think this is best for all of us. If Nicole is still married to me, I don''t have to worry about her telling outsiders about us. If she''s close to me, I can see exactly what she''s up to."

    I knew that woman would find a way to mess with his head. After everything she''s said to us and about us, how could ric still believe a single word out of her mouth?

    Why does she suddenly want to make their marriage work? She was begging and threatening ric for a divorce just a few days ago, and suddenly, she was ready to try again.

    </section><section>

    I knew that there had to be more than this.

    She was hiding something from us. I didn''t know what it was, but the second I fixed things with Scarlett, I would do everything in my power to find out the truth about Nicole.

    </section>

 Chapter 351 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "You want us to go on a trip together?" I ask Carter. "Just the two of us?"

    He scratches the back of his neck nervously, "Not just the two of us. Everyone is going to be there. However, we will be staying in a separate house together."

    </section><section>

    Just the two of us in one house?

    "Are you nning on leaving me alone there like you did on our wedding night?" I ask him.

    His entire face changed the second I said that to him.

    "I made a promise to never do that again." He reminds me. "I''ll be there with you as long as you want me there. I''ll only leave if you ask me to."

    I bit my lip and nodded my head. "Okay, I''ll get packed."

    He grabs a bag from the closet and puts it on the ground beside me. "You can put your clothes in here. I''ll take it to the truck when you''re finished."

    I nod, "can I invite ra toe with us?"

    "You can invite whoever you want, Scarlett." He answers me. "I want you to be asfortable as possible. This trip is just for you. I want to make sure that it''s a stress-free vacation."

    I''m shocked to hear him admit that.

    It was just for me?

    Why was he doing this? Why was he ying with my emotions again?

    I didn''t know how to behave around Carter anymore. I didn''t know if I could trust him, but my heart desperately wanted me to.

    I wanted to give him a chance to exin himself to me. I wanted to know what his dark secret was.

    Would he even consider telling me during the trip?

    After packing, he immediately takes the bag from me. He doesn''t even let me pick it up from the ground. I could already tell that he would be one of those protective fathers.

    Was he being this way only because of our baby? Or was it also because of me?

    . . . . . . . . .

    We''d just arrived at the ind, and I was thrilled that I had convinced ra to join us for the trip. I felt much happier having my sister here with me. She seemed reluctant toe when I mentioned Nicole would be there but soon changed her mind when I told her I needed her with me.

    "Carter told me that ric was going to divorce Nicole," I informed her as I helped her settle into her room, which coincidentally was right next to ric''s. I knew she would be interested in this conversation since it included Carter''s older brother.

    "What?" She demands as she drops her bag onto the ground. "He was going to divorce her?"

    I nod, "she wanted a divorce, but she changed her mind recently. Now he''s trying to make it work with her again." N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    ra looks surprised by my words, "I always thought they were happy. Is this why ric always looks like he''s in pain? Was his marriage in jeopardy this entire time?"

    I nod, "it seems as though they''ve been having problems for a while now. I don''t think Carter and his family like her. The only one that seems to like her is ric, but he has no choice since he''s married to her."

    ra sighs, "I''ve seen how she''s spoken to everyone in the past. I don''t me them for not liking Nicole. But enough about them, let''s talk about you and Carter. How have things been between the two of you? I was happy to see him protect you when those bitches imed the baby wasn''t his."

    I try to act normal as I sit on the first chair that I see, "things haven''t been perfect between us, but it isn''t all that bad either. Carter has a very caring side, and he''s gotten a lot more protective ever since he found out that I was pregnant. However, he''s still pushing me away any chance that he gets. I think he''s keeping a secret from me, but I n on finding out what that secret is as soon as I can."

    She squeezes my shoulder, "I think you shouldn''t do anything to stress yourself out. Instead, you should be happier for your baby. Do things that make you happy. It''s why I agreed toe on this trip with you, to make you happier."

    I couldn''t be happy until Carter told me the truth about full moons. I wouldn''t be satisfied until I knew what made him so terrified.

    I didn''t want to push him if he wasn''t ready, but I didn''t want to wait, either. I''ve waited long enough. As the mother of his unborn baby, I think I deserved to know the truth.

    I jump when I hear a door m outside.

    "What was that?" ra whispers.

    I rush to the door but pause midway when I hear Nicole scream.

    "Why are you always so damn nosy?" she demands. "I''m tired of this, ric!"

    "You smell like another man, and I shouldn''t be concerned about that?" ric growls. "I thought we agreed that it was time we both worked on our marriage. Or was that just a lie to mess with my feelings again?"

    She sighs loudly, "You''re reading too much into nothing. This can never work if you don''t start trusting me. I''m tired of having to defend myself against you and your family. We agreed that this vacation would help the both of us reconnect. Why can''t you just let this go?"

    ric takes a deep breath, "okay. I won''t ask again. Let''s try and enjoy the rest of this vacation."

    ra looks at me in surprise.

    "Did you hear all of that?" she asks me.

    I nod, "it would seem as though they still aren''t getting along."

    "Do you think Nicole is cheating on him?" She asks me.

    I shrug, "I wouldn''t put it past her to do something like that. She seems like she''s very capable, but I can''t say for sure."

    ra looks concerned as she looks at ric through the small space in the door.

    </section><section>

    I was worried about my sister. I think she might be developing feelings for another Prince. First, it was Carter, and now ric. Carter already broke her heart; I was scared that she was going to break her own heart because of ric.

    As long as he was married, there would never be a chance for them.

    </section>

 Chapter 352 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    When ric and Nicole finally leave after their heated argument, ra changes into a bikini while I put on a sundress.

    "Is that what you n on wearing?" She asks me.

    </section><section>

    I roll my eyes, "I''m pregnant with Carter''s baby. I don''t think I need to seduce him anymore."

    Sheughs, "anymore? So you seduced him in the past?"

    I gently push her out the door, "that was all because of you. You forced me to do your work and now I''m stuck in this mess."

    Sheughs as we make our way to the pool, "Come on Scarlett, we both know it worked out in the end for you. I think you should thank me instead ofining.¡±

    I was about to respond when I saw something that caught my eyes almost immediately.

    This wasn''t good.

    Seeing Carter shirtless in front of me was doing weird things to my body.

    What was wrong with me? I was pregnant and didn''t think I''d want him as much now. I was so wrong.

    My need for him might have even grown.

    I wanted his hands on me again.

    I was dying to have him inside me.

    What was wrong with me? Why was I so desperate for his touch out of nowhere?

    There were so many things I wanted to ask him for, but I couldn''t until he told me the truth about everything.

    He catches me looking at him, and I can see the surprise on his handsome face. Could he tell that I wanted him badly right now?

    "You look like you could eat him alive," ra whispers next to me. "How was I so blind not to notice how crazy you are about each other? It''s been so obvious this entire time. The two of you haven''t exactly been discreet."

    "What?" I ask in surprise as I take a seat, I was scared that my knees would fail me.

    She quirks a brow at me, "Jenna told me that she was surprised it took me that long to realize the truth. Now I know that she was right. You always stare at him like he''s thest man on earth. And the way he looks at you, he''s never looked at me that way, not even when we were together."

    Hearing my sister say something like that should make me feel guilty that he never showed her the affection he sometimes gives me; however, it made me so happy.

    There was still Carter''s dark secret keeping us apart, but I wanted to believe that once I knew the truth, everything could go back to the way it was before Carter broke things off between us.

    Our rtionship has been weakened ever since, even though we were now married.

    "She''s telling the truth," Violet says next to us.

    She was Carter''s younger sister, and she was indeed just as beautiful as he was handsome. She was also very kind, much to my pleasure.

    "The truth about what?" I ask her.

    "My brother has never looked at a woman like he looks at you." She informs me. "I know he must have said or done some things to try and push you away, but I can assure you that he only did those things because he cares about you."

    That doesn''t make any sense. Why would he push me away if he cared about me?

    I wanted to bring up the full moon to Violet, but I knew it would be useless. The only person that might be willing to tell me the truth had to be Nicole. However, I didn''t want to ask her anything about Carter and his family. She didn''t seem like someone I could trust. N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    "I''m sorry if my words have offended you, ra." She apologizes to my sister. "I can assure you that Carter also cared about you plenty. He pushed you away for the same reason he''s pushing Scarlett away."

    ra looks at me in surprise.

    "One day soon, he might build the courage to tell the truth. In the meantime, please be patient with him, Scarlett." Violet pleads with me.

    How could I say no when she asked so nicely?

    "I''ll try," I promise her.

    "And don''t worry about your words affecting me," ra tells her. "I''m over my feelings for your brother."

    "Well, that''s good then," Nicole says as she walks before us. "I don''t see why you''re here on this family vacation if you and Carter no longer have a rtionship."

    What the hell?

    "I invited her." I hissed as I gave her a death re.

    I was right not to ask her anything about the full moon.

    Violet narrows her eyes, "I thought you wanted a divorce from my brother. Why are you here to ruin our vacation?"

    Nicole sighs, "Violet darling, that''s in the past. Married couples do have a lot of arguments; it''s only natural. Maybe when a guy is finally interested in you, you''ll know what I''m talking about. For now, you should mind your business and focus on little girl stuff."

    My eyes widened. I couldn''t believe those words hade out of this grown woman''s mouth.

    She had zero shame and no respect. How could she speak to her husband''s little sister in such a disrespectful manner?

    "Besides, now that ric and I have worked out our differences, I n on never leaving his side for the rest of our lives." She says as she looks directly at ra.

    What the hell was this woman''s problem?

    "What''s going on here?" Carter asks as he approaches us. He could already tell that Nicole was looking to start trouble among us.

    </section><section>

    I was happy that he had intervened. I was very close to getting up from my chair and pping the mole near her upper lip out of her face.

    Why did she hate us so much?

    </section>

 Chapter 353 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "It''s none of your business, Carter." She snaps at him as she waves her hand in front of his face.

    "I''ll say the fact that you''re upsetting my pregnant wife is definitely my business." He growls.

    </section><section>

    My silly heart was doing that thing again, where it behaved wildly, but only because of him.

    "Is something wrong?" ric asks as he joins the conversation.

    Carter turns to his brother, and he looks pissed at even him, "You said that she promised not to start any more arguments with any of us. She hasn''t changed at all. If she has nothing good to say, I don''t want her around Scarlett."

    "What''s going on?" Carter''s father asks as he realizes there was amotion.

    "Nicole is stirring up trouble, as usual, father." Violet sighs. "She doesn''t want us to have a good time. That''s why she''s here."

    Nicole folds her arms over her chest and res at us.

    I still didn''t understand her at all.

    "Nicole?" His father calls her name as he looks at her. "What''s going on?"

    "It''s nothing, father." rices to her rescue. "I think she''s just exhausted. I''ll take her inside."

    "And keep her in there." Carter growls.

    "Why do they always pick on me, ric?" I hear her cry. It was definitely a fake cry. Did she enjoy manipting him?

    ric has to drag his wife away from us for her to leave. I was beginning to think that she had a mental problem. No sane person would behave the way that she did.

    She seemed to have a problem with everyone around her. Was there anyone that she was nice to?

    Carter turns to look at me now that Nicole is nowhere around.

    He ces both hands on either side of the chair and leans into me. "Did she say anything to you again?"

    There''s a look of panic and worry on his face. My heart rate doubles, and I try to catch my breath.

    "Nothing that you need to worry about," I assure him.

    He looks to Violet for confirmation, and she nods her head. He trusts herpletely. I could tell by the way his shoulders immediately rxed.

    "If she tries to harass you again, tell me immediately." He tells me. He was so close to me that I could smell him.

    I wish he could trust me just a little. I''ve never betrayed him; he should know by now that I would never hurt him.

    That wasn''t exactly true. I did go along with ra''s revenge n to hurt him in the beginning.

    I wasn''t exactly innocent in all of this, either.

    "Carter!" Cole shouts as he pelts a basketball our way. I gasp when Carter stops it from colliding with my face.

    He angrily spins around and ms the ball into his brother''s chest. "What the fuck were you trying to aim it for?"

    Cole looks genuinely concerned as he looks over at me. "I''m sorry, sis!" He apologizes. "That was meant for Carter."

    My heart melts after hearing him call me sis. Cole looked like a sweetheart.

    "It''s okay, Carter," I assure him. "It''s not like it was intentional, and it didn''t hit me because of you."

    He stops ring at his brother to look at me. I can see the surprise in his eyes, but I can also spot pride. It almost looks like he''s proud that I''m his wife.

    That couldn''t be true. He was forced into this marriage with me. Why would he be proud to call me his wife?

    "Who''s ready to lose?" Apollo asks as he takes the ball from Cole.

    "Not me," Conor shouts as he tries to take the ball from his brother.

    "I think ric has already lost." Ares growls as he joins in on the game. This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    "I know," Apolloins. "I can''t believe he''s brought that woman back into our lives. I thought she would be gone for good."

    "We were stupid for ever thinking she would leave his life that easily," Carter says as he returns to the basketball court right next to the pool. "She isn''t resting until she ruins his lifepletely."

    Ares nods in agreement. "I believe she only agreed to make this marriage work because she saw that he was finally ready to let her go. She likes to y mind games with our brother."

    "I wish he would find someone who loves him." Apollo sighs. "I feel sorry for him."

    ra looks at me, and Violet does, too.

    "He''s right." She whispers. "I wish my brother could find someone who loves him. Nicole is just ying with his heart, and he doesn''t deserve it. ric is the sweetest man I know, and I''m not just saying it because he''s my brother. He''s kind and gentle. He listens to all of us. He''s our protector. Not even Mom and Dad have been there for all of us like he has been. It hurts me to see what Nicole is doing to him."

    I look at ra, and I can see that this conversation makes her ufortable.

    "Do they have a basketball court at every house your family owns?" I ask Violet. I wanted to change the topic so that my sister could rx a little.

    She chuckles, "They do. I always read my books while they y, but they make the most noise."

    "You love to read?" I ask with excitement.

    She nods with a wide smile. "I brought not one but ten books for this trip, and I n on reading all of them before we return home."

    "I can''t believe this," ra whispers. "I''m not stuck with one but two of you bookworms."

    Violet''s eyes widen, "you love reading also?"

    I grin, "I think I''m just as obsessed as you are."

    "You know, Scarlett, the book I''m reading is a story simr to your life with my brother," Violet says suddenly. "Her boyfriend is keeping a secret from her. She uses her art of seduction to get him to confess."

    ra ps, "Now, this is a book I can actually read."

    "Maybe Scarlett could try something like that to get Carter to tell her the truth." Violet continues.

    "Seduction?" I ask her.

    She nods.

    "I think that''s a wonderful n, Violet." ra praises her. "In fact, let''s test that theory right now."

    "What do you mean?" I ask her as I narrow my eyes.

    </section><section>

    "We''re going to get you changed!" She tells me as she pulls me out of the chair and back into the house.

    I already knew I was about to regret this.

    </section>

 Chapter 354 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    I watch my sister and ra practically drag Scarlett back into the house.

    "What''s that all about?" Ares asks.

    </section><section>

    I shrug my shoulders, "I can''t say. I didn''t hear anything they said."

    I was too busy trying to control my anger. I never said anything when Nicole disrespected my brother in front of us because he loved her and preferred that we all stay out of his rtionship. However, I would not let her disrespect Scarlett. In this case, I wouldn''t listen to ric anymore; I would only protect my wife.

    I''m sure he would do the same for Nicole if he was in my position. He has protected her multiple times in the past when we disapproved of the way she treated him in front of us.

    I grab the ball from Apollo''s hand and dribble it before dunking it for another score.

    "I''m in the lead again," I inform them.

    "What?" Apollo demands. "That''s a fucking lie. I''m in the lead."

    "You''re both assholes because I have the highest score right now." Ares intervenes.

    "Was anyone even keeping score other than us?" Apollo asks.

    Ares scratches his nose, "Huh, we should have asked the girls to keep score for us. That way, the rest of you wouldn''t be able to cheat."

    The ball drops from my hand when I see Scarlett walk back out of the house wearing a sexy ck bikini.

    What the fuck?

    What happened to the pretty sundress that covered most of her body?

    I couldn''t fucking concentrate when she was wearing something that barely covered her up.

    I hadn''t noticed before, but her pretty breasts had definitely gotten bigger. They looked full and ripe.

    Fuck.

    I wanted to suck on them. I turned to look at my brothers, and they were also looking in her direction.

    "Cover your fucking eyes before I make you." I threaten my brothers.

    They looked at me like I''d just lost my mind, and maybe I did. Scarlett couldn''t possibly expect me to think clearly when she looked the way that she did now.

    "That''s your damn wife. She''s now like a sister to us." Apollo ims as he hits my arm. "You need to wipe the drool out your mouth. She''s your wife now; you don''t have to act like you''re starving for her."

    But I was starving for her.

    "If there were a look that  could get her pregnant a second time, this would be it!" Ares chuckles.

    I throw the ball into his face.

    "Hey!" He shouts as he picks it up from the ground.

    I couldn''t focus on the game anymore. Not when Scarlett looked so damn sexy and irresistible.

    Does she realize what she''s doing to me?

    She isn''t even looking at me. She and Violet suddenly seem to be best friends. They''re exchanging books to read as we speak.

    "At least we finally have a girl join the family that Violet likes." Apolloughs.

    He stopsughing when we see ric behind us.

    How long was he even standing there? I was too busy staring at Scarlett to notice anyone else.

    "I''m sorry about earlier." He apologizes to me. "I thought Nicole would behave. She promised me that she would."

    "It''s okay," I assure him. "I don''t me you for her behavior."

    Apollo throws him the ball. "You missed out. I just beat everyone''s ass. Now it''s your turn."This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    ric chuckles and catches the ball, "Your winning time is over. Now it''s time to show you who''s the real boss."

    I looked over at Scarlett once more, and fuck it; I could feel my dick stir. The damn thing wanted her even though I promised myself I would never take advantage of her innocence again.

    I still had no fucking clue what it felt like to be inside her. I had no memory of that night, no matter how hard I tried to force myself to remember. All I knew was that it had to be fucking good. I just knew it had to be the most amazing experience of my life.

    "Fuck." I growl when the ball hits me directly on my temple.

    "Where the hell is your head at?" Apollo demands from me. "You just let that ball hit you."

    "He''s never been this distracted during a game," Ares says. "I know what''s different about this one."

    I knew he was hinting at Scarlett. If he kept it up, the ball would soon be against his mouth.

    Scarlett looks at me, and I think she just heard the asshole. Her eyes sparkled a little, and the damn thing lit up my heart.

    It didn''t matter what it was; the smallest look of happiness on her face could make me the happiest man alive.

    Only she had the power to get that kind of reaction out of me.

    "I think you should speak to your wife," ric tells me. "Your head is not in the game."

    </section><section>

    Speak to Scarlett when she looked like an enchantress?

    Fuck yes. I would take that risk just for her.

    </section>

 Chapter 355 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "Go inside now," ra whispers to me.

    "W-what?" I ask her.

    </section><section>

    "Just trust me," she whispers back.

    I don''t wait for her to exin as I turn and walk into the house. I knew she made me do this because she thought Carter would follow me.

    However, I didn''t think that he would. He was busy having fun with his brothers. As far as I knew, he also wanted to keep distance between us, especially since I started asking him about the full moon.

    I walked into the living room, which had an open view of the beautiful garden with many beautiful flowers. It was a breathtaking sight, and it captivated me. N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    This was good. I needed a distraction from Carter and the way he made me feel.

    Loving someone that didn''t love you back was one of the most painful experiences this world had. I didn''t just love Carter; I was now married to him and would soon have his baby.

    I desperately wanted to make things work between us for the sake of our baby. I wanted him to grow up in a happy home.

    Even after Carter hurt me so badly, I still would give my life for him. He may never realize just how much I love him. I still don''t know when exactly my feelings for him changed, but ever since it did, I haven''t beenpletely happy.

    Everything was changing too quickly around me. I wish he could make it easier for me.

    There were signs that he was trying to be a good husband to me, but it wasn''t enough.

    My eyes widen when I see him walk into the living room.

    I never expected him to follow me even though ra seemed convinced that he would. Did she know him better than I did?

    What was he doing here?

    His body was sweaty from ying basketball with his brothers, and his wet hair was sticking to his forehead. Carter was so sexy without even trying to be, particrly when he yed sports. It was one of those things that just made you stop and stare.

    He walked past me, and I didn''t know why I felt so disappointed. Did I expect him to stop and actually try to start a conversation with me? Carter was incapable of having a proper conversation with me.

    Why did ra think he would evene after me?

    I sigh and rest my head against the sofa as I close my eyes.

    I needed to stop expecting things from Carter; my life would be much easier if I stopped trying to understand him.

    I gasp when I feel someone''s hands on my feet. When I open my eyes, it''s Carter in front of me. He sits on the sofa opposite me and ces my feet on hisp before he starts to massage them.

    "What are you doing?" I ask in surprise.

    "You look tired." He tells me. "I want to do this for you. You''re like this because of me."

    I frown, "why do you always have to make my pregnancy seem like such a bad thing?"

    He looks sad as he says, "I know you, Scarlett. You had so many ns for your future. I was your first. You gave me something no other woman ever gave to me. You trusted me, and I did something unforgivable. Now you''re pregnant, and it''s all my fault. You were forced to marry me. I did so many things that are currently ruining your life."

    "Don''t you realize by now that I love you?" I demand. "I''ve said it to you already. You know that I love you. Do you think that marrying you or having your baby is the worst thing to ever happen to me? I''m so happy that it''s your baby and not anyone else¡¯s. Do you even know how much I love my baby, knowing that you are the father? You don''t know anything at all about me, Carter. If you did, you would have already known these things."

    His lips parted slightly, and I could see the surprise in his eyes. There''s a huge possibility that this is the first time he''s ever believed what I said.

    "I''m sorry, Scarlett," he whispers. "I''m so sorry that I''ve hurt you so much."

    "Don''t apologize if you don''t mean it." I snap. "If you meant it, you would have considered telling me about your dark secret."

    He takes my hand and looks directly into my eyes, "My biggest reason for not telling you is my fear of losing you because of it. I don''t want to lose you. I don''t want to lose our baby. I need the both of you in my life."

    Why would he lose me if he told me the truth?

    He moves from the sofa and gently presses his lips to my forehead. "I will do anything to keep you in my life, Scarlett. Anything."

    He tries to move, but I grab his arm to stop him.

    "Kiss me," I whisper. "Please. Just one kiss."

    </section><section>

    I don''t know what was wrong with me.

    Why did I say that to him?

    </section>

 Chapter 356 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    I was stunned to hear Scarlett''s request.

    She wanted me to kiss her?

    </section><section>

    I was sure I would never have the chance to kiss her again after what I''d done to her.

    Hearing her ask me made me so damn happy. I wanted her to know just how badly I ached for her. I wanted her to know just how much I craved only her.

    I wanted her to know how happy I was that she was having my baby, even though it shouldn''t have happened like it did.

    "Do you know I made up an excuse just to touch you earlier?" I whisper into Scarlett''s ear. "You didn''t look tired at all. You looked fucking ravishing. I didn''t know if you would let me touch you, so I massaged your feet. I know it''s pathetic, but it''s how fucking much I burn for you, Scarlett. You''re the only woman that would ever have me on my knees begging for a chance to kiss you."

    I could hear her heartbeat fasten at my words, and it was one thing I always loved about her. I could tell when my words affected her.

    I was so in love with her, but I wouldn''t tell her now. The day I mustered up the courage to tell her the truth about my family''s curse would be when I told her how much I love her.

    I knew that she would leave me after she found out everything, but for now, I wanted to have as much of her as I possibly could. When that time came, I would fight to keep her in my life. I would beg her to stay with me. I would do everything to make her trust me and give me a chance.

    "What are you waiting for then?" She whispers.

    She didn''t need to tell me twice. I pull her into my arms and cover her lips with mine.

    I groan against her lips. It was like her mouth was feeding me energy. I felt stronger and happier from just one kiss.

    "Your lips are my paradise," I growl against her mouth.

    Her hands wrap tightly around my neck as I deepen our kiss.

    It wasn''t enough; I found my hands roaming her body even though I was breaking the promise I made to myself.

    "Everywhere hurts." She cries.

    I pull back in horror, "am I hurting you?"

    I was a fucking idiot. She was pregnant, and I was being too rough with her. This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    "I''m so sorry, Scarlett¡ª"

    "Will you stop apologizing and kiss me!" she snaps.

    "But¡ª"

    "I didn''t mean it like that." She exins as she buries her hands in my hair and pulls my face closer to hers. "I meant that my body is aching for you. I meant that it''s crying for your touch. It hurts because you took too long to touch me again."

    There''s a loud ringing in my ear at her words.

    FUCK!

    "Don''t say things like that to me," I growl against her lips.

    "Why not?" She gasps when I grab her thighs roughly and pull her against my lower half.

    "Because it makes me want to do things to you that I promised never to do again," I whisper, unable to hide the pain from my voice.

    Staying away from her is and always was the most challenging thing I''ve ever had to do.

    "Why do you keep preventing yourself from doing things that can make us both happy?" She asks as she lightly bites down on my bottom lip.

    Damn it.

    She was a damn seductress.

    It was also a fucking good question.

    Why Carter?

    Do you not want to be happy?

    Scarlett was the key to my happiness. There was no other but her.

    "She''s already pregnant." I hear Nicole''s voice.

    Scarlett jumps and puts distance between the two of us.

    A low growl escapes my mouth as I re at my brother''s annoying wife.

    "Don''t you have anything better to do than to annoy everyone?" I demand.

    She rolls her eyes, "it''s not my fault that the both of you chose to attack each other in this house when you have a perfectly empty house right next door."

    "What do you want, Nicole?" I demand.

    "ric sent me to call for you." She answers me. "It''s supposedly urgent."

    I narrow my eyes, "is this another one of your lies?"

    "Lies?" She gasp. "I do not tell lies, Carter. You and your family are the ones that tell all of the lies. Do you want me to borate on that, or will you see what ric wants?"

    I stiffen at her threat.

    </section><section>

    I look at Scarlett, and she nods for me to leave.

    I push past Nicole. If she were lying about this, I would pay extra to ship her off on a boat and out of this bloody ind.

    </section>

 Chapter 357 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    I was upset that Nicole had stopped what was happening between Carter and me. I felt like I was getting closer to making him open up to me. Then she entered and ruined everything.

    I was beginning to dislike this woman on a whole different level. I can¡¯t remember ever being this irritated by anyone this much.

    </section><section>

    ¡°Why are you just standing there?¡± I ask her. ¡°You¡¯re staring at me for no reason.¡±

    She shrugs, ¡°I¡¯m just wondering how long it¡¯s going to take you to find out the truth.¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t need¡ª¡±

    ¡°Listen to me, you¡¯re pregnant with a child that may or may not have the same curse as Carter.¡± She tells me suddenly. ¡°I think it¡¯s important that you find out the truth before it¡¯s toote.¡±

    Curse?

    What the hell was this woman talking about?

    What other lies did she want to tell me? And why was she this persistent about it?

    ¡°I understand that there are things you want to tell me, but I have no interest in anything that you have to say,¡± I tell her.

    She looked surprised by my response, but there was also irritation in her eyes.

    "Do you think Carter or any member of his family will ever tell you anything about their dirty family secret?" She demands.

    I didn''t have anything to say to her. She was not a nice person, and I wanted to have very littlemunication with her.

    "I really don''t think I need to have this conversation with you," I answer her. N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    Sheughs, "I''m trying to protect you, yet you''re acting like I''m the enemy. You may not like what I say, Scarlett, but believe me when I say it''s the bloody truth."

    "I don''t need to know anything." I lie.

    She rolls her eyes, "we both know that you''re only telling yourself this to make it easier. You''re only going to get hurt if you continue to do so. You should listen to me. I know what I''m talking about. I told you before that I was once naive, just like you. I didn''t know that ric and his family had a dark secret. He never tried to tell me, not even once. He was never honest with me from the start, and that hurt the most. Carter will do the same thing to you."

    "Can you just stop, please?" I ask her. "I told you I don''t need to know anything, at least not from you. When Carter feels it''s the right time to tell me, I''m sure he will."

    I didn''t believe this, but I was willing to say anything to stop her from talking.

    "There''s something built in each of their homes, even on these homes at the ind." She says suddenly.

    "You mean a basketball court?"

    She doubles over inughter. "How are you this clueless? A basketball court? I''m talking about something much more serious than that."

    "I said I don''t need to hear."

    She steps in front of me to block me from leaving. "Just listen. Each of their homes has a basement¡ªa deep one. When you go there, you''ll find multiple rooms with strong locks on each of them.  If you don''t think there''s something seriously creepy about that, I don''t know what else I can say to warn you."

    A basement with rooms? What was so scary about that? Plenty of homes had basements with rooms.

    However, her words definitely sparked my curiosity. I wanted to find out if there was any truth to her words.

    "Everyone is outside right now." She points out. "Now is the perfect time for you to check. At least do it for your unborn baby. You''ll thank me one day for warning you about these people."

    "If they''re so bad, then why are you still with ric?" I demand. "If he''s such a monster and his family holds a dark secret that terrifies you, why are you holding onto him so strongly?"

    "Because I love him!" She snaps. "Even though I''m disgusted and terrified, I love ric more than anyone else in my life. I''m willing to sacrifice my happiness to keep him in my life."

    Why didn''t I believe her? If she loved him, she wouldn''t purposefully be trying to cause problems for him. I knew this woman was untrustworthy, but I had to see for myself.

    ric steps inside and goes rigid when he sees Nicole speaking to me.

    "Nicole?" He calls her name cautiously.

    "I was just telling Scarlett how sorry I was for how I acted earlier." She lies to him.

    She was such a good liar. No wonder ric kept believing every word she said to him.

    "That''s good," ric responds with a warm smile. "I''m happy that the two of you are getting along."

    Getting along?

    That''s something that would never happen.

    I watch as she walks over to him and winks at me. She takes his hand and leads him outside.

    </section><section>

    This was it.

    My chance to do some digging on my own.

    </section>

 Chapter 358 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    I''m convinced that Nicole thinks I''m aplete fool. This house didn''t have a damn basement. I looked everywhere for a door but could not find one that led to a basement.

    Why would she lie about something like that? Why would she lie at all?

    </section><section>

    I sit on one of the chairs next to the kitchen counter and ce my head in my hands.

    Why did I let her get into my head?

    I should have never listened to her. She''s thest person I should ever listen to.

    Why couldn''t Carter tell me the truth so that I wouldn''t find myself doubting him? All he needed to do was tell me what his dark secret was.

    It meant that he didn''t trust me. He married me but still didn''t trust me. Did he think I would announce his family secret to others?

    I wasn''t Nicole. I was nothing like her.

    And why was Nicole ying these games? It also seemed like she wanted to tell me their secret, why not just tell me?

    I sigh and pick myself up from the chair. It''s only then that I notice a red button on the wall right next to the utensils.

    That was strange.

    Why would something like that be there? Was it an rm for fire?

    I move closer to it.

    I was tempted to press it but wasn''t sure if something would happen to alert the others.

    I closed my eyes briefly before convincing myself I had to do it. I pressed hard and held my breath while waiting for something to happen.

    I heard a sound but couldn''t see anything in front of me. I followed the strange sound and my eyes widened when I saw a secret passageway.

    One look inside and immediately, I could see that it led to a basement.

    This wasn''t good.

    Why would they need a secret passageway in a beach house like this? Unless it was for safety reasons.

    I could barely breathe as I stepped inside. I kept on walking until I reached another door. There wasn''t a lock in it, as Nicole mentioned. I slowly opened it, and the lights immediately appeared when I stepped inside.

    Another examination of my surroundings and I soon realize that she didn''t lie to me. Nicole wasn''t lying when she said there would be multiple rooms with locks on each door.

    Why were there locks on each of these doors?

    Even more strangely, each room had the name of Carter and his siblings. It''s like they were assigned to each of them.

    It terrified me to see something like this.

    I didn''t think there was anything strange about rooms in a basement, but this was not ordinary. Something was going on here.

    A chill runs down my spine.

    I had to get out of here.

    I quickly ran out of the basement and out of the secret passageway. The second I exited the door, it closed and blended in with the wall like it wasn''t there just a second ago.

    I ce a hand over my chest as I walk back into the kitchen.

    I jump when I find Carter there.

    "Where have you been?" He asks me. "I''ve been searching everywhere for you."

    I could barely form words as I tried to answer him without giving anything away.

    I didn''t want to tell him what I''d just done. I feared how he would react when he learned what I''d just seen.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    "Scarlett?" He asks hesitantly. "What''s wrong? Did something happen? You look like you''d just seen a ghost."

    I guess I couldn''t hide my expression from him.

    "Did Nicole say something to you again?" He asks. I could see the panic begin to build up inside of him. He knew what Nicole was capable of at this point.

    I was beginning to realize that not everything that came out of her mouth was aplete lie. Everything she''s told me about that basement is entirely urate.

    "No." I lie. "She didn''t."

    "Then what''s wrong?" He asks me.

    I ce a hand over my stomach, "I suddenly feel very sick." It wasn''t aplete lie. I did feel sick after what I''d just seen. I wish Carter would have told me the truth from the beginning; now, my mind was going to the worst things possible.

    His eyes widen at my words, and he steps towards me.

    "Does it hurt somewhere?" He asks me gently. "Do you need me to get anything for you?"

    "I think I just need to lie down," I confess.

    I gasp when he picks me up into his arms, bridal style.

    "What are you doing?" I demand in surprise.

    He doesn''t say anything as he walks out of the house and into the house we were supposed to stay in. He doesn''t stop walking until he reaches our bedroom.

    He opens the door while still holding me with his other hand. It was hard for me to believe that Carter could have a dark side. There had to be another reason for those rooms.

    But what could it be? What was he trying so desperately to keep from me?

    </section><section>

    I didn''t want to believe that Carter was a bad person.

    I just didn''t.

    </section>

 Chapter 359 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    Scared. It''s the only emotion in my heart as I watch Scarlett lying on my bed with her hand on her stomach.

    I knew something had happened since I''d left her with Nicole.

    </section><section>

    I should have taken her with me.

    She imed that Nicole didn''t say anything to her, but I could tell she was lying.

    "Do you want me to get anything for you?" I ask her gently.

    She looks almost terrified of me as she whispers, "No."

    It was just one word. She was barely speaking to me, and it was driving me insane.

    "Scarlett," I whisper. "If there is something that you want to ask me, you can."

    She looks away from my gaze, "I don''t have anything I want to ask right now. You haven''t answered any of the important questions. There is nothing else that I want to ask you."

    I knew I was running out of time to tell her. But I was selfish for her love and I would prolong it as much as possible.

    "I''ll do anything to keep you in my life, Scarlett," I promise her. "If I choose to keep something from you, it''s only because I fear it would take you from me. You may never understand how badly I need you in my life."This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    Her eyes snap to mine at my words. I can see the surprise mixed with confusion in them.

    "I want you." She says suddenly.

    I frown.

    "You want me?" I ask her.

    She nods, "you said you can''t remember anything from our night together." She reminds me. "I want a repeat of that night. But this time, I don''t want you to forget it."

    Her words immediately got a reaction out of my body.

    I never once thought she would ever want us to do that again. I thought it would never happen.

    As much as I wanted to make it happen for both of us, I didn''t think it was right to encourage it when she still didn''t know the truth about my family''s curse.

    "You may think that I forgot about it because I was drunk or for other reasons, but I can assure you that if it were up to me, I would remember every single detail of our first night together," I promise her. "I hate myself, I me myself, I''m constantly angry because no matter how hard I try, the memory of us on that night is gone."

    She rises from the bed and ces her hand on my chest, "then we can make a new memory. One that you wouldn''t forget."

    I close my eyes and find the control to say no to her.

    "Scarlett," I whisper. "It''s not that I don''t want to. I''m fucking dying inside to be close to you, as close as I can be. However, there are still things you don''t know about me or my family. I don''t want to do anything until I know you''re okay with my dark secret."

    I can see her eyes flicker in shock. I could see the fear again, also.

    "Are you scared of me?" I whisper.

    Thest thing I wanted was for her to fear me.

    She thought about it for a few seconds before she shook her head. "No." She says confidently. "I''m not scared of you, but I am worried. The more I learn about this secret that you''re so desperate to keep from me, the more I fear that it would cause a drift in our marriage. It didn''t start good, our marriage only happened because I got pregnant; I don''t want anything to pull us apart now that we are married.¡±

    I inhale sharply at her words.

    She wanted to make our marriage work.

    She had no idea just how happy those words made me. All this time, I was terrified that she was forced into this marriage. All this time, I was worried that she was unhappy being married to me and having our baby.

    "I want this, Carter." She promises me. "Even without knowing the truth about your past or this secret, I still love and want you."

    She moves forward and presses her lips to my neck.

    My hands tighten on the sheets beneath us.

    I wanted her so fucking much.

    "I think this is what we both need." She whispers. "I want your hands on me again, Carter. I want to feel your touch."

    It pains me to hear how much she wants this and know I still can''t give it to her.

    "I''m sorry, Scarlett," I whisper. "I can''t do this. Not now. It''s not right. It''s not fair to you if I say yes to this."

    "How is it not fair when I''m asking for it?" she demands from me.

    She moves her lips from my neck and moves to my lips.

    I knew that the second her lips touched mine. It would be over. There would be no chance for me to say no again.

    I swiftly pull away from her. I can see the look of betrayal in her eyes as I storm out of the room.

    </section><section>

    Fuck.

    Why the fuck couldn''t I do anything right?

    </section>

 Chapter 360 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "It''s your pregnancy hormones," ra tells me as I exin how much I''ve been craving Carter recently.

    I didn''t think it was just the pregnancy hormones. I''ve always wanted him, even at times when I didn''t even like him.

    </section><section>

    "I don''t think that''s it."

    She smiles, "Oh, trust me. It is. I''ve heard girls speak about this in the past. When you''re pregnant, you can''t control your urges as much as you would have done when you weren''t pregnant. That''s exactly what''s happening to you. It''s not going to stop until you get what you want."

    That was the problem. Carter was not going to give me what I wanted. He was convinced that it was the right thing to do.

    "What''s wrong?" She asks me. I couldn''t hide the unhappiness from my face.

    "He turned me down yesterday," I exin to her.

    He didn''t even spend the night with me in the same room. He slept in the room next to ours even though he said he wouldn''t do something like that again after our wedding night.

    "What?" She asks in surprise. "Why would he turn you down when he already got you pregnant? That doesn''t make any sense at all."

    I wanted to mention the family secret to ra, but I knew that it wasn''t something I could tell her. If I did, I would be no different than Nicole.

    It wasn''t my ce to tell anyone about their secret. It''s not like I had a clue about it either way. I just knew that it wasn''t something that anyone would take lightly.

    "It''splicated," I answer her. "I wish he wouldn''t make things soplicated between us. We are married now. I''m ready to make our marriage work, but Carter keeps making it difficult for me to do so."

    "Do you want me to talk to him?" She asks me.

    I frown, "you don''t like speaking to him after everything." I remind her.

    "I can tolerate him now after he apologized." She assured me. "Besides, this isn''t about our past; this is about your happiness. I would do anything to keep my little sister happy."

    I could feel the tears build up in my eyes at her words.

    "I didn''t mean to make you cry." She gasps.

    "It''s okay," I assure her. "It''s these pregnancy hormones; they''re all over the ce. I can''t seem to control my emotions anymore."

    Sheughs and hugs me, "It will get better. I promise."

    "That''s easy for you to say; you''re not the one who''s pregnant." I remind her.

    She sighs, "But I wish I were the one that was pregnant."

    I stare at her in surprise, totally shocked that she admitted something like that to me.

    "Since when did you want to get pregnant?" I ask her. "You aren''t even interested in¡ª"

    I stop talking. There was someone that she was interested in, but he waspletely off-limits.

    She sighs and ces a hand on my belly.

    "I don''t know Scarlett. I''ve been thinking, I''m almost finished with the academy. I always wanted to have my own family after finishing the academy. Now, I don''t have a boyfriend, and there isn''t anyone avable that I like. I know the circumstances that you got pregnant weren''t the best, but at least you''re having a baby with the man you love."

    I kiss her on her cheek, "I''m sure that the right man for you woulde into your life so quickly that you won''t even have time to prepare. When that timees, you''ll get all the happiness you deserve."

    She''s about to respond when something behind me catches her attention. "ric looks upset about something."

    I followed her gaze, and she was right. He did look unhappy, but it was expected since he was married to Nicole.

    "Carter is going into the house." She adds suddenly. "I think that you should follow him and try again."

    My eyes widen. "Why would I do such a thing? I don''t exactly enjoy getting rejected by my husband."

    "I think he just feels guilty about something Scarlett." She suggests. "I see the way he looks at you. You can''t honestly believe that he doesn''t want you. He does, which means there must be a reason he''s saying no to you. I think you should try again. He wouldn''t be able to say no to you twice."

    I didn''t want to listen to her this time, but she just gave me an idea. This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    </section><section>

    If it was confirmed that he wanted me and felt guilty about his family''s secret, it meant that if I tried hard enough, he would give me what I wanted, and maybe there was even a possibility that he would tell me the truth.

    I wasn''t about to give up. I would try twice as hard to get the truth out of him tonight.

    </section>

 Chapter 361 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    I promised Scarlett I wouldn''t spend another night away from her after our wedding night, yet yesterday I broke that promise. Not only that, but I also ruined the first night of what was supposed to be our honeymoon.

    She wanted me; she made it clear that she did, and I fucking turned her down.

    </section><section>

    It was still haunting me.

    She has no fucking clue how hard it was for me to say no to her yesterday. Tonight, I decided to stay in the same bed with her, no matter how difficult it became.

    I knew it would be impossible to keep my hands away from her, but I had to find the strength.

    I knew that I could stop this bloody torture and just tell her the truth.

    I almost came forward earlier to tell her what the dark secret was, but I was unable to do it the second that I saw her face.

    My biggest fear was losing her, and it was the only reason I didn''t tell her the truth yet.

    I knew I couldn''t keep it hidden for long. Scarlett was getting closer and closer to the truth. She was also very impatient; if I didn''t tell her, she would find out one way or the other.

    I slowly walked into the room and found her face down on the bed. She had on a sexy lingerie with her ass staring straight at me.

    I knew it was intentional. She didn''t have to try so hard to get my attention; she could be in the ugliest clothes ever, and I would still be attracted to her.

    However, it would be even more challenging to stay away from her when she purposefully dressed to tease me like this.

    She slowly turns around when she hears my footsteps, and I stop moving when I see her full breasts. The damn cloth barely covered anything. I could see her nipple poking through it.

    Fuck.

    I closed my eyes and covered my face with my hand.

    "Is something wrong?" I hear her ask, feigning innocence.

    She knew exactly what was wrong. She knew what she was fucking doing to me.

    My dick felt like it was ready to fucking explode in my pants. It was pissed at me for not taking what she was offering to me. It only had one thing on its mind, but I was not going to make it fucking easy.

    I would fight it back as much as I could.

    "Nothing is wrong," I say, but my voice was so fucking hoarse that I knew she would be able to tell immediately that she was affecting me.

    I walk straight into the bathroom and shut the door.

    Act like a fucking man, Carter.

    I couldn''t get the thoughts of fucking her out of my head. I had no memory of the only time it happened between us, but my imagination was wild.

    I''ve slept around in the past, but I knew nothing couldpare to sleeping with Scarlett. It wasn''t just sex with her; it would be making love. It was the only way I could describe it. She''s the only one I would ever feel this way for, and she was mine. And if I had anything to say about it, she would always remain mine.

    I ce my hands on the bathroom counter and stare at myself in the mirror.

    Just one night, just one night, I could survive one night sleeping in the same room with her.

    I tried to convince myself this would work, but I knew it wouldn''t.

    And it wasn''t just one damn night; it was the rest of our lives. I didn''t want to break any more promises to her. I wanted her to trust me from now on. If I built up her trust in me, then maybe when I broke the news to her, she wouldn''t leave me, then perhaps she would give me a chance to exin.

    Hopefully, she would act nothing like the way Nicole acted. I hoped she would still love me after discovering how much of a monster I was.

    I take a deep breath and step back out of the bathroom and into the room.

    Scarlett isn''t in the bed like I expected her to be. Instead, she sits on my desk with her legs spread wide.

    My fucking head almost exploded at the sight.

    "What do you think you''re doing, Scarlett?" I growl.

    She folds her arms stubbornly, "I''m just stretching. I heard that it''s good for the baby."

    I exhaled loudly, and I knew that I was about to lose all control.

    "You don''t know what you''re doing, Scarlett," I warn her.

    "I know exactly what I''m doing, Carter." She assured me. "I think you''re the one that doesn''t know what he''s doing."

    That was it.

    I couldn''t do this anymore.

    I was done running from what I wanted.

    </section><section>

    I would deal with the consequences after.

    I cross the room and grab her by the waist; without a second thought, I crash my lips to hers.

    </section>

 Chapter 362 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    Carter''s mouth was hungry against mine. He acted like he wouldbust into mes if he didn''t get more of me soon.

    This was exactly what I had hoped for. It was working. My n was working perfectly.

    </section><section>

    ra was right yet again. There was nothing anyone could do to convince me that Carter didn''t want me anymore.

    He did; he wanted me more than I could ever dream about.

    I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tightly.

    Whatever it was that he was keeping from me, I believed that we would be able to work through it. I was positive that I would be able to ept it because I loved him like crazy.

    I knew that I was taking a risk without knowing the truth, but I didn''t care. I was just happy that he was in my arms. I never wanted to let go of him.

    I wanted to always be his wife, no matter what happened in the future. As long as we were together, I knew I would be happy.

    I''ve tried life without him in the past, and I was miserable for the entire time. I didn''t want to go through that kind of torture again.

    This was where I belonged, in Carter''s arms for the rest of my life.

    He grabs my legs and pulls me against his lower body. I almost scream from happiness and pleasure when I feel his dick pressing against me. It was warm and hard. He was ready for me and this was more proof that he wanted me just as badly as I needed him.

    "Tell me if you want me to stop." He tells me.

    "Never," I whisper. "I''ll never want you ever to stop Carter. Keep going. Give me everything and more."

    He didn''t need to be told twice.

    He rips the lingerie off my body and worships every inch of my body. There wasn''t a better way to describe what Carter was doing to my body. He treated me like I was his queen as he continued to kiss and caress every part of me.

    I gasp when his mouth closes over my nipple while one of his hands pinches the other.

    He buries one hand in my hair, preventing my head from hitting the wall behind me. He was somehow still protecting me while pleasuring the life out of me.

    He takes my hand and ces it on his heart, "You don''t know how badly I fucking ache for you, Scarlett. It hurts because I want you so damn much, and for the longest time, I felt like you could never be mine. Now we''re married, and I still can''tpletely call you mine."

    What was he talking about? I was only his. I would never belong to anyone else but him. He was the one I was in love with, and it was his baby that I was having.

    Who else could I possibly belong to?

    "You already know that my family can''t have mates." He whispers as he covers my neck with kisses. "It means that your mate is still out there somewhere. It haunts me every fucking night when I think about the possibility of himing into your life and trying to take you from me."N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    That was ridiculous.

    Even if I had a mate out there, I could never love him like I loved Carter. He was my one true love, no one else, and there wasn''t anyone on this who could change my mind.

    "But I can tell you one thing, Scarlett, if he ever shows up, I''m never fucking letting you go." He promises me. "You''re mine. You''ll always be mine. You''re carrying my baby, not any other man''s. I don''t care who your mate is; I would fight to my death to keep you in my life."

    His words left me so speechless that I cried out when I felt his dick push into me. I wasn''t prepared, but that didn''t mean it didn''t feel amazing.

    It felt so good to have him inside of me again. He picks me up into his arms and leans me against the wall as he proceeds to move in and out of me, slow at first, then faster and harder.

    "You smell amazing, Scarlett." He whispers as he moves his hands to my ass and pulls me harder against him so that his dick slides even further into me.

    My eyes were wide, and my lips parted slightly as I held onto his shoulders for support.

    I can hardly breathe when he nibbles on my neck; it feels good to feel his teeth graze against my skin.

    "You have no idea how happy it makes me to know you married me, Scarlett." He growls against my ear as he thrusts into me yet again. "I swear to you that I will spend the rest of my life giving you everything you want. I''ll make you happy. I promise you that."

    I believed him. I truly did.

    </section><section>

    When he quickened his thrusts, I knew that he was near. I held onto him as tightly as I could as he continued to pleasure me in the best ways possible.

    I loved this man. I loved him so damn much.

    </section>

 Chapter 363 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    I woke up in Carter''s arms, and it was the best feeling in the entire universe. I couldn''t remember thest time I''d ever felt this happy.

    I wish we could stay like this forever. Only one thing bothered me, I knew that it wouldn''t be long before I found out the truth about his secret.

    </section><section>

    I peek up at him, and his eyes are closed. He''s still fast asleep, and I can''t help but smile as I watch him. Carter was even more handsome up close, especially with the sunlight lightly touching his face through the small space in the curtain.

    I can''t stop myself as I lightly press my lips against his before I whisper, "I love you, Carter. You''re the only man I''ve ever loved like this. I''m happy that it was you."

    He stirs a little, and I move my lips from his; however, he surprises me when he grabs my waist and pulls me on top of him.

    I gasped when he opened his eyes.

    Was he awake this entire time? His eyes were dark with unknown emotions as he stared at me passionately.

    He turned us over without warning so that I was now beneath his body.

    I gasp when I feel his arousal.

    He was ready for me already. I couldn''t believe he wanted me this badly.

    "I''m hungry for you." He growls against my ear. I felt my heart skip a beat.

    Hearing him admit it made me feel giddy inside. This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    I gasped when he cupped my breasts in his hands. He doesn''t stop there; he moves one of his hands to my thigh and spreads my legs apart.

    My eyes widened when I felt him there.

    We still didn''t have any clothes on sincest night. Nothing was separating us. I loved it this way.

    I cry out when he thrusts into me with so much force that I feel him deep inside of me.

    "Carter!" I scream as he increases his pace.

    This time, it felt like he was even hungrier thanst night. He wasn''t holding back with each of his thrusts, and it was more pleasure than I could handle.

    I grab his back and scratch uncontrobly as I try to keep up with him.

    I knew when he was near because I was near also. I felt tears in my eyes as we both climaxed at the same time. This time, these were the good kind of tears.

    I held him close until I knew that he''d buried all of his seed inside of me.

    He ced his head against my forehead and stayed like that for a few seconds before he finally rolled off me.

    I bit my lip as I felt my cheeks redden. I couldn''t believe we''d just done that. How many times were there betweenst night and this morning?

    I gasped when his hands reached for me again.

    Was he ready for me once more?

    This time he puts me on top of him, and his dick slides into me easily. He sits up and wraps his arms around my waist as he guides me up and down his dick.

    My breasts were pressed up against his chest, and his mouth was close to my ear, "I can promise you that this is a memory that I will never forget. I''ll think of you like this every second of every day for the rest of my life."

    . . . . . . .

    I was grinning from ear to ear when Carter finally let me leave the room. I couldn''t hide my happiness from anyone. They all noticed almost immediately when I stepped inside the beach house next to ours.

    Carter''s brothers wouldn''t stop teasing us about it. They knew what had happenedst night. And this morning. And then for lunch.

    It was afternoon, and we had onest night on the ind. As much as we all wanted to stay longer, everyone had things to get back to at home.

    "I told you not to stop trying," ra whispers when I sit beside her.

    I blush, "So maybe you were right for once."

    She rolls her eyes andughs. Her smile quickly fades when she sees Nicole walk in with ric.

    Nicole''s eyes immediately go to mine, and she looks surprised. Was she expecting something else after what she told me yesterday? Did she think I would have made a scene like she loves to do? Did she think that I would use Carter and his family of the worst things possible just because there were rooms with locks in the basement?

    I was nothing like her. I would never be like her. I was happy that my reaction to finding out she was telling the truth wasn''t what she had expected from me.

    Later that day, she followed me into the kitchen when no one else was around.

    "I know you saw it." She says behind me.

    I sighed loudly; I didn''t want to hear anything from her.

    I had a great time with Carterst night and today and wanted to keep it that way.

    "I didn''t see anything." I lie.

    "Why are you lying?" She asks me. "Why are you trying to protect him?"

    "He''s my husband and I love him. In case you haven''t realized, ric is also your husband, and you shouldn''t be spreading misinformation about him and his family to others."

    "Wait and see what happens in the near future. You wouldn''t be happy for long, Scarlett." She says suddenly. "If you want to know the whole truth, I suggest you go to the basement on the next full moon and see that the man you''re so crazy about is not worth protecting."

    I stiffen at her words.

    "It''s something worth seeing. Even if you don''t look on this full moon, trust me, you will eventually decide to do it." She snaps. "When each full moon passes and you realize that your husband keeps disappearing for an entire night without telling you anything and then showing up with scratches and bruises all over his body. You will want to know the truth."

    A chill runs down my spine at her words.

    I didn''t want to do it.

    </section><section>

    I wanted to wait for Carter to tell me on his own.

    But was I strong enough to do that?

    </section>

 Chapter 364 -

    <section>

    ~Two weeks Later~

    ~NICOLE~

    It was one day before the full moon, and I was waiting for the chance to make ric''s family pay for all of the rude things they''d said to me in the past.

    </section><section>

    I was tired of them.

    I knew that by telling Scarlett about the basement, she wouldn''t be able to resist going there during a full moon.

    I had the perfect n to make Carter feel even worse about himself. He would be shattered when he wakes up after the full moon.

    "Are you sure that the girl would be there in the basement with him?" Joshua asks me.

    "I''m positive," I assure him. "She''s a victim just like I am. She doesn''t know it yet. She''s blind because she''s in love with Carter; she doesn''t realize yet the kind of monster he and his family are."N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    He wipes blood out of the de in his hand and puts the handkerchief back in his pocket.

    "Remember, no one must find out that I helped you get into that basement," I warn him. "I''m helping you; you need to help me out too."

    After what Apollo Prince did to his sister, I knew that he needed to get his revenge. I was the only one who could help him, and he knew that. I was the only person who happened to be close to ric and his family who would betray them like this.

    "What do you want me to do with the girl?" He asks me.

    "I don''t want you to kill her," I exin. "You just have to keep her locked up somewhere. I want Carter to believe that he hurt her while in that state. He would me himself for the rest of his life."

    "Why are you helping me?" He asks me as he narrows his eyes. ¡°If this is a n to get rid of me, you should know that I know where you live. I wille for you and personally make you pay in the worst way possible."

    I roll my eyes, "is that the way to speak to the only person who can help you get revenge on Apollo? What about your sister and what she had to endure by herself? Don''t you care about her at all?¡±

    "Don''t you fucking talk about my sister." He growls. ¡°There is no one else that I care more about than her, and she''s no longer with us. You don''t get to talk about her.¡±

    "You told me that Apollo lost control one night during a full moon and got your sister pregnant, right?" I ask him.

    When he doesn''t say anything, I keep talking.

    "And when she told him about it, he told her that he wanted nothing to do with her or the baby." I remind him. "She kept trying to get together with him for the sake of her baby, but he kept avoiding her. Eventually, she couldn''t take the heartbreak, and you found her dead at the beach. Is that not what happened?"

    His hands tightened into fists, and I could tell he was getting angrier by the second.

    "Apollo and his sick family will pay for what they did to my sister. I would do everything I could to bring them down to the ground." He hissed.

    Joshua wasn''t as rich as ric¡¯s family, but he did have enough money to cause trouble for them if he wanted to.

    He was exactly what I needed. I wasn''t rich like him to hurt their family, and I didn''t have as many links as he did. I couldn''t think of a better person to help me.

    What happened to his sister was just an example of how horrible ric and his family were. People like them shouldn''t be allowed to live everyday lives; they should be locked in a cage somewhere. If Ace had epted me, I wouldn''t have to be dependent on ric. All he had to do was give us a chance, but he took sex from me and then left me like I meant nothing at all to him. Now, I was stuck in that marriage with a man I couldn''t possibly love.

    I felt like I was going crazy having to spend so much time with his family. They were driving me insane. ric was tolerable because he listened to me and respected me; the rest of his family wasn''t. They were a big pain in my ass, and I couldn''t wait to mess with them some more.

    "I''m happy you got into contact with me," I tell Joshua. ¡°We can work together to get revenge for your sister. Right now, they don''t know that they have any enemies. You''ve been quiet since your sister''s death; they will never expect any of your uing attacks."

    He doesn''t say anything, and I felt the need to add, ¡°Your sister will be proud of you for fighting for her even though she''s gone. You''ll get your chance to prove to her that you loved her all along.¡±

    I could see the pain in his eyes from my words.

    It was a good sign.

    </section><section>

    That''s exactly what I needed.

    The angrier he got, the better it was for me.

    </section>

 Chapter 365 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    Today was another full moon. I hated those days more than any other days. I was tired of being locked up in that room, and it was even worse now that I was married to Scarlett.

    I still had not told her the truth about my family''s curse. I was still keeping everything from her, but I nned on telling her tomorrow when I woke up. I would show her the bruises if I didn''t break free tonight and find her.

    </section><section>

    I didn''t think that would happen. I was doing everything possible to ensure that I couldn''t break out of the room tonight.

    "Is everything set up for tonight?" I ask ric.

    He nods, "are you sure this is what you want to do?"

    "It is," I say confidently. "I can''t trust myself around Scarlett. Now that she''s pregnant, I''m not taking any risks."

    He runs a hand down his face, "Carter, you''re asking something difficult of us."

    "I''m asking you as my brother to ensure that I don''t harm my wife or my baby during this full moon. I don''t want to be anywhere near her tonight. I need to keep them both safe from me."

    "You''re asking us to set up a trap for you if you break those chains!" He shouts. "Do you think any of us want to put you through that kind of pain?"

    "I don''t care what happens to me!" I roar. "I need to keep Scarlett safe from me. I would do anything to ensure that I don''t harm her."

    ric ms his fist against the wall, "I fucking hate this. Why must we suffer so much for people that we never even met? It''s not like we were the ones that did something unforgivable. Why are we cursed?"

    "It doesn''t matter anymore; we''re already stuck in this mess. Now, we have to learn to live with it." I remind him. "It''s just one night. So what if I get injured or damaged tonight? I''ll heal by the morning and will be left with nothing but a few scratches. I''d rather something happen to me than something happen to Scarlett."

    "Why don''t we just send her back to her parent''s home for the night?" He suggests. "She will be safe there, and we won''t have to worry about taking drastic measures to keep you locked inside of that room."

    I exhale loudly, "ric, it''s not going to work. It doesn''t matter where Scarlett is; I always find her. I can''t take that risk. This has to be done. It''s not negotiable. I don''t want to hear anything about it anymore; confirm with me that everything is already set up for tonight."

    "I don''t want to do this to you, Carter." He sighs. "I don''t want to have you fucking electrocuted if you try to break free from the chains. There has to be another way to keep you inside of that room."

    "There is no other way, brother," I tell him. "You will also be locked in a room. There''s nothing you can do to help me protect Scarlett if I somehow get out of that room. I need to take these extra steps.¡±

    "Why are you so convinced that you will hurt her?" He demands. "So far, you''ve never physically hurt her. You indeed go after her, but you''ve never done anything to hurt her. She''s never harmed. Why don''t you allow yourself to stay freely with her tonight and see what happens?"

    I stiffen at his question.

    "Are you hearing yourself?" I ask. "Would you leave yourself to be free on a full moon knowing what happens to us? Would you be willing to put Nicole at risk like that?"

    He doesn''t answer me. He knows he''s just spoken nonsense. I knew he only wanted to keep me safe, but there wasn''t anything we could do to ensure that I stayed in that room except this. It was my only option.

    "There is also the possibility of me going after another woman," I whisper. "I know so far I''ve only gone after Scarlett each time I''ve broken free; however, there is still a chance that I would go after another woman. If I did that, I would break Scarlett''s heart. There are too many risks. I can''t hurt her again. These past two weeks with her has been fucking amazing. I don''t want to mess things up. I want to keep making her happy."

    ric remains quiet for a few minutes before he finally nods.

    "Okay." He tells me. "If you''re so sure that this is what you want to do, then there is nothing I can say or do to change your mind."

    I was d that we were finally on the same page. N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    </section><section>

    Now, I had to find a way to make sure Scarlett doesn''t realize when I leave the room tonight. She was already on high alert now that she knew today was a full moon.

    I had to do something to keep her in that room, even if I had to lock her inside. Either way, tomorrow was the day I nned on telling her everything.

    </section>

 Chapter 366 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    It was a full moon. It was currently a few hours away from midnight. I was worried about what would happen today. It''s the first time being in Carter''s home during a full moon.

    Tensions were running high. I could tell by the look on everyone''s faces during dinner. We all usually sat at the dinner table and spoke about our day. Tonight, everyone wasn''t saying much.

    </section><section>

    "I invited ra to have a sleepover with you tonight," Carter announces suddenly.

    My eyes snap to his in surprise.

    He called ra to spend the night. Did this mean he would use her as a distraction to keep me upied tonight?

    "Why would you do that without asking me?" I ask him. N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    "Let''s give them some privacy." His mother says as she asks everyone to leave the room with her.

    They all dropped their forks onto their tes and left the dining room without saying anything. It was now just the two of us.

    "Why did you do that, Carter?" I asked him for a second time.

    I knew why but I wanted to hear him say it to me.

    "I thought that you would be happy with this decision." He tells me.

    I wanted tough at his words. He knew just as much as I did that he was lying.

    "Happy?" I ask him. "Of course, I''m happy to spend more time with my sister, but not like this. I know you''re using her as a distraction to keep me upied while you disappear for the night. It''s a full moon; you don''t have to make up excuses or ways to keep me from finding out the truth about you."

    He sighs, "Scarlett, I''m doing this for your own good. Please just trust me. I''ll feel much better knowing that ra is here with you."

    I narrow my eyes, "why don''t you just say what this really is about? You don''t trust me. You think I''d search for the truth tonight, and you''re looking for ways to keep me in my room and away from you. I told you I would wait for you to tell me, but that''s not enough for you."

    I was willing to wait, but not anymore. If he wanted to bring my sister here to keep me upied, then I would find ways to get to the bottom of his family''s secret.

    I was tired of running from the truth. I thought I could wait but I can''t. If Carter wanted to be sneaky about this then I could as well. He was not getting me to stay locked up in that room tonight, I don''t care what he had to say to me. I would not listen to him. Not tonight.

    "It''s not that I don''t trust you; I''m just worried about you." He tries to exin. "Please promise me that you won''t leave your room tonight. ra will be there to keep youpany. There is no reason for you to step outside.¡±

    I sigh loudly.

    "Does this mean that you''re leaving me tonight?" I demand. "Are you going to disappear and return in the morning with bruises? Is that what I''ll wake up to?¡±

    His eyes widen at my question. Then, what Nicole said about that was also true. She didn''t lie. How many of the things she''d said to me were truthful? So far, many of the things she''d said were true but I still didn''t trust her.

    Whatever it was that was happening, it would take ce in the basement tonight.

    "I can''t say what state I''ll be in when I return, but I need you to be patient for just one more night." He tells me as he takes my hands in his.

    These past two weeks with Carter were extremely beautiful. He made me so happy that I had even forgotten about the full moon.

    Now, everything was back in a rush, and I had no idea how to feel about it.

    I didn''t know what to expect anymore. I was tired of this.

    "Am I interrupting something?" I hear ra''s voice from the doorway.

    Carter slowly lets go of my hand and moves from in front of me so that I can see my sister.

    She really was here.

    "No, you''re not." He assured her. "I''m sure you girls have plenty catching up to do. I''ll be out of your way for the rest of the night."

    Plenty of catching up to do? We already saw each other earlier today at the Academy.

    I watch him as he walks out of the room without another word.

    "What was all of that about?" ra asks me. "Were you two fighting again? I thought things had improved between the two of you."

    I bit my lip to stop myself from crying.

    "What''s wrong?" She whispers. She always knew when something was wrong with me recently. I couldn''t hide much of my emotions now that I was pregnant.

    "It''s nothing." I lie as I force myself to smile. "I''m sure we are going to have a lot of fun tonight."

    She grins, "I was surprised when Carter called me and asked me toe over to have a sleepover with you. It''s strange that he happened to call on a full moon. He always made up excuses not to be around me on a full moon, and it seems like he''s doing it to you as well."

    I wasn''t the only one realizing that something was going on. ra knew something was up as well, but she didn''t realize just how serious it actually was.

    "Let''s head up to my room," I tell her.

    I stop walking when I see her pause midway.

    "I actually wanted to watch ric and the others y basketball tonight first, if that''s okay with you." She tells me with a nervous smile.

    </section><section>

    I knew she mainly wanted to see ric. But I also wanted to see Carter. I wanted to stay out for as long as possible until he insisted I head back to our room.

    "Okay," I tell her. "Let''s go."

    </section>

 Chapter 367 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    "I see you broughtpany over," ric says as he looks over his shoulder. He was referring to ra.

    "Are the two of you friends now?" Apollo asks me. "After you broke up, I thought she would hate you for the rest of her life."

    </section><section>

    "I''m married to her sister; she has no choice but to tolerate me now." I remind them.

    However, I was d that ra was talking to me now. I felt like I''d gotten back a close friend in my life. It was also better this way for Scarlett; if she saw that we were getting along, she would be happier.

    "Are you sure this was the best idea?" ric asks me as he shoots the ball into the basket.

    Ares takes the ball and throws it back to him.

    "I couldn''t think of anything else," I confess. "If ra is here with her, she will be distracted most of the night. I''m hoping that she falls asleep early."

    "I hate to burst your bubble, brother, but your wife looks wide awake." Apollo points out. "And she doesn''t look like she would be leaving here anytime soon."

    I looked over at Scarlett, and her eyes were narrowed as she red at me.

    Fuck.

    Even when she was angry with me, she was still fucking sexy.

    ric quirks a brow at me, "it''s not often that we have spectators at home. And on a full moon? It smells like trouble."

    I didn''t expect Scarlett toe out here. I thought if I had pissed her off, she would have gone to her room and stayed there. It was part of the n, but that part had already failed.

    I hoped she wouldn''t still be out here at midnight. I may have to get my parents to force them back to the room.

    "I n on telling her the truth tomorrow," I informed my brothers.

    They all turn to look at me in surprise. I''d already mentioned it to ric; the rest didn''t know until now.

    "Are you serious?" Ares asks me. "How do you think she would take the news?"

    I shrug my shoulder, "I can''t say. I think there is a good chance that she may leave me, but I will fight for her. I''m not going to let her go without a fight."

    Where ra and Scarlett were seated, they couldn''t hear our conversation, but they could see everything.

    Scarlett could tell that I''d just said something that shocked my brothers. She might be curious, but I knew she wouldn''t bother to ask me about it.

    "They''re watching us," Apollo says. "I think we can y and talk at the same time."

    He passes the ball to me, and I throw it to ric.

    "I hope she reacts nothing like Nicole did." He sighs. "She was difficult to deal with. She still is. I don''t know how to make her ept me."

    "We told you not to do it, but you still decided to go against our words." I remind him. "You would have been happier divorcing that woman."

    "Do you think that would have been the end of her?" Apollo asks him. "She wouldn''t have let him go that easily."

    "She confuses me," Ares says. "One minute she was ready for a divorce, practically ckmailing you to divorce her, and now suddenly she wants you back in her life?"

    ric clenches his jaw. "I know it''s strange, but I don''t want to question her. I want to make my marriage work."

    "If you ask me, you''ll be happier with someone else," Apollo says. "I''m sure there is a woman that would treat you the right way out there somewhere."

    "Excuse me?"

    We both follow the annoying voice, and to our surprise, Nicole was standing a few feet away from us.

    When did she arrive?

    Why was she even here? She usually stayed far away whenever the full moon arrived. She imed that she wanted nothing to do with us on that day.

    From the surprise on ric''s face, I could tell she hadn''t even informed him that she would be here tonight.

    He drops the ball and walks over to her.

    "What are you doing here?" He asks her.

    She frowns, "did you think I would stay away from you on such an important night?"

    He stiffens, and I do as well.

    I looked at Scarlett, and I knew she''d heard her.

    Nicole looks around her and gasps, "Why is that girl here?"

    "That girl?" ric asks her.

    "Scarlett''s sister." She snaps. "Why is she here?"

    "I invited her," I growl.

    She looks pissed. Why was she irritated that I''d invited ra here?

    "If you''re here to cause trouble, then you can just go back¡ª"

    "Carter." ric stops me. "I''ll handle this."

    My jaw clenches as he walks back into the house with her.

    </section><section>

    I didn''t like this.

    Nicole shouldn''t be here.N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    </section>

 Chapter 368 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "What''s she doing here?" ra asks. "If I knew she wasing, I wouldn''t havee."

    I sigh, "I don''t think anyone knew she wasing here tonight."

    </section><section>

    I knew that Nicole came to cause trouble. She probably wanted to tell me more about the secret or possibly even show me now that the full moon was here.

    Why did she so desperately want me to find out the truth? Did she want me to hate Carter like she hated ric?

    I didn''t understand why she was still married to him. Was it for the money? Was she hoping to get rich through him?

    "I don''t like her," ra whispers. "I don''t know what ric sees in her. He''s the opposite of her. And he has more than she ever could. So then, why is he still with her?"

    "He probably loves her while she doesn''t love him," I suggested and immediately realized what I''d said when it was toote to take it back.

    ra''s mood immediately dampened, and I felt like hitting myself in the head. I shouldn''t have said that in front of her. I knew she had a crush on him, even though she refused to admit it.

    "I think I''m ready to go into the room now," she says. "I don''t want to cause any trouble for ric; it''s clear that Nicole hates me and doesn''t want me here."

    "It''s not up to her." I snap. "This isn''t her home. She can''t decide who stays and who doesn''t."

    I get up from the bench, and ra does as well.

    "Scarlett, wait," Carter calls out to me.

    I bit my lip and folded my arms stubbornly when he walked over to me.

    "Can I speak to Scarlett alone for a minute?" He asks ra.

    She looks between the two of us and finally nods.

    He takes my hand in his the second she leaves, and it''s hard to stay mad at him when he''s this close to me.

    "Scarlett," he whispers. "Do you know that you are the most important person in my life? Do you know that I would do everything in my power always to keep you safe?"

    My lips parted slightly at his words.

    It''s thest thing I expected him to say to me. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    "No," I whisper back. "I didn''t know that I meant so much to you."

    He lightly cups my cheek in his hand and leans into me, "I''m sorry that I took so long to tell you. I''m sorry that I didn''t show it to you either."

    "Why are you telling me these things all of a sudden?" I ask. "You''re scaring me, Carter."

    Without any warning, he leans lower and kisses me hard. I can''t help but wrap my arms around his neck and hold on tightly.

    He picks me up into his arms and spins me around while kissing me. When he finally lets go of me, I''m breathing hard and trying to stop my heart from racing.

    "You won''t see me for the rest of the night." He informs me. "But I wille to you first thing in the morning."

    He didn''t realize that I had other ns. I did n on searching for him tonight in that basement.

    If each room had his siblings¡¯ names on it, did it mean that all of them would be in separate rooms?

    When Carter lets go of me and walks back inside the house, I feel my heart sink. ra walks to my side and holds my hand, "you can tell me if something is bothering you."

    "I wish I could, ra," I tell her. "I wish I could."

    She frowns at me, "Are you keeping secrets from me again? I thought after thest one, you wouldn''t hide anything from me again."

    I bit my lip and pulled her into the house. I don''t stop until we are both back in my room. I lock the door and take a seat on the bed and she joins me.

    "What''s going on Scarlett?" She asks me again. ¡°Tell me why you look so scared.¡±

    "I want to tell you, but it''s a secret," I inform her. "It concerns Carter and his family.¡±

    Her eyes widen, "is it something bad?"

    "I don''t know," I confess. "I can''t tell you anything. It''s not my ce to tell you. It''s their secret, and even I don''t know all the details."

    She sighs, "It''s okay. You don''t have to tell me. I understand that this is something you need to keep to yourself."

    I was grateful that she''d said those words to me.

    "I think you should get some sleep." She tells me. "It''s alreadyte, and you''re pregnant. You need as much rest as possible."

    I wouldn''t get any rest tonight, but I did want ra to fall asleep.

    I nod and go under the nket. A few hourster, ra was fast asleep next to me.

    </section><section>

    I slowly exited the bed, trying my best not to wake her. I tip-toed towards the door and gently opened it. When I was safely outside without waking her, I breathed a sigh of relief.

    I wasn''t sure if I was doing the right thing, but I had to do it. I wanted to find out the truth tonight. I wanted to know what happened to Carter and his family on a full moon. Since Carter didn''t n on telling me, this was my only option.

    </section>

 Chapter 369 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    The first ce I searched for a button, like the one I saw in the beach house, was in the kitchen. However, after searching the kitchen for a few minutes, I didn''t find anything at all.

    "What are you looking for?" I hear Nicole ask behind me.

    </section><section>

    I turn to look at her, "why are you here?"

    "The same reason you are." She tells me.

    "What?" I ask.

    "We both married into this family. I can be here as much as I want to, just like you can live here freely from now on." She snaps.

    I narrow my eyes, "Why are you in the kitchen sote?"

    She smiles, "I wanted something to eat, but I''m sure that''s not the same reason you are here. What you''re looking for isn''t here; you need to check the garage for an entrance to the basement."

    I gripped my dress tightly. I didn''t like Nicole, and I didn''t like the fact that she caught me trying to find an entrance to the basement. I didn''t want her to think that I trusted her or even listened to her.

    "You can go straight to the door with his name on it." She informs me. "You''ll need this key."

    She ces it into my hands and walks out of the kitchen. "You''re doing the right thing Scarlett. It''s better for everyone this way."

    Because of her, I felt like turning back and going straight back to my room. However, I wasn''t doing this because of her; I was doing this because of my marriage with Carter. I didn''t want any more secrets between us. I needed to know the truth so that there could be nothing preventing us from being happily married.

    I followed her directions, and the second I saw the entrance open to the basement, I felt my heartbeat increase.

    I couldn''t believe I was going ahead with this.

    I don''t stop walking. The second I walked inside, I felt a chill just like thest time. I was more fearful this time because I knew tonight was the full moon. I wasn''t sure what to expect. My heart was pounding loudly in my chest, and my hands shook.

    Get a grip, Scarlett; it''s not like there''s anything crazy yet.

    I walk straight towards the door that had Carter''s name on it, ignoring all of the other names.

    My hands were trembling as I tried to unlock the door with the key that Nicole gave to me. I couldn''t hold it steady enough, and it took me longer than usual to get the key into the lock. The second I turned it, the door flew open in front of me.

    I held my breath and slowly walked in. The lights were off, and I couldn''t see a single thing.

    I searched the wall with my hands for the switch, and when I finally felt it, it took a lot of convincing to flip the switch. N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.

    When light fills the room, I blink at the brightness. I cover my eyes and peek through the spaces between my fingers.

    It took me a few seconds to realize what I was looking at, but when it finally sunk in, everything around me began to spin.

    I couldn''t believe my eyes.

    Carter was chained to the ground; his entire body was covered with those things. It''s like it was holding him back from something. It was one of the most horrific sights I''ve ever seen in my life.

    I could hardly control myself as I fought to remain calm.

    "CARTERRRR!¡±

    It took me a few seconds to realize that the scream hade out of my mouth.

    His eyes were closed, but the second he heard me, they shed wide open.

    They were dark and cold but also hungry. They stared straight into my soul.

    What the hell was this?

    Why was he locked up like some prisoner?

    I had to get him out of here! I couldn''t just stand in front of him and do nothing when he was chained to the ground like that.

    I don''t think twice as I cross the room towards him. His eyes grow darker when he sees meing, and I jump when he starts to pull against the chains aggressively.

    I stop halfway. It''s almost like he doesn''t want me toe near him.

    "Carter." I try again. "Why did they do this to you? What the hell is happening?"

    He doesn''t answer me; instead, he growls softly, like he doesn''t want to scare me.

    I made another attempt to go close to him when I felt someone grab me from behind.

    Before I could scream, the person covered my mouth with their hand.

    Carter begins to roar at the sight. I watch as he tries to break free from the chains. The second that one of them breaks a little, something horrifying happens. I watch in horror as he gets electrocuted before my eyes.

    I tried to scream his name, but nothing wasing out of my mouth; I couldn''t make a sound.

    Who the hell was holding me back?

    Despite the continued shocks, Carter still fights against the chains desperately to get to me.

    The more he fought, the more he got shocked. I watched helplessly as blood gushed from his mouth.

    Tears were streaming from my eyes uncontrobly as I tried to get away from the person still holding me back.

    Please no.

    I had to get to him.

    </section><section>

    I had to save him.

    Thest thing I remembered hearing was Carter''s roar of pain before everything went nk.

    </section>

 Chapter 370 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    "Carter!" I hear my mother scream my name. "Carter, wake up!"

    I was in pain everywhere. What the fuck did I dost night? I must have tried to escape for the entire night. I shouldn''t be feeling this awful. Every part of my body felt exhausted.

    </section><section>

    "Carter!" Her cries are more desperate now. ¡°Please wake up son. You must wake up now!¡±

    The desperation in her voice jolts me awake. My eyes sh open, and she''s the first person I see. She''s hugging me with tears in her eyes.

    "What''s wrong mother¡ª"

    My words don''t make it out of my mouth when I take in everything around me.

    Blood.

    Everywhere.

    What was the meaning of this?

    "What happened here?" I ask as I continue to search around the room.

    Everything within me freezes when I spot a piece of Scarlett''s dress covered in blood. There were even pieces of her hair on the ground next to me.

    It takes my body a while to recover from the sight but when it does, the shock hits me so hard that I can barely move.

    My hands are shaking as I gently pick up the bloody cloth in front of me.

    "Where''s Scarlett?" I whisper.

    My mother doesn''t answer me, and at that same time, ric runs into the room. He looks at me in horror.

    Where was she? Where was my wife? The panic on his face tells me that it couldn''t possibly be good news.

    "WHERE IS SHE?" I roar. ¡°WHERE IS MY WIFE?¡±

    "We can''t find her." My mother exins. ¡°We don''t know what happened here. When I came in to free you, I saw you like this. ra realized Scarlett was missing from the room when she woke up. This is the first ce I came to search for her.¡±

    "Let me go!" I hear ra scream outside of the room. "If someone doesn''t tell me where my sister is this second, I will scream as loud as I possibly can!¡±

    ric turns around and takes her from Ares. The second her eyes fall on me, they widen in horror.

    "W-what?" She can barely form any words as she covers her mouth in shock.

    ric turns her around in his arms so that her face is buried in his chest. "I''ll exin everything to you, ra, but right now, we need to figure out what happened here."

    "Did I?" I whisper in shock. "Did I hurt her?"

    I can barely recognize my own voice.

    It isn''t possible. I wouldn''t hurt her. I wouldn''t hurt Scarlett. I loved her too much.

    "I don''t want to believe you did something to her." My mother answers me. "However, the evidence says otherwise."

    "He wouldn''t hurt her mother," ric says confidently. "If that were the case, she would still be here."

    "Maybe she got scared at what she saw and ran away," Nicole says as she walks in.

    Her words didn''t make this easier on me.

    Her eyes narrow when she sees ricforting ra.

    "Can''t you see me standing here, ric?" She demands. "I''m your wife. Not ra. You should beforting me, not her."

    "Do you think this is the time?" Ares growls. "Scarlett is missing. Of course, ra will be upset. This is also the first time that she''s seen something like this. It''s all new to her."

    "She can getfort somewhere else." Nicole snaps.

    "Give her to me," Apollo says as he walks in.

    ric looks reluctant to let her go, but he finally does when Nicole gives him a dirty re.

    Apollo rubs his hand up and down her back, "It''s going to be okay, ra. We will find out what happened here."

    "I can''t remember," I whisper. "I can''t remember anything at all."N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    It''s the most desperate I''ve ever been to remember something from a full moon.

    "It''s okay." My mother tries to soothe me.

    "It isn''t okay!" I shout. "My pregnant wife is missing, and all of the signs say that I did something to her! How could it be okay?"

    ric rushes over to my side and slowly begins removing the locks on the chains.

    I could barely stand when he finally took the chains off me. It wasn''t because of the pain; it was because of the gut-wrenching fear in my stomach.

    I''d done something to Scarlett. I''d hurt her.

    Who else could have possibly been in here to do something to her?

    "How could she have gotten inside without the key?" Ares asks. "She shouldn''t even know about this basement. Someone must have mentioned something to her."

    All eyes turn to Nicole.

    "Did you say something to her?" I growl.

    "I don''t have to answer you or anyone." Nicole snaps.

    "Nicole," ric says in a surprised but worried tone. "Please don''t tell me you''re the reason that Scarlett came herest night. Please don''t tell me you would do something like that."

    "Of course not!" She snaps. "I mentioned a few things to Scarlett in the past, but I apologized for everything. I can assure you I''m not the reason that she came herest night. All of this is Carter''s fault. He''s the one who didn''t protect his wife; why is everyone turning on me?"

    She was right.

    All of this was my fault. If I had told Scarlett the truth initially, she wouldn''t havee herest night to discover our family''s secret.

    My knees felt weak, and I could feel myself drifting to the ground; ric stopped me in time as he put his hand around my shoulders, and tried to drag me out of the room. Ares soon joins him.

    "Check the cameras!" ric orders everyone else. "We can see when she entered the room and left."

    "I already did," Violet whispers as she enters the room.

    We all turn to her. The surprise in her voice worries me.

    "What did you see, Violet?" I demand.

    </section><section>

    I was impatient to find out about my wife. I had to know everything.

    "All of the cameras were shut offst night." She informs us. "Someone else must have been here. I don''t think Scarlett left here of her own free will. I think it''s possible that someone took her."

    </section>

 Chapter 371 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    I woke up in a strange bed, somewhere I''d never been. My head hurts and so does my heart. I don''t know why just yet but I knew that it would alle back to me soon.

    I ce both hands on my head and wince. Why does it hurt so much? My eyes were burning and I was trying hard to remember.

    </section><section>

    I could feel iting back and when it finally did, I found it hard to breathe.

    No.

    One after the next, everything that happenedst night kept flowing into my mind. Speaking to Nicole, then sneaking into the basement, searching for Carter.

    All of it.

    Everything fromst night came rushing back into my head too fast for me to prepare myself. The pain intensifies. I cover my mouth with my hands. My eyes are wider than they''ve ever been in my whole life.

    I took another look at my surroundings.

    Was this the home of the person that had taken me from Carterst night? His name brings forth another memory.

    Carter.

    "No." I gasp as I get painful shbacks of him roaring in pain.

    My feet touch the ground before my mind can catch up.

    "Carter!" I scream as I pull open the door. To my surprise, it wasn''t even locked.

    However, before I can go anywhere, someone stands before me, blocking me from getting away.

    I look up to find a six-foot man with dark brown eyes staring at me.

    "Who are you?" I demand.

    Why didn''t he have me locked up somewhere? Why was I tucked away in some bed when I woke up?

    What kind of person was he?

    "I''m not as bad as you think I am." He says without answering my question. It''s almost as though he just read my mind.

    I took a step back even though he was trying to keep me calm.

    "Not as bad as I think you are?" I ask in surprise. "You took me from my home against my will. This is called kidnapping. How are you not as bad as I think you are?"

    "I have my reasons for what I did." He tells me. "Your husband and his family are dangerous. They''re heartless monsters, and I did you a favor by taking you away from them."

    His words send a chill down my spine.

    "Where is Carter?" I demand. "What did you do to him?"

    He quirks a brow at me, "What did I do to him?" He asks me. "What you saw in that room was not my doing. He did that to himself."

    My bottom lip trembles. I refused to believe that he intentionally did that to himself. It was too painful for me to even watchst night.

    I pause to regain myposure, "what are you talking about?"

    "His family locked him in that room to keep him away from you and every other woman in your town." He answers me. ¡°If he was free to roam as he pleased. You and every other woman close by would have been in danger. I''m not just saying this for you to trust me, I gain nothing by getting you to trust me. All I''m doing is trying to help you.¡±

    He sounds a lot like Nicole. Another reason for me not to trust him. I had to find a way out of here.

    He takes a cup from the side of him and asks me, "Would you like some tea?"This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    I hit the cup away from his hand, ¡°I don''t want any tea. I want to go home. I want Carter. I want to see him, and I want to make sure that he''s okay."

    He sighs, "Rx, something like a little shock wouldn''t kill him. I''m sure he''s already healed by now. You should worry about yourself. You shouldn''t stress yourself out like this; you''re pregnant. Your baby will feed from every emotion that you feel."

    I ce my hand on my stomach protectively.

    "You don''t have to be scared of me." He says softly. "I had a sister who was pregnant once, she never had a chance to have her baby. I will never hurt a pregnant woman. That''s not me. Your husband and his family are the ones that you should be worried about. They''re the real murderers."

    "What the hell are you talking about?" I demand. "They will never hurt anyone."

    "They''ve kept you in the dark." He says calmly. "That''s why you are so clueless. They love to keep their mistakes a secret. I''m sure you''ve always had questions about them, but no one gave you answers. Today, I n on telling you everything."

    I remain quiet at his usations. It was true that no one was willing to tell me the truth, but that didn''t mean I would trust anything that came out of his mouth.

    "You should take a seat for this." He tells me as he tries to take my hand.

    I flinch, and he gestures for me to join him by a table. I''m scared, but I still follow him. It doesn''t look like I have an option. Besides, I didn''t want him to touch me again.

    "I''m sure you already know that Carter and his family cannot have mates." He tells me. "But what you don''t know is that it wasn''t the only curse his family was given. That was just part of the curse; they''ve kept the worst part hidden from the public. I didn''t know anything either until my sister got involved with one of them."

    "It was only part of the curse?" I ask suspiciously. "What do you mean by that? What else was there?"

    "I feel sorry to tell you this because now that you''re pregnant and Carter is the father, your baby will have the same curse." He says without answering my earlier question.

    "Tell me." I insist. "What else was there to the curse?"

    "Carter and his siblings, once they reach a certain age, crave sex. Not the normal teenager kind of craving." He exins. "They search for random women on a full moon; it doesn''t matter who it is. It doesn''t matter if the woman consents to it or not; they still take her against her will and fuck her to their heart''s content. Then the next day, they forget about it like it never happened while the woman is leftpletely broken and shattered."

    All of the blood drains from my face at his words.

    No.

    This couldn''t be true.

    It couldn''t.

    Carter wasn''t like that.

    </section><section>

    He was nothing like that.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± I scream.

    </section>

 Chapter 372 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    "How is he doing?" I asked the doctor.

    He looks at me with a concerned look on his face, "Not good at all."

    </section><section>

    It wasn''t the news I was hoping for. Carter hasn''t been doing well since he woke up and found out that Scarlett was missing. He still thinks he did something to her. He still believes he somehow hurt her even though I knew that was bullshit. He loved her too much to ever hurt her even in that state.

    "His body is still in shock from losing Scarlett. He doesn''t want to ept that someone took her. Plus, exhaustion from the electrocutionst night is messing with his body''s ability to heal as quickly as it should. He''s going to be down for at least another day."

    Fuck.

    When he finally came out of this shock, he would hate himself even more than this.

    I couldn''t let that happen.

    I had to find a way to get Scarlett back or at least have an idea who had taken her before Carter woke up.

    I thoughtst night would have been like every other full moon. It turned into one big mess instead.

    I had to start searching for answers. Who was in our homest night? How did they know where our camera system was set up? How were they able to turn everything off? I wanted to stay and look after Carter but I knew he would want me to find Scarlett while he was down.

    I turn around to leave the room and see her.

    Not my wife Nicole, but Scarlett''s older sister.

    ra.

    There was something about her that made me always want to protect her. I''ve never felt such protective instincts for anyone else in my life. At first, I thought it was a brotherly instinct. I thought that because Carter dated her, I considered her as a little sister. However, now that they weren''t in a rtionship, I couldn''t exin why I wanted to protect her so badly.

    Seeing her cry over Scarlett was fucking driving me insane. I didn''t just want to help because of my brother; I wanted to help because of her as well.

    I knew I was walking on dangerous waters. Waters that should never be fucking crossed. However, I couldn''t help it. I had to be there for her. She needed someone, and no one else was going to do it.

    There was just one problem. I didn''t want to upset Nicole either. Thankfully, she''d just left for some important business.

    But the hard part was still left for me to do. I had to tell ra about our family''s curse. It would be the first time that she would hear about it.

    I knew she wouldn''t be thrilled that we''d kept this from her and Scarlett for this long, but there was no running from it anymore.

    "Are you ready to tell me what''s all this about?" She demands with tears in her eyes. It took all my self-control not to lean forward and wipe those tears away.

    "You already know that my family cannot have mates," I say, and she nods. "The curse also came with something else. I will just say what it is because there isn''t an easier way to say this. On a full moon, our body loses all control. Well, we lose all control of our bodies; that''s the better way to put it. We aren''t aware of what we''re doing on those nights. All memories are always lost when we wake up. We go hunting each full moon."

    I can''t bring myself to say the rest.

    "Hunting?" She frowns. "Do you hunt animals or something like that?"

    I shook my head and swallowed hard, "We hunt for women."

    "Women?" She gasps.

    "Any random woman. Maybe the first one that we see; I''m not sure. But when we find her, we. . ."

    "You what?" She demands.

    I couldn''t tell her. It was hard for me. For some reason, the thought of ra knowing my family''s curse disturbed me.

    "What is it, ric?" She asks again. "I need to know. Carter always disappeared on a full moon. Last night was a full moon, and he was chained to the ground in a basement that I never knew existed until now. I''ve been over so many times, and I never knew about its existence. I think it''s only fair that you tell me the truth now. I deserve to know."

    "My brother broke up with you because he was scared you would hate him when you discovered the truth about us. He felt like he was leading you on. He was protecting you from ever finding out about us. He did what he thought was the right thing for you." I exin. "It''s why he behaved like such an asshole after the breakup. He wanted you to hate him. And it worked."

    ra looks torn at my words.

    "I don''t understand," she whispers. "What could he have been keeping from me? What exactly happens on a full moon, ric? Tell me now. I need to know."

    I couldn''t look at her when I told her the truth. Instead, I focused on the wall behind her. "We lose control of our bodies, then we hunt women and force them to have sex with us. Maybe some are willing, but I can''t say for sure. When we wake up in the morning, we can''t remember anything from the night before. It''s why our parents designed rooms like the ones in the basement for each of us. It''s to keep us locked in there so we don''t get out and harm anyone." This is from N?velDrama.Org.

    I hear her gasp, but nothing elsees out of her mouth. It prompts me to look at her.

    I expected to see hatred in her eyes, like in Nicole''s when she first found out. However, I was shocked when I sawpassion.

    She surprises me when she closes the distance between us and gently touches my cheek, "It must have been tough for you, ric. For all of you. I can''t imagine the pain you endured all this time."

    My lips parted slightly; how was she always so kind?

    "You don''t hate us?" I ask in disbelief. "You don''t feel disgusted after what I told you?"

    She frowns at me, "The fact that on every full moon, all of you are forced to lock yourselves in a room to protect others from your family''s curse tells me all that I need to know. You aren''t the bad guys here, ric; none of you are; you''re the good ones. No matter what you think of yourself, I know you''re a good man."

    I felt some unknown emotion in my chest at her words.

    What the fuck was happening to me?

    "SCARLETT!"

    ra jumps, and I turn around wide-eyed. It was Carter. He''d woken up again.

    I rush over to his side.

    "Where is she?" He roars. "Where is Scarlett? What have they done to my baby?"

    </section><section>

    ra joins me and takes a wet cloth to ce it on top of his head.

    "We will find my sister Carter." She whispers. "I promise you. We will find her. Whoever took her from us will pay. I promise you that."

    </section>

 Chapter 373 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "This is my sister," Joshua if that was even his correct name, says as he shows me a picture of her standing next to Apollo. I was surprised to see them together. Does this mean that Carter also knew this man?

    It meant that everything he''d said to me wasn''t aplete lie. Apollo did know his sister and they might have been close at one point. However, he could have just taken a photo with a random stranger. It was only one picture, if they were friends or knew each other longer, there would be more pictures, wouldn''t there?

    </section><section>

    "A picture could mean anything." I snap. "It doesn''t confirm anything that you''re saying to me."

    I refused to believe that Apollo was the cause of his sister''s death. I refused to believe that Carter was some kind of monster like he imed. I would not believe a word he said to me until Carter confirmed everything for me first. N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    "Apollo and my sister were once friends." He ims. "He yed with her feelings, making her think he loved her. Then, one night, he lost control and went after her. She was never the same after that. I remember seeing her crying in a room, alone and confused."

    "I don''t believe any of that," I growled, folding my arms. "Apollo is kind; he''s nothing like you''re describing him. I think there is some misunderstanding. He would never intentionally hurt your sister."

    His eyes sh dangerously, "are you just incapable of thinking? After everything I told you, you''re still willing to side with those monsters? My sister is dead! Dead because of that monster. He used her, got her pregnant, and then disposed of her. Something simr almost happened to you; if your parents hadn''t intervened, you would have been pregnant, and your child wouldn''t have a father. Carter would have done the same thing to you. My sister wasn''t as strong-minded as you are. She couldn''t take the pain. Eventually, she took her own life. However, I will forever me Apollo and his family because they are the reason that she did that to herself. My sister is not alive because of those people, and I will make them pay."

    The hatred in his eyes was frightening. He was determined to ruin Carter and his family''s lives. I couldn''t let that happen. I wouldn''t let it happen.

    But there was also a chance that he was telling the truth. I wouldn''tpletely dismiss everything that he said.

    Was that Carter''s dark secret? He was convinced and even told me in the past that he was a monster. I couldn''t get the things I saw in that basement out of my head. He was in a room, locked up, away from everyone. I saw it all with my own eyes.

    He wouldn''t be like that unless there was a valid reason.

    Would this change my love for him? Would any of this change the way that I feel?

    I instantly knew the answer to my question.

    No.

    I would love him no matter what his family''s curse was. I knew Carter; he wouldn''t ever intentionally hurt anyone. In the past, I misunderstood him. In the past, I thought he was aplete asshole.

    However, everything was now starting to make sense.

    He broke up with ra to protect her from himself. He felt like she deserved better. He was afraid of hurting her.

    And me.

    He wanted to protect me, also. That''s why he tried pushing me away. However, I got pregnant, and instead of leaving me to do everything alone, he married me. He wasn''t happy with the marriage because he was scared of what would happen when I finally discovered the truth about him and his family.

    Even Nicole''s rtionship with ric made sense now. This is why she said all those things about him. It''s why everyone always tried to keep her away from me, especially Carter. He never wanted her to tell me the truth.

    Was he ever nning on telling me?

    I didn''t want to me him for keeping the truth from me. If I were in his position, I might have reacted the same way.

    The more I understood Carter, the more I loved him. He must have struggled for a long time.

    Is this why he never remembered the first night he slept with me?

    It happened to be a full moon. I was waiting outside his house for him, and he found me. I remember seeing bruises all over his body. Did he break out of the chains to get to me?

    ording to Joshua, they searched for random women on a full moon. However, Carter searched for me on thest two full moons.

    Why?

    Why did he choose me out of everyone else?

    I couldn''t believe he did so many things to himself to stop himself froming after me on a full moon.

    My heart swelled with love for him.

    I knew this wasn''t the reaction Joshua was expecting from me. Maybe he thought I would have been just as disgusted as Nicole was with their curse.

    I always knew that I was nothing like Nicole.

    "I''m sorry about what happened to your sister," I tell him. "I truly am. However, what does Carter have to do with any of this? You''re trying to hurt him, but he had nothing to do with your sister. Why don''t you just let me go? Carter isn''t the monster you think that he is. The fact that they all lock themselves in rooms on a full moon proves that even they are not happy with the curse. They''re trying to do something about it. They''re not monsters!"

    </section><section>

    Joshua grabs a knife from the table next to him and, without warning, presses it against my throat.

    "Another word from you, and I will kill that monster in your stomach." He growls. "Someone with a curse like that shouldn''t be allowed to be born into this world."

    </section>

 Chapter 374 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    "I''m here for you if you need me," Nicole says.

    She was trying to make things better between us. Trying to make our marriage work. At times, I wasn''t sure if she loved me. When we first married, she was this bright light in my life. Now, I''m not sure what she is. All I know is that I don''t want to lose her.

    </section><section>

    I nned to spend the rest of my life with her. I don''t want anything to change that. Not now. Not ever.

    "Thank you," I whisper as I hug her. "I need to find out who messed with our cameras. We need to find Scarlett before Carter wakes up. I don''t want to let my brother down."

    "Why are you always burdening yourself with the problems of everyone else?" She asks me. "Carter will find Scarlett when he wakes up. Why is that your problem?"

    I stiffen at her question.

    "Carter needs me. Of course, it''s my problem. I must protect my family; you are part of my family. If anything happened to you, I know my family would help."

    She rolls her eyes, "your family despises me. If anything happened to me, they would celebrate."

    "Why can''t you try to get along with them?" I ask her. "I need you, Nicole. I need your support. It''s hard for me to see my brother suffer like this. I knew from the start that electrocuting him was not a good idea. I should have listened to myself. All of this is my fault. He''s in this position because of me."

    She sighs, "Okay, if you need me. I''ll support you. However, you should rest for at least a day before you start searching for Scarlett."

    I shook my head, "I can''t rest. I need to find her."

    I pick myself up from the bed.

    "Where are you going?" She asks.

    "I need to check on Carter," I answer her.

    She frowns, "isn''t that girl inside there taking care of him? Why do you need to be there?"

    "You mean ra?" I ask her.

    Her eyes narrow, "you know exactly who I''m speaking about. I don''t want you near her."

    I exhale loudly, "Nicole, how many times do I need to remind you that ra is my brother''s ex-girlfriend? I would never be interested in someone that dated any of my brothers. She''s a kind girl and I like her personality, that''s all. And she''s much younger than me. There is nothing for you to be upset about."

    "Fine!" She snaps. "I''m not staying over tonight."

    "Why not?" I ask. "I just said that I need you with me."N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    "I have things I need to do." She tells me. "I''ll be back first thing in the morning."

    She walks over and gives me a long kiss before leaving the room.

    After I watch her leave, I rush back into Carter''s room. ra was right where I left her earlier. She hasn''t left his side the entire time.

    Did she still love him?

    I try not to think about that question too much as I approach her.

    "Are there any signs of him waking up?" I ask her.

    She shook her head, "he''s in a deep sleep. The doctor said that he probably isn''t going to wake up again for the night."

    "I think that''s for the best," I confess. "If he were awake, he would be killing himself to find her. He would also me himself for everything."

    ra nods, "Did you find anything to help us find my sister?"

    I shook my head, "nothing so far. We''re trying to find enemies that she may have had. Are you sure that there is no one that she knew that would do something like this?"

    She shook her head. "I can''t think of anyone. However, we all know how popr Carter was with the women at our academy. But still, I don''t think any of them would go this far to get her away from him."

    "We''ve questioned all of our guards, but no one saw anything," I inform her. "One of our guards was found dead. He guarded our secret entrance. Whoever came in knew a lot about the inside of our home. They knew about the basement and the secret entrance. They could get in easily and get out without being spotted. I don''t know how they knew how to mess with our cameras either."

    "It sounds like someone close to all of you was responsible." She suggests. "It has to be someone who knows your secret. Someone capable of doing something like this."

    It was true. But who in our family would betray us like this? Who would do something like that?

    "Did you invite someone over?" Ares asks as he walks into the room.

    ra and I look at each other.

    "What are you talking about?" I ask him.

    "It looks like we havepany." He tells me.

    I follow him outside with ra right behind us. I don''t stop walking until I see our uninvited guests.

    I pause in surprise.

    The Fawns.

    What were they doing here?

    "ra!" Autumn Fawn cries as she runs into her arms.

    "You didn''t have toe here," ra tells her as she returns her hug.

    "Of course, we had to," rissa says as she joins in.

    "The second I heard what had happened from you, I told Atticus that I had to see you," Autumn tells her.

    "This means so much to me." ra cries. "Scarlett would be so happy for your support."

    "We''re going to find her," Autumn promises her. "Our family will help in every possible way to get her back. No one messes with my friends and gets away with it."

    I was surprised that they were willing to help. The Fawns and Carter didn''t get along very well. Especially not after what had happened in the past.

    They must really care about ra and Scarlett to be here right now.

    </section><section>

    I didn''t mind.

    The more help we got, the better for all of us.

    </section>

 Chapter 375 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    I haven''t said a single word since Joshua threatened to harm my baby. My mind was racing for hours on how to get away from him. Since he didn''t have me locked up in a room, it should be easier for me to fight back.

    There wasn''t anyone else here, as far as I knew. I didn''t see guards or anyone that could stop me from leaving.

    </section><section>

    All I had to do was distract him long enough for me to escape. But what could I use as a distraction? There was the option of attacking him as well, but I was fearful that I would harm my baby in the process.

    The second he threatened to hurt my precious baby; Carter''s baby, I wanted to kill him right there and then. However, I had to reason. I had to buy myself enough time.

    I knew that my entire family must be searching for me, including Carter.

    I looked around for a phone. If I could send them a message, it would be enough for them to find me.

    "What are you looking for?" Joshua asks me.

    I fold my arms angrily and refuse to answer him.

    "If it''s for a way to escape from here, you can save yourself the trouble." He growls. "There is no way that you can escape. My eyes will be on you constantly. There are also guards right outside of my house. They will stop you if you somehow get out of here."

    So there were guards.

    Damn it.

    "I wasn''t looking for a way to escape." I lie. "I was looking for more pictures of your sister."

    He pauses to look at me, "my sister?"

    I nod, "I don''t believe your story. Not even a little. If you love your sister as much as you im, shouldn''t there be more pictures of her throughout your home? There should be more proof that she even existed, to begin with."

    He narrows his eyes, "I have pictures of her. Plenty. I don''t need to hang them all over the house. Her memories are imprinted in my brain. I don''t need pictures to remember or prove I loved her."

    There was a phone a few feet away from me. If I could get him to leave the room for a minute, I could message Carter.

    "Then prove it," I say. "Show me more of those pictures. Let me see for myself how much you loved her."

    I didn''t want to use his weakness against him, but his revenge blinded him to see what was right and what was wrong. I had no choice but to do this.

    My heart sped up when he got up and stormed out of the room. I didn''t wait a second as I rushed towards the phone. The second I got to it, relief washed through me when I realized that it wasn''t locked. I quickly typed a message to let Carter know that a man named Joshua had kidnapped me because he med Apollo for his sister''s death.

    "What the fuck are you doing?"

    My eyes widen when I see Joshua a few feet away from me with a deadly re on his face.

    He takes a step in my direction the instant that I press send on the phone. I prepare myself to attack when a ss shatters somewhere in the house.

    "What the fuck?" Joshua growls.

    Were they already here? Did Carter find me? They couldn''t have possibly gotten here this quickly. However, maybe they already knew that Joshua had taken me.

    The door flew open suddenly, and before Joshua could react, a vampire rushed forward and sank his teeth into his neck.

    My eyes widen when another one grabs him by his neck and pulls his head out from his body.

    I''m in too much shock even to scream. I''m not sure what was happening.

    Who were these men? Why did they just kill him in front of me without any mercy?

    It doesn''t take me long to realize that they weren''t just vampires. I could tell. They were wolves, also.

    Hybrids.

    These men were hybrids.

    What the hell was happening?

    Another one walks inside; how many of them were there?

    Thest one to walk in looks around the room until his eyes fall on me, "She''s the only girl inside brother, and she''s pregnant. Are you sure that she is your mate because it looks like someone has already knocked her up?"

    My eyes widen at his question. Which one was his brother? N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    I look back at the other men who''d just killed Joshua, and my heartbeat doubles when I realize that he wasn''t lying. My gaze stops at a silver-eyed hybrid.

    No.

    This couldn''t be.

    I didn''t want it to be true.

    </section><section>

    Please don''t let him be my mate. I only had love for Carter in my heart. I didn''t want a mate. Please no.

    "Mate." He growls low and dangerously.

    </section>

 Chapter 376 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    I groan and cover my face with my hands.

    Fuck.

    </section><section>

    My heart hurt more than my body did. Why was it in so much pain?

    There was something that I should remember but what was it?

    Scarlett.

    My eyes widened and I jolted awake.

    I pick myself off the bed as the reminder of everything hit me harder than anything ever did in the past.

    My wife.

    My baby.

    They were both missing.

    No.

    I grab my phone off the counter and storm out of my room. I wince when I feel dizziness and pain hit me all at once. I ignore it and race down the stairs. I searched the entire house until I found my family members in the family room with thest people I expected to see them with.

    The Fawns.

    They were all here.

    What the fuck?

    What were they doing here? We didn''t get along, not even in the slightest. However, I knew Scarlett and ra were friends with their wives.

    I look at ric, waiting for an exnation or an update. Anything at all.

    "Scarlett?" I whisper. "Why is everyone just sitting here? Where is my wife? Do we know who took her yet?"

    ric looks ashamed, and he can barely look me in the eyes. I knew the answer even before anyone could say anything. They didn''t have any news on her. She was still missing. They were both still missing.

    How long have I been asleep for?

    What the fuck was wrong with me? How could I rest while my wife was in danger? What kind of a man was I?

    I felt sick to my stomach. I''ve never been more disappointed in myself than I am now.

    "We''ve been doing the best we can, son." My father informs me. "But so far, we don''t know who took her. We''ve been trying. Someone messed with the cameras, and the kidnapper left no hints behind. We don''t know why anyone would want to hurt Scarlett. We''re trying to figure it out but we keeping up to a dead end.¡±

    ¡°I''m sorry.¡± ric apologizes to me. ¡°I should have found her for you by now.¡±

    No.

    Fuck no.

    Tell me this was just a nightmare. I don''t want this to be real.

    My hands tighten around my phone.

    I turn to leave when ric ces a hand on my shoulder, "where are you going?"

    "To find my wife," I growl. "I''m going to find out who did this and make him pay." This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    "You can''t just roam around town looking for her, Carter. You''ll never find her that way. We must act logically and can''t do this without you here." He tried to speak calmly, but his tone was still rough.

    I close my eyes and open my phone, hoping that someone would have seen something that could help us.

    My eyes zero in on a message from an unknown sender.

    The second I read it, everything inside of me goes entirely still.

    I freeze.

    Unable to move for a few seconds.

    ''Someone named Joshua kidnapped me. He mes Apollo for his sister''s death. I love you, Carter.''

    My heart squeezes at thosest four words.

    "What''s wrong?" Ares asks. "Did you see something?"

    "Apollo," I growl. "Joshua. He''s the one behind this."

    Everyone stiffens at the mention of his name.

    "Joshua?" my mother gasps. "You can''t mean. . ."

    I point the phone at them. "We don''t have time. We know who we are looking for now."

    I knew that there were many questions, but I didn''t have any time. It could be a trap, but I was willing to take the risk for Scarlett.

    "I know where he lives," Apollo shouts. "You can follow me."

    He jumps into his truck, and I jump into mine. ric and ra got in right behind me.

    The second that we hit the road, I could feel the adrenaline kick in.

    I mashed the elerator as far as the peddle could go.

    I''ming, Scarlett.

    I''ming.

    . . . . . . . .

    ~SCARLETT~

    "Where are you taking me?" I demand as ''my mate'' shoves me into his jeep.

    He doesn''t answer me; he hasn''t said anything since he called me his mate earlier.

    "Should we be taking her home, Wilder?" One of the hybrids asks.

    Wilder?

    Was that his name?

    Wilder doesn''t answer him either.

    "He doesn''t want to fucking talk Dash." The only one with red hair says.

    "Please," I whisper. "I have a husband. I want to get back to him. His name is Carter Prince. I know he must be searching everywhere for me. Please return me to him. I want to go home."

    Wilder''s hands tighten on the steering wheel at my words, and my heart aches. It was the mate bond; when he felt pain, I could feel it, also.

    I dug my nails into my legs. I didn''t want to feel any pain for him. I didn''t love him. I only loved Carter.

    "How can you say that?" The red hair hybrid asks me. "He''s your mate. How dare you mention another man''s name in front of him?"

    "Shut your fucking mouth, Fox," Wilder growls.

    I jump at his cold tone.

    "Great, now you scared her." Dash sighs. "If you want her to ept you, I wouldn''t use that tone around her."

    Wilder nces at me, and I quickly look away.

    I didn''t care who he was. I didn''t care that he was my mate. Still, whenever I felt his pain, I felt like I was betraying Carter.

    "Jagger is unusually quiet." Fox points out. "Don''t you have anything to say?"

    "I told you to leave her there." Jagger growls. "She''s already taken."

    </section><section>

    He''s the only one that seemed to agree with me. Everyone else wanted to force me to ept Wilder, it was something I knew would never happen.

    "She''s mine," Wilder growls. "No one is fucking taking her from me. She''s not taken. I haven''t imed her yet but soon I will.¡±

    </section>

 Chapter 377 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    The second Joshua''s house came into view, I felt chills down my spine. My hands tighten on the steering wheel as I examine the area.

    I stiffen when something catches my attention. It''s thest thing I expected to see.

    </section><section>

    "Something happened here." ric growls when he sees the dead guards in front of the building at the same time that I do.

    I rush out of the truck before he can say anything else. I race into the house while everyone else shouts my name.

    I didn''t care about anything else but getting Scarlett back. Even if men were waiting to charge at me inside the fucking house, it wouldn''t matter to me as long as I got my wife back.

    The door was already opened, and there were shattered windows to the front. It seemed like there was an ambush here. My panic doubles at the thought of Scarlett being in the middle of everything.

    "Scarlett!" I roar as I break into a room.

    There was no sign of her.

    "Scarlett!" I repeat as I move into another room¡ªmy calls for her intensified, desperate with each room I entered and didn''t see her.

    I kept shouting her name over and over again. Please let me find her. Please.

    "Carter!" I hear ric''s call. "You should see this."

    I followed the sound of his voice and didn''t stop until I found him. I pause when I see a dead body in front of him.

    "It''s on fire." ric hissed. "Someone was not too long here."

    "It''s no doubt, Joshua," Apollo says as he joins us. "Someone killed him."

    "Do you think Scarlett did all of this on her own?" ric asks me.

    I don''t answer him as I look around the room for more clues.

    "There are cameras here," I say with a hopeful voice.  It could confirm whether or not Scarlett was here.

    Though, I didn''t need the confirmation. Her scent was strong. She was most definitely here recently.

    "I found the cameras," Ares announces. "Follow me."

    We all let him lead us to the camera room. They fast-forwarded the recording until we saw the men entering the house.

    "How much of them are there?" ric asks.

    "It looks like four of them," I say as I try to get a clearer look at their faces.N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    I watch as they break down the door and rush in.

    "They''re vampires," ric says as he watches them move from room to room. It was hard to look at it. My fear and panic only intensified while I scrutinized the recording.

    "Stop!" I shout when I spot Scarlett.

    My heart squeezes tightly in my chest at the sight of her. I wanted to reach into the screen and pull her into my arms.

    I was toote.

    I was too fuckingte again.

    "She has the phone in her hand. This must have been when she sent me the message." I say as my hand tightened around my phone.

    "They are the ones responsible for his death. They killed him brutally." Atticus says before his eyes widen slightly. "Wait, zoom up on that one''s face."

    "Do you know him?" I ask him.

    I was desperate to get an answer. His eyes got even wider, and it petrified me.

    "It can''t be." He whispers.

    "Who is it?" I demand. The longer he took to exin, the faster the panic rose inside of me.

    "It looks like Wilder Cage." He answers me. "Zoom up on the others."

    Ares does as he says and focuses on the others. I could see each of their faces clearly now.

    "You''re right," Griffin says as he walks closer. "That''s the Cage brothers.¡±

    "But why are they there?" Dante asks. "What business did they have with Joshua? And why would they take Scarlett with them?"

    "Maybe someone hired a hit on him?" Damon asks. "I''m not sure why they took Scarlett. I don''t see any reason for them to take her."

    I looked at ric; he was just as confused as I was.

    The Cage brothers? Why was that name ringing a bell in my head? I felt I should know who that was, but my memory failed me.

    "Who are they?" Ares asks. "I feel like I should know, judging by everyone''s reaction."

    Atticus looked at his brother Damon, and it seemed they were unsure if telling us was the right thing to do.

    "They''re a big part of the underworld." Atticus finally says.

    Thatst word makes my blood run cold.

    Underworld.

    Fuck.

    "The underworld?" I ask for confirmation.

    That couldn''t be right.

    Why the fuck would anyone from the underworld take my wife? I y the recording of them forcing her out of the house over and over again, memorizing each of their faces.

    He nods, "They''re involved with a lot of criminal activities. They kill for the money. Someone orders a hit on a person, and they do the job for them. They''re good at their jobs. They do most of the dirty work for some of the rich families that refuse to get their own hands dirty."

    "I don''t understand," I growl. "Why would they take Scarlett with them? She''s innocent, an angel; she has nothing to do with the underworld. Why the fuck would they take her?"

    "I can''t say," Atticus sighs, "but she''s with them now. And they aren''t just vampires. They''re hybrids, half-vampire, half-wolf. They''re dangerous."

    "Where can I find them?" I demand.

    "No one knows exactly where they live," Atticus confesses. "It''s not going to be easy to find them, and I wouldn''t advise you to go alone. Even your family and mine wouldn''t be enough to get Scarlett back from them. We''re going to need much more help than that."

    I didn''t care what needed to be done. I would do whatever I could to get Scarlett and my baby back in my life.

    I fucking missed her like crazy, and I was terrified of anything happening to her.

    I had to get her back.

    I had to.

    </section><section>

    If something happened to them, I would never forgive myself.

    This was all my fault, my fucking fault.

    </section>

 Chapter 378 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "Are you going to lock me up in a room?" I ask Wilder as he takes me out of the vehicle.

    "It depends." He answers me. "Will you try and escape from me?"

    </section><section>

    I bit my lip to stop myself from saying the truth.

    "Your silence tells me all that I need to know." He sighs. "What is your name?"

    I stare at him, "You don''t even know my name?"

    He shook his head. "My brothers and I were hunting when I picked up on your scent. I immediately knew that my mate was inside that house. I nned to get you out of there even before I realized that you were being held against your will."

    "It''s Scarlett. Scarlett Prince." I answer him.

    He looks at me, "Prince?" He asks. "You were telling the truth when you said you were married."

    "Yes." I snap. "And my husband will be looking for me. I''m pregnant with his baby, also. What could you possibly want from me?"

    "I don''t care about any of that." He growls. "You are my mate, and that''s all that matters. I expect you to divorce him. The second you give birth, you can return the baby to his father. If you want to keep him, he will be given myst name. He will not be a Prince. The choice is yours."

    My eyes widen in horror.

    Just how insane was this man?

    "What is your full name?" I demand. N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    If I knew it, I could reject him now and end this torture.

    His eyes sh dangerously, "if you''re thinking of rejecting me. Think again. I will not allow it, Scarlett. No one can take you away from me, not even you."

    "I love Carter." I snap. "I love him. I love him more than I''ve ever loved another person. There is no chance that you can ever take his ce. So please, just end this torture for the both of us."

    "I''ve been searching for you for years." He informs me. "I thought I would never find you, but now here you are. I can''t help these feelings inside of me, Scarlett. You may be in love with another man, but my heart still belongs to you, even if you don''t want it. I am not letting you go. I will fight to keep you in my life."

    My heart hurts, but this time, because I''m scared of what he will do if Carteres for me. I was scared that he would hurt him. I didn''t want any harm toe to my husband.

    And I knew that Carter woulde for me. I hadplete faith in him. I knew it wouldn''t be long before he found me.

    I had to be prepared to protect him from Wilder and his family. I had to do everything in my power to keep the people that I loved safe.

    He takes my hand, and I flinch. I didn''t want him to touch me.

    The moment we step inside, we''re greeted by three young women. It''s possible that these were their sisters or maybe even other women they kidnapped and held against their will.

    "Who is this?" One of the girls asks as she looks at me with curiosity.

    "She''s my mate, Esmeralda." He answers her.

    Her eyes widen in shock, "y-your mate? You found her?"

    She doesn''t look happy with this news. I wasn''t happy about it either.

    He nods, "We need to find her a room."

    "She looks like you brought her here against her will, brother." Another one of the girls says as she studies me.

    "That''s because he did force her toe here, Elena," Dash confirms.

    "But she''s pregnant." Thest one whispers.

    "Elsa."Elena scolds her. "What if she''s not pregnant?"

    "I am pregnant," I confirmed. "I have a husband. I love him. I don''t want to be here. Your brother brought me here against my will. Please convince him to let me go. I can never love him. This is not the life that I want."

    I was hoping that the women would be more understanding than their brothers.

    Esmeralda looks at Wilder and slowly walks up to him. His hand lets go of mine as she stops a few inches from us.

    "Why are you doing this?" She whispers. "She doesn''t want to be here. Why are you forcing her against her will?"

    "Because she''s my mate." He growls. "I don''t care what anyone has to say to me. I''ve made up my mind to keep her."

    "Brother!" Elena gasps. "You can''t do this to a woman. Our family is known for many things, but this is something that we''ve never done. You can''t just kidnap a woman and force her to be your mate if she doesn''t want to. That''s just wrong, and you know it!"

    Esmeralda looks hurt as she walks away from him in disbelief.

    "He''s lost his mind," Jagger growls as he walks inside the house. It wasn''t just a house; it was a mansion. Whatever it was that they did, they made plenty of money. They were rich.

    That didn''t make me feel any better.

    "I think everyone is being a little too harsh on him." Fox growls. "He''s our brother. He doesn''t deserve all the hate. He found his mate; he''s allowed to act a little crazy."

    Fox seemed to be very protective of Wilder. I''ve noticed that since the start.

    "No one is giving him hate," Elsa whispers. "But what he''s done is wrong. We can''t praise such bad behavior. We need to correct him. The poor girl is scared for her life, and she''s in love with someone else. She''s even pregnant with this man¡¯s baby. It is wrong to keep them apart."

    "Do you know what it means to have a mate sister?" Wilder growls. "Do you know how difficult it is to learn that she wants nothing to do with you and is in love with another man?"

    Elsa bit her lip and looked away from his re.

    "I don''t want to discuss this anymore." He shouts. "She stays. Guard her well and make sure that she doesn''t try to escape. If anyonees for her, I intend to fight for her. If you have a problem with that, you don''t have to help me. I can do it on my own."

    </section><section>

    Everyone looked upset by his words, but I knew that they would have his back in the end.

    I was on my own until my family showed up. Until Carter showed up. Until then, I would try my best to get out of here, to get away from Wilder.

    </section>

 Chapter 379 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    "You don''t look so good," ric tells me as he walks closer.

    "I failed her," I whisper. "I should have told her the truth since the beginning. Instead, I was a coward. I hid the truth from her, and now I''m paying the price."

    </section><section>

    "Even if you''d told her the truth, it wouldn''t change this oue, Carter." He ims. "Joshua was out for our family a while now. He would have taken Scarlett one way or the other to get to our family. There''s nothing you could have done to stop this from happening."

    "How is Apollo?" I ask him.

    My brother was still haunted after the death of Lily, Joshua''s younger sister. He med himself for her death just as much as Joshua did.

    However, we all knew that he wasn''t at fault. Lily learned of Apollo''s secret and used it against him. She was always obsessed with him, but he was never interested in her. They were friends at one point, but they weren''t the closest of friends.

    Lily always followed him around. Then, one night, she showed up at our door with bruises all over her body. She imed that Apollo had lost control and slept with her.

    We knew right away that it was aplete lie. Apollo was still locked in the basement when we checked that same morning. There was no way that he''d escaped. Lily hadn''t known about the basement; she knew a bit about the curse, but that was it.

    Apollo was unhappy about her lies and asked her to stay away from him. Then, we found out that she was pregnant. She still maintained the story that he was responsible for her being pregnant.

    He told her that he would not be the child''s father because he never slept with her. We never got to find out who the real father was. Then, one day, we learned that she''d killed herself. Apollo was depressed and med himself for months. He never fully recovered from her death.

    "He''s hanging in there." He answers me. "I think he''s trying to be strong for you. He knows that you need all of us right now. I''m sure he already mes himself for this as well since Joshua was responsible for this madness."N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    I clench my jaw, "Joshua should have protected his sister from the man who got her pregnant instead ofing after our family."

    "At least he''s dead now." ric growls. "I would have felt sorry for him if he hadn''t kidnapped Scarlett. He let his revenge take over his actions. Now he''s gone, and he never found out the truth. Lily shouldn''t have lied to begin with."

    ¡°It''s true. She should have told everyone the truth.¡±

    ric ces a hand on my shoulder, "I almost forgot what I came here to tell you."

    "What is that?" I ask anxiously. "Is it something to do with Scarlett? Have you found out anything more about the Cage brothers?"

    "No, but Atticus managed to contact some people who might be able to help us." He informs me. "Follow me."

    I do as he says. I was willing to meet anyone who could help me. I''d spent thest few hours driving in circles, asking everyone I knew and even strangers for help. I was hoping that someone would have the information that I needed to get Scarlett back. However, the second they heard the name Wilder Cage, they all went into a panic. No one wanted to help because of who those people were.

    It was expected. No one liked to mess with people from the underworld.

    Even though Atticus and I didn''t start on the best terms, I was still grateful for all of his help today. I had to thank his wife for forcing him to help me. I knew she must have been the one to convince him toe here.

    I pause for a second after turning the corner. I knew who the special guests were almost immediately.

    Hunter.

    Austin.

    James.

    Kane.

    They were the first that I saw. There were even more of them behind them, including their wives.

    How did Atticus manage to get all of them here so quickly? What did he say to them to convince them to help my family?

    "Carter Prince." Austin greets me as he shakes my hand. "Atticus informed us of your recent troubles. We are here to offer a helping hand if you ept it."

    "I''m happy for any help I can get," I assure him. "I''ll do anything to get Scarlett back. Name your price."

    Austin quirks a brow at me, "My price?"

    Hunter chuckles, and so do the rest of them.

    "We don''t want anything in return." He assured me. "Our family is quite indebted to the Fawns. They''ve helped us a lot. Once they ask us for a favor, we''re always willing to help."

    "What do you know of the Cage family?" I ask him. "Is it possible to find out where they currently live?"

    Hunter scratches his jaw lightly, "finding out where they live may be slightly difficult since no one would be willing to give out that information about them. Everyone would fear for their lives; the Cage brothers have a reputation that makes everyone terrified of them. However, there might be a few of our friends that would be willing to help out a little."

    "If you need to offer them money," I say. "I''m willing to pay any price to get my Scarlett back."

    "While we''re sure we can find their location," Austin adds. "That wouldn''t be the hardest part at all. The most difficult part is getting into their home through all the security. And then finding Scarlett in there. Of course, getting out with everyone alive is also another challenge."

    Arthur ckner nods, "Getting out will no doubt be difficult. We need to n all of this the right way. We can''t barge into there with no n. We want everyone to be alive by the end of this."

    </section><section>

    It sounded like a challenge, but I didn''t care about any of that.

    Once they found out where these people lived, I would find a way to get in. I didn''t care about my life, Scarlett¡¯s life and our baby¡¯s life mattered the most to me.

    </section>

 Chapter 380 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "Can I sleep in your room?" I ask Elsa. I didn''t want Wilder or any of his brothers to offer their rooms to me.

    She nods, "You can have your own room if you''d like." She informs me. "I know that my brother hasn''t exactly left a good impression on you, but he will not force you to sleep in the same room with him. I am at least sure about that."

    </section><section>

    I didn''t believe her. If he could kidnap me and force me to stay in his home, he was capable of doing anything.

    "I still prefer to sleep in your room," I tell her.

    "Okay." She whispers. "Come on in."

    I do as she says and take a look around the room. I was searching for a phone. If I could contact Carter again, it would make it easier for him to find me.

    However, I was scared to inform him of where I was. I was terrified that something would happen to him. I didn''t think that I should tell him of anything until I knew for sure that we could both get safely out of this ce.

    But I missed him. I missed him so much. And I felt sick to my stomach, knowing I had found my mate. In my heart, Carter was my only mate. There wasn''t anyone else but him for me.

    "I''m sorry about my brother, I hate what he is doing to you." She apologizes as she hands me a nket. "I know you must be extremely exhausted."

    "I know this isn''t your fault; you don''t need to apologize for his behavior," I assure her.

    She smiles, "You''re not the only one being forced into something you don''t want to do."

    "What do you mean by that?" I ask her.

    "My family wants me to marry someone I don''t want to spend the rest of my life with." She informs me. "They aren''t listening to me. They''re only concerned about their reputation."

    I sigh, "I''m so sorry you have to go through that."

    "No, I''m sorry that you are going through this." She whispers.

    "Can you please do something for me?" I ask of her. I was desperate to see Carter, even if it was on the phone.

    "What is it?" She asks hesitantly.

    "I haven''t seen my husband in some time. I miss him so much. He''s very popr back home. There are videos of him everywhere. I know that I can''t use a phone, but I want to have one look at him. I would forever be thankful if you could do this for me."

    Her eyes soften at my request.

    "Okay," she whispers. "You said that his name is Carter Prince?"

    I nod.

    She types his name on her phone, and multiple videos pop up. My eyes are filled with tears the second that I see him.

    Elsa had no idea just how much this meant to me. Seeing Carter even on video made my heart swell with so many emotions.

    "You''re truly in love with him." She whispers. "I can see the pain in your eyes. I''m surprised someone with a mate can love another man so strongly."

    I wipe my tears, unable to stop them now.

    My love for Carter couldn''t bepared with anything else. My love for him would never waver. Never.

    . . . .

    ~CARTER~

    "I know she isn''t my mate," I whisper to Ares. "I know I can''t have mates. But my heart still hurts so damn much. I feel her connection. I feel everything for her just as strongly as if she were my mate."

    He touches my shoulder, "She may not be your mate, but your love for her is pure and natural. No one will ever love her as much as you do. I know that you will find her brother. There are so many people helping us. It wouldn''t be long before you find her."

    I hoped that he was right. I felt like I would go insane soon if I didn''t find her.

    "We have some news," ric says as he barges into the house.

    "What did you find out?" I demand as the phone drops from my hand. I was staring at pictures of Scarlett for thest hour, hoping that it would give me the strength that I needed to keep on fighting.

    "We were able to restore the audio on the camera footage." He informs me. "You won''t want to hear what I''m about to say to you."

    I could feel the tension in my body intensify at his words. The fact that he knew it wasn''t something I wanted to hear worried me.

    I already had to deal with so much; I didn''t want any more bad news. However, there could only be bad news as long as Scarlett was missing.

    "Tell me." I plead with him. "What is it that you found out from the footage?"

    "I now know why they took Scarlett with them." He tells me.

    My back stiffens, and I narrow my eyes. "Tell me what it is, ric. Do not hold back. I need to know why they took my pregnant wife."

    He runs a hand through his hair and he looks like he''s about to lose his mind too. Was he that afraid to tell me? Just how bad was it?

    "They took her because she''s Wilder''s mate." He yells out. "Her mate found her, Carter. And he''s a bloody Cage.¡±

    Everything around me begins to spin at his words, and my vision turns red.

    My worst nightmare.

    I never wanted Scarlett to meet her mate, not in this life.

    What did this mean?

    Did she willingly go with them?

    Is she happy that she found her mate?

    Does she have feelings for him?

    There were so many questions in my mind, and all of them made my heart hurt.

    I was in fucking pain.

    Why was this happening to me? Was this part of our curse? Could none of us ever indeed be happy with the woman that we were in love with? This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    "Carter," ric says my name in a panic, but I can barely hear him.

    My heart hurts too much.

    </section><section>

    Please, Scarlett, please don''t love anyone else but me. Please don''t break my heart in two. Please only be mine.

    Please.

    </section>

 Chapter 381 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    "I''m going for a run," I tell ric.

    I couldn''t rest peacefully knowing that Scarlertt was with her mate. It''s been on my mind since my brother broke the news to me. It was hard for me to stomach. I didn''t want to believe that it was true.

    </section><section>

    I know my heart wouldn''t be able to take it if she fell in love with someone else.

    I''d rather die than watch Scarlett love another man. She''s everything to me, and I couldn''t lose her. I promised her that if she ever found her mate, I would fight till my death for her, and I intended to keep that promise. She was my woman; no one else could take her from me.

    "Please don''t do anything stupid." ric pleads with me. "I would hate for something to happen to you out there. Scarlett needs you alive."

    "I need the fresh air, ric," I exin. "I won''t be gone for long. If anything changes, let me know immediately."

    He nods, "Don''t go too far."

    I don''t wait for him to say anything else as I race out of the house and shift into my wolf. Within seconds, I''m running through the forest with no destination in sight.

    I was hoping to pick up on Scarlett''s scent. I was hoping for a bloody miracle at this point. The more time she spent with her mate, the faster she would fall in love with him.

    I felt like I was helpless. I couldn''t do anything until I knew where she was located.

    I''d done some digging up on the Cage family, and they were just as dangerous as I was told, maybe even a little more. I wouldn''t want Scarlett living amongst people like that, even if one of them were her mate.

    She wouldn''t be safe there. She wouldn''t be treated like the princess she was.

    My wolf pauses as memories of her sh before our minds. I missed her like crazy. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    How did my life turn into this fucking mess? It was already horrible because of the curse, but I didn''t think it could worsen until now.

    Everything felt like torture now that Scarlett was no longer by my side.

    My wolf lifts his head back and howls in pain. I''d never heard his cry like this before; it was new. It almost sounded like a wolf who''d just lost his mate.

    I was struggling without her presence, and he must have felt it, also. He was in pain, just like I was.

    . . . . . . . . . .

    ~SCARLETT~

    It was my second day with the Cage family; I hadn''t sleptst night. My mind was racing with so many thoughts.

    "Did you sleep well?" Elsa asks me as she hands me a dress. "You can take a shower and change into this. You''ll feel much morefortable."

    I take the dress from her hand as I say, "I couldn''t sleep."

    "It will get easier, I promise." She tells me.

    After getting dressed, Elsa guided me into one of the rooms where the rest of her siblings were seated. They were probably about to have breakfast.

    I didn''t think I could eat again until I returned to Carter.

    After I get seated, multiple maids walk over and offer everyone food. I refuse each time they pass by me.

    "I think some people have been trying to get information on us." I hear Dash say to Wilder suddenly.

    My heart skips a beat at his words. Was it Carter? There was a high possibility that it was him.

    "Why do you think that?" Wilder asks him. "Did you hear something?"

    He nods, "I''ve gotten multiple reports. A few men approached me this morning and said that someone approached them and was asking questions about our location."

    Wilder stiffens, "Did they describe the person?"

    He shook his head, "I can''t say for sure. There are mixed descriptions. I think it''s safe to say that it isn''t just one person looking for us. It''s multiple people."

    Wilder sighs, "As long as they don''te close to our home and family, I wouldn''t worry much about it."

    Dash looks at me, "do you think it''s her family looking for her? Possibly her husband?"

    Wilder''s hands tightened into fists, "he can look for her all he wants. He''s never getting her back."

    My eyes narrow as I re at him. He could try to keep me here, but as long as Carter was alive, I would fight to escape him.

    "I want more information on Carter Prince," Wilder says suddenly. "Find out everything you can about him, and when you do, I want to see every detail about him. I want to know exactly what his weaknesses are."

    "No!" I shout. "Leave Carter out of this. He has nothing to do with any of you."

    Wilder looks agitated, "he should have thought about that before he started snooping around my family."

    "He wouldn''t need to do it if you''d just let me go!" I snap at him. "Let me go, damn it! I do not want to be here!"

    "Let''s all calm down," Elena says as she rushes to my side. "We''re not even sure that her husband has been snooping around. Let''s not jump to any conclusions just yet."

    "Who else could it be?" Dash asks. "This only happened after we took her from Joshua''s residence. It has to be Carter or at least her family."

    I bit down on my lip hard.

    I could feel my fingers begin to shake uncontrobly.

    I was losing my mind. I was terrified that these people would do something horrible to Carter.

    "If youy a single finger on him, if you hurt any part of his body," I say low and dangerously. "I would never forgive you. I would never forgive you for hurting him."

    Wilder looks away from my re. He ms his fist against the table before him and storms out of the room.

    I meant every single one of those words.

    I fell back against the chair with tears in my eyes. They were going after him, and I wouldn''t be able to stop it.

    </section><section>

    I couldn''t let it happen.

    I couldn''t.

    </section>

 Chapter 382 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    The second I walked back into the house, I knew they''d gotten some new information on Scarlett''s whereabouts.

    "What did you find out?" I ask, waiting impatiently for a response.

    </section><section>

    ra walks in at the same time as I do, and her eyes look like she''s been crying for hours. I knew how hard all of this was on her. Even Scarlett''s best friend, Jenna, was also there. Her entire family was present. Everyone was waiting for some good news.

    We would stop at nothing to get her back safely.

    "Did something happen?" ra demands. "Did you find out where they''re keeping my sister?"

    "Not exactly," Atticus answers her. "But we are getting closer."

    "We''re trying our best to track her," Autumn says.

    "By now, those people that you asked about Wilder''s abode must have told him that you were looking for him," Hunter informs me. "It means that they would be increasing security by tonight. That means it would be even harder to get inside their home."

    I already knew that it would be difficult. I didn''t care.

    "I''m grateful for everyone''s help," I thank them. "But if you''re worried about your families, I don''t want to endanger any of you. Once you find out where they''re keeping her, you can all go home. My family and I can handle this."

    "We''re not going anywhere," rissa says. "We are here to help. We''re not leaving until we find Scarlett back, so you''ll have to deal with us a little longer. You''re pretty much stuck with us.¡±

    Damon''s lips curl into a smile.

    "rissa is right," Dante says. "We know what it''s like when someone close to the family goes missing. It isn''t easy to deal with. That''s why we understand how important it is for us to help."

    I never thought the Fawns would be this open to help my family. It was not something that I would ever forget. I will always be grateful to everyone here today.

    "Thank you all so very much." ra cries. "I just want Scarlett back in front of me again."

    Jenna hugs ra tightly as the two of them burst into tears. I felt their pain.

    "We got it!" Arthur shouts as he barges into the room. "We know where they are currently staying."

    My heart jumps in my chest at his words.

    "Are you sure?" ric asks him. "We don''t want to barge into the wrong person''s home."

    He nods, "I''m positive that this is the correct address. Now we need a n to get Scarlett out of there without pissing off the entire underworld."

    "Tell me where she is," I demand. "We have to go there now."

    "Carter," ric stops me. "We can''t do that. You can''t go there yet. We must n this properly, or you''re going to put your life in danger. That''s thest thing any of us want, and I know for a damn fact that it''s thest thing Scarlett would want."

    "He''s right," Apollo adds. "Scarlett''s life is already in danger. If you barge into their home, everything will get much worse."

    "Am I just supposed to stand back and do nothing?" I growl. "I''ve been losing my mind at an rming rate since Scarlett went missing. I need to find her. I need to see her."

    Austin looks at Hunter, and they give a silent exchange. I wasn''t sure what they were thinking, but somebody needed to start talking soon.

    "Their home is close to the ck council''s home."Austin finally says. "You can find it easily if you follow the council''s direction. It''s a mansion situated right before. A newly built one because of their close rtionship with the council. They''ve been staying there for a few weeks and probably will move again soon."

    Everyone was looking at me as though they expected me to make a run for the door. I knew that I couldn''t do it in front of them. I had to wait for the perfect opportunity to get out of here.

    "What''s your n?" I ask, hoping to convince them I would not leave before they develop one.

    "We''re still trying toe up with one," Austin answers me. "As soon as we found out, we came to tell you. Now that you know, we can develop the perfect n to get her out of there safely. Not just her, but the rest of us as well."

    "A battle is inevitable. We can''t run from it." Hunter announces. "Majority of us have mates. We know how protective and possessive we get over them. Wilder is not going to be any different. He can''t help himself, and he already has a lot of bad ways. His family will support him no matter what. The council is also nearby, and we have a bad rtionship with them. All those things need to be taken into consideration."Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    "That''s why we need to prepare for the worst," Atticus says. "Let''s see how quickly we can devise a n."

    I paced from left to right for the next two hours, listening to their n to get Scarlett out. The rage inside of me for Wilder Cage was building by the second.

    I was restless and impatient. They weren''t moving fast enough for me.

    Now that I knew where she was, I couldn''t wait any longer. I had to see her. I had to see my wife. I had to hold her and kiss her again. I had to tell her that I loved her like fucking crazy.

    She had to know that she was the most important person in my life. She had to know that I would fucking die if she left me.

    I had to find a way to get out of here without anyone noticing. Right now, they were all distracted as they worked on the n.

    It was the perfect time to slip away.

    I knew they would all be pissed at me for leaving when they told me not to.

    </section><section>

    However, I couldn''t control myself.

    I had to see Scarlett, and I wouldn''t waste another second.

    </section>

 Chapter 383 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    The second I jump into the truck, the back door opens, and I look behind me to see ra in the backseat.

    "What the hell, ra?"

    </section><section>

    She narrows her eyes, "You didn''t think I would let you go for my sister on your own, did you?"

    I couldn''t let here with me. Scarlett would never forgive me for putting her sister''s life in danger.

    "No." I snap. "Get out of the truck now. You''re noting with me. I refuse to let youe."

    "I''m not moving." She hissed. "She''s my sister, and I won''t just sit back and watch. If you are nning on bringing her back home, I''ming with you."

    "ra," I growl. "Get out of the truck. Now."

    "If you force me out of here, I will walk into that house and let everyone know where to find you." She snaps. "They will stop you from leaving, and you know it."

    My hands tighten on the steering, "fuck. Fine."

    "I thought so." She says with a devious smile.

    "Why did I forget how sly you could be?" I ask her.

    "Forget that." She snaps. "What is our n?"

    "I nned to barge into the Cage''s mansion and get Scarlett out of there," I answer her.

    Her eyes widen as she gapes at me, "Are you insane?"

    "Yes. I am. I''m insanely in love with Scarlett, and I will do everything to get her back." I remind her.

    "You can get yourself killed!" ra exims. She looks at me like I''ve just lost my mind.

    "Then what do you propose I do?" I demand.

    "I don''t know, but your n sucks."

    I start the truck and pull out of the garage. "We don''t have time for this. I need to get to Scarlett right now. We cane up with a n on the way."

    ra sighs, "You''re right."

    The second we hit the road, the adrenaline kicks in.

    I was closer than ever to getting her back. I could feel it.

    . . . . .

    ~SCARLETT~

    Everything hurt.

    I was worried about Carter. No one was telling me anything. I had no clue what Wilder and his brothers were up to. It wouldn''t be difficult for them to find him.

    I was back in the bedroom, looking for ways to warn Carter and his family. Elsa had taken her phone with her, and there was nothing else in this room that could help me. Wilder must have removed everything from the house that could help me contact Carter before bringing me here.

    I sigh.

    "Come with me," Elsa says suddenly as she enters the room. I''m surprised by the urgency in her voice.

    Did something happen?

    "Did something happen to Carter?" I demand.

    "Shh," she whispers. "You shouldn''t mention him so loudly."

    She pulls me into a bathroom with her and looks around nervously.

    Was she scared that someone would overhear us?

    When she seemed confident that we were alone, she held something in my palm.

    "What''s this?" I ask her as my hands close around it.

    She doesn''t answer me, and after looking down, I realize it''s a bunch of keys.

    Why would she give me something like this?

    What was I supposed to do with these?This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    She looks nervous as she paces from left to right in front of me. She was beginning to worry me.

    "Elsa?"

    She finally looks at me after hearing her name.

    "I''ve been thinking about this entire thing, and it''s been bothering me plenty. I know I''m already being forced to marry someone that I do not wish to marry. I don''t want the same for you. You already have a husband who you deeply love. We barely know each other, but I wouldn''t wish something like this for my worst enemy." She begins to exin.

    Each word out of her mouth surprises me further than thest.

    "What are you saying?" I ask her hesitantly. I''m still in disbelief.

    "I''m saying that I think it''s very unfair what my brother did to you. I''m hoping that my actions may one day help you to forgive him for everything he¡¯s done. You might hate him now, but he''s only acting this way because of the mate bond. He can''t help himself." She whispers.

    "Are you saying what I think you are?" I ask in shock.

    She nods, "I''ve found a way to get you out of here tonight. Last night, you cried uncontrobly. You thought I couldn''t see you in the dark but I could still hear everything. I can''t just stand back and watch something like this happen to an innocent woman like yourself. That''s why I made up my mind to help you."

    I gasped and my heart swelled with the possibility of seeing Carter again. This couldn''t be real, but it was. She was truly going to help me get out of here.

    "These are the keys that you will need." She informs me. "We have multiple doors for safety. Each of them has locks. Wilder and my other brothers have increased the security since they brought you here. You wouldn''t have been able to get out without each of these keys."

    "But they''re always walking around. I''m sure that Wilder or any of your siblings would stop me the second they realize that I''m trying to escape." I whisper. "And there''s so much security. How am I supposed to hide from them all and still get out of here?"

    She smiles, "Don''t worry. I''ve thought about everything. Wilder and the rest of my brothers will not be home tonight. Don''t worry about my sisters; even if they see anything, they will remain quiet."

    </section><section>

    "Are you sure they will be gone?" I ask her for confirmation.

    She nods, "I''m not sure how long they will be gone. That means that you will have to hurry. The second that they leave, you need to be on the move also. As for the guards, I''ll see about that for you. You don''t need to worry about them."

    </section>

 Chapter 384 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    "That''s the mansion!" ra gasps. "Right where they said it would be."

    She was right; I could spot it clearly from where we were. It was so huge that it wasn''t difficult to spot at all.

    </section><section>

    I mash down on the elerator as far as it could go. I didn''t stop until I was just a short distance away from it.

    ra grabs my arm when I reach for the door, "what are you doing?" She asks.

    "Didn''t we agree that the second we got here, we would barge into their residence and bring Scarlett back home?" I demand.

    She swallows, "I thought that you were joking about that. Carter, if you just barge into their home, you''ll get yourself killed. It''s just me and you. Everyone else is back home. Scarlett loves you. If you get yourself killed, your baby will be without a father, and your wife will spend the rest of her life grieving for you."

    "ra," I whisper. "I know you are right, but right now, I can only think about getting Scarlett back. I''m not scared of dying; I''m scared of losing Scarlett to her real mate."

    Her eyes soften, and she squeezes my arm gently, "I''ve never seen Scarlett look at another man like she looks at you. My sister wouldn''t have chosen to marry you if she wasn''t deeply in love. She still wanted to be with you even after knowing I was crazy about you in the past; she wouldn''t do that for just anybody."

    "Are you sure?" I ask her as my voice breaks a little. I can hardly recognize it. I didn''t realize until now that a part of me was terrified of leaving this truck. I was terrified that I would enter that house and find Scarlett in the arms of another man.

    I wouldn''t know how to react to something like that.

    My entire life would shatter if she ever chose him over me.

    I knew Scarlett loved me. I knew that I meant plenty to her. However, I also knew what the mate bond could do to you. I''ve seen rtionships fall apart when one person found their true mate. I''ve seen broken hearts all over the academy and at parties we''ve hosted.

    "I''ve never been more sure of anything else," ra answers me. "I wouldn''t have let Scarlett marry you if I wasn''t sure it was what she wanted. My sister was never interested in anyone else until she fell for you. No mate bond could take that away from her. She loves you with her entire heart; there isn''t any space in her heart for another man, Carter. I''m sure she''s waiting for you. And if she isn''t waiting, it''s because she''s trying to escape."

    Hearing ra say this made the pain in my heart ease a little.

    "I think it''s time to get my wife back," I tell her.

    She nods.

    "But I want you to stay in the truck," I add before she has a chance to open the door.

    Her eyes widen, "what the hell are you talking about? I''m not leaving you to go in there on your own."

    "Scarlett will never forgive me if you get hurt inside there." I try to exin. "Please let me do this. Besides, if we both get trapped there, no one can call for help."

    She presses her lips tightly together and res at me, "You knew you were going to do this the second you allowed me toe, didn''t you?"

    I shrug my shoulders, "I had to find an excuse to get you to stay back. I''ve hurt you plenty in the past, ra. I don''t want to be the reason that you get physically hurt this time. If I don''te out in fifteen minutes, that''s your cue to call for help."

    She sighs, "I can''t believe you''re convincing me to do this, but just be safe, Carter. It feels weird to say this since we dated in the past, but now that you are married to my sister, you''re like a brother to me. I don''t want anything bad to happen to either one of you. So please, even though I want you to get Scarlett back, be safe while doing it. Do not do anything too risky. If you sense any danger, get out of there immediately."

    I nod, "don''t worry. I''ll be back soon."

    I''m surprised to see tears in her eyes. I didn''t think that ra would still care so much for me after everything that I did to her in the past.

    I jump out of the truck and slowly advance to the mansion before me.

    There was a thick wall in front of me, but it wouldn''t be difficult to climb it. There was no point in using the front gate. They wouldn''t let me in without adequately exining why I was there. I was sure that Wilder already warned his guards about me.

    I walk towards the back of the property; there should be fewer guards to get through from here.

    I was insane for even attempting to get into the Cage''s residence with no n or backup. However, I''ve been doing crazy things since I fell in love with Scarlett. This was just an addition to the list.

    "Time to get my girl back," I growled under my breath as I climbed up the wall. I scanned the area when I reached the top, and no guard was in sight.

    What the fuck?

    This had to be some trap. Why would there be no guards stationed here?

    I jump down from the wall and look for the first back entrance I could find for the house.

    When I spot it, I rush over to the door.

    I couldn''t waste any time. If I stopped to think, I would get caught quickly, and I couldn''t let that happen.

    I had to find Scarlett before any of that could happen.

    </section><section>

    When I opened the door, I was shocked when someone barreled straight into me.

    I get one sniff of her scent, and every part of my body freezes.

    </section>

 Chapter 385 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I was restless waiting in the truck on Carter. It''s been ten minutes, and there is still no sign of him.

    I knew we shouldn''t have done what we did. The right thing to do was to wait on the others. But I was just as desperate as him to get my sister back, and it felt like the others were taking too long.

    </section><section>

    I look behind me when I hear the sound of vehiclesing closer. My eyes widen, and I jump into the driver''s seat.

    If those were the Cage brothers, we were in some deep trouble.

    One of the jeeps passes the truck and goes straight for the gate.

    However, the second one stops right next to me.

    A guy with red hair jumped out and knocked on the window.

    My heart was racing as I lowered it so that I could see his face more clearly. He was surprisingly good-looking but in a terrifying way.

    "What are you doing here, miss?" He asks me. His voice was rough and I knew his intention was to intimidate me. "Are you here to see one of us? Do you have an appointment?"

    An appointment? Did he think I came here to hire them for a job? He was insane!

    I shook my head and tried to keep a straight face. "My truck is giving me some trouble." I lie. "I''m waiting for someone to fix it for me."

    He quirks a brow, "I can check it for you now if you''d like."

    I wave my hand to dismiss his offer, "That''s fine. I don''t want to bother a stranger I hardly know anything about."

    I pretend to look at a message on my phone, "he just said that he will be here in ten minutes."

    The man nods, "All alright. If you experience more problems or change your mind, ring the bell. I''ll let the security escort you inside."

    I nodded even though my feet were shaking uncontrobly.

    I sigh with relief when he finally gets back into his jeep and follows the other vehicle through the now-opened ck gate.

    My hands are trembling as I search for a number I''d recently added on my phone.

    Carter was in serious trouble now. I needed to call for help before things blew up.

    . . . . . .

    ~ALARIC~

    "Where the fuck is Carter?" I roar when I don''t find him anywhere in the house.

    "You were supposed to keep an eye on him!" I growl at Apollo.

    "I''m sorry, brother." He apologizes. "I got caught up in something, and I lost track of time."

    "Fuck." I hiss. I knew he had his own problems now but damn it. Where the fuck did Carter go?

    "I''m sure everything is fine," Nicole says as she enters the room. "I don''t think Carter is stupid enough to go to the Cage''s residence alone."

    "I don''t think he went alone," Ares tells us.

    "What do you mean?" I demand. "Who else would he have taken with him?"

    "Look around." He orders me. "ra isn''t here either. They''re both missing. They''ve been missing for some time now."

    My entire body turns to stone at his words. Before I knew it, my feet were moving forward.

    "ra!" I shout as I move from room to room, searching everywhere for her.

    "What are you doing?" Nicole asks as she rushes after me.

    "Did you see ra anywhere?" I demand from her.

    "Why would I be looking out for ra?" She demands. "Why do you seem more worried about her than your brother?"

    I ignore Nicole as I barge into the room where Atticus and everyone else are still discussing the n. They were close to finishing and were wrapping everything up.

    "Did any of you see Carter or ra?" I demand. "I can''t find either one of them anywhere."

    Austin looks at me, "Don''t tell me they both left without us."

    "I think there''s a high possibility that they did," Ares says as he walks in. "Carter''s truck is no longer in the garage. They''re both gone."

    "Fuck!" I hiss. Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    There''s a moment of silence before we all realize the grave danger ahead. Not just for Carter and ra but for all of us. We had little time left.

    ¡°How long did they leave?¡± I ask Ares.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know but it''s been a while since I''ve seen them. We don''t have much time,¡± he answers me.

    I knew I should have never taken my eyes off my brother. This was all my fault!

    "We have to move quickly," Hunter says as we all rush for the door.

    I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket, and I quickly pulled it out in front of me. My eyes zero in on the caller ID on the screen.

    "It''s ra!" I shout to inform everyone.

    They all stop moving and surround me.

    I quickly answer. "ra!" I shout. "Where the hell are you?"

    My heart drops when I hear her first word.

    "ric." She cries. "We''re in trouble."

    "Where are you?" I demand. "Tell me. Where are you, ra?"

    "We''re at the Cage''s residence." She gasps. "Carter is here with me. Well, he isn''t exactly here with me. He''s inside their home. He went to look for Scarlett to bring her home, but he left me in the truck to call for help if needed."

    Motherfucker.

    I knew I should have locked him in a bloody room to stop him from doing something this insane.

    "Listen to me, ra, we''reing. We will be there shortly. Please stay in the truck, do not leave it. Do you hear me?" I ask her.

    "ric," she cries. "I''m scared. I just saw the Cage brothers return home. I know it''s them from the camera footage. They''ve all returned, and Carter is still inside of there!"

    </section><section>

    I close my eyes in frustration at her words.

    "We have to move!" I informed the others. "Now!"

    </section>

 Chapter 386 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    Everything happens in slow motion. My heart knew before my eyes could even fall on the woman before me.

    The first thing I see is my favorite pair of eyes in the whole universe. It''s always been the perfect shade of blue. Her wavy ck hair was flowing wild and free, and her body was frozen on the spot, almost like she couldn''t believe that I was in front of her. My eyes traveled to her tummy which had grown since thest time I saw her. It meant that our baby was safe and a part of me could suddenly breathe again.

    </section><section>

    Was I dreaming? Would I wake up in bed and realize I still hadn''t found her?

    I thought that the second I saw her, I would crush her against my body and hold onto her as tightly as possible. However, I was still terrified that she had moved on. I didn''t know if she was now in love with Wilder. I didn''t know if she would choose him instead of me.

    I wanted to believe in her love for me, but I''ve never felt this vulnerable.

    If Scarlett told me that she wanted to be with him instead, I''m not sure if it''s something I would be able to offer her. Could I walk away from her to let her be with another man?

    Fuck no.

    I''d rather die than let Wilder have her.

    However, if it was something she wanted. . .

    I close my eyes to hide the pain I felt from her. She was still very silent. She hasn''t spoken a word to me, and neither have I. Maybe she now thinks I''m a monster and is terrified of me. I can''t even look her in the eyes anymore.

    My breath hitches when I felt her hand on my cheek. It''s one touch, but with it, I felt a tear slowly roll down my face. I still couldn''t look at her. I didn''t want her to see how much fucking pain I was in right now.

    Now, both hands are on my face, and she''s wiping my tears away.

    "Carter," she whispers, and this time, I can''t help myself as I open my eyes to gaze at her.

    "Carter," she repeats in a softer voice.

    I ce one hand over her hand on my cheek, "Is it really you?" She cries. "Are you really in front of me?"

    I slowly nod, "I''m here, my love."

    I can see the tears build up in her eyes, and I brace myself for the worst news possible. This was where she would tell me that she wanted to be with Wilder. This is where she would leave me.

    My body turns to stone to prepare itself. However, she surprises me when she jumps straight into my arms.

    I can''t move for a few seconds before my arms finally close around her.

    "What took you so long?" She gasps. "I''ve been waiting for you. I was scared that I would never see you again."

    Did this mean what I thought it meant?

    She buried her face against my neck and held onto me tightly.

    "Scarlett," I whisper. "Wilder. . . I know that he''s your mate. I know that is why he brought you here. . .I¡ª"

    "You what?" She asks as she pulls away to look me in the eyes. "You what, Carter? Do you want me to ept him? Do you want me to forget about you and our baby? Is that what you''re trying to tell me? Is that why you haven''t held onto me yet? Is that why I''m the only one that looks brokenhearted?"

    My eyes widen in surprise. She was already misunderstanding me.

    "No!" I gasp. "Fuck no."

    "Then why?" She cries. "Why are you not holding me yet? Why are you not crushing me against your body? Why am I the only one trying to get closer to you?"

    The tears are falling uncontrobly down her cheeks like a fucking waterfall.

    Fuck me.

    I was still messing things up even now.

    "And why?" She whispers in a broken voice.

    "Why what?" I ask her.

    She grabs my shirt and blinks, "Why haven''t you told me you loved me yet? Why Carter? Why?"

    "You still want to be with me?" My voice breaks a little as I gaze down at her beautiful face.

    She frowns at me, "What kind of question is that Carter?" she demands. "You''re the only man I''ve ever loved. How can I ever be with another?"

    Her words bring so much joy to my heart that I can''t stop the smile on my face.

    Her eyes widen, "are you smiling at a time like this? Is something funny?"

    "No," I whisper as I jam her against the door, "I''m just happy, Scarlett. I''m so happy."This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    </section><section>

    Her eyes widen.

    I don''t waste another second as I grab her by the waist and pick her up into my arms, "Carter!" She gasps right before I crash my lips to hers.

    </section>

 Chapter 387 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    I couldn''t believe that I was in Carter''s arms again. His lips were on mine, but I was still shocked.

    He was in front of me, smiling against my mouth. He was happy, that''s what he said to me, and I believed him. I don''t think I''ve ever seen Carter this happy before.

    </section><section>

    I could feel my lips curl into a smile against his kisses as I wrapped my arms around his neck and held onto him tightly as his arms tightened around my body. N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    "I''m so sorry I haven''t told you this before, Scarlett, but I want you to know now that I have never loved another woman as much as I love you." He whispers against my lips. "My love for you cannot be measured. I knew I loved you a long time ago, but I refused to say anything because I was scared that you would¡ª"

    "GUYS!" I hear my sister''s voice from afar.

    Carter and I break apart to look for her.

    I''m shocked when I see her hanging from the wall.

    "ra!" I gasped as I ran towards her.

    Carter followed closely behind me.

    "What the hell are you doing?" I demand from her.

    "In case the two of you haven''t noticed, this is an escape mission!" She hisses.

    "Jump down, I''ll catch you!" Carter tells her.

    "I''m not letting go." She gasps. "What if you drop me?"

    "ra!" I exim. "Just let go so that he can catch you!"

    She closes her eyes and finally does as I say. Carter doesn''t even have to try to catch her before cing her on the ground.

    "What happened?" Carter demands. "I told you to stay in the truck. It''s not safe here."

    "Exactly," she snaps. "It''s not safe here, and yet the both of you were having a reunion over there. We don''t have the time. I just saw Wilder and his brothers returning. It wouldn''t be long before they realize that Scarlett is missing. We have to go now!"

    Carter grabs our arms and pulls us towards the wall once more. "I''ll get you both out of here."

    "Wait!" I stop him.

    I see the panic in his eyes, and it makes me wonder if he thinks that I actually would like to stay here.

    "What''s wrong?" He asks me hesitantly.

    "I have a key!" I informed him. "We can unlock the back gate and get out through there."

    "How did you manage to get a key?" ra asks me as we rush towards the gate.

    Carter takes the key from me and quickly opens it.

    "Wilder''s sister is very kind. She gave it to me." I answer her. "She not only gave me the key. But she also moved all the guards from the back entrance so I could escape without any trouble."

    "Wow," ra whispers. "I''m surprised he has such a nice sister, considering what he did."

    I nod, and Carter pushes the both of us out of the gate.

    "Let''s go." He tells us as he looks around for any signs of danger.

    When we don''t see anything to worry about, we run for the truck.

    I couldn''t believe this was happening. My sister and my husband, they were both running beside me. They''d bothe for me, and I couldn''t be happier to see them again. I missed them both so much.

    "I already called ric," ra informs us. "He knows we are in danger, and they''reing here."

    "Hopefully, we can get out of here before anything happens," I whisper more to myself than them.

    I knew what Wilder and his family were capable of doing. They had this dangerous and scary aura about them, especially when together. I also saw what they did to Joshua. They killed him within a few seconds.

    I knew now that ric and the others were on their way, but would that be enough to save us all from these people?

    I breathe a sigh of relief when we finally reach the vehicle. Now, all we had to do was to get out of here before Wilder realized that I was gone. I knew we didn''t have much time left. The second he got into the house, he would see that I was gone.

    Carter opens the door for me, and I quickly get in. He does the same for ra before she can open it herself. Then he rushes over to the driver''s side.

    "Scarlett!" ra screams.

    Before I have a chance to ask her what''s wrong, I see Wilder show up out of nowhere and grab Carter by his neck.

    "CARTERRRR!" I scream.

    I jump out of the truck and rush to them, but ra grabs my arm to stop me.

    "You''re pregnant, Scarlett!" She shouts to remind me. "Let me stop them instead! You stay back!¡±

    Before she can take a step forward, Wilder''s brothers surround us, stopping us from moving even an inch.

    </section><section>

    Carter''s sudden roar sends my body into full panic.

    No. No. No!

    </section>

 Chapter 388 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "Let me go!" I shout as I try to pull away from Dash.

    "Let my sister go!" ra hisses as she knees Fox between his legs.

    </section><section>

    He winces, "fuck."

    He doesn''t let go of her; instead, his hold tightens. "I knew there was something fishy about you the second that I saw you in that truck all alone. I just never thought you would be affiliated with Scarlett. I should have known the second Iid my eyes on you that the two of you were sisters.¡±

    "You''ll be sorry you ever put your hands on us!" ra screams. ¡°Just wait and you''ll see what happens.¡±

    "How dare you kidnap my wife!" Carter growls as he shoves Wilder off him, gaining my attention once more.

    "Your wife?" Wilder shouts. "She''s my fucking mate. Your wedding means nothing now that she''s mine."

    Carter grabs Wilder by his neck, and they both re at each other.

    "You need to stop them!" I shout at Wilder''s brothers.

    "It has to be done." Fox growls. "The winner of this fight will be the only one worthy of being with you. One must die, and the other must live."

    "What the hell is wrong with you?" I demand. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    "This is the chance to see who you love." He continues. "One is your husband, and the other is your mate. Let''s see who you feel the most pain for. That way, you can choose who you want to be with."

    "You''re a maniac." ra hissed at him, and I agreed with her. He was a maniac, and I hoped that he would one day eat his own words.

    Carter looks over at me, and I can see the fear as clear as day in his eyes. He wasn''t scared of fighting Wilder; he was terrified that I would feel pain if he hurt him.

    Oh, how I loved this man. How could I have possibly ever doubted that he loved me? The signs were always there. We had to get out of this alive. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I didn''t want to lose him before I got the opportunity to have a family with him.

    "I love you, Carter!" I shout loud enough for everyone around us to hear. I wanted them to know that he was the only one in my heart; it didn''t matter that Wilder was my mate. "And I know our baby loves you too. So please, show these men that you''re the only one for me. Prove to them that our love cannot be weakened."

    His brothers all re at me. I knew that I was hurting Wilder. I knew that he would feel the pain because of my words; in fact, I could feel that pain inside me right now, but I still chose to ignore it. Carter was all that mattered to me. The hurt in my chest was only because of the mate bond; if it weren''t there, I would feel nothing for Wilder.

    The look of betrayal on his face only intensified when his sisters ran out through the gates towards us.

    "Wilder, stop this madness!" Esmeralda screams. "Just let her leave with him! Please!"

    He res at her, and I can see the tears in her eyes. She was truly scared that he would hurt himself. I blinked once, then twice; the look on her face wasn''t the look a sister would give to her brother.

    She was in love with him. I could see it as clear as day; that''s the same look I''ve often given Carter, even before I knew he loved me.

    Was Esmeralda even his real sister?

    "Listen to Esmeralda!" Elsa shouts. "We can avoid this Wilder. Please."

    He wasn''t listening to them, no matter how much they begged.

    "Go back inside!" Dagger shouts at them. "This isn''t the ce fordies like yourself to be."

    Did they often stop the girls from participating in fights like this?

    My eyes widened when Wilder roared as heunched himself once more onto Carter. They both fell back onto the ground as they tackled each other.

    I gasp when Carter shifts before my eyes. The sh of ck was all I could see before his wolf went straight for Wilder''s neck. However, because of the vampire''s speed within him, he misses. That doesn''t stop him; he makes another attempt, and this time he seeds. He gets a grip on his arm, and Wilder roars in pain.

    I ignore the feeling in my chest. I hated this. I didn''t want to feel pain for someone I didn''t love. I had to get rid of this mate bond between us. All I had to do was reject him, but I still wasn''t aware of his full name.

    Fox lets go of ra and rushes forward to help his brother.

    My eyes widen in horror when Dash lets go of me and joins in.

    "Stay back!" ra shouts at me before she shifts into her wolf andunches at Fox.

    He stops what he''s doing and turns his attention onto her.

    I watch in horror as both my sister and my husband fight for their lives in front of me.

    Dagger takes Dash''s ce before me, stopping me from moving forward. But I knew I couldn''t just stand up and watch this happen.

    I had to do something, anything at all, to stop this madness.

    I look around me for a weapon. I had to fight back without putting my baby in harm''s way. I couldn''t act recklessly.

    Carter''s wolf looked directly at me, and I knew he could instantly tell I was thinking about joining in.

    The fear in his eyes was easy to detect.

    He throws his head back and howls. It was a warning; he was telling me to stay back.

    It was toote. I''d made up my mind.

    </section><section>

    My eyes zero in on the knife in Dagger''s sheath. I don''t think twice as I quickly pull it out and hold it against his throat before he has a chance to react.

    I would fight with my life for my sister and Carter. I will not allow anyone to take them from me!

    </section>

 Chapter 389 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    "I can''t believe your brother did something so bloody risky, and now he expects everyone to save him," Nicoleins next to me in the front seat.

    "Nicole," I growl. "I''ve tolerated a lot of your criticism andints in the past, but I can tell you that tonight is not the night to test my patience."

    </section><section>

    My brother was in fucking danger, and still, she had nothing good to say about him.

    I was getting tired of this.

    But Carter''s decision to leave without the rest of us wasn''t the only reason I felt uneasy.

    It''s the fact that he took ra along with him.

    Why would he do such a thing? He knew that he was already putting his life in danger; why would he put her life in danger, also? Hasn''t she been through enough already?

    "What''s wrong with you?" She demands. "I''m only trying to help."

    "To help?" I demand. "You haven''t said a single good thing since we entered this damn truck. I''m tired of theining, Nicole. A marriage isn''t supposed to be this way. I''ve been trying hard to make things work, but you keep making it difficult for me."

    "What are you trying to say?" She demands. "You''ve changed ric. Ever since that ra girl entered your life, you''ve acted differently."

    I sigh, not this again.

    "Nicole, for the hundredth time. ra is Carter''s ex-girlfriend. She''s not someone that I''m interested in, at least not in that way." I repeat. "Will you please give that a rest?"

    She rolls her eyes and looks out the window, "I''m tired of our fights as well, you know. It''s not only you, ric."

    "Then why do you keep making things difficult for  me?" I demand from her. "If we made it work in the past, this marriage can work again. We''ve done it before; we can do it again."

    I didn''t want to have this conversation now. My brother''s life was in danger, and so was the life of Scarlett and ra.

    I shouldn''t have to be doing this now. At least I didn''t let the conversation stop me from mashing down on the elerator. The truck was going as fast as it possibly could.

    "I don''t think you shoulde with me," I tell her.

    "What?" She demands. Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    "You''ll be a distraction, and I do not want to be distracted. I have to protect my brother." I inform her.

    "A distraction?" She demands.

    "Yes, I don''t want to worry about your safety, too, Nicole," I tell her. "Please make this easier for me."

    "We both know that you care about your bloody brother more than me!" She snaps. "It would be better if the Cage brothers get their way, and I wouldn''t have to worry about himing between us anymore."

    I mash down hard on the brakes, and she gasps in surprise.

    "What the hell did you do that for?" She demands in shock.

    "Get out," I growl.

    She turns to look at me; her mouth is wide open. I don''t think I''ve ever spoken to her in this tone before.

    "What did you just say to me?" She whispers.

    "I said to get out of my truck," I repeat for her benefit.

    "ric?" She says my name in disbelief. "What the hell is wrong with you? How can you drop me out in the middle of nowhere?"

    "Don''t act like you don''t know Nicole," I growl. "My brother''s life is in danger, and yet you wished him nothing but the worst. I can''t be in the same vehicle with you right now."

    "I can''t believe you." She gasps. "You''ll throw me out over something like this? How can you hurt me like this, ric?"

    I angrily opened my door and walked over to her side. I pulled open her door and forced her out of the seat.

    "ric, stop!" She shouts.

    "You can find a drop with someone else," I inform her as I m the door shut.

    I didn''t wait to hear what else she had to say to me as I rushed back into the truck.

    It fucking hurt to do that to her.

    Ares shes his lights behind me and pulls over to the side of me. I stop the truck and lower the window.

    "What the hell is going on?" He asks me. "I just saw Nicole on the side of the road. What''s she doing there?"

    "I put her there," I inform him. "She said some things, and I thought it was better that she didn''t join us today."

    He looks shocked to my core at my words. Of course, he would be; I''ve never treated Nicole like that.

    However, I wouldn''t let her get her way with such horrible words as easily as I did in the past.

    "How long again?¡± He asks me.

    </section><section>

    "We''re at least fifteen minutes away," I inform him.

    He nods, "Let''s go save them!¡±

    </section>

 Chapter 390 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    Scarlett!

    What the hell was she doing?

    </section><section>

    I wanted to go to her but was still preupied by Wilder and his brother.

    ra had her own battle to the side of me.

    Fuck!

    I knew I shouldn''t have let here here.

    Now, Scarlett would never forgive me if something happened to her.

    I watch in horror as Dagger grabs her hand, preventing her from hurting him. I look around us. Wilder''s brothers were everywhere. Dash was circling Wilder and me while Fox was still attacking ra. Jagger was next to his sisters; he was the only brother not taking part in the fight.

    I could feel my blood begin to boil as a loud growl escaped my mouth as I watched Dagger grab her hand roughly and force her to drop the knife. She''d managed to cut a little skin, and I could smell the blood from here. But it wasn''t the only blood I could smell. I was bleeding as well. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    I couldn''t pay attention to Dash and Wilder while Scarlett''s life was in danger.

    She shouldn''t be in this position while pregnant. I''d failed to protect her and our baby.

    My wolf roars in pain when Wilder bites down on its back.

    Fuck.

    I was too distracted. I couldn''t focus on the fight as long as Scarlett was before me.

    Wilder''s vampire speed was throwing me off, but I wasn''t about to let that stop me. Dash attempts to grab my wolf''s throat with his sharp nails, but I dodge his attack just in time.

    I retaliate by digging my nails into his legs. He roars in pain, and I don''t wait for him to recover. I focused on Wilder next; he was my main target. The fight wasn''t a fair one; if he wanted to y dirty, I could also.

    When two males fight over a woman they want as their own, it''s supposed to be between both of them alone. However, Wilder had his whole family taking part in it. He was a coward as far as I was concerned. He didn''t deserve my Scarlett; no one did.

    I would not die today. I would live for my wife and our baby. I would find a way to get us out of here. I knew that my brothers were on their way and were probably close. I just had to prolong this fight for as long as possible. If I could survive this while keeping both ra and Scarlett alive before my brothers arrived, that was all I needed to do.

    However, I had to find a way to get Scarlett out of here. I didn''t trust Wilder''s brothers. I knew he wouldn''t be able to hurt her, but they were very capable of doing it. I didn''t like how dangerously close Dagger was standing next to her. I wanted to grab the knife from the ground and stab it into his throat. However, there were too many of them attacking all around me; I wasn''t getting the opportunity to hurt them as much as I wanted to.

    Scarlett''s scream pierces the air, and my head snaps in her direction. I realized she wasn''t screaming because of Dagger; it was ra. She was in danger. She was losing her fight against Fox. Her bodyy almost lifeless beneath him, and she''d shifted back into her human form.

    No!

    What kind of men were these Cage brothers? Only the weak took advantage of innocent women like Scarlett and ra.

    "ra!" Scarlett screams for her sister.

    My heart squeezed at the sight. I looked back at Scarlett, and the tears on her cheeks,bined with her cries, made every bone in my body snap to hermand.

    I wasn''t the only one distracted by her; Wilder was also distracted by her screams. If he cared about her at all, he wouldn''t watch her suffer like this in front of him. He was being selfish; he only cared about his own feelings, not hers.

    I use his distraction to my advantage andunch myself at Fox, ripping him off ra.

    "Carter, watch out!" Scarlett shrieks suddenly.

    I look up in time to see Dash right above me. Before he could sink his teeth into my wolf, my wolf collided straight into his chest, mming him against my truck.

    Wilder growls and moves in my direction. I stay next to ra''s body, protecting her on the ground beneath me. Scarlett attempts to escape from Dagger again, and this time she seeds.

    She runs over to me, and I jump in front of her, stopping Dagger from getting to her again.

    Wilder looks over at the both of us; he doesn''t want to attack me now that Scarlett is beside me.

    Scarlett looks back at ra, and before we can move back to her side, I hear a truck followed by multiple other vehicles approaching us. I look up, following the sound, and relief washes throughout me.

    The adrenaline kicks in at the sight in front of me. It was what I''ve been hoping for all along.

    </section><section>

    They were here.

    My brothers were finally here.

    </section>

 Chapter 391 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    "We havepany!" Dagger shouts to alert his brothers.

    "Call for backup!" Fox shouts at his sisters. "Let the council know we will need their assistance immediately! Alert all of the guards and every other allies that we have! Tell them that we are under ATTACK!"

    </section><section>

    They look hesitant to leave their brothers, but eventually, one by one, they all race back into the gates to call for help.

    The tables had finally turned. It wasn''t just the three of us against them anymore. My brothers were out for blood just as much as I was.

    ric is the first to jump out of his truck. He looks at me, and his face is relieved to see I am still alive. The relief he felt mirrors what I feel now that he was here. I knew he would scold meter once we got out of this happening, but I''m so happy to see him here. Finally.

    With everyone here on our side, I knew that it was possible toe out of this fight alive. I looked forward to spending the rest of my life with Scarlett.

    ric still looks worried, however, like something else was on his mind. I looked around for Nicole, but just as I suspected, she wasn''t there. He must have left her behind to keep her safe.

    His eyes keep searching the crowd for someone, and he finally stops when he spots ra motionless on the ground beside us.

    I see the moment rage takes over his body. He doesn''t even think twice as he rushes over to her side and picks her up gently into his arms.

    His actions surprised me, but I was grateful ra had someone to look after her. After everything I''ve put her and Scarlett through, I wanted them both to be happy and safe, always. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    "ra?" He whispers.

    She doesn''t move at all, and it worries all of us. Just how badly was she injured? He pulls his shirt off his body and covers her nakedness. I''ve always seen my brother protective over Nicole, but it''s the first time I''ve seen him this protective over another woman other than our sister.

    "Who did this to her?" He growls low and dangerously as he looks for the culprit.

    I opened my mouth to answer him when, one by one, my other brothers showed up, and I was surprised to see that even my sister was present. Why did they bring her? She should have been home, where she would have been safe. But I knew her; she would have insisted that she was allowed toe.

    Atticus''s entire family follows closely behind them. They were all here to show their support for Scarlett and ra. It showed how loved both of them were.

    I felt a sense of pride to see so many on our side. But it wasn''t over; I could hear the howls close by. They were mighty and couldn''t be mistaken; it was Alpha Austin and the most powerful pack to ever exist in our world.

    One after the next, they surround us in all directions, growling and waiting for a reason to attack. It was a sight to see. My family has never had any reason to be involved in anything like this. We''ve had our problems because of the curse, but we''ve never been in a life-threatening battle like this before. It would be our first experience, but it would be a learning one.

    The Cage brothers were now outnumbered, and they knew it.

    I shift into my human form and immediately pull Scarlett into my arms without a second thought. She was finally where I wanted her to be. I always wanted her to stay here, where I could protect both her and our baby.

    Wilder growls at my actions, and I know it pissed him off as much as it thrilled me.

    "Get your hands off my mate." He threatens me. "You don''t want to learn how dirty my family can y to get what we want."

    "Oh, we know how dirty your family ys," I assure him. "We know all about your criminal activities to get where you are right now. You''re a big part of the underworld. We know all about you and your family, Wilder. And Scarlett will never be a part of it. She''s too pure for you. You will never have her. As long as I''m alive, I''ll ensure it."

    </section><section>

    "You''re aware that she''s my mate, right?" He growls. "The rules of our world clearly state that she is MINE!"

    "She was never yours, Wilder fucking Cage," I shout. "Scarlett is my wife. She is the mother of my unborn baby. She has always been mine. I found her first, and I fell for her first. I don''t need a fucking mate bond to tell me that she''s mine. She will always be mine, and I''m ready to wipe out your family''s existence to keep her in my life!"

    </section>

 Chapter 392 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    Wilder Cage.

    That was it.

    </section><section>

    That was all I needed to reject him and end this madness once and for all.

    Before a single word could exit my mouth, a wolf''s cry echoes throughout the woods.

    "They''reing!" Atticus shouts suddenly.

    What were they talking about? Who wasing?

    "Everyone prepare for their attack!" Griffin shouts as he moves to protect the women in his family.

    "Prepare to shield yourselves against their first attack!" Austin warns everyone. "Witches are their strongest allies. It''s going to fucking hurt when they attack but hold your ground!"

    He spoke as though he was used to dealing with these people and with the title that Austin held, I wouldn''t doubt it.

    Autumn and rissa run over to my side, pulling me between them. "We will shield you as much as possible from those witches!"

    "Autumn!" I gasp. "rissa! It''s so good to see you both."

    They hug me tightly, "No, Scarlett, it''s so good to see you alive and well. We will do everything possible to get you and Carter out of here alive!"

    They don''t have a chance to say anything else as more wolves with witches on top of their backs suddenly surround us. I don''t think I''ve ever seen this many witches in one ce at the same time before. It wasn''t just witches, there were also vampires. Every single one of them looked terrifying like they spent their lives killing and torturing.

    I knew right away that things had just taken a more dangerous turn.

    Carter looked over at me, and he forced a smile to reassure me that everything would be okay.

    "We are going to get out of this alive, I promise you." He whispers as he leans over and kisses me on my forehead. "I''ll make sure of it."

    I trusted Carter with my whole heart, but these conditions were different. I knew about the ck council. I knew how dangerous they were, and I was also learning that Wilder and his family were just as bad.

    "This has nothing to do with you, prosecutor," Austin shouts to a man dressed all in ck. "This is a personal situation between Carter Prince and Wilder Cage."

    He had a ck Crow in his hand that looked as though he was staring into each of our souls. The raucous sound it made next caused a shiver down my spine.

    I took one look around us and the fear doubled within me. These people were used to getting what they wanted, I could tell.

    "If it''s so personal," the prosecutor says as he walks forward, "then why are all of you here? This doesn''t look like a fair fight at all, Austin. You and your family are trying to take advantage of our innocent allies. It simply isn''t fair.¡±

    "Innocent?" Carter growls. "They kidnapped my wife!"

    "Ah, yes," he drawls. "Correct me if I''m wrong, but isn''t your wife Wilder''s mate? ording to ourws, she belongs to him and him only. You are of no importance even if you married her. Marriage means nothing in our world as long as mates are involved. Of course, you wouldn''t know that, sir, since your family is sadly incapable of having any."

    I wince at his direct intent to hurt Carter in front of me.

    Carter''s hands tighten into fists as he res at him, "I don''t know whatws you follow, but in my family, a marriage isn''t ''nothing''; she''s legally mine, and no one can take her from me."

    "We are warning you, Carter Prince," he says calmly. "This is your final chance to back out. Please give us the girl, and you and your family can go. No one will harm you if you give Wilder what is rightfully his."

    "I am not his," I shout. "I will never be his. Carter is the only man I love, and no one can change my mind."

    "You heard my wife," Carter smirks at him. "She''s not going anywhere except back home with me."

    "Very well," the prosecutor says as he nods towards the witches.

    "Prepare yourselves!" Austin roars. I wasn''t sure what was about to happen, but the second a pain hit me in my head, I realized what they''d meant. The pain that Austin said we would all experience, I could feel it everywhere, especially in my mind. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life. It felt like it was traveling through my bones and making me weaker with each passing second.

    Could something like this harm my baby?

    No!

    I had to fight back. I had to be strong for my baby!

    "Autumn!" rissa gasps. "Scarlett is still feeling the pain!"

    "I know," Autumn shouts. "We must increase the shield!"

    Almost immediately after, I could feel the pain begin to ease. It was a lot more bearable now. I was even able to stand without my entire body feeling like it would crash into the ground.

    Carter drops to the ground in front of me and my eyes widen in horror. Seeing him like this was terrifying.

    ¡°Carter!¡± I cry out.

    Not too long after, I hear ra''s scream as well. She''d woken up to the pain. ric was also in pain, but he looked even worse now that he realized ra was hurting. I watched in horror as all of the people I cared about started to drop one by one onto the ground.

    It was like a nightmare that I couldn''t wake up from!

    "Bring her to us!" Autumn shouts at ric. ¡°We will protect her!"N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    "rissa, we have to try harder!" Autumn shouts. "We need to protect as many of them as possible!"

    I''d heard how powerful Autumn and rissa were, but this was my first time witnessing it in person. They were standing strong against the many witches surrounding us. I didn''t think anyone was powerful enough to handle this.

    I drop onto the ground next to Carter and wrap my arms around him protectively.

    He groans in pain, and it aches my heart.

    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving your side, ever, so please fight this Carter. Fight it!¡± I beg him.

    My eyes widen when Wilder grabs me by my arm and pulls me off Carter.

    No!

    ¡°Let go of me!¡± I scream.

    ¡°Never!¡± He yells.

    </section><section>

    I watch in horror as Carter looks over at us and roars in pain.

    Nooo!

    </section>

 Chapter 393 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    Ah fuck! The pain was eating away at my strength. I could hardly move. It was unlike anything I''ve ever felt in the past.

    What the fuck was this?

    </section><section>

    I tried to stand but fell straight back down.

    That bastard had his hand on my wife! He was holding her, and it made me want to rip his head from his body.

    I''d never hated anyone this much in my life.

    "LET. . . GO," I groan. "Of her!"

    Wilder narrows his eyes and tightens his hold on her arm, "in a few minutes, you''ll be dead if those witches continue. There''s nothing anyone here can do to stop it."

    He was wrong. All of us weren''t entirely down. Austin, Hunter, Arthur, and others still fought despite the witches¡¯ attack. I didn''t know how they were doing it, but I had to find a way to resist their power as well. I had to find a way to get to Scarlett.

    I was tired of constantly letting her down. I was ready to fight for her and finally win.

    It was hard to concentrate with all of the noise around us: the groans, cries, the sound of death. I''d never been in the middle of such a horrible battle in my life, and damn it, I didn''t know how to cope with it all.

    But I had to find a way to do it for Scarlett. I focus on all of the times we''ve spent together. From the first day I met her and fell deeply in love with her eyes to the many times I went to her house to meet ra but was instantly mesmerized by her. I instantly get shbacks to our first kiss, the first time I realized that what I felt for her was different than any feeling I''d ever experienced for anyone else.

    All of the love for her somehow makes me stronger. Within a few seconds, I can stand again.

    I roar as I push one of the guards away from me and move towards Wilder with the intent to kill him.

    However, I wasn''t sure I could do it as long as Scarlett remained his mate. If I killed him, it would devastate her even though she didn''t love him.

    Wilder looks surprised that I could suddenly stand despite the spells on me. He underestimates the power of my love for Scarlett. My love for her was stronger than the power of all these witchesbined. I would do anything to protect her, and that was the difference between the two of us.

    He didn''t honestly care about her happiness; if he did, he would set her free and allow her to be with me. Instead, he was selfish; he wanted her for himself even though she rified that she didn''t want to be with him.

    It was the final sign that she belonged with me and not him. He was not the right man for her. He didn''t love her the way that I did.

    He pushes Scarlett behind him and waits for me to attack. Autumn rushes to her side and pulls her away from the both of us. I nced at my brothers; they were all still alive; that was all I needed to know.

    They were preventing Wilder''s brothers from getting to me; they were attacking them from all directions. Our families were fighting against each other, and it was all for Scarlett. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    I grab Wilder by his throat and m him against the ground. His eyes narrowed as he red at me while I tightened my hold around his neck.

    "SCARLETT IS MINE!" I roar. "YOU CAN NEVER HAVE HER. SHE LOVES ME!"

    Wilder retaliates by mming his fist against my chest. I ignore the pain and continue to strangle him.

    "You should have never taken what wasn''t yours," I shout above the sound of wolves ripping some witches into shreds. Now that some of them were killed, it was easier for the rest of us to fight back.

    My nails dug into his neck, and I was close to getting what I wanted. However, I''m not prepared when I feel a vampire''s fangs in my neck.

    "CARTER NOOO!" I hear Scarlett''s terrified scream.

    I dropped onto the ground and felt dizziness begin to overtake my body. I blink once to see Fox picking his brother up from the ground.

    "CARTER!" I hear ric shout my name. He wasn''t the only one; I could hear all of my siblings calling out to me in horror. I knew they were all trying to get to me.

    I wanted to tell them that everything was fine, but I felt like poison had just been injected into my veins.

    </section><section>

    "S-Scarlett." I croaked as I felt blood leaking down my nose.

    What the fuck did he inject into me?

    </section>

 Chapter 394 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    I can''t move. The air inside of me is trapped, and my vision is blurry from the fear of losing the man who held the key to my heart.

    Everything around me goes dead silent. He''s the only one I can see; I''ve drowned out everything else.

    </section><section>

    My mind was racing, and I knew that if I didn''t control my heartbeat, I would soon die of a bloody heart attack.

    "Carter!" I hear his name flow out of my mouth for the millionth time. It''s a loud, screeching cry. I''ve lost how many times I''ve screamed his name since Fox had bitten him on his neck.

    I couldn''t believe this was happening to us. It felt like a dream, and I wanted to wake up from it.

    ric''s entire family are trying their best to get to him, but they''re also under attack.

    ric manages to free himself and, without warning, shifts into his wolf mid-air and tackles Fox to the ground. Apollo and Ares jump in next; they both go straight for Wilder. I couldn''t focus on anything else but my husband.

    I use that opportunity to rush to his side.

    "Carter!" I cry as I drop myself onto the ground and run my hand from his forehead to his hair. "Please say something! Promise me that you''re going to be okay!"

    His eyes are wide open, and he''s staring at me. He was still breathing, and that at least was a good sign.

    I pick up his head and gently ce it on myp.

    I press my hand against his neck to stop the blood froming out. What did Fox do to him? I''ve seen a vampire bite before, but it was nothing like this. His veins were turning purple before my eyes, bing more visible.

    "Scar¡ª"

    He can''t even say my name without coughing up blood.

    "Carter, please," I beg. "Please stay with me."

    ra runs over to me; I wasn''t even sure how she was able to do it when she was in so much pain just a few minutes ago.

    "Oh no," she gasps when she drops to the ground beside me. "What''s happening to him?"

    "I don''t know." I cry. "ra, please help me save him. Please help me!" I beg her.

    I was desperate for anyone to help us. The blood from his mouth kept on increasing each time he coughed. It made the panic in my heart intensify.

    Autumn rushes to my side and stoops down beside me.

    "What''s happening to him?" She asks me.

    "I don''t know." I cry. "I don''t think it''s a normal bite. I think Fox intentionally injected something through his fangs."

    Autumn ces her hand on his wound and closes her eyes. I could hear ric''s wolf in the background growling and battling Fox. I was happy that he was winning. Fox''s cries were like music to my ear. I wanted to join in, but saving Carter was my priority at this time.

    When Autumn finally opens her eyes, they''re wide with fear. I knew it was bad news before she even opened her mouth to tell me what she''d learned.

    "What''s wrong?" I demanded; I was impatient but also terrified. "What''s happening to him?"

    "It''s poison." She answers me. "Wilder''s brother poisoned him. If we don''t get the poison out of his veins, I''m afraid Carter will die! This poison is dangerous, Scarlett; it must be something the Cage brothers use to quickly and painfully kill their opponents!"

    I can barely open my mouth to speak. I''m in shock in the worst way possible. My body refused to function.

    No.

    No.

    Not my Carter. Not my star yer. Not him.

    I would never let that happen. Not while I was alive. Carter must live for me, for our baby. He had to live!

    I ce my mouth over the bite wound and try to suck the poison out but it was not helping. It was already spreading to the rest of his body. We were running out of time.

    "We need to get him out of here, Scarlett!" ra shouts as she looks for a way to escape.

    "I''m not leaving until I make them pay!" I say under my breath. They''d done this to him. They''d hurt the most important person in my life, and I wouldn''t rest until they got what they all deserved!

    I lift my head and focus on the man responsible for all this.

    Wilder Cage. He''s the reason all of this happened.

    I re at him and his brothers. I wanted them to feel the same pain that I felt while looking at my dying husband. I wanted to make them suffer in the worst way possible.

    There was only one way I could do that right now. And it was the fastest way that I could think about. I had to hurt Wilder directly, and when I did, they would all feel his pain. They didn''t care about me, but they loved their brother.

    I turn to walk towards them despite my sister''s protests. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    ¡°Scarlett!¡± Autumn shouts. ¡°Come back here. The others will deal with them!¡±

    I wasn''t going to let anyone stop me this time. Nothing was stopping me from doing what I wanted to since the first day I met Wilder.

    He was in the middle of fighting for his life, Apollo and Ares were doing a good job but not enough to kill him.

    My eyes are like daggers when I finally stop in front of him. Carter¡¯s brothers stepped aside for me, afraid they would hurt me during the fight. They were nothing like Wilder''s brothers; they loved their brother so much that they respected me because he loved me. But Wilder''s brothers were not that kind; they would happily watch me suffer.

    "Scarlett?" Wilder asks hesitantly as he looks at me. There were bruises all over his body but this time, it had no effect on me. He can tell how angry I was with him right now. But soon enough, that bond would be gone, and he wouldn''t have to worry about it.

    "You knew I loved him." I hiss. "You knew that he means the world to me, but still, you let your brother poison him."

    "Scarlett¡ª"

    ¡°I hate you!¡± I scream. ¡°I hate you and your brothers, and I never want to see any of you for the rest of my life after today!¡±

    </section><section>

    ¡°Wait, Scarlett¡ª¡± he tries to stop me.

    "I, Scarlett Mae Prince, reject you, Wilder Cage. I do not want you as my mate. I love another, and he is the only man I''ll ever love." I shout loud and clear for everyone to hear. ¡°I will never forgive you. Never.¡±

    </section>

 Chapter 395 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    If I''d known Wilder''s full name since the beginning, I could have done this since I first met him and stopped all this from happening.

    Now, Carter''s life was in danger, and everyone who came to help us was also in danger. I''d caused trouble for everyone.

    </section><section>

    I''d never been more disappointed in myself like I was now. I should have tried harder to get away from him. I should have fought harder to protect Carter from these people.

    I closed my eyes as I fought back the tears. It wasn''t tears for Wilder, but tears for Carter.

    Fox told me that I would soon find out who was the man I loved, and there was no question about it. I always knew that it was Carter; there was never any doubt in my mind.

    Now, everyone here would know the truth as well. They would all know that it''s always been Carter. Not even a powerful mate bond could change my love for him.

    Fox growls at me and attempts to lunge for my throat, but ric''s wolf grabs him by his leg and pulls him back down to the ground beneath him.

    Ares and Apollo move before me to protect me from the other Cage brothers, who would possibly want to strike me for hurting their brother. However, they weren''t trying; Fox was the only one who attempted to attack me and failed miserably.

    Wilder''s eyes are wide with anguish, and I know the exact second the bond breaks and strikes him.  He falls to the ground as though his life has just been taken away from him. He continued to stare at me as though he couldn''t believe I''d just done something like that to him.

    How was he so shocked? It was always obvious that I never wanted to be with him.

    It strikes me at the same time as well. It was an unusual feeling, but it was painful. However, I was still standing, throwing daggers his way with my eyes.

    I knew that rejection was difficult for both parties involved; I''d read about it at the academy in the past. However, none of the painpared to the pain I felt now that Carter was dying in front of me. There was noparison between the two. I would be over the broken bond much faster than Wilder would. I could already feel relief wash through me. I never wanted him as my mate. If I had a choice, I would choose Carter repeatedly. I wish there were a way to make him my mate; that way, I never would have had to put everyone through this mess. N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    Wilder opens his mouth to say something, but nothinges out. I think his body can''t recover just yet; he needs more time. There''s also that look of betrayal from earlier as well.

    He betrayed me first when he took me from Carter. If he truly wanted what was best for me, he wouldn''t have tried to hurt the man I actually loved.

    Now that the mate bond was gone, all I felt for him was hatred for what he and his family did to the man I loved. Just like I suspected, without that mate connection, Wilder meant absolutely nothing to me.

    "SCARLETT!" ra shouts to remind me that we don''t have much time left. I turned back around and felt my hands begin to shake uncontrobly.

    I hear Wilder''s roar of agony as I run back towards Carter.

    Ares rushes over to us and helps us pick him up from the ground.

    "Let''s get him back to the truck!" Autumn tells us. "We need a doctor, someone that can drain the poison out before it can lead to death."

    We all help carry him to the vehicle like she asked, and I rush into the back seat next to him. I held him tightly against me as Ares got in the front and started the truck.

    Autumn and rissa also jump in while Carter¡¯s sister gets in beside Ares.

    ra surprises me when she gets on top of ric¡¯s Wolf to follow us.

    "Hold onto him," Ares warns me before he presses down hard on the elerator.

    "I''ll try my best to slow down the poison, but I don''t know how long I can do that," rissa informs me.

    "I''ll help you," Autumn tells her as she nods.

    "I love you, Carter," I whisper. "I love you so much. So please, don''t give up. Keep on fighting for us!"

    His fingers move a little, and I think it''s his way of telling me that he could hear me and that he would try to fight the poison as much as he possibly could.

    "He''s going to make it, Scarlett," Autumn promises me. "We will do everything that we possibly can to ensure that Carteres out of this alive."

    I trusted Autumn; I knew that she would try her best.

    I pressed my lips against Carter''s forehead as more tears started to flow.

    </section><section>

    I love you.

    I love you so much.

    </section>

 Chapter 396 -

    <section>

    ~GRIFFIN FAWN~

    "Where are they taking Carter?" I shout as the girls struggle to carry him to the truck with the help of Ares.

    "He''s been poisoned," Atticus informs me. "They need to get him to a doctor or healer immediately."

    </section><section>

    ¡°Poisoned?¡± I ask above the noise. ¡°By a vampire¡¯s bite?¡±

    He nods, ¡°the Cage brothers are always looking for ways to kill their opponents quickly. It must be something new that they developed.¡±

    "Watch out!" I shout as a vampire tries to attack him.

    Dante grabs the vampire by his neck and stops him before he can reach our brother. We all attack him at once until his body is lifeless on the ground beneath us.

    ¡°I¡¯ll follow them and make sure that they are safe!¡± Damon tells us as he makes a run for one of the jeeps.

    "We can''t keep this up for long," I shout. "Both sides are losing plenty of men. It has to stop!"

    I¡¯d never seen so much blood in one ce like today. It was a deadly fight that didn¡¯t need to happen in the first ce. The Cage brothers made a horrible decision when they decided to take Scarlett away from Carter.

    "Scarlett is no longer his mate," Atticus shouts. "This fight should end right away!"

    He was right. Why wasn¡¯t it ending yet? How much more needed to die before they decided that it was enough?

    "You''re right." Arthur agrees with my brother. "There''s no reason to keep fighting when Scarlett already rejected him."

    The prosecutor takes a look around him; it seems as though he''s examining his loss so far. It was safe to say that he''d lost far more men than our side had lost.

    That was a good sign. If he realized this fight was useless, he would end it now before more damage could be caused.

    No one would benefit from this fight anymore. The Cage brothers had already lost.

    "We have more allies on their way!" Austin shouts as a warning to the others. "If you want to live, you will end this now! This is yourst warning! Think about your families and what they would want!¡±Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    "You''re not the only one with allies." Fox growls. "We have many on the way as well, the kind that will make you wish you were dead."

    Hunter chuckles, "I highly doubt that, but keep talking."

    Fox should keep his mouth shut; he was almost killed by ric and was only spared because they left to save Carter¡¯s life. He¡¯s lucky that he was given a second chance to live. However, all that could change if Carter doesn¡¯t make it out of this alive.

    "Enough." Wilder roars.

    His brothers turn to gaze at him. They were worried about him; their eyes held a hint of sadness even though they didn¡¯t want to show signs of weakness. I can¡¯t me them; it must have been painful for him. His mate openly rejected him for a man who wasn''t even her real mate. That must have stung.

    "Scarlett is no longer my mate." He announces as though we all didn¡¯t just witness it a few minutes ago.

    He looks like he''s in agony.

    "Despite what he''s done, I can''t help but feel sorry for the guy." Dante sighs. "He''s just lost his mate for good. I know that must have been painful. Losing a mate is never fucking easy.¡±

    "He should have never taken her from her husband." Atticus growls. "This is all on him."

    Damon nods, "it is mostly his fault."

    "I''m still waiting for him to say something," I say as we all wait.

    Wilder takes a deep breath, "this fight can end here. It''s no use making either side lose more men when Scarlett can never be mine. She¡¯s made her choice; there is nothing left to fight for today.¡±

    Finally, it took him long enough to realize she wasn''t his.

    Everyone looks around, like they aren¡¯t sure what to do now that Wilder has called everything off.

    "Fall back!" The prosecutor orders all of his men. "Go back home!"

    Austin res at him as he turns to leave. It was pretty evident that they didn''t like each other.

    I heard stories about both sides; Austin and his entire family did not like the council for very valid reasons.

    "I thought it would have never ended." I chuckle.

    "It''s not over yet." Atticus sighs. "Carter''s life is still in danger. We should follow the girls and find as much help as possible."

    I nod, "I''ll make some calls and see who we can get to help us. I''m sure there''s a doctor who specializes in a vampire''s venom. We just need to know what poison he used.¡±

    After confirming that the fight was indeed over, we rushed over to the jeep.

    "How far are they?" I ask Atticus.

    "I just spoke to Autumn; if we drive fast enough, we can probably catch up to them." He answers me.

    "I never thought I would see the day that the Fawns would be helping out the Prince family," I say in disbelief.

    Atticus nods, "The things you do for your mate."

    "I think this is good for us," I admit.

    "You''re only saying that because you want to have a good rtionship with Carter and his team." He teases me.

    "When you say it like that, it sounds a little weird."

    I start the jeep and mash down on the elerator. The others would join us after they finish up any unfinished business.

    "Our life has been crazy these past few weeks, hasn''t it?" Atticus asks me.

    I nod, "it isn''t going to get any easier until we find Willow''s sister."

    Atticus sighs, "She must still be alive, right?"

    I nod, "she will be. I know she will. Cassius needs her alive. He wouldn¡¯t kill her.¡±

    "I see them!" Atticus says suddenly. They''d stopped by a house I''d never been to before.

    "Where is this?" I ask my brother.

    "No clue." He answers me.

    I pause when I hear something move in the backseat.

    Atticus looks at me, and we rush to open the back door.

    All the air knocks out of my body when I see a woman with a sheet over her head hiding by the floor of the jeep.

    What the fuck?

    Who was she?

    "Am," I clear my throat. "I don''t think you''re in the right vehicle, Miss."

    "I think she snuck in," Atticus says to me.

    Oh.

    What was wrong with me? She was clearly hiding.

    Why didn''t that ur to me at first?

    How long has she been in here?

    The sheet slowly dropped from her head, and I held my breath.

    Fuck.

    She was breathtaking.

    Her eyes were closed, and she slowly opened them. I could barely move when she finally turned her face to look at me.

    My throat tightens as the realization dawns on me that this woman isn¡¯t any ordinary woman.

    I shut the door and turn to Atticus.

    "What''s wrong?" He demands. ¡°Why did you close the door with her still inside?¡±

    "She''s my mate."

    "What?" He asks in surprise. "And you just shut the door on her?"

    My eyes widened as his words just made me realize how much of an ass I must have looked to her just now.

    I quickly open the door and look at her once more.

    Fuck.

    She made me breathless.

    "I am¡ª" I scratch the back of my neck nervously. "I''m sorry about that. I just wasn''t prepared to meet you. . . If you don''t mind me asking, what were you doing in the back of my jeep?"

    "I''m sorry," she apologizes. "My name is Elsa Cage; I ran away from home."

    Atticus stiffens next to me.

    "Cage?" I ask. "As in Wilder''s younger sister?"

    </section><section>

    She nods innocently, like she hasn''t just said something that could ruin all of our lives for good.

    Atticus looks at me in disbelief, "AH FUCK!"

    </section>

 Chapter 397 -

    <section>

    ~SCARLETT~

    "Gabrie told me that this healer could help us," Autumn informs me as ric and Ares help carry Carter up the stairs.

    "But would she be willing to help us?" I ask in fear. I didn''t want toe all this way and then she turned us down.

    </section><section>

    Carter was losing more blood with each passing second, and it was making me panic. I was trying hard to stay strong, but the truth was that I was terrified inside. It was taking a lot of my self-control not to break down in front of everyone and scream his name repeatedly.

    The thought of never having Carter say my name again terrified me. The thought of our baby never meeting his father made me devastated.

    I knew that I would give my life today for Carter to live. I would do anything, anything at all. If I had to get down on my knees and beg this healer to save him, I will.

    "Her name is Hermione Devi," Autumn informs us. "She''s supposedly a very powerful healer. Gabrie said she would help us since she owes Arthur a favor."

    "Arthur ckner?" I ask her.

    I was surprised that so many people were willing to help us. I knew it was mainly because of Autumn and rissa. They got their friends to help us out as much as they could. If Carter made it out of this alive, I had to express my gratitude to them in the best ways possible.

    They''d done so much for me in just one day.

    She nods, "She does plenty of work for the ckners. Don''t worry, Scarlett, she''s going to help him. Gabrie wouldn''t have sent us here if she wasn''t positive that this woman could help us. I trust her. And I know that you trust me. She will do everything she can to save him, believe me."

    We keep walking until we reach the top of the stairway. Then, Autumn guides us to a door that opens on its own.

    I look at her and she nods for me to enter. I nced around the room, there were many bottles of medication on multiple shelves. The room was filled with them. There was no doubt that she did this for a living. It gave me a string of hope.

    A beautiful girl with long pink hair and bright green eyes walks out of an adjoining room and greets us.

    "Put him on the bed." She tells ric, who quickly obeys.

    She walks over to him and ces one hand on his neck before she closes her eyes. "The poison has spread far." She informs us.

    I held my breath and waited for the bad news. I was seconds away from falling onto the ground and losing the battle.

    "I will be able to reverse it before it can kill him." She announces suddenly.

    I took a deep breath and gasped.

    I felt like her words had given me a reason to breathe again. I felt like the life inside of me had just been restored.

    "I need everyone to exit the room." She tells us. "I need to be fully focused to save him, and it may be difficult for me to do that if anyone starts crying."

    I knew she was directing it at me. I didn''t want to leave him, but I also wanted her to do her job without interruption. I needed Carter toe out of this alive. If that meant that I had to stay outside while she healed him, then it was something that I could do.

    I lean over and give him onest kiss on his forehead. Please, Carter, I need you. Please fight this for us. There''s still plenty that I want to experience with you.

    ra gently takes my hand and guides me outside with everyone else.

    I couldn''t sit still when she locked us all out of the room. I was pacing from left to right. How long does something like this usually take?

    I was restless.

    "It''s going to be okay," ra promised me. "Carter has always been a fighter. He''s not going to give up."

    "ra is right," Ares said to me, even though I could see the worry in his eyes. "My brother is a fighter. His love for you is stronger than death. He will fight the poison to get back to you. I know that much.¡±

    I was grateful for theirforting words. It was helping.

    Damon walks over to rissa and kisses her on her cheek; he''d just arrived. She quickly wraps her arms around his neck and practically melts into him.

    I swallow, I wish that Carter was with me so that I could do the same. I needed him to lean on.

    "How is he doing?" He asks us.

    "We don''t know." ric answers him. He was taking it just as badly as I was. Dark circles were under his eyes, and he looked like he wanted to cry. He wasn''t pacing like I was but he did look like he would also break down if this didn''t work.

    I knew how much ric and Carter loved each other. Their brotherly bond was a beautiful one, and I knew ric must be ming himself for this. Carter mentioned more than once that ric always med himself if anything bad happened to any of his siblings.

    ra ces a hand on his shoulder to give him support. "He''s going to make it ric. No poison is strong enough to kill him. I''ve known Carter for years. This cannot harm him, he''s much stronger than that.¡±

    ric wipes away a tear from her cheek. Despite everything, ra still cared deeply for Carter. She was the one who fell for him first, of course, she would also be hurting. But she was still trying to be strong for the rest of us.

    "I should have protected him." He whispers, "I should have stopped Fox in time. I thought I had him. I let him slip away from my grasp and in that second, he hurt my brother. He poisoned him.¡±

    "Don''t me yourself," Atticus says as he enters the hallway. "No one is to me for any of this. This was beyond our control. Let¡¯s all just pray that he makes it through this.¡±

    I look behind him to find Griffin and someone else that I never expected to see here today amongst the rest of us.

    "Elsa?" I ask in surprise.

    Why would she be here? She was a Cage, they would never allow her to show her support.

    She smiles at me, "Scarlett!"

    "What are you doing here?" I ask her. She should be back home with her family.

    What happened there while we were gone?

    "Did the fight not end?" I ask Atticus. "Are they still fighting back there even though I rejected Wilder?"

    He shook his head.

    "Then what''s going on?" I demand.

    I was worried that it wasn''t over. I didn''t want anyone else to lose their lives or be seriously injured because of me. I''d seen enough damage in one day. I didn''t want to see any more.

    All eyes are on Elsa. She''s supposed to be the enemy, but she was the only one that helped me escape. She wasn''t an enemy to me.

    "She ran away from home." Atticus sighs.

    "W-what?" Ares demands.

    There are shocked and horrified looks among us. Elsa wasn''t happy with her family, but I never thought she would try to escape.

    But what was she doing with the Fawns? Why was she here?

    "I kind of sneaked into their jeep." She says as if reading my mind.

    "This is not good." ric growls. "The second they find out she''s missing, they will start searching for her. If they find her with us, that will lead to another battle. We can''t let that happen. Too many lives have already been lost! My brother is still fighting for his life in that bloody room, and it''s because of her family!"

    Elsa winces at his tone, and Griffin moves before her, "Let''s all just calm down. She can stay with us if that''s what she wants. There is no need to make her feel unwee. She did nothing wrong. Her brothers are the ones responsible for everything, not her. She''s innocent.¡±

    "Griffin," Autumn whispers gently. "She should return home. That''s the best thing for all of us."

    Atticus clears his throat and motions for Autumn toe closer to him. He whispers something to her, and her eyes immediately widen.

    What did he say to her?

    "I don''t want to go back," Elsa tells us. "I do not want to marry a man of my brothers'' choosing. I will not be forced into that marriage. I''m never going back."

    Ares runs a hand through his hair, "Well, it looks like this fight isn''t even close to finishing anytime soon."

    "None of you have to worry about this," Griffin assures us. "I will keep her with me. If you''re asked anything, say you do not know where she is. That''s all."

    Why was he this protective over her?

    "Griffin," Damon says as he looks at his brother like he''d lost his mind. "Have you lost your damn mind? We already have other things on our te right now. Do you think we can handle this?"

    "I don''t fucking care!" Griffin growls. "She stays with me. I''m not fucking letting her go back to that ce. If she wants to stay, she isn''t going anywhere."

    Damon quirks a brow before a knowing look crosses his face.

    Did they all know something that we didn''t?

    "She''s your mate, isn''t she?" rissa asks him in horror. "Elsa is your mate."

    Griffin looks away from her gaze without answering her.

    I guess that was our answer.

    I couldn''t believe this. It felt like our problems would never end. However, I agreed with Griffin. Elsa saved my life when she decided to help me to escape. She was innocent in all of this and I was willing to help her. If she wanted to stay, I would show her my support. It was the least I could do for her.

    "I will also stand by Elsa''s decision; if she wants to stay, I will help keep her hidden as much as possible," I informed the others. "She helped me escape. She''s a good person. She''s nothing like her brothers."

    Elsa gives me a grateful smile.

    "It''s safe to say we''ve all lost our minds." Ares chuckles, but he can''t hide the harshness in his voice.

    We were all worried.

    ra held my hand and squeezed it tightly.

    How much longer must we wait? I couldn''t hear anything from inside the room. I couldn''t tell if things were okay.

    I ce a hand over my racing heart.

    Everyone goes silent when the door opens, and Hermione walks out of the room.

    I held my breath as I waited for her to say something.

    "The poison is out of his body." She finally breaks the silence. "He''s now out of danger."

    It takes my body a while to react to the news. I was preparing myself for the worst news possible but this. . .

    I fell to the ground as I broke down crying. I''d held it in for too long. I couldn''t stop myself anymore.

    ra drops to the ground beside me and pulls me into her arms, "I told you that he''s a fighter. I told you so!"

    I don''t think we were the only ones crying. Ares and ric were trying to be strong, but I could see the tears in their eyes, also. They were relieved that their brother had survived.

    "You can see him now," Hermione tells me. "He isn''t going to wake up until tomorrow, so don''t get rmed when he doesn''t open his eyes for the rest of the day."N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    </section><section>

    I don''t need to be told twice as I rush into the room. I ran straight towards the bed and covered his face with kisses. I knew he wasn''t awake but I wasn''t leaving his side until he opened his eyes again.

    "Thank you!" I whisper. "Thank you for not leaving us! Thank you so much!¡±

    </section>

 Chapter 398 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    I groan as memories of the fight crash into me.

    "Scarlett!" I gasp.

    </section><section>

    Where was she?

    Did they manage to get her out of there?

    I open my eyes, ready to jump out of the bed and rush outside.

    However, I didn''t move an inch when I saw Scarlett asleep beside me. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    Was I dreaming?

    Thest thing I remembered was being bitten by that fucking Fox.

    Everything else after that was a distant blur. I''m not sure what happened. However, I was relieved to see my wife this close to me again. I looked around the room and instantly rxed a little.

    This was our room. It meant that we were back home. If that was the case, then we must have won the fight against the Cages.

    I wrap my arms around her and pull her closer to me. Her eyes instantly opened, and I scolded myself for waking her.

    "Carter!" She gasps. "You''re awake!"

    I don''t have a chance to respond before she throws herself on top of me and wraps her arms tightly around my neck.

    I can''t help but smile as I felt her soft body melt into mine. This was the best possible way to wake up. I was thrilled that I had her next to me and that she was so happy to see me awake.

    "What happened?" I ask her as I try to sit up with her still glued to me. I had to find out what happened while I was knocked out. I needed to make sure that she was out of danger and Wilder wouldn''t be running after her anymore. If not, I would have to increase security and find a way to keep him out of our lives for good.

    "You almost died." She cries against my neck. I could feel the tears prickle against my skin.

    I didn''t want her to cry. My heart squeezed at the fear in her voice. She sounds like she was traumatized by what happened.

    I should have dodged Fox''s attack. I hate seeing her like this.

    "Scarlett," I whisper as I try to pull away to look at her face. "It''s okay. I''m here now. I''m alive. Nothing happened to me. I''m never leaving your side again. I promise you."

    "I was so scared, Carter," she whispers as the tears continue to fall. "I was terrified that you would die and I would never get to see you again. I was worried that our baby would grow up without a father. I never want to experience something that horrible again."

    I ced a hand on her belly and smiled. "I''m so happy that the both of you are safe and back in my arms. I''m never letting either of you out of my sight again." I promise her.

    I wiped her tears away before lowering myself to leave kisses on her belly. My wife. My child. All mine. Fuck, it felt so good to say that. No one was ever taking them from me again.

    "It was so scary, Carter." She repeats. "So scary."

    I smile, "I can promise you that something like that will never happen again. The hard part is over now, Scarlett. There are no secrets between us anymore. You know everything about me, and there''s no other man in your life who can try to take you from me. It''s just the two of us against the world."

    She leans into me and kisses me on my forehead. She doesn''t stop there; she leaves a bunch of kisses all over my face and neck. I happily ept all of them. Her kisses fed my energy. It made me happier and even stronger.

    "I can''t believe how lucky I am to have your love, Scarlett," I whisper. "I can''t believe. . wait, what happened with Wilder? I can''t remember everything that happened after Fox bit me."

    Why did it take me so long to ask her this? I was in my own fantasy world because she was near me, and almost forgot about the important details.

    She smiles and stares at me like I am thest person on earth. I could see her love for me shining brightly in her soft gaze, and it warmed my heart.

    There was no question about her love for me anymore. This woman loved me just as much as I loved her.

    "I rejected him, Carter." She informs me. "I wanted him to feel as much pain as they made me feel by poisoning you. And so, I rejected him. I couldn''t do it before because I didn''t know his full name. I wish I had gotten the chance to do it earlier; it would have avoided everything. I know I''m at fault; I should have tried harder to escape¡ª"

    I ce one finger over her lips to stop her from ming herself. How could she ever me herself for Wilder''s wrongdoing? He and his brothers were at fault. They caused every bad thing that happened on that day.

    "I can''t believe you rejected your mate to stay with me, Scarlett." I whisper, "It''s still so crazy that you still love me despite finding your mate. How did you do it?"

    She smiles brightly, "Carter Prince, star yer of our football team and the most handsome man I''ve ever seen; how can you ask me such a question?" She demands.

    "How can I not?" I ask her gently.

    "Can''t you tell by now how crazy I am for you?" She demands. "Did you think all those times I screamed that I love you was just a game for me? I meant every word I''ve ever spoken to you. My love for you cannot bepared to anything else in this world. I love you the most, Carter. It actually scares me how much I love you. And I can''t believe that you were pushing me away because you thought that I wouldn''t ept you for who you are. Your family''s curse isn''t your fault. None of it was ever your fault. Of course, I would never leave you because of it. I saw what you did to yourself that night to protect me. How can I not love a man like you? How can I ever love someone else?"

    I can''t contain my happiness or my love for her.

    I grab her by the waist and press my lips against hers. I can''t stop kissing her, taking as much of her as she''d let me.

    "Carter, wait!" She gasps as she breaks the kiss.

    "What''s wrong?" I asked her; I was desperate to get closer to her. A kiss wasn''t enough anymore.

    "The healer and doctors said you should rest for a few days." She tells me. "That means none of this; we can hug, but that''s all. And maybe just soft kisses."

    "Fuck what they said," I growl. "I''m starving for you, Scarlett. I can handle it. The only pain that I feel right now is not being closer to you."

    "No!" She stops me once more as I reach for her again. "I don''t want to risk anything. You weren''t there, Carter; I broke down in fear. I need to make sure that you are fully healed before anything happens between us."

    I pick her up and ce her on top of me. She gasps when she feels my hardness beneath her.

    It was only then that I realized I was naked beneath these sheets.

    "Carter!" She scolds me.

    I ripped her dress off her body so that her breasts were bare before me. I don''t waste another second as I cover one of them with my mouth and suck hard.

    She buries her hand in my hair, and instead of trying to push me away, she pulls me against her.

    "I missed you so fucking much, Scarlett," I tell her as I run my hands over her body. I couldn''t get enough of her. It still felt like a dream. I couldn''t believe she was indeed in my arms again.

    "I missed you too, Carter." She gasped as I moved to her other breast.

    "You taste so fucking good," I growl before pushing her down on the bed and spreading her legs wide.

    She cries out when I cover her pussy with my mouth. I let her pull my hair as much as she liked while I devoured her.

    "I''ll never get enough of you, Scarlett," I warn her. "Every second of every day, I''ll want this."

    "It''s all yours." She promises me. "Forever."

    "I need you," I tell her before sliding my dick into her pussy. "I''ve never loved another woman like I love you. And I will spend the rest of my life reminding you of this."

    </section><section>

    She wraps her arms around my neck and buries her face against my chest as I continue to thrust into her.

    "I love you, Carter. Only you. It''s always going to be you, my gorgeous, star yer."

    </section>

 Chapter 399 -

    <section>

    ~CARTER~

    "What did you want to see us for?" I ask my father. "I told you I wanted to spend as much alone time with Scarlett as possible. I don''t want to be disturbed, father!"

    We were in the middle of making love for the third time when my father knocked on the door and interrupted us.

    </section><section>

    I wanted to spend as much time with Scarlett as possible. In fact, I wanted to take her on a proper honeymoon with just the two of us. I wanted to smile at just the thought of it.

    He smiles, "I''m aware of what you said to me, son, and I understand that you want to spend time with your wife after everything that has happened. However, there is someone that I wanted you to meet today."

    I quirk a brow, "You mean to tell me that you disturbed me to meet someone? A business meeting, father?"

    Does he realize that I had a near-death experience? Why would I want to speak with a business partner right now?

    "Trust me," ric says as he walks in. "This is someone you''re going to want to see."

    His words spark my curiosity. Why was he so sure that it was someone I would want to see? I guess it wouldn''t hurt to find out.

    ¡°You look like you''ve been crying.¡± I tease him. ¡°Did you think that you will never see me again?¡±

    ¡°Stop teasing him!¡± Scarlett scolds me.

    My brother ignores my attempt to harass him.

    I follow them out the door with my wife right next to me. I was never letting her out of my sight again. She would always be near me, and I knew it would take some time before I could be away from her and feel rxed. For now, I would keep her as close to me as possible until I felt like it was safe.

    "Uncle Ben," I whisper in surprise.

    He looks at me and smiles. "Come hug your uncle. It''s been years since I''vest seen you."

    I walk over to him, and he pulls me in for a short hug as he taps my back.

    "What are you doing here?" I ask in surprise.

    He looks at my father and sighs, "Your father told me you''ve been having a difficult time recently. I wanted toe show my support."

    I was happy he was in front of me after so many years. Uncle Ben fell out with the wrong people and has been hiding since.  I''m surprised that he took the risk to see me today.

    "Is this your pretty wife?" He asks me.

    I smiled and showed her off with pride. "This is my pregnant wife, Scarlett. The most beautiful woman I''ve everid eyes on."

    Scarlett blushes at mypliment and greets my uncle.

    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, pretty girl." He greets her. "I''m happy that my nephew has finally found a girl to settle down with. A woman to make him happy. I haven''t seen him in years, but I know you''re why he''s smiling so brightly."

    "He''s always been a sour pussy until Scarlett entered his life," Ares says as he walks into the room with a grin.

    I flip him the finger, and everyone chuckles.

    "There''s something else I wanted to speak to all of you about." He adds. "After your father told me what was happening, I realized that this is something I should no longer keep a secret from all of you."

    "What is it?" I ask him. Whatever it was, it seemed as though it was pretty serious.

    "There seems to be something left out from the curse. A loophole of a sort." He finally says, to my surprise.

    I didn''t think it would have anything to do with the curse.

    "A loophole?" I ask in confusion. "What loophole could it possibly be?"

    He nods, "It turns out that we can have someone very close like a mate in our lives. It''s just slightly different. She wouldn''t be an official mate but I would say damn close to it.¡±

    "I''m confused," ric says. "Someone close to a mate?"

    "He or she is supposed to be the key to saving each of us." He exins. "We''re calling her the miracle mate."

    I frown. "How is that possible?"

    "You''re not the first person that met a woman you deeply connected with. A woman that prevents you from searching for another every full moon. She''s the only one that you look for." He tells me. "Your case is the third in the family, Carter. At first, we thought nothing of it, but now we know the truth. For each of us, there is someone out there who can help stop the curse."

    I stiffen, "are you saying that Scarlett is that person for me?"

    He smiles, "Ever since you realized you had feelings for her, have you looked for another woman to sleep with during a full moon?"

    I shook my head, "no, I always search for her. Only for her."

    "There''s your answer, my boy." He chuckles. "We don''t know much about it since it''s only recently started happening. However, I think it''s great news for all of us. Once you find that special woman, your life will turn around for the better. There would no longer be a reason to lock yourself up on a full moon since she''s the only one you''ll ever need. Of course, this is only possible if the woman epts you."

    I looked at Scarlett, and even without this news, I knew she was the best thing that ever happened to me.

    I pull her into my arms and hug her tightly, "I always knew that you were my miracle."

    She smiles up at me brightly. "Loving you is the best feeling in the entire world, Carter. I will never love another man; you''re the only one for me."

    Ares chuckles, "I think it''s safe to say that Scarlett loves our brother deeply. There''s simply no question about that."

    I grin and dip my head to pull her in for a kiss.

    Scarlett clings to me, and everyone ps for us.

    "I love you, Scarlett," I whisper against her lips. "I love you so much, and I can''t wait to spend the rest of my life with you and our baby. You''ve given me everything I ever wanted and more. Thank you foring into my life and giving me a chance."

    "No," she whispers. "Thank you for opening up yourself to me. I love you so much, Carter!"

    I knew my future with Scarlett would be bright. She was my shining star and always will be. I couldn''t wait to spend the rest of my life with her and the best part about all of this was that she felt the exact same way about me.

    ~THE END~

    . . . . .

    Hi, my beautiful readers. We havee to the end of another one of my stories, and once again, I cannot thank you enough for supporting me since the beginning of my writing journey. You are truly unique, and I am so happy that God blessed me with readers like you.

    I would like to give you an update on what books areing next. Firstly, ra and ric''s story will start right after this chapter (the first four chapters are already posted)

    Secondly, Griffin and Elsa''s story will follow soon after. I wasn''t nning on writing a book for Griffin, but since many of you asked for a book on him, I decided to include one. I hope this makes you happy!

    Sneak peek of ra and ric''s story(Professor Dearest):

    ~CLARA~

    "Is this what you wear to the academy, ra?" ric growls against my ear.

    I''d purposely worn the shortest skirt possible to get his attention, and I was happy it worked.

    I knew that I shouldn''t be doing this. All the cells in my body screamed at me to stop.

    He was my professor and also my ex-boyfriend''s older brother. Not to mention that he was going through a very shitty divorce with one of the worst women I''ve ever met in my entire life. Her beauty did not match her dark soul.

    He should be off-limits. But still, I find myself craving him. Each day I spent with him, I fell deeper and deeper into a hole that I knew I would never be able to climb out of.

    His hands were on either side of the desk, and my ass was pressed against the edge of it as he leaned closer to me.

    I could feel his arousal.

    It''s the first time he''s ever had such a reaction to me. Was my n finally working?

    "Take it off." He growls low and dangerously. "And put on something that covers your ass!"

    I smile seductively and do exactly as he asks. Well, I did the first part but chose to ignore the second half.

    "ra!" He growls as I remove my skirt so that I am left with nothing on but pink panties. N?velDrama.Org content rights.

    "What?" I ask innocently. "You said to remove it. Is this not enough? Do you want me to remove more?"

    . . . .

    Thank you so much once more to all of my amazing readers, you all truly mean the world to me. As a thank you to all of you, this is a redemption code that you can use:

    C1BYGYH1

    Please note that the code can only be used once and will expire after a certain number of you use it.

    Once again, May God bless each of you and I wish nothing but the best for every one of my readers! Onto the next story??

    </section><section>

    Lots of love,

    Laura.

    </section>

 Chapter 400 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA MAE~

    Okay, ra, you can do this. It''s just a ss with the hottest professor in our academy. That was all.

    It shouldn''t be this hard to walk into the ssroom. But still, I found it hard to move my feet forward, knowing he would be there.

    </section><section>

    ric Prince, the brother of my ex-boyfriend, Carter Prince.

    I never once thought I would end up in a situation such as this one. He should be off-limits to me. In fact, off-limits was too simple of a word to describe anything between the two of us.

    I was once very popr and respected in our academy, but all that changed when I ended my rtionship with Carter. Of course, I made everything worse when I suggested my sister flirt with Carter and make him fall in love with her. At that time, I thought Scarlett would break Carter''s heart and I could get revenge on him for cheating on me and breaking my heart.

    Then, of course, since it''s my pathetic life, everything came crashing down. The worst possible thing happened, and my sister fell in love with my ex-boyfriend.

    Everything skyrocketed from there. She wasn''t the only one who fell in love; he also did. My sister wasn''t even Mae anymore; she was married to him and now carried around hisst name proudly. She was officially a Prince. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    Scarlett Mae Prince, that was her name.

    Even though I initially felt like it was the worst possible thing that could have ever happened to me, that quickly changed. It didn''t take long for me to realize that my feelings for Carter had disappeared.

    And it was all because of him.

    ric.

    Not Carter Prince. But his older brother, ric Prince. He was everything that Carter was not. He was quiet and kind, protective and sweet. But he was also married. And he was married to one of the most obnoxious women I''ve ever met. I wasn''t just saying this because I had a tiny crush on ric; she was a horrible woman.

    I shouldn''t be this afraid to walk into a ssroom just because he was there. I should have more of a bloody backbone than this.

    Besides, ric didn''t have any feelings for me. He was still deeply in love with Nicole even though he was divorcing her.

    At least, I think he was divorcing her. It''s what I''ve heard from Scarlett, but there haven''t been any confirmations so far. I knew things were rocky between them since Carter almost died while fighting for my sister. Nicole had said some insensitive shit, as usual, and ric couldn''t forgive her for it.

    Someone clears their throat behind me, and all the hairs behind my neck stand up.

    Oh no.

    He was behind me.

    I slowly turn around to look at him with my bottom lip beneath my teeth.

    He quirks a brow at me, "Is there any particr reason why you''re just standing outside the ssroom and not walking inside?"

    I clear my throat nervously, "I am¡ª"

    I knew that my cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

    I don''t have an answer to give to him.

    "ra?" He asks in that professional tone he always uses with me. I always wondered what it would be like if he spoke to me like he spoke to the people close to him. A part of me desperately wanted him to talk to me like I was a friend or maybe more than that.

    "I was waiting for you." I lie.

    "For me?" He asks in a surprised tone. "Why? Is something wrong?"

    I immediately waved my hand to dismiss his question.

    "Nothing''s wrong." I lie.

    Something was wrong. . . With me. I was acting stupid in front of him, and it was thest thing I wanted to do.

    "Professor!" I hear one of the girls screech behind me.

    News sh: I wasn''t the only one with a crush on ric. All of the girls in our ssroom were crazy over him. He had this sexy aura about him that made the girls go wild over him.

    There was this rumor that he was gaining more attention than even Carter. However, that could also be because Carter got married and is now expecting a baby with my sister. Girls knew he was off-limits.

    But ric was also married and also off-limits. At this point, I wasn''t making any sense at all.

    "ra?" ric calls my name. It was only then that I realized he''d already walked into the ssroom and was waiting for me to enter so he could close the door.

    </section><section>

    I quickly walked inside and sat down at a table as far away from the front of the ssroom as possible.

    I hid my face in my book. Could this day get any worse?

    </section>

 Chapter 401 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    "Did youe with ric today?" Jenna asks me in the middle of ss.

    "Why do you ask that?"

    </section><section>

    "The two of you arrived at the same time." She says in an isn''t it obvious tone.

    "That was totally coincidental," I inform her.

    She smiles, "everyone here doesn''t think that."

    "What?" I ask her as I look around us. "Are they spreading rumors already?"

    She nods, "they think that the two of you are having an affair."

    "That''s just absurd." I hiss. "What else are they saying?"

    "Some girls seem to think that ric is divorcing his wife to be with you." She answers me.

    I gape at her. This was ridiculous! If it''s one thing about the people at our academy, they said the craziest things about people without actually knowing the truth. They made up their little scenarios and tried to make it sound believable.

    And yet, everyone else was foolish enough to believe it!

    "Miss ra Mae, is there something you''ll like to share with the rest of us?" ric asks in the middle of ss.

    My lips parted slightly, and I could feel my cheeks redden.

    This was so embarrassing! How many times would I be embarrassed for this day alone?

    "No!" I squeak. "Nothing at all."

    He nods and returns to teaching.

    Jenna looks at me, and I can see her trying to hide her smile. This was anything but funny! It was her fault this happened to begin with. She was the one who started the conversation!

    I didn''t want to do things to bring so much attention to myself, but in every single ss so far, I did precisely that.

    At this point, I wasn''t surprised that people were spreading rumors about me. I was constantly acting like a retard.

    I tried to pay attention without speaking to Jenna for the rest of the ss. However, it was difficult to pay attention when my professor was ¡®the ric Prince.¡¯

    How many times have I said his full name in my head for the day? Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    I was truly pathetic.

    I bit my lip as he loosened his tie before drinking water. My eyes were glued to the sexy movement of his throat while he swallowed.

    "You''re practically drooling." Jenna teases me.

    I press my hand against her mouth to shut her up.

    I narrow my eyes to warn her not to say something like that again in the middle of ss. There were already too many eyes on me. I didn''t need to give the people another reason to talk about me.

    I can breathe again when the bell signals the end of ss. I wait for the rest of the students to walk out the door before I get up from my chair. I notice two girls walk up to ric and begin to speak to him. Maybe it''s something rted to his assignment, or they''re probably trying to flirt. Either way, I can feel the jealousy rise.

    Couldn''t they find someone else to bother?

    "Let''s go," I tell Jenna as I attempt to leave the ssroom.

    "Miss ra!" ric calls out to me.

    I pause and turn to look at him with wide eyes. Did I somehow get into trouble again?

    The other two girls turn to look at me with envy in their eyes. They were upset that he''d called me over while they were still speaking to him.

    "Can you excuse me, girls?" He asks them. "We can continue this conversation tomorrow after ss."

    They nod but turn to re at me before leaving the ssroom.

    "I''ll meet you outside!" Jenna says as she waves goodbye.

    I narrowed my eyes at her; she''d intentionally left me in the room alone with ric. It made me extra nervous and aware of him.

    "Did I do something wrong?" I ask him cautiously.

    He shook his head, "I''ve just noticed you''ve been a bit distracted in ss recently. Is everything okay? Are my lectures not interesting enough?"

    I knew my cheeks were crimson right now.

    "Your lectures are perfect!" I blurt out. "I have been paying attention. I''m sorry if it seems that I''m not."

    I tuck a strand of hair in my eyes behind my ear, and I''m surprised when ric seems to be mesmerized by it for a few seconds before snapping out of it.

    Did I imagine that?

    He clears his throat and moves to organize some papers on top of his desk. "That''s good. I was worried that you hadn''t fully recovered from your injuries."

    "I''m fine," I reassure him. "I''m okay today because of what you did for me on that day. You protected me. Scarlett told me everything you did, and I''m grateful."

    He seems to rx a little. My heart does a little happy dance to know he was this concerned about me.

    "Alright, I guess I''ll see youter today."

    "You will?" I ask as my eyes widen with hope.

    He quirks a brow and pauses what he''s doing to gaze at me, "Aren''t youing overter to see Scarlett?"

    I bit my lip nervously, "Oh yes! See youter then."

    I hurriedly rushed out of the ssroom before I could embarrass myself further.

    </section><section>

    I ce a hand over my chest and lean against the wall.

    What was happening to me?

    </section>

 Chapter 402 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    As soon as I got out of the truck, the first thing that I noticed was Nicole waiting at the front door for me.

    Fuck.

    </section><section>

    I didn''t want to speak to her. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    "What are you doing here, Nicole?" I demand from her. "I told you that I didn''t want to see you."

    "Please, ric." She begs. "It''s been so long since west spoke. Why are you avoiding me like this?"

    I sigh, "We''ve been through this a million times already. You know what you did. This marriage isn''t working out anymore. I''m done trying to make it work."

    "No!" She cries. "I''m not done. I''m going to keep fighting for us, ric. Our marriage cannot end like this. We have too many ns for our future for it to end like this!"

    I try to walk around her, but she stops me. "Are you going to let things end between us like this?"

    I take a deep breath and try to calm myself. I never wanted things between us to end. In fact, for months, I was patient with her. I let her do and say things as she pleased with the hopes that she would be better. However, she only got worse with time.

    "Weren''t you the one fighting for a divorce just a few weeks ago?" I ask her. "Why are you suddenly so against the divorce? What changed since then, Nicole?"

    Her bottom lip trembles as she says, "You scared me, okay? Seeing you turn into a monster on a full moon night and not knowing whether or not you would end up with a different woman every month made me act the way I did. But believe me, ric, I never wanted to end things between us. I was just in a lot of pain that you''d hid such an important detail from me before marrying me."

    My jaw clenched; I knew I was wrong initially for not telling her the truth. That''s why I epted the me for months. However, eventually, it became apparent that she didn''t honestly want to be with me. If she did, why did she cause so many problems for me?

    "I''m done speaking about this, Nicole; please step aside," I ordered her.

    I stayed utterly still when she threw herself into my arms.

    I ce my hands on her waist to push her away.

    "Please, ric." She begs. "Give me one more chance. Don''t ruin what we had. Let me make it up to you. I can be better, I promise you."

    "Wee, Miss ra Mae." I hear one of our maids greet her.

    I slowly turned around, and there she was. I never understood how one woman could be that beautiful.

    She has exotic, long ck hair with piercing green eyes that threaten to learn all your darkest secrets just by looking at you.

    I''d never been this enchanted over a woman, and it bothered me. She was my brother''s ex-girlfriend, and I was still married to Nicole. I shouldn''t find her this appealing.

    She nces at me for a quick second before walking into the house. She was over a lot these past few days, especially since Scarlett has been sick due to her pregnancy.

    I slowly remove Nicole''s hands from around my waist. "Please go home now."

    Her eyes widen as she wipes her tears away, "it''s because of her, isn''t it?"

    I exhale and run a hand through my hair angrily.

    I can''t count the many times Nicole has used me of having an affair with ra. She seemed to have this silly idea that I was ending our marriage for her. The truth was that I was tired of fighting for something that continuously made me unhappy.

    "I''m not going to keep repeating myself, Nicole." I snap. "I gave you enough chances to change. The things you said when my brother''s life was in danger proved to me that we were not right for each other. This isn''t going to work. You need toe to terms with that."

    I don''t wait for her to say another word as I storm into the house.

    "Please do not let her enter," I tell the maid. "I don''t want her to cause any more trouble."

    My family has been through a lot recently; I didn''t need Nicole making things worse for them.

    When I walk into the house, I''m greeted by my parents before heading straight to my room.

    It was a rough day at the academy, not because of the students or other professors, not even because of the principal. It was because of her.

    ra Mae.

    I couldn''t focus in ss the past few days because of her. And that was not a good thing considering that I was the professor. I was the one person that was supposed to fucking pay attention.

    I found myself looking at her more than once today during ss. I was grateful that no one else had caught me looking at her. I knew that I had to have more self-control from now on.

    I didn''t want any rumors to spread about ra and make her life any more miserable than it already was.

    She was already having a hard time due to the entire situation with Carter. We''d all moved on from that, but everyone at the academy was still discussing it.

    I remove my clothes and walk into the shower. The second the water hit my skin, I felt the frustration slowly leave my body. I needed this.

    I stayed that way for a few minutes when ra''s image popped into my head.

    My eyes widen.

    Fuck.

    Thinking about her while I was in the shower was dangerous territory.

    I quickly shut it off and walked out of the bathroom. I ran a hand down my wet face and let out a breath I hadn''t realized I was holding.

    What was wrong with me?

    </section><section>

    I walked over to the desk to grab the towel on the chair when my door suddenly flew open.

    I look up, and all the air is knocked out from inside me at the person standing a few feet away.

    </section>

 Chapter 403 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    My cheeks are red as I openly stare at a fully naked ric Prince in front of me.

    I ce a hand over my mouth to cover my surprised scream as I rush out of the door and run straight down the stairs.

    </section><section>

    Why do I keep embarrassing myself like this?

    But more than that, why was ric so damn sexy?

    I didn''t think anyone could look as good as him. In the past, I always knew Carter was good-looking while we were dating, but ric was on another level. He had this aura about him that screamed sex.

    My body shivered at the reminder of his rock-hard chest and.. He wasn''t even erect, but it already looked like a masterpiece.

    ra! Get a hold on yourself! He''s off-limits, remember?

    "What''s wrong with you?" Scarlett asks me as she spots me at the bottom of the stairs.

    "Oh, nothing." I lie.

    I didn''t want to tell my sister that I''d just seen ricpletely naked.

    "Did you tell ric that Carter wanted to talk to him about something?" She asks me.

    Oh no. My eyes widen in surprise. I forgot why I''d gone to his room to begin with.

    I''d knocked a few times and hadn''t gotten a response. Then I shouted that I wasing in and still got no response. So, I waited for two minutes before opening the door.

    Thest thing I expected to see was ric without any clothes. He''d definitely juste out of the shower.

    Should I tell my sister that I saw him but forgot to mention it to him? Or should I lie and say I never went to his room?

    "Never mind," Scarlett says suddenly. "He''s already walking down the stairs; I''ll let him know myself."

    I freeze at her words.

    I refused to look at him after what I''d just seen. I didn''t want him to think that I was some pervert.

    What if he thinks I intentionally barged into his room to see him without any clothes? I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks.

    Was there a single day that I wouldn''t embarrass myself this badly? So far, I''d embarrassed myself more than three times before him today.

    "ric!" I hear my sister say his name. "Carter wanted to see you about something. He''s in the study room; he asked for you to meet him there."

    His scent paralyzes me when he walks past me to the study room.

    "You''re acting a little weird today," Scarlett notes. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

    I sigh, "I just had another rough day at the academy."

    Her gaze softens, "I''m so sorry about everything, ra. I can''t believe they''re still giving you a hard time about everything. If we could move on from the past, why can''t they also?"

    "That''s just how they are," I inform her. "They won''t leave me alone until a new rumor or scandal pops up."

    "I''ll let Carter speak to them!" She hissed.

    "It''s okay," I assured her as I guided her to a chair. "I won''t let them bother me, I promise. I''m more concerned about your health. How are you feeling?"

    She leaned back against the chair and sighed while rubbing her tummy, which grew more prominent daily. "It''s been a bit difficult. I knew it wouldn''t be easy, but I never thought it would be like this. I hate not being able to go to the academy with you."

    "It''s okay," I promise her. "Jenna is a goodpany; you should know since she was your best friend before she became mine."

    She chuckles, "Are you trying to steal my best friend from me, or is my best friend trying to steal my sister from me?"

    I roll my eyes, "no one can steal me from you."

    "Did you happen to see Autumn today?" She asks me.

    I nod, "I spoke to her like you asked me to." Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    "And?"

    "Elsa is still hiding at their home," I inform her. "I''m not sure how long they can keep hiding her; the Cage family is going crazy trying to find her."

    She nods, "I know. Jagger Cage visited our home today."

    My eyes widen, "he did?"

    She nods, "he asked if we knew anything, but of course, we lied to him."

    "I''m surprised he came here," I confess. "They must be getting desperate to find her."

    She nods, "I want Elsa to be happy, but if her family finds out that the Fawns are keeping her hidden, that will only lead to another battle."

    Scarlett was right. They would freak out if they found out the truth.

    For now, we had to hope that they never found out where she was.

    My breath hitches when ric walks back in with Carter. My eyes found him, and he held my gaze briefly. In those seconds, I could feel myself grow wet between the legs.

    What the hell was happening to me? Why did I have such a strong reaction to this man?

    He drags his gaze away from me to answer what Carter asked.

    "Is something going on between the two of you?" Scarlett whispers. "I''m sensing a lot of tension."

    I shook my head immediately, "nothing at all." I assure her.

    There was absolutely nothing between ric and me. I don''t think there was a chance for anything to happen, either.

    I knew the kind of man ric was. He was very noble and would never consider dating a woman his younger brother once dated. He also wouldn''t do anything inappropriate while still married to Nicole, even though he already filed for a divorce.

    </section><section>

    That was just the kind of man he was. And I wouldn''t want him to be any other way. His outstanding qualities are what drew me towards him, to begin with. I would never want him to change.

    However, a small part of me wished that he could break the rules a little, but just for me, no one else. . . Only for me.

    </section>

 Chapter 404 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    "You''re homete today." My mother says as I walk into the house.

    I nod, "I wanted to spend more time with Scarlett since she hasn''t been welltely."

    </section><section>

    She smiles, "I''m so proud of you for looking after your sister."

    I would have responded if that was the only reason I spent so much time at the Prince''s residence.

    The truth was even though I wanted to help take care of Scarlett while she was ill, I also wanted to get a nce at ric any chance that I could get.

    "I never thought your sister would marry Carter," she continues. "I always thought that you would marry him. However, I''m happy that you''re okay with how things ended up between the two of you. I didn''t think I would like Carter after how he treated you, but I must say that I like how he treats Scarlett. I hope he keeps it up."

    I also was happy with how much Carter loved my sister. I was afraid at first that he was using her, but now I knew his secrets and why he mistreated me in the first ce. I understood him much more than I did in the past.

    In fact, I was happy that Carter broke my heart. If we were still together, I believe the both of us would have been miserable.

    There was also the fact that I would have never realized I was attracted to ric if I was still in a rtionship with him.

    I''ve always admired Carter¡¯s older brother in the past. Seeing the way he took care of Carter and the rest of his siblings always made me fascinated by him. I never thought that fascination would ever lead to something more.

    "Your father told me that ric is divorcing his wife." My mother continues.

    My eyes snap to hers at the mention of ric. She rarely ever mentions him.

    "I''ve heard that as well from Scarlett," I say, pretending that I was the least interested in this conversation.

    I didn''t want my parents to know I was crushing on him.

    "It''s really sad." She says. "ric has been married to her for some time now. I don''t understand why they''re splitting already."

    "Have you met Nicole?" I ask her.

    She nods, "I''ve seen her around, but I can''t remember conversing with her."

    "If you speak to her at least once, you''ll understand," I tell her.

    She looks surprised by my words.

    "I''m exhausted and must wake up early tomorrow morning," I tell her. "I''m heading to my room. We can speak about this another time.¡±

    I didn''t want to hear anything about Nicole. Just the mention of her name angered me. She didn''t deserve someone as sweet as ric. He was too amazing for her.

    Even now, I didn''t understand what ric saw in her except for her beauty. She had no other good qualities about her.

    As I walk into my room, I look at the fabric on my bed.

    ric''s shirt wasid neatly on top of my pillow.

    I walked over to the bed and took his shirt into my arms. I lifted it and pressed my nose against it. I inhaled deeply; I could still smell him.

    Right after Carter woke up from almost dying just a few days ago, Scarlett told me everything I had missed while I was unconscious.

    She said that after Fox had attacked me and I''d shifted back to my human formpletely naked, ric had shown up not too long after.

    And then, like my own personal hero, he covered my body with this shirt to shield me from everyone else. I remember how shocked I was when she first told me this. I couldn''t remember much about that fight, but I remember opening my eyes a few times and seeing ric holding me. At first, I thought it was all a dream. After all, ric has been in my dreams a few times already.

    However, when I finally snapped out of it, I realized it was indeed him.

    I never bothered to wash it. Instead, I kept it in my bed. It was myfort. I would hold onto it all night and wake up the next day with it still in my arms.

    It made me feel closer to him. If anyone else saw this, they would think I''d lost my mind, and maybe I had lost it. Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    I shouldn''t be this obsessed with him. There was no chance of us ever getting together. So then, why was I allowing myself to keep falling for him?

    I''ve always had more control than this. While dating Carter, I''ve always had control but with ric, things were different. He made me want to break all the rules and do anything to gain his attention.

    I inwardly groan and bury my face in his shirt.

    I was losing my mind.

    It was the only logical exnation for all of this.

    </section><section>

    I had to find a way to control myself. I couldn''t keep this up. If I kept acting like this, eventually, others would pick up on my actions. Scarlett already suspected me, and there were already rumors at the academy.

    I had to be more careful from now on, especially around ric.

    </section>

 Chapter 405 -

    <section>

    ~NICOLE~

    I angrily m my door as I storm into my house.

    I couldn''t believe ric was treating me so poorly.

    </section><section>

    He was never like this in the past; he would usually give me everything I wanted. It''s not the first time I''ve had nasty things to say about his family, but this was the first time he reacted this poorly to it. In fact, I''ve said worse things about them in the past, but it never made himsh out like this before.

    If he was upset with what I''d said, why couldn''t he speak to me about it? Why did he have to go as far as continuing with the divorce?

    We''ve spent months with him trying to save our marriage. Now, all of a sudden, he wants to divorce me.

    It was not something that I could easily ept.

    This wasn''t the ric that I was used to. It felt strange to see him behaving like this around me.

    It''s almost as though he didn''t love me anymore. I''ve never questioned his love for me in the past, but things are different now.

    It''s been different ever since that girl. . . That ugly-looking girl came into our lives.

    ra Mae. Oh, how I hated that name. I always had a bad feeling about her. I should have listened to my gut.

    But it''s not the first time she''s shown up. She''s been around since she first started dating Carter. I never felt threatened by her back then. But all of that seemed to change after she ended the rtionship with Carter. After they broke up, ric became more protective of her.

    I should have seen the warning signs much earlier. I was too caught up in Ace to realize that my husband was falling for another woman.

    He didn''t want to admit that his sudden behavior change was because of her, but I knew it was all her fault. I wasn''t a fool. My eyes weren''t deceiving me; I knew something was going on between them.

    He''s been a changed man ever since she starteding over to their house more often. I couldn''t believe that he would betray me like this for her.

    What did she have that I didn''t? How could he ever leave me for her?

    For ra? Her beauty was nothingpared to mine. In fact, I am the most beautiful girl in ric''s life.

    I had to do something before he made a move on her.

    I felt sick to my stomach just thinking about it.

    If he thought that this was the end of us, he was sadly mistaken.

    I was not going to sit back and let him divorce me just like that. I would fight till my dying breath to ensure he stayed married to me.

    I had plenty of ns for our future and I was not going to let a woman like ra get in the middle of it.

    I tried hurting her through Scarlett but those damn Cage brothers got in the way and spoilt the entire n. Now I had to start everything from scratch.

    I stare at the picture of my husband on the desk in front of me.

    He was not going to let go of me that easily. I would make his life bloody miserable until he realized that he needed me back in his life.

    If he thought I would sit back and let him be with ra, he had another thinging.

    I would do everything in my power to keep them apart. And there was plenty that I could do. I already had a few ns up my sleeve.

    He didn''t know what I was capable of doing. There was plenty that he didn''t know about me.

    Even now, he had no clue that I had an affair with Ace ckner.

    I would make sure that he never found out that I wanted to divorce him so badly in the past just so that I could be with Ace. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    I inwardly sighed; I was still hoping for a chance with him.

    I''ve been trying to get him to meet me, but he''s been turning me down.

    I was not going to give up.

    Ace was the one I wanted. He wasn''t a monster like ric was.

    He was sexy and wild. He made me feel weak to my knees. He wasn''t soft and sweet like ric was. I was tired of ric''s kind nature. He was weak, while Ace was strong and knew how to make a woman scream from pleasure.

    I felt turned on just thinking about him.

    I was nning on going over to his home once more today. If I could get Ace back into my life somehow, then all of my problems would go away.

    He knew I was married now and that was my biggest problem. I had to find a way to make him feel sorry for me.

    </section><section>

    In the meantime, I had to make sure that ric didn''t get any closer to ra.

    I didn''t have much time to keep them apart.

    </section>

 Chapter 406 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    "You''re trying to impress someone today." Jenna teases me as she wiggles her eyebrows.

    I roll my eyes, "It''s not a secret that I enjoy wearing the prettiest outfits.¡±

    </section><section>

    I''ve been really into fashion for years, however,  she was right. I was indeed trying to impress someone. However, I nned on denying it as much as possible.

    She quirked a brow; she could see straight through my lie.

    I wasn''t trying hard enough to hide it. The truth was, I didn''t want to hide it from herpletely. I needed someone to speak to about my crush. Maybe if I confided in her, she could snap me out of it. I needed someone to give me a wake-up call. I couldn''t keep being this bloody delusional.

    As we walk into the ssroom, I breathe a sigh of relief when I don''t see ric even though a part of me was slightly disappointed.

    I checked my watch; I was too early. He would be here between five to ten minutes. In the meantime, I had to prepare myself to see him again. I couldn''t keep making a fool of myself in front of him. I''d done that enough.

    I felt my cheeks turn red at the reminder of what happened yesterday in his room. I didn''t mean to see him naked but I couldn''t get the image out of my head.

    Why would Nicole mess up her marriage with a man like him? I don''t think I''ll ever be able to understand her.

    As Jenna and I take our seats, I open my mouth to tell her about my little crush even though she already had a good idea about it. However, I don''t get to say anything when Matt pulls a chair next to mine.

    I look at him, waiting for him to say something.

    "You look breathtaking today, ra." Hepliments me. "Any special asion?"

    Jenna looked at us, and she could quickly tell that I was not interested in Matt, not in the least.

    "Nope," I answer him dryly. I didn''t want to entertain a conversation with him when I had no interest in him.

    With him next to me, it would be difficult for me to spot the exact time that ric walks into the ssroom.

    I had to find a way to get him to leave my side before I could miss my opportunity.

    "Really?" Matt asks as he leans into me. "How about we change that?"

    Was he asking me out on a date? His scent made me wrinkle my nose in disgust.

    "I don''t think that''s a good idea," I answered him.

    He sighs, "Come on. You aren''t dating anyone now, are you?"

    I shook my head. "I''m not, but that doesn''t mean I want to date you."

    He takes my hand, "I promise I won''t mistreat you like Carter did. I''ll treat you better."

    I look down at his hand on top of mine. It made me very ufortable.

    I was about to pull it away when I felt ric''s presence. I looked up, and I was right; he''d just entered the ssroom.

    I inwardly sigh. I''d missed his entrance just like I predicted.

    He ces a few books in his hands on the desk and looks up to scan the faces of everyone present today.

    He doesn''t stop until his gazends on me.

    His eyes pause on me for a good few seconds before his gaze moves to Matt''s hand on top of mine.

    I saw a strange emotion sh in his eyes before he picked up something from his briefcase and turned his attention towards it.

    I bit my lip to hide the look of disappointment on my face. I don''t think I was doing a very good job at it.

    Why was I hoping for a better reaction than that?

    Grow up, ra. Did you expect him to walk over here and push Matt''s hand away? Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    "Matt," I say in the calmest manner possible. "Please remove your hand. I''m sorry, but I''m not interested in dating you. I know I''m single now, but I''m totally happy that I am and I''m not looking for anyone.¡±

    I''ll only consider dating ric, and since that was never happening, I would probably stay single for the rest of my life.

    "Are you sure, ra?" He asks me. "I''ve heard the rumors going around; if you date me, we could end them all."

    My eyes widen a little, "what rumors?"

    "Can everyone return to their seats so that ss can start?" ric''s voice echoes throughout the room.

    Was there an edge to his voice, or was I imagining it?

    Matt looks at him and finds him ring in his direction.

    He doesn''t say anything else as he quickly returns to his seat.

    "I know I might be just as delusional as you are, but I''m pretty sure ric looks annoyed that Matt was speaking to you," Jenna whispers next to me.

    I sigh, ¡°You''re right, you''re just as delusional as I am.¡±

    There was no way that he was actually upset Matt was speaking to me.

    </section><section>

    Oh, how I wished it was true.

    However, I was not that lucky.

    </section>

 Chapter 407 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    After ss, more girls move towards ric with random excuses to speak with him. He was surrounded by five of them currently. They''re all trying tomunicate with him at the same time, and he''s giving them the attention that they want which in turn makes them all very happy.

    "Let me guess," Jenna says as we leave the ssroom. "They don''t understand their homework and need the professor to help them.¡±

    </section><section>

    I chuckled even though my insides were burning with jealousy.

    He didn''t stop me from leaving like he did yesterday. This time, he instead stayed back to talk to his other students.

    Was I stupid for thinking he would have done the same thing today?

    For the rest of the day, I couldn''t focus on any of my other sses. How was I supposed to pay attention to anything when I knew ric could be in any part of the Academy right now with hundreds of girls trying to get closer to him?

    I buried my face in my opened book and prayed for the chance to stop thinking about him.

    At this point, I was practically torturing myself.

    I didn''t know what to do to get over my crush on him. If I kept this up, I would end up getting hurt.

    I was already hurt in the past by Carter Prince; I didn''t want to get hurt by his older brother.

    The truth was that I was the only one hurting myself this time. He never once showed me that he was interested in me. He''s been kind and caring, gentle, and sweet, but all those things were part of his personality.

    He was just a nice person who treated others with respect.

    I also kept forgetting the important fact that he was married. Sure, he was getting a divorce, but on paper, Nicole was still his wife.

    It didn''t matter that she was a horrible person; she was still his wife, and I was wrong for wanting something from a man who was still married.

    I couldn''t help myself; ric was someone that pulled you in.

    I spent the rest of the day trying not to think about him. However, I promised Scarlett I would be there for her and I intended to keep that promise.

    And so, that''s why right after I left the Academy, I headed straight for her new home.

    When I got there, I waited for someone to let me in.

    The gates eventually open, and I quickly park my car.

    When I walked into the house, ric was already home. I didn''t need to see him to know it; I noticed his truck parked outside the second I arrived.

    It was one of the first things I looked for when I entered his home. If I didn''t see it, I always felt a big disappointment in the pit of my stomach.

    "Can you get something from the kitchen for me?" Scarlett asks me. "I feel extremely thirsty.¡±Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    "Sure," I tell her.

    I left her in the family room and went to the kitchen.

    I was surprised to see ric already in there.

    I shouldn''t have been surprised since I was in his house, but still, I was a bit startled, and I think he could tell, judging by the look on his face.

    He didn''t look shocked to see me at all, meaning he knew I would be over today, just like yesterday.

    He walks over to the fridge and picks a beer out from it. He pitches the cover off it and gulps while his gaze pins me to my spot.

    I couldn''t move, not even a little.

    How could one look from him turn my body into a statue?

    It wasn''t fair to me at all.

    I waited for him to finish. I didn''t want to go near him.

    It was awkward. But there was also this heat that I couldn''t exin.

    "Is he why you''ve been so distractedtely?" he asks suddenly.

    His back was turned to me, and it looked like he was about to leave the kitchen. However, it didn''t look like he was leaving until I gave him an answer.

    "Who?" I ask, confused and slightly surprised that he was trying to converse with me. The only time we''ve ever really spoken was when Scarlett went missing. He helped me a lot back then. A part of me wishes we could go back in time so I could be that close to him again.

    "Matt." He answers me. "Is he the reason that you''ve been distracted during ss time?"

    My lips parted as my cheeks flushed.

    He was so wrong.

    </section><section>

    How could he not tell that he was the reason I was distracted? Not no damn, Matt.

    He leaned over me to grab a napkin, and I felt my heart rate speed up. He was too close. I couldn''t think clearly with him this close to me.

    </section>

 Chapter 408 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    I could hear her heartbeat. Loud and fast. I frown, confused by her.

    Why was her heart racing like I was making her nervous?

    </section><section>

    Was it possible that I made ra Mae uneasy?

    It couldn''t be me; there had to be another reason. Maybe it was because I had mentioned Matt to her.

    It still annoyed me how much it affected me to see another man speaking to her.

    ra was five years younger than me. She was just twenty-one, and Matt was around her age. It was normal for people to date at that age.

    Then why did it bloody upset me so much?

    Earlier today, it took all my self-control not to walk over to them and m Matt''s face against the desk. It looked like he was bothering her. I didn''t like it, not one bit.

    I even did something fucking insane right after my sses finished. I went straight to the office and asked to transfer Matt out of my ss. I was still waiting for the principal to get back to me.

    Fuck.

    It was clear to me that I had lost my mind. I didn''t think I had it in me to do something that drastic to get a man away from ra. And he was my fucking student. They both were my students. I shouldn''t be interfering in either of their lives.

    She had me doing things I would have never done in this life. I didn''t even know who I was anymore.

    In the past, I thought I would be married to Nicole for the rest of my life, and I never thought that a girl five years younger than me, a girl who was once in love with my younger brother, a girl who was too good to be true would ever catch my attention like this.

    She was genuinely unbelievable. And I never understood how Carter never fell deeply in love with her.

    I knew he cared about her, but to me, he never deserved her. I felt like an ass for even thinking that about my brother.

    "ric?" ra whispers.

    It was only then that I realized I hadn''t moved. I''d reached behind her for a napkin, and I was stuck in that position for more than a minute.

    She must think that I''m fucking crazy.

    I swallow and quickly move away.

    "About Matt¡ª," she says as I proceed to exit the room.

    Her words prompted me to look at her again, even though I knew I should turn around and never look back.

    "I''m not interested in Matt, not in the least." She says. "He''s not the reason that I''ve been distracted in ss."

    Her words meant more to me than she would ever know.

    Why the fuck did that make me so happy? Why did I want to thank her for saying that?

    Damn it.

    I didn''t understand any of this. I was fucking confused.

    I should have never even asked her about her personal life. It was none of my damn business. If she wanted to date Matt, that should be her decision.

    I nod, "I''m sorry for asking ra. If you want to date anyone from ss, you''re free to do so. Even though I''m your professor, it isn''t my ce to tell you what not to do."

    Why was I rambling?

    I was surprised when her eyes looked crushed at my words. Was that not what she wanted me to say? I felt like I could also sense a bit of disappointment.

    I was never good at reading women. I couldn''t even tell when Nicole was unhappy with me. I thought that I was doing everything to keep her happy. It turns out that I was doing just the opposite.

    I was sure that I was also wrong about ra. Her emotions had nothing to do with me.

    "There you are," Scarlett says as she enters the kitchen. "I was worried that you''d gotten lost."

    ra looks at her sister with flushed cheeks; she looks like she''d just gotten caught doing something she shouldn''t.

    "Is something wrong?" She asked as she looked between the two of us.

    "No," ra answered almost immediately. "ric was just asking me something about ss today."

    She walks over to the fridge, grabs a drink, and pulls Scarlett out of the kitchen.

    For a few seconds, all I could do was stand still and watch her leave. I couldn''t take my eyes off her.

    Fuck.

    I had to find at least some control.

    What the hell was wrong with me? I wasn''t some damn horny teenager. Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    But that had nothing to do with it.

    These fucking feelings inside of me were unlike anything I''ve ever experienced in the past.

    It was enough to make me question every damn thing in my life.

    I couldn''t do this anymore.

    I had to stop this madness.

    I had to leave ra alone.

    She''s been through enough.

    </section><section>

    I didn''t need her to get tangled up in my mess.

    I would never do that to her; I cared about her too much.

    </section>

 Chapter 409 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    Carter shoots the ball into the hoop and grins at me.

    "You''re only one point in front of me," I remind him. "Don''t get too cocky."

    </section><section>

    Heughs as he throws the ball back at me. It felt good to y against each other again. Everything has been so hectic recently that we didn''t have a chance to y.

    Things were still a little tense.

    I knew that Carter still feared that Wilder would show up and challenge him for Scarlett. He barely made it out of thest fight alive.

    I still med myself for everything that happened that day. I should have been able to protect him. I was his big brother; my job was to keep him safe.

    He wasn''t the only one I was upset that I couldn''t protect that day. ra had gotten seriously injured as well. I remember the panic I felt in my chest the second that I saw her unconscious on the ground with nothing to cover her delicate body. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    I wince at the memories that didn''t want to leave my mind no matter how hard I tried.

    Fuck.

    The reminder of that image sends my blood boiling once more.

    I wanted to kill them all that day.

    I should have at least killed one of them. However, Carter''s life was in danger, and we had to save him; his life was more important. But I still held a grudge against that family. If they ever showed up again, I knew I wouldn''t be able to stop myself.

    "How does it feel to be the first one to give our parents a grandchild?" I ask my brother to distract me from my dark thoughts.

    He grins from ear to ear; his face always lights up when I mention that he is going to be a father soon.

    "It''s the best feeling in the world." He answers me. "Though, it''s bittersweet since I know you always wanted to be the first to have a child amongst us."

    It was true.

    I always wanted a baby. It''s not that I wanted to be the first one to have one; it''s just that I was the eldest, and it''s something I was looking forward to with Nicole.

    Of course, all that is no longer possible, but it doesn''t mean I''ve stopped wanting it.

    "Ares told me that there''s a new rumor going around the academy." He says suddenly.

    Was he trying to change the conversation? He must have sensed my sadness and wanted to distract me. That was something Carter would do.

    I frown, "really?" I ask. "Does it concern our family, or are they finally speaking about someone else?"

    He shook his head, "they''re speaking about you."

    I pause to look at him in surprise, "they''re speaking about me?"

    He nods, "It turns out that you''re quite popr with thedies brother."

    I wasn''t surprised by his words; I knew that they were fascinated with me. However, I wasn''t interested in anyone. My life was already a mess because of Nicole; I didn''t need to add any more stress to my life. Plus, they were all too young for me, just like ra was.

    "I''m their professor, much older than them," I say, even though he didn''t ask me anything.

    He nods, "You''re only 26, but I get what you''re saying. It wouldn''t be good to date one of your students."

    "Is there any particr reason that you brought this up today?" I ask him. "It feels like there''s more you aren''t telling me."

    I usually knew when Carter was keeping something from me. I could tell that tonight was no different.

    But what could he possibly want to keep from me now?

    There weren''t anymore secrets to keep.

    "I didn''t want to bring this up since I knew there wasn''t a possibility of it being true, but since you asked, I''ll tell you." He answers me.

    "Go right ahead," I urge him. "I''m listening."

    "There''s another rumor." He finally says while looking me dead in the eyes.

    "About who?"

    "You, and ra."

    The ball drops from my hands at his words.

    He looks a little surprised by my reaction.

    "ra?" I asked even though my voice was now strained. "Why the hell would there be rumors of the two of us?"

    He sighs, "Apparently, people at the academy think that the two of you are having an affair. They believe that you''re divorcing Nicole so that you could be with her."

    It seemed people had nothing better to do with their time than to sit down and make up absurd stories.

    "Fuck." I growl. "ra''s been through enough already. Why would anyone spread a fucking rumor like that?"

    Carter shrugs his shoulders, "I don''t know, brother, but I would suggest you don''t let it bother you. I''ll see what I can do to stop the rumors so that it doesn''t affect you or ra."

    </section><section>

    "No." I stop him. "I can handle this on my own."

    I would personally see to it that anyone spreading rumors about ra would feel my wrath.

    </section>

 Chapter 410 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    There was a party at the Princes'' residence today, and I wanted to dress as sexy as I possibly could.

    It was one of those things that made me feel alive.

    </section><section>

    After getting dressed in a very short ck dress, I joined my parents in the car.

    "You sure took your time." My father says.

    I could tell that they were both tired of waiting for me.

    "We were in here for twenty minutes, ra." My mother scolds me.

    "I''m sorry, mom and dad," I apologize. "I wanted to look my best tonight. It''s been a while since I felt like this."

    After Carter and I ended things, I stopped doing the things that made me happy. Now that things were back to normal, I felt like myself again.

    They both sigh as the driver finally pulls out of the driveway.

    It doesn''t take us that long to arrive at our destination.

    My parents were the first to step inside; I, on the other hand, was waiting for Jenna to arrive.

    "Why are you here?" A familiar, sickening voice asks behind me.

    I stiffened; I knew immediately that it was Nicole. She was thest person I expected to see.

    I turn to look at her, "there''s a party. I was invited. Why are you here?"

    She rolls her eyes, "I''m ric''s wife. I don''t need an invitation."

    "Don''t you mean soon-to-be ex-wife?" I ask her.

    She narrowed her eyes, and I could feel her anger. I knew that I should just walk away. I didn''t need to stand here and speak to her.

    She suddenly grabs my hand without any warning, "You can try as hard as you can, but ric will never be yours." She snaps. "I know exactly what you''re doing, but it won''t work. ric hasn''t looked at a single woman since we''ve married. Do you think that he''s going to have eyes for you? You''re hardly pretty, and you''re so much younger than him. If you know anything about ric, you''ll know that he will never go for a woman as young as you are. You''re his student. He has more values than that little girl."

    I pull my hand out of her grasp, "it baffles me that someone as kind as him was ever with someone like you. I guess love really is blind."

    I don''t wait for her to say anything else as I storm into the house.

    What was she even doing here?

    I''m sure that no one would have invited her, especially not ric. He seemed ready for the divorce unless I''d misread him. If I had, dressing up to try and catch his attention was a very bad idea. I was only doing these things because I thought that he was finally done with Nicole and was ready to move on.

    I kept going against everything I stood for. I knew I should have listened to that voice in my head that said to stop this madness before it became too much for me to handle.

    Every time I promised myself to stay away from ric, I kept on doing the opposite.

    "ra!" Scarlett greets me as soon as she spots me.

    "What''s wrong?" She demands the second that she realizes that something is wrong.

    "I just saw Nicole outside," I inform her. "She had plenty to say as usual."

    "Nicole?" She asks, surprised. "Nicole was outside?"

    I nod, "she was."

    "I don''t understand; none of us invited her." She tells me.

    "Are you sure ric didn''t invite her?" I asked; I desperately needed to know.

    I was hoping that it wasn''t true; I was hoping that he didn''t invite her and she''d just shown up on her own.

    "I can''t say." She admits. "I''m sure that he

    wants to divorce her, but it''s also possible that he invited her; he has a soft spot for her at times."

    It was not easy hearing her say those words, even though I knew that it was the truth. I knew how much he loved Nicole and wanted their marriage to work right before she ruined everything.

    "But look at what you''re wearing," she gasps, gesturing to my sparkly dress, "you look divine in that dress. It fits you so beautifully."This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    I smile, "Thank you, Scarlett. You look beautiful as well. You''re practically glowing. Pregnancy agrees with you."

    She grins, "I didn''t think I could ever be this happy, but Carter has been amazing. I couldn''t ask for a better husband."

    I nod, "do you ever get scared thinking about the Cage brothers?"

    She sighs, "I''ve had a few nightmares that Wilder would return for me. But I think that''s all that they are: nightmares. Now that I rejected him and know that I''m Carter''s ''miracle'' mate, I''m convinced that no one can try to separate us again."

    "There must be a way to make it official," I tell her. "You are aware of the ritual that normal mates have to signal that they ept each other. Can''t any of those things be done to seal everything for the both of you?"

    "I don''t know ra." She admits. "It''s apparently all very new to Carter and his family. They''re only just learning about it. There''s plenty that they still don''t know or understand. Only time will tell."

    Was it possible that Nicole was also ric''s miracle mate?

    I already had the answer.

    It was a definite no.

    She couldn''t be. If she were, he wouldn''t have needed to be chained every night like his brothers.

    It meant that ric''s ''miracle'' mate was still out there somewhere.

    My heart sank at that thought.

    There truly was never going to be a chance for ric and me, was there?

    There were still a few days left before the next full moon, and I was worried that something would happen on that day.

    The thought of ric breaking free and finding a stranger to sleep with made me feel sick to my stomach.

    I didn''t want to think about it.

    </section><section>

    A part of me wished that I could offer myself to him so that he didn''t have to suffer on every full moon.

    I wanted to help him.

    </section>

 Chapter 411 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    I can''t look away from ra. The second I saw her tonight, she''s been the center of my attention.

    I found myself searching the room multiple times just so that I could gaze at her from afar.

    </section><section>

    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you," Ares says as he grabs a snack from the waiter.

    I force my eyes away from ra against my will to look at my brother. He was smirking, and I didn''t like it.

    "Wouldn''t do what?" I ask him.

    "Go after her." He says. ¡°That isn''t going to end well for either of you."

    I swallow, "I don''t know what you''re speaking about."

    He chuckles, "Right. Sure you don''t, big bro."

    I grab a drink from the next waiter who passes next to us and take a big gulp as I loosen my tie.

    "I think you had too many to drink; you''re seeing things, Ares," I growl.

    He shook his head, "On the contrary, brother, I had nothing to drink tonight. I''m sober as can be. And I know my eyes aren''t deceiving me. You might want to control those wandering eyes tonight, though; there are already too many people staring at you. I''m sure one of these dozens of girls will recognize the one woman who has your full attention."

    I almost choked on my drink.

    He''d seen me staring at ra?

    Ah, fuck.

    I knew that I wasn''t good at hiding it, but fuck me. I didn''t think I would get caught so damn quickly. If he''d noticed, who else would have also?

    At least, I hoped that ra didn''t realize. I didn''t want her to get the wrong impression.

    "She does look beautiful tonight, doesn''t she?" He asks me.

    I''m surprised when a low growl forces its way out of my mouth. Ares quirks a surprised brow at me.

    "What the fuck was that?" He asks, "Did you just growl at me?"

    "What''s happening here?" Apollo asks as he joins us. "Who''s growling and why?"

    I re at Ares, warning him not to say anything stupid.

    "I was just suggesting that our elder brother start looking for a new wife." He lies. "He''s closer than ever to his divorce. We''ve all waited a long time for this. Maybe this time he can finally find a woman who can treat him right."

    "I''m sure there''s someone out there for him," Carter says as he appears out of nowhere.

    How long has he been listening to our conversation?

    "I hope she''s nothing like Nicole." Apollo chuckles. "I don''t think there''s anyone else like her. At least, I hope there isn''t."

    Ares smiles at me, "Why don''t you choose someone to dance with tonight?"

    He knew exactly what he was doing¡ªthat ass.

    Did he forget that I was older than him?

    "I''m good where I am."

    He sighs, "Come on, brother. Loosen up a little. There are so many women here that wish you could give them a chance. What are you waiting for?"

    "For my divorce to finalize," I growl. "I''m still married to Nicole. I do not n on dating anyone while I''m still married to her."

    "That''s a good point," Carter says as he grabs a sandwich. "You are still married. Why do we all keep forgetting that?"

    "What are you waiting on?" Apollo asks me. "Why is it taking so long?"

    I sigh, "I signed the papers today. I have to give it to Nicole to sign them also."

    "Do you think she''ll do it?" Carter asks me. "Thest time I checked, she no longer wanted to divorce you."

    I had a feeling that Nicole wouldn''t make it easy for me, but eventually, she would have no choice but to sign the papers.

    I nned on giving her them tonight. That''s why I invited her to the party today. I knew she wouldn''t have agreed if I''d told her the real reason I wanted her here tonight.

    "Tell me that isn''t her," Ares says as he looks at the doorway.

    I followed his gaze, and there she was¡ªmy wife. I miss the times I would look at her and think that she was my everything. Now, every time I see her, I''m reminded of our ruined marriage.

    "What is she doing here?" Carter asks me. "I know you didn''t invite her."

    "I''m sure there''s a logical exnation for this," Apollo says, even though he looks worried. "I don''t think ric would have invited her."

    They''re speaking as though I''m not right in front of them.

    "I am. . ." I pause before I say, "I did invite her."

    "You invited her?" I hear Scarlett''s surprised voice behind me. Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    I froze.

    I knew that ra was also with her.

    Did that mean she''d also just heard me?

    I slowly turn around and find her staring at me wide-eyed. I was right.

    </section><section>

    Oh fuck.

    Why did I suddenly feel guilty? There was nothing between ra and me. So then, why did the look on her face make me want to take back everything I''d just said?

    </section>

 Chapter 412 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    Scarlett looks at me; she knows ric''s words would have affected me badly. I can see the worry in her eyes.

    I fold my arms across my chest to hug myself. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

    </section><section>

    I couldn''t believe it; he was the one that invited her over.

    Why would he do that if he wanted to divorce her? Does this mean that he wasn''t serious about the divorce?

    There were so many questions racing in my head. I knew that I shouldn''t let it bother me; there was nothing at all between us. However, I still felt like I''d been betrayed.

    It made no sense. I knew that I was acting ridiculous. ric never once even looked at me like he desired me. He never touched me inappropriately and never said anything to make me think that he liked me.

    I had no right to feel like this.

    "Hello, everyone," Nicole says as she approaches us.

    The tension in the air had just risen with her presence. Just like it always did whenever she was around.

    She knew that no one here liked her or could even tolerate her except ric. I didn''t know how he could have possibly stayed married to her for so long. I couldn''t understand why he would invite her to this party either.

    Everything would have been better without her here.

    "Nicole." Scarlett forces a smile. "How have you been?"

    I knew that I should say something to her as well, but I couldn''t bring myself to open my mouth. Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    "I should be asking you that, Scarlett." She says. "I heard that you''ve been sicktely."

    We all are shocked that she''s suddenly acting concerned about my sister. I knew that it was all pretend. The person who spoke to me outside was the real Nicole, not this fake woman. I couldn''t stand her.

    But how did she know that Scarlett was sick? Did ric tell her?

    "I''m better. raes over every day to help take care of me. It''s because of her that I''ve improved." She answers her.

    Nicole didn''t even try to acknowledge me, even though she had plenty to say when it was just the two of us.

    Instead, she turns her attention back to ric. I felt my heart twist when she ced her hands on his chest and leaned in to give him a kiss on his cheek.

    I couldn''t look at this anymore. I turned my face in the opposite direction.

    Jenna was at the entrance; it was my cue to leave.

    "Jenna is here," I tell Scarlett.

    She nods, "Bring her over."

    I leave everyone''s side to walk over to my new best friend.

    She smiles the second she sees me and pulls me in for a hug.

    "I think you might make Scarlett a little jealous." I tease her. "You were her best friend first."

    Sheughs, "There''s enough of me to share between the two of you."

    I smile, but I think she sees straight through my act.

    "Something''s wrong." She says. "Tell me what it is."

    I didn''t have to say anything; I just moved out of her way so she could see for herself.

    "Oh no," she says the second that she spots Nicole. "Please tell me that isn''t who I think it is."

    I sigh, "I wish I could, but that would be a lie."

    "What is she even doing here?" She asks. "Aren''t ric and her getting a divorce?"

    That''s what we all thought. Apparently, we were all fooled.

    "I thought so, but maybe we were all wrong," I say dryly. "It was ric that invited her. I heard it from his very own mouth."

    I can''t hide the disappointment from my voice.

    I had hoped it wasn''t true, but I heard him admit it myself.

    I look down at my dress; I''d wasted my time today. I had hoped that I would grasp his attention, but this entire time, he was only thinking about Nicole.

    I was foolish for thinking that he would divorce the woman he was in love with.

    My silly heart was hoping for things that could never happen.

    "We can leave if you want," Jenna suggests.

    I sigh as I follow her gaze back to the man who could never be mine, "it would be unfair to Scarlett. Even though seeing ric and Nicole together is a bit painful for me. My sister is more important than that."

    I''d been a lot more open with Jenna about my feelings. It felt good to speak to someone about it.

    She holds my hand to give me more support. I was grateful to her.

    "Scarlett is looking at us." She tells me. "Maybe we should join them."

    I nod and force my feet forward. I watch as ric removes Nicole''s hand from his chest and guides her away from everyone else.

    My heart hurts as I watch him take her towards the stairs.

    "Is he carrying her to his room?" Jenna gasps. "I guess they really are trying to make their marriage work again. We all had it wrong."

    I bit down hard on my lip.

    Why was I suddenly feeling this way?

    What had changed?

    </section><section>

    While I was with Carter, it never bothered me what ric did or didn''t do. He always fascinated me, but I never wanted him this badly.

    Something must be terribly wrong with me.

    </section>

 Chapter 413 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    Nicole was acting like everything was back to normal between us. It didn''t seem like she knew why I''d invited her over. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    I didn''t want to break the news to her while everyone was around; I knew that would spoil the party for everyone.

    </section><section>

    "Are we going to your room?" She asks me curiously.

    There''s a hint of excitement in her voice.

    I nod, "I have something that I want to give you."

    I wait for her to enter before going behind her.

    I quietly shut the door, took a deep breath, and slowly turned around to face her.

    My mouth parted slightly when I saw what she was doing. It was thest thing I expected to see tonight.

    "Nicole?"

    She turns to look at me with her finger still on the zipper of her dress.

    "Why are you removing your dress?" I ask her.

    She pauses, "Isn''t this why you brought me here?" She asks. "Aren''t you going to fuck me?"

    My jaw clenches at her question.

    "What would give you that impression?" I ask her.

    "Come on, ric, I know you miss me." She whispers. "I know you miss my body. In the past, you couldn''t get enough of me. You would find any excuse to wrap our bodies together. Don''t you remember any of that?"

    I run a hand through my hair and sigh, "This isn''t why I brought you here, Nicole. There''s a different reason that I invited you to the party today. I knew that you wouldn''t havee otherwise. I''m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but I didn''t bring you to my room to do what you said. You''re here for something much more important than that."

    She frowns, "what the hell are you talking about?" she demands. "What other reason could there possibly be?"

    The look of horror on her face told me that she already had an idea what it was, but she wanted me to confirm it for her first.

    I grab the papers from the desk before me and hand them to her, "I wanted you to sign these for me."

    It was hard for me to do this in the past. There were many times that she gave me divorce papers and asked me to sign them. Back then, I couldn''t do it no matter how hard I tried.

    Things were different now. I''d finally decided that this wasn''t what I wanted. I didn''t want a wife who hated me; I didn''t want a wife who looked at me like I was some monster. I didn''t want a wife who hated my family or constantly tried to stir up trouble.

    She grabs it from me.

    She then pauses to read through it, and when she realizes what she''s holding in her hand, she turns her gaze on me.

    "What the fuck is this ric?" She shouts. "Why on earth are you giving this to me?"

    Why else? It was a piece of paper that she''d given to me multiple times in the past.

    "Why are you so surprised?" I asked calmly, even though I was hurting inside. "I made it clear that I wanted this divorce to happen. I told you that I was done trying to make this marriage work. I''ve already signed the papers; now all I need for you to do is sign them."

    Her signature was all I needed to make this divorce final once and for all.

    Her eyes widen with disgust and disbelief. I knew I''d shocked her. She probably thought that I was just upset about what she''d said and would eventually calm down and forgive her. It was finally sinking in that I was serious about the divorce.

    "I can''t believe you would do something like this to me." She gasps. "How could you ever do this to me, ric? After all those years of marriage, you''re truly going to throw it away just like this?"

    My hands tightened into fists at my sides.

    She was thest person to ask such a question.

    "You know damn well that I did plenty to try and save our marriage. I tolerated you¡ª"

    "You tolerated me?" She demands. "Tolerated? Since when did I be such a fucking burden to you?"

    "The second you stopped loving me," I growl.

    She blinks in surprise at my direct words.

    "You don''t love me anymore, Nicole," I tell her. "You don''t. This is the best decision for both of us. It''s what we both need."

    "I will never divorce you, ric." She promises me. "NEVER!"

    My heart slows down; I never liked hurting Nicole. For months I tried so fucking hard with her. And it fucking broke my heart each time that she begged me for a divorce. It broke my heart each time I gazed into her eyes and saw disgust looking back at me.

    I don''t move when she throws the papers in my face.

    "Nicole¡ª"

    "I''ll never forgive you for this, ric!" She screams as she walks to the door.

    "You didn''t sign the pap¡ª"

    "Fuck!" I growl when she throws amp at me.

    It hits me hard on my forehead.

    She doesn''t even bother to look back as she storms out of the room.

    I passed a finger over the bruise and wasn''t shocked when I felt blood.

    </section><section>

    This was much worse than I initially thought.

    Damn it.

    </section>

 Chapter 414 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    "Come on," Jenna says as she pulls me onto the dance floor. "You should ease your tension and try to have some fun. Move those hips."

    She was right.

    </section><section>

    I should dance a little to forget about ric and Nicole.

    I tried my best to listen to the music and allow it to soothe me, but after a few minutes, I knew it was hopeless.

    Why was I doing this to myself for a second time?

    I should have more control but the truth was that I had none when it concerned ric.

    It wouldn''t be this easy to forget about what just happened.

    What was he doing in that room with her? Was he making love to her? Were they getting back together?

    There were so many questions, and I knew I didn''t want an honest answer to each of them.

    "She''s been up there with him for a while now." I remind Jenna.

    It''s been over an hour since Ist saw both of them; it bothered me.

    "Are you sure she''s still up there with him?" she asks me.

    "I never saw her return," I tell her.

    "Maybe she left early?" she asks me.

    I knew she was only saying this to try and make me feel better. There was no way that Nicole would leave early if ric invited her. She was the kind of person who loved to rub everything in your face.

    "I think I should check on Scarlett," I tell Jenna.

    She''d left ten minutes ago because she wasn''t feeling well. She should have returned by now.

    "Sure," she smiles as she looks around us nervously. "I''m sure I can find someone to speak to."

    "You can talk to Violet," I tell her. "She''s very sweet, and you''ll get along with her well."

    ric''s younger sister was just as kind as she was beautiful.

    I point Jenna in her direction, and she walks over to her. I smile when Violet''s face brightens the second Jenna starts speaking to her.

    It must be hard to be the only girl surrounded by so many brothers. I could tell they were also very overprotective of her. In fact, no guy here looked her way even though she was drop-dead gorgeous.

    I knew that the day Violet fell for someone, her brothers would lose their minds.

    I walk out of the ballroom and straight into the hallway; I look at the stairs, tempted to check on ric. However, I knew that would make me seem weird. I didn''t want ric to get the wrong impression.

    If he wanted to make things work with Nicole, it wasn''t my ce to say anything. It just meant that everything I''ve been doing recently to catch his attention would have to stop immediately.

    However, I knew I would never stop wanting him, even if I were forced never to show it.

    I made my way towards the kitchen. It was thest ce that Scarlett told me she would be.

    I pause when I see ric inside. There wasn''t anyone else in here with him. I thought I would find Scarlett here since that''s where she said she would be. Thest person I expected to see was him.

    Where was Nicole? Why wasn''t she with him?

    He had a beer bottle in his hand and a dozen more empty ones on the table before him.

    Why was he drinking this much?

    I move closer to him, and he lifts his head. The second his eyes fell on me, I felt weak to my stomach.

    Only ric could make me feel like this, not even Carter could.

    He exhales loudly as he lifts the tip of the bottle to his mouth and slurps with his eyes still on me.

    His gaze kept me glued to my spot.

    Why wasn''t he saying anything?

    It was only then that I realized something I should have noticed sooner. There was a bruise on his forehead.

    It wasn''t there earlier, meaning he''d just gotten it.

    I gasped.

    I couldn¡¯t help myself as I rushed forward to get a closer look at it.

    ric stiffens as I approach him. His reaction to my nearness bothers me.

    Still, I don''t stop as I lift my hand to touch it.

    However, before my finger could reach the bruise, he grabbed my wrist to stop me.

    I swallow as I peer up at him.

    His eyes search mine, and I''m unsure what he¡¯s looking for.

    "What are you doing, ra?" He asks me softly.

    My lips parted slightly before I said, "There''s a bruise on your forehead. How did you get that?"

    He doesn''t answer me; instead, he slowly lets go of my hand and returns to drinking.

    "Please leave ra." He whispers.

    I pretended not to be hurt by his immediate dismissal.

    "What happened, ric?" I ask him. "Who did this to you?"

    I was not leaving until he gave me an answer. I wanted to help him. He looked like a man whose entire world had just been destroyed.

    He doesn''t answer me. I didn''t like drunk ric; he was much more distant.

    I rush out of the kitchen and straight to the medicine cab.

    After finding the emergency kit, I returned to ric¡¯s side.

    I attempted to clean the wound, but he immediately stopped me. It was the second time tonight that he prevented me from helping him. Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    "What''s wrong?" I ask him gently. "Why won''t you let me help you?"

    His gaze is sad as he stares into my eyes. I feel my heart skip a beat. His hand on my wrist was warm, and I could feel little shockwaves. It was a weird but exhrating feeling.

    "Just leave." He says in a defeated tone.

    I hid my disappointment for the second time tonight.

    It hurt.

    I hate how much it hurts.

    "Where is Nicole?" I try again.

    </section><section>

    He looks away at my question, and I frown. Another thought crosses my mind, one that makes me scream inside.

    "ric," I whisper. "Did Nicole do this to you?"

    </section>

 Chapter 415 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    ric doesn''t answer me. I''m unsure if he''s ignoring me or thinking of something else.

    "ric?" I whisper.

    </section><section>

    The thought of Nicole physically hurting him like this made me furious inside. I always knew I didn''t like Nicole because of her awful personality, but this was on another level.

    What reason could she possibly have to do this? I wasn''t even sure she was the culprit, but I was already so bitter.

    His eyes look so sad that I want to lean forward and hug him. I wish that he would let me take his pain away. I hope that he can give me that chance to make his life better.

    I''ve never felt this protective of a man in my entire life. I didn''t know why. I''m not sure of anything anymore.

    All I know is that I want to make him happy. I want to be the one to make him smile.

    "I want to be alone." He says again. "The bruise is nothing. It will heal on its own."

    I frown, "it''s bleeding." I point out. "The wound is something ric, and it needs to be tended to."

    "Why do you care so much?" He asks me. "I''m not Carter, ra."

    I gasped at his words.

    Why would he bring Carter up at a time like this?

    What does my past rtionship with Carter have to do with this?

    "Fuck." He growls.

    It looks like he regrets saying that, but I could just be imagining it.

    I don''t know why I haven''t left yet. I don''t know why I''m still staring at him wide-eyed like I can''t believe he''d just said that to me.

    "Look, ra," he whispers; it sounds like he''s about to apologize, but he stops himself.

    I''ll never know what he wanted to say to me. It seems like he''s conflicted about what to do.

    "Why do you always say my name professionally?" I ask him. "Why can''t you speak to me like you would speak to someone who isn''t a stranger?"

    He frowns, "You are my student. How else should I say your name?"

    His student.

    Right.

    I wish it weren''t like that. I didn''t want to be known as just his student.

    I knew it was pointless having this conversation with him while he was intoxicated, but I didn''t think I was brave enough to have it otherwise.

    I reach forward onest time to touch his bruise, and ric tries to stop me once more, except, this time, his watch hooks on my dress. He pulls lightly, and my eyes widen when I hear a rip.

    His eyes travel to my torn dress, and he immediately moves forward to cover it with his hand.

    We both freeze.

    His hand was now on my breast, and I don''t think that was what he intended to happen.

    There was so much heat in his eyes that I felt my insides melt.

    What was he doing to me?

    I''ve never felt feelings as strong as these in the past. What was the meaning of this?

    Should I be worried? Should I see a doctor or a psychiatrist?

    I just knew that none of this was normal.

    He clears his throat and removes his shirt to hide my exposed skin.

    This is the second time he''s given me something of his to cover my body. I''m reminded of why I''m so attracted to him. Because of this side of him. I knew the type of person he was deep down inside, which in turn drew me in.

    "I''m sorry." He apologizes.

    I still haven''t recovered from having his hand on my breast, even though it was not intentional.

    "I''m not," I whisper.

    I don''t know why I said it. I shouldn''t have.

    He looks at me, "What did you say?"

    I take his hand and ce it on my chest so that he can feel my pounding heartbeat. I wanted to tell him that it was because of him but I didn''t say anything.

    He looks confused by my actions. Even I was a bit confused. I was not used to being this bold.

    "ra," he swallows hard. "What are you doing?"

    "I don''t know," I whisper; I can barely recognize my voice. "I don''t know ric."

    His gaze travels to my neck, and he surprises me when he moves his hand there. He gently rubs the spot right beneath my earlobe with his thumb. Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    I''m not sure what''s on his mind, but I know that I don''t want him to stop touching me.

    It felt like a dream, and maybe I was dreaming because there was no way I could do something like this in the real world.

    I could hear his wild heartbeat as well when he leaned into me so that his lips were just above my ear.

    I felt myself instantly grow wet between the legs. I ached down there, and I wished I could tell him.

    I wish he would kiss me. I wish he would do more than that.

    ric does nothing of the sort. He stayed that way; he was close to me, but he wasn''t touching a single part of me with his lips.

    But still, his nearness ignited a me in my stomach that threatened to ruin my life.

    I think I''ve finally lost my mind when I wrap my arms around his neck and tiptoe so that I can press my lips against the bruise on his forehead.

    ric freezes at the contact, and after a while, I freeze as well.

    </section><section>

    It finally sinks in what I''d just done.

    What the hell was wrong with me?

    </section>

 Chapter 416 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    "I''m s-sorry." I manage to squeak as ric puts distance between the two of us.

    I''ve never been so embarrassed in my entire life, and everyone knew that I''d done some pretty embarrassing things in my life. This one was the winner. There was nothing I could possibly do in the future that would be worse than this.

    </section><section>

    ric doesn''t say anything in response, and I take that as my cue to leave. I rushed out of the kitchen and found Scarlett standing a few feet away.

    "I''ve been looking everywhere for you." She tells me the second that she spots me. "Where have you been?"

    I don''t know sister, possibly kissing ric''s bruises like I was the one married to him. I shook that thought out of my head. I didn''t need a reminder of what I''d just done. I''d crossed a line that should have never been crossed.

    I knew that my cheeks had to be flushed, and my sister wasn''t dumb; she would be able to tell that something had just happened.

    I grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs to her room. I couldn''t tell her what I did out in the open for anyone to hear. This wasn''t something I ever wanted others to learn about.

    When I shut the door and locked us inside, she turned to look at me with a concerned expression on her face. She must think that I''vepletely lost my mind. Though, that wouldn''t be so far-fetched.

    "What''s going on ra?" She asks. "Did something happen?"

    I can''t control my anxiety as I pace up and down the room.

    "You''re worrying me." She adds. "Tell me what happened. Did you see Nicole again? Did she have something else to say to you?"

    I think it would have been better if that was the case.

    I lift my hands into the air, "I made aplete fool out of myself. I did something only a crazy person would do!"

    Scarlett walks closer to me, "what did you do?"

    There was undoubtedly worry in her voice.

    I couldn''t bring the words out of my mouth. I was too embarrassed, even though I was speaking to my sister.

    "ra?"

    I sigh as I force myself to speak, "I went looking for you in the kitchen, but I didn''t find you there. Instead, ric was the one in there. He was alone, with empty beer bottles on the counter. I immediately knew that he was drunk but then I noticed a bruise on his forehead. All I wanted to do was help but in return I just made a fool out of myself."

    I can hardly breathe.

    "Take a deep breath," my sister whispers. "You need to stay calm. Your cheeks have never been this red before."

    "You don''t get it, Scarlett." I gasp. "I did something I shouldn''t have. I was only trying to help him, but my feelings for him messed everything up. He kept asking me to leave and to give him some space, but I insisted on tending to his wound."This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    "I don''t see anything wrong with that ra." She says, "Why are you so upset over this? You wanted to help him. That''s all."

    "That''s not all." I disagreed as I motioned to his shirt on my body. "As you can see, I have another piece of his clothing. Let me just skip to the most embarrassing part of this story. I wasn''t thinking and I. . . I kissed his bruise. I got caught up in the moment and did the worst thing possible."

    Scarlett''s eyes widened at my confession.

    "You did w-what?" She gapes at me.

    "I don''t know what happened. My emotions took over. I wanted to be closer to him; I wanted to do something, anything. I didn''t realize what I was doing until it was toote. And now, I don''t think I can ever see ric again, Scarlett. I can never face him after this. He would feel so ufortable around me."

    "I know this seems bad, but we can fix this." She assures me.

    "Fix this?" I demand. "How?"

    "Well, as you know, you can''t exactly avoid him for the rest of your life. He lives where I live. He''s my husband''s brother. That''s out of the question. Plus, he''s your professor. There is no hiding from ric. We have to hope that he doesn''t remember anything from tonight. You did say that he was pretty wasted."

    I bit my lip nervously. It was true that he was drunk.

    "Do you think that there is really a possibility that he will forget everything that I did tonight?" I ask her. This was the only hope that I had.

    She sighs, "I can''t say for sure, ra, but we can only hope he does. Even if he does remember certain parts of the night, if he asks you anything, deny it."

    Deny it?

    Sure, ra, I''m sure nothing can possibly go wrong with this n.

    I was never good at lying.

    </section><section>

    But if I had to lie for something like this, I would do it. It was better than ric thinking that I was crazy.

    Anything was better than that.

    </section>

 Chapter 417 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    FUCK.

    I can''t remember thest time I''ve ever felt this sted hangover.

    </section><section>

    How much exactly did I have to drinkst night?

    "You look like shit." Ares chuckles when he sees me. "And you''rete to ss."

    "I hope that you remember you''re the professor. Not a student." Apollo adds behind me.

    I inwardly groan.

    Of course, the academy.

    Damn it. I didn''t want to bete.

    I don''t bother replying to either of them as I rush out the door and straight into my truck.

    I ignore the pain in my head as I mash down on the elerator.

    I knew I shouldn''t have drunk anythingst night. When Nicole hit me with that damnmp and refused to sign the papers, I needed something to get my mind off it.

    I was supposed to have one beer or two, but that''s not what happened. I ended up having much more than just two beers.

    I felt like something else happenedst night, but I couldn''t wrap my head around it.

    What was I forgetting? Was it something else with Nicole?

    It couldn''t be; she left the second I gave her those papers to sign. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    I wince as the sunlight bes too fucking much. I quickly put on sunsses as I search my mind some more.

    It was something important.

    But what was it?

    I should have asked someone at home what happened to mest night. I couldn''t remember shit. And I hated it.

    I never liked getting drunk. I usually controlled how much I drank. Last night, my emotions got the best of me.

    The second I pulled into the academy''s parking lot, I felt this strange pull in my chest, like my body wanted to drag me to someone''s side.

    It was an unusual feeling, one that I was not used to having. I grab my shirt from the back and quickly change into it.

    The second I step out of the truck, I can feel multiple stares my way. I was ustomed to it by now.

    As soon as I walk into the academy and step into the hallway, the first person I see is ra. She stood outside the door to the ssroom like she''s done so many times. Except this time, she looks terrified to enter.

    I''ve never understood why she always hesitated this much to attend my sses.

    Did I make her ufortable?

    Was I not a good teacher?

    What was her problem?

    I take one step forward but pause when an interesting memory ofst night hits me.

    I frown.

    It''s an image of ra with me in the kitchen. It was still a bit hazy, but it looked like she was trying to tend to the cut on my forehead.

    What the fuck?

    That had to be my mind messing with me. There''s no possible reason that ra would try to tend to my wound.

    I winced at the lousy headache that prevented me from trying to remember more ofst night.

    Surely, that didn''t happen.

    Right?

    I shook that memory out of my head. I had to get my thoughts focused for ss. I couldn''t get distracted by ra like I often did. I didn''t like it one bit.

    I never wanted another woman to distract me like this, especially after what Nicole did to me.

    I had to have more fucking control than this.

    I took a deep breath and walked forward to make my presence known to ra.

    Her eyes widen when she spots me in front of her.

    "Are you waiting for someone?" I ask her. My voice was a bit hoarse, but I knew that had to be because ofst night; it had nothing to do with her.

    She doesn''t answer me; instead, she looks like she''s just seen a ghost.

    "ra?" I ask her, waiting almost impatiently for her to give me an answer.

    She continues to remain silent. I take a step forward once more, but she freezes, which forces me to stop.

    She blinks once, then twice before rushing into the ssroom.

    What the hell was that?

    She didn''t say a single word to me. I always knew ra seemed ufortable around me, but she''s never ignored me like this in the past.

    It made me a bit uneasy.

    Then, was that memory ofst night true?

    My muscles tensed at the thought of it being true.

    Was that all that happenedst night? For ra to react like this, there must be more. So much more.

    Did I do something to her?

    I tensed at that question floating around in my mind.

    What the fuck did I do?

    I knew that I had zero control around her when I was sober. Then what was I capable of doing while intoxicated?

    </section><section>

    I inwardly groan.

    Ah, fuck, ric. What the hell did you dost night?

    </section>

 Chapter 418 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    Jenna, speaking in a whisper, observes, "You seem to have had a sleepless night. Is everything okay? Could you share what happenedst night that kept you from getting a good night''s sleep?"

    As I sat there, trying to gather my thoughts, I knew what to do. I had to tell my best friend everything. But it wasn''t easy. I had done something that I wasn''t proud of, and I was ashamed to admit it.

    </section><section>

    I was too embarrassed and, quite frankly, preferred that no one else knew. But I knew I couldn''t keep it bottled up inside any longer. So, I took a deep breath and began to tell her the whole story. "I did something kind of crazyst night. . ."

    It was a difficult conversation, and I knew I should have waited till ss was over to tell her, but I couldn''t wait any longer.

    She listened to me without judgment, but that was the kind of person Jenna was. She wouldn''t judge anyone unless it were something really bad that couldn''t be forgiven.

    "So let me just get this straight," she whispered after I''d finished the entire story. "You actually kissed ricst night? That ric in front of the ss. Our professor!"

    My eyes widen at her interpretation of my story.

    I''m not sure I understand how you arrived at that conclusion," I assert, my tone both firm and incredulous. "To be clear, I only mentioned that I kissed the bruise he had on his forehead. I never said anything about kissing him!

    She smiles at me, "ra," she whispers. "You kissed his forehead. That''s a part of him. Whether or not you want to admit it, you kissed your professorst night."

    I inwardly groaned; why did I choose to tell her anything? She was never going to let me forget aboutst night.

    "When you went missing, I thought you were busy caring for Scarlett," she admits. "I never once thought you were busy kissing ric!"

    My hand tightens on the pen in front of me.

    "He''s looking at you." My best friend whispers.

    I couldn''t bring myself to meet his gaze. My face still felt warm with embarrassment from the events of the previous night. I clung to the hope that Scarlett''s reassuring words would prove true, that he had forgotten everything, and that things could return to normal. But deep down, a small part of me hoped he had remembered.

    I didn''t understand my own conflicting emotions. I was a mess; I knew that much.

    Eventually, I couldn''t hold it in anymore. I gave in and finally looked at him. Thankfully, his gaze was no longer on me. However, it did nothing to ease the tension within me.

    ric was sexy without even trying to be. In fact, I don''t think I''ve ever wanted him more than this.

    As I sit there quietly, observing his every move, he reaches out for his sleeve and slowly starts to roll it up. Why was I so enchanted by his every move?

    With deliberate movements, he then reached out for a marker that was resting on his desk. Turning away from me, he faces the board before him, his broad back now obscuring my view. I didn''t mind. Even ric''s back was a masterpiece to me.

    How lucky Nicole was to be his wife.

    That reminded me ofst night. I never found out if she was the one responsible for the bruise on his forehead.

    I never saw her for the rest of the night, and while it made me happy, it also worried me a bit.

    Just what happened between the two of themst night?

    Whatever it was, I knew that it wasn''t good. It made ric so upset that he spent the entire night getting wasted. I hated seeing him that way.

    I''d never seen him that upset in the past, and it bothered me to the point that I couldn''t sleep at all. Other than the fact that I had made aplete fool of myselfst night in front of him.

    The bell signals the end of ss, and I quickly get up to leave. I didn''t want to take too long to exit the ssroom. I didn''t need to give ric another reason to try to speak to me.

    "Gosh, you''re in a hurry," Jenna whispers next to me as I grab my bag.

    "We need to get out of this ssroom now," I whisper back, unable to hide the urgency in my voice.

    She grabs her books and quickly follows me.

    Just like always, there is already a group of girls surrounding ric. Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    I try not to roll my eyes as I pass them to get to the door.

    "Miss ra Mae."

    I freeze. I could hardly move. Not after he''d said my name like that, like I was in trouble. I swallow and slowly turn around to gaze at him.

    His eyes are dark as he says, "Meet me in my office in five minutes."

    My heart sank as my lips parted in horror. I desperately hoped that I had misheard him, but the furious expressions on the faces of every girl in front of me confirmed what I feared to be true.

    What did I do?

    Why did he want to see me?

    Was this aboutst night?

    </section><section>

    Thatst question made my entire body begin to panic.

    Please don''t let it be about that.

    </section>

 Chapter 419 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    "He asked to see you in his office?" Jenna asks in horror.

    It''s never a pleasant thing to be summoned to a professor''s office, and my friend was aware of this just as much as I was.

    </section><section>

    "I''m telling you, Jenna," I whisper, "it''s aboutst night. What else could there be?"

    "But why would he choose now to ask you anything?" she asks. "He could have waited untilter when you went home to check on Scarlett. I''m sure there is another reason. Don''t worry about it too much."

    Don''t worry about it.

    How could I not? This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    "I''ll meet you in the cafeteria once I''m finished in his office," I informed her.

    She nods, "Good luck."

    The anticipation of the unknown weighed heavily on me as I walked down the hallway towards ric''s office.

    I can''t remember thest time I''ve ever been in trouble at the Academy. I could feel the nervousness rise in my chest.

    As I walked towards the office, I couldn''t help but feel the stares of the other girls on me. I was sure that the news had already spread like wildfire among them, and they were now eagerly waiting to see what would happen to me. Unfortunately, the girls who had overheard ric asking me to meet him were the kind of girls who loved to spread rumors. I could just imagine the gossip mill churning out all sorts of wild theories about me and ric. And now, with thistest development, I was certain that the rumors about us would only increase further. It was a daunting thought, and I couldn''t help but feel a sense of unease as I knocked on the do.

    "Come in."

    It''s just two words spoken by the man of my wildest fantasies, but it made my entire body shiver. It wreaked havoc inside of me.

    With trembling hands on the cold metal door handle, I take a deep breath and push it open. The creaking sound breaks the silence in the room, but ric doesn''t seem to notice. He''s sitting behind his sturdy desk, his broad shoulders hunched forward as he focuses on the document before him.

    The desk is cluttered with files and pens, but ric concentrates solely on his work and not on me. His strong hand clutches a pen, moving across the paper with precision and purpose.

    I struggled to control myself as Iid eyes on him, biting my lip to suppress a moan.

    There was just something about him - perhaps it was the way his tousled hair fell across his forehead while he focused on the document in front of him that ignited a fire deep within my core.

    Despite my internal battle, I couldn''t help but feel drawn to him, my heart racing with anticipation at the mere thought of his touch.

    What was it about this man that always did these wild things to my body?

    ric still hadn''t looked at me once since I entered the room. It was as if I was invisible to him. I couldn''t help but wonder what was going on in his mind. I was never in a position like this before, and the silence in the room only added to the tension.

    Despite my hesitation, I take a step closer, hoping to finally catch his attention.

    My breath hitches when he finally tilts his head in my direction. I bit my lip to hide my nervousness. Though, I didn''t think it was possible to hide.

    "You wanted to see me?" I ask. "Did I do something wrong?"

    He dropped the pen onto the desk and stood up abruptly.

    "You were talking during the entire ss," he finally said. His voice was deep and rough, yet it had a smoothness to it that made me shiver. Despite my best efforts to resist, I waspletely drawn to him, just like always.

    I bit my lip, so he did notice that.

    My cheeks heat up as I try to search my mind for a good response.

    "Not only today." he continues. "You''ve been distracted during many of my sses. It''s very unlike you."

    I frown, "How do you know that if you''ve only just started working here?"

    "You dated my brother for a long time, ra." he reminds me. "He spoke about you highly, and quite frankly, he didn''t need to."

    "He didn''t need to?" I ask, almost breathlessly.

    He nods, "I could see for myself how hard-working you were. I didn''t need to listen to Carter to know the kind of person you were. I saw it all on my own, ra. That''s why I know that something is distracting you. I would like to know what that is."

    ric''s words have certainly left me speechless. How often has he been observing me?

    </section><section>

    But what response could I give to him? He was my biggest distraction. Only him. No one else.

    But how could I tell him that?

    </section>

 Chapter 420 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    "I really can''t say." I finally blurt out.

    He sighs, "Tell me, ra, does this by any chance have to do with Carter and Scarlett? Are you still not over what happened?"

    </section><section>

    His question left me a little frustrated. Why was everyone still asking me this? Couldn''t they tell that I''vepletely moved on from that? I was more than happy for both Scarlett and Carter. They made a better couple than Carter and I ever did.

    "Why do you keep asking me about Carter?" I demand. "He''s in the past. I am over your brother ric. I know I was very hurt before, but I have managed to move on from that, and I''m very happy that I have. Seeing Scarlett happy is all that''s important to me."

    He doesn''t look convinced, but he suddenly frowns, "did I ask you about Carter before?" he raises a question

    When I don''t respond, he looks like he just discovered something new. "Tell me, ra, did I ask you anything ufortablest night? Were you in the kitchen with me?"

    I froze.

    The dreaded question.

    He remembered, but how much aboutst night did he recall?

    "ra?" he asks again when I refuse to answer him. "Did I do something wrongst night?"

    What was happening right now? Why did he think he did something wrongst night when I was the one that crossed a line?

    I know my cheeks are red as I whisper, "No. You didn''t do anything wrong. I walked into the kitchen and saw you drinking. I knew that you were intoxicated, and I also noticed that there was a bruise on your forehead."

    A bruise that was gone now that it had healed. I was d to see that it was no longer there.

    He looks a little upset by the mention of the bruise.

    "I never found out how you got it." I continue. "You didn''t want to tell me."

    He runs a hand down his face and turns away from me, "that''s not important."

    "It isn''t my business, but it still bothers me." I blurt out.

    I see him turning around, his gaze filled with curiosity and surprise. His deep-set eyes seem to search for something as he gazes at me. After a few seconds of silence, he asks me with a gentle voice, "Does it bother you, ra?" The question takes me aback, and I pause momentarily, wondering how to respond. "Why would that bother you?" he continues, his eyes still fixed on mine. His tone is calm and reassuring, but there is a hint of uneasiness in his voice.Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    There''s something about his voice that sends a trail of shivers down my back.

    "I feel like there''s plenty fromst night that I can''t remember." He says with deep regret. "Tell me more aboutst night. What happened exactly in that kitchen?"

    As soon as he asked me that question, I felt my body tense. The truth was, I couldn''t bring myself toe clean about what had happened the night before. The thought of admitting what I had done was too embarrassing and shameful. I knew that if I told ric the truth, I would never be able to face him again.

    However, I didn''t know how long to keep it a secret from him. It seemed as though he was regaining his memory as we spoke. Eventually, he would remember everything, and I would have nowhere to run and hide.

    It was better to get it out in the open now than wait for him to remember and think the worst of me.

    "I''ll tell you exactly what happened if you tell me who did that to you," I say. "That bruise, I know someone did it, and I think I know who it was also. However, I don''t want to assume anything. So please, tell me, ric."

    He would find out either way; this way, I could get something out of it.

    If Nicole did this to him, I knew she was not the right one for him. I always knew she wasn''t, but I kept my distance because I knew she was his wife.

    If it turns out that she was this horrible, then I would change my strategy. I would no longer run from my feelings for ric. I would fight for him instead. However, I couldn''t fight for someone that didn''t want me to begin with. But it wouldn''t hurt to try a little.

    "Why do you want to know that so desperately?" he asks in surprise.

    I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly, "why do you want to know what happenedst night so badly?"

    As he sits still, his jaw clenches tightly, and he turns to look out the window. The curtains have been drawn back, allowing the bright sunlight to stream into the room, illuminating his features, it captivated me.

    The light entuates the subtle contours of his face and casts a warm glow against his hair. It''s difficult not to be captivated by his beauty - he is, without a doubt, a sight to behold, and I can''t help but wish that he was mine or could one day be mine.

    "Nicole." he finally says. It''s one word, but it sends my blood boiling.

    So I was right all along; she was the one that had done it to him.

    </section><section>

    But why?

    What did they argue aboutst night? Why would she do something so awful?

    </section>

 Chapter 421 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    I don''t know why I said it. I wasn''t nning on telling anyone that Nicole had hit mest night with a bloodymp. However, for some reason, I didn''t want to lie to ra. I wanted to be honest with her about absolutely everything.

    I''m surprised to see how much my words have angered her. What was she so upset about? It almost seemed like she cared about me. But that was absurd; ra would never care about me that deeply. We weren''t exactly close, and Carter was the one that caught her heart in the past. She never had eyes for anyone but him.

    </section><section>

    "Now it''s your turn," I tell her. "Tell me exactly what happenedst night in that kitchen."

    It was bothering me that I couldn''t remember. Especially now that I knew she was with mest night.

    I knew something happened, her strange behavior confirmed that for me.

    Her eyes widen a fraction, "wait." She whispers. "Tell me what happened. Why did Nicole do that to you? There must have been a reason.¡±

    My jaw clenches as I look away from her horrified gaze, "that wasn''t the deal, ra. I said I would tell you who did it in return for your detailed description ofst night. I kept my part of the bargain; why don''t you do the same?"

    She seemed nervous again.

    What could have possibly happenedst night for her to behave like this?

    I still believed I did something I shouldn''t have. I was usually well-behaved, I didn''t do things to offend anyone but it was different with her, I acted foolishly around ra almost all the time.

    I always had to prepare myself before seeing her, it was fucking hard at times.

    "I wanted to help heal the cut." She finally says.

    She did? It wasn''t my imagination or a dream.

    It wasn''t a dream or a fantasy I''d made up. She was there in that kitchen trying to help me.

    How much of my memories were true aboutst night?

    "But did I do anything?" I ask her hesitantly.

    She shook her head, "You didn''t do anything except try to stop me. No matter how hard I tried to help you, you wouldn''t let me."

    The more she spoke about it, the more I remembered. I frown as a certain trigger brings all of the memories back to me at once.

    Did she. . . No, I swallow as I try topose myself. She wouldn''t.

    ra looks at me with worry. She can tell that I just remembered something else.

    I knew I had to be wrong.

    "Tell me every single detail," I say again. This time, I didn''t want her to skip anything out.

    If that memory was true, it meant ra didn''t just try to clean my wound, she also. . . Kissed it.

    But why would she ever do something like that? As far as I knew, ra didn''t like me. Why would she ever like her ex-boyfriend''s older brother? I was too old for her. I was also her professor. She wouldn''t like me in that way. I was positive she wouldn''t. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.

    Her cheeks are now a pretty, bright red. It caught my attention immediately.

    "I did something. . ." She pauses, unable to continue.

    "Something?" I urge her to continue.

    I stand up from the chair and stretch my legs to shake off the numbness in them. As I move around the desk, I notice ra''s eyes following my every move. I wonder if my sudden proximity is making her nervous. Does she find me intimidating?

    "ra?" I try once more. "Is there something that you are keeping from me?"

    As I gaze at her, I can see her eyes darting around the room as if she''s looking for a way out or trying to find help of some sort . It''s clear that my question has caught her off guard, and her sudden nervousness makes me wonder if I''ve made a mistake by asking. But I can''t help myself - I need to know if my recollections ofst night are urate, and her answer is the key to unlocking the truth. Despite her apparent difort, I maintain a calm demeanor and waited patiently for her to respond.

    "I don''t think it''s a good idea for me to answer your question." she finally says. "But do you remember anything at all fromst night?"

    Do I tell her, or do I keep quiet about it?

    She peers up at me as she waits for an answer. From this close, I can see her delicate lips; they''re soft, pink, and perfect. I wanted to put her bottom lip between my teeth and bite down on it gently.

    Fuck.

    Those were not safe thoughts at all. I had to put some distance between us before I did something stupid.

    The door flew open suddenly, and I was surprised when I saw Nicole standing at the entrance.

    </section><section>

    My jaw clenched.

    Ah, fuck.

    </section>

 Chapter 422 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    The silence is deadly as Nicole looks between ric and me. I can see the disy of emotions as they move across her face, one by one¡ªfirst surprise, then anger, and now disbelief.

    "What the hell is going on in here?" She demands.   It took a while for her to even say those words to us.

    </section><section>

    ric also seems a bit surprised to see her here. As soon as he recovers from the shock, he walks towards her and closes the door before anyone else can hear her. Since she was often very loud, I think this was a good idea. I wouldn''t want anyone to hear this conversation.

    "What are you doing here, Nicole?" he asks as he turns to face her. She looks at him like she doesn''t recognize him anymore.

    "Did you forget that today is my first day teaching at the Academy?" she demands. "Did you already forget that you got this job for me?"

    He looks genuinely surprised.

    Was she teaching at the Academy from today onwards? That was the worst possible news I could have gotten for today.

    ric runs a hand down his face before he turns to me, suddenly remembering that I was also in the room with them. "ra, can you please excuse us."

    I didn''t want to leave him with her, not after what she did yesterday to him.

    "She isn''t going anywhere until she tells me why the fuck she''s in this office with you when sses are supposed to be over!" Nicole screeches.

    "I called her in here." ric growls. "I had something to ask her. You''re here to see me, aren''t you? Speak to me instead; leave her out of this.¡±

    "I was." she hisses. "But now that I see you''re in here possibly fucking your student¡ª"

    "Nicole." ric growls aggressively. "Watch your mouth. You''re talking about ra''s honor."

    "Her honor?" she hisses. "That girl has zero honor. You''re still married to me. Are you forgetting this, ric?"

    He res at her, as though she knows something that she''s pretending not to.

    "I asked you to sign the divorce papersst night, remember?" he growls suddenly. ¡°You¡¯re the one preventing this divorce from happening.¡±

    My eyes widen at his words. He asked her to sign the divorce papers. That''s why he called her into his roomst night. It wasn''t because he was getting back with her. I had it all wrongst night.

    That would exin why she hit him.

    "I remember everything, ric," she shouts. "I told you that I''m not divorcing you."

    He ces both hands in his pockets and rocks backward a little. He looks like he''s exhausted from speaking to her when he turns around to look at me once more. There''s an apologetic look on his face as he gazes at me.

    "ra, please," ric whispers. "Please excuse us. I have plenty to discuss with Nicole."

    "No," I dere. "I''m not leaving."

    "Excuse me?" Nicole demands. "Do you think that you''re needed here? Who do you think you are? He asked you to leave; now leave!"

    I wasn''t speaking to her, and I didn''t need her permission to stay in this office; I would only leave if ric asked me to.

    I walk closer to him, leaving enough space between us. He looks a bit puzzled by my behavior.

    Why wouldn''t he be? He didn''t know that I liked him, and he may never find out either.

    "I''m afraid that she will hit you again. I don''t trust her around you." I say to him. "I don''t want to leave you alone with her."

    "What?" Nicole shouts; her voice is loud and a bit too much. "You told her about that? Thatmp barely hit youst night. Since when do small cuts like that bother you, ric? Or were you trying to gain sympathy from that whore?"

    ric''s hands tightened into fists at his sides, "ra, we will continue this discussionter. I have something important to tell Nicole in the meantime."

    Even though I''m sad that ric dismissed me to speak to her, I tried my best to hide my true feelings from him. I didn''t want either of them to see how much it bothered me. Why wouldn''t he let me stay and stand up for him?

    I narrowed my eyes at Nicole; I wanted her to know I would not sit back and let her hurt ric. Even though I didn''t say the words, I knew she could see the threat in my eyes.

    ric opens the door for me, and I silently leave his office. I turn back around just in time to see Nicole waving at me right before he shuts the door in my face. My jaw clenched as I tried to regain myposure.

    I couldn''t believe that had just happened.

    I felt ufortable leaving ric with that bitter woman, but she was his wife. He knew her better than anyone. I also knew that he didn''t need me to protect him, but he just seemed like the kind of man who would sit back and let Nicole walk all over him. She''s been doing that for their entire marriage.

    I wanted to stay back and wait for them toe out of the office, but I knew that it was best for me to leave right away. I walk into the cafeteria with plenty on my mind. I find Jenna there waiting for me.

    She has a bright smile, "so tell me, what happened in his office?"

    "Shh," I whisper. There were too many prying eyes around us. This wasn''t the ce to speak about what happened.

    I wouldn''t be able to rest peacefully out here, not when ric was in his office alone with Nicole.

    I was worried about him.

    Why was Nicole so cruel to him? Why did he ever agree to marry someone like her?

    . . . . .

    </section><section>

    A/N:

    Hi, my beautiful readers. I would like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas. I hope you all are blessed with good health and happiness this Christmas. May God continue to bless each of you and give you everything your heart desires. Thank you so much for all of your fantastic support for this entire year. I love you all so much! Merry Christmas once more??Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    </section>

 Chapter 423 -

    <section>

    ~NICOLE~

    "You have some exining to do." I hiss.

    Upon entering ric''s office today, I had anticipated a warm wee from him but was disappointed. To my surprise, I found him engrossed in conversation with ra, his apparent new interest. It wasn''t the first time I had seen her around him, and it was beginning to feel like she was intentionally following him around. It was frustrating to see her continued presence; I was finding it hard to have a one-on-one conversation with ric without ra interrupting or hovering around us. She was getting on myst nerve.

    </section><section>

    I was seething with anger when I saw the way he was treating her. It was as if she was special to him, someone he cared for deeply. This starkly contrasted with how he treated me. I was once the only woman in his life who mattered. Now, it felt like she had taken my ce, and I couldn''t help but feel a pang of jealousy. Every word he spoke to her, every gesture he made, felt like a betrayal to me. It was a hard pill to swallow, and I couldn''t shake off the feeling of being reced.

    ric surprises me when he takes a few steps toward me. It''s the first time he''s gotten so close to me in a long time. It made me feel like I had some power over him again.

    However, I''m shocked when he growls low and dangerously. "What you said to ra today is fucking uneptable, Nicole."

    My lips part in horror. What the hell did he say to me? He was fighting to protect that woman once more. When would the torture end?

    "I only spoke the truth." I snap. "Have you forgotten that I am still your wife, ric? Why are you putting her above me?"

    "I''m not putting anyone above you, Nicole." He growls. "I''ve let you get away with plenty in the past. I won''t let you disrespect another person in my life again. ra is not only one of my students, but she''s also Scarlett''s sister. She''s family. You cannot speak to her in that manner. I won''t let it happen again, at least not before me. I won''t ask you again, so ensure it doesn''t happen."

    Was that a threat?

    Did he indeed threaten me for that girl?

    What the hell was happening? He was so different from the ric that I was used to.

    "You''ve changed," I mutter in shock.

    I never thought the day woulde that ric would choose another woman over me. He was recing me right in front of my eyes.

    "I told you already that I''m not the man I used to be." He repeats. "I gave you enough chances, Nicole. You need to understand that it''s time for you to move on. Sign the divorce papers and make our divorce final. I don''t want to ask again. I would hate to getwyers involved in this. I don''t want to make it a messy divorce."

    It was another threat.

    If I didn''t sign the papers, he would find other ways to force me to sign them.

    I had to do something to make him think I was agreeing to the divorce.

    "Okay," I tell him. "If that''s what you want, then so be it. Send the papers to me tonight. I''ll have them signed and return them to you tomorrow before your first ss."

    He looks shocked at my response. I wanted to get back on his good side. I didn''t want to dig a deeper hole for myself. I had to make ric trust me again. I couldn''t let ra get him.

    He seems relieved. "Thank you, Nicole. I''m happy that you agreed to do this. I didn''t want to have to use force to get my way. Even after everything, I still want the best for you. I want you to be happy."

    I try not to be affected by his words. I didn''t want to fall for ric. I never fell for him during our marriage. I didn''t want to want him when he was over me. However, for some reason, now that he didn''t want me, there was this strange feeling in my chest. Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    I run a hand through my hair.

    "I want you to be happy also, ric." I lie. "I hope you can find someone who can make you happy again."

    It was another lie. Maybe he could see through my lies, but I wouldn''t give up.

    I''ll have ric back in my life again.

    I''ll do anything I need to; all I need is the ric that was crazy about me back in my life. I needed a man who would never look at another woman. The ric that I knew would have never been attracted to someone like ra. I barely knew who he was anymore. I knew I was partly at fault for this, but that''s why I was willing to fix things.

    </section><section>

    Now that Ace didn''t want to see me anymore. I needed ric.

    I needed him.

    </section>

 Chapter 424 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    "What are you wearing to the dance tonight?" Scarlett asks me as she walks into my room.

    Jenna was right behind her. They were both already dressed and looking stunning. I was the only one that hadn''t ced a dress on my body yet. However, my hair and make-up were already done.

    </section><section>

    I had a beautiful red dress picked out for the night to match my bright red lipstick and hot red heels.

    "You guys will see it in a few minutes!" I answer them as I rush into the bathroom.

    I don''t exit the room until I have everything on and ampletely dressed for the dance.

    It was the academy''s annual dance. I was at first not interested in going, but when Scarlett told me that ric would be there, I knew that I couldn''t miss it. I needed to be there. And I had to wear something to catch his attention again.

    Now that I knew he was serious about the divorce and Nicole agreed to divorce him ording to my sister, nothing was holding me back anymore.

    The second I walked down the stairs, I could hear Jenna whistling while Scarlett pped excitedly.

    "You look amazing!" my sisterpliments me as I do a little twirl for them.

    "She''s right," Jenna confirms. "No one will be able to keep their eyes off you tonight."

    I didn''t care about anyone else but ric; he was the only one I wanted to have mesmerized tonight by how I looked. I did all of this for him and only him.

    "Come on!" I tell both of them. "I don''t want to bete for the dance!"

    "Yet you''re the one that took forever to get dressed." Scarlett rolls her eyes.

    I ignore her as I race for the limousine.

    "In case you haven''t realized, ra, I am pregnant!" Scarlett gasps when she finally gets into the vehicle.

    "I know; why is she in such a rush?" Jenna asks even though she already knows the answer to that question. She was only trying to tease me. I think Scarlett also knew what the big deal about this dance was, but she chose not to make anyments about it.

    When we finally pulled up to the academy, I could feel the tension in my stomach begin to rise.

    "Come on, ra," I whisper to myself, taking a deep breath as I step into the crowded room. My eyes scanned the sea of faces, searching for the one person I was here for - ric Prince.

    I was determined to seed today; one way or another, I would have ric''s attention.

    ric was known for rarely looking at anyone else but his wife Nicole. I knew this, and it made my task extremely difficult. However, I had noticed somethingtely - fleeting nces from ric''s piercing blue eyes. They weren''t directed at me for long, but it was enough to make my heart flutter with hope. Especially now that I knew he would soon be divorced and single.

    I took a deep breath and began to weave my way through the crowd, trying to get closer to ric. With every step, my heart pounded in my chest, but I continued, feeling a surge of determination. I had to catch his attention, to make him see me as more than just a face in the crowd.

    The women were all dressed in beautiful gowns that lit up the ballroom. Almost everyone had a partner to dance with. . . Everyone except me. Even Jenna had a date for the dance tonight. It made me feel lonely. It''s not like I hadn''t gotten offers, but I turned them all down because I wanted Carter''s older brother. I knew it was stupid to want someone I could never have, but I couldn''t help it.

    As I drew closer to him, I felt my nerves struggle. What if he didn''t notice me? What if he had no interest in me at all?

    I didn''t want to think about that.

    The excitement and anticipation in my heart were almost palpable, and I was about to make a move. But then, all of a sudden, my attention was diverted by a figure that stepped in front of him. It was Nicole, his soon-to-be ex-wife, who had also arrived at the dance dressed to kill. It was apparent that she hade here with the sole intention of rekindling their lost romance. She was trying her best to grab his attention, but he seemed oblivious to her efforts.

    I bit my lip and turned right back around.

    I was tired of her. The closer I tried to get to him, the further apart she pushed us.

    I angrily storm over to the drinks section.

    "What would you like to have today, beautifuldy?" the server asks me.

    "Whatever you have to take the pain away."

    He quirks a brow at me before cing a cup in my hand, "have fun."

    </section><section>

    I don''t even think twice before I gulp it down.

    I knew that Nicole would make tonight difficult for me. However, I still didn''t intend to give up.

    </section>

 Chapter 425 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    "Do you have the signed papers for me?" I ask Nicole. I wanted to get this divorce over with. I was tired of the constant rumors about us; the sooner we were divorced, the better it would be for all of us.

    She nods, "They''re already signed, but I forgot to bring it today."

    </section><section>

    I frown, "are you sure?"

    She sighs, "If I said I signed them, believe me, I did. I''ll drop them on your desk first thing Monday morning."

    I wouldn''t feel relieved until I saw those papers myself, but for now, I would believe her words.

    "You look nice today." She says in a seductive tone. I was used to that tone by now; I knew what it meant.

    Her behavior today was a bit strange. She was acting nicer than usual.

    "Is everything okay?" I ask her.

    She frowns, "why wouldn''t everything be okay? My husband just divorced me. Life is perfect."

    I could hear the sarcasm in her voice. All I did was give her what she wanted for months now. Why did it bother her this much?

    I''m about to respond when I notice a figure on the dance floor. The cheers were loud, and everyone was trying to get a picture of the girl. It didn''t take me long to realize the center of attention was ra.

    Fuck.

    She was dancing, and there were horny men all around her. It was like a scene out of a fucking horror movie.

    She was drunk. ra was fucking drunk. Someone must have messed with her drink. There wasn''t supposed to be any alcohol at the dance.

    Ah, fuck.

    "Please excuse me," I tell Nicole as I force my way through the jam-packed ballroom.

    I knew that I shouldn''t be doing this. I knew my actions this time would increase the rumors about ra and me. I didn''t want to add to her torture, but I also couldn''t just fucking stand back and watch horny bastards look and touch her as they pleased.

    The second I reach her, I ce my hand on her shoulder and spin her around to face me. Her eyes are wide with surprise when they see me. Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked fucking sexy.

    "Come with me, ra," I tell her gently. Her eyes softened, and for some reason, I felt like she was sucking me in. I was mesmerized by her.

    She surprises me when she immediately obeys and moves closer to me. I take her hand, and she clings as I force my way through the crowd.

    After a few torturous minutes of her beautiful body molded into my side, we finally made it out of the building.

    "I''m taking you home tonight," I inform her. I knew she was probably not aware of anything right now. I don''t think I''ve ever seen her this drunk before. It worried me.

    She nods but doesn''t say anything.

    "Do you think you can make it to the truck?" I ask her.

    She was swaying lightly on her heels, and I didn''t want her to fall and hurt herself.

    She nods but falls forward a bit before regaining her bnce.

    Fuck it.

    I throw her over my shoulder as I walk with her effortlessly towards my truck. She doesn''t make a single protest; in fact, this is the quietest she''s ever been. I''m not sure if she''s upset with my actions or if it doesn''t bother her at all.

    I turn off the truck''s rm and open the door to let her inside.

    After she''s positioned in the front seat, I pull the seatbelt over her body to strap her in.

    Her eyes are glued to me, and it takes me by surprise a bit. There was this glow in her green eyes, like the trees under the bright sun; it held me in ce. I couldn''t fucking move, and damn it; I should move because right now, all I could think about was kissing her.

    She surprised me when she ced her finger on my forehead, right where I''d gotten the bruise in the past. "It''s gone," she whispers; I can hear the relief in her voice. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    It''s been gone sometime now.

    My breath hitches when she drags her fingers down my face to my lips.

    "ra," I whisper, not sure what she is doing.

    "I wish you would smile more often," she whispers, and her words strike my heart. "You always think about everyone else but yourself."

    I gently ce my hand on her wrist with every intention of moving it from my lips. However, I don''t move it; I hold it in ce. I''m shocked by my own reaction to her.

    "I do think about myself," I tell her softly as my lips brush against her fingers.

    She shook her head, "You don''t. You look so unhappy all of the time. You don''t do the things that could make you happy. You carry the weight of everyone''s problems, but don''t try to fix your own."

    How long has she noticed this about me? I wasn''t aware that ra noticed anything about me in the past.

    "I hate to see you unhappy," she confesses. "I wish that I could be the one to make you smile."

    I stiffen.

    What?

    She wanted to be the one to make me smile. But why? Why would she want that?

    "ra I¡ª,"

    I don''t get to finish my sentence when she leans forward and presses her lips against mine.

    </section><section>

    I freeze.

    What was she doing?

    </section>

 Chapter 426 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    I haven''t had another woman''s lip on mine except Nicole''s in a long while. It''s been years. But now, ra''s soft, warm lips were against mine. She was kissing me.

    It was thest thing I expected from her. It felt unlike anything I''ve ever experienced with any other woman in the past. Kissing ra was out of this world.

    </section><section>

    I knew I should stop this. She was my fucking student and my brother''s ex-girlfriend. She was also much younger than me. I never went for girls her age. And I definitely never went for a girl who was once with any of my brothers.

    I never mixed business with pleasure. I was supposed to keep a safe distance from any woman who attended the Academy.

    But damn it, I couldn''t push her away, I fucking couldn''t. I knew how wrong this was.

    I''ve never been this fucking weak in my life, not even for Nicole. An irresistible pull surrounded ra; it was tugging at my chest, bringing me closer.

    I felt myself losing control; I had to fucking stop this before things gotplicated. It was alreadyplicated.

    I ce both hands on her waist to pull away, but the second that I touch her, everything inside of me snaps. I felt this unbearable need to touch her.

    I growl against her lips, the sound low and anguished. I unbuckle her seatbelt and lift her out of the truck.

    ra gasps against me, and I hungrily swallow the sound as I deepen the kiss between us. I couldn''t keep my hands from grabbing every part of her I could reach. It''s roaming freely, touching her as it pleases. She was soft and luscious, too good for me.

    I could feel the hunger for her inside of me rise.

    Fuck.

    This wasn''t right. I should be able to stop this. We were in the parking lot; anyone could see us outside. I could end up in serious trouble and possibly even lose this job. I knew I didn''t need it, but I still enjoyed it.

    "ra," I gasped against her mouth as she clung to me. Her arms were now wrapped around my neck, and her body was pressed tightly against mine. I could feel every part of her curves against my body.

    She was fucking sexy. She was so sexy that I wanted to stand back and watch her; I wanted to admire her body the way that it deserved.

    I didn''t know when I''d lost my damn mind, this wasn''t me, I wasn''t thinking straight. ra was distracting me, seducing me without even trying.

    I''d never felt this alive for a long fucking time. She made me feel like there was sunshine in my life again. The feelings were so strong that I couldn''t stop myself as I tightened my hold on her body and pushed her up against my truck. She made me forget about everything I stood for. She made me act like a fucking madman. There was no other woman I would act like this for.

    The moment I realized that I wanted more than just a kiss with her, I knew that I was screwed. Her body was a seductress on its own. I wanted to rip her dress and bury. . . Ah, fuck.

    FUCK!

    "ra, we have to stop this." I try to tell her. I knew she would hate me when she woke up in the morning and realized that I''d taken advantage of her while she was intoxicated. It was the only reminder that I needed to put a stop to this.

    I grab her shoulders and push our bodies apart. I''m panting hard, trying to catch my breath while also forcing myself not to reach for her again. One taste, just one taste of ra and I wanted more.

    Her eyes are in a daze as she gazes at me, and my eyes widen when she falls forward into my arms.

    "ra?" I say hesitantly.

    It took me a few seconds to realize that she''d either fainted or fallen asleep. I quickly ce her back into the truck. After she was secured, I checked her pulse and breathing.

    She was fine, which meant she must have fallen asleep. I breathe a sigh of relief. It was better this way. If she was still awake, I knew I wouldn''t have been able to control myself if she''d tried to kiss me again.

    That would have been a problem for both of us.

    As I stood there, in the middle of the quiet night, ra''s beauty shone like a bright star. I''ve always known how beautiful she was; even her personality was warm and sweet. She was the perfect woman.

    I always thought that Carter was a lucky man whenever I saw them together. I never understood why she was never enough for him.

    I can''t help myself as I lean forward and ce a soft kiss against her neck. I breathe in her strong feminine aroma before forcing myself to pull away and shut the door. I lean against it for a few seconds before finally returning to the driver''s side.

    I knew that I was in serious trouble from today onwards.

    I''d woken the beast inside me, and it was hungry for her.

    It wanted ra.

    And the full moon was fast approaching. . .

    . . . .

    ~A/N~

    Hi, my beautiful readers. HAPPY NEW YEAR?? I pray this year is filled with God''s blessings for every single one of you. Thank you so much for following my writing journey; I''m so grateful for each of you??

    </section><section>

    Lots of love,

    Laura.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    </section>

 Chapter 427 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    I knocked on ra''s door, waiting for her parents to let me in.

    When the door opens, her mother looks surprised to see her daughter asleep in my arms.

    </section><section>

    "ric?" she asks as she blinks once, then twice. She must think that she was dreaming.

    "Mrs. Mae." I greet her, "I believe someone spiked ra''s drink. She fell asleep on the drive here; I would like to take her to her room if that''s okay with you."

    She looks a bit taken aback by my request, but soon enough, she nods and steps aside for me to enter.

    My hands tighten on ra as I walk with her up the stairs.

    "It''s the second door on the right." Her mother informs me.

    I nod and open her door; her room is everything I expected it to be. It was perfect for her. Her scent was everywhere, and I felt something stir in my pants.

    FUCK ALARIC. She''s asleep, for crying out loud.

    I gently ced her down on the bed even though I wanted to hold her for much longer than this.

    I grab her sheet to pull it over her body when something to the side of her catches my attention. I lean over her and pick the cloth up in my hands.

    This was mine. I''d ced this on her body to cover her nakedness on that dreadful day. My jaw clenched at the awful reminder.

    But why was it on her bed?

    Her eyes open slightly, and she surprises me when she reaches for it. My hold on it lightened so that she could take it from me. I watch as she snuggles against it before drifting off into sleep again.

    I stayedpletely still as I watched a sleeping ra with my belongings close to her chest.

    What did this mean?

    Did she often use it to fall asleep? Did she like the material, or was there another reason she chose to sleep with something that belonged to me?

    She looked so at peace now that it was in her hands; it almost looked like it was herfort. For some reason, I found this incredibly sexy. It also made my chest swell with joy.

    Fuck me. I hadpletely lost it. It was the only exnation for my behavior.

    Even now, I want to be next to her. I was envious of my shirt in her hand. I wanted to be there in rece of it.

    I run a hand down my face when I hear a knock on the door.

    "Is everything okay?" her mother asks me.

    I nod, "I was just tucking her in."

    She smiles, "Thank you for bringing her home safely. It''s nice to know that someone is looking after her."

    I nod, "you should give her some medication when she wakes up. I''m sure she will have a headache in the morning."

    She nods, "I will. Take care, ric."

    I don''t say anything else as I exit her room. Something like this couldn''t happen again. I also had to forget all about our kiss or that ra used my shirt as a nket to sleep in.

    I knew those things would be difficult for me to do, but it had to be done. I had to have some control, especially around ra.

    . . . .  . . . . . . Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    ~CLARA~

    "ra!"

    I let out a low groan as I shifted my position in the bed, trying to find afortable spot. My head was throbbing with a dull pain, and my throat was parched and scratchy, making it difficult even to swallow.

    This was awful. The room felt stuffy and hot, adding to my difort. I closed my eyes and tried to take deep breaths, hoping that the dryness would subside soon

    What exactly did I dost night? Why did I feel like this?

    My lips felt a tiny bit sore and even plump like I''d been kissing someone the entire night. I chuckled at that absurd thought. Who would I have possibly kissedst night?

    "ra!" I hear my mother''s voice louder than before. She was growing closer to me.

    I force my eyes open right before she enters my room.

    "You should drink some water." She tells me as she hands me a cup.

    I take it from her hand and swallow the water quickly. I was pretty thirsty.

    "How did I get homest night?" I ask her.

    I couldn''t remember much from the night before.

    "You don''t remember?" she asks as she stares at me.

    I shook my head.

    "Carter''s older brother; he was the one that dropped you home," she answers me.

    I freeze.

    That couldn''t be right.

    "His older brother?" I ask.

    She nods, "You know, ric Prince."

    The blood drains from my face at her words.

    "ric dropped me homest night?" I ask once more.

    She smiles, "he was so nice. You were asleep, so he brought you to the room as well."

    My mouth drops open as I stare at my mother in disbelief.

    </section><section>

    I look down at his shirt, still in my hands.

    No. No. No!

    </section>

 Chapter 428 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I''m pacing from left to right outside of the ssroom door. I knew I wouldn''t be able to look ric in his eyes after what I did. All of the memories came back to mest night¡ªdancing in the ballroom, ric taking me back to his truck and then kissing him out of nowhere.

    I''dpletely crossed a line. But that wasn''t the worst part. I got so drunk that he had to take me home, but not only that, he also had to carry me to my room where I''m positive that he saw his shirt on my bed. Since he was the one that carried me to my room, I knew there wasn''t a possibility that he had missed it.

    </section><section>

    He must think that there was something seriously wrong with me. We didn''t have anything between us, I had no reason to be sleeping with his shirt every night. I knew that was what he would be thinking.

    "I''m sure that ric will be concerned to see you in front of the ssroom looking this frantic," Jenna says as she walks up to me. "Doesn''t he always find you like this before every ss?"

    "I think I must skip ss today," I tell her.

    She frowns, "did something happen at the dance?" she asks me. "We all saw you leaving with ric."

    I nod, "I did something crazy." I confess. There was no use keeping the truth from her. She knew by now that I was a little crazy when it came to Carter''s older brother. The truth was that I never even acted this way for Carter while we were dating and he was the one I thought I was crazy in love with. He did us both a favor when he ruined our rtionship. He was right, we definitely were never meant to be.

    She folds her arms and looks at me, "I''m sure it isn''t as crazy as you''re trying to make it seem. Tell me exactly what happened. There must be a reason why you''re this scared."

    I y with my fingers nervously as I say, "I know you won''t tell anyone and that''s why I''m telling you this besides the fact that you''re my best friend and I love you. . ."

    She looks amused as she waits for me to continue.

    I take a deep breath, "I kissed him!"

    She frowns, "you mean likest time when you kissed his forehead?" she asks me.

    I shook my head, "No, Jenna, this was a real kiss. On his lips!"

    Her eyes widen, "you''re not serious, are you?"

    I cover my face with my hands, "very serious. I can''t remember everything clearly, but I know that I was the one who kissed him. He was trying to be nice and get me home safely, but I took things to another level."

    "Oh," she whispers. "This is bad. He''s our professor, and you practically see him every day. Is there any chance that he had anything to drink at the dance? Scratch that; how did you even get drunk? There wasn''t supposed to be any alcohol there."

    I run a hand down my face, "I don''t know Jenna, but I know I can''t face him today."

    "You are running out of time to escape." She points out. "If you want to leave now, I can join you."

    "Oh, I love you!" I exim as I grab her hand and run down the hallway with her.

    I was happy that I hadpany to skip ric''s ss today. I knew that it wasn''t the best idea since I was never one to skip sses, but it had to be done. I also was aware that I couldn''t keep hiding from him forever. Eventually, I would have no choice but toe face-to-face with him.

    "You do realize that you will still see himter today." My best friend points it out to me.

    I sigh, "I know he will be there tonight when I visit Scarlett, but that doesn''t mean I will run into him. I''ll try to avoid him as much as possible when I''m there."

    "Do you n on telling Scarlett what happened?" She asks me curiously. Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    I bit my lip nervously, "I don''t think I have a choice. We promised not to keep secrets between each other again after what happened with Carter. I don''t want to make any mistakes. I will tell her what I did."

    We make our way to the parking lot. I decided it was best to skip all sses today rather than just his own.

    "Seriously, ra, I didn''t think you had it in you to kiss our professor," Jenna says the second we got into my car.

    I didn''t think I had it in me, either. I knew that I wanted his attention, but I didn''t think I would go as far as to kiss him!

    "So," Jenna whispers as she leans closer to me. "How was the kiss?"

    My eyes widen at that question. I hadn''t reached that far yet.

    I ced a finger on my lips and felt my heartbeat increase rapidly. From what I could remember, the kiss was electric. It was more than I ever thought it would be.

    I remember ric asking me to stop; I felt my cheeks burn at that reminder. He must have been so rmed by my actions.

    I inwardly groan. I knew that the next time I saw him, I wouldn''t know how to act.

    Even though the kiss meant everything to me and it probably was the first andst time I would ever be that close to him, I knew I had to try and forget it.

    </section><section>

    There could never be anything between us. But that didn''t mean I would stop trying for us. I wouldn''t give up until he told me to.

    One day I would have the courage to tell him what he did to my fragile heart. . .

    </section>

 Chapter 429 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    She fucking skipped my ss today. I tried not to notice it, but it wasn''t easy. The second I entered the room today and didn''t see her, I was uneasy. I checked the door multiple times, waiting for her to arrive, but she never did. ra was not the type of girl to skip sses. It made me so worried to the point that I called Carter to ask about her. He was initially confused as to why I was asking about ra, but I convinced him that it was an essential ss that she missed. Then Scarlett told me that she was pretty sure that ra attended the academy today but skipped my ss.

    Her words prompted me to ask the other professors if she attended their sses. And then I was told that she was absent for all.

    </section><section>

    Seeing her every day always brightened my dull life; I looked forward to it, and the one day she never showed, my whole world felt like it was flipped upside down.

    I angrily m my truck door shut as I exit the garage. I wasn''t thinking clearly.

    The only thing that kept me going was my hope of seeing her tonight. I knew that she would be here for Scarlett. She wouldn''t miss it for anything.

    On top of everything, Nicole never attended the Academy today, either. I never got the signed divorce papers that she promised to give to me. It made me worry.

    Did she intentionally not show up? Was she avoiding me so she wouldn''t have to give me the papers? I wanted to believe her when she said she signed them, but it was hard to believe after everything she''s done.

    That was just a tiny part of my problems. My biggest one was the fact that I couldn''t get ra''s kiss out of my fucking head. Every time I closed my eyes, it was all I could think about. It was so bad that I never slept at allst night. I kept my eyes wide open for the entire night. My body was burning for her touch. It was fucking insane.

    As I storm into the house, the first person I see is Carter.

    "What the hell is up with you?" he demands when heys his eyes on me. "You look like someone took yourst te of food."

    "Not now, Carter," I growl. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    He quirks a brow, "something is up. Talk to me. Tell me what''s wrong. We can y a game of basketball outside to help ease the stress that I know has to do with Nicole. There isn''t anyone else in your life to stress you out besides her."

    He was so wrong. He knew nothing about ra and me, and I nned on keeping it that way. But what was there even between the two of us? It was nothing. It was just a kiss, nothing more. ra was drunk; she kissed me, and I got a bit carried away. There was nothing to tell or worry about. I was positive that she was thinking about Carter despite what she may believe. But that still wouldn''t exin why she had my shirt on her bed. I swallowed hard as I remembered the way she clutched it to her chest as she slept.

    Fuck.

    Get her out of your mind!

    I was a damn fool even to believe those earlier thoughts. I knew damn well that it was more than just a kiss. So much so that I was almost terrified of the full moon. I was usually worried about it in the past, but this time, I was in a fucking mess just thinking about it.

    There was no telling what I would do to get to her. I saw what Carter was capable of doing when he started going wild over Scarlett. I knew that I was capable of much more.

    "ric?" My brother calls my name once more.

    My gaze snaps to his, "yeah?"

    "You didn''t hear a word I just said to you, did you?" He asks as he shakes his head. "You''ve been a little out of it these past few days. It reminds me of myself when I started hooking up with Scarlett."

    He pauses for a second, "don''t tell me you''re interested in someone now that you and Nicole are most likely divorced?"

    My jaw clenches, and before I can give him an answer, I see the woman who''s been driving me crazy since she kissed me.

    I turned to face her properly despite what my brother would think when he saw me gazing at her. I couldn''t fucking hold it back. I wanted to see her.

    The second her eyes fall on me, I see the panic in them.

    I frown.

    Why was she nervous?

    </section><section>

    Did she remember everything from that night?

    Was ra avoiding me? Is that why she skipped my ss today?

    </section>

 Chapter 430 -

    <section>

    ~NICOLE~

    ~The ckner''s Residence~

    Finally, Ace agreed to meet me again after I showed him the signed divorce papers. At first, I didn''t want to do it. I never nned on divorcing ric for him to be with that sted ra girl. However, I wanted Ace more than I wanted him.

    </section><section>

    I knew that if I showed Ace that I was no longer married, I would have a better chance with him. And I was right.

    "You came." He says when he spots me in the waiting room.

    I nod, "you know I''ll alwayse running once you call for me."

    He adjusts the buttons on his shirt, and my eyes travel to his exposed chest. I swallow hard. Ace was the kind of man that you couldn''t help but want. I knew I wasn''t the only woman crazy about him. Everyone knew that he was off-limits. Everyone knew that the ckners did not do mates. However, every girl wished for a chance with at least one of the brothers. For me, Ace was the one that I wanted.

    He looked over my body; I wore his favorite dress.

    "Are you on the pill, like I always ask?" He inquires.

    I nod, "I am."

    It was a lie. I usually listened to him, and maybe that''s why he believes me right now. However, I wanted his baby. If that was the only way to keep him in my life, I wanted to get pregnant for him. That way, I can trap both ric and Ace. I would have them both thinking that the baby was theirs. In reality, Ace would be the real father.

    Even though I signed those divorce papers, I didn''t n on letting ric go. I still needed him to fall back on. Besides, now that ra wanted him, I wanted him also. I wouldn''t let her have him.

    Of course, it wasn''t guaranteed that I would get pregnant, but it was worth a try. Besides, I knew this wasn''t thest time Ace woulde to me. He enjoyed having a woman to fuck, and while there was plenty waiting for a chance, he liked to stick to one, that way, there would be lessplications.

    I was lucky enough that I had caught his attention. Not only him, but ric''s attention also. They both made me feel like I could get any man I saw.

    I often used the pill when I was with ric because I never wanted to get pregnant with his baby. I knew how badly he wanted a child of his own, especially after Scarlett got pregnant for Carter, but I was not willing to give him one. Not now, not ever.

    "Come with me," Ace tells me, and I happily obey.

    "I divorced him to be with you." I blurt out. "You''re the one I want to be with Ace."

    "I told you that this isn''t anything more than fucking." He growls. "If you can''t ept that, I suggest you leave now."

    "No!" I gasp. "I want this. I''ve been waiting on this for a long time now. If that''s all you want from me, I''m okay with that. I promise."

    His behavior towards me would change the second that I get pregnant for him. I was more determined than ever for that to happen.

    "Good." He says as he takes me to one of the rooms. He never takes me to his personal room, just a random room they have for guests.

    But I knew all of that would soon change.

    "Take it all off." He growls the moment that he locks the door.

    The second that I remove my clothes like he asked, he''s on me. His mouth, his hands, his teeth. They''re all on me, and I''m happy to be back in his arms finally.

    Ace was not gentle like ric; he was rough and wild, and I loved every second of it.

    I grabbed onto his shoulders as he mmed me onto the bed and buried his dick inside me. I gasp and let him stretch me as much as possible.

    I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on tightly as he continued to fuck me. Over and over again. I let him have his way, just like I always did. And I think that''s why Ace always came back to me eventually. I made him feel something that no one else could.

    I knew that it wouldn''t be long before I got my way.

    </section><section>

    Both ric and Ace would be at my mercy soon. ra wouldn''t stand a chance against me. The second that ric learns that I''ll be giving him the one thing he''s been craving for years now, he will forget all about her. And since Ace and his family were loyal when it came to their children, he would have no choice but to keep me in his life.

    Everything was finally going my way, just like I nned.Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    </section>

 Chapter 431 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    ric.

    His eyes have been on me ever since he returned from the Academy. I could feel the heat of his hungry stare on the back of my neck. It made me tremble with a need to kiss him again¡ªmy tummy twists at the reminder of his lips on mine.

    </section><section>

    Just a few minutes ago, Scarlett informed me that he even went to the extent of calling Carter to inquire about my absence from his ss. This was aplete surprise to me as I couldn''t understand why he was so concerned about my whereabouts.

    The situation was quite perplexing. I couldn''tprehend why he reached out to his brother, of all people, to inquire about me. It was a risky move as he knew that it would arouse Carter''s suspicion. From what I gathered, Scarlett hadn''t mentioned anything about the kiss to me either, which led me to believe that he hadn''t confided in anyone about what I''d done.

    My assumption was that he was feeling sympathetic towards me. Perhaps he sensed how mortified I was about my behavior. I couldn''t help but wonder what he thought of me now that he had witnessed my moment of weakness.

    I y with my fingers nervously on myp as everyone gets lost in their conversations.

    I was too ashamed to look at ric even though he was still looking in my direction. I knew he remembered everything about that night. He wasn''t the drunk one that day. He knew I kissed him when I shouldn''t have.

    There was even a chance that I opened my mouth and said things to him that I shouldn''t have. There was really no end to my embarrassment. Each day, I did something worse than before. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    I inwardly groan. I should have been stronger. I shouldn''t have thrown myself at him like that.

    "You''re unusually quiet," Scarlett whispers next to me.

    I haven''t told her what happened. I was waiting for the right time, but it never came. There was no point in waiting anymore.

    "You should know that I did something stupid at the dance," I whisper.

    Her eyes widen, "I was worried when I saw you leave with ric, but when you didn''t say anything to me earlier, I assumed that I had nothing to worry about. What exactly happened?"

    I lean in closer just to make sure that no one can hear me when I say, "I kissed him. . . On the lips."

    The bowl of ice in Scarlett''s hand drops to the ground as she gapes at me.

    Everyone turns to look at us, and I can feel my cheeks burn. I knew she would be shocked, but I never expected this horrible reaction from her. Now, everyone knew that our conversation just surprised her.

    "Everything okay?" Carter asks her as he walks over to her side to examine her body. He''s been extra concerned about her ever since he learned that she was pregnant, especially since she''s been sick recently.

    She nods as she looks at me in horror, "everything is fine. It just slipped from my hands."

    "I told you I would do it." he scolds her as he cleans up the mess. "You should be sitting and rxing. I don''t want you doing anything else."

    She sighs, "You act like I would intentionally put myself in harm''s way."

    He ces a kiss on her forehead, "I can''t help but worry about you and our baby. Please bear with me a little."

    She smiles up at him brightly, "of course."

    I look away as they both lean in for a kiss. I could see why Scarlett got pregnant so quickly; they couldn''t keep their hands off each other.

    My breath gets caught in my throat when my eyes finally connect with ric''s. I swallowed hard and almost lost my bnce. I could hardly control my heartbeat when he didn''t even try to look away from me.

    I fan myself with my hands as I quickly step out of the room to catch my breath. The second that I''m outside, I lean back against the wall and close my eyes.

    My heart couldn''t take this. It felt like it was on a battlefield.

    Why was ric so damn irresistible? Why was he the only man on the that my heart reacted to this way?

    "Are you avoiding me, ra?"

    I stayedpletely still. I couldn''t even open my eyes, for I recognized that voice instantly.

    Why did he follow me outside? I came here so that my heart could have a fighting chance.

    I slowly open my eyes to find him standing in front of me.

    His prating gaze was on me, and my heart threatened to jump out of my chest at this rate.

    "ra?" He says again, and I gasp.

    My name in his mouth was like music to my ear.

    </section><section>

    I loved it so much more now that he wasn''t saying it in a professional manner. This felt much more personal.

    "Are you avoiding me?"

    </section>

 Chapter 432 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I bit my lip to stop myself from answering him. Wasn''t it evident that I was avoiding him?

    "ra?" I inwardly moan at hearing my name once more.

    </section><section>

    I didn''t think it would turn me on this much. My body awakened at his call like it''s been waiting its entire life for him to say my name.

    "No." I lie. "I''m not avoiding you."

    He doesn''t look convinced as he asks, "Why were you not in my ss today?"

    I bit my lip as I tried to find a good answer for him.

    "I had something important to do." I finally respond.

    His eyes are dark as he growls, "something important to do?"

    I gasp, taken aback by his tone and the throaty growl.

    Why did it seem like he was mad that I hadn''t attended his ss?

    I can barely look him in his eyes, "yes," I whisper. "Something important."

    "More important than attending my ss?" He asks in an angry tone.

    It would seem as though ric took the attendance of his students quite seriously. But would he react this way for everyone else?

    Jenna also skipped sses with me, but I haven''t heard him mention her even once. In fact, when he called Carter today, he only asked about me.

    I wanted to mention her to him to get his reaction, but I didn''t want to throw my best friend under the bus.

    "No," I gasp. "Definitely not more important."

    "Don''t skip my ss again, ra."

    My eyes widen at his words. I didn''t think he would react like this just because I skipped one of his sses.

    But still, there was not a single mention of the kiss. Did I imagine the entire thing?

    "Okay." I finally respond. "I won''t do it again."

    He calms down a little, "about the dance, what do you remember from that night?"

    His face is close to mine, and I can feel his breath on my cheeks. It felt amazing, and I wanted more than just this. I wanted to kiss him again. However, I wasn''t intoxicated this time; I didn''t have the courage to do it.

    "ra?"

    I close my eyes and lean into him; his hands move to my waist to steady my body. There he goes again, saying my name, making mee alive.

    "I love it when you say my name," I tell him. "Not Miss ra Mae, but just ra, like we''re more than just¡ª"

    I stop myself mid-sentence.

    "More than just?" he asks as he leans closer to me. I don''t think he realizes he''s doing it. We''re so lost in each other that neither of us are aware of what''s happening. I''m just happy to be closer to him again.

    "ra?" I hear my sister''s call.

    ric and I jump apart from each other. He looks petrified now that he''s back to his senses. I was right; he didn''t even realize he was getting closer to me.

    Scarlett looks at the both of us, and her eyes widen; she can''t even hide her surprise to see us alone together.

    "ric was just finding out why I missed his ss today," I informed my sister.

    It wasn''t technically a lie. Tonight was the first time that I felt like ric could possibly be interested in me. However, I didn''t want to assume anything and risk myself getting hurt. Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    I was already growing attached to him. It was so bad that I missed him like crazy today when I skipped his ss. I came here for Scarlett, but a big part of me needed to see him as well.

    "Oh," was all my sister responded with as she took my hand and pulled me back inside with her.

    "Did you guys kiss again?" she asked when we were a good distance away from ric.

    I shook my head as my cheeks heated up, "No, we didn''t, but can you keep your voice down? ric doesn''t know yet that I remember everything from the dance."

    "Do you ever n on telling him?" she asks as we head up to her room.

    I shook my head, "No. I''m too ashamed of my actions."

    "From the looks of it, ra, I think ric might actually be interested in you as well." She points out.

    My eyes widen, "do you really think so?"

    She nods, "What''s there not to like about you? Almost all men at the Academy have always desired you. People would kill for a chance to date you. And now that ric and Nicole are most likely divorced, he''s a free man. I think he''s at least attracted to you."

    "Do you really think so?" I ask her.

    She nods, "There is only one way to confirm it. Make him jealous. Flirt with another man in front of him. See how he reacts."

    Get ric jealous?

    </section><section>

    Was that something I really wanted to do?

    And would he truly get jealous because of me?

    </section>

 Chapter 433 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    Fuck.

    I fucking wanted her. My body hurt for ra. Hearing her say she loved when I said her name did something to me.

    </section><section>

    It made me wonder if that kiss was truly meant for me. I never had the slightest clue in the past that she could be interested in me. Maybe the kiss was still messing with my head. I was thinking of things that couldn''t be true.

    ra has liked, possibly even loved, my younger brother with all her heart. I''ve seen her face light up around him a hundred times. I never saw her look that way around anyone else. . . But that doesn''t mean I haven''t noticed how her body always gravitates towards mine whenever I''m near her. That doesn''t mean I haven''t noticed the little sounds she makes or her little shudders.

    Fuck me.

    I didn''t want to think about that right now. I still had plenty on my hands to deal with. I shouldn''t be thinking about ra in this way, especially since I couldn''t get through with Nicole. I had no clue where she was, and I still wasn''t convinced she''d signed those divorce papers.

    But damn it, I couldn''t help it. Her scent has been on me since she kissed me. Even though I''d showered like crazy, it was still stuck on me; it lingered like nothing else. It distracted me, every damn second of every day, it was on my mind. I wanted another taste of her, and I almost did that tonight. I almost gave in and took what my body wanted. I was grateful that Scarlett walked in and reminded me of my actions. I needed that reminder.

    I''m unsure what would happen if I''m alone with ra again. I could barely control myself in a room filled with people; I didn''t want to think about what I would do to her if it were just the two of us locked in a room together.

    "You sure everything is okay?" Carter asks as he throws the ball at me. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    I catch it before it hits my chest.

    Thinking about ra made me forget all about the game with my brother. She had me distracted like no other woman in my life.

    "Why?" I ask him. "Are you hoping that I wouldn''t beat your ass again?"

    He chuckles, "Beat my ass?" He asks. "Come on, big brother, we both know I''ve won more games than you have."

    Iugh, "You''re delusional. You wouldn''t be able to say that if we kept track of the score."

    He tries to tackle me for the ball, but I don''t let him have it. I jump and throw the ball into the hoop.

    "Add that one to the scoreboard," I tell him.

    His face turns serious, "you can''t fool me, ric. I know something is on your mind. What did Nicole do this time?"

    We both forget about the ball and sit on one of the benches.

    "I don''t know where she is," I confess. "I haven''t been able to get through to her. She imed that she signed the divorce papers, as I mentioned to you before. However, I still have my doubts. Why else would she not have given them to me yet?"

    Carter sighs and leans back against the bench, "Nicole is the type of woman to lie about something like that. Give yourself a break. Don''t let it get to you. Maybe she already signed it but got caught up in something else. She can''t hide from you forever. Eventually, she''s going to have to show up at the academy since she works there now."

    He was right. I was worrying for nothing.

    "Is there someone that you are interested in?" He asks suddenly.

    My eyes snap to his. "What?"

    He quirks a brow at me, "You just seem to be in a daze most of the time. It makes me think that you truly are seeing someone other than Nicole. I''m sure she isn''t the one that has you like this."

    Yes. Your ex-girlfriend, the woman whose heart you broke. The sister of your wife.

    Why the hell were those thoughts in my head?

    "I''m not seeing anyone."

    It was the truth. I was not dating anyone. I was losing my mind over ra, but there was nothing going on between us. No matter how badly I wanted her, I knew that I couldn''t have her. She was always going to be Carter''s ex-girlfriend. I didn''t want to date someone that my brother once dated.

    But fuck me.

    I seemed to forget about that little detail whenever I saw her.

    "I was surprised when you asked me about ra today." He says suddenly.

    My jaw clenches, "what was so surprising about it?"

    "I didn''t see you as the type of person to call about every student who didn''t show up to your ss for one day." He points out.

    I shrug, "She isn''t just any student. She''s the sister of your wife. Of course, I would be concerned about her."

    He nods, "I''m sorry I brought it up."

    The fact that he even brought it up to begin with meant that he was catching on to me. He must be able to tell that I was showing more interest in ra than usual.

    </section><section>

    Fuck.

    I had to get my emotions under control. And I had to do it quickly.

    </section>

 Chapter 434 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    "There is this party tonight," Scarlett informs me. "I think it''s your chance to make ric jealous or at least test him to find out if he''s interested in you. Once you confirm this, you''ll know what to do from there onwards."

    "Would you be there?" I ask her.

    </section><section>

    She shook her head. "Carter doesn''t want me to go. He says that it wouldn''t be good for me or the baby. I''ve been giving him a hard time recently, especially with all these crazy hormones. So tonight, I want to give him a chance to breathe again. I''m finally listening to him."

    Jennaughs, "I still can''t believe you got Carter Prince to his knees like that. He worships you!"

    I grin, "he really does."

    "I''m sure soon enough, the both of you will have men in your life that worship you as well." She teases us.

    Jenna rolls her eyes, "I''m sure ra has a good chance with ric, especially since the heated kiss. But me, there isn''t a single man in my life."

    "We are not sure that ric even likes me." I remind her.

    "That is why I will be there with you tonight." She informs me. "I''ll make sure that ric gets jealous. First, we are going to start with the outfit. I''m aware that you don''t need any fashion tips from me, but you are going to love the dress I chose for tonight."

    I stared at the long white dress in her hands; there was a long slit to the left side and gems on the chest area.

    "It''s beautiful."

    She smiles, "I knew you''d love it. Scarlett helped me to pick it out for you."

    I look at my sister in surprise. "You actually helped with this?"

    She smiles, "What can I say, sister? I might finally be interested in fashion, just like you always wanted."

    I roll my eyes. I knew damn well that would never be true.

    Jenna and I took our time getting ready for the party, carefully doing our hair and makeup. Scarlett was also there to help us every step of the way. Once we were satisfied with our appearance, we stepped outside and into the waiting limousine. The driver greeted us with a smile and we settled into thefortable leather seats.

    I was nervous. I wasn''t sure that making ric jealous would work. I didn''t want to get my hopes crushed when he gave no reaction at all.

    But if I didn''t try, I would never know. ric seemed like the type of man to want someone and let them go because he thinks it''s the right thing to do.

    "You look stunning," I tell Jenna.

    "Me?" She asks in surprise. "Have you seen yourself in the mirror before you left home? You''re the stunning one. I can''t wait to see ric''s face when he finally spots you."

    "I don''t think he really likes me," I tell her. "I know Scarlett seems to believe that he does, but I know he only has a heart for Nicole."

    "If that were the case, he wouldn''t have filed for a divorce." She points out. "I think it''s quite obvious he has feelings for you as well. You''re the only one who doesn''t seem to notice he has feelings for you."Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    "I guess tonight we will be able to know for sure," I tell her.

    She smiles, "Believe me, Scarlett and I will be proven right tonight."

    I actually hoped that she would win this bet. ric having feelings for me will be like a dreame true.

    The second we pulled up to the house, I could feel my nervousness begin to rise.

    Was this the right thing to do?

    Would ric be upset with me for ying this silly game just to find out if he has feelings for me?

    My mind was racing with these questions, but it was toote to turn back around now. I already made up my mind to do it.

    "Who exactly will I be flirting with tonight?" I ask her.

    "Don''t worry," she assures me. "I have it all nned out. Just flirt with the first guy before you as long as ric is looking. I''ll be right by your side to guide you; you don''t have to worry about a single thing."

    I gape at her, "That''s your mastermind n?"

    She grins, ¡°Come, we arete.¡±

    As soon as we stepped out of the grand limousine and the gust of wind blew my hair across my face, a shiver ran down my spine, making me realize that the moment I had been waiting for had finally arrived. Jenna, who was standing beside me, sensing my nervousness, took my hand and pulled me forward with her as if assuring me that everything would be fine. The sound of the wind blowing through my ears and the thought of seeing ric again was all I needed to keep moving forward.

    I follow Jenna through the pathway and up the stairs to the rooftop.

    "I don''t see ric anywhere," I tell her as soon as we step outside into the party. "Are you sure he will be here?"

    With all of the excitement, I forgot to ask my sister if she was certain that ric would attend this party.

    She nods, "Scarlett was positive that he would be here."

    </section><section>

    I take another look around us.

    Where was he?

    </section>

 Chapter 435 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    "Aren''t you going to the party tonight?" Scarlett asks me when I step into the living room. I pause, not sure that she is speaking to me.

    It seemed that she was judging by the look she gave me.

    </section><section>

    I was surprised that she was even interested in my social life.

    "Why would I be there?" I ask her. "I think I''ve seen enough parties for the year. I don''t need to attend another one."

    "Oh," she says. "ra and Jenna are already there. I think a few of your brothers are there as well. Carter and I stayed back because he wanted me to be careful with our baby. I thought for sure that you would be there.¡°

    ra was at that party? Every word she said after that was not heard by me. I was only focused on the fact that ra was at another party, and she could be drunk and dancing with strangers.

    "ra''s there?" I ask for confirmation.

    She nods, "she''s there. In fact, I just spoke to her.¡±

    Fuck.

    I didn''t want to act like I was interested in going now that I knew ra would be there. I couldn''t make it that obvious, especially not when Carter was catching onto me.

    I''m about to make an excuse to go to the party when the vibration of my phone catches my attention.

    I pull it out of my pocket and stare at the caller ID.

    It was Nicole. She was finally contacting me after avoiding me for so long.

    I quickly answer, "Nicole, why the hell have you been avoiding me?"

    I''m about to say something else when I hear her crying.

    "What''s wrong?" I demand. I never liked to hear her cry, even though we weren''t on the best of terms right now.

    "Pleasee see me at home." She begs. "I need you, ric."

    "Okay," I assure her. "I''ll be there soon."

    "Where are you going?" Carter asks me as he joins Scarlett and me in the room.

    "Nicole just called," I inform him. "It sounds like she is crying. She asked me toe over and told me she needs me."

    My brother frowns, "do you really think that''s a good idea?"

    Of course, I didn''t think it was a damn good idea, but I was never one to leave Nicole to deal with any problems on her own. I was always there for her, and I didn''t want to stop now.

    "I need to make sure she''s okay," I answer him.

    He sighs, "Just don''t let her suck you in again with her lies. If there isn''t a good reason for you to be there, I suggest that you leave right away."

    I nod and grab my keys from the holder.

    "I''ll be back soon."

    . . . . . . . .

    ~CLARA~

    "I don''t think he''sing," I tell Jenna.

    "I''m sure he will show up here once he realizes you''re also here." She assures me.

    I didn''t see that happening. He would have already been present if that was true.

    "Wait a second," I tell her. "Scarlett''s calling me. I''m sure it''s to give me bad news." Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    "ra?" My sister calls my name as soon as I pick up her call.

    "ric isn''t here," I tell her right away. "I don''t think he''s showing up tonight."

    She sighs, "I told him that you would be there, and I swear that he was willing toe once I mentioned your name. However¡ª,"

    She stops talking, like she isn''t sure that she should continue telling me what happened.

    "Tell me, Scarlett." I insist. "What exactly happened?"

    "Nicole called him at the exact time I mentioned that you were at the party." She answers me. "He said that she was crying and said that she needed him. He left right away to make sure that she was okay."

    My heart literally shatters at her words. I couldn''t believe this. All this time, I waited for him to show up, and he was on his way to see Nicole.

    I can''t remember thest time my heart hurt this much, not even the time that Carter broke my heart into pieces or when I found out he was seeing Scarlett. Nothingpared to this pain.

    All our ns for the night were ruined, and all because ric went to care for his supposedly ex-wife.

    "What did she say?" Jenna asks me. She could tell that I was having a hard time.

    "She said that ric chose to go look after Nicole instead ofing to the party," I informed my best friend.

    Her eyes widen in horror, "he did what!"

    "I can''t believe this," I whisper. "I didn''t think that it would hurt this much, but it does. My heart is in pain, Jenna. I don''t know how to handle the pain. I can''t believe he''s still running after her."

    "I know what can help." She says as she grabs a drink from a server and hands it to me. "This will drown your sorrows away."

    Thest time I got drunk, I did something incredibly stupid. I couldn''t risk doing that again. However, ric was nowhere around right now.

    As long as he wasn''t near me while I was intoxicated, then I had nothing to worry about.

    I take the drink from Jenna and don''t think twice as I empty it into my mouth. I don''t stop there as I ask for the next one.

    </section><section>

    I''d somehow managed to break my own heart again.

    "I guess we got our answer, Jenna," I say to her with tears in my eyes. "ric never liked me to begin with. It''s always only been Nicole."

    </section>

 Chapter 436 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    As I ran towards the house, my heart was pounding with fear and anxiety. When I entered, I saw Nicole lying on the ground, her face drenched in tears. Her body was trembling, and her sobs echoed through the room; it went straight to my chest. Looking around, I could see that the ce was in a mess - furniture was ruined, and broken ss was scattered on the floor. I knew right away that she had done this herself. She must have had a nervous breakdown.

    I rush to her side and pick her up into my arms. "What''s wrong?" Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    </section><section>

    She wraps her arms around me tightly, "You left me. That''s what''s wrong."

    I stayedpletely still; I wasn''t sure how to respond to her words.

    She grabs papers from the ground and shows me her signature. It took me a few seconds to recognize what she showed me.

    She''d truly signed them. We were finally divorced.

    "Nicole¡ª"

    "I can''t believe you forced me to do this, ric." She gasps, choking on her own words. "You made me sign these papers, and now I feel like my entire world will copse. I don''t know what to do with these emotions. I don''t know how to live without you."

    I didn''t know what to say to make her better. Our marriage was over, and I wasn''t going back down that road again. I now had feelings for someone else, and I didn''t know what to fucking do with those feelings yet.

    I gently rub my hands down her back, "It''s going to get better, Nicole. I''m not going to pull out of your lifepletely. I''ll still be here to support you."

    "I don''t want just your support!" She shouts. "I want your love, ric! I want things to go back to how it was in the past. I''m tired of this. I want what we once had. I''m willing to put the things I know about you and your family behind me."

    I flinch at her words. It reminded me of the countless times she called me a monster. The full moon was less than a week away. Was she sure that she could handle seeing me like that again? I didn''t think so.

    "I can never forgive the things you said to me or my family, Nicole," I try to exin to her. "It''s not something I can ever easily forget. You hurt me. You hurt my family. You''ve never cared about them."

    "That''s because they made it very hard for me to care for them." She snaps. "They always wanted to separate us, and they finally got their wish."

    "It was never their wish," I growl. "They were nice to you for a long time, but you never appreciated their kindness. I can''t fix what has already been broken. It''s toote for that. We are going to have to move on from each other. I know it can''t be done in a day''s time, but that''s why I''m willing to still be by your side until it gets easier for you."

    "Are you saying that it''s easy for you?" she shouts. "Was divorcing me truly that easy after everything we''ve been through together?"

    "I stayed by your side for years, Nicole; I loved you unconditionally. I allowed you to speak to me like I meant nothing at all to you. I allowed you to disrespect my family." I remind her. "I supported you and cherished you, but in return, you gave me only pain. I knew we were happy once, but all of it eventually changed, and it''s over now."

    "No!" she snaps. "It can''t be over. It will never be over between us, ric."

    I slowly let go of her, "I came here because I still care about you, but I can''t stay."

    "What do you mean you can''t stay?" she demands. "Where else do you have to be?"

    I don''t answer her as I help her off the ground and put her seated on a chair. "If anythinges up again, feel free to call me."

    I don''t say anything else as I storm out of her home. I couldn''t stay here. In the past, Nicole knew how to get me wrapped around her fingers. I knew that she was trying to do the same thing to me again. I stare down at the papers in my hands.

    She''d signed them.

    I look down at my phone after hearing it ring. I was surprised to see that it was Scarlett calling me.

    "Scarlett?"

    "ric!" she says in a worried tone. "I need you to get over to the party right away."

    I pause, "what''s wrong?"

    "Jenna says that she went to the bathroom, but now she can''t find ra anywhere. She was drinking plenty. I''m worried about my sister."

    Her words have me in aplete daze.

    I don''t think twice as I rush into my truck and back out of the driveway.

    </section><section>

    "ric?" Scarlett calls. "Are you still there?"

    "I''ll find her," I growl as I end the call.

    </section>

 Chapter 437 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    As soon as I arrived at the party, the tight feeling in my chest increased. I was impatient to find ra, I knew what she was like when she drank, and I was fucking about to lose my mind if I didn''t find her soon.

    Despite scanning the parking lot and the surrounding areas, I couldn''t spot her anywhere. I even checked the bathrooms and pushed through the crowds, searching for any glimpse of her. But to my dismay, she was nowhere to be found.

    </section><section>

    "ric!"

    I spun around to find Jenna running towards me.

    "Did you find her?" I demand.

    She shook her head; the poor girl looked like she was having a rough night. It did nothing to ease the tension inside of me; in fact, it only made it a hundred times worse.

    "I don''t know where she went. Everyone is looking for her. I told her to wait outside the bathroom for me, but when I got out, she was gone. I''m not sure where she went or why she even left." She confesses.

    I run a hand down my face. I can''t remember thest time I''ve ever felt this damned worried over someone. I could feel the terror in my throat begin to rise.

    "She couldn''t have gotten far." I try tofort her despite my own difort with this news.

    "You don''t know ra that well, do you?" she asks me. "The ra I know could get pretty far, especially since she''s already so upset."

    I frown, "did you say that she was upset?"

    Her eyes widen at my question, "I don''t think I did."

    She was lying to me.

    "Did something happen to ra while she was at the party?" I demand. "Did someone do something to hurt her?"

    I was not going to sit back and fucking let that slide.

    Jenna remained quiet despite my deadly re.

    "I think you have it all wrong." She tries to exin. "No one at the party did anything to hurt her. I was there; I''m sure that''s not the reason that she got upset."

    The anger growing inside me instantly stops at her words.

    "Then what''s the reason?"Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    She sighs, "I think that we should focus on finding ra first. After she''s found, you can ask her this question yourself. I''m sure that she will tell you the truth."

    I wasn''t so sure about that. ra wasn''t always open with me.

    "I''m going to check the rooftop once more." She informs me.

    I nod, "I''ll keep an eye out in the parking lot. Maybe she was trying to leave and fell asleep somewhere."

    As soon as Jenna walks back into the house, I take another run through the parking lot.

    Where the fuck could she be? I still believed that she couldn''t have gotten far, but ording to Jenna, ra was capable of plenty when she was drunk and upset.

    It still bothered me that something had upset her. I wanted to find her and make it all better.

    I couldn''t just stay here and hope that she returned. I had to do something, anything at all.

    I jumped back into my truck and reversed from the parking lot.

    My eyes are focused on the road as I search for a lost, insanely beautiful woman. It shouldn''t be that hard to find. I wasn''t sure if I was heading in the right direction but I was willing to try anything at this point.

    I was just five minutes into the drive when I spotted a figure in a white dress. Instantly, I knew, that it was ra. No one else would look that fucking breath-taking on the side of a damn lonely road.

    I pulled the truck onto the side and quickly got out.

    She turns around and shields her eyes from the bright light on her face.

    "ra!" I shout as I approach her.

    She removes her hands from in front of her face and blinks at me.

    FUCK.

    How was I supposed to focus when she looked this good? I couldn''t fucking think properly, knowing that she was walking around without me by her side looking like this. How many men tried to speak to her at the party? How many of them eyed her from a distance but dared not to try? How many of them wanted to take her back home with them?

    Ah¡ªdamn it.

    "What are you doing here?" she shouts.

    I stop halfway, shocked by the anger in her voice.

    She was angry. With me?

    That couldn''t be. I hadn''t done anything to get her angry.

    I don''t have to go to her, as she crosses the distance between us. Her hands are shaking, and so are her lips. I''m left fucking clueless. I didn''t know what was happening here.

    "ra?" was all that I could ask.

    "Why are you here in front of me again?" she demands. "Are you here to hurt me some more?"

    I frown as my eyes search hers, "did I hurt you? How?"

    Was this what Jenna was afraid to tell me? That ra was upset with me.

    I couldn''t understand a word that she was saying to me. I knew that she was drunk; I knew that she probably wasn''t even aware of what she was saying. But still, I needed to know. If I''d hurt her, I had to fix it. I fucking had to.

    "How can you not know?" She demands. "I waited for you. I fucking waited at that party, and yet you never showed!"

    I didn''t understand. Why would she have waited at the party for me? We never agreed to meet there.

    "I put on this fancy dress. . . I did so much and waited for you." she cries. "And still, you never showed up. Instead, you went to take care of your ex-wife. Because she''s all that matters to you, she''s the only person you care about. No one else, definitely not a nobody like me.¡±

    Her words pierced my heart. I was not only shocked but also in fucking pain because somehow I''d managed to hurt her. Even though I was clueless, I wanted to make it better for her. I wanted the pain to end.

    "ra¡ª," I whisper. "I don''t understand. How did my actions hurt you?"

    She grabs onto my shirt as tears stream down her cheeks, "Why do you still run after her all this time? Why?"

    "ra¡ª,"

    "Did you kiss her?" She cries.

    I stop breathing.

    </section><section>

    Did I what?

    What did kissing have to do with any of this?

    </section>

 Chapter 438 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    "Did I kiss Nicole?" I repeat her question. I had to make sure that''s what she was asking me.

    Her eyes narrowed, "you did, didn''t you?"Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    </section><section>

    "ra," I whisper. "Help me understand this, please. What does this have to do with you being upset right now?"

    "You can''t even answer me." She gasps in horror. "Of course, you kissed her."

    Her hands are still on my shirt, gripping it tightly.  I slowly reach up to hold her arms, "ra, listen to me. I''m only going to say this once. I never kissed Nicole. She called me over to confirm that we were officially divorced. She was crying, hysterical because it was finally over. I didn''t go there to fix things with her. I went to make sure that she was okay. Once I realized that she was, I immediately left. That''s all that happened."

    Her lips were still trembling as she gazed up at me, "that doesn''t change the fact that you still chose to go after her instead ofing to the party with me."

    I freeze.

    "I didn''t know you were even at the party until Scarlett mentioned it to me. Nicole called at the exact same time. I''m sorry, ra, I really don''t know what any of this is about. But I''m trying to fix it. I don''t ever want to be the reason that you''re in pain."

    "It''s toote for that, isn''t it?" she whispers.

    My jaw clenched at her question. I didn''t think words could hurt this much. I didn''t like the fact that she seemed disappointed in me. All I knew was that I wanted to make this better.

    I don''t know what came over me next. It was like I''d lost all control of my own body.

    I picked her up and pressed her up against my truck. Before she has a chance to say anything else, I crash my lips to hers.

    I didn''t know if this was what she wanted, but I knew damn well that I fucking needed this right now. ra gasps against my mouth, and I can taste her salty tears on my tongue. I growl as I deepen the kiss. I was the reason those tears were in her eyes. I caused those fucking tears. And it was something I would never be okay with. ra was thest person on this earth that I would ever willingly hurt.

    Her lips were soft and hot. Her body felt like it was on fire even though the night''s air was cool. I wrapped my arms around her tightly as my mouth moved against hers.

    She moans against me, and I break the kiss to lean my forehead against hers, "fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

    "What''s wrong?" she gasps. "Why did you stop?"

    I ce one hand on her cheek and gently nudge her face to the side to ess her neck. I can''t stop myself as I bury my lips in the sweet spot right beneath her ear.

    I wanted to do more than just kiss it; I wanted to fucking mark her. I wish I could. I wish I could mark what was rightfully mine.

    What the fuck was wrong with me? Since when had I imed ra as mine?

    I was losing my damn mind over this woman. She had the alcohol to me for her behavior, but I had absolutely nothing to me. I wanted this. I wanted her and it was all me.

    "ric, please," she begs me. "I want more."

    I growl hard and soft as my lips move to her chest; I can''t resist taking a little pull of her skin between my teeth.

    The dress she wore emphasized her breasts, and I wanted a fucking taste of them. It made me wonder how many men had stared at them tonight. The thought of that made me fucking mad. I run a finger through the space between them. ra shivered in my arms, and I wanted to feel her shiver like that a million times against me.

    I buried my face against them, and her body shook as she caught my arms to bnce herself.

    "ric!" she cries out as my lips move over them; I''m just lightly passing it on her skin, not kissing, not sucking. I''m taking it slow with her.

    Did my brother ever have her like this?

    Did she ever make this kind of sweet music for him?

    The thought of him seeing her like this before I ever did make me fucking pissed. I don''t think I''ve ever been jealous of Carter like I am now.

    And then it snapped in my head¡ª I was making a mess out of all our lives. I promised myself not to do this, not with ra. She deserved better than this. And so did Carter. He would never forgive me even though he wasn''t in love with ra. He still was protective over her; she was still his wife''s sister.

    Damn me.

    When I rip my mouth away from ra''s breasts, she tries to stop me. Her hands are on my neck, pulling me back down, but I slowly move them.

    "ra," I whisper. "I''m sorry. This cannot happen. I''m sorry for even starting something that I can never finish. I''m so sorry for everything.¡±

    The look of betrayal on her faceshes out at me.

    </section><section>

    Fuck.

    I knew I''d just screwed up without her even saying anything. My only hope was that she''d forget all about tonight. I couldn''t live with myself if she kept on looking at me this way. I wouldn''t make it out alive.

    </section>

 Chapter 439 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    As soon as I opened my eyes, excruciating pain shot through my head, making it nearly impossible to move. My vision was blurry, and I struggled to focus on anything in front of me. Even my eyes felt swollen and sore. I tried to recall the events from the previous night, but my mind was nk. What had I done? Theck of memory only added to my confusion and difort.

    I realized that the bed beneath me felt unfamiliar, making me wonder if I was even home. A sense of disorientation washed over me, and I sat up, trying to get my bearings. The room was dimly lit, and I could barely make out the shapes of the furniture around me.

    </section><section>

    Sitting there, I felt around for the one thing that always made me sleep peacefully¡ªric''s shirt. But my fingers only found the smooth sheets and the soft pillows. Panic began to sink in, and I wondered where I was and how I got there.

    I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. I closed my eyes and tried to recall the events of the previous night. But my mind was a nk te. I couldn''t remember anything. I opened my eyes and looked around the room again.

    When my vision clears, and I get a better look at the room, it all clicks at once.

    I gasped; this wasn''t just some random room, this was ric''s room! The pictures, the trophies, everything, it was all belonging to him.

    How on earth did I manage to get into his roomst night?

    Nothing made any sense. I remember Scarlett calling me and telling me he went to see Nicole. So then, how did I end up on his bedst night?

    And where exactly was he right now?

    The door barges open suddenly, and Scarlett rushes inside, "You''re finally awake!"

    "What am I doing in ric''s bed?" I ask her as I take another look around the room.

    She sits on the bed next to me, "you don''t remember anything at all fromst night?"

    I shook my head, "nothing at all."

    She takes my hand, "It''s a good thing that you are not standing when I tell you what happened."

    Oh no.

    I was already terrified to find out more.

    "At the partyst night, you had a bit too much to drink. I suppose it''s my fault for calling and telling you that ric left to look after Nicole. You got drunk, and Jenna happened to lose you after she went to the bathroom. We couldn''t find you anywhere. So I did the only thing I could think of, and called ric."

    I gape at her, "You did what?"

    "I thought it might be a good idea to see how important you are to him. The second I told him that we couldn''t find you, he left right away to search for you. He didn''t ask any questions; he went straight for you."

    My heart felt full with her words. He really left everything toe find me?

    "But that doesn''t really exin how I ended up in his bed." I point out to her.

    She sighed, "I''m not sure exactly what happened. ric never gave me the details. He said that he found you walking on the side of the road. He called me after he found you, and I told him that it was best that he brought you home here. I didn''t want our parents to see you in that state. They already saw ric bringing you home once in the past; I didn''t want them to question you."

    Why couldn''t I remember any of this? What exactly did I dost night? I knew what I did thest time I was drunk. Is it possible that I did something simrst night? Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    My lips felt swollen, and it made me wonder if there was a repeat of thest time I was drunk and next to him.

    "What''s wrong?" Scarlett asks me.

    "Why didn''t he ce me in one of the guest rooms?" I ask her. "He could have chosen any of the guest rooms; why did he ce me in his room to spend the entire night?"

    She shrugged her shoulders, "When he returned with youst night, he insisted that you sleep in his room. Everyone was shocked about it, even Carter. However, he didn''t sleep in the room with you. I think that''s the only reason that Carter and he didn''t get into an argumentst night."

    "Why would they get into an argument over that?" I ask her.

    "I think Carter might be catching on, and he thinks of you as his sister now especially now that we are married. I think they both want to protect you but for totally different reasons. I''m positive ric doesn''t think of you like he would his sister.¡± She informs me.

    Carter thought of me as his sister now? And ric wanted to protect me?

    The door opens once more, and ric steps inside. The second that my eyesnd on him, everything from the night before hits me at once.

    My eyes widen in horror.

    </section><section>

    No!

    ra! What have you done?

    </section>

 Chapter 440 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    This was it. I had finally lost my damn mind. This was the most embarrassing moment of my entire life. ric must know everything now. I said some thingsst night that should have stayed with me. I never wanted him to find out that way. I was jealous and hurt that he was with Nicole, and I acted without thinking. Now, I had to find a way to fix things.

    The look on his face tells me that he somehow knows that I remember everything. My expression must have given it away; I didn''t exactly try to hide it either.

    </section><section>

    I touch my lips with my fingers, and his eyes darken.

    That look, I felt it down to my toes.

    This time, I wasn''t the one that kissed him. ric Prince kissed mest night. My professor, also my ex-boyfriend''s older brother, kissed mest night. I couldn''t believe it. I knew it wasn''t just a dream; the strong feelings in my heart were all I needed to know it all had truly happened.

    I felt my heart skip a beat at that memory. My lips tingled, and my body felt warm all over. I wanted to run straight into his arms so that he could kiss me all over again.

    His lips weren''t just on my lipsst night. He had them all over my body¡ªmy neck, my chest, even my breasts. I shivered at the reminder. Even now, I could still feel just how good he made me feelst night. All the feelings still lingered within me, and I was craving more of him. I wish there were nothing between us; I wish I could have him all to myself.

    Even though I remembered the kiss, it didn''t matter because I remembered what happened next also. He apologized for kissing me and said that he shouldn''t have started something that he couldn''t finish.

    It meant that it was nothing more for him, even though it meant so much to me. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    But still, didn''t this mean that ric also desired me, even though it wasn''t as much as I desired him?

    Does this mean that I had a chance with him if I fought for him?

    My heart filled with hope as I imagined what it would be like to have his heart.

    "You''re awake," ric says as he approaches us. I can see that he was hesitant to get close to me. Was he afraid that I would mention something about the kiss in front of my sister?

    "I just remembered that Carter asked me to get some sheets for our bed." Scarlett blurts out suddenly. "I''ll be right back."

    I narrow my eyes at her. I knew that she was intentionally leaving me alone with him.

    I would get her back for this!

    "ra?" ric asks as soon as she leaves. "Is everything okay? Do you feel sick fromst night?"

    "Aboutst night," I whisper. I couldn''t run from it this time. I wanted him to know that I remembered everything. After today, I was going to fight for him.

    "ra," he stops me. "What I didst night was unforgivable. I shouldn''t have done that to you, especially since you had too much to drink. I''m sorry; I truly am. I didn''t mean to take advantage of you in that state. You didn''t know what you were doing; I know that."

    My lips parted slightly; he was apologizing a second time. I didn''t want his apology. His apology was thest thing I wanted. He had nothing to apologize for. He had no idea how much I wanted that kiss.

    "ric, you don''t have to apologize. Last night, I said some things to you that¡ª"

    "It''s okay, ra." He cuts me off. "I''ve already forgotten about everything. I don''t know what came over me. You''re my student, my brother''s ex-girlfriend; I don''t know what I was thinking. I can assure you that it won''t happen again."

    My heart squeezes tightly at his words. Can''t he tell how much it''s hurting me? Can''t he tell by now how much I want this? How much I want him.

    "I know it isn''t my ce to ask, but are you and Nicole truly divorced?" I couldn''t stop myself; I had to know if everything he said to mest night was true.

    He looks surprised by my question.

    "She showed me the signed papersst night. The divorce has been finalized. What we had, it''s over." He answered me, and I could tell that he was being honest. That''s all he''s ever been. He''s kind, honest, and hard-working; I could only think of good words to describe him.

    I felt relief wash over me. They were divorced, so I didn''t have to feel guilty for wanting him.

    I knew that he was pushing me away because he felt that it was the right thing to do, considering I once dated his brother. However, since Carter and Scarlett were in love and there was nothing between us anymore, it shouldn''t be a problem if we wanted each other.

    "There''s something else I want to talk to you about," he says suddenly.

    I frown, confused that he wants to start another conversation after this one.

    "What is it?" I asked him curiously; it was hard to pay attention to anything else but his lips right now. I couldn''t stop staring at it, but I don''t think he could tell. He was too bothered with whatever it was he wanted to mention to me.

    </section><section>

    "It''s about the full moon that''s approaching."

    The full moon?

    </section>

 Chapter 441 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    Her scent, it was driving me fucking insane. I wanted to rip her clothes to shreds and bury my mouth in every inch of her body. It was bing ufortable to even stand with how fucking badly I wanted her. It''s why I knew it was time I brought up the full moon to her.

    If I wanted her so badly on a regr day, I knew that the feelings would only triple when the full moon arrived. She will not be safe. I knew I had to be extra cautious this full moon. However, I couldn''t inform my family about my fear. They couldn''t know that I wanted my little brother''s ex-girlfriend. They would all flip out, especially Carter.

    </section><section>

    Last night when I insisted that ra sleep on my bed, he was pissed with me. He didn''t understand why I requested that when there were plenty of empty guest rooms avable for her to sleep in. I knew it was stupid of me, but I fucking needed to see her sleeping in my bed. The thought of her there made me feel good inside. I knew I was a sick, twisted bastard for thinking that way, especially after taking advantage of her innocence while she was drunk. However, I couldn''t seem to help myself around ra.

    It bothered me that I had somehow managed to upset her. It was even possible that the reason she left the party to begin with was because of me. I was still trying to figure everything out. It was crazy to even think of the possibility of ra having feelings for me. I knew there had to be another reason for her actions.

    "The full moon?" ra repeats, bringing me out of my thoughts.

    I run a hand through my hair as I try to say the correct words.

    "Yes," I answer her. "The full moon. I know that you are now aware of what happens to my family during the full moon. You saw it firsthand what Carter went through. You also know that''s partly the reason that he wanted to end things with you in the past."

    She frowns. I could see that the reminder made her ufortable, and I felt like kicking myself for even bringing it back up.

    "Why are you telling me this now?" she asks me. "It''s something that I''ve epted a while now."

    I nod, "I know you have. You epted it much better than Nicole ever did." I wince at the reminder of my ex-wife''s reaction the second she learned about my family''s secret. It was a memory that still haunts me today.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    "Then why are you bringing it up again?" she asks, surprised and a bit confused with my words.

    Just fucking tell her.

    "I will feel a lot better if you lock yourself in your room this full moon and possibly every other full moon toe," I say.

    Her lips parted slightly as she gazed at me, "I don''t understand. Why would I do that?"

    "I don''t have an answer for you." I lie. "I''m just concerned about your safety. My brothers and I never know who we will attack while in that state. We now know it''s possible to break out of those rooms in the basement. Carter broke out more than once, and the electrocution was a hot mess. It''s something I never want to put any of my other brothers through. We learned from him even though he was the one that requested it."

    "Carter never hurt Scarlett." She points out. "She was the only one he was after, and ording to her, he never hurt her even though he always feared that he would."

    "That''s different." I try to remind her. "Scarlett and Carter are somehow mates. Not the traditional mates that we''re used to, but she saved him. There''s a chance that there is someone out there for each of my siblings, including myself. However, until then, we still have to worry about hurting the people around us."

    Her eyes widen an inch, "are you saying that you''re worried that you would do something to me on the full moon?"

    My jaw clenched; it wasn''t like I could make up a lie for this; there was no other exnation.

    I nod, "I am worried that I would do something to you, ra. I tasted youst night, and the full moon is very close. I''m worried that because of what happened, I may want more of you on that night. I will have no control of my body, and I also will not remember a single thing the next day. So please, listen to me and stay indoors, keep all doors locked."

    She lookspletely surprised by my words. I couldn''t me her; I never thought I would ever be saying these words to her.

    "What if I don''t want to stay indoors on the full moon?" she asks suddenly.

    "What?" I ask, surprised. "Why would you not want to keep yourself safe?"

    </section><section>

    She took a step closer to me, and her fucking scent was about to throw me over the edge. "I want to help you, ric. I want to be in that room with you. If you need me, I''ll be there to take care of you. I don''t want to be away from you during the full moon; I don''t want to run from you. I believe that you would never hurt me."

    Motherfucker¡ª

    </section>

 Chapter 442 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I couldn''t stop myself from saying what I truly wanted to say. I knew this was one of those times when I should have remained quiet, but I couldn''t, not with how my heart felt right now while looking at this man.

    There was a look of shock on his face, but there was also something dark; it shone brightly in his eyes, and a part of me hoped that he wanted to take me up on my offer.

    </section><section>

    I truly wanted to be in that room with him. I wanted to take care of him. I didn''t want to run from the part of him that he was so terrified of. Nicole was disgusted with that part of him, but me, I knew that it wouldn''t change the way I felt about him; in fact, it would bring me closer.

    "ra?" he whispers as he looks around to examine our surroundings before turning his attention back to me. "Do you know what you are asking for?"

    I take a step closer to him, and his body stiffens, "I know exactly what I''m asking for." I assure him. "I wouldn''t have asked it if I didn''t mean it."

    He inhales sharply, "I''m sorry, ra. You have no idea what you''re speaking about. Maybe you''re still drunk from before; I''m unsure what''s happening here. All I know is that I will never allow you to be in that room with me. I lose all control. I can''t take that risk with you in there."

    My heart hurts, but I still persist, "I want to be there for you, ric. I know what happens to you on a full moon, and it doesn''t scare me one bit because I know the kind of man that you are."

    He swallows hard and looks down at me in wonder, "What kind of man am I, ra?"

    I wanted to say that he was my kind of man, the kind I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. However, I knew I had to keep that part of my feelings to myself.

    I take another step closer, and his eyes never leave mine. "You''re kind, caring, respectful, generous, selfless, you care about your siblings more than yourself, you would give your life for them. To me, you''re perfect; there is not one thing about you that I would ever want to change, not even this thing that happens on a full moon. I know that it''s a part of you, and I would never want to change it."

    Not to mention so freaking handsome that I couldn''t stop staring at him no matter how hard I tried.

    "I never knew you saw me that way." He says softly as he gazes at me. I felt weak in my knees with the look he gave me. No one ever looked at me like that, not even Carter.

    "I''ve always seen you that way," I confess. "Even while I was with Carter."

    He growls softly at the mention of his brother, and I wonder if I have somehow made a mistake.

    "What''s wrong?" I ask, sensing the change in his mood.

    He puts space between the two of us, "ra, I will not put your life in danger like that. There''s no telling what could happen if you were in that room with me. Besides, Carter and Scarlett will never forgive me if I do something to you. Fuck, even I wouldn''t forgive myself if I ever hurt you. You are convinced that I wouldn''t, but I am not. Believe me, I''m used to the full moon now. I''ll be fine. And I''ll be even better if I know you''re safe and locked up in your room."

    Why was he so convinced that he woulde after me? There were so many girls that he could go after on the full moon; why was he worried about me?

    "Is everything alright in here?"

    My eyes move towards the door to see Carter looking between the two of us. I remembered what Scarlett said; he thought of me as his sister now and wanted to protect me. I didn''t need protection from ric; he was thest person I needed protection from.

    "Yes, Carter," I answer him. "Everything is fine."

    "I thought I heard something about the full moon." He mentions. "What about the full moon?"

    ric''s jaw clenched, "I told ra that I wanted her to stay in her room during that night, just to be extra cautious."

    Carter looked at his brother, and the two of them were practically in a staringpetition; neither one was looking away.Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    "What does she need to be safe from?" Carter asks him. "None of us will go after her. We''ve never gone after her. What makes you think that it would be different now?"

    It felt like Carter was trying to get ric to confess something, but I could be reading too much into this. I don''t think I''ve ever seen this much tension between the two of them before. They''ve always been loving toward each other; they teased each other while ying sports, but that was about it.

    "I just want her to be safe. That''s all." ric answers him.

    </section><section>

    "Since when have you ever been this concerned over ra''s safety?" Carter asks him. "She''s like a sister to me. I''m married to her sister, and you''re my brother. But I want you to give me an honest answer: why are you this concerned about ra''s safety?"

    What the hell was happening here?

    </section>

 Chapter 443 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    I was fucking pissed. I knew I had no reason to be mad at Carter, but why the fuck was he asking me these questions in front of ra? She shouldn''t have to hear any of this; he could have asked me privately.

    "I''ve always been concerned about ra''s safety," I growl, and that was the damn truth. Even while they were together, I''ve always worried about her safety.

    </section><section>

    "Bullshit," Carter says as he res at me.

    "I have," I assure him. "Way more than you ever did."

    His jaw clenched as Scarlett walked into the room and ced a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. The second that she does, it works like magic. He immediately cools down.

    "I think this isn''t a discussion to be having now." She says as she looks at us. "My sister had a rough night. We need to get her home so that she can rest."

    ra looked at me again, and it was hard to ignore her even though I knew it was the right thing to do. I still didn''t understand why she would want to be in that room with me during the bloody full moon. She should have wanted to run and hide like Nicole always told me.

    She was a lot different than my ex-wife. There was something gentle about ra; I''ve always seen it in her, even more now that she was epting the part of me that even I couldn''t seem to ept.

    "This discussion isn''t over," Carter growls as he leaves with Scarlett.

    I was d that he was gone; I wanted to be alone with ra even though I knew I should never be left alone in a room with her.

    "Promise me," I tell her. "Promise me that you will stay locked in your room on that night. Do not go out anywhere."Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    I knew if she were out, I would find some way to find her. I couldn''t be trusted in that state. Usually, my brothers and I had zero clue who we would be after, but I was positive it would be ra. That fact was still bothering me.

    ra''s lips parted slightly, and there was a scary, determined look on her face. It made me think that she was willing to do the opposite of what I was asking her to do.

    I shouldn''t be worried; it''s not like she would be able to ess the basement easily.

    "Actually," she says suddenly. "I won''t be home on that night."

    I stiffen.

    Where the fuck would she be? I knew damn well that if it were with another man, that would be trouble. I would fucking kill anyone that even looked her way in the wrong way during the full moon.

    When have my thoughts gotten this dark? What was happening to me? I was losing control on days I should have the most control.

    "Where will you be?" My voice was unrecognizable. I was angry, and it was difficult to hide it from her.

    "Here." She announces suddenly. "Since Carter still doesn''t trust himself around Scarlett while she''s pregnant, he wants to lock himself in the basement like he usually does. Scarlett asked me to keep herpany during the full moon. So, I will be here."

    Shock courses through my veins at this new information. Why hadn''t she said this to me earlier? Why hasn''t anyone mentioned it to me before? It was my first time learning about this entire thing.

    I felt better knowing that she wouldn''t be out with another man, but now I had something else to worry about. With ra in the same house as me, the dangers had just multiplied dramatically.

    The constant worry and uncertainty were weighing heavily on my mind, and I knew that I needed to find a way to protect ra from the beast within me. She had no clue what I was capable of, and I wish she would take it more seriously.

    "Are you sure that you want to be here during the full moon?" I ask her.

    She nods, "nothing and no one will stop me from being here."

    Fuck!

    What the hell was I supposed to do now?

    "Make sure that you keep the doors locked," I warn her. "Please, ra. Listen to me. I want you to be safe."

    Her lips part slightly, and she looks at me stubbornly. "I promise you that I will be safe, but there are no other promises that I''m willing to make with you."

    </section><section>

    That was it. I was so fucking scared for her safety that everything in me snapped because of her unwillingness to protect herself from me.

    I had no control when I grabbed her by the waist and pushed her against my desk so that I was leaning over her. I could see the movements of her chest clearly, her heart was beating rapidly now that I had her closer to me. ¡°ra, do you have any fucking idea how dangerous the beast inside of me gets when there is something that he wants? Do you have any idea what could happen to you if I get my hands on you during the full moon? DO YOU?"

    </section>

 Chapter 444 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    My body was in shock, and not the bad kind¡ªthe very satisfactory kind of shock that had your heart racing and your belly doing all kinds of weird things.

    ric had no idea what he was doing to me. I know he was trying to convince me to stay away from him during the full moon. However, he doesn''t realize that this is making me want him even more.

    </section><section>

    Everything about this man made me crazy for him.

    "ric," I whisper, and he growls, almost like he couldn''t believe I''d just said his name like that. "I will be here during the full moon. I know what you and your family are scared of. However, I''m not scared; I will never be scared of you."

    There is a defeated look on his face as he gazes down at me. Our bodies were close, and I could feel his hot, worried breath on my cheeks. I wanted to lean forward and bury my lips on his neck. There were so many things that I wanted to do with ric, but I knew that I couldn''t push my luck. I had to take it slowly with him; he''d only just gotten out of a horrible marriage, and I knew thest thing he would be thinking about was getting into anything serious with me.

    His jaw clenched and it looked like he was calcting something in his head before finally giving up on me.

    He angrily lets go and storms out of the room. I fell back against the desk, trying to catch my breath. I couldn''t believe that had just happened.

    I gently touch my lips with my fingers. I was dying for another kiss. I couldn''t stop thinking about what happened before.

    ric told Carter just a few minutes ago that he''s always cared about me. Was that the truth? Has he truly always cared about me? My heart melted at the possibility of that being true.

    It would mean the world to me if he spoke from his heart when he told those things to Carter.

    . . . . . . . .

    ~ALARIC~

    The full moon was here. Preparation for tonight had already begun, and it was not easy. It''s never easy. We''ve gotten used to it by now, but the trauma it causes us never eases, no matter how many times we''ve done this before.

    "What''s going on between you and Carter?" Ares asks me as he shoots the basketball into the hoop.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    "Nothing." I lie.

    He looks at me suspiciously, "Really? Usually, he''s out here challenging you to a match. Recently, it seems like the two of you are not seeing eye to eye."

    My jaw clenched; I knew it wouldn''t be long before my brothers picked up on the tension between us. I just wasn''t ready to speak about it yet. I didn''t want the others to get the idea that I was interested in ra. I didn''t want to deal with that right now. I also didn''t want her to feel ufortable when she came over to the house. I wanted her around here as much as possible, and that meant making her feel wee and not like my family was gossiping about us.

    "The silent treatment." Ares chuckles. "I guess if I don''t get it out of you, I can always try getting it out of Carter."

    "Don''t," I growl. "Don''t ask him anything."

    "Okay, big brother." He says as he holds up his hands in defense. "Let''s just get through this game without you wanting to strangle me."

    "That''s easier said than done, Ares," I tell him as I grab the ball.

    "We havepany." He announces. "It looks like you won''t be able toplete the game after all. I suggest that you give me the win tonight."

    I follow his gaze, and the ball drops from my hand the second my eyes fall on the woman a few feet away from me.

    I felt everything inside of me gopletely rigid.

    She came.

    ra came, and she chose to fucking wear one of the sexiest dresses I''ve ever seen on her. She was showing off every inch of her curves, and her damn legs were shining like crazy under the light, not to mention the same breasts that nearly drove me to insanity just a few days ago. I was about to lose it. I knew I was. Why would she do this to me on the full moon? She knows what I warned her about.

    Was her intention to drive me fucking insane?

    "What''s with that look of longing on your face?" Ares asks me, and I feel like punching him in his chest.

    "You''re right," I say. "Take the win tonight. I have something else I need to see about right now."

    He doesn''t say anything else. I storm into the house. ra had already moved from my view, and I needed to find her.

    I walk into the hallway and search the kitchen, and then the living room. She was nowhere around.

    Fuck.

    "Who are you looking for?" Carter asks me with his arms folded across his chest.

    "None of your fucking business," I growl as I walk past him up the stairs.

    I''m searching through each of the guest rooms next. She has me like a fucking madman. Did she know that I would run straight after her? Was this her intention? Did shee here to tease me tonight?

    I felt like shouting her name, but I didn''t want anyone else to know what was going on in my head.

    There was onest guest room left to check, one that was closest to my room.

    I pushed the door open aggressively.

    And there she was. Staring out the window.

    She slowly turns around to look at me, and her bottom lip trembles a little.

    </section><section>

    How does she do it? How does she make me this wild over her?

    And what the hell am I supposed to do tonight to keep myself from going after her?

    </section>

 Chapter 445 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    As I gazed into ric''s eyes, I couldn''t help but notice a change in him - something primal and intense. The way he looked at me was different from any other time before. It was as if a wild and dark hunger had taken over him, and I couldn''t help but wonder if it had something to do with the full moon. His eyes seemed to draw me in, and for a moment, I felt like I was the only thing in the world that mattered to him. It was both thrilling and unnerving at the same time. It had my body in a frenzy.

    It even made me shiver with a need that traveled straight between my legs.

    </section><section>

    As he enters the room, I notice a sense of unease in his demeanor. His footsteps are slow and measured as he makes his way towards me, his eyes fixed on mine. I can feel the tension building in the air as he closes the distance between us, his expression unreadable. His behavior was unusual and hard to predict.

    The door creaks softly as he reaches out to close it behind him, the sound echoing through the quiet room. I can''t help but wonder what thoughts are racing through his mind as he approaches me. Despite my curiosity, I remain still, determined not to back down.

    I wore this dress to tease him. I wanted to see if it would drive him crazy, and I think it was actually working. His eyes were stuck on my body, and I could tell that it had him thinking dirty thoughts. Again, I was sure it also had something to do with the full moon. The part of him that I was yet to know was slowlying out, and it wouldn''t be long before he locked himself in that basement to stop himself froming after me.

    I was happy that Scarlett asked me to stay with her tonight; that way, I could be closer to him.

    Of course, she asked me why I had dressed up so much just to spend the night over with her, but I yed it off. Obviously, I knew she had an idea that it had something to do with ric, but she didn''t try to get the truth out of me, and I was grateful for that.

    It wasn''t something I wanted to discuss with her or anyone just yet. I wanted every moment I had with ric from today onwards to be between the both of us until I was ready to share it with everyone else.

    "You came." He growls.

    "I came," I whisper. "And I''m here to stay for the rest of the night."

    His jaw clenched, "I told you not toe. I told you to stay locked in your room. I told you not to do this for your own safety."

    "I''m very safe," I answer him. "Wherever you are, I know it''s the safest ce to be."

    He looks at me as though I''ve just lost my mind, "are you hearing yourself, ra?" he demands from me.

    I nod, "I am, ric."

    His eyes sh when he hears his name in my mouth.

    "ra," he growls. "Please. I''m begging you. Go home tonight. There is still time. Listen to me, please."

    I stand my ground. I was not about to go home tonight. I made up my mind. I wanted him, I wanted this, and I was not backing down without a fight.

    "Damn it," he growls as he ms his fist against the ss window behind me. The entire thing shook like it wanted to break from the force of his hand.

    That''s thest thing I wanted. I didn''t want him to be angry.

    I wanted him to put his hands on me again like he did in the past. I was dying to have him closer to me. ric may be mad at me right now for not listening to him, but he doesn''t realize how much I want him. He doesn''t realize what he does to me or my body and I think tonight might be the night that I tell him. It was the one night that he would forget everything the next day.

    . . . . . . . . .

    ~ALARIC~

    Fuck.

    She wasn''t listening to me, and everything about her drove me up a wall. It was like she came here with intentions to taunt me.

    Even her scent was stronger than ever, and I knew the full moon was causing this to happen to me. Usually, I would have just a little more control than this, but today, it was all gone. There was no bloody control, and I knew that I had less than twenty minutes left to lock myself in that basement before the beast inside of me showed himself.

    "Okay," I tell her, finally giving up. I didn''t have any time left to convince her. ¡°I''ll find a way to keep you safe from myself."

    And I meant those words. I rather fucking kill myself than hurt ra. I would do everything in my power tonight to protect her.

    "You don''t have to try hard at all, ric." She tries to assure me. "You will never hurt me even in that state."

    Why did she have so much damn faith in me? Even I didn''t trust myself as much as she did.

    </section><section>

    ra never seemed to fail to amaze me. Maybe that was why it was so hard to stay away from her. No one else ever treated me the way that she did. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    That is why I have to protect her at all costs.

    </section>

 Chapter 446 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    "What''s up with you?" Scarlett asks me as I walk into her room.

    ric and his siblings had locked themselves up in the basement an hour ago. I wasn''t sure what to expect now. Did I wait? Would ric certainlye for me tonight? I couldn''t get him out of my mind no matter how hard I tried. He was all I could think about day and night.

    </section><section>

    I didn''t n on staying in the room with Scarlett for the entire night. I would sneak out when she fell asleep and stay in ric''s room. I figured that if he escaped from the basement and dide looking for me like he warned me, the best ce to be would be inside of his room.

    "Nothing." I lie.

    She sighs, "I can see that your cheeks are burning, ra. You can''t hide the truth from me. I know something happened between you and ric again. Carter mentioned that he saw ric searching the house for someone, and I think we both know you are the person he was searching for. And look at what you''re wearing. You''ll never wear that for a sleepover unless you had ulterior motives."

    Of course, it was easy for Scarlett to read me like an open book. I was never good at hiding my feelings.

    "Something did happen," I confess. "But I don''t feel like talking about it. I want to keep it to myself until I''m sure that it''s more than just a crush.¡±

    She quirks a brow at me, "so there is a possibility that things between the two of you can be serious?"

    I shrug, "maybe. Maybe not. Only time will tell, sister."

    She makes herselffortable on the bed and looks at me, "Imagine if you marry ric. We will both be married into the same family. To brothers. How amazing would that be?"

    I blushed at the thought of marrying ric. I knew it was way too soon to be thinking of any of that, but now that Scarlett mentioned it, I didn''t know how to get it out of my head. It made me hope for things I knew were out of my reach.

    "What are you thinking about that have you smiling from ear to ear?" she teases me.

    I didn''t realize that I''d been smiling while thinking about the future with him.

    "Nothing." I lie. "Why aren''t you sleeping?"

    She sighs, "I can''t sleep. I''m worried about Carter." She confesses. "I begged him to stay in the room with me tonight. I told him that I was positive he would never hurt me. He''s proven that he will never hurt me on the full moon multiple times before. However, he still isn''t convinced. And since I''m pregnant, he''s more terrified than ever that he would do something to me. It''s bothering me that he''s locked in a room in the basement while I''mfortable in our bed."

    I gently rub her back, "It''s just for tonight. If this is what he''sfortable with, then leave him. Eventually, he will realize that he can be trusted during the full moon."

    She gives me a sad smile, "I really do hope so, ra."

    I pull the sheets over her and turn the lights off, "go to sleep now. I''m right here. You need plenty of rest right now. Carter wouldn''t want you stressed out about this."

    After an hour, my sister finally fell asleep, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I loved being here for her, but tonight, I wanted to be there for ric also. I wanted to prove to him that he would never hurt me, even under a stupid full moon.

    I quietly walked out of the room and shut the door. After checking the hallway to make sure that it was empty, I quickly ran over to ric''s room.

    The second I''m inside, I close the door, making sure not to lock it.

    Before I could even make it to the bed, the door flew open. I spun around with wide eyes to see him already inside.

    As I stood there, facing ric, I felt a sense of unease wash over me. The ric I knew was always in control, calm, and collected unless I did something risky to drastically change his behavior. But this time, something was different. The ric standing in front of me was wild, his eyes burning with a fierce intensity that I had never seen before. My body shivers uncontrobly.

    His chest heaved as he took deep breaths, and I could hear his ragged breathing even from where I stood. I knew without a doubt that this was not the ric I was used to seeing. His energy was palpable, and it was clear that he was on edge. I didn''t need him to say or do anything to know all of this. The tension in the air was almost suffocating, and I struggled to take a deep breath as my heart raced in my chest.

    He''d found me. It didn''t take long at all.

    My eyes widen when I notice something I should have noticed before. There were multiple bruises all throughout his body, especially on his arms, hands, and calves.

    </section><section>

    There was even blood dripping onto the ground. It was hard for me to see him like this. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    Just what did ric get himself into to get to me tonight?

    </section>

 Chapter 447 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I rush to his side, and he doesn''t move an inch. He standspletely still as I examine his body.

    "What the hell happened?" I demand from him. "What did you do to yourself?"

    </section><section>

    I wanted him toe to me tonight, but I didn''t want to see him hurt like this. What was I thinking?

    If I''d known being here tonight would have resulted in this, I would have dly stayed home.

    I still didn''t know enough about this full moon and what it did to ric.

    I felt sick to my stomach. This was all my fault.

    He doesn''t say anything to me; all he does is continue to stare at me as though I''m his next meal.

    "ric," I whisper. "I need to clean your wounds. There''s so much on your body."

    I rush into the bathroom and search for anything to help with his pain. I''m not prepared for when he grabs me from behind and pushes me up against the wall. I didn''t have time to prepare. It was thest thing I expected him to do.

    Everything he''d said to me before, the fact that he was so terrified of himself. This was the part of himself that he was hiding from me. I wasn''t scared at all; I just worried that he would hate himself for this in the morning when he woke up and was himself once more.

    "ric," I gasp when his mouth moves to my neck. He leaves it there without doing anything except sniff me. Was he truly smelling me?

    I staypletely still as he continues to drag his nose from one side of my neck to the other. I could feel my body respond almost instantly, even though he wasn''t doing much. He growls low and predatory, and I believe it''s because he can smell my arousal. It wasn''t something that I could easily hide from him, especially not when he was like this. This side of him craved sex; it was the one thing he would pay close attention to.

    The second his lips touch my neck, my ass pushes back against his hardness. And it was hard, very, very hard. I could feel it more than I''ve ever had the pleasure of feeling in the past. I could tell that it was much bigger than I ever imagined.

    I swallow the need to have him somewhere no one else has ever been. Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    Think ra.

    You can''t let this continue.

    You must stop him before he wakes up hating himself in the morning.

    I wish declining him was as easy as that thought. I couldn''t say no to this man even if I wanted to. The truth was that I wanted this even more than he did, and that was saying something, considering that he was the one in need of sex right now because of the curse. I didn''t even need a curse to be craving that from him. I was much, much worse than he was.

    His hands travel to my breast as he ms my body against his. I cry out at the contact.

    Even now, he hasn''t turned me around. He''s touching and kissing certain parts of my body, but I want to do the same to him. I want to spin around in his arms, but I can tell that he wants to be in control.

    I gasp when his hands move to my thighs. My eyes widened when he spread them wide apart; I held onto his neck for support as he slowly slid one hand higher up my leg so that his fingers were now lightly grazing my panties.

    I shiver against his hold. I have never felt anything that strong in my life. It made my knees quiver uncontrobly.

    He hasn''t said a single thing to me, and it bothers me. Do they never speak during the full moon? I never asked, and it bothered me. I wanted to talk to ric; I wanted him to tell me that he wanted this.

    I couldn''t do anything else but hold onto him as he ripped my underwear into shreds. I watch as the cloth falls onto the ground like it was crumbled paper.

    It was the reminder that he could break me into two if he really wanted to. However, I knew that he never would. I knew that I was safe in his arms. The fact that he was still so gentle with me despite it being a full moon was all the proof I needed.

    "ALARIC!" I scream when his finger ms into my pussy without any warning. I tried to hold onto anything I could as he pulled it back out, only to push it back in harder than before. He kept up the motion until I was dripping wet. I could hear the sshing noisesbined with my loud moans as he continued to bring me pleasure.

    I''ve never felt this good in my life, and I never wanted it to stop.

    "ric, please!" I beg. "I want more. Please!"

    I don''t know what happens next, but I don''t get my wish. Instead, he freezes like he''d suddenly been hit with the reality of what was happening.

    I gasped when his hands moved from around me, and I fell to the ground without warning.

    My lips part when a painful roar escapes his mouth. I watch in horror as he ms his fist into the mirror in front of him.

    "ALARIC!" I cry. "Stop! You''re hurting yourself!"

    He doesn''t listen to me. It feels like he''s punishing himself for touching me. I try to pull him away but it wasn''t doing anything. There was blood everywhere and he was making the bruises much worse than before.

    ¡°Please ric!¡± I beg. ¡°Please, please stop this!¡±

    </section><section>

    No matter how hard I tried, he didn''t want to stop. He insisted on hurting himself.

    Why would he do this?

    </section>

 Chapter 448 -

    <section>

    ~NICOLE~

    I was pregnant. Ace had gotten me pregnant. And now I had to make ric believe that this child was his. And I needed to do it before he realized that I was pregnant. There was only one thing I could think of doing at a time like this.

    It was the full moon.

    </section><section>

    He should be locked in that room. Once I woke up next to him, he would believe that he''d slept with me the entire night. That way, he would believe me when I told him I was pregnant with his baby. Everything would work out in the right way for me.

    I sneak into the basement using the key ric once gave to me. It wasn''t the only key; he''s given me multiple ones, and I''ve kept them all. I''d already messed with the cameras. I knew that one day I would need them, and I was right. Today was the day that I needed those keys more than ever.

    I didn''t stop as I raced from door to door until I found the one I was looking for.

    ric''s.

    I was surprised, however, when I noticed that the door was already opened. That''s strange. Since our marriage, I don''t think he''s ever left this basement on a full moon.

    Why would anyone leave this door unlocked?

    I was hesitant as I peeked inside. I didn''t want to get attacked by him if he was unchained. I''m surprised when I see not a single sign of him inside. Instead, all that''s left is some blood and broken chains. It meant that he''d broken free from here a long time ago. Maybe not that long; the blood was still fresh.

    I shivered with disgust at what that monster was capable of doing. He must have found another woman to bury his dick inside tonight. I don''t feel even the slightest bit of envy; I only feel disgust.

    I can''t believe I''ve ever been married to that man. ric is thest person I''ll ever want to be married to. However, I needed him. As long as I needed him, I had to find a way to get him to stay by my side. I''d already lost a big part of him when he divorced me; now, I didn''t have much left to hold onto.

    I was desperate for him to believe this baby was his. I haven''t broken the news to Ace just yet. I wanted to trap ric first, then handle Ace. I knew ric was a much easier target than Ace was.

    ric always fell for my fake tears; it didn''t work with Ace. He was a lot more heartless than my ex-husband was. ric had a soft spot for me, and I nned on using that to my advantage as long as possible.

    I quickly got out of the basement before another one of his brothers could escape and do something to me that I would hate. It''s not like they would remember seeing me the next day. They all disgusted me, every single one of them. I don''t know why I ever married into this family.

    The second that I enter the hallway, I immediately think to check ric''s room. Maybe he was in there. I had to do something, anything, to get him to believe that he slept with me tonight.

    I knew it was risky to be inside his home when I didn''t ask for an invitation, but I had no choice. If I told ric I wanted to be here tonight, it would have made my intentions a lot more visible. Besides, I knew that he would have turned me down. He always asked me to stay far from him during the full moon. He never needed to ask me, I always preferred to keep away from him during that time. Even now, I hated the fact that I needed to be here when he was running loose.

    There was no telling the state he was in or which woman was his next target now that I was out of his life.

    I was at the bottom of the stairs when I noticed some movement at the top. I immediately hid before the person could spot me.

    It didn''t take me long to realize who it was.

    ra.

    What the fuck was she doing here? Why would ric have ra over during a full moon? That was very unlike him.

    She looks like she''s crying as she runs out the door. I don''t think I''ve ever seen her look that upset before. Something must have happened between the two of them. Why else would she be that way? I knew damn well it wouldn''t be for Carter since she waspletely over him.

    I don''t waste another second as I race up the stairs to ric''s room. I had to move quickly before I ran into anyone else again. I knew Scarlett was most likely in her room; I had to hope that she was fast asleep.

    I breathed a sigh of relief when I finally got to the door. I quickly open the door to find ric passed out on the bed.

    Yes. Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    It was exactly what I needed to see.

    </section><section>

    I didn''t waste any more time as I ripped my clothes so that it looked like he was the one who did it. I didn''t stop until I was naked. When I was pleased with my work, I snuggled against his chest and held on tightly.

    Tomorrow. . . Everything will go back to normal between us. He will be mine again.

    </section>

 Chapter 449 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    Fuck.

    Why the hell did everything hurt so much? I couldn''t remember thest time I woke up feeling this fucking sore.

    </section><section>

    Just what did I dost night?

    I moved my hands a little, only to realize that I wasn''t alone. There was most definitely a naked body pressed up against my side.

    My first thought was ra, but I immediately dismissed that thought. It couldn''t be ra. This scent didn''t belong to her, but I knew exactly who it belonged to.

    No.

    I wouldn''t have done something like that even on a full moon. I wouldn''t have gone after her; she would be thest person I should be seeking on a night like that.

    I was terrified to open my eyes. I didn''t want to confirm what my heart already knew.

    Fuck ric. I thought you were smarter than this. I thought you would never do something this fucking insane.

    The second I opened my eyes, I knew that it was over. I knew that I''d done something that I would never be able to forgive myself for. Nicole already hated me during a full moon; she must hate me even more now.

    And ra. I didn''t even want to think about her. She would be so disappointed in me. I didn''t even want to think about what this news would do. It would hurt too much just to imagine her reaction if she ever found out what I did.

    But how long would I be able to hide the truth from her? I didn''t want to lie. I didn''t want there to be any secrets between us.

    Waking up like this makes me wonder if I should have epted her offer. Maybe it would have been better to have her in that damn basement with me; none of this would have happened.

    I''d just messed up my life for good.

    Nicole stirs a little, and I brace myself for her outburst.

    How did this even happen? I should have been locked up in that basement. I made it in such a way that I shouldn''t have been able to get out. I wanted to protect ra from the beast inside of me. Not once did I ever think that I would wake up with a naked Nicole in my arms.

    I''d really done it this time. There was no going back from here. I couldn''t reverse the things I''d donest night, and now I had to live with it for the rest of my life.

    "ric?" She whispers as she looks at me drowsily.

    "What''s going on?" She asks as she waits for me to say something. She takes one look around the room and gasps.

    Did I force her back to my room? What exactly did I do? She was the only one who would be able to tell me all of the details.

    "I thought it was all a dream." She confesses. "Last night, I was convinced that everything that happened between us wasn''t real. But now I can see that it did, in fact, happen."

    I close my eyes to try and drown out the pain. It didn''t help. Not in the least.

    "ric?" She asks again.

    I couldn''t bring myself to answer her even though I knew I couldn''t keep quiet like this for the rest of my life. I had to find out. I couldn''t hide from this. I had to own up to my actions, no matter how hard it was.

    "What happenedst night?" I ask her. "I won''t be able to remember a single detail. What did I do to you? How did you end up in my room like this?"

    She blushed, and I felt my stomach twist ufortably. It was a look I longed to see in her during the past. Now, I hated that look unless it was on ra''s face. She was the only woman I wanted to look at me like that. But it was toote for that. She would hate me after this. She would finally see me as the monster I always knew that I was.

    "I came over here." She informs me. "I knew it was the full moon, and I wanted to be here for you."Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    That didn''t seem like her at all. It was thest thing I would ever expect her to say.

    "You''ve always hated the full moon." I remind her. "You always stayed as far away from me as possible because it made you sick. I made you sick. Why did you suddenly decide toest night when you know that we are divorced and the dangers it could mean for you?"

    She bit her lip and looked away from my piercing gaze.

    "I don''t know what to say, ric." She whispers. "Ever since I signed those papers, I can''t stop thinking about you. I hoped that if I camest night, I could prove to you that I have changed. I wanted to show you that I could be better for you, us, and our rtionship."

    </section><section>

    I wince at the mention of our rtionship. There was nothing left between us anymore. What I didst night would not change things in our failed marriage. The only thing that would change is ra''s feelings for me, and to me, that was the most important thing in this world.

    I had to find a way to fix things. I had to. I couldn''t let ra learn about this from anyone else but me.

    </section>

 Chapter 450 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I made a mistakest night. I should never have gone to ric''s home during the full moon. I should have listened to him.

    Everything that happened was my fault. He warned me that I wouldn''t like it, though it was for apletely different reason than he expected.

    </section><section>

    I never wanted to make things harder for him. I wanted to get closer to him; I wanted to know that he wanted me. I found out that he did, but not how I wanted it to happen.

    When ric touched mest night, he hated himself for it. I still remember the blood stains in the bathroom mirror. It was something I was likely never to forget. I''d never seen so much regret on someone''s face as his after he touched me.

    I close my eyes and ce my head down on the desk. I was in his ss; I''d made sure toe early today. However, I was afraid of his reaction when he saw me. I knew he wouldn''t remember anything, but I''m sure that he could see the state of his bathroom. He must figure out that something happened between us.

    Last night, he escaped from the basement to get to me, just like he had feared. I wince at the reminder of the bruises on his body. I never once thought that just being in the same house with him during the full moon would result in something like that happening. I never wanted to see him physically hurt because of my selfishness again. It was thest time I would do something that foolish just for my own personal gain.

    "What''s wrong with you?" Jenna asks me as she takes a seat next to mine.

    I hadn''t told her what had happened, and I wouldn''t be able to tell her the entire truth either. The full moon wasn''t something I could discuss.

    "I''ve been having a rough morning," I answer her. Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    "Does it have something to do with our hot professor?" she teases me.

    I nod, "everything in my life is somehow connected to him now." I confess.

    "Well, you might want to lift your head off the desk because he''s just entered the room." She informs me.

    When I heard her say those words, my breath caught in my throat. ric was actually here, and I didn''t know how to feel about it. My mind was still preupied with the guilt and shame from my actions the day before. I couldn''t bear to look at him, afraid of the judgment I might see in his eyes. The thought of facing him now, under these circumstances, was almost too much to bear.

    However, I didn''t have a choice. I knew if I stayed this way, I would bring more attention to myself, and it was thest thing that I wanted to happen.

    I gradually lifted up my face, feeling the weight of his gaze on me. As my eyes met his, a small gasp escaped my lips - he looked emotionally drained and stressed out as if he had been battling with his thoughts the entire morning. Seeing his distress made my heart sink, and I couldn''t help but feel responsible for it. It wasn''t fair that he was going through this turmoil because of me. The situation should have never escted to this point, and I couldn''t help but regret my actions that led to this moment.

    I bit my lip when he looked away from my gaze, almost as though he couldn''t bear to look at me.

    I swallow the pain I felt in my chest at that realization. It was much worse than I thought. He didn''t even want to look at me. He must hate me for what I did.

    "That was weird," Jenna whispers, confirming my thoughts. "He didn''t even look at you for more than a few seconds when usually he can''t take his eyes off you."

    I wasn''t sure what I could do to make any of this better. The rest of the ss was torture for me. He never looked my way again.

    It felt like the longest hour of my life. When the bell rings, I slowly get up from my chair. I had to get out of here before I started to cry in front of him. I didn''t want to act like the victim when I was responsible for everything that went wrongst night.

    Before I could walk out of the ssroom, his hand stopped me. I held my breath; my skin tingled under his touch, and it was hard not to care that his hand was on me.

    "There is something I need to speak to you about." He informs me.

    The girls behind us are looking at us with jealousy like they usually do. However, they didn''t have anything to be jealous about. Soon enough, he will want nothing to do with me. Maybe that was what he wanted to speak to me about.

    "Sure," I tell him.

    "Meet me in my office in five minutes." He says as he turns his attention to the other girls. Their faces immediately brightened now that he was looking at them.

    I hugged myself as I exited the room.

    I wasn''t prepared to hear what he had to say to me. I knew he would want to know more aboutst night, and I wasn''t willing to tell him everything that happened. I didn''t want him to hate himself any more than he already did because of the curse and what it turned him into.

    </section><section>

    I slowly make my way to his office after five minutes have passed. I knock on the door, and it swiftly opens. I can barely breathe when he grabs my hand and pulls me inside.

    "ric?" I gasp.

    </section>

 Chapter 451 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    His hands are firmly nted on either side of me, his breath hot on my face. I can hear the wild beating of my heart in my chest, and I can almost taste the tension in the air; it is almost palpable. ric''s alluring scent was a big distraction, but what was genuinely captivating was his heated, intense eyes fixed on me, smoldering with heat.

    He must know. Somehow, he knew what I didst night. Why else would you be looking at me like this?

    </section><section>

    I could feel my cheeks get redder in embarrassment. I''d done things that he must hate me for. He begged me to stay away, but I was too stubborn.

    "ric, I¡ª"

    He doesn''t let me finish; instead, I''m shocked when his lips crash down on mine. It was thest thing I expected, and it left my body in a state of shock. I couldn''t do anything but stay there and let him suck the life out of me from that one kiss. I''d never been kissed like this in my entire life. He''s kissed me before, but never like this. It was a more powerful feeling, one that made me feel weak enough to faint. I tried to catch my breath each time he broke the kiss to kiss me harder a secondter.

    Eventually, I snap out of it, and before I could stop myself, wrap my arms around his neck. I must be dreaming; that''s what this was. There was no possible way that ric would be kissing me in his office right now. I wanted to pinch myself but was too scared of waking up and losing this. I didn''t want to lose this feeling. It was something that I would want to remember forever.

    His mouth is hungry and desperate. It''s how I always wished that Carter would kiss me in the past when we were in a rtionship. I didn''t know what I had been missing until now. To have a man want me this desperately. Not once did I think that I would be kissing my ex-boyfriend''s brother. Not once did I think I would be in the arms of ric Prince. Not once did I think that he would be the one to give me something that I always wanted. It was something I had only dreamed of. To have him kiss me like he really wanted it.

    There''s something else in this kiss, something that I had yet to recognize. I was too busy drowning in ecstasy.

    I moan against him, and he responds by deepening the kiss. I hear a growl, and it vibrates throughout my entire body. I tremble in his arms, and my heartbeat increases in response to his touch.

    There''s a knock on the door, and I freeze. ric, on the other hand, seems to be still caught up in me. He doesn''t let go of me. Instead, his hands tighten on my waist as he spins me around and presses me up against his desk. I''m practically sprawled out on it as he continues to devour my mouth.

    My body felt like it was on fire, and I needed someone to throw some water on me. Maybe that would finally wake me up from this dream.

    I don''t stop him as his mouth moves to my neck. I gasp when I feel him begin to suck on the skin below my ear. I''d never felt this fucking alive in my entire life. And only ric could do this to me, even if it turned out that it was all just a dream, as I suspected.

    The knock on the door gets more aggressive, and even that doesn''t seem to get his attention.

    His hands move to my breasts, and I cry out. Whoever was at the door must have heard me; the knocking pauses for a minute, and I believe he or she was listening intently. Whoever it was, they wanted to confirm what they''d just heard.

    Something was off; no matter how good this felt, I knew that I was missing something. But what was it? What had happened, that had him this way? It felt like he was almost scared of losing me, almost like he didn''t want to let me go.

    What could have caused ric to act this recklessly? The ric I knew would be concerned about someone finding us in this position; he would be worried about my reputation.

    What exactly happenedst night after I left the room? It couldn''t be just because of what I did. Something else must have happened that I didn''t know about.

    "ALARIC!" I hear Nicole shouting outside the door.

    His ex-wife. I should have known it would be her waiting to enter his office. She must be hysterical now that she''d heard my cry of pleasure.

    </section><section>

    I hear the aggressive turn of the doorknob as she tries to open it again. When did he even get the chance to lock it? I wasn''t aware that it had been locked this entire time.

    Why was Nicole here? Why couldn''t she leave us alone? What exactly did she want this time?

    </section>

 Chapter 452 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    What the fuck? What the hell was I doing? We were in the bloody academy for fucking crying out loud! Why would I risk ra''s reputation like this?

    My fear of losing her because of my actionsst night was making me act like a madman. The second I saw her in that ssroom, I knew I had to keep my eyes and hands off her. However, I couldn''t stand it. I asked to see her in my office with every intention of fucking kissing her and even more after knowing that it might be thest time I would ever be able to put my mouth on her.

    </section><section>

    Fuck.

    Now Nicole was right outside the door, waiting toe in. She could spill the news at any second to ra.

    I didn''t want that. I should have told her the truth when I called her into my office; I shouldn''t have used up that opportunity to put my mouth and hands all over her body.

    Fucking hell.

    She would hate me. ra would hate my guts after this.

    "I''m s¡ª"

    She puts a hand over my mouth to stop me, "Don''t apologize for kissing me. Please don''t do it."

    My jaw clenched, and I slowly moved her hand from over my mouth.

    "There is something I need to tell you," I confess. "Something that happenedst night."

    Her eyes widen a fraction, and she looks a bit nervous to hear what I have to say. What could she possibly be nervous about if she didn''t have a clue what I was about to tell her? It makes me wonder if she already knew something that she wasn''t saying to me. Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    "ALARIC, I SWEAR IF YOU DO NOT OPEN THIS DOOR IN FIVE SECONDS, I WILL CALL SECURITY TO BREAK IT DOWN!" Nicole shouts.

    Fuck.

    I couldn''t let that happen. It would bring too much attention to us, and it was thest thing that ra needed right now.

    "I have to speak to Nicole," I inform her, and she slowly nods.

    I quickly cross the room and open the door. Nicole almost falls to the ground; she must have had her ear glued to the door.

    "Nicole." I greet her.

    She narrows her eyes when she sees ra behind me. I knew how much they didn''t like each other.

    "Why did you lock the door with that woman in your office?" she demands.

    "Nicole, need I remind you that we are no longer married. I do not have to answer any of your questions anymore." I growl.

    She narrows her eyes, "oh really?"

    I sigh, "ra, can you please excuse us? I need to speak to Nicole in private."

    She doesn''t bother to say anything as she storms out of the room. I was d that she was gone. I was even surprised that Nicole didn''t try and tell her anything aboutst night. She was most likely waiting for the right opportunity to break the news to her.

    ¡°Why are you here, Nicole?¡± I demand.

    She narrows her eyes and angrily closes the door after ra walks out of it.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± she shouts. ¡°How could you just leave me there on your bed after what you did to mest night?¡±

    There was something different about her. Something that I couldn''t seem to figure out.

    Did she put on some weight?

    Fuck. Why was that even my concern?

    ¡°Look, Nicole,¡± I sigh. ¡°I don''t have time for this. I already apologized and promised to make it up to you. However, I did exin that there was no longer a chance for us.¡±

    ¡°There is!¡± she hisses. ¡°I know that you are acting this way because of that spiteful woman! But don''t forget that I was the one that supported you all along. Not her!¡±

    What?

    What the hell was she speaking about? When has she ever supported me? She''s made me feel like shit during our entire marriage.

    Why the hell was she lying?

    ¡°Nicole. I don''t want to get into a fight about this now. I had a fucking awful night. I knew you did, also. Why don''t you just take some time and rest?¡± I ask her gently.

    I was trying my hardest to be kind to her right now, even though she was testing my patience. I needed to remind myself that I was the wrong one. I did something to herst night that even now I have no memory of. I would never have a memory of it either.

    ¡°I want to make things work, ric.¡± She begs. ¡°I want you to give me another chance. Why can''t you do that for me?¡±

    ¡°Because you lost that chance a long time ago.¡± I remind her. ¡°Now, please, get out of my office.¡±

    She stabs a finger against my chest, ¡°I promise you that you will regret this.¡±

    It''s thest thing she says to me before storming out of my office.

    </section><section>

    Damn it.

    I knew I was screwed.

    </section>

 Chapter 453 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    "What do you mean ric isn''t home?" I asked Scarlett for the second time since she broke the news to me.

    He kissed me earlier today, then Nicole met with him, and I never saw him again after that. He disappeared without any warning. All I kept thinking about was that kiss; I couldn''t get it out of my head. I wanted to see him and ask him about it. I was hoping that it was more than just a kiss for him.

    </section><section>

    However, he was nowhere to be found. I was sure that I would see him when I came to visit Scarlett. I never thought that he wouldn''t be home.

    "I don''t know what else you want me to say," Scarlett whispers. "He never showed up after work today. Then he called Apollo and told him that he would be out for the rest of the week."

    "The rest of the week?" I gasp. "How is that even possible? Doesn''t he have like students that he needs to teach? Why would he disappear like that without an exnation?"

    She quirks a brow at me, "I was hoping that you would have an answer to this question. Is it possible that something happened between the two of you that has him reacting this way?"

    I bit my lip; there was no use hiding the truth from my sister.

    "He called me to his office and kissed me today," I confess.

    Her eyes look like they would pop out any second now.

    "He did what?" she asks in disbelief.

    "But then Nicole showed up, and he asked me to leave. I never got to ask him about the kiss. There''s something weird going on. I can feel it. I know that Nicole is definitely the main culprit in his strange behavior. I don''t know what she''s up to, but it cannot be any good. I''ve never seen ric this uneasy or reckless."

    Scarlett sighs, "his rtionship with Carter hasn''t improved either. They''re both still very angry with each other. I don''t know when any of this will get better¡±.

    "Can someone tell me why Nicole is here?" Violet asks us as she walks into the family room.

    "Nicole?" Scarlett asks in surprise.

    She was here? Why would shee here?

    "She also came to see ric at the academy today," I informed his sister. "He didn''t look happy to see her. I don''t know why she''s here."

    "She''s following him around," Violet says in an annoyed tone. "When he wanted her, she never cared about him. Now that he''s moving on with his life, she''s trying to confuse him again. I''m so tired of her."

    "Let''s see what she wants," Scarlett says. "At least ric isn''t here. There''s no reason for her to stay."

    The second that we walk into the hallway, she''s already there waiting for us. Was she expecting us?

    "Where is ric?" she demands.

    "Why are you here, Nicole?" Violet demands. "You are no longer married to my brother."

    She narrows her eyes at her, "I always knew there was a reason that I never liked you."

    "Don''t speak to her like that." I snap.

    Nicole rolls her eyes at me, "I''m not here to speak to any of you. I''m here to speak to ric. I have some important news to tell him. It''s something that he needs to hear from me."

    I narrow my eyes, "what is it? We can give the message to him."

    "Who do you think you are?" she snaps at me. "You''re a nobody. ric doesn''t care about you. Why are you always in his business?"

    "Oh, believe me, my brother cares deeply about her," Violet informs her. "And unlike you, I know she cares about him also."

    My lips part slightly at Violet''s words. I''m happy to know that she thinks ric cares about me. I knew that it was evident that I cared about him, too.

    "I''m telling you that I have something significant to tell ric."

    "He isn''t here," Violet informs her. "In fact, he will not be here for a few days. None of us know where he is. I don''t know what you said to my brother today, but he has disappeared."Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    She looks genuinely surprised by her words and even a bit disappointed. It seems as though she really wanted to see him.

    "Now, can you please leave? There is no reason for you to be here." Violet tells her.

    Nicole folds her arm over her chest angrily, "you may think that your brother haspletely gotten over me. I''m here to tell you that soon enough, he will want me again. When I tell him what I have to say to him, believe me, ric will be mine again, and there is nothing that any of you can do to stop it from happening."

    </section><section>

    Her words have the three of us totally confused.

    What could Nicole possibly have to say to him that will get them back together?

    </section>

 Chapter 454 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    Each day went by slowly without ric. It was difficult not to see him. It''s the first time I''ve been away from him for this long since falling for him.

    There was a recement professor and I didn''t like him one bit. He didn''t make learning fun. He didn''t give me a reason to want toe to ss, day after day. I think every girl in our ss felt the same way that I did. In fact, plenty of them stopped showing up after they realized he wouldn''t be here for a while.

    </section><section>

    It''s been four days, four whole days. Today, I was hoping that he would be back. However, once again, there was the recement professor in front of me.

    I couldn''t pay attention to a single wording out of his mouth.

    "He''s boring." Jenna sighs. "I hate to admit it but I really miss our hot professor. But I know that you miss him a hundred times more than I do."

    "Really?" I ask her sarcastically. "What gave it away?"

    She smirks, "Maybe the big frown on your forehead or the dark circles under your eyes that tell me you haven''t been sleeping. . . The constant sighing from you. The fact that you look like you want to cry and have plenty on your mind. Also, if I were to ask you a question about any of the topics taught during the past few days, I''m sure you wouldn''t be able to tell me a single one."

    I roll my eyes at her, "I didn''t think you would actually list everything out like that."

    She grins, "I was simply matching your energy."

    The bell signals the end of ss and I''m happy that the torture is finally over.

    "I''m sure he will show up soon." Jenna tries tofort me."

    She hasn''t been the only one trying tofort me. My sister has been trying every day since ric disappeared. A part of me was upset with him. I couldn''t understand how he could kiss me so passionately and then disappear for four whole days. How could he do such a thing? It felt like he was running away from me.

    As I walk beside Jenna, lost in my thoughts, she suddenly grabs my hand with a force that startles me. I turn to look at her and notice a look of shock on her face. Her eyes widen, and her mouth slightly opens as if she has just seen something unexpected. I can feel her grip tightening on my hand, and I wonder what could have caused her such surprise. It makes me instantly worried.

    She shakes my hand and urges me to look forward. I follow her gaze and all of the life is sucked out of me when I see ric in front of his office door. I could feel the adrenaline kick in at just the sight of him.

    "Is it really him or am I daydreaming again?" I asked her for confirmation even though she was the one who pointed him out to me.

    I''ve been having hallucinations about him ever since he left and I would hate for this to be another one.

    She nods, "It''s him alright. But I don''t know if you''ve noticed yet, he isn''t alone."

    The second that she says those words to me, I notice Nicole right next to him. I watch with frustration as he grabs her hand and pulls her into his office. My heart drops at the reminder of him doing the exact same thing to me just a few days ago. As the door ms shut, so too does my heart.

    I could feel my blood begin to boil at the thought of him kissing and touching her like he''d done to me.

    "What do you think they''re doing in his office?" Jenna asks me.

    I exhale loudly.

    "Hey," she whispers. "Are you okay? You look like you''re about to explode any second now."

    I did feel like I was about to explode. I couldn''t believe he would do this to me. The first thing he should have done after returning wase to me. He should have found me and exined why he left in the first ce! We were supposed to talk about that kiss in his office!

    How could he be this heartless? It was almost like that kiss meant absolutely nothing to him.

    Nicole''s words from a few days ago were haunting me, and it seemed as though it was alreadying true. He was already choosing her over me. She was the first person he went looking for when it should have been me.

    I wasn''t about to let this slide. The second that Nicole exited that room, I would be stepping inside.

    </section><section>

    ric Prince had some serious exining to do!

    I was not going to back down until he told me why he left me for four freaking days!

    </section>

 Chapter 455 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    "What was so important that you needed to see me today?" I ask Nicole.

    I had every intention of finding ra; I knew she might be upset with me after disappearing right after I kissed her. What she doesn''t know is that I''ve been by her window every single night since I left home. I had to see her, even if it meant watching her while she slept. I never entered her room; I knew if I did, I wouldn''t be able to stop myself from kissing her.

    </section><section>

    Thest person I wanted to see when I entered the academy was Nicole. But it seemed as though she was waiting for me. It wasn''t abnormal to see her here since she''d also recently started working here because of a connection I''d gotten for her while we were married.

    However, I didn''t want to have a conversation with her again. It never ended well for either one of us.

    "Why the hell did you disappear and not tell me anything?" she demands. "I went over to your home, and your family was extremely rude to me, as usual. All I wanted to do was see you, and they had the most horrible things to say to me."

    I knew how much Nicole loved to stretch the truth to her advantage. I knew that she must have said something to them first.

    "Look, Nicole, I''m trying hard to be nice to you, considering how badly you treated me when you found out about my family''s secret. I finally gave you the divorce that you wanted for a long time. Why are you suddenly acting like I was the one that ruined our marriage?"

    "Because I still love you!" She shouts. "I still love you, ric, and it''s hard for me to see that you don''t love me anymore. It''s hard for me to see you crazy about another woman. I want another chance. You can''t possibly be serious about ra. She''s too young for you; she''s your student for crying out loud!"

    ra''s age did bother me in the past, but not fucking anymore. I didn''t care what anyone had to say about it; she was the woman for me. It was either her or no one else. I knew that much.

    "I don''t believe you," I tell her. "There is no way that you''re still in love with me. I''m having trouble believing that you ever loved me to begin with. And as for ra, please stop bringing her up in our arguments. She has nothing to do with our failed marriage. Our marriage was a mess before I even got to know her better. Leave her out of this, Nicole."

    I couldn''t help but notice the oversized coat around her body. Nicole usually wore revealing or very tight-fitted clothes. It was weird to see her in something like this.

    "You''re right." She sighs. "That woman has nothing to do with us. That is why I believe that I can save this marriage."

    "What marriage?" I shout. "Why do you keep repeating the same thing? Nicole, it''s time that you ept this is over. I don''t want to use force to remove you from my life. I''m still trying to salvage what''s left of our good memories."

    She turns towards the door but doesn''t try to leave. It looks like she''s thinking hard about something.

    "I can''t walk out of your life now, ric." She whispers suddenly. "It''s toote to walk out now. There is someone else in both of our lives. Someone that requires us to stay together for a very long time."

    I frown, what the fuck was she speaking about? Who was the person that needed us to stay together? I knew damn well that it wasn''t me.

    "What are you talking about?" I demand.

    "Something happened on the night of the full moon. Something that neither of us can run from." She cries. "I didn''t want things toe to this ric. I was hoping that you would give us another chance before I broke this news to you. I considered walking away from you for good, but I knew you deserved the truth."

    "Nicole, what the hell are you trying to tell me?"

    I didn''t like this one bit. I could already tell that whatever she had to say to me was about to change my life for good. It fucking terrified me.

    The coat slowly dropped from her shoulders, and I held my breath. I wasn''t sure what was happening, but I wasn''t fucking prepared.

    "I didn''t want to say anything until I was sure." She says softly.

    She was still facing the doorway, but I could see her slowly begin to turn around. Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

    It didn''t take me long to realize what was so different about her. A sharp pain shuts through my spine at my first look at the bump on her stomach. It could only mean one fucking thing.

    No.

    This couldn''t be happening to me.

    </section><section>

    Not now.

    Please, fuck no.

    </section>

 Chapter 456 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.

    "I don''t understand," I whisper. "How?"

    "What do you mean how?" she demands. "Have you forgotten what happened a few days ago? I''m pregnant, ric. I''m finally pregnant. I know you''ve wanted this for a very long time. I was terrified when I found out, but a big part of me was also happy to finally give you something that you''ve always wanted. What we''ve both wanted for a long time.¡±

    </section><section>

    I can''t move. My body has forgotten how to work. She''s right. I''ve wanted this for a very, very long time. I begged her in the past for a baby, but she was never willing to have one with me.

    But why now? Why does it have to happen when I was interested in someone else?

    Did this life fucking hate me? Why did things like this always happen? When would the madness stop?

    "I don''t know what to say," I confess. ¡°This is thest thing I expected to hear from you today.¡±

    She walks up to me and ces a hand on my shoulder. I flinch at her touch. It was much different than ra''s. Things were different now; I didn''t like anyone¡¯s hands on me except ra¡¯s.

    "You should be happy, ric. This is what you''ve always wanted. You are going to be a father. You''ve wanted a child for as long as I can remember. Your dream will finallye true, and I''m thrilled that I will be the one to make that happen. You have no idea how hard it has been on me these few days without you. I searched everywhere for you; I knew I had to tell you that I was having your baby.¡±

    I swallow hard¡ªa baby. I''d gotten Nicole pregnant, and it just so happened to be as soon as I divorced her.

    Fuck ric. My timing was horrible. Hers was also.

    I didn''t want this right now. I may have wanted a baby from her in the past, and I may have wanted it desperately. However, it''s thest thing I wanted now, at least from her.

    That damn curse. It fucking messed my entire life up. And it wasn''t about to stop now. It was the reason for most of the horrible things happening in my life. I wish there were a way to get rid of it for good.

    Nicole always surprised me. Her reaction to all of this was a total shock to me.

    Why was she so happy about it when she''d always told me that she wasn''t ready to be a mother? We''d had so many arguments in the past over this. Eventually, I respected her wish not to have a baby at that time. What caused her to change her mind about this quickly? I knew it couldn''t be because of the divorce. There had to be another reason.

    "We are going to be good parents, ric." She whispers. "I promise you that I will be better. I have to be better now that I will be a mother. All I need is for you to try as well."

    Fuck.

    "Are you sure that you are pregnant?" I asked, even though the proof was right in front of me.

    She looks down and ces her hand over her stomach, "what more proof do you need?" she asks me. "We can go to the doctor if that will make you feel better about this, but I''m telling you, this is your baby. It''s our baby."

    I felt like everything was spinning out of control, and I had no idea how to stop it.

    Everything was about to change in my life. Everything.

    . . . . . . . . .

    ~CLARA~

    "What is taking them so long?" I asked Jenna as I paced from left to right.

    "I wish I had the answer to give you," Jenna says as she tries to calm me down.

    She''s been trying to calm me down for a few minutes now. I didn''t understand what they could possibly be speaking about for so long.

    I''m about to say something else when the door opens, and Nicole steps out of his office. She looks. . . Happy. It''s like she''s gotten something she''s wanted for a while now. It bothers me. It bothers me so badly that I want to ask her what she''s up to now. Especially since she mentioned that she had something to tell ric that would bring him back to her again.

    I don''t wait for another second as I rush towards his office. I knew it wasn''t a good idea to do this while everyone was probably watching. However, I didn''t care. I was too angry with ric to care about anyone else right now.

    I don''t bother knocking as I push his door open. I find him by his desk with a look of despair.

    I knew I should have asked right away what was wrong, but my anger had taken control of my body.

    "How could you?" I demand.

    He finally looks at me, acknowledging my presence. I don''t think he even realized I''d entered the room until now.

    "ra?" He says my name like he isn''t even sure I''m here.

    "HOW COULD YOU?" I repeat myself.

    He blinks once, then twice. He looks horrified. He should be.

    "I¡ª" he looks down, unable to say anything.

    "I can''t believe you would kiss me and then disappear without saying a single word to me!" I snap. "I thought you were better than that! I''ve always known you as a man who didn''t run from your problems. I can''t believe you left like that and never said a single word to me."

    </section><section>

    He swallows hard but looks surprised by my words and possibly even a little bit relieved. What was there to be relieved about? Couldn''t he hear the anger and hurt in my voice?

    "Was the kiss that bad?" I demand. "Did you regret kissing me? Was that why you disappeared without a single word? Were you hoping that we wouldn''t have to speak about it if you weren''t here? Did you also hope that I would forget about it? Was that your reason for leaving without any warning, ric?¡±

    </section>

 Chapter 457 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    Fuck.

    How could she think I hated that kiss? I fucking loved every second of it to the point that I wanted it every single day for the rest of my life. I couldn''t stop thinking about it. It was on my mind all the damn time. Her taste was everything; even now, I want to push her up against the wall and cover her lips with my mouth. However, I had to have control, especially now.

    </section><section>

    Soon enough, she will know the truth about Nicole. She will find out that I slept with her during the full moon and got her pregnant. When that newses out, she will hate me for good. Until then, I wanted to enjoy my little time with her.

    Even angry, ra was a sight to behold. She was so fucking unbelievably beautiful that she left mepletely breathless. Now, I can never tell her what I wish to say. There was no longer a chance for us. She will never ept me after this.

    "I''m sorry that I left and didn''t say a word to you, ra." I apologize. "I didn''t leave because of the kiss. I left for another reason I prefer not to discuss now."

    She frowns, surprised by my response. Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    "You weren''t avoiding me?" She asks curiously.

    I shook my head, "avoiding you is thest thing I want to do, ra."

    "Then why can''t you give me an exnation?¡± She demands. "That kiss. . . I couldn''t stop thinking about it. I thought that I did something wrong."

    "You can never do anything wrong," I assure her.

    Her bottom lip trembles, "I don''t know what''s happening here, ric. One minute, I think that you like me, and then another, youpletely ignore me. What is truly happening? Is there something between us or not?"

    I look away from her prating gaze. I couldn''t look her in the eye right now. I was too ashamed to face her. I couldn''t believe that I''d gotten Nicole pregnant.

    Fuck me.

    "There is something," I answer her. "But nothing can ever happen between us. That kiss, it can never happen again. There isn''t a chance for us, ra. I ruined all chances of that ever happening."

    "You ruined it?" She asks. "How could you possibly have ruined the chances if I''m willing to try right now to make things work between us?"

    I sigh, "I know what you feel for me is only temporary. I know that you don''t have strong feelings for me. You will be able to forget about that kiss and any other kisses quite easily."

    She crosses her arms over her chest stubbornly, "You don''t get to decide for me. I can tell if something is easy for me to forget or not."

    "I only want what''s best for you," I tell her.

    "Don''t speak to me like an older brother." She says with disgust. "If you wanted what was best for me, you would try to be with me. You wouldn''t dismiss what we have like it''s nothing to you. We never discussed it before, but this is the chance to get our feelings out in the open. Do you want a rtionship with me, ric?"

    Ah¡ªfuck yes. More than you will ever know, ra.

    I wanted more than just a bloody rtionship. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I wanted to have babies with her, and definitely not Nicole. Damn it, if only she knew how badly I wanted to be with her. Telling her now will only make things worse.

    "What I want isn''t important right now," I inform her. I walk towards the door and ce my hand over the handle, ¡°I need you to leave now. If you''re in my office for too long, there will be many rumors about you by the end of the day, and I would hate to have to correct them."

    I''d gotten in trouble in the past for meddling in rumors about her. Professors are supposed to stay out of those things, especially at this academy. However, I would risk plenty of things just for ra¡¯s happiness.

    She looked upset that I was asking her to leave. I knew she would be. However, just like I said in the past, I was doing this for her own good. I was only thinking of her. If she stayed here any longer, the rumors aren''t the only things she will have to worry about. The longer I stayed in the office with her, the more I wanted to pull her on top of me and have my way with her.

    "Nicole was in your office just now," she says in a t tone. "Did you also ask her to leave like you''re asking me to leave?"

    Damn it.

    I wish ra knew that I never wanted to speak to Nicole today. I wish that she knew I was forced because of the circumstances.

    "You can''t even answer me," she whispers. "I was foolish for thinking there was something between us. You still want to be with Nicole. Everything she said was true, wasn''t it?"

    I stiffen, "what did she say to you?"

    I knew Nicole never had anything good to say, especially to ra. It bothered me whenever I found out that she spoke to her.

    "Does it matter?" She asks. "What she said to me lines up with your actions."

    My jaw clenches, "ra, I wish I could tell you what you want to hear; believe me, I do. However, the circumstances right now will not allow that to happen."

    </section><section>

    "Are you getting back together with her?" She asks me with a look of horror and sadness on her face. I swallowed the pain that I felt, knowing I was hurting her right now. I knew how much my brother had hurt her in the past; I never wanted to do the same thing to her. I kept my distance for a long fucking time just to protect her but failed in the end.

    "Are you?" She demands. "Are you getting back with Nicole?"

    </section>

 Chapter 458 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    If ric told me that he was getting back with Nicole, I would lose my mind. I don''t know how I would react.

    I knew I should just walk away; I knew that I shouldn''t torture myself anymore.

    </section><section>

    However, I had to know. I had to find out the truth.

    What did she say to him? What had caused him to believe that he ruined any chances of us being together? Or did he say those words to me in order to turn me down quickly?

    I wish he would tell me the truth. I wish he would trust me enough to be honest with me.

    He seemed desperate to get me out of his office, and I wouldn''t say I liked it. Nicole was inside here for a long time, and he didn''t seem to be in a hurry to get her out. Instead, I remember seeing him impatient to push her inside. I try not to overthink about it, but I couldn''t deny that I was extremely jealous. I can''t remember ever being this jealous of anyone else.

    It bothered me to the point that I wasn''t about to leave until I got an answer from ric.

    "I can''t answer yet, ra." he finally tells me after a long pause. "But I can confirm that she''s going to be in my life for a very long time, and there isn''t anything I can do about it."

    His words feel like someone just took a sharp sword and pushed it straight through my chest.

    She hadn''t lied to us. She said that whatever it was that she had to tell ric, it would bring him back to her, and there would be nothing any of us could do to stop it.

    What she didn''t know was that I wasn''t about to back down. ric''s responses told me that he didn''t truly want to get back with her. It made me believe that she was most likely ckmailing him about something.

    "I refuse to forget about you," I inform him.

    He looks shocked by my response.

    "Every second that we spent together meant something to me, and I would like to believe that it meant something to you as well," I tell him.

    His jaw clenched, "I asked you to leave my office, ra. Please, listen to me. This is not the time or ce for this discussion."

    His hands were still on the door handle, and I knew he was desperate for me to leave.

    "I don''t care about that." I snap. "You started this when you kissed me in this very same office and then disappeared without a single word. I''m not going to let you push me away again. I''m going to do what I want to from now on."

    "What do you mean by that?" he growls. "What do you want to do?" Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    I don''t think twice as I close the distance between us. He stiffens at my closeness and it feeds my motivation to keep going.

    I knew I affected him; at least, his bodynguage told me so.

    "I want to show you what it means to be happy," I whisper. "I want to show you that someone like Nicole could never satisfy you like I can."

    His breathing gets louder, and I inwardly smile. It was working. I knew it was.

    My body is inches away from his, and both of his hands tighten into fists at his side. He''s no longer holding onto the door handle, and I know I''m winning this round.

    "I want you to know that you can kiss me any time you please," I whisper. "I''lle to your office after each of your sses from today onwards and you can do whatever you want to me while I''m here; I promise you that I will notin."

    His eyes snap to mine, and the heat there almost melts my insides. My words weren''t just affecting him; it was affecting me as well. I meant those words. I always wanted to offer myself to him. It felt good to gain the courage to do it finally. ric was the only man I would ever act this crazy for. He was the only person I''d offer myself to like this.

    "ra," he growls. "You''re ying a very fucking dangerous game with a grown man. I''m not a fucking little boy. Know exactly what you''re offering to me because if I ever decide to take it, there will be no going back."

    I ce my hand on his chest, and his breath hitched, "I know exactly what I''m offering to you. I''ve wanted to offer this to you since the first day I realized how much I wanted you."

    </section><section>

    His eyes sh dangerously, "do you know what you''re saying to me?"

    I nod, "I can hear my own words. I promise you that I will never take them back."

    </section>

 Chapter 459 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    Get her the fuck out. Now. I was shouting it in my head.

    Her words were driving the animal inside of me crazy. I didn''t know why ra chose to do this to me now out of all the damn days. I wanted her, but the circumstances didn''t allow me to have her. My life was too damnplicated right now to allow her in. For her own good, I had to push her away.

    </section><section>

    I couldn''t ept her offer, no matter how much I wanted to take it. I already had these images of her naked on my desk stuck in my filthy mind.

    "It''s time for you to leave," I growl as I grab her by her arm with one hand while I open the door with the other.

    She tries to protest, but I push her out of the door. The second that she''s outside my office, I drop to the ground and lean against the wall.

    I wanted her; I couldn''t even begin to exin how badly I wanted her. I wish things were different. I wish I hadn''t messed everything up during the full moon. I wish I had never even gotten married to Nicole in the first ce. My life went downhill the second I ced a ring on her finger. I was blinded for a long time, but now that ra is in my life, I realize what true happiness feels like. She''s the first woman that ever made me feel this way. She''s the only woman not blood-rted to me that ever showed that she truly cared about me. I didn''t know how to exin it; all I knew was that the heat inside of me was all because of her. I couldn''t get her out of my mind or my heart.

    Now that Nicole was pregnant, it didn''t look like I had a choice. I had to find a way to put my feelings behind me. I had a responsibility to take care of my baby. I was never a man to run from my responsibilities, and I couldn''t change that now. I was already acting like a fucking fool for running from my feelings for ra, and because of it, I messed up my entire life. I couldn''t run anymore. There wasn''t much ce for me to run either way.

    The rest of the day was a blur for me. I couldn''t focus on anything at all. All I could think about was the fact that I had ruined my life in one night.

    Nicole finds me after myst ss and walks with me to my truck.

    "We have plenty to talk about." She tells me as she jumps into the vehicle with me.

    "Do you n oning home with me today?" I ask her. "What about your car?"

    She sighs, "I had someone drop it home for me. I''m thinking about moving back into your house. Don''t you think that will be a good idea now that I am pregnant with your child?"

    I squeeze my forehead with my fingers, "Nicole, can you just give me some time to think about this, please?"

    "What is there to think about?" She demands. "It''s your baby. Do you not n on taking responsibility for your actions?"

    "Of course I do," I assure her. "You''ve been with me for a long time; you know that I will never abandon you or my child. It''s just plenty for me to take in."

    She sighs, "I need you, ric. I thought you would be happier than this. I''m giving you something special, and you know it. Don''t let ra ruin your dreams. She can''t give you what I''m giving to you now."

    My jaw clenches at the mention of ra.

    Fuck.

    She was also stuck in my head. I was torn between doing what was right and what my heart wanted me to do. I''d never been ced in a difficult situation like this before.

    "I promise I won''t leave you at a difficult time like this," I tell her. "You don''t need to worry about ra either. This is between the both of us; you don''t need to include her in it."

    "I know she wants you." She continues. "She will do anything to make you hers."

    I close my eyes; Nicole has no idea how much harder hearing that made things for me. Knowing there was a chance that ra yearned for me only made me want her even more.

    She ces her hand on my shoulder, "If you want, I can tell her I''m pregnant. If she knows that you got me pregnant, I''m sure that she will leave us alone."Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    </section><section>

    "Nicole," I growl. "This is not something that I''m ready to announce. Please give me some time before I can tell the people around me."

    She hugs me without warning, and I stiffen under her touch. "Okay, if that''s what you want, I''ll wait. I''m so happy that you''re back in my life, ric. I won''t do anything again that will jeopardize our rtionship, I promise you."

    </section>

 Chapter 460 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    "ric is taking longer than usual toe home today," I tell Scarlett.

    She nods, "Well, he did go missing for a while. He''s only just resurfaced out of nowhere. I think that''s why he''s taking longer than usual."

    </section><section>

    Or maybe he just doesn''t want to see me after what I said in his office today. He seemed desperate to ask me to leave, and it bothered me. I knew it had something to do with Nicole. I knew that she was the reason for his sudden strange behavior. I wasn''t about to let her win this fight. This time, I wouldn''t sit back and watch her destroy his life; I would fight for him. He deserved someone who truly cared about him, and I knew for a fact that Nicole was only ying with his feelings.

    "Guys," Violet says in a panicked voice as she barges into the room.

    "What''s wrong?" Scarlett asks her. I was also on high alert. I could tell that whatever she had to say to us was about to affect us all.

    "It''s something with ric, isn''t it?" I ask her. "Did he disappear again without any warning?"

    I don''t know how I would react if he chose to hide from his problems for a second time.

    "Oh, it''s much worse than that." She answers me.

    "Worse?" I ask in horror. "What could be worse than that?"

    She took my hand as if to prepare me for the news. "He showed up with none other than Nicole." She informs us.

    My eyes widen, and Scarlett gasps. She was also holding my hand now that Violet had broken the news to us. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    "But why would he bring her here?" I ask her in disbelief.

    I was sure that ric wanted nothing to do with her after the divorce, so why was she back in his life like she said she would be? What exactly did she tell him to make him do something that was sure to make him miserable?

    "This doesn''t make any sense to me," Scarlett whispers. "We were all convinced that he was finally over her. He looked so much happier after the divorce. Then why would he bring her back home?"

    "I don''t know," Violet whispers. "It doesn''t make any sense to me either. Something has to be wrong. Nicole told us that this would happen, which means that this was her n. It''s a very evil n. She must be ckmailing him; it''s the only exnation that I can think of."

    I had to agree with her. None of this made sense to me.

    "We have to do something about it," Scarlett says.

    Violet nods, "That woman made my brother miserable for as long as I can remember. There was never a day that he was happy while married to her. She was desperate for a divorce from him for a long time; I don''t know why she''s back now that he''s moving on. There has to be a reason, and I n on finding out."

    Ares barges into the room next, and even he looks petrified. "What the hell is happening?" he demands. "I just saw Nicole, and she has bags. It looks like she''s moving back into the house."

    "What?" Violet demands. "I saw her enter the house; I didn''t see any bags with her."

    "Well, ric is helping her move them into his room. I don''t like what I''m seeing, sister." Ares says in a worried tone.

    "To his room?" I ask in disbelief.

    This was much worse than any of us realized.

    Why would he be taking her things back into his room? Was that why he was so desperate to get me out of his office today? Was he nning on moving back in with Nicole?

    "She''s moving back in?" Violet gasps. "They''re divorced! She has no reason to move back into the house. What the hell is going on here?"

    Apollo is the next one to enter the room; it is like a reunion. One by one, ric''s siblings entered the room with horrified looks on each of their faces. None of them could believe that Nicole was returning.

    "I think one of us needs to speak to ric and find out what the hell is happening," ze says.

    "That may not be the best idea," Armando disagrees. "Do any of you remember what happened in the past when we tried to ask our brother anything about Nicole and him? It never worked out well for us. I think we should just stay out of this."

    His brothers seemed to be in a disagreement about what should be done.

    </section><section>

    "ric is changed now," Ares says. "He''s moved on from Nicole. There has to be another reason why he''s letting her back into the house."

    I couldn''t pay attention to anything else they had to say after that. I was shocked that Nicole was moving back in and not just into the house but back into his room. This was horrible. My heart felt like it was about to shatter, but I wouldn''t let it. I had to trust ric. There had to be a very good reason as to why she was here.

    </section>

 Chapter 461 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    "I can''t stay here today." I apologize to Scarlett. "I don''t think I can see Nicole with ric. Not right now."

    My sister hugs me tightly, "I know it must be hard. I wish things weren''t like this. I was sure that Nicole was out of ric''s life for good."

    </section><section>

    "What''s wrong with ra?" Carter asks as he enters the room.

    We both look at each other in panic. I didn''t want to start an argument between Carter and ric. It was thest thing I needed right now.

    "She doesn''t feel well." Scarlett lies for me. But was it really a lie? I truly didn''t feel well at all; my heart was in so much pain. It was the kind of pain I didn''t wish on anyone.

    He doesn''t look convinced, but he does look a bit concerned as he says, "I just saw Nicole outside. Can someone tell me why she''s here?"

    Scarlett sighs, "Why don''t you ask your brother that? Have you tried speaking to him at all?"

    His eyes narrow, "he can talk to me anytime he wishes to. He''s the one that''s being stubborn."

    Scarlett rolls her eyes, "I think you''re the stubborn one, and you know it. He''s making a mess of his life with Nicole again. I think you might be the only one to talk him out of it."

    His jaw clenches, "I''m not meddling this time. If he wants to ruin his life because of her, I don''t need to get involved. It''s his decision; he needs to deal with it."

    I could hear the anger in his voice, but there was also a sign of worry that he tried to hide. Even though they were both on bad terms, he still cared about his brother.

    It bothered me that they were this way because of me.

    I try not to think too much about it. I had more significant problems than that to worry about now.

    "Will you be visiting me tomorrow as well?" Scarlett asks me with puppy eyes. Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.

    I force a smile, "Of course, I may not stay long, though."

    "That''s fine." She assures me. "I''ll be happy to see you, even if it''s just for a second."

    After saying my goodbyes, I head towards the door, trying my best to avoid seeing Nicole with ric. The faster I got out of there, the better it would be for my fragile heart.

    However, it would seem that the universe had other ns for me. The second I opened the door to exit, I saw both Nicole and ric in front of me. He was still helping her with her suitcases. The second her eyes fell on me; I could see the big smirk on her face. She was telling me that she had won. I haven''t seen her this happy in a long time.

    ric looks up at me, and I can see the moment his entire body stiffens. I can''t help but stare at him without saying a single word. What could I possibly say at a time like this?

    He looked. . . Sorry? Was he sorry for bringing her back here? I wasn''t sure how he truly felt. I wasn''t sure about anything anymore.

    "Are you leaving already?" Nicole asks me with a knowing look. I can hear the thrill in her voice.

    I force a smile, "I am."

    She looks disappointed that I didn''t mention anything about her moving back into ric''s home. Even though I wanted to find out more, I didn''t n on doing it in front of her.

    ric doesn''t say a single word to me, and it doesn''t make this any easier on me. I was hoping that he would have said something to at least ease my pain. He should be able to tell by now that this was freaking hard for me. He knew I had feelings for him, and if he never had a clue in the past, today, he definitely should have known after the things I said to him in his office.

    "I have somewhere to be now," I say suddenly.

    "Somewhere to be?" Nicole asks. "You look a bit dressed up."

    I try to hide my embarrassment. I dressed up before I came here to impress ric. I''m sure that she knew that even though ric was oblivious to my efforts.

    "I actually have a date." I lie. It was better than admitting I did it for ric, especially now that Nicole was back in his life.

    His eyes immediately darkened the second I mentioned I had a date. I felt a shiver down my spine at the look he gave me.

    "A date?" Nicole asks with narrowed eyes. "That''s interesting."

    I can tell that she didn''t believe me even though it seemed as though ric was believing every word that came out of my mouth.

    His hands tightened into fists at his sides as he waited for me to say more. I wouldn''t make this easy for him. He hurt me today; if he had any feelings for me at all, I knew this would bother him. And so, I kept on with the lie.

    "Yes. A date." I answer her. "I need to meet him in an hour. We''re going for dinner and then a drive to the beach. He said he had a surprise for me."

    Seriously ra? I couldn''t believe I was going ahead with this lie.

    "I didn''t ask for the details." Nicole snaps. "ric and I have things to do. I need to unpack my clothes in his closet."

    I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming.

    </section><section>

    "Okay, bye," I said dryly as I all but ran towards my car.

    I hated this. I hated it so much.

    </section>

 Chapter 462 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    A fucking date.

    She was going out with another man? I couldn''t me her for what I did. But what happened to all those things she said to me in my office earlier?

    </section><section>

    All that time, did she already know about that date?

    No.

    ra wasn''t that kind of woman. She was different than most women I knew.

    So then, why was she going on a date tonight? Was it because of Nicole? Was she angry that I had brought her back home with me?

    I agreed to let Nicole sleep in my room, but I wasn''t okay with staying in there with her. I made it clear that I would sleep in one of the guest rooms. I hadn''t mentioned that to anyone else.

    "I can''t believe her," Nicole mumbles. "One minute, she''s all over you, and the next, she''s already going on a date with someone else. It looks like someone is a yer."

    My hands tightened into fists, and I felt like punching someone, preferably whoever it was that ra was going to meet tonight.

    I was tempted to follow her and see for myself. What if her date was aplete asshole?

    Fuck, but who was the real asshole here? I was the one pushing her away because I got my ex-wife pregnant.

    She was better off with anyone else but me. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    That didn''t mean I was okay with this. It took all my self-control not to run after her and beg her not to do this. It would be selfish of me to ruin her date just because I wanted her for myself when I knew I couldn''t act on it.

    "Are you okay?" Nicole asks me as she grabs my arm. "You look a little red."

    Red? I was fucking pissed and annoyed right now.

    "I''m fine." I lie. "Let''s get you settled in."

    I grab two of herst suitcases and carry them up the stairs. I could feel the eyes of all my siblings on me the second that I stepped into the family room. I was avoiding them, but I knew that I couldn''t any longer.

    "What the hell is going on?" Apollo demands. "You divorced Nicole just recently. Everything was finalized. She''s no longer your wife. Then why is she back home?"

    "I thought you were over her." Violet snaps. "We watched that woman make your life miserable for years. Why would you bring her back here the second that you''re doing better?"

    I knew they were all in shock and worried about me. I couldn''t me them when I was also worried. I knew that things were about to get much worse from now on.

    "I know that you all are surprised¡ª"

    "Surprised?" Ares cut me off with a grin. "I don''t think surprised is the word for it, brother. I know that you''re older than the rest of us and don''t have to tell us everything that''s happening in your life, but this one, don''t you think you should have at least given us a heads up?"

    "Yeah." ze agrees with him. "A heads up would have been nice. You know that we don''t exactly have the best rtionship with Nicole. She didn''t just make your life miserable; she also messed with ours."

    "I know this is hard for all of you, but believe me, it''s fucking hard for me also," I growl. "I don''t feel like talking about the reason she''s back just yet. I still need some time to process everything. There''s also someone that I need to speak to about all of this before I can break the news to all of you. I want her to be the first to know."

    "Okay, now you''re just scaring me," Violet whispers. "What exactly did Nicole say to you to make this happen? I know she''s ckmailing you; it''s the only logical exnation for all of this."

    I swallow hard, "I wish it were as simple as ckmailing Violet, but she isn''t doing that. It''s much more serious than that."

    "What the hell could be more serious than that?" Apollo demands.

    "Everything will soon make sense to all of you," I assure them. "But for now, I would appreciate it if you all respect my privacy while I deal with this matter."

    They remain quiet after my request.

    After they exit the room, Scarlett enters. I was d to see her. She would have a better idea about this date that ra had to go to.

    "There is something that I want to ask you," I inform her.

    She looks surprised, "you want to ask me something? I''m the one that has a million questions for you."

    I''m sure she did.

    "It''s about ra," I inform her.

    "ra?" she asks, suddenly interested in what I had to ask.

    I nod, "she mentioned to Nicole earlier that she had a date tonight. Do you know who she''s nning on seeing?"

    Her eyes widen a bit at my question.

    "A date?" she asks. "ra told me that she had to leave early, but there was no mention of a date. I know that many guys ask her out daily, but she never mentioned epting any of their offers."

    I stiffen at her words.

    Many guys?

    </section><section>

    FUCK!

    Then who the hell was she nning on meeting tonight?

    </section>

 Chapter 463 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    It was the next day. I hadn''t slept at allst night. All I could think about was ra out on a date with another man. It made me mad to the point that I punched the wall a couple of times until I saw blood. It was healed now but fuck, my heart hadn''t healed at all.

    I made sure to make it to ss early today. I had plenty to ask her about her date, that is, if she would tell me about it.

    </section><section>

    However, when it was five minutes into the ss, and she didn''t show up, I could feel my anxiousness growing. Even her friend Jenna was here, but still, there was absolutely no sign of her.

    Did she return hometest night? Was that why she couldn''t wake up in time to make it to my ss?

    Damn it. I wouldn''t know until she walked in that door and told me everything I needed to know.

    I kept my eyes on it the entire time, waiting for her, but she never showed up. I spent the entire ss just looking out for her. I was sure that plenty of students must have noticed that even though I answered all of their questions pertaining to the topic today, I was still notpletely focused.

    "ss is dismissed," I announce before the bell can signal the end of it. Everyone looks at each other in confusion, but I don''t wait for them to exit. I''m the first to walk out the door.

    Where the fuck could she be? I hated when I couldn''t see her; it was even worse knowing she went somewherest night with a fucking random male that may or may not have put his hands on her.

    I angrily barge into my office, ready to call Scarlett and find out where the hell her sister was. However, I was surprised when I found the woman I was searching for sitting on my desk with her legs folded seductively.

    I don''t think I''ve ever seen her look at me this way before. She''s usually shy, but this time, she looked like she was ready to devour me. It made my dick stir in my pants.

    Fuck. It shouldn''t be doing anything like that, especially after I got another woman pregnant. I had enough troubles already; I shouldn''t add any more to that list.

    "What are you doing in here?" I ask her, stopping myself from asking the one question I truly wanted to ask.

    "I came to offer what I said I would just yesterday." She answers me.

    I frown. She can''t possibly speaking about what she told me in my office. She couldn''t be serious about offering her body to me. She meant more to me than that. I wouldn''t use her for my pleasure; I wanted much more than that from ra. However, I couldn''t deny the strong need to take exactly what she was offering to me. It was hard to say no to a woman like her. I wanted to drop to my knees and give her everything she ever wanted and more.

    "And what did you offer yesterday?" I growl. I had to hear her say it.

    "You really don''t remember?" She asks me with narrowed eyes. She even looked a bit offended that I couldn''t remember.

    "I would like to know why you missed my ss today, ra," I tell her as I fix her with my prating gaze. She looks slightly affected by it but tries to ignore it.

    "I didn''t feel like attending." She says which only makes me angry.

    Why would she not feel like attending? She was usually a good student who yed by all the rules. Why was she acting like this? It was throwing me off-guard.

    "You didn''t feel like attending?" I growl. "Does it have something to do with your datest night?"

    Her eyes twinkle at the mention of her date, and it makes me even angrier.

    "I didn''t think you would remember my date." She says in a teasing manner.

    "Why are you taking this for a joke?" I growl. "None of this is funny to me, ra. Who the fuck did you go on a date withst night? Does he go to this academy? Is he in my ss? Who is he?"

    </section><section>

    I knew I should have kept my mouth shut, but this drove me insane. I had to know. I wanted to rip his head out of his body. I didn''t think it was possible to hate someone I knew nothing about, but it turned out that it was possible when it was someone that ra was dating.

    "I''m not taking anything for a joke." She snaps. "You''re the one that kissed me, then disappeared the same day, and after a few days showed up again but only to let your ex-wife back into your home and in your bed. To me, it seems that you''re the one that finds everything funny. Why else will you y with my feelings like that?"

    </section>

 Chapter 464 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    My words seem to have shut ric down. He''s no longer angry but looks more ashamed of his actions. I didn''t want that. I was happy to see him this angry that I went on a date with someone. He still hadn''t realized that I''d lied to him about that date. I never met anyonest night; in fact, I was in my bed holding onto his shirt for the entire night. It was still myfort, even after everything. I couldn''t sleep without it.

    "I''m sorry for my outburst, ra." He apologizes.

    </section><section>

    I was tired of his apologies. I didn''t want it anymore. I wanted something else.

    "I''m tired of it," I shout. "I don''t want your apologies, ric! Stop giving them to me! I don''t want it!"

    His eyes widen, "ra, I¡ª"

    "Save it!" I snap. "I don''t want to hear anything. I''m tired of being the good girl. I''m tired of sitting back and letting everyone I care about go. I don''t want to be that way anymore, ric. I want to fight for what I want. I fell in love with Carter once; at least, I thought it was love back then. I would have done so much for him just for him to be happy. I gave up plenty to keep my rtionship going. Then he dumped me and fell in love with my sister. I was so hurt, and I hated him for a long time before I was able to forgive him. Eventually, I was happy for both of them, but it still pained me so much to see them together. Not because I wanted him but because I knew that I was alone. It was a bittersweet feeling. Then, you came along and gave me hope; you made me feel happy again. But you''re doing the same thing to me that he did. You''re hurting me, ric. You''re giving me mixed signals. One minute, it''s me, and the next, you''re back with Nicole. I don''t know what to take from all of this!"

    His eyes are wider than before. He looks surprised by my words. What was there to be surprised about? I was never good at hiding my feelings from him. He should know by now how much I wanted him. He should know how strong my feelings were for him.

    "ra," he says in a pained whisper. "I know that I''m a fucking asshole for what I''m doing to you. I was so pissed at Carter in the past for hurting you. I couldn''t understand how stupid he could be to lose you. I didn''t understand why he wasn''t showing you the kind of love that you deserved. You have no idea how angry I was with him. And I''m even angrier with myself for putting you through the same thing that he did to you. I never meant for any of this to happen. I was supposed to keep my distance from you. You''re my student, you''re younger than me, and you''re also my little brother''s ex-girlfriend. You were supposed to be off-limits; I was never supposed toy my eyes on you. I never had any intention of hurting you; I hope that you can believe me when I say that."

    I never knew that Carter''s betrayal affected him as well. Why did he care so much about what his brother did to me? How long has he felt this way? Why did he never mention this to me before? Just how much has he kept from me?

    "Why is Nicole back with you?" I whisper. "Why is she back in your home?" Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.

    His jaw clenches, and I hate how he looks away from me. "It''s not something that I''m ready to speak about, ra. By the end of this week, I promise to tell you everything that you want to know. For now, please respect my privacy. I don''t want to tell you right now."

    Something about the desperation in his voice made me drop the topic. I believed him when he said that he would tell me everything by the end of the week. For some reason, it felt like it would also be the end of us. How could there be an end when there was never a beginning?

    Until then, I wanted to take advantage of this moment and every other moment that I had with him.

    I didn''t even think twice as I crossed the room towards him. He looks a little surprised, but he doesn''t move at all. He lets mee to him.

    I can barely breathe when I lift my hand and ce it on his chest, right above his heart. I could feel it beating under my touch. His eyes are on my face, and he isn''t looking away. His breath was hot, and I couldn''t help but lean in and inhale his scent. It was highly intoxicating.

    </section><section>

    "What are you doing, ra?" He asks as he swallows hard.

    "I''m finally fighting for what I want," I answer him before pressing my lips against his.

    </section>

 Chapter 465 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    MOTHERFUCKER¡ª

    Her taste. It was too much for me. Whenever she was this close to me, I forgot about everything else.

    </section><section>

    Her lips on mine felt like they were on fire. It burned me to my core. Saying no to her now would be more difficult than anything else I ever had to do in my life.

    I ce my hands on her waist with every intention to push her away from me. However, my hands have a mind of their own as I pull her closer to me instead. She gasped against my mouth, and I felt her shiver.

    Fuck ra. Why do you have to be so damn irresistible? Why does everything about you make me want to mark you and turn you into mine?

    The strong urge to mark her was rming to me. It wasn''t something that my family had the privilege of doing. I was often jealous of regr werewolves who had mates and could easily bond with them. We didn''t have the luxury of doing something so special. I never felt the need to do it either, but with ra, everything was different; she made me want to do things I would have never dreamed of doing in the past.

    I grab her legs and push her up against my desk. I''ve fantasized about doing this countless times in the past. I''ve even had so many dreams about this. I would give everything to spread her legs and bury my dick inside her sweetness. I''ve been fucking dying to do it for so long now.

    Would it be so bad if I forgot about my responsibilities for once and allowed myself to be happy? Taking what she was offering to me would make me the happiest man alive, even if it was just for one day.

    "I want you, ric." She whispers. "I''ve wanted you for a long time now. I hate myself for taking this long to tell you. And no, it has nothing to do with your brother. I''ve never wanted him the way that I want you. I wish that it was you since the start; I wish I''d gotten to know you better. I would have instantly fallen for you."

    Her words are like music to my ear. I always had the fear that ra was only attracted to me because I was Carter''s brother. I was afraid that her feelings were mixed up because of it. I''d seen how much she cared about him. I even saw how heartbroken she was when he left her. Her pain had hurt me as well. Back then, I didn''t understand why it mattered so much to me. At first, I thought that I was concerned that Carter was letting go of the best part of his life. However, now I realize that I wanted her even all the way back then. My rtionship with Nicole had blinded me from my true feelings. Maybe I was also in denial all that time.

    Hearing her admit how much she''s always wanted me made my need for her intensify.

    I bury my hand behind her neck and growl against her ear, "You really shouldn''t have said those words to me, ra. Now, no one can stop what I''m about to do to you."

    I feel her shiver yet again and I pull her even closer to me as my body swallows every vibration thates out from her.

    Every sweet sound from her mouth puts life back into my sad soul. I was living for every breath of hers. I wish I could tell her the truth. I wish she would still ept me. But how could I ask that of her if I couldn''t even ept myself?

    I pull her clothes apart until she''s left in nothing but her underwear. I lift her into my arms and ce her down gently on top of my desk. Her eyes were wide as I stood back a little so that I could get a good view of her.

    Fuck.

    She looked much better than my fucking imagination. This was real; it was really happening before my eyes. It was still hard for me to believe that someone like ra wanted someone like me. And somehow, I still managed to mess everything up. That was all I was ever good at doing.

    ¡°W-what are you d-doing?¡± she asked as I continued to stare.

    She surprises me when she reaches up to cover her body with her hands. I narrow my eyes and quickly move them away. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    </section><section>

    ¡°No,¡± I growl. ¡°I want to see you. I told you not fucking y with me, ra. This time, I''m not letting you get away from me easily. I don''t care what happens next; don''t stop me from looking at every inch of you. I want to see it all.¡±

    I meant every single one of those words.

    </section>

 Chapter 466 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I''d had men look at me in the past but not like this. Carter never slept with me, but there were times when I was dressed in barely anything for him, hoping to catch his attention, but not once did he ever look at me the way that ric was looking at me now. It may be stupid, but I could feel tears of happiness in my eyes because of that one look. I''d never wanted to be looked at like this by anyone but him. That wasn''t totally true, there were times I wished it was Carter in the past, but I know now that I was stupid for ever wishing for it from him. He was never the one for me. It was always ric.

    Why did it take me this long to realize it? Why didn''t I figure my feelings out until it was toote?

    </section><section>

    If I''d realized that my interest in ric was much more than just that, maybe I wouldn''t have made a mess out of my life wanting love from someone who could never love me.

    Was it still possible for me to have him? Or would he return to Nicole?

    I was happy that at least now he was willing to take things a step further with us. He was admitting things to me that he never mentioned in the past. It was a step forward, but I still wasn''t sure what any of this meant. I knew that even now, something was holding him back from me.

    My body burned from the intensity of his gaze. He wasn''t lying when he said he wanted to look at me. However, I felt nervous under his gaze. I wanted to cover myself up; I was afraid that I didn''t look good enough for him. Nicole was a horrible person, but she was no doubt a beauty. She had men crazy over her because of her looks.

    "You''re breathtaking," ric says in a breathless whisper. My lips parted slightly, and I was shocked to hear him say that. It helps to build my confidence.

    I ce my hand on my underwear, with every intention to take it off so that he can see all of me. However, he ces his hand on my hand to stop me immediately.

    "Why are you stopping me?"

    "Not yet." He tells me, still sounding breathless. "I can''t handle seeing all of you today, ra. I will do things to you that I know will drive me insane. Instead, I need to take things slowly with you. This is all I''m willing to take today."

    I''m not sure I understand what he''s saying to me. Why did he need to take things slowly? He''s already taken enough time. How much more time did he need to take?

    "Aren''t you going to touch me?" I ask. I know I was being impatient, but I couldn''t believe that all he was doing was watching me. If I was as breathtaking as he imed, shouldn''t he be impatient to have his hands on me?

    I gasp when he reaches out and pinches my nipple out of nowhere. My butt lifts off his desk, and I almost scream when I felt his mouth right above my pussy. I never hated a piece of cloth as much as I hated my panties right now. It was stopping his mouth from getting to me, but it still felt extremely good. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    I needed more. Why couldn''t he just take it off?

    I cry out when he pulls my panties to the side so that his finger can slip inside. My ass shoots off the desk once more, and it gives his finger more ess to me. Before I could scream from the contact, he covered my mouth with his.

    "Shh," he warns me as he moves his finger deeper into my pussy. "I don''t want anyone to hear your sweet cries of pleasure, ra. I''m the only one that should be allowed to hear it. This is only for me. No one else."

    I bit my lip to stop myself from crying out some more. How am I not supposed to make a sound when it felt so damn good?

    Does he not realize how good this felt for me?

    I swallow another cry as he moves his finger in and out of me. I almost lose my mind when I see him watching it. He wasn''t looking at my face or any other part of my body; he was staring at his finger, moving in and out of me.

    Why was everything about this man so satisfying? Why did he do things to drive my body insane?

    </section><section>

    He catches me staring at him, and he pulls his finger out of me only to put it straight into his mouth. "I''ve never tasted anything as good as this. I promise you, I would give up everything in my life just to have this on a daily."

    W-what?

    </section>

 Chapter 467 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    How was he so good with words? I know that he''s a professor, but still. . . How did he not have a million women under hismand? I knew that so many would give their souls to be in my position today. He could have any other woman, but yet somehow, he chose me. Why?

    Was it because of my persistence? Or was there something else?

    </section><section>

    Even in the past, he had a chance to sleep around with many women, but he never did. He was never a man who looked for pleasure in hundreds of women. He was always someone who found happiness in only one woman, and to me, that was the sexiest thing in a man¡ªsomeone who only had eyes for one woman.

    Like now, I was the only woman he was looking at. I knew that it was only the two of us in his office, but I was also aware that if any other person were here right now, I would still have his undivided attention. I knew this man very well. There were things about him that no one else would need to tell me, I''d studied him well enough to know almost everything about him. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    He leans forward and pulls my nipple into his mouth while also pleasuring me from the lower parts of my body. He was bringing me to new levels of pleasure with each stroke.

    But it was never enough. He was giving me everything except that one thing I was begging for.

    I wish he would stop ying around and finally give in to what we both clearly wanted and needed.

    "So fucking good," he growls as he moves his finger faster inside of me. "So damn tight, ra. You don''t need to tell me that I''m the first man to do this to you. Your body says everything that I need to know."

    I bit my lip to keep myself from screaming his name. I didn''t need any of the students outside to hear what was happening inside of his office. I had to protect him even if he didn''t want to protect himself.

    "There are things I want to do to you that I will kill anyone for even thinking of it." He growls as he presses his lips against my neck. "You have no idea what goes on in my mind. It''s why I''ve tried so fucking hard to keep you away from me."

    If I wanted it as well, I didn''t see what was the problem. Why was he torturing the both of us? This was something that we both needed right now.

    "I want to see you," I whisper.

    "You''re already seeing me." He responds with a kiss on my lips.

    "No," I gasp. "I want to see all of you."

    He swallows and, without warning, pulls me up from his desk.

    I watch in horror as he slowly starts to dress me. Why was he putting back all my clothes on?

    "What''s happening?" I gasp. "I thought that¡ª"

    "I have a ss now, ra." He tells me as he looks at the clock on the wall behind his desk. "As much as I want to take things further, I know that you deserve better than this."

    "W-what?" I demand. "Does that mean you''re going to keep torturing the both of us and not give me what we both clearly want?"

    He grabs me by my waist and presses me hard against the wall as he ces his forehead on mine. "I don''t have the strength to stop any of this from happening. Now that I know you want this as much as I do, there is no stopping it from happening."

    "Then¡ª"

    "If I miss this ss, I''m sure someone wille to this office soon looking for me. I can''t have you here without clothes on when someone walks in. We both know what will happen after that." He tells me even though he shouldn''t have to.

    My feelings for him so blinded me that I wasn''t thinking clearly. It wasn''t just the two of us on this earth.

    "I promise you that I''ll give you everything you want, ra." He tells me as he covers my lips with his once more. "But please don''te to my home tonight. I don''t want to hurt you."

    W-what?

    Why would he say something like that after everything that just happened between us?

    </section><section>

    Was he still considering having Nicole in his life after all of this? Why would he? It didn''t make any sense to me.

    "Meet me in my office tomorrow at the same time." He continues. "I need to see you. I need to kiss you again. I need to touch you. So please, I need you here tomorrow. You have to be here no matter what.¡±

    </section>

 Chapter 468 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    It was official. I no longer was acting like a sane person. I''dpletely lost my mind because of ra. I knew this was wrong. I knew I was supposed to stay away from her after getting Nicole pregnant. She was off-limits, but I couldn''t control myself around her, and it didn''t matter how wrong any of this was.

    I knew she deserved better than me. I knew that she would hate me if I kept going and didn''t tell her the things that I did. I knew it was so fucking wrong, but I couldn''t stop it. It was toote for any of that.

    </section><section>

    As I watched her leave my office after begging her to return tomorrow, I knew that I couldn''t stop this even if I wanted to.

    I had lost it so badly that I even asked her not toe home tonight. I didn''t need her to see me caring for Nicole. Even though I didn''t want to, I had to do it for my baby. I had a responsibility to take care of her.

    However, I knew that I could never offer her my heart again. The time for that was long gone. I didn''t feel the same way about her. It was in the past now.

    There''s a soft knock on the door that takes my mind away from my heavy thoughts. Could it be that she was back?

    The door opens suddenly, and I see Nicole standing at the entrance.

    Damn it.

    She wasn''t the one I wanted to see right now.

    Her nose wrinkles with disgust the second she enters my office, "something doesn''t smell right inside of here. It smells a lot like ra. Was she in your office again?"

    My jaw clenches, "why are you here right now, Nicole?"

    She quirks a brow and folds her arm over her chest, "You do realize that I''ll be around you a lot more now that I''ve moved back into your home. I''m carrying your baby, ric. Don''t you think it''s time that you start treating me better?"

    I sigh. It was true that I shouldn''t stress her out while she was pregnant, but I couldn''t help acting this way. My feelings for Nicole were not the same. I''ve told her multiple times already, but she doesn''t want to listen to me. She still has hope that the ric she once knew was still inside of me somewhere. I was the only one that seemed to understand that it was all gone. Even my family still thought that a part of me was stillpletely smitten by Nicole.

    I couldn''t me them. They couldn''t see inside my heart, and my actions recently have definitely confused them plenty.

    "Aren''t you going to answer me?" She asks. "Was ra in your office again? And if so, why was she in here? There''s no space for her in your life now that I''m back. Our baby needs you, ric. You can''t keep letting her in anymore; you have to put all your focus on taking care of me and our unborn child."

    Fuck.

    I forgot how annoying Nicole could be. She was always demanding and telling me what to do. Before, it never bothered me. But now, I was pissed by her words.

    If she weren''t pregnant, I wouldn''t have even entertained such a conversation with her. But now, I don''t have a choice. I had to do what I could to please her so that my baby wouldn''t feel stressed in any way because of her emotions.

    "Let''s not talk about ra," I say softly as I guide her to the office chair. "Did you eat anything for the day?"

    She narrows her eyes at me, "Are you avoiding my question on purpose?"

    I take a deep breath; she made this so hard for me.

    "Nicole," I say in a calm tone. "I''m trying my best to make this work. I''m begging you, please stop bringing up ra. Even though we''re having this child together, we are no longer married. ra is none of your concern." Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    She didn''t look happy with my response, but I had to make that clear to her. ra meant so much to me, and Nicole had to find out soon enough. I was sure she could already see my feelings for her; I never tried to hide it, except from maybe Carter.

    "Okay." She sighs. "I won''t speak about that woman, but if she shows up in front of me, I promise you that I won''t hold back. She needs to know the truth, ric. She needs to know that I''m carrying your baby. I want to announce this to the world, but you''re not letting me."

    Something didn''t seem right about this. The Nicole I knew would never keep this a secret just because I was asking her to do it. She would have spilled this to every news outlet she could find.

    </section><section>

    So then, why hadn''t she done so yet?

    Was it possible that there was also someone she didn''t want to find out that she was pregnant?

    </section>

 Chapter 469 -

    <section>

    THE BLACKNER''S RESIDENCE

    ~ACE BLACKNER~

    "So you really got her pregnant," Nathan says as he looks at me. "I really thought you had more control than that brother."

    </section><section>

    I didn''t need to hear that from him. He wasn''t one to talk about control, we all had weak moments in our lives that we still regret to this day.

    "She was supposed to be on those pills. If she was using them correctly, she shouldn''t have gotten pregnant." I tell him.

    He shrugs his shoulders, "there is always a chance that anyone could get pregnant while taking those things. There''s always a risk, and you''re fully aware of it. I''m curious, though, why is it her out of everyone else? She doesn''t seem like your type."

    My type?

    I wasn''t even aware that I had a type.

    ze nods in agreement, "I must admit that even I am surprised to learn that you got the girl pregnant. She''s thest person I can see youmitting your life to."

    "Who said anything aboutmitting my life to her?" I demand. "The second that my child is born, I don''t need to have anything to do with her at all."

    "Where is she?" Tyson questions me. "It''s strange that she''s suddenly barely around after she got pregnant for you. From what I''ve noticed, she was trying her best to get closer to you. Why is she suddenly no longer around?"

    I narrow my eyes, "I''ve been noticing her strange behavior as well."

    It was hard not to notice. Usually, my father would have a woman like her locked up until the baby was born. However, I didn''t mention to him yet that I''d gotten a woman pregnant. He already had a woman in line waiting for me, someone that he thought was worthy to have my babies. However, he would be pissed to learn that I got someone like Nicole pregnant. She didn''t provide any of the qualities he was searching for.

    I couldn''t deal with my father right now. I couldn''t believe that out of all of the women that I slept with in the past, she happened to be the only one that I got pregnant.

    Fuck.

    I knew I should have stayed away from the damn woman. I didn''t even like her, not even a little. She was just an easy target for me. Now, I was trapped.

    I had to find a way to fix this damn situation before my father found out what I did. It was thest thing I needed right now. I saw what happened to Arthur when he chose to disobey him; I barely even saw my brother anymore. I didn''t want to do anything to jeopardize my rtionship with my family. I had a duty, and that was to protect my brothers and sisters. They needed me. As long as they needed me, I had to obey my father''s words and do everything he asked; that way, I could always stay close to my siblings.

    They were all going through their problems. Some of them had found their mates, and were keeping it a secret from father. Others were tied in marriages that they didn''t even want.

    Damn it. They were all unhappy, just like I was.

    "I''d keep a close eye on Nicole if I were you," Nathan tells me. "Something about her doesn''t seem right to me. It seems to me like she''s lying to you about something."

    "I feel the same way about her," ze tells me.

    I didn''t need to respond to them because I knew damn well that I knew exactly what they were speaking about.

    I did n on following her soon. I didn''t have any time on my hands to waste on her right now, but the second that I did. I would find out what it was she was keeping from me. Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    I didn''t believe that she was up to any good. I also had to confirm that the baby she was carrying was even mine, to begin with. However, I wouldn''t know until the child is born. Until then, I had to keep a close eye on her.

    "Have any of you been noticing the strange behavior between our sisterstely?" ze asks me.

    "You mean ever since Lucas married Freya?" I ask him. "It''s obvious that things haven''t been the same since then."

    Nathan sighs, "That''s something I would rather not speak about. It''s obvious that Avery is in love with Lucas. It might even be more than just love. He''s already married to Freya, and Freya is possibly even more in love with him. I hate to see it. It''s yanking our sisters apart.¡±

    "Both of our sisters are in love with the same man." ze sighs. "Fuck fate. It''s a hell of a thing, isn''t it?"

    </section><section>

    It sure as hell was.

    I prayed that I never found my mate in this sickening world. I never wanted to discover what it meant to be in love with a woman. It was an experience that I preferred to live without.

    </section>

 Chapter 470 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    A cold shower. That''s all I needed tonight to get my mind away from ra and her soft body. I was hard ever since I got home. So hard that I could barely walk because of that woman; she was constantly on my freaking mind. I wanted her. I wanted to spread her legs wide and fuck her hard.

    She had no idea what went on in my sick mind. I''ve never wanted a woman like I wanted and needed her right this second. It was a good thing that I asked her to stay away from my home today. If she were here, I probably would have fucked her in every empty room I could find.

    </section><section>

    I squeeze my fingers around my dick, trying to ease the pain. I couldn''t find the release I needed. It wasn''t working. I needed her to fucking get to that climax.

    Ah, fuck. I was so screwed over her that it was pathetic at this point.

    Tomorrow. Tomorrow would be the day that I finally take what I''ve been dying for since I realized my feelings for ra. There would be no stopping me. I would have her all over my office the second that she walks in.

    "Ah¡ª," I groan as the bloody thing gets even harder at the thought of sinking into her.

    She has no clue what I can do to her sweet body.

    The bathroom door slides open, and I''m shocked to see Nicole naked and standing in front of me.

    "What the hell are you doing here?" I demand.

    "I thought I heard something like you were in pain¡ª" She stops talking when her eyesnd on my giant erection. The damn thing looked like it was standing to attention.

    She could mistaken that this was for her. I didn''t want her to get the wrong impression from me.

    "Oh¡ª," she whispers as she licks her lips. "It looks like you need some help. I can help you take care of that if you''d like."

    "Nicole," I manage to grit out. "I do not need your help. Please exit my shower. You shouldn''t havee in here in the first ce."

    She rolls her eyes, "Don''t y hard to get ric. Youpletely ravished me during the full moon. I know that you still want me. Why can''t you just give in and give me what I want? I''m already pregnant; what''s the worst that can happen?"

    The worst that can happen? This was already bad in my books. Imagine if ra were to walk in here and see this.

    I shook the thoughts out of my head. Thankfully, she wasn''t here tonight.

    I knew it was a bad idea to shower in my damn room.

    "You seem to forget that I wasn''t aware of anything that I did during the full moon, Nicole. I can''t remember a single thing from that night. I wasn''t even aware that I had gotten you pregnant." I tell her. "I do not want this with you. So please, leave."

    She steps toward me, and I move out of her way. I don''t waste a second as I grab my towel from the hanger and wrap it around my waist.

    Fuck this.

    I would shower somewhere else.

    "ric!" she calls out to me.

    I ignore her as I rush out of my room. I had to get out of here, not because I wanted her but because I didn''t want to say anything to upset her, even though she''d crossed a damn line.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    I could feel my dick getting softer. It turns out that I only needed Nicole to offer herself to me.

    But I knew the second ra entered my thoughts; the damn thing would spring back to attention.

    "Thrown out of your own room?" my sister asks as she sees me walking back to the guest room.

    "Not now," I warn her.

    "Why not now?" she demands. "I''m concerned about you, brother. I know that you like ra. It''s not something that you were ever good at hiding. It confuses me that Nicole is suddenly back here."

    I sighed. I truly wanted to tell her the truth, but I couldn''t do it until I spilled the truth to ra first. She should be the first to know this. I had to see her reaction, and then I would decide how to move forward.

    "I would appreciate it if you wouldn''t mention my feelings for ra in this house," I tell her softly. "As you know, Carter isn''t aware of how much I like her. He has an idea, but ever since then, he hasn''t spoken to me much. I don''t want to make things worse between us, especially not right now when I have to deal with Nicole."

    She touches my arm lightly, "I wish you would just talk to me, brother. I''m here to help. I''m not a stranger."

    </section><section>

    I nod, "just give me a little more time, please."

    I was asking for extra time from everyone I cared about. But that time was running out on me. . .

    </section>

 Chapter 471 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I was nervous. I''ve thought about this moment so often that I''ve lost count. I made it all up in my head, and now that it was finally happening, I couldn''t stop the wild beating of my heart.

    I wanted to be closer to ric, but I couldn''t get the fact that Nicole was back in his life out of my head.

    </section><section>

    How could I be okay with that?

    Did he expect to keep the both of us in his life? I would never be okay with something like that.

    I knew I should ask him about it before I gave him a part of myself that I never gave to anyone else. However, I didn''t know if I had the strength to do so. I''ve wanted this for so long that I didn''t want to say no when it was finally happening.

    Something was wrong. I''ve known ric for a while now, and I knew that he wasn''t acting like himself. Something was troubling him, and I was very aware that it had to do with Nicole.

    I''m staring at the door to his office; I''ve been staring at it for over a minute now.

    The door opens suddenly without me having to knock. Was he waiting for me this entire time? How was he able to tell that I was here?

    He stepped aside for me to enter, and I slowly did. I felt a shiver down my spine when the door closed behind me.

    I expected him to put his hands on me right away. My eyes were closed, and I slowly opened them when a few seconds passed, and I didn''t feel him near me.

    I''m surprised to find him leaning up against his desk with his arms folded over his chest, watching me.

    "I can sense your nervousness, ra." He finally says.

    I bite my lip before I say, "I''m not nervous."

    He quirks a brow at me, and I suddenly can''t look away from his prating gaze, "You don''t have to lie to me. I can see it very clearly. You can''t hide it very well."

    I run my fingers lightly over my arm to calm my nerves, "I don''t know what to say."

    He runs a hand down his face, and I can tell that he is having an inner battle within himself.

    "I''m sorry, ra." he apologizes. "I don''t want to do anything that you''re ufortable doing. I shouldn''t have forced this on you."

    "W-what?" I gasp.

    He wasn''t forcing me to do anything that I didn''t want to do. I''ve wanted this for so long; he must know that. I''ve never tried to hide it from him. In fact, I''ve even said this to him before.

    "This was never a good idea from the start." He continues. "It just so happens that I must fill in for an absent professor. I have five minutes left. It''s definitely not enough time to do what I want to do to you."

    "But¡ª"

    He walks towards the door and ces his hand on the handle, ready to throw me out yet again.

    "I shouldn''t have entertained something like this." He tells me. "I know you deserve better, and yet I continued to mess around."

    Mess around?

    What the hell did he mean by that?

    "I can''t believe you," I whisper. "You''re running away yet again. How can you tell me all those things and then change your mind the next day?"

    His breaths are loud as he leans into me, "I can tell that you aren''t ready for me, ra. I''m not doing this until I''m sure you''re ready."

    "Let''s be real with each other for once," I snap. "You''re never nning on doing it with me. So stop messing with my emotions!"

    His jaw clenches as I angrily push him away from me. I didn''t need him to open the door for me to leave. I could go on my own.

    My anger only increased for the remainder of the day. I spent hours filled with rage because he turned me down yet again.

    I was supposed to visit Scarlett today, and he knew that, but I chose not to do it. Instead, I went straight home. I didn''t need to see him with Nicole again.

    He was having second thoughts, and it was because of her, not because he thought I didn''t deserve him.

    I wasn''t even sure if I ever knew him at this point. I didn''t think he would turn out to be such a yer. He was ying with my feelings, and I hated how it made me feel.

    I was done messing around. If he didn''t want me, then so be it. I would transfer from his ss tomorrow and only visit Scarlett when she needed my help.

    I angrily m my room door and throw myself onto my bed. His shirt was still tucked neatly near my pillow. I grab it with every intention to throw it away. Yet, for some reason, I couldn''t.

    I knew I couldn''t just throw my feelings for him away like that.

    I never admitted it to myself before, but I was undoubtedly in love with ric. This feeling in my chest was stronger than anything I had ever felt in my life.

    I was in love with him. The physical attraction between us was powerful, but the feeling in my heart was even stronger.

    My fingers tighten around the shirt as I pull it closer to my chest.

    My eyes widened when I felt my bed move¡ªthat scent.

    ric.

    He was here. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    Before I have a chance to turn around, I feel his body right above mine. His lips are now a few inches away from my neck.

    "ric," I manage to gasp.

    Could this be a dream?

    No.

    </section><section>

    This felt too real to be a dream. He was here.

    "I thought I could stay away from you," he growls against my ear. "But I''m sorry ra, I can''t. I''ll never be able to stay away from you. I understand that now. The only person that can take you away from me is. . . You."

    </section>

 Chapter 472 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    My intention was only to watch ra sleep. I tried my hardest to send her away from my office earlier because I didn''t want to hurt her. But I couldn''t sleep. Especially not with Nicole constantlying into the guest room and trying to seduce me any chance that she got.

    When we were married, she never wanted me like she wanted me now. She confused the hell out of me. Why would she want to make things work when I wanted nothing to do with her?

    </section><section>

    I had no other choice but toe here.

    The second that I reached ra''s home and saw her holding my shirt in her hand like she often did at night to fall asleep, Ipletely lost my mind. She''s been doing this for a while now. I''ve watched her so many times at night without her knowing that I could confirm for myself that she did this. I didn''t need anyone to tell me because I saw it with my own eyes. Each time, she didn''t know that I was looking. It always sparked my curiosity and increased my need to have her. I had no idea why she did it. I never got the chance to ask her and actually have her tell me the real reason. Maybe a part of me was afraid that I wasn''t ready for the answer. But now, tonight, I wanted to know. I wanted to ask her many questions, and I was hoping she would be willing to answer me after what happened earlier. With my luck, she might want nothing to do with me. I deserved everything that she threw my way.

    "What are you doing here?" she gasps.

    My body was pressed against her back as shey on the bed with her face against the pillow, still holding onto my shirt.Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    "I told you, ra. I can''t stay away from you." I answer her. "It''s not the first time that I''ve watched you sleep. I''ve watched you sleep multiple times. I''ve seen you holding onto my shirt each time. I told you that there''s plenty you still don''t know. You have no idea what you do to me. I swear to you that you don''t have a single clue about my feelings."

    I could hear her breath hitch at my words.

    "I wanted to do the right thing earlier." I try to exin. "I thought I was doing the right thing by sending you away. And even though I still think it was the right thing to do, it doesn''t change the fact that right now, what I''m about to do is fucking wrong."

    I feel her shiver beneath me, "what are you about to do, ric?"

    I push her hair away from her neck as I lean down and ce a soft kiss behind her ear. "Something I''ve been dying to do for a long time now, ra. Something that I wish you''ll allow me to do for the rest of my life."

    My hands travel to her waist as I pull her closer to me while pressing myself against her warm body. "You can stop me anytime you wish."

    "Is that what you want?" she whispers. "For me to stop you so that you''ll have an excuse to run away again?"

    A low growl escapes my mouth as I slowly turn her around so that I can get a good look at her face, "no." I answer her. "I do not want you to stop me. Not now. Not ever. I know you may think that I''m going to run away from this again, but I can promise you that I''m done running. Whatever happens after today, I will face it head-on."

    Her lower lip trembles as she stares into my eyes, "I was so close to finally letting you go." She confesses. "I felt like I didn''t know you anymore. I was beginning to think that everything I thought I knew about you was a lie."

    I ce a hand on her face as I gently stroke her cheek with my finger, "I don''t ever want to disappoint you again, ra, even though I know it is not something I can avoid. But I can promise you that I will fight to keep you in my life; I''ll do everything in my power to make sure that you stay close to me."

    The fact that I was so close to losing her bothered me. If I hadn''t shown up tonight, it would have been the end; she wouldn''t have let me into her life again.

    Fuck.

    If she was already this close to giving up on me, what would happen when she found out that I got Nicole pregnant?

    She leans into my touch, and I love the way her body melts against mine. It''s enough to make me forget about Nicole and the mess I made out of my life.

    </section><section>

    "Please, ric, please make love to me." She whispers with dreamy eyes that make me weak to my knees.

    She didn''t need to repeat herself. I wanted this even more than she did and she was about to find out just how badly I wanted it.

    </section>

 Chapter 473 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    It felt like a dream. It was hard to believe that ric was in my room right now. I was so close to giving up on him, and somehow, he found a way to stop me before I could convince myself to let go. He was like a drug that I couldn''t get rid of, one that I didn''t want to let go of.

    "I should have let you into that room with me on the full moon," he whispers as he moves into me for a kiss.

    </section><section>

    Why did he suddenly have regrets about that night? I was the onepletely disappointed with my own actions for pushing him against his will. I was happy that he couldn''t remember anything about that night, but now I wondered if he was speaking about something else.

    The second his lips touched mine, all thoughts flew out of my head.

    "Your lips are the only ones I crave, ra." He whispers as he hungrily kisses me with so much passion that I feel it all the way to my toes. "You have no idea how hard it''s been for me to stay away from you. Even when my brother had you, even then, I''ve always wanted you. It just took me too long to recognize my own feelings."

    He truly wanted me even then?

    His mouth moves to my breasts, and I gasp when he covers my nipple. It felt electric even though I had my nightgown on. "I remember not being able to sleep every time he brought you home. I never understood why it bothered me back then. But it would kill me inside, wondering if he was touching you in his room. I knew my brother''s reputation. I always wondered if he was taking good care of you. . . If he was hurting you. Thoughts of you always invaded my mind."

    His words are a major turn-on. It had my body responding in a way that was rming. I could feel myself grow wet between my legs, almost like it was preparing itself for him and only him.

    I couldn''t believe it. All this time I never knew that it bothered him so much that Carter took me to his room while we were dating.

    We never did anything. Carter never wanted to. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    "I can smell your arousal." He growls as his mouth moves to my stomach. "It''s unlike any scent I''ve ever experienced. It makes me upset to think that someone other than me got the chance to smell something so fucking precious."

    I gasp.

    Since when has he ever been this open with me? How sure was I that this wasn''t a dream? It was difficult for me to believe that this was true. Maybe I should pinch myself to confirm. If I woke up and realized it wasn''t real, I knew I would probably cry for an entire day because of it.

    "Please tell me this is real," I beg. "Please tell me you''re really here and saying all of these things to me. I don''t want to wake up if this is a dream. I want to remain here with this side of you, a side of you that I''ve never ever seen before, at least not because of me."

    I''ve seen him act sweet around Nicole before; that was when he was trying his best to make their marriage work. He wasn''t like that around her anymore, at least not in front of me.

    For the first time in a long time, he smiles; it''s a smile so bright that it is almost blinding. I had to take a moment to catch my breath. Watching him, with his gaze on me as he freely smiled, was everything to a girl like me. I could watch him like this for the rest of my life.

    He slowly pulls my nightgown up to expose my bare pussy. I gasp when He spreads my lips with his fingers before he takes a soft lick down there. My ass flies off the bed at the touch of his tongue. It was hot and soft and I could hardly feel my thighs.

    "Do you still think it''s a dream?" He asks me with another one of those blinding smiles. I can''t breathe, not when he looks at me like that. I''ve always wanted to be the one to make him happy, and for once, I could see that dream being fulfilled.

    I shook my head. No, this couldn''t be a dream; a dream wouldn''t feel this good, this had to be real.

    I feel my eyes roll back in my head as he ces his finger inside of me. At the same time, he sucks on me down there.

    It feels so good, so good that I can''t even speak.

    "Your taste. . . I know I''ve told you this before, but ra, you really have no idea what I would give up to have you like this for the rest of my life. I would give my entire fortune for just one taste of you. You really have no idea just what you do to me."

    </section><section>

    Hearing ric admit these things to me was truly like a dreame true for me. I''ve wished for his attention for a long time now. I''ve wished for this exact moment, but something screamed at me in my mind that I was close to losing him even before I had a chance to have him. I know it was crazy to think this at a time like this, but for some reason, my body seemed to know something that I didn''t know yet.

    Still, I was determined to enjoy every second of tonight. I wasn''t going to stop him. Tonight, my mind, body, and soul would belong to ric and only him.

    </section>

 Chapter 474 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    I could taste her over and over again. If I ever had the chance to marry this woman, I would spread her legs every second I got. I would have her in every position known. I would constantly tell her how much I desired her and how strong my feelings were for her. I would do everything in my power to make her happy, to see her smile.

    "ric," She cries out as I devour her pussy. "Please, I don''t want to wait any longer. Don''t make me wait anymore. I need you to make love to me."

    </section><section>

    Fuck.

    Make love to her?

    It would be my fucking pleasure.

    "I want to see you." She continues. "Please remove everything. I''m dying to see every inch of you."

    Ah¡ªshit.

    She sure knew exactly what to say to make my dick hard as stone. The damn thing has been hard for days just thinking of her. I was finally about to get that release I''ve been trying so hard for in the past couple of days. I knew I wouldn''t be able to do it without her. I was slowly dying inside for a chance to be this close to her.

    I do as she wishes, and remove everyst piece of clothing. I enjoy seeing how her eyes light up the second that everything is removed. She has always been so unlike Nicole in every way possible. Whenever I got naked in front of my ex-wife, she would act bored or uninterested, like she didn''t like what she saw. She always made me wonder if I wasn''t working out hard enough or if there were things about me that didn''t live up to her expectations.

    With ra, it was the opposite. She looked at me like I was the most amazing thing she''s seen in her life. Even now, she looked like she could stare at me for hours. It made me feel so fucking good; she made me feel like I was a man worthy of her time.

    "I want to touch you," she whispers as she gets up from her lying position on the bed andes closer to me.

    The second she touches my dick, it fucking jumps in her hand. I didn''t expect that it would be the first part of my body that she would touch. I thought she would go for my chest or shoulders.

    I wasn''t prepared; she surprised me so much that I almost came right on her fucking hand. I''m d I didn''t; I wouldn''t have been able to face her after an embarrassment like that.

    Fuck this.

    I can''t wait another second with her touching and looking at my dick like that. I had to be inside her before I went crazy. I gently remove her hand and ce her back down on the bed. She looks like she wants to protest until she realizes what I was about to do.

    My dick touches her entrance, and her eyes widen. She looked at me with so much trust that I knew I would always want to protect her. I''m even scared to push forward right now; I didn''t want to hurt her. She was so tiny in front of me, and my dick was bigger than it''s been in my entire life. It was growing the more I just stood there, not moving forward. It was evident that this was the most aroused I''ve ever been.

    "Don''t think." She whispers. "Just do it. I want this even more than you do."

    I wanted tough in my mind. How could she possibly want it more than I do? Can''t she tell how much I want this by now? Can''t she see that I''m about to lose my damn mind any second now?

    Fuck. I''d lost my mind a long time ago. I wasn''t thinking like a sane person anymore, and it was all because of her. And I was totally fine with that. I was happy this way. In fact, I would die a happy man because of tonight.

    Her hand squeezes my back, and I can''t hold back any longer. I push into her, and her body instantly epts me, like it has been waiting for me for its entire life.

    I''ve been inside Nicole before, and I know it''s thest thing I should be thinking about right now. But damn, it was insane how much better it was with ra. The difference was iparable. This almost seemed magical, like it shouldn''t even exist. This was the kind of connection that made a man kill himself if he ever lost it.

    ra didn''t seem like she was in pain. Instead, she looked like someone on cloud nine. I can''t help but smile at knowing I didn''t hurt her. It was my biggest fear about entering her.

    I slowly begin to move inside of her, and she instantly moans and tries to pull me even closer to her. I knew what she needed because I needed it as well.

    And so, I wrap my arms around her as I begin to really move against her warmness.

    Ah¡ªFUCK! I could feel her juices all around my dick and it was hard not to explode inside of her.

    It shouldn''t feel this good. It was too much for a man like me. I didn''t deserve to feel this good after what I did.

    Nothing ever made me feel like this in the past.

    "ric!" She cries out as my movements turn quicker.

    I''m pounding into her before I know it, unable to stop myself.

    "I¡ªcan''t." I swallow hard. "I can''t stop. Ah¡ªra, I can''t fucking slow down. I can''t."

    "Don''t!" she begs. "It feels so good."

    The second I felt her pussy clench, I knew that it was over for me.

    I was ashamed that I couldn''tst as long as I wanted to; before I could let go inside of her, I pulled out, and my seed spilled out on top of her pussy. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    It was sexy as hell. I was so close to spilling it all inside of her sweet pussy.

    I wanted to get it deep inside of her. I really did. But I wouldn''t do that without her permission. I hadn''t even told her about Nicole''s pregnancy yet.

    </section><section>

    Damn it. Why did I need to remember that now?

    What was I going to do about it?

    </section>

 Chapter 475 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I couldn''t stop blushing ever since I walked into ric''s ss. Last night was amazing. It was better than amazing; there were not enough words to describe just how good everything felt between us.

    However, I did notice that he pulled out of me just before his climax. I knew it meant that he didn''t want to get me pregnant, and I should be thankful for that, but yet, for some reason, it made me feel iplete inside. I wanted every part of him, including that.

    </section><section>

    It took a while to even get him to open up to me in that way; maybe it was possible that eventually, he would feelfortable enough to be that close with me. . . Comfortable enough to want to have a baby with me.

    I knew from Scarlett that it was something he''d wanted for a long time now. Throughout his entire marriage, he kept asking Nicole to have his child, but she always refused him. I want to tell him that I would be ready to have a baby with him any time that he pleased. If he asked me now, I would be willing to do it with him, not just for his sake but because it was something I wanted with him as well.

    Maybe I was getting ahead of myself. Whatever happened between usst night did not confirm that we were in any kind of rtionship. ric never asked me to be his girlfriend or anything more than that. I had no clue what any of it meant, and I wouldn''t know until he exined it to me.

    His eyes weren''t on me for the entire ss, but I didn''t let it bother me. I knew now that he wanted me, he said it with his own mouth, and ric wasn''t the type of man to lie. He would never say something like that without meaning every word.

    "ra, can I see you in my office?" he asks suddenly.

    What? Was I imagining those words from his mouth or did he really just ask me that question?

    We were in the middle of ss. Did he not think that this would cause an uproar?

    All of the girls look at each other in surprise and agony. There he went, making every girl at the academy hate me because he was showing me more attention than the rest of them. Not that I wasining; I waspletely happy to have his attention. In fact, it felt amazing. But why would he choose now to ask me? He could have asked me after ss.

    I don''t get a chance to respond when his gaze travels back to the rest of the students.

    "ss is dismissed early today," he announces to them without a second thought.

    Was it possible that he was calling me to his office to continue what we startedst night?

    Why was my mind suddenly so dirty? All I could think about now was having him inside of me. I could feel my cheeks redden at the reminder.

    The second I make it to his office, I don''t even have a chance to walk in properly. He grabs me by my waist and presses me up against the door.

    "I''m sorry, ra," he apologizes.

    Why was he apologizing again? I thought we were over that stage.

    "Sorry for what?" I ask, almost breathless.

    "I couldn''t control myself." He answers me. "I couldn''t wait. I didn''t have the patience to wait. I had to have you. I had to end ss early."

    "Oh." was all that I could say at first. "I thought you were caught up in the lecture today. You didn''t look at me even once."Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    His lips are on my neck and chest before he says, "I had to keep my eyes away. If I allowed myself to look at you, I would have taken you right there and then in the middle of the ssroom. No one would have been happy to see such a sight."

    I practically gulp at his words.

    I didn''t think he wanted me this badly. It made my body instantly react to his need. The fact that he needed me this much only made me want him even more.

    It was hard to exin the intense feeling in my chest.

    He pulls my skirt down and spins me around so that my ass is now pressed against his pants. I could feel his arousal, reminding me of just how big he was there.

    I cry out when he pushes into me without any warning. I wasn''t even aware that he had unzipped his pants. I tried to stop the moans as he started to pound inside of me over and over again. The door shook with the force of each of his thrusts, and I wondered if anyone outside would notice.

    However, soon enough, I didn''t care about any of that. I was so drowned in pleasure that I couldn''t care about any of that.

    "ric," I moan. "It feels. . ."

    I couldn''t finish the sentence as another moan escaped my mouth.

    "I know," he growls as he bites down on my shoulder while increasing his thrusts. "You feel¡ª," he doesn''t get to finish as he groans like he''s in distress while pressing his forehead against my neck.

    </section><section>

    "You''re fucking amazing, ra," he tells me right before he pulls out with a roar. I felt his warm seed on my ass, covering itpletely. I loved the way it felt, but I would have loved having every bit of it inside of me.

    How long must I wait for him to give that part of himself to me?

    </section>

 Chapter 476 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I could barely feel my legs for the rest of the day. I couldn''t believe what had happened between ric and me. It was everything I always expected and more.

    His hands, his mouth, everything about him screamed sexy. He knew how to touch me in ways that ignited a certain spark inside of me.

    </section><section>

    It was my second time leaving his office for the day; I couldn''t believe he''d gone to another one of his sses early to have me all to himself for a few extra minutes. He acted like he was starving for me, but I wasn''tining. I loved every second of it.

    I close the door behind me but I¡¯m not happy to find Nicole standing a few feet away.

    Since when did she start to dress like this? She never covered her body this much in the past. It was so unlike her.

    "What are you doing in his office?" She demands as I turn to walk away.

    Could she not tell by my hair or my clothes what was happening in ric''s office?

    I wasn''t allowing her to hurt him again. This was my chance to tell her to back off and leave him alone. It was obvious that I was the one he wanted. I didn''t need to ckmail him to have him in my life.

    "We need to talk," I tell her.

    She smiles with a wicked look as she nods in agreement, "Yes, ra, I believe it is time that we have a discussion."

    Why was she so happy about this? Why didn''t she seem worried at all?

    "But not here." She adds. "I don''t want ricing out and hearing what I have to say to you."

    "Is it because it''s yet another lie?" I use her. "Lies are all you''re good for. I don''t know what someone like ric ever saw in you. You''re not a good person; I can feel it."

    She sighs as she starts to walk, "Follow me, ra. I have plenty to tell you. And I can promise you that this isn''t something you want to ignore. You need to hear every word I have to say to you. You''ll find out just how wrong you are about everything.¡±

    Something about the tone of her voice convinced me to follow her. I knew that half of the things she said were horrible, but I was willing to listen to her this time. Once, she was willing to hear what I had to say as well. It would have been better for both of us if we had this conversation in private.

    I follow her out to the parking lot. When we were both sure that no one was around, she finally turned to me. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    "I''m sure that ric hasn''t told you anything yet." She says. "If he''d done so, you would have kept your distance from him. He''s too nice for his own good. He doesn''t know how to turn down an obsessed student."

    "I''m not¡ª"

    "Let me finish." She snaps. "You came here to listen to what I had to say, so listen. ric ispletely off-limits. He was never yours. You were just a rebound for our failed marriage. Now that I''m back, there is absolutely no room for you in his life. There never was."

    I narrow my eyes, "I don''t know if you''repletely in denial, but you should see for yourself how much he wants to be with me. I don''t know what kind of ckmail you''re using to get back into his life, but I''m not just going to stand back and let that happen."

    "I think you''re the blind one." She snaps. "He married me. Everyone in this academy knows just how much he loves me. Does anyone here know about your rtionship with him?"

    I can''t answer her.

    "Your silence tells me everything that I need to know." She smiles. "I''m the woman with the title. I''m the only one that they recognize. He was only ying with your feelings. If he truly wanted to be with you, he would have tried hard to prove to everyone around him that he wanted you in his life. Instead, he kept you aplete secret, and you''re still a secret while I''m the one back in his home."

    I bit my lip to stop myself from calling her all sorts of names. I couldn''t argue with her words since it was the truth. It was a huge secret. ric never told anyone about his feelings for me, and it''s only recently that I even knew he had any interest in me. Yet, with Nicole, he announced it everywhere.

    However, I knew that he also wanted to protect me from everyone else. I knew what could happen if word got out about my rtionship with him. I saw what happened to my sister, and it was not pretty.

    ¡°He¡¯s only quiet because he wants to protect me.¡± I snap at her. ¡°There is nothing you can say today that can change my mind about how I feel. I''m not going to back down. ric has to choose between the both of us, and I know his choice will be me.¡±

    Well, I wasn''t entirely sure, but I wasn''t about to admit that to Nicole.

    She sighs, ¡°I truly didn''t want to do this, mainly because ric did not want me to tell you yet. However, since you''re this invested in my ex-husband¡¯s life, I think you should at least know about his child.¡±

    His child?

    What was she speaking about?

    </section><section>

    Curious, I watch as she removes the coat from around her body; the second it falls to the ground, everything around me goespletely dark.

    It couldn''t be. . .

    </section>

 Chapter 477 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I couldn''t believe my eyes. Yet, the bump in Nicole''s stomach told me everything I needed to know.

    She was pregnant.

    </section><section>

    Pregnant?

    How could that be? How long has she been pregnant? And why was I now finding out about this?

    I wasn''t aware that ric was still sleeping with her. He made it seem as though he didn''t have any interest in her anymore, at least until recently, when she returned to his home.

    This was crazy.

    There had to be some kind of a mistake. This couldn''t be ric''s baby. He wouldn''t betray me like this. It wasn''t possible. Someone like ric would never do something this horrible.

    "How are we so sure that this is ric''s baby?" I demand. "You''re full of so many lies that this could be yet another one of your tricks to get him back in your life."

    Her eyes narrowed, and I knew that I had hit a nerve. I didn''t want to believe her, and why should I after everything she''s done?

    "Whether you believe me or not is your problem." She hissed. "The only person I needed to believe me already does. That alone should tell you that I''m telling the truth."

    I swallow hard.

    This would exin everything. This is why he''s suddenly allowing her back into his life. It''s also why he didn''t want to tell me the truth. As much as it pained me to admit it, there was a chance that she was being honest.

    The fact that ric could even entertain her wishes and bring her back to his home without a proper exnation was all I needed to confirm that this wasn''t some lie she''d just made up to push me away from him. There was some truth to this and the only person that could confirm it was the man I was in love with.

    Why was this happening now? Why would of all the days, why was it today when I was finally happy that he was opening up to me?

    I continued to stare at Nicole from head to toe.

    Of course, the bump in her belly was also all the proof I needed. It was definitely real and not a fake bump. But still, I needed to speak to ric at least once. I had to confirm everything with him and hear what he had to say even though I didn''t think there was anything that could defend this.

    "I tried to warn you in the past, ra." She continues to tell me, feigning kindness. "I told you that what ric and I had wasn''t something that could be broken. I admit that I was difficult to deal with, but that never bothered him while we were married. He always worshipped me, no matter what I did. Then you came along, and he found a distraction. But that was all you ever were, a distraction for him. He wanted to hurt me for hurting him, but in order to do that, he needed someone to use, someone that could hurt me."

    I didn''t want to hear this from her, but still, I stayed there and listened to every word. I think that I was in shock. I couldn''t find the strength to move my feet. I knew I had to confront ric, but I was scared to do so.

    How would I react when he confirmed all of this? I knew that it wouldpletely destroy me.

    "You were the perfect candidate for ric to make me jealous. You''re his student; just like all the other girls in his ss, you''repletely obsessed with him. Where else could he find someone more perfect than you to make his n work? Sadly, you got caught up in all of it, and you''re about to get your feelings hurt. Do you think that ric will ever leave me now that he knows I''m pregnant?"

    I bit my lip and tasted blood. It was difficult for him to let go of her even before she was pregnant. She was right; he wouldn''t get rid of her now. The fact that she was back in his home told me that much. He already made up his mind to keep her close to him.

    But the ric I knew would never y with my feelings like that.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    Was it possible that I never knew him all along?

    I''d somehow managed to get hurt by yet another Prince. This time, it was the eldest sibling, someone who I thought would be mature enough not to hurt me the way that Carter did. I thought ric at least would know what he truly wanted. But he was no different than Carter; he also would leave me for someone else.

    "I truly am sorry, ra," she apologizes with no sympathy in her voice. "But I did warn you from the beginning to stay away from ric. His family are known yers. They know how to make women think that they''re in love with them. ric was and will always be mine. There is no space for you in his life, especially not now when I will have his baby."

    I couldn''t listen to this anymore. I spun around as the tears poured down my cheeks. I didn''t want her to see me crying. I didn''t want to give her that satisfaction.

    </section><section>

    How could ric do this to me?

    How?

    </section>

 Chapter 478 -

    <section>

    ~ACE BLACKNER~

    "Are you sure that the information you obtained is correct?" I ask Nathan. I didn''t want toe all the way to this bloody academy just to find out that we were wrong and wasted our precious time. Time was always an important factor for my family; we hated to waste even a second that could have been put into something constructive.

    "I''m positive." He answers me. "I wouldn''t bring you here unless I was positive that this was the academy that Nicole works for."

    </section><section>

    I couldn''t remember if she ever mentioned working for this Academy to me. I wanted to find out everything I needed to know about her so that I could confirm that she wasn''t fucking around while having my child inside of her.

    I was not someone that would ever be okay with shit like that. If she was pregnant with my baby, no other man shoulde close to her.

    "She must have good connections if she''s working for this academy," Nathan tells me.

    "She married into a well-known family," I tell him. "Correction, she was; they are no longer married. ording to her, the divorce was finalized."

    "Hmm," he murmurs. "I never thought you would ever mess around with a married woman."

    I try my very best not to punch him in the face. I wasn''t concerned about the married woman part. It wasn''t something that bothered me, even though I didn''t like dishonest people. However, I would have never knowingly slept with her if I had known she was married in the past. I didn''t like anything that made my lifeplicated, and that''s why I stayed away from married women. However, she''d lied to me.

    I wasn''t sure why I still chose to sleep with her after the divorce. I knew I liked a challenge, but to fucking get her pregnant when I didn''t even like her. That was just in foolishness.

    "So," he continues as he parks the car that we often used when we didn''t want to be noticed. "Who exactly is the well-known family that she was married into at one point? Do they have more of a reputation than our family does?"

    I shrug my shoulder, "the Prince family. Just like their name, they''re treated like royalty around here."

    He frowns, "why would someone from the Prince family be married to that girl? She seems like a real pain in the ass. Also, she doesn''t have anything that could benefit them. Are you sure it wasn''t a lie?"

    I nod, "I checked it out for myself. She was telling the truth about that. She imed she divorced him to be with me, but I smelled bullshit. I think he got tired of her and was the one that asked for a divorce. But, I can''t say for sure."

    "Interesting," Nathan says as though deep in thought.

    His eyes suddenly widen, "I think I just found the confirmation we both need. Have a look in front of you. I think that''s your pregnant girlfriend, but she seems to be speaking to someone."

    Girlfriend? He truly was making it hard for me not to punch him in the face.

    However, I do follow his gaze, and he was definitely right. That was Nicole, alright. It was hard not to spot someone like her.

    "She looks like she''s enjoying herself." Nathan points out. "While the other girl she''s speaking to looks like she''s about to cry. Is Nicole someone who likes to bully or torture other women?"

    I didn''t know much about Nicole, but it wasn''t something that I would put past her. She was totally capable of being that way.

    I wasn''t paying much attention to the other girl until she turned around so that I could get a good look at her face. The second she did, I felt a sharp tug at my heart. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    When I spotted a tear rolling down her cheek, I felt like punching the windshield. Why did her tears make me feel so damn pissed off? Why did I want to kill the person responsible for those beautiful tears?

    "Ace?" Nathan calls me with concern in his voice.

    Of course, my brother would be concerned. I don''t think I''ve ever stared at a woman for this long in the past.

    I want to go to her. I want tofort her. I want to dry those tears and make her smile.

    There''s another tug at my heart, and this time, it''s enough to make me want to reach into my chest and rip my own heart out.

    "Ace?" Nathan tries again.

    I couldn''t answer him. There was a constant ringing in my ear that told me everything was not okay.

    Something was happening to my body; it was going into shock and overdrive at the same time.

    "ACE!" Nathan shouts. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

    "Mate."

    </section><section>

    It was one word, but it felt like poison to me.

    Poison.

    </section>

 Chapter 479 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I grab Nicole by her hand before she can walk away from me.

    "What the hell are you doing?" she demands.

    </section><section>

    I don''t answer her as I pull her towards the academy. I don''t care about the weird stares as I drag her straight through the hallway and then to ric''s office.

    I wanted her to repeat everything she said to me in front of him. I wanted to see his reaction. I needed to know the entire truth, not just pieces of it; I wanted to know everything that happened.

    "Let go of me, you freak!" Nicole hisses at me the second I barge into ric''s office and shut the door with the three of us inside.

    ric looks up from the papers on his desk; the second his eyesnd on me, I see all the color drain from his face, leaving him pale and shaken. It was not the reaction I was hoping to see. It was enough to tell me he already knew what this was about. Nicole was no longer hiding her bump; the coat wasn''t blocking it from any of us. However, ric wasn''t even looking at it. He was only gazing at me with a look of remorse.

    "Tell him everything that you told me in the parking lot." I snap at her. "Do not leave a single detail out."

    His eyes finally move from me to Nicole, and she looks irritated.

    His hands tightened at his sides, "what did you say to her, Nicole?"

    I don''t turn towards her. Instead, I keep my eyes on him. Why did it sound like he was ming her when he was the one at fault? He was the one who chose to keep everything from me. He was the one that broke my heart. This pain was unlike anything I''ve ever felt with Carter. This made me feel like I was dying inside.

    She lifts her gaze to his, "Nothing that wasn''t the truth." she answers him with narrowed eyes. "I did the hard work for you. I know you wanted to be the first to tell her, but I couldn''t wait anymore ric. I''m pregnant with your baby; she would have found out eventually."

    His body shook with rage, and I wondered if that rage was focused on her or himself.

    "Nicole." He growls. "Get the hell out of my office."

    She gapes at him and doesn''t even attempt to move.

    "What do you mean get out?"

    "Now!" He roars.

    She narrows her eyes at him, "All I did was tell ra the truth. I think the girl deserved to know the truth about us. We had sex. You got me pregnant. This baby in my belly is yours, and we both know that''s the truth. It would have been better for all of us if you had never kept this from her in the first ce. Now look at the mess you''ve made for all parties involved."

    My heart squeezes most painfully ever. He slept with her. The fact remained that he slept with her, and it had to be recently.

    I ce a hand on my stomach; this couldn''t be happening. It had to be a nightmare. When would I be able to wake up from this?

    ric doesn''t respond to her, but surprisingly, she storms out of his office without another word. I jump at the loud noise when she ms the door shut.

    ric runs a hand down his face like he doesn''t know where even to begin to exin.

    He didn''t need to exin anymore. I''d heard and seen everything I needed to.

    "You slept with her," I whisper. "All this time, you''ve been messing around with me, making me think that you were interested in me when all along you were still sleeping with your ex-wife."

    He shook his head, and his eyes looked like he was pleading with me for a chance. A chance for what exactly? There was no chance for us ever again; all that changed the second he got Nicole pregnant.

    He knew all along. He knew all of this, and still, he pulled me closer to him. Still, he made me fall deeply in love with him.

    "I promise I never intended to hurt you, ra." He tries to tell me. "I wasn''t even aware of when I got Nicole pregnant. . . I did not know. I only found out recently. I promise you that it isn''t something that I willingly did."

    What the hell was that supposed to mean?

    How could you not willingly get someone pregnant?

    How stupid did he think I was?

    "You have no idea how much of my heart belonged to you," I whisper. "You have no idea how much respect I had for you. I looked up to you. I thought that you were different. I thought that there wasn''t a man out there that couldpete with your genuine, kind heart. Yet, all along, I was so wrong."

    "ra¡ª"Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.

    "I was right about something. You are different than the other men. You''re much worse than all of thembined. Not even what Carter did to me was as bad as this. Carter may have done some horrible things in the past, but his intention was always to protect me; he never even touched me in ways that you have done because he knew one day that he would let me go; he did it all to protect my fragile heart. But you, you took those parts of me and did much worse than he''s ever done." I cry.

    My bottom lip trembles as the tears continue to stream down my cheek, one after the next. "My heart is broken. It belonged to you until now. I managed to get my heart shattered by yet another Prince member. This time, it''s even worse than before."

    "ra, believe me, I don''t want to hurt you; I want to find a way to make this work¡ª"

    </section><section>

    "Stop it." I snap. "Stop feeding me all these lies. I''m done believing that you''re a good person, ric. I''m done with you. For good. I never want to see you again after today."

    I don''t wait for him to respond as I storm out of his office.

    </section>

 Chapter 480 -

    <section>

    ~ACE BLACKNER~

    "Fuck." I growl. "Should I just forget I ever saw her?"

    "I think it would truly make your life easier." My brother admits. "Ever since I found my mate, my life has been a damn mess. I wouldn''t want the same thing to happen to you."

    </section><section>

    "But father would be disappointed in me if he discovered I found my mate and didn''t bring her back to him." I point out.

    He nods, "I know that much, but if you value your peace at all, it''s best that you leave things as it is and pretend you never saw her."

    He was right. I saw what happened to each of my siblings and vowed to stay away from that kind of trouble. It wouldn''t do my family any good. I didn''t have the time for this kind of stress, I needed to do everything in my power to protect my siblings, they needed me and I couldn''t be there for them if I had to worry about a mate and what would happen when father got his hands on her. Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    "Fuck." Nathan growls suddenly. ¡°I don''t think you want to see this right now.¡±

    I stiffened; the tone of his voice told me that we were most likely in trouble. I had enough trouble to deal with already. First I got that woman pregnant and now I found out that she somehow knew my mate. What was the connection between the two of them? From what I''d witnessed, it didn''t seem like the two of them liked each other at all.

    "What''s wrong?" I ask him as I begin to examine our surroundings for any sign of danger. I was always prepared for the unexpected, of course, nothing could have prepared me to see my damn mate today. I thought I came here to spy on Nicole, instead, I found someone I never wanted to find.

    ¡°I can see a few of our men." He informs me. "Father has sent some of them to spy on us."

    Damn it.

    Out of all of the days, why did it need to be today? Ever since Arthur basically left everything behind to be with his mate, my father doesn''t trust the rest of us; he thinks that we would do the same thing. To prevent that, he''s been keeping a close eye on all of us. At this point, it was bing a fucking pain in my ass. I didn''t need a fucking babysitter.

    "That''s not good," I tell him. "If they''ve been spying on us this entire time, they may already know that I found my mate. This means that we have no choice but to take her back with us before they can do the same."

    Nathan sighs, "I''m warning you, brother. I saw what happened to Arthur; you saw it as well. The mate bond is not something to be taken lightly."

    I nod, "I know, but it doesn''t look like I have a choice in the matter, does it?"

    "It would seem that way." He says as he points towards the entrance of the academy. "It looks like your mate is about to leave."

    "We must get to her before father''s men get to her," I inform him.

    "We can''t do it out in the open." He tells me. "Everyone that attends this academy is from influential families, we have no information on her family. If they know we are the ones that took her, we may bring unwanted attention to our family."

    Unwanted attention was thest thing we wanted right now after what happened with Arthur in the past.

    "The second she leaves the academy, we will intercept her vehicle and take her," I tell him.

    He nods, "Sounds like a n, brother. Congrattions, by the way."

    I ignore the urge to hold him by the throat and squeeze tightly. His sarcasm was not appreciated right now. This wasn''t a joking matter. I had to find a way to control this aching pain in my chest. Mates were our weaknesses, and that''s why getting rid of them was always the right move to make. Unfortunately, it wasn''t that easy to ignore feelings this strong.

    I follow closely behind her as she exits the parking lot.

    "Don''t make it too obvious," Nathan warns me.

    "I honestly don''t think she''s paying attention to her surroundings right now." I point out. "She''s crying hysterically, and I wish she''d just fucking stop because it makes me angry."

    I should not be this affected because of a stranger''s tears. I''ve been taught to ignore feelings this strong, but this was the first time I had any real experience from those lessons.

    "Do you see father¡¯s men behind us?" I ask as I look in the rearview mirror.

    "No." He answers me as he looks behind. "Father most likely wants them to be as inconspicuous as possible."

    I saw my opportunity to stop her around a corner, and I mashed down on the elerator and pulled in front of her vehicle. I hear a loud screech as she presses on her brakes before ites to aplete stop.

    I didn''t waste any time as I got out and opened her door. Her eyes are wide, while her face is covered in tears. My jaw clenches as I pull the cloth out of my pocket and cover her mouth. She struggles against my hold before her entire body goes limp.

    "You drive her car," I inform Nathan as I move her to the jeep.

    </section><section>

    I try not to let the feeling in my chest get to me. Her nearness was affecting my focus, and fuck me, I knew this was going to be much harder than I ever expected.

    I had to take her back to our home; father would have to find a way to deal with her. It would be out of my hands the second I stepped into our residence and handed her to him.

    </section>

 Chapter 481 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    I fell back against the office chair and stared at the wall nkly. I knew I had to tell ra the truth but not once did I think she would find out this way.

    The hate I felt for myself right now was unimaginable. I should have told her, I shouldn''t have waited for Nicole to tell her. Now she didn''t know all of the details andpletely hated my guts.

    </section><section>

    I should have opened my mouth, I should have exined that it happened during the full moon and wasn''t even aware that I had done it until recently. I was too shocked that she''d found out everything from Nicole. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    She thinks I willingly slept with my ex-wife, she thinks I purposefully yed with her emotions. She doesn''t realize that I didn''t have any desire to be intimate with another woman, she doesn''t realize that she''s the only woman that I want.

    I knew it was selfish of me to get closer to her while knowing I had gotten my ex-wife pregnant. However, I couldn''t control myself around ra. Whenever I was around her, I felt this uncontroble need to take her and make her mine. It always confused me and made me do things that I would never normally do.

    As soon as I heard the sound of the door creaking open, my head snapped up with hope. I was desperate to see ra again, I was hoping that she would give me one more chance to exin. However, the moment I saw that it was Nicole walking in, my heart sank. The disappointment I felt was immense, as I was hoping for the woman that I was hopelessly in love with toe through that door and bring back my reason to live along with her.

    "Why do you look so depressed?" she asks as she walks closer to me.

    As soon as I saw her approaching, I felt a strong urge to push her away. I couldn''t even imagine being near her right now. Despite all my efforts to keep it a secret, she had gone ahead and told ra that she was pregnant. It made me incredibly angry because I had made it crystal clear to her that I wanted to wait for the right moment toe clean about the situation. It wasn''t the first time that Nicole spoke to ra with hopes of pushing her away from me. This time, she may have finally seeded.

    "Don''t," I growl as I move from the chair. "I can''t promise you that I will act in a civilized way after what you just did."

    As I stood there, seething with anger, she suddenly stopped walking and looked at me with a surprised expression. It was as if she was caught off guard by my reaction, even though I knew for a fact that she was fully aware of what she was doing when she spoke to ra earlier. I could see the guilt written all over her face, and it only made me angrier. How could she pretend to be innocent now, after causing so much trouble?

    "What exactly did I do that was so wrong, ric?" she demands. "You should be thanking me. I did the hard work for you as I mentioned before. ra needed to know the truth and since it was so difficult for you to tell her, I thought that I was doing a good thing by telling her the truth."

    I run a hand down my face, "Please leave my office. I''m not in a good state of mind right now and I would rather not have this conversation with you. I need to find ra and make things right."

    Her eyes widen, "what do you mean by that? You can''t actually be considering being with that woman?"

    "What I do is none of your business, I made that clear to you in the past,¡± I growl. ¡°The only reason you''re in my life right now is because of that baby.¡±

    ¡°That baby?¡± she gasps. ¡°Do you mean YOUR baby?¡±

    ¡°LEAVE,¡± I growl. ¡°I told you that I do not want to see you right now Nicole. Leave!¡±

    </section><section>

    She doesn''t move an inch. It''s as if she''s made of stone. I wait for a moment, expecting her to attempt to leave. I can feel my frustration building up, and I know that I can''t stay in this room for a second longer. So without waiting for her to make an attempt to leave, I storm out of the office without another word. The door ms shut behind me, but I don''t look back. I need to cool off, and I know that I won''t be able to do that if I''m in the same room as her.

    I had to find ra. I had to find her and beg for her forgiveness. I had to beg her to give me just onest chance.

    </section>

 Chapter 482 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    Fuck.

    ra''s car was nowhere home. I went searching throughout the entire academy earlier with hopes of finding her somewhere. However, she was nowhere to be seen. Eventually, I realized her vehicle wasn''t even in the parking lot.

    </section><section>

    I hoped she might have gone to her sister Scarlett to tell her what I had done. However, I was sure that she wasn''t here either; the fact that her car wasn''t here told me all I needed to know.

    Still, maybe Scarlett would have some kind of details for me. Maybe she at least called her and spoke to her.

    I rushed into the house and didn''t stop running until I saw Scarlett. She''s staring at her phone but looks up when she hears my footsteps.

    "Scarlett!"

    Her face tells me that she''s worried, which means ra must have spoken to her. Still, I had to ask to confirm my suspicions.

    "Did ra try to contact you today?" I ask her as I wait impatiently for her to answer my question.

    She nods, "she told me that she needed to speak to me. However, that was over two hours ago. She should have been here by now."

    My jaw clenched, "did you try calling her again?"

    She nods, "I have, but I haven''t gotten a response. She isn''t answering any of my calls or messages. I''m beginning to get worried. It''s very unlike my sister not to answer my calls or at least respond to a message."

    Her eyes narrow when she sees my expression. I''m sure that my emotions were raw right now; I couldn''t hide the pain and fear I felt.

    "Did something happen between the two of you?" she asks me.

    I run my hand through my hair; it''s hard to even look Scarlett in her face as I say, "She found out today that I got Nicole pregnant."

    Scarlett''s eyes widen in horror and disbelief. I was embarrassed to even say those words out loud.

    "You did what?" Ares asks as he enters the family room. "Why the hell would you do something like that?"

    "What''s going on?" Violet asks. "What''s all the shouting about?"

    "Our brother here got his ex-wife pregnant." He informs her.

    My sister''s eyes almost pop out of her head.

    "That can''t be." She whispers. "You will never do something like that, not when you''ve been trying so hard to move on from her."

    Scarlett finally seems to break out of her state of shock as she walks towards me, "what was my sister''s reaction when you told her?"

    I swallow hard; I can barely look her in the eyes, "she didn''t hear it from me. Nicole told her the truth today without informing me that she was going to do so. I asked her for some time to break the news to ra first, but she didn''t listen to me."

    "What was my sister''s reaction like?" she demands for a second time. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    "She was heartbroken. She was crying¡ª" I couldn''t even finish my sentence. I didn''t want to remember the look of betrayal on ra''s face when she realized that Nicole was telling the truth.

    "She couldn''t believe I would do something like that to her." I continue even though it hurts like crazy to remember.

    "Am I missing something here?" Ares asks.

    "Why would you get her pregnant?" Violet demands. "Why, brother, why?"

    I close my eyes and tighten my hands into fists, "I wasn''t aware of what I was doing." I answer her.

    "You weren''t aware?" Ares asks. "How? Unless it happened during the¡ª"

    "Full moon." Violet finishes his sentence in surprise. "You slept with her during the full moon?"

    I nod, "I didn''t do it intentionally. I would never do something like that intentionally. My feelings for Nicole are all gone. I was okay with the divorce; I was happy about it. I would never willingly go back to her or try to get her pregnant."

    "How are you so sure that the baby is even yours?" My sister asks. "She could have made up that lie to trap you. We all know the kind of person that Nicole is. She isn''t someone that can be easily trusted."

    "I woke up next to Nicole the morning after the full moon," I exin to her. "I wouldn''t have easily believed her if there was no proof that I fooled around with her the night before."

    Scarlett falls backward, and Violet rushes to her side to hold her. "I think we should get Scarlett to a bed. She shouldn''t be stressed right now."

    "No." Scarlett stops her. "I have to find ra. I have to find my sister and make sure that she''s okay. She''s been through enough already; she''s always been there for me when I needed her the most. I need to be there for her as well."

    "Do you have any idea where she would go?" I ask her. "Can you call home and find out if she''s there?"

    I didn''t think to check there when it should have been the first ce for me to look.

    </section><section>

    Wherever ra was, I would do everything I could to find her and beg her to at least hear what I had to say.

    I had to tell her that I loved her. I had to say to her that Nicole meant nothing to me. She had to know the truth.

    </section>

 Chapter 483 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I woke up with an excruciating headache. It was so horrible that I could barely open my eyes. I took one long look at my surroundings, and everything flowed back to me all at once. I gasped and tried to cover my mouth with my hands when I realized that my hands were bound together.

    Where the hell did that man take me? I was so shocked to find out Nicole was pregnant that I hadn''t realized a vehicle was following me. Then, it pulled in front of my car, forcing me to stop. I close my eyes as the heartache shuts through me like a knife. Even under these circumstances, I was still very much heartbroken because of ric''s betrayal. What hurt the most was finding out that he was never the man I always thought that he was. The image of him that I had in my head was aplete lie, and I couldn''te to terms with it.

    </section><section>

    Why was I even thinking about ric at a time like this? I was locked in a room, and I was absolutely positive that I''d been kidnapped. Why would anyone even want to kidnap me? Unless it were Nicole, I wouldn''t be surprised if she hired someone to get rid of me. She was fully capable of doing something like that.

    The door opens suddenly, and I don''t see the man who drugged me. Instead, this person looks much older.

    "You''re finally awake." He says to me. "Before I answer why you are here, let me first introduce myself to you. My name is Gideon ckner."

    The man sent a chill down my spine, not in a good way. The name ckner was very familiar to me. Where have I heard of it before? It was quite a unique name and a name I don''t think I would ever forget.

    "I never asked you." I snap.

    Maybe pissing off my kidnapper was not a very good idea right now. However, I was pissed that I''d been taken against my will.

    Why was life messing with me so badly? It felt like I couldn''t get a bloody break from this mess.

    "Yes, it would seem that you didn''t. But still, I chose to tell you because you needed to know." He continues.

    "Why would I?" I demand from him.

    He smiles and walks closer to me, "It just so happens that you are my son''s mate."

    I narrow my eyes, "that''s impossible. How do you even know that?"

    "It doesn''t matter how I know; all that matters is that you listen to what I have to say." He tells me with his hands behind his back.

    What exactly did this creepy old man want from me?

    "Well, keep talking, you''re wasting my valuable time."

    He chuckles, "Are you not afraid at all, girl?"

    I was indeed fearful for my life, but my broken heart was more painful than death itself, and maybe I wasn''t even scared of dying because of it. But it didn''t sound like this man wanted to kill me. If I was his son''s mate, like he assumed, wouldn''t he want to keep me safe for his son''s happiness?

    "No." I lie. "Did you bring me here in hopes that I would marry your son? Because if that is your intention, you should know that I am not interested in your family problems. It has nothing to do with me. I have my own life, and I can assure you that my family will be looking for me soon."

    Heughs, and it sends another chill down my back. Hisughter wasn''t the kind that lit up a room; it was the kind that made you want to run and hide.

    This man was pure evil, I could tell.

    "What gave you such a foolish idea, girl?" He asks, stillughing.

    "Then why would you bring me here? What other reason could there be?" I ask. "I''m not interested in your son. I do not need a mate."

    He sighs, "I think you have it all mistaken. Have you not heard of the ckners? We are the only family of werewolves that refuse to have mates. We''ve made the decision that mates are only for the weak. Since you are my son''s mate, do you really think I would bring you here for the reasons you just stated?"

    My eyes widened, and my body shook with a new kind of fear.

    That name, I knew I heard of it before.

    The inhumane ckners. They were some of the most insane werewolves to ever exist. They knew nothing about love and mates.

    "Judging by your expression, I''m sure that you''ve heard of us already." He smiles. "Now it''s time for us to get down to business."

    Get down to business? What the hell did he mean by that?

    </section><section>

    "After I use you to test my son''s loyalty to me, I will have no choice but to get rid of you myself." He says with a smile. Original content from N?velDrama.Org.

    G-get rid of me?

    </section>

 Chapter 484 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    "Where the fuck could she be?" I demand from my brothers.

    I knew it wasn''t any of their fault, but damn it, I was so fucking worried about ra, and it didn''t help that I knew all of this was my fault. I broke her heart, and there''s no telling where she went to calm her mind. I should have never let her walk out of my office; I should have stopped her right there and begged for her to give me a chance.

    </section><section>

    We couldn''t find anything on her at all; not even her vehicle could be seen anywhere. Her parents were freaking out, Scarlett was freaking out also, and Carter was giving me nasty res throughout the day. He didn''t know the whole story, but by now, he could tell something happened between us. I knew that he wasn''t saying anything because he didn''t want to make this situation worse. However, the second that ra was found and everything went back to normal, he would have plenty of questions to ask me. I knew if he didn''t like the answers to those questions, things could get heated between us very quickly.

    "I don''t know," Apollo says. "But we aren''t going to stop until we find her. ra is like family. She is family. We must find her."

    The guilt was eating me up inside. I did this. I was the reason that she was missing. I didn''t think it was possible to detest myself like this until now.

    "It''s just so weird," Ares says. "It''s like she just vanished, and we have no clue where to even begin to search for her."

    "My sister will not disappear for an entire day like this." Scarlett cries. "I know her. I''ve known her my entire life. She will never intentionally make us all worry about her. Something happened to her. I can feel it in my gut. Something is terribly wrong."

    Scarlett''s words did not make this any easier for me, even though I knew how true they were. ra wasn''t the type of woman to do something like this, no matter what she was going through. Also, the fact remained that she told Scarlett that she needed to speak to her. She wouldn''t have done that if she wanted to be alone.

    Nicole walks into the room suddenly, and I can feel the tension rise at her presence. No one wanted her here with us, not even me.

    Her pregnancy bump didn''t go unnoticed by almost everyone in the room. By now, they all knew that I had gotten her pregnant. Not everyone in the room believed her, but the evidence was there, and they couldn''t deny it. Even I wished that I wasn''t the father. It would be fucking perfect if someone else had gotten her pregnant.

    "Is ra still missing?" she asks as she looks around the room. I knew that she was hoping that she was still missing; she was probably the only person here who was happy about her disappearance.

    No one answers her, and she looks offended.

    "Is no one going to say anything?" She asks.

    "Why do you act as though you''re actually concerned?" Scarlett demands. "You''re happy that my sister is missing."

    Nicole frowns, "You''re acting like I''m the reason that all of this has happened. I''m not to me for any of this. I''m also concerned about ra."

    I knew that was a lie, just like everyone else did.

    "I think we may have a lead," Griffin says as he walks into the room. Things were so bad that we had to invite the Fawns to help us. We needed any damn help that we could get. Luckily, they had a good rtionship with both Scarlett and ra and were more than happy to help.

    "What did you find?" I ask as I walk towards him. I was looking for any information, even the smallest details.

    "Someone said they saw ra''s car, but it wasn''t her driving it." He informs us.

    What?

    Why the fuck would someone else be driving her car?

    "Does he have any information at all on who it was?" I demand. I couldn''t hide the panic in my voice. This news only made the sinking feeling in my chest even worse.

    He shook his head, "he said that he couldn''t see into the car properly enough to tell who it was."

    Scarlett gasps, and she looks pale like she''d just seen a ghost.

    "No." She gasps. "This cannot be happening. What has happened to my sister? Who could have taken her?"

    It was now confirmed. Something horrible did happen to ra. She wouldn''t just abandon her car like that.

    </section><section>

    But who the hell would ever want to harm her? She was the sweetest woman that I knew. I couldn''t think of anyone who would want to harm her. This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    I don''t care what the fuck I have to do; I had to find the person that was driving her car. I had to get fucking answers.

    </section>

 Chapter 485 -

    <section>

    ~NICOLE~

    There was chaos everywhere in ric''s home. Everyone was in a panic now that they knew ra had most likely been kidnapped. It was such a beautiful scene that it made me giddy with happiness.

    Why hadn''t I thought of this before? Getting rid of ra would have made my life so damn easy. I needed to thank the person who took her from our lives; they did me a great favor.

    </section><section>

    This was exactly the good news that I needed today. Who could have been responsible for this? I couldn''t think of a single person except me who would want something horrible to happen to ra.

    I could see the judgmental stares all around the room; I knew that no one here liked me. The only person who probably cared about me in this room was ric, but right now, he was still pissed that I''d told ra that I was pregnant with his baby.

    I couldn''t believe that my brilliant n was actually working. ric believed me, and there wasn''t a doubt in his mind that this baby was someone else''s.

    That reminded me that I needed to return to the ckner''s residence. I was beginning to think that Ace was starting to suspect me. Since everyone here had their own problems to deal with, no one would notice that I was missing for a few days. I could spend some time with Ace and hopefully show him that I wasn''t keeping any secrets from him.

    I quietly slip out of the room and head straight for my car, the exact vehicle that ric gifted me while we were married. I should have never tried to divorce the man. He was so deeply in love with me that he would do anything I asked of him. Now, he barely wanted to be around me because of that stupid ra.

    At least now, I may never have to worry about her again. Though there was a time when I thought Scarlett would be out of the house, but that never happened because they all saved her. I hope whoever has her kills her before they have a chance to save her.

    I quickly jumped into the car and drove out of the mansion. I didn''t stop driving until I neared the ckner''s home, which was in the middle of nowhere. I never understood why they had to build their home here out of the many popted areas. This just showed that they loved their privacy a little too much.

    Getting into the ckner''s home was always a task, but it was so worth it to see Ace. After dealing with their hundreds of guards, I finally make my way inside. I didn''t have to worry anymore about Ace wanting to see me; he always wanted to see me now that he knew I was having his baby. He would do anything to protect the baby in my belly. I had two men willing to do anything I wanted as long as this baby was kept safe. However, I knew everything would be over if ric ever learned of the truth. This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    It meant that no matter what, I had to make sure that ric and Ace never met each other. The second that they did, everything could blow up in my face, and I truly wasn''t looking forward to that mess.

    I''m surprised when I see Ace and his brothers together. Usually, they''re all too busy; they rarely have time to just stand around and talk. However, something about Ace felt different today. He looked like he was on edge about something, and even his brothers looked like they were worried about him.

    Something must have happened while I was away.

    The second that they all sensed me, they turned to look at me, everyone except Ace, who still seemed like he was going through something.

    "Is everything okay?" I ask as I take a step forward.

    My voice finally prompts Ace to look at me.

    "What are you doing here?" he asks me.

    I frown, "what do you mean?" I ask. "I oftene to visit you, especially now that I''m having your baby."

    His jaw clenched, "you''ve been disappearing plenty with no exnations. It''s extremely weird since you''ve always clung to me before you got pregnant. Is there anything that you''re hiding from me? This is the only chance I''m giving you, to tell the truth. If I find out that you''re lying to me about anything, you will not like to deal with the consequences."

    I swallowed hard; it was a direct threat. I knew that Ace was serious; his family wasn''t the kind that made this kind of threat and didn''t mean exactly what they said.

    "I thought that maybe you would need some space from me." I lie. "I was giving you that space. If I thought that it would make you angry by being away, I wouldn''t have left."

    He looks annoyed, "my baby is all that I am concerned about. Nothing else. I made it clear that I don''t want you close to another man while you''re carrying my child; you''re free to do as you please after the baby is born."

    Why did his words make me feel so hot? Ace didn''t have to do anything but speak to me, and I was ready to spread my legs wide for him.

    "You seem a little more on edge today than you usually are," I point out. "Did something happen?"

    His brothers all look at each other.

    His hand tightens into a fist, and before he can respond, his father walks into the hallway and sees all of us present. He doesn''t even bother paying me any attention. I had a coat around me, preventing him from seeing that I was pregnant. For some reason, Ace was very against him knowing that I was pregnant with his baby.

    "Your mate has finally awoken." His father announces.

    </section><section>

    I narrow my eyes; it takes me a second to realize that he was speaking to my Ace.

    What the hell did he mean by that? What mate?

    </section>

 Chapter 486 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    I stiffen when the door opens for the second time since I opened my eyes. This time, Gideon ckner was not the one who''d just entered the room. It''s the man who drugged me with piercing deep ocean-blue eyes.

    I felt a fierce pain straight through my heart, and I knew instantly that this man was Gideon''s son, a ckner, and also my mate.

    </section><section>

    After falling in love with ric, never once did I wish to find my mate. And now, after having been betrayed by ric in the worst way possible, my mate suddenly appears.

    But he isn''t the usual knight in shining armor mate that''s going to do everything in his power to protect me and love me. No, this man is theplete opposite. . . He wants to kill me. Or at least his father does.

    There''s so much hatred in his eyes that I know his intentions are not good ones. But what exactly did his father mean when he said that he wanted to use me to test his son''s loyalty to him?

    What exactly did this man need to do to me to prove to his father that he was loyal to him? It couldn''t possibly be anything good.

    "Ace." He says. "Ace ckner."

    I never asked for his name.

    "You''re the one that kidnapped me and brought me here," I say with narrowed eyes. I could feel the strong pull toward him, but it did nothing for me; my heart belonged to ric. Maybe if I had met him first, my feelings would have been different. It also helps to know that this man and his father hated me.

    He takes a further step into the room and closes the door behind him, "believe me, I never wanted to kidnap you and bring you here. My wish was to forget that I ever found you at that academy. However, due to other reasons beyond my control, I had no choice but to bring you back here."This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    "I highly doubt that it was never your intention to take me against my will." I snap. "I heard enough from your father to know that you both want to get rid of me."

    What was he even doing at the academy? Did he follow me there, and how long had he been spying on me before he actually kidnapped me?

    He walks behind me, and I gasp when hees closer to me.

    "Do not touch me." I hiss.

    "Rx," he growls. "My intention is not to touch you. Never to touch you."

    "Then what are you doing?" I ask him.

    I''m surprised when he unlocks the chain around my hands.

    I turn to look at him in surprise. Why would he do that?

    "Don''t look that surprised." He says as he drops the chain to the ground.

    "Aren''t you scared that I will try to escape?" I ask him.

    He shook his head, "it''s impossible for you to break out from the inside. Only someone from the outside can help you. And there isn''t anyone here who would willingly go against my father''s wishes."

    Were they all terrified of their father? It didn''t sound like a good way to live.

    "What do you n on doing to me?" I ask him.

    He shrugs his shoulders, "I don''t have any intention of doing anything at all. Everything that happens after today will be orders from my father."

    I sigh, "I can''t believe that you are so scared of your own father." I say in disbelief. "You would truly do anything that he asks of you? Isn''t that a sad way to live?"

    He ces both hands in his pockets and stares at me, "You''re a lot calmer than the first time I saw you. You''re not crying in the parking lot like you were thest time. I thought that being kidnapped would have made you cry even more. But whatever it was that made you cry must have affected you much more than this."

    I freeze.

    He saw me crying? In the parking lot?

    There is a sudden knock on the door that distracts Ace from our conversation. I was happy for the distraction. I didn''t need him to learn about my sad life.

    He looks irritated as he walks over to the door and opens it. I couldn''t see the person, but I could tell that it was indeed a woman.

    "This is no ce for you." I hear him tell her.

    "But Ace¡ª,"

    That voice.

    There''s no way that I''ve heard it correctly. However, the more she spoke, the more I knew that I couldn''t be mistaken.

    "Leave. I will see youter after I am done here." He tells her.

    "No." She disagrees. "You will see me now. It''s important."

    That''s definitely her.

    </section><section>

    Nicole.

    Why the hell would Nicole be here?

    </section>

 Chapter 487 -

    <section>

    ~ALARIC~

    "FUCKKK¡ª," I roar as I m my fist against the wooden table in front of me. I don''t even flinch as it breaks in half. The sound travels throughout the once-quiet room.

    Apollo runs in to check on me and raises a brow when he sees the broken table in front of me.

    </section><section>

    "Are you okay?" he asks.

    "I am," I growl. "Wish I could say the same about the furniture."

    The table wasn''t the only thing I''d broken so far. I needed to keep breaking things in order to stay calm right now. I was losing my mind trying to figure out who had taken ra from me.

    The mere thought of losing ra sent scary shivers down my spine. She was not just a woman I needed, but a vital part of my life. Her absence left a gaping hole in my heart that I couldn''t fill. Every second without her felt like a slow descent into despair, and I knew that I had to find her as soon as possible. The mere thought of her suffering and being alone made it difficult for me to function normally. I couldn''t focus on anything else until I had her back by my side. I needed to make sure that she was safe. I was hoping that whoever had her hadn''t hurt her. My body fills with rage at just the thought of someoneying his hand on her.

    I didn''t want to hide my feelings for her anymore. I wanted everyone to fucking know that I was in love with her. However, I knew now wasn''t the time to let out that secret. It would distract everyone from trying to find her.

    I took too long. I should have never hidden my feelings for so bloody long. I should have openly expressed how much I needed her, how much I was crazy about her.

    There''s no doubt in my mind that I loved Nicole at one point. However, my love for ra was totally different; it was the kind of love that I would die for. The fact that I hurt her in the worst way possible only made me angrier with myself.

    "You are taking this thing with ra much harder than any of us expected," Apollo says to me. "Tell me, brother, are you in love with Carter''s ex-girlfriend?"

    My jaw clenched, "do I really need to answer that fucking question? Have you ever seen me act this way for another woman?"Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.

    He shook his head, "No. I have not." He says as he sighs, "But you are aware that the second Carter confirms that you were messing around with ra, he''s going to be very pissed. He still mes himself for hurting her in the past, and now that you also hurt her by getting Nicole pregnant, I''m sure he''s not going to be happy about it."

    "I don''t fucking care about Carter right now," I growl. "All I''m focused on is finding ra. She''s all that I can think about; I want to bring her home safely."

    He nods, "You have my full support, brother. Our family has always loved ra dearly. We all want to get her back home safely. I''m happy that you finally found a woman who''s worthy; she''s more than worthy. ra is special; we all know this."

    She was more than just fucking special. She was the woman who held the only key to my heart, and my heart will only belong to her for the rest of my life.

    "Are there any new leads?" I ask my brother. "Did they find out anything else?"

    "No." He answers me. "But Atticus informed us that Austin and his family are on their way to assist us."

    Alpha Prince Austin Lance Vinci. His family was known to be the best out there regarding wars. They are also really good when ites to finding a missing person; they''ve had enough experience with it to know what to do and where to even look. They helped us a lot when Scarlett went missing.

    They were exactly who we needed on our side.

    Who kept messing with our family? Could it be those damn Cage men again? They were responsible for Scarlett''s disappearance before; maybe they were using ra to get their revenge.

    "What about the Cage family?" I mention to Apollo. "They were pissed when we took Scarlett back from them."

    He nods, "I''ll tell the others to run a check on their family. If she''s there, we will surely know by the end of today."

    Everything was taking too damn long. I could hardly control the wild beating of my heart. I had to find her soon. I had to find my ra.

    He ces a hand on my shoulder, "I promise you that we will find her. We aren''t going to stop until we do. We also had no clue who had taken Scarlett in the past, but yet we were able to get her back. I know we will get ra back also."

    I was holding onto hope from my brother''s words. It was the only thing I could do at a time like this. The second I found out who''d taken ra, I wouldn''t waste a single second to get her back.

    "Austin and his family have arrived," Ares informs us as he walks in.

    </section><section>

    Good.

    It was time to find my woman and bring her back home, not just as the woman I love, but as my wife, as an official member of my family, that is, if she will have me.

    </section>

 Chapter 488 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    Was Nicole responsible for this? Did she hire these men to kidnap me? That didn''t make any sense. Why would she hire the ckners to kidnap me when it was obvious they wanted to do it on their own? They didn''t need her to tell them to take me. Besides, I was most definitely Ace''s mate; that wasn''t something that he could lie to me about.

    So then, why did Nicole know these men? I''ve never heard her mention Ace or any of the ckners to ric or anyone else before.

    </section><section>

    I tried to hear more of their conversation, but it was over too quickly. Ace shuts the door and slowly returns to me.

    I narrow my eyes as I try to read his expression. Who was Nicole to him?

    "You said that you saw me crying in the parking lot of the academy," I say, looking him straight in the eye. "That means that you also saw the woman I was speaking to, didn''t you?"

    He ces his hands in his pockets and leans back against the wall, "why do I need to answer your question?"

    "Because I''m absolutely sure that I just heard her voice." I snap. "That means that you know exactly who I''m speaking about. It means that you know that woman."

    He folds his hand over his chest and studies me, "it sounds like you''re not a huge fan of this woman. How do you know her?"

    I narrow my eyes at him, "I asked you first."

    He looks amused, "I don''t think I''m obligated to answer any of your questions. In case you haven''t noticed yet, you are the one that''s been kidnapped. You have to answer my questions, not the other way around."

    "She was married to a man that I know," I tell him. He didn''t need to know the whole truth about ric and me.

    He quirks a brow at me, "really?" he asks. "It''s a small world then, isn''t it?"

    I fold my arms over my chest, "Nicole has never once mentioned knowing the ckners. Are the two of you close?"

    He takes a few seconds before he finally says, "No, we aren''t. She''s just a woman that I fuck. Nothing else."

    My eyes widen at his words. Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.

    I couldn''t believe he''d just said that to me.

    "You''ve slept with her?" I ask for confirmation.

    He nods, "on multiple asions."

    Multiple asions?

    Did she sleep with him after the divorce, or was sleeping with him even while she was still married to ric?

    I''ve never been more interested in a conversation like I am right now. If Ace was telling the truth, Nicole had a lot of exining to do. I always knew that she was a liar, but there was never any proof that she was sleeping around with anyone else; this is the closest I''ve ever gotten to it.

    "How long have you been seeing her?" I demand. "Were you having sex with her while she was married?"

    He frowns, "You seem to be very interested in my sex life."

    I narrow my eyes, "I''m interested in Nicole''s while she was married to ric."

    He quirks a brow, "ric?" he asks. "You say his name as though you are quite smitten with him. But that can''t be, since he was once married to Nicole."

    I was feeling extremely frustrated and annoyed with him. It seemed like he was intentionally trying to avoid answering my question by asking questions of his own. I couldn''t understand why he couldn''t just give me a straightforward answer. At this moment, I felt like no man had ever irritated me as much as he did. All I wanted was for him to tell me what he knew and then leave me alone. It seemed like a simple request, yet he was making it so difficult for me.

    "From everything I''ve heard from her mouth, this ric man was not attractive at all. She said that she never desired him, and I could provide much more for her than he ever could." He continues.

    I couldn''t believe her. Did she truly say those horrible things about ric to this man? If that were the case, why the hell would she still sleep with him if she felt that way? Why would she intentionally get pregnant for him?

    But could I even trust Ace? He didn''t seem like the kind of man that one could trust.

    "She lied to you," I say calmly. "ric is the most handsome man I''ve evere across. There are not many men like him. You don''t evene close to him."

    </section><section>

    A low growl escapes his mouth, and I think I''ve managed to anger him. Maybe it wasn''t a good idea to provoke him right now. But I was being honest. In my eyes, no onepared to ric. It didn''t matter that Ace also had looks, and there was no doubt that any other woman would fall for his charms, but that was just not the case for me.

    "Who exactly is ric to you?" He asks in a low but deadly tone.

    </section>

 Chapter 489 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    "I don''t have to tell you anything about my life," I whisper. "I don''t care what you do to me. My heart has been broken to the point that nothing you do can possibly hurt me anymore than I''ve been hurt these past few months."

    I could feel the tears begin to form in my eyes once more.

    </section><section>

    His gaze softens, and he looks surprised by my words. Opening up to my kidnapper was not something I wanted to do, but for some reason, I couldn''t stop talking. Maybe I needed someone to discuss this with; my sister wasn''t here, and there was no telling if I''d ever be able to see her again.

    "Someone must have truly broken your heart." He notes, "Care to tell me about it?"

    "Are you sure that''s something you want to hear about?" I ask him. "You aren''t exactly my friend, and your father seems like he wants to kill me. Why would you listen to my troubles?"

    His jaw clenched, "maybe because I never had someone to listen to me when I was younger. I guess I have my brothers to speak to, but I am always so busy looking out for them that I try not to burden them with my own problems."

    I frown, "you don''t seem like the type that needs to speak to anyone."

    He shrugs his shoulders, "I''ve learned to deal with my problems alone. It doesn''t bother me as much as it did when I was younger."

    He''s lying. I could tell that he''s lying.

    "So tell me." He says suddenly. "What has happened to you these past few months that is possibly worse than getting kidnapped by a ckner?"

    I sigh, "I was in what I thought was the perfect rtionship with someone named Carter. Almost everyone at the academy looked up to our rtionship; we were even considered the golden couple at one point. We matched each other perfectly. But Carter was never in love with me. He cared about me like he would a sister, and I only learned about that after he broke my heart. I saw pictures of him and another woman, and she apparently wasn''t the only one he''d been sleeping around with."

    He looks angry, pissed even. "He sounds like an asshole."

    I smile, "I thought the same at first. I tried to hate him. But I couldn''t." I say. "It gets worse, though."

    "Worse?" he asks in surprise.

    I nod, "it turns out that Carter was in love with my sister the entire time."

    He frowns, "What?"

    "It was truly my fault at first. My sister hated Carter''s guts for what he did to me. But then I asked her to flirt with him; I wanted him to fall for her, and then I wanted her to break his heart like he broke mine. Of course, that was a foolish n from the start. I should have never asked my sister to do something like that for me." I inform him.

    He looks even more shocked. "You asked your sister to flirt with your ex-boyfriend and didn''t think that would backfire on you?"

    I smiled at the reminder; I couldn''t believe that I could smile under these circumstances. "I know you think Carter is an asshole, but he isn''t. He had his own problems that I can''t speak about. He was only trying to protect me. I can''t force someone to love me, and the truth was that I didn''t love him the same way I thought I did, either. He was perfect for my sister; they were perfect for each other. They''re expecting a baby soon, and I''m more than happy for them."

    He folds his arms over his chest with a look of displeasure on his face, "I don''t think I would have been able to forgive them if I were you."

    He wasn''t there. He doesn''t know the full story. If he knew every detail, he would have been able to be happy for them as well.

    "And there is more to this story," I tell him.

    "More?" he asks with a raised brow.

    "This is the part where you might be interested since it concerns Nicole," I tell him. Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.

    He doesn''t look happy at the mention of her name. It reminds me of ric; whenever I mentioned her, he also became unhappy. Did she make everyone around her unhappy?

    "Go on." he encourages me.

    "After things ended between Carter and me, I realized that I was developing feelings for his older brother, ric," I say. "But he was still married to Nicole even though he seemed to be very unhappy in the marriage. He cared deeply for her, but she mistreated him throughout their entire marriage. Eventually, as he got closer to me, he realized that his marriage with Nicole didn''t make any sense, and he asked for a divorce, which she eventually gave to him."

    "Did he make you happy?" he asks through gritted teeth.

    I nod, "Very happy until I found out that he got Nicole pregnant."

    There is aplete silence. There''s a knowing look on his face, and his mind seems to be racing with thoughts.

    "Did he tell you that he got her pregnant?" he asks me gently.

    </section><section>

    "No," I answer him. "Nicole was the one to break the news to me in the parking lot. That''s why you saw me crying there."

    As I observe him closely, I notice a muscle incessantly twitching in his jaw. My words have definitely upset him. Suddenly, he appears to be ovee with frustration as he strides towards the door with a sense of urgency, his footsteps echoing through the room. With an angry expression on his face, he forcefully ms the door shut and storms out.

    </section>

 Chapter 490 -

    <section>

    ~ACE BLACKNER~

    Had Nicole lied to me this entire time? She was not that stupid. She knew what my family did to people that betrayed us. She wouldn''t make up something like that unless she wanted a death wish.

    The second ra said those words to me, my entire body was filled with rage I''d never felt before. Besides the fact that there was already a man she was in love with, there was also the fact that she''d been hurt by him, the fact that the woman I thought was carrying my baby could be carrying his.

    </section><section>

    It was fucking bullshit.

    As I burst into the guest room, my heart pounding with anxiety, I spot Nicole seated at the dressing table, her straight hair cascading down her back. I can tell she senses the tension in the room as she slowly turns to face me, her lips parting slightly in surprise. The soft glow of themp on the table casts a warm light on her face, illuminating the worry lines creasing her forehead. Despite the quietness, I can feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

    I never hid my anger; she could see clearly just how angry I was.

    "What''s wrong?" she whispers as she stands up and steps in my direction. "Did your father do something to your mate?"

    Thanks to Father, she now knew that we had found my mate. However, she had no clue that the woman was someone she already knew.

    "Am I the father of your child?" I ask her.

    Her eyes widen a fraction, "why would you even question that? We''ve had sex so many times that you should know the baby is yours."

    I chuckle, "Do I look fucking dumb to you?" I demand. "I''m not gullible like your ex-husband. I know you aren''t a saint. I know you''re capable of sleeping around. Am I to truly believe that I''m the only man you''ve slept with recently?"

    She looks petrified, "who else would I have slept with Ace? I was with you almost every day right before I got pregnant. I''m telling you that I know the baby is yours."

    I take a step toward her, and she falters back a little, "so then why is it that I just found out that you told your ex-husband that the baby you are carrying is indeed his? Why is it that he''s preparing to be the father of that child?"

    Her face turned pale at my words, and I knew she was finally worried about my threats.

    "I-I can exin." she stutters as she looks around her, possibly for a ce to escape. She''s never seen this side of me, and after today, I knew she would never try to lie to me again.

    "Exin?" I ask dangerously. "Exin that you lied to me about being pregnant with my baby? Exin that you were still fucking your ex-husband? Is that what you need to exin to me?"

    "No!" she cries. "I swear to you, this baby is yours."

    I sigh, "How am I to believe that? I should be fucking relieved since I never wanted to have a baby with you, to begin with."

    "I lied to ric!" She shouts. "I promise you that I lied to him. I made him believe that the baby was his."Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

    "For him to even believe that the baby was his would mean that you were fucking around with him. So there is a high possibility that the baby is indeed his and not mine." I point out to her.

    She shook her head, "I never slept with ric, not after the divorce."

    I quirk a brow at her, "You think I''m that stupid to believe such foolishness? Why would he ept that it''s his baby if he never slept with you?"

    She ys with her fingers nervously as she tries to look me in the eye, "ric and his family have a secret that they keep from everyone. They are under a curse. Every full moon, they lose their minds and look for women to fuck, it''s hard to exin. The next day, they wake up and can''t remember anything from the night before. I used this to my advantage. I made ric think he slept with me on thest full moon. He believed it because he woke up with me in his bed."

    What the fuck was she saying?

    "You expect me to believe this nonsense?" I demand.

    "I''m not forcing you to believe anything. All you have to do is ask around yourself. They have many victims that they pay to be quiet. Many women that they slept with during the full moon before they came out with this new n to lock themselves in their basement each full moon to stop themselves frommitting such a sick act. I''m telling you it''s the truth."

    </section><section>

    If she was telling the truth, then the baby was indeed mine, and she had lied to ra. Both ric and ra were lied to by this deceiving woman. And she was carrying my fucking child.

    Why did I get her pregnant?

    </section>

 Chapter 491 -

    <section>

    ~CLARA~

    Something wasn''t right. Why would Ace run out of the room as soon as he found out that Nicole was pregnant with ric''s baby?

    I heard Nicole''s voice earlier, and it was evident that the two of them knew each other. He also said that they were sleeping around.

    </section><section>

    Was it possible that the baby was his and not  ric''s? That wouldn''t change the fact that ric still broke my heart and slept with her recently, but it would make the pain less for sure.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.

    I stood up from the ground the second the door opened, and he walked inside.

    "Why did you run off?" I demand. "What was it that I said that made you react that way?"

    His jaw clenched, "tell me everything you know about ric''s family."

    My eyes widened, "Why would I ever tell you about his family?"

    He paces up and down the room before he turns and res at me, "I need to know the truth about the curse ra. Is there a curse in his family? Or did Nicole just fucking lie to me again?"

    My eyes widen. Nicole told him about the family curse. Why would she do such a thing? That was supposed to remain a secret. How could she betray ric like that?

    "I don''t know what you are speaking about." I lie. "Nicole is someone who loves to lie. It''s just another one of her lies."

    A muscle ticks in his jaw, "you''re the one lying."

    I re at him, "You can''t tell that for sure."

    "I can," he growls. "I can tell when you''re fucking lying to me, just like I can tell when you''re hurt."

    I bit my lip and looked away from his prating gaze, "I don''t want to speak about this. Not to you or your family. You cannot be trusted."

    "My father may not be trusted, but believe me, I''m the best hope you have to get out of my home alive, and I can''t help you unless you''repletely honest with me." He warns me.

    Could I truly trust Ace? Or was this all a trap so that he could learn ric''s weakness?

    I wasn''t sure what the right thing to do was here.

    "Even if you don''t tell me, I still have ways of finding out the truth." He informs me. "I could ask around, I''m sure there are people who know the truth. I heard there are basements in their home; I can have my people break into it and find out the truth for myself also. There are multiple ways for me to find out. This is the easiest way.¡±

    He was serious about his threats. I knew he was. Even if I didn''t tell him, he could easily find out. I saw the kind of structures and gadgets that they made. I knew that the ckners was not an ordinary family. I knew that they were dangerous.

    I look away and say, "They are cursed. I don''t know everything about the curse since they are secretive about it. What I do know for sure is that they lock themselves in the basement with multiple chains just so that they do not harm another woman. They torture themselves so that they aren''t considered monsters. They''ve had it very hard and are still dealing with the pain each day. This is why Carter broke up with me; it wasn''t only because he was falling for my sister; he wanted to protect me from himself."

    His jaw clenched, and I could tell that this wasn''t the news he had been hoping for.

    Why was that?

    ¡°Why do you look so unhappy with this information?¡± I ask him. ¡°You were the one that wanted the confirmation from me. What else did Nicole tell you?¡±

    He doesn''t look like he wants to tell me.

    ¡°It has something to do with her pregnancy, doesn''t it?¡± I demand. ¡°Please, tell me what she told you. Is the baby yours?¡±

    He runs a hand down his face and turns to leave. I won''t let him; I grab him by his arm. ¡°Please,¡± I beg. ¡°I need to know the truth. I love him. I love ric. I''ve never loved anyone the way that I love him.¡±

    His jaw clenched, and he pulled his hand away from my grasp. ¡°Everything she said was a lie.¡±

    My lips parted slightly as he turned to look at me directly in my eyes; it looked like he was dying inside as he said, ¡°She trapped ric. She told him a lie. He never slept with her. On thest full moon, she made him believe that they slept together. He woke up and saw her in the bed with him. She made him believe that she was pregnant with his baby. Since he couldn''t remember anything from that night, he had no choice but to believe her. Nicole has been sleeping around with me even throughout her marriage, I only found outter into the affair. Then she divorced him because she wanted to be with me. However, I didn''t want her that way. She was never someone important to me. But then she told me that she was pregnant with my baby. I''m trapped with her until that baby is born.¡±

    I''m shocked to my core.

    I couldn''t believe this.

    </section><section>

    How could she? How could Nicole y such a dirty trick on ric?

    How?

    </section>

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