Bonds of the Alpha Billionaire (Maya and Alex)

Chapter 72

-Maya's POV-

Saturday

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Seventy-two hours.

Three excruciating days had crawled by since the earth had split open beneath my feet. Three days since the man I was supposed to call Dad. the one who should have been my protector, my safe harbor, had looked at me with such raw, naked hatred that the air itself seemed to crackle with hostility.

The vibrant chaos of the park swirled around me, a meaningless blur of sound and movement. Laughter, shouts of encouragement, the rhythmic thud of feet pounding the dirt-it all blended into a monotonous symphony of noise that did nothing to penetrate the thick fog clouding my mind.

Natalia sat beside me talking endlessly and outlining potential solutions to the text message problem.

"We could try a signal blocker. It wouldn't be foolproof, but it might buy us some time to track down the source."

My gaze remained fixed on a distant point on the horizon, a point that stretched into an endless void mirroring the hollowness within me. My chest felt heavy, and everything just felt so wrong.

"Or I've been doing some reading. We could use a counter-trace program. It's a little risky, but if we're careful..."

Her voice trailed off, and I finally tore my eyes away from the empty horizon. She was staring at me with a worried frown etched on her face.

"Amaya," her voice was gentle. "Are you even listening to me?"

A flicker of pain crossed Natalia's face for a fleeting moment before she recomposed herself. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Talk about it?

How could I possibly talk about it?

How could I put into words the searing pain of rejection that had branded itself onto my very soul? How could I explain the suffocating emptiness that had replaced the fragile hope I had clung to for so long? That someday we could get past whatever it was my father felt for me. He hated me. My own father simply hated me.

ground, Across the field, a blur of black hair and bright blue eyes darted between swings, his laughter echoing through the air as he chased after Ivy. Her dark brown curls bounced with every

the often harsh world we lived in. But today, even their playful energy couldn't break through the shroud of despair that enveloped me. Their laughter sounded distant, muffled by the

with pride as he wrapped his hand around his sister, Ivy, her cheeks flushed from exertion tried to

exclaimed, his voice filled with childish triumph.

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lips. "Good

I could say anything else, Ivy managed to shove him off her and leaned towards me, pulling me with her tiny hands, "Come on, Mommy. Let's play." I smiled down at her, "Mommy is really tired. But if you give

exclaimed

sadness. She understood, of course she did. She had been my rock, my confidante, the one person who truly knew the depths of my pain. Ivy and Nate, easily distracted, turned their attention back to the park and darted back towards the other children. Their laughter became clearer as they joined the

feel better," Natalia finally sighed, her

isolation. I turned to her,

nothing to say."

effort. "I have a father, and... and he hates me. There

It hurts like

me, letting them win, letting their words define you, that only hurts you in the long

searching mine. "You don't turn it off. You feel it. You acknowledge it. But you don't let it define you. You are Amaya Stone, Maya freaking Stone. You are strong, you are brave, and you are worthy of

alarm, and a flicker of cold fear washed over her face. She didn't speak, but the sudden shift in her demeanor sent

"Natalia? What's wrong?"

caused her sudden alarm. But I saw nothing out of

"We need to get the twins and go." The confusion that

no time to explain," Natalia snapped, already starting to gather our things scattered around the bench. "We need to get the twins and

began to protest, but Natalia cut

in a bright, cheerful

around her.

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Chapter 72

their game of tag with a couple of other children, didn't hear

I pleaded, my voice laced with panic. "What's going on? Why are we

me, her voice rising in volume as she called out for the twins again. "Ivyl

spotted Natalia and reluctantly started making their way towards us. Nate tried to bargain for a