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.

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 step, her giggles filling the

the sight of them playing together would bring a smile to my face, a much-needed dose of joy in the often harsh world we lived in.

panting and grinning from ear to ear, stood in front of me, his chest puffed out with

his voice filled with childish triumph.

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smile, the movement unfamiliar on my lips. "Good job, Nate,"

pulling me with her

They both exclaimed at

eyes filled with a knowing 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

you feel better," Natalia finally sighed, her

my self-imposed isolation. I turned to her, my vision blurry with unshed tears, "There

nothing to say."

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

jaw clenched tight, "Look, I know this hurts, Amaya. It hurts like hell. But

me,

let it define you. You are Amaya

and a flicker of cold fear washed over her face. She didn't speak,

"Natalia? What's wrong?"

area, searching for whatever had caused her sudden alarm. But I saw nothing out

and purposeful. "We need to get the twins and go." The confusion that had clouded my mind moments ago began to clear, replaced by a growing sense of

our things scattered around the bench. "We need to get the

-"I began to protest, but Natalia cut

out in a bright, cheerful voice that contrasted sharply with the tension that now

around her.

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Chapter 72

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

laced with panic.

called out for the twins again. "Ivyl Natel

started making their way towards us. Nate tried to