Bonds

Chapter Six

~Maya’s POV~

Natalia’s voice, muffled through the phone, jolted me out of a daze. “You really think he did it?” Her words felt like sandpaper against my raw nerves.

I let out a sigh, “I don’t know,” the confession scraping my throat, “But think of it, Natalia. If I were to bomb a place, why would I leave evidence that it was me on the bomb?”

“Exactly!” Natalia’s sharp tone crackled through the receiver. “My thoughts exactly. But still, he’s the only one with a motive to stop the wedding. Maybe he realized what he lost.”

I shook my head, the gesture echoing the hollowness inside me, “I looked into his eyes. The Alex that loved me… I didn’t see that man anymore. There was anger, yes, but also a stranger, someone consumed by something I couldn’t understand.”

A beat of silence hung between us, thick with unspoken doubts. “So maybe it was his way of making good on that threat. Maybe this was his way of showing Everton that he means to really go to war with your father.”

“And my father, of course, couldn’t help but blame me,” I muttered, bitterness lacing my voice.

“When are you going to stand up—?” Shebegan, her question hanging in the air.

“No, Natalia, please don’t,” I interrupted, my voice laced with a plea. “I did that once, and it ended with my heart in pieces. That fire…” I choked back a sob, the memory a barbed wire twisting in my gut. “It’s gone.”

“Amaya…” Her voice was laced with concern, reaching across the miles to wrap around me in a virtual hug.

I clutched the phone tighter, “It’s gone,” I repeated.

Silence followed as I stared at myself in the mirror. A stranger stared back, her eyes dull with pain, her lips drawn in a tight line of resignation.

with understanding. “It’s not about the fire, darling. It’s about the embers. They’re still there, glowing under the ashes. You just need to find the courage

bluntness, knew

explosion. Daniel, of course, is already planning a redo of the wedding since I, apparently, need to finish my

crackling with disapproval. I knew

don’t we ditch the dust and debris of today and paint the town red? Forget Daniel’s mini-wedding

started, the protest forming on my lips. “It’s past ten. I don’t

easier to just comply, to shrink into the shadow he casts, but damn it, Maya, that’s not you. I

a punch to the gut, jolting

we going?” I whispered, wiping the tears that threatened to spill

a spring breeze, clearing the fog of despair. “There’s this new club that just opened,” she chirped, her excitement infectious. “Big Shot, it’s called, and rumor has it they have a dance floor that hypnotizes and

what about Nathan and Ivy?”

you need a night to forget the bomb, the broken vows, the piece of shit that broke your heart. Plus, I have this new

I’ll handle everything. I’ll text you the address, you wear something that sets your inner warrior goddess on fire, and meet me by the back gate in ten minutes. We’re painting the town ruby red, Maya Stone, and for once, the only fireworks will be the ones we

I thought had been buried under the rubble of the day. The Natalia Rant, as she affectionately called it, had a way of doing that, of stripping away the self-doubt and

slipping out on a breath of newfound defiance. “Just

she promised, her voice already halfway out the

dancing. Lots

her mischievous laughter echoing down the hallway. “Tonight, my friend, we dance like

life in my eyes, chasing away the shadows of fear and resignation. The girl who punched Nathan in the face and defied her father wasn’t dead, she was

My heart hammered in my chest, a wild hummingbird trapped in a

you long enough, Rapunzel,” she teased, her voice a familiar melody in

breathed, pulling the collar of my leather jacket tighter against the wind. “Just… needed a

my flimsy excuse. “The alpha throwing another tantrum?” she asked, her tone

the lie tasted bitter on my tongue. “Just

her smile soft and understanding. “I get it,” she said, “It’s been a hell of a

were a balm to my bruised spirit. I let out a shaky laugh, feeling the tension seep out of

she declared, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Now,