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.

broke through the fog. “Amaya…” she began, her tone softer now, filled 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

bless her bluntness, knew me too well to let

probably still knee-deep in damage control after the explosion. Daniel, of course, is already planning a redo of the wedding

silence crackling with disapproval. I knew she wanted to cuss out

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

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

Maya, that’s not you. I miss the girl who

words were a punch to the gut, jolting me out of my

wiping the tears that threatened to

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 cocktails that sing opera. I’ve

Nathan

replied, “I’ve been itching for some girl time anyway, and you need a night to forget the bomb, the broken vows, the piece of shit

planning the escape. “Don’t worry about details, 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.

but laugh, the sound bubbling up from a place 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 reminding me of the fire that still

the word slipping out on a breath of

promised, her voice already halfway out

Lots and

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

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 simply hibernating. And tonight, Natalia was right, she was

my burning cheeks. My heart hammered in my chest, a wild hummingbird trapped in a cage of nerves and excitement. There

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

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

pierce through my flimsy excuse. “The alpha

bitter on my

closer, her smile soft and understanding. “I get it,” she said, “It’s been a hell of a day. But tonight, we forget

I let out a shaky laugh, feeling the tension seep out of my shoulders. “Ready when

glint in her eyes. “Now, about