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.

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 courage to fan

between us. Natalia, bless her bluntness, knew me too well to let it linger.

knee-deep in damage control after the explosion. Daniel, of course,

silence crackling with disapproval.

debris of today and paint the town red? Forget Daniel’s mini-wedding plans,

I started, the protest forming on my lips. “It’s past

shelved at his will. I know it’s easier to just comply, to shrink into the shadow he casts, but damn it, Maya, that’s not you. I miss the girl who could stare down a rogue wolf and laugh in his face. I miss the firebrand who started a rebellion in college because a professor misquoted Nietzsche. I miss the you that

to the gut, jolting me out of my

going?” I whispered, wiping the tears

Shot, it’s called, and rumor has it they

what about Nathan and

till tomorrow,”She 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 that broke your heart. Plus, I

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

the day. The Natalia Rant,

a breath of newfound defiance. “Just

voice already halfway out

Lots and lots of

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

gate, the cool night air a welcome slap against my burning cheeks. My heart hammered in my chest, a wild hummingbird trapped in a cage of nerves and

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

pulling the collar of my leather jacket

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

bitter

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

out a shaky laugh,

a mischievous glint in her eyes.