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.

about the fire, darling. It’s about the embers.

word that hung heavy in the air between us. Natalia, bless her bluntness, knew me too well to let it linger. Instead, she sidestepped, her

chipped piece of nail polish. “He’s probably still knee-deep in damage control after the explosion. Daniel, of course, is already planning a redo of

words simmering on Natalia’s tongue, her silence crackling with

the dust and debris of today and paint the town

my lips. “It’s past ten. I don’t think my

in her eyes, “You are a grown woman, not a porcelain doll to be 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

words were a punch to the gut,

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

“Big Shot, it’s called, and rumor has it they have a dance floor that hypnotizes and cocktails that sing opera. I’ve been dying to check it out, and tonight, my friend, tonight

what about Nathan and Ivy?” I

vows, the piece of shit that broke your heart. Plus, I have this new outfit that practically screams ‘watch me dance,’ and you wouldn’t want to deny me the

could answer, she was already 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.

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

slipping out on a breath of newfound defiance. “Just

her voice

dancing. Lots and

down the hallway. “Tonight, my friend, we dance like

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.

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

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

breathed, pulling the collar of my leather jacket

as diamonds, seemed to pierce through my flimsy excuse. “The alpha throwing another tantrum?” she asked,

I denied, though the lie tasted bitter on my tongue. “Just needed to… collect

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

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

a mischievous glint in