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.

her tone softer now, filled with understanding. “It’s not about the fire, darling. It’s about the embers. They’re still there, glowing

us. Natalia, bless her bluntness, knew me too well to let it linger. Instead, she sidestepped, her voice sharp

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

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

and 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 ten. I

there, Maya Stone,” she cut me off, her voice firm despite the playful glint in her eyes I knew would be dancing 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

were a punch to the gut, jolting me out of

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

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

what about Nathan

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

warrior goddess on fire, and meet me by the back gate in ten minutes.

The Natalia Rant, as she affectionately called it,

the word slipping out on a breath of newfound defiance.

her voice already halfway

sure there’s dancing. Lots and lots of

down the hallway. “Tonight, my

hung up the phone, a spark flickered to life in my eyes, chasing away the shadows of fear and resignation. The girl who punched Nathan in the face

my chest, a wild hummingbird trapped in a cage of nerves and excitement. There she was, Natalia, silhouetted against

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

collar of my leather jacket

as diamonds, seemed to pierce through my flimsy excuse. “The alpha throwing another

tasted bitter on

said, “It’s been a

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

in her eyes. “Now, about