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

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 voice sharp but warm. “Has Ivan called you

the explosion. Daniel, of course, is already planning a redo

unspoken words simmering on Natalia’s tongue, her silence crackling with disapproval. I knew she wanted to cuss out my

the town red? Forget

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

the shadow he casts, but damn it, Maya, that’s not you. I miss the

a punch to the gut, jolting

I whispered, wiping the tears that threatened to spill

club that just opened,” she chirped, her excitement infectious. “Big Shot, it’s called, and rumor has it

about Nathan and Ivy?”

they won’t be up 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 have this new outfit that practically screams ‘watch me dance,’ and you wouldn’t want to deny me the

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

buried under the rubble of the day. The Natalia Rant, as she affectionately called it, had a way of doing that, of stripping away

out on a

her voice already halfway out

Lots

it done,” she declared, her mischievous laughter echoing down the

who punched

a welcome slap against my burning cheeks. My heart hammered in my chest, a wild hummingbird trapped in a cage of nerves and excitement. There she was, Natalia, silhouetted against the streetlamp, arms crossed and lips pursed in

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

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

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

lie tasted bitter on my tongue. “Just

it,” she said, “It’s been a hell of a day.

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

in her eyes. “Now, about that