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.

fire, darling. It’s about the embers. They’re still there, glowing under the ashes. You just

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

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

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

today and paint the town

my lips.

“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 who started a rebellion in college because a professor misquoted Nietzsche. I miss the you that wouldn’t back down from anything, the you that punched Nathan in the nose and demanded he

a punch to the gut, jolting me out

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

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

Nathan and

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 audience, would

details, I’ll handle everything. I’ll text you the address, you wear something that sets your inner warrior goddess on fire, and

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

the word slipping out on a breath of

her voice already halfway out

sure there’s dancing. Lots and lots

mischievous laughter echoing down the hallway. “Tonight,

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 was, Natalia, silhouetted against the streetlamp, arms crossed and lips

you long enough, Rapunzel,” she teased, her voice a

pulling the collar of my leather jacket

“The alpha throwing another tantrum?” she asked, her tone laced with knowing

the lie tasted bitter on

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

laugh, feeling the tension seep out of my shoulders.

she declared, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Now, about