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Ella started experiencing pain at a little age, she thought it would stop with her father by her side but he betrayed her trust. She was handed over to the man that broke her, and her father made her promise that when she's eighteen she will have to get married to him. But Ella escapes on her wedding day and runs in to a stranger Daring to ask for help.
I silently sat in my father's car as he drove me to school, my eyes glossy and I bit on my lower lip while trying to focus my attention on the scenery out side.
It had just been a week since my mom passed and their was no minute that I had stopped grieving but what made me feel more betrayed was the news my father had just given me.
I turned my gaze to the tall buildings of my school, the urge to bolt out of the car as it came to a halt grew stronger. I was starting to feel so chocked up with sadness.
"Ella, you haven't given me an answer yet " my father's empty voice made a tear stream down my oval face, I immediately wiped it away with the back of my hand.
I wasn't willing to show him how messy my emotions were at the moment
"It's fine father, they are also your family " I didn't wait for his reply and opened the door, galloping out across the large compound to the school bathrooms.
Since classes had begun, no one was in the hallway or bathrooms which gave me a piece of comfort.
It was the first time in my life to call that person I always saw as my strength, ' Father '. It felt like ever since my mother's death we had also drifted apart.
But what was I to do, it hurt so much to know that he had been cheating on my mother all this time.
I wonder how I will be able to live with my step mom and her children, sincerely am not interested in meeting that woman.
Standing up from the bathroom floor, smoothing out my dress, I grabbed my bag.
I walked to the sink and washed my hands and face, if only water could erase all my thoughts
Today I didn't bother with going to classes and walked out of the school premises.
I walked down the street in thoughts of my late mom, her smile that was deeply printed in my mind made me almost whimper and my lips trembled.
She had been battling with cancer for a long time before she died and that experience was depressing enough for me, but then my father happened.
I didn't notice the black car driving down the road until it halted in front of me, I paused and stared at it.
The window lowered and I caught sight of Uncle Arthur. I had known him since childhood, he was my father's colleague and best friend.
He used to come around more often until recently. I sighed and walked closer to the car not noticing that something was off with him today.
" Baby girl, where are you heading to ?" he questioned, his voice calm and rough that it was a bit soothing to me.
My red eyes lowered to the floor and fear crept in, would he tell my father that I had skipped school?
But if I give him a reason, he may not mind right?
My little naivety didn't give me a chance to notice that even though he asked, he was never interested.
"am going to see Mommy, I miss her " my tiny voice shook with emotions. Arthur leaned forward opening the passenger door for me before tears could fall down my little face.
I didn't see the need to think twice before getting in the car but after getting comfortable, the doors were locked and this made me snap my head up to Arthur, a hint of suspicion trying to surface as he started the car.
"Why did you lock the doors ?" I questioned softly, my blunt nature would never let me stay quiet, but silence took over after I got no reply.
As I looked around my gaze pinned on the empty bottles of alcohol in the back seat and my heart drummed harder against my chest.
Immediately I collected my gaze and turned back to my front, it was then I realised we're taking the wrong route, the long thick trees disappeared on each side of the road as Arthur drove deep in to the forest.
Panic pressed down on my heart and my body shuddered in fear " this.. this is not the route to the cemetery "
I whispered, and turned to the door trying to open it multiple times but failed, my little mind told me that right now Uncle Arthur was the so scary and I internally shuddered.
Again he didn't reply and terror flashed through my green eyes, I paled.
The car stopped in the middle of woods and I tried the door again but it was still locked.
My hands shook so badly and I did my best to cower back in seat when Arthur turned to me, a tremble of fear rushed through my veins when he reached out to touch me.
After a while my screams for help and pain just disappeared in space, and my sobs grew small until you couldn't hear a thing escape my lush lips.
Hours later a car drove by the empty streets, it stopped two blocks away from my house. My little body was pushed out and then it drove off.
I didn't have any energy left to let a scream out, my vision blurred. My eye lashes trembled hard as my eyes fully closed and I drifted into the unconscious state.
I could feel a tears escape through my closed eye lids, my body was covered in red, it had tainted my uniform, my hair covered half of my face and my clothes were torn.
My only hope was to be found sooner by anyone before I die, every where was too painful.
My eyes slow opened to the white ceiling above and I shuddered in fear, I sat up hurriedly causing pain to shoot through my body from every angle.
I whimpered as a tear streamed down my face, then suddenly it all came back rushing at me like a heavy blow.
" No.. No " my whole body shook in fear and I tried to cower back from what happened like it would go away but those memories were too hash for my little mind.
I couldn't stop screaming whenever anyone I didn't know or recognize walked in to the room, he was there in my mind. His devilish smile making me sob hard, if only this little hospital bed could hide me away from all of it.
Finally my father came, something in me relaxed and I wanted to run to him but I couldn't move yet due to my severe injuries, my lips trembled. He was my protector, he would fight for his baby girl.
" Daddy... Daddy he... " I knew all the time I kept blubbering about what happened even before he arrived but right now my father rushed towards me and I waited for his warm arms to envelop me and tell me all would be okay but instead he stopped me.
"Ella don't ever tell anyone about this " He whispered strictly, his cold voice showing me there was no room for discussion.
I pulled away from him and pushed my self back, my knees were brought to my chest and my hands wrapped tightly around my legs.
"You don't remember anything okay " he continued, not caring about my reaction to all this, while looking at me with a cold, hard expression that wasn't friendly at all.
I lowered my emerald eyes nodded, he moved forward to hug me and I couldn't stop my self from pushing him away.
I felt so alone in this life, I was missing my mom so badly.
A week passed and I was finally discharged from the hospital, my father took me home.
It was then I realised that my father hadn't halted his plans, his second wife and her four children had already moved in and little me felt so exposed.
My bedroom had been taken by one of my step sisters and my cold father begged me to take the attic.
He informed me that all my things had been shifted there, this time I looked at him with glossy eyes finally realising that I had already lost him.
I wasn't his first priority any more and he wasn't the man I had once thought he is.
Slowly I drifted to my own world, I spoke less and avoided everyone.
My place at the dining table was also taken and I turned to working hard on the chores in order to forget all the pain.
I stopped going to school and not even my father cared to ask me why, with time I typically became the house maid.
The attic was so cold especially at night but it felt so safe being far away from everyone's eyes, I was also glad that no one dared to talk to me.
Whenever I felt so suffocated with the loneliness and yearned for a shoulder to cry on, I would visit the cemetery and speak to my mom, it turned out to be helpful and more comforting.
One day as I was taking out the trash at night, I saw that black car again and my body trembled in fear.
I ran in to the house to call my father, sweat beaded my forehead and my breathing quickened.
I took the stairs to my father's room, my vision blur with tears, luckily I didn't slip on the stairs.
When I arrived at the door, I didn't waste time in pounding the door so hard
"Dad... Dad wake up, he is here. He has come back for me "
Tears sprung down my face, and I shuddered when I heard a door close down stairs.
The way I was pounding the door to my father's room could have woken up the neighbors but my father refused to help me.
I had never felt so betrayed in all my life, I turned to run to the attic but it was already late and that man caught up with me, grabbing me by the hair so harshly that a scream escaped my lips.
No matter how loud I screamed and sobbed no one came to my rescue, I fainted from all the pain.
Lilly has been hidden since childhood due to her unique identity. But when Tragedy strikes she's forced to travel far away from home in to the hands of a mate who rejects her for a reason.
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”
Life was perfect until she met her boyfriend's big brother. There was a forbidden law in the Night Shade Pack that if the head Alpha rejected his mate, he would be stripped of his position. Sophia's life would get connected with the law. She was an Omega who was dating the head Alpha's younger brother. Bryan Morrison, the head Alpha, was not only a cold-blooded man but also a charming business tycoon. His name was enough to cause other packs to tremble. He was known as a ruthless man. What if, by some twist of destiny, Sophia's path were to intertwine with his?
Lucia Balstone thought she had chosen the right man to spend the rest of her life with, but he was the one who ended her life. Their ten-year marriage seemed like a joke when her husband stabbed her with a dagger. Fortunately, God is never blind to people's tears. Lucia got a second chance. She was reborn at the age of 22, before all the terrible things had happened. This time, she was determined to avenge herself and let those who hurt her pay! She made an elaborate list of her goals, and the first thing on her list was to marry her ex-husband's enemy, Alonso Callen!
In order to fulfill her grandfather's last wish, Stella entered into a hasty marriage with an ordinary man she had never met before. However, even after becoming husband and wife on paper, they each led separate lives, barely crossing paths. A year later, Stella returned to Seamarsh City, hoping to finally meet her mysterious husband. To her astonishment, he sent her a text message, unexpectedly pleading for a divorce without ever having met her in person. Gritting her teeth, Stella replied, "So be it. Let’s get a divorce!" Following that, Stella made a bold move and joined the Prosperity Group, where she became a public relations officer that worked directly for the company’s CEO, Matthew. The handsome and enigmatic CEO was already bound in matrimony, and was known to be unwaveringly devoted to his wife in private. Unbeknownst to Stella, her mysterious husband was actually her boss, in his alternate identity! Determined to focus on her career, Stella deliberately kept her distance from the CEO, although she couldn't help but notice his deliberate attempts to get close to her. As time went on, her elusive husband had a change of heart. He suddenly refused to proceed with the divorce. When would his alternate identity be uncovered? Amidst a tumultuous blend of deception and profound love, what destiny awaited them?
Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..." But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"
Iris grew from an orphaned child to the adopted daughter of the Stewart family at age ten, finding warmth in her nominal uncle Vincent's kindness. Seven years later, she became his secret lover. When Vincent's engagement was announced, gossip spread about the notorious playboy CEO finally settling down. But only Iris knew the extent of his cold, two-faced nature. Iris fell for Vincent and, through tears, begged, "Marry me," only to be met with his frosty refusal. Defeated, she accepted a lawyer's proposal, sparking public excitement. Then, on her wedding day, Vincent pleaded desperately, "Don't marry him…"