Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Chapter 2 – When Everything Began

2 – When Everything Began

Present (2018)

"No, my Queen, you're not sorry. But you will be. I promise." Shadrach placed a lingering kiss on my forehead, before pulling away from me. My entire body shuddered, as more tears fell from my wide eyes.

"Pl-please don't-" I started, but he cut me off by placing his index finger on my lips, sending a shiver down my spine.

"Shh..." He whispered, before removing his finger from my lips. "Look, Alizabeth, you have two options now," Shadrach announced, stepping away from me as he loaded his gun. "You either come with me willingly, without making too much of a scene, or I use chloroform on you and carry you away, killing your entire family on my way out. Rachael will be the first to die, by the way." He winked.

My eyes almost bulged out from the sockets, my heart beating even faster.

"Wh-what? N-no!" I begged, my eyes flickering to Rachael who shook her head at me.

"Tick tock, Aliza, I don't have all day. Don't make me choose for you, my Queen. You won't like it," Shadrach mocked.

"Shadrach, please, you know I'll never forgive you if you hurt any of them!" I warned, wiping my tears away.

"And you know I don't want to, my love. I would never hurt you in such a way. But what good will I make of your forgiveness if you're not by my side?" Shadrach asked, taking a step towards me, but I flinched and backed away from him. He didn't come closer, to my relief.

My eyes flickered to my Mom, my Dad, my Brother Ash, my Sister Anastasia, and then Rachael. My heart hammered in my chest, before my gaze set on Elijah who was lying unconscious on the ground, his head bleeding profusely. He needed a doctor, and I knew I had to make my decision quickly.

"Okay!" I yelled, closing my eyes shut. "I'll... I'll come with you," I whispered, my head spinning.

"Alizabeth, no!" My Mom yelled, but she was instantly silenced when a loud sound cut through the air. My eyes snapped open and I looked over at her, relief flooding me when I realized no one was hurt. Shadrach had fired a bullet in the air.

"Let's go, my beautiful Queen. Your palace awaits you," Shadrach said to me, taking my hand by the wrist. He started walking towards the exit of the hall, and I quietly followed him, before I stopped. He turned around and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Can-Can I at least say good-bye?" I whispered, my eyes pleading with him. Another tear escaped my eye, and his expression softened. And so did his grip on my hand.

"Go ahead," he nodded. "But don't try anything funny. You know that will happen." I nodded.

He let go of my hand, and I rushed back to my family, hugging my Mom, sobbing. She hugged me back instantly, and soon Dad, Ash and Anastasia joined us, all of us crying hysterically.

"Don't go with him, Bethy," Anastasia begged, crying.

"I have to," I replied, pulling away from the group hug. "I have to go. He'll get pissed if I keep him waiting for too long," I whispered, quickly hugging each of them individually, and placing a kiss on their foreheads. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

He won't hurt me. I hope.

I then walked over to Rachael, who was barely even conscious. She looked like she was in a daze due to all the crying and screaming. I quickly pulled her into a hug, and she weakly hugged me back.

"It's okay, Rach. You know he won't hurt me. I'll be fine," I whispered to her, holding back my own sobs.

"I'll miss you," she sobbed, hugging me tighter.

"I'll miss you too," I replied.

"Aliza?" Shadrach called out, clearly impatient.

I instantly pulled away and walked back to him, and this time he didn't take me by the wrist. He placed his hand on the small of my back, a proud smirk on his face, as he led me to his jeep, his armed men following us. He opened the door of the passenger seat for me, and before I could even decide on how to get in, he picked me up into his arms, making me gasp. He placed me on the seat, before leaning in to buckle my seat belt. After he did so, I expected him to move away, but he didn't, and thus I looked up at him. Doing so was a mistake because his face was only inches from mine, our noses centimetres away.

"Isn't this just like old times?" Shadrach whispered, smirking. "Quite like the day we first met." I didn't respond to his remark, just backed away into the seat as much as I could.

He pulled away from me before closing the door, and walked around the jeep to the driving seat, getting in himself. He didn't bother to wear the seatbelt, just tucked his gun into his belt, before revving the engine to life. Although I hadn't responded to his comment earlier, it did remind me of that day, almost taking me back to it.

The day everything began, the day we first met. My sixteenth birthday.

Five Years Earlier (15th June 2013)

"Mom, Klara is here to pick me up! I'm leaving!" I yelled from my room, quickly putting on my shoes. To say I was excited would be an understatement. I loved hanging out with Klara and her friends, they were simply amazing. Having lived my life with an overprotective family, I was never allowed to go to the fun places of the city; no nightclubs, pubs, bars, or dance parties. But I was allowed to do all of that with Klara and her friends.

Okay, maybe I wasn't allowed to do so. My parents and elder siblings just didn't know. Nor did they need to. Klara was my cousin after all, she'd protect me no matter what happened.

I ran down the stairs and bolted to the door, but before I could make it outside, my brother stopped me.

"Aliza!" Ash called out, making me stop in my tracks.

"Yes?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"None of your business!" I spat, annoyed.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" He scolded. I internally groaned and turned around. "What's wrong with you seriously? You were never this... Ill-behaved," he commented, frowning.

Ill-behaved? I wasn't ill-behaved. Or was I? I didn't really know. My family had been saying that since I started hanging out with Klara, I had changed. According to them I had become very rude, and I misbehaved with them a lot. I honestly didn't feel so, they were exaggerating. My brother, Ash, even tried to stop me from going with her, but as she was my mom's cousin's daughter, they couldn't say no, or else Aunt Katie would feel insulted.

"I'm not ill-behaved," I retorted, crossing my arms.

"Where are you going?" Ash sighed.

"With Klara," I lied. It was partially the truth; my parents just didn't know that even her friends would tag along. Nor did they have to. Klara's friends were pretty nice people; her boyfriend, Baxter, was the sweetest guy I'd ever met, funny, caring and charming. The other person who used to hang out with us was Baxter's brother, Kaden, who was kinda reserved, slightly rude, but still, a good guy at heart. They were great people, but if my family found out that I'd been hanging out with guys, they wouldn't let me go after that. I know, they were pretty extreme.

"Just Klara?" My brother inquired, and my heart paced. Did he find out?

"Yes," I replied confidently, maintaining eye-contact.

"Okay, keep me updated, and don't get into trouble," he said, kissing my forehead. Guilt washed over me. Lying to my brother wasn't something I was used to. Till two months back I used to be such an honest shit, that I didn't even know how to lie. And now, I could look someone in the eye and lie at their face, a skill that I had mastered while having the time of my life.

"Don't worry," I smiled, "Ba-bye!" I said and ran out, where Klara was waiting for me in her car. I sat in with a huge smile on my face and she grinned at me.

"Ready to have some fun?" She winked.

"Always," I replied, laughing.

We picked up Kaden and Baxter from Baxter's house, and both of them sat in the backseat.

"HeyaBax," I greeted, smiling.

"Hey," he replied with double my enthusiasm, making me chuckle.

"Hey Mr. Always Pissed," I greeted Kaden as well, who, as usual, had his resting bitch face on and was busy on his phone. He rolled his eyes and didn't reply. Toilet paper.

"Kade, she greeted you," Baxter pointed out to him.

"I know," he replied in his overly deep voice. Kaden's voice was literally the best kind of voice a guy could possess. I was always a sucker for deep voices, and Kaden's voice was so deep, it sounded like if he screamed, people would think a dinosaur was roaring. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't into Kaden in anyway, because other than his voice and the amount of money he had, there was nothing likable about him. He had dull, sleepy eyes, which made him look like he was always high, he was a bit too thin for my tastes, and his hair a bit too curly. He had light moustache and a beard, but there was a an empty spot in his moustache which looked quite... Unattractive. He was excessively tall, standing at a good 6"4, which is generally attractive, but being only 5"2 myself, I didn't like guys this tall. Plus he was rude, and boring. So no, I wasn't into Kaden in any way.

"Let it be, Bax," I interrupted rolling my eyes. "Where are we supposed to go today?" I asked, trying to change the topic or I'd end up spoiling my mood.

"Today, we have a reservation at..." Klara trailed off, building up excitement, "Nowhere!" She yelled and my face dropped.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow, feeling annoyed. I was so excited for today and she hadn't planned anything.

"Now, don't worry, that's 'cause we are going to Diandro's today!" She said excitedly and my eyes widened.

"No-fucking-way!" I said in disbelief.

"Yes-fucking-way!"Klara replied, in the same tone I had said it.

"Guys, are you sure?" Baxter asked, looking slightly concerned. "That place is not really suitable for gir-" he started to say but was cut off.

"Oh shut up, Bax! When we don't have a problem, why do you?" Klara asked. "I don't have a problem, and Aliza doesn't have a problem. So you shouldn't either," she smiled.

Truth was, I did have a problem. Diandro's was in one of the dodgy areas of the city, plus it was very far away from our houses. In case something bad happened, it would take our family at least an hour to reach us. But of course, I didn't voice my opinion. I didn't want to be the party-pooper. I had objected to going to dangerous places countless times, but Klara always waved it off calling me a party-pooper. And in the end, when we did go, I realized I was just being paranoid due to the constant fear my family had instilled me. I was being paranoid again.

"Whatever you guys say, then," Baxter said with a dejected sigh and Klara grinned at me. I forced a smile too. "I'll direct the way."


Previous Chapter
Next Chapter