Chapter 5
1926 Words
Martin’s resentment had grown into something darker than I ever imagined.
“You see, Elizabeth,” he began coldly, his voice sharp as a blade, “you made a fool of me the other day. What you did was unacceptable. No one humiliates me and gets away with it.”
“I didn’t do anything to you!” I yelled, but the hatred burning in his eyes told a different story.
He gave a silent signal to one of his boys. They grabbed me, dragging me behind the school building. The air reeked of smoke, littered with cigarette butts and the stench of ash. A rusted oil drum burned nearby, its flames flickering like a warning.
Camellia’s voice cracked in panic. “Martin, please, don’t hurt her.”
“Or what, Camellia?” he mocked. “Didn’t I say I never want to see you two together again?”
One of his thugs pulled a heated iron rod from the fire, its tip glowing a vicious red. Martin’s grin twisted into pure malice.
“No one crosses me, Elizabeth,” he said, stepping forward.
“Martin, don’t. Please!”
Terror surged through me as the burning metal drew closer.
“What are you doing?” my voice wavered.
He laughed, a sound as cruel as it was gleeful. “Just teaching you a small lesson. Something to make sure you remember me every morning.”
The heat seared my skin even before the iron touched me. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the pain.
“Don’t do this, Martin, please!” Camellia cried, her voice trembling.
“Relax, Camellia. I just want to leave her with a little reminder,” he sneered.
Except... I wouldn’t let you.
I opened my eyes and froze. Harvey stood a few steps away, calm yet terrifyingly composed.
Martin turned, irritated. “You’re the new guy? Walk away if you want to keep that pretty face.”
“Let her go.” Harvey’s tone wasn’t pleading; it was an order, unyielding and commanding.
Martin barked out a laugh. “You’ve got guts, huh?”
“It’s in my nature,” Harvey replied steadily.
Camellia and I stared, stunned into silence.
“Is he your boyfriend now?” Martin challenged mockingly. “You’re lucky I’m even talking before I break your face. One last chance: run away. This doesn’t concern you.”
“But she does,” Harvey countered, nodding toward me.
I froze, confused and overwhelmed.
“Let her go,” Harvey repeated, his voice slicing through the air. “I won’t say it again.”
Martin’s expression darkened. “I see.” He stepped back slightly, then signaled his goon forward.
The brute charged, but Harvey moved like lightning. His fist connected perfectly; the guy’s head snapped back, the impact echoing through the alley. I hadn’t realized he could fight like that: cold, precise, deadly.
“Take your friend and leave,” Harvey ordered, eyes locked on Martin. Then, softer, he glanced at me. “Please?”
I grabbed Camellia’s hand, and we ran, but stopped behind a low wall, unable to look away.
Harvey fought with the fluid grace of a trained warrior, every movement sharp and measured. Then Martin pulled a knife from his pocket.
Fear clenched my chest. I attempted to move and help, but Camellia gripped my arm, whispering urgently, “What are you doing?”
I thought to myself: Why was I worried about him? He’d been nothing but trouble these past few days. Yet the thought of him getting hurt made my stomach twist.
Before Martin could strike, Harvey snatched the red-hot iron meant for me and leveled it at him.
“How would you like to see yourself every morning?” Harvey asked coldly.
Martin’s smirk vanished. He dropped the knife and bolted. His men scattered behind him.
When it was over, Harvey turned to us. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, breathless.
Camellia blinked in disbelief. “Who is he?”
We stepped out of hiding as Harvey approached, his gaze steady and unreadable.
“I’m fine,” I managed to say. Camellia’s voice broke through again, this time aimed at me. “Who is he?”
I couldn’t tell her the truth: that he was here for reasons I didn’t fully understand and had been hunting me for something I didn’t know where it was. That would sound insane.
My mind itself was confused.
“He’s my... my hired boyfriend,” I stammered, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
“You what?”
Harvey smirked faintly, clearly amused by my panic. He introduced himself to Camellia as “the new guy, Harvey,” then turned and walked off casually.
Camellia shot me a suspicious look.
“Don’t give me that look,” I said quickly.
“You’re the one who’s got explaining to do,” she muttered.
Her eyes shimmered with tears. “Why were you with Martin at my house the other day?”
With trembling lips, she finally confessed, “He has my dad wrapped around his finger, Elizabeth. He’s blackmailing me. If I don’t do what he says, he’ll hurt my family. I’d do anything for you, but I can’t risk them.”
Honestly, I wasn’t surprised: that was exactly the kind of snake Martin was.
“I knew he had something on you! He’s going to pay for this.”
“These people are dangerous, Elizabeth,” she warned. “Please, don’t get involved. I can stop hanging out with you if that’s what it takes, but I can’t watch you get hurt. But don’t confront him. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”
I studied her face carefully. “Why did you tell me not to marry Edgar before? Is there something I should know, Camellia? What are you hiding from me?”
The light in her eyes dimmed. She turned away, panic flickering across her features. “I was just being protective,” she muttered.
“Protective?” I echoed skeptically.
“Nothing. I just feel Edgar acts... mysterious sometimes.”
I knew she wasn’t telling me everything. “Are you sure that’s all?”
“Yes, I swear,” she said quickly.
“We just need to stop being friends. It’s for the safety of everyone.”
She looked down, then walked away, leaving me standing there like a stranger to her.
I sat alone in the schoolyard, drained and heartbroken, wishing I could vanish. The calm of nature mocked me; the rustle of trees far more peaceful than my thoughts.
Someone quietly sat beside me. I didn’t need to look; I knew it was Harvey.
“My life is a lie,” I murmured, tears threatening to fall. “Everything around me is a damn lie.”
He was silent for a long moment, then said softly, “Then be the truth that breaks the lies surrounding you.”
His words pierced through the fog in my heart like light through storm clouds. I turned toward him, stunned by his intensity.
My fingers fidgeted nervously. “Hey, thank you for earlier.”
He nodded, uncharacteristically quiet.
The thought of me wanting him out of my life and already thanking him for just being there made me think that maybe this was the perfect time for him to enter my life. At the same time, I still didn’t want any more trouble added to the one already existing.
Getting home from school was another drama.
My mother’s voice echoed from inside. “Elizabeth, honey, come check this out.”
Her tone was calm: the kind of calm that always meant she had something planned. She held up a dress.
“You see, dear, The Founder’s Gala Night is tonight, and you need to appear at more events with your fiancé. People need to see that he’s truly your fiancé now.”
The thought of The Founder’s Gala Night didn’t even cross my mind because the last thing I wanted to do was attend.
I looked at her sharply. “Except he’s not even my boyfriend.”
“Again with that?” she sighed. “Elizabeth, the decision’s already been made.”
“Yes, without my consent, Mom.”
“I can’t believe this,” I muttered. “Mom, I’m not even in love with Edgar.”
“Does it matter?” she said coldly.
“Yes, it does!”
“I can’t do this, Mom.”
“It’s not your choice to make.”
“What have you done, you little psycho?” my father’s voice thundered.
“Martin Louis? Really, Elizabeth? You went and messed with Martin Louis?”
“Dad, I can explain.”
“I told you to make things right with Martin, and you’ve made it worse!”
“Wait, but, how did you even know that?”
“I have ears everywhere,” he said sharply.
“It’s clearly not my fault Martin’s gone insane! Today he tried to burn me with a hot iron at school!”
“Nonsense,” my father retorted .
“It’s not nonsense dad!”
“Of course it is,” my mother said flatly. “Your wedding is in days, Elizabeth. Instead of preparing, you’re busy picking fights with a mafia’s son?”
“You don’t even want a relationship with him,” I shot back.
She smirked. “You’ve grown bolder, haven’t you? Too bad. There’s nothing you can do.”
“Well, because I don’t want one. I’m fine on my own.”
“I don’t care. Tonight is The Founder’s Gala Night, and you’re attending with Edgar.”
“What? Mom!”
“We’re not even in the same school!”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said, ignoring me completely. She held up a dress: an elaborate Victorian-era gown, deep emerald with intricate golden embroidery winding along its corseted bodice that was not even my style. The sleeves puffed gracefully, tapering into delicate lace at the wrists. The skirt flared wide, layered in silk and tulle, regal yet suffocating. It looked like something out of a painting, beautiful, but not me.
“Look, darling, you’ll look stunning in this,” she said, beaming as if oblivious to my misery.
I stared at her reflection in disbelief. “Mom, I’m not going to The Founder’s Gala Night tonight, not with Edgar.”
“What is your problem?you ungrateful brat.”
“I’m tired of this!”
“You’re going with Edgar, and that’s final.”
With no real choice, I agreed to attend.
She dressed me like some princess from the 1800s; nothing about it felt like me.
“You’re going to stand out in this,” she said with satisfied pride. “Smile, honey. You’ll need it.”
All I could feel was this anger burning through me.
“Your date is here,” Lina announced from the back .
I turned, and she leaned close, whispering, “Listen carefully, Elizabeth. Edgar is mine, and I won’t stop until he’s mine.”
“I don’t even like him.” I brushed pass her angrily.
Outside, Edgar was already waiting beside his sleek, latest-model car.
“You look stunning,” he said, sounding sincere.
I glanced at him sideways, thinking how he spent his life hating me and pretending to be nice? what game is he playing now?
But deep down, I should have known this was just the beginning of something big, leading to a dark foundation beyond what I could ever imagine.
- Writer
