LOGINMONIQUERyan’s eyes blaze.“She doesn’t need protection from me!” he shrieks.And then....Everything happens. Too fast. Too loud. Too sudden.The sound of another gunshot.A scream tears from me, and my eyes slam shut. I don’t know what happens. I don’t feel anything. I don’t see anything. Just ringing. Loud, Endless ringing. And then....I feel it.Marcus’s body jerks as his grip on me tightens.... Then loosens.“Marcus!” My voice breaks as I reach for him.For a second, everything seems to freeze, like time itself is holding its breath. Marcus’s body is still in front of me, still shielding me, still standing, but something is wrong, terribly wrong. I can feel it. I just know it.“Marcus,” I say again, softer this time, my hands gripping his jacket, trying to steady him, but he doesn’t answer me.His body sways. It’s just lightly, but I feel it, the way his fingers loosen around me, the way his weight shifts, the way everything between us changes."No." I swallow. "No, no, no, no, no,
MONIQUEAfter Ryan's declaration, everything inside me goes cold.There’s fear, there’s panic, but there’s also something deeper, something heavier....because I know Ryan, and I know that tone.I have heard it before. I mean, of course I have, but not with a gun in his hand before, but in his arguments. In quiet moments, in the way he used to look at me when he was about to strike, he always had that look in his eyes. It was final and unyielding.Marcus must sense it too, because his grip on me tightens. I can feel the tension in his body. Every muscle is locked tight.“Ryan,” he tries again, lowering his tone. “Think about what you’re doing. This can all be over. You can go back to your daughter and your parents.”But Ryan isn’t looking at him. He isn’t even listening.He’s looking at me. Only me.“Come here,” he says.Immediately my breath catches, and I shake my head.“Monique, come here.” he tries again.“No,” Marcus says immediately, his voice sharp.Ryan’s hand jerks slightly, t
MONIQUEI’m not going to go into detail about everything I’m thinking right now. Because I don’t even think I can.What I can say is this.... I knew. From the moment Marcus told me that he had invited the Bennetts to the wedding, I knew things weren’t going to be simple. I knew they weren’t going to go the way he imagined they would.I knew the Bennetts better than he did. And I knew Ryan. Ryan doesn’t like failing.He doesn’t accept defeat.He never has.Not when we met, not when we were in university, not even in the smallest arguments we ever had. He always had to win. Always had to come out on top. Always had to make sure no one stood above him. That’s who he is.And after the divorce, after I walked away with everything, I knew he wouldn’t take it well. I knew he wouldn’t let it go. I knew he would be restless. Dangerous.So when Marcus told me they were coming, something inside me already braced for impact. And then he dropped the truth on me.That truth.That bomb.From that mo
MARCUSThe silence that followed was Heavy and Unbearable.“I know you,” Ryan continues saying quietly. “And I know you don’t want this. You don't want to marry him, Monique.”I’m confident in my love for Monique. I believe that she loves me. I do. But the way he says it, the way he looks at her, like he believes every word he is spewing......It's then that I feel it. When I feel her hand trembling in mine. My grip tightens instinctively around hers. One word from her… And everything, including my heart, falls apart.“Security,” I call sharply. “Get him out of here.”Ryan steps forward instead.“You invited me,” he says. “Why invite me if you didn’t want me to come and take my wife?”“She’s not your wife.”He’s close now. Too close. I don't like it one little bit.“She is,” he insists. “She hasn’t said yes to you yet. This wedding is not final.”I exhale slowly.... Then I drop it.“Well,” I say, almost casually, “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but Monique and I are already married.”Th
MARCUSI’m all in my head. Thinking.Wondering what Monique is thinking.Wondering if we’ll get to that moment and she’ll suddenly decide she can’t do this anymore.That she’ll stop everything.That she’ll walk away.And I’m already saying no in my head when I feel Jason nudging me slightly.It takes me a second to realise the priest just asked me a question.“Marcus Blackwind,” the priest repeats, a little louder this time.I blink, forcing myself back into the moment.“Yes.”A few quiet chuckles ripple through the guests but I barely mind them. The priest smiles politely before continuing.“Do you take Monique…”The words feel heavier now. Real. Final. Every single second stretches as I look at the woman in front of me.The veil hides her expression. Hides everything. She could destroy me with a single word. I swallow hard before I reply.“I do.”My voice comes out rougher than I expected.The priest nods, then turns toward her.“And do you, Monique…”Everything inside me freezes. M
MARCUSI have no idea how Jason managed to get me into my tux.I don’t know how he managed to make me eat a few bites of a sandwich, or how he convinced me to drink something, or how he managed to bring me out here.Standing right now in front of the altar...... Waiting for a bride. A bride I’m not even sure is going to walk down that aisle.Apparently, Jason went into full crisis-management mode after he had managed to get me to listen to him. He went looking for Nadia and somehow found out that Monique hadn’t said anything to anyone.Nadia told him she was just… a little out of it.But she was still getting ready. The makeup artists were working on her. The dress was being fitted properly. The person in charge of organising everything was already rushing around upstairs. The bridesmaid was with her.Everything was going according to plan. At least on the surface it looked like it And even though Jason did everything he could to make me feel at ease, saying the right things, trying
I stared at Ryan with anger.How could he think of ever touching me with those hands after what he had done?“If you don’t get out right now, I’ll scream.....and I don’t think you want to see the cops back here tonight so soon.”Ryan stared at me for a long moment, as if trying to figure out who I’
The BennetsMonique glanced away, unable to meet her aunt’s gaze. “Look, Auntie, remember when I told you I needed time to myself… when I left and stayed with you? I said I just needed space. But the truth is… there’s more going on in this house than anyone realizes.”Her aunt's face hardened. Her
The BennetsAs Ariana and Mrs. Bennett looked at each other, confusion flashed between them. They couldn't make sense of Ryan's reaction, why he was laughing, why it was getting louder, darker, more unhinged. He laughed harder and harder, as if the entire mess around him, the police, Monique, his m
MONIQUEInside, I was bracing myself.Because the moment my aunt walked away... The moment we were alone again… I knew I’d face the real version of Ryan. The version I’d left behind two weeks ago.I had no idea what this Ryan standing in front of me was going to do or how he was going to act. But w







