Chapter One

“I want to break up with you.” Those are the first words I heard from my boyfriend of a year after not seeing each other for two weeks. The love of my life.

“ What!? Are you serious? Why would you say something like that Nicolas?” I cried. But he just looked at me with angry eyes.

“ Don't touch me with your disgusting hands.” He jerked away from me. “I don't want to see your face ever again.”

******

Three Hours earlier.

I had been waiting for my boyfriend Nicolas King to come pick me up from my house for our weekly date. We have been dating for a year now and we have been inseparable since we started dating.

I met Nicolas when he came to my half-sister's birthday party. He was my sister’s best friend and they are still best friends.

I walked down the stairs carefully so I didn't make any noise. My father Peter Williams and my stepmother Rachel Williams are sitting in the living room talking about something.

If they found out I was going out with Nicolas there would be hell to pay. I carefully tried to sneak out from behind them when a shriek stopped me dead in my tracks.

“Where do you think you are going, you ugly bitch?” My half-sister Natalie yelled from the top of the stairs. I froze in my tracks.

A fine sheen of sweat started to form on my forehead. My Dad and Stepmom turned to look at Natalie then their attention was focused on me.

My insides trembled when my stepmother looked at me with so much anger that if she could spit fire from her eyes then I would turn to ashes. Natalie thundered down the stairs and walked towards me.

“Where are you going?” Asked my so-called father. He didn’t like me very much because he had to take care of me because of my grandfather who threatened to take away the company if he didn’t accept me. So he took me in forcefully.

“Nicolas is picking me up for dinner,” I mumbled, scared of their reaction. Rachel turned red with anger and briskly walked towards me and slapped me hard across the face. I gasped in pain and held my cheek.

“Didn't I tell you to end things with him? Why are you still whoring and seducing yourself out of him?” She sneered. I looked at my father like always asking him silently for support but he just ignored me and looked at his phone.

“You stole my daughter's future. She is supposed to be the queen of the King's empire, not filth like you”

“We love each other, how can you can’t tell me to leave him? He considered Natalie as just a friend and never anything else.” I said bravely, trying to make them understand. But all it got was another slap and Natalie pulling my hair.

“I’m telling you now Nicolas is mine, bitch. And you are going to break up with him right now or else I will have that old hag killed.” Natalie threatened.

I gasped, they always do this. She pulled out her phone and showed me a picture that stopped my heartbeat for a second.

It was a picture where a person in black was holding a gun over the only person whom I called family.

Two years ago I got to know about my grandmother who is my mother’s mother. She was living in the old age shelter in the next city and I covered all of the expenses.

I tried to hide this from these cruel people but they found out about it when they had me followed. And since then if I disobeyed them they threatened to kill her and make me do things in their favour.

“Please don’t, why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you?” I pleaded.

“You stole and seduced my man. Nicolas is mine, break up with him today or there will be consequences, do you understand?”```````````````````````````````````` She tightened her hold on my hair and pulled it hard. Tears spring into my eyes at the pain in my head and from all the torture I had to endure in their hands.

I nodded as I sobbed. She released me and pushed me so hard that I fell to the ground and hurt my elbow hard. They walked away from there. After a few minutes of gathering myself, I slowly stood up and made my way towards the bathroom near the kitchen. As soon as I reached the bathroom I threw up what little food I had today.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My face looked like a raccoon, mascara spread as tears trailed down my cheek. My hair looked like a mess from all the pulling. My eyes look sunken with all the spark missing in them. I tried to fix my makeup and hair as much as I could.

While I was fixing my hair, I heard voices from outside. I quickly finished fixing myself and walked out of the bathroom. There stood Nicolas King in all his glory.

He stood tall in a navy blue suit. My heart fluttered looking at his beautiful smile. He has a royal aura around him. He was talking to my dad, stepmom and Natalie.

Natalie was standing next to Nicolas with her hands wrapped around his waist. He was smiling at her lovingly while ruffling her hair. I narrowed my eyes on them. I don’t like how close they are. I know they were best friends even before I dated Nicolas but after knowing Natalie’s intentions I don’t want them so close.

When they heard my footsteps they all turned to me. Nicolas’s smile quickly vanished as he looked at my face. I haven’t seen him for two weeks.

We didn’t have a proper conversation with each other and I want to know the reason for that. I tried calling him and texting him but he was very brusque with me. But I don’t think that’s possible right now.

“Oh you are here, Nicolas came here after a long time so I invited him to have dinner with us,” Rachel said with a coy smile.

“No, we are going to—” Nicolas interrupted me.

“That's a good idea, I would love to have a home-cooked meal after being on a business trip for two weeks.” He smiled, still having his arm around Natalie. He was on a business trip. Why didn’t I know that?

What is he doing? We haven't seen each other for so long and he isn't even coming to hug me. He was still standing with Natalie in his arms and he wanted to spend time with them.

I frowned looking at him but he was already looking at me with an impassive expression.

“Wonderful! It will be so exciting. I'll tell the cooks to start preparing for dinner. Until then you guys catch up in the living room.” Rachel exclaimed as she walked past me to the kitchen with a knowing smirk.

Nicolas and Natalie walked away to the living room leaving me standing there alone with my father. I gulped and turned to him to see him looking at me with an unreadable expression.

“Just do as they tell you. They won’t stop until they get what they want.” My father said, running his hand down his face.

“Why do you hate me so much?” I asked the same question for the millionth time. But he just shook his head and walked away from there without answering me. Tears flowed from my eyes as I walked to the living room and saw Nico and Natalie looking cosy with each other.

“Nico,” I called my voice quivering. They stopped talking and turned to me. “Can we talk, we haven’t seen or talked to each other properly for two weeks.” I smiled hoping he would come to me so we could talk about what was wrong with him and why he was behaving like this.

“Are you blind or are you just dumb, can’t you see we are talking here.” He snapped with an annoyed expression. I gasped, shocked as he never talked to me like that ever.

“Nicolas, what is going on? Please tell me.” I begged.

“God, how can you be so dumb? Just leave, he doesn't want to talk to you.” Natalie gripped with a sly look on her face. Nicolas stiffened beside her but he didn’t defend me and that hurt the most. I looked at him one last time and walked away out of the living room.

I locked myself in my room and cried my heart out. Nicolas never behaved like this with me. He was always so loving and affectionate with me but seeing him behave so rudely with me broke my heart.