Library

Search

Home / Romance Short Story / After Love / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of After Love: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

24 Chapters

Chapter 1

Bella Valdez should not have gone down that steep slope. Dakota Stelter, however, had grabbed her hand as she fell, effectively dragging her into danger. It took a tree to break their roll. Bella crashed into the trunk hard. Sharp twigs sank deep into her feet. Dakota, meanwhile, had Bella to cushion the impact. So all she got were a few shallow cuts. By the time Damian Fox arrived, Bella was crying as profusely as she was bleeding. Before she could call out to him, though, she saw Damian carry Dakota in his arms and turn his back against her. He vanished into the horizon. He hardly acknowledged her existence. She was later rescued by park rangers after they were notified by her best friend, Claire Jenkins. By that point, she had already blacked out.-Bella opened her eyes groggily. She could make out a man's blurry silhouette on the chair next to her sickbed. Sunlight illuminated his profile, cluing her in on his identity. Her heart skipped a beat in surprise. "Damian?"

Chapter 2

Poor Claire could never stop crying every time she came to visit. "This was my fault, Bella! I went away to look for help because I thought… I thought Damian was going to save you!"Then, when I returned with the rangers, I really thought the girl he was helping to get into the ambulance was you… I didn't know it wasn't," she sobbed. "I shouldn't have taken things for granted!"Bella forced a smile and patted Claire's head. "It's okay. You're not at fault."A month went by in the hospital. Bella's condition improved, but Damian had never returned to visit her ever again. The only thing he left was a message: [I have to be away for work over a few days. Will return to see you after that.]Then, on the same day, Bella found an updated status on Dakota's Instagram. The girl was beaming in her photo while Damian was right next to her, passing her something as though they were living a happy domestic life.The caption read, [Always appreciate a busy man like you lending me a hand at

Chapter 3

Bella picked the cat up in her arms and stared blankly into space until Dakota emerged from the kitchen. "Bella? It's time to eat. Wash your hands, will ya?" she said while taking the cat away from Bella's arms. The cat relented and accepted its new host. It even rubbed against Dakota's chest docilely, purring.Bella's heart sank. The cat was not known for being friendly to strangers. She had to spend a lot of time convincing it to befriend her. Now, though? The cat acted like it had known Dakota for way too long. Bella watched her feed the cat with inexplicable dexterity, her gaze hardening."Did you know how aloof this lil' cutie was? I wouldn't have been able to play with it if it weren't for Damian teaching me the ropes!" Dakota said, her tone almost too smug. "And now we are buddies."Bella clenched her fists. "That's my cat," she stated icily.Dakota carried it in her arms and smiled innocently. "Oh, I didn't know! He didn't tell me. He just told me to take care of it

Chapter 4

The next morning, after Damian had gone to work, Bella showed up at his home. The house was pretty empty, save for the ragdoll cat that had curled into itself on the couch. It happily ran toward Bella and rubbed against her feet in welcome. She picked the cat up and ran her fingers through its soft, fluffy fur. "Come on. Time to get you a new home now that I've made up my mind."She brought the cat back to her place and started browsing Amazon for some pet supplies and a house for the new owner. The cat rested on her lap, occasionally looking up at her, as though it suspected something.After a while, Bella thought she should just buy those things from a pet store. She took the cat with her and drove to a nearby pet store. A board was erected outside. Curious, Bella approached it to take a good look. One of the pictures immediately grabbed her attention. It showed none other than Dakota and Damian standing close to each other, their smiles as natural and cheery as they could

Chapter 5

Bella packed up her things and went to her parents' home. The place was as she remembered: a lavish villa boasting grandeur and elegance. The villa next door, meanwhile, belonged to the Fox family. Damian and Bella were childhood sweethearts. Everyone who watched them grow up knew he treated her as royalty—the queen of his heart. Bella, for her part, was never seen apart from Damian. Her mom had said that even as a toddler, Bella was laser-focused on Damian alone. She would hug him tightly and would not let go. Damian, who was five when she first did that, simply reciprocated her hug. He did not even push her away.The families had joked that this was the first time Damian looked so serious. He had always been a perpetual frowner even as a kid, but he had never looked so protective until that day. It was such a cherished memory that their families still mentioned it from time to time. Her parents were pretty jealous of the bond between Bella and Damian, too. The first word B

Chapter 6

Damian called her that night. He was panicking. "Kitty's gone, Bella! I came home and it's not where it should be!""I gave it away," Bella said coldly.He froze. In that silence, she heard an angry female voice crying out, "How could you, Bella?! How could you give Kitty away?! Who do you think you are? This is irresponsible!"So, Dakota was there, too. She continued sharply, "You've had Kitty for a long time! How could you be so heartless to give Kitty away just like that?!"Bella's grip tightened around her phone. Her chest undulated in pain. Was she upset that Dakota was shouting at her through Damian's phone, who passively allowed her to do so while saying nothing? Or was she upset that these two were still together?"Dakota, enough," he finally spoke up tiredly. "I'll buy you a cat, alright?"Bella hung up the call and bolted into the bathroom. Her stomach was churning. After some retching, she threw up. She had to steady herself with the sink after that before blacklisti

Chapter 7

Bella and Claire decided to shop at an establishment owned by the Valdez family. Unfortunately, they met another person they would rather not see at all, who asked, "Why are you here?"It was Daryl Stelter—Dakota's younger brother. Annoyed, Bella ignored him.Daryl was irritated by her sullen treatment and tried to grab Bella by the wrist. Claire caught it before Daryl succeeded, glaring and questioning him, "What were you trying to do?"He swung his hand away from her grip with a glower of his own. "Why are you putting on airs, Bella? Because your daddy's filthy rich? Is that why you're ignoring me?"Bella glared at him icily. "Why should I give a nobody even a second of my time?" she snarked.The shopkeeper noticed the hostility between her boss and the customer and stepped in. "Excuse me, sir, but please leave our shop."It was humiliating to be booted out of the shop while everyone watched. An angry Daryl stepped closer to Bella, but before he could do anything to her, securi

Chapter 8

"Cancel our engagement?!" Damian straightened his back in shock. His voice cracked a little. "Why?! Have you really thought this through? This isn't a joke, Bella. Please, let us be mature about this!"His fingers were like talons gripping tightly around her wrist. It hurt.Eyes wide in disbelief and anxiety, he continued frantically, "Dakota is just—""Shut up. I didn't ask!" Bella snapped and pulled her hand away. She turned to Robert and repeated herself flatly, "The engagement is over."Robert sighed helplessly. "I approve.""You… approve?!" Damian cried out in animated shock and desperation. "Well, I don't! This is the stupidest joke ever! Stop this game right now, Bella. It's not funny!""Bella, you've misunderstood our relationship!" Dakota finally spoke out in a girlish, sad voice. "Damian and I are just colleagues. All we talk about is work—""You shut the hell up right now!" Damian suddenly bellowed, shooting daggers at her with his eyes. "Did I allow you to speak?!"

Chapter 9

Worried about her daughter's mental state, Stella offered, "I'll sleep with you tonight, sweetie."Rodrigue immediately pouted in defeat. Bella laughed for the first time. She stuck her tongue out at her dad playfully before pulling her mom away into her room. She listened to her mother's breath steadying. Stella was fast asleep, but Bella's eyes were wide open. Ever since the incident, Bella had been having a lot of trouble sleeping. There was a heavy downpour that night. One could even hear thunder rumbling from a distance. Bella walked toward the large French window overlooking the balcony. She was surprised to find Damian outside. He was drenched in rain—it made his lonesome, slender figure look truly pathetic. Bella had been afraid of thunder since she was a kid. She would always run crying to Damian whenever a thunderstorm happened. He would then patiently invite her to sleep on his bed under the same cover, switch on the bedside lamp, and start telling her a bedtime s

Chapter 10

By the time Bella woke up the next morning, she realized her mother had wrapped them both rightly with a single comforter. Stella was resting her head on her shoulder.Bella shook Stella's arm a little, waking her up. The older woman smiled gently. "Good morning, sweetie! Let us get some breakfast!" she greeted. "Ow, my bones hurt from sleeping on this mattress. I'm really getting old!"Bella smiled and rubbed her cheek against Stella's shoulder. "Breakfast sounds good."They changed out of their nightgowns and went downstairs. In the courtyard, she found Damian right where he was. He looked a little sickly from being drenched in the rain. He was white as a sheet. "Bella!" he called out, his tired voice croaking. "Why didn't you pick up my calls? There was a storm last night! You must have been afraid, right? Did you manage to sleep at all?"She considered him coldly. "I'm not a kid anymore, Damian."She had not been scared of thunder since childhood. It had always just been a c

PREV

NEXT

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP

DMCA.com Protection Status