Confucius Ads Library: Ads

Id	Vlad	Saved	Scrape Time	Status	Scrape Result	Adarchiveid	Title	Body	Cta Type	Link Url	Pageid	Page Name	Page Profile Uri	Page Like Count	Collationcount	Collationid	Enddate	Entitytype	Gatedtype	Hidedatastatus	Isaaaeligible	Isactive	Isprofilepage	Cta Text	Pagename	Ad Creative	Caption	Effective Authorization Category	Display Format	Link Description	Link Url	Page Welcome Message	Creation Time	Page Profile Picture Url	Page Entity Type	Page Is Profile Page	Instagram Actor Name	Instagram Profile Pic Url	Version	Current Page Name	Startdate	Actions
1,228,956	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":1227185}'	Yes	2024-04-14 15:13	active	526	817864690366159	Nhắn tin để nhận ưu đãi mới nhất 👉	🌟 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒆.𝒔 𝑲𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒚 – Đ𝒊̉𝒏𝒉 𝑪𝒂𝒐 𝑪𝒖̉𝒂 𝑺𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒓𝒐̣𝒏𝒈 𝑽𝒂̀ 𝑻𝒊𝒏𝒉 𝑻𝒆̂́ 🌟 <br /> Được biết đến với sự kiêu sa và độc đáo, túi 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝑲𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒚 là biểu tượng của phong cách và đẳng cấp. Với chất liệu da cao cấp được nhập khẩu từ châu Âu, mỗi chiếc túi của nhà HD LaDeluxe đều được thiết kế tỉ mỉ, khâu thủ công 100% từ các nghệ nhân lành nghề.<br /> Hãy để HD LaDeluxe mang đến cho bạn trải nghiệm mua sắm đẳng cấp nhất<br /> ------------------------------<br /> Quý khách vui lòng ấn vào mục tin nhắn để được tư vấn chi tiết về sản phẩm<br /> HD LaDeluxe - Theo đuổi sự đặc biệt & chỉn chu trong từng sản phẩm<br /> ☎ Phone number : +1 714 696 9892<br /> 🏤 Address : 16051 banana street Foutain Valley Ca 92708<br /> 🌐 Website : <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hdladeluxe.com%2F&h=AT0kI8FnKG0lBLISTn1V4GFm1un3E3I8IoXysomZhqXs9SfGQhO6223Mo9OQdPEBN_A74nK8UWjMT0eW2rIjv5wvCD5rOPoWJdSTGrocsdxr2sFM0qFKS0saOelkwJuxhk8uqSfDiJeCZ_xrGvs5mhpxAq8" rel="nofollow noreferrer" target="_blank" data-lynx-mode="asynclazy">https://www.hdladeluxe.com/</a><br /> #bag #handbag #fashion #hdladeluxe #luxury #túixách	MESSAGE_PAGE		186954277830724	HD LaDeluxe Store	https://facebook.com/hdladeluxestore	1,147	0	2,047,314,172,321,660	2024-04-14 02:00	regular_page	eligible	NONE	0	1	1	Send message	HD LaDeluxe Store	120208993238080105		NONE	video			{"type":"VISUAL_EDITOR","version":2,"landing_screen_type":"welcome_message","media_type":"text","text_format":{"customer_action_type":"none","message":{"text":"Chào {{user_first_name}}! Chúng tôi có thể giúp gì cho bạn?"},"in_thread_multiphoto_carousel":{"is_enabled":true,"button":{"action_prefill":"Mặt hàng này còn không?","response":"Cảm ơn bạn đã quan tâm. Chúng tôi sẽ liên hệ lại với bạn để thông báo về tình trạng hàng của mặt hàng này.","title":"Hỏi tình trạng hàng","type":"availability"}}},"image_format":{"customer_action_type":"quick_replies","message":{"attachment":{"type":"template","payload":{"template_type":"generic","elements":[{"title":"","buttons":[]}]}},"quick_replies":[{"title":"Tôi muốn tìm hiểu thêm","content_type":"text"}],"text":"Chào {{user_first_name}}! Chúng tôi có thể giúp gì cho bạn?"}},"video_format":{"customer_action_type":"quick_replies","message":{"attachment":{"type":"video","payload":{"attachment_id":""}},"quick_replies":[{"title":"Tôi muốn tìm hiểu thêm","content_type":"text"}],"text":"Chào {{user_first_name}}! Chúng tôi có thể giúp gì cho bạn?"}},"user_edit":true,"surface":"visual_editor_new","ice_breakers_edited":true,"template_id":"783572663606956","template_version":0}	2024-04-14 12:02	https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/436358079_1165640847786628_3908585522507957800_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=Ll4ExmY2IqAAb5MGbBa&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&oh=00_AfDdxgql7W1Y14EtTkGQ-LUA6dkgW7hKHfaINFPIecoZHA&oe=66220AA8	person_profile	0			3	HD LaDeluxe Store	2024-04-14 02:00	View Edit Delete
1,228,995	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":1228994}'	Yes	2024-04-14 15:13	active	526	936665641259709	Get Your Packs Today If You Too Have Extra to Melt	The big man of Idol is back minus nearly 45 & giving all the credit to one of these every night.	LEARN_MORE	https://drab-lettuce-amplified.com/	104977981932346	The Rules	https://facebook.com/therules01	78	0	1,391,857,724,830,150	2024-04-14 02:00	person_profile	eligible	NONE	0	1	0	Learn More	The Rules	120209097477510583	drab-lettuce-amplified.com	NONE	dco		https://drab-lettuce-amplified.com/		2024-04-14 11:38	https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/436488724_354104470969002_3442468544021908277_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=V9nWxtvUQ_cAb5wubj6&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&oh=00_AfBUb_EehxAJ9KpfdPjxfcV9CLHCjac00Pkv6yvzaJQ2Ew&oe=6621F34D	person_profile	0	The Rules	https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/436401796_775760577591593_4250842651125178180_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=ZXkr0-8e0woAb5IzjuJ&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&oh=00_AfB0FbMyA4GC-S9LYc-LNisNaljgQrsW4MvlKxg1yvpQHQ&oe=6621FCCE	3	The Rules	2024-04-14 02:00	View Edit Delete
1,226,606	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":1226600}'	Yes	2024-04-14 15:09	active	526	937443491355749	CLEARANCE! ONLY R 39.99	⌨️ Boost productivity with our Computer Desk featuring Touch Control. <br /> 🖥️ Organize your workspace efficiently. Elevate your work experience! 🚀📚👇<br /> <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jaoesty.com%2Fproducts%2Fcomputer-desk%3Fsku%3D18063751902698059938381430&h=AT13x08DYtmtHxPUYZZLku4ypZyoqu2-ewgZsu1nn4yPuo0r-LNNfQ9ZhNnYpSDMFZuU9cIGJC7VU8JM1sUl3_FWhq9w6mZxu80UR-SiKnSswa1vUvMty4Fzc-zYxZc1etXy4v0Eo3PleXhlfuSPUw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-lynx-mode="asynclazy">https://www.jaoesty.com/products/computer-desk?sku=18063751902698059938381430</a>	LEARN_MORE	https://www.jaoesty.com/products/computer-desk?sku	122910260907864	Kristi Kelly	https://facebook.com/61551065295463	9	0	777,383,237,241,878	2024-04-09 02:00	person_profile	eligible	NONE	1	0	0	Learn more	Kristi Kelly	120207414955530640	www.jaoesty.com	NONE	video	FREE DELIVERY	https://www.jaoesty.com/products/computer-desk?sku=18063751902698059938381430		2024-03-14 03:22	https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/432312273_1092163595448168_5314613407715316763_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=YRDy67Zt378Ab6WKWXU&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-2.xx&oh=00_AfDK2IwwCFaFUiJ0a5GQ2x6QyMpMEyOQIiVYR3gFNg4S_Q&oe=6622236A	person_profile	0	Kristi Kelly	https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/432361570_730485032571199_9062484675740060745_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=z3C_LWaULNoAb6Tnjjs&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-1.xx&oh=00_AfBDPPJVvvb2M6BlgBB_LwKPcJV-bhzeuTFN5-cNQcEVhw&oe=6621EE10	3	Kristi Kelly	2024-04-08 02:00	View Edit Delete
1,229,473	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":1227185}'	No	2024-04-14 15:14	active	526	450317917528905		De buenas intenciones está hecho el camino al <br /> Infierno . #ajamañosa	MESSAGE_PAGE		102807081456547	Yohanna Arias Films	https://facebook.com/100063530350377	54,024	0	3,642,701,599,276,565	2024-04-14 02:00	person_profile	eligible	NONE	1	1	0	Send message	Yohanna Arias Films	120207072036940225		NONE	video			{"type":"VISUAL_EDITOR","version":2,"landing_screen_type":"welcome_message","media_type":"text","text_format":{"customer_action_type":"ice_breakers","message":{"ice_breakers":[{"title":"\u00bfPodr\u00edan darme m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n del negocio?","response":""},{"title":"\u00bfPueden contarme algo m\u00e1s sobre el anuncio?","response":""},{"title":"\u00bfHay alguien con quien pueda chatear?","response":""}],"text":"\u00a1Hola, {{user_first_name}}! \u00bfC\u00f3mo podemos ayudarte?"}},"user_edit":false,"autofill_message_edited":false,"ice_breakers_edited":false,"welcome_message_edited":false,"surface":"boosted_post"}	2024-04-14 10:28	https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/437783382_438395018557555_7838030279826744103_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=G4MP8-zmz64Ab46ehHn&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.xx&oh=00_AfDYRnE1tfSLJVfu1EOH8b12jJWrX_8QuNh2OMd1yMRdUg&oe=6621F606	person_profile	0			3	Yohanna Arias Films	2024-04-14 02:00	View Edit Delete
1,228,960	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) null	No	2024-04-14 15:13	active	526	448020637606291		Next weekend! <br /> <br /> We will have @tacos_el_gorditorc there, a raffle for some cool stuff from local business and more! Grab a parter and come throw some bags to honor a man we all loved 💙💙<br /> <br /> ———<br /> <br /> Join us on Saturday, April 20 at 12pm for the 2nd Annual Kelly Curtis Memorial Cornhole Tournament.<br /> <br /> BYOP/$60 per Team<br /> Round Robin/Double Elimination Tournament<br /> Air Mail Challenge<br /> 50% Payout to Winners<br /> <br /> Kelly loved throwing some bags with his friends. He was also an excellent competitor and the cornhole boards always brought out his competitive spirit and drive to be great.<br /> <br /> Proceeding this event is the 2nd Annual Kelly Curtis Memorial Workout at 9am. See our previous post for more information on that event.<br /> <br /> Grab a partner and register through the link in our bio. <br /> <br /> #kellycurtismemorialcornhole #crossfitridgecrest	LEARN_MORE	https://linktr.ee/crossfit_ridgecrest	278464655503429	CrossFit Ridgecrest	https://facebook.com/crossfitridgecrest	857	1	412,489,468,384,078	2024-04-14 02:00	person_profile	eligible	NONE	0	1	0	Learn more	CrossFit Ridgecrest	6590253792544	linktr.ee	NONE	image		https://linktr.ee/crossfit_ridgecrest		2024-04-14 12:01	https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/436241587_1185065319532337_982432724679580329_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=L9r6ML5OyWQAb6GKuru&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=00_AfCYMiaPMVwsa6E7VCh7RlG7vTLV2EZKyhwZXbeJjIvrpA&oe=66220F23	person_profile	0	Crossfit Ridgecrest	https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/435675835_968507614544731_7733243764329958108_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=8SBx_XDo7egAb6ZUUz5&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&oh=00_AfA7G_6A5GVEpekkPBc6sUq8_qQcpEgLZuJPlR7twI0Cuw&oe=6621F5EA	3	CrossFit Ridgecrest	2024-04-14 02:00	View Edit Delete
1,226,036	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":1229058}'	Yes	2024-04-14 15:09	active	526	308650612068840	Free worldwide shipping	Loving all the color on this look 😍😍 Shop this look at Kelly Obi New York Up to 20% Off Your First Order Free worldwide shipping #TapTopShop #ShopYourVibe	SHOP_NOW	https://kellyobi.com/collections/theestylishp_moch	116791414665998	Kelly Obi New York	https://facebook.com/KellyObiNewYork	7,885	1	366,442,462,384,276	2024-04-14 02:00	person_profile	eligible	NONE	0	1	0	Shop Now	Kelly Obi New York	120208145006210606	kellyobi.com	NONE	dco	Kelly Obi New York	https://kellyobi.com/collections/theestylishp_mocha_abstract		2024-04-14 04:41	https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/437768183_410143908300769_3596823884589156019_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=DcYTTQrXfYAAb5vKm1T&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.xx&oh=00_AfB3-J5gWZaAwwoLy2aru2wL40D_oWV76JorSSky5le0XA&oe=66221E54	person_profile	0	Kelly Obi New York	https://scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/437852637_302989619494008_6520240597669244980_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=CMqN--URhFoAb7y6Bq1&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.xx&oh=00_AfAuUk6pR9kf8XPKfvycRioE19-KeIvomT5XXDDteSiRqg&oe=6622139C	3	Kelly Obi New York	2024-04-14 02:00	View Edit Delete
1,229,457	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":1229413}'	Yes	2024-04-14 15:14	active	526	7893375077359668	🔥🔥 Click to Read 👉🏻👉🏻	My plan to continue dating him all through college vanished to void due to a note.<br /> 'Sabrina, I know we planned to spend college together here in San Diego, but I can't pass up this opportunity. I will always love you, but I have to say goodbye for now.'<br /> He's gone. <br /> I didn't even get to tell him I was pregnant.<br /> Four years later...<br /> "Josh is the last groomsmen?!" <br /> I was in my best friend Elena's meeting with her wedding planner.<br /> She looked over at me with a worried look.<br /> God, what would happen when he saw the girls or when I finally saw him? <br /> What if I blurt out that he's a father?<br /> ————————<br /> Sabrina POV<br /> I'm pregnant.<br /> I can't believe this. Josh and I are going to have a baby.<br /> We haven't even started college yet.<br /> What if he leaves?<br /> I was completely lost in thought as I walked through the front door of my house. Jordyn, my little sister, was sitting on the couch cuddled up in a blanket watching a re-run of Friends.<br /> "Have you seen Mom or Dad?" I asked wanting to tell them about the baby first.<br /> "Mom just went out to get some groceries, and Dad is still at work," Jojo responded looking up at me with her brown eyes while her light brown hair was thrown into a messy bun on top of her head. I guess telling them can wait.<br /> "Okay, I'm going to grab something from my room, and then go over to Josh's."<br /> I need to tell him.<br /> "Oh yeah," Jojo began. "He came by earlier, but you weren't here so he left you a note. It's on the kitchen counter."<br /> I gave her a confused expression before heading toward the kitchen. There was a piece of paper laying on top of the counter. When I picked it up, I noticed his rushed handwriting.<br /> Sabrina,<br /> I know we planned to spend college together here in San Diego, but I can't pass up this opportunity. I have to take the scholarship in Florida, and I hope you understand. I will always love you, but I have to say goodbye for now.<br /> I love you,<br /> Josh<br /> I let the paper slip from hands as my legs gave out. I fell to the floor with a thud loud enough to alert Jojo who came into the kitchen.<br /> Florida? He never even told me about a scholarship.<br /> I continued to stare off into space trying to wrap my brain around what just happened. When Jojo got no response from me, she picked up the paper and read it herself. As she wrapped her arms around me in a reassuring hug, a tear fell down my cheek, and then a sob escape my lips.<br /> He's gone.<br /> He's gone, and left me with our baby growing in my stomach.<br /> He left me.<br /> ....<br /> It has officially been four years since Josh left me and all his friends and family here in San Diego. A lot has changed. My beautiful daughters, Brynlee Reese and Keegan Ryder, are now three years old. <br /> My dad died from brain cancer last year after battling long enough to see his granddaughters turn two. He loved them more than anything. It's been hard for us, especially my mom, but we're getting by. <br /> I graduated from the University of San Diego last year with a teaching degree in English, and am going on my second year of teaching at my old high school, Fremont High School. Jordyn, my 17 year old sister, is a junior there.<br /> Ever since my pregnancy, I've had help from my family, Josh's family, and our friends. I couldn't really hide Josh's daughters from his parents since the girls are their granddaughters, and they promised not to tell him. <br /> Let's just say that they weren't too pleased with how Josh left. I've tried to tell Josh about Brynlee and Keegan, but he doesn't answer any of my calls or I chickened out. <br /> Cory and Tyler have offered to tell him since he actually keeps in contact with them, along with his family, but I want him to hear it from me. <br /> Now, I think it's a little too late to tell him especially since he's happy on his own. He's off playing professional baseball for the New York Yankees while dating multiple girls, according to the gossip sites.<br /> Josh's sister, Delaney, got married last year at a destination wedding that only included close family members. I was invited since the girls are her nieces, but I declined the invitation knowing I would have to see him. She is now a pediatrician while her husband, Landon Gray, took over his father's oil company. <br /> My best friend, Elena Pratt, just graduated from nursing school and started her new job at the local hospital. She is also currently engaged to Tyler Stephens, Josh and I's best friend. They've been dating since our junior year of high school. Tyler works alongside Landon as the financial manager. <br /> Cory Sutton, Josh and I's other best friend, is now a gym teacher and baseball coach at Fremont High School. He was suppose to become a professional baseball player like Josh, but he suffered a serious shoulder injury which ended his playing days. Teaching was always his backup.<br /> The continuous jumping on my bed followed by loud giggles disturbed my sleep. My eyes fluttered open to see two toddlers wide awake.<br /> "Mommy!" Keegan screamed as she jumped onto me with the intention of a hug. Her knotted brown hair fell to the sides of her face as her big brown eyes gleamed with excitement. Brynlee continued jumping as her blonde hair bounced with her.<br /> "Good morning to you girlies too," I responded hugging Keegan as Brynlee cuddled to my side. "What do you girls want for breakfast?"<br /> "WAFFLES!" They both squealed jumping from the bed as they ran out of my bedroom. I then got up from the comfort of my bed sheets and put my fuzzy gray robe on over my pajamas that consisted of shorts and an old t-shirt. When I reached the kitchen, the girls were there digging the Eggo waffles out of the freezer.<br /> "Can you put the box on the counter for me?" I asked as I pulled out the toaster from one of the many cabinets. Keegan did as I told her and then ran to the living room with Brynlee following behind. She then turned on the TV to their favorite show, Doc McStuffins. I put three waffles into the toaster and waited for them to pop back out when they were done.<br /> Looking over at the girls brought back memories. I was absolutely shocked when I found out I was having twins.<br /> I laid down waiting for the doctor to enter while my mom sat in the nearby chair. I anxiously played with my long painted nails looking down at my small bump. Soon enough the doctor came into the room.<br /> "Hello, I'm Dr. Valente. You must be Sabrina and her mom," she greeted shaking my mom's hand then moving over to me. "Are we ready to see the little one?"<br /> I nodded my head as she instructed what to do before putting the gel on my stomach. She had the screen pointed towards her allowing me to only see the shocked expression on her face.<br /> "What's wrong?" I asked suddenly worried.<br /> "Nothing's wrong, but it looks like you're having twins." The minute the words came out of her mouth, my jaw dropped to the floor.<br /> I'm having two babies.<br /> The sudden sound of waffles popping out of the toaster brought me back to reality. I began to fix me and the girls a plate before calling them over to the dining table. As they scooped pieces of the waffle into their mouth, I got a text from Elena.<br /> Are you on your way??<br /> Yes but we might be a little late.<br /> I completely lost track of time and now we're going to be late for Elena's meeting with her wedding planner. Since I'm the maid of honor, she wants me there too.<br /> It's currently 10:25, and we have to be at her house at 10:30 which is a 7 minute drive. Great.<br /> "Girls, go brush your teeth and then come to your bedroom," I instructed grabbing the empty plates from the table and rinsing them off in the sink. They sprinted off to the bathroom while I went to pick out their outfits for today.<br /> I pulled two matching floral dresses from their closet as they came running in. I then grabbed their white converses and helped them get dressed.<br /> Once finished they ran to the living room where Doc McStuffins was still playing on the TV. While they were occupied, I ran over to my room to get myself dressed. I put on a simple black and white striped button up that was halfway tucked into light denim shorts. I then slipped on sandals before pulling my blonde hair into a high ponytail.<br /> After brushing my teeth and putting on my makeup, I got the girls out the apartment door and we headed to the car. I buckled them into their car seats and started the car. When Will My Life Begin from Tangled played non stop the whole car ride.<br /> We soon arrived to Elena and Tyler's house. Once Keegan was free from the buckles, she sprinted from where the car was parked on the driveway into Tyler's arms. As soon as he saw the car pull in, he slammed the door open ready to see his nieces. Brynlee, on the other hand, was fast asleep in her car seat. She stirred slightly when I picked her up, and then laid her head on my shoulder.<br /> "Is someone sleepy?" I asked in the voice you make when talking to a child. She then nodded with her eyes still closed making me chuckle.<br /> I entered into the house to see Elena and another woman sitting at the kitchen counter. They didn't notice me at first until Bryn let out a little yawn.<br /> "Hey Sab, this is Rebecca, my wedding planner. Rebecca, this is my best friend and maid of honor, Sabrina," Elena introduced. I smiled at the red-headed woman in front of me. Rebecca had to be in her mid-forties, but she was in incredible shape.<br /> "It's nice to meet," I greeted shaking her hand. "I need to lay this little one down somewhere so I'll be right back."<br /> I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room were Keegan and Tyler were both watching Peppa Pig. I set Bryn on the couch and she immediately cuddled into Tyler's side.<br /> "How's the little princess?" Ty asked cuddling her.<br /> "Sleepy," I answered. "Well I need to go back to your fiancée so make sure they don't injure themselves."<br /> "Are you still holding that against me?"<br /> "You dropped my daughter."<br /> "So what do we have so far?" I asked coming back into the kitchen after a small argument with Tyler. I won!<br /> "The color scheme is going to be burgundy and gold. We've also set the date for November 6 which is a Saturday," Elena answered as I sat in the chair next to her.<br /> "Now we'll discuss who's in the wedding and the smaller details like decorations," Rebecca directed. "So who all is in the wedding?"<br /> "Well we have both of our parents. Sabrina is my maid of honor. Tyler's best friend, Cory, is his best man. Our flower girls are Keegan and Brynlee, Sabrina's daughters. The ring bearer is Tyler's cousin, Nathan."<br /> "Okay, what about bridesmaids and groomsmen?"<br /> "For bridesmaids, I have Delaney, Angela, Kelly, Haley, and Jordyn," she listed. Delaney is Josh's sister which we are both really close to. Angela and Kelly are two soon-to-be nurses that Elena met at med school. Haley is her 14 year old sister while Jordyn is my sister.<br /> "For the groomsmen, there is Landon, Calum, Griffin, Scott, and..." her voice faded as she looked over at me with a worried look as I just gave her a confused look back. Landon is Delaney's husband and Tyler's boss/ friend. Calum is a buddy from college. Griffin is Tyler's 17 year old brother, and Scott is his 12 year old brother.<br /> Who else is there... wait.<br /> I immediately changed my confused expression to one of horror.<br /> "Who is the last groomsmen?" Rebecca asked clearly not seeing the look on my face.<br /> "Josh," Elena said the one name that made my world come crashing down.<br /> This is going to be one h-ll of a wedding.<br /> ————<br /> Josh's POV<br /> I was sitting on my tan couch looking at the muted TV in front of me as I waited for Tyler to answer his phone. Luckily, he answered on the third ring.<br /> "Hey man, shouldn't you being doing something baseball related?" He asked.<br /> "Hey," I greeted. "Today is my day off."<br /> "Ah, so why are you calling me at 8 in the morning on your day off? You should be sleeping in."<br /> "I guess I'm just use to waking up early," I lied knowing that I didn't even sleep last night. I mean how could I? This penthouse is quite lonely when you're actually in it. I'm barely ever here due to playing. When I am here I tend to think, and thinking leads to no sleep.<br /> Most of the time, I am out like a light when I hit my bed since training wore me out, but I wasn't necessarily tired.<br /> "We both know that's a lie. You didn't sleep last night did you?"<br /> He knows me too well.<br /> "Maybe."<br /> "Is it about Sabrina?" He asked already knowing the answer to that question. It's always about her. She's in my mind all the time. I like to use playing and partying as a way to forget about her, but it never works. I even try to get with other girls, but back out when it comes to taking them home. They're just not her.<br /> "Can we not talk about it?" I asked ready to change the subject. "What are you doing right now?"<br /> "It's 8 o'clock on a Monday morning. What do you think I'm doing?"<br /> "Sorry. Did I interrupt anything at work?" I cringe knowing I didn't even think about him possibly being busy.<br /> "Nah, I just got here," he said knowing I would feel guilty for interrupting something.<br /> "You're a jerk."<br /> "I know. Now why are you calling me?"<br /> "Can't I just say hi to my friend?"<br /> "Not when we literally talked last night about the wedding," he reminded. Last night, after the meeting with the wedding planner, he gave me the details of the date so I could work it out with my schedule. That also reminds me that I need to talk to Coach.<br /> "Fine," I gave in. "I just want to know how she is."<br /> "Sabrina is fine. Today is actually the first day of school."<br /> "Was she nervous?"<br /> "Why don't you ask her yourself?" These past few years, I've constantly asked Cory and Tyler how Sab was doing. They would get annoyed every once in a while, and they were pretty mad at me when I first left. I completely understand though. What I did was a bad move, but there's no way to take it back.<br /> "Because if I call her and hear her voice, I know I'm going to automatically get a plane ticket to San Diego."<br /> "You're going to have to see her at the wedding though."<br /> "I know."<br /> "Just making sure," he said followed by a pause. "Well I have to go, boss man needs me."<br /> "Bye." I then hung up the phone and headed to my bedroom to get dressed. My room was painted dark gray while everything else was also a different shade of gray. It was quite boring, but it looked nice.<br /> The sliding door to my closet opened when I pushed the button on the wall. I walked in and picked out a simple white T-shirt. Then I paired that with denim jeans and my famous leather jacket. After throwing on some shoes, I left my fancy penthouse and made my way to the elevator.<br /> Waiting for the barista to tell me my coffee was ready, created a chance for everyone in the cafe to keep looking at me. No one said anything, but they made it very clear that they knew who I was.<br /> "JOSH!" The barista yelled sliding a to-go coffee cup onto the counter. I swiftly grabbed it and thanked him before walking out.<br /> I then proceeded to walk along the busy sidewalk as I headed to the Yankee stadium. Usually I would get an Uber, but the traffic was extremely bad this morning.<br /> Soon enough, I arrived at the stadium after a 15 minute walk. I went straight to our locker room and saw some rookies packing up their bags.<br /> Coach Gibson's office was to the right of the entrance which was where I was headed. I knocked before entering, and he was sitting at his desk reading something on his phone.<br /> "Hey Coach," I greeted as he looked up for a split second.<br /> "Hey Parker. What are you doing here, it's your day off?"<br /> "I know, but I needed to ask you about my schedule."<br /> "You could have just called me."<br /> "Yeah, but I wanted to get out of my place for a little," I said causing him to give me a knowing look. The first week of playing on the team, Coach could automatically tell that something was always in the back of my mind. He asked me about and I told me about Sabrina. He was pretty skeptical about it seeing I may get distracted, but I promised that it would not bother my playing. Fortunately, it never did. Playing was my distraction and passion.<br /> "So what's this about your schedule?"<br /> "My buddy's wedding is on November 6, and I was wondering if I could go back home for a week or two?"<br /> "You're a good player, Parker. So I'm going to clear your schedule from September 10 to November 10. Does that sound good?" He asked looking at the calendar on his desk.<br /> "That sounds great," I said happy to get a little break from the tough training.<br /> "Okay, but I have a few conditions," he began. "You have to promise me that you'll go to the gym every other day, and keep practicing your pitching. Got it?"<br /> "Got it," I stated getting up to leave as he went back to his phone. "Thanks Coach."<br /> "Oh and Parker," he said stopping me from leaving as I turned to face him. "While you're there, try and work this whole thing out with that girl."<br /> With those parting words, I was off to my next stop.<br /> I knocked on the wooden door of my manager's house, and it soon opened to reveal a tired man.<br /> "Hey Jimmy," I greeted. Jimmy Davis is my manager's husband.<br /> "Hey Josh, what are you doing here?" He asked letting me in. Their house had a homey feel with lots of pictures of their family on the wall. Angela, my manager, has two kids. Their eldest, Mason, is three, and their youngest, Elise, just turned one.<br /> "I actually need to talk to Angela about my friend's wedding," I responded right as a little boy in monster truck pajamas came running into the living room.<br /> "JOSH!" He exclaimed throwing his arms around one of my legs in an attempt at a hug. To help him out, I swiftly picked him up.<br /> "Hey buddy! Are you causing your parents any trouble?"<br /> "No, but El keeps crying," he explains. Angela then walks in with a little girl cuddled in her arms.<br /> "Jimmy," Angela sighs, "can you hold Elise while I talk to Josh?"<br /> Jimmy grabs El from his wife's arms and heads for the kitchen with Mason trailing behind. I then turn to Angela who is trying to clean up some of the toys on the floor.<br /> "So what's this about a wedding?" She asks me as we both sit down.<br /> "One of my best friends, back at home, is having his wedding, and I'm a groomsmen. Coach already said it was fine for me to go, he cleared my schedule for 2 months. I'm just making sure that's fine with you."<br /> "Wow, two months is pretty generous for that man, but that's fine with me."<br /> "Great." As I got up to leave so I wouldn't be much of a bother anymore, she stopped me and pointed her figure back to the chair.<br /> "I'm not done with you," she stated. "I know Sabrina is probably going to be there so I want you to be smart about your decisions. Don't go getting st-face drunk and regretting something in the morning."<br /> "I promise I won't." She's had to deal with me making mistakes while drunk too many times. I've had online gossip sites catch me at multiple clubs with multiple girls.<br /> "Also while you're there maybe go help out your other friend, Cory, with the baseball team," she suggested and I nodded in agreement. That's actually a good idea.<br /> I soon left their house after saying goodbye to the kids. As I sat in the Uber to go back to my penthouse, I got a call from Cory.<br /> "Hey man, I was just about to call you," I said picking up the phone. The driver then pulled in front of the building as I got out.<br /> "Yeah, Tyler texted me saying you were talking to Coach about the wedding. What'd he say?" He asked as I made my way up to my floor.<br /> "Well lets just say I'm coming home a little earlier."<br /> "How early?"<br /> "September 10."<br /> "Wow!"<br /> "Yeah, I was actually wondering if I could help you coach a few days a week?"<br /> "That would be great. The guys really look up to you."<br /> "Awesome," I said taking a seat on the living room couch. "Also don't tell Tyler that I'm coming early, I want to surprise him."<br /> "Got it."<br /> "So what's up?" I asked switching the subject. "I heard it's the first day of school."<br /> "Yeah I just got done with one of my classes, and now I'm off to my lunch break. What about you?"<br /> "I just got back to my house. I'll probably get something to eat soon," I responded. He was about to say something when another voice sounded from the background.<br /> "Cory, if you don't hurry up, I'm leaving your a-s here," I heard her growl out.<br /> Sabrina.<br /> The sound of her voice just hit me. It hasn't changed one bit, and man do I miss it.<br /> "Well I got to go. See you soon," he ended the call leaving me to think about her.<br /> I have exactly 2 weeks until I see her again, and I'm not sure if I'm completely ready.<br /> ————<br /> Josh's POV<br /> I walked out of the gym with my shirt hanging over my shoulder, my water bottle in one hand, and my phone in the other. Before I made it to my car, a blonde girl stood in front of my door.<br /> "Hello, hot stuff," she greeted with a smirk and a wink.<br /> "Hi?" I questioned wondering who this woman is.<br /> "I'm Tiffany, and I was just about to go to the gym when I saw you," she explained.<br /> "You were about to go to the gym in jeans?" I asked taking in her outfit. Does she think I'm stupid?<br /> "Yeah-," she was cut off by the sound of my phone ringing. I looked down to see it was Cory calling.<br /> "I have to take this," I stated as she moved away from the door allowing me to get in my car. I immediately answered the phone while also starting the car.<br /> "Hey man, what's up?" I greeted as I pulled out of the parking lot leaving the girl standing there.<br /> "Nothing much. I actually need your help coming up with ideas for Tyler's bachelor party."<br /> "Well Tyler is a kid at heart, so I would definitely do something fun like a trampoline park or an amusement park," I responded as I heard loud squeals in the background. It's sounds like an actual child.<br /> "Hold on," he told me. "Keegan get down from the counter you're going to fall."<br /> Who's Keegan?<br /> "Okay, I'm back," he stated after a long pause filled with giggles. "A trampoline park sounds great."<br /> "Yeah," I agreed still confused. "Who's Keegan?"<br /> "Oh-," he was cut off by the sound of cries. "St. Brynlee, what did your mother say about running down the stairs? Hey man, I have to go. Talk to you later."<br /> Before I could respond back, he hung up.<br /> Who is Keegan? Who is Brynlee? Whose kids are they? Did Cory have kids without telling me?	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1,229,434	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":1229413}'	No	2024-04-14 15:14	active	526	3560955637486549	🔥🔥 Click to Read 👉🏻👉🏻	My plan to continue dating him all through college vanished to void due to a note.<br /> 'Sabrina, I know we planned to spend college together here in San Diego, but I can't pass up this opportunity. I will always love you, but I have to say goodbye for now.'<br /> He's gone. <br /> I didn't even get to tell him I was pregnant.<br /> Four years later...<br /> "Josh is the last groomsmen?!" <br /> I was in my best friend Elena's meeting with her wedding planner.<br /> She looked over at me with a worried look.<br /> God, what would happen when he saw the girls or when I finally saw him? <br /> What if I blurt out that he's a father?<br /> ————————<br /> Sabrina POV<br /> I'm pregnant.<br /> I can't believe this. Josh and I are going to have a baby.<br /> We haven't even started college yet.<br /> What if he leaves?<br /> I was completely lost in thought as I walked through the front door of my house. Jordyn, my little sister, was sitting on the couch cuddled up in a blanket watching a re-run of Friends.<br /> "Have you seen Mom or Dad?" I asked wanting to tell them about the baby first.<br /> "Mom just went out to get some groceries, and Dad is still at work," Jojo responded looking up at me with her brown eyes while her light brown hair was thrown into a messy bun on top of her head. I guess telling them can wait.<br /> "Okay, I'm going to grab something from my room, and then go over to Josh's."<br /> I need to tell him.<br /> "Oh yeah," Jojo began. "He came by earlier, but you weren't here so he left you a note. It's on the kitchen counter."<br /> I gave her a confused expression before heading toward the kitchen. There was a piece of paper laying on top of the counter. When I picked it up, I noticed his rushed handwriting.<br /> Sabrina,<br /> I know we planned to spend college together here in San Diego, but I can't pass up this opportunity. I have to take the scholarship in Florida, and I hope you understand. I will always love you, but I have to say goodbye for now.<br /> I love you,<br /> Josh<br /> I let the paper slip from hands as my legs gave out. I fell to the floor with a thud loud enough to alert Jojo who came into the kitchen.<br /> Florida? He never even told me about a scholarship.<br /> I continued to stare off into space trying to wrap my brain around what just happened. When Jojo got no response from me, she picked up the paper and read it herself. As she wrapped her arms around me in a reassuring hug, a tear fell down my cheek, and then a sob escape my lips.<br /> He's gone.<br /> He's gone, and left me with our baby growing in my stomach.<br /> He left me.<br /> ....<br /> It has officially been four years since Josh left me and all his friends and family here in San Diego. A lot has changed. My beautiful daughters, Brynlee Reese and Keegan Ryder, are now three years old. <br /> My dad died from brain cancer last year after battling long enough to see his granddaughters turn two. He loved them more than anything. It's been hard for us, especially my mom, but we're getting by. <br /> I graduated from the University of San Diego last year with a teaching degree in English, and am going on my second year of teaching at my old high school, Fremont High School. Jordyn, my 17 year old sister, is a junior there.<br /> Ever since my pregnancy, I've had help from my family, Josh's family, and our friends. I couldn't really hide Josh's daughters from his parents since the girls are their granddaughters, and they promised not to tell him. <br /> Let's just say that they weren't too pleased with how Josh left. I've tried to tell Josh about Brynlee and Keegan, but he doesn't answer any of my calls or I chickened out. <br /> Cory and Tyler have offered to tell him since he actually keeps in contact with them, along with his family, but I want him to hear it from me. <br /> Now, I think it's a little too late to tell him especially since he's happy on his own. He's off playing professional baseball for the New York Yankees while dating multiple girls, according to the gossip sites.<br /> Josh's sister, Delaney, got married last year at a destination wedding that only included close family members. I was invited since the girls are her nieces, but I declined the invitation knowing I would have to see him. She is now a pediatrician while her husband, Landon Gray, took over his father's oil company. <br /> My best friend, Elena Pratt, just graduated from nursing school and started her new job at the local hospital. She is also currently engaged to Tyler Stephens, Josh and I's best friend. They've been dating since our junior year of high school. Tyler works alongside Landon as the financial manager. <br /> Cory Sutton, Josh and I's other best friend, is now a gym teacher and baseball coach at Fremont High School. He was suppose to become a professional baseball player like Josh, but he suffered a serious shoulder injury which ended his playing days. Teaching was always his backup.<br /> The continuous jumping on my bed followed by loud giggles disturbed my sleep. My eyes fluttered open to see two toddlers wide awake.<br /> "Mommy!" Keegan screamed as she jumped onto me with the intention of a hug. Her knotted brown hair fell to the sides of her face as her big brown eyes gleamed with excitement. Brynlee continued jumping as her blonde hair bounced with her.<br /> "Good morning to you girlies too," I responded hugging Keegan as Brynlee cuddled to my side. "What do you girls want for breakfast?"<br /> "WAFFLES!" They both squealed jumping from the bed as they ran out of my bedroom. I then got up from the comfort of my bed sheets and put my fuzzy gray robe on over my pajamas that consisted of shorts and an old t-shirt. When I reached the kitchen, the girls were there digging the Eggo waffles out of the freezer.<br /> "Can you put the box on the counter for me?" I asked as I pulled out the toaster from one of the many cabinets. Keegan did as I told her and then ran to the living room with Brynlee following behind. She then turned on the TV to their favorite show, Doc McStuffins. I put three waffles into the toaster and waited for them to pop back out when they were done.<br /> Looking over at the girls brought back memories. I was absolutely shocked when I found out I was having twins.<br /> I laid down waiting for the doctor to enter while my mom sat in the nearby chair. I anxiously played with my long painted nails looking down at my small bump. Soon enough the doctor came into the room.<br /> "Hello, I'm Dr. Valente. You must be Sabrina and her mom," she greeted shaking my mom's hand then moving over to me. "Are we ready to see the little one?"<br /> I nodded my head as she instructed what to do before putting the gel on my stomach. She had the screen pointed towards her allowing me to only see the shocked expression on her face.<br /> "What's wrong?" I asked suddenly worried.<br /> "Nothing's wrong, but it looks like you're having twins." The minute the words came out of her mouth, my jaw dropped to the floor.<br /> I'm having two babies.<br /> The sudden sound of waffles popping out of the toaster brought me back to reality. I began to fix me and the girls a plate before calling them over to the dining table. As they scooped pieces of the waffle into their mouth, I got a text from Elena.<br /> Are you on your way??<br /> Yes but we might be a little late.<br /> I completely lost track of time and now we're going to be late for Elena's meeting with her wedding planner. Since I'm the maid of honor, she wants me there too.<br /> It's currently 10:25, and we have to be at her house at 10:30 which is a 7 minute drive. Great.<br /> "Girls, go brush your teeth and then come to your bedroom," I instructed grabbing the empty plates from the table and rinsing them off in the sink. They sprinted off to the bathroom while I went to pick out their outfits for today.<br /> I pulled two matching floral dresses from their closet as they came running in. I then grabbed their white converses and helped them get dressed.<br /> Once finished they ran to the living room where Doc McStuffins was still playing on the TV. While they were occupied, I ran over to my room to get myself dressed. I put on a simple black and white striped button up that was halfway tucked into light denim shorts. I then slipped on sandals before pulling my blonde hair into a high ponytail.<br /> After brushing my teeth and putting on my makeup, I got the girls out the apartment door and we headed to the car. I buckled them into their car seats and started the car. When Will My Life Begin from Tangled played non stop the whole car ride.<br /> We soon arrived to Elena and Tyler's house. Once Keegan was free from the buckles, she sprinted from where the car was parked on the driveway into Tyler's arms. As soon as he saw the car pull in, he slammed the door open ready to see his nieces. Brynlee, on the other hand, was fast asleep in her car seat. She stirred slightly when I picked her up, and then laid her head on my shoulder.<br /> "Is someone sleepy?" I asked in the voice you make when talking to a child. She then nodded with her eyes still closed making me chuckle.<br /> I entered into the house to see Elena and another woman sitting at the kitchen counter. They didn't notice me at first until Bryn let out a little yawn.<br /> "Hey Sab, this is Rebecca, my wedding planner. Rebecca, this is my best friend and maid of honor, Sabrina," Elena introduced. I smiled at the red-headed woman in front of me. Rebecca had to be in her mid-forties, but she was in incredible shape.<br /> "It's nice to meet," I greeted shaking her hand. "I need to lay this little one down somewhere so I'll be right back."<br /> I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room were Keegan and Tyler were both watching Peppa Pig. I set Bryn on the couch and she immediately cuddled into Tyler's side.<br /> "How's the little princess?" Ty asked cuddling her.<br /> "Sleepy," I answered. "Well I need to go back to your fiancée so make sure they don't injure themselves."<br /> "Are you still holding that against me?"<br /> "You dropped my daughter."<br /> "So what do we have so far?" I asked coming back into the kitchen after a small argument with Tyler. I won!<br /> "The color scheme is going to be burgundy and gold. We've also set the date for November 6 which is a Saturday," Elena answered as I sat in the chair next to her.<br /> "Now we'll discuss who's in the wedding and the smaller details like decorations," Rebecca directed. "So who all is in the wedding?"<br /> "Well we have both of our parents. Sabrina is my maid of honor. Tyler's best friend, Cory, is his best man. Our flower girls are Keegan and Brynlee, Sabrina's daughters. The ring bearer is Tyler's cousin, Nathan."<br /> "Okay, what about bridesmaids and groomsmen?"<br /> "For bridesmaids, I have Delaney, Angela, Kelly, Haley, and Jordyn," she listed. Delaney is Josh's sister which we are both really close to. Angela and Kelly are two soon-to-be nurses that Elena met at med school. Haley is her 14 year old sister while Jordyn is my sister.<br /> "For the groomsmen, there is Landon, Calum, Griffin, Scott, and..." her voice faded as she looked over at me with a worried look as I just gave her a confused look back. Landon is Delaney's husband and Tyler's boss/ friend. Calum is a buddy from college. Griffin is Tyler's 17 year old brother, and Scott is his 12 year old brother.<br /> Who else is there... wait.<br /> I immediately changed my confused expression to one of horror.<br /> "Who is the last groomsmen?" Rebecca asked clearly not seeing the look on my face.<br /> "Josh," Elena said the one name that made my world come crashing down.<br /> This is going to be one h-ll of a wedding.<br /> ————<br /> Josh's POV<br /> I was sitting on my tan couch looking at the muted TV in front of me as I waited for Tyler to answer his phone. Luckily, he answered on the third ring.<br /> "Hey man, shouldn't you being doing something baseball related?" He asked.<br /> "Hey," I greeted. "Today is my day off."<br /> "Ah, so why are you calling me at 8 in the morning on your day off? You should be sleeping in."<br /> "I guess I'm just use to waking up early," I lied knowing that I didn't even sleep last night. I mean how could I? This penthouse is quite lonely when you're actually in it. I'm barely ever here due to playing. When I am here I tend to think, and thinking leads to no sleep.<br /> Most of the time, I am out like a light when I hit my bed since training wore me out, but I wasn't necessarily tired.<br /> "We both know that's a lie. You didn't sleep last night did you?"<br /> He knows me too well.<br /> "Maybe."<br /> "Is it about Sabrina?" He asked already knowing the answer to that question. It's always about her. She's in my mind all the time. I like to use playing and partying as a way to forget about her, but it never works. I even try to get with other girls, but back out when it comes to taking them home. They're just not her.<br /> "Can we not talk about it?" I asked ready to change the subject. "What are you doing right now?"<br /> "It's 8 o'clock on a Monday morning. What do you think I'm doing?"<br /> "Sorry. Did I interrupt anything at work?" I cringe knowing I didn't even think about him possibly being busy.<br /> "Nah, I just got here," he said knowing I would feel guilty for interrupting something.<br /> "You're a jerk."<br /> "I know. Now why are you calling me?"<br /> "Can't I just say hi to my friend?"<br /> "Not when we literally talked last night about the wedding," he reminded. Last night, after the meeting with the wedding planner, he gave me the details of the date so I could work it out with my schedule. That also reminds me that I need to talk to Coach.<br /> "Fine," I gave in. "I just want to know how she is."<br /> "Sabrina is fine. Today is actually the first day of school."<br /> "Was she nervous?"<br /> "Why don't you ask her yourself?" These past few years, I've constantly asked Cory and Tyler how Sab was doing. They would get annoyed every once in a while, and they were pretty mad at me when I first left. I completely understand though. What I did was a bad move, but there's no way to take it back.<br /> "Because if I call her and hear her voice, I know I'm going to automatically get a plane ticket to San Diego."<br /> "You're going to have to see her at the wedding though."<br /> "I know."<br /> "Just making sure," he said followed by a pause. "Well I have to go, boss man needs me."<br /> "Bye." I then hung up the phone and headed to my bedroom to get dressed. My room was painted dark gray while everything else was also a different shade of gray. It was quite boring, but it looked nice.<br /> The sliding door to my closet opened when I pushed the button on the wall. I walked in and picked out a simple white T-shirt. Then I paired that with denim jeans and my famous leather jacket. After throwing on some shoes, I left my fancy penthouse and made my way to the elevator.<br /> Waiting for the barista to tell me my coffee was ready, created a chance for everyone in the cafe to keep looking at me. No one said anything, but they made it very clear that they knew who I was.<br /> "JOSH!" The barista yelled sliding a to-go coffee cup onto the counter. I swiftly grabbed it and thanked him before walking out.<br /> I then proceeded to walk along the busy sidewalk as I headed to the Yankee stadium. Usually I would get an Uber, but the traffic was extremely bad this morning.<br /> Soon enough, I arrived at the stadium after a 15 minute walk. I went straight to our locker room and saw some rookies packing up their bags.<br /> Coach Gibson's office was to the right of the entrance which was where I was headed. I knocked before entering, and he was sitting at his desk reading something on his phone.<br /> "Hey Coach," I greeted as he looked up for a split second.<br /> "Hey Parker. What are you doing here, it's your day off?"<br /> "I know, but I needed to ask you about my schedule."<br /> "You could have just called me."<br /> "Yeah, but I wanted to get out of my place for a little," I said causing him to give me a knowing look. The first week of playing on the team, Coach could automatically tell that something was always in the back of my mind. He asked me about and I told me about Sabrina. He was pretty skeptical about it seeing I may get distracted, but I promised that it would not bother my playing. Fortunately, it never did. Playing was my distraction and passion.<br /> "So what's this about your schedule?"<br /> "My buddy's wedding is on November 6, and I was wondering if I could go back home for a week or two?"<br /> "You're a good player, Parker. So I'm going to clear your schedule from September 10 to November 10. Does that sound good?" He asked looking at the calendar on his desk.<br /> "That sounds great," I said happy to get a little break from the tough training.<br /> "Okay, but I have a few conditions," he began. "You have to promise me that you'll go to the gym every other day, and keep practicing your pitching. Got it?"<br /> "Got it," I stated getting up to leave as he went back to his phone. "Thanks Coach."<br /> "Oh and Parker," he said stopping me from leaving as I turned to face him. "While you're there, try and work this whole thing out with that girl."<br /> With those parting words, I was off to my next stop.<br /> I knocked on the wooden door of my manager's house, and it soon opened to reveal a tired man.<br /> "Hey Jimmy," I greeted. Jimmy Davis is my manager's husband.<br /> "Hey Josh, what are you doing here?" He asked letting me in. Their house had a homey feel with lots of pictures of their family on the wall. Angela, my manager, has two kids. Their eldest, Mason, is three, and their youngest, Elise, just turned one.<br /> "I actually need to talk to Angela about my friend's wedding," I responded right as a little boy in monster truck pajamas came running into the living room.<br /> "JOSH!" He exclaimed throwing his arms around one of my legs in an attempt at a hug. To help him out, I swiftly picked him up.<br /> "Hey buddy! Are you causing your parents any trouble?"<br /> "No, but El keeps crying," he explains. Angela then walks in with a little girl cuddled in her arms.<br /> "Jimmy," Angela sighs, "can you hold Elise while I talk to Josh?"<br /> Jimmy grabs El from his wife's arms and heads for the kitchen with Mason trailing behind. I then turn to Angela who is trying to clean up some of the toys on the floor.<br /> "So what's this about a wedding?" She asks me as we both sit down.<br /> "One of my best friends, back at home, is having his wedding, and I'm a groomsmen. Coach already said it was fine for me to go, he cleared my schedule for 2 months. I'm just making sure that's fine with you."<br /> "Wow, two months is pretty generous for that man, but that's fine with me."<br /> "Great." As I got up to leave so I wouldn't be much of a bother anymore, she stopped me and pointed her figure back to the chair.<br /> "I'm not done with you," she stated. "I know Sabrina is probably going to be there so I want you to be smart about your decisions. Don't go getting st-face drunk and regretting something in the morning."<br /> "I promise I won't." She's had to deal with me making mistakes while drunk too many times. I've had online gossip sites catch me at multiple clubs with multiple girls.<br /> "Also while you're there maybe go help out your other friend, Cory, with the baseball team," she suggested and I nodded in agreement. That's actually a good idea.<br /> I soon left their house after saying goodbye to the kids. As I sat in the Uber to go back to my penthouse, I got a call from Cory.<br /> "Hey man, I was just about to call you," I said picking up the phone. The driver then pulled in front of the building as I got out.<br /> "Yeah, Tyler texted me saying you were talking to Coach about the wedding. What'd he say?" He asked as I made my way up to my floor.<br /> "Well lets just say I'm coming home a little earlier."<br /> "How early?"<br /> "September 10."<br /> "Wow!"<br /> "Yeah, I was actually wondering if I could help you coach a few days a week?"<br /> "That would be great. The guys really look up to you."<br /> "Awesome," I said taking a seat on the living room couch. "Also don't tell Tyler that I'm coming early, I want to surprise him."<br /> "Got it."<br /> "So what's up?" I asked switching the subject. "I heard it's the first day of school."<br /> "Yeah I just got done with one of my classes, and now I'm off to my lunch break. What about you?"<br /> "I just got back to my house. I'll probably get something to eat soon," I responded. He was about to say something when another voice sounded from the background.<br /> "Cory, if you don't hurry up, I'm leaving your a-s here," I heard her growl out.<br /> Sabrina.<br /> The sound of her voice just hit me. It hasn't changed one bit, and man do I miss it.<br /> "Well I got to go. See you soon," he ended the call leaving me to think about her.<br /> I have exactly 2 weeks until I see her again, and I'm not sure if I'm completely ready.<br /> ————<br /> Josh's POV<br /> I walked out of the gym with my shirt hanging over my shoulder, my water bottle in one hand, and my phone in the other. Before I made it to my car, a blonde girl stood in front of my door.<br /> "Hello, hot stuff," she greeted with a smirk and a wink.<br /> "Hi?" I questioned wondering who this woman is.<br /> "I'm Tiffany, and I was just about to go to the gym when I saw you," she explained.<br /> "You were about to go to the gym in jeans?" I asked taking in her outfit. Does she think I'm stupid?<br /> "Yeah-," she was cut off by the sound of my phone ringing. I looked down to see it was Cory calling.<br /> "I have to take this," I stated as she moved away from the door allowing me to get in my car. I immediately answered the phone while also starting the car.<br /> "Hey man, what's up?" I greeted as I pulled out of the parking lot leaving the girl standing there.<br /> "Nothing much. I actually need your help coming up with ideas for Tyler's bachelor party."<br /> "Well Tyler is a kid at heart, so I would definitely do something fun like a trampoline park or an amusement park," I responded as I heard loud squeals in the background. It's sounds like an actual child.<br /> "Hold on," he told me. "Keegan get down from the counter you're going to fall."<br /> Who's Keegan?<br /> "Okay, I'm back," he stated after a long pause filled with giggles. "A trampoline park sounds great."<br /> "Yeah," I agreed still confused. "Who's Keegan?"<br /> "Oh-," he was cut off by the sound of cries. "St. Brynlee, what did your mother say about running down the stairs? Hey man, I have to go. Talk to you later."<br /> Before I could respond back, he hung up.<br /> Who is Keegan? Who is Brynlee? Whose kids are they? Did Cory have kids without telling me?	LEARN_MORE	https://b.ficsworld.com/ad/Zmljd29ybGQvMTQ4NjA0LzI	139299595929929	World002	https://facebook.com/61551823504143	73	1	1,632,551,950,898,224	2024-04-14 02:00	person_profile	eligible	NONE	0	1	0	Learn more	World002	120207708443690061	b.ficsworld.com	NONE	video		https://b.ficsworld.com/ad/Zmljd29ybGQvMTQ4NjA0LzIwMjQwNDExMTYzNzUzL3BhZ2U=?adid={{ad.id}}		2024-04-11 03:56	https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/437748101_1583355862501070_5555750904591663080_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=yp25FSBcaKcAb7rpQiM&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&oh=00_AfB3kMw18hFjETtuxWjI9SLujT8qJ59ju67a581edkAL_Q&oe=6621F77F	person_profile	0	World002	https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/436803840_452567567335680_610382821938737705_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=fHGlneZ2IvIAb7op57O&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&oh=00_AfB49K1Byaqtu6S1ObZruzEhK_vviKCGBP9yax7-Ym277Q&oe=6621FEA5	3	World002	2024-04-14 02:00	View Edit Delete
1,229,371	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":1229119}'	No	2024-04-14 15:14	active	526	1337627440242669	🔥🔥 Click to Read 👉🏻👉🏻	"Mate," he snapped, and everyone in the room gasped in shock.<br /> "You are mistaken," my father growled in fury at Alpha Zev.<br /> "I am not mistaken. She is mine."<br /> "She is a child," my father argued. Seth looked back over at me, looking me over once more.<br /> "How old are you?" I opened my mouth to answer but my father beat me to it.<br /> "She is sixteen. She hasn't even shifted yet. There is no way she is your mate. You're old enough to be her father."<br /> "Perhaps I made a mistake." Seth looked at me again. "She is too young to be my mate."<br /> I frowned in annoyance, "you don't want me as a mate?"<br /> ————————<br /> I stayed late after school for soccer club, before my mother picked me up. "You look a mess" my mother told me instantly.<br /> "I've been playing soccer, what did you expect me to look like?" I retorted sarcastically.<br /> "Yes but you look like you've been rolling around in the mud" she frowned. My mother was something I wasn't – stunningly beautiful. Her dark hair was short and cropped, which matched with her golden Latin skin made her look youthful and striking. I was hoping I had ugly duckling syndrome and soon I would blossom; but I'd been saying that for sixteen years and it hadn't happened yet.<br /> "Don't forget we have Equinox Alpha visiting tomorrow" my mother reminded me, when we got home. "So make sure you come straight home after school".<br /> "Maybe I should just skip the entire day and help you and dad prepare?" I smiled.<br /> "Nice try, Mabel, but it's not happening" she gave me a look. I hated when she used my real name. I hated the name Mabel with a passion – it had been my grandmother's name and honestly it should have died along with the crazy old bimbo. But, no, it was legacy to be named after her. I went by May because at least it was an averagely alright, unlike Mabel.<br /> "And don't forget we have a pack meeting in an hour" my mother called after me.<br /> I chilled out for an hour, before my mother came and got me. She glared at me for not dressing up – but it was only the Alpha, I'd known the guy since I was born he didn't need me to dress up.<br /> I was pretty sure my mother was disappointed about how I had turned out – I was a tomboy with an attitude problem who only cared about archery, soccer and skateboarding. She had always wanted a girl who she could take shopping and talk about boys and crushes with, but that just wasn't me. I would rather be shooting arrows into targets than shopping at target. Don't get me wrong, she loved me, but she was secretly upset I was so different to her.<br /> "May" a voice called to me. I turned to see my friends waving me over. The only friends that I had didn't go to my school, which sucked, but at least I got to hang out with them after school.<br /> Dom, Jared and Chris were hanging around at the back of the forest clearing. I said goodbye to my mother before rushing over to them. "What's up?" I asked them.<br /> "Not much we're hitting the skate park after this, you game?" Chris asked me.<br /> "I wish" I snorted, "that other Alpha is coming tomorrow so my mother is freaking out about nothing. I'm sure she'll drag me off after this to prep or some other nonsense".<br /> "Bummer dude" Jared grumbled. I loved my friends, because they didn't care I was a girl or that I was the Beta's daughter – I was just May and that was cool.<br /> "Hey I saw your brother at the mall early with another girl again" Chris laughed.<br /> "Yep another week, and another girl" I mused.<br /> "She was hot though" Chris added.<br /> "Aren't they always?" Dom threw in.<br /> "Of course he's the future Beta, he could never be seen with anyone who didn't have a giant stick up their tight pricks." I commented.<br /> "Mabel" a voice boomed out. I cringed as I turned to see my father not far behind me. He stormed over to me, and my friends instantly moved a few steps away from me. "You will not speak about your brother that way and you will not use that sort of language again. Do you understand me, young lady?" he scowled me.<br /> People in the pack, who were gathering for the meeting, glanced over at the Beta telling his delinquent daughter off. I frowned as I looked at the ground, I scuffed my sneaker in the dirt as I blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Mabel" my father prompted.<br /> "I'm sorry" I muttered out, feeling stupid and like a small child.<br /> "Come, you'll stand at the front with me" my father snapped. Taking my arm he pulled me through the clearing and to the patio that led of the Alpha's house. I silently complained in my mind, as he dragged me to the front.<br /> My father was strict but I was his little girl, so he was also protective. So I was used to getting in trouble with him – but he could never stay angry at me for long. Unlike my brother who he could stay mad at for days on end.<br /> My mother and brother quickly joined us. My father smiled at my mother, before bussing her lips softly. I looked at them and wondered how I was their daughter. My mother was beautiful and my father was handsome and strong. Yet I stood there, like the runt of the family.<br /> I didn't care much about looks, in the grand scheme of things, but as some of the girls that were my age were beginning to find their mates, I was beginning to think that maybe I should be concerned. Most of the She-Wolves my age were making sure they were always groomed and perfectly made up, for when they ran into their mates. So I almost felt self-conscious about the fact I didn't care so much.<br /> Yet, occasionally, I would stand with my family – who all looked like they had just stepped out of a magazine – and felt like I didn't really fit in. For some reason, I just didn't inherit the looks of my family. I'd worked that out at a young age, so I had made peace with it but I hated standing with them as everyone else seemed to notice it.<br /> Luckily, the Alpha and his wife arrived and it quickly turned into a Pack meeting. Alpha Parker was a nice man, around my father's age, with soft greying hair and deep set black eyes. I hated him, hated him with every fibre of my being – because he took away my dream. He took away everything I had worked for.<br /> The Alpha's son, David, was a little younger than me. He was being home schooled, as he was being trained to become Alpha, so I didn't see him often. But I didn't mind him really but I minded the fact that my mother kept hinting she thought the two of us were mates.<br /> Werewolves Shift in their teenage years. I hadn't Shifted yet – it wasn't uncommon to not have Shifted yet, but my brother and my parents had both Shifted in their early teens. Yet, I was sixteen and still hadn't Shifted. Once more, I was the runt of the family.<br /> David hadn't Shifted yet either, but could at any day now, and my mother was sure the two of us were mates. Alpha's mates were only ever daughters of other Alpha's or of Beta's – so according to that, my mother was obsessed with the fact that I would one day be the pack's Luna. I couldn't think of anything worse.<br /> David smiled at me as he moved to stand next to me. I returned his smile, while his father began to talk about the upcoming visit from an Alpha of a different Pack. Alpha Seth Zev was the Alpha of the Equinox Pack, which was the largest Pack in the country. Alpha Zev wanted support from our Alpha in the current War he was fighting – I was pretty sure that we wouldn't support him. We were a peaceful Pack, we tried to stay out of fights.<br /> But, everyone was on edge in the Pack. Wars between Wolf Packs were rare, but when they occurred they were drastic. They could cause death and destruction in all the packs if the war was big enough. And with the way I had heard my father talk about the upcoming war, I was pretty sure this one would be catastrophic. I didn't even know what it was about over – I struggled with listening to things I didn't care about.<br /> "Alpha Zev will arrive tomorrow evening" Alpha Parker told the Pack, "I know it is uncomfortable for everyone, having unknown Wolves in the Pack. But he is coming on behalf of the upcoming war, to represent all the other Packs fighting against Alpha Deeds. As yet we have not chosen a side in this war, but with the way things are going, we're not going to have a choice but to join".<br /> Chatter ran through the Pack – both nervous and excited. Nervous because it was a war, excited because it was a war. Werewolves were funny like that; terrified of death because they were so proud but excited to kill and fight others for the sake of pride. I didn't understand it myself.<br /> "However, I will not decide anything without consulting Howard, Joel and Kelly first" Alpha Parker explained – talking about my father, the third in command and the current Luna. "But, regarding this visit, I expect everyone to be in their homes by eight o'clock this evening, unless you are on patrol, working in the dungeons or have spoken to me previously and I have given permission to be excused from curfew. But, as of tonight, there is an entire Pack wide curfew of eight and anyone found breaking that will face consequences".<br /> There was a moment of silence, as the Pack shared worried looks. "That is all for tonight. I expect you all in your house by eight tonight. You're dismissed".<br /> ——————<br /> The next night<br /> "Mabel Elizabeth Thorne. What happened to your face?" she screeched.<br /> "I fell" I shrugged. <br /> "Off that skateboard I bet" she growled angrily. <br /> I simply shrugged, not wanting to tell her that last night I ignored the curfew and fought with some jerks who always bullied me in school. <br /> "Alpha Zev and several of his men are in the territory as we speak. We are supposed to be going around to the Alpha's house in an hour, for goodness sake Mabel".<br /> "Then just leave me here" I offered.<br /> "I don't think so. We'll just try and cover it up with makeup".<br /> "Ew no thanks" I turned my nose up, "I don't want that orange thing all over my face".<br /> "Mabel" she shook her head, "why can't you just be a normal sixteen year old for once?"<br /> "Geez thanks, love you too" I muttered in annoyance.<br /> "If you're not going to let me put makeup on you, please at least wear your hair down" she said. I rolled my eyes as we began to eat dinner. Everyone talked as we ate but I silently thought of ways to get out of going to see this other random Alpha. I couldn't think of any good excuse.<br /> "Right, Mabel, go get changed" my mother said, as we cleared away the plates.<br /> "I'm changed" I replied. Once more I thought my mother was going to pass out. She opened her mouth, closed her mouth, opened her mouth once more, before turning to my father for help. I hated when they ganged up on me.<br /> "Darling, just put something a bit neater on. You know what Alphas are like" my father said for her.<br /> "You mean, you know what mothers are like" I grumbled under my breath.<br /> "What was that?" he narrowed his eyes.<br /> "I'll go change now" I sighed, slipping out the kitchen. Back inside my room, I looked in the mirror and sighed heavily. I wore a pair of ripped jeans, a white shirt, and some Nike sneakers. My hair was pulled back and the ugly purple and yellow bruise ran up the left side of my face.<br /> In annoyance, I changed into a pair of black skinny jeans – the only pair without rips in them – before pulling on a tight red shirt and my newest leather jacket. I then pulled some different sneakers on.<br /> Frowning at myself in the mirror, I took my hair out of the ponytail. My dark curls fell around my face, and to my mid-back, looking crazy and unruly. I didn't dare take a hairbrush to it – it would just make it look like a lion's mane. So I grabbed some hair mouse, dabbed a bit on my hand, before running it through my hair. It calmed it slightly, but it was still just a curly mess but at least it now looked like it was supposed to be a curly mess.<br /> "Well it ain't going to get any better than this" I muttered to my reflection. My face was a small love heart shape, with large round eyes and small features. Freckles spread over practically every part of my face – I hated those freckles. Even with my dark Latin skin, the freckles still stuck out. I was cute but in a twelve year old sort of way.<br /> "May hurry up" Roland shouted at me.<br /> "Watch your language Ro" my father hollered back at him. Rolling my eyes, I turned away from my reflections and headed out my room. I walked with my family to the Alpha's house, trailing slightly behind them as they chatted about something. "Mabel, keep up" my father snapped.<br /> When we reached the Alpha's house, Alpha Parker invited my parents into his office where he was having a drink with Alpha Zev and his Beta. "Darling, why don't you go hang out with David" my mother suggested. I rolled my eyes, hating that she was still trying to convince herself that I was going to be David's mate.<br /> They disappeared into the study and I rolled my eyes when I was left alone. "Hey Mabel" David said, as he came down the stairs.<br /> "My name is May" I corrected him. He nodded before walking into the lounge, I reluctantly followed him. Inside was three Wolves I didn't know. David smiled at them as he sat down in the lounge. The three men were obviously from the Equinox Pack.<br /> "Hey kid is this your girlfriend?" one of them asked, smiling in my direction.<br /> "No" I snorted.<br /> "May is the Beta's daughter" David explained. "But we're probably going to be mates. We'll see when we Shift" he shrugged.<br /> "Unlikely" I muttered under my breath.<br /> "What?" David asked.<br /> "I want a drink" I said allowed, and I saw the three men smirking as they'd actually heard what I said. "I'm going to get a drink". Turning my back to David and three unknown Wolves, I headed into the kitchen.<br /> As I stood there in the kitchen, I glanced out the window. Outside on the porch stood a man on his phone. He was beautiful – there was no other words to describe him. He was tall with dark hair and bright blue eyes. His large arms bulged out of his tight black t-shirt and his blue jeans hung low on his lips. He was larger than most men; with muscles on every part of his body. "Wow" I whispered.<br /> I'd never had a crush before, but I had one right then.<br /> "That's Seth" a voice behind me said. I screamed in shock as I spun around, turning away from the hot man, and to one of the unknown Wolves.<br /> "I...um...what?" I asked, blushing as red as a tomato. The Wolf smirked at me in amusement. His ash coloured hair was pulled back in a small bun at the back of his head, as his golden skin shone. He was attractive but nothing compared with the guy outside.<br /> "I said that guy you were eye raping is called Seth" he teased. "He's my Alpha".<br /> "That's Alpha Zev?" I asked in shock.<br /> "Yep, that's him" he laughed. I glanced back out the window, but he was gone. The unknown Wolf laughed at me again. "He's a bit old for you kid". He messed up my hair, causing me to glare at him, before he opened the fridge and had a look inside. "You want a coke?"<br /> "Sure" I shrugged. He pulled out a second can and handed it to me, before kicking the fridge shut. "What's your name?"<br /> "Dean" he smiled, "I'm the third in command".<br /> "Cool" I muttered.<br /> "You don't really find that cool do you?" he smirked at me, hearing my sarcasm even though I didn't actually say it sarcastically.<br /> "No I don't really care," I told him bluntly. He spluttered a laugh at me.<br /> "You got bad language kid, I dig that" Dean winked at me. I just gave me a look before walking past him. He followed me back into the lounge, where I sat down next to David. "Right kid, this is Jenson and Ollie" Dean introduced me to the other Wolves – Jenson a blonde with nice eyes and Ollie a dark skinned man who was very attractive. Not as attractive as his Alpha, but pretty attractive.<br /> "Guys this is May. She's a mouthy kid who has a thing for Seth".<br /> "I do not have 'a thing' for your Alpha" I snapped at Dean, as I blushed and the men laughed at me.<br /> "So why else were you staring at him like a stalker?" he mused. I knew he was trying to get a rise out of me, but I was embarrassed so I rose to the bait.<br /> "Because I saw a strange Wolf in my territory and I was curious who he was" I snapped back – a blatant lie.<br /> "Sure" Dean commented sarcastically.<br /> "Mabel" David began and I rolled my eyes.<br /> "May" I corrected him through gritted teeth. "My name is May". At my language, Jenson and Ollie raised their eyebrows in shock – Dean just laughed in amusement.<br /> "Well it's not" David retorted, "your name is Mabel, you just like to go by May".<br /> "David, shut up" I rolled my eyes at him. I didn't understand why the fourteen year old future Alpha annoyed me so much, but there was just something about him.<br /> "Mabel" a familiar voice boomed. "I will not tolerate that language" my father snapped. With my back to him I rolled my eyes, before turning back and smiling softly at him.<br /> "Sorry Dad" I simply said. I stood up, as everyone else in the room did, when I noticed that my parents had come in with everyone else. Among the other people were two more unknown Wolves – well one of them was known to me because I had seen him outside.<br /> Alpha Seth Zev was even better in person; with both strength and dominance. His bright blue eyes looked over the room before they landed on me. I blushed slightly as he caught me staring at him. But he didn't instantly look away, instead he looked me up and down – checking me out I realised.<br /> Alpha Parker opened his mouth to say something but Alpha Zev interrupted him. A growl ripped through the room as he looked at me. "Mate" he snapped, and everyone in the room gasped in shock.<br /> My father was the first to the break the silence, by turning to Alpha Zev – to Seth – who claimed I was his mate. "You are mistaken" my father growled in fury.<br /> Seth narrowed his eyes at my father, "I am not mistaken. She is mine".<br /> "She is a child" my father argued. Seth looked back over at me, looking me over once more before he seemed to grasp what my father was saying.<br /> "How old are you?" he asked me, seeming to snap out of his protectiveness. I opened my mouth to answer but my father beat me to it.<br /> "She is sixteen. She hasn't even Shifted yet" he snapped. "There is no way she is your mate. You're old enough to be her father".<br /> Seth snorted, "not quite. But, yes, I see your point". He sighed heavily, running a hand down his face looking stressed. I wasn't really sure how to take the entire situation. I hadn't Shifted, so I didn't feel the mating bond yet. But I was extremely attracted to Seth, extremely.<br /> "Perhaps I made a mistake" Seth said, looking at me again. "She is too young to be my mate".<br /> "You don't make a mistake about the mate bond" Dean shrugged. "She's obviously your mate dude".<br /> "There is a fourteen year ago gap" Alpha Peters frowned, "has anyone ever heard of an age gap that big between mates before?" No one said anything as I bit the inside of my cheek – not sure what to say. It shocked me that Seth was thirty, I mean that seemed pretty old to me.<br /> "Mates are supposed to be similar ages. This is not right" Seth growled angrily.<br /> I frowned in annoyance, "you don't want me as a mate?" The question came out before I could stop it. Seth looked at me, his blue eyes cold and guarded.<br /> "I'd rather not have a child for a mate" he snapped at me. I was taken back slightly by his hostility towards me.<br /> "Dude, chill out" Dean spoke up. "It's not her fault there is such an age gap".<br /> "This is wrong" Seth roared, throwing his hands up in anguish. At his anger and dominance, a lot of the Wolves stood up straighter and became more alert. In all the mate business I had forgotten that Seth was one of the strongest Alpha's in the country – it was understandable he was feared. "This is so wrong" Seth snapped.<br /> "Right it is" my father agreed.<br /> "I need some space to think" Seth began.<br /> "I--" I began, not sure what I was actually going to say. But it didn't matter, Seth cut me off before I got more than one word out.<br /> "Away from you goddammit" he growled, eyes glowing menacingly at me. Instantly my eyes began to water as he spun on his heels and stormed away from me. A few seconds later the front door slammed. There was a moment of stillness between everyone. Then the only Wolf I hadn't been introduced to in the room, turned to Dean.<br /> "He might listen to you. Go after him" he told the third in command.<br /> "Will do boss" he walked past me and gave me a wink. "See you later kid".<br /> I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, feeling pathetic as everyone else just looked at me. It was my mother who finally broke the silence. Moving over to me, she put her arm around me. "Howard, I'm taking her home" she told my father. My father nodded in agreement.<br /> Feeling too confused and upset, I let my mother tow me out the house. I was sniffing, trying not to cry, the entire walk home. My mother had her arm over my shoulders as we walked in silence, but it didn't make me feel any better.<br /> "Here, sit down, honey" my mother said, when we got home.<br /> "I think I just want to go to bed" I told her.<br /> "But Mabel--"<br /> "I need to think" I snapped at her, cutting her off. My voice broke slightly as I tried to control my emotions. I wasn't even sure what I felt really – but I felt rejected more than anything.<br /> Not letting my mother argue, I turned away from her and rushed up the stairs. Inside my bedroom I locked the door, before leaning against it. I stood there for a moment before sliding down the back of it. I couldn't make sense of anything – my mate was the Alpha of the biggest Pack in country, but he didn't want me.<br /> Seth was incredibly attractive and I was sure he had girls falling over him all day. It shouldn't have been a shock that he didn't want me as a mate – not only was I a rude teenager, I wasn't even a pretty rude teenager. I looked like I was twelve and the guy was thirty. I shouldn't have been surprised he didn't want me.<br /> But I felt like I had just been sucker punched. I hadn't given the idea of finding my mate so young a lot of thought, but when I did think about it I was older and my mate didn't care what I looked at. My mate should have loved me for me, not caring that I wasn't as pretty as most She-Wolves.<br /> Seth shouldn't have cared about my age or my looks. But he did.<br /> I sat with my back to the door for about an hour, just thinking about everything that had gone down in the five minute's I'd been inside the Alpha's house. It was a farce how quickly everything had happened. Seth saw me and within seconds he wanted to reject me.<br /> A little voice in my head told me that he hadn't rejected me and maybe he was going to run back to me and apologise, and tell me that my looks didn't matter and my age didn't matter because I was his mate.<br /> But he didn't come running back.	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1,229,181	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":1229342}'	No	2024-04-14 15:13	active	526	805543954954858	🔥🔥 Click to Read 👉🏻👉🏻	Marrying this magnificent warrior was my ideal but after marriage...<br /> "Why do you cry?" His rough voice is baffled. "Wife, look at me."<br /> That word. That word I used to love and now despise. More tears well up in my eyes.<br /> "You want an answer? Fine. I do not like being married to you. For you, keeping mistresses is a tradition. For me, it's the worst insult you can give a wife. I've had enough."<br /> A cold anger slips over his features. "That is unfortunate since we are wed. You have no choice but to accept."<br /> "You're wrong. I'll do my duty and give you an heir, but no more than that."<br /> ————————<br /> "You spend much time out here, I'm told."<br /> My body stiffens as the one voice I'm trying to escape invades my senses. The garden has become one of my refuges and after three months, I thought I was safe out here, safe from his presence and hers. Heaven knows, I've watered just about every plant out here with my tears. The flowers can attest to my misery, but no one else can.<br /> Except now, if he looks at my face, he'll see that I'm crying.<br /> Would he care?<br /> Making a move as if I'm wiping sweat from my face, I attempt to remove the evidence of my pain.<br /> "My lady wife, do you ignore me?"<br /> Still keeping my back to him, I shrug and continue pulling the weeds. "I wasn't aware that an observation made by you required a response."<br /> "I've wondered where you disappear to."<br /> Not enough to find out the answer.<br /> That's the wrong thing to think since it causes more tears to slide down my face. Before I can wipe them away, his hand grasps my arm, pulling me up to face him. I don't look at him, but I can feel the intensity of his gaze as he studies my face.<br /> Humiliation complete.<br /> "Why do you cry?"<br /> His rough voice is honestly baffled, as if he cannot understand how someone in my situation could have any sorrow.<br /> "Wife, look at me."<br /> That word. That word I used to love and now despise. More tears well up in my eyes, but I force myself to meet his gaze.<br /> "Tell me what causes these tears. You have been different since I brought you here after we wedded."<br /> He wants an answer, so I give him the absolute truth. After all these months of holding it in, I wrap up everything in one short sentence.<br /> "I do not like being married to you."<br /> He wasn't expecting that answer and I can feel his whole body lock tight and his hand flexes on my arm.<br /> "What is not to your liking?"<br /> That almost makes me laugh, his voice is positively confused, as if I have everything a woman could want so how could I possibly be upset?<br /> Shaking my head, I answer softly, "It matters not."<br /> "It matters. I would not have my wife cry." Heavens! That deep voice of his, so rough yet so gentle, as it was when we had our glorious month together before our wedding. Back when I was hopeful for our future, when I looked forward to marrying this magnificent warrior and being his wife in every way. Back when I thought he cared for me, when I thought the look in his eyes was full of, if not love, then caring.<br /> Back before he shattered all my ideals and dreams.<br /> "Once I am with child, I would ask you to allow me to remove to another of your estates."<br /> "Ah," he says as if understanding is dawning. "You do not like Bellford Keep. That is fine. There are others we can go to."<br /> Typical man. Problem solved. Completely missing the actual point.<br /> Looking at the ground, I shake my head. "You misunderstand me. I wish to go to another estate alone. Without you."<br /> Again, his body locks solid.<br /> "I would have your eyes for what I say next, wife." Grudgingly, I meet his eyes. And what I see in his is frightening in its intensity, its fury. "My wife will not live away from me. Ever. Do not bring this up again."<br /> "Being with you brings me nothing but misery."<br /> He looks as if I've slapped him his shock is so great at my audacity.<br /> Then a cold anger slips over his features. "That is unfortunate since we are wed."<br /> "Leave me," I dismiss him, not thinking.<br /> Clearly the wrong thing to say as he leans down so his face is only inches from mine. "You do not command, wife. You would do well to remember your place."<br /> "I assure you, I am never able to forget my place here."<br /> Those tears spill over again, both my bitterness and heartbreak pouring out. What is wrong with me?<br /> "You must learn to be happy in your situation. Any other woman would be happy to be my bride."<br /> "Well then you should have married one of them. I find no pleasure in being your wife."<br /> He grins at me.<br /> Actually grins.<br /> "You lie. You found great pleasure last night. And every night I come to your bed since we have been married."<br /> I think, in that moment, I actually hate him.<br /> "And that is the problem. I am not the only one you find pleasure with. So whatever pleasure you may give to me, believe me when I say it is only physical and only temporary. My heart and my mind remain unswayed by you and wish to be far away from you because the pain you inflict is so much greater than the fleeting pleasure."<br /> Since I can't force the warrior to leave, I spin around and storm off to the stables.<br /> He doesn't follow.<br /> Why should he follow his unhappy wife when his mistress is always there, always happy?<br /> ————<br /> I head into the stables, waving off Braden, the stablemaster. I need no help, nor do I want it, from this man or any man. In minutes, I'm leading my stallion, Sir Neigh, out of the barn and I quickly mount up.<br /> Braden yells after me when he sees me take off, no guard in sight. He thought I'd come to groom my boy, not go riding. He is used to me riding only in the mornings, never in the late afternoon near the evening meal.<br /> However, I plan on missing the meal tonight and all nights going forward so I do not have to watch her watching my husband in the common room any longer.<br /> It hurts. It hurts me so badly. I always wonder if my parents knew, when they married me off to the warrior, that his peoples' tradition included the males keeping and flaunting their mistresses. Knowing my parents, and the great love between the two of them, and just the two of them, I cannot imagine they did or they would not have given me over to him.<br /> I can't return to my parents' home because my father would return me not out of malice but because a wife belongs with her husband. He would give me sanctuary if I had been physically mistreated, but since I am not, he has no reason to protect me.<br /> I sigh as I realize I have no choice but to continue to live here, my heart dying a little more every day as I sleep alone in my bed, the warrior not alone in his. He is with her. My only hope is that someday he will allow me to live away from him at one of his other estates. Since he doesn't seem to care about family, maybe once he has his heir, he will let us go.<br /> Defeat is hard for me to accept, and as soon as I think that thought, my anger at myself grows. Who says I have to accept my lot? What if I were to run away? I had some money my mother slipped into my trunk before we left.<br /> "A woman should always have her own money," she'd whispered and I'd nodded my understanding. "Unpack it when you get home and hide it well in case there is ever need for it."<br /> She was assuming in case we were ever overrun with raiders, I could use it to ransom my husband if he were ever taken.<br /> I also had jewelry I could sell.<br /> Thinking back to the first – and only – time he had given jewelry to me, I frown. It was the day we had arrived at Bellford and I discovered...her.<br /> A servant had summoned me to his library and the warrior waited in there for me, holding a velvet bag in his hand.<br /> I'd walked into the room, keeping my eyes to the floor, even after I heard the servant bow out and close the door.<br /> "I have made arrangements for Mrs. Kelly to give you a tour of the estate and to go over household matters with you. Bellford Keep has been without a mistress since the old lord and lady died."<br /> I continued to stare at the ground and I did not acknowledge that I heard him. His boots came into my view after a few moments of silence.<br /> "Are you well, my lady wife?"<br /> Just a short nod from me as answer.<br /> His fingers nudged my chin up, but I still managed to keep my eyes downcast. "What is wrong that you will neither speak to me nor look me in the eye?"<br /> "May I leave?" I asked.<br /> Sensing his irritation, I was not surprised that his answer was swift. "No, you may not. I would like to know the cause of your distress and I have a surprise for you."<br /> That got him my eyes, but they were enraged. "I never want another surprise from you ever again."<br /> "This one you will like," he assured me, and spilled the contents of the velvet bag into his hand. It was a beautiful diamond and emerald necklace.<br /> Pushing his hand away, I snapped. "I want nothing from you. Give it to her, give all of your gifts to her. But do not ever attempt to give me a gift, ever again. You have nothing I want."<br /> Then I left him in his library, holding the jewelry I rejected.<br /> The memory was bitter and made me reconsider accepting his gifts. Perhaps I should have taken them, then I could sell them and book passage on a ship to another country and start a new life there, never having to see the warrior with her again.<br /> About half an hour from home, I see a rider heading toward me with a torch raised high. He reins in as he comes alongside me.<br /> "Milady, are you well?"<br /> I smile at his concern. "Thank you, yes, Sir Alcarn."<br /> "Were you lost?"<br /> "No; I only lost track of time and rode farther than I thought. When I realized and turned back, I could not allow Sir Neigh to run as he had earlier, when there was still sun."<br /> "Everyone is out looking for you."<br /> What on earth? "Why?"<br /> His look is part relief and part anger. "You disappeared, milady, without an escort, and you missed the evening meal. Then when you still did not return, my lord sent all of his warriors out to find you."<br /> "Yes, I'm sure he couldn't be bothered to look himself."<br /> That bit of bitterness came out before I could stop my mouth. I'd broken a rule of my own, that no one should know of my marital discord, and I fidgeted uncomfortably in my saddle.<br /> "No, milady. He was the first one out to look for you when you didn't show up for the evening meal. When he couldn't find you, he sent all of us out, my lord himself included."<br /> With the bit of light we had from the torch, we trotted back toward the keep. Every so often, Alcarn would blow a horn he had shrilly.<br /> "In case anyone is close enough to hear, they will know you have been found and will pass that along."<br /> Sure enough, on the ride back, four more knights joined us, grouping themselves around me.<br /> The upheaval my ride had caused took me by surprise. At home, although my parents didn't like it, I would disappear until well after dark all the time during the summer.<br /> "I apologize," I told my escorts. "At home I would often lose track of the time and return late. My parents never sent out anyone to find me, so I had no idea the warrior would."<br /> "Be prepared, milady," one of my escorts said.<br /> "For what?"<br /> "My lord is not used to being...concerned, and your disappearance did not sit well with him. It's a wonder he didn't kill Braden."<br /> "Why on earth would he do that?"<br /> "Braden knew you'd ridden off and informed no one until he was questioned."<br /> "A mistake he will never make again," Basik chortled.<br /> The keep came into view, other riders coming toward the stables from opposite directions. I thanked my escort, apologized to them and allowed one of them to take Sir and wipe him down so I could head to my chambers.<br /> As soon as my maid undid my laces on my dress, I dismissed her so she could sleep. Then I crawled into my bed and fell to sleep immediately.<br /> I never knew if it was hours or minutes later but the door to my chambers burst open and hit the wall, startling me awake.<br /> Then it was slammed shut and I could barely make out the form of the warrior as he stalked to my bed.<br /> "Do you know what you did?" he growled at me.<br /> An apology would have been the proper thing right then.<br /> "Yes. I'm quite aware I went for a ride."<br /> Quick as a flash, his arms reached out and grabbed me to him, my knees still on the bed. "Now is not the time for your mouth. You caused an uproar, wife, and you inconvenienced me and all my men."<br /> "Oh, I'm so sorry," I cooed. "Did I infringe on the time you could have spent with your bimbo?"<br /> His fingers tightened on my upper arms. "Is that what this is? A tantrum about my camaspoza?"<br /> "Let me go," I hissed.<br /> "You need to learn your place," he snarled back. "I will not have my life disrupted because you cannot accept that which has always been."<br /> "For you, it is tradition. For me, it is the worst insult you can give a wife. It demeans me and my position and every day I hate you more than the day before. I am miserable with you; I abhor the life you are forcing me to live. And I will never accept that which has always been because I will never accept something that destroys me. If I fell dead tomorrow, I would rejoice that my shame would be at an end."<br /> The warrior drew back at the poison I spewed at him.<br /> "You have no choice but to accept."<br /> "You are wrong. I will do my duty by you and give you an heir, but no more than that."<br /> "You cannot keep yourself from me."<br /> "There you are wrong, Warrior. I already do keep myself from you. You have my body, but that is all. Everything else that is in me despises you with a hatred so deep, it is beyond measure."<br /> "Do not fool yourself. Your jealousy makes you think it is hatred, but you are only jealous because you care."<br /> "No. I used to care, and you know that I fell in love with you in our month together before we wed. I was prepared to make you my everything and to share a beautiful life with you, sharing our joys and sorrows and concerns, raising our children together. What I dreamed of was as magnificent as I thought you were. But all of that was gone in a moment when you introduced her to me. It killed everything good I was feeling about us in but a moment, and your lack of respect and your continued humiliation of me – your preference for her – have changed my feelings to quite the opposite of what they were on the day we wed."<br /> "Your body says otherwise."<br /> He didn't understand. "You are skilled in bed, no doubt. You have enough experience to give me pleasure despite my wish otherwise. But you do not touch my heart or my mind or my soul. My parents have a true marriage and that is what I was raised thinking I would have. And instead, I have nothing."<br /> "You have my loyalty and affection and protection."<br /> "I most certainly do not have your loyalty nor do I have your affection."<br /> "I come to your bed; what is that if not affection?"<br /> "That is doing your duty and every time you do, something in me dies. It is not something that enhances our love or our connection as husband and wife; it is assuredly killing anything that I once thought I felt. A body is just a shell."<br /> "A shell that will carry the sons that I release into you."<br /> I look away because what once would have thrilled me breaks my heart, especially given the crude way he says it. "Once I am pregnant, I would like to go into seclusion at another one of your estates."<br /> "No."<br /> "Why?" I demand, frustrated. "What possible reason is there for me to stay once I am pregnant?"<br /> "Because you are my wife and you remain where I say. You need no other reason."<br /> "Just go," I demand.<br /> But he doesn't. "I think I will take my pleasure now, wife."<br /> And he does, but I remain impassive and resistant as long as I can. Which is not long at all.<br /> "Take your pleasure," he whispers into my ear. "It is not shameful to do so."<br /> Tears streaming down my face, I do. I cannot help it. "I hate you," I whisper to him. "I want you to stay away from me."<br /> ————<br /> The next day, the warrior comes to me and tells me that the king's messenger has arrived and summoned him to court immediately. That explains the servants scurrying to pack his trunks and provisions.<br /> "I would take you, but as you pointed out last night, you wish me to stay away from you. So, my lady wife, I shall take her with me instead of you, while you remain here, alone as you wanted. You see? I am a considerate husband who gives his wife what she wants. You may want to consider in the future what you ask of me because I assure you, if it is mine to give, it shall be yours."<br /> I refuse to wave off the party going to court. I have no need to see her riding beside him, her triumphant smile telling me she knows she is preferred over his wife. She holds the warrior's heart; she sleeps beside him at night when he leaves my chambers.<br /> Since I have no idea how long the warrior will be away, I decide to take action. I am tired of having to live my life at his whim. So I ask two young servant boys to bring me two trunks from the attic. They are eager to help and in no time I am packing my dresses and undergarments and shoes and cloaks and hats. One of the things that the warrior had entrusted to me was communication with his nine estates. Should a problem arise, I could handle it or turn it over to the warrior for judgment, but in this he trusted and respected my training. Since he was gone for an unknown time, I decided it was time the lady of the estates met each steward.<br /> The young servant boys happily carried my trunks to the coach and tied them on. Now came the tricky part and dealing with the head guardsman.<br /> "My lord Carrington has asked that I do a tour of his estates while he is on the king's business. I'll need two guards with me. My husband suggested Cheswick and Folroy."<br /> The ones who couldn't read or write, so they could not communicate with anyone on our journeys.<br /> "My lady," Gadding said, "My lord did not mention this to me."<br /> Giving him my most assured and haughty look, I stared him in the eye. "Are you questioning my husband's orders to me? The order he gave to me in a rush due to his unexpected need to attend to the king so suddenly?" I pulled back a little and then hit him with, "Are you saying I am lying about something so important? Would you like to explain to the warrior why I am still here when he returns, my mission not completed?"<br /> As expected, he immediately began to bluster his apologies and said that he would have Cheswick and Folroy make themselves available immediately for our trip. Three hours later, we were off and for the first time since arriving at Bellford Keep, I felt free. After our first estate visit, I told Cheswick and Folroy that I had a letter from my husband summoning them back to Bellford Keep.<br /> I traveled not only to the warrior's nine estates, but also spent two weeks here and there with six different cousins of mine. When we left one estate, I told the steward there where we were going next, and then proceeded to go to a different place. I worried that as we visited one estate, the warrior would have an easier time narrowing down our options, so that was when I interspersed our estate visits with visits to my cousins.<br /> After the first month, I began to suspect something.<br /> After the second month, I knew.<br /> That last night of pleasure before my husband left for the king's court had filled me with a baby. At seven months along now, with all of our visiting done, I was going to head home. Part of my reasoning for visiting the estates was to select my favorite one, and so I did. That it happened to be the farthest from Bellford Keep was part of its allure. Fernwick was much smaller than Bellford, more rustic, but near a charming village that had excellent midwives. It felt homier to me, the right place to enter my confinement period and to birth my child.<br /> Every morning I walked into the village, stopping at the bakery and wandering among the other shops, greeting the villagers. I made friends with all of the wives, who did not stand so much in awe of me as their husbands did because of who my husband was.<br /> I invited the ladies to Fernwick once a week, to talk and discuss happenings in the village. At first, they seemed scared to join me, but after the first two gatherings, we chatted and laughed easily. I had never had friends like this before, and certainly none after my marriage.<br /> They'd even gathered the courage to ask about the warrior and I told them that we would live separately.<br /> "He has...another to keep him company and they suit one another."<br /> Each one of them looked affronted and I know that the poor had different types of unions, but openly carrying on with another who was not your spouse was not acceptable.<br /> "I cannot believe he would choose another over you," Maggie told me brashly. I adored Maggie as she spoke her truths unflinchingly. She was also one of my midwives. "You are his wife."<br /> "Only to give him an heir. Nothing more." I laughed as a particularly hard kick took my breath. "And it is fine. I will have my child and a quiet life here and I will not have to see him with her."<br /> After a few weeks of settling in at Fernwick, I wrote the warrior a short note. I told him I got pregnant and had begun my confinement and offered him a chance to do the right thing.<br /> I asked him to allow me to live in Fernwick and never destroy the peace I felt here with her presence. But it would all depend on how much he hated me, I supposed.<br /> ————<br /> My baby continued to grow over the next three weeks. Looking at my belly, I couldn't believe I had another two or three weeks to go.<br /> There had been no reply to my letter and I realized that no answer was my answer. Perhaps he was waiting to hear if I had birthed an heir or a daughter before replying.<br /> Two days later, my peace was interrupted as I was walking by the creek. One of the maids came rushing to me, all in a tizzy. <br /> "Milady, your husband is arrived!"	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1,229,361	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":1229342}'	No	2024-04-14 15:14	active	526	1231009081637041	🔥🔥 Click to Read 👉🏻👉🏻	Marrying this magnificent warrior was my ideal but after marriage...<br /> "Why do you cry?" His rough voice is baffled. "Wife, look at me."<br /> That word. That word I used to love and now despise. More tears well up in my eyes.<br /> "You want an answer? Fine. I do not like being married to you. For you, keeping mistresses is a tradition. For me, it's the worst insult you can give a wife. I've had enough."<br /> A cold anger slips over his features. "That is unfortunate since we are wed. You have no choice but to accept."<br /> "You're wrong. I'll do my duty and give you an heir, but no more than that."<br /> ————————<br /> "You spend much time out here, I'm told."<br /> My body stiffens as the one voice I'm trying to escape invades my senses. The garden has become one of my refuges and after three months, I thought I was safe out here, safe from his presence and hers. Heaven knows, I've watered just about every plant out here with my tears. The flowers can attest to my misery, but no one else can.<br /> Except now, if he looks at my face, he'll see that I'm crying.<br /> Would he care?<br /> Making a move as if I'm wiping sweat from my face, I attempt to remove the evidence of my pain.<br /> "My lady wife, do you ignore me?"<br /> Still keeping my back to him, I shrug and continue pulling the weeds. "I wasn't aware that an observation made by you required a response."<br /> "I've wondered where you disappear to."<br /> Not enough to find out the answer.<br /> That's the wrong thing to think since it causes more tears to slide down my face. Before I can wipe them away, his hand grasps my arm, pulling me up to face him. I don't look at him, but I can feel the intensity of his gaze as he studies my face.<br /> Humiliation complete.<br /> "Why do you cry?"<br /> His rough voice is honestly baffled, as if he cannot understand how someone in my situation could have any sorrow.<br /> "Wife, look at me."<br /> That word. That word I used to love and now despise. More tears well up in my eyes, but I force myself to meet his gaze.<br /> "Tell me what causes these tears. You have been different since I brought you here after we wedded."<br /> He wants an answer, so I give him the absolute truth. After all these months of holding it in, I wrap up everything in one short sentence.<br /> "I do not like being married to you."<br /> He wasn't expecting that answer and I can feel his whole body lock tight and his hand flexes on my arm.<br /> "What is not to your liking?"<br /> That almost makes me laugh, his voice is positively confused, as if I have everything a woman could want so how could I possibly be upset?<br /> Shaking my head, I answer softly, "It matters not."<br /> "It matters. I would not have my wife cry." Heavens! That deep voice of his, so rough yet so gentle, as it was when we had our glorious month together before our wedding. Back when I was hopeful for our future, when I looked forward to marrying this magnificent warrior and being his wife in every way. Back when I thought he cared for me, when I thought the look in his eyes was full of, if not love, then caring.<br /> Back before he shattered all my ideals and dreams.<br /> "Once I am with child, I would ask you to allow me to remove to another of your estates."<br /> "Ah," he says as if understanding is dawning. "You do not like Bellford Keep. That is fine. There are others we can go to."<br /> Typical man. Problem solved. Completely missing the actual point.<br /> Looking at the ground, I shake my head. "You misunderstand me. I wish to go to another estate alone. Without you."<br /> Again, his body locks solid.<br /> "I would have your eyes for what I say next, wife." Grudgingly, I meet his eyes. And what I see in his is frightening in its intensity, its fury. "My wife will not live away from me. Ever. Do not bring this up again."<br /> "Being with you brings me nothing but misery."<br /> He looks as if I've slapped him his shock is so great at my audacity.<br /> Then a cold anger slips over his features. "That is unfortunate since we are wed."<br /> "Leave me," I dismiss him, not thinking.<br /> Clearly the wrong thing to say as he leans down so his face is only inches from mine. "You do not command, wife. You would do well to remember your place."<br /> "I assure you, I am never able to forget my place here."<br /> Those tears spill over again, both my bitterness and heartbreak pouring out. What is wrong with me?<br /> "You must learn to be happy in your situation. Any other woman would be happy to be my bride."<br /> "Well then you should have married one of them. I find no pleasure in being your wife."<br /> He grins at me.<br /> Actually grins.<br /> "You lie. You found great pleasure last night. And every night I come to your bed since we have been married."<br /> I think, in that moment, I actually hate him.<br /> "And that is the problem. I am not the only one you find pleasure with. So whatever pleasure you may give to me, believe me when I say it is only physical and only temporary. My heart and my mind remain unswayed by you and wish to be far away from you because the pain you inflict is so much greater than the fleeting pleasure."<br /> Since I can't force the warrior to leave, I spin around and storm off to the stables.<br /> He doesn't follow.<br /> Why should he follow his unhappy wife when his mistress is always there, always happy?<br /> ————<br /> I head into the stables, waving off Braden, the stablemaster. I need no help, nor do I want it, from this man or any man. In minutes, I'm leading my stallion, Sir Neigh, out of the barn and I quickly mount up.<br /> Braden yells after me when he sees me take off, no guard in sight. He thought I'd come to groom my boy, not go riding. He is used to me riding only in the mornings, never in the late afternoon near the evening meal.<br /> However, I plan on missing the meal tonight and all nights going forward so I do not have to watch her watching my husband in the common room any longer.<br /> It hurts. It hurts me so badly. I always wonder if my parents knew, when they married me off to the warrior, that his peoples' tradition included the males keeping and flaunting their mistresses. Knowing my parents, and the great love between the two of them, and just the two of them, I cannot imagine they did or they would not have given me over to him.<br /> I can't return to my parents' home because my father would return me not out of malice but because a wife belongs with her husband. He would give me sanctuary if I had been physically mistreated, but since I am not, he has no reason to protect me.<br /> I sigh as I realize I have no choice but to continue to live here, my heart dying a little more every day as I sleep alone in my bed, the warrior not alone in his. He is with her. My only hope is that someday he will allow me to live away from him at one of his other estates. Since he doesn't seem to care about family, maybe once he has his heir, he will let us go.<br /> Defeat is hard for me to accept, and as soon as I think that thought, my anger at myself grows. Who says I have to accept my lot? What if I were to run away? I had some money my mother slipped into my trunk before we left.<br /> "A woman should always have her own money," she'd whispered and I'd nodded my understanding. "Unpack it when you get home and hide it well in case there is ever need for it."<br /> She was assuming in case we were ever overrun with raiders, I could use it to ransom my husband if he were ever taken.<br /> I also had jewelry I could sell.<br /> Thinking back to the first – and only – time he had given jewelry to me, I frown. It was the day we had arrived at Bellford and I discovered...her.<br /> A servant had summoned me to his library and the warrior waited in there for me, holding a velvet bag in his hand.<br /> I'd walked into the room, keeping my eyes to the floor, even after I heard the servant bow out and close the door.<br /> "I have made arrangements for Mrs. Kelly to give you a tour of the estate and to go over household matters with you. Bellford Keep has been without a mistress since the old lord and lady died."<br /> I continued to stare at the ground and I did not acknowledge that I heard him. His boots came into my view after a few moments of silence.<br /> "Are you well, my lady wife?"<br /> Just a short nod from me as answer.<br /> His fingers nudged my chin up, but I still managed to keep my eyes downcast. "What is wrong that you will neither speak to me nor look me in the eye?"<br /> "May I leave?" I asked.<br /> Sensing his irritation, I was not surprised that his answer was swift. "No, you may not. I would like to know the cause of your distress and I have a surprise for you."<br /> That got him my eyes, but they were enraged. "I never want another surprise from you ever again."<br /> "This one you will like," he assured me, and spilled the contents of the velvet bag into his hand. It was a beautiful diamond and emerald necklace.<br /> Pushing his hand away, I snapped. "I want nothing from you. Give it to her, give all of your gifts to her. But do not ever attempt to give me a gift, ever again. You have nothing I want."<br /> Then I left him in his library, holding the jewelry I rejected.<br /> The memory was bitter and made me reconsider accepting his gifts. Perhaps I should have taken them, then I could sell them and book passage on a ship to another country and start a new life there, never having to see the warrior with her again.<br /> About half an hour from home, I see a rider heading toward me with a torch raised high. He reins in as he comes alongside me.<br /> "Milady, are you well?"<br /> I smile at his concern. "Thank you, yes, Sir Alcarn."<br /> "Were you lost?"<br /> "No; I only lost track of time and rode farther than I thought. When I realized and turned back, I could not allow Sir Neigh to run as he had earlier, when there was still sun."<br /> "Everyone is out looking for you."<br /> What on earth? "Why?"<br /> His look is part relief and part anger. "You disappeared, milady, without an escort, and you missed the evening meal. Then when you still did not return, my lord sent all of his warriors out to find you."<br /> "Yes, I'm sure he couldn't be bothered to look himself."<br /> That bit of bitterness came out before I could stop my mouth. I'd broken a rule of my own, that no one should know of my marital discord, and I fidgeted uncomfortably in my saddle.<br /> "No, milady. He was the first one out to look for you when you didn't show up for the evening meal. When he couldn't find you, he sent all of us out, my lord himself included."<br /> With the bit of light we had from the torch, we trotted back toward the keep. Every so often, Alcarn would blow a horn he had shrilly.<br /> "In case anyone is close enough to hear, they will know you have been found and will pass that along."<br /> Sure enough, on the ride back, four more knights joined us, grouping themselves around me.<br /> The upheaval my ride had caused took me by surprise. At home, although my parents didn't like it, I would disappear until well after dark all the time during the summer.<br /> "I apologize," I told my escorts. "At home I would often lose track of the time and return late. My parents never sent out anyone to find me, so I had no idea the warrior would."<br /> "Be prepared, milady," one of my escorts said.<br /> "For what?"<br /> "My lord is not used to being...concerned, and your disappearance did not sit well with him. It's a wonder he didn't kill Braden."<br /> "Why on earth would he do that?"<br /> "Braden knew you'd ridden off and informed no one until he was questioned."<br /> "A mistake he will never make again," Basik chortled.<br /> The keep came into view, other riders coming toward the stables from opposite directions. I thanked my escort, apologized to them and allowed one of them to take Sir and wipe him down so I could head to my chambers.<br /> As soon as my maid undid my laces on my dress, I dismissed her so she could sleep. Then I crawled into my bed and fell to sleep immediately.<br /> I never knew if it was hours or minutes later but the door to my chambers burst open and hit the wall, startling me awake.<br /> Then it was slammed shut and I could barely make out the form of the warrior as he stalked to my bed.<br /> "Do you know what you did?" he growled at me.<br /> An apology would have been the proper thing right then.<br /> "Yes. I'm quite aware I went for a ride."<br /> Quick as a flash, his arms reached out and grabbed me to him, my knees still on the bed. "Now is not the time for your mouth. You caused an uproar, wife, and you inconvenienced me and all my men."<br /> "Oh, I'm so sorry," I cooed. "Did I infringe on the time you could have spent with your bimbo?"<br /> His fingers tightened on my upper arms. "Is that what this is? A tantrum about my camaspoza?"<br /> "Let me go," I hissed.<br /> "You need to learn your place," he snarled back. "I will not have my life disrupted because you cannot accept that which has always been."<br /> "For you, it is tradition. For me, it is the worst insult you can give a wife. It demeans me and my position and every day I hate you more than the day before. I am miserable with you; I abhor the life you are forcing me to live. And I will never accept that which has always been because I will never accept something that destroys me. If I fell dead tomorrow, I would rejoice that my shame would be at an end."<br /> The warrior drew back at the poison I spewed at him.<br /> "You have no choice but to accept."<br /> "You are wrong. I will do my duty by you and give you an heir, but no more than that."<br /> "You cannot keep yourself from me."<br /> "There you are wrong, Warrior. I already do keep myself from you. You have my body, but that is all. Everything else that is in me despises you with a hatred so deep, it is beyond measure."<br /> "Do not fool yourself. Your jealousy makes you think it is hatred, but you are only jealous because you care."<br /> "No. I used to care, and you know that I fell in love with you in our month together before we wed. I was prepared to make you my everything and to share a beautiful life with you, sharing our joys and sorrows and concerns, raising our children together. What I dreamed of was as magnificent as I thought you were. But all of that was gone in a moment when you introduced her to me. It killed everything good I was feeling about us in but a moment, and your lack of respect and your continued humiliation of me – your preference for her – have changed my feelings to quite the opposite of what they were on the day we wed."<br /> "Your body says otherwise."<br /> He didn't understand. "You are skilled in bed, no doubt. You have enough experience to give me pleasure despite my wish otherwise. But you do not touch my heart or my mind or my soul. My parents have a true marriage and that is what I was raised thinking I would have. And instead, I have nothing."<br /> "You have my loyalty and affection and protection."<br /> "I most certainly do not have your loyalty nor do I have your affection."<br /> "I come to your bed; what is that if not affection?"<br /> "That is doing your duty and every time you do, something in me dies. It is not something that enhances our love or our connection as husband and wife; it is assuredly killing anything that I once thought I felt. A body is just a shell."<br /> "A shell that will carry the sons that I release into you."<br /> I look away because what once would have thrilled me breaks my heart, especially given the crude way he says it. "Once I am pregnant, I would like to go into seclusion at another one of your estates."<br /> "No."<br /> "Why?" I demand, frustrated. "What possible reason is there for me to stay once I am pregnant?"<br /> "Because you are my wife and you remain where I say. You need no other reason."<br /> "Just go," I demand.<br /> But he doesn't. "I think I will take my pleasure now, wife."<br /> And he does, but I remain impassive and resistant as long as I can. Which is not long at all.<br /> "Take your pleasure," he whispers into my ear. "It is not shameful to do so."<br /> Tears streaming down my face, I do. I cannot help it. "I hate you," I whisper to him. "I want you to stay away from me."<br /> ————<br /> The next day, the warrior comes to me and tells me that the king's messenger has arrived and summoned him to court immediately. That explains the servants scurrying to pack his trunks and provisions.<br /> "I would take you, but as you pointed out last night, you wish me to stay away from you. So, my lady wife, I shall take her with me instead of you, while you remain here, alone as you wanted. You see? I am a considerate husband who gives his wife what she wants. You may want to consider in the future what you ask of me because I assure you, if it is mine to give, it shall be yours."<br /> I refuse to wave off the party going to court. I have no need to see her riding beside him, her triumphant smile telling me she knows she is preferred over his wife. She holds the warrior's heart; she sleeps beside him at night when he leaves my chambers.<br /> Since I have no idea how long the warrior will be away, I decide to take action. I am tired of having to live my life at his whim. So I ask two young servant boys to bring me two trunks from the attic. They are eager to help and in no time I am packing my dresses and undergarments and shoes and cloaks and hats. One of the things that the warrior had entrusted to me was communication with his nine estates. Should a problem arise, I could handle it or turn it over to the warrior for judgment, but in this he trusted and respected my training. Since he was gone for an unknown time, I decided it was time the lady of the estates met each steward.<br /> The young servant boys happily carried my trunks to the coach and tied them on. Now came the tricky part and dealing with the head guardsman.<br /> "My lord Carrington has asked that I do a tour of his estates while he is on the king's business. I'll need two guards with me. My husband suggested Cheswick and Folroy."<br /> The ones who couldn't read or write, so they could not communicate with anyone on our journeys.<br /> "My lady," Gadding said, "My lord did not mention this to me."<br /> Giving him my most assured and haughty look, I stared him in the eye. "Are you questioning my husband's orders to me? The order he gave to me in a rush due to his unexpected need to attend to the king so suddenly?" I pulled back a little and then hit him with, "Are you saying I am lying about something so important? Would you like to explain to the warrior why I am still here when he returns, my mission not completed?"<br /> As expected, he immediately began to bluster his apologies and said that he would have Cheswick and Folroy make themselves available immediately for our trip. Three hours later, we were off and for the first time since arriving at Bellford Keep, I felt free. After our first estate visit, I told Cheswick and Folroy that I had a letter from my husband summoning them back to Bellford Keep.<br /> I traveled not only to the warrior's nine estates, but also spent two weeks here and there with six different cousins of mine. When we left one estate, I told the steward there where we were going next, and then proceeded to go to a different place. I worried that as we visited one estate, the warrior would have an easier time narrowing down our options, so that was when I interspersed our estate visits with visits to my cousins.<br /> After the first month, I began to suspect something.<br /> After the second month, I knew.<br /> That last night of pleasure before my husband left for the king's court had filled me with a baby. At seven months along now, with all of our visiting done, I was going to head home. Part of my reasoning for visiting the estates was to select my favorite one, and so I did. That it happened to be the farthest from Bellford Keep was part of its allure. Fernwick was much smaller than Bellford, more rustic, but near a charming village that had excellent midwives. It felt homier to me, the right place to enter my confinement period and to birth my child.<br /> Every morning I walked into the village, stopping at the bakery and wandering among the other shops, greeting the villagers. I made friends with all of the wives, who did not stand so much in awe of me as their husbands did because of who my husband was.<br /> I invited the ladies to Fernwick once a week, to talk and discuss happenings in the village. At first, they seemed scared to join me, but after the first two gatherings, we chatted and laughed easily. I had never had friends like this before, and certainly none after my marriage.<br /> They'd even gathered the courage to ask about the warrior and I told them that we would live separately.<br /> "He has...another to keep him company and they suit one another."<br /> Each one of them looked affronted and I know that the poor had different types of unions, but openly carrying on with another who was not your spouse was not acceptable.<br /> "I cannot believe he would choose another over you," Maggie told me brashly. I adored Maggie as she spoke her truths unflinchingly. She was also one of my midwives. "You are his wife."<br /> "Only to give him an heir. Nothing more." I laughed as a particularly hard kick took my breath. "And it is fine. I will have my child and a quiet life here and I will not have to see him with her."<br /> After a few weeks of settling in at Fernwick, I wrote the warrior a short note. I told him I got pregnant and had begun my confinement and offered him a chance to do the right thing.<br /> I asked him to allow me to live in Fernwick and never destroy the peace I felt here with her presence. But it would all depend on how much he hated me, I supposed.<br /> ————<br /> My baby continued to grow over the next three weeks. Looking at my belly, I couldn't believe I had another two or three weeks to go.<br /> There had been no reply to my letter and I realized that no answer was my answer. Perhaps he was waiting to hear if I had birthed an heir or a daughter before replying.<br /> Two days later, my peace was interrupted as I was walking by the creek. One of the maids came rushing to me, all in a tizzy. <br /> "Milady, your husband is arrived!"	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1,229,122	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":1229395}'	Yes	2024-04-14 15:13	active	526	404902532491980	🔥🔥 Click to Read 👉🏻👉🏻	My plan to continue dating him all through college vanished to void due to a note.<br /> 'Sabrina, I know we planned to spend college together here in San Diego, but I can't pass up this opportunity. I will always love you, but I have to say goodbye for now.'<br /> He's gone. <br /> I didn't even get to tell him I was pregnant.<br /> Four years later...<br /> "Josh is the last groomsmen?!" <br /> I was in my best friend Elena's meeting with her wedding planner.<br /> She looked over at me with a worried look.<br /> God, what would happen when he saw the girls or when I finally saw him? <br /> What if I blurt out that he's a father?<br /> ————————<br /> Sabrina POV<br /> I'm pregnant.<br /> I can't believe this. Josh and I are going to have a baby.<br /> We haven't even started college yet.<br /> What if he leaves?<br /> I was completely lost in thought as I walked through the front door of my house. Jordyn, my little sister, was sitting on the couch cuddled up in a blanket watching a re-run of Friends.<br /> "Have you seen Mom or Dad?" I asked wanting to tell them about the baby first.<br /> "Mom just went out to get some groceries, and Dad is still at work," Jojo responded looking up at me with her brown eyes while her light brown hair was thrown into a messy bun on top of her head. I guess telling them can wait.<br /> "Okay, I'm going to grab something from my room, and then go over to Josh's."<br /> I need to tell him.<br /> "Oh yeah," Jojo began. "He came by earlier, but you weren't here so he left you a note. It's on the kitchen counter."<br /> I gave her a confused expression before heading toward the kitchen. There was a piece of paper laying on top of the counter. When I picked it up, I noticed his rushed handwriting.<br /> Sabrina,<br /> I know we planned to spend college together here in San Diego, but I can't pass up this opportunity. I have to take the scholarship in Florida, and I hope you understand. I will always love you, but I have to say goodbye for now.<br /> I love you,<br /> Josh<br /> I let the paper slip from hands as my legs gave out. I fell to the floor with a thud loud enough to alert Jojo who came into the kitchen.<br /> Florida? He never even told me about a scholarship.<br /> I continued to stare off into space trying to wrap my brain around what just happened. When Jojo got no response from me, she picked up the paper and read it herself. As she wrapped her arms around me in a reassuring hug, a tear fell down my cheek, and then a sob escape my lips.<br /> He's gone.<br /> He's gone, and left me with our baby growing in my stomach.<br /> He left me.<br /> ....<br /> It has officially been four years since Josh left me and all his friends and family here in San Diego. A lot has changed. My beautiful daughters, Brynlee Reese and Keegan Ryder, are now three years old. <br /> My dad died from brain cancer last year after battling long enough to see his granddaughters turn two. He loved them more than anything. It's been hard for us, especially my mom, but we're getting by. <br /> I graduated from the University of San Diego last year with a teaching degree in English, and am going on my second year of teaching at my old high school, Fremont High School. Jordyn, my 17 year old sister, is a junior there.<br /> Ever since my pregnancy, I've had help from my family, Josh's family, and our friends. I couldn't really hide Josh's daughters from his parents since the girls are their granddaughters, and they promised not to tell him. <br /> Let's just say that they weren't too pleased with how Josh left. I've tried to tell Josh about Brynlee and Keegan, but he doesn't answer any of my calls or I chickened out. <br /> Cory and Tyler have offered to tell him since he actually keeps in contact with them, along with his family, but I want him to hear it from me. <br /> Now, I think it's a little too late to tell him especially since he's happy on his own. He's off playing professional baseball for the New York Yankees while dating multiple girls, according to the gossip sites.<br /> Josh's sister, Delaney, got married last year at a destination wedding that only included close family members. I was invited since the girls are her nieces, but I declined the invitation knowing I would have to see him. She is now a pediatrician while her husband, Landon Gray, took over his father's oil company. <br /> My best friend, Elena Pratt, just graduated from nursing school and started her new job at the local hospital. She is also currently engaged to Tyler Stephens, Josh and I's best friend. They've been dating since our junior year of high school. Tyler works alongside Landon as the financial manager. <br /> Cory Sutton, Josh and I's other best friend, is now a gym teacher and baseball coach at Fremont High School. He was suppose to become a professional baseball player like Josh, but he suffered a serious shoulder injury which ended his playing days. Teaching was always his backup.<br /> The continuous jumping on my bed followed by loud giggles disturbed my sleep. My eyes fluttered open to see two toddlers wide awake.<br /> "Mommy!" Keegan screamed as she jumped onto me with the intention of a hug. Her knotted brown hair fell to the sides of her face as her big brown eyes gleamed with excitement. Brynlee continued jumping as her blonde hair bounced with her.<br /> "Good morning to you girlies too," I responded hugging Keegan as Brynlee cuddled to my side. "What do you girls want for breakfast?"<br /> "WAFFLES!" They both squealed jumping from the bed as they ran out of my bedroom. I then got up from the comfort of my bed sheets and put my fuzzy gray robe on over my pajamas that consisted of shorts and an old t-shirt. When I reached the kitchen, the girls were there digging the Eggo waffles out of the freezer.<br /> "Can you put the box on the counter for me?" I asked as I pulled out the toaster from one of the many cabinets. Keegan did as I told her and then ran to the living room with Brynlee following behind. She then turned on the TV to their favorite show, Doc McStuffins. I put three waffles into the toaster and waited for them to pop back out when they were done.<br /> Looking over at the girls brought back memories. I was absolutely shocked when I found out I was having twins.<br /> I laid down waiting for the doctor to enter while my mom sat in the nearby chair. I anxiously played with my long painted nails looking down at my small bump. Soon enough the doctor came into the room.<br /> "Hello, I'm Dr. Valente. You must be Sabrina and her mom," she greeted shaking my mom's hand then moving over to me. "Are we ready to see the little one?"<br /> I nodded my head as she instructed what to do before putting the gel on my stomach. She had the screen pointed towards her allowing me to only see the shocked expression on her face.<br /> "What's wrong?" I asked suddenly worried.<br /> "Nothing's wrong, but it looks like you're having twins." The minute the words came out of her mouth, my jaw dropped to the floor.<br /> I'm having two babies.<br /> The sudden sound of waffles popping out of the toaster brought me back to reality. I began to fix me and the girls a plate before calling them over to the dining table. As they scooped pieces of the waffle into their mouth, I got a text from Elena.<br /> Are you on your way??<br /> Yes but we might be a little late.<br /> I completely lost track of time and now we're going to be late for Elena's meeting with her wedding planner. Since I'm the maid of honor, she wants me there too.<br /> It's currently 10:25, and we have to be at her house at 10:30 which is a 7 minute drive. Great.<br /> "Girls, go brush your teeth and then come to your bedroom," I instructed grabbing the empty plates from the table and rinsing them off in the sink. They sprinted off to the bathroom while I went to pick out their outfits for today.<br /> I pulled two matching floral dresses from their closet as they came running in. I then grabbed their white converses and helped them get dressed.<br /> Once finished they ran to the living room where Doc McStuffins was still playing on the TV. While they were occupied, I ran over to my room to get myself dressed. I put on a simple black and white striped button up that was halfway tucked into light denim shorts. I then slipped on sandals before pulling my blonde hair into a high ponytail.<br /> After brushing my teeth and putting on my makeup, I got the girls out the apartment door and we headed to the car. I buckled them into their car seats and started the car. When Will My Life Begin from Tangled played non stop the whole car ride.<br /> We soon arrived to Elena and Tyler's house. Once Keegan was free from the buckles, she sprinted from where the car was parked on the driveway into Tyler's arms. As soon as he saw the car pull in, he slammed the door open ready to see his nieces. Brynlee, on the other hand, was fast asleep in her car seat. She stirred slightly when I picked her up, and then laid her head on my shoulder.<br /> "Is someone sleepy?" I asked in the voice you make when talking to a child. She then nodded with her eyes still closed making me chuckle.<br /> I entered into the house to see Elena and another woman sitting at the kitchen counter. They didn't notice me at first until Bryn let out a little yawn.<br /> "Hey Sab, this is Rebecca, my wedding planner. Rebecca, this is my best friend and maid of honor, Sabrina," Elena introduced. I smiled at the red-headed woman in front of me. Rebecca had to be in her mid-forties, but she was in incredible shape.<br /> "It's nice to meet," I greeted shaking her hand. "I need to lay this little one down somewhere so I'll be right back."<br /> I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room were Keegan and Tyler were both watching Peppa Pig. I set Bryn on the couch and she immediately cuddled into Tyler's side.<br /> "How's the little princess?" Ty asked cuddling her.<br /> "Sleepy," I answered. "Well I need to go back to your fiancée so make sure they don't injure themselves."<br /> "Are you still holding that against me?"<br /> "You dropped my daughter."<br /> "So what do we have so far?" I asked coming back into the kitchen after a small argument with Tyler. I won!<br /> "The color scheme is going to be burgundy and gold. We've also set the date for November 6 which is a Saturday," Elena answered as I sat in the chair next to her.<br /> "Now we'll discuss who's in the wedding and the smaller details like decorations," Rebecca directed. "So who all is in the wedding?"<br /> "Well we have both of our parents. Sabrina is my maid of honor. Tyler's best friend, Cory, is his best man. Our flower girls are Keegan and Brynlee, Sabrina's daughters. The ring bearer is Tyler's cousin, Nathan."<br /> "Okay, what about bridesmaids and groomsmen?"<br /> "For bridesmaids, I have Delaney, Angela, Kelly, Haley, and Jordyn," she listed. Delaney is Josh's sister which we are both really close to. Angela and Kelly are two soon-to-be nurses that Elena met at med school. Haley is her 14 year old sister while Jordyn is my sister.<br /> "For the groomsmen, there is Landon, Calum, Griffin, Scott, and..." her voice faded as she looked over at me with a worried look as I just gave her a confused look back. Landon is Delaney's husband and Tyler's boss/ friend. Calum is a buddy from college. Griffin is Tyler's 17 year old brother, and Scott is his 12 year old brother.<br /> Who else is there... wait.<br /> I immediately changed my confused expression to one of horror.<br /> "Who is the last groomsmen?" Rebecca asked clearly not seeing the look on my face.<br /> "Josh," Elena said the one name that made my world come crashing down.<br /> This is going to be one h-ll of a wedding.<br /> ————<br /> Josh's POV<br /> I was sitting on my tan couch looking at the muted TV in front of me as I waited for Tyler to answer his phone. Luckily, he answered on the third ring.<br /> "Hey man, shouldn't you being doing something baseball related?" He asked.<br /> "Hey," I greeted. "Today is my day off."<br /> "Ah, so why are you calling me at 8 in the morning on your day off? You should be sleeping in."<br /> "I guess I'm just use to waking up early," I lied knowing that I didn't even sleep last night. I mean how could I? This penthouse is quite lonely when you're actually in it. I'm barely ever here due to playing. When I am here I tend to think, and thinking leads to no sleep.<br /> Most of the time, I am out like a light when I hit my bed since training wore me out, but I wasn't necessarily tired.<br /> "We both know that's a lie. You didn't sleep last night did you?"<br /> He knows me too well.<br /> "Maybe."<br /> "Is it about Sabrina?" He asked already knowing the answer to that question. It's always about her. She's in my mind all the time. I like to use playing and partying as a way to forget about her, but it never works. I even try to get with other girls, but back out when it comes to taking them home. They're just not her.<br /> "Can we not talk about it?" I asked ready to change the subject. "What are you doing right now?"<br /> "It's 8 o'clock on a Monday morning. What do you think I'm doing?"<br /> "Sorry. Did I interrupt anything at work?" I cringe knowing I didn't even think about him possibly being busy.<br /> "Nah, I just got here," he said knowing I would feel guilty for interrupting something.<br /> "You're a jerk."<br /> "I know. Now why are you calling me?"<br /> "Can't I just say hi to my friend?"<br /> "Not when we literally talked last night about the wedding," he reminded. Last night, after the meeting with the wedding planner, he gave me the details of the date so I could work it out with my schedule. That also reminds me that I need to talk to Coach.<br /> "Fine," I gave in. "I just want to know how she is."<br /> "Sabrina is fine. Today is actually the first day of school."<br /> "Was she nervous?"<br /> "Why don't you ask her yourself?" These past few years, I've constantly asked Cory and Tyler how Sab was doing. They would get annoyed every once in a while, and they were pretty mad at me when I first left. I completely understand though. What I did was a bad move, but there's no way to take it back.<br /> "Because if I call her and hear her voice, I know I'm going to automatically get a plane ticket to San Diego."<br /> "You're going to have to see her at the wedding though."<br /> "I know."<br /> "Just making sure," he said followed by a pause. "Well I have to go, boss man needs me."<br /> "Bye." I then hung up the phone and headed to my bedroom to get dressed. My room was painted dark gray while everything else was also a different shade of gray. It was quite boring, but it looked nice.<br /> The sliding door to my closet opened when I pushed the button on the wall. I walked in and picked out a simple white T-shirt. Then I paired that with denim jeans and my famous leather jacket. After throwing on some shoes, I left my fancy penthouse and made my way to the elevator.<br /> Waiting for the barista to tell me my coffee was ready, created a chance for everyone in the cafe to keep looking at me. No one said anything, but they made it very clear that they knew who I was.<br /> "JOSH!" The barista yelled sliding a to-go coffee cup onto the counter. I swiftly grabbed it and thanked him before walking out.<br /> I then proceeded to walk along the busy sidewalk as I headed to the Yankee stadium. Usually I would get an Uber, but the traffic was extremely bad this morning.<br /> Soon enough, I arrived at the stadium after a 15 minute walk. I went straight to our locker room and saw some rookies packing up their bags.<br /> Coach Gibson's office was to the right of the entrance which was where I was headed. I knocked before entering, and he was sitting at his desk reading something on his phone.<br /> "Hey Coach," I greeted as he looked up for a split second.<br /> "Hey Parker. What are you doing here, it's your day off?"<br /> "I know, but I needed to ask you about my schedule."<br /> "You could have just called me."<br /> "Yeah, but I wanted to get out of my place for a little," I said causing him to give me a knowing look. The first week of playing on the team, Coach could automatically tell that something was always in the back of my mind. He asked me about and I told me about Sabrina. He was pretty skeptical about it seeing I may get distracted, but I promised that it would not bother my playing. Fortunately, it never did. Playing was my distraction and passion.<br /> "So what's this about your schedule?"<br /> "My buddy's wedding is on November 6, and I was wondering if I could go back home for a week or two?"<br /> "You're a good player, Parker. So I'm going to clear your schedule from September 10 to November 10. Does that sound good?" He asked looking at the calendar on his desk.<br /> "That sounds great," I said happy to get a little break from the tough training.<br /> "Okay, but I have a few conditions," he began. "You have to promise me that you'll go to the gym every other day, and keep practicing your pitching. Got it?"<br /> "Got it," I stated getting up to leave as he went back to his phone. "Thanks Coach."<br /> "Oh and Parker," he said stopping me from leaving as I turned to face him. "While you're there, try and work this whole thing out with that girl."<br /> With those parting words, I was off to my next stop.<br /> I knocked on the wooden door of my manager's house, and it soon opened to reveal a tired man.<br /> "Hey Jimmy," I greeted. Jimmy Davis is my manager's husband.<br /> "Hey Josh, what are you doing here?" He asked letting me in. Their house had a homey feel with lots of pictures of their family on the wall. Angela, my manager, has two kids. Their eldest, Mason, is three, and their youngest, Elise, just turned one.<br /> "I actually need to talk to Angela about my friend's wedding," I responded right as a little boy in monster truck pajamas came running into the living room.<br /> "JOSH!" He exclaimed throwing his arms around one of my legs in an attempt at a hug. To help him out, I swiftly picked him up.<br /> "Hey buddy! Are you causing your parents any trouble?"<br /> "No, but El keeps crying," he explains. Angela then walks in with a little girl cuddled in her arms.<br /> "Jimmy," Angela sighs, "can you hold Elise while I talk to Josh?"<br /> Jimmy grabs El from his wife's arms and heads for the kitchen with Mason trailing behind. I then turn to Angela who is trying to clean up some of the toys on the floor.<br /> "So what's this about a wedding?" She asks me as we both sit down.<br /> "One of my best friends, back at home, is having his wedding, and I'm a groomsmen. Coach already said it was fine for me to go, he cleared my schedule for 2 months. I'm just making sure that's fine with you."<br /> "Wow, two months is pretty generous for that man, but that's fine with me."<br /> "Great." As I got up to leave so I wouldn't be much of a bother anymore, she stopped me and pointed her figure back to the chair.<br /> "I'm not done with you," she stated. "I know Sabrina is probably going to be there so I want you to be smart about your decisions. Don't go getting st-face drunk and regretting something in the morning."<br /> "I promise I won't." She's had to deal with me making mistakes while drunk too many times. I've had online gossip sites catch me at multiple clubs with multiple girls.<br /> "Also while you're there maybe go help out your other friend, Cory, with the baseball team," she suggested and I nodded in agreement. That's actually a good idea.<br /> I soon left their house after saying goodbye to the kids. As I sat in the Uber to go back to my penthouse, I got a call from Cory.<br /> "Hey man, I was just about to call you," I said picking up the phone. The driver then pulled in front of the building as I got out.<br /> "Yeah, Tyler texted me saying you were talking to Coach about the wedding. What'd he say?" He asked as I made my way up to my floor.<br /> "Well lets just say I'm coming home a little earlier."<br /> "How early?"<br /> "September 10."<br /> "Wow!"<br /> "Yeah, I was actually wondering if I could help you coach a few days a week?"<br /> "That would be great. The guys really look up to you."<br /> "Awesome," I said taking a seat on the living room couch. "Also don't tell Tyler that I'm coming early, I want to surprise him."<br /> "Got it."<br /> "So what's up?" I asked switching the subject. "I heard it's the first day of school."<br /> "Yeah I just got done with one of my classes, and now I'm off to my lunch break. What about you?"<br /> "I just got back to my house. I'll probably get something to eat soon," I responded. He was about to say something when another voice sounded from the background.<br /> "Cory, if you don't hurry up, I'm leaving your a-s here," I heard her growl out.<br /> Sabrina.<br /> The sound of her voice just hit me. It hasn't changed one bit, and man do I miss it.<br /> "Well I got to go. See you soon," he ended the call leaving me to think about her.<br /> I have exactly 2 weeks until I see her again, and I'm not sure if I'm completely ready.<br /> ————<br /> Josh's POV<br /> I walked out of the gym with my shirt hanging over my shoulder, my water bottle in one hand, and my phone in the other. Before I made it to my car, a blonde girl stood in front of my door.<br /> "Hello, hot stuff," she greeted with a smirk and a wink.<br /> "Hi?" I questioned wondering who this woman is.<br /> "I'm Tiffany, and I was just about to go to the gym when I saw you," she explained.<br /> "You were about to go to the gym in jeans?" I asked taking in her outfit. Does she think I'm stupid?<br /> "Yeah-," she was cut off by the sound of my phone ringing. I looked down to see it was Cory calling.<br /> "I have to take this," I stated as she moved away from the door allowing me to get in my car. I immediately answered the phone while also starting the car.<br /> "Hey man, what's up?" I greeted as I pulled out of the parking lot leaving the girl standing there.<br /> "Nothing much. I actually need your help coming up with ideas for Tyler's bachelor party."<br /> "Well Tyler is a kid at heart, so I would definitely do something fun like a trampoline park or an amusement park," I responded as I heard loud squeals in the background. It's sounds like an actual child.<br /> "Hold on," he told me. "Keegan get down from the counter you're going to fall."<br /> Who's Keegan?<br /> "Okay, I'm back," he stated after a long pause filled with giggles. "A trampoline park sounds great."<br /> "Yeah," I agreed still confused. "Who's Keegan?"<br /> "Oh-," he was cut off by the sound of cries. "St. Brynlee, what did your mother say about running down the stairs? Hey man, I have to go. Talk to you later."<br /> Before I could respond back, he hung up.<br /> Who is Keegan? Who is Brynlee? Whose kids are they? Did Cory have kids without telling me?	LEARN_MORE	https://a.libynovel.com/ad/bGlieS8xNDg1OTEvMjAyNDA	108133278947193	LiB002	https://facebook.com/100092178008070	63	1	946,079,117,003,140	2024-04-14 02:00	person_profile	eligible	NONE	0	1	0	Learn more	LiB002	120207338226930691	a.libynovel.com	NONE	video		https://a.libynovel.com/ad/bGlieS8xNDg1OTEvMjAyNDA0MTExNjM3MDQvcGFnZQ==?adid={{ad.id}}		2024-04-11 03:55	https://scontent-ord5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/436770736_291680923975524_8047838989478616747_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=9wLsqO_nHXcAb5ceXBN&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-2.xx&oh=00_AfBUf4HJRMMfhaMeSl0XkF_pe9-alY_Mw4DXGKNU641H5Q&oe=6621EF72	person_profile	0	LiB002	https://scontent-ord5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/437754599_972879601076241_4596013437956418737_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=rjvkbunYy-kAb6xDc4A&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-1.xx&oh=00_AfDFGh_Ar2DT-M8pSazoNiVl5-PSeMdCjVtdEvnJ-NxFJQ&oe=66221173	3	LiB002	2024-04-14 02:00	View Edit Delete
1,225,890	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) null	No	2024-04-14 15:08	active	526	3686852361571570		Time to shake up this weekend with some new looks! 🫨🤭 Shop these fits now on <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FKellyObi.com%2F&h=AT3tbop2p1LmS4owNcKaqySmcA_K_HO3L5tHEk_UArBKRhyhb4bSP8XR7bmoay0s_A1wkmiVndnXh2BnNq6EJnpna-iBZ0KFHZ_KNq9EydmAY0BtkhfEadT6VaDetMz93Btj_8Rp2waQD09XrYFhwHzDpOMDAg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" target="_blank" data-lynx-mode="asynclazy">KellyObi.com</a> #TapToShop #ShopYourVibe 🔥✨<br /> <br /> 🎥 @dexterityproductions	LEARN_MORE	https://www.instagram.com/kellyobi.ny?igsh=czZ2czF	116791414665998	Kelly Obi New York	https://facebook.com/KellyObiNewYork	7,885	1	1,636,660,967,161,287	2024-04-14 02:00	person_profile	eligible	NONE	1	1	0	Learn more	Kelly Obi New York	120207910845260606	www.instagram.com	NONE	video		https://www.instagram.com/kellyobi.ny?igsh=czZ2czFseHB3cGpv		2024-04-06 06:40	https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/434472820_745882274344996_7469404061128634253_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=_t5gz7jzueEAb59ngdU&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.xx&oh=00_AfBEPVSjdP5WLS00sifC0I_ieIHhAIx971yLgQVO3UlBDg&oe=6621FDB1	person_profile	0	Kelly Obi New York	https://scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/434074004_1111307313408418_8097271560464252636_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=Kt4RFk7rcYkAb4hQO5m&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.xx&oh=00_AfD9OS2CDJRT5RAUUDPlD6Hn5Ort5onxud18EaPztxwO7g&oe=6621FE9A	3	Kelly Obi New York	2024-04-07 02:00	View Edit Delete
1,228,932	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) null	No	2024-04-14 15:13	active	526	1930270107429955		Hey fam, happy Friday….my new track “Energy” is now available on pre-order @Traxsource! <br /> <br /> <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.traxsource.com%2Ftitle%2F2247853%2Fenergy-can-u-feel-it&h=AT2E66c3HQA4D1J5BM5peJc71htPcIjGgjUh_NKUAmYSXo1koXRAKPumJCdqRwjBHZ3bdOT87BWOSBduyM_jekFTAgeUMUCf6jne0V-cm10aylwORQSwNAITbAsEn1SHbrZQ3P-wKtOWneYZRQkbFekflacmWH49nnDCealE" rel="nofollow noreferrer" target="_blank" data-lynx-mode="async">https://www.traxsource.com/title/2247853/energy-can-u-feel-it</a><br /> <br /> Thank you to DJ Spen Kelly Spencer and the Quantize Recordings & Unquantize crew for blessing this track! <br /> <br /> Link in bios<br /> <br /> #TGBTG #onelove #djkahnti #quantize #unquantize	VIEW_INSTAGRAM_PROFILE	http://instagram.com/djkahnti	140831749114879	djkahnti	https://www.instagram.com/_u/djkahnti	0	1	945,212,317,250,202	2024-04-14 02:00	ig_ads_identity	eligible	NONE	1	1	1	Visit Instagram profile	djkahnti	120208556173760402	instagram.com	NONE	video		http://instagram.com/djkahnti		2024-04-14 12:55	https://scontent-dfw5-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-19/385850701_1362932024434105_4736129173709006103_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s200x200&_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=3fd06f&_nc_ohc=DjtXw85NnusAb7jqs7b&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.cdninstagram.com&oh=00_AfBud6RVcftfptRpmHlH6cbkY1Wa2WQwI71zWLuX6-Hn-w&oe=66222047	ig_ads_identity	1	KAHNTI	https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/437942979_386034454406467_316115606088025761_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=H67WEHql8JgAb4vhb_l&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=00_AfCU5MEPka5lUtBojCv40xL-58gjmtbdOQVSyFPNURP76A&oe=6621F422	3	djkahnti	2024-04-14 02:00	View Edit Delete
1,226,624	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":1226600}'	Yes	2024-04-14 15:09	active	526	320946847328520	CLEARANCE! ONLY R 39.99	⌨️ Boost productivity with our Computer Desk featuring Touch Control. <br /> 🖥️ Organize your workspace efficiently. Elevate your work experience! 🚀📚👇<br /> <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jaoesty.com%2Fproducts%2Fcomputer-desk%3Fsku%3D18063751902698059938381430&h=AT1sMFmP7E4VrlXBvc3jquQ4s8Jwr_DhNIQM-2DNGoHxlYuGzgJgerTqeoz9tWzkCV3LgHlyKf69UGpOgD4xm5F607HSEFnd0nReJCeFgCHqIb3wLJFP25grKekSjH5Z19eWuIt8PQ-27Ro47GTabA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-lynx-mode="asynclazy">https://www.jaoesty.com/products/computer-desk?sku=18063751902698059938381430</a>	LEARN_MORE	https://www.jaoesty.com/products/computer-desk?sku	122910260907864	Kristi Kelly	https://facebook.com/61551065295463	9	0	777,383,237,241,878	2024-04-08 02:00	person_profile	eligible	NONE	1	0	0	Learn more	Kristi Kelly	120207414955530640	www.jaoesty.com	NONE	video	FREE DELIVERY	https://www.jaoesty.com/products/computer-desk?sku=18063751902698059938381430		2024-03-14 03:22	https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/432312273_1092163595448168_5314613407715316763_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60&_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=YRDy67Zt378Ab6WKWXU&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-2.xx&oh=00_AfDK2IwwCFaFUiJ0a5GQ2x6QyMpMEyOQIiVYR3gFNg4S_Q&oe=6622236A	person_profile	0	Kristi Kelly	https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/432361570_730485032571199_9062484675740060745_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=z3C_LWaULNoAb6Tnjjs&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-1.xx&oh=00_AfBDPPJVvvb2M6BlgBB_LwKPcJV-bhzeuTFN5-cNQcEVhw&oe=6621EE10	3	Kristi Kelly	2024-04-07 02:00	View Edit Delete
1,229,157	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":1229342}'	Yes	2024-04-14 15:13	active	526	728495229488045	🔥🔥 Click to Read 👉🏻👉🏻	Marrying this magnificent warrior was my ideal but after marriage...<br /> "Why do you cry?" His rough voice is baffled. "Wife, look at me."<br /> That word. That word I used to love and now despise. More tears well up in my eyes.<br /> "You want an answer? Fine. I do not like being married to you. For you, keeping mistresses is a tradition. For me, it's the worst insult you can give a wife. I've had enough."<br /> A cold anger slips over his features. "That is unfortunate since we are wed. You have no choice but to accept."<br /> "You're wrong. I'll do my duty and give you an heir, but no more than that."<br /> ————————<br /> "You spend much time out here, I'm told."<br /> My body stiffens as the one voice I'm trying to escape invades my senses. The garden has become one of my refuges and after three months, I thought I was safe out here, safe from his presence and hers. Heaven knows, I've watered just about every plant out here with my tears. The flowers can attest to my misery, but no one else can.<br /> Except now, if he looks at my face, he'll see that I'm crying.<br /> Would he care?<br /> Making a move as if I'm wiping sweat from my face, I attempt to remove the evidence of my pain.<br /> "My lady wife, do you ignore me?"<br /> Still keeping my back to him, I shrug and continue pulling the weeds. "I wasn't aware that an observation made by you required a response."<br /> "I've wondered where you disappear to."<br /> Not enough to find out the answer.<br /> That's the wrong thing to think since it causes more tears to slide down my face. Before I can wipe them away, his hand grasps my arm, pulling me up to face him. I don't look at him, but I can feel the intensity of his gaze as he studies my face.<br /> Humiliation complete.<br /> "Why do you cry?"<br /> His rough voice is honestly baffled, as if he cannot understand how someone in my situation could have any sorrow.<br /> "Wife, look at me."<br /> That word. That word I used to love and now despise. More tears well up in my eyes, but I force myself to meet his gaze.<br /> "Tell me what causes these tears. You have been different since I brought you here after we wedded."<br /> He wants an answer, so I give him the absolute truth. After all these months of holding it in, I wrap up everything in one short sentence.<br /> "I do not like being married to you."<br /> He wasn't expecting that answer and I can feel his whole body lock tight and his hand flexes on my arm.<br /> "What is not to your liking?"<br /> That almost makes me laugh, his voice is positively confused, as if I have everything a woman could want so how could I possibly be upset?<br /> Shaking my head, I answer softly, "It matters not."<br /> "It matters. I would not have my wife cry." Heavens! That deep voice of his, so rough yet so gentle, as it was when we had our glorious month together before our wedding. Back when I was hopeful for our future, when I looked forward to marrying this magnificent warrior and being his wife in every way. Back when I thought he cared for me, when I thought the look in his eyes was full of, if not love, then caring.<br /> Back before he shattered all my ideals and dreams.<br /> "Once I am with child, I would ask you to allow me to remove to another of your estates."<br /> "Ah," he says as if understanding is dawning. "You do not like Bellford Keep. That is fine. There are others we can go to."<br /> Typical man. Problem solved. Completely missing the actual point.<br /> Looking at the ground, I shake my head. "You misunderstand me. I wish to go to another estate alone. Without you."<br /> Again, his body locks solid.<br /> "I would have your eyes for what I say next, wife." Grudgingly, I meet his eyes. And what I see in his is frightening in its intensity, its fury. "My wife will not live away from me. Ever. Do not bring this up again."<br /> "Being with you brings me nothing but misery."<br /> He looks as if I've slapped him his shock is so great at my audacity.<br /> Then a cold anger slips over his features. "That is unfortunate since we are wed."<br /> "Leave me," I dismiss him, not thinking.<br /> Clearly the wrong thing to say as he leans down so his face is only inches from mine. "You do not command, wife. You would do well to remember your place."<br /> "I assure you, I am never able to forget my place here."<br /> Those tears spill over again, both my bitterness and heartbreak pouring out. What is wrong with me?<br /> "You must learn to be happy in your situation. Any other woman would be happy to be my bride."<br /> "Well then you should have married one of them. I find no pleasure in being your wife."<br /> He grins at me.<br /> Actually grins.<br /> "You lie. You found great pleasure last night. And every night I come to your bed since we have been married."<br /> I think, in that moment, I actually hate him.<br /> "And that is the problem. I am not the only one you find pleasure with. So whatever pleasure you may give to me, believe me when I say it is only physical and only temporary. My heart and my mind remain unswayed by you and wish to be far away from you because the pain you inflict is so much greater than the fleeting pleasure."<br /> Since I can't force the warrior to leave, I spin around and storm off to the stables.<br /> He doesn't follow.<br /> Why should he follow his unhappy wife when his mistress is always there, always happy?<br /> ————<br /> I head into the stables, waving off Braden, the stablemaster. I need no help, nor do I want it, from this man or any man. In minutes, I'm leading my stallion, Sir Neigh, out of the barn and I quickly mount up.<br /> Braden yells after me when he sees me take off, no guard in sight. He thought I'd come to groom my boy, not go riding. He is used to me riding only in the mornings, never in the late afternoon near the evening meal.<br /> However, I plan on missing the meal tonight and all nights going forward so I do not have to watch her watching my husband in the common room any longer.<br /> It hurts. It hurts me so badly. I always wonder if my parents knew, when they married me off to the warrior, that his peoples' tradition included the males keeping and flaunting their mistresses. Knowing my parents, and the great love between the two of them, and just the two of them, I cannot imagine they did or they would not have given me over to him.<br /> I can't return to my parents' home because my father would return me not out of malice but because a wife belongs with her husband. He would give me sanctuary if I had been physically mistreated, but since I am not, he has no reason to protect me.<br /> I sigh as I realize I have no choice but to continue to live here, my heart dying a little more every day as I sleep alone in my bed, the warrior not alone in his. He is with her. My only hope is that someday he will allow me to live away from him at one of his other estates. Since he doesn't seem to care about family, maybe once he has his heir, he will let us go.<br /> Defeat is hard for me to accept, and as soon as I think that thought, my anger at myself grows. Who says I have to accept my lot? What if I were to run away? I had some money my mother slipped into my trunk before we left.<br /> "A woman should always have her own money," she'd whispered and I'd nodded my understanding. "Unpack it when you get home and hide it well in case there is ever need for it."<br /> She was assuming in case we were ever overrun with raiders, I could use it to ransom my husband if he were ever taken.<br /> I also had jewelry I could sell.<br /> Thinking back to the first – and only – time he had given jewelry to me, I frown. It was the day we had arrived at Bellford and I discovered...her.<br /> A servant had summoned me to his library and the warrior waited in there for me, holding a velvet bag in his hand.<br /> I'd walked into the room, keeping my eyes to the floor, even after I heard the servant bow out and close the door.<br /> "I have made arrangements for Mrs. Kelly to give you a tour of the estate and to go over household matters with you. Bellford Keep has been without a mistress since the old lord and lady died."<br /> I continued to stare at the ground and I did not acknowledge that I heard him. His boots came into my view after a few moments of silence.<br /> "Are you well, my lady wife?"<br /> Just a short nod from me as answer.<br /> His fingers nudged my chin up, but I still managed to keep my eyes downcast. "What is wrong that you will neither speak to me nor look me in the eye?"<br /> "May I leave?" I asked.<br /> Sensing his irritation, I was not surprised that his answer was swift. "No, you may not. I would like to know the cause of your distress and I have a surprise for you."<br /> That got him my eyes, but they were enraged. "I never want another surprise from you ever again."<br /> "This one you will like," he assured me, and spilled the contents of the velvet bag into his hand. It was a beautiful diamond and emerald necklace.<br /> Pushing his hand away, I snapped. "I want nothing from you. Give it to her, give all of your gifts to her. But do not ever attempt to give me a gift, ever again. You have nothing I want."<br /> Then I left him in his library, holding the jewelry I rejected.<br /> The memory was bitter and made me reconsider accepting his gifts. Perhaps I should have taken them, then I could sell them and book passage on a ship to another country and start a new life there, never having to see the warrior with her again.<br /> About half an hour from home, I see a rider heading toward me with a torch raised high. He reins in as he comes alongside me.<br /> "Milady, are you well?"<br /> I smile at his concern. "Thank you, yes, Sir Alcarn."<br /> "Were you lost?"<br /> "No; I only lost track of time and rode farther than I thought. When I realized and turned back, I could not allow Sir Neigh to run as he had earlier, when there was still sun."<br /> "Everyone is out looking for you."<br /> What on earth? "Why?"<br /> His look is part relief and part anger. "You disappeared, milady, without an escort, and you missed the evening meal. Then when you still did not return, my lord sent all of his warriors out to find you."<br /> "Yes, I'm sure he couldn't be bothered to look himself."<br /> That bit of bitterness came out before I could stop my mouth. I'd broken a rule of my own, that no one should know of my marital discord, and I fidgeted uncomfortably in my saddle.<br /> "No, milady. He was the first one out to look for you when you didn't show up for the evening meal. When he couldn't find you, he sent all of us out, my lord himself included."<br /> With the bit of light we had from the torch, we trotted back toward the keep. Every so often, Alcarn would blow a horn he had shrilly.<br /> "In case anyone is close enough to hear, they will know you have been found and will pass that along."<br /> Sure enough, on the ride back, four more knights joined us, grouping themselves around me.<br /> The upheaval my ride had caused took me by surprise. At home, although my parents didn't like it, I would disappear until well after dark all the time during the summer.<br /> "I apologize," I told my escorts. "At home I would often lose track of the time and return late. My parents never sent out anyone to find me, so I had no idea the warrior would."<br /> "Be prepared, milady," one of my escorts said.<br /> "For what?"<br /> "My lord is not used to being...concerned, and your disappearance did not sit well with him. It's a wonder he didn't kill Braden."<br /> "Why on earth would he do that?"<br /> "Braden knew you'd ridden off and informed no one until he was questioned."<br /> "A mistake he will never make again," Basik chortled.<br /> The keep came into view, other riders coming toward the stables from opposite directions. I thanked my escort, apologized to them and allowed one of them to take Sir and wipe him down so I could head to my chambers.<br /> As soon as my maid undid my laces on my dress, I dismissed her so she could sleep. Then I crawled into my bed and fell to sleep immediately.<br /> I never knew if it was hours or minutes later but the door to my chambers burst open and hit the wall, startling me awake.<br /> Then it was slammed shut and I could barely make out the form of the warrior as he stalked to my bed.<br /> "Do you know what you did?" he growled at me.<br /> An apology would have been the proper thing right then.<br /> "Yes. I'm quite aware I went for a ride."<br /> Quick as a flash, his arms reached out and grabbed me to him, my knees still on the bed. "Now is not the time for your mouth. You caused an uproar, wife, and you inconvenienced me and all my men."<br /> "Oh, I'm so sorry," I cooed. "Did I infringe on the time you could have spent with your bimbo?"<br /> His fingers tightened on my upper arms. "Is that what this is? A tantrum about my camaspoza?"<br /> "Let me go," I hissed.<br /> "You need to learn your place," he snarled back. "I will not have my life disrupted because you cannot accept that which has always been."<br /> "For you, it is tradition. For me, it is the worst insult you can give a wife. It demeans me and my position and every day I hate you more than the day before. I am miserable with you; I abhor the life you are forcing me to live. And I will never accept that which has always been because I will never accept something that destroys me. If I fell dead tomorrow, I would rejoice that my shame would be at an end."<br /> The warrior drew back at the poison I spewed at him.<br /> "You have no choice but to accept."<br /> "You are wrong. I will do my duty by you and give you an heir, but no more than that."<br /> "You cannot keep yourself from me."<br /> "There you are wrong, Warrior. I already do keep myself from you. You have my body, but that is all. Everything else that is in me despises you with a hatred so deep, it is beyond measure."<br /> "Do not fool yourself. Your jealousy makes you think it is hatred, but you are only jealous because you care."<br /> "No. I used to care, and you know that I fell in love with you in our month together before we wed. I was prepared to make you my everything and to share a beautiful life with you, sharing our joys and sorrows and concerns, raising our children together. What I dreamed of was as magnificent as I thought you were. But all of that was gone in a moment when you introduced her to me. It killed everything good I was feeling about us in but a moment, and your lack of respect and your continued humiliation of me – your preference for her – have changed my feelings to quite the opposite of what they were on the day we wed."<br /> "Your body says otherwise."<br /> He didn't understand. "You are skilled in bed, no doubt. You have enough experience to give me pleasure despite my wish otherwise. But you do not touch my heart or my mind or my soul. My parents have a true marriage and that is what I was raised thinking I would have. And instead, I have nothing."<br /> "You have my loyalty and affection and protection."<br /> "I most certainly do not have your loyalty nor do I have your affection."<br /> "I come to your bed; what is that if not affection?"<br /> "That is doing your duty and every time you do, something in me dies. It is not something that enhances our love or our connection as husband and wife; it is assuredly killing anything that I once thought I felt. A body is just a shell."<br /> "A shell that will carry the sons that I release into you."<br /> I look away because what once would have thrilled me breaks my heart, especially given the crude way he says it. "Once I am pregnant, I would like to go into seclusion at another one of your estates."<br /> "No."<br /> "Why?" I demand, frustrated. "What possible reason is there for me to stay once I am pregnant?"<br /> "Because you are my wife and you remain where I say. You need no other reason."<br /> "Just go," I demand.<br /> But he doesn't. "I think I will take my pleasure now, wife."<br /> And he does, but I remain impassive and resistant as long as I can. Which is not long at all.<br /> "Take your pleasure," he whispers into my ear. "It is not shameful to do so."<br /> Tears streaming down my face, I do. I cannot help it. "I hate you," I whisper to him. "I want you to stay away from me."<br /> ————<br /> The next day, the warrior comes to me and tells me that the king's messenger has arrived and summoned him to court immediately. That explains the servants scurrying to pack his trunks and provisions.<br /> "I would take you, but as you pointed out last night, you wish me to stay away from you. So, my lady wife, I shall take her with me instead of you, while you remain here, alone as you wanted. You see? I am a considerate husband who gives his wife what she wants. You may want to consider in the future what you ask of me because I assure you, if it is mine to give, it shall be yours."<br /> I refuse to wave off the party going to court. I have no need to see her riding beside him, her triumphant smile telling me she knows she is preferred over his wife. She holds the warrior's heart; she sleeps beside him at night when he leaves my chambers.<br /> Since I have no idea how long the warrior will be away, I decide to take action. I am tired of having to live my life at his whim. So I ask two young servant boys to bring me two trunks from the attic. They are eager to help and in no time I am packing my dresses and undergarments and shoes and cloaks and hats. One of the things that the warrior had entrusted to me was communication with his nine estates. Should a problem arise, I could handle it or turn it over to the warrior for judgment, but in this he trusted and respected my training. Since he was gone for an unknown time, I decided it was time the lady of the estates met each steward.<br /> The young servant boys happily carried my trunks to the coach and tied them on. Now came the tricky part and dealing with the head guardsman.<br /> "My lord Carrington has asked that I do a tour of his estates while he is on the king's business. I'll need two guards with me. My husband suggested Cheswick and Folroy."<br /> The ones who couldn't read or write, so they could not communicate with anyone on our journeys.<br /> "My lady," Gadding said, "My lord did not mention this to me."<br /> Giving him my most assured and haughty look, I stared him in the eye. "Are you questioning my husband's orders to me? The order he gave to me in a rush due to his unexpected need to attend to the king so suddenly?" I pulled back a little and then hit him with, "Are you saying I am lying about something so important? Would you like to explain to the warrior why I am still here when he returns, my mission not completed?"<br /> As expected, he immediately began to bluster his apologies and said that he would have Cheswick and Folroy make themselves available immediately for our trip. Three hours later, we were off and for the first time since arriving at Bellford Keep, I felt free. After our first estate visit, I told Cheswick and Folroy that I had a letter from my husband summoning them back to Bellford Keep.<br /> I traveled not only to the warrior's nine estates, but also spent two weeks here and there with six different cousins of mine. When we left one estate, I told the steward there where we were going next, and then proceeded to go to a different place. I worried that as we visited one estate, the warrior would have an easier time narrowing down our options, so that was when I interspersed our estate visits with visits to my cousins.<br /> After the first month, I began to suspect something.<br /> After the second month, I knew.<br /> That last night of pleasure before my husband left for the king's court had filled me with a baby. At seven months along now, with all of our visiting done, I was going to head home. Part of my reasoning for visiting the estates was to select my favorite one, and so I did. That it happened to be the farthest from Bellford Keep was part of its allure. Fernwick was much smaller than Bellford, more rustic, but near a charming village that had excellent midwives. It felt homier to me, the right place to enter my confinement period and to birth my child.<br /> Every morning I walked into the village, stopping at the bakery and wandering among the other shops, greeting the villagers. I made friends with all of the wives, who did not stand so much in awe of me as their husbands did because of who my husband was.<br /> I invited the ladies to Fernwick once a week, to talk and discuss happenings in the village. At first, they seemed scared to join me, but after the first two gatherings, we chatted and laughed easily. I had never had friends like this before, and certainly none after my marriage.<br /> They'd even gathered the courage to ask about the warrior and I told them that we would live separately.<br /> "He has...another to keep him company and they suit one another."<br /> Each one of them looked affronted and I know that the poor had different types of unions, but openly carrying on with another who was not your spouse was not acceptable.<br /> "I cannot believe he would choose another over you," Maggie told me brashly. I adored Maggie as she spoke her truths unflinchingly. She was also one of my midwives. "You are his wife."<br /> "Only to give him an heir. Nothing more." I laughed as a particularly hard kick took my breath. "And it is fine. I will have my child and a quiet life here and I will not have to see him with her."<br /> After a few weeks of settling in at Fernwick, I wrote the warrior a short note. I told him I got pregnant and had begun my confinement and offered him a chance to do the right thing.<br /> I asked him to allow me to live in Fernwick and never destroy the peace I felt here with her presence. But it would all depend on how much he hated me, I supposed.<br /> ————<br /> My baby continued to grow over the next three weeks. Looking at my belly, I couldn't believe I had another two or three weeks to go.<br /> There had been no reply to my letter and I realized that no answer was my answer. Perhaps he was waiting to hear if I had birthed an heir or a daughter before replying.<br /> Two days later, my peace was interrupted as I was walking by the creek. One of the maids came rushing to me, all in a tizzy. <br /> "Milady, your husband is arrived!"	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