The Irresistible Bond

“I need to leave. If I keep staying here, I'll die.”

SLAP!!

 “What did I tell you?! You’re utterly incapable of anything! You’re worthless!” My adoptive mother, Diane, hurled the words at me with venom, her voice echoing off the walls before she shoved me forcefully, sending me crashing to the cold floor, my backside absorbing the impact.

A sharp intake of breath escaped me as a jagged fragment of shattered plate pierced my skin, a crimson bloom staining my hand as I clutched it in pain, my eyes betraying the agony I felt.

 I shot a scowl at Rachel, Diane’s daughter, who deliberately pushed me, causing all the plates I was carrying to crash to the ground. With an air of entitlement, she chastised me, her tone dripping with disdain. "You need to be more careful next time! You nearly ruined my shirt!" she whined, her words a twisted mockery of concern.

Frustration simmered within me as I rose from the floor, meeting Diane's furious glare with defiance. Before I could utter a word, her hand connected with my cheek in a stinging slap, sending me reeling to the side.

"Don't you dare look at me like that!" Her voice crackled with fury.

My eyes widened in disbelief as I stared at her. "I wasn't doing anything wrong!" I protested, straightening up defiantly. "I apologize for breaking the plates, but your reaction was completely uncalled for!"

Diane chuckled, her face twisted with evident disdain. "Oh, is that so?" she retorted dismissively. "Two months' worth of your salary will be deducted to cover the cost of the plates you've shattered."

I was stunned by her audacity. "What?" I exclaimed incredulously.

"Clean up this mess and find some work to occupy yourself. You'll be staying here until midnight," she ordered, brushing past me without a second glance.

A scoff of disbelief escaped me as I glanced around the bar, noting the curious stares of the customers witnessing the confrontation.

"Now, what's your next move, Lexi?" Rachel taunted me, her expression dripping with mockery.

"What do you mean, 'what's my next move'?" I shot back, raising an eyebrow in frustration. "You must be thrilled by this turn of events, aren't you?"

She nodded, a sinister smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Indeed I am. It brings me immense pleasure to witness your suffering," she remarked, her tone dripping with malic, causing me to frown at her. I began to take hesitant steps backward in response to the sudden hostility etched across her expression.

“You were never truly accepted into this family," she continued with disdain evident in her voice, her words cutting through the air like a sharpened blade. "So it’s only fair we can do whatever we want to do with you. It's only fitting that we treat you as nothing more than a lowly servant," she spat, her words laced with contempt.

With a forceful shove, she sent me stumbling backward, my back colliding with a solid object, while a firm hand gripped my waist, steadying me.

As I struggled to regain my bearings, I noticed Rachel's gaze fixated on something behind me, her expression shifting from malice to something akin to awe as she stared at an unseen figure with a dreamy gaze, her eyes alight with wonder as if beholding the impossible.

Blinking in confusion, I turned to see what had captured Rachel's attention, my breath catching in my throat as I beheld a towering figure standing before me, his enchanting green eyes boring into mine, his dirty blonde hair impeccably styled, radiating an aura of undeniable charisma and raw magnetism.

"Oh my God," I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper, feeling spellbound by his striking appearance. Could someone truly be this breathtaking?

Before I could gather my wits, Rachel pushed me aside with a dismissive gesture, her focus now directed towards the enigmatic newcomer. “My name is Rachel Atkiss, what's yours?” she inquired, extending her hand towards him with a coy smile, her demeanor shifting from hostility to intrigue in the blink of an eye.

The man took a subtle step backward, his hands casually tucked into his pant pockets as he regarded Rachel with a quizzical expression. "And why do you wish to know?" he queried.

“I'm pretty sure a lot of women have told you that you're handsome,” Rachel asserted, her demeanor bashful yet forthright.

With a nod of acknowledgment, the man turned his gaze towards me, his smile possessing an irresistible charm capable of melting even the sternest of hearts. "But she hasn't," he remarked softly, his words carrying a weight of sincerity as he closed the distance between us, leaving me rooted to the spot, utterly transfixed by his presence.

“You might want to tend to your injured hand," he suggested with a smirk, his voice laced with playful amusement, before gracefully making his exit from the bar.

“Who was that man?" Rachel exclaimed in awe, her eyes wide with wonder. With a sigh, I lowered my gaze and resumed my work.