Natalie“No, no, Amanda,” I said quickly, shaking my head in protest. “Alex isn’t my bodyguard or something. Why would he need to follow me to protect me?”Most times, I didn’t understand Amanda at all. How could she even say something like that?“Means the same thing to me, though,” Amanda snickered, not ready to give up. “What’s his reason for coming here, anyway, if he isn’t going to follow you?”I shook my head briefly. Aside from the fact that I invited him here so we could plan our wedding, he was supposed to be comfortable.I promised I would make sure of that. So, following me to Nashville was not even something he needed to think through.“That’s not his reason for coming here. I invited him over to have the best fun of his life,” I revealed. “So, he’s not going to follow me to Nashville,” I added firmly, hoping Amanda would let go of the conversation.Amanda rolled her eyes furiously, and I could see in her eyes that she was just getting started.“Why not?” she asked quickly

AlexFor a moment, I stood still, wondering what had happened. But I also knew that if I continued standing there, I might lose my chance of finding out what Ken was really up to.I hurried forward, only to come to a crossroads.I hesitated, wondering which direction he could have taken.Then I noticed the little muddy footprints along the second path. That gave him away.I smiled before following them.After walking for a while, I finally caught sight of his silhouette.I released a sigh of relief and slowed down, making sure he wouldn’t notice me this time.Keeping my distance, I kept my eyes fixed on him.He eventually walked toward a small cabin standing alone along the path.There were forests on both sides, as though whoever owned the place loved nature so much that they had decided to build a house right in the middle of it.But considering how far it was from the main road, it wouldn’t be easy to get help if anyone got into trouble here. Besides, I didn’t think people came thi

Alex“What are you talking about? Maybe she stepped out to eat or something.”Cindy shook her head briefly. “She isn’t answering my messages. Besides, she told me to order some food for her, which I already did, but she wasn’t in her room when I got there,” she explained.I hesitated, wondering where she could have gone. She had told me she wouldn’t be going anywhere.I glanced at my wristwatch. It was almost seven in the evening.Then I remembered what Ken had said earlier when I was eavesdropping. He had mentioned inviting Natalie to dinner that night.Could it be that?I walked past Cindy and hurried back to Natalie’s room.I refused to believe that was true though, because she had already promised not to go anywhere.So why would she suddenly leave without even informing me?But I checked everywhere, and she was indeed nowhere to be found.I turned to Cindy.“Oh, rest assured. She did tell me she was going to have dinner with Mr. Ken. She must have left for that,” I assured her, e

AlexMy heart almost stopped at their conversation.I struggled to get back on my feet, shaking my head in an attempt to get rid of the dizziness.But it didn’t help.I was bleeding so much that I could feel some of the blood coating my eyelashes, but that was the least of my problems.I needed to do everything I could to make sure they didn’t get to Natalie before the police arrived.Someone suddenly kicked me in the stomach, doubling the pain I was already experiencing.I dropped to the floor, feeling as though my insides were twisting.“Where do you think you’re going?” someone jeered as more kicks landed on my body.At some point, I stopped fighting back. My entire body throbbed with pain, and I could feel the bleeding getting worse.“He’ll die like that,” someone announced happily. “Let’s go meet Ken inside.”Almost immediately, sirens filled the air around us.I heard cars screeching to a stop, but I could barely make them out.My vision was terribly blurry now.“Police!” a loud

JulieWe stepped into the spacious living room, and a gasp escaped my lips.My gaze wandered around the room for a moment, taking everything in before I finally turned to John.A wide smile spread across his face as he studied my reaction.“You like it?”“Like is an understatement,” I admitted. “This place is so cool. I love it.”He nodded, spreading his arms to gesture around the room. “Since we’re spending a month here, I figured it would be nice to get an apartment. We could even make homemade cookies together, you know?”I laughed, finding the idea rather sweet.“A friend here helped me secure this place, so we won’t even be paying much. Besides, it gives us that homely feeling.”I nodded in agreement and took a step towards the open kitchen.It did look like home, but what was home without Alex?I still didn’t understand why my thoughts kept drifting to him, especially when John had been trying so hard to cheer me up.“Julie,” John called suddenly, pulling me out of my thoughts.