"How could she?" Damien whispered in a broken voice. Every single person present in the room right now was just too shocked to speak.
Zack rubbed Damien's back, seeming to be lost in thoughts himself.
"Why.. Why did she..." Damien collapsed down on the couch.
All this while when Tristan and I explained everything to them and showed them the proofs, Celine didn't come down.
"I am going to get Celine." Liam muttered and left.
"Jennifer had told me about everything she was doing but I never expected Celine to be capable of doing something like this." Max shook his head in disbelief.
"I always went against all of you guys for her. And this is what she does to me?" Damien said in a hurtful voice, seeming to be on the verge of tears.
"I always gave her everything she ever wanted. Always kept her wishes before mine. Always kept her happiness first. We're both so young to be parents but I still accepted the child. All for her! And this is what she gives to me in return?! Betrayal?!"
"Calm down, Damien. It's not your fault." Zack sat down beside him.
"I am not able to comprehend this, Zack. How can she do that to me? All these years that we have been together. That wasn't a lie! I love her! She said she loves me too!"
"Guys!" Liam came running down the staircase. "Celine escaped!"
"WHAT?!" Came a chorused response from us.
"She couldn't have gone too far." Tristan said and took a few men with him to search for the witch.
"This isn't my Celine." Damien said and followed after Tristan and the others.
"She destroyed everything." Zack clenched his fists and got up.
"I don't care if she's Damien's girlfriend or if she has a kid in her belly, I am going to kill her the moment I see her and that's a promise."
"Not only did she hurt Jennifer but she broke my best friend's heart too. Damien might forgive her for this but I will never."
Zack went up to his room, leaving us alone.
"I just want my sister back." Max rubbed his temples and went outside.
"This is all such a nightmare, Liam. We were all so happy just a few weeks back and now?" Liam pulled me in his arms, comforting me with his warm embrace.
"It's going to be alright, Char. Every nightmare ends. This one will end too."
"And I know this isn't the best time but look what I got for you." He took out a box from his pocket as I looked at him in confusion.
"What's this?" I asked, taking the box from him.
"Open it."
I gasped when I opened the box and saw the bracelet my mom had given to me before she passed away. The one that witch had broken.
"Liam..." I broke down in tears as I took the bracelet in my hands again. I held it to my chest as my mother's face appeared in mind.
"Thank you." I cried on Liam's chest as he kissed the top of my head.
"Anything for you, Char."
Zack's POV:
It was Celine all along. Charlotte was right. But why did she do that to Jennifer?! And how can she betray Damien? I can't believe I used to like this girl. But she was just... So different before Jennifer and Charlotte came.
We were all happy together. We didn't have endless money and definitely not the power of having a whole mafia but we were still happy in our little lives.
Then Celine was kidnapped. And now we find out that she herself had gotten kidnapped to get money from us so that she could have run away with that Chris.
Why did she come back then?!
We had kidnapped Jennifer for her. If it wasn't for Celine, I would have never met Jennifer. Her and Max wouldn't have been able to find out the truth about their lives but.. Celine had made me hit Jennifer. And now, she's the reason that Jennifer is not here with me.
Celine is the reason behind Jennifer's bruises.
Celine is the reason that my best friend is left heart broken.
And she is the reason of my family's misery.
So I'll make sure to give her worse than she already deserves.
*****
"Zack!" I heard a voice calling out for me. I turned around to stare at nothing but darkness around me. "Zack! Look here you panda!" I turned around again but there was no one.
"Silly boy." The voice said again. And this time I recognized it. It was Jennifer's voice!
Just as I recognized the voice, Jennifer materialised in front of me. "Jennifer!" I ran towards her, quickly pulling her into my arms.
"Did you miss me?" She giggled. Her ocean blue eyes were staring into my light brown ones. The sound of her voice soothed my brain. Having her in my arms, calmed me down. And that beautiful smile, it made my heart flutter.
"More than you can ever imagine." I said as a tear rolled down my cheek. She quickly wiped it away. "Don't cry, Zacky. Remember- Zack doesn't cry. Zack makes other people cry?" she smirked and I chuckled.
"Right."
I rested my hands on her cheeks, tilting my face before pressing my lips onto hers.
"Zack." she pulled away from the kiss. Her face slowly started forming bruises. Her nose started bleeding and there was a cut on her bottom lip.
"Jennifer?! What is happening to you?!"
"Save me Zack. Please." And then she slowly started fading away into the darkness.
"Jennifer! Don't go please!" I ran after her fading form but she had already disappeared, leaving me alone in the darkness.
"Jennifer!" I woke up. It was a dream. Just a dream. I got up from the bed and towards the window, trying to calm myself down.
"It was just a dream, Zack." I reminded myself.
But it felt so real. As if I was really losing her.
"No! No no no!" I pulled my hair in frustration.
"Zack?" Isabella came inside my room. "What's wrong, son?" She grabbed my arm, turning me around to face her.
"Jennifer was there in my dream, mom. I had her in my arms and then she started fading away. There were.. Bruises on her face and she.. She pleaded me to save her." I had tears in my eyes.
"It was just a dream." Isabella took my hands and made me sit on the bed. "Being frustrated about this won't help you, son. You need to keep yourself calm. Jennifer needs you. She would need your support once she's found and it's important that you are strong for her."
"It's 20th December today, Mom! Her birthday! It's her 18th birthday and she's.. Kidnapped." I whispered the last word to myself.
"She's an adult now. A strong lady. The owner of her father's company and mafia along with her brother."
"I know she is strong. But for how long? We couldn't find Celine. And I don't know what to do?!"
Jennifer's POV:
You're an adult now, blob fish. How are you feeling?
Normal? Like always. Why did I always thought that being 18 would feel different? I literally feel the same as I was feeling yesterday.
It's been weeks since you're kidnapped. Did the others forget about you or what?
Of course they didn't.
Why didn't they find you yet?
I don't know.
The days were getting colder by each passing day. I was still wearing Zack's hoodie though his scent had long ago faded from it but it still gave me a sense of comfort.
Sitting alone in that cold room in my misery, I remembered all the promises Max had made to me.
"Don't worry, sis. Whatever happens, I'll never leave you alone."
I know Max. I know it was out of your powers of not letting me get kidnapped. It's fine, even if you weren't able to keep that promise.
"We are lucky to have each other too. Even though we met each other after 17 years, but we still did."
"Please don't ever leave me, Max."
"Never."
I am so glad that I met you Max. You really are an amazing brother.
I remembered the first time when we both found out that we were twins. We were both crying, trying to comfort each other.
"We really are twins."
"We are."
"You're the only real family I have left. I love you, brother."
"I love you too, my dear sister."
I remembered the day when we found out about the mafia for the first time and how scared I was to see so many people staring at me.
"Don't worry, I am here with you." Max had whispered and held my shaking hand.
I remembered the promise that Zack had made to me.
"Don't worry, Jennifer. No one will hurt you. I'll make sure of that."
"I know, Zack. I trust you."
You weren't able to keep your promise too, Zack. But it's alright. I know you're doing everything you can to find me. And I still believe in you. I always will.
I remembered that day when I was kidnapped. How Charlotte and I were running away from those men and my clumsy self tripped. I was begging Charlotte to leave me alone and save herself but she is one stubborn girl. Finally, she had agreed to run away, not before making a promise to me.
"I'll get you soon. I promise. Please forgive me, Jen."
It wasn't even your fault that I have to forgive you for it, Char. You did the right thing.
I also remembered how my other brother, Liam, had save me from Dylan and his friends that day in the hallway. He was so mad at me because he thought I had called the police for Charlotte but still, he had come back to save me.
"She's my best friend's sister... That means.. She's my sister as well. And you.. Tried to harm my sister... So now.. You'll pay."
I also remembered how Damien had taken me to that hill top on the day we had collected all the money to get Celine back.
"I often come here when I am sad or depressed. Today I came here because I was so happy and you're the reason for it."
He had said so sincerely and that smile, it was so genuine and happy.
"You know, Jennifer? You're the first person I brought up here."
"Even before Celine?"
"Yeah."
It's funny when I think about how attracted I was to him, despite knowing how much he loved her. But it was something beyond my control.
Damien loved her to bits, but Celine betrayed him in the worst way possible.
I have no hate for Celine, I am simply too exhausted for it.
I just want to go back to my family and rest in Zack's arms. I just want to listen to Max's silly jokes and see his weird behavior. I want to see the cute relationship between Liam and my best friend. I want to see Damien's serious expression and his emerald green eyes again. I just want them all back...