Dedicated to donuts3001 for always being so patient and understanding Readers like you are EXTREMELY rare!!! ❤ ❤ ❤

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Not edited! Please excuse any grammatical errors.

*****
Sullivan Estate, New York.

"Where did Valerio go?"

"He said he had some business at one of the ports owned by his family", Caden replied smoothly.

Allister narrowed his eyes. "What kind of business?"

"I wouldn't know now, would I?", Caden shrugged noncommittally. "No one does until Valerio wants them to know! You know how he is."

"Why do I think that it is related to Amara?", Allister muttered.

"Why would it be?",Caden asked rhetorically, leaning back against the balcony railing. He wouldn't admit but it was a thought that was at the forefront of his mind too.

Allister's didn't answer immediately, his eyes sweeping over the Sullivan Estate grounds, a contemplative expression on his face.

"Have you seen Valerio interact with her?",he finally asked.

Caden's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Just once at the party and at the dinner the other night. Why?"

Allister scoffed. "You should spend a little less time with your girlfriend then. Maybe then you'd realise what is happening in our sister's life."

Caden's face became stone cold. "Don't even go there Romero", he warned. "I care about Amara as much as you do."

"Do you?!", Allister muttered coolly.

Caden's eyes darkened. "Don't make me forget the basic principle of guest rites. My mother will be very cross with me if I do!"

Allister snorted.

"Get to the point now", Caden snapped impatiently.

"He is different with her", Allister  answered, "unlike anything I could've ever expected from him. Unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. Whenever he looks at her...", he sighed heavily, a faraway look in his eyes. "It's like she is the reason why he even breaths."

Caden raised his eyebrows, highly amused. "That was very poetic. Are you taking lessons on literature in your spare time?", he mocked.

"This is not funny!", Allister snapped. "Valerio has loved her for far too long. He is...", he stopped, searching for a suitable word, "desperate for her affections. Starved almost!"

The humor on Caden's face dissappeared at once. "What are you insinuating?"

"Nothing!", he shrugged. "I just have a feeling that something major is going to happen during our time here."

"You're thinking too much about it", Caden muttered. "Valerio probably just got annoyed with the time we lost in that useless interrogation room. That man knew nothing of importance."

"It was a waste", Allister agreed.

The two boys fell quite, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Father told me last night that we would be going to Chicago earlier than what was planned", Caden broke the silence.

"Yes, I heard something similar as well. How early though?"

"Two, three days at best", Caden answered. "We won't be here for the entirety of the Fest."

"It was anyway an elaborate hoax conducted as a cover for our activities at the Chicago convention", Allister muttered dismissively. "Will your entire family attend the gathering?", he asked curiously.

"Grandpa wants Liam, Cian and I to go with him, off course. And Uncle Logan will be flying down from Australia."

Allister was stunned when he heard that.

Logan Sullivan, Cian's father and the Don Sean Sullivan's second son, had become an absolutely reclusive man in the past few years, and for him to attend any such conventions... Allister couldn't help but think that there was something else to it!

"Amara will be ecstatic", he offered.

Caden's eyes softened. "I'm sure she will be. Afterall, the last time they met was a year ago."

******

Wolsford Academy, New York.

A heavy silence engulfed the room. The only sound were that of shoes hitting against marble as Damien  paced frustratedly, a worried frown on his face.

Amara kept her eyes on him the entire time, a similar expression being reflected on her own face. 

"Damien", she began hesitantly. "I..I need to tell yo-"

"Tell me what?", Damien snapped. "And why now anyway? Why not when you were submitting your name for the bloody combat?"

"Calm down, will you?", Veronica broke her silence then. "You didn't seem this worried to me a few minutes ago."

Damien glared at her once, to which Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Getting selected to compete in the Combat for the First Blood is an honour, Amara should consider herself fortunate", she stated.

"An honour?", Damien repeated in disbelief, "I'd like you to say that in front of your boyfriend. And Allister. And Valerio", he scoffed. "Definitely, Valerio. He'd show you what he thinks about this honour."

Amara sank further into the couch as he turned his disapproving gaze towards her. "Amara is not going to be competing."

"You don't take decisions for her Damien. You are not the Don of the Romero family. You have no authority over her!",Veronica exclaimed.

"I am her brother",Damien replied back coldly. "You on the other hand have no say in our family matters until Caden puts a ring on your finger."

"Not long then",Veronica shrugged nonchalantly.

"Guys!", Serena, who had been watching the entire fiasco silently finally spoke, "The next round is going to begin in ten minutes. Amara should -"

"She is not fighting", Damien glared at Serena.

"Amara cannot back off now", Veronica spoke. "You cannot back off once you are selected for the combat. She is now fighting in the name of her family's honour."

Damien's eyes hardened at her words.

Amara rubbed her temples tiredly. She couldn't believe that it was only ten minutes ago that she had been sitting out and enjoying her first day back, but it had all gone up in toss after she had been selected for the next round of the combat event.

An event which she had not even voluntarily participated in!

Amara bit her lip nervously, glancing at Damien. She wanted to tell him that she had never put her name down for any fights or competitions. She had no interest in competing!

"Damien, please listen -"

"What is your problem?", Veronica shouted over her voice.

Amara jumped slightly as Damien banged his fist against the table in frustration.

"My problem", Damien spat,"is the customary way of how the combat ends."

"You're worrying about nothing", Veronica replied brazenly. "Amara wouldn't have put her name in for the competition if she wasn't confident about winning. Right, Amara?"

"And what if she never applied to take part in this event?", Serena finally burst out, stunning the other two. "I saw her expression when the participants for the next round were declared", she continued. "It wasn't an expression of someone expecting to be selected."

"You are being irrational", Veronica interjected calmly. "Who else would dare something like this? And why would anyone even do it? The kids in the academy aren't stupid. After the public display of how your cousin dealt with Niall and his friends, do you think anyone would dare commit such a grave mistake?"

"Keep quiet for two seconds, will you?",Damien muttered, annoyed. "Can you leave us alone for a few minutes?"

Veronica opened her mouth to object but Damien snapped, "Now!"

Serena left the room immediately followed by a grumbling and huffing Veronica.

"You shouldn't be so rude to her", Amara murmured softly. "She was trying to help in her own way."

"I don't like her, I don't know what Caden sees in her", Damien replied, "And she wasn't trying to help us in anyway. Veronica is a manipulator and she was trying to manipulate the situation according to what would suit her best."

"Why would she....?", Amara trailed off.

"Your win would be someone else's loss", he stated vaguely. "A loss worth celebrating as far as Veronica is concerned."

Amara blinked at him in confusion.

"Amara",Damien began, "I need to apologise to you first. I was just so shocked that I didn't even care to ask you whether you had really signed  yourself up for the combat or not."

"I didn't", Amara finally told him. "I've been trying to tell you that but you didn't want to listen to me", she spoke dejectedly.

"I'm so sorry sorellina",Damien spoke, pulling her in for a loose hug. "I knew this wasn't your style but I was just so worried. You're suppose to be taking it easy and not fighting. You don't need to participate though. I'll sort everything out."

"How?", Amara murmured against his collar.

"Seeing who your opponent was going to be, I think I know who must have applied your name for this combat", Damien answered carefully.

Amara pulled away, staring at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Cian", he spat harshly. "He was the one. I'm sure of it! "

"No", Amara objected at once. "Why would Cian....? No!", she exclaimed.

"It makes sense", Damien replied, the gears in his head turning. "Who else would dare to do something like this except the one who refuses to follow rules when it comes to you? Who else would dare?"

Amara shook her head vigorously. Damien had it wrong. She knew it! She could feel in her bones how wrong the accusation on her Irish cousin was!

"No, it's not Cian",Amara repeated with conviction. "You can't just accuse him! "

"He has been behaving strangely since the morning. Cian was supposed to attend the meeting being held at the Sullivan manor along with the rest of the boys but he choose not to and instead came to school", Damien told her.

Cian had skipped a meeting?

Amara knew what meeting Damien was talking about. The meeting was the reason why none of her older cousins or Valerio were in the school at the moment.

"And he's been following us around."

"It's not him. Please stop saying it", Amara pleaded.

"Then who do you think is it?", Damien asked her coldly. "Look out! ", he jerked his head towards the glass panels, "There are more than a hundred students out there and yet no one would dare try anything. What do you think would Allister and I do to the one who tries?", he asked rhetorically. "And Valerio?!", Damien shuddered, "Do you have any idea of what limits he hmwill cross if you are hurt even slightly?"

Amara's mouth had turned dry as Damien continued speaking.

"One public display of his power and dominance is enough to keep everyone at bay except Cian. He's been asking for it!"

"You've got it wrong. Cian would never do that to me", Amara murmured emotionally.

Damien's eyes hardened, an old memory flashing before his eyes.

A dark night. Two kids. A piercing, shrill, scream...... And then, silence!

"We both know what he's capable of", Damien said bitterly.

"Come." he pulled her closer to the glass doors overlooking the arena. "Look out there. More than a hundred students are out in the stands right now. If not Cian then it's definitely one of them who is the culprit. Tell me who it is!",he ordered.

"H- how would I know?",Amara stuttered.

"Exactly my point!",Damien replied sternly. "You can't know that it's not Cian. And what a coincidence it is that your opponent is his —"

"What's happening here?",a familiar, gruff voice asked sternly.

The two teenagers jumped, turning towards the source as one.

Pietro strode inside the room, his eyes cold as he assessed the situation.
"What's taking you kids so long? Amara needs to come out now. The round is about to begin."

Amara glanced towards the crowded stands once again.

"Should I tell Uncle Pietro?",she thought internally.

Amara knew that if she told Uncle Pietro the truth then he wouldn't let her participate either. He would do his hardest to hunt the person who had signed her up for this without her consent.

And so would Valerio!

Amara had come to realise that he never gave out ideal threats and especially after the incident with the peppers, he had become more protective of her.

He would go ballistic and hunt the person responsible. But in the way how many would be put to blame? Would any innocent suffer because of one person's mistake?

"I was just about to come out", Amara told him, lowering her eyes. "Damien was explaining the rules to me."

She heard Damien suck in a sharp breath and she could clearly imagine the look of shock on his face at her blatant lie.

Pietro walked towards her, raising her chin gently. "You always lower your eyes when you try to lie", he told her calmly.

Amara opened her mouth to respond but he cut her off.

"I don't know what led you to participate in this event. You've never liked showing off your this particular talent", Pietro continued, chuckling gruffly at the last bit, "But I know that you are capable of winning", he stated firmly.

"You think so?",she asked him in a small voice.

"I know so, my warrior princess", he chuckled.

Amara smiled slightly, feeling relieved.

"Come, I'll explain the rules to you on our way out", Pietro ordered her.

Amara shuffled slightly, peering at Damien who had a hard expression on her face.

His eyes softened at her pleading look and he walked towards her, kissing the top of her head once. "Good luck! I know you can win. But if you feel unwell at all then you are to step out of the fight", he commanded. "It's only your first day back. Don't stress yourself too much."

"Please don't tell anyone about what I told you", Amara whispered softly in his ear.

Damien nodded reluctantly.

As Amara was about to step out,  something struck her. She whirled around immediately. "What made you think that Cian.....who is my opponent?"

Damien stared at her with an undecipherable look on his face.

"Her name is Harley. And she is Cian's girlfriend!"

*******

A hush fell over the spectators as Amara walked out towards the fighting arena.

She scanned through the crowd once. From the sheer number of spectators, Amara was sure that more than half of the student body was out here.

"Here", Uncle Pietro said, walking towards her and carefully handing her the sword that she would be using.

The sword was as light as what a fencing sword was expected to be, but unlike it, the blade wasn't blunt. It was sharp and pointed.

"You remember your lessons, si?"

Amara nodded once, running her index finger along the blade carefully. "Three touches. Simple, ruthless and - if I get them right then painful to my opponent", she recited the childhood lesson.

"It's called the Combat for the First Blood for a reason, child", Pietro sighed. "I know that you don't like it but that's the only way. It's only with the spilling of blood that the combat ends."

"You can win, you will have to win because even if a single drop of your blood spills then both your grandfathers would make rivers of blood flow through this earth", he  continued internally. "Not to forget what your Valentini admirer would do!"

"I know that I can try and win without making my opponent bleed", Amara  stated, shaking him out of his musing."There are other ways too."

"Do what you think is right", Pietro told her, glancing around the arena which was now packed with students and guards alike. "Good luck princess."

Amara nodded her head once as she turned around and started walking towards the centre stage. On the outside, she appeared calm to the onlookers but on the inside, she was in a turmoil.

And the reason behind her worry was her opponent. Harley. Because how could Amara hurt the girl who her brother possibly loved?

A booming cheer went up in the crowd as Amara stepped inside the fighting circle. It was there that she saw Harley, already waiting for her.

Amara's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She had seen this girl somewhere before!

She didn't get a chance to think about it or even offer any introductions because soon after a whistle blew, indicating the start of the combat to the loud cheers.

Amara raised her sword high up, swinging it expertly once as the two girls began circling each other.

"So...you are Amara. Cian's sister", Harley spoke and without giving Amara a chance to answer, she lunged at her.

And Amara, she simply sidestepped her. That was all she had needed to do in her defence.

Amara had been trained in fencing and basics of sword fighting since a young age by Uncle Pietro, much to the consternation of Grandma Patricia.

Pietro had also taught her how to read her opponents. She had learnt long ago that if she wanted to win a fight then she would need to be evasive, rather than on the attack. 

If Amara lacked what it took physically to win a fight, then her mind made up for it.

Amara darted to the right, hitting Harley in the ribs as she moved past her.

The crowd cheered loudly.

"Don't hold back, Amara!",she heard Uncle Pietro and Damien yell simultaneously from the sidelines.

Harley spun around and lunged toward where Amara had been standing. But Amara was no longer there, she had moved to the opposite side, striking Harley sideways for the second time as she did.

Their movements continued. Harley lunging and Amara darting away at the last moment before striking.

Harley was growing more frustrated with each hit. This girl before her was not sparing. No! She was dancing! Even in a physical combat, her movements weren't clumsy or half thought, they were graceful!

She felt foolish. Harley regretted underestimating the girl. She had assumed that this fragile looking doll would not know how to even raise a weapon let alone use it with such ease as she was doing now!

She needed another plan. Harley was sure that she wouldn't be able to take another painful hit. Her eyes narrowed in contemplation, a plan forming in her head.

This time she moved closer to Amara, with only a single purpose in her mind. It was a move that she had always felt difficult to play. But if it turned out right then Harley was sure that she would render Amara incapable of fighting back.

Taking a deep breath, she feinted to the left before lunging to the right and luck was on her side this time, because just as she had hoped, she caught the back of Amara's loose top in her sword, entangling it against the tip.

Both the girls froze.

Amara turned her head sideways, staring at Harley, horror and dread plain on her face.

A millisecond passed. And then, Harley pulled at her sword, tearing the lower half of Amara's top.

A shocked gasp went through the entire crowd, the noise diminishing until only sharp inhales were being heard as one.

Amara staggered back immediately.  Her hand going around to feel the extent of the tear and as her fingers brushed against her bare back, a horrified expression crossed her face. She immediately looked down checking the condition of the rest of her top.

A huge tear had formed, starting from the lower back of her top and extending almost to one side of her waist.

"Oops! I'm sorry about the top", Harley apologised with faux innocence.

And before Amara could have come out of her stupor, Harley attacked her and for the first time since the combat began the two blades clanged against each other, as Amara raised her sword to block the attack.

The restless attack continued and each time Amara blocked it with as minimal movement as possible.

Amara was in a huge fix now. If she didn't restrict her movements then there was a chance that the tear would enlarge, which Amara absolutely did not want. She wanted to leave but the only way that the combat ended was — Blood!

"Finish it Amara! Just finish it right now!", Pietro shouted loudly, encouraging her.

This was it.

Amara took in a deep breath, gripping the hilt with a tight hold she prepared herself, and this time when Harley came towards her, she flicked the sword against her wrist.

Harley let out a scream at the sharp pain, the sword slipping from her fingers automatically and falling on the hard floor with a loud clang.

She didn't give Harley a chance to retaliate as she whipped the sword against her knees, tripping her.

Amara kicked the sword away from her reach, her own held over her shoulder before she swung it down, the steel whistling through the air.
She stopped her swing, the blade resting just next to Harley's throat.

She glanced at Harley's wrist once and was not at all shocked when she saw a red line on it.

"I have drawn the first blood" she recited the formal words, "The victory becomes mine", she whispered softly but her words seem to echo in the pindrop silence that had spread across the spectators.

Amara removed her sword from Harley's throat and stepped back. She  dropped her sword and turned around, intending to step out of the circle.

Pure, white rage filled Harley in that moment. This girl had played her! She had humiliated her in front of everyone. Harley's eyes fell on her sword.

Amara must have taken only three or four steps when she heard loud screams. She quickly turned around and her eyes widened when she saw the raised sword, falling down on her rapidly.

She flinched, raising her own hand protectively before her, waiting for the sharp impact..... But it never came!

It was only when the incoherent words and screams turned into whispers, into a low hum like little insects, buzzing, did Amara open her eyes, and what she saw was a scene that she was sure that she would never forget in her life time.

The sword was suspended in mid air, like an axe waiting to fall on the guillotine, being held in place by a palm curled tightly around it's sharp blade, uncaring of the crimson droplets that were slowly but surely forming.

With her heart pumping erratically against her chest, Amara turned her head and gasped when she saw who it was that holding the sword from attacking her.

"Val!"

Valerio's eyes were dark and flashing dangerously as he stared down at Harley. His gaze burning with barely restrained wrath as he continued to hold the sword, still suspended in mid-air.

"Valerio! Let go", Amara spoke, horrified.

Valerio turned to look at her, unfathomable rage in his eyes.

"Please, you are bleeding! Let go of the sword", Amara's eyes were slowly starting to moist.

Valerio clenched his eyes shut and slowly dragged his palm along the  entire length of the sword, red staining the blade as he coloured the sword with his blood before letting go of it with a hard thrust making Harley stumble several steps away from them.

A whistle blew in the background but Amara ignored everything as she stepped towards him, taking his blood stained palm in her hand with trembling fingers.

"Oh no!", she cried softly, a single tear escaped her eyes and fell on his palm, intermingling with his blood.

"It's nothing",Valerio assured her, cupping her cheek with his good hand. "Are you hurt?",he asked her in a hard voice.

Amara didn't seem to register his words, too worried about his bleeding palm.

Quickly, she tore a strip of cloth from the already torn lower half of her top.

With shaky fingers she tied it around his palm. "I'm so sorry",she cried softly. "You wouldn't have got hurt if it wasn't for me. I'm sorry."

"Hush",Valerio whispered, putting his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to himself. "Are you hurt?",he asked her again. "I need to know sweetheart", he told her firmly, his lips brushing against her temple.

"I'm not" , Amara shook her head.

She shivered slightly as a cool gust of wind pricked her bare skin.

Her cheeks reddened with embarrassment as she realised what condition her top must be in.

"It's just, my top....",she trailed of uncomfortably, pressing herself closer in his arms, trying to hide herself. . Amara didn't dare glance around her, worried about the stares.

Valerio's eyes swept over her frame once, darkening rapidly.

His hands immediately shifted, now covering her exposed flesh from prying eyes as he pulled her flush against himself.

"Valerio!", Amara squeaked out.

"How did this happen?",Valerio asked her sharply.

Harley watched in wide eyed disbelief as the Valentini heir clutched the girl   to himself protectively, as if he would never let go of her.

The girl, Amara, had a red tint in her cheeks but looked otherwise comfortable being held in his arms as she answered whatever Valerio had asked her. It seemed that her answer made Valerio unhappy because he immediately gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with fury.

But despite his apparent rage, he didn't let go of her, instead, his arms tightened around her. The way Valerio held Amara, it was protective but more than that there was something else in that embrace.

And Harley gasped when she realised what it was! His hold on her was not only protective but also possessive! He was holding her so possessively close to himself that no one was daring to interrupt them.

She glanced around the amphitheatre and almost everyone had varying looks of shock and awe on their faces. Like they couldn't possibly tear their eyes away even though they couldn't hear what was being said. 

But it wasn't those looks that struck her as odd. No! It was the fact that many of the boys had their eyes averted from Amara, staring solely at Valerio.

Harley recognised Tarquin Gallucci amongst them, the winner of the previous round. His eyes which had been resting on the pair, fell to the ground rapidly, an action which was following by the boys surrounding him.

Their behaviour struck Harley to be oddly..... reverent!

Amongst the crowd Harley caught sight of Abigail as well, who unlike others was staring directly at her with a meaningful look in her eyes.

"There's so much that you don't know", she had told Harley.

Harley gulped once, dread pooling in her stomach.

She dared to turn around and watch the pair, and her eyes almost fell out of their sockets when she saw Valerio draping his own blazer around Amara's smaller frame, before buttoning it up for her, an action that was so unapologetically sweet!

"What was happening?",Harley thought worriedly.

She took a step back, intending to remove herself from this spectacle when Valerio's eyes moved to her, pinning her to the ground with his one look.

"You!", he hissed harshly.

His lips curled back dangerously as he took a threatening step towards her.

Harley stumbled slightly, trying to maintain the space between them.

"How dare you!", he spoke in a low voice.

"I-I....",Harley stuttered, her fear and dread spiking dramatically.

"How simple", Valerio muttered darkly, " it would be for me to snap your throat for even daring to raise your hand against my girl. It would only take me a moment", he whispered coldly.  "I will end your life, right here, right now and not even one man will dare to come forward to stop me."

Harley's eyes widened. His girl?

"Y-you can't do that",she stuttered out in disbelief.

Valerio smirked wickedly, dark humor swirling in his irises. He took another step forward, towering over her.

"You know nothing about what I can do, little girl", Valerio stated coldly.

Amara was frozen in her spot as she watched Valerio stalk towards Harley. With each step that he took towards her, Harley stumbled one back in return.

She wanted to stop him. But her voice seemed to be stuck in her throat.

It was only when Damien and Serena came running towards her that Amara broke out of her stupor.

"Amara, stop him", Serena urged her. "Valerio won't listen to anyone else now. In Valerio's eyes, she has crossed all limits when it comes to you. You need to stop him before he does anything to her."

"Wh-what can I do?",she stuttered, feeling breathless all of a sudden.

"I don't know! Just do something! He'll kill Cian as well for not controlling his girlfriend", Serena muttered worriedly.

Amara's eyes flickered over Valerio, who was now towering over Harley.

"Go to him",Damien suggested, grudgingly. "It's the only way to stop him from committing a public crime."

Amara took half a step forward
when —

"You can't do anything!",Harley shouted, panicked. "I'm under the Sullivan protection."

Valerio stared at Harley, a scornful expression on his face.

"The rumours are true then?",he scoffed. "Cian has got himself a little girlfriend."

Amara felt Serena stiffen beside her.

Harley narrow her eyes. "Yes, I'm his girlfriend. "

"That's not going to help you'', Valerio retorted."Paulo!", he yelled and a guard quickly rushed forward, bowing before Valerio. "Restrain this girl. I'll deal with her personally."

"Valerio!",Amara pleaded with him. "Let her go, it's alright."

"Take her away", Valerio commanded sharply. "And keep her isolated. Don't let Cian or anyone else meet her."

The guard members whom had previously formed a loose circle around them stepped forward, the one named Paulo holding a pair of handcuffs, which he put on Harley's wrists.

"Make them stop Val",Amara told him worriedly.

She stepped forward, intending to do what, Amara herself didn't know. But before she could have taken another step forward, Valerio's caught her hand, pulling her closer to himself instead.

"Don't", he warned Amara.

Amara watched as Harley was dragged away unceremoniously.
She tugged at her hand once, willing Valerio to let go of his hold on her.

"Don't test me right now, sweetheart", Valerio stated in a hard voice spinning her around and pulling her in his arms. "You've already made me so mad today."

"What did I do?",Amara asked him, biting her lip worriedly.

Valerio's eyes flickered to her lips once. "Do I need to tell you?"

Amara opened her mouth to respond when the sound of someone clearing their throat loudly stopped her.

Amara jumped slightly away from Valerio under Uncle Pietro's penetrating gaze.

"You fought well princess",he praised her.

Amara smiled weakly at him.

"Damien!",Pietro called out, "Take Amara in the sitting room while I have a word with Master Valerio."

Amara glanced between them worriedly.

"Go ahead",Valerio told her calmly, letting go of her hand.

Amara hesitated only briefly before walking away with Damien.

On her way back, several people wished her for winning the combat.

"You performed very well Amara. You deserved to win", Damien spoke as they walked back towards the private sitting room, trying in vain to distract her.

"What's going to happen to Harley?", Amara asked, once they were away from prying eyes and ears.

"Nothing that she doesn't deserve", Damien said hatefully."She tried to hit you when your back was turned", he spat."Valerio is now going to torture her until she screams for him to stop."

Amara gasped.

"I should've told him about my suspicion when I had a chance", Damien continued regretfully.

Amara paled. "Y-you can't",she fumbled. "You've got it wrong. Cian would never do that to me. Why won't you understand?"

"Because I know how he is", he shouted in aggravation. "He is heavily influenced by his O'Reilly blood. Backstabbing runs in his veins. ''

Amara's mouth dropped open in shock. She couldn't believe that Damien, her sweetest brother, had said something so vile about someone, let alone about someone whom Amara adored.

"H-How could you?"

Damien pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing heavily.

"It just cannot be a coincidence that you are suddenly selected to compete with his girlfriend in a potentially dangerous competition", Damien gritted out. "In one way or another, Cian is somehow connected to it. He set you up!"

"What did you say?", a chilling voice echoed in the room.

Amara's blood turned cold at that voice. It was usually so warm and gentle while addressing her, that she had almost forgotten how exactly it was that he normally spoke to everyone.

"I asked you something", he growled.

Amara flinched at his loud, angry tone of voice. She didn't dare to look at him when he was sounding like this.

Amara's heart was thudding rapidly against her ribcage. She heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her and soon, a rough but warm palm curled under her chin, raising her head as she was made to look in his eyes which were burning with sheer fury.

"What's he saying, sweetheart?"

Amara opened her mouth to respond. His name like the sweetest song falling from her lips.

"V-Valerio!"

******
A/N
Hello everyone! *hides behind an impenetrable wall*

I know it's been terribly long since the last update and I apologise to each and everyone of you for making you all wait for so long. Life got in the way and the things happening on wattpad didn't make it any easy for me to concentrate on writing!

I'm not going to beat around the bush to tell you all what contributed in the delay.

I had quite a few of my readers messaging me about a book that they read, which according to them was very similar to BOUND. One reader infact pointed out the similarities to me, comparing it with similar conversation/ scenes that had already happened in the Bound Universe. I checked it out and I was terribly disappointed to see that they were right!!!

I read the comments on the story and it honestly made me mad to see a few people saying how two stories on wattpad can be similar! A few, much to my dejection were my own readers.

As an author, I know what is my own original idea and what is a trend on wattpad! So for the people who claimed that two stories can be similar, or have a similar start, or whatever, please, TRY writing something of your own and NOT a MODIFIED VERSION of someone else's story!!!!

In future if my hand is forced then I WILL take down BOUND from wattpad in order to protect it's credibility! And I absolutely don't want to do that!

So please, DON'T copy either my CHARACTERS or my STORY PLOT!

        DON'T COPY MY WORK!!!!!
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For the rest, I Hope you all liked the update ;) One of my longest chapter till date!

Long awaited mysteries are going to start unfolding quickly from here on! What do you think is going to happen now? I'm eager to know!! ;);)

Please do COMMENT, VOTE and SHARE if you all enjoyed it even the slightest! ❤❤❤❤