New home
Bella's POV
“You can leave, but you are not taking my daughter with you,” Father declared angrily and tried to take me, but Mother’s grip on me tightened. “I won already. Bella will live with me until she’s eighteen, and there is nothing you can do about it!” Mother spat, making Father furious. He slammed the bottle of beer in his hand against the wall, which made me flinch. I glared at Father, who seemed drunk and unsteady on his feet.
“Take a look at yourself! How did I end up with a mate like you?” Mother yelled bitterly, glaring at Father before turning to me. “Bella, go to the car. I’ll be with you shortly,” she said. I nodded, casting one last look at my wasted father, before heading outside. Getting outside the house, I entered the taxi and waited for Mother.
After a few moments, she came out of the house and joined me inside the taxi before signaling the driver to move.
So many emotions were bubbling inside of me as the car drove to our destination, or, should I say, our new home.
“Come on, Bella, we have talked about this for over a month,” Mother spoke beside me, but I ignored her and settled my attention outside the window, staring into space.
“He is a nice man, Bella, and he will make a good father to you,” Mother muttered, and her words got me agitated. “He is not my father, Mother! My father is alive, and I know him.”
“I’m so sorry,” Mother apologized, but I didn’t respond; I just rested my head on the window.
“Bella…”
“What is it, Mother? What else do you want from me? First, you are thrusting me into a life and family I don’t want, and as if that is not enough, I will leave my friends and everyone I know behind just to live with strangers,” I murmured.
“But, Bella, this will be good for us. You will have a good life and live like a princess.”
“I don’t want to live like a princess. I just want to live a simple life. I know Father might be a drunkard and debtor, but this man you are going to marry—do you even know him? What if he mistreats me?” I murmured, voicing my fears and worries.
“Alpha Peterson is a good man. I believe you will like him because he already likes you,” Mother spoke hopefully, but I didn’t respond. Mother sighed and looked away; I knew she had much to say, but she decided to let us journey in silence.
“We are here, ma'am,” the driver sent to pick us up announced, jolting me awake. My eyes widened at the sight of the enormous building. Before me, there was a mansion, probably a five-story building. The size and height of the building were unbelievable, and I wondered how much money would be put into building such a mansion.
I looked at Mother, who smiled at me, but I frowned and got out of the car while the driver opened the door for her. I scanned the mansion's yard and realized that more than ten well-built men surrounded each corner of the mansion. They looked scary, and I had to look away out of fear.
“Welcome, ma'am. Please let me take you in; the alpha is waiting for you,” a man smartly dressed in a suit said politely to Mother, who nodded with a smile. She seemed so excited; in fact, I hadn’t seen her this excited before. “Let’s go in,” she said, smiling at me, while I frowned and followed her in.
Greeting us was an eloquent sitting room. The interior was top-notch, and I didn’t need to be told that millions of dollars were spent just on the interior design. “Welcome, you are here,” I heard a man's voice from the stairs. I turned my attention to the stairs and saw Alpha Peterson, my soon-to-be stepfather. He was elegantly dressed in a well-tailored blue suit. His gray hair was gelled back, and his green eyes spoke power and dominance. I glanced at him and couldn’t believe he was 40; he looked like he was in his early thirties, and oops, he looked handsome.
When he reached where Mother and I stood, he smiled, kissed Mother, and hugged her tightly. “You are finally here,” he said with so much excitement in his voice, and I could hear Mother giggle like a happy girl reuniting with her lover. “This must be Bella,” he said with a welcoming smile. “Welcome, it's a pleasure to meet you finally. I have heard so much about you,” he said, stretching out his hand for a handshake. I frowned before reluctantly taking his hand and quickly pulling away.
“She looks so much like you,” he told Mother, who chuckled and nodded. “Please, have a seat. My sons will join us soon,” Alpha Peterson announced, and my brow furrowed. “Sons?” I blurted out, and Alpha Peterson looked my way. “Yes, I have two sons, Darin and Darwin; they are seventeen,” Alpha Peterson confirmed, and I looked at Mother, who gave me a half-smile. She never told me he had children.
“They will join us soon,” he added while I gulped, sucked in a deep breath, and took my seat. I haven’t come to terms yet with the fact that I will be staying with my mother and her new husband, and now, to worsen it all, he has two sons! “Damn it!” I cursed under my breath. I wish I could make my own decision. I wish I were eighteen and Dad was responsible; perhaps I would have been allowed to make my own decisions, and I would definitely not have come here with my mother to start a new and complicated life.
“Welcome, ma’am. Please, what would you like to have?” a maid asked with a welcoming smile. “Water, please,” Mother responded, and the maid turned to me. “And what may I get you?”
“Nothing,” I murmured, and she smiled before going to get Mother’s Water. I looked at Mother, who looked back at me, but then I looked away and began moving my eyes around the living room. The living room was so big that it could easily be our entire apartment.
As I scanned the living room, I heard the entrance door fling open. Curious to know who was walking in, I turned in the direction of the door, and my eyes fell on two young men. They looked so much like each other. The same black hair was gelled backwards, the same green piercing eyes, the same skin tone, and even the same body structure. It was like looking at the same person twice. Our eyes met, and I felt a strange sensation in my body that I hadn’t felt before. The two identical twins looked at me with confusion in their eyes and then looked at Mother, who was seated beside Alpha Peterson.
“Sons, you are here. Come and meet my fiancée and her daughter Bella,” Alpha Peterson introduced, and I realized they were his sons. A hard gulp passed down my throat as I stared at them while they stared back at me, but this time with disgust.
“Hi,” Mother said, getting up and walking toward them. “I have been hearing a lot about you guys. It’s nice to meet you finally,” she said, stretching out her hands to them. Instead of taking her hand for a handshake, I noticed their fists were clenched as they both gritted their teeth at Mother. “Either you leave this place with your daughter, or we will kill you ourselves,” they threatened, and my brow furrowed.
“How dare you!” Alpha Peterson yelled as he got up, his eyes shimmering with anger.
“You heard us, Father. She either leaves, or we will kill her ourselves, and this is not a threat but a promise,” they both threatened in unison and turned to walk away.
“You two…” Alpha Peterson wanted to rush over to them, but Mother held his arm and shook her head, pleading with him not to go after them.
