Steven Carter had a pretty ordinary life: good grades, close family, and great friends. But everything changed when he met Ariel. Ariel Johnson was smart and mysterious, but her life was complicated. Her dad controlled her dreams and wanted her to marry for his own gain. When Steven and Ariel collided, it wasn't just a meeting-it was like two different worlds crashing together. Despite the chaos, they found something special: love. But love isn't always easy. Steven and Ariel will face challenges they never expected. Will their love survive, or will it be crushed by the weight of their pasts?
Chapter 1 Ā FAMILY
FAMILY
Steve's POV
"Steve!!..."
My mom calls for the fourth time. She never jokes about school and never allows us to miss a day, even when we are sick.
I remember when one of my little sisters broke her leg while playing in the backyard; I had to carry her on my back to school. Even when people insulted her for this, she cared less. All she wants is for her children to be educated.
"Steve, you need to be fast, boy! You don't wanna see up there," I could hear her scream downstairs. I quickly grab my bag, put on my glasses, and head downstairs.
"How come you woke up late?" My mother asked me immediately when she saw me coming down the stairs.
"Sorry, mom, I forgot to set my alarm," I tell her, and she rolls her eyes.
"Just go, your brother is waiting for you in the car!"
"Okay," I turn to leave.
"Wait, you forgot your breakfast."
I quickly grab the breakfast from her. I see my dad in the living room reading the newspaper, as he always does every morning. I greet him by saying good morning, and he replies by raising his hand without taking his eyes off the newspaper.
I storm out of the house and am welcomed by the hot sun. It's scorching; I have to raise my hand to block it. I could hear my elder brother playing loud music in the car, and my younger twin sisters are complaining.
"Turn it off!" The stubborn one, Abigail, who broke her leg the other day, shouts after I enter the car. The other one, Emma, is just quiet as she keeps staring out the window. Her quietness disturbs me sometimes.
They are still in junior school and are well-known there. Abigail, the troublesome one and also the youngest one among the twins, defends Emma whenever there is a problem. No one dares to lay a hand on her or her sister.
Emma, on the other side, is extremely brilliant and has a sharp tone whenever she speaks. Her words sometimes make her teacher study more. Emma spends most of her time reading, just like my father.
"Please turn it off...I can't have headache before my classes," I say to my brother Tony. My ear is very sensitive; that's why I always avoid noise.
He starts the car without turning down the music. Seeing that he is not listening, I use my hand to cover my ears.
Abi kept screaming in the back, telling my brother to turn off the music. I look at Tony, who was dancing slightly to the music, before I swiftly turn it off myself.
"What the heck?!" Tony looks at me angrily.
"Can't you hear us complaining?" I ask with a frown. I expected him to shout and insult me or turn the music back on, but surprisingly, he doesn't reply.
Tony and I go to the same college. He is two years older than me. I just got admitted last year, and trust me, the school never did me any good.
Tony is one of the popular and handsome guys in school. The mole on his ear and his pink lips drive girls crazy. I can still remember when he pierced his ear; my mom literally went crazy over it. She decided not to give him food for over a week, which didn't affect him a bit. Only God knows where he gets money.
I, on the other hand, do get attention from girls, but I usually shy away whenever they try to flirt with me, or sometimes I just ignore them. Of course, girls in our college love playboys. Some guys my age insult me, saying I have a nice body and a pretty face for nothing.
"Steven..." I hate it when they call my name in full, and he knows that. I look at him to hear what he has to say. "I need to talk to you after we drop these chicks."
"Who are you calling chicks?...chick," Abi screams from the back.
"Say one more word back there, and I'll cut off your tongue!" Tony warns as Abi hisses. I hate going to school with them; I always wish to have my own car or bike, but my mom always disagrees whenever I tell her. She always says she wants us to get used to ourselves, which never works.
Ten minutes pass by with silence in the car. We finally get to the twins' school. We watch them get out of the car and enter their school with Abi holding Emma's hand. Tony starts the car, and we zoom off.
"I won't be coming to school today; I have somewhere to go," Tony says after a few seconds of silence in the car.
"What!...I can't cover up for you again. What if I get caught? I'll be in big trouble, besides, I have my own problems too..."
"Hey...calm down; nobody is getting caught, okay? This would be the last time, I promise."
I chuckle. "You said that the last time you missed school," I roll my eyes.
"Okay...this will be the last, last time...I promise, promise."
"Do you think I'm joking?" He never takes me seriously.
I was almost caught in one of his classes, and that day was not funny.
"Sorry, I and my girlfriend had an issue, I just need to visit her, that's all. I'll be in school before you finish your classes."
"What do you mean you have issues with Vivian?" What is he saying? His girlfriend Vivian visited yesterday, and they don't look like they have any issues to me.
"No....pttfff... I'm going to visit Sarah, her hostel is near the school."
"Oh my God, how many girlfriends do you have...besides, Vivian is a really nice girl. Why can't you just date only her?" I raise my eyebrow.
He rolls his eyes; it's obvious he doesn't want to answer the question.
"Dude, you ask a lot of questions... well, I don't know the number of girlfriends I have, and also, I can't date only Vivian. She behaves like a saint whenever I try to touch her."
"She's practically the best girl for you...she's sweet, smart, and lovely."
He scoffs. "What do you know, single boy?"
He is right; what do I know? I'm always shy when it comes to girls. I can't even talk to one without stammering. The only girl I know I can talk to is Lydia; she is the nicest girl I've ever met. We is my friend in school.
"Oh! That reminds me..." Tony breaks my train of thought. "Your fat ass friend came visiting yesterday."
Oh my God! I forgot about Chris; we had an assignment to discuss and some books to read. "Shit! Why didn't you tell me?'"
"You were busy snoring, and besides, your room smells like books."
"So, what did you tell him?"
"I told him you were not around."
"That's a lie." My brother loves teasing Chris for no reason because of his chubby features. He calls him 'fat ass' most of the time. That's why Chris dislikes him.
"What? I didn't tease him... I just told him you were not around, that's all." He pulls out an apple from his pocket, which feels disgusting, and eats it immediately.
"Can you at least wash the apple?"
"Nah! I'm hungry," he said with his mouth full.
We finally reach my school. I step out of the car and sigh. 'Here we go with another shitty day,' my thoughts tell me. The only things I enjoy at school are my books and my friends: Chris and Lydia.
"Hey!" I groan and turn to look at Tony. He winds down the window and says, "Don't forget what we've talked about, okay?... I love you bro." What he actually meant was 'I hate you bro.' He smiles, showing his white teeth, and then zooms off.
"Boom!"
"Ahh... Chris? Could you stop sneaking up on me?" I say, holding my chest. I hate it when Chris does that. But he always says the same thing when I complain.
"I love to see your face when I do that," he says as he puts his sweaty arm around my neck. "Come on, let's go."
"Sorry about yesterday; I slept off. I hope my brother didn't say anything harsh to you," I say awkwardly.
"Of course not. He only told me I would collapse the house if I came in," he says, and I try my best not to laugh.
We enter the college, take out our books and stuff, and start discussing our plans for the physics assignment. We are three in a group, but our third person is the person I hate most in the school.
He literally bullies me every single day. On the day we were grouped, he sat between Chris and me just to mess with us. Lydia didn't come to school on that fateful day because of some personal issue, so she was placed in another group.
My phone vibrates inside my pocket, and I pull it out. It's Lydia calling; probably she didn't see us.
"Hello?" I say immediately I pick up the call.
"Hello... Where are you guys?" Lydia's voice sounds through the phone.
"We are on the first floor, just around the corner where we usually meet," I reply.
"Okay... I will be right there," she says and cuts the phone call.
"Man, I'm hungry," Chris says, scratching his head.
"Shit!" I curse, remembering the breakfast I left in the car.
"What?"
"I forgot my breakfast," before Chris could reply, someone hits his hand on the table, creating a loud bang. We look up and frown.
"How's it going, guys?" Jerry says, who happens to be our third person. He is a little taller than me. He never treats me well, and there's a rumor about him being a cultist and a drug dealer. Anybody could notice that, with the way his eyes are red, his lips black, and his horrible smell.
There's no way I'll mention that to him unless I have a death wish.
"We are working on it; you don't need to worry about a thing," I say, stammering while Chris keeps his mouth shut.
I guess he is more afraid than I am because he is sweating.
"Sure, don't disappoint me... hmm?" He says, patting my head, and takes his leave. We both sigh as I place my head on the table and whisper, "I hate this school."
"Steve," Chris calls in a low voice as he starts hitting my leg softly under the table. I close my eyes, not answering him.
"Steve," Chris calls again, hitting me harder this time.
"What?!" I snap raising my gaze to him.
His gaze is placed on a weird girl coming towards us. I can see more than five piercings on her ear with both sides of her nose pierced, her lips, fingers, and eyes black. But still, she was beautiful..
She wore a big black top with crazy black jeans, a pair of black sneakers. Everything on her is black in color.
I wonder if she has a black heart and soul too. She is not the only one coming; she also has two friends with her, one on the right and one on the left, and their dress is almost familiar. The only difference is that the other two girls didn't wear all black.
"Who is she?" I ask Chris, who looks a little amazed.
"Ariel."
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