EmberLove Reborn

The Scars She Hid From The World

REGINA MCBRIDE

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

Modern Revenge Scheming

Download the Book on the App

Emberline's POV

"I need to get some fresh air" I murmured, my voice wavering.

Consequences of drinking red wine on your wedding day. I didn't feel good one bit. I wasn't sure if I could walk down the aisle without one in my system, my shyness would probably skyrocket my anxiety which would make me get my vows wrong and I would become a laughing stock.

Well not today, today Emberline would get married without being embarrassed like the way she have been her whole life. If I say so myself.

The wedding starts in an hour, I was too dizzy to stand up straight. My only hope was not to fall down on my face when I walk down the aisle.

In an uncertain movement, I tugged at my wedding dress as I walked down the corridor of the hotel, my steps faltering akin to those of a sailor navigating uncertain seas.

Along the way, I encountered a doorway that sparked a flicker of recognition—an inkling that it might lead to the chamber Jaxon, my fiancé, occupied.

Despite the wine's muddling effect on my thoughts, a magnetic pull urged me onward.

They say if someone see their fianceé in their wedding dress it means bad luck, still I didn't mind. I do not believe in such nonsense.

I pushed open the door, a gush of wind blowing against my face, his cologne filled the room like water in a tub.

To my astonishment, the room stood vacant, no sign. of human presence. Jaxon's suit still on the hanger. Untouched. A soft chuckle escaped me.

I guess maybe it's fate that we do not see before the wedding.

My delicate fingertip trailed along the fabric, a fond smile gracing my lips in the midst of the solitude.

With a private smile, I felt anticipation send a tingling sensation through my veins. I longed to hear the titles—Mrs. Iron, the Queen of the Northern Isles, or perhaps even His Majesty—addressed to me.

I would let go of everything about me. About my past. About my beating. I would be free.

I took a deep breath, packed my wedding dress in my hands on turned to leave. I already felt a bit better.

As I turned, ready to leave the room, a sound stopped me in my tracks.

It didn't feel real at first until I heard it again.

The unexpected moan that shattered the silence.

"Yeah...please..." The female voice said. I felt as if cold water had drenched my dress as I stood there, face ashen, gooseflesh all over my skin.

"Turn around, I want to fuck you from behind"

My heart was beating fast against my chest. It couldn't be true, it can't be true. There is no way, right? Please someone tell me I didn't just hear my own fiancé voice.

I wanted to remove the voice from my head and act like I didn't hear them but I couldn't.

The sounds was coming from the separate bedroom, pulling my focus like a magnet.

A frown tugged at my forehead, and my steps turned deliberate as I traced the source. I prayed silently that it wasn't true.

Guided by the noise, I approached a nearby doorway. It led to a secluded bedroom, the sounds within growing more distinct.

It sounded like the wild mumblings of a man and woman in great pleasure.

An uneasy ripple coursed through me, it couldn't be…could it?

With caution, I guided my feet towards the door, my fingers wrapping around the cool doorknob. I wrap my fingers around the doorknob. With a deep breath, I turned it, my heart beats frantically within my chest.

Read Now