The Winter Bride (TSBS-2) COMPLETED

Chapter Twenty-Two

Storms were created when love was bound; set it free, and it could break barriers, and pave new paths.
― Dianna Hardy

Ashley Davis-Harris

There was an eerie silence as the peculiar building mesmerized me. It felt like a new realm. The door seemed to be a portal that would take me somewhere I had never been before. All the lights were dimmed and the name above flashed in neon lights. All my senses seemed to forego all outwardly sounds as it focused only on the visuals. The more detailed the surrounding was the more pressure built on.

The silence was bringing out an anxiety attack like no other. There was an array of emotions threatening to bubble out at any moment. There was a different side of the world inside that building. Although as scary as it seemed, I was determined to experience a place free of burden. It was time to come out of the barriers. It was time to live yet time froze and the pressure became heavy on the chest.

A warm feeling on my cheek, a whip of breath on my frozen lips, an audible sound to my deafening ears and finally, a familiar sight in the unfamiliar surrounding.

"Relax, princess." He was speaking, slowly, mouthing each syllable. A worried face which was unusual on him. "Take deep breaths." He acted out the action and I mimicked him, steadily, and gradually getting control of my senses and emotions. "It's alright. I'm here with you."

Are you?

I wanted to ask, but I was afraid of the answer.

Are you with me, Neil? Are you with me completely and honestly? Or am I just a means to a mission of yours?

Tonight would be rewriting myself. Tonight would define the person I had become after marrying him. Would I ever be ready to give him all of me when he barely let me see him? All he ever did was berate me then kiss me whenever he wanted nonetheless my traitorous heart skipped a beat whenever he had been in the room with me.

No. Yes. Denial.

"Hey." He whispered then I felt a soft press on my lips before he asked. "You okay?"

I will be. Just show me you care.

I released a shaky breath and stepped away from his touch. My body mourned for the warmth, but I restrained myself and became the person the world would see me as.

"Let's do this."

Even though, I tried to be super confident, my voice came out shaky, proving the imposter I had become, but thankfully, he said nothing.

With a light touch on my back, he ushered me inside the club. Instantly, I grabbed the front of his shirt and halted us. The atmosphere was exotic. Something I was definitely not familiar with.

"You know, I would but really in public?"

I turned to his smirking face and glowered. "I did not mean anything. It is really dark."

"Of course." He nodded although the smirk never went away. He gestured to someone and a big bald man in black cloth came out of nowhere, and I instantly felt relaxed. Sure, Neil could protect me, but I felt much better trusting this giant bouncer than Neil right now. He could tackle Neil and wipe that smirk of his in seconds.

The kind man with dark muscular arms led us to a private section upstairs that had glass ceiling to floor windows to block out the noise yet provide an overview of the club. There were some people already present and they stood up enthusiastically to greet my dear husband.

So, dear husband had friends after all. I always thought Tyler Sanders was the only one who could tolerate Neil, and be kind enough to be friends with this mannerless 'man-child' as Em would call him. No wonder Em was so observant.