THE ATTEMPT

Learn to stand up for yourself or nobody else will, love.

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CHAPTER XXIX

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EMMA STARED AT me blankly for a couple of seconds before her face scrunched up into a disgusted sneer and she ripped her hands out of mine.

"You slut," she spat out with so much hatred, I couldn't help but flinch back. "How can you sit here and pretend to be a friend when you've been sneaking around with the groom the whole time?"

"I-I don't know," I stuttered out, feeling the tears start trailing down my cheeks.

"Don't you dare start with your fake tears," she sneered at me. "You always whip them out to make yourself look like the victim but this is all on you."

I sniffled trying to hold it back as she glared at me.

"How long has this been going on for?"

"A couple weeks maybe?" I answered, shrugging as I avoided her eyes.

"And you've just been-God," she cut herself off, running her hands through her hair as she paced up and down the showroom in obvious anger. "Is it for the money? Is that why?"

I snapped my eyes up to meet hers, shaking my head from side to side. "No! I lo-"

"Shut up!" she cut me off, not allowing me the chance to speak. "That's all whores like you ever do. Daniel is an idiot. Only fucking thinks with his dick."

I couldn't see why she had to insult me, but I kept my mouth shut and let her feel her anger. After all, she didn't force me to start sleeping with her brother so I couldn't blame the consequences of my actions on her.

"And you're just sitting there as a bridesmaid as if nothing happened," she hissed at me.

"I didn't have a choice."

"You need to tell her."

My eyes went wide and my heart stopped beating in fear. "No, I can't."

"Yes, you can. You're literally making a fool of Celeste by being a bridesmaid in her face but sleeping with her husband behind her back." She gave me a harsh glare. "Either you tell her or I will."

"What are you guys doing?"

I quickly shot up and turned around, heading towards the nearest dress so she didn't suspect anything. "Oh, I was just thinking this dress looks nice."

I wiped away the remnants of my tears discreetly before turning around and holding up the dress with a fishtail and light blue to dark blue fade design.

"No offense, Ara, but that's ugly," Celeste said, turning around looking for a different dress on a different rack.

"Yeah, you're right." I let out an awkward laugh as I hung the dress back onto the the rack, happy that she didn't hear anything.

"I'm so glad that Daniel is marrying you, Celeste," I heard Emma's voice say from behind me. I turned around to look at her and she glared at me almost instantly, making turn away. "I think you're the best fit for him. You're smart, you're educated, you're pretty. He could honestly do no wrong with you."

"Aww, what makes you say that?" Celeste asked as she gave her a short, side hug.

"I just wanted you to know. If something ever happens, just don't give up on him because you're a good thing and good things are rare occurrences these days. You'll make Daniel happier than he's ever been."

"Thank you. This is why you're a bridesmaid."

Nobody said anything else after that; we just went about our searching until Celeste had called it a day and decided that we should go get something to eat.

As the three sat around the table, I stood waiting by the end as I was the one they decided to take their orders up to the cooks. It seemed that whether I was a bridesmaid or not, I would always just be a maid in their eyes.

"...And just a bottle of water."

"Got it," I said with a fake smile before turning around to tell the waitress what they wanted.

The diner we were at was one where we had the option of either sitting inside or out. We chose outside because of the lovely weather that, surprisingly enough, wasn't too overbearing. In fact, it was worse being inside than out. And yet, I found myself making my way inside to place our orders.

"Excuse me, miss."

I snapped my attention away from the open front doors of the diner and looked to the man who had called for my attention.

He smiled down at me, the sun kissing his dark skin beautifully as his grey eyes twinkled. He was wearing a black shirt that showed off his muscled form and had a black earring in one ear. I smiled politely back at him, hating the fact that he was so tall. I think he was even taller than Daniel.

"Yes, can I help you?" I asked as I held my hand up over my eyes to shield them from the sun.

"I'm sorry to bother you," he began, letting his eyes run up and down my body, "but I just wanted to say that you are exceptionally beautiful."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, looking back over to the table with the girls only to see them watching me impatiently. Before I looked back at the man, a figure running up to us caught my eyes.

Squinting in the sunshine, my brows furrowed as I made the figure out to be Pablo's and he seemed to be mouthing something to me as our eyes met.

"I'm sorry for that. I just wanted to know if you could lend me some money. I'm a dollar short." The man behind me had continued to speak, but I was too busy trying to decipher Pablo's words.

Was he saying something back the sun? But then looking closely my eyes widened when I finally caught what he was telling me.

Run.

I glanced to the man in front of me, taking him in again. Wearing all black with a built body and an earpiece that looked like an earring.

Shit.

I beat passed before I felt like my limbs were finally beginning to work again. I turned away from him and ran in the direction that Pablo was coming from, but before I could even take two steps, I felt two arms wrap around my waist and pull me roughly into a broad chest.

I let out a cry of terror, flailing around in his arms as he lifted me off my feet.

Wasn't anyone else seeing this? Why weren't they helping me? What was going on?

I looked around the diner, just to see everyone watching the situation with wide, surprised eyes. I couldn't help but feel angry at them. They shouldn't be watching, they should be helping!

Pablo was in front of me within a second and I just caught him as he raised his fist and sent it flying into the man's face.

His grip loosened around my waist and Pablo dragged me away from him. "Run. Get out of here. There's more of them." He then looked up to Celeste, Emma and Rachel behind me and told them the same thing. "Get out of here."

I knew they were behind me, so I didn't wait for any of the the girls to catch up with me as I went darting down the road, my hands cupping my boobs as I found the jiggling annoying.

I didn't get far when two burly men in black t-shirts blocked my path. I looked up at them with pleading eyes as they smirked at me.

"Please don't hurt me," I whimpered, just as one grabbed my arm tightly and yanked me closer to them.

"Araceli!"

The girls were running in the opposite direction, deciding to ditch me as I was caught, but Celeste didn't look to keen on the decision.

I was about to reply, when the sound of a gunshot pierced through the air and silenced the commotion. I looked around, my heart beating slowly in my chest as everyone looked at everyone to figure out what was going on.

It was only until the hitman that was holding me hostage fell to the ground with a bullet wound at the back of his head that the uproar began. Everyone started screaming, either making their way to the exit doors or ducking to the floor in fear of their life.

I looked around, completely lost on where I should go as the girls were gone and I couldn't spot Pablo.

Suddenly, I felt something grab my legs and before I could register what was happening, I was being lifted up into the air and thrown over someone's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

I started kicking and screaming, wanting them to let go of me. Unfortunately for me, I had only recognised the mop of curly hair after I had succeeded in pissing Daniel off. He put his hand under my dress and gripped my thigh tightly, making me yelp but not entirely from pain.

He said nothing to me and I said nothing to him as I finally went limp in his arms, letting him carry me to wherever he was going.

There was the sound of a car door opening and the next thing I knew, he was gently placing me in it. He smoothed back my hair so it didn't fall into my eyes and looked at me with a stern look in his eyes.

"Don't go anywhere," he said with a hard tone as I nodded sharply. He crouched down and gripped my hair tightly in his hands so I couldn't look away. "I mean it. No matter what's happening outside; no matter if the car is being tipped over. No vayas a ningún lado." [Don't go anywhere.]

The fact that he was speaking Spanish only proved to me more that he meant every word he was saying.

"Okay," I nodded meekly, my voice coming out weak as he nodded at me and stood up and slammed the door shut.

"We'll be back soon."

Soon lasted half an hour with me almost having a heart attack five times. Gunshots were being fired left, right and center and I could still hear the screams from the car. Sometimes, if I looked hard enough out the window, I could see a stream of blood flowing into a nearby drain.

Thankfully, I hardly felt the need to do that.

I was just recovering from my last heart attack scare when my heart stopped beating all together at the sound of some gruff voices near the car.

"Dammit, where is she?" Someone asked as I ducked under the window so they wouldn't see me. "It's like she just disappeared or something."

"I know." His friend replied. "She was with those three other girls but she isn't with them anymore. We had her one minute and then the next she was gone."

"They're really doing their best to protect her. This just means that she's a really important asset to them, or she means more to their leader than they're letting on."

"You think she could be his wife?"

"It doesn't matter. All I know is that I'm going to tell boss to try and get some information out of her before he kills her."

Their voices seemed to be getting further and further away. I risked taking a peek, doing it at the right time as I watched their retreating backs as they walked away.

"We may as well leave. There's no point in continuing this bullshit if she's gone."

Were they talking about me? Was I the reason why they had done all this? Was it me they wanted?

I really hoped it wasn't because I knew that I would have to live with the guilt and the burden of all of the people who lost their lives in the crossfire if it was. The blood seeping down the drain didn't belong to just nobody.

I took one last glance at it, finding it flowing like a river this time.

The back door flew open beside me, taking me by surprise as I whipped around. Celeste sent herself tumbling in beside me before Emma and Rachel joined her, leaving all four of us to squish into the backseat.

I was too busy watching the disgruntled girls to take note of Daniel and Pablo getting into the car until it suddenly jerked forward and we were on the road, driving to wherever they were going to take us.

I found it odd in that moment. There were four of us; four girls. The three rich women with a bank figure over nine digits and then there was me with nothing to my name. Not even a flip phone.

And yet, looking at us know, I looked more wealthy than they did. I was untouched, not even a strand of hair out of place while bruises and scratches marred their skin.

It was either they had been the target of this whole assault and they had to struggle for their lives, or Daniel and Pablo really made me top priority in this situation.

It didn't make sense to me. Why would they do that? Why would someone be after me of all people?

"What..." Celeste began, breaking the tense silence in the car as we all turned to her. "What just happened?"

"We'll tell you more when we get home," was all Daniel said as he drove out of the town.

"Am I in danger? Were they trying to kidnap me?" she asked as he rolled his eyes.

"For once, this one isn't about you."

When his eyes met mine in the rear view mirror, he didn't have to tell me who it was about.

*****

I need to post on insta but like I don't want to. Like it's just time consuming and everything. How do influencers do this?

I'm not gonna survive.

Anyhoo our bitch is being hunted down WOO drama let's see where this goes.