Chapter 1 The Slap That led me back home

Chapter One

First Person's Perspective

Belle

One thing about me, is that I always act first, then do the thinking later

Today was no different

*SLAP!*

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Belle? Why did you hit me?" I was seeing red, no...

That is an understatement. I was seeing flames. I wanted to destroy everything, I wanted to kill this bastard, and let me tell you, when a she-wolf from the Westwood wolf region was angry, she could do anything

Turning to the right, I found an empty bottle of whiskey that we had shared last night

Without thinking twice, I picked it up and smashed it into the table, leaving me with broken shards and a weapon

"I'm going to kill you, you bastard, I swear I'm going to kill you," I screamed, lunging towards Rowan...

*Thirty Minutes Ago*

"Hey love, I'm home," the door clicking shut behind me was the only response I got

No warm smile, no "welcome back" Just...nothing

I tried again, walking further into the house

"You wouldn't believe what I did to that asshole who's been bothering me all this time"

Still, silence

I sighed. Maybe he was asleep

I made my way to the bedroom, expecting to find Rowan snoring under the covers

But the bed was empty

"Ugh, I'm starving," I muttered, pulling off my clothes and throwing them in all directions of the room

Amidst my undressing, my gaze caught something rather interesting

*I will send the video to Belle, you know how she can get*

Obviously when you see your name mentioned in something, that has automatically become your business, right?

And so I picked up the cell phone

Honestly, I wish I never did

"No, this is impossible," my voice came out as a whisper as I stared at the clip playing on the screen over and over again

"No, this is not real, this is..." I fell on my knees, clutching my hands tightly to my chest. I couldn't breathe

I felt hot tears gather in the corners of my eyes and cloud my vision

Heavy hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway as I screamed my lungs out

"Love, what's happening? What's going on? Why are you screaming?" Rowan held my shoulder as he tried to lift me up. I pulled myself away from him as fast as possible and jumped to my feet

"What..." before the next words could make it out, my palm collided with his cheek, the resounding slap echoing through the walls

"You imbecile!" I yelled "How could you? How dare you?! All these years I've been fighting to prove myself, all these years I thought I wasn't good enough....and it was you all along?"

I looked at the screen again

*Well then, how much do you need? I will pay any amount you want, just make sure Belle doesn't get that promotion*

"Love, what are you talking about?" He was still acting all innocent and clueless?

I turned the phone toward him. Let him see it. Let him hear his own words

"Where did you get that? That..."

"You did this to me," I whispered, staring at him like he was a stranger "You stood by me while I cried, you watched me fall apart. And the whole time... you were the one stabbing me in the back"

Rowan's lips moved, but I didn't hear a word. All I saw was betrayal. The kind that changes a person forever, the kind that made one look like a fool

And I hated it when people tried to take me as one

So I grabbed the broken glass again

He saw the anger in my eyes. He knew he stood no chance

He knew if he let me, I would murder him in cold blood. so he took off, and I chased after him

"Where do you think you're going? Stay right here where I can kill you," My wolf wanted blood, and poor human Rowan didn't stand a chance

He couldn't get too far before I grabbed him and pounced, slapping, kicking, clawing while he screamed for help

The maid heard the commotion and rushed in. I didn't pay attention to that though - my eyes were still locked on Rowan

The next thing I knew, there were hands pulling me off him. Blue and red lights flashing through the windows. Someone reading me my rights while I stood there still breathing hard, my knuckles bleeding,

They put me in a police car and I didn't fight it

***

After days of being locked in a cell

They said Rowan was charging me to court for 'domestic abuse' and physical assault

I was not in the best state of mind throughout the whole trial process, thanks to Nora, my coworker, she stood by me through it all

Eventually the judgement was passed and I was found guilty

The judge gave me two years or a fine of 3 million dollars

Like, what the fuck?

It's literally just a few punches.... definitely not something that should give me such a harsh sentence, heck! I don't even think such a fine is legally permissible

BUT

since Rowan was a renowned lawyer with connections..... it wasn't that surprising

To make things even worse, he came to gloat at me. Lucky for him, I had been cuffed

"This is what you get for trying to resist my authority" he said, calm as ever

he didn't even have the decency to be remorseful

"Resist you? wait...you think this is some kind of power play?" I asked, incredulous

"Your ruined my life, you sabotaged my career for three goddamn years, and you think this is all about power play??" he chuckled, actually chuckled

"You just ruined everything, Belle. Don't try to act dumb"

"You know...we could have had something magical, something special and beautiful... but you like to over work yourself, you like to...to be their lap dog, you like to be the doormat for people to step on, people who do not give two fucks about you" he continued, while I just stared, wondering who this man was

"If you had at least tried to think of this from my perspective, you would've realised that I was only trying to protect you.....I was only trying to help you, I mean, I don't mind providing everything for you, I love you, but you? you've refused to see that" a small humorless laugh escaped my lips

I nodded my head, biting down on my lower lips

Wow. Just wow

What hurt more was that he didn't even realize how twisted that sounded

Shaking my head, I rose to my feet

"Get out" I said calmly, even though I felt everything else but calm

he shook his head too, like I was the insane one, like I was the one being unreasonable

"I'll be right here whenever you're ready to have a real conversation, goodbye love" he turned to walk away

tears blurred my vision but I blinked them back immediately

"You won't see the last of me, Rowan, I promise you that" he waited for exactly two seconds, before walking away and never looking back

~~~~

I cried. Very, very hard

When no one was watching, when no one was listening

My heart clenched so hard, I thought it might shatter right there

How had I missed all of it? The signs were there, boldly written

I guess I had been too busy loving and trusting that asshole

Involuntary tears stung my eyes again and I let them fall

He ruined me, simply because I loved

More tears rolled down my eyes as I reminisced the times when he'd hold me against his chest, saying those sweet words of encouragement

Telling me, that even if the world thought I was a failure, to him I was the most successful woman out there

"You're so foolish" I whispered, hitting my head on the wall

After a few more beats, I wiped off the tears and closed my eyes, ready for sleep

But my body rejected the cold, hard, unyielding ground

"This can't be my life, no, I can't accept this kind of fate just like that," I muttered

"I am the victim here, I shouldn't have to suffer..."

"Lady, do you mind? I'm trying to sleep here," I shot a death glare in the direction of the voice. What a shame they couldn't even see me

"Go fuck yourself," I retorted

"What did you just say to me?" The voice came out very low this time

Before I could respond, a huge and buff woman stepped out of the shadows

"I said, go fuck yourself" The problem with me is that I never know when to shut the hell up

She threw a punch in my direction which I swiftly dodged, then proceeded to beat her black and blue.....I paid for that tho, no food for 24 hours, Prison life was shit

Two more days passed, Nora always came to visit me

She started a go fund me, begging friends and her relatives on my behalf, thinking she could raise the money, but it couldn't even make a dent

One time, she got so frustrated and asked about my relatives, telling me to contact them, but I didn't have any

I only had my mother, and I would die first before asking her for money

But apparently, Nora didn't share my resolve, she did her findings and got to work

"Belle Westwood" I heard the voice of the prison guard call out

"You have a call," she said, then proceeded to drag me out

I took the phone hesitantly, not knowing who to expect, and placed it against my ear, only to pull it away barely a second later

"Oh goddess, Belle, you're coming home this time and I would take no damn excuses"

I was shocked for exactly one second, before rolling my eyes so hard, it hurt

Yup. The slut - a.k.a my mother - had spoken