Bellatrix

Prologue

"STOP! STOP! PLEASE, I AM BEGGING YOU TO PLEASE STOP! I promise to try harder tomorrow and bring you more money." Bella, with tears gushing down her now badly bruised face, barely balancing on her knees, and her palms put together pleaded with Mason. He stood tall before her with a fistful of her hair. He had beaten her, thrown her around the little room like a ball, and kept yelling aloud how ugly she is and how she has no talent in pleasuring a man.

Bellatrix Willow turned 18 a few months back and lives with her mum, Tara, her 10-year-old brother Jacob, and Mason Daniels, who is also a part of this dysfunctional family He is her mum's boyfriend of 9 years. After Bella's dad was killed by a local gang, he owed money to, her mum, falling for the devil's charm, chose comfort in the arms of Mason who is extremely popular with all the old and new drug addicts in town. As he would like to call himself, "THE BEST DEALER IN TOWN!" It was only in the first few months of their relationship that all was well. After about six months, the abuse began, and not long after, Tara had become an addict. One who was willing to do just about anything Mason wanted for her next fix. Bella, as young as she was, tried her best to step up and take care and protect Jacob. Mason, thankfully or not, never forced drugs upon her as she was to take over Tara's household duties, take care of Jacob, satisfy Mason's desires when needed, and that of paying customers.

CHAPTER 1

Bella

I can feel my knees getting weaker as I try to maintain balance and beg Mason for mercy. I can't pass out; I have to get to Jacob. Please, God, please keep Jacob safe, I pray silently. For the past few months, I have been trying to save up as much as I could, hiding it away in the hope to soon escape this hell hole. By doing so, I had to endure severe punishment from Mason. I would lie that the customers were no longer paying well as they were getting bored of me. He believed me because he knew that I would not go against him or cheat him out of fear of what he would do to Jacob.

Earlier, Mason had sent me out to a local bar to meet and satisfy some of his customers, but before bringing my full payment back to him, I gave Jacob most of it with the rest of what I had saved up, a bag with the little clothes we both had and hid him in a scrapped-up truck down the street. We lived in a very dark area of town. Drugs, gambling, and prostitution were like oxygen here. Nobody cared about the well-being of the next! My plan was to escape tonight.Mason is even more enraged and beat me up even worse than the previous days. Just as he picked me up to most probably fling me across the room again, mum walked in calling out to him in her weird voice she used when she is totally high on whatever cheap stuff, he normally throws her way. She stood before us in just her bra and panties, "Let that little skank go now, Baby, and let me help make you feel all better." she sings out to him. She sways her hips and calls out to him repeatedly and starts touching herself. Mason drops me to the floor and yells at me to get myself cleaned and fixed up for tomorrow. As he walks towards mum, he stops, turns around and tells me that I better start thinking of more exciting things to do to please his customers tomorrow and bring him more money or else it's the end of the road for Jacob.

I keep repeating the words, "YOU ARE STRONGER THAN THIS BELLATRIX WILLOW, YOU TOTALLY GOT THIS! YOU ARE GETTING OUT OF HERE WITH JACOB TONIGHT!!!" As I cleaned up. I wrapped some cloth over my bruises and taped up as much as I could around my sore stomach, sides, and chest areas. I could hear mum screaming Mason's name as he was pounding into her. Tip toeing, I snuck out. Once I was outside, I zipped up my old black hoodie and covered up my head. Even though sore and weak in physical strength, I forced myself to pick up pace and went to find Jacob. "BELLA!" Shouted little, Jacob trembling in fear. "I was so scared, I thought you would not come for me cos Mason hurt you bad," he cried. "I will never leave you behind Jakey" I told him as I wiped off his tears and pecked his forehead "Come now, we have to try and get to the bus station quickly so that we are out of town before light." I carried him out of the old truck and put the bag filled with what little we have over my shoulders, held his hand tight, and started towards the bus station.

I had not planned where we were going to go to, I didn't care as long as it was far away from here. "Bella, can we please stop for a bit? My feet hurts" asked Jacob. "We're almost there Jakey, please we have to be strong and get out of here before Mason realizes we are gone," I tell him. He gives me a brave smile and nods his head. Thankfully for us, the bus station was not that far out from where we lived. "Are there any buses leaving town tonight?" I asked the ticket attendant. He looked me over suspiciously, his eyes catching the bruises on my face and neck. He then gave me what looked like a smile of sympathy and said that there was a bus leaving soon for Honeyville. I bought our tickets, still holding on to Jacob's hand, and rushed for the bus. Once we took our seats, I let out a huge sigh of relief. Goodbye, HELL TOWN, as I had named it.

A man came around selling snacks on the bus and made me realize that both Jacob and I hadn't eaten anything for hours. I took some money from my savings and paid for some snacks and bottles of water. I asked Jacob to eat up and get some sleep as we were going to be traveling for a few hours till we reached Honeyville.

Bella

"Fifteen minutes to the Stop in Honeyville, folks," said the loud voice that woke me up. Jacob was still asleep,his head snuggled on my lap."I promise to make things so much better for you,Jakey.I will not let anyone ever hurt us again." I whispered to him while running my fingers through his hair. As we got off the bus, my jaw hung in awe.The only words coming to mind were WOW! WOW! WOW! I looked look over to Jacob,and his once scared looking eyes are gleaming with excitement.I smile down at him and go in for a hug."Welcome to our new home town Jakey" I tell him. This town is truly beautiful. It oozes a positive and happy vibe I never thought I would bare witness to. Every side you turn you face happy looking people smiling at each other and every area we have seen in the short while looks,smells and even feels clean and beautiful.

"Good morning mam, I am sorry to bother you but could you please assist in pointing me in the direction of a B & B or a place we could book into around here" I ask the lady closest to us.She is BEAUTIFUL,maybe in her late 40s or early 50s,but a stunner nonetheless.She turns to look at me,and her first expression of shock after seeing my bruises quickly disappears and replaced with a more gentle or compassionate one."Oh,hello there,darling,no bother at all.Y'all must be new to town.Welcome" She says and grabs Jacob first into a hug and then me." Ohhhh,isn't he just precious.What's ya name handsome?" "This is my brother Jacob and I am Bellatrix but you can call me Bella,mam" I tell her and then to my surprise,I hear Jacob's shy voice coming through"Y..you can call me Jakey" I look down only to find Jacob smiling from ear to ear and his cheeks blushing red."Please,no more of calling me mam,my name is Brianna, but everyone calls me Brie.I know the perfect place for you two." she says with a happy smile on her face.I was thankful that she didn't ask any questions about where we were from or why we came here. Perhaps my bruises told a silent story.

I was just about to thank her when another voice cut me off."Sorry to keep you waiting,aunt Brie." A girl who looked to be around my age shouted out as she hugged Brie."This is my niece Arianna,she's just arrived for the summer holidays." She explained that she came to pick her up from the bus station,and she then introduced Jacob and I to her."How about I drop you and lil Jakey off at the place I told ya about? It's on our way home" Brie offered.The angels were truly looking over us.I looked up to the heavens,said a silent prayer of appreciation and then to Brie and thanked her for her kindness and offer to help.When we got to the B & B,Brie asked us to take a seat at what looked like a main reception area.We watched her as she approached a woman who also looked to be around Brie's age.This town is truly blessed with beautiful looking people.I could not hear what they were saying to each other but I did not miss the glances the lady took towards us as Brie spoke."Hello there Precious,my name is Amber,and Brie tells me you both are new in town and looking for a place to stay.Are you just passing or looking to settle down here?" Amber asks me."It truly is a pleasure to meet you,Amber.We are hoping to settle down here if I can find myself a job." I tell her.The money I saved up will run out in a few days,and I have to find a job to provide for Jacob and myself."Well,Precious,today,sure is your lucky day.As you can see out there on the notice board,I am looking for a receptionist and a bit of help around this place.Would you be interested?" "Yes,yes,ma'am! I am interested!" I screamed out with joy and excitement."Great to hear,Precious,now come,let me show yourll to where your'll be staying.Welcome to the family" said Amber.

2 YEARS LATER

I can't believe it's already 2 years since Jacob and I moved to Honeyville.Everyone here has truly been so amazing and welcomed us with open,warm hearts.Amber and Brie went all out in ensuring Jacob and I were safe and happy.I had opened up to them and told them everything that happened and why we had to run away.They both cried their eyes out listening to all that we had endured and promised to help protect us.Arianna and I had become best friends,and I always look forward to her coming to town when she is on study breaks. On our first Christmas here,Amber,had gifted me a phone.This helped me keep in contact with Arianna when she went back home.I am still working as a receptionist at B & B and also work part-time at the town's library.I love my second job as it gives me an opportunity to fulfill my passion for exploring the world through books. Jacob has also settled in very well.He has become a much happier,confident, and very handsome boy. With Amber's help,we got him enrolled in the community school, and though it took a bit of time to come out of his shell,he did and now boasts many friends.Even I made some friends but regard Arianna as my bestie.I miss her so much and am impatiently counting down the days.She is due back to visit in a few weeks.This time around,her older brother will be bringing her through as he is apparently coming down on a business trip.Arianna told me that he had taken over their family business from their dad a few years back and because of his hard work and commitment,the business has grown more and is very successful and well known all over the world.Arianna is so proud of him and she sometimes gets carried away bragging about him during our calls.I don't mind cos she let's me brag about Jacob's achievements in school and sports too.Got to love my bestie!

Arianna

I have grown to love spending my school breaks in Honeyville, especially now that my best friend is there. When I first met Bella at the bus station two years ago, I was filled with a mix of emotions, seeing her face and neck covered in bruises. I could only imagine how much more she had on the rest of her body. I was burning with rage! I wished that I had the person who hurt Bella in front of me so that I could put a bullet through his head! Whoever did that to her could not be referred to as a human being. Both my dad and brother would never lift a finger to harm a woman. My mum and I are treated and recognized by them both as the Queen and Princess in our home. Living in a very competitive business world in the city, my dad and brother have ensured mum and I attend self-defense classes as well as being well trained handling a gun.

The days and weeks that followed during my summer holidays in Honeyville, I found Bella to be one of the most unique and amazing people I have ever met. Having faced so many trials and tribulations from such a young age, she maintains a positive outlook on life and can turn the most sad and depressing moment into a happier one. She soon became my inspiration, my 'pick me up' person and best friend. And soon...well, if all goes well with my plan, Bella and Jacob will become part of my family. I am so excited and wish I could just fast forward the next few weeks and be in Honeyville already.

"Who's the beauty in the pic with you, Princess? "Gabriel had come into my room to "catch up" as he'd like to call it. I had printed out some of the photos I had taken in Honeyville on my last trip there and was busy choosing the ones to go up on my Memories wall when he came in. I was taken by surprise at first when he asked the question as he never took or showed interest in any of my friends. They just never grabbed his attention no matter how hard some of them may have tried. Even though I may never admit it to him, my brother is very attractive, and many, including my friends, refer to him as "eye candy," "Greek god," and other gross names.

Life is such that there will always be gossip and haters, too. Being an attractive, successful businessman will definitely get tongues wagging even more so that he is a bachelor at the age of 27. Some call him a "Billionaire Playboy " ,well perhaps if he was still in college, that title would have been fitting, but he had passed that phase awhile back. He had been in a serious relationship for many years, but that skank chose to hop into bed with one of my brother's then colleagues while he had gone on a business trip. He was heartbroken and thereafter just threw himself into work. That skank came crawling back, begging and pleading for forgiveness, but Gabriel wants nothing to do with her. Yep! She is still trying to crawl her way back into his life!

"Gabe, that's Bella, my bestie from Honeyville. You should know her by now cos I am always talking about her, and I thought you would have seen pics of her ages ago. Look at my wall, I already have so many up there, " I told him as I pointed to my wall. "Princess, that wall is in a mess! There's waaày too much going on there. You may need to start up on another wall or pack away some of those pics, " he laughingly pointed out. "Whatever!" I said and caught him staring at the pic he asked about. I noticed a sparkle in those deep green eyes of his, which I hadn't seen in a very long time and Excitement started brewing inside of me, and the match maker spirit in me came to life. Why did I not see it before, Bella and Gabriel would make the PERFECT COUPLE.

Since the day Gabriel questioned me about the pic, I could not stop bringing Bella into all our conversations. Dad and mum were probably starting to think that I am losing it or that I had fallen deeply in love with her and would be announcing her as more than just my best friend soon cos I would speak about her at breakfast, dinner or just about when ever we were all together. Gabriel, on the other hand, did not seem to mind. He was all ears to every conversation about Bella and would encourage me to continue should mum or dad try to cut me short.

I could not keep my plans a secret anymore, I felt like I was going to explode from all the excitement I felt. I had to speak to Mum and Dad and let them in on my plans. Even though they didn't say it, I knew that they both really liked Bella after speaking to her over our video calls a few times. Somehow, Gabriel always missed those. After hearing me out, they agreed that Bella and Gabriel are perfect for each other, and we are going to help bring them together. My parents became just as excited as me, and we started brainstorming ideas to get Bella and Gabriel to meet.

My bestie felt safe in Honeyville and is not confident enough to leave there just yet. I had tried many times to get Jacob and her to come visit us in the city, but she always refused. No matter how hard I tried convincing her that they would be safe in our home. So, the only way would be to convince Gabriel to go to Honeyville, and dad came up with the perfect excuse to get him to go. As much as Gabriel showed signs of interest in Bella, we knew that he would not give up his work time to pursue a relationship that may or may not work out.Our family owns the mall in Honeyville, which Aunt Brie's family oversees on our behalf. Dad said that he was going to put forward the idea of expanding or giving the mall a bit of a 'face lift' and Gabriel will have to go through to meet with Aunt Brie's family and work on a way forward. It was decided that he would accompany me on my next trip to Honeyville. I can't wait to see my bestie, now more than ever! The last time we'd spoken, she mentioned she had a surprise for me and refused to give me any hints no matter how hard I tried to get it out of her.