Before the Bells Ring

Word got around fast, and Dad wasted no time in getting word to the Smiths. He always dreamed of me marrying into their family, the perfect match in his eyes, and they owed him big time for saving their hides once.

However, I was head over heels for Samuel and kept saying no. I can still hear Dad's voice, heavy with meaning, as I walked out the door, "Claire, are you sure about this?"

I did not have an answer. I did not even meet the Smith guy. However, there was no way I was going to let Samuel off the hook that easily. I wanted to see him squirm, to watch him lose every ounce of his cool in front of everyone we knew.

My phone shattered my reverie with its shrill ring.

It was the cops. Samuel got himself into a brawl.

My heart skipped a beat. He bleeds out over paper cuts, for crying out loud.

After a moment's hesitation, I threw on my coat and braved the snowstorm.

By the time I got there, my hair was a frozen mess. I did not even step inside when I heard the shouting.

"You think you can hit my girl and live to tell about it?" Samuel was on top of some guy, pummeling him without a care in the world, blood everywhere.

I never saw that side of him.

His condition had him pushing me away time and again. Too risky, he said, being with Don Jones' daughter. I bit my tongue, avoiding trouble, even ready to ditch my inheritance once we tied the knot, all to keep him safe.

For what? So his friends could laugh in my face? However, there he was, throwing punches like his life did not matter, all for a girl. The unfairness of it all burned inside me like wildfire.

I slammed the door open with a forceful kick, and the buzz of the office cut to dead silence.

Samuel caught sight of me, annoyed, lacing his voice, "You know, if you'd been any later, you'd be walking down the aisle to a corpse."

He then barked orders at me as if he were my supervisor, "Once you've handled this, meet me in the underground garage."

With that, he strolled downstairs with Janet, his arm around her, whispering reassurances, "Don't worry, I've got you, nothing's going to happen."

They were lost in their own world, their closeness for all to see.

Only after they vanished did the officer snap me back to reality. "Ms. Jones, Ms. Lloyd has accused her father of abuse, and Mr. Gordo just lost it for a second."

"Are you her father?" Ignoring the cop, I fixed my gaze on the trembling man. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Claire, Frank Jones's daughter."

The man shook like a leaf in a storm.

Crossing our family meant flirting with disaster, with outcomes ranging from crippling injuries to total annihilation.

He hit the floor hard, pleading as he clutched at my pants, "No, I'm not! She just paid me to play a part!"

I could not help but sneer as I yanked him up by his hair and dragged him out.

I was dying to see how Samuel would react when he discovered his sweetheart had played him from the start.

However, the moment I stepped into the underground garage, I froze.

Samuel and Janet were locked in a kiss inside my car.

"Samuel, you scared me to death. With all that blood, I thought you really had a clotting disorder."

Samuel chuckled, "That was just some story I cooked up to turn Claire down back then. She can be quite the handful."

"And why did you end up with her anyway?"

He stopped short, as if weighing his words.

"I couldn't figure it out. Maybe all I ever needed was her father. "

His words cut through me like a thousand knives.

So, this whole time, he was just using me?

He never loved me, and I never really had him.

I let out a bitter chuckle.

My hands balled into fists.

'Samuel, you're heartless,' I seethed inwardly.

I marched toward him, but agony suddenly ripped through my stomach.

That man, who claimed to be Janet's father, plunged a knife into me.

"Ms. Jones, I wish it hadn't come to this, but your father killed my wife, and now his daughter has to pay," he said.

"It was tough getting close to you, but Janet tipped me off that your Achilles' heel is Samuel. She was spot on."

With those words, he tossed the knife aside and bolted.

I collapsed, my hands pressed against the bleeding wound.

At that moment, everything clicked.

However, the pain was drowning me, and I knew I was on borrowed time.

The parking garage was deserted in the dead of night. No, there was one more.

"Samuel."

I whispered his name, clinging to a sliver of hope.

However, he was oblivious, lost in a fervent embrace with Janet against the car window.

The sound of their passion smothered my pleas.

"What was that?"