Bellanca

"Well... Life is stranger than fiction sometimes."- Swordfish

- - -

Bellanca Wright...

That's her name.

Bella- the very name oozes confidence and independence.

She's like a diamond, reflecting the sunlight off her sun-kissed flawless skin. But it's her mesmerizing butterfly-shaped amber eyes that are sure to leave you gasping for breath. With her long, silky black hair cascading down her slim shoulders and a seductive smile on her lips, Bella is the epitome of beauty.

The modeling world knows her as the queen of the runway, but few people know the real story behind her stunning facade.

Bella's parents divorced when she was just a little girl, and her father took her away from her mother. Left to suffer with her father, Bella never knew the warmth of her mother's embrace or the taste of her comforting meals. She never experienced the love a mother can give, despite being the embodiment of grace and beauty.

Now, Bella's life revolves around being a source of income for her father. Threatened with her mother's fate, Bella is forced to bring fame and fortune to her father at a young age.

With a smile on her face, Bella pretends to enjoy the life of a princess when in front of the cameras and the public eye. After all, that's what people expect from celebrities. She's learned to put on the mask of happiness even though her soul yearns to be free from the shackles of her father's control.

Bella longs to lead a normal, happy life with her parents together. But whenever she tries to break free, her father interferes. He's always there, controlling her every move like a remote.

Her life, as she knows it, is nothing but a prison. She wishes for freedom from this misery so she can finally rest in peace. Despite her stunning beauty, talent, and intelligence, Bella's life is a cruel and loveless existence.

...

Our virgin Asher needed to leave this place.

He dialed Gabriel's number so he could blabber about today's incident.  

"You should come and keep an eye on the lady instead. I am tired." Asher didn't even bother to say 'hello'.

"I am busy now," Gabriel said with an emotionless voice as usual.

And that's when Asher lost grip of himself...

"You selfish moron! Who cares if you are busy or not? Get your ass here! I was nearly r*ped because of you!"

For a moment, Gabriel wondered if his cousin lost his mind. Did he just say 'r*pe'?!

"Asher, Did you hit your head or something? Who was going to r*pe you?"

"That woman was going to r*pe me! You heard me?! I suffered from sexual harassment and I don't want to stay here any longer!"

Asher's voice was very loud, echoing in the corridor of the hospital until everyone heard his embarrassing words.

Realizing his fault, his eyes wandered around to see people's reactions, and as expected, the mothers covered their children's ears and some were recording him. Not even to mention the blushing nurses.

'Seriously women? What kind of creatures are you? You blush when men receive sexual harassment? If it was a woman, you were already dragging me to the police station. This is inequality! Men are also humans! We need to keep our virginity safe! It is our dignity! We also have our rights!'

"Asher? Are you there?" Gabriel's voice interrupted the speech of 'the-men's-rights-advocate-version-of-Asher', who just currently appeared in Asher's head.       

"Just get here, you heard me?" Asher was embarrassed to speak further.

"I can't." It was a cold short response that made Asher boil with madness.

"You! How dare-" Gabriel didn't have the appetite to listen to his nonsense so he hung up adding gasoline to the fire of his rage.

"You asshole!" Cursing loudly, his hand's attempt to throw the phone on the floor, was paused by the commander called 'Brain' when the soldier called 'Hand' was halfway into the action.

Brain didn't do much but reminded him that it was his second phone. The first one was destroyed by Gabriel. (Refer to Chapter 3)

"Fuck!" Again cursing loudly, he made his way to his enemy. And why the hell did that image appear in his head out of nowhere? It was sure terrifying for a young man like himself who is a virgin at the age of 27!

'This is violence! Men are also humans! They are very important! They work for their country! They sacrificed their sweat, blood, and sperm!' Again, the men's rights advocate version of Asher yelled in his head.

"Ah, Gosh," he was still feeling her lips on his. Why the hell would this happen to him?

...

The sun was chased away by the moon.

It was the time for the moon to shine, with her baby stars accompanying her, forming a lovely view.

In the middle of the hospital's corridor, a woman was stomping her legs, her high sassy red hills making a graceful clicking sounds, pulling every string of attention towards her. But she was too furious to notice any of it.

Her Sapphire eyes were shaded with red clouds, wailing betrayal... Her Burgundy hair flew behind her as she strode quickly, seeming like it wanted to run away from her... Her matte red lip was arrested under her teeth, jaws tightened until her teeth cracked... Her sharp red polished nails clinched in a fist until her palm drew blood.

All red...

All classy but sassy...

Yeah. It was Aurora Harrison.

Who made her arrival at the hospital where her dear friend, Bella, lay.

Her eyes caught the number that was lumbered above the door, 

'Room 612' (Bella's room)

*Bang*

The door spread wide open, the sound startling the sun-kissed beauty ...

"Ah, Aurora you scared me." the patient complained with a shaky voice.

"How dare you... I was about to die pit of fright when I heard you had an accident." Aurora's expression was hard to figure out if it was outrage or anxiety. But her love for her friend was crystal clear...

"Oh..." Bella struggled for air when her sassy friend embraced her so tightly.

"I missed you, Bella." she let go for a second only to hug her again.

"Aurora, enough. I am fine..." Finally, she let go of her.

As she bounced on the chair next to the bed, making herself comfortable so she could nag, scold, and do other things to her dear friend,

A pained man's voice grabbed her attention,

"Ah, damn it," he winced rubbing his sharp nose that turned red.

Aurora's eyes narrowed to scan the man who mysteriously materialized behind the door.

Her quite aggressive grand entrance sure broke the man's nose who was standing near the door and got smashed...

But hold on... What the fuck is he doing in here anyway?

Most of all, when he was a creature called 'Man'... A creature with a penis and with no brain... A heartless creature whom Bella's father would never allow near her unless he had a death wish.

"Who is he?" Her Sapphire eyes were narrowed just until they were sharp as a knife, stabbing Bella to spill the beans.

"Um well, he-"

Before Bella could conclude her speech, the sassy classy lady made her own assumption.

"He was the one who injured you, wasn't he?"

Asher was listing curses in his head, despising the day. He questioned God what had he done to be punished like this, why these kinds of women kept appearing on this catastrophic day...

His thought was interrupted by a flying red purse, aimed at his handsome face. His reflex wasn't enough to bypass the purse attack.

"Ah, Aurora wait-" Bella's riot wasn't enough to save him from Aurora's sudden berserk.

"How dare you harm my little Bella you jackass!" Aurora pointed her sharp finger at him, looking so ready to jump on him.

Innocent Asher was wincing in pain. His face turned red from the whole painful encounter.

"You hooligan woman. Are you crazy?" A man had to bite back if he wanted to keep his pride but...

"Me?! Hooligan?! You asshole!" she landed a perfect punch on his cheekbone.

It was right at this moment Asher regretted biting back only to lose his 32 teeth along with his wounded pride...

"Enough! Aurora please listen to me!" Bella wasn't ready to face the third world war. Not yet. So she had to stop them... She needed to stop the little blazes before they turned to a large wildfire.

"Aurora, calm down." she stepped between them. "He is not the one who is at fault. It was all my mistake." breathed.

"How so?" her brows arched at him. "What do you mean, Bella?"

"Sit down and let's talk first." As they made their way back to the bed, Asher didn't waste a second to get away along with his broken pride.

"He is such a pussy," Aurora mocked as her eyes followed him behind.

"Why are you so mad about, Aurora?" She noticed the little blazing lights in her Sapphire eyes.

"Argh! There is nothing to not get riled about!"

"Is it your new mysterious husband whom I never saw?" It was a sensitive topic that made Aurora nervous. "You know? You just announced you were getting married months ago when you were in Paris for work, right? Was it love at first sight that made you rush into marriage?"

She knew it was the time to change the topic...

Pressing her red matte lips tightly, "N-no my husband didn't do a thing. I am mad about Celine!"

"Um?" Bella made a confused sound. "What did Celine do?"

"Huh?! You don't know about the news yet?!"

"I was away to Miami for weeks... I was too occupied with photo shoots 247. Just tell me what happened to Celine."

"You know that sexy Gabriel Davis, right?"

Bella bounced her head eagerly.

"The internet is blazing with an article about the secret love between Celine and him! Can you believe this shit?!"

"Oh God... Is Celine okay?"

"I fucking don't know! She went on hiding in her home she won't even pick up her phone!"

The bad thing now is Bella can't recall what happened before she found herself in a hospital bed.

Only knows that she has thrown herself in front of a car and again harmed herself with a syringe.

What happened in between?

(Don't waste your time. She doesn't have a freaking idea.)

"I will go and check for myself tomorrow if she is with her parents."

"Aurora don't worry yourself. Gabriel can take it down in no time."

"I hope so." Aurora's worry was evident as she spoke.

"By the way I want to see pictures of you and your husband."

"Oh," Aurora hurried to pick up her red purse that she uses for a weapon if needed. "You see, it is time for my night shift."

"How many part-time jobs do you have?" Bella inquired.

"Hundreds... Now Miss Bellanca you will excuse me. I will visit you tomorrow morning before you are discharged, okay?"

"Yeah, no problem. Go ahead."

Aurora sighed in relief after she made her way out of the room.

'It was way too close...'

She didn't like the idea of lying to her friends and pretending like she was fine... It carried a heavy load on her.

'I will tell you everything when the right time comes...' she promised.

... Who would've thought all the marriage stuff was fake and her scheme?

...

He was fierce by today's event. Furthermore, he felt like he wasted his life and he needed some fresh air.

As his legs strode out, a cold air hit his face. The dull wide garden was welcoming him to take a seat on the grass and stare at the sky. So he did as he was inquired.

As usual, the twilight sky was glistening full of stars. It gives life to those who look at it. Asher's lifeless eyes continued staring at the sky like they had answers to the question marks in his head. As it will lend him the stars so he could shimmer like no other...

And there was also a lady who was also staring at the sky blankly. For both of them, shining like those stars in the darkness of life is not meant for them.

Only those who are meant to shine like stars can shine. But the question is, what does life mean if they think they are not meant to be happy?

Well, to take you a minute back, of course, Bella sneaked out of her room and headed to the garden.

She felt like she was going to die if she stayed there any longer. Isn't it what she wanted from the beginning? To leave this world forever?

But for some reason, she felt ashamed of what she had done earlier. For some reason, she decided to live for longer. Maybe there is something good in this world.

While pondering in her thoughts, she noticed a figure lying on the grass. It took her a minute to figure out he was her savior. Asher. Without her knowing, her legs led her to him, and found herself sitting beside him...

He was snoring softly, indicating the exhaustion he felt all along. His features were relaxed as his chest heaved up and down.

Her amber eyes caught the sight of his eyelashes that were long and that she failed to notice until now. She remembered he had the most glossy crystal blue eyes that seemed to contrast with his dark and rigid personality.

His eyes reminded her of the love of her life who was taken away from her... Kerry. Who was her reason to breathe but now his absence was her reason to die... Her eyes welled up recalling 'Kerry'.

"Mm..." Asher groaned in his sleep grabbing her attention to his figure.

Her eyes studied his blond hair which looked like a cloud above his oval-shaped sharp face. His nose, lips, and eyes were all sharp.

'What was his name again? Asher?' Recalled his name in her head.

'Asher.'

He was the one who saved her. If it hadn't been for him, her lifeless body would have been lying under the coffin... If it wasn't for him, she would already be dead.

"Thank you for saving my life," Bella whispered softly, not wanting to wake him.

But who could blame her for feeling grateful? This man had saved her life not once, but twice. And yet, he didn't seem to want anything in return.

As she lay there beside him, watching the stars twinkle above, she began to wonder about the man lying next to her. What were his dreams and his desires? What made him tick?

It was obvious that he was angry about something. But what? And why did he seem to loathe her so much?

Bella decided then and there that she would find out. She wanted to repay him for what he had done for her.

She didn't know where this journey would take her, but she was willing to find out. And maybe, just maybe, she could help this man in some small way.

Before she knew it, she lost herself in the embrace of the darkness beside him.

~ Sweet dreams both of you~

###

*Random $hit*

Asher: Men are also humans! ... We also need protection! ... Our virginity is our dignity! ... This is inequality! ... Stop men's harassment! *Currently fighting for men's rights until he showed up on TV* 

Aurora: Seriously? What's up with this guy? *Was sitting next to Bella, eating popcorn and watching Asher on the TV, fighting for men's rights*

Bella: I don't know. *Shrugs her shoulder since she doesn't know that it's her who made Asher like this and doesn't remember what she did because it was the drug's doing*