Chapter 1 Prologue - In The Enemy Territory
Twenty-two-year-old Alyssa Van Every scowled angrily at her older brother, Alex, determined to fight him and his high-handed attitude. Six years older than her, Alex Van Every was a billionaire restaurateur and considered it his sole mission in life to protect his sister from all the men in the entire universe! So, Alyssa always protested his ways and whenever he was around, the atmosphere was very tense.
“You won’t attend the wedding, Alyssa, and that’s final.” Alyssa glared at him, her eyes flashing and rebellious. This time it was her close friend, Sienna’s wedding, and she refused to bow down to her brother’s wishes. A plan to escape without his permission started forming in her mind. It was no use fighting him, as he would never listen. It was different when she was younger, but now, at twenty-two, she didn’t need his help or permission.
“What’s the big deal, Alex? I don’t stop you from doing anything and neither do mom and dad. So why is it always me? What problems will you have if I attend Sienna’s wedding?” Alex punched the nearest wall with anger, causing the paint to chip off but it didn’t scare her at all. She was used to his temper, being as short-tempered as he was.
“I don’t want you around the Donnelly brothers, Alyssa. They are our sworn enemies!” he gritted out, his eyes daring her to disobey. Anger bubbled inside her and she glared back at her brother, refusing to be intimidated by him.
“They may be your sworn enemies, Alex, not mine. I will do what my heart desires.” She tossed her waist-long golden hair and walked out of her brother’s apartment, leaving him fuming after her. With her apartment on the fourth floor of the same building, she took the elevator from her brother’s penthouse to her three-bedroomed home that belonged to her dad, Daniel Van Every.
Although Alyssa’s friends, Eva, Sienna, Hayley, and Skylar, were all career-oriented and working at reputable places, she was the only one who had no career goals. However, it didn’t bother her at all. After somehow graduating in finance, she continued enjoying her life with no rush to look for a job. Being born with a golden spoon, Alyssa didn’t need to earn a living. Her dad wanted to pass the reins of his finance company to her since her brother refused, but she wasn’t at all interested, splurging his money on a luxurious lifestyle instead. Everyone was tired of her ways, yet for Alyssa, parties, friends, clubs, and weddings were everything. She didn’t have time to ponder over anything else other than her own enjoyment.
She rang the doorbell of her apartment and her friend Eva opened the door with an inquisitive look on her face. “What happened? What did he have to say?” Alyssa groaned and slumped onto a couch, knowing that now there was only one way out for them. To sneak out when Alex went to work!
“You know what he can say! He doesn’t want me to go and I’m sure he won’t let you either.” Alyssa rolled her eyes, knowing how whipped her brother was with Eva, although he would rather die than acknowledge it.
"Why should he care about me? I’ll definitely go." Eva walked towards her room to pack while Alyssa followed her to discuss their plans for escaping.
“I don’t know what enmity Alex has with Lucas Donnelly and his brothers, but I definitely will attend Sienna’s wedding. So let’s sneak out tomorrow in his absence, without informing him. What do you say?” Eva gaped at her friend and her eyes widened, realizing what they were about to do.
“What if Alex follows us there and creates trouble for Sienna?”
“We'll deal with it when it happens.”
Eva didn’t say a word further, knowing fully well what enraging Alexander Van Every meant, but Alyssa was no less stubborn and she sighed as she continued to pack up. Alyssa too packed and the two friends made dinner afterward, waiting for Alex to storm into their apartment soon to continue the fight where they had left off.
Alyssa knew Alex would complain to her dad if he couldn't convince her. It had been the norm since she had been born. Her parents always supported him, favored him, and compared her to him. It inflamed Alyssa further, and she strove to be exactly the opposite of what Alex was. He was her dad’s favorite and only when he declined to take over the reins of the business did her dad consider her as his last choice. It angered her, and she went out of her way to prove how worthless she was, annoying her dad more.
The doorbell rang and Eva went to get it while Alyssa continued with her packing, unperturbed, knowing fully well that it would either be her dad or her brother. Just as she had expected, her dad walked into the apartment and looked around for her. It angered Alyssa more than Alex could stoop so low and complain to him about such a minor issue.
“Alyssa, I expect you to listen to your older brother. After all, he’s looking out for you. If he thinks the Donnellys are dangerous, refrain from attending the wedding.” Alyssa stood up, her teeth clenched with fury, but she took deep breaths to calm herself down.
“They aren’t dangerous, dad. They’re just normal like us, but I won’t interact with them at all. I’m just going as Sienna’s bridesmaid. You know how close we all are. I can’t miss this wedding just because they are Alex’s enemies.” Daniel Van Every massaged his temples completely at a loss now, witnessing the rebellious streak in his daughter which increased with every passing second.
“What if they harm you?” Her dad seemed to be at his wit’s end. Eva walked quietly into the room and stood in one corner, knowing that Daniel Van Every didn’t approve of her much. She wasn’t a billionaire’s daughter, and neither did she belong to their status. Just as always, Alyssa’s dad ignored her very existence and glared at his rebellious daughter instead.
“They aren’t criminals, dad. The wedding will have their family members and children and I’ll just stick with my group of friends. How can they harm me?” Her dad snorted angrily and just gave up.
“Do what you want. I don’t have the time to waste with you.” He strode angrily out of the apartment, banging the door shut after him, making Eva release the breath she was holding. Alyssa was unaffected by it all and continued with her packing.
The next day, Alex left for Paris early in the morning before sunrise on a business trip, and Alyssa jumped with joy. After he left, they locked up their apartment and sneaked out with their luggage to go to Preston Island, where the wedding would be held.
“Finally, we’re free!” exclaimed Alyssa as she drove her Ferrari all the way towards Alexandria Bay, from where they would take a boat to Preston Island. It was ten o’clock in the morning when Alyssa and Eva arrived on a speedboat and gasped at seeing the beautiful, secluded island with a dreamy house with picturesque views of St. Lawrence River from Alexandria Bay. The island had a fully powered deep-water dock for ships, and the house was equipped with its own boat.
“I wish I could live on an island like this far away from Alex!” exclaimed Alyssa, while Eva looked away, since she had thoughts opposite to hers. She wanted to, in fact, live with Alexander Van Every on such a secluded island and seduce him to submission!
Soon the door opened, and they squealed with delight on seeing Sienna, who welcomed them with open arms.
“Hey, girl! Oh, my gosh! You’re glowing! By the way, who marries at such short notice?” complained Alyssa. Sienna told them the reason for her sudden wedding. Her ex-fiancé was creating problems in her life and she had no other option left.
“So, where’s the hot Donnelly? Won’t you introduce us?” asked Alyssa.
“He’s gone to talk to the caretaker about the wedding preparations. Let him come, I’ll introduce him to you,” said Sienna. “I’ll show you to your room. You both have to share, since there’ll be more guests arriving soon,” said Sienna.
“Sure, don’t worry about that,” said Eva.
“So, did you guys sneak out? How did Alex allow you to come here?” asked Sienna curiously.
“We fought with him to come here. He’s mad at me. He might drop in anytime, he said,” said Alyssa, with an eye roll.
“I just hope he doesn’t, can’t take in any more drama in my life. I want a peaceful wedding!” said Sienna. She led them to their room and sat down with them on the bed. They showed her the dresses that they bought for her as well as for themselves. After a while, Lucas walked into the room to summon Sienna downstairs since his family had arrived. She introduced Lucas to Alyssa, since Eva had already met him before.
“I hope Alexander and Ashton aren’t coming to fight with us!” asked Lucas with a grin. Alyssa rolled her eyes at the mention of her brother and his best friend.
“I hope not! We escaped without informing him, actually,” she informed him. Lucas looked at her with dread.
“Knowing Alexander all my life, I’m one hundred percent sure that he’ll come here hunting for you two,” said Lucas. All of them groaned with dread.
“What made you and Alex sworn enemies? You don’t seem to hate my brother with a vengeance, as he does?” she asked curiously, while Lucas grinned.
“Hasn’t your brother told you why we fought?” Alyssa shook her head slowly.
“He was a good friend of mine, actually. My younger brothers, Marcus and Nicholas, and Alexander, share an enmity, not me! You’ll meet them soon.”
The whole day, Alyssa dreaded meeting the other two Donnelly brothers, but when they didn’t arrive, she relaxed. She didn’t feel any awkwardness in enemy territory as her brother had predicted, but there were two more enemies whom she hadn’t met yet. Wasn’t it too early to predict?