Page 98 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 4

Every day I find new ways to survive in this hellhole your fake parents put me in.

Every day I dream of getting out, of escaping…one day I will.

One day we’ll be together again.

One day…

All my love,

Bianca

Episode 116

Epilogue 4: Maia and Rhodes

MAIA

“Maia!” I heard Emily scream from the entrance to our home. Buddy had just picked up the kids from school. Mom and I were in the kitchen with Marisol, learning how to cook.

The tone of that scream made gooseflesh rise on my skin.

“Maia!” she screeched again, as the sound of multiple pairs of teenaged feet came clomping through the house to the kitchen like a herd of horses.

Emily was a mess of rosy cheeks, wild hair and streaked mascara.

“What the fuck!” I dashed over to her and cupped her cheeks. “Did someone hurt you? Where’s Buddy?”

“Right here. And I already asked. I’m going outside to patrol. I did not sign up for this shit,” he grumbled and bailed out the kitchen side door to the backyard. Buddy often bitched about the teenagers but was also the first to volunteer to pick them up. I think he was still dealing with what happened in Colorado and being overly protective of everyone in the family. The kids and their drama drove him up the wall, which I thought was hilarious. Most of the time.

“You!” Emily spun around and pointed at my brother Zach. “You ruined everything!” she roared.

The noise apparently interrupted Rhodes because, within moments of them arriving, I could also hear his feet pounding down the back staircase off the kitchen that led to his office.

“Maia, Emily!” he called out as he rushed into the kitchen, his gaze going from Emily’s angry red face to Zach, and then to Maisie who was leaning with her back against the wall quietly watching the show.

“Dad! You tell him he is not the boss of me!” Emily yelled at Zach.

“Zachery, what did you do?” Mom approached him. She was moving around great now that it had been six months since we left Colorado. For the most part, she spent her time helping Marisol and learning how to be an independent woman. It wasn’t easy going, but she was a champ, and I believed in her. Plus, I loved having our entire family in the same place.

“That slimy jock had his hands all over you!” Zach snapped.

“He’s my boyfriend!” Emily shrieked, the pitch rather piercing to the rest of us.

“What boyfriend?” Rhodes asked.

I let out a deep sigh. “Babe, I told you she was dating someone. A guy on the wrestling team.”

“He sucks though. I took him down in one punch. A little bloody nose and he went whining away to his dumb-as-rocks friends.” Zach smirked, clearly pleased with his actions.

“You are not allowed to hit my boyfriend! You are not allowed to hit anyone!” Emily stomped her foot with petulance.

Zach maneuvered around Mom and pointed in Emily’s face. “Then you should keep your kissing in private! And he should have kept his hands off your ass!”

“Oh my god! He kissed you?” I started bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet. “Jeremy Joplin?”

Emily smiled huge. “JJ for short. It was so awesome!”

“Eeeek!!!” I hugged Emily and we jumped up and down together. She’d wanted to catch the eye of the hot wrestler since high school started months ago.

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